text:
- Technology
- Geekery
- Digital Kids
- Mom Life
- Parenting
Microsoft Surface is anticipated to launch this fall when Windows 8 ships. Thoughts? Is this what Microsoft needs to stay in the game? Will their tablet be a game changer? Time will tell!
How long will the battery last? (Which mean: how many hours will this play Yo Gabba Gabba while we are on a road trip.)

subset: commoncrawl


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Love Meter Gadget
editor's review
Love Meter Gadget is a simple-to-use gadget developed for entertainment purposes. This fun tool shows the "compatibility" level between you and another person, based on a random percentage generator. It comes packed with limited features, suitable to all types of users.
The interface of the application is represented by a heart-shaped frame with a red background. All you have to do is type in two names in the primary panel and press the Enter key. Love Meter Gadget shall display a random percentage on the screen, which presumably represents the compatibility level between the two people.
Unfortunately, Love Meter Gadget does not comprise other options or configurable settings of its own. But, thanks to the default options provided by the operating system, you can make the frame stay on top of other windows, increase its size, as well as set its opacity level to a preset value, ranging from 20% to 100%.
Love Meter Gadget is very light on the system CPU and memory, without affecting the computer's overall performance. It has a good response time and works well, without causing the operating system to hang, crash or pop up error dialogs. On the downside, Love Meter Gadget has not been updated for a very long time.
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text:
The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick's Dogs and Their Tale of Rescue and Redemptionby Jim Gorant
View All Available Formats & Editions
An inspiring story of survival and our powerful bond with man's best friend, in the aftermath of the nation's most notorious case of animal cruelty.
Animal lovers and sports fans were shocked when the story broke about NFL player Michael Vick's brutal dog fighting operation. But what became of the dozens of dogs who survived? As acclaimed writer Jim/b>… See more details below
- Overview
- Editorial Reviews
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An inspiring story of survival and our powerful bond with man's best friend, in the aftermath of the nation's most notorious case of animal cruelty.
Animal lovers and sports fans were shocked when the story broke about NFL player Michael Vick's brutal dog fighting operation. But what became of the dozens of dogs who survived? As acclaimed writer Jim Gorant discovered, their story is the truly newsworthy aspect of this case. Expanding on Gorant's Sports Illustrated cover story, The Lost Dogs traces the effort to bring Vick to justice and turns the spotlight on these infamous pit bulls, which were saved from euthanasia by an outpouring of public appeals coupled with a court order that Vick pay nearly a million dollars in "restitution" to the dogs.
As an ASPCA-led team evaluated each one, they found a few hardened fighters, but many more lovable, friendly creatures desperate for compassion. In The Lost Dogs, we meet these amazing animals, a number of which are now living in loving homes, while some even work in therapy programs: Johnny Justice participates in Paws for Tales, which lets kids get comfortable with reading aloud by reading to dogs; Leo spends three hours a week with cancer patients and troubled teens. At the heart of the stories are the rescue workers who transformed the pups from victims of animal cruelty into healing caregivers themselves, unleashing priceless hope.
Includes an 8-page photo insert.
- Watch a video
Editorial Reviews
Allen St. John, author of The Billion Dollar Game: Behind the Scenes at the Super Bowl
"Swinging between the sordid actions of Michael Vick and his dog-fighting cohorts and the stories of the animals rescued from their clutches, Jim Gorant provides a powerful narrative that is, at times, heartbreaking, but also illuminating and inspirational. You will come away from The Lost Dogs warmed by the knowledge that it wasn't only Vick who got a second chance."
George Dohrmann
"[The Lost Dogs] should be read by dog lovers. I was surprised to learn that three-quarter of the dogs could be completely rehabilitated. They were either traumatized and scared or friendly dogs who had spent too much time in a barren kennel."
Temple Grandin, author Animals in Translation
"Jim Gorant's remarkably even-handed The Lost Dogs is a gripping story of redemption that uncovers the other side of the Michael Vick story. A portrait of dogs as individuals, caught up in events that reveal the best and worst of human nature, The Lost Dogs will validate dog lovers and possibly transform cynics as well."
Ken Foster, author of The Dogs Who Found Me
"Jim Gorant goes beyond the headlines of Michael Vick and the Bad News Kennels to richly tell the rest of the story: how these amazing dogs, in the wake of such brutality, help bring out the best in the human spirit."
Tom Verducci, author of The Yankee Years
"Beautifully written and forthright [...] The Lost Dogs should make some news; not just for animal lovers but for anyone pondering the human propensity for violence and goodness."
Library Journal
The story of the dogs abused in NFL quarterback Michael Vick's illegal dogfighting activities.
During the course of another investigation, Virginia state officials were led to a rural property owned by Vick, where they found drug paraphernalia, marijuana and an assortment of guns—as well as evidence of an illegal dogfighting operation, including a pit where dog fights occurred and a field where 66 pit bulls were chained up with very little food and water. Sports Illustrated senior editor Gorant(Fanatic: Ten Things All Sports Fans Should Do Before They Die, 2007) looks at how dedicated local law-enforcement officers and a USDA undercover agent teamed up to gather evidence, bringing the case to trial ("the biggest dogfighting conviction ever, one that set new precedents"), despite local pressure to drop the prosecution. The author presents a nuanced picture of Vick's involvement, from his original effort to cover up his connection to the dogfighting ring by claiming that he had bought the property for the use of family and friends, to his confession and apology. Sentenced to 23 months in prison, his career was left in shambles and he was forced to declare bankruptcy. Another outcome of the case was the rehabilitation of the dogs, which for the first time, writes Gorant, "were looked at not as weapons, as the equivalent of a gun in a shooting, but as victims." Because of the efforts of dedicated animal-rescue workers, two-thirds found good homes where they were loved and socialized. The author makes a strong case that pit bulls have an underservedly bad reputation—"the latest breed to get sucked into a self-fulfilling cycle of fear, hype, substandard care, and rising population"—following in the footsteps of bloodhounds, German shepherds and Dobermans "as next in the line of tough-guy dogs."
Despite some maudlin passages, Gorant ably presents an ugly story with a redemptive ending.
Product Details
- 9781592405503
- Publisher:
- Penguin Publishing Group
- Publication date:
- 09/16/2010
- Pages:
- 304
- Product dimensions:
- 5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)
- Age Range:
- 18 Years
Read an Excerpt
A BROWN DOG SITS in a field. There's a collar around her neck. It's three inches thick and attached to a heavy chain, which clips onto a car axle that's buried so one end sticks out of the ground. As the dog paces in the heat, the axle spins, ensuring that the rattling chain won't become entangled.
The dog paces a lot, wearing a circle in the scrubby weeds and sandy soil around the perimeter of the axle. She paces because there's little else to do. Sometimes a squirrel or a rabbit or a snake crosses nearby and she barks and chases it, or she lunges and leaps after the dragonflies and butterflies that zip and flutter past.
She flicks her tail at mosquitoes and buries her muzzle in her fur, chewing at the itchy crawly things that land on her. If she's lucky she digs up a rock that she can bat around and chew on, but otherwise there are just the weeds and the bugs and the hot sun inching across the sky. She is not alone. Other dogs are spread around this clearing in the trees. They can see one another, hear one another bark and whine and growl, but they can't get to one another. They can't run, they can't play, they can't anything. They can get close to their immediate neighbors, stand almost face-to-face, but they can never touch, a planned positioning meant to frustrate and enrage them. For some it does; for many it simply makes them sad.
Out in the field are mothers, fathers, off spring, littermates. The families are easy to spot. There's a group of sand-colored dogs, some with pink noses, some with black snouts. There is a group of red dogs, some small black dogs, a few white ones, a few black-and-whites. A handful of other colors and shapes are mixed in.
All are pit bulls and many have that classic pit bull look, stocky and low to the ground, front shoulders higher than haunches and a wide muscular chest that dwarfs narrow hips, so that they look as if they're waiting for their backsides to grow into their fronts. Their necks are thick and hold up rectangular heads. Some are bigger, as big as seventy pounds, while another group is more compact, reaching maybe twenty-five pounds. These smaller ones are actually Staffordshire bull terriers, a close relative of the American pit bull terrier.
The brown dog has a soft face, with searching eyes and an expressive brow that furls into deep ridges and undulating rolls when she's scared or nervous or trying to figure out whether she needs to be either. Her uncropped ears rise from the top of her head until they fold over, but one of them folds differently from the other, so that it hangs lower, making her look as if she's eternally asking a question.
To help fight the heat, there's water spread about in large tubs, sometimes a little dirty but drinkable. Once a day a man comes to put food in the bowls. At least it's usually once a day. Sometimes two or three days go by before the sound of his all-terrain vehicle breaks the monotony. As he gets off the vehicle and makes his way across the clearing, all the dogs run to the end of their chains, barking and wagging their tails as if they're excited to see him. But when the man actually gets close to them, they tuck their tails and skulk away. Only after he has moved on do they creep back over to their bowls and eat.
They can't see anything beyond the perimeter of the clearing, but they are not alone. Another clearing lies through the trees where another fifteen or so dogs live on chains, and beyond that, at the edge of the woods, is a small compound with kennels, freestanding pens, and four sheds. The buildings are small and painted pitch black, including the windows. One is two stories tall, and the men who own these sheds, who live and work here, they call that one "the black hole."
A breeze stirs the treesscrub pines and sugar maples, a few pin oaks. The lilt of songbirds mixes with the whine of cicadas and the low, singular whoooo, whoooo of a mourning dove. The summer heat draws moisture off the Atlantic, thirty miles beyond, adding the weight of humidity to the air.
Within the perimeter of each axle there's a doghouse. Rough-hewn plywood structures, they provide something else for the dogs to chew on and claw at to while away the hours. They also offer a break from the sun but not much relief from the heatjust as in winter they stop the wind but don't do much to protect against temperatures that can drop into the thirties.
Curled up in their little houses the dogs look and listen and sniff the air. They are incredibly intuitive creatures. They learn by watchingtrainers sometimes let young dogs watch experienced dogs in action so they see how to behave. They can detect odors 100 million times more faint than people can. They can hear sounds at a broader range of frequencies than humans, and they can hear them from four times as far away. People who train dogs for search and rescue contend that dogs can hear a heartbeat from a distance of five feet, which gives them insight into the mood and disposition of the people and animals they come in contact with.
As pack animals, they are keenly aware of the behavior of those around them. One dog can tell what another is thinking and intending simply by observing the way he acts. When two dogs meet, there is a detailed ritual of movements and gestures. The way they hold their ears, tail, head, their posture. Everything means something. Attitudes, feelings, intentions, dominance, and submission can be established immediately. So can a challenge.
Dogs understand what's expected of them. When people are around, dogs see what wins them rewards and praise and what leads to scorn. Something deep inside of them, woven into the very fabric of their being, a genetic impulse, compels them to please those around them. But sometimes, the things that men want from them cut against their natural inclinations, setting off an internal chain reaction of anxiety and uncertainty, triggering hormones and nervous system fluctuations. When they are extremely scared, dogs secrete a powerful musk that other dogs can smell from great distances.
The things they see and hear and smell have an impact on them, too. Studies have shown that if two mammals are placed side by side in boxes and the first one is given electric shocks, just by listening to the suffering the second one produces identical brain waves and nervous system activity; the trauma isn't limited only to the animal that's experiencing the pain.
Out in the field is the little brown dog with the floppy earnone of the dogs know what's happening around them, but they do know something isn't right. They've seen things they are not supposed to see. They've heard terrifying sounds and they've smelled fear and pain drifting in the air. The brown dog lays her chin on the ground and exhales. Her brow folds into a furry question mark. The afternoon is fading and the heat has begun to fade too, but little else is certain.
Sometimes men come and take a few of the dogs away. Sometimes those dogs come back tired and panting from running and running. Sometimes the dogs come back scarred and limping. Sometimes they come back looking the same, but acting completely different. Sometimes they don't come back at all, as if they've simply disappeared. As if they've vanished into a black hole.
IT'S NOT EASY TO get to 1915 Moonlight Road. Branching off of the two-lane country highway that curves up through the tidelands, Moonlight Road looks more like a driveway than a street, a narrow unlined stretch of blacktop that twists into an old-growth stand of trees. The houses along the road are sparseworn trailers, single-story cabins and larger suburban manors pop up in clusters of two or three, separated by cornfields, woods, and open expanses.
Driving west on Moonlight Road, the house appears suddenly, its white shape set off against a tree line that rises beyond it. It sits close to the road, directly across from the Ferguson Grove Baptist Church (Pastor J. D. Charity), a white clapboard building without a cross on it that sits in a clearing. From the front, the white brick appears bright against the black roof. A peaked portico with long columns and large, arched windows give it a distinctive architectural twist. Inside there are five bedrooms, including a master with a fireplace and a hot tub.
A six-foot-tall white fence surrounds a yard thick with broad-leafed Bermuda grass. Outside the gate at the end of the driveway there's a camera and an intercom. Motion sensor lights hang on the garage. The flower beds are tidy and neat, dotted with trim young shrubs. In the backyard a boat sits on a trailer. There's an above-ground pool and a full-length basketball court complete with white painted lines and glass backboards that can be raised and lowered.
The house looks like any one of a half dozen others on the street, another newly risen McMansion that signals the country's burgeoning real estate economy and provides a plush home base for some happy, anonymous family. But the property extends well beyond the pool and the unmarked white fence. It twists back into the dense woods where several dozen dogs sit chained to car axles and four sheds stand among the trees, nearly invisible from the road because they are painted pitch black.
Michael Boddie was still a teenager when he began dating a girl who lived across the courtyard at a housing project in Newport News, Virginia. Her name was Brenda, and by the age of fifteen she had borne the couple's first child, Christina. A son, named after his father, followed the next year, and then another son, Marcus, came four years later. By the time the pair married, in 1989, they'd added a fourth. That last child, Courtney, took the name Boddie, but the three older kids, who were ten, nine, and five, stuck with their mother's maiden name, Vick.
The family lived together in a three-bedroom apartment in a housing project in the downtrodden east end of Newport News. Michael Boddie did three years in the army, then found work as a painter and sandblaster at the shipyards. The couple's extended families helped raise the kids while Brenda finished high school then took a job, first at a Kmart, then as a schoolbus driver.
Boddie has insisted that he was around throughout his kids' lives, but Michael Vick has described him as something more like an uncle: an older male relative who helped support the family but came and went randomly and for varying periods of time. Vick has also said that his father struggled with drugs, and Boddie's history does show a drunk driving charge and a stint in rehab.
The kids, by most accounts, stayed out of trouble, at least as much as possible for someone growing up in the Ridley Circle apartments in a town that had been nicknamed Bad Newz. Sports were a diversion. The Vick children spent a lot of time at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Hampton Roads. Michael, who everyone called Ookie, showed great athletic ability, first in baseball and then in football. He followed in the footsteps of an older cousin, Aaron Brooks, who was a star quarterback in high school, then at the University of Virginia, and in the NFL.
Four years younger than Brooks, Michael Vick went to the same high school to play for the same coach, Tommy Reamon, a former NFL player himself. After Vick's freshman season, that school, Homer L. Ferguson High, closed and both he and Reamon moved on to Warwick High. At Warwick, Vick showed off the strong arm and blinding speed that would make him a star and earn him a choice of college scholarships. He picked Virginia Tech, in large part because it was relatively close to home.
After sitting out his first year to develop his game, Vick emerged as the Hokies' leader during his red-shirt freshman season in 1999. The first time he stepped on the field, he scored three touchdowns in little more than a quarter of play and went on to lead the team to an 11 0 record and the national championship game. His team lost that game to Florida State, 46 29, but Vick's renown only grew. During the season he set multiple records, finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting, and energized the sport with visions of a new type of playera hyperathletic do-it-all quarterback who could win games with his arm or his legs or both. Suddenly everyone in football had a Michael Vick fixation: They were either watching the real Vick or looking for the next one.
The following season Vick did nothing to hurt his reputation, although an injury caused him to miss parts or all of three games, and the Hokies lost the one contest he sat out fully. Still, he guided the team to a 10 1 record and was named MVP of the 2001 Gator Bowl as he led his team to a win over Clemson.
Vick was now twenty and fully grown. At two hundred pounds and slightly less than six feet tall, he was thick yet compact. His large brown eyes and small wide nose were off set by a strong jaw that made it look as if he had an under-bite. Topped off with a goatee, the total effect of these traits was to give Vick an appearance that, while handsome, could fairly be described as almost canine.
Although he had two years of eligibility left, Vick decided to skip the remainder of his college career and enter the 2001 NFL draft. He was taken first overall by the Atlanta Falcons, which signed him to a $62 million contract and received an almost instant return on its investment. The next year, Vick's first as the full-time starter, he made it to the Pro Bowl and led the Falcons to the playoff s for the first time in four years. Vick returned to the Pro Bowl and the playoff s in 2004 and the Falcons rewarded him with a ten-year, $130 million contract, making him the highest paid player in the league at the time. Another Pro Bowl season followed in 2005, and he flourished off the field, too, ringing up endorsement deals with Nike, Powerade, Kraft, Rawlings, Air Tran, EA Sports, and Hasbro worth multiple millions.
Like many young athletes, especially those who've grown up poor, Vick spent his money freely. He bought cars and jewelry and toys. There were numerous houses, including one in Atlanta, Georgia; a condo in South Beach, Florida; a place he bought for his mother in an upscale section of Sussex, Virginia; and another house he was building nearby. He paid for his father's drug rehab in 2004 and gave the old man a few hundred bucks every few weeks to keep him going. He supported a wide range of family and friends, handing out Escalades to his inner circle. He also purchased a fifteen-acre tract of land in Smithfield, Virginia, a small town in rural Surry County. The address was 1915 Moonlight Road.
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By John Sullivan |
April 20, 2012
"You don't have to find every single great stock out there," says Jennifer Dunne, the firm's international portfolio manager and senior analyst. "But if you put one in the portfolio, it better go up."
By John Sullivan |
December 3, 2010
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SOURCE: Fox News
tags: archaeology, relics, Mayan Empire, El Salvador
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Mayan relics discovered at Salvadoran construction siteBreaking News
tags: archaeology, relics, Mayan Empire, El Salvador
In most countries, construction workers uncover faulty pipes, old mason work and heaps of garbage when excavating a plot of land for a new building.
In El Salvador, they find Mayan relics.
Working on a housing project in Colón – about 15 miles from the capital of San Salvador – construction workers unearthed Mayan pots, ceramic fragments and other artifacts.
Pieces of obsidian and part of a human skeleton, which may also be from the Mayan period, were found on the site after specialists arrived to survey the site. The area around Colón is believed to be one of the riches archeological areas of the Central American country, Julio Alvarado, a technician for El Salvador's Culture Ministry told Agence France Presse....
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|Academia Bautista de Puerto Nuevo, San Juan, Puerto Rico: Academia Bautista de Puerto Nuevo, et al (7-15 Day Remand Global): In this order, we grant 29 appeals of decisions by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) that reduce or deny funding from the schools and libraries universal service support program for various funding years because USAC found that the applicants failed to respond to USAC's requests for additional information within the USAC-specified time frame. Consistent with the Commission's Alpaugh Unified School District Order, and based on our review of the record, we find that complete rejection of these applications is not warranted, given that the applicants missed a USAC procedural deadline and did not violate a Commission rule.
Order: Word [1] | Acrobat [2]
|Al-Ishan Academy, South Ozone Park, NY, et al: In this order, we grant 50 appeals from petitioners seeking to reverse the decisions of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), which found that technology plan rules for the E-rate program had been violated.
Order: Word [3] | Acrobat [4]
|Baker Hall School, Buffalo, NY, et al:In this order, we grant seven appeals of decisions by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) denying funding from the schools and libraries universal service support program (also known as the E-rate program) for various funding years on the grounds that petitioners sought cancellation of their funding requests.
Order: Word [5] | Acrobat [6]
|Ann Arbor Public Schools, Ann Arbor, MI, et al:In this order, we grant 38 appeals of decisions of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) from schools and libraries seeking to correct ministerial or clerical errors on their FCC Forms 470 and 471 and other related forms for funding under the E-rate program.
Order: Word [7] | Acrobat [8]
|Academy St. Benedict, et al: In this order, we grant 45 appeals of decisions by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) that reduce or deny funding from the schools and libraries universal service support program (also known as the E-rate program) for various funding years because USAC found that the applicants failed to timely submit FCC Forms 486.
Order: Word [9] | Acrobat [10]
|Wireline Competition Bureau Provides Guidance on E-rate Sixth Report and Order: Guidance on Schools and Libraries Universal Service Support Program Sixth Report and Order Public Notice: On September 28, 2010, the Commission released the Sixth Report and Order. To provide further guidance to E-rate program participants, the Bureau provides effective dates for each of the adopted proposals in the Sixth Report and Order and a list of frequently asked questions regarding the rules adopted in the Sixth Report and Order.
Public Notice: Word [11] | Acrobat [12]
|Wireline Competition Bureau Provides Guidance on E-rate Basic Maintenance and Gift Rules: The clarification order addresses questions received by the Bureau regarding the Commission's ruling on the eligibility of basic maintenance and the newly codified E-rate program gift rules.
Order: Word [13] | Acrobat [14]
|Green Bay Area Public School District, Green Bay, WI: The Wireline Competition Bureau granted an appeal of a USAC decision filed by Green Bay Area Public School District after finding that Green Bay did not violate the Commission's competitive bidding requirements.
Order: Word [15] | Acrobat [16]
|Business Technologies, Inc., Greenville, SC: The Wireline Competition Bureau granted 8 appeals following the rationale of our 2007 Aiken Order. Permits 5 petitioners to remove ineligible services from their applications and receive funding for at least their eligible P1 services, and 3 other petitioners to separate priority 1 and 2 services, so that they can receive funding for the P1 services.
Order: Word [17] | Acrobat [18]
|Explore Knowledge Academy Charter School, Las Vegas, NV: The Wireline Competition Bureau granted three requests for review of USAC decisions that reduced each applicant's discounts for funding years 2005 and 2006. Specifically, USAC reduced the applicants' funding on the ground that the applicants' requested discount levels were not supported by sufficient documentation. Consistent with precedent, this order directs USAC to provide applicants with a limited 15-day opportunity to file additional documentation to support their requested discount levels.
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|Davidson County School, Lexington, NC: The Wireline Competition Bureau denied a petition for reconsideration on the grounds that it was filed late with the Commission.
Order: Word [21] | Acrobat [22]
|Achieve Telecom Network, Canton, MA: The Wireline Competition Bureau granted an appeal filed by Achieve Telecom on behalf of Somerville School District in Somerville, Massachusetts. Based on precedent in the Albert Lea Order, we find that Somerville did not violate the program's competitive bidding rules by failing to note on the FCC Form 470 that it was seeking a multiyear contract with voluntary contract extensions.
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|Fund for Learning Public Notice: The Wireline Competition Bureau seeks comment on petition for clarification regarding the definition of "consultant" and confidentiality of consultant information required by FCC FORMS 470 AND 471.
Public Notice: Word [25] | Acrobat [26]
|California Waiver Petition Order: In this order, The Wireline Competition Bureau granted a waiver to the California State Department of Technology Services relating to a clerical error on the FCC Form 470.
Order: Word [27] | Acrobat [28]
|Associated Marine Institutes, Tampa, FL: In this order, The Wireline Competition Bureau granted 26 appeals that sought extension of the deadline for delivery of non-recurring services under the E-rate program.
Order: Word [29] | Acrobat [30]
|Argos Public Library, Argos, Indiana, et al: In this order, The Wireline Competition Bureau released an order resolving 52 appeals from E-rate applicants that missed the FCC Form 471 filing window deadline.
Order: Word [31] | Acrobat [32]
|Forms 470 and 471 Revisions: The Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) announces that revised FCC Forms 470 and 471 and their accompanying instructions have been approved for use by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Public Notice: Word [33] | Acrobat [34]
|E-Rate Deployed Ubiquitously 2011 Pilot Program: The Wireline Competition Bureau announces the application date for the E-rate deployed ubiquitously 2011 pilot program.
Public Notice: Word [35] | Acrobat [36]
|Cornerstones of Care, et al, Kansas City, MI: In this order, we address 10 appeals of decisions by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) denying requests for funding under the E-rate program (more formally known as the schools and libraries universal service support program) on the ground that the consortia leaders did not provide sufficient evidence of their authority to represent the consortium members.
Order: Word [37] | Acrobat [38]
Erratum(11/4/10): Word [39] | Acrobat [40]
|Abbeville County School Distric, Abbeville, SC: In this order, the Bureau grants three requests from petitioners seeking to transfer funding commitments granted under the E-rate program. USAC denied petitioners' requests to transfer E-rate funding commitments from schools that had been closed to other schools within the district. USAC found that the asset transfers did not fit into either category of transfers specifically permitted under the Commission's rules. We find that these transfers are permitted under the E-rate program rules.
Order: Word [41] | Acrobat [42]
|Integrity Communications, LTD Public Notice: Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) seeks comment on Integrity Communications, Inc. application for review of the Bureau's Integrity Order on Reconsideration in which the Bureau denied Integrity's request for review of a decision by the Universal Service Administrative Company under the Commission's schools and libraries universal service support program.
Public Notice: Word [43] | Acrobat [44]
|Schools and Libraries Sixth Report and Order (Broadband). In this order, the Commission upgrades and modernizes the E-rate program to bring fast, affordable Internet access to schools and libraries across the country, and eliminates rules that no longer serve their intended purpose. Specifically, the Commission adopts a number of the proposals put forward in the E-rate Broadband NPRM. These revisions fall into three conceptual categories: (1) enabling schools and libraries to better serve students, teachers, librarians, and their communities by providing more flexibility to select and make available the most cost-effective broadband and other communications services; (2) simplifying and streamlining the E-rate application process; and (3) improving safeguards against waste, fraud, and abuse.
News Release (9/23/10): Word [45] | Acrobat [46]
Erratum(11/8/10): Word [47] | Acrobat [48]
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Genachowski Statement:
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Copps Statement:
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McDowell Statement:
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Clyburn Statement:
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Baker Statement:
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|Progressive Communications, Inc., Eastman, GA: In this order the WCB granted an appeal of a decision by the Universal Service Administrative Company concerning applications for discounted services under the E-rate program for funding year 2008.
Order: Word [60] | Acrobat [61]
|Beth Rivka School, Brooklyn, NY, et al: In this order the WCB denies requests by five applicants to substantively amend their applications many months after the filing deadline. Chicago Public Schools, Buffalo City School District, and Edison Schools Consortium sought to modify their FCC Form 471 applications to raise their discount levels so that they would be eligible to receive priority 2 funding. Beth Rivka School and Dale County School District sought to revise their applications to include additional services.
Order: Word [62] | Acrobat [63]
|Academy of Math and Science, Tucson, AZ, et al.: The Commission addresses 257 requests from petitioners seeking waivers of the FCC Form 471 application filing window deadline for various funding years under the E-rate program. The Commission grants 97 requests and 2 requests in part because the petitioners either timely filed their FCC Forms 471 or the petitioners have demonstrated that special circumstances exist justifying a waiver of the filing deadline. The Commission denies 158 requests and 2 requests in part because the petitioners failed to present special circumstances justifying a waiver of the filing deadline.
Order: Word [64] | Acrobat [65]
|Data Research Corporation: In this order, the Bureau grants a petition filed by Data Research Corporation (DRC) requesting that the Commission direct USAC to process certain funding requests under the E-rate program for funding year 2001 and grants DRC's request to withdraw its petition for reconsideration of a Commission order.
Order: Word [66] | Acrobat [67]
|E-Rate Bidding Process: Sought comment on proposed revisions to two E-rate program forms (FCC Forms 470 and 471).
Public Notice: Word [68] | Acrobat [69]
Form 470: Word [70] | Acrobat [71]
Instructions: Word [72] | Acrobat [73]
Form 471: Word [74] | Acrobat [75]
Instructions: Word [76] | Acrobat [77]
|Integrity Communications,Ltd., Corpus Christi, TX: Denied Integrity's petition for reconsideration of a Bureau order (DA 09-1946, rel. Aug. 28, 2009) that upheld USAC's audit finding that Integrity violated E-rate rules.
Order: Word [78] | Acrobat [79]
|Carryover of Unused Schools and Libraries Universal Service Funds for Funding Yr 2010: Announced that, pursuant to section 54.507(a)(2) of the Commission's rules, $900 million in unused funds will be carried forward from Funding Years 2002 and 2005 through 2008 to increase the disbursements to schools and libraries in Funding Year 2010.
Public Notice: Word [80] | Acrobat [81]
|Comment Deadlines for the E-rate Broadband NPRM, the E-Rate ESL NPRM, and the Draft FY 2011 ESL: Comments are due by July 9, 2010 and reply comments are due by July 26, 2010, for the E-rate Broadband NPRM released by the Commission on May 20, 2010, and the ESL Order and FNPRM released by the Commission on December 2, 2009. WCB is also seeking comment on the draft Eligible Services List (ESL) proposed by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) for E-rate funding year 2011.
Public Notice: Word [82] | Acrobat [83]
|The Bronx Charter School for Better Learning, Bronx, NY: In this order, WCB grants a request for review of a USAC decision that reduced funding on the ground that Bronx Charter's documentation did not support the requested discount level. WCB finds that the school's assessment was correct and that USAC should have used a different method to calculate the discount level. WCB therefore remands the application to USAC for further action consistent with this order.
Order: Word [84] | Acrobat [85]
|Illinois State Board of Education, Chicago, IL: In this order, WCB grants a request for review of a USAC decision that denied funding on the ground that Illinois BOE's services were obtained pursuant to a tariff which was not covered by a valid FCC Form 470, rather than the applicant's state master contract. WCB finds that the Illinois BOE was exercising a voluntary renewal option in its state master contract and, therefore, was operating under a valid contract. WCB therefore remands the application to USAC for further action consistent with this order.
Order: Word [86] | Acrobat [87]
|EFT Public Notice: In this public notice, to facilitate the processing of the electronic funds transfer (EFT) announced by the Bureau in September 2009, the Bureau establishes the effective date of August 31, 2010 for the electronic disbursement requirement. After August 31, 2010, if a recipient of universal service support payments fails to provide the required financial institution information on its FCC Form 498 to enable payment by EFT, USAC will not make universal service support payments to that entity until the entity provides the required information.
Public Notice: Word [88] | Acrobat [89]
|Alton Community Unit School District 11, Alton, IL et al: In this order, the Bureau addresses issues related to the USAC E-rate invoicing process and clarifies that an electronic funds transfer mechanism to distribute universal service support payments invoiced by service providers does not conflict with the Commission's directive that service providers must remit the E-rate discount amount to the applicant "prior to tendering or making use of the payment from the Administrator."
Order: Word [90] | Acrobat [91]
|Agra Public School I-134, Agra, OK: In this order, WCB denies 104 appeals of decisions by USAC under the Universal Service E-rate program. WCB finds that the petitioners failed to submit their appeals to either the Commission or to USAC within 60 days as required by the Commission's rules. Additionally, the petitioners did not show special circumstances necessary for the Commission to waive the 60-day deadline for filing an appeal.
Order: Word [92] | Acrobat [93]
|E-Rate Broadband Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) initiates one in a series of rulemaking proceedings to implement the National Broadband Plan's vision of improving and modernizing the universal service programs. Specifically, this NPRM represents the first step toward upgrading the use of broadband by students and our communities through the E-rate program to create more opportunities for educational advances, economic growth, government delivery of services, and civic engagement. This NPRM seeks comment on a package of potential reforms to the E-rate program that could be implemented in funding year 2011 (July 1, 2011 – June 30, 2012). The reforms proposed in this NPRM fall into three conceptual categories: streamlining the E-rate application process, providing greater flexibility to choose the most cost-effective and educationally useful broadband services, and expanding the reach of broadband to the classroom.
NPRM: Word [94] | Acrobat [95]
|Idaho Falls School District 91, Idaho Falls, ID: In this order, WCB grants a request for review of a USAC decision to deny a request by Idaho Falls to change its service provider. Specifically, the Bureau grants a waiver of the Commission's competitive bidding rules and permits USAC to allow Idaho Falls to change its service provider. WCB finds that Idaho Falls' leased WAN service should have been categorized as Internet access rather than telecommunications by USAC. Idaho Falls' failure to seek bids for this service as Internet access was arguably a violation of the Commission's competitive bidding requirements because of the possibility that its FCC Form 470 did not describe its desired service sufficiently to enable potential service providers to submit bids. WCB finds, however, that the facts in this case rise to the level of the "special circumstances" necessary for a waiver of the Commission's rules.
Order: Word [96] | Acrobat [97]
|Expanets of North America, Englewood, CA: In this order, WCB grants a request for review of a USAC decision that rescinded E-rate funds committed to the Rock Point Community School because the service was not installed by the September 30 annual deadline. We find that special circumstances exist to justify a waiver of the Commission's rules because the service provider, Expanets of North America, was at most only a month late in installing its services and such a short delay in service implementation does not warrant the complete rejection of funding.
Order: Word [98] | Acrobat [99]
|Harvest Preparatory School, Yuma, AZ: In this order, WCB grants a request for waiver filed by the Harvest Preparatory School (Harvest) of the deadline for seeking an extension of the services delivery implementation deadline from USAC under the E-rate program. We find that special circumstances exist to justify a waiver of USAC's deadline for the five funding requests at issue – funding request numbers 1348538, 1349281, 1349304, 1349341, and 1349381 – as part of FCC Form 471 application number 486149 for funding year 2005.
Order: Word [100] | Acrobat [101]
|Children of Peace School, Chicago, IL, et al: In this order, WCB grants 25 appeals of USAC decisions that reduce or deny E-rate funding for various funding years because USAC found that the applicants failed to timely submit FCC Forms 486. As the Bureau found in Alaska Gateway School District and Alcona County Library, we find that complete rejection of these applications is not warranted, given that the applicants missed a USAC procedural deadline and did not violate a Commission rule. Therefore, we remand the underlying applications to USAC for further action consistent with this order.
Order: Word [102] | Acrobat [103]
|FY 2010 E-Rate PIA Procedures Approval Letter: In this letter, WCB approves USAC's program integrity assurance (PIA) procedures for E-rate.
Letter: Word [104] | Acrobat [105]
|Lowest Corresponding Price Public Notice: WCB seeks comment on petition filed by the United States Telecom Association and CTIA – The Wireless Association for declaratory ruling to clarify several issues involving one element of the E-rate program, formally known as the schools and libraries universal service support program. Petitioners seek clarification of the scope and meaning of the Commission's "lowest corresponding price" rule. The rule mandates that service providers cannot charge schools, school districts, libraries, library consortia, or consortia including any of these entities a price above the lowest corresponding price for supported services, unless the Commission, with respect to interstate services or the state commission with respect to intrastate services, finds that the lowest corresponding price is not compensatory.
Public Notice: Word [106] | Acrobat [107]
|E-rate Community Use Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Public Notice: On February 19, 2010, the FCC released an order and notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) enabling schools that receive funding from the E-rate program to allow members of the general public to use the schools' Internet access during non-operating hours through funding year 2010 and seeking comment on revising its rules to make this change permanent. The FCC set the comment and reply comment deadline for the NPRM as 30 and 45 days, respectively, after publication of the summary of the NPRM in the Federal Register. On March 5, 2010, a summary of the NPRM appeared in the Federal Register. Accordingly, comments will be due on April 5, 2010, and reply comments will be due on April 19, 2010.
Public Notice: Word [108] | Acrobat [109]
|E-rate Community Use Order: In this order, the Commission waives, on its own motion, through funding year 2010 (which ends June 30, 2011), rules that currently discourage public use of resources funded by E-rate. In the notice of proposed rulemaking, the Commission seeks comment on revising its rules to make the change permanent. This change will leverage universal service funding to serve a larger population at no increased cost to the E-rate program. The general public will be able to use the Internet access already present in schools, at the schools' discretion, for purposes such as job searches and applications, digital literacy programs, and online access to governmental services and resources.
Order: Word [110] | Acrobat [111]
|Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act Extension Public Notice: The Wireline Competition Bureau extends the deadline to file comments on modifying the E-rate rules to comply with the Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act to February 25, 2010 and extends the deadline for filing reply comments to March 12, 2010.
Public Notice: Word [112] | Acrobat [113]
|State of Louisiana Department of Education, et. al: The Commission addresses requests for waivers of its rules filed by the State of Louisiana Department of Education, the Recovery School District, and the New Orleans Public Schools, under the E-rate program, generally seeking to make changes to their applications for funding years 2004, 2007, 2008, and 2009. The requested changes are not ministerial or clerical errors, pursuant to the Commission's Bishop Perry Order, and thus require Commission action.
Order: Word [114] | Acrobat [115]
|Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act Public Notice: On November 5, 2009, the Commission released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) seeking comment on revising rules regarding the schools and libraries universal service support mechanism, also known as the E-rate program, to comply with the requirements of the Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act. Among other things, section 215 of the Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act, titled Promoting Online Safety in Schools, revised section 254(h)(5)(B) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, by adding a new certification requirement for elementary and secondary schools that have computers with Internet access and receive discounts under the E-rate program. The Commission also proposed to revise related Commission rules to reflect existing statutory language more accurately. Interested parties may file comments on or before February 18, 2010, and reply comments on or before March 5, 2010.
Public Notice: Word [116] | Acrobat [117]
|Clarification Regarding Comment Cycle for Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking On E-rate Eligible Services List: In this PN, WCB clarifies that EDOCS had erroneously set comment dates for the E-rate Eligible Services List FNPRM. The comment cycle will not be set until after the Federal Register publication, which has not yet happened. As soon as a summary of the further notice is published in the Federal Register, WCB will release a public notice with the correct comment deadlines. We will consider all comments that already have been filed in response to the FNPRM and note that commenters may refile or supplement comments already filed.
Public Notice: Word [118] | Acrobat [119]


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TruCo is the newest addition to a larger group of companies specializing in food and household and institutional related products. Part time, college credits.... - Indeed
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Hotel Ambrosius
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TripAdvisor Reviews Hotel Ambrosius Düsseldorf
Travel Blogs from Düsseldorf
... excited to meet my little cousin, Theo. Today, we went to Haltern. You may have heard of city because of the exchange students from this town who passed away in the German Wings plane crash earlier this year. We went paddle boating along the stream. It was a relaxing ...
Getting' ready to cruise
Brought brekky this morning at the Cologne railway station because we discovered they have lovely yogurt and muesli. Then we went shopping. I bought a pair of German shoes, made in Hamburg, for $52! Rosanne bought a very comfortable pair of new season shoes for a little more. While we were in the hotel lounge this morning we overheard a group of Brits on a coach tour being corralled into where they needed to go by their super efficient tour guide and made a ...
Super-sized barges
Found unbelievable bargain at a 5* Hotel. & couldn't resist. To put it into context the breakfast cost 50% of the room rate! We didn't have breakfast! Even better, parking was also extra but as GG was too tall for their underground car park, we had to park with the smart cars in front of the Hotel at no charge. Hilarious!
sun shining again, so ...
It's my birthday!
... back to the streets of Dusseldorf. John heard back from Mary's doctor and she did test positive for strep. The doctor was willing to phone a prescription over if we could find a pharmacist who spoke English. This was probably not going to be as easy as what we've read. We stopped in at Vodafone and picked up our SIM card. For 15 Euro, we have 200 minutes of calling and unlimited data and texts for 30 days. This means if someone really needed to get in touch ...
Raccoons and Dubstep: Cologne & Dusseldorf
... of reminded me of Piada but it was a lot nicer. I had whole grain pesto pasta which was really good!
We slept really well that night and started early in the morning! We got up around 8 am and had breakfast at the hostel before heading out to explore the city!
We went to the zoo first. We had to take a cable car over the river and the highway to get there from our hostel. It was so scary because I hate heights but I was way ...


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The forms you can build with XoopsGroupPermForm are
really great, I love them. But I think that API could
be made even better by adding one more parameter:
Right now, it displays a list of groups, and then an
item list you've specified, which corresponds to
possible permissions you want those groups have.
It would be great if you could pass a parameter(s) that
would draw the form inverted. Instead of each row
having a group and a list of perms, make each row a
perm and a list of groups.
If your site has a lot of groups, and there's a certain
permission that all groups should have, being able to
make a table that was drawn this way would make it A
LOT easier to apply those permissions. You could just
click the ALL box for that permission's row and give it
to all groups, instead of having to click the box for
that one permission in the row for each group, like you
have to do now.
You could also use this functionality to provide an
alternative way of handling giving module access and
admin perms to groups.
Right now you have to pick a group to modify from the
System Admin->Groups page, and then specify the module
access and admin perms (and block access rights) for
that group in particular.
With an inverted GroupPermForm form, you could have a
table where each row was a module access perm or admin
perm, and beside each was a list of all your groups.
You just check all the groups that should have that
perm, all at once, and apply the changes once, instead
of having to manually adjust each group individually.
For many situations in sites with lots of groups, that
would be wonderful!


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Welcome to Pacific Studio For Dance
Pacific Studio for Dance's year round calendar is scheduled with classes in Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, Lyrical, Tap, and Master Classes of varied interest for all levels: pre-school through adult. The student can look forward to performances in our December recital and annual main-stage production in June, National Dance Week celebrations, specialty workshops, and a specialized/individual approach to enrich a Fine Arts Education.
Join us this Fall and begin your dance education with us! Call us to pre-register if you're new to our dance family! We are looking forward to a refreshed studio and an exciting December production of our very own girl-powered version of "Sleeping Beauty"!
We are also excited to offer Beginning Adult Pilates on Mondays from 7:00 to 8:00pm And don't forget our Adult Beginning/Intermediate Jazz/ Ballet on Thursdays, from 7:30-8:30pm.
Pacific Studio for Dance is host to Yoga @ Pacific, a new community of yogis and yoginis, integrating movement with the dance of life! We offer Vinyasa Flow Yoga on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, from 8:30-9:45am and Easy Flow Yoga on Sundays, at our new time slot,from 3:00-4:30pm. Join us...your first session is free!


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BMW celebrates the 40th anniversary of its popular sedan, the 3 Series, in South Africa. Here are five things you need to know about the new model!
Wheels24 user CLAVERN VAN DER POST shared images of his model car collection. Take a look...
Copyright 2011. TopCar SA is a division of Media24.
Site by OnNet.


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Two of three restaurants at Country Crossing will open tomorrow
Posted: 03/23/2010 - John Anderson caferteria the only eatery not reopening on Wednesday... it will open soon.
Posted: 03/23/2010 - John Anderson caferteria the only eatery not reopening on Wednesday... it will open soon.
Posted: 03/23/2010 - 431 manatee deaths documented in Fla. this year
Updated: 03/23/2010 - AG Troy King comments on task force evidence deadline
Posted: 03/23/2010 - A former University of Alabama in Huntsville professor is making her first court appearance on charges of shooting six colleagues, three fatally, during a February faculty meeting.
Posted: 03/23/2010 - Gov. Bob Riley has signed legislation that will provide more funding for the state budgets that will take effect Oct. 1.
Posted: 03/23/2010 - Drivers inconvenienced by the need to detour around a portion of Interstate 65 in north Alabama while a sinkhole is being repaired have some good news: a state transportation official says the project could be completed soon.
Posted: 03/23/2010 - Mobile officials say they'll use a $760,000 federal stimulus grant for energy savings to replace the city's traffic signals with Light Emitting Diodes.
Updated: 03/22/2010 - Jason Wright and Tim Elliott are in Montgomery for the press conference.
Updated: 03/22/2010 - Alabama AG to announce stand on casino task force
Posted: 03/21/2010 - Prattville police officers will soon be packing more firepower with the addition of semiautomatic, high-powered rifles.
Updated: 03/21/2010 - Authorities in north Alabama have announced a huge seizure of illegal prescription drugs.
Updated: 03/22/2010 - The governor's office has spent more than $500,000 on legal bills for its crackdown on illegal gambling.
Updated: 03/21/2010 - New tip leads Aruba to search for missing Alabama teen
Posted: 03/21/2010 - Current and former employees of Alabama State University have been filing a string of lawsuits with allegations of harassment, discrimination and wrongful termination.
Posted: 03/21/2010 - Study: Lesser-known germ a bigger hospital threat
Posted: 03/21/2010 - Riley going to Mobile pack supplies for Haiti
Posted: 03/21/2010 - Athens Fire and Rescue and Athens police are continuing to investigate two suspicious fires that erupted within minutes of each other on U.S. 31.
Updated: 03/22/2010 - Ala. senator trying again with revised bingo bill
Updated: 03/20/2010 - Saturday is the first official day of spring and Landmark Park will be celebrating with its 27th annual Spring Farm Day.
Updated: 03/19/2010 - Driving around Dothan, you may have noticed some new additions at several intersections.
Posted: 03/19/2010 - HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) - Madison County authorities have seized thousands of pills and tens of thousands of dollars in the county's biggest ever seizure of illegal prescription narcotics.
Updated: 03/19/2010 - Tyson testifies he has statewide clout over bingo
Posted: 03/18/2010 - HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) - The judge set to preside over accused UAH shooter Amy Bishop's upcoming preliminary hearing Tuesday on capital murder and attempted murder charges issued a gag order in the case today.
Updated: 03/19/2010 - There are over 300 miles of walking trails across the state of Alabama, and Governor Riley wants Alabamians to get out and enjoy them.
Posted: 03/18/2010 - MONTGOMERY – As the U.S. House of Representatives prepares to vote later this week on a major overhaul of the nation's health care system, Governor Bob Riley is urging members of Alabama's congressional delegation to continue opposing the bill.


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Betmar Acres Golf Club, Blue Course
- 37145 Lakewood Dr, Zephyrhills, FL 33542
- (813) 782-0043
|27 total holes at facility
|Green fees - $10 (estimate)
|Built in 1985
|Driving Range: Yes
|Private Community golf course
The Blue Course at Betmar Acres Golf Club is a 9-hole executive style golf course in Zephyrhills, Florida. This layout provides for a fun golf experience for golfers of all skill levels. More information about Betmar Acres Golf Club will be coming soon. There are 2 other courses at this same golf club, the Gold Course, and the White Course. Online tee times may be available at Betmar Acres Golf Club or at nearby golf courses, often at a substantial discount from the going green fees rate.
|Course Rating
|Back Tees
|Course Superintendent: Chuck Bess
Even though the information is generally correct, occasionally there will be mistakes. If you spot anything that needs to be updated, please get ahold of us about it.
Other recommended courses in the area: Silverado Golf & Country Club
Please login to add your review.


text:
Buy Your Christmas Tree From Us!
Our biggest fund raiser of the year is our Christmas tree lot. If you put a tree up in your house this year please consider buying a tree from us!
Holiday Show
Order your tickets today before we sell out!
Singing Valentine 2016
Order you 2016 Singing Valentine Gift Now!
A Few Words About What We Do!
If you sang in School or Church or have never sung but would like to try then you've found the right group. We can teach you what you will need to be successful. This hobby is a lot of fun and the brother hood and family atmosphere are hard to beat.
Come Down and Join Us
We are having a blast each Thursday night of the week. We would love to see you there!
New Song We Are Working On
This October our chorus will once again compete for the Evergreen District Chorus Championship this is the new song we are working on for the contest.
Our Quartets
Private Label
Donec at euismod nibh, eu bibendum quam. Nullam non gravida purus, nec eleifend tincidunt nisi. Fusce at purus in massa laoreet
Our Director
Steve Morin
Will Fox
Assistant Director


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All posts tagged "Maryna Linchuk"
- Maryna Linchuk Stars in the Joop! Fall 2012 Campaign by Dylan Don
Joop Elegance – Maryna Linchuk is tapped for German label Joop!'s fall 2012 campaign. The blonde stars alongside male model Lars...2012July 30, 2012
- Anja Rubik, Doutzen Kroes, Lily Donaldson & Others Pose in BLK DNM for Inez & Vinoodh
Anja Rubik (Next) BLK Beauties – Photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin recently held a casting and shot 100 women...2012June 12, 2012
- Maryna Linchuk & Monika Sawicka for Massimo Dutti Summer 2012 Campaign by Hunter & Gatti
Summer Duo – Maryna Linchuk and Monika Sawicka star as the faces of Massimo Dutti's summer campaign, lensed by Hunter &...2012April 17, 2012
- Maryna Linchuk by Alexi Lubomirski for Vogue Russia May 2012
How I Met Your Mother – Maryna Linchuk channels her inner Victoria Beckham as she runs around the city with a...2012April 16, 2012
- Vogue Russia May 2012 Cover | Maryna Linchuk by Alexi Lubomirski
Sky High – Maryna Linchuk teams up with Alexi Lubomirski once again for the May cover of Vogue Russia. The blonde...2012April 13, 2012
- Maryna Linchuk by Alexi Lubomirski for Vogue Germany April 2012
Water Music – Maryna Linchuk shows off her swimsuit ready physique for the April issue of Vogue Germany with a sultry...2012April 12, 2012
- Maryna Linchuk by David Roemer for El Libro Amarillo S/S 2012
Marvelous Maryna – Maryna Linchuk wows in some of spring's hottest looks for the spring-summer issue of El Libro Amarillo by...2012March 21, 2012
- Matthew Williamson Fall 2012 | London Fashion Week
A Celebration – Celebrating fifteen years of his label, Matthew Williamson presented a fall 2012 collection that is as nostalgic as...2012February 19, 2012
- Ralph Lauren Fall 2012 | New York Fashion Week
Ralph Lauren's Dapper and Divine Fall – On the final day of New York Fashion Week, Ralph Lauren presented a fall...2012February 16, 2012
- Candice Swanepoel, Behati Prinsloo, Magdalena Frackowiak, Maryna Linchuk & Lily Aldridge for Victoria's Secret Swim 2012 Catalogue
Girls Just Wanna Sun – Victoria's Secret releases its swim 2012 catalogue starring models Candice Swanepoel, Behati Prinsloo, Magdalena Frackowiak, Maryna...2012February 16, 2012


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Artistry Light Up Lip Gloss Reviews
It's Great for Men TooI mean, men If you have ever kiss a woman who wears lip gloss you have used it. I love this lip gloss because it does not get on my lips, it stays on my lady. Her lips are soft and pretty. — 3 years, 7 months agodouglas_mary_lee | 1 reviews
The product that I NEVER leave home without!I can never go out on the town with friends, or out to grocery store without this amazing product! It is something I always wear! — 3 years, 7 months agocassandra_schwalm | 1 reviews
Artistry Light Up Lip Gloss= AMAZINGThis lip gloss is amazing! It goes on smoothly, is never sticky, and my hubby doesn't even mind giving me a good smooch when I'm wearing it! The color lasts for several hours and let's not forget that with the super cool light and the mirror on the side, you can accurately apply it anywhere! This product should be in every girls purse! — 3 years, 7 months agobrittany_morgan_cook | 1 reviews
This review is: Helpful | Not helpful | Inappropriate | 2 of 3 people said helpful
Artistry Light Up Lip GlossI LOVE LOVE LOVE this stuff. Best lip gloss I've ever used before! I've had everything too, from department store lipglosses to high end cosmetic company ones, and this one is absolutely the best. And I'm not even a fan of lipgloss...until this one that is. It isn't sticky, doesn't look globbed on like my lips are gonna drip off, a nice shimmer not over the top sparkle, great colors [I have each o...read morene :)] and in the winter times when my lips were chapped this worked better than lip balms!! The light and mirror are super super helpful too. I use the light all the time for non cosmetic reasons lol. LOVE <3 — 3 years, 7 months agosetup4joy87 | 2 reviews
This review is: Helpful | Not helpful | Inappropriate | 2 of 2 people said helpful
Artistry Light Up Lip GlossThis product is amazing people are amazed every time they see it and once they use it, they are so glad they did. The light lasts for 6 years, the tube has 200 applications. There are 5 different colors to choose from. Everyone love how it makes your lips tingle and feel moisturized. — 3 years, 7 months agolynnette_hoopes_boroff | 1 reviews
Review subjectawesome colors, awesome mint feel, it is envigorating! in the night scene it completely stands out with the cool light you top, with my hubby to make my lips kissable, with my friends during dinner, and a great gift any season for that special girl in your life! cant wait to try the new colors! — 3 years, 7 months agoUltraLeap | 1 reviews
Artistry lip glossArtistry lip gloss adds moisturizer to my lips, and looks wonderful. Artistry is adding more shades soon. The light-up feature and mirror is great, and is popular with teens and adults. — 3 years, 7 months agojanet_bugg | 1 reviews
Love Artistry Light-Up Lip Gloss!I love the cool, refreshing feel on my lips. It is very soothing. The colors are subtle and beautiful and the light and little mirror are fun and very useful! — 3 years, 7 months agoNic7 | 1 reviews
Artistry Lip Gloss is simply the BESTThis lip gloss is like a spa therapy for your lips! It is very smooth and has a delicious flavor. Plus the convenience that you can get it out in the darkest of places and boom you are as good as new. I simply love it and I know you will too! — 3 years, 7 months agoniurkita_palomino | 1 reviews
Artistry Light up lip gloss is awesome!As soon as you finish one, you can't wait to get to another color. Expecially because it has the minty flavor which is very refreshing and soothing !!! — 3 years, 7 months agotonyandmarina_robinson | 1 reviews
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My Reasons for Reporting This


text:
Proven solutions to increase revenue, reduce costs, ensure compliance and create customer loyalty
Our customer-centric approach helps students meet their obligations and institutions maximize their revenue
Our analytics-based strategies increase client revenue and decrease customer disputes
Turn risky customers into loyal advocates and enhance their value with our superior customer contact services
Our comprehensive revenue management services improve long-term financial performance by aligning four critical elements — customers, costs, cash, and compliance — that drive revenue growth and company success. Our proven, innovative solutions for enhanced revenue management span the entire order-to-cash lifecycle to optimize your financial processes and the customer experience for both commercial and consumer accounts.
We believe every employee is a critical part of our clients' success—and ours. So only the very best will do.


text:
Rockfax DescriptionStart from the right end of the platform and climb the slight rib. © ROCKFAX
Ticklists: Peak limestone north graded list - sport.
Irritatingly got well pumped, sketched out and almost took a swing managed to hold in there and get the clip in. Really good climbing, will do it again when I have summoned up a scrap of stamina...Calum Wadsworth - Lead dog - 26/Apr/15 with Ben K
benkelsey - TR dog - 26/Apr/15
Matt Broadhurst - 30/Aug/14 with Amy H, Pete M
rockjedi - Lead β - 27/Sep/11 with Caz Taylor, Chi Cheng
hard and very fingeryRachel Slater - Lead dog - 27/Sep/11 with Craig, Caz, Chi Huo Cheng
Superb lineriddle - Lead O/S - 08/Aug/10 with Brad jackson, Mike Stephenson
goi.ashmore - Lead RP - 20/Jul/05 with Roy Thomas
Roget - Lead O/S - 21/Sep/96 with jon
Hidden - 2nd - 01/Sep/96


text:
SEATTLE Pancreas cancer is notoriously impervious to treatment and resists both chemotherapy and radiotherapy. It has also been thought to provide few targets for immune cells, allowing tumors to grow unchecked. But new research from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center shows that pancreas cancer "veils" itself from the immune system by recruiting specialized immune suppressor cells. The research team also found that removing these cells quickly triggers a spontaneous anti-tumor immune response.
The findings, published Feb. 20 in Gut, give hope for future immunotherapy strategies against this deadly and aggressive cancer.
"The take-home message is that there is a latent immune response against pancreas cancer that can be expressed if we remove its obstacles," said Sunil Hingorani, M.D., Ph.D., an associate member of the Clinical Research Division at Fred Hutch, who led the study. "Removing the suppressor cells creates a context that could enable an adoptive immune cell therapy against pancreas cancer."
An almost uniformly deadly cancer
Pancreas cancer is almost uniformly deadly. About 45,000 people are diagnosed with the disease in the U.S. each year. "The mortality rate is essentially the same as the incidence rate," Hingorani noted. Pancreas cancer "doesn't obey the rules" established for other solid tumors, he said: It metastasizes early, resists traditional treatment, and survives quite well on a diminished blood supply.
The tumor builds a fibrous wall around itself which exerts so much pressure that blood vessels entering the tumor are constricted, which also prevents chemotherapy from entering. In addition, scientists have historically had difficulty stimu
|Contact: Kristen Woodward
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center


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Publications (57)759.73 Total impact
Article: From cloned frogs to patient matched stem cells: induced pluripotency or somatic cell nuclear transfer?[Show abstract] [Hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Nuclear transfer has seen a remarkable comeback in the past few years. Three groups have independently reported the derivation of stem cell lines by somatic cell nuclear transfer, from either adult, neonatal or fetal cells. Though the ability of human oocytes to reprogram somatic cells to stem cells had long been anticipated, success did not arrive on a straightforward path. Little was known about human oocyte biology, and nuclear transfer protocols developed in animals required key changes to become effective with human eggs. By overcoming these challenges, human nuclear transfer research has contributed to a greater understanding of oocyte biology, provided a point of reference for the comparison of induced pluripotent stem cells, and delivered a method for the generation of personalized stem cells with therapeutic potential. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Current opinion in genetics & development 08/2015; 34:29-34. DOI:10.1016/j.gde.2015.06.007 · 7.57 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The discovery of insulin more than 90 years ago introduced a life-saving treatment for patients with type 1 diabetes, and since then, significant progress has been made in clinical care for all forms of diabetes. However, no method of insulin delivery matches the ability of the human pancreas to reliably and automatically maintain glucose levels within a tight range. Transplantation of human islets or of an intact pancreas can in principle cure diabetes, but this approach is generally reserved for cases with simultaneous transplantation of a kidney, where immunosuppression is already a requirement. Recent advances in cell reprogramming and beta cell differentiation now allow the generation of personalized stem cells, providing an unlimited source of beta cells for research and for developing autologous cell therapies. In this review, we will discuss the utility of stem cell-derived beta cells to investigate the mechanisms of beta cell failure in diabetes, and the challenges to develop beta cell replacement therapies. These challenges include appropriate quality controls of the cells being used, the ability to generate beta cell grafts of stable cellular composition, and in the case of type 1 diabetes, protecting implanted cells from autoimmune destruction without compromising other aspects of the immune system or the functionality of the graft. Such novel treatments will need to match or exceed the relative safety and efficacy of available care for diabetes. © 2015 The Authors.The EMBO Journal 03/2015; 34(7). DOI:10.15252/embj.201490685 · 10.43 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The hypothalamus is the central regulator of systemic energy homeostasis, and its dysfunction can result in extreme body weight alterations. Insights into the complex cellular physiology of this region are critical to the understanding of obesity pathogenesis; however, human hypothalamic cells are largely inaccessible for direct study. Here, we developed a protocol for efficient generation of hypothalamic neurons from human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) obtained from patients with monogenetic forms of obesity. Combined early activation of sonic hedgehog signaling followed by timed NOTCH inhibition in human ESCs/iPSCs resulted in efficient conversion into hypothalamic NKX2.1+ precursors. Application of a NOTCH inhibitor and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) further directed the cells into arcuate nucleus hypothalamic-like neurons that express hypothalamic neuron markers proopiomelanocortin (POMC), neuropeptide Y (NPY), agouti-related peptide (AGRP), somatostatin, and dopamine. These hypothalamic-like neurons accounted for over 90% of differentiated cells and exhibited transcriptional profiles defined by a hypothalamic-specific gene expression signature that lacked pituitary markers. Importantly, these cells displayed hypothalamic neuron characteristics, including production and secretion of neuropeptides and increased p-AKT and p-STAT3 in response to insulin and leptin. Our results suggest that these hypothalamic-like neurons have potential for further investigation of the neurophysiology of body weight regulation and evaluation of therapeutic targets for obesity.Journal of Clinical Investigation 01/2015; 125(2). DOI:10.1172/JCI79220 · 13.22 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Bjarki Johannesson1, Lina Sui2, Donald O Freytes1, Remi J Creusot3 and Dieter Egli*,1,21The New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute, New York, NY, USA2Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center & Department of Pediatrics, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA3Columbia Center for Translational Immunology, Department of Medicine and Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA↵*Corresponding author. Tel: +1 212 851 4890; E‐mail: de2220{at}cumc.columbia.edu Abstract The discovery of insulin more than 90 years ago introduced a life‐saving treatment for patients with type 1 diabetes, and since then, significant progress has been made in clinical care for all forms of diabetes. However, no method of insulin delivery matches the ability of the human pancreas to reliably and automatically maintain glucose levels within a tight range. Transplantation of human islets or of an intact pancreas can in principle cure diabetes, but this approach is generally reserved for cases with simultaneous transplantation of a kidney, where immunosuppression is already a requirement. Recent advances in cell reprogramming and beta cell differentiation now allow the generation of personalized stem cells, providing an unlimited source of beta cells for research and for developing autologous cell therapies. In this review, we will discuss the utility of stem cell‐derived beta cells to investigate the mechanisms of beta cell failure in diabetes, and the challenges to develop beta cell replacement therapies. These challenges include appropriate quality controls of the cells being used, the ability to generate beta cell grafts of stable cellular composition, and in the case of type 1 diabetes, protecting implanted cells from autoimmune destruction without compromising other aspects of the immune system or the functionality of the graft. Such novel treatments will need to match or exceed the relative safety and efficacy of available care for diabetes. beta cellscell replacement therapystem cellstype 1 diabetesReceived November 27, 2014.Revision received January 13, 2015.Accepted January 22, 2015.© 2015 The AuthorsThe EMBO Journal 01/2015; · 10.43 Impact Factor
- 12/2014; 35(2-3). DOI:10.1016/j.ebiom.2014.10.018
Article: Comparable Frequencies of Coding Mutations and Loss of Imprinting in Human Pluripotent Cells Derived by Nuclear Transfer and Defined Factors[Show abstract] [Hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: The recent finding that reprogrammed human pluripotent stem cells can be derived by nuclear transfer into human oocytes as well as by induced expression of defined factors has revitalized the debate on whether one approach might be advantageous over the other. Here we compare the genetic and epigenetic integrity of human nuclear-transfer embryonic stem cell (NT-ESC) lines and isogenic induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines, derived from the same somatic cell cultures of fetal, neonatal, and adult origin. The two cell types showed similar genome-wide gene expression and DNA methylation profiles. Importantly, NT-ESCs and iPSCs had comparable numbers of de novo coding mutations, but significantly more than parthenogenetic ESCs. As iPSCs, NT-ESCs displayed clone- and gene-specific aberrations in DNA methylation and allele-specific expression of imprinted genes. The occurrence of these genetic and epigenetic defects in both NT-ESCs and iPSCs suggests that they are inherent to reprogramming, regardless of derivation approach. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Cell stem cell 11/2014; 15(5):634-642. DOI:10.1016/j.stem.2014.10.002 · 22.27 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Generation of surrogate sources of insulin-producing β-cells remains a goal of diabetes therapy. While most efforts have been directed at differentiating embryonic or induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells into β-like-cells through endodermal progenitors, we have shown that gut endocrine progenitor cells of mice can be differentiated into glucose-responsive, insulin-producing cells by ablation of transcription factor Foxo1. Here we show that FOXO1 is present in human gut endocrine progenitor and serotonin-producing cells. Using gut organoids derived from human iPS cells, we show that FOXO1 inhibition using a dominant-negative mutant or lentivirus-encoded small hairpin RNA promotes generation of insulin-positive cells that express all markers of mature pancreatic β-cells, release C-peptide in response to secretagogues and survive in vivo following transplantation into mice. The findings raise the possibility of using gut-targeted FOXO1 inhibition or gut organoids as a source of insulin-producing cells to treat human diabetes.Nature Communications 06/2014; 5:4242. DOI:10.1038/ncomms5242 · 11.47 Impact Factor
Article: Gene Therapy in Patient-specific Stem Cell Lines and a Preclinical Model of Retinitis Pigmentosa With Membrane Frizzled-related Protein Defects[Show abstract] [Hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Defects in Membrane Frizzled-related Protein (MFRP) cause autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (RP). MFRP codes for a retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)-specific membrane receptor of unknown function. In patient-specific induced pluripotent stem (iPS)-derived RPE cells, precise levels of MFRP, and its dicistronic partner CTRP5, are critical to the regulation of actin organization. Overexpression of CTRP5 in naïve human RPE cells phenocopied behavior of MFRP-deficient patient RPE (iPS-RPE) cells. AAV8 (Y733F) vector expressing human MFRP rescued the actin disorganization phenotype and restored apical microvilli in patient-specific iPS-RPE cell lines. As a result, AAV-treated MFRP mutant iPS-RPE recovered pigmentation and transepithelial resistance. The efficacy of AAV-mediated gene therapy was also evaluated in Mfrp(rd6)/Mfrp(rd6) mice-an established preclinical model of RP-and long-term improvement in visual function was observed in AAV-Mfrp treated mice. This report is the first to indicate the successful use of human iPS-RPE cells as a recipient for gene therapy. The observed favorable response to gene therapy in both patient-specific cell lines and the Mfrp(rd6)/Mfrp(rd6) preclinical model suggests that this form of degeneration caused by MFRP mutations is a potential target for interventional trials.Molecular Therapy (2014); doi:10.1038/mt.2014.100.Molecular Therapy 06/2014; 22(9). DOI:10.1038/mt.2014.100 · 6.23 Impact Factor
Article: Hypomorphism for RPGRIP1L, a Ciliary Gene Vicinal to the FTO Locus, Causes Increased Adiposity in Mice[Show abstract] [Hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Common polymorphisms in the first intron of FTO are associated with increased body weight in adults. Previous studies have suggested that a CUX1-regulatory element within the implicated FTO region controls expression of FTO and the nearby ciliary gene, RPGRIP1L. Given the role of ciliary genes in energy homeostasis, we hypothesized that mice hypomorphic for Rpgrip1l would display increased adiposity. We find that Rpgrip1l(+/-) mice are hyperphagic and fatter, and display diminished suppression of food intake in response to leptin administration. In the hypothalamus of Rpgrip1l(+/-) mice, and in human fibroblasts with hypomorphic mutations in RPGRIP1L, the number of AcIII-positive cilia is diminished, accompanied by impaired convening of the leptin receptor to the vicinity of the cilium, and diminished pStat3 in response to leptin. These findings suggest that RPGRIP1L may be partly or exclusively responsible for the obesity susceptibility signal at the FTO locus.Cell metabolism 05/2014; 19(5):767-79. DOI:10.1016/j.cmet.2014.04.009 · 17.57 Impact Factor
Article: A protocol for embryonic stem cell derivation by somatic cell nuclear transfer into human oocytes04/2014; DOI:10.1038/protex.2014.013
Article: Human oocytes reprogram adult somatic nuclei of a type 1 diabetic to diploid pluripotent stem cells[Show abstract] [Hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: The transfer of somatic cell nuclei into oocytes can give rise to pluripotent stem cells that are consistently equivalent to embryonic stem cells, holding promise for autologous cell replacement therapy. Although methods to induce pluripotent stem cells from somatic cells by transcription factors are widely used in basic research, numerous differences between induced pluripotent stem cells and embryonic stem cells have been reported, potentially affecting their clinical use. Because of the therapeutic potential of diploid embryonic stem-cell lines derived from adult cells of diseased human subjects, we have systematically investigated the parameters affecting efficiency of blastocyst development and stem-cell derivation. Here we show that improvements to the oocyte activation protocol, including the use of both kinase and translation inhibitors, and cell culture in the presence of histone deacetylase inhibitors, promote development to the blastocyst stage. Developmental efficiency varied between oocyte donors, and was inversely related to the number of days of hormonal stimulation required for oocyte maturation, whereas the daily dose of gonadotropin or the total number of metaphase II oocytes retrieved did not affect developmental outcome. Because the use of concentrated Sendai virus for cell fusion induced an increase in intracellular calcium concentration, causing premature oocyte activation, we used diluted Sendai virus in calcium-free medium. Using this modified nuclear transfer protocol, we derived diploid pluripotent stem-cell lines from somatic cells of a newborn and, for the first time, an adult, a female with type 1 diabetes.Nature 04/2014; 510(7506). DOI:10.1038/nature13287 · 41.46 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: While the past decade has seen great progress in mapping loci for common diseases, studying how these risk alleles lead to pathology remains a challenge. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) affects nine million older Americans, and is characterized by loss of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Although the closely linked genome-wide association studies (GWAS) ARMS2/HTRA1 genes, located at the chromosome 10q26 locus, are strongly associated with the risk of AMD, their downstream targets are unknown. Low population frequencies of risk alleles in tissue banks make it impractical to study their function in cells derived from autopsied tissue. Moreover, autopsy eyes from end-stage AMD patients, where age-related RPE atrophy and fibrosis are already present, cannot be used to determine how abnormal ARMS2/HTRA1 expression can initiate RPE pathology. Instead, induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell-derived RPE from patients provides us with earlier stage AMD patient-specific cells and allows us to analyze the underlying mechanisms at this critical time point. An unbiased proteome screen of A2E-aged patient-specific iPS-derived RPE cell lines identified SOD2-mediated antioxidative defense in the genetic allele's susceptibility of AMD. The AMD-associated risk haplotype (T-in/del-A) impairs the ability of the RPE to defend against aging-related oxidative stress. SOD2 defense is impaired in RPE homozygous for the risk haplotype (T-in/del-A; T-in/del-A), while the effect was less pronounced in RPE homozygous for the protective haplotype (G-Wt-G; G-Wt-G). ARMS2/HTRA1 risk alleles decrease SOD2 defense, making RPE more susceptible to oxidative damage and thereby contributing to AMD pathogenesis.Human Molecular Genetics 02/2014; DOI:10.1093/hmg/ddu053 · 6.39 Impact Factor
Article: Hyperphagia: Current concepts and future directions proceedings of the 2nd international conference on hyperphagia[Show abstract] [Hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Hyperphagia is a central feature of inherited disorders (e.g., Prader-Willi Syndrome) in which obesity is a primary phenotypic component. Hyperphagia may also contribute to obesity as observed in the general population, thus raising the potential importance of common underlying mechanisms and treatments. Substantial gaps in understanding the molecular basis of inherited hyperphagia syndromes are present as are a lack of mechanistic of mechanistic targets that can serve as a basis for pharmacologic and behavioral treatments. International conference with 28 experts, including scientists and caregivers, providing presentations, panel discussions, and debates. The reviewed collective research and clinical experience provides a critical body of new and novel information on hyperphagia at levels ranging from molecular to population. Gaps in understanding and tools needed for additional research were identified. This report documents the full scope of important topics reviewed at a comprehensive international meeting devoted to the topic of hyperphagia and identifies key areas for future funding and research.Obesity 02/2014; 22 Suppl 1(S1):S1-S17. DOI:10.1002/oby.20646 · 3.73 Impact Factor
- Nature medicine 12/2013; 19(12):1578-9. DOI:10.1038/nm.3422 · 27.36 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Wolfram syndrome is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in WFS1 and characterized by insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, optic atrophy and deafness. To investigate the cause of beta cell failure, we used induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells to create insulin-producing cells from individuals with Wolfram syndrome. WFS1-deficient beta cells showed increased levels of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress molecules, and decreased insulin content. Upon exposure to experimental ER stress, Wolfram beta cells showed impaired insulin processing and failed to increase insulin secretion in response to glucose and other secretagogues. Importantly, 4-phenyl butyric acid, a chemical protein folding and trafficking chaperone, restored normal insulin synthesis and the ability to upregulate insulin secretion. These studies show that ER stress plays a central role in beta cell failure in Wolfram syndrome and indicate that chemical chaperones might have therapeutic relevance under conditions of ER stress in Wolfram syndrome and other forms of diabetes.Diabetes 11/2013; 63(3). DOI:10.2337/db13-0717 · 8.10 Impact Factor
- Mitochondrion 11/2013; 13(6):898–899. DOI:10.1016/j.mito.2013.07.005 · 3.25 Impact Factor
Article: Mouse BAZ1A (ACF1) Is Dispensable for Double-Strand Break Repair but Is Essential for Averting Improper Gene Expression during Spermatogenesis[Show abstract] [Hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: ATP-dependent chromatin remodelers control DNA access for transcription, recombination, and other processes. Acf1 (also known as BAZ1A in mammals) is a defining subunit of the conserved ISWI-family chromatin remodelers ACF and CHRAC, first purified over 15 years ago from Drosophila melanogaster embryos. Much is known about biochemical properties of ACF and CHRAC, which move nucleosomes in vitro and in vivo to establish ordered chromatin arrays. Genetic studies in yeast, flies and cultured human cells clearly implicate these complexes in transcriptional repression via control of chromatin structures. RNAi experiments in transformed mammalian cells in culture also implicate ACF and CHRAC in DNA damage checkpoints and double-strand break repair. However, their essential in vivo roles in mammals are unknown. Here, we show that Baz1a-knockout mice are viable and able to repair developmentally programmed DNA double-strand breaks in the immune system and germ line, I-SceI endonuclease-induced breaks in primary fibroblasts via homologous recombination, and DNA damage from mitomycin C exposure in vivo. However, Baz1a deficiency causes male-specific sterility in accord with its high expression in male germ cells, where it displays dynamic, stage-specific patterns of chromosomal localization. Sterility is caused by pronounced defects in sperm development, most likely a consequence of massively perturbed gene expression in spermatocytes and round spermatids in the absence of BAZ1A: the normal spermiogenic transcription program is largely intact but more than 900 other genes are mis-regulated, primarily reflecting inappropriate up-regulation. We propose that large-scale changes in chromatin composition that occur during spermatogenesis create a window of vulnerability to promiscuous transcription changes, with an essential function of ACF and/or CHRAC chromatin remodeling activities being to safeguard against these alterations.PLoS Genetics 11/2013; 9(11):e1003945. DOI:10.1371/journal.pgen.1003945 · 7.53 Impact Factor
- Mitochondrion 11/2013; 13(6):927. DOI:10.1016/j.mito.2013.07.076 · 3.25 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Abstract The remarkable ability of oocytes to reinstate the totipotent state from a unipotent somatic cell, allowing the cloning of animals and the generation of human stem cells, has fascinated scientists for decades. Due to the complexity of oocytes, it has remained challenging to understand the rapid reprogramming following nuclear transfer at a molecular level. Conversely, the detailed characterization of molecular mechanisms is also often insufficient to comprehend the functional relevance of a complex molecular process, such as the dissociation of transcription factors from chromatin during cell division, the role of chromatin modifications in cellular memory, or of cell type-specific DNA replication. This review attempts to bridge the gap between nuclear transfer and molecular biology by focusing on the role of the cell cycle in reprogramming.10/2013; 15(5):356-66. DOI:10.1089/cell.2013.0041
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ABSTRACT: Diabetes is a disorder characterized by loss of β cell mass and/or β cell function, leading to deficiency of insulin relative to metabolic need. To determine whether stem cell-derived β cells recapitulate molecular-physiological phenotypes of a diabetic subject, we generated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from subjects with maturity-onset diabetes of the young type 2 (MODY2), which is characterized by heterozygous loss of function of the gene encoding glucokinase (GCK). These stem cells differentiated into β cells with efficiency comparable to that of controls and expressed markers of mature β cells, including urocortin-3 and zinc transporter 8, upon transplantation into mice. While insulin secretion in response to arginine or other secretagogues was identical to that in cells from healthy controls, GCK mutant β cells required higher glucose levels to stimulate insulin secretion. Importantly, this glucose-specific phenotype was fully reverted upon gene sequence correction by homologous recombination. Our results demonstrate that iPSC-derived β cells reflect β cell-autonomous phenotypes of MODY2 subjects, providing a platform for mechanistic analysis of specific genotypes on β cell function.The Journal of clinical investigation 06/2013; 123(7). DOI:10.1172/JCI67638 · 13.22 Impact Factor
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Columbia University
New York, New York, United States
- • College of Physicians and Surgeons
- • Department of Ophthalmology
The New York Stem Cell FoundationNew York, New York, United States
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
- • Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology
- • Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
University of Zurich
Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Institut für Molekulare Biologie
Freie Universität Berlin
Berlin, Land Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry