If your feet swell get concerned - Daily Monitor

If your feet swell get concerned

Monday June 25 2018

Swelling can be caused by less seri

Swelling can be caused by less serious conditions leading to complications. Stock photo

By Carolyne B. Atangaza

Pedal edema is the medical term health experts use to refer to swollen feet. There are several conditions that usually cause feet to swell such as pregnancy, injury and walking for long distances, among others.

However, there are instances when your feet swell; yet, you are neither pregnant, nor injured and the furthest you have walked is from your living room couch to the fridge.

According to Dr George Bwesigye from Najeera Hospital, pedal edema is caused by fluid in the tissues, either caused by something local to the swollen area such as an injury or inflammation, or from the body’s retention of water.
“Whether the swelling is slight or considerable, it is always an indication that something is not right. Normally if one foot is swollen, something is wrong with the foot. If both feet are swollen, it is not the feet, but water retention caused by various conditions some of which are serious and should serve as red flags to a larger health issue and thus the need to see a doctor,” Dr Bwesigye explains.

Heart failure
According to Dr Bwesigye, foot swelling is one of the signs of heart failure. Heart failure is when your heart is unable to pump enough blood to complete the circulation process; therefore blood gets retained in the veins leading to fluid buildup.

“One should be concerned if they are also experiencing shortness of breath and if they press the feet, the skin stays indented,” the doctor explains. He urges the person with these symptoms to seek urgent medical help.

Kidney failure
There are a number of conditions that can cause poor functioning of the kidney including inflammation and kidney damage.
Any of these conditions will interfere with the kidney’s major role which is balancing fluids in the body. The individual then usually ends up experiencing swelling in other parts of the body including the feet.
Another critical condition that causes feet to swell is cirrhosis of the liver. Conditions such as Hepatitis B and C or alcoholism cause the liver to become scarred which interferes with blood flow to and in the liver. This causes high blood pressure in the veins going into the liver which leads to swelling not only in the legs and feet but also in the abdomen.

Dr Moses Semulya, a general physician, describes gout as a form of arthritis caused by an accumulation of uric acid in the body. This uric acid can be caused by certain foods, medication and medical conditions. “When this occurs, the uric acid turns into crystals which can accumulate in the joints, causing the pain and swelling associated with a gout attack,” Dr Semulya explains. Symptoms of gout include pain in the big toe, ankles, heels, redness, stiffness, heat, and swelling. If you are experiencing these symptoms, is it is advisable to be reviewed by a doctor for treatment. In addition to medication, the doctor will give dietary advice to manage the problem.

There are a lot of health complications that come with being overweight. One of them is swollen feet. The extra weight creates extra pressure and strain on your feet, and can make standing and walking uncomfortable or painful. Consistent pressure leads to weakened tendons and ligaments, issues with the ankles, posterior tibial tendonitis and swelling among others.

According to Dr Agatha Nambuya, an endocrinologist, hormonal changes caused by ovulation, contraception or hormone medication can also contribute to swelling in various parts of the body, including your feet. To relieve the swelling drink enough water, reduce salt intake and exercise to help with circulation.

She further notes that different medication can also cause feet to swell. For example, drugs mainly prescribed for diabetics make it harder to get sodium out of the body, which leads to swelling. Also, heart drugs known as direct vasodilators can also cause swelling.

“Vasodilation” means the drugs help open up the blood vessels to make blood flow more freely. Examples are Loniten (minoxidil) and Apresoline (hydralazine). Calcium channel blockers widen blood vessels by relaxing the muscles in vessel walls. This can also cause foot swelling, as can angiotensin receptor blockers, which prevent sodium from being flushed out of your body.

Check for lymphedema
Lymphedema is a condition that occurs when something goes wrong with your lymphatic system, which is part of your immune system. Lymphatic fluid carries infection-fighting white blood cells to different parts of the body. Clusters of lymph nodes throughout your body control the travel of this fluid.

But if your lymph nodes have been damaged or removed, say during surgery for cancer, the fluid will not drain properly and that causes swelling. Generally, swelling in the feet happens when the pelvic lymph nodes, which control lymph movement in your legs and feet, are injured or removed.

Blood clots
Blood clots known as deep vein thrombosis usually form when there is limited movement in the legs. “The blood clot causes pressure to increase in the affected area which then pushes the fluids in the blood out of the veins into the tissues,” Dr Semulya explains.

Blood clots are very lethal but if detected early can be treated. Those at risk of developing blood clots include the overweight, smokers, pregnant women, and those suffering from heart diseases, kidney conditions, a previous clot, cancer, or taking certain medications, such as birth control pills. Symptoms include intense pain, discomfort and swelling. The doctor advises anyone who experiences such symptoms to seek urgent medical help.

Treatment for swollen feet according to Dr Bwesigye varies depending on the cause. For proper and effective treatment, he advises the individual to visit a doctor for proper evaluation and treatment. Treatment usually involves medications and lifestyle changes. Reducing salt intake and eating healthier foods can reduce fluid retention not only in the feet and ankles but also in the lungs. The sodium in salt is the biggest dietary culprit when it comes to retaining water in general.

Doctors recommend that adults take in no more than 2,300 mg of sodium every day, or about a teaspoon of salt per day. Most of the sodium people consume comes not from the salt shaker but from processed and restaurant food, where it is hidden among a list of ingredients and used as a preservative. Prime sources include cold cuts, processed snacks, frozen meals, canned soups, bread, and salad dressing. Go easy on all of these, and instead focus on sodium-free items such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole grains while avoiding processed foods.

Dr Bwesigye says other lifestyle changes include exercising your muscles. The contraction of calf muscles helps to push the blood back up to the heart. So doing calf raises, going for a walk are helpful. “Exercising and eating healthy will also help you maintain healthy body weight which is effective in reducing putting extra weight and pressure on the feet that results in swelling. Another simple way to reduce swelling in the feet is to keep them in an elevated position to facilitate blood flow,” he says.

Take breaks to move around if your work requires you to sit for long periods of time.

Home remedies
Treat yourself to a massage
A massage therapist can do wonders for swollen feet and ankles. Do not be shy about mentioning the problem when you get to your appointment, so she or he can focus on getting things moving in your lower extremities. If you are pregnant, find a therapist who specializes in prenatal massage. A prenatal massage therapist will be much more knowledgeable about how to make you comfortable. Seriously, I have never had so many pillows around me in my life, but all of that really does help make it a more beneficial experience.

Do a salt water soak
Adding a healthy dose of Epsom salts to the tub is another way to boost that bath. You can also just use a bucket and soak your feet and ankles. If your calves are swollen, too, a bath is probably your best bet.

Grab some grapefruit essential oil
A warm bath can also help with swelling, and you can give that water a boost with a few drops of grapefruit essential oil! You can also just fill a bucket with nice, warm water to soak in. If baths are not your thing, you can also mix a few drops of grapefruit oil with a carrier oil like olive or sweet almond oil and give yourself a little foot and leg massage. As you rub your feet, ankles, and calves, focus your pressure upward, rather than downward or in a circular motion.
Source: https://www.care2.com


Nadim Teimoori, Jazz Saxophonist

I've been very fortunate to study and perform with some world class musicians and I'm keen to use my knowledge and experience to help achieve your goal whatever it may be!

I specialise in teaching Jazz and improvisation (saxophone), however I have a lot of passion for many other styles of music and can tailor the lessons to your own passions and interests.

I enjoy teaching all ages and have had experience teaching from ages 9 up to adulthood.

I hold an up-to-date enhanced DBS (CRB) check certificate.

If you have any enquiries, please don't hesitate to either call or drop me an email.


10 jobs for Investment

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1. Capital expenditures - is:
a. financing of reproduction of fixed assets and intangible assets;
b. investment of funds in assets prinosyashie maximum income;
c. long-term investment of funds in financial assets.

2. Issue of securities are:
a. certificates of deposit;
b. promissory notes;
c. shares;
the bonds;
d. checks

3. Investment project - is:
a. Case, activities, events, suggesting the complex implementation of any actions that achieve certain goals (getting some results).
b. The system of organizational - legal and settlement - the financial instruments needed to implement any - any action or describing such actions.
c. The best one, b.

4. There are the following payment schedule in time:
- 1 January 2000 - 30 thousand. Rubles.
- July 1, 2000 - 100 thousand. Rub.
- 1 January 2001 - 40 thousand. Rubles.
- 1 January 2002 - 10 thousand. Rub.
Determine the amount outstanding at January 1, 2002 and its present value at the time of payment of the first sum at the rate of 25% per annum compounding.

5. Projects 1 2 3
A -900 500 1000
B -1000 50 2000
Compare projects NPV, PI, PP, IRR at a rate comparison of q = 10%.

6. Yield A shares, B shares% Yield% probability
10 5 0.1
0 15 0.25
15 20 0.3
20 25 0.35
Compute the covariance and correlation coefficient.

7. The nominal interest rate in the calculation of quarterly equal to 16% per annum. To determine the effective interest rate.

8. Dollars were sold at the rate of 24 rubles. / USD., And the sum placed on deposit in the compound interest rate of 10% (40%) per annum. After 1.2 years backfilled amount was spent on the purchase of dollars at the rate of 26.4 rubles. / Dollar. The inflation rate of the dollar during this time amounted to 4%. To determine the profitability of a financial transaction.

9. The Foundation receives funds annually for 10,000 rubles. for seven years, which bear interest at the rate of 15% per annum, with payment made at the end of the quarter. Identify the factors compounding and bring rents, as well as the value of the fund at the end of the term and its present value.

10. The first payment, equal to 9 thousand. Rub., To be paid in 2 years, and the second, equal to 12 thousand. Rub., Paid in 5 years. Compare these payments at a difficult interest rate of 15% per annum.

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ColdFusion Zeus POTW: Total and Free Disk Space

Continuing on with my ColdFusion Zeus previews, today is yet another small, but useful addition - getTotalSpace and getFreeSpace. Together these functions can tell you how much space you have on a drive versus how much space is actually available. Not exactly rocket science, and it’s been possible before via UDFs, but it’s nice to see it baked into the language. It also bears repeating something I’ve said at a few conferences lately - if your site allows for uploads (images, PDFs, etc), are you currently keeping track of your disk space? Sure you may have 50 gigs of space free now, but in a month, how much will be left? Using these functions you could easily create a scheduled task that simply sees if the free space is below a certain threshold. If it is, an email could be fired off to warn you to either clean up old files or find a bigger drive. (Or even better - move to Amazon S3, since ColdFusion 9.0.1 makes that pretty trivial as well.)

As a simple example, here's a call to getTotalSpace:

On my desktop this returns 987339157504. The function does basic checking of the drive sent and will throw an error if you ask for something that doesn't exist, like a z:/ drive for example. Running getFreeSpace works the same:

That returns 732335194112. I could probably install two more copies of World of Warcraft with that much space. Maybe even a Master Collection as well. You can also run the same functions on the VFS system:

<cfset totalVFS = getTotalSpace('ram://')> <cfset freeVFS = getFreeSpace('ram:/')>

By the way, I should point out that Zeus also allows you to set your VFS to be application-specific - something I asked for when VFS was first introduced. I'll demonstrate that in a later post.

So, that's pretty much it. Here's a quick example that converts the bytes to megs and renders it in simple chart.

<cfset free = round(getFreeSpace("c:/")/1048576)> <cfset total = round(getTotalSpace("c:/")/1048576)> <cfset used = total - free> <cfchart chartheight="500" chartwidth="500" title="Disk Usage (#total# Megs)"> <cfchartseries type="pie"> <cfchartdata item="Free Space" value="#free#"> <cfchartdata item="Used Space" value="#used#"> </cfchartseries> </cfchart>

Raymond Camden's Picture

About Raymond Camden

Lafayette, LA


Interview with the Artist: Selene B. Carter

Tektonika Ondine Photography: Jeremy Hogan

Tektonika Ondine, Photography: Jeremy Hogan

How do you feel Cincinnati has played a role in your creative process?

Cincinnati is a vital urban center for the arts in the mid-west. I am deeply committed to underscoring and celebrating the work of mid-western contemporary artists. We have a commitment to work ethic, creative process and a heart connection that is unique to our region. Half of the performers in my work are recruited from the Cincinnati area. My piece is about a working community and it felt only right to include locals in this community. Also, the local newspaper has a role. (More will be revealed, and no pun intended!)

 What do you feel is the most unique element to your piece?

Tektonima Ondine is a dance installation. Most of it is set choreography, yet there are improvised scores imbedded within it. There is an large nonhuman element (I want it to be a surprise for the audience!) that reifies space and acts as a performer, making sound, moving and changing shape. Also, the performers are of mixed abilities, not all are technically trained dancers.

What or who are the biggest influences for you on this piece?

The community of people in the work are the biggest influence by far. Nick Melloan-Ruiz is a performer with cerebral palsy. A lot of the movement development emerged out of how he relates to gravity and space. How he falls. Disney’s the Little Mermaid was an icon for him growing up. He identifies with the mermaid in terms of his physical limitations. How are each of us out or in our element as movers, as people in our communities? When are we fish out of water and how do we cope with that? What allows us to feel safely engaged and a part of a functional and productive group of people?

I am also a historian of American concert dance and I am deeply influenced by post-modern dance pioneer, Simone Forti. I was doing research on her early career and became fascinated with her collaborator (and ex-husband) Robert Whitman’s installations of the 1960’s, especially Flower (1960)and American Moon (1963). I was also thinking about Joseph Albers and the Russian Constructivist movement in art and architecture. Albers founded the infamous Black Mountain College, and the artists that worked there (Merce Cunningham, John Cage, Robert Rauschenberg, MC Richards among them) hugely influenced the end of the last century in art and dance.

If you could describe your piece with three words what would they be?

About Selene B. Carter

Selene Carter, choreographer, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre, Drama and Contemporary Dance at Indiana University, Bloomington. Her work integrates improvisation, site specific performance, interdisciplinary collaboration and reconfigurations of historic dances. A certified instructor in the Bill Evan’s Laban based modern dance technique, she received Chicago’s highest honor for dance, the Ruth Page Award for her improvised dance performances. This year her choreography was presented by Milwaukee’s Wild Space Dance Company’s in their Reckless Wonders concert, in the Regional Alternative Dance (RAD) Festival, Kalamazoo, Michigan and in the Breaking Ground Dance Festival, Tempe, Arizona. In 2014 she was a charter member of Doug Varone’s choreographic mentorship project, Devices.


Blockbuster Death Watch

Forbes: “But at such a high cost, with little evidence that the project would connect with audiences to justify it, a $220- $250 million Lone Ranger will now struggle to break even if it does the unlikely and crosses $400 million worldwide.”

This is a bit frightening if you’re a fan of movies. A few weeks back Steven Spielberg warned how close Hollywood is to collapse.

“That’s the big danger, and there’s eventually going to be an implosion â€” or a big meltdown. There’s going to be an implosion where three or four or maybe even a half-dozen megabudget movies are going to go crashing into the ground, and that’s going to change the paradigm.”

I hope this doesn’t happen, but to read an article outlining how a $250 million film is a flop is a bit of a drag.


Autor: Belén Monclús, Maria Gutiérrez, Josep Maria Martí, Xavier Ribes, Iliana Ferrer
Congrés: Congress IAMCR 2013 Dublín
Link: http://www.iamcr2013dublin.org

Abstract: Conventional broadcasters have smoothly inserted social media in their communicating strategies; mainly awaken by its relevance for performing an important role as a meeting space, as an element that triggers the emotional laces with the audience and as a potential broadcasting platforms to spread their content as well; thus, reinforcing the online brand and acting as a bridge leading the listeners flow towards the conventional listening. This strategy is partly due to the increase of users in social media such as Facebook and Twitter (AIMC, 2012). Perhaps this situation has interfered with the diverse use that public and private radio stations make out of the web: an institutional informative channel and a news website, keeping the social media profiles only for an exclusive use for communicating with listeners (Ribes, 2011).
In the current crisis context, broadcasters feel pushed out to seek for news business formulas within the new digital communicating ecosystem (Macnamara, 2010). This is a slow-paced and extremely complex task in the radio broadcasting environment, which still remains tightened up to an old fashioned business model and with still no clear strategy for the web. With any cast of doubt, online space has widely increased the participation roads in radio stations and it has opened the gate to the broadcasting continuum becoming an exhibitor of listeners contributions to the construction of broadcasting discourse. But, how does the potential presence of listeners in the construction of the broadcasting discourse affects the productive routines?
This present paper presents the outcome referred to broadcasting production routines collected from the investigation carried out by The Radio Observatory in Catalonia (GRISS-UAB), that deals with the synergies established between the conventional broadcasting and these two social media: Facebook and Twitter (broadcasting content management, policies and strategies between conventional broadcasting  the base for the broadcasting offer- and its presence and use of social media). For that matter, there have been interviews and surveys conducted in depth with those responsible for the public and private generalist radio stations with the biggest numbers in audience; both in Spanish and Catalan territory (RNE, Cadena SER, Catalunya Ràdio and RAC1) narrowing down the survey focus in the first stage of the research upon the logical sequence of production that these stations deploy their flagship programs (prime time, 6:00-12:00 am), their big exponents of their broadcasting brand, and their activity in Facebook and Twitter.
Among the most significant outcome, one might observe the lack of a character that boosts the debate in the social media and stimulates the audience to insert content which might be interesting enough to be integrated within the agenda setting. In certain occasions, the discussion emerged in Facebook and Twitter would not alter such agenda, heading up to parallel discourses which shall never meet up. Moreover, within the conventional broadcasting framework, the strategy of reinforcing the role of the radio stars blurs in the social media framework, mainly because those are platforms where each radio station takes different actions. In general, the use of social media and the virtual content production will not end up showing an economical return for radio broadcasters although the conventional business model is changing, it sketches the path of transition and with an uncertain result forecast.


Sleep Positions: What It Says About Your Relationship

Some studies have showed that the position you sleep in with your partner can reveal a lot about your relationship. Check out the 10 following positions and see what it says about the relationship you have with your partner.

The Spoon
It is the most common way to sleep in the first three to five years of a relationship. This position provides both of you with maximum physical closeness and is a healthy start to a long term relationship.

The Honeymoon Hug
Although it is very hard to maintain this position throughout the night, it is a popular one for new couples. It means you are completely “in sync” with your partner and you both share a profound intimacy.

The Shingles
This symbolizes a strong commitment towards each other. Whoever’s head rests on the others shoulder is the more dependent and compliant partner.

The Sweetheart’s Cradle
It is known to be the “nurturing position”. It shows that the man is protecting her.

The Loosely Tethered
This position is mostly demonstrated by couples who have been together for a few years. In the beginning of the relationship, they will allow themselves to sacrifice their comfort to sleep closer to one another. After a few years, they allow themselves to have a little more space. The need of closeness is still balanced by touching your partner with your hand.

Leg hug
This is used by couples who enjoy less physical contact or that maybe feel distant from one another due to a fight/disagreement. It can also mean that they feel very secure within the relationship and don’t feel the need to be close, physically, with one another during the night.

The Pursuit
If a partner turns his/her back, it can either mean he or she wishes to have some distance or wants to be pursued.  If one party then pursues and pushes up against the other partner while sleeping, that’s called “Illegal Spooning”. But it is also possible that the partner who distances himself/herself may actually want to be pursued. His/her distancing becomes an invitation – “a dance of the spoons”.

Reference: Sleep Positions: What does it say about YOU & HIM?


Marvel's WHAT IF? Animated Series Planned For Disney+ Streaming Service With a Focus on the MCU

If you're a reader of Marvel Comics, you're familiar with their long-running 'What If?' comic book series. The concept is simple as each issue looks at moments throughout Marvel's comic book history and puts a 'what if?' spin on a different outcome.

According to SlashFilm, Marvel Studios will be bringing an animated version of the WHAT IF? series to the Disney+ streaming network. SlashFilm writes:

"We have exclusively learned that Marvel Studios will be producing a new television series for the Disney+ streaming service based on the popular What If comic book series. The new animated show will be overseen by Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios, but the stories will not be canon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe....

"Like the comics, this animated anthology series will provide stories that explore how the Marvel Cinematic Universe might have unfolded if key moments in its history had not occurred as they did in recognized canon. For example, one of the episodes will adapt What If? Vol.1 #47, which explored the idea of 'What if Loki had found the hammer of Thor?'

This is a such a wonderful idea.


Syria air strikes: US still 'locked and loaded' for new chemical attacks - MRCAESAR.COM

Saturday, 14 April 2018

Watch the key moments over 12 hours - in two minutes
President Donald Trump has warned Syria's government the US is "locked and loaded" to strike again if it carries out new chemical attacks.
A UN Security Council vote brought by Syria's ally, Russia, and condemning the US-led strikes was rejected.
The wave of strikes represents the most significant attack against President Bashar al-Assad's government by Western powers in seven years of Syria's civil war.
What has been the reaction to the strikes?
Mr Nebenzia accused the US, UK and France of "hooliganism" and of "demonstrating a blatant disregard for international law".
US envoy Nikki Haley said the strikes were "justified, legitimate and proportionate".
She said: "I spoke to the president this morning and he said, 'if the Syrian regime uses this poisonous gas again, the United States is locked and loaded'."
She added: "When our president draws a red line, our president enforces the red line."
Ms Haley said the US and its allies had given diplomacy "chance after chance" but Russia had continued to veto UN resolutions.
She said: "We cannot stand by and let Russia trash every international norm and allow use of chemical weapons to go unanswered."
Bashar Jaafari, Syria's envoy to the UN, said the US, UK and France were "liars, spoilers and hypocrites" who exploited the UN "to pursue your policy of interference and colonialism".
On the 15-member council only China and Bolivia voted in favour of Russia's resolution.
Other reaction included:
UK PM Theresa May said there was "no practicable alternative to the use of force" but also added the strikes were not about "regime change"
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the strikes were "appropriate" in retaliation for "inhumane" Syrian attacks
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his "total support" for the air strikes
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the US was trying "to justify their presence in the region"
What did President Trump say?
He tweeted early on Saturday, hailing the strikes as "perfectly executed". He also thanked the UK and France.
His use of the phrase "Mission Accomplished" drew a warning from President George W Bush's ex-press secretary Ari Fleischer:
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) April 14, 2018
The phrase had been on a banner as Mr Bush declared the end of "major combat operations" in Iraq in May 2003, six weeks after the US-led invasion of the country. The following Iraqi insurgency questioned the validity of the statement.
Mr Trump had announced the strikes on TV on Friday night, saying the three allies had "marshalled their righteous power against barbarism and brutality".
Where was hit?
At a Pentagon briefing on Saturday, Lt Gen Kenneth McKenzie listed the three targets that had been struck, saying the attacks had "set the Syrian chemical weapons programme back years":
The Barzah chemical weapons research and development centre near Damascus was hit by 76 missiles, 57 of them Tomahawk cruise missiles, and "destroyed"
The Him Shinshar chemical weapons storage facility near Homs was hit by 22 missiles - nine US Tomahawks, eight British Storm Shadows and five naval cruise missiles and two Scalp cruise missiles launched by France
The Him Shinshar chemical weapons bunker facility near Homs was targeted with seven Scalp missiles and was "successfully hit"
Gen McKenzie said the "initial indications are that we accomplished the military objectives without interference from Syria".
Gen Kenneth McKenzie: "We deployed 105 weapons"
He said "none of the aircraft or missiles were successfully engaged" by defence systems and all aircraft had returned.
The US said it had communicated with Russia ahead of the strikes through the normal procedures of their "deconfliction" hotline but no details of the attacks were given.
Will Trump now walk away?
Analysis by PJ Crowley, former US Assistant Secretary of State
This military action was designed to thread a pretty narrow needle - place boundaries around the war that Syria, Russia and Iran are waging - without becoming a direct combatant in it.
The US and its European partners have a narrower military interest in Syria - the defeat of the Islamic State caliphate, a task that is nearing completion.
Even with the new red line - Trump did declare the deterrence of the use of chemical weapons to be a "vital national security interest of the United States" - he all but admitted that the broader Syrian civil war was not.
He described the Middle East as a "troubled place" and reiterated it was not the role of the US to fix it.
What happens next?

- bbc


How can Samsung accelerate sustainable development?

This question is at the heart of ASAP and we’re excited to share what we’ve learned about Samsung, one of the world’s leading tech companies. There is a lot to say about Samsung's sustainability work and the content on this page is a selection made by the ASAP team. The aim is to provide some thoughts and insights into the tech industry, its challenges and opportunities, and to focus on Samsung as a change agent for a sustainable society. In other words, how Samsung can use its leadership in innovation and technology to accelerate sustainable development. Want to learn more? Check out Samsung's own links at the bottom of this page. Enjoy!!

Did you know?

  • Company superpowers: to Innovate and use tech solutions to solve societal challenges!
  • 320,671 employees in Samsung Electronics (500,000 in Samsung Group)
  • Operates worldwide, in 73 countries
  • Gender distribution globally (% women/men) is 44/56 out of total number of employees (2016)
  • CEO Samsung Electronics is Kim Ki Nam
  • Corporate Citizenship & Partnerships Manager Nordics is Elin Wallberg and Sustainability Manager Nordics & Europe is Annachiara Torciano
  • Global smartphone market share was around 20% in 2017
  • In the beginning of 2018 Samsung Electronics took the leading place as company with most U.S. patents: 75,596!

30 linear steps will take you probably some 30 meters away. 30 exponential steps (one, two, four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two...) will take you a billion meters away - 26 times around the globe! The digitalization of our society is exponential and we’re standing on the brink of a 4th Industrial Revolution, fundamentally changing how we live, work and relate to each other. This also means that technology has the potential to accelerate and scale sustainable solutions - exponentially! This revolution is systemic and characterized by technologies that merge and blur the line between digital, physical and biological spheres. The fact that billions of people and things are to be digitally connected provides unprecedented opportunities for individuals and business, accelerated by technological breakthroughs and applications in areas like Artificial intelligence (AI), Blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), 5G, Virtual Reality (VR) - you name it! These are not just buzzwords, it’s happening right now through the phone in the palm of your hand, in cars, in banks, in society around you. These are exciting innovations in itself, but for Samsung Electronics, one of the stakeholders driving this influential acceleration in the 4th revolution, its more than that. For Samsung, it is all about how technology can inspire the world and create the future. Technology is an enabler for connectivity, speed, increased transparency and traceability, lower costs, resource efficiency, augmented user experiences, increased equality and access. Having access to technology and digital know-how can also mean power. How can current leaders fully leverage technological solutions and an exponential mindset to accelerate sustainability? How do we make sure all groups of society are included in the digital transformation? Can smart algorithms become a threat to human existence? These themes are vital to adress for Samsung Electronics as they work to innovate tech for good and provide access to technology to achieve digital inclusion, in other words, empowering people.

Digitalization and sustainable development has the potential to mutually reinforce each other and that’s why we love having Samsung on board, showing some of their core competence in innovation and application of cutting-edge technology to serve humanity. Take a look at these cool examples of how Samsung accelerates sustainable development!

Samsung’s approach is to provide access to technology to support quality education, and build skills for the digital era. With the Smart School program Samsung works to bridge the IT accessibility gap and provide educationally marginalized groups with new opportunities - world wide! Samsung not only wants to help kids and teachers be skilled users, but also creators. They provide people with tech skills to be used in a future connected and digital society. One example is the partnership with the non-profit organization Lær Kidsa Koding where kids and youth learn to code in 160 coding clubs all over Norway. Back to Sweden and another important fact: the government has set an ambitious goal to be the best in the world in leveraging on the potential of digitalization!

Question is: how is digitalisation going to best support education in complex setting like learning environments? As we continue to gain knowledge much is yet to be researched. Samsung wanted to get new insights and initiated a three year research project in 2015, The Possibilities with digital learning (Digitala lärandets möjligheter), in collaboration with ATEA Sweden (IT consulting and solutions) and Gleerups (teaching material) and a academic research team. And the results? Check out the upcoming blogpost!

Samsung is most known for its smartphones, smart watches and TVs but also makes solutions that are being used in healthcare. But have you ever thought about how wearable technology can support health and safety for elderly? Or that VR glasses has the revolutionary power to put yourself in someone else's shoes or in a potential future scenario, and can be used for treating spider phobia through exposure therapy, as the technology stimulates the human brain in a unique way and creates real memories and emotions. As we continue to grow older we need to rethink healthcare, not just to treat illness but to stay healthy longer. Fall accidents causes about 1,000 deaths, close to 70,000 hospitalizations and far more other care visits every year in Sweden. A smartwatch or IoT-solutions in a connected home, are two possible ways to enable people to age safely in their homes, by facilitating preventative care and safety through seamless health monitoring and automatic fall detection by the use sensors. A smartwatch may also reduce the stigmatic feeling of wearing a medical device. The Swedish innovation the ADHD-box is another example. The user step into a black box where digital hardware and software make the user experience the everyday life of a person living with ADHD, illustrating in a unique and moving way the challenges they face.

If digitalization and technological development in the world is exponential, how does a company in this industry secure it’s capacity for continuous innovation and leadership? In the case of Samsung, it’s all about dedicated work to foster a true culture of innovation. Internally, this means for example to hire people with the right skills and provide dedicated space for innovation to happen. Samsung employs about 70 000 people (!) within R&D today and in the beginning of 2018 Samsung Electronics took the leading place with most U.S. patents: 75,596! Samsung’s internal innovation and venture incubation program, C-lab (Creative Lab), is a great example of how companies, despite size, can build a true culture of “intrapreneurship”. C-lab brings together a diverse group of employees to nurture creative businesses, solving societal problems that will hopefully - spin of. Externally it’s all about building partnerships with actors across different sectors, that complement Samsung’s skills and resources. The Possibilities with digital learning and the ADHD-box are both products of powerful cross-sector partnerships, which is a key component to achieve sustainable solutions.

What about responsible business?

Samsung Electronics sells solutions and devices all over the world - their 320,000 employees and 2,500 suppliers are globally dispersed. There is no doubt that Samsung has an impact on society both locally and globally - and thus an obligation to operate responsibly and do things right. In this text we will not delve into Samsungs extensive work in the area of responsible business, such as renewable energy, production, circular economy and equality. This does not mean that it’s not important or that Samsung is perfect in every way, but for the purpose of this text we’ve chosen to leave it out. But hey, at the bottom of this page you can see our favorite tips for further reading!

Given the exponential tech development, how do you picture life 100 years from now? You don’t have all the details, but technological progress is probably a prominent feature of your forecast. As one of the world’s leading tech companies Samsung has an important role in creating this future. This include the willingness and capacity to navigate new ethical challenges like discriminatory algorithms in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and promote healthy use of technologies.

Samsung’s approach is to work glocally and in partnerships to make sure that their technology is used in a way to serve humanity and the local community. AI is everywhere today - in research labs, on the news, in government spending and strategies, in venture capitalists’ portfolios. Machine learning is the fastest developing application of AI, based around the idea that we give machines access to data and let them learn for themselves to perform important tasks. In order to strengthen AI capabilities, Samsung will establish three new AI centers and expand its number of advanced AI researchers to a total of about 1,000 globally by 2020.

As a recent report from World Economic Forum points out, there is huge potential for the tech industry, including Samsung in “Earth Friendly AI” to transform traditional sectors and systems to address climate change. This could help create food and water security, build sustainable cities, protect biodiversity, increase health and well-being. In India, Samsung is doing this - collaborating with other actors to develop an AI tool which could help visually impaired navigate in their surroundings. But, A.I. software is only as smart as the data used to train it and A.I will always reflect the values of the creators - humans. Take the example of face recognition software, a widely used application of machine learning, where computers learn by being fed certain images and build a view of the world based on those. According to a new study, facial recognition software is right 99 percent of the time if you’re a white male. But with darker skin, there are more errors - up to 35% for darker skinned women. Thus, there is an increasing discussion in the industry and in society about ethics and equality connected to AI. Inclusivity and diversity matters - from the designer and engineer, to the company values and the board of directors, otherwise there is a risk to reproduce old biases and stereotypes as well as a missed opportunity to innovate products and solutions for everyone. What do you think Samsung’s focus should be?


More Practice with Coordinate Geometry

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SWBAT apply the coordinate geometry concepts of midpoint, distance, and slope to geometric figures.

Big Idea

Students put their coordinate geometry knowledge to work, investigating characteristics of geometric figures and proving hypotheses.

Do Now

20 minutes

As the students enter the classroom, small whiteboards with the coordinate plane on them, markers, and erasers are on their desks.  A "Do Now" problem is on the board, asking the students to plot two points to create a line segment, and to find the midpoint, length, and slope of this line segment.  Students compare their answers in their groups.  If students seem to struggle with any of this, I repeat this process with new pairs of points, until everyone is comfortable with the concepts.

Next I present the students with a series of new tasks.  I give them two points to plot that create a horizontal line segment and ask them to calculate the slope, and then repeat this process with two points that create a vertical segment. In a previous lesson entitled Basics of Coordinate Geometry, we discussed the difference between no slope and zero slope, but I think it is helpful to revisit this concept from time to time.

I then give the students two more points to plot, and ask that the students create a line segment that is parallel to it.  We discuss the relationship between the slopes of the line segments.  I then ask that the students create a new line segment that is neither vertical or horizontal, and use coordinate geometry to draw a line segment that is perpendicular to it.  I ask that the students discuss their approach to this problem in their groups, and I move from group to group to ensure that all understand the relationships that exist between slopes of perpendicular lines.

When all seem to understand this, I conclude by asking the students to create a rectangle using our coordinate geometry concepts ( specify that no sides may be horizontal or vertical), and to find the perimeter and area of their rectangle.  This requires that students pay close attention to the structure of the figure they are creating, and connect that structure to their coordinate geometry concepts of slope and distance. (MP 7) Students share their results in their groups.

Putting Their Knowledge to Work

60 minutes

Now it's time for the students to put all of their new knowledge to work!  I hand out new sheets of graph paper and the problem set entitled Second Coordinate Geometry Practice.

Before the students begin, I ask them to listen carefully to my directions:  Not only would I like them to solve these problems, but I would like them to focus on:

     1) showing their work clearly, using good geometric notation

     2) justifying their answers completely and concisely, using good geometric vocabulary (MP3)

This is really their first attempt at justifying their answers, and we will take a good amount of time to analyze and evaluate their answers.  The students work in their groups.

I ask them to complete the first four problems.  When it appears that all of the groups have completed them, the class comes together to compare answers. I take my time with this section - no rushing - because I think this exercise is really beneficial for the students.  I also use this opportunity to stress the importance of respecting each other's efforts; I communicate clearly that even if someone arrives at an incorrect answer, there will still be much that can be learned from that person's work. As we discuss the problems and their solutions, I stress that their answers need to make sense and that their answers need to be complete, with appropriate justifications.

Problem 1 is straightforward.

Starting with problem 2, I ask students to volunteer to share their solutions using a document camera.  In problem 2, I expect that some students will have found the midpoint of B and M, rather than the endpoint A, and we discuss this.  Additionally, we look at how students justified their answers.  How did they support their argument that their coordinates for A are correct?  There are a number of ways to approach this, from using their coordinates for A and the coordinates of B to find the midpoint, to looking at the points on a graph and discussing slope, to finding the distance from A to M and from M to B to ensure that the distances are equal.  We discuss all of these options and any others that students might have tried.

Problem 3 contains concepts very similar to problem 2, and again I ask students to display and explain their approaches to this problem.

In problem 4, we look at the different ways in which the students calculated the lengths of the sides of the triangle, and different approaches to finding the area of the triangle, if students used methods other than using the area formula.  We also discuss the different forms in which students give the answer for perimeter, as an exact value or as an approximation. (MP6)

I then ask that the students work in their groups on problem 5.  The notion of diagonals bisecting each other tends to be a tough one for the students to wrap their heads around, so as I walk around the room, I discuss what this means (in terms of the diagonals having the same midpoint) and we discuss it again as a class when all have completed the problem.

One of my emphases is problem 5 is vocabulary.  What does it mean when the question asks if the diagonals are congruent?  The phrase we have used in the past is "Congruent segments are equal in length" and I refer to this.

In problem 6, precision and vocabulary are again key components.  (The vocabulary and circumference of circles are 7th grade concepts, and so should be familiar to the students.) As with the previous problems, students display and explain their approaches.

I assign problem 7 for homework.

A Check for Understanding

10 minutes

I hand out the Check for Understanding to the students.  This activity will, I hope, serve two purposes - to help me understand those concepts that the students might still be shaky on so that I can address these topics before the unit test, and to give each student feedback on his or her understanding of the concepts.

I also announce that the unit test will be given the next day, and that we will spend time reviewing and answering questions before the test.


DeNoise AI causing color shifts

(Jack) #1

With future updates, please do not get rid of AI Clear. Denoise AI creates major color shifts for me. AI Clear works great!

(Colboy) #2

As a hobby (& very much part-time at that) Photographer, would you be able to explain for me, briefly & simply, what you mean by “Color Shifts”? I downloaded DeNoise AI about 24 hours ago & have since processed in it, 3 Bracketed Photos (-2, 0, +2) of a scene just as the sun set. Each file output to Dng looks around 2 Stops brighter & the colors, more richer (for want of a better word/phrase), what I would expect after merging to HDR (which is what I plan to do with them).

(Jack) #3

The top image is the original RAW (NEF) file. The bottom image which is all washed out is the dng file after applying Denoise AI. This kind of color shift applies to anything run through Denoise AI.

This last file is the NEF file with AI Clear applied. This is infinitely better than Denoise AI. That’s why I don’t want to lose it.


Movie poster

The Boyg

5m 2016
Peer Gynt: Who are you? The Boyg: Myself. Can you say the same?
Open in app open_in_new
The Boyg is the voice within that whispers go around, preventing you from facing yourself, suffocating progress and initiative. A six minute visual and musical remix of Ibsens Peer Gynt, Norwegian Folklore, Edvard Griegs composition, paralyzing panic attacks and The Great Boyg itself who finds us all.

FEMA Studios S.r.l.s. - VAT: IT04220370276


Lemoore is one of the more vibrant cities in California. Lemoore has drawn many immigrants over the years due to it's diverse population, jobs, and attractive housing options.

There are numerous hurdles in place that you must overcome in order to become a citizen of Lemoore CA.

Lemoore California Immigration Lawyers Can Assist


Angola is a bustling and vibrant city within Indiana. Angola has access to low cost housing, jobs in different industries with different pay scales.

If you are seeking to acquire U.S. Citizenship, you may want to read up on the laws that apply in Angola IN.

Angola Indiana Immigration Information & the Law


The success of Amazon Echo and Google Home proves that the interactions we have with machines are in turmoil. It is now time for advertisers and media to embrace this new technology. Positioning oneself now on these interfaces is crucial in several respects: the “media war” that threatens, the need to enhance existing content and the opportunity to create a specific and interactive experience thought for the voice interface.

Many media have not yet realized the importance of being on Amazon Echo and Google Home. This is a mistake… Indeed, unlike a smartphone, which sends us notifications one after the other, smart speakers have a different logic and mode of operation… Thus, Google has already started to make partnerships with some French radios: these stations are placed among the first choices of its devices, and are installed in priority by users. Note that changing a preference includes a change in the settings of the voice assistant itself, which can be a significant brake in terms of experience. As the voice becomes the remote control of the machine, the interactions as a whole must be fluid, clear and easy, and the content adapted.

The media already have a lot of content that could be used or reused on voice interfaces. As far as written articles are concerned, it would be enough for them to be read to make them usable. To do this, several solutions exist:

  • text-to-speech: the text is read by the vocal assistant, but the result can turn out to be monotonous, notably because of a very robotic voice and the non-observance of punctuation, which induces certain pauses and intonations in the reading – and these are crucial indications for the listener for a good understanding and assimilation of the contents.

  • Have journalists read the texts: the primary benefit is to identify the content with a familiar, known voice. It does, however, require more resources, time and people.

As far as audio or radio content is concerned, the adaptations are much less restrictive, and most could be used as is.

Voice interfaces open up a new field of possibilities in terms of interactivity, particularly through audio reports, thanks to which it is possible to create an immersive environment to deliver information, thus making it more concrete. So we could imagine that for a football World Cup story, the background sound would be similar to the sounds that can be heard at the game or in a bar full of fans. These details could allow listeners to project themselves into this situation and thus be more sensitive to the information.

Voice interfaces represent a real challenge for the media industry, because even if the use of voice assistants is not yet fully democratized, it is important for newsrooms to position themselves and think about opportunities now – all the more so as a technological investment at a lower cost could position the media that are interested as true pioneers…


Multimodal Composition Pedagogy: Approaching the Image Epistemologically

Use this format in whatever order you should choose. I developed the information in a linear fashion but Designed this publication in a way where readers can jump to different sections queued by images that reference sections positioned above or below but can make sense read independently of each other. Check out the links where your interest takes you and draw from it what you will. Enjoy! But for indexing the formatting is:

Article Background and Interpretation

Examples as a Potential Place to Go

Early cover to N. Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death

Richard Marbeck states that Diana George’s conception of a Visual Pedagogy, “misses the opportunity to discuss design of visual artifacts as an activity distinct from the design of textual artifacts” (270). Our focus rather should be, “to think about the affective, embodied affordances of digital medias in which the wicked problems of designing reside” (270). Marbeck advocates, “invoking the vocabulary of design without fully embracing the wickedness of problems representable through that vocabulary” (276). Gunther Kress leans more wholly on the idea of the Image replacing the Word in composition studies. I look to utilize the epistemological approach put forth by Kress while leaning on the examples put forth by George to develop a pedagogical approach of my own that addresses mulitmodality in the composition classroom

According to Kress, “the process of learning: transformative engagement in the world, tranformation constantly of the self in that engagement, transformation of the resources for representation outwardly and inwardly” (300). Social history and location are important considerations embedded in the definitions of agency and author/authority issues when approaching the process of learning. With the changes in technology and broad global and historical social configurations, “the purpose of my talk is to provide essential ways of making sense of the changes in the landscape of communication, provide means of describing and analysing what is going on, and to provide means of navigating between the Scylla of nostalgia and pessimism and the Charybdis of unwarranted optimism” (284). The landscape of communication with technologies and the thorough understanding needed to apply elements as a methodology can be daunting but are necessary as a way of dealing with what Rhetoric means in the 21st century.

with Scylla

The challenge: develop a pedagogy that uses images and their creation in a way that does not simply mirror how students interact with texts and facilitates meaning-making and interpretation through Design (read as separate from Process Theories that dominated 90s Composition discussions)

Diana George’s mapping of Africa pre-European colonization tracks the continent through tribal distinctions > European pie-cutting > a modern incorporation of indigenous naming of countries that still suffer from geo-political separation of traditional tribal boundaries in a perfectly corrupt PoCo conceptualization: All. Through. Using. Images. … In the form of overlaying transparencies on an overhead projector.

The importance of the medium conveying information is not that it was visual in nature, but how the Design of the Visual allowed the students to experience the impact of African colonization outside of the page. The effect is immediate as the progression of what Africa looks like.

D. George notes, “thinking of composition as design shifts attention, if only momentarily, from the product to the act of production” (217). Those this momentariness may seem to be a ‘wicked problem’, it should not be avoided and instead embraced. Experiential learning leans heavily on epistemological concepts of forming meaning in the process of creating or interpreting. Even if fleeting, multimodal mediums are capable of making long term connections within the instance of happening or experience. It is for these reasons that we should be trying to develop a Visual Pedagogy if only to supplement work with text-only exercises and assignments.

I remember an Environment teacher in my High School pulling up a short video that showed population growth as a timeline seen here. He dimmed the lights with little introduction and asked us to respond to the video the following day using either a drawn picture or physical represenation. Responses varied from a tennis ball cut open and over filled with tack nails to a bowling ball painted Sherwin Williams style with the word ‘people’ dripping red over the continents and oceans. Though the prompt was simply a multimedia presentation similar to a thousand used in secondary classrooms, the assignment to design a representation of the information while using the fewest words yielded some interesting results that speak to a pedagogy that is multimodal.

Early Chinese Map of the World Purportedly From 1418

I caught myself while typing the caption to the above image and noticed the date attached to the image. BigThink and others puts forth that this map was copied by the Turks in 1513, meaning that the East had a profound knowledge of the geography of the Americas before Europeans ever had the opportunity to see either side of the continents. Antarctica too, is mapped out with surprising accuracy given the technology and our understanding of history at the time. Without anything else than the map and a date, an alternative to history can be deduced (even if California wound up being attached), that radically challenges the ideas of both ‘civilazation’ and ‘discovery’ in the context of the Western World. If this was a Viking, Russian, or African map of the continents the effects would be the same.

Because the continents were Designed with striking accuracy for the time, we can deduce a radical claim that challenges our preconceived notions about national holidays, textbooks, and European ethnocentrism in a single visual image.

Disputed map of North American PreContact

The cocept of developing a Visual Argument assignment is central to approaching a Visual Pedagogy. Analytic philosopher Anthony Blair is summarized by George is saying that, “an argument must make a claim (an assertion), motivated by reasons for the claim, communicated to an audience in an attempt to convince that audience (the recipient) to accept the claim on the basis of the reasons offered” (225). George build on this in saying, “visual argument (and one I use with my students) is to begin with visual parody, especially of the sort familiar to readers of Adbusters or the Guerilla Girls. Visual parody, like verbal parody, does make an overt claim, assertion, or proposition that draws particularly on comparison, juxtaposition, and intertextuality to offer the assertion to an audience for acceptance” (226). Using familiar, and hence approachable, angles such as using humor, satire, or parody to address issues is a good way of introducing students to alternative mediums.

It’s important to stress that we see Visual Arguments every day. Especially with the issues of advertisements, you can tell students something similar to: every dollar you spend is a vote for something you believe in! This statement makes it easy to see how ads for everthing from tobacco, cleaning products, and entertainment choices are making arguments. But more than simply noting that a claim is being made, the reasons behind the use of elements and how they are designed to achieve a desired effect should be at the focus of such an analysis. Introductory assignments could contain examples like the one above, where text is used to tweak an image to show underlying themes and assumptions. More advanced assignments would include rearranging and dealing with only the visual elements independent of the use of text.

An important aspect in utilizing George’s propositions is the difference in terms between transformation and trasduction as processes of representation. The first, “involves changes within a mode” and the second is where, “semiotic material is moved across modes, from one mode (or set of modes) to another moder (or set of modes)” (235). Bernstein’s “notion of recontextualization is useful in two distinct and connected senses, socially and semiotically”.

The focal point in my emphasis is that a Visual Pedagogy can, “show how meaning making is moved from social site to social site, from medium to medium, from context to context, in each case requiring social, semiotic remaking and often entailing epistemological change” (236).

Lutkewitte, Claire. Multimodal Composition: A Critical Sourcebook. Bedford/St.Martins, 2014

Yerba mate, found in every corner of the globe

One of the most important facets of a Visual Pedagogy is that it allows students to use something familiar within their native Discourse Community to address issues in the academic Discourse Community. The familiarity is not only inviting, but helps make meaning something is connective instead of disjuncted/disconnected/isolated from the concerns in their native community.

It is important to acknowledge the role of our Visual Culture in the classroom. Students are dialoguing with/through technology on their own accord, not only does incorporating these already existent modes in the composition classroom rescpect the prevalence but utilizes it to instill meaning making. If we are looking for the correct formatting and grammatical spelling alone we are missing the main point of meaning making in the context and critical analysis skills students should be developing in the liberal arts. Not only as a means of engagement, technologies use in the classroom can cover the affordances available by questioning the very intent and purpose of advertising by dealing with the components that make up the design behind the work.

Visual Pedagogy can include activities including maps:

historical reworkings of maps to exhibit understandings of political movement and contact events

conceptual mapping of the decisions made to move from secondary to post-secondary coursework

imagined alternatives to the existing barriers between geographic areas, redrawing the continents as a way of positioning an Ideal ideology

use a set number of limits:

depict home in 3, 5, and 10 photographs

develop a campaign literature epacket to describe the political issues for voting a particular way or not voting at all

in a single homepage, arrange all of the information that would going into a research paper using the space and affordances available

make a visual representation of euphemisms:

“downsizing” and what the effects look like from multiple points of view

“canary in the mineshift” by using an example

“big-boned”, “powder my nose”, “go all the way”, “first rodeo”….

It is important that the production be put into the forefront alongside the product. It is not only a polished end result that it is desired in a Visual Pedagogy but also an understanding behind how Multimodal presentations are constructed.

“all media work us over completely” — marshall mcLuchan


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X L Jin and C O'Neill

The co-expression of the CREB and ATF1 transcription factors is required for the development of preimplantation embryos. Embryotropin-mediated, calcium/calmodulin-dependent signalling activates CREB-induced transcription in the two-cell embryo, but the regulation of ATF1 in the embryo is not known. This study demonstrates that ATF1 begins to accumulate within both pronuclei of the mouse zygote by 20 h post-human chorionic gonadotrophin. This did not require new transcription (not blocked by α-amanitin), but was dependent upon protein synthesis (blocked by puromycin) and the activity of P38 MAP kinase. ATF1 becomes an active transcription factor upon being phosphorylated. A marked accumulation of phosphorylated ATF1 was evident in two-cell embryos and this persisted in subsequent stages of development. This phosphorylation was enhanced by the actions of autocrine embryotropic mediators (including Paf) and required the mutual actions of P38 MAP kinase and calmodulin-dependent pathways for maximum levels of phosphorylation. The combined inhibition of these two pathways blocked embryonic genome activation (EGA) and caused embryos to enter a developmental block at the two-cell stage. The members of the CREB family of transcription factors can generate one of the most diverse transcriptomes of any transcription factor. The demonstration of the presence of activated CREB and ATF1 within the embryonic nucleus at the time of EGA places these transcription factors as priority targets as key regulators of EGA.

Free access

X L Jin and C O’Neill

Gene expression from the new embryonic genome is required for normal preimplantation embryo development. Two members of the cAMP-responsive element-binding protein (Creb) family of transcription factors, Creb1 and activating transcription factor 1 (Atf1), are essential for normal preimplantation development. These transcription factors are activated by phosphorylation. Creb1 mRNA was expressed throughout the preimplantation phase. Cytoplasmic immunolocalization of Creb1 was detected in all preimplantation embryo stages. The antigen was largely excluded from the pronuclei/nuclei at embryonic stages except in the mid-cycle two-cell and compacted eight-cell embryo. Activation-state-specific antibodies showed serine 133 phosphorylated Creb1 localization was similar to Creb1 staining, except that there was no increase in staining at the eight-cell stage. Increased staining of phosphorylated Creb1 was observed in the nucleus of mid-cycle two-cell embryos. Increased expression of phosphorylated Creb1 in the two-cell embryo was induced by brief exposure of embryos to ionomycin, but not by a dibutyryl cAMP. This was blocked by buffering intracellular calcium with 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid tetrakis (acetoxymethyl ester), but not by a cAMP antagonist, Rp-cyclic 3′,5′-hydrogen phosphorothioate adenosine. Calmodulin is an intracellular receptor for calcium. Calmodulin mRNA was expressed throughout the preimplantation phase of development. The calmodulin antagonist, W-7, inhibited the ionomycin-induced localization of phosphorylated Creb1 in the nucleus. Treatment of embryos with W-7 caused a dose-dependent inhibition of normal development of zygotes to the blastocysts stage. The study shows Creb1 expression and nuclear localization was dynamically regulated in the early embryo. The marked nuclear accumulation and phosphorylation of Creb1 at the two-cell stage occurred at the time of transcription from the embryonic genome and was regulated in a calcium- and calmodulin-dependent manner.

Open access

C Rollo, Y Li, X L Jin and C O’Neill

Acetylation of histone proteins is a major determinant of chromatin structure and function. Fertilisation triggers a round of chromatin remodelling that prepares the genome for the first round of transcription from the new embryonic genome. In this study we confirm that fertilisation leads to a marked progressive increase in the level of histone 3 lysine 9 acetylation in both the paternally and maternally derived genomes. The culture of zygotes in simple defined media caused a marked increase in the global level of acetylation and this affected the male pronucleus more than the female. The culture created a marked asymmetry in staining between the two pronuclei that was not readily detected in zygotes collected directly from the reproductive tract and was ameliorated to some extent by optimized culture media. The increased acetylation caused by culture resulted in increased transcription of Hspa1b, a marker of embryonic genome activation. Pharmacological analyses showed the hyperacetylation of H3K9 and the increased expression of Hspa1b caused by culture were due to the altered net activity of a range of histone acetylases and deacetylases. The marked hyperacetylation of histone 3 lysine 9 caused by culture of zygotes may serve as an early biomarker for the effects of culture on the normal function of the embryo. The results also provide further evidence for an effect of the stresses associated with assisted reproductive technologies on the normal patterns of epigenetic reprogramming in the early embryo.

Free access

C L O’Neill, S Chow, Z Rosenwaks and G D Palermo

The first conception outside of the human body that led to the birth of Louise Brown was a tremendous accomplishment, which opened the door to the utilization of assisted reproductive techniques globally. This brought the understanding that accomplishing life in a dish required several steps, the most obvious being the timing and characteristics of fertilization. It soon became obvious in the 1980s that the most disappointing phenomenon was unexpected and complete fertilization failure. Among the approaches that were attempted to treat male factor infertility, ICSI surfaced as the technique that brought the ratio of the gametes to 1:1 and was also able to grant consistent fertilization and a higher pregnancy rate. ICSI has now been implemented for a quarter of a century, proving itself as the ultimate technique utilizing ejaculated spermatozoa independent of the semen parameters and is the sole insemination method to be used with surgically retrieved spermatozoa. There are currently various indications for ICSI that are widely adopted, rendering it the most popular insemination method worldwide. The reliability of ICSI ensures its employment in upcoming techniques involving in vitro spermatogenesis and neogametogenesis.

Free access

G D Palermo, C L O’Neill, S Chow, S Cheung, A Parrella, N Pereira and Z Rosenwaks

Among infertile couples, 25% involve both male and female factors, while male factor alone accounts for another 25% due to oligo-, astheno-, teratozoospermia, a combination of the three, or even a complete absence of sperm cells in the ejaculate and can lead to a poor prognosis even with the help of assisted reproductive technology (ART). Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) has been with us now for a quarter of a century and in spite of the controversy generated since its inception, it remains in the forefront of the techniques utilized in ART. The development of ICSI in 1992 has drastically decreased the impact of male factor, resulting in millions of pregnancies worldwide for couples who, without ICSI, would have had little chance of having their own biological child. This review focuses on the state of the art of ICSI regarding utility of bioassays that evaluate male factor infertility beyond the standard semen analysis and describes the current application and advances in regard to ICSI, particularly the genetic and epigenetic characteristics of spermatozoa and their impact on reproductive outcome.

Free access

K. M. Battye, T. J. Parkinson, L. J. Jenner, G. Evans, C. O'Neill and G. E. Lamming

In sheep, the presence of an embryo in utero on the 12th to 13th day after oestrus prevents luteolysis. These studies investigated whether platelet-activating factor (PAF) could exert an antiluteolytic function, either alone or in combination with interferon. The intrauterine administration of 250 μg PAF per horn per day, administered through indwelling cannulae into the uterus as injections twice a day (n = 12) or by continuous infusion (n = 4) failed to extend luteal function compared with controls (n = 8). When indwelling cannulae were used to administer (i) 125 μg PAF per uterine horn, as a bolus infusion twice a day (n = 5), (ii) continuous infusion of 500 μg bovine recombinant α1-interferon each day (brIFN, n = 5), (iii) 125 μg PAF per horn twice a day, plus 500 μg brIFN per day (n = 8), or (iv) vehicle (n = 5), the luteal phase was significantly longer in co-infused (iii) than in control (iv) animals. These findings indicate that pharmacological doses of PAF may act synergistically with interferons to prevent luteolysis.


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Everything for Electronics

Enhance Your Debugging Tool Suite

Debugging microcontroller designs can be difficult due to resource limitations that block or curtail access to real time information internally and externally. In this article, I’ll demonstrate both a multiplexed bus protocol analyzer and the 1-Wire Manchester decoder. Combining these logic analyzer decoders with an embedded software Manchester encoder forms a great tool to enhance your debugging and diagnostic skills.


At Premium Vape Supply we have thoroughly analyzed and compiled all of our Coconut flavors from various brands. The flavors below will include some form or a strong resemblance of Coconut flavor. They also may be blended with various other flavor combinations which will be more accurately depicted in the “Taste Test” section of each juice. Although taste is subjective and can be different for each user, we have done our best to classify Coconut ejuice flavor based on our interpretation along with vendor profile descriptions to create a Coconut specific category. Flavors under a certain profile can also be found under various other categories such as dessert, fruit, candy, etc. Coconut Ejuice is a milky and sweet, however other companies have combined Coconut and dessert together to give it a refreshing and sweet taste such as Lava Flow E-Liquid by Naked 100 and Reaver E-Liquid by ANML Unleashed.


Are retailers ready for shift to virtual reality shopping?

A wave of virtual reality content is hitting the market this year and consumer adoption could quickly follow, bringing with it growing demand for shopping experiences using the technology, according to a new report from the Center for Advancing Retail & Technology.

The report, Retail Innovation: U.S. Retail Technology Insights and Analysis, insists that many retailers are still struggling with integrating mobile into their strategies even as the pace of technological innovation speeds up. As a result, many retailers will be unprepared for the shift to virtual reality.

VR shopping
The implications of virtual reality for shopping are substantial, per the report. Shoppers can be at home, sitting on a couch and put on a headset to go shopping.

Forward-looking companies are already developing these solutions and working with big-name retailers in different sectors while others are in deep discussions or working towards pilots, per the report.

In market examples include Hulu, which is using virtual reality to help drive app downloads, while Rukkus is using the technology to drive sales of tickets to live sports events and IKEA customers can explore kitchen interiors with virtual reality.

Two things need to happen for VR to explode and they are both in process, per Mr. Hawkins.

The first is content creation for VR environments. A number of publishers have announced VR content programs this year while the ability to create such content is becoming more easily accessible and less expensive.

Secondly, consumer adoption needs to reach a tipping point. Already, a number of consumers are being exposed to the technology via gaming. However, VR is likely to be used more in education going forward, which will significant adoption, per Mr. Hawkins.

Also, headsets such as Google Cardboard and others are available for less than $50 and provide a high-quality virtual reality experience using a smartphone.

“As the cost of creating VR content plummets we are going to see an explosive growth in VR and AR related shopping,” Mr. Hawkins said.

Internet of Things
The Internet of Things is another area that is evolving quickly as Amazon aggressively stakes a claim for home replenishment of consumables. Amazon’s Dash button and the integration of the Dash Replenishment Service into home appliances is a threat for retailers across a growing number of product categories.

Other retailers are beginning to strike back. For example, Sears just announced a series of IoT devices under its brand names.

The bigger picture
Store infrastructure and the impact of technology here is one area where retailers are paying closer attention, according to the report.

While online sales continue to grow, retailers are slowing down a bit and considering how ecommerce fits into the bigger picture of their operations and other systems, per the report.

“We see retailers grappling with store format and operations as they think through how ecommerce will increasingly impact their business,” Mr. Hawkins said. “As ecommerce grows, do retailers continue to fulfill out of operating stores or do they set up ‘dark’ stores dedicated to ecommerce fulfillment?


Moscow: US started to realize that opposing Astana efforts harms its interests

Moscow, SANA- The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that the US has started to realize that opposing the efforts exerted by the guarantor states of Astana process (Russia, Iran and Turkey) in Syria harms the interests of the US itself.

Russia Today quoted Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in televised  statements as saying that ” The US in its keenness on shedding light on its role has always shown its opposition of the joint initiatives between the three states, as it has focused its efforts on undermining Astana format.”

“The truth is that we have achieved a great job and the whole world watched that yesterday, therefore, continuing to hinder the work of Astana guarantor states  means working against itself, and the US started to realize that,” Zakharova added.

Commenting on  the US decision to withdraw from Syria, Zakharova said ” A milestone story which might evolve from this decision is a real prospect for a political solution.”

She expressed Moscow’s conviction that the US decision will positively affect the issue of forming a committee to discuss the constitution and the situation in al-Tanf.”

“Moscow wants to understand what the US means by the new phase of the campaign in Syria which was announced by the White House after the withdrawal of US forces,” Zakharova said.

She added “I want to understand what is expected in the new stage of the campaign and that what happened for example in Afghanistan will not happen as they completely withdrew their forces and they redeployed them over many years.”

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Botanical Name: Eucalyptus Globulus. Also known as Blue Gum.

Country of Origin: China

Method of Extraction: Steam Distilled Leaves and Wood

Consistency: Thin Liquid

Aromatic Description: Its scent is camphorous, refreshing, energizing with a woody sweet undertone.

Perfumery Note: Top

Blends well with: Basil Sweet, Cedarwood Atlas, Lemon, Vetiver, Peppermint, and Clary Sage.

History: In the 1980s, Eucalyptus species, hybrids and clones are planted commercially in South Africa for the production of pulp and paper and various other forest products. It has slowly evolved into production of essential oils.

Silky Scents Essential Oils are used in Aromatherapy applications and recipes!


How can I take my skills and experience in product development and turn them into a compelling offering to sell as a consultant?

== My Short Story == I am a generalist software engineer with 4+ years doing product development at a tech startup. I recently left a full-time job to pursue consulting on my own. My plan is to focus on 1 or 2 narrowly-defined types of projects and present them in the context of their business value (e.g. "do X to reduce churn") to justify a higher rate. I am struggling with how to analyze my broad experience doing product development and come up with 1 or 2 specific types of project to sell. == Bullets about Me == - full-stack LAMP developer for 6+ years - worked on many types projects (everything from building APIs to internal support tools to large single-page apps) - lots of experience discussing problems with internal users and external customers - comfortable talking through high-level business goals and then turning them into technical tasks

Seems to me that versatility is actually your greater selling point.

Yes, you could concentrate on 1 niche problem that you solve over and over again for various clients.

Advantage: That streamlined approach would be efficient in terms of presentation and actual work load.

Disadvantage: By promoting a very specific offering, you may be introducing yourself as the wrong tool for the job ... for most potential clients. If I stumble across you and find a landing page that stresses your ability to solve Problem X while I am dealing with Problem Y, then I assume you're less relevant than you might be. That does a disservice to your diverse skill set.

You can marry the best of both worlds. Here's what I'd suggest. Clients will discover you both passively and as a result of active outreach. So

1. For your active marketing efforts, identify prospects where the client really needs you for Problem X, in which you're specializing. Introduce yourself as a specialist in Problem X (which is true).

2. For your more passive, less keyword-targeted online footprint, showcase your versatility rather than your specialization. That's also true. This way, you'll seem like a better fit for a wider group of potential clients. Instead of writing you off as a specialist, they'll consider engaging you as an IT "renaissance man".

Narrow the focus of your presentation when you have narrowed your demographic. Widen that focus when the demographic is wider.

Answered 4 years ago

Go with your 2 best skills and find customers that you can immediately impact by one or two of those skills. Once you get in the door and make an impact you can then "cross-sell" some of your other skills and continue to bill out your time. Try to identify customers that might need, for example, lamp or api help (assuming many do) and start small to then grow your consultative skill sets to other areas of the customer's business. I made it sound easy as pie but narrow your focus and get your hands dirty!

Answered 4 years ago

Focus on your narrow and specific expertise, targeting a very specific type of client and just sell that. In time you may find that you can transfer your very specific functional expertise to other types of clients but do this in a sequential targeted fashion, not a broad approach. Be wary of cross-selling other services in which you are lesser qualified - in most cases it is a fantasy that will waste a lot of your time.

Good luck with your practice.

Answered 4 years ago

How about positioning yourself as an expert in building MVPs for (funded) startups?
Or as a software product expert who translates products wishes into great software (maybe inside the niche you defined for yourself)

Answered 4 years ago

Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to help find your answer:

- What am I best at?
- What do I truly want to do?
- What client problems can I help solve with ease?

Once you know the answers to these questions, you can target your marketing message to specifc client pain points.

Answered 4 years ago

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Category Archives: violence and bullying

Unsafe on Any Campus? Available for pre-order!

Available from Southern Yellow Pine Publishing

Available from Southern Yellow Pine Publishing

  • What anti-sexual assault programs really work?

Ruth Krug, campus rape survivor

Game of Thrones and rape as a plot device

By SR Staley

Treating Guns Realistically in Children’s Literature

“Does it have guns?” she asked.

Fiction and Storytelling as a Way of Visualizing Success

And adults respond similarly. For example,

Dealing with Violence Against Women & Girls

One of my epiphanies writing Renegade centered on the role of violence in the lives of our children, both young and old. I’ve always wanted realism to be an essential part of my writing, stories, and characters, but I didn’t realize the degree to which violence was intertwined with the plots I seemed to instincitvely develop until I finished Renegade. Equally important, however, was a foundational value embedded in my stories: Violence doesn’t win the war. (For more on this, see my interview over at Writers4Higher (October 6, 2012).) Violent tactics might win a battle or two, but the ultimate solution has to involve either neutralizing the violence or avoiding it altogether.

This is why martial arts figure so prominently in Warrior’s Soul and Renegade. Martial arts is used as a self-defense technique, not a tool of aggression and domination. Even in The Pirate of Panther Bay, while violence is an unavoidable part of the plot–this is a pirate story!–it’s the love story and Isabella’s self-reflective discovery of the objective value of preserving human life that trumps the violence in the end.

In the modern world, however, the most practical way for individuals to defend themselves against violence, particularly bullying, is through training in self-defense. And martial arts provide the most comprehensive and effective way to develop the mental and physical skills necessary to neutralize the threat of violence.

This, of course, begs the question: Why don’t we see more people studying martial arts? Only about 1% of the US population has participated in some form of martial art. Moreover, most of these students are men and boys. Why don’t we see more girls studying martial arts?

I may be a good researcher, but I don’t have all the answers and I was curious. So, I convened a Roundtable consisting of some very acccomplished female martial arts practitioners and instructors and started asking them questions. The first question–why don’t we see more women and girls studying martial arts–is now live on my web site ( I will be posting the discussion on four additional questions throughout the winter and spring.

Hopefully, this roundtable will be begin a much broader discussion on the role of violence in our society and the ways we need to defend our selves against it for the purpose of defeating it. We owe it to ourselves and our children, and especially women and girls.

Is Violence Necessary in Children’s Literature?

Conflict is the essence of story, but does conflict need to include violence and physical aggression in children’s and young-adult literature? I’ve discussed this issue before in a youtube video and take the issue up in print over at Blogging Authors in a guest post published today. My short answer is “yes.”

As much as we may want to purge violence from our lives and our kids lives, the truth is that violence is a part of our reality. The recent shocking videos of bullying ranging from Karen Kleiner bus monitor case in Greece, New York to an ambush of a kid in Chillicothe, Ohio High School are ample evidence of this. But, it’s not just bullying–child soldiers populate rebel armies in Africa, children are being massacred in Syria, the drug trade ravages inner-city neighborhoods in the US as well as abroad. Systematically ignoring this violence when it is part of our every day lives does a disservice to our readers.

I know this might sound self-serving–after all I write young adult novels about pirates, bullies and martial arts–but I also think the forthright way in which my stories grapple with real world violence is one of the reasons why readers (and parents) appreciate them. Indeed, several of the reviews of A Warrior’s Soul have recognized that the main theme is that violence is not the answer.

Dealing with violence is inevitable if authors want to seriously address real issues facing kids (and their families). Our responsibility as authors is to embrace this as fact and deal with it in an ethically and morally responsible way by writing engaging stories with characters that either make the right decisions or face the consequences of making the wrong ones.

How I know I’ve Hit My Target Audience

Oneof the biggest challenges writers face is knowing whether or not they’ve hit the mark with their target audience. One of the most valuable pieces of information book reviews provide is insight into whether you are hitting the right notes for potential readers. In this sense, whether the review is glowing, positive, or negative is less important to me than whether the readers/reviewers picked up on the intended themes or tone.

Two pieces of feedback recently brought this home for me for A Warrior’s Soul. The novel is grounded in martial arts, but I was hoping the story and characters would have broad appeal. As a writer, while I wanted the martial arts to be real, martial arts really served as a vehicle for moving the story; it’s an integral part of the plot and emotional arcs of the characters. But I was concerned that the broader theme of bullying, self-defense, respect, and personal courage might get lost in the fight scenes, action, and pace of the story.

The first tidbit of feedback came from an eighth grade boy. He had been given the book by his teacher. He finished it in 24 hours (a good sign). When the teacher asked him what he liked best about the book, he said: “It just seemed really real to me.” Bingo!

The second piece of recent feedback came from a review posted on the blog LiveTeachCreate maintained by another middle school teacher (in a separate city and state). The reviewer starts her review:

When I first began to read this it was hard for me to get into because I knew nothing about the culture or detail behind any form of martial arts. I quickly got past that and took the book for what it truly was, a story of how a young teenage boy deals with the struggles of bullies that seem to not be noticed.

All I could do was say “YES”!

I then gave a big sigh of relief.

When Reality Meets Fiction: Guns & Vigilante Justice

A sad story playing out in Oklahoma City reminds me of how fiction and reality sometimes collide. Part of my “style” in writing fiction is to make the stories relevant to contemporary times and issues. This is true for my historical novels, like The Pirate of Panther Bay, as well as my contemporary novels like A Warrior’s Soul. In the Pirate of Panther Bay, the story is set in the 1780 Caribbean Sea but the lead character, Isabella, grapples wth very contemporary problems of violence, death, and discrimination. In A Warrior’s Soul, Luke and Lucy struggle with contemporary manifestations of bullying and gang violence.

So, when I heard about Oklahoma City pharmacist Jerome Ersland’s murder conviction last week I had to pause and think about the implications for my characters in A Warrior’s Soul. The AWS trio of friends–Luke, Lucy and Chuck–must grapple with issues like whether weapons should be used (including a gun) to face down tough guy Dirk and and how far they can push their belief that self-defense justifies violence. These are apparently the same questions Ersland faced when two armed robbers broke into his store and he shot and killed one of them. A jury convicted Ersland of first degree murder (murder with the intent to kill).

The case itself is complicated. The problem for Ersland was that he just didn’t chase one of the robbers out of his store. He returned to the one that he apparently injured, and shot him five more times. Ersland claimed the 16 year old was still moving and threatening him, but the prosecutors argued (apparently successfully) that the kid was unarmed and couldn’t have resisted. What made the case worse for Ersland is that he is a former military officer. The jurly likely figured his training prepared him to make decisions in these situations rationally and not out of fear, haste, or emotional distress.

In my martial-arts classes, my instructors continually emphasize the importance of appropriate force when protecting ourselves from an assailant. Our training, when deployed effectively, can kill someone, and we have to take responsibility for the tools and skills we learn. That, I hope is a lesson that comes through in A Warrior’s Soul. Training and preparation are the keys to ensuring we don’t over-react (or under react) under distress and we use appropriate force as a last resort and when no other alternative exists.

The Ersland case is a strong reminder as a writer that I have certain responsibilities for depicting the action and behavior of my characters. I shoud respect the fact that the consequences of not treating their actions seriously can have tragic implications if they were applied in the real world.


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