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Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation
Chronic Kidney Disease-Mineral and Bone Disorder
Changing Insights Form Changing Parameters?
Marc G. Vervloet
Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2020;35(3):385-389.
The exceedingly high mortality risk of patients on haemodialysis has been the incentive for a wide range of therapeutic interventions, besides dialysis itself. Lifestyle and dietary changes, anaemia treatment, modifications of dialysis modality and duration, and optimizing traditional risk factors including hypertension and dyslipidaemia have all failed to substantially improve outcome, except for kidney transplantation and possibly high-volume haemodiafiltration in selected patients,[1] although this latter option is still debated. Therefore, hope for improvement currently is to a large extent based on a presumed benefit of optimizing disturbances in mineral metabolism, traditionally defined by abnormal serum concentrations of calcium, parathyroid hormone (PTH), phosphate and vitamin D. Indeed, a large proportion of the daily pill burden for patients on dialysis that is being prescribed is aiming to modify these values.[2,3] The recently updated Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcome (KDIGO) guideline, while acknowledging the absence of evidence from prospective clinical trials, generally supports this approach, in particular for hyperphosphataemia, extreme values for PTH and the avoidance of hypercalcaemia.[4] The rationale is based on both experimental data, which support the assumption that PTH and phosphate may act as uraemic toxins, and observational mainly cross-sectional data from large cohorts, as was recently summarized.[5] In this issue of Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, Lamina and co-workers[6] report on the associations not only of single time point concentrations of chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD) biomarkers with mortality, but importantly also the implications of changes over time, which revealed some important insights as will be outlined below.[6] These data are desperately needed, because it is not obvious at all that interventions which change these parameters towards or even into the 'optimal' range are paralleled by risk reduction. This lack of proof of benefit of improved biochemical profile may have at least three principle explanations.
Residual confounding of unknown or unmeasured factors may mitigate the association between MBD biomarkers and risk, and therefore MBD interventions do not target the true cause of complications. This has been demonstrated for hypophosphataemia and all-cause mortality, with malnutrition and inflammation being confounders.[7] No-one would supplement phosphate in hypophosphataemic patients on dialysis with the goal to improve his or her mortality risk, since hypophosphataemia merely identifies risk, but is not causing morbidity, unless it is extreme. In turn, it would be naïve to assume that currently all other potential confounders that may influence the association between MBD biomarkers and risk have been established. As a more recent example, magnesium concentrations importantly modify the risk of hyperphosphataemia, a confounder frequently neglected in previous cohort analyses: for those patients with higher concentrations of magnesium, the association between hyperphosphataemia and mortality risk was nullified.[8]
MBD-attributable risk may be better reflected by the constellation of all markers together, whereas interventions usually target a single component.[9,10] Inclusion criteria of the EVOLVE trial (a randomized controlled trial among 3883 haemodialysis patients, examining the reduction in occurrence of a composite primary endpoint by cinacalcet, a PTH-lowering calcimimetic) was based on PTH value.[11] Elevated PTH concentration itself is not a disease (hyperparathyroidism is) and judgement of PTH in isolation as proxy for high bone turnover generally performs poorly, unless extreme.[12,13]
The assumption that interventions only modify the parameter for which they have been prescribed probably is an oversimplification of reality. Most interventions have off-target effects, like an increase of Fibroblast Growths Factor 23 (FGF23) following active vitamin D prescribed for secondary hyperparathyroidism.[14] In turn, active vitamin D may increase α-klotho[15] and downregulate cardiac expression of Fibrobast Growth Factor Receptor 4 (FGFR4),[16] the receptor alleged to mediate cardiotoxic effects of FGF23.[17] For an individual patient, it will be difficult to predict which aspect of all treatment effects will dominate. Different phosphate binders, despite achieving comparable control of hyperphosphataemia, may be associated with differences in outcome, generally in favour of non-calcium containing binders.[18] Whatever may explain these differences, additional benefits of a specific class, unforeseen harm of the intervention or applicability of findings only in specific circumstances or for selected patients, most likely is all are of importance, arguing against a simple parallel between modifiability of a biomarker and modifiability of risk.
The ultimate way to provide clarity in the opaque field of CKD-MBD should come from well-designed trials that study the effect of reduction of MBD-associated risk in high-risk patients with relatively low background (non-MBD) risk. Unfortunately, such trials are unlikely to be available in the near future. Therefore, for the coming years, novel knowledge might come from novel analyses of improved phenotyped cohorts with prospective and longitudinal data collection.
The study by Lamina et al.[6] reports on the results of a meticulous analysis of the second recruitment wave of the 'Analysing data, Recognizing excellence, Optimising outcomes in end-stage renal disease' (AROii) cohort.[6] The study population consisted of 8817 incident patients on haemodialysis, recruited 10–12 years ago among 334 sites in 15 countries from Fresenius Medical Care dialysis facilities. The cohort had prospective data collection, which included demographics, comorbidity, clinical and laboratory values, and medication use, most to a large extent depend on different time points per individual patients. Outcome variables were all-cause and cardiovascular mortalities. The analysis consisted of several ways to study the association between single time point measurement of calcium, phosphate and PTH with mortality. In addition, the association of change of these MBD markers over time with mortality was studied. Key analyses are summarized in Figure 1. Several notable findings emerged.
(Enlarge Image)
Key analyses from the AROii cohort. Baseline was set at 3 months after dialysis initiation. Time-updated analysis was performed, studying the association between events (baseline events, blue arrow), with time-updated concentration of calcium, phosphate and PTH. To mimic a prevalent cohort, the same analysis was performed, but with a 2-year delay (T2 events, green arrow). In addition, varying follow-up time was studied. Next, association of change of either calcium, phosphate or PTH and mortality follow-up time were studied. For this, as indicated on top, the difference between the average of the biomarker in the early period of dialysis, indicated by the yellow-shaded area and future time point (T2 and T3) was associated with subsequent events, T2 events and T3 events, respectively. Lines A, B and C represent individual patients with spontaneous fluctuations around the upper range of the target or within target, as examples.
With regard to single time point measurements, the study in general confirmed U-shaped associations between the three biomarkers and risk for both all-cause and cardiovascular mortalities. Of relevance, these relationships were similar when ignoring values and outcomes in the first 2 years, thereby mimicking a prevalent instead of an incident cohort. In addition, also varying follow-up time did not essentially change the findings. A strength of this study is that it defined its own range of optimal values for calcium, phosphate and PTH based on the lowest hazard ratio (HR) for each analyte. For most of these ranges from AROii it can be said that they more or less confirm the optimal ranges from other observational studies and KDIGO guidelines, with two exceptions. First, the high margin of optimal serum calcium concentration was 2.36 mmol/L, which is well below the upper limit of normal (ULN), a value proposed by the KDIGO guideline. Secondly, the lower margin of optimal PTH was 239 ng/L, which appears to be substantially higher than twice the ULN as suggested by the KDIGO guideline from 2009, which was recently reinforced.[19] Unfortunately, in AROii, PTH measurement was not performed centrally and different assays may have been used. However, for almost all contemporary assays, this lower margin of optimal would still be higher than twice its ULN. One of the most clinically relevant findings from this study is the very high percentage of patients having a too low PTH concentration. This applied to an astonishing 60%, all facing an increased mortality with an HR of 1.18. Despite the fact that the HR for hyperphosphataemia was higher (1.34) than that for low PTH, the numbers at risk associated with high phosphate levels were much lower (19%). This suggests that on a population level the more important epidemic is 'hypo-PTH-ism', not hyperphosphataemia. Clearly, for most patients in AROii, one can assume that measured phosphate is under treatment for that, and the notion that the low-PTH epidemic may have more impact on mortality should not be an incentive to relax on phosphate management. One additional remarkable finding of the single time point analysis is that risks associated with high phosphate and high PTH differed for men and women, denoting much less impact for woman. The most prominent other established gender-associated difference of MBD-related morbidity is the incidence rate of fractures,[20] and it is possible that this confounded this gender difference observation from AROii because findings were not adjusted for history of fracture or fracture risk.
Most novelty from this study comes from the analysis that addressed the impact on mortality risk of changing calcium, phosphate and PTH. Change was defined by the difference from a measurement during follow-up compared with the averaged value of measurements in follow-up Months 3–6, so relatively early after dialysis initiation (Figure 1). Analysis consisted of an absolute change and categorical change, with categories defined as within, below or above the optimal range. The first message is straightforward: those within the optimal range for any analyte should stay there. For those that start with calcium >2.36 mmol, the analysis suggests it should come down. The incidence of a too low calcium in the early phase was too low to draw any conclusion. This is good news for the AROii population since hypocalcaemia in CKD generally is a feature of the untreated natural history of kidney failure. Probably, vitamin D or other measures that prevent hypocalcaemia from developing had been instituted, although the study does not report on medication use.
Slightly more than 20% of patients had a phosphate concentration below the minimal risk range in the early phase of dialysis. In line with expectations, moving over time into the optimal risk range was associated with risk reduction. When speculating about what may have caused this improved risk, the most likely explanation is improved nutritional status compared with the early period of dialysis. Although down-titrating phosphate binder treatment or lowering dialysis dose may also have caused this restoration of hypophosphataemia, these are unlikely explanations for this observation. Very few patients will have had hypophosphataemia due to binders, and decreasing dialysis dose will probably not lead to improved mortality risk. More puzzling is the finding that those patients who had hyperphosphataemia in the early phase did not benefit from a decline. This finding requires a cautious interpretation. While in prospective clinical trial it is usually possible to ascribe changes in outcomes observed to a single change in exposure (the intervention under study, such as a pharmaceutical), in observational studies, it is a black box, and usually changes are the consequence of the net effect of numerous known, but also unknown variables. Two major factors that may promote phosphate concentrations to decline are intensified phosphate-lowering treatments and the development of malnutrition, but these factors conceivably have divergent effects on mortality risk (Figure 2). In AROii, it was not possible to make a distinction between these two: medication use was not modelled and body mass index (BMI) was not adjusted for in the main adjustment model used for the changing parameters. For this reason, there is no justification for nihilism with regard to treatment for hyperphosphataemia, which the authors rightfully do not claim. In clinical practice, it is reasonable to search for causes in an individual patient if phosphate declines, and to look back to what may explain this trend.
Conceptual implications of changes of concentrations of phosphate and PTH. Upper panel: restored hyperphospataemia (red line, A) may be caused by a variety of circumstances. Development of inflammation or malnutrition may induce a seemingly beneficial change of phosphate concentration, but it increases mortality risk (dashed red line). In turn, improved dietary habits or improved pharmacological management may also decline phosphate, and in addition improve risk. Restored hypophosphataemia (blue line, B) is usually caused by improved nutritional status, a beneficial dominating effect. Theoretically, the risk of phosphate toxicity increases (dashed blue line). Lower panel: stable or declining PTH when it is above target range at baseline has no clear net effect on mortality (green line, C). This may be the result of counterbalancing effect of the absence of malnutrition inflammation complex (MICS), but suboptimal treatment when it is stable (solid green line), and improved management but occurrence of MICS when its declining (dashed green line). An increasing PTH, when it is below target at baseline has beneficial effects, possibly because of improved MICS, less PTH-suppressing therapy or less calcium loading (yellow line). Persistently suppressed PTH is associated with higher mortality risk (dashed yellow line).
The most striking finding with regard to changing parameters comes from the data on PTH. In addition to the previously described observation that so many patients are at risk because of having a low PTH, this study shows that increasing PTH is associated with improvement of mortality risk. This presumably beneficial effect is most pronounced for those that were below the optimal range in the early phase of dialysis, but appeared also to be present for those that actually were in the optimal range and had a slight increase. Here, the big question is: what made PTH go up? A recent report found that the use of higher dialysate calcium is associated with both PTH suppression and cardiovascular risk.[21] Other iatrogenic causes of low PTH may include overzealous use of calcimimetics and active vitamin D. With regard to active vitamin D, a recent randomized trial among Japanese haemodialysis patients without hyperparathyroidism (based on the definition of the Japanese Society of Dialysis Therapy) indeed refuted any benefit of alfacalcidol.[22] Adjusting for the malnutrition inflammation complex or protein energy wasting was shown to push the optimal PTH range downwards.[23] As outlined, in AROii such an adjustment was not performed on the analysis of changing parameters, due to too many missing values of BMI and C-reactive protein. Other variables generally associated with lower PTH are the presence of diabetes and older age, but for both factors results had been adjusted. The translation to the clinic of this possible benefit of increasing PTH could be to search for modifiable, especially iatrogenic, factors that suppress PTH, such as the use without clear indication of active vitamin D, calcimimetics, too high dialysate calcium, malnutrition and hidden causes of inflammation. Obviously, such an approach should be studied in trials as well because hitherto unknown factors may importantly confound the residual association between PTH and mortality. Like hyperphosphataemia, restoration of increased PTH into the optimal range also did not go hand in hand with improved risk [Hazard ratio = 0.91 (95% confidence interval 0.47–1.77)]. As outlined earlier, a wide range of factors may underlie declining PTH concentration, and here too, these factors may have a diverging effect on mortality risk. As an example, it is probable that intentionally lowering PTH by an intervention (like active vitamin D, calcimimetics or surgery) has a different effect on risk than a 'spontaneous' decline by inflammation or calcium loading (Figure 2).
Some more aspects complicate the interpretation of changing parameters in the AROii analysis. Changes were all relative to the values at Months 3–6, a time point that may lie several years in the past for some, and likely has a different meaning than more short-term changes. Concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and FGF23 were not measured. Although the causal role of FGF23 as inducer of complications might be argued, its importance as risk predictor appears straightforward.
Despite these limitations, the current analysis of the AROii provides another important piece of the puzzle in understanding CKD-MBD. Our focus can be sharpened in identifying those at highest risk, and some research attention should shift towards the epidemic of suppressed PTH. Moreover, this important study provides hope that raising PTH might improve outcome, once we know how to do so.
Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2020;35(3):385-389. © 2020 Oxford University Press
Department of Nephrology, Vrije Universiteit Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Correspondence and offprint requests to
Marc G. Vervloet; E-mail: m.vervloet@amsterdamumc.nl
M.G.V. reports personal fees from Kissei, personal fees from Kyowa Kirin, grants from FMC, other from Medice, other from Amgen, other from Otsuka and personal fees from VFMCRP outside the submitted work.
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Latest in Apple
eBay offers Prime Day discounts even if Amazon doesn't crash
Apple may be working with the BBC on a comedy-drama series
Apple uses third-party app screenshots in patent applications, world erupts in hysteria
Nilay Patel
There's been a bit of a furor in the past couple days over Apple using third-party app screenshots in several patent applications that were just made public -- the most talked-about example is a screenshot of an app called Where To? that appears in a travel-related patent, but other apps like a Ralph Lauren app appear in a shopping-related patent as well. And, since it's Apple, there's been the usual blind panic of hysterical reactions, with some claiming that Cupertino's trying to patent third-party app ideas and pull the rug out from under its own developers. At this point, we hope you know better -- let's take a look at what's really going on.
First of all, all of the patent applications in question are just that -- applications. None of them have been granted, and since all of them are still so new, it's a virtual certainty they'll be narrowed in scope as Apple's attorneys and the Patent Office continue through the patent prosecution process -- a process that typically takes years.
Second, the only operative parts of a patent are the claims -- not the drawings, and not the description, which are technically known as the "specification." (We've now repeated this basic axiom of patent interpretation so many times we're considering making T-shirts.) The only reason the drawings and description are there is to explain the claimed invention in sufficient detail so that someone else can make it. Remember, patents are a trade: in order to get protection, you have to give up the full details of how your invention works. (The other option is to keep your invention a trade secret, but then you can't prevent anyone else from figuring it out and using it if it gets out.) Bottom line? If it's not in the claims, it's not in the patent. So... let's look at the claims, shall we?
Where To? and another app called Guide You Amsterdam both appear in patent application 20100190510 (serial number 642125), which has to do with travel services on mobile devices. The first claim covers knowing that a user is scheduled to travel on a certain date, sensing that the device has been powered off (presumably because it's on a plane), sensing that it's been turned back on (presumably after landing), and then sending an arrival notification to a third-party service (like a hotel). The other claims all add conditions to this patent, narrowing it further -- unless something includes every single element of a claim, it's not covered by the patent, so adding on claims to the first claim just makes the patent more specific and harder to infringe.
Now, we haven't used Where To? or Guide You Amsterdam in any great detail, but we don't think either app includes this functionality, so there's no patent issue here -- even if Apple succeeds in getting this patent, by our reading of the claims it won't have any rights or interests that directly concern these apps. So why are they included as screenshots? Because in the description, Apple goes into great detail about what an associated application with this notification feature might include, saying,
In some embodiments, a user can view available airport services through the integrated application... For example, an interface such interface 602 [the Where To? screenshot] can be provided on a user's electronic device.
That's it -- that's the only reference to Where To? in the whole patent application, and it's as an example of a feature that might be included in another app that includes the invention claimed in this patent application. It's not Where To? itself. Yes, it's a bit rude for Apple to just up and use a screenshot like this, but it's also a bit of a back-handed compliment -- under 35 U.S.C §112, the description must include the "best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention." So Apple's saying an app that knows when you've landed and checks in at a hotel might also have features like Where To? and it's naturally using Where To? as the best example of those features. Same with Guide You Amsterdam: the patent application references the screenshot, saying that an app might have information about a destination, but none of the features are actually claimed as part of the patent. To quote a patent attorney friend of ours, "You certainly don't hear about Boeing getting all upset whenever someone uses a 747 silhouette to depict an airplane in a patent application."
As you might imagine, it's the same deal with the shopping app, although patent application 20100191578 (serial number 579756) is much more aggressively broad. The claims cover "providing a complete fashion experience," by attracting users, showing off items with additional information, providing in-store assistance through the app at retail stores, and sending out further offers through the app after purchases. It's really broad stuff -- almost like Apple just stuck a PowerPoint deck in a patent application -- so we'd expect the claims to be narrowed significantly as the process continues, and again, the screenshot of the Ralph Lauren app is an example of the type of app that might use these features. (What's most interesting to us is that the Ralph Lauren app hit the App Store sometime in mid-October 2008, which is close to the exact cutoff date for prior art on this patent -- we've got a feeling there's something else going on with this patent, but we can't tell exactly what it is. Maybe Apple was involved in developing the Ralph Lauren app? It's certainly possible.)
At the end of the day, all this analysis brings us right back to the status quo: like every major technology company, Apple's constantly filing patent applications on a variety of inventions, and some of them are much stronger than others. But looking at these particular patent applications, we can say with reasonable certainty that Apple's not trying to patent specific iPhone apps without the knowledge of their developers -- it's just using them as the best examples of other features. And rest assured, even if Apple were trying to steal apps, using ripped screenshots is maybe the worst possible way of doing it. Now if you'll excuse us, we have some T-shirts to make.
Via: Unwired View, TechCrunch
Source: Travel Patent (PDF), Fashion Patent (PDF), FutureTap
In this article: apple, application, fashion, future tap, FutureTap, guide you, guide you amsterdam, GuideYou, GuideYouAmsterdam, iphone, iphone app, IphoneApp, legal, patent, patent application, PatentApplication, ralph lauren, RalphLauren, software, travel

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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VIELI & 341
VIELI was like "This beat is a club banger! I need to catch at least three of my favorite RnB vocalists". So the australian RnB singer Adrian Swish, Rashon J from Ohio (USA) and Vincent Ernst of Florida (USA) hopped on it and now here is the new RnB Heater.
THIS IS 341.
In 2011, the original threesome started with the finest hip-hop club music. The trio made a name for themselves throughout Germany and became a permanent fixture in the urban Hip-Hop music scene.
An initial mix of rnb, rap and trap was later complemented by other genres such as moombahton, dancehall, but also pop and EDM sounds. 341 has worked with greats like the famous german rapper PA Sports (Life is Pain) or international artists like Rayven Justice, J-Sol, Mila J, Donell Lewis, Mishon, Anth, K Young or legends like Ryan Toby (Sister Act, City High), Shaggy, Kaye Styles (Prison Break) or Snoop Dogg. Many other artists teamed up with 341 over the years.
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When are you coming home?
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These three P's are the foundation of the 341 Music Group. 341 was born out of a passion for urban music and clubby beats. It is still the driving force behind our company today.
Our goal is to produce great music and release it in the best possible way. To achieve this, we rely on a strong network of distribution partners, artists, DJs and playlist partners.
Professionalism is the basis for our long-term success. Only when all services and dealings with each other are fair and transparent can endless success be achieved.
341 is the home for first-class urban rnb and hip-hop music.
CEO & Director of 341 Music Group
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Submit your music to the 341 Heaterz Spotify-Playlists.
RNB HEATERZ | RAP HEATERZ
341 Music Group ist eine Marke der
HERZBERG UG (haftungsbeschränkt)
Geschäftsführer: Timo Herzberg
25709 Marne, Germany
T: +49 (0)151 – 54 84 36 44
Email: mail@341musicgroup.com
www.341musicgroup.com
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Verantwortliche i.S.d. § 55 Abs. 2 RStV:
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Inspirational and Moving
posted on Dec 19 2014 17:10:02 by Peter M.
Peter Kapp played a wonderful farewell to my uncle Col Stanley McMaster in the Marin hills in December 2012. Not only was his music both inspirational and moving, but he cut a magnificent figure in full highland fig, standing silhouetted against the afternoon sun. His presence both enhanced and dignified a sad but important occasion in our family history'. Cheers, Peter Millar ( author: All Gone to Look for America, 1978; the Berlin Wall, my part on its downfall)


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My name is Blythe Kingcroft, and I want to give you images that are timeless. With this in mind, I approach wedding photography with an eye for small moments, a fondness for narrative, and a curiosity for that which has helped you build your relationship. I'm drawn to natural light, west-coast colours, film aesthetic, and landscape texture. In all my work, I aim to capture ordinary beauty.
At twelve-years-old, I inherited my Grandpa's old film camera. My father taught me how to use it and I've been documenting life ever since. By 2010, I turned this love of imagery into a part-time job, which has grown into the Vancouver-based shop it is today.
In addition to wedding photographer, I am a graduate student. I have an MA in English Lit and am currently completing my MA in Theological Studies. In my spare time I am an avid reader and writer, coffee and wine enthusiast, sea-wall runner, amateur vegetarian cook, houseplant gardener, and wife and partner to Matt Kingcroft (that's him, hiding behind my oversized hat, on your left).
Since 2010, I have had over one-hundred clients and edited over thirty-thousand wedding photographs. In addition to wedding photography I am available for family, newborn, maternity, and lifestyle portraits, as well as video work.
Contact me to see if we're a good fit, or learn more about me here!


Greatfield Park Primary School - Fantastic football frenzy!
Huge congratulations to our football team who won again when they played at Gotherington on Monday. The final score was 5-0 and all players showed real enthusiasm and respect. So far this year, we are unbeaten and in four matches have scored 31 goals and conceded 0! A massive well done to all the players, we are so proud of your efforts.


What we got, instead, was a bizarre exhibition, a matchup to scorn, one so unsightly, it's impossible to project how the rest of the series might go. Sale suffered his breakdown in a labored, 34-pitch, two-run second inning; Verlander made it to the fifth before his implosion, a 32-pitch yawn-a-thon that yielded two Boston runs. Neither resembled an ace for a World Series team.
In the end, the Astros won 7-2, largely because the Red Sox had a harder time throwing the ball over the plate and making sound-minded plays, and the lack of depth in their woebegone bullpen was again evident. Through eight innings there were just four hits in the game, all singles. The Astros pulled away with a pair of homers in the ninth, by Josh Reddick and Yuli Gurriel.
While Chris Sale, Rick Porcello and Nathan Eovaldi are all serviceable starters for the Red Sox, the bullpen is Boston's Achilles heel. Boston's bullpen has been been discussed ad nauseum throughout the season, and it still remains a problem.


Is it correct to wish for them?
Fluorescent light filled a small entranceway.
The door was shut and two people stood below that white light: Harakawa and Heo.
Heo began to speak and Harakawa listened silently.
Her gaze dropped to his neck but soon rose again.
She tilted her head and finally looked him in the eye.
Her expression softened a bit. It now looked weak and resigned.
Meanwhile, he sighed and placed a hand on the wall.
During the car ride back home, he had been told about the death of Heo's great-grandfather.
He had not been given the details, but they had said UCAT would be protecting Heo and ensuring her a place to live in the future. If she wanted anything, they would support her as much as they were able.
So if she said she wanted to run, they would continue to support her as long as she did not stop running.
…She'll have all the freedom she wants.
He said that because he thought it was the best thing for her to hear.
…That's the opposite path from me.
That's right, he silently complained.
With that, he nodded. He directed it both toward Heo and toward his own heart.
She initially reacted with silence.
She then lowered her hands from below her neck, lowered her head, and lowered her shoulders with a sigh.
But even as she hung her head, she smiled with the ends of her eyebrows lowered.
…Why are you giving me that look, Heo Thunderson?
He felt like he knew why, but he had another thought as well: You're simply afraid of having your environment change again.
Just as people could adapt to unhappiness and accept it as normal, people could adapt to happiness as well.
…You should do the latter.
At that point, Harakawa wondered if that was what he had thought while speaking with Ooki earlier.
He had not settled his thoughts at that point.
Even now, he simply thought it was best for Heo if she went along with this and left the country.
She finally opened her downturned mouth.
She leaned toward him a bit and gently clenched her hands near her chest.
Only then did she finally straighten up.
Her lowered eyebrows rose a bit and supported the smile in her eyes.
He froze in place when he heard that.
…How does she know about that?
Without even thinking, he realized it had to have been his mother.
But by that time, she had lowered her head.
Before he could say anything, she turned around and opened the door.
The wind blew, the night air entered, and her orange and blue form vanished outside.
He could see outside for just a moment. He saw the woman named Diana waving toward Ooki who left on a bicycle, the black car, and Heo rushing toward it.
By the time his hand reached the doorknob, he heard the car starting up.
By the time he turned the doorknob, he heard the car leaving to the left.
And so he stopped moving.
All that remained was the air that had grown as motionless as him.
Chilly night air washed over Shinjou.
She was just outside the entrance of IAI Headquarters.
She had left the reference room for a single reason.
The automatic door into the lobby closed behind her and she sighed when she heard it.
"Please do," Sayama had said before ending the call.
Everyone was working hard and, just as Sibyl had said, the fight to retrieve the facility was theirs.
And there was something else Shinjou and Sayama had to do here.
She said it aloud to drive it home.
She faced forward. She was just outside the white building's entrance.
She saw the roundabout in front of the building and a large fountain that was not currently running.
There was light illuminating the large IAI building, but that light seemed to be absorbed by the night, the mountains, and the forest.
She gently spread her arms and walked into the wind that brought the chill of the air to her.
Beyond the fountain, she saw a lawn and then the runway and mountains.
Sayama was currently gathering a few more documents, but after that, they would wait for the periodic report and head out.
…I hope everyone is okay.
She looked up into the dark sky and the white IAI building.
It's so big, she thought before lowering her gaze once more. A few vending machines were located along the building's wall to the right. They may have been for those who drove to work and they were covered by a canvas roof.
Both to calm herself and as a favor to Sayama who was working down below, she thought it would be nice to buy some drinks.
She turned to the right and approached the machines. She brushed a hand through her hair while making sure not to knock out Mukiti's flower. The night air entered through her hair and chilled her spine and the back of her head.
The touch of the chilly air helped calm her a little. Or at least she thought it did.
She muttered the question in her heart, but the answer came from her mouth.
Once the athletic festival ended, the midterm exams began. After that was the school festival. She would have to go during the preparations for the school festival, but she was worried the others would resent her for that.
She was interested in the preparations for the greatest of Taka-Akita Academy's bizarre festivals, but some things were more important.
After all, there would be another school festival the following year. Assuming the world still existed in some form or another, that is.
She understood her search for her parents was not actually related to the Leviathan Road. From the perspective of the Leviathan Road, they had made their trip here to pursue Shinjou Kaname as a member of the National Defense Department.
Sayama had also gathered information on Professor Kinugasa for future use.
After confirming his death, their research on Shinjou Kaname was as good as complete.
…So searching for his granddaughter is my personal issue.
"I wonder if I can ask Sayama-kun to come along," she said while stepping up to a vending machine.
She pulled a pink change purse from her pocket and pulled out 120 yen.
She smiled and inserted the 100 yen. She heard the coin fall and the LCD screen next to the coin slot lit up with a message.
She repeated her attack a second and third time before looking at the coin return lever. The bottom of the lever had a warning printed on a silver foil sticker. She read it aloud.
As if reacting to her shout, the LCD screen displayed a new message.
She reflexively slammed her hand against the machine but only received an aching hand for her trouble.
The LCD screen suddenly began a countdown. Sensing danger, she hesitated for one last moment, realized they were all the same, and frantically slammed her palm against the "random" button.
A slapping sound filled the air, a can could be heard falling through the machine, and it finally came out on the bottom.
She picked up the can.
Eh? she wondered as the vending machine lit up in front of her. Smoke blasted from it, it opened up, decorative lights popped out, and a multicolored relay of lights flashed as it played the Warship March.
It then spat out another can. She cried out and managed the catch the can in midair.
She decided to give that one to Sayama and sighed. But as she lowered her shoulders and looked forward again, she noticed something.
As Shinjou shouted and hit the machine over and over, the seven passed by.
Thank goodness, she thought with another sigh.
Can after can shot out like a waterfall and piled up at her feet with countless heavy metallic sounds.
She cried out, stepped back, and looked around while trying to figure out what to do.
She held her hands forward and hurriedly looked behind her. That was when she noticed something.
Someone was standing on the edge of the runway past the roundabout and the lawn.
A girl in a black men's suit stood alone in the night.
After speaking her name, Shinjou waited for Mikoku to respond.
However, Mikoku said nothing, as if speaking her name was completely natural.
She simply stood there with her bag over her right shoulder.
…She's part of the Army, right?
This was certainly the girl Gyes had described and even drawn a portrait of.
Shinjou wondered what to do and was suspicious of Mikoku's presence, but then she recalled her own situation. She had no weapons.
However, another thought came to her.
…She isn't a bad person, right?
That may not have been the right thing to think about someone who had defeated one of 3rd-Gear's Hecatoncheires.
However, she calmed her breathing. Whatever the case, she had to keep the girl from moving and she could only wait for Sayama to come out as she was unarmed.
As she began to move, she thought about buying time and also about communicating.
She picked something off the ground and held it out toward Mikoku.
Mikoku walked over to her.
Having her name called and the speed of the girl caused Shinjou to shrink back.
She froze in place and Mikoku's footsteps filled the air as she approached but then stopped.
The two of them came to a stop with the fountain in between them.
The entrance's automatic door opened and Sayama stepped out with two travel bags.
When he saw the two girls, he stopped and faced Mikoku.
He did not hesitate. His eyes narrowed for just a moment and he turned back to Shinjou the next moment. He then gave an expressionless nod.
She pointed the hand holding some documents toward the fountain.
Shinjou waved the can of tea in her hand and spoke to Sayama who had exited the building.
This is a lot like a scene from that exploration party show on Wednesdays, thought Mikoku. Wasn't last week's episode about searching for the cameraman who went on ahead of them into the depths of the unexplored Amazon? Shino was really getting into it, but I did not think they would really find Team Leader Kazami.
Meanwhile, Sayama raised his hands a bit as Shinjou shouted an explanation at him.
Shinjou turned her back and started toward Sayama.
"Wait," called Mikoku on reflex.
Shinjou jumped and stopped while Sayama raised his head to look toward Mikoku.
His gaze could only be called sharp as it pointed directly at her. She did not hesitate to accept it head on and she showed no fear as his gaze almost seemed to audibly pierce through her.
Shinjou timidly looked over her shoulder, but Mikoku did not turn toward her. Her mind turned focused on her right hand which held her sword and bag. She made sure she could grab the cloth cover and draw the sword at any moment.
However, something stopped her intent to fight: Shinjou's voice and anxiously lowered eyebrows.
But Mikoku did not remove her gaze from Sayama. She saw Shinjou stiffen out of the corner of her eye, but she could not focus on her with an enemy present.
But she did notice that Shinjou gently held her own body, lowered the ends of her eyebrows, and opened her mouth.
Mikoku knew more or less what question was coming from Shinjou who had lost her memories.
…She will ask if I know about her.
Just as she thought about replying that she did know, the mouth directly in front of her gaze opened.
Shinjou frantically waved her hands and stirred up the air around her. She faced Mikoku with some anger in her expression.
He pointed to the forest behind her.
How sad, she thought. If only she had someone as normal as me nearby. Then she would not have so much trouble.
And so she spoke with Shinjou still in the corner of her eye.
Mikoku answered Shinjou's question without preparing the words ahead of time. She spoke in a dignified voice so the girl could hear.
That is the role I'm trying to have Shino bear, she thought.
Her eyes were sharply narrowed and she pushed back his gaze.
But he spoke up without hesitation.
Shinjou's shoulders trembled at that. If Mikoku answered yes, it would mean Shinjou had belonged to the Army, their enemy.
But Mikoku shook her head.
Shinjou's voice spilled to the ground with some disappointment mixed in. She had likely been hoping to find someone else of her same race.
And so Sayama spoke to Mikoku in order to draw out some information to dispel Shinjou's discouragement.
This is what that meant.
He took a breath and pointed at Mikoku.
A can crashed into his forehead.
He heard the heavy sound of the drink inside and his vision filled with darkness for an instant.
However, the light soon returned and he saw the sky and the can that had bounced off his head.
He could not let that fall on the ground, so he recovered in an instant, grabbed the can in midair, opened it, and took a drink. It was delicious and it woke him up. Shinjou was smiling on the printed label. He was glad he had secretly photographed her for this.
Shinjou shouted at him, but her shoulders drooped in exhaustion and she turned her head to look at Mikoku.
Shinjou's question filled the night air and she tilted her head toward Mikoku.
Just as Mikoku was trying to decide whether to agree or disagree, Sayama felt a slight wind to his left. The wind was blowing toward Mikoku.
That wind contained the color red.
She had thought carrying Sayama and Shinjou's travel bags to the main entrance was a job for the Moirai, but she was glad she had gone through with it without complaining. She had never expected this.
She shot past Sayama's right side and then Shinjou's right side.
The fountain lay between her and the enemy, but she did not hesitate to step over the fountain's stone edge. Travelling over the water was the quickest route.
She rerouted the same amount of gravitational control used to control one of her swords and opened it below her feet to support her body on the surface of the water.
She kicked off the flat surface of the deactivated fountain.
She charged onward while bending backwards.
Nine swords expanded from the bottom of her suit.
By the time she crossed the fountain and swung her body forward in midair, she was within five meters of Mikoku.
She moved her arms like wings and beat the air with her spread fingers to move ever onward.
The swords crashed toward Mikoku.
One swung toward her head from the upper left, one swung toward her right shoulder from the upper right, one was thrown toward her neck from the upper right, one flew toward the empty air to the left to prevent her from evading, one swept horizontally toward her side from the right, one swung diagonally down toward the hand holding her bag from the left side, one jabbed toward her stomach from the left side, and one jabbed toward her waist from the right side.
Mikoku fell back. That avoided all but the jabs and the throw and she likely planned to draw her sword before those attacks caught up.
She took a large leap backwards.
Mikoku showed her skill by throwing her bag forward before drawing the sword.
The jabs to the side and waist were obstructed by the bag, so only the throw to the neck remained.
But she swung her head to avoid that last attack.
She stopped falling back and drew her sword.
Gyes was still in midair and she determined Mikoku planned to target her just before she landed.
Gyes shouted back at Mikoku's confused voice.
She had one left and she drew it from where it was hidden behind her back.
She threw a single-handed strike while leaping forward.
Meanwhile, Mikoku stuck with her counterattack. She did not step back to gain enough space to attack after Gyes landed. She instead stepped forward to fill what gap there was.
…Is she that confident in her sword technique!?
A moment later, Gyes smiled.
If this girl was skilled enough drive back Aigaion, she would view Gyes, another of the Hecatoncheires, on the same level.
Having predicted that with high probability, Gyes went in for her true attack.
She tossed her raised sword into the air.
Mikoku frowned and that was exactly what Gyes had predicted would happen.
And while acting in accordance with her predictions, Gyes grabbed the empty air with her right hand.
With those words, something did indeed arrive.
It was a sword, but it was far too large.
A giant blade measuring eight meters appeared in the air.
Holding the hilt and swinging it down was a giant red arm synched with the movements of Gyes's own arm.
This was Gyes's god of war.
As soon as she landed, she sank down and slammed her right hand against the ground.
Her automaton palm tore into the asphalt and a spray of asphalt shot into the air. At the same time, the giant blade sliced through the roaring wind as it swung down toward Mikoku.
But just before it did, Mikoku did something else.
She threw her sword toward Gyes.
When faced with this sudden action, Gyes's artificial mind chose to evade.
Her failure had been in not releasing her self-preservation limiter.
She had not been prepared to go down with her enemy and that had resulted in this automatic evasion as a machine.
Her body tilted to the left and Mikoku's sword grazed her right cheek and flew behind her.
And the sword wielded by Gyes's god of war slipped to the left.
It fell as if tearing through the air to Mikoku's left.
With a great roar, the giant sword tore apart the asphalt.
However, Mikoku still lived. In fact, she was unharmed and still moving.
She first spun her body around, reached into the air, and grabbed one of Gyes's swords that had previously fallen to the ground. The tremor in the ground from the god of war's attack had knocked it back into the air.
Her hand began a snapping motion as if to throw the sword toward Gyes. Meanwhile, Gyes was crouching down after landing and she was in the process of releasing all of her gravitational control to prepare for its next use. In short, she could not immediately move.
That thought was immediately followed by a sudden change to Mikoku's expression. Her eyes opened wide.
She let go of the sword, raised the lightened hand in front of her, and grabbed something in the air.
With that shout, she leaped backwards.
She held something in her hand. It was what had stopped the attack against Gyes and caused Mikoku to fall back.
It was a single silver fork. However, it was a promotional anime product, so the handle was pink.
Gyes turned and found two people standing in the entrance. One was Miyako and the other held her arms toward Gyes.
The automaton narrowed her eyes in a smile as she spoke and Gyes heard the footsteps of Mikoku falling back even further.
Gyes tried to stand and pursue, but Miyako stopped her.
Miyako pointed forward but not at Gyes.
She pointed at Sayama and Shinjou.
Mikoku threw away the fork and ran backwards.
The asphalt below her feet turned to grass and then the runway.
She saw Gyes's god of war vanish and she saw Sayama and Shinjou run around the fountain and next to Gyes.
She could not exactly answer that. What are you asking? she thought, but that seemed funny to her.
She took a breath and showed her teeth in a smile.
Those words scored a direct hit.
Sayama's blank expression broke a bit. He frowned and the look in his eyes grew sharp.
She spoke as if throwing the words away, but she saw Shinjou's eyes open wide.
It was a look of surprise. However, it was a joyous surprise, not a fearful one.
…So she is happy to hear her parents were members of UCAT.
She momentarily closed her eyes to think on that fact and she gave herself over to running.
A moment later, she jumped past the runway and toward the forest.
She then heard the roar of something slicing through the air.
Just as Shinjou's mouth opened to ask a question, something caught Mikoku's airborne body from the side.
The object snatched her away in midair.
Previously, the steel color of his mechanical body had been exposed, but he was now colored red, white, and blue. She was surrounded by a barrier of air he held and she shouted down below even as they began to ascend.
Down below, the large white structure grew more distant.
The two people standing before it also grew smaller and the surrounding scenery came into view.
Her field of vision rose and she realized they were rising into the sky.
Alex spoke while ascending with a roar of wind and Mikoku looked back down.
She searched for something different from before that would make Alex cry out.
Someone stood on the roof of the giant white building.
It was a well-built middle-aged gentleman in a white suit. His hair was slicked back and his likeable eyes and mouth were turned toward them. Even though it was night, he made a show of placing a hand over his eyes as he looked up. It was as if he were seeing them off.
Mikoku answered Alex without looking away from the man below.
She sat on the mechanical dragon's back inside the barrier that protected her from the atmospheric pressure.
She crossed her arms and looked up into the night sky. It felt like her view stretched on forever.
Its evolution was progressing smoothly and it had developed beyond what could be called necessary. It had used that evolution to overcome the subconscious wariness that came from a past it did not remember.
Even if someone had fought back against it in the past and even if that person had harmed it, it had surpassed all that with its current evolution.
But it also wondered if this sense of superiority was nothing but self-conceit. Was it simply relying on its own predictions and not looking at reality?
But it made a further decision. It used its predictions to their fullest to create the greatest enemy it could imagine and evolved to oppose such an enemy.
When evolving, it had to choose one of two basic types of mechanical dragon.
One was a non-transforming type that could somewhat alter the position of the exterior over its primary framework to create a generic form that could both fly and fight. As the frame did not change shape, it was more durable, but its abilities in flight and combat were lacking as it had elements of both built in.
The other was a fully transforming type that could transform the primary framework and fully transform the exterior to create two distinct forms for flight and combat. As the frame was made to come apart, it was less durable, but it could produce great mobility and attack power. The main problem was the lack of defensive power.
It had a reason: its giant form. It was large and therefore needed durability to maintain its body. And so it was born as a non-transforming type.
As it evolved, it needed to strengthen its weaponry to handle large enemies and to thicken its armor and strengthen its accelerators to handle smaller enemies that would attack and immediately withdraw.
However, it wondered if it would be defeated and injured using that method. It was the failure of that method that had sent it to the bottom of that water and set its evolution going once more.
It then found another answer.
Its previous evolution had not been wrong. It had simply lacked something.
It wanted to move once it had gathered everything.
It moved through the ocean.
It moved to fight. It moved for the sake of the people that should have been by its side but were not.
All the while, it wondered where those people had gone.
It was not the humans who first noticed the change.
A large white facility existed in Kanda, a portion of Tokyo's center. The automatons in the underground facility spotted a single philosopher's stone reading on the radar.
A moment later, a long, shallow V-shaped concept space opened from Tokyo Bay to the Chuo Expressway and from the Chofu Interchange, along National Route 20, and to Okutama.
At the same time, the American UCAT mechanical dragon unit deployed to Tokyo Bay ascended into the sky.
A giant object was already flying into the air above the ocean while surrounded by massive amounts of water.
It was a black mechanical dragon over three hundred meters long.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2015, at 20:42.


Abstract: We report on the production experience of the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron, using the SAM data handling system with a variety of computing hardware configurations, batch systems, and mass storage strategies. We have stored more than 300 TB of data in the Fermilab Enstore mass storage system. We deliver data through this system at an average rate of more than 2 TB/day to analysis programs, with a substantial multiplication factor in the consumed data through intelligent cache management. We handle more than 1.7 Million files in this system and provide data delivery to user jobs at Fermilab on four types of systems: a reconstruction farm, a large SMP system, a Linux batch cluster, and a Linux desktop cluster. In addition, we import simulation data generated at 6 sites worldwide, and deliver data to jobs at many more sites. We describe the scope of the data handling deployment worldwide, the operational experience with this system, and the feedback of that experience.


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Year: 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
The Famous Birding Cruise to Nowhere - Birding Ecotours
DISCOUNTED TOURS
TOURS BY DESTINATION – LIST
AFRICA & MADAGASCAR
BORNEO (MALAYSIA)
MALAYSIA – INCL. BORNEO
NEW GUINEA (PNG/WEST PAPUA)
AUSTRALASIA/OCEANIA
EUROPE/WESTERN PALEARCTIC
NORWAY INCL. SVALBARD
SOUTH & CENTRAL AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN (NEOTROPICS)
ECUADOR – INCL. GALAPAGOS
TOURS BY DESTINATION – MAP
TOURS BY DATE – LIST
TOURS BY DATE – CALENDAR
TOURS BY STYLE
1-DAY PELAGIC
1-DAY BIRDING
CUSTOM & ANYTIME TOURS
PELAGIC TRIPS
TOUR EVALUATION FORM
BIRD MILES
ORNITHOLOGICAL CONSULTING
GROUP TOUR EXPECTATIONS
AFRICA AND MADAGASCAR
NEOTROPICS SOUTH/CENTRAL AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN
The Famous Birding Cruise to Nowhere – Flock at Sea 2017
By Dominic Rollinson June 26, 2017 birding ecotours, Pelagic birding
Go to All Blogs | African Birding Blogs | Pelagic Birding Blogs | South African Pelagic Trips
by John Kinghorn
"GREY PETREL COMING DOWN PORTSIDE FROM THE BOW" were the words blasting through the miniscule speaker on the guides' radios. This was of course followed by a stampede of eager, adrenaline-driven birders all running and jostling against the railings on the portside of the luxurious cruise liner, the MSC Sinfonia, in an attempt to lay eyes on the now careering and highly-sought after procellariid. All of a sudden cries of "there it is!" began to echo from decks twelve to six at the stern of the ship, interspersed with cheers of joy, crisp high fives, and the machine-like shutter clicks of many a camera, as 'trigger-happy' birders tried their best to capture the moment, and, most importantly, the bird, in all its rarefied glory.
If you had said to me at any time before the 24th of April 2017 that almost two thousand birders crammed onto a single cruise liner would all simultaneously experience some of the best pelagic birding to have ever been experienced in our waters, I would have answered you very skeptically, in fact I would have thought you completely mad. It is thus only understandable that the first hour and forty minutes experienced on our first morning's birding in the deeper oceanic waters almost 140 nautical miles south of Cape Town left me speechless and shaking thanks to levels of excitement only ever experienced previously when Disney announced the creation of a new Star Wars movie. Quite frankly, it was probably one of the best days of birding I have ever experienced in all my ten years of birdwatching.
Each year BirdLife South Africa hosts their Annual General Meeting in a different part of our absolutely gorgeous country, and each year they choose to highlight the birds and birding in that area, which inevitably sees birders from far and wide 'flock' to this meeting of like-minded, driven, and passionate birders, whether it be to partake in the AGM itself, participate in the bi-annual 'Learn About Birds' conference, or simply enjoy the biodiversity to be found wherever the event may be. Only once before has BirdLife South Africa taken this event to the deep blue, and that was back in 2013, when the congregation of birders, scientists, and general members of the public headed north along the West Coast of South Africa, from Cape Town to Walvis Bay in Namibia and back again. It was such a success that four years later they decided to do it again. However this time there was a twist: majority control over the MSC Sinfonia, a custom-designed route tailored specifically for the best birding in our sub-region's waters, chumming, and the ability to specify which evening would have chocolate mousse and which wouldn't (jokes aside, though, this dessert needs to be made mandatory for further dinners on the next Flock at Sea). It took years of monthly meetings and negotiations with the MSC head office, but they eventually came to the party, the bird party that is, much to the excitement of the South African birding community.
So what was all the hoo-hah about a customized, birding-specific route? Besides the facts that the waters off the coast of South Africa, particularly off the Western Cape, are arguably some of the best waters in the world for pelagic birding, next to New Zealand and Australia, and that some incredible species are to be seen in their hundreds when finding a fishing trawler on your 'average' day trip, there were gems that lay waiting in the deeper waters, mouth-watering specials which rarely come into the trawling grounds but prefer the upwelling and colder waters along the continental shelf. This is the edge of the southern African sub-region and the beginning of the world-renowned southern oceans, which carry on due south to the icy continent of Antarctica.
There is nothing more rewarding for us guides to witness the facial expressions of eager, first-time pelagic birders the moment they lay their eyes on their first albatross. On pelagic day trips out of Cape Town this is generally a species of the genus Thalassarche which makes an early appearance, either a Shy or Black-browed Albatross, both of which are considerably smaller than the biggest of them all, species of the genus Diomedea, or the 'Great Albatrosses'. One can therefore imagine the pleasure we got from showing these eager, new pelagic birders their first-ever albatrosses, and not just any albatross, but a good five or so Wandering Albatrosses of varying ages, which had been following the ship since first light – heart-stopping stuff!
It wasn't long after the Grey Petrel sighting, and most certainly long before our adrenaline levels were able to stabilize to a normal rate again, when the call of "Sooty Albatross" echoed across the stern, immediately triggering the violent swinging of heads, one or two cases of potential whiplash from said violent neck-swinging, and vigorous scanning until the bird came into view, showing off all of its chocolate-brown glory.
Sooty Albatross
However, it would seem that Mother Nature had not yet finished her scheduled delivery of avian specialities, because within a matter of minutes after admiring the Sooty Albatross the call of "White-headed Petrel" came through on the guide's radios. Personally, this was one of the Pterodroma species I had most wanted to see, and I know that my friends and colleagues, Dylan Vasapolli and Jason Boyce, who were both guiding on the boat, likewise ranked this as a bird they desperately wished to see. The bird performed exceptionally well, and we all managed absolutely jaw-dropping views of it.
White-headed Petrel
When we thought that our day simply couldn't get any better, all of a sudden somebody screamed a question which had previously only been spoken of in legends and fables and one which stopped the hearts of a good few hundred birders as the suspense rose and the bird got closer to the stern: "Hang on, is that a Light-mantled?". The light coloration on the bird's back in contrast to the rest of its chocolate-brown body was what had us all going, but as it came closer we were able to make out the thin, pale-blue line on its lower mandible, and, all of a sudden, as if in unison, the stern of the ship with a good three hundred birders present erupted into cheers of joy and jubilation as we feasted our eyes on the Light-mantled Albatross's natural beauty. We were sitting with mouths slightly agape and the breath knocked out of us as if we were in the twelfth round of a pay-per-view boxing match, and although not many will admit it, there was a lot of drooling going on… This surely had to take the spot for 'bird of the trip'!
Light-mantled Albatross (photo Francois du Plessis)
The first day most certainly set the bar high, but the following two days didn't disappoint either, with highlights including Black-browed, Indian and Atlantic Yellow-nosed, and Shy Albatrosses, both Northern and Southern Giant Petrels, Soft-plumaged, Great-winged, and White-chinned Petrels, Sooty, Cory's, Great, and Manx Shearwaters, Black-bellied, European, and Wilson's Storm Petrels, Antarctic and Salvin's Prions, Subantarctic Skua, and several groups of Arctic Terns making their way north – a list most definitely indicative of the incredible birding that the southern oceans have to offer!
Reflecting back on this incredible experience as a whole – the gorgeous sunsets, the great food, the opportunity to share birding tales from across the globe with like-minded folk, friends, and colleagues, and the comradeship among all in attendance – was an intangible vibe that we won't be forgetting in a long time. It was an absolute privilege for the folk from Birding Ecotours to be a part of this event, one which has proved to undoubtedly have been one of the best pelagic trips to be had in our waters in a very long time! It was even more of a privilege for us to share with those on board our love, passion, and enthusiasm for sea birds and pelagic birding as a whole, and we thank BirdLife South Africa for this incredible opportunity and the great work that they are doing to conserve our world's seabirds!
This, however, does not mark the end of our pelagic adventures! Birding Ecotours has been running pelagic day trips out of Cape Town for some time now, and we would love to have you join us on one of them to experience with us this "whole new world", to quote Disney's Aladdin. You can view more at 1 day Pelagic trips.
We can run any of our tours privately at any time and can also arrange custom itineraries! Contact Us
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Meet ECOA Core Team
Sardar Amiri
Founder and Head of Operations
operations@myafghanmountains.org
A native of Bamyan, Sardar enjoys, among other things, lengthy early morning hikes across the Baba mountains, which he knows like the back of his hand.
Mr. Sardar Mohammad Amiri is a project manager, rural development field operations specialist, and he acts as an unpaid board member for two non-profits NGOs: Free to Run and Founder of Ecology and Conservation Organization of Afghanistan (ECOA). Sardar studied sociology in college. He has worked with various international and United Nations (UN) organizations. His current position is as Head of Operations, for the Ecology and Conservation Organization of Afghanistan, where he is co-founder. Previously he Operations Manager for UNEP in the Central Highlands, Field Coordinator for UNFPA Central Highlands and worked as Field Logistic Assistant for UNHCR Central Highlands.
In 2011 (ten year anniversary in 2021) Sardar helped set up the Ecology and Conservation Organization of Afghanistan (ECOA). ECOA is an Afghan managed local non-profit organization. ECOA partners with UNDP, UNEP, WFP, UNFAO, Bamyan NEPA, DOWA and the Governor's office to expand poverty and environment focused watershed and livelihood projects in Central Highlands of Afghanistan. ECOA combines education and capacity building activities to lead to multi-disciplinary results and technology transfer of new and sustainable energy and waste solutions for rural communities. Its motto is "Protect, Connect, Support".
ECOA first opened its office in Bamyan Centre in 2010 but has started to branch out to other regions in Afghanistan. The projects of ECOA concentrate on the Central Highlands of Afghanistan with a focus on the areas and communities of the Shah Foladi, National Park, a Category V IUCN landscape conservation site. ECOA's mission is to stop degradation of Afghanistan's environment, and ensure a sustainable future for the communities that live in it. This is achieved through:1) Conserving biological diversity,
2) Ensuring the sustainable use of renewable natural resources,
3) Reducing pollution and wasteful consumption and
4) Securing sustainable livelihoods.
Sardar is a relentless and unique battler for the weak and oppressed. He is selfless, and is always looking to help improve the living situation in Afghanistan. His goal is to expand ECOA's work to cover the entire country. He wants to inspire others to work hard and change their lives.
In 2021, while many lost hope, Sardar continued to work for Afghanistan, on the ground. He joined the board because he strongly supports Baba High School's mission and has witnessed first-hand the positive impact of the programs in Baba School. Sardar brings his passion, humour, and extensive local knowledge to Baba School, and is an irreplaceable asset and honourable person in every way.
Islamudin Farhank
Project support officer
support@myafghanmountains.org
A native of Bamyan, Islamudin enjoys hiking and talking to people. By using his background in political science, he is hoping to contribute to the environmental policymaking in Afghanistan for the benefit of vulnerable communities.
Mohammad Din
finance@myafghanmountains.org
An avid hiker and ecologist, Mohammaddin's lifelong conviction is that preserving environment is preserving the wealth and assets of generations today and tomorrow.
Habiba Amiri
ECOA Executive Director
habiba@myafghanmountains.org
Co-founding member and executive director of ECOA, Habiba grew up in Bamyan and fought to attend school and college, despite her communities' strict views on women's right to education. Habiba loves hiking in the Baba Mountains, and is passionate about making impact on women's livelihoods and gender equality in ECOA project areas.
Follow @ecoafghanistan Tweets by ECOAfghanistan
As typical spring weather has it, Bamyan town has been showered with rain (occasional hail) for the past couple of months. This weather accentuates the striking contrasts in the Hindu-Kush mountains under the shadowy gray sky: from light pink to heavy blue.
A post shared by ECOA (@ecoafghanistan) on May 20, 2018 at 1:09am PDT


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iRobot receives IDIQ contracts with total potential value of $96 Million from U.S. Navy
BEDFORD, Mass., Oct. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT), a leader in delivering robotic technology-based solutions, today announced its Defense & Security business unit has been awarded two indefinite delivery/indefinitely quantity (IDIQ) contracts with a combined total ceiling of $96 million from the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division. Initial orders under the contracts have been placed and total $7.9 million.
The first multi-year IDIQ contract, with a total ceiling of $46.7 million, is for support services, upgrades and spares for Man Transportable Robotic System (MTRS) MK1 robots. MTRS MK1 is modeled after iRobot's multi-mission iRobot 510 PackBot. An initial order valued at $7.5 million has been received under this contract with work to be completed by September 2016.
The second multi-year IDIQ contract has a total ceiling of $49.1 million. It allows for the production of new MTRS MK1 robots, depot level repair parts, spares, consumables and approved accessories to support configuration management and engineering enhancements. An initial order valued at $374 thousand has been received under this contract with work to be completed by September 2016.
"iRobot values its long standing service to multiple agencies within the Department of Defense," said Tom Frost, senior vice president and general manager of iRobot's Defense & Security business unit. "Our family of robots are smart, light, rugged and easy to use. We take pride in the role they play to keep our service members safe, and we remain committed to ensuring the U.S. Navy's MTRS fleet is equipped with the latest in robotic technologies to combat threats that persist globally."
iRobot has delivered more than 5,500 of its defense and security robots to military and civil defense forces worldwide.
iRobot designs and builds robots that empower people to do more. The company's home robots help people find smarter ways to clean, its defense & security robots protect those in harm's way, and its remote presence robots enable virtual presence from anywhere in the world. iRobot's robots feature proprietary technologies incorporating advanced concepts in navigation, mobility, manipulation and artificial intelligence. For more information about iRobot, please visit www.irobot.com.
Certain statements made in this press release that are not based on historical information are forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This press release contains express or implied forward-looking statements relating to, among other things, iRobot Corporation's expectations concerning management's forecast of financial performance, estimates of future revenues, estimates of the size of the markets for its products, and its business outlook and business momentum. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. In particular, the risks and uncertainties include, among other things: our dependence on the U.S. federal government and government contracts; and changes in government policies or spending priorities. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. iRobot Corporation undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise. For additional disclosure regarding these and other risks faced by iRobot Corporation, see the disclosure contained in our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, without limitation, our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K.
For further information: Elise Caffrey, Investor Relations, iRobot Corp., (781) 430-3003, ecaffrey@irobot.com, Charlie Vaida, Media Relations, iRobot Corp., (781) 430-3182, cvaida@irobot.com


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US Government Acts as "Mediator" in Mexico's Lucrative Oil and Gas Privatization
By Steve Horn
DESMOG 20 August 2015
Region: Latin America & Caribbean, USA
Theme: Oil and Energy
New records obtained by DeSmog shed further light on the role the U.S.government has played to help implement the privatization of Mexico's oil and gas industry, opening it up to international firms beyond state-owned company PEMEX (Petroleos Mexicanos).
Obtained from both the City of San Antonio, Texas and University of Texas-San Antonio (UTSA), the records center around the U.S.–Mexico Oil and Gas Business Export Conference, held in May in San Antonio and hosted by both the U.S.Department of Trade and Department of Commerce, as well as UTSA.
They reveal the U.S. government acting as a mediator between Mexico's government and U.S. oil and gas companies seeking to cash in on a policy made possible by the behind-the-scenes efforts of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's U.S. State Department. State Department involvement was first revealed here on DeSmog, pointing to emails obtained via Freedom of Information Act and cables made available via Wikileaks.
The records also call into question the claim made by Mexico's Energy Secretary, Pedro Joaquín Coldwell, that the privatization policy was "100 percent made in Mexico." Coldwell said this in reaction to DeSmog's investigation showing heavy State Department involvement in ushering in the policy.
"It is absolutely false that Hillary Clinton or any other United States government entity had anything to do with the Mexican energy reform," Coldwell stated.
If the U.S. government had nothing to with creating the policy architecture to begin with, and its own records tell the opposite story, then it sure is shocking how involved it is now in the attempt to help U.S. companies build their profits from the new policy regime.
Indeed, event organizers boasted of the convening as a business opportunity for U.S. companies.
"The conference is a one-day seminar for U.S. exporters who want to take advantage of the energy reform in Mexico's oil and gas industry," explained a press release ahead of the event. "The conference will bring together experts from government, business, and academic sectors to discuss the opening markets in Mexico. Experts will show companies in Texas what they can do to position themselves to get in on the ground level of new market opportunities."
Thomas Tunstall, researcher at UTSA and author of a recent report on the economic impacts of hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") in the Eagle Ford Shale funded by lobbying powerhouse America's Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA), echoed these comments in a quote he provided ahead of the event.
"Not only is this an opportunity for companies in Mexico," said Tunstall, "but this prospect for shale oil and gas exploration and production represents an export opportunity for U.S. companies that have pioneered the unconventional techniques in use now."
An email blasted out to conference invitees by the U.S. Commercial Service, a wing of the U.S. Department of Commerce, shows how the event was pitched to those invited and what business opportunities it could present.
http://www.desmogblog.com/2015/08/20/records-us-involvement-mexico-oil-gas-privatization-mexican-government-100-percent-its-idea
The original source of this article is DESMOG
Copyright © Steve Horn, DESMOG, 2015
Articles by: Steve Horn


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Supporting businesses through Brexit
Letter sets out help available.
Economy Secretary Derek Mackay has written to businesses to urge them to prepare for the consequences of Brexit, and inform them of the support available from the Scottish Government.
Writing ahead of a visit to the Scottish Enterprise (SE) Prepare for Brexit control hub in Clydebank by Minister for Trade, Investment and Innovation Ivan McKee, Mr Mackay directed business owners towards the wide range of support being provided by the Scottish Government and its agencies.
He restated the Scottish Government's determination to create the right conditions for businesses to prosper, as set out in the Economic Action Plan launched last year.
The Prepare for Brexit control hub, which went live yesterday, comprises 160 SE staff who can be deployed to provide specific Brexit enquiry support to businesses and partners to help manage increased numbers of enquiries.
Mr Mackay yesterday said:
"We understand that Brexit continues to present real challenges for Scotland's people, businesses and communities with the ongoing uncertainty around the UK's future relationship with the European Union. The Scottish Government and our agencies remain committed to helping businesses prepare for any outcome.
"We want to support businesses as they work through the challenges they may face, and the Prepare for Brexit Campaign is at the heart of that. It brings together a range of support for Scotland's businesses, including a toolkit to help you assess how ready your business is for whatever comes next.
"Industry has told us how important it is to retain our workforce. That is why the First Minister launched the Scottish Government's Stay in Scotland campaign. It provides practical advice and assistance to the EU citizens living in Scotland, including information and guidance on the EU Settlement Scheme application process."
A full copy of the letter to businesses is attached.
More details on Prepare for Brexit and Stay in Scotland.
The First Minister wrote an open letter to EU citizens in Scotland on Friday.
Original article link: https://www.gov.scot/news/supporting-businesses-through-brexit/


Our most popular golf course bridge, the Woody is slightly arched and has a finish which makes it look like 'real wood'. Its style of beam has been designed by our engineers as the optimal for structural qualities. The standard model comes with curb-style guard rails.
The Woody Bridge is Links Bridges most popular golf course bridge. Golf courses across North America have installed this innovative, slightly arched, wood finished bridge. Links Bridges prides itself on being an innovator in the special application bridge business and is celebrated around the world for the development of awe-inspiring golf course bridges.
Here are our top five reasons to choose the Woody Bridge from our collection of bridge styles and designs for your commercial or residential project.
Every pedestrian bridge from Links Bridges will retain its structural integrity and appearance for 50+ years, far superior to any alternative using wood or metal components. For golf course bridges, this longevity is essential.
Our Woody Bridge takes care of itself. There is no need to ever paint, remove rust or replace rotting boards. Just imagine all of the time and energy you can direct to managing your golf course when you don't have to maintain your golf course bridge.
The Woody Bridge is designed with all eco-friendly materials, to ensure sustainability of the environment and the product. From our scratch resistant gel-coat to fire retardant resin and beyond, all of our materials are safe and sustainable.
This custom-manufactured bridge comes in custom lengths up to 50' and standard widths of 4', 6' and 8' or a customizable width of your choosing. Choose the standard option with curb-style guard rails or customize your bridge to suit your needs.
The Woody is designed to have the look and feel of real wood. Choose from the beautiful golden oak, cherry wood or walnut finish to inspire your golf course guests with this naturally stunning bridge.
If your golf course, community, park or home residence is in the market for a customizable, 100% RFP low-maintenance, tailor-made Woody Bridge, contact our team at Links Bridges today to learn more. We have installed thousands of bridges across North America and are eager to help you install bridge of your dreams.


Zurich, the capital of Switzerland, has-been known as the social capital of Switzerland. Therefore, the city affords many opportunities for enjoyment and relaxation.
Town of Zurich normally known as Switzerland's social money with a gigantic level of art galleries and great galleries into the metro location. The maximum galleries found within the city would be the Kunsthaus while the Swiss nationwide Museum. However this really is simply the tip of this iceberg because town breaks in Zurich is probably the most liked holidaymaker destinations worldwide. It is also the cleanest town in the world thrashing Singapore in the class. It's wonderfully available at the top of the Limmat canal with a chic lake, two streams and beautifully hills being covered in rich green woods.
A lot of Zurich's splendid tourist attractions contains compared to the Church of your Lady, Old town, the Great Church, St. Peter Church and the Bahnhofstrasse. The Greta Church is feted due to the twin towers together with Church of your lady is classic beauty architecture within the 13th century with remarkably elegant stained-glass window designs. St. Peter Church is recognized due to the best time clock face in continent of European countries. It is always showcased in several worldwide movies. If you want to go buying a number of the best services and products and items which it is possible to just get in this part of the earth, Bahnhofstrasse offers great shopping possibilities for every visitor. You mustn't lose out on visiting various other important traveler places within the town including the Museum of Art, Opera House and Zoological outdoors. Accommodation isn't hard in Zurich because you will find out superb hotels such as the Senator resort, Swissotel, therefore the Park Inn resort.
Take in in a few culture: Maiers Theatre is off-centre in Zurich so that as famed because of its varied programme: comedy, cabaret, plays, rings, solamente musicians, party shows, choirs etc, along with improv theatres and singalong-performances! If you'd like a stiff beverage most likely that, good news, since there's also a bar!
See what what you can see: the Zurich See is a sensational pond, framed by wood and hills. Easy to get at from the city, have you thought to simply take a stroll through this fantastic views?