Why are more and more forward-thinking employers ditching recruiting firms that produce, well, crap.   Contingency, RPOs, and traditional retained search firms in favor of the 21st century success based recruitment?

In a 3.5% unemployment rate, most Hiring Managers know the undisciplined, inexperienced, and average “C players” are predominant on job boards.  In addition, with job aggregators, job openings get overexposure to the point the company suffers in public relations and branding.  same goes for RPOS and contingency search firms – the more they repost the same job posting, the worst candidates are revealed.

Ditching Recruiting  Firms that Fail to Produce

You have certain objectives you want a new hire to meet.  The target are passive candidates, those not reading job postings and not actively looking,   What interests passive candidates?  A new challenge, a different product or service portfolio, location, company size, and more.   A typical job posting showcasing responsibilities and requirements is no enthusiasm roadmap.  It is in reality a robotic drone of words strung together that entices only the unemployed or average active job seeker.

‘The new paradigm, which NextGen Global Executive Search has used for a decade, is a search should be success based in regards to the recruitment fees.  Also known as a performance based search, after the deposit the 2nd invoice is due upon acceptance of the shortlist and in-person interviews are scheduled.

Ditching Recruiting Firms with Compensation Based Fees

In addition, success based search fees should be a flat fee and not based on compensation.  The reason is simple, in that compensation based fees can cause an increase in the overall recruitment fees during offer negotiations which is an inherent conflict of interest.  Finally the 3rd and final invoice occurs on the hire and is backed by a  24 to 36 months replacement guarantee.

Facing New Cyber Warfare Tactics – Implement CCI Methods

Facing New Cyber Warfare Tactics – Implement CCI Methods

Cyberspace is an official battlefield for almost a decade in many states. According to a series of data breach investigations report (2013-2016) of Verizon facing new cyber warfare tactics, despite cyber criminals remain a major actor category in causing data breaches, the significant participation of nation-states and state-affiliated groups in cyber-operations is not to be underestimated.

The operators in the latter category do not simply target short-term monetary gain, but in-depth and persistent penetration to attain strategic objectives, notably the advanced persistent threat (APT). Our businesses, government, and military are facing new cyberwarfare tactics used in economic espionage, geopolitical campaigns and remote sabotage attempts. High profile events in recent years ranging from the Chinese APT1 eavesdropping over 140 international companies, Russian APT28 implementing asymmetric warfare against Georgia and Ukraine between 2008 and 2014, to the DNC email hacking in the recent US presidential election and Olympic Games (Stuxnet) sabotage incident in 2010, contribute to the rapid development of cyber intelligence landscape.

Methods in Facing New Cyber Warfare Tactics

Thus, in this troubled water, not only the digital assets and intellectual properties of private companies are under constant surveillance of cybercriminals but also public critical infrastructures and new Internet of Things connected data and devices are at stake. Highly skillful and resourceful actors enthusiastically collect intelligence through sophisticated hacking tools, computer worms and network mapping technologies.This intelligence collection empowers malicious actors to succeed in striking companies and governments. One key underlying factor for successful risk mitigation is not only to catch up with the ‘hardware’ technological advancement, but also the software in facing new cyber warfare tactics to analyze the pattern, identity and objectives of the intruder so as to effectively counterstrike intelligence collection of the adversary.Facing new cyber warfare tactics by implementing CCI methodsThus, adopting military doctrines such as decoy, deception and deterrence to detect and mitigate cyber risks becomes a valuable cyber counterintelligence (CCI) strategy for both private companies and states. In the tactics, techniques, procedures (TTP) guidelines implemented by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Joint Chiefs of Staff, at least four major intelligence collection methods can be identified in cyberspace. Intelligence can be collected through human (HUMINT), open-source (OSINT), signal (SIGINT) and geography (GEOINT).Based on these notions, the security researcher, Robert Lee, suggests two approaches to apply these concepts in CCI policy making: defensive CCI and offensive CCI.The former recommends regular red team assessment to evaluate both internal network vulnerabilities and external threat landscape. The latter is about setting up honeypots and sock puppets to interact with the adversary so as to achieve deception and delay effects. Both approaches require a comprehensive understanding of the internal networks, operations and procedures about one’s own organization. Ideally, one optimal CCI employment involves a mix of active and passive intelligence gathering to understand the potential adversaries.

Assessments in Facing New Cyber Warfare Tactics

In other words, it implies the hybrid application of conducting internal and external assessment as well as interacting with the intruders. Hence, the organization can be better prepared in facing new cyber warfare tactics by drafting its response plan and internal policies with more concrete scenarios, evidence, and more significantly, grasp of the tactics of the adversary.

In addition, internal analyst and general employee training is a prerequisite for the successful implementation of CCI strategy. On the one hand, improving the security awareness of general employees is an important, yet underestimated, means to prevent initial network compromise. For example, the victims of APT1 mostly started by falling prey to spear phishing which eventually caused successive large-scale data breaches. Educating employees to be cautious of unverified and false web information addresses the most vulnerable human factor in cybersecurity trust chain.

On the other hand, the training of in-house analysts has to be rigid and unconventional. They must be able to identify, evaluate and distinguish accurate intrusion data to defend the organization. Putting themselves into the adversary’s shoes is a crucial perspective to anticipate the interests, objectives and strategies of the intruder. It also prevents them from being misled to well-crafted falsified data.

To optimize the performance of the duties of in-house analysts, a number of emerging cybersecurity vendors in deception technology like TrapX, Attivo and Cymmetria develop products and solutions adapted to this specific need. Through setting up decoys and buffering zones such as honeypot servers, sandbox and other buffering mechanisms, the defending organization can maximize the counterintelligence efforts to study the attacker.

In conclusion, adopting CCI perspectives in facing new cyber warfare tactics is an imminent issue for companies and governments to cope with constantly evolving and sophisticated cyberattacks. After all, the information security solutions of major vendors in the market target a more general public having relatively less security challenges than institutions dealing with multi-billion digital assets, IoT networks, and critical infrastructure. Installing ubiquitous anti-virus/ spyware detection software is the earliest phase in defending one’s institution.

In case of constant aggressive network breaches that their existing cybersecurity solutions and internal policies are ineffective, even defenseless, against the adversary, it is time to consider integrating CCI tactics and perspectives into the institution’s cyber defense strategy.

If the states are involved in attacking private entities, for what reasons companies should not introduce CCI to their management?

Whether you are a manufacturer, hardware or software vendor, or defense contractor, you Must have the best talent available who has a TSI and /or active security clearance to work in cyber defense and cyber counterintelligence.  NextGen has served companies with identifying and recruiting cyber analysts, red / blue / purple team engineers, and more.

Candidate Video Interviews  the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Candidate Video Interviews the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Candidate video interviews in recruiting creates manageable content, and with cloud services the benefit of being able to edit, store, and convert to the appropriate information format for evaluating candidates or future consideration of a new opening.  The three types of candidate video interviews are:

  2. Two-Way Video Interview: whereby there is a live interaction between the recruiter and the candidate and is often recorded.
  3. Group Video Interview:  whereby the candidate faces an interview panel and the entire interview is recorded.

Candidate Video Interviews can be Useful or Worthless

The one-way type is very basic and for lower level positions where a body or limited skills and experiences may be all that is required, this method certainly enables a pre-screening of dozens of applicants.  In the one-way video interview in recruiting, there is no live interaction between the recruiter/interviewer and the candidate/interviewee.  While many believe the one way video interview offers unique advantage of enabling the candidate to likely provide honest answers without panicking or being under undue stress, this is folly.

The problem is not dishonesty, rather skewered embellishments.  Secondly while the idea is that by not seeing the candidate first, this preempts some type of discrimination or bias, those subconscious biases will come into play once the recruiter views the recorded video interview.  Finally, a major disadvantage is that the recruiter cannot challenge the candidate’s answers nor visually see eye/mouth/facial and body movements and tonal differentiation in the challenges that recruiters trained in behavioral interviewing techniques could make a proper assessment of.

The group candidate video interviews in recruiting is the most difficult to schedule and if not planned properly can result in a disastrous outcome.  A group video interview is similar to a panel interview in-person.  In my 25 years in executive search, sadly 70% of all panel interviews are poorly structured and result in sometimes unfair evaluations.

Time  and time again I had clients fail to collaborate to give me the foundation and structure of the panel interview and the personalities involved leaving me in the sad situation of not being able to fully prepare the candidate for the panel interview or relying solely upon the client’s group decision about which candidate to hire.

Properly Plan the Candidate Video Interviews in Recruiting

It took me several years to come up with the right solution.  Before a candidate is presented on the shortlist, we have already conducted psychometric testing and weighted against the team profile the candidate hired will be working with, having surveyed those internal customers at the beginning of the search.  By formulating a composite team profile which measures the cultural values, relational communications skills, and decision-making traits, we are certain the candidates who best fit the team are presented.

The added benefit is because we know the individual client members traits, as recruiters we are in a unique position to advise on the structure and responsibilities of the individual panel members as well as the overall group concerning candidate video interviews.  What we find is that the panel video job interview in recruiting structures are often hastily organized or dominated by one person.  A senior recruiter’s expert advice in group/panel interviews is greatly appreciated by clients.

Solutions for Effective Candidate Video Interviews in Recruiting

The benefits and disadvantages of the candidate video interviews in recruiting that are outlined above do showcase that these are evolving tools which confer a company or business entity with the advantages of cost-efficiency and excellent time management which in turn reduce the losses (and some overhead costs) thereby optimizing the overall value of the company.

Retained search firm are diligent in not just unmasking and assessing the best candidates, but they present a shortlist of candidates with complete dossiers including analysis of skills/expertise, relevant accomplishments and problem solving methods, documented contacts and relationships, behavioral and team fit analysis completed, social media reputation report and comprehensive background checks. This means that the in-person interviews are more forward-looking rather than wasting time to attain information a contingency recruiter failed to acquire.

Since the Hiring Manager now knows everything about the selected candidates presented, the lead recruiter develops a short set of hypothetical and situational questions for those candidates.  These are designed to bear witness the candidates’ reasoning and thought processing skills in how they would handle a known situation or a possible issue/trend.  Those finalists’ candidate video interviews and assessments are delivered to the client.

This also best prepares the Hiring Team to properly structure a group panel video interview for recruiting when scheduling conflicts and time differences preclude a 1st round of face-to-face interviews.   In this digital age, new challenges in utilizing candidate video interviews in recruiting will arise, but this will never eliminate the need and human touch of forward-looking face-to-face interviews.

Award-winning Recruitment Search Processes

Leadership Vault, the award-winning recruitment search methodology created by the managing partners of NextGen Global Executive Search, has consistently proven to result in what clients often describe as the best hire they have ever made and that the candidates brought forward met or exceeded their expectations.  Click the image below to discover our unique search process.

Screening Candidates for Team Fit is BETTER than Corporate Culture Match

Screening Candidates for Team Fit is BETTER than Corporate Culture Match

Screening candidates for team fit is more fruitful and accurate than corporate culture match. Work is a lot like life in general in that screening candidates cultural fit is what many strive for.  While it is a lofty goal, it is also a bit of star Trek wishful thinking that all will be well in the universe and a perfect hire will happen.

 In life, we tend to mingle with people who are quite like ourselves. As an individual, a person would usually be drawn to another who expresses similarities, in language, music, and style are among the things. In a few words: we are attracted to the same culture. The same goes for the business world.

Companies have a selection process where they usually look for candidates who share the same values and methods of their organization, i.e corporate culture. Screening candidates for team fit takes more work but in the end it is about the performance of the team and the impact the individuals being considered for hire will impact team dynamics.  Each team has their own culture.  And teams are made up of individuals.  If everyone thinks the  same and has the same corporate culture and process methods philosophy, their is no innovation, no challenge to different thoughts as everyone is robotic in their thinking.

And cultural fit should not be mistaken for one’s own prejudice. A candidate should be hired based on how they would make a positive impact on the team he/she will work within and how that in the end would be beneficial for the company without clashing with other employees and while at the same time maintain demeanor. If these are met  y assessing team fit instead of culture fit,  then that new hire is likely to fail.

Screening Candidates for Team Fit is Essential to Team Success

While cultural fit can be discerned in the screening process, whether the candidates fit the team he/she will work within is one of the main purposes of utilizing psychometrics to asses a candidate’s impact on team dynamics.  The major problem is the reliance upon one-way behavioral testing that partially measures a potential candidate’s potential behavioral patters, values, and motivations, but fails to take into account the team composite regarding relational communications style, decision maing and conflict resolution skills, and leadership/management style.

Many feel that in  a panel interview they can discern within a few hours how a candidate will impact team dynamics and weigh heavily on Human Resources to provide the behavioral assessment.  the interaction established in the interview exhibits the candidate’s credentials to accomplish the job and an essential fit needed to perform efficiently within the role, but cannot measure team fit.

Behavioral interviews are often used; unfortunately, the standard practice does not work well. Organizations need to measure a candidate’s behavioral profile against the composite reading of the team’s behavioral profile. This type of psychometric measurement combined with the in-person interviews can accurately tell how the candidate’s approach and conduct are compatible with the ones practiced within the team, as well as within the company.

According to Entrepreneur, Corporate culture is “a blend of values, beliefs, taboos, symbols, rituals and myths companies develop over time.” In itself, a company has their own identity within its workforce and it greatly varies from one organization to another. Within a company, it is common that different people are working together.

Screening Candidates for Team Fit Means a Good Hire

Screening candidates for team fit assures that teamwork is common and important in a corporate setting. Employees who value working with peers and acknowledge the input of various ideas is most likely to work well in an organization that puts emphasis working in teams. Working with others is an important part in business organizations. However, when an employee prefers to work alone, he or she might be a good cultural fit in an organization that is more inclined in working in teams.Screening candidates for cultural fit and team fit also measures the capability of an employee to embrace diversity and exhibits no qualms in working in an organization that is compatible to their own set of principles and ideals. Companies need to recognize and employ candidates who exhibit these traits. Employees who are happy in their work environment tend to perform better and stay longer.

Despite the diverse personalities within a workforce, a company needs to find balance in shaping their work culture that will assure its accomplishment. Working in organizations would mean meeting a lot of people with different backgrounds. Both cultural fit and team fit emphasizes an employees’ abilities in and characteristics that can contribute to the success of the company.

A Recruitment Process Unmatched

NextGen’s award-winning Leadership Vault search process begins with the Discovery step where the objectives of teh role, how a candidate will use their skills, team dynamics, and value proposition are determines.  The target candidate profile includes researched competitor and company targets followed by documenting accomplishments, relative KPIs, depth of industry / customer relationships, and scientifically based team fit analysis.  Success based recruitment fees where majority is based on acceptable deliverables and the actual hire.  Backed by a custom onboarding plan and a 24 to 36 month replacement guarantee and a retention rate of 93% of our placements are working for same client at 3.5 years of service with 72% in 5 years.  You should expect NOTHING LESS than hiring an “A player” when you pay a recruitment fee.

Performance Objectives Focused Recruiting

Performance Objectives Focused Recruiting

Let’s look at defining the Key Performance Indicators or even better defining how performance objectives focused recruiting can be used in the recruitment screening process.  Many hiring managers and recruiters for that matter have a misconception that these are used only after the hire or limited to executive leadership roles.

To understand why performance objectives focused recruiting is effective, let’s look at a why it should be utilized as enhance both job postings and the screening process.  Typical job descriptions delivers poor results, negative advertising, and lousy applicants. Generally they bespeak of a little company branding, responsibilities, requirements to apply, and a brief overview of benefits.

What does work is to use defining the performance objectives focused recruiting in the job description and developing ideal candidate profiling of a position. The issue is most Human Resource departments, corporate recruiters, and external recruiters lack any sense of understanding of how to analyze how a potential candidate may perform or what they will do to meet those defined objectives.

Performance Objectives Focused Recruiting NOT Requisitions

Performance Objectives Focused RecruitingOne of the gurus I learned from to define performance objectives focused recruiting is Lou Adler.  Here is a link to his site.  The best description of the SMART techniques come from Lou Adler’s point of view as I believe he states it best.

What do you want the new hire to achieve with “x responsibility”?  Take each required skill and ask what are the objectives of using this skill and how well the candidate may meet those objectives based on accomplishments and similar tasks performed by using SMART techniques.

  1. Specific – details of what needs to be done (task, challenge, project, or problem)?
  2. Measurable – amounts of change / % of change required
  3. Action – what will the person in this role actually do?
  4. Results – what needs to happen to accomplish the major objectives?
  5. Time – how long will it take from start to finish for this objective to be reached?

Once you have defined the near-term performance objectives, move onto the long-term objectives that will bring real added-value to the company.

Candidate Profiling Performance Objectives Focused Recruiting

After discovering how to map those objectives you need to develop the ideal candidate profile. Next we will examine how a retained search firm performs these tasks including:

  1. when and who should be involved in defining the team profile (not the corporate profile but the actual team the new hire will work within)
  2. analyzing behavioral traits of ideal candidates measured against the team profile to determine effect of new hore on team dynamics
  3. refining how performance objectives focused recruiting uses team fit and candidate profiling to target and identify the candidates who can meet or exceed the management objectives.

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Bed Skirt Craft Table Makeover

May is turning out to be a rather hectic month.  My daughter’s 3rd birthday is just around the corner, not to mention she is about to start pre-school for the first time next week.  At the risk of sounding cliché, time is flying by and filled with things to do, forms to sign, and errand filled lunch breaks.   Despite this, I have been busy working in the background on a few projects though at a slower pace than usual.  One of these projects was resurfacing my craft table and organizing the space. Despite my best efforts, my craft room has become a cluttered nightmare of various holiday decorations, toys and kids clothes which never made their way up to the attic.  I was once again determined to clean it up and work on the craft table.

Craft table has seen better days

This old desk top computer table had seen better days but worked well as a crafting table. Of course a table used for this purpose is going to bare the scars of crafting, but I had a lot of left over fabric from an old bed skirt that I had used for a few previous projects. The pattern and color scheme also happened to match the room nicely.  I cut two pieces of fabric to fit over the table surface.  I applied Mod Podge generously with a foam craft brush.  I carefully applied the fabric to the table surface creating a seam to connect the two pieces together.  I then applied Mod Podge to the top of the fabric.

I applied several layers of Mod Podge allowing it to dry clear between coats. I painted the areas I could not decoupage black.  Once it was dry it created a workable surface that was much more attractive than before.

craft table resurface before and after

Table Before and After

Craft room shot

Craft Room Shot featuring “On The Upcycle” Projects

Getting better with organization Lets hope I can keep it that way-Finally!


Transportable Optical Clock

Optical clocks can now reach levels of accuracy at which it can be difficult to compare clocks at remote locations. In addition, it is desirable to take clocks out of the laboratory. This motivates us to build a more compact system that can be readily moved out of the laboratory.

The laser systems for lutetium are all diode laser based and, in some cases use frequency doubling. Almost all frequency doubling can be achieved using fiberized, waveguide-doublers, and the addressing of multiple hyperfine states can be achieved using fiberized, wideband electro-optic modulators. This makes the lutetium system amenable to providing a compact-transportable clock system.


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The regulated its status as an independent state. The

The Treaty of Trianon /Essay/ By Flóra Jakab In my essay I will try to understand the way Hungarians see the Treaty of Trianon, and try to find a different approach of the memory of the events. The Treaty of Trianon was signed on the 4th of June in 1920. This was the peace agreement which formally ended World War I between the Kingdom of Hungary and most of the Entente Powers. The treaty defined the new borders of Hungary and regulated its status as an independent state. The country lost approximately 70% of its lands and population, including five of the ten largest cities. It also limited Hungary’s army (1st internet link). In comparison to the country’s role in the war the punishment was way too harsh. So harsh Hungarians collectively could not process it in the last nearly 100 years. But to be able to understand the reasons hidden we have to understand collective victimhood first, because this is the way Hungarians still think about themselves. “Victimization in the history of a group can cause substantive changes in group identity. Bar-Tal, Cheryak-Hai, Shori and Gundar (2009) have proposed the idea of self-perceived collective sense of victimhood, which describes the identity state arising as a consequence of recurrent or prolonged victimization. They define collective victimhood as a mindset of members of collectives that is based on the sense of being victim of a harm intentionally committed by another group. This harm is perceived as undeserved, unjust and immoral. It has important consequences on the regulation of intergroup relations, particularly in the management of intergroup conflicts. Collective victimhood is more likely to arise when people feel the sense of victimhood not because of the harm experienced by themselves but because of the loss or suffering of their group” (Fülöp et al., 2014, 7). It is not surprising that Hungarians developed a collective victimhood since the last positive events and won wars happened in the medieval era. Since then Hungarians only experienced lost wars and repressions. The unfairness of the Treaty of Trianon could make this sense of victimhood even stronger. 2 But these failures are not just negative memories, they had serious impacts on the group identity of Hungarians as well. These experiences threatened the positive self-image of the group, as well as the integrity of it. But this sense of collective victimhood provided certain identity-serving functions too, like giving explanation for threatening events, helping to cope with stress caused by a conflict. It also gives a feeling of superiority and moral justification which can be observed in the way Hungarians treat outgroups. This victim position can become permanent and create a ‘syndrome of victimhood’ which can become a dominant part of the group identity, influencing the group reactions. This sense of victimhood can be passed from generation to generation (Fülöp et al., 2014). This transmission of the feeling of loss, and the anger caused by it can be seen the social representation of the Treaty of Trianon. First of all, the demonstrations. Every 4th of June people walk to the embassies of the countries which got the lands of the Kingdom of Hungary and hold a speech about how unfair the treaty was and that Hungary has the right to get back those territories. In those speeches show how strongly they still feel this victimhood, and even the tries to justify every negative thing that happened after the treaty to be caused by it. The second representation can be seen on the demonstrators, the shirts, badges, flags and anything with the map of the Big-Hungary on it. These clothes can be seen every day on the streets as well. The third emphatic representations are the blogs, webpages, facebook pages and groups discussing the treaty and the urban legends about it such as the treaty will expire in 2020 or that Romanian prostitutes influenced the politicians who decided about the treaty. There are a lot of legends form the USA did not sign the Treaty of Trianon because they felt it was too unjust to the theory that the Czech politicians lied that the rivers Ipoly and Ronyva were navigable so they would become boarder rivers. Most of the legends turned out to be false but a few new one turn up every year. To change this social representation, I think we should concentrate on the positive aspects of our past. If we think about the Turkish occupation, we see 150 years of repression instead of 150 years of endurance. Throughout those years Hungarians did not assimilated to the Turkish, they valued their norms, customs and believes too much to do so. And it is not just the Turkish occupation, Hungarian history is full of with events when the country should have fallen and disappear by assimilating to the neighbouring countries but it never happened. 3


Frozen 2 came out and we can’t let it go

Drishti Upadhyaya and Mahika Arya

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Elsa stars in the sequel of Frozen. While entertaining and heartfelt, Frozen 2 lacked consistent characters and plot.

Disney joined the winter season on Nov. 22 with the long-awaited sequel to its blockbuster.

The 2013 movie followed two royal sisters, Elsa (Idina Menzel) and Anna (Kristen Bell), as they attempt to reverse the icy spell the former cast on their kingdom, Arendelle.

The sequel follows the two as they begin to uncover the darker secrets of Arendelle’s past. Together, they journey through the Enchanted Forest and learn about their grandfather’s role in harming the native Northuldra tribe.

Elsa yearns to learn more about her past and her powers, abandoning Anna on her quest to find the fifth spirit that will unite people with nature. She hesitantly turns her back on Anna, who then takes the throne and attempts to restore the balance between Arendelle and the Northuldra. Elsa chooses to stay with the tribe in order to keep the peace between the two and fully embrace her powers. The two share a bittersweet farewell as they take on their destined roles.

For the majority of the film, the plot stays strong. Elsa and Anna’s motives are made clear, and their relationship seems significantly stronger than in the first film. Elsa longs to follow the mysterious voice she hears into the unknown and find her truth. Anna longs to support her sister and strengthen herself. The plot’s mystery shines and character interactions add greatly to the film.

But the plot falters. Elsa, the woman who supposedly wants to journey and let it all go, hesitates. She steps into the unknown, but not without turning back.

The inconsistencies catch up with her character arc. The Elsa of “Frozen” and the Elsa of “Frozen II” are entirely different characters, with opposing motives and aspirations. This Elsa’s dream of approaching the voice she hears is consistent with her character. Her decision to stay in the forest is accordant to her greater connection to her powers and mother.

The Elsa the first film established is constantly conflicted, struggling to choose between her sister — her last link to the family that forced her to conceal her powers — and her true potential. In the first movie, she chose her family over the ice within her and, in doing so, chose both. She found love to be the missing key to unlocking her full potential.

That Elsa would never turn her back on her sister for her mother. She saw the consequences and learned from them. Thus, the Elsa of the second film should never hesitate to leave. She would go after the voice and never turn back.

But she does. And that’s not consistent with her either of her characters.

In an attempt to reconcile these conflicting Elsa’s, the writers have done neither justice.

Elsa, despite being one of the most pivotal characters in the franchise, hasn’t been developed carefully through the plot, and her actions bear this burden.  Elsa’s arc was complete in the first film. She chose her family and herself.

But success is a construct Disney strives to replicate, so they essentially copy the structure of the original film for the sequel.

Though other characters’ damage pales in comparison to Elsa’s, they, too, suffer from distorted personalities. Anna’s independence from the first film is nowhere to be seen, despite her taking on the role of queen. Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) is completely sidelined, which is a huge disservice to his strengths. A pivotal character in the first film, his character is completely ignored in the sequel, which solely uses him as comic relief. Olaf goes from occasionally funny and charming to terribly annoying, save for the scene where he summarizes the first film. His death was the most dramatic moment in the film.

Despite its narrative flaws, “Frozen II” is, by all means, a good movie; the plot works within itself. But it is not a good sequel. It ignores the development established by the first movie; its conflicts render the previous film inconsequential. Its worldbuilding creates more questions than answers. It pokes fun at the strongest points of the first film and makes them less powerful. And it doesn’t complete the story — it creates a new one. Rather than a “happily ever after”, there is a “to be continued.”

We leave the story as we entered, slightly confused, but ultimately enthralled. However, no matter the inconsistencies, you cannot help but be interested: love for the first film will keep you captivated. Like its predecessor, Frozen II is a completely magical experience.

The animation is gorgeous, and the callbacks to the original film are on the nose but enjoyable. The nostalgia adds greatly to the experience: watching Elsa build pillars of ice felt like watching the original again. Her wardrobe change is just as devastatingly beautiful.

One of the greatest flaws of the first film was character design. Anna, Elsa, and Iduna clearly suffer from same-face syndrome, but, thankfully, the new characters stand out distinctly from one another.

Despite their mere five minutes of screentime, the new characters are a major selling point for the film, especially amongst indigenous peoples activists. Despite their minor roles, Honeymaren and Ryder are definitely worth watching the film for, while Ryder and Kristoff’s bromance is adorably wholesome. Honeymaren and Elsa’s relationship leaves much unsaid, and, with better writing, could have provided greater reasoning for Elsa’s decision to stay in the forest. There’s clearly more to their bond, and hopefully, future projects will dive into that. But even without subtext, interactions with new characters were definitely worth watching.

The soundtrack is also incredible but not on the same level as the first film. “Frozen” had very No song was is at “Let It Go” level, but nothing steps so far down as “Fixer Upper.”

Many of the musically weaker songs, like “Show Yourself” and “The Next Right Thing,” gain strength through context and visuals. While they might not be appreciated solely as songs, their purpose in the film add considerably to their merit. None of the songs seem unnecessary in the film’s context.

Ultimately, Kristoff steals the show. Jonathan Groff is a powerhouse, and his lack of songs in the original was a crime. However, “Lost in the Woods” is a masterpiece, allowing Groff’s talent to truly shine through; the emotion conveyed is on par with Idina Menzel’s delivery of “Let It Go.” With hilarious visuals, the song is an impressive parody that still manages to be heartfelt. Kristoff’s adorable love for Anna is one of the only consistent things in the narrative. Simply this performance is worth a rewatch.

Narratively, “Frozen II” isn’t the best. It’s inconsistent and littered with plot holes, sacrificing storytelling for humor and worldbuilding.

Despite its flaws correlating with the franchise, “Frozen II” remains a solid movie, certain to melt the hearts of anyone that watches it. It perfectly encapsulates the Disney vibe, with fun songs, magical characters, and stunning backdrops, making it still a movie worth watching.


Physical Symptoms
Fact Checked

Anxiety and Pain

Henry Vyner, MD, Psychiatrist
Anxiety and Pain

It seems a matter of common sense to us that anxiety causes us all kinds of bodily pains. When we are stressed and anxious, we get headaches. We feel tension and knots in our neck, and we get back pains. It seems obvious to us that stress and anxiety are the cause of these and other pains.

Nonetheless, it is difficult for science to prove that anxiety causes any of these specific pains. But again, to those of us who experience bodily pain when we are stressed or anxious, it seems obvious that those pains are caused by stress and anxiety.

Perhaps someday science will be able to find the mechanisms  by which anxiety causes back pain, headaches and chest pain. But in the meantime, we must allow common sense, or common experience, to trump science. There are several kinds of pain that common sense tells us are associated with anxiety and stress, and in this article we are going to look at them.

Anxiety and Chest Pain

Chest pain is one of the common symptoms of Panic Disorder. Different studies have shown that somewhere between 22% and 70% of panic attacks are associated with chest pain. Either way, that’s a lot. Chest pain occurs frequently in Panic Disorder. In addition, it is estimated that 25% of the patients that come to the emergency room with chest pain have Panic Disorder.

The chest pain that occurs in Panic Disorder is often described as a sharp, stabbing sensation that starts suddenly.

While there are similarities between anxiety chest pain and pain due to a heart problem, there are some significant differences that will help you distinguish between the two.

Anxiety chest pain most often develops when you are at rest, while heart attack pain most often develops when you are being active. This is one difference.

Another difference is that pain from a heart attack will frequently spread from your chest to other areas of your body. Typically, if it spreads, it will go to your jaw, left shoulder and arm. However, chest pain caused by anxiety will only be present in your chest.

Finally, anxiety chest pain tends to develop quickly and then fade somewhat rapidly, often within 10 minutes, but heart condition pain starts slowly and gradually increases.

If you experience chest pain in the midst of a panic attack, and you are not sure if it is caused by your panic attack, you want to go see a doctor right away to make sure that the pain is not the result of a heart problem or some other illness. Panic attacks can sometimes cause myocardial ischemia (insufficient oxygen to your heart), and it is important to make sure that there is no physical cause for the chest you experience is a panic attack.

However, be sure to tell your doctor that you are having a panic attack or that you have a history of panic attacks. This will help your doctor understand how to best diagnose your chest pain.

Finally, people with Panic Disorder also have a higher risk of having high blood pressure and angina pectoris — which is a chest pain caused by insufficient oxygen reaching the heart. So if you have panic attacks, you will want to make sure that your doctor monitors your cardiac health.

Anxiety and Back Pain

There are many causes of back pain, and there is some indication that anxiety is one of them. Back pain occurs more frequently in people who have an anxiety disorder, and this is partial proof that anxiety can cause back pain.

The symptoms of anxiety induced back pain will include persistent aches or stiffness; especially in your neck, upper back, or lower back.

Anxiety causes back pain because being anxious activates your stress response, and the stress response causes your muscles to tighten and become tense. This tensing of your muscles can cause pain in and of itself. It can also leave you vulnerable to having spasms and straining your back muscles — especially when you are lifting heavy weights or doing strenuous physical activities you don’t normally do.

If you are having back pain that you think is caused by anxiety and stress, spend several minutes every day doing easy exercises that gently stretch the muscles in your back. You can also apply heat to your back, get massages, take a warm bath or go to a hot springs. And of course the best thing you can do is to take measures to reduce your underlying anxiety: mindfulness training, meditation and cognitive behavioral therapy.

Finally, if your back pain persists, it is always a good idea to go see your doctor to make sure the pain isn’t being caused by a physical problem.

Anxiety and Headaches

Proving that anxiety and stress cause headaches has as of yet remained beyond the reach of science. But who among us doubts that stress and anxiety can cause headaches? Who among us has not developed a stress headache in the middle of a busy or difficult day?

Headaches are a common symptom of Generalized Anxiety Disorder. This suggests that anxiety causes headaches. Another indication that anxiety causes headaches is that people who have migraines are more likely to have anxiety disorders. And again, headaches just seem to appear when we are stressed or anxious.

Even though we don’t have the scientific proof yet, we doctors assume that there are three kinds of headaches that are caused by anxiety — tension headaches, migraines and cluster headaches — on the basis of the circumstantial association of these headaches with anxiety.

The quickest thing to do for a tension headache is to take a mild pain reliever that you know works for you. You can also take medications to reduce your anxiety, but before resorting to medications try meditation, mindfulness training or therapy to reduce your anxiety and headaches in the long run.

Pain Can Cause Anxiety

An important thing to understand is that the relationship between pain and anxiety can become circular. If you have a lot of chronic pain, it is only natural to think that a disease of some kind might be causing it, even if you have long believed that the pain is caused by anxiety and stress. Patients with chronic pain can develop an anxiety disorder because of their concerns about their pain. If you are worried about a pain that  you think is caused by stress and anxiety, go see your doctor and have the pain diagnosed.

If your doctor finds no physical cause for your pain, then try to accept the pain, and thoroughly accept that the pain is caused by stress and anxiety. Allow your worried thought about your pain to pass through your mind without repressing or believing the. This will help you reduce your fear of the pain, and the anxiety it is causing. The practice of mindfulness can be especially helpful in moving you to find a way to come to terms with and reduce your pain.

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Forecasting real time water quality advisories that are 90% more accurate than traditional sampling methods.

Each year, Canada pours more that 150 billion liters of untreated sewage water into nature and endanger the health of citizens.

The traditional method of measuring water quality requires a technician to take a sample (from the shore for example) and then take it to the lab for analysis. Then estimating water quality require an incubation time of ± 24 hours. By using these methods, beaches are closed too late – the day after a peak of contamination – putting swimmers at risk.

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Once it is trained with historical data and adapted to the beaches of your city, InteliSwim can determine, for a given period of time, if the probability of fecal coliform (E. Coli bacteria) in the water will be higher than the acceptable standard for swimming.

Advantages of Choosing InteliSwim:

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Meet the Team

Lucy M. Stitzer

Lucy Stitzer has an avid interest to ensure the world has safe, clean, affordable, and enough food to feed our future generations. She believes there is a delicate balance between the environment and feeding a global population. She wants to see food grown and delivered to the grocery store in a sustainable manner. This means large and small agriculture using technology and best practices to preserve water, use fewer chemicals, create healthier soil, protect clean air, and still see an increased yield per acre. She is a mother of three children, two of whom had a compromised immune system early in their childhood. She wanted to ensure that the ingredients in her meals were safe and healthy for her family. She enjoys outdoor sports, flying airplanes and, not to mention, maintaining a healthy diet. Lucy is a shareholder of Cargill Inc. and served on the Cargill Board for many years. While she has a strong understanding of the food supply chain, her perspective is completely based on independent research and her views are her own. Lucy is Chairman of Waycrosse, Inc. She also serves as a Trustee on the James Beard Foundation, on the Board of Hamlin Capital Management, and Chairman of Rush Creek Golf Course. Her prior career was in banking and she has a B.A. in English from Hollins University.

Hayley N. Philip

Hayley Philip was born in California’s central valley. Growing up in the most productive agricultural region of the state coupled with the fact that her grandfather was a farmer all his life, she has always had strong ties to agriculture. She attended the University of California Santa Barbara where she graduated with a degree in Sociology and Marketing.  She moved to New York shortly after graduation, where she worked in sales and marketing for seven years in the tri-state area. She joined the Dirt-to-Dinner team, not only to circle back to her roots in the ag space, but to leverage her marketing background to better understand how food and nutrition are marketed to consumers, and what is truly science versus what is simply misleading packaging claims.  Recently married, Hayley is concerned now more than ever about how she feeds her family. She strives to uncover the health, safety and social impacts of food consumption to accurately answer the question on many consumers’ minds—how can I truly live a healthy lifestyle?

Hillary E. Kaufman

Hillary Kaufman graduated from Northeastern University in Boston with a B.S. in Business Administration and immediately pursued a career in marketing research given her strong interest in consumer trends and opinion in healthcare and consumer & food products. Hillary then furthered her healthcare industry experience in New York City, where she helped market a healthcare hedge fund product at an asset management firm. She then worked at an equity hedge fund to broaden her financial and marketing skills by supporting the investment and investor relations teams with research into agricultural, healthcare and consumer product companies. It was in this role she found her strong interest in how all food products make their way across the globe to the end consumer. In 2017, Hillary joined the Dirt-to-Dinner team and is so happy to dive into all the great topics we cover, from food trends to technological advances in health. She supports the team with evaluating marketing strategies that help put the word out on Dirt-to-Dinner, and making sure our readers know about and stay informed on all the important topics we cover!

Caroline B. Cunnane

Caroline Cunnane began her interest in food and nutrition as a college student trying to navigate the dining hall. The idea that your food could be coming from just about anywhere didn’t sit well with her. As a student trying to avoid the “freshman fifteen”, she came to understand the importance of healthy food and how valuable good nutrition really is. Needless to say, she is curious about fad dieting, and whether or not they can be considered truly healthy! She has investigated everything from giving up gluten to the cayenne cleanse and it was this initial interest that brought her to the Dirt-to-Dinner team. Her research is based on interviews and primary source information. Before joining Dirt-to-Dinner, Caroline was at Bloomberg, and then the publishing industry, where she worked for the previous two years.  Caroline attended the University of Richmond and graduated with a B.A. in Communications and English.

Lisa D. Hurst

Lisa Hurst has a B.A. from Middlebury College, which set her up with an appreciation for the natural environment and a strong background in writing. She started her career in marketing and communications before “retiring” to raise a family. Having spent her fair share of time in the grocery store aisle to provide nutritious meals for her children and husband, Dirt-to-Dinner has given her the opportunity to research, learn and write about what marketing terms such as “natural,” “hormone free,” “non-GMO”, and “organic” really mean. In addition, her interests lie in learning all about American agriculture and how farmers and others along the supply chain grow, harvest and process our constant supply of fruits, vegetables, protein, and dairy. In addition to being an accomplished home cook, she strives to live a healthy, active lifestyle which includes plenty of outdoor time exercising her two yellow labs, growing vegetables and flowers, and throwing a little yoga or meditation in on the side.

Contributing Writers

Garland West

Garland West is a writer and business consultant with several decades experience in food and agricultural issues, most notably those involving food security and economic development.  Over his career, he has applied his academic training in journalism to coverage of agricultural, environmental and trade policy in Washington and Europe, and has written articles, speeches, issue analysis and commentary on these and other matters for clients that include major corporate leaders and prominent global consulting firms.  His resume includes postings in Washington, Minneapolis, London, New York, Chicago and Detroit, both as a corporate executive and president of his own company.  He and his wife Nancy today reside deep within in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where they maintain an animal sanctuary and savor a more contemplative and relaxed pace of life.

Diane Wetherington

Susan M. Leaman

Tim Sprinkle

Sarah Evanega

Joan Conrow

Michael Doane

Have a topic you would like us to investigate? Let us know! Send an email to: info@dirt-to-dinner.com


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How to Present Numerical Data in Scientific Text

A scientific paper should be objective although it is a struggle in part as there are various subjective terms. For instance, “red” colour can be “pink” for one, and “hot” can be “warm” for another. However, numbers have the same meaning to most people, therefore, they are well suited for scientific text. Here are the ways to present numerical data in the scientific text. You can incorporate numerical data in three ways: inserting it into the text body, tabular representation and graphical representation. The choice of methods entirely depends upon information and its complexity. The best method would be one that helps readers understand your arguments without struggling with interpreting data. Note that a numerical presentation describes data in digits, so you do not need to explain in words. When to incorporate numbers in data When there is a comparison between two values, it is better to put numerical data in the textual body. For instance, 12% of European 9 to 16-years-old children get upset by harmful things on the internet. However, 9% of children do not get bothered by harmful things. A numerical comparison between three values or more often causes bewilderment among readers if you include it in the text. Therefore, a tabular representation will be a...


Bills to Watch During the 2020 Legislative Session

-Establish a Parental Rights Commission to promote and protect the right of parents to raise their children within the value and faith framework they see fit.  The government is actively trying to separate children from parents, overriding and usurping the God-given and Constitutional rights and obligations of parents.  The commission will complete an assessment of laws and other policies as they impact the rights of parents and inform policymakers as to best measures to protect Parental Rights.

Establish a Parental Rights Statute in order to permanently establish a parent’s right to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their child, without the State or any government infringement.

-Comprehensive Sex Education (SB5395/HB2184/HB1407/6175).  Comprehensive Sex Ed, driven by Planned Parenthood, seeks to indoctrinate and sexualize children all the way down to Kindergarten.  CSE teaches a sexuality that is contrary to God’s Word, encouraging sexual experimentation, affirming Gender Dysphoria and Same-sex Attraction.

    Would require every school district to implement Comprehensive Sexual Education (CSE) for every public-school child Kindergarten through 12th Grade.  Many of the encouraged and promoted practices and activities (sexual activity, sex-change operations, gender disorder, chemical castration, sodomy, porn, etc.) cause significant harm to children, thus actually child abuse.

This is not about education or teaching science or facts; it is indoctrination of children by Planned Parenthood, the Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity Movement, neo-Pagans (Nonbelievers), and the new Socialists to change our culture and values on sex and marriage.  It is designed to teach children to hate or leave their parents and their Christian (and Jewish, Muslim) faith.

-No Universal Government Visitation (SB5744/HB1775) Keep the State Out of the Lives of New Parents (SB5683/HB1771).  Imagine what could happen if every new mother and father were required to allow state-sanctioned officials into their homes upon the birth of a baby.

Year by year, the state tries to take more and more the role of the parent, driving a wedge between parents and their children.  Universal Visitation would be the ultimate leverage the state needs to ‘stick its nose inside the tent,’ and intrude directly into everyone’s home!  And once the Gov’t gets permission to monitor everyone inside their own home, who knows what harm or persecution will result in this MASSIVE Gov’t violation of your privacy!

-Transparency in Minor Health Care (New take on SB5185)

-Expansion of mandatory vaccines

Bills to Watch:

-Parental Involvement through volunteering in schools after a criminal conviction (HB 2220) This bill is concerning because it allows people with criminal records to potentially volunteer at schools.  While there are provisions that allow schools to deny a person with a criminal record to volunteer in classrooms, it puts the responsibility on the school to prove the person is not cleared.  Not only does this pose a potential risk to students and school staff, it also seems to add one more burden on an already over-burdened school system.


Congratulations to the 2020 CAS Society Class of IEEE Fellows! Thank you for your many contributions to IEEE Circuits and Systems Society.

Elevated by CAS Society:

Alyssa Apsel

for contributions to radio frequency and optical communications circuits and systems

Ramon Carvajal

for contributions to low-voltage and low-power CMOS analog circuit design

Sen-Ching Cheung

for contributions to multimedia data processing and their applications in autism interventions

Jose De La Rosa

for contributions to delta-sigma modulators

Ramesh Karri

for contributions to and leadership in trustworthy hardware

Huazhong Yang

for low-power circuit techniques for sensor applications and design automation

Lei Zhang

for contributions to large-scale visual recognition and multimedia information retrieval

Tong Zhang

for contributions to system design and VLSI implementation for data storage

CASS Members Elevated by other IEEE Entities:

Yongzhong Zeng

for contributions to spectrum sensing and medium access control in cognitive radio

Christoforos Hadjicostis

for contributions to distributed and discrete event systems

Kwai Cheng

for contribution to electric vehicle technology and switched-capacitor power conversion

Touradj Ebrahimi

for contributions to visual information representation and assessment of quality of experience in multimedia

Yonggang Wen

for contributions to cloud systems for multimedia signal processing and communications

William Bidermann

for leadership in commercially successful image sensors and microprocessors

Eric A M Klumperink

for contributions to thermal noise cancelling and software defined radio architecture

Yiannos Manoli

for contributions to the design of integrated analog-to-digital interface circuits and energy harvesting systems

Michael Perrot

for contributions to phase-locked loop integrated circuits

Pavan V Hanumolu

for contributions to the design of mixed-signal integrated circuits

Maciej Ciesielski

for contributions to logic synthesis and formal verification of arithmetic circuits

Partha Pande

for contributions to network-on-chip architectures for manycore computing

Ravinder Dahiya

for contributions to tactile sensing


Curing Diabetes

If you have high abdominal fat and your Blood pressure is slightly elevated, you need to worry even if your BMI is normal because this may be a sign of impending diabetes. Let us understand how the diabetes is developed and further progressed. Understanding how the diabetes is developed and further progressed is the key to cure it, so let us first understand the mechanism of its development. Diabetes is caused by a problem in the way human body makes or uses insulin. Insulin is needed to move blood sugar (glucose) into cells, where it is stored and later used for energy.

Beta cells produce insulin in response to blood glucose. These beta cells produce insulin in precise proportion to the level of glucose in the blood stream. Following a meal, blood sugar levels rise significantly, and the beta cells release a large amount of insulin. This insulin causes body cells to grab the sugar, causing blood sugar to quickly return to its normal range. Once blood sugar is in the normal range, the beta cells reduce the output of insulin to an idling state. In this way, the beta cells adjust their production of insulin on a real time basis, producing just enough insulin to deal with the amount of blood sugar currently in the blood stream.

In type 1 diabetes, the beta cell islets are destroyed. Once the islets are killed, the ability to produce insulin is lost, and the symptoms and consequences of diabetes begin. In type-II diabetes Insulin resistance is the prime cause of diabetes. Insulin is a chemical messenger signalling proteins called GLUT-4 transporters (residing within the cell) to rise up to the cell’s membrane, where they can grab on to glucose and take it inside the cell. In patients with insulin resistance, the cells do not get the message that the glucose is available. Cells are unable to hear insulin “knocking” on the door resulting in elevated blood levels of both insulin and glucose

In the early stages of insulin resistance, the pancreas compensates by producing more and more insulin, and so the “knocking” becomes louder and louder. The message is eventually “heard”, enabling glucose transportation into the cells, resulting in the eventual normalization of blood glucose levels. This is known as “compensated insulin resistance”. The liver helps regulate glucose levels by reducing its secretion of glucose in the presence of insulin. This normal reduction in the liver’s glucose production may not occur in people with insulin resistance.

Over time, the stress of excessive insulin production burns out the beta cells unable to keep pace with accelerated output. As a result, glucose levels remain elevated for prolonged periods. This is called “uncompensated insulin resistance” and is the essence of advanced type 2 diabetes.

Gradually, increased insulin resistance and various other factors discussed later diminish the ability of pancreas to produce sufficient insulin and the classification line between type-I and type-II diabetes becomes blurred.

Insulin Resistance

As explained above Insulin resistance (IR) is a physiological condition where the natural hormone insulin , becomes less effective at lowering blood sugars. The resulting increase in blood glucose may raise levels outside the normal range and cause adverse health effects, depending on dietary conditions . Certain cell types such as fat and muscle cells require insulin to absorb glucose. When these cells fail to respond adequately to circulating insulin, blood glucose levels rise.

In experiment carried out on rodents, large quantities of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated (omega-6) fats all appear to be contributing to Insulin Resistance to some degree, compared to high-starch food, but saturated fat appears to be the most effective at producing IR. This is partly caused by direct effects of a high-fat diet on blood markers, but, more significantly high-fat diet has the tendency to result in caloric intake far exceeding animals’ energy needs, resulting in rapid weight gain. The effect of dietary fat is largely or completely overridden if the high-fat diet is modified to contain nontrivial quantities (in excess of 5-10% of total fat intake) of polyunsaturated. omega-3 fatty acids. This protective effect is most established with regard to the so-called “marine long-chain omega-3 fatty acids”, EPA and DHA , found in fish oil; evidence in favor of other omega-3’s, in particular, the most common vegetable-based omega-3 fatty acid, ALA is more limited. Some studies find ALA only effective among people with insufficient long-chain omega-3 intake and some studies fail to find any effect at all . ALA can be partially converted into EPA and DHA by the human body, but the conversion rate is thought to be 10% or less, depending on diet and gender, limiting its effectiveness.

Elevated levels of free fatty acids and triglycerides in the blood stream and tissues have been found to contribute to insulin resistance. Triglyceride levels are correlated with excess body weight, overeating and trans fat intake. They are strongly inversely correlated with omega-3 intake and fat loss again highlighting the importance of omega-3 rich diet and exercise.

Intake of simple sugars, and particularly fructose , is also a factor that contributes to insulin resistance. Fructose is metabolized by the liver into triglycerides, tends to raise their levels in the blood stream. Therefore, it may contribute to insulin resistance through the same mechanisms as the dietary fat. Experiments on rodents suggest that, high levels of fructose and/or sucrose induce insulin resistance similar to that of fats, and, this insulin resistance is ameliorated by fish oil supplementation. A low-fat diet high in simple sugars (but not in complex carbohydrates and starches) stimulates fatty acid synthesis, primarily palmitate , therefore, resulting in the plasma fatty acid pattern that is similar to that produced by a high-saturated-fat diet. However, very little is known about effects of simple sugars in whole fruit and vegetables. Epidemiological studies suggest that their high consumption is associated with somewhat lower risk of insulin resistance.

Another mechanism contributing to Insulin resistance is leptin resistance. An important role of leptin is long-term inhibition of appetite in response to formation of body fat. In some individuals this mechanism is disrupted and their appetite and caloric intake is not reduced despite elevated level of leptin. Once leptin resistance is developed, the individual becomes prone to further overeating, weight gain, and insulin resistance. Experiments on rats suggest that leptinresistance can be triggered by chronic consumption of fructose or consumption of energy-dense, highly palatable food over a period of several days.

Insulin itself leads to a kind of insulin resistance; every time a cell is exposed to insulin, the production of GLUT4 (type four glucose receptors) on the cell’s membrane decreases. In the presence of a higher than usual level of insulin (generally caused by insulin resistance), this down-regulation acts as a kind of positive feedback, increasing the need for insulin. Exercise reverses this process in muscle tissue.

Some scholars propose that insulin resistance and obesity are not really metabolic disorders per se, but simply adaptive responses to sustained caloric surplus, intended to protect bodily organs from lipotoxicity (unsafe levels of lipids in the bloodstream and tissues). It has been suggested that exclusion of glucose from lipid-laden cells by developing insulin resistance is a compensatory defence against further accumulation of lipogenic substrate.

Fast food meals are energy-dense, palatable, and cheap, increasing risk of overeating and leptin resistance. They are simultaneously high in dietary fat and fructose, and low in omega-3. These characteristics have independently been linked to insulin resistance.

In most cases, therefore, development of diabetes is nature’s way of maintaining energy and mass balance in response to the sustained high Caloric intake (mostly in the form of carb and fat) for many years without expenditure of those calories, resulting in metabolic changes causing insulin resistance and subsequent beta cell destruction in pancreas. Our system begins to adjust to the high calorie diet and low activity level five to seven years before we are ever diagnosed with diabetes. Our body seems to recognise that it is surplus of calories and stored fat and reprograms itself not to absorb the energy from food as efficiently as it used to. Insulin resistance is developed which prohibits the cells to listen to the insulin signal. This results in rising of the blood glucose level due to non-absorption in the cells. Excessive amount of glucose circulation in the blood plasma is called hyperglycaemia.

Main Symptoms when left undiagnosed:

People with hyperglycaemia feel hungry because their cells are unable to absorb the sugar in the blood, and the body reacts as if it needs more food (Polyphagia). All the excess sugar in the blood eventually winds up in the urine, and this acts as a diuretic, as the body tries to bring more water in to dilute the urine. This is why polyuria occurs. Because the hyperglycemic person is producing so much urine, they naturally feel thirsty as their body tries to replace the water resulting in the classical symptom of Polydipsia.

Other Dangers of Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance causes high level of circulatory insulin due to compensatory mechanism, drugs for type-II diabetes or externally administered insulin or simply due to chronic high calorie diet. This may pose several other dangers to the health.

Insulin stimulates cell growth, and unfortunately cancer cells have six to 10 times the number of insulin receptors–molecules that grab on to the hormone–as do normal cells. So if extra hormone hits a pre-existing cancer cell, it makes a bad thing much, much worse. “For cancer, insulin is like pouring gasoline on a fire.

Cardiovascular Disease

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

High level of insulin causes Polycystic Ovary Syndrome which causes infertility and dramatically raises the risk for heart disease.

In addition to above some studies also link Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s diseases to insulin resistance

Mechanisms of Beta-Celldestruction

Insulin resistance often leads to Beta-Cell destruction through various mechanism listed below. However, some individuals may have limited Beta-Cellmass early in life because of genetic factors predisposing them to diabetes.

Central Obesity is the main risk factor for the development of diabetes. It is often accompanied by an elevation of lipids in the blood (dyslipidemia) and increased circulating leptin and cytokine levels. All of these factors have been shown to modulate Beta-cell function and survival. The influence of dyslipidemia on the Beta-cells of an individual will depend on his or her specific lipid profile. Whereas some free fatty acids and lipoproteins have been shown to be pro-apoptotic for the Beta-cell, others are protective. Thus, long-term exposure to saturated fatty acids such as palmitate (a saturated fatty acid that is found in humans, animals and plants and is a major component of palm oil) appears highly toxic, whereas monounsaturated fatty acids such as oleate protect against both palmitate- and glucose-induced Beta-Cellapoptosis. It is interesting to note that similar toxic effects are also observed in non-Beta-cells such as cardiac cells. Lipoproteins may affect Beta-Cellsurvival in a similar way, whereby VLDL and LDL are pro-apoptotic and HDL is protective.

Mitochondrial dysfunction has also been proposed as a common feature of both impaired insulin responsiveness of peripheral tissues and defective Beta-Cellsecretory function and survival.

Oxidative stress affect insulin sensitivity, insulin secretion, Beta-cell survival, and also play a role in the development of the secondary complications of diabetes These effects are mainly catalyzed by the generation of reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species, which ultimately activate stress-induced pathways (transcription factor nuclear factor (NF-kB), stress kinases, and hexosamines) to manipulate cell fate.

Some in vitro studies suggest that closure of the KATP channels by the sulfonylureas tolbutamide and glibenclamide (commonly prescribed drug for type-II diabetes) may induce Ca2+-dependent Beta-cell apoptosis in rodent and human islets. In an important recent clinical study comparing insulin and sulfonylurea treatment of type 2 diabetes, it was shown that treatment with insulin preserved Beta-cell function more effectively than glibenclamide. It remains to be established whether it is the beneficial effects of insulin or the possible Beta-cell toxicity of glibenclamide that accounts for this observation.

Summing up, High energy food, rich in carbohydrates, fats and simple sugars coupled with low activity level appear to be contributing to Insulin Resistance and Beta-cell destruction. Hyperglycaemia plays a central role among those factors contributing to both Beta-cell “burnout” and insulin resistance. While transient postprandial hyperglycaemic excursions may predominantly induce Beta-cell proliferation in insulin-resistant individuals, this adaptive mechanism fails in the long run and is overridden by Beta-cell destruction (apoptosis). In addition this, hyperglycaemia also impairs Beta-cell secretory function. This glucotoxic effect is evident before apoptosis leads to a significant decrease in Beta-cell mass. Glucotoxicity does not act alone. Saturated fatty acids, lipoproteins, leptin, and circulating and locally produced cytokines further burn out the Beta-cells and are also prominent factors in developing insulin resistance. Increasing evidence in both experimental and clinical studies suggests that oxidative stress plays a major role in the pathogenesis of both types of diabetes mellitus. Abnormally high levels of free radicals and the simultaneous decline of antioxidant defense mechanisms can lead to damage of cellular organelles and enzymes, increased lipid peroxidation, and development of insulin resistance. Studies suggest that some therapeutic agents prescribed for type-II diabetes may also negatively influence the fate of the Beta-cells. Insulin resistance causes high level of circulatory insulin due to compensatory mechanism, drugs for type-II diabetes, externally administered insulin or simply due to chronic high calorie diet even in healthy individuals. This may pose several other dangers to the health including proliferation of pre-existing Cancers, Obesity, Cardiovascular Disease, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, and is also linked to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s diseases.

Knowing the mechanism of insulin resistance and Beta-Cell destruction, it is easy to understand how this deadly disease can be cured. As explained above diabetes is nature’s way of maintaining energy and mass balance in response to the sustained high Caloric intake (mostly in the form of carb and fat) without the matching activity level for many years, resulting in metabolic changes causing insulin resistance and subsequent beta cell destruction in pancreas. The key to cure this disease is to reduce calorie intake and increase physical activity to burnout the excessive storage of body fat primarily in abdominal region. In addition to this, as oxidative stress and dyslipidemia are also major factors in developing insulin resistance and beta cell destruction, A diet comprising of antioxidants and “marine long-chain omega-3 fatty acids”, EPA and DHA , will be specially useful in reverting the disease. Although less effective, those who are vegetarian may consume omega 3 fatty acids of plant origin. Some Yogic exercises are said to regenerate Beta-Cells and should be practiced if possible. The three pronged approach comprising of increasing physical activity, practicing yoga to regenerate pancreatic beta cells and restore there secretory functions and modifying the diet is explained below.

Physical Activity

To restore mass and energy balance in our body in order to help prevent or reverse insulin resistance is exercise. If high abdominal fat exist and body mass index (BMI) is high, initially more calories are required to be burnt than what is consumed so that stored fat reserves get depleted. Once the body mass index (BMI) is reached in the range of 22-23, try to maintain that weight by adjusting the exercise intensity and caloric intake.

Increase in daily activity level can be useful. Some of the ideas to increase the activity level are to use stairs instead of lift if health permits, parking car away so that small walk is needed to reach the destination and including some light sports in daily activity schedule

Brisk walk can be a safe exercise for adults of all age groups. Four km of brisk walk ( 2 km each in morning and evening is recommended. However, distance and speed should be increased gradually to avoid fatigue, stress and injuries. Highest speed of 6 to 6. 5 km/hr is sufficient. This will burn about 300-325 kcal per day. Once the target weight fat reduction is achieved, duration of walk can be reduced. Brisk walk will not only burn calories but will also improve cardio-vascular health.

Some asana are helpful in regenerating pancreatic beta cells. The list includes Halasan, Naukasan, ArdhNaukasan, Ardh Badh Padm Paschimottanasan, Paschimottanasan, Dhanurasan, Urdhwa Dhanurasan, Bhujangasana, Shalabhasana, Ardhmatsyendrasana, Matsyendrasana, Mayurasana, Padm-mayurasana, Hansaasana, etc. These should be practiced according to once capacity and should be tried gradually in supervision of an expert to avoid injury.

Only exercise cannot restore the energy and mass balance required for healthy living. It is required to cut the unwanted calories without cutting essential nutrients. A normal adult man doing light work needs about 2200 kcal per day and a normal adult women doing light work need at least 1900 kcal per day. The Dietary Guidelines recommends distribution for the energy nutrients from Fat: 20 – 35% of total calories (average 30%), from Protein: 10 – 35% (average 15%) and from Carbohydrates: 45 – 65% (average 55%). Some healthy diets, like the Mediterranean Diet, promote 40% of calories from fat, but the fat must be olive oil, fish oil and nuts. Alcohol is the fourth energy-producing nutrient, and it is recommended in moderation, if at all.

Replace bad fat by good fat

Replace saturated fat such as ghee (purified butter) and butter from your diet with oils rich in monounsaturated and poly unsaturated fatty acids such as mustard, peanut, olive, sunflower or safflower oils. Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and Poly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may help lower your risk of diabetes and heart disease by improving related risk factors. For instance, MUFAs may lower your total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. MUFAs may also help normalize blood clotting. And some research shows that MUFAs may also benefit insulin levels and blood sugar control, which can be especially helpful if you have type-II diabetes. MUFA such as oleate also protect against both palmitate- and glucose-induced Beta-Cellapoptosis.

Use Olive Oil

The Mediterranean diet, which is abundant in antioxidants, is associated with a relatively low incidence of coronary heart disease and diabetes. Olive oil and olives, which contain the antioxidants hydroxytyrosol, oleuropein, and tyrosol, are important components of this diet and may have beneficial effect in type-I and type-II diabetes by reducing oxidative stress.

The main type of fat found in all kinds of olive oil is monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs). MUFAs are actually considered a healthy dietary fat. Use unsaturated fats, such as MUFAs and polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs), instead of saturated fats and trans fats.

But even healthier fats like olive oil are high in calories, so use them only in moderation. Choose MUFA-rich fats such as olive oil instead of other fats – particularly butter and margarine – not in addition to them. And remember that you can’t make unhealthy foods healthier simply by adding olive oil to them.

Remember that heat, light and air can affect the taste of olive oil and possibly its health-promoting nutrients. Store olive oil in a dark, room-temperature cupboard, or even in the refrigerator. The fats and healthy phytonutrients in olive oil – as well as the taste – can slowly degrade over time, so it’s probably best to use it within a year or within six months once opened.

Never Use Trans-fats

No trans fats are essential fatty acids ; indeed, the consumption of trans fats increases the risk of coronary heart disease by raising levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol and lowering levels of “good” HDL cholesterol. Health authorities worldwide recommend that consumption of trans fat be reduced to trace amounts. Trans fats from partially hydrogenated oils are more harmful than naturally occurring oils

Consume food rich in Omega-3 Fatty Acids:

Oily fish are rich source of omega 3 fatty acids DHA and EPA. Omega 3 fatty acids of plant origin ( found in flaxseed, almonds and walnuts, The 18 carbon α-linolenic acid (ALA) has not been shown to have the same cardiovascular and anti-diabetic benefits as DHA or EPA due to conversion efficiency in mammals from ALA to DHA and EPA. DHA and EPA are made by marine microalgae. These are then consumed by fish and accumulate to high levels in their internal organs. However, it is recommended to limit the fish intake up to two serving per week for adult healthy man and to even lower level in pregnant woman and children to avoid dangers of mercury contamination found in fish.

Aspartame has been the subject of several controversies, hoaxes and health scares since its initial approval by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1974. Critics allege that conflicts of interest marred the FDA’s approval of aspartame, question the quality of the initial research supporting its safety, and postulate that numerous health risks may be associated with aspartame. Veracity of these claims could not be verified, however, warning on its label that Aspartame is not recommended for children indicates that it is not a healthy product and may have some side effects. I therefore, recommend that aspartame or the food items containing aspartame should be better avoided.

Avoid processed and fast food

Say no to namkeens, kurkure, pop tarts, commercially prepared fish sticks, stick margarine, cake, candy, cookies, readymade or ready to cook microwave popcorns, burgers, and pizzas, as they are high in calories and often contain transfats. A 100 gm portion of a popular namkeen contains about 560 kcal whereas one hour of brisk walk will only burn about 400 kcal. Fast food meals typically possess several characteristics which have independently been linked to insulin resistance. They are energy-dense, palatable, and cheap, increasing risk of overeating and leptin resistance. They are simultaneously high in dietary fat and fructose and low in omega-3; and they usually have high glycemic indices. Consumption of fast food has been proposed as a fundamental factor behind the coronary heart diseases, diabetes and obesity.

Cut on calories from refined sugar and high simple carbohydrate food:

As a balance between calorie intake and expenditure is required to be met without cutting on essential nutrients, it is therefore recommended to replace simple carbohydrates like refined sugar, and sweet beverages with complex carbohydrates and proteins. Adequate amount of protein will ensure synthesis of adequate muscle mass due to increased level of exercise. Recommended amount of protein in grams is about 0. 5 to 0. 9 times your body weight in kg depending upon the exercise level.

Food with large amounts of complex carbohydrates include legumes, starchy vegetables like potatoes and corn, rice and grain products. Other vegetables such as green beans, broccoli and spinach contain less starch, but they have more fiber.

Complex carbohydrates should supply about half the calories in diet. However, the best complex carbohydrates come from legumes, vegetables, breads, pasta and cereals. Choose 100% whole wheat or 100% whole grain brad cereal and pasta products over refined flour products because they contain more fiber. The extra fiber slows down the absorption of the carbohydrates so you feel full longer and be less likely to over-eat throughout the day.

Eat Ample Quantity of Vegetable Salad

Every meal should include plentiful of salad and it should be consumed before main course. This helps satiate your stomach and reduces chances of overeating. Salad may be dressed with olive oil. In addition to this fruit shall be consumed in moderation once a day as they often have enough oxidants and essential nutrients which are essential for overall well being. Once you are able to manage your overall calories you should not be afraid of sugar from fruit in moderate amount.

Type-II diabetes can be delayed, prevented or reversed with safe, inexpensive therapy such as losing weight, changing eating habits, and exercising. It is true that it does take a serious commitment on your part to certain lifestyle changes, but these changes are possible to achieve and the results will be extremely gratifying.

Source by Amit Kulshreshtha

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BEYOND THE CLOUDS Twinkle Sprinkle Medley

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BEYOND THE CLOUDS Twinkle Sprinkle Medley is a premium, one of a kind mix of some of the most colourful and beyond-the-clouds universe. This medley is vibrant, luxe and sparkly: premium rainbow Canadia crunchy sprinkles, candy beads, pearls, rainbow chips, nonpareils and more--all paired with the luxe sparkle of edible gold dragées. A generous dose of edible gold squares and stars throughout makes this medley magical and beyond.

4oz Jar (1/2 cup)

Ingredients: icing sugar, sugar, fractionated palm kernel oil, corn starch, glucose, soya lecithin, carnauba wax, dextrose, tapioca dextrin, modified corn starch, reduced whey protein (milk), cocoa, wheat starch, calcium stearate, bees wax, artificial colors & flavors (fd&c: red 3, red 40, blue 1, yellow 5, yellow 6, E100, E174).


Why Is it Important to Know About Your Ecological Footprint?

Worries about global warming, contaminated air and water, and overflowing landfills have encouraged many people to become more aware of how much of the Earth's resources they are using. Several organizations have come up with ways for people to understand how much they're consuming so that they can make responsible decisions. The ecological footprint is one of those measurements.

The Facts

Your ecological footprint represents the amount of the Earth's resources and productive spaces needed to support your everyday life. Your ecological footprint combines your housing footprint, carbon footprint, food footprint, and goods and services footprint into one number that's measured in global hectares or global acres. That number tells you how much of the Earth's surface you use to sustain your life.

According to Facing the Future, an education resource designed to help teach students about resources and ecological issues, your ecological footprint is composed of several different components 12.

Your ecological footprint matters because every person has one. And as the world population increases--it's already more than 6 billion people--so does the amount of resources needed to sustain it. According to the Center for Sustainable Economy, each person should use 15.71 global hectares in order to sustain the Earth's resources, including clean air and water. Right now, the average person's global footprint is 23.7 global hectares, nearly twice as much as the Earth's maximum sustainable resource level, according to the Center for Sustainable Economy.

According to Philip Camill, member of the department of biology at Carleton College, in an article published on the University at Buffalo's National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, living in a city significantly increases your global footprint because cities are not self-sustainable--they rely on the rest of the globe to sustain them. Camill says ecological footprints started to exceed the Earth's resources as early as the 1980s, and Americans are likely to have larger ecological footprints than people in other countries.

According to Facing the Future, there are several fairly simple things you can do to quickly reduce your ecological footprint, and understanding the size of your ecological footprint is the first step 12. When you shop, buy sustainable or environmentally friendly products if you can't buy used. Use methods of transportation that don't require gas, like biking or walking. Participate in recycling programs to reduce your waste.


soft rock

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southern rock

stoner rock

rock and roll

The eclectic combination of all popular styles, Rock and Roll defined the new movement of music just for music’s sake. Alan Freed first dubbed this combination of blues, soul, country, bluegrass, and

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Russian music refers to music produced in Russian Federation, by Russians and/or in Russian language.
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Music that describes feelings of loss and sorrow. Songs for broken hearts, broken minds or broken lives.

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Synthpop is a type of pop music in which the synthesizer is the dominant instrument. In the 80s it was associated with the new wave scene. Kraftwerk (from Germany) and Yellow Magic Orchestra (from Jap


Celsius Culinary Studio

Celsius was founded with the purpose of spreading the joy for food lovers and baking enthusiasts. Our vision is to build a community of people who share the same passion.
We provide hands-on baking experiences at our studio by inviting local and International instructors who embrace and enjoy sharing their knowledge with all of our students.
Our cozy kitchen space offers workstations, professional baking equipment and whole variety of baking utensils and tools.