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FG raises Nigeria's membership of global groups to 324
President Muhammadu Buhari. Twitter image
…despite promise to exit 90
The Federal Government is currently retaining Nigeria's membership of 324 international organisations, according to a government document obtained by our correspondent on Tuesday.
The development is coming barely two years after the government announced its plan to exit 90 of such organisations.
The decision to exit 90 organisations, which was announced in September 2017, was based on the fact that Nigeria, at the time, had a backlog of $120m in membership dues and other financial commitments to the international organisations.
The then Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, had told reporters after a meeting of the Federal Executive Council presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, that henceforth, the country would only belong to international organisations considered to be necessary.
Adeosun had claimed at the time that Nigeria was a member of 310 international organisations.
"Basically, Nigeria is a member of 310 international organisations and a committee was set up to review the rationale of our continued membership of such a large number of organisations, particularly in the light of the fact that in many cases we are not actually paying our financial obligations and subscriptions which is causing some embarrassment to Nigeria and our image abroad," she had said.
Adeosun further said that a committee which was set up for that purpose had recommended that out of the 310 organisations, Nigeria should retain membership of 220 organisations and withdraw membership from the rest.
But according to the document titled, "International organisations to which Nigeria belongs," which was also uploaded on the website of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, www.osgf.gov.ng, the country currently belongs to 324 international organisations.
The document showed that responsible agencies for the nation's membership of the organisations included federal ministries, the OSGF, Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation.
Among the 324 foreign organisations, the document showed that it is only the International Hydrological Programme that does not attract financial commitment from Nigeria.
A breakdown of the list shows that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for Nigeria's membership of about 27 of the organisations; Ministry of Finance — 33; Ministry of Transportation — 35; Ministry of Science and Technology — 31; Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment — 20; Ministry of Education — 24; Ministry of Budget and National Planning — 7; Ministry of Justice — 14; Ministry of Environment — 18; Ministry of Labour and Employment — 6; and Ministry of Sports and Youth Development — 9 among others.
When contacted on Tuesday for an update on the government's decision in 2017 to exit 90 of such foreign organisations, the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Friday Akpan, said the information was not readily available.
Akpan said he needed to send a memo to the relevant department on the matter.
"I have no idea of what you are saying right now. I will need to contact the relevant department to enable me to have the relevant information," he said.
When asked how soon the information would be available, Akpan replied, "You know it is official information. We need to transmit a memo to them and wait for feedback so that we can be able to speak on it."
According to the document, some of the international organisations Nigeria belongs to include the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations (Secretariat), Commonwealth Secretariat, African Caribbean and Pacific, African Union,
Economic Community of West African States, Non-Aligned Movement, UN Peacekeeping Operations Budget, Multi-National Joint Task Force and New Partnership for Africa's Development.
Others are the United Nations Development Programme, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, United Nations Children's Fund, United Nations Population Fund, UN Industrial Development Organisation,
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, International Fund for Agricultural Development, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, International Bank for Reconstruction and International Development Association.
Other organisations are the International Monetary Fund International Finance Corporation, African Development Fund, International Court of Justice, Permanent Court of Arbitration, International Police, International Criminal Court, South –South Cooperation/Partners in Population and Development, International Tribunals and Lake Chad Basin Commission.
They also include Gulf of Guinea Commission, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Chemical Weapons Convention /Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation, Biological Weapons Convention, Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, African Petroleum Producers Organisation, United Nations Human Settlements Programme, International Atomic Energy Agency and D8 Organisation for Economic Cooperation Countries, among others.


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organizations and projects we support
Save Elephant Foundation/Elephant Nature Park
Global Sanctuary for Elephants/Elephant Sanctuary Brazil
Save Elephant Foundation was founded by Saengduean "Lek" Chailert. It is a Thai non-profit dedicated to providing care, rehabilitation and assistance to Thailand's captive elephants. The flagship project of Save Elephant Foundation is Elephant Nature Park, home to over 100 elephants and it is where Lek can be found most afternoons, spending time with the herd.
In addition, since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, SEF has been helping other elephants throughout Thailand. As a result of the pandemic, tourism has plummeted and many elephant owners have no source of income to feed and care for their elephants. The owners have reached out to SEF for financial assistance, which was graciously provided although the financial burden has been enormous. Since the onset of the pandemic, SEF has helped to feed over 1200 elephants.
In addition to running Elephant Nature Park, overseeing the Saddle Off projects, and providing direct financial assistance to owners for the care of their elephants, Save Elephant Foundation uses community outreach, education, and eco-tourism to help raise awareness about issues facing captive Asian elephants in Thailand. Lek and her SEF staff teach other Thai elephant owners how they can change their business model to conduct elephant tourism in an ethical and successful way, without harm to the elephants.
The international volunteers and visitors to ENP and [other parks] provide a financial benefit to the local Thai communities by creating a demand for a local workforce and generating income. Save Elephant Foundation has been at the forefront of bringing international awareness to the cruelty inflicted on elephants in the name of tourism. One of SEF projects is its Saddle Off program, where elephant owners are taught that there is an ethical way to run their tourism businesses, without using them for rides and entertainmen. Most importantly, elephant owners are taught ways to train elephants that do not involve the use of torturous bullhooks. Instead, tourists pay to walk beside the elephants in the jungle, and observe them being elephants. The elephants are trained by positive reinforcement. The new way is better for both the captive elephants and their owners (mahouts), and is a positive experience for the tourists as well. Save Elephant Foundation also runs The Surin Project and the Surin Home Stay Project, and is a cofounder of Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary.
Learn why we support them
Global Sanctuary for Elephants (GSE) was started in 2012, after Scott and Kat Blais saw an urgent need to respond to the growing crisis for captive elephants in South America. This crisis began as many South American countries began to ban elephants in circus, leaving the elephants with no place to go. Since then, 5 countries in South America have passed laws banning the use of elephants in performances. Unfortunately, these progressive efforts have had an unforeseen and unintended consequences for the elephants, who are no longer a source of income for their owners. They are left to languish on rural farms or in small zoo enclosures, with little care and increased neglect. Scott and Kat wanted these elephants to have a better life. They set out to make it happen by rescuing elephants from these horrendous conditions and bringing them to sanctuary. The first sanctuary begun by GSE is Elephant Sanctuary Brazil, which is presently home to 5 elephants: Maia, Mara, Rana, Lady and Bambi. Elephant Sanctuary Brazil sits on 2800 acres of diverse land in the municipality of Chapada dos Guimaraes, Brazil. ESB's goal is to house both African and Asian elephants of both genders. Interaction between males and females will be allowed only if the disposition of the elephants allow and a safe method of birth control can be implemented.
GSE plans to bring to Elephant Sanctuary Brazil, 2 more Asian female elephants (Pocha and Guilllermina ), who are in captivity at the Mendoza Zoo in Argentina. GSE has also begun construction of an African female habitat, and it plans to construct a male Asian elephant habitat as soon as funds are secured. As these habitats are completed, the 2 remaining elephants at Mendoza Zoo will be able to call Elephant Sanctuary Brazil their home. GSE's goal is also to provide sanctuary to elephants on other continents as well. With over 5000 elephants in captivity worldwide and only 130 in sanctuary, there are many elephants in dire need of assistance. Global Sanctuary for Elephants provides expertise, hands-on assistance and pivotal funding for the development of elephant sanctuaries, domestically and internationally, and supports the global welfare and well-being of elephants. Scott and Kat know that moving elephants to sanctuary can make a profound difference on their health and well-being.
Voice for Asian Elephants
Voice for Asian Elephants Society was founded by Sangita Iyer and is based in India. The problems facing the Indian Elephant population are quite different from those facing Thai elephants. India is home to 27,000 wild elephants and, as such, there are many incidents of human-elephant conflict. As the population of India skyrockets, the elephant habitat shrinks, forcing elephants to leave the forest in search of food and shelter and coming closer to human neighborhoods. Retaliatory killings, such as electrocution/poisoning, collision with trains and trucks are pushing elephants closer to extinction.
VFAES has been instrumental in helping create the Kerala Corridor, which has transformed plantation land into an elephant habitat and has created corridors so that elephants can move freely between forest patches, reducing human-elephant conflict and thwarting inbreeding that causes genetic disorders and untimely deaths. This innovative project has lessened the death toll which averages 400 elephants and 400-500 humans each year.
VFAES has also begun Project Flashlight. This project provides flashlights to villagers, so that chance of accidental night encounters with wild elephants is reduced.
A groundbreaking project that VFAES is beginning is "Saving Odisha Elephants from Traffic Deaths". Elephant deaths caused by traffic collisions are rising in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. Major highways cut through core elephant habitats, forcing elephants to cross busy roads in search of food. Speeding motorists and ineffective signage cause most of these deaths. VFAES is in the process of installing brighter, higher and more effective signs to warn drivers of possible elephant crossings.
The aim of VFAES is to secure a future for Odisha's forgotten elephants by promoting harmonious and respectful human elephant coexistence.
VFAES has also embarked on the daunting task of helping India's temple elephants. Although elephants are regarded as a deity in Indian culture, the elephants actually are treated as anything but revered animals. Rather, many elephants are rented to temples for parades and other festivities. VFAES has launched workshops to help sensitize key temples, train elephant handlers to use positive reinforcement, and to empower those with knowledge and tools to improve the welfare of these temple elephants, lessening the suffering of these beautiful animals.
More projects we support
Elephant Nature Park is an elephant rescue and rehabilitation center in Northern Thailand where you can volunteer and visit to help. ENP has been involved in dozens of rescues which have created thriving elephant herds and is now home to over 100 elephants. These elephants have mostly come from the cruel tourist industry, street begging, landmine injuries, forced breeding injuries, or the even crueler logging industry. The park provides a natural environment for elephants, dogs, cats, buffaloes and many other animals under its care.
ELEPHANT SANCTUARY BRAZIL
Elephant Sanctuary Brazil is the pilot program of Global Sanctuary for Elephants. ESB sits on 2800 acres of land in Chapada dos Guimaraes, Brazil. ESB is the first and only certified elephant sanctuary in South America and is the only safe option for elephants rescued from captivity. ESB is presently home to 5 elephants with plans to soon have more.
ELEPHANT HAVEN, EUROPEAN ELEPHANT SANCTUARY
EHEES is located in southwestern France. Elephant Haven will be the first true sanctuary in Europe, While EHEES hasn't received its first elephant, it is prepared. There are over 100 elephants in circuses in Europe. EHEES will provide a safe Haven for these animals, as it may not always be possible to send the elephant back to its home country. The founders Tony Verhulst and Sofie Goetghebuer will ensure each elephant has respect, space and tranquility for the rest of its life. Elephant Haven will not breed and will only use positive reinforcement for training, and protected contact only.
LEAP—Lucy's Edmonton Advocate Program
LEAP is a group of supporters who are advocating for a better life for Lucy. Lucy is a solitary elephant who lives in a tiny concrete cell at the Edmonton Valley Zoo. She has been in the cold, harsh climate of Alberta since 1977 after being captured from the wild. LEAP advocates for Lucy to be moved to a more suitable climate and for a qualified independent assessment of Lucy's health before the move to sanctuary. Lucy has been offered a home at Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee and various groups/ celebrities have offered to pay for her transport. Free the Wild and Cher have also taken up Lucy's cause
SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya has achieved world wide acclaim through its successful Elephant and rhino rescue and rehabilitation programs. It was the first of its kind. Most of the orphans who come to SWT have been orphaned due to poachers killing the herd members or human elephant conflict. Sheldrick rescues and rehabilitates these babies and then releases them back into the wild. Over 300 elephants have been saved after being found and rescued by the incredible team and keepers at Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
PETE'S MISSION
There are many sick and injured dogs on the streets of Thailand. Many have skin and eye infections, unchecked breeding, broken bones, untreated wounds, fleas, ticks and heart worms. A lot of these dogs have human inflicted injuries, broken bones and poisoning. All these things can lead to a very painful death. Pete's Mission works with the local community to provide health care, sanctuary and rehabilitation to the street dogs of Pai. No animal is turned away. Pete's Mission is a small organization and welcomes volunteers to help in its mission to provide a safe space for animals seeking refuge and a new home.
CAT KINGDOM, ENP
Cat Kingdom is a branch of Save Elephant Foundation. There are over 1400 cats living at Cat Kingdom located at Elephant Nature Park. These cats live in a large fenced-in area, keeping them safe. All of the cats are very well cared for, have their own beds, heat lamps and sweaters to keep them warm during the cool Northern Thailand nights. All the cats have been sterilized, vaccinated and examined for any health issues. The cats who call Cat Kingdom home were abandoned, found on the streets, were injured, rescued from kitty mills, and/or were living in squalid conditions. Although, they are now living the "cats meow", the needs are still great. Your donation will provide food, flea/tick medicine, and vaccines for these cats.
ELEPHANT NATURE PARK DOGS
ENP dogs is a dog rescue located in the middle of an elephant rescue property. ENP Dogs is home to over 30 paralyzed dogs and another 600+ dogs who are available for adoption. These dogs have come to call ENP home because of abandonment, strays, puppy mills, abuse, dog meat industry, or surrendered due to owners no longer able to care for them. Most arrived with some sort of injury or trauma. All dogs are Immediately quarantined, sterilized, vaccinated, examined and treated for injuries. Once determined to be healthy, they are put up for adoption. Many volunteers have found themselves taking a dog (or 2) back to their home country. At ENP many come to volunteer with the elephants, but stay for the dogs. Flight volunteers are always needed to get these dogs to their forever home.
Know of an organization we should be friends with?
Recommend an Organization!
Let us know! Our goal is to improve the welfare of elephants and animals all over the world through education, advocacy, and fundraising . We want to educate people and inspire them to take a stand against animal cruelty in all its forms, especially tourism. Your recommendation helps broaden our community!
Copyright © 2021 S4E Global Inc. 501(c)3
New York City, New York. 10016

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Explore Bannerman Castle - Landscape photographer and instructor Robert Rodriguez Jr explores the ruins of Bannerman Castle which is situated on an island in the Hudson River. Discover the history and view ethereal landscapes of this unique and popular historic landmark. Part of the Beyond the Lens Video Podcast.
Too most, it's crumbling hulk of intricate concrete and brickwork that was once Bannerman's Arsenal. In 1900, Francis Bannerman VI bought the island to store ammunition for his prosperous military surplus business; more specifically, when he bought 90% of the US army surplus after the Spanish-American War ended and needed a place outside of New York City to store it all. The arsenal (sometimes referred to as "Bannerman's Castle") was constructed from 1901 to 1908, and was modeled similar to the architecture of an old Scottish castle.
A storm in 1950 sunk the ferryboat that served the island, Pollepel, and the arsenal was left more or less abandoned since then. On August 8th, 1969 a large fire destroyed much of the buildings. Neglect of the already burned and rotting wood roofs caused the deterioration of almost all the buildings except for the remaining stone walls. Submerged bulkheads and other structures make the surrounding area very dangerous for boaters; the island remains private property and is watched closely by preservation groups.
By Geoffrey Gonzalez Well made You Tube Video about Bannerman's Castle history.


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Q: Best suitable hashbyte algorithm for SQL Server 2008 R2 I have source table with 399 columns in SQL Server 2008 R2.
I want to add one more column with hashbyte on above table and store on the database which is SQL Server 2016 using SSIS package.
PS - I can't ask source owner to upgrade his/her SQL Server to 2016 hence could not use SHA2_256. also few points are :
 1. There are couple of tables having more than 200 columns, and one is having
    exact 399 columns.
 2. I had use MD5 algorithm, but I read MD5 might give you deprecated value in
    SQL 2016. Hence it is advisable to use only SHA2_256 or SHA2_512.
 3. About the code, its simple truncate and load into destination tables with
    some transformations.
 4. I am using HASH to identify entire row for update or insert as CHECKSUM is
    not reliable.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


I like to create and share recipes that feature real good, real food made for real people. My recipes are fresh, seasonal, mostly simple, often healthy, and sometimes peppered with a little cheese and butter mixed in.
The web has become a virtual food buffet and I count my lucky stars that I'm a part of it.


Automotive Category list all types of auto dealers, auto rentals and auto repairs, auto racing, parts and accessories, import and export businesses in England.
Our concept at Signature Car Hire is built entirely around what the client really wants. A fleet of current luxury prestige and super cars professionally stored.
176-178 Randells Road. N1 0AZ, London, United Kingdom.


text:
Old boy Carvill hoping to ruin Crues' bid for top six
Danske Bank Premiership
Michael Carvill
�INPHO/Brian Little
Ian Callender
April 19 2021 11:00 AM
Dungannon Swifts ended a run of six straight defeats with a 1-1 draw at Carrick Rangers and their last match before the split gives them a chance to follow-up their last victory.
Crusaders visit Stangmore Park on Saturday knowing victory will guarantee them a top-six place, but with memories of a 2-1 defeat on their last visit in February.
Former Crues player Michael Carvill described that game as "probably Swifts best performance of the season" but that will only make next weekend's clash one of their toughest.
"I know Stephen Baxter and how he works and he will make sure the Crues are well up for it," said Carvill, now in his third season with Dungannon after playing almost 100 games the north-Belfast side.
"It will be an opportunity for them to get a bit of payback because that night we were excellent, our best performance of the season. They will know our style of play and it will be a very tough game."
Carvill admits it is still special playing against any of his old teams and although even a draw for Swifts could condemn Crusaders to a bottom-half finish to the season, he will be going all out to help his side to victory.
"I still speak to Stephen and am still friendly with a lot of the players, but you always want to do well against your former side," said Carvill.
The game at the Loughshore Hotel Arena was Dean Shiels' first back in charge after the euphoria of the Northern Ireland Women's side - where he is assistant to his father Kenny - qualifying for the European Championships.
But Carvill said it was never mentioned in the build-up to the game, explaining: "Dean turned up, didn't want to talk about it, he switched back into Dungannon mode and he is very passionate. Anyone who watches him on the side of the pitch can see that and he ensures that enthusiasm is carried onto the pitch by us.
"Hopefully we can now start to build some momentum to the end of the season."
Ω Alan O'Sullivan has signed a two-year contract extension with Warrenpoint Town.
Town could also swoop for Larne goalkeeper Conor Mitchell.
Latest Irish League


Thanks so much for all of your help., I only had the name of joshua orders. You really Helped me alot and i really appreciate it. Will Be a Great Graduation Present for my Grandson in a Couple of years. This is his MOthers Great Grandfather His Son Lowell Burdette Orders is her Grandfather and he Married Mary elizabeth Goodwin. They Lived In Auglaize County,. Ohio. I only had both of their obits.Thanks again so nice of you to help me.


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Since all the counter space was taken up with cards, I had to set food on top of the washing machine and stove. I have lots of leftovers to eat this week.
The energy of a group of people with different ideas and perspectives can be so uplifting. Their help and good company allowed me get over the near-paralyzing magnitude of this project for me into something much more manageable. Thank you Cate, Leila, Betsy, Nina, Jacob, Emily, and Greg!
Lately, I have been working in watercolor. I took an Intro to Watercolor class with Susan Quinnild at The Visual Arts Center of Richmond last month and I loved it! Although I've used watercolor for most of my life, I've never been formally trained in how to use it. Turns out there is a lot to be learned! I'll be posting some of my work and process in a future post.
One of the rewards for The Golden Moth Illumination Deck are notecards. I finally finished the designs for those today. I don't know what took me so long, since when i actually sat down to paint it took only about 8 hours combined to complete them. I think what holds me back is not feeling clear about my ideas for the finished product and feeling overly ambitious about what sort of image to create. I find that if I sit back and allow myself to simplify, I usually arrive at a happy result.
Here are the two illustrations. They are based on images in the card deck.
Upon returning from New York City a couple of weeks ago, I was pretty tired out. I had been working intensely on finishing up the artwork for The Golden Moth Illumination Deck (see the Kickstarter campaign for the project here) in order to get the artwork files to the printer right before I left for NYC, and didn't realize what an effect it would have on me. It was hard to fully enjoy New York - it just felt fast and full of too many people. Not to say I didn't enjoy elements of being in the city, but it made me realize for the first time that maybe I'm getting too old for it! Years ago I used to live in New York City while attending Pratt Institute and for a couple years post-graduation, and I do love Brooklyn - the brownstones, wrought-iron fences, and local character.
But I was happy to return home to Richmond. I've been taking a bit of a break from working on the Moth Deck project in order to get myself recharged. There is still more artwork that I need to complete, but the bulk of it is finished and the cards are printed! There's some finishing work to be done before I receive the cards and other products, and then I need to do some further finishing before they're ready to be packaged and shipped off.
In the meantime, I've been getting domestic - cleaning and decorating the house and working on the garden. It feels nice to put some energy into my home - a place I spend probably 80% or more of my time in. I've been framing artwork, some that I've kept stashed for a long time, and have finally started decorating the apartment more. The apartment is by no means perfect, but it's got its own charm. And it looks much more homey with artwork hanging on the walls. Here is one of my favorites called "Strawberry Kids," a linocut print by Amanda Kindregan.
Her work has a retro feel to it like old children's book illustrations and I love her colors. Next to the print is the curtain I sewed for the door window. It's not perfect, but looks much better than the oversized sheer purple curtain that was tacked onto the door before. And it was the first chance I had to use my old table-top White sewing machine.
I also decided to make a French Memory Board. I've seen them around before, and the idea appealed to me because I have a lot of postcards and little bitty art that I'd like to display, but I don't like to damage the artwork by taping them to the wall, pushing tacks through, or squeezing them with clips. The beauty of the memory board is that tightly-stretched ribbons are the only things holding the artwork to it, so there is no damage and artwork is easily interchangeable.
I decided to make my memory board different than other ones I had seen by using translucent ribbon. In some memory boards I looked at, the diamond pattern of the ribbon was jarring as it cut across a picture, and obviously you lose some of the image behind the ribbon.
There are many online tutorials on how to make your own Memory Board. Here's a simple one. I used a pre-stretched 22" x 28" canvas. For mine, I also added 2 layers of cotton batting behind the cloth as I'd seen in other tutorials. This allows you to get the ribbon nice and tight against the cloth so it holds pictures better. I sewed my buttons right onto the board instead of using brads, which took longer than I'd anticipated, but definitely helps the ribbon tension so that the pictures stay put underneath.
The drawing of the two creatures (foxes?) on the telephone was given to me by my sweet friend Katy O'Brien who I used to live with in Portland, Oregon. Visit her blog to see comic-versions of her adventures in Sweden last summer. She also sent me the postcard of a Moomin character in a flower field to the right of it. To the right of that postcard and underneath it are some pretty collaged cards that my sister Linjung made for me. She makes the best cards and writes amazing messages and poetry to go with them. And on the bottom left is a postcard of artwork by Irene Olivieri.
Here is a "Happy Animal" doodle and an artist trading card by my friend Rina Drescher. I love the spontaneity and lively colors in her art and paintings.
The March calendar page is by Chris Milk Hulbert and is from the 2010 Art 180 Calendar. The quote comes from 12 3/4 year-old Shaiheim Durham: "Art makes me feel regular" - a sentiment that speaks to me only too well. Art 180 is an organization in Richmond that provides at-risk youth with free art programs. I led a writing and illustration program last year, I keep meaning to post about it. I'll just say for now that it was tough in many ways, but it changed my life - no lie! The sweet fairy is by my friend (and fellow teacher at The Visual Arts Center of Richmond) Sarah Hand. Sarah illustrated the 2012 Art 180 Calendar for this year. Last year I illustrated the calendar, also using quotes from kids in the art programs. I just got a package in the mail last week from Art 180 - the calendar images I illustrated were made into notecard sets!
Me and my friend Rina Drescher who helped me at my table. She has sold her own poetry chapbooks and art at past fairs but was taking a little break this time.
Some cool stuff by Jamie Schilling of Little Beast Press. I bought the screenprinted notebook on the left. Her handmade books were really lovely. I also bought and traded with some other vendors. "The Year of the Bear" by Chad Grohman was a beautifully illustrated fable-like story. Got some nice comics from One Percent Press and a neat mini-comic called "Simple Stuff" by Emily Churco.
Olivia holding an unfinished "sketch" of a figure that she will eventually cast in plaster.
Olivia is an artist who works primarily in figurative sculpture. Her boyfriend Dario Tazzioli is visiting from Italy to have a sculpture show in Rochester in June, and Olivia will be part of a group show at Nazareth College! I'll be sure to post about it when I visit again this summer. For now, see more of Olivia's art here.
In April I headed up to New York City to take in the museums and table at the Brooklyn Zine Fest.
The breathtaking Hall of Diversity at the Natural History Museum.
The Brooklyn Zine Fest was great - packed with people and full of some great talent. Here is a picture of my friend Katie Haegele of The La-La Theory at the Brooklyn Zine Fest. As an artist and zinester, I think it's amazing that I can meet so many great people through their art. I had ordered some of Katie's zines from Etsy some years ago, and then we met in person when she tabled at the Richmond Zine Fest. I also met Matt and Kseniya, the co-creators of the fest and the zine "I Love Bad Movies," at the Richmond Zine Fest a couple of years ago.
At the Brooklyn Fest, I met many cool people and zine-makers. I picked up a lot of great comics, many by awesome female artists I'd never heard of before. I hope to do a post about comics sometime.
Now some pictures of lovely plants from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Such a peaceful place. I enjoyed sitting on the Cherry Esplanade while watching mothers and children play. I also love the conservatory.
And a shot of the Keith Haring exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. I had been inspired by Keith Haring when I was in high school and college in particular. His bold, symbolic language spoke strongly to me. I read his "Diaries" during that time, but had forgotten until now how prodigious his output and exploration was, especially for someone of his age. While he was still in school at SVA, he would fill his notebooks with art "research," studying the visual and psychological impact of lines and shapes. Also, in contrast to certain street art I find to be annoying and gratuitous, he posted pictures in the subway that had their own symbolic language. His images, while simple, seemed to communicate in a more mysterious way - sometimes joyful, sometimes political, but always full of life and energy.


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Yvette Monreal Profile| Contact Details (Phone number, Instagram, Twitter)
Who is Yvette Monreal?
YVETTE MONREAL is a popular American Television Actress who is notable for her role as Reagan on the MTV series Faking It. She was born on July 9, 1992, in California, United States. In 2015, she appeared in two episodes of The Fosters. Monreal also appeared in numerous episodes of Chutes from 2013 to 2014. She has an account on Instagram where she posted her videos and pictures.
Yvette Monreal Contact Information?
Various Ways To Contact Yvette Monreal
INSTAGRAM: @yvettemonreal
FACEBOOK: @yvettemonreal
TWITTER: @YvetteMonreal
She is also active on Twitter where she has updated her latest information stuff. This star created her Twitter account on May 2011. Her fans can contact her by using the above link and they can tweet her @yvetteMonreal.
Jenny De Nucci
Jenny De Nucci Profile| Contact Details (Phone number, Instagram, Twitter)
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The Marrow of Human Experience: Essays on Folklore
David A. Allred
William A. (Bert) Wilson, professor emeritus from Brigham Young University, has become the preeminent scholar of Mormon folklore since publishing his first article on Mormon cultural traditions in 1969. This book, which is a collection of his major articles on folklore, is divided into three sections: the first explains why folklore takes seriously a wide range of artistic expression, the second explores the role folklore plays in nationalism, and the third details the dynamics of Mormon folklore and family history. Ably edited by Jill Terry Rudy, associate professor of English at BYU, the book not only presents Wilson's work, but it also situates that work in the field of folklore. Rudy has solicited from Wilson's colleagues introductions that describe how the ideas in each article have influenced other scholars. The authors of these introductions include some of the most prominent folklore scholars in the nation and illustrate the wide-ranging effects of Wilson's thought.
Even for those familiar with Wilson's work, the collection of essays will provide new insights. The previously published articles come from various published sources that are helpfully brought together under one cover. Additionally, the collection includes three never-before-published essays.


text:
UDC: 582.711.713(497.11)
Host Preference of Myzus cerasi (Fabricius, 1775) to Half-sib Lines of Prunus avium L. from Six Populations Assessed in the Nursery Trial
Leopold Poljaković-Pajnik 1*, Milan Drekić 1, Branislav Kovačević 1, Milena Stanković-Neđić 2, Srđan Stojnić 1, Saša Orlović 1
2 University of East Sarajevo, Faculty of Agriculture, Department for Forestry, Svetosavska 87, 75440 Vlasenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Leopold Poljaković-Pajnik, leopoldpp@uns.ac.rs
Myzus cerasi Fabr. is a cosmopolitan species colonizing plants from families Cruciferae, Plantaginaceae, Rosaceae, Rubiaceae and Scrophulariaceae, as hosts. Myzus cerasi causes curling and distortion of the leaves by establishing large leaf nests colonies on top of shoots. It is very dangerous in nurseries and young plantations. We investigated host preference of Myzus cerasi to 49 half-sib lines of Prunus avium L. from six different populations based on the intensity of leaf damage. Populations of Prunus avium are Kalinovik, Višegrad, Milići, Ribnik, Prnjavor and Vlasenica, all from Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the results of hierarchical analysis of variance, the effect of differences between examined wild cherry populations were not significant, while the main contribution to the total expected variance was found for half-sib lines within populations (45.6%) and for plants within lines (52.5%). Out of 49 examined half-sib lines there were eleven lines that had less than 20% of damaged leaves, while there were no lines that had no damage. However, out of 432 examined plants, 49 of them had no damage from examined pest (11.3%), while 149 of examined plants (34.5%) had less than 20% of damaged leaves. Only populations Kalinovik and Ribnik had no lines with less than 20% of damaged leaves, while in every population there were found plants that were not damaged by pest. Gained data suggest that every examined population could be an object of selection for the tolerance on the attack of Myzus cerasi. Also, genotypes with no or tolerable damage might be vegetatively propagated and used in breeding programs.
Keywords: Prunus avium L., Myzus cerasi Fabr., pest tolerance, populations


I like to watch and then translate my experience into an object or painting, sometimes I can simulate that experience as an appetite. I have to taste it and digest its true colors, shapes or pattern. Since 2014 I have been traveling a lot and that made me think about how as an artist my landscape has changed. What is my role as an artist when I am not on my people's land? When enough time passes I start mythifying my past. I believe that some of my personal myths are also in our collective memory. I am looking for such formative moments for my work, referring to culture and religion. Therefore, in my art, I often choose to deal with my identity an an immigrant, the small town where my parents live acts as the backdrop for several of my paintings. At the same time, I am interested in the present as a woman who is simply hungry for the landscape she looks at.


text:
\section*{Abstract}
Tumor-stroma ratio (TSR) is a prognostic factor for many types of solid tumors. In this study, we propose a method for automated estimation of TSR from histopathological images of colorectal cancer. The method is based on convolutional neural networks which were trained to classify colorectal cancer tissue in hematoxylin-eosin stained samples into three classes: \emph{stroma}, \emph{tumor} and \emph{other}. The models were trained using a data set that consists of 1343 whole slide images. Three different training setups were applied with a transfer learning approach using domain-specific data i.e. an external colorectal cancer histopathological data set. The three most accurate models were chosen as a classifier, TSR values were predicted and the results were compared to a visual TSR estimation made by a pathologist. The results suggest that classification accuracy does not improve when domain-specific data are used in the pre-training of the convolutional neural network models in the task at hand. Classification accuracy for \emph{stroma}, \emph{tumor} and \emph{other} reached 96.1\% on an independent test set. Among the three classes the best model gained the highest accuracy (99.3\%) for class \emph{tumor}. When TSR was predicted with the best model, the correlation between the predicted values and values estimated by an experienced pathologist was 0.57. Further research is needed to study associations between computationally predicted TSR values and other clinicopathological factors of colorectal cancer and the overall survival of the patients.

\section*{Introduction}

Deep learning (DL) has been the state-of-the-art medical image analysis technology for the last decade. It has been applied to various tasks also in digital pathology, e.g., tissue classification between normal and tumor tissues, defining tumor subtype, recognition (e.g. dividing cells) and segmentation (patch- or pixel-level segmentation)~\cite{litjens2017a}. Tasks other than purely morphological have also been carried out, such as training DL models to predict certain genetic changes from hematoxylin-eosin (H\&E)-stained histopathological sections without e.g. immunohistochemical staining~\cite{chang2018deep, coudray2018classification, schaumberg2018h, schmauch2020deep, wang2020predicting}. These are relevant and meaningful efforts because the aforementioned tasks are time-consuming and expensive when carried out using manual laboratory methods ~\cite{echle2021deep}.

A common challenge for developing artificial intelligence methods lies in the insatiable data hunger of DL algorithms. The lack of annotated data is also one of the most significant challenges for digital pathology ~\cite{tizhoosh2018artificial}. Gaining a sufficient amount of high-quality training and testing data means hours of work for pathologists to annotate regions of interest to digitized images. One way to alleviate the data scarcity problem could be, e.g., transfer learning.

Transfer learning means utilizing a pre-trained neural network that has already learned a machine learning task in some domain that is not necessarily the same as in the target application. Transfer learning can be accomplished, e.g. using pre-trained ImageNet neural network architecture that will provide the initial parameter values for the model. ImageNet-based transfer learning is a common approach in digital pathology~\cite{russakovsky2015a, bayramoglu2016transfer, kieffer2017convolutional}. Although ImageNet model has been trained with images representing dogs, planes and houses, that are essentially very dissimilar to  histopathological images, initializing weights of the convolutional neural network (CNN) model with ImageNet has been shown to increase prediction accuracy in medical imaging tasks ~\cite{litjens2017a, mormont2018comparison}. Sometimes a pre-trained model can also be available from the target domain. Some studies have shown that such a domain-specific pre-trained model may further improve prediction performance in the context of histopathological image analysis when compared to the ImageNet-initialization~\cite{mormont2018comparison, sharmay2021histotransfer}.

This study focuses on automating the estimation of TSR from histopathological images of colorectal cancer (CRC) using transfer learning. CRC is the second most death-causing cancer in the world with over 900,000 deaths every year~\cite{organization2020a}. One prognostic factor for CRC is the proportion of stroma within the tumor site. It has been shown to associate with the survival of the patient in many solid cancer types. The low amount of stroma (TSR $\leq$ 50 \%) associates with a better prognosis~\cite{west2010proportion, huijbers2013a, ma2012a, mesker2007a}.

Pathologists determine TSR visually by following a certain scoring protocol~\cite{van2018a}. The main problem of this approach is the reproducibility of the TSR scoring. Overview by Van Pelt et al.~\cite{van2018a} showed that the Cohen's kappa scores measuring the inter-observer agreement of visual TSR using binary scoring (TSR $>$ 50 \% = stroma-high and TSR $\leq$ 50 \% = stroma-low) ranged from 0.60 to 0.89. Automated TSR estimation may improve reproducibility, but it is a challenging task and a  new relatively new concept.

Automated estimation of TSR begins by tiling a histopathological whole-slide image (WSI) into smaller image patches. After that TSR can be predicted by classifying the patches and calculating the proportion of tumor and stroma. Another approach is to use a particular spot that is a smaller part of the WSI selected by a pathologist to calculate TSR. Both approaches have been applied in previous studies~\cite{sirinukunwattana2015spatially, sirinukunwattana2018novel,kather2019predicting, zhao2020a, park2014a, geessink2019computer}.

Sirinukuvattana et al.~\cite{sirinukunwattana2015spatially, sirinukunwattana2018novel} automated the TSR estimation using a CNN model trained for nuclei detection. They trained a model based on VGG19~\cite{simonyan2014very} architecture to classify nine tissue types and the accuracies for detecting stroma and tumor were 90.4 \% and 96.0 \%, respectively. In contrast to other TSR-related studies, their results did not show prognostic value for TSR~\cite{kather2019predicting, zhao2020a, park2014a}.

Zhao et al.~\cite{zhao2020a} proposed a nine-class CNN model for which overall classification accuracies on two test sets were 95.7 \% and 97.5 \%. Classification accuracies for tumor and stroma were 92.8 \% and 70.9 \% on the test set 1 that was published by Kather et al.~\cite{kather2018a}. The test set 2 was a random sample from images collected at Yunnan Cancer Hospital. Classification accuracies for  tumor and stroma on the test set 2 were 97.2 \% and 89.1 \%. Zhao et al. used pathologists annotations as ground truth for TSR estimation on 126 image blocks of size 1 $\mu m^2$, the predicted tumor and stroma areas were in high agreement with pathologists' annotations (Pearson r = 0.939, 95\% CI 0.914 - 0.957). When splitting the patient cohort into two categories stroma-low (TSR < 48.8\%) and stroma-high (TSR$\ge$48.8\%) based on the TSR results of their model, TSR was shown to be an independent prognostic factor in the overall survival of CRC patient.

Instead of using the whole slide as an input for a neural network model, an alternative approach is to calculate TSR from the same circular spot where the visual TSR estimation takes place. The downside of this approach is the manual effort needed to point the spot for the machine learning model. Geessink et al.~\cite{geessink2019computer} developed an 11-layer VGG neural network on 129 patients to classify nine tissue types. Using 50 \% cutoff-value between stroma-high and stroma-low categories there was a considerable disagreement between the model and pathologist (Cohen's kappa $\kappa$ = 0.239). Cohen's kappa score was slightly improved ($\kappa$ = 0.521) using the median of the TSR values estimated with the model as a cutoff value for stroma-high and stroma-low. Also, stroma-high- and stroma-low grouping showed a strong prognostic value when the median was used as a cutoff value.

In the present study, 12 DL models for estimating TSR for CRC samples were developed and tested using three different transfer learning setups, four different pre-trained CNN architectures, and two distinct CRC data sets. Models were trained to classify image patches into three different tissue classes: \emph{tumor}, \emph{stroma} and \emph{other}. Three best-performing CNN models were chosen to estimate TSR from WSIs in a separate TSR test set. The predicted TSR values were then compared with the pathologist's TSR estimates.

\section*{Materials and methods}

\subsection*{Data}

In this study, two mutually independent CRC data sets were used: a CRC data set from Central Finland Health Care District ("CFHCD-data") and a public CRC data set ("NCT-CRC-HE-100K")~\cite{kather2018a}.

CFHCD-data include 1343 anonymized WSIs, resolution 0.5 microns per pixel (MPP), of primary colorectal cancers (stages I-IV). The cohort is described in detail by Elomaa et al.~\cite{elomaa2022prognostic}. The WSIs were scanned with Hamamatsu NanoZoomer-XR.

Automated estimation of the TSR-value for a single WSI is based on calculating the ratio of patches representing stroma and tumor classes. The estimation process consists of two steps: 1) CNN-classification of patches for a WSI 2) Calculation of the ratio of tumor and stroma patches.

For developing and testing the models, CFHCD-data were split into two disjoint sets at random. The first one (Dev-set) consisted of 169 WSIs and was used in developing CNN classification models and the second one (TSR-test set) consisted of 1174 WSIs and it was applied to test CNN-based estimation of the TSR-value. The overall study flow is presented in Fig~~\ref{study_flow}.

\begin{figure}[!h]
\includegraphics[height=9cm,keepaspectratio]{./studyflow_MUOK.png}
\caption{{\bf Diagram of the studyflow.}
Patches for training were tiled from 152 annotated WSIs (CNN-train), the classifier test set of 17 WSIs (CNN-test) was excluded from the training data. TSR-values were predicted for the remaining 1174 WSIs (TSR-test) and compared with the TSR-values determined visually by a pathologist.}
\label{study_flow}
\end{figure}

Before tiling and preprocessing, Dev-set was annotated by an experienced pathologist into three different tissue categories, \emph{tumor}, \emph{stroma} and \emph{other}. The annotations were accomplished with QuPath image analysis tool~\cite{bankhead2017qupath}. The class \emph{other} includes debris, lymphocytes, mucus, normal epithelium and smooth muscle (See Fig ~~\ref{annotation_example}). Ground truth TSR-values (from now on referred to as true TSR-values) were visually assessed by the pathologist for the TSR-test set following the protocol by Van Pelt et al.~\cite{van2018a}.

\begin{figure}[!h]
\includegraphics[height=5.2cm,keepaspectratio]{./annotation.png}
\caption{{\bf Annotation examples}
Examples of annotations from each class. The patches were extracted from annotated areas, and they were color normalized using Macenko's method~\cite{macenko2009method}.}
\label{annotation_example}
\end{figure}

A subsample (n = 31,337) of NCT-CRC-HE-100K data set were used to investigate the effects of domain-specific pre-training of the CNN models. The original data includes 100,000 patches tiled from 86 WSIs (0.5 MPP). The patches are pre-labeled to nine tissue classes: adipose, debris, lymphocytes, mucus, normal, smooth muscle, stroma and tumor. In this study, only patches representing \emph{stroma} (10,446 patches) and \emph{tumor} (10,446 patches) classes were used as such, whereas a random sample of 10,445 patches from debris, lymphocytes, mucus, normal and smooth muscle classes with even distribution was drawn and assigned to a class called \emph{other}.

\subsection*{Tiling and preprocessing of WSIs}
Following the annotation of the WSIs in Dev-set they were tiled into smaller WSI patches (224 x 224 pixels / 101 $\mu m$ x 101 $\mu m$). Tiling was performed with a sliding window procedure with 64 pixels overlapping. If less than 75\% of the patch area included annotated pixels, the patch was discarded from further analyses. All patches were color normalized by Macenko's method~\cite{macenko2009method}.

Since the classifiers were not trained to detect the image background and adipose tissue, the WSIs in the TSR-test set were tiled in the following way: First, to remove image background and adipose tissue, a binary mask was applied using Otsu's algorithm for choosing the optimal threshold value~\cite{otsu1979threshold}. After this the image patches were tiled using a sliding window procedure with no overlapping. If the masked area was less than 75\%, the patch was discarded from further analyses. Macenko's method was applied for color normalization of the patches~\cite{macenko2009method}.

\subsection*{Training and evaluation of classifiers}

For training and selecting the best CNN models Dev-set was split at random into two distinct WSI sets of CNN-train (n=152) and CNN-test (n=17) with the constraints that after the tiling process the maximum difference of eighty patches in the training distribution of the target classes was allowed and the minimum number of patches was nine hundred in each test class. The constraints were applied to ensure approximately balanced class distribution in CNN-train and that the size of CNN-test is at least 10\% of Dev-set.

This resulted in 24,329 and 2,770 input patches for training and testing of the classifiers, respectively. The final numbers of patches in the CNN-train/CNN-test classes were 8139/900, 8060/900, and 8130/900 for \emph{tumor}, \emph{stroma} and \emph{other}, respectively. Examples of image patches from each class are shown in ~~Fig\ref{exampletiles}.

\begin{figure}[!h]
\includegraphics[height=4.2cm,keepaspectratio]{./exampletiles.png}
  \caption{{\bf Example patches from each class}
The image patches were taken from annotated areas and the number of patches was balanced between the groups. The \emph{other} class includes, e.g., debris, normal epithelium and smooth muscle.}
\label{exampletiles}
\end{figure}

For predicting TSR in WSIs, four convolutional neural network (CNN) architectures, AlexNet~\cite{krizhevsky2012imagenet}, GoogleNet~\cite{szegedy2015going}, ResNet50~\cite{he2016deep}, VGG19~\cite{simonyan2014very}, were trained on CNN-train to classify the patches into three tissue types: \emph{tumor}, \emph{stroma} and \emph{other}. For all the CNN models, the input layer was set according to the WSI patch dimensions $224 \times 224$, and the output layer was softmax function (dimension=3).

Three different pre-training strategies for CNN models were applied (SETUP-1,  SETUP-2 and SETUP-3). In SETUP-1 the CNN model was first initialized with ImageNet~\cite{russakovsky2015imagenet} weights and thereafter pre-trained with the domain-specific subsample of NCT-CRC-HE-100K-data before finalizing the training with CNN-train. In SETUP-2 training on CNN-train started directly from ImageNet weights. In SETUP-3 the CNNs were first initialized with random weights using PyTorch default parameters and then subsequently pre-trained with the subsample of NCT-CRC-HE-100K-data and finalized with CNN-train.

For both pretraining the CNN models on the NCT-CRC-HE-100K patches as well as fine-tuning the models on CFHCD-data (CNN-train and CNN-test), the most suitable values for hyperparameters were selected using 5-fold cross-validation (C-V) CNN-train. In 5-fold C-V data are split at random into the five subsets. Then each subset acts once as a test fold (set) while the four other are used for training. The error estimate for a model is the average error over the test folds.

After finding the best hyperparameter values for the neural networks, the optimal number of epochs was determined with an early stopping model selection strategy on CNN-train using 1/3 of the training patches for validation. The final model was then trained once more on the full CNN-train until the optimal number of epochs was reached.

The generalization performance of each CNN model was then assessed by computing the classification accuracy, precision, recall and  $F_{1}$-score of the models on CNN-test (2,770 CFHCD-patches).

For more information about chosen hyperparameters, see \nameref{S1_Table}.

\subsection*{Calculating tumor-stroma ratio}

TSR was calculated for each WSI in TSR-test as the ratio of patches classified by a CNN model as \emph{stroma} and \emph{tumor}:

\begin{eqnarray}
\centerline{ $TSR = \frac{n_{stroma}}{n_{tumor} + n_{stroma}}$},
\end{eqnarray}

where $n_{stroma}$ and $n_{tumor}$ are the number of \emph{stroma} and \emph{tumor} patches, respectively.

\subsection*{Equipment and software}
 All the neural network models were trained on Linux GPU server Tesla P100, x 86\_64 with Python-version 3.8.5. using PyTorch- and TorchVision-libraries, versions 1.9.0 and 0.10.0, respectively. OpenCV 4.5.2 was utilized when masking the WSIs. Color normalization was applied with an open-source library StainTools, available for download at GitHub: https://github.com/Peter554/StainTools. Performance metrics were calculated with Scikit-learn 0.24.2 metrics-module.

\section*{Results}

\subsection*{Validation and test results of the final models}

Classification accuracy metrics on the CNN-test set are shown for all the final CNN models in Table~~\ref{test}. The three highest values were obtained by training the models directly from Imagenet-pretrained weights. The differences between the three best CNN architectures are negligible. Only Alexnet showed slightly poorer performance in terms of classification accuracy. To support the interpretation of the results also validation accuracies are reported in Table~~\ref{val}.

\begin{table}[!ht]
\centering
\caption{
{\bf Test accuracies}}
\begin{tabular}{|l|l|l|l|}
\hline
& \multicolumn{1}{l|}{\bf SETUP 1} & \multicolumn{1}{l|}{\bf SETUP 2} & \multicolumn{1}{l|}{\bf SETUP 3}\\
& \multicolumn{1}{l|}{accuracy} & \multicolumn{1}{l|}{accuracy} & \multicolumn{1}{l|}{accuracy} \\ \thickhline
    Alexnet		& 91.95 \% & 92.42 \% & 91.79 \%  \\ \hline
    Googlenet   & 94.94 \% & \textbf{95.40} \% & 95.37 \% \\ \hline
    ResNet50	& 94.94 \% & \textbf{96.09} \% & 92.57 \% \\ \hline
    VGG\-19		& 95.19 \% & \textbf{95.65} \% & 92.64 \% \\ \hline
\end{tabular}
\begin{flushleft} Test accuracies of all final models on the CNN-test set, top-3 models are shown bold.
\end{flushleft}
\label{test}
\end{table}

\begin{table}[!ht]
\centering
\caption{
{\bf Validation accuracies}}
\begin{tabular}{|l|l|l|l|}
\hline
& \multicolumn{1}{l|}{\bf SETUP 1} & \multicolumn{1}{l|}{\bf SETUP 2} & \multicolumn{1}{l|}{\bf SETUP 3}\\
& \multicolumn{1}{l|}{accuracy} & \multicolumn{1}{l|}{accuracy} & \multicolumn{1}{l|}{accuracy} \\ \thickhline
    Alexnet		& 90.19 \% & 92.90 \% & 92.30 \% \\ \hline
    Googlenet	& 93.35 \% & 92.19 \% & \textbf{93.69} \% \\ \hline
    ResNet50	& \textbf{93.39} \% & 92.96 \% & 91.49 \% \\ \hline
    VGG\-19		& \textbf{94.17} \% & 93.29 \% & 91.11 \% \\ \hline
\end{tabular}
\begin{flushleft} Validation accuracies for all final CNN classification models (top-3 models are bolded).
\end{flushleft}
\label{val}
\end{table}

A more detailed comparison between true and predicted classifications on CNN-test can be seen for the most accurate top-3 models in Fig~~\ref{confusion_matrices}. All the models performed well in detecting the \emph{tumor} class but had slight difficulties distinguishing between classes \emph{stroma} and \emph{other}.

\begin{figure}[!h]
\includegraphics[height=4.98cm,keepaspectratio]{./confusionmatrices.png}
  \caption{{\bf Confusion matrices.}
Classification results of top-3 models on the CNN-test set.}
\label{confusion_matrices}
\end{figure}

Precision, recall and $F_{1}$-score are shown in Table~~\ref{precision_recall_F1}. The numbers show that all the top-3 models attained excellent hit rate (recall > 0.9) for all classes as well as they are accurate in predicting positive cases (precision > 0.9). Consequently all the models attained high F1-score (> 0.9). The observed differences between the top-3 models are so small that they can most likely be explained by random variation.

\begin{table}[!ht]
\caption{
{\bf Precision, recall and $F_{1}$-score}}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{|c|r|r|r|r|}
\hline

    \bf{model} & \bf{class} & \bf{precision} &  \bf{recall} &  \bf{$F_{1}$-score} \\
    \thickhline
    \multirow{3}{5em}{SETUP 2 / Googlenet}
    & other & 0.97 & 0.90 & 0.93 \\ \cline{2-5}
    & stroma & 0.91 & 0.97 & 0.94 \\ \cline{2-5}
    & tumor & 0.99 & 0.99 & 0.99 \\ \cline{2-5} \hline

    \cline{2-5}
    \multirow{3}{5em}{SETUP 2 / ResNet50} & other & 0.97 & 0.92 & 0.94 \\ \cline{2-5}
    & stroma & 0.93 & 0.97 & 0.95 \\ \cline{2-5}
    & tumor & 0.99 & 0.99 & 0.99 \\ \cline{2-5} \hline

    \cline{2-5}
    \multirow{3}{5em}{SETUP 2 / VGG19} & other & 0.95 & 0.93 & 0.94 \\ \cline{2-5}
    & stroma & 0.94 & 0.95 & 0.94 \\ \cline{2-5}
    & tumor & 0.98 & 0.99 & 0.99 \\ \cline{2-5}
    \hline
  \end{tabular}
\begin{flushleft} Precision, recall and $F_{1}$-score on the CNN-test set of top-3 models. The CNN-test set included 2770 image tiles.
\end{flushleft}
\label{precision_recall_F1}
\end{table}

\subsection*{Tumor-stroma ratio predictions}

Distributions of the predicted TSR values on the TSR-test set are shown for the top-3 models in Fig~~\ref{boxplots}. Examples of the most accurate and least accurate TSR predictions on WSIs shown in \nameref{S2_Figure}.

\begin{figure}[!h]
\includegraphics[height=3.9cm,keepaspectratio]{./boxplots.png}
\caption{{\bf Results from TSR prediction: boxplots}
Boxplots showing the distributions of the predicted TSR values and Pearson correlation coefficient (r) of predicted and true TSR values for the top-3 models on the TSR-test set. The results are shown for each visually estimated TSR value category on the discrete scale $\{10\%, 20\% , \ldots, 90 \%\}$. The standard error of the estimate (SEE) is the overall SEE of all categories.}
\label{boxplots}
\end{figure}

Mean, median, standard error of the estimate (SEE), standard deviation (std) of predicted TSR values and the number of WSIs in each category are shown in Table~~\ref{stats_top3}. The results show that all the models overestimate the TSR value in the three lowest target categories (10\%, 20\% and 30\%) and underestimate in the remaining target categories. All the models perform best in the category 60\% (the mean differences between the predicted and true TSR values 1.4) whereas the poorest performance is observed in the categories 10\% and 80\% (the mean differences between the predicted and true TSR values 14.4 and 14.2 respectively). The smallest SEEs are observed in categories 30\%, 40 \% and 90 \%. When grouping the TSR values into stroma-high (TSR $>$ 50 \%) and stroma-low (TSR $\leq$ 50 \%), the Cohen's kappa scores between the true and predicted TSR values were 0.32 (SETUP 2 / Googlenet), 0.33 (SETUP 2 / ResNet50) and 0.33 (SETUP 2 / VGG19).

\begin{table}[!ht]
\centering
\caption{
{\bf TSR results: statistics.}}
\begin{tabular}{|l|r|r|r|r|r|r|r|r|r|r|}
\hline
\multicolumn{11}{|l|}{\bf{SETUP 2 / Googlenet}}\\ \hline

    \multicolumn{2}{|l|}{\bf{True TSR}} & \bf{10\%} &  \bf{20\%} &  \bf{30\%} &  \bf{40\%} &  \bf{50\%} &  \bf{60\%} &  \bf{70\%} &  \bf{80\%} &  \bf{90\%} \\
    \hline
    \multirow{5}{4em}{Predicted TSR} &  mean & 24.6 & 32.0 & 35.4 & 38.4 & 44.1 & 58.5 & 60.5 & 65.8 & 86.4 \\ \cline{2-11}
    &  median & 23.0 & 28.9 & 32.4 & 35.9 & 42.2 & 58.6 & 59.6 & 65.4 & 96.0 \\ \cline{2-11}
    &  SEE & 20.7 & 20.5 & 16.8 & 15.1 & 17.2 & 19.3 & 21.3 & 25.0 & 14.7 \\ \cline{2-11}
    &  std & 14.9 & 16.6 & 16.0 & 15.1 & 16.1 & 19.3 & 19.1 & 20.8 & 14.8 \\ \cline{2-11}
    &  n & 53 & 95 & 105 & 200 & 284 & 229 & 143 & 51 & 13 \\ \hline
    \multicolumn{11}{|l|}{\bf{SETUP 2 / ResNet50}}\\ \hline
    \multicolumn{2}{|l|}{\bf{True TSR}} & \bf{10\%} &  \bf{20\%} &  \bf{30\%} &  \bf{40\%} &  \bf{50\%} &  \bf{60\%} &  \bf{70\%} &  \bf{80\%} &  \bf{90\%} \\
    \hline
    \multirow{5}{4em}{Predicted TSR} & mean & 24.7 & 31.3 & 35.5 & 38.5 & 44.4 & 58.6 & 60.6 & 66.0 & 86.0 \\ \cline{2-11}
    & median & 21.7 & 28.3 & 32.4 & 34.8 & 42.3 & 58.8 & 59.6 & 63.6 & 94.7 \\ \cline{2-11}
    &  SEE & 21.9 & 20.2 & 17.0 & 15.4 & 17.4 & 19.4 & 21.4 & 24.8 & 15.5 \\ \cline{2-11}
    & std & 16.3 & 16.8 & 16.2 & 15.3 & 16.5 & 19.4 & 19.4 & 20.7 & 15.6 \\ \cline{2-11}
    & n & 53 & 95 & 105 & 200 & 284 & 229 & 143 & 51 & 13 \\ \hline
    \multicolumn{11}{|l|}{\bf{SETUP 2 / VGG19}}\\ \hline
    \multicolumn{2}{|l|}{\bf{True TSR}} & \bf{10\%} &  \bf{20\%} &  \bf{30\%} &  \bf{40\%} &  \bf{50\%} &  \bf{60\%} &  \bf{70\%} &  \bf{80\%} &  \bf{90\%} \\
    \hline
    \multirow{5}{4em}{Predicted TSR} &  mean & 23.3 & 31.0 & 34.4 & 37.1 & 43.1 & 57.7 & 60.1 & 65.9 & 85.7 \\ \cline{2-11}
    &  median & 22.0 & 28.3 & 31.6 & 33.6 & 41.7 & 58.8 & 58.9 & 64.1 & 94.0 \\ \cline{2-11}
    &  SEE & 19.0 & 19.6 & 16.5 & 15.1 & 17.4 & 19.4 & 21.7 & 25.1 & 14.8 \\ \cline{2-11}
    &  std & 13.7 & 16.3 & 16.0 & 14.9 & 16.0 & 19.3 & 19.4 & 21.0 & 14.8 \\ \cline{2-11}
    &  n & 53 & 95 & 105 & 200 & 284 & 229 & 143 & 51 & 13 \\
    \hline
  \end{tabular}
\begin{flushleft} Main statistics from top-3 models on the TSR-test set. The results are shown based on the visually estimated TSR-value on the discrete scale $\{10\%, 20\% , \ldots, 90 \%\}$. The overall SEE of all categories combined shown in Fig~~\ref{boxplots}.
\end{flushleft}
\label{stats_top3}
\end{table}

\section*{Discussion}

The aim of this study was to investigate how accurately CNN-based machine learning models can predict the ratio of tumor and stroma tissue in WSI samples. For the best model (ResNet50 architecture) the correlation between the true and predicted TSR values was 0.57 (SEE = 18.6). Approximately the same performance was obtained with GoogleNet and VGG19 architectures. Utility of domain-specific pre-training of CNN models was also investigated, but no meaningful differences were observed. The results show that the same or even better performance with comparable computational cost can be achieved in the present task without domain-specific pre-training of CNN.

Even though the automated TSR were predicted from the whole tissue area in contrast to the pathologist who selected a small spot for estimation, their outcomes correlates ($r=0.57$) rather well. Cohen's kappa score ($\kappa$ = 0.33) for stroma-high and stroma-low classification was comparable with results from the previous study by Geessink et al.~\cite{geessink2019computer} where Cohen's kappa score for stroma-high and stroma-low with 50 \% cutoff-value was 0.24. An overview by~\cite{van2018a} show that the inter-observer kappa-values variate between 0.60 to 0.89 when pathologists estimate the TSR of CRC binary into stroma-high and stroma-low.

In this study SEE was lowest in TSR categories 30\%, 40\% and 90\%. When comparing the means of the predicted TSR values with the true TSR values, the best performing set of images was the one with TSR 60\% and the second largest number of samples. Balancing the data for TSR prediction task might bring more consistency to the results.

The results also indicate that the most difficult part of the classification task is to separate \emph{stroma} and \emph{other}. This can be due to the visual similarity of smooth muscle and fibrotic stroma. This may cause the classifier to make a mistake since the smooth muscle tissue belongs to the \emph{other} class. The smooth muscle and stroma are difficult to separate even by the human eye. Despite the minor weaknesses, the classification accuracy of the best CNN models was comparable to previous studies~\cite{kather2019predicting, zhao2020a}. The classification accuracy for the \emph{tumor} tissue was over 98\% with all top-3 models.

Despite the promising performance of machine learning bringing some aspects of the visual estimation procedure could improve the automated models. For example, only tumor-related stroma tiles could be taken into account. Another option could be mimicking the visual human process by going through the image frame by frame and choosing one spot for making the final TSR prediction. In addition to these, using a smaller tile size might increase classifying accuracy since some tumor areas, as well as stromal areas in between, seem to be quite narrow. This could have a significant effect on the quality of TSR predictions.

Even though accuracy of the proposed automated method for TSR estimation does not fully compare to human visual analysis, the reproducibility of computational model outcomes is a major advantage. Automated machine learning based tools would bring reproducibility to daily practices and the TSR estimation process, in particular. Moreover, TSR estimation with an automated machine learning model can be completed in a fraction of the time compared to the visual method.

As visually estimated TSR has been shown to be an independent prognostic factor in solid cancer types~\cite{west2010proportion, huijbers2013a, ma2012a, mesker2007a}, further studies should take place for assessing the correlation of the machine learning predicted TSR values with other clinicopathological factors and the overall survival of patients.

\section*{Supporting information}

\paragraph*{S1 Table.}
\label{S1_Table}
{\bf Hyperparameters.}

\paragraph*{S2 Figure.}
\label{S2_Figure}
{\bf Examples of tumor-stroma ratio prediction.}

\section*{Acknowledgments}

This study is one part of AI Hub Central Finland project that has received funding from the Council of Tampere Region (Decision number: A75000) and Leverage from the EU 2014–2020, funded by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

We thank Central Finland Health Care District and "Suolisyöpä Keski-Suomessa 2000-2015" -project for providing the data set.

\nolinenumbers

\bibliographystyle{plos2015}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
Barbara Kahn and More
Judy Garland never won a competitive Oscar or Tony
There's no way you can create a chemistry where none exists.
Journalist Michael Parkinson
Happy March 26th, 2018!
March 26 is the 85th day of the year. There are 280 days remaining until the end of the year.
Easter is on the horizon.
So are the MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs)Awards tomorrow night thus ending Cabaret Month and the 'competitive' part of the season and then before you know it, we will be in the midst of the Broadway Awards season. This time next year, people will not even remember who won the awards and then it starts all over again.
While everyone else is trying to put their leads into a funnel, and competing with one another…
What if there was no competition for you? The bottom line is there truly is no competition.
Melissa Manchester Is a Great Artist on her own merits.
Let's celebrate each other as individuals and our unique bodies of 'worth'. Be relevant to our community. Illuminate your own niche in the community. Support each other.
The motivation for creating your art should be to give the world a great story and a memorable experience — no matter how you create it. There's no doubt about it: this is a tough business.
A patron (audience) wants to find a good show. Period. They don't care whether or not you have won awards on your path to your current show.
I wish MUCH SUCCESS to all of the MAC Nominees tomorrow night. While this may sound weird to you, after committing so much time and effort into creating your shows, the endgame is not to get an award. Celebrate each other tomorrow night and try not to let the wins and losses define who you are.
It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.
Happy Birthday to Diana Ross! Thank you for the musical gifts you have given to the world and will continue to give.
Today, I Celebrate Barbara Kahn!
Poster design by Virginia Asman
Barbara Kahn is a multi-award winning playwright, actor, and director. She started acting in Philadelphia while a teenager. She received a B.A. degree in Theatre Arts from ADELPHI UNIVERSITY in New York while continuing her professional career. She returned to Philadelphia in 1998 to appear in her own play "CO-OP" and in 1999 in "Cyma's Story." "Cyma's Story" was presented in Los Angeles by the Jewish Women's Theatre Project in January 2002at the NOHO (North Hollywood) Theatre Festival in Hollywood and the University of Gutenberg in Mainz, Germany, in 2003. She has directed plays in New York, Paris and at the National Theatre in London.
Barbara's plays have been produced in New York, California, Boston and Philadelphia and have won awards on both coasts. Theater for the New City has been the New York City home for her plays since 1994. Unorthodox Behavior was presented by Moving Parts Theatre Group in Paris, France in January 2003.
Barbara was honored with the TORCH OF HOPE AWARD for "lifetime achievement," following past recipients Terrence McNally, John Guare, August Wilson, Horton Foote and A.R. Gurney. She received the JAMES R. QUIRK AWARD for the Performing Arts for her "memorable contributions to American theatre" and was awarded participation in The Field's Independent Artist Challenge Program.
Barbara's play "Whither Thou Goest" was published in the anthology, MAKING A SCENE: The Contemporary Drama of Jewish-American Women (ed. Sarah Blacher Cohen, Syracuse University Press. 1997) Her work was also published in More Monologues for Women by Women (Heinemann Press), Harrington Lesbian Fiction Quarterly (Haworth Press) and All In the Seasoning (Bywater Books). Memorabilia from her early productions are in the permanent collection of the Cultural History Collection at the New York State Museum in Albany. She co-authored the lyrics for the song "Actions Are the Music of the Free" for "Bringing Beijing Home" rally at NYU, later performed on request at the United Nations Memorial to Dame Nita Barrow. and at the 17th Annual Lower East Side Festival of the Arts.
Barbara has been a panelist at the OutWrite conference in Boston and a panel moderator at the
The Torch of Hope Award with Barbara's mother and Barbara Barondess.
International Conference of Gay and Lesbian Jewish Organizations. She was the sole U.S. presenter at the Jewish Women's Writing Conference in Mainz, Germany in 2003. She is a member of The Dramatists Guild, Sisters On Stage (co-founder), Actors Equity Association and Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA).
Barbara received the 2011 Robert Chesley Foundation/Helene Wurlitzer Foundation Award for achievement in Playwriting. She received the award for Best Short Play for "CO-OP" at the 2012 Downtown Urban Theatre Festival.
Barbara was the recipient of a 2017 Acker Award for her work in the Theater.
Enjoy our Interview...
How do you balance a personal and a professional life?
My professional life prevents my having much of a personal life. I love what I do, so
that's not really a sacrifice.
Tell us about Verzet Amsterdam [Resistance Amsterdam]?
Verzet Amsterdam [Resistance Amsterdam] is based on the true story of artists in World
War II occupied Amsterdam who risked their lives to save Dutch Jews from deportation
and death.
Who are your biggest artistic influences?
From left, Bob Sickinger, Dan Schoch and Charles E. Gerber collaborating in New York in 2009. Credit Stephen Schwartz
Bob Sickinger was an early acting teacher, who taught a teenager how to be a in the theater, both in acting skills and in conduct. My father was a child
refugee from war; my sister Phyllis is a human rights activist. Both of them inspired me
to write plays about injustice and oppression. Crystal Field has given me a home for my
plays in NYC since 1994, allowing me to create a body of work and see my artistic
vision come to life onstage.
Tell me about working with Robert Gonzalas Jr. as a director. What is he like to
work with?
Robert was first an actor and choreographer in a musical I wrote and directed. I found myself consulting him on directing issues and wanted to make it official. We have been co-directors on my productions in the decade-plus since. Our overall philosophy is the same, but we have different strong points—he actually enjoys scheduling rehearsals and blocking scenes, while I focus on character and relationship issues—and we often overlap. We rarely disagree in rehearsals. It's been a joy having him as my theater partner.
My life is an open book.
Which is the most memorable experience you've had in your writing career?
Receiving the Torch of Hope Award for my work in non-profit theater. It was presented
in a big gala at the Rainbow Room. My brother brought my mother who was already in
the middle stage of Alzheimer's. Although she quickly forgot it afterward, sharing the
moment with her in the audience meant a great deal to me.
How did you hear you'd booked your first big play?
The first production was canceled mid-rehearsals when co-author Ray Hagen and I had
a major disagreement with the director who was also producing it. Since we both had
been actors at La MaMa, Ellen Stewart stepped up and gave us a three-week run!
What's the story behind your current project?
Frieda Belinfante, a well-known Dutch cellist, and conductor, and Willem Arondeus, a painter, and poet formed a resistance group of artists against the fascist German occupiers in 1942-43 Amsterdam. When their first efforts to protect Dutch Jews from deportation and death were exposed, they embarked on a more dangerous and violent action.
How did this project come about?
I am always scouting for dramatic stories of historical figures, particularly LGBT, women, and minorities. I check certain websites and receive daily emails. When I encounter an amazing individual or situation I didn't previously know about, I decided to share the story with others. Discovering the lesbian and gay man who formed an anti-Nazi resistance
group in World War II, I knew I had to write their story
What would you say is your current motivator?
Barbara with Ellen Stewart of LaMama E.T.C.for the New City It hasn't changed much.
I strive to tell the stories of people whose lives have been
omitted or distorted in popular culture. My favorite compliment from an audience
member—"I come away from your plays feeling entertained and only later realize I've
been educated."
How do you see proceeding with your writing career? Do you have an upcoming
project in mind?
There are many stories waiting to be told. I haven't yet landed on one.
Was writing Verzet Amsterdam [Resistance Amsterdam] at all difficult?
I carefully research all my historical plays. There were some language difficulties, since I don't know Dutch. Fortunately, I was able to find enough sources in English, including post-war testimony by my main character.
Once this project has run its course, what's the next step for you?
Artist: Seth Ruggles Hiler
My immediate next step is writing a short play—maximum 20 minutes—for the annual
Lower East Side Festival of the Arts at Theater for the New City, held on Memorial Day
Come Up with one question I did not ask you for next profile
Who among colleagues you haven't yet worked with would you want to collaborate with
on a theater project?
Name one person you would like to see profiled in my blog
You already named him—my theater partner Robert Gonzales Jr. He is an opera-
photo by Joe Bly
a trained singer, a violinist, a dancer and choreographer, an actor and a director. (I'm sure I left out some of the many things he excels in doing.)
Anything else you wish included?
I write plays, not novels or poetry because I love the collaborative process of working in the theater. A play is the basis of a production, but it takes a team of artists to bring it to life onstage. Thank you, Richard, for this opportunity to share my thoughts with your readers.
There are two ways to be fooled: One is to believe what isn't so; the other is to refuse to believe what is so.
- Kierkegaard
Verzet Amsterdam [Resistance Amsterdam] dramatizes the true story of artists in World War IIband together to resist fascism and protect Jews from deportation and death. Written by Barbara Kahn. Directed by Robert Gonzales Jr. and Barbara Kahn. Set and light design by Mark Marcante. Costume design by Everett Clark. Sound design by Joy Linscheid. Vintage prop design by Lytza Colon. Featuring Steve Barkman, Benjamin Cardona, Robert Gonzales Jr., Carl Ellis Grant, Jared Johnston, Anya Krawcheck, Christopher Lowe, Paolo Solis, Steph Van Vlack. April 5-22, 2018. Theater for the New City 155 1st Ave (9th & 10th Sts.)
occupied Amsterdam who
Thus-Sat. @8pm, Sun @3pm. Reservations: 212-254-1109. Advance tkts: www.theaterforthenewcity.net.
Verzet Amsterdam, with its relevance to today's global threats, presents the valiant Dutch artists who fought against fascism in occupied Amsterdam. They came from differing artistic careers, races, religions and sexual identities.
The cast of The Spring and Fall of Eve Adams.
When their first efforts faced exposure, they decided on a more drastic and decisive action. Cellist Frieda Belinfante, poet Willi Arondeus, composer Jan Van Gilse, sculptor Gerrit Van Der Veen and museum curator Willem Sandberg risked their lives to save their Jewish neighbors.
"I only wish that my life will have been a life worth living…" Frieda Belinfante
"People will know that homosexuals are not cowards." Willem "Willi" Arondeus.
Partial funding for the production is provided by The Puffin Foundation and private donations.
Jackie S. Freeman and Karen Klebbe
Theater for the New City has been the primary New York City home for Barbara's plays since 1994. Her plays have been produced in the U.S., France, and Germany. She has directed in New York, Paris, and at the National Theatre in London. Among her many awards: the Torch of Hope Award for lifetime achievement in non-profit theatre, following past recipients Terrence McNally, August Wilson, Horton Foote and A.R. Gurney; the joint Robert Chesley Playwriting Award/Wurlitzer Foundation Residency in Taos, NM; and a 2017 Acker Award. With Jackie S. Freeman, she co-authored the lyrics to "Actions are the Music of the Free," music by Jennifer Giering, performed at the United Nations Tribute to Dame Nita Barrow. A "short list of prominent post-1970's playwrights who identify as Jewish and who have written about Jews includes Jon Robin Baitz, Richard Greenburg, Alan Havis, Barbara Kahn, Tony Kushner, Barbara Lebow, Jennifer Maisel, Karen Malpede, David Mamet, Emily Mann, Donald Margulies, Elizabeth Swados, Jeffrey Sweet, Alfred Uhry, and Wendy Wasserstein." (You Should See Yourself: Jewish Identity in Postmodern American Culture. Vincent Brook. Rutgers University Press.) Member: The Dramatists Guild, AEA and SAG/AFTRA. www.barbara-kahn.com
Marilyn Galfin, Barbara, Edie Windsor and Judith Kasen-Windsor
THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY (TNC) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning community cultural center that is known for its high artistic standards and widespread community service. One of New York's most prolific theatrical organizations, TNC produces 20-30 premieres of new American plays per year, at least 10 of which are by emerging and young playwrights. Many influential theater artists of the last quarter century have found TNC's Resident Theater Program instrumental to their careers, among them Sam Shepard, Moises Kaufman, Richard Foreman, Charles Busch, Maria Irene Fornes, Miguelwww.theaterforthenewcity.net
Sam Sheppard
Piñero and Academy Award Winners Tim Robbins and Adrien Brody. TNC also presents plays by multi-ethnic/multi-disciplinary theater companies who have no permanent home. Among the well-known companies that have been presented by TNC are Mabou Mines, the Living Theater, Bread and Puppet Theater, the San Francisco Mime Troupe and the Ma-Yi Theater Company, which won an OBIE Award for its 1996 TNC production, FLIPZOIDS. TNC also produced the Yangtze Repertory Company's 1997 production of BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH, which was the only play ever produced in America by Gao Xingjian before he won the 2000 Nobel Prize for Literature. TNC seeks to develop theater audiences and inspire future theater artists from the often-overlooked low-income minority communities of New York City by producing minority writers from around the world and by bringing the community into theater and theater into the community through its many free Festivals. TNC productions have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and over 40 OBIE Awards for excellence in every theatrical discipline. TNC is also the only Theatrical Organization to have won the Mayor's Stop the Violence Award.
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.
Richard's Monday Picks
ATTENTION: SINGERS!!
Following MARILYN MAYE's upcoming six SOLD OUT shows at Feinstein's/54 Below (April 10 - 21)
Learn the "Art of Performance" with MARILYN MAYE at her acclaimed Master Class on SATURDAY, APRIL 28th, 10:00AM - 3:00PM
Gregory Toroian will provide accompaniment.
Location to be provided to attendees.
(Video-taping of your session is available upon request for a small fee.)
PARTICIPANT FEE - $150 / AUDITOR FEE - $60 AUDIENCE MEMBERS (AUDITORS) ALWAYS WELCOME!!! For RESERVATIONS, contact Kati Neiheis Kati.MarilynMaye@gmail.com
(646) 404-2714 (please leave a message)
PRIVATE COACHING SESSIONS ALSO AVAILABLE
Happy Birthday, Tennessee Williams!
On Tennessee Williams's birthday, it's important to remember that BOOM was his favorite film adaptation of one of his plays.
Thank you, to ALL who are mentioned in this blog for gifts you have given to the world and will continue to give
Now, go and do something nice for someone without expecting anything in return!
Russ Woolley Proudly Presents
Richard Skipper Celebrates
Broadway and off-Broadway Firsts...and More!
1 PM Brunch Show Laurie Beechman Theater
Lane Bradbury created the role of Dainty June in the original Broadway production of the classic show Gypsy starring Ethel Merman.
Annie Hughes off-Broadway Closer Than Ever
Lauren Mufson Broadway and National Touring companies of Mamma Mia!
Marta Sanders Best Little Whorehouse In Texas Original Company
AND A MYSTERY GUEST!
Musical Direction Joe Goodrich with Rex Benincasa on Percussion, Steve Doyle on bass, and Erik Lawrence on Sax
With music, reminisces and an afternoon of fun and show business! 90 minutes of merriment and excitement …Right on the heels of the 2/11 Russ Woolley's CELEBRATES Richard Skipper's' BIRTHDAY…SELL-OUT Extravaganza…
Sunday, April 8th - 1 PM, Doors open 12:15
THE LAURIE BEECHMAN THEATRE, 407 West 42nd Street (lower level of the WEST BANK CAFE) Producer: Russ Woolley $30 ticket plus $20 food/beverage minimum - exquisite and reasonably priced food and drink
Richard Skipper has assembled a great cast to entertain and honor Broadway and off-Broadway artists… RICHARD SKIPPER has become synonymous with "feel good entertainment of the highest quality". For decades Richard has entertained thousands and celebrated the careers of many of Theatre Row's finest and most honored stars… It is now our turn to honor artists and the roles they created and/or made their own… The afternoon will prove to be an event where all will arrive and leave with smiles! This will be similar to the old-fashioned TV specials and series where we get to chat with and honor this Entertainment Icon.
So — Order your tickets now online…
RESERVATIONS A MUST!
https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe.c/10248067
A Few Audience Testimonials
There's nothing I love better than doing a lot of show tunes with a lot of superior performers – and that's what I got to do last week in the John Kander Birthday Tribute, thanks to Richard! It was such a pleasure to work with each other at long last, after knowing each other for 35 years! I have three words of advice, next time you hear of a Richard Skipper event with this level of talent: Don't Stay Home
-Fred Barton, NYC
I had the pleasure of being a part of Richard Skipper's Birthday celebration for John Kander. What I noticed immediately was the amount of passion Richard has for what he does! You are guaranteed a great time if you go to one of his shows. So go!
Donna Marie Asbury, Bloomfield, NJ
Richard Skipper and Russ Woolley, Tom and I were thrilled to see Richard Skipper Celebrates...John Kander 3/18/18- what an afternoon! My second one, Tom's first, and he is now a convert/addict too! Such talent, imagine all those wonderful performers doing a number together? The roof would blow off! Thank you for a terrific afternoon, and we can't wait for the next one! XOX
-John Oakley Higgins
The show is also made possible by Wright Bros. Real Estate.
If you have attended Richard Skipper Celebrates, and if you haven't already, Please add your thoughts in Richard Skipper's Guest Book at RichardSkipper.com
You never Know Who You Might See There and What Might Happen!
CallonDolly.com
Please LIKE (if you do!) and SHARE!
Keeping America great through Art!
Labels: a dancer and choreographer, a trained singer, a violinist, an actor and a director, Barbara Kahn, Diana Ross, Judy Garland, MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs)Awards, Melissa Manchester
Barbara Kahn March 28, 2018 at 1:14 AM
Richard Skipper is a generous and loving supporter of theater and cabaret artists. His subjects range from well-known to unknown--he treats everyone with equal attention and consideration. He calls the interviews "celebrations," which accurately reflects his approach to his subjects. I am honored to be included among them.
RichardSkipper March 28, 2018 at 10:21 AM
Thank you so much, Barbara!
Phyllis Pautrat April 5, 2018 at 2:03 AM
Thank you for interviewing and writing about my extraordinary, talented sister, Barbara Kahn. Can't wait to see her newest play at TNC. Thank you for your support of the arts. Great blog.... Phyllis Pautrat
Charles Piazza, Club Bonafide, and MORE!
Richard Shelton and MORE!
Cabaret Month: Sheree Sano and MORE
Cabaret Month: Jackie Draper and MORE!
Cabaret Month Tiffany Bynoe...and MORE!
Cabaret Month: Abby Judd
Cabaret Month: Anna Danes and MORE!
Cabaret Month: Carly Ozard and MORE!
Cabaret Month! Happy Birthday, Liza Minnelli...and...
Cabaret Month: The Cool Heat of Spider Saloff
Cabaret Month: Caitlin Fahey, Joe Regan, Sean Hark...
Cabaret Month: International Women's Day.. Jennife...
Cabaret Month: Dawn Derow, Dorothy Bishop, Jason E...
Cabaret Month: David Sabella, Byron St.Cyr, Those ...
Cabaret Month, Marcus Simeone, Ian Herman, Josephi...
Cabaret Month: Lisa Viggiano, Jinkx Monsoon, Robin...
Cabaret Month: Ricky Ritzel, Ira Lee Collings, Do...
Cabaret Month: Part Three! John McDaniel, Bobbie H...


Cornerstone Law Firm represents business owners, community associations, and consumers in Florida and federal courts. As a client-centered firm, we pride ourselves on accessibility. When clients contact our offices, they speak with attorneys, not case managers. We are similarly committed to community, striving to identify and provide individualized solutions for each client, rather than simply filing lawsuits. We also leverage technology to deliver our services as cost-effectively as possible.
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Cornerstone Law Firm practices primarily within six areas of law: real estate, community associations, consumer protection, business/commercial law, constitutional and civil rights law, and wills, trusts, and estates.
Cornerstone Law Firm's attorneys and staff stand ready to assist you. Our attorneys are deeply dedicated not only to their clients but to the well-being of the Central Florida community.
Founding attorney Jason O'Neal earned his Juris Doctor with honors from the University of Florida Levin College of Law. He graduated from the University of Central Florida with bachelor's degree in history. Before becoming a lawyer, Mr. O'Neal spent many years in the mortgage banking and property management industries and now represents homeowners, community associations, and business owners throughout Florida in real estate and business disputes.
Committed to community service, Mr. O'Neal is active in the Prosecution Alternatives for Youth program in Seminole County, volunteers with Habitat for Humanity, Fairways for Warriors, and other organizations. In his spare time he coaches Upward Youth Basketball. He lives in Oviedo with his wife and three children.
With a passion for lifelong learning, Tiffany Wilson is currently pursuing her MBA and LL.M. (Master of Laws) degrees at American University's Washington College of Law. She also holds a Juris Doctor degree from Barry University and a bachelor's degree from Western Kentucky University. Ms. Wilson concentrates her practice on the needs of small to medium-sized businesses.
Born and raised in Central Florida, Ms. Wilson later lived for 16 years in Kentucky, where she raised a family and had a successful career prior to attending law school. She has served as council member, treasurer, and secretary of the local 4-H club and volunteers countless hours at Heavenly Hooves Therapeutic Equestrian Center.
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If you feel like lots of business managers, you've worked doggedly to develop your company and prior to you recognize it, you call for stockroom room to keep your item. Ideally, your items turn at a solid cost but nonetheless possessing the space you need assists you stay on top of purchase satisfaction demands.
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Receiving, arranging, warehousing, and outgoing fulfillment all integrated with this integrated 3PL provider. They are actually logistically "linked" and may purchase your circulation needs to have to a network of transit carriers to help you receive the very best freight and also carrier prices. There are actually not many on the market, and also even less that will definitely be flexible adequate to fulfill your entire necessities.
If the Flex possibility to warehousing and gratification seem like an achievable answer for you, start your investigation. The right approach will be actually to come up with a listing of your demands. Take into consideration whatever coming from the true companies demanded to just how you will definitely correspond – and also with whom. In fact, as soon as you set up that they "may" supply the solution, determine if you "would employ all of them". Basically, pay all the attention you would certainly to your warehousing and 3PL and fulfillment carrier you will to hiring an employee. Do an intestine inspection. Like people? That's equally as significant as their units and also procedures.
Consider if a lengthy condition lease is going to meet your necessities today and also tomorrow, too. Flex Warehousing may work. In several areas, such companies deliver you "flex area" – pay even more as your demands improve and a lot less when you're warehousing much less stock (for example, this is excellent for business along with seasonal needs or are prompt developing).
Flex warehousing companies are commonly not simply "stockroom" drivers; they are usually included 3rd event strategies providers. Obtaining, sorting, warehousing, and also outbound gratification all come with each other with these integrated 3PL solution providers. If the Flex choice to warehousing as well as satisfaction audios like a feasible service for you, start your study.