text:
Spencer Cavendish, 8. vévoda z Devonshiru (Spencer Compton Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire, 8th Marquess of Hartington, 11th Earl of Devonshire, 3rd Earl of Burlington, 11th Baron Cavendish of Hardwick, 3rd Baron Cavendish of Keighley) (23. července 1833, Londýn, Anglie – 24. března 1908, Cannes, Francie) byl britský státník ze šlechtického rodu Cavendishů. Dlouhodobě patřil k předákům liberálů, později spolu s Josephem Chamberlainem založil frakci liberálních unionistů, která se připojila ke konzervativcům. V několika vládách byl ministrem pro Indii, ministrem války, prezidentem Tajné rady a ministrem školství. Celkem třikrát odmítl nabídku na funkci premiéra. Patřil k nejbohatším šlechticům v Británii a vlastnil pozemky v několika anglických hrabstvích a Irsku o rozloze přibližně 80 000 hektarů půdy. Jako osmý vévoda z Devonshire byl od roku 1891 členem Sněmovny lordů, byl též rytířem Podvazkového řádu.

Politická kariéra
Byl nejstarším synem 7. vévody z Devonshiru, po matce byl potomkem rodu Howardů, studoval v Cambridge, v letech 1857–1891 byl členem Dolní sněmovny (v letech 1865–1875 byl v parlamentu předsedou liberálních poslanců). Do vlády vstoupil jako civilní lord admirality (1863) a státní podsekretář války (1863–1866 a 1868–1874), od roku 1865 byl zároveň členem Tajné rady. V letech 1868–1874 byl generálním poštmistrem, jako státní sekretář pro Irsko (1871–1874) se stal členem irské Tajné rady (1871). Po pádu Disraeliho vlády dostal nabídku na sestavení kabinetu, což ale odmítl (1880), v Gladstonově vládě byl ministrem pro Indii (1880–1882) a státním sekretářem války (1882–1885). V roce 1886 se názorově rozešel s Gladstonem a přešel k liberálním unionistům, v letech 1886 a 1887 znovu dvakrát obdržel nabídku na sestavení vlády, opět odmítl a podporoval Salisburyho konzervativní kabinet. V roce 1891 po otci zdědil titul vévody (do té doby byl znám jako markýz Hartington). Po otci také převzal post kancléře univerzity v Cambridge (1891–1908) a lorda-místodržitele v hrabství Derby (1892–1908). V roce 1892 získal Podvazkový řád, ve třetí Salisburyho vládě byl prezidentem Tajné rady (1895–1903) a prezidentem úřadu pro školství (1900–1902). V letech 1902–1903 byl krátce předsedou Sněmovny lordů, poté odešel do soukromí.

Mimo jiné byl lordem-místodržitelem v irském hrabství Waterford (1895–1908), kancléřem univerzity v Manchesteru (1907–1908), dále smírčím soudcem a zástupcem místodržitele v hrabství Lancashire. V roce 1892 obdržel Podvazkový řád, v roce 1907 získal velkokříž Viktoriina řádu.

Jeho manželkou byla hraběnka Luisa von Alten (1832–1911), vdova po 7. vévodovi z Manchesteru. Dědicem titulů se stal Spencerův synovec Victor (1868–1938).

Mladší bratr 8. vévody, lord Frederick Cavendish (1836–1882), působil taktéž v politice a jako státní sekretář pro Irsko byl krátce po svém jmenování zavražděn v Dublinu.

Odkazy

Poznámky

Externí odkazy

 Spencer Cavendish, 8. vévoda z Devonshiru
 8. vévoda z Devonshiru na Encyclopedia Britannica
 Rodokmen vévodů z Devonshiru

Cavendishové
Angličtí šlechtici
Britští politici
Britští vévodové
Viktoriánské období
Eduardovské období
Absolventi Cambridgeské univerzity
Poslanci Dolní sněmovny Spojeného království
Ministři pro Indii
Ministři války Spojeného království
Rytíři Podvazkového řádu
Narození v roce 1833
Úmrtí v roce 1908
Narození v Londýně
Úmrtí v Cannes
Muži
Vévodové z Devonshiru
Poštmistři

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), commonly known as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, actor, and author. Martin began his career at age 12 with the all-boy pop group Menudo. After five years with the group, he released several Spanish-language solo albums throughout the 1990s. He also acted on stage and on TV in Mexico, becoming a modest star in the country. In 1994 he starred on the American TV soap opera General Hospital, playing a Puerto Rican singer.
In late 1999, after releasing several albums in Spanish, Martin performed "The Cup of Life" at the 41st Grammy Awards show, which became a catalyst in bringing Latin pop to the forefront of the U.S. music scene. He has sold over 70 million world wide, and has had 95 platinum records, six #1 Billboard albums, 11 Number 1 hit songs, two American Music Awards, one Grammy Awards, eight World Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, eight MTV Music Video Awards, with concerts in more than 60 countries across the globe.
WANT A VIP EXPERIENCE WITH ricky martin?


A primary read preference. Equivalent to calling ReadPreference.primary().
A secondary-preferred read preference. Equivalent to calling ReadPreference.secondaryPreferred. This reference should really have been called ReadPreference.SECONDARY_PREFERRED, but the naming of it preceded the idea of distinguishing between secondary and secondary-preferred, so for backwards compatibility, leaving the name as is with the behavior as it was when it was created.
ReadPreference which reads primary if available.
ReadPreference which reads primary if available, otherwise a secondary respective of tags.
ReadPreference which reads secondary respective of tags.
ReadPreference which reads secondary if available, otherwise from primary.
ReadPreference which reads secondary if available respective of tags, otherwise from primary irrespective of tags.
ReadPreference which reads nearest node.
ReadPreference which reads nearest node respective of tags.


text:
Sir Alex Ferguson reveals the real reason for his retirement as Manchester United manager
Exclusive: Old Trafford legend says he would have stayed beyond 2013 if it wasn't for family bereavement
Sir Alex Ferguson reveals in an exclusive interview with Telegraph Sport why he left Manchester United Photo: Andrew Fox/The Telegraph
By Paul Hayward, Chief Sports Writer
10:30PM BST 18 Sep 2015
The shock felt by Manchester United when the golden era ended with an emotional changing room speech is still shaking the foundations two years on.
So United fans will be pained to hear for the first time that Sir Alex Ferguson would have stayed on as the most successful manager in English football history, but for the death of his wife Cathy's twin sister, Bridget Robertson, which persuaded him to retire to be by her side.
• In pictures: Sir Alex's life in football
"I definitely would have carried on," Sir Alex says in an exclusive interview with the Telegraph to mark the publication of his new book, Leading, about the art of management.
Sir Alex and Lady Cathy in 2008
"I saw she [Lady Cathy Ferguson] was watching television one night, and she looked up at the ceiling. I knew she was isolated," Ferguson says. "Her and Bridget were twins, you know?" In 2002, Cathy had talked her husband into reversing his intention to stand down: "But when I told her this time I was going to retire she had no objection whatsoever. I knew she wanted me to do it."
Sir Alex Ferguson felt he owed a debt to his wife
Bridget died in October 2012 and Ferguson felt he owed a debt to his wife, who he married in 1966 after falling for her at a "strike meeting" in Glasgow. In his autobiography, Sir Alex revealed: "She always waited up for me. Even if I came through the door at two or three in the morning, Cathy would be there to greet me." He dedicated that book (which, to declare an interest, I co-wrote), to "Bridget – Cathy's sister, rock and best friend."
The bereavement was mentioned as a catalyst at the time, but only now can he admit that he would not have gone when he did, without his need to put Cathy "first."
Many will be touched to learn Ferguson put his wife's needs ahead of his own ambitions after 39 years in management; while also wishing things had turned out differently. 'Fergie' had become shorthand for success and longevity. Since he abdicated after winning the last of 13 Premier League titles in May 2013, Manchester United have struggled to find a new identity - with his successor, David Moyes lasting less than a year and the Dutchman Louis van Gaal so far failing to convince supporters he is up to the job.
We talk at his home in Cheshire shortly before he leaves to attend the funeral of Neville Neville, father of former United players Gary and Phil. When fans see him climb from his car, from across the street, they shout: "Thank you, Sir Alex," in tones so grateful he might just have given them the gift of eternal life.
A fond farewell from Old Trafford
The end at Manchester United
Recalling the end of his 26 years at United, he says: "Even when I knew I was retiring we still tried to put some things in place, with players coming in. Like everything I say about Manchester United, the bus was still moving forward. No one was getting left behind. Everyone was optimistic about where we were going.
• What investors can learn from Sir Alex Ferguson's success
Life after Old Trafford
"Once I made my decision I wasn't going to go into it as a grumpy old man leaving his job. My dad left the shipyards at 65 because you had to leave your job at 65. The challenges in front of me were good ones, especially the Harvard thing [he teaches part-time at the Harvard Business School]. Then my involvement with United as a director, as an ambassador, and my jobs with Uefa, Unicef. I've travelled a bit and I love watching the team."
Sir Alex Ferguson addresses students at the Harvard Business School Photo: Anita Elberse/HBS
Leading was written with Michael Moritz, chairman of Sequoia Capital, the private investment firm that "helped shape and organise" such corporate giants as Apple, Cisco Systems, Google, PayPal and YouTube. Moritz, who was drawn to Ferguson's long record of success, writes in an epilogue: "Not many Silicon Valley CEOs, perhaps because many of them are so young, can modulate their tones with comparable dexterity. Sir Alex could simultaneously play cheerleader, motivational speaker, shrink, confessor, piano-tuner, puppet master, choreographer, teacher, judge and lord high executioner."
• A complete history of Ferguson at United
The man himself argues that "your personality, your energy, your decision-making, your observation, your communication," are all part of the mix. "All these things apply to the guy walking into a cable company or Barclays Bank. You're dealing with human beings, and human beings need to be directed, inspired. They need to have a trust in their boss."
Football ... b----- hell!
The book covers the whole gamut of management, but what shines brightest is Ferguson's capacity for continuous rebuilding, his aptitude for handling mavericks and his gift for control.
Secret of his success
"I was never afraid to try things. I was always prepared to risk in terms of winning a game of football. Also, my convictions about young people were always there. I really believe in young people. I've always believed in that, producing the young players I did at Aberdeen or St Mirren. Then to Manchester United, where I tried to create what I saw laid down by Matt Busby way back in the 1950s; because that, without doubt, is a true reflection of Manchester United – how it's developed young players for half a century."
The firebrand we saw on the touchline at United for two and half decades concealed a multi-layered personality, forged in the shipyards of Govan and then tempered by a tough managerial apprenticeship in Scotland before the move south to United. Throughout there was a need to impose his restless personality on events.
"My trade union background helped a wee bit," he says. "You're trying to help people who are less fortunate. For instance the apprentices' strike – I had no need to go on strike, or encourage the apprentices to go on strike. We [the toolmakers] were well paid. But there were some people who were married with kids and getting paid tuppence.
Ferguson and the six most successful graduates from the Class of 92
"I got my coaching badges by the time I was 24. So when I became a manager at 32 years of age – which was young – I was ready. I had my badges, I had played the game, I think I could make a decision. Thereafter in an industry like that you have to learn or you don't survive."
As a player, Ferguson owned pubs in Glasgow: "It's a hard business. You're fed up getting knocked in the head too many times on a Saturday night. So when I got the chance to be a manager I said – I'm going to win here, I'm going to be successful. The fear of failure comes into that. Where was I going to go after that? Back to the pub? No way."
Cast into a world of mediocre players and minuscule budgets, he was drawn to people who reflected his own abrasive and indomitable nature. "It was at Aberdeen where I realised the strong characters in the dressing room were the backbone for the young players." Manchester United have seen plenty of these warriors down the years and Ferguson mentions several: Bryan Robson, Brian McClair, Mark Hughes, Steve Bruce, Paul Ince, Roy Keane. His definition of a leader is clear: "A strong character can deal with issues they don't enjoy. They do something about it. They have a determination about them, a purpose about them. They're winners. Simply that."
Ferguson won a second Champions League in 2008
A working-class background wasn't obligatory but often helped: "When you see guys walking at five or six every morning to a pit shaft, to go down to the bowels of the earth, you have to say it must do something for them. It develops a character that people of that ilk would be proud of. In miners' rows the doors would be always open. In shipbuilding they would all walk to work together and come home together."
The later years of management
In his later years in management, though, Ferguson found himself dealing with multi-millionaire players and global celebrities who might have resisted his autocratic style. David Beckham was another of those instrumental to United's long winning run, until his growing fame caused friction between player and manager. Ferguson sold him to Real Madrid in 2003, but the two are now on friendly terms again, after Ferguson forced himself to move with the times.
"You have to embrace it. Dealing with an ego doesn't bother me. You used to see [Cristiano] Ronaldo standing in front of the mirror loving himself. But it was a nice vanity. The players used to throw jockstraps, boots and all sorts at him. It never bothered him one bit.
"They need to win, these guys: the ones that are cultivating their egos a little bit. You might see a player in a Ferrari and think – what's he driving that for? But he has to live with that. He's not going to be driving into town when he's bottom of the league, or he's been dropped. Some people can't judge that. True players can."
With his 13th, and last, Premier League title
Eric Cantona, enfant terrible-turned-thespian, was another who prospered under Ferguson's leadership, which mixed romanticism with an iron rod. He says: "I spoke to Cantona every day. He was a very under-rated man and an interesting man. He needed the encouragement that he was at the right club. And he was at the right club. On the training ground you never got one ounce of difficulty with Cantona. Sometimes he would come in for training with his eyebrows down and you would say – what's wrong with him today? Once he got warmed up, into training, he was fine.
"Ronaldo was another one: a great, great kid. He's just a serious professional."
Ferguson's first principle of management is trust. Both ways. "What you have to do in management is give your trust to them, without any payback. You have to get to a situation where they're comfortable playing for you and where, when the chips are down, you're going to be there for them.
"You have to sell yourself to them: 'Look, I'm here for one reason. To help you be the best you can possibly be. To be the best human being you can possibly be. To make the most money you can possibly make.' I think I did that quite well at Manchester United. They were my players. They made me successful. I owed them all that loyalty."
Sir Alex Ferguson with Cristiano Ronaldo, who had a 'nice vanity'
The 'hairdryer' treatment
The eruptions, he maintains, were necessary but calibrated. The 'hairdryer' blast. "I had to carry that stupid name about me for a long time. But my teams never played with fear. Not one of them ever played with fear. They expressed themselves and enjoyed playing. They were always adventurous, had a go. That's the answer. There's nothing wrong with losing your temper for the right reasons. To make them aware: we are Manchester United. We cannot afford any more of this nonsense.
"We always used to say: nobody comes to your door and gives you money. You have to go out of the door and earn everything. You have to go on the football field and win to achieve and earn your money."
Like Moritz, Ferguson had a nose for stagnation; for success unravelling. He tells me: "You have to have a mindset – yesterday's gone. Tomorrow's another day. What I used to say to a lot of them was: how many medals have you got? Have you got the same number as [Ryan] Giggs? How many have 10 medals? How many have nine medals? When you get to nine, 10 medals, you know you've made it at this club."
Retirement has made him wish he had learned how to "communicate upwards" to owners, chairmen and chief executives. "What I should have learnt earlier was to get rid of that 'I can rule the world type of attitude' I had. 'I can do this myself. I don't need you.' I was wrong. The value of communication never stops. Recognising your groundsman and the staff in the laundry, the tea room; there's a value in terms of creating a fort round about you."
Team talks were never verbose but always pithy, resonant, in the manner of other great Scottish managers: Busby, Jock Stein and Bill Shankly. "Brief," he says, summing up his oratory. "Get to the point. Get the bloody job done."
• Leading, by Alex Ferguson with Michael Moritz (Hodder & Stoughton, £25). To order your copy for £20 call 0844 871 1514 or visit books.telegraph.co.uk. We also have a limited number of signed copies available, priced £25. Order now to avoid disappointment.
• Sir Alex Ferguson will be in conversation with Nicky Campbell on Monday 28 September at the Royal Concert Hall Glasgow. Box office 0141 353 8000 www.glasgowconcerthalls.com
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
GH Research Announces Closing of $125 Million Oversubscribed Series B Financing
Co-lead investors RA Capital and RTW Investments, LP invest alongside existing investor BVF Partners and other new investors in Series B financing
Use of proceeds to support further clinical development of GH001 (5-MeO-DMT) in Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD) and to advance GH001 into further clinical development in additional psychiatric and neurological disorders
DUBLIN, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — GH Research Ireland Ltd ("GH Research", "the Company" or "We") today announced the closing of a $125 million Series B financing co-led by RA Capital and RTW Investments, LP, U.S.-based biopharmaceutical investment firms, alongside existing investor BVF Partners. Other new investors in the Series B round included Acuta Capital Partners, Boxer Capital, Cormorant Asset Management, Deerfield Management Company, Logos Capital, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners and Verition Fund Management.
The Company's lead product, GH001, is an innovative drug product for 5-MeO-DMT administration via a proprietary inhalation approach. GH001 has completed a Phase 1 healthy volunteer clinical trial, where administration of GH001 was observed to be well-tolerated, and a dose range and individualized dosing regimen was also defined. GH001 is currently being investigated in an ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial in patients with Treatment-Resistant Depression. The Company's goal is to administer GH001 in a single-day individualized dosing regimen that enables patients to achieve a rapid and durable remission with convenient administration.
The Company plans to advance GH001 into clinical development in additional psychiatric and neurological disorders beyond Treatment-Resistant Depression. The Company also plans to advance GH002, its injectable 5-MeO-DMT product candidate, into clinical development, as well as explore additional drug delivery approaches.
Cowen acted as exclusive placement agent for the offering. Dentons Ireland acted as legal advisor.
About GH001
GH001 (5-MeO-DMT) is an innovative product candidate for administration via a proprietary inhalation approach. A healthy volunteer trial with GH001 has been completed, where administration of GH001 via inhalation was observed to be well-tolerated. A Phase 1/2 trial with GH001 in patients with Treatment-Resistant Depression is ongoing.
About GH Research
GH Research Ireland Ltd. is a privately-held clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, founded in 2018, developing novel therapies for the management of psychiatric and neurological disorders. The Company's lead product candidate, GH001, has the potential to offer rapid and durable remissions in depression. The Company has several published and unpublished patent applications covering aerosol compositions of matter of 5-MeO-DMT, novel manufacturing methods of 5-MeO-DMT, and novel uses of 5-MeO-DMT in a number of disorders. For more information, see www.ghres.com.
GH Research Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, all of which are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Any statements contained herein that do not describe historical facts are forward-looking statements that are based on management's expectations and are subject to certain factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, outcomes, timing and performance to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These factors, risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the costs and uncertainties associated with our research and development efforts; the inherent uncertainties associated with the conduct, timing and results of nonclinical and clinical studies of our product candidates; our ability to obtain, maintain, enforce and defend issued patents; and the adequacy of our capital resources and availability of additional funding. Except as otherwise noted, these forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any of such statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after this press release. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.
For media inquiries, please contact: info@ghres.com.
Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1338155/GH_Research_Logo.jpg
SOURCE GH Research Ltd
Tags: GH Research
MYDECINE INNOVATIONS GROUP ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION OF DIRECTORS
Numinus Launches Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy for Chronic and Serious Medical Illness
Filament Health Is the First Public Company to Be Issued a Patent for Extraction of Natural Psilocybin


From their trial reintroduction in Devon, the animal's skills have reduced floodwater and created a haven for local wildlife.
The beavers, resident on three hectares of woodland near Okehampto could be part of the solution. In the five years since they moved there, they have felled trees, dug channels, constructed dams and made an impressive home for themselves.
The Devon project targets three key indicators: water storage, flood attenuation and water quality. The beavers are, helping in all three. The 13 dams they have built along the 150 metres stretch of water have increased water storage capacity, evened out the flow of water and improved the quality of it that leaves from the dams.
A graph showing that the dams have contained sudden rainfall, slowly releasing it along a "staircase" of dams: in this way they prevent the inundation that occurs when water is simply channelled downstream.
There are 20 hectares of intensively managed grassland feeding into the dams – bringing manure, slurry, non-organic fertiliser, standing at the last of the network of dams. The quality of the water can be seen here at the bottom. Beaver activity has filtered out the impurities like a good reed system might do.
The level of sediment coming out of the dams is so low that the deposits of nitrogen and phosphate remaining in the water do not register on the specialised equipment.
Mark Elliott, who leads the beaver project for the Devon Wildlife Trust, pulls a large stone from the water. On the underside, a small community of grubs and larvae writhe and squirm: they are caddisflies and mayflies.
The trust runs a beaver programme on the river Otter in Devon, and two programmes have run in Scotland, but it is the scheme near Okehampton that has provided the most controlled environment and the most reliable data.
The biggest concern the landowners have expressed is not about the beavers, but about the sightseers that come with the beavers – the interest we've had and the tourism boost on the river Otter have been exceptional.
Many of the concerns about the reintroduction of beavers could be rooted in the fact that they have been absent for 400 years. An indigenous species, they were hunted to extinction for their fur – used primarily to make hats – their meat and their castoreum, a secretion that was used in medicines.
Perhaps the most common misconception about beavers is that they will eat all the fish in the newly clean rivers, a charge repeated by Labour MP Mary Creagh during a select committee hearing into the government's response to flooding. It was pointed out that beavers are actually herbivores.


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text:
"""
Support for Actions on Google Assistant Smart Home Control.

For more details about this component, please refer to the documentation at
https://home-assistant.io/components/google_assistant/
"""
import asyncio
import logging
from typing import Dict, Any

import aiohttp
import async_timeout

import voluptuous as vol

# Typing imports
from homeassistant.core import HomeAssistant, ServiceCall

from homeassistant.const import CONF_NAME
from homeassistant.helpers import config_validation as cv
from homeassistant.helpers.aiohttp_client import async_get_clientsession

from .const import (
    DOMAIN, CONF_PROJECT_ID, CONF_EXPOSE_BY_DEFAULT, DEFAULT_EXPOSE_BY_DEFAULT,
    CONF_EXPOSED_DOMAINS, DEFAULT_EXPOSED_DOMAINS, CONF_API_KEY,
    SERVICE_REQUEST_SYNC, REQUEST_SYNC_BASE_URL, CONF_ENTITY_CONFIG,
    CONF_EXPOSE, CONF_ALIASES, CONF_ROOM_HINT, CONF_ALLOW_UNLOCK,
    DEFAULT_ALLOW_UNLOCK
)
from .http import async_register_http

_LOGGER = logging.getLogger(__name__)

DEPENDENCIES = ['http']

ENTITY_SCHEMA = vol.Schema({
    vol.Optional(CONF_NAME): cv.string,
    vol.Optional(CONF_EXPOSE): cv.boolean,
    vol.Optional(CONF_ALIASES): vol.All(cv.ensure_list, [cv.string]),
    vol.Optional(CONF_ROOM_HINT): cv.string
})

GOOGLE_ASSISTANT_SCHEMA = vol.Schema({
    vol.Required(CONF_PROJECT_ID): cv.string,
    vol.Optional(CONF_EXPOSE_BY_DEFAULT,
                 default=DEFAULT_EXPOSE_BY_DEFAULT): cv.boolean,
    vol.Optional(CONF_EXPOSED_DOMAINS,
                 default=DEFAULT_EXPOSED_DOMAINS): cv.ensure_list,
    vol.Optional(CONF_API_KEY): cv.string,
    vol.Optional(CONF_ENTITY_CONFIG): {cv.entity_id: ENTITY_SCHEMA},
    vol.Optional(CONF_ALLOW_UNLOCK,
                 default=DEFAULT_ALLOW_UNLOCK): cv.boolean
}, extra=vol.PREVENT_EXTRA)

CONFIG_SCHEMA = vol.Schema({
    DOMAIN: GOOGLE_ASSISTANT_SCHEMA
}, extra=vol.ALLOW_EXTRA)

async def async_setup(hass: HomeAssistant, yaml_config: Dict[str, Any]):
    """Activate Google Actions component."""
    config = yaml_config.get(DOMAIN, {})
    api_key = config.get(CONF_API_KEY)
    async_register_http(hass, config)

    async def request_sync_service_handler(call: ServiceCall):
        """Handle request sync service calls."""
        websession = async_get_clientsession(hass)
        try:
            with async_timeout.timeout(15, loop=hass.loop):
                agent_user_id = call.data.get('agent_user_id') or \
                                call.context.user_id
                res = await websession.post(
                    REQUEST_SYNC_BASE_URL,
                    params={'key': api_key},
                    json={'agent_user_id': agent_user_id})
                _LOGGER.info("Submitted request_sync request to Google")
                res.raise_for_status()
        except aiohttp.ClientResponseError:
            body = await res.read()
            _LOGGER.error(
                'request_sync request failed: %d %s', res.status, body)
        except (asyncio.TimeoutError, aiohttp.ClientError):
            _LOGGER.error("Could not contact Google for request_sync")

    # Register service only if api key is provided
    if api_key is not None:
        hass.services.async_register(
            DOMAIN, SERVICE_REQUEST_SYNC, request_sync_service_handler)

    return True

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


For some of our members, January was spent on the beach in Mexico or Mauii sipping margaritas - but the rest of us are not jealous (really!). We enjoyed four great Rotary meetings instead. On 10th Jan we had a presentation about the Gibsons Search and Rescue team. What a vital role they perform in support of all boaters. The Club will be making a grant to SAR shortly (subject to member approval) for electrical work at their boathouse.
The 17th Jan saw a lively Club Meeting. We split into 3 groups to brainstorm ideas for a new fundraiser, and also ideas for local service projects. The six best ideas for each were the subject of an online survey during the following week, and the most popular ideas are now being investigated more fully so that informed decisions can be taken at our next Club Meeting.
On the 24th Jan we had a presentation about the work of the Sunshine Coast Community Foundation. Our Club invested $5000 in their endowment fund several years ago and this produces income each year which is aggregated with income for many other investors to make grants to organisations on the coast.
Our final event in January was a Wine and Cheese Social at Chris and Carol's place. This was a great success, and something we may do again from time to time. If you feel that you could host an event at your home, maybe in April or May, please let Chris know.


Ok, finally got a chance to review my shots from our Leigh night safari last week. This is my best shot so far... ok, probably my best shot full stop. Over 80 shots, 3 hours, 1 good one. Ain't that the way sometimes? A great night anyway, gorgeous stars, amazing view with Auckland on the horizon to the south, and Whangarei to the north.
Check me out on Tumblr - this is reasonably new, and is one of the places I am using to build an online portfolio of astro (and otherwise) shots.
In the first one, Bill strikes a pose as the Milky Way revolves behind him, and in the second the LMC hovers over Rangitoto and the rest of the landscape.
Then there's the Southern Cross over the Punga trees - I mean what could be more Kiwi?!? And finally, my fav shot of the night, I love the combination of the man made and the Milky Way. There were of course some more, which you will see as soon as I do some more post on them. Speaking of Post .. 3200ISO shots are very nice, but getting the noise out of them isn't.
HUGE thanks to gfkBill for the night. Check his Flickr stream for his pics as they come up!


Members of Mason County club use wood to make bowls and other items.
LUDINGTON – A gnarled, aged tree can be a thing of beauty in and of itself.
When pieces of it are turned on the lathe of a craftsperson, an inner beauty unseen while the tree lived can be revealed in the form of a bowl, a spindle, a bead, a plate or whatever else the imagination and skill of the craftsperson can see and the wood lends itself to.
It's a process of creation mostly by reduction.
The block of parent wood literally turns as the scrapers, gougers and other tools are placed in or against the wood fixed on the lathe to shave, gouge and scrape away unwanted material to shape the desired object.
"You have some idea of what's in the wood, but you never know what the wood is going to show until you get into it," said Dan Sleeman, a member of the Mason County Wood Turners Club. On a recent Saturday, club members demonstrated their craft on lathes big and on lathes small, on lathes new and lathes old at a workshop in Ludington.
Member Chris Egeler of Victory Township fashioned ebony into a pen. Shavings blackened his hand as he moved a scraper over the cylinders of black wood held in the lathe.
Dave Knudsen used the largest lathe present, turning a bowl from a piece of wood the club had acquired from a once-notably gnarly Camperdown elm that died behind Stearns Motor Inn and the Ludington Area Center for the Arts in downtown Ludington. Wood shavings flew out of the opening being hollowed into the wood, its exterior already turned and newly glowing, its grain twisting and turning with nary a straight line showing.
Turners sometimes seek out elbows, crotches and burls of trees or limbs that those making lumber might avoid because the grain isn't straight. Curving and convoluted grain is not a flaw for a wood turner. Such grain is can be desirable. So can be wood with stain lines in the grain from a dead or dying tree. These "flaws" add character to a piece, but working it can be tricky. A piece could break at any point during the process. That's part of the challenge.
"It's fun," Knudsen, a building contractor by trade, said of turning wood, something he's done since 2012.
The piece he was working on from the elm presented challenges because of its knots with small voids. The wood was imperfect in many ways. Sometimes shavings are cemented back into a piece. One piece on display had crushed turquoise cemented in. A bead on display had metal shavings inlaid into it.
The turners take differing approaches to each of their pieces — pieces that reflect the individuality of the wood and the turner.
Paul Desmet showed how his father's antique lathe could be used to fashion a spindle, ice fishing rod handle or candlestick out of a piece of sycamore.
Desmet said the lathe dates from 1928 and can be used for any of the projects the more modern lathes do — only it might take longer on the old lathe. "It's antique," he said.
"The lathe is just the start," club member Dave Peterson said standing by a lathe he was selling — he'd bought a bigger one. It's one of those kind of hobbies.
A turning tool kit is required, too. A kit could include items such as a roughing gouge, a skew, a spindle gouge, a scraper and — for when the piece is completed and ready to be removed from the overall chunk of wood — a parting tool.
The tools are not cheap, but one member has found a way of reducing the cost.
Russ Peterson demonstrated making beads using tools he fashioned himself out of "butcher steel." He frequented yard sales to find those long cylindrical pieces of scored metal that are connected to knife handles to hone kitchen carving knives. He showed a tool he made for $15 that had he bought new would have cost $75.
"It's kind of fun to make stuff," Peterson explained.
The butcher steel used in the tools he makes might not be as good as what the steel used in commercially purchased turner's tool is, he said. Nevertheless, Peterson enjoys the process from the hunt at yard sales for the butcher steel to finally using a homemade tool when turning wood. "I call it rescuing tools," he said.
Norm Letsinger said that "wood turning is one way of discovering and uncovering the beauty God has hidden in a piece of wood." Letsinger was key to organizing the event, making sure safe procedures were followed. He spent much time talking with visitors explaining what was going on.
"We've been swamped," he said. "No one has been anxious to leave."
Egeler, taking a break from turning the ebony for the pen he was making, said he has been turning wood for eight years. Ask him why and he answers simply, "therapy."
Egeler said he taught his father, Ralph Egeler, the craft. Ralph made 500 pens to give to guests at his and wife Mary's 50th wedding anniversary.
Chris Egeler donated a "critter" pen made out of antler to the Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital's foundation for fund-raising purposes.
Club members often donate projects they make to charities for fundraising. Some of the pieces turned at the demonstration day are bound for the annual HELP (Hand Extended Loving People) Ministry spring fund soup dinner fund raiser. Much of the chunk of Camperdown elm secured by the club will be turned into bowls and donated to HELP to be auctioned at that event.
A bowl turned by Dave Peterson fetched well over $100 during a benefit auction at a local church later that night.
Visitors to the demonstration day were smitten by the examples of what club members turn out of what many people might just think is a piece of wood.
"I think it's fantastic," Ludington resident Ray Madsen said while examining a table of samples. "These are so unique and so individual. They are priceless. I like especially that instead of selling them, they give them to charities.
"It's fascinating stuff. I want some."


The (Re) Enrollment Contract Transportation Control is a (Re) Enrollment Contract Control that allows parents to select up to two stops for the (Re) Enrollment Contract. This control functions in a similar manner to the (Re) Enrollment Contract Radio Button Control, but is specially designed to sign up the student for the selected bus routes and stops upon (Re) Enrollment Contract submission.
Note: When adding the control under Controls, you configure whether the parent is picking one stop or two stops.
Note: If no stop options are appearing, please contact PCR Educator to ensure that the (Re) Enrollment Contract application is configured correctly.


text:
High-Risk People Need Flu Shot Soon
By Julie McCormick, jmccormick@kitsapsun.com — Sep 28th, 2005
Everyone 65 and older should get a flu shot soon, and so should others considered at high risk for complications.
That's the advice from federal health authorities haunted by last year's vaccine shortage and still uncertain exactly how many doses against the seasonal disease will be available this year.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has told health care providers to administer flu shots only to high-risk people until Oct. 24 to assure that those who most need it will be able to get it without a repeat of the near-panic response when the nation's vaccine supply was abruptly halved last year.
After that, the vaccine will be available to everyone.
Some in Kitsap County were so worried about getting their shots in time last year that they organized caravans to clinics in Jefferson County, where vaccine supplies were initially larger than they were here.
Dr. Scott Lindquist, director of the Kitsap County Health District, said there will be more public clinics this year at a variety of retailers and a private contractor will be offering flu-shot clinics at schools and businesses that request them.
"People probably won't have to go as far for a flu shot this year and we're not anticipating any shortages," Lindquist said.
The Health District has 800 adult doses on hand, which will be available at its clinics on a sliding-fee basis to those unable to pay the full price of the flu shot and to help fill any gaps local providers may have. More doses will be shipped later in the year, Lindquist said.
Every year, the flu causes complications for hundreds of thousands of especially vulnerable people, and 90 percent of the 36,000 who die as a result are 65 and over.
Others at high risk and eligible for early shots include children between 6 and 23 months old, anyone aged 2 to 64 with chronic health conditions like asthma or heart problems, residents of long-term care facilities, pregnant women, health care providers who give direct patient care and people who are in the same household with or care for infants under six months old.
Last year, only two companies made the vaccine for the United States. An anticipated supply of 100 million doses was cut nearly in half when health inspectors shut down one of the plants.
This year, vaccine supplies will come from three makers. Federal authorities estimate there could be up to 94 million doses available, but the exact total still is uncertain.
Lindquist noted that the flu season usually doesn't shift into high gear in the Northwest until December and January. It takes about two weeks for the vaccine to become fully effective.
As usual, health authorities caution people with flu-like respiratory symptoms to stay home, and remind everyone to wash hands frequently and cover a cough to avoid spreading the virus.
Flu Vaccine Supply May Be Biggest in U.S. History
The supply of vaccine for the coming winter's flu season may be the biggest in the country's history, but with vaccination clinics barely under way, it is too early to know if it will be enough to meet the demand. Total supply could ... [Read More...]
Vaccine rush shoots flu-shot supply
On Tuesday, Kitsap County Health District clinics had 500 flu doses remaining of their initial supply of 1,000 for the beginning of the vaccine season. By Wednesday afternoon, the day after news that half the nation's supply for the season would be cut, they were ... [Read More...]
Vaccinations urged for at-risk children
Need a shot? Anyone in a high-risk group who wants a flu shot should contact their doctor, private health clinic or other provider. Some shipments have not arrived, but officials say overall supplies throughout Kitsap County are adequate to meet demand. By Julie ... [Read More...]
Health District may offer flu shots
Contacts To contact the Kitsap County Health District, call (360) 337-5235. For information about the flu on the Internet, go to www.kitsapcountyhealth.com. By Julie McCormick Sun Staff The Kitsap County Health District could change this year's flu shot policy and offer a ... [Read More...]
Vaccine supply gets shot in the arm
As the beginning of flu season approaches, Kitsap County should have enough vaccine for the people considered at high risk for complications if they get sick. Because of the sudden shutdown of a major supplier in October, there won't be enough for everyone ... [Read More...]


Tumour growth and expansion are the result of proliferative activity and the capacity to eliminate cells by apoptosis and/or necrosis. The present study was aimed at comparing the apoptosis and proliferation intensity in cells of adenocarcinomas of the large intestine with the expression of metallothionein (MT), the grade of the tumour and the depth to which the tumour infiltrated the intestinal wall. The TUNEL technique and immunocytochemical reactions (expression of caspase-3, Ki-67, MT) were used to detect apoptosis. The results demonstrated augmented levels of all the variables examined, positively correlated with grade of malignancy, G, and with the depth of intestinal wall infiltration by the tumour cells. The testing of apoptosis, proliferation and MT expression may prove useful in the appraisal of the growth and progression of primary adenocarcinomas in the large intestine.


So you've decided to apply to a startup - taking on the opportunity of growing and building a new organization is amazing! However, working for a startup comes with it's pros and cons, and deciding which companies are worth applying to (and sticking around for) can be a difficult hurdle for any job seeker. Join this Q&A; with Jenn Hall, Director of Talent Acquisition at Metromile, to have all of your application questions answered - and hear how she made her decision to join the Metromile team!
What red flags should I be aware of when applying to a startup?
I know there are lots of applicants - how can I make my application stand out?
I'm interviewing with a really small startup and I can already see that it's not very diverse - should this be a concern? Or should I take this as an opportunity for me to help them diversify?
Jenn Hall's years as a Division I All-American Athlete are some of her fondest memories. As a lifelong competitor, it was only natural that Jenn was recruited into the challenging field of Technical Recruiting. She has filled countless positions by applying the very same practice methods she used as an Athlete. She has proven experience hiring top talent in an agency, corporate, and start-up environments by executing unique and innovative hiring strategies that are sustainable. Currently, Jenn is the Director of Talent Acquisition at Metromile operating in a player/coach capacity. Her team is focused on disrupting a $250B insurance industry - one hire at a time!


text:
How Fantasy Inspires Hope Part 1
May 26, 2022 / msocampowrites
Far more powerful and poignant is the effect in a serious tale of Faërie. In such stories when the sudden "turn" comes, we get a piercing glimpse of joy, and heart's desire, that for a moment passes outside the frame, rends indeed the very web of story, and lets a gleam come through.
JRR Tolkien-On Fairy Stories
I mentioned on my last blog post that fairy tales always teach a lesson. As cheesy and contrived as it sounds, I've always been drawn towards stories that are a lot more fantastical than realistic. When I was a child, I grew up on The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis. Now that I'm an adult, however, the fantasy stories that inspire me and give me the most hope comes from two vastly different works: The Lord of the Rings and The Legend of Vox Machina (and the related adventures of the Mighty Nein on Critical Role).
These two works couldn't be any more different. The Lord of the Rings is a very traditional, safe epic fantasy. The Legend of Vox Machina is crass and gory and chaotic. What these works have in common, however, is the hope that even the least likely of people can rise to the occasion and become heroes.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy isn't shy about showing the horrors of war and how people with the best of intentions can be corrupted. There are three scenes from each of the movies that I want to talk about along with my favorite part of The Legend of Vox Machina and my thoughts so far of the Mighty Nein campaign. All of these moments that I'll go into inspire hope in the most unique and strangest of ways.
My Favorite Parts from The Lord of the Rings
The Fellowship of the Ring
I can literally count the number of movies that made me cry on one hand. The moment where Boromir dies is one of them.
In the context of the book, this is the turning point, where all hope seems lost. The Fellowship has broken apart by Boromir's betrayal. Merry and Pippin are taken captive. Sam and Frodo have gone off on their own.
And yet, it's the exchange between Aragorn and Boromir that creates a glimmer of hope in the Fellowship's first darkest hour. Boromir laments his despair, but Aragorn makes a promise.
Aragorn promises to protect Gondor and to honor Boromir's desire to defend their people. This is when Aragorn finally accepts his calling to be the king that was promised. Then Boromir's dying words are a vow. If circumstances were different, he would have followed Aragorn to the end of the line, serving his true king. And mind you, this was the same guy that earlier claimed "Gondor needs no king."
Even though this scene makes me cry every time I watch it, Aragorn's promise (and really Aragorn himself) is the spark of hope. This wasn't going to be the end for the Fellowship.
The Two Towers
Tolkien fans pretty much have Sam's speech memorized by this point. During the Battle of Helm's Deep and the Battle of Isengard, all hope seems lost again. But as Sam inspires Frodo, we see shots of the battles turning around.
The context of this scene is especially poignant. Sam and Frodo have no clue how everyone else is doing or how their journey will end. Frodo just tried to kill Sam in a moment of despair, but Sam takes it in stride. Sam and Frodo have no idea that Merry and Pippin are taking back Isengard with the Ents. They have no idea that Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Gandalf are turning the tide at Helm's Deep. In fact, they assumed that Gandalf is dead because the last time they saw him, he fell to his death in the Mines of Moria.
And yet, in spite of all this seeming despair, Sam holds onto hope. It seems so foolish and yet it's all that Sam has. This hopeful speech is enough to bring Gollum to tears and convinces Faramir to let them go on ahead to Mordor.
Now that's what I call a Natural 20 on your performance roll.
There's a moment in the original book that wasn't included in the movie:
There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.
I think this quote sums up how Tolkien creates heroes and inspires hope in his stories. Instead of taking the Beowulf/Might Makes Right approach and creating an ultra-strong, muscular protagonist who fights and kills his way out of every problem, Tolkien's heroes are all clever, wise, and empathetic.
This extends to the prophecy/poem:
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.
In this movie, Sam and Aragorn both shine as beacons of hope. My favorite moment of Aragorn's is when he literally summons an army of ghosts and promises that when they fight on his behalf, their debt will be repaid and their souls will be laid to rest. This shows that hope can come even to those who have passed on.
Sam's best moment, of course, is when he chooses to carry Frodo into the fires of Mount Doom. Even though a handful of characters resisted the Ring's allure, Sam was the only one that the Ring couldn't corrupt and this is way more evident in the book than in the movie.
You see, to quote one of my favorite musicals, the opposite of war isn't peace. It's creation.
Sam's desires are simple: to have a happy life in the Shire with a garden to tend to and a family to raise. This desire couldn't be distorted by the Ring in any sense. So it's no surprise that Sam willingly gives the Ring back to Frodo, even if Frodo couldn't resist the Ring himself.
While a lot of people complain about how the last part of Return of the King went on for a long time with its multiple endings, I honestly didn't mind because it shows the payoff to everything that the Company has been through. They finally get the happy reunion they deserve. However, Frodo is still unable to completely heal from his scars and so goes off to the West with Bilbo and the Elves from Rivendell. There's an implied promise that Sam and the other Hobbits may soon follow Frodo into the west as well.
(Side note: It feels so poetic that the place where Tolkien passed away just happened to be a seaside town. It's like the author himself decided to sail off into the West and join his creations.)
Come back here tomorrow for Part 2 where we go into the land of Exandria and meet a couple of different unlikely heroes.
fantasy, Fellowship of the Ring, Hope, JRR Tolkien, One Scene For Hope, Return of the King, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers
← The Fairy Tale Motifs in Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness
How Fantasy Inspires Hope Part 2 →


If you are thinking about buying an SUV, try the 2019 Honda SUVs Available near Seattle at Klein Honda. Honda SUVs are renowned for their above-average reliability and durability, so they are worthwhile investments. These SUVs are also designed to offer great practicality, versatility, and utility, so they can take on a variety of roles. The 2019 Honda SUVs are also technologically advanced and well equipped.
One of the 2019 Honda SUVs Available near Seattle is the 2019 Honda HR-V subcompact crossover SUV. The 2019 Honda HR-V offers both car-like and SUV-like attributes. It offers car-like driving handling and ride-quality thanks to its small size and its finely-tuned independent suspension system, so with it, you'll be able to handle many hours of driving. In terms of SUV-like attributes, the 2019 Honda HR-V offers a high driving position on account of its high ground clearance.
The 2019 Honda HR-V also offers inspiring utility. It offers up to 24.3 cubic feet of cargo space behind the 2nd-row seats, and up to 58.8 cubic feet of cargo space when the 2nd-row seats are folded down. This SUV can also be had with an available all-wheel-drive system that enhances road grip on slippery road surfaces, so you can also confidently drive the AWD models of this SUV in the rain or snow.
Other 2019 Honda SUVs Available near Seattle that you can get at Klein Honda are 2019 Honda Pilot SUVs. The 2019 Honda Pilot is a stylishly designed midsize SUV that offers great capability and utility. It can also be had with an available, more robust, Intelligent Variable Torque Management® AWD system that has four drive modes: Normal, Snow, Mud, and Sand modes. With each mode, this system adjusts itself to deliver the kind of driving character that is required.
In addition, the 2019 Honda Pilot also features a powerful, naturally aspirated 3.5 liter V6 engine rated at 280-horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque. This engine is capable of propelling this SUV from zero to 60 mph in less than eight seconds and it can also tow up to 5,000 pounds.
You can also get the 2019 Honda CR-V SUV and the 2019 Honda Passport SUV at Klein Honda. We have listed all the 2019 Honda SUVs that we currently have in our online inventory, so go ahead and check them out. You can also visit our dealership at 10611 Evergreen Way, Everett, WA 98204.


Monaker Group trades under the symbol MKGI on the NASDAQ Capital Market. Nasdaq is a leading global provider of trading, clearing, exchange technology, listing, information and public company services. As the creator of the world's first electronic stock market, its technology powers more than 90 marketplaces in 50 countries, and 1 in 10 of the world's securities transactions. Nasdaq is home to approximately 3,900 total listings with a market value of approximately $13 trillion.


We are experiencing unprecedented demand for EmpowerID, the all-in-one Identity Management and Cloud Security platform designed for people. Globally managing millions of identities in diverse enterprises, EmpowerID offers comprehensive provisioning, single sign-on and access governance coupled with an industry leading user experience. Identity Management and Cloud Security are two of the fastest growth areas in enterprise software, and EmpowerID has established itself as a cutting edge leader in this space.
Avanade helps customers realize results in a digital world through business technology solutions and managed services that combine insight, innovation and expertise focused on Microsoft technologies. Our people have helped thousands of organizations in all industries improve business agility, employee productivity and customer loyalty. Avanade combines the collective business, technical and industry expertise of its worldwide network of experts with the rigor of an industrialized delivery model to provide high quality solutions using proven and emerging technologies with flexible deployment models – on premises, cloud-based or outsourced. Avanade, which is majority owned by Accenture, was founded in 2000 by Accenture LLP and Microsoft Corporation and has 21,000 professionals in more than 20 countries. Additional information can be found at www.avanade.com .
Deron is an independent IT consulting company based in Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Switzerland. Our core competencies lie in the field of identity management (IdM) , which is now extended to the Secure Identity & Access Management (SIAM), since safety issues occur especially with regard to the events of recent years increasingly to the fore.
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text:
A medication capable of preventing or relieving spasms or convulsions.
Lack of coordination and unsteadiness that result from the brain's failure to regulate the body's posture and the strength and direction of limb movements. Most often caused by disease activity in the cerebellum or its connections with other parts of the brain.
See Exacerbation.
Process in which the body's immune system causes illness by mistakenly attacking healthy cells, organs, or tissues. Multiple sclerosis is believed to be an autoimmune disease, as are systemic lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma and many others. The precise origin and an understanding of how these diseases occur are not yet well known.
Paralysis of the facial nerve, which can occur as a consequence of MS, viral infection or other infections. It has acute onset and can be transient or permanent.
Blood Brain Barrier (BBB)
Semi-permeable cell layer around blood vessels in the brain and spinal cord that prevents large molecules, cells, and potentially damaging substances and disease-causing organisms (e.g., viruses) from passing out of the blood stream into the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord).
Collective term for the major part of the nervous system that is principally comprised of the brain and spinal cord.
Of long duration, not acute; a term used to describe a disease that cannot be cured.
High-level functions carried out by the human brain, including comprehension and use of speech; visual perception and construction; calculation ability; attention (information processing); memory; and executive functions such as planning, problem solving, and self-monitoring.
Combined Bladder Dysfunction
Type of neurogenic bladder dysfunction in MS (also called detrusor-external sphincter dyssynergia—DESD). Simultaneous contractions of the bladder's detrusor muscle and external sphincter cause urine to be trapped in the bladder, resulting in symptoms of urinary urgency, hesitancy, dribbling and incontinence.
Condition in which bowel movements happen less frequently than is normal for the particular individual, or the stool is small, hard and difficult or painful to pass.
Contracture
Permanent shortening of the muscles and tendons adjacent to a joint, which can result from severe, untreated spasticity and interferes with normal movement around the affected joint. If left untreated, the affected joint can become frozen in a fixed position.
Natural steroid hormones or man-made drugs used to suppress inflammation.
Nerves that carry sensory, motor, or parasympathetic fibers to the face and neck. Included among this group of twelve nerves are the optic nerve (vision), trigeminal nerve (sensation along the face), oculomotor nerve (eye movement), facial nerve, auditory nerve, and vagus nerve (pharynx and vocal cords). Evaluation of cranial nerve function is part of the standard neurological exam.
Demyelination
Destruction of the myelin sheath, which surrounds the 'axons' or nerve fibers in the central nervous system, that results in interruptions of communications between neurons. Regions of demyelination cause interruptions in the conduction of nerve impulses.
A mood disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty with thinking and concentration, a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal thoughts or an attempt to commit suicide.
Double vision or the simultaneous awareness of two images of the same object that results from a failure of the two eyes to work in a coordinated fashion.
Disability/Disabling
As defined by the World Health Organization, a disability (resulting from an impairment) is a restriction or lack of ability to perform an activity in the manner of or within the range considered normal for a human being.
Disease-Modifying Drugs (DMD)
These therapies include beta interferons, glatiramer acetate, and immunosuppressants fingolimod (mitoxantrone). Disease-modifying therapies have been shown in clinical trials to modify the course of MS. They are currently the most effective way of modifying the course of MS.
A study in which neither the subjects (i.e. patients) nor the examining health care professionals (or attending nurses, or any other research staff) know who is taking the test drug and who is taking a control or placebo agent.
Dysesthesia
Impairment of sensitivity especially to touch.
Exacerbation
In MS, the appearance of new symptoms or the aggravation of old ones, lasting at least twenty-four hours (synonymous with attack, relapse, flare-up, or worsening); usually associated with inflammation and demyelination in the brain and/or spinal cord.
Condition of weakness in the muscles of the leg caused by poor nerve conduction, which interferes with a person's ability to extend the ankle and walk with a normal pattern. The toes touch the ground before the heel, causing the person to trip or lose balance.
Contrast medium injected prior to MRI scans. It passes through breaches in the blood-brain barrier and is therefore used to highlight new and active lesions. The usage of gadolinium greatly enhances the sensitivity of T1-weighted MRI.
A person who specializes in gastroenterology, a branch of medicine concerned with the structure, functions, diseases, and pathology of the stomach and intestines.
An immune system is a system of biological structures and processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumor cells.
Ability to resist infection and to heal. The process may involve acquired immunity (the body's ability to learn and remember a specific infectious agent) or innate immunity (the genetically programmed system of responses that attack, digest, remove, and initiate inflammation and tissue healing).
In MS, form of treatment that slows or inhibits the body's natural immune responses, including those directed against the body's own tissues. Examples of immunosuppressive treatments in MS include cyclosporin, methotrexate, and azathioprine.
Also called spontaneous voiding; the inability to retain control of urine or bowel movements.
The immunologic response of body tissue to injury, characterized by mobilization of white blood cells and antibodies, swelling and fluid accumulation.
Prolonged and usually abnormal inability to obtain adequate sleep.
Group of immune system proteins—alpha, beta and gamma—that are produced by different cells in the body. All three have antiviral effects but act in different ways to control the activity of the immune system.
Interferon Beta-1a
Interferon beta that is identical to that produced naturally by the human body. It is obtained in the laboratory via a biotechnological process: the interferon beta gene is inserted into laboratory-grown mammalian cells, which then produce the protein.
Interferon Beta-1b
Interferon beta that is slightly different from the one produced naturally by the human body. It is obtained in the laboratory via a biotechnological process: the interferon beta gene is inserted into bacteria, which then produce the protein. Interferon beta-1b has a slightly different amino acid structure and lacks the glycosylated moiety that is found in natural interferon beta.
Injected into the muscle.
Within a vein; often used in the context of an injection into the vein of a medication dissolved in a liquid.
Lesion
See Plaque.
L'Hermitte's Sign
Abnormal sensation of electricity or "pins and needles" going down the spine into the arms and legs that occurs when the neck is bent forward.
Imaging technique based on detection of the response of water molecules to strong magnetic fields. It produces visual images of different body parts without the use of X-rays. MRI allows the neurologist to identify MS lesions in the brain and spinal cord at different stages of their development. T1 scans and T2 scans refer to the different scanning sequences that help distinguish tissue features.
Marcus Gunn Pupil
An abnormal physical examination finding in the pupil of your eye that may result from an episode of optic neuritis.
MRI T1-Weighted Scans
See Magnetic Resonance Imaging.
Presumed autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that mainly affects young adults and whose origin is unknown. It damages myelin (nerve fiber insulation) and axons (nerve fibers) in a random and patchy manner, causing a wide range of neurological defects. It is characterized clinically by symptoms that may abate spontaneously in the early years of the disease but often get gradually worse in later years.
Soft, white coating composed of lipids (fats) and protein, surrounding nerve fibers in the central nervous system. A complex natural electrical insulator, myelin serves to speed up the conduction of electrical signals down nerve fibers.
Neuritis
Nerve inflammation, usually with direct nerve damage. Part of a degenerative process.
Neuropsychologist
Psychologist with specialized training in the evaluation of cognitive functions. Neuropsychologists use a number of standardized tests to evaluate specific cognitive functions and identify areas of cognitive impairment. They also may suggest possible treatments for individuals with MS-related cognitive impairment. (See Cognition).
The need to urinate during the night.
Rapid, involuntary movements of the eyes in the horizontal or, occasionally, vertical direction.
The main nerve leading from the eye to the brain that transmits visual signals to the brain.
Inflammation or demyelination of the optic (visual) nerve with temporary or permanent impairment of vision and associated with pain during the acute phase.
Inactive, non-drug compound designed to look just like the test drug. It is administered to control group subjects in double-blind clinical trials (in which neither the researchers nor the subjects know who is getting the drug and who is getting the placebo) as a means of assessing the benefits and liabilities of a test drug taken by experimental group subjects.
An area of inflamed or demyelinated central nervous system tissue.
Primary Progressive MS (PPMS)
Clinical course of MS that is characterized from the beginning by progressive disease with no plateaus or remissions, or with an occasional plateau and very short-lived, minor improvements.
Rebiject II®
Rebiject II is an auto-injection device for use only with Rebif® (interferon beta-1a) and is designed to help make injections easier to manage.
Involuntary response of the nervous system to a stimulus, such as the stretch reflex, which is elicited by tapping a tendon with a reflex hammer, resulting in a muscle contraction. Abnormal reflexes can be indicative of neurologic damage, including MS, and are therefore tested as part of the standard neurological exam.
Relapsing-Remitting MS (RRMS)/Relapsing MS
Clinical course of MS that is characterized by the occurrence of new symptoms or the worsening of old symptoms (relapses or exacerbations). Symptoms may evolve over several days or weeks and then fully or partially disappear. The pattern of attacks is unpredictable even in the same person.
Lessening in the severity of symptoms, or a "return" to the level of health equal or similar to the one experienced prior to the last attack.
Remyelination
Repair of damaged myelin. Some myelin repair may occur spontaneously in MS but is usually a very slow and uncontrollable process.
Sclerosis
An abnormal condition in which tissue has become hard, produced by overgrowth of fibrous tissue (scars). The term "multiple sclerosis" refers to multiple scars in the brain.
Secondary Progressive MS (SPMS)
Clinical course of MS that initially is relapsing MS and then becomes progressive at a variable rate. With SPMS, neurological symptoms worsen progressively. At first, there may still be some relapses; then relapses generally stop completely and a slow but steady progression of disability takes place.
An involuntary and abnormal contraction of muscle.
Increased muscle tone associated with involuntary muscle contractions, spasms and stiffness. In multiple sclerosis, spasticity is most prominent in the lower limbs.
See Corticosteroids.
Subcutaneous Injection
Injected just under the skin.
Subjectively perceived problem or complaint reported by the patient. In multiple sclerosis, common symptoms include visual problems, fatigue, sensory changes, weakness or paralysis of limbs, tremor, lack of coordination, poor balance, bladder or bowel changes, and psychological changes.
Any of several types of white blood cells that develop in the thymus gland and play a role in the control of immune response.
Gradual stepping up of a dose of medicine. It allows the body to adjust and become used to the medicine's effects, thereby reducing the likelihood and severity of potential side effects that may occur at the beginning of a treatment.
Lightning-like acute pain in the face caused by demyelination of nerve fibers in the trigeminal nerve root (the nerve responsible for relaying feeling/sensation signals to the brain).
*National MS Society (referenced August 4, 2011).www.nationalmssociety.org
*PubMedHealth. Multiple Sclerosis. (referenced August 4, 2011). www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov