text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|5 Jan 1982
|Filing date
|3 Apr 1979
|Priority date
|17 Feb 1978
|Publication number
|Kenneth R. Castleman
|Original Assignee
|California Institute Of Technology
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (12), Non-Patent Citations (1), Referenced by (34), Classifications (9)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
The invention described herein was made in the performance of work under a NASA contract and is subject to the provisions of Section 305 of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, Public Law 85-568 (72 Stat. 435, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2457).
This is a division of application Ser. No. 873,731, filed Feb. 17, 1978.
This invention relates to an automated system for quantitative biopsy analysis of muscle tissue.
Research studies into muscular dysfunction and, in particular, the clinical diagnosis of neuromuscular diseases frequently require a biopsy analysis for the classification and characterization of muscle tissue. By analyzing such characteristics as the size, texture or density of the muscle fibers, neurologists can use the information to more accurately diagnose both the type and severity of each disease. One tool to aid in that effort has been found using the science of histochemistry, wherein the chemical constitution and microscopic anatomy of living cells and tissue are studied on stained microscope slides. While enzyme histochemical methods have been implemented only in the past decade, the techniques have proved to play an essential and significant role in both research and clinical medicine during that relatively short time.
By producing specimens in a manner such that the various types of muscle fibers are distinguishable by color, a quantitative analysis of the muscle tissue may be accomplished. In a normal human being, one would observe that the numbers of each type of muscle fiber are roughly equal and the fiber diameter distributed about a mean value. Although the average fiber diameter in males is usually larger than in females, the sizes of individual fiber diameters typically average approximately fifty microns. It is both the muscular fiber size and the relative proportion of each type of the roughly polygonal fiber shapes which are primarily affected and altered by various neuromuscular diseases. For example, muscular atrophy reduces the mean fiber diameter while, on the other hand, certain diseases produce a disproportionate number of one type of fibers. A record of these abnormal changes can be maintained by a fiber diameter histogram taken for each muscle fiber type. Although use of the histogram in this manner has been shown to be a valuable tool both in the diagnosis of neuromuscular disease and for the research study of the progression of degenerative muscle diseases, the prior art methods of generating the histograms have been painstakingly tedious and unfortunately fraught with human errors. The reasons for this can be found in the approach applied by the prior art, which was subjective in its methodology. In essence, the fiber diameter and the relative proportion of the fiber types to each other were judged visually by the human eye to be either normal or abnormal while, at the same time, the quantitative information available from the specimen was virtually ignored. In other instances, the fiber diameters would be measured by hand on photomicrographs and then fiber diameter histograms were plotted manually from the measurements.
In accordance with the present invention, an architecture for step-oriented pipeline data processing is comprised of a plurality of cascaded modules, each module including a general purpose processor, a general purpose read/write memory for data output, and an additional memory, which may be a read-only memory, for storing a program for the processor. The general purpose read/write memory of each module is shared with the processor of the next module in cascade. Each shared read/write memory has two ports, one for access by one processor and the other for access by the next processor, and means for resolving potential memory sharing conflict in response to a first select signal from one processor seeking access and a second select signal from the next processor seeking access by granting access to the one processor. The other processor is granted access only when the one processor is not requesting access.
The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention will best be understood from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the method steps of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the primary system functions of the invention.
FIGS. 3a, 3b and 3c illustrate a microscopic image of a muscle biopsy section, a display of fiber boundaries for the muscle biopsy section and a histogram for the muscle biopsy section.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the architecture of the multi-microprocessor computer used in the invention.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the memory and interconnection of microprocessor modules of the computer in accordance with the diagram of FIG. 5.
FIG. 6 is a logic circuit diagram for a single shared memory module.
FIG. 7 is a logic diagram for a typical microprocessor module.
FIG. 8 is a diagram of the clock timing activity during a memory access conflict.
Attention is now directed to FIG. 1 wherein a first step 10 entails preparing, staining, and mounting a muscle biopsy section on a microscope slide. Once the biopsy section has been surgically obtained, it is then suitably prepared with a histochemical reaction, such as ATPase, whereby type 1 (slow) muscle fibers react weakly and appear light while, at the same time, type 2 (fast) muscle fibers react strongly and appear dark. It is this contrasting color differentiation utilizing histochemical techniques and resulting from the staining which makes it feasible for the invention to classify the type 1 and type 2 fibers. As stated above, the number of each type muscle fiber are roughly equal in a normal human being. In step 12, the microscope slide, upon which has been mounted the stained section of muscle tissue, is itself placed in the specimen plane of a standard commercially-available light microscope. A closed circuit television camera capable of transmitting in a black-and-white format is attached to the ocular of the microscope. Step 14 is accomplished by imaging the magnified stained biopsy section on the attached television camera in a transmission mode. The television system preserves the color differentiation between the dark (fast) fibers and the light (slow) fibers. The television camera video signal is transformed in step 16 to digital form by conventional analog-to-digital converter means. This produces a numerical representation of the specimen image consisting of a rectangular array of discrete "pixels" (or picture elements). Each pixel possesses a digital value representing the optical density or staining intensity of the corresponding point in the television image of the muscle tissue specimen. The data is loaded into the memory of a computer, at step 18. Afterwards, in step 20, the digital image of the biopsy section is processed by the computer; in this manner, the individual muscle fibers first are isolated. The area and average optical density of each fiber is measured. The fibers are then classified by their staining intensity (optical density). A fiber-size histogram for both types of fibers is next generated on a suitable graphics display terminal in step 22. The histogram curve reveals the number of fibers as a function of the fiber area measured in square microns. It may then be used as an aid to diagnosis or research.
FIG. 2 depicts a conventional microscope 30 having a light source 32 for illumination. In the specimen plane between microscope 30 and light 32 is positioned a slide 34 upon which a biopsy section of muscle tissue (not shown) is mounted. In the preferred embodiment, the biopsy specimen has been prepared using an ATPase reaction and then has been stained in order to distinguish between "fast" and "slow" type muscle fibers. A television camera 40, which is capable of transmitting a black-and-white magnified image of the stained biopsy section, attaches by appropriate means to the ocular of microscope 30 and scans an area of microscope slide 34. The televised black-and-white image 38 (FIG. 3a) of the muscle specimen is transmitted electronically to a digitizer unit 42. Digitizer 42 converts the analog signal output of television camera 40 into a plurality of discrete pixels (or picture elements), each having a digital value corresponding to the particular density of the corresponding point in the stained biopsy section. The digital values are then processed by a special-purpose digital computer 44 capable of isolating and classifying individual muscle fibers.
In the preferred embodiment, special-purpose computer 44 is designed and particularly adapted for use in a scientific, clinical environment by reason of a sequential programming, step-oriented pipeline architecture comprising an LSI microprocessor and program 46 and two memory units 48, 50. The digital values of the pixels are loaded into the memory 48 of computer 44. Depending upon the particular analysis required, a computer program, which is stored in a third memory (not shown), commands the microprocessor 46 to access and process the data stored in input memory 48.
The processing is designed to compute measurements of the number and area, as well as the density of each of the muscle fibers. Classification of each type of fiber according to average optical density is also accomplished by the processing step. At the end of the processing step, the total number of each type of muscle fiber having each discrete area value are triggered by the computer program to display fiber area histograms for each fiber type on a suitable output terminal 51.
This procedure provides digital analysis of video information which is not limited in what can be done, as opposed to prior art analog analysis, which is restricted to what can be done in real time. Here the system feeds the microscope image into the computer which then isolates and counts the fibers and measures their size. It then generates for display graphs (histograms) showing the size distribution for each type fiber. This information will assist physicians in diagnosing and treating muscle disease, and will facilitate research aimed at understanding human muscle disease processes, as discussed, for example, by V. Dubowitz and M. H. Brooke in Muscle Biopsy, A Modern Approach, W. B. Saunders Co., Ltd. (1973).
A brief review of the procedure will now be described with reference to FIGS. 3a, 3b and 3c, and discussed with reference to iterative microprocessing techniques. It should be understood, however, that the specific iterative microprocessing techniques are exemplary, and not in any way limiting since those skilled in the art will know of other techniques which may be employed, such as those described by Azriel Rosenfeld and Avinash C. Kah in Digital Picture Processing, Academic Press (1976), and Richard O. Duda and Peter E. Hart in Pattern Classification and Scene Analysis, John Wiley & Sons (1973).
FIG. 3a is a microscope image of a muscle biopsy section as presented to the television camera. It is digitized and stored as discrete pixel values proportional to the optical density of corresponding points in the specimen. For simplicity, only two distinct densities are illustrated: one for type 1 (slow) fibers which appear light, and one for type 2 (fast) which appear dark (shaded), although in practice there will be some fibers which will appear between light and dark, but which may nevertheless be classifiable as one of the two types. (In some analysis, three types are classified, and in such analysis the techniques are simply expanded to accommodate the third type and ultimately generate a histogram for these types.) In the normal human, the number of each type fiber is roughly equal, with fiber diameter distributed around approximately 50 microns, although various neuromuscular diseases affect fiber size and the relative proportion of the types. In this example, both the fiber size and type is relatively normal.
Once the pixel data is loaded into memory, the boundaries of the fibers are determined. Then they are classified as to type, and as to size for each type, in order to display a histogram. FIG. 3b illustrates the fiber boundaries, and FIG. 3c illustrates a typical histogram. To determine the boundaries, the microprocessor scans the pixels systematically beginning, for example, at the upper left and proceeding row by row from top to bottom. For each pixel, beginning with the second one, a comparison is made between the values of the pixels before and after it in the horizontal direction, and beginning with the second row, between the values of the pixels above and below it. Any marked change of greater than some predetermined magnitude indicates a boundary. This technique of computing the mathematical gradient magnitude at each pixel is relatively simple and accurate for determining fiber image boundaries. An isolated muscle fiber image is then defined as a connected (adjacent) set (group) of pixels all having gradient magnitudes less than some preset threshold value. Each fiber thus isolated is assigned a unique number for reference purposes.
It would be feasible to determine all of the boundaries, and to display the boundaries as by FIG. 3b for a human operator to interactively correct since experience will enable the operator to determine where the microprocessor has likely failed to detect a boundary between fibers. It would also be feasible to program such review for automatic correction. That is accomplished by causing the program to start at a specified point inside a particular fiber and execute a region growing algorithm thereby sequentially expanding a boundary about the point until the border of the fiber is reached. This algorithm is relatively simple from an imaging process point of view because the fiber boundary about any point is convex. In either case, the next procedure would be to classify each bounded area as to type, and to classify it as to size for each type. The area measurement of a particular fiber is simply the number of pixels inside the boundary multiplied by the area, at the specimen plane, of a single pixel, while the optical density of the fiber is the average of the pixel values inside the boundary. Typing is accomplished by comparing the optical density of each fiber with a predetermined range of optical density for each type. At the same time, the number of fibers of each type and size are also counted, to complete the data required for a fiber size histogram. In that manner automatic quantitative analysis is provided to replace the usual prior art analysis which is quite subjective in its classification of fiber types and size, and is extremely tedious and subject to many errors due to operator fatigue.
From the foregoing it is seen that the major processing is that of isolating the areas. The gradient-based fiber isolation technique just described separates the fibers in the digitized image format very simply and with a high degree of accuracy. Before measuring the fibers as to density (type) and area (size) a shape analysis program may be employed to examine each fiber, and to separate those shapes corresponding to touching fibers where the isolation program has failed to properly isolate the fibers, or an operator examines the image of FIG. 3b and interactively separates touching fibers. Alternatively, both the isolation program and the human operator may be used to perfect isolation of the fibers.
In FIG. 4, the preferred architectural arrangement for the computer 44 is illustrated as comprising a plurality of microprocessors P2, P4 . . . and a plurality of memory blocks M1, M2 . . . . Each of the memory blocks is a two-port memory block; the capacity of each block holds 4096 eight-bit bytes. Each of the microprocessors may be a conventional microprocessor such as the MC6800 manufactured by Motorola and American Microsystem Inc. Processor P2 is connected electronically with data memory blocks M1, M3 and also with a program memory block M2 ; while processor P4 is similarly connected to data memory blocks M3, M5 and to program memory block M4. In operation, processor P2 is controlled by a computer program stored in memory block M2. Processor P2 reads its program from memory block M2, takes its input data from M1, and stores its output data in M3. Similarly, P4 reads its instructions from a program stored in M4, and its input data from M3 and writes its output data into M5. Each of the memory blocks is comprised of a commercially available integrated circuit memory chip, such as the 2012 memory chip manufactured by Intel Corporation.
The architecture depicted by FIG. 4 makes it possible for input data, such as the televised images of a muscle biopsy specimen, to be passed from left to right through various stages of processing. A program bus 52 has the capability of being used to load the required programs directly into the program memory blocks M2 and M4 before the processing begins. Due to the novel iterative arrangement of the components, it is necessary that each of the data memory blocks M1, M2, M3, M4, M5 is designed to have two ports for access by two separate processors. Since the processors are required to share the memory blocks, memory access conflicts may arise and must be resolved. One exemplary way to do this is to have one of the two micro-processor units stop until the memory-sharing conflict is terminated using clock stretching techniques.
FIG. 5 shows one embodiment of the preferred hardware configuration for the architecture illustrated in FIG. 4. Printed electronic circuit boards 54, 55 comprise two processors P2, P4 having clock stretching capabilities and five memory blocks M1, M2, M3, M4, M5. The circuit boards are placed adjacent to each other and plugged into a power and clock bus 56. In the preferred embodiment, the boards are ordered in the following sequence: M2i-1, M2i, P2i, . . . for i=1,2,3 . . . . Bus 56 is implemented as back-plane wiring carrying five volts, a ground GD, and dual phase clock pulses Φ1, Φ2 on a conventional card rack (not shown). On top of each processor and memory card are located two connectors 58, 60 forming the two access ports required for communication between each iterative module. Each port is comprised of address, data and control lines. The communication is carried via ribbon cables 62 each having four connectors 64. For instance, a single strip of ribbon cable 63 can connect P2 with M1, M2 and M3 ; while, at the same time, a second strip of cable 65 can connect P4 with M3, M4 and M5. By using this arrangement of but two standard types of processor and memory printed circuit cards 54, 55 many different configurations are possible. For example, one need not be limited in the number of such memory cards 54 which can be utilized for either data or program memory blocks. The configuration depicted in FIG. 5 can easily be modified to reflect those changes by appropriately rewiring ribbon cables 62.
Attention is now directed to FIG. 6 which illustrates the logic diagram for a typical two-port memory block module. The unbuffered solid state memory block 66 holds a capacity of 4096 bytes, each having eight bits, and is implemented with standard integrated circuit memory chips, such as the Intel 2102 referred to hereinbefore. In addition to a Read/Write (R/W) line and an active low ENABLE (E) line, memory 66 has twelve bits of ADDRESS (ADR) input, eight bits of DATA IN (DIN) and eight bits of DATA OUT (DOUT). The circuit itself has two ports through which two separate processors can access memory 66. A first Port 1 is the high-priority port and a second Port 2 is assigned low priority. In each case, the lower order twelve bits of the ADDRESS (A11 -A0) together with the eight-bit DATA bus 67 are routed to the memory chips in block 66 by suitable port select logic as shown. In the preferred embodiment, four groups of tri-state buffers 68 are employed, under logical control, to connect or disconnect the ADDRESS and DATA lines from each port to block 66.
The logic circuitry used to accomplish the actual port selection function is also shown in FIG. 6. When the most significant four bits (A15 -A12) of the ADDRESS applied to Port 1 select this particular memory block 66 by specifying its assigned address, then a first block select signal (BS1) goes high. Likewise, when the processor which is connected to Port 2 selects memory block 66, a second block select signal (BS2) goes high. The memory is enabled only when either BS1 or BS2 goes high; otherwise, it is dormant. At any given time, a port select signal (PS) determines which of the two ports is actually connected to block 66. By default, Port 1 is assigned access to the memory block and, correspondingly, PS goes low. However, when BS2 goes high and, at the same time, BS1 is low to signify that only the processor connected to Port 2 has selected the memory block, PS goes high and the memory is awarded to Port 2. Should a memory access conflict arise, it is reflected by the fact that both BS1 and BS2 are high. In that instance the PORT SELECT (PS) line automatically awards the memory to Port 1. In addition, an active low WAIT signal is generated by the logic circuitry and sent to the processor connected to Port 2. This signal is generated by an open collector gate 70 so that WAIT lines from several memory blocks (not shown) can be wire-OR'ed and used at the same time. In the preferred embodiment, a dummy WAIT signal 72 is applied to Port 1, but it is at no time pulled low. Depending upon which port is selected, the Read/Write (R/W) input for memory 66 can be derived from the active low WRITE input. In turn, the routing of the bidirectional DATA bus from memory 66 to either Port 1 or Port 2 is controlled by the PORT SELECT (PS) line and the data direction by the Read/Write (R/W) lines.
FIG. 7 diagrams a microprocessor (μP) 74 with two access ports Port 1 and Port 2 for memory and data bus connection. An active low WAIT input signal having the capability of stopping processor 74 by clockstretching is also shown. The Phase 1 (Φ1) and Phase 2 (Φ2) clock signals for microprocessor 74 are both derived from a master clock (Φ1 M, Φ2 M). As long as the WAIT signal is high, the master clock signal is propagated intact to the microprocessor. However, when the WAIT signal is pulled low, the microprocessor clock lines are, in effect, frozen with Phase 1 high and Phase 2 low. An active low WRITE signal is created as the product of a Read/Write (R/W) signal, which is generated by the microprocessor, and of the Phase 2 (Φ2) clock signal. In the preferred embodiment, Port 1 and Port 2 are implemented by dual connectors 58, 60 wired in parallel.
The clock timing for the shared memory port and microprocessor are shown in FIG. 8. At the top is a two-phase master clock having non-overlapping Phases 1 and 2 (Φ1 M, Φ2 M) alternatively going high. For purposes of illustration, one may assume that block select signal BS1 goes high at point 1, thereby indicating that a first processor is using the memory via its port number 1. At point 2, a second block select signal BS2 goes high to indicate that a second processor is attempting to use the memory via its port number 2. Since both BS1 and BS2 are high, a memory-access conflict has occurred and the WAIT signal goes low (active). During the period from point 2 to point 3 the memory is awarded to the first processor and at the same time, the clock signal to the second processor is frozen with Phase 1 (Φ1) high and Phase 2 (Φ2) low. The second processor is thus effectively stopped temporarily. At point 3, the first processor accesses a memory location outside the memory block 66, thus terminating the conflict. In that manner BS1 goes low after being active for, in this case, three cycles. At that moment, the WAIT signal is caused to go high (inactive) and access to the memory is awarded to the second processor. During the period from point 3 to point 4, the second processor completes its extended clock cycle. The net result of the timing sequence depicted in FIG. 8 is that when two microprocessors attempt to access the same memory, the WAIT line goes low, in turn freezing the second processor in Phase 1 (Φ1) of its clock cycle. The second processor is thereby stopped until the first processor finishes accessing the memory. As soon as the memory access conflict terminates, the second processor is allowed to continue its operation in phase with the master clock.
When the microcomputer system is started up, all processors are in the RESET condition. They remain idle while an external computer loads the required programs into the appropriate Read/Write program memory blocks. If some or all of the program memory blocks are Read only memory, they need not be loaded. Next the operator removes the reset condition and each processor begins checking a specified status control word location in its input data memory block. The first processor, however, begins immediately reading input data from some image data source such as an image digitizer. When it completes the processing of the first image it writes a pre-arranged status code into its output data memory block which is the input data memory block of the next processor. When the second processor detects this status code it begins processing the image. This process continues with the processors communicating their status via control words in the shared memory blocks. When a particular processor finishes one image it executes an idle loop checking its status code word, waiting for the signal that another image is ready for processing.
Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated herein, it is recognized that modifications and variations may readily occur to those skilled in the art. Consequently, it is intended that the claims be interpreted to cover such modifications and equivalents.
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text:
"First class treatment fron start to finish"
About: Shepton Mallet NHS Treatment Centre Shepton Mallet NHS Treatment Centre BA4 4LP
Posted via NHS Choices
The pre - operation review was undertaken by two lovely and friendly nurses and also included a chat with the consultant that would be carrying out my cyst removal procedure. On the day of the operation, the care received was first class from the receptionist, through to the nurses and theatre team and post operation nurse. The lack of formality was totally unexpected and made me feel at ease throughout my visit. True to their word I received a telephone call a few days later just to confirm that I was experiencing no problems and reassurance that they would be available at any time to answer any questions I might have. From start to finish I felt that the treatment was what I would expect going privately rather than the NHS. Thanks.
Response from Shepton Mallet NHS Treatment Centre 14 months ago
Dear Mr Duggan
Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback on your recent experience with us.
At Shepton Mallet NHS Treatment centre we aim to provide a high quality, efficient and professional patient focused service and it was lovely to hear we have achieved that aim. We strive to maintain an open and friendly approach in our relationships with both patients and peers and recognise that this helps to allay fears and improve communication so making the treatment plan easier to understand and negotiate.
We hope you have made a good recovery and have achieved the outcome you were hoping for.
Kind regards
Trudy Craig
Patient Quality and Safety Manager

subset: commoncrawl


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5 Rules of B2B Content Engagement The essentials of content engagement are universal – they start with your customer, rather than your product or service.
How To Align Content To Buying Cycles Infographic
Many demographic filters are a waste of money for lead or list acquisition. Why? Because they concentrate on what people have filled out on a form rather than what they are doing. They are an artificial means of segmenting an audience. I spent years fulfilling, selling, and buying lead generation commitments for clients with filter guarantees on titles, country and company size. These filters are still being used by companies and they pay a lot for them; increase your filters, and you increase your cost per lead by as much as $50 per lead in some instances. There are better ways to spend that money and attract the buyers you want. Content.
When you spend money on arbitrary filters based on forms your potential buyer filled out with some else, you are artificially going after an audience that may or may not be in the market for your product. Let's look at job titles. Job titles for the same position are as varied as different breeds of dogs. Let's say you sell a Widget software solution. Just because an IT employee filled out a form and said he was a manager, doesn't mean he's interested in your Widget software. He might not need a Widget solution right now. He may have already purchased a Widget solution this month. Why spend the money to market to him just because he could possibly buy a Widget if he wanted to? However, if said IT manager is researching content on Widgets and is comparing product features, you had better reach him now instead of next quarter. Or as a manager, he may be assembling data for someone else to make a decision. If so, when you target that IT manager only, you are missing the decision maker. I would argue that you just excluded a potential buyer rather than targeted one.
I know, sometimes filters seem like the best way to fish in a smaller pond because you are basing your filters on the last place you caught fish. It seems reasonable to market to a target based on past purchases or stats, but there are enough ways to go after your REAL target audience. Paying for a job title, company size, or even a country filter to reach them isn't one of them. Think about it.


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Posts Tagged 'esoteric'
Freedom Of Thought
We can only evolve our awareness and experience of life through free thinking. Without it no advancement can be made in any field of thought. We would simply be stuck in the previous set of ideals and ideologies and perpetuating the experiences of the past. When we stay in these mindsets we give our power away to the past.
Albert Einstein once said, "Problems cannot be solved by the level of awareness that created them." It is our freedom of thought that allows us to expand not only on the level of thought, but on the level of form as well.
I believe we live in an infinite universe that is constantly expanding. This is true cosmologically, but also experientially as human thought and consciousness progresses. Form is simply a result of this expansion. Read the rest of this entry »
The Mistrials Of The Mysteries
A long history remains of brilliant thinkers, scientists, politicians, religious leaders and scholars who had throughout the ages studied the mysteries. They suffered greatly, as they were infamous in their knowledge and advancement of the sciences, and thus reviled and distrusted, due to the change they brought about in human history. It often began as a study of religion and the cosmos, which opened up the doorways to new ways of thinking.
None could be a better example than Galileo Galilei, who was forced to recant on his knees, on penalty of death, that the world was not only round, but that we were orbiting the sun.
Geordiano Bruno also faced the Roman Inquisition. He was a priest, philosopher, mathematician and astrologer. He was burned at the stake for heresy due to his unorthodox cosmological theories. Read the rest of this entry »
The Angel Messages In Number Patterns
Two ideas in the psychic realm often overlap: our angel guides and the symbolism of numbers. Each of us has guardian angels or spiritual guides. If we are spiritually aware we often also notice that we see certain patterns of numbers throughout the day and in our dreams: the time, dates, addresses, phone numbers, road signs. These are often messages from our angels!
So, how can we draw meaning from what seem like completely random numerical patterns? Let's use the number 12, or 1212, as an example. The number 12 is a powerful cipher in Numerology: it represents the completion of a cycle, as well as the anticipation of new beginnings. Pisces is the twelfth sign of the Zodiac, for example, and December is the twelfth and final month of the year. Read the rest of this entry »
Life After Life (Part 7 of 7) – Continued Creation
It has been my experience that love is often the most universal message that people who have touched the other side bring back to us. That being said, even though love is the most important quality that we can express as human beings, there is also good reason to ally with love and forgiveness in our lives.
While we are on this planet our actions and contributions really do matter. As souls we are evolving and growing, and through this evolutionary process taking place on the soul level the planet too is in a process of evolution. Evolution is the creative dynamic that love creates.
In today's final blog in this series I rely a bit on the esoteric traditions of spirituality that came before us, especially that of the Judeo-Christian and Jewish traditions. As I do so, I want to be clear that there are many traditions that express and say these same things in different ways. My personal background is in Christianity, and most of my formal teaching related to religion and spirituality stem from this tradition. This is why my blogs contain some archaic Christian language as reference points for spiritual understanding. Read the rest of this entry »
Moon Metaphysics – The Storm Moon
In Medieval times February's full moon was known as the Storm Moon. During this month storms, rain, snow, and ice raged across the Northern Hemisphere and the Earth was still in the firm grip of winter. Ships were tossed on the sea as if they were feathers in the wind, and travel was limited.
In one Greek myth, Scylla, a sea monster, along with the whirlpool Charybdis, each guarded a side of the Strait of Messina which divides Italy and Sicily. Travelling sailors navigating the strait would have to choose risking their lives with either the monster, or the whirlpool. Greek mythology states that Scylla had six heads, each with three rows of sharp teeth, held on six very long necks. Her body was made out of several growling dogs held up by twelve paws. Her heads would reach out to passing ships to grab sailors and crush them against the rocks before devouring them. Read the rest of this entry »
Moon Metaphysics – The Chinese Wolf Moon
The Choctaw knew today's full moon as the "Cooking Moon," while the Chinese traditionally call it the "Wolf Moon."
Choctaw tribes are considered among the oldest on the North American continent, peaking between 800 and 900 A.D. and their homestead was in the place we now call Mississippi. Lore says they were the first in the land and that a relationship existed between the Choctaw and the Mayan, Toltec, Incan and Aztec civilizations. Research appears to back this up.
The Choctaw divided their time with the light – day was day and night was night. But, if a wrong was committed at night, it might be seen by Mother Moon, a Star Child or The Fire, and you would be reported for your indiscretion and called to answer for it. The Choctaw considered fire to be a gift from the Sun deity Hashtahli, for the Choctaw to be used to cook their food, ward off wild animals and furnish needed light during the hours of darkness. Read the rest of this entry »
Out-Of-Body Experience, Or Astral Travelling?
Out-of-body experience (OBE) is more generally known as astral travel or astral projection in esoteric circles. Many individuals find astral traveling helpful with their own personal development. They use this technique to visit places they would otherwise be unable to visit, or to meet up with loved ones on the other side. Astral travel is also a powerful way to meet up with your spirit guides, to visit future lives, and even for what is termed as "exploring the universe."
Now and again, my cynical husband will let me in on some of his more 'other worldly' experiences over the years. The most recent revelation was about how he used to leave his body at will. Over time, I have read of, and learned of various techniques to leave my body at will, but never dedicated enough time to master the art of astral traveling. Read the rest of this entry »
When The Student Is Ready, The Teacher Appears
Gifted clients sometimes call me to ask how to develop their psychic abilities. My answer is always the same, connect with like-minded people so that you can openly share, learn and practice.
Where to find these people is usually the next question. Well, you found me for starters! Something bigger than all of us directed you to me. More will follow. At times it is not necessary for you to seek. As the saying goes, when the student is ready the teacher will appear…
Driving has always been my escape. Cranking up the music, opening the windows, becoming one with my car. It is where I do my best thinking. Unconsciously, I am aware of my surroundings. I've always been a safe driver. But consciously my mind is sometimes in high gear. When I'm on the road I unwind, develop ideas, mull over dramas, laugh at the ridiculous, and most importantly, enjoy my own company. Read the rest of this entry »


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Lebanon: Explosion kills soldier
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A Lebanese soldier died by a blast at dawn Saturday in the north of the country, the military said. Privately owned Future TV reported that the blast was caused by an explosive planted at an army position in the town of Abdeh. A military statement identified the victim as Osama Ahmed Hassan, 24.
According to the AP, the army sealed off the area, blocking roads leading to the targeted position, which is on the main highway to Syria, some eight miles from the border.
Abdeh is near the devastated Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr el-Bared,


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EPG Companies Inc. has designed and manufactured pollution control systems and equipment that are being used worldwide in various landfill, remediation, water and wastewater and industrial applications. With over 5,000 installations, EPG has become the choice among thousands of environmental professionals.
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Community Tire
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Review for Community Tire
RICK L. on 02/17/2015
"The ladies up front were super! Very attentive."
Good price, fast service and wonderful folks at the front counter.
Vehicle: MINI Cooper
Service Date: 02/16/2015
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Pharmacological administration of the natural lipid amide, oleoylethanolamide (OEA), inhibits food intake in free-feeding rodents by prolonging latency to feed and postmeal interval. This anorexic effect is mediated by activation of type-α peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR-α). Food intake stimulates mucosal cells in duodenum and jejunum to generate OEA, suggesting that this lipid-derived messenger may act as a local satiety hormone. As a test of this hypothesis, here, we examined whether targeted enhancement of OEA production in the small intestine affects feeding behavior in rats. We constructed an adenoviral vector (Ad-NPLD) that directs overexpression of the enzyme N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine (NAPE)-phospholipase D (PLD), which catalyzes the hydrolysis of NAPE to generate OEA. Intraduodenal injection of the Ad-NPLD vector resulted in a time-dependent increase in NAPE-PLD expression and OEA production, which was restricted to the proximal small intestine. No such effect was observed after administration of a control adenoviral vector. Enhanced OEA production in Ad-NPLD-injected animals was temporally associated with increased expression of two PPAR-α target genes (PPAR-α and CD36) and with decreased food intake. The hypophagic phenotype of Ad-NPLD-injected rats was attributable to increase feeding latency and postmeal interval, rather than decreased meal size. The results suggest that localized changes in OEA production in the small intestine, such as those produced by food intake, are sufficient to induce in rats a state of across-meal satiety similar to that elicited by systemic administration of exogenous OEA.
- N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine-phospholipase D
- peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α
- adenovirus
the gastrointestinal tract plays a critical role in the control of food intake, regulating multiple aspects of this process through both neuronal and hormonal mechanisms. Among the signals released by the gut, peptides such as CCK or glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) have received the most attention (4, 6), but evidence indicates that lipid-derived mediators may also be involved. For example, food ingestion stimulates cells in the mucosal layer of the duodenum and jejunum to produce the endogenous lipid amide oleoylethanolamide (OEA) (3, 8, 18), suggesting that this compound may participate in the induction of satiety. In support of this idea, pharmacological studies have shown that administration of exogenous OEA reduces feeding in rats and mice (2, 9, 13, 15, 18). Behavioral analyses in free-feeding rodents indicate that the anorexic effects of OEA cannot be attributed to malaise, anxiety, stress, or motor inhibition (17, 18) but rather to a prolongation of latency to feed and postmeal interval, which is suggestive of enhanced across-meal satiety (10, 15). Thus, the anorexic properties of OEA appear to be distinct from those of gut peptides such as CCK and GLP-1, which reduce food intake by decreasing meal size and duration (4, 6).
Several lines of evidence indicate that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPAR-α), a nuclear receptor involved in the regulation of energy balance (19), mediates the anorexic actions of OEA. First, OEA binds with high affinity to the purified ligand-binding domain of PPAR-α (dissociation constant, KD ≈ 40 nM) and activates with high potency PPAR-α-driven transactivation in heterologous expression systems (half-maximal effective concentration, EC50 ≈ 100 nM) (2, 9). Second, synthetic PPAR-α agonists exert anorexic effects that are behaviorally identical to those produced by OEA (2, 9). Third, targeted deletion of the PPAR-α gene in mice abolishes the hypophagic actions of OEA and synthetic PPAR-α agonists (9). Finally, the concentrations reached by endogenous OEA in the rat small-intestine mucosa after feeding (200–400 nM) (8) are sufficient to fully activate PPAR-α, which is highly expressed in murine small intestine (5) but not to affect other putative OEA receptors, such as GPR119 (EC50 ≈ 3 μM) (16) and TRPV-1 (EC50 ≈ 2 μM) (1).
The findings outlined above suggest that food-induced OEA production in the proximal small intestine may regulate satiety through a local autocrine or paracrine mechanism. A corollary of this hypothesis is that experimental manipulations that selectively elevate OEA formation in the small intestine should mimic the anorexic effects elicited by systemic administration of exogenous OEA. To test this prediction, in the present study, we constructed an adenoviral vector that directs overexpression of the enzyme N-acyl-phosphatidylethanolamine (NAPE)-phospholipase D (PLD) (14, 23, 24), which catalyzes the hydrolysis of NAPE to produce OEA. Injection of this viral vector into the duodenum of rats resulted in local increases in NAPE-PLD expression and OEA production, which were accompanied by a significant enhancement of across-meal satiety.
Adult male Wistar rats (250–300 g) were purchased from Charles River (Wilmington, MA). A 12-h light-dark cycle was set with lights on at 5:30 AM. Water and standard chow pellets (Prolab RMH 2500; PMI Nutrition International, Brentwood, MO) were available ad libitum. All procedures met the National Institutes of Health guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals and were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the University of California, Irvine.
Lipid analyses.
Rats were killed with halothane, and tissues were rapidly collected and snap-frozen in liquid N2. Frozen tissues were weighed and homogenized in methanol containing internal standards (8). Cells were harvested in 50% methanol in PBS containing internal standards. OEA and other fatty-acid ethanolamides (palmitoylethanolamide, anandamide), as well as their NAPE precursors, were quantified after lipid extraction by isotope-dilution liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry, as described (8).
Adenovirus preparation.
An EcoRI/NheI fragment containing full-length rat brain NAPE-PLD was cloned into the pCD515 vector (Microbix, Toronto, Ontario, Canada). Plasmids were cotransfected with adenoviral genomic plasmid into low-passage human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK293) cells using the Superfect transfection reagent (Qiagen, Valencia, CA). The shuttle plasmid pCD515 was used as a control. Cotransfected cells were harvested and subjected to three cycles of freezing and thawing. The recombinant adenovirus was recovered by centrifugation at 1500 g for 10 min. Viral particles were purified by 50,000 g ultracentrifugation for 2.5 h using cesium chloride gradient. The viral band was collected by puncture, and the purified virus was dialyzed against 3% sucrose/phosphate buffer (0.1 M). Stock virus was titrated by plaques in HEK293 cell.
Intraduodenal injections.
Animals were fasted for 24 h before surgery and anesthetized by intraperitoneal injection of ketamine-xylazine (9%:1%; 1 ml/kg). A 2- to 3-cm incision was made into the ventral midline skin and abdominal muscle wall beneath the xiphoid process. The mesentery was gently retracted with sterile gauze to reveal the duodenum. The duodenum was lifted, and an adenovirus suspension (1012 pfu/1 ml PBS) was injected into the intestinal lumen ∼2 cm below the pylorus using a 27-gauge needle. The ends of the scalp incision were sutured; recovering animals were kept on a heated pad at 30°C until they awoke.
Feeding behavior.
Food intake was recorded in free-feeding rats by using an automated monitoring system (Scipro, New York, NY), as described previously (10). The system consists of 24 cages equipped with food baskets connected to weight sensors. The following feeding parameters were analyzed: total food intake (g/kg)—the amount of food consumed during 24 h; feeding latency (min)—the time interval from dark onset to the first eating episode; meal size (g/kg)—the amount of food consumed during the meal; postmeal interval (min)—the time interval between end of a meal and beginning of next meal; and satiety ratio (min·g−1·kg−1)—the ratio between postmeal interval and meal size.
Quantitative PCR.
Total RNA was extracted from tissue and cells with TRIzol (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA), and cDNA was synthesized by using SuperscriptII RNase H-reverse transcriptase (Invitrogen) following the manufacturer's instructions. Real-time quantitative PCR was performed in an Mx 3000P system (Stratagene, La Jolla, CA) using TaqMan Universal PCR Master Mix (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA). The primer/probe sequences were NAPE-PLD, forward primer: TGGCTGGGACACGCG; reverse primer: GGGATCCGTGAGGAGGATG; probe: CGCTGATGGTGGAAATGGACGAGC; PPAR-α, forward primer: TGGTGGACCTCCGGCA; reverse primer: TCTTCTTGATGACCTGCACGA; probe: CTGGTCACGGAGCATGCGCAGT; CD36, forward primer: CGGCGATGAGAAAGCAGAA; reverse primer: CAACCAGGCCCAGGAGC; probe: tgttcagaaaccaagtgaccgggaaaataa; GAPDH, forward primer: AAGTATGATGACATCAAGAAGGTGGT; reverse primer: AGCCCAGGATGCCCTTTAG; and probe: AAGCAGGCGGCCGAGGGC. mRNA expression levels were normalized by using GAPDH as an internal standard and were calculated as described (20).
Antibody generation.
We constructed a glutathione-S-transferase-linked peptide comprising residues 38–53 of rat NAPE-PLD. The DNA fragment was amplified using primers incorporated with BamHI and XhoI restriction sites on the 5′ and 3′ end of amplicon, respectively. After digestion with BamHI and XhoI, the amplicon was subcloned into vector pGEX-4T-1 (Amersham Biosciences, Piscataway, NJ). The fusion protein was expressed in Escherichia coli BL-21 cells (Novagen, Madison, WI) and purified using glutathione sepharose 4B (Amersham) following the manufacturer's instructions. The polyclonal NAPE-PLD antibody was raised in rabbits and characterized using standard procedures (8, 22).
Protein analyses.
Hela cells were harvested in Tris·HCl buffer (50 mM, pH 8.0) containing a protease inhibitor cocktail (EMD Chemicals, San Diego, CA) after 36 h infection with 108 pfu of Ad-NPLD or control virus. After sonication, proteins were subjected to SDS-gel electrophoresis (4–15%) and transferred to Hybond-P membranes (Amersham Biosciences). Immunoblot analyses were conducted using a previously characterized NAPE-PLD antiserum (8) (1:3,000 dilution) using ECL-Plus detection kit (Amersham).
Hela cells were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde and blocked with 3% normal goat serum for 2 h at room temperature, rinsed with PBS (0.1 M, PBS), and incubated with NAPE-PLD antiserum (1:2,000 dilution) overnight at 4°C. After rinsing with PBS, we incubated the cells with anti-rabbit IgG Alexa Fluor 488 (1:5,000 dilution; Invitrogen) for 1 hr at room temperature. Fluorescent images were captured using the SpotFlex digital imaging system (Diagnostic Instruments. Sterling Heights, MI).
Statistical analyses.
Results are expressed as means ± SE. Statistical significance was evaluated using the Student's t-test or, when appropriate, one-way ANOVA followed by the Dunnett's post hoc test. Analyses were conducted using GraphPad Prism (GraphPad Software, San Diego, CA), and differences were considered significant if P < 0.05.
We first verified that the adenoviral vector Ad-NPLD directs NAPE-PLD expression in intact cells. Infection of HeLa cell cultures with Ad-NPLD (108 pfu, 36 h) resulted in a significant increase in NAPE-PLD mRNA levels, whereas infection with a control vector had no such effect (Fig. 1A). Heterologous NAPE-PLD expression was confirmed by both immunoblot analysis, which revealed the presence in Hela cell extracts of an appropriately sized protein band (≈46 kD) (Fig. 1B), and immunocytochemistry (Fig. 1C). The characterization of the NAPE-PLD antibody used in these experiments is reported elsewhere (8). As shown in Fig. 1D, NAPE-PLD expression was accompanied by an elevation in the cellular levels of OEA and its analog palmitoylethanolamide (PEA). By contrast, we observed only a small nonsignificant change in cellular anandamide content, confirming the limited role of NAPE-PLD in the production of this endogenous cannabinoid ligand (14, 21).
Intraduodenal injections of Ad-NPLD (1012 pfu), but not control vector, resulted in a time-dependent elevation in jejunal NAPE-PLD mRNA content, which reached maximal levels 8 to 10 days after virus administration (Fig. 2). Confirming that this effect was restricted to the small intestine, no increase in NAPE-PLD mRNA was noted in a broad series of visceral organs and tissues, including stomach, colon, liver, epidydimal fat, pancreas, and kidney (Table 1). Jejunal changes in NAPE-PLD expression were temporally associated with an increase in OEA and PEA levels (Fig. 3, A and B), but only with small nonsignificant alteration in anandamide levels (Fig. 3C). As expected, NAPE-PLD overexpression was also accompanied by a decrease in the jejunal levels of the OEA precursor, 1-stearoyl-2-arachidonoyl-sn-glycero-phosphoethanolamine-N-oleoyl, and the PEA precursor, 1-stearoyl-2-arachidonoyl-sn-glycero-phosphoethanolamine-N-palmitoyl (Table 2).
To determine whether virally induced overproduction of endogenous OEA is sufficient to activate PPAR-α in rat jejunum, we measured the expression of two representative PPAR-α target genes, those encoding for PPAR-α itself and for the fatty-acid transporter CD36 (9). Quantitative PCR analyses showed that, concomitantly with OEA overproduction (Fig. 3A), Ad-NPLD injection resulted in a significant elevation in jejunal PPAR-α (Fig. 4A) and CD36 mRNA (Fig. 4B). Administration of a control adenoviral vector had no effect on PPAR-α or CD36 mRNA levels (Fig. 4).
The intraduodenal injection of control vector did not alter free-feeding behavior (Figs. 5 and 6). By contrast, injection of the Ad-NPLD virus resulted in a reversible reduction in total food intake (Fig. 5), which overlapped with the time of maximal NAPE-PLD expression (Fig. 2) and OEA elevation (Fig. 3A). Meal pattern analyses on days 7–12 after virus injections revealed that this temporary hypophagia was due to a prolongation of the latency to feed (Fig. 6A) and postmeal interval (Fig. 6B), with no detectable change occurring in meal size (Fig. 6C). The expected increase in satiety ratio (postmeal interval/meal size) associated with this response pattern is illustrated in Fig. 6D. Notably, these alterations in feeding behavior were only observed during the first hours of nocturnal feeding (Fig. 7). Later nocturnal food intake or diurnal food intake were not affected by NAPE-PLD overexpression (data not shown).
In the present study, we examined whether artificial rises in OEA levels in the small intestine, quantitatively similar to those naturally caused by food ingestion (8), can alter feeding behavior in rats. To increase local OEA production, we constructed an adenoviral vector that directs expression of the OEA-synthesizing enzyme NAPE-PLD and injected this vector into the rat duodenum. This resulted in parallel increases in NAPE-PLD expression, PPAR-α activation, and OEA production, which were restricted to the small intestine and were temporally associated with a significant reduction in food intake. Importantly, the reversible hypophagia associated with NAPE-PLD overexpression was behaviorally identical to that elicited by exogenous OEA (10, 15), as it was due to a prolongation of feeding latency and postmeal interval rather than to a decrease in meal size. Also, of interest is the finding that the anorexic effect induced by NAPE-PLD overexpression was restricted to the first hours of nocturnal feeding, when rats eat the first and largest of their daily meals. These results support the hypothesis that feeding-induced fluctuations in small-intestinal NAPE-PLD activity and OEA production are sufficient to influence across-meal satiety (3, 8).
Previous studies have shown that food ingestion stimulates OEA mobilization in the mucosal layer of the duodenum and jejunum but exerts no such effect in the serosal layer from the same intestinal segments, in other sections of the gastrointestinal tract (stomach, ileum, colon) or in a broad series of internal organs and tissues (e.g., liver and brain) (8, 18). Furthermore, food intake does not alter OEA concentrations in portal or cardiac blood (8, 18). These observations suggest that OEA may act as a local—that is, autocrine or paracrine—satiety signal rather than as a blood-borne hormone. The present experiments show that a localized increase in OEA mobilization in the small intestine can both activate PPAR-α—as evidenced by the induction of two key PPAR-α target genes (PPAR-α itself and CD36)—and reduce food intake, thus providing a critical piece of evidence in support of a local messenger role of OEA. Further support for this hypothesis comes from studies showing that surgical resection of the vagus nerve below the diaphragm or pharmacological ablation of peripheral sensory fibers each abrogates the anorexic effects elicited by intraperitoneal administration of OEA (18).
Our experiments raise several questions, which remain to be answered. The first pertains to the identity of the fatty-acid ethanolamides involved in the regulation of feeding behavior. Both food intake (3, 8) and NAPE-PLD overexpression (present results) increase the levels of multiple fatty-acid ethanolamides along with OEA. At present, the functional roles played by each member of this family of compounds, if any, remain unclear. Because both OEA and PEA activate PPAR-α and reduce feeding (11, 18), the possibility that PEA contributes to the hypophagic effect of NAPE-PLD overexpression should be taken into consideration. The second question relates to the cell types in the small intestine (5) responsible for OEA biosynthesis. Our viral approach allowed us to restrict NAPE-PLD expression to the upper gastrointestinal tract, but not to direct it to a specific cellular locale. Therefore, additional experiments using cell type-specific deletion or overexpression of the NAPE-PLD gene (or those encoding other OEA-metabolizing enzymes) are necessary to fully elucidate the functional anatomy of OEA signaling in the upper gut. Another question concerns the possible roles of OEA in aspects of intestinal physiology other than feeding regulation. Both exogenous OEA administration (18) and endogenous OEA overproduction (present results) stimulate expression of the PPAR-α-regulated protein CD36. This multifunctional cell-membrane glycoprotein is highly expressed in the small intestine and has been implicated in the transport of fatty acids across the enterocyte membrane (7, 12), confirming the suggestion that OEA signaling at PPAR-α regulates lipid absorption along with food intake (25). A final consideration is the time course of the anorexic effects of OEA overproduction. The finding that such effects are limited to the first hours of the night, when rodents consume a significant proportion of their daily food, suggests that OEA signaling might be controlled by circadian regulators, which remain to be discovered.
Despite these open questions, the present results provide important new evidence for a role of OEA as a local satiety messenger in the small intestine and further validate the use of viral technology as a tool for the local delivery of pharmacologically active agents to organs and tissues.
This work was supported by a Grant DK073955 to D. Piomelli from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
We thank Silvana Gaetani for discussion and Phuong Phan for help with sample collection.
The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. The article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
- Copyright © 2008 the American Physiological Society


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Don't worry when your iTunes Connect status is changed to "closed" as this Wednesday, May 14, the service will be closed for maintenance. This procedure is common and it happens once in a while. The news is just a quick head up for all iOS and Mac developers who use iTunes Match and Connect for their work.
Everyone who is involved with developing and rely on this program [who are registered users] have got emails about iTunes Connect closed status for May 14. According to the maintenance schedule, the underway will begin at 8 am PDT. iTunes Connect will not be working during four hours.
You won't be able to deliver content and use the tool at this time. This is just a note for devs. You can either re-schedule your personal plans for Wednesday or spend this time working on new projects and ideas.
There will be 4 hours when you cannot distribute your songs, games, applications, books and other things on the App and Mac stores, iTunes and iBooks. You won't be able to access your sales reports, banking info, taxes etc.
The 4 hours is not that long so there should be no problems for all developers.


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Eyeshield 21 Episode 135 English Subbed
You are watching Eyeshield 21 Episode 135 English Subbed from the Eyeshield 21 Anime Show. Watch or Download Eyeshield 21 Episode 135 MP4 English Sub and other episodes of Eyeshield 21 Streamed for Free.
"Peerless Superman"
Stream Eyeshield 21 Episode 135
Episode Summary: Shin stops the passing game of Deimon forcing them to use Sena. Sena tries to pass Shin with the Devilbat Ghost, but Shin simply turns around to stop him with the Trident Tackle. However Shin says there battle is not over, as Sena's speed wasn't maxed out. Sena does another run and uses the Devil Light Hurricane (using opponents strength to push himself past), named by Hiruma, to pass by Shin on their third one-on-one. But Shin catches up right away and stops Sena, now also being equal in speed.


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Why men love Top Gear
More than just a car show, 'Top Gear' gives the inner petrolhead in all of us a whiff of life in the fast lane
A recent survey asked British men to vote for their dream job. Ahead of the usual suspects -- pilot, spy, professional sportsman -- by far the largest number plumped for 'Top Gear' presenter.
To put it another way, a majority of men in the UK -- and Ireland, too you suspect -- would rather wake up every morning looking like Jeremy Clarkson than David Beckham or Daniel Craig in uber-buff Bond mode.
What is it about 'Top Gear' that exerts such a primal hold on the men's collective imagination?
Yes, the cars are undoubtedly part of the appeal. Beneath our 21st-century, touchy feely veneers, what guy -- po-faced bicycle puritans types aside -- wouldn't wish to whittle away an afternoon racing a Lamborghini against a jet plane?
But come on, 'Top Gear' is hardly that glamorous all the time. Last year, the opening third of one episode was given over to Clarkson whizzing around an aerodrome somewhere in a high performance Vectra. It's hardly scoring the winning goal in the Champions' League, is it?
After all, as a species, the Petrolhead is in gentle, but inexorable decline. And with the recession looking increasingly like the start of something rather than its horrible climax, it isn't as if many of us are in a position to buy two seater Mercs or amphibious landing craft-sized 4x4s.
No, 'Top Gear' speaks to men for reasons at best distantly connected to its subject matter. What's more, it does so at a global level. By some distance the show is BBC's most lucrative export, going down as well in Tennessee, Taiwan and Tirana as in Tunbridge Wells. Some things are universal and Top Gear is apparently one of them.
Let's just say it: the reason guys go puppy eyed for 'Top Gear' is because it appeals to the idiot man-child that exists within us all. Stick a group of men in a room together -- preferably a room with a well provisioned bar and Sky sports subscription -- and watch them regress to the condition of giddy 15-year-olds. Exactly the state of mind, in other words, which Clarkson and company channel so gleefully on 'Top Gear'.
Existing in a fug of permanent arrested adolescence, Team 'Top Gear' are allowed get away with things for which most TV presenters would be jettisoned without delay. Contrast the furore in Britain over Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross' (admittedly indefensible) behaviour towards Andrew Sachs and the collective shoulder shrugging whenever Clarkson lets rip another PC-baiting jibe.
Just this week, Clarkson was embroiled in a row with George Michael after he made some unkind quips about the singer on air. "It's very fast and very, very loud. And then in the corners it will get its tail out more readily than George Michael," said Clarkson by way of passing judgement on the Jaguar XKR-S. When someone posted the offending clip on the pop star's Twitter page, he struck back immediately.
"Good grief Mr Clarkson, I wasn't implying your towering heterosexuality was in question," went Michael's cryptic response. " I had no desire to insult you! But I do now, you pig-ugly homophobic t**t!!!!!"
This, you suspect, is all in a day's slog for Clarkson and Top Gear. Recall the outrage when, largely for giggles, co-presenter Hammond embarked on a racist diatribe against Mexicans.
"Mexican cars are just going to be lazy, feckless, flatulent, leaning against a fence asleep looking at a cactus with a blanket with a hole in the middle on as a coat," he said, prompting Clarkson to quip that he was sure the Mexican ambassador would protest if only he hadn't fallen asleep in front of his TV.
Were 'Top Gear' held to the same standards as everything else on television, such remarks would probably see the offending presenters losing their jobs, or at the least forced into a grovelling climb down. Like errant schoolboys not expected to know better, we are happy to give them a free pass, however.
That's why the job of 'Top Gear' presenter is so alluring. It offers license to behave like a feckless teenager.
And, deep down, what man wouldn't embrace such an opportunity with paws outstretched?
Top Gear, RTE Two, Saturday, 8 pm


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Does anyone have a copy of "La Cocina de Mama" handy who would be willing to paraphrase (not copy!) for me the recipe for the Spanish Hash Casserole on page 255 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/5245...
I loved that recipe and it seems like the perfect thing now that it's turning all fall-ish, but I can't seem to find my recipe card.
Thank you!


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Carole Marie Oppenlander
March 22, 1940 – Dec. 31, 2013
Born in Iowa, Carole came out west with her parents as a young child. After a few years in San Francisco, the family moved to Pacifica which was home to Carole for most of her life. In 1965 she married William Oppenlander of San Francisco. She and Bill shared 45 happy and adventurous years together, until Bill passed away suddenly in 2010.
During her lifetime, Carole worked at many jobs in the financial sector, eventually becoming a vice president at Visa. As part of that job she traveled all over the world, including Australia, Hungary, and England. She is very fondly remembered and appreciated by her coworkers; among their many tributes she is described as possessing a "sharp intellect and an equally sharp sense of fun," "a great listener . . . quite a rare thing in these days," as a person who "had a great sense of humor, creativity, and a deep dignity," "thought outside the box and made even difficult tasks fun," and "one of the greatest teachers I have had in my life."
Carole had a great sense of adventure and also a curiosity and interest in many subjects. She and Bill traveled to many exotic and interesting locations, including Egypt (with a trip down the Nile to celebrate their silver anniversary), Israel, India, Bali, Hong Kong, Myanmar, South America, Russia, and a trip on the Orient Express. Carole's mother often accompanied them; she and Carole also took many trips together, more than once on a river boat down the Mississippi to New Orleans, a favorite destination.
Carole and Bill also took various courses together; a favorite was a geology course with field trips that familiarized them with many local formations. They frequently related one geological fact as a warning to fellow travelers on highway 280; you'd be advised to drive very quickly over a certain bridge because, according to their geology teacher, it would certainly collapse in the next earthquake. (It's a thought that sticks in the mind if one frequently travels 280.) Together they enjoyed a life of fun and discovery.
Carole will be very much missed by many, including her cousin Robbin and family, three sisters-in-law and their families, as well as many friends and neighbors.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 15, at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, located at 1125 Terra Nova Blvd. in Pacifica. Memorial gifts in Carole's name may be made to the Pacifica Resource Center, 1809 Palmetto Ave., Pacifica, CA 94044 – (650)738-7470.


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Serenity Fun City located on the west bank of the Red Sea in the area of Makadi Bay just 8-minute walk from the beach. One of the most striking features is the Theme Park, a unique amusement park in the Red Sea Region, including the Aqua Park with a variety of water slides and pools for all age ranges, Luna Park with various games, kids club, children's playgrounds, video games room and 7D cinema.
All of the 515 elegantly furnished rooms are spacious and bright and feature modern amenities, private terraces or balconies with different locations and views.
The Serenity Fun City offers 1 main restaurant and 4 a la carte restaurants - Italian, Asian, Oriental, food court and 4 large bars either in the lobby or at the swimming pools with an aqua park view
The Serenity Fun City is 36 km from Hurghada International Airport. An airport pick up and drop off is available against charge upon request. The property offers free parking on site.