text:
Setting and Getting Property Values
The following examples assume $company is the root of a tree of data objects created from the schema and instance document shown above.
Пример #1 Access via property name
Data object properties can be accessed using the object property access syntax. The following sets the company name to 'Acme'.
$company->name = 'Acme';
Пример #2 Access via property name as array index
We can also access properties using associative array syntax. The simplest form of this uses the property name as the array index. For example, the following sets the company name and gets the employeeOfTheMonth.
$company['name'] = 'UltraCorp';
$eotm = $company['employeeOfTheMonth'];
Пример #3 Data Object iteration
We can iterate over the properties of a data object using foreach. The following iterates over the properties of the employee of the month.
$eotm = $company->employeeOfTheMonth;
foreach ($eotm as $name => $value) {
echo "$name: $value\n";
which will output:
name: Jane Doe SN: E0003
The 'manager' property is not output, because it has not been set.
Пример #4 Access many-valued property by name
Many-valued data object properties can also be accessed using the object property name syntax. The following gets the list of departments.
$departments = $company->departments;
Пример #5 Many-valued element access
We can access individual elements of many-valued properties using array syntax. The following accesses the first department in the company.
$ad_tech_dept = $company->departments[0];
Пример #6 Many-valued property iteration
Many-valued properties can also be iterated over using foreach. The following iterates over the company's departments.
foreach ($company->departments as $department) {
// ...
Each iteration will assign the next department in the list to the variable $department.
Пример #7 Chained property access
We can chain property references on a single line. The following sets and gets the name of the first department.
$company->departments[0]->name = 'Emerging Technologies';
$dept_name = $company->departments[0]->name;
Using the associative array syntax, this is equivalent to
$company['departments'][0]['name'] = 'Emerging Technologies';
$dept_name = $company['departments'][0]['name'];
In either case, the dept_name variable is set to 'Emerging Technologies'.
Пример #8 XPath navigation
The associative array index can be an XPath-like expression. Valid expressions are defined by an augmented sub-set of XPath.
Two forms of indexing into many-valued properties are supported. The first is the standard XPath array syntax with the indexing starting at one, the second is an SDO extension to XPath with an index starting at zero. The standard syntax is:
$jane_doe = $company["departments[1]/employees[2]"];
and the SDO XPath extension syntax is:
$jane_doe = $company["departments.0/employees.1"];
Both these examples get the second employee from the first department.
Пример #9 XPath querying
We can use XPath to query and identify parts of a data object based on instance data. The following retrieves the manager from the 'Advanced Technologies' department.
$ad_tech_mgr =
$company["departments[name='Advanced Technologies']/employees[manager=true]"];
Пример #10 Creating child data objects
A data object can be a factory for its child data objects. A child data object is automatically part of the data graph. The following add a new employee to the 'Advanced Technologies' department.
$ad_tech_dept = $company["departments[name='Advanced Technologies']"];
$new_hire = $ad_tech_dept->createDataObject('employees');
$new_hire->name = 'John Johnson';
$new_hire->SN = 'E0005';
$new_hire->manager = false;
Пример #11 Unset a primitive property
The following clears the name of the first department.
Пример #12 Unset a data object
unset can also be used to remove a data object from the tree. The following example shows John Jones leaving the company.
Пример #13 Unset a referenced data object
The following removes the 'employeeOfTheMonth' from the company. If this were a containment relationship then the employee would be removed from the company (probably not a good idea to sack your best employee each month!), but since this is a non-containment reference, the employee being referenced will remain in the department in the company, but will no longer be accessible via the employeeOfTheMonth property.
if (isset($company->employeeOfTheMonth)) {
Пример #14 Access via property index
Data object properties can be accessed via their property index using array syntax. The property index is the position at which the property's definition appears in the model (in this case the xml schema). We can see from the schema listing above that the company name attribute is the second company property (the SDO interface makes no distinction between XML attributes and elements). The following sets the company name to 'Acme', with the same result as Access via property name
$company[1] = 'Acme';
Using the index directly in this way is likely to be fragile. Normally the property name syntax should be preferred, but the property index may be required in special cases.


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Despite the recent attention focused on the roles of the nucleotide binding and oligomerization domain-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes, little is known about the ex vivo profile of inflammasome activation in type 2 diabetic patients. In this study, we investigated patterns of NLRP3 inflammasome activation in monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) from drug-naïve patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetic subjects had significantly increased mRNA and protein expression of NLRP3, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC), and proinflammatory cytokines in MDMs cultured with autologous sera compared with healthy controls. Upregulated interleukin (IL)-1β maturation, IL-18 secretion, and caspase-1 cleavage were observed in MDMs from type 2 diabetic patients after stimulation with various danger molecules (ATP, high-mobility group protein B1, free fatty acids, islet amyloid polypeptide, and monosodium uric acid crystals). Mitochondrial reactive oxygen species and NLRP3 were required for IL-1β synthesis in MDMs. Finally, 2 months of therapy with the antidiabetic drug metformin significantly inhibited the maturation of IL-1β in MDMs from patients with type 2 diabetes through AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation. Taken together, these data suggest that NLRP3 inflammasome activation is elevated in myeloid cells from type 2 diabetic patients and that antidiabetic treatment with metformin contributes to modulation of inflammasome activation in type 2 diabetes.
The prevalence of type 2 diabetes has increased worldwide, and it has become a global health burden because of its drastic cardiovascular complications (1,2). Thus, it is important to investigate the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. There is considerable evidence that chronic low-grade inflammation caused by activation of the innate immune system plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes and its major complications (3). Key mechanisms of hyperglycemia-induced inflammation include nuclear factor-κB–dependent production of proinflammatory cytokines, Toll-like receptor (TLR) expression, increased oxidative stress, and inflammasome activation (4,5). Innate immune cells, such as macrophages, can induce inflammatory responses through detection of a variety of pathogen- or damage-associated molecular patterns using innate sensors, i.e., membrane-bound TLRs or cytosolic Nod-like receptors (NLRs) (6). Emerging evidence suggests that activation of the nucleotide binding and oligomerization domain-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome leads to the maturation and secretion of interleukin (IL)-1β and is involved in the pathogenic mechanisms of obesity-induced inflammation, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes development (7–11). Whereas the importance of IL-1β in insulin resistance has been studied in animal models and human adipose tissues (12–15), the expression profiling of inflammasome activation in myeloid cells from type 2 diabetic patients has remained largely unexplored.
The NLRP3 inflammasome is the best-characterized inflammasome to date and acts as a molecular platform for IL-1β and IL-18 secretion (16). It contains the adaptor molecule apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC) and procaspase-1 (16,17). Because the NLRP3 inflammasome plays a pivotal role in the production of IL-1β in response to various danger molecular patterns, it is considered a rational and effective target for modulating the initiation and progression of various autoinflammatory and autoimmune disorders. Recent data also suggest that reactive oxygen species (ROS) derived from dysfunctional mitochondria are required for NLRP3 inflammasome activation, and so ROS exert an indirect effect on cellular metabolic pathways, including glycolysis (18). Moreover, there is growing evidence of close connections between inflammation, mitochondrial function, and insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes (19). Although the relationship between mitochondrial function and inflammation has been extensively characterized in skeletal muscle (19), it has not been characterized in myeloid cells from patients with type 2 diabetes.
Metformin is widely used to improve glycemic control in type 2 diabetic patients through inhibition of hepatic glucose production, gluconeogenesis, and insulin resistance (20). However, the precise roles of metformin in controlling type 2 diabetes have not been fully elucidated. In this study, we show that monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) from type 2 diabetic patients exhibit markedly increased mRNA and protein expression of NLRP3, IL-1β, and IL-18 compared with MDMs from healthy control subjects. The cleavage of caspase-1 and release of mature IL-1β were significantly elevated in diabetic patients being treated with various "danger signal" molecules, including ATP, high-mobility group protein B1 (HMGB1), free fatty acids (FFAs), islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP), and monosodium uric acid crystals (MSU). The diabetic subjects also had higher mitochondrial ROS production in monocyte populations. Some patients were followed-up after metformin treatment. Interestingly, after treatment with metformin for 2 months, patients showed significant inhibition of the synthesis and secretion of IL-1β and IL-18 in MDMs.
A total of 47 drug-naïve patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes (male/female, 31/16; age, 51.9 ± 11.8 years; HbA1c, 8.5% ± 2.3%) and 57 healthy controls (male/female, 39/18; age, 52.0 ± 8.3 years; HbA1c, 5.0% ± 0.3%) were enrolled (Table 1). Type 2 diabetes was diagnosed according to the American Diabetes Association diagnostic criteria (American Diabetes Association 2012). Patients who used medication, such as angiotensin II receptor blockers or statins, were excluded. The diabetic patients had elevated levels of fasting plasma glucose and HbA1c compared with healthy controls. According to the WHO Asia-Pacific classification for obesity (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2, Western Pacific Region WHO criteria on obesity) (21), patients with type 2 diabetes in the current study were obese (BMI = 25.3) (Table 1). Of the 47 diabetic patients, 11 were treated with metformin (500–1,000 mg/day) for 8 weeks and enrolled for additional experiments (male/female, 10/1; age, 45.6 ± 10.1 years; HbA1c 10.3 ± 2.0) (Table 2). The patients who were followed-up did not use any antidiabetic drugs other than metformin. The protocol for this research was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Chungnam National University Hospital and all of the participants provided written informed consent. The experimental protocol was performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.
Laboratory tests.
Blood chemistry and lipid profiles were measured using a blood chemistry analyzer (Hitachi 747; Hitachi, Tokyo, Japan). HbA1c was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA). Insulin and C-peptide were measured by radioimmunoassay (Roche, Penzberg, Germany). Homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance was calculated using the equation homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance = [fasting insulin (μU/mL) × fasting glucose (mmol/L)]/22.5.
Chemicals, antibodies, and DNA.
Lipopolysaccharide (LPS; Escherichia coli serotype 055:B5) and Pam3CSK4 were from InvivoGen (San Diego, CA). ATP disodium salt, DMSO (added to the cultures at 0.1% [volume/volume] as a solvent control), human IAPP, sodium palmitate, fatty acid-free bovine serum albumin (A8806), and metformin were from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO). For the experiments, FFAs were prepared by conjugation of sodium palmitate to bovine serum albumin, as described previously (10). The MSU crystals were washed twice with 100% ethanol, dried, resuspended in sterile PBS, and briefly sonicated (5,7). HMGB1 was from R&D Systems (Minneapolis, MN). The following inhibitors and chemicals were obtained from the sources shown: z-yVAD-fmk (Tocris Bioscience, Ellisville, MO), Mito-TEMPO (Enzo Life Sciences, Farmingdale, NY), protease inhibitor cocktails (1.5 μg/mL chymotrypsin, 0.8 μg/mL thermolysin, 1 mg/mL papain, 1.5 μg/mL pronase, 1.5 μg/mL pancreatic extract, and 2 ng/mL trypsin; Roche), and compound C (Calbiochem, San Diego, CA). For Western blotting analysis, human IL-1β (sc-7884), caspase-1 (sc-622, sc-514), NLRP3 (sc-34411), ASC (sc-22514), and β-actin (sc-1616) antibodies (Abs) were from Santa Cruz Biotechnology (Santa Cruz, CA). Human IL-1β (2021) and p-AMPKα (2535) Abs were from Cell Signaling Technology (Danvers, MA).
Isolation and culture of peripheral blood mononuclear cells and MDMs.
Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were freshly isolated from heparinized venous blood using Ficoll-Hypaque (Lymphoprep; Axis-Shield, Oslo, Norway) as described previously (22). Adherent CD14+ monocyte subpopulations were collected from PBMCs as described previously (22). Human MDMs were prepared by culturing peripheral blood monocytes for 5 days in the presence of 2 ng/mL human macrophage colony-stimulating factor (Sigma, St. Louis, MO), as described previously (22). Human PBMCs and MDMs were cultured in complete PRMI 1640 medium (Gibco-BRL, Grand Island, NY) with 10% pooled autologous human sera in which the complement components had been heat-inactivated.
RT-PCR analysis.
RNA was extracted from MDMs using TRIzol reagent (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA), as described previously (22). Total RNA was used for cDNA synthesis using an iScript cDNA Synthesis Kit (Bio-Rad). PCR was performed with a Veriti Thermal Cycler (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA) for 35 cycles with 45-s annealing steps at various temperatures, as follows: 58°C for Il1β, Nlrp3, Asc, and βactin; and 60°C for Tnfα, Il6, Il8, and Ccl2. The primer sequences are shown in Supplementary Table 1. Optical band data were analyzed semiquantitatively using an iCycler IQ Optical System (version 3.0a; Bio-Rad). Quantitative real-time RT-PCR was performed using power SYBR green PCR master mix (Applied Biosystems) on a real-time PCR system (Applied Biosystems, Naerum, Denmark), as described previously (22).
Western blotting, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and flow cytometric analysis.
Western blot analysis was performed using whole-cell lysates and cell supernatants, as described previously (22). To detect IL-1β and IL-18 production, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were performed for IL-1β (BD Pharmingen, San Diego, CA) and IL-18 (MBL International, Woburn, MA), according to the respective manufacturer's instructions. Mitochondrial ROS levels in PBMCs were measured by staining with MitoSOX (Invitrogen) at a concentration of 5 μmol/L for 30 min at 37°C. CD14+ monocyte subpopulations were gated using a FACSCanto II flow cytometer (BD Biosciences, San Jose, CA), as described previously (18).
Human lentiviral shRNA generation and transduction to primary cells.
To silence human NLRP3 and ASC in primary MDMs, pLKO.1-based lentiviral hNLRP3 shRNA constructs (RHS4533; clone ID, TRCN0000062723 to TRCN0000062727; NM_001079821) and hASC shRNA constructs (RHS4533; clone ID, TRCN0000059073 to TRCN0000059077; NM_013258) were obtained as glycerol stocks from Open Biosystems (Huntsville, AL). The production of lentiviruses and infection of MDMs with lentiviral vectors were performed as described previously (23).
Statistical analysis.
The results are expressed as means ± SEM or means ± SD (Tables 1 and 2). Differences between the two groups were analyzed by Mann-Whitney U test and Student paired or unpaired t tests. Spearman correlation was used to assess associations between variables. Statistical significance is indicated as P < 0.05, P < 0.01, and P < 0.001. All statistical analyses were performed using GraphPad Prism Software (version 5.0; GraphPad, San Diego, CA).
Increased expression of NLRP3, ASC, and proinflammatory cytokines in MDMs from patients with type 2 diabetes.
The ex vivo studies indicated that the expression levels of TLRs and their signaling were upregulated in terms of inflammatory cytokine production in monocytes from type 2 diabetic patients (24). However, the expressions of pro–IL-1β, NLRP3, and ASC have not been characterized in myeloid cells from patients with type 2 diabetes. Therefore, we examined the mRNA expression of Nlrp3, Asc, and proinflammatory cytokines in drug-naïve patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes. To minimize the influence of drugs that have been reported to alter cytokine production, patients who had used statins, anti-inflammatory drugs, or antidiabetic drugs were excluded.
We first assessed Il1β, Nlrp3, and Asc mRNA expression in MDMs from the 47 diabetic patients and 57 nondiabetic, healthy controls after stimulation with LPS (a TLR4 ligand). There were no significant differences in the numbers of PBMCs or CD4+, CD8+, CD14+, or CD56+ cells between patients and healthy controls (data not shown). After LPS stimulation, Il1β and Nlrp3 mRNA expression in MDMs was significantly increased in cells from patients with type 2 diabetes compared with cells from controls. Basal levels of Il1β, Nlrp3, and Asc mRNA expression were also significantly upregulated in patients (Fig. 1A). In addition, basal NLRP3 and ASC protein levels were elevated in MDMs from type 2 diabetic patients, compared with MDMs from controls (Fig. 1B; n = 10). Basal and LPS-induced production of IL-1β and IL-18 was significantly elevated in MDMs (Fig. 1C) and sera (Fig. 1D) from patients. Finally, when MDMs were stimulated with TLR2 (Pam3CSK4) and TLR4 agonists, the Il6, Il8, Tnfα, and Ccl2 mRNA levels were significantly upregulated in the MDMs from patients (Fig. 1E). These data suggest that in the initial phase of type 2 diabetes, patients show upregulation of inflammatory cytokine production and NLRP3 expression in their myeloid lineage cells compared with healthy controls.
Upregulated maturation of IL-1β and caspase-1 activation in MDMs and PBMCs from type 2 diabetic patients.
Various DAMP signals and heat shock proteins are significantly elevated in peripheral blood from type 2 diabetic patients (24). Because human monocytes exhibit constitutive caspase-1 cleavage and inflammasome activation (25), we assessed the activation of caspase-1 and IL-1β in MDMs. As shown in Fig. 2A, type 2 diabetic patients had significantly elevated levels of active p10 capase-1 fragment and mature IL-1β in LPS-primed MDMs before and after stimulation with different DAMP signals. We also found that IL-1β and IL-18 secretion levels, in the presence or absence of a variety of DAMP signals (ATP, MSU, FFAs, and IAPP), were markedly upregulated in the MDMs of type 2 diabetic patients compared with nondiabetic healthy controls (Fig. 2B and Supplementary Fig. 1A). Production of IL-1β and IL-18 was significantly reduced in MDMs by pretreatment with caspase-1 inhibitors, as determined by ELISA (Supplementary Fig. 1B). Production of neither tumor necrosis factor-α nor IL-8 was inhibited by caspase-1 inhibitors in either group (data not shown). Similar upregulations of IL-1β and IL-18 levels were observed in PBMCs from patients (Supplementary Fig. 1C).
Several clinical criteria (BMI, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance, HbA1c, and LDL cholesterol) were significantly increased in type 2 diabetic patients compared with controls (Table 1). However, there was no significant correlation between IL-1β expression and BMI (P > 0.05) or age (P > 0.05) in type 2 diabetic patients. These results indicate that caspase-1 cleavage and IL-1β maturation are upregulated in the MDMs and PBMCs of type 2 diabetic patients.
Mitochondrial ROS and NLRP3 are required for IL-1β synthesis in MDMs and PBMCs from type 2 diabetic patients.
Several mechanisms have been suggested to explain the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. Recently, ROS derived from mitochondria have been implicated in NLRP3 inflammasome activation (18,26). In addition, mitochondrial ROS play essential roles in the progression of diabetes and its complications (27). We further investigated whether inflammasome stimuli can increase mitochondrial ROS generation in CD14+ cell fractions of PBMCs, and whether this was greater in type 2 diabetic patients than in healthy controls. Mitochondrial ROS generation in LPS-primed PBMCs stimulated with ATP or HMGB1 was higher in cells from type 2 diabetic patients than in cells from healthy controls (Fig. 3A).
We further investigated whether mitochondrial ROS and NLRP3 are required for IL-1β secretion in MDMs. As shown in Fig. 3B, pretreatment with the mitochondria-targeting antioxidant Mito-TEMPO, which inhibits mitochondrial ROS production, significantly inhibited ATP-induced and HMGB1-induced IL-1β and IL-18 secretion in LPS-primed MDMs from both groups (n = 5). Moreover, we transduced MDMs with shRNA specific for hNLRP3 or hASC to silence the expression of NLRP3 in MDMs (Fig. 3C, inset). The shRNA-mediated knockdown of NLRP3 or ASC significantly attenuated IL-1β production in response to inflammasome stimuli in LPS-primed MDMs (Fig. 3C). These data suggest that the monocyte fractions of PBMCs from type 2 diabetic patients have elevated mitochondrial ROS levels.
Treatment of type 2 diabetes with metformin for 2 months significantly improves clinical findings, concurrent with decreases in caspase-1 cleavage and activation of IL-1β.
Next, we investigated whether metformin treatment would affect the responsiveness of PBMCs and MDMs to inflammasome stimuli. Eleven type 2 diabetic patients treated with the oral antidiabetic drug metformin (monotherapy, 500–1,000 mg) were followed-up for inflammasome activation profiles. The clinical characteristics of the patients are shown in Table 2. There was no significant difference between the values of BMI at baseline (BMI 25.5 ± 1.7) and after treatment (BMI 25.6 ± 1.9) among the follow-up patients. However, HbA1c and fasting glucose levels were significantly reduced in patients after 2 months of metformin therapy (P < 0.01, for HbA1c; P < 0.05, for fasting glucose).
After 2 months of treatment, MDMs from patients showed significantly decreased levels of IL-1β maturation and caspase-1 cleavage before and after exposure to inflammasome stimuli (Fig. 4A; ATP and FFAs). In addition, IL-1β and IL-18 production after stimulation with ATP, MSU, and FFAs was significantly downregulated (Fig. 4B and C). Similar IL-1β and IL-18 downregulation after stimulation with LPS and ATP was observed in their PBMCs, reaching levels comparable with those of healthy controls (Supplementary Fig. 2). These data suggest that metformin therapy contributes to the regulation of inflammasome activation in MDMs and PBMCs from type 2 diabetic patients by modulating mitochondrial ROS generation.
The antidiabetic drug metformin inhibits IL-1β and IL-18 production through activation of the AMPK pathway.
Next, we investigated whether metformin treatment would affect the synthesis and secretion of IL-1β and IL-18 in MDMs, and we investigated the mechanisms by which metformin modulates inflammasome activation in MDMs. We first examined whether metformin treatment would inhibit ATP-induced IL-1β and IL-18 mRNA expression and protein synthesis in MDMs primed with LPS in the presence of a high glucose concentration (15 mmol/L). As shown in Fig. 5A and B, metformin dose-dependently inhibited IL-1β and IL-18 mRNA expression and protein synthesis in MDMs after LPS priming and stimulation with ATP. A similar metformin-mediated reduction in proinflammatory cytokines was observed in PBMCs (data not shown). We also examined the metformin-dependent modulation of IL-1β maturation in MDMs after treatment with LPS plus ATP. As shown in Fig. 5C, the increased IL-1β maturation induced by ATP or MSU stimulation in LPS-primed MDMs was attenuated by metformin treatment. Moreover, the MSU-mediated and FFA-mediated production of IL-1β and IL-18 in LPS-primed MDMs was significantly abrogated by metformin treatment (Fig. 5D).
Recent studies have shown that AMPK is activated in the adipose tissue of type 2 diabetic patients treated with metformin (28). We first examined whether inflammasome stimuli would affect the activation of AMPK in MDMs. AMPK was constitutively phosphorylated in MDMs, and levels of AMPK phosphorylation were significantly inhibited in MDMs after stimulation with LPS and ATP (Supplementary Fig. 3A). Then, we examined whether metformin treatment would activate the AMPK pathway in MDMs. As shown in Supplementary Fig. 3B, metformin substantially enhanced phosphorylation of the AMPKα subunit in LPS-primed MDMs after stimulation with ATP or MSU. Furthermore, blockade of the AMPK pathway by the specific pharmacological inhibitor compound C or shRNA against AMPK significantly counteracted the metformin-dependent attenuation of IL-1β and IL-18 production in MDMs (Fig. 6A and B). Finally, type 2 diabetic patients showed increased AMPK activation in their MDMs after 2 months of metformin therapy (Fig. 6C). Thus, metformin inhibits inflammasome activation in type 2 diabetic patients through the AMPK pathway.
Chronic inflammation and inflammasome activation play roles in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes (2,29,30). NLRP3 is a member of the NLR family, which is responsible for cytosolic inflammasome activation. The NLRP3 inflammasome has been the focus of particular attention with regard to its roles in inflammatory responses, antimicrobial responses, and a variety of human diseases, including hereditary autoinflammatory syndromes, atherosclerosis, and diabetes (7,22,30,31). Recently, obesity-induced danger signals have been reported to activate the NLRP3 inflammasome and induce the production of IL-1β in adipose tissue in type 2 diabetic patients and mice fed a high-fat diet (9). Circulating levels of C-X-C motif chemokine 10 and CCL2, as well as interferon-γ mRNA and protein levels in adipose tissue, were significantly reduced in NLRP3-deficient mice, suggesting that the NLRP3 inflammasome plays a role in the macrophage–T-cell interactions that are associated with sustained levels of chronic inflammation in obesity-induced metabolic diseases (9). Moreover, the saturated fatty acid palmitate induces activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome in hematopoietic cells, which is responsible for the impairment of insulin signaling and inhibition of glucose tolerance in mice (10).
Although these findings suggest a strong association between the NLRP3 inflammasome and the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes, whether the levels of mature IL-1β and IL-18 are elevated in hematopoietic cells in type 2 diabetic patients, and whether their levels are reduced after antidiabetic treatment, have not been reported. Here, we present clear evidence that type 2 diabetic patients show elevated levels of NLRP3, ASC, IL-1β, and IL-18 mRNA and protein expression in PBMCs and MDMs. The current study also showed that MDMs from patients with type 2 diabetes have increased activation of caspase-1, maturation of IL-1β, and levels of IL-18 compared with those from healthy controls. We observed that the secretion and maturation of IL-1β were significantly increased in MDMs under high-glucose conditions (data not shown). Previous studies showed that ex vivo culture of monocytes with high glucose levels induces TLR2 and TLR4 expression (24). Additionally, type 2 diabetic patients have elevated TLR2 and TLR4 expression and elevated activation of TLR signaling (24). Moreover, levels of endotoxin, the best-known TLR4-activating ligand, are reported to be increased in type 2 diabetic patients (24). The circulating levels of other danger molecules that activate TLR signals, including HMGB1, heat shock proteins, and hyaluronan (32), are known to be increased in type 2 diabetic patients (24). We observed that HMGB1 and endotoxin levels were significantly elevated in sera from type 2 diabetic patients compared with sera from healthy controls (data not shown). Taken together, our data strongly suggest that endogenous danger molecules are systemically elevated in type 2 diabetes, leading to an intrinsic inflammasome-activating status characterized by elevated basal NLRP3 and ASC expression in MDMs and elevated serum IL-1β and IL-18 levels.
Recent studies have indicated that mitochondria, as the main source of inflammasome-activating ROS, deliver signals for activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome (18,30). A number of studies also have indicated that an altered redox potential and oxidative stress are highly associated with risk factors for type 2 diabetes and its complications (33,34). However, it has not been determined whether hematopoietic cells from patients during the initial stages of type 2 diabetes development have increased mitochondrial ROS generation in response to inflammasome stimuli. In the current study, we observed that monocyte fractions of PBMCs from type 2 diabetic patients showed elevated production of mitochondrial ROS before and after treatment with NLRP3 inflammasome stimuli, suggesting that the increased production of mitochondrial ROS influences NLRP3 inflammasome activation in type 2 diabetic patients. The inhibition of mitochondrial ROS by pharmaceutical inhibitors significantly decreased IL-1β and IL-18 secretion in LPS-primed MDMs from type 2 diabetic patients, suggesting that mitochondrial ROS are responsible for the inflammasome activation in type 2 diabetic patients.
Defective mitochondrial homeostasis in macrophages results in increases in mitochondrial ROS production, thus rendering mitochondria more susceptible to damage by inflammasome stimuli (18). Moreover, mitochondrial ROS generation and mitochondrial membrane permeability transition are required for caspase-1 activation and increased IL-1β secretion (18). Recent studies further suggest that intracellular ROS are required for the association of NLRP3 with thioredoxin-interacting protein, also known as vitamin D3-upregulated protein 1, which plays an important role in NLRP3 inflammasome activation in macrophages (5,7). The mitochondrial outer membrane protein voltage-dependent anion channel, the major channel controlling the flux of metabolites between mitochondria and other cellular compartments (35), is required for NLRP3 inflammasome activation (26). Interestingly, patients with tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated periodic syndrome, an autoinflammatory disorder caused by missense mutations in the type 1 tumor necrosis factor receptor, have elevated mitochondrial ROS levels, which are responsible for the stronger inflammatory responses to LPS (36). Thus, ROS produced by mitochondria play a role in the upregulation of inflammatory responses by acting as signal-transducing molecules (37).
Interestingly, cells obtained from type 2 diabetic patients after 2 months of metformin therapy showed lower levels of inflammatory cytokine production in response to inflammasome stimulation compared with both those initial-phase cells and the levels in healthy controls. Moreover, this treatment also increased AMPK activation in their MDMs. The therapeutic actions of metformin have been suggested to be mediated by activation of the hepatic AMPK pathway. Earlier studies showed that treatment with metformin for 10 weeks significantly increased AMPK activity and Thr172 phosphorylation in skeletal muscle (38). It was demonstrated that adipose AMPK activity was increased in type 2 diabetic patients after metformin treatment and that metformin stimulated phosphorylation of AMPK at Thr172 in 3T3-L1 adipocytes (28). Another recent study showed that metformin downregulates nuclear factor-κB and Bax expression and also specifically suppresses cellular metabolic memory during hyperglycemic stress through SIRT1/LKB1/AMPK pathway activation (39). Metformin has been reported to decrease hepatic glucose production, thereby activating AMPK, reducing fatty liver, and decreasing microvascular and macrovascular complications associated with type 2 diabetes (40). Several studies also have suggested additional benefits of metformin beyond hypoglycemic effects, including improvement of vascular function, regulation of vaspin levels and ovary function in polycystic ovary syndrome, adjuvant treatment for cancer, and disease prevention in prediabetic populations (41–43). The anti-inflammatory effect of metformin also was demonstrated in neutrophils and acute lung injury mediated by mitochondrial complex I inhibition (44). Taken together, these observations suggest that metformin therapy regulates circulating IL-1β levels and inflammasome activation in immune cells from type 2 diabetic patients through modulation of mitochondrial function and activation of the AMPK pathway.
In summary, our data suggest that NLRP3 inflammasome activation is associated with the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. Our findings may provide new avenues for antidiabetic therapies, not only against type 2 diabetes but also in a variety of metabolic and inflammatory diseases.
See accompanying commentary, p. 22.
This work was supported by a grant from the Korea Healthcare Technology R&D Project, Ministry for Health, Welfare & Family Affairs, Republic of Korea (A100588), and by the Korea Science & Engineering Foundation through the Infection Signaling Network Research Center (2012-0005763) at Chungnam National University.
No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.
H.-M.L., J.-J.K., H.J.K., B.J.K., and E.-K.J. researched data. H.-M.L., B.J.K., and E.-K.J. contributed to discussion, wrote the manuscript, and reviewed and edited the manuscript. J.-J.K., H.J.K., and M.S. contributed to discussion. E.-K.J. is the guarantor of this work, and as such, had full access to all the data in the study, and takes responsibility for the integrity of data and the accuracy of data analysis.
The authors are grateful to Dr. Heung-Sik Choi (Chonnam National University) for helpful discussion and to Tae Sung Kim and Jin Kyung Kim (Chungnam National University) for excellent technical suggestions.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Facial Oil With Pomegranate
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Ingredients Featured Ingredients
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Organic olive oil – contains the same healthy fats as avocado and moisturizes skin with vitamins A and E.
Ingredient List
Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil*, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil*, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf/Stem Oil*, Punica Granatum Seed Oil (Pomegranate)*, Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil*, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil*, Cananga Odorata Flower Oil (Ylang Ylang)*, Salvia Sclarea Oil (Sage Clary)*, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil (Geranium)*, Citrus Reticulata (Tangerine) Peel Oil*, Citrus Aurantium Amara (Bitter Orange) Leaf/Twig Oil*, Linalool †, Limonene †, Geraniol †
*Organic ingredient
†A natural component of essential oils
Benefits Properties
USDA certified organic
95% or more organic content
Not tested on animals
EcoCert COSMOS Certified
Helps provide instant hydration
Reduces dryness
Nourishes skin for a softer, smoother appearance
How To Use Directions
- Warm 2-3 drops in palms.
- Gently massage onto cleansed face and neck morning and night.


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How to Install flock web browser in Ubuntu Hardy
Sponsored Link
Flock Features
Flock 1.1 integrates social networking and media services including Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr, Blogger, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, etc.[3] When logging into any of the supported social services, Flock automatically activates these services within its features
- Flock can indicate when friends have updated their profile, uploaded photos or other items.
- Flock has internal features that allow sharing of text, links, photos and videos.
- Flock has its own "media bar" allowing preview of online videos and photos, and subscription to photo and video feeds.
- Flock's Feed Reader organizes Atom and RSS feeds.
- Flock's Blog Editor allows direct posting into a designated blog, along with being a blog reader.
- Flock's web mail component allows users to check web-based mail without going to the site, compose new messages, and drag and drop pictures and videos from the mediabar or webclipboard into a new email messege.
- Flock also allows for third-party add-ons, including a number of Firefox extensions.
Note:-- This source list will install some packages from third party source list so it might break your system
Install Flock web browser in Ubuntu Hardy
First you need to edit the /etc/apt/sources.list file
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
add the following lines
deb http://www.salatti.net/repo/ hardy-salatti main contrib non-free
deb-src http://www.salatti.net/repo/ hardy-salatti main contrib non-free
save and exit the file.
Update the sourcelist using the following command
sudo aptitude update
And install Flock using the following command
sudo aptitude install flock
Using Flock
If you want to open flock browser go to Applications--->Internet--->Flock
When you open first time you should see similar to the following screen select your option and click on next
Flock web browser in action
Flock web browser version details


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Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more.
A charitable non-profit with a copy of their 501C3 letter from the Internal Revenue Service is exempt from the tax, but not from registering with the City. Please note that not every not-for-profit corporation meets the criteria to be exempt from tax. Further information can be found in the City's Code of Ordinances Section 9 - 1.
Show All Answers
The method by which the City Council grants the privilege of engaging in or managing any business, profession or occupation within its jurisdiction.
Any profession regulated by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, or any board or commission thereof, the Florida Supreme Court, the Florida Department of Insurance, or the Florida Department of Banking and Finance, must exhibit an active state certificate, registration, or license, or proof of copy of the same.
Any person who maintains a permanent business location or branch office within the City, for the privilege of engaging in or managing any business, profession or occupation within the City. After receiving your local business tax receipt from the City you must obtain one from Orange County.
The fee for October through September is $154.26. Prorated quarterly:
The professional local business tax receipt fee is $15.43. This is the fee per person in a Maitland business who needs a license or certification to perform their job duties (see City Code section 9-14.1.)
The State of Florida has established the tax year as October 1 through September 30. Invoices for the next tax year are mailed the last week of June and are due September 30 or the next business day thereafter, should September 30 fall on a weekend. Penalties are then added as follows:
Failure to receive an invoice is not a valid reason for nonpayment of your local business tax.
Please visit the Orange County Property Appraiser's website to search for your location address. Some locations with a Maitland mailing address are actually in Seminole County and not part of the City of Maitland. If your location is not in the City of Maitland, you will need to contact the appropriate taxing authority for your location to obtain a local business tax receipt.
Yes, any business that is in the city must have a receipt.
Yes, every business entity listed with the State of Florida that is located in the City of Maitland needs to obtain a local business tax receipt. This includes corporate entities that have been set up as holding/investment/"pass-through" entities.
For local business tax receipt information, send an email to firstname.lastname@example.com or call 407-539-6213. Application for a local Business Tax Receipt are made through the Online Permitting website: www.itsmymaitland.com/btr
The applications go through an approval process and may take up to two weeks to process. Please check with the Planning and Zoning Department by calling 407-539-6215 to verify that your business is an approved use for your zoning location prior to completing the application.
Yes. You will need to obtain a receipt from Maitland and from Orange County. Please notify your previous city and county that you have moved.
Yes, you will need to obtain an Orange County local business tax receipt after you have your Maitland tax receipt. You may call 407-836-5650 or visit the Orange County Tax Collector's website for more information.
Yes. You will be responsible for payment of up to three previous years' business tax, plus the current year. After obtaining your Maitland business tax receipt, Orange County may also require payment of previous years' taxes.
Yes. Your business tax receipt(s) must be displayed conspicuously at the place of business so that it is visible to the public. It must be available for inspection. When not operating from a fixed place of business the person shall keep the business tax receipt upon his/her person at all times while engaging in the business, occupation, or profession for which it is issued.
If your business will use any name other than the owner's legal name or a properly registered corporate name, a fictitious name (also referred to as a D/B/A) must be registered with the state. Each D/B/A will need a receipt. Additional information is available from the Florida Department of State Fictitious Name Registration:P.O. Box 1300Tallahassee, FL 32302
You may visit the Division of Corporations website or call them at 850-245-6058.
Persons 65 years of age or older, with not more than one employee or helper, and who use only their own capital, not in excess of $1,000, may engage in any business or occupation in counties in which they live without being required to pay a business tax. Proof of the right to the exemption shall be made. Any person entitled to the exemption shall upon application and furnishing of the proof will be issued a receipt.


text: Kentuckians concerned with agriculture, business and education spoke out in favor of the latest federal immigration proposal during a phone conference organized by the Partnership for a New American Economy.The immigration proposal is being considered in the U.S. Senate, thanks to a compromise by a group of eight senators from both political parties.The plan would create a 13-year path to citizens, expand work visas and attempts to tighten border security.H.H. Barlow, a dairy farmer in Barren County, says he supports the compromise because farms like his need more immigrant workers in Kentucky."And immigration, immigrant labor greatly impact all facets of livestock from dairy, beef, horse, the chicken industry and obviously our tobacco industry."Barrows says he's had trouble getting American citizens to do the farm labor for years and that more immigrant work visas would solve that problem.Other supporters included Kentuckians whose businesses have had trouble getting work visas for employees in science and math sectors and those in education.Trey Grayson, a former Kentucky Secretary of State and current Director of Harvard's Institute on Politics, says the keep plan will help keep bright minds in Kentucky to create jobs."But too often because the immigration system is broken right now, they can't stay in Kentucky, they can't stay in America. And so they go back home and start their businesses or take their brain power to businesses in their home country or other countries, so we've lost out on that opportunity," Grayson says.The Senate proposal for immigration reform was released today.


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When a script times out, and there is nothing you can do about it ( cause it's running on a bloddy shared hosted resource where you have 0 control over the script time-outs ), can you run register shutdown or something to that effect?
You may ask what on earth does this question have to with wordpress...
Well, it kind of does.
in my migration routine, I process a 10,000 record table and do some heavy duty parsing. I have to do select * cause I need everything there. The page eventually times out. Next time I run the same page I get a Allowed memory size of 33554432 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 9967617 bytes) in ...\wp-includes\functions.php on line 3335
No plug ins involved, no settings changed. I can generate this error whenever I want. So don't say check your last actions & plug ins and all that pls. This is on a vanilla version, the one you get after the 5 min install.
Well, my first instinct was to run the mysql_free_result over that RS!
but the question is at what point? the perfect point for this would be just before the time out occurs. Thus the need for shutdown function... but the question is how do I make it in there?


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My son came up with a list of his minecraft buddies and we announced a date for the workshop. Everybody invited for the workshop confirmed their presence right away. I found out that both the invited kids and their parents were equally excited. One friend could not attend because of a prior commitment and was extremely disappointed. On the day of the workshop, some kids were eager to come even before the formal start of the workshop.
Java SE 10.0.1is the latest update to the Java Platform. It…
Fun, Easy, Quick, Awesome, Short, and Intuitive described attendees one word summary of building and running their first Hello World application using NetBeans.
By Arun Gupta, originally published on hisblog.
Thank g Java to build the game! Youve provided a great platform for young kids to learn Java and truly enabled Make The Future Java …
My son expressed his desire to write a mod and so we started exploring further. Then onwards, he started teaching me Minecraft vocabulary and I taught him the Java programming concepts. Our discussions in the car, on the dinner table, during the breakfast preparation, and elsewhere changed to reflect that as well. He already played withScratchandGreenfootlast Summer and that was extremely helpful during this learning curve. We set up a goal to build a mod during Christmas break. After understanding the basic concepts and building a few mods, we decided to share the knowledge with a broader set of Minecrafters. And thats where the concept of doing a Minecraft Workshop was born.
The workshop was attended by 10 kids with age ranging from 10-14 years. Most of the kids had no programming experience, let alone Java. However there was high Minecraft experience in the group with some kids playing for about 2 years and up to 2 hours every day. When given the topic of Minecraft, the small group would talk excitedly about different aspects of the game, constantly using hundreds of game-specific terms and phrases as if speaking a different language. My goal was to leverage their passion and introduce them to Java programming.
Although the goal of the workshop was to get an introduction on programming and make a Minecraft mod, I believe the attendees learned much more than that. I think the informal set up helped them discover that programming can be fun and useful to add to gaming experience. Programming is a vast field and we barely scratched the surface. But most importantly, the attendees had a good time and learned their first lesson of Java programming to start off an interest in it.
The game has a server and a client component. This allows the game to be played in a single player mode where a player connects to a server using a client and plays the game. Alternatively multiple players, using different clients across platforms, can connect to a server and play with each other collaboratively. Its very common to have a server run with multiple mods. There are almost an infinite number of mods someone could do to make Minecraft a more amusing game to play. There is no official API to create these mods but there are several third-party vendors that provide that capability;Bukkitis one such API. The ability to write mods and alter the game play gives players more control over the game and gets them more excited.
By Andrew Binstock, Editor in Chief, Java Magazine When…
My son has been playing the game for about a year, lets say addicted to it. Last Fall he told me that the game is corrupted because the JAR file snapshot has messed up the configuration. And that right away rang a bell in me as a Java Evangelist at Oracle.
One of the lessons learned during the workshop was to simplify the installation experience. All the kids had JDK and NetBeans set up already, pretty straight forward. However I wonder why Maven insists on JAVA_HOME variable instead of figuring it out. I need to investigate how to seamlessly install JDK, NetBeans, and Maven in a platform independent way. This will allow to focus more on building the actual mod rather than the multi-step installations.
Short anecdotes and side-conversations kept the livelihood of the group going throughout the five hour programming session. There are almost an infinite number of mods someone could do to make Minecraft a more amusing game to play. But all these mods hold the same basic framework that we set up for any future work on making game-specific mods. By the end of the session, we had worked out an entire framework for making a mod. AMaven archetypeto create a templateBukkit pluginallowed the attendees to avoid writing boilerplate code. A lower bar to get started and simplicity was the key for this audience. The mod built in the workshop added a new server-side command and printed a trivial message.
All the instructions followed in the workshop, including a lot more pictures, are available at.
Thank you to Arun Gupta, whose passion for Java is boundless! You can read his blog /arungupta.
For me, it was quite a humbling and learning experience. Ive delivered multiple workshops all around the world but mostly to professional developers. I realized how the instructions need to be completely spelled out in order for the attendees of this age to make progress. Something as simple as Hit Enter after entering the command, yes, that is required. Anyway I plan this to be the first of many more workshops aimed to introduce the world of Java programming to school students.
I learned from him that the game is written in Java, has a trial version that runs as an applet in the browser, and downloaded as a JAR file for desktop. The game is modular where the players travel through a world and chunks are loaded and unloaded to keep the memory footprint small. Something unique about the game is the ability to modify the game from what it was originally designed for. In Minecraft language, this is called as a mod – short for modifications. For example, a mod can add new characters to the game, change look-and-feel of the play field, or make it easy to build new structures.
My son has been playing the game for about a year, lets say addicted to it. Last Fall he told me that the game is corrupted because the JAR file snapshot has messed up the configuration. And that right away rang a bell in me as a Java Evangelist at Oracle.
By Java Magazine Editor Andrew Binstock Reactive programming…
Minecraftis a wildly popular game among elementary and middle schoolers. The game allows players to build constructions of textured cubes in a 3D world.
The challenge for me was to introduce programming to these kids using analogies from the daily life. Using a car, features, capabilities, types, and car dealers and correlating with class, properties, methods, instances, and packages seem to work. Fruits and different methods of peeling, eating, and planting was used to introduce the concept of Interface in Java. I asked, What can you do with a watermelon? the first answer was obvious, you can eat it. The second one was a little less so, You can chuck in a trash can. The response was greeted with scattered laughter. I used that to explain the concept of Exceptions in Java.
This workshop was not possible without mentoring support from Allen Dutra and other parents. A huge shout out to my family who helped validate and calibrate my strategy for the audience. My nephews feedback from the lab is incorporated into this blog. Thanks to Oracle for sponsoring the snacks!


text:
I'm still not officially back :) but a reader from Canada had a question in the comments here, which I cannot answer. So, I ask any Canadian residents out there. Do you know of any Canadian sources (or places that will ship food items to Canada) for Japanese food, specifically umeboshi?
I am going to try to compile a worldwide Japanese shopping source list soon, since this type of question does come up all the time.
(For umeboshi specifically, if you can't find it locally at an Asian or Japanese grocery, I'd also try health stores since umeboshi is a highly revered food amongst the macrobiotic set.)
OK, let me shuffle back to the inert/letting the antibiotics do their job state now....


text:
Lemon is such a bright, potent flavor that it will shine in any recipe that you use it in. It's fun to make lemon desserts like layer cakes and lemon meringue pies that both showcase lemon and are also showstoppers. But I find that I don't always need a showstopper dessert. Sometimes I just want something simple that still has a lot of flavor. This Lemon Loaf Cake may look and sound plain, and may not steal the spotlight from a mile high meringue pie, but no lemon-lover will be disappointed with the flavor in this everyday cake.
The cake is very simple to make and, if you have a couple of lemons in your kitchen, you probably already have all the ingredients to make it on hand already. The cake is light, tender and very moist, with a pronounced lemon flavor. It is made with a generous amount of fresh lemon juice and zest, so the lemon flavor that you get is bright and fresh. I add a hint of vanilla to my cake, as well, though if you are a lemon purist you can omit it from yours. Don't be tempted to use bottled juice or lemon extract in this cake, as you won't get quite the same finished product as you will with the fresh citrus fruit.
I'll serve this cake any time of day, both for breakfast and as a dessert. It is fantastic with coffee (you might be surprised by how many coffees have citrus notes in them) and, of course, goes very well with tea. I typically leave this cake unfrosted, but a drizzle of simple lemon icing made with confectioners' sugar and more lemon juice is a nice way to dress it up a little bit if you want to show it off. The cake keeps very well when stored in an airtight container or when well-wrapped with plastic wrap, so you should be able to enjoy it for several days after baking.
Everyday Lemon Loaf Cake
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tbsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×5-inch baking pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, lemon zest and vanilla extract. Stir in half of the flour mixture, followed by the lemon juice. Stir in remaining flour mixture and mix until no streaks of dry ingredients remain visible.
Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then turn cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 1 loaf.


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This company is a nationwide service provider.
South Dakota Diagnostic Equipment Ultrasound Machine Rentals Sioux Falls Medical Devices For Rent
Louisville Diagnostic Equipment Ultrasound Machine Rentals Kentucky Medical Devices For Rent
Kansas City Diagnostic Equipment Ultrasound Machine Rentals Missouri Medical Devices For Rent
Billings Diagnostic Equipment Ultrasound Machine Rentals Montana Medical Devices For Rent
Business to Business Only
North Carolina Urology Table Rental - Surgical Table Rentals - Charlotte Medical Imaging Table For Rent
Brachytherapy C-Arm table rentals in Charlotte, NC. The narrow Fiberesin tabletop of the Brachytherapy C-Arm Table Model 810 is cantilevered to accommodate portable or ceiling suspended C-Arms. Radiolucent areas are free of cross members, allowing full fluoroscopic visualization and unobsructed C-Arm positioning. Functional design provides complete access while minimizing radiation exposure to clinicians. KenQuest Medical was established in 1985 and provides the medical industry with a resource for quality new and pre-owned medical equipment, excellent personalized service, and the best absolute value. They are a distributor of new and pre-owned Ultrasound Machine rentals for hospitals, radiology departments, imaging centers, orthopedic surgeons and clinics in Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Durham, Fayetteville, Cary, Wilmington, High Point, Greenville, and all of North Carolina.
Designed an equipped specifically for seed implantation procedures, the Brachytherapy C-Arm Table features a radiolucent extension that provides capability for brachytherapy treatment involving the upper body, as well as other general C-Arm applications. Motorized actuation of height, X-Y, lateral roll and Trendelenburg motions of the tabletop, with pre-programmed features, ensure quick and safe tabletop positioning during any phase of a procedure.
Biodex 810 Brachytherapy Table
- Large radiolucent area, 54" x 17.5"
- Fowler positioning (0° to 80°)
- Five-axis motorized tabletop positioning
- Four convenient positioning controllers (main panel control, joystick control with variable speed, hand-held controller and foot controller)
- Smooth starts and stops programmed into all motorized movements
- Low profile base for C-Arm clearance
- Accessory rails
- Both AC and battery power are standard
For more information about renting, leasing, lease to own, or rent to own options available for Surgical Tables please contact Kenquest and request a quote if you would like additional information on their different rental programs.
An operating table system is basically made up of three components: an operating table column, the table top and the transporter. Modern operating table systems are available as both stationary and mobile units. There are a wide range of table tops that can be used for both general surgery and for specialist disciplines. Mobile operating tables, however, tend to be equipped with a specific discipline in mind. The base, column and table top form a unit.
Related Rental Listings


text:
The advantage of this popular woodworking project plan is its straightforward format. Clear, step-by-step instructions are supported with in-progress photographs, exploded diagrams and where necessary, full-size traceable patterns.
Thoughtfully developed, the plan is appropriate for any skill level and includes a complete material list and convenient cutting schedule.
This storage bin measures 40" tall by 19" wide by 12" deep.


text:
Clear questions and runnable code get the best and fastest answer |
PerlMonks |
Re: And now write 100 times: "I'll automate our test-environment"by flyingmoose (Priest) |
on May 12, 2004 at 19:27 UTC ( [id://352868] : note . print w/replies, xml ) | Need Help?? |
Automation can never hurt, but it is never a replacement for real human testing. And you can easily get into situations that are not cleanly testable -- scalability of large distributed apps, machine dependancy, kernel dependancy, timing issues only seen in real world apps, whitebox mentality of end users, firmware or driver involvement in some cases, etc, can result in test automation that requires a huge farm of available hardware. It depends on what kind of code you write, I guess, but in my case (at least), I see a lot of code (not just Perl) that does not fit cleanly into automated test frameworks. Moral of the story -- know when to use automated testing, as well as when automated testing is not the only solution. Obviously having an organization that doesn't agree to spend cycles in Q/A is a bad one in need of fixing!
In Section


text:
Vin Scully, from Saturday's telecast:
I'll always remember when Walter Alston won the World Championship in 1955. He was from a little town in Ohio, Darrtown, Ohio. I sent him a Christmas card. And so help me, it came back "address unknown."He was that modest a guy.
Let's go back to this one.
Elsewhere: Alston dies at age of 72 (Lodi News-Sentinel)


text:
CNN — A South Carolina sheriff is refusing to lower the American flag in tribute to Nelson Mandela, saying the honor should be reserved for American citizens.
President Barack Obama ordered flags lowered to half-staff for the international icon until sunset Monday.
But Pickens County Sheriff Rick Clark says not in his department.
"It's just my simple opinion that the flag should only be lowered to half-staff for Americans who sacrificed for their country," Clark told CNN affiliate WHNS.
It should be lowered at the U.S. Embassy in South Africa, he said, but not at home.
The flag in his department was lowered over the weekend to honor a fallen law enforcement officer and for Pearl Harbor Day. But it will stay up Sunday, he said.
"I have no problem lowering it in South Africa in their country but not for our country. It should be the people who have sacrificed for our country."
A spokesman for the department said the sheriff cannot be disciplined.
"He's not breaking a law. It's his decision. And I support the decision of the sheriff," Chief Deputy Creed Hashe said.
Mandela became the symbol of the fight against racial discrimination in South Africa and served 27 years behind bars for defying the apartheid government. He died Thursday at age 95.
Though rare, the lowering of flags for foreign citizens is nothing new.
George W. Bush did it for Pope John Paul II eight years ago. Bill Clinton did it when former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in the 1990s.
In fact, the practice goes as far back as 1965, when President Lyndon Johnson ordered flags lowered for former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
But not all world leaders get the honor.
This year, Obama issued a statement expressing his condolences for the death of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. But he did not order the flag lowered.
American presidents can issue the executive order at their discretion, the Flag Code states. In general, presidents reserve the honor for major national figures, including governors and foreign dignitaries.
The code says it's only a guide and it does not offer penalties for noncompliance.
CNN's Nick Valencia contributed to this report.
™ & © 2013 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.


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Golden Dawn is the Greek neonazi party that won 7 percent of
the vote in elections for the Greek parliament earlier this year. The party is
notorious for its physical attacks against immigrants and political opponents,
yet recent opinion polls in Greece put its popularity at 22 percent.
Now Golden Dawn has formed chapters in New York City and
Montreal, to build support among diaspora Greeks and bolster the party's charity work at home
(for non-immigrants only, of course). They have also set up, or are trying to set
up, a chapter in Melbourne, Australia.
Commenters on the U.S. far rightist websites American Renaissance and Stormfront applauded Golden Dawn's international expansion. One of them wrote on an AR thread, "The success of Golden Dawn and similar parties in Europe would change
the political paradigm. It may be time for those of us sharing a
broader European identity to materially support one of these nationalist
parties regardless of our nationality."
The hacker group Anonymous immediately shut down the Golden
Dawn New York chapter's website.


text:
Telecommunications Information Notice 13-01 Indoor Complex Cable Contract Changes
March 8, 2013
The Office of Telecommunications Management recently re-bid the Indoor Complex Cable contract. The new contracts became effective on March 1, 2013. This contract is to be used for large indoor projects and for unique projects that are more than simple adds, moves or changes to an existing phone or data network.
Vendor / Contract Number
ComNet Services, Inc. / 409458
Note the following procedures to be used when ordering from these contracts:
- All orders from state agencies using these contracts must come through OTM for processing. No orders are to be sent directly to the vendor.
- All design and engineering for state agency projects using these contracts must be done by the OTM Wire and Cable Section. State agencies are not to request or receive design services directly from the contract vendors.
- All invoices resulting from orders placed from these contracts shall come through OTM for review. Once OTM has reviewed the invoices, they will be stamped, dated, and forwarded to the agency for payment. Agencies should no accept or pay invoices sent directly from the vendor without OTM review.
Please distribute this information to all purchasing, telecommunications, and information technology staff. Additional information can be found on the Wire and Cable service description.
Questions about this notice should be addressed to Kirk Arnold with the OTM Wire and Cable Section at 225.342.7730 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
This website is funded in whole or in part through a grant from the Bureau of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this Web site (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any service or tools provided).
PO Drawer 498, Emmitsburg, MD 21727 | Phone: (301) 447‑1365 | Fax: (301) 447‑1645 | Contact
© 2003–2022 National Fallen Firefighters Foundation| Privacy Policy | Terms of Use
Foundation does not solicit donations by phone or employ outside companies to do so. You can make a donation by mail, by phone or through our website.
Website Hosting, Support & Strategy by First Arriving


text:
The tripling of ADHD rates in the last 20 years and skyrocketing use of stimulants are sure signs of a fad. The forces promoting it are, and will continue to be, formidable. More in this commentary.
I have been blogging and tweeting a lot about ADHD lately because I believe that change is in the air.
This is the worst of times for ADHD diagnosis because statistics show it is wildly over-diagnosed and over-treated. This is possibly the best of times for ADHD diagnosis because I think we have reached the tipping point and feel hopeful that the ADHD fad will soon begin to fade.
We humans are suggestible creatures comforted by the safety of the crowd and prone to groupthink. Most often going with the herd is the smart and safe bet, but follow-the-leader can cause big problems when the herd is running off the cliff.
The history of psychiatry is littered with the periodic recurrence of fad diagnoses that suddenly achieve prominence and then just as suddenly fade away. Human distress is always hard to explain and sometimes hard to tolerate. Diagnostic labels, even false ones, can gain great and undeserved popularity because they seem to explain the otherwise unexplainable and provide hope that describing a problem will lead to improving it. And once you have a diagnostic hammer, everything begins looking like a nail.
The tripling of ADHD rates in the last 20 years and skyrocketing use of stimulants are sure signs of a fad. The forces promoting it are, and will continue to be, formidable:
•The drug companies will not give up their $10 billion dollar a year stimulant cash cow without a fierce fight. They have the motive and the means to massively and misleadingly market ADHD and will try to expand its customer base by making it as ubiquitous in adults as it already is in kids. And Pharma is one of the most powerful lobbies in Washington-it has successfully bullied our government to allow direct-to-consumer drug advertising that is banned in almost all other countries.
• ADHD diagnosis occurs inappropriately in part because it is the ticket to the legal acquisition of stimulants, which can then be easily diverted for recreational use.
• ADHD provides a medically legitimized way to obtain stimulants that can be used for performance enhancement in perfectionistic adults and children who don't really have ADHD.
• Some of the influential experts who specialize in ADHD are blind to the risks posed by its over-diagnosis and over-treatment and (with heavy drug company support) spread the false gospel that more diagnosis means better diagnosis.
• The largest patient advocacy group related to ADHD receives one third of its funding from drug companies and parrots the party line.
• Teachers may also encourage the excessive diagnosis of ADHD particularly when working in school systems that are chaotic (with classes that are too large and insufficient gym periods to let kids blow off steam).
Given this Goliath of support promoting the ADHD fad, why am I making the long shot bet that it will now begin to fade.
• The percentage of kids being diagnosed (11% overall and 20% of teenage boys) is so absurdly high that reasonable people can no longer accept that the label is being applied with anything approaching sufficient care and caution.
• The astounding rate of stimulant use (6% overall and 10% in teenage boys) shocks us into the realization that we are creating a generation of drugged kids.
• Studies show that stimulants are much less effective than we originally thought in improving long term school performance.
• Some of the leading experts who developed the concept of ADHD and did the best research are speaking out about their surprise and dismay about the way it is now being misused.
• The press is now on the case with frequent exposes of careless ADHD diagnosis and stimulant misuse. Alan Schwarz of the New York Times deserves special mention (and a Pulitzer prize) for his vivid, in depth reporting, but this story is now receiving extensive international coverage and has long legs.
Ultimately, though, my hopes rest mostly with parents. They have previously played a passive role in promoting the ADHD fad-going along with doctors' recommendations in an effort to help their kids. My bet is that parents will now play an active role in curtailing the ADHD fad-their protecting their kids from unwarranted diagnosis and potentially harmful medication treatment.
No parent should give pills to a child after a diagnosis of ADHD that was made on single visit of just a few minutes. Accurate diagnosis takes time in each session and usually many sessions. Watchful waiting and environmental changes should precede the diagnosis and will often make it unnecessary. Stimulant drugs should not be used for performance enhancement because in the long run they don't enhance performance and we don't know what harm they can do to the maturing brain.
The ADHD fad will fade because all dumb psychiatric fads eventually fade. As Abraham Lincoln put it: "You can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all the people all the time."
There will soon be a tipping point when parental common sense, sobering research findings, and media exposure will overwhelm the marketing and political might of the unscrupulous drug companies and the careless prescribing habits of physicians. I am hoping and predicting that we are now just about there.


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Expert Group Meeting: Structural and policy constraints in achieving the MDGs for women and girls
In accordance with its multi-year programme of work (2010–2014), the 58th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in 2014 considered the "Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls" as its priority theme.
As the 2015 target date for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) approaches, intergovernmental and UN-led processes are well under way to inform and design a post-2015 development agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 58th session of CSW in 2014 provided a critical opportunity for evaluating the current MDG framework from a gender perspective to better understand the achievements and challenges in implementing the MDGs for women and girls, accelerate progress in achieving the MDGs, and inform the ongoing debate on the post-2015 development framework and the 20-year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
To take stock on current research and assist the Commission in its deliberations, UN Women, in collaboration with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), convened an expert group meeting (EGM) on "Structural and policy constraints in achieving the MDGs for women and girls" from 21 to 24 October 2013 in Mexico City, Mexico. The aim of the EGM was to:
- Identify the challenges, including the structural and policy constraints, for achieving the MDGs for women and girls;
- Identify the policy priorities and critical issues for achieving the MDGs for women and girls and for the post-2015 agenda; and
- Develop action-oriented recommendations to accelerate achieving the MDGs for women and girls.
More information
Background papers
- Megan Dersnah, Canada
A review of national MDG reports from a gender perspective - Megan Dersnah, Canada
An analytical review of national post-2015 consultation reports from a gender perspective - Jayati Ghosh, India
Opportunities and challenges in achieving the MDGs: A gender-based analysis
Expert papers
- Radhika Balakrishnan, Center for Women's Global Leadership, USA
Macro policy and the MDGs - Olivier De Schutter, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food
Advancing women's rights in post-2015 development agenda and goals on food and nutrition security - Valeria Esquivel, Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento, Argentina
Measuring unpaid care work with public policies in mind - Naila Kabeer, London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom
Rights, capabilities and collective action: Tthe "missing ingredient" in the MDGs - Renu Khanna, SAHAJ – Society for Health Alternatives, India
MDG 5 in India: Whither reproductive and sexual rights? - Marai Larasi, Imkaan and End Violence Against Women Coalition, United Kingdom
Beyond the silos and the silences: Addressing violence against women and girls within the post-2015 agenda - Isha Ray, University of California, Berkeley, USA
Challenges and achievements in Millennium Development Goals for water and sanitation for women and girls - Robinah Rubimbwa, Center for Women in Governance (CEWIGO), Uganda
Gender, peace and security and the post-2015 framework - Liane Schalatek, Heinrich Böll Stiftung North America, Germany
The post-2015 framework: Merging care and green economy approaches to finance gender-equitable sustainable development - Gita Sen and Avanti Mukherjee, India
No empowerment without rights, no rights without politics: Gender equality, MDGs and the post-2015 development agenda - Sivananthi Thanenthiran, ARROW, Malaysia
Have the MDGs fostered progress on women's SRHR? Effective policies and remaining challenges - Cecilia Umul, International Indigenous Women Forum, Guatemala
Violence against women and girls - Elaine Unterhalter, Institute of Education, University of London, United Kingdom
The MDGs, girls' education and gender equality - Hannah Wright, Saferworld, United Kingdom
Gender, peace and security and the post-2015 framework - Association for Women's Rights in Development
Have the Millennium Development Goals promoted gender equality and women's rights? - International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS
ICW statement on MDGs and post-2015
Observer papers
- Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
Unpaid care work, poverty and women's human rights: challenges and opportunities for the post-2015 agenda


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Good Afternoon! Today I bring you a guest post with some great pointers for flea market shopping, my favorite pastime! The folks over at Urbanara offer up some great tips for finding the perfect pieces for your home. Enjoy and happy shopping!
Here are a couple recent treasures I scooped up:
Aren't they stunning? I spotted them, and instantly fell in love!
Flea Market Shopping Guide:
(guest post courtesy of Urbanara)
Here at URBANARA, tucked away in Mitte, Berlin, we are surrounded by a great range of flea markets selling the best in vintage fashion, to beautiful homemade jewelry and beautiful antiques. Ranging from the mighty Mauerpark, to the host of Turkish markets that dot the city every Saturday and Sunday, Berlin is a flea marketers dream. Let URBANARA give you the best tips for making your Sunday morning trip to the market as fruitful and stress free as possible.
1. Early bird catches the worm: This might be quite obvious but always arrive early for the best deal and the most beautiful items. Flea markets are becoming a really popular and fashionable way to decorate your apartment so very often the first hours are the most valuable. Get down there early to catch the bargains and find the best buys of the day before someone else snatches them up!
2. Think outside the box: Find new uses for antique pieces. Furniture is probably the easiest to do this with. Use dressers as sideboards, a sofa for Continue reading


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Thank you for choosing TV Plantation
TV Plantation, Inc., the premium television service provider. TV Plantation powerfully delivers favorite television and video on-demand streaming services to users across the borders; an alternative to cable TV. With TV Plantation users get to pick their favorite television channel lineups, customize account and personalize their TV experience ... Les mer »
1te Apr 2020


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Good morning.
Our early headlines:
-- Tens Of Thousands Expected Today At Florida Rally For Trayvon Martin.
-- The Arguments Begin: Supreme Court Takes Up Health Care Starting Today.
-- It's 'Unbelievable To Me,' Says Wife Of Army Sgt. Accused In Afghan Killings.
-- Is GOP Race At 'Tipping Point' Or Destined To Keep Going?
-- Tragedy In West Virginia: Child Is Ninth Victim Of House Fire.
Other stories in the news:
-- China, U.S. Agree To Coordinate Reponse To 'Potential Provocation' If North Korea Launches Long-Range Rocket. (BBC News)
-- "Obama To Medvedev: No Missile Deal Before Election." (The Wall Street Journal)
-- "Cheney Operation Underscores Heart Transplant Issues." (Shots)
-- Final Four Is Set: Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville and Ohio State. (Morning Edition)
-- Tiger Woods Wins First PGA Tour Event Since 2009. (Golf.com)
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Congressional Inaction on Surveillance Prompted Leaks, Says Snowden
Edward Snowden, the man who publicly exposed several controversial National Security Agency programs, said Monday that he was inspired to leak the secrets because of spy agency leaders' "lies" to Congress, and because congressional leaders did nothing about it.
Snowden's remarks came during an online question and answer session on the Guardian newspaper's website. He criticized both the national spymaster and the group of eight lawmakers who have access to information about the nation's most classified spy operations.
"It was seeing a continuing litany of lies from senior officials to Congress — and therefore the American people — and the realization that that [sic] Congress, specifically the Gang of Eight, wholly supported the lies that compelled me to act," he wrote. "Seeing someone in the position of James Clapper — the Director of National Intelligence — baldly lying to the public without repercussion is the evidence of a subverted democracy."
Clapper has come under fire for telling the Senate Intelligence Committee at a March hearing that the NSA does not collect information on millions of Americans, at least "not wittingly." One of the programs Snowden exposed collects phone record metadata on millions of U.S. telephone customers. Sen. Ron Wyden, the Oregon Democrat who asked the question that led to Clapper's answer, criticized intelligence community leaders for not giving "straight" answers.
The "gang of eight" is a group of lawmakers composed of the bipartisan leaders of the House and Senate and the two intelligence committees. Those leaders have been among the most vocal supporters of the NSA programs Snowden revealed, citing them as necessary to preventing terrorist attacks.
Senate Intelligence Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has specifically defended Clapper over his "not wittingly" statement, saying he was an "honest" person who might have misunderstood the question that led to his remarks. Clapper said he was trying to give the "least untruthful" answer.
House Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich., said June 9 on ABC's "This Week" that Snowden should not have leaked the information, and could have come to Congress or inspectors general with his concerns.
"I argue that there's other methods. He could come to the committees, if they had concern," Rogers said. "We have IGs that they can go to in a classified way if they have concern. Taking a very sensitive classified program that targets foreign person on foreign lands, and putting just enough out there to be dangerous, is dangerous to us, it's dangerous to our national security and it violates the oath of which that person took. I absolutely think they should be prosecuted."
NSA Director Gen. Keith B. Alexander — who spent most of last week on the Hill briefing lawmakers on the programs — will again appear before Congress on Tuesday, along with several other intelligence community officials, at an open House Intelligence Committee hearing. According to the hearing announcement, the committee will delve into how the NSA programs have protected the United States against terrorist attacks and how their disclosure helps U.S. enemies.
Other witnesses scheduled to appear at the hearing include James Cole, deputy attorney general; Sean Joyce, deputy director of the FBI; and Robert Litt, general counsel for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.


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The pleas came less than two months after the 10-term congressman defiantly said he was the victim of a lynch mob and insisted he would be vindicated of the sexual harassment claims by at least 17 women if due process was allowed to run its course.
His accusers included a retired navy admiral, a university dean and great grandmother.
Filner said little on Tuesday beyond "guilty" when a judge read the charges against him — one count of felony false imprisonment and two counts of misdemeanor battery.
Under a plea deal, the state attorney general's office will recommend Filner be sentenced to three months of home confinement and three years of probation. The maximum possible sentence for a false imprisonment count is three years in prison and one year for each count of battery.
Filner restrained a woman against her will at a fundraiser on March 6, applying additional force after she resisted, according to the plea agreement. Filner put her in a headlock, his attorney, Jerry Coughlan, told reporters.
He also kissed a woman without permission at a "Meet the Mayor" event on April 6 and groped another victim at a May 25 rally to clean up Fiesta Island in Mission Bay. None of the victims were identified.
Filner, 71, did not comment after the hearing but his attorney said the former mayor "profusely apologizes" for his behavior.
"I think he wants to redeem his original legacy, which was a wonderful one, and put this behind him," Coughlan said. "He's been jogging, he's been getting therapy, talking to friends, trying to come to terms with how to deal with these kinds of problems. It's a full-time job."
Filner resigned Aug. 30, succumbing to intense pressure after the parade of women accused him of sexual harassment. He had held the office for less than nine months of a four-year term and was San Diego's first Democratic mayor in 20 years.
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department opened a hotline for complaints about Filner in July and said it would deliver findings to the attorney general's office for possible prosecution. The state attorney general's office later confirmed that it launched a criminal investigation
"This conduct was not only criminal, it was also an extreme abuse of power," California Attorney General Kamala Harris said. "This prosecution is about consequence and accountability. No one is above the law."
Sheriff Bill Gore said the hotline received more than 200 calls and investigators interviewed nearly 90 people.
Filner's attorney said prosecutors were eager to strike a deal before a grand jury began hearing testimony about Filner's behavior. The grand jury probe will no longer go forward.
The criminal charges do not involve Filner's former communications director, Irene McCormack Jackson, who was the first to go public with sexual harassment allegations in July. She has filed a lawsuit against the mayor and the city, claiming her ex-boss asked her to work without panties, demanded kisses, told her he wanted to see her naked and dragged her in a headlock while whispering in her ear.
In exchange for Filner's resignation, the city agreed to pay his legal fees in a joint defense of the McCormack Jackson lawsuit, and to cover any settlement costs assessed against the mayor, except punitive damages. The city did not represent him in the criminal case.
Gloria Allred, an attorney for McCormack Jackson, applauded the outcome of the criminal case and the women who came forward to share their stories with investigators.
"It is long overdue for him to be accountable in both the civil and criminal justice system and today is an important step forward in bringing Bob Filner to justice," she said.
As a convicted felon, Filner forfeits his right to vote. In addition, his pension will not accrue from the time of the first offense in March, Coughlan said.
Mike Aguirre, a former San Diego city attorney who is running in a Nov. 19 special election to replace Filner, said the felony plea marked an astonishing fall for the former mayor.
"As a lawyer, when I see someone plead guilty to a felony, that is an indelible mark. That is a scarlet letter that will always be emblazoned on his chest. He will never be able to erase it," Aguirre said.
Filner spent two months in a Mississippi jail for inciting a riot when he joined the Freedom Riders in 1961 to campaign against segregation. He often cited that experience during his long political career that included stints on the San Diego school board and City Council and in Congress.
He became a political pariah before stepping down. All nine City Council members and the Democratic National Committee called upon Filner to resign. A recall effort also was launched as allegations surfaced.


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Thomas Hintz
Contact Info
Email is welcome: firstname.lastname@example.com
I made these eggs:
Other Scheme Projects
Keep the Records
My current startup, KtR is written entirely in Chicken Scheme. You can find out more at the homepage. The source is also available: https://github.com/ThomasHintz/keep-the-records
Hintz Shell
I'm also working on this Linux shell: http://thintz.com/chicken-scheme-shell, with the source code also on github: https://github.com/ThomasHintz/chicken-scheme-shell
Graph based, self replicating and healing, database management system currently built on tokyocabinet. Utilizes a rest based http interface between apps and database nodes. Still in heavy development and not really useful yet. Source on github: https://github.com/ThomasHintz/mda
I'm sure I have other Chicken Scheme projects laying around and some come and go, a good place to start is my github page: https://github.com/ThomasHintz


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Nepal's Maoists storm parliament, slide into opposition role
| Kathmandu, Nepal
Maoist lawmakers – many of them former rebels – stormed Nepal's parliament on Monday to block a vote for a new prime minister.
The Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has been delaying the formation of a new coalition government for nearly two weeks since the resignation of caretaker Prime Minister Prachanda on May 4, and this move could prolong the political crisis even further.
Prachanda, a former rebel leader whose name means "the fierce one," quit following a dispute with the Army over integrating his former fighters into the military as part of a 2006 peace accord that ended the insurgency. His resignation, ostensibly in "defense of civilian control over the Army" after the country's president countermanded his decision to sack the army chief on May 3, failed to ignite mass protests as the Maoists had hoped.
Instead, the Maoists find themselves increasingly isolated, with most rival parties joining hands to form a new government. Now the party looks set to take up the role of the country's main opposition, something new for the former rebels who were fighting a guerrilla war against government forces until 2006. Analysts say that the army chief row could effectively put an end to the politics of consensus that was the foundation of peace agreements signed after Maoists officially ended their war in November 2006.
"The politics of consensus is the biggest victim of these developments, and every agreement that leaned heavily on it needs to be reviewed," says Damakant Jayshi, associate editor of Republica, a leading English daily.
Dramatic events
The turn of events since Prachanda's resignation has been dramatic. Veteran communist politician Madhav Kumar Nepal, a senior leader from the relatively moderate Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist), who seemed to be in the twilight of his career after losing elections from two constituencies last April, looks set to become the country's new prime minister. Twenty-two of 24 political parties in the parliament, who command 350 of the 601 seats, have thrown their weight behind him. The only ones not supporting him are the Maoists and a small party, the Nepal Workers and Peasants' Party.
But the parliament has to formally endorse Nepal as the new prime minister through a vote.
Angry denunciations
Addressing some 50,000 supporters in Kathmandu on Sunday, Prachanda denounced President Ram Baran Yadav and the new prime ministerial candidate Nepal, saying they were stooges of a foreign power, a clear reference to India.
But the Maoist chairman was careful to tell his followers – who are angry with Mr. Yadav and are demanding that he resign – that his party would not desert the peace process, nor would it return to war.
The speech was also an indication that the road ahead for Nepal's peace process is rocky, especially because there is little trust left between the Maoists and the major democratic forces of Nepal.
There are 19,702 Maoist fighters living in cantonments across Nepal monitored by the United Nations. Unless they are resettled into society, lasting peace is hard for most Nepalis to imagine.
Why the Maoists 'civilian rule' argument was rejected
"The theory that the Maoists served a termination letter to the army chief to establish civilian supremacy was rejected all around, and with vehemence," says Jayshi. "Even India, which seems to wield considerable influence in Nepal's politics, rejected it."
India's role was instrumental in bringing the Maoists on board with the peace process. The Maoists signed a 12-point agreement with a coalition of Nepal's mainstream political parties in November 2005 in New Delhi under the aegis of the South Bloc, which wanted to experiment in Nepal in order to draw lessons to deal with a growing Maoist threat at home.
Narayan Wagle, editor of Nagarik, a leading Nepali daily, says the Maoists' militant background didn't help them in their argument for civilian supremacy. "This is a party that still has a private army. It fought a bloody war. It is still engaged in sporadic violence. There is no question of believing them when they say they want civilian supremacy over the army," Mr. Wagle says.
Role of Indian elections
The result of elections in India played an instrumental role in helping the prime ministerial candidate in Nepal get majority support, Wagle says.
"The decision by Nepal's fourth largest party, the Madheshi People's Rights Forum, to support the new coalition came after it became clear that [the Communist Party of India-Marxist] would no longer be a part of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance," he says. "The Forum realized that without Indian communists in the coalition, the new order in India would not be sympathetic to Nepal's Maoists."
Until the results of the India's vote were announced on Saturday, the Forum, an ethnic party that holds the key to the formation of any coalition government in Nepal with its crucial 53 seats, was still pushing for a coalition with Maoists. The Forum's change of heart coincided with the fact that the CPI-M, the Indian benefactors of Nepal's Maoists, suffered an unexpected defeat in the elections in India.


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Wealth of Nations out May 29
Europa Universalis IV: Wealth of Nations will be out on May 29. This is the second expansion for the strategy title, and the main focus is all trade. There's going to be new trade and diplomacy features, and plenty of things for those that like to really research routes.
The new video from Paradox here details the Wealth of Nations expansion more, as project lead Thomas Johansson details stuff like privateering, shipping companies, and covert economic sabotaging.
Wealth of Nations is up for pre-order on Windows, Linux, and Mac for $9.99.