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Some of you may know of 25 year old Chason Westmoreland and his drumming with Burning The Masses, or some fill-in gigs with bands like Fallujah, Enfold Darkness, or most recently Oceano. If you have not yet heard this name, you're in for quite a surprise.
We first heard Chason when he was touring with Burning The Masses/Last House on The Left/Rose Funeral (2009 I believe), and he instantly became a favorite. He was 18 or 19 at the time and was simply killing the drums. Every other drummer on that first tour we heard him on would stop whatever they were doing each night and go watch him play. They said... "Wait until you see this kid play." No triggers, small kit, I thought I'd seen it all, then he started playing. It was just raw talent from the first note to the last. Speed, power, precision, creativity, ease of motion, and meter. Triggers were not needed, nor were they missed! Chason was then someone we knew would make a name for himself, and now he has proven that true.
Chason has already laid down his tracks for the forthcoming Hate Eternal album and will be behind the kit with the band for the albums ensuing tour cycle which begins in spring 2015.
Some recent tour footage of Westmoreland can be viewed on our YouTube Channel, and below you will find a collage of some recent behind-the-scenes studio footage from his tracking sessions with Erik Rutan, in Mana Studios, Florida.
Westmoreland comments: "I am extremely honored to join Hate Eternal. The new material is very challenging and has a lot going on. I put everything I had into this album and I'm very excited about the results. I cannot wait to see what the future holds and get on the road with our new album!"
SDM: How excited were you when we got in touch about this gig being a possibility?
Chason: I was in disbelief. Didn't feel real and still doesn't.
SDM: How nervous were you when you met Erik/JJ and had to play for them?
Chason: Erik and JJ were so nice. I wasn't really intimidated until I saw the studio (lol). Then I got the sweaty palms and tight chest and all of that haha.
SDM: How many songs did you have to learn before flying to Florida, and how long did they take to learn?
Chason: I had a list which consisted of 9 songs I believe. They took over a month to get down.
SDM: What was the hardest to learn, and why?
Chason: The new album was definitely the hardest to learn. There are lots of odd-timed riffs and some very long blast stretches.
SDM: Were the drum parts for the new record already mapped-out, or did you get to have input? How much, if you did?
Chason: The drums were actually mapped out, but I did have some input on a few things like fill sections, and intro setups... stuff like that. We also changed a few things during recording.
SDM: What other exercises or situations did they put you through during audition?
Chason: We did a blind click setup for about an hour a day. It jumped up 5 bpms every minute, and it really helped to break the mental barriers I had set on myself. Also lots of meditation.
SDM: What can Hate Eternal fans expect from this next release, and from your drumming?
Chason: They can expect lots of chaos with some slower-tempo thrown in. I just hope I laid a different element into Hate Eternal's foundation.
Erik Rutan (guitar, vocals) comments: "Chason is such an amazing talent and a very determined guy. He came down to try out in June and literally blew us away! We bonded instantly musically and personally, and JJ and I knew he was the right guy and drummer for Hate Eternal. Chason has a high motor, hits hard, plays fast and is a very diverse and dynamic player. The drums on this album have a very primal and visceral feel to them and I think he did a tremendous job on the recording. I cannot wait for us to get on tour and deliver the goods. We wanted to make sure we announced this in conjunction with you guys (Ian and Anton) at Sick Drummer Magazine, as thanks to you guys, this is actually happening. We cannot thank you enough for all your support and help finding the right guy."
SDM: How quickly and accurately was Chason able to pick up on older Hate Eternal material?
Erik: Chason picked up a lot of the older material very quickly. He came down here for 5 days in June to try out and by the fourth day he was nailing songs like Behold Judas, The Eternal Ruler, King of all Kings, Servants of the Gods, Lake Ablaze, etc… I want to say we were jamming on like 8-10 songs within 5 days. After jamming with him for those days the vibe and chemistry was clear as day and everything just felt right to JJ and I, both musically and personally. We just knew he was the man for the job. Chason is just an all around great guy and amazing drummer. Everything will just get better and better as time goes on. It was crazy that on the 4th day everything just gelled together. Chason was like on fire! He just went for the gusto man! I kept telling him the whole time that this was his spot for the taking, and he took it! Chason said there was no way anyone else was getting this gig but him, and he was right! SDM: What are some of the characteristics about his playing that stand out to you, as both a guitarist, and recording engineer? Erik: Chason is an incredibly gifted and dynamic drummer. I feel the sky is the limit for him. He has so much potential and I really feel like his drumming is way beyond his years. Chason has a flair, a certain swagger to his drumming that I loved instantly. The power he conveys with his drumming is fantastic. Of course he can play fast as hell and consistent, but that is only part of what he is capable of. Chason is a very versatile drummer. His cymbal work is really killer. He hits the drums with power and consistency, and for an engineer like me it just makes my job so much easier. I knew that I would be able to capture amazing organic drum tones and keep them that way. He hits his snare and toms with conviction and authority and he seems to always hit in the right place, plays with tremendous groove and is always in the pocket. It is really easy to lock in with him when we jam together. Getting drum tones with him on the Pearl Reference kit in the studio was just incredible and we were really able to capture some amazing performances. SDM: In the incredible list of previous Hate Eternal drummers, how does Chason compare? Erik: Chason is right up there with them in skill, creativity and talent no doubt about it. He fits right in with the legacy of fantastic drummers that have played in Hate Eternal. Chason is a very original and unique drummer. It is really impossible to compare all the drummers that have played with us, because they are all incredible in their own ways. I have always felt so fortunate to have had such amazing drummers in this band, hence why we took our time in finding the right guy to sit behind the kit after Jade departed. Chason I feel is a drummer that people will instantly feel his energy on the record and are going to be amazed by his skills and performances on the new Hate Eternal album. I am sure you can tell I am just a bit enthusiastic about Chason ha ha ha!! Hell yea \m/ SDM: What does Chason bring to the fold in regards to the newly written Hate Eternal material?
Erik: Chason brings a certain energy and vibe to the album and the band. Chason really brought this beastly primalistic power to the album and it is infectious. He is a very accurate and hard-hitting drummer, and has an arsenal of ideas and ability. Chason has a great sense of timing and groove, as well as the ability to create great fills and cymbal work, along with helping craft new ideas. He is also a very technically skilled drummer as well, lots of chops! After the June tryout I gave him all the finished songs with click tracks and scratch guitars to practice to. Then Chason came in Aug/Sept and we did a month of practicing/pre production, working together on ideas and recording them until we felt ready to roll, then we started recording the album. It was an amazing process. I think people are gonna be very pleased when they hear what Chason has brought to the Hate Eternal album, and I am looking forward to what we will create together, and what the future holds for us as a band. SDM: What's next on the agenda?
Erik: Right now I am finishing up all of my rhythm guitars and melodies/overdubs for the album and then onward to my vocals and solos. Then take a few days off to clear my head and get ready to mix the album to finish off the year. Then look forward to the release of our new album in 2015 and getting back on the road with Chason and JJ. I am super excited for Hate Eternal and the release of our new album and the touring to follow. I think people will be ecstatic with the new album and the stellar job Chason did on the record.
A few words from Phil: "I was really excited to start tracking "Deathless", because aside from the huge amount of time I spent preparing for the record, this was the first time I got to record using my brand new custom Pearl Reference kit. I stuck with my usual 10", 12", 14", 16" tom sizes, but I had each one made an inch shallower, and I was blown away by how punchy they sound!"
"My secret weapon was my new 14" x 6.5" brass reference snare. Words cannot describe how good that things sounds. It's by far the nicest piece of gear I've ever owned. I was adamant about getting an organic drum sound for 'Deathless' which Zeuss was totally into as well, and aside from the kick drum being sound-replaced, everything else is completely natural. It's by far the best drum sound I've ever gotten on a record and I couldn't be happier with it!
Phil's Other Gear: Meinl cymbals (from left to right) 17" Byzance crash, 17" Mb20 crash, 14" Mb10 hi hats, 10" Sound caster custom splash, 12" Byzance splash, 14" Classics custom extreme metal hi-hats, 18" Mb20 crash, 20" Mb20 heavy bell ride, 18" Classics custom extreme metal china, Axis pedals, Evans drum heads, and Vic Firth Sticks.
Buy 'Deathless' here:http://smarturl.it/revocationitunes
Visit Revocation here:https://www.facebook.com/Revocation
Visit Phil here:https://www.facebook.com/phil.duboiscoyne
Upcoming Tour Dates:
25/10/14 ES – Madrid – Arena27/10/14 FR – Toulouse – Le Bikini28/10/14 FR – Paris – Trabendo29/10/14 FR – Strasbourg – La Laiterie30/10/14 BE – Antwerp – Trix31/10/14 UK – London – Forum01/11/14 UK – Leeds – Damnation Festival (only Cannibal Corpse)02/11/14 FR – Lille – Splendid04/11/14 DE – Frankfurt – Batschkapp05/11/14 DE – Ludwigsburg – Rockfabrik06/11/14 DE – Osnabrück – Rosenhof07/11/14 DE – Hamburg – Klubsen 08/11/14 DK – Aalborg – Metal Festival09/11/14 DK – Copenhagen – Amager Bio11/11/14 DE – Berlin – C-Club12/11/14 CZ – Prague – Club Roxy13/11/14 DE – München – Backstage14/11/14 DE – Glauchau – Alte Spinnerei15/11/14 CZ – Brno – Fleda16/11/14 PL – Cracow – Fabryka17/11/14 PL – Warsaw – Progresja19/11/14 AT – Graz – Explosiv20/11/14 HU – Budapest – Club 20221/11/14 SK – Zilina – Klub Smer22/11/14 AT – Wien – Szene23/11/14 SI – Nova Gorica – Mostovna Club25/11/14 IT – Treviso – New Age26/11/14 IT – Milan – Alcatrazz27/11/14 CH – Lausanne – Les Docks28/11/14 CH – Pratteln – Z729/11/14 DE – Bochum- Matrix30/11/14 NL – Uden – De Pul
From Daniel: "A couple things I would like to share about this video... I decided to only have in front of me a very minimal set up for this track. There is not one single tom hit in this song, fill or riff-wise, so I figured there was no point to have them in the tracking/filming. Also, I played all the thrash beat riffing in a straight noting-type feel, as opposed to the way Paul Mazurkiewicz of Caninibal Corpse plays. He does a very unique/strange approach to his thrash beats, where his lead hand is playing in a triplet feel. Almost making it a sort of strange polyrhythm type feel to all of his thrash beats. It was a bit more of a challenge doing the straight noting, so why not right!?! Hope you enjoy and please check out all my other videos, especially from my band Reaping Asmodeia. Also, we wanted the drums to have a very real, yet punchy and natural sound. Thus, no sound replacement was used on the audio."
Equipment Used:
Ellis custom kick drum 22' x 20'Tama slp bubinga snare drum 14' x 6.5'14" Sabian HHX evolution hi hats16" Sabian AAX stage crash17" Sabian AAX dark crash22" Sabian AAX dry bell ridePearl Eliminator hi-hat standPearl Eliminator double pedal
Reaping Asmodeia 'Bodies in Barrels' music video link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdVK8giL6y0
Poison of the Earth album stream/purchase (also available on Itunes, Amazon, and all other media outlets)http://reapingasmodeia.bandcamp.com/
10/25/2014 Mason City, Iowa - Francis Lauer Residential Treatment
Select dates on 'As Blood Runs Black' - Album Release Tour:
11/1/2014 Iowa City, Iowa - The Blue Moose11/2/2014 St. Paul, MN - The Amsterdam
Spreading The Poison Tour:
11/13/2014 Waterloo, IA - The Jet11/14/2014 Chicago/IL - Cobra Lounge w/DECAPITATED and MISERY INDEX11/15/2014 Indianapolis, IN - The Emerson Theater w/King 810 11/16/2014 Muskegon, MI - Port City Tavern w/King 81011/17/2014 Akron, Ohio - The Empire11/18/2014 St Louis, MO - The Mad Magician11/19/2014 OKC/Tulsa - Vanguard11/20/2014 Amarillo, TX - The Wreck Room11/21/2014 Albuquerque - The Gas Works11/22/2014 Denver, CO - The Trailside Saloon11/23/2014 Omaha, NE - The Hideout (Capillary Fest)
11/29/2014 St. Could, MN - The Keller Bar
Copyright © 2014 Grind Percussion LLC. Sick Drummer Magazine. All Rights Reserved Developed by Joommasters.com


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Finding art in Haiti is easy. All you have to do is go outside. Wherever you are, there is art. You'll find walls covered with colorful paintings, wood and steel drum sculptures defying the hot sun for miles and miles. People will walk up to your car window with their work, and they will make you all kinds of unbelievable offers. However, shopping for a nice piece of artwork should be all about the experience and the quality. And you don't want to have that same painting in your house you see in every street corner of the same market place scene with the same trees, do you?
One of my favorite adventures in Haiti this year was our visit at the El Saieh Gallery. We visited a few art galleries and markets in Port-au-Prince where I was able to purchase some beaded coasters, a hand-painted tray, and a series of surprise Christmas gifts (I won't mention here) for some loved ones. I was in heaven! If I didn't only bring a carry-on and my budget was a bit more flexible, I would bring back a embarrassing amount of stuff. I want the stuff. All the stuff! Going to these places and being able to support talented artists from my country meant the world to me. My favorite gallery was the El-Saieh Gallery, located in the Pacot area in Port-au-Prince. Although I didn't get the pieces I desired, I know I will return, and it is indeed a place to remember. It is a must if you're in Port-au-Prince, even for a quick visit.
I felt like a small child in a candy store where each aisle was filled with the most exciting and colorful, delicious candies in all the land. My eyes jumped from painting to painting, and my feet took me from room to room. There were about three floors of amazing art-work. Each floor was sectioned into giant rooms with collections of artwork by some well-known painters in Haiti. Some small contemporary pieces ranged from $20-$50, while others were priced at $500 and up. There were other large historical pieces mounted on the walls that were not for sale.
The gallery was founded by Issa El-Saieh (The Maestro), a leading figure in the world of Haitian art. He was known to be a generous man an a "complex character". He opened the gallery 1954, then moved it to his home near the Grand Hotel Oloffson in the early 60's where some great Haitian artist would come to paint. Before becoming an arts dealer, he was a musician. He was recognized in Lincoln Center in 1998 as one of five "giants" in Haitian music.
El Saieh Gallery- 19 Avenue Du Chili – Port-Au-Prince, Haiti
C A H – Fondation pour le Developpement de l'Artisanat Haitien-
29, Rue 3 Port-Au-Prince, Haiti
This store is filled with hand painted goods from a collection of Haitian artists. It's the perfect place to shop for souvenirs to bring back for friends and family. Anything from hand painted shot glasses to oil lamps can be purchased there.
Artisan Business Network-
22, 1re ruelle Winson (Babiole area) – Port-Au-Prince, Haiti
I purchased a tray I saw on Macy's website there. For the holiday last year, Macy's featured some Haitian artists, and I've been eyeing the tray for a while. When I finally went to purchase it, it was sold out. You can imagine the joy I felt when I spotted it. It's my "honey feed me breakfast in bed while I look at this fantastic hand-painted tray from my country" tray. It couldn't even fit in my luggage, and I still carried it awkwardly on the plane and took it home.
Festival Arts – Kay Atizan – 43, rue Magny Pétion-ville
This place is a little oasis in the middle of Petion-Ville. I love the beautiful garden and the cozy interior. I spotted some cool tea-shirts, veve artworks, hand-painted dresses, books, hand-made jewelry, and everything else I love there.
6 Comments on Finding Art in Haiti
Thank you for the shout out, Paola. ABN strives to bring the most beautiful handicrafts from Haiti to the global market. We'd love to see you again whenever you're in town.
I love the women sitting on the shelf!
Me too! Those women are my favourite thing in this post! Apart from you Paola of course. :p
beautiful pictures! I want to go to Haiti!
I am so guilty of shopping the streets for art in PAP. I will definitely check these places out. Thank you
1Pingbacks & Trackbacks on Finding Art in Haiti
[…] own or dream of. What makes breakfast in bed even more special is that it is always served on the hand-painted tray I got from my last trip in Haiti. Despite what you may think of me, I should let you know that […]

subset: commoncrawl


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Please note: We are currently closed for the Passover holiday until Monday May 2nd.
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Solid Brass Beaded Oval Knob Set (Antique Brass Finish) - Hand finished and crafted from solid brass. The Door knob measures 2 3/4 inch long and 1 1/2 inch wide. The rosette measures 3 1/4 inch in diameter. Functional door knob sets consist of a pair of knobs that turn and operate a latch mechanism. These are typically used on interior home doors such as closet doors, french doors (opposite a Double Dummy set) and exterior doors that use a separate deadbolt. Choose from non-locking or optional locking set. Single rosette screws directly into the wood door. Made for modern doors with a 2 1/8 inch bore hole. Also available in several finishes. Double Dummy, Passage and Privacy sets also available.


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Roncalli's football rivalry with Cathedral isn't in need of extravagant introductions.
Name the year, and there's a better-than-even chance the Rebels and Irish played at some point of the regular season, during the postseason or both. Every step of the way, regardless where the game was played, blood — traditional and bad — has
been spilled, feelings stepped on with cleated footwear.
Roncalli detests Cathedral. The Irish can't stand the Rebels.
Let the good times roll.
Even time can't dilute the unmistakable bitterness of a series that resumes tonight at Tech High School with No. 3 Roncalli taking on No. 7 and two-time defending state champion Cathedral in the title game of a Class 4A sectional.
This is Bruce Scifres' 23rd season as the Rebels' head coach. He's savored some of his highest highs and winced his way through some of his lowest coaching lows against Cathedral. Ditto 18th-year Irish coach Rick Streiff, who has seen some awfully good ball clubs of his come up short against Scifres & Co.
So expect to see two old-school programs butting helmets with much more than pride at stake.
"Any time you get to the tournament, the issue is to play your best game on that given night. We want to focus on what we do well and do them better," said Scifres, whose program looks to snap an eight-game losing streak against Cathedral that includes four sectional eliminations. "Offensively, Cathedral again is a very good power running team.
"On defense, they just have 11 guys who just fly to the football. Just a very physical, very well-coached football team."
Led by 6-foot-3 junior quarterback Cam Smock and senior running back Dylan Evans operating behind the program's trademark mammoth offensive line, the Rebels surprised many last week with a 35-14 victory at No. 5 and once-beaten Greenwood.
"As far as all three phases of the game clicking pretty well, I would say it was our best game this season," Scifres said. "I think we've improved in all phases as the season has gone on."
Meanwhile, Cathedral's 6-5 record should include a few asterisks. Five of them. Unafraid to square off against a murderer's row regular-season schedule, the Irish losses were, in order, to Class 5A power Ben Davis (by 3 points), Cincinnati St. Xavier (by 6), defending Class 3A state champion Chatard (by 14), Louisville Trinity (by 8) and Cincinnati Moeller (by 35).
But the Irish enter tonight on a roll. Cathedral's sectional wins against Northview and Lebanon were by a combined score of 111-19.
Tonight, though, it's Roncalli. A different kind of challenge altogether.


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Skills in information technology (IT) cover a broad range, from using software packages effectively to developing a critical understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of IT solutions. Developing your IT skills means planning your work, practising your skills, seeking feedback from others and reviewing your approach. In this free course, Key skill assessment: Information technology, you will learn to use and adapt your skills effectively and confidently in different situations and contexts.
After studying this course, you should be able to:
- demonstrate a strategy for using information technology skills over an extended period of time
- monitor progress and adapt the strategy as necessary, to achieve the quality of outcomes required
- evaluate this overall strategy and present the outcomes from the work.
- Duration 50 hours
- Updated Tuesday 22nd March 2016
- Introductory level
- Posted under Information and Communication Technologies
- Current section: Introduction
- Learning outcomes
- 1 Improving your information technology skills
- 2 Sources of help
- 3 Key skills assessment courses
- 4 Structure of the assessment courses
- 5 Effective use of information technology
- 6 What you should present
- 7 Part A: Evidencing skills to develop a strategy, monitor progress and evaluate performance
- 8 Part B: Evidencing your IT skills
- 9 Notes to help you complete your assessment
- Conclusion
- Keep on learning
- Acknowledgements
Study this free course
Enrol to access the full course, get recognition for the skills you learn, track your progress and on completion gain a statement of participation to demonstrate your learning to others. Make your learning visible!
Key skill assessment course: Information technology
This key skill develops your information technology (IT) skills in your studies, work or other activities over a period of time. To tackle all of this key skill, you will need to plan your work over at least 3–4 months to give yourself enough time to practise and improve your skills, to seek feedback from others, to monitor your progress and evaluate your strategy and present outcomes.
Skills in information technology cover a broad range, from using software unitages to developing a critical understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of IT solutions. Learning how to use a word processor, database or spreadsheet are important but so, too, is thinking about how you can use IT efficiently to support what you are doing and to help you learn more effectively.
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Britto, Alan M.A.a; Amoedo, Nívea D.b; Pezzuto, Paulaa; Afonso, Adriana O.a; Martínez, Ana M.B.c; Silveira, Jussarac; Sion, Fernando S.d; Machado, Elizabeth S.e; Soares, Marcelo A.a,f; Giannini, Ana L.M.a
aDepartamento de Genética, Instituto de Biologia
bInstituto de Bioquímica Médica, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro
cFaculdade de Medicina, UFRG, Rio Grande
dHospital Universitário Gaffrée e Guinle, UNIRIO
eInstituto de Puericultura e Pediatria Martagão Gesteira, UFRJ
fPrograma de Genética, INCA, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Correspondence to Ana Lúcia M. Giannini, CCS-Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biologia, UFRJ, Rua Rodolpho P. Rocco, s/n, Bl. A, room A2-066, Ilha do Fundão, CEP 21941-617, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Received 14 September, 2012
Revised 26 March, 2013
Accepted 3 April, 2013
Supplemental digital content is available for this article. Direct URL citations appear in the printed text and are provided in the HTML and PDF versions of this article on the journal's Website (http://www.AIDSonline.com).
Objective: TLRs (Toll-like receptors) and RLRs (RIG-I-like receptors) mediate innate immune responses by detecting microorganism invasion. RIG-I activation results in the production of interferon (IFN) type 1 and IFN responsive genes (ISGs). As the ubiquitin ligases RNF125 and TRIM25 are involved in regulating RIG-I function, our aim was to assess whether the levels of these three genes vary between healthy and HIV-infected individuals and whether these levels are related to disease progression.
Design: Gene expression analyses for RIG-I, RNF125, and TRIM25 were performed for HIV-infected adults and the children's peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).
Methods: Reverse transcription-quantitative PCRs (RT-qPCRs) were performed in order to quantify the expression levels of RIG-I, RNF125 and TRIM25 from PBMCs purified from control or HIV-infected individuals.
Results: Controls express higher levels of the three genes when compared to HIV-infected patients. These expressions are clearly distinct between healthy and progressors, and are reproduced in adults and children. In controls, RNF125 is the highest expressed gene, whereas in progressors, RIG-I is either the highest expressed gene or is expressed similarly to RNF125 and TRIM25.
Conclusion: A pattern of expression of RIG-I, RNF125, and TRIM25 genes in HIV patients is evident. The high expression of RNF125 in healthy individuals reflects the importance of keeping RIG-I function off, inhibiting unnecessary IFN production. Consistent with this assumption, RNF125 levels are lower in HIV patients and importantly, the RNF125/RIG-I ratio is lower in patients who progress to AIDS. Our results might help to predict disease progression and unveil the role of poorly characterized host genes during HIV infection.
Over 34 million people are infected by HIV worldwide [1] and resistant strains have emerged since the development of the HAART therapy [2]. Recent focus on host proteins, which interfere with infection outcome, led to the discovery of host restriction factors [3–7] and viral sensors (Toll-like receptor, TLR and RIG-I-like receptor, RLR) [8–11]. Recently, it has been shown that genomic HIV RNA can be detected by RIG-I [9], a RNA helicase. Upon RNA recognition, the caspase recruitment domains (CARD domains) present in this protein interact with similar ones in MAVS (mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein) at the mitochondria [12] activating the transcription of interferon (IFN) via nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and IRF3 (interferon regulatory factor 3). RIG-I CARD domains undergo posttranslational modifications [13–16], including ubiquitination [17], which influence its capacity to regulate IFN production. RNF125 and TRIM25 are ubiquitin ligases that can mediate the latter process [18,19]. TRIM25 belongs to the tripartite motif (TRIM) family and its function activates RIG-I, hence increasing IFN production [19,20]. Several TRIM proteins participate in HIV infection [21]; TRIM5α interferes with viral uncoating [22] and is differentially expressed in HIV-positive patients as is TRIM22 [23–25].
RNF125 targets RIG-I for destruction in the proteasome [18], is involved in T-cell activation, and inhibits HIV transcription [26]. TRIM25 and RNF125 genes are regulated by IFN [18,23] providing regulatory mechanisms for the production of this cytokine, whose fine balance is essential to achieve a protective rather than an immunopathogenic effect in HIV-positive patients [27,28].
Data suggest that high levels of expression of IFN responsive genes (ISGs) are related to viral replication inhibition in vitro; however, in-vivo data are scarce and controversial [25]. Higher levels of mRNA for RIG-I and RNF125 were found in hepatic tissues from hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive patients [29]. However, the simultaneous analysis of RIG-I expression levels and those of its positive (TRIM25) and negative (RNF125) regulators have not been investigated in an HIV setting. This information could be useful to predict progression to AIDS. Here, we performed qPCR analysis of RIG-I, RNF125, and TRIM25 in HIV-positive adults and children. Our results suggest that the levels of these three genes vary according to disease progression.
Participants came from the University Hospitals at Federal Universities of Rio Grande (FURG) and Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), Brazil. Children were from the Pediatrics Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). This study was approved by Institutional Review Boards of the three institutions.
Thirty-four adults (14 HIV-negative controls and 20 HIV-positive patients from which 10 were nonprogressors and 10 progressors as defined elsewhere [30]) were included in the study. The children's group had eight HIV-negative controls and 12 HIV-positive children – (four nonprogressors and eight progressors as defined in the literature [31]) and samples were retrieved from a previous study [32].
RNA was extracted by TRIzol (Life Technologies, Grand Island, New York, USA) from Ficoll-paque isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and cDNA was synthesized using SuperScript II (Promega, Madison, Wisconsin, USA) and random primers (Life Technologies) following the manufecturer's instructions. Taqman primers, probes, and equipment (ABI 7500) were from Life Technologies. Results are shown as the ratio: target gene/GAPDH (glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase) expressions (2-ΔCt). Mann–Whitney U-tests and Spearman's rho test were used for statistical data and correlations analysis, respectively.
Jurkat cells were treated for different times with IFN-α (100 ng/ml) or IFN-γ (50 ng/ml; data shown as 2-ΔΔCt). For HIV infections, 106 PBMCs were spinoculated at 1200 g for 2 h with 50 ng of NL4.3-Luc (normalized by p24 ELISA; Zeptometrix Kit-Retrotek). Frozen PBMCs were used to perform the western blots. RIG-I and α-tubulin antibodies were from Abcam (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA).
Adult patients were followed up for at least 3 years with quarterly quantification of HIV viral load and CD4+ T-cells. Ages, CD4+ T-cell counts, and HIV viral load averaged 40.4 years ± 10.7; 582.1/μl ± 343.53, and 4.33 log ± 1.31, respectively. For the children cohort, ages, CD4+ T-cell counts, and viral load averaged 7.16 years ± 4.59; 19.75% ± 9.8, and 4.09 log ± 1.22, respectively (Supplementary Table 1, http://links.lww.com/QAD/A348).
The genes studied here are involved in antiviral signaling, they respond to IFN, and their protein products directly interact, so we assessed their expression levels in HIV-negative and HIV-positive individuals to verify whether these reflected HIV infection status and could be linked to disease progression.
HIV-negative controls expressed higher levels of the three genes and, in these participants, RNF125 was the highest expressed gene (78% of the adults and 75% of the children), reaching twice the levels of TRIM25 in more than 62% of these (Fig. 1a–e). This expression was four and 2.5 times higher in HIV-negative compared to HIV-positive adults and children, respectively. In both cohorts, progressors and nonprogressors expressed similar levels of RNF125, indicating that RNF125 expression does not reflect disease progression (Supplementary Figs 1 and 2, http://links.lww.com/QAD/A348). In contrast, RIG-I was the highest expressed gene in progressor adults (70%) and children (50%; Supplementary Figs 1 and 2, http://links.lww.com/QAD/A348). In adult progressors, the ratio RNF125/RIG-I is significantly lower than this ratio in HIV-negative controls (Fig. 1f). This pattern of higher expression of RIG-I in HIV-negative controls compared to HIV-positive participants was confirmed at protein levels for some of the samples which were still available (Fig. 2a and b).
In order to elucidate whether the expression patterns observed could be seen at the beginning of the infection, in-vitro HIV infections using PBMCs isolated from two HIV-negative blood donors were performed, followed by qPCRs. As seen in Fig. 2c and d, RNF125 and RIG-I doubled in the first 48 h; however, no major increases were detected for TRIM25 and the two other ISGs APOBE3G and 3F after HIV exposure.
The results suggest that the genes for RIG-I regulators and RIG-I itself are expressed differently in progressors compared to HIV-negative individuals, following a specific pattern that is independent of age, mode of transmission, or antiretroviral therapy (ART) [samples were collected at a time when only two of the 19 adults (F7 and F12) were subjected to therapy]. However, this pattern is only observed in an established chronic disease, suggesting the participation of other players of the immune system.
Although a negative correlation exists between the levels of RIG-I and CD4+ T-cell counts, no significant correlation was found for any of the genes expressions alone and HIV viral load. These results show that RIG-I is not the sole determinant of viremia (Supplementary Table 2, http://links.lww.com/QAD/A348).
Levels of RIG-I and TRIM25 were correlated, but this was not found for RIG-I and RNF125. As the three genes are regulated by IFN, their expressions should all be correlated, unless they respond differently to this cytokine. To clarify this issue, Jurkat cells were treated with IFN-α or IFN-γ and q-PCR was performed. RIG-I and TRIM25 expressions were detected 2 h after IFN-α treatment, whereas that of RNF125 doubled only at 48 h (Fig. 2e). RIG-I expression in response to IFN-α was more intense (eight-fold increase after 24 h), whereas TRIM25 mRNA levels triplicated at this time point. Hence, RIG-I and TRIM25 genes are more sensitive to IFN-α in vitro than the RNF125 gene. Of these three ISGs, only RIG-I responded to IFN-γ (Fig. 2f).
Our hypothesis was that the levels of innate immunity genes would reflect HIV infection and disease progression. Hence, levels of RIG-I (a viral sensor) and two of its regulators, RNF125 and TRIM25 (ubiquitin ligases with opposing functions) were quantified by qPCR. Our study is the first to demonstrate the potential relevance of RIG-I and the ubiquitin ligases RNF125 and TRIM25 together in an HIV scenario using HIV-positive adults and children.
We concluded that none of the gene levels per se can be used to predict disease progression. However, when the expressions of the three are analyzed together, a disease progression-dependent pattern was detected. RNF125 was the highest expressed gene in HIV-negative controls, whereas RIG-I was the highest expressed gene in progressors and the ratio RNF125/RIG-I was higher in the former group (Fig. 1f). We speculate that in a chronically infected individual, with detectable viral load, the presence of the virus maintains the innate response activated via RIG-I, resulting in IFN production, which on its turn, maintains RIG-I and TRIM25 transcription ongoing, explaining the positive correlation found for RIG-I and TRIM25 mRNAs. High levels of RIG-I would keep IFN production on, resulting in CD4+ T-cell apoptosis [27]. In fact, a negative correlation was found between CD4+ cell counts and RIG-I levels, but none was found between RIG-I's expression and viral load, suggesting the participation of other host restriction factors in the control of viremia. This is also corroborated by the suggested role of RNF125 in inhibition of HIV transcription [26].
Although RNF125 has been described to respond to type I IFNs [18], in our hands this induction was approximately four times smaller than that observed for RIG-I, leading us to conclude that RNF125 expression is regulated by factors other than IFN. This conclusion is also corroborated by the higher levels of RNF125 found in controls, whose levels of circulating IFN should not be high in the absence of infection. We believe that RNF125 protein has a major role in maintaining the innate immunity signaling off (by targeting RIG-I for destruction). In fact, when RNF125 is exogenously expressed, endogenous levels of RIG-I decrease [18]. RNF125 also has a short half-life [33], so cells would have to continually transcribe and translate its gene to maintain its functional cellular levels. The identification and characterization of the RNF125's promoter would help to elucidate its regulation.
Although it would have been interesting to sort the different cell types from the patients' PBMCs to evaluate how each one contributes to the expression of genes studied here, the fact that Jurkat cells (immortalized CD4+T-cell) analysis leads to similar expression pattern found for PBMCs from controls suggests that T-lymphocytes are the main contributors to the results found here (data not shown). This is also supported by the expression data published in BioGPS site, in which the expression of the RNF125 and RIG-I genes was higher in CD8+ and CD4+ cells. Two features detected during HIV infection are the depletion of the CD4+ T-cell population and the expansion of the CD8+ T-cell one. As both CD8+ and CD4+ cells express the highest levels of both RIG-I and RNF125, the sorting of these cell types from patients might not have been clarifying here [34,35].
In a HCV-positive scenario, sustained nonvirological responders (NVRs) express more RIG-I and less RNF125 (lower RNF125/RIG-I ratio) compared to sustained virological responders (SVRs) [29,36]. Similarly, we found that in an HIV scenario, progressors have a lower RNF125/RIG-I ratio when compared to nonprogressors and controls (Fig. 1f). Hence, these ratios can be useful to predict both NVR and progression in HCV and HIV scenarios, respectively.
Although at present we are unable to explain the higher expression of the three genes in PBMCs from controls, this has been also found for IRF1 in a HCV scenario [36]. Moreover, TLR3, TLR7, RIG-I, and IFN-α mRNA levels are significantly downregulated in patients with chronic HCV infection when compared with healthy controls [37]. Also, there has been controversy concerning ISG expression during HIV infection [38–40]. The different virus biology and escape routes might account for these differences [41–45]. Nevertheless, our results support the findings of others and start to unveil the important role of yet uncharacterized players in HIV infections.
The authors would like to thank Dr Amilcar Tanuri and his group for the help and facilities to set the qRT-PCR.
A.M.A.B., N.D.A., and A.O.A. contributed to the purifications of PBMCs, RNA, cDNA, and the performance and analysis of the qRT-PCR reactions. P.P. performed the IFN treatment of Jurkat cells, prepared their cDNAs and performed the western blots. A.M.B.M. and J.S. organized the clinical data from adults enrolled in the Dr Miguel Riet Corrêa Junior University Hospital-Federal University of Rio Grande (FURG). F.S.S. and E.S.M. were responsible for the clinical data collection from the adult patients from the Gaffrée and Guinle University Hospital-Federal University of the Rio de Janeiro State (UNIRIO) and the pediatric individuals from the Martagão Gesteira Institute of Pediatrics-Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). A.L.M.G. and M.A.S. were responsible for the design of the experiments and preparing the article.
This work was funded by CNPq and FAPERJ agencies, Brazil.
The authors declare that no conflicts of interest exist.
HIV infection; innate immunity; ubiquitin ligase RNF125; ubiquitin ligase TRIM25; viral sensor RIG-I
© 2013 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.
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OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington's governor is expected to offer her opinion within 60 days on a proposed wind farm that would be visible from two towns in the heart of the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area.
Washington state's Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council this week left unchanged an October decision to scale back but approve the project. It would be visible from the towns of White Salmon, Wash., and Hood River, Ore.
The Oregonian reports that (http://is.gd/EDSaj6) SDS Lumber Co. of Bingen and Broughton Lumber Co. of Underwood originally proposed the $150 million Whistling Ridge wind farm in 2008. They sought to put 50 turbines on 1,200 acres the companies own just outside the scenic area on the ridges above White Salmon.
The project has faced opposition from environmental groups and nearby landowners because of its potential visual and noise impacts.
In October, the council recommended removing 15 turbines from the project.
Gov. Chris Gregoire can choose to accept, reject or send the council's decision back for more work. Her decision can be appealed to the state Supreme Court.


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Scott: The question of the aggregate quality of movies is an almost impossible one to answer in a kind of comparative way--are movies now better than the indie boom of the nineties or during the new Hollywood of the 70s or during the classical period of the 30s and 40s? There's no stable basis to make that comparison and it's very easy to look longingly at the great masterpieces of the past and miss some of the ones that are right in front of our faces. But I think [the question] among audiences who want to see good movies and want to find out where they are has to do with exhibition and distribution. There are more movies being released every year and everything opens in New York for at least a week. That's been going up by rather large increments every year, partly because of the emergence of digital platforms. If you have a movie you're primarily distributing on VOD or streaming you put it in a Manhattan theater for a week so you can get [audiences to see it], in a way, we're making more work for ourselves. Now theatrical distribution is more and more the thinnest part of the pyramid and we're looking at a very rapidly approaching future where more and more stuff is coming at us. Some of it is going to be quite interesting. How it gets sorted and how people find it and watch it I think is what's creating this kind of vertigo and panic and confusion.
Denby: What worries me is that there will be innumerable outlets for films, but the individuals are going to mean less and less. That has to do with this integration of tension. There's something still necessary and wonderful about having the opening, press parties and screenings and silly articles, everything that grounds the movies and concentrates national attention, at least for a while. I just don't know what the equivalent of that will be when things are more and more spread out.
Scott: Don't you think people will still have the appetite to go see movies in a movie theater?
Denby: Well, what if a brilliant little movie that's made directly for the internet comes out. How are they doing to know about it? At the moment we don't have the critical means. The distribution of criticism as well as film has to be overhauled.
[The critics were asked to compare the experience of watching a movie in a theater versus watching it at home.]
Scott: I think [the theater] is a very special experience certainly and one that is not easily replicated by anything else. There is something about sitting in the darkness, watching the thing.
Denby: One of the reasons I love movies is the immersion -- you know, when you get there and you're close enough so that the borders of the screen disappear, you're sucked in. The erotic metaphor -- I think Susan Sontag actually used the word "rape," I don't know about that -- but I want to be dominated, I want to be controlled by an artist and held. The way the audience for the [Tribeca] documentary about Gore Vidal ["Gore Vidal: United States of Amnesia"] -- I was here last week and everyone was laughing at the same time, everyone was sighing at the same time and that completed the film.
Scott: Yes, but I don't that that's going away. I don't think that will be extinguished by other ways of experiencing of those things. And indeed the emergence of other kinds of aesthetics are more tailored to that. There is actually something also that can be kind of intimate and interesting about having the thing sitting on your lap and sort of being cocooned inside your headphones.
Denby: I feel like that's more people wanting the company of images the way they want the company of music, rather than being immersed.
Scott: But I don't think that you actually have to choose between them. I think you can choose both of them. I think that there's a certain amount of sentimentality sometimes that attaches to the priority of the theatrical experience. I am old enough to have seen a lot of great and important movies in terrible prints in horrible conditions that were nonetheless theatrical. Sitting on broken chairs, a 16mm print full of jump cuts, and now I can watch those movies from the Criterion Collection or whatever and they're available to me to watch.
Topolsky: Is "Silver Linings Playbook" any less powerful at home?
Denby: Yeah, the dancing around in the last third, I would want to see that on the big screen. I think even small movies benefit from being on the big screen. I was just talking about the Jeff Nichols' movie "Mud," which is opening soon. I liked it. Nichols has an ability to get very tactile impressions of natural surfaces -- water, sky, clouds, Matthew McConaughy's skin -- and it's not the same on a small screen. And he also [shoots on] film, by the way.
Scott: It feels to me a little bit like we're fetishizing this experience of it…it is always preferable to see the painting in the museum so you can walk up close to it and see the brush strokes. But mechanical and electronic reproduction does allow more people to have some version of that aesthetic experience. I think that that's a very good thing. I saw "Mud" at the same screening you did and it looked very good in the screening room, where it was well sound-proofed with strong bulbs in the projector to look good. But that's a good enough movie where I certainly would say if you didn't get to see it, if you lived in a market that it may never get to, because it's relatively small -- then I think absolutely you should [see it] when it's on cable, on Netflix, or on DVD. There will be an incremental loss of aesthetic quality.
Next: Are critics still relevant today?


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Looking forward to Wimbledon? Check out these weird and wonderful facts about the annual tennis championship and impress your pals!
1) Don't complain about rain
During World War II, a bomb ripped through centre court and 1,200 seats were lost. Fortunately, they weren't filled at the time. Play finally resumed in 1946 but it wasn't until 1949 that the area was back in top shape.
2) No time for matchmaking
The last married woman to win the women's singles championship was Chris Evert Lloyd in 1981. Married to the jobs perhaps?
3) A short introduction
In 1930, Brame Hillyard became the first man to play wearing shorts. That was on court 10 - and Bunny Austin was the first to do so on centre court three years later.
4) By the letter
Goran Ivanisevic is the only Wimbledon champion whose entire name alternates consonants and vowels. We're not sure who did the research into that, but we're glad it wasn't us!
5) British bad boys
Tim Henman was the first-ever person to be disqualified from the men's doubles in 1995, after hitting a ball in anger and striking a ball girl in the process. Andy Murray, in turn, became the first British player in 106 years to be fined after swearing at a match official - although that was in a different tournament.
6) Champion eats words
Despite predictions of half a million visitors this year, when Spencer Gore became the first Wimbledon champion in 1875, he said he doubted whether the game would catch on - perhaps unsurprisingly since it cost just one shilling to watch the final and Gore received 12 guineas for his triumph. (If you're wondering? The pot now stands at 12.6m)
7) Name that game
The name 'tennis' is thought to come from the French 'tenez!' ('take' or 'receive'), a server's warning shout.
8) New balls please
Ever wondered why tennis balls are yellow? They weren't always - white balls were replaced in 1986 because they are more visible to TV cameras. Incidentally, one ball is only in play for about twenty minutes of an average two-and-a-half-hour tennis match.
9) Not just a pretty face
Maria Sharapova, one of the top earners in female sports, broke the record for the loudest grunts on court - recorded at a deafening 101.2 decibels!
Continued below.
10) Time for a break
Venus Williams won her 2005 final against Lindsay Davenport in the longest ladies' singles final ever played at Wimbledon lasting 2 hours and 45 minutes. Time for a sit down? Chairs were only provided for players to rest when changing ends in 1975.
11) Young starters
British player, Laura Robson, is not only the junior champion but, at 15 years and 152 days old on Monday 22nd June, was the youngest woman to play in the senior competition since Martina Hingis in 1995.
12) Strawberries and cream
Last year, 23 tonnes of strawberries were served to visitors. When laid end-to-end, these berries would stretch almost 60km (37 miles), i.e. from Wimbledon to Reading. A slippery slope when you include the 7,000 litres of fresh cream racked up each fortnight.
13) String theory
At least 40 miles worth of string are fitted to 2,000 rackets over a fortnight at Wimbledon. That's just under six laps' worth of centre court - what? We were curious!
14) Hark the halk!
Hamish the hawk flies for one hour every morning of the championships before the gates open to ward off the local pigeons. He starts his duties at 9am on the dot.
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Bedrooms: 3/
Bathrooms: 3/
Sleeps: 8/
Type: Villa
[L A Y O U T] Ground Floor: Sitting/dining room with fireplace, opening onto the garden, loft with double bed (accessible from the sitting room); kitchen; double bedroom; twin bedroom; 2 shower bathrooms. GUEST HOUSE Ground Floor: Double bedroom with french windows opening onto the garden. En-suite shower bathroom. [S T A F F] Maid service is included 2 hours a day, 3 days a week. [D I S T A N C E S (approx. kms)] Colle di Compito (nearest village with shops and PO) 2,5; S. Leonardo in Treponzio (nearest supermarket) 4,5; Lucca 15; Capannori (nearest motorway exit) 9; Pisa airport 35.
Additional amenities include: TVsat, personal computer, heating, ...Read more
About the manager
About the manager
Salogi Srl
About the owner
Salogi Srl
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- Calendar updated: yesterday
Overall rating:


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Students Reporting For Camp
Journalism Training Program Held At Madison For First Time
Journalism camp student Juhyun Kim, 16, a sophomore at Tuscarora High School in Loudoun County, photographs produce at the Harrisonburg Farmers Market on Tuesday. (Photos by Michael Reilly / DN-R)
LEFT TO RIGHT: JCamp students Grace James, Aly Prouty and Kate Edson, all 17, interview Gillian and Roy Myers of Annapolis, Md., at the Harrisonburg Farmers Market on Tuesday as part of the journalism training program.
Danielle Grae, 16, a junior at Potomac School in Fairfax County, gathered her teammates' reports on the Harrisonburg Farmers Market on Tuesday.
HARRISONBURG — The next generation of storytellers is using Harrisonburg as training grounds this week.
Dozens of them could be seen at the Farmers Market on Tuesday, wearing purple "Tell me your…
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Click Here For Primary Results
You can click the banner above for election results.
Amendment One, the constitutional amendment that says marriage between one man and one woman is the only legal domestic union in the state has passed.
Lt. Governor Walter Dalton has won the Democratic Governor's bid While Pat McCrory has won on the Republican side.
Mitt Romney won the NC GOP Presidential nomination.
1st District Democratic Congressman G.K. Butterfield has won his primary race.
North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler is taking the Republican Party banner into November's election after winning his primary contest.
Turnout in Eastern Carolina's largest county is lagging behind the last presidential primary in 2008.
Pitt County Elections Director Dave Davis says as of 3:00 p.m. turnout was 19.67%. That compares to 24.94% at the same time for the 2008 primary.
State elections director Gary Bartlett said he is getting reports turnout is getting lighter, especially where it is raining. A line of showers has been crossing the state most of the day.
Bartlett says he isn't sure any more that overall turnout will exceed 37 percent, which was the highest level in at least 25 years.
Bartlett says few problems have been reported.
Polls will stay open until 7:30 p.m. To find out where you vote, or to view your sample ballot, click on the links at the bottom of the story.
A constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage is driving turnout, but voters also are choosing nominees for governor, 13 congressional districts, nine of the 10 Council of State positions and dozens of General Assembly seats.
Already, more than 490,000 people went to the polls during early voting which ended Saturday. In Pitt County, 8,138 people took advantage of early voting this year, compared to 8,932 four years ago.
There are 6.2 million people registered to vote in the state.
Indiana and West Virginia are also slated for presidential primaries Tuesday, but even a convincing win by Romney in all states would leave him just shy of the 1,144 delegates he needs to win the nomination. Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich will appear on the Republican ballot but have withdrawn their candidacies. Ron Paul, who has 94 delegates, will also appear on the ballot.
WITN and witn.com will have the most complete election results after polls close.
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We blended two superior yarns to create an exceptional fine-gauge 1/4-zip pullover sweater. High-quality cotton is combined with merino wool, world-renowned for its long, silky fibers, legendary softness, lightweight warmth, and a complete absence of the itchiness that some wool has. Unmistakably refined, this sweater is also machine washable and dryable. Classic styling and construction work in both casual and dressier occasions.
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Nice looking sweater of good quality. And the sale price is very good.
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Nice sweater
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This is a great lightweight sweater for those transitions between fall-winter and winter-spring. Perfect fit and it pairs perfectly over a long sleeve shirt or works equally well on its own. The quality is what you would expect from Eddie Bauer. I am planning to pick up one or two more to be ready for next season.
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I am 6"3 with a long torso, so most men's clothing don't really fit. These do. I have many. They are great.
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Shanghai - Michael Phelps continued his countdown to next year's London Olympics by qualifying fifth fastest on Monday for the 200 metres freestyle final at the FINA World Championships.
The 26-year-old American was third quickest in his semi-final. He had to overtake two swimmers on the last lap after turning for home in fifth and eventually posted a time of one minute 46.91 seconds.
"I don't really care where I am in the pool as long as I have a lane," Phelps told reporters after the race.
Phelps, who had said he will retire after next year's Games in the British capital, repeated a pre-championships prediction that the race would probably be one of the tightest, and exciting, of the programme.
"Some guys at front have speed, and some guys close extremely well. You (are) probably gonna see a tight group tomorrow. It's going to be down to the last 50."
Germany's 2009 world champion Paul Biedermann won the semi-final that also included Phelps in 1:45.93, just ahead of American Ryan Lochte.
France's Yannick Agnel was the fastest qualifier after winning his semi-final in 1:45.62. Biedermann, Lochte and 400 metres freestyle champion Park Tae-hwan of South Korea were the top four overall.
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The suit names Sony Computer Entertainment America, Sony Pictures and Sony DADC and claims that products marketed under the Blu-ray name infringe on a patent Target owns for reflective-layer materials in optical discs. The patent addresses what Target called a need for specific types of silver-based alloys with the advantages (but not the price) of gold. According to the patent, the alloys are also more resistant to corrosion than pure silver.
Target does not specify in its suit whether it believes all of Sony's Blu-ray discs infringe on the Target patent or whether the suit applies to just a portion of the discs manufactured, notes CNET. The patent was filed in April of 2004 and granted in March of 2006.
The Tools of Change for Publishing (TOC) Conference will explore how technology is sparking creativity and inspiring conversation for leading change in the industry. Participants include innovators from every corner of the book publishing world, who will deliver enlightening keynotes, informative sessions, and useful analysis, shedding light on the challenges and opportunities ahead. Join the conversation! "Macsimum News" readers save 25 percent; you can register [url=http://conferences.oreillynet.com/pub/w/57/register.html]here[/url], using code toc07mac. The conference will be held June 18 - 20 at the Fairmont in San Jose, California.


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Update Notes
Updated on: 05/14/2016
Update Notes
Updated on: 05/14/2016
Since we last visited Private...
Anyone who has ever been to the back room of a video store has heard of Private Entertainment. They're one of the biggest porn makers in the biz. If you've watched porn, you've probably gotten off to one of their movies already, so you can understand my excitement when I saw that Private was next up for me to update. They've added multiple new features to the site since we last visited and I am very excited to share these with you.
The site bills itself as a mega-site and they give you access to over a dozen sites that cover a variety of niches. There's a mature site called Private MILFs, an interracial one called Blacks On Sluts and even a Tgirl site called Tranny Temptation. You also get the likes of Anal Introductions, Mission Asspossible and Russian Teen Ass.
Before joining the site, you can enjoy a "free zone" section that was just recently added and it allows you to watch six movies for free! You get anal, interracial, a Private star scene and teens to enjoy. You can't download these videos, but you can stream them in Full HD. Improvements have also been made to the mobile version of the site.
You can filter the 5,472 videos by category, for example "anal sex," or browse the sites on their own. You also have the option of seeing the hundreds of DVDs the scenes are taken from, which you can't download anywhere else by the way. Updates continue to be daily, with multiple scenes added on some days.
The flicks come in two or more MP4 files, with many of them being offered in a Full HD format. You can also stream them in an embedded Flash player and though you'll see a progress bar showing that the stream is loading, you can actually skip ahead right away without waiting for it to fully load. Some of the streams can be enjoyed in 4K Ultra HD, so take advantage of that when you can. Full movies are available for streaming as well.
With big-names pornstars like Abby Brooks, Silvia Saint and Brittney Skye, the women are without a doubt gorgeous across the board. You'll find Latinas, Nubian beauties, Asians, Europeans and Americans, not to mention the variety of ages ranging from teens to MILFs. Being the pros they are they're willing to go as far as possible to please their fans. We're talking no holes barred, with anal action, creampies, double penetration and interracial sex. You can also find some BDSM on Private Fetish.
You can also check out around 5,119 photo sets, but they don't have their own section. When you go to watch a movie you'll see a tab for photos when there are some available (no tab, no pics). You'll find some high-res images (they've been increased up to 1900x1300) when you download them individually or in Zip files (they appear smaller online). Looking at the older scenes, it appears that most of the movies from the year 2000 don't have any images.
The interface has some worthwhile features, like the ability to save your favorites, rate the content, sort the porn using different criteria and post comments. There's even an advanced search. They changed the layout of the menu bar and it now has some new sections like "extras," where you'll find interviews with models and a "top categories" section that allows you to view all the videos with a specific sex act.
Another great addition to the site includes a "quick-jump" vertical navigation tool that's located on the right side of the page and is indicated by four dots. Here you can skip ahead to the latest updated scenes, most popular scenes, upcoming scenes and top pornstars. This is a great feature that allows you to quickly access the content.
The pagination remains an issue though. Our last review mentioned that you could only jump ahead or back a few pages at a time and that there was no means of jumping ahead to the end. Although they've added some great new ways to browse the content, the site has increased to 211 pages, so a skip-ahead to the first and last page would make a huge difference.
Even with that limitation though, there's no denying that you're getting a ton of high-quality porn (I almost forgot to mention that the footage that doesn't come in HD is still good in quality). Also, if you happen to be from Japan or Russia, you'll find join pages in these languages. All in all, Private remains very easy to recommend.
* Please include a pro and a con about the site. Balance is essential in making a comment worthwhile. Scores without comments will be deleted.
* Watch out for ratings of zero and 100. In our opinion, there is no such thing as a site that is absolutely perfect or completely worthless.
Score: 90% Date: 09/13/2015
site on review says 14.95 for a month but that is wrong price. it is 20.95
Reply from RabbitsReviews (Date:09/14/2015): Hello. Thank you for the head's up. We're working to resolve the issue now.
Score: 85% Date: 08/14/2015
Beautiful women, but limited number of videos.
Score: 85% Date: 08/07/2015
Buyer's Note! Privateclassics.com is separate from the Private.com network and does not come with your membership to Private.com The review is incorrect. They still have some of the classics on Private.com
The Good: In terms of content Private has always made really good stuff. With some of the best star that have ever been in the business too.
The bad: They've released loads of mashed up movies cut together from different scenes in other movies, so you may see a star has 5 scenes available but they're actually the same scene, just from 5 different movies. That in mind, there's still a lot of scenes.
Download Quality: Good speed on the downloads and different options for DL size and quality on most movies. Most are 480p. Which is fine by me. I hate 1 gig porn videos.
Overall: I was a member of private.com years ago and their website was horrible. Truly horrible.(you can see some of the reviews from 2012 here) They've come a long way and it's a lot better than it was, but still not up to the standard set by other sites. I'm happy to recommend it.
Reply from RabbitsReviews (Date:08/10/2015): Thank you for the head's up. We are confirming the information now and will update, if necessary.
Score: 71% Date: 05/13/2015
Decent site overall. But, I am unable to access my account and Private's support doesn't respond at all to help. What a joke! Any help here Rabbits Reviews?...
Reply from RabbitsReviews (Date:05/14/2015): Hi, Dudester. I sent you an email. 1
Score: 75% Date: 04/22/2015
1. Original 80's classic beautiful Euro porn stars like Silvia Saint, Lea DeMae, Michelle Wilde and many more are here. Lots of videos of these beautiful sexy ladies.
2. Lot of content is 1080p full HD, and is very high quality content with very beautiful, sexy ladies
1. I paid $149.95 for the annual membership, I later discovered that almost all other sites with equal/better quality/quantity content are cheaper, typically $99.99 for the annual membership
2. The updates are not too frequent
3. The updates are often not full HD, and are sometimes re-runs of older 80's porn stars
Score: 1% Date: 01/03/2015
I am used to be an big of Private Fan, but there website Private and Classic are an big disappointment . they need to hire somebody to design there website, even there old website was better, it look like an Idiot design what they have now, it look like it was design 20year ago and slow to. Completely ,rip off ,I see free website with better quality.
to bad , because same of there Girls in the past where really HOT
Score: 50% Date: 03/16/2014
Discount $14.95/30 days isn't true!!
20.95 euro= 29.15$
Reply from RabbitsReviews (Date:03/17/2014): Hi, gis2300. Unfortunately, the pricing above is only in US dollars and doesn't account for differences in currency.
Score: 1% Date: 03/08/2013
Waste of money for bunch of OLD PORN! Do not signup.
Score: 10% Date: 12/23/2012
Awful site. Don't touch it with a bargepole.
Score: 96% Date: 10/08/2012
I tried a few adult sites and I quite most of them right away. Too much crap and old bullshit on many other sites. I love the private quality and I also love the way they present there stuff. The download options are just great and an don't even have to convert those movies to watch them on my mobile while i´m on the road. They are pushing updates all the time and I wish I had more time to watch... :) Theres only one thing I'm missing; "Mark favorites". Even those crappy tubesites have that option and it would be great have a favorites section and perhaps a counter. "This scene is faved 239 times."
Score: 75% Date: 07/27/2012
Most of the content is also available on Videobox. In fact videobox has as much or more private dvd's than the private.com site and the quality is better. Go figure. A lot of the content not available on videobox is compilation videos. That said, there is just enough unique stuff here that a month or two subscription makes sense. Also, some of the new releases are in HD. Oh, contrary to some previous reviews, there is plenty of pic sets available, I had no problems with the flash player and I wouldn't consider the site a ripoff.
Score: 25% Date: 03/25/2012
Hi Rabbit rewievs... i was not sure if i wanted to join Private.com but after reading this "Pic sets: 2831 (Pics per set: 124)" -and knowing the euro style that the deliver- I joined straight away for 3 monhts 60 bobs, now this picture library is a total lie many until now i havent found just 1 gallery with more than 50 pics and only a few of them, many has only screenshots some only one pic i guess avrage is 15 and you say 124, this is soooo bad and rabbit reviews should compensate its cheating.
Reply from RabbitsReviews (Date:03/26/2012): I went through the site to verify our stats and they look to be accurate. Some of the performers (like Aletta Ocean) have over 2K pics, and she is just one of hundreds of models featured. While the magazine spreads have less pics per set, you will find the model galleries have large sets, which bring up the average.
Score: 25% Date: 12/29/2011
Very disappointing site. Flash player is years out of date, some videos have no scenes, the magazine section is a joke. Very poor and I rate this as pretty much a ripoff.
Score: 20% Date: 08/27/2011
I should have come here before I signed up. All the stuff is old, non exclusive, and I just got ripped off. That said, the girls are beautiful. You guys should really re-review this.
Score: 70% Date: 04/14/2011
Was a member of Private.com in 2008, but membership was too pricey so I canceled. The girls are faultless and hot, the action is intense - but the site is? was quite a mess, with, as mentioned, advertising links and non-exclusive material. If you like this kind of porn, european that is - go for DDF Prod, they are much better! And more expensive...but it`s worth it. Trust me.
Score: 1% Date: 12/04/2010
These people make great movies but there web site is a horrible mess, few pics and not well done. Very hard to navigate a very big dissappointment!
Score: N/A Date: 06/11/2010
FLAT-OUT BAIT-AND-SWITCH. They have just replaced the entire site with a new one that only has magazine content dating back to 2003, and they are still advertising the old content on the welcome and signup pages. You need to to a ripoff alert on this site.
Reply from RabbitsReviews (Date:06/14/2010): Thanks for the comment. We'll see if we can update the review.
Score: 90% Date: 01/11/2010
Brilliant website, loads of great videos. There is now no DRM and vids are also available for iPod.
Score: 92% Date: 11/01/2009
pure gold. greatest porn site I've ever seen.
Score: 95% Date: 10/26/2009
A really great site with the best quality porn on the net. The girls are usually of a very high-standard (though their American stuff is about as limp as American porn often is). Now that there is no DRM encryption, the site is totally worth it. The only real shortcoming for me was that some of their older sets and vids are not available, though I think they regularly re-release stuff.
Well worth the investment.
Score: 35% Date: 09/01/2009
15 Years ago Private was good and worth a look, but today I wouldn't join if it was free; seriously it's gotten that bad
The reason? - because they have everything needed to make a viewer happy: beautiful girls, nice sets etc; but they also use every opportunity to frustrate and even annoy you!
They do this by having bad directors, abysmally disappointing scene management, awful "artwork", and irritatingly terrible male performers
Men watch porn because they want to see beautiful women being screwed. We don't watch it to see a man wag his dick - as in: in-out, wag wag wag, in-out, wag wag wag etc. If we wanted to watch men wagging their dicks we wouldn't be watching hetero movies. Private doesn't seem to know this because they show hours of dick-wagging in their supposedly hetero movies
Men also watch porn because we like female bodies. Private makes women keep half their clothing on so we don't get to see their bodies -- wtf??!!
And when the woman actually is naked, they have three ways of frustrating you to make sure you see practically nothing: DP in which the woman's body is smothered and all you get is a view up mens' assholes (!!); blurred images à la David Hamilton to hide the woman; and images from behind a drape which means you see just as little. This isn't "artistic", it's just irritating and annoying
You'd think professional porn producers would understand things like this, but the ones at Private don't seem to. Much to my disappointment, because they used to be sexy which is what they aren't now
Score: 90% Date: 06/30/2009
DRM no longer being added to downloadable videos!
Score: 50% Date: 10/15/2008
Great sets and beautiful girls, but what's with the PDF files for the pics?
DRM on the videos too.
Score: 75% Date: 10/14/2008
The Rabbit discount offer ($19.95 instead of $29.95) does apply, despite the confusing sign-up screen, which seems to suggest otherwise. Mac users: the downloaded movies are not playable on the Mac at all --- the sign-up screen is a little misleading about this. That's why I rate it lower than the 100 it would get on content alone. The movies are the most important part of the site


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- Burkina FasoAgricultureFunding via Micro Start/AFD
Boulsin GroupBurkina FasoAgricultureFunding via Micro Start/AFD
Mankarga V7...Burkina FasoAgricultureFunding via Micro Start/AFD
Nakiengtaore Homme Group
Halidou has been dyeing traditional pagnes (colorful West-African fabrics) for the past 15 years. He buys his supplies at the market of Secteur 10 in town, and sells to wholesalers.
He wants to buy two barrels of dye.
Halidou would like to use the profits from his loan to expand his business. His ambition is to improve his family's living conditions.
Mr est teinturier de pagne traditionnel depuis 15ans. Il s'approvisionne au marché de secteur 10 en ville. Ses clients sont les grossistes.
Il veut s'acheter 02 barriques de teinture.
Mr désire utiliser les bénéfices du prêt pour agrandir son commerce. Il ambitionne amélioré les conditions de vie de sa famille.
Additional Information
About Micro Start/AFDThis loan is administered by Micro Start/AFD, Kiva's first Field Partner in Burkina Faso. Micro Start/AFD's mission is to improve families' living conditions in general, and those of women in particular, by facilitating access to financial and non-financial services.
Micro Start/AFD is a professional microfinance institution offering financial services, advice, and training. One of the organization's principal aims is to collect obligatory and voluntary savings that foster clients' financial independence. Micro Start/AFD also focuses on building female entrepreneurs' skills in management and business administration and improving the living conditions in its clients' communities. More information can be found on Micro Start's Kiva Field Partner Page.
This is a Group Loan
In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a larger group of individuals. The group is there to provide support to the members and to provide a system of peer pressure, but groups may or may not be formally bound by a group guarantee. In cases where there is a group guarantee, members of the group are responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members in the case of delinquency or default.
Kiva's Field Partners typically feature one borrower from a group. The loan description, sector, and other attributes for a group loan profile are determined by the featured borrower's loan. The other members of the group are not required to use their loans for the same purpose.
About Burkina Faso
7View loans »
Success!! The loan was 100% repaid
- Repayment Term
- 8 months (Additional Information)
- Repayment Schedule
- Monthly
- Pre-Disbursed:
- May 24, 2012
- Listed
- May 25, 2012
- Currency Exchange Loss:
- Possible
- Ended:
- Jan 15, 2013


text:
At Wednesday night's meeting 10/13, Tallahassee Commissioners introduced a new rate program for utility customers. But this isn't your standard billing discount, it operates more like a cell phone plan.
"This gives our customers the opportunity to control our utility cost. We're very, excited about it because we have never had the opportunity to choose what electric rate we pay," says Reese Goad with City of Tallahassee Utilities.
Right now, customers pay a flat rate of 12 cents per kilowatt hour. With the new plan, those who use energy during off peak hours which are 7 P.M. to 7 A.M. and on the weekend, will have their rate dropped to 8 cents.
Tallahassee resident Alex Hager travels forty-percent of the time. He says he thinks this plan will work for him. "I think it's a reasonable program and something everyone should consider. You are saving your personal dollars as well as conserving energy for the city."
While customers might save money if they use energy during the directed hours, if they use it during peak hours, that rate increases to 22 cent which is almost double the normal rate.
"The reality is many of us leave early in the morning around 7 or before 7 and then return after dark. We need a rate plan that quite frankly meets our demand," says Tallahassee City Commissioner Andrew Gillum.
Utility officials say this program is not mandatory and if you don't like it, you don't have to try it.