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We were just notified TODAY that effective December 1, 2018, Boston Heart Labs will no longer be offering its "Know It Now" pricing. If Dr. Brown has ordered Boston Heart testing for you, PLEASE complete your blood draw BEFORE December 1st. Alternatively, Dr. Brown can order through a different laboratory–just give our office a call at 360-882-1339. We are sorry for this inconvenience and sad that Boston Heart did not provide more notice.
Archive Year: 2018
Boston Heart Out-of-Pocket Increases
November 29th, 2018
Use Your Headlights, Please
November 9th, 2018
This morning a particularly dense fog rolled in. I was perplexed by the number of cars on the road without their headlights or daytime running lights on. The cars without lights were invisible, even when they were quite close. PLEASE turn on your headlights in the fog–for your safety and that of others. But don't use your high-beams since they will blind you as the driver. And, BTW, I rarely see cars equipped with "fog lights" anymore (these would be amber)–they have been replaced with "sports lights" which are very bright and blinding to the driver if used in fog. To your safety!!
Dangers of Artificial Sweeteners
October 12th, 2018
I can't say this enough: avoid artificial sweeteners! Dried stevia is OK but avoid formulas with alcohol sugars (they end with an "ol" on the end of their name). Check out this information.
EWG's Top Cleaning Products
October 12th, 2018
We all know that there are a lot of toxic cleaning agents out there. EWG has reviewed many and has updated their recommended list. I would also add that you can keep things even simpler: baking soda for scrubbing, vinegar for cleaning, and simply water to clean windows and mirrors (use a clean cotton flour-sack towel to wipe)! And talk about budget-friendly!!
First Do No Harm
August 21st, 2018
This is a basic premise in medical care–check out how naturopathic medicine approaches can help achieve this during your health care process. And keep in mind, medications and surgery may also be "First Do No Harm" treatments.
Herbicides in Your Children's Cereal??
August 16th, 2018
Glyphosates (a main ingredient in Round-Up) has been identified as carcinogenic in California and are present in cereals and grains. I was going to try and summarize EWG's article, but they have done such a great job I'm just attaching the link–please check it out. The good news is that organic cereals had much lower levels.
Beat The Heat!
July 27th, 2018
OK–so the first day or two of a summer heat wave can be kind of fun–but if you do not have air conditioning, the continued hot days can become brutal. I don't have AC and have come up with some great ways to keep my home cool.
The first idea does take time–plant some trees that will shade your home. I planted some maple trees that not only offer lovely and cooling shade, but give a spectacular show in the autumn. I will say, I wish I'd thought to have at least one of the trees be a fruit tree (food! and shade 🙂 ).
Laundry is another big factor for me. I put out a clothes line–and I have also fallen in love with my winged drying rack which I can move around (and even use inside in the cool months. I must say I enjoy how hanging the laundry slows me down–plus I get to listen to the birds and squirrels. I have learned that if I use my dryer for just a few minutes on "Air Dry" (i.e., no heat), the stiffness of the dried clothes is greatly diminished!
And then there is the cooking! Oh, how I wish I had an outside kitchen!! But I've found I just about can–I move my crock pots and Instant Pot to my back patio. I have even moved my toaster oven outdoors. You may want to set an alarm on your phone so that you remember to check on your meals since they can become "out of sight, out of mind". And remember about cold dishes, too–chicken or salmon salad, gazpacho, fruit soups, etc.
And to keep cool myself, I love adding Stellaria media tincture (chickweed) to my water. About 15 – 30 drops in a large glass of water provides a cooling effect. Water infused with cucumber slices is also cooling.
Enjoy your summer!!
Reduce Waste in the Kitchen–Here Are Some Tips!!
July 20th, 2018
So, we know that we should be reducing the use of plastics and aluminum foil in contact with our foods. Plastics can transfer dangers plasticizers (PCB for example) and aluminum can leach from foods. I recommend storing food in glass containers (keeping food from touching plastic seals), buying food that comes without wrappings (yes, that includes fresh fruits and vegetables, meats and fish from the butcher, etc.)–and you can use cotton bags for the produce and paper for the meats. This article summarizes some options to break our habits. Protect your health AND the planet!! 🙂
Sugar Smacks–Like We Need Another Reason to Avoid It
July 13th, 2018
Hopefully, no one believes that Sugar Smacks cereal is a healthy way to start the day. But now it is also associated with a multi-state Salmonella outbreak. If you have any of this cereal in your cupboard, please dispose of it. Instead, focus on a healthy breakfast of fruit, vegetables, and egg or healthfully-raised meat or fish. My breakfast today (wish I had taken a photo!): quail eggs sauteed with red cabbage and broccoli. To Your Health!!
New Sunscreen List
June 28th, 2018
EWG has posted new sunscreen products on their recommended lists–check them out by clicking here. And stay safe while having fun out in the sun!!


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Registration code
The vehicle registration card has a unique code, the registration code, which has 9 digits. You receive the first part of the code when you make your payment and the second part is with the vehicle registration card the RDW sends you.
You combine the two parts of the code yourself. You need this code to sell, trade in, scrap, demolish or export your vehicle. This is why it is important to keep the registration code safe.
If the vehicle belongs to a lease company or financing company, you will not receive a registration code. In this case, a so-called issuance restriction (verstrekkingsvoorbehoud) will be made for this license number in the register of vehicle registration certificates. This means that the lease company or financing company always receives the registration code.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
by date
- lowest price
- highest price
Ads per page:
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text:
Serving Philadelphia, the Main Line, King of Prussia, Wayne, PA, New Jersey and the neighboring tri state areas
According to the 2014 cosmetic surgery statistics from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, cosmetic surgery among men has grown 43 percent over the past five years.
Plastic surgeons and other people have attributed this rise to a number of factors, such as:
According to the Aesthetic Surgery Journal, the average age of men undergoing cosmetic surgery is 45 years old. The same study went on to say that men between 30 and 40 were more likely to get non-surgical treatments, while men age 50 to 70 were more likely to get surgeries like face lifts and eyelid surgery.
123 Bloomingdale Ave Suite 102
Wayne, PA 19087
Call Today 610.687.8771 or Schedule Using Our Form Below


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|Suggestions Feel free to post suggestions to improve your visits here
|Thread Tools
I think its the general quality over quantity rule rather then the speed of the posts that was a problem with that particular member, as you can see mentioned in the latter part of that quote.
Can't say I'm surprised at the way things are going.
Like the case of the bisexuals and straight gainers (the few that there are) leaving the board and gays taking their place.
Primarily, it's no different than, say a board that started off ``all orientations'' whose topic is something else besides gaining, and which over time ends up a lesbian board. Or a board that started off ``all faiths'' which sooner or later ends up to be Protestant, Jewish, Muslim or Catholic as people see a good thing and leave to start their own versions. It's just a natural evolutionary form if you ask me.
Secondly, I think from at least a sociological point of view, most bi's feel they are already the odd man out anyway, like the TG crowd, and would just as soon have a board catering to their interests exclusively. Straight people are even worse at this. The few straight gainers that I know are mainly still just identifying with the gaining and maintaining part of the blue collar culture that gave birth to the gainer movement in the first place.
Endless attempts to bring these guys into the gainer fray have been unsuccessful. So I still end up as the token gay in the grunt world that all the grunts trust to open up to about things.
So I'm a Dyke Mike for straight blue collar gainer guys.
(For the uninitiated, a Dyke Mike is a male Fag Hag)
Therefore it would not surprise me in the slightest if all these people that left, went to start their own lesbian-exclusive, bi-exclusive and/or straight-exclusive gaining boards of their own. Consider yourself flattered.
I have a suggestion. It has to do with all the people trying to look at pictures and not being able to before 7 posts and ALWAYS POSTING ASKING WHY!!!!!
Is there any way you could put some sort of notification on the front page or in the pictures thread that explains the rule? Because it's rather obvious that not one new member reads the rule explaining this dilemma. And even though I'm not a mod, it really gets annoying when people ask this stupid question over and over and over and... you get the point.
Or maybe you could rewrite the little thing that pops up so that it explains that they must have 7 posts, instead of just saying that they have insufficient privileges or whatever.
Either way, I really wanna hit those people with bricks. I'm sure they're nice people, but for crying out loud! READ THE RULES! I read them, it took me 7 minutes. If you can take the time to post asking that stupid question, you can take the time to read those rules so people like me don't explode in frustration.
Thank you.
Its more funny then frustrating.
Nonetheless, I don't really care at all about it. They find out soon enough..
It's lonely horny kids. What do you expect?
And being most of those lonely horny kids are boys, you know from a cultural standpoint your average boy is not into reading anyway. They are into visual and physical forums of expression.
Guys came here to get off fast (to the pictures) and all they get is frustrated when it honks at them saying they have insufficient privileges. Then that tempts them to write seven gobbledeygook real fast so they can get access. Which just makes it honk at them again, frustrating them further. So, right or wrong intelligent or not, I can see these guys' point.
It's the same as when you hire a guy at a place of employment and give him an employee training manual. In 30 years in the labor force I have yet to meet the man who has taken his employee training manual out of the original wrapper. Still Standing has a bit about that.
Girls of course will memorize it and spend their entire career explaining to the men why such and such is not allowed. And wonder why they have no men-friends there.
So it might be nice to have something on the Welcome page saying what the 7 post before pictures rule is so guys don't go and get honked at.
Your both doing an awsome job your helping people be accepted and thats a good thing keep up the good wurk
Moderation Feedback
I'm finding quite ridiculous that everyone is reacting this way to Teddy! He's a new guy on the site! So what if he's old? So what if he seems "too into" gaining and his hight? Cut him some slack! You don't have to attack every new member who's not the same age or has the exact same obsessions as you.
That's just ridiculous. Maybe now I'll start attacking everyone who posts something that I don't agree with, especially if they're new. Think before you post people.
He might be 'new' here, but to alot of us who know him from elsewhere, he's just....odd and creepy.
And as Boochan pointed out in another thread, for someone of his age to spend his day writing rather extensively long posts in a forum designed for those 25 and under, he needs a new hobby.
... since when was this forum designed specifically for those 25 and under?
|Thread Tools


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NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) - Weekly Threat Report @ncsc #cybersecurity
Weekly Threat Report - 14th December 2018
The problem with lapsing certificates
A report from the US congress this week has revealed that the network breach suffered by Equifax in 2017 was not found due to an expired software certificate.
The certificate was linked to software which monitors networks for suspicious traffic, so the expiration meant that hackers were able to avoid being spotted.
O2 had a similar issue last week when a network blackout affected the entire UK.
Digital certificates are bits of code that ensure the encryption of communication between devices and websites.
As you would expect, the NCSC advise that organisations should keep on top of their certificates and ensure they do not lapse.
If you ever find yourself a customer affected by a breach such as this then you should be alert to the phishing threat following data breaches.
Confidential data loss in Denmark
Confidential data of 20,000 residents in Gladsaxe, Denmark has been lost following the theft of a computer from the town's city hall between November 30th and December 3rd.
The data had been saved locally and included information such as registration numbers, age and addresses. Details of social welfare payments and housing were also reported as being affected.
Local authorities had informed those affected by Monday 3rd blaming the issue on human error following a spreadsheet being saved locally on the computer as a temporary measure.
Ensuring personal data is secure should be at the top of any priority list, and the NCSC has guidance aimed at protecting bulk data.
Organisations shouldn't look to pass blame onto employees following this kind of incident. The likelihood is that the employee was acting in good faith to ensure a business need was met. The NCSC encourages adding extra layers of resilience to support employees and use incidents such as this as a learning opportunity. It's well worth reading a blog post written here on the NCSC website back in November 2016.
Stay secure; keep on top of the latest security updates
WordPress has issued a security patch which fixes several vulnerabilities including one that led to Google indexing some user passwords.
Detailed information for version 5.0.1 can be read on the WordPress news pages, but crucially a fix has been implemented following an issue in which activation screens for new users were being indexed by Google.
An attacker could've found these pages and used them to collect email addresses, and in rare cases, default-generated passwords.
Users of WordPress, and any similar software, should always download the latest security updates to ensure maximum protection from vulnerabilities such as this.
National Cyber Security Centre Threat Reports
ASKET Cyber Security Resources


text:
Ronco Bellomo, 11, Siracusa
It was inaugurated in 1948 with a first museological arrangement, but only in the seventies came to the completion of the construction. Among the collections, they remember the two sarcophagi of Governors of Reginal Chamber, John Çabastida and John Cardenas. In extensive art gallery it is preserved "Annunciation" by Antonello da Messina, 1474, and collections of sacred silver. Bellomo Palace is a building of the XIII-XIV century that has two construction phases: Swabian, identifiable in the structure ramparts of the ground floor and Gothic portal, and fifteenth phase, identifiable throughout the upper floor.


text:
Caesar II is specialized software used to evaluate the structural responses of piping systems against specified international codes and standards. The software analyzes pipe stress response to thermal, pressure and deadweight loads, it can measure the impact of wave and seismic loads, as well as pipe support settlement and wind load, and it can evaluate support lift off and gap closure and friction. Caesar II uses advanced graphics to aid presentation, analysis, and modeling, and it can be customized for use in different industrial applications. It enables the users to collect accurate data from the design through powerful bi-directional links to piping CAD software called CADWorx.
catalogue management
Catalogue management can form the basis for e-marketplace, e-procurement, supply chain management, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) in the sector. Challenges in effective design and implementation of digital catalogue management systems include design and modeling, translation, standardization, indexing, publishing, and version management.
cloud computing
Cloud computing is a method of delivering IT services where resources and data are retrieved from the Internet using web-based applications and tools, and not through a direct connection to a server. Cloud computing makes it possible to store files and data remotely from the workplace and reduces the need for a local storage device or computer hard drive. However, to access data in the cloud, a user must have access to the web. Cloud-computing technology enables employees in the oil and gas sector to work remotely and to analyze extensive amounts of data at a lower cost. Delfi is an example of a cutting-edge software system that utilizes cloud computing to coordinate oil well data. By analyzing how wells are designed, drilled, and configured for production, the software program can maximize output for an oilfield and dramatically cut down costs.
cloud storage
Cloud storage is a model of cloud computing that stores information on the Internet via a cloud service provider who operates and manages data storage. The cloud storage provider delivers just-in-time storage capacity on demand to the client, which eliminates the need for the client to purchase and manage its own data infrastructure and storage. For companies in the oil and gas sector with large data storage requirements, cloud storage can provide agility, durability, and global scale, along with "anywhere, anytime" data access. Cloud storage can be purchased from third-party cloud vendors who can deliver it online as a "pay-as-you-go" model. The cloud storage vendor will manage the security, durability, and capacity to make data accessible to the company's applications anywhere in the world. Many vendors also provide complementary services aimed at helping clients collect, secure, analyze, and manage data on a massive scale.


text:
Vistula Lagoon on the Baltic Sea, Poland and Russia54.3N 19.5E
The Vistula Lagoon is a fresh water lagoon on the Baltic Sea separated from Gdańsk Bay by the Vistula Spit. It is sometimes known as the Vistula Bay or Vistula Gulf.
The lagoon is a mouth of a few branches of the Vistula River, notably the Nogat, and the Pregolya River. It is connected to Gdańsk Bay by the Strait of Baltiysk.
Localities on the lagoon include Kaliningrad, Baltiysk, and Primorsk in Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast and Elbląg, Tolkmicko, Frombork and Krynica Morska in Poland.


text:
Shine a little Sunnylife on your garden, deck or patio with pieces that make your patch of grass the greener side. If life calls, tell them you're on holiday with the Sunnylife Deck Chair.
Product Dimensions
60 x 180 x 9 cm
Package Dimensions
60 x 100 x 18 cm
Package Weight
8.5 kgs
Steel, Polyester
- Recommended for adults up to 150kg / 331lbs.
- Durable 300D polyester fabric.
- Sturdy and foldable stainless steel frame.
- Suitable for indoor or outdoor use.
- Adjustable head, waist, leg area.
- Includes It's own carry bag for easy transport and storage.


text:
Nutritional Coaching Program
Get Back In Balance:
When you experience imbalance in your body, such as susceptibility to colds, disease, overall poor conditions of health, and the first place you might want to look is that your pH level. If you find your pH level is acidic then look at your diet, your exercise routine – or overall physical activities, and your eliminations of body waste to determine which direction you need to shift your pH in to achieve an optimum balance.
We strive to help you achieve a healthiest life style ever.
Learn how to eat right without struggling. These programs are designed to improve your eating habits, give you more energy, promote overall health, help you stay fit, and assist in weight-loss.
Coaching Program helps improve your life and lifestyle through proper eating, exercise, and stress management.
These sessions are available in person, telephone and email from anywhere in the world!
Make your day smART: $395
- The day is designed specifically for you with one-on-one attention, expert advice, and a plan to achieve your highest level of health focusing on what you need to look and feel your best ever.
- It is the time to stand up and make a difference.
- LIVE the life you LOVE
- Don't wait until your health is gone!


text: Here's to drive you nuts! You're going to forget about all the hussle of life, you are going to forget boring Tour de France, you are going to froget global warming, your noisy neighbors, the old farts who kow better, you are going to relax and take some good time for yourself! Grab a drink put your feet on the table and read The Mission, #4 last issue! And to do, we recomand you listen to the weekend mixtape! You are a real Mouchingman, now! Et voilà de quoi vous rendre fous !


text:
In the past few weeks I've heard no less than six – yes, six – stories about people cheating on each other while in serious relationships. Like, married or living together serious. So consider this me cracking my knuckles, rubbing my palms together and getting down to business. If you thought Miss Wingman was opinionated before, you ain't seen nothing yet.
First and foremost, in the spirit of full disclosure, allow me to throw myself under the bus and admit that, yes, I've not only been cheated on, but I've also had an indiscretion or two of my own. But, to be fair, that was in my much younger, much more foolish days…which have long since past.
But with this knowledge of both sides of the cheating coin comes a unique perspective that makes me keenly aware of the causes of and the fallout from a wandering eye and no self-control. It isn't pretty, it isn't fair, but most importantly – you can't come back from it. Yes, when it comes to cheating, once the damage is done, it's best to just move on.
It might sound harsh to uphold a zero tolerance policy for cheating (um, I don't consider it harsh, but maybe your definition of loyalty is different than mine), but insisting upon anything else is just unwise. What it comes down to is this: meeting someone is easy, but meeting someone worth keeping around is much harder. Add to that putting in the time/effort to actually build a relationship with them – and sustain it – and now you're in pretty deep, ring on your finger or not.
Once you've convinced someone that you are the person you purport to be, you've essentially given your word (which still means something to some of us…though we appear to be fewer and farther between these days), and you've built up a level of trust. Hear that? A level of trust. I'm sure I don't have to point this out, but just in case it bears repeating: Trust is everything. Once it's gone, there's nothing left.
No matter how much you care about the other person, no matter how much you didn't intend to hurt them, you did. They didn't have any choice in your behavior, but they do have a choice in how they react to it. Let them salvage what's left of their dignity (an ironic twist, since they're not the one who should feel ashamed) and exert control over at least something. And if they're smart, they'll do just that.
I understand exactly why people cheat. And I say "people" because I know it's a two-way street, women are just as guilty. Sometimes it's out of boredom, or restlessness, sometimes it's a fateful combination of opportunity and lust, and other times it's just the easiest way to sabotage something that you're either unsure of or afraid of – it happens all the time.
But whether you want to pursue something with your fellow philanderer or it was just a one-off instance, your significant other 100% needs to know. Deserves to know. Anything else is just disrespectful, convincing yourself otherwise is a joke.
Cheating at all is the closest thing I can think of to spitting in someone's face, I have that much enmity for it. And cheating then concealing it for your own benefit is like kicking them while they're down, worse still. You haven't given them all of the tools necessary to make an informed decision about their relationship fate, so it's essentially trickery. It's also false happiness, it's cruel if others know first, and most of all it's a Jenga tower just waiting to topple.
That said, I'm not sure how to reconcile this part of my argument, but I also feel that monogamy is a fundamentally unnatural thing. It goes against our very design…if, that is, we're going entirely on our most primal instincts.
But we're not.
Or at least we shouldn't be. At some point, when we're mature enough to recognize that we've evolved past our caveman ways, where identifying what you wanted and procuring it through any means possible was totally acceptable, we should break free of all that. The hope is that you eventually arrive at being a rational, complex human being who doesn't settle down until he's good well and ready. And at that point that you're equipped to realize that the person you're settling down with is irreplaceable. There's a reason you're with them, and hopefully it's a good one.
I've said it before and I'll say it again – there will always be someone younger out there. Someone hotter. Someone with better hair or more money, and if we spend our lives being tempted by the prospect of something better, we'll run ourselves ragged. Sew your wild oats as long as you need to, but once you link arms with someone, be mature enough to be all in.
Deciding that what you have is better than the prospect of what you could have is what separates us from the animals. And I'd rather date a man than a dog any day (insert bestiality comment here, sorry, it was too easy).
Granted, there are those who will argue that, in matters of marriage, the stakes are much higher, and things shouldn't be so black and white. And I'd agree with them. The only possible exception I'd give with regards to cheating is if I've invested not only in sharing a life with someone, but also if children are (hopefully not!) involved. In that instance, it's worth doing everything possible to repair the relationship, rebuild the trust, and hope to God to find a new version of normal.
But, I come from the school of thought that marriage is a Sacrament (old school Catholic, guilty as charged). And I'm not even sure that finding a new normal is possible, to be honest. The other person will always be wondering, always be uneasy, and hard as they try may never have peace of mind again.
It's like even though you've made a commitment to someone, the minute you cheat you've effectively shattered that commitment to pieces. It's as good as dust. And it's pretty hard to rebuild something atop dust…not exactly a stable foundation.
Whatever your experience with cheating, the bottom line is that it sucks. Capital "S", highly unsophisticated, just plain sucks. But even though neither party may have seen it coming, you can be smart enough to identify that you – or the other person – deserve better. Walk away angry, walk away with your head held high – it's your call. Just mourn the loss of something that isn't anymore, and walk away.


text:
April 26, 2010
A mixture of Grand Cayman residents and many MANY visitors made this wedding just like a reunion of families and friends. Lindsay and her friends planned it all, down to all the details. Right afterwards, they flew off on their honeymoon to Jamaica to recover from the big day and all the events around Grand Cayman that made the trip for everyone so special.


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"Hey Alexis. How's it going? Wait, why did that just set off my Alexa-powered device?"
Amazon on Monday announced a new feature for third-party Alexa devices that might make this type of scenario less common.
Its Cloud-Based Wake Word Verification runs an extra check after the assistant starts listening to make sure someone really said Alexa and not Allegra (because allergies happen). While Alexa will still perk up when it thinks you summoned it, it will immediately close the audio stream and turn off the LED indicator should the secondary check fail.
A similar feature is already included on Amazon's own Echo speakers using a combination of device- and cloud-based technologies, a spokeswoman told CNET.
The Alexa voice assistant is coming to all kinds of devices this year and for the sake of our sanity, Amazon has to ensure the always-listening electronics only wake up when you ask them to.
Amazon said that the first device to get the Wake Word Verification feature is the Ecobee4 smart thermostat. Other developers will be able to add the feature into their device with a few tweaks, Amazon said in its announcement.
The announcement comes as Amazon is rolling out a new line of Echo devices with the fashion-centric Echo Look and the touchscreen-equipped Echo Show.
Update 12:31 p.m. PT: Adds comment from Amazon.


text:
|Delivery time:
|In stock and ready to ship next business day
Colour and vibrancy is the key to your style this season through Glow Mama's latest maternity collection. Designed for a fashion conscious consumer looking for beautiful pieces to wear during your glowing months and beyond. This collection is fun, affordable and versatile.
Our model is wearing a size small. She usually takes a standard AU 10/Small, is 5'8 1/2" (175cm) tall, has a 86cm bust, 94cm hips and a 110cm waist.
Back hem length 145 cm ( size small )
Regular fit
Lightweight textured chiffon
White base colour with pink, blush, mustard and burgundy floral tones-
Wrap dress style with tie feature-
Suitable for breastfeeding-
Waterfall hemline
Fabric: 100% Polyester
Cold Machine Wash


text:
Enter your email now to get up to date information when we launch!
You're madly in love with your spiritual practice and you're more inspired than ever. We faced a global state of unfolding and awakening. Collective energy went into overdrive and for many lightworkers, we have felt the weight of the world.
A beauty that we saw emerge from the collapse of our old world is that people are shedding layers and stepping into who they are ready to become. They are moving from a place of reactive living into one that is vibrational. They are connecting to all that is going on underneath the surface.
But you're probably wondering, how do you find your purpose in this new world that bloomed from a spiritual awakening?
If you're like many members of the Elevate the Globe community, you might feel NOW is the time to GO BIG with your purpose.
Maybe you've realized that your current career isn't aligned with your new vibration and your true self, but you have no clue what to do instead.
Maybe you KNOW you're meant to be a lightworker or high-vibe entrepreneur, but you're not sure how to become more visible and get paid for your passion.
Or maybe you LOVE what you do but you want to integrate your energetic practices into your work, but you don't know where to start.
Either way, we've got you! We developed The Elevated Mastermind Collective -— an elite, high-vibe business mentorship program—to help you build on your spiritual foundation and manifest your next moves with confidence.
Unlock the roadmap to your highest purpose.
A high-vibe lightworker hearing the call to transform their lives in a major way and connects with other healers, teachers, entrepreneurs and humans to motivate each other, support each other, and learn from each other.
This 6-month to 12-month long program will give you…
Private group coaching from us, Britt + Tara
A network of friends ready to work alongside you to change the world
The tools + guidance you need to become an instrument of the Universe and THRIVE
We could never have left our corporate jobs and created and expanded Elevate the Globe without each other, our spiritual teachers or our bigger family of entrepreneurial BFFs in LA and beyond. We're all so much stronger when we chase our dreams together!
The world needs more elevated consciousness in business and every aspect of life.
We'll help you see the unique gifts that have always been within you.
You'll clear the subconscious fears that keep you stuck and playing small.
We'll give you the spiritual tools to make quick and intuitive business decisions. (Finally, you'll start acting on all those messages you've been receiving!)
Your mission in this lifetime is so much greater than you can ever imagine and the world needs more people like you to become a catalyst of change that ripples across the globe. Simply by living a life you love every second.
Each month we give you spiritual and purpose-driven content that is curated to align your life and give you an abundance of clarity, fulfillment and success.
When you become part of the collective, you get access to all the meditations, practices, soul work, ancient teachings, practical business tips, high-level energetic support and encouragement you need to take your work to the next level.
Kundalini Practices and Meditations to Activate Your Elevated Path
Kundalini Kriyas and meditations delivered through Britt + Tara to open all your energetic field, help you focus, and align with the energy of abundance, prosperity and confidence. You'll also receive access to our 528 Academy where we give meditations attuned to every astrological season AND so much additional content to guide you on your journey!
Connection and Support with a Close-Knit Community
When you join The Elevated Mastermind Collective, you'll get access to a private Facebook Group full of a network of amazing spiritual badass bosses like you to ask questions or get support. You'll also have the opportunity to connect and grow in small groups to share gifts, stories, and transformations every month.
Connection and Support with a Close-Knit Community
When you join The Elevated Mastermind Collective, you'll get access to a private Facebook Group full of a network of amazing spiritual badass bosses like you to ask questions or get support. You'll also have the opportunity to connect and grow in small groups to share gifts, stories, and transformations every month.
Group Coaching with Britt + Tara
As part of this collective, you'll have the chance to connect with Britt and Tara twice a month in a group setting. Ask questions and get a ton of insight to help guide you on your personal journey. You will learn so much from what others are going through and get chances to be coached on your specific situation!
Exclusive Workshops from Master Teachers + Guides
Exclusive workshops taught by us or guest teachers + guides on different topics that are specific to the group needs and where everyone is at on their journey. These workshops are created to supercharge your experience! You'll have access to these throughout the year with us.
Exclusive Workshops from Master Teachers + Guides
Exclusive workshops taught by us or guest teachers + guides on different topics that are specific to the group needs and where everyone is at on their journey. These workshops are created to supercharge your experience! You'll have access to these throughout the year with us.
Soulwork to Open up the Subconscious
Clarifying + crystalizing journal prompts to help work through blockages, resistance, and dive deep into the subconscious. This tool helps you to understand how to shift your mindset to move forward more open + expanded.
Every month, you'll discover:
As a BONUS, you'll have access to our 528 Academy as long as you're a member of The Elevated Mastermind Collective and will have those resources to support you along the way!
PLUS...The Elevated Mastermind Business Guide PDF, which is a toolkit and all-in-one guide for everything you need to move your business and soulwork forward and call in success and prosperity. We've compiled all our favorites from finance programs to marketing tools that have helped make Elevate the Globe what it is today, so you can devote more time into the energy work and soul healing!
Our FINAL BONUS is our Goals with Purpose Template which is what we still use today and gives you a solid outline to help tap into the WHY behind each goal you set. We make sure to set goals together each month and reference back to them daily so our subconscious knows what we're working towards. How we set goals gives our goals a bigger purpose behind them - a clearly defined WHY.
We're Britt Deanda and Tara Schulenberg—co-founders of Elevate the Globe, certified Kundalini yoga and meditation instructors, and healers here to raise consciousness on the planet.
We're spiritual entrepreneurs and high-vibrational living experts who pair Kundalini yoga with spirituality, astrology, and sustainability, helping people align with their own truth and best way of living.
We have grown our spiritual business to reach thousands of people and it is our mission to share the tools we teach to change millions of people's lives. We both have corporate backgrounds in marketing, advertising, and consulting, as well as extensive training and certifications in Kundalini Yoga and Meditation and spiritual teachings. We have blended this wisdom together—with an assist from our deep intuitive connection with the divine—to create our wildly successful spiritual business and movement, Elevate the Globe. Our classes, events, retreats, courses, and membership community deliver incredibly transformative results. The transmission of energy we provide ignites people from all walks of life to uplevel and step into their power as happy, healthy, and abundant lightworkers elevating the globe.
Since starting Elevate the Globe 3 years ago, we've increased our positive impact on the world every day, doing what we love most. We are almost at 60k instagram followers, and we get messages all the time about how our work helped someone change their life to be one of love and gratitude—sometimes even overcoming depression or thoughts of suicide. Nothing is more rewarding than that.
Our spiritual lifestyle honors us with time, financial, and location freedom and we're grateful to be able to call in more abundance with everything we do- and we want more people to uplevel their abundance doing what they love. We need more spiritual and conscious people that are abundant and you deserve to be compensated greatly for your great work and we are here to help you do that!
The Elevated Mastermind (now the Collective) is different than the previous Elevated Mastermind in that instead of 3-month long program we work with you and support you as long as you stay a member. Whether you join the collective for 6-months, a year, or longer you'll have access to all the content available in The Elevated Mastermind. You join an elite group ready to fully step into their purpose as a healer, teacher, leader, change-maker, lightworker or entrepreneur. We ask for a 6-month or 12-month long commitment to as we've noticed that is when huge life transformations really begin to happen and we want to guide you though that and give you a group that will help hold you accountable every step of the way. This is a more affordable way to work with us so we can help more people vs our 3 month Mastermind that was $1000/month and had less people. This will truly be a community with small groups and ways for you to network and work together in community with other like minded people doing similar and amazing things in their lives!
WHY DO YOU ASK FOR A 6-MONTH or 12-MONTH LONG COMMITMENT?
Since starting The Elevated Mastermind Collective we've seen amazing transformations happen with our alums (read the testimonials above) but we noticed a lot of the huge life-changing shifts happened AFTER the program ended. Many of our alums wished for the community access The Elevated Mastermind provided well after our time together for support or guidance for any road bumps they hit along the way. None of our members wanted the 3 month Masterminds to end! So we decided to create a community of spiritual business BFFs that you can turn to all year long, and we'll be there too! Plus, all throughout the year you'll get workshops specifically aligning with the energy of the group, workshops by masters + guides, and opportunities to join in-person events! With this 6-month to 12-month structure it's more accessible to get deeper results and call in major shifts and we will even have opportunities to come together in person and really cultivate a close knit tribe.
When you are accepted into the Collective we will ask you where you are located to make sure to give you a call time that you'll be able to make. We will vary all the call times so people all over the world can join us! For each coaching call you can request to have a segment where you come on and we coach you through anything you need support with, you won't come on every time, but you will also learn from everyone else's coaching every time! We will hold coaching calls once/twice a month so there will be multiple options to come on. We will always be live at least twice a month but sometimes it will be more workshop style! You can also ask us questions in the Facebook group and we will coach you that way as well throughout the month.
As part of The Elevated Mastermind Collective you will also join your own small group cohort based on location and goals to help hold each other accountable, find support and call in your own community of like-minded souls!
The entire program is run online via video chats, video workshops, audio workshops, and social platforms. You'll have the opportunity to join in-person events throughout the year as well — more to come!
This is for the babes (or dudes!) who want to make major transformations in how they make a living or those who are called to weave their energetic practices into their careers but don't have the tools or support to do so. This is a spiritual mastermind membership for you to learn, go deeper into your spiritual practice, have support and be held accountable, and activate high levels of prosperity and abundance!!
Rise Up is an 8 week course we offer that is focused on the chakras and balancing each chakra within a week period. Rise Up is more of a high level course and is really for those who are committed to the practice and diving deep- kind of like a spiritual bootcamp!
Our 528 Abundance Academy is basically like a spiritual gym membership where you change and update the content every month based on the astrological energy of the season. We give our members access to live new moon and full moon classes, a meditation to practice every season, ayurvedic recipes, a book club, all the astrology you need and any astrology updates, and an amazing community to keep you inspired and accountable on the regular. You get access to this when you join The Elevated Mastermind Collective.
The Elevated Mastermind Collective is our group coaching program for anyone ready to go deeper and really manifest and execute a business or entrepenuership, project/philanthrophy, becomming a teacher, healer, influencer, or professional/Mom/student/ect. wanting to bring more purpose into your life and all the content will be focused on helping you do that!
As a member of The Mastermind Collective you will have access to the platform and the content for the duration of your membership only.
You will still have lifetime access to the Mastermind you participated in and all the content and then you will also have access to The Elevated Mastermind Collective program which is new and will have new content and a new structure plus the coaching and everything included for the amount of time you join the Collective! There will be a new Facebook Group and new connections and networking and groups formed!
We completely believe in this membership and would not offer it to you if we did not. The testimonials and stories on this page are from REAL people who've received REAL results. With that being said, our lovely high vibe attorney has advised us to say this to make sure there isn't any confusion.
Disclaimer: There is no guarantee that you will earn any money using the ideas and techniques in this program. Earning and transformation potential is entirely dependent on the person using our product, ideas and techniques.
Your level of success in attaining the results claimed in our materials depends on the time you devote to the program, your finances, your business, your knowledge and various skills. Since these factors differ according to individuals, we cannot guarantee your success or income level.


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RL Entertaining: Christmas Table Settings (Part 1)
Create an impression with these nice and simple entertaining ideas
Entertaining family and friends during the holiday season may sound intimidating – but it doesn't have to be. You can create an impact with a little creativity and without spending much! Take note of these table setting basics.
Recommended Videos
More on Realliving.com.ph


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(third-person singular simple present goes against, present participle going against, simple past and past participle went against)
- To violate; to breach; to break.
- What he did goes against the rules.
- This sentence goes against English grammar.
- To be unfavourable to someone.
- What she said in court today went against them.
- The court's decision went against them.
- To be contrary to a trend, feeling or principle.
- This goes against my instincts.
- To oppose; to resist
- He dared not go against the King.


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Don't want to paint your home with dull and boring color but fearing to experiment with dark! Then we are assuring you to choose the beautiful dark hues without any risk. Don't worry, expert paint contractors are there to solve your confusion. In fact, dark shades are very stylish. Your home feels lively. Consult your paint company to select a perfect dark color scheme.
Let's see how you can experiment your home with dark shades
Dark creates magic
Courtesy: biteinto.info
Add drama to your room with bold colors. If you want to spice up your bedroom, just pick the color wheel and choose the dark shade. But don't just choose any color; you have to decide what color you choose for which room.
Sample test
Courtesy: Better Homes and Gardens
This is the most important step. Selecting a color from the palette is not enough. After choosing the color, just ask your paint contractor to test it in natural light on your wall. Then you can understand whether the shade looks good on your wall or not.
Perfect for a large room
Courtesy: Tikspor
Dark colors bring coziness. Our paint company suggested if you have a big room then it is perfect to paint it with dark and bright shades. Big rooms look uninvited. The bold colors make a place perfect for having chit-chat or spending a quality time.
Small room
Courtesy: KingGeorgeHomes.com
The experiment would have gone wrong in a small room. A whole wall with dark color makes the room claustrophobic. Instead, use some touches of dark which make the room amazing. For a break, use neutral shades like black, white, beige or gray.
Keep the Balance
Courtesy: jeriko.us
Balance dark colors with furnishings. Our paint company always suggests white space is necessary to keep the right balance with bold. White compliments the dark. Like if you want to use dark green, balance it with light color artworks or curtains. Paint the moldings and trims white.
Entire room dark color


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Browse our hand-picked range of delicious and decorative strawberry plants.Shop now
View our range of soft fruit, including the first edible to win at RHS Chelsea.Shop now
Discover our range of organic fruit trees, from apples & pears to quinces & plums.Shop now
Browse our selection of delicious rhubarb crowns and rhubarb forcers.Shop now
Browse our onion selection, featuring customer favourites and new varieties.Shop now
Browse our range of garlic, from red and white to the giant elephant!Shop now
Browse our gifts for the special green-fingered gardener in your life.Shop now
Everything you need to make your garden a more exciting place to be!Shop now
Give a truly special gift to those closest to you with our personalised range.Shop now
Experience nature with our wildlife range, from cameras to habitats & feeders!Shop now
View our selection of organic and non-organic plants & seeds - reduced by us for you!Shop now
Grab some new gear in our equipment sale - and save a few pennies while you're doing it!Shop now
Browse our garden decor sale and create a wonderful outdoor space for less!Shop now
All of your outdoor living needs can be found here but at the best prices.Shop now
From bird feeders to bee hotels, find a bargain and boost your garden's ecosystem.Shop now
High quality, rust-resistant galvanised steel trap that is very easy and safe to use. Two entry points for an increased catch rate with extra ventilation to reduce stress in captured mice. The clear plastic lid means you can see when you have caught something at a glance. Catches up to 10 mice at a time without harm. Dimensions: height 45mm x width 260mm x depth 160mm.
Orders are despatched promptly by post or parcel carrier. Seasonal items such as plants are sent separately with the estimated delivery times stated against each variety both in our catalogue and on our website.
Small items are sent by Royal Mail and larger items by courier. When ordering large items please provide your phone number so that the courier can contact you if necessary.
Please note that when several items are ordered they may not all be delivered at the same time.
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Packet seed, garlic, onion sets, shallots and mushroom spawn (except windowsill kits) incur a carriage charge of £1.99.
All other products incur a carriage charge of £4.99.
If your order comprises of a combination of carriage charges then the higher carriage charge will be applied.
Northern Ireland, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Isles of Scilly & areas of Scotland with postcodes starting AB30 plus, BT, GY, HS, IM, IV1 plus, JE KA27, KA28, KW1 to KW16, PA20 to PA38, PA41 to PA80, PH10 to PH40, PH42 to PH50, TR21 to TR25 and ZE: For orders weighing less than 2kg standard charge applies. Where the weight of the order is 2kg to 10kg the carriage charge is £9.99. Where the weight of the order is over 10kg the delivery charge is £14.99
Orders to the Isle of Wight and Isle of Scilly: For orders weighing less than 2kg the standard charge applies. Where the weight of the order is 2kg and above the carriage charge is £14.99.
Republic of Ireland: For orders weighing less than 2kg the standard charge applies. Where the combined weight of the order is 2kg and above, the carriage contribution is £14.99.
Other EU countries: We can only deliver packet flower and vegetable seed to other EU countries. The delivery charge is £4.99 per order.
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Multi-Catch Metal Mouse Trap


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There are some outstanding beer gardens in Cumbria, north west England. This one can be found in Langdale in a remote part of Cumbria. The large garden has plenty of seating and fantasic views of the surrounding mountains. They also have a good selection of beer.
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The recent emergence of novel tick-borne RNA viruses has complicated the epidemiological landscape of tick-borne infectious diseases, posing a significant challenge to public health systems that seek to counteract tick-borne diseases. The identification of two novel tick-borne phleboviruses (TBPVs), severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) and Heartland virus (HRTV), as causative agents of severe illness in humans has accelerated the investigation and discoveries of novel TBPVs. In the present study, we isolated a novel TBPV designated Mukawa virus (MKWV) from host-questing Ixodes persulcatus females captured in Japan. Genetic characterization revealed that MKWV is a member of the genus Phlebovirus in the family Phenuiviridae. Interestingly, MKWV is genetically distinct from other known TBPVs and shares a most recent common ancestor with mosquito/sandfly-borne (insect-borne) phleboviruses. Despite its genetic similarity to insect-borne phleboviruses, the molecular footprints of its viral proteins and its biological characteristics define MKWV as a tick-borne virus that can be transmitted to mammals. A phylogenetic ancestral-state reconstruction for arthropod vectors of phleboviruses including MKWV based on viral L segment sequences indicated that ticks likely harbored ancestral phleboviruses that evolved into both the tick-borne and MKWV/insect-borne phlebovirus lineages. Overall, our findings suggest that most of the phlebovirus evolution has occurred in hard ticks to generate divergent viruses, which may provide a seminal foundation for understanding the mechanisms underlying the evolution and emergence of pathogenic phleboviruses, such as Rift Valley fever virus and SFTSV/HRTV.
IMPORTANCE The emergence of novel tick-borne RNA viruses causing severe illness in humans has complicated the epidemiological landscape of tick-borne diseases, requiring further investigation to safeguard public health. In the present study, we discovered a novel tick-borne phlebovirus from Ixodes persulcatus ticks in Japan. While its viral RNA genome sequences were similar to those of mosquito/sandfly-borne viruses, molecular and biological footprints confirmed that this is a tick-borne virus. The unique evolutionary position of the virus allowed us to estimate the ancestral phlebovirus vector, which was likely a hard tick. Our findings may provide a better understanding of the evolution and emergence of phleboviruses associated with emerging infectious diseases, such as severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) and Heartland virus disease.
Emerging and reemerging infectious diseases caused by arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) have become significant global public health concerns in recent decades. In particular, the emergence of mosquito-borne viruses such as Chikungunya virus (1), West Nile virus (2), and Zika virus (3), which have spread to new geographic locations with increased pathogenic potential, demonstrated that arboviruses pose ongoing and future global public health threats. This is due to the intricacies of host-vector-virus interactions and the capacity for viruses to adapt to new vectors or amplifying hosts, driving the selection of novel strains/variants with pandemic/epidemic potential (4–7).
In 2009, two novel tick-borne phleboviruses (TBPVs), severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) (8) and Heartland virus (HRTV) (9), were recognized to cause severe and often fatal human illnesses resembling viral hemorrhagic fever with thrombocytopenia, lymphocytopenia, hemophagocytic syndrome, and multiorgan failure, resulting in fatality rates of up to 30%. HRTV was identified in the United States, whereas SFTSV was identified in East Asian countries, including China and Japan (10) and South Korea (11). Due to the similarities in the clinical features of TBPV diseases and severe cases of tick-borne bacterial/rickettsial diseases, such as human monocytic ehrlichiosis and human granulocyte anaplasmosis, newly emerging TBPVs have further complicated the epidemiological landscape of tick-borne infectious diseases, posing a significant challenge to public health authorities and health care providers in their efforts to prevent, diagnose, and treat tick-borne infectious diseases.
A phlebovirus that has enveloped spherical virus particles, containing tripartite and single-stranded RNAs (L, M, and S segments) with negative-sense and/or ambisense polarity, belongs to the genus Phlebovirus in the family Phenuiviridae, order Bunyavirales (formally known as the family Bunyaviridae) (12). Currently, the Phenuiviridae family consists of two species of TBPVs (i.e., SFTS phlebovirus and Uukuniemi phlebovirus) and several species of sandfly-borne and mosquito-borne viruses. Within the order Bunyavirales, the genus Phlebovirus is unique in that it contains human-pathogenic viruses transmitted by a wide range of arthropod vectors, either phlebotomine sandflies, mosquitos, or ticks. Recent advances in genome sequencing technology have allowed us to identify several tentative TBPV species/groups that are genetically distinct from the representative TBPV species Uukuniemi phlebovirus, revealing a greater diversity among TBPVs than among mosquito/sandfly-borne phleboviruses, which form a single clade with relatively low genetic divergence (13–17). Indeed, phylogenetic analyses have revealed that there are at least four TBPV lineages based on genetic/serological similarities (14): SFTSV/HRTV, belonging to the SFTS group and associated with hemorrhagic fever-like illness; Bhanja virus (BHAV) and Bhanja group viruses, associated with sporadic febrile illness cases; and Kaisodi virus (KSOV) and Uukuniemi virus (UUKV) in the Kaisodi and Uukuniemi groups, respectively, which have not been recognized as human pathogens. The mechanism(s) underlying the emergence of various TBPVs, especially two genetically related, highly pathogenic TBPVs (SFTSV and HRTV) on two different continents, however, has not yet been revealed.
In the present study, we successfully isolated a novel TBPV named Mukawa virus (MKWV) from Ixodes persulcatus in Japan. We have characterized the molecular and biological properties of the novel virus using virological and bioinformatics approaches and revealed that MKWV possesses the molecular and biological signatures of both tick-borne and mosquito/sandfly-borne phleboviruses. A better understanding of the unique evolutionary traits of MKWV will contribute to the identification of the molecular determinants responsible for the evolution of viruses in the genus Phlebovirus and the emergence of novel pathogenic phleboviruses, especially TBPVs.
Tick collection and isolation of MKWV.The southwestern part of Japan is an area of endemicity of SFTS (10) (Fig. 1a). The RNA genome of SFTSV has been detected in multiple species of ticks in the area of endemicity, and the seroprevalence of SFTSV in wild animals, such as Shika deer and raccoons, has also been confirmed (18). To gain further insights into the ecology and epidemiology of TBPVs and to identify novel TBPVs other than SFTSV in Japan, we therefore collected ticks outside the SFTS area of endemicity (i.e., Hokkaido prefecture). In 2013, adult host-questing ticks were collected by the flagging method in Mukawa, Hokkaido, Japan (Fig. 1a), and tick species were identified morphologically. Total RNA was extracted from a total of 66 individual ticks and subjected to reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) to amplify the phlebovirus L gene (14). Fragments of approximately 500 bp were amplified from three RNA samples from female I. persulcatus specimens (samples 69, 73, and 74) (Fig. 1b). Following nucleotide sequencing, a phylogenetic tree was constructed (Fig. 1c). Interestingly, the phylogenetic analysis of the partial L segment RT-PCR amplicons indicated that the all three RT-PCR products were derived from viruses belonging to the genus Phlebovirus that formed a cluster independent of any known phleboviruses. The detected phleboviruses have been tentatively designated MKWVs.
To isolate MKWVs, homogenates of RT-PCR-positive ticks were used to inoculate cultured cells (Vero E6, DH82, Huh7, and ISE6 cells) and newborn BALB/c mice. The replication of two isolates, MKW73 and MKW74, was confirmed by RT-PCR only in the supernatants of tick-derived ISE6 cells without cytopathic effects. Replication of MKWVs was not detected by RT-PCR in any mammal-derived cell lines or in newborn mice. The production of virions in the supernatant of ISE6 cells infected with the isolate MKW73 was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (Fig. 1d). The virions of MKW73 are enveloped spherical particles (average diameter, 100 nm) with surface spike proteins, indicating morphological similarity with bunyaviruses (19).
Gene structure/organization of MKWV.For the removal of endogenous viruses from ISE6 cells (20, 21), MKW73 was passaged in Huh7 cells once, and the removal of endogenous viruses was confirmed by RT-PCR (data not shown). MKW73 RNA extracted from the supernatant of Huh7 cells was subjected to deep sequencing. The sequencing reads were de novo assembled into contigs, three of which were associated with phleboviruses according to a BLAST search of GenBank. After the sequencing of genomic RNA termini by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) and resequencing of regions with low-quality scores by Sanger sequencing, the complete nucleotide sequence of each segment of MKW73 was obtained; large (L), medium (M), and small (S) RNA segments were composed of 6,443, 3,327, and 1,907 nucleotides, respectively (Table 1).
The deduced amino acid sequences of the L and M segment open reading frames (ORFs) showed homology with those of L proteins (RNA-dependent RNA polymerase) and surface glycoproteins (polyproteins Gn and Gc) from known phleboviruses, respectively. The S segment of the isolate possessed two ORFs in ambisense. A BLAST search indicated that the deduced amino acid sequences of the ORFs were related to those of nucleocapsid proteins (N) and nonstructural proteins (NSs) from phleboviruses. The sequences of the L, M, and S genomic termini of MKW73 were identical to corresponding conserved sequences among phleboviruses (i.e., 3′-UGUGU and ACACA-5′), which may allow each segment of RNA to form panhandle structures. Thus, the genetic characteristics of MKWV clearly indicated that it is classified into the genus Phlebovirus.
Phylogenetic characterization of MKWV.To further determine the molecular relationship between MKWV and the other phleboviruses, including both tick-borne and mosquito/sandfly-borne phleboviruses, phylogenetic trees were constructed with MrBayes based on the nucleotide sequences of the L, M, and S segments (Fig. 2; see also Fig. S1, S2, and S3 in the supplemental material) and using Gouléako virus (22) and Cumuto virus (23) in the genus Goukovirus as an outgroup. The phylogenetic trees constructed from the full-length nucleotide sequences of the L, M, and S genome segments indicated that MKWV shares a most recent common ancestor with the mosquito/sandfly-borne phleboviruses, rather than with one of the four previously known groups of TBPVs or an additional tentative tick-borne phlebovirus group (Fig. 2). The phylogenetic trees based on the deduced amino acid sequences of L protein (Fig. S4) and glycoproteins (data not shown) have also been drawn with similar topologies that group MKWV together with mosquito/sandfly-borne phleboviruses. In the tree constructed from N proteins, the MKWV branch occurs between the Arumowot virus and the Salanga virus clusters, both of which are mosquito/sandfly-borne phlebovirus groups (Fig. 3 and S5), while the NSs proteins of MKWV were more closely related to those of TBPVs, rather than of mosquito/sandfly viruses (Fig. 3 and S6). Based on the different phylogenetic histories suggested by the different phylogenetic topologies between trees of N and NSs proteins of MKWV, the S segment nucleotide sequence was further investigated for evidence of recombination using multiple recombination detection tools; however, no reliable genetic recombination(s) in the S segment of MKWV has so far been found (data not shown).
Copyright © 2018 Matsuno et al.
This content is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
Copyright © 2018 Matsuno et al.
This content is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
Copyright © 2018 Matsuno et al.
This content is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
Copyright © 2018 Matsuno et al.
This content is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
Copyright © 2018 Matsuno et al.
This content is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
Copyright © 2018 Matsuno et al.
This content is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
Molecular characterizations of MKWV proteins.To confirm the intermediate phylogenetic position of MKWV between TBPVs and mosquito/sandfly-borne phleboviruses, each nucleotide and protein sequence of MKWV was compared with those of other TBPVs or mosquito/sandfly-borne phlebovirus sequences (Fig. 4a). Except for the NSs sequences, which have the lowest identities among phlebovirus sequences, all the other MKWV sequences were more similar to the mosquito/sandfly-borne phlebovirus sequences than to those of the TBPVs. The sequence identities supported the phylogenetic analyses in which MKWV is more closely related to the mosquito/sandfly-borne phleboviruses than to the TBPVs.
The M segments of mosquito/sandfly-borne phleboviruses encode an additional nonstructural protein, NSm, upstream of Gn. While NSm is dispensable for proper Gn/Gc expression (24), the Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) NSm protein can be associated with virulence (25, 26). A protein sequence alignment of glycoprotein precursors clearly showed that the MKWV M segment lacks the entire NSm region, similar to TBPVs (Fig. 4b). The high sequence similarity between the M segment ORF of MKWV and those of mosquito/sandfly-borne phleboviruses (Fig. 4a) therefore stems from similarities between the corresponding Gn and Gc regions.
For comparisons among the N and Gc proteins of phleboviruses, MKWV protein structures were predicted, as were the structures of the viral proteins of TBPVs, i.e., Bhanja virus and Uukuniemi virus. The protein models predicted in the present study mostly exhibited the same structural orientations, such as helix and sheets, as in the original N and Gc structures of RVFV proteins, respectively. In order to identify similar three-dimensional regions/domains that might not be observed in the sequence alignments between MKWV proteins and TBPV proteins, the amino acids in the predicted models were compared with those of a representative TBPV of the SFTS group, SFTSV, and a representative mosquito-borne phlebovirus, RVFV (Fig. 4c and d). As shown in the phylogenetic analysis, the N protein structures of MKWV and Uukuniemi virus were more closely related to that of RVFV than to that of SFTSV (Fig. 4c). In terms of the structure of the MKWV Gc protein, it was more similar to the structure of the RVFV Gc protein than to the other two Gc structures, and identical amino acids between MKWV and SFTSV seemed to predominate in domain II of Gc (Fig. 4d).
Biological characterizations of MKWV.To confirm the arthropod host(s) of MKWV, the replication of MKW73 was assessed in three different cell lines: human-derived Huh7 cells, tick-derived ISE6 cells, and mosquito-derived C6/36 cells (Fig. 5a). MKWV replication in each cell line was monitored for a maximum of 14 days until a monolayer of cells was disrupted. In the Huh7 and ISE6 cells, MKW73 replicated to maximum titers of 107 50% tissue culture infectious doses (TCID50)/ml equivalent and 106 TCID50/ml equivalent, respectively. In contrast, C6/36 cells did not support the efficient reproduction of progeny infectious virions, and a slight increase of viral RNA was detected throughout the observation period. Next, the growth levels of MKWV, UUKV, and TOSV were compared in ISE6 cells and sandfly-derived LL-5 cells (Fig. 5b). ISE6 cells produced larger amounts of TBPVs (i.e., MKWV and UUKV) than LL-5 cells, which supported higher replication of sandfly-borne TOSV than ISE6 cells.
In addition, MKW73 was passaged in Huh7 cells and inoculated into newborn and 3-week-old C57BL/6J mice, and virus replication was monitored (Fig. 5c). All newborn mice infected with MKWV died by 9 days postinoculation (dpi). At 3 dpi, three infected mice from each group were sacrificed to examine viral replication in their brains. Productive viral replication was detected in the brains of MKWV-infected mice. In the young mice, productive replication of MKWV was also detected in the spleen at 3 and 7 dpi following intraperitoneal inoculation, indicating that MKWV replicated in mice and systematically spread within the body.
Phlebovirus NSs proteins have been recognized as significant virulence factors due to their ability to counteract host innate antiviral responses (27, 28). To determine the role of MKWV NSs proteins in their viral replication in human cells, inhibitory effects of NSs on the activities of the beta interferon promoter (Fig. 5d) or interferon-sensitive response element (ISRE) (Fig. 5e) were measured in human embryonic kidney 293 cells transiently expressing MKWV NSs and compared to those of cells expressing SFTSV NSs. MKWV NSs significantly blocked beta interferon promoter activity induced by RIG-I signaling but not ISRE activity, while SFTSV NSs inhibited both. During the transient expression of MKWV NSs in the cells, transcriptional shutoff, a significant function of RVFV NSs, was not detected.
Ancestral-state reconstruction of the genus Phlebovirus.For predicting the arthropod host(s) of ancestral phleboviruses, ancestral-state reconstruction was performed using the likelihood reconstruction method in Mesquite with a phylogenetic tree constructed based on nucleotide sequences of the L segment of the phleboviruses (Fig. 6). In the analysis, only the viruses with clearly identified arthropod vectors were used. The most recent ancestor of the MKWV and the mosquito/sandfly-borne phleboviruses, as well as more ancient ancestors of phleboviruses, was predicted to be harbored by ticks, not insects. The ancestor of the genus Phlebovirus, which was determined by using a defined outgroup (Fig. 2), was also predicted to be a tick-borne virus.
The identification of SFTSV and HRTV stressed the potential public health threat of TBPVs. In addition to these novel pathogens, the identification of novel phleboviruses has been sporadically reported worldwide owing to the recent advancements and increasing availability of new sequencing technologies. Despite our increased knowledge of phleboviruses, their ecology and evolutionary dynamics remain poorly understood. In the present study, we identified a novel TBPV, designated MKWV, which was found to occupy a unique evolutionary position among phleboviruses. To date, the evolutionary history of TBPVs and mosquito/sandfly-borne phleboviruses has been completely unknown, though it was suspected that the ancestor of phleboviruses might have been an arthropod virus (15, 29). MKWV is the first TBPV to exhibit genetic similarity to mosquito/sandfly-borne phleboviruses. Despite the fact that MKWV shares common ancestry with and is phylogenetically closely related to mosquito/sandfly-borne phleboviruses, MKWV replicated at low levels in the mosquito-derived C6/36 cells and sandfly-derived LL-5 cells but replicated at higher levels in the tick (ISE6) and mammalian (Huh7) cells, like tick-borne UUKV, which was reported to replicate in Aedes aegypti mosquitos by experimental infections (30). Based on the discovery of this phylogenetically unique virus, the evolutionary history of phleboviruses with their vectors could be revisited with the stronger support values on trees. These results confirm that the ancestor of phleboviruses was a tick-borne virus that later generated various TBPVs and an ancestor of MKWV (Fig. 7). Further, the ancestor of MKWV evolved into mosquito/sandfly-borne phleboviruses and the current MKWV. Since more divergent insect-borne phleboviruses have not yet been reported in insect vectors, the "tick origin" hypothesis is consistent with our current knowledge of phleboviruses. Moreover, the Uukuniemi group viruses have been isolated from Ixodes hard ticks and Argas soft ticks (17), suggesting that the ancestral phlebovirus might retain the replication capability in hard ticks and soft ticks, as well as insects.
The topologies of phlebovirus trees were nearly identical among three RNA segments as well as three viral proteins (i.e., L, glycoprotein, and NSs), indicating the stable association among the three viral proteins. The topology of the N protein tree, however, in which some TBPVs, including MKWV, clustered with the mosquito/sandfly-borne phleboviruses, was unique. The difference between the N protein phylogeny and those of the other proteins and nucleotides may indicate a historical recombination event(s) or different selection pressures in the S segment, although no genetic recombination could be identified in the current analysis. Further discoveries of novel phleboviruses could shed additional light on the evolutional history of phleboviruses.
I. persulcatus, the tick species from which MKWV was isolated, is a common tick distributed across the Hokkaido prefecture and the northern part of the main island of Japan. I. persulcatus infests humans and animals, frequently resulting in cases of Lyme disease in Hokkaido (31). While several studies have been conducted on the bacterial pathogens carried by this tick species (32–34), there have previously been no reports of diseases indicating associations with viral pathogens. MKWV is likely to be transmitted to mammals through tick bites and to establish infections, as suggested by the growth of MKWV in a human-derived cell line and mice and by the anti-innate immune function of MKWV NSs in human cells. Based on these findings, it is conceivable that wild animals such as local deer and rodents may be infected with MKWV through tick bites and act as intermediate hosts, similar to the way in which SFTSV infects wild animals and livestock in regions of endemicity (35–37). Furthermore, the replication competence of MKWV in human-derived Huh7 cells at 37°C and ISE6 cells at 34°C indicates the potential of MKWV to replicate in both arthropod and mammalian hosts (29). A serological study of MKWV in humans and animals is thus warranted for furthering our understanding of the epidemiology of the virus. Moreover, it is highly plausible that a large number of phleboviruses remain unknown, and further intensive studies may reveal the evolutional mechanism(s) of the emergence of human-pathogenic phleboviruses.
Tick collection and sample preparation.Adult host-questing ticks were captured using the flagging method in Mukawa, Hokkaido, Japan (Fig. 1a) (latitude 42.61 north, longitude 141.95 east) in May 2013. Collected ticks were morphologically identified as I. persulcatus, Ixodes ovatus, Haemaphysalis japonica, or Haemaphysalis megaspinosa under a stereomicroscope. Ten males and 10 females of I. persulcatus, 12 males and 12 females of I. ovatus, three females of H. japonica, and 10 males and 10 females of H. megaspinosa were used in the following experiments. Each tick was homogenized twice with 100 µl of plain Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) using a homogenizer (Tomy Seiko) at 3,000 rpm. Total RNAs were extracted from 50 µl of the homogenates by using the blackPREP tick DNA/RNA kit (Analytik Jena) according to the manufacturer's protocol, and remaining lysate samples were stored at −80°C until use for virus isolation.
One-step RT-PCR.We utilized a previously reported one-step RT-PCR system that detects a wide-range of TBPVs from RNA samples from collected ticks (14). Briefly, one-step RT-PCR was performed with the PrimeScript One Step RT-PCR kit, version 2 (Dye Plus) (TaKaRa), with 1 µl of total tick RNA and 4 pmol of primers, HRT-GOUL2759F (5′-CAGCATGGIGGIYTIAGRGAAATYTATGT-3′) and HRT-GOUL3276R (5′-GAWGTRWARTGCAGGATICCYTGCATCAT-3′) in 10 µl of reaction solution with the following incubation program: 50°C for 30 min; 94°C for 2 min; 40 cycles of 94°C for 30 s, 55°C for 30 s, and 72°C for 30 s; and 72°C for 5 min. Amplified RT-PCR products were purified and sequenced with a 3130 Genetic Analyzer (ABI, Thermo Fisher Scientific).
Cells and viruses.Vero E6 (African green monkey kidney), Huh7 (human hepatocellular carcinoma), and DH82 (canine macrophage) cells were grown in DMEM supplemented with fetal calf serum (FCS). ISE6 (Ixodes scapularis embryo) cells were grown in modified L-15B medium supplemented with 10% FCS and 5% tryptose phosphate broth (Sigma) at 34°C (38). C6/36 (Aedes albopictus larva) cells were grown in minimal essential medium (MEM) supplemented with 10% FCS and l-glutamine at 28°C. SFTSV (strain YG1, kindly provided by Ken Maeda, Yamaguchi University, Japan) was propagated in Vero E6 cells (10).
Virus isolation.Tenfold-diluted tick lysates in DMEM supplemented with 10% FCS, 2 mM l-glutamine, 50 U/ml penicillin, 50 µg/ml streptomycin, and 25 µg/ml gentamicin (Sigma) were filtered and used to inoculate cultured cells. Cells were cultured for 14 days, and RNAs were purified from supernatants using the QIAamp viral RNA minikit (Qiagen). Isolates from two I. persulcatus samples were tentatively designated MKWVs. Blind passages were carried out once or twice. Virus shedding in the supernatants was confirmed by RT-PCR. Filtrates were also used to inoculate newborn BALB/c mice intracerebrally. The mice were observed for manifestations of clinical signs. At 14 dpi, mice showing no clinical sign were sacrificed, and their brains were sampled. Viral replication in brains was examined using RT-PCR.
Electron microscopy.The supernatant of TBPV-positive cells was harvested and pelleted by ultracentrifugation (27,000 rpm, 90 min) through 25% sucrose in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Virions were resuspended in PBS and adsorbed to collodion-carbon-coated copper grids. Virions negatively stained with 2% phosphotungstic acid solution (pH 5.8) were examined under an H-7650 transmission electron microscope (Hitachi) at 80 kV.
Determination of full-length viral genome sequences.Viral RNA extracted from purified virions was subjected to double-stranded cDNA synthesis using a cDNA synthesis kit (Moloney murine leukemia virus [M-MLV] version; TaKaRa). Pyrosequencing analysis was performed on a 454 Genome Sequencer Junior (GS-Junior; Roche) according to the manufacturer's protocol. After trimming low-quality reads, the resulting reads were de novo assembled using Newbler (Roche) with default parameters. Both the 5′ and 3′ terminus regions of each segment were amplified by the RACE method (39), and the complete nucleotide sequence of each segment was obtained.
Multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis.The nucleotide sequences of the L gene fragments of approximately 500 bp amplified by RT-PCR were aligned with representative sequences from other known phleboviruses available from GenBank by using MUSCLE as implemented in MEGA, version 6 (40). Multiple sequence alignments were modified manually to correct unreliable alignments. Phylogenetic trees were constructed using the maximum likelihood (ML) method. For ML analysis, the Tamura-Nei model with gamma-distributed invariant sites (G+I) built into MEGA 6 was used. The robustness of each node was tested by 1,000 bootstrap replicates. The full-length nucleotide sequence of each RNA segment and deduced amino acid sequence of each viral protein of MKWV and the representative phleboviruses were subjected to the multiple sequence alignment using MEGA as well as Clustal Omega (41) as implemented in CLC Main Workbench (Qiagen). The aligned sequences were used for phylogenetic tree construction by using MEGA (ML and neighbor-joining methods) and MrBayes 3.2.2 (42) as a plug-in of Geneious (Biomatters Ltd.) with the GTR+G+I substitution model. The trees obtained by three independent methods were compared with each other to confirm the same topologies. Ancestral-state reconstruction was performed with Mesquite (43).
Experimental infection of mice with TBPVs.MKWV (5.0 × 104 TCID50) and SFTSV (3.6 × 104 TCID50) were intracerebrally inoculated into nine and six newborn mice (C57BL/6J), respectively. Three mice of each group were sacrificed at 3 dpi, and their brains were sampled. The remaining mice were observed for their clinical symptoms. MKWV (2.5 × 105 TCID50) and SFTSV (1.8 × 105 TCID50) were intraperitoneally inoculated into 11 3-week-old C57BL/6J mice. Three mice were sacrificed at 3 and 7 dpi, and their brains, kidneys, lungs, livers, and spleens were aseptically collected. The remaining mice were observed for clinical signs, and their body weights were recorded for 14 days. Viral replication in each tissue was examined as described above, and the titers were calculated as TCID50 per gram of tissue. Experimental infections were carried out in the biosafety level 3 facility at the Hokkaido University Research Center for Zoonosis Control, Japan, strictly according to the Guidelines for Proper Conduct of Animal Experiments of the Science Council of Japan. The protocol was approved by the Hokkaido University Animal Care and Use Committee. All efforts were made to minimize suffering.
Growth kinetics of MKWV in various cells.MKWV was inoculated into Huh7, ISE6, and C6/36 cells at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 1. After a 1-h incubation to allow viruses to attach, cells were rinsed once with their original medium and incubated for up to 14 days in the same medium with 10% FCS. Supernatants were collected every 2 days after the inoculation (0 to 14 days), and RNAs were extracted using TRIzol LS reagent (Thermo Fisher Scientific) according to the manufacturer's protocol. Viral RNAs in the supernatant were quantified as equivalent to TCID50 by using real-time PCR with the KAPA Probe Fast qPCR kit (KAPA Biosystems) (primer and probe sequences available upon request).
Innate immune signaling inhibition assays.293 cells maintained in DMEM-10% FCS were transiently transfected with an expression plasmid of MKWV NSs-FLAG or SFTSV NSs-FLAG together with a reporter plasmid (pI125luc or pISRE-Luc) expressing firefly luciferase under the control of the beta interferon promoter or ISRE, respectively, and a control-luciferase-expressing plasmid, pGL4.75[hRluc/CMV] (Promega). The cells transfected with pI125luc were also transfected with an expression plasmid of the human RIG-I CARD domain (pEF-BOS RIG-IN) to activate the interferon-production signaling. The cells transfected with pISRE-Luc were treated with recombinant human alpha interferon (R&D Systems) 6 h prior to harvest. Cells were lysed at 24 h posttransfection, and the luciferase activity was measured by using the Dual-Glo luciferase assay system (Promega) with a Modulus microplate luminometer.
We thank Hiroko Miyamoto, Aiko Ohnuma, and Tatsuyuki Osuga at the Hokkaido University Research Center for Zoonosis Control for their help and assistance. We are grateful to Sonja M. Best (Innate Immunity and Pathogenesis Unit, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, DIR, NIAID, NIH) for providing the reporter plasmids and RIG-IN expression plasmid used in this study. We also thank the World Reference Center for Emerging Viruses and Arboviruses (WRCEVA) for providing us with Uukuniemi virus, Toscana virus, and LL-5 cells.
This study was partly supported by the Akiyama Life Science Foundation, MEXT/JSPS KAKENHI (grant numbers JP17KT0045, JP16K18791, JP16H06431, JP16H06429, JP16K21723, JP16H05805, and JP15K18778), the Japan Initiative for Global Research Network on Infectious Diseases (J-GRID) and the Japan Initiative for Progress of Research on Infectious Disease for Global Epidemic (J-PRIDE) (AMED grant no. JP18fm0108008 and JP17fm0208001, respectively), AMED/Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) within the framework of the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS), and the Fusion-H program from Hokkaido University. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
- Received May 3, 2018.
- Accepted May 22, 2018.
- Copyright © 2018 Matsuno et al.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.


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Today i would like to write about an fashion inspiration site, called Lookbook.nu apparently the biggest one internationally. This site was recommended to me by my best friend and fashionista blogger Valeria Vera, I might write about her later, because she is really good at social media, blogs, fashion and all of those things. Continue reading
Monthly Archives: January 2012
Affordable Design Furniture Store: Abitare
Today I will write about another furniture store I found in Luxembourg, this one in comparison with the stores I wrote about in my last post: Cheap Furniture in Luxembourg, is more expensive, however it is worth the price, because the items sold have a more interesting design, and they are not all the same models, as in the other ones. Here you can find a lot of color, a lot of unique and creative ideas, and the quality is OK, it is not the best but it is better than the cheap furniture stores. Continue reading


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On September 12th Residents of Croydon gathered, brought together by Croydon Community Consortium and London Sustainability Exchange to explore lichens and air pollution in the Croydon area as part of Wandle Fortnight.
We gathered in Wandle Park in the early evening, first discussing citizen science and what the dangers of air pollution really are. Lichens are formed from a symbiotic relationship between fungus and algae, and grow everywhere! There are many different types of Lichens and some are sensitive to levels of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) in the air, therefore acting as bio-indicators of pollution levels.
We used the Opal resource which was created by the Open Air Laboratories, this is a great resource which anyone can use to survey lichen in their area (a great activity for children or school pupils). It even has a map where you can upload your results to add to the database. Be wary though Lichens can be difficult to identify so read the resource carefully!
We found a high level of Nitrogen loving lichens around the area, even in the park! Although the most developed and strongly growing ones were by the main road (A236) as you would expect. What's really interesting when surveying is to look at how strong and developed the growth of the lichen is.
Fortunately we also found some intermediate lichens on trees near the Tudor Arch on Howley Road, which show that the air pollution is improving in the area (even if there is still a huge challenge). It will be interesting to go back and see if they continue to grow, and show as that conditions improve further.
If you are interested in air pollution please sign up to our newsletter or join our facebook group


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Publication Date
{Excerpt} The difference between poor and effective teams lies not so much in their collective mental equipment but in how well they use their abilities to think together. The Six Thinking Hats technique helps actualize the thinking potential of teams.
Routinely, many people think from analytical, critical, logical perspectives, and rarely view the world from emotional, intuitive, creative, or even purposely negative viewpoints. As a result, their arguments do not make leaps of imagination,they underestimate resistance to change, or they fail to draw contingency plans.
Lateral thinking is reasoning that offers new ways of looking at problems—coming at them from the side rather than from the front—to foster change, creativity, and innovation. One tool of lateral thinking, the Six Thinking Hats technique, was devised by de Bono in 1985 to give groups a means to reflect together more effectively, one thing at a time.
Suggested Citation
Serrat, O. (2010). Wearing six thinking hats. Washington, DC: Asian Development Bank.
Required Publisher's Statement
This article was first published by the Asian Development Bank (www.adb.org)


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IT'S schoolies on steroids. A teenager's paradise.
No parents, no rules, no authorities, no police. No limits.
Welcome to Thailand's infamous Full Moon parties, where the signature drink is a bucket of hard alcohol with red bull - drugs of all kinds are bought over the counter at bars.
Every month, thousands of backpackers descend on the island of Koh Phangan where the event has been for each full moon since 1985.
It's a cash-cow for the Thai government, drawing about 30,000 revellers during peak seasons and around 10,000 to 20,000 others on any given month. And now more than ever, Australians are joining the party.
Lured by the guarantee of low-cost flights, a wild time and cheap alcohol, they cram themselves onto the island's exotic Haad Rin beach to dance the night away.
Now an investigation by The Sunday Telegraph has uncovered a high-risk, unregulated and dangerous culture of drinking and drug taking - among revellers and "officials" - which any parent would shudder to think their child is walking into.
"There's no Bondi Rescue out there for kids in trouble," Clare Florence, director of the Australia Thailand Business Council, said.
"This is something that needs to be dealt with - the Thai people who are running the boats and who are running the party, they're drunk, too.
"Every single time, someone is injured or dies."
On January 21, a promising Sydney rugby player, Joe Welch, died at a Full Moon Party. Despite his strong and fit physique, the 19-year-old was pulled unconscious from unfamiliar waters, spending two weeks in a coma from which he never recovered.
His parents paid tribute to the Thai-based Australian priest, Father Michael Kelly, who helped them through the tragic episode while Joe was in intensive care.
He said countless stories of death and injury have emerged out of the events.
"It's schoolies on steroids," Fr Kelly, executive director of the Union of Catholic Asian News, said.
The Full Moon Party's popularity with Aussies is undeniable. Travel agents have reported a gradual surge in inquiries about the Full Moon events in recent years.
School leavers are among the new and emerging market, skipping the end of year coastal road trip for the bargain flight to Thailand.
"Thailand's our biggest destination after New Zealand for the international market," Carl Cross, brand leader for Student Flights told The Sunday Telegraph.
After landing in Bangkok, revellers catch a charter flight down to the resort island of Koh Samui.
From there it's a 90-minute boat ride to Koh Phangan - a tiny speck on the map where the beach is lined with nightclubs and anything goes.
Despite the horror stories, government warnings and regular news of death and injury, Full Moon Packages are spruiked by STA Travel to students and young people.
For $1209, the company takes care of airfares, accommodation and transfers to and from the island.
The packages are a hit - booked out solidly during December. Even underage teenagers can buy them, provided they have permission from a parent, an STA staffer said.
"If you're 17 you can go to Thailand, but not Schoolies," the front-counter attendant said. STA did not respond to a request for comment.
The tales of debauchery are endless. For 100 baht (about $3) revellers can buy a bucket filled with their poison of choice: Vodka, Gin or Bourbon.It's topped with Red Bull so they can stay awake, and, unlike Australian regulations, there's no limit to how much they can consume.
As the night wears on pills and "magic mushrooms" - purchased over the counter from a well-known bar on the island - kick in to full effect.
Later, the kerosene comes out for a warped round of games and competition.
A long rope made out of a rolled up sheet is doused and set on fire, then twirled for people to jump over like a skipping rope.
Those brave enough to take part are told to have a go early before they, or the entertainers, drink too much.
Office assistant from Oatley, Emma Wilson, 22, still has scars on her arm from her encounter with the flaming rope in March last year, while on holiday with a friend.
"After I burnt myself, I saw another guy's hair catch on fire," she said. "It hit me and I went down on top of it. Even though I got burned, I loved it. I loved the atmosphere."
Every year, reports of thefts, fights, sexual assaults and even death, are dealt with by Australian consular officials, while drink spiking has been identified as a problem because of the bucket sizes.
Joe Welch's family has set up a fund in his memory to raise money for Aboriginal youth projects.
Originally published asThailand parties: 'schoolies on steroids'


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Challenge yourself to an icy vision by a talented artist Ice Fairy is a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle by Schmidt Spiele that features a bejeweled woman surrounded by flowers and what is likely an ice cave Made in Germany.
Recommended for ages 12 and up.
Warning: Choking hazard. Small parts. Not for children under 3


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Shiaparelli and Prada: Met Madness
The Met Museum Shiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations – is the new feature at the Met Mueseum's Spring 2012 Costume Exhibition – it "explores the striking affinities between Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada, two Italian designers from different eras." Inspired by a Miguel Covarrubia's Vanity fair interview in the 1930's, and Baz Luhrman's video of … Continue reading
H&M Goes High End: Marni, Versace, Anna-Dell-Russo – Spring/Summer 2012
H & M stands for Hennes & Mauritz AB (operating as H&M), which a a Swedish retail clothing store. It is known for it's trendy fast fashion – and it is becoming more trendy with their continuous collaboration with high end designers and fashion icons in recent years. Why the collaboration with between affordability and high end designers? … Continue reading
TED TALKS – Johanna Blakley: Lessons from fashion's free culture
This is a video that I watched a while ago, but still pertains to today's fashion industry. It talks about how fast fashion is possible and how designers, especially in America, are not protected. If you have ever wondered why Stuart Weitzman shoes became so famous, or why Louboutin's are so expensive and luxurious – … Continue reading
FIDM Couture Fabric Fundraiser
2,150 yards of designer fabric – fabric from a private Couturier, Nora Martin- is being donated to the Fashion Institute of Designing and Merchandising. Instead of keeping the fabric for student use (which I would do) – it is being sold to raise funds for the FIDM Scholarship Store beginning May 21. At original prices ranging from … Continue reading
LED (light-up) DRESS: Ravishing Roses
The reason I have not posted anything recently, is finally here! My UV-LED Dress that is made out of boning, LED lights that are individually wired, and 45 handcrafted, roses. (Message me if you would like to know how to make these roses, that may be another post that I will work on, this summer.) … Continue reading