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Chan, Sunney I. and Bangerter, Benedict W. and Peter, Heinrich H. (1966) Purine binding to dinucleotides: Evidence for base stacking and insertion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 55 (4). pp. 720-727. ISSN 0027-8424. http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:CHApnas66
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In an effort to understand the factors which may contribute to the stabilization of nucleic acids as well as the basic mechanism of the recognition process involved in the enzymatic replication of nucleic acids in vitro, we have embarked upon a systematic study of the interaction of biological bases and nucleosides with simple oligonucleotides by proton magnetic resonance. We wish to report here results which we have obtained on the interaction of purine with the following 3' --> 5'-dinucleotides: TpT, TpdU, and dUpT (T = thymidine, dU = 2'-deoxyuridine).
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|Copyright © 1966 by the National Academy of Sciences. Communicated by John D. Roberts, February 24, 1966. Gates and Crellin Laboratories of Chemistry, Contribution no. 3321
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Votes are still being counted in this week's primary elections, but the focus is quickly shifting to next Tuesday's Senate race in Colorado, where incumbent Democrat Michael Bennet is fighting for his survival.
That includes President Obama's focus.
Bennet, appointed to replace Ken Salazar after he became Obama's Interior secretary, is facing a tough primary challenge from Andrew Romanoff. On Tuesday, Obama joined a "tele-town hall" hosted by Bennet.
"He's become the go-to guy for reforming America's public schools in Congress," Obama said on the call. "I know there have been a lot of negative ads running against Michael in the last few weeks, which is sort of politics as usual. But when he came to Washington, he came to get things done and not just play the usual political games."
A poll for the Denver Post this week finds that Romanoff pulled even with Bennet.
USA TODAY calls the race a toss up. For more information about the 2010 midterm elections, check out USA TODAY's updated election map.
(Posted by John Fritze)
Catalina Camia leads the OnPolitics online community and has been at USA TODAY since 2005. She has been a reporter or editor covering politics and Congress for two decades, including stints at The Dallas Morning News and Congressional Quarterly. Follow her at @USATOnPolitics.
USA TODAY's Jackie Kucinich (@jfkucinich) and Fredreka Schouten (@fschouten) also contribute to the OnPolitics blog.

subset: commoncrawl


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Recognition Lapel Pins Are a Great Way to Reward Workers
Whether you work in a small company of five people or a larger business, recognition lapel pins are a great way to tell employees they are an important part of the organization. Give lapel pins that emphasize the value of good service to office staff and off-site workers to let customers immediately know the type of company they are dealing with. Expand your company's community footprint and give back by engaging in community projects and thanking participants with recognition lapel pins.
Recognize the Excellence of Employees and Students
Staff recognition lapel pins are a great way to thank workers for their dedicated years of service, or for important contributions that go above and beyond the call of duty. Include handwritten notes with recognition for excellence lapel pins, and make employees feel that they are truly part of the family and not just a cog in the machine. Reward students in a school setting or volunteer reading program with lapel pins to recognize their progress, and watch their smiles light up entire rooms.
Bring a Professional Touch to Staff Lapels and Pockets
Lapel pins featuring slogans related to excellence in the workplace and service commitment tell visitors to the office that your company cares about its products and services. Clients get a great first impression when workers' attire includes lapel pins for peak performers and workers willing to do whatever it takes to do the job properly. Give employees working with business partners several lapel pins to hand out when your companies work together, forging important relationships and reminding partners of your business when the next big job comes around.
Acknowledge the Importance of Teamwork
When it's time to kick off an important project, outfitting everyone with a teamwork-themed lapel button is a great way to get them started on the right note. When the final report is done, or the last customer served at a wedding party, gather your exhausted team for much-needed food and drinks and hand out lapel pins thanking them for pulling together. Encourage coworkers to present pins to each other to further the team mentality.
Thank People and Partners for Community Involvement
Lapel pins that recognize what people can accomplish when they work together are a great way to kick off a community engagement project. Partners and members of the community involved in giving back appreciate the thought you put into their recognition, and these pins can spur conversations that lead to critical word-of-mouth advertising. The next time people go to that new park, or work in the community garden your company helped build, they might just touch their lapel pins without even realizing it and think of the friends they made at your business.


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|David Jencks <david_jen...@yahoo.com>
|Re: Make "framework" build the entire framework server
|Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:15:25 GMT
On Feb 17, 2009, at 12:14 PM, Donald Woods wrote: > Sounds worth the time to try it out. > > Two requests: > 1) If this works, we publish the framework assembly instead of the > two minimal assemblies to the Download page for 2.2, as this would > allow users to build their own custom minimal server assembly (and > of course some docs telling users how to create the old minimal > assembly from this new framework assembly.) I'm neutral or slightly +0.1 on this idea. I don't actually see how it relates to my proposal but if everyone agrees I'm fine with this idea. > > 2) If time permits, can we move or duplicate relevant testsuite > modules into a new testsuite dir under either the framework dir or a > new framework-testsuite dir, so that we can verify the basic > framework cmdline scripts and installing plugins (like Jetty/Tomcat > to make an equivalent minimal assembly)? I like this idea. For a few months now when I work on a plugin set (mconsole, activemq) I've included a custom server aseembly in the plugin group and added at least one integration test. This has really helped speed up feature development. IIUC you are proposing doing the same for framework. thanks david jencks > > > > -Donald > > > David Jencks wrote: >> I'd like to play around with trying to make gbeans less restrictive >> and possibly some classloading ideas. This would be a lot easier >> if I had a smaller project to deal with. So, I'd like to make it >> so that framework is self contained and builds the entire framework >> server. I haven't looked at this too closely recently but I think >> it involves: >> moving all or part of buildsupport into framework (at least car- >> maven-plugin) >> moving the framework plugingroup into framework >> moving the boilerplate and framework assemblies into framework. >> I suggested this a few months back (sept 23 2008) and there were >> some objections I didn't fully understand. Right now I'm sure this >> would make my day to day development life a lot easier so if there >> are objections I'd really appreciate knowing how specifically this >> would make your day to day development life harder. >> thanks >> david jencks
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text: Skyfall - watch the new extended James Bond trailer More action, more dialogue, more 007 in this scintillating two-and-a-half-minute promo for the upcoming Bond 23 Comments Written By Radio Times staff 2:17 PM, 31 July 2012 You thought that Skyfall US TV spot we showed you yesterday was good, did you? Then you're going to love this - the new, official two-and-a-half-minute-long international trailer for Bond 23. Explosions! Shot-drinking! Plunging off viaducts! And, er, losing a laptop full of international agents' names and addresses... Really, 007... There's also much more of Javier Bardem's villain Silva, much more of Ben Wishaw's new Q, more gadgets and more Bond girls as 007 dies, is resurrected and comes out fighting again... Directed by Sam Mendes, and also starring Ralph Fiennes, Judi Dench, Naomie Harris and Bérénice Marlohe, Skyfall is released in UK cinemas on Friday 26 October. Like this? Share it. Facebook Twitter Google Tumblr Pinterest Blogger Reddit VKontakt Print Email


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Some years later in his letter to the Church at Rome Saint Paul would repeat this teaching of our Lord in this way, "Pay to all their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, toll to whom toll is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due" (Roman 13:7).
The instant question then is – Does the Catholic Church in the Unites States render unto Caesar (the government) what belongs to it? And if it does not, what price is there for it to pay for such an act of disobedience? I answer that question by saying, 'No', the Catholic Church in the US has not rendered unto Caesar what belongs to him since the 1950's and 60's, and the price that it has paid for its disobedience has been a loss of grace, which comes by the way of clinging to the things of this world.
What I'm addressing here is the 501(c)(3) tax exemption, which is a part of the 1954 Revenue Act that established the tax codes as we know them today. Every Catholic Church in this country and over eighty percent of Protestant Churches receive the 501(c)(3) tax exemption, which allows them receive financial contributions, donations, and tithes without having to render unto Caesar his taxes on those monies. To be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, an organization must be organized and operated exclusively for exempt purposes set forth in section 501(c)(3), and none of its earnings may inure to any private shareholder or individual. In addition, it may not be an action organization, i.e., it may not attempt to influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities and it may not participate in any campaign activity for or against political candidates.
The divine principle at work here is that when we do not render unto Caesar what belongs to him, we are, thereby, disabled from rendering unto God what belongs to God. We cannot serve two masters. Either we cling to the things of Caesar, or we cling to the things of God. There is abundant grace in clinging to the things of God, as well as tremendous liberty when we render back to Caesar what we ought not cling to.
To elaborate more upon how the Catholic Church is has been hindering God's grace for nearly seventy years is by looking briefly at the only three duties given to it from God. Those being: (1) To Proclaim the Word; (2) To Administer the Sacraments; and (3) To Perform Works of Charity. By clinging to what belongs to Caesar the Catholic Church is unable (legally) to fully perform its very first duty – To Proclaim the Word. Oh, it can proclaim the truth of our faith, but as long as it doesn't attempt to influence legislation, or be engaged as part of any activity against a political candidate. Therefore, the faith that it can proclaim is neutered, and something less than authentic or helpful.
Even in 2012 we had candidate for the office of President of the United States whose reelection we knew for certain would not be in the best interest of the health of the Church or humanity altogether. Yet, because the Church (perhaps with a sense of entitlement) clings to what belongs to Caesar, it could not render unto God and to His people who belongs to them; namely the truth. The price it has had to pay for that act of disobedience is persecution at the very hands of the man who they couldn't openly speak against.
Are we surprised that prior to the Catholic Church becoming a liege of the Federal government that its seminaries were full, that Churches didn't lack for priests, that it didn't wane for influence over its own educational institutions? Indeed, from the time that the Catholic Church in the United States made a conscious decision to not render unto Caesar what belongs to him by paying taxes, it has not been able to render unto God what belongs to God. And for not rendering unto God what belongs to Him, there has been a step price payable and is still due.
I first wrote about this issue back in 2012, but back then I didn't connect it disobedience to God, and the just penalty we pay for rejecting His teaching. Now I am. The Catholic Church in the United States fell into a snare from Satan when it foolishly thought that it didn't have to render unto Caesar what belongs to him. Now it has fallen in the second snare of Satan by being a slave to what it believes is an entitlement.
The Catholic Church in the United States needs to break free from the government and the muzzle it accepted to be put over its mouth, so that it can once again have the liberty to openly and audaciously preach all that given to preach, and to be the instrument of true freedom that it was created to be.


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I grew up all over the place. Born in Scotland, moved to London, two places in Australia (Brisbane and Perth)... and then State College. I miss living 15 minutes away from awesome beaches, even though I was a terrible surfer and am still deathly terrified of sharks. One day I want to go back, preferably when it won't cost me about a gazillion dollars for airfare.
I went to PSU for undergrad and got a degree in Media Studies. During my senior year I had one of those "Oh god what the hell am I going to do when I graduate" sort of moments, so I went to law school, worked in lovely Pittsburgh for a few years, and now I'm getting used to the DC area!
Movies/TV - I got my wisdom teeth out when I was a freshman in HS, and my dad rented Pulp Fiction, Terminator 2, and Aliens for me when I was conked out on painkillers. I watched those and was just kind of in awe, so I sought out other stuff that the folks involved in those movies had done, and then kept branching out. I probably own way too many DVDs (I definitely do).
Falling up the stairs - I'm a clumsy idiot sometimes. Ok, fine, a lot of the time.
TV Shows - Breaking Bad, Deadwood, Lost, Mad Men, Spaced, 30 Rock, Doctor Who, Justified, Louie, Parks and Recreation, Community, The Wire, Hannibal, The Simpsons (older ones), Rick and Morty, The Thick of It, Game of Thrones, The Flash, Show Me A Hero. The Strain is terrible, but for whatever reason I can't stop watching it.
Movies - Midnight Run, Aliens, Attack the Block, Back to the Future, Children of Men, In The Loop, Die Hard, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, A Fish Called Wanda, The Dark Knight, Lord of the Rings, Shaun of the Dead, any Pixar but the Cars movies, Pretty much anything from the Coen Brothers or Wes Anderson, Heat, Hot Fuzz, The Iron Giant, Once, Pan's Labyrinth, The Brothers Bloom, and a ton more that I can't name off the top of my head.
I still can't believe The Academy snubbed John Wick last year.
Music - The Decemberists, The Weakerthans, The Roots, Kanye, Kid Cudi, The Black Keys, The Pixies, The Fratellis... Really everything but screamo metal and the vast majority of country. Does NPR count as music? Screw it, I'm putting it here anyway.
3. Coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.
3. My cat, Max. He was a stray when we found him almost a decade ago, but he's been a part of our family ever since!
4. My kitchen
5. College football. Well, any football, but mostly college. Oh, and I'm a Raiders fan living in Pittsburgh. Please don't hold it against me.
6. Did I mention coffee?
1. Sriracha Sauce
2. Sriracha Sauce
3. Sriracha Sauce
4. Sriracha Sauce
5. Sriracha Sauce
6. More Sriracha Sauce
Also, I recently realized that I had spelled Mad Men as "Man Men" on my profile here for far too long. I can't help but feel like that'd have been a very different show.
Or you liked the end of Lost too. I can't be the only one!


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Dresden University of Technology, Clinical Sensoring and Monitoring, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden, 01307 Germany
* Each of these authors made essential contributions to the research.
† Address all correspondence to: Peter Cimalla, Clinical Sensoring and Monitoring, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden University of Technology, Fetscherstraße 74, Dresden, 01307 Germany; Tel: +49 351 458 6139; Fax: +49 351 458 6325; E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com.
The optical inhomogeneity of flowing blood, which appears as a waisted double fan-shaped intensity pattern inside vessels in cross-sectional optical coherence tomography (OCT) images, was investigated for the first time. High resolution spectral domain OCT in the 1.3 μm wavelength region is used to assess this inhomogeneous intravascular backscattering of light in an in vivo mouse model and flow phantom measurements. Based on a predicted alignment of the red blood cells toward laminar shear flow, an angular modulation of the corresponding backscattering cross-section inside the vessels is assumed. In combination with the signal attenuation in depth by absorption and scattering, a simple model of the intravascular intensity modulation is derived. The suitability of the model is successfully demonstrated in the in vivo experiments and confirmed by the in vitro measurements. The observed effect appears in flowing blood only and shows a strong dependency on the shear rate. In conclusion, the shear-induced red blood cell alignment in conjunction with the vessel geometry is responsible for the observed intensity distribution. This inherent effect of blood imaging has to be considered in attenuation measurements performed with OCT. Furthermore, the analysis of the intravascular intensity pattern might be useful to evaluate flow characteristics.
In optical coherence tomography (OCT), low-coherent near-infrared light backscattered from tissue boundaries is employed to obtain cross-sectional information of tissue microstructure. Due to its high spatial resolution of several micrometers and the ability of real-time imaging, OCT allows noninvasive and contactless investigation of high dynamic microscopic processes like blood flow in small vessels with a diameter less than 500 μm. Figure 1 shows an in vivo cross-sectional OCT image of the murine saphenous artery and vein surrounded by perivascular tissue. The appearance of the corresponding tissue in the OCT image is primarily defined by its scattering and absorption properties. In spite of blood being a highly scattering medium in the near-infrared range, an unexpected inhomogeneous intensity distribution inside the blood vessels becomes increasingly visible when several time-resolved cross-sectional images are averaged in order to suppress speckle noise of the flowing media. The lateral zones of the vessel lumen appear as a low-scattering part compared to the superficial and the profound regions resulting in a waisted double fan-shaped intensity pattern which resembles the shape of a sand glass. This effect, which shows similarities to a catacaustic being produced by the envelope of light rays reflected or refracted by spherical surfaces, is also observable in images of human retinal blood vessels in vivo published by others.1- 2
(a) Cross-sectional OCT image of the saphenous artery (A) and vein (V) of the mouse in vivo obtained in the 1.3 μm wavelength region. The section denoted by the dotted rectangle was averaged over 5 (b), 21 (c), and 95 (d) time-resolved B-scans in order to suppress speckle noise. In both blood vessels a waisted double fan-shaped intensity pattern becomes clearly visible.
As the scattering of blood is mainly caused by its cellular components3 with a majority of red blood cells (RBCs), probably their intravascular orientation is responsible for the observed intensity pattern. Already in 1922, Jeffrey published a theoretical paper about the motion of ellipsoid particles immersed in a viscous liquid.4 By his calculations, he found that these particles, which are a good approximation for human erythrocytes, have a preferential orientation toward laminar flow. In 1969, Schmid–Schönbein and Wells have presented that RBCs in highly viscous media show fluid drop-like flow properties.5 The initially biconcave RBCs become progressively deformed into prolate ellipsoids with increasing shear flow, their long axis parallel aligned to the flow direction. The cell membrane of the erythrocytes rotates around the intracellular medium (tank-treading) which greatly reduces viscosity at high shear rates. In 1986, Bitbol investigated the orientation of erythrocytes in diluted suspension with a rheoscope and presented three elementary results.6 First, for very low shear rates, the RBCs are randomly aligned in the shear flow undergoing a tumbling motion. Second, at intermediate shear stresses <1 N/m2, the erythrocytes spin around their symmetry axis which is aligned to the vorticity axis of the shear field (orbit "C = 0") and consequently the erythrocytes are seen rim-on from the vessel wall. Third, for higher sheer stresses, the erythrocytes elongate and align themselves toward the flow in a way that their disk plane is almost parallel to the vessel wall and they are seen face on. Also, the tank-treading motion occurs in this position. In the recent literature, characteristic changes in morphology and organization of the RBCs are linked to various ranges of shear rate.7 At low shear rates <60 s−1 or no flow, the RBCs form rouleaux-shaped aggregates induced by plasma proteins. Washed RBCs in saline solution form no aggregates and are randomly orientated. At shear rates between 100 and 200 s−1, the aggregates are disintegrated and the RBCs show random orientation in plasma. In the range 200 to 600 s−1, the RBCs start to align to the flow and are finally elongated to ellipsoids at shear rates exceeding 600 to 1000 s−1.
The optical properties of blood in motion have been investigated with a variety of devices and techniques like rheoscopy,5- 6 light scattering, and absorption measurements in flow cuvettes7- 10 and laser diffraction (ektacytometry).11 In the present study, for the first time, the flow-dependent behavior of RBCs under in vivo and in vitro conditions is investigated in a depth-resolved manner using high resolution spectral domain OCT. The flow-induced orientation of the RBCs will lead to an angular modulation of the backscattering cross-section in the blood vessel resulting in a characteristic OCT intensity pattern as shown in Fig. 1. This effect has to be considered in the field of velocity determination by means of OCT signal power decrease,12- 13 blood absorption, and scattering measurements with OCT concerning the assessment of hemoglobin oxygen saturation level14- 15 and flow-induced axial migration of RBCs,16 as well as in optical coherence angiography.17 Furthermore, the analysis of the shape of the intravascular OCT intensity pattern might be a useful tool to evaluate flow characteristics.
In the following work, the intravascular backscattering distribution is investigated in an in vivo mouse model,18 as well as in flow phantom measurements and a simple model of the angular intensity modulation in blood vessels based on the RBC orientation toward the flow is described.
Based on the above-mentioned view of the RBC behavior in shear flow, the following theoretical model of the resulting optical inhomogeneity of flowing blood is derived. At resting conditions or at very low shear rates, the RBCs are randomly orientated or form rouleaux-shaped aggregates. At physiological shear rates induced by the normal blood flow, the RBCs are aligned in a way that their symmetry axis is almost parallel to the gradient of the flow velocity field. In the case of laminar flow in a tube-like blood vessel, the velocity gradient has only a component in radial direction. This means that the RBCs are orientated with their disk plane running almost parallel to the vessel wall. At the same time, the tank-treading motion of the RBC membrane occurs which effectively drains the shear forces at the cell surface and therefore protects the inner RBC components. Toward higher shear rates, the RBCs are additionally elongated to ellipsoids. Figures 2 summarize the assumptions made about the RBC alignment behavior under shear flow conditions.7 Due to their parallel alignment toward the vessel wall, the RBCs are seen rim-on at the lateral zones and face-on at the superficial and profound regions of a tube-like blood vessel, as shown in Fig. 2. Concerning the optical properties, the backscattering cross-section of RBCs seen face-on must be relatively high due to the large amount of area that is exposed to the incident light in an approximately perpendicular manner. Compared to that, the backscattering at RBCs seen rim-on must be relatively low. As a consequence, the varying angle of the RBCs to the incident light as a function of their position in the vessel cross-section will lead to a circumferential modulation of the intravascular backscattering which is rotationally symmetric with respect to the vessel center.
RBC alignment behavior under shear flow conditions at rest (a), moderate (b), and high shear flow (c). In tube-like blood vessels, the RBCs are orientated with their disc plane running almost parallel to the vessel wall under laminar flow conditions (d) which will lead to a circumferential modulation of the intravascular backscattering cross-section. (Color online only.)
Let z be the axial scan direction of the OCT beam, y the direction of the transverse flow component, and x the lateral scan direction of the OCT beam, which is perpendicular to y. If the orientation of the disk-shaped RBCs toward the flow and a corresponding circumferential modulation of the backscattering cross-section is responsible for the observed double fan-shaped intensity pattern inside the blood vessels, a harmonic modulation of the image intensity along a circular path S centered at the midpoint M(x0; z0) of the vessel will occur. With the distance r between S and M the circular path S can be described in Cartesian coordinates by Eq. 1,
Display Formula
A spectral domain OCT system operating in the 1.3-μm wavelength region is applied which enables an enhanced penetration depth into blood vessels due to the low absorption of hemoglobin and the reduced scattering of blood in this spectral range. The setup is part of a simultaneous dual-band OCT system presented recently20 with a full spectral width of 300 nm centered at 1250 nm. The system is illuminated by a commercially available supercontinuum laser light source (SuperK Versa, Koheras A/S, Denmark) and allows three-dimensional (3D) imaging with a high axial resolution better than 7 μm in air over the entire depth measurement range and an A-scan rate of up to 47 kHz. The lateral resolution in air was measured to be 9.7 μm and the sensitivity amounts to –91 and –87 dB at an A-scan rate of 12 and 36 kHz, respectively. The control of the system, the data acquisition, and the processing is done by means of a personal computer and custom software developed with LABVIEW (National Instruments, USA).
In order to investigate the dependency of the optical inhomogeneity of blood on the flow velocity and the shear rate, both parameters are extracted from the OCT data via phase-resolved Doppler analysis.21- 22 Using the classic Doppler model, the flow velocity at a certain axial depth z can be determined by Eq. 7,
Display Formula
The shear rate is the spatial derivative of the flow velocity. Assuming laminar flow, the parabolic flow velocity profile v along the vessel radius r can be expressed by Eq. 10,
Display Formula
In order to investigate the intravascular backscattering distribution under in vivo conditions, a mouse model was applied in which the saphenous blood vessels located at the hind limb were transluminally imaged by OCT.18 All experiments were performed in accordance with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources, 7th Ed., National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1996). The study was approved by the governmental animal care and use committee. Cross-sectional OCT scans of the murine saphenous artery and vein were recorded over several heart cycles at an A-scan rate of 36 kHz and an exposure time of 23.8 μs. The image size was 576 A-scans per B-scan, which resulted in a frame rate of 62.5 fps. The recorded time-resolved B-scan stack consisted of 448 images, which corresponds to a time period of 7.168 s. In order to suppress any effects of the pulsatile flow in the artery, only cross-sectional scans at defined states of the heart cycle were analyzed, i.e., the systolic and diastolic point of time corresponding to the highest and lowest occurring arterial flow velocity and the equilibrium where temporary no flow is present in the artery. These states, shown in Fig. 3, were found by means of phase-resolved Doppler analysis of the raw image data as described in Sec. 2c. In order to suppress speckle noise in the highly scattering blood, the corresponding cross-sectional scans of 16 consecutive heart cycles were averaged. In the artery, a double fan-shaped intensity distribution can be identified during the systole and equilibrium as well as during the diastole, where a slightly retrograde flow is present. Also in the vein, a slight double fan-shaped intensity distribution is visible.
Structural OCT images and corresponding color-encoded Doppler phase shift distributions of the murine saphenous artery (A) and vein (V) in vivo during three states of the heart cycle: equilibrium (temporary no flow present in the artery), diastole (slightly retrograde flow in the artery) and systole (maximum flow in the artery). The images were obtained by averaging the corresponding cross-sectional scans of 16 consecutive heart cycles. In all three heart cycle states, a double fan-shaped intensity distribution can be identified in the artery as well as in outlines in the vein. (Color online only.)
The pixel intensity as the logarithmic reflectance of the sample with respect to an ideal mirror was then recorded along a circular path centered at the midpoint of the artery as shown in Fig. 4. The radius of this circular path is half of the entire vessel radius. To validate the assumption of the linear signal attenuation in depth by means of absorption and scattering, the intensity across the artery along the vertical symmetry line was also analyzed. In Fig. 4, it can be seen that the signal attenuation is approximately linear in depth in all three heart cycle states as predicted in the theoretical model. In the center of the blood vessel, an intensity dip can be observed. This is probably caused by RBC tumbling or random orientation due to the low shear forces that are present at this location. Under laminar flow conditions, the local shear rate as the gradient of the flow velocity field equals zero at the vessel center and increases in radial direction toward the vessel wall. As a consequence, the RBCs at the vessel center are not aligned compared to the face-on aligned RBCs on the vertical symmetry line above and below. This leads to the observed local decay of the backscattering cross-section at the vessel center. Figure 4 shows the recorded intensity along the circular path plotted in combination with the quadruple cosine model described by Eq. 6. The model was fitted to the data using the intensity amplitudes Î0 to Î4 as free parameters. It can be seen that the model is in good agreement with the data and a circular intensity modulation can be observed in all three investigated states of the heart cycle. The occurrence of the circular intensity modulation in the diastole and the systole is coincident with the predicted intravascular alignment of the RBCs due to the presence of shear flow. The fan-shaped intensity pattern during the equilibrium, where temporarily no flow is present, can be explained by the time response of the RBC orientation. The disorientation process of the RBCs at no flow takes longer than the time until the next heart beat occurs. Therefore, the circular intensity modulation is maintained over the entire heart cycle.
(a) Murine saphenous blood vessels with marked arterial vessel wall (dashed circle), vertical symmetry line (dashed line) and half vessel diameter circular path (solid circle) centered at the artery midpoint (cross). (b) Signal attenuation across the murine saphenous artery recorded along the dashed line in (a) for the three heart cycle states. In all states, the attenuation is approximately linear in depth as predicted in the model. The intensity dip in the vessel center (arrow) is probably caused by RBC tumbling. (c) Signal modulation along the green circular path in (a) and fitted model described by Eq. 6 for the three heart cycle states. (Color online only.)
Figure 5 summarizes the flow characteristics within the saphenous blood vessels of the investigated mouse, which were again analyzed by means of the phase-resolved Doppler method. The optical inclination of the blood vessels was measured to be 14.4° using previously recorded 3D OCT data. Hence, the Doppler angle was estimated to be 10.4 deg via Eq. 8 using n = 1.39 as refractive index for blood. It can be seen that the Doppler flow signal across the blood vessels can be described by parabolic functions which leads to the conclusion that laminar flow is present in the artery as well as in the vein. Thereby, the artery shows a pulsatile and bidirectional laminar flow with peak velocities at the vessel center of approximately 40 and −4 mm/s during the systole and diastole, respectively. As expected, an approximately stationary flow is present in the vein with a flow velocity of approximately −5 mm/s at the vessel center. The heart rate was measured to be 139 beats per minute which corresponds to a heart cycle duration of 0.432 s. This low heart rate was due to deep anesthesia applied in the mouse model, as described elsewhere.18 In conclusion, the results show that the theoretically predicted intravascular orientation of the RBCs under laminar flow conditions could be the reason for the observed inhomogeneous backscattering distribution inside the blood vessels.
(a) Single structural OCT image and color-encoded Doppler phase shift distribution showing the murine saphenous artery and vein in vivo during the systole (left) and corresponding pseudo M-scans across the center of in the artery obtained by reslicing the recorded B-scan stack (right). (b) Extracted flow velocity profiles from the Doppler signal across the blood vessels (left) and maximum flow velocities plotted over time (right). The positions of the respective flow profiles are indicated by the dashed lines in (a). The laminar arterial and venous blood flow are represented by the red and blue parabola, respectively, fitted to the Doppler signal. The maximum flow velocity on the right was obtained from the vertex of the parabolic fit. A pulsatile bidirectional flow in the artery and an approximately stationary flow in the vein are present. (Color online only.)
In order to investigate the stationary and dynamic properties of the circular intensity modulation in conjunction with the orientation of the RBCs toward the shear flow, a flow phantom with well-known flow characteristics was applied. A flow-controlled infusion pump (Injectomat MC Agilia D, Fresenius Vial, France) was used to create a stationary laminar flow in two different glass capillaries with circular and square cross-section and a nominal inner diameter of 0.2 mm. Human whole blood, taken from a young healthy volunteer, and 1% Intralipid emulsion were used as flow media. It is noteworthy that the size of human RBCs is comparable to those of mice.23 Consequently, similar results compared to the in vivo experiments are expected for the flow phantom measurements. The inclination angle δ of the square and circular capillary was extracted from 3D OCT data and amounted to 7.1and 7.0 deg, respectively. The refractive index of the flow media was measured to be 1.34 for 1% Intralipid emulsion and 1.39 for human whole blood. Hence, the Doppler angle ϑ was in the range of 5 deg. With Eqs. 7,9, the resulting unique flow velocity measurement range at an A-scan rate of 36 kHz was calculated to be ±92 mm/s before phase wrapping occurs. Single phase wrapping at higher flow velocities was corrected by a simple unwrap algorithm. A phase shift of 2π was added to negative Doppler phase shifts at positive flow and subtracted from positive Doppler phase shifts at negative flow. The correct flow direction (positive or negative) was known a priori due to measurements at low flow velocities without phase wrapping.
In a first step, the development of the double fan-shaped intensity pattern was investigated in dependency of an applied constant stationary flow in the square and circular capillaries. Although the above measured highest flow velocities in vivo amount to approximately 40 mm/s, it was shown that the maximum flow velocity in the saphenous artery of an anesthetized mouse can be up to 70 mm/s during the systole.24 Therefore, the flow delivered by the infusion pump is adjusted in a way that comparable flow velocities and resulting shear rates are present in the glass capillaries. Since the small glass capillaries form a large flow resistance, it cannot be guaranteed that the given flow value is fully delivered by the infusion pump. Therefore, the given flow serves as a coarse value only. The exact flow velocity is subsequently measured by means of phase-resolved Doppler OCT as described in Sec. 2c. Under the assumption that laminar flow is present, the mean flow velocity in the circular and square capillary can be calculated by multiplying the maximum flow velocity value in the vessel center by a factor of 0.5 and 0.477, respectively.
Figure 6 shows cross-sectional OCT images of the circular and square glass capillary immersed in air, which were perfused in opposite directions with 1% Intralipid emulsion as well as human whole blood under flowing and resting conditions. These images were found by averaging 256 B-scans recorded at an A-scan rate of 36 kHz in order to suppress speckle noise. The flow delivered by the infusion pump was adjusted in a way that a similar maximum flow velocity as in the murine saphenous artery during the systole is present in the blood and Intralipid perfused capillaries. Due to light refraction at the spherical surfaces of the circular capillary, the capillary's lumen appears laterally expanded in the OCT image. This optical distortion was corrected in first order by lateral image scaling with an empirically found factor of 0.76. Ray tracing simulations (OSLO Light Edition 6.4, Lambda Research,) revealed that remaining lateral and axial image distortion of the circular capillary lumen is negligible for our analysis. It can be seen that the effect of an inhomogeneous backscattering intensity pattern is present only at flowing blood in both the circular as well as the square capillary. The effect is absent at resting blood and flowing Intralipid emulsion. These results confirm the assumption that the shear flow-induced alignment of the RBCs is responsible for the observed effect. Because the effect is also distinctively developed in the square capillary, it cannot be caused by some catacaustic phenomena produced by the spherical optical surfaces of the circular capillary. In order to verify that laminar flow is present, the parabolic flow velocity profiles were also evaluated by means of phase-resolved Doppler analysis.
Cross-sectional OCT images of a circular and square glass capillary perfused in opposite directions with human whole blood at (a) resting (rt.) and (b) flowing (fl.) conditions, as well as (c) flowing 1% Intralipid emulsion. The parabolic flow velocity profiles yielded at the vertical vessel symmetry lines by means of phase-resolved Doppler analysis (d) indicate that laminar flow is present in the capillaries. The arrows denote Doppler shadows at posterior lumen walls. Posterior displacement of Intralipid and blood Doppler signals indicates different refractive index of flow media.
The backscattering intensity distribution of flowing blood shown in Fig. 6 is investigated more closely in Fig. 7. In a first step, the intensity profiles across the vertical and horizontal symmetry lines for both the square and circular capillary are plotted in Figs. 7, respectively. In both capillary centers, an intensity dip in the vertical (axial) profile and an intensity peak in the horizontal (lateral) profile can be observed. This is probably caused by the RBC tumbling motion due to the low shear forces at this location. In a vertical direction, the RBCs are assumed to be aligned face-on, which results in an intense backscattering signal. In the center, the RBCs are randomly aligned due to the tumbling motion. Therefore, the mean backscattering intensity must be lower at this location compared to the superficial and profound regions of the lumen which is represented by the intensity dip. In contradiction, the RBCs at the horizontal symmetry line are seen rim-on resulting in a lower backscattering signal. In comparison, the mean backscattering intensity from the randomly orientated RBCs in the center must be higher which is represented by the intensity peak. Averaging of the cos(2φ) term over all RBC orientations in three dimensions results in a mean value of −1/3 which explains why the peak in the horizontal direction is only approximately half the magnitude of the dip in the vertical direction. These observations are consistent with the in vivo measurements described in Sec. 3. Comparing the profiles of backscattering, an increased intensity at the lateral edges of the circular capillary can be observed. These lateral intensity side lobes are caused by less signal attenuation in depth due to shorter optical propagation path lengths through blood in the lateral zones compared to the center zone of a circular lumen. In the square capillary, these propagation path lengths are ideally identical, i.e., there are no lateral intensity side lobes. Figures 7 show the recorded intensity along three different circular paths centered at the capillary midpoints. The circular paths are defined by a relative radius which is the quotient of the geometrical measurement radius r and the entire capillary radius R. The data is plotted in combination with the fitted quadruple cosine model described by Eq. 6. It can be seen that a circular intensity modulation, which is comparable to the in vivo measurements, is also present under in vitro conditions, and that the fitted model again is in good agreement with the obtained data, for both square and circular capillary. Furthermore, the circular intensity modulation is mainly characterized by the first-order (one oscillation per period) and second-order (two oscillations per period) coefficients which represent the linear intensity attenuation in depth and the angular change of the RBC backscattering cross-section with respect to their symmetry, respectively. The positive fourth-order coefficient shows that RBC reflection is more specular than described by a pure second-order coefficient. In order to find a measure for the development of the inhomogeneous intensity pattern, both coefficients are plotted over the relative measurement radius for the square and circular capillary in Fig. 7. It can be seen that the dominant second-order coefficient increases with the relative radius, reaches its maximum at approximately 40% to 50%, and remains constant toward larger relative radii in the square capillary. In the circular capillary, the second-order coefficient declines again while the fourth-order coefficient significantly increases. This is not a true effect of the RBC alignment but an artifact caused by the lateral intensity side lobes in the circular capillary. Hence, for further measurements, the circular intensity modulation is evaluated at 50% of the entire lumen radius, as proposed in the in vivo measurements section, and the second-order coefficient of the fitted model is used for quantification in order to guarantee maximum sensitivity to the development of the double fan-shaped intensity pattern.
Investigation on the backscattering intensity distribution of flowing human whole blood. (a) and (b) Intensity profiles across the vertical (blue) and horizontal (red) vessel symmetry line [dotted white lines in (f)] for the square (a) and circular capillary (b). The bright and dark arrowheads denote the outer and inner capillary diameter, respectively. An intensity dip in the axial profile and an intensity peak in the lateral profile (arrows) can be observed in the vessel center. The asterisks indicate lateral intensity side lobes in the circular capillary. (c) and (d) Circular intensity modulation along three different paths with 10%, 50%, and 90% of the entire vessel diameter (solid, dashed, and dotted circles in (f), respectively) and corresponding fitted model (solid lines) for the square (c) and circular capillary (d). (e) Second- and fourth-order coefficients of the fitted model plotted over the relative measurement radius for the square (blue) and circular capillary (red). (f) Corresponding OCT image of the circular and square glass capillary perfused with human whole blood. (Color online only.)
In a next step, the dependency of the intravascular backscattering distribution on the flow velocity is investigated. Due to the fact that square blood vessels do not appear in the physiological in vivo situation, this measurement was performed in the circular capillary only. Fig. 8 shows cross-sectional OCT images of a circular glass capillary perfused with human whole blood at different mean flow velocities which was estimated using phase-resolved Doppler analysis. These images again were generated by averaging 256 B-scans recorded at an A‑scan rate of 36 kHz in order to suppress speckle noise. In all images, the double fan-shaped intensity pattern can be identified apart from the images recorded at 0 mm/s. In this situation, despite averaging, the blood shows a speckle pattern due to the complete absence of flow. All images were analyzed according to Sec. 3 and as described above. Figure 8 shows the obtained circular intensity modulation evaluated at 50% of the entire capillary radius plotted in combination with the fitted model described by Eq. 6. Again, the data and the predicted model show good correspondence to each other. In order to assure that the local minima of the intensity modulation are not clipped by the limited sensitivity of the OCT system, also the noise floor of the images is evaluated. It can be seen that all intravascular intensity values of interest are well above the noise level. The second-order coefficient of the fitted model as a direct measure for the development of the double-fan shaped intensity pattern is plotted over the applied mean flow velocity in Fig. 8. The corresponding shear rate at 50% of the capillary radius was calculated predicting a radial symmetric parabolic flow velocity profile. It can be seen that the development of the double fan-shaped intensity pattern shows a flow-dependent course. At first, it increases with heightening flow velocities, as expected, due to the alignment of the RBCs toward the shear flow. At a shear rate of approximately 300 s−1, the effect reaches its maximum before it starts to decrease again toward higher mean flow velocities above 12 mm/s. A first assumption that this decline process is probably caused by the velocity-dependent signal decrease due to fringe washout12- 13,25 does not hold true. As the intensity is evaluated on a circular path centered at the capillary midpoint, the corresponding local flow velocity and the resulting signal decrease is supposed to be identical at each position. Consequently, a constant offset is subtracted from the circular intensity values which will have no effect on the modulation itself as long as it is not restricted by the limited sensitivity of the OCT system. That this is not the case has already been shown in Fig. 8 where all circular intensity values of interest are well above the noise level even for the highest applied mean flow velocity of 48 mm/s. As a consequence, further investigations are necessary to elucidate the decline of the double fan-shaped intensity pattern toward higher flow velocities. For this reason, the velocity-dependent intensity profiles along the vertical and horizontal symmetry line of the circular capillary are analyzed in Fig. 9. At low mean flow velocities from 0 to 25 mm/s, a balanced increase of the vertical intensity and the development of the central intensity dip can be observed. This is coincident with the predicted model since the RBCs increasingly align face-on to the incident light but remain randomly orientated in the lumen center. In the horizontal intensity profile, no significant change despite the development of a small central intensity peak can be identified. At higher mean flow velocities from 31 to 67 mm/s, a radial position-dependent signal decrease due to fringe washout can be observed. The highest signal decrease can be found at the center of capillary where the maximum flow velocity occurs. The horizontal profile shows less signal decrease in the upper and lower third compared to the vertical profile, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 9. A possible explanation for this observation is that the flow-dependent signal decrease induced by fringe washout is superimposed by an additional signal decay caused by RBC elongation toward higher shear rates. If a single RBC is elongated, there will be a decrease in its backscattering cross-section because the amount of surface area that is seen by the OCT sample beam is reduced. As indicated in Sec. 2b, the sample beam diameter (FWHM) was measured to be 9.7 μm in air. For OCT imaging with low numerical aperture (0.05), where aberrations due to spherical capillary surfaces can be neglected, the beam diameter should be identical in blood. Hence, it is within the order of magnitude of the diameter of a nonelongated RBC, which amounts to 7 to 8 μm.23 Therefore, the backscattering reduction will be more severe at a face-on aligned RBC because the elongation-induced change in the surface area seen by the sample beam will be relatively large compared to a rim-on aligned RBC. As a consequence, there is an enhanced signal decrease at the superficial and profound regions compared to the lateral zones of the capillary which is responsible for the decline of the double fan-shaped intensity pattern toward higher flow velocities as observed in Fig. 8.
(a) OCT cross-sectional images of circular glass capillary perfused with human whole blood at different mean flow velocities and resulting shear rates at half vessel radius. The inner diameter of the capillary was measured to be 0.205 mm. (b) Circular intensity modulation at half vessel radius, corresponding fitted model (solid lines) shown exemplarily for three different mean flow velocities and noise floor outside of the capillary at identical axial depth. (c) Second-order coefficient of the fitted model plotted over the mean flow velocity and the corresponding shear rate. (Color online only.)
Intensity profiles across the vertical (v) and horizontal (h) vessel symmetry line of the circular capillary as shown in Fig. 8 for low (a) and high (b) mean flow velocities. The velocity-dependent signal decrease is more pronounced in the vertical direction compared to the horizontal direction (black arrows). (Color online only.)
In a final step, the dynamic behavior of the double fan-shaped intensity pattern was analyzed. Therefore, a constant flow with a mean flow velocity of 19 mm/s was applied to the circular glass capillary. A time-resolved B-scan stack with 25 frames per second at an A-scan rate of 12 kHz was then recorded over a time period of approximately 40 s. The lower imaging speed was chosen in order to record a longer period of time with respect to the limited size of the data acquisition memory buffer. Approximately 5 s after the start of the recording, the flow in the capillary was halted by simply pinching off the silicon tube between the infusion pump and the glass capillary using a blood vessel clamp. Again, the development of the double fan-shaped intensity pattern was analyzed as described above with the exception that a moving average of only five B-scans was applied to the image stack before analyzing the signal modulation along the circular path and subsequent fitting of the theoretical model. The filter size of five was chosen in order to find a convenient tradeoff between speckle noise suppression and temporal resolution. To compare the structural information with the change of flow inside the capillary, the maximum flow velocity in the capillary center was also evaluated using phase-resolved Doppler OCT. Figure 10 shows the obtained results. It can be seen that the decrease of the second-order coefficient is much slower than the decrease of the flow velocity after pinching off the silicon tube. In order to describe these declines, an exponential function was fitted to the data points given by Eq. 12,
Display Formula
Dynamic behavior of the inhomogeneous backscattering of flowing blood. (a) OCT cross-sectional images of glass capillary perfused with human whole blood at five different time stages. The flow was stopped approximately 6 s after the start of the recording. The images were found by averaging five subsequent B-scans of the recorded B-scan stack. (b) Second-order coefficient and flow velocity in the capillary center plotted over the recording time of the B-scan stack. The dark arrowhead denotes the point of time when the flow was stopped. The decline of the double fan-shaped intensity pattern is much slower than the decrease of the flow. The time constants of the fitted exponential functions given by Eq. 12 are 4.02 s for the second-order coefficient and 0.35 s for the flow velocity. The increased noise of the second-order coefficient after flow stop is caused by the pronounced speckle as shown in (a) 36 s after the start of the recording. (Color online only.)
The results of the in vitro measurements confirm the observations made in the in vivo experiments. There are several facts that indicate that the shear flow-induced orientation of the RBCs is responsible for the observed characteristic waisted double fan-shaped intensity distribution inside blood perfused vessels. First of all, the effect is only present in flowing blood as shown in Fig. 6. It is not present at steady state resting blood or flowing 1% Intralipid emulsion. Because these facts apply to both round- and rectangular-shaped capillaries, the effect cannot be caused by some optical catacaustic.
Second, the effect shows a strong dependency on the flow velocity and, as a consequence, on the shear rate as demonstrated in Fig. 8. At first, the effect increases toward higher shear rates which can be explained by a corresponding enhanced alignment of the RBCs. The maximum of the effect, i.e., full alignment of the RBCs, appears approximately between 200 and 300 s−1, which corresponds well to recent literature.7 The decline of the effect at higher shear rates above 300 s−1 is believed to be caused by an additional shear-induced elongation of the RBCs. Both results, the rise and drop of the effect with increasing shear rate, are confirmed by the anisotropic backscattering behavior of blood along the vertical and horizontal capillary symmetry line as shown in Fig. 9.
A third point is the relatively slow regression of the effect after a sudden elimination of flow as shown in Fig. 10 which can be explained by a slow transition process of the RBCs to the random orientation state in the now shear stress free environment. While Brownian motion contributes to the random orientation, the main process that drives this transition is believed to be gravitational sedimentation which amounts to 1 to 2 RBC diameters over the observed time constant in physiological blood. This slow regression would also explain why the effect is visible over the entire heart cycle in the in vivo measurements even during the equilibrium state where temporarily no flow is present (Figs. 3- 4). The disorientation of the RBCs just takes much longer than the duration of the heart cycle of the investigated mouse.
Although the applied model of the circular intensity modulation described by Eq. 6 is very simple since a cosine series is used to describe the angular backscattering of RBCs and the signal attenuation in depth, it is suitable to illustrate the fundamental relationship between the predicted alignment of the RBCs toward the shear flow, an angular modulation of the corresponding backscattering cross-section inside the vessel and the resulting OCT signal.
The inhomogeneous backscattering distribution of low-coherent light in blood vessels, which appears as waisted double fan-shaped intensity pattern, was investigated in an in vivo mouse model and flow phantom measurements using spectral domain OCT in the 1.3 μm wavelength region for high resolution cross-sectional imaging. Based on a predicted alignment of the RBCs toward the laminar shear flow and the signal attenuation in depth by means of absorption and scattering, a simple model of the intravascular intensity modulation along a circular path centered at the vessel midpoint was derived. In a first step, the suitability of the model could be demonstrated by analyzing measurements of the murine saphenous artery imaged at an A-scan rate of 36 kHz. The obtained data and the predicted model show a good correspondence. In a second step, the observed characteristic double fan-shaped intensity pattern could be recreated in vitro in a round-shaped as well as a rectangular-shaped glass capillary perfused with human whole blood and the stationary and dynamic properties of the effect were analyzed. The effect appears in flowing blood only and shows a strong flow velocity-dependent behavior attended by an anisotropic change in backscattered intensity which has to be considered in blood attenuation measurements. The results obtained from the in vitro measurements confirm the observations made in the in vivo experiments leading to the conclusion that the shear-induced alignment of the bi-concave disk shaped RBCs in laminar flow is the reason for the observed inhomogeneous intravascular backscattering distribution. Therefore, the analysis of the intensity pattern inside blood vessels might be a useful tool for the evaluation of flow characteristics regarding laminarity and turbulence or the diagnosis of pathologically shaped RBCs caused by sickle cell anemia or spherocytosis. Furthermore, the flow-dependency of the effect might facilitate an alternative method to measure the flow velocity and shear rate. For future research, more precise computational models of the angular backscattering of the complex-shaped RBCs are considered for final evaluation of the effect, concerning especially the consequences of RBC elongation toward higher shear rates.
This research was supported by SAB (Sächsische Aufbaubank, project: UNSPECIFIED 11261/ 1759 ), the BMBF (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung: NBL 3), and the MeDDrive program of the Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus of the Dresden University of Technology.
Peter Cimalla ; Julia Walther ; Matthaeus Mittasch and Edmund Koch"Shear flow-induced optical inhomogeneity of blood assessed in vivo and in vitro by spectral domain optical coherence tomography in the 1.3 μm wavelength range", J. Biomed. Opt. 16(11), 116020 (October 31, 2011). ; http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/1.3653235
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Like a crazy romantic I believe in a world where we are free from stress, bullies and other things that make us miserable. Now, I realise that this may not be totally practical or realistic so I have made it my mission in life to help support others in their lives to get as close to that as possible and learn to manage life and it's stresses as best they possibly can! Let me tell you why…
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Gene Russell
Talk to My Lady
Product Details
- Jan 01, 2012
- Funk/ Jazz/ Soul
- 4526180114260
- 2.9 oz
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- Gene Russell
With any luck, the reappearance of Talk To My Lady will find savored by a sizable audience. For sure, Gene Russell should be a name familiar to committed and more casual fans of jazz and r&b made in the 1970s. It would be great, too, if the reissue gave boosts to the careers of two still-active musicians whom Russell employed for the record date, Bay Area guitarist Calvin Keys and string bassist Henry Franklin, long an important player on the Los Angeles jazz scene. Talk to My Lady certainly does have its transcendent moments. There's Russell's bold transformation of the John Coltrane-identified "My Favorite Thing," where his Fender Rhodes gets matched in breakneck intensity by Franklin's standup bass and 20-year-old Leon "Ndugu" Chancler's drums. Playing acoustic piano, Russell sounds at ease with the funk of "Get Down" and, now plugged in, he personalizes Gamble & Huff's "Me and Mrs. Jones" and Stevie Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" with soulful feeling.


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If you are looking for an exhaust system with an original looking appearance but increased potential performance, then look no further than this particular racing exhaust, produced by GORI! The traditional racing exhaust design was deliberately avoided in its development, enabling the overall original look of the Lambretta could be maintained following its attachment. Nevertheless its power delivery and overall performance is impressive across the whole of the rev range. There are two versions of this particular exhaust pipe being hand made in Italy by GORI. The 'Sport' type, with a 40mm diameter manifold connection, is suitable for use with all standard, cast iron, MUGELLO and RAPIDO cylinders. The 'Race' type, with a 50mm diameter manifold connection, assists the larger cylinders available such as the IMOLA, MONZA or the mighty TS 1 to unleash their full power potential. This exhaust kit includes the main body of the exhaust, the silencer, the suitable manifold type and all the necessary fixing materials.
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From email@example.com Thu Nov 07 20:36:23 2002
This document describes the list of tasks on
the plates of the Lucene development team. Tasks are assigned into two
categories: core or non-core.
Currently the Lucene development team is working on
categorizing change requests into core and non-core
Core changes would entail a change to the search engine
core itself. From Doug Cutting:
"Examples include: file locking to make things
multi-process safe; adding an API for boosting individual documents and fields
values; making the scoring API extensible and public; etc."
This document describes the list of tasks on the plates of the Lucene development team. Tasks are assigned into two categories: core or non-core.
Currently the Lucene development team is working on categorizing change requests into core and non-core changes.
Core changes would entail a change to the search engine core itself. From Doug Cutting:
Non-core changes would not affect the search engine itself, but would consist instead of projects or components that would make useful additions to the core framework. Again, from Doug Cutting:
"[Examples] include: support for more languages; query parsers; database storage; crawlers, etc. Whether these belong in the base distribution is a matter of debate (sometimes hot). My rule of thumb for including them is their generality: if they are likely to be useful to a large proportion of Lucene users then they should probably go in the base distribution. Language support in particular is tricky. Perhaps we should migrate to a model where the base distribution includes no analyzers, and supply separate language packages."
Change requests will be categorically defined by the development team (committers) as core or non-core, and a committer will be assigned responsibility for coordinating development of the change request. All change requests should be submitted to one of the Lucene mailing lists, or through the Apache Bugzilla database.
No change requests classified as core yet!
No change requests classified as non-core yet!
|Term Vector support
|Support for Search Term Highlighting
|Better support for hits sorted by things other than score.
|An easy, efficient case is to support results sorted by the order documents were added to the index. A little harder and less efficient is support for results sorted by an arbitrary field.
|Add some requested methods: Document.getValues, IndexReader.getIndexedFields
|String[] Document.getValues(String fieldName); String[] IndexReader.getIndexedFields(); void Token.setPositionIncrement(int);
|Add lastModified() method to Directory, FSDirectory and RamDirectory, so it could be cached in IndexWriter/Searcher manager.
|Support for adding more than 1 term to the same position.
|N.B. I think the Finnish lady already implemented this. It required some pieces of Lucene to be modified. (OG).
|The ability to retrieve the number of occurrences not only for a term but also for a Phrase.
|A lady from Finland submitted code for handling Finnish.
|Dutch stemmer, analyzer, etc.
|French stemmer, analyzer, etc.
|Che Dong's CJKTokenizer for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
|Selecting a language-specific analyzer according to a locale.
|Now we rewrite parts of Lucene code in order to use another analyzer. It will be useful to select analyzer without touching code.
|Adding "-encoding" option and encoding-sensitive methods to tools.
|Current tools needs minor changes on a Japanese (and other language) environment: adding an "-encode" option and argument, using Reader/Writer classes instead of InputStream/OutputStream classes, etc.


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Learn about the new ways in which federal and municipal stakeholders are collaborating to promote the economic, physical, and social development of small- to mid-sized cities. Speakers will share their knowledge about successful strategies for economic and social development and discuss opportunities and challenges faced by their growing cities in these difficult economic times.
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The Patrick administration has spent a great deal of time putting together comprehensive legislation designed to promote growth and opportunity in Massachusetts. Of particular note is the proposal to adopt a version of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act coupled with ...Read More »
Alimony act, support guidelines poor combo for children
Family law, as it has developed over the past 35 years, has had at least two guiding principles: to promote consistency and predictability, and to protect the interests of children. The Alimony Reform Act of 2011 (effective March 1, 2012) ...Read More »
Spotlight should be on practice of insurers, not counsel fees
To the editor: I write to take exception to the suggestion by attorney Tanya T. Austin ("BLS class actions targeting post-judgment interest," April 7) that Chapter 93A is not designed to protect consumers from being deprived of small amounts of ...Read More »
Same state-tax question, opposite answers from appellate courts
On March 6 and 7, the U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel and the U.S. District Court reached opposite conclusions on matters of first impression regarding the ability of individual Chapter 7 debtors to discharge state income taxes reported on late-filed tax ...Read More »
Low pay endangers criminal justice in Massachusetts
"Inadequate funding for the attorneys handling the prosecution and defense responsibilities within our system presently denies the commonwealth's citizens a criminal justice system that functions properly." That was the conclusion of the Massachusetts Bar Association's Commission on Criminal Justice Attorney ...Read More »
Can employees be fired for using medical marijuana?
In November 2012, Massachusetts voters passed "An Act for the Humanitarian Medical Use of Marijuana" (see Chapter 369 of the Acts of 2012). The Department of Public Health has enacted its final regulations regarding the act, and the DPH is ...
Tagged with: Medical marijuanaRead More »
Thankful counselor to bar: just ask for help
To the editor: I am writing to let you know about the incredible response I've received to the page 1 story "Counselor at Law" that appeared in the Feb 24 issue. Since the article ran, I've received an outpouring of ...Read More »
Trade secrets law: 'well-established' in 1939 notions of 'use'
The Jan. 6 op-ed — "Is UTSA legislation worthwhile in Massachusetts?" — argued that the Uniform Trade Secrets Act is unnecessary because of Massachusetts' "well-established mix of statutory and common law addressing trade secrets." However, the mix referred to in ...Read More »
'Lawyer's lawyer' Quinn left behind a legacy of generosity
To the editor: It has been a month since the passing of my friend and mentor, Robert H. Quinn. Although we were separated by 25 years, we shared Jesuit-honed values, and I was privileged to chauffer him to the BC ...Read More »
Forced arbitration bad for lawyers, consumers
To the editor: Arbitration of fee disputes is undoubtedly advisable most of the time, perhaps almost always. But making arbitration mandatory, as Thomas F. Maffei suggests ("Is it time to require arbitration of fee disputes?" March 3), would be one ...Read More »


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How extreme problem-based learning aids transitioning out
Zolin, Roxanne (2008) How extreme problem-based learning aids transitioning out.
Transitioning out of the university learning environment into the work environment and hopefully into professional practice could determine the student's ability to benefit from their investment in education. Problem-based learning capstone courses can facilitate transition from university study to professional practice (transitioning out). Problem-based learning (PBL) is a pedagogical methodology that presents the learner with a problem to be solved to stimulate and situate learning. While much has been written about PBL, its benefits in transitioning out have been largely overlooked. This paper aims to address this gap in education theory and practice. In this paper I analyse the career objectives and challenges of transitioning out for full-time and part-time, graduate and undergraduate students, resulting in career focused learning objectives. These objectives include demonstrating work reliability, technical capability and industry understanding for full-time undergraduate students and demonstrating management or professional capability and industry understanding for postgraduate full-time students. Problem-based learning (PBL) is described, and three graduate PBL case studies are presented to illustrate the benefits of PBL in achieving the career focused learning objectives associated with transitioning out. From these case studies the key characteristics of the ideal PBL capstone course are identified for each form of education. Key characteristics of PBL include realism, problem diversity, individual versus group projects, group assignment procedures, group composition, exposure to the professional community, problem relevance, problem complexity, time frame, working conditions, role assignment, mentor support mechanisms and project deliverables. Finally, I propose that the more realistic the PBL, the better the PBL capstone course in transitioning students from university education to professional practice.
Impact and interest:
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|ID Code:
|Item Type:
|Problem-based Learning, Effective Teaching, Learning, HERN
|Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification > EDUCATION (130000) > CURRICULUM AND PEDAGOGY (130200) > Economics Business and Management Curriculum and Pedagogy (130203)
|Current > Research Centres > Australian Centre for Business Research
Current > QUT Faculties and Divisions > QUT Business School
Current > Schools > School of Management
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|Copyright 2008 please contact the author.
|Deposited On:
|08 Apr 2009 02:09
|Last Modified:
|27 Oct 2014 04:57
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text:
Land Readiness Report
The Value of Jobs Coalition believes that quality of life begins with a good job and that a thriving economy creates the foundation for quality schools, healthy parks and happy families. There are a number of factors that help a metro region's economy thrive - an educated workforce, sound infrastructure, a coordinated transportation system and available land to grow and attract employers, to name a few. A recent study - sponsored by Business Oregon, Metro, the Oregon chapter of NAIOP (the Commercial Real Estate Association), the Port of Portland, and Portland Business Alliance - examined one ingredient of regional economic health: the readiness of large-lot industrial lands.
A consistent inventory of sites is a key requirement for meeting market demand, either by expanding local employers or attracting new employers to our region. This study shows, however, that we have a supply of industrial land that is not readily available to attract and cultivate the types of catalytic employers that will help our region's ability to grow and thrive. While there are significant time and financial hurdles to market readiness for many of these industrial sites, the potential economic benefits (jobs, income and property tax) from successful traded-sector development would be substantial.
Our region has a land use history to be proud of, and we take a measured approach to development. Most of the large-lot sites that will become available for industrial development within the foreseeable future are inside the existing Metro urban growth boundary (UGB) or urban reserves. Advancing the readiness of those sites improves our economic competitiveness, maximizes the efficient use of existing infrastructure and reduces outward pressure on the UGB.
We hope the information in this report will start a conversation among public- and private-sector leaders to help move public policy in a direction that enhances our quality of life by creating well paying jobs and laying the foundation for innovative tools that grow employers in, and attract employers to, our region.
The Final Report and Appendices for this study are available in PDF format at the links below:
- Project Overview (pdf)
- Map of Inventory Sites (pdf)
- Inventory of Industrial Sites (pdf)
- Regional Lands Inventory
(Volumes 1,2 & 3: Analysis, Findings and Site Results)
For additional information about the project, please contact Bernie Bottomly, Alliance liaison to the Project Management Team.


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Occupational Therapist Salaries in Kingsport, Tennessee
Alternate Job Titles: Occupational Therapist
How much does a Occupational Therapist in Kingsport, TN make? The median annual Occupational Therapist salary in Kingsport, TN is $70,821, as of May 30, 2017, with a range usually between $64,869-$77,162 not including bonus and benefit information and other factors that impact base pay. However, the salary for someone with the title Occupational Therapist may vary depending on a number of factors including industry, company size, location, years of experience and level of education. Our team of Certified Compensation Professionals has analyzed survey data collected from thousands of HR departments at companies of all sizes and industries to present this range of annual salaries for people with the job title Occupational Therapist in Kingsport, TN.
This chart describes the expected percentage of people who perform the job of Occupational Therapist in the United States that make less than that annual salary. For example the median expected annual pay for a typical Occupational Therapist in the United States is $70,821 so 50% of the people who perform the job of Occupational Therapist in the United States are expected to make less than $70,821.
Source: HR Reported data as of May 30, 2017
Refine by:
This chart describes the expected percentage of people who perform the job of Occupational Therapist in Kingsport, TN that make less than that salary. For example 50% of the people who perform the job of Occupational Therapist in Kingsport are expected to make less than the median.
Source: HR Reported data as of June 2017
Plans and conducts individualized occupational therapy programs to help patients develop, regain, or maintain their ability to perform daily activities. Teaches patients skills/techniques and how to use adaptive equipment for participating in activities. Studies, evaluates, and records patients' activities and progress. Requires a bachelor's degree and is certified as a occupational therapist. Familiar with standard concepts, practices, and procedures within a particular field. Relies on limited experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals. Performs a variety of tasks. A certain degree of creativity and latitude is required. Typically reports to a manager. View full job description
View Healthcare -- Practitioners Jobs by Salary Range: <$30K, $30K–$50K, $50K–$80K, $80K–$100K, >$100K
- Cert. Occupational Therapist Asst. - Nursing Home
- Occupational Therapist - Home Care
- Occupational Therapy Director
- Physical Therapist
- Physician - Occupational Medicine
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- Kingsport, TN Human Resources Manager
- Kingsport, TN Medical Assistant
- Kingsport, TN Nurse Practitioner
- Kingsport, TN Accountant I
- Kingsport, TN Staff Nurse - RN II
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- Kingsport, TN Office Manager
- Kingsport, TN Project Manager I
- Kingsport, TN Administrative Assistant I
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text:
This past summer, The New Republic published a lengthy cover story about the transgender community. Among the magazine's strongest statements was one reading, "Transgender people are some of the least protected, most persecuted people in the United States."
Numerous facts in the article supported that statement. The piece reported, for instance, that a recent study of trans students found that nearly half had been "punched, kicked, or injured with a weapon" during the previous year. The story also said trans women and men are regularly evicted from their homes, fired from their jobs and denied medical care. Another chilling statistic was that more than a third of trans people attempt suicide at some point in their lives.
All these distressing details ran under a headline that asked: "What will it take for America to accept transgender people for who they really are?"
When I read that question, I instinctively answered, "It'll take the media showcasing the trans community in a favorable light."
A few weeks later when I read that the folks behind ABC's Dancing with the Stars had cast Chaz Bono for the new season, I asked myself, "Could this be the moment that the struggle for transgender rights moves on to the national agenda?"
If you think I'm exaggerating a TV show's influence, check out the LGBT leaders who've credited the likes of Will & Grace and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy with playing a major role—by increasing Middle America's gay comfort level—in the U.S. Supreme Court's 2003 decision to legalize sodomy.
And so I ask: If not Chaz Bono now, who and when?
People of a certain age have vivid memories of Cher and Sonny Bono, back in the early 1970s, bringing their blond-haired daughter Chastity—then a toddler—out on stage at the end of their weekly Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour to smile shyly and wave to the audience.
The technology hasn't yet been developed that was able to track precisely how many of those same viewers were again sitting on their couches for the premiere of this season's Dancing . . . or how many of them dropped their jaws in amazement when the grown-up version of Chastity appeared as a 42- year-old man with a big belly and a tiny beard, but I'm guessing the number was sizeable—after all, this reality show skews to a gray-haired crowd.
No matter how many of the 19 million viewers who tuned into Dancing on that first night had seen both Chastity four decades ago and Chastity 2.0 this year, that number was dwarfed by the millions of young media consumers who've learned bits and pieces about Chaz's life courtesy of TMZ or Perez Hilton or E! Online.
They may know, for example, that in 1995 Chaz—while still Chastity—came out as a lesbian and tout suite became a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign. They also may know that he later took a job with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, until he was misquoted as saying that Ellen DeGeneres's sitcom was "too gay" and got the boot.
Committed students of Chaz Bono may also know that watching the 1999 film Boys Don't Cry made him realize that maybe being a lesbian wasn't the end of the story, prompting him to find a transgender therapist who helped him work through the list of fears he had about transitioning into becoming a man.
After lots of therapy and supervised medical care, plus plenty of support from his girlfriend Jennifer Elia, who entered his life in 2005, Chaz underwent top surgery—which means having his breasts removed—two years ago. He's still undecided about what many people consider the final step in going from female to male. "To me, the options of bottom surgery aren't that great," he told The Advocate in a cover story published last summer, "considering the time, money and pain you have to go through."
Despite being in the media spotlight much of his life, Chaz walking onto that Dancing with the Stars stage was still a huge moment. Viewers didn't just get a gander at him—for many of them, their first look at a real-live trans man—but also heard him talk and saw him glide across the floor with a real-live girl.
And Chaz done good.
He introduced himself to the TV audience by saying, "I'm Chaz Bono," a smile spread across his chubby face, "and I'm the first transgender contestant on Dancing with the Stars." Determined to do some educating, he then went on to say—as a photo of him as an adorable toddler filled the screen—"I was born in the female body but have transitioned, and I am now a male."
He and partner Lacey Schwimmer then did the cha-cha to the infectious Mamas and Papas classic "Dancing in the Street." As is typical with a professional/celebrity duo, Lacey did a lot more fancy footwork than Chaz did, but he did a totally respectable job of trying to keep up with her, smiling all the while.
All three judges praised their most controversial contestant of the season (READ: The one who could take the show's ratings through the roof). Head judge Len Goodman dubbed him "Razz-a-ma-Tazz Chaz" and then went on to address him directly by saying, "You really came out with the right attitude." Carrie Ann Inaba was even more exuberant, telling Chaz, "You've got so much joy. You light up this room!" The most excitable of the judges, Bruno Tonioli, called the show's first trans contestant "cute and cuddly" and then turned to the man of the hour and said, "Great, great debut, Chaz. You should be proud."
Some people outside the ABC studio weren't so positive. FoxNews.com ran an editorial in which a professor from the Tufts University School of Medicine wrote that children who see the trans contestant on the show may decide to have gender reassignment surgery.
"It is a toxic and unnecessary byproduct of the tragic celebration of transgender surgery," Keith Ablow said, "that millions of young people who watch 'Dancing with the Stars' will have to ponder this question: Maybe my problems really stem from the fact that I'm a girl inside a boy's body (or a boy inside a girl's body)."
Chaz's second week on the program was tougher than the first. Training for the quickstep proved to be a major challenge for him because he carries around so much extra weight that he could pass for Humpty Dumpty. After Lacey put him through his paces for several days, his knees swelled up so bad he had to have medical attention, which included lots of ice packs.
During the show, the judges had no choice but to give Chaz low scores for the slowest quickstep in the show's thirteen seasons, but they still showered him with (unofficial) 10s in other categories. Len praised his "determination," Carrie Ann gave him props for his "charm," and Bruno gushed about his "likeability."
It's clear that Chaz shouldn't be taking home the mirror-ball trophy at the end of the season, as he's not the best celebrity dancer. But it's also clear that he's already done more for the transgender community than can be measured.
So I'll quote Bruno Tonioli and say to Chaz Bono: "You should be proud."
By Rodger Streitmatter
© LGBT-Today
Featured - Featured Articles
Copyright © 2013 LGBT-Today. All Rights Reserved.
Remember Me


text:
Wax Poetics magazine debuted as a quarterly in December 2001, and since then it's been a mainstay of hip-hop, funk, soul and more. Owner and Editor-in-Chief Andre Torres talks with Elvis Mitchell about the magazine's beginnings and what he hopes to achieve in each issue. The magazine is now published bi-monthly.
Harriet Ells


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Outdoorsman Ballistic Turret For Swarovski Scopes Review
Outdoorsman Ballistic Turret For Swarovski Scopes Review
By Jim See
I had the opportunity to test and review a Swarovski Z6 5-30X50mm BT (ballistic turret) rifle scope. Now this might not sound all that interesting but the unique thing about this scope is it wore a custom Ballistic Turret from the Outdoorsmans. (www.outdoorsmans.com)
The starting point for the Outdoorsman ballistic turret is the Swarovski BT riflescope, offered in nine standard models and four illuminated models. With scope in hand, one needs to order the turret based off of the ballistic information of the rifles load. If youre new to the BDC system the good people at the Outdoorsmans (1-800-291-8065) will walk you thru the process of gathering data.
This particular scope and turret system was set-up for a 243AI. Problem was it was not set up for MY 243AI. This set-up was based on Len's load, and with a limited amount of time on his hands Len asked if I would offer my opinions on the system. I gladly accepted and mounted the scope on a 243AI f-class rifle that was soon to be rebarreled. I took the rifle to my range that gives me access to 600 yards worth of dirt embankments. This turret was made with a 100 yard zero and had the ability to dial out to 700 yards. Had I ordered the turret and set it up I would have opted for a 250 or 300 yard zero so as to extend the yardages that the turret could be accurately marked. As with life you play the hand your dealt, so on with the testing.
I picked a calm morning for the range session. I zeroed the scope to the rifle at 100 yards. Setting up the turret for zero was relatively easy with the only tool required being the instruction book and a coin. The scopes zero stop feature was an added plus. I then set out to test the turrets accuracy or lack thereof with my load. I shot 3 shot groups at 300,400, and 600 yards, the 3-3 shot groups all printed close to ½ moa. To my surprise the turret was accurate to within ¼ moa at those yardages, when measuring center of group to point of aim. My conclusion was, Lens load and my load must be very close. I then repeated the test to see if the scopes adjustments were repeatable when turning the turrets up and down, looking for possible play or backlash in the system. For the most part the system repeated the performance of the first go around. The 400 and 600 yard group missed point of aim by a slightly smaller margin than the first ¼ moa variance. Performance was on par with what I considered to be the expectations for this upper end scope and turret system.
As with most BDC type turrets, many are familiar with the advantages and disadvantages of the system, most importantly is having the turrets data applicable to the conditions you shoot under. As with any BDC, and cross country environment changes, it is a necessary requirement to re-zero the turret at a solid mid to long range distance. This will keep any of the possible turret error on the lower yardages, where a ½-1 moa impact change will still keep you in the vitals.
As I was gearing up for a mid-range f-class, the Swarovski was pulled, and the 243AI morphed into a 6mm Bench Rest. I again mounted the Swarovski and zeroed the gun at 600 yards. I was not concerned at this point with the ballistic turret as much as just getting a feel for the scope and the trustworthiness of the adjustments during repeated use. I used this set-up to compete in LaCrosse and Lodi, at 600 yard f-class matches.
At Lodi I had one poor relay that took me out of the top 5 of a 23 competitor field. I started the morning well shooting a 198-10x, and a 197-8x. After coming out of the pits the sun wind and mirage made things a bit more difficult. My third string suffered with a 190- 3x, mental errors more than conditions. I pulled myself together mentally and fired a 198-7x for the last relay of the day. This helped wipe away the poor earlier performance, finishing 7th overall respectively.
The scope was optically excellent; resolution was very good allowing me to easily see the scoring rings at 600 yards. The scope remained on 30 power for both matches even during periods of thick mirage. During this time the rifle had fired 200+ rounds. I found no anomalies which made me question the scopes ability to repeat. Add to that a quality Ballistic Turret by the Outdoorsman, and I think youre looking at a true winner.
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