text:
The History of Shooks Farms
The Man and Woman Who Started it All (First Generation)
Sylvester was born in North Blendon, Michigan, on October 17, 1885, the son of Jan Pieters and
Wytske Hoogland Sjoeks. In 1896 Vet moved with his parents and brothers to a farm in Antrim
County Michigan, between Shooks road and Ellsworth Rd, maybe one-two miles from where the
farm sits today. Vet married in 1911 to a woman named Katherine Aardema of Englewood, Illinois.
And let us tell you something, he worked for her... They met in Northern Michigan but she lived in
Engelwood, so there was some distance to travel. Vet used to write letter, post cards and send
pictures of himself to her, but apparently she did not respond as often as he would have liked!
So what was his solution? Take a train down to Illinois and bring her back! And that is exactly what
he did. The Sjoeks family attended Atwood Reformed Church in which they traveled, via horse
and buggy/sleigh, which was a distance of about four miles one way. Each Sunday they would pass
by property owned by Guy Morse on the corner of Bennett Hill Road and what is now known as
Shooks Road (where the farm currently sits today.) Vet was especially impressed with the land on
the SW corner of that intersection and commented about how well some wild cherry trees grew
there and how much fruit they produced. He said that his dream was to one day own that property.
Well, then in 1914 Vet and Tena purchased the 59.2 acre farm from Guy and started his dream and called it Bay View Farms.
As Vet and Tina neared retirement age, it became apparent that two of
their sons showed interest in purchasing the farm. In 1962 Versal and
Christine (VanStedum) Shooks along with Marvin and Doris (Wynsma)
Shooks officially became the owners of what would be named Shooks Bros.
Farms. Both Vers and Marv had unique talents well suited for the farming
industry. To put it simply Vers was, "clever" there wasn't anything he
couldn't build, (or fix) if he had a welder and a pile of old iron. To go along
with that he had a "transit" eye which allowed him to plant some of the
straightest corn rows in the county. Marv was the marketer, he bought
and sold the cattle as well as handled the duties of the ever-expanding
cherry orchards. I would be remiss if I did not mention the fact that behind
every successful man is a strong woman. Both Chris and Doris were no
exception. They ran the u-pick cherry and asparagus business and would
pitch in on the dreaded cherry-grading belt. Since cherries did indeed grow
well on the property it was decided to plant more, this of course was done with a shovel. As the trees grew and began producing cherries it was quickly noted that there was a great need for help to pick the fruit. It was a yearly struggle to find and maintain pickers. One year it got so bad that Marv contacted the sheriff, drove the cattle truck to Charlevoix, bailed out some of the inmates and drove them back to pick the fruit. Try that in today's society and see how fast you make the evening news!! The brothers remedied that in the late 60s by being one of the first in the area to try a new kind of mechanical harvester. It was a Rube Goldberg contraption that mounted to a tractor, had large tarps, and metal pans. They bragged that it could harvest a tree in less than 5 minutes (In comparison today we do about three trees/minute.) Not only that, but it didn't get tired nor did it get drunk on Friday night. Cherries were only a part of what the farm raised. It was during this period when they came up with the logo of the 3 C's which stood for cherries, cattle and corn. The cattle were raised to their finished weight then sold to the market or to the general public. At that time, you could buy a side or a quarter beef, have it butchered at John Burns slaughter house in Ellsworth or have it cut up and packaged at the Atwood shopping center in Atwood. As the business grew so did the need to update the barns. It was in 1978 that the decision was made to tear down Vets old barn. While Drenth Bros. were bulldozing the barn over Marv summed it up by saying " I know its progress, but I feel like crying". Yes, Vets old barn is gone destined to be a foggy memory from a distant time……….or is it!!!???
Third Generation
Before we get started into the 3rd generation, I thought it might be fun to give
you a little-known fact about them. For instance, did you know the young boys
had their own basketball team? Extra credit will be given if you know the name
of the team. Yes, it's true, inside of Vets old barn the three boys built a
basketball court complete with painted floor, benches, and a sign welcoming
you to Shooks Stadium. Many hours were spent there honing their talents as
well as their friendship. A more complete rendition of this story can be found
by going to the Shooks farm web page.
The year was 1987. The Cosby show was America's favorite television program,
while the radio stations all played The Bangles No 1 hit, Walk like an Egyptian.
This also was the year when the torch was passed to the 3rd generation of the
Shooks family to own and operate Shooks Farm. Early on it became apparent
that Bryan, Dale and Daryl were destined to be farmers, I guess it's something
that can't necessarily be explained other than genetics, its in your blood. Bryan
is the son of Vers and Chris Shooks, while Dale and Daryl are the sons of Marv
and Doris Shooks.
When the cousins took over the farm they were determined to build off the
successful formula of Cherries, Cattle and Corn. During this time period
buildings were built, land was purchased, more land was rented. This allowed for
a more than tripling of production from the previous generation. Once again,
each member had their respective areas of expertise. Bryan enjoyed doing
mechanic work as well as field preparation and corn harvest. Dale was the cattle man always buying, selling and overseeing the cattle, as well as the planting in the spring. Daryl enjoyed the cherry business and the responsibilities that came with it. It was almost like having 3 businesses in one, however all came together when it was harvest time. Life is unpredictable, and sometimes cruel, and our farm was not immune to it. Tragically Dale passed away in 2005 after a bout with cancer. He was only 50. If Bryan and Daryl did not have the 4th generation looking over their shoulders that may have been the end of the story. Thankfully it wasn't.
Shortly thereafter, one of the major focuses of the farm was to embrace the environmental aspects of being stewards of the land. Shooks Farm Co. LLC. was one of only a handful of farms in northern Michigan to voluntarily comply with the new MAEAP program. Which stands for Michigan agricultural environmental assurance program. This helps assure the public (and ourselves) that we are doing all we can to protect our environment. We were rewarded for our efforts in 2011 when it was announced that Shooks Farms was the only farm chosen to win the prestigious Michigan Farm Bureau Agricultural Ecology Award.
Fast forward to 2014. That was the year the farm celebrated its 100th anniversary. Preparation began a year earlier to ensure that this would be a major event. All family members got involved from the very young to the … well, I don't want to say very old, but let's just say the senior members. All the hard work and dedication paid great dividends as it turned out to be a spectacular celebration attended by family, friends, community and several dignitaries including a visit by Gov. Snyder a short time later. The day was beautiful. More than once my eyes would tear up with the thoughts of Vet, Vers, Marv, and Dale as they "peeked down through the fields of green". I would like to think they were proud.
Much has changed in the past 3 generations; however one constant remains, and that is family. Without family there would be no Shooks Farms, we would have been a "one and done". Family strengthens each other and helps each other through the hard times as well as the good. Family is the very thread by which this group is so tightly woven.
Next week we will meet the future owners of the farm and talk about what the fourth generation has in store.
Fourth Generation
Let's start the fourth generation by saying there are 6,087
centennial farms in the state of Michigan; that seems like a lot
right? Sesquicentennial farms, only 588… as for bicentennial…
four… Four bicentennial farms in the state of Michigan! That's
pretty dreadful news if you're in our shoes! Within the next 100
years of their start, 6,083 farms were lost. What typically happens
is lack of interest from the emerging generations, or let's not deny
it, debt overwhelms the farm and everything has to be sold off just
to pay the bank back. That's the joy of farming; you live and die by
the weather… Great Grandpa Shooks used to say "If we could
control the weather, we'd be millionaires."
The goal for the fourth generation; plain and simple… Don't lose
the farm. Haha! Just kidding, but seriously, we realize that the
past generations have worked too hard to watch it stay stagnate or
crumble. In the past five years the fourth generation brothers (Greg and Rob) have been taking more responsibility: we have put in a receiving station for cherries, a warehouse (Shooks Ag Warehouse) where we supply you with everything from chemicals to seed to fertilize, two houses which you can rent out on Airbnb and live "The Farm Experience," and "Vineyard Viiew" and last but not least we're starting a winery, Cellar 1914.
Yes, you read that correct, a winery. Now if you have been paying attention to history facebook… what year did the farm start? 1914, hence the name Cellar 1914. We want to showcase the history of the farm from everything we have done for the past 100+ years. From the potatoes generations before us used to grow, asparagus, cattle, cherries, wine grapes, corn, soybeans, peaches, apples, hay, pigs… you name it, one generation has probably tried to grow it. And for some reason, we have kept a lot of that equipment around, not sure why…
Renovations have already started for the "campus" we will be having in the near future. Here is a quick rundown of what is going to happen. "The south lot" which used to be our finishing lot for cattle, will be turned into a production facility for wine and will include a temporary tasting room. The large "north lot" building along with two silo's will be removed to make way for our tasting room. And we have hinted towards that as well, the old barn that Great Grandpa Shooks built will be constructed again, complete with the basketball court lines on the floor. West of these facilities we will be planting more grapes, (Frontenac Gris and Marquette) and we will even have a spot for you to have your wedding out in the vineyard while you overlook cherry blossoms and Lake Michigan.
There is more in the works, but we cannot share everything that we have in store! But for now that is a quick rundown of what the fourth generation has planned for Shooks Farms, and now Cellar 1914. Rob and Greg would like to thank our wives for putting up with the countless hours, sleepless nights, raising three wonderful daughters and two wild twin boys on their own 90% of the time and working full times jobs themselves, we're not sure how they do it, but they're doing a tremendous job, thank you Mishelle Shooks and Jenny Shooks.
Thanks for taking the time to read these, they have been fun to write and hear stories and connections being made through these. We even learned about an olive farm in Italy, I believe it was that was in their tenth generation… We can only dream and hope that the future generations will be talking about what we are doing during this day and time.
Rob & Greg


text:
What is a derogatory term for verse considered of little literary value?
Mousing
Which of these countries is on the continent of Africa?
In 2006, Stephen Harper became the Prime Minister of which country?
Which of these animals has the most northerly natural habitat?
Where was there an armed attack on the Parliament building by militants on the morning of 19 October 2010?
Grozny, Chechen Republic
Suva, Fiji
Who was "Sports Illustrated" magazine's first "Sportsman of the Year"?
Ken Rosewall
Roger Bannister
George Mikan
Which TV series had, as some of the characters, pigs called Pinky and Perky, a goat called Geraldine and a cockerel called Lenin?
To the Manor Born
The Good Life (Good Neighbors in the USA)
The Norman Conquests
Ever Decreasing Circles

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


USM Alger of Algeria and Wydad Casablanca of Morocco drew 0-0 Friday in a drab CAF Champions League semi-final first leg in Algiers.
A typically cagey north African showdown produced barely any scoring chances for a large crowd at the 80,000-seat Stade du 5 Juillet.
The match did nothing to enhance the reputation of the elite African club competition with an 80th-minute incident demonstrating the poverty of the football.
USMA passed their way into a threatening position just outside the box only for Amir Sayoud to misconnect with the ball, which flew wide.
The Algerian outfit monopolised possession throughout, but were clueless when it came to creating final-third space.
Apart from a lack of imagination from both sides, the match lacked rhythm due to constant stoppages for injuries, some of which were dubious.
When Wydad substitute Abdeladim Khadrouf was pushed in the back with only a few minutes remaining, he fell to the ground clutching his face and triggering a long delay.
Carried off on a stretcher, the Moroccan immediately got up and ran back on the field.
USMA forced two free-kicks and a corner in stoppage time without threatening to end the dreary deadlock.
Former champions Wydad host the return match against 2015 runners-up USMA during the weekend of October 20-22.
Etoile Sahel of Tunisia have home advantage over record eight-time champions Al Ahly of Egypt in Mediterranean resort Sousse, Sunday, in the other first leg.
The four title contenders are chasing a record $2.5 million (2.1 euros) first prize.


text:
Крутоя́рський () — селище у складі Пишминського міського округу Свердловської області.

Населення — 14 осіб (2010, 26 у 2002).

Національний склад станом на 2002 рік: росіяни — 92 %.

Примітки

Джерела

Посилання
 На Вікімапії

Населені пункти Пишминського міського округу
Селища Свердловської області

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
The Physics Of Volleyball Essay
The Physics of o Volleyball
From six thirty one morning to three O' clock the next morning was my longest volleyball day ever. Fourteen and a half hours of play with only 3 breaks for food, makes for an exhausting event. So what makes volleyball worth such a sacrifice? It is the endless possibilities and outcomes that can occur by playing this magnificent sport and challenging the basic laws of physics. In the sport of volleyball the same thing never happens twice. Things may seem similar but there are always slight differences. The differences are caused by trying to manipulate those ever so important laws of physics.
Volleyball is the constant confirmation of Newton's first Law. Every object remains at rest or in motion in a strait line at a constant speed unless acted on by an unbalanced force(P.31). The unbalanced forces that the team members try to manipulate are what make volleyball so interesting. The goal in volleyball is to keep a ball in legally in motion for your team, while trying to force the opponent to fail at keeping the ball in motion. There a few basic possible ways of legally contacting the ball: serving, passing, setting, hitting, and blocking. Each is unique and yet similar. The contact between the player and ball forces a "collision" and different laws of physics explain the actions or reactions of these collisions. This is what makes volleyball so exciting.
One type of contact is a serve. To serve a player must be standing behind the end line and hit the ball over the net. The player tosses the ball into the air with one hand, and forces the ball over the net by hitting it with the other hand. A serve is required to start the game and is repeated after each play. So, after the ball is hit onto the other side of the net, a reaction besides the force place upon the ball will occur. The ball will not stay in the air forever, obviously there is a force on the ball which causes it to drop. This force is gravity.
Without gravity the ball would never come down. It would continue in the same direction in which the force was implied. Projectile motion involves gravity. Gravity is what makes the ball return to the ground.
When gravity does its thing players are able to contact the ball for the second and third times and so forth.
The direction of the ball is very important important. At every point in the game a player wants the ball to go in a specific direction with a precise angle. Depending on how one contacts the ball a player can make the volleyball change direction in mid air. The most common way for this to occur is using specific techniques when contacting the ball on a serve. One particular serve that forces the ball to change it's direct in mid air is a floater. If a player hits the ball strait on and there is little or no spin on the ball, it will go forward and the air resistance will cause it to suddenly move to one side or the other or back and forth(P.11). Coach...
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Louisville, Ky. - Senior Will Dudek of the Wesleyan University men's cross country team took part in the 2016 NCAA Division III Individual Championship, which were held at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park. His time of 25:06.3 was good enough for 49th out of a field which featured 278 runners.
Dudek secured his qualification for the race with his impressive eighth place finish at the New England Regionals with a time of 24:55.34. As a team, the Cardinals placed 12th of 56 schools.
North Central (Ill.) captured the team championship while SUNY Geneseo and Wisconsin-Eau Claire rounded out the top three. In the individual championship, Ian LaMere of Wisconsin-Plattsville captured first, followed by Ernie Pitone of Widener and Tim Nichols of Tufts.
With the race, Dudek concludes a great season and career at Wesleyan. He notched his best career finish this year (eighth at Regionals in 24:55.34) en route to All-Region honors, and was also named Second-Team All-NESCAC.


text:
module ActiveTax
  module States
    class WA
      API_URI = "http://webgis.dor.wa.gov/webapi/AddressRates.aspx/text"

      def self.tax(address={})
        raise StandardError.new("You must provide a street address to access Washington State sales tax rates. #{address.inspect}") if !address[:address]

        # http://webgis.dor.wa.gov/webapi/AddressRates.aspx/text?output=text&addr=6500+Linderson+Way&city=Tumwater&zip=98501
        params = {
          output: "text",
          addr: "#{address[:address]}",
          city: "#{address[:city]}",
          zip: "#{address[:zip]}"
        }

        require 'net/http' # Needed for HTTP requests

        uri = URI("#{API_URI}")
        uri.query = URI.encode_www_form(params)

        res = Net::HTTP.get_response(uri)

        # LocationCode=3406 Rate=0.087 ResultCode=0
        if res.is_a?(Net::HTTPSuccess)
          normalize(self.parse_result(res.body))
        else
          false
        end
      end

      def self.rate(address={})
        tax_data = tax(address)
        tax_data && tax_data.rate
      end

      def self.parse_result(text)
        r = {}
        items = text.split(" ")
        items.each do |item|
          k, v = item.split("=")
          r[k] = v
        end
        r
      end

      def self.normalize(tax_data)
        Struct.new(:rate,                 :location_code,           :result_code)
              .new(tax_data["Rate"].to_f, tax_data["LocationCode"], tax_data["ResultCode"])
      end
    end
    WASHINGTON = WA unless defined?(WASHINGTON)
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Home » 2012 Joe Dimaggio Legends Game , Andre Dawson , Brooks Robinson , New York Mets , New York Yankees , Orlando Cepeda » New York well represented at 2012 Joe DiMaggio Legends Game
New York well represented at 2012 Joe DiMaggio Legends Game
February 04, 2012 2012 Joe Dimaggio Legends Game, Andre Dawson, Brooks Robinson, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Orlando Cepeda No comments
With over a dozen former New York Mets and Yankees represented at the 24th annual Joe DiMaggio Legends Game in Fort Lauderdale last Saturday, the retired heroes of Gotham baseball did their best to honor the memory of the famed Yankee Clipper while supporting the children's hospital which bears his name.
1969 Mets Jim McAndrew and Ron Swoboda at the Joe DiMaggio Legends game
The game was the culmination of a two-day event, which included a fabulous auction and player reception at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood the evening prior, where sadly Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson suffered a broken clavicle after a fall off stage.
Doing their best to push forward after the injury to Robinson, the players radiated as much as the 80-degree sun, donning their uniforms for the enthusiastic crowd. Among the participants were the 85-year-old Minnie Minoso, Hall of Famers Andre Dawson and Orlando Cepeda, as well as the ever colorful characters of Bill "Spaceman" Lee and Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd.
The alumni were split in two teams representing the American and National Leagues. After seven innings, the National League emerged victorious, 12-5; however, for the players, the score was irrelevant. The weekend was an opportunity to raise money for the hospital while being able to return another year to connect with their fellow teammates and cronies.
"Just to see the players that I haven't seen for a year and the players that I played against that you were never able to sit down and talk to is great," said 1969 New York Met World Series hero Al Weis. "It's a wonderful bunch of guys they have coming down."
Ron Blomberg, the famed Yankee designated hitter, has multiple connections to this game, including his son Adam who is a doctor at the hospital.
"This is my seventh year coming here," Blomberg said. "Older players took care of me when I played and if I can give back to the kids, do anything for the charity, I'm involved. My son is the head anesthesiologist at Memorial, so it's a father-son thing."
The site of the game, Fort Lauderdale Stadium, was the spring training home of the Yankees for many years until they moved to Tampa. For players like Fritz Peterson, returning to South Florida brought back memories of a burgeoning baseball career.
"I've been coming out about five years … it's a tremendous thing," Peterson said. "This is where I really started in 1966 and played all through my career until I was out of there. This is my spring training home. When the Yankees moved to Tampa, it just didn't seem right; this seemed like the place to be."
Event organizers are already planning next year's event, which will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the game, and is surely expected to be a star studded affair. For more information on the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, please visit http://www.jdchf.org/.


text:
Q: inconsistent behavior of static member I have two projects in a solution. A C# class library project encapsulate logic and a asp.net website for view.
Here is the logic:
public static class LoginHandler
{
   private static string _connectionString = Data Source=.;Initial Catalog=ASP;Integrated Security=True"
   private static SqlConnection Connection;
   static LoginHandler()
    {
        Connection = new SqlConnection(ConnectionString);
    }
     public static User StudentLogin(string username, string password)
    {
        using (Connection)
        {
         .........
        }
    }
}

Everything goes well until I call StudentLogin method for the second time.
I get an InvalidOperationException says that
the ConnectionString Property of Connection is not initialized.
(ConnectionString is "" through the watch window)
My question is, since static members are initialized only once(this case,in the static constructor), how could the ConnectionString property changed?
Or,is the using statement which calls the IDisposible.Dispose() to be blamed?

A:
Or,is the using statement which calls the IDisposible.Dispose() to be blamed?

Yes. You should create a new connection each time the StudentLogin method is called. You don't even need the static field to keep a reference to it.
public static User StudentLogin(string username, string password)
{
    using (var connection = new SqlConnection(ConnectionString))
    {

    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Isaiah 65:11 But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.
Jeremiah 3:21-22 A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the LORD their God. 22 Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God.
Psalm 119:153 RESH. Consider mine affliction, and deliver me: for I do not forget thy law.
Psalm 78:42 They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy.
Isaiah 51:13-15 And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor? 14 The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail. 15 But I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The LORD of hosts is his name.
Jeremiah 23:27 Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.
Trials should not lead to.
Psalm 119:93 I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me.
Exhortation to those guilty of.


MITX's Curated Communities is a collaborative program for senior executives within the MITX community; these communities create an innovative network of peers and the opportunity for co-collaboration to mutually enhance business value. In-person round table discussions are held once a quarter, over dinner, in a quiet and intimate setting. Meeting agendas are shaped by members to address their top-of mind issues, and will allow for candid, in-depth exchange of ideas and advice, along with a chance to network with your peers. Community members engage in periodic conversations to help develop meeting agendas, discuss findings and outcomes, and develop next steps.
Interested in learning more about joining a MITX Curated Community in your professional area of expertise?


Belmont Village Senior Living Geneva Road is a care facility for older adults in Carol Stream, IL in the 60188 zip code area that provides long term care to senior citizens in DuPage County.
Bristol at Windsor Park Manor is an assisted living home in Carol Stream, IL in the 60188 zip code area that provides senior living to older adults in DuPage County.
Windsor Park Manor is a care facility for older adults in Carol Stream, IL in the 60188 zip code area that provides long term care to up to 38 elderly individuals in DuPage County.
Eve Assisted Living Hinsdale is an assisted living facility in Hinsdale, IL in the 60521 zip code area that provides senior assisted living to a maximum of 62 older adults in DuPage County.
Sunrise of Fountain Square is an assisted living community in Lombard, IL in the 60148 zip code area that provides senior living to up to 80 older adults in DuPage County.
Harvester Place is an assisted living community in Burr Ridge, IL in the 60537 zip code area that provides senior living to a maximum of 66 seniors in DuPage County.
Wood Glen Senior Residences is a senior assisted living facility in West Chicago, IL in the 60185 zip code area that provides assisted living to older adults in DuPage County.
Brookdale Lisle IL/AL is a senior living facility in Lisle, IL in the 60532 zip code area that provides long term care to up to 64 elderly individuals in DuPage County.
Lombard Place Assisted Living is an assisted living home in Lombard, IL in the 60148 zip code area that provides long term care to a total of 93 older adults in DuPage County.
Spring Meadows Naperville is an assisted living facility in Naperville, IL in the 60563 zip code area that provides assisted senior living to a total of 102 senior citizens in DuPage County.
Arden Courts of Glen Ellyn - Memory Care is an assisted living facility in Glen Ellyn, IL in the 60137 zip code area that provides long term care to elderly adults in DuPage County.
Cordia Senior Residence is an assisted living home in Westmont, IL in the 60559 zip code area that provides long term care to a total of 116 elderly adults in DuPage County.
Travanse Living at Wheaton is an assisted living home in Wheaton, IL in the 60187 zip code area that provides senior assisted living to up to 84 elderly individuals in DuPage County.
Springs at Monarch Landing is an assisted living facility in Naperville, IL in the 60563 zip code area that provides assisted retirement living to a maximum of 28 older adults in DuPage County.
Autumn Leaves of Bolingbrook is a care facility for older adults in Bolingbrook, IL in the 60440 zip code area that provides long term care to a maximum of 36 elderly adults in DuPage County.
Many factors make assisted living homes in Carol Stream an eye-catching option for aged persons looking for excellent retirement communities. Here, retired persons can live their lives as they wish. It is because staff members never coerce residents to do any work that they do not want to do. Instead, they have personnel who take care of such responsibilities. The retirement homes also offer enough security to the older adults so that they do not always have to keep looking over their back as they enjoy life in the residences.
Occupants of Carol Stream assisted living communities receive appropriate and adequate assistance with daily living tasks. Before they settle into their new living spaces, they go through thorough assessments. The process helps to identify their needs so that staff members can know what the aging individuals require to meet all their needs without compromise. Here, seniors also get to know about their medical conditions and any treatments that experts propose. Senior citizens have the right to refuse services and treatment. However, they can consult with their doctors to know the way forward. Elders taking medication get assistance from registered nurses or their aides who work in the centers. The professionals can store the drugs, remind the seniors time to take medicine or even lend a hand with the administration of drugs.
Various regulations govern assisted living facilities in Carol Stream. These demand that all senior citizens and their guests should respect the personal rights of other individuals on the premises as well as the private property of other occupants. The elderly residents also receive written notices before the homes increase fees. Older adults also sign contracts with the residences before they settle into the facilities. The agreements outline all the rules and regulations that the retirees live by in their new living quarters.
If you are looking for senior housing in Carol Stream, you may want to consider Senior Apartments in Carol Stream, IL that include assisted and independent living apartments.
Does your loved one have dementia or Alzheimer's disease? If so, please see memory care facilities in Carol Stream, IL and explore all dementia and Alzheimer's care housing and service options.


Student Gabby Oliva concentrates on painting a landscape at the WSU Student Entertainment Board Arts Hour event last night. SEB arranged two Arts Hours for students, with the goal of allowing them to express themselves creatively in a positive, encouraging environment.
The WSU Student Entertainment Board (SEB) has arranged two Arts Hours for students, with the goal of allowing them to express themselves creatively in a positive, encouraging environment.
"This event is meant to provide students with an artistic outlet," SEB Director Meghann Ferguson said.
Arts Hour will take place today and Sept. 27. Tonight's theme is Pinterest Night, meaning the crafts will be Pinterest-inspired, if not actual 'Pins' from the social media site.
Canvases, water bottles and other crafting supplies will be provided by SEB, Ferguson said. Pizza and parm bites from Domino's Pizza will also be available.
Arts Hour will take place from 6 – 8 p.m. on Sept. 20 and 27 on the first floor of the Chinook Building. The event is free and open to all students, as are the parm bites and pizzas.


text:
Live-export cattle deaths spark outrage
Posted by Nicole Eckersley on 25th March 2010
The deaths of 266 cattle on the live-export ship MV Ocean Shearer, confirmed yesterday by Wellard Group managing director Steve Meerwald, has sparked outrage among animal protection groups.
More than 16,000 cattle left Fremantle for Egypt on February 23, along with around 40,000 sheep. The 266 deaths translate to a mortality rate of 1.6%, exceeding the legal acceptable limit of 1% by over 100 head of cattle. According to Australian government statistics, 923 cattle and 32,000 sheep died on live export ships in 2009.
The Federal Government has launched an investigation into the deaths, with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service taking the lead roles.
The cause of the deaths is presently unknown, although Mr Meerwald told The West Australian that the vessel experienced several delays, and that the cattle were believed to have suffered from respiratory difficulties. He also ruled out problems with the ship's feed, water or ventilation systems.
The MV Ocean Shearer, previously the MV Stella Deneb, was built in 1980 and refurbished in 2002. It was purchased by Wellard in 2009, and is often listed as the world's largest livestock transport vessel.
The booming Australian live export trade has drawn continuous criticism from animal welfare groups, regarding the number of animal deaths at sea, and also regarding the uncertain fate of Australian livestock once they reach their destinations.
"This shipment is a disaster for the live export industry. These animals suffered and died on one of their flagship vessels which again proves that the inherent risks of exporting live animals by sea can never be overcome," said Animals Australia executive director Glenys Oogjes.
"We don't know why these animals died as yet, but we do know that they suffered and died unnecessarily. It is outrageous to be exporting live animals to Egypt when they have shown that they will import chilled meat from Australia if we don't provide them with the alternative of live animals."
Mr Meerwald told ABC's PM that the cattle deaths were an isolated incident.
"To put in context we've moved 7,000 cattle on one shipment from Darwin to Indonesia with two ports of discharge, with zero losses. So, it just emphasises the fact that this is not a common run of the mill that's going to happen every time; these are the sort of results we're going to accept. We won't accept them," he said.
"We need to have them fully investigated and make sure that we understand what's happened and put in place measures to ensure that anything that could have been done different is done different."
In addition to protesting animal cruelty, RSPCA CEO Heather Neil decried the effect that live animal export has had on the Australian meat industry.
"The absurd part of this whole situation is that while these cattle were suffering at sea, Australian workers in our meat processing industry were being laid off due to a shortage of animals," she said.
"Every animal we send overseas for slaughter takes Australian jobs with it and for little economic reward. Last year our beef exports were worth five times more to the Australian economy than live cattle exports."
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5 thoughts on "Live-export cattle deaths spark outrage"
Our government leaders care nothing for animals. They are only interested in economic benefits and jobs. This live export industry has proven over and over again to be cruel, damning and unsustainable. However, despite the losses and now drownings, it still continues. Are there not any ethics or standards within our Government leaders? All is about money, jobs, economic benefits and votes. The live export trade is shameful to Australia and totally cruel, yet despite objections and complaints and statistics, it continues. There is no accountability within our Federal government or the producers who support this trade.
OCP says:
Australia's politicians never stop telling us what a rich country this is.
Nevertheless, if we can't have the compassion to stop the suffering in live exports, we may be rich, but we are hardly civilised.
In fact live export is completely unnecessary. Chilled, frozen and value-added products are the only way animals should leave Australia. Not to mention that this will save our jobs and our abattoirs.
MJM says:
Here we go again. More animal deaths, and I guess another cover up is looming. When is live export going to stop and put jobs back into the Australian economy, especially country areas. Its the same old, same old, deaths will never stop due to lack of air filtration or climate change. AFter 30 years, you think someone would get the message, live export does not work.
old bushie says:
Anybody who has watched video footage of live export supplied by animal activists should also view those on the websites of MLA & Livecorp. Huge improvements have been made in the transportation of animals & in their welfare upon reaching their destination, with Australian livestock experts assisting these countries in raising their standards. I am a livestock producer, but our enterprise doesn't sell stock for live export as we supply very specific markets. So I have no axe to grind. However I hate the way the Aussie public is misled by these activists & their hysterical claims. Many of these people are vegan or vegetarian, whose ultimate agenda is to stop the slaughter of all livestock, so they are being very hypocritical in expressing their concerns for out of work meat workers.
Nicky says:
Old bushie, you must be a moron. Even MLA can't possibly believe its own propaganda any more. The fact that you do provws it.


Note: it's common for Cool Winters to have once been Deep Winters early in life. As we age, our coloring tends to cool and soften.
The Cool Winter does not 'flow' into any warm season, but it flows into the the Cool Summer season. Some of the more full bodied cool summer colors like raspberry, plum and deep rose can be found in this palette, and they are particularly good colors for Cool Winter makeup.


Whether you are a consultant, architect, or property developer, chances are your clients look to you for advice and guidance on ways to make their properties and projects stand out and reach their target market. For this reason, it is essential that you stay up-to-date on the technological developments and trends that are occurring around the world.
One of the most significant advancements related to property marketing comes in the form of digital signage — technology that displays dynamic content like digital images, video, media, and information.
When it comes to digital signage, here is what you need to tell your clients about it.
1. Digital signage is all about results.
The most important thing that your clients need to understand is that the purpose of digital signage is to get the highest communication results from customers possible. No matter what kind of project you are working on, if your clients want to reap the benefits of all their efforts and direct traffic to their business, then they need to be utilizing digital signs.
Digital signage attracts greater attention than normal static signs because humans are naturally drawn to moving objects. By having a dynamic sign, your client has a greater chance of grabbing someone's attention and maintaining it.
This, in turn, will help your client to cut through the overwhelming marketing noise that potential consumers are bombarded with every day. Digital signage will focus customer awareness on your client's development or property and the message they are trying to present.
2. Digital signage saves valuable time and resources.
Despite it requiring less technology, creating a new static, printed sign requires far more labor, money and time than generating the same message on a digital sign.
READ What is the Strategy for People to Avoid Getting Cancer?
Once your client has their digital sign in place, all it takes to change the message is simply updating it through a computer. This negates the need for recurring expenses (and wait time) for new signs to be printed and installed.
With a digital sign, the message can be updated as often as desired and it is entirely customizable.
One day a photograph can be displayed, the next an advertisement, the following week a social media feed, and then an of-the-moment update. In other words, whatever the property or business marketing needs at that particular point in time, they can be easily and quickly communicated. For example, in a property development, a feed of news and happenings related to residents or the community could be shown every Thursday.
Additionally, the right signage design in your showroom, store, or office grants your client the possibility of earning additional funds through third party advertisers who want to utilize the space to help spread their own messages. As long as the partners make sense for the brand and target a similar audience segment, this can be a fantastic way to build valuable connections and partnerships.
3. Digital signage works to create organic consumer experiences.
One of the most important benefits of using digital signage throughout a building or property development is the potential to create organic consumer experiences and increase consumer engagement. By carefully positioning digital signs and being thoughtful about the content that is displayed, you are working to immerse customers in your brand entirely.
This happens because digital signage works wonders in terms of enhancing an area's atmosphere which, in turn, provides a more significant consumer experience. Designing a stimulating environment has a notable influence on customers' buying decisions.
You engage your target market by creating digital signs that prompt customers to take part in a conversation. By opting to utilize digital signage as a fun entertainment medium, you can make a distinct impression on visitors to your property.
If you are interested in harnessing the aforementioned benefits for your business or your clients, reach out to professional and experienced digital signage companies in Dubai to learn how digital signage can create unique customer experiences for different projects.
Have you ever worked with digital signage when consulting, designing, or developing a property? If so, what benefits have you noticed for the client? If not, what are your reservations?
Let us know your thoughts on this topic in the comments below!
Author Bio: Zak Zakaria is a Waymaker at dezigntechnic in Dubai who also previously worked as the company's Graphic Designer and Art Director. Signage design is a family business, making Zak's personal experience with signage his longest professional commitment.


Joel Johnson, Vice President of Kyosho America and an accomplished racer with two World titles and countless National Championships to his credit, can now add 2007 ROAR 1/8 On-Road Nation Champion to his dossier.
Driving a 2007 Kyosho Evolva, Johnson qualified fifth for the A-main. He decided to set-up his car for a long, conservative run during the final that would not include a tire change, while many other drivers stopped mid-race for a tire change. Johnson's measured pace paid off around the mid-point of the one-hour final, passing most of the front-runners as they stopped for tires. After swapping the lead back and forth a few times due to pit stops, Johnson finally took the lead for good in the last ten minutes, scoring the win as the 2007 ROAR 1/8 On-Road National Champion with his Sirio-powered Kyosho Evolva 2007.


"In healthy volunteer, ATV increases pitavastatin level (area under curve increased 31%, and Cmax increased 60%) by unknown mechanism, but no significant change in ATV level by pitavastatin . Cmin was used to monitor safety and correlation in HIV-infected patients in some studies [20-21]. In our study, pharmacokinetics (PK) of atazanavir was not changed following pitavastatin and placebo administration. Cmin value of ATV with and without pitavastatin in our study was within normal range (0.15-0.85 mg/L) which can imply that pitavastatin has no effect to ATV level in HIV-infected patients."
Dyslipidemia as a risk factor of cardiovascular disease is common especially in HIV-infected patients who are using protease inhibitors (PIs) including atazanavir. Pitavastatin has less drug-drug interactions and demonstrable efficacy in decreasing lipid levels in non HIV-infected individuals.
This study was a randomized, double-blind, crossover study comparing the safety and efficacy of pitavastatin vs placebo in HIV-infected patients with dyslipidemia and receiving atazanavir/ritonavir (ATV/r). Patients were randomized to receive either placebo or pitavastatin for 12 weeks. The follow-up visits were every 4 weeks until the end of the study.
A total of 12 HIV-infected patients were enrolled to each study group. Of all, 14 (58%) patients were men and mean (standard deviation, SD) age was 48.1 (1.8) years. At 12 weeks of treatment with pitavastatin compared to placebo; mean [95% confidence interval (CI)] total cholesterol (TC) was 207 (187.3, 226.8) mg/dL vs 246.3 (226.5, 266) mg/dL (p <0.001); mean (95% CI) triglyceride (TG) was 351.3 (193.2, 509.4) mg/dL vs 279.1 (121, 437.2) mg/dL (p = 0.269); mean (95% CI) high density lipoprotein (HDL) was 45.3 (40.4, 50.2) mg/dL vs 44.2 (39.3, 49.1) mg/dL (p = 0.354); and mean (95% CI) low density lipoprotein (LDL) was 113.2 (100.4, 126) mg/dL vs 145.6 (132.8, 158.4) mg/dL (p<0.001). Mean liver enzyme and median creatine phosphokinase levels were not statistically significant between patients receiving placebo and pitavastatin.
Pitavastatin decreases TC and LDL level at 12 weeks significantly and shows indifferent in hepatotoxicity and creatine phosphokinase levels compared to those of placebo. Thus, pitavastatin can be a good option of lipid-lowering agent in HIV-infected patients who are receiving ATV/r.
Dyslipidemia as a risk factor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is common and attributed to HIV itself and/or the antiretroviral therapy (ART) used to treat HIV . ART-related dyslipidemia is complex and involves various drug-induced effects, in association with hormonal and immunological influences superimposed upon genetic predisposition [2-3]. Protease inhibitors (PIs) are widely used as a combination therapy with other groups of antiretroviral drug due to their high genetic barrier property . PI-associated dyslipidemia is also complex, multifactorial, and associated with multiple hepatocyte, adipocyte, and endothelial enzyme abnormalities . Although atazanavir (ATV) has been shown to be associated with lesser dyslipidemia , ritonavir (RTV) which was frequently prescribed with PIs because of its booster effect in an increasing serum level of the PIs, can cause significantly increases in low density lipoprotein (LDL) and triglyceride (TG) level . In Thailand, HIV drug resistance and the side effects of non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) make PIs to be throughout used among patients with HIV infection.
Current guidelines support managing dyslipidemia in HIV-infected patients as in the general population [5, 7]. In patients with dyslipidemia, cardiovascular risk factors should be evaluated for lipid goals. If lipid goals are not achieved despite lifestyle modifications, the use of lipid lowering agents should be considered. A randomized, open-label clinical trial had proved significantly more effective in the management of ART-related dyslipidemia by adding lipid-lowering agents than the switching therapy from PIs to NNRTIs . However, most of the lipid-lowering agents are metabolized by cytochrome P450 (CYP450), which are the same as most of the antiretroviral drugs. Thus, the drug-drug interactions have become a major concern in HIV-infected patients with dyslipidemia who need lipid-lowering agent treatment .
Pitavastatin, a recent HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor approved by FDA in 2009, has potent effect in decreasing total cholesterol (TC) and LDL level . It is minimally metabolized by CYP450, but mainly undergoes glucuronidation which converted the substance to the inactive water-soluble form and subsequent elimination from the body through urine or feces. Therefore, the incidence of any drug interactions is reduced compared with other lipid-lowering agents used in HIV-infected patients . The INTREPID trial is the only study of pitavastatin that demonstrated a superior reduction in LDL with safety profile to use in HIV-infected patients in the United States . However, the INTREPID trial did not emphasize the issue of drug-drug interaction between PIs and HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor. The aims of study are to determine the efficacy and safety of pitavastatin in HIV-infected Thai patients with dyslipidemia who are receiving ATV/RTV (ATV/r).
A randomized, double-blind, crossover study was conducted in outpatient clinic at Ramathibodi Hospital, a 1,200-bed university hospital in Thailand. The study period was from March 2014 to January 2015. Written consent was obtained from all participants. The protocol was approved by the local institutional review board (IRB) of Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University.
Inclusion criteria consists of patients aged ≥18 years, had confirmed HIV infection, on ART including 2 nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) or 1 NRTI and 1 NNRTI plus ATV 300 mg and RTV 100 mg each day in the regimens that were not changed within 12 weeks before the randomization, had TC level between 200 and 500 mg/dL and/or LDL between 130 and 400 mg/dL, and no lipid-lowering agent or discontinued the lipid-lowering agent for at least 4 weeks prior to randomization. Exclusion criteria consists of patients with the history of pitavastatin and the constituent of the drugs allergy, known history of myocardial infarction and/or ischemic stroke within 4 weeks prior to the randomization, abnormal aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) with level ≥5 times if asymptomatic or ≥3 times of upper normal limit (UNL) if symptomatic, pregnancy or breastfeeding, and currently on cyclosporine or other drugs which had major drug interactions with pitavastatin.
Any patients who visited the outpatient clinic and fulfilled the inclusion criteria were invited to participate to the study until the number of the patients were completed of 24. Then, they were randomly assigned either to pitavastatin or placebo. The sequence was generated using an internet-based randomization generator with a block size of 2 and concealed the sequence in the closed envelopes by a statistician until interventions were assigned. All patients were served as his or her own control, so the patients in each group received the study drug for 12 weeks from the physician, and then discontinue the study drug for 2 weeks (washout period) before switching to another treatment arm for 12 weeks. The placebo which was produced from the same manufacture of pitavastatin was identical to pitavastatin. Both drug and placebo were prepared before the initiation of the study and packed into identical containers by a pharmacist. Both physician and participants were blinded. Patients were randomly assigned to receive a sequentially numbered container that contained 28 tablets of pitavastatin (2 mg) or placebo with the instruction to take 1 tablet each day until the appointment visit.
On the first day of the enrollment, baseline characteristics and initial laboratory evaluation including TC, TG, LDL, high density lipoprotein (HDL), fasting blood sugar (FBS), AST, ALT, and creatinine (Cr) were collected. Assessments of changes of lipid profiles (TC, TG, LDL, and HDL), as well as clinical and laboratory safety evaluations including AST and ALT were performed every 4-week-visit. Creatine phosphokinase (CPK) and ATV level were evaluated additionally at 12 weeks and the end of study. The ATV level was performed by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay . Pill counts at each patient's clinic visit was used for determination of compliance to the study drug. This study was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov under registration number NCT02442700, but registered after recruitment of participants due to unplanned registry. The authors confirm that all ongoing and related trials for this drug/intervention are registered.
The primary outcome was efficacy of pitavastatin in HIV-infected patients with dyslipidemia and receiving ATV/r. Efficacy was measured by level of TC, TG, LDL, and HDL that decreased after pitavastatin treatment. Pitavastatin was considered efficient when it could decrease TC, TG, LDL, or HDL significantly compared to placebo.
The secondary outcome was safety of pitavastatin in HIV-infected patients. Safety assessments included clinical and laboratory evaluations, including AST, ALT, and CPK level. Safety clinical was defined by Food and Drug Administration (FDA); grade 1 mild symptoms; grade 2 moderate symptoms with limiting age-appropriate instrumental activities of daily living (ADL); grade 3 severe symptoms with limiting self- care ADL, but not immediately life-threatening; grade 4 life-threatening consequences; and grade 5 death related to adverse event. Pitavastatin was determined safe if AST, ALT and/or CPK level was not increased significantly compared to placebo.
We used the PS program version 3.0.43 with paired design t-test for calculating the sample size. From the previous study , we use the difference of means and standard deviation (SD) of lipid profiles of 20. Assuming drop-out rate of 20%, statistical power of 80% and type I error less than 5%, a total of 24 evaluable patients were needed to be enrolled. Statistical analysis was performed with Stata 13.1 (StataCorp. 2013. Stata Statistical Software: Release 13. College Station, TX: StataCorp LP.). Multilevel mixed effect linear regression model was used in analyzing the efficacy and safety of pitavastatin on lipid profiles compared to placebo. We used mean (95% confidence interval, CI), mean difference (95% CI), and median (IQR) to report the results. All p-values were two-tailed with those less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.
One hundred and twenty patients were assessed for eligibility, 96 patients were excluded due to not meet inclusion criteria and declining to participate the study "Fig 1". Of 24 patients enrolled, all was followed up through the study period. Mean (standard deviation, SD) age was 48.1 (1.8) years and 14 (58.3%) patients were men. No difference of baseline characteristics between 12 patients who received placebo first and 12 patients who received pitavastatin first "Table 1".
At 12 weeks of treatment with pitavastatin compared to placebo; mean (95% CI) TC was 207 (187.3, 226.8) mg/dL vs 246.3 (226.5, 266) mg/dL (p <0.001); mean (95% CI) TG was 351.3 (193.2, 509.4) mg/dL vs 279.1 (121, 437.2) mg/dL (p = 0.269); mean (95% CI) HDL was 45.3 (40.4, 50.2) mg/dL vs 44.2 (39.3, 49.1) mg/dL (p = 0.354); and mean (95% CI) LDL was 113.2 (100.4, 126) mg/dL vs 145.6 (132.8, 158.4) mg/dL (p <0.001) "Table 2". During the use of 2 mg of pitavastatin, 18 patients could reach the target LDL less than 130 mg/dL.
Most of the patients (20 of 24, 83.3%) had 100% compliance. Three (12.5%) patients and 1 (4.2%) patient had compliance of 89.3% and 82.1%, respectively. No patient who received pitavastatin reported any adverse event including drug rash, myalgia, joint pain, or diarrhea.
Compared to placebo, after 12 weeks of treatment with pitavastatin; mean (95% CI) AST was 40.8 (32.3, 49.2) U/L vs 39.5 (31.1, 48.0) U/L (p = 0.695); mean (95% CI) ALT was 72.5 (54.6, 90.3) U/L vs 64.2 (46.4, 82.1) U/L (p = 0.147); median (IQR) CPK level was 119 (41-516) U/L vs 103 (34-472) U/L (p = 0.555); and median (IQR) ATV level was 1.07 (0.58-1.535) mg/L vs 0.875 (0.445-1.41) mg/L (p = 0.689) (normal range 0.15-0.85 mg/L).
In this a randomized, double blind, crossover study, we found that pitavastatin has efficacy on significant reduction of TC and LDL after 12 weeks of treatment without clinical and laboratory adverse event compared to placebo in HIV-infected Thai patients with dyslipidemia and receiving ATV/r.
This study confirmed the previous trials in both normal population  and HIV-infected patients  demonstrating that pitavastatin is effective in lowering LDL and TC level. In the INTREPID trial, the baseline characteristics of HIV-infected patients are similar to those of our patients including age, CD4 cell counts and baseline lipid profiles, except the lower proportion of male patients and the lower body mass index (BMI) in our patients. Pitavastatin has a novel cyclopropyl group on its base structure, which is more effective inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase enzyme to inhibit cholesterol production and potentially affords greater LDL clearance and reduction of TC , leading to the reduction of both TC and LDL levels even though the lower dosage of pitavastatin used in our study compared with those used in the INTREPID trial. Although at baseline, TC level was lower in group starting with pitavastatin and indifferent LDL level between 2 groups, we demonstrated the effects of pitavastatin on both TC and LDL reduction since 4 weeks after treatment and the effect maintain through 12 weeks of treatment.
The majority of side effects of statin therapy were liver transaminase elevations and myopathy which were comparable among the various statins including pitavastatin . Liver transaminase elevations were reported within the first 12 weeks of statin therapy at incidences of up to 1% which were dose related [17-18]. Statin-associated myopathy, usually presents within a few weeks to more than 2 years after statin therapy . No adverse event was observed in the present study compared to the INTREPID trial. In the INTREPID trial, the incidence of drug-related emergent adverse events was 11.1% and 4.8% have to discontinue pitavastatin during the study, 3.2% have ALT level more than 2 times of UNL and 1.6% have CPK level more than 5 times of UNL. This might be due to the lower dosage of pitavastatin which we used (2 mg vs 4 mg). Four (16.7%) of our patients had chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infection, however there was no hepatotoxicity among these patients.
In healthy volunteer, ATV increases pitavastatin level (area under curve increased 31%, and Cmax increased 60%) by unknown mechanism, but no significant change in ATV level by pitavastatin . Cmin was used to monitor safety and correlation in HIV-infected patients in some studies [20-21]. In our study, pharmacokinetics (PK) of atazanavir was not changed following pitavastatin and placebo administration. Cmin value of ATV with and without pitavastatin in our study was within normal range (0.15-0.85 mg/L) which can imply that pitavastatin has no effect to ATV level in HIV-infected patients.
The strength of this study is a first double-blind, randomized controlled, crossover study to demonstrate efficacy and safety of pitavastatin in HIV-infected patients. The influence of confounding covariates is reduced because each crossover patient serves as his or her own control. There was no drop out of patients before the end of treatment at week 12. This is the first study to report ATV levels in HIV-infected patients who were receiving pitavastatin. Limitation of the study is we did not adjust pitavastatin dosage according to lipid profiles, thus mean value of TC could not be lower than 200 mg/dL. Furthermore, pitavastatin was compared to placebo because the aim of this study is to demonstrate efficacy and safety of the drug, which safety is the great concern owing to the drug-drug interaction issue.
In conclusions, pitavastatin demonstrates the efficacy for TC and LDL reduction since 4 weeks and the effect maintain through 12 weeks of treatment. Pitavastatin shows neither hepatotoxicity nor increasing CPK level, thus pitavastatin can be an option of lipid-lowering agent in HIV-infected patients who are receiving ATV/r.


ActiLingua is a cool school, it's so much fun and we learn a lot.
It was my favourite vacation, because I met new friends, great.
A great place to improve ýour German and a chance to discover an amazing city and make new friends.
I liked the teachers and the trips.
I got to know many new people from different countries and the atmosphere during our classes was always very nice.
I most enjoyed the teachers and the atmosphere. There was much freedom and leisure time.
Perfect, I would like to come again next year!
I liked the friendly communication between teachers and students and between students and students. There are many students from around the world,, and it is a big plus.
The teachers explain everything very good and this makes things easier. I liked the best that we can learn in the morning and then we are free to explore the city or whatever we want.
I most enjoyed the environement, everyone was so lovely and nice.
The lessons are great and the teachers are nice.
My group and my teachers were/are very nice and great.
The Popfest at Karlsplatz – with all the new friends I made at ActiLingua was my most memorable moment at this school.
A school where time flies, because there's always fun: There's always something going on.
I have learnt a lot and saw Viennas sights. I liked everything and it was great.
I liked the language course and excursions the most.
I loved meeting new people and exploring Vienna.
I enjoyed learning within the country and the ability to take the info we learned in class and apply it outside of class.
I liked everything about ActiLingua. It was a great way to spend my summer.
The teachers were excellent. I most enjoyed the atmosphere, the people and Vienna, of course.
The lessons are interactive and you can improve your german. I really enjoyed tob e with all over the world students.


The Queens are back and taking over the Capital City! Come see what all of the excitement is about, with performers from across Northern Vermont sure to dazzle you with their talents! Hosted by Montpelier's own Beaux and Prudie!
Limited VIP tickets available for $15 – entitled to priority seating, private meet and greet with performers prior to the show, and a signed poster!


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Q: Android Button layout with big text size I'm trying to make two identical buttons with the same height, but when the text is too long (the second button) then breaks markup. How can I fix it?
xml layout:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:orientation="vertical"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent">

    <LinearLayout
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_width="match_parent">

        <Button

            android:text="test"
            android:layout_height="100dp"
            android:layout_width="0dp"
            android:layout_weight="1"/>

        <Button
            android:padding="0dp"
            android:text="Arterial tension disturbance"
            android:layout_height="100dp"
            android:layout_width="0dp"
            android:layout_weight="1"/>

        </LinearLayout>

</LinearLayout>

A: use wrap_content instead of 0dp
    <Button
        android:padding="0dp"
        android:text="Arterial tension disturbance"
        android:layout_height="100dp"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_weight="1"/>

A: You can try this: (Edited)
<LinearLayout
       android:layout_width="fill_parent"
       android:layout_height="fill_parent"
       android:orientation="vertical"
       android:weightSum="100" >

       <Button
          android:layout_width="fill_parent"
          android:text="yourText"
          android:layout_height="wrap_content"
          android:layout_weight="50" />

      <Button
          android:layout_width="fill_parent"
          android:text="yourText"
          android:layout_height="wrap_content"
          android:layout_weight="50" />

A: Add android:singleLine="true"

<LinearLayout
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:layout_width="match_parent">

    <Button
        android:singleLine="true"

        android:text="test"
        android:layout_height="100dp"
        android:layout_width="0dp"
        android:layout_weight="1"/>

    <Button
        android:singleLine="true"
        android:padding="0dp"
        android:text="Arterial tension disturbance"
        android:layout_height="100dp"
        android:layout_width="0dp"
        android:layout_weight="1"/>

    </LinearLayout>