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The Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale North, Alhaji Alhassan Suhuyini has stepped up efforts towards tackling the perennial flooding in some parts of the Constituency.
Every year, residents have had to battle flooding which often leads to loss of lives and properties. Last year about four people, including a 54-year-old teacher, Hajia Fati Bapuni lost their lives in the floods. The annual disaster is largely attributed to chocked gutters in the area. With this year's rain almost due, residents in the flood prone communities are worried about what may befall them in the coming weeks.
As a proactive measure, the MP has sponsored the desilting of chocked drains in a bid to prevent or at least mitigate the impact of the floods this year.
Excavators were sighted over the weekend at Kalpohin, Gumani, Nyanshegu, Ward K and Fuo, scooping out sand and debris from the chocked drains to allow for easy passage of water.
Tipper trucks were also seen carting the sand away to prevent it from falling back into the drains in the event of a rainfall.
Alhaji Suhuyini said "yesterday my sponsored clearing (desilting) of some major drains in some flood prone communities started earnestly, in anticipation of the rains. Ward K, Kalpohini, Sangani, Fuo etc."
A visibly elated resident said "what the MP is doing is a wise thing. All the gutters have filled up and because of that any time it rains the water cannot flow along the gutter and so it diverts into our houses and into our rooms. We are grateful to honourable for his timely intervention. We pray to God to bless him so he can continue to help us."
The assemblyman for the Kalpohin Electoral Area who doubles as the Presiding Member for the Sagnarigu Municipal Assembly, Alhaji Mohammed Awal also expressed his gratitude to the MP for his intervention.
Alahji Suhuyini appealed to government to intervene and fix some broken footbridges and roads in the area to complement his efforts towards finding a lasting solution to the problem.
"It's my hope, and I'm following up, that the government through its agencies will complement my efforts by fixing/strengthening some broken footbridges and grading or funding the fast completion of some roads that are deteriorating," he said.
In his efforts towards improving education in the constituency, Alhaji Suhuyini, about a week ago, donated some 400 dual desks and 5000 exercise books to some basic schools in the area.
source: ghanaweb.com


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Close to the wilderness and all its creatures stand various hotels and resorts offering a wide range of accommodation options along with a plethora of modern amenities to people with different tastes and preferences. Some of the best hotels and resorts in Jim Corbett National Park have been listed in the blog.
Jim Corbett National Park is located in the plains and hills of the Nainital district of Uttarakhand. Named after the great British hunter, Jim Corbett, who turned into a conservationist and naturalist later in his life, the park was found in 1936 with Jim playing a major role in its constitution. Jim Corbett National Park is also the first park through which the Project Tiger was initiated.
It has five entry gates – Jhirna, Durga Devi, Sitabani, Bijrani, Dhangari – through which one can enter the park. Apart from the endangered Bengal Tiger, there are many species of animals and birds, promising a remarkable wildlife journey. Click here to read more about Jim Corbett Park.
Where to stay while exploring Jim Corbett National Park?
If you are planning to schedule your holidays in Corbett then the foremost thought in your mind will be finding a suitable accommodation. Most of the hotels/resorts are located at or around the fringes of Jim Corbett National Park.
Following is the list of 20 most prominent hotels/resorts in Corbett, which are well-known for their wonderful infrastructure, facilities and impeccable services:
Built in 2009, Corbett Leela Vilas has very soon acquired a prominent name for providing comfort and luxury in close vicinity of the jungle. It is just 10 minutes away from the Bijrani entry gate, thus ranks among the most visited hotels around Jim Corbett National Park.
Covering an area of 2.5 acres, the luxury hotel has 12 tastefully adorned vilas (or cottages) which consist of a living room, a bedroom, a private courtyard, Jacuzzi, rain shower, mini bar, Wi-Fi connectivity and other plush amenities and personalized services. The resort also offers swimming pool, 24 hour room service, multi cuisine restaurant, recreation room to present a perfect blend of modernity in the lap of nature.
Corbett Hideaway is stretched across an area of 13 acres and is covered with vivid orchids and groves of mango. The luxury resort offers a truly tranquil environment which is only beautified by the sounds of the Kosi River and the music of chirping birds, which one may enjoy from the open sit-out zones created outside of each cottage.
The 52 cottages, categorized into various classes like family suites, deluxe cottages and superior cottages are elegantly designed with modern-day furniture and facilities. Complementing the outstanding experience in the cottages is the presence of swimming pool, poolside bar, Ayurvedic and spa therapies, billiards table, a thatched –roof eating place and a wildlife library.
Placed 6 km from the Bijrani Gate of Jim Corbett National Park, The Wild Crest Resort is a delightfully designed structure, catering to a plethora of leisurely pursuits of a visitor.
The deluxe hotel provides contemporarily designed rooms and cottages to the guests. The aesthetic use of wood makes the living in the 33 rooms and 22 cottages of the hotel filled with luxurious amenities a real delight. The hotel has many features like facilities to play various outdoor and indoor games, a swimming pool, multi-cuisine restaurant, a discotheque, spa and massage parlor, kids' play room and various adventurous activities.
Being a forest lodge, it is located right inside the core area of Corbett National Park and is just 30 km from the Dhangari gate. Such a wonderful location makes the place the most sought after accommodation in Corbett, hence a place which is always pre-booked. So those looking forward to a thrilling holiday in Corbett should get in touch with the forest office of Ramnagar to make advance reservations.
The lodge offers 32 rooms (with attached bathrooms) and 2 dormitories (each having 12 beds and common bathrooms), provided with basic facilities. The lodge provides both thrill and protection to the guests; the thrill of spotting the wild creatures roaming nearby is supplemented by the protection provided by the solar fences, which enclose boundaries of the lodge. Dhikala Forest Lodge is one of the best lodges in Jim Corbett National Park.
Infinity Resort has 50 rooms, proffering a choice of river facing or garden facing view to the guests. Built with modern sensibility, the rooms come with plush amenities (like mini bar fridge and Wi-Fi services) and private balconies with table and chairs to gaze at the beauty of the Himalayas and lush green forests.
Spread in the 22 acres of serene environment beside the Kosi River, the luxury hotel provides numerous conveniences to its guests, like health club, spa, kids splash pool, various outdoor and indoor games, separate playing area for kids, wildlife movies and slide shows. The resort also offers short classes on wildlife and conservation.
Solluna resort is delightfully placed in the Himalayan valley, on the bank of River Ramganga, giving mesmerizing views of setting sun and rising moon every evening. Being in the lap of nature the spirits of the guests are further exalted through the ultra luxurious and innovative cottages of the resort.
The fascinating cottages of Solluna are designed to appeal to the basic human senses and are also named after them, like The Touch, The Fragrance, The Sound and The Sight. Each of the cottages of this luxury resort consists of facilities which enhance the theme on which it is based. Some of the basic luxuries common to all are – high pressure shower jet streams in bathroom, 24 hour hot and cold water access, mini bar, mini refrigerator, spacious wardrobe and luxury mattresses.
Standing adjacent to the Jim Corbett National Park is the eco-friendly luxury hotel spread across 11 acres of area. With 100% water re-cycle and solid waste management, the resort also offers water to the guests from their own oxygenated underground spring.
The rooms have been classified as standard, deluxe, luxury, suite and family suite and come with varying sizes and with appealing interiors and comfortable amenities. One can sight and hear wild animals right from one's room and other areas of the hotel like the decks of the swimming pool and multi-cuisine restaurant.
Aahana resort augments the pleasure of its visitors through swimming pool and recreational games like pool, badminton, volley ball, and cricket.
As a deluxe hotel located on the periphery of the Corbett National Park, Camp Riverwild Resort offers six luxury cottages. Built in the true natural spirit with stilts for support and thatch as a roof the cottage also has a private deck to relax, play, chat or savor the solitude amid the calm surroundings.
The cottages possess all the necessary facilities like a well-fitted bathroom, air conditioner and round the clock room service. Finger-licking meals, gym center and spa treatments amid the tranquility and beauty of nature, accentuate the happiness which reaches one's soul.
With 24 luxurious and expansive rooms with sloppy roofs, Corbett Tiger Den Resort is further bedecked with a mixed variety of shrubs and a beautifully designed swimming pool.
The restaurant serves various Indian, local Kumaon, Chinese and Continental meals in its open and well decorated dining area, making the food taste more delectable. There are many outdoor games which can be arranged to be played within the periphery of the resort. A wildlife library, health and fitness center, activity center, Wi-Fi access, round the clock room service and many more such useful services and amenities are provided to the guests.
Offering a perfect vantage point to view the picturesque mountains and valleys of Nainital, Corbett Gateway Spa and Resort brings a wonderful gateway to explore Jim Corbett National Park.
Sprawling in an 11 acre land, the deluxe hotel has 55 classically built cottages. All the cottages are bestowed with alluring sights of nature along with comforts of contemporary life and have been categorized into – deluxe, luxury and suites – with the pleasure rising further with each class.
The soothing accommodation is accompanied with gratifying amenities, like tea/coffee maker, state of the art gymnasium, swimming pool and sun deck, massage and sauna, Wi-Fi access and indoor and outdoor activities (Badminton, Table Tennis, Chess, etc.).
Ramganga Resort is built among a rich green stretch of trees and gardens. The wonderful vistas of mountains and River Kosi and proximity to the Jim Corbett Park make it a very likeable place to visit.
Spread in an immense area of 20 acres, the deluxe hotel consists of 30 charmingly designed rooms and cottages classed into suites, super deluxe rooms, deluxe safari tent and deluxe rooms. Various facilities apt for a deluxe accommodation are available for the guests.
The deluxe safari tents offer an exquisite experience of living in canvas tents built on steel frames, with thatched roofs, have side covers for additional insulation and attached bathroom with running hot and cold water.
Acclaimed as one of the best resorts close to Jim Corbett National Park, Corbett Riverview Retreat Resort presents rooms, each bestowing scenic views of the celestial landscape. The 54 rooms have been divided into villas of 2/3/4 bedrooms (each having a separate bathroom), deluxe and duplex rooms. The villas have been named as Leopard, Tiger and Tusker lodge and have private kitchen, gardens and balconies to relax and enjoy.
The well-serviced rooms are fitted with modern furniture and facilities; other complementary pleasures are provided by – swimming pool, a wildlife library, various outdoor and indoor games, cultural programs and wildlife movies. The guests can also enjoy fishing at the nearby pool of Mahaseer.
It is situated on the banks of the Kosi River and thus provides an amazing vista of the river along with the grand Himalayas. There are 50 nicely furnished cottages, well equipped with all contemporary conveniences. The restaurant offers magnificent views of the serene and scenic environment while satiating the hunger of its guests with mouth-watering meals.
Other facilities aimed at giving a memorable and rejuvenating stay include a spa and a health club, swimming pool, travel desk, internet connectivity, outdoor games and cultural programmes (folk dance and music).
The Den is one of the most remarkable hotels around Jim Corbett National Park. It is nestled amid thick mango orchards and gives a feel of living in the jungle along with the modern-day amenities. The area outside the cottages is illuminated with lamps to give it an earthen feel.
The Den has 50 spacious cottages which are very exquisite and innovatively designed and are classified as junior, deluxe and duplex. Tree houses are also an option which a nature enthusiast can opt for.
The kitchen of the resort offers various delicious continental and Indian fares with most of the ingredients coming fresh from the resort's gardens. All cottages are air-conditioned, fitted with a mini bar, tea/coffee maker and a television set and other facilities. There is a swimming pool, yoga, spa and meditation centers for the total well-being of the visitors.
Sprawling 21 acres of area with Kosi River flowing at one side, Corbett Riverside Resort offers its guests the very best picturesque scenes from each of the 28 well appointed rooms (classed as – double rooms, deluxe rooms, exclusive rooms and suites). The rooms have comforts like dining table, luggage rack, study table and wardrobe.
The rich flavors of farm-grown vegetables are accentuated by the expert cooks while making various Indian, Mughlai, Continental and Italian cuisines. To make the trip more memorable the hotel offers many outdoor and indoor activities, Ayurvedic treatments, swimming pool and gym and health center.
Encased within thick forest at the foothills of Himalayas and spread across an area of 5 acres is the thoughtfully and elegantly created Corbett Jungle Club. There are 24 rooms, half of which are deluxe rooms and the rest of them are luxurious cottages.
This standard hotel offers room service on 24 hour basis, has continuous hot and cold water supply and many other amenities. A visitor can also avail tents for accommodation, but needs to send in a prior request for the same.
There are plenty of recreational activities which one can pursue in the resort like swimming in the pool, playing various indoor and outdoor games and having Ayurvedic massage and spa therapies.
Jungle Paradise Retreat is a simple yet beautiful resort standing among the wild groves of mango and the scenic hills of Himalayas. There are 12 spacious cottages which have been made to resemble typical mud huts through the use of mud, bamboo and a thatched roof. 7 of the cottages have air-conditioners; all the cottages have attached bathrooms, color television, room service, and other necessities.
This resort comes in the category of standard resorts but still gives a good range of amusements like Hammocks to bask in sun or relax in shade, playful activities like Carrom, Chess, Badminton and Cricket. To satiate the hunger pangs of the guests there is a multi-cuisine restaurant which also offers local Kumauni dishes.
The resort offers tranquility wrapped in the thatch-roofed mud huts, which reflect a simple village amid the picturesque hills of Himalayas. The huts assimilate within itself the luxuries of modern world; there is LCD TV, Wi-Fi accessibility, attached bathrooms, king size double bed and many other amenities.
Pine Tree Village Resort has a wide array of Indian, Mughlai, Chinese and Continental delicacies on the menu list which one can enjoy in the lobby lounge, while unraveling the mysteries of nature. The standard hotel offers plenty of pleasures to the guests through its air-conditioned rooms, round the clock room service, bonfire, indoor and outdoor recreational activities, laundry services and so on.
Covering an area of 3 acres, this deluxe hotel strives to give the right blend of rural and modern among the wilderness spread outside the boundaries.
The guests need to make a choice of accommodation between comfortable rooms and traditional mud huts. Both the choices will make one enjoy the in-room amenities like closet, tea/coffee maker, attached washroom and round the clock room service.
The food menu of United-21 Wildlife Resort comprises of delicious dishes from a diverse variety of cuisines to make the adventure trip of the visitors more worthwhile.
Stretching across an area of 6 acres this luxury hotel caters to all the expectations of a guest. The Golden Tusk Resort is situated on the shores of a monsoon river called Dhella and offers 29 state of the art rooms, which are divided into – suites, villas, cottages and tents.
The affluent resort provides several plush in-room amenities like ensuite lounge, internet (on request), mini bar, tea/coffee maker and writing stationary. A visitor's adventure trip to Jim Corbett is given a relaxing touch by the facilities like an appealing swimming pool, first-class arrangement for indoor and outdoor games, multi-cuisine restaurant and a fitness center.
The park opens up for tourists from 15th November to 15th June, every year. The reason for the closure of 5 months is annual monsoon, which washes away the motorable roads leading to the Corbett. The repair work gets completed only by November.
Hence, one has a fixed time frame in which one can plan the wildlife expedition and also choose the accommodation appropriate to ones budget and personal inclinations.
Jim Corbett National Park presents a proper amalgamation of a wildlife tour along with natural sightseeing. The alluring views of rich fauna, with the background of magnificent Himalayan Mountains, in itself is blissful. The sighting of wildlife among such setting is a pleasure to be cherished for a life.
One can find the best deals on Corbett hotel booking at the various travel websites.
Tour My India is the leading tour operator where our travel experts can make an ideal trip for you, accommodating all your needs. You will be assured of a package which will suit your fancy as well as your pocket. So don't wait and get ready to get thrilled by the roar of the mesmerizing Bengal Tiger!

subset: commoncrawl


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My request for help finding an ethnography to teach in a First Nations of British Columbia anthropology class has generated more than a dozen comments on the blog, via email and through facebook. Since I wasn't entirely clear that I was looking for an ethnography of an indigenous group or community — but the list […]
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The Hobart Lecture
Greetings from Episcopalians in all the other parts of this Church: in Micronesia, Taiwan, Honduras, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Haiti (our largest diocese), Dominican Republic, Virgin Islands (both US and British), Puerto Rico, and the Convocation of American Churches in Europe, as well as the other 99 dioceses in the United States. They pray for you, and I urge your prayers for them. I begin this way, not only because I usually do so when Iâm visiting dioceses, but because most Episcopalians donât have a sense of the broad reach of this Church â of the many pastures in which the sheep of this Church live and move and have their being. The third bishop of New York, for whom this lecture is named, was a strong supporter of mission in varying contexts, including among the Oneida Indian Mission. It is to that sense of diverse pastures that I want to turn.
Pastures are where pastors labor, pastures support the life of the sheep themselves, and among most people who live away from the land, pastures are usually ignored or forgotten. When we think about pastoral care, our attention usually moves quickly to the sheep, without enough attention to the environment that sustains them. Paul Newmanâs obituary in the NY Times this weekend ended with some pertinent words. He said, âWe are such spendthrifts with our lives. The trick of living is to slip on and off the planet with the least fuss you can muster. Iâm not running for sainthood. I just happen to think that in life we need to be a little like the farmer, who puts back into the soil what he takes out.â
Tending the soil is a great part of pastoral work. It is important to the whole of the flock and the whole ecosystem. The Western plains ecosystem was dominated by bison (buffalo) until fairly late in the 19th century. Those great grazers actually had a creative role in fostering the diversity and productivity of the plains. The bison were hunted almost to extinction for their hides, for sport, sometimes intentionally to deprive Native peoples of their livelihood, but also to make room for cattle and sheep. Competition between cattle and sheep herders, and lack of care for that great pasture led to great range wars in the Western U.S. in the 19th century. Because sheep will chew the grass down to the roots if you leave them too long on the same ground, the cattle ranchers who shared the open range often shot the sheep, and sometimes their keepers. Now, pastors in the church rarely shoot other species, but verbal violence sometimes accomplishes the same thing. We may tolerate or encourage attempts to remove species of Christians who seem excessively different. The irony of the range wars is that pasture land is most productive when it is intensely managed for the benefit of many species â either by free-ranging herds well-adapted to their ecological context, or by careful human intervention that moves the flock or the herd from one small pasture to another every few days.
Those bison moved fairly freely across the plains, never staying too long in one place. Their mobility contributed to the health of the pasture, and to its diversity. The tall-grass prairie is one of the most diverse and productive ecosystems in North America. The very act of grazing encourages a flush of new growth in the grass, and if the animal doesnât keep chewing on the same patch for too long, that productivity soon results in a greater harvest for the whole system. I donât think itâs too great a stretch to think about how chewing (or ruminating) on a theological or spiritual issue at great length affects the health of the flock. The gatherings of Christians whose pastors build permanent high fences to keep the flock from exploring other pastures rarely thrive over the long term. Those communities who have enough freedom to wander over to another patch of grass, who donât perseverate or obsess over three clumps of grass in one corner, have a greater chance to thrive. No species of grazer can stay healthy if kept on the same ground for long. The grasses suffer, and so do the sheep. And when animals are confined too long in one place, parasites thrive.
So what does a reflection on tending the pasture say to us pastors and shepherds? We could be quite literal at first and ponder how much effort weâre putting into our role as gardeners. If we donât steward this planetary pasture more wisely, our role as pastors will soon be vastly more difficult and, before much longer, moot. What is your congregation doing in the green department?
Most of us begin with the relatively easy, local initiatives like changing the light bulbs to compact fluorescents, or examining our use of disposable items, and then move on to upgrading building insulation and heating and cooling systems. Old buildings can be a challenge, but many have found creative ways to install photovoltaic systems on the roof and even power-producing windmills. General Seminary is doing the geothermal drill. Those who have the opportunity to rebuild or build anew can explore the latest in low-carbon or sustainable building footprints. Doing that kind of work in the congregation can be a remarkable teaching opportunity that will raise the skill of other pastoral gardeners in their own homes and the larger community. Discovering how much waste a congregation produces, and how much can be recycled, is another way of teaching and even changing community norms. There are still too many local communities that make no provision for recycling, or have only inadequate programs.
In the same way that frequent moving of the flock can raise the productivity of the grassland, recycling reusable resources brings another kind of abundant life. I saw a great example in New Hampshire this last weekend. St. Andrewâs, West Manchester is collecting and sharing food with the hungry through its food bank. They are collecting and sharing clothes and other hard goods with those in great need. They are renovating an old house behind the church parking lot to both provide an apartment for a low-income family and provide a more accessible space for their thrift shop. In the process, theyâre offering ministry opportunities for seniors and the otherwise unemployed to share their gifts with others. That is good pastoral care at almost every level â itâs simple and yet profound.
There is another kind of soil-tending, and soul-tending, that goes hand in hand with this sort of gardening. Inviting the flock into theological reflection about the importance of caring for the earth and its inhabitants is a central part of our ministry. It almost inevitably leads to a more abundant and lively understanding of the interconnectedness of creation, and our part in caring for the whole. When we serve the hungry and naked and homeless, we also heal the whole body, including the folks in our own congregations who engage that ministry. In serving the least, we serve Christ himself, and the whole of his Body.
This is not rocket science, but it does require the ability to share the pastoring load. Shepherds are also sheep, after all. Our ability to invite others into pastoral ministry, like that pattern of intense grazing, ultimately increases the harvest. Itâs impossible for one person called pastor to have all the creativity necessary to develop a complex ecosystem of servant ministry. The sheep also have God-given intelligence. Bless the ideas that get floated in your congregation â take a Gamaliel approach to the latest crazy inspiration, for it just might be of God. Let somebody run with it and see what eventuates. Consider the possibility of unlikely shepherds â even the children may lead us. In fact, they probably know more about climate change and ecological systems than the senior citizens in the congregation.
Discover how local initiatives impact people across the globe. The current fiscal debacle in this country right now is already teaching us all a great deal about how overgrazing by some, probably better called greed or gluttony, and how it has disastrous consequences. Pastors have a responsibility to challenge the spiritually unhealthy. But the coming months and perhaps years are also going to teach us something about the ways in which moving the grazers around might actually increase the forage. Sheep may grow fat on lush grazing, but too rich a diet can produce digestive upset and foul the pasture.
I want to reflect on the pasture in another way, literally in what it provides to eat and drink. How does our own diet affect others? Whatâs the origin of the bread and wine for our sacramental meals? How is that reflected in what we put on our dinner tables? There is growing consciousness about those issues and their complexity, and they all have rich theological roots and implications. Pastoral ministry has a significant responsibility to teach, challenge, and explore the connections between what we eat and what kind of body results. Itâs the very foundation of our eucharistic theology, which should equally influence our daily fare. The economics of food in this country, and increasingly around the world, depend excessively on petroleum and on corn. Oil subsidizes the production of fertilizer as well as the perceived need to till and otherwise prepare the soil. Weâve seen how a shift to the so-called biofuels has removed a great number of calories from the tables of the poorest around the world. At the same time, our own food is increasingly corn-derived, with terrible health consequences for us and for the environment. Cattle were not created to eat corn, but rather grass, and while hamburgers and steaks may be produced more rapidly on corn, it is at great cost to the health of the cows, those who eat them, and the âpasturesâ called feedlots which would better be called manure factories. The overdependence on corn in our food supply also means that excess harvests are rewarded, which only depresses prices in developing nations where that staple food is most needed. Good pastoral care of the pasture and the flock would insist that the pasture needs to be encouraged to return to a semblance of the diversity in which it was created. At least part of the system must return to grazing on grass, where the natural products of the herd return to fertilize the system rather than becoming point sources of pollution. Our lack of trust in the created order is reflected in our over-management and waste of resources, from tractoring the field several times in a season to feeding cattle on corn and antibiotics and then having to treat the waste they produce as hazardous material.
Do shepherds drive their flocks hundreds of miles to sample a seasonal delicacy for a day or two and then return to their origin? Or do they wait until the local delicacies are in season and then move the flock a few hundred yards? Long-distance migrations are the exception in nature, as they are immensely wasteful of calories. The source of our food, whether distant or local, is an intensely pastoral issue. The energy used to bring us grapes from Chile in February ultimately limits the diets of others. By insisting on a diet of long-distance food, we are slowly becoming cows of Bashan.
Lest you think this is a frivolous conversation, think about how much energy goes into the debates over whether or not churches should offer gluten-free wafers or alcohol-free wine at communion. We are deeply invested in the quality of our eucharistic food; part of the challenge is to extend that to our daily bread.
When communities (or flocks) begin to dig into these pastoral issues, they discover the connections between food and justice, environment and poverty, corn and starvation in sub-Saharan Africa. And another pastoral ministry ensues â learning how to do political work, which is an essential part of building the Reign of God. Politics is pastoralia, and if you donât believe me, consider the kind of society that Jesus and the prophets are continually dreaming up. It begins with that vision of the heavenly banquet, enough for all and enough to spare for a feast, no one eating the bread of anxiety, no one forced to eat on the run for fear of following armies. Jesus fed people for a reason, and he kept an open table for the same reason. Political pastoral ministry is about helping to build a society where that abundant table is open to all, and itâs going to take all the wisdom of serpents and the naiveté of hopeful doves. Effective pastoral ministry equips parishioners to share the political labor, in the ministry of developing just and peaceful communities. I hope your sermons in the next few weeks will encourage all your flock to share in that pastoral work and cast an informed ballot.
Letâs talk about another aspect of pasturing the flock â fences. Weâve already reflected on the benefits of moving the flock from one small section of grazing to another, and doing it frequently. Real shepherds use flimsy electric fences or dogs to keep the flock corralled. The church uses things like the lectionary, and Lenten series, and mission priorities, to keep the faithful focused on a particular part of the pasture for a short period of time. Itâs astonishing how much change people will put up with, and even thrive on, when it happens on a predictable schedule! Which may be a helpful reminder when some begin to chafe at being urged to move on. We soon get bored, and obsessive, when we stay too long in one place â we were not created for monotony. It soon sickens us even unto death. The church has never been eternally unchanging, even at its most byzantine. Some among us do still remember that early Christians called following Jesus the way, they didnât call it the stay.
In order to function effectively, the fences cannot be too high or too rigid. They have to give clear boundaries, but be capable of being moved so the sheep can feast on new pasture. Christianity has thrived in new contexts, particularly ones of oppression and want, where people are starving for food that sustains. But the fences around the re-emerging church in China are somewhat different than the ones around the church in Sweden. In both places they are nurturing the flock in similar ways. Jesus himself seems to acknowledge the reality that there are varied flocks in pastures that are now separated: âI have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.â The question is when; in the meantime, the pastoral task is to prevent the fences from becoming so petrified that they canât be moved, so high that new sheep canât enter, or so dangerous that they maim any sheep who try to go exploring. Jesusâ pastoral fences were pretty minimal â and he kept on moving: âthe son of man has nowhere to lay his head.â Fences can also function to keep out predators. The challenge is always to know which is a wolf in sheepâs clothing and which a sheep in wolfâs clothing. Jesus didnât seem to worry a whole lot about which was which, except to say that the ones that try to sneak in probably donât have the best interests of the flock at heart. Fences that are built of fear or fences that deny the ability to wander within limits are life-denying; they do not lead to abundant life. They only result in gnawing the grass down to nothing.
Caring for the flock includes what has traditionally been thought of as pastoral care âassisting the ewes to deliver healthy lambs, marking or branding the new members of the flock, nursing the sick, carrying the weak for a time, and driving off predators. There is also the ongoing need to ensure that some sheep donât bully others or keep them from grazing. Managing the herd dynamics has often been the most challenging part of the shepherding we do. Sheep may push each other around competing over a choice bit piece of grass; human beings tend to do it over where to put the coffee pots. The competition is less consuming when there is abundance, which is another reason to keep the flock moving.
Finally, letâs return to the shepherd. The shepherd must eat as well, not forgetting that s/he is also a sheep of the Good Shepherd of us all. The one who does forget soon sickens and may starve. Drink deep of the water that springs up to life. Eat your fill of the food that does satisfy. And remember to share the pastoral work â learn from your parishioners, encourage their creative forays, and keep going in and out by the gate. Our task is to cooperate with the abundance that God has given us, in ways that will lead to a feast for the whole created order. Then we may indeed hear, âwell done, thou good and faithful shepherd.â


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Host Your Birthday Party With Us!
Are you in search of the perfect place to host your child's next birthday party?
Look no further! We have plenty of space for you!
You can bring your own cake and food if you wish. Just let us know ahead of time, and we will reserve an extra table for you.
And feel free to bring your favorite decorations! (We LOVE when you do!)
We recommend to eat first....
Painting pottery is a perfect way to celebrate
your child's special day with their friends!
Come by or give us a call anytime to schedule your next party!
Oh, yes.
Its true. We are open till 8 PM on Thursday and Friday evenings.
Come join us on Thursday or Friday evening...
Sit back... relax... and create.
What do you guys think about us staying open later?
Are there any other days you would like to see us open in the evening?
Tell us what you think in the comments below!
NEW Christmas Items!
It's that time again.... the MOST WONDERFUL time of the year!!!
I don't know about you, but there is just something about this special time of year. Decadent meals to enjoy with your family, hot cocoa, beautiful cool weather, leaves changing (well, not so much here in Florida), and of course decorating the Christmas tree are just some of the wonderful things about the holidays.
And over here at Painting Pottery, we love to stock up on beautiful items for you to paint for the holidays!
Here are just some of our newest Christmas pieces ready for you to bring to life:
You can paint one, two, or a few to look just like cardinals,
and add them to your Christmas table!
The Snowman Bowl is perfectly sized for candy, nuts or dips.
This little snowman is adorable.... I mean... How cute is he?! This guy is sure to bring joy to those that love snowy weather, cold air, and winter days!
We definitely had to restock on these sweet guys!! Everyone LOVES this piece!
Four snowman stacked high into a figurine perfect for the holidays or the winter season!
So, of course, we just had to get these ornaments to match!! ;) You're welcome.
The Believe Word Plaque is great as a gift, a holiday decoration, or decor for a shelf or table throughout the year. This plaque stands up by itself because of its 1" flat bottom. The letters are wide which makes them easy to decorate with any design or pattern. The plaque has holes on the back enabling it to easily be hung on a wall.
Basically, it's awesome.
This Light-Up Wreath is a beautiful addition to our other light-up Christmas trees.
And yes, they come with their very own light kit!
This Christmas Tree Votive will add a bright light to your holiday! Simply add a votive or tea light candle to the base. The subtle openings allow for a light glow to come through.
This Animated Christmas Tree will add a little whimsy to the holiday season. Reminiscent of cartoon trees, it's fun, unique, and full of holiday cheer!
(Psst... we have those cute little guys, too ^^^)
And this beauty...
We are asked all the time if we have these trees. For so many, these trees bring back such a nostalgia. We've had people who still remembers their grandmother's ceramic tree she once painted and would have it displayed every Christmas.
We've heard so many cool stories with trees just like these. So, we are very happy to say... Yes, we have those trees!
Thanks for checking out our new blog! Come paint with us at the studio, and let's get your Holiday decor and Christmas presents ready to go!
Have You Visited Our New Location??
It's been about 3 months since we've moved into our new studio, and we are LOVING it!!
We're now located at:
1011 Carlton Arms Blvd
Bradenton, Fl 34208
Look at it.... Isn't it BEAUTIFUL?!?!
Let's take a peek inside! Follow me...
Look at all that pottery!!! Let's take a closer look..
And that's just some of the pottery!
Of course we have lots of colors and paintbrushes for you to use!
.... and smocks for you and the little ones!
*** All of our paints are non toxic and wash off with water ***
Thanks for stopping by!
We look forward to seeing you in person soon! :)


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Mixed Q2 for Ingram Micro
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
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Santa Ana-based Ingram Micro Inc. on Wednesday reported mixed financial results for the second quarter and indicated its longstanding operational troubles in Australia are improving.
The company posted sales of $10.3 billion, up 17% from a year ago and missing Wall Street expectations.
Analysts on average had forecast sales of $10.44 billion.
Sales were buoyed by last year's acquisitions of Indianapolis-based wholesale distributor BrightPoint Inc. and Aptec Holdings Ltd. in Dubai, which added (Brightpoint added 1.2B, Aptec $90M) to revenue. BrightPoint is one of the largest mobile device distributors in the world and accounted for most of that gain.
Adjusted profits hit $86 million, up 28.3% from a year earlier and beating estimates.
Wall Street has expected an adjusted profit of about $70 million.
Ingram Micro is the biggest distributor of computers, software and other technology products in the world.
Revenue in North America was up 5% to $4.03 billion.
Sales in Latin America region were up 4% to $459.8 million.
Asia Pacific posted second quarter sales of $2.13 billion, up 5% from a year earlier. That was partially offset by improvements in Australia, which grew sales for the second straight quarter and reduced operating losses to less than $3 million.
Australia posted an operating loss of more than $5 million in the first quarter and $9 million in the second quarter a year ago.
Ingram Micro has been on a multiyear campaign to regain profitability and customers in Australia following a major operational glitch more than two years ago. Problems with a new electronic logistics system there first surfaced in early 2011, causing Ingram to miss Wall Street profit targets in the first quarter of the year and hampering earnings since then.
Sales in Europe were down 1% at about $2.43 billion.


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With a small staff it is difficult to find a group plan that is both financially sound and provides quality benefits to our employees. Working with Michele and Jackie, we were able to choose a benefit package that fit both needs.
Bensol understands our needs and does all they can to ensure we
have the right benefit package at the right price.
You and your team are phenomenal. When we met earlier this morning, you inquired if I was happy with the service rare was receiving. As it has always been since our partnership, I have been nothing but impressed and amazed with the service that all of you provide at Bensol Consulting.


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Last year I went to the Nova Open and was very disappointed. I was expecting something like Adepticon and with my expectations so high I was dissappointed. I also was trying to play an new game. I now know that Infinity is not my style and this year I decided to play some 40K because it is what I know.
There were several different games going on from the Grand Tournament to the Trios Tournament to the Narrative. This doesn't even cover the Apoc games and 30K events. I chose to play in the Narrative. More on that in my next post.
Overall I had a good time. The players I met were nice and laid back. The tables were nice with some interesting terrain sets. It looked like the 30K tables had some really great terrain while the 40k ones focused on easily mass produced. There is nothing wrong with this since they had good amount of Line Of Sight blocking pieces which is my biggest complaint when I go to a lot of other tournaments. They also have a ton of tables. I would guess over a hundred total just for 40k.
|you cant' see through the center terrain pieces but ruled that they are easily moved through. nice buff for some mobile units Sucks for gun lines though..
|Fellow Blogger Greggles ork army. 2 knights!!!! but made up with 2 gorkanauts
|small but mighty
|Those Dominars smash face.
|I nice old school Necron list with a custom C'tan
|Puppet's War Knights. I think they were standing in as knights though they look more like riptides.
|Look a Heriodule! so cuuuuute.
The vendor hall was cool. The bit guy was pretty expensive. There were some MDF sellers there that were doing some great work. Unfortunately most of it were dice trays and army trays. Army trays are cool if you only have 10-20 models but when your troops alone fill the tray it is time to look for other alternatives.
|A cool resin castle piece. If only I needed castle pieces.
Finally there was the painting competition. There were some cool models here. If I did a better job of taking photos you would see what I mean.
|This is what I will do if I ever get an storm surge.
|A cool paint scheme for Skitarii.
|I want to make these into ork Dreads.
|A very cool diorama
So my final verdict on the Nova Open is rather positive. I had a good time playing in the narrative, I meet some cool people and talked a lot of shop. I am glad I went.
In the next post I will talk about my games in the narrative. Finishing with a few shots of my Necron force.
Have a good one.


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Rater assessment of global psychosocial functioning by levels of depressive symptom severity during follow-up of 371 patients with unipolar major depressive disorder, based on months entirely at 1 depressive symptom severity level. Ratings are based on a 5-point scale with 1=very good and 5=very poor. Means and SDs are derived from random (mixed) regression analysis, controlling for within-subject variation across multiple ratings. Each stepwise increment in depressive symptom severity is associated with a significant increase in functional impairment (P<.001, 2 tailed), determined by random-effects ordinal regression analysis, using the MIXOR software of Hedeker and Gibbons.30 Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for stepwise increments in depressive symptom severity are as follows: subthreshold vs asymptomatic OR=7.7 (95% CI=7.1-8.3); minor or intermittent depressive disorder vs subthreshold OR=13.3 (95% CI=12.2-14.6); and major depressive disorder vs minor or intermittent depressive disorder OR=23.3 (95% CI=20.7-26.2).
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Judd LL, Akiskal HS, Zeller PJ, et al. Psychosocial Disability During the Long-term Course of Unipolar Major Depressive Disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2000;57(4):375–380. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.57.4.375
© 2020
The goal of this study was to investigate psychosocial disability in relation to depressive symptom severity during the long-term course of unipolar major depressive disorder (MDD).
Monthly ratings of impairment in major life functions and social relationships were obtained during an average of 10 years' systematic follow-up of 371 patients with unipolar MDD in the National Institute of Mental Health Collaborative Depression Study. Random regression models were used to examine variations in psychosocial functioning associated with 3 levels of depressive symptom severity and the asymptomatic status.
A progressive gradient of psychosocial impairment was associated with a parallel gradient in the level of depressive symptom severity, which ranges from asymptomatic to subthreshold depressive symptoms to symptoms at the minor depression/dysthymia level to symptoms at the MDD level. Significant increases in disability occurred with each stepwise increment in depressive symptom severity.
During the long-term course, disability is pervasive and chronic but disappears when patients become asymptomatic. Depressive symptoms at levels of subthreshold depressive symptoms, minor depression/dysthymia, and MDD represent a continuum of depressive symptom severity in unipolar MDD, each level of which is associated with a significant stepwise increment in psychosocial disability.
RECENT STUDIES indicate that unipolar major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with significant psychosocial disability, often exceeding that noted in common medical illnesses.1-9 A definitive monograph in 1996 by the World Health Organization identified unipolar MDD as the fourth-ranked cause of disability-adjusted life-years and premature death worldwide.10
Part of the reason unipolar MDD is responsible for so much global disability is that it is a very common disorder, with nearly 1 in 5 people in the general population suffering a lifetime major depressive episode (MDE).11 In addition, the clinical course typically is very chronic in that MDEs relapse and recur very frequently12-18 and depressive symptoms are present approximately 60% of the time during long-term follow-up.19,20 Thus, a large number of individuals in the general population are likely to experience significant chronic disability from unipolar MDD.
Most of what is established about psychosocial disability in unipolar MDD has been derived from between-groups comparisons based on cross-sectional epidemiological or short-term treatment studies. We know of no investigation to date that has characterized disability in the same patients with unipolar MDD during the long-term course of their illness. The National Institute of Mental Health Collaborative Depression Study (CDS)21,22 provides a unique resource for investigating impairment over time, since patients were studied prospectively, longitudinally, and naturalistically for many years after entering the study during an MDE.
The design of the CDS allows psychosocial disability to be investigated in the same patient while at different levels of depressive symptom severity and provides the basis to test 3 important hypotheses about psychosocial impairment during the long-term course of unipolar MDD: (1) disability associated with unipolar MDD is pervasive, affecting most areas of everyday function; (2) disability associated with unipolar MDD varies directly as a function of depressive symptom severity; (3) disability associated with unipolar MDD is state dependent—when any level of depressive symptomatology is present disability is present, and when the same patients are asymptomatic, disability decreases and psychosocial function becomes good.
The analysis sample consisted of 371 patients with unipolar MDD who entered the CDS21,22 during an MDE at 1 of 5 tertiary care centers from 1978 to 1981 and were followed up longitudinally for more than 2 years. Patients were diagnosed using Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC)23 based on the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS)24 interviews. Only patients with no evidence of bipolar disorder (mania, hypomania, cyclothymic personality), schizoaffective disorder, or schizophrenia as of intake or at any time during follow-up were included in this investigation. Subjects were white, spoke English, had an IQ score of at least 70, and had no evidence of organic mental disorder or terminal medical illness. Informed consent was obtained. Intake demographic and clinical characteristics of the 371 patients with unipolar MDD are presented in Table 1.
Trained professional raters interviewed patients every 6 months for the first 5 years and yearly thereafter, using variations of the Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation (LIFE).25 Patient interviews were the primary information source of the LIFE, with chronological memory prompts used to obtain information on changes in weekly symptom severity for MDD and other psychiatric disorders. Level of depressive symptomatology was rated weekly using a 6-point Psychiatric Status Rating Scale (PSR-MDD) for MDEs and a 3-point scale (PSR-MinD) for episodes of minor depression or dysthymia, as described in detail elsewhere.19,25 The CDS raters undergo rigorous training, resulting in high interrater reliability for the weekly psychiatric status (intraclass correlation coefficients ≥0.90).25 Of the 5776 available LIFE forms, 2% were omitted because interviewers judged the information obtained to be of "poor" or "very poor" accuracy. Remaining follow-up data for the analysis sample of 371 CDS patients with unipolar MDD covered an average of 518.5 weeks or 10 years per subject (SD=156.2 weeks), with a median of 624.0 weeks or 12.0 years.
Weekly depressive symptom severity levels were derived by combining all depression-related Psychiatric Status Rating Scale scores as described in a previous publication.18 Each week was assigned to 1 of 4 mutually exclusive depressive symptom severity levels anchored to the diagnostic threshold for commonly observed levels of depression or the asymptomatic status. These constitute a continuum of severity: level 4 (most severe), at the threshold for MDD; level 3 (moderately severe), at the threshold for minor depressive or dysthymic disorders (MinD); level 2 (mildly severe), below the diagnostic threshold for MinD or MDD and thus representing subthreshold depressive symptoms; and level 1 (least severe), representing complete absence of depressive symptoms and return to the asymptomatic, usual self.
Using the LIFE forms,25 the patient's "worst level of psychosocial functioning per month," reflecting impairment due only to the patient's depressive symptomatology, was rated by trained interviewers in 9 specific functional domains. The key dependent measures examined in this article are global rating of overall psychosocial functioning and 2 individual domains of major life functions: work/employment and relationship with spouse/partner. These were selected because of their modest correlation with each other (0.34) and their strong correlation with the global functioning rating (0.69 and 0.52, respectively). These 2 measures represent everyday life functioning within the home (relationship with spouse/partner) and outside the home (work/employment) in domains of function that can be expected to be central to patients' overall well-being.
Ratings of psychosocial function were made on 1 of 2 ordinal Likert scales. Scoring on scale A ranges from 1 (no impairment, high-level function) to 6 (did not do this activity at all owing to depressive psychopathology). On scale B scores range from 1 (very good) to 5 (very poor). Psychosocial ratings during the first 2 years were based on entire 6-month evaluation periods; because it was seldom possible to associate these with one and only one depressive symptom level, these data were not analyzed. Monthly ratings of psychosocial impairment used for these analyses were obtained for each month during follow-up years 3 to 5 and the last month only of follow-up years 6 to 12.
For simplicity and accuracy in examining the relationship to depressive symptom severity levels, psychosocial ratings were included in the analyses only for those months when a patient was at 1 of the 3 depressive symptom levels or the asymptomatic status during all weeks of the month in question. Table 2 shows the distribution of subjects with each combination of symptom severity levels. These contribute varying numbers of subjects and person-months to the random regression statistics for the 3 psychosocial function measures, as indicated in Table 3 and Figure 1.
The SAS software26 was used to create monthly levels of severity and functioning and to describe the overall patient sample. Random (mixed) regression analysis was then used to model the relationship between each impairment rating (dependent variable) and the 4 levels of depressive symptom severity (independent variable) using the MIXREG software of Hedeker and Gibbons.27 Mean impairment ratings were obtained per depressive symptom level, adjusting for within-subject variation. Because multiple ratings of impairment for each subject are assumed to be correlated, an intraclass correlation coefficient was used in calculating SDs. The random regression models included a random intercept term to account for correlated observations within subjects over time, and dummy variables to represent levels of symptom severity.28,29
Because impairment ratings are not normally distributed, the significance of contrasts between levels (2 tailed) was tested by means of random-effects ordinal regression analyses using the MIXOR program,30 parameterized to test the significance of the contrast between subthreshold depression and each of the other symptom severity levels.
From more than 3000 relatives and controls interviewed within the CDS, 1817 were selected who had no current diagnosis of any RDC psychiatric or substance abuse disorder as of their 6-year follow-up, at which time they were evaluated for psychosocial functioning in the prior month. These ratings provide an opportunity to see whether patients with unipolar MDD return to "normal" levels of functioning when they are asymptomatic. The Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to compare the single-month impairment rating for each subject in the "currently well" (control) group with the patients with unipolar MDD when asymptomatic, using 1 randomly selected month for patients with multiple evaluations at the asymptomatic level, or the single asymptomatic rating for patients with only 1 month at that level.
An α level of .05 (2 tailed) was used to assess the significance of all statistical tests.
The measures of psychosocial functioning investigated in this study showed increasing impairment as patients' levels of depressive symptomatology increased during long-term follow-up (see means and SDs in Table 3 and Figure 1, derived from mixed regression analyses adjusting for within-subject variation across multiple ratings). Progressive increments in depressive symptom severity (asymptomatic to subthreshold, subthreshold to MinD, and MinD to MDD), were associated with significant parallel increases (P<.001 level) in psychosocial disability.
Average ratings for work/employment functions showed "no impairment, satisfactory to high performance" during months when patients with unipolar MDD were asymptomatic. When the same patients experienced subthreshold symptoms, mean employment impairment ratings rose 1 full-scale value to a point midway between "satisfactory" and "mild impairment." From the subthreshold to MinD level there was an 0.9 increment in work impairment (to a mean of 3.5), so that work ratings on average approached the "severe impairment" range (mean=4.7) when the subjects were experiencing MDD-level symptoms.
Relationships with spouse/partner were also significantly associated with changes in depressive symptom severity. Mean ratings were "good" when patients were asymptomatic, then worsened to somewhat less than "good" when patients had subthreshold symptoms, "fair" during months when they were at the MinD level, and between "fair" and "poor" during months when the same patients had MDD-level symptoms.
Global ratings of overall psychosocial functioning showed a linear pattern of 0.7 or 0.8 increases in impairment with each increment in depressive symptom severity (Figure 1). Average global functioning ratings were "good" when these patients were asymptomatic, were close to "fair" at the subthreshold level, approached "poor" at the MinD level, and were between "poor" and "very poor" at the MDD level.
Another way to express the relationship between depressive symptom severity level and psychosocial functioning is to examine the distribution of global overall functioning at the 4 different symptom levels. During the 4887 person-months when these patients were asymptomatic, the great majority of global ratings (79.3%) fell in the very good or good range; during 1699 person-months when the patients were at the subthreshold level, 85.0% of ratings were good or fair; during 2404 person-months at the MinD level, 86.0% were fair or poor; and during 964 person-months at the MDD level, 87.1% of global functioning ratings were poor or very poor.
Patients with unipolar MDD were slightly more impaired during months when they were asymptomatic than the control group with no current RDC diagnosis (Table 3). In the large samples used for this study, even mean differences of 0.1 or 0.2 points on the 5- or 6-point rating scales were significant at the P<.001 level. Monthly global functioning ratings for currently well controls fell more in the very good and good range (93.6%) than those from the patients with unipolar MDD during months when they were asymptomatic (79.3%). The mean global rating for nondepressed controls was 1.8 (SD=0.6) (good), compared with 2.0 (SD=0.8) (good) for patients with unipolar MDD when asymptomatic (Wilcoxon rank sum test, P<.001).
To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the degree of psychosocial disability in the same patients while they were experiencing 3 different levels of depressive symptom severity (subthreshold, MinD, and MDD) and the asymptomatic status during the long-term course of unipolar MDD. Using structured interview data, we have examined functional disability related to work/employment, relationship with spouse/partner, and global overall psychosocial function during an average of 10 years of systematic follow-up. The results confirmed the following hypotheses: (1) psychosocial disability associated with unipolar MDD is pervasive and chronic, affecting most areas of everyday function; (2) disability varies directly with the level of depressive symptom severity during the course of illness; and (3) disability is state dependent—when depressive symptoms are present, disability is present; when the same patients are asymptomatic, disability decreases significantly and psychosocial function is good or very good. We also confirmed findings we reported previously6,8,9 that even a few depressive symptoms (subthreshold), below the diagnostic threshold for MinD, dysthymia, or MDD, are associated with a small but significant increase in psychosocial disability compared with months when the same patients are asymptomatic.
Major domains of life functioning show differences in their overall association with levels of depressive symptom severity and in the depressive symptom severity level at which significant increases in impairment appear. For example, depressive symptoms at even the lowest level (subthreshold) seem to have an effect on work/employment function, whereas the subthreshold effect on relationship with spouse/partner, although significant, is much smaller.
While specific domains of function differ in their patterns of associations with depressive symptom severity, the global rating of overall psychosocial functioning shows a remarkable linear relationship to changes in depressive symptom level, strongly supporting one of our hypotheses. On average, each increment in depressive severity (asymptomatic to subthreshold, subthreshold to MinD, or MinD to MDD) is associated with large and nearly equal increments in overall impairment ratings.
Questions may be raised about the reliability and validity of data used for these analyses. The LIFE interviews have been shown to yield psychiatric symptom status and psychosocial functioning ratings with good interrater reliability.25,31 In the CDS it was not feasible to validate ratings against other sources of information such as from employers or family members. However, we believe that the structured interviews, the systematic long-term follow-up, and the sample size of the CDS provide a uniquely valuable resource for examining psychosocial functioning over time within the same patients with unipolar MDD.
To the degree that raters incorporate functional impairment into their rating of depressive symptom severity, one would expect a high correlation between functional ratings and symptom status. The correlations between global functioning and depressive symptom severity were found to be strong (0.72), suggesting considerable overlap between these 2 constructs. However, the other 2 specific areas of functioning (work/employment and relationship with spouse/partner) did show variation in the magnitude of correlation with each other, the global functioning rating, and level of depressive symptoms, which suggests these measures also contain a substantial amount of unique information.
Psychosocial function ratings of patients with unipolar MDD return to unimpaired or good levels during months when they are asymptomatic, but still show very subtle although significant levels of impairment compared with control subjects with no current RDC diagnosis. In this study we did not examine the ultimate level of functioning reached by patients with unipolar MDD during intermorbid periods, which may be better than the levels we identified. Mintz et al32 have described a "trajectory" of recovery of work functioning that parallels, but lags considerably behind, the curve of depressive symptom recovery.32 The course and ultimate level of recovery of psychosocial function in relation to levels of depressive symptomatology will be examined in greater detail in a subsequent article.
Our data are consistent with the findings of Coryell et al33,34 that very small degrees of residual interepisode impairment in certain areas may persist in patients between episodes. This may be the case particularly when unipolar MDD has reached a certain threshold of number and/or length of episodes over the lifetime course of illness. This will also be examined in a separate article.
Prior research has focused primarily on disability associated with MDEs. Our results converge with other recent evidence that symptoms at levels below the threshold for MDE also have clinical and psychosocial significance in the lives of patients with unipolar MDD.1-9 Results from this study support the conclusion that subthreshold depressive symptoms, symptoms at the MinD level, and those at the MDD level represent a continuum of depressive symptom severity in unipolar MDD, each step of which is associated with significant and substantial increments in psychosocial disability through the course of illness. These results suggest that as long as any level of depressive symptoms and disability are present the unipolar disease remains active and continued treatment is highly recommended.
Accepted for publication August 20, 1999.
The manuscript has been reviewed by the Publications Committee of the Collaborative Depression Study, National Institute of Mental Health, Rockville, Md, and has its endorsement. Funds for the conduct of this study were provided in part by Mental Health Clinical Research Center grant PHSMH30914 and 5 P30 MH49671-06 from the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Roehr Fund of the University of California–San Diego.
This study was conducted with the participation of the following investigators: M. B. Keller, MD (Chairperson, Providence, RI); W. Coryell, MD (Co-chairperson, Iowa City, Iowa); H. S. Akiskal, MD (San Diego); J. D. Maser, PhD (Washington, DC); P. W. Lavori, PhD, T. I. Mueller, MD, M. T. Shea, PhD (Providence); J. Fawcett, MD, W. A. Scheftner, MD (Chicago, Ill); W. Coryell, MD, J. Haley (Iowa City); J. Endicott, PhD, A. Leon, PhD, J. Loth, MSW (New York, NY); J. Rice, PhD, T. Reich, MD (St Louis, Mo). Other contributors include: N. C. Andreasen, MD, PhD; P. J. Clayton, MD; J. Croughan, MD; G. L. Klerman, MD (deceased); R. M. A. Hirschfeld, MD; M. M. Katz, PhD; E. Robins, MD; R. W. Shapiro, MD; R. L. Spitzer, MD; G. Winokur, MD (deceased); and M. A. Young, PhD.
Reprints: Lewis L. Judd, MD, Department of Psychiatry, University of California–San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA 92093-0603.
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In the 1980's I was a Flight Lieutenant air traffic controller at RAAF Base Williamtown, just north of Newcastle, New South Wales. The base was headquarters to Squadrons of Mirage fighters and played host to visits from a number of countries who also, from time to time, brought their fighter jets to engage our Top Guns and use our local air weapons range.
It was a very busy and noisy place.
We used to fly training missions basically Monday to Friday, with civilian movements most of the weekend.
For some time every Friday afternoon the switchboard would put a call through to the Control Tower and a person, who never identified themselves, would ask if we had "definitely finished flying" for the day. It was a little strange but we thought nothing of it.
Now I can tell you what was really going on…
Developers were carving up land downwind of the Air Weapons Range and they had HUGE signs on the Highway which they took down every Sunday afternoon and put up every Friday afternoon AFTER we'd finished making noise! Cheeky.
Swarms of Sydneysiders were drawn to the peace and quiet of the Saltash location and its proximity to the glorious beaches of Nelson Bay and surrounds: an ideal weekender or retirement location. Many Contracts were signed on those tranquil weekends.
Builders were engaged and they, of course, had to put up with the noise of jets screaming overhead Monday to Friday, but come the weekend, all you could hear were the birds. Successful purchasers would drive up from Sydney on weekends to inspect the progress of their dream houses and even picnic on their land in anticipation of joyous times ahead.
"Tower, Maple Black, taxi 4 for Saltash….." crackle pop went the radio as I cleared the 4 gleaming Mirage III fighters to taxi for a mission on the Weapons range. If you've never been near a fighter base when 4 of them make full afterburner take offs one behind the other you haven't lived! The noise is incredible and really hasn't lessened with the advent of F/A-18's and the like. When they rip over your house at more than 500 km/h (and that's slow!) and no more than 350 metres overhead, you KNOW they are there.
Exactly 3 minutes and 32 seconds after takeoff the Tower phone jangled to life. Like radio transmissions, all calls into and out of air traffic control facilities are recorded.
You guessed it! It was the very first resident of the newly developed area, who had moved in to his new home over the weekend and was enjoying, with newspaper and freshly brewed coffee in hand, a bit of a lie in.
Do I really need to spell it out people? No searches provide to this man revealed anything about the existence of the air weapons range. He didn't ask around…
As I've said in previous posts and will continue to bang on about; DO NOT RELY SOLELY ON "OFFICIAL" reports and disclosure. Do your homework!
The battle over the air weapons range and the old argument as to "who was here first" rages to this day…


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4/12, MoneyTV with Donald BaillargeonACCESSWIRE
By MoneyTV
HOLLYWOOD, CA / ACCESSWIRE / April 12, 2019 / Free wireless service, new hemp technology, water industry, hemp wine, acquisition mode, paycheck to paycheck; this week on MoneyTV with Donald Baillargeon.
MoneyTV is the internationally syndicated television program all about money and what makes it happen, (http://www.moneytv.net), featuring informative interviews with company CEOs and executives, providing insights into their operations and outlooks for their futures. MoneyTV is seen in over 200 million TV households in more than 75 countries.
Free information packages from the featured companies can be requested by sending an email to email@example.com.
The television program can also be viewed online immediately at www.moneytv.net.
Featured companies on this week's program include:
CineseInvestors.com, Inc. (OTCQB: CIIX) CEO Warren Wang discussed the company's hemp wine unveiled at the Vietnam Expo.
Singlepoint, Inc. (OTCQB: SING) CEO Greg Lambrecht reacted to the recent filing of their 10k.
OriginClear, Inc. (OTC PINK: OCLN) CEO Riggs Eckelberry said they have begun working with many more manufacturing reps.
DigiPath, Inc. (OTCQB: DIGP) CSO Cindy Orser, Ph.D., announced a new patent for a hemp technology.
Surge Holdings, Inc. (SURG) CEO Brian Cox announced a new free wireless service for low-income communities.
A complete menu of TV listings is available at the MoneyTV web site, http://www.moneytv.net.
MoneyTV Executive Producer and Anchor Donald Baillargeon is also the host of MoneyRap Radio, http://www.moneyrap.com and the television program Crowdfund Television, http://www.crowdfundtelevision.com.
MoneyTV with Donald Baillargeon television program, Copyright MMXIX, all rights reserved. MoneyTV does not provide an analysis of companies' financial positions and is not soliciting to purchase or sell securities of the companies, nor are we offering a recommendation of featured companies or their stocks. Information discussed herein has been provided by the companies and should be verified independently with the companies and a securities analyst. MoneyTV provides companies a 3 to 4 month corporate profile with multiple appearances for a cash fee of $11,995.00 to $17,250.00, does not accept company stock as payment for services, does not hold any positions, options or warrants in featured companies. The information herein is not an endorsement by Donald Baillargeon, the producer, publisher or parent company of MoneyTV.
Donald Baillargeon
949 388 5267
SOURCE: MoneyTV, CineseInvestors.com, Inc., Singlepoint, Inc., OriginClear, Inc., DigiPath, Inc.
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Posted: April 12th, 2019 under ACCESSWIRE.


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Jay Goodman
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cigarette smoking bronchitis - Bronchitis Remedy - Eucalyptus
Bronchitis Remedy - Eucalyptus
In this article on the
remedy eucalyptus, you will discover: What is eucalyptus? Why is eucalyptus a good
remedy? How to use eucalyptus as a
The antispasmodic property of eucalyptus oil helps to dilate the small airways, known as the bronchioles, of the lungs. How To Use Eucalyptus As A
Contraindications: Panax, meaning panacea, is NOT universally applicable in every illness like its name implies. Yang Ginsengs should not be taken during acute inflammatory disease or for
. Use the yin American Ginseng for
. The yang Ginsengs are used in combination with other herbs to temper their powerful nature.
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Proper medication is important in curing an illness, but it is also essential to use a reliable source of these medications, like your trusted physician. Antibiotics are medications that slow or stop the growth of bacteria. Prescriptions of antibiotics depends on what kind of infections causes your illness, like in the case of
there are specific antibiotics for this condition depending on the severity and status of the illness.
Healthy Skin Purified water will prevent many skin diseases and skin problems. Exposure to chlorine has been linked to health problems such as skin irritation, bronchitis, asthma, and even cancer. Chlorine has been proven as one of the major causes of early aging skin and hair. Removing the chlorine in shower water will result in younger, softer skin and healthy looking softer hair.
It is the anti-inflammatory, expectorant and antispasmodic properties of eucalyptus, which makes it a good
remedy. Stewart Hare C.H.Ed Dip NutTh
Ginseng in general provides energy to all body systems, is a stimulant for brain and memory centers, helps lower cholesterol and regulates sugar use in the body. Ginseng also promotes regeneration from stress and fatigue. All Ginsengs contain measurable amounts of germanium, a trace mineral also in mushrooms.
Panax is rich in phyto-hormones for both men and women's problems. For men it helps in the formation of testosterone and for women it protects against breast cancer, hence the term adaptogenic (it will adapt to the needs of the body no matter what is needed and no matter what sex.) For this reason, Panax also fits into the aphrodisiac category. Panax Ginseng is used for enhancing the immune system, impotence and premature ejaculation, poor sleep and nervous exhaustion. It is especially useful for older bodies with debilitating conditions.
You can inhale eucalyptus vapours, to help loosen phlegm within your chest. The following are the different types of doses of eucalyptus treatments which you can take as a bronchitis remedy:
Wild Ginseng, from Manchuria, is considered the best, but is extremely expensive. For centuries in the East, top-grade Ginseng roots have been valued more than gold.
Eucalyptus oil comes from the eucalyptus tree, which is native to Australia. Eucalyptus has been used for thousands of years for its medicinal properties.
Panax Ginseng, (Also known as Asian Ginseng, Korean Ginseng, Chinese Ginseng, Ren Shen, Xi Yang Shen, or Say Yang Sum), grown in Korea is the broadest spectrum of all adaptogenic herbs. It is also considered one of the most prized and expensive herbs. Panax ginseng stimulates both long and short-term energy, so is know as a yang tonic replenishing Qi (energy.)
Greater vitality You'll have more energy because your body doesn't have to work as hard to filter out chemicals and unwanted substances that may cause stress to the lungs, liver and kidneys. Your immune system will remain healthy. Water filters also reduce the soap scum that builds up on sinks, bathtubs, and dishes so you won't have to spend time scrubbing them clean.
If you're concerned about the well being of your family invest in a water filter for your house. You'll be glad you did. Aquasana Water Filters produce healthy, great tasting water for better health, weight loss, detoxification and wellness.
Benefits of Water Filters Peace of mind By filtering your tap water you have the peace of mind that you are eliminating cancer causing chemicals and organic compounds while leaving you with healthy minerals like magnesium. Aside from producing healthier water, water filters also produce better tasting water for drinking and cooking thus providing a healthy environment for your whole family.
N. Anderton is the owner and editor of http://www.aquasanapremiumwaterfilters.com a web site specializing in Aquasana drinking water filters, replacement filters and filter accessories.
There are different ways in which you can use eucalyptus as a
remedy. You can take eucalyptus leaf medicinal tea to reduce your
symptoms and sore throat.
Ginseng is grown in many parts of the world. The roots are the part of the plant used for all Ginseng products. Each variety has its own health benefits. Ginseng benefits are cumulative. Taking the herb for several months to a year is far more effective than short-term doses. Ginsengs are used in many Eastern formulas to complement other herbs.
In extract form: 500mg twice a day As an infusion: 2 to 3g in 150ml of water, twice a day Is a tincture: 10-15ml, twice a day So, to sum up...
I use Siberian Ginseng in my 'Old Dog Formula' to increase the circulation to the butt muscles and lower spine. I once had a client who came in regularly for Old Dog Formula for their two very aged shelties. I noticed that they came in a bit more regularly than they should for the dosage I had recommended. When I asked them about it, they confessed that they were also using the product with fabulous results. I like it too and use it occasionally for gardening season.
Antibacterial Anti-inflammatory Expectorant (helps to loosen phlegm) Antispasmodic Why Is Eucalyptus A Good
Remedy? It is the anti-inflammatory, expectorant and antispasmodic properties of eucalyptus, which makes it a good
Panax notoginseng (Also known as Pseudoginseng or San Qi) is grown in China and is used as an analgesic and to stop internal and external bleeding. It is also added to treatments for coronary heart disease and angina. Quite interestingly, San Qi was used extensively by the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War to increase recovery rates from gunshot wounds. Avoid this one during pregnancy. It could harm the fetus.
It is the oil from the leaves of the eucalyptus tree which are used for medicinal purposes. The medicinal properties of the eucalyptus oil are: Anti-septic
Doctors often prescribe antibiotics because they feel pressured by people's expectations to receive them. This expectation has been fueled by both misinformation in the media and marketing by drug companies. There are some antibiotics which are known for treating both acute and chronic bronchitis but also prescribed for other medical illness. Ampicillin is used for the treatment of infections that result from acute
. Trimethoprim is an antibiotic used for infections in the respiratory tract. Azithromycin and Amoxicilluin are considered effective treatment for bacterial infections causing bronchitis. Telithromycin is a drug used for mild to moderate infections in the respiratory system.
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Ginseng is known as an adaptogenic herb. An adaptogen is an herb that regulates and helps the body handle stress and maintain vitality. Adaptogens are used for long term revitalization and not for immediate energy like central nervous system stimulants such as caffeine.
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American Ginseng (Also called Panax quinquefolius, Xi Yan Shen) is a yin tonic. Yin tonics are cooling and slowing in nature. American Ginseng is used in China for fevers and for exhaustion due to chronic wasting diseases. It is also used for coughs related to lung weaknesses (such as tuberculosis, bronchial infections or asthma.)
What Is Eucalyptus? The eucalyptus tree is native to Australia, it is also known as the fever tree. It has been used for thousands of years by the aborigines in Australia for its medicinal properties.
Some experts advise not to take antibiotics for acute
especially when you do not have other medical problems. It will not only save you from potential side-effects but also from unnecessary expenses.
Improve Air Quality Chlorine vapors can lead to severe respiratory problems like asthma and chronic
. Whole house water filters will dramatically improve indoor air quality inside your house by preventing the release of chlorine vapors.
Ginseng comes in two varieties, red and white. Red Ginseng is cured by steaming which gives it its color and yang attributes. So, next time you go to the health food store, don't just ask for Ginseng, be specific.
Discover more about bronchitis antibiotics and especially about bronchitis treatment. You will find excellent information to assist you in understanding
at http://
is an inflammation of the bronchial tubes, the part of the respiratory system that leads into the lungs. Basically there are two types of
, acute and chronic
. Acute bronchitis is a short term illness that becomes more common during cold weather. It is usually followed by viral infection and can be associated with bacterial infections. Acute bronchitis usually clears itself within 2 weeks, but the cough may continue. And in some cases of acute bronchitis it can develop into pneumonia.
When taking antibiotics you should also be aware of the adverse effects they may bring to your body. Precautionary measures are also important when taking antibiotics for
and these include, consulting your doctor of the severity of
before beginning antibiotics and taking the antibiotics as prescribed, do not stop or miss doses. Consulting your Obstetrician or gynecologist is also important if you are pregnant.
Antibiotics for
are prescribed by doctors, but in many cases the condition does not benefit from antibiotics. Antibiotics will not cure a viral illness because acute
is usually caused by viruses most doctors do not prescribe antibiotics. Their effectiveness with acute
is so small compared to the side-effects that these antibiotics may bring. Most common side effects are diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, sore mouth, skin rashes, headache, sunburn easily and vaginal yeast infection. Experts in in the field of infectious disease have been warning for years that overuse of antibiotics is allowing many bacteria to become resistant to the antibiotics available.
The increase and improper used of antibiotics may also lead to antibiotic resistance in which the bacteria may mutate in ways so they will be able to survive in spite of medications; that means the antibiotics may not work on the next time that it is used. And since most antibiotics are expensive, costs may not be worth the benefits. Acute bronchitis usually clears up on its own in two to three weeks just by drinking lots of fluids and getting enough rest.
The anti-inflammatory property of the eucalyptus oil helps to reduce inflammation within your respiratory system. The expectorant property of eucalyptus oil helps to loosen phlegm within your respiratory system.
Siberian Ginseng (also called Eleuthero or Eleutherococcus senticosus) comes from China. It is known for its long-term energy effects on the adrenal glands and circulation. In this day and age, most of our American population is overtaxing their adrenal glands with excess stress. There are just too many tasks enticing us to utilize our available time. We are spending less and less time with our families and doing what nourishes us (our Life Purpose or God Path.) Siberian Ginseng is a yang tonic herb, so it stimulates fast, hot, male energy type of function. Siberian Ginseng has been used for rheumatic complaints, low vitality, and weak liver and kidney energy for about 2000 years. It is considered less heating (less yang) than the Panax varieties (therefore safer.)
Do you know that your drinking water may contain poisons, feces, and toxic metals? If these contaminants are not removed from tap water in your house they will adversely affect your health. Our body is mostly composed of water so it's essential to drink clean water. It's recommended to drink approximately 8 glasses of water to maintain good health.
Dr. Denice Moffat is a practicing naturopath, medical intuitive, and veterinarian working on the family unit (which includes humans and animals) through her phone consultation practice established in 1995. She has a content-rich website at http://www.NaturalHealthTechniques.com and free internationally distributed monthly newsletter.
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Bronchitis is one of the most common respiratory infections that could be contracted by both children and adults. This disease affects the respiratory tract and is characterized by coughing spells that are accompanied with greenish or yellowish-gray mucus. Other symptoms that could be seen for bronchitis are just like those that can be seen in upper respiratory tract infections like...
Preventing and Relieving Bronchitis
Bronchitis is a disease that can be tenacious as a stubborn dog. It is caused by a severe inflammation or the blocking of the air tubes in the lungs. Bronchitis generally occurs in two forms: acute or chronic. Acute bronchitis is the lesser condition of the two but it can still last for several weeks and may result in pneumonia if it is not taken care of right away. Chronic bronchitis, on the...
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Nowadays, the cost of being sick is very expensive between the cost of seeing the doctor, getting the necessary x-rays or treatment and the cost of medicine if needed. Not only is it costly but very annoying. If by chance you have a disease that requires on going treatment, it can rack up into the $1,000s. For those with no insurance and a bad illness, it s never a good scenario. Governments...
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text: One ill-timed power outage can ruin a week's worth of testing in a single stroke. In addition to disabling the device under test, power outages can also take down vital test equipment such as data recorders, load injectors, traffic generators, test bed servers and other equipment associated with the test procedure, often resulting in invalid data and causing the entire test procedure to be started all over again. Fortunately, a power redundancy solution, such as WTI's PTS-14CM20-V Series Vertical Format Power Transfer Switch can immediately switch to a back-up power source, preventing the test procedure from being interrupted.


text:
Series: Chase Brothers #2
Entangled Publishing - Lovestruck
Publication Date: January 18, 2016
Date Read: January 14, 2016
Kelsie Reed is over bad luck and bad men. Newly dumped, she's now the pathetically single maid of honor in her sister's wedding—and her ex is the best man. Her bad luck continues when a plumbing meltdown in her apartment sends her sexy neighbor running to her rescue. He's got "serial dater" written all over him, which is unfortunate because the man is hot.
Sawyer Chase loves women, but settling down? He'll leave that to his brothers. But when Kelsie confesses she's a dating disaster and is about to become the laughing stock of her family wedding, Sawyer takes control. He's got one week to teach her how to land the man of her dreams, and he'll do it on her terms: no touching, no kissing, and definitely nothing more.
But some rules need to be broken, especially when, for once, there's something on the line worth fighting for…
This book was a whole lot of fun! Most of the romances that I have been picking up lately have been okay but none of them really felt like fun. I wanted fun and that is what I got with this little story. This book was sexy, sweet, and funny enough to keep me glued to the pages. It wasn't terribly original but who needs original when you are having so much fun!
This book is the second book in the Chase Brothers series but reads perfectly well as a stand alone. I haven't read anything by Sarah Ballance before reading this book and I didn't feel like I was missing any part of the story. I liked that this book was more of a romantic comedy than I usually encounter. Parts of this book were quite funny and others made me grin.
The main characters in this book were really easy to like. Kelsie is having some terrible luck with men lately not to mention her plumbing. When her neighbor comes to her rescue, she doesn't spend a moment thinking about him romantically since she knows that he is way out of her league. They strike a deal that Chase will help her by showing her a few pointers over the course of seven dates.
Chase has no plans to settle down. His apartment has a revolving door and he likes things the way they are. He is thrown off balance by his neighbor in just about every way. She is nothing like the women he usually goes out with but there is a connection nonetheless. As each lesson is taught and every date completed, the pair learn a little more about themselves and each other.
I liked Kelsie and Chase as a couple. The banter between the pair was really well done and added a whole lot to the story. They had a playfulness between them that was really refreshing to see. I liked the way that their feeling for each other slowly developed over the story. There was a lot of chemistry between the pair from the very beginning of the book and I thought that the sexy bits of the book were well done.
I would highly recommend this book to fans of contemporary romance. This is the first book by Sarah Ballance that I have had a chance to read but I think I may need to read about some of Chase's brothers that I met in this book. I just hope that their story is as well done as this one.
I received an advance reader edition of this book from Entangled Publishing - Lovestruck via NetGalley for the purpose of providing an honest review.
About the Author
Sarah Ballance and her husband of what he calls "many long, long years" live on the mid-Atlantic coast with their six young children, all of whom are perfectly adorable when they're asleep. She never dreamed of becoming an author, but as a homeschooling mom, she often jokes she writes fiction because if she wants anyone to listen to her, she has to make them up. (As it turns out, her characters aren't much better than the kids). When not buried under piles of laundry, she may be found adrift in the Atlantic (preferably on a boat) or seeking that ever-elusive perfect writing spot where not even the kids can find her.
She loves creating unforgettable stories while putting her characters through an unkind amount of torture—a hobby that has nothing to do with living with six children. (Really.) Though she adores nail-biting mystery and edge-of-your-seat thrillers, Sarah writes in many genres including contemporary and ghostly paranormal romance. Her ever-growing roster of releases may be found on her website.


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Surprising discovery of molecular oxygen on comet 67P
The biggest surprise so far in the chemical analysis of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko's atmosphere is the high proportion of oxygen molecules. While such molecules are common in the Earth's atmosphere, their presence on comets had originally been ruled out.
This single frame Rosetta navigation camera image of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was taken on 7 July 2015 from a distance of 154 kilometres (96 miles) from the comet's centre. The image has a resolution of 13.1 metres/pixel and measures 13.4 kilometres across.
Early on in the mission of the ROSINA mass spectrometer, in September of last year, researchers from the Center for Space and Habitability (CSH) at the University of Bern made an unexpected discovery when analysing the comet's gases: Between the expected peak values of sulfur and methanol, clear traces of oxygen (O2) molecules were detected. It turned out that O2 is in fact the fourth most common gas in the comet's atmosphere, after water (H2O), carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2). As oxygen is highly reactive chemically, it was previously thought that in the early solar system it must have combined with the abundant hydrogen then present to form water. Nevertheless, oxygen molecules were present on the comet. "We had never thought that oxygen could 'survive' for billions of years without combining with other substances," says Prof. Kathrin Altwegg, project leader of the ROSINA mass spectrometer and co-author of the study. The findings are published today in the scientific journal Nature.
Invisible from Earth
Molecular oxygen is very difficult to detect with spectroscopic measurements from telescopes, which explains why this molecule had not already been observed on other comets. An in situ measurement by the ROSINA mass spectrometer was needed to make this discovery. "It was also astonishing that the ratio of water to oxygen didn't change in different locations on the comet or over time — so there is a stable correlation between water and oxygen," says co-author Altwegg.
Ancient Substance
In contrast to comets, it is known that oxygen molecules occur on the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. That is explained by their being struck by high-energy particles from their respective mother planets, which does not exist in the case of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The comet has been bombarded for 4.6 billion years, though, by high-energy cosmic radiation particles. These particles can split water, resulting in the formation of oxygen, hydrogen and ozone, among other substances. These particles only penetrate a few metres into the surface, however. In each of its revolutions around the Sun, though, the comet loses between one and ten metres from its circumference. Since its last meeting with Jupiter in 1959, which set the comet on its current orbit, it has consequently lost more than 100 metres of its material.
High-resolution measurements allowed molecular oxygen (O2) to be distinguished from other species like sulphur (S) and methanol (CH3OH). The detection of the coma gases is stronger closer to the comet nucleus, as expected. The contribution to the detection from contamination from the spacecraft thruster firings during manoeuvres is very low. Data from A. Bieler et al. (2015).
The most likely explanation, according to the researchers, is that the oxygen originated very early, before the formation of the solar system. Specifically, high-energy particles struck grains of ice in the cold and dense birthplaces of stars, the so-called dark nebulae, and split water into oxygen and hydrogen. The oxygen was then not further "processed" in the early solar system. The oxygen measurements show that at least a significant part of the comet's material is older than our solar system and has a composition typical of dark nebulae, from which solar nebulae and later planetary systems originate. "This evidence of oxygen as an ancient substance will likely discredit some theoretical models of the formation of the solar system," says Altwegg.