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Samir Chtita1, Majdouline Larif2, Mounir Ghamali1, Azeddine Adad1, Hmamouchi Rachid1 Mohammed. Bouachrine3 and Tahar Lakhlifi4*
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To establish a quantitative structure-activity relationship for cytotoxic effects of two against different cancer cell lines, a series of thirteen imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazine derivatives molecules was submitted to a principal components analysis (PCA), to a multiple regression analysis (MRA), to a regression partial least squares (PLS), to a non-linear regression (RNLM) and to a neural network (NN). We accordingly propose a quantitative model, and we interpret the activity of the compounds relying on the multivariate statistical analysis. Density functional theory (DFT) and ab-initio molecular orbital calculations have been carried out in order to get insights into the structure, chemical reactivity and property information for the series of study compounds. The topological descriptors (Formula Weight, Molar Volume, Molecular Weight, Molar Refractivity, Parachor, Density, Refractive Index, Surface Tension and Polarizability) and the electronic descriptors (total energy (E), highest occupied molecular orbital energy (EHOMO), lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy, (ELUMO) difference between the LUMO and the HOMO energy (Gap), total dipole moment of the molecules (ï), absolute hardness (ï¨), absolute electron negativity (ï£) and reactivity index (ï·)) were computed with ACD/ChemSketch and Gaussian 03W program, respectively. This study shows that the MRA, PLS, and MNLR have served also to predict activities, but when compared with the results given by the ANN, we realized that the predictions fulfilled by this latter were more effective
|QSAR, DFT, imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazine, cell lines.
|The use of chemicals in commerce, medicine and other aspects of daily life are generally acknowledged to be a quite positive benefit; however there is continuing concern about their negative impact on human health and the environment [1]. More than 100000 chemical substances are produced and used on a commercial scale, and about 2000 new ones are introduced onto the market each year. Many of these substances have little or no adverse effects, but some may be harmful to human health and the natural environment [2]. This dichotomy in social concern has caused both regulatory agencies and chemical industries to take an interest in the potential environmental impact of a particular chemical prior to its release into an ecosystem. The limited availability of experimental data necessary for the risk assessment of chemicals, and the general lack of knowledge of the properties and activities of existing substances, has led the European Commission to adopt a "White Paper on a strategy for a future Community Policy for Chemicals" [3].
|Quantitative Structure-Property/Activity Relationship (QSPR/QSAR) methods are among the most practical tools in computational physical chemistry. These methods are based on the axiom that the variance in the physicochemical properties and activities of chemical compounds is determined by the variance in their molecular structures. Thus, if experimental data are available for only some chemicals in a group, one can predict the missing from molecular descriptors calculated for the whole group and suitable mathematical model [4]. The global prediction of toxicity using QSAR has been the goal of many workers who utilized a variety of approaches. This goal is alluring, but has yet to be achieved satisfactorily. There are a number of reasons for the absence of success [5]. The deficiency of available toxicity data has clearly held back progress. This lack of success has been compounded in many studies by a poor appreciation of the insufficient heterogeneity, or chemical diversity, in the dataset. Further, while some molecular properties (such as hydrophobicity) are well described, others, including electrophilic reactivity, ionization, and hydrogen bonding, are poorly parameterized. Last, mechanisms of toxic action are not fully understood or misinterpreted, or their relevance in the modelling of toxicity is ignored [6].
|Discovery of new drugs for treatment of cancer has been gaining a great deal of interest mainly due to a universal resistance to conventional single drug chemotherapeutic agents. Multidrug resistance [7] characterized by resistance not only to drugs that are similar structurally and functionally but also cross-resistance to unrelated drugs like doxorubicin, vincristine, vinblastine, colchicines and actinomycin has been documented. Thus, search for novel anticancer agents with diverse chemical structure is need of the hour. Herein, we report the synthesis and evaluation of a series of imidazo [1, 2-a] pyrazines as potent anticancer agents.
|Imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazines have been gaining attention in drug discovery realm especially as structural analogues of purines [8-10] (Fig. 1). Derivatives of imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazine exhibit various pharmacological activities such as antibacterial [11], anti- inflammatory [12-14], uterine relaxing activity [15], antibronchospastic [16], antiulcer [17], cardiac stimulating [18], antidepressant [19], hypoglycemic activity [20], antiproliferative activity [21], controlling allergic reactions [22], smooth muscle relaxant properties [23] and phosphodiesterase inhibitory activity [24]. They have also been shown to inhibit the receptor tyrosine kinase EphB4 recently [25].
|In this work we attempt to establish a quantitative structure-activity relationship for cytotoxic effects of two against different cancer cell lines, by studying a series of 13 substituted imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazines (Figure 2) [26] have been synthesized with substitutions at 2, 3, 6-ring positions being varied generating mono-, di-, tri-substituted imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazines possessing functional groups like halo, hydroxymethyl, amine, alkyl, aryl, heteroaryl etc…[27].
|We accordingly propose a quantitative model, and we try to interpret the activity of the compounds relying on the multivariate statistical analyses. The principal components analysis (PCA) has served to classify the compounds according to their activities and to give an estimation of the values of the pertinent descriptors that govern this classification. The multiple linear regression (MLR) has served to select the descriptors used as the input parameters for the partial least square regression (PLS), the multiples nonlinear regression (MNLR), and artificial neural network (ANN). These methods (MRA, PLS, and MNLR) have served also to predict activities, but when compared with the results given by the ANN, we realized that the predictions fulfilled by this latter were more effective.
|A. Experimental data
|The experimental IC50 (μM) cytotoxic effects of two against different cancer cell lines activities (MDAMB-231 and SK-N-SH) of imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazine derivatives are collected from recent publications [27]. The observations are converted into minus logarithm scale logIC50 and are included in table 1.
|B. Computational methods
|An attempt has been made to correlate the activity of these compounds with various physicochemical parameters.
|DFT (density functional theory) methods were used in this study. These methods have become very popular in recent years because they can reach similar precision to other methods in less time and less cost from the computational point of view. In agreement with the DFT results, energy of the fundamental state of a polyelectronic system can be expressed through the total electronic density, and in fact, the use of electronic density instead of wave function for calculating the energy constitutes the fundamental base of DFT [28] using the B3LYP functional [29] and a 6-31G (d) basis set. The B3LYP, a version of DFT method, uses Becke's three-parameter functional (B3) and includes a mixture of HF with DFT exchange terms associated with the gradient corrected correlation functional of Lee, Yang and Parr (LYP). The geometry of all species under investigation was determined by optimizing all geometrical variables without any symmetry constraints [30].
|The 3D structures of the molecules were generated using the Gauss View 3.0, and then, all calculations were performed using Gaussian 03W program series, Geometry optimization of thirteen compounds was carried out by B3LYP method employing 6–31G (d) basis set. ChemSketch program (Demo version 10.0) [31] was employed to calculate the others molecular descriptors
|C. Calculation of molecular descriptors
|Calculation of descriptors using Gaussian 03W
|From the results of the DFT calculations, the quantum chemistry descriptors were obtained for the model building as follows: the total energy (ET (u.a)), the highest occupied molecular orbital energy (EHOMO (eV)), the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy (ELUMO (eV)), the energy difference between the LUMO and the HOMO energy (Gap (eV)), the total dipole moment of the molecule ((Debye)), absolute hardness (), absolute electron negativity () and reactivity index () [33]. , and were determined by the following equations:
|Calculation of descriptors using ACD/ChemSketch
|Advanced chemistry development's ACD/ChemSketch program [31] was used to calculate Formula Weight (PM), Molar Volume (MV (cm3)), Molecular Weight (MW), Molar Refractivity (MR (cm3)), Parachor (Pc (cm3)), Density (D (g/cm3)), Refractive Index (n), Surface Tension ((dyne/cm) and Polarizability (e (cm3)) [32].
| Molecular Weight (MW): Used as the descriptor in systems such as transport studies where diffusion is the mode of operation. It is an important variable in QSAR studies pertaining to cross resistance of various drugs in multi-drug resistant cell lines.
|Molar Volume (MV): The molar volume calculates from additive increments. The additive atomic increments were obtained using a database of density and calculated MW:
|D. Statistical analysis
|To explain the structure - activity relationship, these 16 descriptors are calculated for 13 molecules using the Gaussian 03W, Gauss View and ChemSketch software.
|The study we conducted consists of:
|The principal component analysis (PCA) available in a software called XLSTAT
|The multiple linear regressions (MLR) available in the XLSTAT software
|The regression partial least squares (PLS) available in the XLSTAT software.
|The non-linear regression (RNLM) available in XLSTAT software.
|The Neural Network (RN) available in the software MATLAB Version 9.
|The structures of the molecules based on imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazines, (1–13) were studied by statistical methods based on the principal component analysis (PCA) [34] using the software XLSTAT version Demo 2009 [35]. PCA is a statistical technique useful for summarizing all the information encoded in the structures of the compounds. It is also very helpful for understanding the distribution of the compounds [36]. This is an essentially descriptive statistical method which aims to present, in graphic form, the maximum of information contained in the data table 1 and table 2.
|The multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis with descendent selection and elimination of variables was employed to model the structure activity relationships. It is a mathematic technique that minimizes differences between actual and predicted values. It has served also to select the descriptors used as the input parameters in the partial least squares (PLS), and the Multiples nonlinear regression (MNLR) and artificial neural network (ANN).
|The (MLR), the (PLS), and the (MNLR) were generated using the software XLSTAT version Demo 2009 [35], to predict cytotoxic effects IC50 activities. Equations were justified by the correlation coefficient (R), mean squared error (MSE), fishers F-statistic (F), and significance level (F value) [35]. ANN is artificial systems simulating the function of the human brain. Three components constitute a neural network: the processing elements or nodes, the topology of the connections between the nodes, and the learning rule by which new information is encoded in the network. While there are a number of different ANN models, the most frequently used type of ANN in QSAR is the three-layered feedforward network [37]. In this type of networks, the neurons are arranged in layers (an input layer, one hidden layer and an output layer). Each neuron in any layer is fully connected with the neurons of a succeeding layer and no connections are between neurons belonging to the same layer.
|According to the supervised learning adopted, the networks are taught by giving them examples of input patterns and the corresponding target outputs. Through an iterative process, the connection weights are modified until the network gives the desired results for the training set of data. A backpropagation algorithm is used to minimize the error function. This algorithm has been described previously with a simple example of application [38] and a detail of this algorithm is given elsewhere [39].
|A. Data set for analysis
|The QSAR analysis was performed using the IC50 of the 13 compounds against the MDAMB-231, and SK-N-SH cells (experimental values) as reported in [27], the values of the 16 chemical descriptors as shown in table 2.
|The principle (for the two studies) is to perform in the first time, a main component analysis (PCA), which allows us to eliminate descriptors that are highly correlated (dependent), then perform a decreasing study of MLR based on the elimination of descriptors (one by one) aberrant until a valid model (including the critical probability: p-value <0.05 for all descriptors and the model complete).
|B. Principal component analysis
|The totality of the sixteen descriptors (variables) coding the thirteen molecules was submitted to a principal components analysis (PCA). Twelve principal components were obtained. The first three axes F1, F2 and F3 contributing respectively 43.4 %, 32.6 % and 15.3 % to the total variance, the total information is estimated to a percentage of 91.3%, were sufficient to describe the information represented by the data set. Table 3 shows the descriptor's contributions to F1, F2 and F3. The descriptors MR, MV, Pc, e, EHOMO, Gap and have the most significant contributions to F1, the descriptors n, , ELUMO, and have the most significant contributions to F2, and the descriptors PM, D, and log(-E) have the most significant contributions to F3.
|The principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted to identify the link between the different variables. Correlations between the sixteen descriptors are shown in table 4 as a correlation matrix, in figure 3 these descriptors are represented in a correlation circles.
|In the projection of the compounds in the plane of the three first axes F1, F2 and F3 (Figure 4), the compounds are distributed in four regions. Region 1 contains compounds having a values of log (- E) between 4.296 and 4.368, region 2 contains compounds having a values of log (-E) between 4.415 and 4.473, region 3 contains compounds having a values of log (-E) between 4.929 and 4.935 and region 4 contains compounds having a values of log (-E) between 4.940 and 4.953.
|C. Multiple Linear Regressions MLR
|In order to propose a mathematical model and to evaluate quantitatively the substituent's physicochemical effects on the two activities of the totality of the set of these 13 molecules, we submitted the data matrix constituted obviously from the 14 physicochemical variables corresponding to the 13 molecules, to a progressive multiple regression analysis. This method used the coefficients R, R2, and the F-values to select the best regression performance. Where R is the correlation coefficient; R² is the coefficient of determination; MSE is the mean squared error; F is the Fisher F-statistic.
|Treatment with multiple linear regressions is more accurate because it allows you to connect the structural descriptors for each activity of 13 molecules to quantitatively evaluate the effect of substituent. The selected descriptors are:
|PM, n, and for MDAMB-231 ; and n for SK-N-SH
|The QSAR models built using multiple linear regression (MLR) method is represented by the following equation:
|The Fisher's F test is used. Given the fact that the probability corresponding to the F value is lower than 0.05 for SK-N-SH, it means that we would be taking a lower than 0.28% risk in assuming that the null hypothesis is wrong. Therefore, we can conclude with confidence that the models do bring a significant amount of information. For MDAMB-123, the F value (F value = 0.265) is up than 0.05, the model is not significant. (Tables 5 and 6)
|The values of predicted activities (Log (MDAMB-231) and Log (SK-N-SH) calculated from equations (1and 2), and the observed values are given in table 10. The correlations of predicted and observed are illustrated in figure 5.
|The descriptors proposed in equations (1and 2) by MLR were, therefore, used as the input parameters in the partial least squares (PLS), and the Multiples nonlinear regression (MNLR) and artificial neural network (ANN).
|D. Partial least squares PLS
|Partial Least Squares regression (PLS) is an efficient and optimal for a criterion method based on covariance. It is recommended in cases where the number of variables is high, and where it is likely that the explanatory variables are correlated. (http://www.xlstat.com/en/productssolutions/ pls.html). We submitted the data matrix constituted obviously from the descriptors proposed by MLR corresponding to the 13 molecules, to the partial least squares (PLS). This method used the coefficients R, R2, and the F-values to select the best regression performance. The QSAR models built using partial least squares (PLS) method is represented by the following equation:
|The correlation coefficient (R), the coefficient of determination (R²), the Mean Squared Error (MSE) and Standard deviation (S) for the two models.(Table 7).
|The values of predicted activities (Log (MDAMB-231) and Log (SK-N-SH)) calculated from equations (3 and 4), and the observed values are given in table 10. The correlations of predicted and observed are illustrated in figure 6.
|Despite the good results we have obtained by multiple linear regressions and partial least squares (PLS), it is likely that any non-linear relationship took place. Nonlinear regression performed by XLSTAT software and the neural network are suitable concepts to accomplish this task.
|E. Multiples nonlinear regression (MNLR)
|We have used also the technique of nonlinear regression model to improve the structure - activity relationship to quantitatively evaluate the effect of substituent. It takes into account several parameters. This is the most common tool for the study of multidimensional data. We have applied to the data matrix constituted obviously from the descriptors proposed by MLR corresponding to the 13 molecules. The coefficients R, R2, and the F-values are used to select the best regression performance.
|The values of predicted activities calculated from equations (5and 6), and the observed values are given in table 10. The correlations of predicted and observed are illustrated in figure 7.
|F. Artificial neural networks (ANN)
|Neural networks (ANN) can be used to generate predictive models of quantitative structure–activity relationships (QSAR) between a set of molecular descriptors obtained from the MLR and observed activity.
|The correlations coefficients and Standard Error of Estimate, obtained with the Neural network (Table 9), show that the selected descriptors by MLR are pertinent and that the model proposed to predict activity is relevant.
|The values of predicted activities and the observed values are given in table 10.
|The obtained squared correlation coefficient (R2) value confirms that the neural network result were the best to build the quantitative structure activity relationship models.
|In this part, we investigated the best linear QSAR regression equations established in this study. Based on this result, a comparison of the quality of ACP, MLR, PLS, MNLR and ANN models shows that the ANN models have substantially better predictive capability because the ANN approach gives better results than MLR, PLS and MNLR. ANN was able to establish a satisfactory relationship between the molecular descriptors and the activity of the studied compounds.
|The values of predicted activities calculated using ANN and the observed values are given in table 10. The correlations of predicted and observed are illustrated in figure 8.
|In this work we have investigated the QSAR regression to predict toxicity of several compounds based on imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazine derivatives.
|Comparison of key statistical terms like R or R2 of different models obtained by using different statistical tools and different descriptors has been shown in table 10.
|The studies of the quality of the MLR, PLS, RNLM and ANN models have shown that:
|The PLS method gave low coefficients of determination (R2), thus it was had no efficiency in predicting the values of activities.
|The nonlinear regression and the neural network ANN results have substantially better predictive capability than the other methods.
|With ANN approach, we have established a relationship between several descriptors and inhibition values (IC50) of Imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazines on human tumor cell lines (Log (MDAMB-231) and Log (SK-N-SH)) in satisfactory manners.
|Finally, we can conclude that studied descriptors, which are sufficiently rich in chemical, electronic and topological information to encode the structural feature may be used with other descriptors for the development of predictive QSAR models.
|We are grateful to the "Association Marocaine des Chimistes Théoriciens" (AMCT) for its pertinent help concerning the programs
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The Gruffalo
Returning to the West End this Christmas is the charming tale of everyone's favourite furry monster, The Gruffalo, which will play from December 15th at the Vaudeville Theatre.
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text:
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Instilling a strong foundation for lifelong learning
Instilling a strong foundation for lifelong learning
Our library supports our readers and researchers. Students visit the school library weekly with their homeroom classes, and the library is open before and after school. The collection enriches the SSEDS curriculum and grows with our students' reading interests. Formal library instruction highlights library use and research skills, literature appreciation, library related iPad apps, and web-based digital resources. Students read for both pleasure and information, so the librarian uses age appropriate activities such as special incentives, research projects, book talks, storytimes, music, and silent reading to spark that reading.
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The checkout period for books is two weeks with the option of renewal. Some reference materials and high demand items may have a shorter loan period. Especially concerning these items, we expect students to be responsible and considerate of the needs of others in their use of library materials.
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Faculty Professional Day - NO SCHOOL
Thanksgiving Break - NO SCHOOL
Faculty Professional Day - NO SCHOOL


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In the three years since the ouster of conservative icon Russell Pearce from the state Senate, the conversation on illegal immigration has shifted. More Republicans now embrace the idea of extending citizenship to undocumented immigrants who were brought to America as children, and some public colleges even offer in-state tuition rates to those children.Read More »
Bigger stakes, smaller crowds
As the national immigration debate rages, enthusiasm in Arizona fades.Russell Pearce stood on the Senate lawn last Saturday, reciting the same anti-illegal immigration rhetoric that boosted him to national fame in 2010 with the passage of his SB1070. This time, the crowd around Pearce had become much smaller. Read More »
Arpaio critic's suit over 2008 arrest dismissed
A lawsuit by a critic of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio over the critic's disorderly conduct and trespassing arrest in 2008 was dismissed on the day the trial was to start.Read More »
Latino groups condemn 2 early-voting bills; plan legal action to stop them
Faith Mendoza is a 17-year-old honor student from Chandler who spent hundreds of hours through the 2012 election walking the streets, registering voters and then picking up early ballots from people who otherwise might not have voted.
By most accounts, she is a model citizen. But if SB1003 passes through the Legislature in its present form and is signed by the governor, continuing her volunteer work in Arizona would make her a felon.
Lawmakers push election overhaul — target early voting, contributions, signature gathering
Maricopa County elections officials don't want to see a repeat of 2012.
After Election Day, the county had a record number of provisional ballots. For two weeks afterward, they counted votes, including thousands of provisional ballots caused by people who had received early ballots in the mail but chose to vote in person on Election Day instead.
Joe Arpaio foes launch recall effort
Members of the coalition that recalled former Senate President Russell Pearce are setting their sights on a bigger prize – Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Organizers of a recall campaign against the long-serving sheriff filed paperwork for their recall committee, Respect Arizona, with county election officials today.
Wild West moments of 2012
While the mood at the state Capitol this past year might be best described as riotous, 2012 — the Chinese Year of the Dragon — was marked with fewer gaffes, catfights and over-the-top name calling among Arizona's political elite.Read More »
A lesson in victimology
If Thomas intended to make a coherent case for himself after his disbarment yesterday, his effort today was marred during a bizarre press conference in which he said Arizona has turned into Mexico and compared himself to Gandhi, MLK and a Nobel laureate. He held the event near the Wells Fargo building downtown – the site of Arpaio's office – but was overshadowed at times by those who had gathered both to support and protest him.Read More »
Don't tell Randy Parraz
At this month's Arizona Republican Party mandatory meeting, state committeemen will have the chance to return Pearce to an elected post.Read More »
That should go over well
Gallardo told our reporter that legislators can bring two guests for the opening day of session in the House chamber, where Brewer will give her state address. So he's bringing a familiar figure – activist Randy Parraz.Read More »


text: My Militia 265 Posted August 24, 2016 Rob Pincus joined Cenk Uygur on The Young Turks yesterday to respond to the controversy TYT stirred up from a statement he made while hosting a seminar during the NRA Annual Meetings in Louisville, KY. In response to a video taken during Pincus' seminar, TYT to their YouTube channel on June 1, 2016: The NRA is a mouthpiece for the gun manufacturing industry. Their main goal is always to increase gun sales. To this end, they want to convince people they need a gun in every room of the house, including children's bedrooms. Ana Kasparian, John Iadarola (ThinkTank), and Jordan Chariton (TYT Politics), hosts of The Young Turks, break it down. Tell us what you think in the comment section below. "Home defense was a focus of this year's NRA members meeting, according to the Houston Chronicle. One of the offerings was a well-attended seminar on "Home Defense Concepts" taught by gun safety advocate and firearms instructor Rob Pincus. "How about putting a quick-access safe in your kids' bedroom? Good idea or bad idea?" Pincus can be seen asking the audience in the video. "We have an emotional push back to that. Here's my position on this: If you're worried that your kid is going to try to break into the safe that is in their bedroom, with a gun in it, you have bigger problems than home defense." As many of you know, Pincus is a firearms defense expert, author, instructor, consultant, trainer and a father. Watch Rob school Cenk then sound off: Do you agree with Rob? The post Rob Pincus Takes on The Young Turks appeared first on Bearing Arms. Continue reading... Report post Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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Within five minutes of sitting down with Rob Hayles, it's clear he has no regrets about retiring.
"It's been one of the things I've always said I'd look forward to – being able to wake up and not worry how my legs are feeling," he said.
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"This time last year I couldn't imagine myself not going through a winter and gearing up to race next year. Now, there are lots of things that I want to do."
"I consider myself unemployable, having been a bike rider for so long, and yet I think I'm in a privileged position as I'm having to turn down offers."
We meet just two days after the National Hill-Climb Championships – the last race of his illustrious career – at his home in Derbyshire, and end up talking for some five hours about his life in the saddle.
After 16 years of riding at the top levels of road, track and time trialling, the charismatic rider has a lot to look back on.
Hayles pictured at his North Derbyshire home, November 2011
Hayles won his first senior national title in the kilo in 1993, and finally became world champion 12 years later. A part of the GB set-up until 2009, Hayles was an integral part of the team who went from nowhere to become world beaters within the matter of years.
However, he confesses early on that he never dreamed about becoming Olympic or world champion.
"Whereas Brad [Wiggins] was inspired by seeing Boardman win in Barcelona, I never had that thought process. I was just immersed in riding," he admits.
By 1998, Hayles had amassed 11 national titles – four in the Madison, three points and two apiece in the kilo and individual pursuit – but a successful year with the short-lived Brite team on the road nearly contributed to him abandoning the track.
"Once the road became a viable option, I really wanted to have a go at it. It got to the point around 1998/1999 time where I though we had achieved all we could on the track. I thought I'd had enough of it – constantly not being quite there. I didn't think we were ever going to crack it."
Therefore Team GB's performance at the 2000 Olympics was as much of a watershed in the development of the sport in the country as it was Hayles' thinking.
"I can remember watching team pursuit qualifying in the Sydney Olympics with Jonny Clay. That was the realisation that as a group we were on it. And that was when I was starting to think this isn't the end of my track career."
In the days before marginal gains, the thinking at British Cycling was radically different to what it is now.
This was evident when Hayles, aided by David Millar, secured a contract with the French Cofidis team for 2001.
"BC didn't want me to go and race abroad and come the end of my contract in 2003 they wanted me back.
"I had to ride that year's World Cup meeting in Moscow to show I was committed to the track because they didn't believe that you could go away for three years and then slot straight back into the team pursuit squad. Now, if you don't go and ride the road, you won't be on the squad."
Hayles and Millar, 2002
Having satisified the coaches that three years of racing on the continent hadn't hindered his ability to ride the team pursuit, Hayles was a member of the silver medal-winning squad (alongside Wiggins, Steve Cummings and Paul Manning) in the Athens games.
A huge disappointment, he admits, particularly as they had been runners up in the World Championships three out of the previous five years.
Hayles finally took his first world title in the team pursuit in Los Angeles in March 2005. He was also scheduled to ride with Geraint Thomas in the Madison, but a 19-year-old Mark Cavendish stepped in after Thomas crashed during a pre-Worlds training camp.
"I was aware of Cav at that time – I'd heard stories about the whole Academy life – but I'd never ridden with him. The first hand-sling we ever did was after three or so laps in the race," Hayles said.
The Championships had already been successful for GB; Vicky Pendleton beat Tamilla Abassova to take her first sprint title, while Jason Queally, Chris Hoy and Jamie Staff were team sprint champions.
Cavendish had impressed in the scratch race, as he narrowly missed out on a medal.
Hayles' team-talk before the Madison was incredibly concise: "I said to him: 'let's get you a stripy jersey.' He replied with that nervous laugh he had back then."
In the early stages of the race, Hayles admits that he wasn't sure if he could fulfill his aim. "Halfway through I shook my head at Jonesey [GB coach Simon Jones] to say 'nope…I'm f**ked.'"
Fortunately for the British pair, the race stayed together. "I knew we'd have to get a lap," he said. "The Americans attacked, and everyone was shot. Cav threw me in, and I had a carrot to chase."
"Their coach told [Marty] Nothstein to swing up, I went straight underneath him and he didn't come with me. We took a lap within 12/13 laps. I remember thinking: 'this is really going to hurt.' It was absolute purgatory," Hayles recalls.
"Cav threw me in with a couple of laps to go, and I grabbed him, shook his hand and said: 'well done mate.' He barely responded – he wanted to wait until we'd crossed the line. There was real emotion there."
Cavendish leads the tribute to Hayles, Revolution meeting, November 2011
Within the space of a few days, Hayles had become a double world champion. I ask him at the end of the interview what the favourite win of his career was. Without hesitation, he replied the Madison.
"The team pursuit celebrations were more to do with relief; I was choked as I'd finally done it.
Although I intended to do something special for the Madison, I just felt cooked. That showed me what kind of rider Cav was and still is because he just buried himself."
"At the Olympics you get a medal. If you're world champion you wear your medal all year. That's one of the great things about being a world champion in cycling, and these days they downplay it. It's almost a blooding ground for younger riders, which is a real shame.
"Then again, at the time there weren't that many options – we didn't have eight or nine guys vying for the spots. Now we options, which is shit for the riders but great for the programme!"
No dream – Hayles makes the most of the rainbow stripes
"It was really odd for quite a while looking at photos. I had to remind myself it wasn't my head photoshopped on someone else's body. I wore the jersey as much as I could. I wasn't a road world champion but I wore it out training to make sure I made the most of the fact. It wasn't easy to come by so I didn't take it for granted. That's why I was so disappointed in 2006 as we were so close to retaining the team pursuit title."
"We got so close on a few occasions, and looking back there are two or three more medals and titles we could have had for nothing. Just little things we could have changed – like the clothes we were wearing."
For all of his success and longevity on the track, had those marginal gains have come around sooner, you cannot help but feel Hayles would have enjoyed even more glory.
Olympic pain and glory
Hayles competed at three Olympic Games – Atlanta in 1996, Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004.
"Other than Atlanta, I never finished outside top four in six Olympic events. Would I swap my medals for one gold? I don't know. I probably would. OK, if I'd have been Olympic champion it would put me into another stratosphere, but there are not many people who are multi-Olympic medalists in their own right.
Hayles met his wife Vicki, a former Olympic swimmer, at the 1996 Games.
"At the Atlanta Olympics, the swimmers and the cyclists were at a holding camp at Tallahassee together. We used to stop and watch them training on the way back from riding. We were all shacked up in a baseball stadium for the opening ceremony. The swimmers had to go past us to get drinks, so as she walked towards me I put my knee out and she bumped into it. I made a big thing out of it. She knew we were cyclists and I told her she'd hurt my leg. So it kicked off from there. I proposed to her just before the Sydney Games, and the wedding was basically a big post-Olympic party. It was the first wedding I'd been too, and I think a few of the others were like that too. Brad, Chris [Newton], Jason [Queally], Craig [MacLean] were all there. It was mental, and ever so rowdy."
Mr and Mrs Hayles in Athens
"After the team pursuit qualifying [which Hayles sat out with Jonny Clay], I phoned GB coach Simon Jones to tell him I wanted to be in the team. I felt with me in there, with the way I was going, we could have won it. Jonny and I rode versus the Ukraine in the semis but we just missed out on the final. We were going to ride off against the French, who we knew we were going to beat. So Jonny and I were pulled back out. We eventually got our medals at a meeting in the harbour. I think we had the presentation on the quayside, which was probably as good, if not actually being on the Olympic podium."
"Silver in the team pursuit was a massive disappointment. I was having a bit of a battle over the gearing. It was like sh*t or bust, and I told them it didn't have to be that way. Grudgingly we put a bigger gear on, which probably suited the others and not me. I can remember the bikes went up on the line, the wind was blowing us and I remember thinking it was never going to happen for us.
"I crashed halfway through the Madison, and when I got on the spare bike my left foot was hanging. I usually ride heel in but my cleat had been ripped. I remember thinking my knee's going to go, and if it was any other race I would have stopped. We fortunately got the bronze, which gave Brad a full set which was pretty special."
Hayles and Wiggins take bronze in the Madison
The worst day: March 26, 2008
Hayles hit the headlines after recording a haematocrit reading of 50.3 per cent (the limit was 50 per cent) in a UCI health test on the first morning of the World Track Championships in Manchester. After a two-week suspension, his licence was restored.
"Going into the worlds, I felt OK and on form. We had our blood taken in the morning. That evening I was lying there in my hotel room with [Steven] Burkey, and the door knocked. It was Brailsford. We went straight to his room, he sat me down and told me straight off. 'You're blood's gone over,' he said. I was numb. That was it, I thought. I'm fucked. Dave said: 'It's happened. But how?' I was crying, as I do nearly every time I talk about it. 'I haven't done anything,' I said. I'm trying to think what the bloody hell was going on. Dave was going: 'I need to know. We're in my room. I need to know. It's going to come out. If you've done anything I need to know.' I said to him: 'It's over for me. I'm not taking anyone with me. I've not taking anything. I promise you that.' Dave kept on saying: 'I need to know. I need to know. I'm going to be going in front of the BBC. I need to know.' I swore on my kids' lives I hadn't done a thing."
Honest: Hayles doesn't shy away from the events of March 2008
"I later said to Brailsford that the 50 per cent limit comes from the road – but track's a different sport. How can the same set of guidelines be used here? Going into the Worlds, I probably spent two or three hours on my bike. The rest of the time, I was recovering on my bed. What happens when you do that? Your levels go up. When the testers knocked on the door, I ran up the stairs to the room, which is the wrong thing to do. They opened the doors when I got there, so I just went straight in. If I'd have sat down for four or five minutes I wouldn't have gone over. The protocol now – learnt off the back of me – is different. You sit in the corner of the room with the legs out flat and do nothing.
"That was an awful time, and I didn't cope well at all with it. Half the reason was because I was trawling the internet. Of all the people who came up to me face to face, none of their comments were negative. But it never goes away – you still stumble upon it. I've got to live with it, and I'm as fine as I can be about it. It's just not nice when you look at your Wikipedia page and see it on there. The instant reaction of people is: 'he doped'.
"I've always wondered if it stopped me from going to the Beijing Olympics. I have asked them and they said no."
"I love developing equipment, and I'd like to be able to continue making and building things, especially if it can earn a bit of crust as opposed to me just tinkering around.
Hayles and his pimped out ride
"That was a custom bike – the mould cost £15/16,000 alone. The geometry was my design, and I played around with the little things – I feel SRAM's the best groupset, I just made it better! I got Zipp to send me the white and gold decals to match.
"For the Road Worlds this year, I knew it was going to come down to something simple. So I made Cav a helmet out of one of his old ones. I chopped the back out, wrapped it in carbon. I put a lot into that, I enjoyed it but it's bloody important. I'm passionate about that. We have lost out on world titles because of simple things like that."
Hayles and Helicopters
"In 1998, we had the National 10 and the
Lincoln GP on the same day. I won and Team Brite locked out the top four
so we got the team prize but no-one was going to be at the
presentation. I won so I stayed while the others had a helicopter to
take them to Lincoln, so I missed out on that one. The next helicopter
ride I had was in September 2001 after a car crash. I was in it, but
don't remember it. Then at the 2002 Tour of Poland, I went down and
cooked my face off. I remember seeing the rotors going around the
windows and that was it. So I've had two helicopter flights I don't
remember, and the one I would have remembered I never made."
Dressing up
the reaction to of his retirement, David Millar tweeted his
recollection of Hayles' career. One thing he mentioned was
"Any given opportunity to wear fancy dress I do
it. It's just funny. I don't think there's anything dodgy going on! This
New Year we had a pop stars past and present party. I went as Rihanna. I
researched it right down to her tattoos. I had the red hair, little
top, tutu and big boots. I was packing the car, I was bent over and
everything was on show. Some guys walked along and gave me wolf
whistles. I turned round and said: 'Alright guys, you want some?'. They
looked horrified."
The teams
Team Haverhill-Taylor's Foundry
Hayles won the closely-fought inaugural National 10 title in Northamptonshire, beating Richard Prebble and Stuart Dangerfield by four and 10 seconds respectively.
All Media-Futurama
Hayles took his second successive National Madison title; having won it with Bryan Steel in 1994, this time he successfully teamed up with Russell Williams.
Team Ambrosia
The beginnings of a successful road career, 1997 saw Hayles take the Grand Prix of Essex, March Hare and Girvan Premier Calendar rounds.
Team Brite
Hayles took his third National 10 title alongside his first – and only – '25′ crown.
Tony Doyle Ltd-Clarkes Contracts
In the build up to the Olympics, Hayles won his fourth successive points race title and his third successive Madison and pursuit crowns.
Hayles rides in the Olympic team pursuit semi final but is left out the line-up as GB take third. He later receives a bronze medal at a ceremony in Sydney harbour.
Hayles races at the top level of the sport for three years, although experiences the unsympathetic management the team are noted for.
Team Persil
Hayles rejoins BC's World Class Performance Programme, and takes a team pursuit silver and Madison bronze at the Athens Olympics.
He finally becomes a world champion on the track, taking the team pursuit and Madison titles.
Team KLR
2006 sees Hayles win team pursuit gold at the Commonwealth Games.
2008 is a year of highs and lows as Hayles fail a UCI Health Test before the World Track Championships in March, but having proved his innocence dominates the National Road Race Championships. A year later, he plays a big part in the team's success in the first Tour Series.
Endura Racing
Having initially taken on a part-management role within the team, Hayles solely focuses on racing in 2011 before retiring in October.
This article originally appeared in the November 10 issue of Cycling Weekly


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From Bob Baker
Aaron Reutzel of Clute, Texas, was voted the 2015 "Driver of the Year" by the North American 360 Sprint Car Poll voting panel of media members, promoters, sanctioning officials and manufacturers for the first time. Ruetzel, the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) national tour champion, earned seventeen (17) of the twenty-one (21) first-place ballots cast in the year-end poll. Aaron Reutzel earned the "Team of the Year" award, too. Finally, Aaron Reutzel will share the "Wild Card Award" for exciting sprint car performances with Morgan Turpen.
Those drivers ranked second through fifth, respectively, are ASCS Speedweek champion Wayne Johnson of Oklahoma, Seth Bergman of Washington, Johnny Herrera of New Mexico, and Empire Super Sprints (ESS) champion Steve Poirier of Quebec, Canada. Rounding out the 'top ten' for the season are Ocean Speedway champion Justin Sanders, Civil War Series champion Andy Forsberg, United Racing Club (URC) champion Curt Michael, United Sprint Car Series (USCS) champion Morgan Turpen and Knoxville Raceway champion Clint Garner, respectively. In addition to Aaron Reutzel, others receiving one first-place vote each were Wayne Johnson, Steve Poirier, Justin Sanders and Morgan Turpen.
Knoxville Raceway Rookie of the Year Ryan Giles of Iowa earned the North American 360 Sprint Car Poll "Rookie of the Year" title in his first full season of winged 360-cubic-inch sprint car competition. Jack & Bonnie Elam of J&J Auto Racing will receive the "Builder/Manufacturer of the Year" honors for 2015. In addition, Allan Holland of www.hoseheads.com will receive the "Media Member of the Year" award. Pete Walton of the United Sprint Car Series (USCS) earned the "Promoter of the Year" award.
The North American 360 Sprint Car Poll is an annual awards program of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum Foundation, Inc., of Knoxville, Iowa. All awards will be distributed in 2016 at tracks throughout North America. The awards were announced on the third day of the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Final 2015 North American 360 Sprint Car Poll
rank, driver (first place votes), hometown, state/province, points
1., Aaron Reutzel (17), Clute, TX, 1700
2., Wayne Johnson (1), Mustang, OK, 765
3., Seth Bergman, Snohomish, WA, 453
4., Johnny Herrera, Albuquerque, NM, 390
5., Steve Poirier (1), St. Mathieu de Beloeil, QC, CAN, 262
6., Justin Sanders (1), Watsonville, CA, 236
7., Andy Forsberg, Auburn, CA, 196
8., Curt Michael, Ocean View, DE, 174
9., Morgan Turpen (1), Cordova, TN, 143
10., Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD, 119
11., Derek Hagar, Marion, AR, 115
12., Jack Dover, Springfield, NE, 92
13., Terry Gray, Bartlett, TN, 88
14., Mark Smith, Mechanicsburg, PA, 81
15., Justin Henderson, Tea, SD, 71
16., Jonathan Cornell, Sedalia, MO, 67
17., Shane Golobic, Fremont, CA, 54
18., Sam Hafertepe, Jr., Sunnyvale, TX, 45
19., Tim Crawley, Little Rock, AR, 35
20., Jason Barney, Constantia, NY, 33
21., Sean Becker, Oroville, CA, 32
22., Sammy Reakes IV, Palermo, NY, 31
23., T.J. Stutts, Liverpool, PA, 30
24., Kevin Ramey, Fort Worth, TX, 28
25., Jason Solwold, Burlington, WA, 27


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Last week, several sources announced that Kylie Jenner, the youngest of the Kardashian clan, is officially pregnant. That's right: get ready to say hello to a new Kardashian (and a whole lot of drama).
But while sources claimed that the baby was boyfriend Travis Scott's, who Jenner has been dating since April, others aren't as convinced. Some truly believe that the baby belongs to longtime ex Tyga, who allegedly posted (and then deleted) this Snapchat after the reveal:
However, some fans truly believe this wild theory: that Kylie Jenner IS pregnant, but not with her own child. Instead, she is the surrogate for Kim and Kanye's next child.
Okay, so this one is definitely a stretch, but when you think about it, it also kind of makes sense. Kimye has been searching for a surrogate for their third child for the past few months, which was around the timeframe Kylie got pregnant.
I mean, think about it: the Kardashian family is incredibly close, and they're constantly trying to help one another out. And who could Kimye trust with their child more than an actual family member? There are so many people willing to backstab the Kardashians that I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted their surrogate to be someone very close. And I mean very close. Is it really that surprising that Kylie might be the perfect choice?
At the same time, the theory probably isn't true, because I can't really imagine a grown woman asking her successful (and probably busy) 20-year-old sister who has never been pregnant before to carry her baby for her. I just don't believe it.
So, what do you think? Should we be expecting one or two Kardashians in early 2018? Only time will tell.


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Access to information
The Act gives you the right to access information held about you. Your right of access can be exercised in accordance with the Act. Any access request will be subject to a fee of £10 to meet our costs in providing you with details of the information we hold about you.
Changes to our privacy policy
Any changes we make to our privacy policy in the future will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notified to you by e-mail. Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to our privacy policy.
Questions, comments and requests regarding this privacy policy are welcomed and should be addressed to email@example.com.


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Category: Food trucks
Valentine's Day: Get those plans started!
Hey peeps! It's nearly Valentine's Day. Whether or not you celebrate it, I see it as a great excuse to go get some chocolate (and, of course, there are the chocolate sales). First: I have a giveaway for Seattle peeps on Instagram! Get six eclairs […]
Best food I ate in 2016
It's 2017! Time to finally write up my top list of 2016 food. I've been trying to write a list up for a bit now, and failing. You see, I'm a picky dessert eater, but I also love lots of desserts. Here's a short list […]
December 5-11 Event Megapost
Normally I post food events up on Twitter. It's a thing I can't really put on Instagram, and a bit ends up on my mailing list as well, so you get a bite of what's going on around town. This week, though, even with pre-scheduling […]
How I find all these desserts in Seattle
A friend was asking me the other day how I find the stuff I'm talking about here and on Instagram. The short answer? LOTS of research. For the long answer, read on.
Seattle dessert wish list: June 2016
I'm making a wish list because I'm hoping that if we ask for things, they might happen. Maybe we can get the desserts we're dreaming of, or convince someone to finally launch their truck. What do you want to see in Seattle desserts this year?


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Reliable • High Speed • No Limits
Privacy Policy
Updated: May 7, 2017
This Privacy Statement describes how Sooner Wireless collects information from or about you, either as a customer or as a visitor to the Sooner Wireless website, when you order services from us, how we use the information we collect and the choices you have concerning the collection and use of such information. The goal of this Policy is to ensure that your Sooner Wireless experience is secure so that you may use our products and services with complete confidence. Please review this Policy carefully.
Personal Information Collected
Sooner Wireless limits the information collected about you to what is needed for conducting business, including the offering of products and services by us or by third parties that might be of interest to you. You may choose to provide personally identifiable information (PII) to Sooner Wireless in a number of ways: in person, telephonically or electronically via our website. Examples of how you may share PII with us include: ordering a service or equipment from us, sending us e-mail, responding to Sooner Wireless surveys, registering to receive news or public information or applying for a job. We may also obtain PII from third parties (for example, credit agencies) with your permission.
Examples of PII are:
• Name (including company name for business customers)
• E-mail address
• Credit card number or financial/bank account number or information, including routing numbers
• Passwords or personal identification codes (PINs)
• Date of birth
• Social Security number
• Driver's license number or government issued identification number
• Company contact information for business customers
The following information is not PII:
• Mailing address, unless unlisted or restricted at your request
• Telephone number, unless unlisted or restricted at your request
• IP Address allowing you to use our internet service
• PII included in aggregate data complied by Sooner Wireless
• Sooner Wireless may compile or aggregate PII from numerous customers or Web visitors to collect data about groups of customers or potential customers or categories of service. Sooner Wireless does not consider this information as PII because the aggregated information does not contain the PII of any individual customer or Web visitor.
Use of Personally Identifiable Information
Sooner Wireless uses PII to provide products and services to meet customers' needs, including new products or services. Sooner Wireless may share PII with any Sooner Wireless-affiliated company, and these companies are subject to the terms of this Policy.
Sooner Wireless retains PII only as long as is necessary for Sooner Wireless to comply with business, tax and legal requirements. This retention period could be the entire time you are our customer depending on the type of PII.
Sooner Wireless does not:
• Collect PII from you unless you provide it to us in person, telephonically or electronically by visiting our website, including information you provide in order to use our services.
• Sell the names and addresses of Sooner Wireless web visitors to unaffiliated suppliers without your prior approval.
• Allow third parties to change your service provider or otherwise access your account information, at your request, without complying with our security policies, including our Customer Account Protection Plan that protects your account from changes not authorized by you.
Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI)
CPNI is information that relates to the quantity, technical configuration, type, destination, location and amount of use of the telecommunications services purchased by you from Sooner Wireless. CPNI is available to Sooner Wireless solely through its relationship with you and information contained in your bill for telecommunication services. CPNI does not include information that is typically classified as PII, such as your name or e-mail address and does not include compiled or aggregated PII. U.S. federal law requires Sooner Wireless to protect the confidentiality of CPNI. Unless you opt-out from the use of CPNI, Sooner Wireless may use CPNI to market service offerings to you to which you do not already subscribe. To opt-out, just contact us. Sooner Wireless may, without prior approval from you, use CPNI to provide or market service offerings to you, if the service offerings are within the same categories of service to which you already subscribe, regardless of your CPNI selection.
Value-Added Services
Because we appreciate the trust you have placed in us, we continually look for ways to enhance your customer experience. From time to time, we may notify you about a Sooner Wireless product or service using the information you have provided to us either in person, telephonically or electronically by visiting our website, including information you provide to use our services. We strive to limit our offers to those we think you would benefit from and appreciate receiving. We want every contact you have with us to be a positive experience. If you prefer not to receive these Sooner Wireless value-added services, offers and opportunities, just contact us.
Sooner Wireless complies with all applicable laws and regulations regarding Do Not Call Lists. Generally, Sooner Wireless is allowed to contact its customers, even if the customers are registered with federal or state Do Not Call Lists, because of our relationship with you. Sooner Wireless will, of course, honor any request to remove your name from our telephone, mail or e-mail solicitation lists and will delete your information from existing files within a reasonable time period. Just contact us.
Information Disclosed to Third Parties
Sooner Wireless does not sell PII of its customers to third parties. In limited circumstances, Sooner Wireless may provide PII to third parties:
• To assist us in developing, promoting, establishing, maintaining and/or providing Sooner Wireless-related products and services to you, including joint marketing efforts or promotions, but PII may not be used by the third parties for any other purpose;
• To assist us in establishing accounts, billing, collecting payment (i.e. credit bureaus and collection agencies), enforcing the Terms and Conditions or the Acceptable Use Policy of our Sooner Wireless services where permitted by law, and protecting or enforcing our rights or property or the services of our other customers from fraudulent, abusive, or unlawful use by you of our services;
• To comply, when required by law, with court or administrative orders, civil or criminal subpoenas, warrants from law enforcement agencies, federal or state regulatory requirements, mandatory governmental audits, E911 reporting requirements, grand jury investigations, civil or criminal governmental investigations or reporting required by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, designated by federal law as a reporting mechanism for child pornography; and
• To appropriate law enforcement, 911 centers or emergency services when Sooner Wireless, in good faith, believes the disclosure is necessary to protect a person, Sooner Wireless property or the public from an immediate threat of serious harm.
On-line Information
In addition to PII identified in Section A of this Statement, we, or our third party partners, may collect non-personal information automatically when you enter the Sooner Wireless website, such as domain name, browser, your computer operating system, information about the Web page from which you linked to the site, and time spent on different pages within the site. We or our partners may use this information to evaluate and improve our site, and may share the information with third parties on an aggregated basis to enhance our products and services offered. This on-line information is typically collected via cookies (cookies are small, encrypted data strings our server writes to your hard drive that contains your unique Sooner Wireless User ID.). Like virtually all other web sites that you visit, we use cookies to deliver Web content specific to your interests and to control access to your personal shopping cart after your initial entry. The cookie permits the server to recall information from your previous shopping trip, should you decide to think about your purchase. A cookie is not used to access or otherwise compromise the data on your hard drive. With most browsers, you can choose to change your browser settings to disable cookies. Please be aware that cookies may be required to complete certain functions on the Sooner Wireless website and other websites you may link to from the Sooner Wireless website, including making purchases or payments on your Sooner Wireless account.
Security Measures
Sooner Wireless uses security techniques designed to protect your information from unauthorized access, including firewalls and access control procedures. We have security measures in place to protect against the loss, misuse and alteration of information under our control. For example, when you place an order on a Sooner Wireless website, the information you submit is encrypted using the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol.
Sooner Wireless employees are bound by non-disclosure agreements designed to prevent them from disclosing any PII or CPNI. Further, Sooner Wireless's Working with Integrity Guidelines state that Sooner Wireless employees must abide by all state and federal laws and regulations in the performance of their job duties.
Our policies also limit access to PII to only those employees, contractors, agents or representatives that require the information to perform their jobs or assist Sooner Wireless with providing products and services to you.
Children below the age of majority should consult with their parents or guardians before furnishing any data to us. Parents should consider using one of a number of available parental control tools that provide a child-friendly, on-line environment and can prevent children from disclosing PII without parental consent. If a child has provided personal information without the consent of a parent or guardian, that parent or guardian should contact us to request that the information be deleted from our records. More information about parental controls may be found on Sooner Wireless websites or by contacting a Sooner Wireless customer care representative.
Sooner Wireless does not knowingly collect PII from children under the age of 13 in connection with providing products and services, and it strives to comply with all provisions of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). If Sooner Wireless inadvertently collects information from minors below the age of 13, the information will be treated as PII of the adult customer.
Sooner Wireless is not responsible for the content or privacy policies of other non-Sooner Wireless websites. You should keep this in mind when accessing sites through links on the Sooner Wireless website. Further, Sooner Wireless may advertise on other websites. The advertising companies placing our ads may use cookies to track the effectiveness of our ads. The use of such technology is subject to the privacy policies of the advertising companies, and not this Statement.
Google Gmail
Some of our customers may have email provided by Google pursuant to their specific agreements. Use of Google Gmail is subject to both this Statement and the Gmail privacy policy available under the Terms section at http://mail.google.com.
Statement Updates
We may update this Privacy Statement at any time in connection with our constant efforts to improve our products and services. We strongly encourage you to periodically review this Statement. We reserve the right to expand our capabilities for information collection and use and change this Statement in this regard. If any change constitutes a material change to this Statement, we will post a notice on our websites in a prominent position. If Sooner Wireless decides to use PII in a manner that is materially different from what is contained herein, we will post the change on this page for 30 days before making the change.
Security Breaches
While our goal is to prevent any unauthorized disclosure of PII, Sooner Wireless cannot guarantee that an unauthorized disclosure will not occur. We will make reasonable efforts to contact you if we determine that security breach has occurred and that there is a reasonable risk of identity theft or as otherwise required by law.
Contact Us
If you have questions, concerns, or complaints about this Statement or Sooner Wireless's privacy practices, please contact a Sooner Wireless customer care representative; email us firstname.lastname@example.com; or write to us at Sooner Wireless LLC, 1300 12th Avenue SE, Suite 236, Norman, OK 73071. We will respond to your inquiries in a timely manner.
Internet Information
Sooner Wireless's network management practices are designed to provide the best possible online experience to its customers. To that end, Sooner Wireless monitors traffic flows between points within its network and between its network and locations on the internet for purposes of reasonable network management. Sooner Wireless uses this information to manage its network, provide security for its customers, plan for future needs, and ensure its network runs efficiently. Monitored information includes the amount of data sent to and from your connection, the source and destination of the data, and the type of information sent and received. In limited circumstances, Sooner Wireless may also look into the contents of the information to determine whether it is malicious in nature (such as a virus, spam, worm, etc) or when required by law to comply with judicial orders or regulations.
Safe Harbor Principles
Sooner Wireless adheres to the Safe Harbor Privacy Principles and complies with the U.S.- EU Safe Harbor Framework as agreed to and set forth by the United States Department of Commerce and the European Union ("EU"). http://export.gov/safeharbor. For individually identifiable information received by Sooner Wireless in the United States, from Users in the EU, Sooner Wireless adheres to the following principles:
• Notice. Sooner Wireless will inform Users about the purposes for which it collects and uses PII, the types of non-agent third parties to which Sooner Wireless discloses PII, and the choices and means, if any, Sooner Wireless offers for limiting use and disclosure of PII.
• Choice. Sooner Wireless will offer Users the opportunity to choose (opt-out) whether their PII is (a) to be disclosed to a third party who is not an agent, or (b) to be used for a purpose other than the purpose for which it was originally collected or subsequently authorized. For sensitive PII, Sooner Wireless will give Users the opportunity to affirmatively and explicitly (opt-in) consent to such disclosure or use.
• Access. Upon request, Sooner Wireless will provide Users with the PII that it holds about them and will take reasonable steps to provide individuals with a means to correct, amend or delete PII that is inaccurate or incomplete.
• Dispute Resolution. For complaints that cannot be resolved between Sooner Wireless and the User, such disputes will be governed by the current provisions of Sooner Wireless's Terms and Conditions.


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We provide mobile application development across enterprise, business productivity and consumer applications on iPhone, Android and Windows Mobile. Know More
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We provide Software development using various technologies like Java, ASP.net etc. Know More
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We provide E-commerce facility to the different group according to their requirement. Know More
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We do Software Testing on the basis of client requirement and industry standards. Know more
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Soft-AID Computers Pvt Ltd committed to provide best software solutions to the clients.
The team at Soft-AID Computers brings together a meticulous planning and agile process to provide its customers the best value on their investment backed by some of the best and latest technologies and best people to work on their project requirement..
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Soft AID uses cutting edge tools to develop web applications, portals, web sites and Technical Manuals.
- IETMs Class III & Above
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Welcome to our research center! We've put together a library of information on important financial topics that we believe you'll find helpful.
Simply click on one of the general financial topics below and you'll find a selection of easy-to-understand information sheets about related financial concepts and strategies. This information is updated regularly to reflect the latest facts, figures, legislation, and economic trends.
Estates & Trusts
Estate Planning
Wills and trusts allow you to spell out how you would like your property distributed, but they also go beyond that.
Charitable Giving
To retain the tax advantages associated with charitable giving, your gift must be made to a qualified organization.
IRA Rollover
If you leave a job or retire, you should consider your options regarding your employer retirement plan assets.
How Much Do I Need to Save?
Many realize it's important to save for retirement, but knowing exactly how much to save is another issue altogether.
Your Business and Retirement
Allocating too much of your retirement investments to one company, even your own, can be a risky proposition.
Traditional IRAs
If you do not participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, you might consider a traditional IRA.
401(k) Plans
401(k) employer-sponsored retirement plans have many benefits, including that the funds accumulate tax-deferred.
Save Now or Save Later
If you start saving for retirement sooner, the more money you are likely to accumulate and possibly retire sooner.
Roth IRAs
Qualified Roth IRA distributions in retirement are free of federal income tax and aren't included in gross income.
It is important to understand how dividends (taxable payments to shareholders) fit with your long-term goals.
An important element to successful investing is to manage investment risk while maintaining the potential for growth.
Stock Indexes
Stock market indexes can be useful benchmarks for gauging the performance of an investment portfolio over time.
Mutual Funds vs. Stocks
The difference between purchasing an individual stock versus shares in a mutual fund to potentially earn dividends.
Mutual Funds
A mutual fund is a collection of stocks, bonds, and other securities with certain benefits and risks.
Fixed vs. Variable Annuities
Both fixed and variable annuities could be appropriate options for an individual interested in purchasing an annuity.
College Savings Plans
There are several funding methods for a child's college education including mutual funds and Section 529 plans.
529 Plans
529 plans are tax-advantaged college savings plans that generally allow people of any income level to contribute.
Risk Management
Why Purchase Life Insurance
If you have a family who relies on your income, it is important to have life insurance protection.
Term Life Insurance
Term life insurance differs from permanent forms of life insurance in that it offers temporary protection.
Insuring Your Future
To help you choose insurance wisely, determine how much coverage and what kind of policy is best for your situation.
Additional Liability Coverage
Consider additional liability insurance to help protect you from the potentially devastating effects of liability lawsuits.
Long-Term Care Costs
The odds of needing long-term care increase as you age. Prior planning can help protect you from financial ruin.
Medicare Coverage
Medicare is the federal health insurance program for those persons age 65 and over. But what does it cover?
Types of Life Insurance
When selecting a life insurance policy, examine all your options, as well as the positives and negatives of each type.


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This month, we're turning our backs on critical thinking and technical precision.
Please don't think I am rejecting the merits of deliberate shooting generally; this month's exercise is ultimately less about what you produce and more about opening yourself up to possibilities, actively experiencing the world differently, and letting intuition overtake intellect.
As the average person matures, her mind learns to ignore the irrelevant information in her environment. Being able to tune out the irrelevant is, after all, what allows us to focus on an important task, fall asleep, or identify danger.
However, a 2003 report in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology says that the brains of highly creative people are more open to incoming stimuli: "Creative individuals remain in contact with the extra information constantly streaming in from the environment … The creative person … is always open to new possibilities."
The technical term for this receptiveness to environmental irrelevance is called "low latent inhibition," and because it is also tied to some types of mental illness, including schizophrenia, some have called it the link between madness and genius.
As photographers, reducing our mental and sensory filters should permit our brains to notice things in the environment that the average person is likely to deem "irrelevant." Alternatively, we might try simply disrupting those filters by manually controlling the stimuli to which our brains are exposed.
Can we force ourselves – physiologically – to see the world differently?
Let's explore some of the ways we might alter how our brains typically process the environment as we shoot and open ourselves up to capturing opportunities that the normal person would be likely to overlook or dismiss:
1. Put on headphones or put in earplugs.
Just as the dancer or musician might better "feel" the music when blindfolded or a chef might be more receptive to tasting flavors when he cannot see or touch the food, so too might we more acutely experience our visual world if we manually strip out sensory distractions.
Our minds naturally filter irrelevancies, but we can disrupt the way we visually experience the world by actively blocking or replacing our auditory experience.
So, grab a pair of headphones, and create a soundtrack for shooting, pipe in a meditative rhythm, or even play white noise. No headphones? Try earplugs! Think about how differently we would visually experience a movie if forced to watch it on mute. Ultimately, muffling or replacing sound while we're engaged in our photography may help free our minds up to make new and unexpected visual associations.
2. Physically alter your vision.
When we discuss the building blocks of photography, including exposure, composition, and use of light, we talk about helping photographers train their eyes to see the world differently. This training takes time and is immensely valuable.
However, for the purposes of this exercise, we are going to fast-track a change in view by physically altering the way our eyes take in the environment. If you wear glasses or contacts (particularly if you have significantly impaired vision), remove them before shooting.
Have perfect 20/20? Adjust the diopter on your camera to throw your viewfinder out of focus and simulate the experience of a visually impaired person. Or even set your camera to manual focus, rotate the focus lens to throw everything into a state of blur, and commit to leaving it that way for the duration of your shooting, allowing objects to come in and out of focus only as you move closer or further away.
3. Relinquish control.
Consider that one source of creative inhibition may come from a sense of obligation or expectation. I often tell my students they are responsible for everything that appears within the frame. What if we make it impossible to exercise such control?
Set your camera to full auto: that's automatic exposure, automatic white balance, and auto-area autofocus (where the camera not only achieves focus but also picks the focus point). Indeed, I believe the inability to take control of every aspect of image-making is part of the reason why some photographers find it easier and more enjoyable to produce compelling images with their iPhones.
We're going to take it a step further: after setting the camera to auto, pull the viewfinder camera away from your face, walk around, and fire at will. You're shooting somewhat blindly; your only decision is where to point and when to hit the shutter. Shooting a LOT here is key if you hope to have keepers.
The fun of this will be in seeing what comes off of the card at the end: the general subject matter — imprecisely captured — that compelled you to press the shutter, and the happy accidents that might result.
4. Shoot when you're tired.
Place your camera on your night table, and set an alarm to wake you two hours earlier than normal. When roused by the buzz, roll out of bed, pick up your camera, and shoot for thirty minutes. Embrace the lackadaisical receptiveness of your groggy mind. Snap away before logic and clarity overtake your unfiltered imagination.
Shooting before dawn (or after dusk) may also be beneficial to creativity due to reduced inhibitions produced by the lighting itself; a recent report in the Journal of Environmental Psychology concluded that dim lighting conditions enhance creativity, stating: "dim illumination heightens perceived freedom from constraints, which in turn improves creative performance."
Thinking more specifically about photography, lower light conditions that obscure the visual clarity of the world around us may encourage our imaginations to fill in the blanks.
5. Have a cocktail (or two).
You might have suspected this would be on the list. We all know that alcohol reduces our inhibitions, and in this case, you may be able to leverage that to benefit your creativity. Indeed, alcohol (along with other mind-altering substances) has long been cited as creative fuel for artists and writers throughout history, from Hemingway and his whiskey to Van Gogh and his absinthe.
Like shooting tired, shooting slightly buzzed permits you to approach your photography in a state of greater relaxation and encourages your brain to process the environment differently than you would fully sober.
Alcohol may have the added benefit of silencing – or at least softening – our inner critic, perhaps encouraging us to loosen up on technique as well. I don't advocate making it a regular part of your shooting routine, but every now and again, enjoying a glass of wine and opening yourself up to serendipitous imperfections may spark something invaluable.
Do, of course, proceed responsibly and in moderation if you choose to explore how alcohol might influence your photography.
A note on uploading, culling, and processing:
In order for your images to survive all the way through this creativity exercise, you need to extend some grace after your shooting session as well. Don't overthink it. Commit to keeping at least 25% of the images that come out of an uninhibited shooting session, look for the possibilities, and try to get back in touch with the frame of mind you had when shooting as your process the images.
Remember that the idea of the activity is primarily about seeing what comes forth when your eyes and mind are forced to experience the world differently. Even if you don't produce anything canvas-worthy, knowing that you have the ability to loosen up the way you approach the world is powerful.
Feel free to treat the exercise more as a warm-up or a tool for those times when your mind and creativity feel especially restricted. It is okay to allow the images you produce to be merely a pathway to new ideas or fodder for photographs that you will later shoot more deliberately.
Let's see what happens when we lower our creative inhibitions. Bring on unexpected subjects, abstractions, broken rules, and imperfection. Shoot in conditions that allow you to be creatively out of control (within reason). Just let go!
How can you become a more creative photographer? Shoot thoughtfully, experiment frequently, collaborate with fellow artists, and embrace creative and technical challenges. Join me for new photography exercises and creativity assignments! I regularly present creativity exercises for photographers as part of a community challenge for Clickin Moms members.
At the conclusion of the exercise, Editors' Choice images are selected from among the exercise submissions and shared here with you on the blog. Congratulations to all of the featured photographers, and thank you to all of the members who participated in this exercise!
Be sure to participate in the next exercise! Become a Clickin Moms member (if you aren't one already!), and join me over on the forum where I have posted the next challenge, "8 Ways to Capture Connections Between Subjects.." I'd love to see your photos!


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The main drawback is that there is a significant file size overhead—about the size of a typical Chromium browser. So, don't expect a slim application when it's based on Electron.
How to Extract Electron FilesIt is usually packed in .exe extension, and can be easily extracted with 7-Zip.
Let's do an example this time with Boostnote installer, boostnote-win-0.8.19.exe.
- Open the installer with 7-Zip "Open archive",
- This is a typical Electron installer. The most important one is the .nupkg package, usually the one with the biggest size, in this example boost-0.8.19-full.nupkg,
- Let's "Open inside" boost-0.8.19-full.nupkg,
- Browse into lib folder and we'll find our bounty, net45 folder,
- As you can see here, the net45 folder contains the main application binaries. Extract the whole net45 folder then rename it,
Important: Do not just "Select All" the net45 folder contents and extract them. We found out in Discord for example, some of the extracted files might corrupt.
◀ Previous: MSI installer... ◼ End of guide :)