In any case, I am not going to forget my 2010 resolution, because I am memorializing it here. I am pledging to be better. Yup, you read that correctly: better. Maybe that's a little aggressive, but what's a New Year's resolution for, if not to set the bar high?
This year marks a new decade, and so I am taking long-term look at my New Year's resolution: I am working towards being a better mom, wife, employee, friend, sister, daughter, and person. And to accomplish all of that, I am going to take better care of myself, and live a little slower. Too often, I find myself rushing out the door (any door) in a flurry. Too often, I blow off my workouts in favor of working through lunch at my desk. And too often, I feel like I am squandering the little free time I have by doing too much, and not simply relaxing and enjoying the moment. Multitasking has its place, but there is something to be said for putting down the smartphone and focusing on one task at a time. So I'm going to try it: it's time to cut back, to relax a little, and to really make time for the things that matter. It might take some practice, but I firmly believe that there's much to gain.
What are you doing to be better in 2010?
My daughter is turning one tomorrow, which is a huge milestone. (For her, for obvious reasons, and for me, since it means I have officially survived 364 days of being a mom.) This weekend I spent some time reflecting on the last year, and realized a couple of things.
1. Babies are surprisingly forgiving. Though I always thought I wanted kids, it was one of those "someday" things for me: some distant day in the future, around the same time I would win the lottery, write a novel, or invent something as useful as post-it notes. Before I became a mom, I had never even changed a diaper. I lived in fear that I'd be completely clueless and inept when C was born. And I was clueless and inept, but I somehow muddled through. (This is due in great part to my extremely patient husband, who thankfully had changed a diaper or two in his day and was more than willing to do 3 AM feedings.) Soon enough, we had landed ourselves a decent routine. She didn't care whether I sang to her off key, or whether I was wearing matching socks, or whether the dust bunnies were gathering in the corners of our house. All she cared about was whether she was safe, warm, clean, fed, and loved, and I could deliver on all of those fronts. And when I went back to work, her daycare teachers made sure that she was safe, warm, and all of those other things, which made it a lot easier for me to be both a good mom and a good employee.
2. Babies are tiny, but require a whole lot of stuff. I am shocked by how much stuff we have acquired and/or used over the last year. Diapers. Wipes. Formula. Swaddles and sleepsacks. Two different car seats. Three different strollers. A swing, activity sets, dolls, blocks, things that make a lot of noise. A bouncy chair. Sheep that sound like the ocean. Four dozen tiny socks. The list goes on and on and on. We already have two gigantic plastic bins full of baby clothing that no longer fits. If we decide to have another baby someday, we'll be more than set. If not, my two younger sisters will someday be raiding my basement with the same fervor that brides tear through the aisles at Filene's Basement.
4. You don't realize how much free time you have...until it's gone. Before I had C, I was pretty darn busy. I worked full-time, attended grad school, volunteered, and served on the board of a professional organization. I still managed to get to the gym on a regular basis, go on an occasional date night with my husband, and had some semblance of free time. Now, 99% of my free time is devoted to C, and if I get in three workouts a week, I consider myself the new Denise Austin. While part of me wouldn't have it any other way, a small, selfish part is really wistful for that time when I could pursue a variety of outside interests. My compromise is: If I'm not traveling overnight for business, I make a point to have one night a week out. That might be to attend a networking/industry event, a board meeting (I still am on the board of that professional organization, but my role has changed to more of an advisory one, which is something that I am better able to manage these days), or a girls' night out. "My" one night a week is a sanity saver, for more reasons than one.
5. I love being a mom more than I thought possible. It's pretty hard to explain, but I'll sum it up with this: even if I have had the worst day ever, when I pick up C from daycare and she throws her tiny, sticky arms around me, nothing else really matters.
The conference covered everything from revenue management (one of my favorite panels: I took pages of notes!) to social media, to resident/prospect portals and automated payments. The panelists were fantastic, and there were several "roundtables" where conference attendees could really hash through topics. I attended a great roundtable session our last morning, where more than 50 apartment management professionals discussed alternative methods for communicating with residents. I also appreciated the fact that the exhibition floor was fairly small, giving us the ability to meet with vendors, check out product demos, and not feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of booths.
Though overall, I thought the conference was outstanding, I would have really liked a little more unstructured time. Perhaps it was just the fact that I haven't been to a conference in a while, but we jumped right into a session an hour or so after we got off the plane, and the pace never really slowed. We went from coffee to session after session, to a rushed (standing) lunch, to more sessions, to cocktails and then to off-site dinners. That pace made it tough to really absorb much information until after returning home, and made me eternally grateful for the hotel's on-site Starbucks. It also made it a little difficult to have one-on-one meetings with vendors or networking contacts, without feeling like I was missing out on valuable content happening elsewhere in the hotel.
Interestingly enough, the organizers announced that the 2010 Tech Conference would be relaunched as an Operations conference. I personally am very curious to see what that means in terms of both who attends, and what type of a boost in overall attendees is expected. One of the things that I'd heard many repeat attendees say was that they loved attending NMHC Tech because it was a smaller, more intimate conference, with highly relevant content. Perhaps the conference organizers will offer specialized tracks?
In any case, I really enjoyed the conference, and came home with some great information, a stack of business cards, and with a new appreciation for anyone whose job description includes the role of "road warrior." Can't wait for 2010!
To be clear, no company or product asked me for an endorsement, and I didn't receive any free samples or the like. I just happen to really like these products/companies. In no particular order...here are some of my favorites.
1. The Belle Baby Carrier is by far the simplest one I have seen. We have another brand, too, which my husband likes and I cannot stand, since it puts a lot of stress on your upper back - but the Belle is comfy, cake to use, and it fit both me (small) and my husband (strapping, 6'2" triathlete). Plus, it rolls up into a tiny ball, so you can stuff it in your diaper bag. Now that C is more than ten months old, I don't find a front carrier comfortable, period...but the Belle was a lifesaver while I was home on maternity leave, and something that we used for months afterward.
2. I love, love, LOVE Diapers.com. They carry a wide array of supplies, including organic products, and deliver your entire order for free in two days if you order more than $49 of stuff (which I always do). I bulk order formula, wipes, and diapers. Huge time saver.
3. A friend of mine from high school told me about the Lilypod/Padalily carseat handle pad, a simple but genius product. It velcros over the handle of an infant car seat, and makes it much more comfortable to lug around. C switched to her "big girl" car seat at 8 months, but I cannot say enough about the Lilypod (which, coincidentally, was invented by a mom).
4. If you live in the Greater Boston area, you are so fortunate to have Isis Maternity in your backyard! There are four centers, in Needham, Arlington, Brookline, and downtown Boston, and they sell all kinds of mom/baby gear, but Isis is really on my list because of their outstanding customer service, and the great classes they offer. I took a bunch of classes before C was born (husbands/partners are welcome!), and then signed up for a "new mommy group" that C and I started going to when she was just 4 weeks old. If you have ever had a baby in the dead of winter, you will understand when I say that having a regular excuse to get out of the house and bond with other brand new moms was a complete sanity saver. My Isis Mommy friends are a wonderful group of women, and we still get together on a regular basis (both with and without our kids). As to customer service: we actually purchased two car seats from Isis, after an incredibly helpful associate helped me figure out what would fit in my car (and my husband's car) when rear-facing. She actually hauled several different seats out to the parking lot and helped me install them to see whether or not they would work. I will be an Isis ambassador for life.
6 and 7. Not sure whether it was the Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe or the Halo Sleep Sack that helped C sleep through the night at an early age, but I'm certainly not going to start questioning a good thing. We started using a SwaddleMe after C started pulling a Houdini and wriggling out of the "blanket burrito" that the neonatal nurses taught us. Once she started to roll over, we graduated to the Halo. She's actually in the Early Walker version now, which makes her look kind of like a Teletubby, but I feel more comfortable having her in a sleep sack than rolling around with loose blankets.
8. Land Of Nod - This store is a spinoff of Crate and Barrel. You can say what you want about people needing to buy fancy bedding for infants that don't know any better, etc., but we outfitted C's room almost entirely in Land Of Nod gear, and yes, it's adorable, but it is also really well made: after almost a year, we have yet to see any wear or tear. Plus, they have lots of choices for girls that don't look like a "pink explosion" (my husband's pet peeve). They also carry furniture, toys, books, and baby gear, as well as kids' stuff.
9. Maclaren Triumph Stroller - After C outgrew her infant travel system, we realized that we needed a lightweight stroller. The Triumph is ridiculously easy to fold/unfold, and weighs only 11 pounds. The buckle is a little tricky to master at first, but since the stroller carries up to 55 pounds, I consider that a good defense against wily toddlers.
10. I never really thought about how quickly kids grew until I went to pick out an outfit for C this summer and realized I had essentially chosen a crop top and hot pants. For cute, affordable baby clothes, I shop Old Navy and Baby Gap on a regular basis, and look for sales at Hanna Andersson and Gymboree.
I could go on and on - but I think ten is plenty for one post! What are some of your favorites?
In between starting my new job and chasing after C (who just learned how to climb stairs last weekend...yikes!), I have been working on Baby Steps, the e-book. I am so incredibly excited about the women who have contacted me with their stories: marketers, entrepreneurs, lawyers - these are amazing women who have all found a way to balance mommyhood and successful careers. In honor of their achievements, here is a sneak preview of some of their anecdotes and tips.
Jennifer, a marketer and a mom of three, reflects on "juggling" it all.
For a long time I held onto a lot of guilt that I could not give the same level of attention to my job, my house, my husband, my appearance/self and other things that I did before kids. One of the things that got me past that was hearing a quote somebody said about my generation of women being the first ones to have our father's job along with our mother's responsibilities. I found relief in knowing that what I was expecting myself to take on was almost twice the amount my mom and her friends had done and I really did not have to do it all. I basically said to myself, "Look, every day I can't be a model mother, employee, wife, housekeeper, friend, frugal shopper, accountant, educator, etc. So pick one today." Each day, especially when my kids were in the infant stage, I'd pick one area and be absolutely focused on that area and allow myself permission to give less energy to the others.
Sara, CEO of FlexJobs.com and mom of two, suggests adjusting your expectations.
Keep it in perspective...and GO EASY ON YOURSELF! It's really easy to feel like you're so behind in "things" and will never get caught up (there are so many more balls in the air to throw/juggle/catch!), so try to adjust your expectations of what is truly important to get done versus OK to leave until later. Also, for me, I realized that it was a good exercise to look back in hindsight… it seemed that every 3 months or so I remember realizing how much better I was doing than 3 months before, which was better than 3 months before that, etc.
Josephine, an entrepreneur and mom of three, offers some sound advice for heading back to work.
On your first day back to the office, GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK! Be upbeat and positive. Remember you are going back to work for a reason. Gently remind yourself why you are going back to work. In my case, I gently say two words to myself, College Education. That usually gets me back on track. I know I'm working to create a better life for my kids and somehow I feel better.
Gennifer, a consultant who spent 14 years at Nickelodeon/MTV Networks, and a mom of two, stressed the importance of having a strong network.
This is just a taste of some of the stories that will be incorporated into Baby Steps. I am working diligently to tie everything together and hope to have the e-book completed by the end of the year. Stay tuned for more!
Bad blogging can pay off.
I have to confess that even though I know it goes against all the blogging rules, posting just hasn't been top of mind for me the past couple of months. But I have a really good reason: I have just landed a new job! Any spare time I've had was spent prepping for interviews (or chasing my daughter around the house—but that's a post for another day.) Now that I am getting ready to transition to my new role, I am looking forward to getting back to a more consistent blogging schedule. So please pardon my absence, and know that I don't intend to vanish for long periods of time on a regular basis.
Though it's always hard to make a change, I can honestly say that I am ready. It's been a great four and a half years with my current company, and though I am sad to leave, I am also really excited about my new role. As I think back over the course of the past few weeks, I wanted to share a few things I've learned about interviewing. If, like me, it's been a while since you had to think about any of this stuff, some of it may surprise you.
1. Nothing beats networking. Who you know—especially in today's economy—can help make the difference between getting an interview, and your resume ending up in the blue bin. I have two former coworkers (one a colleague, one a manager) to thank for their help in getting my foot in the door. That being said, tools like LinkedIn have played a major role in making networking easier for all of us. Thanks to LinkedIn, I have been able to introduce a number of friends and colleagues to connections, or connections once removed. While I don't have an enormous network, my recent interviewing experience has once again proven that it's a really small world (see below), and I love being able to help when I can.
2. It's a really, REALLY small world. My former manager knows my new manager. And the Director of HR at my current company knows the Director of HR at my new company...and so on. Granted, I have been in marketing and real estate, in Boston, for 10+ years, which are pretty tightly knit circles, but it just goes to show that relationships really matter, and also serves as a great reminder to never burn a bridge. Your coworker could hold the key to your next great career move, or you to hers.
3. Who you know matters, but so does WHAT you know. Even though it's a little tougher to do now that I am juggling motherhood and a career, I still make a concerted effort to get out there. I take classes, sign up for webinars, attend networking events with keynote speakers or panels, grab lunch or coffee with my peers, and try to stay up to date on the latest trends. My ongoing quest to stay current means that I've also tried to learn as much as I can about social media, and the ways that Web 2.0 can be used for business—in real estate marketing, that translates to building awareness, renting apartments and positively impacting resident retention. My new company is very interested in using social media in these ways, and because I have made it a priority to know and understand these tools and technologies, I think it gave me a real edge over some of the other candidates.
4. Go with your gut. If you are really enjoying the conversation with your interviewer, chances are it's going well. And if it isn't, chances are that it's not. I also think that going with your gut extends to the whole vibe of a place. I interviewed with a couple of companies that I was initially really excited about—but even though the conversations all went well, something just didn't feel right. Call it intuition, or whatever else comes to mind, but I firmly believe that when you find the the right opportunity, in the right company, with the right people, everything else falls into place. I felt that way almost five years ago when I joined my current company—and I felt it when I interviewed at my new company, too.
I learned a lot of other things this time around, too—like how to answer some tricky interview questions, and to always have an extra pair of heels in the car—but those are my top takeaways. What do you think? Would love to hear your thoughts on interviewing/networking these days. And if you have any tips for making time to blog with a nutty schedule, I'm all ears.
What we can learn from Brody PR's mistake.
This week has been an interesting one in the PR and marketing world. There has been a ton of discussion about Brody PR's "fail" yesterday, where Beth Brody, President of Brody PR, sent out a pitch via email to a large group of professionals in PR, social media, marketing, and advertising, as well as some very well-known bloggers and journalists...and used the cc: field, instead of the bcc: field.
I wasn't on the receiving end of said email, but have been following this story out of sheer interest. The email triggered a number of "reply-alls" from angered recipients, and a flurry of activity on Twitter and in the blogosphere. Instead of responding immediately, Ms. Brody inadvertently poured some fuel on the fire and delayed sending a response until several hours after the incident. Her response was the same on each blog I checked (including a post by Chris Abraham and Ken Wheaton's post on AdAge). I found it to be very brief, and somewhat impersonal; her text is pasted below.
An apology from Brody PR - I created a list of social media experts who might be interested in reviewing a new guide to social media for small biz. I inadvertently put the list name in the cc: box, rather than the bcc: box. A few folks must have hit the "reply all" button, rather than clicking on the "unsubscribe link" at the bottom, which started a stream of spam. Please accept my personal apology, albeit a little late in the day, since I was trying to remove everyone who wanted to be unsubscribed from the list immediately.
1. Proofread your entire email. And then do it again. Include the subject line and the to/cc/bcc fields as part of your proofing. Haste makes waste, and too many people have smacked themselves in the forehead for a hastily composed message.
2. If the house is on fire, get out the hose. In other words, if you've angered people, and they're letting you know that they're angry, respond immediately. Ms. Brody said that her delay in response was due to the fact that she was handling the unsubscribe requests generated by her email. In my opinion, that was a poor judgement call. If she knew no other emails were going to be sent out right away, she should have dealt with the kerfuffle first. And on a related note, why was she managing the unsubscribe requests herself? Seems like that could have been something that was easily delegated.
3. Consider alternative methods of communication. Why not post the pitch on a blog, announce it via Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn, or pick up the phone? As proven here, email is not always the best tool to share information.
What do you think? What else could Brody PR have done better?
On your mark...get set...go! Or: keeping up with an 8 month old.
I have been sick on and off for weeks, thanks in part to C's ever-increasing mobility, and the past month has been one big blur of doctor's appointments, fractured sleep, and cold medicine. In the meantime, she's gone from scootching on her tummy to crawling and now cruising all over the place. I am grossly unprepared for childproofing our house, but it really needs to happen...and now. What worked for us just two weeks ago (leave C in the middle of the living room, run to get a bowl of cereal, and come back) is no longer an option. Thanks to that experiment, a box of Kleenex met its early death last week.
I polled a few friends who have already been to the races (so to speak), and the majority suggested that we start with babyproofing just one room. So far, we've invested in a baby gate, though we have yet to install it, and we've bought a bunch of plug covers. Those little things have made me feel a bit more secure, but there are so many other things that I feel like we should be doing. If you've ever searched online for "babyproofing products," a zillion results come up...everything from toilet locks to cabinet magnets to faucet covers.
Another friend said that I should let C show us what needs to be changed. While I agree with that (no sense in buying a bunch of stuff that you don't need), it's hard to wait and see. Before C was mobile, I never thought twice about a rogue dust bunny, or whether an electrical cord was sticking out. Suddenly, I am crawling around on my own hands and knees to try and get a better perspective on what would be attractive to her. And the answer is: everything. It makes me feel like the entire house needs to be reorganized, which is a little overwhelming.
Any tips? What worked for your family?
Ten of my fave Tweeters.
At a recent CMO Club dinner, I was talking up Twitter, and one of my new contacts asked for a list of some people to follow. So, without further ado, and in the interest of keeping my promise, here's a (very) short list of some of my favorite people, pubs, and brands who Tweet.
@adage Constant feed of media news from the online publication.
@MediaPost Another great marketing/social media news source.
@mashable Pete Cashmore runs Mashable, a fantastic resource for all things social media.
@chrisbrogan Social media giant. Reading his tweets is like reading someone's stream of consciousness (and I mean that in a good way: he always has interesting things to say).
@Ford Coke and Ford really listen to their fans, and are models for how big companies can and should use Twitter.
@MktgExperiments The science behind sales and marketing.
I have a lot of additional favorites, and will post another list soon. Whose tweets do you love to read?
I recently had a revelation—the kind that literally stops you in your tracks and makes a cartoon lightbulb appear above your head—which has me to a new, very exciting project. I am thrilled to announce that I am writing an e-book, to be titled "Baby Steps: A New Mom's Guide to Navigating Mommyhood and the Workplace."
"Baby Steps" started to take shape months ago, after I put together a list of my "top 25 new mom tips" for a friend's baby shower, when my daughter was only six weeks old and I was still on maternity leave. A self-described Type A control freak, my life was turned upside down by the birth of my daughter in December 2008. I read every book under the sun in preparation for her arrival, but all the reading in the world did not prepare me for the reality. Motherhood and maternity leave was more demanding and more wonderful than I had ever imagined. And control? I had none: it was all in the hands of a tiny 8 lb. infant.
As the primary breadwinner in our family, staying home was never an option for me, and I returned to the office full-time at the end of February 2009, when my daughter was three months old. Now that she is almost 7 months old (where has the time gone?), I feel like we generally have a pretty good routine. However, my first few weeks back in the office were really difficult, and I realized that I had never had a good handle on what to expect—both while I was on leave, and especially when I came back to the office. And I wished I had. Enter "Baby Steps."
7. Anything else you would like to mention.
I will be working on this project over the summer and hope to publish the e-book in Fall 2009. Thanks in advance for your comments!
Inbound Marketing University - a must for marketers!
The series concluded with a wrap-up session, led by Mike Volpe, a Hubspot VP, and also included a certification exam. I dutifully attended all of the classes, tweeted with my classmates, attended the review session...and found the test (surprisingly) challenging. Makes the certification very desirable!
With a very few exceptions, the speakers were all outstanding. I especially enjoyed David Meerman Scott's presentation—if you ever have the chance to hear him in person, run, don't walk, to buy tickets. I had never considered writing an e-book before hearing David's class, but he was so inspiring that I recently added that to my "must do" list. Chris Brogan's discussion on Social Media and Building Community was very enlightening; they don't call him a social media rockstar for nothing. And the SEO classes made me wish that I had the budget to overhaul my corporate website again—but that's a topic for another day.
The Hubspot team did an amazing job coordinating this massive project, and also went above and beyond the call of duty to help us all keep in touch with our fellow classmates, developing its own online forums, and creating groups on both LinkedIn and Facebook. Bravo!
If you're looking to get up to speed on all things inbound marketing, you MUST attend IMU. For those who didn't attend the series, Hubspot is offering more classes later this summer, and the full IMU program will make an encore appearance in August. Don't miss out.
A marketer's primer to networking - Part Two.
We all seem to be doing a lot of networking these days. Whether you're looking for a new opportunity yourself, or helping a friend, former coworker, relative, etc. find their next calling, you simply can't help but get involved.
I attended a wonderful Boston Women Communicator's breakfast meeting this morning, where the topic du jour was—of course!—networking. Marilyn Edelson, President of Ontrack Coaching, had some outstanding tips that I thought were well worth sharing.
These are quite succinct points, and very well stated, but I'd like to expand upon them.
To Marilyn's first two points: I truly believe you can't do enough networking; Marilyn actually shared with us that she keeps a database of some of her key contacts' interests, so that she can keep in touch appropriately. Brilliant idea! And in this economy, we can all afford to be generous: helping someone make a great connection may only take a few moments, but the good karma that will come your way (and perhaps a return favor at some point down the road!) will last for a very, very long time.
Knowing your strengths ensures that you aren't wasting your time—or anyone else's. If you don't have expertise in online advertising, don't go down that path. If you DO, by all means, share the wealth. Sharing best practices is a wonderful benefit that comes from having a network made up of savvy, seasoned professionals.
Marilyn's fourth point, be authentic, is so incredibly important. Be yourself! Yes, everyone has an "off" day now and again, but being your true self is the only way to be your best self. No one wants to connect with a charming Dr. Jekyll, only to find out that he is in reality a slimy Mr. Hyde.
Marilyn's last point is a great pointer for building your network effectively. If the only people you meet and mingle with have similar backgrounds to your own, the world would be a very boring place. Our differences go a long way to define us! In addition to surrounding yourself with peers, connect with people you admire, people who admire you, and people who are just a little removed from your core "circle," and you'll be well on your way to building a strong, dynamic network.
Good luck—and if you have other tips for building a strong network, please do share.
Social marketing for business (not an oxymoron).
I just had a great conversation with a long-time vendor about the perks of using social media for business. He was wondering what networks to use, how to use them, and (the kicker) how to find the time to use them. There are only so many hours in the day/dollars to spend; do you sacrifice some other marketing activity in order to add Twitter or Facebook to your marketing mix?
1. Decide what you want to achieve. Are you looking to create awareness? Drive sales? Position yourself as a thought leader? You MUST have a goal in mind, otherwise you are just wasting time and resources.
2. Who do you want to talk to? Your message is not (and shouldn't be) relevant to everyone.
3. How do you reach those people or companies? Twitter is today's media darling, but it's not always the answer—sometimes you are truly better served by pursuing more traditional marketing activities. If you determine that you need to add some social media marketing to your mix, maybe you should choose to be really active on LinkedIn and not so much on Facebook. The trick is to build a community or following where your audience is already talking. Think of yourself as Mohammed; you need to go to the mountain.
4. Create a plan—and stick to it. What will you talk about? How often will you participate? I find it is much easier to pick only one or two topics, and stick with them, than try to cover everything under the sun. And I enjoy reading other people's blogs, etc., when they follow this model, too, since I know exactly what to expect from them.
5. How do you find the time to tweet/blog/fill in the_______? Start small. If you are able to carve out 10 minutes twice a week to tweet, blog, or comment, etc., etc.,—then you're off and rolling. As you gain more confidence, you will likely want to ramp up your activity.
6. Set guidelines. If you choose to delegate social media marketing activities, make sure that you are utterly clear about your goals and expectations. It's important to remain flexible, however, since you never know what interesting discussion might crop up.
7. One last point. Social media marketing is NOT about "controlling" the conversation. The point is to invite conversation, to participate in others' conversations, and to build authenticity for you and/or your brand. This is not your grandfather's PR!
What do you think? Any other tips?
A marketer's primer to networking.
I recently got a phone call from a friend who said she was debating joining a professional organization. She was partially on the fence, she said, because she didn't want to attend an event and not know anyone.
2. Set a goal. Sounds a little silly, but setting a networking goal for an event is key. You can set your goal as wanting to meet three new people, to swap business cards with one particular person who you know is also attending the event, or to introduce yourself to the keynote speaker. If that sounds terrifying, decide that you will talk with the person sitting/standing next to you (baby steps!). Once you feel more comfortable, you can set your goals progressively higher. And once you've met your goal for the evening, you can let yourself off the hook and simply enjoy the event.
4. Follow up after the event. So you went to an event. You met your goals, and you (gasp!) even found yourself able to relax and enjoy. As you review the stack of business cards you collected, recall what you discussed with each person, and shoot him or her a quick email. If they are on Twitter, find and follow them; if you had an extensive discussion, you might want to invite them to connect on LinkedIn. The point is to keep in touch...and that's really what networking is all about.
In my first post, I promised that I would write about both marketing and motherhood. While being a mom has been a wonderful journey so far, it is also a lot of hard work, even at the best of times. (All the experienced parents reading this: please feel free to say "Duh.") And no surprise, when the going gets rough, the tough get...COFFEE.
I have consumed more coffee in the past few weeks alone than I probably have in the last year, reason being that my daughter has had a cough since the end of March. And every time she coughs, I want to jump out of my skin. Unfortunately, that's not exactly conducive to a restful night's sleep, hence my new coffee addiction. (Or Diet Coke. Or caffeinated Crystal Light. Or anything else that has a hefty dose of caffeine.) Fortunately, she is happy and healthy as a horse, the doctors claim. A infant's cough can apparently linger for weeks - who knew?
In the meantime, I am thrilled that it's now warm enough to add iced coffee to my caffeine rotation.
Twitterpated (with apologies to Bambi).
This morning, two of my coworkers asked me, "What IS Twitter, anyway?" And though I tried my best to explain, I honestly think Twitter is one of those things better explained by trying it out. I follow a few friends, vendors, some big brands, and some news channels...and a few just for fun. For example, http://twitter.com/foodimentary tweets fun food facts. Who knew that 4/17 is National Cheeseball Day?
The more I explore Twitter, the more I like it, and from a marketing perspective, it seems like the sky's the limit. I work for a real estate company, and could see us eventually using Twitter to market to college students and first-time homebuyers, as well as promoting move-in specials and upcoming events. The issue, as with many Web 2.0 technologies, is that Twitter is still a little bit misunderstood, and its effectiveness as a business tool is not completely embraced by people accustomed to more traditional marketing methods. Another challenge is that staying on top of the conversation requires serious effort. A lot of larger companies are using Twitter, Facebook, and other social media channels very successfully (IBM and EMC, just to name two), but often have resources dedicated to managing these programs. With a small in-house marketing team, we haven't quite figured out how to manage this ourselves - yet.
In the meantime, just consider me Twitterpated.
Facebook: not just for kids.
I joined Facebook about a year ago, and I am amazed at how many of my friends from high school and college are using it, too. I'm in my early 30's, and my husband is in his late 30's - and pretty much everyone we know has "friended" us.
Before I signed up for an account, I was convinced that FB was "just for kids." And in some cases, it is. My husband's niece, for example, who is 19, sent out evites via FB to her wedding. (I must confess that this cracked me up - though she also sent out lovely, traditional hard copy invitations, too.) Though I can't see any of our contemporaries using Facebook for their wedding invitations, I DID just get an invite to my 15-year high school reunion.
Interestingly enough, I've also started using FB at work, to market some of our condominium properties. The channel came highly recommended from the EVP of Marketing at our condo broker partner, and though I will admit that I am still a teensy bit skeptical, I really do think that it will generate some significant traffic for the sites. Our biggest demographic is first-time home buyers, so it seems to be a natural fit.
Not surprisingly, FB has a boatload of metrics built into its reporting system, so advertisers can see exactly what they're paying for...and because we can set up the campaigns as pay-per-click, we literally have nothing to lose: no clicks, no cash outlay. We're hopefully launching the campaigns next week.
This is my first blog post - and I'm looking forward to getting started. As a new mom, and a new blogger, "The Baby Step Blog" seemed to be a pretty appropriate name.
1. Marketing. I've been in marketing for more than 10 years, and I love how quickly everything is changing. For example, I just signed up for a Twitter account - I'm not completely sure how to use it yet, but I honestly think that Twitter (and other social media) will change how we as marketers do business. Follow me on Twitter @sarasgraham.
2. Motherhood. My daughter, C, is just 4 months old, and juggling work and motherhood is already quite an adventure. Though I know I'm not unique in that respect, I do think a lot of people can relate to the balancing act that is my new reality!


text:
Methodology article
DiffCoEx: a simple and sensitive method to find differentially coexpressed gene modules
Bruno M Tesson1,
Rainer Breitling1,2 &
Ritsert C Jansen1,3
Large microarray datasets have enabled gene regulation to be studied through coexpression analysis. While numerous methods have been developed for identifying differentially expressed genes between two conditions, the field of differential coexpression analysis is still relatively new. More specifically, there is so far no sensitive and untargeted method to identify gene modules (also known as gene sets or clusters) that are differentially coexpressed between two conditions. Here, sensitive and untargeted means that the method should be able to construct de novo modules by grouping genes based on shared, but subtle, differential correlation patterns.
We present DiffCoEx, a novel method for identifying correlation pattern changes, which builds on the commonly used Weighted Gene Coexpression Network Analysis (WGCNA) framework for coexpression analysis. We demonstrate its usefulness by identifying biologically relevant, differentially coexpressed modules in a rat cancer dataset.
DiffCoEx is a simple and sensitive method to identify gene coexpression differences between multiple conditions.
There are two major classes of approach to the analysis of gene expression data collected in microarray studies: either one can identify genes that are differentially expressed in different conditions, or the patterns of correlated gene expression (coexpression). Coexpression analysis identifies sets of genes that are expressed in a coordinated fashion, i.e. respond in a similar fashion to the controlled or uncontrolled perturbation present in the experiment. Such coexpression is considered as evidence for possible co-regulation and for membership to common biological processes under the principle of guilt-by-association [1]. When comparing the transcriptome between two conditions, it is a natural step to identify differential coexpression to get an even more informative picture of the dynamic changes in the gene regulatory networks. Changes in the differential coexpression structure of the genes are, for example, a group of genes strongly correlated in one condition but not in the other, or one module correlating to another module in one condition, whereas they are no longer correlated in the other condition. Differential coexpression may indicate rewiring of transcriptional networks in response to disease or adaptation to different environments.
Differential coexpression has been reported in diverse organisms and across various conditions. For example, Fuller et al. [2] reported a differentially coexpressed module in obese mice compared to lean mice; Van Nas et al. [3] found gender-specific coexpression modules; Oldham et al. [4] identified gene modules that were differentially coexpressed between humans and chimpanzees; and Southworth et al. [5] found that aging in mice was associated with a general decrease in coexpression. Differential coexpression patterns associated with diseases have been an important focus of research, see review by De la Fuente et al. [6].
Differential coexpression methods can be divided into two categories that serve distinct purposes: on the one hand, targeted approaches study gene modules that are defined a priori, while, on the other hand, untargeted approaches aim at grouping genes into modules on the basis of their differential coexpression status.
A suitable untargeted method for differential coexpression analysis should satisfy the following criteria:
Sensitively detect groups of genes in which the correlation of gene pairs within the group is significantly different between conditions.
Sensitively detect changes in correlations between two groups of genes even when the within-group correlation is conserved across conditions.
Allow for simple comparison of more than two conditions.
Criteria (i) and (ii) are illustrated in Figure 1, which schematically depicts biological scenarios that can give rise to differential coexpression.
Illustration of differential coexpression scenarios. Panel A: A gene network is in a coexpressed state in condition 1 as shown by the red background. In condition 2 an important regulator of that network is now inactive and the module is no longer coexpressed. This scenario is an example of the differential coexpression type described by criterion (i). Panel B: Two pathways are coordinated in condition 1 via an important hub gene (shown in blue) whose inactivity in condition 2 means the two pathways are no longer coexpressed. This exemplifies the module-to-module differential coexpression described by criterion (ii).
Multiple methods have been proposed to identify such large-scale correlation patterns [5, 7–12]. However, this early work provided only partial solutions to the problem of differential coexpression since, with one recent exception [5], none of the proposed methods were entirely untargeted. Instead, existing methods can be divided into two categories: targeted and "semi-targeted" approaches. In targeted approaches, pre-defined modules are surveyed for correlation changes between two conditions. For example, Choi et al. [9] proposed a method that focuses on the analysis of modules based on known gene annotations, such as GO categories, and tests the significance of the coexpression changes using a statistical measure known as dispersion. This has the advantage of not requiring the gene sets to be highly correlated in one of the two conditions. However, this method is targeted in that it relies on the study of known functional gene sets and is not able to identify novel, non-annotated modules or modules that would only partially match annotated categories. "Semi-targeted" approaches use classical coexpression methods in one of the conditions to define modules and study whether these modules are also coexpressed in the second condition. DCA (differential clustering analysis) [10] is an example of a method using one of the two conditions as reference, meaning the clusters under consideration are obtained from one condition and then studied in the other condition. In order to avoid bias towards one of the conditions, Ihmels et al. suggested doing a reciprocal analysis, switching the reference and target conditions, while Southworth et al. used a third dataset as reference [5]. A drawback of such "semi-targeted" methods is that the analysis will only focus on groups of genes that emerge as clusters in at least one of the conditions, and will therefore potentially miss more subtle cases. As an example, a weak but significant condition-dependent correlation structure between a group of genes that otherwise belong to distinct, strongly coexpressed and conserved clusters would not be detected by this approach. A first attempt at an untargeted approach was introduced by Southworth et al. [5], who proposed applying hierarchical clustering using the difference in pairwise correlations between both conditions as a similarity metric for two genes. This approach is therefore suited to identifying groups in which the within-group correlation changes (first criterion), but it cannot be applied to the detection of module-to-module correlation differences (second criterion). The field of differential coexpression analysis would therefore benefit from a new, truly untargeted and sensitive method for identifying differentially correlated modules that would satisfy all three criteria.
Here we present a solution to this problem in the form of the DiffCoEx approach for untargeted differential coexpression analysis: a method which applies the powerful tools of Weighted Gene Coexpression Network Analysis (WGCNA) to differential network analysis. We first describe the five steps involved in DiffCoEx and then, to illustrate the method's effectiveness, we present the results of an analysis performed on a publicly available dataset generated by Stemmer et al. [13].
Our method builds on WGCNA [14, 15], which is a framework for coexpression analysis. Identification of coexpression modules with WGCNA follows three steps: first an adjacency matrix is defined between all the genes under consideration based on pair-wise correlations. Then the generalized topological overlap measure [16] is computed from the adjacency matrix and converted into a dissimilarity measure. Finally, using this dissimilarity measure, hierarchical clustering is applied, followed by tree cutting using either a static or a dynamic height cut. The resulting clusters form modules of genes in which all members are strongly inter-correlated.
The principle of DiffCoEx is to apply WGCNA to an adjacency matrix representing the correlation changes between conditions. DiffCoEx clusters genes using a novel dissimilarity measure computed from the topological overlap [16] of the correlation changes between conditions. Intuitively, the method groups two genes together when their correlations to the same sets of genes change between the different conditions. The complete process of our differential coexpression analysis comprises five steps, described below. The notation X designates a square matrix with the dimension of the number of genes considered and x ij is used to define the element of X at row i and column j.
Build adjacency matrix C[k]within each condition k as the correlation for all pair of genes (i,j):
C [ k ] : c i j [ k ] = c o r ( g e n e i , g e n e j )
In this step, different correlation measures can be used, such as the Pearson or Spearman coefficient.
Compute matrix of adjacency difference:
D : d i j = ( 1 2 | s i g n ( c i j [ 1 ] ) * ( c i j [ 1 ] ) 2 − s i g n ( c i j [ 2 ] ) * ( c i j [ 2 ] ) 2 | ) β
In this matrix, high values of d ij indicate that the coexpression status of gene i and gene j changes significantly between the two conditions. The correlation change is quantified as the difference between signed squared correlation coefficients so that changes in correlation which are identical in terms of explained variance (r2) are given the same weight. This adjacency matrix is defined such that it only takes values between 0 and 1. The soft threshold parameter β is taken as a positive integer and is used to transform the correlation values so that the weight of large correlation differences is emphasized compared to lower, less meaningful, differences. β should be regarded as a tuning parameter, and in practice it is advisable to try different values of β. In WGCNA, it is recommended to choose β so that the resulting coexpression network follows an approximate scale-free topology [14]. However the "scale-free" topology nature of biological networks has been disputed [17], and another way is to consider the soft threshold parameter as a stringency parameter: using high values of β means putting less emphasis on smaller changes in correlation, and therefore being more statistically stringent. Accordingly, since larger sample sizes come with higher statistical significance of small correlation changes, smaller values of the soft threshold can be used as the sample size increases. In practice, we view the soft threshold parameter as a tuning parameter, and we always check the significance of the result afterwards, both statistically and using biological criteria relevant in each specific study.
Derive the Topological Overlap [16] based dissimilarity matrix T from the adjacency change matrix D.
T : t i j = 1 − ∑ k ( d i k d k j ) + d i j min ( ∑ k d i k , ∑ k d j k ) + 1 − d i j
The use of the topological overlap measure to construct a dissimilarity metrics allows the identification of genes that share the same neighbors in the graph formed by the differential correlation network as defined by the adjacency matrix created in Step 2. Intuitively, a low value of t ij (high similarity) means that gene i and gene j both have significant correlation changes with the same large group of genes. This group of genes constitutes their "topological overlap" in the differential correlation network and may, or may not, include gene i and gene j . This property allows DiffCoEx to satisfy both criteria (i) and (ii) as stated earlier. On the one hand, if gene i and gene j are part of a module of genes coexpressed in only one condition (criterion (i), illustrated in Figure 1A), then the topological overlap between gene i and gene j in the difference network consists of all the genes within that module. On the other hand, if gene i and gene j are equally inter-correlated in both conditions but correlate with the genes in a distinct module in only one condition (criterion (ii), illustrated in Figure 1B), then the topological overlap between gene i and gene j in the difference network consists of the genes in that other module. In both cases gene i and gene j will therefore be grouped together: in the first case forming a differentially correlated module, and in the second case forming a module with differential module-to-module correlation with another group of genes.
We note that since the adjacency matrix takes values between 0 and 1, the dissimilarity matrix computed here also takes values between 0 and 1, as shown in [14].
The dissimilarity matrix T is used as input for clustering and modules are identified.
The clustering can be done using standard hierarchical clustering with average linkage, followed by module extraction from the resulting dendrogram, either using a fixed cut height or with more elaborate algorithms such as the dynamicTreeCut [18]. Alternative clustering techniques, such as Partitioning Around Medoids (PAM) [19], may be used in this step.
Assess the statistical significance of coexpression changes.
This is necessary because DiffCoEx uses user-defined parameters: the soft threshold β used to transform the adjacency matrix in Step 2 and the clustering parameters in Step 4 (tree cutting settings, for example). Unsuitable settings may lead to the detection of clusters with non-significant differential coexpression.
The statistical significance of differential coexpression can be assessed using a measure of the module-wise correlation changes such as the dispersion statistic [9], the t-statistic [12], or the average absolute correlation. Permutations or simulations of the data can be used to generate a null distribution of those statistics by providing estimates of the extent of differential correlation that can be expected to occur by chance. An example of implementing a permutation procedure to assess the significance of differential coexpression using the dispersion statistics is presented in Additional File 1.
Extending the DiffCoEx method to multiple conditions
This method can easily be extended to the study of differential coexpression over more than two conditions. The only required change is in Step 2, where the matrix of adjacency differences should be replaced with the following: supposing we have calculated C[1],...,C[k],...,C[n] the correlation matrices for gene pairs in each of the n different conditions:
D : d i j = ( 1 n − 1 ∑ k | s i g n ( c i j [ k ] ) * ( c i j [ k ] ) 2 − c i j [ 0 ] | 2 ) β
c i j [ 0 ] = 1 n ∑ k ( s i g n ( c i j [ k ] ) * ( c i j [ k ] ) 2 )
For two conditions, one can verify that this formulation is equivalent to that proposed earlier in Step 2.
A less sensitive variant to detect more striking patterns
If one is interested in picking up only coexpression changes that affect genes forming highly coexpressed modules in at least one of the conditions, the formula in Step 2 can be adapted so that the method uses the difference between the two transformed correlation matrices (with the soft threshold parameter β) as shown below:
D : d i j = 1 2 | s i g n ( c i j [ 1 ] ) * ( c i j [ 1 ] ) β − s i g n ( c i j [ 2 ] ) * ( c i j [ 2 ] ) β |
This will make the method less sensitive to subtle coexpression changes, but may help in extracting more strikingly differentially coexpressed modules.
Variant without the topological overlap
As with WGCNA, the use of a topological overlap-based metrics makes the approach very sensitive, since it considers the correlation changes to all other genes to determine the similarity between two genes. The method can be simplified by replacing the dissimilarity matrix T of Step 4 by a dissimilarity measure derived directly from the adjacency matrix D:
T a l t = 1 – D
This will make DiffCoEx focus only on within-module differential coexpression (criteria (i)) and not on module-to-module differential coexpression (criteria (ii)). This variant is computationally more efficient since the topological overlap computation is omitted.
We present here the results of our method as used on a previously published dataset. We identify modules of genes that are differentially coexpressed and, by using gene set enrichment analysis, we provide evidence for their biological relevance.
Our dataset (Gene Expression Omnibus GEO GSE5923) contains Affymetrix gene expression profiles of renal cortex outer medulla in wild-type- and Eker rats treated with carcinogens. The dataset is a time course as the rats were treated with Aristolochic Acid (AA) or Ochratoxin A (OTA), respectively, for 1, 3, 7 or 14 days. In total, the dataset consists of 84 arrays measuring 15,923 probe sets. Details about the experimental settings are available in the original paper [13].
Eker rats are predisposed to renal tumor because they are heterozygous for a loss-of-function mutation in the tuberous sclerosis 2 (Tsc2) tumor suppressor gene. Stemmer et al. [13] compared the transcriptional responses of the rats to the carcinogens and found that the expression levels of genes belonging to a number of cancer-related pathways were affected differently in the mutant compared to the wild-type rats. In our re-analysis of the data, we switched the focus from differential expression to differential coexpression in an attempt to identify functional modules responding to carcinogen treatment with a different coexpression signature in mutant Eker rats compared to wild type rats.
We applied the DiffCoEx method to the quantile normalized data [20]. A duplicate set of 12 controls present only for Eker rats was discarded in order to have a symmetric experimental setting among wild-type- and Eker rats. We used the Spearman rank correlation in order to reduce sensitivity to outliers, and the hierarchical clustering and module assignment was performed using dynamicTreeCut [18]. The detailed algorithm and R code used in this analysis are given in Additional File 1.
The results of the analysis are summarized in Figure 2A. We identified a total of 8 differentially coexpressed modules comprising a total of close to 1800 genes (1887 probe sets, 1796 unique genes). The modules were given color names as indicated in Figure 2A. Four of these modules (totaling 1361 genes) were significantly more highly correlated in the mutant Eker rats than in the wild-type rats, while only the red module (36 genes) and, to a lesser extent, the green module (116 genes) follow the opposite pattern. This striking asymmetry might reflect the greater fragility of the Eker rats to carcinogens: in Eker rats, treatment with carcinogens leads to much more coordinated perturbation of the transcriptome than in wild-type rats.
Differentially coexpressed modules between carcinogen-treated Eker rats and wild-type rats. Panel A: Comparative correlation heat map. The upper diagonal of the main matrix shows a correlation between pairs of genes among the Eker mutant rats (the red color corresponds to positive correlations, blue to negative correlations). The lower diagonal of the heat map shows a correlation between the same gene pairs in the wild-type controls. Modules are identified in the heat map by black squares and on the right side of the heat map by a color bar. The brown bands on the right side indicate the mean expression of the modules in the Eker rats (first column) and the wild-type rats (second column); darker colors indicate higher mean expression levels. Panel B: Expression variation (scaled) in the Eker mutants (left) and the wild-type rats (right) of the genes in the yellow module which are annotated in KEGG with "pancreatic cancer". In the Eker rats the variation of these genes is tightly correlated, whereas for the wild-type rats it is much more random.
The cases of the black, orange and green modules illustrate an interesting characteristic of DiffCoEx: the method is able to identify module-to-module correlation changes. Interestingly, the black module is not differentially correlated in the wild-type rats compared to the Eker rats. Instead, what qualifies the black module as a differentially coexpressed module is its very significant drop in correlation with the genes in the blue and purple modules in the wild-type rats compared to the Eker mutants (see Figure 2A). Similar patterns can be observed for the orange and green modules. This property makes DiffCoEx a sensitive approach for detecting any type of large-scale correlation change.
Following Choi et al. [9], significance of the coexpression differences was assessed by comparing the dispersion index values of each module in the data with the null distribution obtained from permuted (scaled) data (see Additional File 1 for details and Additional File 2: Figure S1 for an overview of the permutation results). In 1000 permutations, none of the blue, brown, purple, red or yellow modules obtained as high a dispersion value as that obtained from the non-permuted data, indicating a significance p-value < 0.001. Module-to-module coexpression changes were tested by assessing the significance of the correlation changes between the genes from each possible module pair, using a similar "module-to-module" dispersion measure and generating null distributions from the same permutation approach. Additional File 2: Figure S1 shows that the coexpression change between the black and blue modules, for example, is highly significant since no permutation yielded as high a dispersion value.
In the next step, the biological significance of the modules was surveyed using gene-set enrichment analysis. We submitted each of the modules to GeneTrail [21] and identified many significantly over-represented GO or KEGG terms among the gene annotations. A subset of some of the most interesting findings is presented in Table 1, while complete lists are available as Additional File 3. Interestingly, the black module was enriched for genes involved in "response to xenobiotics", while the blue module contained many genes associated with "metabolic processes". Finally, the yellow module was strongly enriched for genes known to be involved in cancer pathogenesis.
Table 1 Annotations enriched in differentially coexpressed modules
In Figure 2B, the expression data for the 13 genes of the yellow module, which were associated with the "pancreatic cancer" KEGG annotation, illustrate what differential coexpression is: a difference in the coordination of the variation of a group of genes between two conditions. In the Eker rats, these cancer genes show coordinated variation, whereas in the wild-type rats this coordination is absent.
This analysis was carried out using the R statistical package with the WGCNA [15] library, on a Linux computer with 128 GB physical memory. Large memory (around 10 GB) is required to compute correlation matrices for over 10,000 genes. For module definition, hierarchical clustering was combined with dynamicTreeCut [18] using a minimum size of 20 genes. Details of the process and code can be found in Additional File 1.
The method we present here has the advantage of comparing two (or more) datasets in a global, unbiased and unsupervised manner. It represents a major improvement over earlier two-way comparisons, in which clustering was first performed in one condition and the coexpression of the genes in the resulting clusters was then assessed in the other condition. Moreover, DiffCoEx is very sensitive because (i) it does not require differentially coexpressed modules to be detected as coherent, coexpressed modules in one of the two conditions; instead, only the difference in coexpression is considered to define the module; and (ii) it can identify all types of large-scale correlation changes, including module-to-module correlation changes. Using a simulation study (see Additional File 4), we demonstrate examples of differential coexpression patterns that can be uncovered using DiffCoEx but that were missed by existing approaches.
Differential coexpression provides information that would be missed using classical methods focusing on the identification of differentially expressed genes. For example, as Figure 2A shows, many of the differentially coexpressed clusters display few differences between the two conditions in terms of mean overall expression. This indicates that the changes in correlation that we observed cannot be explained by the genes being not expressed, and therefore not correlated in one of the two conditions.
Differential coexpression may be caused by different biological mechanisms. For example, a group of genes may be under the control of a common regulator (e.g. a transcription factor or epigenetic modification) that is active in one condition, but absent in the other condition. In such a case, the correlation structure induced by variation in the common regulator would only be present in the first condition. Another possible interpretation relates to the presence or absence of variation in some factors driving a gene module. To observe correlation of a group of genes responding to a common factor, this factor needs to vary. In the absence of variation of the driving factor, no correlation can be observed, even though the actual biological links that form the network are not altered. It is therefore important to ensure that the perturbations which give rise to variation within each condition are: (i) biologically relevant (as opposed to batch effects, for example) and (ii) comparable in nature and amplitude.
DiffCoEx provides a simple and efficient approach to study how different sample groups respond to the same perturbations. These perturbations can be either well characterized and controlled, or stochastic and unknown. In our example analysis, on top of random physiological fluctuations present in any dataset, there was a controlled perturbation induced by the time-course treatment with different carcinogens present. Since the carcinogen treatment is a controlled experimental factor, it is possible to use classical methods to study the transcriptomic changes it induces rather than using DiffCoEx. However, a fundamental advantage of using DiffCoEx in such a case is that it requires no model assumptions and is a quick and efficient approach. Differential coexpression approaches are even more useful when the variation among the samples in one condition is caused by uncontrolled factors, whose effects cannot easily be dissected. A typical example would be genetic variation present in a natural population or an experimental cross. DiffCoEx constitutes a valuable tool of broad applicability now that such genetic studies are becoming increasingly important for studying gene regulatory networks [22–24].
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This work was supported by a BioRange grant SP1.2.3 from the Netherlands Bioinformatics Centre (NBIC), which is supported by a BSIK grant through the Netherlands Genomics Initiative (NGI). We thank Jackie Senior for editing this article.
Groningen Bioinformatics Center, University of Groningen, Kerklaan 30, 9751 NN Haren, the Netherlands
Bruno M Tesson
, Rainer Breitling
& Ritsert C Jansen
Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
Rainer Breitling
Department of Genetics, University Medical Center Groningen, 9700, RB, Groningen, the Netherlands
Ritsert C Jansen
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Correspondence to Ritsert C Jansen.
BMT designed and implemented the algorithm, analyzed the results and drafted the manuscript. RB and RCJ directed the project and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Additional file 1: Step-by-step R analysis for applying DiffCoEx. This file contains the documented R source code used to perform the analysis described in the main text as well as the simulation study described in Additional file 4. (DOC 76 KB)
Additional file 2: Significance assessment of module-to-module coexpression changes using permutations. This figure summarizes the results of the significance analysis. 1000 permutations of the samples between the two conditions were performed, and for each of the permuted datasets, the dispersion value (a measure of correlation change for groups of genes) was computed for each module, and for every possible module pair. The number of permutations yielding a higher dispersion value than that of the original data was recorded and is displayed in this figure. The figure, for example, indicates that the within-module dispersion value for the black module reached a higher value with permuted data than with original data 249 times. The within-module coexpression change was therefore not significant (p = 0.249) for the black module and this is indicated with a light grey shading. Similarly, the figure shows that no permutations reached as high a value as the original data for the purple to black dispersion, meaning that the black module was significantly differentially coexpressed with the purple module, and this is indicated with dark grey shading. (PNG 17 KB)
Additional file 3: Differentially coexpressed modules and enrichment analysis results. This Excel file has separate sheets for the gene lists for each of the differentially coexpressed modules and the results of the enrichment analysis conducted using GeneTrail. (XLS 1 MB)
Additional file 4: Simulation study showing the sensitivity of DiffCoEx. This file details the result of a simulation study performed to illustrate a scenario in which DiffCoEx will outperform other, less sensitive, methods. (DOC 716 KB)
Tesson, B.M., Breitling, R. & Jansen, R.C. DiffCoEx: a simple and sensitive method to find differentially coexpressed gene modules. BMC Bioinformatics 11, 497 (2010) doi:10.1186/1471-2105-11-497
Adjacency Matrix
Dissimilarity Measure
Aristolochic Acid
Coexpression Analysis
Weight Gene Coexpression Network Analysis
Transcriptome analysis

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
package j4kdemo.videoviewerapp;

import edu.ufl.digitalworlds.gui.DWApplet;

@SuppressWarnings("serial")
public class VideoViewerApplet extends DWApplet
{
	public void init()
	{
		createMainFrame("Video Viewer Applet");
    	VideoViewerApp.app=new VideoViewerApp();
    	setFrameSize(730,570,null);
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Alfonso "Alfie" Leon, an attorney and former city commission aide to Frank Carollo, was in second place unofficially with 20.28 percent of the vote, according to results reported Tuesday night by the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections. Zoraida Barreiro, wife of County Commissioner Bruno Barreiro, was just 17 votes behind with 20 percent of the vote. Tomas N. "Tommy" Regalado, the son of the outgoing mayor, came in fourth with fewer than 1,000 votes.
County law requires an automatic machine recount if there's less than half a percentage point between top-ranked candidates. An elections department spokesman couldn't say when that recount would happen since Miami's canvassing board was still in action, but J.C. Planas, an elections law attorney hired Tuesday night to represent Leon, said it will probably be Thursday or Friday.
"We expect to still make it to the runoff against Carollo," Planas said.
If so, he should brace himself. Carollo ran an aggressive general election campaign and said Tuesday he's confident he'll win regardless of his opponent.
Regalado, who engaged in a bitter campaign with Carollo over the last month, came in fourth with fewer than 1,000 votes, unofficially. Barreiro did not answer her cell phone Tuesday night.
In District 4, voters sent Manolo Reyes, the 73-year-old Westland Hialeah Senior High government teacher, into Miami's District 4 commission seat. He won roughly 56 percent out of some 7,400 votes. The next biggest vote getter, urban planning consultant Ralph Rosado, netted 36 percent of the vote with all but two precincts reporting.
Reyes, who first ran for city commission in 1985, was on his seventh campaign for city commission. On his last shot, a race in 2009 against now mayor-elect Francis Suarez, he lost by fewer than 300 votes.
"What I told everybody is, if I win, to pray for me so the Lord can guide me to do good for my community. I'm running to serve," Reyes, who is Catholic, said Tuesday afternoon outside Smathers Plaza, an affordable housing complex and voting precinct south of Southwest Eighth Street.
Manolo, si se puede!" one voter said to Reyes while driving up to the complex. "Por Manolo! Por Manolo! Por Manolo!" said Maria Borden, another voter.
Reyes, who long ago worked as a budget analyst for the city, said he will push the city to analyze its spending to reduce waste. which he called "an endemic trait of all governments and bureaucracies." He campaigned on a pledge to improve public safety, address sanitation and fix busted streets and sidewalks, all major small-time, meat-and-potatoes issues in Miami's westernmost district covering Flagami, Coral Way and Shenandoah.


text:
Mad Max dominates with broken nose, black eye
By Jamal Collier @JamalCollier
WASHINGTON -- The ball left a sizeable imprint around Max Scherzer's right eye, the blue one, now marked with a large bruise to go along with his swollen nose. Fluid had built up from the swelling underneath his eye, and it took him some time pregame to get used to
WASHINGTON -- The ball left a sizeable imprint around Max Scherzer's right eye, the blue one, now marked with a large bruise to go along with his swollen nose. Fluid had built up from the swelling underneath his eye, and it took him some time pregame to get used to his face "jiggling" around as he warmed up.
This was the face staring back at the Phillies' hitters as they stepped into the box Wednesday night -- already one of the most intimidating starters in baseball, pitching with a black eye, a broken nose and an unflinching, irritated scowl.
At no point after suffering those injuries during a bunting incident the day before did Scherzer ever entertain the idea of missing this start. But while he was on the mound, it was as if the injury seemed to anger him. And the Phillies paid the price for being in the way.
• Box score
Scherzer struck out 10 and tossed seven scoreless innings to lead the Nationals to a 2-0 victory at Nationals Park, completing the sweep in Wednesday's doubleheader over the Phillies and authoring an outing that undoubtedly will be remembered among the gutsiest in what is shaping up to almost certainly be a Hall-of-Fame career.
"It really is one of the most impressive things I've seen in awhile," said second baseman Brian Dozier, who hit a solo homer to give the Nats a 1-0 lead in the nightcap after also homering in the first game. "He's probably the best pitcher in our generation, and you don't get that status unless you take the ball every fifth day no matter if you're doing good, doing bad, got a broken nose -- you always want the ball."
Predictably, Scherzer began downplaying his own feat after the game. On a scale of 1-10, he said his pain level was a zero. Plenty of pitchers would have taken the mound, according to Scherzer, just a little more than 24 hours after the injury.
"Trust me, this thing looks a lot worse than it actually is," he said. "You take the ball every fifth time, that's my responsibility to the team."
On the mound, it was a vintage Scherzer outing, challenging the Phillies with a lively fastball.
His four-seamer averaged 96.2 mph on the evening, tied for the third-highest in any of the 358 starts (including postseason) in his career. He had not thrown that hard over the course of a single outing since Sept. 28, 2015, and had not thrown harder since Sept. 7, 2012. His fastball generated 18 swinging strikes and touched at least 98 mph twice, something he had done on only one previous pitch this season and didn't do all of last year.
That uptick in velocity -- Scherzer chalked it up to the weather. It was humid and hovering around 80 degrees in D.C. on Wednesday night, Scherzer's ideal weather to pitch in.
"That's the best pitching weather you can ever be in," Scherzer said. "That's what we had tonight, and when you get that weather like that, it makes it very easy to have a lot of energy on your fastball. You really don't have to put too much energy into your fastball and it kind of jumps."
Yet on Wednesday night, it was as if Scherzer was pitching with a vengeance, even though his wound was self-inflicted. During pitcher's batting practice on Tuesday afternoon, Scherzer accidentally bunted a ball off his face, fracturing his nose and bruising his eye. Shortly after the diagnosis was confirmed, Scherzer stood in manager Dave Martinez's office with a splint on his nose, pantomiming his pitching motion before telling his skipper flat out, "Expect me to pitch tomorrow."
Martinez wanted to see whether Scherzer would wake up with increased swelling around his eye or have any trouble breathing with the injury. Or maybe he would want to wear protection on his face while he stood on the mound. Instead, Scherzer showed up before the nightcap of Wednesday's doubleheader wanting to take batting practice, keeping with his usual routine. He even laid down a bunt with hitting coach Kevin Long.
Make no mistake, Scherzer was always going to pitch Wednesday night. It's in his DNA. He told head athletic trainer Paul Lessard after the incident that even if this happened during a game, he would still want to pitch. A broken nose or a black eye was never going to stop him.
"I was kind of joking with him, 'Oh you're throwing today?'" Dozier said. "He kind of gave me the go-to-hell look. 'Of course, I'm throwing today, what do you mean?' That's Max.
"That's why you put him in the category of one of the best, if not the best, in the game, the best of our generation. You don't get that by taking days off, missing starts and stuff."
Scherzer has delivered many memorable outings in his career, especially since arriving in Washington four years ago. He twirled a pair of no-hitters in 2015 and matched a Major League record in '16 by striking out 20 batters in one game.
But this effort Wednesday night should be remembered along with them. A performance that will be played on the highlight reels commemorating his career and one that embodies a player who is often so unwilling to come out of the game and whose intensity on the field is nearly unrivaled around baseball.
"I wanted to pitch," Scherzer said. "I didn't feel any -- it doesn't feel great, but I wanted to pitch."
A handwritten sign was left posted on Scherzer's locker in the Nationals clubhouse reading, "If you try bunting tonight...PLEASE do us all a favor and wear this." On the floor next to Scherzer's locker? A red North Carolina State football helmet, which happens to be Trea Turner's alma mater.
"My phone's been blowing up, everybody calling and giving me flak," Scherzer said with a laugh. "I love it. If you can't talk trash on me right now, you never will."
Jamal Collier has covered the Nationals for MLB.com since 2016. Follow him on Twitter at @jamalcollier.
Max Scherzer


We are carrying out checks at Belsize Priory Medical Practice. We will publish a report when our check is complete.
The practice serves approximately 4,400 people living in the local area. People living in the area speak a range of different languages and express a range of cultural needs. The practice population has higher numbers of working-age people (aged 40+ years), and has higher levels of deprivation, compared to the national average.
The practice operates from a single site, which we visited as part of our inspection. It is situated on the first floor of a purpose-built health centre, which also houses a range of other health and social care services. There are six consulting rooms. The service can be accessed by a ramp leading to the first floor. There is also a disabled toilet available.
The practice is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to carry out the following regulated activities: Diagnostic and screening procedures; Family planning; Maternity and midwifery services; Treatment of disease, disorder or injury.
The practice is led by a female GP and employs one long-term male locum GP. The clinical team is completed by two Physician Associates and a healthcare assistant. There is a practice manager, deputy practice manager and a team of seven non-clinical staff who share reception and administrative duties.
The practice offers pre-bookable and on the day appointments. The practice has appointments from 8:30am to 1pm and 2pm to 6.30pm on Monday to Friday. The practice provides extended opening hours on Tuesdays between 6.30pm and 7.15pm and on Thursdays between 6.30pm and 7.00pm.
The practice hosts a range of additional clinics comprising: a Diabetic Specialist Nurse clinic once a month on a Tuesday; psychological support clinics on Thursdays and Fridays, a social connections clinic on Tuesdays, and an opiate drug misuse clinic every two weeks.


text:
Der Hafen von Ventspils ist ein eisfreier Tiefseehafen in Ventspils an der lettischen Ostseeküste. Gemessen am Frachtgutumschlag ist der Hafen von Ventspils der größte in Lettland, einer der verkehrsreichsten Häfen der Ostsee und gehört zu den Top 20 der Liste der europäischen Häfen.

Der Hafen von Ventspils wurde zu einem multimodalen Hafen, als er 1998 erheblich vertieft wurde und eine maximale Fahrrinnentiefe von 17,5 Metern erreicht. Dies ermöglichte das Anlegen der größten Schiffe, die damals in der Ostsee operierten, einschließlich der Aframax-Tankschiffe (bis zu 150.000 tdw). Der Trockengutbereich und der Stückgutbereich mit einer Tiefe von 16 Metern ermöglichen es das Anlegen von Schiffen der Panamax-Größe mit einer Ladekapazität von bis zu 75.000 tdw.

Geschichte

Der Hafen von Ventspils entstand an der Mündung der Venta in die Ostsee. Die ersten schriftlichen Zeugnisse über einen Hafen in Windau, so der damalige Name der Stadt, stammen aus dem Jahr 1263. Im 13. Jahrhundert wurde ein einfacher Liegeplatz für Handelsschiffe gebaut. Im 14. Jahrhundert entwickelte sich der Windauer Hafen dank der Zugehörigkeit der Stadt zur Hanse.

Während der Regierungszeit von Herzog Jakob (von 1642 bis 1682) wurde Windau zum Haupthafen des Herzogtums Kurland und Semgallen. Die dortigen Werften bauten und verkauften mehr als 135 Schiffe in andere europäische Länder.

Nach der Eingliederung Windaus in das Russische Kaiserreich nahmen Import und Export von Waren nach und aus Russland durch den Hafen von Ventspils zu. Im 19. Jahrhundert wurden im Hafen von Ventspils Pfeiler, neue Liegeplätze, Lagerhäuser, Keller, mit japanischer Ausrüstung ausgestattete Aufzüge und Getreidesilos gebaut und installiert. 1894 erhielt der Hafen von Ventspils einen Bahnanschluss, nachdem die Eisenbahnstrecke von Riga nach Tukums bis Ventspils verlängert worden war.

Der Hafen von Ventspils verlor während des Ersten und Zweiten Weltkriegs seine Bedeutung. 1944 flüchteten Tausende von Letten über den Hafen von Ventspils vor der vorrückenden Roten Armee. Unter der sowjetischen Herrschaft in Lettland wurde der Hafen durch eine Pipeline mit den sowjetischen Erdölfeldern verbunden. Dadurch wurde er zu einem Umschlagszentrum für Erdöl und Erdölerzeugnisse.

In der zweiten Hälfte der 1990er Jahre begann die Umstrukturierung des Hafens von Ventspils. Die Hafenverwaltung (seit 1997 "Ventspils Freeport Authority") entwickelte das Hafengebiet. Der Status der Sonderwirtschaftszone (SEZ) ermöglicht es sich dort ansiedelnden Unternehmen ab 1997, erhebliche steuerliche Anreize zu erhalten. 2002 begann die Ventspils Freeport Authority mit der Erweiterung des Industriegebiets des Hafens, um Industriebetriebe nach Ventspils zu locken.

Gegenwart
Das Hafengebiet umfasst insgesamt 2451 Hektar. Einbezogen ist dabei das Gewerbegebiet. Die am Hafen gelegenen Terminals behandeln unterschiedliche Arten von Frachtgut, z. B. Erdölerzeugnisse, Rohöl, unterschiedliche flüssige Chemikalien, Mineraldüngemittel, verschiedene Metalle, Holzprodukte, Kohle, Getreide, Saftkonzentrate, sowie Container und RoRo-Ladungen. Seit 2000 bemüht sich Ventspils um die Weiterentwicklung des Container- und des RoRo-Verkehrs.

Dienstleistungen im Hafen
Der Freihafen Ventspils verfügt über alle Dienstleistungen im Bereich Umschlag von Massen- und Stückgut an den Terminals sowie über einen Schiffsservice. Teilweise werden die Dienstleistungen von der Hafenverwaltung des Freihafens Ventspils zur Verfügung gestellt, aber größtenteils sind dort private Unternehmen im Hafenbereich tätig.

 Terminals für verschiedene Flüssig-, Schütt- und Stückgüter; Fährterminal
 Schifffahrtsagenturen
 Schlepper
 Bunkerung
 Lotsen
 Festmacher
 Schiffswerkstatt – Docken, Inspektion, Reinigung und andere Wartungsarbeiten
 Taucher
 Entsorgung von Schiffsabfall
 Schiffsausrüster – Lieferung von Ersatzteilen, Lebensmitteln und Rettungsmitteln

Der Freihafen von Ventspils
Die gesetzlichen Grundlagen des Betriebs und der Entwicklung des Hafens sind:
 das Hafengesetz von 1994 (in Bezug auf dessen Betrieb)
 das Ventspils-Freihafengesetz von 1997 (das Unternehmen innerhalb des Hafens vorsieht)
 das Gesetz über die Steueranwendung von 2002 in Freihäfen und Sonderwirtschaftszonen, das steuerliche Anreize für diese Unternehmen im Hafen regelt

Industrielle Produktion
Im Freihafen von Ventspils sind mehr als 500 ha für die industrielle Produktion vorgesehen. Das Gebiet des Ventspils Industrial Parks ist an die Produktionsabsichten der Investoren anpassbar und verfügt über die notwendige Infrastruktur, um die Produktion aufzunehmen (fertige Produktionsstätten, Strom, leistungsstarke IT, Telekommunikation). Die Grundrente wird in Höhe von 0,25 bis 0,5 % des Katasterwerts des Grundstücks mit Rückkaufsrechten angepasst. In der Anfangsphase des Geschäftsbetriebs steht die Unterstützung des Business Incubator des Ventspils High Technology Parks (VHTP) im Bereich Infrastruktur und Dienstleistungen zur Verfügung.

In Ventspils steht eine mehrsprachige Belegschaft zur Verfügung. Eine der renommiertesten Berufsbildungs- und Weiterbildungseinrichtungen – das Ventspils Technical College – North Kurzeme Competence Center und das Ventspils University College – bietet Schulungen für Spezialisten verschiedener Niveaus in den Bereichen Metallbearbeitung, Mechatronik, Ingenieurmechanik, Kfz-Mechanik, Energie, Elektronik, IT, Telekommunikation, Radioastronomie, Ingenieurwesen, Maschinenbau. Das Industriegebiet Ventspils verfügt über eine IKT-Infrastruktur (Information Communication Technologies) und günstige Bedingungen für die Entwicklung leistungsfähiger Rechenzentren.

Industriekunden des Industrieparks Ventspils Port

Terminals im Ventspils Port
Die Hafenterminals von Ventspils bieten Umschlagdienste für Flüssiggut, Massengut und Stückgut an. Die maximale Tiefe im Terminal für flüssige Ladung beträgt 17,5 m, der Tiefgang der Schiffe 15 m, die Länge 275 m. Die maximale Tiefe im Schüttgut-Terminal beträgt 16 m, Tiefgang 15 m und Länge 240 m. Die maximale Tiefe RoRo-Containerfracht-Terminal beträgt 14,5 m, Tiefgang 14,1 m, Schiffslänge 240 m.

Flüssiggutterminals

Massengüterterminals

Stückgutterminals

Andere Hafendienste
Alle Serviceleistungen sind rund um die Uhr im Freeport of Ventspils verfügbar: 15 Frachtterminals, 16 Schiffsagenturen, regelmäßiger Fährverkehr mit Schweden, Bunkern von Schiffen, Schlepper, Lotsen, Schiffsreparaturen, Taucher, Abfall- und Schmutzungswasserannahme usw. Dienstleistungen.

Transportverbindungen
Der Hafen von Ventspils ist Teil des Verkehrs zwischen der EU und den GUS-Staaten und der Hafen des TEN-T-Kernverkehrsnetzes.

Ventspils ist Teil des Ost-West-Eisenbahnkorridors, der in das eurasische Verkehrssystem integriert ist. Die zweispurige Autobahn E-22 von europäischer Bedeutung führt durch Ventspils. Der Flughafen Ventspils befindet sich ebenfalls auf dem Gebiet des Freihafens von Ventspils. Ventspils liegt etwa zwei Autostunden vom internationalen Flughafen Riga (RIX) entfernt.

Fährverkehr
Vom Hafen von Ventspils gibt es Fährlinien nach Schweden (Nynäshamn bzw. Stockholm Norvik), die von der Reederei Stena Line betrieben werden. Seit 2010 hat sich die Zahl der Fährpassagiere verzehnfacht, das Volumen des Kfz- und sonstigen Güterverkehrs hat sich deutlich erhöht. Der Fährverkehr nach Nynäshamn wurde zunächst von Scandlines aufgenommen. Im Jahr 2012 bot dann Stena Line mit einem Schiff zehn Abfahrten in der Woche, Anfang 2020 sind es 24 Abfahrten mit zwei Schiffen, davon die Hälfte zum neuen RoRo-Terminal in Stockholm Norvik.

Von 2006 bis 2008 wurden Fährfahrten nach Menta in Estland unternommen. Eingesetzt wurde die Fähre Scania von SSC Ferries, Tochtergesellschaft von Saaremaa Laevakompanii, betrieben.

Sonderwirtschaftszone
Der Freihafen von Ventspils ist eine Sonderwirtschaftszone (SEZ). Steuererleichterungen können für Ventspils Freeport-Unternehmen angewendet werden, indem bestimmte Kriterien erfüllt werden. Die direkte Steuerentlastung für Immobilien und Körperschaftsteuer kann 80 % erreichen, während die Höhe der Investitionsentschädigung 35 % beträgt (55 % für kleine Unternehmen, 45 % für mittelständische Unternehmen).

In der in der britischen Zeitung Financial Times veröffentlichten Studie Globale Freizonen der Zukunft 2010/11 wurde der Freihafen von Ventspils als Fünfter unter den vielversprechendsten Freizonen sowie als beste Freihandelszone für Häfen eingestuft. Zone 2010/11. Die Studie zeigte, dass der Hafen von Ventspils einige der besten Bedingungen für die Entwicklung von Unternehmen in der Welt biete.

Nach den Ergebnissen der in der Financial Times veröffentlichten Studie Globale Freizonen der Zukunft 2012/13 belegte der Freihafen von Ventspils den siebten Platz unter den vielversprechendsten Sonderwirtschaftszonen der Welt und den zweiten Platz unter den Häfen. Unter den Sonderwirtschaftszonen in Europa war dies die höchste Bewertung.

Weblinks

 Hafen von Ventspils
 Gesetz über den Freihafen Ventspils (lettisch)

Fußnoten

Hafen (Ostsee)
Ventspils
Hafen in Lettland
Sonderwirtschaftszone
Ventspils
Ventspils

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The common denominator of most radiation exposure scenarios is fear. Just mention the word radiation, and you instill fear—a perfectly understandable response given the images of mushroom clouds and cancerous tumors that immediately come to mind. Those images would justifiably cause anyone to be anxious. Nevertheless, some people have also become highly afraid of diagnostic x-rays, luggage scanners, cell phones, and microwave ovens. This extreme level of anxiety is unwarranted, and potentially dangerous.
When people are fearful, they tend to exaggerate risk. Research has shown that people's perception of risk is tightly linked to their fear level. They tend to overestimate the risk of hazards that they fear, while underestimating the risk of hazards they identify as being less scary. Often their risk perception has little to do with the facts, and the facts might not even be of interest to them. For example, many Americans are terrified of black widow spiders, which are found throughout the United States. They are uninterested in the reality that fewer than two people die from black widow bites each year, while over 1,000 people suffer serious illness and death annually from mosquito bites. Mosquitoes are just too commonplace to worry about. Likewise, the risk of commercial airplane crashes is tiny compared to motorcycle crashes, but many a biker is afraid to fly.
The point is that risk perception drives our decision making, and these perceptions often do not correspond to the real risk levels, because irrational fear is taking our brains hostage. When irrational fear enters the picture, it is difficult to objectively weigh risks. Ironically, health decisions driven by fear may actually cause us to make choices that increase, rather than decrease, our risks.
Strange Glow is written for a general audience. Those who have studied from IPMB will already have a stronger quantitative background in math and physics than is needed for Strange Glow's qualitative discussion. However, as Jorgensen writes in the preface, "These highly quantitative approaches have proved to be largely ineffective in communicating the essence of risk to the public." I can't argue with that. I recommend IPMB for a technical background, but Strange Glow for appreciating the broader impact of radiation on society.
Like Gaul, Strange Glow is divided into three parts. Part 1 describes how radiation was discovered, Part 2 discusses the effects of radiation on human health, and Part 3 focuses on risk assessment. I liked the third part best. Jorgensen emphasizes the human stories behind the science. For instance, he begins the chapter about radon by telling the tale of the Watras house.
On December 2, 1984, Stanley J. Watras, an engineer working on construction of the new Limerick nuclear power plant near Portstown, Pennsylvania, arrived at work. The plant, just seven miles from his home in Boyertown, was scheduled to begin generating power within three weeks, and the construction crew had just installed radiation detectors at the plant doors—a standard safeguard to ensure that nuclear workers don't exit the plant with any radioactive contamination on their bodies. When Watras arrived that day, he set off the alarms on the detectors as he walked into the plant. Over the following two weeks he would set off the alarms every morning. Further investigation revealed that his clothes were contaminated with radioactivity that he had picked up at his home!
When radiation safety personnel from the plant visited Watras's home, they discovered what they didn't think possible. There was more radon gas in the Watras split-level house than was found in a typical uranium mine . . . about 20 times as much! Surprised, the radiation safety technicians checked the radon levels in the neighboring houses. "Our house," Watras remarked in consternation, "had perhaps the highest contamination level in the world, but our next door neighbors had none." How could this be?
Jorgensen then describes how the Environmental Protection Agency publicized—and perhaps exaggerated—the risks of radon. But by trying to err on the side of safety, their efforts became a case study in the challenges of risk assessment.
This is one of the trade-offs of using multiple, highly conservative assumptions in risk assessment. It may seem prudent to inflate the risk in order not to underestimate it. Nevertheless, by adopting high-end estimates for every uncertain risk parameter, the cascade of high-end risk assumptions can compound to the point where the final predicted risk levels become incredulous and may even defy common sense.
I find Jorgensen's evidence-based, unemotional discussion of risk assessment to be a breath of fresh air. Far too often public fears are driven by emotions and ignorance, rather than a balancing of risks and benefits. I highly recommend Strange Glow to anyone wondering or worrying about the danger of radiation. Sometimes the danger is real and sometimes it is not, and you need to know which is which.
Below are some videos about the book and its author. Enjoy!


My 3rd visit. Well, my 4th visit to the Greater Ingolstadt Metropolis.
Also known as Audiland. The Audi manufacturing complex lies between Ingolstadt and Gaimersheim. A huge "city" dedicated to the concept of Vorsprung durch technik.
I had a fascinating insight into how Easter happens in Catholic Bavaria. Maybe it has been passing me by in Scotland, being a total unbeliever, but it's a big thing in Bavaria.
Lots of church bells on Thursday night, then silence until Sunday. Big family get togethers over lunch on Friday and Sunday. Fish (matjes-salat) on Friday and meat (schweinebraten) on Sunday. The shops and restaurants almost all closed on Friday and Sunday.
Plastic Easter eggs decorating the shrubs in the garden. Easter bunnies decorating the house. Eggs to be boiled and painted. Then searching the garden for Easter eggs on Sunday morning. Hmmm.
Well, that's tradition for you.