We describe a protocol to assess facial muscle activity in response to experienced and observed tactile stimulation using facial electromyography.
Ree, A., Morrison, I., Olausson, H., Sailer, U., Heilig, M., Mayo, L. M. Using Facial Electromyography to Assess Facial Muscle Reactions to Experienced and Observed Affective Touch in Humans. J. Vis. Exp. (145), e59228, doi:10.3791/59228 (2019).
"Affective" touch is believed to be processed in a manner distinct from discriminatory touch and to involve activation of C-tactile (CT) afferent fibers. Touch that optimally activates CT fibers is consistently rated as hedonically pleasant. Patient groups with impaired social-emotional functioning also show disordered affective touch ratings. However, relying on self-reported ratings of touch has many limitations, including recall bias and communication barriers. Here, we describe a methodological approach to study affective responses to touch via facial electromyography (EMG) that circumvents the reliance on self-report ratings. Facial EMG is an objective, quantitative, and non-invasive method to measure facial muscle activity indicative of affective responses. Responses can be assessed across healthy and patient populations without the need for verbal communication. Here, we provide two separate datasets demonstrating that CT-optimal and non-optimal touch elicit distinct facial muscle reactions. Moreover, facial EMG responses are consistent across stimulus modalities, e.g. tactile (experienced touch) and visual (observed touch). Finally, the temporal resolution of facial EMG can detect responses on timescales that supersede that of verbal reporting. Together, our data suggest that facial EMG is a suitable methodology for use in affective tactile research that can be used to supplement, or in some cases, supplant, existing measures.
C-tactile (CT) afferents are proposed to convey the affective component of touch, which can be distinguished from the discriminative aspects of touch processed via Aβ fibers1,2. CT-mediated affective touch is believed to play an integral role in social affiliative behaviors3, leading to the "skin as a social organ" hypothesis4. Physical5,6, developmental7, and psychiatric8,9 factors can influence CT-mediated touch processing. Thus, establishing an objective measure to quantify affective reactions to CT-relevant touch is critical to allow for comparisons across populations.
In recent years, much insight has been gained regarding the characteristics of CT afferents. These unmyelinated afferents demonstrate an inverted U-shaped firing frequency, with velocities of 1-10 cm/s ("CT-optimal") eliciting the greatest frequency and both greater ("fast non-optimal") or lesser ("slow non-optimal") velocities eliciting reduced firing10. CT firing frequency correlates with self-reported ratings of touch "pleasantness", producing a similar inverted U-shaped curve in pleasantness ratings10. Moreover, CT-afferents also respond most robustly to stimuli close to skin temperature11. These fibers also show distinct conduction speeds. The unmyelinated CT afferents are slower2 and thus the volley of afferent input to the cortex shows a temporal lag when compared to the speed of the faster, myelinated Aβ fibers1,12. Affective and discriminative touch can also be distinguished on a neural level. While both types of touch activate overlapping somatosensory areas, affective touch is more likely to activate the posterior insula, while discriminative touch activates sensorimotor areas13,14,15,16. This activation pattern is consistent whether the touch is directly experienced or merely observed17, suggesting that affective touch is not just a "bottom-up" process driven by physical activation of CT afferents, but also involves "top-down" integration of multimodal sensory processing.
Situations in which CT processing is deficient or otherwise atypical has also provided insight into the functional significance of these afferents. In a unique patient group with a heritable mutation affecting the nerve growth factor β gene, there is a reduction in the density of thin and unmyelinated nerve fibers, including CT afferents. Compared to healthy controls, these patients report touch at CT-optimal velocities as less pleasant5. The converse scenario is also true; patients who lack myelinated Aβ fibers are able to retain a faint sensation of pleasant touch carried by the still intact CT afferents6. Abnormal affective touch processing is not just confined to instances of physical changes in CT-afferents. Across patient and healthy populations, those higher on the spectrum of autistic traits reported reduced pleasantness ratings of touch8. Psychiatric patients also demonstrate reduced hedonic ratings of affective touch, with a history of childhood maltreatment as one of the most consistent predictors of dysregulated affective touch awareness8. Dysregulation in the CT-based affective touch system in anorexia nervosa has also been reported9. Thus, both physical and psychological factors can influence affective touch processing, and as such, it is imperative to establish methodologies that can be applied to all individuals in an equitable and comparable manner.
Insights into normo-typical and dysregulated affective processing have the opportunity to provide a more nuanced picture of many patient groups. However, one potential limitation of affective touch research is the necessity of self-reported ratings. At times, self-report can be unreliable18 and subject to recall bias19. Inquiries of self-report can psychologically remove a participant from the current setting, limiting the ecological validity of the responses and removing them temporally from the experience20. Moreover, self-report relies on a firm understanding of language and semantics, making cross-cultural and developmentally diverse (e.g. infant and toddler-aged individuals) comparisons challenging. For instance, individuals with an autism spectrum diagnosis frequently show distinct behavioral responses to touch21, but can also have difficulties in communicating verbally22. Thus, finding non-invasive methods to measure responses to touch that circumvent a reliance on self-report may translate, at least, to a better understanding of the mechanisms of affective touch, and at most, novel insights into dysregulation of social processing in patient populations.
Facial electromyography (EMG) is a suitable candidate to objectively assess affective responses to touch. It has been used to measure valence-specific reactions to visual23, audio-visual24, olfactory25, and gustatory26 stimuli. Facial EMG is a safe and non-invasive method consisting of surface electrodes that adhere to the face27. These surface electrodes record facial muscle activity continuously in real-time with time scale sensitivity in the tens of milliseconds. Of particular interest is the corrugator supercilii ("corrugator"), which is activated when furrowing the brow and relaxes during a smile. As a result, corrugator activity has a linear relationship with affective valence, with increased response to negative stimuli and decreased activity in response to positive stimuli28. In addition, the zygomaticus major ("zygomatic") is the muscle activated as the corners of the mouth pull up into a smile. The zygomatic displays a "J-shaped" activation pattern with positive stimuli eliciting the greatest response, and the most negative stimuli eliciting a greater response than neutral stimuli28. Facial EMG recordings of these muscles can even be observed when stimuli are presented outside conscious awareness or when individuals are explicitly trying to suppress their reactions29,30. Importantly, facial EMG can be used alone or in combination with self-report ratings or other physiological recordings. Thus, it is an ideal methodology to assess affective reactions to tactile stimulation31,32.
In sum, facial EMG can be combined with self-report ratings to determine how CT-optimal tactile stimulation influences facial muscle activity as a potential indicator of affective response. One can take advantage of the velocity-dependent firing frequency of CTs to apply touch at CT-optimal and non-optimal velocities, and touch can be applied both to the CT-rich arm and the putatively CT-lacking palm. Comparisons can be made across modalities to determine whether affective responses to touch require direct stimulation or can be elicited via mere observation, suggestive of shared processing across sensory modalities. Finally, upon establishing facial EMG as a suitable methodology to study affective reactions to affective touch, researchers can then explore how affective touch processing may be influenced by various interventions (e.g., drug administration; stress exposure), how it changes throughout development7, how it is influenced by the relationship of the interactants33, and whether it is dysregulated in clinical populations8.
This protocol is based on Mayo et al.31 (Experiment 1) and Ree et al.32 (Experiment 2). Ethical approval was granted by the Regional Ethical Review Board, Linköping, Sweden (Experiment 1) and the local ethical committee at the Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway (Experiment 2).
Recruit participants who lack tactile or uncorrected visual disturbances and are free of any neurological or psychiatric disorder, unless a specific patient population is being recruited.
Ensure that participants are fully able to understand task instructions (e.g., fluent in the language that tasks are administered).
If including more than one task (e.g. Experienced, Observed), ensure that task order is counterbalanced across participants, stratifying for gender, age, or other distinguishing factors.
NOTE: See Table 1 for experimental design.
Create trials such that they consist of a baseline period, touch administration, and self-report ratings, all separated by jittered ITIs.
Baseline periods consist of a blank screen, fixation cross, or other neutral scene prior to tactile stimulation.
Tactile stimulation is followed by a short (e.g. 1-2 s) ITI, then self-report ratings are obtained.
A jittered inter-trial interval (ITI; e.g. 6-7 s) follows self-report ratings to allow muscle activity to return to baseline levels before the next trial begins.
Use either audio (Experiment 131) or visual (Experiment 232) cues to ensure that touch is delivered at the appropriate velocity.
To use audio cues, have cues delivered to headphones worn by the experimenter to track the pace of the stimulation using a metronome. Distinguish velocities using tones of differing pitches (or other distinguishing audio cue, e.g., a cue saying "10 cm/s") that precede the stimulation cues.
To use visual cues, display cues on a tablet only in view of the experimenter. Use a moving bar to track velocity of touch administration.
Prior to the start of the study, practice to ensure that touch is delivered at the appropriate velocity and a consistent pressure. To do so, apply brushstrokes to the scale in a similar manner as to the participant. The scale readout is used to determine if the pressure changes throughout touch administration. For instance, a pressure of 0.4 N would read as 40 g on the scale.
Ensure that videos of touch administration are of similar length, regardless of velocity.
Include both CT-optimal (1-10 cm/s) and non-optimal (less than 1 cm/s or more than 10 cm/s) velocities.
Start trials with a fixation cross or other neutral condition followed by video.
NOTE: Videos contain touch delivered to CT-rich hairy skin (arm), CT-lacking glabrous skin (palm), and a non-social condition in which touch is delivered to a fake wooden arm (Fig. 2; see supplemental videos).
After a 1-2 s ITI, obtain self-report ratings.
Allow another 6-7 ITI following ratings to precede the next trial to allow EMG activity to return to baseline.
Use software to apply filtering steps either in real-time or offline. Typical filtering steps include a comb band stop filter to filter out potential noise from AC power (50/60 Hz), followed by smoothing and rectification.
NOTE: Initial basic filtering steps may be set on EMG amplifiers (e.g., a high pass filter of 10 Hz and a low pass filter of 500 Hz or 1,000 Hz).
Briefly describe the application process to the participant. Use neutral words ("sensor") instead of potentially anxiety-evoking words ("electrode")34.
Decide what information to tell the participants regarding the purpose of the sensors.
NOTE: In the current studies, participants were told sensors would measure muscle and sweat activity during the session.
Clean the participants' skin prior to electrode application.
Use water to wipe clean the areas in which sensors will be applied.
Use an exfoliant scrub to lightly abrade the same areas. Use caution to prevent major skin irritation, though minor irritation is likely to occur.
Use electrode pairs consisting of two 4 mm shielded bipolar recording electrodes plus one monopolar reference electrode.
Apply adhesive collars to the electrodes such that they adhere to the skin.
Once collars adhere to the outer rim of the electrodes, fill sensors with a conductive electrode gel, taking care to prevent the formation of air bubbles.
Place electrode pairs parallel to the muscle(s) of interest and perpendicular to potential sources of noise, such as other muscles34.
Corrugator: Affix one electrode directly above the eyebrow along an imaginary vertical line that traverses the inner corner of the eye. Place the second electrode 1 cm lateral and slightly superior to the first, along the border of the eyebrow.
Zygomatic: Place the first sensor midway along an imaginary line that connects the upper ear (where the ear meets the skull) and the corner of the mouth. Place the second electrode 1 cm medial (towards the mouth). Take care to avoid the masseter muscle.
Use an 8 mm unshielded, monopolar recording electrode as a reference electrode. Place the electrode in the middle of the forehead, equidistant (above) the inner brows and (below) the hairline.
Ensure that electrode wires are placed such that they do not impede vision. Use medical tape to ensure long-term adherence of the electrodes to skin and reduce noise/artifacts due to cord movement.
Determine the quality of electrode application with an impedance monitor. Acceptable impedance levels are below 20 kΩ. If electrodes need to be reapplied to reach appropriate impedance levels, use a clean pair of electrodes.
Following sensor application, complete task(s). If using more than one task, counterbalance order across participants.
Ensure that participants are seated comfortably to minimize extraneous movement that may introduce movement artifacts34.
Seat participants in front of computer with the to-be-touched arm extended laterally, resting comfortably (e.g., on a cushion).
NOTE: It is recommended to apply touch to the arm that is not being used for self-reported ratings in order to minimize potential movement artifacts in the EMG signal.
Occlude view of the arm from the participant either using a curtain separator31 or goggles that occlude lateral vision (Figure 132) 35.
Instruct the participant to focus on how the touch makes them feel.
Vary touch location to avoid CT fatigue36.
Administer touch using a 75 mm goat hair brush applied to designated section(s) marked on the arm (and palm). Alternatively, apply touch using a force-controlled robot37.
Seat participant in front of the computer that will display the videos.
Instruct the participant that they will have to rate how the video made them feel.
Ensure that the participant is out of view of the experimenter34.
To assess the mean EMG activation to a specific touch stimulus type, compare the response to the touch stimulus to the preceding baseline, i.e. [mean activation during 6 s touch stimulation] - [mean activation during 1 s prestimulus "baseline"], as suggested by Fridlund and Cacioppo34.
Average responses for each touch stimulus type (CT-optimal, non-optimal and, if appropriate, each location (arm/palm).
Do this for each muscle (corrugator, zygomatic) and self-report rating (pleasantness, intensity) individually.
To obtain a more sensitive time course, compute mean EMG activation during smaller time intervals (e.g., 700 ms; see Figure 532). Subtract the same 1 s baseline from all intervals to remove baseline EMG activity.
NOTE: Prior to analysis, it is recommended to have data manually checked by raters blinded to touch conditions to eliminate trials with artifactual activations34.
The first experiment addressed whether differential EMG reactivity could be detected in response to CT-optimal (3 cm/s) and fast non-optimal (30 cm/s) tactile stimulation that was directly experienced (Figure 3) or merely observed (Figure 2 and Figure 3)31.
Experienced CT-optimal touch was rated as more pleasant than non-optimal touch (F(1,28) = 32.2; p < 0.001; Figure 3A) regardless of touch location (p = 0.063; velocity x location: p = 0.32). Similarly, observed CT-optimal touch was rated as more pleasant that non-optimal touch (touch velocity: F(1,28) = 47.5; p < 0.001; touch type: F(2,56) = 6.09, p = 0.004; type x velocity interaction F(2,56) = 5.87, p = 0.005). CT-optimal touch to the arm was rated as more pleasant than touch to the palm (p = 0.024) and non-social touch (e.g., touch to the wooden arm; p = 0.001). Fast non-optimal touch was always rated as more intense (Figure 3B), regardless of whether the touch was experienced (touch velocity: F(1,28) = 34.3, p < 0.001; touch location: p = 0.28; velocity x location interaction: p = 0.64) or observed (touch velocity: F(1,28) = 35.1, p < 0.001; touch type: p = 0.40; velocity x type interaction: p = 0.39).
Experienced fast, non-optimal touch elicited robust corrugator reactivity that was mitigated by recruitment of CT-afferents during CT-optimal touch (effect of touch velocity: F(1,28) = 4.84, p = 0.036; effect of touch location: p = 0.93; touch velocity x location interaction: p = 0.42; Figure 3C). Corrugator response significantly differed between CT-optimal and non-optimal touch for touch to the arm (p = 0.050) but only trend level effects were seen for touch to the palm (p = 0.092). There was no main effect of touch velocity (p = 0.11) or type (p = 0.79) on corrugator reactivity to observed touch, but there was a touch velocity x type interaction (F(2,56) = 3.80, p = 0.028). Post hoc tests revealed that fast non-optimal touch elicited greater corrugator reactivity than CT-optimal touch particularly for videos of touch to the arm (p = 0.007), but not touch to the palm (p = 0.13) or non-social touch (p = 0.25). Zygomatic activity was not significantly affected by experienced touch (effect of touch velocity: p = 0.15; effect of touch type: p = 0.73; touch velocity x type interaction: p = 0.63; Figure 3D), nor observed touch (main effect of touch velocity: p = 0.37; main effect of touch type: p = 0.84; touch velocity x type interaction: p = 0.23).
Experiment 2 assessed whether slow non-optimal (0.3 cm/s) would elicit similar responses as fast non-optimal (30 cm/s)32. We found that slow non-optimal touch was rated as less pleasant (Figure 4A) and less intense (Figure 4B) than CT-optimal touch. Similar to fast non-optimal touch, slow non-optimal touch elicited robust corrugator activitythat was attenuated by CT-optimal touch (effect of touch velocity: F(1,83) = 9.723, p = 0.002; Figure 4C). There was no effect of touch on zygomatic activity (p = 0.35; Figure 4D).
We next assessed the time course of EMG responses. During the first 700 ms, a window putatively free of CT input, there was no difference in corrugator reactivity (-0.031 ± 0.06 µV and -0.017 ± 0.49 µV, pBon = 0.98; Figure 5A). However, over the next 5.6 s, corrugator reactivity in response to CT optimal touch decreased gradually, whereas it gradually increased in response to slow non-optimal touch: during interval 2, the corrugator reactivity was marginally lower for CT optimal touch than non-optimal touch (pBon = 0.071). During intervals 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8, the corrugator reactivity was significantly lower during CT optimal touch than during non-optimal touch (pBon < 0.034; Figure 5A). This pattern was absent in analysis of zygomatic reactivity (p = 0.83; Figure 5B).
Figure 1: Example of experimental setup for the Experienced Touch task. Seat the participant in front of the computer with their arm extended laterally, comfortably resting on a cushion. If obtaining self-report ratings, it is recommended to apply touch to the arm that is not used to provide ratings to avoid potential movement artifacts from contaminating the EMG signal. The arm should be occluded from view of the participant35,39, either with customized glasses, as above, or using a curtain separator. This figure is adapted from Ree et al.32 Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 2: Example of touch stimuli used in the Observed Touch task. The observed touch task included 6 s videos of touch to the (A) CT-rich arm, (B) CT-lacking palm, and (C) non-social touch to a wooden arm. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 3: CT-optimal touch elicits distinct responses compared to fast non-optimal touch across modalities. (A) CT-optimal touch (3 cm/s) is consistently rated as more pleasant than fast non-optimal touch (30 cm/s) across both tasks. Experienced touch is rated as most pleasant, followed by social (arm, palm) observed touch, then non-social touch (e.g. touch to a wooden arm). (B) CT-optimal touch is (3 cm/s) rated as less intense across modalities, regardless of modality or social content. (C) Fast non-optimal touch (30 cm/s) elicits more corrugator reactivity than CT-optimal touch (3 cm/s). This difference is most robust for touch to the CT-rich arm. (D) CT-optimal touch (3 cm/s) marginally increases zygomatic reactivity, though this does not reach significance for any modality or location. Bars and errors bars represent mean and standard error of the mean; *p < 0.05 effect of velocity. This figure is adapted from Mayo et al.31 Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 4: CT-optimal touch (3 cm/s) elicits distinct responses as compared to slow non-optimal touch (0.3 cm/s). (A) CT-optimal touch (3 cm/s) is rated as more pleasant than slow non-optimal touch (0.3 cm/s). (B) CT-optimal touch (3 cm/s) is rated as more intense than slow non-optimal touch (0.3 cm/s). (C) Mean corrugator reactivity in response to CT-optimal (3 cm/s) is reduced compared to slow non-optimal (0.3 cm/s). (D) Touch does not significantly influence zygomatic reactivity. Bars and error bars represent means and standard error of the mean; *p < 0.05. This figure is adapted from Ree et al.32 Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 5: Corrugator responses to CT-optimal touch are temporally specific. (A) When binned in intervals of 700 ms, CT-optimal touch elicits significantly less corrugator reactivity. The exception is in the first 700 ms, which is putatively free of CT input due to the slower conduction velocity of these unmyelinated afferents. (B) Zygomatic reactivity is not significantly different in response to optimal or slow non-optimal touch at any of the time points. Dots represent means and bars represent standard errors of the mean. This figure is adapted from Ree et al.32 Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Table 1: Summary of Experimental Designs. In the Experienced Touch task of Experiment 1, touch was delivered at CT-optimal (3 cm/s) or fast non-optimal (30 cm/s) velocities to hairy (arm) and glabrous (palm) skin. The Observed Touch instead included videos of touch delivered to the arm, palm, or to a wooden arm (e.g., non-social) at the same touch velocities. The "non-social" condition was included to control for potential responses elicited by low-level periodicity information encoded in the movement17, and determine the relevance of social content38 on ratings and EMG responses. Results were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) with touch velocity and touch type as within-subjects factors. A post-hoc power analysis based on Experiment 1 suggests at least 22 individuals should be included to achieve similar effects. In Experiment 2, touch was delivered to the arm at CT-optimal (3 cm/s) or slow non-optimal (0.3 cm/s) velocities. Touch was delivered for a total of 2min, but here we only report on the first 6.3 s in order to compare results to Experiment 1. Each velocity was repeated twice. In all experiments, self-reported ratings of the affective quality (e.g., pleasantness) and discriminative aspects (e.g., intensity) were assessed10.
Here, we report on the use of facial electromyography (EMG) as a method to study affective responses to observed and experienced touch. Previously, many studies have focused on the use of self-report ratings to characterize the affective quality of touch. Touch that optimally activates CT afferents (e.g., 1-10 cm/s) is consistently rated as more pleasant than either faster or slower touch velocities10. In contrast, ratings of intensity seem to track with velocity, with faster touch velocities rated as more intense, likely mediated via Aβ fibers37. Using two separate datasets, we show that both fast and slow non-optimal touch elicit robust corrugator reactivity that is attenuated during CT-optimal touch. Thus, we find that touch that is rated as less pleasant (e.g., non-optimal touch) also increases corrugator activity, suggestive of enhanced negative affect. In addition, we find that responses are similar across modalities. That is, both observed and experienced touch elicit similar facial muscle activity. In both modalities, these effects were only significant for touch to the arm, and not the palm or a wooden arm. Thus, while self-reported ratings of experienced and observed affective touch are similar regardless of location (arm, palm), facial EMG only significantly differentiates between touch velocities applied to the CT-rich arm, and not the CT-fiber-lacking palm.
The results further show that the temporal sensitivity of facial EMG yields insight into emotional processing that cannot be obtained solely by self-report. Namely, we found that corrugator reactivity to CT-optimal touch becomes evident at a timescale that coincides with known conduction velocities of CT afferents1,12. Thus, in the initial 700 ms of touch, which are believed to be dominated by Aβ activation, there is no difference in EMG activation between the two touch velocities. However, the distinction between CT-optimal and non-optimal touch becomes evident following the first 700 ms, consistent with the previously reported temporal time lag of CT-afferents2,12. Hence, facial EMG is able to detect changes in affective responses to touch that occur with a temporal specificity that is likely inaccessible via verbal reporting.
Across both studies, we find that CT-optimal and non-optimal touch can be distinguished via corrugator activity. However, we did not find an effect of touch on zygomatic reactivity, which is in contrast to previous reports40. One potential reason for the discrepancies between the current data and previous findings include methodological differences such as inclusion of a post-touch period in the analysis. Thus, we stress the importance of methodological considerations such as the length of the touch stimulation and inter-trial intervals when designing these experiments.
There are several factors that should be considered when assessing affective reactions to touch. One potential area of concern is the gender of the experimenter (and thus, toucher) to that of the participant, as well as the relationship, if any, between the two41. Moreover, one should ensure that participants are precluded from viewing the experimenter and touch application, as visual processing of touch can influence the perception of touch35,39. There are also concerns to weigh during task design. For instance, it is important to consider the potential for order effects, both in regards to touch stimuli presentation (e.g. discussed in42) or touch location43. If several touch repetitions are used, one may want to vary touch location to avoid CT fatigue36. Here, we used a brush to apply touch to compare to previous studies17, though it is possible that EMG responses may be different using more ecologically valid methods (e.g., touch by hand).
While we believe the use of facial EMG will be of a great benefit to the field of affective touch, there are limitations to this methodology that warrant consideration. Training is required to learn how to apply the electrodes correctly, producing an increased burden on the experimenter on the outset of experimental planning. Excessive movement, talking, or other environmental factors present during the experiment may cause artifacts in the EMG signal, thus constraining some experimental design features. Moreover, the application of electrodes to the face may elicit an attempt to discern the purpose of the study. As such, one must consider what information to tell the participant regarding not only the purpose of the experiment, but also the use of the electrodes during the experiment. In the current experiments, the participants were told that the purpose of the study was the investigate decision-making and perceptions of various sensations32 or reactions to social interactions31. In both cases, participants were told that the electrodes would measure sweat and muscle activity and were fully debriefed following the conclusion of the experiment. These concerns and others are addressed thoroughly in Fridlund and Cacioppo 198634.
In sum, we demonstrate that facial EMG is a reliable, robust, and informative method to assess the affective valence of tactile stimulation. This method provides a means to implicitly assess responses to tactile stimulation independent of verbal reports, paving the way for studies in infants and young children, cross-cultural comparisons, investigations of clinical conditions, and other situations in which semantics and language may otherwise preclude scientific exploration.
The authors are grateful to Dr. Margaret Wardle for her exceptional training and technical assistance. This work was funded in part by Swedish Research Council grant FYF-2013-687 (IM).
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Dimberg, U., Thunberg, M., Grunedal, S. Facial reactions to emotional stimuli: Automatically controlled emotional responses. Cognition and Emotion. 16, (4), 449-471 (2002).
Dimberg, U., Thunberg, M., Elmehed, K. Unconscious facial reactions to emotional facial expressions. Psychological Science. 11, (1), 86-89 (2000).
Mayo, L. M., Lindé, J., Olausson, H., Heilig, M., Morrison, I. Putting a good face on touch: Facial expression reflects the affective valence of caress-like touch across modalities. Biological Psychology. (2018).
Ree, A., Mayo, L. M., Leknes, S., Sailer, U. Touch targeting C-tactile afferent fibers has a unique physiological pattern: a combined electrodermal and facial electromyography study. Biological Psychology. (2018).
Kreuder, A. K., et al. How the brain codes intimacy: The neurobiological substrates of romantic touch. Human Brain Mapping. 38, (9), 4525-4534 (2017).
Fridlund, A. J., Cacioppo, J. T. Guidelines for human electromyographic research. Psychophysiology. 23, (5), 567-589 (1986).
Tipper, S. P., et al. Vision influences tactile perception without proprioceptive orienting. Neuroreport. 9, (8), 1741-1744 (1998).
Vallbo, ÅB., Olausson, H., Wessberg, J. Unmyelinated Afferents Constitute a Second System Coding Tactile Stimuli of the Human Hairy Skin. Journal of Neurophysiology. 81, (6), 2753-2763 (1999).
Triscoli, C., Olausson, H., Sailer, U., Ignell, H., Croy, I. CT-optimized skin stroking delivered by hand or robot is comparable. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. 7, 208 (2013).
Croy, I., et al. Interpersonal stroking touch is targeted to C tactile afferent activation. Behavioural Brain Research. 297, 37-40 (2016).
Keizer, A., de Jong, J. R., Bartlema, L., Dijkerman, C. Visual perception of the arm manipulates the experienced pleasantness of touch. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. (2017).
Pawling, R., Cannon, P. R., McGlone, F. P., Walker, S. C. C-tactile afferent stimulating touch carries a positive affective value. PloS One. 12, (3), 0173457 (2017).
Scheele, D., et al. An oxytocin-induced facilitation of neural and emotional responses to social touch correlates inversely with autism traits. Neuropsychopharmacology. 39, (9), 2078-2085 (2014).
Ackerley, R., Saar, K., McGlone, F., Backlund Wasling, H. Quantifying the sensory and emotional perception of touch: differences between glabrous and hairy skin. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. 8, (34), (2014).
Loken, L. S., Evert, M., Wessberg, J. Pleasantness of touch in human glabrous and hairy skin: order effects on affective ratings. Brain Research. 1417, 9-15 (2011).


text:
Adele At The Greek
"21" is "Hotel California", it's "Rumours", it's "Jagged Little Pill", we're still at the beginning, most people still don't know who Adele is, this album's gonna sell and sell and sell. Because of its quality, because of its authenticity, because of its humanity.
This was the hottest ticket of the summer. Sold paperless, it was like squeezing Shaquille O'Neal into a Smart car, demand far outstripped supply, the vibe was palpable, this was an event.
But it was unlike that which is publicized, that which is pre-sold, with a trailer revealing all the best moments. This concert existed outside the mainstream, you had to be there, which is what made it so special. It wasn't about the dancing, wasn't about the production, it was about the music. And in the Top Forty/mainstream world it hasn't been about the music in a very long time.
It's been about brands, about beats, about artifice, about money more than art. And the public knows this, which is why the mainstream has become a backwater, which is why as big as you think Adele is many people have still not heard "21". Many believe the days of music touching souls is done, but when they hear "Turning Tables" they're reminded of an era when music was the most powerful art form, when a record rode shotgun, accompanied you through life, was a companion making every day just a little bit easier.
For far too long, music has been a communal experience. To be listened to in da club, with your buddies, an ingredient but not the main course. But "21" is positively personal, all you need is it and you. That's enough. And to hear an album like this live is to have a peak experience. Like a phone call from your best camp friend, like a clean full body scan after you've recovered from cancer, it's thrilling, makes your heart palpitate, makes you feel so lucky to be alive.
This is not "American Idol", it's not "X Factor", it's certainly not "The Voice". The contestants on those shows are two-dimensional, whereas Adele is fully-rounded, she can step off the screen and be your best friend. That's what all the women said after the show, they wanted to hang with her. Because Adele evidenced what all of today's stars do not, a personality. She laughed, she swore, she engaged, it was like the most popular girl from school stopped by to sing a few songs, and she was only interested in you. Strip the show of its music, just leave the patter, and it was still a 10. How was she so relaxed, how was she so honest?
First of all she's young. That's what struck me. She was a twentysomething with an unlined face. And she's no longer fat. But she does not look like anyone else. Somehow the Brits have got this down. It's like Adele's fashion sense got stuck in the sixties. It's not about appearing hip, but elegant. Like you're going to a cocktail party as opposed to the mall. The look creates its own context, evidences respect, for the music, the audience and the art form.
She sang everything you wanted to hear. "Turning Tables" was the peak. But the surprise was "If It Hadn't Been For Love", the cover that is tacked on to "21" as a bonus track. The genre-hopping was mindbending. Today everybody just does one thing. The demonstration of range was staggering. "Rumour Has It" was infectious. "Set Fire To The Rain" was a conflagration. In an era where people cherry-pick the hits, everybody knew the album cuts, like multiplication tables, they sang along without thinking.
And if you think I'm not conveying exactly what it was like to be there, you're right. That's the essence of a great show, you can't really describe it, you had to be there.
It'll be eons before you can see Adele in such an intimate venue again. We knew it was something special. We knew we were witnessing a rebirth of what once was. An era when music stood apart from the rest of media, but ruled all the other art forms like a baron.
P.S. She said that half her hair was a wig. When Kim Kardashian won't admit to plastic surgery, when Christina Aguilera gets boob implants, feeling inadequate despite the level of her stardom, the honesty was not only refreshing, it bonded you to her, especially in an era where everybody famous, from politicians to sports stars to entertainers, lies.
P.P.S. She told the story of her best friend. How she stalked her and at first Adele was reluctant to commit. Then they fell out. Then, years later Adele called her on New Year's Eve and they're best friends again. That's life, not Bentleys, private jets and vacations in exotic locations excluding the hoi polloi.
P.P.P.S. She kept having the house lights turned on. Asking the attendees if they'd ever paraglided, all kinds of crazy shit. Usually there's a wall between performer and audience. That was obliterated last night. I want to see her again just to ensure she doesn't do the same raps every night. It seemed so off the cuff, just for the moment.
P.P.P.P.S. Before performing a cover of "Lovesong", she went on to say what a Cure fanatic her mother was, taking her to a gig when she was barely out of diapers. Maybe it's not about getting your kid into the right school, but making sure they have the right experiences.
P.P.P.P.P.S. Yes, most of "21" was about her ex. And everybody knows this. She referenced him again and again. And at one point, the audience groaned and expressed sympathy and after saying she was over it, she was okay, Adele said: "I'M PLAYING THE GREEK THEATRE, WHERE THE FUCK IS HE?" How can you not love someone like this. Who pushes aside the prescription of saying nothing negative and expressing no ambition. This is how we all feel after escaping from the losing side of love. We're still wounded, but we soldiered on, we made it, WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO THEM?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Celebrate 10 episodes with creative correspondents Sharíck LaMay and j.Pin who discuss milestones including their thoughts on creatives coming of age and turning 30! The duo catches up with Jerris Madison, style influencer and editor in chief of Obvious Mag, who is also celebrating the 10 years anniversary at OBVIOUS Mag. Jerris sheds some light on the why and how he created his platform, how he was able to generate exposure and create a cause for himself and fellow amputees, and the keys to him having a thriving and successful magazine for 10 years and counting!
LaMay Day Limelight Ep. 9 with Trae Tha Truth	Celebrating 10 Episodes of LaMay Day Limelight!!!


text:
Q: How do I center an element within a div with another element nearby? I need to center an element within a div while there is another element nearby.  When I use text-align center, it places the element close but it's not going exactly where I'd like due to another element nearby.  I want the logo element to center exactly while the social element floats to the right.

#header {
  width: 100%;
  height: auto;
  text-align: center;
  background-color: #ffffff;
}
#logo {
  width: 30%;
  margin: 10px auto;
  display: inline-block;
  text-align: center;
}
#logo img {
  width: 100%;
  height: auto;
  margin: auto;
}
#social {
  width: 15%;
  display: inline;
  float: right;
}
#social img {
  width: 25%;
  display: inline-block;
}

A: See this fiddle
To make the logo div centralize irrespective of the div taht holds the social link, you'll have to make the logo div absolute positioned.
Now, to make the absolute positioned logo div centered, you'll have to add left:0;right:0 to the CSS.
The revised CSS is as follows
CSS
#logo {
    width: 30%;
    margin: 10px auto;
    position: absolute;
    left: 0;
    right: 0;
}

A: Try add this:
 #logo {
   position: absolute;
   left: 0;
   right: 0;
   margin-left: auto;
   margin-right: auto;

}
alternatively if #logo would have width: 100px; then position: absolute; left: 50%; margin-left: -50px;

A: Add center tag and remove float:right from social

    #header {
      width: 100%;
      height: auto;
      text-align: center;
      background-color: #ffffff;
    }
    #logo {
      width: 30%;
      margin: 10px auto;
      display: inline-block;
      text-align: center;
    }
    #logo img {
      width: 100%;
      height: auto;
      margin: auto;
    }
    #social {
      width: 15%;
      display: inline;
    }
    #social img {
      width: 25%;
      display: inline-block;
    }

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The term "St Ives Bay Holiday Park" or "us" or "we" refers to the owner of the website whose registered office is Upton Towans, Hayle, Cornwall, TR27 5BH. The term "you" refers to the user or viewer of our website.
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– Our use of this website and any dispute arising out of such use of the website is subject to the laws of England, Scotland and Wales.


So today I actually removed the top hexagonal part of the chamber from the bottom cylenrical part, and guess what I found.
We can place the lid on the cylinder and it might just work.
Looked at the pictures of the actual chamber, never mind the last post.


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Elk Management
CSPSI
Sochan Gathering
Human-Wildlife Conflicts
Protecting Tribal Natural Resources
Regulatory compliance staff are directly responsible for protecting Cherokee's water, air, soil, plants and animals. They work with landholders, business owners, and tribal departments to ensure that development in Cherokee doesn't harm the environment or increase the risk of natural disasters.
What does this process look like? If you need to shore up a riverbank, regulatory compliance will make sure your work doesn't raise water levels and lead to more floods. If you own an old gas station, regulatory compliance will help you find and address any soil contamination from leaking tanks. If someone is building a house above your favorite fishing spot, regulatory compliance will work with developers to keep construction dirt from washing and clogging the stream.
Our staff's job is to know the ins and outs of the various rules that protect Cherokee's natural resources – which range from federal regulations to tribal statutes. Staff are available to help developers, homeowners, and project managers do their work in a way that's environmentally sound. Contact EBCI Natural Resources early in a project so they can let you know what environmental regulations you do and don't need to address.
Below are some of the resources our staff work with, and the tools they use to protect them.
REGULATORY COMPLIANCE FOCAL AREAS
Cherokee's streams and rivers are famous for their beautiful, clean water. To keep them that way, we work with landholders and builders to stop pollution from washing into them – whether that pollution comes in the form of chemicals, fertilizer, or our biggest contaminant of all: sediment.
A few of the tools we use to protect clean water include:
Water Quality Standards. These new standards, approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2019, ensure the treatment of EBCI like a state under federal law, and allow us to enforce our standards for clean water whether pollution derives from sources on or off tribal land. Our staff monitors water quality in order to identify issues and address them as efficiently as possible. Contact: Michael Bolt, Water Quality Section Supervisor.
Section 404 Permitting. Clean Water Act Section 404 addresses the discharge of dredged or fill material into US waters, including those on tribal land. If a project involves dredging or filling and has the potential to impact tribal waters, it might require a Section 404 permit. Contact: Gary Sneed, Regulatory Specialist.
Section 401 Certification. This links up the two items above – making sure that all federal permits meet tribal water quality standards. A proposed federal permit needs to go through Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification before it can be approved. Contact: Michael Bolt, Water Quality Section Supervisor.
Section 402 Permitting. Some larger scale developments that could negatively impact water quality, such as an aquaculture facility or a waste-water treatment plant, require a federal National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit under the Section 402 of the Clean Water Act. Our office works with project managers and the EPA to ensure these projects are planned and permitted efficiently to meet the both development and water protection needs. Contact: Michael Bolt, Water Quality Section Supervisor.
Erosion Control and Stormwater Pollution
In steep mountains like ours, erosion can be a major problem. Exposed soil can wash away quickly, destabilizing slopes and muddying streams. Controlling erosion during construction and other projects is key for protecting both the water and the land.
Erosion Control Best Management Practices Plan. All ground disturbing activities require precautions to ensure runoff does not inadvertently pollute EBCI waters. If less than 1 acre of ground will be disturbed, building permit applicants are required to consult with EBCI Natural Resources and submit a simple form outlining basic erosion control measures. Although required by Tribal Code (113-D), this is an informal process and does not required engineered drawings or a comprehensive Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan. Contact: Derek Tahquette, Regulatory Compliance Specialist.
Construction General Permit & Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan. Any activity disturbing more than 1 acre of ground area requires a Notice of Intent for coverage under the NPDES construction general permit and a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) to address erosion during project development and long-term stormwater planning needs. This plan must be completed at least 30 days before breaking ground and go through Section 401 Certification (see above). An EBCI Erosion and Sedimentation Control permit must be issued by our office prior to construction once these steps have been completed (113-D). Contact: Derek Tahquette, Regulatory Compliance Specialist.
In steep terrain like ours in Cherokee, most development is concentrated around rivers. This comes with two risks: first, that floods could endanger human lives and structures, and second, that development could make floods worse by restricting the land's ability to soak up and slow down excess rainwater.
Floods are a normal part of natural cycles, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) keeps maps of areas expected to flood at – on average – 100-year intervals. Regulatory requirements found in EBCI Code Chapter 143 vary based on your location in the flood hazard map:
Floodplain. If a structure is within the area expected to flood, on average, once every 100 years, it is in the "100-year floodplain." These structures must be elevated and floodproofed. A "structure" is defined as anything with three walls and a roof. Contact: Gary Sneed, Regulatory Specialist.
Floodway/Non-Encroachment. This is the area of the channel needed to discharge to the base-flood elevation and not cause a rise in water of more than a foot. It needs to remain free of obstruction in order to not make flooding worse. Any construction within the floodway must get a "No-Rise," demonstrating that it won't cause a rise in floodwaters at any point in the stream or river. Contact: Gary Sneed, Regulatory Specialist.
If construction in the floodway will cause a rise in flood levels and the developer wants to go ahead anyway, it needs to go through a CLOMR/LOMR process ("Conditional Letter of Map Revision"/"Letter of Map Revision"). This is a process to change the actual FEMA floodplain maps and requires going through a public comment period. Contact: Gary Sneed, Regulatory Specialist.
Erosion Control and Site Development Permitting
Per EBCI code any land-disturbing activity uncovering one acre or more requires an erosion and sedimentation control plan approved by the Tribe. A completed SWPPP as required under the NPDES CGP meets required erosion planning needs. The plan shall be filed with the Natural Resources program at least 30 calendar days prior to the commencement of the proposed ground disturbing activity. The approval of an erosion control plan is conditioned on the applicant's compliance with federal and Tribal water quality laws, regulations, and rules. If the submitted plan is approved a permit to conduct land-disturbing activities shall be issued in the name of the applicant. In cases where less than one acre will be disturbed, applicants for building permits on any construction are required to complete an erosion control form issued by the Natural Resources program to ensure the implementation of basic erosion control measures. Natural Resources staff perform erosion control inspections and ensure proper planning measures are maintained to protect EBCI water quality.
Statutes/Regulations: EBCI Tribal Code – Chapter 113-D – Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control
Primary Contact: Derek Tahquette, Regulatory Compliance Specialist
Timber permitting on tribal land is administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). If your project involves cutting trees, our staff can direct you to the BIA office. The BIA should then contact us when they are ready to determine whether timber cutting will affect any endangered species (see below). Contact: David Lambert, Forester (Bureau of Indian Affairs).
There are a number of species that are listed as threatened and endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act with the potential to occur on tribal land. These species include plants and animals with populations so small that they're hanging on the edge of extinction. Some like the Carolina northern flying squirrel and Northern long-eared bat are known to occur on Tribal land. Other protected species, like Indiana bats, are mere possibilities based on historic or nearby records. Either way, these species are vulnerable to human development and require our close watch.
EBCI staff perform species and habitat assessments, biological evaluations, and consultation activities with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service to ensure Tribal projects are planned and implemented as efficiently and safely as possible. Endangered Species Act (ESA) assessment letters from the Natural Resources program are also required by the BIA to complete timber permitting and NEPA compliance. Contact: Caleb Hickman, Supervisory Fisheries and Wildlife Biologist.
Our staff works to protect people from health risks associated with building and development. These include:
Hazardous Building Materials. Asbestos and lead paint are two materials that can cause serious health problems, and both were widely used in construction through the 1970s. Dust from demolition or construction on buildings that contain these materials can be very risky to breathe. If you are planning to demolish a building as part of your project, contact our staff to determine whether it may contain hazardous building materials and if an assessment and disposal plan is required. Contact: Derek Tahquette, Regulatory Compliance Specialist.
Underground and Aboveground Storage Tanks. Underground and aboveground storage tanks used for heating oil, gasoline, and other hazardous substances may leak into the surrounding environment, resulting in hazards to humans as well as the environment. Our staff monitors known tanks and leaks to ensure that they don't pose a risk, as well as working to clean up sites where tanks have leaked. Contact: Derek Tahquette, Regulatory Compliance Specialist.
The Clean Air Act (CAA) provides the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with broad authority to protect air resources throughout the nation, including air resources in Indian Country. Some industrial development projects have the potential to increase air pollutant levels to a degree that may have a significant impact on the environment and human health. Today, the EPA maintains the regulatory authority over such projects and issues required special permits. Our Air Quality Office is available to assist with permit applications and coordination with EPA. Contact: Katie Tiger, Air Quality Section Supervisor.
Federal Agencies & NEPA
Many projects on tribal land involve funding, permitting, or authorization from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) or other federal agencies. In most cases, this triggers NEPA – the National Environmental Policy Act – which is a special set of requirements placed on federal agencies like the BIA to evaluate the environmental impacts of their planned work. NEPA review operates at three levels:
Categorical Exclusion (CATEX). Projects that will have a minimal environmental impact and meet certain categories of action require the completion of a checklist to ensure natural resources are protected.
Environmental Assessment (EA). Documents the impact of an action and its alternatives on the "human environment." After a public comment period, if the EA finds no significant impact, the NEPA review is complete.
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). If the EA does find an action will have a significant environmental impact, a much more detailed EIS must be prepared.
While this is a federal review process, it's important to have tribal oversight and ensure that tribal natural and cultural resource concerns are addressed in NEPA documents. Our staff will help you through the steps of NEPA compliance and review all documents before they are submitted to the required federal agency. Contact: Gary Sneed, Regulatory Specialist.
Tribal Property Transactions
Our staff assess both commercial and residential sites for their suitability for purchase and subsequent development. Upon request from the EBCI Department of Justice (DOJ), Natural Resources staff performs environmental reviews to assess current natural resource conditions and regulatory limitations to subsequent development. A final report is submitted to the EBCI DOJ and accompanies purchase documentation to be reviewed by Tribal Council. Reviews are also conducted at the request of BIA Realty department as required by certain financial transactions. Contact: Gary Sneed, Regulatory Specialist.
TOOLS FOR PROJECT MANAGERS
Projects that involve ground disturbance, tree cutting, construction, re-modelling, and demolition must follow approval processes set forth in federal and tribal regulations. Formal EBCI NRD environmental reviews are conducted for projects as approved through EBCI commercial development regulations (Cherokee Code Chapter 47) and the EBCI house-site inspection form ("long-form") process for single house construction. Additional projects falling outside of these categories are reviewed as information is submitted on a case-by-case basis, including but not limited to EBCI infrastructure projects. Our staff is available for consultation at the earliest stages of project development to ensure planning and implementation occurs as efficiently as possible. Also, additional coordination is required with our office if plans change to ensure delays are avoided.
EBCI Natural Resources requests the following information from project managers to initiate reviews and ensure they are completed in a timely manner:
Estimated construction timeline
Parcel map
Aerial or topographic map delineating project footprint
Building plans and engineered design documents
Staff will review project scoping documents and determine environmental regulatory requirements. An environmental compliance comment letter will then be provided to the project manager identifying any missing planning elements and outlining permitting and compliance needs.
Contact Regulatory Compliance Staff
For a complete staff directory click here.
Acres We Regulate
Endangered Species Monitored
Miles of Streams Regulated
info@naturalresources.com
Contact Main Office
©EBCI OFFICE OF NATURAL RESOURCES. BRANDING AND WEB DESIGN BY INSIGHT MARKETING


text:
Mastercard Provides Free Cybersecurity Tools for Small Businesses in Canada
May 11, 2020 | Toronto
Free cybersecurity assessments from RiskRecon, a Mastercard company, will help small businesses protect their environments during the COVID-19 crisis.
As small businesses across Canada cope with ongoing social distancing requirements, many are quickly moving their activities online and facing greater exposure to cyber threats. To help small businesses protect their operations, Mastercard today announced that RiskRecon, a Mastercard company, is providing Canadian small businesses free cybersecurity assessments through December 31, 2020.
The RiskRecon cyberhealth assessment helps businesses identify and address potential vulnerabilities in their systems. By monitoring and catching vulnerabilities early, it enables small businesses to stay ahead of cyber criminals so they can focus on growing their business, instead of fighting costly cyber-attacks.
"Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy and now, more than ever, it's vital that they be protected," said Sue Hutchison, senior vice president of Product, Digital and New Payments for Mastercard in Canada. "Mastercard has a proud history of supporting small businesses in Canada and we're building on that by providing free access to the resources small businesses need to safeguard their systems now, and for the future."
With free access to RiskRecon's 'My Cyber Risk' service and portal, small businesses will receive continuous cyberhealth assessments along with actionable recommendations for how to strengthen their cybersecurity posture. Using passive techniques, RiskRecon helps enterprise organizations better understand and act on their enterprise cybersecurity health by continuously discovering their digital footprint and non-invasively assessing their security risk posture across 40 security criteria spanning thousands of security checks.
Small businesses with up to 100 employees can register for this free offering at https://www.riskrecon.com/offer-canada. This program is offered at no cost, and no obligation through December 31, 2020.
This announcement follows similar initiatives by Mastercard to support Canadian organizations, consumers and small businesses. Most recently, the company announced that healthcare organizations in Canada and worldwide will receive free RiskRecon cybersecurity assessments through December 31, 2020. Last month, Mastercard enabled higher contactless limits across Canada as part of its global effort to ensure consumers, merchants and small businesses have the resources to safely pay, receive payment, and maintain operations during the COVID-19 crisis.
Sandra Benjamin, Mastercard
416 365 5567 | Sandra.Benjamin@mastercard.com
About Risk Recon
RiskRecon, a Mastercard company, is the only continuous vendor monitoring solution that delivers risk-prioritized action plans custom-tuned to match your risk priorities. RiskRecon provides the world's easiest path to understanding and acting on own enterprise and third-party cyber risk, enabling organizations to efficiently operate scalable, third-party risk management programs for dramatically better risk outcomes. Learn more about RiskRecon, request a demo or visit the website at www.riskrecon.com.
About Mastercard (NYSE: MA)
Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses realize their greatest potential. Our decency quotient, or DQ, drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside of our company. With connections across more than 210 countries and territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks priceless possibilities for all.
www.mastercard.com


May 31 (Renewables Now) - A coalition of ethanol groups has filed suit against the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over granting "secretive" waivers from the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to profitable refining companies.
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) and National Farmers Union (NFU), with support of Farmers Union Enterprises, lodged the suit on Tuesday in the US Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. The organisations are challenging three waivers provided to the refinery in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, owned by a subsidiary of CVR Energy Inc (NYSE:CVI), and the refineries in Cheyenne, Wyoming and Woods Cross, Utah, which are owned by Holly Frontier Corp (NYSE:HFC). They say these waivers represent abuses of EPA's authority to exempt certain small refineries.
"EPA left us with no choice but to challenge their systematic cuts to ethanol blending in the U.S. by distorting the intent of the law to grant secret hardship waivers to refineries which in some cases exceed the definition of 'small' and fall short of demonstrating 'disproportionate economic hardship,'"said Brian Jennings, chief executive of ACE.
The groups say that while until late last year, EPA granted a handful of exemptions per year, it has provided over two dozen exemptions in recent months.
The Advanced Biofuels Association (ABFA) filed lawsuit against EPA over small refinery exemptions in early May.


text:
Q: Disappearing scrollbars in Monotouch UIScrollView I have a UIScrollview, defined in a XIB, and i change its contents like this :
foreach(var subview in scrollViewer.Subviews)
{
    subview.RemoveFromSuperview();
}

scrollViewer.AddSubview(newView);

scrollViewer.ContentSize = new System.Drawing.SizeF(newView.Frame.Width, newView.Frame.Height);

After i call this code, the scrollviewer's contents are replaced, and i can scroll without a problem (the actual scrolling works just fine), but the scroll bars are gone.
How can i do this, but keep the scrollbars?

A: The first subview of a scrollview is an UIImageView that is the scroller at the bottom. To avoid removing that you would skip the first item:
foreach(var subview in scrollViewer.Subviews.Skip(1))
{
    subview.RemoveFromSuperview();
}

scrollViewer.AddSubview(newView);

scrollViewer.ContentSize = new System.Drawing.SizeF(newView.Frame.Width, newView.Frame.Height);