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author:("vise, meikle")
1.  Retinoschisin gene therapy in photoreceptors, Müller glia, or all retinal cells in the Rs1h−/− mouse
Gene therapy  2014;21(6):585-592.
X-linked retinoschisis, a disease characterized by splitting of the retina, is caused by mutations in the retinoschisin gene, which encodes a secreted cell adhesion protein. Currently, there is no effective treatment for retinoschisis, though viral vector-mediated gene replacement therapies offer promise. We used intravitreal delivery of three different AAV vectors to target delivery of the RS1 gene to Müller glia, photoreceptors, or multiple cell types throughout the retina. Müller glia radially span the entire retina, are accessible from the vitreous, and remain intact throughout progression of the disease. However, photoreceptors, not glia, normally secrete retinoschisin. We compared the efficacy of rescue mediated by retinoschisin secretion from these specific subtypes of retinal cells in the Rs1h−/− mouse model of retinoschisis. Our results indicate that all three vectors deliver the RS1 gene, and that several cell types can secrete retinoschisin, leading to transport of the protein across the retina. The greatest long-term rescue was observed when photoreceptors produce retinoschisin. Similar rescue was observed with photoreceptor-specific or generalized expression, though photoreceptor secretion may contribute to rescue in the latter case. These results collectively point to the importance of cell targeting and appropriate vector choice in the success of retinal gene therapies.
PMCID: PMC4047144  PMID: 24694538
Gene therapy; X-linked retinoschisis; AAV vectors; photoreceptors; Müller glia; cell targeting
2.  AAV-Mediated, Optogenetic Ablation of Müller Glia Leads to Structural and Functional Changes in the Mouse Retina
PLoS ONE  2013;8(9):e76075.
Müller glia, the primary glial cell in the retina, provide structural and metabolic support for neurons and are essential for retinal integrity. Müller cells are closely involved in many retinal degenerative diseases, including macular telangiectasia type 2, in which impairment of central vision may be linked to a primary defect in Müller glia. Here, we used an engineered, Müller-specific variant of AAV, called ShH10, to deliver a photo-inducibly toxic protein, KillerRed, to Müller cells in the mouse retina. We characterized the results of specific ablation of these cells on visual function and retinal structure. ShH10-KillerRed expression was obtained following intravitreal injection and eyes were then irradiated with green light to induce toxicity. Induction of KillerRed led to loss of Müller cells and a concomitant decrease of Müller cell markers glutamine synthetase and cellular retinaldehyde-binding protein, reduction of rhodopsin and cone opsin, and upregulation of glial fibrillary acidic protein. Loss of Müller cells also resulted in retinal disorganization, including thinning of the outer nuclear layer and the photoreceptor inner and outer segments. High resolution imaging of thin sections revealed displacement of photoreceptors from the ONL, formation of rosette-like structures and the presence of phagocytic cells. Furthermore, Müller cell ablation resulted in increased area and volume of retinal blood vessels, as well as the formation of tortuous blood vessels and vascular leakage. Electrophysiologic measures demonstrated reduced retinal function, evident in decreased photopic and scotopic electroretinogram amplitudes. These results show that loss of Müller cells can cause progressive retinal degenerative disease, and suggest that AAV delivery of an inducibly toxic protein in Müller cells may be useful to create large animal models of retinal dystrophies.
PMCID: PMC3785414  PMID: 24086689
3.  Intravitreal Injection of AAV2 Transduces Macaque Inner Retina
Intravitreally injected AAV2 transduced inner retinal cells in a restricted region at the macaque fovea. Because macaque and human eyes are similar, the results suggest a need to improve transduction methods in gene therapy for the human inner retina.
Adeno-associated virus serotype 2 (AAV2) has been shown to be effective in transducing inner retinal neurons after intravitreal injection in several species. However, results in nonprimates may not be predictive of transduction in the human inner retina, because of differences in eye size and the specialized morphology of the high-acuity human fovea. This was a study of inner retina transduction in the macaque, a primate with ocular characteristics most similar to that of humans.
In vivo imaging and histology were used to examine GFP expression in the macaque inner retina after intravitreal injection of AAV vectors containing five distinct promoters.
AAV2 produced pronounced GFP expression in inner retinal cells of the fovea, no expression in the central retina beyond the fovea, and variable expression in the peripheral retina. AAV2 vector incorporating the neuronal promoter human connexin 36 (hCx36) transduced ganglion cells within a dense annulus around the fovea center, whereas AAV2 containing the ubiquitous promoter hybrid cytomegalovirus (CMV) enhancer/chicken-β-actin (CBA) transduced both Müller and ganglion cells in a dense circular disc centered on the fovea. With three shorter promoters—human synapsin (hSYN) and the shortened CBA and hCx36 promoters (smCBA and hCx36sh)—AAV2 produced visible transduction, as seen in fundus images, only when the retina was altered by ganglion cell loss or enzymatic vitreolysis.
The results in the macaque suggest that intravitreal injection of AAV2 would produce high levels of gene expression at the human fovea, important in retinal gene therapy, but not in the central retina beyond the fovea.
PMCID: PMC3088562  PMID: 21310920
4.  Changes in Adeno-Associated Virus-Mediated Gene Delivery in Retinal Degeneration
Human Gene Therapy  2010;21(5):571-578.
Gene therapies for retinal degeneration have relied on subretinal delivery of viral vectors carrying therapeutic DNA. The subretinal injection is clearly not ideal as it limits the viral transduction profile to a focal region at the injection site and negatively affects the neural retina by detaching it from the supportive retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). We assessed changes in adeno-associated virus (AAV) dispersion and transduction in the degenerating rat retina after intravitreal delivery. We observed a significant increase in AAV-mediated gene transfer in the diseased compared with normal retina, the extent of which depends on the AAV serotype injected. We also identified key structural changes that correspond to increased viral infectivity. Particle diffusion and transgene accumulation in normal and diseased retina were monitored via fluorescent labeling of viral capsids and quantitative PCR. Viral particles were observed to accumulate at the vitreoretinal junction in normal retina, whereas particles spread into the outer retina and RPE in degenerated tissue. Immunohistochemistry illustrates remarkable changes in the architecture of the inner limiting membrane, which are likely to underlie the increased viral transduction in diseased retina. These data highlight the importance of characterizing gene delivery vectors in diseased tissue as structural and biochemical changes can alter viral vector transduction patterns. Furthermore, these results indicate that gene delivery to the outer nuclear layer may be achieved by noninvasive intravitreal AAV administration in the diseased state.
Kolstad et al. evaluate the distribution of vector particles and transduction of AAV administered intravitreally in diseased versus healthy retinas. Whereas healthy retinas are not very receptive to vector penetration and transduction following intravitreal injection, in retinal degenerations the authors show improved and more extensive gene transfer.
PMCID: PMC3143418  PMID: 20021232
5.  CLRN1 Is Nonessential in the Mouse Retina but Is Required for Cochlear Hair Cell Development
PLoS Genetics  2009;5(8):e1000607.
Author Summary
Usher syndrome (USH) is a progressive disease affecting two primary senses: vision and hearing. Often by the third decade of life, affected persons have lost the majority of their rod photoreceptors, which leads to night blindness and peripheral vision loss. Similarly, hearing loss often progresses into the third or fourth decade. By the fourth decade, patients typically approach legal blindness and hearing impairment continues to decline. The proteins that when mutated cause USH are frequently found in primary sensory cells, photoreceptor and hair cells, that directly respond to light and sound, respectively. Similar to other forms of USH, the mRNA coding for the protein responsible for USH type 3 (CLRN1) is expressed in cochlear hair cells of the inner ear. However, as demonstrated in the current study, and unlike other USH disease proteins in the retina, we show that the Clrn1 is expressed in glial cells in the retina (Müller cells) and is not expressed in the photoreceptors themselves. For reasons that remain unclear, the Clrn1 knockout mouse does not have a retinal degeneration phenotype but does become deaf soon after birth. In the current paper, we characterize the expression pattern in the retina and analyze the effects of removing the Clrn1 gene on vision and hearing.
PMCID: PMC2719914  PMID: 19680541
6.  In vitro analysis of promoter activity in Müller cells
Molecular Vision  2008;14:691-705.
Rational modification of promoter architecture is necessary for manipulation of transgene activity and requires accurate deciphering of regulatory control elements. Identification of minimally sized promoters is critical to the design of viral vectors for gene therapy. To this end, we evaluated computational methods for predicting short DNA sequences capable of driving gene expression in Müller cells.
We measured enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) expression levels driven by “full-length” promoters, and compared these data with computationally identified shorter promoter elements from the same genes. We cloned and screened over 90 sequences from nine Müller cell-associated genes: CAR2, CD44, GFAP, GLUL, PDGFRA, RLBP1, S100B, SLC1A3, and vimentin (VIM). We PCR-amplified the “full-length” promoter (~1500 bp), the proximal promoter (~500 bp), and the most proximal evolutionarily conserved region (ECR; 95–871 bp) for each gene, both with and without their respective 5′ untranslated regions (UTRs), from C57BL/6J mouse genomic DNA. We selected and cloned additional ECRs from more distal genomic regions (both 5′ and 3′) of the VIM and CD44 genes, using both mouse and rat (Sprague-Dawley) genomic DNA as templates. PCR products were cloned into the pFTMGW or pFTM3GW lentiviral transfer vectors. Plasmid constructs were transfected into rat (wMC) or human (MIO-M1) Müller cells, and eGFP expression levels were evaluated by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Selected constructs were also examined in NIH/3T3 and Neuro-2a cells.
Several ECRs from the nine Müller cell-associated genes were able to drive reporter gene expression as well as their longer counterparts. Preliminary comparisons of ECRs from the VIM and CD44 genes suggested that inclusion of UTRs in promoter constructs resulted in increased transgene expression levels. Systematic comparison of promoter activity from nine Müller cell-expressed genes supported this finding, and characteristic regulation profiles were evident among the different genes tested. Importantly, individual cloned promoter sequences were capable of driving distinct levels of transgene expression, resulting in up to eightfold more cells expressing eGFP with up to 3.8-fold higher mean fluorescence intensity (MFI). Furthermore, combining constructs into single regulatory “units” modulated transgene expression, suggesting that secondary gene sequences provided in cis may be used to fine-tune gene expression levels.
In this study, we demonstrate that computational and empirical methods, when used in combination, can efficiently identify short promoters that are active in cultured Müller cells. In addition, the pFTM3GW vector can be used to study the effects of combined promoter elements. We anticipate that these methods will expedite the design and testing of synthetic/chimeric promoter constructs that should be useful for both in vitro and in vivo applications.
PMCID: PMC2330062  PMID: 18437242
7.  Functional promoter testing using a modified lentiviral transfer vector
Molecular Vision  2007;13:730-739.
The importance of retinal glial cells in the maintenance of retinal health and in retinal degenerations has not been fully explored. Several groups have suggested that secretion of neurotrophic proteins from the retina's primary glial cell type, the Müller cell, holds promise for treating retinal degenerations. Tight regulation of transgene expression in Müller cells is likely to be critical to the efficacy of long-term neuroprotective therapies, due to the genetic heterogeneity and progressive nature of retinal disease. To this end, we developed a modified lentiviral (LV) transfer vector (pFTMGW) to accelerate the testing and evaluation of novel transcriptional regulatory elements. This vector facilitates identification and characterization of regulatory elements in terms of size, cell specificity and ability to control transgene expression levels.
A synthetic multiple cloning site (MCS) which can accept up to five directionally cloned DNA regulatory elements was inserted immediately upstream of an enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) reporter. A cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter, required for tat-independent viral packaging, is located around 2 kb upstream of the eGFP reporter and is capable of directing transgene expression. A synthetic transcription blocker (TB) was inserted to insulate the MCS/eGFP from the CMV promoter. We evaluated eGFP expression from pFTMGW and control constructs using flow cytometry and quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). We also tested and compared the activity and cell specificity of a computationally identified promoter fragment from the rat vimentin gene (Vim409) in transfection and lentiviral infection experiments using fluorescence microscopy.
Transfection data, quantitative RT-PCR, and flow cytometry show that around 85% of expression from the CMV promoter was blocked by the TB element, allowing direct evaluation of expression from the Vim409 candidate promoter cloned into the MCS. Lentiviruses generated from this construct containing the Vim409 promoter (without the TB element) drove robust eGFP expression in Müller cells in vitro and in vivo.
The TB element efficiently prevented eGFP expression by the upstream CMV promoter and the novel MCS facilitated testing of an evolutionarily conserved regulatory element. Additional sites allow for combinatorial testing of additional promoter, enhancer, and/or repressor elements in various configurations. This modified LV transfer vector is an effective tool for expediting functional analysis of gene regulatory elements in Müller glia, and should prove useful for promoter analyses in other cell types and tissues.
PMCID: PMC2765473  PMID: 17563724

Results 1-7 (7)


Proposition 2

To place a straight line equal to a given straight line with one end at a given point.

Let A be the given point, and BC the given straight line.

java applet or image

It is required to place a straight line equal to the given straight line BC with one end at the point A.

Post. 1, I.1.

Join the straight line AB from the point A to the point B, and construct the equilateral triangle DAB on it.

Produce the straight lines AE and BF in a straight line with DA and DB. Describe the circle CGH with center B and radius BC, and again, describe the circle GKL with center D and radius DG.

Since the point B is the center of the circle CGH, therefore BC equals BG. Again, since the point D is the center of the circle GKL, therefore DL equals DG.

And in these DA equals DB, therefore the remainder AL equals the remainder BG.

But BC was also proved equal to BG, therefore each of the straight lines AL and BC equals BG. And things which equal the same thing also equal one another, therefore AL also equals BC.

Therefore the straight line AL equal to the given straight line BC has been placed with one end at the given point A.

This is a very clever construction to solve what seems to be a simple problem. One would like simply to slide the line BC along so that one end coincides with the point A. But there is no motion in the geometry of Euclid. There is something like motion used in proposition I.4, but nothing is actually moved there. The only basic constructions that Euclid allows are those described in Postulates 1, 2, and 3. Euclid then builds new constructions (such as the one in this proposition) out of previously described constructions. So at this point, the only constructions available are those of the three postulates and the construction in proposition I.1, and Euclid uses all four here.

Another, different, expectation is that one might use a compass to transfer the distance BC over to the point A. It is clear from Euclid’s use of postulate 3 that the point to be used for the center and a point that will be on the circumference must be constructed before applying the postulate; postulate 3 is not used to transfer distance. Sometimes postulate 3 is likened to a collapsing compass, that is, when the compass is lifted off the drawing surface, it collapses.

It could well be that in some earlier Greek geometric theory abstracted compasses that could transfer distances. If that speculation is correct, then this proposition would be a late addition to the theory. The construction of the proposition allows a weaker postulate (namely postulate 3) to be assumed.

Construction steps

When using a compass and a straightedge to perform this construction there are more circles drawn than shown in the diagram that accompanies the proposition. These are the two circles needed to construct the equilateral triangle ABD. One side, AB, of that triangle isn’t necessary for the construction.

Altogether, four circles and two lines are required for this construction.

java applet or image

Use of Proposition 2

The construction in this proposition is only used in Proposition I.3.

Note that this construction assumes that all the point A and the line BC lie in a plane. It may also be used in space, however, since Proposition XI.2 implies that A and BC do lie in a plane.


Expert Analysis: Bill S. 978

GamePolitics Contributing Editor and Maryland intellectual property attorney Daniel Rosenthal offers and in-depth analysis of Bill S. 978 (also known as the "anti-streaming bill") in this guest editorial.

S.978, the "anti-streaming bill" has been introduced in Congress, apparently in response to the White House’s Intellectual Property Enforcement Legislation Recommendations white paper (PDF), which recommended to Congress that they should amend the Copyright Act to "clarify that [copyright] infringement by streaming . . . is a felony in appropriate circumstances." While that seems innocuous enough on its face, the bill presented by the bipartisan trio led by Sen. Klobuchar is deeply flawed for a number of reasons.

Let’s start by addressing the number one issue I see with people misreading the bill. S.978 has two separate and distinct parts. Paragraph (a) addresses the penalties for criminal infringement; while Paragraph (b) addresses the infringing actions that lead to those penalties. In other words, although the provisions of (a) are listed first, they do not actually apply until an action covered under (b) takes place. So in your head, read (b) first, then go back to (a). Next, we need to look at what the bill actually does. Paragraph (b) makes 17 U.S.C. 506, the criminal provisions of the Copyright Act, also apply to streaming (written as "public performance").

First, when you look at the overall picture for content consumers, you’re seeing a narrowing of our rights without any real payoff. At the same time this anti-streaming bill is coming out, we’ve also got ISP’s engaging in a self-censorship policy with regard to allegations – not even proof — of copyright infringement (the so-called "six strikes rule"). So we already have to be on our toes that our ISPs will throttle or cut our access without a fair means of recourse, or sufficient market alternatives. Now, on top of that, we have to worry about not just the content, but the method of socially sharing that content. Looking at the big picture, it’s one hit after another — ISP’s fighting against net neutrality, ISPs being able to monitor and restrict your data consumption without a legal judgment, and now the anti-streaming bill giving the copyright industry an open door to come after innocent users of services like or Viddler with criminal charges. It’s an erosion of our rights, and to what end? What are consumers getting out of this? Nothing — consumers will see absolutely zero benefit from this whatsoever, and given the transnational nature of software piracy, it will have minimal effect in its supposed purpose.

Second, the bill is horridly vague. So far, the chief defense that I’ve seen of S.978 is that it only applies to "willful" infringement. Let me tell you — that’s not a difficult standard to achieve. Willfulness in a copyright infringement action is not that difficult to prove, and can be inferred from the circumstances in a case. This bill would have the effect of forcing consumers to prove that they were not acting willfully — because any attorney worth their salt will be able to make a sufficient argument via circumstantial inference that the consumer’s actions were willful by saying "Look, he/she intentionally typed in the URL and uploaded a video for broadcast. They didn’t just trip and fall and faceroll the proper set of keyboard commands to share this video, there was intent to stream it to others." From there, it becomes YOUR duty to counter that argument; yet another burden on the consumer.

The other main defense that I’ve seen is that casual users will not be affected because the total economic value of the performances must be greater than $2500, or the fair market value of the licenses necessary must be greater than $5000. This too, falls flat as a defense. These minimums exist to provide for an increased penalty (minimum of three years) for those infringers acting for commercial gain. However, my reading of the law is that this does not replace the existing requirements for criminal infringement, but rather supplements them. So basically, even without meeting the dollar requirements under S.978, you could still be criminally prosecuted for streaming — you’d just get three years instead of five. Yay (My interpretation, by the way, appears to be shared by other cyberlaw-oriented attorneys: "S. 978 Sending Illegal Streamers up the River").

Furthermore, the minimum dollar values in the criminal provisions are ridiculously easy to meet. For example, if even 100 people watch a stream of a game (not unreasonable even for an amateur these days), and the court determines that the fair market value of a license is $50 (again, not unreasonable, given that the supposedly infringing content is the game itself being rebroadcast in video form), the economic burden is more than met. Enjoy your felony conviction and 5+ years in prison. As well, the bill fails to define what standards will be used to determine the economic value of the performance, leaving it up to the attorneys to fight it out. While the copyright industry can afford to spend dozens of man-hours drafting complex arguments in favor of their position, most defendants cannot afford that luxury (even at my very reasonable rates!) and most criminal defense attorneys are not familiar with copyright law. So the very vagueness of the bill itself serves as a further deterrent against consumers.

The vagueness doesn’t end there. What constitutes a "public performance" (per the bill) in the digital age? It is a term that dates back even before the Copyright Act of 1974, There have been reasonable arguments made that a monitor at a crowded LAN party could constitute a public performance. Many LAN cafes use streaming content in their games. But the law makes no exception for such a thing. What about spectator broadcasting of competitive gaming and e-sports? The law, as written, pushes the burden on the end-consumer of content to make legal assumptions as to the economic or market value of content they view before they actually view it. What about the "10 instances in a 180 day period" rule. Who is supposed to track that? The U.S. Government is not going to do it for you; the copyright holders who would be the plaintiffs are not neutral parties….every little bit of vagueness in this bill has the effect of emboldening and protecting the copyright industry and putting the end consumer at a disadvantage.

Finally, the bill has the added effect of harming smaller (particularly indie) developers. Regardless of whether the developer intends to sue over things like speed runs, "let’s play" videos, and gameplay reviews, the mere fact that they could do so acts as a chilling effect on the video-producing community. So companies like TGN and Machinima will be facing possible criminal liability with every video they produce — videos that directly assist the marketing teams of these smaller companies and help grow their player-base. You can bet on the copyright industry saying to them "I don’t care if you think it is fair use; if you don’t obtain a license from us, we’re going to demand criminal prosecution against you with the increased penalties for commercial infringement. Pay up or enjoy your felony trial, sucka."

There is a lot to be concerned about with S.978. Unlike the recent Supreme Court case in Brown v. EMA, where there were clear signs on how the Court was likely to rule, the future of S.978 is much more uncertain. Despite a Congress that seems to be divided on partisan lines, the bill enjoyed bipartisan support going through the Senate Judiciary Committee (Sens. Klobuchar and Coons are Democrats, Sen. Cornyn is a Republican). And presumably the bill seeks to implement the White House’s planned policies on IP enforcement, giving it some degree of administration support. Whether that is helpful or not with this Congress is a completely different question, but it certainly means that this is a bill to keep a very, very close eye on.

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The Vampire Armand Horror Movies - Page 16 of 25

(197) Results for "The Vampire Armand" Page 16/25

Displayed in "relevance" order with titles such as Avengers: Age of Ultron, Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter, Killing Car, My Demon Lover, Bloodsucking Bastards, Loved Ones, Unfriended, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Narrow search by using keywords and movie year to improve relevance.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) is an American superhero action adventure film that was based on the Marvel Comics superhero…

Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter

Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter (2001)

Killing Car

Killing Car (1993)

KILLING CAR is one of Jean Rollin's most unusual films and is a real departure from the vampire theme for…

My Demon Lover

My Demon Lover (1987)

My Demon Lover (1987) is an American fantasy comedy movie that was one hour and a half long. Director Charlie…

Bloodsucking Bastards

Bloodsucking Bastards (2015)

Bloodsucking Bastards (2015) is an American comedy horror film that has a run time of 86 minutes. Director Brian James…

Loved Ones

Loved Ones (2009)

Unfriended (2014)

Unfriended (2014) is an American found footage supernatural horror movie that is also known as Offline (2014) and was initially…

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016) is an American romance action horror film that I was looking forward to seeing…


Top Definition
When everything in the universe was created. Also, the time when many various things happened.
I started my period last Thursday.
#thursday #period #menstruation #creationism #schmuckythecat
Goddess_Freyaによって 2008年05月05日(月)
Represents a measure of time, being the long-term memory of popular culture (and sixteen year old girls in particular), since both seem to have trouble recalling anything that happened before last Thursday.
As a span of time, Last Thursday lies somewhere between a hundred years ago and the present, and is always followed by last Friday.
It is widely accepted that anything that did not take place this week took place Last Thursday. That is unless this event took place back in the day, which is of course a Wednesday.
#last #thursday #time #c.r.a.f.t. #wednesday #raptor jesus
EM3RG3NCYxによって 2009年03月02日(月)


Distance Between Buhl, ID and Ocean Shores, WA

How many miles? 706 Miles / 1136 Km

How many times? 11 hours 7 mins

Distance, Gas Consumption and Emission Notes

Distance from Buhl, ID to Ocean Shores, WA is 706Miles or 1136 Km. You can get this distance about 11 hours 7 mins. If you want to planning travel with plane for 552 Miles or 887 Km, You can get this distance about 1 hours 40 mins .

A car with an average MPG will needs 32.69 gallons of gas to get the route between these points.

The estimated cost of gas to get between Buhl, ID and Ocean Shores, WA is $74.21.

During the route, an average car will release 640.46 pounds of CO2 to the atmosphere. Your carbon footprint is 0.91 pounds of CO2 per mile.

* Average US MPG used for calculations is 21.6 MPG.
* Coordinates of Buhl, ID is 42.5990714, -114.7594946 and coordinates of Ocean Shores, WA is 46.9736986, -124.1562852


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The Wise Investor

which he traded for grain. Time passed, and it became
apparent that other people, too, had special skills of their
own, and particular products they liked to make. More
trading began, and soon there was an active and healthy
trade between the families. This trade benefited everyone
involved, although it soon became apparent that some people
were wiser in trade than others, and some seemed to
accumulate more grain over time than their neighbours.
As the trading of goods expanded, it soon became
obvious that there were other needs, as well. Some people
had need of items for short periods of time, such as a
borrowed plough while the their main plough was under
Many items were lent and borrowed. In return for
borrowing an item, the borrower would give the lender some
sacks of grain. The item would be returned, however the
lender would retain the grain as compensation for not having
use of the item. Soon, there was a thriving exchange of
items on loan, and a corresponding flow of grain in exchange
for the loan of the items.
Trade in ploughs, grain, cut wood and many other
products had been going on in the valley for some time,
along with lending of tools and machinery in return for fees.
The families found that they were all better off, as the
people who were best at each job were the ones who were
doing it for all. One year, however, a tragic accident
occurred. Three young men from one family were fishing in
the river, when a landslide crashed down the side of the
valley and killed all three. All the people the valley mourned
the tragic event. When the mourning was over, the family of
the boys was in serious trouble.
It was harvest time, and the youngest generation was not
quite old enough to complete the harvest by themselves.
Without the full harvest, the family would be critically short
of grain. Some families offered help, but it was their harvest
time as well and they could ill afford to spend the extra time
to help the grieving family.


Northern Ireland

How Is The Food In Northern Ireland?

Theresa Albert | Posted 04.11.2016 | Canada Travel
Theresa Albert

When Tourism Ireland invited me on a Foodie Tour of Northern Ireland, my first thought was "I can boil my own potatoes and I don't eat deep fried foods." They were only too happy to show me that my concept of Irish food is outdated and how far their culinary world has come.


Kheper Home | Metaphysics Main Page | Topics Index | New | Search

Parent nodes: Transcendent

Sibling nodes: The Unmanifest Absolute | The Manifest Absolute | The Noetic Absolute | The Infinite-Eternal - Planes and Hypostases of the Absolute | The Absolute Reality - Philosophical Thesis | Formless, Emptiness, Mystery - Professor Andrew Wilson - readings from world religions | The Transcendent, All-Pervasive Reality - Professor Andrew Wilson - more readings from world religions | Monism | Eastern Philosophy | Mysticism

Author's note (21 Dec 09) This page was originally written as part of - and has been relocated from - my "Integral Paradigm" series (original url). It reflectys an earlier phase of my understanding and gnosis, in which I still considered the nondual Reality the highest, and hence that the Ultimate must in some way be Unmanifest. This is basically a perennialist position which stems from Vivekananda's Neo-Vedanta, and derivative worldviews such as Guenon-Schuon Traditionalism (Neo-Sufi), Huxleyan Perennial Philosophy (strongly based on Vivekananda), Daist Advaito-Buddhism, and Wilberian Integralism (the latter heavily influenced by Da Free John). However, Sri Aurobindo has pointed out (I don't have the actual quote on me atm, it is in The Life Divine) that it is the mental being that conceives the Supreme as nonbeing or void (via negatia). So this represents only a Mental stage of Realisation, which is transcended through Higher Realisation and beyond. Sri Aurobindo's Integral philosophy is able to acknowledge all experiences and realisations, rather than subordinate the theistic to the nondual, or the nondual to the theistic. The following page therefore has been modified and updated to reflect this larger perspective.

The Transcendent Absolute Reality

The Transcendent Absolute Reality means the Absolute Reality as The Transcendent, and vice versa. As pointed out in the introductory notes, this represents a mental (jnana yoga) realisation; which is not the Absolute or the Supreme in its fullness. This partial understanding can be attained through Accounts in traditional religious literature, and Contemporary accounts of mystical experience (the universality and ubiquity of the monistic state), as well as Philosophical-Phenomenological reasoning ("Cartesian Monism").

From this perspective - i.e. Gnosis, Intermediate Zone, and (initial or teh first stage of) Realisation or Authentic Enlightenment, Reality in Itself, i.e. Reality as it appears without the blinkers of conceptual thought and psycho-physical consciousness, is infinite, eternal, limitless indivisable perfection. This Reality has been given many names - e.g. God, Self, Tao, Energy, Void, etc.  Some of these names are stupid, others are good.  For example, calling this Reality God (as some religious people do) or Energy (as some New Age people do) is stupid, because Energy is a quality, not an absolute, and God is generally thought of as a supreme being seperate from us, whereas Reality is us.

For the sake of convenience, I have used Plotinus' term "the Absolute", and Sri Aurobindo's term "the Supreme" as synonyms for Reality in Its Original Unmodified nature (which is its nature anyway, even in the midst of manifestation and duality).

The Neoplatonic term "hypostases" (underlying state) is used to designate the realities that are derived from that original Supreme, and at the same time are aspects of It.

Reality in Itself

Note (24 September 2009 or thereabouts, slightly revised 1 Jan 2010): This section originally incorpoarted material on metaphysical speculation from earlier pages in the old Kheper version 1 - The Nature of Realities | Kheper version 2 - The Integral Paradigm (first version) series, but as my ideas have developed since then, I originally intended like at some point to write an updated version, emphasizing "Thusness". Since then I realised there was no need for that, as the topic can equally be described under Realisation, Nonduality, Divinisation and other pages. Of these, Realisation refers to what is generally called "Enlightenment" (although I now avoid using this word because it has been so abused by fake "gurus"), Nonduality refers to Thusness experienced through impersonal jnana (Self-Realization) rather than personal bhakti (I need to set up a page for God-Realization), and Divinisation is the process by which Soul-, Self- and God- Realization leads to the transformation of matter itself

My current understanding of Reality and Realisation as generally described is that this does not necessarily have to represent the Supreme Absolute Reality in itself, but rather the Absolute as experienced from the perspective of the inner physical, emotional, and mental being. This insight is inspired by certain comments of Sri Aurobindo (I don't recall the reference), as well as his distinction between nirvana and integral ascent-descent. I therefore place Realisation above the Three Worlds, but below the Divine Godhead region.

More: Mysticism

Transcendence Emanation Metamorphosis Evolution Divinisation

Theology = Paramology - The Study of the Absolute Reality

Note (1 Jan 2010): the following was written some years ago, and now seems to me excessively intellectual and lacking in actual experience. I find I am moving away from too much abstract mental formulation to a more fluid and intuitive approach to metaphysics. But because the following material may still be of use, I have decided to keep it

In formulating a new Metaphysical theory of Reality, there are a number of logical starting points . One can for example begin with the finite individual and explore from there, empirically, psychologically, phenomenologically, and logically, working upwards, downwards, inwards, and outwards. Or one can begin from the unitary Absolute Reality and proceed from that theological, metaphysical and ontological foundation to the world of multiplicity. Because the latter serves as the foundation of the former, I have chosen to present the Absolute first. But to begin with the relative world would be just as appropriate.

Traditionally, the study of the Absolute Reality (or Godhead or Absolute Consciousness or Enlightenment) in metaphysics falls under the rubric of Theology. However "Theology" refers more specifically to study of the God of a particular monotheistic religion (Aristotle's more philosophical use of the term would probably be better but is not widely known). And this does not apply to things like Enlightenment or Self-Realisation (e.g. when one attains states of enlightenment one doesn't see this anthropomorphic entity standing separate to oneself and to the universe). Therefore the word Paramology is here used to refer to the study of the nature of the Absolute Reality (parame - which means the the Supreme reality in Sanskrit) is used here instead . Hopefully not too clumsy neologism.

Of course, we can't really know conceptually and logically what the Absolute is, because the Absolute by its very nature transcends the mind and mental concepts; even though these mental concepts are themselves instruments of mystic teachings. The Absolute Reality, The Supreme, the Divine, the Godhead, transcends both "God" and "Void". The Reality Itself is beyond all concepts. But even though we can't understand conceptually, we can get some idea, in a Zen parable finger pointing at the moon sort of way.

Author's note (21 Dec 09) - originally I only had three levels of understanding. But that meant the page emphasised only a nonduality perspective, and hence was not integral. Therefore I have added a fourth level, to represent the Supreme experienced integrally.

The levels of Understanding

It is suggested that there are four levels of Understanding what the Absolute Reality is. These are (from the highest down) "the Supreme", "that" or "suchness", "The Absolute", and anthropomorphic "God". These correspond to the three epistemological levels of monistic mysticism - Absolute Knowing, Valid Relative Knowing, and Invalid Relative Knowing.

At the highest level, there is the Integral Absolute, the Supreme, which includes but is not limited to, positive and negative, personal and impersonal, immanent and transcendent, nondual via negatia and shunyata and I-Thou duality.

At the next highest level, relative to ordinary existence and dualistic, conceptual, consciousness, words and concepts are left behind, there is only the ineffable, "thatness" or "isness" or "suchness" (=nonduality). It can't even be called "that" because that implies something rather than something else; it can't be called the Absolute because that excludes the relative. This is the via negatia of western Theology and mysticism, the "middle way" of Madyamka Buddhsim (shunyata is not this and not its opposite), the paradox at the heart of the Zen koan. At the same time, "negative theology" itself implies only one side of the whole; nirguna requires saguna, both being recognised as partial perspectives that have to be transcended. To say that the Absolute without qualities is more real or a more accurate description than the Absolute with qualities is to miss the point entirely. This is the central limitation of the rational mind, it cannot convey or encapsulate those realities which are above and beyond it. And while words and concepts can imperfectly indicate or hint at It, they can never truely describe it.

At the middle level (episteme), words and concepts can be used to describe the Absolute Reality. And these descriptions are good as long as we don't confuse them for the Reality in Itself. Hhere we are in the realm of metaphysics and esotericism.

Now, the various mystical and esoteric traditions of the world are (apart from a few dualistic traditions like Samkhya and Gnosticism) unanimous in affirming that behind and beyond, including but also transcending, these dualities and polarities, there is the Absolute Reality in Itself. The description of the Absolute however differs, according to the religion or esoteric tecahing one consults. Vaishvanites like Chaitanya and the Hare Krishna school of Prabhupada, and Sufis like Jili, consider the Personal Godhead higher than the impersonal. In contrast, Neoplatonism, Shankara and Wilber have the Impersonal or Nonpersonal as highest. Others like Ramanuja incorporate elements of both, or, as Sri Aurobindo perceptively suggest, say the the Supreme is beyond limitations of both Personal and Impersonal.

A further distinction is to refer to an Unmanifest Absolute on the one hand, and a Manifest Absolute on the other. The former is the Nirguna (qualityless) Brahman of Vedanta, the Tao that cannot be spoken, the En Sof, the Shunyata ("void", "emptiness", "openness"), Forefather of Gnosticism, and Godhead of Dionysus and Eckhart. The latter is Saguna (with qualities) Brahman, the Logos of Philo and Sufism, the Manifest Godhead, or the Supermind of Sri Aurobindo.

At the lower level of understanding (doxa or mere opinion), the Reality in itself is completely lost and distorted by non-gnostic intellectual or religious philosophical, theological, or anthropomorphic and sectarian concepts of "God". While these may be fine and even useful as allegory and metaphor, it should not be taken literally. To do so means one is caught up with thoughtforms, and mostly outdated or limited ones at that.

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Obesity is complex but certain factors are simple. Obese people prefer calorie-dense foods because they taste better. That’s how we become obese. That raises an interesting question. Why do the least healthy foods taste so good? Rich, sugary, fatty foods aren’t good for anyone. Yet, everybody loves them. Why is that? Aren’t our taste buds supposed to be a protective mechanism? And, of course, why do overeaters seem to like calorie-dense foods more than normal eaters? As it turns out there’s more to taste than meets the tongue. Also, what meets the tongue in normal eaters and overeaters is very different. More importantly, these differences are a key part of the obesogenic puzzle.

Origins of Taste

Taste appeared over 500 million years ago as a way of avoiding toxins and finding nutrients. All vertebrates have taste. Taste was so important to humans it changed our history; the European’s pursuit of spices launched the age of exploration.

Personal taste preferences begin before birth. In utero, amniotic fluid, which contains glucose, fructose, amino and fatty acids, is our first food. Humans also have an innate taste for sugar because newborns prefer the sweet taste of breast milk. However, maternal eating habits during pregnancy and nursing can influence children’s taste preferences. A study showed pregnant and nursing women who consumed anise, carrots, mint, vanilla, and blue cheese conveyed a taste preference for these items to their offspring. It’s basic survival. When a child begins eating solid food, eating what the mother ate is a safe bet. The taste preferences that start in the womb endure for a lifetime.

The Physiology of Taste

When I think taste, I think tongue. So let’s begin there. There are four types of papillae (filiform, fungiform, foliate, and circumvallate) that give the tongue its rough surface. The filiform papillae only determine texture, but the fungiform, foliate, and circumvallate contain five different types of taste receptors (taste buds). Each taste receptor is densely packed with taste cells, which are capped with sensors. When these sensors receive taste signals, various neural pathways swing into action, saliva production increases, and stomach secretions activate. Five taste receptors correspond with the five known tastes: sweet, sour, salty, umami, and bitter.  When I read that I thought, what, there are more than five tastes left on my fingers from my last meal. However, though they are often misused interchangeably, taste, taste perception, and flavor are not the same.

Taste is a chemical process: Sweetness sensors react to sugar molecules. This relates to food with high caloric energy value. Sourness measures pH because humans have an aversion to acidic foods because they could be spoiled. Saltinessmeasures positive ions in alkali metals, in particular sodium, because of our need for mineral salt. Umami, the savory  meaty taste, is detected by a receptor for glutamate. This detects protein. Bitterness is poorly defined. It may be an umbrella term for various chemical reactions that are toxic, because many dangerous compounds are bitter, although not all bitter foods are toxic.

Hot and astringent oral sensations are important, though not classified as taste or texture. When you eat a chili pepper, the capsicum molecule dissolves in your saliva. The trigeminal nerve triggers a burning sensation. This nerve also detects heat, cold, and pain. Although spicy is not classifiably a taste, it is a trigeminal sensation, like pepper, garlic, ginger, and menthol.

Taste and the Other Senses

I used to think taste was the only sense involved in enjoying food—not true. Actually, gustatory enjoyment is not taste, but taste perception. Taste perception involves taste, sight, hearing, touch, and smell. Besides taste, smell is the sense most engaged in the enjoyment of food. The olfactory epithelium detects aromas by interacting with odor molecules entering via the nose or the back of the mouth. It has millions of neurons, with specific receptors that combine odor molecules and subsequently produce an electrical impulse. This in turn transmits a signal to the olfactory bulb, then to the cortex and simultaneously to the limbic system, where human emotions and memories are stored. Also, smell is the only sensory input that is not first processed through the thalamus, the brain’s clearinghouse for sensory information. This direct connection to the limbic system is why smells can spark deep memories and very emotional responses.

Smell is also more complex than taste. We have five receptors for taste. Taste occurs when molecules bind to these five receptors on the tongue. From there, signals travel to specific brain regions. We have 350 different types of receptors that can perceive over 10,000 different odors. When odor molecules bind to nasal receptors smell occurs and goes to certain brain regions. Chewing releases volatile molecules that go from the back of the mouth to receptors in the lining of the nasal passages. Odors traveling through the back of the throat while tasting are perceived differently in the brain. When taste and smell arrive simultaneously in the insula, the insula creates flavor because taste and smell have distinct overlapping pathways in the insula. This allows us to identify the combination of sensations that lead to flavor, which bears little resemblance to actual taste. That’s why food “tastes funny” when you have a cold. The taste is not missing, but the flavor is. You can determine, sweet, sour, salty, bitter, or umami, but not the flavor. For flavor, you need smell. It is the endless possible combinations of taste and odor that create our wide variety of recognizable flavors.

Vision is also essential to taste perception. We evaluate the aesthetics of food and then determine if it looks okay to eat. EEG studies have shown, compared to low-calorie foods, calorie-dense foods cause stronger cortical activity in the bilateral insula and frontal operculum. Pleasant changes in taste were correlated with medial orbitofrontal cortex activation. Even shape can affect taste perception. In one study, after subjects completed an unrelated task involving geometric figures, the taste perception of pointed pieces of cheese was sharper than rounded pieces of cheese.

Sound also affects taste perception, e.g., the sound of a crisp apple or potato chip. Studies have shown playing crisp audio cues, while apples are being eaten, enhances their taste perception.

Touch is another marker for differentiating taste perception, e.g., a fresh juicy ripe peach compared to a mealy dry peach, or a very hard unripe peach. Nerve endings on the taste buds provide consistency and texture information about food. This is especially true of fats, e.g., the creamy feel of ice cream or the texture of a well marbled grilled steak, compared to a very lean cut. Dedicated neurons in the orbitofrontal cortex respond specifically to the texture of fat in the mouth. Feel influences taste perception in soda as well. The taste perception of flat beverages is much different than that of fully carbonated beverages.

Overeating and Decreased Taste Sensitivity

Studies have shown that the five tastes, except sour, have distinctive regional representations on the gustatory cortex. Those studies also say while bitter and sweet receptors are intermingled on the tongue they are separated by 2.5 millimeters in the brain.  This could span hundreds of neurons. The brain is probably wired this way so that bitter resides in a region that drives aversion, and sweetness in an area of attraction. The important thing about this topographical segregation is that the encoding of taste signals can drive aversive and attractive behaviors. This could begin to explain why obese people are more responsive to certain foods.

Taste receptors are unique. An overpowering sweetness to one tongue may be barely detectable to another. So, differences in satiety would also differ among individuals. This is especially important to overeaters. Conceivably a person’s taste receptors could mitigate taste perception and influence food preferences, eating habits, and subsequently weight management. Obesogenesis is complex, but studies increasingly suggest that taste receptors are a major factor. Continuous studies dating back as far as the 1950’s link a decreased ability to detect sweetness with obesity. So, is it possible that it is a decreased sensitivity to sweetness that actually causes overweight people to eat more sweets than regular eaters? Diminished ability to perceive taste, and subsequently encode flavor and satiation in the brain could be one of the reasons overeaters overeat. In other words obese people are seeking the same satiety levels that all people seek, but we just have a diminished capacity for determining when those levels are achieved because of a signal breach that begins with our taste buds. So, it’s not about liking sweets more, it is about needing more sweets to achieve satiety.

Certainly, that’s theoretically possible, and according to scientists, probable. The overeater in me is ready to jump on that train—but one problem. I’m not a big sweet eater. I am a grease monkey, and not the kind that fixes your car. Like most obese people, I crave fat more than carbohydrates. “When I die, bury me deep, with a bowl of gravy at my feet, and a platter of deep fried fatty meat in my hand, and I’ll smack my way to the promised-land” has been my spiritual mantra for years. And fat isn’t even one of the basic five tastes. Hmm… looks like this train might not be coming. It’s curious all around. The tongue has receptors for two of the three mandatory macronutrients—sweet for carbohydrates, and umami for protein. It would logically conclude that humans would have some form of taste response for fat, the remaining macronutrient. While fat is not one of the basic tastes, it affects food’s taste perception, appearance, texture, and even smell. Obese people are much less sensitive at detecting fatty acids (the breakdown of fats) than people who are not overweight. This low sensitivity leads to significantly more fat consumption and subsequent weight gain. Predisposition to this can have various causes, beginning with genetics, in utero and neonatal exposure as well as signal breaches in taste sensitivity, flavor construction in the insula, and abnormalities in the orbitofrontal cortex.

So the key issues as I see them are the heavy involvement of smell with taste, and decreased sensitivity for detecting the five basic tastes, and fatty acid insensitivity, in achieving satiety. Could this be the reason normal eaters, “get enough” and I just never do when it comes to food? Also,direct communication between smell and the limbic system is a likely factor. Amygdala and hippocampal remodeling, due to adverse early life experience, has been reliably associated with obese populations. This raises the question, if the amygdal-hippocampal complex has undergone restructuring, how does this effect receiving, processing and responding to signals from the olfactory epithelium. That’s all fine and well: the train has arrived and we’re on it. Now for the important question: where is this train going, and more importantly where do we get off?

The bad news for chronic overeaters, such as myself, is that our taste detection, driving our taste perception, and subsequent eating habits is impaired and placing us in harm’s way. The good news is we can compensate for these breaches in taste detection insensitivity and change our taste perception. Stay tuned for the next post and we will explore that. Until then, remain fabulous and phenomenal.

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János Gosteli

Count of Haslau, Master of Coin in Denzegk, Patriarch of the Gosteli

“The legacy of the Red Men lives on in our blood. Who better to make true the words of the prophet? We will take what is ours, and the Novíla will run red as death one again.”
-Janos Gosteli at the Battle at Faircross

Age: 49
Ethnicity: Svalek
House: Gosteli
Other Titles: Lord of Haslau, “The Snake”

Early Years

János Gosteli was born in the Brakenvald near Moq, the second child of Viscount Alfonso Gosteli II and his wife Petra in the year 1043. Alfonso was captured 2 years later at the Battle of Lyapov River by his sworn enemy Peter Isias. To obtain his release, it was agreed that János and his brother Uberto would be sent to Burning Peaks in his place. They remained there for 2 years, until the war ended. It was noted by his tutors that János excelled in literature and the arts.

Alfonso was a skilled merchant, and expanded the previously military-rural family into successful mercantile exploits as well as banking (namely Blue Feather Mercantile), far ahead of the marshlander nobles at the time who saw mercantilism as an artisan skill. In this time, János learnt valuable skills in finance. However Alfonso wished for Uberto to take the Family trade and lands, and for János to take up the Cloth. In reality, what happened was the reverse. János quickly climbed the ladder of both the brendenburgh standing army and the Zerollean merchant’s guild, establishing with his father the Gosteli name in finance.

Around this time, Alfonso raised the young Phillip of Anjora in his household, hoping to use him to establish a dynastic claim to the house, which seemed to be almost extinct at the time. However Alfonso had no daughter to wed him to, leading to a dispute with the Anjora as to the custody of Phillip. This was one factor that led to the Gosteli-Anjora Feud. János’ refusal to trust the del Bove family in this feud led to an attempt on his life many years later.

Marriage and Warfare

János by now was in his early twenties; an icon in the court and already renowned for his financial skill, as well as his astute and perceptive nature in times of war. Having bought the Black Brothers Band, János was a key player in the arrangemed marriage between Maria Ceratis and Anthony Lugus against the wishes of the powerful Anjora family. Lugus thought highly of the young Gosteli and kept him in the courts; even promoting him to Generalisimo in order to give him the position of Strategos; preventing him from going to war. Soon afterwards János was arranged a traditional marriage with Catalina Visconti, who would bear him 2 children, Bernardo and Maria (the latter was indeed named after the famed Ceratis). Over the next few years János would consolidate power, befriending the Duke of Denzegk, placing his brother as Bishop, discovering two plots against Lugus, serving as a moqolese emissary and most notably absorbing a trade post in Paulto into Blue-Feather. The Mercantile company was largely disbanded in the later Civil War, due to Del Bove intervention.

Shortly after the birth of Maria, Catalina was killed during travel by bandits. János remarried to Anna Vettin in a hastily arranged marriage. She bore him three children: Piero, Kallisto and Clara. Around this time János settled an unknown dispute with Antonio Anisari, notable due to the result of allowing the Anisari family duty-free trading during the spring, a key factor in the Marshlander Civil War.

A few years later, János was charged with fraud by the del Bove family. Bernardo proved the family innocent via trial by combat, in which he slew Franco del Bove II in single combat.
János was a vital player in the Marshlander Civil War

A closeup of a large painting in Haslau, depicting János and his son Kallisto

With Catalina:

With Anna:

János Gosteli

From Amanne Broccoli21


We need to prepare kids for today and tomorrow, not yesterday.

As Eric Hoffer said, “In times of change learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” Yet, too often our schools are set up for adults, not for the students.  In fact, we typically ban the digital tools that engage kids and they use for their learning outside of schools. It is time for adults to listen to our kids and leverage the technologies they have (mobile devices, for example) for learning.

We must focus on learning…and that means bridging formal and informal.

Too often we think that learning = education. We narrowly define learning as the time spent in class. In fact, learning happens both in and outside formal classrooms, and increasingly mobile technologies enable us to bridge those environments. Educators should partner with libraries, museums, national parks and other informal learning setting and use technology to create engaging, self-paced learning environments that leverage the passions of kids.

There are exciting new ways to personalize learning and engage kids—if we leverage formative data and provide feedback to the learner.

What is a high performing learning environment? Look no further than the online game that your kid is “playing.” Rather than teaching to the average, the game moves kids as fast as they can master the content. That is precisely the kind of learning environment we should have in our classrooms—one as good as the most compelling and fun game, but one that has learning at the core. How do we get there? By providing constant feedback and formative data to the learner so we can move to faster and deeper learning.

Educators need to be less isolated and more part of a community of practice…one that is available 24x7.

Educators—be they teachers or principals—do not spend much of their professional day with their colleagues. In fact, the practice of education is typically done in isolation and behind closed doors. Yet, there are new ways to use online communities of practice (CoP) to link educational professionals and move towards continuous improvement. School systems should learn from the Online Connected Educators Project www.connectededucators.org supported by US Department of Education to learn best practice around moderating and facilitating a valuable professional resource for your faculty.

Our vision should be Participatory Learning.

Prof. Henry Jenkins argues that over the past 20 years we have moved to a more Participatory Culture where information and expertise is increasingly less hierarchical and society is more participatory. What does that mean for the kind of education we need to prepare for the world?  It means that collaboration is increasingly a critical life skill. We must increasingly apply social networking/Web 2.0 tools to enable a much more participatory learning environment.


121 of 875

This is a 23 year old, 5’7”, 138 lbs woman with limited fat, whose primary concern was the shape of her buttocks. By using her fat from the abdomen, we were able to give her the curve she always wanted.


Graphene is a 2D honeycomb lattice of carbon that was first isolated in 2004. It boasts a wealth of fascinating electronic properties, many of which come from the fact that electrons in the material travel through it at extremely high speeds for relatively long distances without hitting anything. This means that electronic devices, like transistors, made from graphene could be faster than any that exist today.

The team, led by Sagar Bhandari and Robert Westervelt at Harvard, studied a sample made from a hBN−graphene−hBN sandwich with two narrow contacts along each side, separated by 2.0 µm, and large source and drain contacts at either end. Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is an excellent substrate for graphene, because the two materials have very similar lattice constants. The hBN-graphene-hBN sample was placed on a heavily doped Si substrate, which acts as a back-gate, covered by an insulating layer of SiO2.

Scanning gate microscopy images electron flow

Bhandari and colleagues observed the semicircular flow of electrons in graphene between the two narrow contacts when the diameter of the cyclotron orbit is equal to the contact spacing. They obtained their result by placing a scanning gate microscope (SGM) tip just above the graphene sheet. The charge on the tip creates an image charge in the conducting graphene directly below the tip that scatters the electron flow, casting a shadow “downstream”. By measuring the change in electron flow as the tip is scanned above the graphene, the researchers obtain an image of the cyclotron orbit.

“Imaging electron trajectories in this way allows us to directly see and understand how electrons move though graphene,” explains Westervelt. “The technique will be a very valuable tool for designing new ‘ballistic electronics’.”

Graphene electrons behave like quantum waves

“Although the above description treats electrons as if they were classical particles, they actually behave as quantum waves,” he says. “Indeed, we previously used scanning gate microscopy to image interference fringes for electrons in a GaAs two-dimensional electron gas, spaced by half the Fermi wavelength. We now plan to do similar experiments to image electron waves in graphene and other atomic-layer materials.

“In collaboration with Philip Kim’s group, also at Harvard, we are imaging electron flow though narrow channels and constrictions in bilayer graphene in an effort to develop quantum point contacts that are only half a wavelength wide,” he tells “We also hope to use the SGM tip to create graphene quantum dots that hold an integer number of electrons.

"By combining Kim’s team’s expertise in device design and fabrication with my group’s imaging technique, we hope to make important advances in the field of atomic layer devices," he adds.

The research is detailed in Nano Letters DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b04609.


Copyrighting a Caesar Salad

by epicurious
on 06/29/07 at 06:05 AM

A New York Times article on a chef's lawsuit spotlighted a possible new trend: As Pete wells reported, Pearl Oyster Bar's Rebecca Charles was suing a former employee, Ed McFarland, over intellectual property rights. McFarland had worked at Charles's famed New York eatery and then over a year ago left and opened his own place, which Charles's said was strikingly similar to Pearl -- from the decor, to the menu to the recipe for a Caesar salad. She apparently is suing him on behalf of all chefs who've had the same thing done to them.
Being influenced by your mentors is not just common but the rule, and those chefs who were not flattered by their imitators were likely heavily mirroring restaurants from their own travels or experience -- everyone is influenced by someone. Thus, it's hard to know where imitation and influence end and infringement begins.
In Chicago Magazine's online "Dish" column, editor Penny Pollack asks some local chefs what they thought and as she says, "none were particularly sympathetic to Ms. Charles:"
"Look at all the people who worked under Jean Banchet [founder of the recently closed legendary Le Francais]. A lot of what we do when cooking straightforward French is stuff we learned from Jean Banchet. He could say we stole his intellectual property. But instead I think it makes him feel as though he's got a lineage. Banchet in turn learned from Fernand Point."
Michael Altenberg, executive chef/owner (Bistro Campagne, Crust)
"If I had only one good recipe in me, I don't belong in this business. And I don't see how you can copyright an aesthetic. Where do you think we got the purse stool idea [for Tru]? Alain Ducasse in Monaco was doing it. Rick [Tramonto] and I saw it on our honeymoon and knew we wanted to do it someday."
Gale Gand, executive pastry chef/partner (Tramonto's Steak & Seafood, Osteria di Tramonto, RT Lounge, Gale's Coffee Bar)
Where do you stand on this issue? Is Charles right or wrong?

Tagged with: News & Gossip
12:54:01 PM on

First of all, I don't think "copyright" was the issue. Copyrights protect written and artistic expression. Menus can be protected by copyright, but recipes can't. Nor can restaurant decor. Now, what the issue really appears to be is alleged theft of trade secrets, and infringement of trade dress. Trade secrets can be anything of value for which measures were taken to keep as a secret. I suppose that a secret method for preparing something, or a "secret formula" kind of recipe could be considered trade secrets. If a restaurant or chef really does take measures to keep some technique or recipe secret, then I see no reason why an employee should not be liable if he or she knowingly uses the trade secret elsewhere. Of course, if a recipe or technique can be determined simply from looking at a dish, tasting it, etc., then it is simply not a trade secret.

"Trade dress" is a concept rooted in trademark law. With respect to restaurant decor, the idea is that if there are distinctive elements of a restaurant's decor that the public comes to uniquely associate with that restaurant, then the restaurant should be entitled to protect them. There was a famous case involving a Mexican restaurant, where the Supreme Court found that "inherently distinctive" elements such as overhead garage doors uniquely identified that restaurant and should be protectable as the restaurant's proprietary trade dress. Again, I see nothing wrong with a restaurant pursuing a former employee who copied inherently distinctive things that the public came to understand were associated with that particular restaurant.

Yes, I'm a lawyer. And like many of us, also a foodie.

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What is 'Inflation'

As a result of inflation, the purchasing power of a unit of currency falls. For example, if the inflation rate is 2%, then a pack of gum that costs $1 in a given year will cost $1.02 the next year. As goods and services require more money to purchase, the implicit value of that money falls.

Historical Examples of Inflation and Hyperinflation

Today, few currencies are fully backed by gold or silver. Since most world currencies are fiat money, the money supply could increase rapidly for political reasons, resulting in inflation. The most famous example is the hyperinflation that struck the German Weimar Republic in the early 1920s. The nations that had been victorious in World War I demanded reparations from Germany, which could not be paid in German paper currency, as this was of suspect value due to government borrowing. Germany attempted to print paper notes, buy foreign currency with them, and use that to pay their debts.

This policy led to the rapid devaluation of the German mark, and with it, hyperinflation. German consumers exacerbated the cycle by trying to spend their money as fast as possible, expecting that it would be worth less and less the longer they waited. More and more money flooded the economy, and its value plummeted to the point where people would paper their walls with the practically worthless bills. Similar situations have occurred in Peru in 1990 and Zimbabwe in 2007-2008.

Inflation and the 2008 Global Recession

Inflation in Moderation: Harms and Benefits

While excessive inflation and hyperinflation have negative economic consequences, deflation's negative consequences for the economy can be just as bad or worse. Consequently, policy makers since the end of the 20th century have attempted to keep inflation steady at 2% per year. The European Central Bank has also pursued aggressive quantitative easing to counter deflation in the Eurozone, and some places have experienced negative interest rates, due to fears that deflation could take hold in the eurozone and lead to economic stagnation. Moreover, countries that are experiencing higher rates of growth can absorb higher rates of inflation. India's target is around 4%, Brazil's 4.5%.

Real World Example of Inflation

Inflation is generally measured in terms of a consumer price index (CPI), which tracks the prices of a basket of core goods and services over time. Viewed another way, this tool measures the "real"—that is, adjusted for inflation—value of earnings over time. It is important to note that the components of the CPI do not change in price at the same rates or even necessarily move the same direction. For example, the prices of secondary education and housing have been increasing much more rapidly than the prices of other goods and services; meanwhile fuel prices have risen, fallen, risen again and fallen again—each time very sharply—in the past ten years.

Inflation is one of the primary reasons that people invest in the first place. Just as the pack of gum that costs a dollar will cost $1.02 in a year, assuming 2% inflation, a savings account that was worth $1,000 would be worth $903.92 after 5 years, and $817.07 after 10 years, assuming that you earn no interest on the deposit. Stuffing cash into a mattress, or buying a tangible asset like gold, may make sense to people who live in unstable economies or who lack legal recourse. However, for those who can trust that their money will be reasonably safe if they make prudent equity or bond investments, this is arguably the way to go.

There is still risk, of course: bond issuers can default, and companies that issue stock can go under. For this reason it's important to do solid research and create a diverse portfolio. But in order to keep inflation from steadily gnawing away at your money, it's important to invest it in assets that can be reasonably be expected to yield at a greater rate than inflation.

For further reading on this subject, check out the Inflation Tutorial.

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Great Zimbabwe

Great Zimbabwe is the name given to the remains, sometimes referred to as the Great Zimbabwe Ruins, of an ancient Southern African city, located at in present-day Zimbabwe which was once the center of a vast empire known as the Munhumutapa Empire (also called Monomotapa Empire). This empire ruled territory now falling within the modern states of Zimbabwe (which took its name from this city) and Mozambique.

Inside of the Great Enclosure in the ruins of Great Zimbabwe.

The origin of the word Zimbabwe is not known, but there are two schools of thought. It could be short form for "ziimba remabwe", a Shona (dialect: chiKaranga) term, which means "the great or big house built of stones". A second theory is that Zimbabwe is a contracted form of "dzimba woye" which means "venerated houses," a term usually reserved for chiefs' houses or graves. Currently, Great Zimbabwe is an archeological site. The site is also modern Zimbabwe's national shrine where the Zimbabwe Bird (a national symbol of Zimbabwe) was found.

An early European explorer, Viçente Pegado, Captain of the Portuguese Garrison of Sofala, described Zimbabwe thus, in 1531:

Built consistently throughout the period from the years AD 400 to the 15th century, the ruins at Great Zimbabwe are some of the oldest and largest structures located in Sub-Saharan Africa. At its peak, estimates are that the ruins of Great Zimbabwe had as many as 18,000 inhabitants.

Hill Complex at Great Zimbabwe

Built entirely of stone (those parts that survive), the ruins span 1,800 acres (7 km2) and cover a radius of 100 to 200 miles (160 to 320 km). The ruins can be broken down into three distinct architectural groups. They are known as the Hill Complex, the Valley Complex and the famous Great Enclosure. Over 300 structures have been located so far in the Great Enclosure.

The type of stone structures found on the site give an indication of the status of the citizenry. Structures that were more elaborate were built for the kings and situated further away from the center of the city. It is thought that this was done in order to escape sleeping sickness.

What little evidence exists suggests that Great Zimbabwe also became a center for trading, with artifacts suggesting that the city formed part of a trade network extending as far as China.

Portuguese traders were the first Europeans to visit the remains of the ancient city in the early 16th century. In the 19th century, after the ruins were rediscovered by Adam Renders in 1868 and reported on by Karl Mauch in 1871, they became well known to English readers from J. Theodore Bent's season at Zimbabwe, under Rhodes' patronage. Bent, whose archaeological experience had all been in Greece and Asia Minor, stated that the ruins revealed the Phoenicians as the builders. Even after his account of the Ruined Cities of Mashonaland was published, theories as to their origin abounded, with one element in common: they could not have been built by black people; they must have some Mediterranean or Biblical connection. Mauch had favored the Queen of Sheba legend. Nowadays most archaeologists accept that Great Zimbabwe was probably built by one of the Shona-speaking peoples; the Lemba, a Shona-speaking tribe living along the border between Zimbabwe and South Africa, claim Great Zimbabwe as one of a number of stone cities they profess to have built in east Africa.

The first scientific archaeological excavations at the site were undertaken in by David Randall-MacIver in 1905-1906. During the late 1920s, Gertrude Caton-Thompson proved conclusively the site was of African origin. Since then artifacts and radiocarbon dating have proved that the oldest remains date back to the 11th century.

Some of the famous soapstone bird carvings were taken from Great Zimbabwe around 1890 and sold to Cecil Rhodes, who was intrigued and had copies made which he gave to friends. Most of the carvings have been returned to Zimbabwe, but one remains at Rhodes' old home, Groote Schuur, in Cape Town.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Great Zimbabwe ".


“When you show up the kids are so excited to see you, it’s great. I really do believe that this program does boost the self-esteem of the children.”
Sarah, Cross-Age Mentor, Junior at Red Bluff High

School–Based Mentoring Programs

Lunch Buddies

Lunch Buddies is catered toward the working professional or busy adult who still wants to give part of his/her time to mentoring a student. Mentors serve as a positive role model and commit to spending at least one lunch hour per week for one school year with a specific student at school. Mentors do not have to provide lunch for the student, but may if they wish. They meet with their mentee in a quiet area of the school and spend one–on–one time sharing lunch and conversation. Depending on interests, they may discuss school, goals, social skills and relationships, etc. Lunch buddies are only required to commit to one lunch hour per week, but can schedule as many as time permits.

Cross–Age Mentoring

The Cross–Age program matches a college or high school student mentor with a young elementary school mentee between the ages of 5–13 who is enrolled in the SERRF After School Program. Mentors commit to meeting with mentees at for least one hour per week for the duration of a semester. Mentors assist their student mentees with homework and social skills. High school students can earn a stipend for completing the program.

The Mentor–Tutor program is similar to Cross–Age Mentoring, however it matches an adult volunteer with an elementary school student. The Mentor–Tutor program focuses on improving academic achievement and literacy skills, and includes English Language Learners. Mentors meet with their mentee after the regular school day for at least two hours per week for the duration of one semester.


This Is How I'm Eating More Vegetables

Micro Resolutions for 2016

Last month when I made my confession about the lack of daily vegetables in my diet, what felt like a failure to admit quickly became a support-group moment for me. Reader suggestions pointed me to both easy solutions and delicious adventures. Several weeks in, green things and vegetables overall are definitely making a more noticeable appearance in my diet, and I've realized that the path to a consistent diet of healthy foods is laid with both intention and preparation.

Of course, there were days when I didn't meet my goal to eat veggies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but there were never successive days when I failed to eat them at all. Here's what I learned.

Planning Ahead Is Key

Prepping for breakfast was a must. Having spinach and veggies consumption-ready kept me from eyeing my toddler's no-cook breakfast options or opting for yogurt with fruit, nuts, and granola. Usually, I opted for a little of both, and my morning success usually kept me encouraged to stick to a side salad at lunch, too.

Veggies Make Excellent Snacks

So many readers said snacks were their main source for a routine intake of vegetables. What a great alternative to crackers and fruit! Here are a few of my favorite ways to snack on veggies.

  • Swap crackers for bell peppers when noshing on hummus.
  • Keep crudités in the refrigerator for snack attacks.
  • Replace the pre-dinner snack with a side salad.

Experimentation Keeps It Interesting

Dinner was where my micro-resolution got adventurous. Trying new recipes and adding vegetables in dishes that didn't call for them helped keep me on track. It felt great to end the day with something I knew was doing good for my body, instead of hitting the pillow with the shame of surrendering to pizza or yet anther turkey burger.

The limits of my husband's diet and a toddler's scrutinizing eye sometimes made it feel a little like an Iron Chef challenge (for someone who isn't a terribly adventurous cook), but I did find some successful dishes. This pesto, sausage, and Brussel sprouts dish made a few appearances. I also played around with sides like kale salad with quinoa and homemade dressing, green beans with almonds, and broccoli slaw.

Soup Is Always Good

As predicted, soups got served up for lunch, on busy weeknights, or when we cleaned out the fridge. The best part? Everyone could eat something a little different without a lot of extra fuss.

I also wanted to share a few suggestions from all of you that really helped me in my quest. Thanks, y'all, for your thoughts!

The thing that led us to eating more vegetables and fruit (such that we have lots of them in pretty much every meal) was doing a weekly shop at a farmers market before planning our weekly meals. We go there, see what looks good, and try to buy enough to provide all our fresh produce for the week. - CGlondon

I cook for two people in their 90s who give vegetables lip service, but actually eat little (if I don't get sneaky). I process purées of different vegetable mixtures to include in everything, and keep them in single-use packets in the freezer. - JoPB

I purée a bag of super greens (or just kale or spinach), pour into an ice cube tray, freeze, plonk in a zip-top bag, and keep in the freezer. One cube in a protein smoothie. Bam! Not only do I get a big handful of greens, but the smoothie also isn't as chewy as adding fresh, and my greens don't go bad. - Mrs. Armstrong

Something that really helped me was signing up for a CSA. They deliver lots of veggies; I almost stopped going to the grocery store, except to replace pantry staples. So many veggies and you know more are coming next week, so you better buckle down and eat 'em. - miniwheat

(Image credits: Emma Christensen)


House Spoilers

House Quotes

Dr. Foreman: I'm sorry. We need to remove your eye.
Apple: My eye?
House: A moment ago you thought you were dying. Blind's actually good news.


- Small Business Trends - http://smallbiztrends.com -

Didn’t You Hear Me? I Thought I Said Mush!

mush dogs cartoon business

Often, when I’m stuck for an idea, I take something odd and throw it in a business meeting: Anthropomorphic house plant, giant robot, DNA…

Then, instead of trying to come up with an idea, you’re solving a problem. What is the anthropomorphic houseplant talking about? Is the giant robot manager a good idea? What would DNA tell its employees?

Or, in this case – what might come out of a sled dog team and a sales graph?


Climate Change 2001:
Working Group II: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
Other reports in this collection Temperature

Central America shows different signs for temperature trends, according to the specific area under analysis. For example, in Costa Rica, Alfaro (1993) identifies a positive trend in daily maximum temperature. Gómez and Fernández (1996) and OCCH (1999) have identified negative trends for large areas of Costa Rica and Honduras. MARENA's (2000) analyses of time series for Nicaragua find only a small increase in mean temperature for Managua, which might be associated with growth in urbanization.

For northwestern South America, monthly mean air temperature records show a warming of 0.5-0.8°C for the last decade of the 20th century (Pabón, 1995a; Pabón et al., 1999; Quintana-Gomez, 1999). Colombia also presents increasing trends in the time series for the daily series of daily mean and minimum temperature for the past 30-40 years. Similar patterns have been observed in average monthly dew point and relative humidity (Mesa et al., 1997; Pérez et al., 1998). Coastal cities from northern Peru presented increases in air temperature since 1940, where 16 El Niño events were reported (Jaimes, 1997; SENAMHI, 1999).

Data since the beginning of the 20th century do not show a clear tendency in mean temperature in the southern cone, but there is a decrease in the thermal range. Moreover, south of 50°S there are indications of a positive tendency (Hoffman et al., 1997). However, when a shorter record is used for the analysis, Argentina and Chile show a large warming rate of 1.2-3.0°C per 100 years (Rosenblüth et al., 1997).

In south tropical Argentina, warming is observed only during the austral autumn season (Bejarán and Barros, 1998). The Argentina humid pampa, represented by Buenos Aires, presents a warming as a result of urban effects (Camilloni and Barros, 1997). Intensity and persistence of heat and cold waves present tendencies in which the sign depends on the region (Rusticucci and Vargas, 1998).

In extra-tropical west South America (Chile), surface air temperature has varied differently during the 20th century. South of approximately 45°S, temperatures have been increasing in stepwise fashion (Aceituno et al., 1993). In the area spanning about 35°S to 45°S, the most significant feature is a well-defined cooling of 1-2°C from the 1950s to the mid-1970s.

Other reports in this collection