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Mediators of Inflammation
Volume 2012 (2012), Article ID 210454, 11 pages
L-Arginine and Asymmetric Dimethylarginine Are Early Predictors for Survival in Septic Patients with Acute Liver Failure
1Department of Anesthesiology, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 110, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
2Department of Medicine I and Clinical Chemistry, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 410, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
3Department of General and Transplant Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 110, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
4Institute of Medical Biometry and Informatics, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 305, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
5Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University of Gießen, Rudolf-Buchheim-Strasse 7, 35392 Gießen, Germany
Received 31 October 2011; Revised 27 December 2011; Accepted 13 February 2012
Academic Editor: Helieh S. Oz
Copyright © 2012 Thorsten Brenner et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Dysfunctions of the L-arginine (L-arg)/nitric-oxide (NO) pathway are suspected to be important for the pathogenesis of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) in septic shock. Therefore plasma concentrations of L-arg and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) were measured in 60 patients with septic shock, 30 surgical patients and 30 healthy volunteers using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. Plasma samples from patients with septic shock were collected at sepsis onset, and 24 h, 4 d, 7 d, 14 d and 28 d later. Samples from surgical patients were collected prior to surgery, immediately after the end of the surgical procedure as well as 24 h later and from healthy volunteers once. In comparison to healthy volunteers and surgical patients, individuals with septic shock showed significantly increased levels of ADMA, as well as a decrease in the ratio of L-arg and ADMA at all timepoints. In septic patients with an acute liver failure (ALF), plasma levels of ADMA and L-arg were significantly increased in comparison to septic patients with an intact hepatic function. In summary it can be stated, that bioavailability of NO is reduced in septic shock. Moreover, measurements of ADMA and L-arg appear to be early predictors for survival in patients with sepsis-associated ALF.
1. Introduction
Septic shock as well as the resulting MODS represent an ongoing challenge in intensive care units [1]. The pathogenesis of MODS in patients with septic shock is a multifactorial process. Recent studies have provided evidence that an impaired NO homeostasis might play an important role [2–4]. Dysfunctions of the L-arg/NO pathway have been reported to be a reason for the deleterious vascular effects of diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, smoking, and others [5]. Moreover, reduced endothelial NO bioavailability has suspected to be crucial in patients with sepsis, since microcirculatory blood flow is disrupted and key bacterial functions in the host might be compromised [2, 4].
NO is synthesized from the conditionally essential amino acid L-arg by the action of NO-synthases (NOS) [6]. However, earlier published articles dealing with plasma levels of L-arg in septic patients revealed conflicting results [7–18]. ADMA represents one further main component of the NO homeostasis, due to its ability to serve as an endogenous NOS-inhibitor. The accumulation of ADMA was suspected to play an important role in the development of MODS and was independently associated with mortality in unselected critically ill patients [19, 20]. Competitive leveling of L-arg and ADMA with regard to NOS activity was entitled L-arginine-paradox, describing an ADMA-induced right-shift of the NOS concentration-response curve for L-arg. Only small changes in L-arg plasma concentrations may, therefore, cause marked changes in NOS activity in order to avoid a relevant lack of NO [21].
The aims of this study were, therefore, threefold: (1) to determine plasma concentrations of L-arg and ADMA as well as the resulting ratio of both in patients with septic shock, surgical patients undergoing major abdominal surgery, as well as healthy volunteers, (2) to investigate the prognostic role of each parameter in patients with septic shock, and (3) to assess the applicability of newly developed ELISA-based measurements of L-arg and ADMA.
2. Materials and Methods
This observational clinical study was approved by the local ethics committee (Trial-Code-Nr.: S123-2009) and was conducted in the surgical intensive care unit of the University Hospital of Heidelberg, Germany. Study and control patients or their legal designees signed written informed consent. In total, 120 patients in 3 groups were enrolled in the study. The 3 groups included 60 patients with septic shock (referred to as the septic group), 30 patients after major abdominal surgery due to a tumorous disease (the surgical group), and 30 healthy volunteers (the healthy group, Table 1). The 60 patients were classified as having septic shock based on the criteria of the International Sepsis Definitions Conference [22]. Since patients with septic shock were recruited on a surgical intensive care unit, all of them underwent a surgical procedure in varying degrees of time prior to sepsis onset. Patients were eligible for enrollment with an onset of sepsis syndrome ≤24 hours. The initial blood draw was also performed within this period. In contrast, patients with an onset of sepsis syndrome >24 hours were excluded from the study. The management of patients with septic shock in the intensive care unit included early goal-directed therapy (according to Rivers and colleagues [23]), elimination of the septic focus, and broad-spectrum antibiotics [24, 25]. Patients with renal disorders (as indicated by a serum-creatinine ≥1.2 mg/dL or 20.5 μmol/L, according to sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA)-score) as well as liver diseases (as indicated by a serum-bilirubin ≥1.2 mg/dL or 20.5 μmol/L, according to SOFA-score) prior to the onset of sepsis were excluded from the study. Blood samples from patients with septic shock were collected at sepsis onset (Onset), and 24 hours (24 h), 4 days (4 d), 7 days (7 d), 14 days (14 d), and 28 days (28 d) later. Relevant baseline data (demographic data, primary site of infection, outcome) and clinical data (disease severity scoring, hemodynamic data, need for catecholaminergic support, ventilator settings, etc.) were collected. Patients with septic shock were reevaluated for survival 28 days after enrollment in the study. These evaluations were performed using available hospital records. In case of the patient's discharge from the hospital, the family doctor was contacted. If necessary, direct contact was also made with the patient. Blood samples from the surgical group were collected prior to surgery (Pre), immediately after the end of the surgical procedure (Onset), and 24 hours afterwards (24 h). No later blood draws were performed in the surgical group, since peak plasma levels of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines are reported to appear on the 1st postoperative day in surgery-induced inflammation and the investigation associated burden of the individual study patient was demanded to be as minimal as possible [26]. Blood samples from the healthy group were collected once. In order to avoid diet-related affections of L-arg or ADMA plasma levels, neither patients in the septic group, nor surgical patients received immune-enhancing nutrition.
After blood collection, plasma of all study participants was immediately obtained by centrifugation, transferred into cryotubes, and stored at −80°C until further processing. Serum tests for routine laboratory parameters (creatinine, urea, bilirubin, leukocytes, C-reactive protein, etc.) were performed at the same time.
Measurements of ADMA as well as L-arg were performed using ELISA-kits (Immundiagnostik, Bensheim, Germany) according to the manufacturer's instructions.
The resulting study data was evaluated using SPSS (statistical product and services solutions) software (Version 19.0, SPSS Inc, Chicago, USA). Categorical data were summarized by means of absolute and relative frequencies (counts and percentages). Quantitative data were summarized using the number of observations, mean, and standard deviation, as well as median with quartiles. Wherever appropriate, data were visualized using line charts or Box-and-Whisker plots. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was applied to check for normal distribution. Due to nonnormally distributed data, nonparametric methods for evaluation were used (chi-square test for categorical data, Mann-Whitney test for continuous data). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was established with suitable parameters, in order to create cut-off values to determine the prognostic value of each parameter with regard to survival. Correlation analysis was performed calculating Pearson's correlation coefficient (). A -value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Concerning symbolism and higher orders of significance: : *, : **, : ***, n.s.: not statistically significant, Ø: no data available.
3. Results
Demographic data and baseline clinical data of all study groups are presented in detail in Table 1. The primary site of infection in the septic group (double naming feasible) was the gastrointestinal tract, followed by the surgical site, and the respiratory tract (Table 1). Surgical site infections (SSI) were described to be source deep or organ space SSIs (e.g., organ space abscesses, insufficiencies of anastomoses, etc.) in all cases. Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) or ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) due to several triggers (e.g., aspiration, insufficient coughing with subsequent retention of secretion, etc.) are thought to represent the most important reasons for a pulmonary site of infection. Since all patients of the septic cohort underwent a surgical procedure and were, therefore, hospitalized for a certain time prior to sepsis onset, community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) can most probably be disregarded as a pulmonary focus. However, results of microbiological diagnostics in tracheal secretion have not been recorded, so that these reflections cannot be validated. All patients with septic shock revealed cardiovascular failure with the need for catecholaminergic support. The incidence of further sepsis-associated organ failures is presented in Table 1. In contrast, no patients in the surgical group developed any organ failure, such as acute renal failure (ARF), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), or ALF. In the septic group, 38 of 60 patients (63.3%) survived 28 days. Patients who survived or died showed no significant differences concerning their demographic data (data not shown). None in the healthy or surgical groups died during the study.
In healthy volunteers, the following plasma levels could be observed: ADMA: 0.433 μmol/L; 0.369–0.506 μmol/L, L-arg: 112.6 μmol/L; 100.8–133.0 μmol/L, Ratio L-arg/ADMA: 273.5; 218.8–329.3 (Median; Q1–Q3). In surgical patients, plasma levels of ADMA were significantly elevated prior to the surgical procedure. Postsurgery, ADMA plasma levels decreased towards the levels observed for the healthy volunteers (Figure 1(a)). Plasma levels of L-arg were comparable in healthy volunteers and surgical patients prior to the surgical procedure. Within 24 hours postsurgery, plasma levels of L-arg decreased and showed significant differences in comparison to healthy volunteers (Figure 1(b)). The ratio of L-arg and ADMA was significantly reduced in surgical patients at all timepoints (Figure 1(c)). When comparing subgroups of patients in the surgical group who did () or did not () receive a liver resection, no significant differences were observed in the plasma levels of L-arg, ADMA as well as the resulting ratio of both (data not shown).
In patients with septic shock, plasma levels of ADMA and L-arg showed comparable trends within the 28-day observation period with significantly increasing levels until 4 days after the onset of sepsis, followed by a sudden decrease until day 7 (Figures 1(a) and 1(b)). When septic patients were compared with healthy volunteers, plasma levels of ADMA were significantly elevated at all time points (Figure 1(a)). Analogous to the peak concentrations of ADMA, plasma levels of L-arg were also significantly elevated 4 days after sepsis onset in comparison to healthy volunteers. In contrast to ADMA, plasma levels of L-arg tended to be decreased at sepsis onset () and showed no significant differences at the other timepoints within the 28-day observation period (Figure 1(b)). The resulting ratio of L-arg and ADMA in septic patients was significantly reduced in comparison to healthy volunteers as well as surgical patients at all time points (Figure 1(c)).
When comparing subgroups of patients in the septic group who did or did not survive, plasma levels of ADMA tended to be increased at sepsis onset in the nonsurviving subgroup (). Afterwards, ADMA plasma levels were comparable between survivors and nonsurvivors. Plasma levels of L-arg were significantly elevated in the non-surviving subgroup 24 hours as well as 7 days after sepsis onset (Table 2). Results of subgroup analyses comparing septic patients with an ARDS versus non-ARDS or ARF versus non-ARF are further described in Table 2. Measurements of ADMA and L-arg plasma levels in patients with sepsis who did or did not develop sepsis-induced ALF (serum-bilirubin >/<4.0 mg/dL or 70.0 mmol/L [22]) are shown in Figures 2(a) and 2(b). ADMA was significantly elevated at all time points in the subgroup of ALF patients (Figure 2(a)). L-arg plasma levels were also significantly increased at sepsis onset and 24 hours later (Figure 2(b)), but not at later times. When comparing septic patients with an ALF who did () or did not survive () 28 days, plasma levels of ADMA showed a considerable trend towards higher levels in nonsurvivors at sepsis onset (). Afterwards ADMA plasma levels were comparable between the surviving and nonsurviving subgroup. In contrast, plasma levels of L-arg were significantly elevated in the nonsurviving subgroup at sepsis onset (*) but failed scarcely to show a significant difference 24 hours later (). At later time points, L-arg plasma levels were comparable between the surviving and nonsurviving subgroup. A comparable leveling could be observed for different routine markers for liver impairment. For example, plasma levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were significantly elevated in the nonsurviving subgroup at sepsis onset as well as 24 hours later. At later timepoints, LDH plasma levels were comparable between the surviving and nonsurviving subgroup. Substantially, similar results could be obtained for aspartat amino transferase (ASAT), alanine amino transferase (ALAT), as well as total bilirubine (Table 3).
In septic patients with an ALF, ROC curve analysis revealed a cut-off value for L-arg at sepsis onset (area under the curve/AUC = 0.839) of 143.41 μmol/L for early discrimination of survivors and nonsurvivors with a sensitivity of 0.857 and 1-specificity of 0.250 (Figure 3). Moreover, ROC analysis revealed a cut-off value for ADMA at the onset of sepsis syndrome (AUC = 0.786) of 0.853 μmol/L with a sensitivity of 0.857 and 1-specificity of 0.500 (Figure 3).
In order to assess the influence of packed red blood cell (PRBC) administration on plasma levels of L-arg and ADMA, septic patients receiving PRBC <24 h prior to the respective blood draw () were compared with septic patients not receiving PRBC <24 h prior to the respective blood draw (). At early (Onset, 24 h) as well as late stages of septic shock, L-arg and ADMA plasma levels did not differ significantly between the two subgroups (data not shown). Contrary to our expectations, in the interim phase (4 d) plasma levels of L-arginine and ADMA were significantly elevated in patients receiving PRBC (L-arg: */ADMA: *). At this timepoint (4 d), septic patients receiving PRBC were shown to be more severely injured as assessed by disease severity scoring (acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II-score: 0.007**/SOFA-score: 0.037*/simplified acute physiology score (SAPS): 0.007**). Moreover, the influence of body's own red blood cells (RBCs) on plasma levels of L-arg and ADMA was assessed. Therefore, the amount of red cell mass in each patient at the different timepoints was estimated with the accompanying hemoglobin (Hb) concentration. Hb concentrations were shown to be significantly reduced in patients with septic shock as well as surgical patients in comparison to healthy volunteers at all timepoints (data not shown). An ensuing correlation analysis including all studygroups revealed that L-arg plasma levels were not correlated with the accompanying Hb concentrations (). By analogy, ADMA plasma levels showed only a weak correlation with Hb concentrations ().
4. Discussion
As assessed by plasma levels of ADMA and L-arg, the present investigation describes decreased endothelial NO bioavailability in patients with septic shock in comparison to healthy volunteers and patients following major abdominal surgery. Moreover, plasma levels of ADMA and L-arg were shown to be early predictors for survival in patients with septic shock and an accompanying ALF.
Concerning plasma levels of L-arg in septic patients, a recent review by Davis and Anstey failed to reveal conclusive results for patients with surgery-associated or trauma-associated sepsis [27]. In contrast, patients with sepsis not associated with trauma or surgery were observed to suffer from a hypoarginineaemic state [27]. Since our study was performed with patients suffering from septic shock on a surgical intensive care unit, the pathogenesis of sepsis was at least surgery-associated in all cases. L-arg plasma levels tended to be decreased in the initial phase of NO depletion, probably due to a lower de novo L-arg production (e.g., decreased food intake and gut absorption) as well as an increased L-arg consumption (e.g., increased arginase and NO production and elevated protein need) [12, 16]. This consuming phase was followed by a secondary short-term restorative phase with increasing plasma levels of L-arg at day 4. Comparable plasma kinetics have already been described by Davis et al., showing lowest L-arg plasma levels at sepsis onset followed by an increase 2–4 days later [28]. We hypothesize that this excess supply of L-arg should counteract increasing plasma levels of nonselective endogenous inhibitors such as ADMA, which are able to reduce the activity of NOS. The NO-reducing effects of ADMA have been proven in animal as well as human models using experimental ADMA-infusion [29, 30]. ADMA can also compete with L-arg, symmetrical dimethylarginine (SDMA) and L-lysine for the cationic amino acid transporters-dependant transport across the cell membrane, especially in hepatocytes [31]. While the ADMA uptake is performed for degradation, L-arg is used for NO-synthesis. Elevated plasma levels of ADMA have been reported for several disease states, which are known to be associated with an endothelial dysfunction such as hypertension, peripheral arterial disease, chronic renal disease, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes mellitus, and hyperhomocysteinemia [32–37]. Concerning patients with septic shock, ADMA plasma levels were also reported to be significantly elevated [2–4, 38, 39]. In contrast, in septic patients without shock, plasma ADMA concentrations did not differ compared to plasma levels in control patients [40]. As expected and in line with the literature, we were able to show significantly increased plasma levels of ADMA in the septic group of patients at all time points. Moreover, in analogy to the previously described results of L-arg measurements, a peak concentration for ADMA could be observed 4 days after sepsis onset. As described earlier, this comparable leveling of both, L-arg and ADMA may further support the hypothesis of the so-called L-arginine-paradox [21, 41]. Moreover, ADMA concentrations were shown to be elevated in patients of the surgical group prior to the surgical procedure in comparison to healthy volunteers. This effect might be due to several pre-existing conditions (e.g., hypertension, hypercholesterolemia) of the surgical cohort of patients, which are known to be associated with increased plasma levels of ADMA. Decreasing plasma levels of ADMA following the surgical procedure have most likely to be ascribed to simple dilution effects due to perioperative volume therapy.
With regard to the plasma levels of ADMA, the possible elimination pathways have to be taken into account, since MODS can frequently be observed in patients with septic shock [1]. ADMA is removed from the body by urinary excretion and therefore depends on kidney function [42]. On the other hand, ADMA is subject to enzymatic degradation into citrulline and dimethylamine by the enzyme dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH), which is highly expressed in the liver [43–45]. Accordingly, ADMA levels were shown to be significantly increased in patients with septic shock and an accompanying ARF. However, these results might have been underestimated since hemodialysis, peritonealdialysis and hemodiafiltration are known to be able to reduce ADMA plasma levels [46]. With respect to liver integrity, Nijfeldt et al. demonstrated in an animal model that the liver is a key player in the absorption and degradation of ADMA [42]. This observation was further supported by investigations in human patients suffering from either decompensated liver cirrhosis, ALF, or sepsis-associated hepatic dysfunction, showing a close correlation between ADMA plasma levels and the degree of hepatic dysfunction [2, 19, 47, 48]. Accordingly, we observed significantly elevated plasma levels of ADMA in patients with a sepsis-associated ALF. In terms of the "L-arginine-paradox," L-arg plasma levels were also significantly elevated. Moreover, both biomarkers were shown to predict survival in this cohort of patients. However, the prognostic value of both biomarkers in septic patients with a sepsis-associated ALF seems to be most likely a reflection of poor hepatic function. Whether increased plasma levels of ADMA contribute causatively to the decease in these patients cannot finally be concluded.
With regard to further influencing factors of L-arg and ADMA plasma levels, especially red blood cells came into the focus of interest. On the one hand, administration of PRBC is reported to be associated with L-arg consumption, since PRBCs contain relevant amounts of arginase [49, 50]. This enzyme is able to convert arginine to ornithine, resulting in a reduced bioavailability of this conditionally essential amino acid. Probably due to the vanishing low amount of PRBC administration in the presented patients with septic shock, PRBC-associated arginine consumption could not be observed. Instead, plasma levels of L-arg in patients receiving PRBCs were significantly elevated at 4 d. This might be probably attributable to significantly increased ADMA plasma levels in more severely injured septic patients receiving PRBCs especially at 4 d. Beside PRBCs, the body's own RBC might likewise be an influencing factor, since RBCs do also contain relevant amounts of L-arg metabolizing enzymes (e.g., arginase) as well as express amino acid transporters for the L-arg uptake [51, 52]. However, since hemoglobin concentrations in patients with septic shock did not reveal any significant changes within the 28 day observation period and L-arg plasma levels showed a sigmoidal leveling, red cell mass is unlikely to have affected L-arg plasma levels in a relevant manner. This hypothesis is further strengthened throughout the subsidiary performed correlation analysis, which was not able to show a correlation between hemoglobin concentrations and the accompanying L-arg plasma levels.
Notably, in the literature, normal plasma levels of L-arg in healthy persons are reported to be 70–80 μmol/L as assessed by HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography) [53–55]. This is in contrast to our investigation, since baseline L-arg plasma levels in healthy volunteers were described to be 112.6 μmol/L in median. Moreover, L-arg plasma levels of patients with septic shock within our investigation tended to be steadily increased in comparison to the available literature. However, the ELISA-based measurements of ADMA did not differ in a relevant manner in comparison to the traditional form of ADMA measurements using HPLC. To define whether an increased sensitivity of the newly developed ELISA-based method for L-arg determination in human plasma samples might explain the discrepancy is beyond the scope of this manuscript and needs to be studied in the future.
5. Conclusions
NO-bioavailability was demonstrated to be reduced in patients with septic shock. In comparison to healthy volunteers and patients following major abdominal surgery, patients with septic shock showed significantly increased levels of ADMA, as well as decreased levels of the ratio of L-arg and ADMA at all time points within the 28-day observation period. Moreover, plasma levels of ADMA and L-arg were significantly increased in septic patients with an ALF in comparison to those with an intact hepatic function. Most important, measurements of ADMA and L-arg at sepsis onset appeared to be early predictors for survival in septic patients with ALF.
ADMA: | Asymmetric dimethylarginine |
ALAT: | Alanine amino transferase |
ALF: | Acute liver failure |
APACHE II-score: | Acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II-score |
ARF: | Acute renal failure |
ARDS: | Acute respiratory distress syndrome |
ASAT: | Aspartat amino transferase |
AUC: | Area under the curve |
CAP: | Community acquired pneumonia |
DDAH: | Dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase |
ELISA: | Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay |
HAP: | Hospital acquired pneumonia |
Hb: | Hemoglobin |
HPLC: | High performance liquid chromatography |
L-arg: | L-arginine |
LDH: | Lactate dehydrogenase |
MODS: | Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome |
NO: | Nitric oxide |
NOS: | Nitric oxide synthases |
PRBC: | Packed red blood cells |
RBC: | Red blood cells |
ROC: | Receiver operating characteristic |
SAPS: | Simplified acute physiology score |
SDMA: | Symmetrical dimethylarginine |
SOFA-score: | Sequential organ failure assessment-score |
SPSS: | Statistical product and services solutions |
SSI: | Surgical site infection |
VAP: | Ventilator associated pneumonia. |
Competing Interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
This investigation was carried out with financial resources of the Department of Anesthesiology (University of Heidelberg, Germany), the Department of Medicine I and Clinical Chemistry (University of Heidelberg, Germany), the Department of General and Transplant Surgery (University of Heidelberg, Germany), and the Institute of Medical Biometry and Informatics (University of Heidelberg, Germany). Moreover, this work was supported by the BMBF Program BioChance PLUS to AB.
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What's New
version 1.1.2:▶ bug fix
▶ update AIR SDK
App Description
Edit the formula in this program is designed to quickly and easily. In the editor that provides many types of formulas with just the click of a button you can create a formula.▶ Create formulas with the click of a button.
▶ Create formulas with TeX input editor.
▶ Changing the size and layout of the formula.
▶ Images created with a formula to save to your PC.
▶ Support common text input.
▶ Support copy and paste.
▶ Support task history.
App Changes
January 29, 2014 New version 1.1.2
February 22, 2013 New version 1.1.1
January 30, 2013 New version 1.1.0
January 11, 2013 New version 1.0.9
July 12, 2012 Initial Release

subset: commoncrawl


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Start learning with our library of video tutorials taught by experts. Get started
Deke McClelland shows how to use Photoshop Elements 5 and its three main workspaces to create professional-looking images.
"What I'm learning will save me a lot of time and frustration on current and future projects." —Linda J.
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More dairy nutritionists and producers are making do with less alfalfa in their cows' diets this year.
Several factors are forcing dairy producers, particularly in the Midwest, to find other ways to provide their animals with needed effective fiber.
"Drought hit some parts of Wisconsin pretty heavily last year – a drought that was nationwide to some degree, bringing low forage inventories coming into spring for many," says Randy Shaver, University of Wisconsin Extension dairy scientist. Then winterkill took about 1.75 million alfalfa acres out of production in Wisconsin and Minnesota alone, according to National Agricultural Statistics Service data.
"We followed that with conditions that didn't allow us to get corn in the ground for long periods of time in some dairy areas in Wisconsin – and high hay prices. We had a real (forage) shortage nationally for a number of different reasons," he says.
Many Midwestern dairy cows this year won't be fed the typical total mixed ration (TMR) that includes 16 lbs of alfalfa, says Noah Litherland, University of Minnesota Extension dairy nutritionist.
"We're going to be seeing some interesting diets. People are going to be branching out more than they have in the past. Some diets are going to be having more byproducts. They're going to be looking more at that soluble fiber number that comes in a forage analysis and how that blends with the effective fiber that we have," he says.
Shaver predicts rations in his state will show higher amounts of corn silage. That's in part because a lot of winterkilled alfalfa ground was planted to corn, and late-planted grain corn may end up harvested for silage.
A number of producers and custom harvesters are outfitting their choppers with Shredlage processors, using a new method of harvesting "that typically will allow people to chop a bit longer and get more effective fiber out of corn silage," he says. The silage processed through Shredlage rolls is cut at a particle length of 26 mm rather than the 19 mm advised for conventionally processed corn silage (see "Shredlage Takes Hay From Dairy Diets").
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Illinois growers contended with a rainy, wet spring, says Mike Hutjens, University of Illinois emeritus Extension dairy nutritionist. Hay acres that traditionally produce 150-160 relative feed value alfalfa turned out 120-130 RFV feed. "It's a lower-quality forage that is a little trickier in terms of building a balanced ration."
He and Shaver estimate that more farmers will be feeding "fresh corn silage" or silage that's had only a few weeks of fermentation.
"In some cases, we will see some more digestive upsets and we will lose some milk production, because cows don't handle it as efficiently as fermented corn silage," Hutjens says.
"There isn't a lot of carryover corn silage," Shaver adds, "so we don't have that forgiving factor of letting it sit in the silo for six months or eight months to allow that starch digestibility to increase."
A lot of alternative forages, including winter wheat, winter rye, oats and oat-pea mixes, were harvested as spring silage, Shaver says. Early cut forage came off with "fairly low nutrient detergent fiber (NDF) and high protein and can be a fairly good substitute for alfalfa silage. On the other hand, if you couldn't get it off due to rain, and it was late-cut, you pretty much had to divert that to heifers and dry cows."
Studies on oats and other small grains have shown quality declines as the forages mature, he adds. "Some of the alternative forage material can be pretty good quality and some of it, not so good."
That means taking forage tests frequently at feedout is "critical," Shaver says.
Straw, a "pretty low-quality forage," can provide effective fiber, Hutjens says. "A pound of straw could keep a TMR pretty honest." Cornstalks are another option, although they bring soil contamination to a diet, he says.
"Certainly cornstalks, if we can get them harvested and processed or put into a bag as stalklage, can be good feed for heifers or dry cows or even to displace some of that wheat straw that people are shipping in from out West," Shaver says.
High-fiber byproducts, whose prices track with corn and soybean meal prices, are becoming affordable again as alfalfa replacements, says Shaver. "With some of these, we may be able to reduce forage needs by about a third. Cottonseed hulls or whole cottonseed have a pretty good fiber replacement value. If feeding 5 lbs, you might displace 5 lbs or more forage dry matter per cow per day.
"But others, such as brewers grains or corn gluten feed, if you feed 5 lbs, you would only be able to displace about 2 lbs of forage. Distillers, brewers and corn gluten feeds are very finely processed."
The two dairy scientists recommend the use of a program that tracks feed values, such as Wisconsin's FeedVal 2012 and Ohio State's Sesame.
Producers should constantly monitor their forage inventories and work to rebuild them with fall plantings, possibly also buying silage corn acres, Shaver says.
"A lot of things can happen between now and the end of the year in terms of building back inventory next spring," he says. "It wasn't a good place to be with silos running empty and alfalfa fields that didn't green up. So I would think a little bit ahead about how we can get ourselves out of that.
"There is still a drought going on in the Southwest, and there's a big demand for hay nationally. So I think we've got to build back some of our own inventory in the Midwest."
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Cutting Our Purchased Dairy Feeds


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Arthur Andrew Medical Review
What You Should Know
Click Here To See Our Highest Rated Review
Founded in 1999 by Justin Marsh and Thomas Aldrich, Arthur Andrew Medical is a natural health supplement supplier specializing in enzyme based products. Enzymes help in the battle against infections, cleaning the blood stream, and promoting good digestion. The founders of Arthur Andrew Medical, located in Scottsdale, Arizona and San Diego, California, seem to believe that enzyme based products are the key to better health.
The enzymes used by Arthur Andrew Medical were discovered in Japan. Justin Marsh and Thomas Aldrich claim that these enzymes are more powerful than those enzymes discovered in North America. Although the company has an official website, it relies mainly on grapevine marketing and happy customers to enhance its cliental base. Although many businesses are seeing a fall in sales lately, Arthur Andrew Medical continues to grow.
List of Ingredients
Arthur Andrew Medical is a supplement provider and therefore has no list of ingredients. However, the basis for most of its supplements is enzymes discovered in Japan. For a complete list of ingredients of a Arthur Andrew Medical supplement, check out their official website.
Product Features
Arthur Andrew Medical offers mainly a variety of Enzyme based nutritional supplements. They also offer some probiotics and a few other natural supplements. They claim their products will do such things as fight yeast infections and promote healthy digestion.
Although the company claims its prices reflect the amount of research, care, and quality manufacturing put into their products, prices may be a bit steep for most people. A 300 capsule bottle of one of their most popular supplements, Neprinol AFD, sells for $199.99.
- Supposedly more naturally based and less harmful than prescription drugs.
- May help your body help itself.
- Well-designed, easy to navigate website.
- Marsh and Aldrich claim that their products are reliable and well-researched and their enzymes come from the best sources possible.
- Arthur Andrew Medical does not appear to offer supplements specifically targeted towards weight loss.
- Supplements are expensive.
- Actual evidence of research is difficult to find.
- The company website claims that Japanese enzymes are superior to North American enzymes. However, they fail to specify what makes these enzymes superior.
- Limited product line available.
Arthur Andrew Medical may provide well researched, quality products. However, they fail to give adequate evidence of this research. Some of their claims, the superiority of Japanese enzymes over those discovered in North America for example, seem more like advertising hype than actual claims. However, the company's marketing is more believable and professional than many of today's online natural health companies. In addition, Arthur Andrew Medical has managed to flourish while other companies are failing. Still, whether they will continue to stand the test of time remains to be discovered.
With the high cost of these supplements, those interested in Arthur Andrew Medical products should be especially thorough in their own research and should contact a knowledgeable doctor before purchasing.


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Do you like Super Cute Puppies?
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Push Pups is a CUTE and ADDICTIVE puzzle game featuring THE cutest puppies known to human kind.
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How Mavs' style swap beat the Heat
June, 16, 2011
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images
Dribble attacks like this were essential to the Mavericks' title.
Dribble attacks like this were essential to the Mavericks' title.
Right before the conference finals, I wrote about how the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat represented contrasting styles in how the game is played.
The Heat created a lot of shots off the dribble, whereas the Mavs created a lot off the pass. If the Mavs got by Oklahoma City, the other team besides Miami that created a lot off the dribble, and Miami got by Chicago, the Finals would be a major clash of styles. We ended up with just that matchup, but what is amazing is that the Mavs won by adapting to play more like the Heat and by forcing the Heat to play more like the Mavs.
I have a metric that looks at how often teams attack off the dribble and, in the Finals, the team that attacked the paint off the dribble the most won every game of the Finals. In the epic comeback of Game 2, this all came about in the 4th quarter when the Heat stopped attacking the basket. Once J.J. Barea entered the starting lineup for Dallas, the Mavs started attacking the basket a lot.
In the first couple of games, the Heat defense reacted strongly to Dirk Nowitzki, double-teaming him in various ways and zoning the weak side of the court. Every other player got single-team treatment, even Jason Kidd when he went inside because he wouldn't try to score. If Dirk passed out of the double-team, the Heat always had someone to recover to a shooter. And that is all the Mavs were -- shooters. They would catch the ball and launch a shot or look to pass, not to attack the defense that was rushing out toward them.
Once Barea came in, though, the Mavs started not just spot-up shooting, but actually attacking off the pass, making it much harder for the Heat to simply recover. It wasn't just Barea, though it was initiated by Barea. Jason Terry started attacking and not just shooting from the perimeter, and even DeShawn Stevenson made a drive against Heat recovery defense.
This made the Heat rotation defense a lot harder, and the Mavs' offense got progressively better. With the Mavs putting Nowitzki in the center of the court instead of the block, the Heat had a harder time zoning up off of him, making recovery to shooters also more difficult.
Could the Heat have responded better to the Mavs tactical changes? Yes. They were a little slow to respond at first because Barea didn't make his shots in his first game as a starter. It looked like nerves affected his ability to make even layups -- nerves either about LeBron James flying in or just about playing in the Finals. But Barea was getting good shots and he eventually made them.
The Heat then had to start doing what they weren't used to -- mixing up their defensive looks, against Nowitzki and against isolations in general. The Heat should have gone to things to fool the Mavericks, allowing Nowitzki to go one-on-one for a little bit while blanketing Terry and Barea, denying them the ball, or making more straight double-teams instead of zoning up the weak side. With the Heat's defensive ability, they could have implemented almost any tactic, but they needed the right ones.
As a related note, it really is time to lay off of LeBron James for his performance in the Finals, and this is why: Russell Westbrook.
Remember Westbrook? Against the Mavs in the Western Conference finals he got absolutely ripped by outsiders for taking too many bad shots against the Mavs' defense and not getting the ball to Kevin Durant more. In the Finals, the Heat's main creator off the dribble, James, got absolutely ripped by outsiders for doing exactly what people said Westbrook should have done -- defer to their other great player.
Credit the Mavs and don't kill LeBron. The Mavs' defense did a great job keeping creators out of the paint. If you want to criticize someone, criticize the coaches, Scotty Brooks and Erik Spoelstra, for not figuring out how to attack the Mavs' defense in a more decentralized way.
What team did the best against the Mavs' defense this year? The Orlando Magic, who shoot 3s like maniacs. The Heat could have done more to spread the floor by running more sets for perimeter shooters, but they were also reportedly hampered a bit by an injury to James Jones. Don't get me wrong, Brooks and Spoelstra are good coaches who just couldn't quite match the moves quickly enough. And, of all the voices criticizing Westbrook and LeBron for what they did and didn't do, I didn't hear any of them offering constructive criticism for how to beat the Mavs' defense.
A final lesson for the playoffs: When teams are fairly close, the NBA playoffs become a chess match. This makes it difficult to have basic statistics characterize a series. There are no great rebounding or shooting or turnover statistics to characterize the 2011 Finals, because adaptations constantly change what wins.
Even MVP Dirk Nowitzki had a statistically bad game in the clincher. Did he have a good series? Absolutely. But the tactical moves were what won this series.
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The Pixelator. Design Instruct: A Web Magazine for Designers and Digital Artists. Vigie du Web. 100 Free High-Quality XHTML/CSS Templates - Smashing Magazine. Advertisement If you haven't taken a look at the (X)HTML/CSS templates that are available for free from a variety of sources, you may be surprised by the quality you can find.
WordPress themes tend to get a lot of exposure and attention in the design community right now, but there is also a wide variety of high-quality (X)HTML/CSS templates that are free of charge. In this post, we'll showcase 100 free high-quality templates. Hopefully some of them will save you some time in your design and development. While they are generally free for personal or commercial use, always remember to check the license first for any restrictions or guidelines. Top 10 des pages d'erreur 404 les plus originales.
Graphic design. TheFWA. DeviantART: where ART meets application! Do You Love Brushes? If so, You'll Love Brush Lovers! You could say that I have quite a bit of experience making Photoshop brushes.
On Colorburned, we love to provide high quality and free design resources for you guys to use in your every day projects. There are a lot of places out there that you can find design resources. The trick is finding them from trusted sources; on sites you know will provide them with the quality that you expect. Recently, our friends from Web Designer Depot launched a new project that offers free and premium brushes for your graphic design needs.
Web Design Blog - Webdesigner Depot. Tutorial Magazine. Fran6art.com, blog d'un webdesigner spécialiste WordPress. Smashing Magazine.


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can you attach a hose to it
Dyson DC34 Handheld Vacuum Cleaner (Refurbished)
Get your work done more quickly and efficiently with this Dyson cordless vacuum. Known for power and portability, this Dyson vacuum cleaner is perfect for any living space.
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Get your work done more quickly and efficiently with this Dyson cordless vacuum. Known for power and portability, this Dyson vacuum cleaner is perfect for any living space.- Material: Plastic, metal, electrical components
- Dimensions: 12 inches long x 8 inches wide x 4 inches deep
- Weight: 2.92 lbs
- Includes Charger, Rechargeable Battery, Crevice Tool, Owner's Manual, Washable Filter
- Manufacturer: Dyson
- Model number: DC34
- Power/batteries: Lithium-ion Battery
- Capacity: 0.9 gallons
- Cord reach: Cordless
- Cyclonic Action
- Rechargeable Battery
- Cordless
- Bagless
This high-quality item has been factory refurbished. Please click on the icon above for more information on quality factory-reconditioned merchandise.
Features | |
Color | Silver Yellow |
Type | Bagless Cordless Handheld Lightweight Portable Stick |
Lifestyle | For Allergy Sufferers HEPA |
Assembly | Assembled |
Accessories | Tools |
Dimensions | See description |
Manufacturer Warranty | 180 day Manufacturer |
Materials | See description |
Model Number | 21510-02 |
Customer Reviews
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Dyson user I ordered and received a refurbished Dyson handheld vacuum. It arrived on time and in perfect condition in the original packaging. I'm very happy with the vacuum and use it almost daily. Not sure what I did without it to pick up pet hair.
Read MoreOstkUser21966 Mar 2, 2015 - Helpful 0
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Waste of money No power. Blows out more thAn sucks
Read Morejillerox Jan 7, 2015 - Helpful 0
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As advertized Good vacuum, plenty of power, esp on the high setting. I haven't experienced any drawbacks with the refurbished product and the battery life, while short, is good enough for most tasks.
Read Morestrarthe Oct 17, 2014 - Helpful 0
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Good Handheld Vacuum Good handheld vacuum used to clean-up spills and pet hair. I find the handle awkward to hold, but do not for long periods of time, so not a big issue. I purchased the refurbised unit and have used for over a month with no issues. Would buy this vacuum again.
Read Moremikentracie Aug 22, 2014 - Helpful 0
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Great tool for my needs After reading some harsh reviews, I was hesitant to make the purchase. I did so understanding that it would only work for 6 minutes if I used it on high. We have three cats and there are always some small areas that need to be cleaned (from fur) or cat litter) every day. This unit does it quickly and easily. Usually when someone says that a product sucks, it is not a good thing. In this case it is a very good thing since suction is important in any type of vacuum. So far I have not needed to put it on high and, it has not run out of battery before finishing what I want to do.
Read Moretravelcat711 Aug 18, 2014 - Helpful 0
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This product is performing in line with expectatio This product is performing in line with expectations. It�s a solid hand vac, with excellent ergonomics. It has good suction, but contrary to what�s claimed on the Dyson web site; �DC34 has the highest suction of any other handheld� - It�s power is no better than the Black & Decker 18 volt hand vacs, which have just as good, if not better suction. The B&D design however, is not nearly as inspired. This unit charges quickly, empties easily and I enjoy using it.
Read Morenoimpulsecontrol Jul 11, 2012 - Helpful 4
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Great portable! Very lightweight, easy to use, great attachments, and charging is a breeze.
Read More2snoozy Aug 7, 2012 - Helpful 3
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perfect hand vac light weight. good size dust cup and it was easy to empty. used on carpeted stairs with additional tools brought. suction very good. would recommend . excellent value.
Read Moreleann123 Jun 25, 2012 - Helpful 3
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Love it This is an extremely powerful yet lightweight machine. I hate to clean because with 4 big dogs I think it's all I do. Yet this little thing makes keeping up with the hair a breeze.
Read Moredeboypdd Jul 11, 2012 - Helpful 1
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great little machine Opened and immediately cleaned my house! It was even pre-charged. Wonderful cordless and lightweight. Good suction and easy to clean.
Read Moresgillette7 Jun 30, 2012 - Helpful 2
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Questions & Answers
Hello, yes, Dyson has a handheld 4 piece attachment kit that can be used with the handheld. It is Item #: 16404898. Please put the item number only into the tool bar to locate the attachment kit. I hope this helps. Thank you for shopping with us. Rochell B
Hello susanmgowen56, This delivers 15 minutes of powerful, constant suction ? or 6 minutes on MAX power for tougher cleans. This has (28 Air watts) or 6 minutes (65 Air watts). Thank you for shopping with us!
Is the battery new or refurbished for this vacuum? Can the item be returned if defective?
Thank you for your question. That is unknown what parts are refurbished on this item. You can definitely return this item if you have any issues with it at all.
Does the rod extend to high and low floor cleaning
no it does not
Shopping Guides
Dyson Vacuum Fact Sheet
It's no coincidence that Dyson vacuum cleaners are one of the most popular brands on the market. The Dyson company believes in the simple principle that things should work properly. Dyson vacuum cleaners are the result of that dedication. Dyson vacuum cleaners are unsurpassed in quality design, innovative features and ease of use. Here are some facts about Dyson vacuums you may not know:
Tips on Buying Vacuum Cleaners
The best way to eliminate dust, dirt and pet hair from flooring and upholstery in your home is with a good vacuum cleaner. Vacuum cleaners have been in use for well over 100 years and have since evolved into a whole host of advanced, multipurpose cleaning devices. With the wide variety of vacuum cleaners available on the market today, making some considerations before you buy will help you select the best vacuum cleaner for your particular cleaning needs.
Canister Vacuum Cleaners Quick Facts
Getting motivated to vacuum is hard enough without facing a vacuum cleaner that's hard to maneuver or too heavy to lift. Canister vacuums are the perfect compromise of power and portability. Here's why so many people choose them to keep their homes clean.
Why You Need a Dyson
You may have heard the story of how James Dyson designed 5,127 prototypes before perfecting the vacuum that doesn't lose suction. But what does this mean for you? If you want floors that look and feel remarkably clean, and you want vacuuming to be as easy as possible, then it means a Dyson is perfect for you. All of the experience and engineering that has gone into Dyson vacuum cleaners has led to some features that make them the vacuum you need.
How to Use a Carpet Steam Cleaner
For stains and set-in dirt that a vacuum just can't reach, you need a carpet steam cleaner to scrub your floors. However, you may have some questions about using steam cleaners, especially on your home carpets. This guide will provide you with instructions on using a carpet steam cleaner.
How to Use a Bagless Vacuum
The invention of the bagless vacuum cleaner has made floor care simpler and easier. With no bags to buy, the cost of owning and operating a vacuum is lower over time. Without the disposable dirt collection bag to change and toss in the garbage, bagless vacuum cleaners are a popular, environmentally friendly option for home and business use. They're available in both upright and canister vacuum models. If you have never used a bagless vacuum cleaner before, be sure to read these helpful tips.
Kalorik Toasters Buying Guide
Kalorik was established in Belgium in 1930, and they were one of Europe's first manufacturers of small electric appliances. Their first appliance was a toaster, and now, Kalorik products include a wide variety appliances for the kitchen and all around the home, including coffee makers, handheld vacuum cleaners, and baby food makers. This Kalorik toaster buying guide will help you learn more about the brand and why one of their toasters may be right for you.
How to Clean an Ottoman
It's easy to give living room ottomans a cursory, superficial cleaning, like simply running a vacuum cleaner over the surface; however, because ottomans are the object of much use by feet and shoes, they need an occasional deep cleaning. Follow these steps to clean your ottoman.
Best Steam Cleaners for Your Home
Remove deep dirt and grime from every room when you buy steam cleaners for your home. With handheld steam cleaners you can use in the kitchen or bathroom and upholstery steam cleaners for freshening sofas and chairs available, there are home steam cleaners of all shapes and sizes that will work for your lifestyle. Read on for tips on finding the best steam cleaners for your home.
Top 5 Uses of Steam Cleaners
Does your home cleaning routine need to be simplified? If you spend a lot of time polishing your floors, shining your windows and deodorizing your upholstery, then you can benefit from a time-saving steam cleaner. Steam cleaners create a concentrated stream of heat, allowing you tackle cleaning projects throughout your home. Consider these five favorite uses of steam cleaners when trying to decide if one will benefit you.
Dyson Vacuum Buying Guide
In the world of vacuums, Dyson has become a synonym for top quality and performance. Dyson vacuums employ special technologies to achieve their consistently high marks, so learning about them and choosing the best one for you can be a daunting task. This Dyson vacuum buying guide will help you understand what makes a Dyson worth having, which models are right for you and what you can do with a Dyson.
Tips on Buying Dyson Vacuums
Keep your floors spotless when you buy Dyson vacuums for your home. Since 1993, the Dyson Company has been manufacturing quality cyclonic vacuums and is famous for the Dyson bagless vacuum, which eliminated the need for vacuum bags. Whether you're considering a Dyson canister vacuum, which is compact and stores easily, or a Dyson upright vacuum for deep-cleaning your carpets, the following suggestions will help you find the Dyson floor care products that will work best for your home. Read on for tips on buying Dyson vacuums.
Top 5 Types of Steam Cleaners
When you want a deep clean, steam cleaners are the perfect way to get it. Instead of using chemicals, they use hot steam to clean and sanitize all kinds of surfaces. When you're shopping, look for the type of steam cleaner that's right for the surfaces you need to clean.
Green Cleaners - How to Make Your Own
Many people are going green in their homes, and eco-friendly cleaners are a great way to do it. They come in all forms and fragrances, and there's one for practically every room and surface in the house. Simple, effective, and eco-friendly cleaning solutions can often be made from ingredients found in your home. Here are some simple recipes for homemade cleaners to keep your home clean and green.
Tips on Buying a Carpet Cleaner
There's no reason to deal with stained carpets when you can buy a carpet cleaner for your home. Whether you want a portable carpet cleaner to clean up spills immediately or a steam carpet cleaner for scrubbing dirt from your floors, the following suggestions will help you find the right carpet steam cleaners for your space. Read on for tips on buying a carpet cleaner.
How to Change a HEPA Filter
HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters are common in household air purifiers and vacuum cleaners. It is recommended that home air filters should be changed every 12 to 24 months. HEPA filters trap approximately 99.97 percent of airborne particles, making them an excellent option for improving indoor air quality and reducing allergy symptoms. To learn how to change your HEPA filter, check out the following instructions.
How to Refurbish Bathroom Cabinets
Updating the color or stain of your bathroom cabinets is an easy way to dramatically change the way your bathroom looks without emptying your pockets. Your bathroom cabinets play a huge role in the appearance of your bathroom. Be sure to include your bathroom furniture in your decoration plans whether you're updating the bathroom or are in the middle of a complete renovation. This type of furniture is an important part of the revision process. Keep reading for instructions on how to refurbish bathroom cabinets.
Vacuum Buying Guide
Choices in vacuums are almost as varied as the things you need to clean. With so many options to choose from, you might feel a little intimidated. Don't worry; the wide variety of vacuums means there is bound to be one that's perfect for you and your family. This vacuum buying guide will guide you through the major types of vacuums and things you'll need to consider before purchasing one.
How to Clean a Barstool
The right kind of barstools will give your kitchen or dining room a classy update. A metallic or leather barstool instantly upgrades the look of any room. Because there are so many diverse kinds of barstools, you need to be careful when it comes time to clean them. Some barstool material comes clean with just water and soap while other materials require a special kind of cleaner. Make sure you know what kind of cleaner to use on your barstools before you clean them. Keep reading for more information about how to clean a barstool.
Air Ionizer Fact Sheet
An air ionizer is a useful item to have in the house. Ionizer air purifiers remove allergens and dust particles from the air, as well as act as an air freshener, neutralizing odors and improving air quality with air filter technology. Ionizers can give indoor air the same number of negatively charged ions as fresh outdoor air, making ionic air cleaners a popular choice for treating Seasonal Affective Disorder. Use an air ionizer in your home or office for a myriad of health and respiratory benefits.
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Book Now
Maiden Voyage is dedicated to the needs of female travellers by recommending female friendly hotels and services; connecting women who are travelling; and providing useful travel and safety information. Maiden Voyage has a global member base from Europe, the USA, Latin America, the Middle East, the Far East, many African countries, Australia and New Zealand. www.maiden-voyage.com
The Montague on the Gardens is a proud partner of the esteemed Virgin Atlantic Flying Club frequent flyer program. This entitles members to earn mileage with each stay at The Montague on the Gardens and any of the other hotels in the Red Carnation Hotel collection. Simply present your flying club membership ID and we will ensure your points are added to your account. Look out for special promotions where bonus points are often awarded. www.virgin-atlantic.com
Red Carnation's sister restaurant and bar is located opposite Buckingham Palace Royal Mews, just minutes away from Victoria Station & its surrounding theatres. The distinctly South African-influenced bbar offers intimate surroundings making it a great location to enjoy delicious cocktails, more than 110 fine wines, with over 50 wines served by the glass, and modern bistro food with a South African twist - all served by friendly & attentive staff. A downstairs bar, with leather sofas & warm lighting, is available for private hire & can accommodate parties of up to 60 guests. It makes a wonderful setting for office parties, anniversaries & family occasions. The entire venue is available for hire at the weekend, accommodating parties of up to 150 people. www.bbarlondon.com
For a truly outstanding and unrivalled sightseeing experience when next visiting London and the UK, our sister company Evan Evans Tours have a variety of tours available to make sure you see it all! Millions of visitors have enjoyed the legendary standards of quality and service making it Britain's premier and most respected sightseeing company. http://www.evanevanstours.co.uk/
Fitness First was founded in Bournemouth in 1993 by Mike Balfour and Christopher Pearce. Following extensive and rapid growth, there are currently over 140 clubs in the UK, 437 worldwide and 1.2 million members – and these figures are still growing. A Fitness First gym is located within a 10 minutes' walk from The Montague. Please speak with our Concierge team for further details. www.fitnessfirst.co.uk
Founded in 1790, Hunters & Frankau is the UK's leading independent cigar importer offering an unmatched range of the finest cigar brands from many different countries, which includes 24 premium brands imported directly from Cuba. We are very proud to be able to offer our guests cigar tasting evenings and cigar dinners on our Terrace, in partnership with Hunters & Frankau. Full details of upcoming events can be found on our website www.montaguehotel.com or you can contact Peter Bradley, Food and Beverage Manager directly at email@example.com. www.cigars.co.uk
Global Blue operates one of the world's biggest and most trusted Tax Free Shopping networks, providing its customers with savings of up to 19% on everything they purchase abroad at any of Global Blue's 270,000 shopping partners. Global Blue also helps travellers to find the brands they're most interested in, whether those are globally famous fashion brands or niche designers that are unique to a certain city. In many ways, therefore, Global Blue is the globe shopper's best friend. www.globalblue.com
Located adjacent to the Montague on the Gardens hotel, The British Museum remains one of the major London attractions, with its world famous exhibitions including the fantastic Egyptology section, making it a sure fire hit for all the family. www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk
For 28 years the legendary artist Patrick Mavros has been producing sterling silver sculptures from his workshop in Africa. Silver crocodile belt buckles, camel cufflinks and hippo paperweights sit alongside Giraffe & Acacia Tree Candelabra's and Vervet Monkey Lamps. Patrick Mavros' pieces adorn the tables of many of the world's most recognised individuals,including the King of Spain and JK Rowling. The flagship store on Fulham Road boasts a fusion of contemporary and timeless collections in an atmosphere quite unlike anything else in London. www.patrickmavros.com
Delfont Mackintosh Theatres is owned by Sir Cameron Mackintosh and operates seven of the most prestigious theatres in London's West End; the Prince Edward and Prince of Wales, the Novello, Gielgud, Queens, Noel Coward and Wyndham's; all of which have had major refurbishments in the last few years, combining beautiful restoration with twenty first century comfort. For further information on all the productions in Delfont Mackintosh Theatres, please visit: www.delfontmackintosh.co.uk
Linthwaite is magically situated in over 14 acres of wooded hilltop gardens 400 feet above Lake Windermere. The conservatory and terrace look west so the sun sets when you're having your pre dinner drinks! Nowhere is more peaceful! It really is a place to relax and unwind. In the grounds are gentle walks, abundant wildlife, a beautiful tarn with its own summer house, various strategically located seating spots, and for the really active, a putting/croquet lawn! Inside, the Lakeland house built in 1900 has been tastefully refurbished and the interior design is often described as 'Raffles meets Ralph Lauren', with a contemporary twist. Enjoy beautifully cooked, award winning, locally-sourced food whilst overlooking the croquet lawn, garden, and woods. The service is unstuffy yet professional. Friendly and welcoming, like the real fire which burns in the cooler weather, the staff seem to appear from nowhere anticipating your every need. www.linthwaite.com


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- dotTech - http://dottech.org -
Oxford University researchers are a step closer to a quantum computer
Posted By Denise On November 18, 2013 @ 8:14 AM In General Tech | 1 Comment
Researchers at Oxford University were recently able to keep a quantum system alive for 39 minutes. In the realm of quantum computing, those 39 minutes are a life time. Quantum bits typically only survive at room temperature for a few seconds.
Building a quantum computer is not a simple task. While 39 minutes may not seem like a long time, in only takes one hundred thousandths of a second to flip nuclear spin of a phosphorus ion.
Stephanie Simmons, from Oxford's Department of Materials said, "Having such robust, as well as long lived qubits, could prove very helpful for anyone trying to build a quantum computer."
Oxford's success is getting a qubit to survive "opens up the possibility of truly long-term coherent information storage at room temperature," said Mike Thewalt, a researcher working on the project
All of these long lasting qubits share the same quantum state, which is only the beginning. To perform calculations, however, a quantum computer will need to have qubits in different quantum states. Researchers are still a long way from having a fully operational quantum computer but they have taken a huge step closer to that computer being a reality.
[via Engaget [2], via University of Oxford [3], image via University of Oxford [3]]
Article printed from dotTech: http://dottech.org
URL to article: http://dottech.org/135713/oxford-university-researchers-are-a-step-closer-to-a-quantum-computer/
URLs in this post:
[1] Image: http://dottech.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/quantum-computers.jpg
[2] Engaget: http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/16/oxford-university-scientists-break-qubit-survival-record-are-on/
[3] University of Oxford: http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/news_stories/2013/131115.html
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KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – A teenager without a true family and without a real home is finding success through his community and the game of football. Jonathon Munoz's success continues to be the work of caring community members. The Dykstra family took him in when he was in 8th grade and in trouble. The Navarro … Continue reading »
Amateur Athlete: Jonathon Munoz Part 1
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. –It's summer at Mazama High School in Klamath Falls and Jonathon Munoz is playing football. That's what he does. He was first team all-league on offense and defense last year, but every Munoz hit and every Munoz run is a reminder of the brutal background from which he emerged. "Growing up I … Continue reading »


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Success starts at the top. Forbes Business Leadership Program meets you there.
Running a successful business requires the ability to make tough choices. Transforming it and driving growth in new areas calls for unprecedented flexibility.
Together, IBM and Forbes provide the technology and insights to make it all possible.
At the Forbes Business Leadership Forum, discover a unique route to innovation and customer-centered, cost-effective results. Complexity and change are certainties in today's marketplace but can be successfully navigated with the combination of breakthrough business strategy and revolutionary IT technology.
Forbes and IBM will bring two days of unmatched resources and practical solutions on how to innovate, transform and grow your business. At the close of the forum, the change and complexity may remain, but you will be steps ahead and fully equipped to take your organization to the top.
Forum highlights
- Explore breakthrough technologies to achieve success through smarter decisions and agile processes.
- Discover ways to join the Social Business Revolution by harnessing the collective power of online communities and social interaction to drive outcomes of real value.
- Hear how mobile applications are reshaping the enterprise.
- Learn how businesses are building smarter infrastructures to accelerate application delivery and secure information delivery.
- Listen to industry peers reveal how they use "agility levers" like process improvement, integration, decision management and cloud technologies to gain a competitive edge and increase customer centricity while reducing business and IT costs.
- Attend visionary leadership sessions to gain new insights on ways to surge ahead of the competition.
Forum Keynote Speakers
What's a leadership forum without leadership speakers? Forbes is bringing three of their top minds to Impact 2012.
Mike Perlis is President and CEO at Forbes Media. Mr. Perlis joined Forbes from SoftBank Capital, where he served as a General Partner. Before joining SoftBank, he served as President and CEO of Ziff-Davis Publishing until its sale in 2000. Earlier in his career, Mr. Perlis served as President at TVSM, President of the Playboy Publishing Group and Chairman and CEO of IDG Peterborough. He began his career in media as the co-founder of New England Publications in Camden, Maine.
Mr. Perlis currently serves on the boards of BuzzFeed and Mojiva. He served on the board and was chairman of Associated Content before its sale to Yahoo!.
Previous board positions include GSI Commerce (sold to eBay) and previous board observer positions include The Huffington Post (sold to AOL) and KickApps (sold to KIT digital).
He is on the Board of Advisors of the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and is a trustee of Outward Bound.
Rich Karlgaard is the publisher of Forbes magazine. In his "Digital Rules" column, Rich writes about technology, entrepreneurship, regional economic development, and the future of business and work. He also lectures on these subjects and is a regular participant on the Fox News Channel's Forbes on Fox.
He was raised in Bismarck, North Dakota, by a homemaker and a high-school athletic director, and attended public schools, where he gave more thought to sports than classes. He graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in political science. Before joining Forbes, Rich cofounded the 2,500 member Churchill Club, for which he shared a Northern California Entrepreneur of the Year Award, given by Ernst & Young.
Rich has also started two magazines, and he sits on several boards. Rich is married, with two children.
When he is not working or spending time with his family, Rich likes to fly his airplane around the country and meet the people who make America unique and great.
Bruce Upbin is a Managing Editor at Forbes Media in charge of Technology and Wealth coverage across all platforms. Prior to that he was an Assistant Managing Editor running the magazine's technology and health content as well as special sections on innovation and creativity. Mr. Upbin joined Forbes magazine as a Reporter in 1995 and served as deputy chief of the reporting staff before moving to Chicago as Midwest bureau chief in 1997. In 2000, he returned to New York as a Senior Editor, helping to manage technology and health coverage. Since early 2005, Mr. Upbin has launched at least five new sections and, in 2006, became one of the youngest Forbes editors to be named Assistant Managing Editor. He has written a dozen cover stories and regularly provides business and technology commentary on CNN, NPR, CNBC, the BBC, Forbes on Radio and the Fox News Channel. Mr. Upbin earned a B.A. in English from Northwestern University and earned an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona.
Leadership Forum Tracks and Sessions
The Forbes Business Leadership Forum presents four program tracks offering more than 40 sessions for business leaders charged with transforming, innovating and growing their businesses.
For a detailed view of the business sessions planned for Impact 2012, visit the Session Preview Tool, available at www.ibm.com/impact/agenda.
Leadership Forum Tracks (expand to view track descriptions and associated sub-tracks)
Track Description: Increasingly complex business environments are challenging companies to make swift and effective decisions as well as anticipate client and stakeholder needs. In this context, businesses are searching for ways to get better value from existing business and technology investments to drive new levels of innovation, transformation, and growth. In this track, attendees will hear from their peers to learn about strategies to make better business decisions and implementing a smarter approach to business processes using analytics, rules and complex event processing. Attendees will find ways learn how to accelerate application, service and information delivery; and to extend the reach of their IT resources into the Cloud. They will also find creative ways to take smarter approaches to process and integration.
Track Description: Extraordinary businesses are looking for the next generation solutions that will lead them to new levels of success. Hear from LOB leaders of exceptional businesses that found ways to make smarter, more profitable decisions while creating agile processes enabled by business-led transformation. Join your peers in the Social Business Revolution by harnessing the collective power of online communities, social interaction and exceptional web experiences that drive real business outcomes and help companies boost profit, reach new customers, and drive legions of brand enthusiasts. Discover how mobility demands are shaping the modern enterprise. Discover also how standout businesses are securely integrating information, applications and workloads and automating service delivery to improve economics, reduce risk, and accelerate innovation.
- Agile Processes and Smart Decisions
- Social Business Revolution
- Mobility for the Enterprise
- Accelerating the Business of IT
Track Description: Industry Leaders are more focused than ever on transforming, innovating and growing their business. Learn what industry peers in Banking and Financial Markets, Insurance, Retail, Government, Healthcare, and Telecommunications are doing to achieve business agility. Business leaders will gain practical insights by hearing about industry specific solutions that will help them manage dynamic business processes and complex IT and LOB environments. Leaders will be able to attend industry focused sessions led by our clients highlighting individual industry success stories. Additionally, attendees can join the new "Industry Forum" where industry peers will discuss solutions for the most pressing issues in each industry.
- Industry Spotlights
- The Industry Forum
Track Description: Leaders constantly need to understand when change is appropriate for an organization or an individual. What must remain constant and what needs to be modified? Answering these questions correctly presents a challenge, especially in light of the speed and unpredictable nature of today's business climate. Whether you lead a for-profit or not-for-profit business or a government agency, there is tremendous pressure to deliver short-term results and quick fixes, without losing sight of long-term goal attainment and all of the uncertainty it implies. Explore strategies for moving your organization to the future and breaking free of the past. Find ways to manage for the long term while reacting to the quarterly business cycle. Seek ways to create an optimistic corporate climate that empowers and enables employees. Collaborate with successful corporations that are leveraging global resources no matter where they are on the planet. Join this forum to find ways to tap into visionary leadership.
Forbes Forum: April 30 - May 1
Consider a 2-day Impact conference pass to attend the Forbes Forum
Forum Keynote Speaker
Mike Perlis, President and CEO at Forbes Media
Forum Keynote Speaker
Rich Karlgaard, Publisher, Forbes Magazine
Forum Keynote Speaker
Bruce Upbin,Managing Editor at Forbes Media
What to expect from Impact 2012?
Top 5 Reasons to Attend Impact
Learn why Impact is the conference for business and IT leaders to experience how technology can drive better business outcomes.


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Debate: is Martin O'Neill right about referees favouring the biggest clubs?
The Aston Villa manager will today call Mike Riley, the general manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited, to discuss the performance of referee Howard Webb in Saturday's 3-0 defeat to Chelsea at Wembley after becoming infuriated with the South Yorkshire official's decision-making. O'Neill saw his side denied what appeared to be a clear-cut penalty in the first half after Gabriel Agbonlahor was pulled down in the penalty area by John Obi Mikel. But was it a penalty - or did Agbonlahor tug the Chelsea midfielder's shirt in the tangle? And if it was a penalty, should Mikel have been sent off, as O'Neill asserted afterwards? Related ArticlesO'Neill rages at Terry tackleAston Villa 0 Chelsea 3Milner the star despite Villa's defeatVilla-Chelsea: player ratingsCollins eyes revenge after Chelsea humiliationSport on televisionThe Aston Villa manager also raged at former England captain Terry for a tackle on Milner that he described as a "horrendous challenge". Was Terry lucky to stay on the pitch? Did Webb "bottle it" in only cautioning the centre-back? And coming six weeks after Phil Dowd's decision not to send off Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic for a professional foul on Agbonlahor at the start of the Carling Cup final, is O'Neill right in claiming that referees subconsciously favour the bigger sides? Read the comments and then have your say below...
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Associate's Colleges: These institutions offer associate's degree and certificate programs but, with few exceptions, award no baccalaureate degrees./4 Specialized Institutions - These institutions offer degrees ranging from the bachelor's to the doctorate, and typically award a majority of degrees in a single field. The list includes only institutions that are listed as separate campuses in the Higher Education Directory.
Undergraduate programs or courses are offered via distance education Weekend/evening college
800 George Wallace Blvd, Muscle Shoals, AL, 35661
(256) 331-5200
Northwest-Shoals Community College provides vocational, technical, academic and lifelong educational opportunities; promotes economic growth; and enhances the quality of life for the people of Northwest Alabama.
Public, 2-year
Diploma Certificate Associate's
Remedial services Academic/career counseling service Employment services for students On-campus day care for students' children
Dual credit Advanced placement (AP) credits
Care to comment? Go ahead - we're listening! Did you visit this school? Did you apply here? Why? Why not? Maybe you even got accepted! Your comments could help fellow Scholarships.com members.
Copyright © 1998 - 2015 Scholarships.com, LLC Scholarships.comTM All Rights Reserved Scholarships.com, LLC, Publisher www.scholarships.com


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Happenings on the
(Weippe news)
By Nancy Tschida
Teen night @ Weippe Library
Saturday, May 22 Weippe
Library is hosting a teen night for ninth graders through 12th graders only,
Teens are invited to visit the
library for a couple of hours Saturday evening and play the Xbox, Nintendo Wii,
foosball, board games, or watch a movie. Snacks and refreshments will be
Rebekah Lodge
The Tai Chi group will
be taking two weeks vacation and will resume again Wednesday June 2. The group
is scheduled to meet at the Rebekah Lodge at
Research shows Tai Chi helps with balance, reduces stress
and aids in over all health. It is relaxing and takes no specific physical
skills to do. Everyone is welcome.
White Pine Rebekah Lodge 60
hosted the annual Timberline High School Awards Banquet May 12. The Rebekahs
prepared the meal for the honored guests.
Fraser Yard
The Fraser Ladies Get
Together Club will hold a Yard Sale on Saturday June 5 from
This event is a
fundraiser for the
Thursday, May 20 those
capable cooks will be serving spaghetti, green salad and garlic bread. Monday,
May 24 menu is chicken enchilada, green salad and fruit. Thursday, May 27 will
be baked ham, green beans, au gratin potatoes and fruit. Tasty and nutritious.


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A Night in the Piazza: the Venetian Mardi Gras
A Night in the Piazza: the Venetian Mardi Gras
There will be costumes, Venetian masks, free Mardi Gras beads, a real gondolier talking about the gondola he brought to Oakland from Venice, and a prize drawing from the Art Museum gift shop.
You can also enjoy Italian food, music and dance, and a fantastic exhibit and video about carnival celebrations around the world currently on display in the Art Museum.
The event will take place in the little square next to the chapel with the small fountain, the faculty/staff dining room, and the Art Museum.
It is free and open to everyone
Sponsored by the Art Museum and the Department of Modern Languages
Maps & Directories
Mailing Address
Saint Mary's College of California
1928 Saint Mary's Road
Moraga, CA 94575
(925) 631-4000
Google Map | Campus Map | PO Boxes


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Registration takes less than 1 minute.
Longshoremen are planning rallies tomorrow in Los Angeles and Tacoma.
Maersk unit will specialize in intra-America trade.
Timothy E. Marsh, former executive vice president of COSCO's North America Trade Division, has joined CP as senior vice president of sales and marketing.
Sales, hiring and capital expenditures are expected to rise, according to a Business Roundtable survey.
Congressional watchdog agency told Senate lawmakers that FMCSA should enhance its Safety Measurement System for motor carriers.
Containers in stack at Centerm contained trichloroisocyanuric acid, according to the terminal operator.