text:
Reverend Grey
Unexpected Phenomena
I don't plan to keep changing the subject,
But I randomly remember things and get so stirred up.
That I have to talk about them…
Like now!
Thank you for coming back to my blog.
For the sake of balance I must write about other extremes and areas of my wonderful life with the Reverend. Yes, I said wonderful…
We had little expectation of what we encountered as young leaders. We managed each situation to the best of our biblical knowledge, according to our faith.
We found ourselves confronted by many demonic forces in our early career, without much understanding on spiritual warfare.
Due to our lack of experience and immaturity did we leave our marriage vulnerable for the 'Grey One' to be able to strengthen its hold over the Reverend's personal conflict? Then subsequently over our marriage?
While the 'Grey One' was gaining ground, it was my anger and depression that was spilling over the edge.
When evil manifested itself to me in such an recognisable presence in our bedroom, it was immediately vanquished by the name of Jesus. That never happened so directly again. Were 'evil's' subsequent intentions so subtle we failed to recognise it?
Our houses are safe from trespassers when our points of entry are securely locked, bolted and alarmed.
Evil has no legal (spiritually speaking) rights into our lives. If we fail to guard our soul – the doorway to our mind emotions and will, evil will break the rules and charm or manipulate its way in.
Part of our simple and uncomplicated philosophy was to be available for any opportunity to practice Kindness, Hospitality and above all Love. To those who were members of our church community, and those who were not. Irrelevant to whether they became part of our congregation, we sought to bring some spiritual help to their lives.
Indiscriminately, without judgement or prejudice, with acceptance we were always willing to help and enable people in some large or small way. To hopefully make a positive difference in their lives.
Our vocation was to impact people with the good news of the Christian faith. That is all we had to offer.
If lives were being transformed and broken people and families were strengthened and others becoming whole, physically, mentally and spiritually. That was success.
We were not qualified in social services, welfare, education, law or medicine. We knew where to direct or accompany anyone who needed professional assistance.
All we could offer was our loving Heavenly Father, to become their Father too.
To offer insight into the toxic side of the distinctive cultural background we lived in. A colleague asked the Reverend if he would look after a young man who was travelling from Venezuela to present his Art in the 'City Of Culture' Exhibition. Venezuela is a small South American country that boarders Columbia.
My husband agreed and picked the person up from the train station, drove him to the exhibition Centre and helped him put his masterpiece on display to be judged. This would take a few hours.
Meanwhile he came to our house for refreshment, until it was time to pick up his model of the 'Last Supper'.
At the time we were living in a fairly small three-bedroom flat, we had three very noisy, physically active, squabbling children running around. In my mind, our family of five all at home together meant chaos in every way, until the little people were in bed.
Our Venezuelan guest walked through our front door following the Reverend. He then closed the door behind him and leaned back against it in a manner that suggested exhaustion after travelling for many hours.
"It's mad out there," he said. "In here, there's peace", we didn't get it! Whatever did he mean? It was bedlam in our house! He continued to explain that he could sense every evil force out there as he was travelling the four to five miles to our house. He mentioned alcoholism, drugs, prostitution and violence and many other common problems.
He went on to explain to us that in Venezuela, at certain times of the day many people would begin to manifest demonically. Traffic would come to a halt, drivers would get out of their cars. he would see them writhing and hissing like snakes on the side of the road.
It would be extremely dangerous for anyone who crossed their path.
Seemingly, as soon as anyone in his country became a Christian, they learned to take command of demonic spirits very quickly.
"Here, in your home, it's peaceful". As he came through our front door, immediately those evils were absent! Then we understood what he was saying!
Though no one was openly manifesting demonically in our City streets, he was very much aware that evil was rife.
It was fascinating to spend those few short hours with that young man.
In that same home there were two women who arrived at our door at different times, completely unconnected.
One woman, who was quietly spoken and timid, asked if she could come in. The Reverend showed her into our living room. It was during the evening, I was ironing, our children were in bed..
We offered her a cup of tea; she didn't want a cup of tea. Something to eat? Same reply! I carried on ironing the Reverend was working. We were silent waiting for her to speak. We asked if there was anything she specifically needed. In the half an hour or so she sat in our house all she said was that it was nice to just sit, nothing else. She wasn't relaxed, sitting upright on the edge of the sofa. After thirty minutes or so she left, thanking us for letting her sit there. We never saw her again.
The second woman, as soon as I turned the doorknob she pushed open the door, walked in past me and ran into the first room she passed. The Reverend had a visitor at the time. She sat crying and shaking violently.
We were quite taken aback. The Reverend suggested I go in and speak to her. I sat beside her and held her hand. She didn't say anything when I asked her how I could help. After some time she eventually stopped crying and shaking. Though still agitated she said thank you then left as swiftly as she arrived.
Then there was a little boy, he was about six years old. He knocked our door, he was a neighbours little boy, he lived two doors away. I thought he had come to play with our boys. I directed him to the room our boys were playing in but he hadn't come to play.
He said he liked it in our house could he just come in and sit. How did he know he liked it in our house when he had never been through the front door before having only played in the shared garden?
He refused food and a drink as he sat on our sofa. Our children were playing in other rooms. Every now and then he would repeat how nice and quiet it was in our house and that he wanted to just sit. Suddenly got up, said thank you, and left.
I was so incredibly unaware at the time of what women and children in our neighbourhood were possibly suffering. The area was extremely needy, there was much poverty.
Faces of many women and children reflected despair and sadness. Not all. There were plenty of happier faces and families. But no, domestic abuse wasn't something that was happening 'next door', on the other side of 'my walls'. It was on the news and documentary programmes.
Then there was Jed, a single man in his thirties or forties. He lived opposite us. It was past midnight, we were in bed. Jed knocked on our front door loudly. The Reverend got up answered the door to find Jed standing in a pool of blood. He asked if he could get a lift to Hospital because he had been attacked.
He was almost home and a car stopped beside him, one man held him down while the other man shredded the soles of his feet with a knife. It was a revenge attack he explained. The Reverend grabbed two plastic bags to put his feet in, and helped him to the car. On the way to hospital he said he had lived in the street for fourteen years and the Reverend was the only person he could trust to help him.
We thought nothing more about these incidents other than being available to those in need in our neighbourhood. It's only now as i recall them, that the visit from the Venezuelan, and all he talked about the City, was possibly linked to the lives, relationships and families of those who came to us for refuge.
A few weeks previously there was a disturbance in the street because Jets Pit Bull Terrier had jumped from his first floor living room window and attacked another dog on the street and killed it.
We certainly didn't need a television because one evening we heard a commotion. We looked out of the window to see a woman had got hold of a man by his crotch, with her teeth. Another man had got her by her legs trying to pull her off.
There are very many more similar evil, sad, and humerous experiences I could write about. All these events have been used many times to relate to an area of significance throughout our career. Plus dining out on many others I could bore you with just for their comedy value.
We were both very unaware of the scale of our impact on that community over those years.
I am not suggesting that anyone who reaches out to people in similar circumstances is likely to suffer as we have. Our threshold was already vulnerable due to the Reverends involvement with pornography and sex addiction.
Many times for many months, even years the goodwill and character of the Reverend outshone the Grey One and he was out of sight.
But the Grey One would eclipse the Reverend with increasing momentum.
e.carol
The Unwelcome Guest…
Unseen Traps Of The Inter~NET!
I am Eleanor Evans and this is my story. It's the story of my life's experiences with the silence that a secret double life demands. Ask me what you want or need to. I will be honest to the best of my ability.


text:
U.S. government wants public input on avoiding border family separations
by: Sandra Sanchez
In this Feb. 19, 2019, file photo, children line up to enter a tent at the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children in Homestead, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
BorderReport.com Resources
The Border Wall
Live Border Cameras
[EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated with a comment from the ACLU.]
McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — During a week when the Remain in Mexico, or Migrant Protection Protocols program was reimplemented on the Southwest border, the Department of Homeland Security is asking the public for input on ways to help avoid families being separated at the border.
Life after 'Remain in Mexico': Honduran family's harrowing journey to U.S., encampment in Mexico
In a posting Friday in the Federal Register, DHS officials said the Biden administration is asking for suggestions to "help protect against the prior administration's practice of intentionally separating families."
DHS is requesting public input on ways to prevent the separation of migrant parents and legal guardians from their children at our border. This effort will help protect against the prior administration's practice of intentionally separating families.https://t.co/cCN5V5y1Q3
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) December 9, 2021
Comments will be accepted for 30 days until Jan. 10 and can be submitted here in the Federal Register.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the administration wants to permanently protect against the separation of families.
"It is unconscionable to separate children from their parents as a means to deter migration," Mayorkas said in a statement. "I have met with separated families and heard firsthand of the immense trauma they have suffered. We have an obligation to reunite separated families and ensure this cruel practice never happens again."
An estimated 5,500 children and their parents and legal guardians were separated at the border beginning in 2018 under the Trump administration's Zero Tolerance policy. Many separations happened in South Texas when families were separated at the Border Patrol intake station in McAllen.
David Xol-Cholom, of Guatemala reunites with his son Byron, at Los Angeles International Airport on Jan. 22, 2020, after being separated about one and half year ago during the Trump administration's wide-scale separation of immigrant families, (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Public comments will be sent to the Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families. That task force was established by President Joe Biden in February and works with non-governmental organizations and other agencies to help reunite families and better identify migrants to prevent family separations.
Mayorkas heads that task force that is in the process of putting together a report on family separations in the United States.
In October, a task force member told CBS News that they have been able to reunify only 52 families of an estimated 1,500 families that remain separated.
On Wednesday, the first migrants were sent back on the border from El Paso to Juarez, Mexico, under the newly restarted MPP program.
First asylum-seekers in newly restarted 'Remain in Mexico' program returned to Juarez
Mayorkas has been vocal in his opposition to MPP but the Biden administration was forced to restart the program under a court order after the states of Texas and Missouri sued the federal government saying the program is necessary to keep out migrants who do not qualify for asylum in the United States.
Republican lawmakers come out against plans to settle family-separation lawsuits
Last month, President Biden said that the families of children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border during the Trump administration should be compensated, and that the Department of Justice is in settlement talks with affected families.
However Republican lawmakers have vehimently opposed any plans to pay out hundreds of thousands of dollars to migrant families separated at the border.
Visit the BorderReport.com homepage for the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the United States-Mexico border.
There has been no announcement of settlements reached.
The ACLU, which filed a lawsuit to stop family separation, said of Monday's request for public input that children should never be separated from their families.
"Requesting public input is fine, but it is clear the United States should never again take children away absent imminent danger to the child; otherwise, we are engaging in child abuse," said Lee Gelernt of the ACLU and lead lawyer in the Ms. L v ICE lawsuit that ended the family separation practice.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at Ssanchez@borderreport.com.
Tweets by BorderReportcom
About Border Report
The mission of BorderReport.com is to provide real-time delivery of the untold local stories about people living, working and migrating along the U.S. border with Mexico. The information is gathered by experienced and trusted Nexstar Media Group journalists hired specifically to cover the border.
View live cameras at the border.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: How to pattern match against typeclass whose instance are recursive data types? This question is a follow up on How to pattern match against a typeclass value?.
I am starting up a pet project on first order logic and have decided to use Haskell for this purpose. My first hurdle is to define a 'formula of first order logic', hence the data type:
data Formula v  = Belong v v                      -- x in y
                | Bot                             -- False
                | Imply (Formula v) (Formula v)   -- p -> q
                | Forall v (Formula v)            -- forall x, p

However, I am reluctant to write code based on the implementation specifics, and would rather abstract away the details, in case I change my mind, or in case I want to reuse functionality with an alternative implementation, hence the typeclass:
class FirstOrder m where
  belong    :: v -> v -> m v
  bot       :: m v
  imply     :: m v -> m v -> m v
  forall    :: v -> m v -> m v
  asFormula :: m v -> Formula v

I have added the last function asFormula in order to use the ViewPatterns (as suggested in the above link), so as to be able to pattern match on values of this typeclass.
Now suppose I want to define a simple function:
subst :: (FirstOrder m) => (v -> w) -> m v -> m w

which substitutes variables in a formula as per a given mapping f::v -> w (feels like fmap), so the formula belong x y is mapped to belong (f x) (f y) etc. then using ViewPatterns:
subst f (asFormula -> Belong x y) = belong (f x) (f y)

so far so good...
However, when attempting to write subst f p->q = (subst f p) -> (subst f q):
subst f (asFormula -> Imply p q)  = imply (subst f p) (subst f q)

I get a type error, which coming to think of it makes perfect sense: the pattern matching binds p and q to elements of type Formula v as opposed to the desired type m v.
Now I can see the problem, and could even think of ways of solving it by adding a fromFormula function to the typeclass to convert back to the type m v, but I am thinking this is crazy from a performance point of view (just as crazy as asFormula mind you), a huge price to pay in order to keep the code generic.
So here I am now, trying to define a simple function by structural recursion on a free algebra (recursive data type), but my desire to abstract away the implementation details (and write code off typeclass rather than data type) is putting me in what seems to be an impossible position.
Is there a way out, or should I just forget about abstraction and work with the recursive data type?

A: This looks as an overgeneralization, but let's ignore that anyway.
You can solve that with explicit F-(co-)algebras and fixed points.
data FormulaF v k
   = Belong v v                      -- x in y
   | Bot                             -- False
   | Imply (k v) (k v)               -- p -> q
   | Forall v (k v)                  -- forall x, p

newtype Formula v = Formula (FormulaF v Formula)
   -- fixed point. You might not need it, but it's nice to have.
   --

Then, you can do
class FirstOrder m where
  belong    :: v -> v -> m v
  bot       :: m v
  imply     :: m v -> m v -> m v
  forall    :: v -> m v -> m v
  asFormula :: m v -> FormulaF v m

and
subst :: (FirstOrder m) => (v -> w) -> m v -> m w
subst f (asFormula -> Belong x y) = belong (f x) (f y)
subst f (asFormula -> Imply p q)  = imply (subst f p) (subst f q)

should now work, because asFormula does not convert the whole m v into a full formula recursively, but it converts into a FormulaF v m which looks as a formula superficially (the very first constructor you pattern match, like Imply), but deep inside still looks as a m v.
If you really want to pursue this overgeneral approach, maybe you should have a look at recursion-schemes, F-algebras and F-coalgebras, and their associated cata-/ana-/hylo-/para-/whatever morphisms.
Finally, I would suggest to avoid trying to adapt OOP design patterns in FP. Sometimes you can shoehorn something in such way, but it can often be unidiomatic. For instance, in Haskell, we are quite used to types having a fixed amount of constructors (but an open set of functions which operate on them), just like in OOP interfaces have a fixed amount of methods (but an open set of subclasses). One can try to generalize this, but it's complex, and should be done only when needed.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
The 1970 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. The team was coached by Bob Devaney and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.  The Huskers went 11–0–1 to win the first of two consecutive national championships.

Overview
The Huskers started the season at #9 and tied #3 USC in Los Angeles in the second game of the season.  After winning their next nine games, including all seven in the Big 8, Nebraska was  ranked third in the nation entering the 1971 Orange Bowl against #5 LSU of the SEC. Top-ranked Texas and #2 Ohio State both lost their bowl games earlier in the day and a 17-12 Nebraska victory that night in Miami gave the Huskers their first AP national championship.

Through the 1973 season, the final UPI coaches poll was released in early December, before the bowl games. In 1970 it picked Texas as national champion on December 8, before the Longhorns' 24-11 loss to Notre Dame in the 1971 Cotton Bowl in Dallas on New Year's Day. Notre Dame (10-1) finished second to Nebraska (11-0-1) in the final AP writers poll, released after the bowls in early January.

The 1970 Cornhuskers championship season was notable for Devaney's rotation of two quarterbacks - Van Brownson and Jerry Tagge - in every game throughout the season.

Schedule

Roster

Coaching staff

Game summaries

Wake Forest

Wake Forest hit first with a field goal thanks to a Nebraska fumble, but by the half it was the Cornhuskers 28-5.  The Demon Deacons would go on to win the ACC title, their last until 2006.

USC

Nebraska entered the game as a two-touchdown underdog to a USC squad fresh off a 42-21 whipping of Alabama in Birmingham, but never trailed the Trojans during the course of the game.  Each team traded touchdowns, and each team missed opportunities for the win, right up to USC's incomplete 50-yard pass on the last play of the game.

Ironically, USC aided Nebraska's national championship push by defeating then-No. 2 Notre Dame 38-28 at Los Angeles in the regular season finale. The Trojans came into the rivalry just 5-4-1, while the Fighting Irish was 9-0.

Army

Nebraska owned the day, shutting out Army 28-0 in an otherwise unremarkable game.

Minnesota

Bob Devaney's record against the Big 10 was extended to 9-0 as the Cornhuskers had little trouble with Minnesota after running ahead 28-10 before the half.

Missouri

Nebraska scored only 7 points in the first half, and Missouri matched it before the half.  The subsequent defensive battle continued through into the 4th quarter before the Cornhuskers broke away with an additional 14 points, one from a 48-yard punt return touchdown.

Kansas

Nebraska was surprised to find themselves behind 10-20 with 10 minutes left in the 1st half, but battled back to take the lead with two more touchdowns before the break, and never let Kansas score again as they cruised to a 41-20 final.

Oklahoma State

Nebraska piled up 65 points, its highest total since 1922, and held Oklahoma State to just 64 ground yards as the Cornhuskers made short work of the Cowboys.

Colorado

Nebraska pulled out in front right away with a 12-0 1st quarter lead, but stubborn Colorado fought back and trailed the Cornhuskers by only 13-15 in the 4th quarter - after missing a 2-point conversion that would have tied the game - before Nebraska decided to stop the uprising with two touchdowns in the last 10 minutes to pull away.

Iowa State

The game was not as close as the score indicates, as Iowa State put up two late touchdowns against Nebraska reserves in the 4th quarter after the Cornhuskers had run up a 54-17 lead with 5 minutes remaining to play.

Kansas State

Kansas State came to Lincoln with hopes of a Big 8 title opportunity, but they were not prepared for the domination that Nebraska would show them in a convincing defeat.  The Wildcats managed only two touchdowns, one of which came with 5 minutes remaining in the 4th against the Nebraska reserves.  At one point in the game, the Cornhuskers exploded for 27 points in less than 4 minutes, pushing their lead out to 51-7.

Oklahoma

Nebraska locked up their first unbeaten regular season since 1965 by coming from behind twice to get the win over stubborn Oklahoma.  It wasn't until 7:42 remained in the 4th quarter that Nebraska pulled ahead by a touchdown to settle the final score.

LSU

Third-ranked Nebraska jumped to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and lead 10-3 at halftime, but #5 LSU fought back to make a game of it, pulling ahead on a field goal at the end of the 3rd quarter to get to 12-10.  With over eight minutes remaining, Jerry Tagge jumped over the pile from the 1-yard line for the game's final points, and the Blackshirts held on the rest of the way to preserve the win.  Top-ranked Texas and #2 Ohio State both lost their bowl games earlier in the day, which allowed the Huskers to claim their first national championship.

Rankings

Awards

1970 team players in the NFL

The 1970 Nebraska Cornhuskers seniors selected in the 1971 NFL Draft:

The 1970 Nebraska Cornhuskers juniors selected in the following year's 1972 NFL Draft:

The 1970 Nebraska Cornhuskers sophomores selected in the 1973 NFL Draft:

NFL and pro players
The following 1970 Nebraska players joined a professional team as draftees or free agents.

References

Nebraska
Nebraska Cornhuskers football seasons
College football national champions
Big Eight Conference football champion seasons
Orange Bowl champion seasons
College football undefeated seasons
Nebraska Cornhuskers football

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Firewatch •
A-flutter: The Butterflies Of Firewatch
But where are the caterpillars?
Philippa Warr
22nd July 2016 / 5:00PM
Over the weekend I was playing Firewatch [official site]. I actually played it twice because I wanted to spend time in those environments and with those colour palettes. As I spent more and more time in the game it occurred to me that the game's relationship with insects is an interesting one.
So you're out in Wyoming, in a national park watching for fires. It's the sort of game where the soundscape is this sparse, gentle thing. You've got the voice of your supervisor on the other end of a walkie talkie but there's also a quiet within the game, especially if you decide to explore or to take roundabout routes on the way to plot points.
There's a loneliness as well, although I realised I wasn't lonely in the sense of human companionship. I mean, in the second playthrough I was so aware of Delilah (that supervisor) and her continued presence that the only time I actually felt alone or entirely peaceful was in a section which purposely removes the ability to communicate by radio signal.
The loneliness I'm talking about is the absence of the majority of tiny life in the game. Even in the heat of summer I'd expect insects all over the place in this park area. I'd probably be spending my time inspecting the activities of ants, or wondering about a particular beetle or being bitten to itchy oblivion by any number of flying evening jerks.
I loved the macro beauty of Firewatch, but I missed the micro beauty I associate with the real outdoors.
Obviously there are reasons why that stuff wouldn't exist. For one, it would ramp up the technical requirements of the game. The computer would have to render far more and the whole endeavour would have taken so much longer as artists had to create the assets and make sure they spawned correctly.
Another aspect is that having too much noise and possibility for interaction on screen would slow the process of exploration down, obscuring the story and creating this tension between inspecting something tiny and being primed for expansive vistas.
Firewatch is a game which flows from vista to vista, leading you to curated moments of beauty which suddenly appear as you round a corner. If you're checking in with the ants or the stink bugs or the candy-striped leafhoppers you're not going to have those same moments of revelation.
I say this to point out that I get why the decision would have been made and I don't actually think it would have been appropriate for this game anyway so I'm not complaining that it was absent. But what it did teach me is that an outdoors without the presence of that other tiny world which hums and buzzes and sometimes wanders across your foot starts to feel very strange after a few hours.
I think that a total absence of that kind of thing is felt by game creators, though. You'll see this yen to have it in some form in something like Dota where you get little stag beetles cycling through animations in order to add a living quality to the forest. You also often get particle effects in games that get deployed as clouds of mosquitoes in a boggy biome in one game or another. Perhaps you'll encounter rudimentary animations that are suggestive of a creature even if a closer look reveals them to be two sausage shapes strung together and attempting to move like a squirrel.
That's why I was delighted to see the butterflies in Firewatch.
Where the rest of the game is about wowing you with vistas and trees, the butterflies are delightful.
They're on animation loops which is how I got to photograph them but they're so detailed – far more detailed than I'm accustomed to when it comes to gaming. They seem to be modelled on genuine species which is a nice touch.
So often a game is like "Well, lady, enjoy your two triangles flappin' away there." With these I'm looking at them and going "That's got to be a Monarch butterfly, right?" or "COME BACK AND LET ME WORK OUT WHAT KIND OF SWALLOWTAIL YOU ARE". There might have been a tortoiseshell in there too but I'd need another playthrough to confirm that.
At one point I also caught sight of a dragonfly, but I couldn't quite work out the animation loop so couldn't get close enough for an ID on the species if there was one.
Maybe this will seem insignificant to other players, but I wanted to highlight it as a tiny thing that I really enjoyed given so much has been said about the other aspects of the game: the general absence of insects (and indeed caterpillars) and then these sudden bursts of beautiful presence.
Tagged with butterflies, Campo Santo, feature, insects, Firewatch.
More about Firewatch
Firewatch Review
Wot I Think: Firewatch
Towering
Our picks from the Steam autumn Sale discountapalooza
GOG celebrates its tenth anniversary with a makeover, sale and giveaway to vote on
Campo Santo acquired by Valve, booze acquired by Campo Santo
The quarterly literary magazine is safe


text:
var DynBuffer = require('../dyn_buffer');

const MAX_ORG_RECORD_LENGTH = 300;

module.exports = function(db, cseek) {
  var recordBuf,
    pointer = 0,
    byte,
    org = '';

  if (cseek === db.segment)
    return null;

  var recordPointer = cseek + (2 * db.recordLength - 1) * db.segment;

  if (db.opts.memoryCache) {
    recordBuf = new DynBuffer(db.dbbuffer, recordPointer,
      Math.min(db.dbbuffer.length - recordPointer, MAX_ORG_RECORD_LENGTH));
  } else {
    recordBuf = new DynBuffer(new Buffer(MAX_ORG_RECORD_LENGTH), 0, MAX_ORG_RECORD_LENGTH);
    db.file.seek(recordPointer);
    db.file.readFully(recordBuf.source);
  }

  while (true) {
    byte = recordBuf.at(pointer);
    if (byte === 0) break;
    org += String.fromCharCode(byte);
    pointer++;
  }

  return org || null;
};

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The first graffiti cross stitch design – Atrocity! (because, well, I always wanted to be one, but was more of a book-lovin' geek).
The downloadable design comes in three seperate colourways – pink, orange and blue – all of which are in the shop. Pick which one best appeals to you or buy the three-pack containing all colourways for just a fraction more. The design contains only full cross stitches and back stitch, so is perfect for beginners or more advanced stitchers that just want to chill out with some relaxing x's. The pattern comes with a floss key for both DMC and Anchor threads and includes basic cross stitching instructions.
The stitched model in the photo above is the pink colourway, done on 28 count salmon coloured linen over two, using two threads of DMC floss for both the cross stitches and the back stitch. It was then used to make the bag shown.


text:
Stories filed under: "jewel"
Expand All Posts Collapse All Posts
DOJ Apologizes For Misleading FISC Concerning Evidence; Hints Strongly That It Used Opportunity To Destroy Evidence
from the evidence,-who-needs-it? dept
Fri, Apr 4th 2014 01:33pm - Mike Masnick
A few weeks ago, we noted that FISC Judge Reggie Walton was quite reasonably pissed off at the DOJ for directly withholding key information about evidence in a series of lawsuits concerning NSA surveillance programs. The full details are a bit down in the weeds, but the short summary is that there's been some debate over whether or not the government needs to retain surveillance data because it's evidence in these cases, or if it needs to destroy the surveillance data, as required by the rules over its holding of the data. There's been a bit of back and forth over all of this, but the DOJ apparently directly withheld from the FISC a request by EFF lawyers to inform the court that a data preservation order should cover two of the key NSA surveillance cases that it has been involved in for years (since well before the Snowden disclosures). The DOJ not only did not inform the court, but it also appears to have tried to dissuade the lawyers from raising the issue. Judge Walton ordered the DOJ to explain itself, and it gives a long apology, repeatedly insisting that it didn't believe those cases were related, since they were focused on surveillance data ordered by the President, rather than the FISA Court — a weak excuse at best:
Based upon the nature of the claims made in Jewel and Shubert, which the Government has always understood to be limited to certain presidentially authorized intelligence collection activities outside FISA, the Government did not identify those lawsuits, nor the preservation
orders issued therein, in its Motion for Second Amendment to Primary Order filed in the above-
captioned Docket number on February 25, 2014. For the same reasons, the Government did not
notify this Court of its receipt of plaintiffs' counsel's February 26, 2014, e-mail. With the
benefit of hindsight, the Government recognizes that upon receipt of plaintiffs' counsel's e-mail,
it should have made this Court aware of those preservation orders and of the plaintiffs'
disagreement as to their scope as relevant to the Court's consideration of the Government's
motion and regrets its omission. The Government respectfully submits that in light of this
submission, and this Court's Opinion and Order dated March 12, 2014, granting the
Government's motion for temporary relief from the destruction requirement in subsection of
the Court's Primary Order, no additional corrective action on the part of the Government or this
Court is necessary.
It goes on for much longer trying to suggest that this was all just an honest mistake, and how could it have possibly realized that the lawyers for the plaintiffs in those cases might think the issue of preserving their evidence was related to similar questions over preserving evidence of other NSA cases. It insists that it really was just focused on the more recent cases that were filed post-Snowden ("filed after last year's unauthorized public disclosure concerning the collection of telephony metadata pursuant to FISA authority") and hadn't even considered how it related to older cases concerning NSA surveillance.
The Government did not notify the Court of Jewel and Shubert in the Motion because the
Government has always understood those matters to challenge certain presidentially authorized
intelligence collection activities and not metadata subsequently obtained pursuant to orders
issued by this Court under FISA, and because the preservation issues in those cases had been
previously addressed before the district court in which those matters are pending. Jewel and
Shubert, filed in 2008 and 2007, respectively, challenge particular NSA intelligence activities
authorized by President Bush after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks without statutory or
judicial authorization.
As the DOJ goes on to explain, it assumed the preservation issues in the Jewel and Shubert cases were settled, and therefore irrelevant to the FISA issue (especially since, in its mind, the two sets of cases covered different programs). Thus, the DOJ claims, its emails dissuading the lawyers from raising the issue weren't so much about silencing those lawyers and hiding information from FISC, but were a true misunderstanding, in that it was just letting those lawyers know the issues were unrelated, as well as a desire (no joke) to not bother the FISC with unnecessary distractions.
In particular, the request in its February 28 email that counsel for the Jewel plaintiffs "forebear from filing anything with the FISC, or [the district court], until we have further opportunity to confer" was a good faith attempt to avoid unnecessary motions
practice in the event that the issue could be worked out among the parties through the
Government's provision of an unclassified explanation concerning its preservation in Jewel and
Shubert. Accordingly, the Government did not bring the Jewel plaintiffs' February 25 email to
this Court's attention.
Of course, there's still the big question of, between the two FISA court orders, whether or not the DOJ did, in fact, destroy some of the evidence. And, a follow-up correction from the government very strongly suggests that it absolutely did use the opportunity to destroy evidence. The follow-up is a correction to a footnote, in which the DOJ makes it clear that "consistent with the Government's understanding" (which appears to be mistaken) and "prior to" the more recent filing, "the Government complied with this Court's requirements that metadata obtained by the NSA under Section 215 authority be destroyed no later than five years after their collection."
What that almost certainly means is that the NSA destroyed the metadata collected up until 2009, which likely is relevant to the Jewel and Schubert cases, even though the lawyers in those cases had alerted the DOJ of these concerns. For all of the DOJ's "apologies" in the first document, this certainly seems very convenient for the US government. And, as Marcy Wheeler notes, the destroyed evidence may have included "cover almost all of the phone dragnet violations discovered over the course of 2009." Convenient. But the DOJ is really, really sorry about it. Really.
Filed Under: collection, destruction of evidence, doj, fisa court, fisc, jewel, metadata, nsa, preservation, reggie walton, shubert, surveillance
Companies: eff
Read More	18 Comments
Corporations Hiring Their Own Reporters
Overhype
from the business-model-fun dept
Tue, Aug 4th 2009 02:00pm - Mike Masnick
A year ago, I was fascinated by the news that Miller Brewing Company had hired its own journalist to create a news blog all about beer. It wasn't just about Miller, but about the overall beer/brewing market. To me, this was a fascinating, if very narrowly focused, example of where content and advertising are merging in a good way. In such a scenario, if it goes well, everyone can benefit. The reporter did plenty of real reporting, even breaking stories about competitors. Everyone knew that the site was from Miller, so there was nothing secretive about it, and anyone could take that "bias" into account. But it was an interesting model for advertising, content, reporting and journalism… all wrapped up in one. Unfortunately, it looks like it didn't work out. Without much of an explanation, the blog shut down last fall. Perhaps the market was too niche. Perhaps the economic collapse was an issue.
Still, that doesn't mean the idea itself is bad — and, in fact, we're actually helping some companies do something quite similar via the Insight Community (if you want to know more about that, just ask). So it's interesting to see yet another example of this in action as well. Salon's Future of Journalism blog points us to a Fast Company story about a journalist who left a newspaper job to take a job with Carpenter Co., makers of cushioning. But he's not reporting on that. He's reporting on life in Stephenville, Texas, (which isn't even where the company is based). But the idea is to create interesting and compelling content that's worthwhile just as content.
Of course, it certainly makes Carpenter look good ,as well. And, there's a new music business model hook involved in all of this, as well. Apparently, Stephenville is where the singer Jewel lives, and part of this whole effort is to help market her new album, which (conveniently) has a tie-in to Carpenters' bedding cushions in that the album is called Lullaby.
Now, I'm sure some will naysay this whole thing, and insist that it's not journalism, it's bad advertising and it's a bad business model for music to boot. But, honestly, I have trouble seeing what the problem is here. It's a neat experiment (for a limited time) where everything is entirely upfront (no one's being tricked), new music is getting paid for and promoted, interesting journalism work is being done and the company footing the bill gets some nice promotion, without having to ram a marketing message everyone would ignore down their throat. That seems to be a win, all the way around. Obviously, we're a bit biased, since we're powering some similar efforts by other companies, as well, but that's why we started doing such things with the Insight Community. It makes a ton of sense and solves a bunch of different problems in one single effort. Once again… we're reminded that if there's a need, business models will be created to solve that need. And this one is clearly one we believe in. Still, for those who still think this is somehow a bad thing for journalism, can someone explain how it's any different from the fact that GE employs a ton of journalists by owning NBC? Or that Disney employs a ton of journalists in owning ABC? This is the same thing, but on a much smaller scale.
Filed Under: jewel, journalism, reporting, sponsors, stephenville
Companies: carpenter co.
Winding Down Our Latest Greenhouse Panel: Content Moderation At The Infrastructure Layer
Does An Internet Infrastructure Taxonomy Help Or Hurt?
OnlyFans Isn't The First Site To Face Moderation Pressure From Financial Intermediaries, And It Won't Be The Last
13:40 It's Great That Winnie The Pooh Is In The Public Domain; But He Should Have Been Free In 1982 (Or Earlier) (35)
12:06 Norton 360 Now Comes With Crypto Mining Capabilities And Sketchy Removal Process (28)
10:45 Chinese Government Dragnet Now Folding In American Social Media Platforms To Silence Dissent (14)
10:40 Daily Deal: The 2022 Ultimate Cybersecurity Analyst Preparation Bundle (0)
09:29 A Fight Between Facebook And The British Medical Journal Highlights The Difficulty Of Moderating 'Medical Misinformation' (9)
06:29 Court Ruling Paves The Way For Better, More Reliable Wi-Fi (4)
20:12 Eighth Circuit (Again) Says There's Nothing Wrong With Detaining Innocent Minors At Gunpoint (15)
15:48 China's Regulatory War On Its Gaming Industry Racks Up 14k Casualties (10)
13:31 Chinese Government Fines Local Car Dealerships For Surveilling While Not Being The Government (5)
12:08 Eric Clapton Pretends To Regret The Decision To Sue Random German Woman Who Listed A Bootleg Of One Of His CDs On Ebay (29)
10:44 ICE Is So Toxic That The DHS's Investigative Wing Is Asking To Be Completely Separated From It (29)
10:39 Daily Deal: The 2022 Complete Raspberry Pi And Arduino Developer Bundle (0)
09:31 Google Blocked An Article About Police From The Intercept... Because The Title Included A Phrase That Was Also A Movie Title (24)
06:22 Wireless Carriers Balk At FAA Demand For 5G Deployment Delays Amid Shaky Safety Concerns (16)
19:53 Tenth Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity To Social Worker Who Fabricated A Mother's Confession Of Child Abuse (35)
15:39 Sci-Hub's Creator Thinks Academic Publishers, Not Her Site, Are The Real Threat To Science, And Says: 'Any Law Against Knowledge Is Fundamentally Unjust' (34)
13:32 Federal Court Tells Proud Boys Defendants That Raiding The Capitol Building Isn't Covered By The First Amendment (25)
12:14 US Courts Realizing They Have A Judge Alan Albright Sized Problem In Waco (17)
10:44 Boston Police Department Used Forfeiture Funds To Hide Purchase Of Surveillance Tech From City Reps (16)
10:39 Daily Deal: The Ultimate Microsoft Excel Training Bundle (0)
09:20 NY Senator Proposes Ridiculously Unconstitutional Social Media Law That Is The Mirror Opposite Of Equally Unconstitutional Laws In Florida & Texas (25)
06:12 Telecom Monopolies Are Exploiting Crappy U.S. Broadband Maps To Block Community Broadband Grant Requests (7)
12:00 Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of 2021 At Techdirt (17)
10:00 Gaming Like It's 1926: Join The Fourth Annual Public Domain Game Jam (6)
09:00 New Year's Message: The Arc Of The Moral Universe Is A Twisty Path (33)
19:39 DHS, ICE Begin Body Camera Pilot Program With Surprisingly Good Policies In Place (7)
15:29 Remembering Techdirt Contributors Sherwin And Elliot (1)
13:32 DC Metro PD's Powerful Review Panel Keeps Giving Bad Cops Their Jobs Back (6)
12:11 Missouri Governor Still Expects Journalists To Be Prosecuted For Showing How His Admin Leaked Teacher Social Security Numbers (39)
10:48 Oversight Board Overturning Instagram Takedown Of Ayahuasca Post Demonstrates The Impossibility Of Content Moderation (10)
This feature is only available to registered users.
You can register here or sign in to use it.
Sponsor / Advertise
Hosted by Pressable


Is the Sirtfood Diet With Chocolate and Red Wine for Real?
Does the Rest of the World Know Something About Gut Health That Americans Don't?
Could the Tooth Fitbit Be a Weight-Loss Game Changer?
The Carnivore Diet: Is Going All-Meat Right for You?


text:
Q: How to get last three added childs from Firebase in Android I'm using Firebase to store my data. I know how to add children, edit, delete and get all children from a specific node. Is there a solution to get last three added children from a specific node? Here is my database:

This is how I normally get all the children:
actionDatabaseReference = basketballDatabase.getInstance().getReference("users").child(UID).child("teams").child(teamkey).child("games").child(gamekey).child("actions");
actionDatabaseReference.addValueEventListener(new ValueEventListener() {
    @Override
    public void onDataChange(DataSnapshot dataSnapshot) {
        for (DataSnapshot actionDataSnapshot: dataSnapshot.getChildren()){
            final Actions action = actionDataSnapshot.getValue(Actions.class);
            ...
        }
        ...
    }
    ...
});

I tried this, but it didn't work for me.

A: you can use limittilast() method.
which
Create a query with limit and anchor it to the end of the window


text:
Home/chile/Capital Magazine | Is it possible? Apple and Archrival agree to open peace and iTunes Samsung smartTV
Capital Magazine | Is it possible? Apple and Archrival agree to open peace and iTunes Samsung smartTV
chile January 7, 2019 chile
Because they did not confirm, companies seemed impossible. Two warriors fighting for two years are in legal battles in courts throughout the world. But it's true. Apple and Samsung announced they will announce an agreement with the iPhone manufacturer movies and TV shows on your iTunes virtual store, on Samsung's smart TVs.
It shows the changes that are known before the CES annual technology fair in Las Vegas Apple wants to become a technology and media service company, sales of equipment like iPhone continue to decline. "It's a lot more process that Apple wants to change its first vision hardware and working with third parties to increase revenue in work, "said Gene Munster, Apple's observers for a long time.
Last week, Apple was surprised by investors saying iPhone sales reduced their quarterly expectations, with a record of US $ 10.8 million in revenue from services.
"As a key part of Apple's operation and positive news in new times of dark growth, Cook & Co. needs to duplicate content and distribution partners in the future," said Dan Ives, analyst with the values Wedbush.
Apple and Samsung have been fighting for seven years For mobile phone patents, Apple has accused its opponent of copying iPhone design. After several issues and Apple received millions of dollars after compensation, the two companies finally launched it at the end of June 2018.
Best enemies
Above all, companies have shared long-term collaboration, Samsung relied on Samsung to compare the latest iPhones with the latest display components, as well as tough competition.
"The agreements Apple says Apple does not see the enemy that Samsung uses," wrote Michael Gartenberg, former Apple Marketing Director. "There are others that Apple and Samsung should have to worry about. Or my enemy is the enemy of my friend.
As for ITunes, Samsung has opened Apple Apple Music Echo a few weeks with Apple. In 2015, when he launched his music streaming service, he released an Android version. In 2003, Apple iTunes opened Windows PC, Steve Jobs, Steve Jobs, co-founder of "giving ice rays in ice in hell".
Spotify competition
The debut of Apple Music on Amazon Echos and Android devices was commercially meaningful. It is based on the purchase of Apple Music Beats Music in 2014, that is, multiplatform music service.
Apple has increased the number of users right away If you plan to compete with Spotify on this market, and this service will help the voice control system and the most popular smartphone in the world, creating a US $ 10 per customer per month.
Likewise, Apple's hardware users also set their company products, which would bring Apple's devices to upgrade.
The move will give Apple a new source of money for people who buy movies and TV movies through iTunes, and allows the company to offer the content of its original video content. this year.
Exit more
For several years, Netflix and Amazon Prime have been able to compete with the content of their original content, Apple must have as much scope as possible. Samsung TV last year occupied 33% of television's television market,Vivo, beating LG and Sony, according to Statistics.
According to Munster, the agreement also indicates that Apple does not plan to enter the physical space of the television. The opening of Samsung on TV on iTunes means that Samsung TV users do not have to buy Apple's TV box to access Apple's content. The agreement also includes AirPlay support. That means iPhone users can send video content from their phones to Samsung televisions.
Pharmaceutical companies selling the Covid-19 vaccine to Chile will not respond to inoculated damage or death
Live: Real Betis de Pellegrini and Bravo will face Osasuna forced to win the lower league match.
New trailer for Medal of Honor above and beyond
U.S. female doctors are less likely to promote it than men
A yellow alert was issued for the intense activity of the Villarrica volcano
Today's Horoscope: Sunday, December 6th


Data structure is one of the most asked interview topic for java developer interviews and believe me linked list is one of the most favorite area of data structure , there are so many other interview questions for linked list and one of them we will discuss today in this post.
Objective - To Find the Nth Element of a Given Singly Linked list from the End.
First we will see the Psuedo code (simple logic of solving the problem ) and then will look for the java implementation.
We then move the right pointer to n(where n is the count of the number from the end ) times toward the right side.
Now we will start moving both the pointer to the right side one by one till right pointer reaches to the last element keping the left pointer fixed.
At this point the Element left pointer pointing is the required element.
// nthFromLast(head, 1) should return 1.
// nthFromLast(head, 5) should return 5.
// nthFromLast(head2, 2) should return 3.
// nthFromLast(head2, 4) should return 1.
// nthFromLast(head2, 5) should return null.
// nthFromLast(null, 1) should return null.
// Implement your function below.
// First, make sure that we have at least n items in the linked list.
//  NOTE: Feel free to use the following function for testing.
//  It converts the given linked list into an easy-to-read string format.
If you like this article do share with your friends and colleagues. and if have any query leave us a comment.


Policy Update Position on Fiscal Year 2017 Energy and Water Appropriations (House Version) May 2016 NPCA submitted the following position to members of the House of Representatives in support of funding in the Fiscal Year 2017 Energy and Water appropriations bill for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) ecosystem restoration priorities that benefit national parks.
Magazine Article In Black and White Spring 2016 | By Nicolas Brulliard A new exhibition documents Ansel Adams' abiding passion for the national parks.
Blog Post Reducing the Harmful Impacts of Oil and Gas Development Near Theodore Roosevelt National Park Nov 2013 | By Nicholas Lund Would Theodore Roosevelt still be inspired to become America's greatest conservationist president if he experienced western North Dakota today? The land he lived on is now preserved as Theodore Roosevelt National Park, but a dramatic increase in the amount of hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," for oil and natural gas in the area is having ill effects on the park.


DOT GV2006 FITS ALL CANVAS WITH PVC DOTS, KNIT WR. FORMERLY GV12 PROD# | Springfield Electric Supply Co.
Cotton Canvas Gloves with Gripper Dots. Quality cotton/polyester canvas work gloves with PVC dots for added grip and an overlocking knit wrist to help keep debris out.


text:
Gli schizomidi (circa 220 specie) sono degli aracnidi diffusi prevalentemente nelle regioni tropicali e subtropicali. Si distinguono dagli uropigi per lo scudo del prosoma che è diviso in due parti e per il filamento terminale molto breve. Vivono in ambienti molto umidi e bui, come all'interno delle grotte.

Famiglie
 Calcitronidae † (fossili)
 Hubbardiidae
 Protoschizomidae

Altri progetti

Collegamenti esterni

Aracnidi


Garden Tools ... Golf Show Quality to Your Customers. ... Toro's high-quality equipment and precision irrigation systems let you easily care for every detail.
Yard Tools Snow Blowers ... Toro's high-quality equipment and precision irrigation systems let you easily care for every detail.


3. Department of Ultrasound, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, No.600, Yishan Road, Shanghai, 200233, China.
Objectives: The clinical significance and tumorigenesis of Chromobox homolog 4 (CBX4) have been reported in hepatocellular carcinoma. The purpose of this study is to confirm the expression, elucidate the biological function and investigate the potential mechanism of CBX4 in osteosarcoma (OS). Methods: The expression of CBX4 in OS samples and cell lines was measured by RT-PCR and western blot test. Cell cycle, CCK8 and colony-forming assays were used to detect changes of cells growth. Cell apoptosis assay was used to measure cell survival capacity. Trans-well assay was used to test the activities of migration and invasion. The expression of genes regulated by CBX4 was detected by qRT-PCT test. Results: The expression of CBX4 was up-regulated in multiple OS cell lines and clinical samples. Overexpression of CBX4 was correlated with advanced clinical stage, high degree of malignancy and low tumor necrosis rate. Moreover, knockdown of CBX4 resulted in significant inhibition of cell growth and cell survival in OS cells under normoxic condition. In addition, we found that knockdown of CBX4 lead to down-regulating of HIF-1α-targeted genes without changing HIF-1α expression itself. Conclusion: Taken together, CBX4 is up-regulated and has a pro-tumor effect in OS with an activation of HIF-1α signaling pathway under normoxic condition. Therefore, targeting CBX4 may provide a new therapeutic method for OS.
Keywords: Chromobox homolog 4, Growth, Survival, HIF-1α pathway, Osteosarcoma.
Osteosarcoma (OS), the most frequent primary malignant bone tumor, has a peak incidence in the second decade of life (1). Though advance in the treatment, the efficacy of current strategies for the metastatic and recurrent OS is limited (2, 3). In fact, the etiology and pathogenesis intrinsic to the malignant properties of OS remain blurred.
Polycomb group (PcG) proteins, a member of Polycomb Repressive Complexes (PRCs), are important transcriptional repressors that exert pivotal role in regulating early embryogenesis and tumorigenesis in mammals (4, 5). The large variety of PcG proteins forms at least two PRCs, PRC1 and PRC2, which are of different properties (6). Some of the PRCs subunits, like BMI1 and EZH2, have been found overexpressed in a variety of tumors (7, 8). However, for the complex functions of PcG proteins, the exact regulatory events of PRCs are almost unclear.
The chromobox family (CBXs), including five members (CBX2, CBX4, CBX6, CBX7 and CBX8), interact with the core PRC1 complex to perform distinct functions in different tissues (9, 10). The most studied CBX in cancers was CBX7. On one hand, CBX7 was an oncogene that was activated in prostate cancer (11) and ovarian cancer (12). On the other, CBX7 had tumor-suppressing capabilities in certain contexts (13). However, little was known about tumor associated properties in other CBXs. The expression of CBX2 was reported to be associated with tumor stage and overall survival in some cancers (14, 15), yet no published functional tests provided evidence that CBX2 was an oncogene. Lee et al reported CBX8 was an oncogene via cooperating with SIRT1 and inhibiting Tp53 activity in breast cancer cells (16). CBX4 (also known as hPC2), besides being part of PRC1 complex, is also a small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) E3 ligase, which is unique among CBXs protein (17). Recent research showed that CBX4 was correlated to prognosis and tumor growth in hepatocellular carcinoma, which indicated that CBX4 was an oncogene (18). Furthermore, Li et al observed that CBX4 promoted angiogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma via sumoylating of HIF-1α protein (19), which confirmed HIF-1α to be a new substrate for the SUMO E3 ligase activity of CBX4.
To date, HIF-1α is overexpressed and associated to a poor prognosis in various human cancers (20, 21). It performs function by activating the downstream genes, which regulate the proliferation, apoptosis, and metastasis of tumor cells. Generally, HIF-1α pathway was activated by O2-dependent post-translational modification of prolyl hydroxylation (22). However, the HIF-1α pathway is also regulated by other signals under normoxic conditions, such as the loss of tumor-suppressor function and the gain of oncogene function (23, 24).
In this study, we showed for the first time that CBX4 was up-regulated and correlated to in vitro tumor growth and survival in OS. Moreover, knockdown of CBX4 inhibited the expression of HIF-1α targeted genes under normoxic condition. Therefore, CBX4 was an oncogene in OS, suggesting a potential target for OS treatment.
Human fetal osteoblastic cell line (hFOB) and human OS cell lines (MNNG/HOS, U2OS and MG63) were purchased from the institute of Cell Bank for Biological sciences (Shanghai, China). Cells were maintained at 37℃in a humidified air atmosphere containing 5% CO2 in DMEM (MNNG/HOS, MG63) and RPIM-1640 (U2OS) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (Biowest, South America Origin), 100U/ml penicillin (Sigma-Aldrich, St Louis, MO, USA) and 100mg/ml streptomycin(Sigma-Aldrich). HFOB was cultured according to ATCC protocols and references described as before (25, 26).
The 20 paired samples of human OS and their matched adjacent non-cancerous tissues were collected at the time of surgery between 2014 and 2015 at the Department of bone and soft oncology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University affiliated Sixth People's hospital (Shanghai, China). Upon resection, human surgical specimens were immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -80℃ in the refrigerator. All the patients agreed to participate in the study and gave informed consent. The study was approved by the Ethics committee of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Total RNA of human tissue samples and cultured cells was extracted and quantified with Trizol Kit (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA) and Nanodrop 2000 (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA) respectively according to the manufacturer's protocol. The PrimeScript RT Reagent kit (TaKaRa, Shiga, Japan) was used to synthesize the first-strand cDNA. RT-PCR was performed with SYBR Green premix Ex Taq (TaKaRa) as follow: an initial pre-denaturation step for 30 seconds at 95℃, followed by amplification of 40 cycles at 95℃ for 5 seconds and at 60 ℃ for 20 seconds, melting curve analysis was performed at the end. All reactions were done in a 10 ul reaction volume in triplicate. The expression level of genes was measured using the comparative Ct method. The information of the primer sequences used was described in Table S1.
Transfection of siRNA was performed by RNAi-max (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's protocol. The siRNA sequences targeting CBX4 were: forward primer: 5'-AGAUGAAGAUAGUCAAGAA-3' and reverse primer: 5'-UUCUUGACUAUCUUCAUCU-3'. In brief, transfection with the final concentration of 50 nM siRNA was conducted when the cell density was 30-50% in six-well plates. For CCK8, cell cycle, cell apoptosis, colony formation, trans-well, RNA extraction and western blot assays, cells were used 48 h after transfection.
Cell counting kit-8 (Dojindo Molecular Technologies, Inc, Kumamoto, Japan) assay was used to measure the cell viability. In short, the CBX4 siRNA-transfected MNNG/HOS or MG63 cells were seeded at the density of 3000 and 2500 per well in 96-well microplate, respectively. 10 μl CCK8 solution and 100 μl DMEM were added to each well and incubated for 2 h. The optical density was detected at 450 nm wavelength by microplate reader (Model 680, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, CA, USA). This procedure was repeated once a day for 5 days. For cell cycle assay, 48 hours after transfection, the cells were fixed in 70% ethanol at -20℃ in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours. After that, cells were treated with staining solution, which containing 50ug/ml propidium iodide (PI) (Biolegend, California, USA) and 50ug/ml RNase A (BD LSRⅡ, San Jose, CA, USA). Each experiment was repeated three times.
Transfected OS cells were collected and placed in six plates (1000 cells/well). The cells were cultured for 2 weeks to form colonies. Colonies were fixed with 95% methanol for 10 minutes and stained with 0.1% crystal violet for 10 minutes, washed, and air-dried. Colony-forming efficiency was calculated as colonies/plated cells × 100%.
For the apoptosis experiment, following 48 hours of transfection, cells were cultured in 37℃ incubator for 24 hours. The fluorescein isothiocyanate Annexin V Apoptosis Detection kit I(BD Pharmingen, San Diego, CA, USA) was used. Briefly, the cells were collected and centrifuged at 2000 ×g for 5 min. Then the cells resuspended in 500 μl binding buffer, supplemented with 5 μl Annexin V and 5 μl propidium iodide (PI), for 15 min of dark treatment at the room temperature. The flow cytometry (FC500 MPL, Beckman Coulter, Brea, CA, USA) was used to analyze the samples.
Cell migration and invasion assays were performed in 24-well plates with 8 cm pore size chamber inserts (Corning, NY, USA). For migration assays, 5 × 104 cells were placed into each well of the upper chamber with the non-coated membrane. For invasion assays, 1× 105 cells were placed into the upper chamber with the Matrigel-coated medium. In both assays, cells were suspended in 200 ul of DMEM without fetal bovine serum when they were seeded into the upper chamber. In the lower chamber, 800 ul of DMEM supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum was added. After incubation for 16 h (migration assay) or 24 h (invasion assay), the chamber inserts were removed from the plate, and non-invading cells were removed from the upper surface of the membrane. Cells that moved to the bottom surface of the membrane were fixed with 100% methanol for 20 min and stained with 0.1% crystal violet for 30 min. Finally, at least 10 randomly selected fields were imaged and the cell numbers were counted under a CKX41 inverted microscope (Olympus, Tokyo, Japan). The assays were conducted with at least three independent repeats.
These procedures were performed as described previously (27). In short, total protein was isolated from cell lines or fresh tissues and was separated by 6 and 8% SDS-PAGE gels. Then we followed standard procedures using primary antibodies: CBX4 (Bioworld Technology, Inc.), HIF-1α (Santa Cruz Biotechnology), β-Actin (Sigma-Aldrich). The secondary antibody was horseradish peroxidase-conjugated anti-rabbit IgG (Sigma-Aldrich). SuperSignal West Femto Maximun Sensitivity Substrate (Thermo Fisher Scientific) was used in the subsequent visualization.
Data were imaged with GraphPad Prism 5 software (Graphpad Software, Inc, La Jolla, CA, USA). Quantitative variables were presented as means ± standard deviation. A two-tailed student's t-test was used to compare the differences between two groups. The SPSS version 16.0 (SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) software was used to analyze the data. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant different.
To identify the expression level of CBX4 in OS, we examined the CBX4 expression at its mRNA and Protein level, respectively. A higher expression of CBX4 was observed in osteosarcoma cell lines (U2OS, MNNG/HOS, MG63) compared with human osteoblast cell lines (HFOB) (Figure 1 a, b). Moreover, by using fresh OS specimens, we also demonstrated that CBX4 protein was up-regulated in all eight OS compared with corresponding non-cancerous tissues (Figure 1 c). Meanwhile, we detected the mRNA expression of CBX4 in 20 pairs of human OS and their corresponding non-cancerous tissues. The correlation between XBP1 expression and the data of OS patients was shown in Table 1. The XBP1 mRNA expression was not correlated to age, gender, anatomic location, or tumor size statistically significant. However, the correlation with clinical stage (p<0.01), degree of malignancy (p<0.05), tumor necrosis rate (p<0.05) was significant. In addition, CBX4 was overexpressed in 75% of OS tissues compared with non-cancerous tissues (Figure 1 d), and the expression was more than twofold (Figure 1 e) in OS compared with non-cancerous tissues. We also observed a significantly increase in the expression of CBX4 mRNAs in advanced stage (Ⅲ) compared with early stage (Ⅱ) (Figure 1 f).Taken together, these results indicated that CBX4 was up-regulated and potentially had a pivotal role in the tumorigenesis of OS.
To explore the potential role of CBX4 in tumorigenesis, we first evaluated the effect of CBX4 on the growth of OS cells in vitro. After knockdown of CBX4 by specifically targeted siRNA, the viabilities of MNNG/HOS and MG63 cells were obviously inhibited by CCK8 assays (Figure 2 a, b). Furthermore, knockdown of CBX4 delayed the cell cycle progression by arresting G2/M phase in both MNNG/HOS (Figure 2 c, e) and MG63 cell (Figure 2 d, f). We then detected the effect of CBX4 on OS cells migration and invasion, however, the effect was weak with no statistical significance (Figure S1). To summarize, these data showed that CBX4 was essential for the proliferation of OS cells.
P-value represents the probability from a Student's t-test for CBX4 mRNA expression between variable subgroups. *P<0.05, **P<0.01, which was considered to have a significant difference.
CBX4 was up-regulated in OS and correlated with advanced clinical stage. (a) (b) The mRNA and protein expression of CBX4 were measured by qRT-PCR and western blot assays in OS cell lines (U2OS, MNNG/HOS, MG63) and human normal osteoblastic cell line (hFOB); (c) Western blot test indicated CBX4 protein level was higher in 8 OS tumor tissues (T) than their noncancerous counterparts (N); β-Actin was used as the internal control. (d) (e) Relative expression of CBX4 was detected using qRT-PCR in 20 pairs of OS samples and their corresponding noncancerous samples. (f) CBX4 mRNA expression in different clinical stages; Patients were staged in accordance with the Ennecking musculoskeletal tumor staging system. Error bars represent mean ± s. d triplicate experiments. The statistical analysis was performed using paired t-test (e) and student's t-test (f).
Knockdown of CBX4 inhibited OS cells growth. (a) (b) Knockdown of CBX4 inhibited the cell proliferation in OS cells: The viability of MNNG/HOS and MG63 cell was examined by CCK8 assay at different time points as indicated. (c) (d) Flow cytometry of cell distribution in OS cells after transfection. (e) (f) Histograms of each phase in cell cycle of OS cells: Knockdown of CBX4 decreased cell proportion of G2/M phrase in MNNG/HOS and MG63 cells. Data represent the mean of three replicates. Each performed in triplicate. *p<0.05, **P<0.01, by student's t test.
To determine whether CBX4 knockdown affected the colony-forming ability of OS cells, the colony formation assay was performed. We observed that both the size and number of colonies were dramatically reduced in the CBX4 knockdown group compared with control group (Figure 3 a, c). The number of colonies was significantly reduced by 51.6% and 47.3% in MNNG/HOS (Figure 3 b) and MG63 (Figure 3 d) cells, respectively. In general, these results demonstrated that CBX4 knockdown could significantly impaired the colony-forming ability of OS cells, thus indicating the crucial role of CBX4 in OS cells growth.
To determine the role of CBX4 in cell survival, we conduct the cell apoptosis assay to measure the changes of apoptosis rate. Knockdown of CBX4 remarkably increased the apoptosis rates in both MNNG/HOS cells (Figure 4 a) and MG63 cells (Figure 4 b). The apoptosis rates were significantly enhanced by 72.0% and 88.9% in MNNG/HOS cells (Figure 4 c) and MG63 cells (Figure 4 d), respectively. Taken together, these results demonstrated that CBX4 was involved in and required for OS cells survival.
Knockdown of CBX4 impaired colony-forming ability of OS cells. (a) (c) Representative photomicrographs of MNNG/HOS (a) and MG63 (c) colonies in culture plates. (b) (d) Significant reduction in the colony-forming efficacy in MNNG/HOS (b) and MG63 (d) cells following CBX4 knockdown. Data are expressed as mean ± s. d of three independent experiments, **P<0.01, by student's t test.
Knockdown of CBX4 increased the apoptosis rate of OS cells. (a)(b) Comparison of apoptosis between Scramble and CBX4-knockdown group in MNNG/HOS cells. (c)(d) Comparison of apoptosis between Scramble and CBX4-knockdown group in MG63 cells. The data represent mean ± s. d. of triplicate (b, d). *p<0.05, **p<0.01 by student's t-test. The cells were transfected with CBX4 siRNA (50nM) for 48 hours, and then cultured for 24 hours. All the apoptotic rates were measured by using the fluorescein isothiocyanate Annexin V apoptosis assay. PI, propidium iodide.
CBX4 was correlated with HIF-1α transactivation activity in OS cells. Cells were transfected with either Scramble or CBX4-siRNA under normoxic condition. (a) (b) Knockdown of CBX4 didn't change the expression of HIF-1α in MNNG/HOS (a) and MG63 (b) cells. (c) (d) Analyses of expression level of HIF-1α-targeted genes by qRT-PCR test: VEGFA, PDK1, HK2 in MNNG/HOS and MG63 cells (c, d); BNIP3 in MNNG/HOS cells (c); ANGPTL4 in MG63 cells (d). The data are representative of three independent experiments. Error bars represent mean ± s. d. **p<0.01 by student's t test.
Recent evidence showed that elevated CBX4, via its SUMO E3 ligase activity, contributed to hepatocellular carcinoma processes by regulating transactivation of HIF-1α (19). To investigate whether the decreased CBX4 inhibited cell growth and cell survival of OS cells via interaction with HIF-1α signaling, we found that knockdown of CBX4 didn't change the HIF-1α mRNA and protein expression in MNNG/HOS (Figure 4 a) and MG63 (Figure 4 b) cells. However, the mRNA levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFA), Angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4), Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 (PDK1), Hexokinase 2 (HK2), and BCL2/adenovirus E1B 19kDa interacting protein 3 (BNIP3), five classical HIF-1α downstream target genes, were suppressed in MNNG/HOS (Figure 4 c) and MG63 (Figure 4 d) cells under normoxic condition. These results indicated a distinctive role of CBX4 in OS, which facilitated HIF-1α signaling activation under normoxic condition.
Polycomb group proteins (PcGs) have been reported to be linked with the occurrence of various cancers (5). Misregulation of PcGs always leads to activation of developmental pathways, thus enhancing the proliferation ability of cells (28). CBX4, a member of CBXs, is a unique PcG protein for its small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) E3 ligase activity. Previous studies have reported that CBX4 regulated multiple key proteins, such as centrin-2 (29) and Bmi-1 (30), in the biological functions of cells via its SUMO E3 ligase activity. However, the study of CBX4 is far from enough, especially in the field of cancer research. Though studies of CBX7 have been widely reported in various cancers, little is known of CBX4. Previous studies reported that CBX7 was inactivated in various cancers, such as cancer of thyroid (31), breast (32), pancreas (33) et al. Interestingly, O'Loghlen et al (34) observed that the expression of CBX4 was directly repressed by CBX7 during embryonic stem cell differentiation, which indicated activation of CBX4 but loss of CBX7 in some cancers. Recent studies in hepatocellular cancer (18, 19, 35) have verified the speculation. In the present study, we observed that CBX4 was up-regulated and correlated to clinical progress in OS. To our best knowledge, we are the first to report the activation of CBX4 in OS.
The role of CBX4 in cancers was first identified in hepatocellular cancer. Wang et al (18) showed that knockdown of CBX4 resulted in inhibition of in vitro tumor growth, which indicated CBX4 to be an oncogene. More recently, Li et al (19) showed that CBX4 promoted the angiogenesis of hepatocellular cancer by regulating the proliferation, invasion and migration of tumor cells. Our in vitro data showed that knockdown of CBX4 resulted in significant inhibition of cellular growth and survival in OS cells. However, little effect of CBX4 on the metastasis of OS cells was observed in vitro.
Recent studies have demonstrated that the polycomb- and SUMO E3 ligase-dependent function of CBX4 were linked with its N terminus and two SIMs respectively (36, 37). Luis et al (38) reported that the anti-senescence and anti-differentiation functions of CBX4 were, respectively, regulated by the polycomb activity and SUMO ligase activity in human epidermal stem cells. Since Kagey et al (17) first identified CtBP1 as substrate for the SUMO E3 ligase activity of CBX4, increasing new substrates were conformed. Recent study reported that CBX4, via its SUMO ligase activity on HIF-1α, enhanced hypoxia-induced angiogenesis in hepatocellular carcinoma (19). In the present study, down-regulating of HIF-1α-targeted genes (with no change of HIF-1α) was observed following knockdown of CBX4 under normoxic condition in OS cells. The result was similar with previous study in hepatocellular carcinoma under hypoxic condition (19). However, it was not clear whether CBX4 exert its effect on OS via the polycomb-dependent or the SUMO E3 ligase-dependent function. Further investigation is wanted to unveil the deeper mechanism between CBX4 and HIF-1α pathway in OS.
HIF-1α, an oxygen-sensitive subunit of HIF-1, induces plenty of targeted genes expression, promoting tumor angiogenesis, growth and survival (21, 39-41). VEGFA, a well-known HIF-1-regulated gene, which is involved in regulating cell proliferation and blood vessel formation of both normal and cancer cells. ANGPTL4, best known for its role as an adipokine regulating the lipid and glucose metabolism, plays a critical role in cancer growth, anoikis resistance and metastasis. Other genes, including PDK1, HK2, and BNIP3, are also important HIF-1-targeted genes regulating tumor growth and survival. In the present study, we observed the changes of these genes regulated by CBX4, mechanically suggesting a pivotal role of CBX4 in regulating the biological progress of OS.
Generally, HIF-1α expression is relatively low under normoxic condition for the oxygen-dependent degradation. However, normoxic activation of HIF-1α pathway was observed in various cancers (24, 42-44), which seemed to have a more profound significance in cancer research. In this study, the activation of HIF-1α signaling was influenced by CBX4 under normoxic condition. For OS, HIF-1α expression was correlated to the tumor progress and prognosis in the clinic (45, 46). In vitro studies have showed that HIF-1α signaling promoted the cell growth and cell metastasis of human OS cells (47, 48). Therefore, it's undoubtedly that HIF-1α signaling is an attractive potential target for OS treatment.
In conclusion, we demonstrated for the first time that CBX4 was up-regulated in human OS tissues and cell lines. High level of CBX4 was correlated to advanced clinical stage, high degree of malignancy, and low tumor necrosis rate in OS, which might be illustrated by the fact that CBX4 affected the cell growth and survival capacity of OS cells. More importantly, we showed that CBX4 exert oncogenic function on OS via activating HIF-1α signaling. These data provided compelling evidence that CBX4 might provide a therapeutic target for OS.
Corresponding authors: E-mail: tjyqccom; yingtaomailnet. Tel: +86-21-64369181 Fax: +86-21-64701361.


A list we had hoped our readers would enjoy turned out to be one of our most popular features. You asked for it—repeatedly—now you got it: the 100 best in all their glory. Plus: Help us update this list by posting a comment nominating your favorite new adventure books.
What are the essential ingredients in a great adventure story? The Latin root of the word, oddly enough, means "an arrival, " but adventure almost always entails a going out, and not just any going out but a bold one: Sail the Pacific on a balsa raft; pit your skills against K2; sledge to the South Pole. It is a quest whose outcome is unknown but whose risks are tangible, a challenge someone meets with courage, brains, and effort—and then survives, we hope, to tell the tale.
"Safe return doubtful, " as the famous apocryphal newspaper ad soliciting Antarctica volunteers put it. No matter: There's seldom a shortage of applicants. Humans hunger for adventure, and most is voluntary—people choose to go out and explore or climb or fly alone across vast oceans. But sometimes adventure is thrust upon us: A jet crashes in the high Andes, stranding its passengers in the snows. A whale staves and sinks a ship. These, too, are tests of courage, endurance, resourcefulness. We stay up all night reading to see what happens.
Such stories are as old as civilization. The ancient Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh is an adventure story. So are the Odyssey, the Viking sagas, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. And they have mythological roots: Culture heroes go out into the unknown, endure various tests, bring back a boon—the Golden Fleece; the Holy Grail; the knowledge, at the very least, of strange new lands, strange new people.
It might seem an impossible task to rank 100 great, but very diverse, books in terms of fine gradations of greatness. Yet anyone can tell you why they prefer one book over another. And that's what our panelists did. We asked them to assign a number of points to each book, taking several factors into account: the book's pure literary merit; its "adrenaline factor, " or the level of excitement they felt reading it; and its impact on our history and culture. When we tallied the scores, we found the books that rose to the top were those that succeed on more than one front: great writing about great deeds.
In order to keep the list focused on adventure—as opposed to travel or nature writing, both of which deserve lists of their own—we excluded books that didn't involve at least a measure of physical risk or audacity. And we leaned toward first-person accounts over later retellings. Until quite recently, writing about one's adventures has been largely a luxury of men—and usually white, Western men at that. This is an unfortunate fact of history that a list like this cannot help but reflect, despite our inclusion of some neglected classics by others. Finally, for all the scientific rigor we brought to the task, our rankings reflect the personal tastes of our panelists. Readers may well disagree. So quarrel away. But read.
Looking for one or more people to join us in playing PNP (GURPs, etc.) games and PC games with (Many of them through Steam). We have three players now but four seems to be best for a lot of what we like doing. Prefer people that can play fairly regularly, and we prefer talking over Skype rather than having to organize meeting up to play.
Need someone that is just looking to have some fun and isn't too obsessed about the PNP rules, as we like to change them to suit our needs and focus more on having a fun adventure and less on having to read rule books constantly.
MUST be willing to stick to a G rating, as the group does not want anything sexual in any way, including jokes and comments and such.
Can Someone Please Recommend a book?
Can anyone make any recommendations? thanks a bunch!
@Brett_Parkin: Don't act like you haven't read those "Time Machine" choose your own adventure books. Taking a raft with you, and leaving it in pre-history.
@JackieAshenden Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede. Several books, but tons of adventure.
Good books with a new style of adventure.


text:
Senate Sinks NSA Reform
Giuseppe Macri Tech Editor
November 18, 2014 9:04 PM ET
The Senate voted 58 to 42 against brining the USA FREEDOM Act to the floor for amendments and passage Tuesday night, marking the end of any chance for National Security Agency surveillance reform this Congress.
Tuesday night's vote to invoke cloture and proceed to a vote for passage failed to acquire the 60 votes needed, with all but one Democrat voting in favor of the bill along with Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Lee of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Dean Heller of Nevada.
In the final hours prior to the vote, Republicans including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell amped up their warnings of the bill's potential to curb national security efforts against terrorist groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
"This is the worst possible time to be tying our hands behind our backs. The threat from ISIL is real," McConnell said in a statement Tuesday. "It's different from what we've faced before. And if we're going to overcome it — if our aim is to degrade and destroy ISIL, as the president has said — then that's going to require smart policies and firm determination." (RELATED: Mitch McConnell Tells Republicans To Vote Against NSA Reform Tuesday)
"I promise you, if God forbid a horrifying event like that would happen, the first question that would be asked is why didn't we know about it?" Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said during the brief floor debate that preceded the vote.
"Why would we weaken the ability of our intelligence community at a time when the threats against this country have never been greater?" Maine Republican Susan Collins asked.
After the vote was decided, Democratic Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy — the bill's chief sponsor in the upper chamber — decried the "scare tactics" used by Republicans to squash the strongest measure yet aimed at reducing the size and scope of bulk surveillance of Americans revealed by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden more than one year ago.
"Fomenting fear stifles debate, and doing it at the last minute is all the more regrettable," Leahy said. "This nation should not allow its liberty to be set aside by passing fear."
"If we do not protect the Constitution, we do not deserve to be in this body."
The White House also endorsed the bill, which aside from curtailing surveillance powers, reauthorized such powers that were originally expanded via the PATRIOT Act for an additional two years. Without passage of the USA FREEDOM Act, Republicans set to control the chamber starting next year will have until June 1 to come up with a plan of their own before the PATRIOT Act expires entirely, along with all of the expanded authority within.
The USA FREEDOM Act would have ended NSA's bulk collection of telephone records and storage, moved such records into the hands of service providers, and forced the agency to obtain specific warrants to search the data. Additional provisions required the signals intelligence agency to implement specific terms into search requests — this is in contrast to the House bill passed earlier this year, which some argued made it easier for NSA to conduct bulk searches for anyone falling under generic information like ZIP codes. (RELATED: NSA Reform Bill Could Allow The Agency To Spy On More Phone Calls)
The bill also added privacy and civil liberties advocates to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which approves secret government warrants for searches.
Further transparency measures gave service providers and tech companies more freedom in reporting the number and type of government requests for data they must facilitate, and mandated that the government reveal the number of people swept up in searches — particularly if they're American citizens.
Lawmakers in favor of even stronger reforms including Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul criticized the bill's failure to address surveillance authority granted to the government under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows NSA to collect the electronic communications of non-citizens outside the U.S., but often sweeps up and stores Americans' communications in the process.
Follow Giuseppe on Twitter and Facebook
Tags : nsa
Giuseppe Macri


Apologies for the first pun-use in a blog title on this website. I cannot promise that it will be the last. February has gone (not the best month for many of us) and spring approaches. Unless that is you are the Met Office that decrees that today is the first day of spring. I am of the traditional opinion that the first day of spring is the day following the Vernal Equinox (which is usually 20/21 March). Any day that you can balance an egg on its point has to be special.
Éowyn's progress also marches on. We started her on solid food (well baby rice) last Saturday. She is definitely a product of her parents, as she loves to eat. As soon as the mouthful has been swallowed (and sometimes before) her mouth is opening for the next spoonful. It is taking her body a little longer to adjust to digesting more than just milk but that has settled down through the week. Today, she tried banana for the first time. However, judging by the faces that she was pulling I think that the flavours were a little too strong, nevertheless mixed with a little baby rice and mom's milk she finished her bowl.
She has reached the stage where everything she touches she has to taste. Any toy, clock, book or hand has to be thoroughly investigated in case that it may be edible. She gets mightily frustrated should you interrupt this important analysis, and complains loudly. She has also found a renewed interest in her feet. For a while she has held her feet when lying on her back but now coupled with the above she has to taste them; nibbling her own toes. It seems an awfully long time since I could do that.
Éowyn's curiosity is well developed too. She likes to know what is going on and is afraid to miss out. When there is a conversation she will follow the speakers intently. I wonder what processes are going on her head. What does she hear and what can she understand. This curiosity was evident last Tuesday. We had two other couples round for dinner and Éowyn would not settle. Lucinda and I tried on a number of occasions in a tag-team rally to placate her and she was not cooperating. Defeated we took her downstairs to meet the guests. After satisfying herself, on who was there and what they were doing and then managing to rub her hands in Lucinda's curry, she was ready for bed and went to sleep until morning.
She still isn't sleeping as much as one would expect a baby to sleep. Daytime naps are a rarity and although she used to sleep through the night, since her teeth have begun to move it is rare for her to sleep through to morning. Yesterday, however we drove to Nanny Fran's for the day and I think that it wore her out. She usually sleeps in the car, and yesterday she slept on the way up and on the return journey. We arrived back home about 2230 and she woke, and seemed wide-awake and we feared the worse. We unpacked the car and got ourselves ready for bed. Lucinda fed her and put her to bed and she slept solidly for 8 hours. It was bliss. She has also had a little nap this morning. We both hope that this is the start of a new routine, if only for a couple of weeks or so.


With the kind of information that's available on the web, most webmasters don't mind experimenting with plugins and themes on their WordPress sites. They often play around with different codes and try to give their sites a unique look. Many a time, this attempt puts them in deep trouble and causes an unexpected syntax error.
Don't freak out in case you have just had a similar experience. The Syntax error in WordPress is quite common and can be fixed easily. Before we tell you the exact method to correct it, here is some necessary information about the syntax error that you need to be aware of.
The syntax error in WordPress is a common issue that may occur when users try to update the existing theme or plugin files or make certain changes in these files by editing codes with the incorrect PHP syntax.
This is one of the reasons why you are advised to take a backup of your site before making any change in its theme or plugin files. Use My WP Backup Pro plugin for this purpose and save yourself from unnecessary troubles in case of a syntax error in WordPress.
The moment syntax error in WordPress occurs, you're locked out of your website. It means that there is no chance you can undo the mistake you've just made in any plugin or theme file using WordPress dashboard. Although it seems inexplicable, you still have a couple of options and are in a position to resolve this issue in a hassle-free manner.
That's it..!!! Your website will be back again.
We hope these tips will help you resolve the Syntax Error easily. Don't forget to comment below if the problem continues or you want to share your views about this tutorial.
Thank you for the video it helped a lot.


Sedation Dentistry Cincinnati OH | Comfortable care with nitrous oxide sedation!
We want you to be fully relaxed during your appointment, and we know some people have fear of the dentist. We calm these anxieties with nitrous oxide sedation, which is also known as "laughing gas." This type of sedation is inhaled through a mask that allows you to breathe in the medication, causing a state of relaxation. Local anesthetic will be administered as necessary with nitrous oxide to give patients a pain-free experience. Nitrous oxide wears off quickly, and you may then safely drive home or to work by yourself. We look forward to providing superb dental care in a relaxing visit.
We want our patients to feel comfortable during their visits, so we are always trying out new advancements in anesthesia. We are pleased to offer our patients the Wand™, a computerized system that delivers anesthesia without pain or sensitivity. The syringe has been in use for 150 years, but now you won't feel a thing with this safe and accurate system. No longer will you be anxious at the thought of an injection at our practice.
Call our dental team at (513) 251-5500 to find out more about how Dr. Hagen can make your dental visit comfortable and relaxed, or click the button to schedule online!


text:
Pseudocerastes är ett släkte av ormar som ingår i familjen huggormar.

Arterna är medelstora ormar med en längd mellan 0,75 och 1,0 meter. De förekommer i Mellanöstern i sandiga eller klippiga öknar. Släktets medlemmar jagar ödlor och mindre däggdjur. Honor föder antagligen levande ungar (ovovivipari).

Arter enligt Catalogue of Life:

 Pseudocerastes fieldi
 Pseudocerastes persicus

The Reptile Databas listar ytterligare en art:
 Pseudocerastes urarachnoides

Källor

Externa länkar

Huggormar
Pseudocerastes


We absolutely love the British summer when it's hot and sunny – it's just a shame that it never seems to last long enough!
With so many sun protection products out there, it can be hard to know which is best for you and your family. That's why we've pulled together this handy little guide to the best sunscreens so you can have fun in the sun, for longer!
The most important thing to consider when choosing a sun protection product is the SPF rating. SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor and it's what protects your skin from burning as a result of the sun's UVB rays. The higher the SPF, the longer you'll be protected for in the sun.
For example, if you usually burn after 10 minutes in the sun without sunscreen, wearing an SPF30 will protect you for up to 300 minutes, or 5 hours. Check out the table below for a rough SPF guide.
We've mentioned that UVB rays cause sunburn, but did you know that it's the UVA rays that cause long term skin damage and premature ageing? Always look for sun protection with a maximum five-star rating against skin damage caused by UVA rays, then you can lie back and relax, knowing that you're getting the best protection available.
Our sun protection range offers effective UVB and five-star UVA protection, and we now show the protection level on the front of the pack so it's easy to see. And the great value means it won't burn a hole in your pocket!
Are sprays superior or are lotions cream of the crop?
The best thing about sun sprays is that they're easy to apply. They also help prevent your hands getting greasy from rubbing cream in. Our clear sprays are quick drying and ideal for sports and being active in the sun. Great for people that are less likely to smother themselves in sun lotion, our clear sprays help provide the protection you need in the sun.
Lotions and creams tend to be more hydrating, which is good if you've got dry skin. While the ingredients are likely to be the same in sprays and lotions, some people may not use as much of the spray as they would the lotion, making it less effective.
Should you opt for sensitive?
If you have sensitive skin it's important to choose a sun protection that won't cause any irritation. Choose carefully and you can enjoy your time in the sun knowing you're giving your skin the best possible protection at the same time as reducing the risk of sun-induced allergies or rashes.
We've developed a sensitive range by taking out ingredients which can cause irritation and allergies and making sure the formula moisturises the skin. Dermatologically tested and approved, the range is available in SPF30 and SPF50 and is free from colour, preservatives and fragrance.
If your face is sensitive you can double up on sensitive sun cream with anti-inflammatory ingredients which won't cause you any issues.
Generally, sun protection for children uses an extra sensitive formulation which is ideal for your child's delicate skin. You'll find products are often extra water resistant and dermatologically tested – meaning little ones can play longer in the water while you have the reassurance that they are still protected.
Our Kids Sensitive Sun Lotion SPF50+ provides a very high level of protection, as well as being fragrance, preservative and colour free – it's even suitable for babies! Our fantastic suncare range features a variety of sunblock products to suit you and your family, providing effective UVB and five-star UVA protection… all formulated to smell like holidays!
Whichever sun protection product you use, make sure you use it properly. Try and apply your suncare product 30 minutes before heading outside to give it enough time to soak in. Make sure you've covered every inch of your exposed skin, even the tricky bits! Reapply every couple of hours, or more often if you're swimming or sweating.
Shop our full sun care range at wilko.com and keep your skin protected from the sun!


text:
(Santiago b.1976 -)
Ignacio Gana is a Miami-based Chilean sculptor whose work is figurative in style, with an elegant sensuality.
Each piece has a strong narrative, representative of his spectacular imagination and appreciation of the human form. The beautiful figures he creates are the embodiment of leisure and relaxation.
Gana's paintings and sculptures are found in collections and museums such as: the Museum of Modern Latin American Art (MOLAA) in California, Museo Ralli Marbella in Spain, Ralli Museum in Chile, and the Guggenheim in Venice.
Recently named one of the 18 most influential artists in Miami, Gana was also chosen as the official artist of the Latin Grammy Awards in 2017.
Also represented by:
Blink Group Fine Art Gallery


Tomas Summers Sandoval, Professor of History at Pomona College, will discuss his new book, "Latinos at the Golden Gate" on Thursday evening, January 16 from 7 to 9 p.m. The book, published by University of North Carolina Press, covers the history of Spanish-speaking people in San Francisco from the Gold Rush to the present, with particular emphasis on the evolution of the Mission District barrio. The Seminar is held at the UC Berkeley Labor Center, 2521 Channing Way (just east of Telegraph Ave.). Free admission and dinner.
RSVP to Myra Armstrong, zulu2@berkeley.edu.
UC Berkeley Labor Center, 2521` Channing Way, 7-9 p.m.


Cathy Nugent Weddings made magic happen at this gorgeous farm venue at The Wright Farm and with lush florals by Southern Stems? Let's just say that we're beyond obsessed! And lucky for us Linda Threadgill Photography was there to capture it all!
The Vintage Rental Co helped set the scene with their amazing furniture collection. Meanwhile, ElisaAnne Calligraphy whipped up the loveliest suite of stationery with calligraphy and watercolor detailing. The wedding gown from Fabulous Frocks of Atlanta was so beautifully embellished and fit the bride perfectly. And the icing on the cake was this gorgeous vintage china from The Prissy Plate Company. Such a beautiful way to incorporate color into your wedding design.
4 Comments " Classic Farm Southern Styled Wedding Shoot "
Nice post, I can see you put a lot of time into it. As they always say, content is king!


These are replacement air cylinder O rings for for either end of the air cylinder from the HW100 and HW101, they are not for the little brass part in the breech block, that the air cylinder screws in to. Handy for when you are servicing your rifle. It is also a good idea to keep one in your gun bag in case you develop a leak in the field.
There is a tool available from the eShop that allows you to unscrew the ends of the air cylinder.