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Everett Golson wasn't going to be unseated as Notre Dame's No. 1 quarterback this spring, nor was he going to lose his job in fall camp. More specifically, Gunner Kiel wasn't going to take the job from him in the next few months. Best-case, Kiel could've climbed the depth chart and replaced Golson during the 2013 season.
But with Kiel's widely-reported transfer -- it's yet to be confirmed by Notre Dame -- there's no questioning Golson's status as Notre Dame's quarterback of the present and future.
That status came into focus last fall, as Golson developed as the quarterback of a team that went 12-0 in the regular season and reached the BCS Championship. For Golson to become merely a good quarterback -- someone who can go out and be a key contributor to winning football games -- he has plenty of strides to make. The talent certainly exists. But now, the chance he's dethroned while at Notre Dame may not.
2013 will be Tommy Rees' final year in a Notre Dame uniform. It'll be Malik Zaire's first, although he's likely to preserve a year of eligibility and stay on the sidelines. Andrew Hendrix was bumped down the quarterback pecking order last year and will likely be No. 3 on the Irish depth chart, behind Golson and Rees.
Unless something goes completely haywire, Rees isn't taking over the starting spot. That didn't happen last year, even despite all of Golson's early misgivings and teammates that didn't fully trust him for a good chunk of the season. If Golson's development continues trending upward, Rees may not even serve in the safety net role he had last year. As long as Golson leads college football in getting his helmet knocked off, though, Rees will still see some sporadic action.
[RELATED: Jones expected to help fill Notre Dame's leadership void in 2013]
Spring practice, though, is just another period of time for Golson to improve. He's reportedly added weight in the offseason, something coach Brian Kelly has stressed for a while. Golson's shown the arm strength and elusiveness that can make him a strong quarterback, but it's marrying those physical traits with confidence and success that's the next step.
If Notre Dame can find a way to not just repeat the success of 2012 but also build on it, they'll need Golson to take that next step. The last time Golson played, he saw Alabama dismantle the Irish on a national stage. While the BCS Championship didn't go as Notre Dame hoped, it served as a grand learning experience for Notre Dame's first-year quarterback.
"His motivation in the off season is going to be to get back to this game," Kelly said after the game. "And the experience that he is able to take from this game, you can't duplicate it if you're sitting home or playing in a bowl game. When you're playing for a National Championship, that stuff doesn't leave you."
As Notre Dame licked its wounds in January, the talk around the Irish locker room was centered on closing the gap with Alabama. There's more to that than just the quarterback -- in fact, every Notre Dame unit is playing catch-up to Nick Saban's Crimson Tide -- but it's certainly an important area.
And those efforts for Golson to close the gap begin on a larger scale next week.


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Boat lost off Hawaii
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Originally Posted by
Presumably, the USCG would have instructed the Hunter's crew to cleat off the anchor rode, before attaching the tow line. The crew either failed to do so, or the cleat snapped from the strain - not surprising, considering the boat's typically lightweight hardware.
There's a late model 45 Hunter at my dock - never goes out and is used as a summer condo. By comparison, my 33 foot boat's bow cleats are over twice as big.
I'm a novice, but from what I've read I don't think I would ever attempt to tow from any single point, regardless of how robust a cleat appeared. I hope to never have to test my theories, but if I ever have to be towed in rough conditions, I think I would use my rock climbing background to try to rig a load equalizing, 3 point harness to spread the load over both bow cleats and the base of the mast. Hopefully, such a bridle tied into a long enough tow line would spread the shock load and keep anything from failing, but any single point of failure would not leave me adrift again.
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ARNOVA FamilyPad 13.3-inch tablet gets UK launch
The FamilyPad runs on Android 4.0 with a range of pre-installed multi-player digital board games specially selected by ARCHOS
The FamilyPad features a 13.3-inch, 1280 x 800 resolution, 10-point capacitive touchscreen panel capable of full HD video playback
ARCHOS has launched a 13.3-inch tablet designed for the family called the FamilyPad
Article Summary
In case you can't already sense it, the festive season is almost upon us. Not too long ago, in addition to exchanging gifts with loved ones and eating and drinking way too much, this time of year would see family members gather around the table to play board games or browse old photos with the rest of the family, or sit down and watch a seasonal movie together. ARCHOS has brought such activities well and truly up to date, with the launch of a family-sized tablet named the FamilyPad.
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MANTEE – Billy Sanford smiled as he fried cornbread and served it with black-eyed peas Saturday. "This is just a little something we do down here," said Sanford. "It's all about having a little fun." The Fourth Annual Black-Eyed Pea Festival rolled out the red carpet with food, fun and fellowship last week with perfect […]
Tag Archives | David Hill
Mantee hosts Black-Eyed Pea Festival
By Floyd Ingram | 12:55 PM | October 24, 2013 | Living, News
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22 October 2013
Photo: Paul ZimmerDomain Tennis Centre, Hobart
The venues for next year's Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group and World Group II first round ties have been confirmed following the USTA's announcement that the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio will join Bratislava, Seville and Hobart as hosts for World Group ties on 8-9 February 2014.
The list of ties includes the Domain Tennis Centre in Hobart (home to the WTA event), the Aegon Arena in Bratislava (complete with retractable roof) and the Stade Pierre du Coubertin in Paris (home of the Paris-Levallois basketball team).
The Centro de Tenis Blas Infante in Seville made its debut in an ITF event when playing host to a Davis Cup tie between Spain and Belgium in 2003. The hosts won that tie 5-0 and Spain would be delighted if they could overcome the Czechs in Fed Cup by the same margin next year.
Borashallen in Boras and the Pilara Tennis Club in Buenos Aires complete the list of venues.
The full list of venues is as follows:
World Group
USA v Italy – Public Auditorium, Cleveland, OHSpain v Czech Republic – Centro de Tenis Blas Infante, SevilleSlovak Republic v Germany – Aegon Arena, BratislavaAustralia v Russia – Domain Tennis Centre, Hobart
World Group II
Canada v Serbia – Centre Claude-Robillard, MontrealSweden v Poland – Borashallen, BorasFrance v Switzerland – Stade Pierre du Coubertin, ParisArgentina v Japan - Pilara Tennis Club, Buenos Aires
After a thrilling 3-2 victory over Poland, Switzerland's
As the Fed Cup captains across the world reflect on this past
Despite winning 4-0 against Sweden, Slovak captain Matej Liptak
Serbia showed its strength in depth en route to a comfortable
Romania's victory over Canada means Alina Cercel-Tecsor's team
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The release of a big (or small for that matter) film historically comes with a few standard marketing moves: 1. Flood the paid media (every producer spends close to Rs50 lakh for paid promotion in a leading newspaper) with stories. 2. Go on every TV show possible (Big Boss and Comedy Nights With Kapil being standard). 3. Travel to various cities throughout the country.
All actors crib about the endless (and senseless) promotion of films. But they all do it. No questions asked. No actor or producer wants to risk trying something different. But there are two men in the industry who are brave enough to do things differently. Aditya Chopra and Aamir Khan have decided to stay away from these predictable ways of selling their film Dhoom 3.
Yash Raj Films is the only banner in B-Town that refrains from using the paid media mode. And Aamir Khan is the only actor who has never bought edit space for his films. Now the duo are rewriting the way a film is promoted. First it came to light that Aamir and the cast of D3 will not be making appearances on popular TV shows. Now it is learnt that Aamir has decided against visiting various cities to ask the audiences to come and check out his film.
Says an insider, "Aamir has decided that all promotion activities for Dhoom 3 will be restricted to Mumbai. The rest of the film's cast has accordingly and happily re-scheduled their plans.
Promotional activities in Delhi, Chennai and Kolklata were cancelled. He strongly feels Dhoom 3 should be promoted only in Mumbai. While the film's other actors were all set to visit various cities he completely opposed the idea. Aamir thinks the film doesn't need to be peddled from city to city.
Adi saw Aamir's point of view on this point regarding city tours."


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Wind River Canyon closed due to rock slides; No reopen time estimated
Wyoming Department of Transportation Spokesman Cody Beers reports that Wind River Canyon will be closed until further notice due to significant amounts of mud and rock slides.
Wyoming Department of Transportation Spokesman Cody Beers reports that Wind River Canyon will be closed until further notice due to significant amounts of mud and rock slides.
Fremont County Emergency Management's Vonda Huish reports that sandbags are now available for pick-up at the Fremont County Vehicle Maintenance shop in Lander.
The National Weather Service Office in Riverton cancelled the Flash Flood Warning for areas around the over-flowing Little Popo Agie and other streams at about 7:48 p.m. The initial warning was set to expire at about 9:30 p.m.
(Pavillion, Wyo.) – Eighteen graduates of the Wind River High School Class of 2015 received their diplomas Sunday afternoon in Pavillion.
UPDATED at 8:08 p.m. Sandbags now available in Lander.
Some rural Fremont County residents are starting to work to protect their property from the rising waters of the Little Popo Agie River.
(Riverton, Wyo.) — The Class of 2015 of Riverton High School walked across the stage at commencement exercises this afternoon before a standing room only crowd at Wolverine Gym.
(Riverton, Wyo.) – A flash flood watch has been continued through 6 p.m. this afternoon as heavy rain continues to fall across the region. The National Weather Service Forceast Office at Riverton Regional Airport has issued a Flash Flood Watch for Central Wyoming, the foothills of the Wind River and Bighorn Basins plus Casper Mountain and the Green and Rattlesnake mountains:
(Riverton, Wyo.) – A Flash Flood Advisory for Fremont County has been issued through 6 p.m. on Sunday with strong thunderstorms and hail predicted. See the special weather statement and hazardous weather outlook below:
Friday afternoon the Lander boys opened up Regional play when they welcomed Pinedale to their fields for a spot at the 3A state tournament. Lander was up at half 2 – 1 with two goals coming off the foot of Jedediah Welsh. Matt Berg of Pinedale netted the Wrangler goal. In the second half Pinedale scored a second goal tying up the match. Daniel Lobera of Lander finished two more goals and assisted Jed Welshs hat trick-completing third goal. Pinedale managed to net one final goal making the final score 5 – 3. Lander will play Buffalo in the first round at state.
(Casper, Wyo.) – Local athletes continue to earn points for their respective teams at the Wyoming State High School Track and Field Championships in Casper. See all the results here. (Photos by OilCityWyo.com)
(Riverton, Wyo.) – In preparation for Monday's Memorial Day Observance, dozens of volunteers swarmed over Mountain View Cemetery in Riverton this morning placing flags at the graves of veterans and of veteran auxiliary members.
(Riverton, Wyo.) – The National Weather Service Forecast Office at Riverton Regional Airport within the hour has issued a small stream flood advisory for Central Fremont County and the Crowheart area.
(Casper, Wyo.) – Fremont County athletes are participating in the Wyoming High School Boys and Girls State Track Meet in Casper. Our community news stream in Casper, OilCityWyo.com, provided these images of county athletes in action.
(Riverton, Wyo.) – The following is a statement released by Riverton Police Chief Mike Broadhead in the wake of this afternoon's fatal vehicle-pedestrian crash:
Thanks to a reader for sharing these pics of a possible funnel cloud or tornado spotted above Fort Washakie Dam at about 5:20 p.m. on Friday.
(Riverton, Wyo.) – Central Wyoming College Professor Colleen Bartlett was presented with a Master Distance Educator Award at the Wyoming Distance Education Consortium spring conference held recently in Douglas, Wy.
UPDATED at 4:35 p.m.: Riverton Police Chief Mike Broadhead has confirmed that the girl who was struck has died. The police department is expected to issue additional information in conjunction with the Fremont County Coroner's Office.
(Fremont County, Wyo.) – There's plenty to do this weekend as the nation prepares to celebrate Memorial Day on Monday. Here are your options:
(Lander, Wyo.) — Fremont County Weed and Pest Control District and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management are teaming up with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and others in the fight to keep invasive plants out of sage grouse habitat.


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DIY Mixing Gear
What is DIY Mixing Gear?
For some, vaping is more than just buying batteries, tanks and eliquids. Many aren't satisfied with out-of-the-box eLiquids and feel compelled to get in touch with that inner-chemist. The accessories found on this page will help you accomplish just that goal - creating custom eliquids.
What do we carry?
We stock a wide range of do-it-yourself mixing equipment to help you create custom eLiquids including empty dropper bottles, pipettes, syphons, beakers, syringes, needle caps, plungers, funnels, glassware and more. We're adding more all the time, so keep checking back.
If you don't see what you want, let us know. Odds are we can't source and stock it for you quickly.


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July 22
Diamond 8
Valley Plains Equipment defeated Wonder Bar/RTS Shearing, 13-8 and 8-6
Diamond 9
Anne Carlson/Cysewski Farms defeated Streeter, 7-6 and 9-8
Diamond 10
Shady's II defeated Corner Bar, 12-0 and 4-1
Diamond 11
FCCU/Iverson/Mid Mach defeated Sanford/Looysen, 16-0 and 6-5
July 24
Diamond 9
Shady's defeated Tapps Lounge, 6-3 and 14-0
Diamond 10
Boomer's/Wendels defeated Allied Agronomy, 10-2 and 7-6
Diamond 11
IDK defeated Frontier Fort, 14-3 and 15-0
Up 6-5 in the bottom of the seventh with two outs, Harvey Post 28's Shawn Kourajian on second and Trevor Schimke on third in Thursday's Class A East Regional opener, Chase Carpenter struck out Brian Fike on three straight pitches for the save, a matchup with top seed Wahpeton and a guaranteed spot in July 30's State Tournament in Wahpeton, N.D.
"We rolled in like conquistadors," said Legion Post 60 assistant coach Erick Counts of Post 60's marauding spirit coming into Regionals. "[Valley City head coach Kyle] Roelfsema shaved his mustache like a conquistador."
A two-semi accident on I-94 east of Valley City left both drivers with minor injuries Thursday morning.
Work Crews from Carrington House Moving Wednesday began the process of removing the band shell in Valley City's City Park from its original foundation and moving it to a new foundation just north of the old location. More in Thursday's issue of the Times-Record.
Don't eat any fresh peaches recently purchased at a Valley City grocery store – they could be contaminated with the listeria bacteria, a potential health hazard. More in Thursday's issue of the Times-Record.
Many people showed up for Crazy Day in downtown Valley City Wednesday. The annual street fair featured inflatable games, activities and contests, shopping, food vendors and more.
More photos in Thursday's Times-Record and on our Facebook page.
Valley City Legion Post 60 carry the No. 3 seed into Thursday's Grafton Regional Tournament after a 3-13 regular season campaign and look to hit their stride starting with an 11 a.m. debut against Harvey.
"There isn't a team with better players position-by-position," said Post 60 head coach Kyle Roelfsema of his squad intent on reducing mistakes in key moments that contributed to seven losses of three or fewer runs.
Thursday's winner faces Wahpeton at 4 p.m. Thursday, the loser the Grafton-Casselton loser at 6:30 p.m Thursday.
Post 60 scored 4.75 runs per contest and gave up 12.1.
The North Dakota National Guard plans to build two new structures totaling more than 45,000 square feet at its new Valley City Guard property east of the city off Interstate 94. More in Wednesday's issue of the Times-Record.
An open house to teach the community about the Dakota College at Bottineau programs on the Valley City State University campus is planned for Thursday, July 31 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Skoal Room at VCSU's Student Center.
Litchville native Tate Smith has organized the Third Annual Ride the Hide Bull Bash, to be followed by the Andrea "Annie" Arbuckle Memorial Shootout, on Aug. 30 in Litchville, said his mother, Connie Smith. More in Wednesday's issue of the Times-Record.


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Hamengkubuwono VIII
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hamengkubuwono VIII (also spelled Hamengkubuwana VIII, March 3, 1880 - October 22, 1939) was the eighth sultan of Yogyakarta, reigning from February 8, 1921 to 1939. [1]
- Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau - 1937; military division and
- Commander of the Order of the Netherlands Lion - 1925
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Wendish Crown of Mecklenburg
- Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Cambodia,
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Black Star of Benin of France
- Knight Commander of the Order of the Crown of Siam - 1929,
- Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold II of Belgium,
- Commander 1st Class of the Order of Vasa of Sweden
- Grand Officer of the Order of the Million Elephants and White Parasol of Luang Prabang (Laos)
- ^ Ricklefs, M. C. (2001) A history of modern Indonesia since c.1200 Basingstoke: Palgrave. 3rd ed. ISBN 0333801008 (pbk.)
- ^ [1]
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hamengkubuwono VIII.
|Regnal titles
|Preceded by
Hamengkubuwono VII
|Sultan of Yogyakarta
|Succeeded by
Hamengkubuwono IX
|This Indonesian biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.


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The Centre has directed security forces deployed in Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh to tighten vigil in the three states in view of intelligence reports which suggested that Naxals would try to carry out subversive attacks in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls.
Worried over the plans of Maoists who may target political rallies and prominent political personalities, the Home Ministry has asked the paramilitary forces deployed in the three states to take maximum precautions and work in close coordination with the state police to foil any attempt by the rebels to disturb peace, official sources said today. The intelligence inputs suggested that the Naxals may carry out spectacular attacks similar to the strike on a convoy of Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh before the state assembly polls in May 2013 which eliminated several top state leaders of the party.
Nearly 30 people, including Chhattisgarh PCC chief Nand Kumar Patel and former Union Minister V C Shukla, were killed in that attack.
Besides, in 2013, there were 383 incidents of violence in Jharkhand in which 150 civilians and security personnel were killed and there were 353 such cases in Chhattisgarh where 110 people lost their lives.
In Bihar, 69 people, including security personnel, lost their lives in 176 incidents of violence in 2013. The Home Ministry has already identified 13 worst Naxal- affected districts in Jharkhand as highly sensitive. There are eight highly sensitive districts in Chhattisgarh and five highly sensitive districts in Bihar.
Concerned over high incidents of violence by Naxals, the government has asked the Election Commission to conduct the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in these 26 districts, besides seven other districts, in the first phase to ensure maximum security and minimum casualties. However, it is the EC which will take a final call on the poll schedule.
More than 1.20 lakh central paramilitary personnel, in addition to state police forces, are expected to be deployed for the multi-phased Lok Sabha polls which are likely to be held in April-May.


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|Property type
|Minimum Stay
|2 - 3 nights
The apartment, which sleeps 4 people, has recently been refurbished to a high standard in a modern style and comprises a living room with a gas fueled stove, a fitted kitchen, two double bedrooms one with twin beds, a bathroom with a bath and shower over and a small entrance hall. It offers comfortable, contemporary living within a building of character and historic interest.
The living room is a stylish, modern room with two sofas a dining area and a TV with Free view and a DVD/CD player. There is also free Internet/ broadband access with Wi-Fi.
The newly fitted kitchen is well equipped with a wide range of good quality utensils and equipment including a cooker, hob, fridge with freezer compartment, dishwasher and microwave.
The apartment has an attractive walled garden, shared with other residents, which provides an ideal setting for an evening drink or a lunchtime sandwich.
An ideal location ...
Duncan's Land is located in the vibrant Stockbridge area of the city where you will find a wide range of interesting and unusual shops along with many cafes and restaurants. There is a small Sainsbury's supermarket two minutes from the apartment open until 11.00 pm. The Water of Leith walkway is less than 5 minutes away, along which you can stroll to the Gallery of Modern Art in about half an hour. It's a delightful walk and you wouldn't think you were in the city – all you can hear is the water and the local wildlife. The city center and Princes Street is within easy walking distance and has an excellent bus service. A Starbucks coffee shop is just round the corner - and you are just ten minutes walk from city center restaurants.
Edinburgh city centre ...
The city centre, Princes Street and the Royal Mile are within easy walking distance - uphill going there but downhill coming back! It's a five minute taxi ride but there is also an excellent bus service. Edinburgh is the home of the Edinburgh International Festival, The Edinburgh Fringe, the Jazz and Blues Festival and many more. Google 'Edinburgh Festivals' for a full guide. Edinburgh is also a city of culture throughout the year with art galleries, theatres, concert halls and cinemas. Other attractions include Edinburgh castle, Holyrood palace, the Royal Yacht Britannia, Edinburgh Dungeon, Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh Zoo (with the pandas), the National Gallery of Scotland and the Modern Art Gallery, the Royal Botanic Gardens as well as the Georgian New Town and the historic Royal Mile.
Wonderful local walks ...
The Water of Leith walkway is less than 5 minutes from the apartment. You can stroll to the Gallery of Modern Art or the Dean Gallery in about half an hour and get a coffee before deciding to return. Dean village, described as 'a tranquil green oasis on the Water of Leith', is half way and really beautiful. Six Antony Gormley statues are located on the Water of Leith. One is just under the bridge next to the apartment and another is at the entrance to the Modern Art gallery.
A little bit of history ...
Duncan's Land is a merchant's house built about 1790 from the stones of demolished buildings in Edinburgh's Old Town. It was the birthplace of the artist, David Roberts (1796-1864), who worked as a scene painter at Edinburgh's Theatre Royal and London's Covent Garden. In 1830, he was appointed President of the Society of British Artists. During the following decade he toured the Far East, producing a celebrated series of paintings of Egyptian scenes and antiquities. A plaque on the wall of the house celebrates his birthplace.
A stone lintel, with the inscription, 'Fear God Onlye, 1605' was originally in a property on Bank street just off the Royal Mile. We think the staircase probably came from the same site. Duncan's Land is mentioned in Cassell's Old and New Edinburgh by James Grant, which was printed as a periodical in the 1880s. A drawing of Duncan's Land by E. W. Cooke R.A., is dated 1853 and appears in Ballantine, J., (1866), The life of David Roberts, R.A. published by Adam and Charles Black, Edinburgh.
Charley Boorman visits Stockbridge…
'The elegant district of Stockbridge is 'The One Thing' that completes any trip to Edinburgh' says Charley. Charley visits St. Bernard's Well, a picturesque Doric temple built on a renowned healing spring, and then explores some of the many attractions of Stockbridge. Find the video on YouTube using the search words Charley Boorman, Stockbridge.
Dear Morag,
I didn't have time to write a note this morning so I wanted to e-mail and say how very much we enjoyed our stay at Duncan's Land. On our only previous visit we had stayed on the other side of town, so Stockbridge was a revelation. We loved the shops, the farmers' market, and the proximity to the Botanical Gardens and the International Book Festival as well as the Fringe.
Your thoughtfulness in stocking the kitchen with tea, milk, coffee, bread and jams was much appreciated after our journey. And we found the apartment superbly comfortable and a real oasis for rest after all our activities around town.
Your property is lovely and I hope we have the opportunity to rent it again.
Delightful garden and easy access to shops, restaurants, & public transport. Morag was timely, kind, and thoughtful in all our communication via email. Her directions to the apartment from the airport and access to the rooms were clear and easy to follow. Towels and bed linens were soft and the hot water stayed hot. Yay! Directions for the wifi, etc were simple. We had a short, but sweet home away from home stay.
Terrific location, clean, comfortable and conveniently located in a quiet part of town. We very much enjoyed our visit, and would encourage others to consider this wonderful rental.
We had a wonderful time staying is this delightful apartment. Spotlessly clean, comfortable and well thought out for a relaxing stay. We arrived by train, and enjoyed our long weekend stay without a car, all attractions in walking distance. Some lovely pubs and restaurants close by, the local Saturday market for food treats was excellent. Would come again.
Lovely little place, Walking distance All the Mains sights; Galleries, Museums, Walked to Arthur's Seat, Buses close
Restaurant literally across the Road -Walk downstairs into Pub/Restaurant > nice food
We hoovered & left the Place clean & Tidy before leaving as we wanted the opportunity to come back again! Suresh Basra 27/02/2015
My family of four (2 adults, two teens) stayed at this darling house last summer. As others have mentioned, it is wonderfully situated in a lovely residential neighborhood full of charming shops and restaurants. You can walk to all of the sites but are not in the middle of the hubbub. The house itself has lots of charm, is well-appointed, and is very comfortable after a long day of sightseeing. The four of us slept really well! Plus, it has a sweet garden you can sit in for your morning coffee or evening wine. It was our favorite rental in our long European vacation and will be the only place we would stay when we return to the gorgeous and fascinating city of Edinburgh. On a different note, we had a terrible time getting out of our layover in Canada to Scotland, and when I texted Morag, the owner, that we were delayed, she was the picture of calm and reassurance. It was really important when coming from so far away (California) that we have a solid, professional contact waiting for us in Europe. Can't say enough about this really nice, patient, kind person. Rent this place!
unser Aufenthalt in Edinburgh war vor allem auch wegen unserer tollen Unterkunft in einem gemütlichen Viertel , sehr gelungen. Die Wohnung hatte wirklich alles was man brauchte: die Küche war gut ausgerüstet, es gab sogar eine Auswahl an Gewürzen und Öl, so dass man sich gut selbst versorgen konnte. In der Nachbarschaft gab es unzählige kleine süße Geschäfte und Restaurant´s.., die Wohnung selbst war sehr sauber, die Betten waren sehr gut, Matratzen i.O., Schränke mit ausreichend Bügeln, sogar Wärmflaschen gab es.Im Wohnzimmer gab es genügend Platz mit den 2 Sofa´s, es standen sogar frische Blumen da!!
Moral ist ein sehr zuverlässiger Gastgeber, er tat alles um uns genau zu instruieren.
Die Anleitung samt Schlüsselcode war perfekt.
Hervorragend fand ich auch den Weg am Fluß,romantisch in einer kleinen Schlucht, ein paar Schritte vom Apartment entfernt, der in die Stadt oder sogar bis nach Leigh führt.
Duncan's Land is an historic Georgian house in central Edinburgh with 2 bedrooms, sleeping 2 to 4 people. Down a few steps and through a delightful garden is the door to the old stone spiral stairs that leads up to this neat and comfortable first floor flat. You are welcome to sit out in the shared garden, and there are lovely walks along the Water of Leith nearby.
Duncan's Land is in a quiet position, and just at the bottom of the street is the 'village' of Stockbridge. Here the Sainsbury's Local stays open until 11pm, and there are lots of small interesting shops including the wonderful Mellis artisan cheese shop. Cafés and pubs and restaurants abound.
It's a 12 minute walk to Princes Street and a pleasurable 10 minutes back again (downhill!) through some of Edinburgh's finest Georgian streets. If you prefer the bus, Stockbridge has a good, regular service.
|Rental Period
|Minimum Price
|Additional Nights
|Weekend Night
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Mid Season
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- Published: New York : First Second, 2008.
- Year Published: 2008
- Edition: 1st ed.
- Description: xxi, 282 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 23 x 31 cm.
- Language: English
- Format: Book
ISBN/Standard Number
- 9781596431317
- 1596431318
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Drawing words & writing pictures : making comics : manga, graphic novels, and beyond
by Abel, Jessica.
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Call number: Teen 741.5 Ab
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The Complete Nyingma Tradition from Sutra to Tantra, Books 1 to 10
Foundations of the Buddhist PathIn 1838, Choying Tobden Dorje, a Buddhist yogi-scholar of eastern Tibet, completed a multivolume masterwork that traces the entire path of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism from beginning to end. Written by a lay practitioner for laypeople, it was intended to be accessible, informative, inspirational, and above all, practical. Its twenty-five books, or topical divisions, offer a comprehensive and detailed view of the Buddhist path according to the… Read More+ Learn More
Make Peace before the Sun Goes Down
The Long Encounter of Thomas Merton and His Abbot, James FoxIn the 1950s and '60s, Thomas Merton, a monk of the Trappist monastery of Gethsemani in Kentucky, published a string of books that are among the most influential spiritual books of the twentieth century—including the mega–best seller The Seven-Storey Mountain. He was something of a rock star for a cloistered monk, and from his monastic cell he enjoyed a wide and lively correspondence with people from the worlds of religion,… Read More+ Learn More
Parenting in the Age of Attention Snatchers
A Step-by-Step Guide to Balancing Your Child's Use of TechnologyAre your kids glued to their screens? Here is a practical, step-by-step guide that gives parents the tools to teach children, from toddlers to teens, how to gain control of their technology use. As children spend more of their time on tablets and smartphones, using apps specially engineered to capture their attention, parents are becoming concerned about the effects of so much technology use—and they feel powerless to intervene. They… Read More+ Learn More
Invincible Warrior
A Pictorial Biography of Morihei Ueshiba, Founder of AikidoInvincible Warrior tells the fascinating story of the life of Morihei Ueshiba (1883–1969), whose quest for the true meaning of warriorship led to the creation of the martial art called Aikido, "The Art of Peace." Ueshiba—whose name means "abundant peace"—is considered by many to be one of the greatest martial artists who ever lived. His documented ability to disarm any attacker, throw a dozen men simultaneously, and down and… Read More+ Learn More
Zen and the Art of InsightThe Prajnaparamita ("perfection of wisdom") sutras are one of the great legacies of Mahayana Buddhism, giving eloquent expression to some of that school's central concerns: the perception of shunyata, the essential emptiness of all phenomena; and the ideal of the bodhisattva, one who postpones his or her own enlightenment in order to work for the salvation of all beings. … Read More+ Learn More
Mindfulness in Action
Making Friends with Yourself through Meditation and Everyday Awareness
The rewards of mindfulness practice are well proven: reduced stress, improved concentration, and an overall sense of well-being. But those benefits are just the beginning. Mindfulness in action—mindfulness applied throughout life—can help us work more effectively with life's challenges, expanding our appreciation and potential for creative engagement. This guide to mindful awareness through meditation provides all the basics to get you started but also goes deeper to address the questions… Read More+ Learn More
- edited by
- Carolyn Rose Gimian
Compost City
Practical Composting Know-How for Small-Space LivingThese days, everyone's talking about compost. Along with backyard chickeners, balcony beekeepers, rooftop farmers, and community gardeners, urban composters are part of a bumper crop of pioneers who are redefining the green space of crowded towns and cities. You may think you need a big yard to compost. Think again. Compost City teaches you how to easily choose and care for a compost system that fits perfectly into your… Read More+ Learn More
Cold Mountain
The Legend of Han Shan and Shih Te, the Original Dharma Bums (A Graphic Novel)Here is a graphic novel portrait of the wild antics and legendary poetry of two of China's greatest poets. Han Shan (known as "Cold Mountain") and Shih Te lived during the Tang dynasty (618–906 C.E.) and were critics of authority (both secular and religious) and champions of social justice. They left their poetry on tree trunks and rocks, and they were also reportedly monastics, drunks, cave dwellers, immortals, and many… Read More+ Learn More
The Zen of Living and Dying
A Practical and Spiritual GuideTo live life fully and die serenely—surely we all share these goals, so inextricably entwined. Yet a spiritual dimension is too often lacking in the attitudes, circumstances, and rites of death in modern society. Kapleau explores the subject of death and dying on a deeply personal level, interweaving the writings of Western religions with insights from his own Zen practice, and offers practical advice for the dying and their families.… Read More+ Learn More
Just This Is It
Dongshan and the Practice of SuchnessThe joy of "suchness"—the absolute and true nature inherent in all appearance—shines through the teachings attributed to Dongshan Liangjie (807–869), the legendary founder of the Caodong lineage of Chan Buddhism (the predecessor of Sōtō Zen). Taigen Dan Leighton looks at the teachings attributed to Dongshan—in his Recorded Sayings and in the numerous koans in which he is featured as a character—to reveal the subtlety and depth of the teaching on… Read More+ Learn More


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Patient Advocacy Partners Forge Collaboration to Fund Discovery of New Drugs that Target the Immune System
NEW YORK and MILAN, Italy, Jan. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Fast Forward, LLC, the commercial drug development arm of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the leader in research leading to a cure for type 1 diabetes in the world today announced a collaborative partnership with Axxam SpA -- a leading company in conducting early-stage discovery research programs for the life science industry -- to develop new treatments for two autoimmune diseases, multiple sclerosis (MS) and type 1 diabetes (T1D).
Under the terms of the agreement, Axxam will screen its extensive chemical library to identify compounds that can target specific ion channels in the immune system. Ion channels are tiny pores on the surface of immune cells that control the influx of charged particles and allow the cells to become activated to perform their natural surveillance and protection functions. Recent studies have found that immune cells in MS and T1D contain high levels of a specific ion channel, Kv1.3, and that the hyperactivity of this channel contributes to the dysfunction of the immune system in MS and T1D. If the initial research is successful, Axxam will have identified compounds that modulate Kv1.3 ion channel activities, and these will be further developed by the company as potential therapies for MS and T1D.
The agreement with Axxam is the first of its kind between cross-disciplinary patient advocacy organizations and represents a new frontier in which groups such as JDRF and Fast Forward ally to lessen the risk of drug discovery and accelerate the development of new therapies that can impact m
|SOURCE Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Copyright©2010 PR Newswire.
All rights reserved


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Mon-Fri: 7am-1am EST / Sat-Sun: 7am-11pm EST
ApplianceJenn-Air Refrigerator
Level of DifficultyA Bit Difficult
Time to do repair15 - 30 mins
Age of ApplianceMore than 10 years
PliersScrew drivers
After receiving the new part almost immediately,using two screw drivers, removed the broken switch from the plastic frame. Be careful not to scratch or otherwise tear the plastic...very pliable. Since the original switch was factory installed and the wires were packed in fiberglass insulation, the switch came out but the wires and clips were still in place and could not reach the new switch. It was necessary to pull them down with bent long nose pliers...used a lot of "pull" but the wires held up.Connected the switch, turned the power on and there was light! Reports from other users really took the uncertainty out of the task.
Help other customers find the most helpful instructions.
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Part Number: PS316042
All brand logos are trademarks of their respective owners.
The PartSelect logo is a Registered Trademark of Atlantic Laundry Centres, Ltd.
Copyright © 1999-2015 , Eldis Group Partnership. All rights reserved.


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Description: "Ruth and Orville Kern, join us at the Lion's Family Restaurant at the corner of 1st and Main Street in Fond du Lac, WI." From left to right; Ralph Widmer,...
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A 28-year-old Oklahoma middle school teacher was arrested in June for allegedly following a 15-year-old male student 650 miles away on his summer vacation where the two engaged in a hotel sex romp session, RadarOnline.com is reporting.
Upon further investigation, the unnamed student has revealed he had several sexual encounters with English teacher Jennifer Sexton before the June incident.
With consent from a parent, the student admitted to authorities that they had sex in the back of her classroom and then she picked him up a few times in her SUV and drove to secluded areas to engage in sexual activity.
PHOTOS: The 28 Biggest Sex Scandals In Hollywood History
The child also claimed they had sex in her house and his father's home, who is a pastor.
Sexton, who had resigned from her position at Hollis Middle School just two months before meeting the boy in Mississippi hotel room, was arrested on June 16 on suspicion of statutory rape after police found her and the student in a Best Western.
Things that raised kind of an eyebrow," Harmon County Assistant District Attorney Eric Yarborough told The Oklahoman of the suspicion surrounding the teacher-student relationship.
PHOTOS: Top Celebrity Sex Scandals
"People seeing a teacher alone with a child may or may not be anything. It could just be innocent contact. The child said nothing's going on, she's just a nice teacher."
But on Aug. 14 Sexton was charged with three counts of second-degree rape, two counts of enticing a child, and one count of forcible sodomy.
She turned herself in the next day and was released on $100,000 bail.


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Fort van Liezele
Fortbaan 2, Puurs, Belgium 2870Map
Off Brandstraat
+32 3 890 7620
After Belgium attained independence in 1830, the assurance of which was guaranteed by the Congress of Vienna, there was felt a need to create a safe fortification, in case any power decided to invade. Thus, plans were suggested to build a national reduit, which is a term used to indicate a large fortification. Several forts were built across the country, starting from 1850. But the Fort van Liezele would be built as late as 1906. Today, this fort, which is an immaculately preserved example of pre-World War fortifications, offers excellent panoramic views of the city of Puurs, and is a recommended visit while in the city. Do call to know more.
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About CIP
We are a non-profit organization dedicated to Promoting International Understanding through Intercultural Exchange. For over 40 years we have provided opportunities for international professionals from around the world to gain valuable insight and experience through our professional exchange programs throughout central Ohio. We are the only organization that provides and supports International Professionals in Residence.
Columbus International Program is committed to promoting international understanding in global communities through professional development and cross-cultural exchange. CIP is a non-profit international exchange program that brings well-qualified professionals to the United States for practical training experiences.
CIP provides programs for individuals and groups in social services, businesses, non-profit and public organizations. Training length varies from 1-18 months. Through CIPUSA, CIP has the ability to issue the required documents needed to obtain a J-1 visa and to facilitate training programs for international professionals in the United States.
CIP is an affiliate of CIPUSA which is a United States Department of State authorized J-1 sponsoring organization. To find our more about our visa services, click here.


text:
The method and system of the present invention enables Internet businesses to conduct real-time, online experiments on a sample of transactions to determine marketplace sensitivities. Analysis of the results of the experiments reveal optimal values of key market decision variables such as price, content of banner ads, promotion levels, quantity discount schemes, etc. The experiments may be automatically conducted on an on-going basis, or may be conducted on a periodic basis. The method and system of the present invention preferably allow users to modify the nature of the experiment and the propagation of optimal values. The method and system of the current invention can be used for a pure diagnostic purpose or to automate the setting of key market variables.
The dynamic experimentation used by the inventive system reveals the relative stability (or instability) of the networked market within which the business operates. The translation of an optimal value for a key variable (for example, content of a banner ad) to the entire market can be done on a real-time basis.
1. A method of dynamically determining an optimal advertisement to be used by an Internet merchant, comprising:
(a) receiving configuration data from the Internet merchant;
(b) randomly sampling visitors to the Internet website according to the configuration data;
(c) determining an optimal advertisement using the data acquired in step (b); and
(d) thereafter using the optimal advertisement determined in step (c).
2. The method of
3. The method of
4. The method of
5. The method of
6. The method of
7. The method of
8. The method of
9. The method of
10. The method of
11. The method of
12. The method of
13. The method of
14. The method of
15. The method of
16. The method of
17. The method of
(d) automatically updating the website to use the optimal advertisement determined in step (c).
18. The method of
(d) automatically updating the website to use the optimal advertisement determined in step (c) if the determination for the optimal advertisement meets a minimum threshold.
19. The method of
20. A method of dynamically determining an optimal advertisement to be used by an Internet merchant, comprising:
(a) receiving configuration data from the Internet merchant;
(b) randomly sampling visitors to the Internet website according to the configuration data;
(c) determining a measurement for each advertisement using the data acquired in step (b);
(d) thereafter using the optimal advertisement determined in step (c); and
(e) repeating steps (a)-(d) using the determinations made in step (b) as configuration data in step (a).
[0001] This invention relates to United States Provisional Application No. 60/188,889, filed Mar. 13, 2000, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
[0002] Not Applicable.
[0003] 1. Field of the Invention
[0004] The disclosed invention relates to determining the effectiveness of various forms and formats of advertising on the Internet through controlled online experiments.
[0005] 2. Description of the Background
[0006] In traditional commerce, prices are typically static, with change only occurring with major market changes. This has resulted in part because the costs associated with printing fixed-price catalogs, marking goods with prices and advertising prices in the media. Furthermore, it is difficult to offer different prices to different purchasers in a traditional setting in which prices are published or made publicly available.
[0007] In addition, advertising campaigns are typically conducted for a substantial period of time before they are updated or changed.
[0008] However, e-commerce does not have to be so restricted. The introduction of e-commerce on the Internet has made it easier for Internet merchants to change prices and other market variables by simply updating a Web page or appropriate database/systems. The costs associated with printing catalogs and marking goods in a bricks-and-mortar setting are typically not present in eCommerce. In addition, it is also possible to offer different prices to different customers without either customer learning the price that has been offered to the other. Likewise, it is possible to simultaneous present different advertising campaigns to different Internet customers.
[0009] Although it is possible for Internet merchants to update or change advertising and other market variables at any time, typically they have not done so. One reason for sticking to static marketing strategies is that merchants are accustomed to keeping a static advertising campaign. In some cases, merchants have both brick-and-mortar shops and Web shops, and want to keep prices and advertisements in alignment. However, the primary reason why Internet merchants do not dynamically adjust market variables with the ever-changing marketplace is that the merchants do not have the ability to dynamically determine optimal values for the market variables.
[0010] In particular, Internet customers may be presented with multiple forms of advertising matter, including graphics, animations, text, audio and video. Such advertising is generally "hot" in the sense that the advertisement itself can be clicked on via a computer mouse or the like, and the user's web browser is redirected to the advertiser's site. Because of this, each such event (or absence thereof) may be tracked and measured. However, very few methods of analyzing any such data exist. Therefore, it is typically not known which forms of advertising or its features, such as color, size, or placement with respect to other matter on a webpage, are most effective in capturing the user's attention. Furthermore, it is possible that such effective may vary with time, culture, socioeconomic status, language, time of day, etc. Additionally, websites undergo frequent updates, and an advertisement that was attention-grabbing on one day may not be so striking after the webpage is updated to a different background color, for example.
[0011] The Internet is a dynamic marketplace. As e-commerce becomes a dominant force, the ability to dynamically adjust to and exploit changes in the Internet marketplace becomes critical. An enormous amount of detailed, disaggregate information is being routinely captured during Internet transactions. The ability to gather real-time information on transactions conducted on the Internet means that Internet merchants could use the information to dynamically update their websites to take maximum advantage of market conditions. In particular, real-time transaction information opens up the possibility of dynamic pricing and marketing.
[0012] However, using the information to determine the dynamic, optimal market value is problematic. Although a great deal of real-time transactional information is available, businesses have no current method of being able to analyze the information in a manner that provides guidance to dynamically updating pricing, marketing, promotions and other key market variables.
[0013] As enterprises move into high velocity environments in a networked economy, decisions based on data are ever more critical and can be leveraged to affect the bottom line. In this environment, information is highly valuable but comes with a high discount rate. That is, the value of the information rapidly depreciates. Current generation data analysis and data mining methods do not effectively deal with this type of information, as current methods rely on a time-consuming sequential process of data gathering, analysis, implementation and feedback.
[0014] Current systems including data mining methodologies are retrospective, and there is a significant lag in analysis time. The dynamic nature of the Internet makes even recent information obsolete.
[0015] Some efforts have been made to use computer systems to estimate supply and demand, to adjust prices to perceived market conditions, or to vary prices based on the identity and purchasing history of the customer.
[0016] U.S. Pat. No. 5,752,238 discloses a consumer-driven electronic information pricing mechanism including a pricing modulator and pricing interface contained with a client system. However, in this reference, the customer selects from a menu of pricing options. It does not disclose or teach a real-time determination of price sensitivities.
[0017] U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,822,736 and 5,987,425 disclose a variable margin pricing system and method that generates retail prices based on customer price sensitivity in which products are grouped into pools from a first pool for the most price sensitive products to a last pool for the least price sensitive products. However, the price sensitivities are determined manually by the storekeeper based on his subjective impressions and are not obtained in real-time.
[0018] U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,400 discloses a method and apparatus for computing a price to be offered to an organization based on the identity of the organization and the product sought, but does not teach or suggest real-time price determination.
[0019] U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,209 discloses a method and system for determining marginal values for perishable resources expiring at a future time, such as an airline seat, hotel room night, or rental car day for use in a perishable resource revenue management system. Data for the perishable resources and composite resources is loaded from the perishable resource revenue management system into the marginal value system. The marginal values for the perishable resources are determined using a continuous optimization function using interdependencies among the perishable resources and the composite resources in the internal data structures. However, this reference does not disclose or teach elicitation of price sensitivities based on measuring customer behavior.
[0020] U.S. Pat. No. 5,926,817 discloses a client-server system and method for providing real-time access to a variety of database systems, one application of which is "dynamic price quoting." However, the reference uses this phrase to mean computing a single price to be quoted to a customer based on information about the user's requirements and data contained in the supplier's databases. It does not teach or suggest experimentation to determine marketplace customer price sensitivity.
[0021] In general, the prior art teaches that it is useful to attempt to measure supply and demand as an aid in determining prices. It is also known to utilize previously accumulated facts about a purchaser to influence the price at which a particular product should be offered to him. However, the applicants are not aware of any prior art in which price and other market sensitivities are measured directly through use of controlled real-time experiments.
[0022] It is common in the advertising world to conduct surveys to determine the effectiveness of various advertising campaigns. However, because of the speed at which Internet content is generated and modified, it is impractical to conduct human-mediated consumer preference surveys. It might be feasible to do so prior to airing an expensive television commercial, but it is not cost or time effective for webpage advertising.
[0023] It is also common for websites to closely monitor "click-through." Click-through is the number of times users arrive at a site by having clicked on an advertisement. This information is utilized to learn how well an advertisement draws an audience. However, it is not known or suggested in the prior art to measure the effectiveness of advertising by presenting different forms of the same advertisement to selected random samples of the population and measuring relative draw.
[0024] In view of the foregoing, it can be appreciated that a substantial need exists for a method and system for dynamically determining the effectiveness of various advertisements.
[0025] The inability to effectively exploit Internet transaction information is overcome by the method and system of the present invention, which enables Internet businesses to conduct real-time, online experiments on a sample of transactions and determine marketplace sensitivities. Analysis of the results of the experiments reveal optimal values of key market decision variables such as price, content of banner ads, promotion levels, quantity discount schemes, etc. The experiments may be automatically conducted on an on-going basis, or may be conducted on a periodic basis. The system offers total flexibility to the users to conduct and control the experiments. The experimental process is based upon rigorous statistical and econometric principles.
[0026] A manager using the method and system of the present invention can control the extent and speed with which market strategies are updated. The method and system of the present invention preferably allow managers to modify the nature of the experiment and the propagation of optimal values. Managers make the key business decisions, which are silently and seamlessly translated into the Internet merchant's eCommerce system.
[0027] The dynamic experimentation used by the inventive system reveals the relative stability (or instability) of the networked market within which the business operates. The translation of an optimal value for a key variable (for example, price) to the entire market can be done on a real-time basis.
[0028] Continuous real-time modeling with appropriate integration to existing systems on critical factors like price, promotion, financing, content, advertising formats, discount schemes and product bundling give companies using the method and system of the present invention a huge competitive advantage.
[0029] In particular, the present invention is directed to a method and computer-programmed apparatus for determining advertising effectiveness through controlled statistical experiments. Different viewers of a webpage are presented with different formats of the same advertisement and statistics are kept on the audience response to each format in real-time. The information so gathered may be subjected to statistical analysis to determine which format is most effective for a particular segment of the marketplace. The webserver may be adaptively modified to present a higher fraction of formats found to be effective by the experiment. The experimentation can take place continuously so that audience trends and preferences are not missed.
[0030] One embodiment of the invention comprises a method of dynamically determining an optimal advertisement to be used by an Internet merchant, comprising the steps of: receiving configuration data from the Internet merchant; randomly sampling visitors to the Internet website according to the configuration data; determining an optimal advertisement using the acquired data; and thereafter using the determined optimal advertisement.
[0031] Another embodiment of the invention comprises a method of dynamically determining an optimal advertisement to be used by an Internet merchant, comprising receiving configuration data from the Internet merchant; randomly sampling visitors to the Internet website according to the configuration data; determining a measurement for each advertisement using the acquired data acquired; thereafter using the determined optimal advertisement; and repeating the above process using the determinations as configuration data in future iterations of the experiments.
[0032] It is a benefit of the present invention that the effectiveness of Internet advertising can be improved by automated experimentation and measurement.
[0033] It is a benefit of the present invention that changing market and user preference for advertising and the products advertised may be monitored continuously and varied continuously to maximize economic benefit and/or user satisfaction.
[0034] With these and other advantages and features of the invention that will become hereinafter apparent, the nature of the invention may be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description of the invention, to the appended claims and to the several drawings attached herein.
[0035] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.
[0036]FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the sampling engine of the present invention and various applications that use the sampling engine;
[0037]FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a system architecture that may be used by the method and system of the present invention;
[0038]FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of software system data flow in the method and system of the present invention; and
[0039]FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the process used to measure Internet advertising effectiveness by the method and system of the present invention.
[0040] Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like components.
[0041] It is worthy to note that any reference in the specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment"0 in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
[0042] By determining the effectiveness of various proposed advertisements, an Internet merchant can update his advertising campaign in real-time to realize maximum advertising effectiveness.
[0043] The method and system of the present invention utilize limited sampling to determine real-time market sensitivity. This sampling provides data that can be used to create a real-time model that is analyzed to determine optimal values for many key market variables, such as price, promotions, advertising content and product bundling. The method and system of the present invention allow for customized dynamic advertising.
[0044] The method and system of the present invention enables a company using the system to present different advertisements to different customers. The method and system of the present invention may be used to segment the market, and managers using the system of the present invention may be informed of an optimal advertisement for each market segment.
[0045] Architecture
[0046]FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a system architecture for the system of the present invention. In this embodiment, a potential customer visits a website run by an Internet merchant and conducts eCommerce by purchasing one or more products from the Internet merchant through the website.
[0047] In the embodiment shown, the customer uses an Internet browser 201 on his computer to access an eCommerce site operated by an Internet merchant, such as Amazon.com. The Internet browser 201 may be any known to those skilled in the art, such as Microsoft Explorer or Netscape Communicator, for example. Preferably, HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or its more secure version HTTPS is used to communicate with the website. These are popular communication protocols used on the Internet to exchange information. Other communication protocols are known to those skilled in the art, and are intended to come within the scope of the present invention.
[0048] In an alternative embodiment not shown, the customer may be using a wireless handheld device to access the website.
[0049] Once the customer has accessed the eCommerce website, he may receive information such as banner advertisement or similar ad content from the website. The request sent by the browser might include information specific to the customer using the browser. Such information may include, for example, information derived from user logins, cookies stored on the user's machine and through the user's IP address. In addition, the customer may be presented with advertisements, and whether the customer clicks on any of the advertisements may be passed from the browser to the website with the request.
[0050] The customer's browser 201 communicates with an Internet merchant's eCommerce system 205. The eCommerce system 205 is an integrated system that comprises different kinds of hardware and software sub-systems. The eCommerce system performs the functions needed to run the Internet merchant's Website.
[0051] Webservers are usually the entry point into an eCommerce system 205 from the perspective of a software program. The Webserver 210 on the eCommerce system is mainly responsible for delivering webpages to a browser across the Internet. Webpages are the pages that the user sees in the browser. The Webserver 210 runs software that receives and processes requests for webpages from users. The webpages may be stored as files on a storage disk that the Webserver reads and sends to the requesting browser. This is shown by 216. Alternatively, Webserver 210 may generate the webpage by gathering information from other sources, such as software programs, and then send it to the browser. For example, Webpages are often generated with data retrieved from an Application Server. In particular, the Application Server may determine content and/or formats for an Internet advertisement.
[0052] The Webserver 210 may be any type of known webserver, such as Microsoft IIS, or Netscape NES. The architecture shown in FIG. 2 also shows optional database 220. The database may be used by the eCommerce system 205 to store Internet merchant information, such as customer account records. Database 220 may be any known database type, such as Oracle, Sybase, DB2, etc.
[0053] In addition, the Internet merchant may have one or more Legacy Systems 235. For example, all customer data may be stored on a Legacy System.
[0054] In many cases eCommerce systems interact with external systems, as shown by 240. For example, a trading exchange may receive catalogs from several external systems and store them in its own system. It may then present items from the catalogs to interested buyers. The eCommerce system 205 may communicate with external systems over the Internet or through a dedicated Frame Relay Circuit, or any other type of connection mechanism.
[0055] Because Webservers usually do not perform business logic data processing, the architecture typically includes an Application Server 230. The Application Server 230 may perform most business specific logic operations and send data to the Webserver, which processes the data and sends formatted output to the user for display. For example, the Application Server may retrieve a customer's bank account information, which is used as part of an Order Confirmation webpage generated by the Webserver.
[0056] Interprocess communications between the Application Server and the Webserver are typically supported by the underlying operating system. For example, for JAVA based platforms, the communication protocol may be RMI/IIOP (Remote Method Invocation/Internet Inter-ORB Protocol). The programs communicating via these methods may or may not reside on the same physical computer. Similar methods may be used for the communications between the Application Server and the Client Module, which is described below.
[0057] Communications between a Legacy System and Application Server may be accomplished using commercially available software, such as IBM's MQ, Microsoft's MSMQ or Tibco software. The software used depends on the needs and the underlying operating systems.
[0058] The manager's console 265 contains software similar to browser software for displaying output from the inventive system to an employee of the Internet merchant, typically a management-level employee. It is used to manage the experiments run by the inventive system. It is used to configure experiments and display run-time progress data on the experiment. It may also be used to display data on past experiments.
[0059] The client module 250 of the present invention is integrated in the eCommerce system 205. Client Module 250 typically consists of an Integration Layer 251 and a Client Side Processing module 252. Collectively, it takes as input experiment parameter values and sends them to the Server Module 260 for processing. It receives output from the Server Module 260, and disseminates the output to the Application Server 230 and/or the Manager's Console 265 for display.
[0060] The Client Side Processing Module 252 is responsible for processing all the input received from the eCommerce System, typically through the Application Server 230, and delivering it to the Server Module 260. The input is typically a continuous stream of parameters used to conduct and manage an ongoing experiment. The Client Processing Module 252 establishes and maintains a secure communication channel with the Server Module and may also perform session management.
[0061] The Integration layer 251 helps the Client Side Processing module 252 run on a variety of systems. It acts as an interpreter between the eCommerce System and the Client Side Processing module 252. It may be different for different systems. This enables the Client Side Processing module 252 to remain the same, no matter what type of operating system is being used. In an alternative embodiment, the Client Side Processing module may be developed for a specific eCommerce system and runs without an Integration Layer.
[0062] Communications between the Client Module 250 and the Server Module 260 typically use HTTPS to ensure security. Data may be transmitted in eXtensible Markup Language (XML) format.
[0063] The Dynamic Advertising System 270 includes sub-systems, computers and communications systems, including Server Module 260, that are used to perform the sampling and resultant analysis. It receives input data, performs statistical calculations and feeds the output to the eCommerce system 205. Typically, the output from the Dynamic Advertising System 270 is used by the Application Server 230 in performing the business specific logic.
[0064] Server Module 260 may contain Logic Module 261, Sampling Engine 262 and Communications Module 263. Server Module 260 is responsible for receiving input from Client Module 250, performing the experimentation and analysis, and outputting results to Client Module 250. These actions are all performed in a secure environment.
[0065] Sampling Engine 262 contains statistical functionality that performs the various experiments. Logic Module 261 contains the algorithms that are used to perform various types of analyses on the sampled data.
[0066] The Communications module 263 is responsible for securely communicating data to and from the Client Module.
[0067] Database 275 may be used to store historical data and other data regarding the experiments for processing, report generation and future retrieval.
[0068] The architecture shown in FIG. 2 is an ASP-based solution, where the Server Module 270 is hosted on a remote system with a network connection to the eCommerce system 205. In an alternative embodiment, the Dynamic Advertising System 270 may reside within the eCommerce system 205.
[0069]FIG. 3 illustrates how data may flow through the inventive system.
[0070] As shown by entity 360, a management-level employee for the Internet merchant using the inventive system configures the Dynamic Advertising System with parameters. For example, the employee may enter the types of advertisements and number of samples to be used in the experiments. The employee may also actively monitor the performance of the experiment(s).
[0071] These parameters are used as input into the Dynamic Advertising System as shown by data 365. These parameters configure the sampling engine subsystem of the Dynamic Advertising System.
[0072] As shown by entity 301, a customer uses a browser to access an eCommerce website. When the customer click on an advertisement or makes a request, several different types of data items may be sent to the Webserver, as shown by 305. The Webserver processes the information at step 310. If the request from the customer does not require Application Server processing, then the Webserver can go ahead and generate the appropriate standard Webpage, as shown by steps 312-315. However, if additional processing is needed, the Webserver will pass on information to the Application Server at step 320. Based on the information provided by the Webserver, the Application Server processes the input and performs any needed calculations at step 325.
[0073] During step 325, the Application Server will determine whether it needs the Dynamic Advertising System to process data. For example, there may be a current ongoing experiment to determine the optimal price or optimal advertising content, etc.
[0074] If the Application Server does not need the Dynamic Advertising System to process information, it composes the requested information using input from its own calculations, databases and/or legacy systems, as shown by steps 330-335.
[0075] Otherwise, the Application Server makes a request to the Dynamic Advertising System and passes on any information required by the Dynamic Advertising System for performing the statistical calculations, as shown by step 340.
[0076] The Dynamic Advertising System may use historical data in its calculations as shown by data 350. In addition, the parameters 365 entered by the Internet Merchant are used in the calculations that the Dynamic Advertising System performs.
[0077] The Dynamic Advertising System performs the calculations as required, and outputs the resulting data at step 345. The Application Server composes the requested information at step 335 using the output from 345.
[0078] If the manager is actively monitoring the progress of the experiment, he will be informed of the progress as shown by steps 370-360.
[0079] The sampling engine 262 of the Dynamic Advertising System may be used by many different applications to obtain information about current market conditions. These applications use the sampling data to determine optimal pricing, promotions, product bundling, lead time discounts, quantity discounts, price versus financing and type and content of banner ads, for example. The Logic Module contains the algorithms to perform the different types of analyses required by different applications. Other applications of the sampling data will be known to those skilled in the art and are intended to come within the scope of the present invention.
[0080] The dynamic sampling engine is the core of the inventive system. As shown by FIG. 5, it can be translated into modules for pricing, promotions, product bundling, yield management, lead time discounts, quantity discounts, price versus financing and banner advertisement content.
[0081] The banner advertisement content module is the focus of this application and is described below.
[0082] Dynamic Advertisement Content
[0083] It is easy to change the content and/or format of Internet advertisements. In addition, it is possible to present different advertisements to different online visitors without either visitor learning that a different advertisement has been offered to the other. This may be accomplished by presenting different versions of a banner ad to different potential customers, for example. Because of these reasons, it is possible to perform controlled, real-time experiments on random samples of the visitors to determine marketing sensitivities. This information can then be used to determine real-time optimal marketing strategies for an entire population or for selected segments of the population. In addition, merchants may learn from the online experiments, and apply this learning to offline counterpart market strategies.
[0084] The sampling experiments conducted by the method and system of the present invention are designed to measure reactions to various advertisements. In the present application, the content and/or form of advertisements are deliberately varied by the inventive system during a sampling period, and statistics are kept by the system to determine what percentage of visitors are likely to exhibit interest in each of the different advertisements. The statistics typically include, for example, the number of visitors who actually click-through each advertisement.
[0085] Given the percentage of visitors who exhibit a quantifiable interest in each advertisement, the system is able to determine the effectiveness of the advertisements. The effectiveness determined by the system is a measure of the real-time effectiveness of the various advertisements, as the data used to determine effectiveness is dynamically collected.
[0086] In one embodiment, the inventive system uses one or more objective functions for determining advertising effectiveness. As discussed above, the objective function may be to maximize the click-through rate. Another example of an objective function is the buy-rate, or the percentage of visitors to a website that not only click-through the advertisement, but actually buy the advertised product. Other methods of measuring effectiveness of advertising are known to those skilled in the art, and are intended to come within the scope of the present invention.
[0087] The objective function may weigh multiple criterions. For example, the Internet merchant may be trying to optimize both click-through rate and buy-rate. The buy-rate may indicate a signup rate, for example. The objective function may be defined to be 75% weighted toward click-through rate optimization and 25% toward buy-rate optimization. The inventive system in this case will determine which advertisement optimizes this weighted multi-criterion function.
[0088] In another embodiment, the objective function may be a combination of factors. For example, the objective function could be to meet a minimum click-through rate as well as a minimum buy-rate.
[0089] The inventive system allows companies to determine optimal advertising strategies by running continuous real-time models on an appropriate sample population, which may be determined automatically by the sampling engine.
[0090] Based on the objective, the effectiveness of various advertisements is calculated, and the system suggests the optimal advertisement for the current market conditions.
[0091]FIG. 4 illustrates an overall procedure for determining an optimal advertisement. As shown in step 410, an employee for the Internet merchant first inputs data that is used by the inventive system to determine a sampling and optimization strategy. The employee is typically a manager-level employee for an Internet merchant. In this step, the various advertisements, or different formats of the same advertisement are first identified. These ads may come from an ad agency, or may be developed by the Internet merchant.
[0092] In one embodiment, the ads used in the inventive system are different variations of the same ad. That is, an advertisement that may be parameterized according to some variable, such as size, location, speed of animation, color, audio volume or similar measure. In this embodiment, different ads may be generated by substituting different ad formats into HTML files, said ads being draw from a database or dynamically generated based on the chosen parameters. Alternative, instead of parameterizing, the formats of the advertisements may be chosen from a given finite set.
[0093] The system may conduct experiments to determine the effectiveness of new advertisements, or may conduct experiments to determine whether ads currently in use are still effective. Therefore, if any knowledge currently exists about which ads are currently believed to be more effective, this information is also gathered. The system may take into account this effectiveness when determining how the advertisements are offered in the experiment. This portion of the process will be described in more detail below.
[0094] The system may restrict the input in several ways. For example, the inventive system may require a minimum number of advertisements. As another example, a minimum click-through rate for an advertisement may be specified. In this case, if during the experiment a particular advertisement does not achieve a minimum click-through rate, it may be deleted from further consideration.
[0095] The Internet merchant employee may specify whether the system is to conduct continuous sampling, or sample at large discrete intervals.
[0096] The number of website visitors to sample for each advertisement is also determined. This may be an absolute number of visitors to be randomly presented with each advertisement. Alternatively, a time interval over which testing is to be performed may be defined, and the visitors who visit the website during that period become the population. Appropriate random samples drawn from this population will be exposed to different ads.
[0097] In either embodiment, it may be possible that during the accumulation of data it will become apparent prior to the end of the time period or before the absolute number of customers are sampled that a particular advertisement is optimal. In this case, since it is not necessary to continue the experiment to its normal completion, the sampling may be stopped. In addition, it may be possible to determine before the entire population is sampled that a particular advertisement is not minimally effective. In this case, the ad may be dropped from the experiment.
[0098] This input determines the sampling plan to be used for measuring advertisement effectiveness, including what percentage of visitors are to be presented with each format of ad and length of time the experiment is to continue.
[0099] Given the number of advertisements and any prior effectiveness rating, the advertisements are randomly presented to website visitors during the course of the experiment. For example, if a website is estimated to have 100,000 visitors in a day, and there are 5 ads in the experiment, the system may evenly divide the ads such that each ad is presented to 20,000 visitors. Alternatively, if a particular ad has been previously determined to be particularly effective, it may be shown to 80,000 visitors, and the other 4 ads presented to the remaining 20,000 visitors. Different methods of propagating the distribution determined by the inventive system are described in more detail below.
[0100] In one embodiment, the population may include every potential customer that visits the website. Alternatively, the population may be clustered or segmented, and only visitors that meet a certain profile are considered to. be within the population. For example, only visitors that have never bought from the Internet merchant may be sampled. As another example, visitors may be clustered into socioeconomic groups, and only certain groups are sampled when determining an optimal advertisement. In this case, the population may be segmented according to one or more variables, such as income, zip code, profession, previous buying history or the like. Alternatively, the entire population may be segmented, with separate experiments run on each segment determining an optimal advertisement for each segment. As another example, visitors may be identified for sampling based upon prior purchasing history or other accumulated data. Segments may be determined from these demographic variables and/or from prior purchase histories. To apply segmentation, each visitor is categorized as to population segment prior to being shown an advertisement.
[0101] In one embodiment the same ad formats are presented to all segments, but the effectiveness is measured separately for each segment. In an alternative embodiment, different ads are presented to different segments.
[0102] Information used to determine segmenting, or to determine which visitors to include in the sample population, may come from outside sources, as shown by data storage 415.
[0103] During the sampling process, the dynamic sampling engine 430 randomly samples potential visitors according the parameters defined at 410. To accomplish this sampling, the Webserver randomly distributes webpages 435 with the different advertisements to the different visitors in proportion to the distribution determined in step 410.
[0104] Data is accumulated for each advertisement. This data typically include the fraction of visitors who click-through a particular ad, for example. Other data may include whether or not the customer purchased a particular product or a minimum "basket" of products.
[0105] This process is repeated until sufficient information for each advertisement has been obtained. If the population has been segmented, the sampling continues until the objective function can be estimated for each segment.
[0106] Once a first set of relevant information has been determined, the information is displayed to the manager at 460. The ad with the highest click-rate, or other measurement of the objective function, is then used as the default advertisement, and propagated to the entire population except any sample or samples subject to experimentation with other advertising formats, as shown by 485.
[0107] The embodiment shown in FIG. 4 uses cumulative sampling. That is, it "learns" from its history. The effectiveness measurements for all minimally effective ads are saved and used in determining the distribution to be used in the next experiment, as shown by steps 472-480-490. In an alternative embodiment, a weighting scheme may be used to derive the distribution in the next experiment. In this manner, the experiments may be repeated continuously either for segments or for content-based categories on web portals. For example, a health care website that medical doctors are likely to visit may receive advertisements.
[0108] In one embodiment the optimal ad replaces the existing advertisement. In an alternative embodiment, the optimal advertisement does not immediately replace the current ad, but the tested ads are propagated to the webpage in proportion to their effectiveness measurement.
[0109] In a further embodiment, a cost function may be associated with each ad and the analysis of effectiveness performed with cognizance of such costs. An example in which costs vary is the case in which ad space is being purchased on the webpage or website of an unrelated party, and the cost thereof varies with ad size and placement. The cost may be used to obtain, for example, expected profit associated with each ad format.
[0110] If the population is segmented, an optimal advertisement may be determined for each group, and the webserver may be programmed to offer the different optimal advertisements to visitors based upon segmentation.
[0111] The measured effectiveness of the sampled advertisements is presented to the user at 460. In addition, the confidence intervals may be calculated and displayed. Methodologies for calculating confidence intervals are known to those skilled in the art.
[0112] In one embodiment, the inventive system is programmed to automatically delete a particularly ineffective advertisement. In this case, if the measured effectiveness of an advertisement does not meet a minimum threshold at 470, it is deleted from the advertisements to be shown at step 475.
[0113] The advertisements that are propagated from the experiment to the visitors may be conditioned on supplemental variables, such as length of time a visitor spends visiting the site, the number of items purchased, total value of items purchased, prior purchasing history and seasonality.
[0114] Consider a specific example of an optimal advertisement calculated by the inventive system. In this example, the experiment is being run for a set of 5 ads for the first time. Therefore, at step 410, the system sets up for a uniform distribution of the advertisements. It is estimated in this example that the website receives 100,000 visitors a day. In this case, the five ads—Ad A, Ad B, Ad C, Ad D and Ad E are input into the system. The objective in this example is to maximize the click-through rate, and the minimum effectiveness threshold is 1%.
[0115] A manager for the Internet merchant estimates that 100,000 people visit the website in a day. This estimate may be made used internal data or from historical data, for example. Therefore, of the 100,000 visitors that visit the website, the dynamic sampling engine will randomly pick out 20,000 to receive each of the stock ads in this example, as there is no prior knowledge about the effectiveness of the ads.
[0116] Table 1 illustrates the results of the first iteration of an experiment conducted using the inventive system
[0117] In this example, every ad met the minimum threshold of 0.001, and therefore none are dropped. Ad C is determined to be the most effective ad and may now be distributed to every visitor that visits the website.
[0118] In the next iteration, the system may perform more limited sampling using this distribution data. For example, in the next iteration, the system may conduct the experiment on only 5% of the population, while Ad C is presented to the remaining population. The ads may be presented to the sample visitors according to their posterior distribution in the prior experiment, or may be uniformly distributed. The next iteration may or may not include experiments on Ad C, which is now the currently displayed ad. New click-rates are determined, and a new posterior distribution is calculated for the next iteration. In this manner, ineffective ads are not wasted on visitors through excessive experimentation.
[0119] While the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
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This is the first installment in a series of articles related to lender-involved condemnation. This article provides an introduction to the principles of eminent domain and condemnation in a question and answer format. The...more
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National Program Brings Fly Fishing to Virginia's Schools
By 29/07/2013 14:09:00
The National Fishing in Schools Program (NFSP) has held a teacher certification session at James Madison University.
Source: The Virginia Council of Trout Unlimited
NFSP is a nationwide, in-school program that teaches fly fishing to students in middle schools and high schools. NFSP educates students about fish, insects, aquatic environment, resource stewardship and conservation using fishing, and learning the skill of casting, as the instructional tool. The program is a natural compliment to the Trout Unlimited 'Trout in the Classroom' program.
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Just a collection of blog posts and some CC photos sprinkled in to give to my internet-challenged mom.
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Ankylosing Spondylitis (Bechterew's Disease) is a painful chronic inflammatory rheumatic disease, associated with stiffening of the vertrebral column. Between 100,000 and 150,000 cases have already been diagnosed in Germany, but milder forms of the disease may remain undiagnosed.
The research team, led by Dr. Roland R. Wick, with Dr. Elke A. Nekolla, Prof. Dr. Albrecht M. Kellerer and the late Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Gssner have conducted a long-term follow-up study of 1,471 ankylosing spondylitis patients, whose disease symptoms were treated with repeated intravenous injections of 224Radium. A control cohort of 1,324 ankylosing spondylitis patients treated without the use of radioactive compounds and/or X-rays were also studied.
In the current publication an elevated rate of leukaemias was seen, a malignant disease of the haematopoietic system: In all, 19 observed cases of leukaemia were documented compared with 6.8 cases that would be expected in an age- and gender-matched cohort of a normal population. In particular, the incidence of acute myeloid leukaemia was significantly increased with 7.0 cases compared with 1.8 cases expected in a "normal" population.
Furthermore, four additional cases of preleukaemic diseases of the bone marrow were present in the exposed group and no cases in the control group. The frequency of leukaemia was not increased significantly in the control group compared with the expected value for a normal population.
"It is rather unlikely that impurities present in the radium preparations used before 1950 are responsible for the elevated appearance of myeloproliferative diseases in the exposed group observed here," commented Dr. Roland R. Wick. "In addition, the increased incidence of leukaemia is in line with experimental observations involving the treatment of animals with similar alpha emitting radioisotopes."
The results of these studies by the Helmholtz Zentrum Mnchen have contributed decisiv
|Contact: Dr. Roland R. Wick
Helmholtz Zentrum Mnchen - German Research Center for Environmental Health