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Endoreduplication (also referred to as endoreplication or polytenization) is replication of the nuclear genome in the absence of cell division, which leads to elevated nuclear gene content and polyploidy. Endoreplication can be understood simply as a variant form of the mitotic cell cycle (G1-S-G2-M) in which mitosis is aborted prior to cytokinesis or circumvented entirely, due in part to modulation of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) activity.[1][2] Examples of endoreplication characterized in arthropod, mammalian, and plant species suggest that it is a universal developmental mechanism responsible for the differentiation and morphogenesis of cell types that fulfill an array of biological functions.[1][2] While endoreplication is often limited to specific cell types in animals, it is considerably more widespread in plants, such that polyploidy can be detected in the majority of plant tissues.[3]
Examples in nature[edit]
Endoreplicating cell types that have been studied extensively in model organisms
|Cell Type
|Biological Function
|larval tissues (incl. salivary glands)
|secretion, embryogenesis
|ovarian follicle, nurse cells
|nourishment, protection of oocytes
|platelet formation
|trophoblast giant cell
|placental development, nourishment of embryo
|defense from herbivory, homeostasis
|leaf epidermal cell
|leaf size, structure
|nourishment of embryo
|secretion, body size
Endocycling vs. endomitosis[edit]
Endoreplication typically results in elevated cellular DNA content, but the manner in which the genetic material is configured varies depending on whether mitotic events are allowed to occur.[1][2] Endocycling is a form of endoreplication in which the cell largely avoids mitosis and duplicated chromatids remain physically associated. Repeated rounds of endocycling can lead to the production of polytene chromosomes in which sister chromatids are tightly configured in parallel arrays. In contrast, endomitosis is a form of endoreplication in which cells undergo aspects of mitosis but fail to execute telophase and/or cytokinesis. Duplicated chromosomes produced by endomitosis exist as discrete units in a single polyploid nucleus or may be packaged into separate nuclei, depending on the phase at which mitosis is aborted. In certain instances (e.g. trophoblast giant cells), the distinction between endocycling and endomitosis is clouded, as the cell undergoes early mitotic events such as chromosome condensation that tend to diminish the physical association among homologous chromosomes. It should also be noted that endocycling does not always involve replication of the entire genome, and that certain regions are often replicated more frequently than others.
Biological significance[edit]
Based on the wide array of cell types in which endoreplication occurs, a variety of hypotheses have been generated to explain the functional importance of this phenomenon.[1][2] Unfortunately, experimental evidence to support these conclusions is somewhat limited:
Cell/Organism Size: Cell ploidy often correlates with cell size,[9][11] and in some instances, disruption of endoreplication results in diminished cell and tissue size [12] suggesting that endoreplication may serve as a mechanism for tissue growth. Relative to mitosis, endoreplication does not require cytoskeletal rearrangement or the production of new cell membrane and it often occurs in cells that have already differentiated. As such it may represent an energetically efficient alternative to cell proliferation among differentiated cell types that can no longer afford to undergo mitosis.[13] While evidence establishing a connection between ploidy and tissue size is prevalent in the literature, contrary examples also exist.[14]
Cell Differentiation: In developing plant tissues the transition from mitosis to endoreplication often coincides with cell differentiation and morphogenesis.[14] However it remains to be determined whether endoreplication and polypoidy contribute to cell differentiation or vice versa. Interestingly, targeted inhibition of endoreplication in trichome progenitors results in the production of multicellular trichomes that exhibit relatively normal morphology, but ultimately dedifferentiate and undergo absorption into the leaf epidermis.[15] This result suggests that endoreplication and polyploidy may be required for the maintenance of cell identity.
Oogenesis and Embryonic Development: Endoreplication is commonly observed in cells responsible for the nourishment and protection of oocytes and embryos. It has been suggested that increased gene copy number might allow for the mass production of proteins required to meet the metabolic demands of embryogenesis and early development.[1] Consistent with this notion, mutation of the Myc oncogene in Drosophila follicle cells results in reduced endoreplication and abortive oogenesis.[16] However, reduction of endoreplication in maize endosperm has limited effect on the accumulation of starch and storage proteins, suggesting that the nutritional requirements of the developing embryo may involve the nucleotides that comprise the polyploid genome rather than the proteins it encodes.[17]
Buffering the Genome: Another intriguing hypothesis is that endoreplication buffers against DNA damage and mutation because it provides extra copies of important genes.[1] However, this notion is purely speculative and there is limited evidence to the contrary. For example, analysis of polyploid yeast strains suggests that they are more sensitive to radiation than diploid strains.[18]
Stress Response: Research in plants suggests that endoreplication may also play a role in modulating stress responses. By manipulating expression of E2fe (a repressor of endocycling in plants), researchers were able to demonstrate that increased cell ploidy lessens the negative impact of drought stress on leaf size.[19] Given that the sessile lifestyle of plants necessitates a capacity to adapt to environmental conditions, it is appealing to speculate that widespread polyploidization contributes to their developmental plasticity
Genetic control of endoreplication[edit]
The best-studied example of a mitosis-to-endocycle transition occurs in Drosophila follicle cells and is activated by Notch signaling.[20] Entry into endocycles involves modulation of mitotic and S-phase cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) activity.[21] Inhibition of M-phase CDK activity is accomplished via transcriptional activation of Cdh/fzr and repression of the G2-M regulator string/cdc25.[21][22] Cdh/fzr is responsible for activation of the anaphase-promoting complex (APC) and subsequent proteolysis of the mitotic cyclins. String/cdc25 is a phosphatase that stimulates mitotic cyclin-CDK complex activity. Upregulation of S-phase CDK activity is accomplished via transcriptional repression of the inhibitory kinase dacapo. Together, these changes allow for the circumvention of mitotic entry, progression through G1, and entry into S-phase. The induction of endomitosis in mammalian megakaryocytes involves activation of the c-mpl receptor by the thrombopoietin (TPO) cytokine and is mediated by ERK1/2 signaling.[23] As with Drosophila follicle cells, endoreplication in megakaryocytes results from activation of S-phase cyclin-CDK complexes and inhibition of mitotic cyclin-CDK activity.[24][25]
Entry into S-phase during endoreplication (and mitosis) is regulated through the formation of a prereplicative complex (pre-RC) at replication origins, followed by recruitment and activation of the DNA replication machinery. In the context of endoreplication these events are facilitated by an oscillation in cyclin E-Cdk2 activity. Cyclin E-Cdk2 activity drives the recruitment and activation of the replication machinery,[26] but it also inhibits pre-RC formation,[27] presumably to ensure that only one round of replication occurs per cycle. Failure to maintain control over pre-RC formation at replication origins results in a phenomenon known as "rereplication" which is common in cancer cells.[2] The mechanism by which cyclin E-Cdk2 inhibits pre-RC formation involves downregulation of APC-Cdh1-mediated proteolysis and accumulation of the protein Geminin, which is responsible for sequestration of the pre-RC component Cdt1.[28][29]
Oscillations in Cyclin E-Cdk2 activity are modulated via transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms. Expression of cyclin E is activated by E2F transcription factors that were shown to be required for endoreplication.[30][31][32] Recent work suggests that observed oscillations in E2F and cyclin E protein levels result from a negative-feedback loop involving Cul4-dependent ubiquitination and degradation of E2F.[33] Post-transcriptional regulation of cyclin E-Cdk2 activity involves Ago/Fbw7-mediated proteolytic degradation of cyclin E [34][35] and direct inhibition by factors such as Dacapo and p57.[36][37] True endomitosis in the anther tapetum of the liliaceous plant Eremurus is described. The nuclear membrane does not disappear, but during metaphase the chromosomes are condensed, often considerably more than in normal mitosis. When the pollen mother cells (PMCs) go through the last premeiotic mitosis, the tapetal cells have one diploid nucleus which divides while the cell remains undivided. The two diploid nuclei may undergo an endomitosis and the resulting tetraploid nuclei a second endomitosis. An alternative pathway is an ordinary mitosis-again without cell division instead of one of the endomitotic cycles. The cytological picture in the tapetum is further complicated by restitution in anaphase and fusion of metaphase and anaphase groups during mitosis, processes which could give rise to cells with one, two, or three nuclei, instead of the expected two or four. No sign of the so-called "inhibited" mitosis is seen in these tapetal cells. When the PMCs are in leptotene-zygotene, very few tapetal nuclei are in endomitosis. When the PMCs have reached diplotene, almost 100% of cells which are not in interphase show an endomitotic stage.
Endoreplication and oncogenesis[edit]
Polyploidy and aneuploidy are common phenomena in cancer cells.[38] Given that oncogenesis and endoreplication likely involve subversion of common cell cycle regulatory mechanisms, a thorough understanding of endoreplication may provide important insights for cancer biology.
Premeiotic endomitosis in unisexual vertebrates[edit]
The unisexual salamanders (genus Ambystoma) are the oldest known unisexual vertebrate lineage, having arisen about 5 million years ago.[39] In these polyploid unisexual females, an extra premeiotic endomitotic replication of the genome, doubles the number of chromosomes.[40] As a result, the mature eggs that are produced subsequent to the two meiotic divisions have the same ploidy as the somatic cells of the adult female salamander. Synapsis and recombination during meiotic prophase I in these unisexual females is thought to ordinarily occur between identical sister chromosomes and occasionally between homologous chromosomes. Thus little, if any, genetic variation is produced. Recombination between homeologous chromosomes occurs rarely, if at all.[40] Since production of genetic variation is weak, at best, it is unlikely to provide a benefit sufficient to account for the maintenance of meiosis for millions of years. Perhaps the efficient recombinational repair of DNA damages at each generation provided by meiosis has been a sufficient advantage to maintain meiosis.[41]
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subset: commoncrawl


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AN: I´m a sucker for crack pairings so I decided to try this one out. It´s female MC x Jin of Strega. The story line might not match the on of the game perfactly. Ehm, took me a while to write this due to uni and the fact that I´ve moved away from home. Sorry to you who waits for other stories to be updated because that will take a while.
During the wait please check the poll on my profile and vote! Thanks, now enjoy!
It´s a Monday afternoon and I´m walking home to the dorm by myself. School was ok today but Junpei gave me some trouble because he fell asleep during class and made me answer for him again. I sigh. The wind plays with my hair as I make my way towards the station but as I walk down the stairs I hear a terrible sound from my right. I stop in my tracks and listens. It sounds like a cry of pain. Others seems to hear this as well but everyone avoids it; they don´t want to risk their own safety to help someone in that part of town. I frown as I approach the source of the sound..
The sight scares the shit out of me. A young man that I remember as one member of Strega lies on the ground, twitching while a persona looking creature pierces him with its sharp hands. My heart stops beating as I run towards him, pulling my evoker out of my pocket. I´ve never summoned my persona during the day before but I doesn´t hesitate to pull the trigger. Orpheus emerges from me with a loud cry before it attacks the man´s persona violently. It´s over quickly, too quick for anyone to notice it even happening. I get down on my knees as I reach him and I look for a wound but there is none. Maybe it can´t make physical damage at this hour but only pain on the…inside? I look at the man´s face with worried eyes.
"Are you alright? Hey—!"
I reach out for him but he slaps away my offered hand.
"The pills…!" A grunt leaves his lips.
He points at a bottle of pills that´s lying on the ground out of his reach and I take it in my hand and stares at them for a moment. I recognize the bottle from somewhere. A groan of pain makes me flinch and I decide I need to give the medicine to him even though I´m certain of that it´s those pills that makes him this ill. I move closer to him, take a firm hold of his shoulders so he won´t struggle, turn him over to his back and holds out some pills to him. His shaking body makes me drop a few of them but he takes the others and chews them down in a hurry. He´s desperate. I hold him down as much as I can while the twitching of his body turns worse before disappearing completely.
He lies in my arms for some time while he´s regaining his breath and energy but shoves me away violently without wasting any time. He stares at me angrily through his broken pair of glasses and it´s like me saving him never happened or that he is delusional. I feel slightly insulted by his attitude but I stay silent as he searches for something with his still shaking hands. He swallows another pill. My red eyes follow how his Adam's apple moves up and down as he does so. How ill…is he? The blue-haired teen looks at me for a while before he breaks the silence.
"Why didn´t you kill me? You had the chance…I was defenseless…" He asks me almost as if he wanted me to finish him off.
A frown makes my face turn a shade darker as I get up on my feet and brushes the dirt away from my school uniform. This is all clear to me now. His name is Jin and he´s the smart-ass from Strega, the group of three that is always getting in the way lately. I look down at him with disgust clear in my eyes. He makes me wonder if I did the right thing to save him.
"I am no murderer." I tell him bluntly but in a slightly cold voice. "But your persona…it was about to …"
He just stares at me silently. My eyes move to the bottle in his hands and I remember where I´ve seen it before. I caught a glimpse of it when I was talking with Shinjiro-senpai. He was in a hurry to hide it from me. My body turns cold at this realization. Something is wrong.
"Those pills…are you the one giving them to Shinjiro-senpai?" I urge him.
His eyes widen a fraction and I catch that even though he tries to hide it with a frown. I´ve not met Jin a lot before nor gotten a fair picture of him since the man named Takaya is the spokesperson of Strega. All I know is that he´s smart, he makes his own explosives and that he´s faithful to Strega.
"Why should I tell you?" He almost spit at me.
"Because I just saved your ass?" I snort and cross my arms over my chest. "And I take that as a yes; you did give him the pills."
He glares at me but seems to be slightly surprised over how much I learned without him saying a thing. Every second I spend with the Strega member do I grow to dislike him even more. His attitude annoys me especially his inability to say thank you. It´s like he doesn´t care for his own safety, more needing to live for someone else´s sake.
"Did those pills do this to—?"
"So you think you got everything figured out, huh?" He interrupts me with a grin. "You know nothing."
"I know enough to say that those pills are no good and that… I need to have a serious talk with…" My face darkens.
Jin looks at me and his expression changes somewhat. I turn towards him again and try once again to offer him my hand. I don´t know why I am doing this but something I do know is that I can´t leave him when he´s hurting like this. He is a person and him being my enemy is something I should be able to overlook. I´m not that shallow to let him bleed to death. He looks at my hand.
"Can you stand?" I ask him through gritted teeth when he won´t accept it this time either.
"I don´t want your pity!" He growls at me.
"And I´m not giving it to you. Now, take my hand!" I roar back loudly.
I grab Jin´s hand forcefully and pulls him to his feet in a quite violent way. A grunt of pain mixed with surprise leaves the man´s mouth but I ignore the sound of it. My pride is hurt and I won´t care about him at all after this is over. All I need to do is to make sure he gets home safely, then I´ll be able to sleep without guilt tonight.
"Call your friends so they can come and get you. I won´t leave until you do." I order him. My leader abilities are taking over.
" Chidori already found my location and they´re heading here as we speak." Jin tells me coldly. It seems like he doesn´t like to take orders.
My body turns ice cold at this. Was this a trap? My eyes widen at this and I lose my cool for the first time. I´m so gone! He planned to let his team mates to come and take me by surprise while I tried to be nice to him. I take a stumbling step back and prepares myself to call out for help when he looks at me seriously.
"You´re letting me go?" I breathe in confusion after a while of a silence.
"Hn..." He glances at me as if he´s thinking it over again. "That makes us even. Now, leave!"
He doesn´t have to tell me that one more time. I turn my back towards him and leave without another word. Sweat makes my clothes press against my skin in a very uncomfortable way as I step into the monorail and head back home to the dorm. I take a deep breath to calm myself down. I hope I just can forget about today and move on but… I seriously have to find out more about the pills and the sickness they all seem to suffer from.
Shinjiro stares at me from his seat at the kitchen table. He and Fuuka just finished making a night snack and I decided to speak with him when the green-haired girl went to bed. The omelets they made suddenly smells bad. My senpai grunted at the sight of me and I would have been insulted by that if I didn´t know that he understood why I was waiting for him.
"Are you accusing me of something here?" He asks me coldly.
"I´m just worried about you." I tell him truthfully.
He stares at me for the longest time and I just know that he´s not appreciating my worry, rather thinking it´s troublesome. I´ve not been able to get close to him even though he´s been a member of SEES for some time now. He´s very distant and avoids contact with people.
"You´re taking your leader role a little too seriously. Now I´m outa here…" He grabs his plate and is about to head up to his room.
"Senpai, wait!" I sound more desperate than I wanted to.
He stops and looks at me over his shoulder. It seems that my desperation made him give me another chance to explain myself. Or explain the accusation, as he would say it. I am at a loss of words as I face him so my words come out strangely.
"Please talk with me and don´t… take those pills." I plead with him even though I know I´m walking on dangerous ground. "I do really worry about you. Everyone does and we would… be sad if you disappeared!"
His eyes widen dangerously. The silence is killing me more than the staring competition does. He approaches me suddenly and no matter how much I want to stay still I take two steps backwards out of fear. Shinjiro is intimidating. He hits the wall right next to my face and the sound of it makes my whole body twitch with unwanted fear.
"Do you know what happens when I don´t take them?" He asks me bluntly.
I manage to shake my head.
"Then don´t act like you know everything, leader. Good night."
And he leaves me all alone in the lounge. What a great leader I am, huh? I feel how a great depression washes over me. The sound of my senpai´s steps fade slowly. A hand combs my brown hair gently as I try to calm myself down and find a plan B.
I need to see Jin even though I would rather piss Shinjiro off once again than get insulted by him like last time I saw the Strega member.
It was extremely easy to find Jin and I wonder if it´s because I´m good at finding what I´m searching for or if he´s just out of practice. He´s sitting crossed legged at a bench near the movie theater typing something on a laptop. The bag full of explosives is near his feet and I eye it suspiciously as I move towards him. His fingers move quickly and it tells me that he´s used to write on the computer, he doesn´t even have to look down to write what he wants. I sneak up behind the bench and looks down at what he´s writing. It looks like some kind of a website.
"Long time no see." I utter rather quietly but the sound of my voice seems to surprise him because he flinches violently.
"Y-you!" He stutters.
He is quick to shut down his laptop and turn to face me. His eyes are wide and his mouth is slightly open as he stares at me with surprise written all over his face. It´s like he´s preparing to evade an attack from me.
"I need to speak with you." I explain why I approached him.
"What!" He snaps at me and the breath he was holding leaves him in a gasp. "We´re enemies!"
"I want to talk with you, not with Strega and I´m not here as the leader of SEES." I sit down next to him while trying to act confident and normal, like this is something I´ve done before. "Do you like coffee?"
He stares at me in a long silence and creates a bigger distance between us by moving to the edge of the bench. Wrinkles appear on his forehead as he starts to consider if he should talk with me or not. I can truly say that I can see how his brain is working. I´m preparing myself for a rejection because I would probably decline something like this but is surprised when he agrees to talk.
"I want a big soda, and…a burger." He finally tells me as he lets his curiosity overpower his caution.
"Then, wild-duck it is." I nod and take the lead towards the hamburger restaurant.
We both feel very tense as we sit down at the restaurant. Jin looks at his surroundings as if he´s thinking that the rest of SEES would jump out from the bins and attack him from behind. I can´t help but chuckle at this but that doesn´t make Jin more comfortable. He glares at me intensively.
"What are you laughing at?" He snorts. "You do realize that you´re risking a lot talking like that with me? I can call for Chidori anytime."
Oh so he wants to threaten me? A smirk grows bigger on my lips.
"I know, but I can call for Fuuka too."
His eyes widen as he turns silent.
"…So, what do you want to ask?" He asks me without even touching the food on his plate.
"First…eat up. I paid so I don´t want it to go to waste." I tell him with a gentle smile.
He eats slowly at first, in a very cautions manner but relaxes after a while. I need him to be somewhat relaxed around me so we can talk as casually as possible. I´m glad that we choose to talk in a crowded space like this because he can´t hurt me here, not without being noticed. When we both eaten up our burgers I decide to start the conversation.
"I want to understand you and where you came from before I act. I mean… what if I…fight you, what if someone gets killed…and I find out you weren´t the bad guys afterwards?" I say hesitantly, trying to find the right words.
Something I say seems to change Jin in a way I don´t understand. His eyes widen slightly before he regains his cool composure. It surprised him but the frown on his face makes me believe he´s doubting my words. He thinks I´m trying to trick him into telling me about Strega´s secrets.
"No one is completely evil or good. I think SEES and Strega are striving for the same thing but in different ways. I don´t want to make any mistakes and I think the first step is to understand each other." I take a deep breath before I get to the point. "I need to get to know more about the pills. My senpai eats them as well and I´m worried."
"So you´re technically want me to tell you my secret so you can help your friend, my enemy?"
It seems like he didn´t understand that I´m trying to understand Strega here and not to make us worse enemies than we already are. A deep frown makes me look at least ten years older as I massage my forehead before I make a hand gesture towards him.
"Oh man! Can´t we just leave this enemy-talk behind us for just one second! I´m talking about a person dying here!"
Jin grows eerie silent and his eyes narrow dangerously at my outburst. I stare back at him with no thought of stepping down but it doesn´t take long before I realize that I´m causing trouble. Some customers look at us strangely and I quiet down.
"You must be suffering from it too?" I whisper carefully.
He looks down at his plate with a heavy frown on his face. Jin closes his eyes, sighs and puts down his glass of soda.
"I…I can´t do this." He mutters.
Jin gets up from his chair and exits the restaurant in a quick pace just like that and I´m once again alone with no answers. Red eyes look at the door for some moments while I´m hoping that he´ll turn around and join me again. My heart is about to burst and I fight my tears. I suck as a leader don´t I?
I gave up. Neither Shinjiro nor Jin wanted to talk to me about it so I quit asking. I´m tired of always worrying about others when they show no interest of work together with me. It´s their turn to come to me. I know this is childish of me but hey, I can´t say I´m an adult! My chest hurts and I feel like a failure; I can´t even take care of the members of SEES. I can´t win Shinjiro´s respect or trust so I stopped trying and just waited for it to happen. Things turned back to normal. I went to school, studied for exams and explored Tartarus at night.
"We´re going to Tartarus tonight." I inform them off. "Prepare yourselves!"
"Are you alright Minako-tan?" Junpei asks me. "You look tired."
"I´m fine." I answer shortly while passing him by.
"What pissed her off?" Junpei comments with a frown.
Shinjiro glances at Junpei before he looks at me, but he stays silent. He´s standing near the wall but follows when everyone heads towards the school when it´s close to midnight. He has also noticed the changes.
"I want Akihiko-senpai, Koromaru and Ken to come with me. The rest listen to Mitsuru´s orders!"
I didn´t notice how Shinjiro started to watch over me since I was too busy fighting shadows and making sure everyone is alright.
I´m sitting in the lounge reading a book Yukari lent me when the coldest member of SEES decides to speak to me.
I look up at him but doesn´t bother to answer. I show him the book before I continue reading, silently telling him I´m busy.
"Cold, huh?" He comments as he sits down. He suddenly blurts out things I wanted to ask him about. "I´m sorry for the other day. But.. it´s too personal to talk about."
"I see." I answer indifferently. "I decided not to ask about t because you know, I figured you would be fine on your own. That´s how you like it right?"
His eyes widen a fraction before he turns slightly angry.
"Minako…" He utter smy name in a warning.
I put down my book and face him straight on. My newly found confidence seems to surprise him a bit because he loses his composure.
"Shinjiro-senpai. I respect you and your past but you´re making it very hard for me to lead SEES here. I don´t know where I have you, where you stand or if you´re going to fall down dead any time soon. I´m worried and it´s making me sick. "
I´m staying completely honest with him and it seems that it made him open up one tiny bit. Shinjiro is surprised. He nods slowly while averting his gaze. He glances at me hesitantly.
"I´m fine and…I´ll tell you if it starts affecting me." He tells me quietly.
That is as close to the truth I can come with him. It makes me smile up at him and my expression brightens up. That just made my day a lot brighter!
"Don´t smile at me like that." He grunts in embarrassment.
Shinjiro gets up on his feet and starts to walk up the stairs. I continue to smile at him as he does so and it seems like it is starting to creep him out.
"Thank you senpai and feel free to talk with me about it when you are ready too." I tell him in a pretend super cheerful way.
I got a reply from Shinjiro but it´s not enough for me to feel secure in my role as a leader. I know how easy it´s to misread your own pain. I can´t do anything about it though so I continue to lead as I always done, acting like the pills doesn´t exists. Around the time where I almost managed to forget about it Jin contacted me out of the blue. I don´t know how but he managed to find my e-mail address. Someone once mentioned that they thought he was a real computer nerd.
"Meet me outside the restaurant tomorrow at 20:00, come alone."
His name stands there below the sentence but no matter how much I stare at it I feel that this is a trap. The come alone part gives me a really bad feeling but I decide to go anyway. I believe I´m capable of defending myself against him but if he brings the rest of Strega I´ll be in deep shit. I walk down the stairs and is about to head out as Yukari stops me.
"Oh Minako!" She approaches me with a smile. "Are you going out this late?"
"Yeah. I forgot something at school."
"Do you want me to tag along?"
"Oh you don´t need to do that." I tell her. "Can´t we watch a movie or something when I get home instead?"
"Oh, yeah sure. Be careful out there."
I sigh as I exit the dorm. I don´t know why but I´m nervous about meeting Jin. It feels strange especially since he has my e-mail all of a sudden. That makes me believe that he could easily locate me in other ways as well. When I think of Strega I always saw Takaya as the strong one, Chidori as a girl who never says anything and Jin as the weaker member but I was wrong. Jin is strong but in a different kind of way. He´s cunning and smart, uses his brains to win a battle and if he can´t do that he blows the threat away: literally.
I find Jin waiting for me outside the restaurant and I stop to stand next to him. He looks up at me through his glasses before he nods to his side, telling me to follow him. Red eyes look at my surroundings in case he brought back up but there´s no one there. We sit down at the same table we used last time and we order the same thing as then too but he offered to pay this time. Is he trying to trick me? I wonder but my own words come back at me. I can´t doubt him when I told him to see me as me and not a member of SEES some weeks ago. I exhale deeply and force myself to calm down.
"Why did you contact me, Jin?" I ask.
"Eat up first, I don´t want my money to go to waste."
He looks at me through his glasses once again but looks away when I chuckle. I can´t understand what he´s trying to say me by copying me like this but I can´t lie and say it´s not entertaining. My laughter seems to surprise him a bit but he doesn´t comment on it. I wonder if it´s the hint of a smile on his lips I see or if it´s only my imagination. We eat in silence and he starts speaking when we´re done.
"I contacted you because I decided to tell you about the pills." He tells me bluntly.
My eyes widen a fraction but I don´t question Jin´s decision. "Okay, I´m listening." I tilt my head to the side with my focus on him.
"Let´s…talk somewhere else. It´s too crowded here." He looks at the group of students who just entered.
Jin takes me to the outskirts of town and I feel slightly uncomfortable since I´ve never been here like this. It´s a dangerous area and the thought of Takaya jumping out of the shadows to kidnap me. But nothing happens and I grow to trust Jin more.
"Relax." He smirks at my tense body.
"I don´t hang around her often." I don´t know why I explain myself all of a sudden.
"Yeah I know."
I look at him with a surprised expression. How the hell can he know about that? Jin flinches when he notices his mistake and a blush cover his cheeks all of a sudden. I look at him with a dazzled expression as I wait for an explanation. How much does he know about me? Something about this makes me feel even more uncomfortable.
" I did some research about you so I could be certain you wouldn´t talk." He explains, he still avoids telling me the important stuff.
Research? Just how much did he find out about me? My favorite color? My weakness? My heart starts beating faster in my chest. I´m frightened. He knows of my past? Jin avoids to look at me so I decide to not think about it and get to the point.
"About the pills, how dangerous are they? Why do you take them?"
Jin seems to be relieved that I changed subject and that just makes me think that he indeed stalked me on the net for some time. The feeling of being watched hits me from above and I feel both afraid and excited over it. I regard Jin with new eyes and start to be more open towards him so I can notice his intentions.
"We take them to control our persona." He tells me with great difficulty. "As you saw, it tried to kill me. I didn´t take the pills in time."
They have to take pills to control their persona? I´ve never heard about a person who can´t control their ability so the new information surprises me. If my persona would attack me I would be so scared. It would be like… I tried to kill myself. I wouldn´t be able to relax at all. My red eyes move to Jin and I regard him in silence. It seems that he has been through a lot too.
"…Control your persona?" I repeat.
"We´re different from you guys in SEES. We have to force it out and take medicine to keep our powers in check."
The tone he uses makes me believe he´s not telling me all the facts but I can´t ask him for more. It´s painful for him to tell me this and I don´t want to lose his trust by being too sneaky.
"So you take them to stop your persona from killing you?" That explains why Shinjiro got angry when I told him to stop taking them. Is he facing this pain too?
"Exactly." Jin nods. "But the pill itself is dangerous too. It breaks down the body from the inside."
"…So you can´t do anything to stop it?"
"No." He sighs. "Aragaki lost control once and the fear of doing it again drove him to take the drugs. He became addicted, or should I say, dependent on them. The pill itself hurt you but you have to take a pill to avoid that pain... You´ve to choose if you want to die… because of the pills or your own persona. "
None of them can escape death but I could never imagine to fight while knowing that each time I summon a persona would take me closer to my death. Or that each time I take a pill to ease a head ache it would also kill me slowly. I´m starting to understand Jin and Strega, why they are the way they are.
I look down at the ground as I gather courage to ask what I fear the most. "So he´s going to die?"
"Yes." Jin answers.
My heart starts to ache at this but I find myself asking about Jin too, why I don´t know. It´s suddenly important to me to know if he´s the same while fearing it is that way. Him, opening up to me like this, isn´t a bad person at all. I regard him in silence and his expression takes me back. He looks pained and regretful.
"…You too?" I whisper.
"…" He hesitates but looks away as he answers. He looks angry. "I´m not frightened of death."
I don´t know why I feel the need to comfort him but I don´t question it as I put my hand on his shoulder gently. The touch takes him by surprise and he turns to look at me with wide eyes. He looks so lost and sad at the same time.
"Jin…" I murmur his name quietly.
He looks as if he´s about to cry when he finally look up to meet my eyes. The pain in my chest surprises me but not as much as the sudden closeness does. When did we move to be this close? Jin´s hot breath hits me in the face and I can´t stop looking into his eyes. I need to get away.. he´s going to…Jin leans towards me and closes the distance between us all of a sudden and gives me no chance to flee. His lips feel so cool against mine and the tenderness of the kiss takes me back. It´s like he wants to be comforted. I didn't see that coming at all and the surprise makes me unable to react at all. My nose bumps into his glasses a little as I regain the ability to think straight but I´m still don´t know if I want to pull away. It doesn´t feel bad but I can´t say that I feel happy about it either. I´m a little scared as I slowly regain my senses. He breaks the kiss and looks at me in a very eerie manner. He seems to be surprised, hesitant and frightened.
"I shouldn´t have done that." Are the first words that leave his lips.
"But why… did you..?" I´m at a loss of words.
"When I want something, I take it. I don´t have time to wait …" He tells me angrily.
Red eyes widen and my chest starts to hurt. I can´t find appropriate anything to say to him but the words I want to say the most are the most hurtful so I choose not to utter them. I don´t feel disgusted, not at all but I don´t know if I liked the kiss either. It wasn´t that bad…But I feel disturbed over the fact that Jin kissed me after stalking me for weeks. This was not how I wanted to lose my first kiss. With a stranger, a possible enemy in these circumstances…
"This doesn´t change anything though, we´ll still be enemies when we meet next time." He sounds slightly bitter, or nervous.
I look at him in silence for a long moment. Jin confuses me but he seems to be as lost as me. The fact that Jin is, maybe, interested in me makes me slightly happy even though I´ve never even thought about him in that way. I should feel angry about this but I can´t bring myself to hate him. I don´t know what makes me unable to do so: his pretty face or the lingering touch of his lips on mine.
"You´re… insane." I tell him in an unstable voice.
He looks hurt and it makes my own feelings waver. He can´t have…I swallow my saliva. Fallen for me, right? I stare at him in silence but is forced to say something when he´s about to leave just like that. Fear. I´m frightened that he´ll do something dangerous if I don´t stop him now. A sudden bolt of electricity moves through my body as I take a hold of his wrist. Jin stops in his tracks but won´t look at me.
"You´re striving for what you think is right with all you got. I can´t help but admire than even though what you find is right is wrong in my point of view." I tell him, why I don´t know. But I think I want to comfort him. "I just don´t want to label people as bad or good. And…I don´t hate you for…kissing me. It doesn´t matter that we´re supposed to be enemies or that you´re…dying.. because we´re just people and we´re supposed to live until the end. No matter what end awaits us."
"Hn." He exhales deeply. It seems that I managed to take that burden off his shoulders.
"I´m sorry." He apologizes, smiling weakly at me. "
I´ve never seen him smile before and the small gesture takes me by surprise. He´s always looking way too serious, cold or indifferent so his gentle smile makes me feel newly found butterflies in my stomach. Wait, butterflies in my stomach? We look into each other´s eyes for the longest time but an annoying beeping sound interrupts the moment. Jin flinches and pulls his cell from his pocket.
"I need to go, Takaya needs my help."
The way Jin´s eyes widen as he reads the text message makes me realize how bad he wants to rush to the man´s side. It´s seldom to see such emotion on his face.
"He really means a lot to you, doesn´t he?" I state the fact.
"Yes, he saved me when I was in the darkness." Jin tells me bluntly.
"Then go." I smile at him and nod.
I get up to my feet and grab my bag, showing him that I´m ok with it. That I´m ok with everything that happened today, or not ok but not pissed off.
"Thank you." I tell him. "…For telling me about the pills.
Things started to get better with SEES after my meeting with Jin. I suddenly understand Shinjiro in a way he won´t understand and it makes it easier for me to handle his mood swings. I can´t blame him anymore and I´ll never tell him not to take those pills again. The pills are killing him but if he stops eating them he might lose control and let his persona do the job. It´s a dead end and it scares me.
Something else that scares me is how my feelings for Jin is changing. I saw him as an enemy, as someone I need to talk with and someone to rely on until he…kissed me. I haven´t been able to forget about that short touch of lips because my heart won´t let me.
I started to meet Jin from time to time. I didn´t tell my friends about it though and it felt weird to keep it from them. They would surely think I was betraying them if they knew. I don´t even know why I am doing this but what I do know is that my feelings for the Strega member grows for each time we meet. I know I should tell them but the feelings that grow for Jin makes me want to spend time with him, telling them the truth would limit that time. I´m such a bad leader.
We shared more kisses, small touches and words of comfort behind everyone´s backs. I grew to care for him and something in Jin´s eyes told me he felt the same even though he wouldn´t bring himself to tell me. We know we shouldn´t because our love would be the end of us both.
Disappointment soon washed over me though.
"I can´t come today, Takaya needs me for something." My cell is brightening up my dark room.
I type a simple "ok" before going to bed, not caring if my make up gets messed up. We were supposed to meet but he changed plans in the last second. A sigh leaves my lips. I´m disappointed but I can´t blame him for choosing Takaya over me. They´re close friends and I just started meeting Jin; there´s a big difference. Maybe it was a good thing that I didn´t meet him today because lying like this to my friends are starting to become a burden and I still don´t know if what I feel for him is love.
Shinjiro and I started to hang out more and the trust between us grows slowly. He seems to be a cold bastard on the exterior but he´s quite self-conscious and uncertain on the inside. His passion is cooking and that´s why he agreed to help Fuuka out. I wonder if senpai likes the younger girl more than a friend because they would look good together. The two of us went out to eat together, caught a movie and chatted like old friends. What I didn´t know was that someone kept an eye on me during that time.
The next date with Jin was the same; he canceled our meeting just an hour before we were supposed to meet. The reason was Takaya again. Something within me started to get tired of it but I wrote him an "OK" again. I haven´t seen him for ages now and the trust, friendship and love I feel for him are slowly getting weaker. But it didn´t stop there.
"I won´t make it today…"
I don´t even bother to answer the text message the next time he canceled and I choose to ignore future texts from him. It´s childish, I know, but I have feelings too. I wish I was the one that saved you from the darkness. I grow jealous of Takaya and that makes me fear myself a tiny bit. I decide with a long and deep sigh that I should focus on the Shadows instead of my crush.
Shinjiro noticed my depression and surprised me with a night snack one day. It took me by surprise so I smiled at him sincerely. I´m glad that something is going well.
The rumors about the sect are spreading and I know who´s are behind it. I´ve been avoiding Jin and Strega for a while and I received a lot of text messages and even some phone calls during that time. I didn´t answer them though, I couldn´t bring myself to. Jin has never tried to call me before and talking with him on the phone scared me. The rumors are spreading and a lot of students from my school are joining this sect that seems to recruit anyone who wants to join. It´s scary because the news about the end of the world is spreading like a plague.
And then, Shinjiro almost died, no, he almost got killed and is now in deep coma. Takaya shot him when he was shielding Ken. The pain and blood on my senpai´s face made me hurt really bad and I still do. I visit him at the hospital at times praying that he´ll recover so Ken, Mitsuru and Akihiko won´t have to suffer anymore. Everyone is sad about it feels like they are the ones suffering the most.
I´m feeling sick. A friend might die and I couldn´t do nothing to stop him being shot by Strega. I was useless as a leader even though I began to win Shinjiro´s trust. I failed to protect him in the end and that might cost him his life. I feel how I´m being watched as I leave the hospital and I know that Jin has followed me for a while now. I ignore the buzzing of my phone as I walk down the street. I can´t face him now.
I don´t want to think about it too much but everything is Strega´s damn fault. All the pain, all the misery and hardships are their fault and it would be so much easier without them around. That is what I want to think but can´t bring myself to do. It hurts to think about how Takaya hurt Shinjiro and how Jin pretended that nothing happened especially since I have to act strong all the time. I wanted to forget how to feel but knew I couldn´t, I need to face my fears. The end is near. Nyx will arrive and end it all just like Strega´s sect said.
I need to face Jin to end things after all.
The cold hair surrounds me from every direction as I sit on the lone bench close to my high school. The gates are closed but who would enter a school at this time? My warm breath creates see through clouds of fog in the air. I´m waiting for Jin even though I know he won´t show. He never does nowadays so today shouldn´t be any different.
I can´t help but flinch at the sudden voice even though I immediately knows who approached me. Maybe I hoped that he wouldn´t show up so I could walk away, flee from my responsibilities. Red eyes meet his but I want to slap myself as my heart starts beating faster upon seeing his face. Jin looks at me with a cautions expression and his body language is tense probably due to not meeting me as often anymore.
"What do you want?" He asks me.
Wanting to be with you isn´t a good reason to message you anymore? I lower my gaze as I push myself up to my feet since it doesn´t seem as if he wanted to sit down beside me. But when Jin finally shows up I don´t find the words I want to tell him so I just stare.
"I don´t have time for this, Takaya…" He snorts as he turns to leave.
"The hell with Takaya!" I growl with all my might.
Jin stops in his tracks and glances wide-eyed at me over his shoulder. I´m fuming with irritation. If Jin didn't kiss me that time I would probably believe he was gay. It´s not wrong liking someone of the same sex but …it doesn´t matter. What matters is that he and his friends are about to destroy the world.
"Don´t you realize that you´re about to kill everyone! Including yourself and your beloved Takaya!" I yell at him with all I got. "This is madness. Are you going to make the whole world suffer because you want to feel good about yourself?"
"So that´s why you called me here." He says coldly. "You might think you know everything but you don´t and it was technically you guys who made Nyx´s arrival possible. "
That hurt. He´s blaming me and I know he was right. We were tricked to defeat all the shadows that would finally call forth Nyx. It´s our fault but that doesn´t change the fact that Strega stands in the way when we want to make up for the mistake.
"What is it that I don´t understand? Your Takaya almost killed… Why can´t you just stop!"
"You loved him didn´t you?" Jin asks me breathlessly.
That question takes me by surprise and leaves me breathless. Shinjiro was the reason why I got to know Jin but now when he´s in a coma things feel so useless. I stare at Jin with dread on my face but he doesn´t let me avoid answering the question. I face the ground.
"He was a … " I start. "I didn´t get the chance to really befriend him before he was … before… he..."
Jin keeps on staring at me without a sign of compassion on his face. He seems to be angry at me for caring about my friend but when my eyes start to leak he can´t help but look slightly worried. Tears fall down my cheeks as the pain washes over me again. The pain of nearly losing Shinjiro-senpai and the pain I felt when avoiding the man I love makes me break down in front of the Strega member. People are always getting hurt when they hang around me. A pair of arms embraces me suddenly and I´m gently pressed against Jin´s body. He´s holding me close to himself. Was he jealous of Shinjiro-senpai? His unsteady heart beat makes me relax and accept his touch because I´ve missed him and his comfort. It doesn´t take long until our lips meet in a comforting kiss and I sigh when he returns it. He didn´t hate me after all. We break the soft contact after some minuets but our eyes are still meeting.
"Jin, I loved you ..."
"Loved?" He comments the past tense I used in a slightly wavering voice.
My grip on him stays the same while I look away in doubt. I decide to be honest with him in the end.
"I …love you…but we hurt each other and I can´t continue like this when a possible end of the world is near."
"Then…I think it´s best we go our separate ways from here." He tells me suddenly in a pretend indifference.
"Me too. Let´s end this here." Even though he pretends not to care do his eyes change size at my blunt answer. He didn´t expect me to agree that quickly. "I can´t take the pain anymore, it´s not worth it and I can´t risk my friends´ wellbeing any more. Not when I´ll probably never be the only one for you."
Jin´s eyes widen and I can see how his brain works but I don´t stay to give him a chance to explain or say anything at all. I give him one last hug before I turn around and to him standing there in the cold. Now I´ll be able to focus on Tartarus and defeating Nyx again.
"What are you waiting for? Finnish me off!" Jin´s shout echoes eerily.
We defeated Jin and he´s now begging us to take his life, put an end to his misery. Ouch, that hurt. I stare into the distance as my friends wonder what they should do. My heart is aching but I´m too proud to do anything about it.
"…Let´s go." I tell them sternly, we can´t waste more time here.
"Yeah…" Yukari agrees.
SEES follow me without questioning my decision and that helps me leave Jin behind. I needed their support even though they probably don´t know they´re helping me with something here. Takaya is next and I can´t help but want to punch him in the face. If someone liked me as much as Jin likes Takaya I would take care of that person but Takaya seems to have deserted Jin. I´m hurt, angry and confused but put my emotions aside as I start walking up the stairs. I have to forget my feelings so I can save everyone else´s.
Red eyes widen. That was the sound of Jin´s handmade bombs. My heart explodes and shatters until I can´t feel anything anymore. He killed himself. Jin was himself to the end. He didn´t even let someone else decide how he would die. My heart breaks.
"Did he just—?" Junpei sounds frightened.
"That was his decision, now let´s move on." Akihiko comments.
A deep breath leaves my lips as I continue forward. I feel dizzy due to the pain of losing a loved one but forces myself to continue forward. Takaya is next.
"Oh welcome…" Takaya smirks as we reach him.
Beating him was a pleasure. My fear is gone because I´ve nothing to fear anymore. It´s time to do what I came here for. There´s no turning back and nothing can pull me down now when Jin is gone. I can´t see why the others hesitate.
Nyx stares at me as I float towards him. I´m ending this by my own. Tears fall down my cheeks even though I can´t feel the pain.
I´m soon there with you and Jin,… please make me your number one from now on.
I´m selfish aren´t I?
AN: Please review!


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General Contractor | Construction Management
The construction field has been a lifelong career for Marcial Obregón, President of Taylor Brock. Taylor Brock Corporation is a family-owned construction company operating in the Midwest and South regions. As a family business, we are creating a legacy of values for our future business family that is dependable and trustworthy. One of Taylor Brock's first notable projects was for the US Naval Station in Corpus Christi, Texas. Shortly after, Mr. Obregón met his wife, Carla, and relocated to Minnesota where Mr. Obregon grew up. They continue to develop their workmanship and have provided high quality excellence to a diverse group of clients from Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado and Texas for over 32 years. Our projects include high-end commercial retail, education and government structures, custom homes, residential and multi-family proprieties. Taylor Brock takes pride in the quality of its products, expert installation and uncompromising commitment to customer service.


text:
Hughes has yet to make the bench this season, but proved he is in top formby helping Northern Ireland to a 3-0 win over Iceland on Wednesday.
But the 30-year-old midfielder says he will have to leave Selhurst Park in order to get first-team football.
He said: "Terry told me I wouldn't be part of his plans at the end of last season and despite having a good pre-season, I was told I was not going to get a place on the bench."
Midfielder Trond Anderson could return after a calf injury, but the Dons' lengthy injury list still shows no sign of improving.
Meanwhile, Watford manager Gianluca Vialli has been grilling former Don Marcus Gayle about the best way of securing a victory.
The Italian said: "We know that Wimbledon play differently from the past. They don't just play long balls up to big players or rely on set pieces. They now try and play a more European style of football."
Allan Nielsen is trying to shake off an ankle injury he picked up playing for Denmark and fellow midfielder Paolo Vernazza is suspended.
Defender Ramon Vega is in line for a return to the starting line-up.
- More about:
- Croydon
- Iceland
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Calling all heroes and heroines! The Port of Lost Wonder at Sentosa, the State of Fun, is being invaded by monsters after a mad scientist's experiment went terribly wrong. If you are fearless, adventurous and possess any form of super power, your help is needed! Come unite with other little brave hearts on 25 October and 1 November at Sentosa's Port of Lost Wonder, dressed up as superheroes or heroines, to defend the port from nasty monsters this Halloween!
Have fun completing the missions before an ultimate showdown with the queen monster at the end of the night. Comb your way through the spider webs at the Tricky Maze and fight the hidden monsters lurking with various types of powerful weapons. Head over to the Slime Fight and give your best slime shot to prevent more monsters from entering the port!
Need to sharpen your super hero skill? Practise at the Monsters Range to improve your shooting skills or recharge your superpower at the power up stations with tasty drinks. End the night with the celebration party by the beach just for Spooky Jr.'s heroes and heroines after saving the Port of Lost Wonder, with fun-filled activities like a bubble party, interactive photo points, glitter tattoos, face painting and not leaving out, trick or treating!
Remember to come dressed as a superhero or family of heroes to win attractive prizes worth $3,000, including resort stays and electronic devices!
Date: 25 October and 1 November 2014
Time: 6.30pm to 10.00pm
Venue: Port of Lost Wonder (POLW)
Event Admission: Child $39.90 (Standard) | $35.00 (Early Bird^) | Adult $10
Enquiries: 1800-SENTOSA (7368672)
Get your tickets here.
Visit www.polw.com.sg for more information.
^Sale of early bird tickets end on 19 October. Terms and conditions will apply
POLW Members get to enjoy 25% off* ticket prices (limited to four standard tickets only)
Check out our post on Spooky Jr. last year.


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Style Me Pretty California Welcomes Our Advertisers + A Giveaway!Happy weekend SMP California! And you know what makes it even happier? The fact that we get to spend it getting to know the fabulous folks at Ponte Winery and Ponte Vineyard Inn. That is if you don't know them already. So fill
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Buddha's Daughters
Teachings from Women Who Are Shaping Buddhism in the West
Buddhism began to take root in the West at just the same time that women's voices were arising to find expression here—after millennia of being relegated to the background. If that was a coincidence, it was an auspicious one, for the women who emerged as Buddhist teachers have been among the most articulate of Dharma-communicators—and they remain an indelible feature of Western Buddhism as the practice matures here. The remarkable… Read More
- edited by
- Andrea Miller,
- Editors of the Shambhala Sun
Paperback$17.95+ Add to Bag
Buddhism through American Women's EyesThe Buddha's path to human transformation declares women and men equally capable of spiritual realization, yet throughout history most exemplars of this tradition have been men. Now, as Buddhism is transmitted to the West, women are playing a major role in its adaptation and development. The conversation presented here takes place among experienced practitioners from many Buddhist traditions who share their thoughts on the Buddhist outlook, its practical application in… Read More
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text: The national vacancy rate declined to 17 percent at the end of 2012 from 17.6 percent 12 months earlier, as the country experienced its 11 th consecutive quarter of occupancy growth and its eighth straight quarter of average rental rate increases. Of the 44 U.S. office markets JLL tracks, 84.1 percent experienced occupancy growth during 2012.Despite the slight tightening of overall occupancy levels; however, the pace of the office recovery declined 19.4 percent in 2012 compared to the vibrant market experienced in 2011. California and Texas alone accounted for 60.3 percent of the country's total net absorption, Sikaitis noted. "While the technology and energy facets of the economic engine do not appear to be pulling back, they will be joined by some other burgeoning sectors and further supported by the slow-moving economic recovery," Sikaitis said. "If momentum does pick up across the board, tenants will eventually be confronted with a dwindling amount of large-block and quality space options as the development pipeline is thin and largely consists of build-to-suits." Only 9.8 million square feet of supply was delivered in 2012, with another 40.7 million square feet of space currently under construction. Of the 44 top U.S. office markets, 17 have less than 100,000 square feet in the construction pipeline, Sikaitis observed. In a typical year, new office supply in the U.S. averages 50 million square feet. Government Growth Sector A major source of recent leasing activity and new requirements in nearly all geographies has come from the home mortgage industry. "If housing momentum keeps up, we expect homebuilders to return to growth and come back into the market for more space over the next 18 months," Sikaitis said. "Consequently, geographies throughout Florida as well as growing markets such as Phoenix, Atlanta, Orange County and Las Vegas are likely to be some of the leading office market segments over the next two years." The conclusion of the 2012 presidential election also brought some certainty that has translated into office demand. The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) seemed certain of implementation after the election, evidenced by a recent spurt of government office requirements on the market. Sikaitis calculated that the federal government leased more space in Metro D.C. in the six weeks following the election than in the preceding 10 months.


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Laetitia, I think it might be
CALYPSO MOOD (Schreiner 89) standards white with faint cream midrib.
Falls rich violet purple narrowly edged white. Beards are cream tipped
((Gay Parasol X (Breaking Dawn x Glacier Sunset))
I couldn't find an online photo, but comparing catalog photo with your
photo, they look identical in details of color, pattern, beards, form..
I had to hunt to find its Schreiner photo (1990 catalog) after first
seeing it in a Tempo Two catalog. Seems to be one Schreiners didn't
sell more than a couple of years.
As my reward for figuring out what it is, can I have some? <g>
Now if only somebody could figure out for me what my historic 'NOT'
Cherry Smoke is.....
Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8
Tennessee Whooping Crane Walkathon:
American Iris Society web site <http://www.irises.org>
iris-talk/Mallorn archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-talk/>
iris-photos/Mallorn archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-photos/>
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Order with Free Shipping
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All qualifying parts are identified with a message stating "Qualifies for Free Shipping..." Parts without this message do not qualify for Free Shipping.
*On All Parts When You Buy Online and Pick Up In Store
Installation coupon will be emailed after order has been confirmed.
This handy little ruler from the Gear Squad has been made available to help you properly identify your drive shaft u-joints.
Simply place the ruler's notched end against the tab end of your yoke, see where the ruler falls against the opposite tab, and that will identify your yoke.
To measure your u-joint, place the tab end against the u-joint cup squarely and view size at opposite cup. Due to age and wear, the caps may not be exactly on the line but very close.
Please refer to the u-joint tech sheet in the Gear Squad Tech Center more information.
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Jeep moved the exhaust forward on the 2012 Wrangler. Unfortunately, on Jeeps with 2.5 or more of lift that means their front driveshaft is liable to make contact with the exhaust Y-Pipe melting the CV boot and causing the driveshaft to fail prematurely. The Rugged Ridge Exhaust Spacer Kit for 3.6L Wrangler helps move the Y-pipe further back and increases the amount of front suspension travel from 2.5 to over 5.5, thus saving your driveshaft. The spacers install on the flanges between the front headers and Y-pipe. The great thing is the kit is easy to install and does not require permanent modification to the exhaust. Hardware included. Backed by Rugged Ridge's exclusive three-year limited warranty.
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ED Magedson – Founder
Ripoff Report
SearsTacoma, Washington U.S.A.
Does your business have a bad reputation?
Fix it the right way.
Corporate Advocacy Program™
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 10/14/2005 06:07 PM and is a permanent record located here: http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/sears/tacoma-washington-98403/sears-outlet-tacoma-washington-sold-defective-washing-machine-tried-to-sell-me-a-plan-to-160818. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year.
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Frank Gehry's Winton Guest House is set to be auctioned off by the University of St. Thomas in May. Hope you're not married to the locale, though, because there's an August 2016 deadline to have it moved from its site in Owatonna, Minnesota that the university sold last summer.
• A Frank Gehry Work Heads to Auction, Land Not Included | Curbed


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Category:Easton in Gordano
English: Easton in Gordano sometimes shortened to "E-I-G" is a village in the civil parish of Pill and Easton-in-Gordano in Somerset, England. It is within the District of North Somerset and in 2001 the population was 4,719.
This category has only the following subcategory.
Media in category "Easton in Gordano"
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Another round of massive court fee hikes proposed
Less than four months after the last round of fee increases for civil claims (see post), the government has today opened a consultation on further significant increases which, if implemented, would (at least) double the cost of issuing money claims above £400,000, … Continue reading
Planned huge increases to court fees expected to come into effect next Monday
Following approval of the relevant draft legislation by the House of Lords this evening, it is expected that the government's planned increases to civil court fees will take effect on Monday 9 March. As reported in our previous post, the new fees to issue money … Continue reading
Courts to charge issue fees of 5% of claim value
The government announced on Friday that it will go ahead with its proposal to introduce percentage issue fees for money claims over £10,000, calculated as 5% of the value of the claim subject to a cap of £10,000 (see our post summarising the proposals put forward … Continue reading
New electronic filing system planned for Rolls Building courts by late 2015
The courts service announced earlier this week that a contractor has been appointed to deliver an electronic filing system for the Rolls Building jurisdictions, including the Commercial Court, Technology and Construction Court and Chancery Division. The new system will allow: … Continue reading
Single County Court and increase in High Court threshold take effect today
From today, the previous system of some 170 separate county courts for different geographical areas has been replaced by a single national entity with a national jurisdiction for civil cases in England and Wales, known as the County Court. This … Continue reading
Review of practice and procedure in the Chancery Division of the High Court: final report published
A review of current practices and procedures for the conduct of business in the Chancery Division, known as the "Chancery Modernisation Review", has been undertaken over the past year led by Lord Justice Briggs. The final report was published on … Continue reading
Substantial court fee increases proposed for commercial claims
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has issued a consultation proposing substantial court fee increases. For certain types of proceedings, these include "enhanced" fees aimed at recovering more than the cost of running the services to which they relate. The key proposals include: Introducing percentage issue fees for money … Continue reading
Five Court of Appeal judges designated to hear appeals arising from Jackson reforms
The Master of the Rolls, Lord Dyson, has designated five members of the Court of Appeal to hear appeals arising from the Jackson reforms. This implements Lord Justice Jackson's recommendation that particular Court of Appeal judges should be designated to … Continue reading
Three new Supreme Court Justices appointed
The Supreme Court has today announced the appointment of three new justices, or one quarter of the 12-member Court: Lord Justice Hughes, Lord Justice Toulson and Lord Hodge. They will succeed Lord Dyson, who became Master of the Rolls in October 2012, … Continue reading
ECJ rules in-house lawyers cannot represent their client companies before EU courts
The Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) has ruled that in-house lawyers cannot represent their client companies in proceedings before the EU courts (i.e. the ECJ and the General Court, previously known as the Court of First Instance): … Continue reading


text:
Author: Ingé Lamprecht (Moneyweb)
Products with performance fees excluded.
Products that charge performance fees will not qualify for inclusion in tax-free savings accounts, National Treasury says.
This proposal was revealed in a draft notice and regulations it issued on Friday. It seems that these types of products do not adhere to the principles of simplicity, transparency and suitability treasury has set as benchmarks for inclusion.
Cecil Morden, chief director for economic tax analysis at National Treasury, says the concern is that the nature of the fees investors will have to pay is uncertain.
Performance fees can also fluctuate quite a lot and can become rather costly, especially for an uninformed investor, he says.
Tax-free savings accounts are due to be introduced on March 1 next year, but are still a work in progress and consultation is ongoing. Following its introduction investors would be allowed to contribute R30 000 a year to a tax-free savings account. A lifetime capital contribution limit of R500 000 will apply. All proceeds on amounts invested in these accounts will be tax-free.
Please click here to view full article.
2017-05-252017 SARS Webinar: 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm session: e@asyFile - 25 May
2017-05-252017 SARS Webinar: 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm session: e@syFile - 25 May
2017-05-302017 Monthly Tax Update Webinar – May
2017-06-082017 Tax Congress by Shepstone & Wylie - Durban
2017-05-23NEWS ANALYSIS: New SARS programme smoothes the way for imports and exports
2017-05-23Franchising and Tax: A Complicated Recipe
2017-05-23Waving Dubai-Bye to Income Tax Breaks
2017-05-23The Refund in Need of a Refuel
Section 240A of the Tax Administration Act, 2011 (as amended) requires that all tax practitioners register with a recognized controlling body before 1 July 2013. It is a criminal offense to not register with both a recognized controlling body and SARS.
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text: De Beers Battles Botswana Claims LONDON — De Beers is stepping up the public-relations battle on two fronts. First, there are just three days to go before its joint venture De Beers LV opens its first flagship on Piccadilly. Meanwhile, the diamond-mining group is trying to put... WWD Staff load comments blog comments powered by Disqus


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text:
Chamber Music
PLEA – The Trial against Sokrates
Plädoyer: the trial against Sokrates
Ferdinand von Schirach Lecture and Reading
Philharmonisches Capriccio:
Alessandro Cappone Violin
Eva-Maria Tomasi Violin
Ulrich Knörzer Viola
Walter Küssner Viola
Solène Kermarrec Cello
Dietmar Schwalke Cello
Works for string sextet by Louis Glass, Julián Carillo and Andrzej Panufnik
Dates and Tickets
Tue, 12 Apr 2016 8 p.m.
Chamber Music Hall
Serie Non-subscription concert chamber music
In the fourth century before Christ it was the Fall of Man in the dispensation of justice in Attic democracy: the trial and sentencing of the philosopher Socrates, who profoundly influenced western thinking as the ideal of European philosophy. "Socrates," Cicero wrote in his Tusculanae Disputationes, "was the first who brought down philosophy from the heavens, placed it in cities, introduced it into families, and obliged it to examine into life and morals, and good and evil." In 399 B.C. he was accused of impiety – a charge with which conservative Athenian society had already for a long time been persecuting individuals who threatened to upset the traditional structure of the local community.
That Socrates was truly executed in 399 B.C. provoked many of his adherents to defend him after the fact – not for nothing did Plato in his Apology of Socrates have the philosopher lead all the charges ad absurdum, whereas in so doing he attributed the cause of the trial (which Socrates did not flee out of respect for the prevailing law) to him showing the Athenians their errors and weaknesses and in that way antagonising them. At this season's event in the series called Plädoyer (Final Speeches), lawyer and writer Ferdinand von Schirach will pursue in a lecture and reading central issues that emerge from the scandalous sentencing of Socrates. Members of the Berliner Philharmoniker will provide the musical framework.


text:
ED Magedson – Founder
Ripoff Report
Discounter's Pool & Spa Warehouse4630 Dufferin St. Toronto, Ontario Canada
Discounter's Pool & Spa Warehouse Defective parts & no customer service Toronto Ontario Canada
Does your business have a bad reputation?
Fix it the right way.
Corporate Advocacy Program™
Purchased parts that were defective. Contacts to store are unanswered. Do not buy from them.
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 05/24/2014 03:31 PM and is a permanent record located here: http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/discounters-pool-spa-warehouse/toronto-ontario-m3h-5s4/discounters-pool-spa-warehouse-defective-parts-no-customer-service-toronto-ontario-c-1149426. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year.
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Hsgj6000.com is a 1 year old domain. The domain is linked to the IP address 184.108.40.206 which is provided by the hosting company To determine the registration information for a more.
It was registered by haoxiao hua haoxiao hua , who can be reached at . The site is owned by suzhou zhulunwangluojishuyouxiangongsi. Registration details show that it was registered on 02 Dec 2015 through bizcn.com, inc. and will expire on 02 Dec 2016.


text:
MMW Construction Machines
A story based on Tacton's real experience from large manufacturing companies with complex configuration requirements. Learn how new processes, systems and product structures made MMW more competitive than ever. As the need for customization grew, competitors with less agile processes bled while MMW gained a major competitive weapon.


text:
Trishna is a clever name for an Anglo-Indian restaurant, since it skilfully conflates Krishna, the Hindu deity, and Trisha, the state-of-England, daytime-TV, chavs-in-a-pickle show. But when you first clap eyes on its graceful double-frontage, it's so far from the Indian stereotype, you wonder if you've come to the right place. The décor is minimal, like a chic Chelsea schoolroom: whitewashed walls, pale grey-green wooden slats like the backdrop of a Hammershoi painting, wood and marble flooring, chrome lamps, gleaming glassware. It's marvellously fresh and clean looking. Of flock wallpaper, pictures of Bollywood queen Aishwarya Rai and the whiff of fenugreek, there was no sight (or trace) at all.
On the day we lunched there, the waiter was young, European-looking and strangely nervous, even as he described all the special dishes with impressive fluency. It took a while to work out why. When I finally asked where he came from, he gazed at his shoes and muttered "Austria", as though crippled with proxy guilt about Josef Fritzl. Really. It was hard to find a trace of India anywhere.
There were, however, Indian ladies, out in force. A dozen high-maintenance Indian WAGs in pastel-coloured salwar-kameezes and shimmery cotton blouses, sat around a table chatting, uttering theatrical cries of delight or dismay. It's a compliment to the place that they seemed determined to colonise it as an emblem of their success. You can see why they would. Trishna has a fair claim to call itself the coolest Indian restaurant in London.
There's a famous Trishna seafood restaurant in Mumbai, which regularly inspires delirious flights of rapture from well-travelled foodies. The chef in the London Trishna isn't from there – he's Ravi Deulkar and he's been head chef at the Michelin one-star Rasoi Vineet Bhatia for seven years. Apparently, he spent a year before Trishna opened, wandering through India's south-west region, picking up tips from relations (such as grinding your own spices every day).
You know you're in safe hands from the moment a brace of poppadoms is reverentially laid before you with two sauces. This ritual has begun every Indian meal I've ever known, but the Trishna version is different. Everything is made on the premises, the green sauce is a fresh coriander-mint soup, while the red one's a shrimp and tomato chutney, chewy and delicious. And everything is served on interesting long white platters or special copper saucepans with long, drooping handles. It's approximately 100 light years away from The Star of India curry-house of my childhood.
When this Trishna opened last autumn, the prices were ruinous (lamb cutlets £21, fish tikka £24) and have now been shrewdly re-thought. A fixed-price lunch of £25 lets you choose three courses from the à la carte, with a carafe of wine thrown in, and rice and breads gratis. We chose one starter from the "pakora" section – deep-fried squid, with sliced raw chilli and lime sauce, very toothsome and spiced, but in need of a dipping sauce – and from the "char-grilled" section I ordered twin fillets of bream. They'd been marinaded in ginger and garlic, and came covered in a green sludge of coriander mint, with a rudimentary salsa of cherry tomatoes called a "katchumber", which is supposed to be char-grilled but wasn't. The bream was perfectly cooked, firm on the fork, melting on the tongue, and retained its dignity even as its slimy green exterior minded you of Lord Mandelson.
Mains, sluiced down with a nice (free) decanter of Côtes du Rhone, were terrific. The Isle of Shuna Mussels, sourced in Scotland, had been marinated in coconut milk and turmeric until they were softened and swollen and succulent, then served with a dash of ginger, shallots and lime juice. Absolute bliss. My "coastal" lamb curry looked ordinary but packed a wallop of black pepper, roasted coconut and poppy seeds. It was hot and rich and guaranteed an afternoon of drowsing at one's work station. The basmati rice was fluffily perfect, and the successive waves of bread just right – it's a good sign when care is taken with the free accessories.
My only problem was the pudding. I've read about their famous mango rice pudding, with chilli and pistachio, and decided to chance it, despite my lifelong hatred of rice pudding. It looked like uncooked scrambled egg, with a snail-trail of chilli oil, and it tasted like Ambrosia Creamed Rice with slithery lumps – too runny and sweet to entertain the palate.
No matter. Trishna is a real find. It may be about as authentically Mumbai as Slumdog Barbie, but it's genuinely good. Everything is carefully cooked, subtly seasoned and beautifully presented, and its current pricing strategy is excellent value for money. No wonder the well-groomed Delhi dolls around the big table look so pleased to have discovered it.
Trishna, 15-17 Blandford Street, London W1 (020-7935 5624)
About £60 for two, with wine
Tipping policy: "Service charge is 12.5 per cent discretionary, of which 100 per cent goes to the staff; all tips go to the staff"
- More about:
- Coconut
- Indian Cuisine
- Mumbai
- Rice


text:
Need a Hashimotos Test in Grand Junction, CO? Simply order online 24/7 and get a fast, affordable Hashimotos Test at a lab near you (Find More Locations):
What is a Hashimotos Test?
A Hashimotos Test consists of blood tests that check for Hashimoto's. People in Grand Junction, CO get a Hashimotos Test for general screening or at the request of a medical provider.
How much does a Hashimotos Test cost?
Our Hashimotos Test prices include the doctor's order that you need to get tested in Grand Junction, CO, all lab fees and taxes, and a pdf copy of your results. For current prices, please CLICK HERE.
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NEW YORK (MainStreet) – Three pharmaceutical trade groups are attempting to appeal a Vermont law that restricts drug companies' access to prescription info.
The U.S. Supreme Court heard a case against a Vermont law that restricts the access pharmaceutical companies have to information about what drugs doctors and other prescribers give to their patients. Known as data mining, drug companies could use the information they would receive from prescribers to target doctors who frequently prescribe generics and try to get them to prescribe more expensive brand-name drugs to their patients.
Three pharmaceutical trade groups – IMS Health, Verispan and Source Healthcare Analytics – sued the government claiming that the law violated their commercial freedom of speech, since it restricts the marketing procedures they can use to sell their products.
Prescription drug marketers already have access to certain commercial information through outlets like pharmacies, but this data still doesn't tell companies where the prescription is coming from and it doesn't give them access to any specific patient data.
Vermont's 2007 Prescription Confidentiality Law gives doctors the freedom to choose whether or not to release identifiable information on prescriptions that they recommend to their patients. The law is intended to give doctors a larger say in what is being marketed to them.
Bridget Asay, Vermont's assistant attorney general, likened the law to giving doctors a way to avoid junk mail or telemarketing sales at inconvenient hours of the day and night.
"Drug companies would certainly like to have this information for marketing, but they have no First Amendment right to demand it, just as they have no right to demand access to the doctor's tax returns, his patient files or to their competitors' business records," Asay told the Supreme Court.
However, Lisa Blatt, a representative of the trade group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturing of America (PHARMA), said that the First Amendment doesn't pick sides and that the existing law does.


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Zespri predicts gold kiwifruit volumes could be up 40 to 50 per cent this season and may reach pre-Psa levels as early as next year. A frost in Chile in 2013 that has potentially wiped out almost half of its kiwifruit could also bode well for local growers.
General manager of grower and government relations and China GM Simon Limmer said indicators were positive for an increased harvest, however tallies could not be confirmed until fruit was off the vines.
"It's still too early for specific numbers, but there may be a 40 to 50 per cent increase this season."
In 2012, 11 million trays of gold kiwifruit were exported compared to 30 million in 2011.
The industry was "not out of the woods" and growers were still focused on battling Psa, however kiwifruit volumes were rebuilding, he said.
"We are rebuilding volumes this year with an ongoing expectation that we are going to be back to pre-Psa levels quickly, potentially as early as 2015.
We have got 4500 hectares of gold in the ground today and could expect to see 50 million trays in the next four or five years."
The new gold variety was also bearing good tasting fruit and showed signs of high productivity and yield, he said.
The markets were looking strong because there was a deficit of kiwifruit coming out of Chile, he said so that would drive demand.
"The frost has potentially removed about 50 per cent of their crop so they are going to be relatively absent in many of the markets predominantly focused on Europe, North America and some of the Asian countries."
Green kiwifruit volumes could be slightly down on last season when 69 million trays were exported, he said.
However, due to more growers transitioning over to gold, market demand remained strong.
The Zespri brand was one of the strongest in the fruit industry around the world and it was continuing to pay dividends, he said.
New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers president Neil Trebilco said he attended a series of grower meetings with Zespri and confidence was high.
"There is a real positive mood among growers.
"They are in a very good space and I'd say they are in the best space they have been in for years in terms of industry and prospects on their own orchards."
Optimism had returned with higher per tray returns, rises in orchard values and the banks allowing growers to reinvest into their orchards, he said.
New investors were also taking an interest in kiwifruit.
"We are certainly getting lots of inquiries and I have personally been receiving calls from people who aren't in the industry at the moment but want to buy in and that is exciting."


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Viktor Vasnetsov
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jake lewteron 21 March 2011
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