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GTF Chromium, 100 μg (4 Pack) (90 Capsules) X4
£74.32 £87.44
All parcels sent 1st class through Royal Mail
94% of our orders arrive the next working day. Want it next day guaranteed? Choose Express Delivery at checkout.
Save Money & Buy a 30 Eco Pack Key Features GTF is now recognised as important in carbohydrate metabolism Contributes to normal blood glucose concentrations GTF levels low = blood glucose levels remain high Description Vegan supplements, Vegan vitamins and Vegan Minerals. We are at the cutting edge of supplying you with the very best supplements & vitamins money can buy. Our Vegan vitamins are Guaranteed to contain No chem...
Save Money & Buy a 30 Eco Pack
Key Features
- GTF is now recognised as important in carbohydrate metabolism
- Contributes to normal blood glucose concentrations
- GTF levels low = blood glucose levels remain high
Vegan supplements, Vegan vitamins and Vegan Minerals. We are at the cutting edge of supplying you with the very best supplements & vitamins money can buy. Our Vegan vitamins are Guaranteed to contain No chemicals and only contain those ingredients that make our supplements work. No bulkers, No fillers and No other chemicals to stabilise the formulations. All our vegan supplements are sold without the chemicals that the majority of our competitors use to bulk out there supplements. Our safe vegan vitamins are sold with the full spectrum of nutrients which offer you a step above the rest.
It stimulates the activity of enzymes involved in the metabolism of glucose for energy and the synthesis of fatty acids and cholesterol.
Body by Nature Whole-food GTF Chromium is better absorbed and longer retained than isolated chromium. There are two main types of chromium. Trivalent chromium is the type found in nature and it is the type we use in our product. The other type is a toxic and carcinogenic industrial chromium. There are nine essential micro-minerals or trace elements, chromium is one of those. Supports and maintains normal blood glucose levels. Has been shown to contribute towards normal macronutrient metabolism.
Chromium GTF and blood glucose levels GTF
Stands for 'glucose tolerance factor'. Research undertaken has proven that abnormal glucose tolerance could be reversed by brewers yeast. Further studies have shown that trivalent chromium was responsible for the turn around. Taking an adequate dose of chromium might be a way of preventing the progression of abnormal glucose tolerance into type II diabetes.
GTF promotes the activity of enzymes involved in the metabolism of glucose for energy and the synthesis of fatty acids and cholesterol. Simply put, when chromium levels are low in the human body, so are GTF levels which means the activity of insulin is blocked and blood glucose levels are remain heightened.
Wholefood Supplements
Body by Nature Whole-food supplements are unique in that they are made from minerals that have been hydroponically-grown into a cruciferous vegetable that is a member of the broccoli family of vegetables. This plant is an edible species which has a great capacity to bio-accumulate high levels of minerals to enable good levels to be achieved in small doses of supplementation. These are the only genuine Whole-food supplement products on the market, and early research testifies to their superb bio-efficacy. All our Whole-food products use food metabolic pathways and are suitable for vegans.
Our Promise to You
Whether you are buying our supplements for Religious reasons, Ethnical reasons, Animal welfare reasons or you just want the very best supplements you can find for your money, here at Body By Nature we sell all our formulations in a Vegan format. Vegan Vitamins, Vegan supplements and Vegan minerals, are sold in a 'whole food' or 'food state'. Your body recognises this and therefore each and every Vitamin and mineral will nourish and maintain areas of your body which needs it the most.
Eco Packs - The same Supplements but with No Bottle!
This link below allows you to purchase the same high quality vegan supplements without the need to throw the bottle away when you have finished taking the course. Our eco pip packs save you money, allow you to recycle all our packaging and keeps the waste to a minimum all the time you can be enjoying the very best natural ingredients money can buy.
|Active Nutrient
|GTF Chromium
Dicalcium phosphate, microcrystalline cellulose, capsule shell (hydroxypropylmethylcellulose) hydroponically grown cruciferous vegetable (Brassica Juncea) providing chromium, silicon dioxide.
Suggested intake
1 capsule daily as a food supplement, or take as directed by a practitioner. Do not exceed the recommended daily intake. Chromium should not be given to diabetics taking insulin unless supervised by a medical practitioner. This product should not be used as a substitute for a varied diet. *RDA = Recommended Daily Allowance
Suitable for
Vegetarians, vegans and for people with Candida and yeast sensitivities.
Non-GM and free from
Wheat; starch, gluten; lactose; added sugars, colourings, flavourings & preservatives.
Keep cool, dry and out of direct sunlight. No need to refrigerate. Keep out of reach of children. If seal is broken on purchase do not use.


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Algorithms that use general problem solving techniques are among the most simple and powerful algorithms available. They successively create possible solutions to a problem and test each solution for correctness. Such code can be written once and then reused for many different problems. This allows a programmer to avoid writing a specialized algorithm for each problem.
Backtracking is one example of these techniques. Backtracking works on the class of problems called combinatorial problems. A problem is combinatorial if the solution can be expressed as an ordered set of choices from a list provided in the problem statement. For example, scheduling is a combinatorial problem because the solution is an ordered list of jobs.
Backtracking is part of a family of related algorithms: branch-and-bound, hill-climbing, Z*, A*, alpha-beta search, etc., all which use general problem solving techniques to solve combinatorial problems. Of these algorithms, backtracking is both simple and representative. It is relatively easy to learn, and the techniques backtracking uses are similar to its more complicated cousins.
Unfortunately, many treatments of backtracking ignore its greatest strength its generality. Specialized algorithms are written for each problem, leading to one algorithm to solve the n-queens problems, another to solve optimal packing, etc. I use C++ templates and STL to write a generic algorithm that works for any problem solvable by backtracking. My class requires you to write a simple criterion function that the algorithm will use to find the solution.
A Brute Force Approach
The easiest way to understand backtracking is to start by studying a brute force approach that is simple but impractical. Later I transform it into the efficient and practical technique of backtracking.
A combinatorial problem typically has a finite number of solutions. The brute force algorithm generates every possible solution to a combinatorial problem and then tests it for correctness.
do { generate the next solution; test solution for validity; } while (solution is invalid);
This algorithm is general and slow. It works for any problem that has a finite number of testable solutions, so it is general. It is slow because there are an exponential number of possible solutions to a combinatorial problem.
However, the algorithm's simplicity makes it easy to use. Generating all possible solutions to a combinatorial problem is trivial; once the code is written it can be used for any future problem. The only remaining task is writing a function that tests if a solution is valid. The problem statement defines how to test the solution, so a few minutes of coding produces an algorithm guaranteed to find an answer, no matter how slowly.
Optimizing the Process
I use the n-coloring problem as an example. The n-coloring problem requires you to color a map with n colors such that no adjacent regions are colored the same. This problem is easy to understand, but it has many important real world applications.
Consider using the brute force technique described above to color the United States with four colors. There are over 1029 possible colorings. No computer could generate and test this many solutions in a reasonable time. There needs to be a better way.
Imagine you are trying to color a map by hand. Would you color the entire map, then check if it was valid? Not if you're smart. You would color one state at a time, and immediately check if it was the same color as a neighbor. If it matched the color of a neighbor you would immediately correct your mistake there is no point in coloring the rest of the map because the final result is guaranteed to be invalid.
Therefore, you would keep changing the color of the state until it didn't conflict with its neighbors. If you couldn't find a color that was correct, you'd conclude that you made a bad decision earlier. You would then backtrack to a previously colored state, change its color and then proceed forward.
Decision Trees
Any solution to a combinatorial problem may be regarded as a series of decisions. Coloring the contiguous U.S. map with four colors consists of 49 decisions, one decision for each state. Each decision has four possible choices.
A problem's solution space is defined as the set of all possible solutions. Decision trees represent the solution space in a tree structure. The tree has one level for each decision. The root of the tree represents the initial state. The root has one child for each choice that can be made for the first decision. Each of these children each has their own set of children representing the choices available for the second decision. This pattern continues to the bottom of the tree.
Thus, the decision tree for coloring the U.S. would have 49 levels, one for each state, and each node would have four children, one for each color. Any traversal from the root to a leaf represents one possible solution to the problem. Figure 1 illustrates a decision tree for coloring three states with two colors.
Figure 1: A decision tree for coloring three states with two colors.
Pruning the Tree
Backtracking uses a decision tree to formalize the ad hoc hand coloring method described above. It starts at the root of the tree with no states colored. It colors the first state by choosing one of the four children of the root. To keep the algorithm simple, the backtracking algorithm always chooses the leftmost child. It traverses to that child, making it the current node.
The algorithm then colors the next state by choosing the leftmost child of the current node. As with coloring by hand, the algorithm now checks to see if the coloring is valid. Suppose it finds that both states are the same color; assuming the states are adjacent on the map, the coloring is invalid.
Since the coloring is invalid, there is no need to traverse any lower in the tree; all lower branches are guaranteed to yield invalid results as well. Therefore the algorithm prunes the current node from the tree, and backtracks to the previous node.
Pruning the tree guarantees that the invalid colorings are not considered. The gains are not negligible. The case above pruned 447-2 nodes from the decision tree, which is over 1028 decisions that were not examined.
The backtrack algorithm continues to traverse the tree, descending level by level as long as the coloring is valid, and backtracking and pruning as soon as it detects an invalid coloring.
Note that at each step the algorithm needs to test only the most recent decision. If the algorithm is coloring the nth state, the n-1 states must be valid since they were just checked in the previous step. Thus, the algorithm only checks to see if the nth state's coloring conflicts with its adjacent states. If not, the coloring of all n states must be valid.
Storing Decision Trees
Although I described the algorithm as if it traversed a preexisting decision tree, it actually uses a more intelligent technique. The decision tree for even a modest problem would exceed the storage capacities of any known computer.
Instead, the algorithm generates only one node of the tree at a time, which is always the current leaf. Invalid nodes are not stored because they are pruned. This allows the algorithm to store the entire tree in an array. Each array element represents one level in the tree; the nth element of the array is a child of the n-1th node.
For the coloring problem, let the colors be numbered 1 to 4. The algorithm colors the first state by appending the first color to an empty array, giving
[1]. It then colors the next state by appending 1 to the array, giving
[1,1]. This coloring is invalid (assume the states are adjacent), so the algorithm must backtrack. Conceptually, the algorithm backs up to the previous node, flags it invalid, and then creates a new child node. In practice, the algorithm just increments the last element's value, giving
[1,2]. This coloring is valid, so the algorithm creates a new child, giving
What happens when the current node is invalid and it is the last valid color? Instead of incrementing the element, the algorithm backtracks by deleting the last element until it finds an element that it can increment. Thus
[3,2,4] become
[3,3], and
[4,1,4,4,4] becomes
[4,2]. In effect, the algorithm counts in base n arithmetic.
This implementation is very general. The integers in the array merely represent the nodes in the decision tree. By defining what the integers represent, the algorithm will work with any decision tree.
STL Implementation
Most backtracking algorithms are implemented using an array of
ints to store the decision tree, and require a user-defined function that validates the decision tree. The algorithm generates a decision, passes it to the user-defined function, and either backtracks or continues forward based on the result of the function call. However, backtracking is a generalized algorithm. It should be implemented in a generic way that will work for any data type and any container choice. For example, it would be nice to use
enums to represent the color choices for the map coloring problem.
STL provides a powerful paradigm to make the backtracking algorithm generic. In STL, algorithms are implemented as functions that use iterators to traverse over a container. Iterators have the same semantics as C-style pointers. Templates allow the functions to use iterators from any type of container, letting you use C-style arrays, vectors, deques, etc., without any changes to the algorithm's code.
My backtrack algorithm uses templates that allow it to use any STL container to store the decision tree. The template arguments allow you to specify your data type (
enum, etc.), the container that stores the decision tree (
vector, c array, etc.), and the user-defined function that evaluates the decision tree's correctness.

subset: commoncrawl


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We have number of .bat and VB scripts for monitoring SQL servers. The scripts are running fine on all previous Windows versions. Now we migrated one of the servers to Window 2008 R2 and a VB script is getting "Microsoft VBScript Runtime Error: Permission Denied". I'm getting it on the line 'oCluster.Open ComputerName'. I logged in to the box with my domain account which is a member of the local admin group. Does anybody know how to fix this issue? Where should I set permissions in Win 2008R2?
Many thanks in advance!
Code:'####################################### Option Explicit ' Declare the constants and variables. Setting ComputerName ' to an empty string prompts the script to connect to the ' local computer. Const ComputerName = "" Const ForWriting = 2 Const StateFile = "c:\UsrBin\Server_Checks\clusterstate.log" Dim oFs, f, oCluster, res, resGroup ' Set the FileSystemObject object. Set oFs = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") ' Create a new text file to store the ownership information. Set f = oFs.CreateTextFile(StateFile,ForWriting) ' Set the Cluster Automation Server object. Set oCluster = CreateObject("MSCluster.Cluster") ' Open a connection to the cluster node. oCluster.Open ComputerName ' For each resource in the cluster node, get each resource ' group's resources. For Each res in oCluster.Nodes ' For each resource group, get the name and the owner. Write ' this information to the text file. For Each resGroup in res.ResourceGroups f.writeline resGroup.name & "," & resGroup.OwnerNode.Name Next Next ' Close the text file. f.Close ' Release memory. Set oCluster = nothing Set f = nothing Set oFs = nothing '######################################


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Frankfurt, Germany • If there is one thing to take away from the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show, it is that Canadians, as well as Americans, are clearly denied some of the sweetest fruit on the automotive tree.
Oh, sure, many a Lamborghini, Ferrari 458 Spider, and the beautifully remade Porsche 911 will find warm and welcoming homes on our native land, as will a stout collection of BMW M5s, Mercedes CLS coupes and even the odd, hand-built Aston Martin – all cars revealed at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany last week.
And while these cars capture much of the spotlight and media's attention, and are indeed marvels of engineering and craftsmanship, not to mention setting performance benchmarks that give everyone else something to shoot for, they remain automobiles for the few and fortunate.
The real cars that many of us could afford, and need for daily transportation to work, to ferry the kids or take the empties back to the beer store, seem to be the exclusive club of the European Union. This is nothing new, of course, and has been going on for years, even though most automakers realize that globalization, shared platforms as well as one model for multiple markets makes strong business sense. Ford is doing this with the Fiesta, GM the Malibu, but they are far from alone.
This year's Frankfurt show, however, made the issue ever more acute. So many gems from the show – many with ultra-efficient diesel engines – boasted designs that are downright hot. Yet most of them may never find a way to our shores, despite carrying such strong appeal in both design and function that only the foolish could ignore them.
The Volkswagen up! and VW Polo, especially in sporty R trim, were just two of many cars at Frankfurt to drive the point home. Both cars are smaller than the current Golf, the smallest in the Canadian VW line up. Either would slot sensibly into the compact segment that Canadians so crave. BMW, too, with its 118i and 120d five-door luxury compacts, is keeping these cars from us for now, despite being able to obtain fuel economy better than a Prius and probably for less up-front cost, too. What thrifty Canadian wouldn't want something luxurious, sporty and sexy, and be able to crow about owning a BMW at the same time?
The list does not end there, and for Honda Civic fans is probably most painful. The new, European-only Civic is a mix of sensibility and swagger, a delightful looking five door that would, had it been brought here as the new Civic, easily given Honda Canada continued bragging rights to the best-selling compact car in the country – a title that Honda is at risk of losing after 13 years running to Hyundai's jazzy-looking Elantra. Sure, the March earthquake and ensuing disruptions have contributed to the problem, but the 2012 Canadian Civic looks dowdy next to the new Civic shown in Frankfurt.
Hyundai, too, has a hot-looking wagon, the i40 that may or may not reach us, though the savvy-looking i30 five-door will, thank goodness. Toyota's new Avensis is one of the fresher-looking Toyota's seen in some time, and seems a car that could add some much needed sizzle to the corporate chuck steak currently sold here. The new Toyota Hilux small pickup would make for a strong replacement for the refreshed, but still aged, Tacoma. And why does Toyota continue to show endless FT-86 concept cars (even going so far as to call the new one an FT-86 II) if it has no will to put them on the showroom floor? Enough already: either build the FT or stop teasing it, for soon it will be too old a design to put into production.
Audi, for the most part, exports most of its models to Canada, and we can all be excited about the new S6 and S7; but the sensible A1 and compact Q3 sport utility still remain forbidden fruit – made even more tantalizing with efficient, clean-burning diesel engines with impressive fuel economy. Why can't we have those? When the Audi A2 electric concept rolled out at Frankfurt, it was hard to know whether to be excited or disappointed. Fiat's Alfa Romeo got our hopes up with a 4C concept, but then said it wasn't in a hurry to bring any Alfas to North America. Ford showed an all-new Ranger, yet we're stuck with the 14-year-old model.
For many automakers, it's not that Canada is the unworthy relative – Mazda is bringing a diesel model of its all new CX-5 to market here – but more about production capacity, servicing ability, dealer capability and training. Then there's marketing, competition among established models and, of course, costs. New models require more people, more staff, more money. Wait times for some Audi and Porsche models currently stretch out months, the Cayenne taking as long as nine months from order to delivery, such is the strong demand. Adding a new car to an already overburdened factory makes no sense at all, and building new factories takes time and substantial investment that could otherwise be used for product development.
But there they are on the Frankfurt show floor — dozens of genuinely great automobiles, all rolling out at the world's biggest auto show, yet denied to our corner of the world.


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- 1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream, divided
- 1 teaspoon plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 cups whole milk
- 4 ounces bittersweet (preferably 60% cocoa) chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 4 small candy canes (for garnish)
- Beat 1/2 cup cream and 1 teaspoon sugar in bowl until soft peaks form. Cover; chill. Whisk 1/2 cup cream, 2 tablespoons sugar, and milk in medium saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to boil. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; whisk until smooth. Whisk in extract. Divide chocolate among mugs. Top with cream and garnish with candy canes.


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Kids text all the time – at school, on the bus, even when you're trying to talk to them. It can be annoying. But imagine if a child couldn't communicate at all – that's when a mobile can become a lifeline. In some developing countries, children who are deaf don't have access to special education, technology or even sign language teaching.
In this edition of Digital Diversity, Cambridge to Africa's Sacha DeVelle, explains how her organisation has been using mobile phones in specially designed education programmes to help deaf children in Uganda communicate. By getting everyone in their schools to help out, the projects also happen to be making them the coolest kids in school.
Digital Diversity is a series of blog posts from FrontlineSMS about how mobile phones are being used throughout the world to improve, enrich, and empower billions of lives. This article was curated by Olivia O'Sullivan, our Media and Research Assistant.
By Sacha DeVelle
Kato and Kakuru are deaf twins. They have just arrived at the Child Africa International School in Kabale, Uganda. I am running a teacher training course at the school, and spend my lunch hours in the playground with all the children. But I am perplexed by the twins. They have fallen asleep in a far corner of the grounds, lying uncomfortably on some old wheat pallets, joined at the hip but completely isolated from the other children. This is a self-imposed exile, one they have lived in for years. For a week I watch them. They do not move from the pallets. Their clothes are dirty and ripped. They have no shoes and have not washed for a long time. Kakuru cries a lot, however the look on her face says she's not someone who cries for attention, but out of frustration.
The girls are very different heights. It's hard to believe they are twins. I ask the other teachers why they are so difficult to reach psychologically, why they are crying. "They have lice, they can't sign, have no language skills, they have come down from the mountains and don't understand this environment. They only have each other" explains one teacher.
There are nine other deaf children at the school, although they have had time to adapt and integrate. Dodi is a real character – he has a mother, loves to dance and has some sign language skills. The one deaf teacher working at the school provides a lifeline to these children. By the time I leave, the twins have joined the class, they are starry eyed and excited about their new uniforms.
Back in the UK I think a lot about Kato and Kakuru. What it's like to be deaf in East Africa.
Without a voice deaf females face a triple stigma: gender, poverty and disability. Many girls are violated because they cannot speak out. They may learn to use a pidgin signing system from the village, but are not fluent in any language (tribal, signed or English). Deaf girls are often abandoned. Their disability is seen as a curse on the family. Others are locked up in back rooms to hide the family shame. Those that make it to a school setting are the lucky ones.
One of our trustees tells me about a presentation she has just seen, using FrontlineSMS in developing contexts. It was this conversation that gave me the idea to run a mobile phone social inclusion project in Kabale: integrating deaf children into the mainstream environment.
We launched our pilot study in 2010. The wider challenges of carrying out such a scheme are complex. The management of existing prejudice and communication barriers must be factored into the design.
We have a methodology. Six deaf children have a hearing buddy, with a total of 12 students contributing to the study. We provide separate training to both groups for three days. Then they are brought together, with the hearing children playing a buddy role. We learn that the hearing children's sign language skills and patience are far superior than we realised. We also learn that deaf children do not have much patience with their deaf counterparts! Our six pairs are given written instructions on scraps of paper. They must text messages to another pair somewhere in the playground, and wait for a response. They love this game. The deaf children are very vocal, a lot of frantic signing and suggestions for written responses.
Kakuru is one of the deaf participants. She is in awe of her new mobile phone, how messages fly in from nowhere. She likes to receive them, but is not too keen on writing – it's hard for her. We learn that their written skills are very low – they are used to rote learning, straight from the blackboard. Now they must produce authentic, instantaneous text on a range of different topics.
Our preliminary findings are very exciting. The SMS social inclusion project has united the school, developed the children's confidence, and highlighted the need for more communicative literacy skills in the classroom. Most importantly, it has raised the status of the deaf children as Caroline explains:
I can now visualise a bright future because I am far better than what I was when I was still shabby in the village four years ago. Those who used to laugh at me in the village now see me as a star because most of the rural community members do not know how to use sign language or mobile phone SMS facility
Phase 3 of our SMS social inclusion project will be launched in 2012. We will work with new schools in Kampala that integrate deaf children into the Ugandan primary school curriculum. Self empowerment, social cohesion and improved literacy skills were all key outcomes from our previous phases. However, there is still much work to be done to further integrate deaf girls into the community. As Docus clearly states: "All my village mates used to laugh at me because I could not hear what they could say and also I did not have any way to speak to them. Can you imagine an orphan like me using a mobile phone SMS facility at the age of ten to communicate to educated people like you? God is great".
Sacha DeVelle is the founder and managing director of Cambridge to Africa, a UK registered charity that provides funding and educational expertise for projects in East Africa. Sacha has a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Queensland, Australia and currently lives in London where she works as an international education consultant.
Digital Diversity is produced by Ken Banks, innovator, anthropologist, National Geographic Emerging Explorer and Founder of kiwanja.net / FrontlineSMS. He shares exciting stories in Mobile Message about how mobile phones and appropriate technologies are being used throughout the world to improve, enrich, and empower billions of lives. You can read all the posts in this series, visit his website, or follow him on Twitter.


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Small Plant News: Volume 5, Number 3
|Small Plant News Archive Page. This is an archive page. No new content is being added. While these newsletters remain available for reference purposes, the documents do not reflect changes to Agency policy that may have been instituted since the newsletters were published. Also note that resources and websites mentioned in older issues may have moved or may no longer be available. Points of contact for various initiatives may have changed.
In This Issue:
- Food Allergies: Why It's Important To Double Check Your Labels
- Business Planning Guidebook Available for Small Meat Processors
- Small Plant News Guidebook Series Launched
- Commonly Asked Questions & Answers
Food Allergies: Why It's Important To Double Check Your Labels
By Jane Johnson, DVM
As the owner and/or operator of a small or very small plant, you are very much aware of the importance of proper labeling, and not just because the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) requires it. (All ingredients used to formulate a meat, poultry, or processed egg product must be declared in the ingredients statement on product labeling.) Product labels are where your customers get most of their information about your products. Many consumers make their decisions about which products to buy based on a product's label. This is especially true for people who suffer from food intolerances and food allergies.
Food intolerance is an abnormal response to eating a food. The problem occurs within the digestive tract (stomach and intestines). A particular food may irritate the person's digestive tract, or the person may have a medical condition that prevents him or her from properly breaking down or absorbing the food. Although the reaction to the food may be unpleasant (bloating, gas, diarrhea, nausea), it isn't usually life threatening.
A food allergy involves a person's immune system. The body uses the immune system to fight off invasions by bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, and anything else that enters the body but doesn't belong there. Allergic reactions may consist of one or a combination of these symptoms: hives, tingling in the mouth, swelling in the tongue and throat, difficulty breathing, abdominal cramps, vomiting or diarrhea, eczema or rash, coughing or wheezing, loss of consciousness, or dizziness. Allergic reactions may be merely annoying or can be severe and life threatening.
When an allergic reaction is life threatening, it is known as anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis may result in constricted airways in the lungs, severe lowering of blood pressure and shock ("anaphylactic shock"), and suffocation by swelling of the throat. Symptoms that seem mild at first can progress to anaphylaxis. The amount of an allergen in a food is irrelevant. For someone with a severe allergy, even a tiny amount of the allergen in his or her food is enough to cause a potentially fatal anaphylactic reaction.
There are eight foods (or food groups) that are known to cause 90 percent of all food allergies. Collectively categorized as "major food allergens" or the "big eight," they consist of milk, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, and soybeans. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Web site, "the prevalence of food allergies and associated anaphylaxis appears to be on the rise. Risk factors associated with food allergy include a family history of asthma and allergies, genetic predisposition to allergic disease, elevated allergen-specific serum immunoglobulin levels (IgE concentrations), and being younger than 3 years of age. While 3.3 million are allergic to peanuts or tree nuts, 6.9 million are allergic to seafood. Combined, food allergies cause 30,000 cases of anaphylaxis, 2,000 hospitalizations, and 150 deaths annually."
Therefore, food allergies can lead to death, and more and more people seem to be suffering from them. These two facts alone make it obvious that the proper labeling of food products containing or potentially containing food allergens is critical. FSIS has posted a compliance guide, "A Guide to Federal Food Labeling Requirements for Meat and Poultry Products," on its Web site at www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/Labeling_Requirements_Guide.pdf. Also, "Allergens - Voluntary Labeling Statements" may be found at www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations_&_Policies/Labeling_Allergens/index.asp .
Since FSIS requires that all ingredients used in a product be declared in the ingredients statement of the label, the Agency does not require that you provide wording specific to a known allergen that may be present in the product. However, FSIS supports practices that promote accurate and informative product labeling, including voluntary statements on labels that alert people who have sensitivities or intolerances to the presence of specific ingredients.
For example, a phrase such as "Contains: milk, wheat gluten, soy" has been accepted by the Agency on labeling immediately following the ingredients statement. Additionally, further clarification, using parentheses, of the source of a specific ingredient in the ingredients statement, e.g., "whey (from milk)," is encouraged as a means of informing consumers who may be alerted to a more recognizable term.
To ensure that any potential food allergen is declared on the label, always double check your labels prior to sending them to your label manufacturer whenever you get a new shipment of labels at your plant from your label manufacturer, whenever you change formulations, whenever you change label designs, or whenever you change label manufacturers. It's also a good idea to routinely audit the labels you have in stock just in case something is missed during one of the checks mentioned previously. Of course, having everything declared on the label won't do much good if it's placed on the wrong product, so always double check that the label you're using matches the product to which it is being attached.
Proper labeling is important for both you and your customers. It helps your customers make informed choices about the food they eat, and it protects you from a recall and potential lawsuit. For more information or questions regarding food allergens and labeling of product, please contact the Small Plant Help Desk at 1-877-374-7435 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
[Back to Top]
Business Planning Guidebook Available for Small Meat Processors
By Lauren Gwin, Ph.D, Oregon State University, and Jane Johnson, DVM
Every business needs a plan, whether you're just getting started or changing course after many years. The Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network (NMPAN) has announced that its guidebook, "Small Meat Processors Business Planning Guidebook," is now available for download at www.extension.org/pages/17166/meat-processor-business-development. You may also visit NMPAN's Web site at www.nichemeatprocessing.org, click on "Tools for Businesses," and select "Business Planning."
This short guide walks you through a basic business plan using an actual plan written by a processor looking to upgrade and expand his or her facility.
- Section I lists and briefly describes the basic components of a business plan.
- Section II walks you through the business plan for a specific meat processing business, a custom-exempt slaughter and processing facility proposing to build a new building three times its current size, become USDA-inspected, and expand its retail operation. In each part of this business plan, you'll find questions you need to answer and suggestions for finding information to answer those questions.
- In Section III, you'll see how your plan may change for two alternative plant configurations: first, as a custom-exempt facility, and second, by adding an inspected mobile slaughter unit.
- Section IV lists other useful resources for business planning.
- Section V concludes the guide with a few final thoughts on planning this kind of business. A companion spreadsheet offers a modifiable cashflow template based on the model plan in the guide.
NMPAN is a national network of people and organizations assisting niche meat processors, as well as the livestock producers and the niche meat buyers who depend on them. The organization's goal is to strengthen and expand the slaughter and processing capacity of the meat processing sector serving niche markets. If you do not have computer access, you may contact NMPAN co-coordinators Dr. Arion Thiboumery at (515) 294-2882 or Dr. Lauren Gwin at (510) 388-4720.
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Small Plant News Guidebook Series Launched
By Jane Johnson, DVM
FSIS is pleased to announce that the Small Plant News team is producing a series of guidebooks that will provide useful information on a variety of topics including, but not limited to, dealing with plant emergencies, developing a recall plan, introduction to microbiology, and obtaining a grant of inspection. The intended audience for the series is the owner and/or operator of small and very small plants.
The first guidebook in the series, Help for Dealing with Plant Emergencies (PDF Only), is available for viewing on, or downloading from, the FSIS Web site at www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Small_Plant_News/index.asp . This guidebook provides useful information and tips that will assist you in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from some of the most common emergencies that you may encounter at your plant.
Future guidebooks will be posted on FSIS' Web site at www.fsis.usda.gov and available on a CD. For more information, please contact the Small Plant Help Desk at 1-877-374-7435. If you prefer, you may send an email to email@example.com.
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Commonly Asked Questions & Answers
Q. Can an establishment refuse to provide access to inspection program personnel (IPP) to its Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans or other establishment data due to concerns with the potential release of its proprietary data? If the establishment does, how would the agency proceed?
A. No. An establishment is obligated to provide access to HACCP plans or other establishment data by 9 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 417.5(f), which states: "All records required by this part (Part 417) and all plans and procedures required by this part shall be available for official review." If an establishment refuses to provide access to its HACCP plan or other supporting documentation for review and recording of information into the Public Health Information System (PHIS), IPP must record a noncompliance, citing 9 CFR 417.5(f). IPP are then to discuss this noncompliance with establishment management at the next weekly meeting, and document that fact and any establishment response in the memorandum of interview (MOI) that is routinely generated from the weekly meeting. If the establishment continues in its refusal, IPP are to immediately contact their Frontline Supervisor, who will, in turn, inform the District Manager (DM) of the establishment's refusal. The DM, or designee, will contact the establishment management and discuss the issue. If the establishment continues to refuse, the DM will instruct the IPP to take an official control action by withholding inspection, as defined under 9 CFR 500.1(b). The DM will then document the incident in a letter to the establishment, officially informing it that FSIS has withheld inspection under 9 CFR 500.3(a)(6) because the establishment has interfered with an FSIS inspector performing his/her inspection duties. The DM will lift the withholding action when the establishment has provided its HACCP plan and supporting documentation to the IPP.
Q. Are establishments required to provide electronic copies of their HACCP plans, Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures, or supporting data to the IPP to enter into PHIS?
A. No. Data to be input into PHIS is to be keyed in by IPP based on their review of the establishment documents and knowledge of establishment's operations. 9 CFR 417.5(f) states: "All records required by this part (9 CFR Part 417) and all plans and procedures required by this part shall be available for official review." The establishment is required to provide access to the plans and procedures even if the plans and procedures are maintained electronically (9 CFR 417.5(d)). IPP will be afforded access; however, IPP should not request copies of any plans or programs.
Q. Will there be special directives related to the implementation and use of PHIS? If so, where can inspectors find them?
A. Under PHIS, FSIS inspectors will use directives with the heading "FSIS PHIS Directive." The PHIS directives mirror many of the current directives, but have directions related to PHIS and not PBIS. The PHIS directives are found at www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations_&_policies/PHIS_Directives/index.asp .
Q. When an establishment employee documents a time on the official HACCP record, would the employee document the time the HACCP event started or the time the HACCP event ended?
A. 9 CFR 417.2(c)(6) allows an establishment to develop any type of recordkeeping system it wishes to document the monitoring of its critical control point to ensure compliance with its critical limit. Therefore, it should not matter whether the monitoring start time or end time is used, as long as the time is consistently documented per the establishment's HACCP recordkeeping system.
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Small Plant NEWS
Editor: Keith Payne
Managing Editor: Jane Johnson, DVM
Production: Joan Lindenberger, Sally Fernandez
Design: Gordon Wilson, Duane Robinson
Contact: Small Plant News, USDA/FSIS, Patriots Plaza III, Rm. 9-267A, Mailstop 3778, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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I received a number of excellent comments to my May 30 AdvisorOne blog about changing fee structures to smooth out revenues. The first came from Morsch Morscheimer, who raised a timely issue when he wrote: "I revamped all of my fee structure to avoid the backlash of market declines, AUM fees and commissions. Put simply I bill my clients as if I were an attorney. Want me to listen to your tale(s)? $XX per hour. Advice? Ditto…."
Over the years and particularly at the beginning of my career, I have been exposed to hundreds of advisory firms that charged clients all or in part based on hourly rates. From that experience and subsequent observations, I have two problems with charging hourly fees for advisory work.
The first is probably more of a suspicion, but I can't help wondering whether hourly fees really do smooth out revenues. Seems to me that during economic downturns, such as the one we're currently trying to recover from, people in all economic classes become more cash-flow -conscious; making an effort to reduce their outflows, both large and small, wherever they can. To my mind, that can't help but translate into reduced calls and visits to financial advisors, especially when folks know the meter will be running.
My second issue with hourly fees is more concrete. Just as is the case with charging commissions, hourly rates transform an advisory business into an advisory job: A labor-intensive job based solely on transactions. Advisors' revenues entirely depend on how many client hours they can bill out in a given year.
Which means revenues are limited by fairly rigid constraints. Increasing productivity through additional staffing support or improved technology quickly hits a brick wall. So does raising fees. And growing revenues as clients become more financially successful is usually marginal at best.
What's more, just as with commissions, every January 1, your firm starts at zero revenues, with the year's income solely dependent on what you produce. I'm willing to concede that hourly fees are probably more predictable than new commissions, but they are still a function of how much each advisor works with clients. Every hour spent managing the firm, dealing with employee issues and/or training new advisors comes right off the top line. Which is why it's almost impossible to transform this job into a real business.


text: Just because you have no internet access or reception, it doesn't mean you can't scan a QR Code that may be in the subway or in a magazine you are reading on a plane. So many people are complaining about seeing QR Codes in places where there is no internet access. Is it because … [Read more...]


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In my last field report from the land of eBay fraudsters, I disclosed how some clown attempted to purchase $13,000 of LED rope lighting using an account registered with my e-mail address. Perhaps the only thing more upsetting than realizing that eBay did not properly verify the e-mail address was experiencing how little concern the company had in resolving the issue. I won't rehash the account, since you can go back and read the ridiculous tale at your convenience. I am here instead to tell you about how this matter was resolved.
Apparently, I'm a terrible, terrible person.
The banhammer drops
More than a week after my first write-up of this little adventure, I received a series of presumably automated warnings from the AI at eBay UK. First came an ominous "MC126 NOTICE" informing me that my eBay account (note: I never had an eBay account) had been suspended because I supposedly have been "claiming to be an eBay employee when you are not, or pretending to be another member." The notice goes on to say that "this is not permitted on eBay."
Pretending to be an eBay employee or even another member certainly sounds nefarious. Of course, I did neither. But in that now-classic "eBay's going to put the onus on you to clean up its mess" style of customer service, the notice told me that I will never be allowed to use eBay unless I successfully appeal my suspension.
So let's consider all of the ways in which eBay UK's customer support has tried to pass the buck for something I've had absolutely nothing to do with. First, after telling them that someone registered an account and engaged in an auction using my identity, they simply told me to register another account (as if that addresses anything at all).
When I clarified that this matter was indeed a little more serious than a registration problem, eBay UK actually had the gall to suggest that I use the fraudulently registered account to contact the seller and ask for his forgiveness. This would mean that I would have to reset the password on an account that I have never used, contact a seller in my own precious time, and hope that he cancels the transaction.
(On the positive side, I did receive a notice saying that the bid associated with this bogus account of "mine" has been officially canceled. That should bring an end to those harassing e-mails demanding that I pay for a truckload of LEDs.)
To top it all off, eBay UK now tells me that I have misrepresented myself, and if I ever want to use eBay again (not to worry, I don't), I have to appeal this suspension.
As you can see, no good deed goes unpunished.
I'm left with only one rejoinder: eBay UK, you are only pretending to take user account security seriously, and frankly you should be embarrassed that individuals are able to register accounts without properly verifying e-mails in the way that nearly every other service on the Internet manages to accomplish.
Listing image by brianc


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Remote Camera Controller
Camera control panel
- Newly designed control panel
- Smooth Pan/Tilt Control with new joystick
- Preset / Tracing memory functions
- Color image adjustment function
- Flexible System Design by using IP connection and control
- Storage Setting to SD card
The AW-RP120G Remote Camera Controller supports a variety of Panasonic remote camera systems. IP connection allows a large-scale, flexible, and simple system configuration for controlling up to 100 remote cameras and the simultaneous use of multiple controllers. A new joystick enables high response pan and tilt operation, and a newly designed control panel adds color adjustment dials. A preset memory with a new batch recall function and tracing memory save labor by allowing single-person operation. Equipped with Paint and other camera adjustment functions, the AW-RP120G meets a wide range of high-end needs. It is the ideal all-in-one controller for many applications such as event, conference hall, public facility, wedding and broadcasting use.
N.B. The AW-RP120 is not supplied with a power adapter, which must be bought seperately.
Please click here for a list of operation manuals to download.


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In this study, the profile and vaccination status of travellers seeking pre-travel medical advice at the Travelers' Clinic of Hospital das Clinicas, University of Sao Paulo School of Medicine in Sao Paulo, Brazil, as well as the vaccines recommended to them, were evaluated. Of the 445 travellers...
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The Cardiometabolic Risk Working Group: Another Coven Practising Drug-Induced Magical Thinking
Posted by Colin Rose on April 14, 2011
The latest issue of the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, published by the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS), both of which are largely funded by the drug industry has shamelessly published a "Position Statement by the Cardiometabolic Risk Working Group" (see highlights below). We have previously blogged about the American "Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults" and the Canadian "Working Group on Hypercholesterolemia and Other Dyslipidemias". Now that the ability of "cholesterol" to induce terror in doctors and patients has become a little worn and less profitable, drug dealers have invented a new disease, "cardiometabolic risk" with which to terrorize asymptomatic people into demanding even more drugs and doctors into prescribing them. Many of the members of the previous covens have migrated to the new one.
These medical covens take it upon themselves to dictate to the rest of the medical profession what drugs should be prescribed to prevent diseases of lifestyle in the otherwise "normal" population, so-called primary prevention. How are these covens assembled and what gives them the authority to establish norms for other doctors? This paper reveals in stunning clarity the answers to these questions. As we can see from the Acknowledgements and Disclosures sections, most of the authors of this Position Statement have many long-term financial relations with many drug dealers. Of the ten members of the executive committee of the Cardiometabolic Risk Working Group, nine have multiple financial relations with drug dealers and of the whole Working Group 19 out of 21 have similar relations. Clearly, drug dealers have distributed tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars to these doctors, justified under various guises, to facilitate a culture of drug dependency. Drug dealers choose members of the Working Group, pay them to be "authors", pay a medical writer to compose the Position Statement and get it published in a journal which would not exist without the financial support of the same drug dealers. Why am I not impressed and why would any other doctor follow the advice of this coven? But most family physicians and many cardiologists treat this sort of statement, endorsed by presumably unassailable organizations like the CCS, as revealed truth by a mysterious higher authority in possession of occult knowledge that must be accepted or suffer ostracism by one's colleagues. Of course it doesn't hurt that a 30-second drug prescription for numerical symptoms of junk food addiction is much easier that spending many unpaid hours reducing the addiction, the only real way to prevent its consequences.
Here is an example of the occult numerological incantations of the Working Group. Compare this with the occult number philosophy of Agrippa based on the pentacle below.
"Optimize lipid levels. In patients with cardiometabolic risk with a moderate or high Framingham Risk Score, treatment should be initiated with a statin to reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) by at least 50% and to 2.0 mmol/L. Apo B levels are a better measurement of lipid-related risk in these patients, and the target level for treatment is 0.8 g/L in high-risk and moderate-risk individuals. There is a large residual risk for patients at high risk for CVD, despite LDL-C reduction with high-dose statins. Many patients with cardio- metabolic risk may also have an acquired combined hyperlipidemia, associated with increased triglycerides (TGs), a modest increase in LDL-C, and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). LDL particle numbers are increased, as reflected by the increased levels of apo B100. Beyond LDL-C lowering, strategies that might reduce the residual risk include reducing the total cholesterol (TC) to HDL-C ratio, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and TG, although there are no clinical trial data to date to support such strategies. In the patient with diabetes, glycemic control optimization and health behaviour modification should be attempted prior to the addition of another agent, such as a fibrate. In the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes trial the addition of fenofibrate to simvastatin in patients with type 2 diabetes failed to show any reduction of CV events, although there may have been benefit in the subset of individuals with high TG/low HDL-C."
When one manages to decode the occult numerology of the Statement one can see that the goal of the Working Group is to have every overweight junk-food addict in Canada, the typical "high-risk" patient, on some combination of pills for "high" blood pressure and "high" cholesterol. The "targets" for blood pressure and cholesterol are set low and arbitrarily to guarantee that most of the Canadian population would be on some drug. The drug dealers can be assured that doctors will prescribe the newest, most expensive patented drug rather than a cheaper generic alternative because they have already spend hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising the advantages of the patented drugs. This is called clever marketing but it has nothing to do with the health of the population. The consequences of self-destructive lifestyles will not be lessened by any number of drugs which will have the unintended consequence of worsening those lifestyles when people are convinced they can continue those lifestyles with impunity under the "protection" of drugs that make the numerical symptoms of those lifestyles look better. While the Position Statement gives lip service to the necessity of "health behaviour interventions" it insists also on the necessity of "vascular protective measures", code for expensive drug prescription.
Canada is currently in the middle of a federal election campaign in which the most important issue for voters is "health care". All parties are promising to increase "health care" spending by 6% a year indefinitely. With an inflation rate of only 2%, a PhD in mathematics is not required to see that in the not too distant future "health care" will consume the entire tax revenue of federal and provincial governments. The increase in "health care" spending is driven by the sort of activities represented by this Position Statement but no candidate dares to mention drug-induced magical thinking in their campaign speeches or platforms. The electorate loves its addictions and demands infinite "health care" to provide the mirage of protection from the consequences of those addictions and any candidate who points out the obvious absurdity of this belief is dead electoral meat.
How can we exorcise the myths promoted by these venal covens? There at two excellent drug review publications written by authors with absolutely no connection to drug dealers that should be required reading for every doctor: Prescrire, a French publication available in English, which is expensive but is the gold standard in independent thinking about drugs and the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin of Navarre, a Spanish publication, available in English, which is free but covers a limited range of drugs. A recent excellent article from the latter, "Magical numbers in pharmacological prevention of cardiovascular disease and fractures: a critical appraisal", analyzed in detail the occult numerology of the drug-funded covens' pontifications on "primary prevention" and concludes,
A considerable part of the pharmacological recommendations to prevent cardiovascular events and fractures in healthy persons lack any solid justification. No clear efficacy, nor the size of the effect of these agents or a clear balance between risk and benefit make the intervention clinically and socially worthwhile. The "therapeutic targets" and the "operative definition" of disease or risk factor that include instruments or tables to calculate risk are new gateways to unnecessary medicalization. In the context of modern medicine, immersed in conflicts of interest, the physician is obliged to interpret the results of trials and the recommendations from guidelines and consensus at a critical distance, and to place emphasis on the development of clinical prudence as a desired skill.
In other words a truly professional doctor will ignore any advice from the drug dealer funded covens and use his or her own best judgement.
Lawrence A. Leiter, David H. Fitchett, Richard E. Gilbert, Milan Gupta, G. B. John Mancini, Philip A. McFarlane, Robert Ross, Hwee Teoh, Subodh Verma, Sonia Anand, Kathryn Camelon, Chi-Ming Chow, Jafna L. Cox, Jean-Pierre Després, Jacques Genest, Stewart B. Harris, David C. W. Lau, Richard Lewanczuk, Peter P. Liu, Eva M. Lonn, MD, Ruth McPherson, Paul Poirier, Shafiq Qaadri, Rémi Rabasa-Lhoret, Simon W. Rabkin, Arya M. Sharma, Andrew W. Steele, James A. Stone, Jean-Claude Tardif, Sheldon Tobe, Ehud Ur


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Morning Becomes Dew: We Try Mountain Dew Kickstart
If nothing else, Kickstart—the new breakfast beverage from Mountain Dew's fortress of extremitude—wins points for sheer ambition. Positioning itself as "a fresh alternative to the age old morning question of 'coffee or juice'" (for people who have never heard of every other beverage in the world, I suppose), it promises to provide a highly caffeinated spike to your usual morning routine of ski-jumping, body-surfing, or radical commuting.
Claiming, with dubious earnestness, to be the result of intense consumer demand, Kickstart (not to be confused with the crowd-funding website Kickstarter) comes in two flavors: Orange Citrus and Fruit Punch. I got hold of a sample of the former, which is probably enough; the prospect of Mountain Dew's interpretation of fruit punch evokes both curiosity and deep-rooted terror. Containing a micro-portion of actual fruit juice (5% total of orange and an undetectable white grape), Kickstart is mostly water, corn syrup, and sweet, sweet caffeine, bolstered with vitamins and highly important multi-syllabics like sodium hexametaphosphate and sucrose acetate isobutyrate, just like your mom used to industrially extrude. To top it all off, it's served up in a 16-ounce tallboy can that relaxes those who might be concerned about drinking a soda for breakfast by making it seem like they're drinking a beer from breakfast instead.
But at 80 calories a can, Mountain Dew Kickstart is actually far lower in calories than the equivalent amount of regular soda or juice would be. It claims to feature "just the right amount of kick", which translates to 92 milligrams of caffeine per serving, 20 milligrams more than a comparable amount of regular Mountain Dew.
I'm a fan of Mountain Dew as a soda; I even like the various flavor iterations that have cropped up over the last decade or so. But this isn't Dew trying to broaden its flavor range; it's Dew trying to invent a whole new beverage category—or pretending it's doing something innovative when it's really just giving us a veiled energy drink. And the great weakness of Kickstart is that an energy drink is exactly what it tastes like: it has almost no fruit juice flavor, a recognizable but diffused Mountain Dew flavor, and a whole lot of the harsh, chemical taste of energy drinks.
The orange juice—and even the more-familiar Mountain Dew "citrus" flavor—is flattened out by the strength of whatever lends Kickstart its kick, and what remains is a rather unpleasant muddle. It's lacking the crispness of a normal carbonated soda. I tried my sample of Kickstart on a morning when I was mortally exhausted, and it definitely fulfilled the promise of waking me up and giving me an energy boost, but the flavor was a real let-down, and that made it hard to get through an entire 16-ounce serving. It's hard to fault Dew for attempting a whole new take on breakfast drinks, but in the flavor department, they've lost everything that makes their regular product so appealing.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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Brandon Township man accused of attempting to burn down house, stabbing wife
A Brandon Township woman told deputies her husband stabbed her in the chest after starting a fire inside their home in an attempt to burn it down.
Oakland County Sheriff's deputies found the woman at 8:44 p.m. Thursday at her residency on Varsity Drive and Edward Street, near Harvey-Swanson Elementary, with a non-life threatening stab wound.
Deputies say the woman was able to put the fire out before it spread. Two children, a four and a five-year-old, were in the home at the time of the incident.
The 35-year-old suspect was located and became aggressive with deputies, who then used a Taser to gain control, arrested him and transported him to the Oakland County Jail.
The two children were turned over to relatives at the scene.


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Boston Cardinal O'Malley prepares for meeting with pope
Cardinals to elect new head of church after Holy Father announces resignation
The archbishop of Boston flew to Rome Tuesday night in preparation for his meeting with Pope Benedict XVI.
Cardinal Sean O'Malley will attend a meeting Thursday with his fellow cardinals and the pontiff at the Vatican.
The Cardinals could decide this weekend exactly when to begin the conclave to choose the next pope. Benedict announced earlier this month that he was resigning as head of the church, citing medical issues.
Massachusetts dioceses are planning special services to honor Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday, the day he steps down.
In Springfield, Bishop Timothy McDonnell will offer a special Mass, and in Boston, Auxiliary Bishop Robert Deeley will lead a Mass of Thanksgiving for the pope's ministry and for the election of a new pope.
O'Malley is one of 117 cardinals eligible to elect the new pope.


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We. Are. KETONES!
I have no idea how it happened, but yesterday was a crummy day, diabetes-wise. Somehow, early in the evening, I heard the Dexcom singing from the kitchen countertop, and BSparl and I went over to investigate.
"High." With a long line at the very top of the Dexcom screen.
"Hi, to you, jerkface," I said, pulling out my meter to see just what the greeting was about. And I saw a sticky 451 mg/dl blinking back at me.
"What the fern?" I couldn't figure out how I ended up so high, especially since after lunch I was 174 mg/dl and flatlined on the Dex.
And I was so angry. How does this happen? Did I eat the wrong thing? Take a shallow bolus? Is the pump ferning with me? Could the insulin have spoiled? Did I just lose track of everything and my numbers went berserk on me?
I was beyond battling with variables. High as can be and sporting ketones? I wanted this fixed NOW. So BSparl and I went into the bathroom to do a full once-over. Brand new pump infusion set, brand new bottle of insulin, and I took an injection from a syringe instead of bolusing, to make sure I'd come down within a few hours.
I did a ketone check and confirmed my suspicions: small ketones. Oh for crying out loud. I felt like I was in a battle against 100,000 variables, and all I had were these remedial tools with which to battle back.
A few hours later (and after a nap and after skipping my workout and after explaining to BSparl why her mommy keeps peeing on a stick), I was back down to 213 mg/dl and still falling. And when I woke up this morning, it appeared that I had fallen to about 90 mg/dl and held there all night long. Lucky save.
I am not a fan of these kinds of glitches on the battlefield against diabetes. (But I do love me some Photoshop. Because there's something so fun about arming King Leonidas, and his mega-abs, with a syringe.)


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Imagine working on your computer and suddenly realizing that you need more processing power than you currently have. Now consider the ability to simply go online to the computer or processor vendor's website, submit your credit-card information, specify how much more processing power you need, and for how long, hit a button, and, bam!there appears a pop-up that says, "Congratulations, your hardware has been upgraded." Similarly, imagine the ability to downgrade at will or, for that matter, pay for processing power just like electricity or cell phone serviceonly for what you have used.
We believe that such economic models may indeed become feasible for many-core processors. Current economic models for processors require customers to estimate their average-case or worst-case computational requirements beforehand, and then buy a processor or system that meets those needs. This causes computational resources on chips to often not match computational requirements of customers and their applications. So processors are often under- or over-utilized, both resulting in "wasted" dollars. And the problem gets exacerbated as the number of cores on a processor increase.
Joseph Sloan and I have published a technical report (www.crhc.uiuc.edu/~rakeshk/techrep_economic.pdf) that presents four alternative economic models for many-core computing. The proposed models recognize that when a many-core chip is bought, the customer may often wish to pay for fewer cores than what is present on a chip. The models provide the customer the flexibility to change the available peak computational capability of the chip (or effective number of cores) during the lifetime of the chip.
- The Upgrades Only model lets users adapt to increased average computation needs by scaling up any time postfabrication and postpurchase.
- The Limited Up/Downgrade model lets users adapt to changes in computational need by upgrading/downgrading the chip on demand.
- The Cores On Rent model lets users rent access to cores as long as the hardware has a valid lease. Access to cores is revoked upon lease expiration.
- Finally, the Pay Per Use model measures and records hardware usage and the billing happens over a specified lease period.
The last two models let users treat processing as a service by decoupling payment from ownership. These models are in addition to an Intelligent Baseline model, where users make one-time decisions about the number of cores they need, and vendors appropriately enable a subset of cores on the chip before shipping.
There is also a strong economic motive to look at alternative economic models. Currently, each chip has exactly one peak computational capability. Because the number of unique chips is decreasing due to prohibitive manufacturing costs and diminishing profit margins, there is an increasing disparity between the computational power that a customer needs and the capability that a chip can provide. This again results in wasted dollars and reduced efficiency. The problem gets worse with increasing number of cores on a die.
Economic models such as this are not new.
Large-scale server systems (or mainframes) also use a Capacity-On-Demand (COD) system where the economic models are similarthe IBM COD systems being just one example. The primary difference is the nature of customers. For the COD systems, the customers are typically a relatively small number of trustworthy, visible companies that can be tracked and made accountable if they do not subscribe fairly to the economic model. With many-core processors, authentication becomes a concern due sheer volume and anonymity of customers. Similarly, security and robustness become a concern as anonymity may encourage malicious users/customers to unlock the processing power. Also, reversibility (or downgrades) needs to be enforced more stringently as there are fewer ways to force the customer to give up resources. This difference in the nature of customers translates into unique support and enforcement mechanisms. In fact, the bulk of our work in this area is devoted to looking at the hardware and system-level mechanisms that are needed to enable the economic models. Mechanisms range from techniques to uniquely identify a chip, to securely authenticating a user, to locking access to unauthorized cores. Most policing mechanisms need to be implemented in hardware and made inaccessible to the user to ensure the integrity of the models.
Several other issues need to be worked out to make these models a reality, the biggest being the concern about the licensing model for software. Conventional software licensing models tie licensing to a peak computational capability. The proposed models allow changes in the available peak computational capability of a chip and may, therefore, require unconventional software licensing models.
But then again, imagine...


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What you need to know before you go
Argentina is famed for its passion and beauty, stretching through the southern half of South America. The sheer size of the country means you can sunbathe or ski, hike over glaciers or through vineyards practically year-round.
The capital of Buenos Aires is a cultural hotspot and resonates with a friendly vibrancy. The smell of grilled beef hangs in the air, and crowds of friends can be heard cheering for their football team from houses and bars throughout the city. To see nature at its most exceptional, consider a trip to Parque Nacional Los Glaciares or the iconic Iguazú Falls on the border with Brazil.
Top destinations in ArgentinaWhere will you go next?
Buenos Aires
In Buenos Aires, immigrants from Italy and Spain are often credited with originating the tango, which began appearing in dances at Teatro Opera, the local theater, as early as 1902. Today, if you'd like to tango your way through Argentina, visit during August when the two-week long Buenos Aires Tango Festival & World Championship is held each year. You'll enjoy free concerts, classes, and performances.
For more Argentine culture, tour the 24 exhibit halls at Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. This fascinating museum contains one of the largest public art collections in Latin America, with over 12,000 pieces of art.Read more


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http://mmajunkie.com After revealing his intentions this past Saturday night, Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren (8-0 MMA, 5-0 BFC) is now a full-fledged member of the Roufusport Fight Team.
The Wisconsin-based squad today announced Askren's addition to the roster.
"Ben is a world-class wrestler, and I'm very pleased to have him joining our fight team," Roufusport head Duke Roufus stated. "I believe we're going to help him take the next step in his career, while his wrestling will only benefit the other guys on the team."
Askren joins a roster that includes UFC fighters Pat Barry, Alan Belcher, Danny Downes, Erik Koch, Anthony Pettis and Ben Rothwell.
"I'm very excited," Askren stated. "I think Duke can do a lot for my mixed martial arts game."
A four-time national championship finalist while wrestling for the University of Missouri, Askren made his MMA debut in February 2009. "Funky" wasted little time ascending to the top of Bellator Fighting Championships' ranks by claiming the promotion's season-two tournament title before claiming the belt in a October 2010 win over former champ Lyman Good.
Askren is currently awaiting the winner of a Bellator 43 matchup between season-four tourney finalists Rick Hawn and Jay Hieron.
(Pictured: Ben Askren)


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MuscleNerd of the iPhone Dev Team has just confirmed via Twitter that his team will soon be releasing an untethered jailbreak for all iTouch devices running iOS 4.3.1.
At the moment, the only jailbreak available for iOS 4.3.1 is a tethered jailbreak released by DjayB6. MuscleNerd also confirmed that the jailbreak is in its final stage, with the team busy in ironing out some bugs.
This new jailbreak will work for the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod Touch 3G/4G, Apple TV 2G and the original iPad. However, like the DjayB6's tethered jailbreak for iOS 4.3.1, this new jailbreak method will also not support the iPad 2.
iPhone 4 owners who have unlocked their device via Ultrasn0w, are recommended not to update their iOS version and use this jailbreak. If they do so, their baseband version will be upgraded and they will lose their unlock.
The jailbreak is based on an exploit found by i0n1c, and will be available for both Windows and Mac users via Redsn0w and PwnageTool, respectively. Hopefully, the iPhone Dev Team will release the updated version of PwnageTool and sn0wbreeze within a week or so.


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CFO Moves this week include:
|McDonald's Corporation
|Altria Group, Inc.
|Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.
|CDI Corp.
|Avon Products, Inc.
|Northrop Grumman Corporation
|Kroll Inc.
|Chiquita Brands International, Inc.
|The Krystal Company
|Autotask Corporation
|AmeraMex International, Inc.
|Oncology Services International
|American Energy Partners, LP
|The Advertising Research Foundation
|Leidos Holdings, Inc.
|Convergys Corporation
|Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc.
|Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc.
|Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc.
|NV5 Holdings, Inc.
|Medovex Corp.
|CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
|ARC Document Solutions, Inc.
|WeGoLook, LLC
|Western Refining Logistics, LP
|Northern Tier Energy LP
|Ferrellgas Partners, L.P.
|Art's Way Manufacturing Co., Inc.
|SI Financial Group, Inc.
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Should you have any CFO Moves to report, please email us.
NOTE: CFO Search Report available monthly to CFOs only. Read more here.
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McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD) announced that Pete Bensen, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, has been promoted to the newly-created role of Chief Administrative Officer. Kevin Ozan, who currently serves as Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller, will succeed Bensen and is promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO) announced that Howard A. Willard will become Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Willard currently serves as Chief Financial Officer. Since joining the Altria companies in 1992, he has held leadership positions in numerous business functions of the Altria companies, including Finance, Strategy & Business Development, Sales, Information Services and Corporate Responsibility. William F. (Billy) Gifford, Jr. has been appointed Altria's Chief Financial Officer, effective March 1, 2015. Mr. Gifford previously served as President and CEO of Philip Morris USA Inc. (PM USA) and currently is Altria's Senior Vice President, Strategy & Business Development. Since joining the Altria companies in 1994, he has held numerous leadership roles in the Finance and Market Information and Consumer Research business functions.
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ: WBA) announced the appointment of George Fairweather, formerly group finance director of Alliance Boots, as executive vice president and global chief financial officer, effective 20 February 2015. Fairweather will succeed Timothy McLevish, who served as Walgreens chief financial officer since August 2014 and served as the initial global chief financial officer of the combined companies. McLevish will continue his service to Walgreens Boots Alliance as senior advisor to the chief executive officer for finance, integration and business development. Fairweather was group finance director of Alliance Boots since its formation in July 2006. He joined Alliance UniChem in the same position in 2002 and later led the financial integration during the merger with Boots Group. Previously Fairweather was group finance director of Elementis (joining when it was Harrisons and Crosfield) and before that, group finance director of Dawson International. Earlier in his career, Fairweather worked for Dixons Group in the UK and U.S., Procter & Gamble and KPMG Thomson McLintock.
CDI Corp. (NYSE: CDI) announced that Michael S. Castleman will assume the role of Chief Financial Officer following the filing of the Company's SEC Form 10-K for 2014 in early March 2015. Robert M. Larney, Chief Financial Officer, will be leaving CDI to pursue other opportunities following the filing of the Company's SEC Form 10-K for 2014. Castleman is currently EVP, Corporate Development and Operations and will continue to lead corporate development and operational analytics at CDI. Prior to joining CDI, Castleman served as president of Kenmore Craftsman and Diehard brands at Sears Holdings Corporation. He initially joined Kenmore Craftsman and Diehard as chief financial officer. Previously, Castleman founded or co-founded several investment firms, including Lehman Brothers Venture Partners, where he served as managing director and co-head. He has served as a director or board advisor to multiple companies.
Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP) announced the appointment of James S. Scully as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He will begin his role no later than April 1, 2015. Mr. Scully joins Avon after nine years with J. Crew. During his tenure, Mr. Scully served as J. Crew's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Chief Administrative Officer and most recently as Chief Operating Officer. Prior to J. Crew, he served in treasury and strategic and financial planning roles at luxury retailer Saks Incorporated, and in corporate finance and banking roles at Bank of America.
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has appointed Heather M. Crofford vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) for its Enterprise Shared Services (ESS) organization, effective March 9. She replaces Donald E. McHugh, Jr. who has been appointed vice president, business operations director and controller of National Security Technologies LLC, a joint venture in which Northrop Grumman is a partner. Crofford most recently served as the director of business management for the Cyber division within Northrop Grumman's Information Systems sector. Prior to that, she worked for more than 12 years for the Boeing Company in a number of increasingly responsible financial management positions, most recently as the CFO of the Electronic and Information Solutions division.
Kroll Inc. announced the appointment of Ken Roche as Chief Financial Officer. Most recently, Roche was a principal with Accordion Partners. Prior to Accordion, he was CFO and Lead Financial Consultant for CT Financial Solutions. In addition, Roche has held roles as CFO for Traxis Financial Group, CEO for Orbian Corporation, and Vice President and CFO for General Electric Trade Payable Services. Roche began his career with American Express.
Chiquita Brands International, Inc. announced the appointment of Darcilo Santos, as Chief Financial Officer. Since 2013, Mr. Santos worked at Safra Bank in São Paulo, Brazil, where he held several positions including Risk and Finance Executive, Managing Director and Chief Data Officer. Prior to his work at Safra Bank, Mr. Santos worked for 13 years at Banco Itaú BBA, where he held senior positions in the areas of Risk Management, MIS and Planning and Credit Portfolio Management.
The Krystal Company® announced the appointment of Carl Jakaitis as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the Company. Jakaitis most recently served as CFO of McAlister's Deli. Prior to McAlister's®, Jakaitis was CFO with Petrus Brands. Before joining Petrus, he ran his own consulting business specializing in part-time CFO assignments. From 1994 to 2004, Jakaitis served as CFO for Church's Chicken®. His restaurant experience also includes finance roles at Pizza Hut® and Boston Market®.
Autotask Corporation appointed Elmer Lai as Chief Financial Officer. He succeeds Vince Zumbo, who served as Autotask's CFO for the past four years. Elmer comes to Autotask from HubSpot, where he was Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer. Elmer has also held senior financial management positions at Sonus Networks, Airvana and Razorfish/i-Cube.
AmeraMex International, Inc. (OTC: AMMX) named Tracie Hannick as its chief financial officer replacing Kevin Atkin whose contract was not renewed. Ms. Hannick has been working with AmeraMex International as a tax and financial consultant since 2010. Before joining AmeraMex Tracie was President of Bean Counting Firm for 11 years. Prior to this, Hannick worked in the non-profit sector for seven years.
Oncology Services International (OSI) announced the appointment of Robert (Bob) Lee as Chief Financial Officer. Lee most recently served as CFO of Guidemark Health.
Aptaris™ appointed William Gilmour as CFO. Most recently, Gilmour was executive vice president and CFO at Saxotech. Prior to Saxotech, Gilmour was CFO then elected as a member of the Board of Directors for Alogent Corporation.
American Energy Partners, LP (AELP) announced that it has hired Jennifer M. Grigsby as the Chief Financial Officer of its affiliates American Energy – Woodford, LLC (AEW) and American Energy – Minerals Holdings, LLC (AEMN). Grigsby previously worked for Chesapeake Energy Corporation for 19 years in increasing roles of importance, including serving as Vice President, Assistant Treasurer and Corporate Secretary from 2006 to 2007; Senior Vice President, Treasurer and Corporate Secretary from 2007 to 2013; and Senior Vice President, Corporate and Strategic Planning from 2013 to 2014. Prior to Chesapeake, Grigsby worked for Commander Aircraft Company and Deloitte & Touche, LLP.
The Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) is pleased to announce that Thomas Higgins has joined as the COO/CFO (Chief Operating and Financial Officer). Prior to joining the ARF Chris Bacon led the global Consumer Insights team at the Gallo Winery. Chris began his career at General Mills, taking on leadership roles of increasing responsibility across advertiser verticals at Pillsbury, Citibank, Pepsi, and Colgate-Palmolive. Prior to joining Gallo, Chris was Global Director of Consumer Insights for the Personal Care Division of Colgate-Palmolive.
Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: LDOS) announced that Chief Financial Officer Mark Sopp intends to retire from his position later this year, once an orderly transition has occurred, to pursue more time with family and other personal goals. Sopp came to Leidos (formerly SAIC) in 2005 and led the company's initial public offering in 2006. He also led the finance efforts of the company's separation into two publicly traded companies in 2013. Sopp joined Leidos after more than 18 years of financial industry leadership.
Convergys Corporation (NYSE: CVG) announced the appointment of Cheryl K. Beebe to its board of directors. Ms. Beebe will serve on the board's Audit Committee. Ms. Beebe retired in 2014 as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Ingredion Incorporated. She served in this role from 2010 to 2014. She previously served as Chief Financial Officer for Ingredion from 2004 to 2014. She also served in several leadership roles at CPC International (now Unilever Bestfoods). Ms. Beebe currently serves on the board of directors of Packaging Corporation of America.
Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc. announced the appointment of Neil Davidson as chief financial officer. Davidson joins Deluxe from Bally Technologies, where he served for nearly a decade, most recently as CFO. Before joining Bally Technologies in 2006 as vice president of corporate accounting, he served as vice president of finance for Multimedia Games.
Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. announced that Phil Green, who has served as chief financial officer since 1995, will become president of the holding company. Green joined the company in 1980 and held a number of managerial positions in the financial division before serving as chief financial officer from 1995 to 2015. Green is currently on the board of Frost Insurance and also served on the Frost Securities board. Jerry Salinas, who has been treasurer for 18 years, will become chief financial officer. Since joining Frost in 1986, Salinas has held various financial positions within Frost and Cullen/Frost. He was named bank and corporate controller in 1989 and treasurer in 1997.
Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CPS), the parent company of Cooper-Standard Automotive Inc., announced the appointments of Allen J. Campbell as executive vice president and chief infrastructure officer with concentration in the Asia-Pacific region, and Matthew W. Hardt as executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO). Hardt will join Cooper Standard as executive vice president on February 2 and become CFO on March 2 when Campbell transitions to the chief infrastructure officer position stationed in the Asia-Pacific region. Campbell has been with Cooper Standard since 1998, serving in a series of financial and corporate leadership roles of increasing responsibility, including vice president of Asian operations. Prior to joining Cooper Standard, Campbell held various non-automotive, financial and business positions for The Dow Chemical Company for 18 years. Hardt most recently served as senior vice president, finance for the industrial solutions, and before that, the consumer and industrial solutions divisions at TE Connectivity Ltd. (previously Tyco Electronics). He also served as vice president of finance for Tyco's specialty products group. He previously served in multiple roles of increasing responsibility at General Electric Co., including CFO for a number of the company's global divisions.
NV5 Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVEE) announced the appointment of François Tardan to its Board of Directors. From 1998 to 2011, François Tardan served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Bureau Veritas (BV). Before 1998 Mr. Tardan was President and CEO of Fondasol.
Medovex Corp. (NASDAQ: MDVXU) announced that the Board of Directors approved the appointment of Jeffery Wright as the Company's Chief Financial Officer. Wright replaces Charles Farrahar, who will remain with the Company on a part-time basis as its Secretary. Prior to joining Medovex, Mr. Wright was an audit senior at Ernst & Young within the Assurance Services division. Prior to his career in public accounting, Mr. Wright worked as a trading analyst in the retirement trust services department at Reliance Trust Company.
CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) announced the appointment of William (Bill) D. Rogers as executive vice president of finance and accounting, effective Feb. 9. He will succeed Gary L. Whitlock as executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective March 3. He will also remain on the board of Enable Midstream Partners. Rogers was most recently vice president and treasurer at American Water Works Company, Inc. Previously, he served as chief financial officer for NV Energy, Inc. He had previously served as vice president of finance, risk and tax, as well as corporate treasurer. Before joining NV Energy in June 2005, Rogers was a managing director in capital markets for Merrill Lynch and prior served in a similar role at JPMorgan Chase in New York.
Sysorex (NASDAQ: SYRX) has appointed Wendy Loundermon as its interim Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Loundermon replaces Will Frederick, who has resigned to pursue other interests. Ms. Loundermon joined the Company in 2002 and had been the CFO until October 2014. Prior to her re-appointment as Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Loundermon was serving as the Company's Vice President of Finance and Secretary and continues to serve as President, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of its Sysorex Government Services subsidiary.
ARC Document Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: ARC) announced the appointment of Jorge Avalos to succeed John Toth in the role of Chief Financial Officer of ARC at the end of January. Mr. Toth, the company's current CFO, is leaving the company to pursue other business interests. Jorge Avalos has been ARC's Chief Accounting Officer and Vice President of Finance since April 2011, having joined the company in June 2006 as the Company's Director of Finance. He became the Company's Corporate Controller in December 2006, and Vice President, Corporate Controller in December 2010. Prior to joining the company Mr. Avalos was the controller of Vendare Media Group.
WeGoLook, LLC has been named Kenneth Knoll as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining WeGoLook, he was a business consultant and recently guided WeGoLook through an investment round. Knoll served as the Director of Advisory Services at i2E, INC. Knoll has previously worked for ConocoPhillips leading audit teams in domestic and international business unit engagement. Additionally, he founded a service company and operated it for more than a decade before successfully exiting.
Convergence announced that Joseph (Joe) Dello Russo, former Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative officer of MFS Investment Management has joined the Firm as a Senior Managing Director. During his professional career, Joe was Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer of MFS Investment Management. Prior to MFS, Joe was a senior finance and operations executive (including Director of Mutual Fund Operations and SVP and Controller) at The Boston Company (now owned by Bank of New York/Mellon), and an Audit Manager at Arthur Andersen & Co.
Western Refining Logistics, LP (NYSE: WNRL) announced that Karen B. Davis has resigned as Chief Financial Officer, to join Northern Tier Energy GP LLC, the general partner of Northern Tier Energy LP, and Northern Tier Energy LLC, as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in March 2015. Gary R. Dalke, Executive Vice President of Western Refining Logistics GP, LLC, the general partner of WNRL, has been named Interim Chief Financial Officer, in addition to his current role as Executive Vice President, until a replacement has been identified. Mr. Dalke previously served as Chief Financial Officer of WNRL since its inception in July 2013.
Northern Tier Energy LP (NYSE: NTI) announced Karen B. Davis will serve as Executive Vice President of Northern Tier Energy LLC and Northern Tier Energy GP LLC, the general partner of Northern Tier Energy LP. The Partnership also announced that Dave Bonczek, Chief Financial Officer of Northern Tier Energy LLC and Northern Tier Energy GP LLC, has elected to step down as Chief Financial Officer effective March 16, 2015. Ms. Davis will assume the additional role of Chief Financial Officer for these entities, effective March 16, 2015. Ms. Davis joins the Company from Western Refining Logistics, LP, where she served as Chief Financial Officer. Previously, Ms. Davis served as Chief Accounting Officer of PBF Energy and PBF Logistics and as Global Controller of Petroplus Holdings.
Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. (NYSE: FGP) announced that Ryan VanWinkle has resigned as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer to pursue other opportunities. Senior Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations Alan Heitmann, a 20-year veteran of the company, has agreed to serve as its Chief Financial Officer.
Art's Way Manufacturing Co., Inc. (NASDAQ: ARTW) announced that Amber Murra has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer. Prior to this position, Ms. Murra served as the Director of Finance for Art's Way Manufacturing. Ms. Murra began her career in public accounting at KDV, and has also worked at J.L. Swanson, Chtd and Winnebago Industries.
SI Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIFI), the holding company for Savings Institute Bank and Trust Company, announced that Brian J. Hull, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, has announced his retirement effective April 10, 2015. Mr. Hull will be succeeded by Lauren Murphy, who is currently the Senior Vice President and Principal Accounting Officer. Ms. Murphy joined the Bank in 2004 and was named Senior Vice President and Principal Accounting Officer in 2013.


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Little Jesus
Fairest little Jesus Child
Came to earth so meek and mild,
Came to earth to show the way.
Happy birthday, Christmas Day!
Fairest little Jesus Child,
From the heavens, angels smiled.
We a gift before Thee lay.
Happy birthday, Christmas Day!
Text: Marilyn White
Music: Mark Newell
Artist: White/Newell
Album: Music Published in the Church Magazines: Friend
Composition Date: 1979-12-01
More Info: Friend