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Rapid Influenza Diagnostic Tests - Indications, Clinical Implications and Usefulness
04/06/2016 00:00:00 Ernest Kuchar, Damian Okrucinski, Aneta Nitsch-Osuch 04/01/2016 00:00:00 https://www.pediatriconcall.com/Journal/images/journal_cover.jpg
Year : April-June 2016 | Volume : 13 | Issue : 2
Ernest Kuchar1, Damian Okrucinski1, Aneta Nitsch-Osuch2.
1Department of Pediatrics with Clinical Assessment Unit, Poland, 2Department of Family Medicine Medical University of Warsaw, Poland.
Kuchar E, Okrucinski D, Nitsch-Osuch A. Rapid Influenza Diagnostic Tests - Indications, Clinical Implications and Usefulness. Pediatr Oncall J. 2016;13: 36-39. doi: 10.7199/ped.oncall.2016.16
Ernest Kuchar, Department of Pediatrics with Clinical Assessment Unit, 2nd Medical Faculty, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland, 63A Zwirki & Wigury Str, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland.
ernest.kuchar@gmail.com
Influenza is a common, acute infectious disease causing seasonal epidemics. The clinical diagnosis of influenza is mainly based on the presence of non-specific influenza-like symptoms and the knowledge regarding prevalence of influenza viruses in a population. To improve accuracy of the clinical diagnosis of influenza, more sensitive laboratory test should be conducted, including real time RT-PCR method and rapid influenza diagnostic tests (RIDTs). RT-PCR method is recommended, but is expensive, time consuming and not always available. RIDTs are more accessible and usually are office-based, however their results should be interpreted carefully. Many factors may influence the RIDT results - patient age, duration of symptoms and the type of specimen. In the epidemic season positive results of RIDT confirm the presumptive diagnosis of influenza while negative results do not exclude it. Regardless of RIDTs' limitations, they may be used both in hospital and ambulatory care settings to guide treatment decisions and rationalize the use of antivirals (neuraminidase inhibitors).
flu, diagnostics, clinical assessment, point of care test
Influenza occurs globally affecting yearly about 5-10% of the general population and 20-30% children, during epidemics and even more during sporadic pandemics. It affects all age groups and can cause serious complications in "high risk" individuals including children in first two years of life, pregnant women, the elderly or those with concomitant diseases (e.g. chronic respiratory disease, diabetes, neuromuscular disorder, and immunodeficiency). It is estimated that 250,000–500,000 die in result of influenza infection. (1) Typical symptoms include: fever, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion or rhinorrhoea, headache, muscle pain and malaise. Immunization is the primary measure to prevent morbidity and mortality from influenza (1,2). Antiviral treatment of patients belonging to risk groups brings clear benefits and should be preferably started within 48 hours of onset of symptoms. (1,2). The diagnosis of influenza is usually based upon clinical presentation but the sensitivity and specificity of clinical diagnosis is limited due to overlap with symptoms of other diseases. The diagnostic accuracy may be improved by awareness of local epidemiology of influenza and use of lab tests, including rapid viral tests.
Objective: Assessment of indications, clinical implications and usefulness of rapid influenza diagnostic tests in children.
Methods and Data Sources
A narrative literature review of evidence about Rapid Influenza Diagnostic Tests in children was conducted. The most recent clinical guidelines from professional societies were complemented by meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and randomized clinical trials. To identify evidence-based articles, the MEDLINE, and EMBASE were searched through January 2016 using the following Medical Subject Headings terms: "influenza" AND "diagnostic tests" OR "rapid test" OR laboratory test".
Influenza has been likened to 'the last uncontrolled plague in human history' (Dr. Kevin Sullivan), each year 3–5 million individuals develop severe disease and 250,000–500,000 die in result of influenza infection. (1) Yearly there are influenza epidemics or pandemics. The seasonality of infections depends on geographical location, in temperate climates epidemics occur mainly during the winter, however in tropical climates epidemics can be irregular and occur at any time of the year. While the sequelae risk in the general population is estimated to be around 6%, most patients remain asymptomatic or develop self-limiting acute febrile illness. Influenza can affect all age groups; at risk of severe complications are those in the extremes of age – those below 2 years of age or above 65, pregnant women or those with impaired immune systems or with chronic medical diseases. (1,2) However, mortality from influenza in the paediatric population is rare; during the 2003/2004 epidemic in the United States, the mortality was estimated at around 2.1/100,000. The most common sequelae in the paediatric population are acute otitis media, sinusitis, bronchiolitis, myositis, pneumonia, febrile seizures and exacerbations of asthma symptoms. (1,2) Evidence supports benefits of antiviral treatment of high risk patients. (2) In light of this, the quick diagnosis and prompt treatment of this disease is paramount in both the hospital and outpatient clinic settings.
2. Diagnosing influenza infection
In ambulatory care the diagnosis of influenza is usually based on clinical presentation. Typical patient complaints are abrupt fever onset and dry cough, but patients may present with some or all of influenza-like illness symptoms including fever, cough, chills, sore throat, nasal congestion or rhinorrhoea, weakness, fatigue, generalized or frontal headache, arthralgia, muscle pain and malaise. (1-3) The severity, intensity and frequency of the symptoms vary and clinical diagnosis may be difficult due to lack of specificity. (3) The leukocyte count may be normal or decreased. Although influenza-like symptoms are well known, the accuracy of clinical diagnosis based on symptoms alone may be limited due to overlap with symptoms of other diseases and the clinical findings may not be sufficient to confirm or exclude diagnosis of influenza (likely reliable evidence based on systematic review). (3) A systematic review of 6 studies evaluating diagnosis of influenza based on clinical signs and symptoms in 7,105 patients with reference diagnosis made by laboratory confirmation (by culture, polymerase chain reaction, immunofluorescent antibody, and/or 4-fold increase in diagnostic antibody titer) found that in patients of any age, no clinical finding is associated with increased likelihood of influenza (defined as summary likelihood ratio > 2), but absence of fever, absence of cough and absence of nasal congestion were associated with decreased likelihood of influenza (defined as summary likelihood ratio < 0.5). (3)
While influenza should be suspected in children with typical symptoms such as fever and cough during influenza season in the community, a definitive diagnosis should be based upon testing. However according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and Center for Disease Control (CDC), once influenza activity has been documented in a community or geographic area, clinical diagnosis of influenza without testing is acceptable, especially during periods of peak influenza activity. (4,5)
3.	Laboratory tests
An accurate diagnosis of influenza purely basing on symptoms alone is near impossible as the symptoms are protean and non-specific, it is estimated that while in adults during flu season the symptom specificity is about 80%, but it may be as low as 20% in children under 3. (6). In light of this, laboratory tests should be used to determine infection. According to the WHO, nasal aspirates, nasal washes, sputa and nasopharyngeal swabs, especially those specimens containing cellular material, are preferable to nasal and throat swabs. (4,5) Testing should be carried out within the first 4-5 days of illness in adults. (4) Commercially available tests vary in specificity, sensitivity, time to obtain results, specimen used, and cost. The current gold standard test is viral tissue cell culture, with a test time of 3-10 days. (3,5) This method has been used since 1933, but only culture isolates can provide specific information concerning circulating strains and subtypes of the virus. Other methods include RT-PCR and fluorescent antibody staining, with test times of several hours, however these tests are not easily available in the outpatient clinic or to small, local hospitals. This is where the Rapid Influenza Diagnostic Tests (RIDTs) shine – they are readily available to small clinics, they are easy to perform, provide results within 15-30 minutes of performing them, and they are cheaper to use in large scale or closed setting infections scenarios (i.e. illness outbreak on a cruise ship, nursing home or summer camp). (1,4,5,7-10) Rapid tests can be used in physician's office and enable an approach to influenza with therapeutic decisions guided by results of the test. Influenza testing is recommended for hospitalized or high-risk children, especially that the sensitivity of RIDTs is higher in children in comparison with adults. (7,8) The best approach is testing by viral culture or reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). (3-5,7-9) RT-PCR has been reported to be most sensitive and specific test for influenza and recommended as the test of choice by Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) (10). Rapid influenza diagnostic tests produce quick results and are simple to perform. (4,5,7-9) Times needed to obtain results in different influenza tests have been compared in Table 1.
Table 1. Influenza virus testing methods and their respective test times.
Method Influenza types tested Test time
Viral tissue cell culture A and B 3-10 days
Rapid cell culture A and B 1-3 days
Florescent antibody staining A and B 1-4 hours
RT-PCR A and B Variable, minutes to hours
Rapid molecular assay A and B <30 minutes
RIDT (Rapid Influenza Diagnostic Tests) A, B, or A and B <30 minutes
4.	Characteristics of Rapid Influenza Diagnostic Tests
The appearance of RIDTs – "point of care" immunoassays that can identify the presence of influenza A and B viral nucleoprotein antigens in respiratory specimens yielding results within 15 to 30 minutes (depending on the assay used) enables immediate patient management. In comparison with the reference standards of viral culture or reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), tests which may take hours to days (depending on local availability), the speed at which the results are revealed can be clinically relevant, and may alter the physician's decision-making process in suspected influenza infection. This is especially true in light of the disease's rapid clinical course and its pandemic potential. (1,2) Some of the RIDTs can be used to detect only influenza A, while others can detect both A and B types. (4,5) In general, the sensitivity of rapid tests (the percentage of "true influenza cases" detected as positive by a test) is variable (median 50–75%) and lower than that of cell culture, while their specificity (the percentage of "true non-influenza cases" detected as being negative by a test) is high (median 90–95%). (4,5,7-9) The greatest limitation of this influenza detection method is its sensitivity. In a recent meta-analysis of 119 articles evaluating 26 different commercially available RIDTs in comparison with the gold standard RT-PCR or viral culture, the RIDTs had a 62.3% sensitivity and a high specificity of 98.2%. (8) This means that there is a relatively high risk of false negative results (almost 4 in 10 negative RIDT result), whereas a positive result is rarely false positive.
In light of this, if there is a negative result of RIDT in an at-risk individual with highly suspect influenza symptoms, testing using gold standard methods should be carried out. (9,10) To improve low-moderate sensitivity of RIDTs, nasopharyngeal and nasal specimens rather than throat swab specimens should be used since they have higher yields for rapid detection. (4) In children lower nasal swabs are accurate compared to nasopharyngeal swabs for identifying influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) (likely reliable evidence) and appear less uncomfortable (mid-level evidence). (11) Nasal secretions and nasal cavity washings may also be used instead of nasopharyngeal swabs. (4)
RIDTs can supplement clinician judgement and in patients with influenza-like symptoms, can aid to confirm influenza. However, as previously mentioned they are not reliable to definitively rule out the disease. In consequence to the low specificity, RIDTs have a tendency for increased false negative results during seasons of peak influenza activity. The accuracy of RIDTs is related to influenza prevalence in the local community, it is estimated that the tests are optimally accurate when influenza prevalence exceeds >10% in the populace. When the prevalence is around 5%, the positive and negative predictive value of RIDTs (the percentage of test positive cases that have influenza) is around 50%, whereas when prevalence is <2% - the predictive value are 25% and 99% respectively. (4,8)
5.	Costs
The costs of diagnostic tests differ widely between RIDTs, office-based techniques for detecting influenza A and B viruses (enzyme immunoassay and direct immunofluorescence) being the cheapest. According to our own Internet search their cost ranges from US$ 7-25 per test depending on the manufacturer and order size. The costs of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based rapid influenza tests are higher, ranging from US$ 30 to 60 per test. The culture techniques are more expensive. The cost-utility analyses revealed that antiviral treatment is superior to no treatment in high risk populations whether based on clinical judgement, RIDTs or treating all. (12)
In conclusion, the use of the RID tests is mired by their sensitivity, which influences the negative and positive predictive values depending on the influenza status of the populace. Positive RIDT's results in a patient with appropriate symptoms during an epidemic may influence clinician judgement in decreasing overuse of antibiotics or auxiliary testing, while increasing the use of antiviral medication. However the problem arises with negative test results, which may or may not be indicative of lack of the disease. Moreover, in areas where there is unknown local influenza prevalence, or in countries with inadequate influenza surveillance, clinical differentiation of influenza is likely to be confounded by other pathogens. (1,2) Summarizing, the use of rapid influenza testing should not rule out good clinician judgement, or the use of gold standard influenza detection methods. Nevertheless, the use of RIDTs increases physician confidence in the diagnosis of influenza and may increases antiviral treatment rate. Since the therapeutic decision depends on local influenza prevalence, from practical point of view, physicians using office-based tests would benefit not only from the single result in an individual patient but also from estimates of the disease in local population. We present our value care advice for RIDTs use in children below.
Value Care Advice for use of RIDTs in children:
1.	RIDTs as quicker and cheaper tests in comparison to RT-PCR may be useful especially in feverish children with non-specific symptoms when influenza incidence is high - the moderate sensitivity of RTDTs is still higher than clinical examination based on symptoms in children, which has a low sensitivity especially in small children.
2.	The sensitivity of RIDTs can be improved by better material collection:
-	collection of the specimen during the first days of disease
-	use of nasal secretions
-	use of saline to rinse the nasal cavity instead of nasopharyngeal swabs
-	use of combined nasal/throat swab specimens
-	use of test on specimens from more than one person in outbreak setting
3.	Positive result of RIDTs has a strong positive predictive value - i.e. it confirms the diagnosis of influenza during influenza season
4.	Negative result of RIDTs must be interpreted with caution. If a child presents typical signs and symptoms of flu during peak influenza activity, the negative result does not exclude influenza since statistically almost every second child with influenza will have false negative result. Children who belong to high-risk groups of severe course of the disease should be started on antivirals despite negative RIDT result.
5.	Typical clinical picture during influenza season or epidemiological link (e.g. contact with patient with confirmed influenza) is sufficient to diagnose influenza and to initiate anti-viral therapy.
World Health Organization. Influenza (seasonal). Fact Sheet no. 211, who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs211/en/index.html. Accessed on 3rd March 2016.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Pink Book, Chapter 12: Influenza Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. 13th Edition (2015) http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/flu.pdf. Accessed on 3rd March 2016.
Vollenweider MA, Hornung CA, Simel DL, McKinney WP. Does this patient have influenza? JAMA. 2005;293(8):987-997. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
World Health Organization, recommendations on use of rapid testing for influenza diagnosis http://www.who.int/influenza/resources/documents/RapidTestInfluenza_WebVersion.pdf. Accessed on 3rd March 2016.
CDC Guidance for Clinicians on the Use of Rapid Influenza Diagnostic Tests http://www.cdc.gov/flu/pdf/professionals/diagnosis/clinician_guidance_ridt.pdf. Accessed on 3rd March 2016.
Peltola V, Renuane T, Ziegler T, Silvennoinen H, Heikken T. Accuracy of clinical diagnosis of influenza in outpatient patients. Clin Infect Dis 2005; 41: 1198-1200. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
Chartrand C; Pai H. How Accurate Are Rapid Influenza Diagnostic Tests? Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther. 2012;10(6):615-617. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
Chartrand C, Leeflang MM, Minion J, Brewer T, Pai M. Accuracy of rapid influenza diagnostic tests: a meta-analysis. Ann. Intern. Med. 2012; 156(7), 500–511. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
Grijalva C, Poehling K, Edwards K, Weinberg G, Staat M, Iwane M, et al. Accuracy and interpretation of rapid influenza tests in children. Pediatrics 2007; 119(1): 1-9. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
Harper SA, Bradley JS, Englund JA, File TM, Gravenstein S, Hayden FG, et al. Expert Panel of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Seasonal influenza in adults and children--diagnosis, treatment, chemoprophylaxis, and institutional outbreak management: clinical practice guidelines of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Clin Infect Dis. 2009 Apr 15;48(8):1003-32. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
Ipp M, Carson S, Petric M, Parkin PC. Rapid painless diagnosis of viral respiratory infection. Arch Dis Child. 2002 May;86(5):372-3. [CrossRef] [PubMed] [PMC free article]
Dugas AF, Coleman S, Gaydos CA, Rothman RE, Frick KD. Cost-utility of rapid polymerase chain reaction-based influenza testing for high-risk emergency department patients. Ann Emerg Med. 2013;62(1):80-8. [CrossRef] [PubMed] [PMC free article]
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TBT: What LiveJournal Taught Us About Blogging
Home » Insights » TBT: What LiveJournal Taught Us About Blogging
Technology doesn't come from out of nowhere – there are always roots. The roots of modern blogging truly run back to the success and formatting that grew out of LiveJournal, a social sharing platform that encouraged users to create and share their thoughts, experiences and more. It set up the culture of openness/oversharing that we all know and love/hate today.
Understanding the foundation that LiveJournal created for us is an important step in making sense of how the blogosphere developed, leading us from message boards to the very way that you and I are communicating right now.
The History of LiveJournal
Back in the late 90's, there just wasn't much on the internet. Without mobile and without the high speed internet that we know today, there were dramatically fewer people on the web and vastly fewer places to go. LiveJournal was created by Brad Fitzpatrick in 1999 as a way for people to share their thoughts online in a long format, with the original idea being a way to connect with high school friends. LiveJournal proved to be revolutionary when it was launched. Though there were other blog sites on the web at the time, the features that LiveJournal brought to the table, like friends lists, icons, and threaded comments, took the best of the message boards, list servs and chat rooms that were highly popular at the time and brought them to the blog format that is ubiquitous today.
While under the guidance of Fitzpatrick, LiveJournal flourished. The site enjoyed very little controversy and a wide range of innovations like the invitation only model were adopted to control the quality of the site.
In 2005 LiveJournal was sold to Six Apart, a company that would run a completely different business model. The company ended up hosting major controversies including the introduction of advertisements, account suspensions and security breaches. Six Apart sold LiveJournal to to SUP Media, a Russian firm, in 2007. It turns out that LiveJournal is massively popular in Russia, having even more of a cultural icon status than it does in western countries. In fact the word for LiveJournal in Russian has evolved into a generic term for blogging in general.
An important piece to note here is that LiveJournal is still teaching us things. While it was a forerunner in the world of blogging, unlike some of our other TBT pieces, this one is still around will millions of active users sharing online. Though its user base and influence have gotten smaller in the years since it first rose to prominence, you can still go start your own LiveJournal!
What did LiveJournal teach us?
Those heady, early days taught us so many things, and not just about the Internet, but about how technology could help us to connect with one another. Self expression was something that everyone had access to, and connecting with communities of people on the fringe wasn't just for those who lived in large cities anymore – everyone could find likeminded individuals to connect with.
LiveJournal offered the chance to create "shared blogs."
Lesson: Multiple writers are better than one.
Most blogs today (including this one) aren't just created and driven by one person, but are full of content that's generated by several writers, in some cases hundreds. LiveJournal offered the first real window into the modern world of shared blogging, allowing users to post about a wide variety of subjects. By having many writers, it's easier to have better quality content that's more regularly posted.
LiveJournal pioneered tagging and listing.
Lesson: Connections matter on and offline.
A hallmark of the early LiveJournal platform, one of the pieces that truly set it apart, was tagging and listing. What these really did was connect content that would otherwise have been wholly unrelated and difficult to put together. It truly offered the precursor to the current hashtags and trending content that is at the center of much of the internet experience today. For instance a user could write an entry about NSYNC and tag it with the band's name, then when they came back to that same subject they could again tag it NSYNC and visitors to their LiveJournal could easily find all of the content related thanks to the tag. A similar function was true for lists, which allowed readers to track entries and users that they liked and to follow and connect content effectively.
LiveJournal preserved the mystery with "lj cuts."
Lesson: People hate spoilers.
LJ cuts allow LiveJournal writers the ability to hide part of their content behind a link, preventing users from getting to the goods before they were ready. By hiding the best content behind a link, LiveJournal writers improved readability and also had the chance to keep readers from seeing information that might spoil the surprise. How does Facebook not have this? How many relationships have been ruined because people let that Game of Thrones twist out of the bag? Unfortunately an arguable legacy of this truly functional way to control content delivery is clickbait, which works to control the user experience but to perhaps devious and misleading ends.
Lesson: To reach the most people, do most of the work.
While other sites like Blogger offered more versatility and a far more intense ability to customize, LiveJournal was relatively restricted in terms of what users were able to do to their pages. That turned out to be a great thing, as it allowed people who would otherwise have been lost in the techspeak to participate in this online platform. Today we can see the legacy of this in sites like WordPress, which offer ready-made platforms that require very little technical know-how. In order to get the most out of LiveJournal, you did need to have some working knowledge of HTML, which is where the sites that followed really made their mark in offering an easy to use, if strikingly cookie cutter, experience.
The Blogosphere has a lasting effect
Blogs are a dominant modern form of communication, a free and easy way for people to release their thoughts out into the ether. Blogging can be both cathartic and also intensely troublesome. It's been life changing for many people, offering them the chance to escape their day jobs and find financial prosperity. It's also be the path to fame for many. For most of us, blogging is a way to share ideas and to engage with strangers halfway across the world who share our view of the world, or in many cases don't.
LiveJournal led to a personalized Internet and a stream of longform content that was not created by a company but that was generated by the people. LiveJournal gave us all a voice, a voice that we've seen shape the real world in both intensely personal and also geopolitical ways.
Creating Engaging Content
Dynamic and highly-engaging content has driven consumers since the early days of LiveJournal. How has your company setup your marketing strategy? If you need help, our professional content marketing strategists would love to help – we've been blogging away since the prehistoric era of LiveJournal, ourselves!

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I extend a warm welcome to you as you learn more about Admissions at All Souls School.
My personal and profound relationship with All Souls began several years ago as an excited parent experiencing preschool with my first child. As a former teacher, I sensed that All Souls would be a good fit for my daughter, and later for my son. It took no time at all for my hunch to validated. I anticipated that my children would thrive in the kind, nurturing environment, but I was delighted to find that it was an open, inclusive community for parents and families as well. During the time my children attended All Souls, I became actively involved in the school, serving on the Parents Association's Executive Board, as well as the All Souls School Board of Trustees. When my children left All Souls for kindergarten, I stayed on to become a classroom teacher of 3, 4, and 5 year-olds for several years. My children are now much older, but some of their closest friendships, and mine, are those formed here at All Souls many years ago. Not so unusual for a family's experience here at All Souls!
My hope for you as you learn about the variety of excellent preschool choices available to you here in New York City, is that you find a place that will serve you, your child, and your family in the best possible way.
I look forward to supporting you as you embark on your school exploration!


Though widely recognized as a tropical escape from the larger metropolis of Naples, Marco Island is within the metropolitan area, and just 15 miles from the seat of Collier County. Little wonder then that there should be Naples condos near Marco Island that catch the eye of island folk.
With the distance so short, there is a lot of journeying between the two cities, with many residents on Marco Island working in Naples. But what kind of Naples condos are on offer? And where are the best places to look when considering buying a Naples condo? Here are a few areas worth keeping in mind.
Situated just north of the spot where Collier Boulevard intersects the Tamiami Trail, Lely Resort includes a wide range of properties across 9 different communities built around a pristine golf course.
When it comes to buying a Naples condo that is not so far from the pleasures of Marco Island, this is one of the first developments that should be considered. This is especially true for golf lovers, but equally for those who love nature and the outdoor pursuits that are available in nearby parks, like the Collier Seminole State Park to the south, or the elegance of the Naples Botanical Gardens to the north.
These Naples condos can range from impressively appointed 2-bedroom condos for around $200,000, to magnificent luxury condos over 2,000 sq feet for around $2 million. And as Naples condos near Marco Island they can still catch clear views of the fiery tropical sunsets Marco Island is famed for.
More dream Naples condos for golf and nature lovers, Naples Lakes is sited just a little north of Lely Resort along Collier Boulevard. It earns its name courtesy of the 13 distinct lakes that the Country Club has with an Arnold Palmer signature golf course weaving its way around them.
As you would expect, buying a Naples condo in this vicinity means buying into a high standard of living. But they are also amongst the more affordable properties, ranging in price from around $200,000 to $500,000. So, for anyone looking for Naples condos near Marco Island, this is a highly attractive location.
Another haven for the golf lover, Naples Heritage does offer something slightly different in that it's the least populated of the golf resorts and surrounded by acres of lush woodland. As such, buying a Naples condo here means locating in a community boasting greater serenity than its nearest neighbors.
The woodland is a nature reserve, in which a vast variety of wildlife and especially birds, but the addition of substantial lakes makes the immediate scenery extremely peaceful. An exclusive Naples condo and home development, almost 20 miles from Marco Island, it includes swimming and tennis facilities, with properties available for modest prices starting at just $150,000.
As Naples condos near Marco Island go, this location is a bit far, but the closeness of Collier Boulevard makes getting to the famous white beaches simple and direct. Remember, buying a Naples condo never means missing out on the world-class facilities on Marco Island, but does have the advantage of being closer to the more extensive amenities in Naples.


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Why you shouldn't buy an LCD TV
By James Rivington 22 April 2008
Pioneer technician describes the frivolities of LCD technology
Technology certainly seems to be on the side of plasma. Could price be its downfall?
If you bought a large LCD television this year, you may have made a big mistake. At least, that's what Pioneer technician, Dominic Feeney, says. He thinks LCD technology is so vastly inferior to most plasma screens that it makes no sense to buy a large LCD TV from the likes of Sharp and Sony.
"Plasma TVs have a larger and more accurate colour range, a higher contrast ratio and better black level for improved depth of field," Feeney told TechRadar.
Is plasma better than LCD?
"LCD manufacturers often quote wide viewing angles but don't mention that although the picture is still visible at a wider angle, the quality of picture decreases dramatically off axis. Plasma viewing angles are comparable yet maintain the full picture quality at all times.
"Motion response times are also better in plasma TVs. That's because they typically have less than a millisecond response time; LCDs are just about hitting 4 milliseconds [although Philips' new 9000 series LCD TVs have a response time of around 2 miliseconds - ed]. This is too slow for fast moving action and results in blurred edges especially in fine detail areas. Ironically, LCDs only hold a 1080p resolution with a static image. When the image moves fast, the perceived resolution your eye resolves from a 1080p LCD is actually less than standard definition. Hilarious!"
Pioneer is responsible for the creation of the Kuro plasma television range. While quite expensive, the TVs have received rave reviews from both critics and home users alike. But while the Kuro range is undoubtedly the finest on the market at present, LCD panels have also improved spectacularly over the last few years.
Pitch black failure
Viewing angles have been enhanced, contrast ratios are up too. Prices have come down and general quality is up. But Feeney says that the fundamentals of the technology involved mean LCD screens will always be inferior to plasmas.
At the heart of LCD's problems is the fact that the panels are transmissive, which means each pixel is actually a shutter blocking out an 'always on' white backlight. Colours are then filtered out from that white light. And because the pixels cannot shut out all the light, blacks come out more like dark greys.
"LCD tech was originally developed many years ago as a technology for displaying static images on devices such as the pocket calculator and digital watch," Feeney says.
"But in more recent times it's been adapted by the PC industry again primarily for display of static images. It's only in very recent times that LCD technology has been transferred into televisions and this is down to one simple fact: it's cheaper to make an LCD TV than a plasma one."
However this looks set to change with future LCD TVs which use LEDs rather than fluorescent backlights. LEDs will enable LCD TV makers to properly turn off the backlight, leading to a dramatic increase in contrast, as individual pixels will effectively be off when no image is being displayed on the whole or a particular part of the screen.
Emissive beats transmissive
Modern plasma TVs on the other hand work completely differently. They're emissive displays, so each pixel is made up of a red, green and blue phosphor pocket. When the phosphor is excited by an electrode it emits red, green or blue light. And because there is no backlight, black colours are able to be displayed much more accurately.
"Different intensities and mixtures of these elements create the colours and display the imagery," Feeney says. "It was developed about 10 years ago and has been developed from the ground up as a TV device to display moving images with rich colour and contrast. For these reasons, LCD panels will never be able to rival PDPs."
It's not just PDP manufacturers who advocate plasma technology, either. A report published last year by researchers at Synovate sought to reveal consumer attitudes towards both kinds of TV technology.
Plasma has the edge
The results revealed a strong preference for the contrast, black tone, resolution, image depth, sharpness, colour and response speed of plasma. And opinions among those who had some prior knowledge of the two technologies swung dramatically toward plasma once they viewed the content side-by-side in an environment similar to their homes.
However, one area where LCD certainly does rule over plasma is in the small panel market. It's impossible to make decent plasma screens smaller than about 37 inches, something the Pioneer man readily admits.
"Each pixel of a plasma panel is precision sandblasted into a glass sheet. For a 1080p resolution 50-inch plasma, each individual pixel is about the size of a pin prick in a sheet of paper. To try and replicate this resolution on an even smaller piece of glass, the pixels would have to be minuscule," he says.
"It's impossible to do this and still retain structural integrity of the glass, not to mention the reduced amount of phosphor in each cell having a detrimental effect on overall brightness and colour purity."
So which television technology should you plump for? It's certainly not as clean cut as it may seem. While Pioneer's Kuro plasma range is astonishing, a 50-inch panel costs around £3,500 which is well out of the price range of many people.
In contrast, a similarly sized Sony Bravia LCD TV may not be as good, but would cost around £2,000 less. So, as always in cases like these, it comes down to what you can afford.
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I know exactly what you mean. When I first started writing my series, I had three scenes in mind - the climax of the whole series, the climax of what I thought was the first book and another pivotal scene early in the so-called first book. It was this first scene that made me wonder how the MC got there and exploring that ended in a whole new book. If I had stuck with my original idea of plot, I wouldn't even have that first book.
Keep going! I'm not doing NaNoWriMo, but I'm standing on the sidelines, cheering every one along. Rah rah!
You are so right. Mine has already taken a few turns that I never expected, but I'm still pushing my plot too much.
Last time I got stuck I started writing three bigger parts of the story, and didn't finish them so the next time I get stuck I have options I can go right to. It was a nice trick.
Hi, Andrew! Great thinking. I love how you said that fear, anger and love should drive the story and not the PLOT. That would be a boring read.
@Kristie: I like plotting but I don't like to be beholden to it. Sometimes the story just changes.
@Venassa: Some people say never finish a scene so you have something to work on next time. I don't believe in it but it's worth a try.
@EM: I'm learning that detective stories are all about people and not much about the plot. Yeah, there's got to be clues and pursuit of suspects, but that's kind of secondary.


Our grade 10 is having a leadership camp at Wonosalam Training Center at Jombang entitled as "Being a 'Lovestable' Leaders. The term 'lovestable' is taken from the words 'Lovable' and 'Sustainable'. Growing up in this ever-changing world, we want that our high school student is well prepared to lead a fruitful life according to God's plan. Through this activity, we want to emphasize the importance of a servant's heart as a leader that is not only loving but also credible and tough in the midst of change.


text:
Q: How Do I Access Thread Local Storage From ml64.exe (MSVC 64-bit X64 Assembler)? The following C function attempts to prevent recursion in multicore code in a thread-safe manner using a thread local storage variable.  However, for reasons that are somewhat complicated, I NEED to write this function in X64 assembler (Intel X86 / AMD 64-bit) and assemble it with ml64.exe from VC2010.  I know how to do this if I'm using global variables but I'm not sure how to do it properly with a TLS variable that has __declspec(thread).
__declspec(thread) int tls_VAR = 0;
void norecurse(  )
{
    if(0==tls_VAR)
    {
        tls_VAR=1;
        DoWork();
        tls_VAR=0;
    }
}

Note: This is what VC2010 kicks out for the function.  However, MASM (ml64.exe) doesn't support the gs:88 or OFFSET FLAT: parts of the code.
; Listing generated by Microsoft (R) Optimizing Compiler Version 16.00.40219.01

include listing.inc

INCLUDELIB MSVCRTD
INCLUDELIB OLDNAMES

PUBLIC  norecurse
EXTRN   DoWork:PROC
EXTRN   tls_VAR:DWORD
EXTRN   _tls_index:DWORD
pdata   SEGMENT
$pdata$norecurse DD imagerel $LN4
    DD  imagerel $LN4+70
    DD  imagerel $unwind$norecurse
pdata   ENDS
xdata   SEGMENT
$unwind$norecurse DD 040a01H
    DD  06340aH
    DD  07006320aH
; Function compile flags: /Ogtpy
xdata   ENDS
_TEXT   SEGMENT
norecurse PROC
; File p:\hackytests\64bittest2010\64bittest\64bittest.cpp
; Line 19
$LN4:
    mov QWORD PTR [rsp+8], rbx
    push    rdi
    sub rsp, 32                 ; 00000020H
; Line 20
    mov ecx, DWORD PTR _tls_index
    mov rax, QWORD PTR gs:88
    mov edi, OFFSET FLAT:tls_VAR
    mov rbx, QWORD PTR [rax+rcx*8]
    cmp DWORD PTR [rbx+rdi], 0
    jne SHORT $LN1@norecurse
; Line 22
    mov DWORD PTR [rbx+rdi], 1
; Line 23
    call    DoWork
; Line 24
    mov DWORD PTR [rbx+rdi], 0
$LN1@norecurse:
; Line 26
    mov rbx, QWORD PTR [rsp+48]
    add rsp, 32                 ; 00000020H
    pop rdi
    ret 0
norecurse ENDP
_TEXT   ENDS
END

A: As your answer indicates the problem comes down finding the MASM equivalents to the following two lines in assembly listing generated by the Microsoft's C++ compiler:
mov rax, QWORD PTR gs:88
mov edi, OFFSET FLAT:tls_VAR

The first line is easy. Just replace gs:88 with gs:[88].
The second line is less obvious. The OFFSET FLAT: operator is a red herring. It means use the offset relative to the beginning of the "FLAT" segment. With the 32-bit version of MASM, the FLAT segment is the segment that includes the entire 4G address space. This is the segment that's used for both the code and data segment as part of the 32-bit flat memory model. The 64-bit version of MASM doesn't support memory models, it essentially always assumes a 64-bit version of the flat memory model, so it doesn't support the FLAT keyword. As result the plain OFFSET operator ends meaning the same thing. (In fact with the 32-bit assembler, plain OFFSET also normally means the same thing because PECOFF only supports the flat memory model.)
However using OFFSET here won't work. That's because it would use the offset of the address of tls_VAR in memory relative to address 0. Or in other words, it would use the absolute address of tls_VAR in memory. What's needed here is the offset relative to the beginning of the TLS data section.
So the compiler must be doing something special here.  In order find out, I dumped the relocations in the object file generated while compiling your example C code:
> dumpbin /relocations t215a.obj
...
RELOCATIONS #4
                                                Symbol    Symbol
 Offset    Type              Applied To         Index     Name
 --------  ----------------  -----------------  --------  ------
 00000008  REL32                      00000000        14  _tls_index
 00000016  SECREL                     00000000         8  tls_VAR
 0000002D  REL32                      00000000         C  DoWork
...

As you can see it generates a relocation of type SECREL for the reference to tls_VAR.  This makes the relocation relative to the base of the section in the generated executable that that symbol appears in. In this case that's the .tls section, so this relocation generates an offset relative to the beginning of the section used for static TLS data.
So now the question becomes how to get MASM to generate the same SECREL relocation the compiler emits.  This turns out to have a easy solution as well, just replace OFFSET FLAT: with SECTIONREL.
So with these changes (and a bit of optimization) your function becomes:
    EXTERN  tls_VAR:DWORD
    EXTERN  _tls_index:DWORD
    EXTERN  DoWork:PROC

    PUBLIC  norecurse
_TEXT SEGMENT
norecurse PROC
    push rbx
    sub rsp, 32
    mov rax, gs:[88]
    mov ecx, _tls_index
    mov rbx, [rax + rcx * 8]
    cmp DWORD PTR [rbx + SECTIONREL tls_VAR], 0
    jne return
    mov DWORD PTR [rbx + SECTIONREL tls_VAR], 1
    call DoWork
    mov DWORD PTR [rbx + SECTIONREL tls_VAR], 0
return:
    add rsp, 32
    pop rbx
    ret
norecurse ENDP
_TEXT ENDS
    END

A: I was able to work a hack around the issue.  My implementation in assember is less efficient than the C compiler generated code though because I was not able to figure out how to use the following two addressing modes:

*

*mov rax, QWORD PTR gs:88

*mov edi, OFFSET FLAT:tls_VAR

For (1), I had to load 88 into rax and use gs:[rax] to access the TLS-base for the thread.
For (2), the lack of OFFSET FLAT in MASM (ml64.exe) meant that I had to be more clever.  I computed the offset by subtracting _tls_start from the TLS-base for the thread that could be applied to TLS-variables in assembler to access their thread local values.
PUBLIC  norecurse
EXTRN   _tls_index:DWORD
EXTRN   _tls_start:DWORD
EXTRN   tls_VAR:DWORD
EXTRN   DoWork:PROC

_TEXT   SEGMENT

norecurse           PROC
    ; non-volatile
    push            rbx
    sub             rsp,32

    ; The gs segment register refers to the base address of the TEB on x64.
    ; 88 (0×58) is the offset in the TEB for the ThreadLocalStoragePointer member on x64
    mov             rax,88
    mov             edx, DWORD PTR _tls_index
    mov             rax, gs:[rax]
    mov             r11, QWORD PTR [rax+rdx*8]
    lea             r10, _tls_start
    ; r11 will be the the offset-adjusted TLS-Base
    sub             r11, r10

    ; ebx will be the the thread local address of tls_VAR
    lea             rdx, tls_VAR
    lea             rbx,[r11+rdx]

    cmp             DWORD PTR [rbx], 0
    jne             @F

    mov             DWORD PTR [rbx], 1

    call            DoWork

    mov             DWORD PTR [rbx], 0
@@:

    add             rsp,32
    pop             rbx

    ret
norecurse       ENDP

_TEXT   ENDS

    END

I'd love to see more efficient method or pointers on how to actually use the two addressing modes I couldn't figure out with MASM (ml64.exe) though.

A: Check out TlsGetValue, TlsSetvalue, and friends.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
import { runTest, testPath } from "../../../support";
import {
  apply3Units,
  dayDate,
  hourDate,
  millisecondDate,
  minuteDate,
  monthDate,
  quarterDate,
  secondDate,
  testDate,
  weekDate,
  yearDate,
} from "./data";

runTest(testPath(__filename), {
  $dateSubtract: [
    [{ ...apply3Units, unit: "year" }, yearDate, { obj: testDate }],
    [{ ...apply3Units, unit: "quarter" }, quarterDate, { obj: testDate }],
    [{ ...apply3Units, unit: "month" }, monthDate, { obj: testDate }],
    [{ ...apply3Units, unit: "week" }, weekDate, { obj: testDate }],
    [{ ...apply3Units, unit: "day" }, dayDate, { obj: testDate }],
    [{ ...apply3Units, unit: "hour" }, hourDate, { obj: testDate }],
    [{ ...apply3Units, unit: "minute" }, minuteDate, { obj: testDate }],
    [{ ...apply3Units, unit: "second" }, secondDate, { obj: testDate }],
    [
      { ...apply3Units, unit: "millisecond" },
      millisecondDate,
      { obj: testDate },
    ],
  ],
});

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


ATHENS, Ga. - USC women's tennis junior Luana Magnani and freshman Anca Anastasiu both dropped their opening round matches on Monday afternoon at the 2004 NCAA Singles Championships being held at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on the Georgia campus.
Magnani, who was ranked 15th in the final regular season ITA poll, jumped out to an early lead against Florida's 19th-ranked Jennifer Magley. She captured the first set with ease, 6-3, but Magley quickly turned the table. The Florida freshman bounced back to win the next two sets for a final 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory.
Anastasiu fell to fellow Pac-10 player and 17th-ranked Dea Sumantri of Washington, also in three sets. This time it was Anastasiu who battled back after dropping the first set and evened the match with a 6-3 win in the second. Sumantri eventually pulled out a final 6-4 victory in a close third set.
Postseason play is not over yet for the Women of Troy. Magnani and doubles partner Carine Vermeulen will play the first round of the NCAA Doubles Championship on Tuesday, May 25. The pair will face 19th-ranked Kendall Cline and Aniela Mojzis of North Carolina at 2 p.m. EST.


Houston, Texas – Noble Iron Inc. ("Noble Iron" or the "Company", NIR: TSX Venture Exchange) announced its audited financial results for the year ended December 31, 2012.
2012 consolidated adjusted EBITDA (see definition below), including corporate expense related to business development, branding and R&D, was $0.9 million – versus $0.1 million last year. Standalone adjusted EBITDA at Noble Iron's rental and distribution operations were $2.7 million and $1.0 million at the Company's software subsidiary, Texada Software. Net losses for 2012 were $1.8 million.
Noble Iron Inc. operates in three complementary sectors: equipment rental, equipment dealership, and enterprise asset management software for the construction and industrial equipment industry.
in determining whether to invest in its common shares. Readers of this information are cautioned that Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as an alternative to net income or loss determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of Noble Iron's performance, or cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities as measures of Noble Iron's liquidity and cash flows. Noble Iron's method of calculating Adjusted EBITDA may differ from the methods used by other issuers and, accordingly, Noble Iron's Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.


As many of you will know, I have served this county badminton association for several years now, from my early days as Development Officer to my current role as County Chairman. It has been an immensely rewarding time and has enabled me to witness and assist in some memorable achievements within Cornwall badminton. However, I now feel that the time has come for me to "hand over the reins" to someone else. Accordingly, I will be formally resigning my post as Chairman at the forthcoming County AGM and Presentation event at the White Hart, St Austell on May 5th.
I will remain involved but at a distance, in that I will continue to be one of the authorised document checkers for those applying for or renewing a DBS certificate. Similarly, I will continue my work with Truro Junior BC for the foreseeable future and hope thereby to retain my links with CYB. True to say that I love this sport and this county, but I feel that I have little more to give and that it is time for you to seek someone with new and probably younger ideas and energy.
There is plenty of time for you as individuals and as clubs, to discuss the situation and for one or more of you to offer yourselves to replace me – it shouldn't be difficult. The post is not onerous, and you will have the support of a very able committee, most of whom are standing again for re-election and who are extremely knowledgeable and experienced in organising our sport within Cornwall and beyond. You should also consider coming onto the committee even if you don't feel ready to take on the chairmanship at this point. Please, everyone, see if you can give just a little time to serving this wonderful sport and county of ours.
I look forward to seeing you all at the AGM.


text:
Buchrain (schweizerdeutsch: Bueri) ist eine politische Gemeinde im Wahlkreis Luzern-Land des Kantons Luzern in der Schweiz.

Geographie
Die Gemeinde Buchrain liegt auf den östlichen Ausläufern des Hundsrückens, eingebettet zwischen Reuss und Rontal. Ebenfalls zu Buchrain gehört das Dorf Perlen.

Der höchste Punkt der Gemeinde befindet sich auf dem Hundsrücken auf , der tiefste an der Reuss auf

Die Gemeinde Buchrain grenzt im Westen an Emmen, im Nordwesten an Eschenbach, im Norden an Inwil, im Osten an Root, im Südosten an Dierikon und im Süden an Ebikon.

Bevölkerung
Buchrain zählte 1850 312 Einwohner, wuchs dann zwischen 1870 und 1880 stark von 324 auf 701 Einwohner an. Bis 1960 gab es ein stetes mässiges Wachstum auf 1'395 Einwohner. Anlässlich der Volkszählung im Jahre 2000 wurden 4'976 Personen gezählt. Mittlerweile leben 6'361 Menschen in Buchrain, darunter 3'174 Männer und 3'187 Frauen (Stand: 31. Dezember 2019).

Quellen: 1798–1837: Helvetische und kantonale Volkszählungen; Bundesamt für Statistik; 1850 bis 2000 Volkszählungsergebnisse, 2010 ESPOP, seit 2011 STATPOP

Sprachen
88,0 % der Bewohner geben Deutsch als Hauptsprache an. Daneben sind, durch Einwanderung, Serbokroatisch (3,5 %), Albanisch sowie Italienisch (je 1,8 %) die nächstbedeutenderen Sprachen (Stand 2000).

Religionen – Konfessionen
Die Bevölkerung war bis zur Gründung der modernen Schweiz geschlossen römisch-katholisch. Durch Einwanderung aus anderen Kantonen der Schweiz und aus dem Ausland hat sich dies gewandelt. 67,3 % der Bevölkerung sind Römische-Katholiken; 13,5 % Evangelisch-Reformierte; 5,6 % Muslime; 4,0 % Orthodoxe Christen und 6,3 % Bekenntnislose (Stand 2000).

Herkunft – Nationalität
Ende 2019 zählte die Gemeinde 6'361 Einwohner. Davon waren 5'090 Schweizer Staatsangehörige und 1'271 (= 20,0 %) Menschen anderer Staatsangehörigkeit. Die grössten Zuwanderergruppen kommen aus Deutschland (206 Menschen), Italien (166), dem Kosovo (142), Serbien (98), Portugal (52), der Türkei (47), Nordmazedonien (46), Eritrea (43), Bosnien und Herzegowina (39), Österreich (31) und Ungarn (30).

Bildung
Für die Schulbildung stehen das Dorfschulhaus (Primarstufe), das Haus Dorfhalde (Kindergarten), das ‹Wüesthuus› (Kindergarten und Musikschule) und das Schulzentrum Hinterleisibach (Kindergarten, Primarschule, Realschule und Sekundarschule, 1989 eröffnet) zur Verfügung. Am 2. Juni 2007 wurde die 4. Etappe des Schulzentrums Hinterleisibach eröffnet. Dazu gehören eine dritte Turnhalle und neue Garderoben, zwei Beachvolleyballfelder, ein Skaterpark, ein Kunstrasen, weitere Schulräume sowie eine neue Aula.

In Buchrain besuchten (Schuljahr 2017/2018) 125 Kinder die sieben Kindergartenklassen im Dorf, der Dorfhalde, Hinterleisibach und Wüesthaus. Die Schulhäuser Dorf und Hinterleisibach boten 410 Primarschülern (in 24 Klassen) und das Schulhaus Hinterleisibach 167 Oberstufenschülern (in 11 Klassen) eine Bildungsmöglichkeit. Für den Besuch von Mittelschulen und der Universität pendeln die Lernenden in die Stadt Luzern.

Lernende mit Schulort Buchrain

aus der Gemeinde und Nachbargemeinden; Quelle LUSTAT

Lernende mit Wohnort Buchrain

in der Gemeinde wohnhaft; Quelle LUSTAT

Wirtschaft
Im Jahr 2016 gab es 278 Arbeitsstätten mit 2'337 Beschäftigten in Buchrain. Der Anteil der Beschäftigten in der Landwirtschaft ist in den letzten Jahrzehnten stark zurückgegangen. Die Landwirtschaft bietet nur noch 2,48 % der Erwerbstätigen (58 Personen) in 8 Betrieben eine berufliche Existenz. Weit bedeutender sind heute Industrie und Gewerbe mit 69 Betrieben und 1'215 Beschäftigten und der Dienstleistungsbereich mit 201 Arbeitsstätten und 1'064 Beschäftigten. Der grösste Arbeitgeber in der Gemeinde ist die Wirth & Co AG, ein Maschinen- und Lackierbetrieb. Im Jahr 2000 gab es 841 Zugpendler und 1977 Wegpendler (v. a. in die Stadt Luzern, nach Ebikon und in den Kanton Zug).

Verkehr
Die Gemeinde Buchrain ist durch die Buslinie (Luzern-)Ebikon-Buchrain-Perlen(-Gisikon-Root) (VBL Linie 22) an den Öffentlichen Verkehr angeschlossen. Seit dem Fahrplanwechsel vom 12. Dezember 2004 besitzt Buchrain eine eigene S-Bahn Haltestelle an der Bahnstrecke Zug–Luzern.

Durch die Gemeinde führen die Kantonsstrasse von Inwil nach Ebikon und die Autobahn A14, an welche Buchrain seit dem 22. Juni 2011 angeschlossen ist.

Geschichte

Hof des Klosters Murbach
Die Geschichte Buchrains ist über 1000 Jahre alt. Zu Beginn war Buchrain ein Dinghof (landwirtschaftliche Liegenschaft zur Pacht mit grundherrlichem Beamten, welcher unter anderem auch die Zinsen eingezogen und die Gerichtsbarkeit ausgeübt hat) des Benediktinerklosters St. Leodegar zu Luzern. Im Jahre 840 verlor das Kloster seine Selbständigkeit und wurde eine Propstei des Klosters Murbach im Elsass. 1178 wurde dann «Buorren» erstmals als Ortschaft erwähnt.

Österreichische Herrschaft
Im Jahre 1291 verkaufte der Fürstabt von Murbach seine Dinghöfe an König Rudolf von Habsburg. So geriet Buchrain unter österreichische Herrschaft und wurde der Vogtei Rothenburg zugeteilt. 1332 schloss sich Luzern dem Bund der Eidgenossen an, viele Buchrainer sympathisierten mit den Luzernern und kämpften bei der Schlacht bei Sempach 1386 auf der Seite der Eidgenossen. Danach ging Buchrain mitsamt der Vogtei Rothenburg an Luzern.

Handelswege, Wallfahrtsort und Gaststätte
Buchrain lag im Mittelalter an einem der wichtigsten Handelswege durch die Schweiz, welcher vom Grimsel- und Brünigpass nach Luzern und bis zum Rhein führte. Zeugen von der Bedeutung dieses Handelsweges sind die Burgen Nünegg, Richensee, Hallwil und Lenzburg. Im Jahre 1455 wurde die Weihe der Buchrainer Kirche urkundlich erwähnt, dies führte zu verschiedenen Kreuzgängen aus der Nachbarschaft. Man verehrte die Schutzpatronin gegen Feuersbrunst, die Heilige Agatha. 1759 wurde die etablierte Gaststätte «Adler» mit Wirtsrecht eröffnet. Von 1807 bis 1811 diente sogar ein Raum im «Adler» als Schulzimmer für den Unterricht. Die Schulchronik berichtet, dass Buchrain eine der ältesten Dorfschulen des Kantons Luzern besass.

Industrielle Entwicklung
August Bell, Maschinenfabrikant, löste im Jahre 1862 mit dem Bau des Reusskanals und des Kraftwerks Perlen eine industrielle Entwicklung in Buchrain aus. Fabrikanlagen wurden gebaut, es entstand eine Holzstofffabrik und die heute noch sehr bedeutende Papierfabrik Perlen. Im Jahre 1883 wurde schliesslich die Fabrik an das Schienennetz mit der Bahnstation Gisikon verbunden.

1907 wurde die erste Brücke über die Reuss gebaut und der bis anhin so wichtige Fährbetrieb konnte eingestellt werden. Eine weitere Verkehrserleichterung brachte schliesslich die Autobusverbindung von Luzern über Buchrain nach Perlen, welche den Betrieb im Jahre 1928 aufnahm.

Politik

Gemeinderat
Der Gemeinderat von Buchrain setzt sich wie folgt zusammen:

 Ivo Egger (SP): Gemeindepräsident
 Heinz Amstad (FDP): Bauvorsteher
 Patrick Bieri (FDP): Finanzvorsteher
 Stephan Betschen (FDP): Sozialvorsteher
 Mirjam Urech (CVP): Bildungsvorsteherin

Kantonsratswahlen
Bei den Kantonsratswahlen 2019 des Kantons Luzern betrugen die Wähleranteile in Buchrain: FDP 28,8 %, CVP 16,4 %, SVP 16,1 %, SP 15,0 %, glp 12,3 %, GPS 7,9 %, EVP 2,0 %.

Nationalratswahlen
Bei den Schweizer Parlamentswahlen 2019 betrugen die Wähleranteile in Buchrain: SVP 24,1 %, CVP 20,5 %, FDP 19,3 %, SP 13,6 %, glp 11,4 %, GPS 9,3 %.

Sehenswürdigkeiten

Die 1455 errichtete Pfarrkirche St. Agatha und Jakobus d. Ä. Ein erstes Gotteshaus befand sich an diesem Platz bereits im Jahr 1257. Bei der römisch-katholischen Pfarrkirche St. Agatha der Zürcher Architekten Naef, Studer und Studer aus den Jahren 1971–72 wurde die organische Raumform des Kirchenraums einer klar ablesbaren kubischen Raumform einbeschrieben. Kapellen, der skulpturale Glockenturm sowie Eingang und Treppenhäuser sind dem Sichtbetonbau angesetzt, farbige Akzente unterstreichen diese additive Komposition.

Regelmässige Veranstaltungen
Bueri Chilbi: Alle Jahre am letzten vollen Wochenende im Oktober findet in Buchrain die Bueri Chilbi statt. Die Veranstaltung dauert zwei Tage und findet auf dem Areal des Dorfschulhauses seit 1972 statt. Organisiert wird dieser Event von der Aktivriege des STV Buchrain.

Literatur
 Die Luzerner Gemeinden und ihre Wappen. Chapelle-sur-Moudon 1987 ISBN 2-88114-006-8
 Die Kunstdenkmäler der Schweiz. Kanton Luzern; Band 1. Basel 1946.
 100 Jahre Perlen 1873–1973. Jubiläumsschrift, 1973.
 Barbara Hennig, André Meyer: Die Kunstdenkmäler des Kantons Luzern, Band II: Das Amt Luzern. Die Landgemeinden. Hrsg. von der Gesellschaft für Schweizerische Kunstgeschichte GSK. Bern 2009 (Kunstdenkmäler der Schweiz Band 116). ISBN 978-3-906131-90-0. S. 46–64.

Weblinks

 Offizielle Website der Gemeinde Buchrain
 Gemeindeprofil des kantonalen statistischen Amtes (PDF; 269 kB)

Einzelnachweise

Ort im Kanton Luzern
Schweizer Gemeinde
Ersterwähnung 1178

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


After three days of what appears to be silent support of the assassination of pro-life activist Jim Pouillon of Owosso, MI on September 11, Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit Monday challenging two recent laws passed in Arizona that take effect on September 30th. The two laws, Abortion Consent Act and SB 1175, "Protect the conscience of healthcare workers, women, parents, and the preborn children that [Planned Parenthood] seeks to eliminate," said Arizona Right to Life President Jinny Perron.
Perron also condemned the shooting death of Pouillon: "Jim stood for the thousands of babies murdered by abortion every day at places like Planned Parenthood."
National pro-abortion groups have been silent in the wake of Pouillon's murder.
Recalling the May 2009 assassination of late-term abortionist Dr. George Tiller, Perron said, "We immediately released a statement in May condemning [Tiller's murder]. We don't want anyone murdered. Where is [Planned Parenthood's] response now?"
Well known in his community as "The abortion sign guy" who staged a silent protest outside Owosso High School five days per week, Jim Pouillon was shot four times through his sign by 33 year-old Harlan Drake who prosecutors say, "was offended by the manner of Mr. Pouillon's message" (Full story at Lifenews).
But at the time of his death, Pouillon appears to have been displaying a large sign with a smiling baby and the word "Life" across the top. A Vietnam veteran, Pouillon wore leg braces and was dependent on an oxygen tank.


Efficient and abundantly available catalysts for biomass conversion were developed. For example, a cobalt based hydrogenation catalyst was developed for the conversion of biomass, a result that was published in Science.
Further, the development of new catalytic electrodes, highly stable fuel cell membranes, and fuel cells based on alternative fuels in direct fuel to electricity fuel cell technologies (NH3, urea, formic acid, methanol) have lead to important scientific breakthroughs with valorisation opportunities.
In the area of radical-type reactivity using first-row transition metal complexes, strategies have been published to control these radicals by using a combination of bio-inspired tools. This has resulted in a number of novel synthetic protocols that are outcompeting existing technology in terms of efficiency. The radical ring-closing reactions under mild conditions, hydro-carbon bond transformations, new concepts in polymer synthesis and in catalytic electro-synthesis all have been published in highly visible journals.
The development of new catalysts relevant for the conversion of solar energy and electrical energy into chemicals and fuels is a hot topic, and also in this area leading papers have been published, e.g. iron based hydrogenase mimics for hydrogen forming reactions in Science Advances.


text:
Researchers: Types of smiles send different messages
A study by UW-Madison defined the facial movements in smiles that we use to navigate different social interactions.
Researchers: Types of smiles send different messages A study by UW-Madison defined the facial movements in smiles that we use to navigate different social interactions. Check out this story on jsonline.com: https://jsonl.in/2wExF7b
Jordan C. Axelson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Published 10:30 a.m. CT Aug. 8, 2017 | Updated 5:09 p.m. CT Aug. 8, 2017
The three types of smiles are reward, affiliative and dominance. Top row: Reward smiles express approval and pleasure and involve sharp lip pulling and eyebrow lift. Middle row: Affiliative smiles promote social bonding and include a thin smile that hides the teeth. Bottom row: Dominance smiles establish social status and look similar to a lopsided smirk or sneer.(Photo: William Graf / University of Wisconsin-Madison)
A smile, like a picture, is worth a thousand words.
Although most commonly associated with happiness, smiles can indicate nervousness, embarrassment and even misery. To add to their mystique and versatility, smiles can express sophisticated messages that influence the behavior of others in social situations.
Due to their surprisingly complicated nature, scientists have long struggled to classify smiles, but a study published last week by the University of Wisconsin-Madison and collaborators has now categorized them into three groups.
Rather than reflecting emotions, the three types of smiles were defined by the social functions they serve. Reward smiles signal approval, affiliative smiles promote bonding and dominance smiles establish social status.
Researchers also determined the specific muscle movements used in each smile, which had not been done before.
"When distinguishing among smiles, both scientists and lay people have tended to focus on true and false smiles," said Paula Niedenthal, a professor of psychology at UW-Madison involved in the study. A true smile indicated a state of happiness and was identified only by the formation of crow's feet around the eyes.
"But people smile in many different circumstances and during many emotional states. So asserting that only smiles that result from states of happiness are 'true' smiles limits our understanding of this important facial expression," she said.
The study began by deconstructing the muscle movements performed during each smile. Researchers used a facial-expression generator to make 2,400 facial animations. The combination of facial movements was random, but each animation incorporated an action from the "smile muscle," the zygomaticus major, that pulls up the corners of the mouth.
Study participants were then asked to sort the animations — all 2,400 of them — as reward, affiliative, dominance or neutral/other.
A second round checked if new participants could distinguish between the three types of smiles, and a third group ranked how well a smile accomplished each of the three functions.
The results showed that recipients felt positive when they saw a reward smile, which was defined by a symmetric, sharp pull of the lips that revealed teeth and by a bit of eyebrow lift. A reward smile communicates enjoyment and pleasure and is "the kind of smile you would use with a baby, so he will smile back or do things you like," said Niedenthal.
An affiliative smile was also symmetric but thinner. The lips were pressed together to hide the teeth, signaling a lack of aggression. The acknowledgment and approachability communicated by affiliative smiles produced positive feelings in recipients, as well.
Dominance smiles were sharply different from the other two. In this case, the zygomaticus major produced a lopsided sneerlike smile that is often seen in athletics and politics when someone feels like they have won.
Clues provided by the other components of a dominance smile helped to explain the negative reaction of recipients upon seeing it. Wrinkling of the nose and raising of the upper lip are associated with anger and disgust. Raising of the eyelids to show more whites of the eyes is also found in expressions of anger, fear and surprise.
While participants could easily identify the dominance smile, they found it more challenging to distinguish between the reward and affiliative smiles.
Niedenthal suspected this result was partly due to the lack of common and concise labels for smiles. "People know exactly what that smile is when they see it and they respond to it appropriately. But it's hard to talk about it in words," she said. "People are not used to thinking about smiles this way."
The results from the study may help with intercultural communication. Americans smile so much that visitors from other countries are taught to smile more.
However, only teaching them one smile can cause confusion. "Simply teaching people about the existence of different types of 'true' smiles can help people pay more attention and avoid some of those misunderstandings," said Niedenthal.
Niedenthal's collaborators are studying how affiliative and dominance smiles affect the results of games that require collaboration, trust and risk.
Niedenthal will use this information to advise surgeons who reconstruct and repair facial muscles and bones.
"They may have to make choices that will affect a patient's expression for the rest of their life," she said. "It's useful for them to know how different kinds of smiles are used in the world and which muscles are involved in making them."
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First Trump supporters get into line more than 24 hours before Milwaukee rally
Trump in Wisconsin promises to kill terrorists and low-flow faucets
Wisconsin voters barely budging on impeachment, Trump and the 2020 Dems
Appeals court blocks purge of Wisconsin voter rolls for the time being


Now that we have outlined all the individual steps, we thought it would be fun to break down the last scene of the video to show you how it's all connected. This is (literally) the money shot!
With the look and feel locked down, and a sense for how we wanted the scene to move, we ran a quick 3D test to make sure that the action worked before we dove into the weeds on the scene. This shot was entirely recreated with 2D software and cut outs once we were comfortable with the movement.
Throwing money is fun! Here is a snapshot of our highly trained money throwers in action!
Finally, with the core fotage in place, we use Adobe After Effects to create the lighting effects and color correction that you see in the finished movie.
All that work for 3 1/2 seconds of magic!
This entry was written by paulhanges and posted on July 14, 2008 at 12:00 pm and filed under Election 2008. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.	Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.


Experience the layered alternating flavor of this tea as it transports you to the rolling hills of Mirik, Darjeeling, where it is grown across nine hills. The expanse of the plantation reflects in the larger-than-life flavor. From the misty rolling mountains of Darjeeling, fresh dewy tea shrubs start their mornings. The taste of the mountain soil and the thin crisp air entwines with the plant' lives and infuse them with the captivating aroma and flavour that sets them apart. We make sure you don't lose out on any tiny fragrant of this whole experience. So, we take the utmost care in preserving every detail from the garden, to your teacup. The Garden Series pays homage to the estates and people who help craft the tea to the perfection that Jay Shree symbolises. Set in black overtones with dashes of vibrant hues of red, green, orange and violet, each package tells the story of simple hill folks who toil away in plucking tea leaves (two leaves and a bud) and then create aromatic brews from them. The Garden series from the dales of Assam and Darjeeling is not only containment but rather a conversation over cups of tea in the stories they depict on their black suits.
The first flush organic whole leaf tea has a stylish flower leaf. The Singbulli first flush tea has a greenish bright infusion with a subtle flowery flavour and aroma. It is a perfect afternoon drink to pep up your mood.
Liquor - Bright with clear, smooth and remarkable flavour.
Leaf - Stylish flowery leaf which is handrolled and made out of AV2 clone.
Infusion - Bright greenish hue.
Very good tea. I recommended.


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title: Central City Church
date: 2018-03-21 15:48:00 +0000
subtitle: A Neighborhood Church with a Citywide Impact
website: http://www.centralcity.co
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The Wars of the Roses (1455-1487) was a series of battles fought between two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet – York and Lancaster. This period encompassed the reigns of Henry VI, Edward IV and Richard III and ended following Henry Tudor's victory at the Battle of Bosworth.
Over the last few years this has become one of my favourite historical periods. It can be very complex and confusing, but I find the history, the politics and the colourful characters fascinating to read about. I've listed below all of the books I've read on the subject so far, both fiction and non-fiction, and will continue to update the list as I read more of them.
This is one of my all-time favourite historical fiction novels and the best book I've read on Richard III. Don't let the length put you off! Penman does a great job of making a complicated period of history easy to understand as she tells the story of Richard's life from his childhood to his tragic death. I can't recommend this book highly enough…it really is wonderful.
Published in the 1950s, this is the story of Inspector Alan Grant who in hospital with a broken leg and decides to investigate Richard III and his alleged crimes from his hospital bed. Reading everything he can find about Richard and the disappearances of the Princes in the Tower, Grant begins to discover that historical sources can't always be trusted and that history is written by the victors.
Like The Sunne in Splendour, this novel also covers Richard III's life but from the perspective of his cousin Martin Robsart, a fictional character. I loved this book – it was well-researched, the characters were believable and I could even follow the battle scenes!
A parody of the historical novel, this book takes a humorous look at the Wars of the Roses through the eyes of 15th century 'damosel', spy and knight's lady Alianore Audley. Some familiarity with the period is needed to fully understand all the jokes and get the most out of this book.
A very early pro-Ricardian novel originally published in 1929. This book has a very old-fashioned feel, but is an enjoyable read which takes the reader through the entire life of Richard III.
An even older book than Dickon, this one was published in 1913! Described as 'a sympathetic novel of Richard III' it does live up to its description, seeking to free Richard from blame and rescue his reputation. Another novel written in a very archaic style, but definitely worth a read.
Each of the books in Gregory's Cousins' War series focuses on a different female historical figure who played a part during the Wars of the Roses: The White Queen (Elizabeth Woodville), The Red Queen (Margaret Beaufort), The Lady of the Rivers (Jacquetta of Luxembourg), The Kingmaker's Daughter (Anne Neville), The White Princess (Elizabeth of York) and The King's Curse, (Margaret Pole). The final book is really more of a Tudor novel than a Wars of the Roses one, but I have included it with the others as it's part of the same series.
This is an excellent novel from the 1970s about the reign of Richard III. Covering a short period of history (from 1483-1485) and told as a series of first-person accounts narrated by the people closest to Richard – and even Richard himself – the novel paints a moving and intimate portrait of this fascinating king.
A prequel to Some Touch of Pity, this novel covers an earlier period in Richard's life. It is written as a more straightforward third person narrative and I found it less emotional than the previous book, but still a good read.
This is the first in Robyn Young's New World Rising series following the adventures of Jack Wynter, illegitimate son of a royal chamberlain, who becomes caught up in a secret conspiracy. This first novel is set in Richard III's England with a large part of the storyline revolving around the mystery of the Princes in the Tower. The thriller-type elements were too prominent for my tastes, but I did still enjoy the book due to the time period being one of my favourites.
This is a great book on Richard III, originally published in 1937. It is written from many different perspectives, with a range of characters taking turns to tell their own part of the story. The portrayal of Richard is sympathetic but balanced. I would definitely recommend this one, but maybe not if you're new to the period.
A fictional account of the life of the 15th century artist, Hans Memling. After meeting both Edward IV and his brother Richard in Bruges (there's no evidence that this ever happened), Memling comes to England where he becomes embroiled in the mystery of the Princes in the Tower. This was an interesting read, but I did have some reservations about it – read my review first to see if it sounds like something you would enjoy.
Taking us back to the beginnings of both the Wars of the Roses and the House of Tudor, this is the story of Jasper Tudor, half-brother of Henry VI and uncle of the future Henry VII. An interesting novel, focusing on lesser-known characters from the period. However, there's also a fictional storyline involving a cousin of Jasper's and I found this aspect of the book less successful.
This is a sequel to First of the Tudors, but would also work as a standalone novel. The narrative alternates between Henry Tudor, exiled in Britanny, and his mother Margaret Beaufort at the English court, preparing the ground for him to return and claim the throne. An interesting novel, which portrays Henry in a sympathetic light – although I don't share the author's views on Richard III.
A trilogy of Wars of the Roses novels with a focus on Margaret Beaufort and Margaret of Anjou. These are unusual books because they quote heavily from contemporary chronicles, using them to tell the story in conjunction with the author's original prose. The first book takes us through to the Lancastrian defeat at the Battle of Towton, while the second continues the story as far as the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471 and the third reaches a conclusion with Henry Tudor's victory at Bosworth Field.
This novel tells the story of Cicely Neville, the 'Rose of Raby', who was mother to two Kings of England, Edward IV and Richard III. The book concentrates on Cicely's early life and her marriage to Richard, Duke of York. Another storyline follows Cicely's fictitious half-brother Cuthbert as he also becomes embroiled in the Wars of the Roses.
The first in a series, this one is set at the beginning of the Wars of the Roses as Henry VI's throne begins to come under threat from Richard, Duke of York. This turned out not to be my type of book, but Conn Iggulden is a very popular author and if you like your historical fiction with plenty of action and lots of battle scenes you might enjoy Stormbird more than I did.
This is also the first in a series and is also set near the beginning of the period. The main characters, however, are a monk and a nun who have been forced to leave their priory, emerging from their isolated community to find that England is being torn apart by civil war. I liked the fact that this book concentrates on the lives of ordinary people rather than royalty and nobility.
A fairly straightforward fictional biography of Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, sister of the Princes in the Tower, wife of Henry VII and mother of Henry VIII. A good introduction to Elizabeth's life for readers new to the subject.
The story of two clever, charismatic men who find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict – the Lancastrian Simon Roseblood and Yorkist Amadeus Sevigny. The plots and schemes of these two men are played out during the early years of the Wars of the Roses as the Duke of York prepares to claim the throne of England. I really enjoyed this one and am hoping for a sequel.
This is actually a dual timeline book. Part of the novel follows the life of Katherine Grey, a younger sister of Lady Jane Grey (Queen of England for just nine days), but the other part tells the story of Kate Plantagenet, an illegitimate daughter of Richard III. Unfortunately Alison Weir and I have very different opinions of Richard and this affected my enjoyment of the book to the point where I wished she had concentrated solely on the Katherine Grey storyline.
This novel follows the story of Jane Shore, mistress of Edward IV. I found the first half of the book very heavy on the romance, but that is probably to be expected from a novel about a royal mistress! The second half was much better and I did end up enjoying it.
A different take on Jane Shore, but again very heavy on the romance with little attention given to any other aspects of Jane's life or character. Published in the 1950s this does feel a bit dated.
Another novel on the life of Jane Shore, written by a long-forgotten Victorian author. With wooden characters, unconvincing dialogue and lots of melodrama, I really can't recommend this book and would suggest trying one of the others I've mentioned above if you want to read about Jane Shore.
This sounded fascinating – a present day historian, Una Pryor, researches the lives of Elizabeth Woodville, wife of King Edward IV, and her brother Anthony, and begins to investigate the mystery of the Princes in the Tower. Unfortunately I couldn't get into the story at all and didn't finish reading it.
A companion book to Philippa Gregory's Cousins' War series mentioned above. The book contains three essays – one by Philippa Gregory on Jacquetta of Luxembourg, another by David Baldwin on Elizabeth Woodville and the final one by Michael Jones on Margaret Beaufort.
Another non-fiction book that looks at the period from a female perspective. The seven women whose lives are covered in this book are: Margaret of Anjou, Cecily Neville, Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret of Burgundy, Anne Neville, Margaret Beaufort and Elizabeth of York.
This is a sequel to Dan Jones' previous book, The Plantagenets. The book covers the whole of the Wars of the Roses period, beginning with the marriage of Henry V and Catherine of Valois and ending with the reign of Henry VII. It's both factual and entertaining, but I found it slightly biased towards the Lancastrian/Tudor side.
If you've read any other books about the Wars of the Roses please post your recommendations in the comments below.
Lovely list! Apart from The Daughter of Time, I've read just one – The Secret Alchemy, some years ago, but can't remember much about it.


There is a difference between hearing music and realizing and feeling that it lives inside of you. When I start playing, the music bursts out, spouts the piano keys and overlays itself on notes. This way the melody of my soul is born.
Maksym Shorenkov is a famous Ukrainian composer of classical and popular music, a music educator, conductor, songwriter and concert pianist, known for his innovative, avant-garde ideas of creating and appreciating music His concerts are always successful around the world. He is a participant and a winner of numerous national and international contests and festivals.
He wrote, among others, symphonies, musicals, ballets, film scores and other stage works. He also wrote instrumental and vocal pieces, operas, orchestral works and other compositions using traditional and modern techniques. To both he brings the consummate skill and style of a trained musician and successfully combines popular and serious styles. His music appeals to listeners of all generations and backgrounds; genuinely bridging a gap between musical worlds which can often seem disconnected.
His compositions are aired in London and performed by symphony orchestras in Europe. Maksym works in different genres and directions. He writes music for artists in Europe, Russia and Ukraine and collaborates with famous performers as rapper «SERYOGA», Nikolay Baskov Vladimir Grishko, Montserrat Caballie.
Shorenkov is also an author of sound production new methods— Shorenkov Colorful Threads.
Show "Shorenkov Magic Threads" is the world's only invention, it is considered a unique unforgettable experience. The piano strings color highlighted while vibrating, produce unusually beautiful live sounds. The electronic instrument "Magic Threads" also highlights the threads with color depicting "musical color hearing", but the nature of the sound is originally different.
Shorenkov graduated from the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine where he studied composition and orchestration and then finished the Academy graduate school. Later he received a scholarship of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Poland Republic in the framework of "Gaude Polania" and was trained at the Karol Szymanowski Music Academy (Poland). Shorenkov is a Member of the National Union of Composers of Ukraine.
He was nominated and won the Tarkovsky Foundation Award.
In 2015, Maksym has created the music for the play "The Grand Strategists" based on the novel "The Twelve Chairs" by I. Ilf, I. Petrov, premiered by Ivan Franko Ukrainian National Drama Theatre. He uses the actual melodies of the old times, but mostly through his unique harmonic style along with music written especially for each character. So Shorenkov's music speaks to the spectators with familiar notes and styles as well as harmonically touches and connects every scene.
Shorenkov is widely known as a piano virtuoso in our days, with a powerful and filled with the joy of music playing style. He has a wonderfully poetic and noble way of playing, capturing the audience with his unique emotional pressure.
Uniting all of Shorenrkov's musical activity is his deep fascination with Ukrainian culture, landscape and territory. Shorenkov grew up in multicultural atmosphere of Crimea. His earliest years were colored by the sound of traditional music played by Ukrainian and Russian musicians. Later exiled Crimean Tatars began returning to their homeland and brought their music with them. Since childhood Maksym enjoys folklore. He explores folk musical instruments and music traditions. His music translates elements of Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar folklore. The traditional arts of Ukraine today have plenty of new growth. Shorenkov who is working within that traditional idiom has plenty to say to listeners about big issues of modern Ukrainian life. He speaks of humanity, inhumanity, of war, peace, morality, love, environment, work, place, family, nation, community. He tends to do so from firm local roots, but looking outwards and forwards. He begins with the local, works out to the national, and aims from there for the global.
Our team is always ready to pick the best musicians, create a repertoire or write the original music. Classical, jazz and European hits will give you a good mood and create the enjoyable atmosphere at any event.
The 2nd round is one of the toughest. Performers have to learn a new song during one night, and the pianist has to learn the repertoire of all contestants in all the variety of styles and directions of music. His task is to help them to perform best. The singer's success depends in many instances on pianist's mastership! Literally, its breathing in unison with the contestants and also a tremendous excitement and responsibility.
Maxim Shorenkov has helped a lot of talents on their way to fame!


HIP Foundation and its HIP Health Plan of New York affiliate has filed a $90 million lawsuit against three principals of PHP Healthcare Corporation charging fraud, misrepresentation and diversion of funds.
The action, announced yesterday, seeks $15 million in compensatory damages and $75 million in punitive damages. The defendants are Jack M. Mazur, former PHP Healthcare president and chief executive, William J. Lubin, former PHP Healthcare senior vice president, and Jerrold J. Hercebergh, a senior vice president.
In July 1997, the HIP Health Plan of New Jersey hired Pinnacle Health Enterprises, a unit of PHP based in Reston, Va., to deliver health care for its 194,000 patients. The lawsuit asserts that PHP diverted money received from HIP that was supposed to be used to pay claims by doctors and other health providers, and as a result, HIP of New Jersey now has a negative net worth because it had assumed responsibility for PHP's unpaid claims.
On Nov. 18, HIP New Jersey ended its agreement with Pinnacle Health and allowed itself to be taken over by state regulators. For its part, PHP filed for bankruptcy protection. The suit was filed in State Supreme Court in New York.


An easy, casual, modern and chic look can be achieved with a top knot. This hairstyle is preferred by most girls in summer months especially. When it is too hot and you do not want to always have wet hair, best thing to do is to have a top knot. Your hair is up, away from the neck and shoulders and you feel relieved from a "burden'.
A top knot can be made both for a casual look and for special evenings. If you want to have an everyday look, slightly messy, then have the knot not too tight, yet loose and let some portion of hair fall down on your neck, for example. A top knot will also be an ideal solution for you, if you are in a hurry and do not have much time to spend on your hair. For an evening look, it is a wonderful and cheap remedy.
You have curly hair and think a top knot will not work for you? You are mistaken. It goes well with curly hair as well. The extra volume that your hair has makes the latter look even richer on you.
The top knot or a messy high bun is a chic and a great option to have, when you are wearing an outfit with a shoulder or a neck detail. When your hair is up, it gives you a chance to show off your newly obtained dress.
It is the easiest thing to style. The essential part of it is a ponytail. Brush your hair carefully, then gather your hair in a high ponytail and fix it with a tie at the top of your head. You have several options next: either braid, twist or wrap the ponytail hair around the hair tie, creating a knot, and fix it again with another tie. Make sure to take a tie the same color as your hair is or at least a close one, so that the latter is not seen. If you want to have a tight knot, fix the rest of the hair round the knot with pins, use a hairspray, if you think they are loose. For a casual look, let the hair fall down.
This was the traditional way of knotting your hair. You can have a messier option as well. For this, flip your head over and gather your hair in a messy high ponytail at the top of your head. Fix it with a hair tie. The secret here is not combing your hair prior to creating a ponytail. The messier the hair, the better and sexier your look will be. If, anyways, you think some of your hair does not obey you, simply work with hands. Next, pull the ponytail in an upward then downward position to loosen it. Wrap the ponytail hair around the tie loosely. At the end, take some pieces of hair from the front, side or the back of the bun to reach a messy look.
In case you have thin hair, a most frequently used tip is teasing as many strands of the ponytail as you can. Thus you will add volume to the ponytail and your hair will look fine.
Since a topknot is really very trendy today, you can play a bit with its styling. You can take some accessories to create a more glamorous look. Use a headband, clips, flowers or ribbons at the knot. They will add more feminine and stylish features to your overall look. Besides, an accessory will accentuate your hair on special occasions, thus making it clear that the hairstyle is not an everyday one, but was reached for the evening look especially.
So, you already know a few ways of how to style a top knot and look chic on any occasion. Follow the tips introduced above and you will have an alternative on bad hair days or when you are on the run.


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Charts and Maps examples and tutorials
How do I create a stacked bar or line chart?
To create a chart, click on the Create new button in the upper right corner and choose the Chart option. Once in the editor, choose the variables that will be used to make up the graph. To the left of each variable, there is an arrow that will display editing options. The first dropdown option allows you to choose whether you want the graph to be a line chart (default Line option) or a bar chart (Bar option). If the bars option was chosen, the Absolute option can be selected, it will leave the bars side by side. On the other hand, the Stacked option makes the bars one on top of the other. The 100% Stacked option orders the bars on top of each other with an axis from 0 to 100%, this is the only option that does not support being combined with a line variable.
How do I create a multi chart?
To create a chart, click on the Create new button in the upper right corner and choose the Chart option. Once in the editor, choose the variables that will be used to make up the graph. To the left of each variable, there is an arrow that will display editing options. Below Display name there is an option that allows you to select which chart the data will be placed on. On a single chart, you can build a chart with multiple levels.
How do I create a Scatter Plot?
To create a chart, click on the Create new button in the upper right corner and choose the Chart option. Once in the editor, choose the Scatter option in the Type of chart dropdown menu. By doing so, you can choose the variables for the Y axis and the X axis, their size and color.
How do I create a country map?
To create a chart, click on the Create new button in the upper right corner and choose the Chart option. Once in the editor, make sure you have the Map tab option checked (below the Type of chart dropdown). You can create a chart with a line chart and a map, notice that in the chart viewer, in the lower left corner are the chart and map options. If you only want the map chart, uncheck the Chart tab option. Note that selecting the Map tab option opens a new tab called Map that allows you to make changes. The most important is Unmatched Entities, which allows you to match entities that have not been recognized by the editor. You can only make a map with a single variable that has data for different countries. For example, the only variable may be GDP and there are different data for the countries. It is important that the country in question is in the country field. If in the Data tab it appears as undefined, a change must be made in the entities of the dataset.
How do I create a map of provinces?
To create a chart, click on the Create new button in the upper right corner and choose the Chart option. Once in the editor, make sure you have the Map tab option checked (below the Type of chart dropdown). You can create a chart with a line chart and a map, notice that in the chart viewer, in the lower left corner are the chart and map options. If you only want the map chart, uncheck the Chart tab option.
You can only make a map with a single variable that has data for different provinces. For example, the only variable may be expenses and there are different data for the provinces. It is important that the province in question is in the entity field. If in the Data tab it appears as undefined, a change must be made in the entities of the dataset. Note that selecting the Map tab option opens a new tab called Map that allows you to make changes. In the Map dropdown you can choose the map of the country whose province data you want to show. If you want to make a map of a country that is not yet available, get in touch with customer support so that we can add it as soon as possible. Also, there is the Unmatched Entities option, which allows you to match entities that have not been recognized by the editor.
How do I create a two-axis chart?
To create a two-axis graph, touch the arrow positioned to the left of the desired variable. The variables' editor will be displayed, locate the Secondary Axis button and mark it. How do I build charts with information from other datasets?
Charts can be created with information from multiple datasets. But, if the datasets are not your own, you must follow the repository that contains them. To do this, click on the desired dataset, below the title there is a hyperlink to the repository. Once in the repository view, there is a button on the right in blue called Follow, by clicking on it you can use all the datasets of that repository to graph.


In Horse Illustrated, you will learn how to care for your horse. This magazine will give you the scoop about health, nutrition, behavior, breeding and equine training (Western and English) from top breeders and professionals in the field. Informative articles keep you in the saddle with the latest products and riding tips.
Subscribe to Horse Illustrated Magazine at MagsConnect Canada.
This is definitely one of if not the best horse magazine I have ever read. The articles are extremely informative and they appeal to Western and English riders. I especially love their articles on breeds. Every month they have an article on a breed along with a poster. The articles on showing are very helpful. They also have a horse show issue that answers just about any questions you could have, usually in June, which is when the bulk of horse show season starts. All in all this is one of the most helpful horse magazines for professionals and novices alike.
For people who like this magazine I would also recommend Equus and Horse and Rider.
While Equus is my favorite, Horse Illustrated has got to be a close second. I have subscribed to this magazine for years, and I love it.
H.I. offers good columns such as a training question column, health care question column, and behaviour column.
Horse Illustrated was one of the first horse magazines I subscribed to when I first got interested in horses . 10 years later , and with me now the proud owner of a spoiled brat of a horse , this magazine is still on my shelves and it is one of the first subscriptions to get renewed every year .
It is a very informative magazine , an easy read . You can pick up an issue , not knowing anything more about horses than one end eats and bites and one end poops and kicks and you could still get a lot out of this magazine . The rank beginner would find it very useful . And I still do , even after so many years of reading it .


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The Bachelor: Whiteness in the Harem
Rachel E. Dubrofsky, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
whiteness, harem, orientalism, race, reality TV, The Bachelor
This examination of the representation of whiteness and women of color in the reality-based television series The Bachelor shows how the series is "raced." It is a context in which only white people find romantic partners, a process that women of color work to facilitate. The Westernized trope of the Eastern harem structures The Bachelor, duplicating in the series the imperialist, Orientalist, and oppressive racist premises of the harem trope.
Critical Studies in Media Communication, v. 23, issue 1, p. 39-56
Dubrofsky, Rachel E., "The Bachelor: Whiteness in the Harem" (2006). Communication Faculty Publications. 600.


In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the shortening, eggs and sugar. In a separate small bowl, mix together the cocoa and food coloring. Add the paste to the shortening mixture. Sift the flour and salt together over parchment. Add to the batter alternately with the buttermilk in 3 additions. Add the vanilla extract. Fold in the baking soda and vinegar. Pour the batter into 2 greased 9-inch cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until an inserted cake tester comes out clean. Let cool on a cooling rack. Invert the cakes from the pans.
Frost the top of the first layer with frosting and set the second layer on top. Frost the entire cake with remaining frosting.