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By Mara Certic and Stephen J. Kotz
CVS Caremark and BNB Ventures IV have filed suit against the Southampton Planning Board last week over its October 9 decision to require an environmental impact study for a proposed pharmacy in Bridgehampton.
The property in question is owned by BNB Ventures IV and had previously been the subject of a site-plan approval for a 9,030-square-foot building. The two-story building was approved for several different retail uses as well as potential residential uses.
When rumors circulated earlier this year that the pharmacy giant was eyeing the busy corner of Montauk Highway and the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike for a new store, Bridgehampton residents reacted angrily, first through the Bridgehampton Citizens Advisory Committee, which called on the town to step in and prevent the application.
Later, an organization called Save Bridgehampton Main Street was spun off from the CAC to raise money to fight the project by conducting its own traffic study and hiring an attorney.
When CVS made its plans official in July by applying for a special exception permit to occupy the building, which is now under construction at the site, Bridgehampton residents staged protests at the site.
On October 9, the planning board voted unanimously to require an environmental impact statement for the CVS proposal, reversing an earlier decision to not require one for the original site plan.
Southampton Town Planner Claire Vail, who made the recommendation that the board adopt what is called a "positive declaration" under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, told the board a CVS at the busy corner would have adverse effects on both traffic and community character.
John Bennett, who represents CVS Caremark and BNB Ventures IV, expressed frustration at the board's decision. He warned the board at the time he thought the decision was "textbook arbitrary action."
He said on Monday he hoped to have a judge direct the planning board to process the application through its regular site-plan and special exception procedures and not require "a full-blown environmental impact statement."
"The building that's there now had a traffic study and they gave it a building permit," Mr. Bennett said.
Mr. Bennett said the first thing he insisted on when he began representing CVS Caremark was that it conduct a traffic impact study. That study, he said, showed the pharmacy would not create a traffic disaster at the intersection, as many had worried. In fact, he said, the study showed there would be 50 fewer trips into the site per hour, than if the lot were to house multiple tenants.
"When they talk about actions that are likely to have a significant impact on the environment, they're talking about 50 homes that are not connected to a public sewer or a public water system," Mr. Bennett said in a phone interview on Monday.
"Moving a new tenant into a building under construction is not likely to have a significant impact," he said.
The suit contends that CVS "is politically unpopular with some as not 'high end' enough for the Bridgehampton hamlet and has resulted in the town agencies bending to political pressure."
The only difference, it continues, between the first site-plan and the new one is that "one tenant, as opposed to two, will occupy this already approved, under construction building."
The suit says it is a simple "quirk" in the town code that requires retail uses of between 5,000 to 15,000 square feet to obtain a special exception permit in the Village Business district.
Furthermore, the suit contends that the town referred the application to the Suffolk County Department of Health Services in a bid to stall it from proceeding.
Although the town board is not named, the suit charges that its decision to hold a public hearing on proposal that would tighten the requirements for a special exception permit "demonstrates the clear illegal and purely political agenda of the respondent board and of the town officials."
The code amendment, which among other things, would have required that an applicant demonstrate a need for the proposed development before a special exception permit could be issued, has been tabled by the town board.
The appearance of Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst at a recent Bridgehampton CAC meeting also caught the attention of the suit. At that meeting, Ms. Throne-Holst discussed the rebirth of the Bridgehampton Gateway project, the long stalled development of commercial properties on the south side of Montauk Highway across from the Bridgehampton Commons. She asked members what type of community benefit they would like to see if the town were to designate it a Planned Development District. Several in the group immediately responded that it would make a better location for a proposed CVS.
"Further, and remarkably, the Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst appeared at a public meeting and discussed an alternative site for the CVS proposal, thus, creating a significant potential injury to petitioner established real property right," the suit said.
On Wednesday, Dennis Finnerty, chairman of the planning board, said he was unable to comment on pending litigation. Carl Benincasa, attorney for the planning board, also declined to comment on the suit.


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Let me guess, it's a new year so yet another promise to yourself that this truly will be the year that you lose that weight you've been talking about for who knows how many years?! Perhaps it's the year you'll take out a new gym membership and actually go for longer than just January and February until you get bored or give up because you're not noticing any changes. Another classic, you are going on a diet this year and you will actually stick to it as well as drinking only on special occasions and keeping well hydrated with water instead?! Did I guess fairly close for your new year resolutions?!
My name is Hayley(PT), I'm a personal trainer and to help you reach your goals in 2017 I encourage you to just learn to actually "Love Your Lifestyle". Which means, no fads, no quick fixes, no new workout routines which feel like a chore or a diet that makes you feel sick every time you have a meal. I work very closely with my clients focusing on their daily routine and daily habits, with their goal in mind, we then find a way to include exercise at convenient times so that it is easy to fit it in to daily life, and do exercises and workouts that they personally enjoy and that will personally benefit their body type. This helps clients actually look forward to their training, whether it be indoor in a gym environment, or outdoors with a beach or park view. Whatever will keep you interested long term is the way you want to approach any new exercise routine.
The same goes for nutrition. I hear so many new years resolutions along the lines of "I'm cutting out carbs this year" or "I'm not drinking in January" or "no more sugar". Sound familiar? These are all very extreme and unsustainable and will eventually, cause you to break and binge. I advise that if you make healthy food choices day to day, eat fresh produce and foods full of nutrients, then cravings subside because you are giving the body what it needs. The odd treat, IS OKAY. Whether it be a meal out on a Friday night with your partner or a few drinks down the pub with your friends on a Saturday night, or maybe your favourite chocolates on a Sunday evening watching a movie.
The point I coach to my clients, is that occasionally these treats won't hinder your progress, as long as you jump back on the bandwagon immediately after. DO NOT FEEL GUILTY. Carry on with your day to day healthy eating straight after, as opposed to thinking 'I may as well wait until next week to start again'. What one treat could have been, can suddenly turn into a week's worth because you didn't maintain your 'perfect diet'.
I personally enjoy a glass of red wine at the weekend, but rather than thinking the whole weekend is a right off from being healthy at all, I will still exercise whether it be a run along the beach or a weights session in the gym. I will ensure I'm well hydrated especially with my unique Acquablend fruit filter water bottle. It is so important to drink enough water, and even more so when having a treat. It cleans out the system and often you may mistake thirst for hunger.
"Love Your Lifestyle" in 2017 with HayleyPT and see long lasting body changes with these tips:
- Find exercise you enjoy, whether it be alone, with a personal trainer or with friends to keep it consistent
- Eat healthy day to day for everyday living including lots of protein to fuel your muscles and fill you up, essential fats to give you energy and glowing skin and hair , fruit and veg for vitamins and minerals, carbohydrates for fuel and energy.
- Keep hydrated to keep your body functions working and to ensure you don't mistake thirst for sugar cravings. Invest in an Acquablend fruit water bottle, my current favourites are using watermelon and oranges and lemons which makes the water taste delicious!
- "Love Your Lifestyle" by allowing occasional treats and balancing out with your training and nutrition around those moments the rest of the time.
For more information on reaching your goals, making and seeing new and long lasting physical changes to your body, and learning on how to "love your lifestyle" , visit my website and contact me now.

subset: commoncrawl


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A Better Marriage in Just 31 Days?
Whether your marriage is fairly solid or pretty shaky, the truth is we all have things we'd like to improve in our marriages.
How about a great free resource to help you do just that?
The "31 Days to a Better Marriage" ebook is a curated resource full of blog posts, personal essays and solid advice on topics Christian women deal with every day.
Topics like:
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Grab your copy of "31 Days to a Better Marriage" and take the first step toward the marriage of your dreams today. It's 100% free -- just let me know where to send it...
* This is a digital product. Nothing will be mailed to you.


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UPVC and Aluminium Windows from Everglade
Everglade Windows are an award-winning company based in Perivale, Greenford in West London. We offer a wide range of UPVC and aluminium windows to suit all property types.
One Collection uPVC Windows Perivale
Our UPVC Windows are very popular with homeowners with their excellent energy efficiency, high-spec security options and TruFit expanding foam edge tape. As a combined product, our UPVC windows are second to none.
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Bring a touch of luxury to your home with our aïr MOD Contemporary aluminium windows. The super slimline aluminium frames to improve the amount of light coming in and add boundless amounts of sleek style.
Heritage 47 Aluminium Windows Greenford
Heritage 47 is the name of the Everglade range of heritage windows. Heritage 47 are stylish art deco slimline framed aluminium windows, ideal for replacing old draughty steel windows or creating a brand new period look for your home.
Residence 9 Period Windows
Everglade's Residence 9 window range is a flush sash period window. This style of 19th Century window is available in a beautiful range of colours and is also a popular choice for contemporary homes. Residence 9 windows are available with a series of period features.


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Product Poll
Have you ever played a game and thought, "The Broken Token REALLY needs to design an organizer for this game"?
If so, let us know which games could use our help.
Click the link below to take our Product Poll Survey and perhaps you'll see that organizer come to life in the near future!


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Dear Kim and Bobby,
Lindsay and Michael had a dream wedding and where all the details were put together the vision came true. However, it is the music that makes the night. From beginning to end the pulse of that room did not miss a beat. One song after the other just kept the room dancing all evening long.
Kim, we have to start by thanking you. Your guidance in our selection paired with your love and knowledge of music and your true involvement with Lindsay and Michael and our families made it a joyous time for all.
Bobby, the accolades of the night belong to you and your fabulous band. Your voice, enthusiasm, style, and talent along with your over the top group brought the crowd to their feet again and again from beginning to end.
We thank everyone at Hank Lane for making this a night we will never forget.
With much appreciation,
Ina and Julian


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Natsu Dragneel vs. Yuka Suzuki & Toby Horhorta is a fight fought between Fairy Tail Mage Natsu Dragneel and Mages Toby Horhorta and Yuka Suzuki.
Toby Horhorta, Yuka Suzuki, Sherry Blendy and Angelica attempt to destroy the village by orders of Lyon Vastia. Yuka says that to defeat two Mages and fifty villagers it should only take fifteen minutes. Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia prepare to fight and Happy counts himself as a third Mage. Sherry and Angelica take off and charge towards Natsu, he dodges the attack and Lucy grabs onto Angelica. Lucy tickles Angelica, causing the animal to start laughing and fall since her tail stopped spinning. Happy follows Lucy to see if she is alright and Natsu says that he will take care of Toby and Yuka.[1]
Natsu dashes towards Toby and headbutts him and in the middle of the air before using Fire Dragon's Roar to attack Yuka. When Natsu lands on his feet, he notices that Yuka received no damage from his attack, and Toby gets up quickly as well. Yuka says that they were once Mages of a famous guild and that they won't be defeated so easily.[2]
Natsu attacks both of them with fire from each of his hands, but Yuka is undamaged and tells Natsu to listen to his story until the end. Natsu responds that it is none of his business and that since they are enemies of Fairy Tail, that is a good enough reason for him to fight them. Yuka gets angry and tells Toby to not butt in and that he'll take care of Natsu himself.[3]
Yuka uses Wave, Natsu rushes in to attack, but he notices something about Yuka's attack and dodges it. Yuka says that Natsu has noticed the nature of his attack and Natsu uses Fire Dragon's Roar once again to attack the other man. Yuka nullifies Natsu's attack with Wave and explains the nature of his Magic, explaining that all Mages are powerless against him and attacks with two waves. Natsu comes out of the smoke and tries to punch Yuka, but he nullifies it. Yuka repeats himself saying that Natsu's Magic won't work against him, to which Natsu responds that he just won't use Magic.[4]
Natsu gets his hand through the wave but it hurts just being there. Yuka says that his hand will get blown to pieces, but Natsu ignores his warning and gets his whole head inside Yuka's Wave. Toby says that Natsu is crazy and Yuka asks Natsu what he will do since he can't use Magic inside his wave anyway. Natsu says that he can use Magic outside the wave, thanks him for the advice and uses Fire Dragon's Flame Elbow to defeat Yuka.[5]
Toby says that Natsu is pretty good and that he is stronger than Yuka. Toby takes out his Paralysis Claw: Mega Jellyfish and says that there is a secret hidden in his claws. Natsu asks if it's paralysis and Toby wonders how Natsu already knew. Natsu calls him an idiot, and Toby tries to attack Natsu for insulting him, although Natsu dodges. Toby keeps attacking while saying that if his nails touch Natsu, they will electrocute him and paralyze him. Natsu tells him to hold on and that there is something on his forehead. Toby touches his forehead using his claws' power against him, electrocuting and defeating himself.[6]
Natsu says that the opponent Mages they have done some gruesome things and that he will avenge the village.[7]
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 32, Pages 2-7
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 32, Pages 7-10
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 32, Pages 11-12
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 32, Pages 13-17
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 32, Pages 17-20
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 33, Pages 3-5
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 33, Page 6
|Pre-Mission Fights
|Erza Scarlet vs. Natsu Dragneel
|S-Class Mission Fights
|Gray Fullbuster vs. Angelica • Gray Fullbuster vs. Lyon Vastia • Natsu Dragneel vs. Yuka Suzuki & Toby Horhorta • Lucy Heartfilia vs. Sherry Blendy • Natsu Dragneel vs. Lyon Vastia • Erza Scarlet, Lucy Heartfilia & Happy vs. Deliora Survivors • Gray Fullbuster vs. Lyon Vastia: Rematch • Natsu Dragneel vs. Zalty (Ultear Milkovich)


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Keeping the Red Flag Flying
The strains of The Red Flag rang out at Thetford Grammar School, as Diss Museum continued its association with EyesWrite.
The group, formed by Alan Huckle to encourage local writers, give readings and make recordings.
When the Common Sense Club, an offshoot of Thetford's Tom Paine Festival, met for the last time, EyesWrite presented a playlet about The Burston Strike.
Alan Huckle, Basil Abbott and Felicity Humfress dramatised the story of the village children walking out, a century ago, in support of their dismissed, Socialist teachers.
Colin Armes spoke about Kett's rebellion, Mike Levy talked about adapting history; and John Weeks spoke about Paine in literature.
Diss Museum has worked closely with Thetford since both commemorated Thomas Paine in 2009.
Afterwards there was a most appreciative letter from John Weeks:
"I failed to catch up with EyesWrite at the end of Friday's meeting, and I hope that you will pass on to them/share with them the appreciation of the Common Sense Club for their contribution on the Burston Strike.
It was a privilege to welcome the Diss cultural world into Old School and, of course, highly appropriate given Basil's seminal work, seeding the whole Tom Paine Bicentenary process. In at the beginning, indeed being the beginning – and in at the end (at least this particular end).
Never may have the Red Flag been sung so fervently in an independent school, other of course than the Burston Strike School. The reading crisply gave us the historical facts and a real flavour of the class conflict and the personalities involved.(George Eliot, for one, would have appreciated it). It set a high bar for the second half of our evening, with pace and direction, music and drama. Many thanks to the three readers for bringing their subject alive. And very good wishes indeed for the many future projects in which, I know, you will be engaged."


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Oscillating neuronal circuits, known as central pattern generators (CPGs), are responsible for generating rhythmic behaviours such as walking, breathing and chewing. The CPG model alone however does not account for the ability of animals to adapt their future behaviour to changes in the sensory environment that signal reward. Here, using multi-electrode array (MEA) recording in an established experimental model of centrally generated rhythmic behaviour we show that the feeding CPG of Lymnaea stagnalis is itself associated with another, and hitherto unidentified, oscillating neuronal population. This extra-CPG oscillator is characterised by high population-wide activity alternating with population-wide quiescence. During the quiescent periods the CPG is refractory to activation by food-associated stimuli. Furthermore, the duration of the refractory period predicts the timing of the next activation of the CPG, which may be minutes into the future. Rewarding food stimuli and dopamine accelerate the frequency of the extra-CPG oscillator and reduce the duration of its quiescent periods. These findings indicate that dopamine adapts future feeding behaviour to the availability of food by significantly reducing the refractory period of the brain's feeding circuitry.
Citation: Harris CA, Buckley CL, Nowotny T, Passaro PA, Seth AK, Kemenes G, et al. (2012) Multi-Neuronal Refractory Period Adapts Centrally Generated Behaviour to Reward. PLoS ONE 7(7): e42493. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0042493
Editor: Manabu Sakakibara, Tokai University, Japan
Received: May 22, 2012; Accepted: July 6, 2012; Published: July 31, 2012
Copyright: © Harris et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: This work was supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC, www.bbsrc.ac.uk) grant BB/H009906/1 and BBSRC Studentship to C.A. Harris and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (www.epsrc.ac.uk) grant EP/G007543/1. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Central pattern generators (CPGs) are oscillating neuronal circuits that control a wide range of rhythmic behaviours [1]–[5]. Here we report on the application of the multi-electrode array (MEA) technique to study populations of neurons associated with the well-characterized CPG underlying feeding behaviour in the snail Lymnaea [6], [7] (see Figure S1). Our aim was to investigate the mechanism by which a CPG responds adaptively to changes in the sensory environment that signal reward. For this to happen we hypothesised that the CPG circuitry must be fully integrated with other neuronal populations that monitor multiple sensory modalities to modulate CPG outputs. To understand how the feeding CPG interacts with associated neuronal populations it was necessary to record simultaneously from many more neurons than is possible with the conventional electrophysiological techniques used to elucidate the core feeding CPG circuitry in Lymnaea [6], [7] and other systems [1]–[5].
Technical details of our MEA recording methods have been described previously [8]. In the present study we used preparations consisting of the intact brain, including all the 11 ganglia of the Lymnaea CNS, attached by sensory nerves to the chemosensory epithelium of the esophagus. In the intact animal the esophagus is exposed to chemosensory stimuli once food is ingested due to activity in the feeding CPG. Application of a salient chemosensory food stimulus, such as sucrose, to the sensory epithelium of the esophagus accelerates the motor output of the feeding CPG [8], [9] and has previously been used as reward in in vitro single-trial appetitive learning in Lymnaea [8], [10], [11]. We will refer to such a food stimulus here as a 'reward' in the general meaning of a stimulus that promotes approach [12] and consummatory [9] behaviour rather than the more specific meaning of an unconditioned stimulus used as a positive reinforcer in a classical or operant long-term conditioning paradigm [13]. In addition to analysing the effects of food reward on the simultaneous activity of neurons associated with the feeding CPG we also aimed to investigate whether these effects are mediated by dopamine. We based this hypothesis on the observation that dopamine was the only one of a total of 5 putative neuromodulators tested in two previous studies (serotonin, acetylcholine, dopamine, FMRFamide and octopamine) that has been found to activate the feeding CPG in vitro [14], [15] and on the central role of dopamine in the feeding behaviour of mammals [16], [17].
Although optical imaging of multi-neuronal activity has been successfully used in the Lymnaea feeding system [18], [19], this work also showed that the voltage sensitive dye (RH155) both hyperpolarized the interneurons of the buccal feeding CPG and attenuated their sucrose-induced rhythmic response. Therefore our method of choice in the present study was the MEA technique we developed earlier to record sensory stimulated fictive feeding activity from the buccal ganglia of semi-intact preparations [8].
Semi-intact preparations of adult Lymnaea were used. The snails were food deprived for 2–4 days prior to dissection. The preparations consisted of the intact brain with a 2–3 mm segment of the esophagus attached by the dorsobuccal nerves to the buccal ganglia. All recordings were made from the buccal ganglia, which contain the feeding CPG. To improve electrical contact between neurons and electrodes the ganglia were de-sheathed before being positioned on the MEA. This involves removal of a thick outer sheath of connective tissue that covers most surfaces of the brain, while leaving a thin inner sheath intact. Treating the inner sheath with protease for 1–5 min before recording, a routine procedure in experiments involving intracellular electrodes, did not appear to improve signal-to-noise on the MEA.
A fundamental challenge when using a planar MEA to record from an intact brain is to ensure that the pressure keeping the ganglia immobilized on the MEA is stable and sufficient to achieve and maintain good electrical contact between neurons and electrodes. This is particularly important when perfusion is used. Details of our solution to this problem were described in a previous publication [8]. Briefly, we attach a ring of blu-tack to the wall of the MEA dish. This ring allows us to carefully position a rectangular piece of coverslip glass over the buccal ganglia and to push and hold the ganglia firmly against the MEA. A segment of silicone tubing is also incorporated in the blu-tack ring and is used to canulate and perfuse the esophagus. Loose nerves protruding from the brain are attached to the blu-tack ring as well, which helps to hold the semi-intact preparation steady during perfusion.
Three protocols were used. In the first protocol the esophagus was perfused with saline for 12 min, then with 20 mM sucrose in saline for 2 min, then again with saline. We have previously shown that this procedure induces high-frequency feeding activity on an MEA [8]. The second protocol was identical to the first one but in addition the dish was also perfused with saline for the first 10 min, then with 10 µM of the dopamine receptor antagonist methylergonovine in saline for 4 min, then again with saline. The aim of this protocol was to test whether the dopamine antagonist would interfere with the effect of the sucrose reward on the feeding CPG. Methylergonovine is an antagonist of dopamine receptors in molluskan neurons [20] and is frequently used to study dopamine-mediated reward processes in molluskan systems, including single-trial reward conditioning in Lymnaea [21]. The third protocol was identical to the first except that 0.1 mM dopamine hydrochloride was used rather than sucrose. This concentration has been shown to induce high-frequency feeding in vitro [14].
Extracellular activity was recorded using a USB-MEA256-System (Multi Channel Systems, Germany) at a sampling rate of 10 kHz. The electrodes were 30 µm in diameter and spaced 100 µm apart. Electrical stimulation of the dorsobuccal nerve was performed using a suction electrode. The stimulation parameters were 0.1 V, 5 ms pulse-width, 5 Hz and 1 sec duration.
The electrode array registers a rich variety of spontaneously generated neural activity from the region of the brain containing the feeding CPG (the paired buccal ganglia). In a typical recording about 40 electrodes are located under the buccal ganglia. All of these electrodes recorded action potentials. Figure 1A shows 20 electrodes centred on a buccal ganglion and a sample of the neural activity recorded by these electrodes is shown in Figure 1B. The spikes of individual neurons were often detected simultaneously on multiple neighbouring electrodes (e.g., electrodes 12 and 13 in Figure 1B), appearing as identically timed patterns of spikes. This feature allowed us to sort the individual spikes in the raw voltage data by triangulating the location of their source neurons [22], [23]. Spikes with similar location and amplitude form clusters that correspond to the activity of individual neurons seen in the multi-unit raw voltage data (Figure 1C–E). Two such clusters are indicated in Figure 1C. When mapped onto the electrode array, the positions of these clusters co-locate with the cell bodies of single neurons underlying the electrode array (highlighted in green in Figure 1A).
A. Photomicrograph of the buccal ganglia on the multi-electrode array. The black dots are electrodes. Two neuronal cell bodies are highlighted in green. B. Voltage data recorded on the numbered electrodes in A. C. Spike sorting was performed using triangulation (see text). The coloured dots represent the amplitude (colour bar 20–300 µV) and estimated spatial origin of spikes detected on the numbered electrodes in A. Two spike clusters are indicated by ellipses. Note that their location corresponds to the two neurons highlighted in A. Their spike-sorted rasters are shown in D and E. D. and E. Spikes in the two clusters highlighted in C correspond to identically timed spike patterns recorded on multiple electrodes, which are presumed to originate in individual neurons. The sorting process distinguishes spikes generated by different neurons that are recorded on the same electrode. For example, the spikes in the voltage data recorded on electrode 13 indicated by a red arrow and bracket in fact originate at electrode 7, as evidenced by their higher amplitude there.
We have been able to count about 200 cell bodies on the dorsal surfaces of the buccal ganglia. The spike sorting procedure showed that in each preparation up to 28 of these neurons (mean = 15±1 (SEM) neurons, n = 37 preparations) were active and fired spikes at an amplitude that was sufficiently high for their firing patterns to be reliably distinguished. This statistic is very similar to previous findings from a study using voltage-sensitive dye imaging in another mollusc, Navanax, where up to 15% of the ∼200 buccal neurons showed firing activity during feeding [24].
The activity of some of the large, well-known types of feeding motoneuron were identified in the majority of recordings on the basis of their location and spike pattern. However, the range of different specific firing patterns we observed in different preparations on the MEA indicate that in many cases different neurons were sampled, due to the variable position of the preparations on the MEA. Importantly however, the reliability of our triangulation method to define distinct neuronal sources of spike activity does not depend on the consistent positioning of neurons on the array in each experiment.
Most neurons expressed one of two general firing patterns. Neurons belonging to the first population, constituting 26.25±0.02% of all spike-sorted neurons, fired near-continuously at a rate of 1.2±0.7 Hz (n = 116 neurons in 31 preparations). These neurons were active 47.08±0.01% of the time they were recorded. By contrast, neurons in a second population, comprising 32.91±0.02% of spike-sorted neurons, occasionally fired near-simultaneous bursts of spikes in a fixed sequence (n = 148 neurons in 31 preparations). These neurons were mostly silent between feeding cycles. In total they were active only 5.84±0.01% of the time they were recorded.
Figure 2 shows four raster plots, each representing 7 min of spike-sorted neuronal activity. Each row shows the firing pattern of one neuron. The rows have been arranged so that neurons showing the intermittent bursting pattern of activity, reflective of the rhythmic motor pattern of the feeding CPG (Figure S1), are in the upper rows. Each coordinated burst of activity among these phasically active neurons is called a fictive feeding cycle and drives food ingestion (comprising of radula protraction, rasping and swallowing) in the intact animal. Spike trains from the near-continuously active neurons are reflective of an extra-CPG population and are shown in the lower rows. Note that the majority of the extra-CPG neurons are most active between feeding cycles and show much reduced firing, or no firing at all, for variable periods during and following each feeding cycle. The importance of these quiescent periods in the extra-CPG population is considered later.
A. Each row shows the firing pattern of a single neuron. The rows are organized so that neurons reflecting the intermittent bursting activity of the feeding CPG are shown in red in the upper rows and the near-continuous activity of extra-CPG neurons are shown in blue in the lower rows. Orange triangles above indicate fictive feeding cycles. Four spontaneously generated fictive feeding cycles are shown in A. B. Two spontaneously generated feeding cycles are followed by twelve cycles induced by a food stimulus (green bar). C. A dopamine antagonist (red bar) prevents sucrose-evoked high-frequency feeding. D. A single spontaneous feeding cycle is followed by thirteen feeding cycles induced by dopamine (blue bar). E. Inter-cycle interval (ICI) distribution for 159 spontaneously generated pairs of feeding cycles recorded in 37 preparations. F. ICIs of 41 food-induced feeding cycle pairs recorded in 8 preparations. G. ICIs of 54 dopamine-induced feeding cycle pairs recorded in 8 preparations.
The feeding cycles of the CPG population were readily recognizable as sharp increases in the total number of spikes, lasting about 10 s. These population bursts moreover had the repeating multi-phasic structure characteristic of feeding motor output. High-frequency feeding cycles induced by a stimulus often involved more neurons firing at a higher frequency compared to spontaneously generated cycles. The overall duration of feeding cycles was similar in all conditions however.
With no rewarding food stimulus (i.e., no sucrose applied to the esophagus), the isolated brain typically generates feeding cycles spontaneously at a variable low frequency [9], [25]. In our recordings the mean inter-cycle interval in the absence of any stimulus was 114.69±10.85 s and the standard deviation of the inter-cycle interval within preparations was 44.05±6.04 s (n = 159 cycle pairs in 37 preparations, see Figure 2E). For instance, in the 7 min sample record of Figure 2A, four spontaneous feeding cycles are readily identified as bursts of spikes involving several neurons. It seems therefore that in the isolated brain, the CPG is operating in the 'exploratory mode' observed in animals exploring their natural environment in search of food [25]. This in vivo spontaneous grazing behaviour is characterised by the occasional low-frequency generation of single or a few feeding cycles. If nutritious food is encountered as a consequence of this exploratory behaviour the rate of feeding is increased [25]. Similarly, in our in vitro isolated preparation the rate of activation of the feeding CPG is increased by delivering a food reward (sucrose) to the esophagus (Figure 2B, F). Sucrose application increased the rate of fictive feeding from 0.45±0.05 to 2.31±0.26 cycles per min (p<0.001, n = 17 brains, Wilcoxon rank sum test). In the recording shown in Figure 2B, two spontaneously generated feeding cycles are followed by twelve cycles in rapid succession induced by application of the food stimulus. This indicates that the in vivo neuronal mechanisms, activated when a spontaneously grazing animal encounters and ingests food, are still operative in the isolated brain preparation. Previous work established that at the same concentration of sucrose stimulus the fictive feeding rhythm is significantly slower than the behavioural one [9], [26]. The rate of in vitro fictive feeding that we measured in our MEA experiments was also lower than the behavioural rates found in the previous studies and similar to that measured using intracellular microelectrodes inserted directly into feeding motoneurons [9], [26]. It is well known in work with semi-intact preparations that sensory-triggered fictive behaviours are seldom as fast as their behavioural counterparts, presumably due to lack of feedback from the muscles actually executing the motor programme.
Application of the broad-spectrum dopamine-receptor antagonist methylergonovine to the brain blocked the activation of the feeding CPG by sucrose (Figure 2C). In the presence of the antagonist, sucrose fails to significantly alter the rate of CPG cycling (p = 0.45, n = 7 brains, Wilcoxon rank sum test). This suggested that the effect of sucrose on the cycling frequency of the CPG is mediated by dopamine and this conclusion is supported by the effect of direct application of dopamine to the brain (Figure 2D, G). Dopamine significantly increased the rate of fictive feeding, from 0.55±0.06 to 3.10±0.38 cycles per min (p<0.001, n = 13 brains, Wilcoxon rank sum test). These data indicate that dopamine is both necessary and sufficient for the food-evoked increase in the repetition frequency of the feeding cycles generated by the CPG.
In addition to registering the characteristic motor output pattern of the feeding CPG, the MEA also revealed another neuronal population, which was primarily active during the intervals between feeding cycles (e.g., lower rows in the recordings shown in Figure 2). Neurons of this extra-CPG population have diverse firing patterns ranging from continuous tonic activity to intermittent bursting. All however show a full or partial suppression of spiking activity associated with activation of the CPG and remain quiescent for a variable period of time. We calculated the total number of spikes generated by all extra-CPG neurons during the 10 s period prior to each feeding cycle. The extra-CPG population fired at a rate of 6.58±0.41 Hz in this period, dropping to a much reduced rate of 0.38±0.09 Hz at the time of minimal activity during the subsequent quiescent period associated with the cycle (p<0.001, n = 74 spontaneously generated feeding cycles, Wilcoxon rank sum test). CPG activity does not occur during these quiescent periods of the extra-CPG population.
To investigate what role quiescence in the extra-CPG population may play in controlling reward-activation of the feeding CPG we stimulated one of the pair of dorsobuccal nerves, which was cut distally to avoid activating motor innervation of the esophagus. These nerves carry sensory information from the esophagus and also contain dopamine containing-fibres [27]. Their electrical stimulation may therefore provide a controlled sensory surrogate for the successful ingestion of food. We found that in Lymnaea brief dorsobuccal nerve stimulation activated the feeding CPG except when the stimulus was applied during the quiescent period of the extra-CPG population (Figure 3). Specifically, nerve stimulation induced a feeding cycle 19 times out of 26 while the extra-CPG was active but only one time out of 16 while the extra-CPG was inactive (x2 [1], [42] = 20.26, p<0.001, n = 42 nerve stimulations in a total of 5 preparations). Nerve stimulation delivered late in the quiescent period tended to induce some additional extra-CPG activity (Figure 3C) but failed to trigger full feeding cycles. Quiescence in the extra-CPG population therefore reflects a period of refractoriness, during which the feeding CPG is not responsive to direct sensory input from the esophageal food chemosensory pathway. Henceforth we shall refer to the quiescent period as the network refractory period or NRP.
A. Schematic showing the spiking activity of neurons before during and after the generation of a feeding cycle. Electrical stimulation was applied randomly at one of three time points (1–3) during spontaneously generated activity recorded in 5 preparations. The preparations were allowed to recover for 1–2 minutes between each stimulus. The effects of stimulation at the different time points are shown in a representative recording from one preparation (B–D). B. Electrical stimulation during the quiescent period associated with a feeding cycle had no effect on population activity. C. When extra-CPG activity has only partially resumed following a feeding cycle, electrical stimulation elicits some additional extra-CPG activity but fails to activate the CPG. D. When all extra-CPG neurons have resumed spiking, electrical stimulation triggers a full feeding cycle.
Pairs of consecutively generated feeding cycles (n = 138) were selected for detailed analysis of the NRP. Of these, 76 pairs were spontaneously generated in 18 preparations, 26 pairs were generated in 7 preparations following application of the sucrose reward and 36 pairs were generated in 7 preparations following application of dopamine. The criterion of selection was that both the motor output of the CPG and the activity of the extra-CPG population could be readily identified in the recorded activity patterns (example in Figure 4A). Formally we define the NRP as the interval from the beginning of a feeding cycle, through the subsequent reduction of activity in the extra-CPG population, to the time when activity in the extra-CPG population returns to its average firing rate (Figure 4A).
A. The continuous activity of the extra-CPG population (blue spikes) is transiently suppressed following a feeding cycle (red spikes). The network refractory period (NRP) is defined as the duration from the beginning of a feeding cycle, through the subsequent reduction of spiking in the extra-CPG population, to the time when the extra-CPG population returns to its average firing rate (indicated here with a dashed blue line). B. Plotting the duration of the NRP against the remaining inter-cycle interval shows that the timing of the next feeding cycle is significantly correlated with the duration of the NRP preceding it (r = 0.57, p<0.001, Pearson's linear correlation coefficient, n = 37 pairs of feeding cycles). The solid line represents best-fit linear regression.
Spontaneously generated feeding cycles had an NRP of 37.2±1.6 s (n = 76 feeding cycles). There was a significant correlation between the variable duration of the NRP and the time from the end of the NRP to the next feeding cycle (r = 0.39, p<0.001, Pearson's linear correlation coefficient, n = 76 pairs of feeding cycles). The correlation was particularly clear when pairs of cycles with an inter-cycle interval of 2 min or less were considered (r = 0.57, p<0.001, Pearson's linear correlation coefficient, n = 37). This data is shown in Figure 4B. The NRP was moreover significantly reduced by the chemosensory food reward and by direct application of dopamine to the brain. Feeding cycles generated following application of the sucrose stimulus had an NRP of 8.8±1.1 s (n = 26 feeding cycles). Similarly, feeding cycles generated following application of dopamine had an NRP of 7.3±0.6 s (n = 36 feeding cycles). These were significantly shorter than the spontaneously generated NRPs (Kruskall Wallis statistic [2,137] = 89.79, p<0.001. Dunn's multiple comparison tests: sucrose and dopamine vs. spontaneous, both p<0.001; sucrose vs. dopamine p>0.05). The correlation between the NRP and the time to the next cycle was strongest when all 138 pairs of cycles from the spontaneous, sucrose-induced and dopamine-induced periods of activity were considered together (r = 0.71, p<0.001, see Figure S2). The combination of very brief and invariant NRPs and inter-cycle-intervals observed during sucrose- and dopamine-induced feeding (Figure 2F, G) mean that when the cycles from these conditions are considered separately the correlation is not significant (p = 0.1 and p = 0.29, respectively). This result supports the conclusion that food-reward and dopamine both act to shorten both the NRP and the inter-cycle interval.
The discovery of CPGs has transformed our understanding of the linkage between behaviour and its underlying central neural and circuit mechanisms. Animal behaviour of course must be adaptively responsive to aversive or rewarding sensory stimuli encountered in the natural environment. For example, CPG-driven behaviours may become more frequent when the sensory consequence of executing the behaviour is likely to be rewarding. This important ability couples the consequences of present behaviour to an effect on future behaviour. Precisely how CPG-driven behavioural output is continuously adapted to a changing environment however is poorly understood at the neuronal population level. Here we found that periods of quiescence in a previously unidentified multi-neuronal oscillator in Lymnaea were associated with refractoriness of the feeding CPG. These periods of refractoriness were shortened by a food reward mediated by dopamine, offering a possible population level mechanism for the adaptation of future feeding behaviour to the availability of food. In behavioural terms, this mechanism would serve to limit energetically expensive use of the feeding musculature to times when feeding is likely to result in consumption of nutritious food.
Network refractory periods (NRP) have previously been observed in the rhythmic activity of intact or cultured neural networks from locomotor CPG regions of the developing rat and chick spinal cord [28]–[32]. In these cultures population-wide bursts generated by recurrent excitation are terminated by activity-dependent mechanisms that hyperpolarize neurons, making networks transiently refractory to further activation [28]–[32]. Additionally, the NRP has been proposed as part of a process of self-regulation that compensates for the hyper-excitability of developing neuronal populations [33]. Here we propose that an NRP in an intact brain plays a similar compensatory role to that observed in neuronal cultures. In Lymnaea, feeding cycles are triggered by hyper-excitable neurons in the CPG [34], [35] (see Figure S1) and it seems that the NRP prevents the 'runaway' repetitive activation of the CPG by these neurons in the absence of food. To determine whether the extra-CPG oscillator, rather than some third input common to both, causally influences the cycle-initiating neurons of the feeding CPG we would need to adjust the duration of the NRP by simultaneous current injection into a large number of extra-CPG neurons. This is not possible with currently available technology. Nonetheless, the fact that the level of extra-CPG activity predicts how the feeding CPG will respond to stimulation of a sensory nerve and at what time the CPG will generate the next feeding cycle does suggest a close functional link.
The correlation between the duration of the NRP and the time to the next feeding cycle was lower when feeding cycle pairs with an inter-cycle-interval of more than 2 min were included. Beyond the 2 min period extra-CPG activity would often 'falter' and drop below the population average for extended periods before resurfacing prior to the subsequent feeding cycle. This produced a number of 'false starts' and long inter-cycle-intervals (see Figure S2) which reduce the strength of the predictive correlation and indicate that in the longer term factors other than the NRP influence the timing of future CPG activation. It is important to note however that the NRP-based mechanism for adapting behaviour to reward that we describe here is fundamentally different from the established examples of how single identified neurons in the CNS of Lymnaea gate, trigger or modulate the activity of the feeding CPG [35]–[40] (see Figure S1). In contrast to these examples, the NRP is a population-level mechanism that operates on a long time scale and appears to be a convergent effect of an extra-CPG population of neurons, rather than attributable to any single identified neuron. Almost every neuron recorded on the MEA ceased spiking following spontaneously generated feeding cycles, suggesting that this extra-CPG population is comprised of a large number of cells. Some of these are likely to be identified motoneurons [41], [42] but a systematic identification of specific buccal neurons comprising the extra-CPG population is beyond the scope of this study as are any functions the extra-CPG might serve that are not directly related to the generation of feeding cycles.
There is a substantial body of Aplysia literature that deals with the effects of the activation of the feeding network on subsequent responses (for a comprehensive review see [43]). However, the present study focused on the relationship between quiescence of an extra-CPG oscillator and spontaneous or food-reward induced activation of the feeding CPG. To our knowledge a similar extra-CPG oscillator has not been identified in the Aplysia feeding system. The apparent abundance and widespread distribution of extra-CPG neurons in our study suggests however that if the NRP is present in other systems (including Aplysia) it could readily be identified and characterized. The presence of reward-sensitive NRPs in other systems would indicate that it is a conserved and fundamental mechanism by which centrally programmed behaviour is adaptively modulated.
A CPG is normally defined as a neuronal circuit that can produce rhythmic motor patterns in the absence of sensory inputs that carry specific timing information [1]. The extra-CPG population revealed here however appears to be capable of converting an un-patterned gustatory sensory input, seemingly lacking timing information, into periodic activity that controls the repetition rate of a CPG. This finding introduces the ability to predict future activation of a CPG from the duration of the NRP. Specifically each feeding cycle appears to be the product of a long build-up of activity. Such a process has not to our knowledge been previously proposed for neural circuitry underlying reward-seeking behaviour. As dopamine controls the repetition rate of a wide range of behaviours [16], [44]–[46], we suggest that dopamine-modulation of a CPG's NRP is a general mechanism by which centrally generated behaviour is adapted to maximise reward.
Supporting Information
Figure S1.
The feeding circuitry of Lymnaea stagnalis. Feeding in Lymnaea is generated by the CPG circuit in the paired buccal ganglia. The basic 3-phase pattern (radula protraction, rasp and swallow) is produced by the three CPG interneuron types N1, N2 and N3, which entrain a larger pool of different B type motor neurons. A full feeding cycle is initiated when sufficiently depolarized N1M type protraction-phase CPG interneurons (highly excitable cells capable of producing plateau potentials even in complete isolation [34]) overcome inhibitory tonic input from the otherwise continuously active N3t type neurons that keep the CPG quiescent [6], [7], [35]. Phasic modulatory neurons of the Lymnaea CNS, such as the buccal interneuron known as the slow oscillator neuron (SO) and the cerebro-buccal interneuron type known as the Cerebral Ventral 1a neuron (CV1a) modulate the activity of the feeding CPG. Rhythmic activity of these two modulatory cell types during chemosensory-induced fictive feeding in semi-intact preparations is phase-locked to the rhythmic activity of the CPG and they modulate its cycle period (SO) and the burst duration of the feeding motor neurons (CV1a) once feeding has begun [36]. Although both of these cell types have the ability to activate the feeding CPG [36] via their monosynaptic excitatory connections to N1M, quiescence in these neurons during the arrival of a food stimulus does not prevent CPG activity [36]. Tonically firing neurons of the brain, such as the Cerebral Giant Cell (CGC) and the N3t type CPG cell gate and modulate activation of the feeding CPG [35], [37], [38]. These two cell types however do not show prolonged quiescence after spontaneously generated fictive feeding cycles [35], [39], [40].
Figure S2.
NRP vs. remaining inter-cycle-interval, all durations and conditions. NRP plotted against the remaining inter-cycle interval (ICI) plotted for all NRP and ICI durations and conditions shows a significant correlation (r = 0.71, p<0.001, n = 138). The solid line represents best-fit linear regression.
We thank Professor P.R. Benjamin and Dr I. Kemenes for helpful advice and discussions during the course of this research.
Author Contributions
Conceived and designed the experiments: CAH GK MOS. Performed the experiments: CAH. Analyzed the data: CAH CLB TN PAP AKS GK MOS. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: CAH CLB TN. Wrote the paper: CAH GK MOS.
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Know the Facts about Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Rochester Regional Health Celebrates Expanded Care Center in Henrietta
Henrietta Medical Campus places key services in an innovative setting
Rochester, N.Y. – Healthcare just got a little more convenient for residents of Henrietta and its surrounding communities. Today Rochester Regional Health celebrated its new Henrietta Medical Campus, a multi-specialty facility located at 50 Middle Road.
The campus provides residents with easy access to:
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Primary care patients have the added benefit of being able to walk over to the imaging and lab suites as soon as their doctor orders a test. For lab and imaging services, no appointments are necessary.
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In addition to new local access to services, patients of the primary care providers are seeing their doctors in an innovative office setting brought to the area by Rochester Regional Health over the past two years. The setting places greater emphasis on privacy, concierge-like staff support and quiet, soothing surroundings.
"A doctor visit is often stressful due to not feeling well, uncertainty and concern," Wiefling continued. "This peaceful and supportive environment will help put patients at ease and allow them to better focus on what they need to do to get healthy and stay healthy."
While today marked the ceremonial grand opening of the new campus, patients began seeing providers at this location earlier this winter. The campus is easy to find, clearly visible from Calkins Road, and offers free parking. Details on the campus are available at RochesterRegional.org/Henrietta.
Rochester Regional Health is an integrated health services organization serving the people of Western New York, the Finger Lakes and beyond. The system includes five hospitals; primary and specialty practices, rehabilitation centers, ambulatory campuses and immediate care facilities; innovative senior services, facilities and independent housing; a wide range of behavioral health services; and ACM Medical Laboratory, a global leader in patient and clinical trials. Rochester Regional Health is the region's second largest employer. Learn more at RochesterRegional.org.
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
Coronavirus COVID-19 is spreading in Monroe County and other counties throughout Western New York and Rochester. Here are the new coronavirus cases in Western New York.Read News Article
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
Coronavirus testing and drive-thru evaluation are now available in Rochester and Monroe County at Rochester General Hospital, Unity Hospital, Clifton Springs, and UMMC.Read News Article


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Dry Ginger (Sukha Adrak)
No additional documentation is available. Please visit the supplier's website to contact them for further information.
Royal Agro Foods Products目前只在以下作出標識的區域展示其產品資料:
Dry Ginger (Sukha Adrak) is a spice composed of the dried rhizomes of the ginger plant. This product is most commonly used as a flavoring agent in sweet foods such as ginger ale, gingerbread, ginger snaps, parkin, ginger biscuits, and speculaas.
Royal Agro Foods Products is an exporter of agro products for the food industry. Royal Agro Foods Products has a wide range of products such as rice, sugar, maize, and ethanol. Royal Agro Foods Products use advanced technology to produce many different grades for their products including color and the size of sugar, types of Indian Spices, and the many different origins and varieties of Indian Rice.
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Royal Agro Foods Products
希望在賽百庫經銷商/貿易商板塊進行展示推廣?請立即聯絡我們 !


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The Avalon Organics® brand supports government policies that give more girls access to quality education.
And so does CARE®.
The potential for greatness exists in young girls everywhere, including the poorest places in the world. The key to unlocking that potential starts with advocating for policy changes to make quality education accessible, especially for the often forgotten girls of minority ethnic groups. By working with governments to give girls the educational opportunities they need, girls' lives can be transformed, and this can benefit entire communities.
CARE® has almost seven decades of experience in offering programs to help eradicate global poverty. Many of these programs focus on poor women because it has been proven that these women can accomplish great things when given the opportunity. Educating women can lift families and whole communities out of poverty.
Avalon Organics® has joined forces with CARE® as one of the founding partners of the Empower Her Through Education campaign, a 3-year partnership to help break down the barriers to education for girls in developing countries. The goal is to help open the door to quality education for some of the 31 million girls not in school around the globe. By learning basic skills like reading and writing, girls can gain confidence and courage to lead the way to a better world for themselves, their families, and their communities. By helping CARE® bring change at the policy level, the Avalon Organics® family can make a difference on a personal level to the millions of girls living in poverty around the world.
Visit www.care.org/avalon to learn more about CARE® programs to influence government policies. Help make quality education a reality for young women in poor communities.


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Paranormal researcher Nick Reiter shared case studies and theories regarding mysterious phenomena such as ghosts and entities. The unifying theme to such experiences appears to be human consciousness, and the phenomena can't be entirely separated from the living person's perceptions, he stated. He also believes there is "crossover" between ghosts and aliens, as both share the "trickster" element-- i.e. some type of intelligence cloaking itself.
Among the cases he discussed, was a haunted farmhouse in Ohio that was the site of a double child homicide in 1905. An EVP they recorded there had the sound of knives being swiped against each other, he reported. Reiter noted that it's possible "geopathic factors" might preexist in a space and influence a person to commit violent acts.
He presented details about The Penny Ghost case, which he studied in 2003. In a type of "apport," corroded pennies would fall out of thin air. Upon examination, Reiter found that the dates of the coins were mostly from the 1960s and 70s, but were not otherwise unusual. He also recounted The Spectre of Stone St., a case in his hometown of Gibsonburg, Ohio, where a tall white translucent robed figure was seen.
Titor Update:
First hour guest, Oliver Williams, editor of a website on 'time traveler' John Titor reacted to the audio interview of Larry Haber, the attorney for the Titor family. In the pre-taped segment, Haber fielded questions to Kay, the alleged time traveler's mother, and then relayed her answers.
Among her revelations: The current John Titor is eight years old; he did meet the time traveling Titor (his older self) who stayed with the family for three years. Kay said she was terrified by the situation but recognized the older Titor as her son because "how can a mother not know her own son." Williams found that the interview raised more questions in his mind. One possible conflict he noted was that in an online posting Titor said he was not using his real name.


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Your South Florida Luxury Home Experts
Your Luxury Home Sold For Full Price Guaranteed*
You have invested a lot of your hard earned money to make your luxury residence one of the best ones in your community and finding the right buyer who will appreciate your upgrades can be challenging if you choose the wrong real estate agent to market your home.
We have been in the local market since the 1990s and harnessed the most up-to-date technology, spent endless hours researching where buyers come from, and finding the most effective ways to get them into your residence and create a competitive environment so that they offer you full price for your home. Our team is so confident that we will sell your home for full price that we will Guarantee It, or we will pay you the difference*. To find out more about our Guarantee just click here or call.
How Much is Your South Florida Luxury Home Worth?
In any market condition, that's the #1 question asked by home sellers. If you have to sell your South Florida Luxury home, it needs to be sold for top dollar and in a timely manner. Question is how much is it worth? Pricing your South Florida Luxury home accurately, we make selling your home so much easier. Your South Florida Luxury home will receive maximum exposure with our exclusive marketing plan, especially to foreigners who pay full price cash. Plus, we promise every aspect of the selling process will be managed to your complete satisfaction. Contact us today for your initial South Florida Luxury home evaluation.
Marketing Your Home to Get Full Price
Most agents will just put your home in the MLS and pray that other agents will call and sell the home. That's why most agents sell less than 10 homes per year. Our Marketing System works so well that we have sold over 100 homes per year for many years, including more than 20 in one month recently. This is possible due to an extensive worldwide network of buyers that contact us at a typical rate of 30 to 50 calls and web requests per day. We look forward to demonstrating all of our luxury marketing to you so that you can see how we will help you reach your goals.
*Certain Restrictions apply. All types of homes and price ranges are eligible in Dade, Broward, Palm Beach Counties, but not all homes qualify. Limits exists, personal visit to property required. Price shall be determined by the average local list vs sell price ratio from appraised value once Seller cures all repairs from inspection report and provides home warranty for buyer. For full details to see if your home qualifies, click here or call.


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Applied science is an investment. We work with businesses and applied researchers to help them make good quality longer-term investments in technologies with high payoffs.
We have had over a decade long involvement in helping to build the New Zealand's superconductivity industry, working with the NZ HTS Industry Association. Our technology roadmaps underpinned the establishment of HTS-110 and the strategy of developing a NZ industry supplying components to HTS power systems OEMs. We continue to work with the industry, including the Robinson Research Institute at Victoria University of Wellington.
Managing Director, Simon Arnold, also assists the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, one of NZ's centres of research excellence, as a member of its industry advisory group.
We invest, with a recent investments into Blended Fuel Solutions NZ that manufactures "fit-for-purpose" fuels that sit outside the traditional supply chain. Through BFSNZ we have established Nufuels to manufacture fuels locally from waste using small-scale pyrolysis.
Copyright 2014-9. Arnold & Woodhall Ltd t/a arnold.co.nz. All rights reserved.


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Globally recognized as one of this generations leading materials scientists, Sir Colin holds professorships at both Queen Mary University of London and at the University of Cambridge. "Paragraf has the potential to transform a wide range of industries, including electronics, energy and healthcare."
Graphene's potential is truly astounding, demonstrated by numerous application successes at laboratory level. However, delivering graphene technologies to point of use remains difficult. Paragraf's novel approach to graphene formation breaks this boundary bringing true commercial viability.


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Learning Twitter: Lesson 2 Your First Tweet
Learning Twitter can be overwhelming. But, as with any task, breaking it down into smaller parts helps considerably. This is lesson two in a ten-part series.
In this lesson, I cover the things you need to think about when composing your first tweet. The first tweet can be daunting. Think of a question or something you're always saying, like a slogan.
What can you tweet about? Do you have to write it? Ugh. Stage fright overwhelms us all.
I promise you have content.
What I do is reassure my friends and clients that they do have a lot of content they are already using.
For example, talking to a docent, a physical therapist office, a mechanic, a roofer, I have reminded them all of the vastness of their knowledge. If they didn't have this basis of knowledge, they wouldn't be able to do their job.
Write down ten things you always say. If you can't think of them now, then keep a notebook next to your phone. If you find yourself repeating phrases, that is a good start for content to publish on Twitter.
Get Started Today:
- Start a text file (or Microsoft Word if you prefer) and write out bulleted lists of hints, tips, advice, quotes, anything from your repertoire. You know, the mental script you're on when you encounter a customer, patient, student, etc.
- Add content to the file as you run across helpful quotes or articles.
- When you are ready to tweet in the morning, you have things already written out (to fall back on).
- Try doing this for 21 days.
- Have fun.


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B Hotels is located in the business area of Novi Beograd, only 5 minutes walking distance from the Belgrade business district Airport City and only 900m away from the E75 highway.
Offering an on-site snack bar and breakfast as well as modernly designed rooms to satisfy the needs of our valued guests. B hotel is based on a simple concept - value for money. All the rooms have been carefully decorated and equipped with modern commodities to offer an enjoyable and comfortable stay.
Kind and professional staff is at your disposal at any time of day or night, providing you with high quality service guided by international hotel standards.
Free parking for our guests is available in front of the hotel, as well as the underground hotel garage with 28 spots and video surveillance. Our buffet breakfast time is adjusted to your needs, from 6:30h to 10:30h. If you have an early flight or things to do, we'll gladly prepare a free coffee, croissant and fruits for you in period from 5:00h to 6:30h. Free wireless internet is available in all areas.
Natural materials and pastel colours, which are dominant elements in our minimalistic interior design, provide a convenient stay for every guest. By choosing B design furniture, the idea of setting a B Hotels recognizable standard is accomplished.


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I rescued Buddy from your shelter July 2014 and wanted to share an update… I am so grateful for the work you do. Buddy has since changed my life! He is a true companion and has been with me through some major life events. We just celebrated his (possibly) 6th birthday!!
Thank you so much
Bianca Bellot


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You'd think that a city so famous for shopping would already be offering everything a homemaker's heart could desire, but that's not always true. Growing nostalgia for the craftsmanship of a bygone time, plus a yen for the quirky, the recycled and the rare have opened up a marketplace gap that savvy entrepreneurs are more than ready to fill. However, starting your own business needs more than that initial vision. It always takes some capital investment and much hard work – sometimes nerves of steel, and often a generous dollop of luck. We asked three home décor entrepreneurs how they did it.
Jo Harrison was already working at Expat Auctions when Rob Pendergrast bought the business in 2010. Together, they launched Singapore Trading Post in September last year, selling a distinctive range of homeware inspired by Singapore's colonial past. 102F Pasir Panjang Road , #02–04 Citilink Warehouse , call 6274 0511.
What brought you to Singapore?
Both of us moved here as "expat wives" in support of our spouses' careers. Jo arrived from England in 2007 with husband Chris and three children, and Rob moved here in 2010 with wife Stephanie and two children.
What gave you the business idea?
Jo was inspired by reading Noel Barber's evocative story of forbidden love, Tanamera, set in 1930s Singapore; for her, Singapore Trading Post is a sort of homage to the romance of the colonial age.
Rob used to have antique shops and loves sharing his finds with others. What's more, Expat Auctions was constantly being asked for smaller decorative pieces. Plus, when people buy a bed or sofa at auction they often want sheets, cushions or throws, so there was a clear opportunity to present a more complete offering.
Why this particular location?
We set up our store in the same location that Expat Auctions has been in for more than five years: Citilink Warehouse in Pasir Panjang Road. This minimises our overheads and also means that clients coming to the auction house for viewing and auction days can also check out the store.
We're well aware that more than 50 percent of new businesses fail in the first year, so keeping our overheads under control is important; iwwt allows us to offer the best value for money to our customers.
With so many furniture and home accessory businesses in Singapore, what makes your business special?
We created the business with our customers in mind, and tried to engage them from the outset. Feedback from our loyal auction customers and Facebook followers has played a major role in shaping our range, and we are constantly reviewing and refreshing it. In response to demand, we are offering a bespoke service on certain furniture pieces. We even sold our own counter to a customer who wanted it installed in time for a company Christmas party!
Our range is our own interpretation of the rich colonial era that began when Sir Stamford Raffles founded Singapore as a "trading post" for the British East India Company, and you won't see the same pieces elsewhere. We not only source them directly from a diverse range of suppliers, but have also created some designs of our own.
How are you sourcing your stock?
We made several trips to the original British East India Company locations before opening in September 2013, and then two more in the lead-up to Christmas. We have journeyed through several regions in Northern and Southern India, Java in Indonesia, and have also selected pieces from Myanmar and Vietnam. Our luxury hand-made bedding range is from Hong Kong.
How is business going?
We have had a fantastic reception from our Expat Auction client base and are getting to know lot of new people who come just for the store. Our first range of mirrors and our Burmese parasols sold out really quickly, and there is strong demand for our artwork. The sheet sets and wicker baskets sold well over the holiday period, as people were preparing their guest rooms for visitors
What have you learnt, and would you do anything differently next time round?
Our customers have been a huge inspiration in how they store has taken shape, and word of mouth has been great for business. It's the same with suppliers; we try to treat them more like partners, as our success is their success. Finally, we know the importance of partnering with someone who makes you laugh… and keep on laughing.
What's the most fun you've had so far?
We have absolutely loved the experiences on our sourcing travels: visiting manufacturers in rural India or Indonesia and getting to know these wonderful people… not to mention dodging camels in Jodphur! We've also been blessed by the generosity of the community: talented designers, photographers, visual merchandisers and advertising creatives have all become part of the Singapore Trading Post story.
What are you looking forward to for 2014?
Having already remodelled our store to increase our space and improve the layout, and we are excited about expanding our range of smaller pieces and introducing more gift items.
We've also started Expat Expert Talks for people who want to learn about furniture and collectibles. So far, we have focused on the various types of wood, how to distinguish genuine items from replicas, regional décor specialities and so on.
We're also looking at establishing a Pasir Panjang Homeware Hub in collaboration with a few other shops in our area. As part of this, we have created a map for the location detailing various food and homeware outlets. And we plan to have more of a presence at the fairs, and in publications such as Expat Living.
At Artful House, Padmaja Rajagolapan sells colonial and recycled furniture, objets d'art and collectibles, home accents and accessories. 315 Outram Road, #08-04 Tan Boon Liat Building, call 8112 6127.
What brought you to Singapore?
My husband Pramod and I were in banking and financial services respectively when we moved here in 2011, having lived and worked in New York, Melbourne and London. While I turned entrepreneur, he is still in the banking sector.
What gave you the idea?
Though I loved my nine years in the financial sector, I was looking for something new, a challenge. This was an opportunity to blend my commercial and business skills with my creativity.
I've always sketched and had a passion for interior design; my mom was artistic and something of a collector, and I take after her. While working in New York, I did art courses on the side whenever I could.
After I'd furnished our historical Cairnhill Road terraced house here, other people saw what I'd done and started asking for my help in decorating and sourcing special and one-off pieces. So, I saw an opportunity to take what I had been doing to the next level.
Location is important. Why Tan Boon Liat Building?
People who are shopping for furniture often want to go to a hub. I particularly chose this building because it hosts a collection of other businesses that tie in nicely with mine, especially good furniture stores such as FairPrice Antique, The Shophouse, Mountain Teak, Jehan Gallery and Journey East. We also have The Providore and Underground Wines, giving buyers even more incentive to visit the building.
This is not your average mall: it's more individualistic, and an interesting location to showcase my products. We started with a bare slate: high ceilings and a lot of space. We kept the neutral flooring and added vibrant turquoise and red accents. I find that the right setting helps to introduce new ideas to your clients – like how to use colour in their own homes.
What makes your business special?
Right now, we are focussing on two particular lines of furniture. The first is South Asian and Southeast Asian colonial furniture. This is sourced from India and Sri Lanka, and we're also looking at Indonesia. They're special because there's a story behind each of them; what's more, the craftsmanship they display is increasingly hard to find. Each item is a piece of history you can enjoy owning, and also pass down to future generations.
Our second line is furniture made from recycled or reclaimed wood. Old painted doors and window frames, for example, are transformed into items that suit modern living spaces so well. Their time-worn colour adds distinctive beauty to a room.
Both of these lines express my feeling that history has a place in our lives and in our homes, even in the most contemporary of settings. Each piece is carefully handpicked for that purpose.
We're smitten with the crane design on your dinnerware. Tell us about that.
We design and manufacture our own dinnerware, and the black-necked crane motif does indeed have an interesting story. Some time ago, I was sketching in Bhutan's Phobjika Valley, and the people told me I was lucky it was the season for these special black-necked cranes, which fly there every winter from Tibet. There's a 16th-century monastery in the valley, and local legend has it that the cranes circle the monastery three times before they come down to forage for food.
Though our home accent products have European influences, they are all from this region, and mainly inspired by indigenous fauna and flora. We use ikats (handwoven cloth) from Indonesia and Cambodia for our soft furnishings, working with local weavers and artisans to create limited-edition designs.
How do you source your furniture?
I pick each item personally. It helps that my mom is a collector and that I've developed my eye for quality over many years. For the old colonial furniture, we work with dealers; we'll see the piece, often in indescribably poor condition, then work with restorers to return it to good condition. For example, I found a rosewood table with great stylistic details, but first it needed to be stripped of the oily pink paint that covered it.
In the store, we provide information on the provenance and use of each old piece. We also suggest ways of using it in a contemporary setting. One client, for example, uses what was originally a dowry chest as a bar – the secret jewellery drawer has become a hiding place for a rare or special single malt.
What have you learnt from this venture?
Entrepreneurship is very challenging, but I'm blessed to have had help and advice along the way. Though you have to make your own decisions, it's important to keep your mind open and listen to suggestions. In the end, friends and family are all behind you and they want you to succeed.
Having travelled widely over the past 20 years, Harriet Dias decided to combine her hobby of collecting priceless antiques, art and colonial furniture with her Indian roots and hard business skills. The result is Treasures of the Raj, a stunning collection of colonial furniture and antiques. 19 Tanglin Road, #02-30 Tanglin Shopping Centre, call 9173 5041.
What brought you to Singapore?
Though I hail from Bombay, I am a global citizen, having lived and worked in the Middle East and Asia for 15 years. I've been here since 2003, when my investment banker husband was relocated to Singapore. Melwyn has been a Singapore citizen for the past eight years, and the rest of the family are permanent residents. So we're all firmly rooted here!
What gave you the idea for this business?
"The Raj" can be loosely defined as the colonial period in Indian history – British, Dutch, French and Portuguese, known for its graceful European-style furniture with local accents, made in solid mahogany, teak or rosewood.
Given the fast-diminishing supply of this quaint, period furniture and seeing the plethora of copies and fakes that are around, I have made it my mission to restore and retail this furniture.
What makes your business different?
In order to distinguish my business as the "real deal" and set myself apart, I do something that I believe no other furniture business does in Singapore: I undertake to buy back any piece of furniture sold, at the end of three years, at the price paid by the customer.
This is only possible because I know the background of each piece and its intrinsic value, given that it has been painstakingly restored to protect its unique personality, character and history.
Each piece comes with a Certificate of Authentication that gives a brief history of its provenance, a photograph of what the piece looked like before and after restoration; it also comes with a Buyback Guarantee.
My goal is not to make old pieces look new, because antique furniture should be allowed to convey a sense of its history and charm. When it comes to antique furniture restoration, I follow the dictum that less is more.
How do you source your stock?
My supplier in India sources over 90 percent of all the furniture from four palaces – two in Gujarat, one in Rajasthan and another in Kerala – and the rest from old colonial mansions.
Once I have decided on the pieces I will be purchasing, having a clear idea of its provenance, I give it to my team of six experienced restorers. After critical examination, the furniture may be clarified and polished, or lightly cleaned and renewed. Good judgement and the application of antique restoration best practices are the ideal way to enhance the value of antique colonial furniture.
Why Tanglin Shopping Centre?
This was a no-brainer. An iconic mall located in the prime Tanglin and Orchard Road shopping belt, it is known for its antiques, exotic artefacts, artwork and jewellery.
The key to success in our business (or any other business in Singapore, I believe), is to own the premises where you operate. For that reason, we purchased two units at Tanglin Shopping Centre. This was an important move, given our promise of a 100-percent buyback at the end of three years, as it projects a sense of continuity and permanence.
Would you do anything differently next time round?
I opened shop in October 2013, and honestly, the response has been beyond my wildest expectations. I have been truly humbled by the appreciation of both my furniture and the business model that I have introduced; the word-of-mouth publicity has been astounding.
Though it is still early days, nothing has come up so far to make me think that I should have done things differently. One important thing I have learnt, though, is that each person has completely unique likes and tastes. So, in order to be successful I should have no preconceived notions about what people are shopping for, but instead have a range as wide and diverse as possible to meet different tastes.
Anything in the pipeline for 2014?
All going to plan, I will expand to a second unit within Tanglin Shopping Centre. Also, I would like to establish a warehouse outlet where I can display a much wider range of furniture.