text:
The Top 5 Cities with the Highest Taxes and Social Security Contributions
Taxes and Social Security Contributions
(as a % of gross wages)
1 Brussels, Belgium 43%
2 Copenhagen, Denmark 41%
3 Oslo, Norway 36%
4 Munich, Germany 35%
5 Montreal, Canada 33%
Tags: Business, Finance & Industry, Top 5 Highest
Sources: UBS. CIO Wealth Management Research: A comparison of purchasing power around the globe, 2012.
List Notes: Data is top 5 cities with the highest total taxes and social security contributions in % of gross wages for the year 2012. Methodology: Weighted average of income taxes and mandatory or customary social security contributions in 15 professions. For this list income tax is calculated taking into account marital status and standard exemptions. Social security contributions are calculated using compulsory contributions payable by employees for statutory old age, disability and unemployment insurance as well as for state health insurance. Social security contributions also include employee contributions to occupational old age and health insurance schemes provided that they are largely typical for the city or country.
Top 5 Corporations that Donate the Most to Charity
Top 5 Companies that Produce the Most Steel 2008
Top 5 South-East Asian Countries with the Highest Rate of Male Tobacco Use
Top 5 Brands with the Highest Increase in Brand Value
Top 5 Highest Grossing Movies By Warner Bros.


Apartment Only For $2,800/mo. You Can Stop Looking Now!
In Boynton Beach the most popular choice of bedrooms is 4, followed by 7 and 3.
In this vicinity you may find apartments in Boynton Beach within 450 Federal Highway #1009 and 4307 Tuscany Way.
We all want to make the most of our money's worth. The average price per square foot within this search is $1.59/sq feet, with an average price of $1,572.73 and area of 991sq feet.
Real Estate Agencies available in Boynton Beach with apartments for rent are 2019-02-08 13:24:48, Www.FeaturedRentals.com and 2019-01-30 13:25:02.


We wanted to make the most of the great conditions and what better way than to finish the day off diving a wreck. The Canberra is such a perfect dive site, because allows divers of all levels to do a wreck dive. The viz was about 12 -1 4metres which meant we didn't even need to use a shot line. Jonathan our boat driver had put us in a perfect position, next to the west buoy, to allow us to simply drop down onto the top deck of the helm. Swimming around the bridge we are able to look into each of openings revealing the operating features of the ship. The gentle rolling swell has created some surge, but not enough to worry us as we swam around the outside of the wreck. Ascending to start our safety stops, the excitement builds in the group as our open water students realise the reality that after all of their hard work they have finally completed their course and are now qualified divers!!


It is very important to teach kids how to interact with dogs they are interested in. Childish excitement could be interpreted as a threat by inexperienced dogs.
Good kids and good dogs will have miscommunications every day. By teaching children and dogs how to interact with one another, we laying the groundwork for happy, healthy relationships between them. Take time to help your child practice meeting a variety of dogs.
Teach your kids never to rush up toward a dog. Tell them to stop about 5 feet away and ask the owner, "May I pet your dog?" Sometimes the answer will be no. Many dogs don't live with kids and are not comfortable with them. So if the dog's owner says no, that's okay. Remind your kids that there are lots of other dogs who would love to be petted by them. If the owner says yes, then the children must ask the dog.
Step 2: Ask the Dog—Do Not Skip This Step!
Tell kids that dogs don't use words but instead rely on body language. Pantomime various emotions such as anger, fear and excitement to show the kids that they use body language too. Have your children make a fist with the palm pointed down. Then they can slowly extend their arm for the dog to sniff their hand. Teaching the kids to curl their fingers in minimizes the risk of a dog nipping their finger. When the dog is being given the opportunity to sniff, watch his body language. Does he come forward with loose, waggy motions? That's definitely a yes. Does he lean forward for a quick sniff and seem comfortable? Also a yes. Does he turn his face away from your child's hand? Back away? Bark? Move behind the owner? Look anxious and unsettled? Growl? These are all nos.
Unfortunately some owners don't understand or respect their dog's decision and will drag the dog forward saying, "Oh, he's fine. He loves kids. You can pet him." DON'T! Do not ever allow your children to pet a dog that does not approach them willingly.
If the owner says yes and the dog says yes, the kids can pet the dog. Tell your kids that they need to be careful of a dog's sensitive eyes and ears. Most dogs don't like to be petted on top of their heads, but nearly all people pet dogs this way—it's a hardwired human behavior. There is a blind spot on top of a dog's head. If he sees your child's hand moving toward that area, the natural inclination is for him to tilt his head up and watch where the hand is going. Now your child's hand is reaching right over the dog's teeth—not a very good place for that hand to be. Suggest that your children stroke the side of the dog's neck, rub under his chin, scratch his chest, or pet along his back. Most dogs prefer slow, gentle strokes to rapid pat-pat-patting.
Colleen Pelar, CPDT, CDBC, author of Living with Kids and Dogs...Without Losing Your Mind , is America's Kids and Canines Coach. Colleen has more than 15 years' experience as the go-to person for parents trying to navigate kid-and-dog issues. Because every interaction between a child and a dog can be improved by a knowledgeable adult, Colleen is committed to educating parents, children, and dog owners on kid-and-dog relationships. For more information visit www.livingwithkidsanddogs.com.


If, like my daughter Petra, your little girl is still waiting patiently for her hair to grow, headbands are probably your accessory of choice. For Petra, a headband completes an outfit-- she even takes it upon herself to pick one (or three) to wear when she's getting dressed. And although our local faves Rain Melody and ForEverly Yours have a stronghold on her collection, sometimes we want a cheapie trend piece. The only issue? There aren't a ton of toddler options out there. So, I came up with a solution. It's so simple, you'll wonder why you didn't think of it first!
First step, find a rabbit ear headband at an accessories shop. I found this one (and the one in the title photo) at Ardene.
Separate the rabbit ear tie by undoing it.
Loop the rabbit ear around the band.
Then (and this is the whole trick), loop the band around one side of the rabbit ear.
This extra loop causes the band to be smaller.
So when you re-tie the rabbit ear, you've got yourself a toddler-sized headband.
Ta-da! And if you'd like to keep up with Petra's style on the daily, follow along at @petrascloset.


text:
College Football: Gophers next stop for CLC's Djam, Johnson
When the University of Minnesota plays Oregon State in its season opener Sept. 1, two former Central Lakes College Raiders players hope to be wearing Golden Gophers uniforms at TCF Bank Stadium.
Central Lakes College Raiders football players Kieran Johnson (left) and Carlton Djam will be preferred walk-ons at the University of Minnesota this fall. (Steve Kohls, Brainerd Dispatch)
By Joe Lindholm
Carlton Djam and Kieran Johnson will be preferred walk-ons for the maroon and gold this fall.
Djam played just one year for the Raiders, but made an impact as he rushed for 1,087 yards. He finished eighth nationally in rushing yards, and scored three touchdowns in each of two games the Raiders played against Itasca Community College, and also scored three TDs against Northland.
"I went to Augustana University in Sioux Falls last year and after the first year I didn't feel that it was the right fit personally," Djam said. "I learned a lot about the Raiders' program from one of my friends, Dorbor Cooper, who I played against in high school. I came here and met with the coaches and felt really good that it would be a good fit for me to continue my career."
Djam started looking at his options for the next step in his career last fall with the help of CLC head coach Greg Medeck.
"It was an interesting process as there were quite a few schools contacting coach Medeck and contacting me," Djam said. "I wanted to play closer to home and at a level where I could perform well and where I had faith in my abilities so I took the process fairly slowly.
"It was actually after Kieran committed to the U of M that I started thinking that I could go to there too. I contacted one of their recruiting coordinators and he actually had my profile open on his computer when I called and he said he was going to get my tape to the coaches.
"About five days later he called me and offered me a preferred walk-on and said the coaches liked my film. I went and met with the coaches in early March and they laid out the plan for me. I will go to the summer camp and the fall camp. They don't have many running backs on the roster so it will just be six of us. The way they made it sound is that I would have an opportunity to play a lot on special teams this upcoming year."
Along with success Johnson, had to battle adversity.
"I'm from the east side of St. Paul and open-enrolled at Tartan High School in Oakdale to give myself the opportunity to get away from the distractions of east St. Paul and to give myself a better opportunity to excel as a student and an athlete," Johnson said.
"My main group of friends all play sports and are now at a Division II level playing football, basketball or wrestling. It was very difficult for me on signing day to watch them sign their letters of intent and it was also a humbling experience for me not to go to a Division II school, but to keep my focus and go to a junior college.
"I had three options in looking for a junior college, but after meeting with coach Medeck and (CLC offensive coordinator) Neil Linhart, two guys that I thank God for every day that they came into my life, they not only have made me a better football player, but I have seen growth in myself academically and as a person and that is what I am thankful for at the end of the day."
Johnson has been looking at the U of M for the past year.
"As this year went on, I started leaning toward the U of M about halfway through the year," he said. "I realized that since about the eighth grade my goal was to play at the highest-level college which is in the Power Five (conferences) which includes The Big Ten, and I am going with my best friend Carlton who is going to be my roommate."
Johnson finished his sophomore season with the Raiders with 1,404 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns. He led the nation in total yards and yards per game along with touchdowns. He had four touchdowns in games against Dakota College and Mesabi Range.
"The conversation that I have had with the coaches at the U is that coming in as a preferred walk-on I definitely have the potential to play right away," Johnson said. "I am very excited to go into camp and show what I can do and I am kind of playing with a chip on my shoulder knowing that I have just barely tapped my potential."
Leaving a legacy with CLC is a source of pride for both players and both are looking forward to being recruiters for Medeck in spreading the word about the Raider tradition. They have already talked to high school friends about coming to CLC.
"When you see guys who do get to the next level, we are setting the trend for guys who will continue on to 4-year schools and that we will put MCAC football on the map," said Djam. "As a total conference, we are kind of slept on but the more guys that move on that will create a ripple effect.
"We had a very young team this year so I see that list of commitments being a lot longer next year if guys keep their heads on straight," Johnson added."There is a lot of incredible raw, untapped talent and I see a lot of myself in these guys."
Johnson and Djam have aspirations of an NFL career and both also want to work with young people in their future professions.
"Playing in the NFL would be a dream come true and I will work toward that," Djam said. "School is a big thing in my family and we are pushed to be good students and citizens so personally I am going major in psychology and sociology and am hoping to be tutoring at a school in north Minneapolis next year. I would love to be a college professor or teacher because I love working with kids."
"My overall goal is that I set no small expectations so I would love to see myself playing at the pro level. If not, you will see me coaching one day at the college level," Johnson said. "Coach Medeck is one of my biggest mentors in life but what I really admire about him is the way he takes young men and shifts the way they perceive things and he pushes them to be better in life. If I can help someone to be better, then I feel like I have achieved one of my major goals."
CLC teammates Kierre Rhodes and Troy Lenz also recently announced they are moving on to the next level of football. Rhodes will play for Concordia University in St. Paul and Lenz will play for the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth next fall.
Related Topics: COLLEGE FOOTBALL

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
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'The Marathon Continues': Lauren London debuts new Nipsey Hussle fashion collection
January 24th, 2020 by KRNB
Steve Granitz/WireImageLauren London is honoring the legacy of her late boyfriend, Nipsey Hussle, with the new fashion collection, "Hustle and Motivate."
The ATL actress, who has a three-year-old son fathered by The Marathon Continues rapper, posted a photo on Instagram of her posing with YG, J. Stone, Killa Twan and Pacman Da Gunman, wearing the new line.
The 35-year-old actress also posted a solo shot wearing a "Hustle and Motivate" T-shirt with the embroidered message, "We, The Marathon Clothing, honor the endurance and unwavering faith of those that never quit. Our products represent their testimony. Life is a marathon."
The "Hustle and Motivate" collection is a partnership with Hussle's Marathon Clothing and Puma. An official relese date for the collection has not yet been announced.
Last month, London shared some of the campaign images from her new "Forever Stronger" collaboration with Puma.
At the Grammy Awards on Sunday night, John Legend, Meek Mill, DJ Khaled, Kirk Franklin, Roddy Ricch and YG will perform a tribute to Hussle, who was fatally shot on March 31, 2019 at age 33.
Nipsey is nominated for three Grammys: Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for "Racks in the Middle," featuring Ricch and Hit-Boy, and Best Rap/Sung Performance for "Higher," his collabo with Khaled and Legend.
collection Continues debuts fashion Hussle lauren london marathon Nipsey the
Tyler Perry's 'The Haves and Have Nots' to end with season 8 on OWN Read More
'The Resident' returns: Malcolm-Jamal Warner talks shooting the medical drama in the time of COVID-19 Read More
Watch Andra Day transform into Billie Holiday in trailer for Lee Daniels' 'The United States vs Billie Holiday' Read More
PJ Morton takes us behind the scenes with his new documentary, 'The Making of Gospel According to PJ' Read More


Most of the promises of God - probably more than you realize - are conditional upon you abiding in His presence. You might think that's too simple, but it really isn't any more complicated than that. Sad to say, many Christians only visit the Lord, and only when they're in trouble. If you're going to be a victorious believer, you can't meet with God sporadically or when you're in a crisis. Let Andrew show you how to dwell in God's presence today.


at my kiss, a random bother in your hair.
and still you rage. I kiss your hair again.
All right, I whisper, accept, accept and sleep.
That is a beautiful poem.It is hard to imagine that someone could write it after rocking a screaming baby. That is the most difficult place to feel peaceful.How is baby Valkyrie doing these days?


You need to keep records about your tax to prove what you put on your tax return. In most cases, you need to keep all your tax records for five years, including receipts for anything you claim as a deduction.
When you lodge your tax return, we work out whether you've paid the right amount of tax and then send you a notice of assessment. A notice of assessment tells you the result of your tax return.
You need to keep records about your tax for five years. They prove what you put on your tax return. For example, you must keep receipts if you claim deductions.


2008 DOSEDLA Martin. Adaptive Process Management Overview. In: Proceedings of the 14th Conference and Competition STUDENT EEICT 2008 Volume 4. Brno: Faculty of Information Technology BUT, 2008, p. 5. ISBN 978-80-214-3617-6.
DUDKA Vendula. Bounded Model Checking Using Java PathFinder. In: Proceedings of the 14th Conference STUDENT EEICT 2008. Brno: Brno University of Technology, 2008, pp. 247-249. ISBN 978-80-214-3615-2.
FIALA Jiří. A Note on Application of Natural Phenomena in Computer Science. In: Proceedings of the 14th Conference STUDENT EEICT 2008, Volume 4. Brno: Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication BUT, 2008, pp. 1-5. ISBN 978-80-214-3617-6.
GOLDEFUS Filip. Left-Forbidding Cooperating Distributed Grammar Systems. In: Proceedings of the 14th Conference and Competition STUDENT EEICT 2008 Volume 4. Brno: Faculty of Information Technology BUT, 2008, pp. 403-407. ISBN 978-80-214-3617-6.
HAVEL Jiří. Fast Ray-Triangle Intersection. In: Proceedings of the 14th Conference Student EEICT 2008. Brno: Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication BUT, 2008, pp. 196-198. ISBN 978-80-214-3615-2.
HRADIŠ Michal. ShotBoundary Detection with Simple Boosted Classifiers. In: Proceedings of the 12th Conference STUDENT EEICT 2008 Volume 4. Brno: Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication BUT, 2008, pp. 266-270. ISBN 80-214-3163-6.
JANČÍK Zdeněk. Modelování dynamiky prosodie pro rozpoznání řečníka. In: Proceedings of the 14th Conference STUDENT EEICT 2008. Brno: Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication BUT, 2008, pp. 67-69. ISBN 978-80-214-3615-2.
JAŠA Petr. Predicting Deleterious Single Nucleotide Polymorphism. In: Proceedings of the 14th Conference STUDENT EEICT 2008, Volume 4. Brno: Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication BUT, 2008, pp. 408-412. ISBN 978-80-214-3617-6.
JURÁNEK Roman. Engine for Real-Time 2D Object Detection. In: Proceedings of the 14th Conference STUDENT EEICT 2008 Volume 4. Brno: Brno University of Technology, 2008, p. 5. ISBN 80-214-3163-6.
KAŠTIL Jan and KOŘENEK Jan. Deterministický konečný automat pro vyhledání vzorů ve vysokorychlostních sítích. In: Proceedings of the 14th Conference STUDENT EEICT 2008. Brno: Brno University of Technology, 2008, pp. 227-229. ISBN 978-80-214-3615-2.
KOBIERSKÝ Petr. Hardware Acceleration of Protocol Identification. In: Proceedings EEICT 2008. Brno: Brno University of Technology, 2008, pp. 230-232. ISBN 978-80-214-3615-2.
KOMBRINK Stefan. OOV detection in LVCSR using neural networks. In: Proc. STUDENT EEICT 2008. Brno: Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication BUT, 2008, p. 3. ISBN 978-80-214-3617-6.
KOUTNÝ Jiří. L-systémy a jejich aplikace. In: Proceedings of the 14th Conference STUDENT EEICT 2008. Brno: Brno University of Technology, 2008, pp. 170-172. ISBN 978-80-214-3615-2.
LETKO Zdeněk. An Architecture for Self-Healing of Data Races and Atomicity Violations for Java. In: Proceedings of the 14th Conference STUDENT EEICT 2008. Brno: Brno University of Technology, 2008, pp. 256-258. ISBN 978-80-214-3615-2.
MIKOLOV Tomáš. LANGUAGE MODELS FOR AUTOMATIC SPEECH RECOGNITION OF CZECH LECTURES. In: Proc. STUDENT EEICT 2008. Brno: Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication BUT, 2008, pp. 1-5. ISBN 978-80-214-3617-6.
MLÍCH Jozef. Trajectory classification. In: Proceedings of the 14th Conference STUDENT EEICT 2008. Brno: Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication BUT, 2008, pp. 211-213. ISBN 978-80-214-3615-2.
NAVRÁTIL Jan. Realistic Rendering of a Building with Varying Lighting Conditions. In: Proceedings of the 14th Conference STUDENT EEICT 2008. Brno: Brno University of Technology, 2008, pp. 214-216. ISBN 978-80-214-3615-2.
PUŠ Viktor. FAST PACKET CLASSIFICATION USING PERFECT HASH FUNCTIONS. In: Proceedings EEICT 2008. Brno, 2008, pp. 236-238. ISBN 978-80-214-3615-2.
RYCHNOVSKÝ Lukáš. Start String in Formal Language Theory. In: Proceedings of the 14th Conference STUDENT EEICT 2008. Brno: Faculty of Information Technology BUT, 2008, pp. 422-426. ISBN 978-80-214-3617-6.
SEDLÁČKOVÁ Jana. Using CSP in Description of Workflow Processes. In: Proceedings of the 14th Conference and Competition STUDENT EEICT 2008 Volume 4. Brno: Faculty of Information Technology BUT, 2008, p. 5. ISBN 978-80-214-3617-6.
STRAKA Martin. Checkers Design for Communication Protocols Based on FPGAs. In: Proceedings of the 14th Conference STUDENT EEICT 2008 Volume 4. Brno: Faculty of Information Technology BUT, 2008, pp. 467-473. ISBN 978-80-214-3617-6.
VÁŇA Jan. FACE RECOGNITION BY THERMAL IMAGE. In: Proceedings of the 14th edition of the STUDENT EEICT 2008. Brno: Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication BUT, 2008, pp. 160-162. ISBN 978-80-214-3617-6.
ZEMEK Petr. An Infinite Hierarchy of Language Families Resulting from n-limited Programmed Grammars. In: Proceedings of the 14th Conference STUDENT EEICT 2008. Brno: Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication BUT, 2008, pp. 164-166. ISBN 978-80-214-3614-5.
ČERMÁK Martin. Systems of Formal Models and Their Application. In: Proceedings of the 14th Conference Student EEICT 2008. Brno: Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication BUT, 2008, pp. 164-166. ISBN 978-80-214-3615-2.


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Horace Morton Stone (January 6, 1890 – March 7, 1944) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

Life
He was born on January 6, 1890, in Marcellus, Onondaga County, New York, the son of Rollin McKays Stone (1849–1942) and Mary Adelle (Baker) Stone (1850–1920). He attended Marcellus High School and Solvay High School. He graduated LL.B. from Syracuse University College of Law in 1912. On June 14, 1916, he married Norma L. Walsh (1895–1981), and they had four children.

Stone was Supervisor of the Town of Marcellus from 1915 to 1922. He was a member of the New York State Assembly (Onondaga Co., 1st D.) in 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935 and 1936; and was Chairman of the Committee on Re-Apportionment in 1926, of the Committee on Insurance from 1927 to 1932, and of the Committee on the Judiciary in 1933, 1934 and 1936. In November 1936, he ran for the State Senate, but was defeated by Democrat Francis L. McElroy.

He died on March 7, 1944, while speaking at a Republican Party meeting at the Hotel Syracuse, in Syracuse, New York; and was buried at the Highland Cemetery in Marcellus.

Sources

External links

 Stone genealogy at Family Tree Maker
 Around Marcellus by Leslie Church Kraus ("Images of America" series; Arcadia Publishing, 2006) [Stone family photo on pg. 59]

1890 births
1944 deaths
People from Marcellus, New York
Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly
Syracuse University College of Law alumni
Town supervisors in New York (state)
20th-century American politicians

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Let your taste buds be your guide! Immerse yourself in the richness of Pakistani / Indian Cuisine, discovering the flavours of this mystic land. The spiciness of the flavours delicately balanced with our divine desserts. Here at Zaiqah we combine classic taste and iconic dishes to give you a memorable dining experience.


Spacious Tri level townhouse 2 Bedrooms 2.2 bath in sought-after FieldStone Pond with Garage. Eat in Kitchen with Granite counters, dining area, Living room with sliding glass door to trex deck. Large master bedroom suite with cathedral ceiling, 2 walk in closets and full master bath, 2nd bedroom, and full hall bath. Full finished basement has extra room which can be an office/bedroom, 1/2 bath, slider out to patio, den/play room, washer and dryer and water softener system. Plenty of storage. Enjoy all amenities including pool, tennis, basketball, playground and clubhouse. Conveniently located to shopping and train and highway. Unit comes with 2 parking spots directly in front of unit and a 1 Car detached garage.
Listing Courtesy of Billingsley Realty Inc.


Chalk up another vendor entering the Mac peripheral market. Pinnacle System Inc, the consumer division of Avid Technology, Inc has announced that they have entered the Mac peripheral market with the release of three USB based TV tuner devices.
"The new ultra-portable Pinnacle TV for Mac Sticks turn any Mac into a full-featured TV receiver/recorder with remote control. "Macs are famous for their eye-catching design and the cool features within the OS. Now Mac users can use Pinnacle products to further extend the capabilities of their computers and transform them into personal TVs and video recorders," said, Pinnacle Systems general manager and Avid vice president Jeff Hastings. "With Pinnacle TV for Mac Sticks, anyone can enjoy an easy-to-use, high quality TV experience on a Mac, whether at home or traveling."
The tuners ship with Elgato's EyeTV Lite TV viewing and recording software. Mac users can now watch and record TV programs directly on their Macs. Recording can be saved in DVD-qualtiy MPEG-2 format. Pinnacle also packages an A/V adapter that makes it easy to import video from an external source directly to a Mac. The TV Tuners will be available in the US starting in March 2007.
You can view Pinnacle's Press Release here.
Traditionally a PC peripheral manufacturer, Pinnacle's release of Mac-based TV Tuner cards is a clear sign that companies must either accept the growing popularity of the Mac or be left behind. It's only a matter of time before additional peripheral and third-party hardware vendors jump on board and begin to release Mac capable devices.


text:
Rescue surgery for unresectable colorectal liver metastases downstaged by chemotherapy: A model to predict long-term survival
René Adam, Valérie Delvart, Gérard Pascal, Adrian Valeanu, Denis Castaing, Daniel Azoulay, Sylvie Giacchetti, Bernard Paule, Francis Kunstlinger, Odile Ghémard, Francis Levi, Henri Bismuth, Harold J. Wanebo, Robert J. Fitzgibbons, Steven M. Strasberg, David W. Easter
Objective: To evaluate the long-term survival of patients resected for primarily unresectable colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) downstaged by systemic chemotherapy and to use prognostic factors of outcome for a model predictive of survival on a preoperative setting. Summary Background Data: Surgery of primarily unresectable CRLM after downstaging chemotherapy is still questioned, and prognostic factors of outcome are lacking. Methods: From a consecutive series of 1439 patients with CRLM managed in a single institution during an 11-year period (1988-1999), 1104 (77%) initially unresectable (NR) patients were treated by chemotherapy and 335 (23%) resectable were treated by primary liver resection. Chemotherapy mainly consisted of 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin combined to oxaliplatin (70%), irinotecan (7%), or both (4%) given as chronomodulated infusion (87%). NR patients were routinely reassessed every 4 courses. Surgery was reconsidered every time a documented response to chemotherapy was observed. Among 1104 NR patients, 138 "good responders" (12.5%) underwent secondary hepatic resection after an average of 10 courses of chemotherapy. At time of diagnosis, mean number of metastases was 4.4 (1-14) and mean maximum size was 5.2 cm (1-25). Extrahepatic tumor was present in 52 patients (38%). Multinodularity or extrahepatic tumor was the main cause of initial unresectability. All factors likely to be predictive of survival after liver resection were evaluated by uni- and multivariate analysis. Estimation of survival was adjusted on risk factors available preoperatively. Results: Seventy-five percent of procedures were major hepatectomies (≥3 segments) and 93% were potentially curative. Liver surgery was combined to portal embolization, to ablative treatment, or to a second-stage hepatectomy in 42 patients (30%) and to resection of extrahepatic tumor in 41 patients (30%). Operative mortality within 2 months was 0.7%, and postoperative morbidity was 28%. After a mean follow-up of 48.7 months, 111 of the 138 patients (80%) developed tumor recurrence, 40 of which were hepatic (29%), 12 extrahepatic (9%), and 59 both hepatic and extrahepatic (43%). Recurrence was treated in 52 patients by repeat hepatectomy (71 procedures) and in 42 patients by extrahepatic resection (77 procedures). Survival was 33% and 23% at 5 and 10 years with a disease-free survival of 22% and 17%, respectively. It was decreased as compared with that of patients primarily resected within the same period (48% and 30% respectively, P = 0.01). At the last follow-up, 99 patients had died (72%) and 39 (28%) were alive; 25 were disease free (18%) and 14 had recurrence (10%). At multivariate analysis, 4 preoperative factors were independently associated to decreased survival: rectal primary, ≥3 metastases, maximum tumor size >10 cm, and CA 19-9 >100 UI/L. Mean adjusted 5-year survival according to the presence of 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 factors was 59%, 30%, 7%, 0%, and 0%. Conclusions: Modern chemotherapy allows 12.5% of patients with unresectable CRLM to be rescued by liver surgery. Despite a high rate of recurrence, 5-year survival is 33% overall, with a wide use of repeat hepatectomies and extrahepatic resections. Four preoperative risk factors could select the patients most likely to benefit from this strategy.
Annals of Surgery
https://doi.org/10.1097/01.sla.0000141198.92114.f6
10.1097/01.sla.0000141198.92114.f6
Dive into the research topics of 'Rescue surgery for unresectable colorectal liver metastases downstaged by chemotherapy: A model to predict long-term survival'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Colorectal Surgery Medicine & Life Sciences 100%
Hepatectomy Medicine & Life Sciences 23%
Neoplasms Medicine & Life Sciences 8%
Adam, R., Delvart, V., Pascal, G., Valeanu, A., Castaing, D., Azoulay, D., Giacchetti, S., Paule, B., Kunstlinger, F., Ghémard, O., Levi, F., Bismuth, H., Wanebo, H. J., Fitzgibbons, R. J., Strasberg, S. M., & Easter, D. W. (2004). Rescue surgery for unresectable colorectal liver metastases downstaged by chemotherapy: A model to predict long-term survival. Annals of Surgery, 240(4), 644-658. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.sla.0000141198.92114.f6
Rescue surgery for unresectable colorectal liver metastases downstaged by chemotherapy : A model to predict long-term survival. / Adam, René; Delvart, Valérie; Pascal, Gérard et al.
In: Annals of Surgery, Vol. 240, No. 4, 10.2004, p. 644-658.
Adam, R, Delvart, V, Pascal, G, Valeanu, A, Castaing, D, Azoulay, D, Giacchetti, S, Paule, B, Kunstlinger, F, Ghémard, O, Levi, F, Bismuth, H, Wanebo, HJ, Fitzgibbons, RJ, Strasberg, SM & Easter, DW 2004, 'Rescue surgery for unresectable colorectal liver metastases downstaged by chemotherapy: A model to predict long-term survival', Annals of Surgery, vol. 240, no. 4, pp. 644-658. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.sla.0000141198.92114.f6
Adam R, Delvart V, Pascal G, Valeanu A, Castaing D, Azoulay D et al. Rescue surgery for unresectable colorectal liver metastases downstaged by chemotherapy: A model to predict long-term survival. Annals of Surgery. 2004 Oct;240(4):644-658. doi: 10.1097/01.sla.0000141198.92114.f6
Adam, René ; Delvart, Valérie ; Pascal, Gérard et al. / Rescue surgery for unresectable colorectal liver metastases downstaged by chemotherapy : A model to predict long-term survival. In: Annals of Surgery. 2004 ; Vol. 240, No. 4. pp. 644-658.
@article{ad8da5e7ebcd431a860ad79c0c4fc3a3,
title = "Rescue surgery for unresectable colorectal liver metastases downstaged by chemotherapy: A model to predict long-term survival",
abstract = "Objective: To evaluate the long-term survival of patients resected for primarily unresectable colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) downstaged by systemic chemotherapy and to use prognostic factors of outcome for a model predictive of survival on a preoperative setting. Summary Background Data: Surgery of primarily unresectable CRLM after downstaging chemotherapy is still questioned, and prognostic factors of outcome are lacking. Methods: From a consecutive series of 1439 patients with CRLM managed in a single institution during an 11-year period (1988-1999), 1104 (77%) initially unresectable (NR) patients were treated by chemotherapy and 335 (23%) resectable were treated by primary liver resection. Chemotherapy mainly consisted of 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin combined to oxaliplatin (70%), irinotecan (7%), or both (4%) given as chronomodulated infusion (87%). NR patients were routinely reassessed every 4 courses. Surgery was reconsidered every time a documented response to chemotherapy was observed. Among 1104 NR patients, 138 {"}good responders{"} (12.5%) underwent secondary hepatic resection after an average of 10 courses of chemotherapy. At time of diagnosis, mean number of metastases was 4.4 (1-14) and mean maximum size was 5.2 cm (1-25). Extrahepatic tumor was present in 52 patients (38%). Multinodularity or extrahepatic tumor was the main cause of initial unresectability. All factors likely to be predictive of survival after liver resection were evaluated by uni- and multivariate analysis. Estimation of survival was adjusted on risk factors available preoperatively. Results: Seventy-five percent of procedures were major hepatectomies (≥3 segments) and 93% were potentially curative. Liver surgery was combined to portal embolization, to ablative treatment, or to a second-stage hepatectomy in 42 patients (30%) and to resection of extrahepatic tumor in 41 patients (30%). Operative mortality within 2 months was 0.7%, and postoperative morbidity was 28%. After a mean follow-up of 48.7 months, 111 of the 138 patients (80%) developed tumor recurrence, 40 of which were hepatic (29%), 12 extrahepatic (9%), and 59 both hepatic and extrahepatic (43%). Recurrence was treated in 52 patients by repeat hepatectomy (71 procedures) and in 42 patients by extrahepatic resection (77 procedures). Survival was 33% and 23% at 5 and 10 years with a disease-free survival of 22% and 17%, respectively. It was decreased as compared with that of patients primarily resected within the same period (48% and 30% respectively, P = 0.01). At the last follow-up, 99 patients had died (72%) and 39 (28%) were alive; 25 were disease free (18%) and 14 had recurrence (10%). At multivariate analysis, 4 preoperative factors were independently associated to decreased survival: rectal primary, ≥3 metastases, maximum tumor size >10 cm, and CA 19-9 >100 UI/L. Mean adjusted 5-year survival according to the presence of 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 factors was 59%, 30%, 7%, 0%, and 0%. Conclusions: Modern chemotherapy allows 12.5% of patients with unresectable CRLM to be rescued by liver surgery. Despite a high rate of recurrence, 5-year survival is 33% overall, with a wide use of repeat hepatectomies and extrahepatic resections. Four preoperative risk factors could select the patients most likely to benefit from this strategy.",
author = "Ren{\'e} Adam and Val{\'e}rie Delvart and G{\'e}rard Pascal and Adrian Valeanu and Denis Castaing and Daniel Azoulay and Sylvie Giacchetti and Bernard Paule and Francis Kunstlinger and Odile Gh{\'e}mard and Francis Levi and Henri Bismuth and Wanebo, {Harold J.} and Fitzgibbons, {Robert J.} and Strasberg, {Steven M.} and Easter, {David W.}",
doi = "10.1097/01.sla.0000141198.92114.f6",
journal = "Annals of Surgery",
T1 - Rescue surgery for unresectable colorectal liver metastases downstaged by chemotherapy
T2 - A model to predict long-term survival
AU - Adam, René
AU - Delvart, Valérie
AU - Pascal, Gérard
AU - Valeanu, Adrian
AU - Castaing, Denis
AU - Azoulay, Daniel
AU - Giacchetti, Sylvie
AU - Paule, Bernard
AU - Kunstlinger, Francis
AU - Ghémard, Odile
AU - Levi, Francis
AU - Bismuth, Henri
AU - Wanebo, Harold J.
AU - Fitzgibbons, Robert J.
AU - Strasberg, Steven M.
AU - Easter, David W.
N2 - Objective: To evaluate the long-term survival of patients resected for primarily unresectable colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) downstaged by systemic chemotherapy and to use prognostic factors of outcome for a model predictive of survival on a preoperative setting. Summary Background Data: Surgery of primarily unresectable CRLM after downstaging chemotherapy is still questioned, and prognostic factors of outcome are lacking. Methods: From a consecutive series of 1439 patients with CRLM managed in a single institution during an 11-year period (1988-1999), 1104 (77%) initially unresectable (NR) patients were treated by chemotherapy and 335 (23%) resectable were treated by primary liver resection. Chemotherapy mainly consisted of 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin combined to oxaliplatin (70%), irinotecan (7%), or both (4%) given as chronomodulated infusion (87%). NR patients were routinely reassessed every 4 courses. Surgery was reconsidered every time a documented response to chemotherapy was observed. Among 1104 NR patients, 138 "good responders" (12.5%) underwent secondary hepatic resection after an average of 10 courses of chemotherapy. At time of diagnosis, mean number of metastases was 4.4 (1-14) and mean maximum size was 5.2 cm (1-25). Extrahepatic tumor was present in 52 patients (38%). Multinodularity or extrahepatic tumor was the main cause of initial unresectability. All factors likely to be predictive of survival after liver resection were evaluated by uni- and multivariate analysis. Estimation of survival was adjusted on risk factors available preoperatively. Results: Seventy-five percent of procedures were major hepatectomies (≥3 segments) and 93% were potentially curative. Liver surgery was combined to portal embolization, to ablative treatment, or to a second-stage hepatectomy in 42 patients (30%) and to resection of extrahepatic tumor in 41 patients (30%). Operative mortality within 2 months was 0.7%, and postoperative morbidity was 28%. After a mean follow-up of 48.7 months, 111 of the 138 patients (80%) developed tumor recurrence, 40 of which were hepatic (29%), 12 extrahepatic (9%), and 59 both hepatic and extrahepatic (43%). Recurrence was treated in 52 patients by repeat hepatectomy (71 procedures) and in 42 patients by extrahepatic resection (77 procedures). Survival was 33% and 23% at 5 and 10 years with a disease-free survival of 22% and 17%, respectively. It was decreased as compared with that of patients primarily resected within the same period (48% and 30% respectively, P = 0.01). At the last follow-up, 99 patients had died (72%) and 39 (28%) were alive; 25 were disease free (18%) and 14 had recurrence (10%). At multivariate analysis, 4 preoperative factors were independently associated to decreased survival: rectal primary, ≥3 metastases, maximum tumor size >10 cm, and CA 19-9 >100 UI/L. Mean adjusted 5-year survival according to the presence of 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 factors was 59%, 30%, 7%, 0%, and 0%. Conclusions: Modern chemotherapy allows 12.5% of patients with unresectable CRLM to be rescued by liver surgery. Despite a high rate of recurrence, 5-year survival is 33% overall, with a wide use of repeat hepatectomies and extrahepatic resections. Four preoperative risk factors could select the patients most likely to benefit from this strategy.
AB - Objective: To evaluate the long-term survival of patients resected for primarily unresectable colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) downstaged by systemic chemotherapy and to use prognostic factors of outcome for a model predictive of survival on a preoperative setting. Summary Background Data: Surgery of primarily unresectable CRLM after downstaging chemotherapy is still questioned, and prognostic factors of outcome are lacking. Methods: From a consecutive series of 1439 patients with CRLM managed in a single institution during an 11-year period (1988-1999), 1104 (77%) initially unresectable (NR) patients were treated by chemotherapy and 335 (23%) resectable were treated by primary liver resection. Chemotherapy mainly consisted of 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin combined to oxaliplatin (70%), irinotecan (7%), or both (4%) given as chronomodulated infusion (87%). NR patients were routinely reassessed every 4 courses. Surgery was reconsidered every time a documented response to chemotherapy was observed. Among 1104 NR patients, 138 "good responders" (12.5%) underwent secondary hepatic resection after an average of 10 courses of chemotherapy. At time of diagnosis, mean number of metastases was 4.4 (1-14) and mean maximum size was 5.2 cm (1-25). Extrahepatic tumor was present in 52 patients (38%). Multinodularity or extrahepatic tumor was the main cause of initial unresectability. All factors likely to be predictive of survival after liver resection were evaluated by uni- and multivariate analysis. Estimation of survival was adjusted on risk factors available preoperatively. Results: Seventy-five percent of procedures were major hepatectomies (≥3 segments) and 93% were potentially curative. Liver surgery was combined to portal embolization, to ablative treatment, or to a second-stage hepatectomy in 42 patients (30%) and to resection of extrahepatic tumor in 41 patients (30%). Operative mortality within 2 months was 0.7%, and postoperative morbidity was 28%. After a mean follow-up of 48.7 months, 111 of the 138 patients (80%) developed tumor recurrence, 40 of which were hepatic (29%), 12 extrahepatic (9%), and 59 both hepatic and extrahepatic (43%). Recurrence was treated in 52 patients by repeat hepatectomy (71 procedures) and in 42 patients by extrahepatic resection (77 procedures). Survival was 33% and 23% at 5 and 10 years with a disease-free survival of 22% and 17%, respectively. It was decreased as compared with that of patients primarily resected within the same period (48% and 30% respectively, P = 0.01). At the last follow-up, 99 patients had died (72%) and 39 (28%) were alive; 25 were disease free (18%) and 14 had recurrence (10%). At multivariate analysis, 4 preoperative factors were independently associated to decreased survival: rectal primary, ≥3 metastases, maximum tumor size >10 cm, and CA 19-9 >100 UI/L. Mean adjusted 5-year survival according to the presence of 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 factors was 59%, 30%, 7%, 0%, and 0%. Conclusions: Modern chemotherapy allows 12.5% of patients with unresectable CRLM to be rescued by liver surgery. Despite a high rate of recurrence, 5-year survival is 33% overall, with a wide use of repeat hepatectomies and extrahepatic resections. Four preoperative risk factors could select the patients most likely to benefit from this strategy.
U2 - 10.1097/01.sla.0000141198.92114.f6
DO - 10.1097/01.sla.0000141198.92114.f6
JO - Annals of Surgery
JF - Annals of Surgery


This solar powered battery trickle charger provides up to 6 Watts – Maximum 400mA power from the sun's energy and delivers a small current to your rechargeable 12 volt batteries and will help maintain and prevent dead batteries. Equipped with a amorphous solar panel that will provide a charge even on cloudy days. The solar panel is equipped with heavy duty aluminum frame for strong weather resistance. Includes built-in blocking diode to prevent reverse flow of electricity. Simple to install and easy to use, just place the portable solar panel in an area that will receive sunlight, then attach to your battery with the included battery clamp or a 12-volt car plug. Great for use with cars, boats, tractors, RVs, motorized sports vehicles, deer feeders, farm equipment, water pumps and all 12 volt rechargeable batteries. A great alternative to traditional battery chargers since no AC power is required.


Cool post. Shared on FB.
Love these tea towels. I have one with a grandma saying in embroidery.
I love the sheep one and the birds. My in-laws used tea towels and I dried many a dish with them. Makes me want to make some!


text:
'use strict';

var Network = require('../protocol/network');
var request = require('./request');
var util = require('../utils/util');
var co = require('../utils/co');

/**
 * Bcoin RPC client.
 * @alias module:http.RPCClient
 * @constructor
 * @param {String} uri
 * @param {Object?} options
 */

function RPCClient(options) {
  if (!(this instanceof RPCClient))
    return new RPCClient(options);

  if (!options)
    options = {};

  if (typeof options === 'string')
    options = { uri: options };

  this.options = options;
  this.network = Network.get(options.network);

  this.uri = options.uri || 'http://localhost:' + this.network.rpcPort;
  this.apiKey = options.apiKey;
  this.id = 0;
}

/**
 * Make a json rpc request.
 * @private
 * @param {String} method - RPC method name.
 * @param {Array} params - RPC parameters.
 * @returns {Promise} - Returns Object?.
 */

RPCClient.prototype.execute = co(function* execute(method, params) {
  var res = yield request({
    method: 'POST',
    uri: this.uri,
    pool: true,
    json: {
      method: method,
      params: params,
      id: this.id++
    },
    auth: {
      username: 'bitcoinrpc',
      password: this.apiKey || ''
    },
    expect: 'json'
  });

  if (!res.body)
    throw new Error('No body for JSON-RPC response.');

  if (res.body.error)
    throw new RPCError(res.body.error.message, res.body.error.code);

  if (res.statusCode !== 200)
    throw new Error('Status code: ' + res.statusCode);

  return res.body.result;
});

/*
 * Helpers
 */

function RPCError(msg, code) {
  Error.call(this);

  if (Error.captureStackTrace)
    Error.captureStackTrace(this, RPCError);

  this.type = 'RPCError';
  this.message = msg + '';
  this.code = code >>> 0;
}

util.inherits(RPCError, Error);

/*
 * Expose
 */

module.exports = RPCClient;

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Hill, Summers among Tech's first-time starters
Ken Sugiura, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Deon Hill may have been a leading candidate for a starting position, but the Georgia Tech A-back pictured himself as an underdog.
"I wanted to work to (get the starting job)," Hill said. "I didn't want anything given to me. I wanted to show and prove that I could."
Hill has shown and proved. He and Robert Godhigh will be the starting A-backs when the Yellow Jackets open the season Saturday afternoon against Elon. It will be Hill's first career start.
"I can't wait," Hill said. "Big opportunity. This is what I came to school for."
No fewer than four Jackets will make their first career starts Saturday — Hill, quarterback Vad Lee, wide receiver Micheal Summers and either DeAndre Smelter or Corey Dennis at the other wide receiver spot.
Summers' game plan is free of extravagance: "Staying consistent and just doing my job because that's all I can really worry about is my job."
He has won the job with, among other things, a willingness to get dirty.
"He's still a redshirt freshman, but Micheal's got good speed," coach Paul Johnson said. "He's not afraid to be physical."
Summers is making the transition from playing running back at Statesboro High. He has learned to play in space, run routes and become accustomed to a defining element of playing wide receiver at Tech — blocking.
"I feel like now I'm ready to play in a game," said Summers, who, as a redshirt freshman, not only will make his first start, but will play in his first collegiate game.
Summers helped himself by staying healthy in the spring, when the Jackets were short on wide receivers, giving himself plenty of time to be coached.
"I feel like mentally I've been getting better day by day from spring into fall camp," Summers said.
He should be on the field plenty Saturday. Because receivers Darren Waller and Travin Henry will be held out of the game for violating team rules, Tech will have three scholarship receivers available — Summers, Dennis and Smelter.
Consistency is what won Hill the job to take the spot opened by the graduation of Orwin Smith, who was also Hill's high school teammate in Phenix City, Ala. As it is the virtue constantly preached by A-backs coach Lamar Owens, Hill made consistency his objective. Hill said he has watched veterans such as Godhigh and center Jay Finch to absorb their example. He has focused on catching everything thrown to him, executing every assignment and giving full effort each play.
"I just continued to try to make plays, continued to block, continued to do the small things that (Owens) likes to see," Hill said.
Waiting for his time behind Roddy Jones, Smith and Godhigh, Hill hasn't had significant playing time at A-back — he has seven carries and four receptions in his 27-game career. But he won a competition at probably the team's deepest position, one that requires perhaps the most versatility.
"When you take in the fact of blocking, receiving, running with the ball, assignments, adjustments, all that stuff, I think he's probably separated himself a little bit," Johnson said.
Fellow A-backs Dennis Andrews, B.J. Bostic, Synjyn Days and Tony Zenon will vie for playing time behind Hill and Godhigh. Johnson said he'll use the A-backs to shuttle plays in from the sideline, so each will have opportunities to prove himself and earn more time.
But Hill will have the first crack when he takes the field with Tech's 10 other offensive starters for the first drive of the game, shortly after noon Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
"I'm not too sure about (what that moment will be like)," he said. "I'm just ready for it."


Every ounce of energy you have will be used up as you take this movie into your being. We all need to be enlightened on the sacrifices made for our freedom. This movie brought the realization to me of how much I did not know about the battles of W. I would highly recommend it for anyone mature enough, but young children should not watch it for reasons of violence and language.
I consider it a ray of light and truth to what happened and if forgotten may happen again. They said this about the Holocaust. It has brought Generation Xers to embrace and cry for those veterans who served during that great time of testing.
For those who say that we must see this graphic movie in order to fully understand how horrible war really is, I have some food for homero mercadotecnia latino dating Like most D-Day soldiers, he fought all the way throughout France and awarded many citations along with the Purple Heart.
Alex Chaney, age 34 Agree with your comments. The film clearly shows sacrifice and courage in the face of an almost insurmountable task like nothing that I have ever seen.
From a Christian perspective, violence should not be tolerated and this movie carries a near NC amount of it and it has a lot of language. After seeing this movie, I think of my grandfather in a far different light. However, for Ryan, the act of Miller is one of sacrifice.
Paul Gan our freedoms were gained by men like these… Every American adult should see this film because we need to be reminded that the freedoms we now have were gained salvar al soldado ryan nathan fillion dating the men portrayed in this movie.
I first watched it at age 14 with two friends from my church one of whom was somewhat older and had already seen the movieand I was quite moved by it at the time. You cannot betray the images you allowed yourself to take hold of and approve of it. Nevertheless, despite my Christian criticism, film is a form of art, and characterizations are invented to suit the needs of the artist, in this case Spielberg.
As a final point, I think Saving Private Ryan puts references to God and christianity in a positive light. While some may find the trivialities of its language offensive, such gnat-like considerations are irrelevant in the face of its moral strengths of courage and self-sacrifice.
I was not quite mature enough to fully appreciate it for what it was, but I was moved by it and could not quite understand why. The freedom we enjoy as Americans and the freedom in other nations was bought at a severe price.
After all all of the lives lost were children of God. I have to say that if you are tame at heart, steer clear of this one, but if you really want to see it, take someone with you that can somewhat handle it.
Brian Roeseler, age 27 I was compelled by the image of an aged Private Ryan, weeping over the thousands of crosses at the Normandy Memorial. This movie instilled in me that it was only by the Grace of God that any solider was able to make it onto Normandy beach that day.
You will leave exhausted. Every apathetic American should see this movie to realize the debt we owe to those who died to preserve our freedom and that of others.
There is no movie that can compare, no other feeling on Earth that will shock you as this movie does. No children under fifteen should see this movie, BUT, I firmly believe, even though I am a devout Christian and abhor wanton violence, that everyone else should see this movie.
Then there was the final scene of the film, where the elderly James Ryan stands before the graves of the men that died so he could live to see home again. My whole family, father, uncles, grandfather, brothers, are all military.
This movie is a war movie in every right and in every sense of the word. I found that the movie served to re-sensitize me to the horror of war.
I saw a deeper meaning in the movie, which was touched on briefly in the church. This film will set everyone against war and will earn Spielberg a place in history as the only director yet to capture the brutal, in-your-face realism of warfare captured on film. The saved one remembers this for the rest of his life, feeling unworthy.
People who believe that this movie is too violent scare me. Spielberg puts the reality of violence back into true perspective. And yet Hollywood has done little to honor their memory. John Williams conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra for the scoring of the film which is strategically sparse; there is no music during battle scenes.
Pray for our land and our leaders. I have never had a movie open my eyes and teach me anything quite like this. My brother never talks about the war, but after seeing this movie, I see him in a different respect now.
The visual and aural accuracy is so real, your other senses will kick in. Watching the storming of Omaha Beach, I was literally almost sick to my stomach. The movie continually emphasizes the recurring theme of the conflict between principle and purpose.
The blood and destruction happened. Interestingly enough, the most emotional scenes to me were not the scenes of fighting. It opens your eyes like nothing else. This movie taught me a lot, even as a relatively immature 14 year old.
Along the way, there are some cameos of famous actors, i. Apparently, as a result of their war experience, they become cynics. And it is marvelous.


Rock, Chalk, J-Hawk! Our own Samantha Johnson was more than thrilled to find out that Andrea was a fellow Kansas alum, and may have squealed a bit when the J-Hawk inspired cake was delivered. This was our first wedding at one of the city's lesser known venues, the Italian Sports Hall of Fame, which happens to have an incredible 4th floor rooftop deck with one of the best skyline views in Chicago. The rain threatened all day to keep us from using the space, but at the last minute the skies cleared, and we were able to make the couple very happy by having the outdoor ceremony they'd hoped for. Andrea's bright yellow sunflowers, adorable details, and a really fun group of guests made this one of our 2014 favorites!


text:
Politics »
USA's new 'Ninja' missile deploys giant knife blades, not explosives; a 'giant anvil' w/ swords
Author Topic: USA's new 'Ninja' missile deploys giant knife blades, not explosives; a 'giant anvil' w/ swords (Read 201 times)
Tim Whiteman
As the old saying goes; to make an omelets, you gotta break a few eggs.
But in today's global war on Islamic Jihad terrorism, the omelets could be equated to whatever terrorist head honcho, and the eggs would be the R9X missile.
In a joint venture between the Pentagon and the CIA, in a move to grease jihadist leaders but spare non-terrorists in the blast zone, there's a new weapon in the American inventory: The AGM-114 R9X Hellfire missile.
Described by some as a meteor as filled with swords, others have equated the R9X to a 100 lb. flying anvil equipped with rather large machete-like blades that deploy right before impact.
For the rest of the article, please click here --> http://kevinwhiteman.com/americas-new-ninja-missile-deploys-giant-knife-blades-not-explosives-likened-to-a-giant-anvil-with-swords-falling-from-the-sky/
libertybele
Re: USA's new 'Ninja' missile deploys giant knife blades, not explosives; a 'giant anvil' w/ swords
Interesting ... thanks for the post. BTW, Welcome to the Briefing Room.
"I believe in the United States of America as a Government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic; a sovereign nation of many sovereign states; a perfect union one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes. I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it; to support its Constitution; to obey it laws; to respect its flag; and to defend it against all enemies." -William Page


wdp has a guiding principle for each project: leverage our expertise and experience into results with positive bottom-line impacts for each customer. We guide the process of digital transformation at all levels within the organization; from products and services, through value-creation, to processes and operational improvements.
We believe the first step to building strategy is getting a full understanding of the impact of digitization on products, processes, sales and marketing. This is typically the first step we take with a customer. Market potential, growth projection and risk analysis are then used to develop appropriate digital strategies.
In our experience, measurement and consistent optimization are the basis of operational excellence in all digital business models. Once you establish a clear strategy, we implement processes, measurement, effective organization and human resource management & recruitment. We also develop, measure and adjust the approach to monetization, pricing and product management to ensure focus on key value drivers.
Developing in-house expertise is a key factor for digital success. We transfer our digital expertise to you and your staff through management coaching, organizational development and on-the-job training. Getting the right leadership and team in place and establishing the right framework in which they can succeed is a key part of any project.
We support acquisitions or direct investments in digital businesses with comprehensive analysis and due diligence. We have advised on over 110 transactions with a combined value over 1.5 billion euros. Our experience of valuations and risk analysis include areas such as AdTech, classifieds, e-commerce, lead generation and subscription models.


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text:
Find: Google-branded 7-inch Asus tablet coming as early as May, says DigiTimes
A tablet Prime in May?
Google-branded 7-inch Asus tablet coming as early as May, says DigiTimes
The Verge - All Posts
Asus wants the world to know how close it is to Google, but that could be closer than we'd ever imagined if reports from DigiTimes are to be believed. The site's sources claim that the two companies are to collaborate on a 7-inch tablet aimed at the Kindle Fire with a price tag of $199-$249. It's said to be the first tablet to run the Google Play store, and is set to debut in May. Google apparently selected Asus for its quality and ODM capabilities, and the company has indeed been working on similar-sounding products. Asus showed off the MeMO ME370T at CES this year, a 7-inch tablet with a Tegra 3 SoC, 1280 x 800 resolution display and $249 price point, though we haven't heard much about it since — could Google be thinking along...


text:
Motueka is set apart, not so much by its rivermouth setting and the reflections in the smooth tidal reaches of Tasman Bay, but by the patchwork of tobacco and wire-hung hopfields beside big boarded kilns, and by the large tobacco factories that fringe the town.
For Motueka, as well as harvesting much of the country's pip fruit, is the centre of New Zealand's only commercial plantations of hops and tobacco. An extraordinarily wide range of crops are grown successfully in the region. In addition to the traditional hops and tobacco, kiwifruit, berryfruits, stone and pip fruits, sub-tropicals and a variety of vegetables have come into their own. The prolific produce manifests the town's equitable climate and draws to it each summer large numbers of seasonal workers to harvest fruit, tobacco and hops. The area is also rich in arts and crafts.
Motueka (more correctly Motuweka) has been translated as the crippled woodhen – one used as a lure to trap weka. The name (literally, motu=clump of trees; weka=woodhen) comes from Hawaiki, where it may have had a different connotation.
Land of plenty: When Europeans arrived, there was a Maori kainga at Motueka which had already been visited by Octavius Hadfield, who had sailed across from Waikanae to bring Christianity to the area. Soon the plains were dotted with huts as the settlers, many of them retired army and naval officers, set about clearing dense bush to win today's fertile farmland. Well could Dr Greenwood's wife enthuse in 1843: "The climate is delightful. It has neither the rains of Auckland nor the winds of Port Nicholson [Wellington]. The waters abound in fish of excellent quality, and the land with birds, pigeons, quails, wild duck and parrots."
Potatoes were exported to the Australian goldfields, but communications closer to hand were also by ship. Small trading vessels plied around the coast to overcome the lack of roads and river crossings, and to provide the region with its solitary lifeline.


The objective of the first chapter is to quickly introduce the reader to the technology and then deep dive into understanding the fabric of the tool. The chapter also helps the reader to set the environment which is used throughout the book.
The chapter starts with a discussion on the various features of APEX. This is to give a heads up to the readers about the features offered by the tool and to inform them about some of the strengths of the tool. In order to understand the technology better, we discuss the various web server combinations possible with APEX, namely the Internal mod_plsql configuration, external mod_plsql configuration and listener configuration. While talking about the Internal mod_plsql configuration, we see the steps to enable XMLDB HTTP Server to accept http requests. In Internal mod_plsql configuration, Oracle uses a DAD defined in EPG to talk to the database. So we try to create a miniature APEX of our own by creating our DAD and by using it to talk to the database and also invoke functions that generate HTML which is sent to the web server. We then move on to learn about External mod_plsql configuration. We discuss the architecture of External mod_plsql configuration and talk about the roles of configuration files such as dads.conf and httpd.conf. We also have a look at a typical dads.conf file and draw correlations between the configurations in internal and external mod_plsql configuration. We then move on to discuss about wwv_flow_epg_include_mod_local procedure that can help us use the DAD of apex to call our own stored PL/SQL procedures. We then have a detail chat about APEX Listener which is a JEE alternative to mod_plsql and is Oracle's direction for the future.
Once we are through with understanding the possible configurations, we see the steps to setup our environment. We use APEX Listener configuration and see the steps to install APEX engine, create Weblogic domain, set APEX Listener in the domain and create an APEX workspace.
With our environment in place, we straight away get into understanding the anatomy of APEX by analyzing various parts of its URL. This discussion includes a natter on the session management, request handling, debugging, error handling, the use of tkprof for tracing an APEX page execution, cache management and navigation and value passing in APEX. We also try to understand the design behind the zero session id in this section.
Topics discussed till now would have given the reader a brief idea about the technology so we dig in a little deeper and understand the mechanism used by APEX to send web requests to its PL/SQL engine in the database by decoding APEX page submission. We see the use of wwv_flow.accept procedure and understand its role in page submission. We try to draw an analogy of an APEX form with a simple HTML to get a thorough understanding about the concept of HTML forms in and its role in APEX page submissions.
The next logical thing after page submission is to see the SQL and PL/SQL queries and blocks reaching the database. We turn on the database auditing and see the OWA web toolkit requests flowing to the database as soon as we open an APEX page.
We then broaden our vision by quickly knowing about some of the lesser known alternatives of mod_plsql.
We end the chapter with a note of caution and try to understand the most valid criticisms of the technology by understanding SQL Injection and Cross site scripting.
After going through the architecture we straight away spring in to action and begin the process of learning to build reports in APEX. The objective of this chapter is to help the reader understand and implement the most common reporting requirements along with introducing some interesting ways to frame analytical queries in Oracle. The chapter also hugely focuses on methods to implement different kinds of formatting in APEX classic reports.
We start the second chapter with creating the objects that will be used throughout the book and installing the reference application that contains the supporting code for the topics discussed in the second chapter.
We then focus on the process of setting up an authentication mechanism. We discuss External table authentication in this chapter and then move on to see the mechanism of capturing environment variables in APEX. A screenshot of captured variables is shown below.
These variables can help us set some logic related to a user's session and environment. The variables also help us capture some properties of the underlying database session of an APEX session. We capture variables using USERENV namespace, DBMS_SESSION package and owa_util package.
After having a good idea of the ways and means to capture environment variables, we build our understanding of developing the search functionality in a classic APEX report. This is mostly a talk about APEX classic report features and we also use this opportunity to see the process to enable sorting in the report columns and to create a link that helps us download the report in CSV format.
We then discuss various ways to implement group reports in APEX. A screenshot of the report showing the groups is shared below.
The discussion on group report shows a way to implement it purely by using APEX's feature and then talks about getting similar results by using Oracle database feature. We talk about APEX's internal grouping feature and Oracle grouping sets.
After trying our hand at formatting, we try to understand the mechanism to implement Matrix reports in APEX. A screenshot of a bunch of Matrix reports is shared below.
We use matrix reports to understand the use of database features such as the with clause, the pivot operator and a number of string aggregation techniques in Oracle. The discussion on string aggregation techniques includes the talk on listagg function, wm_concat function and the use of hierarchical queries for this purpose. We also see the first use of APEX items as substitution variables in this book. We will see more use of APEX items as substitution variables to solve vexed problems in other parts of the book as well. We do justice with the front end by talking about the use of JQuery, CSS and APEX Dynamic Actions for making important parts of the data stand out. We comprehend the implementation of handlers such as this.affectedElements and the use of JQuery functions such as this.css() in this section. We also see advanced formatting methods using APEX templates. We end this part of the discussion by creating a matrix report using APEX Dynamic Query report region.
Hierarchical reports are always intriguing because of the enormous ability to present the relations among different rows of data and because of the use of hierarchical queries in a number of unrelated places to answer business queries.
We reserve a discussion on Oracle's hierarchical queries for a later part of the section and start it by understanding the implementation of hierarchical reports by linking values in APEX using drilldowns. We see the use of APEX items as substitution variable to create dynamic messages. Since we have devised a mechanism to drill down, we should also build a ladder for the user to climb up the hierarchical chain. Now the hierarchical chain for every person will be different depending on his position in the organization, so we build a mechanism to build dynamic bread crumbs using PL/SQL region in APEX. We then talk about two different methods of implementing hierarchical queries in APEX. We talk about the connect by clause first and then continue our discussion be learning the use of recursive with clause for hierarchical reporting. We end our discussion on hierarchical reporting by creating APEX's Tree region that displays hierarchical data in the form of a tree.
Reports are often associated with supporting files that give more information about the business query. A typical user might want to upload a bunch of files while executing his piece of task and the end user of his action might want to check out the uploaded files. To understand the implementation of this requirement, we check out the various ways to implement the uploading and downloading files in APEX.
Discussion on methods to upload files is immediately followed by talking about the ways to download these files in APEX. We nest the use of functions such as HTF.ANCHOR and APEX_UTIL.GET_BLOB_FILE_SRC for one of the ways to download a file and also talk about the use of dbms_lob.getlength along with APEX format mask for downloading files. We then engineer our own stored procedure that can download a blob stored in the database as a file. We end this discussion by having a look at APEX's p process which can also be used for downloading.
While most Business intelligence and reporting solutions are a one way road and are focused on data presentation, Oracle APEX can go a step further and can give an interface to the user for data manipulations as well. To understand this strength of APEX, we have a look at the process of creating tabular forms in APEX. We extend our understanding of tabular forms to see a magical use of JQuery to convert certain sections of a report from display-only to editable text boxes.
We move our focus from implementing interesting and tricky front end requirements to framing the queries to display complex data types. We use string aggregation methods to display data in a column containing a varray.
Time dimension is one of the most widely used dimension in reporting circles and comparing current performance with the past records is a favorite requirement of most businesses. With this in mind, we shift our focus to understand and implement time series reports in APEX. We start our discussion by understanding the method to implement a report that shows the contribution of each business line in every quarter. We implement this by partitioning dimensions on the fly. We also use analytical functions such as ratio_to_report, lead and lag in the process of creating time series reports. We use our understanding of time dimension to build a report that helps a user compare one time period to the other. The report gives the user the freedom to select the time segments which he wishes to compare. We then outwit a limitation of this report by using query partition clause for data densification.
We bring our discussion on reports based on time dimension to an end by presenting a report based on modal clause to you. The report serves as an example to show the enormous possibilities to code by using the modal clause in Oracle.
We wrap up the chapter by understanding the mechanisms which can be used to implement data level security in APEX. This discussion includes the use of both VPD and traditional query filters.
Chapter 3 is all about interactive reports and dynamic reporting. While the second chapter was more about data presentation using complex queries and presentation methods, this chapter is about taking the presentation part a step ahead by creating more visually appealing interactive reports.
We start the discussion of this chapter by talking about the ins and outs of Interactive Reports. We postmortem this feature of APEX to learn about every possible way of using the Interactive Reports for making more sense of the data. The chapter has a reference application of its own which shows the code in action.
We start our discussion by exploring various features of Actions menu in Interactive Reports. The discussion is on search functionality, Select Columns feature, filtering, linking and filtering interactive reports using URLs, customizing Rows per page feature of an IR, using Control Break, creating computations in IR, creating charts in IR, using the Flashback feature and a method to see the back end flashback query, configuring the email functionality for downloading a report and for subscription of reports and methods to understand the download of reports in HTML, CSV and pdf formats.
Once we are through with understanding the Actions menu, we move on to understand the various configuration options in an IR. We talk about the Link section, the Icon View section, the Detail section, the Column Group section and the Advanced section of the Report Attributes page of an IR. While discussing these sections we understand the process of setting different default views of an IR for different users.
Once we are through with our dissection of an IR we put our knowledge to action by inserting our own item in the Actions menu of an IR using Dynamic Actions and JQuery.
We continue our quest for finding newer formatting methods by using different combinations of SQL, CSS, APEX templates and JQuery to achieve unfathomable results. The objectives attained in this section include formatting a column of an IR based on another column, Using CSS in page header to format APEX data, Changing the font color of alternate rows in APEX, Using a user-defined CSS class in APEX, Conditionally highlighting a column in IR using CSS and jQuery and Formatting an IR using region query.
After going through a number of examples on the use of CSS and JQuery in APEX, we lay down a process to do any kind of changes in an IR. We present this process by an example that replaces one of the icons used in an IR with a different icon.
APEX also has a number of views for IR which can be used for intelligent programming. We talk about an example that uses apex_application_page_ir_rpt view show different IR reports on user request. The following is a screenshot of this example.
After a series of discussion on Interactive Reports, we move on to find a solution to an incurable problem of IR. We see a method to put multiple IR on the same page and link them as master-child reports. The following is a screenshot of multiple IR on an APEX page.
We had seen an authentication mechanism (external table authentication) and data level authorization in chapter 2. We use this chapter to see object level authorization in APEX. We see the method to give different kinds of rights on the data of a column in a report to different user groups.
After solving a number of problems and learning a number of things, we create a visual treat for ourselves. We create an Interactive report dashboard using Dynamic actions. This dashboard presents different views of in IR as gadgets on a separate APEX page. The following is a screenshot of an Interactive Report Dashboard.
We conclude this chapter by looking at advanced ways of creating dynamic reports in APEX. We look at the use of table function in both native and interface approach and we also look at the method to use APEX collections for creating dynamic IRs in APEX.
Chapter 4 is all about advanced reporting and pretty graphs. Since we are talking about advanced reporting, we see the process of setting LDAP authentication in APEX. We also see the use of JXplorer to help us get the necessary DN for setting up the LDAP authentication. We also see the means to authenticate an LDAP user using PL/SQL in this section. This chapter also has a reference application of its own that shows the code in action. The following is a screenshot of getting the DN from JXplorer.
We start the reporting building in this chapter by creating sparkline reports. This report uses JQuery for producing the charts. Following is a screenshot of sparkline report.
We then move on to use another JQuery library to create a report with Slider. This report lets the user set the value of the salary of any employee using a slider. Following is a screenshot of a report with slider.
We then get into the world of HTML Charts. We start our talk by looking at the various features of creating HTML chart regions in APEX. We understand a method to implement Top N and Bottom N chart reports in HTML charts. We understand the APEX's method to implement HTML charts and use it to create an HTML chart by writing our own piece of code.
We extend this technique of generating HTML from region source a little further by using XMLTYPE to create the necessary HTML for displaying a report.
We then switch to AnyChart which is a flash charting solution and has been tightly integrated with APEX. It works on an XML and we talk about customizing this XML to produce different results.
We put our knowledge to action by creating a logarithmic chart and changing the style of a few display labels in APEX. We continue our discussion on AnyChart and use the example of Doughnut Chart to understand advanced ways of using AnyChart in APEX. We use our knowledge to create Scatter chart, 3D stacked chart, Gauge chart, Gantt chart, Candlestick chart, Flash image maps and SQL calendars. Following is a screenshot of Flash image maps.
We move out of the pretty heaven of AnyChart only to get into another beautiful space of understanding the methods of displaying reports with images in APEX. We implement Reports with images using APEX's format mask and also using HTF.IMG with APEX_UTIL.GET_BLOB_FILE_SRC function.
We then divert our attention to advanced JQuery for the creation of Dialog box and Context menu in APEX. We create a master-detail report using dialog boxes where the child report is shown in the Dialog box. Following is a screenshot of the dialog box region.
We close our discussion in this chapter by talking about creating wizards in APEX and a method to show different kinds of customized error messages for problems appearing at different points of a Page process.
Chapter 5 is all about Advanced APEX. The topics discussed in this chapter fall into a niche category of reporting implementations. This chapter has 2 reference applications of its own that shows the code in action.
We start this chapter by creating both client side and server side HTML image maps in APEX. These maps are often used where regular shapes are involved.
We then see the process of creating PLSQL Server Pages (PSPs). PSPs are similar to JSP and are used for putting PL/SQL and HTML code in a single file. Loadpsp, a command line utility, converts this file into a stored procedure with the necessary calls to owa web toolkit functions. We have a look at the whole process in action.
The other utility we check out is loadjava. This utility helps us load a Java class as a database object. This utility is helpful if some of the Java classes are required for code processing.
We had seen the use of AnyChart in the previous chapter and this chapter introduces you to FusionCharts. We create a Funnel Chart using FusionChart in this chapter.Following is a screenshot of the funnel chart.
We also use our knowledge of PL/SQL region in APEX to create a Tag Cloud.
We then stroll into the world of APEX plugins. We understand the interface functions for plugins. We discuss the concepts and then use them to develop an Item type plugin and a Dynamic action plugin. We understand the process of defining a Custom Attribute in a plugin and then see the process of using it in APEX.
We move on to learn about Websheets and their various features. We acquaint ourselves with the interface of web sheet applications and understand the concept of sharing web sheets. We also create a few reports in a websheet application and see the process of importing and using an image in websheets. We then spend some time to learn about data grids in web sheets and the method to create them. We have a look at the Administration and View dropdowns in a websheet application.
We get into the Administration mode and understand the process of configuring the sending of mails to Gmail server from APEX.
We extend our administration skills further by understanding the ways to download an APEX application using utilities like oracle.apex.APEXExport.
Reporting and OLAP go hand in hand so we see the method of using OLAP cubes in APEX. We see the process of modeling a cube and understand the mechanism to use its powerful features.
We then have a talk about Oracle Advanced Queues that can enable us to do reliable communication among different systems with different workloads in the enterprise and gives improved performance.
We spend a brief time to understand some of the other features of APEX which might not be directly related to reporting but are good to know. Some of these features include Locking and unlocking of pages in APEX, Database Object Dependencies report, Shortcuts, Dataloading wizard and APEX views.
We bring this exclusive chapter to an end by discussing about the various packages that enable us to schedule background jobs in APEX and by discussing various other APEX and Database API which can help us in the development process.
Chapter 6 begins a new phase of our journey. Since we have explored most of the reporting features of APEX we set our eyes on other technologies that can serve as extensions of APEX. We talk about creating reports in them and then using these reports in APEX. This chapter has 2 reference applications of its own that shows the code in action.
We begin this chapter by exploring some of the PL/SQL wrappers that can help us do pdf printing. The chapter begins by discussing the process of writing code that can help us print pdf reports using both PL/PDF and PL_FPDF. We then move on to see less cost intensive measures and understand the process of coding that can help us generate RTF, XLS, CSV and HTML documents without any separate printing engine.
While cocoon and fop were used for report printing, the reports were themselves in APEX. We now check out technologies such as Eclipse BIRT and Jasper reports. We understand the process of installing these technologies, creating reports in them and then using them in APEX through Restful web services. Following screenshots are collected from Eclipse BIRT.
Chapter 7 takes us to a whole new world. We talk about OBIEE and BI Publisher in this chapter. These tools have been the face of Oracle's business intelligence solution and are loaded with all kinds of reporting features. The primary objective to introduce these technologies to you and to show their integration with APEX is to help you understand the strengths of each of these technologies and to enable you to use them with APEX, whenever required. This chapter also has a reference application of its own.
We start our discussion in this chapter by talking about Oracle Fusion Middleware architecture since OBIEE is a part of it. We then spend some time to understand the wiring of OBIEE, its various components and their uses. The talk includes discussion on BI server component and the BI presentation server component. After understanding the basics we move on to see the process of creating a simple report in OBIEE. We learn about various OBIEE features such as selection steps, filters, hierarchies in the process.
We then switch from development mode to observation mode and have a look at some of the features that OBIEE shows in its sample repository and web catalog. We check out a typical OBIEE dashboard, understand KPI (Key Performance Indicators) and KPI watchlists. The following is a screenshot of a typical OBIEE dashboard.
We then pay some attention to create an action in OBIEE. Actions are OBIEE's way of scheduling and delivering reports. We understand OBIEE map view which helps us use external maps provided by Google and Navteq.
This enables us to overlay our BI data on top of the maps to produce best in class location intelligence solutions. We skim over OBIEE's strategy management feature that helps us to link business objectives and presents them in a number of solutions such as Strategy tree, Strategy wheel, Cause and effect map and Strategy map.
We end our discussion of the features of OBIEE by looking at the process of configuring an smtp server for OBIEE and understanding the delivery of emails by scheduling an OBIEE agent and monitoring it through OBIEE Job manager.
Once we have a good idea about the possibilities with OBIEE, we start looking at the process of integrating OBIEE with APEX. We start by using the web service approach and have a look at the iBotService of OBIEE that can help us trigger an agent in OBIEE from APEX and hence enable us to deliver OBIEE reports by emails. We also look at OBIEE's HTMLViewService which enables us to fetch OBIEE reports at APEX end using AJAX.
Finally, we have a look at a less secure method to use OBIEE in APEX. We check out the process of using OBIEE's goURL for linking it with APEX. The credentials and all the necessary information required by OBIEE are passed from APEX in the URL in this method. iFrames in APEX can also use goURL and we have a discussion on this part as well.
After having a good discussion about OBIEE we have a look at another interesting technology called BI Publisher. BI Publisher is not a new name for APEX developers since it has historically been used for report printing with APEX.
We have a brief talk about the tool and then nose-dive into the process of creation of a report in BI Publisher. The book is shipped with all kinds of code to make your life easier. We start by understanding the process of creating a data model in BI Publisher and then use the MS Word plugin of BIP to create a template. We put both these pieces together to create a BI Publisher report.
Once our report is ready, we look at the process of scheduling this report and delivering it by email.
We then move into an exclusive zone in BI Publisher. We talk about the creation of Bar code reports in BIP.
Note that we haven't discussed these reports yet in any of the technologies so far so this type of report makes BI Publisher unique. We then take our BI Publisher development skills to a whole new level by looking at the possibilities of coding dynamic reports in BIP. This talk includes discussion on changing columns on the fly, changing groupings on the fly, changing sort order and much more.
Once we have seen some of the good reporting features of BI Publisher, it is time for us to get into the integration. We start this discussion with the traditional method of using the convert servlet of BI Publisher for report printing. In this method, the data and the template required by BIP to print the report are stored at APEX end and BIP just severs as a printing engine.
We then move on to see the use of BIP's werbservice for integration with OBIEE and finally check out a less secure method of using BIP's guest folder method for using BIP reports in APEX.
Chapter 8 is one of my favorites. Till now, we have been talking about using webservices in APEX but this teaches us about the creation of different types of webservies. The spectrum includes the use of PL/SQL to Resource Templates of APEX Listener to BPEL for the creation of webservices. Not only this, the chapter also talks about using statistical tools such as Oracle R for predictive analysis in APEX and the use of Google API to help us import the data from external servers for advanced analytics.
We start the discussion of this chapter with talking creating the necessary ACL and assigning the right grants to schemas. We then set XMLDB services which help us to project stored procedures and functions as web services. We then have a look at parsing the response of an invocation to a stored procedure using XMLDB services. The stored function which is invoked is such that it returns different columns of a single record. We then device a function that is capable of returning a bunch of records and we parse its response and display the result in a report region. We also see the process of passing APEX items as inputs to XMLDB services. We see a report region that uses XMLTable for parsing the web service response. Until now, we had been handling stored procedures and functions through XMLDB webservices but now we fire queries on tables using native web service and parse its response.
We then move on to see the process of configuring and creating RESTful web services using Resource Templates. The Resource Templates return JSON objects as response and we use see a method to parse the response in our report regions.
Finally, we look at a process of creating a RESTful PL/SQL webservice using DADs. We see the process of passing arguments to this webservice by using RESTful webservice reference in APEX. We also have a look at the method to parse the response of this webservice.
BPEL is a glue that can hold a variety of technologies together in an heterogeneous system. It also has a unique feature called Human Workflows and its associated worklist that can help us code complex business decision processing systems and can help us transfer the job from the workstack of one user to the workstack of another. It is these wide applications of the technology that made us look into the various possibilities in BPEL and to find ways to use them in APEX. We use this part of the text to install, configure and create both synchronous and asynchronous processes in BPEL which can then be used in APEX just like any other SOAP webservice. We also have a detail discussion on using BPEL Human Workflows and have presented an example to use it.
Once we are through with BPEL we have a short section dedicated to understanding the creation of reports in SAP Crystal reports and using them in APEX. We also have short sections dedicated to the migration of data and code from MS Access to APEX and from Oracle Forms and Reports to APEX.
We bring our discussion of this chapter to an end by elaborately discussing about the use of Oracle R and Google API in APEX. The talk on Oracle R implements a use case of finding the best places to place ATM machines in an area of interest and to get a png image that shows the plot of the points suggested by Oracle R for placing the ATM machines in the area of interest.
The discussion on Google API on the other hand is about using the google Places API for finding the latitude/longitude information of important landmarks such as bus stops, airports etc. The process described in this section fetches the information from the API, parses it and presents the extracted information as an output of a SQL query. The code i.e. the SQL query that triggers the request to fire the Google API also sends the desired landmark type (for example: bus stop, airport) and the desired city to the Google API. Following screenshot shows the parsed response of Google's Places API.
The parsed information from the response can then be combined with our BI information to find the correlation of landmarks with the location of our retail store. This is however a use case and the process can be applied to get the data from a number of other Google APIs. The data can be used in APEX for a variety of analysis.
Chapter 9 is all about tuning. The chapter informs you about the best development practices and also introduces you to some of the database tools that can be used for the purpose of tuning the code.
The development best practices section discusses v(),page and region caching, pagination scheme, tuning of like comparison and many more.
Similarly, the talk on database tools includes a natter about most of the features of the database that can help you hunt a bottle neck and eliminate it.
In a nut shell, book is intended for all those who believe that making technologies work in harmony and using their strengths to meet the objectives is a potent challenge. This book is for you if you wish to spring into the action of APEX development from the time you hold this book in your hand. The book is designed for innovative architects and enthusiastic developers.
http://www.packtpub.com/article/apex42-reporting - Article about the book on Publisher's page.
Thx for quick info for who hasn't bought your book yet.