text:
Microbes and Environments
Volume 33 (2018) Issue 2
Habitat Alterations by Viruses: Strategies by Tupanviruses and Others
Hiroyuki Ogata
Hiroyuki Ogata Corresponding author
Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University
JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS FULL-TEXT HTML
2018 Volume 33 Issue 2 Pages 117-119
DOI https://doi.org/10.1264/jsme2.ME3302rh
Download PDF (241K)
References(52)
Viruses express phenotypes to alter their surrounding environments, thereby increasing their fitness. These surrounding environments include host metabolism and behavior. A recent study by Abrahão et al. (2) suggested a novel strategy for viral "sustainability" in which virions (i.e., viral particles) modulate the population of their predator. The viruses they discovered were long tailed giant viruses named Tupanviruses. The genomes of Tupanviruses are 1.4–1.5 Mb of DNA, harboring the most complete set of genes for the translation apparatus among known viruses with up to 70 tRNAs and 20 aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, implying the markedly reduced dependence of Tupanvirus replication on the host molecular machinery. Tupanviruses were consistently shown to infect a broad range of protist species including Acanthamoeba spp., Vermamoeba vermiformis, Dyctiostelium discoideum, and Willartia magna. This wide range of hosts is atypical among known giant viruses. Another interesting finding was that when infections by Tupanviruses were tested against the bacteria-feeder Tetrahymena, Tupanviruses failed to replicate in Tetrahymena; however, their virions exerted cytotoxic effects against this non-host protist. Therefore, Abrahão et al. performed in vitro experiments that simulated multiple virus-cell interactions, in which each of the Tupanviruses and Mimiviruses was cultured with their host (Acanthamoeba) and predator (Tetrahymena), the latter of which feed on giant viruses. The Tupanvirus population was maintained in the co-culture experiment because their virions diminished the activity of the predator (Tetrahymena) and successfully replicated in the host (Acanthamoeba). In contrast, Mimivirus particles, which are not toxic to Tetrahymena, were rapidly eaten by Tetrahymena, and, thus, did not successfully replicate. This finding indicates an ecological strategy not reported for viruses whereby their "seeds (8)" (i.e., virions) are used as a weapon to control the population of their predators; however, this has not yet been validated in natural microbial communities.
Besides this outstanding discovery, a series of studies described the remarkable survival strategies of viruses that control viral host behavior and metabolism (33). Virophages are small viruses that require the dual hosts of a giant virus and eukaryotic cell for their replication (23). Metagenomic studies revealed that they are widespread in various environments (5, 30, 49, 51, 52). Fischer and Hackl (13) reported an interesting phenotype of mavirus, a virophage parasitizing the giant Cafeteria roenbergensis virus (CroV). It integrates into the genome of the marine protist C. roenbergensis and resides in the host genome as a provirophage. Genes of the mavirus provirophage are transcriptionally silent, but are activated when the host protist encounters the giant CroV virus, the predator of the protist. Activation of the provirophage leads to mavirus virion production, the unsuccessful replication of CroV, and lysis of the protist. Disseminated infectious mavirus virions then suppress CroV replication and, thus, enhance the survival of the host protist population. Therefore, the mavirus provirophage induces the altruistic behavior of its host, in which host cells choose death in order to protect their sisters. In this manner, mavirus increases the chances of replicating itself (through the activation by CroV infection and subsequent co-infection with CroV to the protist host) and maintaining the host population (by suppressing the propagation of giant CroV viruses).
Viral strategies to manipulate host behaviors are widely recognized in insect-virus systems (19, 47). A notable example is a baculovirus (Lymantria dispar nucleopolyhedrovirus; LdMNPV) that causes tree-top disease in infected lepidopteran larvae (18, 36). Infected larvae, or caterpillars, are more likely to die at elevated positions on the plant they feed on. This unusual behavior of infected larvae is considered to promote dissemination of the baculovirus from the top of the tree. In this case, the viral gene responsible for the modulation of host behavior has been identified. Hoover et al. (18) showed that the viral egt gene coding for an ecdysteroid UDP-glucosyl transferase, which affects the hormonal regulation of host development, is responsible for the climbing behavior (for death) of infected larvae.
Several viruses are known to be beneficial to their hosts (34). One example is an RNA virus (Curvularia thermal tolerance virus, CThTV) infecting a fungal endophyte (Curvularia protuberate), which is associated with a plant (the panic grass Dichanthelium lanuginosum). In this tripartite virus-fungus-plant symbiotic system, the RNA virus confers thermal tolerance on the plant, which grows on geothermal soil in Yellowstone National Park (25). This symbiotic interaction between viruses and their hosts, which may be more widespread in nature than is currently recognized (6, 31, 35), is a focus of an on-going Japanese scientific project, "Neovirology" (http://neo-virology.org/; (42)).
The viral modulation of host metabolism is also widely recognized, with host-derived metabolic genes often playing key roles in the control of host metabolism (20, 21, 29). A remarkable finding is the wide range of photosynthesis-related genes found in the genomes of viruses infecting cyanobacteria (24, 39, 48). Virally encoded photosynthesis-related genes (e.g., psbA encoding the photosystem II core reaction center protein D1) are known to be expressed during infection and contribute to maintaining the photosynthetic activity of cyanobacterial cells during the lytic infection cycle of viruses (24). In this case, viruses, which eventually kill the infected hosts through lysis, help the infected cells to maintain energy production using the virally modulated photosynthesis machinery until viruses complete the production of virions that are released from the cells. It is important to note that 89% of cyanopodovirus genomes from sunlit oceans contain psbA (50), and 60% of environmental psbA are virally encoded (namely, only 40% encoded by photosynthetic cells) (38).
The above described phenotypes (or "extended phenotypes (11)") of viruses do not make an exhaustive list of known viral alterations to their surrounding environments; however, even an exhaustive list only represents a very small proportion of the viral phenotypes in nature. There are 1031 viral particles on Earth (7), and previous studies estimated that ~20–40% of marine bacteria are killed daily by viruses (15, 40, 41). A recent study by single-cell genomics revealed that virally infected cells account for >60% of the cellular population in a hot spring microbial community (27). These findings indicate that an abundance of unicellular organisms are present not as "pure cells", but as "virocells" (14), which refers to cells highjacked by viruses. The term "virocell" has been proposed to refer to the metabolically active stage of a virus (i.e., a virocell=a virus). The estimated abundance of virocells among living cell populations in nature eloquently explains the ecophysiological impact of unseen viral phenotypes, such as the significant regulation of microbial food webs and biogeochemical cycles (10, 16, 17, 28).
In this issue of Microbes and Environments, Mihara et al. (26) reported that the taxonomic richness of a family of giant DNA viruses (i.e., the "Megaviridae" family (4)) may exceed that of the domain Bacteria. The family "Megaviridae" includes the Tupanviruses and CroV cited above, and the number of isolated members together with other families of the order "Megavirales (9)" is currently increasing (1, 3, 12, 32, 43, 44). Only three domains of life have been identified for the cellular world, whereas 130 families have been described for the virosphere (see GenomeNet Taxonomy Summary; http://www.genome.jp/tools-bin/taxsummary). It currently remains unclear whether each of these viral families has the large genetic diversity of "Megaviridae"; however, notable diversity has been recognized in an RNA virus family (22), although its precise assessment will require an application of modern methods (e.g., (37, 45, 46) to various environmental samples. Nevertheless, the diversity of viruses appears to represent the wide range of strategies for viral survival in environments. In other words, the diversity of viruses may represent the viral potential to change their surroundings, even possibly the global environment.
1. Abergel, C., M. Legendre, and J.M. Claverie. 2015. The rapidly expanding universe of giant viruses: Mimivirus, Pandoravirus, Pithovirus and Mollivirus. FEMS Microbiol Rev. 39:779-796.
2. Abrahao, J., L. Silva, L.S. Silva, et al. 2018. Tailed giant Tupanvirus possesses the most complete translational apparatus of the known virosphere. Nat Commun. 9:749.
3. Aherfi, S., P. Colson, B. La Scola, and D. Raoult. 2016. Giant Viruses of Amoebas: An Update. Front Microbiol. 7:349.
4. Arslan, D., M. Legendre, V. Seltzer, C. Abergel, and J.M. Claverie. 2011. Distant Mimivirus relative with a larger genome highlights the fundamental features of Megaviridae. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 108:17486-17491.
5. Bekliz, M., J. Verneau, S. Benamar, D. Raoult, B. LaLa Scola, and P. Colson. 2015. A New Zamilon-like Virophage Partial Genome Assembled from a Bioreactor Metagenome. Front Microbiol. 6:1308.
6. Bondy-Denomy, J., and A.R. Davidson. 2014. When a virus is not a parasite: the beneficial effects of prophages on bacterial fitness. J Microbiol. 52:235-242.
7. Breitbart, M., and F. Rohwer. 2005. Here a virus, there a virus, everywhere the same virus? Trends Microbiol. 13:278-284.
8. Claverie, J.M. 2006. Viruses take center stage in cellular evolution. Genome Biol. 7:110.
9. Colson, P., X. Lamballerie, N. Yutin, et al. 2013. "Megavirales", a proposed new order for eukaryotic nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses. Arch Virol. 158:2517-2521.
10. Danovaro, R., C. Corinaldesi, A. Dell'anno, J.A. Fuhrman, J.J. Middelburg, R.T. Noble, and C.A. Suttle. 2011. Marine viruses and global climate change. FEMS Microbiol Rev. 35:993-1034.
11. Dawkins, R. 1982. The extended phenotype: the gene as the unit of selection. Oxford University Press, London.
12. Deeg, C.M., C.T. Chow, and C.A. Suttle. 2018. The kinetoplastid-infecting Bodo saltans virus (BsV), a window into the most abundant giant viruses in the sea. Elife. 7:e33014.
13. Fischer, M.G., and T. Hackl. 2016. Host genome integration and giant virus-induced reactivation of the virophage mavirus. Nature. 540:288-291.
14. Forterre, P. 2013. The virocell concept and environmental microbiology. ISME J. 7:233-236.
15. Fuhrman, J.A. 1999. Marine viruses and their biogeochemical and ecological effects. Nature. 399:541-548.
16. Guidi, L., S. Chaffron, L. Bittner, et al. 2016. Plankton networks driving carbon export in the oligotrophic ocean. Nature. 532:465-470.
17. Hillman, E.T., H. Lu, T. Yao, and C.H. Nakatsu. 2017. Microbial Ecology along the Gastrointestinal Tract. Microbes Environ. 32:300-313.
18. Hoover, K., M. Grove, M. Gardner, D.P. Hughes, J. McNeil, and J. Slavicek. 2011. A gene for an extended phenotype. Science. 333:1401.
19. Hughes, D.P., and F. Libersat. 2018. Neuroparasitology of Parasite-Insect Associations. Annu Rev Entomol. 63:471-487.
20. Hurwitz, B.L., S.J. Hallam, and M.B. Sullivan. 2013. Metabolic reprogramming by viruses in the sunlit and dark ocean. Genome Biol. 14:R123.
21. Hurwitz, B.L., and J.M. U'Ren. 2016. Viral metabolic reprogramming in marine ecosystems. Curr Opin Microbiol. 31:161-168.
22. Koonin, E.V., Y.I. Wolf, K. Nagasaki, and V.V. Dolja. 2008. The Big Bang of picorna-like virus evolution antedates the radiation of eukaryotic supergroups. Nat Rev Microbiol. 6:925-939.
23. La Scola, B., C. Desnues, I. Pagnier, et al. 2008. The virophage as a unique parasite of the giant mimivirus. Nature. 455:100-104.
24. Lindell, D., J.D. Jaffe, Z.I. Johnson, G.M. Church, and S.W. Chisholm. 2005. Photosynthesis genes in marine viruses yield proteins during host infection. Nature. 438:86-89.
25. Marquez, L.M., R.S. Redman, R.J. Rodriguez, and M.J. Roossinck. 2007. A virus in a fungus in a plant: three-way symbiosis required for thermal tolerance. Science. 315:513-515.
26. Mihara, T., H. Koyano, P. Hingamp, N. Grimsley, S. Goto, and H. Ogata. 2018. Taxon richness of "Megaviridae" exceeds those of Bacteria and Archaea in the ocean. Microbes Environ. 33:162-171.
27. Munson-McGee, J.H., S. Peng, S. Dewerff, R. Stepanauskas, R.J. Whitaker, J.S. Weitz, and M.J. Young. 2018. A virus or more in (nearly) every cell: ubiquitous networks of virus-host interactions in extreme environments. ISME J. 10.1038/s41396-018-0071-7
28. Nakayama, N., A. Fujimoto, H. Kawami, Y. Tomaru, N. Hata, and K. Nagasaki. 2013. High interaction variability of the bivalve-killing dinoflagellate Heterocapsa circularisquama strains and their single-stranded RNA virus HcRNAV isolates. Microbes Environ. 28:112-119.
29. Nishimura, Y., H. Watai, T. Honda, et al. 2017. Environmental Viral Genomes Shed New Light on Virus-Host Interactions in the Ocean. mSphere. 2:e00359-16.
30. Oh, S., D. Yoo, and W.T. Liu. 2016. Metagenomics Reveals a Novel Virophage Population in a Tibetan Mountain Lake. Microbes Environ. 31:173-177.
31. Pramono, A.K., H. Kuwahara, T. Itoh, A. Toyoda, A. Yamada, and Y. Hongoh. 2017. Discovery and Complete Genome Sequence of a Bacteriophage from an Obligate Intracellular Symbiont of a Cellulolytic Protist in the Termite Gut. Microbes Environ. 32:112-117.
32. Reteno, D.G., S. Benamar, J.B. Khalil, et al. 2015. Faustovirus, an asfarvirus-related new lineage of giant viruses infecting amoebae. J Virol. 89:6585-6594.
33. Rohwer, F., and R.V. Thurber. 2009. Viruses manipulate the marine environment. Nature. 459:207-212.
34. Roossinck, M.J. 2011. The good viruses: viral mutualistic symbioses. Nat Rev Microbiol. 9:99-108.
35. Roossinck, M.J. 2015. Plants, viruses and the environment: Ecology and mutualism. Virology. 479–480:271-277.
36. Ros, V.I., S. van Houte, L. Hemerik, and M.M. van Oers. 2015. Baculovirus-induced tree-top disease: how extended is the role of egt as a gene for the extended phenotype? Mol Ecol. 24:249-258.
37. Schulz, F., N. Yutin, N.N. Ivanova, et al. 2017. Giant viruses with an expanded complement of translation system components. Science. 356:82-85.
38. Sharon, I., S. Tzahor, S. Williamson, et al. 2007. Viral photosynthetic reaction center genes and transcripts in the marine environment. ISME J. 1:492-501.
39. Sullivan, M.B., M.L. Coleman, P. Weigele, F. Rohwer, and S.W. Chisholm. 2005. Three Prochlorococcus cyanophage genomes: signature features and ecological interpretations. PLoS Biol. 3:e144.
40. Suttle, C.A. 1994. The significance of viruses to mortality in aquatic microbial communities. Microb Ecol. 28:237-243.
41. Suttle, C.A. 2005. Viruses in the sea. Nature. 437:356-361.
42. Takai, K. 2016. Virologists are "Symbionts" in Microbial Ecology. Microbes Environ. 31:367-368.
43. Takemura, M. 2016. Morphological and Taxonomic Properties of Tokyovirus, the First Marseilleviridae Member Isolated from Japan. Microbes Environ. 31:442-448.
44. Takemura, M., T. Mikami, and S. Murono. 2016. Nearly Complete Genome Sequences of Two Mimivirus Strains Isolated from a Japanese Freshwater Pond and River Mouth. Genome Announc. 4:e01378-16.
45. Urayama, S., Y. Takaki, and T. Nunoura. 2016. FLDS: A Comprehensive dsRNA Sequencing Method for Intracellular RNA Virus Surveillance. Microbes Environ. 31:33-40.
46. Urayama, S., Y. Yoshida-Takashima, M. Yoshida, Y. Tomaru, H. Moriyama, K. Takai, and T. Nunoura. 2015. A New Fractionation and Recovery Method of Viral Genomes Based on Nucleic Acid Composition and Structure Using Tandem Column Chromatography. Microbes Environ. 30:199-203.
47. Wang, F., Q. Fang, B. Wang, et al. 2017. A novel negative-stranded RNA virus mediates sex ratio in its parasitoid host. PLoS Pathog. 13:e1006201.
48. Yoshida-Takashima, Y., M. Yoshida, H. Ogata, K. Nagasaki, S. Hiroishi, and T. Yoshida. 2012. Cyanophage infection in the bloom-forming cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa in surface freshwater. Microbes Environ. 27:350-355.
49. Yutin, N., V.V. Kapitonov, and E.V. Koonin. 2015. A new family of hybrid virophages from an animal gut metagenome. Biol Direct. 10:19.
50. Zheng, Q., N. Jiao, R. Zhang, F. Chen, and C.A. Suttle. 2013. Prevalence of psbA-containing cyanobacterial podoviruses in the ocean. Sci Rep. 3:3207.
51. Zhou, J., D. Sun, A. Childers, T.R. McDermott, Y. Wang, and M.R. Liles. 2015. Three novel virophage genomes discovered from Yellowstone Lake metagenomes. J Virol. 89:1278-1285.
52. Zhou, J., W. Zhang, S. Yan, J. Xiao, Y. Zhang, B. Li, Y. Pan, and Y. Wang. 2013. Diversity of virophages in metagenomic data sets. J Virol. 87:4225-4236.
© 2018 by Japanese Society of Microbial Ecology / Japanese Society of Soil Microbiology / Taiwan Society of Microbial Ecology / Japanese Society of Plant Microbe Interactions.
Edited and published by Japanese Society of Microbial Ecology / Japanese Society of Soil Microbiology / Taiwan Society of Microbial Ecology / Japanese Society of Plant Microbe Interactions / Japanese Society for Extremophiles
Production services Nakanishi Printing Co., Ltd.


text:
Traditional Children's Songs
Music Videos For Kids
Promote Your Music!
About The Artist: Mr. Willy (also sometimes known as "Willy Welch") is a children's entertainer, picture book author and recording artist who brings his songs and stories (and sometimes puppets) to schools, churches, child care centers, preschools…wherever! He performs at hospitals, arts festivals (Montage, Kid-Around, etc.) and birthday parties, bookstores and store openings. He has written over 35 songs for Barney and Friends to sing. He is also a songwriter for the new "Boz the Green Bear Next Door" DVD series. Mr. Willy has written and performed for and with thousands of children under the auspices of Young Audiences of North Texas – leading singing with elementary children and working with them on expressing themselves through their own songs. Mr. Willy has an ability to see the world through a child's eyes, and the children listening and singing with him know they are with a friend! Willy often performs with his wife, the actress Wendy Welch, as the folk/gospel duo "Wendy & Willy" at camps and churches throughout the country, as well as for Young Audiences. They have recorded three albums together. A graduate of the Boston University School for the Arts, Willy Welch has been writing and performing for many years. He is probably best known for penning "Playing Right Field," the heart-warming tale of an inept little leaguer, which has been recorded and performed by over a dozen recording artists, most notably Peter Paul & Mary, who recorded it for the third time (as a greatest hit!) in 1998 on the CD Around the Campfire. Many people are also familiar with the story as a double-Clio award-winning Pizza Hut commercial! Willy, the father of cinematographer Grady and singer/dancer Molly Bess, is a member of The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, American Society of Composers, Artists and Publishers, Actors Equity, and the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration.
Web Site: http://www.misterwilly.com/
Albums: I Only Looked Away for a Minute, I Won't Eat That, My Backyard
Free Song Downloads
To Download A Song: Hover over the downward arrow graphic to the right of the song title. Then, right-click and Save Link.
These free MP3 files are distributed for personal listening use only.
More info can be found here.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Add incredible depth and dimension to your craft projects with the Gemini 5" x 7" 3D Embossing Folder - Decorative Holly. They are perfect for use with a variety of different materials to give stunning dimensional effects to your crafty projects. With so many to choose from for all occasions, what are you waiting for!
Please note: these embossing folders are thicker than a standard embossing folder so a different sandwich for your machine may be required.
For platform combinations using the 3D Embossing Folders click here.


text:
What Is a Testable Hypothesis?
Amanda Rohde/Getty Images
A hypothesis is a tentative answer to a scientific question. A testable hypothesis is a hypothesis that can be proved or disproved as a result of testing, data collection, or experience. Only testable hypotheses can be used to conceive and perform an experiment using the scientific method.
Requirements for a Testable Hypothesis
In order to be considered testable, two criteria must be met:
It must be possible to prove that the hypothesis is true.
It must be possible to prove that the hypothesis is false.
It must be possible to reproduce the results of the hypothesis.
Examples of a Testable Hypothesis
All the following hypotheses are testable. It's important, however, to note that while it's possible to say that the hypothesis is correct, much more research would be required to answer the question "why is this hypothesis correct?"
Students who attend class have higher grades than students who skip class. This is testable because it is possible to compare the grades of students who do and do not skip class and then analyze the resulting data. Another person could conduct the same research and come up with the same results.
People exposed to high levels of ultraviolet light have a higher incidence of cancer than the norm. This is testable because it is possible to find a group of people who have been exposed to high levels of ultraviolet light and compare their cancer rates to the average.
If you put people in a dark room, then they will be unable to tell when an infrared light turns on. This hypothesis is testable because it is possible to put a group of people into a dark room, turn on an infrared light, and ask the people in the room whether or not an infrared light has been turned on.
Examples of a Hypothesis Not Written in a Testable Form
It doesn't matter whether or not you skip class. This hypothesis can't be tested because it doesn't make any actual claim regarding the outcome of skipping class. "It doesn't matter" doesn't have any specific meaning, so it can't be tested.
Ultraviolet light could cause cancer. The word "could" makes a hypothesis extremely difficult to test because it is very vague. There "could," for example, be UFOs watching us at every moment, even though it's impossible to prove that they are there!
Goldfish make better pets than guinea pigs. This is not a hypothesis; it's a matter of opinion. There is no agreed-upon definition of what a "better" pet is, so while it is possible to argue the point, there is no way to prove it.
How to Propose a Testable Hypothesis
Now that you know what a testable hypothesis is, here are tips for proposing one.
Try to write the hypothesis as an if-then statement. If you take an action, then a certain outcome is expected.
Identify the independent and dependent variable in the hypothesis. The independent variable is what you are controlling or changing. You measure the effect this has on the dependent variable.
Write the hypothesis in such a way that you can prove or disprove it. For example, a person has skin cancer, you can't prove they got it from being out in the sun. However, you can demonstrate a relationship between exposure to ultraviolet light and increased risk of skin cancer.
Make sure you are proposing a hypothesis you can test with reproducible results. If your face breaks out, you can't prove the breakout was caused by the french fries you had for dinner last night. However, you can measure whether or not eating french fries is associated with breaking out. It's a matter of gathering enough data to be able to reproduce results and draw a conclusion.
Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "What Is a Testable Hypothesis?" ThoughtCo, Feb. 16, 2021, thoughtco.com/testable-hypothesis-explanation-and-examples-609100. Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. (2021, February 16). What Is a Testable Hypothesis? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/testable-hypothesis-explanation-and-examples-609100 Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "What Is a Testable Hypothesis?" ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/testable-hypothesis-explanation-and-examples-609100 (accessed January 16, 2022).
Understanding Simple vs Controlled Experiments
Independent Variable Definition and Examples
How To Design a Science Fair Experiment
Scientific Method Vocabulary Terms
Null Hypothesis Definition and Examples
Null Hypothesis Examples
Scientific Method Flow Chart
What Are Examples of a Hypothesis?
Glow Party Ideas
Dependent Variable Definition and Examples
What Is an Appeal to Ignorance (Fallacy)?
How to Select a Science Fair Project Topic
Understanding Experimental Groups
What Are the Elements of a Good Hypothesis?


PlayCoin, with Big Conference Speech in Japan!
From June 26th to 27th, Dennis Kim, the CEO of PlayCoin, is participating Japan Blockchain Conference (JBC), Tokyo as a speaker.
This conference is the biggest conference in Japan that hundreds of cryptocurrency groups and corporations will be participated as well.
Dennis Kim will provide a speech on 27th. From this speech, Dennis Kim will explain what the blockchain looks like and how PlayCoin will play a relevant role as next generation cryptocurrency with next generation blockchain technology.
Previous Post Dennis the PlayCoin CEO, has arrived in Japan! Into the Conference Japan on June 27th to 29th.


text:
Peerdash
The secure collaboration platform for innovation ecosystem management
About Peerdash
Tag economic development
America's Great Divergence (and why it matters)
June 19, 2017 June 19, 2017 MariaDouglass	Leave a comment
There has been an upsurge in interest in regional economic development – and rightly so. The litany of ills in the structure of the U.S. economy – rising income inequality, the disappearance of manufacturing jobs, and three decades of wage stagnation – belies another important trend that has been largely overlooked. There is an increasing divide in the economic fortunes among different regions of the United States.
While the gap between the wealthiest and poorest members of society seems to make the news on a weekly basis, few seem to be talking about the disparity between urban centers on the coasts and flyover country. The 1% narrative – brought to the fore by Occupy Wall Street activists – overshadows the regional divergence between "elite" seaboard cities and the heartland.
America's great divergence represents the reversal of a history of convergence across regions following the Civil War and lasting until the 1980's. Writing in the Washington Monthly, Phillip Longman argues that the convergence resulted from a century of pulling policy levers ranging from anti-trust laws, to regulation of railroads, airlines, and trucking, as part of a concerted effort of the Federal government to achieve regional parity.
Globalization: more was lost than jobs
America's great divergence in regional prosperity coincides with shifting gears toward public policies that privileged globalization over autonomy, resulting in the loss of manufacturing jobs. The standard narrative links this loss of manufacturing jobs to the rising income disparity between the coasts and flyover America. However, bringing manufacturing jobs back through renegotiation of trade agreements and enforcing international fair currency and exchange practices isn't enough to restore robustness to the heartland. It is insufficient because jobs were not all that was lost.
America's innovation capacity took a hit with manufacturing flight. The divergence in incomes across regions is a symptom, not the underlying cause of the problem.
The issue is not only distributive inequality; it is also about contributive inequities. A regional divergence in incomes represents an uneven distribution of the fruits of labor. But the underlying problem is the capacity of people to solve their own problems through their own inventiveness wanes when there are fewer work opportunities: this is what is meant by the term contributive inequity.
What is needed other than protectionism, is harnessing the power of American ingenuity at the grassroots – at the place of doing and making. Innovation isn't the exclusive domain of elite research laboratories and universities. Americans from all walks of life have been tinkerers and problem-solvers. Robbing the heartland of its foundation in making undermines both the citizens' capacity to contribute meaningfully, and, thereby, the security, national competitiveness, and cultural integrity of the United States.
Competitiveness and Security
Technology and innovation have been an integral part of the American narrative of advancement since at least the post-War period. That narrative – famously forged by Vannevar Bush, the head of wartime US government R&D (including the Manhattan Project) – links the imperative of American scientific and economic competitiveness with national security and independence:
A nation which depends upon others for its new basic scientific knowledge will be slow in its industrial progress and weak in its competitive position in world trade, regardless of its mechanical skill. (Bush, 1945)
Bush was writing at a time when the United States was the planet's manufacturing powerhouse with most of Europe and Japan devastated by the war. He argues for maintaining and further bolstering the nascent research and development capacity developed under the government's patronage. Bush likens the rejection of government responsibilities for R&D to living off of the fat. Like 'resting on one's laurels', living off the fat entails sloth and consumption instead of responsible investment, frugality, and industriousness.
Science and technology needed to be bolstered in support of these burgeoning productive infrastructures. Since the War, the economy and security of the United States has been well served by its continual investment in cutting-edge research. Now, the situation is reversed.
Industrial know-how has been lost, in addition to lapses in productive capacities, and productive infrastructures need to be built back up in order to realize new (and renewed) knowledge.
Today, "living off of the fat", means continuing to neglect the productive, physical infrastructure, while doing nothing to reign in the intellectual capital flight of scientific knowledge being put to use beyond our borders, benefiting foreign firms and workers.
The marriage of knowledge produced in research environments with the experimental platforms of American agricultural, extraction and manufacturing industries is critical to national competitiveness and self-sufficiency. Energy security is national security. Food security is national security. Industrial competitiveness – economic self-sufficiency and manufacturing know-how – is a matter of national security. And national identity.
America: A Culture of independence and interdependence
Lately, discussions of inequality most often arise in the context of social justice; however, the motivation for undertaking regional economic development is not social justice. Rather, it is derived from American identity. Beyond national security, the drive for self-sufficiency is a hallmark of national identity: American culture.
American culture is fiercely independent because of the strength of its domestic interdependence. The ideal of the yeoman farmer epitomizes the American virtues of hard work and self-reliance that today characterize the entrepreneurs and small business people that drive this country.
Factory, mine, oil field, construction and maintenance workers have historically formed the backbone of American competitiveness. Identification with this cultural identity weaves a fabric of American interdependence as a component of national identity.
By "living off the fat" in recent years, while industrial infrastructures and productive capacities were compromised, America lost the driving force of innovation in America.
It is in this way that America's "great divergence" represents a compromise of American cultural integrity.
In Hillbilly Elegy, the New York Times bestseller, J.D. Vance illustrates the links between Appalachian culture and socioeconomic crisis. Although the prevailing narrative focused on economic distress, Vance rightly notes the isolation of people and their alienation from their culture and environment. Solutions to the problem of the great American divergence derive from people connected and emplaced.
Our next post does a deeper dive into the concepts of connectivity and emplacement, discussing how both robust communication and situated innovativeness are the foundations of health ecosystems. We show how ecosystem takes on the meaning of a situated network that helps innovators plant their ideas so that they take root, grow and bear fruit in combination with others.
Bush, Vannevar. Science, The Endless Frontier. Report to the President, Office of Scientific Research and Development, United States Government Printing Office, Washington: National Academies Press, 1945.
Longman, Phillip. "Bloom and Bust." Washington Monthly, November/December 2015.
Vance, J.D. Hillbilly Elegy. New York: Harper, 2016.
Peerdash™ enables the democratization of wealth creation by bringing people to together to solve their own problems
June 16, 2017 MariaDouglass	Leave a comment
This post is the first of a five-part series dedicated to exploring how Peerdash™ – the secure collaboration platform – powers robust entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystems to achieve economic development in too-often overlooked regions.
The divergence in economic prosperity between elite urban centers on the coasts and the rest of the United States largely has to do with the loss of manufacturing jobs due to the forces of globalization. This is detrimental not only to national security and competitiveness, but also compromises American cultural integrity, which derives its independence from an "integrated interdependence". Globalization has not only resulted in loss of jobs and livelihoods, but also alienation and isolation.
While industrial infrastructures and productive capacities have been compromised, the country has also lost the innovation capacity that comes out of emplaced ecosystems where people do and make. Remedying this divergence and disintegration takes more than bringing jobs back to America's Appalachian coalfields, the Gulf Coast, and the Rustbelt. Making and producing sparks indigenous, grassroots ingenuity. Giving it wings takes a flourishing and thoroughly localized innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Ecosystems are built on the foundation of robust communication, and the ability to collaborate across geographical, sectoral and industry boundaries. Regions achieve economic development by leveraging the specificities of their local innovativeness through dynamic collaboration. The key to the digital revolution and the democratization of wealth creation requires enabling people to come together to solve their own problems.
Technology can create these virtual spaces, but it has to be adaptable to the local level. One such example is Peerdash™, a secure collaboration platform that powers robust entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystems – alleviating the alienation and isolation that has resulted from globalization.
Creating Innovation: Best recipes come from local ingredients
March 21, 2015 March 25, 2015 MariaDouglass	1 Comment
The title, "Best recipes come from local ingredients," is taken from comments by Maryann Feldman, Heninger Distinguished Professor of Public Policy the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I availed myself of the opportunity to participate in a Virginia Tech – Lemelson Center Workshop, "Can Innovators Be Made? A Dialogue on the Past, Present, and Future of Innovation Expertise." Prof. Feldman's talk was a highlight of the event, as it deeply resonated with my own thinking on the intersection of economic development and fostering robust environments that support innovation and entrepreneurship.
The opening session of the Workshop launched with discussion of a paper by Matthew Wisnioski (VT Associate Professor of Science & Technology in Society) moderated by Joyce Bedi, Senior Historian at the Lemelson Center. Dr. Bedi opened the discussion with a quick poll of the participants: What's the first name that comes to mind when I say 'inventor?' What's the first name that you associate with the word 'innovator'? The overwhelming majority of the participants named Thomas Edison as inventor, and Steve Jobs as innovator. The Smithsonian's Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation is co-organizer of the workshop; its mission includes broadening the narrative around human ingenuity and creativity.
The Edison/Jobs response is an illustration of implicit bias that inhibits empowerment of would-be innovators and (therefore) inclusiveness of entrepreneurial ecosystems. Implicit bias is a cognitive process that functions at a subconscious level of which, people are too often unaware, yet it deeply influences our perceptions, entrenching stereotype. The thinking goes that we do not see ourselves in the faces of inventors and innovators because they do not look like us, so our brains preclude that possibility from our minds on a level that is below conscious thought.
How many wonderfully creative ideas and ideators are thus excluded from our innovation ecosystems? The relationship of diversity to innovativeness is so commonly discussed it is almost cliché. The richness and diversity of our own communities are strengths to be leveraged. But how often do we see local ingredients in our own neighborhoods that we do not recognize in established ecosystems like Silicon Valley, and, therefore, assume that it's not the 'right stuff?' Perhaps it is not 'sciency' or high-tech enough. I particularly enjoyed Prof. Feldman's term "architectural entrepreneurs," referring to those who build capacities around themselves in their communities that support their business activity – they're true ecosystem builders.
To extend the recipe analogy, I cannot argue with the contention that it takes local ingredients. They're the fresh and unique – overflowing with local color and flavor. But how those ingredients combine and come together matters, too. It takes diverse skill sets that come together in a trusting and mutually empowering fashion to empower innovators to realize the power of their ideas.
Ecosystems Leverage Diversity
February 27, 2015 February 27, 2015 MariaDouglass	2 Comments
Policy-makers often seek to build "knowledge economies," for their economic development benefits. Universities have historically been the primary generators of new knowledge, and have some of the requisite infrastructures and resources to drive innovation and foster spillovers into the surrounding economy. Silicon Valley has Stanford; the Boston area has MIT; Cambridge (UK) has the University of Cambridge. This concomitance has spawned a whole body of thinking about the interrelationships of universities, and the public and private sectors in fostering innovation-driven economic growth.
In addition to their education and research mandates, universities are often – themselves – stepping up to the role as key players in regional economic development. These institutions wrestle with questions like what their role and priorities should be, and how to foster innovation ecosystems – the self-sustaining networks that create synergies among innovators and enablers.
A major pitfall is a cookie-cutter, "one-size-fits-all" approach. Every ecosystem is unique – and must necessarily be. Universities are a diverse lot. Expectations can often be set unrealistically high, because universities operate in resource constrained environments and have diverse histories, capacities, cultures and mandates. Universities face trade-offs among their education, research and community engagement missions. The key is that universities cannot go at it alone. It takes an ecosystem.
This ecosystem includes diverse members of the community ranging from industry and government agencies to associations and other non-governmental organizations. An ecosystem must necessarily be localized to the specific needs of the region. The key to success is not duplicating – but adapting – existing models. As the World Economic Forum prescribes:
"…build the ecosystem on local conditions. Grow existing industries and build on their foundations, skills and capabilities rather than attempting to launch high-tech industries from scratch."
The secret is structuring effective partnerships public and private sector stakeholders in such a way that addresses the special features of individual communities while acknowledging the diversity of academic institutions. Architecting productive ecosystem-building partnerships involves amplifying a university's strengths, addressing its shortcomings and carefully aligning with the institution's unique mix of student success and research capacities, steeped in institutional culture and tradition.
Ecosystem building requires a focus on human capital. It's all about people, the world's most underutilized resource. People are the conduits for developing and transferring knowledge and realizing the potential of new knowledge. People, not institutions or intellectual property are nodes in the innovation network. As nodes connect, innovation and growth capacity grow. In her study of university ecosystems, Dr. Ruth Graham extends the analogy: "creating fishermen and not the fish."
So much of the vibrancy of an ecosystem depends on the human factor. Jason Bloomberg, President of Intellyx, emphasizes the role of how people interact in organizations in achieving exponential innovation:
"…even for the most technical of innovations, the most important component systems of the complex system of systems we call an organization are people, not technology subsystems. Innovation, after all, is a human endeavor. Technology innovation is itself a set of organizational processes."
To effectively catalyze robust innovation ecosystems, universities and community stakeholders need to focus on people, developing and leveraging a diversity of human capital, the real fuel that builds the knowledge economy.
Instead of emulating others' successes, it is critical to dig deeper and look at not only what worked, but why. Applying a greater granularity to ecosystem evaluation, it then becomes possible to leverage local strengths and regional needs, and summoning the institutional will to challenge and adapt global "best practices" to suit a unique ecosystem. A culture of evaluation and experimentation needs to be nurtured not only in the research labs, but also in university and public administration.
Adapted from blog content:
http://mariaadouglass.com/2015/01/10/balancing-act/
http://mariaadouglass.com/2014/06/30/inclusive-innovation/
Peerdash on Facebook


Golden Baba' Adorning 20 kgs Gold, Owns Audis, BMW & Luxury Cars. Though many crimes also involving 'Babas' and blind beliefs people have towards this self-acclaimed Golden Baba (God-men). There's yet another rich Baba after Ram-Rahim. He's famously known as Golden Baba.
Sudhir Makkar seld proclaimed Golden god-man (Golden Baba) is otherwise known as the 'Golden Baba'. Golden Baba is famously known for his love for gold ornaments. Of course his participation wearing his gold jewelry in the Kanwar Yatra.
Golden Baba wears at least 20 Golden chains which are not less than 500gm each. To his last year's comparison, the golden baba's gold possession that he wears on regular basis increased to 25kg's of gold against last year's 15.5 kg gold.
Golden Baba age is 58-year-old, 'Golden Baba' arrived in Ghaziabad on Monday, with his own convoy which comprised of 20 plus luxury cars.
Golden Baba said. "Golden Baba increased gold, by the grace of God. If almighty permits me and if my health allows, I'll continue my yatras. I have a severe stomach infection, which has deteriorate in the past five years. Infection interferes with the rites to follow during Kanwar Yatra. However, I visited the best hospitals Of India, even in Mumbai, but no relief found," Makkar says while speaking about his intention to start the Kanwar yatra.
This would be last Kanwar yatra of The Golden Baba, he mentioned last year. Definelty the best one since he spent nearly Rs 1.50 crore in hiring many Luxury cars. Also, for Delhi's best caterer and waterproof tents, along with an ambulance and doctors.
"With the passage of time, Gold Baba expenditure on the yatra increased every year. But he still remember his first yatra; which cost just Rs 500. He said, that I still want to perform the yatra that way but it's difficult to return to past times. I remember to eating food offered to devotees and sleeping in tents," he adds.
While Makkar does not only own gold chains, he also possesses 20 plus lockets (of deities), a Rolex watch and armlets that weighs half a kg. And valued around Rs 30 lakh, along with 3 Fotuners, BMW, 2 Audis and two Innovas.
Makkah, on various occasions, rented Jaguars, Hummers and Land Rovers during the yatra who has immense love for gold, luxurious life, and cars off course.
" I will hand over the gold to my favourite disciple when I leave the world, My love for gold and cars will not die" he says.
Before becoming famous as Golden Baba, Makkar successfully ran property business and cloth at the Gandhi Nagar market in Delhi. And now owns a luxurious flat in Indirapuram, India.
Born to a poor family he attended gurukul, he went to Haridwar in search of a job at age of six.
"Later, by the grace of Lord Shiva, my business flourished. I sold shirts , jeans, and jackets. Even my property business flourished," he also sold flowers at pavements he recalls adding.
The Golden Baba is also known as Shri Mahant Ji Golden Puri Babaji. According to his disciples his properties estimations could reach ₹300 crore and more. He love to Gold, luxurious flat, Owns Audis, BMW & Luxury Cars.
Thanks for visiting Golden Baba' Adorning 20 kgs Gold, Owns Audis, BMW & Luxury Cars article. He's popullar in the worldwide as a millionare. People love him very much. Also he meet to people like as a normal person. You'll happy when you meet him personally. His successfully crear is the best way to follow to enjoy life as he enjoy Adorning 20 kgs Gold, Owns Audis, BMW & Luxury Cars.


For those that embrace the keto lifestyle but can't live without rice, cauliflower fried rice is a game changer.
This Healthy Cauliflower Fried Rice recipe is loaded with greens and tastes just as good as any Asian-style fried rice.
The best part of the cauliflower fried rice is that you can throw in literally anything (as long as it's low-carb:)).
If you are like me whose mind is never clear without a clean and organized fridge, this recipe will help you to utilize all the leftovers.
This cauliflower fried rice contains 6 grams of net carbs and counts for 148 calories per serving. It makes a great one-pot dinner or a weight-watcher meal as well.
Because of the fibre in the vegetables, a serving of this version of cauliflower fried rice should keep you full for a long time. But it might not be necessarily high fat by itself because I have roasted duck in my meal to go with it.
So if you are planning to make it as a one-pot meal, add in more bacon, sausage, pork mince or ground beef should make it more LCHF.
Replacing red cabbage with green onion or chopped zucchini will be interesting as well.
1. Rinse and dice the cauliflower to small chunks. Microwave for 3 minutes till softened.
2. Let the cauliflower sit and cool down for 5 minutes. Meanwhile chop the mushroom, bacon, red cabbage and celery.
3. Use a cloth or a strainer bag to squeeze the extra water in the cauliflower. Then rice it with blender or knife.
4. Heat up a non-sticky pan to high heat and put in the shredded bacon. Stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.
5. Toss in the mixed vegetables and stirred for another minute.
6. Pour in a beaten egg and scramble into small pieces until cooked. Then add in cauliflower rice.
7. Keep tossing the mixture for 2 minutes. Add in salt, pepper and sesame oil.
8. Transfer to a plate or bowl and enjoy!


text:
What You Need to Know About HTTPS Green Padlock
Online security is a primary concern for businesses that want to protect their own data, as well as the sensitive information provided to them in trust by consumers. In addition to complying with all applicable privacy laws, companies are interested in protecting customers in order to maintain long-term relationships and preserve a strong reputation. The HTTPS green padlock indicates to consumers that a website is secure. Or does it? Here's what businesses needs to know.
What is the HTTPS green padlock?
The average person does not have a clear understanding of how websites are secured or how their security options protect consumers. By utilizing the HTTPS green padlock, your company and your website can provide users with a clear and simple indication of protection. The green padlock symbolizes the presence of secure sockets layer, or SSL technology. This is where the "S" in HTTPS comes from (as opposed to less secure HTTP). While most consumers don't really understand the difference between HTTP and HTTPS, they know that seeing the green padlock icon denotes a protected transfer of information, reducing the risk that hackers can intercept, steal, or misdirect data.
How do I know if my site is truly secure?
Unfortunately, the green padlock as a symbol of authoritative security has paled somewhat over the past year, due in large part to a company called Let's Encrypt. This company sought to simplify the process of obtaining an SSL certificate and make it more affordable for small businesses to secure their online operations by removing fees and other barriers. The unintended side effect of this noble undertaking was that an incredible number of phishing and malware sites have used the opportunity to obtain SSL certificates that make them look legitimate and secure. This convinces users to enter private information, like say, a username and password to login to PayPal, which these nefarious sites can then use to gain access and engage in fraud, identity theft, and actual theft. What if cyber criminals take this opportunity to spoof your company's website and steal user data or infiltrate your networks? How can you remain safe? How can you help users to remain safe?
How can I increase security?
Anyone in charge of a company website wants to provide the highest level of security for online operations, both for the safety of company data and for the protection of customers who provide confidential, personal data. Secure sockets layer technology goes a long way toward accomplishing both goals, but could you do more? The place to start is by making sure you obtain secure sockets layer protection from a reputable and reliable source. From there you can implement additional layers of protection (encryption, compartmentalization, monitoring, etc.) to secure interactions with customers and keep stored data safe from breaches. Consumers should also be apprised of potential threats to security posed by cyber criminals engaged in spoofing legitimate websites. When your customers understand threats and how to combat them, you can not only increase security, but also help customers to feel safe interacting with your company online.


Actor Aamir Khan expresses his grief over the sad demise of veteran actress Shammi Aunty. Veteran actress Shammi passed away yesterday after a long illness. Known for her roles in both films and TV serials, Shammi Aunty's death is a huge loss to the entertainment industry.
Shammi aunty's passing away is a sad loss to the film industry and to her fans. My heart felt condolences to her family and close friends. I have always been a fan of her work and will miss her exuberant presence.
Aamir Khan took to Twitter to offer his condolences saying, "Shammi aunty's passing away is a sad loss to the film industry and to her fans. My heartfelt condolences to her family and close friends. I have always been a fan of her work and will miss her exuberant presence.
Aamir Khan also shared a video of Shammi Aunty's song 'Ek Bar Agar Too Kahe De' from her debut film 'Malhar' in her memory.
Next Next post: Here's why Shraddha Kapoor is maintaining 3 diaries!


Browse our selection of quality Subaru Legacy used Cars for sale in Ongar, Essex. If you can't find what you're looking for please feel free to contact SI Motors.
Stunning example. Just 2 owners from new. Low miles with Full Subaru Service History. Stunning throughout. Full Leather Interior. Heated Front Seats. Large Electric Sunroof. Will come with new 12 Months mot at point of sale. Free 12 Months AA Breakdown Cover. 2 Keys. HPI Clear!
Lovely low mileage example. Just 2 owners from new. Full Subaru Service History. Will come with new 12 Months mot at point of sale. Lovely throughout. Full Leather Seats, Heated Front Seats and Large Electric Sunroof. Free 12 Months AA Breakdown Cover. 2 keys. HPI Clear!
Just One Owner from new. Low miles with Service History. Just Serviced along with new discs/pads all round. Factory Sat Nav. Free 12 Months AA Breakdown Cover. 2 Keys. HPI Clear!
This is a lovely low mileage example. Just 2 owners from new with current owner since 2007. Low miles with Full Service History including a replacement cambelt change carried out by Subaru at 50k. Just Serviced. Large Electric Sunroof. Full Leather Interior. Heated Front Seats.


Opioids are frequently prescribed to treat chronic low back pain, but new research published online in Anesthesiology suggests these drugs may be less effective and more prone to abuse when taken by someone with anxiety or depression.
Chronic low back pain affects an estimated 50 million adults in the United States, and depression or anxiety are common occurrences in patients in response to the chronic pain. In this study, researchers monitored 81 patients with chronic low back pain and varying degrees of depressive or anxiety symptoms (classified as low, medium, or high) over a six-month period; each patient recorded their pain levels and daily dose of medication.
Despite being prescribed a higher average daily dose of morphine, patients with the highest levels of depression and anxiety reported less improvement in back pain (21% vs. 39% pain improvement), a greater rate of opioid misuse (39% vs. 8%), and significantly more frequent and intense side effects from the morphine compared with patients with low levels of depression and anxiety.


text:
Eyre Crowe (* 3. Oktober 1824 in Chelsea; † 12. Dezember 1910 in London) war ein englischer Maler, Illustrator und Grafiker.

Leben
Crowe war das älteste der sechs Kinder des Journalisten und Historikers Eyre Evans Crowe (1799–1868) und dessen erster Frau Margaret (geborene Archer, gestorben 1853), einer Tochter des Offiziers Joseph Archer. Er war ein Bruder des Schriftstellers Joseph Archer Crowe und ein Onkel des Diplomaten Eyre Crowe. Er wurde anfangs in London von William Darley ausgebildet, ehe die Familie nach Frankreich umzog, wo sie sich bis 1844 aufhielten. In Paris erlernten Crowe und sein jüngerer Bruder das Zeichnen von Monsieur Brasseur und 1839 wurde er Schüler des Malers Paul Delaroche, den er 1843 mit einigen anderen Schülern nach Rom begleitete. Er freundete sich dabei mit dem französischen Maler und Bildhauer Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824–1904) an und sie blieben bis zu dessen Tod in Kontakt. Seine Schwester Amy Mary Anne Crowe (gestorben 1865) heiratete 1862  Edward Thackeray.

1844 kehrte er in seine Heimat zurück, wurde Schüler der Londoner Royal Academy of Arts und debütierte 1846 mit dem Bild: Prynne untersucht die Taschen des Erzbischofs Laud im Tower. Im Folgejahr nahm er am Wettbewerb für die Ausschmückung der Houses of Parliament teil, und wählte Die Schlacht von Agincourt als Thema. Weitere Werke wie der Römische Karneval und Holbein malt den König Eduard VI. folgten. Er vertiefte seine Beziehungen zu William Makepeace Thackeray, den er in Paris kennenlernt hatte. 1845 zeichnete er eine Karikatur des Romanciers in türkischer Kleidung und übertrug die Skizzen, die Thackeray für Notes of a Journey from Cornhill to Grand Cairo zeichnete, auf Holz. Im April 1851 wurde er Thackerays Sekretär und verbrachte mit ihm viel Zeit im British Museum, um Material für The History of Henry Esmond zu sammeln. Crowe begleitete Thackerays auf seiner Vortragsreise in die Vereinigten Staaten. Bis 1857 hielt er sich in Amerika auf, wo er sich insbesondere dem Studium der Farbigen widmete. Sein Hauptinteresse galt jedoch der Kulturgeschichte Englands. Er kam nach London zurück und schuf eine Reihe von Bildern, die eine große Tiefe der Empfindung, eine treffliche Charakteristik der Gestalten und ein gründliches Studium der Details verraten, die aber in der Farbe oft hart und trocken sind. 1875 oder 1876 wurde er Associate of the Royal Academy. Später arbeitete er als Inspektor und Prüfer in einer Wissenschafts- und Kunstabteilung in South Kensington. Er verbrachte seine letzten Jahre in Abgeschiedenheit und starb unverheiratet in London, wo er auf dem Friedhof Kensal Green beigesetzt wurde.

Crowe war mit Anne Thackeray Ritchie, befreundet für die er zwei Bücher über ihren Vater verfasste und illustrierte. Das Erste der Beiden ist mit einer Widmung versehen.

Werke (Auswahl)

 Milton besucht Galilei im Gefängnis (1859)
 Swift liest einen Brief seiner Geliebten Stella
 Ein Sklavenmarkt in Virginia (1861)
 Defoe am Pranger (1862)
 Das Leichenbegängnis Goldsmiths (1863)
 Luther schlägt die Thesen an die Schloßkirche zu Wittenberg (1864)
 Die Vestalin (1870)
 Die Schafschur
 Eine Satire auf die Quäker
 Die französischen Gelehrten in Ägypten (1878)
 Explosion des Kaschmirthores in Delhi 1857 (1880)

Publikationen (Auswahl)

Literatur

 J. P. Hopson: Crowe, Eyre (1824–1910). In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/32649 (englisch, Stand 25. Mai 2006, nur über Login erreichbar).

Weblinks

 Eyre Crowe (britisch, 1824–1910) artnet.de

Einzelnachweise

Maler (Vereinigtes Königreich)
Grafiker (Vereinigtes Königreich)
Engländer
Brite
Geboren 1824
Gestorben 1910
Mann

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Mob Rule in the Capitol
Trump's Reckoning—and America's
Joe Biden's Pitch to the Doubters
By Eric Lach
During a recent "drive-in town hall" event in Moosic, Pennsylvania, Joe Biden was sharp and on topic, but he rarely discussed specifics.Photograph by Drew Angerer / Getty
Has a Presidential front-runner ever come in for more doubt than Joe Biden? All through 2019, even as national and state polls showed him ahead in the Democratic primary race, his opponents and the press dismissed him. His leads were illusory, they said. He was out of touch, his campaign operation too ramshackle, his support too tepid. During the primary debates, he often found himself on the butt end of viral sound bites. Afterward, in the spin rooms, his surrogates would stare down gangs of reporters who were all basically asking veiled versions of the same question: "How long can this go on?" Even Biden occasionally seemed to hesitate. At his campaign stops in the lead-up to the Iowa caucuses—where you could often feel and occasionally even see audience members' attention drifting—the candidate would sometimes cede the stage to prominent supporters, letting them serve as closers, making the pitch to voters. It was a situation so strange that, in early February, one of those prominent supporters, the former Secretary of State John Kerry, was overheard in a Des Moines hotel lobby discussing the ins and outs of making a late jump into the Presidential race.
In the months since the Democratic primary effectively ended, in early March, Biden has never come close to trailing Donald Trump in the polling averages. The map of the so-called battleground states, too, has consistently favored him. Polls have found that Biden attracts strong support from seniors—a crucial voting demographic that Democrats had until recently thought was lost for good to Republicans—and that voters, over all, hold Biden in higher esteem than Trump on issues ranging from the coronavirus response to racism to trustworthiness. FiveThirtyEight's election model currently gives Trump about a one in four chance of winning the election. It gives slightly higher odds that Biden will win the national popular vote by more than ten percentage points—a feat not seen since Ronald Reagan trounced Walter Mondale, in 1984. The Trump campaign spent the summer disparaging Biden, cutting deceptive videos of him in an attempt to make him look befuddled, or worse. But Biden has generally been gaffe-free since winning the nomination. He has laid low at times, but he's been sharp when the most eyes have been on him, such as during his acceptance speech, last month, at the Democratic National Convention. And after struggling to fund his campaign during the primaries, he's enjoyed a historic surge of donations in recent weeks, helping him erase the financial advantage that many pundits believed Trump would enjoy this fall no matter who the Democratic nominee was.
And yet the doubts are creeping back up on Biden. This week, the Times ran the headline "Does Biden Need a Higher Gear? Some Democrats Think So." There have been questions about whether he's spending enough time in the Midwest. Whether he's making strong enough overtures to Hispanic voters. And whether his campaign's decision to abandon door-knocking this spring, as the pandemic exploded around the country, should be maintained through the fall. Bernie Sanders, the leader of the Democratic Party's left wing, who has embraced an alliance with the moderate Biden in the name of defeating Trump, has lately, according to the Washington Post, been "urging Biden's team to intensify its focus on pocketbook issues and appeals to liberal voters."
Some of this, no doubt, is anxiety provoked by the memory of 2016. The word "front-runner" gives Democrats the willies. No polling lead can be trusted. Some of this, also, is a response to a general-election campaign that looks very different from what anyone could have imagined when 2020 began. Can a septuagenarian live streamer win the White House? Biden has only recently begun to emerge from the basement-bound campaign he waged this spring and summer, into, in the words of the Washington Post campaign reporter David Weigel, a "Bubble Campaign," making select, targeted trips around the country to speak in front of small audiences. Some of these trips seem explicitly designed to quiet doubts. Last week, Biden spoke in Michigan and Pennsylvania about union jobs. This week, he gave a speech in Delaware about the California wildfires and climate change, and one in Florida about Hispanic Heritage Month. Meanwhile, his campaign announced that it was spending almost ten million dollars a day on paid media, including two new ads about health care that will run in the Midwest and the Sun Belt.
On Thursday night, Biden participated in a "drive-in town hall" on CNN, his most prominent public appearance since the D.N.C. A few dozen members of the public drove up to and parked around a stage in a baseball stadium in Moosic, Pennsylvania—not far from Biden's boyhood home, in Scranton—for the chance to ask the Democratic nominee some questions. Back in front of a national audience, Biden was, once again, sharp. He projected righteous anger at Trump's coronavirus response—frankly, he sounded pissed—and shook his head with sorrow at the lives lost. "We talk about two hundred thousand deaths and it's almost like background noise," he said.
Every Democrat who campaigned for the Presidential nomination last year had to choose how much to balance a critique of Trump with a proposed governing agenda. Biden made anti-Trumpism as central to his run as any of his opponents. Voters rewarded him, and he's staying the course now. Biden spent much of Thursday night speaking about the current President and the current crises facing the nation, reminding viewers of Trump's petulant outbursts, his aversion to masks, and the awful things that he has said about veterans. "This is all about one thing—the stock market," Biden said. "It's all about his reëlection. It should be about the American people." Meanwhile, he kept his own cards close to his chest: when questioners got into the weeds on an issue, Biden often simply urged them to visit his Web site. When he did get specific, it was on topics like fracking, which he said that he still supports as a transitional energy source while the country moves to a renewable-energy future—a middle-ground stance on carbon emissions that infuriates the left. He continued to reject the mantle of the Green New Deal, even as he has absorbed its key insight that fighting climate change and revitalizing the economy should be pitched to voters as the same project. When a woman criticized how the increased unemployment benefits that Congress temporarily passed earlier this year meant that many Americans made more on unemployment than they did in the workforce, Biden didn't try to convince her that the federal minimum wage is appallingly low, nor did he take the opportunity to call on Congress to end the impasse over another round of economic relief for its citizens—he simply encouraged the questioner to empathize with her neighbors who don't know how they're going to make their next rent or mortgage payment.
Barring some seismic, unforeseen shift in public opinion, Biden will win a larger proportion of the popular vote than Hillary Clinton did four years ago—a plurality of the public, generally, wants Biden to be sworn in as President on January 21, 2021. Trump's remaining chances for reëlection are thanks to the Electoral College. The President knows this—his strategy has not been to run a national campaign but to again try to juice the margins in a few key swing states. That targeting a few thousand voters in specific districts could be a winning strategy when the popular-vote margin will likely be in the many millions is, of course, absurd. But it's also where many of the current doubts about Biden find their purchase. With the voting changes and challenges brought on by the pandemic, and with states rushing to adopt early and mail-in voting in an attempt to keep voters and election workers safe, the race between Trump and Biden has become as much about mechanics as about politics. The candidates and their parties are currently engaged in high-stakes court fights around the country over voting rules and ballot access, and the results may determine the outcome of the election as much as any back-and-forth that takes place at one of the three upcoming Presidential debates.
Looming over all of this are Trump's increasingly loud threats to reject the results of the election if things don't go his way. On Thursday, Biden greeted these questions with a smile. "If the President had even remote confidence that he was likely to win the election," Biden said, "he wouldn't be doing this." Here, too, the doubts creep in. How should Biden respond to the despotic rhetoric and actions of Trump and his allies? What's the right messaging for the non-zero chance that America is a few weeks away from the end of even the pretense of democracy?
Democrats have spent four years arguing about why Hillary Clinton lost the election in 2016. The doubts now being raised about Biden are about why he's winning. Sanders may well think that talking about a fifteen-dollar minimum wage will help Biden win voters now, but he also knows that, if Biden the candidate wins with a fifteen-dollar minimum wage front and center, then it will be more likely for Biden the President to make passing that wage increase a priority. The forces that Biden reacts to in the next few weeks could shape the next four years of this country, and beyond. "I'm running as a Democrat, but I'm going to be everyone's President," Biden said on Thursday night. "I'm going to be America's President."
Read More About the 2020 Election
Can Joe Biden win the Presidency based on a promise of generational change?
The fall and rise of Kamala Harris.
When a sitting President threatens to delay a sacrosanct American ritual like an election, you should listen.
To understand the path Donald Trump has taken to the 2020 election, look at what he has provided the executive class.
What happens if Trump fights the election results?
The refusal by Mitch McConnell to rein in Trump is looking riskier than ever.
Sign up for our election newsletter for insight and analysis from our reporters and columnists.
Eric Lach is a staff writer at The New Yorker.
More:2020 ElectionJoseph BidenDemocratsElectoral CollegePresidential Campaigns
Biden's Case to Latino Voters Comes Late. Will They Listen?
Polls show that the former Vice-President is failing to sway a group of voters he needs in order to win the 2020 election.
By Stephania Taladrid
Campaign Chronicles
Joe Biden Condemns Looting, Rioting, and a President Who Capitalizes on Political Violence
During a speech in Pittsburgh, Biden said that Donald Trump, having failed to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, "looks at this violence and sees a political lifeline."
How Will Americans Vote During a Crisis?
Susan B. Glasser breaks down three previous elections where an incumbent sought reëlection during a national catastrophe.


text:
Sunset Storefronts Empty Despite Good Economy
By Sunset Beacon on March 3, 2018 • ( Leave a comment )
More than eight percent of storefronts around the major commercial corridors of the
Sunset District are sitting empty, about one out of 12, according to a Sunset
Beacon survey.
The survey looked at Irving, Judah, Noriega and Taraval streets, plus Ninth Avenue in the
Inner Sunset. It was necessary because flaws in the City's tracking system appear to have
grossly undercounted the number of ground-level businesses now sitting empty, as city
officials themselves acknowledge.
The impact of empty storefronts is not just limited to neighborhood blight and graffiti,
but also indicates jobs not available and tax revenues not being generated.
In terms of percentage, the shopping district along Taraval Street seems to be the worst
hit at this point. Of the 251 commercial spaces and businesses with a significant presence
or signage on the ground floor that was counted, 27 appeared to be empty, or 10.7
percent of the total.
In terms of aggregate numbers, Ninth Avenue combined with Irving Street, between
Fifth Avenue and Ocean Beach, appears to have the most empty storefronts. Of the 406
commercial spaces with a significant presence or signage on the ground floor of those
streets, 38 appear to be empty, or about nine percent.
By comparison, Judah and Noriega streets are doing much better. In Noriega Street's two
smaller shopping districts – one between 19th and 27th avenues and the other around
30th and 34th avenues – the street appears to have only nine empty storefronts out of
196 commercial spaces.
Judah's shopping area near Ocean Beach appears to have only six empty storefronts out
of 94 commercial spaces with ground floor commercial space.
Collectively, there are about 947 commercial spaces with a significant presence or
signage on the ground floor of all of these shopping districts or commercial corridors, of
which 80 appear to be empty.
One of the problems in trying to deal with the issue of vacant storefronts is the lack of
reliable figures calculated by the City. This came out at a recent meeting of the SF Board
of Supervisors' Land Use and Transportation Committee meeting on Feb. 5.
Two ordinances have been passed in recent years to try and get a handle on the citywide
problem, one in 2009 and another in 2014. The first requires property owners to register
vacant commercial and residential buildings with the Department of Building Inspection
and pay a $711 registration fee once a year after the building has been vacant for more
than 30 days. Failure to register and pay the fee can result in a penalty fee of $6,399.
A more recent ordinance sponsored by District 4 Supervisor Katy Tang was adopted in
2014 and applies to commercial storefronts that have been vacant for more than 30 days.
The $711 fee, however, is not due in these cases until after 270 days have elapsed since
registration, in order to allow the owner time to find a new tenant or buyer, make
repairs and improvements.
An official from the Department of Building Inspection, assistant director Ronald Tom,
told the committee that the buildings or storefronts recorded on its registries are mostly
identified through citizen complaints.
In a report requested by District 7 Supervisor Norman Yee, the board's budget and
legislative analyst said self-reporting by property owners, as required in the ordinances,
has resulted in fewer registry entries than citizen complaints.
"Complaint-driven is not going to work," District 1 Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer said at
the committee meeting. "We have to be more pro-active."
"I know that there's a lot of work that we all do in our respective supervisors' offices in
conjunction with our other city departments in trying to both recruit and retain
businesses in our commercial corridors," Tang said. "And I know that each of our
corridors have their own sets of challenges for attractiveness, especially when you throw
into the mix the changing face of retail and that there's so much e-commerce going on
right now. I know that it's a conversation we all need to have as a city family, in terms of
whether we need to reconsider how it is that we zone our city and our commercial
neighborhoods, how it is that we deal with our vacant and abandoned properties and
so forth."
Yee spoke about past efforts to address the issue.
"Though we passed vacant building regulations in 2009 and again in 2014, we have not
seen the kind of improvement that we had hoped for," Yee said. "Commercial vacancy
issues can potentially be addressed through zoning. High rents and the rise of
e-commerce are challenging traditional retailers in San Francisco and elsewhere."
In an analyst's report requested by Yee, six policy options were recommended to deal
with empty storefronts:
• The Board of Supervisors could enhance funding for the City's existing small business
loan programs to assist property owners in leasing their vacant properties;
• The board could request that the SF Planning Department and SF Planning Commission
consider and report back on possible zoning and SF Planning Code changes that would
allow for more flexible use of commercial spaces, possibly reducing the size of
commercial spaces, especially on the ground floor, so the space could be used
for housing;
• The Department of Building Inspection could improve outreach on Vacant Building and
Commercial Storefront registration requirements and reduce barriers to reporting
vacant commercial properties by the public and city agencies, like creating online portals
for the public to report vacant buildings and storefronts;
• Existing ordinances can be amended to raise fees and penalties, particularly for non-
registrants of properties with extended vacancies, to serve as an incentive for property
owners to self-report vacant properties. Such fees and penalty increases would also
generate more funding for the department to cover the costs of enhanced
enforcement efforts;
• With a combination of improved identification, reporting and monitoring of vacant
properties, the department could leverage Housing and Urban Development (HUD) data
to identify areas that have high commercial vacancy rates and proactively track changes
over time;
• The Vacant Building and Commercial Storefront registries could be made available
to the public. The problem of empty storefronts is a city-wide issue, and Union Street
Merchants Association executive director Lesley Leonhardt gave her take on why
even in a relatively good economy stores are still sitting empty.
"The last 10 years has been very challenging and the reasons are multiple,"
Leonhardt said. "We have high rents and, unfortunately, an attitude of greed from
certain people. They will not rent out until they get a certain amount, and that is
very unfortunate. Oftentimes, we've found out that we have offshore owners of these
buildings and they're hard to contact. They are unresponsive."
She also noted that many of the old buildings are not compliant with requirements
of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the construction required to fix them is
sometimes discouraging or even prohibitive to new businesses.
Categories: retail
Tagged as: Business, empty storefronts, retail, Sunset Beacon, Sunset District
Swan on the Lake
Recycled Water Plan in Works


Cerpotech will give a keynote talk entitled "Demonstration of lead-free piezoceramic component" at the Electroceramics for End-users IX conference (PIEZO2017). The conference is the next scientific event in the series of conferences iniciated in 2002 and dedicated to advances in electroactive, particularly piezoceramic, materials and devices, also combined with a professional exhibition. Following the tradition of these conferences of combining science, networking between academia and industry and enjoying the beautiful mountains, PIEZO2017 conference will take place in the charming town of Cercedilla (Sierra de Guadarrama, Madrid, Spain).
PIEZO2017 will continue its well established traditions of presenting the latest piezoelectric and multifunctional materials, technologies and devices research and development and of bringing together the international community within the field for discussion and networking.


We provide apartment complexes and building owner/operators with lockers for their residence to use. This allows management to add a convenience for their residents without the hassles of having to maintain or worry about the operation. The resident simply puts their laundry/dry cleaning in the locker and lock it with a 4 digit code. They then text the locker number, location and code to Washateria. Their laundry/dry cleaning is then picked up and processed. When the laundry/dry cleaning has been processed it is then returned to a locker where the resident will then receive a text message with the locker number and code notifying them that their laundry/dry cleaning is ready for pick up. This service allows residents the convenience of having their laundry/dry cleaning done for them without having to step foot out the door and having to search for a place to do laundry. We are currently in the process of adding to our website the ability for customers to submit and pay for their orders online.


text:
Q: Make outputs incoherent error messages I am using Make 3.8.1 in Windows and I am trying to compile a project provided by Nordic Semi using their own makefile. However, I do not know the problem as make is not clear in what it is trying to say. Below is the error message I get after inputting make -j:
rm -rf _build
process_begin: CreateProcess(NULL, rm -rf _build, ...) failed.
make: *** `nrf52832_xxaa_s132' ?E?K?v?E?^?[?Q?b?g `_build/Arkan' ?d make ?・?
e???[???a???e?U?1?n.  '†?~.
make: *** ?¢?R?1?I?W?‡?u?d'O?A?A?¢?U?・....
make (e=2): The system cannot find the file specified.
make: *** [clean] ?G?‰?[ 2

I suspect this is not Nordic's fault, and so I reinstalled Make multiple times. Unfortunately, I still get the same exact error message. What can I do to resolve this?

A: The version of GNU make you're using is 3.81, not 3.8.1 (there is no 3.8.1).  That's a very old version (released in 2006) so there's little chance of getting much support with it.  You can get newer versions either to build yourself (at https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/make ) or pre-built for Windows (at various places; the best one is https://sourceforge.net/projects/ezwinports/files/ )
I can't explain why you're seeing corrupted error messages with your version.  However, the command "rm -rf" is a POSIX command and there is no "rm" command available on Windows by default, which is probably why make is failing to run it.  I suspect that this project you're attempting to build was created for POSIX systems such as GNU/Linux or MacOS and was not intended to be built on Windows, at least not unless some POSIX compatibility layer is installed, such as cygwin or mingw32.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


I didn't track calories this weekend and I know I was well over my recommended caloric intake for the majority of the weekend. I also didn't drink my usual 8 glasses of water, however I managed to not gain any weight and still feel pretty darn good. I feel like I could take on the world this morning and am looking forward to starting a C25K program tonight.
Have a great day Spark friends.
You can do it!! Keep moving forward!!!


text:
HeardShops.com
Heard Museum Guild
Purchase Admission Tickets
Community Discounts
Courtyard Café Catering
Upcoming Exhibits
Indian Fair & Market
Rental Space Information
Native American Artists Resource Collection
Native American Artists Resource Collection Online Search
Digital Library Search
Heard Museum Comes to You
Family Friendly Exhibits
Arizona Indian Communities
Support the Heard
Heard Museum Council
Exhibit opening–Kay WalkingStick: An American Artist
This exhibition is organized by the American Federation of Arts and the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian.
Kay WalkingStick: An American Artist surveys the career of one of today's most accomplished American Indian artists. Over the course of more than four decades, WalkingStick has avidly explored her own hybrid cultural identity, engaging Native history along with feminism, Minimalism, and other key art historical movements. She has become particularly renowned for her majestic and sensual landscapes, which imbue natural scenery with the charge of personal and collective memory.
The exhibition reveals WalkingStick's diverse approaches to painting over the decades—from graphic figurative work to lushly layered expressionism—and includes a range of her signature diptychs. Co-curators Kathleen Ash-Milby, Associate Curator at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), and David Penney, NMAI's Associate Director of Museum Scholarship, have selected 39 of the artist's most notable works. In addition to tracing WalkingStick's artistic journey, the exhibition engages issues of race, identity, and national history, which are key themes not only to contemporary Native art but to American culture at large. This touring retrospective is the first to fully examine WalkingStick's singular career, demonstrating the breadth of her achievements.
WalkingStick's abstract paintings, landscapes and diptychs have a worldwide following. The exhibition, displaying works spanning more than 40 years, has been drawn from public and private collections, including the Heard's.
Kay WalkingStick will be one of the honorees for this year's Moondance gala at the Heard Museum on Oct. 22, 2016.
Kay WalkingStick (Cherokee/Winnebago), "Cardinal Points" (1985), acrylic, oil and wax on canvas. 59 ½ x 60. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Albion P. Penderson. Photo by Craig Smith/Heard Museum
Included in museum admission: $.
2301 North Central Avenue
Dining at the Heard
The mission of the Heard Museum is to be the world's preeminent museum for the presentation, interpretation and advancement of American Indian art, emphasizing its intersection with broader artistic and cultural themes.
© 2013-2020 Heard Museum. All Rights Reserved. www.heard.org


text:
Veľký kopec je chráněný areál v oblasti Latorica.

Nachází se v katastrálním území města Kráľovský Chlmec v okrese Trebišov v Košickém kraji. Území bylo vyhlášeno či novelizováno v roce 2011 na rozloze 25,13 ha. Ochranné pásmo nebylo stanoveno.

Externí odkazy
 Chráněný areál Veľký kopec, Štátny zoznam osobitne chránených častí prírody SR
 Chránené územia, Štátna ochrana prírody Slovenskej republiky

Chráněné areály na Slovensku
Chráněná území v okrese Trebišov


Wedding Gallery owner Nagwa Abdelghfour helps a bride choose the perfect gown.
Whether she began daydreaming about her wedding gown as a 6-year-old, or after the diamond was reflecting the delight in her eyes, the search for 'the dress' is, for many brides, the kick-off to planning the Big Day. And for the discerning bride seeking service as exclusive as the couture gown of her dreams, one local bridal store offers almost 2,000 designer wedding dresses, as well as the personal attention of the owner. "Since we opened our first small store in 2006, our brides have told us how much they loved our customer service," says Wedding Gallery owner Nagwa Abdelghfour. "They truly appreciate that warm relationship, and I believe that's what made our business grow so tremendously in the first two years—because they told all of their friends." Abdelghfour says she genuinely enjoys helping her brides. "I treat them like guests in my home. I am originally from Egypt, and if you know anyone from Egypt, you know they are very good hosts," she says with a smile.
The popularity and reputation of Wedding Gallery has attracted the notice of top international designers, including Ines DiSanto and Simone Carvalli, who have offered their lines to the salon. "These designers don't give exclusives to a new store unless they are confident we can carry the name," Abdelghfour notes. "We are the only bridal salon in Missouri to carry Simone Carvalli, and also the only one to offer Japanese designer Yumi Katsura." Katsura just launched her U.S. line, and Wedding Gallery is hosting a Katsura trunk show in March, she adds.
Couture gowns at Wedding Gallery range from $2,000 to $15,000. "So now, if you want the $10,000 gown, you don't have to leave town to try it on," Abdelghfour says. "And we try to get different looks from different designers, so a bride can come in and try lots of dresses in lots of styles." While the salon offers exclusive designer gowns, it also carries wedding dresses for diverse budgets. "Many brides call and ask about our prices, and we always ask them, What is your comfort zone? We have gowns in all price ranges," Abdelghfour notes.
The Wedding Gallery also carries bridesmaid dresses, including a private collection of exclusive couture designs, as well as dresses for the mother of the bride, or prom. And above all, Abdelghfour promises personal attention and service.
Be the first to receive Ladue News in your inbox before it hits the newsstands.


text:
Art Professor Finds Inspiration in Nature
BY JENNIFER ROBACK- NEWS EDITOR
Professor Hilary Lorenz has been at LIU for many years. But what some of you might not know, is that outside the classroom, Professor Lorenz has quite the interesting life. From building her own studio in New Mexico, to climbing high peaks. Despite what many students think about professors, Lorenz doesn't spend as much time in the classroom as she does outside.
As a first-generation college student from Michigan, Lorenz has loved art for as long as she can remember, and part of the reason on why she is who she is today is based off of her self-sufficiency. "I worked full-time, putting myself through college. I wanted to do it by myself because I did not want to feel like I 'owed' anything to anyone. I wanted to earn my own way altogether."
Before LIU, Lorenz taught at Alfred University and The Maryland Institute College of Art. She recalls an experience she had in her late 30's that not only changed her art work, but also helped change the way that she lived her life.
"I want to create something that is more about my feelings for the place I have just been," said Lorenz.
While starting her studies in biology, she soon after switched over to art, she wanted to find a way to put her love of science as well as her love for art together. Because of this, she ended up graduating with a bachlors degree in Painting as well as a M.A and a M.F.A degree in both Printmaking and Intermedia all while working as a reseach assistant in microbiology.
The Santa Fe Art Institute had invited Lorenz to be an artist residence and while there she saw a sign about a hike with their Sierra Club. At 18 miles and 5 high altitude peaks, Lorenz signed right up. At this time she had already ran the NYC Marathon and was in the middle of training for the Boston Marathon.
"I have since learned that most runners, no matter how fit, are destroyed by the altitude and difficulty of scrambling through the mountains. Still, I was lucky, it was a perfect hike for me, and I spent the summer hiking every weekend," said Lorenz.
The artwork at the Santa Fe Art Institute that Lorenz was doing was based on boundaries, demarcations and mapping that are both implied and real. The hiking helped show that and helped influence future art work.
One of Lorenz's recent projects that she has worked on since becoming a professor at LIU is called the Moth Migration Project. "The project refers to how bees and other insects pollinate the world's food and to the cross-pollination of ideas in art and science," said Lorenz.
Started in 2016, the project has been shown in places from New Mexico to Texas as well as in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. In the fall of 2021, it is set to be shown in Denver Colorado.
According to the Moth Migration webpage, the project "creates a spirit more significant than any single community by fostering authentic connections and engaging public participation through a synergy of shared experience and embracing mutual respects for personal uniqueness and creativity."
When Lorenz was commissioned to begin this project, she chose moths as the subject and with the help of social media, reached out to other artists to help create paper moths native to their geographic location.
"I put limits on materials of using only back, white, and grayscale color and paper as media," said Lorenz.
The project has had the help of almost 20,000 artistsfrom 26 different countries, including two LIU alumni. Joanna Gonzalez, who graduated LIU with a bachelor's degree of Arts in 2014, helped design the postcards that Lorenz sent to the people who submitted moth's for the project. And Josh LaMore, who also graduated in 2014 as class valedictorian of the Honors College, archived the massive amounts of photographs and documents that artists sent with their work.
"I want people to be able to walk through it and get the sense of being with these moths," said Lorenz.
With her love of art and her love of nature, she also has a love for hiking. One of her favorite experiences came from a sponsored hike of the Klondike Gold Rush Trail, also known as the Chilkoot Trail, that starts in Alaska and ends in Canada.
Sponsored by Yukon Art Center in Canada, Lorenz made a bingo game, with 200 hand printed bingo cards, using animal and nature related cards that are related to the scenery she viewed on the hike.
"To make my artwork it's not just to be at different places, it's to be engaged at different places as strongly as I can," said Lorenz.
She does a lot of this artwork at her studio in New Mexico. The studio to Lorenz can be considered one of her "most prized projects." After building the studio from the ground up in just three months out of mud, stone and wood, it is equipped with printing presses, large hand-built tables, and a stunning atmosphere outside.
"We hauled all the rocks down, then had to drive to the arroyo and brought back five truckloads of sand. It was definitely Mr. Miyagi summer, after that we put it all together and it was amazing," Lorenz said.
Every summer, if you cannot find Lorenz hiking up a new mountain peak on her list, you will find her spending most of the summer in her studio working on upcoming projects such as her project of building a canoe in her studio.
As students, we sometimes forget that professors have lives outside the classroom. For professors like Hilary Lorenz, there is a lot more that goes on in her life from projects outside of the ones she does with students, to hiking and helping create projects that get shown all over the world.
This story was written for the JOU-136 Environmental Reporting class.
COP26: Future or Failure?
Earth Day 2020 Marks 50th Anniversary


text:
washer review
refrigerator review
dryer review
review LG E9 OLED TV Review
The Best Right Now The Best TVs of 2019
All Kitchen & Cooking
All Laundry & Cleaning
All Home & Outdoors
The Best Right Now Buying guides for every category
Deals Price drops on products we love
Award Winners Some of our favorite things
How-Tos Caring for your stuff
Videos See us in action
Reviewed Top 100
CES 2020 Awards
The Best Right Now
Credit: Reviewed.com
Home Theater Televisions
Vizio SV370XVT LCD HDTV First Impressions Review
Written by Alfredo Padilla
Buy now at Amazon
Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed's editors. Purchases you make through our links may earn us a commission.
The SV370XVT has a matte finish to its screen. Its bezel is made of glossy, black plastic. The underside of the bezel is comprised of two long, thin speakers, at the center of which is a convex metal hub.
We couldn't get a great shot of the back of the TV because of the cramped quarters. The back of the TV has a small set of ports, off to the right side and the power port is towards the left.
There is exactly one interesting feature on the bottom of either side of the TV. The right side has a USB port and the left side has a giant power button. There are no other on-set controls at the moment, but since this is a pre-production TV, this could change.
Stand/Mount
The stand is shaped like the Star Fleet insignia, only it's made out of glossy, black plastic. It matches the bezel.
The TV looks plain, overall. The glossy black and matte finish don't say much, although the way the TV handles the speakers looks nice. The plastic on this preproduction unit looked a bit cheap, though. Hopefully the final version will use a slightly higher grade.
Display Size & Technology
This is a 37-inch LCD TV. Unlike some of the other, fancier Vizio models we checked out today, this one has the standard LCD technology. If you want to check out Vizio's TruLED or Smart Dimming technology, read our FI of the VF551XVT, or our full review of the VF550XVT.
Formats & Resolution
The SV370XVT is capable of 1080p resolution at 120Hz. This is just about the current top-of-the-line spec list. There are 240Hz HDTVs out there, but the jury's still out on whether or not there's a significant difference between 120Hz and 240Hz.
Brightness, Blacks and Contrast Ratio
We didn't have the opportunity to view much content on the SV370XVT, and we didn't bring our fancy testing equipment, so we can't really speak the the black level or peak brightness performances. Additionally, this is a preproduction unit, so the final version could be very different.
This was a preproduction unit, without a lot of content diversity, without a known configuration, and we had no helpful testing robots. We really can't speak about the unit's color performance.
Motion & Refresh Rate
This is one of the smaller TVs we've seen with a 120Hz refresh rate. A high refresh rate means a smoother picture. A 120Hz refresh rate, by virtue of multiplication, is twice the standard refresh rate of 60Hz. Although we can't say anything definitive until we get a final version into our testing labs, we will say other 120Hz Vizio HDTVs had good motion performance.
We had no complaints with the TV's viewing angle (again, preproduction unit, things could change, etc.). Even at extreme viewing angles we didn't notice any significant contrast ratio dips or loss of luster. LCDs, particularly entry-level LCDs like the SV370XVT, typically have issues with viewing angle, so we hope this doesn't change for the final release.
Audio & Video Ports
The only port on the sides is the USB port. It's located at the bottom of the TV's left side.
On the back, you'll find three HDMI ports, a DVI and accompanying 3.5mm audio port, a total of three analog audio inputs and one output, one set of component inputs, an S-Video port, a composite in, an optical audio port, and the cable/antenna port.
Media & Other Connectivity
Inserting a USB thumb drive will prompt you to explore its multimedia files. The TV can play back photos, music, and video files.
The photo and video menus let you navigate a folder hierarchy to find your content. The photo player lets you construct slideshows, complete with music and customizable delays and scene transitions. The music player features a basic layout, with songs extending down the left in a column and the main screen displaying the title, album, genre, and other information.
The ports are located on the right side of the TV's back. While they're close to the edge, they are indented a few inches further than we would've liked. The stand doesn't rotate, The ports are indented slightly further in that we would've liked.don't have the greatest placement.
Just like with our picture quality sections, we can't really offer our opinion on audio quality since this was a preproduction unit.
The SV370XVT's remote wasn't at this particular line-show. It would probably be safe to assume the final release will, in fact, have a remote, especially if the set doesn't grow any on-set controls between now and then.
The lower right side of the TV has a power button. This is the extent of the TV's on-set controls.
The menu system looks to be about the same as what we saw on the Vizio VF551XVT. It's simply, intuitive, and three items long.
XVT Series
Vizio's XVT series are their high-end televisions. Previously restricted to larger sizes, the XV370XVT is an example of the smaller sizes that they are rolling out to their lineup. The lineup now includes 32, 37, 42, 47 and 55 inch models. All models include a USB port for viewing media. The 2XVT models include internet connectivity with Yahoo widgets and access to services like Amazon On Demand. These models also include refresh rates of either 120 or 240 Hertz.
Meet the testers
Alfredo Padilla
Alfredo Padilla is a valued contributor to the Reviewed.com family of sites.
See all of Alfredo Padilla's reviews
Checking our work.
We use standardized and scientific testing methods to scrutinize every product and provide you with objectively accurate results. If you've found different results in your own research, email us and we'll compare notes. If it looks substantial, we'll gladly re-test a product to try and reproduce these results. After all, peer reviews are a critical part of any scientific process.
Shoot us an email
LG E9 TV Review
Sony X950G TV Review
Is it worth it to buy an expensive TV?
View all Home Theater
Get Reviewed email alerts.
Sign up for our newsletter to get real advice from real experts.