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Written by Ashley Ramnarain on December 30, 2013 [Shalom Life]
On Monday, Jewish erotica website Jewrotica.org proves that Rabbis can be sexy too, adding Susan Silverman to their Sexiest Rabbis 2013 list.
This list aims to "highlight rabbis who are engaged in awesome and inspirational work", according to Jewrotica's press release. Nominees were graded on three categories "The Smarts", "Getting Some Action" and "Badass Factor" and, apparently, Susan Silverman – sister of comedian Sarah Silverman – fulfilled them all. She earned her spot on the Sexiest Rabbis 2013 for her legendary involvement with the Women of the Wall.
In addition to her work with Women of the Wall, Susan Silverman is a mother of five children (two of whom are adopted) and also a published author, with her most recent work "Casting Lots: A Memoir of Family, Adoption, and God" focusing on her personal experience with adoption. Silverman's next big adventure is to advocate adoption in Jeruselum.
"Everybody who fights for religious freedom is, as my Nana would say, a hot ticket," Silverman said to the The Jerusalem Post. "And those that make care for orphans a rabbinic call-to-arms are serious about Torah. I am happy to be called a Torah-loving-hot-ticket."
The Jewrotica list aims to challenge the conventional idea of what a Rabbi is, focusing on, "rabbis who serve to define the very best of what a rabbi can, and should, be."
"It's become in vogue of late for different publications to present rabbi lists," Jewrotica selection committee member David Abitbol explained to the Post. "These lists purport to be at least somewhat authoritative and yet it seems that a lot of rabbis doing truly awesome and inspiring work get left out of these lists. Even the idea of a definitive list of top anything Rabbis is a bit of a joke if not outright offensive."


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Successful Change Agents
Three Qualities of Highly Successful Change AgentsThree Qualities of Highly Successful Change Agents was written by Alastair Rylatt for the July 2013 issue of T&D magazine. This short article was a result of Dr. Rylattâs research study highlighting the capabilities that enable professionals to be effective change agents in their organization. The article begins with Dr. Rylatt asking the question, âwhy do some leaders and managers succeed against the odds to facilitate and influence change?â
Well, with that opening question I was hooked and so I kept reading the article. The questions that Dr. Rylatt raised in the article made me reflect back on past situations and the positions Iâve held in different organizations. For several days I kept thinking back to what I thought were some of my perceived better successes and some situations that were, well ⦠not so successful.
In his article Dr. Ryatt listed just three categories that effect change:
1. Resolving difficult challenges
2. Communicating compelling reasons for change
3. Ensuring accountability over time
The categories were not unusual. The categories Dr. Ryatt supported with two - three questions for each category. The questions were penetrating. Under resolving difficult challenges one of the questions related to acceptance of responsibility and how you deal with it. One of Dr. Rylattâs questions was about reaction when confronting resistance and a reflection on communication style. As for accountability, Dr. Ryatt challenges the readerâs relationship with senior management. The questions are pointed and thought provoking.
It may only have been a sampling of his research but using those three categories and nine short questions I was able to match in each of my situations, why I might have been successful and why the situation did not work out the way I had planned. Now I am looking closer at some of my current situations and rethinking my approach to several of them.
Iâve read hundreds of similar articles but this one was refreshing and thought provoking. After reading Dr. Rylattâs article you may just want to rethink your approach to becoming a more effective agent of change in your organization.

subset: commoncrawl


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|Sighting Report
|Occurred : 1/11/2009 20:30 (Entered as : 01/11/09 20:30)
Reported: 1/22/2009 10:56:35 AM 10:56
Posted: 3/19/2009
Location: Kelowna (Canada), BC
Shape: Light
Duration:3 minutes
|Bright light slowly descending near Bear Creek - Kelowna, BC, Canada.
On January 11th, 2009, I was at home and watched a bright light (no discernible object) slowly descend behind the mountain near Bear Creek Provincial Park, near Okanagan Lake.
I watched the light for approximately three minutes. The location was to the SW of my home and I took three, 30 second exposures with my camera.
At the time it looked like a flare as it was very brigh and did not diminish in size. From my perspective it appeared to be moving downward on a slight angle.
I did send the photo's to a local news agency for follow up but never received a reply.
You can view the photo's here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/instamarv/3190549840/


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By Matt O'Bryant
Earlier today Universal Pictures released the new NSFW red band trailer for Seth Rogen's Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising. Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, and Rose Byrne return to defend their neighborhood against another batch of crazy college kids, this time around however, its not a Frat wrecking shop this time, its an insane group of sorority girls. Check out the insane trailer below and sound off in the comments with your thoughts.
Here's the extremely long official synopsis:
"Now that Mac (Rogen) and Kelly Radner (Byrne) have a second baby on the way, they are ready to make the final move into adulthood: the suburbs. But just as they thought they'd reclaimed the neighborhood and were safe to sell, they learn that the new occupants next door are a sorority even more out of control than Teddy (Efron) and his brothers ever dreamed of being.
Tired of their school's sexist, restrictive system, the unorthodox ladies of Kappa Nu have decided to start a house where they can do whatever the hell they want. When Shelby (Moretz) and her sisters, Beth (Kiersey Clemons) and Nora (Beanie Feldstein), find the perfect place just off campus, they won't let the fact that it's located on a quiet street stand in their way of parties as epic as the guys throw.
Forced to turn to the one ex-neighbor with the skills to bring down the new Greeks next door, the Radners—alongside best friends Jimmy (Ike Barinholtz) and Paula (Carla Gallo)—bring in charismatic Teddy as their secret weapon. If he can infiltrate the sorority and charm his way through it, the thirtysomethings will shutter the Kappas' home. But if they think that their neighbors are going down without a fight, they have severely underestimated the power of youthful ingenuity and straight-up crazy."
Neighbors 2 hits theaters on May 20th.


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NI April fools Jokes of the past.
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Concatenate 2D array horizontally
gb119 replied to James N's topic in LabVIEW Feature SuggestionsBut surely all of these are slower and more memory wasteful than transposing which simply twiddles the order and offsets of the pointers that are used to index the block of memory in which the array resides?
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Initializing a variable once on the RT side of a RIO
infinitenothing replied to rscott9399's topic in LabVIEW GeneralIf you don't want to use a feedback node, another option is using a local variable (see example below) It sounds like you're trying to process losslessly. If that's the case, you usually need some sort of buffer. In this example, I use the event queue as my buffer.
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LAVA BBQ 2019 - Official Information
Jeffrey Habets replied to JeremyMarquis's topic in NIWeekVITech will bring along this uniquely boxed Raspberry Pi. 😊 Completely ready to run LabVIEW programs out of the box.
[CR] Variant Probe
ShaunR replied to Ton Plomp's topic in Code Repository (Certified)Nope. You may want to extend that courtesy but it isn't required for BSD.
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Ok, great. I guess we would need Ton's permission if we wanted to set up an online repo - GitHub for instance - for this package, right?
hooovahh started following Problem with a .dll for HID device
Problem with a .dll for HID device
hooovahh replied to Joshwa's topic in Calling External CodeI'm not a HID device expert (Rolfk maybe?), but there seems to be several DLL wrappers to talk to HID devices, but the best solution is to use NI-VISA and talk to it over USB Raw. For this you'll need to make your own INF driver using the NI-VISA Driver Wizard (should be installed with NI-VISA). Then install that driver for your device instead of the one from Microsoft (Device Manager). For this in Windows 8 and newer you'll need to disable driver verification. Then the device shows up in MAX, and the Help >> Find Examples and searching VISA Raw will show some examples. http://www.ni.com/tutorial/4478/en/ https://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW/Nugget-1-of-n-GEtting-started-with-USB-communication-via-VISA/td-p/743518 https://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW/Nugget-2-of-n-USB-Control-transfers-using-VISA/td-p/757011 If you can't or won't use VISA then there are lots of other DLL wrappers but I haven't found one that works as well as VISA with custom driver. http://ahidlib.com/pages/programming_labview.php?lang=en (license needed for full?) https://forums.ni.com/t5/Example-Programs/Windows-API-HID-Functions-Enumeration/ta-p/3513868 https://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW/Confusion-between-HID-and-VISA-communication/m-p/1741390#M610130 https://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW/Need-Example-Code-to-Interface-with-a-USB-HID-compliant-Device/m-p/2763516#M814451 https://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW/How-to-configure-the-call-library-function-using-a-dll-for-HID/m-p/2757194#M813218 https://www-user.tu-chemnitz.de/~heha/mb-iwp/Durchflussmesser/
It is open source. It is licensed under BSD, which in layman's terms means you can use it for personal or commercial use, and various attributes must remain in the source, and you can't sue the author (I am not a lawyer). I think the installed location is <user.lib>\_LAVA\VariantProbe
Initializing a variable once on the RT side of a RIO
rscott9399 replied to rscott9399's topic in LabVIEW GeneralMy only other issue is, I am triggering my Latch reset with a falling edge trigger. The clock that is running the latch is only running at the speed of a while loop. It is causing me to miss the falling edge sometimes. Do you have any suggestions Thanks Setting the Feedback node like this to false did not work I need to find a way to guarantee it
Concatenate 2D array horizontally
GentlemanS replied to James N's topic in LabVIEW Feature SuggestionsWith A slight modification you can get the intended result: horizontal concenate.vi
Initializing a variable once on the RT side of a RIO
rscott9399 replied to rscott9399's topic in LabVIEW GeneralHi there, Thanks So when i wrote the VI i notices it automatically populated a feedback node If i tried to delete it , i could not compile. So the feedback node is my answer but need to understand how to use it. I know my Q output to initialize to false and my Q not to be high I will read the link you sent me. Thank you
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Initializing a variable once on the RT side of a RIO
infinitenothing replied to rscott9399's topic in LabVIEW GeneralInitialization behavior is well defined in the settings of the feedback node. https://zone.ni.com/reference/en-XX/help/371361L-01/lvconcepts/block_diagram_feedback/ I'm not sure what you mean by force. Are you trying to make it into a d latch?
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Initializing a variable once on the RT side of a RIO
rscott9399 posted a topic in LabVIEW GeneralHaving trouble initializing a flip flop VI i wrote It starts up in whatever state it wants. How can i force a particular state? Its just an SR latch Thanks in advance
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Would you consider making this open source?
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Jeffrey Habets replied to The Q's topic in NIWeekGreat to see the LabVIEW wiki alive and kicking again! Hope to have a bit of time to contribute sometime after NIWeek...
Problem with a .dll for HID device
Joshwa posted a topic in Calling External CodeHello, I am a .dll that act as interface with my HID device and Windows API. I am a problem to open a connection with my device using the CLFN. But if i run the example, that is made with VC++, that is provided from the Author of the .dll, the function return me the error code: "Device not Found" The function and prototype in the DLL is: FT260_STATUS FT260_OpenByVidPid(WORD vid, WORD pid, DWORD deviceIndex, FT260_HANDLE* pFt260Handle) FT260_STATUS is an enum that i defined it as uint8 enum in labview This is how I configured the CLFN: uint8_t FT260_OpenByVidPid@16(uint16_t Vid, uint16_t Pid, uint32_t DeviceIndex, uint32_t* SessionID) Convenction call is: stdcall (WINAPI) Can someone help me to understand what is the problem? Thank you very much
That's enough for my need, thank you very much for being so quick to make the fix!
Here is a quick and dirty edit. It allows for column separators to be moved, but I noticed that on resize it will set the column widths. So this means if you manually move the columns, and then resize the control it may change the columns in an unexpected way. But at that point you can manually move the separators again. I only have 2017 and 2018 so this is for 2017 and newer now. Variant_Probe-2.4.3-0.ogp


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It's important to me that I get a stoppage, nothing says you are the true winner better than winning by KO.
Belcamp, Maryland (PRWEB) June 30, 2014
Almost two years ago Ron "ChoirBoy" Stallings became Harford County's 1st pro MMA Champion, winning the Ring of Combat Middle weight belt by 1st round knockout. Since then Stallings has been totally inactive in MMA competition, but not by choice or any health reasons, but because aiming to get a call from premier leagues, like the UFC and Bellator, didn't want to risk a blemish on their record from Stallings. Stallings even tried out for the current season of The Ultimate Fight Penn Vs Edgar but didn't get picked after the final selection interviews in Las Vegas. After countless fights being turned downed, the break in MMA competition finally ended for Stallings this past Friday as he stepped back in the cage in South Carolina's premier MMA promotion, Warfare MMA, against the highly touted Josh Williams. Williams had already made a name for himself by defeating UFC vet, Shamar Bailey, in the second round of his pro debut.
This main event bout was a back a forth battle for much of the 1st two rounds. Early on in the 1st round Williams opened up a cut with short range elbow against the cage on Stallings left brow and controlled most of the round pinning Stallings against the cage. Then in the 2nd round the exchange heavy punches but in the 3rd, apparently feeling the need for a stoppage to win, Stallings closed the show with a series of punches that lead to a fight ending, Bernard Hopkins like- liver shot. With this win, Stallings increased his record to 12 wins and all by KO or Submission.
"It felt great to get back in the cage, it's been extremely frustrating not having any fights especially after winning a renowned title that other UFC fighters have won prior getting the call but nevertheless it felt great and of course it felt great pick up the win. And not just win but it's important to me that I get a stoppage, nothing says you are the true winner better than winning by KO or submission.
Stallings now hopes that after winning 3rd fight in a row by stoppage that it will now be enough to get a call to fight in the UFC octagon. Till then he says he'll be in the gym at Top Flight MMA and with his coaches at Lloyd Irvin's MMA working on sharpening is skills to finish fights.


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Republican Gov. Don Carcieri vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have made Rhode Island the 11th state to allow the medical use of marijuana. Legislators said they believed they had enough votes to override the governor.
Carcieri said the bill was flawed and could encourage marijuana abuse.
The bill passed 52-10 in the House and 34-2 in the Senate. An override would require votes from three-fifths of the lawmakers in each body.
"The governor has shown no compassion for the people who really need it," said Rep. Thomas Slater, the bill's House sponsor.
The bill would protect from prosecution seriously ill people who had a doctor's recommendation for marijuana.


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Our school prom & leavers party photo booths come with a huge box full of props to enhance their photo booth experience.. Whether it's a moustache, bow tie or pair of glasses, a sailor hat, bright pink wig or a feather boa your school prom or party photographs will look amazing!
To make things a little bit easier, we've put together an offer just for school proms and parties , the hire includes everything your school prom or party needs for just £395 for 2 hours or £495 for 3 hours and everything above is included.
All that's required to secure your date is a £100 non-refundable booking fee.


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Every pub can serve beer, but Ice Cold Beer definitely stands out. Ice Cold Beer, or more commonly known as ICB, not only serve beer, they serve beers to its perfection. Located at a 1910 shop house, the bar's set up will give you the feel of being inside a European bar. Plastered on the walls are collections of bikini babe posters from around the world, a very standard European pub indeed.
There are over 50 kinds of beers to choose from, ICB enjoys its reputation among locals and expats as the first and only bar in Singapore that have a custom built ice tanks, giving you a one of a kind experience of drinking a genuine ice cold beer!
What's even cool about this place if you are a beer aficionado, you will sure be rewarded. ICB will give you a chance to have the MBA passport – Master of Beer Addiction- by consuming all the beer collections they have in a given period of time. This gives you the chance not only to enjoy the best beers all over the world but you get to put your name in the MBA plague and be part of an exclusive club that get invites from parties in Emerald Hill.
Aside from the fabulous beer they offer, any local can attest to the great food this place serves. Their famous chicken wings and nine-inch hot dogs will surely compliment your beer; and to top the superb experience, you can play some pools and dart games at the stellar bar, watch the latest sport event on the plasma TV or just sit back and chat with your friends as the retro rock music plays and sets your mood for the night.
9 Emerald Hill Road, Singapore, 229293
Operating Hours:
Sun-Thu: 5pm – 2am
Fri, Sat, Eve of PH: 5pm – 3am
Nearest MRT Station: Somerset


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Years before he was sent off to fight -- and die -- in a real war, Rudy Salcido waged makebelieve battles in the wilds of Azusa Canyon.
With his kid sister in tow, the adventurous La Puente teenager forded streams, explored caves and even plastered his body with mud, camouflaging himself against imaginary enemies.
"Sometimes we'd spend the night out there," said his sister Monica, now 30. "For as long as I can remember, a soldier is what he wanted to be."
For a time, it seemed that Salcido's asthma would block that life path. Eventually, though, the breathing woes eased and he enlisted in the Army, serving as an ammunition specialist from 2000 to 2005.
After completing active duty, he joined the California Army National Guard and volunteered for duty in Iraq in July. Last month, his years of decorated service ended in Baghdad, where he was killed by a roadside bomb.
Among those devastated by his death is his wife, Jennifer, whom Salcido called "Lady J." Longtime sweethearts, the couple wed three days before Salcido was deployed. The honeymoon was brief -- a quick trip to the Pala Resort and Casino near Temecula -- and included chocolate-covered strawberries and a couple's massage, his wife said.
"We only had 14 days together between April and his death," she said, "but they were the best 14 days I ever had."
Salcido, 31, was assigned to the 1114th Transportation Company in Bakersfield. On the morning of Nov. 9, he left Al Asad Air Base in a long convoy with supplies for the Marine Corps' birthday celebration at another base. Salcido sat in the passenger seat of a 10-ton cargo truck, said Sgt. 1st Class James Elstad, a casualty assistance officer.
"Rudy bore the brunt of the blast," Elstad said, "and the driver wound up with a couple scratches and a sore elbow."
Relatives say Salcido died doing what he loved -- serving his country at war. His time in Iraq marked his third tour in the Middle East, following two previous deployments to Kuwait.
"Being a soldier made him feel good, like he had a purpose," his wife said. "He loved wearing the uniform."
Maj. Kenneth Koop, who was commander of the transportation company and trained with Salcido last spring at Ft. Bliss in Texas, called him "a tremendous soldier" whose seasoning was a reassuring force for the unit's younger men.
"If you had to pick a soldier you would go to war with," Koop said, "Sgt. Salcido would be one I'd take with me any day."
Born in West Covina, Salcido was a joyful guy who made everyone laugh. He loved video games, white Russians, Texas hold 'em poker and eating "bar burgers" at Dave & Buster's restaurant at Ontario Mills Mall.
He also loved off-roading with his wife and friends in his beloved Chevrolet pickup truck.
"That truck was his baby," said his mother, Maybelle Luevano. "He put these huge tires on it and loved to drive through the mud. But he always washed it carefully when he was done."
Though he was a tough-as-nails military man, he was "a big kid at heart," his mother said. He had no use for whiners -- telling them to "buck up, soldier" -- but had a huge soft spot for his 14-year-old daughter from a previous relationship, Gabriella.
Salcido also was a romantic. He proposed to Jennifer on the roof of his house, calling it "the closest mountain he could find." And before he left in July, he hid notes for his new bride all over her home. "He told me to be strong, and they were signed, 'Your Soldier,' " she said.
The military had a magnetic pull on Salcido, but he also yearned for the life of a family man. He enjoyed mowing the lawn, putting up Christmas lights, planting pansies. He loved celebrating with fireworks on the Fourth of July.
After Salcido completed active duty, his relatives were not surprised that he enlisted in the National Guard. Initially, he was a member of Troop A, 1st Squadron, 18th Cavalry in Pomona. He also worked with the guard's recruiting office and as a volunteer providing relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina.
In June, he chose to transfer to the 1114th Transportation Company in order to deploy with the unit to Iraq.
"I can't stress enough how much I came to rely on him," said Koop, his commanding officer. "He had been to the desert and faced the challenges we were heading into. He shared that with the younger soldiers, and it was a tremendous help."
The recipient of 16 military awards, Salcido was promoted posthumously to sergeant first class.
In addition to his wife, daughter and mother, he is survived by his father, Peter Salcido; six brothers and sisters; and numerous other relatives.


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Hello. This is a Korean in America. This is a review of the first half of the Korean drama, "A Little Love Never Hurts", after watching 32 episodes of its 50 episode run. This is a follow up article of my initial review article. Here is the link.
P.S. Please go to Amazon when you want to purchase anything via any of the ads on the blog. It does not matter which one. I get some referral $ from it.
"A Little Love Never Hurts" was on the top of my Korean drama watching list for a while. While it eventually got pushed down by a cute alien drama, I still enjoyed it. However, sadly, it doesn't seem to be immune to the Korean drama sickness of the second half crash and burn. While this phenomenon is common to all Korean drama types, it hits long running family dramas the hardest.
The second half crash and burn phenomenon is caused by two main factors. First, Korean drama tends to tell serialized stories without a strong sense of story structure. It is a weird hybrid of telling a serialized story using an episodic approach.
Second, the stories the shows have in the beginning of their runs are not very intricate nor deep. At the short end, the stories are the length of a short story or novella. At opposite end, they are the length of a 2 hour movie. Thus, it is not surprising that they run out prematurely before the end of the show.
With family dramas that run for about 50 episodes, this phenomenon is more serious. Family dramas tend to compensate for this by having multiple stories running in parallel to each other. However, it does seem that 25 episodes are about the limit for this approach. Another approach is to deliberately segments parts of the plot for latter episodes. However, this creates an unnaturally flow to the story.
The show, "A Little Love Never Hurts", uses both of these approaches and suffers for it.
What were great about the first half
If you look at this show as a whole, "A Little Love Never Hurts" is not really special. It is a typical family Korean drama about the dynamics of families. However, the families and their members of "A Little Love Never Hurts" were somewhat different from what you would expect from a Korean family drama.
A typical Korean family drama tries to exploit family dynamics for fun while phrasing the Korean family system. So, it focuses on reinforcing existing social structures while making fun at it at the same time. Thus, a typical Korean family drama never really goes deeper than portraying controlling parents or bad/ungrateful children. It doesn't look at the fundamental structural problems.
The best thing about the first half of "A Little Love Never Hurts" was that there was a serious attempt to look at the family members and how their family dynamics hurt and is stilling hurting them while placing the audience on the same level as the characters and not looking down from a high and mightily position.
Yes, there were still typical family drama cliché elements in the show such as the "twice married father".
However, they were not in the forefront during the first half of the show's run. So, I had hopes that they would stay there although they were constant reminders that this show could go south like many other Korean family dramas.
And yes it did.
Crashing and burning up Korean drama style
After episode 20 or so, you get the feeling that the characters and their relationships were either going nowhere or actually devolving into some cliché form. The only exception was the old twilight romance which seemed to be progressing at a consistent pace.
The second daughter's affair relationship just fizzled out without any point.
Well, there was a point!
People who can't stand each other should stay together for their children.
Is this an after school special?
Leaving aside that it is a really 'out of nowhere cliché' conclusion to the story line, the story line doesn't really influence the second daughter's character. She didn't learn anything really if you think about. For her character, the whole story line was just a waste of air time since the core of the character is her daddy issues.
In contrast, the first daughter's story line does have longer lasting effects compared to her sister's. Her character has somewhat changed from the events in the storyline. The problem is that the execution was handled poorly and the conclusion was abrupt.
The trigger incident is like something out of a bad Romance comedy and the conclusion is the same. So, the character's changes seem rushed and forced. This is really odd since there was more than half of the show's run to execute it better.
Now we have the young former couple...
When talking about those two, you have to calculate the actual flow of time in the show. While it seems longer, only about 2 or 3 months has passed since the start of the show. This means that the young female is thinking about marrying the chef character about 2 month after breaking with a long term boyfriend.
Can you say rebound!
I'm not sure if it is just forced writing or deliberately done to justify the couple getting back together. It may be both. I just hate that the young female character devolves into a passive character after basically stating independence from being just a support role to a nobody boyfriend in the beginning of the show.
She had so much promise as s character but now she has less presence then belle from "Twilight".
With the young male, I actually like his new relationship as it does seem to be developing at a steady pace in spite of some forced writing. However, I fear this is because it is a doomed relationship.
If so, it would be ironical.
In regard to the troll "twice married father" and his family, the less said the better. They are the most cliché family drama characters. However, the show seems to think the opposite. It is giving them increasingly expanded roles.
The main contributing factor to this decline other than those that can contributed to the genre itself is that the show is actual not more insightful than its counterparts. It does not have anything deep to really say about the issues as it doesn't really understand the issues.
It cannot provide any solutions.
It can only show us the issues.
This can be glimpsed from the 'son in law' character who is the shrink. For his profession, he is the clueless in regard to people's behavior. He is just a nice guy. As a result, it took me a long time to recognize that he was a shrink. The show did not really emphasize it and my subconscious could not comprehend it.
He is a disgrace to his profession!
Anyway, not having a solution in itself is not something to condemn the show with on its own since just showing the problem has merit. The problem is that the show doesn't have the courage to leave it alone. "A Little Love Never Hurts" tries to force an awkward happy ending on to a situation that It spent hours trying to illustrate that the situation is a mess.
At this point in time
"A Little Love Never Hurts" is at an interesting point in its run. Most of its plots which ran from the beginning of the show are being concluded as they run out of steam. But you now that the show was saving two huge plot points centered around the twilight couple.
I have issues with how the decision to segment out these plot point for the latter half as a huge story bomb. Not only does it make the plot flow disjointed it is too family drama cliché for my taste as it is so artificial.
The question is would I keep watching the show or drop it like many Korean family dramas before it.
At this point I'm leaning 65% towards dropping the show as it is becoming a huge disappointment.
Grade: 65% dropping 35% keep watching


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Zimbabwe Library Association (ZimLA) remains the official librarian's representative in Zimbabwe taking over from the Rhodesia Library Association. It has been in existence for more than four decades. The recent readmission in to the IFLA community does send a positive signal to local librarians who had despaired on the role of ZimLA in professional activities. The recent announcement of the 46th ZimLA conference staged for Kwekwe in May is again a boaster to the activities of ZimLA which due to a number of reasons – known to you – have failed to take place. I am positive that this is a new start after social-economic challenges that have handicapped the professional association's mandate.
Now what's the way forward? The way forward is for every LIBRARIAN/INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL to put weight behind the organisers of the workshop through submitting abstracts and attend the workshop in big numbers. But perhaps you have to be a registered librarian with ZimLA. Way to go indeed! Our Professional association has suffered much due to lack of support not financially but support in regard to membership. Please not that the vitality of any association is the support from membership. What role does membership play? You may ask. Membership is the support, it is the programmes, and it is the success of the association. So for the association to play a pivotal role in professional representation you should first be a member then take part in the activities. Then we have librarian's association.
Basically the 46th ZimLA Conference is the opportunity to fine tune LIS/Ram issues in the Zimbabwean LIS/RAM landscape providing a platform for sharing ideas and best practices in the information age. You have realised that keeping abreast with technology is a challenging phase not only in Zimbabwe but in numerous countries world wide. The underlying factors are sharing experiences and harness those ideas to better serve clients with limited resources whilst meeting expectations. This lead to the notion that technology is a leading threat to the library sector which the conference seek to address. If you cannot beat them join them, people say. If you view technology as a threat, utilise it to gain advantage. Utilise its strength to manage and increase job satisfaction.
You have a lot to learn by attending the 46th ZimLA conference. The main theme of the even its "Information Professionals at the Crossroads: Opportunity for Change." Indeed this time and age provide numerous opportunities for librarians to prosper and innovate in their respective spaces.
What you have to do? Play your part. Prepare to share experiences with others at the 46th Conference, prepare your abstract and submit it to email@example.com before May 4th 2012 and book yourself a place to present. Further to that pay your subscription to be a bona fide member of ZimLA your professional association. Don't be left out! Be part of the growing family.


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Part of the power of the blogosphere is instaneous feedback and dialogue about the ideas, events and activity that impact our consciousness, our writing and the "conversation."
This power of the Internet is readily apparent to me as I read mainstream wine magazines and journals and see an item that I blogged about two months prior-not even old news, really, it's news that passed from top-of-mind consciousness weeks ago in an arbitrary decision path of usefulness-for me and thousands of others.
News of citizen journalism is having a real, material impact on the way information is covered, vetted and ultimately consumed. These RSS feeds are some of the sources of information I use to stay current within the jetstream of the wine blogosphere and my local community.
- Good Grape


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In a study, The American Medical Association (AMA) linked the negative effects of stress in as many as 90 percent of doctor visits. It is sobering to think that the stress of driving rush-hour traffic can send you to the doctor.
But there is hope, experts in reflexology worldwide list stress reduction as one of the main benefits of having a professional reflexology session.
Experts in the field of reflexology link stress to an accumulation of stored tension in the body and its systems. Inevitably that tension affects the muscles, spine, organs, glands and just about every part of the body. Eventually that tension holds the capacity to negatively impact our health with disease. Reflexology helps to interrupt that pattern of tension and return our bodies to a state of relaxation that alternative or holistic health experts like to homeostasis. Just think of it as your happy place or in the words of Yogi Jerilee Lucas, Indianapolis, your five minute vacation spot.
Getting to that place of profound relaxation is more important than just a quaint little notion of being able to think yourself stress-free. Our bodies are hardwired to heal themselves, a virus invades our body and body systems are as focused as the Department of Defense in making sure the intruder surrenders. That is how our species survived during prehistoric dinosaur and saber tooth tiger invasions and during The Plague. Reflexology is a way to take ourselves to that "happy place" of homeostasis without having to master yoga or meditation and it feels great too.
These are some of the ways reflexology helps with your health:
The American Academy of Reflexology links thousands of documented benefits relating to reflexology. Here are some:
Natural health writer, Christopher Shirley, in an article on reflexology in Natural Life Magazine attributed these benefits to reflexology:
"Reflexology therapeutically reduces stress and tension throughout the whole body. Consequently, blood and lymph circulation improves, nerve supply to the cells is improved, and the release of toxins from the body is increased. These physiological benefits facilitate improvement in the body's assimilation of nutrients, elimination of wastes, and the functioning of it's immune system. In general, reflexology facilitates optimum functioning of all the systems of the body. It is in these ways that reflexology supports the body in its process of healing itself and maintaining optimum health."
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The Devil Came on Horseback presents a first-person account of the genocide in Darfur. Former Marine Captain Brian Steidle joined the African Union in 2004 to help monitor the cease-fire in Sudan. As he puts it, All I had was a camera, a pen, and paper. I was totally unprepared for what I'd see.
An unarmed military civilian, he describes his observations, via voice-over and audio recordings, as filmmakers Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern alternate between their contemporary footage and his images of slaughtered civilians and incinerated villages. When his contract ends, Steidle leaves in disillusionment. He wrote his reports and took his pictures, but nothing changed.
Since reporters lacked the same degree of access, he goes to The New York Times, and they publish his photographs. The soldier-turned-activist proceeds to spread the word everywhere he can. Aside from Steidle, the film features his sister Gretchen Wallace, founder of Global Grassroots (an organization working with female victims in Sudan and Rwanda), and Senator Barack Obama, who has also made Darfur his personal mission.
The title comes from a loose translation of janjaweed, the government-backed Arab militias behind the atrocities to which Steidle bore witness. (Steidle and his sister use the same title for the book they wrote together.) As in their previous documentary, The Trials of Darryl Hunt, Sundberg and Stern maintain a measured tone, but their subject's horrifying images speak for themselves. The Devil Came on Horseback is accompanied by Wallace's Supporting Survivors, a short film about Global Grassroots. (Excerpt from amazon.com)
This is just a preview. The full documentary is not available at this moment. Please buy the DVD from Amazon.com.


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Natural and artificial lighting play into the ambiance of a room, providing an instant 'look and feel'. A well-lit space often comes with many controls that take away from the experience of enjoying the space. Wall-clutter develops, which can be confusing to operate. Shades and drapes are often specified for heat control, interior aesthetics, and glare-reduction – but if not used (because they are difficult to reach or just plain heavy), these benefits are never realized. With our systematic design approach, however, we champion perfection down to the smallest detail: from electrical outlets, to lighting switch locations, to heating/cooling vents.
Visual appeal and simplified controls are possible, allowing ambiance to be perfect – every time.
Imagine pressing 'Sleep' for the night, with lights dimming, (quiet) motorized shades lowering, and exterior lights staying lit until midnight or so. Image this same sequence when you leave for the day – or have company coming and you want to set a certain mood.
When true and personalized care is given to an entire design, the end result is particularly spectacular. Let us help you create the perfect ambiance for your space!
- sleek, streamlined products to hide electrical outlets, heating/cooling vents, speakers and more
- natural and artificial light management solutions for new and existing spaces
- sound system design for an immersive experience
- high-performing outdoor entertainment spaces, integrated into the design and landscaping


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Cheap Seats
July 28: Astros 5, Cardinals 3
At the start of the second half of the schedule the Cardinals were healthier than they had been all season and still tied for first place.
They seemed poised to make a run. And the trade Wednesday of Colby Rasmus for starting pitching help and a huge bullpen makeover seemed to eliminate the club's most dangerous weakness.
But the Redbirds maddeningly just can't seem to get into gear. They frustratingly couldn't manage to win their series with the worst team in baseball, losing to the Astros 5-3 as the Brewers beat up the Cubs to move to 1 1/2 games ahead of St. Louis in the NL Central divison standings.
There's no excuse for not winning three of the four games with Houston. And the Cardinals could have won all four, especially since they took the first two matches with relative ease.
It wasn't the bullpen that sealed the Birds' fate Thursday night. It was more shoddy defense coupled with an almost complete lack of offense.
Third baseman David Freese and shortstop Ryan Theriot didn't make plays they should have to allow Houston hitters extra chances at the plate. Catchers Gerald Laird and Tony Cruz -- who were both hurt in the game, adding injury to insult -- each allowed passed balls. Laird's miscues allowed the Astros to overcome an early 3-1 Cardinals lead while Cruz's helped Houston to take a lead of its own.
The Cardinals scored their first two runs thanks to crummy Houston defense. With Laird on first and one out, Ryan Theriot hit an easy double play ball that the Astros second sacker plain and simply dropped. New Redbird Corey Patterson singled to right to drive home Laird... And Theriot scored when Houston right fielder Hunter Pence misplayed the ball.
In the third inning Jon Jay doubled to centerfield on a ball that probably should have been caught. Then Pujols drove him home with a flair to right.
Starting pitcher Jaime Garcia allowed four earned runs -- five overall -- on eight hits over six innings to fall to 10-5 on the season.
Cardinals Star of the Game: New St. Louis reliever Marc Rzepczynski threw two scoreless innings. If the Birds could have scored a little bit more that might have come in handy.
Cardinals Play of the Game: Pujols' third inning double.
Lowlight: Cardinals catcher Gerald Laird, Tony Cruz and infielder Nick Punto all left the game Thursday with injuries.


text: The SSM was founded in 1957. Professor John Pemberton wrote a history of the early years of the Society (Pemberton J. Origins and early history of the Society for Social Medicine in the UK and Ireland. J. Epidemiol. Community Health, May 2002; 56: 342–6). The then editors of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health gave Professor Pemberton permission to reproduce the article on the SSM website for the benefit of our members (see www.socsocmed.org.uk/history1.htm).


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ZERMA has a long history of supplying size reduction equipment for a wide range of applications. Consult a specialist from ZERMA's experienced sales team and they will recommend a solution for your specific application. Layout drawings and technical specifications may be provided on request.
Installation, commissioning & training
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Dimensional drawings together with service requirements will be provided prior to delivery of the equipment. This will allow the customer to prepare the site and allow them to commence production in a timely fashion. Consult your ZERMA representative to schedule on site work.
Spare parts
ZERMA holds a inventory of spare parts and our efficient service personnel will ensure that any required part will be despatched without delay. Shipping of the spare parts may be by air, sea or courier depending on the urgency of the situation. Customers are encouraged to hold their own critical spare parts such as granulator blades and screens to ensure optimal machine condition and performance.
Service support
Your ZERMA representative is at your service for expert advice, ongoing service and spare parts.


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Scholars A-Z
Born on 1600
Abd Al-Rahman ibn Faqi Mahmud was appointed as Qadi (judge) in 1553 CE to the post of Imam (leader of prayer) and Dean of the University of Sankore, Timbuktu. Click here for more information.
Born on 870
Abu Bishr Matta received his Aristotelian education at the monastery of Mar Mari and came to Baghdad, where in the first decades of the 10th century he had al-Farabi, a Muslim, and Yahya ibn 'Adi, a Jacobite Christian, among his pupils. He did not know Greek and his translations were made on the bas...
Born on 850 Died on 930
Abu Kamil Al-Hâsib Al-Misrî was a mathematician who perfected al-Khwarizmi's work on algebra and whose mathematics included a number of subjects such as determination and construction of both roots of quadratic equations, multiplication and division of algebraic quantities, addition and subtraction...
Born on 893 Died on 945
Al-Hamdani was a historian, geographer, grammarian and lexicographer who also played a role in South Arabian statesmanship. Click here for more information.


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Wisconsin's WorkNet lists accounting among the top 25 occupations in terms of projected growth between 2012 and 2022. A seven percent increase in available accounting jobs is expected during these years, or an average of 810 job openings each year.
The Wisconsin Accounting Examining Board regulates and licenses CPAs in the state. Prospective CPAs must complete 150 hours of college-level education and earn a bachelor's degree at minimum, pass both the Uniform CPA Exam and an online ethics exam, and then go on to fulfill one year of public accounting experience. With most bachelor's programs consisting of just 120 semester hours of college credit, a master's in accounting can provide the additional credit hours in advanced accounting coursework required for licensure in Wisconsin. Licensed CPAs work in public accounting firms with a presence in Wisconsin including "Big Four" firms Deloitte and Ernst & Young, both with offices in Milwaukee. Other accounting and professional services firms with a strong presence in the state include Jefferson Wells in Milwaukee, Baker Tilly Virchow Krause in Madison, and AXA Equitable Life Insurance, in Madison, Wausau and Green Bay.
Wisconsin's local government agencies also employ CPAs as fund managers who work for The Wisconsin State Department of Administration in Madison or as auditors for the Office of the Comptroller in Wisconsin's many municipalities.
Many corporations have located their corporate headquarters in the state. The corporate headquarters of battery manufacturers Johnson Controls, Inc. is in Milwaukee. The Kohler Company, known for plumbing fixtures, tile, stone and furniture, is housed in Kohler. Motorcycle giant and American icon Harley-Davidson is headquartered in Milwaukee. The corporate headquarters of two of the nation's largest retailers are also in Wisconsin: Kohl's in Menomonee Falls, and Lands End in Dodgeville. The management center of international company Kraft Foods is in Madison. Accountants serve these major companies as auditors, financial controllers and management accountants responsible for everything from regulatory compliance to influencing management decisions.
Many financial institutions and insurers were also either founded in Wisconsin or currently keep their corporate headquarters in the state where they continue to be the largest employers of actuarial accountants. Northwestern Mutual Financial Network in Milwaukee is the nation's largest provider of life insurance. Mutual insurance company, Sentry Insurance, is headquartered in Stevens Point. CUNA Mutual Group, with headquarters in Madison, provides financial services to credit unions worldwide. Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation, whose corporate headquarters are in Milwaukee, provides home mortgage insurance on over 1.4 million mortgages in the United States.
Wisconsin's Worknet included the field of accounting on its top 25 list of occupations with the most projected openings in the state between 2012 and 2022. The agency expects 810 accounting positions to become available each year during this time frame due to a growth rate of 7.1% over this ten-year period.
The median salary for an accountant in Wisconsin was $61,150 as of 2014, while experienced accountants earned an average of $78,810.
Accountants with five or more years of experience at large accounting firms in Milwaukee had salaries within the range of $69,094 to $88,189 in 2015 according to the Robert Half Salary Guide from that year.
Controllers for small financial services firms in Green Bay earned between $79,580 and $106,828. Forensic accountants were also highly paid. Forensic accountants in Madison had salaries within the range of $69,713 to $108,713.
CFOs for financial services firms in Milwaukee earned between $155,755 and $276,375. Their high salaries are partly due to their likelihood of having a CPA license.
Accountant and Auditor Salaries Throughout Wisconsin
In 2014, the median salary for general accountants and auditors in the Milwaukee area was the highest of the areas presented by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 90th percentile in each area is representative of salaries for experienced accountants licensed as CPAs. General accountants and auditors in the 90th percentile of this occupational category in Wausau had the highest average salary.
Salaries for Tax Preparers in Wisconsin's Rural and Urban Areas
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary for tax preparers in Madison was extremely high and was almost as high as that of accountants in Wisconsin in 2014:
Wisconsin legislators are contemplating tax breaks for manufacturers and businesses in the agriculture industry in an effort to attract business to the state. Under this proposal, state tax on income from manufactured goods in Wisconsin would be reduced from its current rate of 7.9 percent to 0.4 percent by 2016. The tax break, if passed, would cost Wisconsin over $359 million in revenue the first year it was enacted and over $128 million each succeeding year.
In other state tax news, the newly proposed budget does not increase sales or income taxes for residents. Property taxes will remain flat at an anticipated increase of $50 per house over the next two years.


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- Research article
- Open Access
Equilibrium and kinetic studies of copper biosorption by dead Ceriporia lacerata biomass isolated from the litter of an invasive plant in China
© Li et al.; licensee BioMed Central. 2015
- Received: 28 July 2013
- Accepted: 14 April 2015
- Published: 25 April 2015
Ceriporia lacerata, a strain of white-rot fungus isolated from the litter of an invasive plant (Solidago canadensis) in China, was little known about its properties and utilization. In this work, the copper(II) biosorption characteristics of formaldehyde inactivated C. lacerata biomass were examined as a function of initial pH, initial copper(II) concentration and contact time, and the adsorptive equilibrium and kinetics were simulated, too.
The optimum pH was found to be 6.0 at experimental conditions of initial copper(II) concentration 100 mg/L, biomass dose 2 g/L, contact time 12 h, shaking rate 150 r/min and temperature 25°C. Biosorption equilibrium cost about 1 hour at experimental conditions of pH 6.0, initial copper(II) concentration 100 mg/L, C. lacerata dose 2 g/L, shaking rate 150 r/min and temperature 25°C. At optimum pH 6.0, highest copper(II) biosorption amounts were 6.79 and 7.76 mg/g for initial copper(II) concentration of 100 and 200 mg/L, respectively (with other experimental parameters of C. lacerata dose 2 g/L, shaking rate 150 r/min and temperature 25°C). The pseudo second-order adsorptive model gave the best adjustment for copper(II) biosorption kinetics. The equilibrium data fitted very well to both Langmuir and Freundlich adsorptive isotherm models.
Without further acid or alkali treatment for improving adsorption properties, formaldehyde inactivated C. lacerata biomass possesses good biosorption characteristics on copper(II) removal from aqueous solutions.
- Ceriporia lacerata
- Biosorption
- Copper
- Adsorption isotherm
- Kinetics
Heavy metal pollution is an increasing environmental problem of worldwide concern. Reducing heavy metals to environmentally acceptable limits in a cost-effective, easily available and environmental friendly manner becomes more and more urgent [1,2]. Biosorption of heavy metals from wastewaters by pretreated fungal biomass has gained growing acceptance since the 1990s [3,4].
The heavy metal ion biosorption by fungal biomass is based mainly on two mechanisms: covalent bonding with functional groups including carboxyl, hydroxyl, phosphate, amino, sulphydryl, and the result of physicochemical inorganic interactions directed by adsorption phenomena [2,5-7]. Therefore, here are several critical parameters affecting biosorption characteristics, such as pH, pretreatment methods, metal species, initial concentration of solutions, quantity of biomass, contact time [8-10].
Many fungi have been extensively studied and proved to be good biosorbents of heavy metals, such as Rhizopus arrhizus [11-14], Aspergillus spp. [6,15-17], Penicillium spp. [17,18] and Saccharomyces spp. [2,19]. However, white-rot fungi were relatively less reported for their biosorption though they were strong degrader of various xenobiotics and detoxicating materials of contaminated effluents [20,21]. They also possess the capacity of heavy metal biosorption [21].
Ceriporia lacerata is a white-rot fungus first isolated as a new species from white-rotted wood in Japan [22]. Till 2006, only four other reports published about it, referring to its taxonomy, genetics or decomposition [23-25]. Since 2007, C. lacerata has been more widely researched on its clinical significance, wood-decaying effect, metal tolerance and sorption potential and some other characteristics [26-30]. Kim et al. [31] found that the cadmium(II) removal rates by C. lacerata in stationary and shaking cultures were about 7% and 11%, respectively. However, there is so limited information yet available on this species that its other properties need further study. The objectives of this work were to verify the capacity of dead C. lacerata in copper(II) removal under batch conditions, to determine the influences of parameters involved, and to simulate the adsorptive equilibrium and kinetics.
Materials and methods
Preparation of the biomass
Fungus C. lacerata was isolated from the litter of Solidago canadensis (an exotic plant to China) in Pukou, Nanjing, China. It was cultivated at 25°C in 250 mL flasks containing 100 mL liquid medium composed of malt extract (20 g/L), peptone (1 g/L) and dextrose (20 g/L). After about 10 days incubation on a shaker at 150 r/min, C. lacerata mycelium was washed several times with deionized water, and then inactivated by immersion into 1% formaldehyde. After washing, the mycelium was dried at 60°C for 24 hour (h). Finally, dry mycelium was ground and sieved (mesh size < 0.5 mm).
Metal solutions
Copper(II) solutions of 5 to 300 mg/L were obtained by diluting copper(II) stock solution (1 g/L), which was prepared by dissolving CuCl2 · 2H2O (analytical reagent grade, Shanghai Zhenxing Chemical Reagent Factory, China) in deionized water. Solution pH was adjusted with 0.1 mol/L HCl and NaOH and measured by pH meter (PHS-3C, Shanghai Hongyi Instrumentation Co., Ltd, China).
Batch biosorption experiments
where q e (mg/g) is the amount of copper(II) adsorbed on per gram of biosorbent, V (L) is the volume of copper(II) solution in the flasks, C 0 and C e (mg/L) are the initial and equilibrium copper(II) concentration, respectively, and m (g) is the dry weight of dead C. lacerata biomass.
Experiments to evaluate the effect of pH on biosorption were conducted constantly at pH 2.5 to 7.0, with intervals of 0.5, while initial copper(II) concentration was 100 mg/L.
Experiments to analyze the effect of contact time were operated at optimum pH and copper(II) concentration of 100 mg/L. Samples were harvested at 1/12, 1/6, 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 12 h.
Experiments to analyze the effect of initial sorbate concentration were performed at 5, 10, 25, 50, 75, 100, 200 and 300 mg/L (at optimum pH).
Biosorption kinetics analysis
where k' (h−1) and k P (g/mg · h) are the first and second-order rate constants, respectively, q e and q t are the amounts of copper entrapped on per gram of biosorbent (mg/g) at equilibrium and time t (h), respectively.
Biosorption isotherm analysis
Experiments to evaluate the effect of initial sorbate concentration were also used for biosorption isotherm studies. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were used to simulate the experimental data from the batch system at 25°C.
where K F and n are Freundlich adsorption constants and they respectively indicate adsorption capacity and intensity [10,36].
Results and discussion
Effect of pH on biosorption
Previous studies showed that pH value of the solution was an important parameter for both solution chemical properties of metals and surface characteristics of biosorbents [37-41]. According to Asmal et al. [42], there are three species of copper present in solution: Cu2+, CuOH+ and Cu(OH)2. At low pH (here maybe from 2.5 to 3.5), H+ ions competed with Cu2+ ions for the biosorption sites, that is protonation of the cell wall components negatively affected the biosorption capacity of dead C. lacerata biomass. However, this effect became less with the increase in pH (from 4.0 to 6.0) owing to that the raise of negative charges density on the cell surface offered more metal binding sites [6,7,15]. At this pH Cu2+ and CuOH+ were more favourable copper species. Therefore, just like the results of some works [6,43-45], we also found a sharp increase in biosorption with a slight increase of pH (at around pH 3.5). At higher pH (≥6.5), precipitation of copper(II) hydroxide occurred and precipitated on surfaces of biomass and bottle wall. Furthermore, all those above suggested that ion-exchange played an important role in biosorption of copper(II) ions by dead C. lacerata.
The optimum pH was 6.0 at which copper(II) biosorption capacity of dead C. lacerata biomass reached 6.79 mg/g. The optimum pH values of different reports on copper(II) biosorption by different biomasses differ quite a bit. Phanerochaete chrysosporium fungal biomasses [7,40] and three species of dead fungal biomasses (Cladosporium cladosporioides, Gliomastix murorum and Bjerkandera sp.) [46] showed the same optimum pH 6.0 for copper(II) removal, while cone biomass of Thuja orientalis showed the optimum pH value to be 7.7 [47] and Chlorella vulgaris algal biomass to be 5.0. The components and structural characteristics of various biomasses are quite diverse, which may be the most important reason for optimum pH differences. There must be other reasons such as different experimental parameters and operating error.
Effect of contact time on biosorption
The equilibrium time of the copper biosorption by fungal biomass is determined by many parameters such as agitation rate of the solution, pretreated methods of the fungal biomass, structural properties and quantity of the biosorbents, the existence of other metal ions and initial copper(II) concentration [21]. Therefore, one species of biosorbent may cost different time (ranging from a few minutes to several hours [7,14,48]) to reach equilibrium under different conditions. One hour as the equilibrium time of copper biosorption in this study was scarcely reported before.
Effect of initial copper(II) concentration on biosorption
At pH 6.0, copper(II) precipitated at initial concentrations higher than 300 mg/L. Under the same conditions, in the solutions of higher concentration, there were much more copper(II) ions around the active sites of C. lacerata biomass. Thus the adsorptive process could proceed more sufficiently, and that is why copper(II) adsorptive capacity increased with the increasing of initial concentration.
Biosorption kinetics
Kinetic model constants for copper biosorption by C . lacerata at pH 6 and 25°C
Kinetic model
Constants of model
First-order Lagergren
q e = 3.37 mg/g
k' = 11.05 × 10−2 h−1
p < 0.05
Pseudo second-order
q e = 6.76 mg/g
k P = 4.68 × 10−4 g/mg · h
p < 0.05
Biosorption isotherms
Isotherm model constants for copper biosorption by C . lacerata at pH 6 and 25°C
Isotherm models
Constants of models
q max = 8.31 mg/g
K L = 3.45 × 10−2 mg−1
p < 0.05
n = 0.56
p < 0.05
The Langmuir model showed that the maximum capacity of adsorbing copper(II) was 8.31 mg/g, which was assumed that at pH 6.0, 8.31 mg copper(II) would form a complete monolayer onto the surface of per gram of dead C. lacerata. The Freundlich model had constants of 0.52 for K F value related to the adsorption capacity and 0.56 for n value related to the adsorption intensity.
Comparison of biosorption capacity with other adsorbents
Copper(II) adsorption capacities (calculated from Langmuir constant q max ) and experimental parameters of various fungal biosorbents from the literatures
C e (mg/L)
q max (mg/g)
NaOH-treated Aspergillus niger
NaOH-treated Botrytis cinerea
Hydrochloric acid-treated waste beer yeast
Immobilized Phanerochaete chrysosporium
Dead Pleurotus pulmonarius (HCHO inactivated)
Dead Schizophyllum commune (HCHO inactivated)
Dead Ceriporia lacerata (HCHO inactivated)
This study
Pretreatments (taking NaOH-boiling and immobilization as examples) could avail copper(II) ions more functional groups to bind. That may be why formaldehyde inactivated C. lacerata biomass had lower biosorption capacity than those pretreated fungal biosorbents. Compared with other unpretreated fungal adsorbents, however, biosorption capacity of C. lacerata was relatively high.
The results illustrated that formaldehyde inactivated Ceriporia lacerata biomass (without acid or alkali treatment for improving adsorption properties) showed a relatively high capacity in removal of copper(II) from aqueous solutions. The optimum operating conditions was proved to be at pH 6.0, contact time of 1 hour, initial copper(II) concentration of 200 mg/L. The pseudo second-order adsorptive model gave the best adjustment for copper(II) biosorption kinetics, while the equilibrium data fitted very well to both Langmuir and Freundlich adsorptive isotherm models. Without further acid or alkali treatment for improving adsorption properties, formaldehyde inactivated C. lacerata biomass possesses good biosorption characteristics on copper(II) removal from aqueous solutions. Prospectively, immobilized or further pretreated Ceriporia lacerata biomass has potential to be used as an efficient adsorbent in treatment of heavy metal polluted waters.
We are grateful for funding from the Key Project in the National Science and Technology Pillar Program during the Twelfth Five-year Plan Period (2011BAC09B01), the Key National Water Special Project of China (2012ZX07204004-003), the CAS Guiding Strategic Project for Science and Technology (XDA05050204), Guizhou R&D Program for Social Development (Qiankehe SY [2013]3144, Qiankehe SZ [2014]3036).
Authors' Affiliations
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Top Tips on weather, equipment hire and coming prepared more
Rory McIlroy took another step towards taking over from Tiger Woods as the face of world golf when Electronic Arts Inc. announced on Monday that the Holywood star is now the cover star and namesake of its golf franchise.
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August 20, 2018
Confidential university resources (Student Misconduct)
Information shared with campus or community professionals who have legal confidentiality (such as licensed counselors, therapists, and physicians) will only be disclosed with the express written permission of the individual seeking services or as provided by law (where there is a continuing threat of serious harm to the individual or others; where there is suspected abuse or neglect of a minor; or where disclosure to a third party is otherwise legally required).
Confidential university resources available to students include Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention and Services (RSVP), Student Counseling Services (SCS) and medical physicians at Engemann Student Health Center and Eric Cohen Student Health Center, and religious officials acting in that capacity when the disclosure is made.
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Language development has often been a topic of discussion in our home. There was a lot of concern because of Norton's language delay. Now, though, the conversation is more joyous: we talk about Eudora's baby talk.
It's amazing. I'm pretty sure that Eudora's baby talk is far more developed than I thought it was: we've had moments of hearing her say "Bye-bye, Daddy!" as the husband made his way to work. She's been naming "puppy" for a while now. Just yesterday, she pointed to the kitty on her shirt and called it a puppy. (We have no cats, so she's not exactly exposed to them.) [Read more…]


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Printers are unbelievably
cheap these days. Whether you're in the market for
your first ever home printer, are upgrading or need a new work horse for the office,
there is plenty on offer - at great prices.
But...before you get too
excited and rush off to part with your cash, consider that buying a
printer is only
the first instalment in
the overall cost of printer ownership. Inkjet printers consume ink, laser
printers consume toner (in case you didn't know) as well as paper,
electricity etc. And sooner or later, the ink/toner cartridges that came bundled with the printer - run
Then what do you do? Well...that
depends on your printer make and model, what is currently available for it and what
you want to do. With many printers, you may have no choice - except for
genuine (read expensive) ink or toner cartridges. You can't refill the
cartridges, can't buy generic cartridges, can't fit a continuous ink
system etc. In other words...no options!
Other models are more user
friendly in accepting aftermarket products and solutions.
This is why it's most
important to buy the right printer in the first place. Too late to learn
you bought a dud - when the ink runs out. Your only option then, may be to
bin the printer...and start again.
Trial and error is one way to buy a
printer, but there are better ways...
How to buy a
printer - the right way...
What...how much...how
often...do you print? These are the first three questions to ask yourself,
before buying a printer. Your answers will pretty well decide what print
technology (inkjet or laser) you should be looking at and "how much"
printer you need. Next step is to consider how you prefer to connect
(wireless/cable/network) and all the features you want/need. And finally
the financials...how much are you prepared to spend initially and how important are
the running costs?
How much
do you print?
Not much point buying an expensive inkjet
printer, or a colour laser, if all you ever print is couple of text emails
week. A basic inkjet
or mono laser
printer will do much the same job at fraction of the cost. Sure, it may
take bit longer...but so what.
At the same time,
it would be false economy, to buy the cheapest printer you can find, if
you print hundreds or thousands of pages per week. Entry level printers are
slower than their more expensive cousins, ink cartridges are generally
much smaller and a cheap 'domestic' printer will wear out much faster than
a well built 'business' printer. Tip: when comparing print speeds, keep in mind that "advertised" print speed is
just that...advertising, and few (if any) printers live up to it in real life.
What do
you print?
What you
print is obviously one of the key selection factors. Even though most of today's printers are multi purpose and will print
almost anything reasonably well, different print technologies and printer models are designed for certain
So...if you plan to print quality photos, a printer intended for photo
printing will do a better job than a business inkjet or laser printer. It
may utilise more ink colours, print at higher resolution, use ink optimised for glossy paper, have separate
paper tray for postcard size photo paper, have a built in card/camera
reader etc etc. On negative side, photo printers usually print slower
and can be more expensive to run. Tip: Just because some printer model is
advertised as 'photo' printer, don't expect it to actually produce a good
quality glossy photo. Some do...some don't.
If you regularly print long, multiple page
documents and/or print a lot, you want a heavy duty office printer with
large paper trays, decent ink/toner cartridge option and lot of RAM.
Getting the idea..?
Inkjet or
laser printer?
Ink printers are usually
cheaper to buy and more "flexible" to use than lasers. Today's inkjets
(some) can not
only print as fast and at similar quality as most lasers, but they can
be a lot cheaper to operate as well. With some, you have the option of
refilling your ink cartridges, or fitting a continuous ink system and buying ink in
bulk at minimal cost. Another advantage of some (not all) inkjets is that
you may have a choice of using different ink types - for different applications
(eg. pigment
ink for longer lasting prints, dye ink for cheap, high quality photos, high
temperature ink for thermal transfers, edible ink...for eating, sublimation ink for
transfer to non-printable
media etc).
But...do your research! Not all current ink
cartridges/printers are 'refill friendly' and genuine ink can
get pretty expensive. It's not uncommon these days for a set of ink cartridges to cost
as much (or more) than a complete new printer - with cartridges.
Laser printers are generally faster, the print is
more permanent and toner cartridges never dry up, like ink can - if not used
regularly. So...if you don't print much, even expensive toner cartridges
can work out more economical than having to replace dried up ink
cartridges/printheads to make the printer work. On the negative side, toner
cartridges can be very expensive and DIY refilling is generally not
an option. Cheap
colour lasers are usually the most expensive of all printers for consumables.
you print a lot, find a laser
that takes large cartridges and make sure there are compatible or
reconditioned cartridges available - even if it means paying more for the
printer in the first place.
Another point to consider with laser printers is
the 'imaging drum' (OPC) cost and life expectancy. With some laser printers, the drum is part
of the toner cartridge, so it gets replaced with every cartridge change.
In other models, the drum is a separate part that needs replacing after
certain number of pages is printed. With some 'cheap' laser printers, the
drum may need replacing every few thousand pages and often costs as much
or more than a
complete printer ($150+). Other printers (eg Kyocera) come with a 100
000+ page drums, so if you print a lot, it may be worth spending few
hundred dollars more initially in exchange for lower ongoing running costs. Do
your research..! No good complaining once you buy the printer.
Another expense worth a mention with laser printers is electricity
consumption. While modern inkjets only use about 10-20W of power, some
laser printers can consume as much as 1000W or more.
But in reality, power cost fades into insignificance compared to toner.
What features
do you want/need?
Most of today's printers come
with bells & whistles many people don't need, or ever use, but different makes and
models do offer handy options. If you want a scanner, duplexer, print
direct onto
CD/DVD's, prefer wireless connectivity or network connection, need fax modem etc...find a model that can do these things.
Be prepared to pay a bit more.
function - or multifunction?
If you have ANY use for
scanner/copier, then get a multifunction. They don't cost much more than
printer only...so why not.
printer work with computer / operating system ?
Most new printer drivers are
compatible with XP and newer Windows versions, but it pays to check
compatibility. There is usually a chart with minimum OS and PC
requirements printed on the box somewhere. Read it!
Individual ink tanks - or multicolour
Despite popular belief (and printer maker claims)
individual ink tank/cartridge printers are usually no cheaper
to operate than twin cartridge printers, with one black and one
tricolour cartridge. Individual ink cartridge printers can in fact use
considerably more ink than twin cartridge models, as more ink gets used
for cleaning and priming the print-heads. Unless you print mostly in one
colour, or use a printer with big ink tanks, individual cartridges are only "economical" for the printer
But...if you plan to refill
your ink, there are several advantages to individual cartridges. More aftermarket refill products (eg refill
friendly cartridges, chip re-setters etc) are available for these and they
are usually easier to re-ink as well. But the main advantage of individual
cartridges (to refillers) is that the ink amount (fill volume) shouldn't
decline much, with subsequent refills. A 10ml individual ink tank will in
most cases still accept 9-10ml of ink...10 refills later. A twin type
cartridge volume can reduce by as much as 10% with every refill, so a
similar size (10ml) cartridge may only accept 5ml of ink after being
refilled few times. In other words, you will have to replace twin type
cartridges more often than individual cartridges.
Can the cartridges (supplied with
printer) be refilled?
In most casse yes, but not
necessarily. There are printers that will not recognise refilled
cartridges while others are difficult to refill successfully. Majority of
today's printer cartridges and tanks use IC chips to measure the ink
levels, which can cause problems with refilling. Do your research!
Are refillable cartridges available - do I need them? Will I need a chip re-setter? Can
the ink monitoring be disabled? You should be able to find most of this info
somewhere on this website. If you can't, feel free to
contact us.
Some printers have two black
ink tanks...why?
Canon, Epson and HP use two black
ink cartridges with different ink in some printer models. One cartridge is
usually filled with pigment ink, the other with dye ink. Pigment ink works
better on plain (copy) paper, dye ink is ideal for glossy (photo) paper.
The printer driver picks the correct ink automatically. Benefit? If you
print mainly photographs, you can expect slightly lower (colour) ink
consumption and better looking prints. If you don't print glossy photos,
the second black cartridge is a waste. You still
have to replace/refill it, even if you never use it. But...some
of the best printers on the market use the twin black ink configuration,
so don't let this put you off buying one. The extra ink cost is
minimal and not worth stressing over.
Is it
worth buying a
used printer?
Unless you have a good reason, or
the printer is near new...don't buy second hand. Replacement ink or toner cartridges often
cost as much as a complete new printer (with cartridges), so used printers
aren't good value...even if dirt cheap. At the same time, some older
models may be better than new ones, may accept larger or cheaper
cartridges or you might want to re-use cartridges from your current printer etc. So...if you think you know what you're doing...go for it.
NOT to buy a printer?
Shop around for best value,
but don't buy from any business you don't know, even if it's much cheaper
than others. While most web based retailers are quite genuine, there are
some really dodgy ones "out there". Check out a couple of online business
review websites to see what other people have to say about the business you
are about to deal with.
Is there
such thing as a
perfect printer?
Wouldn't it be great...if
there was a cheap, easy to use printer, packed with all the features you
dream of, that produced fantastic prints, was fast, quiet, reliable and
cost nothing to run? There isn't...but if you do your research, you should
be able to get pretty close.
Everyone's idea of a perfect
printer is little bit different, so it's impossible to suggest a model
that will suit everyone. But...some makes/models are lot more user
friendly than others. If you want a reliable, easy to get on with and
refillable A4 or A3 ink printer, consider a Canon (any model) with individual
ink cartridges.
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