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The term "Renaissance" actually means "rebirth." It refers specifically to the rebirth of learning that began in Italy in the fourteenth century, spreading to the north, including England by the sixteenth century, and then ending in the mid-seventeenth century. This period was witness to an enormous renewal of interest in and study of classical antiquity.
Yet the Renaissance was also an age of new discoveries, both geographic (exploration of the New World) and intellectual. Each kind of discovery resulted in changes of tremendous import for Western civilization. In science Copernicus attempted to prove that the sun rather than the earth was at the center of the planetary system. In religion, Martin Luther challenged and ultimately caused the division of one of the major institutions that had united Europe throughout the Middle Ages–the Church. As a matter of fact, Renaissance thinkers often thought of themselves as ushering in the modern age, as distinct from the ancient and medieval eras.
Just as the Renaissance represented a cultural rebirth from the 14th through the middle of the 17th centuries, you too can introduce a renaissance into your home.
The new custom Renaissance collection from Kirsch features designer-inspired color palettes, exquisite textures and beautiful fabrics that reflect timeless fashion and sophisticated style. They have created a collection of decorative hardware with a modern upgrade and an old world look and feel. Royal etiquette and majestic wealth come to mind when selecting this hardware. Handcrafted wood and resin pieces in the 2 inch diameter really make a statement. Show everyone you know exactly how to dress a window with this beautiful Renaissance drapery hardware from Kirsch.
Kirsch also offers a broad variety of quality Decorative Wood Drapery Hardware in 1 3/8 Inch, 2 Inch, and 3 Inch diameters. The Wood Trends Collection offers finishes and styles to match just about any decor, and the contemporary Wood Trends Urban Comfort Collection provides a sleek, modern alternative. Seeking an elegant, classic look? Consider the beautiful designs and finishes in the Renaissance Collection.
True to the tradition, each piece of the Wood Trends collection is classically styled in rich colors to coordinate with other wood furnishings in the home. Kirsch has also given new life to a style from a period filled with stories of royal etiquette, majestic wealth and incredible artistry. Beautifully finished and adorned with handcrafted finial designs, the Wood Trends Renaissance Collection manifests views of supremacy.
Whatever your take on the rebirth of your windows, Kirsch will lead the way.
Tags: color, Continental window fashions, decor, DIY, draperies, easy, Kirsch, window


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Business Studies Online launches mobile app!
Business Studies Online is the work of Adrian Murray. I have 18 years experience of teaching Business Studies in the UK. The site is produced in my own time, and most resources are made freely available so please bear that in mind when commenting upon, or requesting, materials.
You can stay up-to-date with what's going on using Facebook or Twitter. Alternatively contact me directly using the contact page. All constructive feedback is welcome.
Latest update: 02/06/14:
After 10 successful years Business Studies Online is changing significantly!
A redevelopment of the site is under way - with some MAJOR changes.
Be aware that those of you who are planning for next academic year may need to update your links once the new site is launched.
All the interactive resources on the site are referred to as "Activities".They have been categorised for each course, by examination board, and also by topic and type of activity.
Please be aware that more activities are being developed, and cross-referencing is still being completed.
All the theory notes are being updated and are now provided in a flash slide show format.
They have been categorised for each course by examination board.
Please note that theory notes for more courses are being developed.
The latest theory notes to be added are:
OCR Cambridge Technical Level 2 - Unit 1
Edexcel A2 Business - Unit 3
Edexcel A2 Business - Unit 4a
OCR AS Business Studies - Unit 1
OCR AS Business Studies - Unit 2
Many of the resources on Business Studies Online can now be purchased via the online store.
Resource packs for individual units provide the original powerpoints in an editable format at an amazingly low price, saving teachers hours of preparation.
The interactive resources are also available for use on a VLE, whilst Mockbusters comes with a ready-made database of Business Studies questions.
Three Android Revision Apps are now available to purchase from Android Market.
There are a huge range of websites that can help you with your Business Studies.
Use these useful links to get started, and feel free to contact me to suggest sites that you think should be added.
Need a quick break from your studies?
These games are all Business Studies based, so you can be learning even while you're playing.
Got a question?Perhaps you've got an idea for a resource you'd like to see on the site.
Maybe you have a comment to make about the site.
If so, then please contact me.
Please be aware that I will soon be changing the way that software is sold. If you are thinking of buying a CD, please act now, as they may become unavailable soon.
Use the online store to purchase Business Studies Online software. Payment can be made via Paypal, or if you wish to order on behalf of a school a purchase order option is available.
Please note that orders placed via the online store using a purchase order will only be accepted if a delivery address is that of a school.

subset: commoncrawl


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Mastering Grunt
Mastering Grunt
Book Details
About This Book
- Master the development of your web applications by combining Grunt with an army of other useful tools
- Learn about the key tasks behind devops integration and automation so you can utilize Grunt in a team-working environment
- Accelerate your web development abilities by employing best practices, including SEO, page speed optimization, and responsive design
Who This Book Is For
This book will give web developers and sysadmins a head start in fully understanding the importance of the described web technologies and how to automate their processes using Grunt.
Table of Contents
What You Will Learn
- Build any web application using Grunt.js
- Explore the basics revolving around source control with Git
- Understand the importance behind package management with npm and Bower
- Use Grunt alongside Jade, the templating engine, to automate the compression and obfuscation process
- Ease the compilation process by working with Sass, a CSS preprocessor
- Understand the fundamentals involved in CoffeeScript development
- Implement headless testing using Mocha, a JavaScript-based testing engine
- Automate the frontend testing process using Grunt
In Detail
Grunt.js continues to excel as the build automation tool of choice. Along with its support for many third-party technologies, Grunt is packaged with a clean API for defining tasks. This powerful tool can streamline your workflow by automating the preparation tasks for production, such as compression, compilation, obfuscation, testing, and even pushing your web application live. This book will teach you how to master build automation and testing with Grunt. You will have the opportunity to utilize the latest and in-demand web tools, such as Git, Jade, CoffeeScript, Sass, and the Mocha testing engine, across several exciting projects by combining Grunt with them. You will also learn to create a project – a simple Bulletin Board System (BBS), which will explain the use of Grunt alongside the Mocha testing library to automate testing throughout the build process.
Mastering Grunt will demonstrate how to leverage Grunt with other technologies to become an expert in build automation, teaching you the best practices for modern web development along the way.


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Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Vacations: Biking & Hiking in Hawaii's Big IslandJoin Backroads on a biking tour or hiking trip on the Big Island of Hawaii. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is home to Kilauea—Earth's most active volcano. Bike on Crater Rim Drive before a 4,000-foot descent to the stunning Kau Coast. Hike across a caldera with a certified volcanologist and explore the black lava landscape. Every day you'll be completely engaged and thoroughly entertained by your Hawaiian vacation.
Backroads' Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Vacations
Hawaii's Big Island Biking Tour
Hawaii's Big Island Family Multisport Tour
OR search for more trips below:
See All U.S. Trips See All Biking Trips See All Multisport Trips


text:
Durers Fame
written by Christian Tico Seifert
National Galleries Of Scotland | ISBN 9781906270414
Hardback – 48 pages
Member's price: $26.96
Usually ships within 2–11 business days.
Durer's Fame presents a selection of outstanding Albrecht Durer impressions from the National Galleries of Scotland. Examining different aspects of fame, it also features contemporary and later copies, imitations and forgeries, as well as portraits of Durer and works that reflect his art. In addition to famous Italian and Netherlandish examples it includes works by British artists such as John Runciman and William Bell Scott, whose response to Durer's art is less well known. This richly illustrated publication highlights an important part of the National Galleries of Scotland's collection and comprises a checklist of the objects displayed.


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Jada Weighs In On Willow Smith Pic
Willow Smith, daughter of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith has a controversial picture flying around the internet. People were wondering how Jada felt about said picture. Read what Jada Pinkett Smith has to say about it here
What do you think about the picture?
Check out Willow Smith's song Fireball below:


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Sev where is the state of franklin at exactly.
Sev where is the state of franklin at exactly.
South of VA.
http://billiardsdigest.com/forums/im...quote_icon.png Originally Posted by hondohttp://billiardsdigest.com/forums/im...post-right.pngWhere is your snake handler church in Gilmer County? I think it's time to ignore you, johnny/slim.
Do you even know where Gilmer Couny is, slim?
Is Jolo in Gilmer County? If not, why don't you try readng the responses before you post?
You put words in peoples mouths a lot. I never said he was bit in gilmer county. I said there is snake handlers down here in west virgina. Do you deny that hondo. Like you say they aint no klan in west virginia. I think i had you right the first time because you aint nothing but a troublemaker. If you are down here your probably living in one of the bigger countys thinking you cn deny all this stuff. Most west virgina politicains are corrupt. The best onewe had that wasnt corrupt was joe manchin.
I never heared of franklin being a state.
The truth is there.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors wife.
STOLEN VALOR ACT>WHY did you lie?The local VFW Commander awaits your answer,been 28 months now.
The truth will set you free.


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What is human capital?
20-Aug-2014Infographic explaining what human capital is, how it changed over the economic downturn and how it differs by age, gender and qualifications held.
Infographic: Highest education productivity growth rate since series began
01-Oct-2013Infographic explaining the highest education productivity growth rate since series began
Latest Summaries
Latest Publications
Public Service Productivity Estimates: Education 2012
25-Sep-2014Provides updated estimates of growth in the volume of public service education output, inputs and productivity from 1996 to 2012.
Human Capital Estimates, 2013
20-Aug-2014The value of human capital for 2013, including for employed people in different age groups, and by education levels. It also shows changes in human capital values during the economic downturn.
Human Capital Estimates, 2012
12-Dec-2013The valuation of the UK's Human Capital Stock from 2004 to 2012. This release is part of a programme of work within the Measuring National Well-being Programme and updates previous estimates released by ONS in December 2011.
Public Service Productivity Estimates, Education 2011
01-Oct-2013Updated estimates of growth in the volume of public service education output, inputs and productivity from 1996 to 2011.
Measuring National Well-being, Education and Skills
05-Jul-2012Latest in a series of articles which aim to explore in more detail the different domains that have been considered as important for the measurement of National Well-being. Focusing on various aspects of education and life-long learning.
Quality Adjustment for Public Service Education: Triangulation
29-Mar-2012Recent evidence on GCSE and equivalent measures of attainment in England. It reviews the implications of this evidence for the current methods of quality adjustment based on Average Point Scores.
Latest Data
Reference Table 2: Full-time-equivalent pupil/student numbers, by sector and country, all years 1995-96 to 2012-13 (Excel sheet 37Kb)
25-Sep-2014Full time equivalent pupil/student numbers, by provider and country
Reference Table 3: Pupil/student absence rates, by sector and by country, all years 1995-96 to 2012-13 (Excel sheet 34Kb)
25-Sep-2014School absence rates.
Reference Table 4: Indices of output, 1996-2012 (Excel sheet 30Kb)
25-Sep-2014Quantity and quality adjusted output indices.
Reference Table 5: Output expenditure shares by education sector, all years, 1996 – 2012 (Excel sheet 32Kb)
25-Sep-2014Expenditure based education weights.
Reference Table 6: Indices of Average Point Score, by country 1995/96-2012/13 (Excel sheet 31Kb)
25-Sep-2014Indices of Average Point Scores.
Reference Table 7: Volume of inputs by component, 1996-2012 (Excel sheet 30Kb)
25-Sep-2014Indices of input components.


text: Investigates the nature of human agency in the world, as distinct from those parts of the world incapable of action and robust agency. Possible topics include: what it is to act for a reason, how agency fits with a causal picture of the world, the nature of free will and whether we have it, weakness of will, addiction, autonomy, and the nature of the psychological elements of human acts (such as motivation, deliberation, belief, and intention). The course may also focus on the significance of these distinctions for practical moral and legal decision-making. Prerequisite: Majors and minors only.


text: You will notice from our photo that we are a multi-generational team. Like most families, there is a difference in thought process from one generation to the next. We view this divergence of thought as a very positive thing for our team and for our clients. It assures that our clients get the best of traditional thought about asset allocation, risk management, and long term investing while also being exposed to cutting edge alpha strategies, alternative investments and the latest thoughts about wealth preservation. We are prepared to relate with multi-generational families and their needs.


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Ivan Eland: Although David Petraeus, the top American commander in Afghanistan, recently peddled the notion that senior Taliban chieftains had made contact with senior Afghan government officials about the possibility of starting reconciliation talks, such talk of peace in our time is likely to be hype.
Iraq: Controlled Devolution or Uncontrolled Disintegration
Ivan Eland: Although the Iraqi constitution creates a fairly decentralized state, the most worrisome development for Iraqi unity is Barzani's increasing demands. Barzani's electoral gains—and because of Iraq's post-election political stalemate, his ability to be a king-maker in selecting Iraq's next prime minister—make him and the Kurds more strident in their quest for autonomy, or maybe even independence, and to grab the ethnically-mixed but oil-rich city of Kirkuk.
New Camelot Coming: Patience, Progressives
We've celebrated for two-and-a-half weeks and what better way to remember Jack Kennedy on this solemn day than to watch President-elect Obama's deliberate, studious, and principled leadership in action. The hard work began precisely at 11 p.m. on 04 November, healing our land and cleaning up our reputation in the world, after the Administration of […]


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Baked apples stuffed with ginger, ricotta and chocolateMobile version Email a friend Print
By: From: Market Kitchen
On TV Tonight
- 20:00 - Caribbean Food Made Easy - CARIBBEAN FOOD MADE EASY
- 20:30 - Chinese Food Made Easy - Seafood
- 21:00 - MasterChef: The Final Three - MasterChef
- Prep time:
- 25 min
- Cook time:
- 20 min
- Serves:
- 6
Peter Gordon's spiced apples sit in a moat of palm sugar and coconut cream sauce
Method1. Preheat the oven to 170C/gas 3. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
2. Using a melon baller, remove the core from the apples, opening up the cavity a little to allow for more stuffing to fit in. Run a knife around the apple 1/3 and 2/3 of the way up from the base - this allows for expansion as it cooks.
3. Mix the grated ginger, ricotta and chocolates together and stuff into the apples. Sit them in the baking dish. Brush with the butter and drizzle the ginger syrup over them.
4. Bake in the centre of the oven for 15-20 minutes, until a skewer can be inserted easily. Sometimes the apples look as though they're exploding - bursting open.
5. Meanwhile make the sauce by putting the palm sugars into a pan with the cloves and apple juice. Boil until the sugars have dissolved, then cook to a thickish syrup. Add the coconut cream and bring to a simmer. Cook gently until the sauce thickens slightly.
6. Serve the apples while still warm with the sauce poured around them. A dollop of crème fraîche on the side is a good idea too.
- 6 apples
- 1 1/2 lumps preserved stem ginger, grated, plus 2 tsp of their syrup
- 100 g ricotta cheese
- 30 g bitter chocolate, chopped
- 70 g milk chocolate, chopped
- 1 tbsp melted, unsalted butter
- 40 g dark palm sugar, chopped
- 60 g pale palm sugar, chopped
- 2 cloves, crushed
- 50 ml apple juice
- 250 ml coconut cream
- crème fraîche, to serve


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In the midst of the buzz about Hillary Clinton becoming the next Secretary of State, a little historical knowledge suggests that her appointment would be a highly unusual, though not unprecedented, one. Of the 18 (non-acting) Secretaries of State who have held office since the end of World War II, only two were chosen from the ranks of elected politicians: James F. Byrnes and Edmund Muskie. The performance of one of the two offers a cautionary tale.
To take the less relevant of the two first, Muskie served in Maine's House of Representatives before being elected the state's Governor in 1954. He would go on to serve as a U.S. Senator for over 20 years, and was a serious Presidential candidate in 1972. Muskie replaced Cyrus Vance as Secretary of State only after Vance resigned out of disgust with Carter's bungled mission to rescue the American hostages in Iran. Muskie served in the position for only the last seven months of the administration. After leaving the State Department, Muskie acted as an elder statesman but never ran for office again.
The case of Byrnes, however, is far more suggestive of what we might expect from a Secretary Hillary. Byrnes had already been a member of the House of Representatives, a Senator, and even a Supreme Court Justice before FDR made him, in 1943, head of the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion, a superagency whose role was to "initiate policies, plan programs, and coordinate all federal agencies in the production, procurement, and distribution of all war materials – military and civilian."
Reminiscent of Hillary's stint as First Lady, his political influence and maneuvering extended so far outside of his official duties that members of Congress started calling him "assistant President." And in another resonant similarity, he later seriously contended with, but lost to, Truman in the competition to become the Democratic vice presidential nomination in 1944. Indeed, it was President Truman, taking office after FDR's death, who appointed Byrnes as Secretary of State in June 1945. On its face, the choice made good sense insofar as Byrnes had been Truman's main adviser on foreign policy. However, Truman would later admit that he made the appointment partly out of guilt over the vice presidential episode.
Byrnes's time as chief diplomat turned out to be a troubled one. Feeling resentment toward Truman for having defeated him politically, Byrnes set foreign policy without informing the President in advance. (Complaining that he was learning of American policy from newspapers, Truman privately called Byrnes a "conniver.") Byrnes was also seen as being too willing to compromise with the Soviets, and he made some major diplomatic blunders when it came to negotiating the status of Eastern European countries after the war. Ultimately, the personal and political tension between Truman and him became too great, and Byrnes resigned and left office in 1947. But any such internal difficulties didn't hurt his subsequent political career. He would go on to be elected governor of South Carolina at the advanced age of 72.
Whatever Byrnes's missteps as Secretary of State, he at least came to the job with a hefty amount of relevant experience. After all, he effectively ran the domestic war effort. By contrast, it's hard to imagine anyone relying on Hillary for her foreign policy expertise.
In any case, whether or not Hillary hopes to have a political career like that of Byrnes's (she is currently 61 years old), it is worth reflecting on whether any elected politician is likely to make a good Secretary of State, especially when the other names being floated for the position are Governor Bill Richardson and Senators John Kerry, Chuck Hagel, and Sam Nunn. True statesmanship, it should go without saying, requires political disinterestedness. As a Senator wisely put it many years ago:
A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation.
It is of course possible that a politician might be willing permanently to leave politics behind for unselfish public service, but when a politician has shown him- or herself to be ruthlessly partisan and ambitious, and to have known little except how to climb the greasy pole, serious doubts are warranted.


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Giveaway: Win a Super-Fast Thermapen Thermometer
Roast Chicken!
Roast Chicken!
Roast Chicken!
Ed Mitchell & Rodney Scott!
Not ordering it enough!
Three Floyds Brewing Company!
Roast Chicken.
Minetta Tavern Black Label
Captain Lawrence!
I've never had a white truffle. Can I have some pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaasssee?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Eggs Benedict, Fresh squeezed orange juice, black coffee (french pressed), fresh fruit.
Has anyone been here yet?
Looks very promising. They've got a Stefano Ferraro oven, and they appear to be making some awesome looking pies. Can't wait to check it out.
mikesm hasn't favorited a post yet.


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Campus Resources
Project REV can offer academic advocacy, counseling services, and education around sexual assault.
Find out more about Project REV's services
The TWU Department of Public Safety is here to keep the campus safe. If an assault occurs on or near campus, campus police can help.
Denton Resources
Denton County Friends of the Family offers a wide range of rape crisis and counseling service, including, but not limited to, emergency shelter, legal advocacy, help with protective orders and crime victims compensation, children's play therapy, group therapy and parenting classes.
Outreach Office: 940-387-5131
24-Hour Hotline: 800-572-4031
The City of Denton Police Department can help with emergencies and assaults that occur off campus.
Emergency: 911
Non-Emergency: 940-349-8181
The Denton County District Attorney's Office has a victim's assistance division that can be very helpful.
Online Resources
The Texas Association Against Sexual Assault offers educational information about sexual assault on their website.
The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network has lots of great information on their website and also offers a sexual assault hotline.
24-Hour Hotline: 800-656-HOPE (4673)
Resources in Greater DFW
Collin County
The Turning Point Rape Crisis Center
Outreach office: 972-985-0951
24-hour Hotline: 800-886-7273
Dallas County
The Family Place
Outreach office: 214-443-7701
24-hour Hotline: 214-941-1991
Tarrant County
SafeHaven of Tarrant County
24-Hour Hotline: 877-701-SAFE (7233)
Resources in Houston
Houston Area Women's Center
Outreach Office: 713-528-6798
24-Hour Hotline: 800-256-0661
page last updated 6/19/2015 2:48 PM


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Your visit to the Heard Museum includes 12 exhibition galleries, free guided tours, outdoor sculpture gardens, a renowned café, a contemporary art gallery and trading-post style shopping, plus much more.
|Monday to Saturday
|9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
|11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
|First Fridays
(except March)
|6 to 10 p.m.
The Heard Museum, the Heard Museum Shop, Books & More and the Courtyard Café are open 361 days a year – every day except Easter Sunday, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
Please note, prices for admission and events are subject to change.
|Seniors (65+)
|Students (with I.D.)
|Children 6-12 years
|Children 5 years and younger
|American Indians
|Heard Museum Members
|FREE (Join today!)
|First Fridays
(6 to 10 p.m., except March)
These rates entitle visitors to see the special exhibit Super Heroes: Art! Action! Adventure! plus the rest of the museum.
|Seniors (65+)
|Students (with I.D.)
|Children 6-12 years
|Children 2–5 years
|Children younger than 2 years
|American Indians
|Heard Museum Members
|FREE (Join today!)
Those visiting the museum from May 16 through Aug. 23, 2015 as part of the following programs and special entry days will still be required to pay a gate fee of $5 per person:
The Heard Museum thanks K-12 teachers from Arizona schools with a special offer each June. During Teacher Appreciation Month, the Heard will give teachers with valid school I.D. a 50% discount off the adult admission price. This offer is good for the teacher and one guest.
Guided tours are included with admission and are offered daily. Hear from experienced docents as they share about the artists, cultures and artwork featured in the museum's galleries. Free public guided tours are offered daily at noon, 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Tours include the signature exhibit HOME: Native Peoples in the Southwest at noon and 3 p.m., and a Highlights of the Heard tour at 2 p.m.
Please note that our public tour schedule is subject to change on major holidays. Please check prior to your visit.
Bring your group for a personal guided tour or special experience. Tour and lunch packages are available. Custom tours can be arranged.
School tours are available for grades K-12 in several museum galleries.


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News & Information » Fact Sheets » Strengthening of the Legal Framework for Disabilities in Haiti
On January 12, 2010, Haiti was hit by the most powerful earthquake to strike the country in over 200 years. As a result, approximately 230,000 people were killed, and an estimated 300,000 were injured. Individuals suffered bone fractures, paralysis, spinal cord injuries, and peripheral nerve damage; and an estimated 4,000 amputations occurred. The effects of the earthquake added to the pre-earthquake estimate of 800,000 persons with disabilities already living in Haiti.
The majority of the Haitian population survives largely on subsistence agriculture. This makes people with disabilities unduly reliant on others for survival. People with disabilities, and the family members that support them, are often forced to migrate to urban centers in search of services, including basic health care and education. However, the earthquake decimated the services that had previously been available to people with disabilities; and earthquake relief efforts have struggled to integrate access to people with disabilities into program planning.
USAID has partnered with the Organization of American States (OAS) to reverse this trend. USAID and OAS have provided technical support to a series of joint initiatives by the Secretary of State for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities (SEIPH) and the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) to develop new approaches to inclusion, integration, and assistance for people with disabilities.
Working in partnership with this project, USAID aims to establish a permanent, collaborative, and institutionalized response to rehabilitation, inclusion, and assistance for people with disabilities.
- Promote the adoption of Haitian governmental policies and laws that fully integrate an inclusive approach to people with disabilities,
- Support the Government of Haiti in institutionalizing sustainable government processes, lines of authority, and programs that promote and enforce inclusive policies, and
- Raise awareness and foster government cooperation with civil society to promote government accountability and sustainability of the systems and policies adopted.
Anticipated Results
In May 2012, President Martelly signed an Inclusion of People with Disabilities Law. Other anticipated results include:
- Creation of an inter-governmental action group on disabilities to oversee all aspects of the project,
- Formation of a government policy outlining agency lines of authority and responsibility for policy development with regards to persons with disabilities,
- Support for the efforts in the elaboration of construction codes, including accessibility in the universal design, and
- Creation of a disability caucus in the Haitian Congress.
Additional Program Information
Budget: $2 million
Life of Project: November 2011– November 2014
Implementing Partner: Organization of American States
Last updated: September 11, 2013


text: Dodger Thoughts: Be sure to follow Jon Weisman and Dodger Thoughts to its new home. —– Minor League Ball: John Sickels reviews how the current top 25 pitchers in baseball were seen as prospects. Minor League Ball: Same for the top 30 position players in baseball. —– The Onion: Because making fun of Bleacher Report is always hilarious. Read More »


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- Capitol Quickies - http://blogs.app.com/capitolquickies -
It's July 14th, aka Speaker's Day
Posted By Michael Symons On July 14, 2010 @ 8:56 am In Uncategorized | Comments Disabled
Today is Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver's 58th birthday, as noted in the Daily Quickie calendar published earlier today on the blog.
But Oliver's birthday merits a second mention not because she's speaker but because she shares her birthday with the Assembly speaker she succeeded in that post, Joseph J. Roberts Jr. And not just the July 14th part — both were born on this date in 1952. Strange coincidence.
Article printed from Capitol Quickies: http://blogs.app.com/capitolquickies
URL to article: http://blogs.app.com/capitolquickies/2010/07/14/its-july-14th-aka-speakers-day/
Click here to print.
Copyright © 2008 Capitol Quickies. All rights reserved.


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Friday, November 4, 2011
Stock Spin-Offs – What Should Dividend Investors do?
In general, as long as the characteristics which enabled the original company to raise dividends for decades are still intact, chances are that the separate entities will continue raising distributions. For example, Altria Group (MO) was able to spin-off Kraft (KFT) in 2007 and Phillip Morris International (PM) in 2008. Before that, the original company was able to raise annual distributions for over three decades. After the spin-offs, Altria (MO) has kept up with raising dividends to its shareholders, as did Phillip Morris International (PM). Both companies were able to increase earnings per share over the same period, which enabled them to achieve the task of higher dividends ever since.
Kraft (KFT) on the other hand has been unable to increase distributions more than once since the spin-off, due to its inability to increase earnings and due to the costs associated with the acquisition of Cadbury in 2010. Now Kraft (KFT) itself is in the process of splitting in two separate companies, the global snacks business with annual sales of $32 billion and a high margin grocery business, with annual sales of $16 billion.
Abbott Labs on the other hand is splitting in two companies. The first one will be a research-based pharmaceuticals company, which will own Abbott's premier drug names such as Humira, Lupron, Synagis to name a few. It would be basically a drug company, which focuses on keeping its pipeline of new drugs coming to the market, through constant investment in research and development. Drug companies have faced steep patent cliffs over the past several years, which has intensified mergers in the sector.
The second company will be a diversified medical products company, and its name would remain Abbott. It would own established nutritional products, medical devices and diagnostics products as well as generic drugs outside of the US.
As a dividend growth investor, I plan on holding on to these stocks after the spin-offs. I believe that both companies would be able to better focus on their goals as standalone entities. Despite the fact that I do require a minimum of ten consecutive annual dividend increases in order to purchase new stocks, I make an exception for spin-offs. I do monitor each situation closely however, as inability to raise dividends over time would prohibit me from allocating any new capital to such positions.
Once investors receive the new shares in each of the new companies, initially I expect that the dividends in total to be equal to the total dividend paid out by Abbott. Overtime however, I expect these dividends to grow. As a result, given the fact that Abbott has had a long culture of dividend increases and the fact that it is priced attractively at the moment, I would keep accumulating the stock in my income portfolio.
Full disclosure: Long KFT, PM, MO, ABT
12 comments:
- AnonymousNovember 4, 2011 at 5:52 AM
I am still confused about your holdings on KFT.ReplyDelete
They have not raised dividends for 10 years, or even for the past three consecutively!
I thought your criteria was strict? Dividend cut or maintain and you sell? Or are you holding to try to recapture some principal (and putting emotion into it)?
Thank you
Please respond to my questions.ReplyDelete
Last year I started a Scottrade Account and then found out they do NOT REINVEST DIVIDENDS!
Who do you use to reinvest your dividends?
Would Vanguard be a good choice to transfer to, so I can reinvest dividends?
KFT is a hold. Part of shares received from Altria spin off in 2007. No new money added in a while.
I do not reinvest dividends automatically. I wait for them to accumulate, or add funds to accumulated divdends before I buy more stock in same or different company
- AnonymousNovember 4, 2011 at 7:25 PM
Drew -ReplyDelete
If you want to have dividends reinvested automatically, I would recommend Sharebuilder. They will automatically reinvest dividends and will allow for partial shares which is useful if you have a smaller portfolio. For example, I just received a dividend on a company that I only own a couple shares of. The dividend was reinvested and 0.04 shares were purchased.
Thanks for addressing this issue. I'm not a shareholder of ABT, but when I heard the spinoff announcement, I posed the question to myself what I would do if I were.ReplyDelete
In all honesty, I never answered that to my own satisfaction.
If the businesses are both strong and related, I prefer that a company keep everything in house as it were.
That's one of the reasons why I'm such a big fan of PEP - granted, the North American beverage market has been flat for a while now, but it's a stable business and there's still lots of growth opportunities in the emerging markets. And I really like the Gatorade brand, too. Plus there's also Frito Lay and even Quaker Oats.
I think the product diversity helps sustain the overall business even as there have been recent calls to break up the company in order to "unlock" value via the share price.
I'm pretty confident in stating that you and I are less "capital appreciation" type people and more "effective yield" type people.
My question to you re: the ABT move is what your future dividend expectations are for each of the two separate companies. Do you see a clear winner when it comes to future dividend growth?
And if you could only own one of the two newly formed companies, which one would you own?
Nice post DGI.ReplyDelete
I too, plan on holding my ABT.
Will include this one in next week's roundup ;)
@Drew... "Who do you use to reinvest your dividends?"ReplyDelete
I like TD Ameritrade for Dividend Reinvestment broker. All you do is ask to setup all your stock holdings as a dividend reinvestment and your done.
- AnonymousNovember 5, 2011 at 8:54 AM
Do you use an automatic stop loss or do you just look at a stock that is dropping and evaluate it as if you were purchasing it new?ReplyDelete
Drew, I use Vanguard and have found their service excellent. I have them reinvest dividends of some companies and for companies that I don't want to grow my position in, I take in cash sent to my money market accountReplyDelete
- firstname.lastname@example.com 6, 2011 at 2:57 PM
When a company splits, in this case KFT, what becomes of the shares held by investors? does each share become worth 2 in 1 of the new co`s or does a shareholder get 1 in each co. or do shareholder get a choice of co`s to recieve shares in or???? Please respond.ReplyDelete
When a company splits, investors will end up with shares in two companies.
In Kraft's situation, investors will probably keep shares of Kraft but also receive some proportional amount of stock in the spin off company.
I finally found this article it is great. Why did you not mention it to me before. This answers a lot of questions. TY SuzanneReplyDelete
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/// E! Green-Lights The Royals Starring Elizabeth Hurley
It's finally happening: E!'s scripted series, The Royals, will grace its viewers with its presence in 2015. A one-hour drama by Mark Schwahn about the British royal family and starring Elizabeth Hurley, the show has been ordered to series by E!, though the network did not say how many episodes it would have. Also on the docket for the women's cable network: Botched, a reality series about correcting horrific plastic surgery mistakes, ordered for eight hour-long episodes and set for September; and Escape Club, a competition show in which twentysomething competitors are sent off to a tropical resort where they compete for the privilege to stay in the sun (think of it as the opposite of Survivor). E!'s development slate has a deepening bench scripted shows, too, including Songbyrd, by Gray's Anatomy writer Krista Vernoff and "featuring the experiences of" songwriter Diane Warren, who is a consulting producer (presumably Songbyrd uses details from Warren's life—the show is about an unlucky-in-love songwriter). And there's also a miniseries about drama among scions of the Gucci clan.
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E! Green-Lights The Royals Starring Elizabeth Hurley
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Archive for July, 2011
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The Walking Dead season two trailer
Don McMillan: Life After Death by PowerPoint
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Skittles – "Newlyweds"
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'History Of Rap', Part 2!
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For the Love of Whitney
December 6th, 2012 · 3 Comments
3 responses so far ↓
When I think about what happened to Whitney, my mind goes to Heath Ledger, Michael Jackson and Amy Winehouse. Together, they inspired me to write this essay: http://bit.ly/Ml8I6U
I too believe that Whitney Houston was a marvelous talent. I am saddened that we seem to lose so many talented people to drugs and alcohol abuse. "Celebrity status" comes with risks and pressures that many do not seem to be prepared to navigate. The industry should take note.
I have observed in the world nowadays, video games would be the latest phenomenon with kids of all ages. There are occassions when it may be extremely hard to drag young kids away from the games. If you want the very best of both worlds, there are various educational activities for kids. Thanks for your post.
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A method to assist in the selection of optimum beam orientations for radiation therapy when a planning treatment volume (PTV) is adjacent to one or more organs-at-risk (OARs). A mathematical analysis of the boundaries between the PTV and OARs allows the definition of a continuum of pairs of gantry and table angles whose beam orientations have planes that are essentially parallel to those boundaries, and can, therefore, separate the PTV from the OARs when a multi-leaf collimator is used in the therapy. The Radiation Oncologist can then select one or more pairs of gantry and table angles from the continuum as input to a beam optimization step. The selected angles can deliver highly uniform dose to the PTV, while minimizing the radiation dose to the OARs.
1. A method for selecting beam orientations in radiation therapy enabling the delivery of improved dose distributions to a planning target volume, while delivering a minimum dose to adjacent organs at risk, said method comprising the steps of:
a) calculating the boundary angles that the interfaces between said planning target volume and said adjacent organs at risk subtend with respect to different axes of the coordinate system used for describing the patient's anatomy,
b) transforming said boundary angles to a plurality of gantry and table angles, and
c) selecting one or more pairs of said gantry and table angles from said plurality of gantry and table angles.
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. An apparatus for the assisted selection of beam orientations in radiation therapy enabling the delivery of improved dose distributions to a planning target volume, while delivering a minimum dose to adjacent organs at risk, said apparatus comprising:
a) means for calculating the boundary angles that the interfaces between said planning target volume and said adjacent organs at risk subtend with respect to different axes of the coordinate system used for describing the patient's anatomy,
b) means for transforming said boundary angles to a plurality of gantry and table angles.
c) means for selecting one or more pairs of said gantry and table angles from said plurality of gantry and table angles.
9. The apparatus of
10. The apparatus of
11. The apparatus of
12. The apparatus of
13. The apparatus of
14. The apparatus of
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to radiation therapy planning for the treatment of tumors or for stereotactic radiosurgery and more particularly to assist in the selection of optimum beam orientations for that therapy.
2. Description of Prior Art
The goal of radiation therapy is the accurate delivery of a radiation dose to tumors or other abnormal tissues in the human body to cause their obliteration, while keeping the dose received by sensitive organs and/or normal tissues to a tolerable minimum. Four main methods of radiation delivery are in use at the present time: Conformal, Intensity Modulated, Dynamic Arc and Tomotherapy. The Conformal method uses a relatively small number of radiation beams, each having a perimeter that conforms to the external shape of the abnormal tissues, as seen from the direction of the incoming beam. In Intensity Modulated Radiation Treatment (IMRT), each of the conformal beams is broken into a large number of pencil beams, or "beamlets", and the dose delivered by each beamlet is controlled independently. In Dynamic Arc therapy, radiation is delivered by a source that travels continuously along one or more arcs partially surrounding the patient, with the shape of the radiation field changing continuously as needed to remain conformal to the perimeter of the abnormal region. In Tomotherapy, a "fan beam" of radiation rotates about the patient with the width of the fan controlled to conform to the shape of the abnormal tissues as it progresses, not only around the patient, but traveling along his/her length. In all cases, the sum of the doses delivered to each voxel of the abnormal tissues by all beams or beamlets is expected to be close to a prescribed dose, while the total dose delivered to voxels in sensitive organs and/or normal tissues has to be kept within some acceptable prescribed limits.
In the four methods indicated above, the abnormal tissues are included in a Planning Target Volume (PTV), located usually at the center of rotation of a radiation delivery system. With that approach, radiation coming from all the chosen orientations will always add up to a maximum dose in the PTV, while the dose to Organs-at-Risk (OARs) and/or normal tissues in the periphery can be lower.
Except in the case of Tomotherapy, where radiation always impinges on the PTV from all the angles around a circle, the selection of beam angles is of principal importance in radiation therapy. The experience of the Radiation Oncologist has traditionally been a most important factor in the successful planning of therapy for any particular clinical case. As will be described below, however, substantial efforts have been made to automate the selection of beam orientation angles to avoid a time-consuming "trial-and-error" process that is often required when a new location and/or shape of abnormality has to be treated. It is in this step of beam orientation angle selection that the present invention is expected to be of substantial assistance to the Radiation Oncologist.
Once a set of beam orientation angles has been selected, the next step is an "optimization" phase: The individual fluences to be delivered by each of the defined beams, beamlets or arcs, the so-called "beam weights", have to be determined. In the case of IMRT and Tomotherapy, the determination of the optimum beamlet weights may require the solution of a set of a few thousand inconsistent simultaneous equations, usually with inequalities. Methods for the successful solution of the optimization problem have been found and are in use in a number of commercial software packages and in research institutions. For the case of IMRT, a comparison of one example each of the three most commonly used optimization methodologies is given in J. Llacer, et al, "Comparative Behaviour of the Dynamically Penalized Likelihood algorithm in inverse radiation therapy planning", Physics in Medicine and Biology, Vol. 46, (2001), pp. 2637–2663.
We must now return to the previous step of determining the optimal beam orientations. As indicated above, a substantial scientific effort has been placed on finding suitable methods for such determination, prior to beam weight optimization. A brief description of those efforts will now be outlined. With some exceptions to be noted, all the methods have resorted to simplified optimizations and their comparison by a variety of measures, with or without some evolutionary means to improve the results as the selection proceeds towards a final solution. In general, the methods shown yield better optimizations than some reference set of beams, although they are very expensive in computer time and have not found sufficient favor in clinical applications.
S. S�derstrom and A. Brahme in "Selection of suitable beam orientations in radiation therapy using entropy and Fourier transform measures", Physics in Medicine and Biology, Vol. 37, (1992), pp. 911–924, use entropy and also the integral of the low frequency part of the Fourier transform of optimum "beam profiles" (a profile of contiguous beam weights) as measures of the information content in those profiles and the amount of gross beam structure, respectively. T. Bortfeld and W. Schlegel in "Optimization of beam orientations in radiation therapy: some theoretical considerations", Physics in Medicine and Biology, Vol. 38, (1993), pp. 291–304, use simulated annealing in frequency domain and arrive at the conclusion that, for multiple-beam irradiation (more than three beams) the optimum beam configuration tends to be an even distribution over an angular range of 0 to 2π. P. Gokhale, et al, in "Determination of beam orientation in radiotherapy planning", Medical Physics, Vol. 21 (3), (1994), pp. 393–400 use mathematical techniques to determine the "path of least resistance" from the PTV to the patient surface and select the beams with lowest resistance. S. Webb in "Optimizing the planning of intensity-modulated radiotherapy", Physics in Medicine and Biology, Vol. 39, (1994), pp. 2229–2246, arrives at the conclusion that the use of 7 to 9 uniformly spaced beam directions can lead to acceptable optimizations, except when the PTV and OARs overlap. He provides a comment, but no solution for, the problem of optimizing field orientation. S. M. Morrill, et al, in "Conventional treatment planning optimization using simulated annealing", Int. J. Radiation Oncology Biol. Phys., Vol 32, Supplement 1, (1994), p. 298, describes the reduction of needed beam angles to a relatively small number by simulated annealing as the optimization phase proceeds. S. S�derstrom and A. Brahme in "Which is the most suitable number of photon beam portals in coplanar radiation therapy?, Int. J. Radiation Oncology Biol. Phys., Vol 33, No. 1, (1995), pp. 151–159 reach the conclusion that with non-uniform beams (IMRT), the level of complication-free tumor control is adequate with 3 beams to 5 beams and more beams do not result in substantial improvements. D. L. McSchan, et al, in "Advanced interactive planning techniques for conformal therapy: high level beam descriptions and volumetric mapping techniques", Int. J. Radiation Oncology Biol. Phys., Vol 33, No. 5, (1995), pp. 1061–1072, describes the use of "Beam's Eye Volumetrics", a graphical interactive method to define a PTV and OARs in terms of arcs, cones and other shapes. Those shapes can then be used to aid in the selection of beams for conformal therapy.
C. X. Yu in "Intensity-modulated arc therapy with dynamic multileaf collimation: an alternative to tomotherapy", Physics in Medicine and Biology, Vol. 40 (1995) pp. 1435–1449 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,818,902 "Intensity modulated arc therapy with dynamic multi-leaf collimation", (Oct. 6, 1998) describe a "hybrid" between Tomotherapy and Dynamic Arc therapy in which a gantry stops at a number of selected angles around the patient. Tomotherapy is described in T. R. Mackie, et al, "Tomotherapy: A new concept for the delivery of dynamic conformal radiotherapy", Medical Physics, Vol 20 (6), (1993), pp. 1709–1719.
G. A. Ezzell in "Genetic and geometric optimization of three-dimensional radiation therapy treatment planning", Medical Physics, Vol. 23 (3) (1996) pp. 293–305, describes what appears to be the first application of genetic algorithms to optimization. Together with geometric considerations for the elimination of "undesirable" beamlets, it reaches optimization angles and weights that lead to reasonable optimizations. M. Langer, et al, in "A generic genetic algorithm for generating beam weights", Medical Physics, Vol. 23 (6), (1996), pp. 965–971, describe the use of a genetic algorithm for the optimization of up to 36 beams (or beamlets) for the treatment of abdominal tumors.
V. C. Ling, et al, in "Conformal radiation treatment of prostate cancer using inversely-planned intensity-modulated photon beams produced with dynamic multileaf collimation", Int. J. Radiation Oncology Biol. Phys., Vol. 35, No. 4, (1996), pp. 721–730 report promising results by the use of six co-planar beams for the treatment of prostate cancer. Those beams are pair-wise opposed at −45�, 0� and +45� with respect to the horizontally placed patient. S. K. Das and L. B. Marks, in "Selection of coplanar or noncoplanar beams using three-dimensional optimization based on maximum beam separation and minimized nontarget irradiation", Int. J. Radiation Oncology Biol. Phys., Vol. 38, No. 3, (1997), pp. 643–655 report on the use of two measures for the selection of beam angles: maximum beam separation for steep dose gradient at target edge and a length function related to normal tissue traversed by a beam. By a suitable combination of those measures, reasonable sets of beam angles are found for clinical situations. H-M. Lu, et al, in "Optimized beam planning for linear accelerator-based stereotactic radiosurgery", Int. J. Radiation Oncology Biol. Phys., Vol. 39, No. 5, (1997), pp. 1183–1189, use a Beam's Eye View of possible beam arc combinations and phase-space scrutiny to reduce the available angles. Finally, a simulated annealing method yields the optimal beam angles.
O. C. L. Haas, et al, in "Optimization of beam orientation in radiotherapy using planar geometry", Physics in Medicine and Biology, Vol. 43 (1998), pp. 2179–2193, returns to the use of a genetic algorithm specifically for coplanar beams, using a methodology that allows the algorithm to search in parallel for different objectives, resulting in a speed up of the search. B. C. J. Cho, et al, in "The development of target-eye-view maps for selection of coplanar or noncoplanar beams in conformal radiotherapy treatment planning", Medical Physics, Vol. 26, (11), (1999) pp. 2367–2372, use Beam's Eye View (BEV) techniques together with a Target's Eye View (TEV) to map the OARs and check for regions of overlap with the PTV in a Mercator spherical map, thus assisting visually in a computer screen to select beam orientations that present minimum conflicts. C. G. Rowbottom, et al, in "Constrained customization of non-coplanar beam orientations in radiotherapy of brain tumors", Physics in Medicine and Biology, Vol. 44 (1999) pp. 383–399, used a methodology consisting of single and multibeam cost functions, together with simulated annealing to produce well-spaced, customized beam orientations for individual patients.
M. E. Hosseini-Ashrafe, et al, in "Pre-optimization of radiotherapy treatment planning: an artificial neural network classification aided technique", Physics in Medicine and Biology, Vol. 44 (1999) pp. 1513–1528, introduce artificial neural networks to the problem of beam selection, an approach that is also followed by C. G. Rowbottom, et al, in "Beam orientation customization using an artificial neural network", Physics in Medicine and Biology, Vol. 44 (1999) pp. 2251–2262. The initial use of neural networks for the beam selection problem has not been followed in later years.
M. Braunstein and R. Y. Levine, in "Optimum beam configurations in tomographic intensity modulated radiation therapy", Physics in Medicine and Biology, No. 45 (2000), pp. 305–328, have tested a method of ranking particular beam orientations in terms of the contributed dose to the PTV and OARs. For simple simulated clinical cases, they find that there are, indeed, preferred beam directions. O. J�kel and J. Debus, in "Selection of beam angles for radiotherapy of skull base tumours using charged particles", in Physics in Medicine and Biology, Vol. 45 (2000) pp. 1229–1241, analyze the beams selected in 50 patients treated by conformal therapy with X-rays and arrive at a consensus of which beam orientations should then be used for treatments with charged particles.
The next group includes a number of papers and a Patent by A. B. Pugachev and co-workers at Stanford University. Their work follows a progression towards a final method that could be applied in the clinic. It is characterized initially by simplified optimizations and later by progressively simpler and better search methods based on the geometry of the PTV and OARs. A. B. Pugachev, et al, "Beam orientation optimization in intensity-modulated radiation treatment planning", Medical Physics, Vol. 27 (6) (2000), pp. 1238–1245; A. V. Pugachev, et al, "Role of beam orientation optimization in intensity-modulated radiation therapy", Int. J. Radiation Oncology Biol. Phys. Vol. 50, No. 2 (2001), pp. 551–560; A. Pugachev and L. Xing, "Pseudo beam's-eye-view as applied to beam orientation selection in intensity-modulated radiation therapy", Int. J. Radiation Oncology Biol. Phys. Vol. 51, No. 5 (2001), pp. 1361–1370; A. Pugachev and L. Xing, "Computer-assisted selection of coplanar beam orientations in intensity-modulated radiation therapy", Physics in Medicine and Biology, Vol. 46, (2001), pp. 2467–2476 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,504,899, "Method for selecting beam orientations in intensity modulated radiation therapy", (Jan. 7, 2003); A. Pugachev and L. Xing, "Incorporating prior knowledge into beam orientation optimization in IMRT", ", Int. J. Radiation Oncology Biol. Phys. Vol. 54, No. 5 (2002), pp. 1565–1574.
E. Woudstra and P R M Storchi, in "Constrained treatment planning using sequential beam selection", Physics in Medicine and Biology, Vol. 45 (2000), pp. 2133–2149, have developed a method based on pre-calculated dose distributions for all candidate orientations and a sequential method to add beams into the selection by a scoring method. C. G. Rowbottom, et al, in "Simultaneous optimization of beam orientations and beam weights in conformal therapy" Medical Physics Vol. 28 (8) (2001) pp. 1696–1702, have developed an optimization algorithm for both beam orientations and beam weights based on a random sampling of the PTV and OAR voxels which produce acceptable dose distributions and may be able to improve on those obtained by human planners. In T. Y. Yang, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,260,005, "Falcon: Automated optimization method for arbitrary assessment criteria", (Jul. 10, 2001) a complete optimization methodology is described that is applied to radiation therapy as an example. The orientation of the therapy beams is not generated by the method, but has to be given by the user.
Genetic algorithms for beam orientation optimization have reappeared: X. Wu and Y. Zhu in "A mixed-encoding genetic algorithm with beam constraint for conformal radiotherapy treatment planning", Medical Physics, Vol. 27 (11) (2000) pp. 2508–2516 propose a new hierarchical algorithm that combines binary and floating-point encoding to both select beam directions and beam weights. P. Zhang, et al, in "Optimization of Gamma Knife treatment planning via guided evolutionary simulated annealing", Medical Physics, Vol. 28 (8) (2001) pp. 1746–1752 use a guided evolutionary simulated annealing method that yields results in a more conformal plan and reduces treatment administration time, in comparison with manual methods. Y. Li, et al, in "Automatic beam angle selection in IMRT planning using genetic algorithm", Physics in Medicine and Biology, Vol. 49 (2004), pp. 1915–1932, separate the genetic selection part of the problem from the optimization and can carry out both in reasonable times, yielding sensible results that may be clinically useful.
D. Djajaputra, et al, in "Algorithm and performance of a clinical IMRT beam-angle optimization system", Physics in Medicine and Biology, Vol. 48 (2003) pp. 3191–3212 have accelerated the processes of dose calculation, optimization and beam selection by simplification and the use of pre-computed dose kernels. They still report many hours of computation for relatively complex therapy cases. Finally, F. J. Bova in U.S. Pat. No. 6,661,872, "Intensity modulated radiation therapy planning system", (Dec. 9, 2003) describes a method for beam selection that relies on replacing arcs, as in Dynamic Arc therapy, with a number of equally spaced source positions along the arcs and then using a scoring system to define which positions are to be kept in a final beam selection.
It is recognized by workers in the area of beam orientation optimization that the problem is a very difficult one to solve in a satisfactory manner within a computation time that is useful in the clinic. Of all the work reviewed above, only the object of U.S. Pat. No. 6,504,899, issued Jan. 7, 2003 to Pugachev and Xing, appears to have a chance of being used extensively in the foreseeable future for beam selection in the clinic. Their method does indeed select beam orientations that are reasonable, within the time constraints imposed by clinical practice. The method of Pugachev and Xing, however, suffers from the severe limitation that is only applicable to therapy with coplanar beams, that is, beams that originate in a radiation source that can move along the perimeter of a circle. In the frequent cases of therapy for tumors or other abnormalities in the head and/or into the neck area, therapy beams can be delivered from non-coplanar beams, that is from a source that can move on the surface of a sphere, except for positional conflicts with the neck. The ability to select such non-coplanar beams is a necessity in order to achieve treatment plans that yield the desired high dose to the PTV and provide adequate sparing of the very sensitive organs and healthy tissues in the head, for example. The extension of Pugachev and Xing's method to non-coplanar beams is prohibitive, as would be the case with all the other selection methods reviewed above. The extremely high increase in the number of possible candidate beam orientations in going from a circular set of source positions to a spherical one results in an inordinate increase in computation time.
The main cause of difficulty with all the attempts at solving the beam selection problem is the overly ambitious goal that has been set, that of selecting automatically all the beams that should be used in the optimization of a particular clinical case. What has been overlooked is that an appropriate computational analysis of the geometry of the PTV and OARs provides a wealth of information that can be used to select several very important coplanar or non-coplanar beam orientations in a number of difficult clinical cases, particularly those in which one or more OARs are adjacent to the PTV. The use of beam's or target's eye views and projections of the PTV and OARs onto spherical or cylindrical surfaces, as in some of the work reviewed above, are steps in the desired direction and such methods have been incorporated extensively in commercial treatment planning software packages. Those methods, however, do not use make good use of the capabilities of current computational techniques in Computer Vision, which can provide more accurate and complete information about the nature of the boundaries between a PTV and any adjacent OARs. Such information will be shown to allow the selection of beam orientations yielding optimizations that may be limited only by fundamental radiation physics.
The present invention is a method for the selection of a number of beam orientations in radiation therapy that fulfill the requirement of fully irradiating the Planning Target Volume (PTV) of a patient while sparing one or more adjacent Organs-at-Risk (OARs) to the maximum extent allowed by the physics of the particular type of radiation used. The invention uses techniques derived from Computer Vision to allow the computer to examine the boundaries between volumetric representations of the PTV and OARs and present the Radiation Oncologist with a continuum of choices along one or more preferred arcs of beam orientations. The Radiation Oncologist can then examine those arcs and, for Conformal and IMRT therapy, select a number of beam orientations from them that present no conflicts with any of the many factors that his/her experience indicate could result in a less than desirable treatment. Additional beam orientations can also be added as the Radiation Oncologist sees fit. For Dynamic Arc therapy, those preferred arcs can be used directly.
Specifically the preferred implementation of the invention includes a method and apparatus for selecting optimum beam orientations by using a set of mathematical operators generally known as "Gaussian Invariants" that allow a computer to examine three-dimensional objects and extract a number of features from their representation, as edges, corners, ridges, tangents and many more. Those operators are based on convolutions of the object representation with partial derivatives of Gaussians of different size, or standard deviation. The term "Invariant" refers to the requirement that the extracted features have to remain invariant under rotation and translation of the object, at least. The simplest operator can be termed the L operator, which takes the representation of an object as a three-dimensional matrix of intensities, densities, or whatever variable the object represents and convolves it with a three-dimensional Gaussian. The standard deviation of the Gaussian is termed the "scale" of a representation. At small scale, L returns a somewhat blurred view of the object and at large scales, most of the fine structures of the object have disappeared and one can only see a "blob" giving the general shape of the object.
Using the standard Euclidean three-dimensional representation, operating with Lx corresponds to the convolution of the object with the partial derivative in the x-direction of a Gaussian at the scale chosen. Similarly for other directions and more complex operators. Lxyy, for example, is an operator that convolves an object with the partial derivative in the x-direction and the second partial derivative in the y-direction of a three-dimensional Gaussian.
The preferred method and apparatus comprises a computer running a program whose first step is the representation of the PTV and OAR by two separate three-dimensional regions of uniform, non-zero density embedded in respective three-dimensional matrices of otherwise zero density. The PTV and OAR matrices are next convolved with the gradient magnitude operator Grad, defined as
The next step in the preferred embodiment consists in finding the tangents to the PTV in the region of overlap inside the OAR in a computer readable form. The gauge coordinate w of Gaussian Invariant theory, applied to the Grad of the PTV and OAR, returns a vector in Euclidean space that is tangential to the ridge formed by the Grad operator in the region of overlap. The computation returns two matrices containing the x- and y-components of the tangent vectors, respectively. That computation is carried out by operating with Ly on the masked Grad image for the x-component of the tangent vector and with −Lx for the y-component, that is,
The matrices representing the PTV and OAR are then rotated so that an observer would be facing the [x-z] plane, for example, and the above operations are repeated yielding a second vector β at each voxel of w representing the direction of the tangent to the interface plane from the second direction of view. The two angles α and β define one plane in three-dimensional space. That plane is tangential to the interface between the PTV and OAR.
The preferred embodiment of the invention will then generate a two-dimensional histogram of the number of voxels in w a function of α and β giving a Radiation Oncologist complete information about the optimum plane that selected beam orientations should be parallel to in order to be able to separate the PTV from the OAR with high accuracy.
With radiation delivered from a gantry that can rotate a full circle about the isocenter (a three-dimensional rotation center usually placed at the centroid of the PTV) and a patient table that can rotate about that same isocenter in a semi-circle, beam orientations that will fulfill the requirements of being parallel to the optimum plane can be obtained as a continuum of gantry-table positions by a simple coordinate transformation. In the preferred embodiment, those gantry-table positions are presented to the Radiation Oncologist either as a numerical table, or graphically on a computer screen and he/she can select a number of non-conflicting angles for the therapy. Alternatively, they could be the input to other computer programs that further select beam orientation.
The preferred embodiment recognizes that the interface between the PTV and OAR may not be characterized well by a single optimum plane. In that case, the two-dimensional histogram of number of voxels in w a function of α and β will be more complex than showing only a single peak. The judgment of the Radiation Oncologist will then be necessary in order to select more than one pair of [α,β] values and their corresponding optimum planes.
An alternative method and apparatus for selecting optimum beam orientations is a computer running a program that finds the overlap between an adjacent PTV and OAR by using techniques other than Gaussian Invariants, like extending the PTV and OAR in three-dimensions by a certain number of voxels, or by other measures of proximity.
Yet another alternative method and apparatus for selecting optimum beam orientations is a computer running a program that determines the tangent vectors in the interface between the PTV and the OAR by techniques other than Gaussian Invariants, like a search of directions of PTV and/or OAR voxels over a neighborhood.
Yet another alternative method and apparatus for selecting optimum beam orientations is a computer running a program that communicates the preferred plane angles by methods other than a two-dimensional histogram of number of voxels as a function of angles α and β, like by audio or other visual representations.
A primary object of the present invention is to assist in the selection of optimum angles or optimum arcs in radiation therapy planning, specifically in clinical cases in which one or more OARs are adjacent to the PTV.
Another object of the invention is to analyze the interface between a PTV and an adjacent OAR in such a way that a plane or group of planes can be mathematically defined that separate the two regions.
Another object of the invention is to determine a set or sets of gantry-table angles such that beams with the corresponding orientations are parallel to the optimum plane or planes, effectively allowing the full irradiation of the PTV with minimum damage to the OAR.
An advantage of this invention is that its goal is limited to a set of operations that will be useful in defining optimum beam orientations for radiation treatment that a computer can carry out fast and effectively in a clinically useful time.
Another advantage of the invention is that the nature of the calculations to be carried out and of the interactive displays to be generated is such that they can be easily incorporated in commercial software treatment plans.
Yet another advantage of the invention is that its use does not rely on complex mathematical operations that exclude the judgment of the Radiation Oncologist and, in fact, it relies on that judgment to make a final selection of beam angles or arcs, guided by computer graphics that are usually already incorporated into available commercial radiation treatment planning software packages.
Yet another alternative advantage of the invention is that the resulting optimal plane or planes can form a subset of all possible delivery orientations from a source that can travel over the surface of a sphere and that smaller subset can be used as input to an automatic beam selection algorithm, if desirable.
Other objects, advantages and novel features will be set forth in part in the following portions of the specification, wherein the detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing the preferred embodiment of the invention, without placing limitations thereon.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and form part of the specification, illustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention and, together with the description and one example, serve to explain the principles of the invention. The drawings are only to illustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention and are not to be construed as limiting the invention.
Referring to
The three-dimensional matrix for the PTV is formed by initially setting all its values to zero and then setting those matrix elements that correspond geometrically to the PTV voxels equal to a constant density. The matrix for the PTV will be indicated by the density distribution LPTV. Three-dimensional matrices for the OARs are formed in the same manner, using the same constant density as in the case of the PTV. The matrices for the density distributions of the OARs will be indicated by LOARn with n being the index of the corresponding OAR.
In 26, the OAR index is set to n=1 and in 27 LPTV and LOARn are rotated, if necessary, so that an axial view of the matrix is presented in each plane, as in
In 28, the first step to describe mathematically the interface between the PTV and OARn is carried out by obtaining a blurred version of their perimeters. The preferred method for that purpose is by calculating new |Grad| matrices of the density distributions LPTV and LOARn in three-dimensions by using the Laplacian operator of Gaussian Invariant theory
In 29, the overlap between the |Grad| for the PTV and that of OARn is calculated, resulting in a three-dimensional overlap matrix. A voxel in the overlap matrix is set to a logical 1 (TRUE) if the corresponding voxels in the two |Grad| matrices have a value above a certain threshold. Otherwise, the voxel is set to logical 0 (FALSE). The number of TRUE voxels in the overlap matrix is then reduced by requiring that a voxel remains TRUE only if was originally non-zero in the LOARn matrix. The result is a three-dimensional overlap mask of the voxels in OARn that are adjacent to the PTV.
In 30, a two-dimensional vector corresponding to the direction of the tangent to the interface 24 a between the PTV and OARn is calculated at the position of each of the TRUE mask voxels. The preferred method for obtaining the tangent vectors is by use of the gauge coordinate w of Gaussian Invariant theory. The two-component tangent vector is given by
In 31, a matrix is filled with the angles α at each of the TRUE voxels in the mask. Each angle α is calculated from the relationship
In 32, the matrices LPTV and LOARn are rotated 90� about the Anterior-Posterior axis 13 a in order to obtain two-dimensional planes with a saggital view of the patient's anatomy, as in
In 35, a two-dimensional histogram of the number of voxels that have all possible pairs of values α and β is generated. The two-dimensional bin size for the histogram is adjusted so that the results can be presented conveniently to a user, or interfaced to a radiation treatment planning program in a suitable manner.
In 36, a significant peak in the [α β] histogram is selected as indicative of a region in the interface 24 a between the PTV 22 a and an OAR 23 a with a predominant pair of values for αand β. The selection can be done interactively from a graphic display or automatically by a suitable computer program. The selected [α β] pair leads to a continuum of pairs of gantry angles φ and table angles θ that can deliver radiation beams to the PTV with source central axes 8 that are parallel to the interface 24 a between the PTV 22 a and an OAR 23 a. An appropriate beam shaping collimator 7 can then separate the PTV 22 a from the OAR 23 a at all points along the path of the radiation source rays.
The relationship between the selected values of [α β] and the [φ θ] angles is given by the coordinate frame transformation
In 38, the question is asked whether the significant peak in the [α β] histogram selected in 36 is the only significant one or there are more. If there are more peaks to be considered, the process goes back to 36 and a new peak is selected. If there are no more significant peaks, a second question is asked in 39 on whether there are more adjacent OARs that have to be considered. If the answer is affirmative, the OAR index n is incremented by one and the process continues in 27. If there are no more OARs to consider, the assisted beam selection process exits to the optimization step in 41 with a list of gantry angles φ and corresponding table angles θ that can result in highly uniform dose distributions in the PTV and a minimum of dose being delivered to the OARs.
In order to illustrate and clarify the preferred embodiment of the invention, the optimization of an IMRT radiation treatment plan for the mathematical phantom of
From the work of T. Bortfeld and W. Schlegel in "Optimization of beam orientations in radiation therapy: some theoretical considerations", Physics in Medicine and Biology, Vol. 38, (1993), pp. 291–304 and that of S. Webb in "Optimizing the planning of intensity-modulated radiotherapy", Physics in Medicine and Biology, Vol. 39, (1994), pp. 2229–2246, which has been followed well by the Radiation Oncology profession in all the intervening years, a nine-beam co-planar treatment plan with equal angular spacing will be devised for the phantom of
The selected beam angles φ have been 0, 40, 80, 120, 160, 200, 240, 280 and 320�. The Dynamically Penalized Likelihood (DPL) method described in J. Llacer, et al, "Comparative Behaviour of the Dynamically Penalized Likelihood algorithm in inverse radiation therapy planning", Physics in Medicine and Biology, Vol. 46, (2001), pp. 2637–2663 has been used for the optimization of the 769 beamlets into which the 9 beams have been divided. Each beamlet had a nominal cross section of 4�4 mm and the simulated therapy was done with X-rays from a linear accelerator with 6 Mv energy. The dose distributions that were required of the DPL algorithm were that the PTV should receive as close to 100% dose throughout and the OAR should not receive more than 60% dose at any point and that 40% dose should not be received by more than 15% of its volume.
One of the most useful tools for assessing the quality of a radiation distribution is the Dose-Volume Histogram (DVH), which shows what fraction of a particular region's volume receives more than a particular dose.
For the assisted selection of beam orientation angles of the present invention, with the phantom placed on the patient table as described above, the |Grad| matrices for the PTV and the single OAR are first obtained, 28.
Although the advantages of the invention have been demonstrated in detail, a number of changes, substitutions and alterations can be made without departing from the principle and scope of the invention.
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When Glenn McConnell was sworn in as lieutenant governor last year, he was a pretty sad guy.
All he'd ever wanted to do was be the senator from District 41, serve as Senate president pro tem and chair the Judiciary Committee. Check, check and check.
But thanks to the ethical shortcomings of Lt. Gov. Ken Ard, McConnell's entire life changed. Ard resigned three months into his term and the state constitution said the pro tem had to take his place.
McConnell's friends urged him to step down as pro tem, and sidestep the demotion. But McConnell had too much character to play technicalities with the constitution — so he moved from one of the most powerful positions in state government to one that, well, isn't.
Now McConnell is preparing to run for re-election for the job. The question is: why?
A hand up
Lieutenant governor is a largely ceremonial position. For years its only duties were to fill in for the governor and preside over the Senate.
Former Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer got the Office of Aging added to the job description — a move that cynics suspected was intended to court seniors for future campaigns.
When McConnell stepped in, he knew he could run out the clock — or try to do something. He decided to study up on the Office of Aging, and the complexities of seniors' issues floored him.
Right now, there are 8,000 people on a waiting list to get into Medicaid beds in nursing homes. That number will double in the next 15 years.
That's going to be expensive.
Truth is, seniors are like the rest of South Carolinians, fiercely independent. They want to live on their own as long as possible, but they need help — a hand up, not a hand out, McConnell says.
Maybe that's someone to bring them a meal a day, or mow their yard. There are programs to do these things, but the budget has been cut by lawmakers. The Office on Aging needs $5 million. And McConnell's trying to get it.
Because it is, as he says, 35 times cheaper to provide a couple of services and keep these folks in their homes than to pay for a Medicaid bed. Pay a little on the front end, save a lot on the back end.
He calls it "the mission ahead."
Courting McConnell
The lieutenant governor won't even be a separate office starting in 2018 — it will simply become the governor's running mate.
The Office on Aging will revert to the governor's office, where it will compete with a lot of other pressing needs.
So McConnell says he has four more years to get this done. But it doesn't come without sacrifice. Again.
See, the Legislature would like to appoint McConnell chief justice of the state Supreme Court pretty soon.
He would dearly love that job but now says it's more important to finish this job that he didn't want in the first place.
"I'd never close the door on anything," he says. "But this is what fate has put in my hands. And these people have touched my heart."
Fate is funny like that. Too bad more politicians aren't as mature as McConnell.
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There are two National Life Stories oral history collections relating to Jewish experience.
- The Living Memory of the Jewish Community (catalogue reference number: C410), one of the first National Life Stories fieldwork projects, collected the personal testimonies of the Jewish survivors of the Holocaust now living in Britain and also with children of survivors. This major collection was developed with the specialist advice of leading Jewish historians and complements a number of collections held by the Sound Archive on Jewish life. The primary focus has been on pre-Second World War Jewish refugees to Britain, those fleeing from Nazi persecution during the Second World War, Holocaust survivors and their children. An online educational resource, Voices of the Holocaust, is based on the collection.
- Holocaust Survivors' Centre Testimony Recording Project (catalogue reference number: C830) is a National Life Stories collaborative project with the Holocaust Survivors' Centre, a Jewish social centre in north London for survivors who were in Europe during the Second World War or who came to the UK as refugees.
Partners and sponsors
- AIB Charitable Trust
- Clore Foundation (now The Clore Duffield Foundation)
- David Lewis Charitable Trust
- Edith and Ferdinand Porjes Charitable Trust
- Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany
- Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation
- The Holocaust Survivors' Centre (Jewish Care)
- Jack Rose Foundation
- John S. Cohen Foundation
- Lady Samuel
- Lord Young of Graffham
- Martin Paisner
- Patricia Mendelson
- Pears Foundation
- R A Cohen Charitable Trust
- The Sobell Foundation
- Stifting 95
Accessing the collection
To access oral history material:
- Search for oral history recordings held at the British Library using the online Sound and Moving Image Catalogue (see useful advice on searching the oral history collections).
- Onsite access to oral history recordings: The Listening and Viewing Service in St Pancras provides free public access to the oral history collections on an appointment basis. Many digital recordings are also available via SoundServer, a computerised listening facility located in the Humanities Reading Rooms. SoundServer is also available at the British Library's site in Boston Spa in Yorkshire.
- Internet access to selected oral history recordings: The British Library Sounds website gives remote access to a selection of interviews from the Library's oral history collections. Some recordings are currently only licensed to Higher and Further Education users in the UK, others are available for full public access.
Further information
Contact us
Oral History
The British Library
96 Euston Road
United Kingdom
T +44 (0)20 7412 7405 (Rob Perks, Lead Curator, Oral History / Director of National Life Stories)
T +44 (0)20 7412 7406 (Mary Stewart, Curator, Oral History / Deputy Director of National Life Stories)
T +44 (0)20 7412 7404 (Elspeth Millar, Archivist, Oral History)
E firstname.lastname@example.com


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. I had the black wii theme on 4.2 and i changed it to some mario browser theme. It said that it installed and I already had preloader installed and it worked perfectly, So installed it and the menu wii channels things pop-up but then I cant see anything., I turn it off and its all black, and preloader doesnt even pop up, but it shows the the wiimote is connected.. what do I do/ Can you help me.?
Ipsa scientia potestas est.
Warning: Piracy is NOT supported. Word your questions carefully.
After reading it, if you think there is a glimmer of hope, start a new thread and we can work through it.
Ipsa scientia potestas est.
Warning: Piracy is NOT supported. Word your questions carefully.
Awsome it plays um now.... THANKS ABUNCH!!!!
One thing though during the installation of Cios corp i got an error on 1 of the file installs it was ios 36 and it didnt install. Could it be I have a newer verison? This wont negatively effect anything will it?
Thx alot
Just use wadmanager with iso249, install cios36 wad from the cIOSCORP files.
Ipsa scientia potestas est.
Warning: Piracy is NOT supported. Word your questions carefully.
Hi, i just softmodded my wii and i got a 4.2U but after i install priiloader, i got a blank screen with a text showing 4.2U on the lower right hand corner. But i can still access priiloader by holding reset and can also load homebrew channel and everything .. but my worries are, my menu's are gone. I tried following your method which install ios and then system menu then install priiloader again but still i got the same black screen with a text 4.2U on the lower right corner. Any help i will appreciate so much, i need to restore my system menu. thank you very much.
Thank you sooooo much for such a fast reply and yes ... it is now working fine .. somehow i enable it without knowing what was it. But lesson learned. Thank you so very much again for suce a fast reply and helping me on my problem. I love this site ... really really appreciate it. More power to this site.
hi. A wii just start on the preloader screen. wii mote doesn't worked so I used a gamecube controller. I was able to install the wad manager 1.5 but when I press A after choosing IOS249, I got DSI error.
I can access the Homebrew Channel via preloader but my wii remote is not sync and I can't use it even if I press the red syn button in the wii unit and remote.
I created already my own thread here
sorry for that
Last edited by WalangAlam; 03-10-2010 at 03:02 AM.
This post works for my bricked wii. Thank you. f1gurk4


text:
Treadmill Desk Update
Posts about the "Treadmill Desk" seem to be pretty popular ones, so I thought I would give everyone a little update about it. After first reading about the concept of walking while you work, I decided to give it a go.
Instead of going out and building some contraption, I was luck to have a bar style table that we were not using. I moved the support that was between the legs up slightly and I put it on a couple of cinderblocks and I was ready to go. You can see how it turned out in the slideshow below.
I've been using the desk for about 3 weeks now and it is working wonderfully. I have a routine where I come down to my office and work on my regular desk while I have breakfast and catch up on my email. I then move the laptop over to the treadmill and work there for two hours. I walk for two hours at one mile an hour so I walk two miles and burn about 470 calories. I've actually gotten pretty good working while I walk. I almost think I work faster. Once the two hours are up its back to my regular desk for the rest of the day. Since I've started walking and eating better, I've dropped 10 pounds and I am continuing to lose. I think after another week or two I'm going to bump up the time on the treadmill some more although I don't think I necessarily have to.


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Funeral Music (Sara Selkirk Mysteries)by Morag Joss
Synopses & Reviews
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To the ancient Romans, the healing waters of Bath belonged to the goddess Minerva. Today they belong to the gods of commerce, as tourists teem, shops prosper, and the incense of gourmet food rises to the English skies. Among the throng is Sara Selkirk, a world-class cellist who came undone in a Paris performance. For Sara, taking a break from performing has given her a chance to look at whats missing from her life- and even at a case of murder.…
The killing occurred in the famous Roman Baths, and the victim was the museums director. Knowing several people close to the investigation-from a potential suspect to a detective who cajoled her into giving him cello lessons-Sara discovers a talent for making sense of things. But like a Bach fugue, the pattern she grasps is more complex than it seems. And as she moves down a trail strewn with secrets and damaged lives, a chilling story begins to emerge: of greed, envy-and a killer performance that may not be quite finished yet.
"At the start of this exquisite crime novel from British author Joss (Fruitful Bodies), renowned cellist Sara Selkirk — who has barely performed in public since a breakdown following her lover's death — gives a charity performance at Bath's historic Pump Room. The evening goes well, but when she returns to claim a forgotten belt the morning after, she discovers Matthew Sawyer, the contentious 'Director of Museums and Civic Leisure Resources,' lying dead in the ancient spring that waters the legendary Roman baths. Spurred by the details reluctantly divulged by her student, DCI Andrew Poole, Sara tries to puzzle out Sawyer's murder. She knows a number of the potential suspects, who include James, her charming accompanist; Olivia, the victim's assistant director; and a virile but somewhat mysterious young chef named Paul, who, like Andrew, is attracted by Sara's beauty. Many motives lead to little hard evidence until another body surfaces and Sara finds herself suddenly clear about not just the mystery but her own future. If rich, gorgeous Sara sometimes seems too perfect to be true, the book's supporting cast is nicely fleshed out with human idiosyncrasies and tangled cross-purposes. Even better are Joss's lyrical evocations of Bath, which becomes the book's most compelling character. Agent, Jean Naggar. (Apr.) FYI: The author has won the CWA Silver Dagger Award." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
A mesmerizing psychological thriller and the first in an acclaimed mystery series set in atmospheric Bath featuring professional cellist Sara Selkirk.
The first in an acclaimed British mystery series that introduces international cellist Sara Selkirk, a musician-turned-sleuth who investigates a murder while visiting the ancient Roman ruins in Bath, England. Original.
About the Author
Morag Joss grew up on the west coast of Scotland. Her first Sara Selkirk novel, Funeral Music, was nominated by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association for the Dilys Award for the years favorite mystery. Her fourth novel, Half Broken Things, won the 2003 CWA Silver Dagger Award. Morag Joss lives in the country outside the city of Bath and in London.
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