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Biodegradation of Chloroacetamide Herbicides by Paracoccus sp
Mar 21, 2011 - Phone: +86-25-84396685. ... A butachlor-degrading strain, designated FLY-8, was isolated from rice field soil and was identified as Par...
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Biodegradation of Chloroacetamide Herbicides by - American
Determination of Chloroacetanilide and Chloroacetamide Herbicides
Rain events, common at this time of the ... concentrations 2-4 times higher than for metolachlor ESA (9). ..... Function 2: Start time: 7.0 min, End time: 11.0 min.
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Biodegradation of Butachlor by Rhodococcus sp. Strain B1 and
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Biodegradation of Chloroacetamide Herbicides by Paracoccus sp. FLY-8 in Vitro Jun Zhang,||,* Jin-Wei Zheng,||,* Bin Liang, Cheng-Hong Wang, Shu Cai, Ying-Ying Ni, Jian He,* and Shun-Peng Li Key Laboratory of Microbiological Engineering of Agricultural Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, Life Sciences College of Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, People's Republic of China ABSTRACT: A butachlor-degrading strain, designated FLY-8, was isolated from rice field soil and was identified as Paracoccus sp. Strain FLY-8 could degrade and utilize six chloroacetamide herbicides as carbon sources for growth, and the degradation rates followed the order alachlor > acetochlor > propisochlor > butachlor > pretilachlor > metolachlor. The influence of molecular structure of the chloroacetamide herbicides on the microbial degradation rate was first analyzed; the results indicated that the substitutions of alkoxymethyl side chain with alkoxyethyl side chain greatly reduced the degradation efficiencies; the length of amide nitrogen's alkoxymethyl significantly affected the biodegradability of these herbicides: the longer the alkyl was, the slower the degradation efficiencies occurred. The phenyl alkyl substituents have no obvious influence on the degradation efficiency. The pathway of butachlor complete mineralization was elucidated on the basis of the results of metabolite identification and enzyme assays. Butachlor was degraded to alachlor by partial C-dealkylation and then converted to 2-chloro-N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl) acetamide by N-dealkylation, which subsequently transformed to 2,6-diethylaniline, which was further degraded via the metabolites aniline and catechol, and catechol was oxidized through an ortho-cleavage pathway. This study highlights an important potential use of strain FLY-8 for the in situ bioremediation of chloroacetamide herbicides and their metabolitecontaminated environment. KEYWORDS: chloroacetamide herbicide, biodegradation, Paracoccus sp. FLY-8, molecular structure, degradation pathway
' INTRODUCTION Chloroacetamide herbicides are among the most important class of preemergence herbicides used in corn, cotton, soybean, and many other crops for control of annual grass and broadleaf weeds. The most commonly used chloroacetamide herbicides in the world are acetochlor [2-chloro-N-(ethoxymethyl)-N-(2-ethyl-6methyl-phenyl)-acetamide], butachlor [N-(butoxymethyl)-2-chloroN-(2,6-diethylphenyl)acetamide], metolachlor [2-chloro-N-(2-ethyl6-methylphenyl)-N-(2-methoxy-1-methylethyl)acetamide], alachlor [N-(methoxymethyl)-2-chloro-N-(2,6-diethylphenyl)acetamide], and pretilachlor [2-chloro-N-(2,6-diethylphenyl)-N-(2-propoxyethyl)acetamide]. Chloroacetamide herbicides persist for a long time in soil, and the residues consistently injure subsequent rotation crops, especially in sandy soils with low organic matter.1 Because of the widespread use of these herbicides and their characteristics, residues of these herbicides and their degradation metabolites have been frequently detected in ground and surface waters.2,3 Several studies demonstrated that these herbicides are highly toxic to some aquatic organisms4 and are carcinogenic in rats: acetochlor and alachlor cause tumors in the nasal turbinates, butachlor causes stomach tumors, and metolachlor causes liver tumors.5 Thus, there is great concern about the behavior and fate of chloroacetamide herbicides and their degradation metabolites in the environment. In general, chloroacetamide herbicides in the environment are degraded by both abiotic and biotic pathways, including photooxidation, chemical hydrolysis, and biodegradation. Several studies have demonstrated that biodegradation is the most important factor in the fate of chloroacetamide herbicides in the environment, and the chemical hydrolysis and photo-oxidation of chloroacetamide r 2011 American Chemical Society
herbicides are of minor importance at typical pH values in soil and water.6 Many micro-organisms capable of degrading chloroacetamide herbicides have been isolated, and the metabolites have also been identified.712 Chakraborty and Bhattacharyya found degradation of butachlor by Fusarium solani resulted in the production of at least 3032 metabolites and the main degradative pathways involved dechlorination, hydroxylation, dehydrogenation, debutoxymethylation, C-dealkylation, N-dealkylation, O-dealkylation, and cyclization.8 However, reported microbial metabolism of chloroacetamide herbicides resulted in partial biodegradation and generally proceeded through cometabolism, leading to the accumulation of their metabolites, which contaminated the soil and surface and groundwaters. Chloroacetanilide herbicides share the same molecular core of 2-chloroacetanilide and differ only in the type and arrangement of substitutions in the amide nitrogen and phenyl ring. Up to now, the influence of the molecular structure of chloroacetanilide herbicides on their biodegradability has not been studied. The objective of this study was to screen isolates that were capable of completely mineralizing chloroacetamide herbicides and to elucidate the pathway of butachlor mineralization. Moreover, the influence of molecular structure of the chloroacetamide herbicides on their biodegradability was first analyzed. The pathway of butachlor mineralization was also elucidated in this paper.
Received: December 8, 2010 Revised: March 15, 2011 Accepted: March 21, 2011 Published: March 21, 2011 4614
dx.doi.org/10.1021/jf104695g | J. Agric. Food Chem. 2011, 59, 4614–4621
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
' MATERIALS AND METHODS Chemicals and Media. Alachlor (95.5%), acetochlor (95.5%), pretilachlor (96.5%), butachlor (96.5%), propisochlor (96.5%), and metolachlor (97.5%) were kindly provided by Binnong Technology Co., Ltd., Shandong Province, China. The standards of the six chloroacetamide herbicides were purchased from Shanghai Pesticide Research Institute. HPLC-grade methanol was purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO). All other chemicals and reagents were of analytical grade and available commercially. Stock solutions of different chloroacetamide herbicides (2%, w/v) were prepared with methanol each month, sterilized by membrane filtration (pore size = 0.22 μm), and stored in dark bottles at 20 °C prior to use. LuriaBertani (LB) medium contained (L1) 10.0 g of tryptone, 5.0 g of yeast extract, and 10.0 g of NaCl, pH 7.0. MSM consisted of the following components: 1.0 g of (NH4)2SO4, 1.0 g of NaCl, 1.5 g of K2HPO4, 0.5 g of KH2PO4, and 0.2 g of MgSO4 3 7H2O per liter of water, pH 7.0; for solid medium, 15.0 g/L agar was added. Medium was sterilized at 121 °C for 30 min. Isolation and Identification of Chloroacetamide Herbicide-Degrading Bacteria. To isolate butachlor-degrading bacteria, a conventional enrichment culture was carried out according to the method of Wang et al.13 Soil samples used as initial inoculants for enrichment were collected from the surface layer (010 cm) of a rice field in Jiangsu Province, China, which had been sprayed with butachlor and acetochlor for more than 5 years. About 1.0 g of the soil sample was added to a 250 mL Erlenmeyer flask containing 50 mL of MSM with the addition of 100 mg/L butachlor as the carbon source and incubated at 30 °C on a rotary shaker at 150 rpm for about 5 days. Five milliliters of the enrichment culture was transferred into another 50 mL fresh enrichment medium and incubated for another 5 days. After five rounds of transfer, the enrichment culture was diluted and spread on LB agar plates. Colonies that grew on the plates were picked up, purified by repeated streaking, and tested for the ability to degrade chloroacetamide herbicides (see below). The isolates were characterized and identified by morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics as well as 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis according to the method described by Guo et al.14 Growth and Degradation Experiments. The isolates were pregrown in LB (30 °C, 150 rpm) for 12 h. Cells were harvested by centrifugation (2084g, 15 min) and washed twice with fresh MSM. After the cell density had been adjusted to about 1.0  108 cfu/mL, an inoculum (1%, v/v) was inoculated into 100 mL of MSM with the addition of 100 mg/L different chloroacetamide herbicides as the carbon source in a 250 mL Erlenmeyer flask. All cultures were incubated aerobically at 30 °C and 150 rpm on a rotary shaker. At 24 h intervals, 5 mL samples were taken from the cultures, bacterial growth was monitored by measuring the colony forming units (cfu/mL), and degradation of different chloroacetamide herbicides was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC ) as described below. Each treatment was performed in three replicates; control experiments without inoculation and/or without substrate were carried out under the same conditions. Aromatic Substrate Range. To study the ability to degrade and utilize some aromatic substrates for growth, the MSM was supplemented with different aromatic substrates (toluene, aniline, salicylic acid, protocatechuate, chlorobenzene, catechol, m-hydroquinone, nitrobenzene, p-hydroquinone, 2,6-diethylaniline, 2,6-xylidine, 3,5-xylidine, and gentisic acid; final concentrations, 50100 mg/L) as carbon source. The degradation of different aromatic substrates in the cultures was qualitatively determined by UV scan (the wavelength range from 200 to 400 nm), and bacterial growth was monitored by measuring the optical density of the culture at 610 nm. Chemical Analysis. The culture samples were centrifuged at 12000g for 10 min, and the supernatant was partitioned with an equal volume of
hexane/ethyl acetate (1:1, 5 mL) after saturation with sodium chloride. The organic phase was passed through anhydrous sodium sulfate and evaporated to dryness using a stream of nitrogen at room temperature and redissolved in methanol. Samples in methanol were then filtered through a 0.22 μm Millipore membrane filiter. The chloroacetamide herbicides were analyzed by HPLC. The separation column (i.d., 4.6 mm; length, 25 cm) was filled with Kromasil 100-5C18. The mobile phase was methanol/ water (75:25, v/v), and the flow rate was 1.0 mL/min. The injection volume was 20 μL, and the column elution was monitored by measuring at 230 nm with a UV-900 wavelength absorbance detector. The concentrations of chloroacetamide herbicides were calculated on the basis of a peak area from calibration curve. To determine the metabolites produced during butachlor degradation, gas chromatographymass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses were performed in electron ionization (EI) mode (70 eV) with a Finnigan gas chromatograph equipped with an MS detector. Gas chromatography was conducted using a RTX-5MS column (15 m  0.25 mm  0.25 μm, Restek Corp.). The column temperature was programmed from 50 °C (1.5 min hold) to 220 °C at 20 °C/min and held for 1 min and finally increased to 260 °C at 50 °C/min and held at 260 °C for 10 min; helium was used as the carrier gas at a constant flow of 1.0 mL/min. The samples were analyzed in split mode (1:20) at an injection temperature of 220 °C and an EI source temperature of 250 °C and scanned in the mass range from m/z 30 to 650. Assays of Enzymatic Activities. The isolate was grown at 30 °C in MSM with 100 mg/L butachlor, 2,6-diethylaniline, or glucose as carbon source; the cells were harvested at maximum growth by centrifugation at 5000g, washed twice with 20 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.0), resuspended in the same buffer, and then adjusted to a cell density (optical density at 600 nm) of 5.0 (resting cells). For cell wet weight determination, the cell suspension was centrifuged, and the pellet was used to determine the cell wet weight by balance. Aniline-dependent oxygen uptake rate was measured in the buffer (3.0 mL) containing 0.6 mL of the resting cells at 30 °C after an endogenous rate was estimated. The activities of aniline dioxygenase were assayed with an oxygen electrode (YSI) according to the method of Liu et al.15 One unit of aniline dioxygenase was defined as the amount of cells consuming 1 μmol of oxygen per minute. To prepare the cell-free extract, the suspended cells were sonicated (Auto Science, UH-650B ultrasonic processor, 30% intensity) for 5 min and centrifuged at 12000g for 20 min at 4 °C. The clear supernatant was used as crude cell extract. Protein concentration was quantified according to the method of Bradford et al.16 The activities of catechol 1,2-dioxygenase and catechol 2,3-dioxygenase were assayed according to the method of Liu et al.15 One unit of catechol oxygenase was defined as the amount of protein needed for oxidation of 1 μmol of catechol per minute.
' RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Strain Isolation and Identification. After five rounds of transfers, the enrichment culture could degrade about 85% of 50 mg/L butachlor within 5 days. A total of 11 pure cultures were obtained from the enrichment samples. The 11 strains were inoculated individually into LB and MSM media with the addition of 100 mg/L butachlor. The results indicated that 2 of the 11 strains could not degrade butachlor in either LB or MSM medium; 7 of the 11 strains could grow and degrade butachlor only in LB medium. Only 2 strains were able to grow in both conditions and degrade butachlor. One strain, designated FLY-8, was selected for further study due to its broad-spectrum substrate specificity. This strain was able to degrade about 2595% of the initially added 100 mg/L alachlor, acetochlor, 4615
dx.doi.org/10.1021/jf104695g |J. Agric. Food Chem. 2011, 59, 4614–4621
Figure 1. Phylogenetic tree based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences of strain FLY-8 and related species. The GenBank accession number for each microorganism used in the analysis is shown after the species name. The scale bar indicates 0.005 substitutions per nucleotide position. Bootstrap values obtained with 1000 resamplings are indicated as percentages at all branches.
pretilachlor, butachlor, metolachlor, and propisochlor in MSM medium within 5 days of incubation and utilized these herbicides as carbon sources for growth. Strain FLY-8 was a non-spore-forming, Gram-negative, nonmotile, and rod-shaped bacterium. Colonies grown on LB agar were circular, convex, and pale yellow. Growth was observed over a temperature range of 1535 °C (optimum 2530 °C), a salinity range of 02% NaCl (optimum 0.5% NaCl), and a pH range of 6.08.0 (optimum 7.0). Biochemically, it showed positive results for oxidase, catalase, and nitrate reduction and a negative results for urease. The DNA GþC content is 69.5 mol %. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rDNA gene sequences revealed that strain FLY8 grouped among Paracoccus species and formed a subclade with Paracoccus kocurii JCM 7684T (similarity = 99.4%) with a high bootstrap value of 100% (Figure 1). Thus, on the basis of the results of phenotypic, genotypic, and phylogenetic properties, strain FLY-8 was identified as a Paracoccus sp. The 16S rRNA gene sequence (1375 bp) of the isolate was deposited in GenBank with the accession no. HM 852950. Degradation and Utilization of Different Chloroacetamide Herbicides by Strain FLY-8. The growth of strain FLY-8 on MSM supplemented with different chloroacetamide herbicides and its ability to degrade these herbicides are shown in Tables 1 and 2. When the initial concentration of different chloroacetamide herbicides was 100 mg/L, 98.7% alachlor, 88.2% acetochlor, 78.3% propisochlor, 65.2% butachlor, 35.9% pretilachlor, and 24.1% metolachlor were degraded by strain FLY-8, respectively, after 5 days of incubation at 30 °C (Table 1); correspondingly, the cell densities were increased from about 1.4  106 to 1.4  107, 1.2  107, 1.1  107, 9.5  106, 5.1  106, and 3.9  106 cfu/mL, respectively (Table 2). No significant change in chloroacetamide herbicide concentration was observed in cultures that were not
inoculated with strain FLY-8, and no growth was observed for strain FLY-8 when it was inoculated into the culture without the addition of chloroacetamide herbicides. Thus, we concluded that strain FLY-8 was able to degrade the six chloroacetamide herbicides used in this study and utilized these herbicides as carbon sources for growth; the degradation rates followed the order alachlor > acetochlor > propisochlor > butachlor > pretilachlor > metolachlor. The six chloroacetamide herbicides could be classified into two groups by the type and size of the amide nitrogen's alkoxyalkyl substituent. Group A herbicides, including alachlor, acetochlor, propisochlor, and butachlor, have an alkoxymethyl side chain on the amide nitrogen; and group B herbicides, including pretilachlor and metolachlor, have an alkoxyethyl side chain on the amide nitrogen. Our studies showed that the herbicides in group B were degraded significantly more slowly than those in group A, suggesting that the substitution of an alkoxymethyl side chain with an alkoxyethyl side chain greatly reduced the degradation efficiencies. Comparison of the degradation rates within group A suggested a possible negative correlation between the length of amide nitrogen's alkoxymethyl and the biodegradability of these herbicides. Alachlor, acetochlor, propisochlor, and butachlor have methoxymethyl, ethoxymethyl, isopropoxymethyl, and butoxymethyl, respectively, and the degradation rates followed the order alachlor > acetochlor > propisochlor > butachlor; the longer the alkyl on the amide nitrogen was, the slower were the degradation efficiencies. The explanation may lie in that the increase in length of the alkoxymethyl substituents on the amide nitrogen would exert greater steric hindrance to the enzymesubstrate interaction. Friedman et al. found that the number and length of phenyl alkyl substituents significantly affected the biodegradability of 4616
Table 1. Residue Concentrations of Different Chloroacetamide Herbicides in MSM When Inoculated with Strain FLY-8 residue concna (mg/L) herbicide alachlor
0 days inoculated control
acetochlor
propisochlor
butachlor
pretilachlor
98.49 (4.12) a
100.84 (3.19)
inoculated
100.01 (3.16) a
85.29 (4.22) b
55.25 (4.53) e
100.84 (1.81) 91.99 (3.56) ab 101.17 (1.97)
94.89 (4.60) a 101.27 (2.90)
4 days 9.90 (4.22) e 97.60 (1.54)
5 days 1.32 (4.94) f 95.11 (3.54)
66.93 (3.96) d
79.42 (4.82) c
93.65 (4.31) ab
83.41 (4.72) bc
inoculated control
101.77 (0.57) a 100.64 (3.13)
100.41 (3.49) a 99.71 (4.76)
95.34 (3.54) a 98.94 (4.32)
The data presented are means of three replicates with standard deviation (in parentheses), which was within 5% of the mean. Different letters indicate significant differences (p < 0.05, LSD test), considering effects of chloroacetamide herbicide type and time.
Table 2. Growth of Strain FLY-8 in MSM Supplemented with Different Chloroacetamide Herbicides (Final Concentration = 100 mg/L) growtha (106 cfu/mL) herbicide
1.36 (0.17) a
1.99 (0.29) b
1.38 (0.33) c
butachlor pretilachlor
1.41 (0.17) a 1.57 (0.27) a
1.37 (0.38) c 1.25 (0.14) c
3.76 (0.45) b 2.60 (0.34) c
5.55 (0.55) c 3.40 (0.38) d
1.64 (0.25) d
3.71 (0.40) e
0.35 (0.09) f
The data presented are means of three replicates with standard deviation (in parentheses), which was within 5% of the mean. Different letters indicate significant differences (p < 0.05, LSD test), considering effects of chloroacetamide herbicide type and time. Control, without addition of herbicide.
chloroacetanilide herbicides by anodic Fenton treatment; for example, acetochlor and metolachlor (2-methyl, 6-ethylphenyl substituents)17 degraded more rapidly than alachlor and butachlor (2,6-diethylphenyl substituents). However, in our study, the phenylalkyl substituent seems to have no obvious influence on the degradation efficiency of chloroacetanilide herbicides by strain FLY-8. Aromatic Substrate Range. Strain FLY-8 degraded and utilized toluene, aniline, 2,6-diethylaniline, salicylic acid, protocatechuate, catechol, m-hydroquinone, p-hydroquinone, and 2,6xylidine as carbon source for growth. However, it did not degrade and grow on several other aromatic substrates, including 3,5xylidine, nitrobenzene, chlorobenzene, and gentisic acid (data not shown). Metabolites of Butachlor Degradation by Strain FLY-8. The degradation products of butachlor in the culture medium extracts were identified by GC-MS. The extracted base peak chromatograms of the sample of 5 days incubation are
shown in Figure 2(1). GC-MS analysis of the sample gave four peaks at retention times (RT) of 4.16, 5.27, 6.07, and 7.30 min representing metabolites D, C, B, and A, respectively [Figure 2(2)]. The four peaks subsequently disappeared after 7 days of incubation, indicating that these metabolites were finally degraded. Each of the four peaks was indentified according to its mass spectra and the NIST library identification program. Compound A had the same retention time as the butachlor standard (RT = 7.30 min). The mass spectral data also demonstrated that compound A was butachlor [Figure 2(3)]. Compound B with RT = 6.07 min showed a molecular ion at m/z 269 ([M]þ). On the basis of the molecular weight and the characteristic fragment ion peaks, compound B was identified as alachlor [2-chloro-N-(2, 6-dimethylphenyl)-N-(methoxymethyl)acetamide] [Figure 2(4)]. Compound C with RT = 5.27 min showed a molecular ion at m/z 225 [M]þ, which corresponds to the N-dealkylation of butachlor (or alachlor). Therefore, it was proposed to be 4617
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 2-chloro-N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)acetamide [Figure 2(5)]. Compound D with RT = 4.16 min showed a molecular ion at m/z 149 [M]þ, which corresponded to the loss of a chloroethanamide group from 2-chloro-N-(2,6-diethylphenyl)acetamide. It was identified as 2,6-diethylaniline [Figure 2(6)]. The results of degradation experiments and metabolite identification indicated that stain FLY-8 could utilize butachlor (and the other five chloroacetamide herbicides tested) as a carbon source for growth in MSM medium and completely mineralized butachlor. Thus, in light of its broad-spectrum substrate specificities and complete mineralization of chloroacetamide herbicides, strain FLY-8 has the potential to be applied to the removal
of chloroacetamide herbicides and their metabolite residues from the environment. Enzyme Activity in Cell or Cell-free Extract. The aniline dioxygenase, catechol 1,2-dioxygenase, and catechol 2,3-dioxygenase activities of the cellular lysates obtained from strain FLY-8 cells grown on butachlor, 2,6-diethylaniline, or glucose were determined (Table 3). The results showed that strain FLY-8 showed a high level of aniline dioxygenase and catechol 1,2-dioxygenase when the cells were grown on 100 mg/L butachlor or 2,6diethylaniline, as compared with control cells (grown on glucose). However, no catechol 2,3-dioxygenase was detected under the same culture conditions. These results suggest that aniline
Figure 2. Continued 4618
Figure 2. Gas chromatogram of the extract obtained from the culture at 0 days (1) and after 5 days of incubation (2); mass spectra for the peak with RT value of 7.3 min (3); mass spectra for the peak with RT value of 6.07 min (4); mass spectra for the peak with RT value of 5.27 min (5); mass spectra for the peak with RT value of 4.16 (6).
dioxygenase and catechol 1,2-dioxygenase are critical enzymes in the multistep biodegradation of butachlor by Paracoccus sp. FLY-8. On the basis of the results of metabolite identification and enzymatic studies, the plausible complete mineralization pathway of butachlor was proposed (Figure 3). In strain FLY-8, the first step of butachlor degradation was to generate alachlor by
partial C-dealkylation followed by conversion to 2-chloroN-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)acetamide by N-dealkylation. 2-ChloroN-(2,6-diethylphenyl)acetamide was subsequently transformed to 2,6-diethylaniline.The fact that the aniline dioxygenase and catechol 1, 2-dioxygenase were induced by butachlor and 2, 6-diethylaniline indicated that the 2,6-diethylaniline was further 4619
Table 3. Specific Activities of Enzymes in the Cell or Cell-free Extract of Strain FLY-8 Cultured in MSM with Different Carbon Sources growth substrate
aniline dioxygenase (U/mg wet cell)
catechol 1,2-dioxygenase (U/mg protein)
0.28 ( 0.05
2,6-diethylaniline glucose
0.42 ( 0.09 Wb
0.67 ( 0.09 W
, no activity was detected. b W, very weak activity.
Figure 3. Proposed metabolic pathways of butachlor by strain FLY-8: A, catalyzed by aniline dioxygenase; B, catalyzed by catechol 1,2-dioxygenase.
degraded via the metabolite aniline and catechol and that catechol was oxidized through an ortho-cleavage pathway.
' AUTHOR INFORMATION Corresponding Author
*E-mail: [email protected] Phone: þ86-25-84396685. Fax: þ86-25-84396314. )
Both authors contributed equally to this work.
This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (30970099) and Transformation Fund for Agricultural Science and Technology Achievements (2009GB23600 516).
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text:
Inside Rand Paul's downward spiral
By Alex Isenstadt
Updated: 07/28/2015 03:34 PM EDT
Rand Paul, once seen as a top-tier contender, finds his presidential hopes fading fast as he grapples with deep fundraising and organizational problems that have left his campaign badly hobbled.
Interviews with more than a dozen sources close to the Kentucky senator, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity, painted a picture of an underfunded and understaffed campaign beaten down by low morale.
They described an operation that pitted a cerebral chief strategist against an intense campaign manager who once got into a physical altercation with the candidate's bodyguard. And they portrayed an undisciplined politician who wasn't willing to do what it took to win — a man who obsessed over trivial matters like flight times, peppered aides with demands for more time off from campaigning and once chose to go on a spring-break jaunt rather than woo a powerful donor.
They sketched a portrait of a candidate who, as he fell further behind in polls, no longer seemed able to break through. Paul, lionized as "the most interesting man in politics" in a Time magazine cover story last year, was supposed to reinvent the Republican Party with his message of free-market libertarianism, his vision of a restrained foreign policy and his outreach to minorities.
Instead, he has been overshadowed by louder voices like Donald Trump's and better-funded figures like Jeb Bush. His theory of the 2016 primary — that Republican voters would reward a candidate who promised fresh ideas and an unconventional approach — has not been borne out in reality.
Obama on a third term: 'I think if I ran, I could win'
EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE
At Paul's campaign headquarters on Capitol Hill, morale has begun to sink. At least one key aide recently departed, and others have had conversations with rival campaigns.
"It's such a negative environment," said one Paul aide. "Everyone is on edge, and no one is having any fun. They need to recapture some of their positive mojo, and fast."
Easily the biggest problem confronting Paul is his fundraising — or lack thereof. Paul has taken in just $13 million, a fraction of what all of his major rivals for the Republican nomination have raised and far less than Paul hoped.
Those close to Paul say there's a simple reason for his lack of success: He's simply not willing to do the stroking and courting that powerful donors expect. He's downright allergic, they say, to the idea of forging relationships with the goal of pumping people for dough. And while he's had no shortage of opportunities to mix and mingle with some of the Republican Party's wealthiest figures, Paul has expressed frustration that donors want so much face time.
He's even turned away the Koch brothers. When the billionaire industrialists convene their network of conservative benefactors in Southern California this week, Republican candidates like Bush, Marco Rubio and Scott Walker will be in attendance. But Paul won't be. The senator, the Koch summit's baffled organizers said, turned down an invitation. Paul has said he will instead be campaigning in Iowa.
While rival presidential candidates cultivate "sugar daddy" contributors, Paul doesn't yet have one. Peter Thiel, the eccentric Northern California venture capitalist, had once been seen as the the kind of person who could give millions. But Thiel, who helped to fund Ron Paul's 2012 presidential campaign, is now unlikely to be a major contributor. The senator had once lavished attention on the billionaire — the two had a long lunch meeting at the 2012 Republican National Convention — but no longer does. Since Paul launched his presidential campaign in April, one source said, his personal contacts with Thiel have been few and far between.
At times, Paul has simply seemed uninterested in playing the donor game. Earlier this year, the senator had agreed to speak at the Dialog Retreat, a gathering hosted by Auren Hoffman, a prominent investor with deep ties in the well-heeled Silicon Valley world. But just before he was to appear at Hoffman's, Paul pulled out so that he could take his family on a spring-break excursion to Florida. Paul's aides were aghast, realizing they'd missed an opportunity to cultivate the very type of donors likely to be receptive to his small-government philosophy.
A Paul spokesman, Sergio Gor, declined to comment other than to say that "scheduling conflicts come up all the time." (Hoffman did not respond to requests for comment.)
Paul had once hoped to establish a national network of bundlers who would collect cash from an array of contributors and interest groups. But as he stalls in national polls, those expectations are being scaled back. Former Ambassador Cathy Bailey and South Carolina academic and businessman Mallory Factor were among those once seen as potential major sources of funding, campaign sources said, but have begun to drift away.
Poll: Trump has twice the support of Bush in New Hampshire
ELIZA COLLINS
In an interview over the weekend, Factor praised Paul, saying he'd make an "excellent president" and vowed to provide him with financial backing. But others were catching his eye. "I've spoken to other candidates," he said. (Bailey did not respond to a request for comment.)
Paul has had to confront another challenge: expanding and professionalizing the activist-driven operation his father Ron used to establish himself as a libertarian force. The senator had once hoped to develop an apparatus that would allow him to nationalize his political brand but instead finds himself with a skeletal operation that has suffered from disorganization and dysfunction.
The confusion starts at the top and dates back to the campaign's earliest days. One of the first major collisions took place late last year, after Paul tapped Chip Englander, who spearheaded Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner's 2014 run, to serve as his campaign manager. At the time, Englander told those around him that he expected to have a broad list of powers typically allotted to campaign managers, including oversight of budgetary decision making, hiring and firing authority and unfettered access to the candidate.
But Paul's longtime chief strategist, Doug Stafford, had other ideas. Stafford would be running the show, the chief strategist said at the time, while Englander would be the "implementer" — in other words, an administrative position focused simply on making the trains run on time. When word traveled back to Englander, said one source close to the campaign, he vented to others. Among his complaints: Stafford's decision to bring on Marianne Copenhaver, a Web designer with a history of provocative statements. (For example, in one Facebook post, she wrote: "Side note: A big f—k you to Lindsey Graham and John McCain.")
Stafford is now on better terms with Englander, who was not bothered by the "implementer" term, campaign sources said. ("'Implementer' is a compliment to Chip," said Gor.) The campaign manager has also taken on some key powers. Englander, for example, played a major role in hiring Tony Fabrizio, a veteran GOP pollster. But the early run-in created uncertainty in an organization that was just getting off the ground.
In Paul world, Stafford and Englander — who share an office in campaign headquarters, their desks just a few feet apart — cut diametrically opposite personalities. While Stafford, Paul's closest political confidant, has a reputation for being laid-back and introspective, Englander is known to be intense — a "mile-a-minute" kind of guy, in the words of one friend.
At times, some in the campaign have questioned whether his intensity has gone too far — and whether it will ultimately distract from his job of keeping the campaign moving. In April, Englander was in New Hampshire with Paul for a campaign event. The senator was mingling with the crowd while John Baeza, a 280-pound retired New York police detective and Paul family loyalist, stood behind him and provided security. Englander barged over, convinced that the ex-cop was getting in the way of supporters eager to snap pictures with the senator.
"What the f—k, Baeza?" Englander said, grabbing his shoulder. "Why are you always getting in our f—king shot?"
"Don't ever put your hands on me again," the bodyguard fired back.
More on POLITICO
Polling Center
Two aides were taken aback at the treatment of Baeza, who is considered essentially a member of the Paul family. Gor maintained that the interaction was not out of the ordinary. "It would be any senior staff's duty to ensure staff is not in the way of supporters when Sen. Paul is out on the trail," he said. (Baeza declined to comment.)
The staff serving beneath Stafford and Englander, meanwhile, is undermanned and overworked. While other presidential candidates have hired multiple aides to oversee their day-to-day scheduling, for example, Paul has only a few. The job is not for the faint of heart: In recent weeks, two overwhelmed schedulers, Cheyenne Foster, who worked on the presidential campaign, and Jessica Newman, who worked in the Senate office, have departed.
Those tasked with crafting Paul's schedule say the process is like playing a game of three-dimensional chess. Rather than letting his campaign team determine his travel schedule, as is customary for busy presidential candidates, Paul often demands sign-off on minute details, going so far as to request detailed lists of possible flight schedules and routes. Paul — who has complained that running for president is "not really a lot of fun" — can be prone to asking for time off the campaign trail and can be prickly about the most mundane commitments. Shortly before attending an event in Monterey, California, last month, he griped about having to do a photo line with supporters even though it had been on his schedule for weeks.
Another worry has been the press office, which has been overseen by two aides, Gor and Eleanor May, both of whom are regarded as competent but lacking the deep experience of many counterparts on rival Republican campaigns. While Bush has filled his campaign with senior communications strategists, Paul has no one playing that role full time.
Paul's campaign has tried in vain to add more muscle. Stafford, for example, embarked on a months-long quest to woo Josh Holmes, the top architect of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's 2014 reelection campaign, that began last year and extended into the current one. But Holmes, widely considered a rising Republican Party star, said he was uninterested in getting involved in a primary campaign. He is instead working at a newly established political consulting firm.
Winning over top talent has at times been a frustration. At one point, Stafford talked to Danny Diaz, a hard-charging operative with a knack for digging up opposition research. (Diaz would ultimately accept the job of campaign manager for Bush.) At another, he talked to Jon Downs, a respected media strategist who worked for Paul's father. (Downs also went to work for Bush.) And early on, before Englander was tapped for the campaign manager job, the Paul team talked to Ward Baker about the post. (Baker, an ex-Marine who played a key role for the party as a strategist in the 2014 midterms, opted for a top job at the National Republican Senatorial Committee.)
Some Paul advisers may be starting to think about their future employment. Rex Elsass, a veteran media consultant who is working for the Kentucky senator, recently had a phone conversation with Beth Hansen, the campaign manager for Ohio Gov. John Kasich. In that conversation, according to one source, Elsass, who formerly worked for Kasich, told Hansen that, if at any point in the future Paul was no longer in the contest, he'd be open to going to work for the Ohio governor should he still be in the race.
In a brief interview on Monday, Elsass insisted that he isn't interested in jumping. "I'm totally committed — 150 percent — to Rand," who, he said, would be the party's best nominee.
"It can't be that fun over there these days. The candidate is dipping in the polls, the money is tight and it's hard to tell your message that 'I'm the anti-establishment candidate' when Donald Trump is crowding out that base," said Kellyanne Conway, a Republican pollster who was brought onto Newt Gingrich's 2012 primary campaign after he endured a summer of turmoil.
"This is a marathon, not a sprint, and candidates will fluctuate in the polls," said Gor. "Our team will have organizational advantages like no one else. Sen. Paul continues to resonate outside of the D.C. bubble; we've had large crowds and enthusiastic support at every single stop."
But Paul's problems go beyond money or organization. In a campaign now dominated by other candidates, he has struggled to accomplish perhaps his chief objective: winning over an expansive swath of the Republican electorate, including those who didn't support his father.
"Paul seems to have lost his mojo in broadening the base of his support," said Scott Reed, the chief strategist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Paul's allies insist that all is not lost. On the fundraising front, while Thiel may no longer be the sugar daddy they hoped he'd be, another major donor may be ready to step up for the senator: Andrew Beal, a Texas banker who has a reported net worth of $11 billion. Beal, a poker-playing libertarian, has contributed $50,000 to a super PAC supporting Paul and may give far more.
There are also indications that Paul recognizes the need to broaden his tight inner circle. Chris LaCivita, a political veteran who orchestrated the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth attacks on John Kerry; Steve Munisteri, a former Texas Republican Party chairman; and Fabrizio, the longtime party pollster, have taken on increasingly assertive roles in recent weeks.
And in a crowded field of Republican candidates, Paul can lay claim to something few others can: a committed group of activist supporters who will go to work for him.
"Rand has a strong team, and his support has deep, deep roots," said Jesse Benton, who managed Paul's 2010 Senate bid and is now overseeing one of his super PACs. "He'll be just fine."
But with little cash, and with other candidates like Trump sucking oxygen out of the race, Paul may be running short on time.
"He hasn't had a great start, and I don't know whether it's too late," said Ed Rollins, a veteran of Republican presidential campaigns. "Others have stepped into that void, and I don't see him in the top three or four anymore."
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Republicans,
Rand Paul,
Rand Paul 2016

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Past period has been labeled with few activities: Ending of privatization period (given decision from agency about fulfilling privatization obligations). Termination of three years investment cycle. Successful implementation of six new products in the production.There are big tasks and highly set goals ahead of us, and we want and can achieve them with the effort of everyone, management and employees. Strategic orientation of Pobjeda is continuous improvement of the first mounting, while creating conditions and adapting company organization and its processes to the requirements of renowned engine manufacturers, which also means adoption of TS 1 6949 standard by the end of 2007.


"Hello! My name is Aaron and I am excited to be your new Denfeld WFC Front End Manager. I was born and raised in Superior, Wisconsin – where I also received my Master's degree from UWS. For the past 6 years I have worked in customer service and retail management. I have been a proud owner of the WFC for over 6 years now, so I am thrilled to be part of this team that will be expanding our Co-op to the West Duluth community.
In my free time I like to get outside to hike the trails in the Twin Ports with my partner Katie and our dog Pippin. I've always had a passion for learning ways of self-sufficiency, from building my own furniture to brewing beer. During the summer I love to work in my garden growing food and learning new ways to cook whatever is in season.
"As a young child, living in Lakeville, Minnesota, "spice" was a foreign word to our family with salt, pepper, and the exotic Italian seasoning mix the staples for livening up our dinners. Lets just say I was not exposed to, and did not care to, try new foods. After a few months with my partner, Eric, my taste buds were introduced to new flavors and haven't stopped. My food journey continues and like to try different ways of preparing food for our family so my daughter will always have the opportunity to try new, healthy and flavorful foods. We have lived in the Denfeld area for ten years and couldn't more excited to have the new store close to our house.
"I'm a lifelong Duluthian and am thrilled be part of the much anticipated Whole Foods Co-op location across from my Alma matter, Denfeld High School. I've spent the past 18 years with Grandma's Restaurant Corporation, working my way up to a Senior Sous Chef position. Some of my favorite duties included being a part of creating and preparing specialized meals including themed multi- course dinners featuring seasonal menu items with wine or beer pairings, and being a part of the team for the UMD Chancellor's annual fundraiser at the Glensheen Mansion. I'm particularly proud of being able to participate for the past 10 years at the United Way Chili Cookoff, and was honored to be awarded 'People's Choice' and 'Hottest Yet Edible' for my chili submissions over the years.


text:
Q: Google maps API no longer working, trying js instead and failing I have been using the google map API for while, accessing via a url (see below), calling via simple_xml_load_file via php, parsing the xml, and storing the lat and long.  Simple.
URL for API call
http://maps.google.com/maps/geo?output=xml&key=some_key&q=12+main%2C+chicago%2C+Illinois
The process works when you add a new location to the database, if a user chooses to see a map, the coordinates are acquired via the above url in some php code.  I received an error today that is a 403 error.  I haven't changed my key, assuming that something else is up.
I my attempt to get this working again, I tried the new js API.  The problem with this is, at least to my understanding, I need to run it from a web page, accessing javascript, getting results.  This creates a problem for me as I do this all behind the scenes.  When I try a method to grab the data, I create a page that grabs the data, successfully, but this creates a header problem.
I don't care which way I use (old way or new but the old is just simpler for me).  I am looking for an understanding how others use the js API behind the scenes without header issues.  Since I am trying to do this fast I could very easily not be thinking of the best way to attack.  Also, if the "old" way still works but I need to change something, that would be awesome.
Quick explanation of "new" process on my site:

*

*User clicks on the map page.

*The code looks to see if the latitude and longitude are stored in the database.

*If not, it sends a curl request to a page to use the api 3 to get those values.

*Those values are then sent via ajax to another page to be stored

*The main code continues running, selecting the long and lat, while finding anything within x miles of that location, creating pins for those as well.

Call comes back with the header message for curl_exec...
$ch = curl_init();
$post_array = array(
    'e_id' => $this->getId(),
    'address' => $this->getAddress()
);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, base_url() . 'establishment/google_map_processor');
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, 1);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, http_build_query($post_array));
curl_exec($ch);

I know, convoluted, but for how I am used to using the maps, I can't think of another way.
Thank you for your time and help.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
'use strict';

/* require deps*/
/*eslint-disable no-multi-spaces*/
var gulp       = require('gulp');
var babel      = require('gulp-babel');
var runSequence = require('gulp-run-sequence');
var clean      = require('gulp-clean');
var eslint     = require('gulp-eslint');
var path       = require('path');
var stylus     = require('gulp-stylus');
var prefix     = require('gulp-autoprefixer');
var cssMin     = require('gulp-css');
var buffer     = require('vinyl-buffer');
var source     = require('vinyl-source-stream');
var globby     = require('globby');
var through    = require('through2');
var gutil      = require('gulp-util');
var browserify = require('browserify');
var cssify     = require('cssify');
var uglify     = require('gulp-uglify');
var sourcemaps = require('gulp-sourcemaps');
var livereload = require('gulp-livereload');

/* config */
var srcDir       = 'lib';
var srcFiles     = path.join(srcDir, '/**/*');
var srcJS        = path.join(srcDir, '/**/*.js');
var srcCSS       = [path.join(srcDir, '/**/*.css'), path.join(srcDir, '/**/*.styl')];
var distDir      = 'dist';
var distFiles    = path.join(distDir, '/**/*');
var stylusConfig = {};
var prefixConfig = {};
/*eslint-enable  no-multi-spaces*/

/* tasks */

/* build tasks */
gulp.task('clean', function(){
  gulp.src(distFiles)
    .pipe(clean());
});

gulp.task('browserify', function(){
  var bundledStream = through();
  bundledStream
    .pipe(source(path.join('perf-budget-bar.js')))
    .pipe(buffer())
    .pipe(sourcemaps.init({loadMaps: true}))
      // Add gulp plugins to the pipeline here.
      .pipe(babel())
      // .pipe(uglify()) // only on prod
      .on('error', gutil.log)
    .pipe(sourcemaps.write('.'))
    .pipe(gulp.dest(distDir));
  globby([ path.join(srcJS) ], function(err, entries) {
    // ensure any errors from globby are handled
    if (err) {
      bundledStream.emit('error', err);
      return;
    }
    var b = browserify({
      entries: entries,
      debug: true,
      transform: ['cssify']
    });
    b.bundle().pipe(bundledStream);
  });
  // finally, we return the stream, so gulp knows when this task is done.
  return bundledStream;
});

gulp.task('css', function(){
  gulp.src(path.join(srcDir, '/style.styl'))
    .pipe(stylus(stylusConfig))
    .pipe(prefix(prefixConfig))
    .pipe(cssMin())
    .pipe(gulp.dest(srcDir));
    livereload();
});

/* testing/quality tasks */
gulp.task('lint', function(){
  return gulp.src(srcFiles)
    .pipe(eslint({ useEslintrc: true }))
    .pipe(eslint.formatEach('compact', process.stderr));
});

gulp.task('test', function(){
  // run the tests
  // TODO: make tests, plug them in
});

/* main build sequence */
gulp.task('build', function(){
  runSequence('clean', ['css'], ['browserify'], function(){
    console.log('Build completed!');
    livereload();
  });
});

/* main devtime sequence */
gulp.task('dev', function(){
  runSequence('build', function(){
    console.log('dev complete');
  });
});

/* watches */
gulp.task('watch', function(){
  livereload.listen({reloadPage: 'index.html'});
  gulp.watch(srcFiles, ['dev']);
});

/* default */
gulp.task('default', ['build']);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: AIR iOS Multiple Application Domain Error I am writing an app in ActionScript for AIR on iOS. It loads embedded SWFs using a Loader and loadBytes. This works great (I'm using a LoaderContext as described in AIR>=3.5 docs).
However, as soon as I include native extensions that I need for my app, I start getting this familiar error:
Error #3747: Multiple application domains are not supported on this operating system.
Oddly, I was able to compile a few times after removing and re-adding the native extensions and deleting the "extensions" node from the application descriptor XML (though it is automatically re-inserted at build time, this seemed to be important). But I'm getting the error again and can't seem to replicate that workaround.
Anyone have a solution / workaround for this? I must use external SWFs and I must use the ANEs.
Any help is appreciated.

A: Okay, solved.
My Loader was being started after a delay: setTimeout(loader.load, delay);
The delay was masking the real error, which was that there's Actionscript in the SWF being loaded (not allowed on iOS). I had the app set up right (both with loadBytes and load), I just missed some code in this particular SWF.
So, for anyone who's using a setTimeout and a LoaderContext and is still getting these errors, take the setTimeout out of the mix and you might see a different error.
Strange that it changes after a few milliseconds...

A: You can vote to add multiple application domain feature on AIR for iOS:
https://tracker.adobe.com/#/view/AIR-4198504


I'm lucky to live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Bath never fails to inspire me. I recently went painting the Bath views from Alexandra Park, one of my favourite places in Bath. As usual, I tried to simplify the scenery and capture the essence of it.
The challenge was to cope with moving clouds constantly changing what is in the sunlight and what is in the shade. I had to make a decision and stick to it.
I had a great time painting this and spoke to a few people passing by. There was a couple of lovely dutch ladies who were on holiday sightseeing, and said they wouldn't mind if they grabbed an english husband at the same time! I told them there is not better place to do it, I talk from experience! I fell in love with Bath 12 years ago when I came as a tourist, and conveniently met my husband at the same time which resulted in me staying in this beautiful city! Clever me!
Check out issue 12 of Paint & Draw magazine where I will be writing a full step by step feature about this painting. You can find the magazine in WH Smiths and some supermarkets in UK and you can subscribe here.
Issue 10 is out now and has a step by step of my painting 'The pond at Victoria Park'.
For info an other painting I did of Alexandra Park is currently exhibited at the Victoria Art Gallery for the Bath Society of Artists show which is on until 15 July. Fantastic show, don't miss it if you're in Bath.
Finally, here is below a painting of the Royal Crescent I recently done. I sat under the big tree to shelter from the rain to come, and painted the Crescent through the foliage. It had been raining a lot the days before so the grass was of a flashy green colour.
I have been out and about painting recently and I'll post them soon so watch this space.


text:
A taste of Delicious
Acting royalty
Period detail
Buddying up
Sommer time
Scaling The Serpent
Centre Staged
By DQ
Writing for DQ, Phillippa Giles, executive producer of Sky 1's Delicious and MD of Endemol Shine UK prodco Bandit, discusses how the relationship series puts women front and centre – both in front and behind the camera.
"Show us as women with all our flaws. Show us in huge close-up."
That challenge, issued by Delicious star Dawn French upon the drama's conception and combined with the brief from Sky's former head of drama Anne Mensah to push women to the foreground, has always informed the series.
The show, which concluded its third four-part season on Sky1 last week and is now available via the Sky Store, centres on two women, both former wives of the same man, but now, after his death, struggling to make the hotel he left behind a success in the middle of bucolic Cornwall.
French plays passionate cook Gina, who has inherited the Penrose hotel and restaurant together with the glamorous Sam (Emilia Fox), both of whom were once married to the deceased head chef Leo Vincent (Iain Glen). In season three, Gina and Sam's business has been booming, their delicate friendship has lasted and they are on the lookout for a new protégé in the kitchen.
L-R: Serena Thompson, Ursula Rani Sarma, Robin Sheppard and Phillippa Giles
Delicious is that rare beast, a relationship show, but, even rarer, a relationship show revolving around four generations of women. The characters range from 85-year-old matriarch Mimi, played by veteran actor Sheila Hancock, to newcomer Tanya Reynolds as 22-year-old Theresa, with Gina and Sam bang in the middle. Putting Gina and Sam at the front of the series and subsequently all four generations was important to Sky right from commissioning the series. They didn't want this to be 'just another hotel show,' and nor did I.
Sky has given us unrivalled support in allowing us to showcase women in front of and behind the camera in the last three seasons. We specifically look to discover new and up-and-coming women directors and writers for future seasons and hope, through the role-modelling on the crew, to bring on women in key trainee roles on camera and in sound, within the industry. Sometimes it takes a bit longer to fill these roles in a less traditional way, because the pool of talent is smaller due to the access to such positions, but the atmosphere fostered as a result is always worth the effort. There is a wealth of talented women out there waiting for their opportunity to show what they can do, and all it needs is the right project to attract them.
This season, original creator Dan Sefton, busy on other projects, was happy to pass on the baton to new lead writer Ursula Rani Sarma. Ursula and the all-female script team of Bandit head of development Muirinn Lane Kelly and script editor Ella Tayler Baron have ensured a number of things: that the sex (and it's raunchy stuff) is not initiated by the men, that we talk about mastectomy as much as pregnancy and that we make sure there is a lot of wine-drinking, weed-smoking and skinny-dipping along the way.
Fun, both on and off set, is important to how Delicious works. With our female-heavy top tier of commissioning editor, commissioning exec, programme exec and producer, there is a family feel on set and both team and cast members are encouraged to bring their children along. In fact, one scene opens with a tracking shot past three young girls — the director's daughter, the writer's daughter and the composer's daughter! The female bias percolates down through the crew with a woman boom swinger, camera assistant, art director as well as second and third ADs.
Delicious stars Emilia Fox (left) and Dawn French
Director Robin Sheppard was our lead director this season and she quickly bought into the collaborative atmosphere Delicious fosters. Schedules, scripts, design and photography all benefit from the cross-disciplinary dialogue encouraged by the woman-centric subject matter and predominance of women on cast and crew. Even the traditional bastions of chauvinism on any film set – sparks and riggers – have bought into the family atmosphere of hard work without the hierarchy.
A key sequence for us this year was the string of scenes playing out Mimi's fake wake, or 'death party' as it is referred to in the script. This sequence occupies a substantial chunk of the third episode as it is the culmination of a big story strand for Mimi, which builds to an emotional climax through the season as, originally, Mimi hides her cancerous breast lump, then reveals it to her step-granddaughter who is sworn to secrecy but who eventually forces her grandmother into the open about the fact she needs help.
Second director Amit Gupta, new to the show, was tasked with giving this set piece the hallmark Delicious feel of natural beauty and cornucopia. We were anxious to shoot it in an outdoor location, as al fresco eating and partying is very much part of the Cornwall scene, but was it practical to take on the elements over two days of shooting? In the end, a compromise was reached with the design team whereby we would shoot in Port Eliot's beautiful walled gardens with a large Victorian greenhouse to dash into for rain cover. But luckily this was never necessary.
Sheila Hancock as Mimi
The next challenge was to work with costume designer Rebecca Hale and food designer Lisa Heathcote to talk about colour palette and the look and feel of the party. Although this was a wake, of sorts, it was predominantly a family occasion with our four women leads– Sheila, Dawn, Emilia and Tanya – all needing to look wonderful but not overdressed or clashing. They also needed to carry in the food, so what they were wearing needed to be practical – no stilettos or trailing sleeves. And the food needed to survive two whole days outside in rain or shine.
These sorts of heightened family moments are the fulcrums of Delicious with its four female generations. The settings can be devastatingly beautiful and the frocks out of this world, but all this aspiration and glamour needs to be underpinned by strong writing and performances to deliver something that doesn't tip into schmaltz or soap. The ambition of the camerawork and design helps to elevate the show, but towering performances like that given by Delicious matriarch Hancock at her own wake ensure the series maintains its own unique tonal brand of bittersweet.
The two-day stand culminated in a wonderful 'on the blink' moment when all four lead actresses were round the table, ad-libbing, and enjoying the family reunion as dusk set in and the camera pulled back on a long track to end the episode.
We seem to have turned a corner, with more and more series getting commissioned that have women leads and great roles for women throughout. Let's keep up the momentum and build on this opportunity to make the best drama with women writing, producing and working behind camera. We've waited long enough. Now is our time.
tagged in: Bandit, Delicious, Phillippa Giles, Sky


Jacuzzi Tub Shower Doors - You like to keep your shower clean constantly, if you are just one of the individuals who loves to take long showers. But if you're utilized to using shower curtains you understand how fast they start to look old and grimy, and of course how hard they may be to clean.
These glass doors have significant advantages over using a shower curtain. First of all, they're easy to wash. All you need to do is clean the doors with glass cleaner every so often and they'll look as good as new in a instant. In addition , there are many doors which are treated so the water will just slide off and not stain it.
Shower doors also help you to keep the remainder of the bathroom water-free. So all the water stays in that special region, the shower place is enclosed by them. The company that you hire to install the doors will take all relevant measurements so they're going to have the ability to fit the doors to your own shower, regardless of the size. That opening involving the edge of the shower wall as well as the curtain is not any longer there. Instead, you have a solid wall of impenetrable glass. This implies no more pools on a floor following your shower.
Another benefit of shower doors is they usually do not take up a lot of space. In reality, custom doors are perfect for smaller bathrooms. Shower curtains are bulky and occupy a lot of space. Sliding glass doors, on the other hand, will not take up much space at all as it only follows the design of the shower itself. And because it's translucent it will make your bathroom seem even larger than before.
Related Post "Jacuzzi Tub Shower Doors"


text:
est un daimyo de l'époque d'Edo à la tête du domaine d'Owari.

Source de la traduction

Daimyo
Naissance en octobre 1733
Décès en janvier 1800
Décès à 66 ans

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Amazon Kinesis Data Streams is integrated with AWS CloudTrail, a service that provides a record of actions taken by a user, role, or an AWS service in Kinesis Data Streams. CloudTrail captures all API calls for Kinesis Data Streams as events. The calls captured include calls from the Kinesis Data Streams console and code calls to the Kinesis Data Streams API operations. If you create a trail, you can enable continuous delivery of CloudTrail events to an Amazon S3 bucket, including events for Kinesis Data Streams. If you don't configure a trail, you can still view the most recent events in the CloudTrail console in Event history. Using the information collected by CloudTrail, you can determine the request that was made to Kinesis Data Streams, the IP address from which the request was made, who made the request, when it was made, and additional details.
CloudTrail is enabled on your AWS account when you create the account. When supported event activity occurs in Kinesis Data Streams, that activity is recorded in a CloudTrail event along with other AWS service events in Event history. You can view, search, and download recent events in your AWS account. For more information, see Viewing Events with CloudTrail Event History.
The following example shows a CloudTrail log entry that demonstrates the CreateStream, DescribeStream, ListStreams, DeleteStream, SplitShard, and MergeShards actions.


Have fun with this brain teaser – Baby Babble Word Scramble Game! It's a printable game with jumbled up words that are baby-related, and the first guest to get all correct answers wins.
The unique feature of this printable template is that there are 12 suggested jumbled words included, but if you would like to change any or all of them, you can!
Simply open the PDF in Adobe Reader, replace the word(s) with your own, and save to print. A truly personalized baby shower!
You will edit this at home and only the questions can be edited. "Baby babble" and the instructions are part of the design and cannot be changed. Please refer to Image #2.


"Amidst the market hype surrounding the deluge of buzzwords like cloud computing, we often come across a similarity: when it comes to the things that matter to them the most, business almost always prefer Citrix to be a part of it," begins Worth Davis, CTO at Computex Technology Solutions. "Ultimately, when we are proving or controlling aspects of the technical things that run a business, Citrix will be the center of that transformation." Customers who adopt Citrix witness significant IT improvements, in performance, availability, security, and cost-savings. With more than 30 years of industry expertise, Computex is a gold standard Citrix solutions advisor for its clients. From sales cycle to customer education, and all the way to implementing virtualization, orchestration, and networking solutions from the Citrix portfolio of products, Computex delivers an all-round Citrix experience.
"How do I integrate multiple clouds and use Citrix in the middle? How do we deliver our core business globally, securely?" These are some of the common pain points faced by several businesses. The Computex team leverages Citrix's solutions to deliver VDI integration, which is used extensively by clients of all sizes. The value proposition of Computex approach to delivering VDIs is specifically crucial especially at a time when today's enterprises face more of mergers and acquisitions. It is always good to run a VDI for a new acquisition than fix 10,000 PCs that needed to be added to the domain. Utilizing other technology partner offerings, Computex' solutions include the planning and design of virtual infrastructure, on-site server utilization assessment, physical-to-virtual migration planning and implementation, and server consolidation, to name a few. "We've seen VDIs go from an IT pilot or a helpdesk project to becoming a central tool for accessing applications. We use a lot of technologies like flash storage and big data servers along with the right configuration to make that transition from pilot or early stage to the production stage. We will soon see all of the global users embracing the VDI approach. It is about upgrading IT from initial concepts to true technology grade," adds Davis.
Furthermore, the network acceleration pieces of Citrix are also widely sought after by Computex' clients. After all, it is the delivery of applications, which makes users love or hate IT. As 'location' gets farther from the data centers and clouds, efficient delivery of applications becomes a pain point. This becomes more emphasized for companies with offices in various countries and IT infrastructure spread across the globe. Computex strives to hit at the CIO's application vision using the Citrix acceleration hardware and software. Additionally, having partnered with a number of technology providers, and backed by expertise forged by a vast level of experience, the company can provide strategic advice on what ideal combination of solutions will align best to the needs of their clients. Computex offers video-based support such that globally distributed teams can communicate through video chatting in live environments to aid faster troubleshooting and smooth operations.
To identify their client's requirements precisely and deliver solutions accordingly, Computex does a thorough assessment specific to Citrix environments as well as the underlying network. The company looks at all of the facets and takes a holistic approach to the 'table of options' in addition to Citrix. In a nutshell, Computex takes an IT optimization path to enable business transformation for its clients and given its continuous investments made in building its core Citrix expertise to deliver superior customer experience; there is no doubt that the company will keep pushing the envelope.


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Satellite image of the US-Mexico border at Mexicali-Calexico. Credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS and US/Japan ASTER Science Team
Guest post: Climate change could reverse falling inequality between countries
Guest postsGuest post: Climate change could reverse falling inequality between countries
This guest post is by:
Aurélie Méjean, economist at CIRED, CNRS, in France.
Nicolas Taconet, PhD candidate in environmental economics at CIRED.
Céline Guivarch, climate change economist at CIRED, Ecole des Ponts.
Over recent decades, inequality between countries has fallen, in particular due to fast economic growth in China and India. But our new research suggests climate change could reverse this trend.
In addition to socioeconomic evolution regarding demography, education and technological progress, climate change will affect how inequality between countries changes in the future.
Impacts of climate change disproportionately hit the poorest countries, while the costs of greenhouse-gas reduction will also be unevenly distributed.
In an article recently published in the journal Climatic Change, we build scenarios that account for uncertainties regarding these dimensions. This allows us to analyse the prospect of future inequality between countries in the 21st century, under varying levels of climate change.
We find that climate change could reverse the declining trend of recent decades, particularly if the economic damages due to warming are high. This could lead to a rise in inequality in the course of the 21st century.
The results show that efforts to mitigate climate change are key, as lower emission pathways show lower inequality levels and can delay the date when inequality starts rising again. However, mitigation can also add to the problem if mitigation costs disproportionately fall on the poorest.
Falling inequality
The world today is less unequal than it was in 1990. As shown in the chart below, economic growth in China (red), India (orange) and other Asian countries (yellow) explains the observed decline in inequality.
Changes in global income distribution between countries, from 1988-2011. Asian countries are shown as shades of yellow and red. Developed countries are in blue. Income is shown on a logarithmic axis as yearly GDP per person, adjusted for inflation and price differences between countries (PPP-adjusted US$(2005)). The area under the graph corresponds to the relative population size in each country or region. Source: OurWorld in Data.
Socioeconomic and climate systems are intertwined. For example, the rising wealth of China since the turn of the century has been powered by a rapid expansion in coal-fired electricity generation.
We set out to explore how these interlinkages would continue to evolve over time, depending on the future pathway for climate change and socioeconomic development.
Futures intertwined
Socioeconomic development drives energy demand and land-use change, which both can generate greenhouse-gas emissions, depending on policy choices. These emissions warm up the atmosphere, leading to physical climate change impacts, changes in temperature, precipitation patterns and sea level rise, which affect socioeconomic systems in turn.
Uncertainties are associated with every step of this chain of causation and interaction, which is shown in schematic form in the figure below.
Conceptual links between causes and effects of socioeconomic development and climate change. Source: Authors.
The evolution of socioeconomic factors, such as population, education, technology and the availability of fossil fuels, will play a key role in what the future will be. These factors will enable the economic development of future countries, driving their energy and land uses – and their resulting emissions.
Socioeconomic narratives
In 2017, researchers from different disciplines and different research institutions built narratives for future socioeconomic pathways, the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs). These describe five alternative narratives in terms of broad societal trends.
For instance, SSP1 puts great emphasis on inclusive development, sustainability and well-being, leading to low resource and energy intensity, while SSP3 depicts resurgent nationalism and concerns about national priorities rather than inclusive development and environmental issues.
In each of these socioeconomic pathways, we consider different emissions pathways. Policies can be implemented to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and reach stringent global climate targets.
These policies are costly, with their cost varying from one narrative to another. It is easier to reduce emissions in a world where energy demand is low, and where we assume fast technological progress. Integrated assessment models (IAMs) are used to quantify these mitigation costs and to assess how those differ according to assumptions of future socioeconomic pathways.
In the study, we consider five socioeconomic pathways (SSP) – and for each of these, between three and five emission pathways. First, a baseline in which there is no policy to reduce emissions. Second, a series of lower emissions scenarios matching the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP), for which the mitigation costs are assessed by up to four different IAMs.
Once we have our set of greenhouse-gas emission pathways and mitigation costs, we then move on to investigating the economic damages due to warming. (There is uncertainty in how much warming to expect from a given level of emissions, which we also explored in our study.)
The impacts of warming fall more heavily on the poorest countries, which are more exposed to water stress, extreme temperatures and other changes because of their locations. They also feel any impacts more keenly, due to the structures of their economies and lower quality infrastructure.
The economic impacts are also uncertain, with cost estimates varying greatly according to the methodology used. To assess the potential range of damages, we consider eight estimations of country-by-country impacts. In total, we build 3,408 scenarios that span uncertainties along the different dimensions.
We find that of all the uncertainties we considered, the socioeconomic and damage estimate dimensions are the primary drivers of future inequality between countries.
This is clear in the figure of our results, below, showing how inequality between countries ("Gini index") changes in the future, depending on the different socioeconomic pathways (the numbered SSPs in each chart) and between the highest damage estimates (red) versus the lowest (blue).
Evolution of the Gini index in the 21st century for different socioeconomic pathways, numbered SSP1-5, and under different estimates of climate change damages (red = highest and blue = lowest). The Gini index measures the gap between the actual distribution of national income, and an egalitarian situation where all countries have the same GDP per capita. For each damage estimate, the solid line represents the average value and the dotted lines is the uncertainty range. Under the highest damage estimates, inequalities rise again as climate change impacts unfold, regardless of socioeconomic pathway. Data source: Taconet et al (2020).
If the economic damages from climate change are in line with the highest estimates, then we find that warming would reverse gains in declining inequality over the past few decades. Instead, there would be a rise in inequality between countries in the course of the 21st century.
In this case, the emission pathway plays a key role, as lower emission pathways show lower inequality levels and can delay the date when inequality starts rising again.
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If the economic damages are lower, then cutting emissions still reduces inequality in some combinations of socioeconomic pathway, mitigation costs and their distribution.
This suggests that climate change mitigation is key to limiting future inequality, provided that mitigation costs do not fall too heavily on the poorest countries.
Limiting inequality
In our study, we focus on income inequality between countries, as measured via the Gini index. However, other forms of inequality are also important to consider in the analysis of different emission pathways.
In particular, inequality between individuals within countries have increased in the last decades and could be exacerbated by warming because lower-income households are more vulnerable to climate change impacts. Conversely, mitigation policies, if poorly designed, can disproportionately hit the poorest households, thereby increasing inequalities.
Nevertheless, we show that climate change will be an important driver of future inequality. More research is needed to further understand how inequality at different levels may evolve under different mitigation pathways.
Taconet, N. et al. (2020) Influence of climate change impacts and mitigation costs on inequality between countries, Climatic Change, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-019-02637-w
Explainer: How 'Shared Socioeconomic Pathways' explore future climate change
Climate modelling | 19.04.2018


This journey combines the ancient Inca sites of Peru with a cruise through the natural splendours of the Galapagos islands, bringing you into close contact with the islands' unique biodiversity.
Galapagos National Park fee is not included.
On each departure, it is possible to upgrade to an Owner's cabin from £295.


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President of Waterville, Pittsfield hospitals to retire in April
Northern Light Health announced this week that Terri Vieira will step down as president of Northern Light Inland Hospital and Northern Light Sebasticook Valley Hospital.
By Evan HoukMorning Sentinel
The president of the Northern Light Health hospitals in Waterville and Pittsfield has announced her retirement and will step aside in April, the health system said this week.
Terri Vieira, who's the president of Northern Light Inland Hospital in Waterville and Northern Light Sebasticook Valley Hospital in Pittsfield, has announced her retirement and will step down in April. Photo courtesy of Northern Light Health
Terri Vieira leads both Northern Light Inland Hospital in Waterville and Northern Light Sebasticook Valley Hospital in Pittsfield. She also oversees Northern Light Continuing Care, Lakewood in Waterville.
Vieira said Friday that she's proud of the work she's done to help the employees and students she's worked with in the region to reach their potential.
"If they have dreams and visions, I like to help them get those," Vieira said of hospital staff. "Because when they get those, we benefit, too."
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it unprecedented challenges, but she noted that some good can come from such struggle. She said she is "retiring in spite of COVID."
"With COVID, you go back to the basics. If you take care of the people that are caring for patients, you take care of patients; you keep them in the forefront, you make good decisions that way," Vieira said.
A challenging part of Vieira's career was learning leadership skills early on and developing a balancing act between "taking care of today but always keeping tomorrow in mind."
Vieira took over operations of the Pittsfield hospital in 2013 and then took on additional duties in Waterville last year.
She will step down from those roles April 1.
Pittsfield hospital names new leader
Northern Light Health President and Chief Executive Officer Tim Dentry said in a news release that Vieira is a voice of reason and has clear communication skills.
"Many of our Northern Light presidents see her as a leadership role model," Dentry said.
Vieira, who's also a senior vice president for the Northern Light Health system, was previously president of Northern Light CA Dean Hospital in Greenville, where she learned a lot about rural health care.
"In rural medicine, we are people caring for people," Vieira said. "They may be our neighbors, they may be our friends, they may be our family, and they are really counting on us — not just for good care, but good caring."
Vieira started as a radiologic technologist in 1973 and taught anatomy and radiology at MassBay Community College in Boston.
She grew up in Maryland before coming to Maine to earn her bachelor's and master's degrees from St. Joseph's College in Standish. She worked her way up through hospital administrative positions in Maine, Maryland and Massachusetts.
"I'm all about making a difference and helping others, and that's how you do it," Vieira said.
Waterville's Inland hospital welcomes 2 Guard members to help with COVID-19 care
In 1988 she became the director of diagnostic services at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, and she joined Sebasticook Valley as vice president of operations in 2000, before becoming chief operating officer in 2010.
Vieira said she was asked to join Sebasticook Valley to help develop a women's care center, which still exists as a separate wing at the hospital for women's imaging services like mammography and bone density scans.
"That's a passion of mine, always has been," she said.
A successor to Vieira's posts will be named after an internal search is conducted, Northern Light Health officials said.
New England shrimp fishery to stay closed as waters warm
Portland adds summer flights to Nashville, New York City
cmnews, health care, northern light health, Northern Light Inland Hospital


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Theoretical Physics Reference
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.. toctree::
    :maxdepth: 3

    src/intro.rst
    src/contributors.rst
    src/math/main.rst
    src/relativity/main.rst
    src/elmag/main.rst
    src/fluid-dynamics/main.rst
    src/quantum/main.rst


The words age spots are really not the kind of description you want to hear about a condition that usually affects visible areas of your skin (particularly the hands) as you grow older. Their other common name of liver spots is also a bit off putting. Sun spots would definitely sound more attractive, and not without justification either as too much exposure to the sun is the main reason for their appearance anyway.
But please don't let that reason put you off the sun. The advertising and media world have already done a great job at that – to such good effect that they have managed to make a large proportion of the western world so afraid of the sun that they are now seriously vitamin D deficient.
We all need the sun but of course we can protect those areas vulnerable to age spots (such as hands and faces), not by slathering on the chemical laden sun creams, but by keeping them shaded. The rest of our bodies need exposure during those two hours either side of 12 noon but only until they start to turn the lightest shade of pink and no longer. Limit sun exposure to those healthy amounts that do not lead to sunburn.
Why do we start to develop age spots?
As you grow older – say after the age of 40 – or because you have a fairer complexion, you can be more prone to age spots. The pigment in your skin is produced by melanin and exposure to ultraviolet (or UV) light accelerates melanin production. The aging process itself can also increase melanin production.
A selenium deficiency can be one cause of age spots. Selenium is an essential trace mineral that plays an important role in protecting cells from free radicals. A handful of raw Brazil nuts will add extra selenium to your diet.
Another reason can be a deficiency in potassium. This can be avoided by including potassium-rich foods in your diet – apricots, avocados, bananas, cantaloupe, dates, figs, kiwi fruit and melons.
A healthier lifestyle will always help with improving any type of unwanted condition so, along with those fresh fruits, include as many raw fruits and vegetables as possible while making sure to drink plenty of pure, filtered water to keep the system cleansed. Always make a conscious effort to avoid or eliminate processed foods, junk and fast foods, sodas, sweets, sugar, caffeine, alcohol and tobacco.
Can age spots be a sign of something more sinister?
Although age spots are harmless, it is always wise to have them checked by a dermatologist, or your doctor, if they change in appearance. They may become irregularly shaped, itchy, tender or even grow larger. An unusual combination of colors is something else to look out for. Age spots usually pose absolutely no threat and require no treatment but some prefer to have them treated anyway.
What can be done to remove age spots?
Many people find age spots unsightly and would like to have them removed, particularly when there is dryness, roughness and even thinning of the skin at the site of the age spot. You don't have to live with age spots if you would rather not.
There are several methods for such removal including chemical peel, dermabrasion, electrosurgery, laser treatment, cryotherapy – or you can go for a more natural, gentler route which can be less expensive and risky but still come with successful results. Over the counter or prescription bleaching creams are not recommended because of their harshness to skin and even dangerous toxins.
There is no need to accept age spots as inevitable. See our H-Age Spots Formula here.


Contains a complex of active ingredients, hydrating substances, trace elements and extract of snail slime.
The slime trail that the earth snail (Helix Aspersa) leaves behind has exclusive treating properties. During crawling snails release mucus and if the skin of the snail is hurt, it recovers quickly thanks to this mucus secretion. The secretion contain many natural probiotics, proteins and nutrients as allantoin, glycolic acid, vitamins A, C and E, minerals and trace elements. The mucus contains highly regenerative properties, it is recommended for many skin problems, anti-wrinkle, acne, for removal of scars from acne and burns, in treatments of stretch marks, rosacea and more.
Apply the cream on well cleaned face with slight massage until it is absorbed completely. Apply twice a day, morning and evening.


A Type A Burmese Jade Jadeite Cabbage.
Bai Choi is Feng shui Cabbage which is the symbol of wealth. It is pronounced as hundred wealth in Chinese. Displaying Bai Choi (cabbage) at home/office can attract prosperity and money chi.


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Thomas L. Pettibone in Product DevelopmentStrategy
The Trouble With Focusing on Time-to-Market
Launching a new product or service typically involves many moving parts—including information technology (IT)—that must all come together simultaneously. Often, the long lead times that complex IT components involve become a drag on time-to-market. Yet, as the examples to follow illustrate, efforts to speed the process by buying or building workaround systems frequently backfire.
HEALTHCARE.GOV'S HURDLE
Launched on October 1, 2013 with great fanfare, Healthcare.gov promptly crashed. Applicants struggled to access the website and, when they finally did, computations were wrong, accounts were not recognized, insurance links didn't function and live chat didn't work. The site improved over time, but only after copious delays, frustration, manual workarounds, bad data, confusion, security problems and great expense.
Why the debacle? First, the scope was far too large. Overnight, the Affordable Care Act sought to displace one-sixth of the U.S. economy with no fallback plan. Second, the plan involved a "Big Bang," with everything launching at once although many modules were untested and others had yet to be written.
Third, specifications for the project were continuously changing—right up to the launch date. Fourth, leadership forged ahead with the initiative despite copious warnings and danger signs.
HERSHEY'S GREAT WHITE HOPE
In the late '90s, Walmart and other retailers were demanding more inventory and logistics information from suppliers. To adapt, Hershey decided to replace its legacy systems with "Enterprise 21," a sophisticated combination of SAP, Siebel and Manugistics software. However, the company had little experience implementing a huge system that required many simultaneous business process changes.
After three years in development, some modules launched but several were delayed. In July 1999, with critical Halloween orders pouring in and Y2K looming large, management succumbed to pressure, scrapping the company's legacy systems and launching the new system, "Big Bang."
Problems in order fulfillment, customer service and shipping quickly arose, devastating the candy company's most crucial selling season. Unable to get Hershey products, retailers switched to competitors. Hershey's sales for 3Q 1999 dropped $150 million; profits declined 19 percent and the stock dropped by 8 percent as a result.
APPLE GETS BITTEN
When the recent live, video-stream introduction of Apple's iPhone 6 glitched, all viewers saw for 25 minutes was a fixed test pattern and all they heard was Tim Cook's presentation—in Mandarin.
Two days later, the Apple Store website crashed, frustrating customers who had queued overnight to place early orders. While the iPhone 6 is now a success, its launch was marred by these support issues, which were not unusual for the company's launches.
Clearly, new product or service launches can be badly tarnished by problems with the supporting IT systems. To ensure that the IT workstream is on target, CEOs should:
Appoint a Program Czar
• Designate someone with total accountability and responsibility for the new product launch and the ability to spend the majority of his/her time on the program.
Avoid or Limit New Software
• Implement "mega projects" that span the entire company and require business process changes in small pieces.
• If new software is required, test and install it well in advance of the product launch date.
• Keep the old legacy systems operational until the new software is proven.
Understand All Workstreams
• Review the overall program schedule, questioning anything that isn't clear. Stop everything if there is no documented plan or if it is superficial.
• Understand and monitor milestones.
• Ensure there are fallback strategies for things that go wrong.
Ensure the IT Components Are Complete and Sufficiently Robust
• Commission an IT workstream assessment by another department or an outside firm.
Review Frequently
• Review the program weekly, then daily as the launch date nears.
• Be receptive to bad news.
CEOs can reduce risk and avoid sloppy and embarrassing launches by following these recommendations. An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure.
Next Read: What All CEOs Should Know About Backing Up Business Data »
Thomas L. Pettibone:
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