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Haliburton's Outloud Womyn's Voices marks 20 years united in the love of song
By Darren Lum
Published Sept. 18, 2018
Like it has been for two decades, Haliburton's Outloud Womyn's Voices Chorus sang as one, unified in joy and love for one another at their 20th anniversary celebration.
Close to 30 women's voices carried to the ceiling of Abbey North where the celebration was held on Tuesday, Sept. 11.
The choir is a diverse mix of women from a variety of backgrounds. They have always been inclusive, never demanding attendance or particular expertise in singing.
Founder Beth Johns called this a "landmark" anniversary.
"The big thing with this singing group is that you didn't have to be able to sing," she said "It came out of the early women's movement. That's where I learned all this music. When I moved up here I was really missing it. I had been part of a choir [in Etobicoke] and I knew all this music. I came up here and really missed it."
Original member Lee Gauthier said Outloud's milestone anniversary is a culmination of her life.
"I've gone through ups and downs and really it's the emotional support of this group that really has been the thread that has kept me in for 20 years," she said. "Now it means the same thing to these women that are in it even though we meet at Beth's house – we don't meet at the church at all. We're a much smaller group and there is at maximum, 10 or 12 now."
The celebration was hosted by Outloud member Thea Patterson, who opened her home to a group that consisted of original members and relatively new members, who came to reminisce, sing and rejoice.
Before Outloud there wasn't any other group like it in the Highlands.
Gauthier can still hear Johns singing solo at an open mic at the former Wild Oats Cafe 20 years ago.
Before they met at that pivotal solo, the Outloud story begins in the 1980s when Johns was struggling.
She was living in Etobicoke in an unhappy marriage and had two young children.
She had also experienced betrayal from a female friend and her sister was in the process of coming out of the closet.
At a leadership training program she met Mary MacEachern, who encouraged her to attend a monthly women's group in Toronto.
Six months passed before she attended her first meeting. As a result, a whole new world opened up for her.
It introduced her to ideas about women and their place in the world, to sisterhood, to the power of music by feminists and it gave her a new perspective to "spread my wings."
Learning the empowering music of Carolyn McDade, Carole Etzler, Coleen Fulmer and others, "filled my heart and soul with wonder, and over the years I went every month, to a place where women met together to struggle with being feminist in the church."
This discovery led to another opportunity to meet more women and to bolster the strength of song.
She was asked to go to a women's spirituality conference in Waterloo where 500 women sang together.
Johns ended up helping organize this biennial conference, as a member of the planning committee several times.
Outloud Womyn's Voices Chorus founder Beth Johns, laughs while addressing some 30 women at the 20th anniversary celebration for Outloud on Tuesday, Sept. 11 at Abbey North, located close to Eagle Lake./DARREN LUM Staff
"It was a rich opportunity to work with women, both gay and straight, as we all struggled together to find our way," she said.
Then in 1998, she moved to Haliburton with her new husband Norris Turner and didn't have the same connections she did before.
After singing solo at the "women's voices open stage" at the Wild Oats Cafe in Haliburton, she knew she didn't want to do it alone again.
She was confident that if any women wanted to learn the songs by the likes of McDade and Etzler she could teach them.
Gauthier remembers how Sue Shikaze spoke to Johns about starting Outloud, and how the group first came together at the YWCA when it was in Haliburton.
The group met each week in the evening for years there and enabled working women and retirees to join.
"And so Outloud Womyn's Voices was born ... a group where you didn't have to be able to sing, no auditions, all women were welcome ... and we sang, and sang outloud! Sue Shikaze designed our T-shirts, Liz Doble's son-in-law printed them for us, and we went public in our purple shirts!"
The Outloud group has sung all over the Highlands from the Northern Lights Performing Arts Pavilion to the landfill.
They've protested, singing at a peace rally in response to the Gulf War at Head Lake Park, and standing unified against the extension proposal for the runway at the Stanhope Airport.
They marched in solidarity at Take Back the Night and stood, warmed by each other's voices on cold street corners to memorialize the 14 women who died during the Montreal Massacre at École Polytechnique.
Eight of the group even went to Boston and helped record a CD, My Heart is Moved, with McDade back in 2007.
The group has evolved to now include dance. It has been as small as six people and as large as 40.
They have had everyone join them in song from babies to seniors.
Outloud has not performed publicly for some time. However, the group will be singing at the upcoming Take Back the Night in Haliburton on Thursday.
For all these things there has been one constant, a connection they all have with one another.
"And always we sing with our hearts and souls, deeply connecting with each other and with our beautiful earth home," Johns said.
Johns concluded her speech with a poem by Pat Brown: When women sing.
"So it is with a very full heart that I gather here today with you, my dear friends, to celebrate this journey we're on together ... it's ever changing, and always exciting, and I am filled with deepest gratitude for the presence of each and every one of you in my life. So let's sing."
©2015 Haliburton Echo. All rights reserved
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Gates backs more oversight of drones
By Daniel Strauss - 02/10/13 04:19 PM EST
Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates suggested the Obama administration consider adding a check on the president's ability to use drones to target terror suspects.
Gates, speaking on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, said that the United States should consider creating a third group in charge of informing Congress and intelligence communities about an imminent drone strike.
"And so I think -- I think this idea of being able to execute, in effect, an American citizen, no matter how awful, having some third party being ... having a say in it or perhaps some -- informing the Congress or the intelligence committees or something like that ... I think some check on the ability of the president to do this has merit, as we look to the longer term future," Gates said.
Gates, who served as Defense secretary for both then-President George W. Bush and President Obama, suggested a court in charge of oversight for drone strikes or perhaps a panel of judges should be given consideration.
"Something similar, whether it's a panel of three judges or one judge or some -- something that would give the American people confidence that there was, in fact, a compelling case to be -- to launch an attack against an American citizen, I think just as an independent confirmation or affirmation, if you will, is something worth giving serious consideration to," Gates also said.
But Gates added that his suggestion of an oversight panel for drone strikes was not because of abuse by the Obama administration.
"I think that the rules and the— and the practices that the Obama administration has followed are quite stringent and are not being abused," Gates said. "But who is to say about a future president?"
Gates's comments come almost a week after NBC News reported on a Department of Justice (DOJ) white paper outlining when the United States can use a drone strike on an American citizen abroad.
The DOJ memo for drone strikes argues that the Obama administration can conduct a strike on an American citizen abroad provided that an American intelligence official concludes that the target poses an "imminent" threat, capturing the target is impossible, and the strike falls in line with international wartime laws on the use of force.
"This conclusion is reached with recognition of the extraordinary seriousness of a lethal operation by the United States against a U.S. citizen, and also of the extraordinary seriousness of the threat posed by senior operational al Qaeda members and the loss of life that would result were their operations successful," the memo says.
Lawmakers grilled top Obama counterterrorism adviser John Brennan, the president's nominee to be CIA Director, on the administration's drone policies during his hearing last week.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Abstract: We have started since 1997 the Meudon Multicolor Survey of Outer Solar System Objects with the aim of collecting a large and homogeneous set of color data for Trans-Neptunian and Centaurs objects [...] We have a combined sample of 52 B-R color measurements for 8 Centaurs, 22 Classicals, 13 Plutinos, 8 Scattered objects and 1 object with unidentified dynamical class. This dataset is the largest single and homogeneous published dataset to date [...]. A strong (color) correlation with mean excitation velocity points toward a space weathering/impact origin for the color diversity. However, thorough modeling of the collisional/dynamical environment in the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt needs to be done in order to confirm this scenario. We found also that the Classical TNOs consist in the superposition of two distinct populations: the dynamically Cold Classical TNOs (red colors, low i, small sizes) and the dynamically Hot Classical TNOs (diverse colors, moderate and high i, larger sizes). [...] Our specific observation strategy [...] permitted us to highlight a few objects suspected to have true compositional and/or texture variation on their surfaces. These are 1998 HK151, 1999 DF9, 1999 OY3, 2000 GP183, 2000 OK67, and 2001 KA77 and should be prime targets for further observations [...]. Our survey has also highlighted 1998 SN165 whose colors and dynamical properties puts it in a new dynamical class distinct from the Classicals, its previously assigned dynamical class.


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Lake of Sorrow — дебютный студийный альбом норвежской симфоник готик/дум-метал группы The Sins of Thy Beloved, выпущенный в 1998 году.

Об альбоме
Lakes of Sorrow стал первым альбомом  The Sins of Thy Beloved, в состав которого помимо вокалистки, гитаристов и барабанщика, вошли клавишники и скрипач. Дебютный лонгплей группы был близок по стилистике к ещё одной норвежской группе Tristania, а вокал Аниты Аугленд напоминал Лив Кристин из Theater of Tragedy.

На сайте Chronicles of Chaos альбом получил оценку 9 из 10. Педро Азеведо назвал его впечатляющим дебютом, несмотря на недостаток оригинальности. Обозреватель Metal.de оценил его чуть ниже (8/10), но также отметил разносторонний характер музыки, ставящий The Sins of Thy Beloved в один ряд с My Dying Bride и Theater of Tragedy.

Список композиций

Участники записи
 Анита Аугленд — вокал
 Гленн Мортен Нордбо — гитара, вокал
 Арилд Кристенсен — гитара, бэк-вокал
 Ола Аарестад — бас
 Андерс Туе — клавишные
 Ингфрид Стенслад — клавишные
 Стиг Йохансен — ударные
 Пит Йохансен — скрипка

Ссылки

Примечания

Альбомы дум-метала
Альбомы симфоник-метала
Альбомы готик-метала
Альбомы Napalm Records

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The Marketing Department of a luxury coach manufacturer can be just as busy and dynamic as the production floor. Just ask Marathon Coach's Marketing Manager Pete Sutton. In this exclusive video, take a real behind-the-scenes look at what goes into marketing luxury motorhomes and the luxury RV lifestyle. The walls of Pete's office are stuffed with artwork, design, illustrations, corkboards and decorations for all kinds of events and projects. See sketches for tiki surfboards, mockups of service truck vehicle wraps and early proofs on calendars, Christmas cards and invitations. There's also photography and video equipment, used to show off Marathon's beautiful luxury motorhomes, as well as a projector that will eventually be used to easily cast paint designs onto the exterior of the coaches. As Pete can tell you, the Marketing Department at Marathon Coach is anything but boring.
The Marketing Department of a luxury coach manufacturer can be just as busy and dynamic as the production floor. Just ask Marathon Coach's Marketing Manager Pete Sutton. In this exclusive video, take a real behind-the-scenes look at what goes into marketing luxury motorhomes and the luxury RV lifestyle. The walls of Pete's office are stuffed with artwork, design, illustrations, corkboards and decorations for all kinds of events and projects. See sketches for tiki surfboards, mockups of service truck vehicle wraps and early proofs on calendars, Christmas cards and invitations. There's also photography and video equipment, used to show off Marathon's beautiful luxury motorhomes, as well as a projector that will eventually be used to easily cast paint designs onto the exterior of the coaches. As Pete can tell you, the Marketing Department at Marathon Coach is anything but boring.


The "Mile High City" is the nickname given to Denver. "Mile High," was given because the city's elevation is just 1 mile beyond sea level! Denver is also the state capital of Colorado, which has a population of about 635,000 people. Most attractively, Denver has the largest city park in the Nation! Denver is known to be very sun; 300 days out of the year are reported be sunny.
Metropolitan State College has a population of about 23,800 students. This college is Denver's leader in providing science, technology, engineering and math, which is known as STEM. This college is very diverse; 23 of their professors are African American and 58% of their students are Hispanic or Latino.
University of Colorado has a population of about 22,500 students. This University awards more graduate degrees in Colorado than any other college or university in Colorado. Exactly 71% of their alumni live in Colorado.
Community College of Denver has a population of about 13,000 students. This campus sits on 124 acres of land. This college is the most diverse college in the state.
The University of Denver has a population of about 11,800 students. A building on campus that goes by the name of, "University Hall," was built more than 100 years ago!
Regis University has a population of about 11,300 students. About 49% of this campus is consisted of graduates.
Emily Griffith Technical College has a population of about 3,000 students. A high school transcript, act score and an application fee isn't needed to attend this college.
The Art Institutes of Colorado has a population of about 2,000 students. This institute has more than 40 locations in the US.
Johnson and Wales has a population of about 1,700 students. This campus is dominated by females, standing at about 59%.
Pima Medical Institutes has a population of about 1,300 students. On this campus, the most popular concentrations are Medical Assistant, Dental, Medical, Pharmacy, and Veterinary.
Lincoln College of Technology has a population of about 1,200 students. Being that this college is very small in size, it only offers 11 undergraduate programs.


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Tweetsville: A Twitter iPhone app I'll actually use
MG Siegler	 November 13, 2008 1:55 AM
Twitterific, Twinkle, Twittelator. What do all of these share in common (besides ridiculous names)? They are all Twitter-based native applications that reside on my iPhone. Do I need all three? Actually, I don't need any of them — at least not anymore. Why? Because I've finally found one I actually like: Tweetsville.
The problem with all of those other Twitter apps is that they failed to capture the spirit of Twitter. Twitter is a service that allows you to send 140 character messages to other people. At its core, that's all it is. All of the previous Twitter apps were trying to do too much. Accordingly, most were ugly, some were cluttered and all were pretty slow.
But Tweetsville is different. It keeps it simple, and better yet, it does so while looking like it belongs on an iPhone. Usage is logical; clicking on a tweet (Twitter message) brings up a page for the user where you can easily send a reply, send a private message, toggle the message as a favorite or view a profile. It may sound obvious, but the other clients all made basic functions much more difficult than they needed to be.
And it's not like Tweetsville is lacking in other options either. There is an area devoted to hot trends on Twitter — that is, what words people are tweeting a lot. Clicking on a word shows you who is sending tweets about it most recently.
Tweetsville also has a robust search feature. Beyond basic word searches, going into the "Advanced" menu allows you to search for things like specific phrases, hashtags, places, dates and a wide range of other options. It's actually more advanced than Twitter Search itself.
The only real critique I have is that Tweetsville should move the "@ Replies" area (to see who has publicly written a message to you) to the main bottom menu area. Right now, it resides in the "More" area.
And for those who use the other clients because they allow you to easily attach pictures to a tweet, Tweetsville allows for this too.
The interesting thing about Tweetsville is that it's made by Tapulous — the same company that also makes Twinkle. It's because Tweetsville started out as an independent project by developer Ed Voas before Tapulous took it under its wing, chief executive Bart Decrem tells TechCrunch.
One thing that may irk some users is that while Twinkle is free, Tweetsville costs $3.99. That may seem a bit high for an app that is just a Twitter client, but if you use Twitter a lot, believe me, it's worth it.
You can find Tweetsville in the App Store here.
Update: As commenter RyanSylvestre notes below, you can actually change which button are in the menu bar by clicking on the "Edit" button in the "More" area. Brilliant.
You can find me on Twitter here along with fellow VentureBeat writers Eric Eldon, Dean Takahashi, Anthony Ha, Chris Morrison and Dan Kaplan. Oh, and we have a VentureBeat account (for our posts) as well.


Main Street, Etwall, Derby, DE65 6LU.
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The Spencer Academies Trust, trading as John Port Spencer Academy, is a private company limited by guarantee, and an exempt charity, registered in England and Wales under company registration number 07353824, with registered address: Arthur Mee Rd, Stapleford, Nottingham, NG97EW.


I'm selling my Naim pre and power set due to upgrading. Best setup to truly experience the famous NAIM Musical Sound and PRAT! My NAP is the DR version. Latest model.
The NAP 200 has been revitalised and reintroduced in 2015 with the addition of a Naim Audio DR (Discrete Regulator) module to power its partnered Naim Audio preamplifier. This comes alongside small improvements to some internal componentry and layout that combine to lift its musical performance even further than the original.
The NAC 202 introduced a new level of technical and musical performance to our range of preamplifiers, along with elegant new styling. The compact NAPSC is an upgrade for the NAC 202. It's a small but important link in the chain in extracting the highest levels of musical performance from these hi-fi components.
This is not the DR version right?
Kent, you have 11 posts here. It is time you read the rules, you have a couple of posts including this one with ALL CAPS in your title, which is against the rules of this forum.
Please edit your titles NOW. Kindly read all the other rules. Failure to adhere by the rules will result in your post(s) being deleted. Kindly edit your post title now.
hapiztuddin wrote: This is not the DR version right?
ok Yes, I can see the DR lettering. My apology kent.


Inverters are truly the heart of all renewable systems, be they grid-tied or off-grid. Basically and inverter takes DC electricity from a DC source such as solar panels or a battery bank and inverts it to AC which we call house current. We have inverters that output USA 120/240 volt 60Hz or European 230 volt 50 Hz electricity this must be specified at the time of order as there is no inverter that does both.
The most common grid-tied inverter takes hi voltage DC and outputs to the electrical grid during the day, thus "storing" your energy production there enabling you to "take it back" at night. Of course any electricity that you use during the day comes directly from your own production. In this way you can eliminate your electric bill entirely, or at the very least drastically reduce the bill. 85% of all the grid tied systems we design are exactly this system. The only drawback to this design is that when the grid goes down the system must shut down as well. You can't be an "island" in the middle of the grid producing power because; you could kill someone working on a power line somewhere else.
About 15% of the grid-tied systems we design are battery based, while they are designed to normally "sell" to the grid reducing or eliminating the monthly electric bill they are further designed to allow the house to run independent of the grid in a power outage. These systems employ a bank of batteries as a temporary storage device to carry you thru a power outage. Typically battery banks are designed to provide 8 to 12 hours of power without the need of a generator supplementation. For areas that may experience prolonged outages frequently, a backup generator can be integrated with the system to infrequently supplement the batteries as needed.
The last type of inverter system is the "off grid" or independent system. This type of system when properly designed is completely autonomous from the power grid, thus allowing you amazing flexibility as to choice of location on the planet. With the notable exception of Alaska, Northern Canada and the Antarctic during the 6 or so weeks in their winter, an off grid system can be properly designed to provide clean abundant power anywhere on earth. You are basically your own power company. Really the only thing you'll miss out on is the frequent power outages that grid customers experience because, the sun comes up every day and your power never goes out.
An inverter system includes one inverter or more plus, an electrical distribution (breaker) panel, a system controller (brain), some type of system/battery monitor and other optional devices like an automatic generator start module. Don't try to design this yourself. We are experts in the design of these systems and we can tell you all your choices for the equipment you'll need.
Victron products include sinewave inverters, sinewave inverters/chargers, battery chargers, DC/DC converters, transfer switches, battery monitors and more. Victron Energy has a strong, unrivalled reputation for technical innovation, reliability, and build quality. Their products are widely considered to be the professional choice for independent electric power.
OutBack Power. The Arlington, Washington based company, founded in 2001 as a maker of "pure sine wave" off grid inverter products, has expanded to grid-tie and hybrid inverters, maximum power point tracking charge controllers, communications and network products and integration hardware to keep it all working smoothly together. OutBack Power – Masters of the Off Grid.
The SolarEdge direct current (DC) optimized inverter system maximizes power generation at the individual PV module level while lowering the cost of energy produced by the solar PV system.
Xantrex products are smaller, smarter, and more efficient than traditional power conversion equipment. We provide products today that meet the needs of a wide range of customers, either as a key component that is integrated into equipment produced by others, or combined with a power source to provide a self-contained power solution.
With a mission "To deliver technology solutions that make clean energy affordable, reliable and accessible to all", Enphase Energy supplies AC modules, microinverters, and storage solutions for the solar industry worldwide.
For over 25 years, Texas-based Exeltech has been providing true sine wave inverters to the solar industry worldwide.
Fronius' efficient, reliable, high power inverters form the heart of any PV system. In the development of PV inverters, we have thought out new technologies, searched for innovative solutions, and have found completely new answers. The result: highly functional grid-tied string inverters, which interact optimally with all solar modules and systems of all types and sizes.
Dependable Inverter Products all made in the USA, we carry the full line of these great products. Magnum Energy engineers have been manufacturing and designing inverter systems for a long time.
Dating way back to the old Trace Engineering days. Most of these guys worked at Trace back then and when Xantrex bought Trace they took all their good ideas and started Magnum Energy.
Quick Cable's cable components, assemblies, and systems are used wherever high performance and reliability are critical.
Schneider Renewables part of the electrical giant Schneider Electric, a name you might not be familiar with yet but, you have likely have been using their products all your life.
Schneider is the parent company of Square D Electrical products as well as APC (American Power Conversion) if you look you probably have an APC back-up/Surge Suppressor on your computer system.
Discontinued by Schneider. There are 3 suitable replacements.


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Statistics and Probability (2)
MRS Advances (5)
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems (3)
British Journal of Nutrition (2)
European Journal of Applied Mathematics (2)
Public Health Nutrition (2)
Zygote (2)
Communications in Computational Physics (1)
Genetics Research (1)
Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics (1)
Parasitology (1)
Probability in the Engineering and Informational Sciences (1)
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Section A: Mathematics (1)
Robotica (1)
Nestle Foundation - enLINK (3)
Global Science Press (1)
Nutrition Society (1)
Southern Agricultural Economics Association (SAEA) (1)
On axisymmetric dynamic spin coating with a single drop of ethanol
Yuming Pan, Zhibei Wang, Xinyan Zhao, Weiwei Deng, Huihui Xia
Journal: Journal of Fluid Mechanics / Volume 951 / 25 November 2022
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 November 2022, A30
We carried out experimental and numerical investigations on the axisymmetric spreading evolution of dynamic spin coating with a single drop of ethanol. The results show that the dynamic spreading process consists of two stages: inertial spreading stage and centrifugal thinning stage. These two stages are connected by a transient state in between characterized by the minimum contact line moving velocity. The Weber number determines the spreading in the first stage, similar to the case of the impact of a drop on a static substrate. The rotational Bond number has a marginal effect on the inertia spreading and the radius at the transient state. In the centrifugal thinning stage, the rotational Bond number dominates the flow while the effect of the Weber number is negligible.
A blood digestion scoring method for poultry red mites, Dermanyssus gallinae
Yuyun Ma, Qi Liu, Boxing Liu, Penglong Wang, Xu Wang, Weiwei Sun, Baoliang Pan
Journal: Parasitology / Volume 149 / Issue 12 / October 2022
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 August 2022, pp. 1623-1630
The poultry red mite (PRM), Dermanyssus gallinae, is one of the most detrimental ectoparasite on poultry farms worldwide. The blood fed on birds provides the mites with nutrition and energy for their activities, development and reproduction. In the evaluation of the efficacy of novel drugs or vaccines against PRMs, their effects on blood digestion are generally used as a key parameter. The blood digestion of haematophagous arthropods (including D. gallinae) is usually assessed by weighing; however, this method shows some limitations. The main objective of the present study was to develop a scoring method that can quickly and visually evaluate the blood digestion status of PRMs. A 0–4 point scoring criterion was established to describe the blood digestion status of D. gallinae based on the changes in appearance in the intestinal tract of PRMs during the blood digestion process. There was a good consistency between the results obtained by the blood digestion scoring and the weighing, indicating the reliability of this new method. The results obtained from volunteers were consistent with the results from researchers with low coefficient of variation, indicating that the scoring method has good practicability. The applicability of the scoring method was confirmed in an efficacy study, where it was found that doramectin could significantly inhibit the blood digestion of PRMs, lowering the blood digestion score.
Effect of melatonin on the clinical outcome of patients with repeated cycles after failed cycles of in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection
Qi Zhu, Kaijuan Wang, Chao Zhang, Beili Chen, Huijuan Zou, Weiwei Zou, Rufeng Xue, Dongmei Ji, Zhaojuan Yu, Bihua Rao, Ran Huo, Yunxia Cao, Ding Ding, Zhiguo Zhang
Journal: Zygote / Volume 30 / Issue 4 / August 2022
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 February 2022, pp. 471-479
To explore whether embryo culture with melatonin (MT) can improve the embryonic development and clinical outcome of patients with repeated cycles after in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) failure, immature oocytes from controlled ovarian superovulation cycles were collected for in vitro maturation (IVM) and ICSI. The obtained embryos were cultured in 0, 10–11, 10–9, 10–7 and 10–5 M MT medium respectively, and 10–9 M was screened out as the optimal concentration. Subsequently, 140 patients who underwent failed IVF/ICSI cycles received 140 cycles of embryo culture in vitro with a medium containing 10–9 M MT, these 140 MT culture cycles were designated as the experimental group (10–9 M group), and the control group was the previous failed cycles of patients (0 M group). The results showed that the fertilization, cleavage, high-quality embryo, blastocyst, and high-quality blastocyst rates of the 10–9 M group were significantly higher than those of the 0 M group (P < 0.01; P < 0.01; P < 0.0001; P < 0.0001; P < 0.0001). To date, in total, 50 vitrified-warmed cycle transfers have been performed in the 10–9 M group and the implantation rate, biochemical pregnancy rate and clinical pregnancy rate were significantly higher than those in the 0 M group (all P < 0.0001). Two healthy infants were delivered successfully and the other 18 women who achieved clinical pregnancy also had good examination indexes. Therefore the application of 10–9 M MT to embryo cultures in vitro improved embryonic development in patients with repeated cycles after failed IVF/ICSI cycles and had good clinical outcomes.
Trial registration: ChiCTR2100045552.
Offsetting the cost of community-supported agriculture (CSA) for low-income families: perceptions and experiences of CSA farmers and members
Stephanie B. Jilcott Pitts, Leah Connor Volpe, Marilyn Sitaker, Emily H. Belarmino, Amari Sealey, Weiwei Wang, Florence Becot, Jared T. McGuirt, Alice S. Ammerman, Karla L. Hanson, Jane Kolodinsky, Rebecca Seguin-Fowler
Journal: Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems / Volume 37 / Issue 3 / June 2022
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 November 2021, pp. 206-216
Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is an alternative food marketing model in which community members subscribe to receive regular shares of a farm's harvest. Although CSA has the potential to improve access to fresh produce, certain features of CSA membership may prohibit low-income families from participating. A 'cost-offset' CSA (CO-CSA) model provides low-income families with purchasing support with the goal of making CSA more affordable. As a first step toward understanding the potential of CO-CSA to improve access to healthy foods among low-income households, we interviewed 24 CSA farmers and 20 full-pay CSA members about their experiences and perceptions of the cost-offset model and specific mechanisms for offsetting the cost of CSA. Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and coded using a thematic approach. Ensuring that healthy food was accessible to everyone, regardless of income level, was a major theme expressed by both farmers and members. In general, CSA farmers and CSA members favored member donations over other mechanisms for funding the CO-CSA. The potential time burden that could affect CSA farmers when administering a cost-offset was a commonly-mentioned barrier. Future research should investigate various CO-CSA operational models in order to determine which models are most economically viable and sustainable.
Dynamics of an infection age-space structured cholera model with Neumann boundary condition
Applications - Dynamical systems and ergodic theory
Equations of mathematical physics and other areas of application
Partial differential equations
WEIWEI LIU, JINLIANG WANG, RAN ZHANG
Journal: European Journal of Applied Mathematics / Volume 33 / Issue 3 / June 2022
This paper investigates global dynamics of an infection age-space structured cholera model. The model describes the vibrio cholerae transmission in human population, where infection-age structure of vibrio cholerae and infectious individuals are incorporated to measure the infectivity during the different stage of disease transmission. The model is described by reaction–diffusion models involving the spatial dispersal of vibrios and the mobility of human populations in the same domain Ω ⊂ ℝn. We first give the well-posedness of the model by converting the model to a reaction–diffusion model and two Volterra integral equations and obtain two constant equilibria. Our result suggest that the basic reproduction number determines the dichotomy of disease persistence and extinction, which is achieved by studying the local stability of equilibria, disease persistence and global attractivity of equilibria.
Rural consumer response to a food distribution innovation that connects farmers, retailers, and buyers
Zoe van Vlaanderen, Marilyn Sitaker, Weiwei Wang, Jane Kolodinsky
Journal: Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems / Volume 36 / Issue 5 / October 2021
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 March 2021, pp. 457-464
The Farm Fresh Food Box (F3B) strategy is a hybrid of direct-to-consumer (DTC) and short value chain models that aims to stimulate rural economies, creates an additional sales avenue for small farmers, provides rural grocery stores with increased foot traffic and overcomes barriers for rural consumers who are unable to access local food. The F3B project is a tri-state collaboration of extension and research partners from three states; two on the West Coast and one in the Northeast United States, involving small farmers and retailers from rural communities. This article analyzes F3B consumer surveys from 2 years of project implementation and contributes to the limited body of research on food box models by identifying benefits and barriers of the F3B strategy for consumers, comparing these findings to existing research on food box programs and other DTC market channels, and discussing implications for future model adjustment. Overall, consumers were pleased with all aspects of the F3B. However, the strategy had limited success with reaching a new demographic of local food consumers.
Fast and slow decay solutions for supercritical fractional elliptic problems in exterior domains
Elliptic equations and systems
Miscellaneous topics - Partial differential equations
Classical differential geometry
Weiwei Ao, Chao Liu, Liping Wang
Journal: Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Section A: Mathematics / Volume 152 / Issue 1 / February 2022
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 January 2021, pp. 28-53
Print publication: February 2022
We consider the fractional elliptic problem: where B1 is the unit ball in ℝN, N ⩾ 3, s ∈ (0, 1) and p > (N + 2s)/(N − 2s). We prove that this problem has infinitely many solutions with slow decay O(|x|−2s/(p−1)) at infinity. In addition, for each s ∈ (0, 1) there exists Ps > (N + 2s)/(N − 2s), for any (N + 2s)/(N − 2s) < p < Ps, the above problem has a solution with fast decay O(|x|2s−N). This result is the extension of the work by Dávila, del Pino, Musso and Wei (2008, Calc. Var. Partial Differ. Equ. 32, no. 4, 453–480) to the fractional case.
Spatially Mediated Peer Effects in the Adoption of Conservation Agriculture Practices
Deepthi Kolady, Weiwei Zhang, Tong Wang, Jessica Ulrich-Schad
Journal: Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics / Volume 53 / Issue 1 / February 2021
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 December 2020, pp. 1-20
This study uses location-specific data to investigate the role of spatially mediated peer effects in farmers' adoption of conservation agriculture practices. The literature has shown that farmers trust other farmers and one way to increase conservation practice adoption is through identifying feasible conservation practices in neighboring fields. Estimating this effect can help improve our understanding of what influences the adoption and could play a role in improving federal and local conservation program design. The study finds that although spatial peer effects are important in the adoption of conservation tillage and diverse crop rotation, the scale of peer effects are not substantial.
Perceptions of nutrition education classes offered in conjunction with a community-supported agriculture intervention among low-income families
Isabel Lu, Karla L Hanson, Stephanie B Jilcott Pitts, Jane Kolodinsky, Alice S Ammerman, Marilyn Sitaker, Weiwei Wang, Leah C Volpe, Emily H Belarmino, Jennifer Garner, Liana Gonsalves, Rebecca A Seguin
Journal: Public Health Nutrition / Volume 24 / Issue 10 / July 2021
To examine participants' experiences with nutrition education classes that were implemented with and designed to complement a cost-offset community-supported agriculture (CSA) programme.
Qualitative analysis of data from twenty-eight focus groups with ninety-six participants enrolled in Farm Fresh Foods for Healthy Kids (F3HK). Transcribed data were coded and analysed by a priori and emergent themes.
Rural and micropolitan communities in New York, North Carolina, Vermont and Washington (USA).
Ninety-six F3HK participants.
Participants found recipes and class activities helpful and reported improvements in nutrition knowledge, food preservation skills and home cooking behaviours for themselves and their children; they also reported that classes promoted a sense of community. Some educators better incorporated CSA produce into lessons, which participants reported as beneficial. Other obligations and class logistics were barriers to attendance; participants recommended that lessons be offered multiple times weekly at different times of day. Other suggestions included lengthening class duration to encourage social engagement; emphasising recipes to incorporate that week's CSA produce and pantry staples and offering additional strategies to incorporate children in classes.
Complementing a cost-offset CSA with nutrition education may enhance programme benefits to low-income families by improving nutrition knowledge and cooking behaviours. However, future interventions will benefit from ongoing coordination between educators and local growing trajectories to maximise timely coverage of unfamiliar produce in lessons; synchronous scheduling of CSA pick-up and classes for participant convenience and creative strategies to engage children and/or provide childcare.
Development of a New Multi-cavity Pneumatic-driven Earthworm-like Soft Robot
Zhijie Tang, Jiaqi Lu, Zhen Wang, Gaoqian Ma, Weiwei Chen, Hao Feng
Journal: Robotica / Volume 38 / Issue 12 / December 2020
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 May 2020, pp. 2290-2304
This paper presents a soft robot which can imitate the crawling locomotion of an earthworm. Locomotion of the robot can be achieved by expanding and contracting the body that is made of flexible material. A link of the earthworm-like robot is combined with three modules, and a multi-cavity earthworm-like soft robot is combined with multiple links. The multiple links of the earthworm-like soft robot are fabricated by silicone in the three-dimensional printed customized molds. Experiments on a single module, two-links, and three-links show that the soft robot can move and bend on condition of modules extension and contraction in a specified gait. The development of the earthworm-like soft robot shows a great prospect in many complicated environments such as pipeline detection.
Effects of different polyvinylpyrrolidone concentrations on intracytoplasmic sperm injection
Ding Ding, Qiushuang Wang, Xinyuan Li, Beili Chen, Weiwei Zou, Dongmei Ji, Yan Hao, Rufeng Xue, Huijuan Zou, Zhaolian Wei, Ping Zhou, Yunxia Cao, Zhiguo Zhang
Journal: Zygote / Volume 28 / Issue 2 / April 2020
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 January 2020, pp. 148-153
To explore whether different polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) concentrations affect the results of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), a prospective study was conducted for 194 couples undergoing 210 ICSI therapy cycles. These cycles were divided into three groups (10, 7 and 5% groups) using the corresponding concentration of PVP for sperm immobilization. The main outcome measures were analyzed. Results indicated that, with a decrease in PVP concentrations, all of the main outcome measures increased. In particular, the high-quality cleavage embryo rate in the 7% group was significantly lower than in the 5% group (P < 0.01), and the cleavage, high-quality cleavage embryo, and high-quality blastocyst rates in the 5% group were significantly higher than those in the 10% group (all P < 0.001). For high-/intermediate-quality semen, all of the main outcome measures were significantly increased with 5% PVP. For the poor-quality semen, only the high-quality cleavage embryo and high-quality blastocyst rates were significantly higher in the 5% group. Therefore, lowering PVP concentrations greatly promoted the development of embryos in ICSI cycles, with an optimal concentration of 5% for ICSI.
Modulation of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Migration using Programmable Polymer Sheet Actuators
Zijun Deng, Weiwei Wang, Xun Xu, Nan Ma, Andreas Lendlein
Journal: MRS Advances / Volume 5 / Issue 46-47 / 2020
Print publication: 2020
Recruitment of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to damaged tissue is a crucial step to modulate tissue regeneration. Here, the migration of human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) responding to thermal and mechanical stimuli was investigated using programmable shape-memory polymer actuator (SMPA) sheets. Changing the temperature repetitively between 10 and 37 °C, the SMPA sheets are capable of reversibly changing between two different pre-defined shapes like an artificial muscle. Compared to non-actuating sheets, the cells cultured on the programmed actuating sheets presented a higher migration velocity (0.32 ± 0.1 vs. 0.57 ± 0.2 μm/min). These results could motivate the next scientific steps, for example, to investigate the MSCs pre-loaded in organoids towards their migration potential.
Fine-tuning of Rat Mesenchymal Stem Cell Senescence via Microtopography of Polymeric Substrates
Xun Xu, Weiwei Wang, Yan Nie, Karl Kratz, Nan Ma, Andreas Lendlein
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 December 2019, pp. 643-653
Cellular senescence, a driver of aging and age-related diseases, is a stable state found in metabolically active cells characterized by irreversible cell growth arrest and dramatic changes in metabolism, gene expression and secretome profile. Endogenous regeneration efficacy of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) could be attenuated due to senescence. MSCs can be modulated by not only biochemical signals but also by physical cues such as substrate topography. To provide a cell culture substrate that can prevent MSC senescence over an extended period of in vitro cultivation, here, the cell- and immunocompatible poly(ether imide) (PEI) substrate was used. Two distinct levels of roughness were created on the bottom surfaces of PEI inserts via injection molding: Low-R (similar to the thickness of attached single MSC, Rq: 3.9 ± 0.2 µm) and High-R (larger than single MSC thickness. Rq: 22.7 ± 0.8 µm). Cell expansion, lysosomal enzymatic activity, apoptosis and paracrine effects of senescent MSCs were examined by cell counting, detection of senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA β-gal), Caspase 3/7, and CFSE labeling. MSCs showed high cell viability and similar spindle-shaped morphology on all investigated surfaces. Cells on Low-R presented the highest expansion (80000 ± 1805 cells), as compared to cells on smooth PEI and High-R. The low apoptosis level (0.08 vs 0.12 from smooth PEI) and senescence ratio (35% vs. 54% from smooth PEI) were observed in MSCs cultured on Low-R. The secretome from Low-R effectively prevents senescence and supports the proliferation of neighboring cells (1.5-fold faster) as compared to the smooth PEI secretome. In summary, the Low-R PEI provided a superior surface environment for MSCs, which promoted proliferation, inhibited apoptosis and senescence, and effectively influenced the proliferation of neighboring cells via their paracrine effect. Such microroughness can be considered as a key parameter for improving the therapeutic potential of endogenous regeneration, anti-organismal aging and anti-age-related pathologies via directly promoting cell growth and modulating paracrine effects of the senescence associated secretome.
AFM Assessment of the Mechanical Properties of Stem Cells During Differentiation
Jie Zou, Weiwei Wang, Xianlei Sun, Wingtai Tung, Nan Ma, Andreas Lendlein
The dynamic mechanical force transmitted through microenvironments during tissue formation and regeneration continuously impacts the mechanics of cells and thereby regulates gene and protein expression. The mechanical properties are altered during the process of stem cells differentiating into different lineages. At different stages of differentiation, stem cells display different mechanical properties in response to surrounding microenvironments, which depend on the subcellular structures, especially the cytoskeleton and nucleus. The mechanical properties of the cell nucleus affect protein folding and transport as well as the condensation of chromatin, through which the cell fate is regulated. These findings raise the question as to how cell mechanics change during differentiation. In this study, the mechanical properties of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) were determined during adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The cytoskeletal structure and the modification of histone were investigated using laser confocal microscope and flow cytometry. The mechanical properties of cell nuclei at different stages of cell differentiation were compared. The stiffness of nuclei increased with time as osteogenesis was induced in hBMSCs. The H3K27me3 level increased during osteogenesis and adipogenesis according to flow cytometry analysis. Our results show conclusively that AFM is a facile and effective method to monitor stem cell differentiation. The measurement of cell mechanical properties by AFM improves our understanding on the connection between mechanics and stem cell fate.
Polydopamine-mediated Surface Modification Promotes the Adhesion and Proliferation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Yan Nie, Zijun Deng, Weiwei Wang, Thanga Bhuvanesh, Nan Ma, Andreas Lendlein
With their abilities of self-renewal and pluripotency to differentiate into all three germ layers, human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) are a promising cell source for cell-based drug and implant testing. However, the large-scale expansion and maintenance of hiPSCs requires following strict protocols. There is high demand for advanced cell culture systems capable of generating high-quality hiPSCs to meet application requirements. In this study, we probe the possibility of modifying polymeric substrates for maintaining the self-renewal and pluripotency of hiPSCs. Here, polydopamine (PDA) was employed to immobilize the Laminin 521 (LN521) onto the surface of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). An aqueous solution of dopamine with concentrations ranging from 0 to 2.0 mg/mL was applied on PET surfaces. These PDA-modified surfaces were further functionalized with LN521. Surface wettability was evaluated by measuring the water contact angle (WCA) and surface properties of the modified substrate were analyzed using an atomic force microscope (AFM). Initial hiPSC attachment (1h after seeding) and cell proliferation were evaluated by counting the total cell number. The maintenance of pluripotency was evaluated at designed time points. WCA of the PDA-LN521 surfaces gradually decreased from 62.1°±6.3° to 8.1°±2.9°. The maximum peak-to-valley height roughness (Rt) of those surfaces determined by AFM increased in a dopamine-concentration-dependent manner, ranging from 43.9±1.6 nm to 126.7±7.6 nm. The Young's modulus of these surfaces was substantially increased from 0.98±0.36 GPa to 4.81±2.41 GPa. There was a significant enhancement (13.0±7.2% and 24.2±8.1%) of hiPSC adhesion on PDA-LN521 (dopamine concentration at 0.125 and 0.25 mg/mL). When increasing the dopamine concentration to 0.5 and 1.0 mg/mL, there was no further increase in hiPSC adhesion on PDA-LN521 surfaces. Moreover, hiPSC proliferation was remarkably enhanced on PDA-LN521 surface (dopamine solution at concentration from 0.125 to 1.0 mg/mL). Pluripotency of hiPSCs was not affected by PDA treatment. In conclusion, PDA-mediated surface modification is an effective approach for the robust expansion and maintenance of hiPSCs on polymer substrates.
The association between gut microbiota composition and BMI in Chinese male college students, as analysed by next-generation sequencing
Yanrong Lv, Xiangxiang Qin, Huaijie Jia, Sirui Chen, Weiwei Sun, Xiaoxia Wang
Journal: British Journal of Nutrition / Volume 122 / Issue 9 / 14 November 2019
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 August 2019, pp. 986-995
Print publication: 14 November 2019
Altered gut microbial ecology contributes to the development of metabolic diseases including obesity. However, studies based on different populations have generated conflicting results due to diet, environment, methodologies, etc. The aim of our study was to explore the association between gut microbiota and BMI in Chinese college students. The 16S next-generation sequencing (NGS) was used to test the gut microbiota of nine lean, nine overweight/obesity and ten normal-weight male college students. The differences in gut microbiota distribution among three groups were compared, and the relationship between the richness, diversity, composition of gut microbiota and BMI were analysed. The predominant phyla Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes were further confirmed by real-time PCR. Metagenomic biomarker discovery was conducted by linear discriminant analysis (LDA) effect size (LEfSe). NGS revealed that gut microbiota composition was different among three groups, but there was no difference in the abundance ratio of Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes. Several bacterial taxa were in linear relationship with BMI (positive relationship: uncultured bacterium (Bacteroides genus); negative relationship: Porphyromonadaceae, Acidaminococcaceae, Rikenellaceae, Desulfovibrionaceae, Blautia, Anaerotruncus, Parabacteroides, Alistipes). Moreover, gut microbiota diversity decreased with the increase in BMI. And LEfSe analysis indicated that Blautia, Anaerotruncus and its uncultured species were significantly enriched in the lean group (LDA score ≥ 3), Parasuterella and its uncultured species were significantly enriched in the overweight/obese groups (LDA score ≥ 3). In general, gut microbiota composition and microbial diversity were associated with BMI in Chinese male college students. Our results might enrich the understanding between gut microbiota and obesity.
Noble surface molecularly imprinted polymer modified titanium dioxide toward solanesol adsorption selectivity study
Chenglong Duan, Zhenbin Chen, Xiaojiao Liu, Ke Li, Xudong Wang, Weiwei Jia, Zhenghua Tang, Juan M. Ruso, Zhen Liu
Journal: Journal of Materials Research / Volume 34 / Issue 19 / 14 October 2019
Print publication: 14 October 2019
Surface molecularly imprinted polymer of solanesol (SA-SMIP) was prepared by reversed phase suspension polymerization using modified titanium dioxide (TiO2) as carrier, and operation conditions were investigated and optimized. Structures of modified TiO2 and SA-SMIP obtained at optimal conditions were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer adopting original TiO2 and non-surface molecularly imprinted polymer as reference. The SA-SMIP synthesized under optimal conditions displayed an excellent recognition of SA from the mixture of SA and triacontanol. The maximum separation degree of SA was 2.90. Finally, the adsorption kinetics and isotherm were investigated and analyzed. Adsorption kinetics results indicated that the adsorption of SA-SMIP to SA was a pseudo-second order process, and the adsorption of beginning and later stages was controlled by homogeneous particle diffusion and adsorption reaction process, respectively. Adsorption isotherm results documented hereby were two sorts of bonding sites, complete imprinted cavities and defective imprinted cavities. The adsorption for two bonding sites could be well lined up with the Langmuir model.
Can a shift in the purchase of local foods by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients impact the local economy?
Florence A. Becot, Marilyn Sitaker, Jane M. Kolodinsky, Emily H. Morgan, Weiwei Wang, Jennifer Garner, Alice Ammerman, Stephanie Jilcott Pitts, Rebecca A. Seguin
Journal: Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems / Volume 35 / Issue 1 / February 2020
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 August 2018, pp. 90-101
In recent years, several initiatives have sought to encourage redemption of food assistance benefits at direct-to-consumer (DTC) market venues such as community supported agriculture programs and farmers' markets in the USA, with the dual goal of increasing access to healthy foods for low-income families and sales of locally-grown foods for farmers. Proponents of these interventions assert that these programs have a positive impact on local economies yet there is limited evidence to validate this argument. This research project used a customized input-output model to simulate potential economic impacts of programs and policies that enable Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients to shift purchases from traditional food retailers to DTC venues in four states. Two different scenarios were explored: (1) increased outreach to low-income consumers and (2) financial support for using SNAP benefits at DTC market channels. We found a positive, though modest, economic impact at the state level under both scenarios when accounting for (a) business losses in the food retail and wholesale sectors, (b) a shift in acreage from commodity to specialty crops and (c) the cost to taxpayers. Since most of the increased economic activity would be in the produce farming sector, we discuss the opportunities and challenges for this sector along with potential policy implications.
The perceived influence of cost-offset community-supported agriculture on food access among low-income families
Michelle J White, Stephanie B Jilcott Pitts, Jared T McGuirt, Karla L Hanson, Emily H Morgan, Jane Kolodinsky, Weiwei Wang, Marilyn Sitaker, Alice S Ammerman, Rebecca A Seguin
Journal: Public Health Nutrition / Volume 21 / Issue 15 / October 2018
To examine perspectives on food access among low-income families participating in a cost-offset community-supported agriculture (CO-CSA) programme.
Farm Fresh Foods for Healthy Kids (F3HK) is a multicentre randomized intervention trial assessing the effect of CO-CSA on dietary intake and quality among children from low-income families. Focus groups were conducted at the end of the first CO-CSA season. Participants were interviewed about programme experiences, framed by five dimensions of food access: availability, accessibility, affordability, acceptability and accommodation. Transcribed data were coded on these dimensions plus emergent themes.
Nine communities in the US states of New York, North Carolina, Washington and Vermont.
Fifty-three F3HK adults with children.
CSA models were structured by partner farms. Produce quantity was abundant; however, availability was enhanced for participants who were able to select their own produce items. Flexible CSA pick-up times and locations made produce pick-up more accessible. Despite being affordable to most, payment timing was a barrier for some. Unfamiliar foods and quick spoilage hindered acceptability through challenging meal planning, despite accommodations that included preparation advice.
Although CO-CSA may facilitate increased access to fruits and vegetables for low-income families, perceptions of positive diet change may be limited by the ability to incorporate share pick-up into regular travel patterns and meal planning. Food waste concerns may be particularly acute for families with constrained resources. Future research should examine whether CO-CSA with flexible logistics and produce self-selection are sustainable for low-income families and CSA farms.
Microwell Geometry Modulates Interleukin-6 Secretion in Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Xun Xu, Weiwei Wang, Zhengdong Li, Karl Kratz, Nan Ma, Andreas Lendlein
Journal: MRS Advances / Volume 2 / Issue 47 / 2017
The therapeutic effect of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has been investigated in various clinical applications, in which their functional benefits are mainly attributed to the secretion of soluble factors. The enhancement of their therapeutic potential by physical and chemical properties of cell culture substrate is a safe and effective strategy, since they are highly sensitive to their microenvironment such as the elasticity and surface topography. In this study, we demonstrated that the geometry of polymeric substrate regulated the interleukin-6 (IL-6) secretion of human adipose derived MSCs. Polystyrene substrates comprising arrays of square-shaped (S50) or round-shaped (R50) microwells (side length or diameter of 50 μm and depth of 10 μm) were prepared by injection molding. Cellular apoptototic rate of MSCs was not affected by the microwell geometry, while the upregulated secretion of IL-6 and the enhancement of nuclear transcription factor STAT3 were detected in MSCs seeded on S50 substrate. The geometry-dependent modulatory effect was highly associated with ROCK signaling cascade. The inhibition of ROCK abolished the disparity in IL-6 secretion. These findings highlight the possibility to steer the secretion profile of stem cells via microwell geometry in combination with the manipulation of ROCK signaling pathway.


text:
package eagle.jfaster.org.logging;

import org.slf4j.Logger;

/**
 * SLF4J logger.
 */
class Slf4JLogger extends AbstractInternalLogger {

    private static final long serialVersionUID = 108038972685130825L;

    private final transient Logger logger;

    Slf4JLogger(Logger logger) {
        super(logger.getName());
        this.logger = logger;
    }

    @Override
    public boolean isTraceEnabled() {
        return logger.isTraceEnabled();
    }

    @Override
    public void trace(String msg) {
        logger.trace(msg);
    }

    @Override
    public void trace(String format, Object arg) {
        logger.trace(format, arg);
    }

    @Override
    public void trace(String format, Object argA, Object argB) {
        logger.trace(format, argA, argB);
    }

    @Override
    public void trace(String format, Object[] argArray) {
        logger.trace(format, argArray);
    }

    @Override
    public void trace(String msg, Throwable t) {
        logger.trace(msg, t);
    }

    @Override
    public boolean isDebugEnabled() {
        return logger.isDebugEnabled();
    }

    @Override
    public void debug(String msg) {
        logger.debug(msg);
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    @Override
    public void debug(String format, Object arg) {
        logger.debug(format, arg);
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    @Override
    public void debug(String format, Object argA, Object argB) {
        logger.debug(format, argA, argB);
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    @Override
    public void debug(String format, Object[] argArray) {
        logger.debug(format, argArray);
    }

    @Override
    public void debug(String msg, Throwable t) {
        logger.debug(msg, t);
    }

    @Override
    public boolean isInfoEnabled() {
        return logger.isInfoEnabled();
    }

    @Override
    public void info(String msg) {
        logger.info(msg);
    }

    @Override
    public void info(String format, Object arg) {
        logger.info(format, arg);
    }

    @Override
    public void info(String format, Object argA, Object argB) {
        logger.info(format, argA, argB);
    }

    @Override
    public void info(String format, Object[] argArray) {
        logger.info(format, argArray);
    }

    @Override
    public void info(String msg, Throwable t) {
        logger.info(msg, t);
    }

    @Override
    public boolean isWarnEnabled() {
        return logger.isWarnEnabled();
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    @Override
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        logger.warn(msg);
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    @Override
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        logger.warn(format, arg);
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    @Override
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        logger.warn(format, argArray);
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    @Override
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        logger.warn(format, argA, argB);
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    @Override
    public void warn(String msg, Throwable t) {
        logger.warn(msg, t);
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    @Override
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        return logger.isErrorEnabled();
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    @Override
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        logger.error(msg);
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    @Override
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        logger.error(format, arg);
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    @Override
    public void error(String format, Object argA, Object argB) {
        logger.error(format, argA, argB);
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    @Override
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    @Override
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        logger.error(msg, t);
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}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Recent Actions in People´s War in India
Category: Asien
In the following we want to give a short overview on the recent actions, carrried out by the People´s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) under the leadership of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) [CPI (Maoist)] in People´s War in India.
On March 19, an ostensible pastor who served as a police informant was killed by suspected members of the PLGA in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district. According to the reactionary authorities of the old Indian state a handwritten note was recovered from the spot, in which the CPI (Maoist) claimed responsibility for the action againstthe police informer.1
On March 14, An official of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) was killed and two jawans were injured in two separate actions of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blasts. According to the Inspector General of Police one of the incidents took place Dondribeda and Sonpur villages while a team of the ITBP's 53rd battalion was cordoning off a forest patch, one of the reactionary security forces stepped on the hidden trigger of the IED.
In the second action a constable of the Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) was injured after he came in contact with a pressure IED in Chotedonger police limits around 12.30 pm. 2
On March 13, two personnel of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) were injured in an exchange of fire with suspected combatants of the PLGA near Chichorguda village, in the district of Sukma. "When the patrolling team was cordoning off the forest area near Chichorguja […] it came under fire from a group of Maoists […]". To appearances, the PLGA combatants were able to retreat without any losses after the successful attack.3
On March 5, several construction machines used for road construction works of a state infrastructure project, which is part of the counterrevolutionary offensive Prahaar 3, were set on fire in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district. A Maoist banner was also attached to the site of the action. 4
1https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/naxals-kill-pastor-in-chhattisgarh-on-suspicion-of-being-police-informer-1927047-2022-03-19
2https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/itbp-official-killed-jawan-injured-in-naxal-blast-in-chhattisgarh-377709
3https://telanganatoday.com/chhattisgarh-2-drg-jawans-injured-in-encounter-with-naxals
4https://www.etvbharat.com/english/national/bharat/naxalites-halt-road-work-set-fire-to-construction-vehicles-in-chhattisgarhs-kanker/na20220305165545028


Anyone had a bet on our next manager?
I'm pretty tempted with O'leary at 33/1.
Surely more places have a market for this?
Yeah, it's the only possible person I can see being appointed. Although I think Allardyce is too good of a coach to come here to be true tbh.


One of the things that I'm currently doing right now is maintaining a community of MTG players who are really into the game. Some of them are existing players who recently came back to play, while some of them are new players altogether (they played a different card game before).
Welcome to MTG Canlubang. Canlubang is where I live (since childhood), and is where I'm maintaining the community of MTG players. We are running tournaments here every week, Standard format (since I don't like introducing them to formats that are hard for them to grasp), and we began running them since February 2013. While we started with 8 constant players, our community grew when the students from Letran Calamba (a college) started going to our community to play.
Since I need to accommodate all the people to their schedules, I decided to run tournament twice a week. Saturday tournaments for the Letran students, and Sunday tournaments for those who want to grind it out. Let's just say it's a difficulty level if you're playing video games, as I want to set a handicap limit to the players on who should be in there and who should be not.
Now, I'm aiming at two things here. One of course, is letting them have fun while competing. The tournaments are set to Regular REL, so they can learn what should they be doing in tournaments and what's not. They will also learn a thing or two about competitive Magic as well, as they will be more likely competing for the booster prizes. The second thing I'm aiming for, is for them to feel the community here is more about friendliness and not about bragging. What I hate the most about most players (that I know, mind you) is that they only compete for the prizes and rarely helps new players. I'm a bit glad that some of the people here are more than willing to help out a troubled player.
For now, I want to give these people more events that they can enjoy, so that when they compete for bigger tournaments outside the community, they will be able to know what they should do.
If you're interested in visiting our local community here, just give me a private message here. Of course, the place is far from the metro, so it'll be a long ride to get here.


This beautiful, 18-acre lot is a builder's dream! Rolling green hills and a year-round pond characterize this lovely and accessible property. The original home has been demolished and the debris will be fully removed prior to closing. There are two large containers at the site which are included in the sale and have been used as storage and work area. Fully fenced, this is an ideal horse or cattle property and is zoned for an Ag use. The water source to the building site is via the year-round pond with a This beautiful, 18-acre lot is a builder's dream! Rolling green hills and a year-round pond characterize this lovely and accessible property. The original home has been demolished and the debris will be fully removed prior to closing. There are two large containers at the site which are included in the sale and have been used as storage and work area. Fully fenced, this is an ideal horse or cattle property and is zoned for an Ag use. The water source to the building site is via the year-round pond with a pump. Just a few minutes off the freeway - far enough to be quiet and peaceful but close enough to make commuting feasible. Don't miss this one!
Listing provided courtesy of Tracy Realty Co.. Listing information © 2019 San Diego MLS, Inc.


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