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Crippled by a 1988 Hurricane, Jamaica's Cigar Industry is Bringing Back the Taste of Days Gone
(continued from page 2)
The field belongs to Gore, a third-generation Jamaican tobacco grower and a partner in the making of Royal Jamaica cigars, the only cigar sold in the United States with Jamaican tobacco. A thickly built man with a gray beard and scant hair, Gore stops the truck in front of a field of tobacco that was stunted by the rains of Hurricane Mitch, a monstrous storm that skimmed Jamaica last October but ravaged Central America.
"We probably lost 30 to 40 acres of tobacco in Mitch," says the 53-year-old Gore, squinting in the sun. He points out the uneven tops of a row of tobacco. "We didn't have breezes with Mitch," he says, "but we had a piss-pot full of rain."
Gore knows hurricanes all too well. In September 1988, Hurricane Gilbert slammed into Jamaica at full strength, maiming the nation's cigar industry. The storm destroyed Gore's factory in Kingston, which had stood since his grandfather James Frederick Gore founded Royal Jamaica in 1935, and ruined 1,000 acres of tobacco in May Pen. It was the worst natural disaster to befall Jamaica since the 1907 earthquake that turned Kingston into rubble. Because of Gilbert, the Jamaican tobacco industry was set back several years, production of Royal Jamaica cigars was shifted to the Dominican Republic, and Jamaican tobacco was no longer used in the island's biggest brand, Macanudo.
Today, Jamaica is regaining some of its former cigar-making glory. Last year, 23 million premium, handmade cigars were shipped to the United States from Jamaica, the fourth-largest producer of premium cigars for the U.S. market, after the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua, and the only major exporter to show an increase over its 1997 production. Nearly 20 million of those cigars came from Cifuentes y Cia., a factory owned by General Cigar Co., and 2.8 million came from the post-Gilbert Jamaican incarnation of Royal Jamaica cigars, Jamaica Tobacco Manufacturing Co. (1995) Ltd., a 75/25 joint venture owned by Consolidated Cigar Corp. and Gore.
Tobacco is indigenous to Jamaica. A variety called cow tongue, or silver tongue, grows wild in the island's fertile, volcanic soil, and locals use it to make a potent mixture smoked in pipes. But cigar smoking and cigar making are not ingrained in Jamaica, as they are in Cuba, the island's closest neighbor.
"It's not part of our cultural heritage," says Jamaican Senator Frank Pringle, 69, who nonetheless proudly brings Jamaican cigars with him when meeting foreign leaders. "The Cubans were the original people who brought cigars to Jamaica."
The modern-day Jamaican tobacco industry owes a debt to the Second World War and a cigar-loving Great Britain. With the United Kingdom mired in war, hard currency was at a premium and had to be kept within the commonwealth--not spent on cigars made elsewhere. So Cubans moved to the British colony with their tobacco and expertise, and opened factory after factory. Soon Jamaican versions of Cuban brands--many made entirely with Cuban tobacco, others with Jamaican filler and Cuban wrappers--were hitting the U.K. market.
Jamaican cigars "replaced the top slot in the U.K. cigar market whilst Havanas were absent," says Simon Chase, marketing director for U.K. cigar importer Hunters & Frankau. "And Havanas were totally absent from 1940 up until 1953, and on quota up until 1973. It's quite a long story of an unnatural market."
Jamaica developed a reputation as a country with gifted cigarmakers, and by the 1960s, when Cuban cigars were banned in the United States, Jamaican cigars were considered a high-quality alternative. Besides Royal Jamaica and Macanudo, other brands, such as Crème de Jamaica, Flor de Jamaica, Temple Hall and Palamino, were very highly regarded.
"Jamaica has this legacy, this history of making good cigars," says Edgar M. Cullman Jr., chief executive officer of General Cigar. "During the late '60s and early '70s," says Cullman Jr., 53, "Jamaica was the premier place for making cigars in the Caribbean--outside of Cuba, of course."
Gore remembers the savagery of the 1988 hurricane that ended all that. "We lost our box department and our box warehouse. We had over a million and a half cigars in stock, and we lost over a million cigars," says Gore. He couldn't get to his farm for four days, and though he expected the worst, he was shocked when he saw the devastation. "We lost 35 tobacco barns in one evening--with the crop in the barns," he says.
Gore thought of rebuilding, but with the entire island crawling out of the ruin, it was a struggle to find workers and building materials. He filed a $4.4 million insurance claim that didn't cover his barns or tobacco losses, which were uninsurable, and collected only $2.6 million. Remembering a buyout offer that Richard L. DiMeola, then a top executive with Consolidated Cigar Corp., had made earlier, Gore called to see if Consolidated would make Royal Jamaicas in the Dominican Republic for him while he rebuilt. Consolidated went one step further and bought the brand in 1988. The result was one of the most confusing sights in cigar stores during the cigar boom--Royal Jamaica cigars, made in the Dominican Republic.
Consolidated made other changes, substituting Indonesian wrapper for Cameroon, which had all but disappeared from the market in the late 1980s, and replacing Indonesian binders with Mexican. Consolidated used filler tobacco grown by Gore to make Royal Jamaicas, but had to considerably pare down the amount of Jamaican tobacco it used in the wake of the hurricane.
"We lost certain markets that didn't want a Royal Jamaica made in the Dominican Republic," says Gore. Europe passed on the new Royal Jamaicas, and--even worse--the brand was kept off the shelves in its namesake country due to Jamaica's 160 percent duty on imported cigars.
Prior to Gilbert, Gore says he was making 7 million to 8 million cigars a year, 6 million of them Royal Jamaicas. After the 1988 hurricane, production on the brand was sliced to about 4 million cigars. Gore kept himself busy with his May Pen farm, and also produced machine-made cigars, which he sold in Canada, in part of his old Kingston plant. The rest of the space was rented out as a warehouse.
Although U.S. sales of Royal Jamaica were well off the pre-Gilbert peak of 5 million cigars, they increased steadily, from 2.3 million cigars in 1990 to 2.8 million in 1996, according to estimates by Cigar Insider, a sister publication of Cigar Aficionado. At the height of the cigar boom, Consolidated Cigar found itself pinched for space in its Dominican Republic factory in La Romana. With demand soaring for Montecristos, H. Upmanns and Don Diegos, Consolidated and Gore hatched a plan to bring Royal Jamaica back to Jamaica.
Royal Jamaicas have a distinctive smooth, woody taste, owed in large part to the mild Jamaican tobacco that makes up much of their filler. (Gore tends to leave the strongest leaves, the smallest ones, unpicked, and never removes the flowers from the top of the plant. This, he feels, smooths out the tobacco's flavor.) Another flavor factor is a bubbling cauldron inside the factory. It's filled with bethune, a mixture that includes rum, wine, vinegar and native herbs that workers spray on Jamaican tobacco after it cures. Gore says the bethune stops mold from forming on the tobacco during Jamaica's wet season and enhances the flavor of the cigars. As legend has it, the potion was created by Henry Winkle, who worked for Gore's grandfather. "It's like a witches' brew," jokes James L. Colucci, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Consolidated Cigar, "a secret formula. Robert keeps it very close to his vest. It's his Coca-Cola."
Gore is a changed man since Hurricane Gilbert. The scars of the storm are tattooed across his farm: the roof of one of his huge tobacco curing barns is a Frankenstein's monster of misshapen bits and pieces of corrugated zinc nailed into a jigsaw puzzle of patches. This 300-foot-long barn survived Gilbert, unlike the smaller thatched huts that were claimed by the storm. Gore no longer relies on typical casas del tabacos, which are to Caribbean storms what trailer parks are to tornadoes. Most tobacco barns in the Caribbean are nothing more than thatch over wood--he has two 300-foot-long barns reinforced with chicken wire and another 13,000-square-foot permanent barn made of concrete and steel. It would take an edict from NATO to knock that one down.
Today, Gore staggers the plantings of his crop during the growing season, which lasts from August through April. "We plant in stages to lower the risk," says Gore, who keeps his linen shirt untucked to hide the .357 Magnum pistol that's always at his hip. The gun has had some odd uses on his farm--one day he shot 22 goats that were wandering through his fields, tearing down stalks of tobacco in droves. The workers ate well that night.
"The Jamaican leaf is very ugly, but it's damn tasty, and it smokes good," says Israel Pinchas, the general manager of Jamaica Tobacco and Gore's second-in-command. He's tugging on the first of many cigars that he'll smoke that day, and talking about how he met his girlfriend, Nancy, when he came to Jamaica from Israel, in 1991, ended up staying, and married her. Gore kept him in the country after his wife overheard Pinchas's girlfriend lamenting to her hairdresser that her boyfriend was going to have to leave Jamaica because he didn't have a work permit. The two men met, and instantly clicked. Gore was impressed by Pinchas's knowledge of irrigation and his military training, and taught him about cigars and tobacco. Today Gore looks upon the 29-year-old as a son, and the eventual heir to the Royal Jamaica factory.
Pinchas was put in charge of staffing the new plant in May Pen, where he had to train locals who had never rolled cigars before. "When I told them they had to make 300, 400 cigars, they thought I was crazy. They made 50 cigars and they thought it was an excellent day. That was really tough in the beginning," says Pinchas.
Finally, two ladies reached the 300-cigar mark, which considerably increased their wages, as the rollers are paid by the piece. "The following week, I saw them come in with new clothes," says Pinchas. "I'm a Jew, but I said 'Jesus Christ!' Then everyone started picking up. Now I have to cut them off at 350."
In Pinchas's spartan office, he offers a guest a cigar that's nearly as long as his forearm, the Royal Jamaica 10 Downing Street. It's one of the most difficult cigars to create. There's no mold to hold it together, and a buncher must carefully press the leaves into a 10-and-a-half-inch-long cigar with a gentle taper.
That type of artful cigar making is what sold Edgar M. Cullman, Edgar Jr.'s father, on Jamaica in the late 1960s. He visited Jamaica's Temple Hall cigar factory in Kingston in 1969 and was immediately taken by the quality of its workforce.
"The people rolled cigars like I never saw people roll cigars," the 81-year-old Cullman recalls. He was already sold on the beauty of the island--Cullman had built a house on Tryall, the legendary golf course, four years before--and General bought Temple Hall in 1969. Today the factory--now known as Cifuentes y Cia. Ltd.--is the largest in Jamaica.
Kingston, the island's capital, where Cifuentes is headquartered, is not the Jamaica of the travel brochures. On the city outskirts people live clustered in primitive slums, in homes made of corrugated zinc, with rules of their own; places where police are afraid to tread. It's a long way from the white sand beaches, reggae bands and rum punch of tourism ads. In the city center, ancient buses belch thick black smoke and drivers weave colorful patterns across cratered roads.
But the Cifuentes plant is an oasis of calm. Peter Brown, the general manager of the plant, is a quiet, precise man with a spotless office. A worker walks in, smoking a corona-sized Macanudo, and Brown looks up. "Smoking the profits," he says with a smile. At 34, Brown may be one of the youngest men running a cigar plant and he's probably the only cigar factory manager in the world who doesn't smoke cigars.
Last year was a record year for Cifuentes: the Macanudos it shipped accounted for roughly 75 percent of the Macanudos sold in the United States, and every Macanudo Vintage cigar. The plant also makes Cifuentes cigars, a much smaller brand, and even fewer Temple Hall Estates and 8-9-8 Collections. Furthermore, the factory manufacturers a smattering of private-label cigars for high-end retailers Alfred Dunhill and Nat Sherman, as well as creating some bundle brands.
Brown, who was trained as a plant manager rather than a tobacco man, brings a corporate efficiency to the cigar business. He's worked at Jamaica subsidiaries of Johnson & Johnson and Windsor Laboratories, among other companies. His latest project at General is a bid to win ISO 9000 certification--an international award recognizing quality production--for his plant, something that no other handmade cigar factory has. ISO (Organization for Industry Standardization) certification is usually given to widget producers, not cigarmakers.
"Consistency is what we sell," says Brown, who was born in Kingston. "Making cigars is an art, to an extent, rather than a science. And therefore the delivery of that on a consistent level is a remarkable achievement. As a Jamaican, I'm proud of our craftsmanship. People put their life into it, making that cigar."
Jamaica made General Cigar what it is today. "It's one of the greatest things we ever did," says the elder Cullman. When General Cigar bought the Temple Hall factory, the company had sales of just under $100 million a year, and its entire product line consisted of cigars made in the United States--White Owl, William Penn and Robert Burns, among others. Last year General had sales of $271 million, and it recently sold its machine-made cigar business to focus exclusively on handmade, imported cigars.
Temple Hall, General's first premium offshore cigar factory, was tiny when General cut the deal. It was selling about 2 million Temple Hall cigars and Crème de Jamaica cigars annually in the United States. The factory also made about 1 million Macanudos a year strictly for the U.K. market.
The name Macanudo comes from Argentine slang equivalent to super or terrific. The Duke of Windsor picked it up after a polo trip to Argentina, according to Cullman Jr., and the Fernando Palicio family, who made Punch cigars in Cuba, slapped the name on one of their Punch sizes, then named a brand Macanudo when they came to Jamaica during the Second World War. Aficionados will notice that the box art on classic Macanudo sizes, such as the Hyde Park, is nearly identical to that on a box of Punch cigars. Punch bands have FP in the middle, which stands for Fernando Palicio; General switched the FP to PP, just to "make it a little different," says Cullman Jr.
General put all of its efforts behind Macanudo, especially when it came to the wrapper. The company grows its own Connecticut-shade tobacco, which is shipped to the Dominican Republic, fermented and aged, then shipped back to Connecticut for a second aging called the "winter sweat." The Cullmans believe this extra step is a key reason behind the smooth taste known to Macanudo smokers.
"We had the master, Mr. Ramón Cifuentes," the senior Cullman says about the cigarmaker behind Cuba's Partagas brand, whom he enlisted to gear up General's Jamaican factory. "He went down and lived in Kingston, to show the people there--the workers--how to make a good cigar. How to blend. And then how to make the boxes. He had a great eye for how to present his image of a cigar. We got to be very friendly, and he showed us how to make the round head that I like so much." General's cigars are distinctive for their rounded crowns, and Cullman has been known to walk through his Kingston plant, pick up a roller's cigar, and, with a smile, ask the roller to make the cigar's head look like his own cranium. Some call it "the Cullman cap."
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15 Gorgeous Beauty Buys Under $25
"Staying young is all about being happy with yourself. I don't mean 'ha-ha' happy, but 'content' happy.' Just enjoy every day, whether it's good or bad, because tomorrow will be better." — Sophie Barone, 81, Syracuse, NY
Protect your eyes, where skin is thinnest, and likely the first spot to show signs of aging. UV rays and free radicals make it worse. "Moisturizers with a chemical sunscreen may irritate this delicate area," says Missy Hughes, spa director at The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in Charleston, South Carolina. Instead, opt for a zinc oxide or a titanium-based cream that provides a physical sunblock without the chemicals.
3 Anti-Aging Makeup Routines That Work on Real Women

subset: commoncrawl


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Innovate is just around the corner and the software community is eagerly waiting to see what's in store in the 2011 edition of the premier software conference. Not just because I'm a Rational guy, but also because I'm a software developer. As the planet gets smarter, the software and systems involved in even trivial day to day activities such as banking, automobile, traffic management, pollution control, etc. are becoming increasingly complex in both, size and logic. Add to that privacy concerns and scalability issues, and the software developers seem to have their hands full. In this scenario, it becomes increasingly important to have smart tools that make the whole development experience simpler, coherent, and that make intra-team processes easy. Rational tools have matured over the years and some new ones have grown out of incubation phases. All of them aspire to solve the many problems that plague software developers today. At Innovate, we get to see how, and that too, straight from the knowledge experts involved in the making of the product.
The 2010 Innovate was a great educational experience in terms of not just what's brewing at Rational, but also what the software industry and clients out there are looking for. It was also great to hear about how clients have successfully deployed/used Rational solutions to give their business a fillip and fill the gaps in good software tooling. Since the past couple of years, Rational products have taken a fresh direction with the launch of the Jazz platform and the flagship offering - Rational Team Concert. With this, Rational products such as Rational Quality Manager, Rational Requirements Composer and RTC itself are coming together to constitute a comprehensive solution for Application Lifecycle Management (ALM), called Collaboration application Lifecycle Management (CLM). The first release of this solution was out this year and its immensely interesting to know how this applies to different industry scenarios and watch live demos of the same. The conversations that were started around this in the Innovate 2010 are thus going to reach a critical mass at Innovate this year. With applications across multiple industrial sectors, this year's Innovate seems to be poised to give a lot of weight to the CLM solution. Even products such as Rational Rhapsody, Rational Application Developer are venturing into new uncharted waters, pioneering solutions for relatively newer industries such as the mobile software industry. Ofcourse, it is at conferences such as these that one clearly gets to see how software tools make an impact from the keyboard to the world. The IBM Smarter Planet strategy fits logically in that sense. All this makes me look positively forward to the conference.
The Rational India blog gives a neat roundup of motivating reasons if you're unsure about attending Innovate. Or if you're already convinced, you can register on the Innovate website.
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Looking forward to Innovate 2011, India
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Ever see a large mass of cyclists riding casually down the streets of DC? If so, then you have witnessed the urban phenomenon that is Critical Mass! Groups of cyclists at most major cities have been gathering together for a friendly, social bike ride to celebrate the use of non-motorized transportation. It's an all ages party whose major goal is awareness of alternative transportation to help ease global warming.
In DC, the ride begins at Dupont Circle on the first Friday of every month at 6pm. The ride route? varies each time and lasts for about two hours.
So, what are you waiting for? Join in the celebration and enjoy a different mode of travel while still getting a great look at the city!
-Vanessa, Innkeeper
American Guest House Bed and Breakfast
Washington DC Bed and Breakfast accommodations. We are centrally located, 10 minutes walk to DuPont Circle metro/subway, 1 mile north west of White House.


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Vegan Sugar Free Chocolate Rum Cookies
I love cookie swaps. They're so fun. You show up with cookies of one kind and leave with cookies of a bunch of different kinds. I actually did one cookie swap with friends in December, signed up for one that Kathy planned, but ended up not being able to go, planned on the blogger swap last weekend that I also couldn't attend, AND, signed up to do an online swap. Yea, like I said, I like cookie swaps.
I enjoy doing online swaps because you're sending and receiving a bunch of one kind of cookie! I have participated in steph chow's jam exchange in the past, so when she said she was going to do a cookie exchange, I instantly signed up.
My partner in cookie-ing is Sarah. She's vegan so I set out to find a vegan cookie recipe. I actually had a hard time finding something that looked good to me that was vegan that also wouldn't require me to purchase some ingredients that I would never use again… But alas, I found this cookie that also happens to be sugar free. And it has rum in it! Even better. The cookies had a good chocolate flavor and actually reminded me of truffles or fudge with some rum thrown into the mix.
One Year Ago: Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Two Years Ago: Apple Spice Bars
Three Years Ago: Lemon Meringue Pie Cupcakes
Vegan Sugar Free Chocolate Rum Cookies
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup soy milk
1/2 cup maple syrup
3 Tbsp rum
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Whisk together the oil, soy milk and maple syrup until well mixed. Add rum and melted chocolate, then remaining dry ingredients, adding the nuts last.
Drop by spoonfuls onto a baking sheet and bake for 7-9 minutes.
Recipe from About.com
11 Responses to "Vegan Sugar Free Chocolate Rum Cookies"
I can't wait to try these! I hope you're doing well!
Vegan cookies huh? And sugar-free? Wow, they look good!
like truffles or fudge, huh? I'll take one!
or 5 🙂
I love cookie exchanges too! I actually participated in Steph's exchange too 🙂 These cookies sound delicious and if they're vegan they're supposed to be healthy right??
ooo these sound amazing for the exchange! Sorry it was a challenge to find a recipe but I'm so glad you found one you liked!!
These cookies look amazing. I mean they contain chocolate, rum, plus they are sugar-free. This is the perfect dessert. Thanks for sharing.
WOW – this cookie could not look more delicious 🙂
How are these sugar free with maple syurp in them that has lots of sugar
How many cookies does this make in one batch?


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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/8/2012 (1870 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The 11th annual Elvis Festival was held in Gimli, Manitoba this past weekend. The festival comes less than a week before the 35th anniversary of Elvis's death on August 16th.


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Exploiting Temporal Coherence in Real-Time Rendering
Saturday, 18 December | 12:15 午前 - 4:00 午前 | Room 314
Temporal coherence, the correlation of content between adjacent rendered frames, exists across a wide range of scenes and motion types in practical real-time rendering. Taking advantage of temporal coherence can save redundant computation and significantly improve the performance of many rendering tasks with only a marginal decrease in quality. This not only allows incorporation of more computationally intensive shading effects in existing applications, but it also offers exciting opportunities to extend high-end graphics applications to reach lower-spec, consumer-level hardware.
This introduces the concepts of temporal coherence and provides the working practical and theoretical knowledge required to exploit temporal coherence in a variety of shading tasks. It begins with an introduction to the general idea of temporal coherence in rendering and an overview of the recent developments in the field. Then it focuses on a key technique: reverse reprojection cache, which is the foundation of many applications. The course explains a number of extensions of the basic algorithm for assisting in multi-pass shading effects, shader antialiasing, casting shadows, and global-illumination effects. And it introduces several more general coherence topics beyond pixel reuse, including visibility-culling optimization and object-space global-illumination approximations. For all the major techniques and applications covered, implementation and practical issues involved in development are addressed in detail.
The course emphasizes "know how" and the guidelines related to algorithm choices. After attending the course, participants are encouraged to find and utilize temporal coherence in their own applications and rapidly adapt existing algorithms to meet their requirements.
Intended Audience
Game and graphics developers. Researchers who are interested in real-time rendering and rendering acceleration. Graphics hardware developers.
Presentation Language
Presented in English / 영어로 발표 됨
Knowledge of basic real-time computer graphics, such as the programmable shading pipeline, model transformation, rasterization, texture mapping. Experience in writing vertex and fragment shaders is preferred.
Introduction - Daniel Scherzer
What is temporal coherence?
When is it useful? Example scenarios
Applications in real-time rendering.
Background - Daniel Scherzer
Overview of the related techniques
CPU-based techniques from the old time
GPU-based real-time techniques
Taxonomies - different perspectives of tackling the problem
Space - where do we store data?
Data flow - forward vs. reverse reprojection
Data reuse locality
Image-space real-time reverse reprojection - Lei Yang
The essentials
Determining cache coordinates
Detecting cache misses
Cache resampling and filtering
Refreshing strategies
Control flow optimization
Determining what to cache
Computational overhead
Resampling error
Quality - speed tradeoff
Direct application examples
Applications and extensions of reverse reprojection (Part I) - Lei Yang
Multi-pass rendering effects
Stereoscopic rendering
Motion blur
Depth of field effects
Amortized sampling
Achieving subpixel accuracy: shader antialiasing
Applications and extensions of reverse reprojection (Part II) - Daniel Scherzer
Application in discrete LOD blending
Application in casting shadows
Pixel-correct shadows
Soft shadows
Application in global illumination
Screen-space ambient occlusion
Imperfect shadow maps
Spatio-temporal upsampling
Temporal coherence in object space - Oliver Mattausch
Temporal coherence in culling techniques
Hardware occlusion queries
Coherent hierarchical culling (CHC)
Near-optimal hierarchical culling (NOHC)
Coherent hierarchical culling revisited (CHC++)
Incremental instant radiosity
Wrap Up - All
Conclusion, panel-style Q&A discussion
Daniel Scherzer
Technische Universität Wien
Lei Yang
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Oliver Mattausch
Technische Universität Wien
Instructor Bios
Daniel Scherzer
Daniel Scherzer is an assistant professor at the Institute of Computer Graphics and Algorithms of the Technische Universität Wien, where he received an MSc in 2005, an MSocEcSc in 2008, and a PhD in 2009. His current research interests include shadow algorithms, temporal coherence methods, modelling, and level-of-detail approaches for real-time rendering, and he has authored and coauthored papers in these fields.
Lei Yang
Lei Yang is a fourth-year PhD candidate at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He received a BEng from Xidian University in 2004 and has been invovled graphics research since then. His current research interests include rendering acceleration, spatial and temporal coherence in rendering, filtering, and anti-aliasing. He has co-authored several refereed journal and conference papers on exploiting spatial and temporal coherence in real-time rendering, three of which are discussed in this course.
Oliver Mattausch
Oliver Mattausch is a researcher at the Technische Universität Wien, where he received his PhD in 2010. He has coauthored several papers in the fields of real-time rendering and scientific visualization. His current research interests are real-time rendering with a focus on visibility algorithms, temporal coherence algorithms, and real-time global illumination. From his work in the GameTools EU project, he has hands-on experience with integrating research results into modern rendering engines.


text: Women's Sorel® Out N About™ leather boots in black Item F7300 Size: All sizes are US sizes. Size Charts Quantity: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Prices do not include taxes. Add to Bag Wishlist Add to Bag Add To Wishlist share: size & fit Product Details Founded in Ontario, Canada, in 1908, Sorel has long been synonymous with cold-weather footwear. Plus, they were the first company to combine durable uppers and waterproof rubber bottoms, which is totally genius, if you ask us. This exclusive pair captures all of that (and more). Leather upper. Man-made sole. Import. Online only. Item F7300.


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Definitely it was a nice win. But I will say one thing right now, we respect the hell out of the Indiana Pacers. For them to be depleted the way they are and to be playing with that group of guys the way they are says a lot about what this organization is about. I was nervous, really nervous going into tonights game. Not only with all the guys they have suspended; but also the ones that are hurt like Pollard and Bender. I wouldnt want to play them when Jermaine gets back."
(On sluggish play) "You know youve got to give the Pacers credit for that. I dont want to blame a lot of it on us because a lot of it was them. They made us take quick shots and we played a little selfish at times; but we as a team have to play on a more consistent level in order to be as good as we can be.


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A boy just barely eight years old steps onto the stage of a nightclub on Manhattan's Upper West Side. He sits down behind a grand piano. He's in a short-sleeve, gingham-checked shirt, white jeans and Ray-Ban wayfarers. Fearlessly, he attacks "The Star-Spangled Banner". His left hand bangs out the chords; his right the melody. His voice - not always in perfect pitch - is fierce with love of country. Then the boy shifts into Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline". The crowd joins in on the chorus.
It is a Sunday afternoon, and my son Nicholas is in the midst of his first piano recital. He's the youngest of the seven students performing that day, so he is batting first. As the performances move along, my wife Honor and I are treated to what the future holds if our son sticks with his music: a fifth-grade boy performs a chilling acoustic version of U2's "One". Then a trio of eighth graders delivers a bar band-worthy cover of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep".
Watching from a banquette, I'm happy that Nicholas has discovered something he can call his very own. I don't play an instrument, so when he heads into his room after an unusually bad day and flips on his keyboard to kick out the jams; he is the sovereign of his own land. The piano is his thing, and I am loath to interfere.
We are similar in many ways. Like his dad, Nicholas can retain vast amounts of data. Hopefully, he will fill his hard drive with higher quality material than I have stuffed into mine. I can't do calculus, but I do know whether to use sweet or dry vermouth in a Negroni or what the letter "T" stands for in Captain James T Kirk. But when it comes to Nicholas' musical tastes, I've tried to avoid being an influence.
'No offence, guys, but this sounds like the music they play at the pool when it's Senior Swim' was Nicholas' response to Burt Bacharach
I follow Starfleet General Order number 1 - what Captain James Tiberius Kirk would call the Prime Directive: don't meddle with developing alien civilisations. Nicholas" music teacher seems to follow this rule too. He's a working musician named Greg Dayton, who gives private lessons to a handful of kids. He's dark haired, in his late forties, and he's managed to teach Nicholas a whole bunch of techniques and theories by letting him select the songs he wants to learn - even if the lyrics are devoid of nutritional value.
However, the last two songs he's chosen to learn - Miley Cyrus" "Party in the USA" and Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" - have forced me into a moral quandary, one that Kirk has faced numerous times: do I violate the Prime Directive?
When I was Nicholas' age, my friends and I sat around each other's rooms burning the grooves off albums from bands including The Beatles, the Eagles, Led Zeppelin, The Allman Brothers Band and Elton John. Sure, there were some missteps in there. (The first rock concert I attended was Meat Loaf.) In contrast, Nicholas gets a lot of his musical input from a fleeting glance at a friend's iPad or iPhone, where the visuals are as important as the music. Some of the stuff is just crap.
One Saturday night as Honor was putting away the dinner dishes (and I was putting away the last of a bottle of Burgundy), we decided to play "What do you think'? We were not foisting our musical taste on Nicholas, just letting him sample some of our favourites. Honor had on Burt Bacharach's "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" and asked Nicholas what he thought of it.
As the first strains of Steve Miller's 'Fly Like An Eagle' filled the apartment, he threw his arms out into an approximation of a wingspan and busted out some dance moves
"No offence, guys. But this sounds like the music they play at the pool when it is Senior Swim," he said, and I could see his point because they crank up the easy listening tunes at our club when the grannies in their skirt bathing suits do water aerobics. Undaunted, I switched to The Cure's "In Between Days".
"This was a favourite of mummy and daddy's when we lived in California. Picture us in a convertible driving by the ocean."
The result?
A blank stare.
Finally, I had an idea. Nicholas had recently started day camp for the summer, and the different age groups are named after birds: Sparrows are the youngest; Condors the oldest. Nicholas is an Eagle, so I reached way back to a song I dug when I was his age. As the first strains of Steve Miller's "Fly Like An Eagle" filled the apartment, he threw his arms out into an approximation of a wingspan and busted out some sufi-meets-trustafarian dance moves.
"Hey, play that again," demanded Nicholas.
A few days later I returned home from work as Nicholas was wrapping up his piano lesson. Miley and Taylor had been banished beyond the Romulan Neutral Zone. In their stead, I thought I heard some of Steve Miller's blues-rock riffs.
To read Mr Brodie's previous columns, click here. Follow Mr Brodie on Twitter @jbrodieny


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LAKESIDE-MARBLEHEAD -- Rev. Forest Woodbury Carter, 96, of Lakeside-Marblehead, passed away peacefully on Wednesday morning, Dec. 5, 2012 in Otterbein North Shore Senior Lifestyle Community.
He was born on April 11, 1916 in Alliance to the late Clifford and Blanch (Williamson) Carter.
Forest was a graduate of Mount Union University and attended Seminary at Boston University. He was a retired minister of the United Methodist Church, serving for 36 years in the towns of Deersville, Congress, Marlboro, Massillon, Lodi, Loudonville, Caledonia, and Tiro, all in Ohio. After his retirement, he served four years as minister to the Catawba Chapel.
Forest is survived by his three sons, Forest Scott (Constance) Carter, of Loudonville, David William (Lovie) Carter, of Buxton, North Carolina, and Dwain Wesley Carter, of Helena, Montana; two grandchildren, Scott Carter and Cari Ann Pierides; and one great-granddaughter, Journey.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife of 65 years, Bernice Elia (Scott) Carter, in 2006; brother, Edwin Carter; and a sister, in infancy, Sharon.
Friends may call from 11 a.m. until time of funeral services at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012 in Lakeside United Methodist Church, 450 Central Ave., Lakeside. Burial will follow in Sackett Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made in Forest's memory to the Lakeside United Methodist Church Memorial Fund, 450 Central Ave., Lakeside, Ohio 43440. Toft Funeral Home & Crematory, 2001 Columbus Ave., Sandusky, is assisting the family with arrangements. Condolences may be shared atwww.toftfh.com.


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1:00 Announcements and Host Chat
- OKCupid has added Relationship Type (mono/non-mono and mostly/strictly) under your details! Plus, you can specify "in an open relationship" (versus "seeing someone")
- I'll be teaching at Debauchery April 25-27 in North Carolina
Topic: How do you tell the people you're dating that their relationship is fucked up
G writes in to ask how to broach the topic of seeing some issues in the relationship of the couple she's dating. If you see something unhealthy or concerning going on, is it your business? Should you just butt out? How can you tell if it's a harmless quirk of the dynamic or a relationship-ending issue? And if you do decide to bring it up, how do you do that diplomatically?
This is a tough one! No one likes being told that their relationship appears unhealthy. But the general rules of relationship communication apply: if you see something you're afraid to bring up, you absolutely should bring it up. But how?
I don't have any magic plan for this one; it's really tricky. So I applied the basic guidelines for bringing up any difficult topic:
- Set a time to talk
- Use "I" statements based on your own experience
- Acknowledge your limitations
- Refer to specific behaviors first
- Refer to your own experience
- Ask for insights
Happy Poly Moment
Harper shared a happy poly moment in which her mother chose to publicly acknowledge Harper's poly relationship rather than avoiding it!
Wrap up
Questions? Comments? Feedback? Email email@example.com or call the listener comment line at 802-505-POLY. And hey, why not attach an audio comment to that email? 🙂 Check out PolyWeekly at Blubrry.com. Share this with a friend or write an iTunes review!


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Hidden Hazards in Household Trash
Fairfax County Office of Public
12000 Government Center Parkway, Suite 551
Fairfax, VA 22035-0065
July 28, 2005
Hidden Hazards in Household Trash
Summer is a great time to work around the house and to clean out the garage. Cleaning often involves getting rid of household chemicals such as paints and varnishes, bug killers and plant food, and pool chemicals. These materials, when thrown away, are known as household hazardous waste. Fairfax County residents are reminded that county code prohibits them from throwing away household hazardous waste in the trash.
When household hazardous waste is thrown in the trash, chemicals can mix together and become very dangerous–even lethal–and can threaten your life, your pet's life and the life of the refuse collection person. By disposing of household hazardous waste separately, it will be properly handled and packaged to minimize exposure to potentially harmful chemicals, and also will decrease the likelihood that these chemicals will enter the environment. For residents in Fairfax County Sanitary Districts, customer service guidelines specifically state that household hazardous waste cannot be placed at the curb for collection.
Residents can dispose of household hazardous waste at one of two
household hazardous waste management facilities: the I-66 Transfer
Station at 4618 West Ox Road in Fairfax, or the I-95 Solid Waste Complex
at 9850 Furnace Road in Lorton. Both facilities are open for all
county residents according to the following schedule:
I-66 Transfer Station (4618 West Ox Road, Fairfax)
Thursday: 1-5 p.m.
Friday: 8 a.m.-noon
Saturday: 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Sunday: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
I-95 Solid Waste Complex (9850 Furnace Road, Lorton)
Thursday: 8 a.m.-noon
Friday: 1-5 p.m.
Saturday: 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
For details about disposing household hazardous waste in Fairfax County, including how to dispose of specific items, visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/trash/disphhw.htm, or call 703-324-5230, TTY 711.
Fairfax County is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination in all county programs, services and activities and will provide reasonable accommodations upon request. To request special accommodations, call 703-324-3187, TTY 703-324-2935. Please allow five working days in advance of events in order to make the necessary arrangements


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Get an overview of this hotelAparthotel resort nestled in Coachella Valley
Popular property highlights
10 miles to Palm Springs
The Westin Mission Hills Resort Villas is a 20-minute drive from Palm Springs and 7 miles (11 km) from the airport. It's 60 miles (96 km) to the desert landscapes of Joshua Tree National Park, and there's a choice of 5 casinos within 25 miles (40 km).
A choice of golf courses
Active vacationers can take advantage of the 24-hour Westinworkout® Fitness Studio, the tennis courts, and the 2 18-hole golf courses, while the heated outdoor swimming pools are ideal places to relax. Seasons Grill restaurant offers desert oasis dining with fresh, seasonal cuisine.
Balcony, free WiFi
Villas offer everything for a relaxing vacation with all the comforts of home. There's a separate living area and equipped kitchen, plus a private balcony or patio. Flat-screen TVs with a Blu-Ray player and free WiFi keep guests entertained, and Heavenly® beds encourage a restful night's sleep.
Guest Highlights
- Good location
- Family-friendly amenities
- Pool
- Helpful staff
- Clean guestrooms
- Parking wasn't ideal
The Westin Mission Hills Resort Villas
Hotel Amenities
Hotel Amenities
In addition to a full-service spa, The Westin Mission Hills Resort Villas features a golf course and a waterslide. The resort offers a coffee shop/café. Guests can unwind with a drink at one of the resort's bars, which include a poolside bar and a bar/lounge. High-speed wireless Internet access is complimentary.
This 4-star property offers access to a 24-hour business center, limo/town car service, and a meeting room. This Art Deco resort also offers an outdoor pool and a children's pool. Parking is available onsite free of charge.
The Westin Mission Hills Resort Villas has designated areas for smoking.
- 24-hour front desk
- Children's club (surcharge)
- Arcade/game room
- Golf course on site
- Tennis on site
- Number of floors - 2
- Bar/lounge
- Barbecue grill(s)
- Coffee shop or café
- Concierge services
- Dry cleaning/laundry service
- Express check-in
- Express check-out
- 24-hour fitness facilities
- Full-service spa
- Hair salon
- Designated smoking areas
- Free WiFi
- Waterslide
- Number of outdoor pools - 3
- One meeting room
- Gift shops or newsstand
- Total number of rooms - 512
- Children's club
- ATM/banking
- Laundry facilities
- Limo or Town Car service available
- Spa treatment room(s)
- Multilingual staff
- Picnic area
- Poolside bar
- Luggage storage
- Safe-deposit box at front desk
- Year Built 2002
- Number of restaurants - 6
- 24-hour business center
- Free self parking
- Sauna
- Number of buildings/towers - 18
- Spa tub
- Steam room
- Children's pool
- Breakfast available (surcharge)
- Free use of nearby fitness center
- Wedding services
Family Friendly Amenities
- Family Hotel
- Outdoor pools
- Children's pool
- Waterslide
- Free Wi-Fi
- Laundry facilities
- Arcade/game room
- Playground on site
- Sofa bed
- Washer/dryer
- Full-sized refrigerator/freezer
- Microwave
- Cribs/infant beds (complimentary)
- DVD player
Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
Available in some public areas: Free WiFi
Free self parking
Room Amenities
- Premium TV channels
- DVD player
- Premium bedding
- Balcony or patio
- Ceiling fan
- Air conditioning
- Access via exterior corridors
- Blackout drapes/curtains
- In-room climate control (air conditioning)
- Coffee/tea maker
- Microwave
- Daily housekeeping
- Bathrobes
- Free toiletries
- Hair dryer
- Iron/ironing board
- In-room safe
- Pillowtop mattress
- Sofa bed
- Cookware, dishware, and utensils
- Washer/dryer
- Dishwasher
- Full-sized refrigerator/freezer
- Stovetop
- Cable TV service
- Flat-panel TV
- Free WiFi
- In-room massage available
- Room service (24 hours)
- Down comforter
- Free cribs/infant beds
- Separate bedroom
- Connecting/adjoining rooms available
- Rollaway/extra beds (surcharge)
Where to Eat
Room service (during limited hours) is available.
Nearby Things to Do
A golf course, an outdoor pool, a children's pool, and a spa tub are on site. Other recreational amenities include a waterslide, a sauna, a steam room, and a fitness center.
The recreational activities listed below are available either on site or nearby; fees may apply.
- Bicycle rentals nearby
- Hiking/biking trails nearby
- Mountain biking nearby
- Skydiving nearby
- Ecotours nearby
- Fitness classes on site
- Basketball on site
- Golf driving range on site
- Golf lessons on site
- Golfing on site
- Pilates classes on site
- Playground on site
- Volleyball on site
- Yoga classes/instruction on site
Spa Services
Heavenly Spa has massage/treatment rooms. Services include massages, facials, body wraps, and body scrubs. The spa is equipped with a sauna and a spa tub. A variety of treatment therapies are provided, including hydrotherapy and reflexology.
- Reflexology
- Manicures and pedicures
- Body wraps
- Body scrubs
- Hydrotherapy treatments
- Sauna in spa
- Spa tub in spa
- Massages
- Body treatments
- Facial treatments
If you have requests for specific accessibility needs, please note them at check-out when you book your room.
- Accessible bathroom
- Roll-in shower
- In-room accessibility
Hotel Policies
Check-in time ends at midnight
Check-in time starts at 4 PM
Check-out time is noon
Payment types
Children and extra beds
- Children are welcome.
- Kids stay free! Children 18 years old and younger stay free when using existing bedding.
- Rollaway/extra beds are available for USD 5.0 per stay.
- Free cribs (infant beds)!
- Pets stay free
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy.
- Resort fee: USD 32.00 per accommodation, per night
Optional extras
- Breakfast fee: between USD 5 and USD 20 per person (approximately)
- Rollaway bed fee: USD 5.0 per stay
Hotel Name
- Mission Hills Resort Villas
- Mission Hills Villas
- Westin Hills Mission Resort Villas
- Westin Mission Hills
- Westin Mission Hills Resort & Villas
- Westin Mission Hills Resort & Villas Rancho Mirage
- Westin Mission Villas
- Westin Villas Mission Hills
- Rancho Mirage Westin
- Westin Mission Hills Villas Hotel Rancho Mirage
We should mention
Children 18 years old and younger stay free when occupying the parent or guardian's room, using existing bedding. The property has connecting/adjoining rooms, which are subject to availability and can be requested by contacting the property using the number on the booking confirmation.


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Updos Go Up and Away
Angela Lindvall is more than your average front woman for DKNY's first sustainable perfume project. Tall, freckly, and gorgeous, sure (like most supermodels!), she's also a serious environmentalist with a passion for women's causes. "I'm not an all-or-nothing radical environmentalist — I believe in small steps that lead to big changes," she explains.
She couldn't have been more pleased with PureDKNY, a perfume backed by ambitiously responsible choices on all fronts: It's served up in 100 percent recyclable glass bottles and compostable boxes, and the signature ingredient is sustainably farmed Ugandan vanilla. ("Already, this has helped drive up the price of the crop, so the farmers are earning more," enthuses Lindvall.) What's more, DKNY has partnered with humanitarian group CARE to implement the Village Savings & Loan Association (VSLA), microfinance programs that teach the vanilla farmers (60 percent of whom are women) to borrow money and manage their businesses.
Eager to see the project come to life, Lindvall traveled to Africa this January. Meeting the farmers firsthand was a moving experience for the supermodel. "Immaculate has a spectacular farm. And with the income she now earns from vanilla, she grows other crops, like bananas and coffee; employs a large staff; and supports her family — she has nine kids!" Lindvall says. "It was eye-opening to see how empowered the women had become. Once they were able to bring incomes to their households, they gained independence — a voice. It transformed their lives dramatically."
Also life-changing for the farmers: smelling the finished perfume for the first time when Lindvall arrived with samples. "They were so proud to know that their vanilla was inside; they truly cherished it!"
Her next stop: Togo, home to locally farmed verbena-basil, the featured crop in the second PureDKNY perfume, due out later this year.
Summer (Hair) Love


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Gluten-Free and South Beach Diet Friendly Brown Rice Tortilla Chips
(Six tortillas make about 48 tortilla chips. Recipe adapted from Karina's Kitchen.)
6 brown rice tortillas, cut in to eighths to make triangles (I used Food For Life Brown Rice Tortillas from Whole Foods)
olive oil, for misting or brushing on tortillas
finely ground sea salt or salt (I used a sea salt grinder, which worked well)
Preheat oven to 400F. (I used my Oster Toaster Oven, which mean I had to bake them in two batches, but they cooked really quickly.)
Bake 5-6 minutes on the first side, until starting to brown, then turn and bake a few minutes on the other side. (Watch carefully, they get overly done very quickly.) When done, sprinkle chips with salt and serve.
South Beach Suggestions:
More Ideas with Brown Rice Tortilla Chips:
(Recipes from other blogs may not always be South Beach Diet friendly; check ingredients.)
Fried Brown Rice Tortilla Chips from Karina's Kitchen
Parmesan Crisps with Roasted Tomato Salsa from Karina's Kitchen
Brown Rice Pita Chips from Book of Yum


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And, of course, the fine print:
Get free shipping on your next order when you spend over $100. The discount will be automatically applied to your purchase; no promo code required. The subtotal of your purchase must be $100.01 or greater after any promotional discounts have been applied. Additional fees such as tax or shipping and handling do not apply toward your minimum subtotal requirement of $100.01. Offer applies to standard shipping only. Certain items that require additional shipping and handling are excluded from this promotion and do not apply towards your $100.01 subtotal minimum. Offer subject to change.
Sure beats a postcard. Illustrated with plenty of local flavor, this whimsical cityscape is a visual tour you can't take your eyes off of. From architectural icons to rolling waterfronts and storied hotspots, each art print has its own personality and perspective—much like the U.S. cities they capture. Choose your favorite and display it as a souvenir of a past visit or as an ode to the place you call home.
This product ships from the maker within 7 days, via USPS
If you're not happy with this item for any reason, you may return it for a full refund within 14 days.


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The Cubes design is a modern interpretation of stained glass windows, incorporating Smithメs interest in abstract art. Using a special looping technique to create crisp edging, a puzzle of intersecting shapes is formed in relief. The Cubist three-dimensional effect is countered by a muted palette of neutral tones, with flashes of turquoise for a pleasingly mellow composition.
This rug is entirely handmade, from the spinning of the wool to the weaving on the loom. It is unique, and has been crafted by weavers in the Kathmandu area, whose skills have been passed down through many generations. We use only the highest quality wool for our rugs, that of the Tibetan sheep, for its durability, rich texture and subtle colour variation. To this we have added the vision of a world class designer, and the result is a hand knotted contemporary rug of extraordinary beauty, which will itself become an heirloom to be treasured for years to come.
Deliveries to mainland UK addresses are free of charge and we endeavour to make them within two working days (Monday to Friday) using our shipping partner, UPS.
We deliver to most national and international destinations. Deliveries to all international addresses will take longer, but we try to send all orders by the quickest route possible. Delivery charges for outside the UK are calculated by volumetric weight, and are calculated at the checkout.
If you wish to place an online order for delivery to the USA, South America or The Caribbean, please visit our United States Online Store.
For delivery to Belgium, Canada, Germany, Lebanon, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Sweden, South Africa, Taiwan or United Arab Emirates, please contact your local showroom.
We want you to be delighted with your purchase, so if you are not completely happy, you may return it to us within 21 days of receipt for a full refund or exchange - provided that the item is returned complete and in original condition. The Rug Company will cover the cost of shipping (both delivery and return) within the UK, but charges may be incurred for shipping outside of the UK. Read our Terms & Conditions for more details.
To return an item, you must first contact us. We will then arrange for UPS to collect the item from you. Returns can be collected from your home, work or alternative address.
It is recommended that you keep the original packaging in order to make returning items easier. If you no longer have the original packaging we can suggest alternatives or send you new packaging free of charge.
We accept Mastercard, Visa, American Express, Visa Debit and Maestro. All payments are made securely online and your credit card details will not be saved.


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Wave Power: 5 Bright Ideas to Capture the Ocean's Energy
The helium-filled Magenn Air Rotor System rotates around a horizontal axis when buffeted by the wind, like a waterwheel on high. Electricity is sent down its tether to the ground, where it can be used immediately, stored in a battery or sent to the power grid. Magenn demonstrated a 10-kw prototype in 2008; a 100-kw version could be on sale by the end of this year.
The 12 turbines on Joby's airborne system have dual functions: providing power for takeoff, then generating it from the wind once aloft. The system flies in large circles perpendicular to the wind direction and covers eight times the swept area of a similarly sized ground turbine. Joby is currently testing 20-kw prototypes and hopes to create a 1-megawatt model by the end of 2013.
Science's 8 Greatest Unsolved Mysteries: Progress Report


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PUPILS and staff at Dell Primary School in Chepstow buried a time capsule yesterday to celebrate the school's 25th anniversary.
Each class from the school chose an object to put into the capsule which included a book review and a photograph.
The school on Welsh Street opened in January 1989 and now has 411 pupils.
The school invited guests to the ceremony which included Keith Rowlands, the school's first head teacher, members of Chepstow Male Voice Choir, who have been rehearing at the school since 1989, and Sarah McGuinness, Monmouthshire council's chief officer for education.
Mark Davies, a Year 4 teacher, spoke at the ceremony as he attended the school as a pupil back in 1989.
The school was due to plant a tree to commemorate the anniversary but rain postponed the planting.
It is hoped the tree will be planted in the next few days.


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Those of us who eat beef can thank cattle for turning grass into something tastier. But grass is not always easy to come by, especially in Africa. And without grass, where's the beef?
That's a big deal in Africa, where there's something of a range war going on — cattle versus just about any other grazers running wild: Oryx, buffalo, hartebeest, gazelle, and especially zebra. Conventional wisdom is that the wildlife eat the grass out from under the cattle. So some people shoot the wildlife, which is one reason wildlife numbers are crashing in much of the continent.
But some researchers who've spent the last 17 years watching cattle eat grass say, Don't squeeze the trigger so fast. (Yes, watching cattle eat grass takes dedication, especially when you have to weigh them in the field).
Ecologist Wilfred Odadi of the African Wildlife Foundation says he and his colleagues found that when cattle grazed shoulder to shoulder with zebra, the cattle actually gained more weight than when they dined alone. No doubt they also had more fun, zebras being somewhat more frolicsome than cows.
Here's why zebra make good dining companions: In the wet season, grass grows fast and soon gets tall and "rank." Basically, it gets fibrous and unappetizing to cows, says Truman Young, an ecologist at University of California at Davis. He's a grass guy; when he looks at a cow, he actually sees grass.
"What the zebra do is, they lop that (shoot) off," he says. "That encourages the regrowth of fresh shoots from the base, and those fresh shoots are just more edible. It's like having the choice of having bran muffins or blueberry muffins, I guess."
But, a note of caution. It only works this way in the wet season. In the dry season it's dog eat dog — and the zebras do eat the cattle's lunch.
Still, scientists say the research, which appears in the journal Science today, could help ranchers manage cattle and wildlife together, to their mutual benefit. And it might even work in the U.S.
Johan du Toit, an ecologist at Utah State University, is trying the same experiment with cattle and wildlife in the Utah plains – you know, where the buffalo roam, and the deer and the antelope play. His encouraging word: "It's worth a try."
MELISSA BLOCK, Host:
The savannahs of Africa are among the few places where big, grazing animals still roam freely. But people are raising more cattle there and some ranchers resort to shooting wild animals. The conventional thinking is that animals, such as zebra and buffalo, eat the grass that the cattle need. But no one in Africa had really tested that notion scientifically, until now.
As NPR's Christopher Joyce reports, scientists who did got a surprise.
CHRISTOPHER JOYCE: Wilfred Odadi studies African wildlife and cattle. Cattle ranchers in his native Kenya tell him they resent the wildlife.
WILFRED ODADI: One of the reasons they do that is that they see wildlife as potentially competing with their livestock.
JOYCE: Competing for grass in places that can be bone-dry one month and lush the next. Odadi works with the African Wildlife Foundation and studies at Princeton University. He and a team of scientists decided to test this notion of dietary competition on the savannah. They fenced in some cattle to eat by themselves. They let other cattle graze outside with wildlife, mostly zebras.
It turned out that during the dry season, the zebras did eat the cattle's lunch. The cattle didn't gain as much weight as their fenced in brethren, but ecologist Truman Young says during the wet season, it was just the opposite.
TRUMAN YOUNG: The exciting result was that when the grass was growing vigorously, when it was wet, grazing by the zebras actually made the remaining grass more accessible or more palatable to the cattle. What happened was the cattle gained more weight in the presence of zebra.
JOYCE: Young is a plant specialist at the University of California at Davis. When he looks at a cow, he sees grass. That's what cows are made of. He says, when some grass gets too long, it gets rank, tough and fibrous.
YOUNG: What the zebras do is they lop that off. That encourages the regrowth of fresh shoots from the base and those fresh shoots are just more edible. It's like having the choice of having, you know, bran muffins or blueberry muffins, I guess.
JOYCE: What the zebras are doing, in ecology speak, is facilitating the cattle, actually helping the cattle eat better.
Yohan du Toit grew up in Africa and is an ecologist at Utah State University. He says the lack of competition among grazing animals, at least in the wet season, makes sense if you've seen big herds of them in the wild.
YOHAN DU TOIT: If you were to go to the Serengeti or, indeed, any other savannah, you would see multiple species of hoofed mammals, grazing mammals, standing shoulder-to-shoulder out there.
JOYCE: The research appears in the journal Science. Du Toit, who was not part of the research team, says it has real ramifications for wildlife, which is in decline in most parts of Africa. Landowners just don't see a profit in having wildlife around.
DU TOIT: They will not invest in maintaining wildlife if they can convert their land to cropland or have more intensive cattle production, et cetera, et cetera. And so those are the areas where you're getting these really major conflicts between wildlife and cattle.
JOYCE: But he says cattle ranchers could let their livestock graze with zebras in the wet season, then pen them in during dry spells.
The research did not find any advantage for cattle from sharing their meals with big plant eaters like elephants or giraffe, but du Toit says it's worth looking into. Many of these big mammals evolved together by eating different kinds of plants.
He's begun his own study to see if bison and cattle can facilitate each other's diets on the plains of Utah where the deer and the antelope still roam.
Christopher Joyce, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.


text: Love's Travel Stops and Country Stores (Love's) is celebrating its 10th consecutive year on Forbes magazine's annual list of the nation's largest privately held companies. The Oklahoma City, Okla.-based operator of convenience stores and travel centers, which debuted in the 2000 Forbes list at No. 446, now ranks as No. 18 among private U.S. companies


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There is lots of excitement this week surrounding Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference 2013. Throughout the remainder of the conference, we'll be posting stories from our partners who've successfully grown their business while helping more customers migrate to Office 365.
Today's post is written by Jay Ritchie, Unified Communications and Collaboration/Cloud Solutions Manager for CDW. CDW is a comprehensive provider of Microsoft hardware, software and solution services including Unified Communications and Collaboration, Data Center Solutions, and Endpoint Optimization and Mobility for 250,000 customers that range from small business to large enterprise.
As the old adage states, change is a constant. As businesses grow and customers' needs evolve, there are many factors companies must consider when thinking about moving to the cloud. Helping our customers realize the true value of the cloud is what drives CDW to not only sustain, but exceed its consumers' and providers' needs. As a Solutions Manager, I am always looking for ways to improve what we do and Office 365 is helping our business grow rapidly.
Initially we saw a lot of angst from customers about moving to the cloud – what will happen to their data? Will it be secure? Will it affect my day to day work? We took this as an opportunity to engage with them and have an open dialogue about what the cloud and Office 365 will do for their business. With Office 365, they'll have the latest and most complete set of fully featured Office tools with the same look and feel backed by Microsoft. As we move customers to the platform, we can efficiently guide them through the transition because we ourselves use the service. Office 365 has allowed our customers to take the reins on their business, and in turn, has allowed us to steer our customers in a better direction, saving them the time and money that was once dedicated to maintaining servers in-house.
As a Microsoft partner, we offer support from start to finish. The windy road of change may be constant, but with Office 365, we're excited about the opportunity to grow and expand our business while helping our customers become more productive and confident at every turn.


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Welcome to swiss-linguistics.com!
Swiss-linguistics.com is a platform dedicated to sharing and providing information on linguistics in Switzerland. The site primarily serves as an interface for people working in the field of linguistics in Switzerland, regardless of their departmental affiliation or field of interest.
This site provides...
...information on the people who are affiliated with Swiss linguistics-related institutions. This overview is designed to facilitate networking between linguists in Switzerland and at the same time provides information about scientists and the field of linguistics in Switzerland itself to anybody who is interested. ...a calendar with pooled information on talks, presentations, workshops, conferences, colloquia etc., all of which are currently taking place at various Swiss linguistics-related institutions. ...a message board to publish comments and suggestions or exchange opinions and ideas.
Swiss-linguistics.com further supplies information on various Swiss linguistic associations, additional linguistics resources, a job portal, and a monthly newsletter.


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Shipping Luggage is Convenient, Secure, and Reliable
Luggage Forward's door-to-door luggage shipping service is easy, safe and guaranteed to arrive on time. You can breeze through the airport when you ship luggage to your hotel, cruise line, golf course, residence or office where it will be awaiting your arrival. Luggage shipping provides total travel convenience.


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Dandelion Fire picks up the adventure begun in 100 Cupboards. Henry York is back in his Kansas bedroom sleeping next to his wall of 99 cupboard doors that lead to other worlds. Henry can't sleep and he can't stop thinking about what lies behind the doors.
When Henry discovers that he and uncle Frank actually come from one of the other worlds behind the magic cupboards, Henry can't resist exploring in the cupboards again. Henry's cousin Henrietta also can't resist and is soon caught up in her own adventure. When uncle Frank goes after them, the family becomes hopelessly separated – scattered in different parts of the magical world Henry and uncle Frank come from. And there is evil there waiting for them – the Witch of Endor and her evil accomplice. Will it be divide and conquer? Or will Henry's family overcome the evil forces that are out to destroy them?
If you haven't already, I think you'll want to read 100 Cupboards first so that you understand how the magical doors work. These are imaginative and original – who wouldn't want to be able to adventure through magical doors? It's like the door in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe…only 98 more! Author: N.D. Wilson
- Listen to an Excerpt Dandelion Fire
- Amazon Look Inside Dandelion Fire
- N.D. Wilson's Official Website
100 Cupboards Series:
#1: 100 Cupboards on CD, eBook, eAudio
#2: Dandelion Fire on CD, eBook, eAudio
#3: The Chestnut King on CD, eAudio


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Cranberry Pecan Cookies Recipe
- 1 tube (16-1/2 ounces) refrigerated sugar cookie dough, softened
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 2/3 cup white baking chips
- 2/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine cookie dough, pecans, chips, cranberries and vanilla. Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
- Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Store in an airtight container. Yield: about 3-1/2 dozen.
Reviews forCranberry Pecan Cookies
My Review
Average Rating
"Don't let the simplicity of this recipe turn you off, these are gourmet cookies! Not only did they look beautiful with it's overflowing mix-ins but the rich taste was outstanding. They also make a great bar dessert. Simply put into greased 11 x 13 glass pan, bake 350 degrees about 20 minutes. Keep a close on it so it doesn't over bake. They look fabulous on a dessert table!Update: Have made these using one box of Krusteaz Sugar cookie Mix. Equally wonderful."
"Awesome!! And soooo easy!!"
"This is a great fast recipe my entire family loved! It also freezes well! I've made it several times and it was a big hit at the family reunion!"
"Made these cookies today, but made them using a 3-lb. tub of cookie dough which I had purchaed from the bakery dept. Since I used a 3-lb tub of cookie dough, I added 2-1/2 tsp of vanilla extract, 1-1/2 cups of ivory white chips, then divided the dough in half, and to one half I added 3/4 cup of dried cranberries, and to the other, I added 3/4 cup of dried cherries, and to both halves I added, 3/4 cup of chopped pecans. I used my Pampered Chefmedium scoop (2 tablespoon scoop) to make each cookie, then I rolled each into a dough ball, and then flattened each somewhat onto a Pampered Chef Stoneware to bake the cookies. Baked the cookies exactly for 15 minutes. Mmm, both kinds of cookies tasted good, but personally I think I prefer the dried cranberries over the dried cherries. Louise, these cookies were very good, and I'd like to thank you for the recipe."
"excellent and tasty/can't get enoughsimple to make"
"I made a batch to take to work and they didn't even last until 9:00! VERY GOOD!!! My office crew are my "guinea pigs" and they love it when I bring in new treats. This is definitely a keeper!"
"I added 1-tsp of lemon zest for a fresh zing and used choc chips. Everyone is asking for the recipe!!!!!"
"I made these with dried cherries instead and they were very, very good!! I will be making them again soon!"


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"The Graduate School Fair is an excellent opportuni ty to get more information about different programs at one time\," said Di rector of Career Services Rachel Roberts. "Students can learn about variou s programs while asking questions about admission requirements and financi al aid."\n
Come visit with academic deans and faculty\, financial aid officials\, admissions counsel ors and others as we bring Ouachita Baptist University to your to wn! This is a come and go\, drop-in reception where you get questions answ ered as you make your final decisions about your college choice. We hope t o see you there!\n
Central Arkansas\n
Thursday\, January 7\
, 2016
\n5:30 -7:30 pm
\nImmanuel Baptist Church
\n501 N. Shackleford
\nLittle Rock\, AR


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Zombie platformer Deadlight 50% off on Steam
Get ready for some midweek madness on Steam, as the indie zombie action-adventure platformers Deadlight is on sale 50% for the next 32 hours. Deadlight got recognition as being part of Xbox LIVE's Summer of Arcade. In an over-saturated zombie market, Deadlight is a unique spin on the genre. It's a zombie game that requires you to think and avoid confrontation, rather than engaging that confrontation with bullets.
Deadlight's visuals have a LIMBO-esque feel to them, with the use of shadows and a dark silhouettes acting as a nice contrast to the bleak world and lively sky. Seriously, the artwork is intense, and the sky creates the mood for each level -- from the purples of dusk to the fiery reddish of dawn. The HD graphics bring to life the 2.5D platformer.
In Deadlight, you are playing as survivor Randall Wayne, a man searching for his family across Seattle during the aftermath of a 1980s event that destroyed life on earth. The thing standing between him and finding his family are hordes of zombies and the harsh environment left in the wake of the disaster.
You can buy Deadlight now for 50% off, priced down to $7.49.
You can follow Senior Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ. He likes talking sports, video games, movies, and the stupidity of celebrities. Email at email@example.com


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June 1979 marked the debut of one of the fast-food industry's most genius marketing concepts: the Happy Meal. By adding a small toy to its popular burger-and-fries combo, McDonald's created an enticing children's menu item that generates big business. A November 2010 study conducted by Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity found that 41 percent of parents claimed their children ask to go to McDonald's on a weekly basis, and 22 percent of parents take their children to McDonald's at least once a week.
Some advocacy groups and consumers say these statistics correlate with American children's expanding waistlines. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that childhood obesity rates have tripled over the past 30 years, and it says a contributing factor to the upsurge is the frequency of meals eaten away from home. Health organizations have labeled childhood obesity as an epidemic, and eradicating the problem has become one of Michelle Obama's primary goals.
The obesity problem also incited a highly publicized lawsuit in December 2010. In conjunction with the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), California mother Monet Parham filed a class action suit against McDonald's, alleging that marketing Happy Meals to children violates consumer-protection laws.
Ads for Happy Meals, she claims, are inherently deceptive because they persuade children--who don't comprehend advertising--to bombard their parents with requests for unhealthy food, thus exacerbating "a super-sized health crisis in California." Parham says she purchases Happy Meals for her children only because they relentlessly demand them after seeing ads for the featured toys.
Critics call Parham v. McDonald's Corp. frivolous. However, some experts say food and beverage companies should take the lawsuit seriously, because whether or not the case moves forward, its hype reflects a national focus on health, and imminent industrywide marketing and product reform.
Corrupting Kids
Experts say Parham isn't likely to obtain class certification because all class members couldn't have been identically affected by the allegedly deceptive advertising.
"There are so many individual issues," says Shook, Hardy & Bacon Partner Madeleine McDonough. "What kind of advertising did they actually see? What's the proof that they actually relied on the advertising? What are the reasons they ate at McDonald's? What did they eat? What kind of control did the parents exercise?"
McDonough, co-chair of the firm's Agribusiness & Food Safety Practice, says today's Big Food suits are similar to previous decades' Big Tobacco cases, in that "there is a concerted effort to move away from personal responsibility and shift the blame to industry." Comparable lawsuits have accomplished little more than making headlines.
Erik Jackson, a member of Cozen O'Connor's Commercial Litigation Department, says the plaintiffs' argument in Parham is further weakened by the fact that parents hold the purse strings. "The claim is that the advertising is deceptive because the product is being marketed to children, and yet the children are not the people who are actually purchasing the product--it's their parents," he says. "No one is misleading the children about what they're getting [in a Happy Meal]. McDonald's is simply saying, 'Get this food, and you'll get a toy.'"
The court's interpretation of the term "deceptive" will be valuable to companies with children's marketing under frequent attack by watchdogs who argue ads featuring toys and portrayals of desired feelings, such as happiness and popularity, exploit children.
Such advertising strategies have been challenged with lawsuits in the past. CSPI threatened Kellogg with a deceptive-marketing suit in 2006 for using television characters to advertise sugary foods to kids; the result was a settlement in which Kellogg adopted nutrition standards for its marketing. The same year, various companies joined forces with the Better Business Bureau to create marketing guidelines through the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative. Ads are now limited during children's programming, but companies still reach kids during general-audience programs (think "American Idol") and the Internet.
Federal regulation has lagged. The House passed the Commonsense Consumption Act (also known as the Cheeseburger Bill) in 2004 and 2007. The bill, which would have prevented people from suing manufacturers or retailers for allegedly causing their obesity or health problems, was never acted upon in the Senate.
In December 2009, an interagency group comprising the Federal Trade Commission, CDC, Food and Drug Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it would release recommendations for nutrition standards for marketing food to children. The standards were supposed to be released for public comment in January 2010 and submitted to Congress by July 2010. At press time, the group still hadn't
released them.
Parham demonstrates consumer frustration with the delay, but litigation, says Jackson, isn't an effective alternative. "Perhaps a better strategy would be to lobby the federal government," he says.
Health Focus
The fact that Parham was filed in California is significant. A San Francisco ordinance that takes effect in December shows how the state's strong consumer-protection laws can shape national corporate strategies.
"[The ordinance] states that companies such as McDonald's that sell or market food to children cannot include toys with that food unless the food has a specific nutritional value that's determined in the statute," says Jackson. He says Parham could "cause more cities to pass laws that require better nutrition in products marketed to children. It may force McDonald's to look at whether or not it should alter the ingredients in its products." Although McDonald's offers healthy children's items, such as apple slices and low-fat milk, the CSPI claims French fries and soda are Happy Meals' default options 93 percent and 78 percent of the time, respectively.
"It would be na?ve for anybody to think [the San Francisco ordinance] isn't something that could be seen as a trend in more places than the Bay area of California," says David McDowell, co-chair of Morrison Foerster's Consumer Litigation and Class Action Practice. In 2008, he notes, California was the first state to pass a menu-labeling rule that requires chain restaurants to disclose nutritional information. "People were saying at that time, 'That's not going to go anywhere.' But we've now seen that expand around the country," he says.
Parham was filed during the peak of the Obama administration's promotion of national well-being programs. In February 2010, Michelle Obama launched the Let's Move! campaign to improve American children's overall health. Three months later, the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity issued a report outlining suggestions to improve children's health. On Dec. 13, President Obama signed the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, which boosts the nutritional quality of school lunch programs.
These steps point to future legislation affecting corporations, McDowell says. "Whether it's San Francisco-style legislation against toy-food combos or other kinds of regulation, it is going to happen," he says. "At the same time, you see lots of folks in the marketplace making changes to their marketing and product selection. Whether companies are moving because of the environment, demand or altruism, you are certainly seeing much more focus today on [becoming] smarter and healthier."
Major players have recently self-imposed nutritional reform. On Jan. 20, Michelle Obama and Wal-Mart announced the retailer's five-year plan to reduce produce prices, reformulate store-brand products and urge suppliers to improve their foods. ConAgra Foods plans to cut its products' sodium content by 20 percent by 2015.
Open Conversations
Parham is a reminder to corporate counsel that the regulatory climate can greatly influence litigation. Experts say companies whose products or services touch upon hot-button issues such as nutrition should monitor watchdog groups' latest actions. When faced with litigation threats from such groups, companies should thoroughly analyze the challenged conduct or product before initiating reforms or fighting allegations.
"Companies need to evaluate the legal and business implications of a lawsuit," Jackson says. "If a company receives a letter from a watchdog group, it should look at how likely it is that the watchdog would prevail and what negative impact would come from the publicity of a lawsuit."
Companies also shouldn't automatically rebuff advocacy groups' suggestions. "It may be that the request from the watchdog really does not significantly impact the company's bottom line," says Jackson. Other times, McDonough notes, executing a major change, such as a product reformulation, is costly in terms of time, money and jobs, and companies should stress to the public that developing a long-term approach to reform may supersede immediate modifications.
Dialogues--as opposed to courtroom battles--can lead to more sustainable changes in a shorter period of time. "Litigation puts people in such a polarized position that it protracts real advances," says McDonough. "Common ground can be achieved--and perhaps greater effects in public health and in consumer options--when people sit down at the same table and work something out."


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On April 5, Ai Weiwei: According to What?—the IMA's latest featured exhibition—opened to the public. A major retrospective of the artist's work, this not-to-be-missed exhibition includes examples from the broad spectrum of the artist's practice, which encompasses sculpture, photography, video, and site-specific architectural installations, as well as the design for the "Bird's Nest" stadium for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Walking past some of the works in the show, visitors may be inspired to learn more about the man who created these pieces and the circumstances that drove him to do so. In conjunction with the exhibition, the IMA is employing new in-gallery technology to facilitate these inquiries and help audiences engage with the work of this extraordinary artist.
Filed under: Exhibitions, New Media, Technology


text:
Oral Propionate to Treat and Prevent Diabetes
This study has been completed.
Imperial College London
Information provided by (Responsible Party):
Imperial College London
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
First received: September 11, 2012
Last updated: November 18, 2016
Last verified: September 2012
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
Detailed Description:
The aim of these studies is to firstly determine the pharmacokinetic profile of orally administered enteric coated sodium propionate. Subsequently, the most efficacious dose at improving glucose tolerance following an oral glucose challenge will be determined. The investigators will then determine the mechanism of action of propionate, whether it acts by altering beta cell function directly or by augmenting the incretin effect or both
|Diabetes Mellitus
|Dietary Supplement: Sodium propionate Dietary Supplement: Sodium Chloride Procedure: Oral glucose tolerance test Procedure: Intravenous glucose tolerance test.
|Phase 2
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Crossover Assignment
Masking: Triple (Participant, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Primary Purpose: Prevention
|Official Title:
|Development of Orally Administered Sodium Propionate to Treat and Prevent Diabetes
Further study details as provided by Imperial College London:
Primary Outcome Measures:
- Study 1: Peak plasma concentration of propionate [ Time Frame: at -10, 0, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 4h, 6h, 8h ]Dose ranging and pharmacokinetic profile
- Study 2: insulinogenic index [ Time Frame: 0-30mins ]oral glucose tolerance dose finding
- Study 3: Incremental area under the insulin profile [ Time Frame: 0-10mins ]Intravenous glucose tolerance test
Secondary Outcome Measures:
- Insulin [ Time Frame: -10, 0, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 4h, 6h, 8h ]Plasma insulin
|Study Start Date:
|January 2013
|Study Completion Date:
|October 2016
|Primary Completion Date:
|April 2016 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
|Assigned Interventions
Placebo Comparator: Sodium chloride pill
Study 1: pharmacokinetics Study2: Oral glucose tolerance test Study 3: intravenous glucose tolerance test
Dietary Supplement: Sodium Chloride
Placebo capsule or tabletProcedure: Oral glucose tolerance test Procedure: Intravenous glucose tolerance test.
Experimental: Sodium propionate pill
Study 1: pharmacokinetics Study2: Oral glucose tolerance test Study 3: intravenous glucose tolerance test
Dietary Supplement: Sodium propionate
Sodium propionate capsule or tabletProcedure: Oral glucose tolerance test Procedure: Intravenous glucose tolerance test.
Detailed Description:
The NHS spends £1M per hour, 10% of its yearly budget, treating diabetes. In the UK cases of diabetes are expected to top 4 million by 2025. There is an urgent need for new therapies. The short chain fatty acid propionate is a natural substance produced by digestion of fermentable carbohydrates. Preclinical and early human data demonstrate it improves pancreatic function and glucose control. The investigators aim to conduct proof of principle studies to determine if oral delivery of propionate improves glucose control in patients at risk of developing diabetes.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years to 70 Years (Adult, Senior)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
Study 1: Healthy men and women aged between 18 and 70 years with BMI between 20-25 kg/m2 and with normal fasting blood glucose (below5.5mmol/l and HbA1C less than 5.7% will be eligible to volunteer.
Study 2: As for Study 1. Study 3: Cohort 1: Volunteers aged between 30 to 70 with a BMI between 25-35 kg/m2 who do not have impaired fasting glucose and have HbA1c below 5.7%.
Cohort 2: Volunteers aged between 30 to 70 years with a BMI between 25-35 kg/m2 who have impaired fasting glucose (between 5.5-7mmol/l) and HbA1C between 5.7% and 6.5%,
Exclusion Criteria:• Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes
- Gained or lost ≥ 3kg weight in the past three months
- Taken prescription medicines having an impact on metabolism, appetite regulation, glucose homeostasis and hormonal regulation
- Taken any dietary supplements in the last 6 months
- Any chronic illness
- Cardiovascular disease
- Excess alcohol intake
- Current smokers
- Any gastrointestinal disorder e.g. Crohn's disease, coeliac disease or irritable bowel syndrome
- A history of drug or alcohol abuse in the last 2 years
- Pregnancy (all women of child bearing age will undergo a pregnancy test).
- Pancreatitis
- Use of medications likely to interfere with glucose metabolism, appetite regulation, hormonal balance.
Contacts and Locations
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below. For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01692002
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01692002
|United Kingdom
|Hammersmith Hospital
|London, UK, United Kingdom, W12 0NN
|Imperial College London
|London, United Kingdom, W12 0NN
|St John McMichael Centre - Imperial College London
|London, United Kingdom, W12 0NN
Sponsors and Collaborators
Imperial College London
|Principal Investigator:
|Gavin A Bewick, PhD.
|Imperial College London
More Information
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017
|Responsible Party:
|Imperial College London
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT01692002 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
CRO2020 - Imperial College Lon
|Study First Received:
|September 11, 2012
|Last Updated:
|November 18, 2016
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Diabetes Mellitus
Glucose Metabolism Disorders
Metabolic Diseases
Endocrine System Diseases
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017


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text:
Securitization structures are most appropriate for a company that seeks financing but is unable to tap funding sources for the desired tenor and funding cost because of its perceived credit risk. In general, any asset class with relatively predictable cash flows can be securitized. The most common assets include: mortgages, credit cards, auto and consumer loans, corporate debt, and future revenues.
IFC invests in domestic or cross-border securitizations and provides credit enhancement to transactions through funded or unfunded participations, mainly at the mezzanine level.
To learn more details about securitizations, please click here.
For details on selected securitization transactions, please see the following fact sheets:


text: College Aggies Online is an advocacy program managed by the Animal Agriculture Alliance, encouraging college students to tell ag's story through blogs, social media and other communications. Over 900 students participated in the 2012 program and competed for the program scholarships sponsored by U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, National Pork Board, Drive Magazine, and Lallemand Animal Nutrition. At the alliance's recent summit in Arlington, Virginia, This year's first-place winner Tiffany Swanson, a student at North Dakota State University, discussed the program.