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Rhodesia 'was better than Mugabe's govt', says senior Zim war vet
Mutare – A senior Zimbabwean war veteran, who is now the interim leader of the opposition Zimbabwe People First (ZimPF) party, has reportedly described as "better" the repression "under under the whites in the then Rhodesia" than under the current government.
According to New Zimbabwe.com, Retired Brigadier General, Agrippa Mutambara said this while addressing ZimPF party supporters at the Moffat Hall in Mutare over the weekend.
Mutambara said that oppression during the former minority white Rhodesian government was better than that under the current administration of President Robert Mugabe.
"The level of oppression we fought against during the white minority rule was better than what we are currently experiencing from our own government," Mutambara was quoted as saying.
He said that it pained him to see "brave" comrades being used by the ruling Zanu-PF to "suppress the same people they sacrificed their lives to liberate".
Dramatic economic collapse
Mugabe, 93, has been in power since 1980 when Zimbabwe gained its independence from British colonialism.
The nonagenarian has over the years been accused of hanging on to power through vote-rigging.
He has ruled through the country's dramatic economic collapse – hyperinflation wiped out savings more than 10 years ago, unemployment is sky-high and economic output has halved since 2000, when many white-owned farms were seized.
Zanu-PF has already endorsed him as its candidate for the forthcoming 2018 presidential elections.
A NewsDay report quoted Mutambara as saying that Zimbabwe's problems under Mugabe's leadership started after the death of his first wife Sally in the early 90s.
"When President Robert Mugabe started leading us, he was a good leader. But his woes started when Sally Mugabe died… We were then given an unrespecting First Lady [Grace Mugabe]," said Mutambara.
Mugabe married Grace four years after his first wife Sally died in 1992.
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The July 2016 visit to Vietnam was our second time that we have dealt with Vivu Travel (Kim Dung) and all I can say is they are great to deal with.
This time we basically gave Dung the dates we were proposing to travel in Vietnam and left it to her to sort out an itinerary for us predominantly in the northern part of Vietnam. What she arranged ended up being our best experience in Asia to date - this may be a bit biased because the North of Vietnam is a fabulous destination.
What was also good was the fact that we actually got to meet Dung in Hanoi - she may have regretted giving me her business card as I had to call her over a small issue at 6am on a Sunday morning. Not-with-standing the hour, things were sorted and sorted quickly - really reassuring.
The guides that she got us were fantastic as were the trips up in SaPa.
The real surprise was the Moon Garden Homestay - would have never have considered it without Dungs recommendation and it ended up the highlight of our visit.
Great stuff Vivu and Dung - thanks.


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Meet the APOY 2021 Winners!
This year's Amateur Photographer of the Year competition was as closely fought as ever, with only 30 points separating the top three photographers. Here are the APOY 2021 Winners:
APOY 2021 Winner
Nguyen Tan Tuan, Vietnam
Nguyen Tan Tuan has been a regular entrant to APOY for the past couple of years, but this year he really came into his own, winning Round 6, Movement, coming third in Round 10, Close-ups, and sixth in Round 8, Travel. He also had images shortlisted in four further rounds.
Nguyen Tan Tuan won Round Six, Movement, with this atmospheric shot of workers harvesting salt
AP's editor Nigel Atherton says: 'To win the overall title of Amateur Photographer of the Year you need to demonstrate skill and imagination in multiple genres, and Nguyen achieved that in spades. His winning image in our Movement round (see above) is typical of his work and was one of my favourite images submitted during the whole year.'
Young APOY 2021 – Joint Winners!
Lucy Monckton, UK
Lucy was placed in all ten rounds of Young APOY, which is quite the achievement and demonstrates impressive consistency and ability. She and Muhammad Amdad fought a very close battle, and ended up at the top, with a 160-point lead over their nearest rival, and deservedly sharing the prize. Nigel Atherton says: 'Getting shortlisted in every round is an achievement not equalled by anyone else of any age, so Lucy richly deserves her joint victory.'
Lucy's highest-placed image was this beautifully timed shot of an Arctic fox
Muhammad Amdad Hossain, Bangladesh
Muhammad Amdad has been an outstanding entrant in our inaugural Young APOY competition, winning Round 1, Black & White, Round 3, Home and Round 8, Travel. He was also placed in the top ten of three further rounds. Nigel Atherton says: 'Muhammad's work displays a skill and maturity beyond his age, as his hat-trick of round wins attests.'
Muhammad won Round Three with this picture of his sister, taken during lockdown
Camera Club winners
Launceston Camera Club, Cornwall
With no fewer than 15 members featuring on the shortlists and in the top ten throughout APOY 2021, Launceston Camera Club is the runaway winner of our inaugural camera club competition, accumulating an impressive 490 points in total – 270 points ahead of their nearest rivals.
Nigel Atherton says: 'You've got to be in it to win it and Launceston won by harnessing the power of teamwork, and having multiple members placed in virtually every round. Why not get your club more involved next year?'
Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to all of the photographers what entered our 2021 competition! We look forward to seeing more of your work in 2022.
APOY Results Round Ten: Close-ups
Christmas Cover 2021 competition winner revealed!

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The Tragic Real-Life Story Of Angelina Jolie
Wpa Pool/Getty Images
By Phil Archbold/Updated: Sept. 13, 2021 5:31 pm EST
The following article includes allegations of self-harm, disordered eating, and addiction issues.
Hollywood icon Angelina Jolie has undergone quite the evolution since she made her debut alongside her father (fellow Oscar winner Jon Voight) at the age of seven in "Lookin' to Get Out," a comedy released to little fanfare in 1982. When she returned to the big screen just over a decade later in the sci-fi sequel "Cyborg 2: Glass Shadow," she was a young woman ready to launch an assault on the film industry.
Jolie became one of the biggest names in Tinseltown and is known all over the world for her humanitarian work today, but her path to the top was far from straightforward. The actor and director has faced much hardship in her life, and, as an A-list celeb of many years, her troubles have largely been played out in the public eye.
From her turbulent early years and her time as a Hollywood wild child to Brangelina's high profile implosion and beyond, this is the tragic real-life story of Angelina Jolie.
Angelina Jolie's Oscar-winning dad left when she was just a year old
Donaldson Collection/Getty Images
It was apparently love at first sight when Jon Voight met actor Marcheline Bertrand, Angelina Jolie's mother, at the Beverly Hills Hotel one evening. "I was quite taken with her and in the conversation I said, 'You know, I could have two children with you,'" Voight told Men's Journal (via Express). "She didn't blink, and neither did I. Sure enough, I had two children with that gal." Sadly, things didn't work out. Voight had an affair, and the fallout caused "a lot of hurt and anger," he told Express. It had a long-lasting impact on Jolie, who was still a baby when Voight and Bertrand separated.
"I never thought I'd have children, I never thought I'd be in love, I never thought I'd meet the right person," Jolie told Elle in 2014. "Having come from a broken home — you kind of accept that certain things feel like a fairy tale, and you just don't look for them." She was credited as Angelina Jolie Voight in her first film, but 1982's "Lookin' to Get Out" would be the last time she'd use her dad's name professionally. When she spoke to The Hollywood Reporter's "Awards Chatter" podcast in 2017, Jolie said that she dropped the "Voight" part because she "didn't feel that close to" her dad and wasn't comfortable being "hired for a name."
She reportedly went through an 'anorexic stage' during high school
Angelina Jolie is one of those not-so-rare cases of a celebrity that wasn't very popular in high school. At least, that's how family friend Cis Rundle remembers it. Rundle was pals with Jolie's mother and claims to have been an occasional caregiver to the future star, who apparently had a torrid time at Beverly Hills High School. "They made fun of her because of her lips and the girls were mean to her," Rundle told Radar. "She has these broad shoulders and long legs, she moved like a gazelle." According to Rundle, Jolie's mother used to worry about her, and not just because she was getting bullied. "Marcheline got scared that she wasn't eating," said Rundle, who claimed that she "carried [Jolie] into the hospital" during an "anorexic stage" she was going through.
Jolie's older brother James Haven once admitted that "she doesn't pay much attention to food," and he became extremely worried about her after the death of their mother in 2007. Jolie admitted that the ordeal had indeed left her looking thinner than usual. "I've always been lean and this year I lost my mom and I've gone through a lot," she said, via London's Evening Standard. She told Metro that she was getting into good shape in preparation for her Marvel role in 2019, but rumors of more weight loss surfaced the following year, with one insider telling Radar that the actor was "barely 100 pounds."
If you are struggling with an eating disorder, or know someone who is, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).
Angelina Jolie's fascination with knives led to self-harm
According to Jon Voight's brother, Chip Taylor, the actor became "real concerned" when he learned that his estranged teenage daughter had started "cutting herself" (via "Angelina Jolie – The Biography"), something Jolie has never denied. In fact, she's been shockingly open about her fascination with knives, of which she's an avid collector. She once told Barbara Walters that she utilized knives in the bedroom during her first relationship, though she's also used them to self-harm in darker times, the actor has revealed. "I went through a period that when I felt trapped I would cut myself," Ok! quotes her as saying. "I have a lot of scars."
In the aforementioned Barbara Walters interview (via ABC), Jolie confirmed that she stopped self-harming when she adopted her first son, Maddox, from Cambodia in 2002. Speaking to Cosmopolitan the following year, the actor revealed that her knives were now "out of reach at home, but they're not gone. And yes, when I was 14, I cut myself and went through that phase, and I haven't revisited that phase and I'm not going to, especially now that I have Maddox." As soon as he was old enough, however, Maddox was allowed to start his own little collection. "My mom took me to buy my first daggers when I was 11 or 12 and I've already bought Maddox some things," Jolie told W in 2008.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
She started acting to help her mom pay the bills
Denny Keeler/Getty Images
Angelina Jolie probably didn't even know what a bill was when she made her movie debut alongside her dad in 1982's "Lookin' to Get Out," but when she returned to acting as a young adult, she was very much aware of what it took to keep a household running. The actor and director stopped by The Hollywood Reporter to discuss her career on its "Awards Chatter" podcast in 2017, and she revealed that she only reentered the industry because she needed to start helping her single mother (who also appeared in "Lookin' to Get Out," playing the cameo role "Girl in Jeep") make ends meet at home.
"When I started acting ... it was a job," Jolie said on the podcast. "It was a creative job ...[but] you're young, and you don't know exactly who you are, and yet you also get a microphone in front of your face, and you're 17, 18, people asking [for] your opinions and you haven't formed those yet, and you shouldn't form them yet, completely." Jolie quickly realized that following her folks into the family business wasn't going to be a walk in the park. She managed to make more than enough money to help her mother out, but the rigors of celebrity life were already taking a toll on the young starlet. "I was miserable," she admitted. "I was completely unhappy."
She fell into a dangerous depression playing troubled supermodel Gia Carangi
Angelina Jolie married her first husband, "Hackers" co-star Johnny Lee Miller, in 1996, but she grew apart from him and everyone else in her life when she starred in 1998's "Gia," an HBO TV movie about tragic supermodel, Gia Carangi. "Gia has enough similarities to me that I figured this would either be a purge of all my demons or it was really going to mess with me," Jolie told Entertainment Weekly at the time (via AP). Sadly, the latter came true. The actor became suicidal making the movie and even came up with a plan to end her life guilt-free.
"This is going to sound insane but there was a time I was going to hire somebody to kill me," Jolie told IMDb (via The Herald). "With suicide comes all the guilt of people around you thinking they could have done something. With somebody being murdered, nobody takes some kind of guilty responsibility." Luckily, the hitman she tried to hire had a heart. According to Jolie, the man insisted that she think the whole thing over for a month. "And after a month other things changed in my life and I was surviving again," she said. The overwhelmingly positive response to "Gia" (Jolie won a Golden Globe for the film) was ultimately what helped her get better. "Suddenly it seemed like people understood me," Jolie told Rolling Stone. "Somehow life changed" (via Made in Atlantis).
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Angelina Jolie has taken 'just about every drug possible'
Diane Freed/Getty Images
Angelina Jolie has a history of hard drug use that she's made little effort to hide at times. "Heroin has been very close to me in my life," she once said (via Vanity Fair), and it's far from the only drug she's dabbled with. Jolie admitted to having "done just about every drug possible" during one particularly candid interview in 1998, per the Daily Mail. "Coke, heroin, ecstasy, LSD, everything," she reportedly said. "I remember taking LSD before I went to Disneyland. I started thinking about Mickey Mouse being a short, middle-aged man in a costume who hates his life. Those drugs can be dangerous if you don't go into it positively."
Jolie went on to say that she had stopped using said drugs "long ago," but that wasn't true according to the man who claims to be her former supplier. In 2014, convicted drug dealer Franklin Meyer released a video of Jolie looking worse for wear that he claims he shot with her permission during a drop-off at her New York pad in 1999. "Angie was a client of mine for several years," he told National Enquirer. "I sold her heroin and cocaine." Meyer also claimed that Jolie (who's on a phone call in the clip) was discussing a family issue with her father. The actor took legal action against the Daily Mail for using the video, The Times later revealed.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Angelina Jolie knows she's lucky to be alive
According to the man who claims to be Angelina Jolie's ex-dealer, the superstar actor took drugs right before a big promotional interview during the height of her Hollywood wild child phase. One-time heroin peddler Franklin Meyer told Life & Style magazine that Jolie was high when she sat down opposite Charlie Rose to talk about her film "Girl, Interrupted," for which she won Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars. "She'd taken coke," Meyer alleged during a 2010 interview with the mag (via Page Six), adding: "She did the show and then she came back over after."
When "60 Minutes" caught up with Jolie in Budapest the following year, she admitted to veteran CBS correspondent Bob Simon that she was dancing with the devil during her hard-partying days. "I went through heavier, darker times and I survived them," the resilient actor said from the picturesque Hungarian capital, where part of her film "In the Land of Blood and Honey" was shot. "I didn't die young, so I am very lucky. There are other artists and people that didn't survive certain things ... for many reasons, I shouldn't be here." Jolie went on to say that she took "too many chances" with her life back then, and she "came close to too many dangerous things" as a result of that reckless behavior. "I still have that side of me," she added, "it's just in its place now."
She briefly reconciled with her dad when they worked on Tomb Raider together
Jon Voight played Angelina Jolie's long-lost, presumed-dead father Lord Richard Croft in 2001's "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," sharing the screen with her in an emotional dream sequence. Jolie said that working on the video game adaptation together gave them a chance to engage in some real "bonding time" during an interview with Radio Times magazine, though the ceasefire didn't last very long. "We seemed to understand each other and it was fun, but afterwards he returned quickly to old habits of being judgmental," the actor said (via the Irish Examiner). It all started to go wrong again right before Jolie left the country on a United Nations mission, she said.
According to Jolie, Voight decided to come along to the airport with her, and on the ride over he handed his daughter a mysterious letter. "[He] said, 'This is my truth, this is unchanging,'" Jolie recalled. "I was unaware of what he'd written and said, 'That's wonderful, I love you, see you later.' Then I opened the letter. He'd written I was a bad person. I was upset and thought of 100 replies, and then decided I don't value this person's opinion so it's okay." Ouch. As if that didn't make her position clear enough, Jolie added: "I no longer see us as father and daughter." Unsurprisingly, Voight didn't reprise his role in the 2003 sequel "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life."
Her father's 'unforgivable' interview with Access Hollywood could have been very costly
Jason Kirk/Getty Images
Angelina Jolie separated from her second husband, Billy Bob Thornton, in 2002, around three to four months after they adopted Maddox together. The pair met on the set of 1999's "Pushing Tin" and got hitched in Las Vegas the following year, becoming major tabloid fodder in the process (though that's to be expected when a couple starts wearing matching lockets smeared with each other's blood). Thornton, it turns out, just "wasn't ready" for adopting, Jolie said (she would later call the whole thing "tragic" during a chat with Vanity Fair). She quickly regrouped and prepared for life as a single mom, but she was dealt another blow when her father took part in a highly publicized TV interview that potentially jeopardized her recent adoption (via Entertainment Weekly).
A few months after Jolie and Thornton called it quits, Jon Voight told Access Hollywood that he knew the marriage was doomed and that his daughter had some "serious mental problems." When Jolie (who legally dropped the name Voight in the aftermath of his tone-deaf interview) sat down with Barbara Walters the following year, she was still angry about her father's comments. "The most difficult thing, in him doing that, is that it could have affected my relationship with my child," she said (via The Guardian). "They could have decided: 'He's right, she's crazy, let's remove that child from her custody.' And that's unforgivable."
Angelina Jolie doesn't trust anyone
It's hardly surprising considering her complicated history with her father and the shady circumstances in which she and Brad Pitt got together, but Angelina Jolie has admitted to having major trust issues. "I don't trust anyone," she told Vogue in 2007 (via Jolie-Pitt Press Archive). "This is going to make you think that maybe I should get some therapy, but trust is such a bizarre word." The actor revealed that she was even wary about putting too much faith in those closest to her. "I'd like to say that I trust my mother, but I also don't know if she might do something that she thinks is in my best interest," Jolie said. "I trust that Brad will never do anything... I don't know. I don't trust anybody completely."
Her faith in Pitt would be tested when rumors of an affair with "Allied" co-star Marion Cotillard emerged a few years after they tied the knot, rumors that a source (described by Page Six as being "well-placed") claimed were indeed accurate. According to the insider, Jolie hired a PI to spy on her hubby as he filmed the WWII pic in the UK. "She felt that he was fooling around with her on the set, and it turns out, he was," the source claimed, though no infidelity was ever proven. The actual reason for the split, Jolie later confirmed to Vogue India, was "the wellbeing of my family," she said, adding: "It was the right decision."
She underwent preventative surgery when doctors discovered a 'faulty' gene
In 2013, Angelina Jolie revealed via an op-ed in The New York Times that she had undergone a double mastectomy after doctors discovered she was at high risk of cancer. "I carry a 'faulty' gene, BRCA1, which sharply increases my risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer," she explained. "My doctors estimated that I had an 87% risk of breast cancer and a 50% risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman." The procedure was "like a scene out of a science fiction film," but Jolie had her reconstructive breast surgery and doesn't "feel any less of a woman," she said.
Two years later, when blood tests revealed a potential "sign of early cancer," Jolie had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed as a preventative measure, and she once again documented her surgery experience in The New York Times. "It is not easy to make these decisions," she wrote. "But it is possible to take control and tackle head-on any health issue." The actor being so open had a "global and long lasting" impact on the number of women coming forward to ask about genetic testing, studies have shown. "Having women with strong family histories [of cancer] seeking counseling and education and in many cases, surgery, based on having the role modeling of Angelina Jolie can be very helpful," Dr. Robyn Andersen of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center said.
Angelina Jolie reportedly became isolated following her split from Brad Pitt
Angelina Jolie made headlines during a trip to Pakistan in 2010, and not because of the stellar work she was doing as the UN's Goodwill Ambassador. The A-lister was in the country to help victims of flooding, but it was an offhand comment she made about Brad Pitt that ended up filling column inches back home. "I don't have a lot of friends to talk to," the Oscar winner admitted to reporters (via the Daily Star). "Brad is really the only person I talk to." Rumors about Jolie being isolated in Hollywood began to pop up as soon as Pitt was no longer in the picture, and even the star's estranged step-grandmother was expressing concern about her apparent lack of a social circle.
Speaking to the Daily Mail in 2016, Elke Bertrand said that Jolie didn't have "many people left in her life" after her third divorce, adding: "I know she's got her father, but I don't know how close they are." You'd think that the coronavirus pandemic would have made things worse for Jolie in terms of feeling isolated, but sources say that she actually began reconnecting with old pal and fellow actor Ellen Pompeo during lockdown. "Their kids are really close," one insider told Us Weekly in 2021. "Angie has a tight support system that largely consists of her household staff, her brother, James, and a handful of very trusted friends."
She's missed her mother terribly in recent years
Dave J Hogan/Getty Images
The one person that Angelina Jolie would have loved in her corner during her divorce and the global pandemic that followed is her mom. It was Marcheline Bertrand's death from cancer at the age of 56 that led to Jolie getting her preventative, potentially life-saving surgeries, and the Oscar winner has always tried to follow the example Bertrand set as a mother. When the "Maleficent" star gave an interview to Elle France in 2017, she was in the midst of her split from Brad Pitt and missing her mother more than ever. "She would have thrived as a grandmother," Jolie said (via W). "I would give anything for her to be with me at this time. I've needed her."
The A-lister opened up about her late mom again in 2021, revealing that Bertrand was a "very gentle" mother and that she's exactly the same with her six kids, Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and the twins, Knox and Vivienne. "I can be many things in my work and in life, but I am very warm and gentle with my children," Jolie told The Sydney Morning Herald. "That kindness and warmth is a foundation that's unbelievably important."
The kids apparently returned that kindness during the coronavirus pandemic, helping her around the home during the COVID-19 lockdown. "I feel like I'm lacking in all the skills to be a traditional stay-at-home mom," Jolie joked during an interview with British Vogue.
Has Angelina Jolie finally made up with her dad for good?
Angelina Jolie had a huge falling out with her father after she split with her second husband, Billy Bob Thornton, and it took another divorce to bring them back together again. Jon Voight stepped up during Jolie's highly publicized separation from Brad Pitt, not only for his daughter but for his grandkids, too. "He's been very good at understanding they needed their grandfather at this time," a grateful Jolie told Vanity Fair in 2017. "I had to do a therapy meeting last night and he was just around."
According to Jolie, she's drilled her dad on how to "be a cool grandpa who's creative," something he doesn't have a problem with. Voight is still actively working in Hollywood (in recent years he's become known for his turn as ex-con Mickey Donovan, father to Liev Schreiber's Ray Donovan in the now-canceled show of the same name), and when he appeared on CBS Sunday Morning in 2021, he revealed that he'd love the chance to appear in one of his daughter's films. "Yeah, she's really remarkable," Voight said, praising Jolie's work as a director. "She would be tough [but] I would love to work with her."
He may be one of the root causes of her tragic past, but — for the time being, at least — Angelina Jolie's dad seems fully committed to helping her achieve a bright future.


text:
Synthesis and characterization of ZnO, CuO and CuO/ZnO nanoparticles by a novel sol-gel route under ultrasonic conditions
Irman Abdul Rahman, M. T M Ayob, Faizal K.P. Kunchi Mohamed, Norinsan Kamil Othman, R. L. Mohd Lawi, Shahidan Radiman
Great interest in metallic oxide has emerged because of the possibility of modelling the properties of these materials for different applications such as catalysis or sensors. In this work, CuO, ZnO and CuO/ZnO nanoparticles were prepared by a novel sol-gel route under ultrasonic condition using triethanolamine (TEA) as an emulsifying surfactant and metal nitrate precursors. Fine powders were obtained when the pH of the sols were increased to 9 using NaOH. Particle size of the oxide materials were in the range of 3-4 nm, 40-50 × 100-150 nm (diameter × length) and 100-200 nm for CuO, ZnO and CuO/ZnO, respectively. The molar ratio of TEA to metal nitrate precursors was 2:3. The resulting nanoparticles were analyzed by UV-VIS, FTIR, EDX and FESEM. TEM micrographs of these particles were obtained to elucidate the morphology of the nanoparticles. Experimental result shows the band gap energies (E g) for CuO, ZnO and CuO/ZnO were found to be 2.71, 3.35 and 2.82 eV, respectively.
Advanced Materials Research
https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.545.64
2nd International Conference on the Advancement of Materials and Nanotechnology, ICAMN II 2010 - Kuala Lumpur
2nd International Conference on the Advancement of Materials and Nanotechnology, ICAMN II 2010
Sol-gels
Energy dispersive spectroscopy
Copper/Zinc oxide
Ultrasonic irradiation
Abdul Rahman, I., Ayob, M. T. M., K.P. Kunchi Mohamed, F., Othman, N. K., Mohd Lawi, R. L., & Radiman, S. (2012). Synthesis and characterization of ZnO, CuO and CuO/ZnO nanoparticles by a novel sol-gel route under ultrasonic conditions. In Advanced Materials Research (Vol. 545, pp. 64-70). (Advanced Materials Research; Vol. 545). https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.545.64
Synthesis and characterization of ZnO, CuO and CuO/ZnO nanoparticles by a novel sol-gel route under ultrasonic conditions. / Abdul Rahman, Irman; Ayob, M. T M; K.P. Kunchi Mohamed, Faizal; Othman, Norinsan Kamil; Mohd Lawi, R. L.; Radiman, Shahidan.
Advanced Materials Research. Vol. 545 2012. p. 64-70 (Advanced Materials Research; Vol. 545).
Abdul Rahman, I, Ayob, MTM, K.P. Kunchi Mohamed, F, Othman, NK, Mohd Lawi, RL & Radiman, S 2012, Synthesis and characterization of ZnO, CuO and CuO/ZnO nanoparticles by a novel sol-gel route under ultrasonic conditions. in Advanced Materials Research. vol. 545, Advanced Materials Research, vol. 545, pp. 64-70, 2nd International Conference on the Advancement of Materials and Nanotechnology, ICAMN II 2010, Kuala Lumpur, 29/11/10. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.545.64
Abdul Rahman I, Ayob MTM, K.P. Kunchi Mohamed F, Othman NK, Mohd Lawi RL, Radiman S. Synthesis and characterization of ZnO, CuO and CuO/ZnO nanoparticles by a novel sol-gel route under ultrasonic conditions. In Advanced Materials Research. Vol. 545. 2012. p. 64-70. (Advanced Materials Research). https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.545.64
Abdul Rahman, Irman ; Ayob, M. T M ; K.P. Kunchi Mohamed, Faizal ; Othman, Norinsan Kamil ; Mohd Lawi, R. L. ; Radiman, Shahidan. / Synthesis and characterization of ZnO, CuO and CuO/ZnO nanoparticles by a novel sol-gel route under ultrasonic conditions. Advanced Materials Research. Vol. 545 2012. pp. 64-70 (Advanced Materials Research).
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title = "Synthesis and characterization of ZnO, CuO and CuO/ZnO nanoparticles by a novel sol-gel route under ultrasonic conditions",
abstract = "Great interest in metallic oxide has emerged because of the possibility of modelling the properties of these materials for different applications such as catalysis or sensors. In this work, CuO, ZnO and CuO/ZnO nanoparticles were prepared by a novel sol-gel route under ultrasonic condition using triethanolamine (TEA) as an emulsifying surfactant and metal nitrate precursors. Fine powders were obtained when the pH of the sols were increased to 9 using NaOH. Particle size of the oxide materials were in the range of 3-4 nm, 40-50 × 100-150 nm (diameter × length) and 100-200 nm for CuO, ZnO and CuO/ZnO, respectively. The molar ratio of TEA to metal nitrate precursors was 2:3. The resulting nanoparticles were analyzed by UV-VIS, FTIR, EDX and FESEM. TEM micrographs of these particles were obtained to elucidate the morphology of the nanoparticles. Experimental result shows the band gap energies (E g) for CuO, ZnO and CuO/ZnO were found to be 2.71, 3.35 and 2.82 eV, respectively.",
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AU - Othman, Norinsan Kamil
AU - Mohd Lawi, R. L.
N2 - Great interest in metallic oxide has emerged because of the possibility of modelling the properties of these materials for different applications such as catalysis or sensors. In this work, CuO, ZnO and CuO/ZnO nanoparticles were prepared by a novel sol-gel route under ultrasonic condition using triethanolamine (TEA) as an emulsifying surfactant and metal nitrate precursors. Fine powders were obtained when the pH of the sols were increased to 9 using NaOH. Particle size of the oxide materials were in the range of 3-4 nm, 40-50 × 100-150 nm (diameter × length) and 100-200 nm for CuO, ZnO and CuO/ZnO, respectively. The molar ratio of TEA to metal nitrate precursors was 2:3. The resulting nanoparticles were analyzed by UV-VIS, FTIR, EDX and FESEM. TEM micrographs of these particles were obtained to elucidate the morphology of the nanoparticles. Experimental result shows the band gap energies (E g) for CuO, ZnO and CuO/ZnO were found to be 2.71, 3.35 and 2.82 eV, respectively.
AB - Great interest in metallic oxide has emerged because of the possibility of modelling the properties of these materials for different applications such as catalysis or sensors. In this work, CuO, ZnO and CuO/ZnO nanoparticles were prepared by a novel sol-gel route under ultrasonic condition using triethanolamine (TEA) as an emulsifying surfactant and metal nitrate precursors. Fine powders were obtained when the pH of the sols were increased to 9 using NaOH. Particle size of the oxide materials were in the range of 3-4 nm, 40-50 × 100-150 nm (diameter × length) and 100-200 nm for CuO, ZnO and CuO/ZnO, respectively. The molar ratio of TEA to metal nitrate precursors was 2:3. The resulting nanoparticles were analyzed by UV-VIS, FTIR, EDX and FESEM. TEM micrographs of these particles were obtained to elucidate the morphology of the nanoparticles. Experimental result shows the band gap energies (E g) for CuO, ZnO and CuO/ZnO were found to be 2.71, 3.35 and 2.82 eV, respectively.
KW - Copper oxide
KW - Copper/Zinc oxide
KW - Sol-gel
KW - Ultrasonic irradiation
KW - Zinc oxide
U2 - 10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.545.64
DO - 10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.545.64
T3 - Advanced Materials Research
BT - Advanced Materials Research
10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.545.64


The resume of Dr. Del Tackett includes hefty roles, such as an appointment by President George H.W. Bush to serve in leadership on the National Security Council and the title of senior vice president of Focus on the Family. However, his latest project could be the one to garner the most national attention.
Tackett teamed up with director Thomas Purifoy Jr. of Compass Cinema and Fathom Events to create "Is Genesis History?", a film making a case that the happenings captured in the first book of the Bible were, in fact, actual events. The film will be shown in theaters across the country on Feb. 23, and Tackett says church groups are purchasing blocks of tickets to attend together.
"I'm sure we'll get all kinds of responses," Tackett says. "I have friends who have told me not to do this." However, his passion for dialogue around biblical worldviews propelled him to take on this potentially provocative subject.
In the film, Tackett travels the world to converse with scholars in geology, biology, astronomy and archaeology and examine factual evidence supporting events recorded in Genesis, such as the flood, the six-day creation process and the existence of Adam and Eve. Natural artifacts such as fossils, canyons and creek beds are explored and compared with what is recorded in the Bible.


The new Project DIVA game for PS Vita and Playstation 3 now has an official title, namely 'Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F'.
The PS Vita version launches on August 30th this year while the Playstation 3 version has an unconfirmed release date of '2013'.
Once again, these titles will probably not get a Western release due to licensing issues with the music, but thanks to the PS Vita and the PS3's lack of region lockout they should be easy enough to import for those of you who are interested (and trust me, I'm very interested!).


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Q: Retrieving current item in lazyrow I wish to create a LazyRow where one of the items will be higher in elevation than the others, as in essentially focused. Now, as I scroll, I wish to highlight the next item with elevation. What I want is something like, the first visible item in the Row, currently, shall be elevated above others. Any ideas?

A: To get first visible index from list, You can use the LazyListState.firstVisibleItemIndex property.
Official guide regarding the Lists: Reacting to scroll position

For simple use-cases, apps commonly only need to know information
about the first visible item. For this LazyListState provides the
firstVisibleItemIndex and firstVisibleItemScrollOffset properties.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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What is M.E. ?
Prognosis of Severe M.E
Living With Severe M.E
Severe ME Day 2019
ME Awareness 2019
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Factsheets, leaflets & Reports
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Members Dashboard
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Care for Someone with Severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
We are delighted to announce that the paperback version of Care for Someone with Severe ME by Greg Crowhurst is ready and available to purchase from the Stonebird website at the following link:
http://stonebird.co.uk/Notes/index.html
Greg explains further below:
It has also been published in eBook format. Also, mindful of how difficult things can be, I have made the whole book free to read online; I want everyone to have easy access to it.
There has never been a more pertinent time to be raising awareness of the reality of Severe ME, witness the unfolding events in Denmark where a young woman with Severe ME faces the threat of being forcibly removed from her home and consigned to a psychiatric ward. One thinks of the terrible experience of 25% Group members, who have also found themselves locked up in secure wards and of course Sophia Mirza.
To my great concern, here in the UK, I see middle of the road medical teams and researchers – who profess to be biomedical, still following a psychosocial interpretation, still using the same old fatigue language, still not challenging the establishment, still compromising ME away, still hindering genuine knowledge, still making the person with ME wrong, rather than looking to their own inadequacies, their lack of knowledge and disrespect for the true nature and symptoms of ME .
There is a shocking willingness in the medical and research fields to accept that psychiatry has the right to be involved with ME, a complacent willingness to call ME a fatigue condition, a willingness to blur boundaries that should be crisp and clear and separate, a willingness to accept psychiatric interpretations, a willingness to call illnesses that are not ME, "ME" – and to call ME, "CFS" .
These "compromisers", high profile in some cases, are just as dangerous, in my view, as the hard line psychiatric lobby; for they are still busy throwing away the truth of ME for some other prize whether that is financial gain, funding, security, status or just ignorance.
The word "fatigue" is not appropriate for ME.
During the course of writing my book three young women with Severe ME, including Emily Collingridge, died. My wife, seriously ill and now greatly deteriorated, does not want to die too, just because not enough people have the guts to challenge the psychiatric lobby, not enough professionals have the integrity to challenge government policies, attitudes, wrong health service provision and assumptions and not enough ME organizations are really representing people with ME.
The voice of truth is desperately needed, in these dangerous times for people with Severe ME. ME is not fatigue, this book shines a light on the reality of the WHO neurological disease Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.
Carer-Information-Pack-2018.pdf
Email: enquiry@25megroup.org
Address: 21 Church St, Troon KA10 6HT
Hours: Mon – Fri, 9:00-17:00
© 2018 25% M.E. Group We're a registered charity in Scotland (no. SC034265)


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Metal Gear is a series of action stealth games directed by Hideo Kojima. In these games, you generally play as someone who has/had the code name of "Snake" (whether it be Solid Snake, Naked Snake, Venom Snake, or changed to Raiden after the first cutscene). Generally, these game's plots revolve around a weapon with the name "Metal Gear" (or some other form of nuclear weapon). There were two Metal Gear games made for the MSX2 computer system, and then after that, Metal Gear Solid was made for the PlayStation (future games would take this title). Now that I'm done explaining the background of this series, I would like to ask, have any of you ever played a Metal Gear game? I've played through the first three Solid games, and I enjoyed myself a lot! MGS had Liquid Snake being campy (and the bosses are pretty neat). MGS2 has improved gameplay along with a pretty good mind screw (I love a good mind screw). MGS3 was also campy as fuck and had cool survival mechanics (they're not much, but they don't need to be, sometimes you just wanna stab a rat and eat it to replenish your hunger real quick). I have not played through the other games (though I'm reading through the MGS4 novelization since it's cheaper than a PlayStation 3).
Yuuzume
Unfortunately, I've only played a fraction thanks to an old friend but nothing worth mentioning. It's a pity I wasn't aware that you loved the genre of "deep meaning / heavy" games as a whole genre a little earlier. There was recently a very good deal on the game Kojima made after separating from Konami, Death Stranding. I didn't mention it in the thread I made about discounted games cause it's honestly a bit of an acquired taste, based on what I've seen and heard. I was kind of blow away by a review of it tbh. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKdv-IeAv2g Anyway, didn't mean to take things out of track but thought it might interest you.


The Century West team was selected to provide project scoping, design, bidding, and construction engineering support related to retrofitting curb ramp facilities for the City of Bend's ADA Phase 3 Improvement Project. This project, as part of the City's Department of Justice mandated efforts to improve accessibility within public right-of-way, required thorough coordination with City staff and extensive design documentation. As a part of the initial project scoping efforts, Century West performed site reconnaissance and identified over 100 high priority curb ramps. These ramps were then analyzed to determine the extent of ADA compliance improvements and cataloged into a prioritization matrix to be evaluated by the City. This large amount of design data was tracked and summarized using a custom database created by Century West for that purpose. Our approach with the tracking database was to ensure that information for each specific location could be easily archived, retrieved, and updated throughout the design, bidding, and construction process. Century West managed a team that included four local surveying firms running concurrently to quickly obtain topographic data for this expedited project delivery schedule. Our team used a stringent QA/QC process facilitated by the completion of individual ramp design checklists for each improvement location. The checklists ensured that our team verified existing conditions and thoroughly vetted the proposed designs to ensure each ramp was constructed to appropriate ADA specifications and met the City's expectations. Weekly coordination meetings were held with the City to review Century West's project schedule, the ADA Phase 3 ramp information tracking database, and overall project schedule. Design direction resulting from each meeting was integrated into the tracking database, with all action items tracked for delegation of responsibility, desired outcome of action item, and delivery schedule. Our team's effort resulted in a project that was completed on time and within budget.


IcFEM Limited is a separately registered 'for profit' company, and while it has been established to uphold the vision and aim of the Mission, its primary purpose is to make an honest profit in order to generate funds for the Mission, to sponsor projects that will empower the community economically. It aims to provide technical assistance and loans to IcFEM Mission Local Transformation Units (LTUs) and Fellowships in environmentally sustainable agri-businesses. Profits from this company will be ploughed back into the Mission and the Communities involved represented by their LTUs and Fellowships.
IcFEM Ltd is a new social enterprise 'arm' of the Mission. IcFEM Ltd designs, manages and implements rural and urban development projects on a 'for profit' basis using a social enterprise model based on a sharing of profits. IcFEM Ltd will eventually evolve into a social enterprise with a portfolio of businesses and investment opportunities that aim to encourage both local and international investments on a profitable, interest bearing, and environmentally sustainable basis.
We are already operating a number of small businesses including agency banking, lorry & tractor hire services and a demonstration agri-business farm.
Partnerships with three banks: Kenya Commercial Bank, Co-Operative, and Equity.
Provides a secure banking service in local market centres such as Kimilili.
Services include: opening a bank account, depositing and withdrawing cash.
Supports DMH in revenue collection and banking services for patients.
Allows local people to hire vehicles for short time periods.
Facilitates the transport and delivery of goods, and the tractor is especially useful to farmers in ploughing their fields.
Provides subsidised transport services for Mission institution development and building projects.
Provides a demonstration for both farmer training and profit making purposes.
Current demonstrations include a tree/fruit nursery, tissue culture banana plantation, drip irrigation site, hybrid mango and avocado fruit trees, a solar powered water system, a chicken business.
Future planned additional demonstrations will include beekeeping, biogas, and stall fed dairy cows.
We have designed a number of new agri-business product business plans aimed at supporting small-scale farmers and business people. These include tree and fruit nursery, bee-keeping, poultry farming, dairy farming, greenhouse farming, drip irrigation, tissue culture bananas, bio-gas, and bamboo production.
We have a new IcFEM Ltd office and demonstration agri-business farm site, where we will host and facilitate training sessions to farmers and groups interested in establishing any one of our agri-business products. We are working with local and national governments, as well as international non-governmental organisations.
Currently, we do not have the investment capital required to purchase additional land, but we aim to support newly formed LTUs and Fellowships to kick-start some of these businesses within their own communities on their own farms.
What is the relationship between IcFEM Ltd and the Economic Empowerment Pillar?
As mentioned above, IcFEM Ltd aims to generate profits for the Mission. A proposed 75% of these profits will be reinvested into the LTUs and Fellowships which have been formed within the Mission's operational area. This money will be utilised by the Economic Empowerment Pillar team members to provide the necessary facilitation for Mission technical staff to visit and advise farmers and groups on their agri-businesses.
Already recent graduates from the IcFEM Institute of Accelerated Transformation Studies (IIACTS) are initiating agri-businesses within their newly formed Fellowship groups and as individual farmers. The Economic Empowerment Pillar staff will work closely with these graduates to provide technical and networking support to ensure maximum success for their ventures.
In order to provide immediate technical support and demonstrate the value to farmers with our products, it is important we initiate some of these businesses ourselves. We have identified the tree and fruit nursery, banana growing, drip irrigation, and poultry farming as the most low-risk investments with the fastest break-even points.


The revolution has begun. It is time for Imam Khomeini to return and the Shah to leave. But a military coup d'état is emerging; sons are becoming men and men are being tortured. Time is running out and there is something that must be delivered to Imam Khomeini in Paris before it gets too late.


Analysts See Sizable Boost in Key Rates by Fed Today : Economy: Many forecasters expect one-half percentage point hike in federal funds rate as well as the discount rate.
The Federal Reserve is about to send the most dramatic signal yet of its resolve to fight inflation, many private economists predicted Monday on the eve of a meeting of central bank policy-makers.
These analysts are looking for sizable half-point increases in two key interest rates when the central bank meets today.
They said the credit tightening would trigger an almost immediate half-point increase in commercial banks' prime lending rates, the benchmark for many business and consumer loans.
Financial markets have declined three times this year when the Fed made smaller quarter-point boosts in interest rates. But economists believe today's action, if it comes, will have a less-adverse effect. Markets are beginning to sense the Fed's credit tightening is coming to an end, at least for awhile, they said.
Many but not all forecasters expect a one-half percentage point increase in the federal funds rate, the interest banks charge each other on overnight loans. That rate currently stands at 3.75%.
They also are predicting a half-point hike as well in the Fed's discount rate, the interest the Fed charges for direct loans to banks. It stands at 3% and has not been increased since February, 1989.
"Everyone is sure the Fed is going to do something. If they don't act, the markets will be extremely disappointed," said Bruce Steinberg, an economist at Merrill Lynch in New York.
The Fed has moved three times this year--on Feb. 4, March 22 and April 18--to boost the federal funds rate. Fed officials sought to portray the moves as preemptive strikes against inflation and predicted that long-term interest rates might actually fall as the Fed convinces investors that it is being vigilant about inflation.
The reverse has occurred, however. Long-term rates, as measured by 30-year bonds, have risen faster than short-term rates. Some economists blame Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's tiny quarter-point efforts for adding uncertainty about just how much credit tightening the Fed intends to do.
That is why many analysts anticipate half-point moves this time. However, this view is far from unanimous. Other analysts believe the central bank will stick with Greenspan's policy of incrementalism, preferring to boost the funds rate by a quarter-point again.
Either way, economists believe the markets will take the latest rate hike more in stride. They base this view on the fact that last week's reports showed that inflation is actually declining, not accelerating, and other recent reports showing the overall economy slowing from its torrid pace of late last year.
On Monday, the government reported that output at the nation's factories, mines and utilities edged up a moderate 0.3% in April. While it was the 11th consecutive increase, it was significantly slower than the pace set in the previous three months.
On the eve of the widely expected rate hikes, financial markets staged a modest rally Monday, with the yield on the key 30-year Treasury bond declining to 7.45%; it had hit an 18-month high of 7.63% just a week ago. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 11.82 points to close at 3,671.50.
Greenspan has insisted that the central bank is not trying to jack interest rates up so high that it chokes off the economic recovery. Rather, it wants to push them into a "neutral" range where they neither spur growth nor deter it. While he has not said where that neutral range may be, some analysts believe the next round of rate hikes may be close to achieving it.
"As we approach policy neutrality, we are approaching the end of the disorderly, uncertain period in financial markets as well," said Allen Sinai, chief economist at Lehman Bros.
"Once the Fed gets to policy neutrality, given the continued low inflation and slowing economy, it is likely to stick there for some time," he said.
Banks have already raised their prime lending rate twice this year, following the last two Fed rate hikes, and many economists were predicting it would rise to 7% or 7.25%, from 6.75%, on the Fed's next move.


This is the bowling tournament that THIS club started many years ago. I hope to see many of you out there Saturday!!
First of many!! I never thought his first win would come at a restrictor-plate track.
Way to go Gavin!!! Hell yeah. The price of my t-shirt just went up!!!
Sorry to hear about this Verwayne, Linda and I send you our thoughts and prayers!
Just a friendly reminder, Gates open NOON. Time Trials 3pm First race 5pm Go to corriganoilspeedway.com for more event information.
I'll make sure Linda carries any contraband, she always looks innocent, especially standing next to me!!
Dang It!! We will be at the same race track sometime this year Gavin. Hang on to my t-shirt!!!
Got my second Friday night off in the last 16 years this Friday the 22nd. I'll have my backside trackside!!!
It is crazy this year. Welcome to January 84th.
Yep, us too. May showers bring June flowers?


We mark your birthday celebrations with style and grace as the best party planners in Dubai.
We are experts in customized decoration and arrangements that fall comfortably in your budgets, so leave the catering concerns to us, and give your loved ones all the attention they need.
We give your birthdays a spark of creativity with a birthday party planner that will bring your special ones' dreams to life.
You get in touch with us if you want to give your special someone an amazing and unforgettable surprise party.
We provide professional catering arrangements and decoration, so clients can look their best at dinner parties, while we do the heavy lifting.
As specialists in organizing tailor-made events, we can help you make your cocktail parties entertaining, with appetizing drinks and fancy décor.
It can have tea and snacks outdoors for a party event celebrated royally, or go for indoor cooled comfort with hearty conversations with your group of friends.
It requires everyone to dress fancy and unique. You give your attire the attention it needs and leave the elegance of the event to us.
We give your events the grand and elegant feeling you deserve with our extraordinary staging and lighting solutions, which will take the guests' breath away.
It fills your events with colors and beauty with themed balloons or mix up colors for a fresh and picture-perfect décor.
You leave the venue preparations to us, because we are experts in organizing customized arrangements that make the place look stunning.
You consult with us about your events to find out which venue and arrangements are best for you.
We propose a design and plan that follows your special requirements.
You let us make the birthday parties of your loved an affair to remember, while you give your full attention to the celebration.


A lot of people want to get more traffic to their websites from search engines like Google. They study search engine optimization (SEO) and work on optimizing their website to rank better. But because Google (and other search engines) care about their users they want to make sure the people using the search engine have a good experience (and find what they're looking for). That's why Google rewards websites that have a good user experience (UX).
An important factor in the experience around your website is its speed. That is, how quickly it loads up. People can be very impatient and usually don't want to wait several seconds for a website to load – even a split second can make a big difference. As an example, Amazon found that for every extra 100ms (one tenth of a second) it took for their page to load, sales decreased by 1%. Also, Google did an experiment and found an extra 0.5 seconds in search page generation time decreased traffic by 20%.
There are several things you can do to improve the speed of your website, such as selecting a good hosting provider (and a good hosting plan). But what I want to focus on in this article are the images on your website.
Images can sometimes be a website's Achilles' heel. Heavy images (big files, that take "a lot" of space on your computer) can increase the load time of your website (make it slow).
To decrease the file size of your images you can compress them using various tools. In Photoshop you can select "Save for Web & Devices…" (in the File menu) which gives you different options for image compression. For photos (or other images with a lot of different colors) it's usually best to select JPEG as the file format. Then I've found that selecting 80 (or "Very High") as the Quality makes sure the file size decreases without losing noticeable image quality.
If you don't have Photoshop you should be able to do something similar with other image editing tools like GIMP (which you can download for free).
JPEG is one of the file formats you can choose. Other formats that you can use are e.g. PNG and GIF. As a rule of thumb the PNG format is good for screenshots and other images with many colors (up to a certain point where JPEG might be a better option). The GIF format is good for simple graphics with few colors (256 or less). The PNG and GIF formats support transparency and GIF supports animation.
It's also smart to try between the three formats, different types of compressions and quality settings to see what fits each image. You want to find a spot where you can get away with a file size as small as possible without losing any noticeable image quality (or you find a quality you are satisfied with).
There are other web applications and software programs you can use to optimize your images.
ImageOptim is a Mac OS X program (free and open-source) that optimizes images (PNG, JPEG and GIF). I recommend selecting "Backup original files before saving" in the program's Preferences so you don't lose your original images.
Another way you can decrease the overall file size of your webpage and make it faster is by checking if your images are too big dimension wise. For example, let's say you have an image that is 200px wide and 150px high when viewed on the screen. But the actual image that is loaded is 4000px wide and 3000px high. Then the image is much bigger than it needs to be and I would recommend resizing it using a graphics editing program (like Photoshop).
Some Content Management Systems (CMS), e.g. WordPress, do that for you – create thumbnails and/or different sized versions of each image you upload.
There you have it. One easy trick to improve user experience and increase search engine optimization on your website: Reduce the file size of the images on your web pages (by compressing them and/or reducing their dimensions).


Delivers you soft and delicate color.
It's so lovely just by looking at it.
Released in 5 different colors.
will definitely make your cheek beautiful.
This petal blusher is so lovely.
Let me test on my arm first.
I wonder how it would be like on my cheek.
Peony pink color presents you gorgeous blooming look.
Just like its name, it would seem to present nudy tone color.
Feels somewhat like dried maple leaves.
but brighter and more fresh feeling.
Present a sweet apple look.
THE FACE SHOP BLUSH POP Review.
It is hard to choose one color.
Blusher that can give delicate look to vivid look.
and the colors are so lovely as well.
I think it will be my daily blusher.


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Riding in the Wave's Trough: 2001 Year-To-Date
Genomics and tools companies are not out of the woods yet. But we are encouraged by the tone of the pharmaceutical and academic industries.
In the shadow of a killer year in genomics, 2001 has brought about disappointing returns from early discovery and tool companies. The evidence is apparent in the recent underperformance of the Genome Technology Index versus the overall NASDAQ Biotech Index. Year-to-date, genomics stocks are down 48 percent compared to the 18.4 percent decline in the AMEX Biotech Index.
Powerhouse technology companies have seen slackening demand and the proximate causes of this weakness are several-fold. A hangover effect remains from last year's frenzy over the ramifications of the sequenced human genome, and the IPO market boom resulted in an excess supply of new companies with faulty or undifferentiated business plans. Perhaps most important, 2001 brought a slowdown in capital spending at the pharmaceutical and biotechnology company level leading to disappointing pre-announcements from a number of companies.
The initial negative news from the weakening economy hit us this past March, with Applied Biosystems' news of delays in customer orders based on the apparent economic downturn and negative foreign currency impact. With ABI gearing up for a launch of next-generation systems, we also saw push-back or ordering delays as customers assessed new product offerings and scrutinized their budgets.
In early July, Affymetrix lowered guidance due to weak sales to its pharmaceutical company customers for its GeneChip products. Slackening demand was primarily blamed upon the mergers and consolidation in the pharma industry, which was causing customers to hold back on instrument purchases and utilization due to structural reorganization and reprioritization of research groups and R&D expenditures.
Finally, we saw a change in purchasing psychology: less up-front technology access fees. Pharma could now afford to play hardball with the genomics and tools companies that needed as much revenue as possible.
This is one of the factors that brought about some major changes in business models. Companies such as Sequenom, Lexicon, Celera, and Deltagen started acquiring their own capabilities in order to be less dependent upon service and collaboration fees and to move forward proprietary programs as integrated drug discovery companies.
Meanwhile, other companies — namely Caliper — moved away from a collaborative technology development program and into more direct product sales of its systems and data point pricing demonstrating the challenges faced in entering deals.
Overall, many companies revised their near-term revenue forecasts downward, but we continue to believe the eventual market opportunity of direct-selling of validated technology and targets far exceeds a handful of potential so-called collaborations and licensing fees.
Genomics and tools companies are not out of the woods yet. But we are encouraged by the tone of the pharmaceutical industry and academia. Research is driving forth and companies are hungry to find the technology they need to drive their pipeline forward and get products into the clinic.
Michael G. King, Jr., is a managing director and senior biotechnology analyst focusing on the genomics sector for Robertson Stephens.
Robertson Stephens research analyst Edward Tenthoff and research associate Ellen Lubman also contribute to Genomoney.
Guardant Health Lays off 7 Percent of Workforce


I have been a part of the beauty industry as a professional stylist for more than fifteen years. My entrepreneurial spirit and persistent attitude has guided me down the path of success. For the past six years, I have operated my own salon business through Metro Design Studio Salons.
I have experience in salon management and superior customer service which has allowed me to build a superior brand for my rapidly growing clientele. My extensive knowledge and involvement in the beauty industry has opened doors to unique and inspiring opportunities. I have collaborated with local companies such as, The Perfect Wedding Guide, Alive Magazine, Curls with a Cause, Almost Home, and Missouri Style Week. Additionally, my involvement within the industry has allowed me to expand into editorial work and enhanced my knowledge of branding and advertising.
I am committed to continuing education and I believe it is vital in order to maintain the high quality experience at Kaye Wilson Hair Designs. My education with popular salon brands has given me expert knowledge about maintaining healthy hair, hair color, cutting and the latest styling techniques.


A quick, fun game for younger learners, where players collect tokens (from 1-5) on each move. Players who don't yet recognise the numerals 1-5 are supported with visual cards showing the quantity matching the numeral. Learners who do not recognise numerals or have one to one correspondence must be supported by a buddy or adult to collect the correct number of tokens and to count aloud at the end to find their total. Tokens and dice are not included.
*This game is also suitable for older students with learning disabilities.


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Home › News › Stafford Open Mod 80 Rules and $24K Purse Announced
Stafford Open Mod 80 Rules and $24K Purse Announced
Posted on January 3, 2018 by Scott Running	Posted in News
June 8 Open Modified 80 Entry List
July 13 Open Modified 80 Entry List
(Stafford Springs, CT)—For the first time since the late 1970's, non sanctioned open modified races are included in the Stafford Motor Speedway schedule. The two events, both set for the traditional "Sizzler" distance of 80 laps, will pay $3,500 to win and $660 to start, with a total purse of $24,000 for 26 starters. Both events will be held in conjunction with Stafford's 5 weekly racing divisions on Friday June 8th and Friday July 13th.
"Open modified racing is back at Stafford in 2018," explained Stafford General Manager Mark Arute. "We decided to put these events together to give all the open modified teams an opportunity to run Stafford in a non sanctioned event with a strong purse. We should see a great field of Modifieds for these events and expect many of our weekly SK Modified® guys to double up and run both races. The 80-lap distance has worked well in the past for these type of cars and these races are a great addition to our 2018 schedule."
The 80-lap features will have a draw for qualifying starting position and will use a plus/minus system of handicapping from the qualifying for the 26 car feature starting line-up. Each registered team will be allotted 6 tires for the event with no restrictions on changing tires during the 80-lap races.
The rules package for the Open Modified events have been carefully crafted by director of competition and former Modified and Late Model competitor Tom Fox to include multiple motor packages used throughout northeast modified racing.
"We worked with multiple teams and engine builders to come up with a good package for this event," explained Stafford Director of Competition Tom Fox. "The end result are rules that allow a wide variety of teams to participate while also promoting a high level of competition. Between the rules package and the $24,000 purse, these are events to circle on the calendar."
Modified drivers throughout the Northeast are looking forward to this new event. 2017 Modified Racing Series Champion Anthony Nocella already has both the June 8th and July 13th event on his 2018 schedule after winning the May VMRS race at Stafford last season.
"I saw those two races on the Stafford schedule and they definitely got my interest," said Nocella. "We always like racing at Stafford, we'll be there for those shows. We have a lot of fun at Stafford, it's one of the nicest tracks that we race at and there's a lot of prestige that comes with a Stafford win. We've had some really good cars at Stafford lately so we'll be looking forward to running in those races."
Jimmy Blewett, whose last NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory came at Stafford in August 2016, is also looking forward to the open modified events.
"I believe we'll be at Stafford for those two shows," said Blewett. "I think they'll be different shows because there will be a lot of different drivers. I think the VMRS and ROC tours have a lot of drivers with a lot of talent who just can't afford to run the Whelen Modified Tour. When there are open shows like Stafford is going to have, it opens up things for those guys who can't afford to go Tour racing and they can show their talents against guys who run the Tour."
Teams interested in running the June 8th and July 13th events are required to register for participation in the events.
Registration is now open, teams can register online at by following this link: https://www.staffordmotorspeedway.com/2018-sms-open-modified-80-number-registration, or by calling the track office at (860)-684-2783.
Rules for the two Open Modified 80 shows can be found here: https://www.staffordmotorspeedway.com/2018-open-modified-rules/.
For more information, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.
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STC hits the Semiconductor Industry – STC Filter|OPTICAL CO. LTD.
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