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https://biologos.org/articles/galactic-archaeology-uncovering-the-history-written-in-the-stars/
Credit: Jon Lomberg (link at bottom)
Galactic Archaeology: Uncovering the History Written in the Stars
By Casper Hesp
Young-Earth Creation
How can the earth and the universe be very young if both show so many signs of great age? This is a crucial question for young-earth creationism (YEC), the belief that the natural world came into existence about 10,000 years ago. Young-earth researchers have been making attempts to deal with modern scientific findings under this constraint. For starters, they have argued that the laws of nature have changed radically over time,[1] along with catastrophic effects which (they claim) accompanied the biblical events of the Fall and the Flood. Beyond that, YEC thinkers have also recognized that some degree of "mature creation" is necessary for their paradigm.[2] This is the belief that certain features of the earth and universe were created mature and "fully functional" during the first week of Creation.
One major problem with mature creation is that it ends up including evidence of event histories that never happened. To their credit, YEC thinkers have acknowledged this and have tried to temper it. For instance, the YEC ministry Answers in Genesis (AiG) asserts that Adam and Eve were created as adults but without belly buttons, because these would have indicated a natural birth. They have also distanced themselves from the proposal that light rays could have been created already travelling on their way to earth ("in transit") as an explanation for distant starlight. AiG has rejected this possibility because such light would have to contain fake recordings of past events. This acknowledgement is very important to keep in mind as we proceed, because it places a useful limit on young-earth theorizing.
The idea that the natural world was created "mature" only 10,000 years ago becomes increasingly questionable when we consider the record of cosmic history written in the heavens, which astronomers have been able to study in great detail. As it turns out, separating the maturity of the universe from its event history is exceedingly difficult or, to put it more precisely, impossible. For example, "mature" relativistic jets show evidence of histories stretching across millions of years. Even our universe itself has a "belly button" that is still visible to this very day.
Partial relief from this problem of false history might be found in a class of young-earth models that rely on tweaking the passage of time. These models generally posit that billions of years have passed in places far away from our Earth, while only about 10,000 years have passed on Earth since the initial six days of Creation. In the recent documentary "Is Genesis History", Danny Faulkner of AiG described his proposal of appealing to a miracle that made the clocks run faster. Unfortunately, that brings us back to a form of deception on God's part, but this time one in which billions of "physical" years are compressed into a few miraculous days. It actually boils down to a form of day-age theory, in which the days of Genesis are taken to correspond with excessively long periods of natural time in the universe. This is surprising because AiG has critiqued day-age theory strongly in the past.
Looking beyond ad-hoc appeals to miracles, some have attempted to tweak the passage of time in a physical way, using the concept of time dilation from Einstein's theory of Relativity. The most notable example is the White Hole Cosmology[3] of Russell Humphreys. His proposal places the earth inside a black hole, slowing the passage of time on earth for the first days of the Creation week. Much can be critiqued about this approach,[4] but let us take it at face value for the sake of the argument. Time-dilation models still have to take into account that our planet is located amidst many stars of our own galaxy: the Milky Way. The size of our galaxy is negligible compared to the distance to other galaxies. Because of this, young-earth cosmologists like John Hartnett have recognized that even time-dilation models are forced to assume mature creation of our host galaxy, and at least some neighboring galaxies. Do nearby galaxies contain evidence of past events beyond the time scales that fit in the young-earth paradigm? The answer is a loud "yes!"
Uncovering the rich past of our Milky Way
For this, we need to dive into the wonderful topic of galaxy formation. How did those hundred billion stars of our Milky Way come together to form such beautiful features? The current scientific picture involves the mixing of many smaller galaxies, due to their gravitational attraction. Such occurrences are called merger events, because the dwarf galaxies are literally merged into a larger whole. At some point, the Milky Way itself became so big that merger events started looking more like crumbs being gathered onto a loaf of bread. Or, in a more gruesome analogy, a sort of galactic predation in which the greater galaxy consumes the smaller one. This picture produces very specific predictions. Let's go through a few of them.
Firstly, we know exactly what kind of features such events should leave behind: stellar streams. Imagine a dwarf galaxy as a clump of about 100 million stars, entering close to the Milky Way. All of its stars are getting pulled into orbits around the center of our galaxy (which consists of a supermassive black hole). The orbit of every individual star ends up being very similar to, yet a little bit different from its brothers and sisters. The result is that these stars start smearing out across space, forming streams of stars draped around the galaxy. Because they started out as a single clump, you should still be able to see from their movement and other properties that they used to belong together.
Secondly, if this picture is correct, we know how many of such events have taken place in the past. We know the current mass of our Milky Way (100 billion solar masses) and the typical mass of those galactic snacks (about 100 million solar masses). It's a straightforward calculation to estimate how many merger events have taken place. Based on this number (~1,000), the leftovers from recent galactic dinners should be all over the place in the form of stellar streams!
Do we observe such streams? Yes, dozens of them have been observed and more are being found as we launch better space telescopes. We are essentially looking at all the scars our galaxy has from its dynamic history. This field of study has been labeled "galactic archeology." From the laws of gravity, computer simulations can directly trace back how those streams originated in small dwarf galaxies, and even how much time ago those dwarf galaxies were devoured by our Milky Way. One notable example is the Aquarius stellar stream, its size on the sky is 1300 times (!) the size of the moon. It turns out this stream is the aftermath from a meal our galaxy had 700 million years ago; and this is a relatively recent one! The positions and velocities of the stars of the much older Sagittarius stream (~3 billion years) were measured so precisely that astronomers were able to use them for estimating the overall shape of our galaxy. The animation below shows an actual simulation of such events:
Direct link: https://3c1703fe8d.site.internapcdn.net/newman/gfx/news/hires/2011/modernmagell.gif
This animation shows how three dwarf galaxies are being disrupted by our Milky Way over the course of four billion years. Credit: The Milkyway@home project of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Stellar streams: a conundrum for young-earth cosmologies
All "physical"[5] young-earth cosmologies that I have ever encountered require the assumption that our own galaxy and neighboring ones were created "fully formed" as we observe them today. This same assumption is also required for time-dilation models that try to keep the earth young while allowing most of the rest of the universe to be ancient, such as the White Hole Cosmology of Russell Humphreys.[6] The truth of this statement has been acknowledged by prominent young-earth cosmologists such as Donald DeYoung and John Hartnett (see his acknowledgment here).
The foundations of young-earth cosmologies can be strongly critiqued on observational and theoretical grounds. However, for the sake of the argument, we have only tested the claim that nearby galaxies were created "mature and fully functional." It led us to examine what we know about the history of the galaxy closest to us, our own galaxy. When we take a closer at our Milky Way, we are confronted with evidence of a multitude of past events, indicating a very dynamic event history. To the present day, stellar streams are direct evidence of the meals our galaxy has consumed over the course of billions of years. Anyone who acknowledges the basic principles of gravity is led to this conclusion.
Assuming mature creation of all stellar streams would mean that the implied event histories were completely fabricated. There is a huge difference between God creating our galaxy fully formed, and God including strong evidence of an assembly process occurring over the course of billions of years (stellar streams). More generally, mature creation is unable to avoid the inclusion of false event histories that are still visible to this day. Yet, according to many in the YEC movement, this is the only way God's Creation should be understood.
It is ironic that the desire to uphold a literal-historical interpretation of the first chapter of Genesis ends up making God look like a liar when it pertains to natural history. Instead of displaying God's glory and power, Creation would have to be specially designed to deceive human interpreters. I am tempted to label this "Deceptive Design." From a theological perspective, this is highly problematic, to say the least (see also this BioLogos article by Rev. Scott Hoezee). It goes against the Scriptures, which speak of God who is the Truth Himself (John 14:6-7). With Him there is no shadow of turning (James 1:17). Young-earth Creationists, who hold the trustworthiness of God in high regard, have yet to satisfactorily address this contradiction in their viewpoint.
[1] For an example of the claim that the laws of nature have changed radically over time, see this article by geologist Andrew Snelling of YEC ministry Answers in Genesis. He claims that the Flood was accompanied by extreme acceleration of radioactive decay.
[2] Young-earth cosmologists acknowledge that mature creation of at least some galaxies is required. For example, in this blog post, John Hartnett quotes Donald DeYoung and expresses his own agreement.
[3] Russell Humphreys' White Hole Cosmology has been one of the most popular models among young-earth ministries ever since he published a book about it in 1996, "Starlight and Time: Solving the Puzzle of Distant Starlight in a Young Universe." See, for example, this recent acknowledgment by Creation Ministries International.
[4] Some of the most notable issues with White Hole Cosmology are: (1) This model is geocentric and extremely ad hoc. The only motivation to invoke a white hole is to stretch time in the desired way. (2) It separates the age of the earth from the rest of the universe, while there is a strong body of evidence that the earth itself is 4 billion years old. Also, many features of the earth are explained by "ordinary" planet formation. (3) It predicts a universal blue shift of light which we do not observe. On the contrary, we are observing a universal red shift due to the expansion of the cosmos. (4) It cannot deal with the Cosmic Microwave Background except by the ad hoc inclusion of a shell of radiating hydrogen as the outer bound of the universe, centered on earth.
[5] I added the qualifier "physical" here because these considerations do not apply to proposals that involve the miraculous fast-forwarding of clocks, such as the one put forward by Danny Faulkner of Answers in Genesis. That idea has problems which deserve a post of their own, but for now it is sufficient to point out that such unobservable fast-forwarding would be rather deceptive on God's part.
[6] Such models are unable to introduce significant time-dilation for the Milky Way and other nearby galaxies, because their distance to our earth is small compared to rest of the universe.
Main image taken from: http://www.cosmotography.com/images/galaxy_quest/images/jon_lomberg_star_stream.jpg.
Casper Hesp
Casper Hesp is a Master student of Astrophysics and Neuroscience at the University of Amsterdam. Before starting this double programme, he obtained two B. Sc. degrees with the honorific Summa Cum Laude at the University of Groningen in 2015: one in Psychology and one in Astronomy. His research interests are focused on computational approaches for furthering theoretical understanding within both of these fields. He has worked on simulating a diversity of systems such as galaxies, parent-child play in autism, and neural agents in an evolutionary setting. Casper was elected as Student of the Year 2013 of the University of Groningen and is currently a recipient of the Amsterdam Science Talent Scholarship.
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Kipp Popert wins fifth G4D Tour title in Australia
Kipp Popert brought his dominance from 2022 into the 2023 G4D Tour season as he claimed a thumping seven-shot win at the Australian All Abilities Championship @ the ISPS HANDA Australian Open.
The new campaign got under way at Victoria Golf Club and it looked like we might have a new winner as Kurtis Barkley entered the final day with a three-shot lead in search of his first title.
Popert had other ideas though, and the World Number One carded a 69 to finish the week at two under and win a fifth G4D Tour trophy after four victories in the inaugural season.
Barkley signed for a 79 to be the nearest challenger, with Spaniard Juan Postigo Arce then at six over, seven clear of England's Mike Browne and Irishman Brendan Lawlor.
"I love it here," said Popert. "This is the first time I've played a competition here in Australia.
"Growing up in the south-east of England I've been practising links golf for a while and I had to use a few of those shots out there today.
"My approach was that we have a system and I just followed it to the tee. I was hitting it really well so just wanted to see how low I could go.
"To be the champion here is an absolute honour. I had three Tim Tams yesterday so there must be something in those."
A nice up-and-down brought Popert a birdie on the driveable first but he dropped shots at the fourth and fifth before finding his groove before the turn.
He put his tee-shot to six feet at the par-three seventh, made a two-putt birdie on the par-five next and holed from 15 feet on the ninth to turn in 34.
A bogey came on the 12th but Popert left himself six feet at the 13th and got down in two putts from off the 17th green as he romped to an emphatic victory.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Hop Grenade proudly presents the official VIP beer tasting for The Brewing Network's 10th Annual Spring Brews Festival! Join us for an exclusive and specially curated list of craft beer from some of our favorite breweries that we have been saving up for this special event.
And we've got more to come, including fresh IPA's and session beers to round out all of our 21 taps for your enjoyment!
VIP TASTING ONLY. SEPARATE TICKET NEEDED FOR ENTRY INTO SPRING BREWS FESTIVAL - CLICK HERE FOR SPRING BREWS FEST TICKETS - VIP Ticket includes five, 4oz tastes, commemorative Spring Brews Fest glass, and exclusive VIP entrance to Spring Brews Fes (with Spring Brews Fest Ticket Purchase). Your glass and wristband for the fest will be given to you at The Hop Greande so you'll be all set to get into the main event after the VIP tasting! (must have pre-purchased Spring Brews Fest ticket in hand to get glass and wristband for main event) Tickets are limited so act fast and start your Spring Brews Fest day right at The Hop Grenade!


Hall of Fame Phillies Broadcaster Harry Kalas died today at the age of 73. Mr. Kalas was found unconscious in the Phillies broadcast booth where he was preparing for today's Washington Nationals home opener. He was taken to George Washington University Hospital where he was pronounced dead at approximately 1:20 p.m. Cause of death is unknown.
For Phillies fans this is a sad day. He's been the voice of the Phillies since 1971 and a cornerstone of that organization for its fans.
Kalas is of the Vin Scully ilk. He had that tremendous voice with his "Outta here" call. One thing about Kalas was that he was also a great person toward the fans. He took pictures, signed autographs and even recorded outgoing voicemails for people.
The Phillies are still going to play the game today, although, they are not going to the White House tomorrow as scheduled.
Awesome voice, east coast version of Vin Scully. Rest in Peace Harry.


Home > PillowPets 18" > Icy Polar Bear 18"
My Pillow Pet Icy Polar Bear Toy - Size: large 18"
There are numerous reasons why you should consider purchasing My Pillow Pets Icy Polar Bear as a gift, and not just because kids love them. They are made very well and are built to last, and if it has the My Pillow Pets name you are going to know you are getting a well made product. While there might be imitations out there, stick with the original company of the best build items.


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Interferon beta 1a …
Interferons are glycoproteins secreted in the body in response to viral infections and are presumed to provide protection to other cells against viral infection. The name derives from the term "viral interference" used in the first description of these proteins by their discoverers (24). In addition to the antiviral properties, immunomodulatory and antineoplastic properties of interferons were discovered later (04). Use of interferons in multiple sclerosis was based on the belief that the disease may be due to a latent virus infection of the brain in persons with impairment of the immune system (11). Trials with interferon have been conducted in various diseases of the nervous system including multiple sclerosis (15). Two types of interferons have been identified: type 1 (interferon alpha and interferon beta) and type 2 (interferon gamma). Type 2 is synthesized mainly by lymphocytes and type 1 beta by fibroblasts, but both have a similar amino acid composition and genetic coding. Gamma interferon differs from type 1 interferons by its amino acid composition and cell surface receptor. Interferon alpha has been developed mostly for applications in virology and oncology. Interferon beta has a beneficial effect on the course of multiple sclerosis, and interferon alpha has an equivocal effect, whereas interferon gamma exacerbated the disease. Reasons for these various effects are not well understood. History of development of interferon beta therapy for multiple sclerosis has been reviewed elsewhere (41). Descriptions in this article are based on interferon beta 1a and a separate article is devoted to interferon beta 1b.
Interferons are now manufactured commercially in large quantities by recombinant DNA technology. United States Food and Drug Administration approved interferon beta 1a for intramuscular injection in 1996 (Avonex by intramuscular injection). Another preparation of interferon beta 1a for subcutaneous injection was approved in the United States in 2002 (Rebif by subcutaneous injection).
The amino acid sequence of Avonex (R) is identical to that of natural human interferon beta. It cannot be compared with other interferon betas because of the differences in reference standards. Moreover, the route of administration affects the action, and intramuscular preparation is distinct from the subcutaneous injection preparation. Both preparations have been compared in clinical trials.
Pharmacodynamics. Interferon beta exerts its effect by binding to specific receptors on human cells. This leads to a complex chain of events that, in turn, leads to expression of various interferon-induced gene products. The exact mechanism of action is not fully understood, but the following actions are believed to contribute to its beneficial effects in multiple sclerosis:
• Direct effect on plasma cells modulating IgG synthesis, which is increased within the blood-brain barrier in patients with multiple sclerosis.
• Increase of cerebrospinal fluid levels of interleukin-10 in patients with multiple sclerosis.
• Inhibition of interleukin 1 beta and tumor necrosis factor alpha.
• Stimulation of interleukin 1 receptor antagonist production in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.
• Stimulation of lymphocytes to produce normal amounts of interferon.
• Inhibition of proliferation of leukocytes.
• Decreased antigen presentation in microglia.
• Restoration of metabolites in multiple sclerosis lesions as demonstrated by magnetic resonance spectroscopy imaging.
• Anti-inflammatory effects via T cells:
(1) Reduction of T cell migration by inhibition of the activity of T cell matrix metalloproteinases.
(2) Down regulation of adhesion molecules. Interferon beta-induced increase in soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 may lead to a decrease in later antigen-4 expression, which mediates migration of T cells into the nervous system.
(3) Decreased interferon gamma secretion.
Pharmacokinetics. Important features are:
• Following an intramuscular dose, serum levels of interferon beta 1a peak between 3 and 15 hours.
• Elimination half-life is 10 hours.
• Systemic exposure is greater following intramuscular injection than following subcutaneous injection as determined by area under the curve and Cmax values.
A patient who presented with acute onset of multiple sclerosis with tumefactive brain lesions and concomitant hepatitis C virus 2a/2C infection was reported to have dual benefit of long-term interferon beta 1a therapy (34). Interferon beta 1a is also effective against hepatitis C virus 2a/2c infection, which may be involved in triggering autoimmune tumefactive brain lesions.
Methods of administration. Interferon beta 1a is administered by intramuscular or subcutaneous injection (see Clinical trials section). RebiSmart, an electronic autoinjector for the subcutaneous administration of interferon beta 1a (Rebif), offers several advantages, including adjustable injection settings and a hidden needle to avoid needle phobia as well as reduce the risk of needle stick injury, which may improve compliance (33).
Interferon beta 1a is being PEGylated, ie, attached with polyethylene glycol, to improve safety as well as effectiveness. Data from clinical trials suggest that it should provide a more convenient dosing regimen (29). On February 1, 2021, intramuscular injection peginterferon beta-1a (trade name PLEGRIDY) was approved for clinical use in the United States and the European Union. The FDA's approval of intramuscular administration for PLEGRIDY is based on data evaluating bioequivalence and fewer injection site adverse reactions associated with intramuscular administration compared to subcutaneous administration in healthy volunteers. PLEGRIDY has been proven to significantly reduce the relapse rate in multiple sclerosis and slow the progression of disability as well as reduce the number of brain lesions.
Pharmacogenomics. Intramuscular interferon beta 1a therapy induces transcriptional effects in patients with relapsing-remitting form of multiple sclerosis and several genes are up- or downregulated. A sub-network of genes centered on NF-κB is highly expressed in patients likely to develop interferon beta-related side effects (22).
Since 1995, several randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials have been conducted with interferon beta 1a in patients with active relapsing multiple sclerosis and have shown reduction of lesions shown on MRI scans as well as disability progression.
The clinical and brain MRI results of a randomized trial support initiating interferon beta 1a treatment at the time of a first episode of optic neuritis occurring in patients at high risk for multiple sclerosis based on the presence of subclinical brain MRI lesions (08).
The EVIDENCE trial (a randomized, controlled, multicenter trial) compared the efficacy and safety of interferon beta 1a (Rebif) 44 µg subcutaneously 3 times weekly and interferon beta 1a (Avonex) 30 µg IM once weekly in patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (36). Rebif was more effective than Avonex on all primary and secondary outcomes investigated after 24 and 48 weeks of treatment. The crossover phase of the EVIDENCE study found that patients who changed from low-dose, once-weekly treatment to high-dose, 3-times-weekly treatment experienced enhanced benefits of treatment without a substantial increase in adverse events (39).
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial has shown that early treatment with interferon beta 1a is effective in reducing conversion to clinically definite multiple sclerosis and in slowing progressive loss of brain tissue in patients with clinically isolated syndromes suggestive of multiple sclerosis (13).
A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase III study of weekly, low dose, subcutaneous interferon beta 1a in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis did not show any benefit for either disability or relapse outcomes (01). The results indicate that relapses in this phase of the disease may need treatment with higher doses than in the initial phases.
In the prevention of relapses and disability by interferon subcutaneously in multiple sclerosis (PRISMS) study, subcutaneous interferon beta 1a 3 times weekly for up to 4 years was well tolerated without dose-limiting safety concerns (18). An 8-year open-label extension study of the phase III trial of intramuscular interferon beta 1a showed that it was well tolerated with a low incidence of neutralizing antibodies (23).
The BENEFIT (BEtaseron/Betaferon in Newly Emerging multiple sclerosis For Initial Treatment) study incorporated pharmacogenetic and pharmacogenomic analyses to determine the genetic elements controlling multiple sclerosis (27). The data from this study suggest that early initiation of treatment with interferon beta 1b prevents the development of confirmed disability, supporting its use after the first manifestation of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.
A post-hoc analysis of MRI data collected prospectively from the EVIDENCE study showed that patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis treated with interferon beta 1a, 44 mcg subcutaneously 3 times a week, had greater reduction in total volume of T2 lesions after 48 weeks than those treated with interferon beta 1a, 30 mcg intramuscularly 4 times a week; this was consistent with other clinical and MRI outcome measures (42).
A phase IIIb, open-label study of the new formulation of subcutaneous interferon beta 1a (Rebif New Formulation), which is produced without fetal bovine serum and human serum albumin as excipients, shows that it has improved immunogenicity and safety profiles compared with the original formulation (17). Results of another phase IIIb trial showed continued or increased levels of satisfaction with the new formulation of subcutaneous interferon beta 1a, because flu-like symptoms occurring with the new formulation were generally mild and seldom sufficiently bothersome to require ibuprofen treatment (07).
In the COGIMUS (COGnitive Impairment in MUltiple Sclerosis) study, subcutaneous interferon beta 1a significantly decreased MRI measures of disease with better cognitive outcomes for the 44 µg dose as compared to the 22 µg dose over a period of 3 years (03).
ADVANCE, a 2-year, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group, phase 3 study on patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis showed that subcutaneous peginterferon beta 1a given once every 2 weeks or 4 weeks significantly reduced the relapse rate after 48 weeks of treatment (06). Results indicate that the drug may be effective with less frequent administration than practiced currently.
Analysis of a retrospective 2-year study on patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis who were randomized to intramuscular interferon beta 1a or placebo showed significantly less gray matter atrophy, but not white matter atrophy, was observed on MRI (14). Risk of sustained disability progression was significantly associated with gray matter but not white matter atrophy.
Patients who completed the 24-month double-blind REFLEX (REbif FLEXible dosing in early MS) study were enrolled in an extension (REFLEXION, REbif FLEXible dosing in early MS extensION). Over 5 years, in patients presenting with a first clinical demyelinating event, early subcutaneous interferon beta 1a thrice weekly administration versus delayed treatment prolonged time to clinically definite multiple sclerosis and reduced overall MRI activity (10).
Interferon beta 1a is indicated for the treatment of the relapsing form of multiple sclerosis to slow the accumulation of physical disability and to decrease the frequency of clinical exacerbations. Approval has been extended to patients with a first multiple sclerosis attack if MRI abnormalities characteristic of multiple sclerosis are shown.
• Basal cell cancer, Phase III, United States
• Cystic fibrosis, Phase II, United States
• Hepatitis B, Phase III completed, United States
• Hepatitis C, Phase III completed, United States
• Human papilloma virus infections leading to cervical dysplasia, Phase III completed, United States
• Interferon beta 1a has Orphan Drug status in the Unites States for the treatment of cutaneous T cell lymphoma, cutaneous malignant melanoma, and AIDS-related Kaposi sarcoma.
• Non small-cell lung cancer, Phase-III, European Union
• Colorectal cancer, Phase-III, European Union
• Multifocal motor neuropathy
• Ulcerative colitis
• Recurrent nephrotic syndrome in patient with multiple sclerosis
• Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy
• Guillain-Barré syndrome
• A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter pilot study on patients with early Alzheimer disease showed significant improvements in the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living and Physical Self-maintenance Scale (19).
• Ebola virus disease (30)
• A randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial showed that treatment with interferon β-1a reduced mortality of severe COVID-19 (12).
Interferon beta 1a is contraindicated in patients with a history of hypersensitivity to natural or recombinant interferon beta, human albumin, or other components of the formulation.
The aim is to slow the accumulation of physical disability and decrease the frequency of clinical exacerbations. It is not a curative treatment. The therapy can be continued for an indefinite period. Results of prolonged follow-up treatment of up to 8 years, including the years in clinical trials, indicate that patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis can experience sustained benefit over many years from early interferon beta 1a subcutaneous therapy 3 times weekly compared with patients whose treatment is delayed (28). Review of several studies shows that high-dose, high-frequency subcutaneous interferon beta 1a offers an effective option for treating patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis and has proven long-term safety and tolerability, as well as a favorable benefit-to-risk ratio compared with other forms of interferon beta (21). Considerable clinical data as well as real-life evidence support that interferon beta 1a is one of the best treatments for multiple sclerosis and that high-dose or frequent administration may provide better long-term outcomes (44).
In a large observational multiple sclerosis registry, treatment discontinuations were more common in patients on thrice weekly subcutaneous injections of interferon 22 µg beta -1a; however, 2-year clinical outcomes did not differ between patients receiving the different dosages (26). Results of the postmarketing study of interferon beta 1a intramuscular therapy for multiple sclerosis in Japan with a follow-up of 2 years show significant improvement in annualized relapse rate and expanded disability status scale, whereas the safety and effectiveness profile were consistent with those in previous reports (35). At 3 years follow-up, patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis who received subcutaneous interferon beta 1a did not have any active disease and had a lower percentage of annualized brain volume loss compared to patients with disease activity (37).
An immunometabolic biomarker profile is a useful tool to predict disease course in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis during treatment with interferon beta 1a. Examples include the following (32):
• Higher levels of interleukin-6, soluble CD40 ligand, and leptin at baseline indicate a higher relapse rate as well as a greater risk of experiencing at least 1 relapse in the following year.
• Higher values of soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor and leptin at baseline predict a larger number of lesions in the following year.
• Results of a study using interferon beta 1a subcutaneously 3 times a week as the first disease-modifying treatment for patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis identified young age, a short delay to treatment start, and slower disability progression as factors for better outcome (25).
• A double-blind, placebo-controlled study has shown no evidence of disease activity with early treatment of subcutaneous interferon beta 1a, not only at 2, but also at 3 and 5 years (16).
• In PRISMS-15 study (clinicaltrial.gov identifier: NCT01034644), MAGNIMS (magnetic resonance imaging in MS) score at year 1 predicted risk of clinical disease activity and confirmed disability progression in subcutaneous IFN β-1a-treated patients over up to 15 years (40). This helps to identify patients with likelihood of more active disease who may benefit from an adjustment of their treatment.
Dosing of interferon beta 1a is 30 mcg intramuscularly once a week, and this amount is contained in 1 vial of reconstituted Avonex. Clinical trials have shown that 60 mcg dose does not offer any additional benefit and may be associated with higher long-term toxicity and higher cost.
Interferon beta 1a subcutaneous (Rebif) is formulated as a sterile solution in a prefilled syringe intended for injection. Each 0.5 ml contains either 22 or 44 mcg of interferon beta 1a.
Caution should be exercised in giving interferon beta 1a to patients with depression and patients with seizure disorders. Patients with multiple sclerosis may develop depression and suicidal thoughts when treated with high doses of interferon beta 1a. Patients with cardiac disease should be closely monitored. All patients should have periodic blood chemistry and hematology tests.
Seizures may occur as an adverse effect of interferon beta and caution should be exercised when administering it to patients with a seizure disorder.
Pregnancy. Interferon beta 1a is contraindicated for pregnant women and should not be used unless the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus. However, a review of outcomes of women exposed to subcutaneous interferon beta 1a during pregnancy revealed normal live births (38). The rates of spontaneous abortion and major congenital anomalies in live births were in line with those observed in the general population.
Results of a study on women chronically receiving intramuscular interferon beta 1a suggest that interferon beta 1a does not enter the milk compartment significantly and that levels in milk are below those required to produce pharmacological effects (20). No side effects were observed in any of the breastfed infants.
Pediatric. Treatment with interferon beta 1a is well tolerated and may be effective in low doses of 15 micrograms once a week for early-onset multiple sclerosis in patients under the age of 16 years. A retrospective study that analyzed multinational pediatric patients with multiple sclerosis who received subcutaneous interferon beta 1a showed that those from the United States had higher body mass index, relapsed more frequently, and had shorter median interval from the first clinical demyelinating event to initiation of disease modifying therapy compared with adolescent patients in rest of world (31).
• Flu-like symptoms, which include fever, chills, myalgias, and arthralgias. A combination of initial dose titration and analgesic administration is useful for the reduction of flu-like symptoms with interferon beta 1a therapy.
• Injection-site reactions. These can be reduced by the use of an autoinjector.
• Autoimmune disorders including autoimmune hepatitis and hepatic injury manifesting itself as elevated serum enzyme levels and hepatitis have been reported in postmarketing studies.
• Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus has been reported due to treatment with interferon beta 1a (05).
• Anaphylaxis has been reported as a rare complication of interferon beta use. Other allergic reactions have included dyspnea, orolingual edema, skin rash and urticaria.
• Detection of NAbs is usually a regulatory expectation. Cell-based assays are available for detection of anti-interferon-beta neutralizing antibodies, but all present technical difficulties and limitations. A non-cell-based assay, which overcomes the limitations of cell-based assays, has been described (09).
• Interferon beta treatment for multiple sclerosis may be associated with thyroid disorders in patients with subclinical thyroid disease or antithyroid autoantibodies before starting treatment.
• Interferon syndrome
• Hematological abnormalities are common and dose-related in patients with multiple sclerosis receiving interferon beta 1a, but the events are mainly mild and transient.
• Cases of nephrotic syndrome have been reported during Interferon beta 1a therapy. This complication usually resolves following discontinuation of the drug.
• Severe acute autoimmune hepatitis (43)
• Retinopathy with peripheral retinal hemorrhages has been reported in patients receiving interferon beta 1a, and it may be asymptomatic (02).
These reactions can be minimized by adjusting the dose and time of injection. Symptomatic management of the adverse effect includes use of steroids as well as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Other measures are use of analgesic or antipyretic drugs, proper injection technique, and modification of the dosage of interferon beta or discontinuation of the drug.
Andersen O, Elovaara I, Farkkila M, et al. Multicentre, randomised, double blind, placebo controlled, phase III study of weekly, low dose, subcutaneous interferon beta-1a in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2004;75(5):706-10. PMID 15090564
Bakri SJ, Swanson JW. Asymptomatic peripheral retinal hemorrhages as a manifestation of interferon beta 1a retinopathy. Semin Ophthalmol 2015;30(1):56-7. PMID 23952180
Bastianello S, Giugni E, Amato MP, et al. Changes in magnetic resonance imaging disease measures over 3 years in mildly disabled patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis receiving interferon β-1a in the COGnitive Impairment in MUltiple Sclerosis (COGIMUS) study. BMC Neurol 2011;11:125. PMID 21999142
Buchanan S, Rosemergy I, Healy P. Drug-induced subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus due to treatment with interferon beta-1a. N Z Med J 2013;126(1379):98-101. PMID 24045357
Calabresi PA, Kieseier BC, Arnold DL, et al. Pegylated interferon β-1a for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (ADVANCE): a randomised, phase 3, double-blind study. Lancet Neurol 2014;13(7):657-65. PMID 24794721
Camu W, Hadjout K, Latour S, Pöhlau D, Masri S. Patient satisfaction following transition from the original to the new formulation of subcutaneous interferon beta-1a in relapsing multiple sclerosis: a randomized, two-arm, open-label, Phase IIIb study. Patient Prefer Adherence 2010;4:127-33. PMID 20517473
CHAMPS Study Group. Interferon beta-1a for optic neuritis patients at high risk for multiple sclerosis. Am J Ophthalmol 2001;132(4):463-71. PMID 11589865
Cludts I, Meager A, Thorpe R, Wadhwa M. Development and characterization of a non-cell-based assay to assess the presence of neutralizing antibodies to interferon-beta in clinical samples. J Immunol Methods 2013;395(1-2):37-44. PMID 23831137
Comi G, De Stefano N, Freedman MS, et al. Subcutaneous interferon β-1a in the treatment of clinically isolated syndromes: 3-year and 5-year results of the phase III dosing frequency-blind multicentre REFLEXION study. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2017;88(4):285-94. PMID 28039317
Davoudi-Monfared E, Rahmani H, Khalili H, et al. A randomized clinical trial of the efficacy and safety of interferon β-1a in treatment of severe COVID-19. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2020;64(9):e01061-20. PMID 32661006
Filippi M, Rovaris M, Inglese M, et al. Interferon beta-1a for brain tissue loss in patients at presentation with syndromes suggestive of multiple sclerosis: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet 2004;364(9444):1489-96. PMID 15500893
Fisher E, Nakamura K, Lee JC, You X, Sperling B, Rudick RA. Effect of intramuscular interferon beta-1a on gray matter atrophy in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: a retrospective analysis. Mult Scler 2016;22(5):668-76. PMID 26238463
Freedman MS, Comi G, Coyle PK, et al. No evidence of disease activity status in patients treated with early vs. delayed subcutaneous interferon β-1a. Mult Scler Relat Disord 2019;39:101891. PMID 31864098
Giovannoni G, Barbarash O, Casset-Semanaz F, et al; Rebif New Formulation Study Group. Safety and immunogenicity of a new formulation of interferon beta-1a (Rebif New Formulation) in a Phase IIIb study in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis: 96-week results. Mult Scler 2009;15(2):219-28. PMID 18755819
Gold R, Rieckmann P, Chang P, Abdalla J; PRISMS Study Group. The long-term safety and tolerability of high-dose interferon beta-1a in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: 4-year data from the PRISMS study. Eur J Neurol 2005;12:649-56. PMID 16053475
Grimaldi LM, Zappalà G, Iemolo F, et al. A pilot study on the use of interferon beta-1a in early Alzheimer's disease subjects. J Neuroinflammation 2014;11:30. PMID 24524367
Hale TW, Siddiqui AA, Baker TE. Transfer of interferon β-1a into human breastmilk. Breastfeed Med 2012;7(2):123-5. PMID 21988602
Hartung HP. High-dose, high-frequency recombinant interferon beta-1a in the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Expert Opin Pharmacother 2009;10(2):291-309. PMID 19236200
Hecker M, Goertsches RH, Fatum C, et al. Network analysis of transcriptional regulation in response to intramuscular interferon-β-1a multiple sclerosis treatment. Pharmacogenomics J 2012;12(4):360. PMID 22825046
Herndon RM, Rudick RA, Munschauer FE 3rd, et al. Eight-year immunogenicity and safety of interferon beta-1a-Avonex treatment in patients with multiple sclerosis. Mult Scler 2005;11:409-19. PMID 16042223
Isaacs A, Lindemann J. Virus interference, I: the interferon. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 1957;147:258-67. PMID 13465720
Järvinen E, Murtonen A, Tervomaa M, Sumelahti ML. Interferon β-1a subcutaneously 3 times/week clinical outcome in relapsing multiple sclerosis in Finland. Neurol Int 2019;11(4):8177. PMID 31871598
Kalincik T, Spelman T, Trojano M, et al. Persistence on therapy and propensity matched outcome comparison of two subcutaneous interferon beta 1a dosages for multiple sclerosis. PLoS One 2013;8(5):e63480. PMID 23704913
Kappos L, Freedman MS, Polman CH, et al; BENEFIT Study Group. Effect of early versus delayed interferon beta-1b treatment on disability after a first clinical event suggestive of multiple sclerosis: a 3-year follow-up analysis of the BENEFIT study. Lancet 2007;370(9585):389-97. PMID 17679016
Kappos L, Traboulsee A, Constantinescu C, et al. Long-term subcutaneous interferon beta-1a therapy in patients with relapsing-remitting MS. Neurology 2006;67(6):944-53. PMID 17000959
Kieseier BC, Calabresi PA. PEGylation of interferon-β-1a: a promising strategy in multiple sclerosis. CNS Drugs 2012;26(3):205-14. PMID 22201341
Konde MK, Baker DP, Traore FA, et al. Interferon β-1a for the treatment of Ebola virus disease: a historically controlled, single-arm proof-of-concept trial. PLoS One 2017;12(2):e0169255.** PMID 28225767
Krupp LB, Pohl D, Ghezzi A, et al. Subcutaneous interferon β-1a in pediatric patients with multiple sclerosis: regional differences in clinical features, disease management, and treatment outcomes in an international retrospective study. J Neurol Sci 2016;363:33-8. PMID 27000217
Lanzillo R, Carbone F, Quarantelli M, et al. Immunometabolic profiling of patients with multiple sclerosis identifies new biomarkers to predict disease activity during treatment with interferon beta-1a. Clin Immunol 2017;183:249-53. PMID 28823971
Lugaresi A. RebiSmart™ (version 1.5) device for multiple sclerosis treatment delivery and adherence. Expert Opin Drug Deliv 2013;10(2):273-83. PMID 23252744
Mader EC Jr, Richeh W, Ochoa JM, Sullivan LL, Gutierrez AN, Lovera JF. Tumefactive multiple sclerosis and hepatitis C virus 2a/2C infection: dual benefit of long-term interferon beta-1a therapy? J Neurol Sci 2015;349(1-2):239-42. PMID 25575859
Makioka H, Nakaya F, Ling Y, Torii S, Saida T, Kira JI. Safety and effectiveness of interferon β-1a intramuscular therapy: results of the postmarketing drug surveillance in Japan. Rinsho Shinkeigaku 2017;57(10):553-61. PMID 28966229
Panitch H, Goodin DS, Francis G, et al; EVIDENCE Study Group. EVidence of Interferon Dose-response: European North American Comparative Efficacy; University of British Columbia MS/MRI Research Group. Randomized, comparative study of interferon beta-1a treatment regimens in MS: The EVIDENCE Trial. Neurology 2002;59:1496-506. PMID 12451188
Rojas JI, Sanchez F, Caro F, et al. Brain volume loss and no evidence of disease activity over 3 years in multiple sclerosis patients under interferon beta 1a subcutaneous treatment. J Clin Neurosci 2019;59:175-8.** PMID 30401571
Sandberg-Wollheim M, Alteri E, Stam Moraga M, Kornmann G. Pregnancy outcomes in multiple sclerosis following subcutaneous interferon beta-1a Therapy. Mult Scler 2011;17(4):423-30. PMID 21220368
Schwid SR, Panitch HS. Full results of the Evidence of Interferon Dose-Response-European North American Comparative Efficacy (EVIDENCE) study: a multicenter, randomized, assessor-blinded comparison of low-dose weekly versus high-dose, high-frequency interferon beta-1a for relapsing multiple sclerosis. Clin Ther 2007;29(9):2031-48. PMID 18035202
Sormani MP, Freedman MS, Aldridge J, Marhardt K, Kappos L, De Stefano N. MAGNIMS score predicts long-term clinical disease activity-free status and confirmed disability progression in patients treated with subcutaneous interferon beta-1a. Mult Scler Relat Disord 2021;49:102790. PMID 33571946
Stock G, Horowski R. A short history of beta-interferon therapy of multiple sclerosis [Article in German]. Med Klin (Munich) 2001;96(Suppl 1):3-9. PMID 11603113
Traboulsee A, Al-Sabbagh A, Bennett R, Chang P, Li DK; EVIDENCE Study Group; UBC MS/MRI Research Group. Reduction in magnetic resonance imaging T2 burden of disease in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: analysis of 48-week data from the EVIDENCE (EVidence of Interferon Dose-response: European North American Comparative Efficacy) study. BMC Neurol 2008;8:11. PMID 18426595
Villamil A, Mullen E, Casciato P, Gadano A. Interferon beta 1a-induced severe autoimmune hepatitis in patients with multiple sclerosis: report of two cases and review of the literature. Ann Hepatol 2015;14(2):273-80. PMID 25671839
Zettl UK, Hecker M, Aktas O, Wagner T, Rommer PS. Interferon β-1a and β-1b for patients with multiple sclerosis: updates to current knowledge. Expert Rev Clin Immunol 2018;14(2):137-53. PMID 29318902
Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy
Motor and multifocal motor neuropathies
Neurologic complications of chemotherapy
Treatment of multiple sclerosis symptoms


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Facials in Kensington from Kamini Beauty Salon.
Kamini's fusion of Eastern and Western techniques lead to a truly superb selection of facial treatments all guaranteed to leave your skin radiant and rejuvenated.
Kamini's belief about facials is very unique and respected amongst her clients. She likes to opt for a holistic approach when it comes to facials and feels that pampering the skin on the face should be a nurturing exercise which then transfers naturally to the rest of the mind and body. She likes to opt for a short consultation with the client prior to the facial to assess what they would require – nurturing, healing, comforting, balancing, de-stressing or perhaps a combination of all of these. Once the client's emotional factors are tapped into and understood by the therapist, the beautifying aspect of a facial will follow automatically.
The skincare products we like to use at the salon are formulated in a way to mimic the body's chemistry. Massaging the product thoroughly by pushing it deep into the skin, stimulating skin cells, plumping and encouraging collagen production are few of the very many aspects that Kamini likes to concentrate on. Her topmost priority always remains to personalise a facial based on individual clients and that is primarily what makes Kamini Beauty different to the rest.
Promising to bring your skin back to its youthful self, our lifting and collagen facial targets fine lines and wrinkles, plumps the skin, improves elasticity, enhances facial contours, accelerates skin cell production, reveals a fresh new layer of skin underneath and targets pigmentation and sun spots. Back to 21 in less than 60 minutes!
It goes without saying that radiant skin is an indication of overall wellbeing and healthy skin of course but if you feel the city's pollution, hectic work patterns, stress and your general lifestyle has taken away that 'glow from within', then this treatment is made for you. The power boosting facial regenerates skin cells and rebalances sebum which consequently energises dull, lustre lacking skin and injects radiance and vitality, mimicking a post-holiday glow. Let people keep wondering which exotic location you've been to lately.
The key with this facial is to drench the skin with moisture and nourish it at a deeper level so it appears brighter and fresher. Replenishing the natural water level in the skin, every session will ensure you require less topical moisturisers as time passes by. The more hydrated your skin is, the more supple it will appear and the more reluctant it will be to premature ageing.


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Heineken to buy Mexico's Femsa
Published:Tuesday | January 12, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Dutch brewer Heineken NV said Monday it will buy the beer-making operations of Mexico's Femsa in an all-share deal that values the maker of Dos Equis, Tecate and Sol beers at US$5.5 billion, excluding debt.
Including debt, which Heineken will assume, the deal is valued at US$7.6 billion.
The buy increases Amsterdam, Netherlands-based Heineken's presence in growth markets and cements its position as the world's second-largest brewer by sales.
It also continues a decade-long trend toward concentration among the biggest players in the global beer market.
Femsa Cerveza brands have a 43 per cent market share in Mexico and a 9.0 per cent share in Brazil - two of the world's top four most profitable beer markets, and both still fast-growing.
Femsa's Tecate and Dos Equis brands are also significant players in the US imported beer market, where Heineken vies with Grupo Modelo's Corona.
"This is a really good deal for Heineken, for our position in the Americas," said Heineken Chief Executive Officer Jean-Francois van Boxmeer on a conference call. "As a worldwide brewer this was a (region) where we perhaps were weaker."
Pleasant surprise
Femsa Cerveza had sales of €2.6 billion (US$3.8 billion) and operating profits of €618 million in 2008, Heineken said.
Analysts welcomed the buy as a pleasant surprise, given that many had expected SABMiller PLC - now the world's third largest brewer by sales behind Anheuser-Busch InBev SA and Heineken - to win the race for Femsa.
Analyst Kris Kippers of Petercam Bank praised the deal as a "a great acquisition for Heineken" because Femsa was one of the few remaining large independent brewers in growth markets - and Heineken didn't overpay. Heineken now has 40 per cent of its operations in developing markets, up from 32 per cent.
"In the context of the reconfiguration of the global brewing landscape, scale and geographic diversification are more important than ever," said Femsa CEO Jose Antonio Fernandez Carbajal on Monday.
"This transaction responds to that imperative."
Heineken said it expects the deal to close in the second quarter, pending approval from regulators and shareholders.
Under the deal, Femsa will take a 12.5 per cent stake in Heineken NV and a 14.9 per cent stake in its parent, Heineken Holding NV.
Heineken's unusual holding structure allows descendants of the Heineken family to control Heineken NV, and the company said Monday they have agreed to the deal. A trust holding 39 per cent of Femsa shares has also agreed, Heineken said.
Heineken forecasts cost savings from combining the companies' operations will amount to €150 million per year by 2013. It said the acquisition will begin adding to Heineken's per-share earnings "after two years".
Analyst Kippers estimated the combined company is currently valued at 12 times its 2010 earnings, compared with an industry average of around 15 times.
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Note: Pattypan or crookneck squash can be substituted for the sunburst.
Step 1Cut a thin slice off the rounded bottom of each squash so it sits upright. Slice off the flat top of each and, using a melon baller or spoon, hollow out the center, leaving about a half-inch shell. Discard the squash pulp. Set the shells aside.
Step 2Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash the spinach well, drain and place in the boiling water. Cover and cook until just wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and rinse the spinach under cold water to cool down quickly. Drain again and squeeze dry with paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible. Coarsely chop the spinach and place in a bowl. Add the garlic and nutmeg, and the cayenne, salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the eggs and cheese and mix well.
Step 3Arrange the squash, hollowed-out side down, in a steamer basket set over simmering water. Cover and steam 5 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels. Cool 10 minutes and pat dry. Spoon the filling into each squash, mounding it slightly. Place the squash in the steamer basket and steam until the filling is set and the squash are tender, about 8 minutes. These may be served hot or cold.
237 calories; 19 grams protein; 17 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams fiber; 12 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 136 grams cholesterol; 256 grams sodium.
Every summer there comes a time when it's not enough to slice a tomato or saute a zucchini or grill an eggplant. With almost everything but corn on the cob, simple gets boring. You start to want a little more from every vegetable hauled home from the farmers market.
At that point, I can give a two-word suggestion: Stuff it.
Baking a tomato with a savory filling, or steaming a squash with a custardy center, is a great way to amplify the flavor, transform the texture and turn a side dish into more of a centerpiece. It's like summer squared.
Unlike the stuffed vegetables of winter, those bleak and stodgy peppers and cabbage that haunt my childhood memories, the summer varieties are lighter, livelier and a lot less complicated. Like frittatas, they are endlessly adaptable: You can clean out the refrigerator to fill them or start fresh. Even better, you can serve them hot or cold (or, ideally, bake them in the coolness of evening and eat them in the heat of the next day).
Americans tend to write off stuffed vegetables as relics of the '50s, when underemployed housewives cooked up over-contrived concoctions to torment their kids. But more sophisticated cuisines always have served stuffed vegetables proudly and still do. I once paid $30 in a Paris restaurant for a plate of the classic Provencal stuffed vegetables -- zucchini, tomato and eggplant bulging with juicy meat -- and came away with new respect for the whole concept.
Stuffed by any other name just sounds more lyrical, though. In French, it's farci, and it translates to an art form with zucchini flowers and onions as well as tomatoes and zucchini. In Italian, it's ripieno, a staple of antipasto tables. And in Spanish, it's relleno, and you can almost taste the chile as you say it -- and reach for mushrooms instead.
I borrow from all those interpretations in mid- to late summer. The traditional Provencal tomatoes are adapted easily using spicy sausage along with the usual onion and bread crumbs. I cut some corners on the time-honored recipe but keep the trick of baking the tomatoes with their sliced caps laid back on. There's no more gorgeous presentation, plus the tomato flavor migrates top down as well as bottom up.
When I have leftover grilled tuna, I'll chop it to stuff into ripe tomatoes with basil and nicoise olives and maybe anchovies, an idea borrowed from a quirky cookbook called "The Wonderful Food of Provence" by Jean-Noel Escudier and Peta J. Fuller (Perennial Library). Baked, the tomatoes taste like the essence of Nice, except there the tuna would be canned.
Stuffed vegetables are considered poor people's food in Italy, where inexpensive ingredients so often produce rich results. In Sicily, some of the best dishes are just artichokes, zucchini or tomatoes stuffed with bread crumbs, garlic and cheese. I borrow from that concept for eggplant and tweak it using Spanish ingredients, particularly manchego cheese and piquillo peppers. The same filling is also good for portabellos.
Relleno does not have to be an adjective only for chiles. Zucchini can be stuffed with corn kernels and asadero cheese and roasted to serve with salsa. And, I have to confess, I have hung onto a recipe clipped from a women's magazine 20-some years ago to make tomatoes relleno: baked with an oozy filling of sour cream, green chiles and Monterey Jack. I've even served it to company with no apologies.
Prepping vegetables to stuff is almost as easy as dicing them. With tomatoes, you need to scrape out the seeds first, but reserve the pulp and drain it well before adding it to the other stuffing ingredients. With most squash, you can use the pulp or just pitch it, depending on the recipe (sometimes it adds nothing but wateriness). With eggplant, the pulp is the whole point.
Every summer, I get a little quicker at stuffed squash. I used to think vegetables -- except tomatoes -- should be parboiled or baked before stuffing. Now I realize you can skip a step if you proceed straight to the stuffing, but cover the baking dish tightly for half the cooking time, then uncover it to let the vegetables finish baking until they turn tender and the filling is set.
Essentially, that's steaming, and it works even more effectively on the stove top.
A recipe for sunburst squash filled with spinach and Gruyere that I developed years ago required two steps just to get to the filling and baking. This year, I realized I could skip one by parboiling the shell empty, then steaming it filled, and never have to switch on the oven.
The easiest stuffed vegetables I have ever made involved slicing a zucchini into two-inch chunks, hollowing out each to make a little shell and packing them all with spicy sausage. Those are then steamed until the meat cooks, a matter of minutes. What results is an excellent light lunch but even better finger food, like Chinese dumplings without the wrapper.
At the other end of the decadence scale is the technique outlined in Richard Olney's classic "Lulu's Provencal Table": Zucchini shells to be stuffed are first deep-fried in olive oil until they are lightly colored but still al dente. The flavor and texture are certainly amplified, but it sounds like work even before the stuffing is added.
But in the end, it's easy to see where the idea originated. With vegetables in midsummer, it's hard to leave good enough alone.


text:
Dr. Ging-Yuek Robin Hsiung
Forget me not.
Story: Jim Tobler
Illustration: Katie Fritz
View Entire Article
Dr. Ging-Yuek Robin Hsiung is on the front lines of the search for answers to Alzheimer's—a disease that remains hard to diagnose, currently impossible to cure. He states clearly that "there is no benchmark diagnosis approved for clinical use in Canada yet, and no truly proven treatment to reverse the pathology" of Alzheimer's. Hsiung is associate professor in the Division of Neurology at the University of British Columbia's Department of Medicine, as well as staff neurologist at the UBC Hospital Clinic for Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders and St. Paul's Hospital. He spends a great deal of his professional life trying to advance the empirical knowledge base pertaining to Alzheimer's, but understands the multiple challenges. "The standard, the measurement in terms of what is normal aging or one of many forms of dementia (or actual Alzheimer's), is different for each individual," he says. "So there is inherent difficulty in assessment."
Hsiung began his career focusing on genetic risk factors for dementia. He then moved on to research in clinical characteristics, "which the general public thinks of mainly as memory loss, but it is more complex." At UBC one of his focuses is on frontotemporal dementia, which can affect comprehension of language, speech, and behaviour. He has also studied semantic dementia, a subtype of frontotemporal dementia, in which a patient may forget the meanings of specific words, with minimal cognitive dysfunction in the beginning.
"I would say we are at the level for this disease that cancer research was 50 years ago."
Brain plaques identified by Dr. Alois Alzhemier in 1906 have become known as amyloid plaques—amyloid being a naturally formed small piece of protein (a peptide) in normal metabolism that, in excess (either from production or troubles with clearance), can cause nerve cells to malfunction and perish. When there is too much amyloid, they stick together and form plaques. However, just how prominent a role they play is still under serious investigation. "There have been some breakthroughs," says Hsiung. "Since 2000, amyloid imaging has been available. These positron emission tomography (PET) scans are more helpful. But they are so expensive, that is not a likely long-term solution. There is progress in terms of how cholesterol in the brain acts differently than cholesterol in the blood, and that appears to be another factor that influences amyloid accumulation in the brain. But the truth is, the more we learn, the more complex the overall disease seems to get."
Hsiung is clear-eyed about it. "I would say we are at the level for this disease that cancer research was 50 years ago," he says. "Progress has been slower than what I was hoping for. But we know, for example, that stroke indicators can also be dementia indicators." Those early clues are crucial.
Alzheimer's is inextricably linked to aging, but Hsiung notes that "even though dementia is common with age, it is not inevitable, and can be mitigated." Mitigated does not mean cured, of course. But whether we are talking about early detection, onset, or full-blown Alzheimer's, there are some things to consider. Healthy diet, keeping physically active and fit, and keeping mentally active and fit as well, are all common positive factors. Alzheimer's is not unique in that regard, of course, but it bears keeping in mind that, when there is no cure in sight, prevention is absolutely vital.
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text:
Roadblock hits Kerala Metro expansion
Crisis gone too far…..
Public Transport Day observed in Kochi
CPPR Media&PR at February 11, 2019
Dr D. Dhanuraj
KMTA bill
ksrtc.
*The news story published on The New Indian Express, where CPPR's Chairman, Dr. D. Dhanuraj points out the concerns regarding the KMTA bill.
Lack of clarity in the role of the authority is the biggest roadblock, experts point out. "Though the focus is on the city's transport management."
KOCHI: Though it has been a year since the Kerala Metropolitan Transport Authority (KMTA) Bill was passed in the Legislative Assembly, the entity continues to remain a non-starter. And even as the delay may affect the implementation of the Kochi metro's expansion, the structural deficiencies in the proposed plan is the most worrying, according to experts.
Lack of clarity in the role of the authority is the biggest roadblock, experts point out. "Though the focus is on the city's transport management, the state government has now proposed to constitute the authority at a state-level, instead of a city-level. There is no clarity about this in the proposed bill," said D Dhanuraj, chairman Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR).
According to experts, it is contradictory that the heads of all major transport bodies in the city will be helming the KMTA when instead their sectors should be regulating by the authority. "KMTA is a regulatory body; not an operational one. In that sense, the executive board of the authority should be free from everyone who is part of the system. As per the current plan, managing directors of Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL), Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), among others will constitute the core team which will raise the conflict of interest," said Dhanuraj.
Unstabilised power equation
Despite being a city-specific body which is aimed at regulating intracity transportation, the Kochi Corporation has the least representation in the board. The municipal body's secretary is the 'ex-officio' member. "If we consider successful unified metropolitan transport bodies like London and Singapore, it is the city mayor who heads the body. But here, the mayor has no role in the decisions.
Though many recommended the corporation secretary to head the board, the issue of a junior IAS officer regulating the senior officials of bodies like KMRL and KSRTC will definitely make problems," said a transport expert.
A former councillor of Kochi Corporation rendered a similar view. "We have raised the issue in the last KMTA sitting at Kochi and the absence of elected representatives' affects its major functions like management and facilitation. The unavailability of full autonomy is another problem as it reduces the authority to a mere wing in the bureaucratic structure," he said.
Confusion over structure
Despite having the power to execute a comprehensive mobility plan for the region, the need for approval of state government for decisions like re-alignment of road transport services didn't get a space in the bill. "There are many structural deficiencies in the bill. There is no mention of integrating the Motor Vehicle Department which gives permits for the new bus services. It is the body which plays a vital role in the realignment of services.
So, KMTA should not be an advisory body to the government. Instead, it should be a powerful regulatory body whose decisions are binding to everyone," said Dhanuraj. Echoing a similar sentiment, a top-level KSRTC official said "The lack of a clear idea over the structure of the body will prevent the body from achieving its objectives. If it remains to be a mere recommendatory body to the state government, there won't be much difference in the ground. As many Kochi roads have already been nationalised, regulating and re-routing the KSRTC services will be a major impasse before the authority," he said.
*This news story can be also read at The New Indian Express's website.
CPPR Media&PR


Ingredients: sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mass, emulsifier: soy lecithin, natural vanilla. Added ingredients: Guatemalan coffee beans (cocoa solids 33% min; milk solids 20.5% min).
Coffee and chocolate is a classic combination. Using Guatemalan coffee beans, roasted locally by York Coffee Emporium, they perfectly compliment our silky smooth milk chocolate. The beans are sweet and aromatic with a fruity start, reminiscent of plums and cherry, which fades to a milk chocolate finish. Delicious!


text:
Open Invitation for The People's Biennial (SMoCA)
By Michael Hayslip on May 26, 2010 in Events, News, Show opportunities
Letter from Christine Htoon at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art:
As part of the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, I would like to extend an open invitation for members of the Gilbert Visual Art League to participate in an artists' call for The People's Biennial. Angela Young, a previous SMoCA intern, may have contacted you about this open call and upcoming 2011 exhibition. It is an exciting opportunity for creative individuals in our local community to engage in a highly collaborative art exhibition. In addition, all open call participants receive FREE SMoCA admission that day (June 5th).
Below, I included more information (i.e., date, time, location) to share with interested participants. If you would like to follow-up, I can also send you The People's Biennial's official press release, which has more information on the curators, the aim, and inspirations behind the project. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to e-mail me or smoca@sccarts.org.
Christine Htoon
Intern, Curatorial Department
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
chtoon@sccarts.org
OPEN CALL: Present Your Art to the People's Biennial Curators
Atrium in the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
7380 East Second Street Scottsdale, AZ 85251
WHEN: Saturday, June 5, 2010 2 – 5 pm
Participate in the People's Biennial
Come share your creative pursuits with the curators June 5th 2-5 pm
(Scottsdale, AZ) The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) is one of five American art institutions presenting and participating in the People's Biennial, an experiment in exhibition making and a fresh approach to thinking about art. The exhibition will include works by five artists from each of the participating communities and will travel to the five venues across the nation. The People's Biennial will be on view at SMoCA in the fall of 2011.
The organizers of this exhibition, curators Harrell Fletcher and Jens Hoffman, seek remarkable, under-appreciated creative endeavors by anyone and everyone, especially work done by people who do not consider themselves part of the art world. This could include a child who makes dazzling science fair projects; a knitter who makes fabulous clothing; a mathematician who makes visually compelling notations; a sign painter who creates window displays, etc.
Bring pictures of your work or the real thing! All those interested are welcome.
Sign-ups for meeting times will take place in person on June 5th, on a first come first served basis, starting at 1:30 p.m. in the Atrium of the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. The People's Biennial curators have allotted 10 minute time slots for each person.
For questions about the June 5th event email smoca@sccarts.org
For more information about the exhibition see:
http://www.ici-exhibitions.org/index.php/site/exhibitions/peoples_biennial/
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event, show opportunities
Gilbert Grows Art
Acrylic Teaching Opportunity


Hulu has become a bit of a hot spot for horror streaming now that they've added original shows such as Castle Rock and Blumhouse's Into the Dark to their selection. If it's a film you're looking for however, the service also has you covered in that department. Here are ten of the best horror movies streaming on Hulu right now!
At once a stinging social commentary on narcissism in the age of social media and a sweet meditation of high school friendship, Tragedy Girls plays like the lovechild of Scream and Heathers. The film follows unlikely villains McKayla and Sadie, who are obsessed with becoming the next big serial killer(s). They hide their intentions behind the innocent personas they've created for public interactions, while going on a violent killing spree that sends their community into a frenzy. Tragedy Girls is often hilarious, but it's nonetheless brutal. Alexandra Shipp and Brianna Hildebrand are irresistible as the central duo, and their chemistry alone makes the film worthy of your attention.
Silver Bullet is a tremendous horror movie that rarely gets the credit it deserves. Based on the novella "Cycle of the Werewolf" by Stephen King, the film follows Marty (Corey Haim), a paraplegic child who is bound to a motorized wheelchair, as he becomes the target of a werewolf after figuring out its human identity. Rather than focusing solely on the terror of the situation, Silver Bullet and director Dan Attias wisely put the relationship between Marty and his sister Jane (Megan Follows) front and center. They're dysfunctional – Marty tends to be a nuisance and Jane can be quite harsh – but their love for each other runs deep and provides the film with an enormous amount of heart. Everett McGill is typically great in the role of a villain who is facing an inner-conflict, and Gary Busey as the perpetually drunk Uncle Red is pitch-perfect casting.
Before the series grew out of hand with a thousand or so really bad sequels, Clive Barker's original film tore twice that many souls apart. Hellraiser plays like a twisted nightmare, masterfully exploring Barker's horrifying imagination. Drenched in darkness and utilizing unforgettable horror imagery (Seriously, who can watch Hellraiser and not have the Cenobites eternally seared into their brain?), the film has more than earned its reputation as one of the scariest movies of all time.
If you're having a spout with your parents, perhaps the best course of action is to keep your temper in check and *not* summon a demon to kill them. In Pyewacket, the titular demon is called upon by Leah, a black magic-practicing teen that is having issues with her troubled mother, who is grieving the recent loss of her husband. Directed by Backcountry's Adam MacDonald, Pyewacket is loaded with eerie atmosphere and uncomfortable dread. Many of the scares come from our own imaginations, as MacDonald gives us just enough of a glimpse into evil for our minds to run rampant. This is a seriously creepy film that should not be overlooked.
It's a shame that we aren't still talking about how impressive The Others is. Written and directed by Alejandro Amenábar, this is a slow-burning Gothic ghost story with a tremendous central performance by Nicole Kidman, a gorgeous set design, clever writing, and old-school scares. If The Others was released in the '70s or '80s, it'd be mentioned among the greatest haunted house movies ever made – which is a conversation it belongs in. It's begging to be revisited.
The fact that Let the Right One In inspired one of the best American horror remakes we've ever received (Let Me In) and still remains superior in almost every way is a testament to Swedish director Tomas Alfredson's poetic vampire masterpiece. It's a romantic story of outcasts who come to rely on each other with an insidiously subtle undercurrent of terror and dread. You'd be hard pressed to find a better vampire flick than this – which is saying a lot when you consider how many great bloodsucker movies are in circulation.
Written and directed by Alex Garland (Ex Machina), Annihilation is a mind-bending science fiction horror tale that stands out as one of the decade's most effective genre films. It employs a dynamite cast of women, led terrifically by Natalie Portman, and its eerie atmosphere is thick enough to get lost in. Garland's film tackles themes of depression, guilt and grief, while subsequently scaring us senseless (The bear scene is nightmare fuel) and breaking our brains. It's not a happy movie, but it's a near perfect one.
One of the greatest monster movies ever made, The Host seamlessly blends horror with comedy and familial drama. Edge-of-your-seat thrills are matched in full by the amount of tears you'll shed throughout. It takes a special kind of film to accomplish such a feat, and director Bong Joon Ho is always up to the task.
Danny Boyle's take on the zombie subgenre sparked a never-ending debate about whether the infected masses in the film are even zombies at all. Regardless of which side of the argument you fall on, there's no denying that 28 Days Later is downright horrifying. The infected are fast, forcing survivors to make split-second decisions lest they wind up dead or infected themselves, and it culminates in one of the most intense finales we've ever seen.
Commonly hailed as the greatest horror film of all time, The Exorcist remains as terrifying in 2019 as it was in 1973. It's a bleak exploration of hopelessness, faith and lack thereof. Brimming with excellent performances, some of the scariest scenes ever put to film, and featuring what may be an actual curse, The Exorcist is a timeless masterpiece that merits frequent viewing – if you can stomach it.
There you have it! 10 of the Best Horror Films Currently Available on Hulu! Not enough selection? Why not try another of our streaming round-ups: 10 of the Best Horror Movies Streaming on Shudder, 10 of the Best Horror Films on Netflix, 8 Horror Movies on Netflix You Haven't Seen and 8 More Horror Movies on Netflix You Haven't Seen!
Let us know what you're streaming! Tweet at us, start a conversation in our Official Subreddit, or join the Fiend Club community on Facebook!
Curt watches too much television, but he also doesn't exercise enough, so it's okay. Be a pal and follow him on Twitter.


I am keen to learn to speak Mandarin with other Mandarin speaking colleagues and for shopping or travel purposes. Please do let me know what course is available and … how to attend victorias secret fashion show PinYin. Pinyin is the official romanization system of Mandarin Chinese, and is used in all schools in the People's Republic of China. It is also the most used (though, not the only) romanization system taught in Chinese textbooks for non-native learners of Chinese.
How To Speak Mandarin, The Creepy-Cute Way Culture Buzz In a little bitty baby voice! I haven't watched any of these the whole way through because I'm getting a Ring vibe here.
But since I already know how to speak and understand some basic mandarin, and I am looking to increase my vocabulary more quickly in order to be able to carry conversations and would also like to learn how to read and write chinese, I think I need to take a more advanced maybe university level course, like on Coursera or something.
PinYin. Pinyin is the official romanization system of Mandarin Chinese, and is used in all schools in the People's Republic of China. It is also the most used (though, not the only) romanization system taught in Chinese textbooks for non-native learners of Chinese.
My husband's family speaks Mandarin primarily and they would like our child to learn how to speak Mandarin. The baby will be born in August and I am currently in the process of trying to learn myself but I still have a long way to go.


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On This Day in Football History - March 17: North London Derbies, League Cup Finals & Much More
In years to come, the football history books will read: On March 17 2020 - Nothing happened.
Sadly, the coronavirus has put a stop to the entire football calendar across Europe, and we are left twiddling our thumbs amid one of the tensest and most worrying times in recent history.
The world has come to a standstill.
But if you are stuck indoors under quarantine, or you are simply running out of episodes of Premier League Years to watch, why not check out what has happened on this day throughout the decades, and reminisce over past joys and irreparable heartbreak.
1979 - Nottingham Forest 3-2 Southampton
Check out some of these banners from that League Cup final 朗
Were you among the #NFFC fans at Wembley #OnThisDay?  pic.twitter.com/iEOuzrX4zH
— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) March 17, 2020
On this day in 1979, Nottingham Forest claimed League Cup success, beating Southampton 3-2 at Wembley to earn Brian Clough another trophy for his jam-packed cabinet.
The Tricky Trees went behind, but looked to have secured victory in the 83rd minute, when Tony Woodcock gave them a 3-1 lead. Southampton did notch a consolation goal in the 88th minute to make it interesting, but Clough's men saw out the match to lift the big trophy.
1991 - Celtic 2-0 Rangers
St Patrick's day 1991. Celtic 2-0 Rangers on a joyful day. Wdocwzyk and Creaney with terrific goals. pic.twitter.com/x6R0lffErG
— St.Anthony (@Stephen4_2) March 17, 2020
The Old Firm derby is one of the very best fixtures in the world. Hands down. And on this day in 1991, it was Celtic who claimed the bragging rights over bitter rivals Rangers, winning 2-0 in a fiercely fought Scottish Cup quarter-final.
As many as three Rangers players saw red in the match, and boss Graeme Souness blasted his bad boys for their disgraceful showing. Celtic had a man sent off themselves, but they deservedly claimed the victory in the battle of St Patrick's Day.
1998 - Aston Villa 2-1 Atlético Madrid
Ah, magical evenings at Villa Park. Aston Villa boast a stadium worthy of European football, and in 1998 their loyal supporters were treated to a brilliant run in the UEFA Cup. But having lost the quarter-final first leg 1-0 to Atlético Madrid, their adventure was hanging in the balance.
And conceding a dreaded away goal in the first half of the second leg meant that the Villans had to come up with something special in the final 45 minutes. But Villa Park roared their team into life with 15 minutes to go, when a quick-fire double from Ian Taylor and Stan Collymore put them within one goal of a historic comeback.
Ultimately it wasn't to be, but they'll prove to be happy memories for Villa fans on days like this.
2002 - Pires Lob vs Aston Villa
Ah, Arsenal's glory years. The Invincibles were just around the corner for the Gooners, but they still had plenty of fun prior to that record-breaking year. On this day in 2002, the Gunners beat Aston Villa 2-1, and Robert Pires scored a particularly memorable goal.
Chasing a long diagonal ball, the Frenchman sized up his marker, before bamboozling him with a flick over his shoulder and bearing down on goal. With the most intimidating goalkeeper in world football standing before him, Pires nonchalantly lobbed the ball over Peter Schmeichel's head to give Arsenal the victory. Happy days.
2010 - Yoann Gourcuff's Stunning Free-Kick
 #OTD in 2010, THIS Yoann Gourcuff free-kick ⚽#UCL | #OnThisDay | @girondins pic.twitter.com/8OICubt6dZ
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 17, 2020
This man was a genius on the field. French side Bordeaux booked their place in the Champions League quarter-finals on this day in 2010, thanks to a stunning free-kick by Yoann Gourcuff. The midfielder needed only four minutes to open the scoring, whipping an unstoppable curling free-kick into the top corner from a very acute angle. Magic.
Bordeaux went on to win the game by two goals to one, dumping Greek side Olympiakos out of the European tournament. But this match is remembered for one thing only - that superb set-piece by Gourcuff.
2013 - St Mirren Become Heart-Breakers
On this Day in 2⃣0⃣1⃣3⃣.
 St Mirren beat Hearts in the League Cup Final!#OTD | @saintmirrenfc pic.twitter.com/FG2hNlPHxe
— SPFL (@spfl) March 17, 2020
Wait, somebody other than Celtic and Rangers actually win stuff in Scotland?! That's right, on this day in 2013, St Mirren defeated Hearts 3-2 in a dramatic Scottish League Cup final to lift the trophy for the first time ever.
Having fallen behind early on, the Saints bounced back and flew into a 3-1 lead with 25 minutes remaining on the clock. Hearts pulled a goal back late on to set the nerves jangling, but St Mirren held on to record a famous success in the club's long history.
2014 - Aberdeen Won the League Cup!
 Aberdeen won the League Cup!#OTD | @AberdeenFC pic.twitter.com/YWSqr1GzPp
Yep, for the second year on the spin, neither Celtic nor Rangers got their claws on the Scottish League Cup. It was Aberdeen's turn in 2014, beating Inverness CT 4-2 on penalties after a 0-0 stalemate in normal time.
The Dons celebrated success wildly at Celtic Park, whereas it was penalty-shootout disappointment for Inverness. What a horrible way to lose a final.
2014 - Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Arsenal
 #OnThisDay in 2014.
Tomas nearly took the net off 來#LittleMozart pic.twitter.com/tBLyLm2DJT
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) March 16, 2020
Who doesn't love a North London derby? One of the goal-iest fixtures in Premier League history, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are known for putting on some proper ding-dongs.
Unfortunately in 2014, there was just the one goal that separated the two sides. But what a strike it was. The ball bobbled into the path of Tomas Rosicky, who without breaking stride, crashed an unstoppable drive into the far corner from an outrageous angle. A finish worthy of winning any derby.
2019 - Brighton Beat Millwall to Reach FA Cup Semi-Final
 Time flies.
1⃣ year ago today we sealed our place in the last four of the @EmiratesFACup.
 Stick right here today to relive the action!#BHAFC ⚪ pic.twitter.com/AZMoyFIRvM
— Brighton & Hove Albion ⚽ (@OfficialBHAFC) March 17, 2020
What a classic quarter-final encounter this was! Millwall had proved to be tricky opponents throughout the FA Cup in the 2018/19 campaign, and they were hoping to book their place in the semi-final against Brighton. A tense opening 70 minutes past by, but then - the game burst into life.
Millwall took the lead on 70 minutes, and sensationally doubled their advantage ten minutes later, to all-but end Brighton's hopes of qualification. Jurgen Locadia gave the Seagulls some hope with two minutes to go, and an unbelievable mistake from goalkeeper David Martin drew the visitors level with the last kick of the half.
The Premier League side held their nerve through extra-time, eventually winning the game on penalties and progressing to the semi-final. Heartbreak for the Lions.
Source: 90min


Durable plastic material make it more lightness and flexibility than metal/aluminum material.
Aluminum Weather and vandal resistant.
Live view and playback on your smartphone, Download XMEye on APP Store or Googleplay, Local login, Scan DVR SN number, Enter Device Name,Click OK to login.


text:
Q: Get IMSI Number of Android Dual SIM device I am currently using the android API
public static String get_IMSI_Number(Context context) {
    TelephonyManager tel = (TelephonyManager) context
            .getSystemService(Context.TELEPHONY_SERVICE);
    return tel.getSubscriberId();
}

to get the IMSI number.
But unfortunately it is not getting the IMSI number if the device is dual SIM and It is returning "null" always.
I want to get the IMSI number of the Device( For Dual SIM )
case 1: Need to read the IMSI numbers if the device inserted with two SIMS in it's two slots
case 2: Need to read the IMSI number if the device inserted with one SIM in it's first slot and second slot left unused/blank
case 3: Need to read the IMSI number if the device inserted with one SIM in it's second slot and first slot left unused/blank
I followed the link "Android : Check whether the phone is dual SIM" but not worked.
Can any one help me to sort it out.
Note:The solution should work in all android 4.0 and above versions and in all vendors(Samsung,motorola,HTC,Karbon  etc).
Thanks in advance.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
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namespace temple\data\persistence\model ;

/**
 * Class to define a one to one relation.
 *
 * @author florent
 * @see Relation
 */
final class OneToOne extends AbstractRelationMapping {

	// mappingKey is unique
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Happy Monkey Day! Here's hoping everyone has a fabulous Monkey Day! If you want to do some good this Monkey Day, spend a minute and visit some of our primate organizations on our links page.
If you want to keep up on Monkey Day happenings, we will be posting updates our Facebook page all day long.
Have a great Monkey Day everyone!


Emma Jane Westby is an author, an educator, and a part-time beekeeper. Her latest book, Git for Teams, is now available from O'Reilly. You can follow her adventures on Twitter at @emmajanehw.
Emma Jane Westby cracks open the door on Santa's workshop to investigate what lessons can be learned about git rebase from the elves (or subordinate clauses if you will). Take what you can from their workflow, but don't feed them too many mince pies; it's bad for their 'elf.
Emma Jane Westby exercises her poetic sensibility to help us understand how Git commands can help us out of sticky situations. Quite soon you'll turn that clatter on the roof into the prancing and pawing of each reindeer hoof.


Rolf is a German business engineer and passionate about putting together deals in the SME sector especially in German spoken countries and internationally.
Rolf has over 20 years of experience in business sales and acquisitions, where he focuses on strategic M&A deals in the engineering and technology sectors. Acting for the owners of SME's, he has a long track record of negotiating with global companies and arranging management buy-in/buy-out deals (MBI/MBO).
He is a recognised trainer for "marketing and selling" at the Chamber of Commerce in Würzburg / Schweinfurt, Germany and an honorary member of their audit committee.
He is a permanent member for determining the CFS-Finanzplatzindex Frankfurt am Main and is named "innovations-management-expert" at the Fraunhofer Institut.
Rolf heads up ProConsult GmBH, a business brokerage in Würzburg, near Frankfurt am Main in Germany, with which Hornblower has a strategic partner agreement.


We will be open this Saturday 9-4 and Sunday 11-4. We will figure out the rest of the week after the weekend. Fingers crossed all the equipment can maintain through a full rotation of baking. This will help us determine when we begin the new schedule. It will post on the website Sugar Island (which by the way has finally got a fixed shipping page!) Feel free to request your favorite comfort foods. We received many desperate requests DURING the storm for Salted Caramel Brownies, Ginger Chews, Pimento Cheese, Cinnamon Rolls and Cheddar Pigs!
Previous postSeptember is NC Wine Month!


. . . tasseled drapes and soft lighting, tufted settees and silk cushions, crisp white table cloths and silver-rimmed china, salmon pasta shell roll, served with toast, lox and caviar, freshly backed biscuits with clotted cream, tea and delicate pastries and it's champagne afternoon tea at the dorchester . . .
I want to go!!! How perfect.
Beautiful pictures! I recently visited The Langham for afternoon tea and would recommend booking for late afternoon/early evening. We booked quite late and at 6.59pm "Champagne Charlie" started parading around the room offering everyone a free glass of champagne!
So elegant… love having tea at famous hotels!
Mmmmm, looks heavenly! Lovely photos, lovely blog!
Mmmm everything looks so yummy, and that couch is very pretty!
absolutly in LOVE with the booth! stunning!
Gorgeous! And sumptuous! Even my 10 year old son said he'd love to sit on the sofa with all the pillows and have hot chocolate and sweets! :) Now THAT's a good post!
I stared at that salmon pasta roll for like 3 minutes! have never seen/tried it! but would love to.. got to search for it! mmm… and those deserts! lovely images! have a wonderful weekend Roseline!
What a delightful and delicious treat.