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Research Article - Biomedical Research (2020) Volume 31, Issue 6
Quantification of PCB in the serum of patients with breast cancer and its correlation in the soil of their place of residence.
Sandra Isabel Hernández-González1, José Luis Ortega-Sánchez2, José de Jesús Alba-Romero1, Rogelio Recio-Vega4, Norma Urtiz-Estrada3, Maribel Cervantes-Flores3, Aurora Martínez-Romero1*
1 Faculty of Chemical Sciences, Campus Gómez Palacio, Universidad Juarez del Estado de Durango, Mexico
2 Regional Unit of Arid Zones, Chapingo Autonomous University, Bermejillo, Durango, Mexico
3 Faculty of Chemical Sciences, Durango Campus, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Mexico
4 Center for Biomedical Research, Faculty of Medicine, Autonomous University of Coahuila, Mexico
Aurora Martínez-Romero
Faculty of Chemical Sciences
Campus Gómez Palacio
Universidad Juarez del Estado de Durango
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Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) are highly lipophilic compounds and persistent in the environment, which converts them into substances able to accumulate in the food chain and persistent contaminants in soil, air, and water. Our objective was to determine the concentration of PCB in the serum of patients with Breast Cancer (BC) and its correlation with PCB in the soil of their homes in different areas of the Comarca Lagunera region in Mexico. With non-probabilistic sampling, we selected the homes of subjects with and without BC. In 20% of cases, the diagnosis was carried out 25 and 39 years of age. Sample analysis was by Gas-mass Chromatography (GC). The concentration of the different congeners was similar between the samples of household soil in cases and controls, with a sole exception with marginal significance (p=0.056), that is, congener 52, was greater in the cases. The highest concentrations found in soil in the study were for congeners 118 and 138. The highest risk found for BC was congener 195; however, it was not statistically significant, similar to the other congener quantified in soil. The correlation analysis between PCB serum concentrations and that of the soil exhibited a low concentration, the highest being for congener 101. The concentrations in serum of the 13 congener were significantly greater between cases and controls. No risk association was found among the individual concentrations of the 41 congeners' PCB or among total PCB neither in soil nor with BC.
Polychlorinated biphenyls, Contamination, Industry, Public health.
Among the Persistent Organic Contaminants (POC), we find the Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), due to their great production and toxicity, their being highly lipophilic, their being substances able to accumulate in the food chain and their being soil, air, and water contaminants. In the U.S. states of Illinois and Alabama, between 1929 and 1977, more than 700,000 tons of PCB was produced [1]. The Criteria of Environmental Health evaluate the dose- response relationship of cancer for PCB [2,3]. In Japan, 59,000 tons were produced between 1930 and 1970 [4].
In 2007, Mexico developed the National Implementation Plan (PNI) of the Stockholm Accord on POC, among the Ministries of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) and of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fishing, and Food (SAGARPA, México), through the National Service for the National Health for Food Safety and Food Quality (SENASICA), and organizations of the civil society, in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Jalisco, and Baja California, which are known as temporary PCB storage areas [5]. In addition, during the past 35 years, the industrialization processes of the northern Border States have generated millions of tons of dangerous residues [6]. Under certain conditions of exposure to chemical substances and inadequate management, risks can be represented for the environment and human health [7]. The estrogenic activity has been quantified of BPC detected in human tissue, including the regulation associated with the estrogen receptor with the endogenous hormone 17β-estradiol, finding the estradiol- equivalent exposure higher in air [8-10]; in fact, these have been considered endocrine disruptors [11-13]. Obesogenic properties have been attributed to exposure to bisphenol A, altering lipid metabolism [13]. Environmental contamination and the existence of PCB is a worldwide problem, with the great industrialized cities the most contaminated, among these Mexico City (CDMX) [14,15].
The industrial development in the North of Mexico leads to elevated levels of contamination in air, water, and soil, affecting the health of humans due to damage to the ecosystem. Because there is little information in Mexico on the study of PCB, it is necessary to conduct studies that support knowledge of what carcinogens are. The objective of this study was to carry out the quantification of PCB in serum in patients with Breast Cancer (BC) and its correlation in the soil of the place of residence of these patients in different areas in the North of Mexico.
The present investigation was approved by the Ethics Committee in Investigation (approval no. 123301538X0201 COFEPRIS). By means of non-probabilistic sampling, we selected the addresses of subjects with and without BC, according to the subjects included in the clinical phase of a previous study to evaluate the association of serum BPC with BC. First, we identified the participants included in the clinical study. We obtained their addresses and selected those who resided within the urban zone of the Laguna and in suburban areas. We visited the selected households and spoke with the study participants to request authorization for the sampling of the earth (soil) in their exterior and/or interior gardens/yards. Once authorized, we proceeded to take soil samples considering 20 cm in depth according to the technique described later. The serum PCB levels of the subjects were taken from the existing registries of the clinical study. We performed a correlation of the results in serum and soil. We stratified the study participants' addresses according to the distance of the households from the possible PCB-emitter sites. This distance was considered to be when the participants lived approximately 1 km in distance from these sites.
Measuring technique of the PCB
Soil sampling and analysis
Sample preparation: We took approximately 500 g of the upper soil layer (0-20 cm). The sample was collected in aluminium foil free of PCB contamination, packed, labelled with their respective name, kept in individual plastic bags, leaving these too dry for 72 h.
Screening: With the purpose of homogenizing the sample, once dry, the sample was ground in a mortar and subsequently passed through a sieve 2 mm in diameter. These samples were stored in aluminium foil at room temperature until their analysis.
Extraction: We weighed 1 g of the soil sample and placed this into Green-Chem glass flasks and LEV of the microwave oven, adding a Carboflon, the internal standard (PCB 141 C13), and 14 mL of methylene chloride. The PCB is extracted by means of the microwave program as follows: 10 min of ramp to reach 120oC, maintaining this for 30 min. On concluding the extraction time, the flasks are left to cool at 4oC for 24 h. The samples were filtered through Whatman no. 1 paper, and the filtered material was evaporated at 37oC with a soft nitrogen current up to 4 mL. In order to ensure the elimination of the methylene chloride, we added 5 mL of hexane, and this continued to be evaporated until 2 mL, three times.
Cleanliness: After extraction with microwaves, cleansing is conducted with florisil; the florisil cartridges (1,000 mg/6 mL Phenomenex) were added to 10 mL of hexane, with additions two different times (5 mL at the beginning and 5 mL at the end), without permitting the cartridge to dry. The sample is shaken in vortex for 30 s and then passed through the cartridge, without the application of vacuum, the tube is rinsed with 1 mL of hexane, and the florisil cartridge is added. The PCB are retained in the florisil for their later elution with 12 mL of 6% diethyl ether:hexane, adding these twice.
Concentration phase: The eluate was evaporated with soft nitrogen current at 37°C, until reaching a volume of 0.1 mL, which is placed in a vial for their injection into the chromatograph.
Chromatographic analysis
With standard solutions of individual congeners (Ultra Scientific Analytical Solutions, North Kingstown, RI, USA), we obtained a mass spectrum of the 41 PCB utilized by SCAN mode, to determine the ions and retention times of each compound, which were utilized for quantification in the samples, which was performed with Selective Ion Monitoring (SIM), employing a mixture of 41 Accustandard PCB (C-QME-01, Québec (Ministry of Environment Congener Mix) to perform the calibration curves.
Temperature ramp: The samples are injected by means of the pulsed split method, with a temperature program in the microwave oven that starts at 100oC and is maintained for 2 min, followed by a ramp of 20oC/min up to 200oC that is maintained for 0 min, after a temperature ramp of 15oC/ min up to 310oC that is maintained for 5 min. Detection limits were obtained of 0.2-2.1 ppbs. The calibration curve presented a linear concentration curve of 2-100 ppbs, with which we obtained recovery percentages of 82%-119% for the EC-2 Reference Certificate Standard for the A Lake Ontario Blended Sediment for Toxic Organics of the National Water Research Institute, Canada.
Equipment: We employed a microwave oven for extraction and digestion (CEM–MARS), and a Hewlett-Packard Gas Chromatograph with the HP model 5973 Mass Selective Detector and the HP 6890® Auto-Sampler. Carboflon is utilized for the extraction of organic compounds that are non-polar solvents (transparent), heating inserts of Carboflon®, which allow for the efficient heating of non-polar solvents. Carboflon® is an inert fluoropolymer filled with an absorbent microwave material. The insert is placed in the extraction recipient to permit the use of non- polar solvents without the need to add additional solvents.
Study design: An epidemiological case: control study was proposed to be conducted at the Comarca Lagunera. All women complying with the study criteria, with primary BC and/or benign pathologies of the breast were invited to participate in the study. To women who voluntarily came to participate in the study, we applied a questionnaire that included sociodemographic, occupational, reproductive history, familial antecedents of cancer, and lifestyles. A sample of blood was taken from each of these women. Sample size was calculated according to the corresponding table for paired case: control studies. The parameters utilized to calculate the "n" were adjusted in the following manner: proportion of exposure of the controls 40%, an alpha of 0.05, study power at 80%, and capacity to detect an Odds Ratio (OR), 2. We utilized the Epi-Data computer program to estimate the number of participants to recruit, these being 70 cases and 70 controls.
Selection of the population: All of the patients who came to the Gynecology/Oncology Breast Clinic for a consultation due to unspecific breast tumor, at the Hospital General de Zona Nº 16 and 18 of the IMSS, Hospital General Universitario, Hospital General del ISSSTE, SSA de la Ciudad of Torreon, Coahuila, and Hospital General de Zona Nº 46 and 51 of Gómez Palacio, Durango, were invited to participate in the study. According to the anatomopathologic diagnosis, the participants were divided into two groups as follows:
Group 1 (controls): women with benign breast pathologies and whose medical treatment necessarily requires surgical intervention.
Group 2 (cases): Patients diagnosed for the first time with BC and who require surgical intervention.
In terms of the cases, we included women aged between 20 and 70 years who accepted to participate in the study. We considered controls as women similarly to their respective case, also residing in the same area (the colony for the city dwellers and the community for the rural dwellers) and who do not have previous antecedents of prior cancers or with a diagnosis of premalignant lesions.
Collection and storage of the biological serum samples
Serum: From each of the participants and prior to any medical intervention, we took 20 mL of peripheral venous blood by Vacutainer tubes for pesticides without anticoagulant. After retraction of the clot, the sample was centrifuged at 2,000 rpm for 10 min to obtain the serum. Serum aliquots were made, obtained, and deposited in amber polypropylene vials that had been previously washed with acetone/hexane and refrozen at -70ºC until their analytic processing (quantification of PCB and total lipids).
Analytic procedures
Quantification of total lipids in serum and tissue: The concentrations of total lipids were quantified by means of commercial colorimetric kits (Aldrich/SIGMA) utilizing a UV/Vis spectrophotometer (HACH model XT5000).
Quantification of PCB in biological samples: For the process of extraction and quantification of PCB, we utilized 5 mL of serum following the method proposed and validated by the U.S. Environmental Agency (EPA) (method 1668) [3]. The biological samples were fortified with marked standards, certified and assessed by the EPA (Wellington Laboratories & Accustandard, USA). The 20 congeners evaluated were those that had been related bibliographically with an increase in the risk for cancer and those most frequently found in humans (28, 52, 81, 99, 105, 114, 118, 123, 126, 128, 138, 153, 156, 169, 170, 180, 183, 187, and 157).
Extraction methodology of PCB in serum: This technique for PCB extraction is a complement of the 1668- EPA standard protocol [3]. Generally, it begins by placing 2 mL of problem serum in an assay tube measuring 13 x 100 with a screw cap. These are fortified at a concentration of 30 ppb of the standard that contains a mixture of congeners. The samples are conserved under refrigeration at 4ºC, which were also protected from light until their analysis. The analysis is performed for 20 congeners (8, 18, 28, 52, 44, 66, 101, 77, 118, 153, 105, 138, 126, 187, 128, 180, 170, 195, 206, and 209) [16]. For the calibration curve, we fortified the PCB-free serum at concentrations of 20, 30, 40, and 50 ppb with a mixture of standards; the samples were conserved under refrigeration at 4ºC, protected from light.
Extraction: From the fortified sample, we added 5 ml of HPLC-grade hexane. These were placed in a vortex during 2 h for their homogenation in order to extract the PCB to be analyzed. When this time was over, these were left to rest for 10 min; afterward, we proceeded to centrifuge them for 5 min at 2,500 rpm. After separating the hexane, this was placed in a clean conic tube with a cap protecting it from the light. Two mL of hexane were again added for mixing, at 2,500 rpm for 5 min and a 10-min rest. On separating the hexane from the serum, there was a final volume of 7 mL.
Concentration phase: The hexane extracts were placed in a double boiler at a temperature of 70ºC until the hexane was concentrated at a volume of 0.8 mL; then it was left to cool. The 0.8 mL was a weighed in a vial and saved at 1 mL with pesticide-grade hexane.
Gas chromatography with electron uptake detector: Chromatographic analysis. From the standard solution of congeners (Congener Mix; AccuStandard, CT, USA), we obtained the chromatograms of the 20 PCB utilized for identifying the retention times of each component that were employed for sample quantification, using Gas Chromatography with an electron uptake detector (Auto System XL Gas Chromatograph; Perkin Elmer) with an autosampler, separating the compounds into a column of 60 m with ID 0.53 mm, carrying out calibration curves [17,18].
Temperature ramp: The samples are injected by the pulsed split method [19], with a temperature program in the microwave oven that begins at 100ºC maintained for 3 min, followed by a ramp of 25ºC/min up to 245ºC that is maintained for 20 min, after this a ramp of 1ºC/ min was maintained for 0 min. We obtained detection limits of 0.65-3.16 ppb. The calibration curve presented a linear concentration interval of 1-100 ppb, with which we obtained recovery percentages of 80% for the certified standard of reference (Congener Mix; Accutandard, CT, USA).
Statistical analysis: Evaluation of the exposure was carried out by means of the quantification of serum and in soil of the chemical compounds-for-study and through the application of the questionnaire designed for this purpose. Based on the concentrations of PCB, the participants of both groups were subdivided into tertiles for their later statistical analysis. The independent and dependent variables were described according to their frequencies and means of distribution. The differences between means were established using non- parametric Mann‒Whitney U tests, bivariate analysis, and the Pearson correlation. To establish the differences between the two groups of each of the dependent variables, parametric and non-parametric tests were employed according to the case. The means of crude association were calculated, the dependent mean with each of the independent means, the measurements of adjusted association, dependent vs. independent, and each Covariables. Covariables that exhibited a modification of 10% on the association measurement, in this case the Odds Ratio (OR). We calculated the best regression model for the evaluation of BC and its main risk factors. It was determined that the risk factors entertained a more important specific weight in the disease burden. The measurements that expressed the association were the OR and the 95% Confidence Intervals (95% CI).
The average age of the cases was significantly higher (p<005) than that of the controls. Likewise, the cases presented a BMI higher than that of the controls (Table 1)
Cases (n = 70)
Control (n =70)
p*
Age 49.71 (12.3) 42.1 (13) 1.04 1.01-
1.07 0.0005
BMI** 29.0 (5.0) 27.7 (5.3) 1.04 0.9-1.1 0.03
*Mann-Whitney U test; **BMI: Body Mass Index (weight/height2).
Table 1: General characteristics of the women included in the study.
Serum Concentrations of PCB: With respect to the level of PCB in serum, at least one congener was detected in 77% of the participants. The four most frequently found congeners were 105 (44.3%), followed by 187, 206 (43.6%), and 195 (42.9%), while those least frequently found were 8 and 18 (25%). The congers detected at high concentrations among the subjects studied were 180 (15.26 ppb), 18 (5.09 ppb), 44 (3.72 ppb), and 126 (3.47 ppb). When the concentrations of the PCB congeners were compared between the groups, it was found that 13 congeners (8, 18, 52, 105, 118, 128, 138, 170, 180, 187, 195, 206, and 209) were significantly greater (p <0.05) among the cases than among the controls (Table 2).
Congener
8 0.561 (0.32-0.98 ) 0.506 (0.21-1.20) 0.032
18 0.477 (0.28-0.79) 0.551 (0.29-1.03) 0.039
28 0.368 (0.21-0.62 ) 0.616 (0.42-0.90) 0.239
101 0.649 (0.45- 0.93) 0.604 (0.44-0.81) 0.501
118 0.513 (0.32-0.80) 0.234 (0.11-0.49) 0.003
128 0.341 (0.23-0.49) 0.260 (0.09-0.68) 0.0001
PCB Total 5.268 (3.50-7.90) 3.331 (2.37-4.67) 0.0167
*Mann Whitney Test. Results are expressed as geometric mean (IC 95%).
Table 2: Serum PCB concentration by study group.
Concentration of PCB in Soil: The three most frequently found congeners were 18, 118, and 105 (52.4%) and those not found in any of the samples analyzed were congeners 206 and 209 (0%). The highest concentrations found in the study were for congeners 118 (62.27 ppb) and 138 (63.23 ppb). When the concentration of the congeners of PCB were compared between groups, these were not different (p >0.05) (Table 3).
18 2.43 (1.13-5.23) 2.32 (0.953-5.67) 0.219
17 0.53 (---) 0.56 (---) 0.943
31 1.39 (0.874-2.23) 1.01 (0.408-2.54) 0.183
28 0.514 (0.358-0.738) 0.573 (0.152-2.14) 0.526
33 2.6142 (1.26-5.40) 1.38 (0.018-04.83) 0.898
52 0.582 (0.248-1.36) 0.956 (0.229-3.99) 0.056
49 0.309 (0.067-1.43) 1.47 (0.258-8.38) 0.351
74 2.14 (1.90-2.40) 3.68 (2.13- 6.33) 0.285
95 1.52 (0.643-3.61) 2.29 (0.266-19.84) 0.399
101 1.26 (0.239-6.72) 1.47 (0.198-10.95) 0.848
99 1.02 (0.079-13.24) 0.809 (0.016-9.07) 0.875
87 1.31 (0.077-22.16) 2.34 (0.002-691.7) 0.568
110 0.657 (0.266-1.62) 0.967 (0.210-4.44) 0.294
151 0 4.47 (---) 0.301
118 2.63 (2.03-3.41) 2.92 (1.75- 4.88) 0.405
153 1.09 (0.529-2.26) 0.880 (0.151-3.36) 0.082
132 1.46 (0.573-3.73) 6.17 (0.0001-3.63) 0.151
105 1.69 (1.32-2.16) 1.75 (1.09-2.80) 0.278
138 2.30 (1.03-5.11) 2.23 (0.694-7.18) 0.689
158 0.767 (0.375-1.56) 1.13 (0.393-3.24) 0.168
187 0 0 0.0
183 0.708 (0.068-7.37) 0 0.251
171 2.56 (0.955-6.88) 1.79 (0.534-6.02) 0.524
191 0 1.39 (0.059-32.65) 0.597
195 0.704 (0.104-4.75) 0.49 (---) 0.138
PCB Total 16.49 (10.72-25.38) 22.55 (11.26-5.14) 0.197
Table 3: Concentration of PCB in soil by study group.
No association of risk was found among the individual concentrations of the 41 congeners of PCB in soil or with total PCB with BC (Table 4). Table 5 shows the correlation coefficients between the concentrations of the 10 common congeners in serum and soil in the studied population. The highest correlation found was in the case for congener 101, and the lowest, for 52. In the PCB concentrations, significance (0.03) was found for congener 177 between living and not living near an emitter industry (Table 6).
OR (Odds Ratio)
IC (95%)
18 1.02 0.926-1.13
17 1.27 0.009-178.90
28 0.752 0.343-1.64
101 0.962 0.864-1.07
183 1.18 0.291-4.79
191 0.300 0.008-11.29
195 8.50 0.154-468.56
PCB Total 0.996 0.988-1.00
*Mann Whitney Test. Results are expressed as odds ratio (OR) and IC 95%.
Table 4: Risk for each congener and total PCB in soil.
Congener Serum/Soil
Case *
Control *
18 0.05 -0.17
28 -0.12 -0.03
44 -0.09 0.14
118 0.32 -0.03
PCB total 0.22 -0.05
*Pearson
Table 5: Correlation between serum and soil PCB concentrations in the studied population.
Live far
18 0.709 (0.069-7.24) 3.07 (1.83-5.14) 0.350
17 0.58 (0) 0.56 (0) 0.271
31 1.32 (0.380-4.59) 1.19 (0.716- 2.00) 0.944
33 2.81 (0.098-80.16) 1.56 (0.157-15.5) 0.374
52 0.614 (0.199-1.88) 0.749(0.288- 1.95) 0.090
49 0.178 (0.043-0.738) 0.753(0.214-2.65) 0.763
44 1.54 (0.146-16.22) 1.25 (0.565- 2.80) 0.681
74 2.01 (1.56-2.59) 2.94 (2.16-3.99) 0.500
101 1.61 (0) 1.33 (0.357-5.00) 0.791
99 1.14 (0) 0.861 (0.105-7.01) 0.845
87 0(0) 1.75 (0.224-13.70) 0.247
151 0(0) 1.35 (0) 0.617
82 1.03 0.486 (0.267-0.88) 0.150
149 0.74 1.37 (0.191-9.91) 0.666
153 0.763 (0.068-8.47) 1.54(0.576-4.13) 0.817
132 1.36 (0.003-557.46) 3.11(0.502-19.28) 0.280
138 2.39 (0.965-5.94) 2.23 (1.01-4.95) 0.990
158 0.811(0.041-15.85) 0.918(0.507-1.66) 0.812
187 0(0) 1.99 (0) 0
183 0.26 (0) 0.843 (0.135-5.24) 0.814
128 0.21 (0) 4.69 (0.409-53.80) 0.590
177 0.28 (0) 3.43 (2.24-5.26) 0.037
180 0.407 (0.018-8.91) 0.923(0.394-2.16) 0.763
191 0(0) 1.12 (0.189-6.69) 0.378
170 2.10 (0.336-13.14) 2.99 (1.67-5.35) 0.723
208 1.42 (0) 1.07(0.211-5.42) 0.801
209 0 (0) 0 0
205 0.64 (0) 0.89 (0.365-2.17) 0.28
206 0(0) 0 0
PCB Total 9.32 (3.37-25.75) 23.47 (15.98-4.48) 0.807
*Mann Whitney Test. Results are expressed as geometric mean (IC 95)
Table 6: Concentrations of each congener with respect to subjects living near and far from a potential emitting industry.
In Table 7, the mean concentrations are presented of the 41 congeners of the PCB evaluated and of the total PCB registered between the subjects (cases and controls), whose home was localized more than 1,000 m from a potentially PCB-producing industry. When these concentrations between cases and controls were analyzed, no statistical difference was found. The number of congeners not detected in the cases and controls was similar.
Cases Live far
Control Live far
17 0 0.56 (---) 0.386
31 1.43-0.754 (2.742) 0.930-0.330 (2.62) 0.661
28 0.488 (0.32-0.745) 0.900-0.385 (2.10) 0.949
33 2.26 (---) 1.38 (0.01-04.8) 0.469
52 0.504 (0.124-2.03) 0.773(0.163-3.64) 0.574
49 0.386 (0.033-4.45) 1.30 (0.104-16.38) 0.730
101 1.12 (0.059-21.27) 0.799 (0.152-4.19) 0.608
99 0.14 (---) 0.299 (0.004-21.39) 0.644
87 1.31 (0.077- 22.16) 0 0.722
151 0.41 (---) 0 0.859
149 1.40 (0.087-22.47) 0 0.973
132 0 2.6 (---) 0.798
138 2.25 (0.486-10.41) 1.47 (0.682-3.16) 0.594
128 2.59 (---) 2.74 (---) 0.697
171 2.45 (0.759-7.93) 3.16 (1.51-6.61 0.673
191 0 0.673 (0.064-7.02) 0.443
170 3.45 (1.17-10.10) 2.45 (1.09-5.48) 0.717
201 14.19 (---) 0.18 (---) 0.813
Total 17.80 (9.81-32.30) 25.40 (17.42-37.05) 0.719
Table 7: Concentration in soil by study group that lives far from a potential emitting industry.
In Table 8 are presented the concentrations of the means of the 41 congeners of the PCB evaluated and of the total PCB registered between the subjects (cases and controls) whose homes were localized less than 1,000 m from a potential PCB-producing industry. The only significant difference found (p=0.046) in the concentrations between cases and controls was for congener 52. In the controls, only six were quantifiable, while in the cases, 34 congeners were detected in the soil samples. When the congeners were grouped according to their chemical structure, biological effects, and persistence in the environment, differences were not found in the concentrations registered in soil between cases and controls. The highest concentration registered for the groups studied was for group 2A, and the lowest, for group 4 (Table 9). No difference was found (p>0.05) in the concentrations by group of PCB between cases and controls whose homes were found localized at a distance of more than 1,000 m of distance from the potentially PCB-producing industries. The average concentration of the highest PCB group was for group 2A, and the lowest, for group 4 (Table 10). When the concentrations by PCB group of the cases and controls whose homes were found within a radius of 1 km from some potential PCB-producing source, a statistical difference was found (p<0.05) in two groups and in total PCB (Table 11). The risk was analyzed (OR) between the groups of PCB and BC; an elevated risk was found for group 4. However, the 95% CI was not statistically significant (Table 12).
Live near (n=8)
18 0.824 (0.028-24.25) 0.39 (---) 0.343
17 0.58 (---) 0 0.479
31 1.32 (0.380-4.59) 0 0.079
28 0.590 (0.098-3.52) 0.1 (---) 0.479
33 2.81 (0.098-80.16) 0 0.296
52 0.702 (0.194-2.54) 0.24 (---) 0.046
49 0.178 (0.043-0.738) 0 0.296
74 2.01(1.56-2.59) 0 0.105
70 0.239(0.064-0.896) 0 0.105
95 1.75(0.055-55.96) 0 0.296
101 0 0 0.296
87 0 0 0.0
110 0.637(0.069-5.86) 0 0.105
118 2.54 (1.72-3.74) 1.03 (---) 0.123
105 1.81(1.39-2.35) 0.88 (---) 0.123
138 2.39 (0.965-5.94) 0 0.181
158 0.811 (0.041-15.85 0 0.181
Total 14.17 (7.03-28.57) 0 0.010
Table 8: Concentration in soil by study group that lives near an emitting industry.
1a 1.61(0.700-3.71) 2.02 (0.738-5.53) 0.343
1B 2.85 (1.03-7.87) 5.35 (2.26-12.66) 0.855
2a 5.26 (3.74-7.41) 7.16 (4.21-12.17) 0.632
2B 4.29 (2.47-7.47) 3.08 (1.39-6.81) 0.605
3 0.847 (0.436-1.64) 1.13 (0.290-4.43) 0.115
4 0.704 (0.104-4.75) 0.46 (0) 0.129
5 3.16 (1.80-5.53) 2.83 (1.14-7.00) 0.454
Total 16.49 (10.72-25.38) 22.5(11.26-45.14) 0.197
Mann Whitney Test. Results are expressed as geometric mean (IC 95%).
Table 9: Concentration of PCBs in soil in the total population, classification according to their chemical structure and biological effects in humans.
1a 1.45 (0.387-5.48) 2.38 (0.852-6.65) 0.964
1B 3.23 (0.964-10.8) 6.99 (3.49-14.02) 1.000
2B 4.71 (2.09-10.63) 3.39 (1.47-7.82) 0.732
4 0.81 (0.023-28.20) 0.46 (---) 0.173
5 3.85 (2.10-0.706) 3.33 (1.33-8.32) 0.546
PCB Total 17.80(9.81-32.30) 30.4(18.07-51.3) 0.719
Table 10: Concentration of PCBs in soil in the total population, classified according to their chemical structure and biological effects in humans, and living far from an emitting industry.
1ª 1.93 (0.8778-4.27) 0.24 (---) 0.026
1B 0 (---) 0.28 (---) 0.823
2ª 5.34 (2.84-10.02) 1.91 (---) 0.030
2B 3.50 (1.75-6.96) 1.48 (---) 0.597
3 0.654 (0.253-1.69) 0 (---) 0.057
4 0.46 (---) 0 (---) 0.479
5 1.74 (0.023-12.74) 0.4 (---) 0.343
Total 14.17(7.03-28.57) 1.75 (0) 0.010
Table 11: Concentration of PCBs in soil in the total population, classified according to their chemical structure and biological effects in humans, and living near an emitting industry.
OR (Odds Ratio) *
IC 95%
1A 0.964 (0.872-1.06)
1B 0.962 (0.884-1.04)
2B 0.987 (.944-1.03)
3 0.965 (0.866-1.07)
4 8.285 (0.137-499.10)
5 1.00 (0.913-1.11)
PCB Total 0.996 (0.987-1.00)
Table 12: Risk in total population and classification according to its chemical structure and biological effects on humans.
The general objective of the present investigation was to determine the concentration of PCB in blood serum in patients in patients with BC and its correlation in the soil of the place of residence in different areas of the Comarca Lagunera. Exposures to chemicals present in the environment, generated by humans, exert adverse effects on the environmentally exposed population. Among the gamma of effects that cause these, cancer is highlighted. Diverse types of neoplasms have been associated by occupational and environmental exposure to persistent organic compounds. A study was conducted in Torreon, Coahuila, in Mexico, in which an association was reported between BC and PCB; however, in this study, the possible sources of these compounds were not evaluated, and one of these (soil) comprises the reason for the present work. The average age of the studied population was 49.7 years. According to national and international statistics, the average range at presentation or diagnosis of the pathology is 35-50 years [20]. This reveals that the natural history of the disease in our population is similar to that reported. In addition, in 20% of the cases, diagnosis was performed between 25 and 39 years of age, and in this age group, PCB concentrations were the highest, suggesting that in this age group, PCB are already playing an important role in the development of the neoplasm at early ages, added to the previously known risk factors.
Overweight and obesity have been associated with BC. Central obesity is that which is most related with the pathology; in addition, there are indices that diverse environmental factors could be associated with this metabolic syndrome [21]. In fact, there are epidemiological studies that relate certain COP, denominated obesogenes, with the development of obesity [22,23]. The average BMI of our studied population was 27. According to our results, the two participants with the highest BMI had the two highest concentrations of serum PCB. Controversy exists in the literature concerning the BMI relation and the PCB concentration: on the one hand, Noren et al. report a positive relationship [24]. These results that support the fact that, due to these compounds being lipophilic, a direct relation is to be expected between the BMI (fatty tissue) [21] and the bio concentration of same [25].
These results of this study also suggest that the BMI‒PCB represents a risk factor for contracting BC. PCB enters into our organism by inhalation, by contact with the skin, and by the gastrointestinal pathway. After their entry, these PCB are transported by the blood to the liver, and are later redistributed to the adipose tissue [26]. Quantification of the congeners of PCB in blood is a direct and indirect form by means of exposure these compounds. The concentration of the congeners evaluated is found more specifically in the high concentrations among the cases. The congener found at the greatest concentration was congener 180. Demers et al. and Rusiecki et al. in their respective studies, also found this congener at very high concentrations in serum as well as in adipose tissue [27,28]. Because of its chemical properties and biological effects, this congener is highly lipophilic and is classified as biologically persistent and as an inducer of CYP1 and CYP2B [29], which are involved in the bioactivation of xenobiotics, with the subsequent cytotoxic and genotoxic effects. When the concentrations of the congeners were compared between the groups, it was found that for 13 congeners of the total 20 analyzed, total PCB were significantly higher in cases than in controls. These data suggest that women with BC can be more exposed to PCB and/or that women with BC can be presenting alterations in the metabolism of these compounds and that they tend to accumulate more or eliminate fewer compounds than the controls. Several studies have been published that have associated PCB with BC, and the results are controversial. The majority of these studies do not find a positive association; however, these results, and after carrying out multivariate analyses with the significant variables and with biologically plausible variables (known risks) for the development of cancer, a positive association was found and an increase in the risk for cancer. The total concentration of PCB revealed in our study was found below the concentration recommended by the EPA for soil of residential use, that is, below 50 ppm; thus, it can be considered that soil contamination with PCB is low and admissible. The concentration of the different congeners evaluated was similar between the soil samples of the domiciles of cases and controls, with only one exception with marginal significance (p=0.056), that of congener 52, and was greater in the cases. The highest concentrations found in soil in the study were for congeners 118 and 138. With respect to the three most frequently found, these were 18, 118, and 105; those not found in any of the samples analyzed were congeners 206 and 209. In the study conducted by Costilla et al. the congeners found by these authors at a greater concentration in soil were 101 and 105, and those of least concentration were congeners 28 and 118 [30]. The difference between the frequency and concentration of the congeners reported in the literature and ours can basically be the difference of congeners emitted by the different sources in each of the studies mentioned. The congeners found in common were 105 and 118. The greatest risk for BC was found with congener 195; however, it was not statistically significant. A significant risk was not found either with any of the other congeners quantified in soil.
The correlation analysis between the serum concentrations of PCB and that of the soil demonstrated a low correlation, this being greatest for congener 101. This mentioned lack of correlation can be due to the timing of the taking of the blood sample and of the soil. Similarly, it can be due to the differences in the metabolism of these compounds in blood and in soil. The environmental characteristics of the city (temperature, humidity, winds) and soil (pH, hardness, organic matter, etc.) can favour rapid degeneration, thus the low concentration and poor correlation with that of the soil. Finally, another factor that can exert an influence the half-life of each congener is that there is a great deal of knowledge on the correlation of serum and adipose tissue sampling with regard to PCB, but a very limited number of studies in which serum and soil correlate. Garabrant et al. report that, in the population in which they analyzed the concentration of PCB in serum, this was lower than that found in soil; however, these authors did not carry out a correlation between both samples evaluated [31]. Humans comprise a sensitive objective of COP bioaccumulation, in particular PCB, and pesticides have been utilized widely by farmers due to their bioavailability and their simplicity of application. Therefore, this exposure route is relevant and risky [32]. Turrio-Baldassarri et al. conducted a study in which the authors correlated contaminated soil with PCB in an urban zone and another in agricultural soil, reporting a very good correlation (0.99) [33]. On the other hand, Altshul et al. reported an acceptable correlation (0.6) for congener 180 between the levels of PCB in equine and human serum [34]. Due to the low correlation found in our study and the low concentrations of PCB in soil, it is convenient to consider other possible sources of these to explain the concentrations in serum. Another important pathway of entry of these chemical products is the diet [35]. In Japan and Sweden, investigators detected PCB in whole milk for human consumption in concentrations of 5.5 ppb and 4.01 ppb, respectively [24]. Prado et al. proved in their study that the consumption of egg, meat, milk, and salmon favored elevated concentrations of PCB [20]. Another route of exposure is water; Westbom et al. [36] analyzed potable water and treated water, finding low levels of 0.25 ppb for potable water and high levels (1 ppb) for treated water, the authors concluding that, despite that minimal concentrations levels were found the potable water, the latter does not stop being a source of exposure for humans and other life forms [36]. In this respect, recently in the East Lake of China, residues of PCB and of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDE) were detected on the surface of the collected sediment; it is probable that these originated from urban the drainage of the local hydrographic basins, from contamination, or by environmental deposition [37]. The potential eco-toxicological risk caused by PCB was of 5% from the sampling sites, and PBDE were found in 80% of the sampled sites.
Likewise, substantial amounts of Polychlorinated Dibenzofurans (PCDF) have been detected as generated in the presence of O2 during the thermal treatment of contaminated soil [38]. Bahía Guánica in the southeast of Puerto Rico has, since 1960, has experienced great discharges of contamination and, in its coral reefs and sediments, elevated concentrations of PCB have been found [39]. Fish for human consumption and sediment were sampled; the former showed high concentrations of PCB. River otters have also been utilized as bio monitors of organ chlorine pesticides, organ halogen compounds, dihedron, heptachloride and epoxide, PCB, and PBDE [40] in rivers in the U.S. state of Illinois; the range of the concentrations obtained from organ halogens is a risk factor for the fauna and humans that are found permanently exposed. In Mexico City, one of the most contaminated places in the world. bio monitoring was carried out for the vigilance of the population in general in terms of volatile organic compounds, among these PCB, finding, in blood samples, concentrations of up to 350 n/g of PCB, indicating that residents are exposed to contaminants [41]. Programs should be generated of the bio monitoring of these metabolites in other matrixes such as soil [42,43]. In our study, we did not find statistical significance in the entire population studied between whether they did or did not live near a possible emitter source. When the results were compared between the study groups and living near an industry, the sole congener that was significantly higher in the cases rather than in the controls was 52. Therefore, a potential source of PCB is the fact of living near industries that are potential producers of PCB.
When the congeners were grouped according to chemical structure and biological activity, including Groups 1A, 2A, and A3 and total PCB, the concentrations of these were significantly higher in cases than in controls living near a potential emitter source. Among these groups in which the greatest concentration was found was group 2A and which have estrogenic activity. Risbridger et al. note that it is important to visualize, in a general context, the effects on health that lead to metabolic and hormonal alterations due to exposure to PCB [44]. Because the mechanisms of action are not yet clear, it is necessary to investigate whether this exposure can exert a potential harmful effect. This has permitted the identification of a number of antiandrogenic contaminants present in the placenta, including plastics, surfactants, cosmetics, and pesticides [45]. Estrogens are recognized as hormones that potentially favor cancer; this group of congeners can be participating in the development of the neoplasia due to its estrogenic activity. No group of PCB was significantly associated with BC. There is no study in soil in the literature, to our knowledge, in which congeners are classified by group; therefore, we are unable to compare our results in soil with those of another study. However, this project generates new queries for analysing the effect of PCB on Mexican population and their concentration in food destined for human and animal consumption, in that these contaminants emanating from industrial activity, because of their physicochemical properties, remain in the environment.
It is concluded that quantification of PCB in blood serum and soil is possible by means of the CG method with an electron uptake detector. The serum concentrations of 13 congeners were significantly higher among cases than in controls. The congener concentrations of PCB in soil were not different between cases and controls. No risk association was found between the individual concentrations of the 41 congeners neither of PCB nor with total PCB in soil with BC. No correlation was found in the concentrations of the 10 common congeners between serum samples and soil samples. Only the concentration of congener 177 in soil was significantly greater in subjects who lived near a potential emitter industry than in those who did not live near these industries. The risk factor lies the fact of living near an emitter industry. When the congeners were grouped according to their chemical structure, biological effects, and persistence in the environment, differences were not found for the concentrations registered in soil for the studied population, but these were high for groups 1A, 2A, 3A, and total PCB in the population and living near the emitter sources. There exists soil contamination with PCB; however, these are not correlated with congeners in serum, suggesting that the source of these compounds in the studied participants can derive from another source and not from the soil of the place of residence of the congeners.
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text:
Chiński zodiak () – hongkońsko–chiński przygodowy film akcji w reżyserii Jackiego Chana, którego premiera odbyła się 12 grudnia 2012 roku.

Obsada
Źródło: Filmweb

Produkcja

Film od 18 kwietnia do 2 maja 2012 roku był kręcony w pionowym tunelu aerodynamicznym Aerodium w Jełgawie. Film był kręcony w Vanuatu, Australii, Pekinie, Paryżu oraz innych miejscach Francji i w Republice Chińskiej.

Chiński zodiak kosztował 300 000 000 renminbi (60 300 000 dolarów amerykańskich).

Za sprawą filmu Jackie Chan został dwukrotnie wpisany do Księgi rekordów Guinnessa. Pierwszy rekord dotyczy wykonania przed kamerą największej liczby wyczynów kaskaderskich, drugi liczby pełnionych funkcji; Chan był reżyserem, scenarzystą, odtwórcą głównej roli, producentem, producentem wykonawczym, autorem zdjęć, scenografem, kierownikiem produkcji, koordynatorem cateringu, koordynatorem kaskaderów, mistrzem oświetlenia, wykonawcą przewodniego tematu muzycznego, rekwizytorem i kaskaderem.

Promocja i premiera
18 maja 2012 roku Jackie Chan promował film podczas 65. Międzynarodowego Festiwalu Filmowego w Cannes.

Premiera filmu odbyła się 12 grudnia 2012 roku w Hongkongu. W Chińskiej Republice Ludowej premiera filmu odbyła się osiem dni później.

Odbiór

Dochód
W dniu premiery w Chińskiej Republice Ludowej film uplasował się na pierwszym miejscu wyświetlanych filmów w tym kraju oraz ustanowił nowy rekord dochodu pierwszego dnia. Chiński zodiak w cztery pierwsze dni zarobił 222 000 000 renminbi (36 600 000 dolarów amerykańskich). W okresie od 20 grudnia 2012 do 6 stycznia 2013 roku film zarobił 720 000 000 renminbi (116 000 000 dolarów amerykańskich).

W latach 2012–2014 w Chińskiej Republice Ludowej film zarobił 880 000 000 renminbi (145 000 000 dolarów amerykańskich). W Hongkongu film zarobił 1 152 000 dolarów hongkońskich.

Nagrody i nominacje
Źródło: Internet Movie Database

Przypisy

Linki zewnętrzne

Hongkońskie filmy z 2012 roku
Chińskie filmy z 2012 roku
Hongkońskie filmy akcji
Hongkońskie filmy przygodowe
Chińskie filmy akcji
Chińskie filmy przygodowe
Filmy w reżyserii Jackiego Chana
Filmy kręcone w Paryżu
Filmy, których akcja toczy się w Paryżu
Filmy kręcone w Australii
Filmy kręcone w Republice Chińskiej
Filmy kręcone w Hongkongu
Filmy kręcone na Łotwie
Filmy kręcone w Essonne

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Notes from Stamen's About Our Stuff talk by Eric Rodenbeck, Michal Migurski and Tom Carden, 14 May 07 at the National Maritime Museum, London. Organised by NMM's Foe Romeo.
My own comments and asides in [square brackets].
Data viz is a medium.
Data viz is not primarily tooling, technology or methodology.
They work with live/vast/deep data, but increasingly the live.
wanted more distance from their data in order to be able to see it clearly (and act upon its stories). "mile high view".
Digg Swarm: mesmeric realtime data viz: stories surrounded by dancing, moving users.
background layer of aggregated historical data building up, foreground layer of live activity.
When Cabs changed their GPS timings and tech methods, the viz broke slightly: eg 1 GPS fix per 3 min (instead of per 1 min) suddenly meant that the street grids itself (the right angles) was no longer being described.or broke completely: becomes completely meaningless [though still attractive to look at].
Flash code to pull in map elements from other providers eg Google, MS etc. BSD licence.
Great for projects that need higher level of control than Google provides. Not so great for getting-going-really-fast.
One metropolitan call centre has so much activity that some visualisations aren't able to handle it - a heatmap had this one call centre literally eclipsing others. (a problem of both scaling and viz type).
important: showing clarity/meaning in the data they already have, not offering a predictive capability.
"odessa" vs "odessa, texas, zipcode, latlong" - use the input to zoom in but how to express the degree of confidence?
Cabspotting: because the Bay bridge is on two decks, they have good GPS data for the top, E->W deck (the taxis follow the line of the bridge, but on the lower, W->E deck the taxis appear to shortcut across the water as there are fewer GPS data points recorded to connect up.
How much data do we need for it to be meaningful? Personal relevance/knowledge of the domain/locale means often very little.
communicability: making urls still relevant and pinpoint even when user pan-drags a map.
Carden: viz serves the data; viz as a way into the data, not the end result of the data.


text:
A study looking at the coronavirus genome in Israel found that 70% of the virus transmission in the country could be linked to the US
Sarah Al-Arshani
Passengers wait to check in while keeping social distance in Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, on May 14, 2020.
Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua via Getty
Seventy percent of coronavirus cases in Israel could be linked to the US, according to a new study on the virus' genome.
The study, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, compared the sequence of the virus from more than 200 randomly selected patients and compared them to sequences of the virus found worldwide, The New York Times reported.
Israel shut down travel from European countries starting on February 26 but did not impose those measures for US travel until March 9.
Researchers said that had the measures been applied to the US sooner, the number of cases in the country would be significantly lower.
While only 27% of US travelers to Israel tested positive for the coronavirus, a new study found that travel from the United States alone could account for 70% of coronavirus cases in the country, The New York Times reported.
A genome study from Tel Aviv University sequenced the genomes of virus samples from more than 200 randomly selected patients across six hospitals and compared them to sequences worldwide. The study has not yet been peer-reviewed.
According to the Jerusalem Post, while flights from some European and other countries began to be halted starting on February 26, those from the US were not suspended until March 9.
"Those who returned from the US created transmission chains," Adi Stern, from the School of Molecular Cell Biology and Biotechnology at TAU's George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, told The Jerusalem Post.
As of Tuesday, Israel had 16,659 confirmed coronavirus cases and 278 deaths.
The study said that if the country had banned travelers from the US when it banned other countries, "a substantial fraction of the transmission chains in Israel would have been prevented," The Times reported.
"There was this gap in policy, and this gap allowed people to return from the US who thought that they could go wherever they wanted, so they probably spread the virus that way," Stern told the Post.
According to the Post, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to close the country's borders to all countries, including to the US on March 8 after a conference call with Vice President Mike Pence.
The study also said that closing the country off from tourists, enforcing social-distancing rules, and imposing a lockdown on citizens, appears to have cut the transmission rate in the country by two-thirds.
However, it did also find that superspreaders appeared to have an important role in the spread: 5% of patients were thought to be responsible for the spread of the virus to 80% of everyone infected, according to The Times.
NOW WATCH: Here's what it's like to travel during the coronavirus outbreak
More: coronavirus Israel

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Environmental studies major Rennie Meyers '15 loosens up while visiting assistant professor and costume designer Corrine Larson adjusts a neckline backstage for Iphigenia and Other Daughters, directed by Kathleen Worley [theatre 1985–] in November. Written by Ellen McLaughlin, the play offers a glimpse into the thoughts and lives of the characters caught in the web of the House of Atreus. Right, Iphigenia (Rennie) leans over Orestes (Zak Garriss '15) with sacrificial knife in hand. As the priestess of Artemis, she is supposed to kill any man who ventures into the shrine of the goddess, but something about this one intrigues here. She doesn't know he's her brother... yet.


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A Record Year for World Vets in Ecuador
World Vets has been working in Ecuador since 2009 to bring free spay/neuter services to animals in need. We are proud to report that 2015 has been a record year for the number of surgeries performed! With much appreciation, we thank our hardworking and dedicated volunteers, in addition to our passionate local partners at PAE-Ibarra for making this possible. We'd also like to acknowledge Fondation Brigitte Bardot for their ongoing support of this project. See pictures from our most recent campaign here
Join us on our next campaign! Read more
Volunteer Opportunity for Veterinarians in Thailand
World Vets has a new partnership that will provide an exciting opportunity for veterinarians to volunteer in northern Thailand. The volunteer opportunity is located at an elephant sanctuary (about an hour north of Chiang Mai) that is home to ~ 40 elephants, ~80 water buffalo and 400+ dogs. The sanctuary is located along a river in a beautiful and picturesque valley where rescued elephants spend their days freely roaming. The 400+ dogs living at the sanctuary are mostly rescues from the 2011 Thailand flood, which World Vets assisted and provided disaster response.
This volunteer opportunity is for small animal veterinarians who can commit at least 1 month (up to 3 months if possible) to volunteering. Opportunities are available starting in January 2016 and will be available throughout the year with flexible start dates. Up to 2 veterinarians can be accepted during any time slot.
dog, DVM, international volunteer, small animal, thailand, veterinarian, volunteer, volunteer abroad Permalink
Textbook Donation Benefits Veterinary Students in the Philippines
Last year World Vets received a request from a veterinary student in the Philippines named Jorim. It was a request he thought would never result into anything, but decided to write to us anyway. Jorim reached out with a simple request, veterinary textbooks for his school so that he and his fellow students could expand their knowledge for the benefit of animals in their community.
In many countries across the world, textbooks are very hard to come by, and so World Vets initiated a veterinary textbook drive to help fill this gap. To date, textbooks we've collected have contributed to the education of veterinary professional's in Nicaragua, the Sudan, Marshall Islands, Kiribati and the Solomon Islands. Those who contributed to our textbook drive will be happy to hear that we can now add the Philippines to this list!
With many thanks to the 2015 Pacific Partnership mission, World Vets was able to ship, on the USNS MERCY, a pallet loaded of donated veterinary textbooks for Jorim's school, specifically to benefit the library of the Department of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine at Cebu Technological University.
We would like to thank everyone involved in making Jorim`s request a reality!
Pacific Partnership is an annual U.S. Pacific Fleet humanitarian and civic assistance mission designed to work by, with and through host and partner nations, non-government organizations and international agencies to build partnerships and a collective ability to respond to natural disasters. Future missions will be delivering assistance with a focus on veterinary training and teaching.
donation, pacific partnership, philippines, veterinary textbook drive, veterinary textbooks, world vets Permalink
World Vets provides Surgical Training for Vets in Paraguay
World Vets has been working with Adoptame, an animal welfare organization based in Asuncion, Paraguay, to not only bring quality veterinary care to urban animals, but essential skills and training to local vets.
A World Vets team recently operated a week long surgical training course in Paraguay. Seven local veterinarians participated and over 300 animals benefited from the quality care and veterinary services provided! Throughout the week we conducted daily educational seminars as well as surgical instruction and training for local vets. This opportunity also afforded our team the chance to bring free veterinary services to poor barrios located in Asuncion, the capital.
We'd like to express our gratitude to Fondation Brigitte Bardot for their support of our efforts in Paraguay! We'd also like to thank our dedicated team members for contributing their expertise and energy to this project. And, last but not least, to our partners in Asuncion, for their passion and commitment to animal welfare in their country.
adoptame, fondation brigitte bardot, paraguay, spay/neuter, surgical training, volunteer, world vets Permalink
World Vets Team Returns from Romania!
World Vets recently sent a team to Romania to address the huge pet overpopulation problem, which has resulted in many homeless and neglected animals. To contribute to the prevention of unwanted and uncared for animals, our team worked in the city of Galati where they provided a free city-wide spay/neuter campaign.
Our team received an overwhelming amount of local support. Local veterinarians and pet owners expressed their appreciation by gifting our volunteers home made wine and flowers and produce from their gardens! Local authorities even paid a visit to our clinic site to thank our volunteers for their work.
We wish to thank our local partners, Sava's Safe Haven, for hosting our team and veterinary campaign. We'd also like to extend our appreciation to our dedicated volunteers who have made a difference in the lives of so many animals.
romania, sava's safe haven, spay/neuter, veterinary campaign, veterinary volunteer, volunteer abroad, world vets Permalink
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Q: Session storage data lost while pushing to next page in react and I have used state and access local storage data, and when I click on Edit button it is pushed to the next page.
When I come back to this page again I am losing the session storage data.
   const [userRights, setUserRights] = useState
    (JSON.parse(sessionStorage.getItem('userRights')));
    enter code here`{  (Edit || userType === 2) &&
    <Link to=""  onClick={editPropertyHandler.bind(this,field.propertyId)}
    key='Edit'>
    <Icon  name='edit' color='red' />
   <span>  Edit </span>
   </Link>
  }

const editPropertyHandler = (propId) =>{
 axios.get(`${process.env.REACT_APP_BASE_API_URL}Organization/GetPropertyDetails`,
         { params: {
         'PropertyId': propId
         },  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${ctx.APIToken}`}},
         )
        .then((response)=>{
           // console.log(response.data);
             const data = response.data.response;
             data.organizationDetails = {};

     data.organizationDetails.organizationName=orgData.organizationDetails.organizationName;
             data.organizationDetails.organizationId=orgData.organizationDetails.organizationId;
             localStorage.setItem('editProperty',JSON.stringify(data));
             history.push('/NewProperty');
        })

       }

A: Finally I fixed it by removing history.push and worked with Link with params.
I was losing the session storage while history push was used.
I removed -    history.push('/NewProperty');
And used Link to ="/NewProperty",
It worked fine.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Hawk Caught, Removed From Library Of Congress
By Wright Bryan
I think this will be the last animal post of the day. We'll see. This "breaking news" is a follow-up to last night's post about a trapped Cooper's Hawk.
The wayward winged predator had been stuck since last week in the Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress. Today it was captured and sent for a rehab stint with the .
The capture occurred at 8:30 a.m. ET and took about 25 minutes.
The hawk was found to be in good health and will be released into the wild after it goes through rehab.
Here's how a LOC blog post described the capture:
"The team put a pair of starlings – Frick and Frack, according to their owner – in a trap on a ledge inside the dome and waited, hidden beneath a tarp."
"The starlings saw the hawk poised nearby and froze."
"But the noise of a truck passing by the Jefferson Building startled the pair and caused them to move."
"The motion drew the attention of the hawk: She immediately flew onto the trap, where its talons entangled in the nylon nooses attached to the top of the wire cage."
Wright Bryan


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Computer Shopper was a monthly consumer computer magazine published by SX2 Media Labs. The magazine ceased print publication in April 2009. The website was closed and redirected to the PCMag website in late May 2018.

History
Computer Shopper magazine was established in 1979 in Titusville, Florida. It began as a tabloid-size publication on yellow newsprint that primarily contained classified advertising and ads for kit computers, parts, and software. The magazine was created by Glenn Patch, publisher of the photo-equipment magazine Shutterbug Ads, in the hopes of applying its formula to a PC-technology magazine.  The magazine expanded into prebuilt home computers and white box IBM PC compatibles through the 1980s.

The magazine grew to several hundred pages, mostly of advertisements. It was during this time that the magazine was sold to Ziff Davis Publishing, first as a limited partnership, then solely owned. It was later sold, in 2000, along with Ziff-Davis' ZDNet Web site, to CNET. CNET sold Computer Shopper to new owners, SX2 Media Labs, in 2006. In April 2009, SX2 Media Labs discontinued the print version of the magazine. The business continued on as a Web entity, ComputerShopper.com, which was reacquired by Ziff-Davis in 2012.

Magazine
Computer Shopper, the print magazine, comprised the following sections at the end of its publication:
 Boot Up. A commentary and product-news section written by the magazine's expert editors. A column written by Senior Editor Sarah E. Anderson examined tech-buying and related issues from a working mother's perspective.
 Reviews. Each issue contained more than two dozen reviews.
 Features. Typically two or three per issue, the feature stories were often product-centric, comprising product comparisons and buying guides.
 Help and How-To. These articles provided assistance for technical problems and gave step-by-step directions on how to perform common tasks.
 Shut Down. A retrospective look at technology through the archives of Computer Shopper.
 A user-submitted listing of Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) throughout the US and Canada.

List of editors-in-chief
 Stan Veit (1983–1989)
 Bob Lindstrom (1989–1991)
 John Dickinson (1991–1994)
 John Blackford (1994–2000)
 Janice Chen (2000–2006)
 Rik Fairlie (2006–2007)
 John A. Burek (2008–2017)

References

Defunct computer magazines published in the United States
Home computer magazines
Monthly magazines published in the United States
Magazines established in 1979
Magazines disestablished in 2009
Magazines published in Florida
1979 establishments in Florida
2009 disestablishments in Florida


Double vision (also known as diplopia) can occur in multiple sclerosis when the nerve pathways that control eye movements are damaged. The vision in each eye is usually normal but the nerve damage means that the eyes are not aligned properly, so the vision messages from each eye are not coordinated and you experience a double image.
Problems with eyesight, including double vision, can be an early symptom of MS.
If you experience double vision as part of a relapse, it will often recover, partially or fully, and steroid treatment can help speed up the rate of recovery. To reduce the impact of double vision you can use a patch over one eye to block out one of the images. Temporary stick on prisms, known as Fresnel prisms, can be worn on your glasses to adjust the way light enters your eye to help realign the two images.
If you have long lasting double vision, botulinum toxin or surgery can be used to adjust the muscles that control vision to restore the symmetry of your eye position.


Leviton recently introduced QuickPort® In-Wall and In-Ceiling Brackets, two unique solutions that support LAN connections for IP devices in environments where traditional wallplates are not practical. The brackets provide contractors and consultants with a location for a standards-based, testable permanent link for in-wall and in-ceiling connections to wireless access points, IP clocks, security cameras and other IP devices.
* QuickPort In-Wall and In-Ceiling Brackets protect installed cabling by providing a stable mounting and termination point for any category-rated QuickPort connector.
* In-Wall Brackets attach to standard electrical boxes, allowing the contractor to install and test the connection during initial installation. With the data connection recessed in the wall, the termination is protected throughout the rest of the construction process, and then during installation a short patch cord is used to make the final connection to the IP device.
* In-Ceiling Brackets attach to drop ceiling hardware, allowing the installed cabling to be tested and warranted, even in a plenum space. With cable lances and VELCRO® Brand tie downs to hold slack cable (also available from Leviton), contractors can perform the initial installation and permanent link testing, while allowing the flexibility to move the bracket to refine Wi-Fi coverage or WAN placement without needing to retest the link.
* Plenum-rated QuickPort® Surface-Mount Boxes attach to the In-Ceiling Brackets, which protect the termination and provide strain relief. This combination, when used with plenum-rated patch cords and cable, creates the ideal system for air-handling spaces above a drop ceiling.
* In-Ceiling Brackets support TIA-162-A cabling guidelines for wireless access points, and will support the upcoming TIA-862-B Intelligent Building Systems cabling standard.
The QuickPort Brackets, Surface-Mount Boxes and VELCRO Brand products are available through Leviton's extensive distribution network. For assistance ordering plenum-rated patch cords, contact Leviton customer service. Go to the Leviton website for more on QuickPort® In-Wall and In-Ceiling Brackets.


After our last post about funeral car burglaries, I thought I'd post a follow up to lighten your spirits. If you recall, the burglaries occurred while mourners were inside the chapel grieving for their lost loved one. But after the incident, police in the area announced their investigation led to the arrest of the man they think is responsible for those burglaries.
Thane Albert Eck, a 35-year-old Terreton resident, was ultimately arrested for a string of related burglaries. A few of the burglaries occurred on April 29 at the LDS Church on the corner of Second xanax West and First South in Rexburg, Idaho. He is also charged with burglarizing other cars, including one at the Rexburg LDS Temple and one at a cosmetology school and beauty salon.
Eck was jailed later the same day on unrelated charges. However, once he was in custody, Rexburg Police connected some clues and came to the conclusion that Eck was the man they were looking for in connection with these burglaries.
In case you ever wondered what kind of person steals funeral cars, you should check out his cringe-worthy defiant mug shot.
Most funeral car enthusiasts purchase their cars for one of a few reasons. Some love the vehicles' power. Some enjoy the quality craftsmanship. Many cite the cars' ability to stand up well to hard use. Virtually all have one thing in common, however, a love for the vehicles' innate beauty.
But a funeral home in South Carolina has a truly one of a kind custom hearse they make available for clients. Hines Funeral Home, located in Hartsville, made headlines when they invested in a custom built "Timeless Hearse".
The "Timeless Hearse," as the owner calls it is unique in several ways. Rather than the traditional black, the hearse is painted in a brilliant white. However, it is the design that truly has heads turning and people talking. It is based on a blend of the owner's favorite features of three classic cars: the 1931 Rolls Royce, the 1932 Duisenberg and the 1934 healthsavy.com Packard.
The chassis actually has two main frames rather than the traditional single frame, making the body 50% stronger. The vehicle features air suspension and a 5.3 liter V8 engine. The engine runs on gasoline, bio fuel or any mixture of the two.
The car's body is made of a Kevlar composite, making it virtually impervious to corrosion. The trim is created from the highest grade surgical steel and hand polished to a perfect mirror finish. The wood is all hand polished African mahogany, also bearing a mirror finish. Even the hubcaps are unique, gold plated in 18k and featuring the funeral home's name offset in black letters in the center.
The owners are mum on the total price of the new funeral car, but claim that it was less expensive than their usual budget for a new car. The vehicle is classic and elegant, and well worth a look.
If you are into funeral cars, the chances are good that you are also interested in Halloween and its associated events. Perhaps you have a favorite haunt that you make an annual trek to each year. Or maybe you prefer to do as my father and I did last year, making the rounds of a section of the country to visit as many different haunts as possible. Either way, have you ever wondered what goes into the behind the scenes creation of a haunted attraction? HAuNTcon is your chance to find out.
This annual event takes place each spring at a carefully selected location somewhere in the United States. In 2016, it was held in Birmingham, Alabama at the end of January. While the venue changes, the attractions and guests feature many familiar faces. The convention is filled to the brim with owners, designers, actors, makeup artists and others who are dedicated to perfecting the art of the scare. The the general public is invited to attend for a rare behind the scenes look at the creation of these Halloween masterpieces.
A funeral car rally is always part of the festivities, allowing those who own hearses and other funeral cars the chance to show off their babies. Costume contests, dinners and both lights-on and lights-off tours of local haunted attraction are just a few of the regular events.
The convention also offers numerous classes on topics that are hard to find elsewhere. This year's lineup included classes entitled "Monster Mouths Made Easy," "Styrofoam Masonry IV," and "Airbrush Makeup for Haunts," among many others. No experience is required for these hands-on seminars, and you need not be affiliated with a haunt to attend.
If you are still in the market for the perfect funeral car, we invite you to visit our convenient dealership for hearse sales. We will be happy to help you select a car that you will be proud to take HAuNTcon.


How did that caped superhero find the time to come to my birthday party? And how is he keeping my city safe while he's playing with me and my friends? These are all things your child will be thinking when you throw them a rockin' superhero party. These entertainers will make your child and their friends feel like they're the superheroes behind the mask! Search for Superhero Parties in Covington, Kentucky above.
Please note that these Superhero Parties may also travel to Park Hills, Fort Wright, Ludlow, Newport, Bromley, Southgate, Wilder, Bellevue, Crescent Springs, Latonia, Lakeside Park, Ft Mitchell, Villa Hills, Dayton, Crestview Hills, Highland Heights, Taylor Mill, Edgewood, Cold Spring, Elsmere, St Bernard, Mount St Joseph, Norwood, Silver Grove, Ryland Heights, Cheviot, Bridgetown, Independence, Newtown, and Hebron.


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Guy Hollaway creates photography studio with concrete pyramid for X-ray apparatus
Jon Astbury | 20 November 2018 Leave a comment
Guy Hollaway Architects has completed a studio for British photographer Nick Veasey, featuring a concrete pyramid chamber to house the X-ray equipment used to create his distinctive works.
Standing alone in an open field fringed by woodlands near the village of Lenham in Kent, the Process Gallery was designed to be an "inquisitive piece of architecture".
The photography studio comprises two elements: a low volume housing a workspace and small gallery, and a tall X-ray chamber, linked by a heavy metal door.
Together, they are designed to "expose" Veasley's artistic process to the public, from the capture of X-Ray images to their post-production and eventual display.
"We decided to put the gallery in the same position and east-west orientation as the former big shed", said Hollaway, "using robust but contemporary material such as corrugated metal cladding."
The low, corrugated metal-clad gallery volume is defined by a large picture window inspired by a camera lens, articulated externally by an angled wooden reveal.
Skylights help to flood the gallery's simple plywood interior with light.
The tall pyramid X-Ray chamber, reminiscent of Kentish Oast houses, takes its form from the splay of the X-Ray machine, which can be hoisted up and down the space – "the higher the X-ray machine, the larger the object which can be captured", explains Hollaway.
"In the same way the form of Oast houses was driven by their function, this approach isn't any different"
The firm worked with an X-Ray expert to ensure the space's walls would offer sufficient protection from the rays, which required them to be 600mm thick at the base, thinning as the structure rises.
Guy Hollaway adds contemporary extension to his quintessential country cottage
Poured on-site in two days, the smooth formwork of the chamber has lent the concrete a glossy sheen in places.
"It has been designed as a cold space without insulation, so like a cathedral it is cool in the summer and cold in the winter", said the architects.
At its peak, a small skylight draws light down, and the exterior is emblazoned with "Nick Veasey Studio", beneath a radioactive symbol.
"Nick Veasey's work is a function of the result of the X-Ray process, an honest revealing of what is beneath the surface", said Hollaway. "We wanted this architecture to be equally honest and use a very simple palette, such as polished concrete floors and a ply-clad interior".
Process Gallery is open to the public and in time Veasley hopes to transform the studio"s surrounding landscape into a sculpture park.
Also in Kent Guy Hollaway designed a contemporary extension to his country cottage in Kent and has created a series of seaside houses in Margate that are intended to resemble traditional beach huts.
Hollaway Studio
photography studios


If your club is running with manual timing or an old AMB20 system, maybe now is the time to upgrade to an RC4 Autocount system. You may have thought that an Autocount system will cost you in the region of £5000. If that was the case then maybe you should know the actual price.
First you need a computer. A top spec Laptop will cost well under £200. You will also need a printer, well that can cost under £30, just make sure the ink cartridges don't cost as much as the printer. You might consider a cheap laser printer. Prices are from around £60 and the benefit is the prints won't run in the rain.
Next you will need an AMBrc4 Decoder and Loop. This will cost you £3000. What about transponders? Years ago this would have doubled the price of the Timing System. Now the situation is different. With Personal Transponders the choice is down to the drivers, if they want to be counted they put a PT in their car. If not they speak nicely to the Timekeeper to manually count their laps. That is what he has been doing so far anyway.
All you need now is a Race Program. We sell those as well. We have packages for AMBrc4 Decoders and bbkRC our Windows based Race Program including bundles of RC4 Personal Transponder from under £3200.
If you have an AMB20 system we can do a trade in. The Decoder upgrade from AMB20 to RC4 is less than £2000 and we can offer you a discount on Personal transponders in exchange for your AMB20 Decoders, working or not.


This list is neither a ministry endorsement nor a recommendation of any trainer or training program.
Basic Training Providers – Basic Training Providers provide training to prospective security guards and private investigators.
Lefty's Rock 'N Blues Inc.


Jessica graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2008 with a degree in consumer law. She went on to complete the Legal Practice Course at Liverpool John Moores University before starting work as a paralegal in the field of personal injury.
Jessica joined Levins Solicitors as a trainee in 2010 and quickly became a valued member of both the civil litigation and criminal teams. She qualified as a solicitor in December 2012 and became an accredited police station representative in April 2013.


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The Deep Ones are creatures in the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. The beings first appeared in Lovecraft's novella The Shadow over Innsmouth (1931), but were already hinted at in the early short story "Dagon". The Deep Ones are a race of intelligent ocean-dwelling creatures, approximately human-shaped but with a fishy appearance. The females would regularly mate with voluntary human males along the coast, creating societies of hybrids.

Numerous Mythos elements are associated with the Deep Ones, including the legendary town of Innsmouth, the undersea city of Y'ha-nthlei, the Esoteric Order of Dagon, and the beings known as Father Dagon and Mother Hydra. After their debut in Lovecraft's tale, the sea-dwelling creatures resurfaced in the works of other authors, especially August Derleth.

Summary
The Deep Ones are an ancient species of amphibious sea-dwelling humanoids, whose preferred habitat is the deep ocean. A description is offered by the narrator of The Shadow Over Innsmouth:

A very similar description is provided in the much-earlier story Dagon:

A significant difference between the two narratives is that the single creature observed by the narrator is of a vast size, whereas the beings seen off Innsmouth are roughly human in scale. Despite being primarily marine creatures, Deep Ones can survive on land for extended periods of time. They possess biological immortality, and never die except by accident or violence. They worship twin deities, the cult of whom they have introduced among the human population of Innsmouth, who know them as "Father Dagon and Mother Hydra" - however, the elderly derelict (and Order of Dagon initiate) Zadok Allen invokes Cthulhu in a moment of strong emotion, and Robert M. Price has suggested that "Dagon" may have merely been "the closest biblical analogy to the real object of worship of the deep ones" The Deep Ones are or were opposed by mysterious beings known as the Old Ones, who have left behind magical artifacts that can keep them in check. This detail is one of the vestigial hints that August Derleth developed into the mostly unnamed Elder Gods.

Esoteric Order of Dagon

The Esoteric Order of Dagon was the primary religion in Innsmouth after Marsh returned from the South Seas with the dark religion circa 1838. It quickly took root due to its promises of expensive gold artifacts and fish, which were desired by the primarily-fishing town.

The central beings worshipped by the Order were the Father Dagon and Mother Hydra, and, to a lesser extent, Cthulhu. Dagon and Hydra were seen largely as intermediaries between the various gods rather than as gods themselves. Even so, the cultists sacrificed various locals to the Deep Ones at specific times in exchange for a limitless supply of gold and fish. When they ran out of locals, they would go to other places to kidnap people to be sacrificed. Eventually, things became so bad that the US government sent the police force to apprehend Marsh and his cult.

The Esoteric Order of Dagon (which masqueraded as the local Masonic movement) had three oaths that members had to take. The first was an oath of secrecy, the second, an oath of loyalty, and the third, an oath to marry a Deep One and bear or sire its child.  Due to the latter oath, interbreeding became the norm in Innsmouth, resulting in widespread deformities and many half-breeds.

The Esoteric Order of Dagon was seemingly destroyed when one of Obed Marsh's "lost descendants" sent the U.S. Treasury Department to seize the town. As a result, the town was more or less destroyed and the Order was thought disbanded.

Deep One hybrid
The backstory of The Shadow over Innsmouth involves a bargain between Deep Ones and humans, in which the aquatic species provides plentiful fishing and gold in the form of strangely formed jewelry. In return, the land-dwellers give human sacrifices and a promise of "mixing"—the mating of humans with Deep Ones. Although the Deep One hybrid offspring are born with the appearance of a normal human being, the individual will eventually transform into a Deep One, gaining immortality—by default—only when the transformation is complete.

The transformation usually occurs when the individual reaches middle age. As the hybrid gets older, he or she begins to acquire the so-called "Innsmouth Look" as he or she takes on more and more attributes of the Deep One race: the ears shrink, the eyes bulge and become unblinking, the head narrows and gradually goes bald, the skin becomes scabrous as it changes into scales, and the neck develops folds which later become gills. When the hybrid becomes too obviously non-human, it is hidden away from outsiders. Eventually, however, the hybrid will be compelled to slip into the sea to live with the Deep Ones in one of their undersea cities.

Father Dagon and Mother Hydra

Mother Hydra and her consort Father Dagon are both Deep Ones overgrown after millennia ruling over their lesser brethren. Together with Cthulhu, they form the triad of gods worshipped by the Deep Ones (their names are inspired by Dragon, or Dagon, the Semitic fertility deity, and the Hydra of Greek mythology).

Mother Hydra is not to be confused with the entity in Henry Kuttner's story "Hydra".

Y'ha-nthlei

"Cyclopean and many-columned Y'ha-nthlei" is the only Deep One city named by Lovecraft.  It is described as a great undersea metropolis below Devil's Reef just off the coast of Massachusetts, near the town of Innsmouth. Its exact age is not known, but one resident is said to have lived there for 80,000 years.  In Lovecraft's story, the U.S. government torpedoed Devil's Reef, and Y'ha-nthlei was presumed destroyed, although the ending of the story implies it survived.

The name Y'ha-nthlei may have been inspired by the Lord Dunsany character "Yoharneth-Lahai", "the god of little dreams and fancies" who "sendeth little dreams out of PEGANA to please the people of Earth."

Other authors have invented Deep One cities in other parts of the ocean, including Ahu-Y'hloa near Cornwall and G'll-Hoo, near the volcanic island of Surtsey off the coast of Iceland.

Anders Fager has described the city of "Ya' Dich-Gho" as located in the Stockholm skerries. It is accidentally destroyed in 1982 during a Swedish submarine-hunt. At least two surviving Deep Ones live in Stockholm. One of them sells aquarist's supplies. The destruction of Ya' Dich-Gho is described in "When Death Came to Bod Reef"; the city's history in "Herr Goering's Artefact" and the life of the survivors in "Three Weeks of Bliss".

References

Citations

Primary sources
  Definitive version.

Secondary sources

—"Deep Ones", pp. 81–82. Ibid.
—"Hydra (Mother Hydra)", p. 143. Ibid.
—"Y'ha-nthlei", p. 340. Ibid.

  Robert M. Price (ed.) Bloomfield, NJ: Miskatonic University Press.

External links

 The Shadow Over Innsmouth by H. P. Lovecraft

Cthulhu Mythos species
Fictional amphibians
Literary characters introduced in 1931
Fictional water monsters
Fictional species and races
Horror film villains
Literary villains
Underwater civilizations in fiction
The Shadow over Innsmouth
Piscine and amphibian humanoids


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It is said that Apple may launch its first foldable iPhone in 2022
Apple's iPhone 12 series has been very popular since it adopted a new design and shape. Although manufacturers such as Samsung and Huawei have launched their own foldable smartphones, Apple has not even hinted at such things. Samsung has launched three foldable smartphones, and each time it releases a hinge it gets better. But today's news may be exciting for you, as Apple may also be brewing a foldable device. According to the latest report, apple is likely to launch a foldable iPhone in 2022. < / P > < p > as Samsung Electronics has launched three foldable smartphones built with flexible OLED panels, DIGITIMES research believes that apple is likely to intervene in the field of foldable smartphones in 2022 to further promote the demand for flexible OLED displays. Apple has a number of patents related to the foldable iPhone. Earlier this year, Apple was rumored to have sent its foldable iPhone to Foxconn for testing. In addition, there are reports that someone leaked a foldable device similar to the iPhone 11 design. However, the device comes with two different screens attached to a hinge in the middle, which will make the iPhone look like Microsoft's surfaceduo, because it doesn't have a real single-chip foldable screen. Apple extends AppleCare + purchase period: users can decide within 60 days
Apple's first foldable iPhone is likely to be…
Apple details the hinge structure of the foldable…
Patents show that apple is building a foldable…
SpaceX will launch a lunar lander for Masten in 2022
Project arrow in Canada plans to launch its first…
Patents show that in the future, the foldable iPhone…


Groups may consist of people who have similar or very different roles or tasks. A group may not be required to work as a coordinated or integrated unit, such as a group of dentists, attorneys, technicians, or truck drivers. In such cases, the roles of group members may relate mostly to their own individual jobs, functions, or objectives. By their very nature, teams require additional roles of their members. These additional roles relate directly to their team responsibilities. Team members have an obligation (and an opportunity) to support one another and function in an interdependent way. This suggests additional and different roles than those needed to work effectively as an individual.


The miracles we experience each day are smaller, but can still be sources of joy for us.
We take time to acknowledge the good God provides for us and continue to express our gratitude to God.
What a holy time we have entered into this Lent.
The season is truly a gift—it is the Church's gift to her people—when we as a community of believers renew ourselves in prayer and in devotion through our actions, like fasting and giving alms.
Jesus was "filled with the Holy Spirit" and led out into the desert for forty days.
As we embark upon our own spiritual journey, we ask that God would fill us with the same Holy Spirit to be our guide.
Throughout Wednesday's liturgies at the National Shrine of St. Jude, we will pray in a special way for all those who suffer from cancer. We invite you to join us March 6th, and on the first Wednesday of every month, as we call upon St. Jude for the healing of cancer.
Please send your special intentions for healing and remembrance of those affected by cancer to the Shrine or join our prayer circle of healing by posting your prayer to our Day of Prayer for Cancer wall below.


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Q: Querying with a string converted from an array of ints, results in Conversion data type smallint error I have an array of ints, each int corresponds to an phone ID number in the database.
In my application I convert the array of ints into a string as seen below and use this as an sql parameter.
    public IList<Phones> GetPhonesByID(int[] idNumbersInts)
    {
        var idNumbersStr = string.Join(",", idNumbersInts);

        var phones = _context.Database.SqlQuery<Phones>(@"
            SELECT Make,
            Model
            FROM PHONES
            WHERE ID_NUM IN (@idNumbers)",
                new SqlParameter("@idNumbers", idNumbersStr),
                ).ToList();

        return phones;
    }

This results in the error
Conversion failed when converting the varchar value '@idNumbers' to data type smallint

The challenge I have is that I am working with a legacy database so the fix has to be done entirely in my code and not on the db end.

A: SQL parameters simply don't work like that. SQL parameters are there to help you avoid SQL injections, but you are trying to do exactly that: Inject SQL with your string of comma separated integers. Database engine is trying to convert your full varchar (string) type parameter value into smallint. It doesn't know nor care that you are trying to give it a list.
Now, with integers as parameters to your method you are quite safe to inject those into your SQL straight up.
string sqlQuery = String.Format(@"SELECT Make, Model
    FROM PHONES WHERE ID_NUM IN ({0})", idNumberStr);
var phones = _context.Database.SqlQuery<Phones>(sqlQuery).ToList();

If in some other query you are not using integers but strings, then this approach is a security risk. In that case this next approach is better and it could be use in your current case, too. Be wary that if your list of items grows large, you should consider writing them in a temporary table first and use that in your WHERE clause, so that the database engine doesn't suffocate while trying to parse your list.
var sqlParams = list<SqlParameter>();
int index = 0;
foreach (var id in idNumbersInts)
   sqlParams.Add(new SqlParameter("@p" + (index++), id));
string sqlQuery = String.Format(@"SELECT Make, Model
    FROM PHONES WHERE ID_NUM IN ({0})",
    String.Join(",", sqlParams.Select(p => p.ParameterName).ToArray()));
var phones = _context.Database.SqlQuery<Phones>(sqlQuery,
    sqlParams.ToArray()).ToList();

A: I think you don't need execute sql, try this:
var phones = _context.Phones.Where(ph => idNumbersInts.Contains(ph.ID_NUM));


WHILE AT TAM9, the hosts of MonsterTalk sat down to talk with psychologist Richard Wiseman about his new book Paranormality: Why we see what isn't there. It was supposed to be a chat about the paranormal, ghosts and Wiseman's findings. But a conversation with Richard Wiseman is rarely so simple as that.