text:
Date of Birth: March 16, 1949
Canadian born actor and singer Victor Garber grew up in London, Ontario where he began acting at the age of nine with a local children's theater group. At the age of 16, he studied at the University of Toronto's Hart House.
His first television appearance was on CBC's Paradise Lost. Soon after, he landed the leading role as Jesus in the Toronto production of Godspell alongside Martin Short and Andrea Martin. Victor's performance was so impressive that he was cast in the same role for the musical film adaptation (1973). Garber has had a successful stage career, appearing in plays such as Wiseguys, Arcadia, and Sweeney Todd. He has been nominated four times at the Tony Awards for his performances in Damn Yankees, Lend Me a Tenor, Deathtrap and Little Me.
In addition to his stage career, Victor has an impressive list of television and film credits, having appeared in series such as E.N.G., Justice, ReGenesis, Eli Stone, Glee and Flashpoint. His most notable television role was as Jack Bristow on ABC's Alias for which he earned three Emmy nominations. On the big screen, his most memorable role was in James Cameron's Titanic as Thomas Andrews, the ship's chief architect. Victor has also appeared on screen in Sleepless in Seattle (1993) opposite Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan; The First Wives Club (1996) starring Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn, and Bette Midler; Legally Blonde (2001) with Reese Witherspoon; Tuck Everlasting (2002) playing Alexis Bledel's stern father and You Again (2010) starring Kristen Bell.
Victor played a role in the Canadian film Moving Day (2012), which also stars Gabriel Hogan and Will Sasso. He then starred in Self/less (2015) and, more recently, played a role in J.D. Salinger biopic Rebel in the Rye (2017).
Victor, who is openly gay, is in a long-term relationship with Canadian artist Raineer Andreesen. They live in Greenwich Village in New York.
Filmography:Rebel in the Rye (2017)


text:
The logistics landscape is changing faster than ever. Here's what it might look like in coming years.
Autonomous vehicles dominate the headlines. But they're just one of the many futuristic technologies we could use to make deliveries in coming decades.
" With a cargo-based network, you don't have to worry as much about acceleration."
Let's begin with the Hyperloop, a vacuum-tube transportation network that sounds like something out of a science-fiction movie.
People and packages could travel through low-pressure steel tubes in a capsule riding on a cushion of air.
As envisioned by entrepreneur Elon Musk – and the numerous companies intent on implementing a version of his blueprint – the tubes would run at least partially on solar power. The Hyperloop could move people from Los Angeles to San Francisco in roughly half an hour.
As remarkable as that is, we also should consider the potential of the Hyperloop to revolutionize the delivery of goods as well. Truth is, packages could travel even faster than people between any two cities.
[Also on Longitudes: The Future of Alternative Fuels]
People – and packages
With a cargo-based network, you don't have to worry as much about acceleration. Packages could move at higher speeds, along winding routes bringing cities closer together.
Goods could travel from Jacksonville, Fla. to Los Angeles in just a few hours – connecting two of the nation's busiest ports, on opposite coasts.
While much work remains before people can safely take this G-force-inducing ride, there are well-funded groups of entrepreneurs and investors who have dedicated themselves to solving these engineering challenges.
With test tracks being constructed, it looks more like when, not if, the Hyperloop is going to be up and running.
" Roads will get more congested, and the demand for goods will further test already strained transportation networks. "
Speaking of high-speed options, the Electromagnetic Railgun – a futuristic technology unveiled by the U.S. Navy in February – could also transform the logistics industry.
The tool uses electromagnetic energy to fire projectiles up to 4,500 miles per hour and can reach targets more than 100 miles away. The projectile is launched up to Mach 6 – more than six times the speed of sound.
The Electromagnetic (EM) Railgun was designed as a weapon of war, but just imagine its potential reach as a delivery device.
Instead of UPS flying a jet in the dead of night between Chattanooga and Atlanta, for example, we could shoot a series of bundled packages – equipped with parachutes – and land them in a UPS-owned field.
[Also on Longitudes: The Power of Visuals in E-Commerce]
What the future holds
By 2050, two-thirds of all people will live in a city. Roads will get even more congested, and the demand for goods in megacities will further test already strained transportation networks.
Cities like New York, New Delhi, Shanghai and London could become impassable in 30 years, forcing logisticians to rethink how they transport goods to the final stop. Unmanned aerial vehicles could deliver bulk packages at night, gently setting down the parcels on rooftops.
At UPS, we've been testing drones for their ability to deliver to hard-to-reach places. During the day, delivery workers – or even robots – would whisk these packages to their recipients using an array of small, green friendly vehicles.
Think electric mopeds, golf carts, Segways and other lightweight vehicles, such as UPS's three-wheeled Cargo Cruiser, a pedal-assisted electric bike.
With the aid of such technologies, people would get what they want whenever they want it – and this ever-shrinking world would become more sustainable.
Every morning, wake up to the blog that gives you the latest trends shaping tomorrow.
Every morning, wake up to the blog that gives you the latest trends shaping tomorrow.
Click the RSS icon to subscribe to future articles by this author.
We welcome the re-use, republication, and distribution of our content – just as long as you credit us. So we ask that you insert the following tagline when you use our content:
Reprinted with permission of Longitudes, the UPS blog devoted to the trends shaping the global economy.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
If you are reading this blog, you hopefully know that the Clague teams will be competing at the Michigan Super Tournaments ("States") in Grand Rapids in March. You might not, however, know how the tournament works.
The State Tournament is something the team looks forward to all year. The team members have a lot of fun but also are working very hard. Hundreds of students from around the state come to demonstrate the academic skills that they have developed all year.
The "Elementary" teams (this group includes 5th and 6th grades) will compete March 2-4 and the "Middle" teams (7th and 8th grades) will compete March 9-11. Both tournaments are similar in structure.
- We take a bus to Grand Rapids and then the entire tournament takes place in the hotel. Competition and meals all take place in the hotel's meeting rooms.
- Players compete in teams of five. We form these teams in January. Last year, we had four Elementary teams and eight Middle teams.
- We compete in two types of games. First, "cube" games include Equations, On-Sets, Linguishtik, and Wff 'n' Proof. Each of these competitions consist of four "rounds". We play two rounds of each game on Wednesday and two on Thursday. Results are posted each day, so if you follow our Twitter @clagueag you will see first the scores after the first two rounds and then the final standings. Teams that do extraordinarily well go to playoffs either Thursday evening or Friday morning to determine champions.
- Second, "reading" games we compete in are Presidents and Propaganda (there is also World Card). We play Propaganda on Wednesday and then Presidents is either Thursday (Middle) or Friday (Elementary).
- We will try to keep our twitter page @clagueag updated with results.
- No matter the results, we are all proud of every member of the Clague team for their hard work and the integrity they show in competition.


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LeetCode 642. Design Search Autocomplete System
Design a search autocomplete system for a search engine. Users may input a sentence (at least one word and end with a special character
'#'). For each character they type except '#', you need to return the top 3 historical hot sentences that have prefix the same as the part of sentence already typed. Here are the specific rules:
- The hot degree for a sentence is defined as the number of times a user typed the exactly same sentence before.
- The returned top 3 hot sentences should be sorted by hot degree (The first is the hottest one). If several sentences have the same degree of hot, you need to use ASCII-code order (smaller one appears first).
- If less than 3 hot sentences exist, then just return as many as you can.
- When the input is a special character, it means the sentence ends, and in this case, you need to return an empty list.
Your job is to implement the following functions:
The constructor function:
AutocompleteSystem(String[] sentences, int[] times): This is the constructor. The input is historical data.
Sentences is a string array consists of previously typed sentences.
Times is the corresponding times a sentence has been typed. Your system should record these historical data.
Now, the user wants to input a new sentence. The following function will provide the next character the user types:
List<String> input(char c): The input
c is the next character typed by the user. The character will only be lower-case letters (
'a' to
'z'), blank space (
' ') or a special character (
'#'). Also, the previously typed sentence should be recorded in your system. The output will be the top 3 historical hot sentences that have prefix the same as the part of sentence already typed.
Operation: AutocompleteSystem(["i love you", "island","ironman", "i love leetcode"], [5,3,2,2])
The system have already tracked down the following sentences and their corresponding times:
"i love you" :
5 times
"island" :
3 times
"ironman" :
2 times
"i love leetcode" :
2 times
Now, the user begins another search:
Operation: input('i')
Output: ["i love you", "island","i love leetcode"]
There are four sentences that have prefix
"i". Among them, "ironman" and "i love leetcode" have same hot degree. Since
' ' has ASCII code 32 and
'r' has ASCII code 114, "i love leetcode" should be in front of "ironman". Also we only need to output top 3 hot sentences, so "ironman" will be ignored.
Operation: input(' ')
Output: ["i love you","i love leetcode"]
There are only two sentences that have prefix
"i ".
Operation: input('a')
Output: []
There are no sentences that have prefix
"i a".
Operation: input('#')
Output: []
The user finished the input, the sentence
"i a" should be saved as a historical sentence in system. And the following input will be counted as a new search.
- The input sentence will always start with a letter and end with '#', and only one blank space will exist between two words.
- The number of complete sentences that to be searched won't exceed 100. The length of each sentence including those in the historical data won't exceed 100.
- Please use double-quote instead of single-quote when you write test cases even for a character input.
- Please remember to RESET your class variables declared in class AutocompleteSystem, as static/class variables are persisted across multiple test cases. Please see here for more details.
AutocompleteSystem(String[] sentences, int[] times): 输入句子sentences,及其出现次数times
List<String> input(char c): 输入字符c可以是26个小写英文字母,也可以是空格,以'#'结尾。返回输入字符前缀对应频率最高的至多3个句子,频率相等时按字典序排列。
class TrieNode:
def __init__(self):
self.children = dict()
self.sentences = set()
class AutocompleteSystem(object):
def __init__(self, sentences, times):
:type sentences: List[str]
:type times: List[int]
self.buffer = ''
self.stimes = collections.defaultdict(int)
self.trie = TrieNode()
for s, t in zip(sentences, times):
self.stimes[s] = t
self.tnode = self.trie
def input(self, c):
:type c: str
:rtype: List[str]
ans = []
if c != '#':
self.buffer += c
if self.tnode: self.tnode = self.tnode.children.get(c)
if self.tnode: ans = sorted(self.tnode.sentences, key=lambda x: (-self.stimes[x], x))[:3]
self.stimes[self.buffer] += 1
self.buffer = ''
self.tnode = self.trie
return ans
def addSentence(self, sentence):
node = self.trie
for letter in sentence:
child = node.children.get(letter)
if child is None:
child = TrieNode()
node.children[letter] = child
node = child
# Your AutocompleteSystem object will be instantiated and called as such:
# obj = AutocompleteSystem(sentences, times)
# param_1 = obj.input(c)


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And after two federal courts agreed with Arlington, owner Kim Houghton was forced yesterday to paint over the large "happy cartoon dogs" which were, by her own admission, the same dogs in Wag More Dogs' own logo. Before beginning the whitewash, Houghton and her lawyers denounced the decisions as an attack on freedom of speech. Arlington officials said they were just trying to be fair to all small businesses in the county.
Another Arlington business, the Smokey Shope III head shop in Crystal City, faced a similar quandary with its oversized painting of a man smoking a cigar. Rather than cover it, they recently had an artist convert the cigar to a whale, and no whales are sold in Smokey Shope III.
"I'm sad to see the mural," Houghton said, "that was an expression of my joy of being on this dog park, of my love of dogs, be wiped out, after a long struggle." But she said a beautiful new mural would replace it, free of commercial content, and dog walkers along Four Mile Run will soon see "a wild, spectacular image" and "everyone's going to be thrilled."
Below is a short video interview with Houghton. For more details on the mural's legal history, a copy of the key ruling in the case and a poll where you can weigh in on the mural's demise, follow along after the jump.
Houghton commissioned the mural for $4,000 in 2010, and acknowledged in court papers that it "incorporates some of the cartoon dogs in Wag More Dogs' logo." Her federal lawsuit seeking to keep the mural uncovered also acknowledged that the mural was intended "to create good will with the people who frequented the dog park" behind the store, "many of whom were potential Wag More Dogs customers."
And those admissions pretty much sank the mural's legal chances.
Before the store ever opened, Arlington decided the mural was an advertising sign, and ordered it reduced or covered. They also offered another option: Add lettering to the mural which said, "Welcome to Shirlington Park's Community Canine Area."
Houghton declined that offer. She covered the mural with a blue tarp and sued Arlington in federal court in Alexandria.
In February 2011, U.S. District Court Judge Leonie M. Brinkema issued a 31-page opinion that was a complete victory for Arlington. Arlington argued that its ordinance on commercial signs was intended to prevent traffic from being disrupted and to preserve the aesthetic environment of the county.
The question then became this: Is the ordinance "content neutral," or was it targeted at certain messages or material? When Houghton's lawyers at the Institute for Justice argued that the ordinance needed to be strictly scrutinized, Brinkema wrote that "Wag More Dogs is barking up the wrong tree."
Houghton and the Institute for Justice appealed, but the 4th Circuit federal appeals court upheld Brinkema in May of this year. The court ruled the mural was commercial speech, which governments may regulate; Arlington's law was content neutral; and allowing Arlington to define commercial speech was "not an augur of Constitutional doom."
Robert P. Frommer, the lead counsel for Houghton, said as he stood in front of the mural, "Today, Arlington County has muzzled free speech. If the mural displayed cats, dragons or ponies, it would be fine." He said he would not be appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court because he did not think the court would choose this case to address the issue of regulating sign content.
"There's a war going on," Frommer said, "a real fight around the country about these sign laws...We don't usually require people to consult government bureaucrats before they express themselves."
Carol McCorkrie, an assistant county attorney for Arlington, said Tuesday, "We support small business and we want a level playing field for everyone." But "she admitted in her pleadings that this was a sign for her business," McCorkrie said. And that brought the government in.
In Crystal City, Smokey Shope III faced the same situation. "They said it was an advertisement," store manager Gavin Ferguson said of the man with the cigar, the smoke curling across his face and back toward the parking lot. So they changed the cigar about two weeks ago.
The artists behind the Smokey Shope III mural, Zack Weaver and Rob Fogle of Wilmington, N.C., are now painting the new Wag More Dogs mural. They were there whitewashing the current mural Tuesday. "It's the first time I've ever covered one up," Fogle said. "I don't like it, and I sure wouldn't like anyone doing it to something of mine."
Now, tell us what you think. Below the poll is Judge Brinkema's ruling in the case:
Here is U.S. District Court Judge Leonie M. Brinkema's ruling on the Wag More Dogs mural:


text:
Environmental Forum Features 'Wildlands, Woodlands and Farmlands'
Brian Donahue will present his talk "Wildlands, Woodlands and Farmlands: Visions of Landscape-scale Conservation" at Sweet Briar College's Julia B. Waxter Environmental Forum at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 11, in the Wailes Lounge at the Elston Inn Conference Center.
Donahue, who teaches American environmental studies at Brandeis University, will focus on the "Wildlands and Woodlands" vision for forest conservation in New England, which can be found at wildlandsandwoodlands.org/vision/vision-new-england.
According to the website, New England forests are at a turning point, with forest cover beginning to decline in every New England state. The vision calls for a 50-year conservation effort to retain at least 70 percent of New England in forestland and keep it permanently free from development.
Donahue is working on a version of the plan for the entire Eastern U.S., which he will discuss as part of his presentation.
"I'll start with a little land history of 18th- and19th-century agricultural clearing and logging, followed by forest recovery and farm decline in the 20th century," he said.
His talk will also include a related subject: food. Drawing from his work on "The New England Good Food Vision 2060: Healthy Food and Sustainable Farming," Donahue explores some of the practical questions behind sustainability.
"We hear a lot about the virtues of 'eating locally,' 'food security,' and a 'regional food system,' but what might that really look like on the ground?" he asks.
Donahue has won numerous awards, including the 2000 Book Prize from the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities for "Reclaiming the Commons: Community Farms and Forests in a New England Town" (1999). His book "The Great Meadow: Farmers and the Land in Colonial Concord" (2004) won the 2004 Marsh Prize from the American Society for Environmental History, the 2005 Saloutos Prize from the Agricultural History Society and the 2004 Best Book Prize from the New England Historical Association.
Donahue is an associate professor of American environmental studies on the Jack Meyerhoff Fund. He teaches courses on environmental issues, environmental history and sustainable farming and forestry. Donahue holds a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. from the Brandeis program in the history of American civilization. He co-founded and for 12 years directed Land's Sake, a nonprofit community farm in Weston, Mass., and was director of education at The Land Institute in Salina, Kan.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, please email [email protected] or call (434) 381-6483.
Contact: Janika Carey
Category: Environmental Science, Environmental Studies, Uncategorized


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Arsenal's captain Cesc Fábregas has told his manager Arsène Wenger he wants to leave and rejoin Barcelona, according to reports.
Fábregas, who has been undergoing treatment in Spain for a knee injury, is believed to have spoken to Wenger by phone to confirm he has decided to end his career in London, which began as a 16-year-old in September 2003.
The news follows a claim by Barcelona's vice-president that Fábregas had expressed the same view to them. Rafael Yuste told the Catalonian radio station Ona FM that he remained confident that deals for Valencia's David Villa and Fabregas were both on: "Negotiations are progressing well, especially in the case of Villa.
"The situation with Cesc is different because even if you have the will of the player it is very important to talk to his club and, if you can, find an agreement. But what makes it easier is that both players want to come to Barça."
Fábregas, who played alongside Lionel Messi in the Barcelona youth teams before moving to Arsenal, had previously said he "would like to go to Barcelona", but had maintained that no move was imminent. "I am happy at Arsenal and I am not in a rush to leave. Before I go to the World Cup I want my future sorted out because it benefits nobody if I go into the tournament with something else on my mind."
Reacting to Fábregas's initial comment about wanting to return, Barcelona's president Joan Laporta said: "It is remarkable that the player has said that. If the technical secretary [Txiki Begiristain] believes we must make an effort, we will do and will talk to Arsenal."
Reports have suggested Yaya Touré could be used as a makeweight in a deal and the Ivorian's agent admitted last night his client is not happy at his bit-part role under Pep Guardiola.
Dimitri Selcuk said: "Touré wants to play every game. It is likely that he will not remain at Barcelona. He is happy there, it is a great club but he does not want to spend his time on the bench."
He added, however: "There is a one in a thousand chance that Touré will be involved in the move for Cesc with Arsenal."


text:
Jonathan, First, a general commment - you are trying to do some serious graphics work here, and I think the first conclusion is that HTML is not a language for serious graphics. You can embed complete objects in HTML that are, such as Flash or SVG, but you are working at the bleeding edge of Web technology, and that means some things aren't yet as easy as they will be when the tools are better-developed and more widely deployed. In fact if you use SVG as the basis you should be able to embed XHTML inside it, but this is pushing the current state of deployed technology pretty hard. SVG does give you reasonable file size, ensures that the scaling of images is as high-quality as possible. For all-svg image, such as line-drawings, digrams and icons it does very well. For photo-real images it is a bit harder. There is an experimental project in France to convert photographic images to SVG using gradients, but this is prototype work. Otherwise jpg is the state of the art, but it doesn't have transparency. You can do that by including them in an SVG image, and you can then have a border that follows the outline (in almost any colour or style you like). These will scale as well as a jpg can scale, because SVG defines a high-quality algorithm (compared to the way most browsers re-size jps - image editing tools should do a better job in general of getting to a particular fixed size). In fact having transparent backgrounds isn't always a good idea, so i think a guideline that insists on it is a bad idea. What can happen is that the borders of the 'image content' are the same colou as the background that happens to be on the page, meaning you lose the contrast and violate the WCAG 1 checkpoint 2.2 about ensuring adequate contrast. The insistence on boxes is just an artifact of the way layout engines work - since HTML wasn't designed to be a high-end graphics language it has the simplest systems, which are regular rectangles (well, it was once even simpler and just used strips of the screen at full width, but most browsers have gone beyond that now...). In languages like SVG there is no such constraint, although most implementations still require a rectangular space for the SVG if it is embedded in another format such as HTML. SVG itself, like most currently used graphics systems, use cartesian coordinates for addressing points - other systems such as polar coordinates are difficult to use for general applications, although there are transformations between cartesian and polar coordinates readily available in high-school maths classes and text books. cheers Chaals On Sun, 15 Dec 2002, Jonathan Chetwynd wrote: > >the outlines of image links are helpful for identification, > >BBC Education Scotland recently put up some new links, (I had been in >correspondence) which we now can use.... >http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/whatwherewhenwhy/ > >Can we make a guideline that image links* should ideally have >transparent backgrounds, and non-rectangular** outlines? (W3C please >note) >and failing on transparency have backgrounds that are easily changed? > >thanks > >jonathan > > >*presumably most sites are happy to be linked to, so why is it that so >few images used as links are appropriate for sharing? > >**wondering what others feel about the rather heavy handed cartesian, >or western imperialist insistence on boxes? > >has anyone seen a small (~30x3) text box that expands as you write? >this should also be a standard by now, at least as an option... >like this but much better :-) > > if (myText == "feedback"){ > var myLength=parseInt(document.myPost.feedback.cols) > var myHeight=parseInt(document.myPost.feedback.rows) > if (key==13) { //newline > document.myPost.feedback.rows=myHeight + 1 > } > > if (myLength != 90){ //~page width > document.myPost.feedback.cols=myLength + 1 > } > -- Charles McCathieNevile http://www.w3.org/People/Charles tel: +61 409 134 136 SWAD-E http://www.w3.org/2001/sw/Europe ------------ WAI http://www.w3.org/WAI 21 Mitchell street, FOOTSCRAY Vic 3011, Australia fax(fr): +33 4 92 38 78 22 W3C, 2004 Route des Lucioles, 06902 Sophia Antipolis Cedex, FranceReceived on Monday, 16 December 2002 07:55:32 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Friday, 17 January 2020 20:32:10 UTC


text:
Below are a list of Frequently Asked Questions where the answer is supplied within this website.
Where can I find information about the staff of the school?
Click here to go to the current staff list for the school.
Where can I find out when different events are taking place?
Dates that are known in advance are placed within the school calendar. Each September we pre-populate this with planned events and then regularly update the calendar as new events are arranged or previously published events are re-organised.
What is the school's homework policy?
We have developed an approach that we call 'learning at home' - click here to read our policy.
Where can I find the most recent newsletter or weekly note?
We upload versions of these to the website - click here to find newsletters, click here to find weekly notes.
How do I make contact with the school?
Click here to go to the 'contacts' section.
How do I arrange a meeting with my child's teacher?
Click here to go straight to this part of the website.
How do I find out about the curriculum?
We are very proud of our cross curricular approach and very positive impact it has upon the children's learning. Click here to find out more about how we deliver the curriculum and the themes being covered this term.
My child will be starting school in the near future. How do I find out about admissions?
Please click here to find out how the admissions process operates.
My child currently attends another school. How do I find out if there are any spaces at Putteridge?
Please contact the office initially to check if there are any spaces in a particular year group.


text:
|Cincinnati, Ohio
|High School:
|Accounting & Spanish
|School Records
|Career Bests
|200 Free - 1:39.84
500 Free - 4:28.98
1000 Free - 9:30.02
1650 Free - 15:54.06
800 Free Relay - 6:42.43
|50 Free - 21.59
100 Free - 47.02
200 Free - 1:39.84
500 Free - 4:28.98
1000 Free - 9:30.02
1650 Free - 15:54.06
200 Back - 1:55.05
2016-17: All-America Honorable Mention in the 500-yard freestyle (15th, 4:30.51) and in the 400 individual medley (9th, 3:57.85) at the NCAA Championships...has now collected five All-American certificates in his career...set school records in the 200 Free (1:39.84) and 400 IM (3:57.85)...All-UAA in the 800 Free Relay with a second-place finish (6:45.24)...also fifth in the 500 Free (4:31.78), sixth in the 400 IM (4:00.10) and sixth in the 1650 Free (16:03.26) at the UAA Championships...Earned College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) All-America honors...Earned the CWRU Athletic Department's Arthur P. Leary Award...earned UAA All-Academic recognition.
2015-16: Placed 10th with his 800-yard freestyle team at the NCAA Championships to set a school record with a mark of 6:42.43...UAA Champion in the 800 Free Relay, becoming the first CWRU squad ever to win a relay event at the UAA Championships...set career-best times of 21.65 in 50 Free and a time of 1:54.21 in the 200 IM at the College of Wooster Invitational...also added career-best times in the 100 Free (48.68) against Baldwin Wallace and in the 200 Free (1:40.18) at the NCAA DIII Championships...named to the UAA Presidents Council Scholar-Athlete Team...earned College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) All-America honors...earned NCAA All-America honorbale mention in the 800 Free Relay...earned UAA All-Academic recognition.
2014-15: First CWRU swimmer (male or female) to be named the UAA Rookie of the Year…All-America Honorable Mention in the 800-yard freestyle relay, finishing 15th at the NCAA Championships with a time of 6:45.37…also finished 18th in the 200-yard 500-yard freestyle (4:32.58), 17th in the 400-yard medley relay (3:28.46), 21st in the 200-yard freestyle (1:24.89), 22nd in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:06.23) and 21st in the 400-yard individual medley (4:03.30) at NCAAs…Set school records in the 200 Free (1:40.93), 500 Free (4:28.98), 1000 Free (9:30.02), 1,650 Free (15:54.06) and as the first leg of the 800 Free Relay (6:45.22)… UAA Champion in the 500 Free (4:28.98)…All-UAA in the 400 IM with a second-place finish (3:58.77) and the 800 Free Relay with a second-place finish (6:45.22)…fourth in the 1,650 Free at the UAA Championships with a time of 15:54.06…Earned the CWRU Athletic Department's Bill Sudeck Rookie of the Year award...CSCAA Scholar All-America.
Personal: Earned four varsity letters at Turpin High School…first-team All-Eastern Cincinnati Conference performer and ECC Athlete of the Year in 2014…THS record-holder in 200 IM…member of the National Honor Society…son of Glenn and Jenny Hamilton.


text:
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Paralegal Pocketlaw
23 Aug 2017 - 13:45
Access to updated legal resources is an ongoing challenge for those who work in grassroots community justice institutions. Few advice offices have well-functioning computers; internet access is a luxury and resource manuals are often out of date and not shared between staff.
In order to address this problem, the DGRU and AfricanLII have developed a cellphone app for South African community based paralegals. It contains the 2015 Black Sash paralegal manual, relevant case law and legislation and news about relevant legal developments. Once downloaded onto the phone, it is available offline , providing easy and cheap access to legal resources.
The app can be downloaded from the Play Store. Search for Paralegal Pocketlaw.


text:
Austrian kidnap victim says accusations of ignored clues caused her to lose faith in judiciary
VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- A young Austrian woman whose kidnapper kept her locked away in a cell for years said Monday she lost faith in her country's judiciary after accusations surfaced that authorities ignored a tip that could have led to her captor.
Natascha Kampusch was 10 when Wolfgang Priklopil abducted her in 1998. He held the girl for the next 8 1/2 years, most of the time in the tiny underground cell in his home in a Vienna suburb. Kampusch escaped in August 2006, and Priklopil threw himself in front of a train hours later.
Herwig Haidinger, the former head of Austria's Federal Criminal Investigations Bureau, last week accused authorities of ignoring a tip in April 1998 from a local policeman that pointed to Priklopil. He also alleged that Interior Ministry officials refused to look into that accusation once Kampusch reappeared, so to avoid a scandal before parliamentary elections that fall.
Kampusch said in a television interview with Austrian broadcaster ORF late Monday that she was angry, had lost faith in the country's judiciary, and she called for those who did not pursue the clue to be "held responsible."
"When one makes a mistake one should somehow try to make things right again, or to learn from it," Kampusch said.
She said she was consulting with her lawyers on whether to sue.
"It's not about money but about justice," Kampusch said.
The Interior Ministry has launched an evaluation commission to look into the accusations.


text:
By Robyn Burnett
For the Calgary Herald
Shaving, waxing, sugaring, plucking — we go to great efforts to remove that unwanted hair, especially if the problem has become "hairy."
Yet for Danielle, a Calgary mom of three in her early 30s, excessive facial hair growth had slowly taken over her life.
"Before, I didn't look people in the eye. I looked down so they couldn't see the lower half of my face. I don't have to do that anymore," she says.
After her first pregnancy, Danielle started noticing excessive hair growth on her chin and cheeks. After her other two children were born, things got worse.
"I had to start shaving my face twice a day," she says. "It was very embarrassing and hard to deal with."
Danielle started looking into laser hair removal, and soon after was on her way to her first treatment, excited at the potential of packing up her razors for good.
"It bombed," she says, noting the procedure failed to produce any lasting results, with hair quickly growing back.
Danielle's initial disappointment didn't dissuade her, however. She continued her research and eventually found out that not all lasers are created equal — and thus results can vary. Intense pulsed light (IPL), for example, simply damages follicles, while lasers will kill them.
Laser Hair Centre owner Daniel Saguellini hears stories like Danielle's all the time.
"There are no regulations in Canada regarding the type of equipment being used, so spa-grade machines are trying to mimic medical laser equipment," he says.
Now having gone through a treatment with a medical-grade laser, Danielle is thrilled.
"It's like night and day. I have to go in for five or six more treatments, but they completely killed that first cycle," she says.
"I've never experienced anything that has worked so drastically."
The procedure caused only minimal discomfort, she adds.
"Like an elastic snapping on your face," she says. "After that, my skin was a little warm. The hairs were still there at the finish, but within six to seven hours, I brushed them off my face and they haven't come back."
While laser hair removal is often associated with areas such as the legs and back, the face is a focal point for most patients, says Saguellini. Nearly three-quarters of the procedures performed at Laser Hair Centre focus on the face.
The treatment settings are based on skin type and ethnicity. Yet, with the face, hormones can play more of a role.
"Sometimes you might have to go a few more times because of hair growth cycles," says Saguellini.
Treatments are all based on the three cycles of hair growth — four weeks is the norm — and often six treatments are necessary.
Facial hair removal treatments cost around $200 per treatment — something that Danielle took very seriously.
"I was buying expensive razors anyway, so it made sense for me," she says.
"I used to be a make-up artist and worked to hide facial hair on women. I hope they read this and learn that laser treatments are an option, because facial hair can destroy your self-confidence.
"It's like somebody waved a wand over my face and took 10 years of stress away — and hair."
Other hair removal areas can include the stomach, buttocks, underarms, breasts, neck, bikini area, feet and even the top of the head.
Saguellini issues a warning to those undergoing "laser" treatments who don't feel anything.
"It takes a certain temperature to kill the hair follicles," he says, also warning against places offering unlimited treatments, which suggests the tools being used are lower grade, and not as effective.


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The Alcovy boys tennis programed dropped a 4-1 decision Thursday night at home to visiting Ola, staving off the Mustangs' sweep with a victory in No. 1 doubles.
Ola swept all three singles matches, dropping just 11 individual games, but it was the Tigers' Stefen Kirk and Rhett Johnson that tallied Alcovy's lone win of the day in the program's opening doubles contest.
"We have improved since the first match of the season," Alcovy coach Jason Jones said. "We have a very young squad in terms of playing experience, so the more time on the court we can get against other teams the better it is for us. I saw them improve today and that's what I'm looking for right now."
Kirk and Johnson led from the outset in No. 1 doubles, defeating the Mustangs' Kenan Bilgicer and Tyler Chasteen 8-4.
The Mustangs responded with a win in No. 1 singles, tying the contest at 1-1.
Mitch Bailey downed the Tigers' Clayton Anderson 8-4 to even the score and the Mustangs took the lead after Michael Helsper and Will Allen downed Alcovy's Chris Dube and Tyler Booth 8-2 in No. 2 doubles.
Ola added a pair of wins in the final two matches of the night, clinching the match in No. 2 singles. Josh O'Neill captured an 8-2 win over the Tigers' Okon Godwin, pushing the Mustangs' advantage to 3-1, and Ola's Jeffery Pope closed with an 8-5 win over Alcovy's Holden Miller for the 4-1 final.
Cambron gets win
In the girls' contest against the Lady Mustangs, Faith Cambron led the Lady Tigers in No. 3 singles with a victory, but Alcovy fell by the same score as the boys' team, dropping a 4-1 decision.
In the final match of the night, Cambron took a 6-1 lead, but had to hold off the Lady Mustangs' Ansley Calhoun. Calhoun battled back and won consecutive games, but Cambron held on for the 8-3 victory.
The Alcovy girls fell in their opening match in No. 1 singles, as Jordyn White dropped am 8-4 decision to Ola's Emily Owen.
The Lady Mustangs took a 2-0 advantage with a No. 1 doubles victory. Cally Anderson and Tiffany Ford bested the Alcovy duo of Brieonna Wilcox and Marissa Todus 9-7 and Ola's Grace David downed the Lady Tigers' Trista Twiford 8-4 in No. 2 singles.
With a 3-0 lead, Ola added to its advantage with a win in No. 2 doubles, as Kelly Adkins and Michelle Le topped Ajanae Johnson and Blair Jackson 8-6.
"Overall, I thought the girls did pretty well," Alcovy coach Marcia Lynn Watkins said. "It's still early in the season and this is just our second match. I can already see improvement out of them. All I can ask of them is to improve each match. We want to see that growth each time we take the court."


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In 2010, archaeologist Tom Garrison discovered a hidden burial chamber in a Maya temple in Guatemala. It contained the remains of six sacrificed children. He has also uncovered a defensive structure in the surrounding jungle—suggesting an ongoing war cycle.
The first Mesoamerican civilization developed in Oaxaca, Mexico. Archaeologist Jeff Rose visits the location where hunter-gatherers transitioned to farming by domesticating teosinte, a precursor to maize. Agriculture developed simultaneously around the world; farming tied humans to the land.
Rose flies over the Oaxaca Valley, where Mesoamericans first developed agriculture. Limited arable land led to conflicts worldwide. Groups raided neighboring villages to avoid starvation.
Peter Turchin applies the Theory of Evolution to the study of human culture. He believes war drove the development of civilizations worldwide. Waging war requires sidelining self-preservation for the group's survival; the cycle of violence binds groups.
The Oaxaca Valley features three competing branches dominated by a fortified northern settlement. Archaeologist Yuki Hueda discusses a monument stone depicting prisoner sacrifice. Worldwide, the earliest writing recorded acts of war and conquest.
Turchin's Global History Data Bank across time and geography tests civilization theories. Evidence suggests the most violent period occurred during the agricultural revolution.
Archaeologist Mark Levine uses technology to virtually excavate the ancient city. A subterranean structure provides evidence of collaboration for monumental construction. Its mountaintop location suggests it was built for defense.
Monte Albán became the first Oaxaca city-state; current valley residents are its descendants. Archaeologist Patricia Martinez demonstrates evidence of conquest carved on a monument.
Alex Padillo uses a drone to identify human structures within geographical features across the Oaxaca Valley. Ceramic vessels and rock carvings depicting a ball court match those found at Monte Albán.
Learn about the Zapotec ritual ball game. Turchin discusses how soccer teams must balance competition and cooperation, to win. Throughout history, powerful civilizations have become complacent and given way to new groups.
Obsidian spear points originating in another region suggest to archaeologist Marcus Winter that a larger group carried out a military attack on Monte Albán. Alejandro Pastrana discusses the use of obsidian in Mesoamerican weapons.
Obsidian atlatls provided the Mesoamerican civilization with a military advantage against the Zapotecs at Monte Albán. As war drove technological progress, civilization spread; larger societies needed allies to grow.
After conquering Monte Albán, Teotihuacan expanded east to the Maya region. Architectural features and child sacrifice show El Zotz rulers adopted the Teotihuacano culture. This protected them against Tikal..
Maya texts describe a conquering Teotihuacano army in 378. This brought lasting regional peace, allowing culture to flourish in the Maya lowlands. The cycle of chaos, violence, and order has repeated across civilizations; war drives technological progress and binds groups.
Credits: First Civilizations: Part 1
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War addresses the paradox that good comes from bad. The threat of destruction engenders a sense of fear, but also creates tighter bonds within a community, while driving an arms race of technological progress. This happened in the Zapotec civilization in Mexico, but also with the Teotihuacan civilization which overthrew the Zapotecs and emerged as the first superpower of the Americas.
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Asbestos found in damaged ceiling tiles in senior apartment complex17 Nov 2018 by Jennifer Walker-Journey under News
Inspectors from the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) in California are investigating a senior apartment complex after receiving reports that ceiling material containing cancer-causing asbestos had been disturbed during water damage that had occurred days earlier. Samples were taken and a "contamination survey," by a certified asbestos consultant was conducted, resulting in an order to secure and stabilize all affected areas for abatement.
"Older buildings can contain asbestos in ceiling tiles, 'popcorn' ceilings and many other building materials," SCAQMD Executive Officer Wayne Nastri said. "Our asbestos regulations require strict protective measures to ensure that these asbestos-containing materials do not contaminate the environment during all demolition, remodeling and clean-up activities."
The use, sale and distribution of asbestos is banned in 60 countries due to its cancer-causing characteristics, but it is still used in the U.S., and can still be found in older structures in construction, shipbuilding and friction materials. And it is still proving deadly.
Microscopic fibers from materials that contain asbestos can go airborne and be swallowed or inhaled. Exposure to asbestos causes diseases like asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer that develops in the lining of the lungs and other internal organs, and can take years to develop. Once diagnosed, the disease is usually aggressive, killing within a year or two. Even now, more than 107,000 people around the world die each year from asbestos-related diseases, according to the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO).
Source: NBC Los Angeles


text:
The final arbiter in matters of tax is HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Employers will always refrain from guaranteeing the tax status of the settlement package. It is possible that HMRC will audit the employer's deductions of tax, and assess that more tax is due and request payment. To ward against this the employer will ensure that the employee is liable for any additional tax - the employer includes a tax indemnity in the settlement agreement such that the employee reimburses the employer for additional tax paid to HMRC.
Salary and benefits Payment in lieu of notice Redundancy pay Compensation payment Post termination restrictions
020 3878 8700
When are they used? What's in them?
Our settlement agreement solicitors advise about settlement agreements
Identifying legal claims through tailored advice
Consult our settlement agreement guide
Is a settlement agreement offered when staff are redundant?
Ask our redundancy solicitors
Contact us by telephone, email or visit our offices in central London
Tax on severance pay, redundancy, accrued holiday and more
Who is liable for tax?
Visit the Aeon Solicitors main site, where you will find our law library, with information on a diverse range of employment law and commercial law issues, spanning contracts, post-termination restrictions, disciplinary and grievance, unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal.


text: I was sitting with a coworker, looking at a computer screen with him, drinking a diet coke. Upon finishing the drink, I tossed it toward the garbage can in the next cube over. It missed. "This is why I'm a computer programmer," I sighed, getting up to fetch the bottle.


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Biographical entry McKie, Ernest Norman (1882 - 1948)
- Born
- 1882
Guyra, New South Wales, Australia
- Died
- 19 May 1948
- Occupation
- Botanist and Minister
Ernest McKie was an amateur botanist who had an extensive knowledge of eucalypts and native grasses of the New England region of New South Wales. He also took an active interest in the agriculture of the area. McKie was a member of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science, the Linnean Society of New South Wales, the Royal Society of New South Wales and the Royal Australian Historical Society. He was the co-author of several Eucalyptus species.
- 1930
- Taxonomy event - Honoured with Eucalyptus mckieana Blakely
- 1934
- Taxonomy event - Co-author and collector of the type Eucalyptus phaeotricha Blakely & McKie
- 1934
- Taxonomy event - Co-author of Eucalyptus cameronii Blakely & McKie
- 1934
- Taxonomy event - Co-author of Eucalyptus caliginosa Blakely & McKie
Related entries
Archival resources
Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science
Published resources
Encyclopedia of Australian Science Exhibitions
- McCarthy, Gavan; Smith, Ailie; Moje, Christine; Rigby, Rebecca, The Study of Australian Eucalypts, eScholarship Research Centre, 2013, http://www.eoas.info/eucalypts/index.html. Details
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5836718. Details
- 'McKie, Ernest Norman (1882-19480519)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1514391. Details
See also
- 'List of eucalypts published under this authority (co-author) using abbreviation search 'Blakely & McKie' and family 'Myrtaceae'', Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), Australian National Botanic Gardens, 2012, http://www.anbg.gov.au/cgi-bin/apni. Details
Ailie Smith
Created: 26 April 2012, Last modified: 3 March 2014
- Foundation and Current Supporter - Bjarne K Dahl Trust


text:
Worsley and Eccles South MP Barbara Keeley has returned to Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Shadow Cabinet.
The long-time campaigner for carer's rights has been appointed Shadow Cabinet Member for Mental Health and Social Care.
In office she has co-authored two reports: Carers Speak Out and Primary Carers, and only last Friday hosted a breakfast meeting to bring unpaid carers together in Walkden on behalf of the Carers Trust.
Two Private Member's Bills put forward by Ms Keeley called for a duty to be placed on the NHS, schools and colleges to identify carers and support them with services, while a third Bill proposed to exempt carers from the much-derided Bedroom Tax.
Ms Keeley resigned from Corbyn's Shadow Cabinet in June amid fears of lack of leadership and opposition to the Conservative Government.
She was among 41 Shadow ministers to resign their posts in the wake of the disastrous Brexit Remain campaign, and following Heidi Alexander's branding Corbyn "unprofessional" in a scathing Guardian comment piece.
But after the Labour leader won an even larger mandate to lead the party with this landslide victory over challenger Owen Swith, MPs have started to return to the fold.
Ms Keeley has been offered the job to work as the voice of Labour opposition on mental health and social care in the North West and nationally.
In a statement this morning, the Worsley and Eccles South MP said: "I am delighted to have been appointed as the Shadow Cabinet Member for Mental Health and Social Care.
"I know there are many challenges in this role and I will campaign to make both mental health and social care a higher priority than they have been.
"There have been years of savage cuts to social care and over 50% of clinical commissioning groups plan to reduce the amount they spend on mental health this year.
"People deserve better than the decreased NHS services and reduced access to care that they are getting.
"I have worked on carer's issues and on social care since I became an MP in 2005 and I am determined to be a champion for improvements in care and to services for carers.
"It is time to end the cuts and to start to improve both mental health and social care services."


text:
Gabourey Sidibe has a post-Oscar home.The actress, who was nominated for "Precious," will take a recurring role in the Laura Linney series "The Big C" on Showtime after guest-starring in the Bill Condon-directed pilot. Linney plays a wife, mother and teacher diagnosed with terminal cancer; Sidibe is a smart-aleck student in Linney's class. Oliver Platt co-stars. Sidibe also toplines indie pic "Yelling to the Sky." Shooting for "The Big C" is set to begin in May for a late summer premiere. Skein is exec produced by Linney, Darlene Hunt, Neal Moritz, Jenny Bicks and Vivian Cannon and produced by Original Film and Sony Pictures Television.
Gabourey Sidibe nabs 'Big' role
Oscar-nommed actress will be regular on Showtime series


text:
Article Text
Introduction This study assessed KRAS mutation detection and functional characteristics across 13 distinct technologies and assays available in clinical practice, in a blinded manner.
Methods Five distinct KRAS-mutant cell lines were used to study five clinically relevant KRAS mutations: p.G12C, p.G12D, p.G12V, p.G13D and p.Q61H. 50 cell line admixtures with low (50 and 100) mutant KRAS allele copies at 20%, 10%, 5%, 1% and 0.5% frequency were processed using quantitative PCR (qPCR) (n=3), matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) (n=2), next-generation sequencing (NGS) (n=6), digital PCR (n=1) and Sanger capillary sequencing (n=1) assays. Important performance differences were revealed, particularly assay sensitivity and turnaround time.
Results Overall 406/728 data points across all 13 technologies were identified correctly. Successful genotyping of admixtures ranged from 0% (Sanger sequencing) to 100% (NGS). 5/6 NGS platforms reported similar allelic frequency for each sample. One NGS assay detected mutations down to a frequency of 0.5% and correctly identified all 56 samples (Oncomine Focus Assay, Thermo Fisher Scientific). One qPCR (Idylla, Biocartis) and MALDI-TOF (UltraSEEK, Agena Bioscience) assay identified 96% (all 100 copies and 23/25 at 50 copies input) and 92% (23/25 at 100 copies and 23/25 at 50 copies input) of samples, respectively. The digital PCR assay (KRAS PrimePCR ddPCR, Bio-Rad Laboratories) identified 60% (100 copies) and 52% (50 copies) of samples correctly. Turnaround time from sample to results ranged from ~2 hours (Idylla CE-IVD) to 2 days (TruSight Tumor 15 and Sentosa CE-IVD), to 2 weeks for certain NGS assays; the level of required expertise ranged from minimal (Idylla CE-IVD) to high for some technologies.
Discussion This comprehensive parallel assessment used high molecular weight cell line DNA as a model system to address key questions for a laboratory when implementing routine KRAS testing. As most of the technologies are available for additional molecular biomarkers, this study may be informative for other applications.
- EGFR mutation
- ddPCR
- qPCR
- platform comparison
This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
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Key questions
What is already known about this subject?
Diagnostic testing for biomarkers such as EGFR mutations is a well-established method of informing optimal treatment decisions for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Testing for some other biomarkers in NSCLC, such as KRAS, is less well established, however is commonly employed to detect KRAS mutations in colorectal cancer. Therefore there exist many KRAS mutation detection methods that could aid clinical practice in the NSCLC setting.
What does this study add?
Due to the increase in the numbers of clinical trials focusing on patients with mutant NSCLC, there is a particular need to evaluate the testing options available. The aim of this study was to assess different diagnostic methods on how accurately they can identify KRAS mutations in samples characteristic of those used in the clinic.
How might this impact on clinical practice?
The results of this study aim to assist in the selection of the most appropriate technology for KRAS mutation detection, with special consideration for those tissues with low copy numbers and small sample sizes. It also elaborates on the shortcomings of each technology, allowing for a more informed clinical decision regarding which tests are most appropriate in which situations. Lastly, most technologies used for the detection of KRAS mutations can also be used for other biomarkers; thus, the results of this study are potentially applicable to other solid tumours where it is necessary to determine mutation status.
Lung cancer is the most prevalent of all cancers, resulting in 1.38 million deaths every year,1 with over 80% being non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).2 3 Significant improvements in NSCLC treatment have been made with targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), specifically those that target tumours with an EGFR mutation, including the EGFR T790M mutation, or ALK rearrangement.4–8 Patients needing access to these drugs must have a diagnostic test performed in order to ensure the correct drug is prescribed.
The recent approval of the T790M-directed EGFR-TKI, osimertinib,8 and the development of the MEK1/2 inhibitors, selumetinib (AZD6244, ARRY-142886),9 cobimetinib, trametinib and binimetinib, may further increase the demand for molecular characterisation of DNA derived from tumour tissue in patients with lung cancer.7 10 KRAS testing is commonly used to guide colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment; hence, there are a number of KRAS assays for testing laboratories to aid clinical practice; however, there is still a need for standardisation of testing methods, and uptake of optimal methods for routine diagnostics in NSCLC remains a challenge.11
Sanger capillary sequencing has long been the gold standard for DNA sequence analysis; however, it does not offer the high sensitivity required to detect somatic mutations at allelic frequencies less than ~20%.12 Numerous comparisons of technology platforms for EGFR 13 14 and KRAS (mainly in CRC15–23) mutation testing conclude that quantitative PCR (qPCR)-based methods offer the sensitivity, tissue economy and turnaround time required by physicians to guide treatment decisions. The advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms offers pathology laboratories an unparalleled insight into the cancer genome including de novo detection of variants as well as known actionable targets.24 However, there are important differences in sample handling and coverage of genes across the various NGS technologies along with increasing sequencing cost for the additional coverage (sequencing depth) necessary to detect low-level variants.25 26
There are challenges associated with mutation testing in fixed lung tissue samples. NSCLC samples typically generate exceptionally variable amounts of amplifiable DNA compared with more accessible tumour material such as CRC, ranging from ~10 copies/µL to tens of thousands of copies/µL.15 This reflects differences in accessibility of biopsy material and complexities in fixation due to lung tissue physiology. Even when sufficient quantities of DNA are obtained, not all is amplifiable and some quantification methods (eg, optical density and intercalating dyes) can overestimate the evaluable DNA for subsequent diagnostic testing.
The aim of the present study was to assess the ability of different mutation detection platforms to accurately identify low copy numbers of mutant KRAS DNA in varying backgrounds of wild-type DNA, and to combine this information with functional characteristics to aid in the assessment of a given testing platform.
Cell lines were chosen instead of formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) controls to ensure an adequate starting amount of DNA was available to produce identical samples for the high number of individual tests being evaluated. Some of the admixtures required large quantities of wild-type DNA not readily obtainable from FFPE. For example, the 0.5% mutant admixtures with 100 mutant copies required 19 900 copies/µL of wild-type (64 ng/µL total). Stability of smaller DNA fragments in FFPE tissue may have also presented issues in more dilute admixtures. It is acknowledged that FFPE tissue would represent clinical tissue more accurately; however, this was not deemed suitable due to the factors above.
Cell line models
Five distinct KRAS mutated cell lines, MIA PACA-2, PANC-1, MDA-MB231, SW620 and NCI-H460, were obtained from ATCC (Teddington, UK) (table 1). The KRAS mutations selected were p.G12C, p.G12D, p.G12V, p.G13D and p.Q61H, reflecting the most common KRAS variants according to codon associated with NSCLC. Cell lines were grown at the AstraZeneca cell bank (Alderley Park, UK), according to recommended conditions.
DNA extraction and creation of admixtures
Cell line DNA was extracted from a frozen cell pellet containing ~5×106 cells using the Qiagen DNeasy Blood & Tissue Kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany). KRAS mutation admixtures were created by quantifying in triplicate the high molecular weight DNA using a NanoDrop 8000 UV-Vis Spectrophotometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA). Then, 1000 copies/µL DNA mutant standards were made from each cell line, which was diluted with known KRAS wild-type human genomic reference DNA (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany) to create 10 distinct admixtures per mutation with mutant allele frequencies of 20%, 10%, 5%, 1% and 0.5% (table 2), assuming 50% allelic frequency with the heterozygous samples.
Two sets of admixtures were created for all concentrations: one with 100 copies/µL mutant allele and one with 50 copies/µL mutant allele, resulting in a total series of 50 cell line admixtures. In addition to the 50 cell lines admixtures, six wild-type control samples were prepared with total input DNA copy numbers equivalent to those in the cell line admixtures. Admixtures were prepared in Axygen Maxymum recovery 1.7 mL tubes (Corning, Wiesbaden, Germany). The six wild-type controls contained 400, 1900, 9900 and 19 900 copies/µL, respectively.
Mother and daughter plate creation for distribution to study participants
Admixtures were created in multiwell plates as described in table 2. A plate schema was created where all 56 samples were randomly located across the plate. The samples were then transferred, witnessed by two scientists, to a DNase-free and RNase-free low retention 'mother' plate sufficient to perform the experiments. The material was frozen at −20°C until used. Daughter copies of the mother plate were then replicated using a Liquidator 96 (Mettler-Toledo, Columbus, Ohio, USA) manual pipetting system to minimise any transposition errors and were shipped on dry ice to the respective testing laboratories with instruction to keep frozen at −15 to −25°C until further processed. Instructions to thaw and thoroughly mix the samples prior to use using a vortex were given to all participants.
KRAS testing
KRAS mutation testing was carried out in a blinded manner on all 56 samples using 13 technologies and assays as outlined in online supplementary table 1. One test per sample was permitted unless part of an established repeat testing procedure (see online supplementary methods). KRAS mutation status was assessed using real-time PCR assays (therascreen KRAS RGQ PCR Kit, Qiagen; cobas KRAS Mutation Test, Roche Diagnostics; Idylla, Biocartis, Mechelen, Belgium); matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) assays (iPLEX Pro tests, Agena Bioscience, San Diego, California, USA); NGS assays (ThunderBolts Cancer Panel, RainDance Technologies, Billerica, Massachusetts, USA; Oncomine Focus Assay, Thermo Fisher Scientific; Sentosa SQ NSCLC Panel, Vela Diagnostics, Singapore); Illumina Nextera Rapid Capture Custom Lung Panel, Cancer Research United Kingdom, London, UK; Ion AmpliSeq Cancer Hotspot Panel v2, Thermo Fisher Scientific; TruSight Tumor 15, Illumina, San Diego, California, USA; a droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) assay (PrimePCR ddPCR Mutation Assays KRAS, Bio-Rad Laboratories, San Diego, California, USA); and Sanger sequencing (Sanger capillary sequencing, Applied Biosystems, California, USA). Full details of the KRAS testing methodology are given in the online supplementary materials.
Supplementary file 1
Overall, analysis of the DNA admixtures using the 13 different technologies showed a range of performance for the different assays (table 3). Greater levels of mutation detection were achieved with the 100 copy DNA samples than with the 50 copy samples (figure 1A,B). The NGS results indicated that in some cases the actual mutation percentages of the admixtures differed considerably from the nominal. Therefore, the mutation percentages described below should be taken as nominal for comparison across assays. Of note, in clinical practice the percentage of mutant allele is used to estimate the limit of detection (LoD) of minor alleles during an assay validation. This would then be used to determine the minimal percentage of tumour cells in a specimen accepted to perform clinical testing and to interpret test results and would need to be established definitively. The LoD for each technology is shown in table 3.
All technologies correctly identified all the wild-type control samples except the Nextera Rapid Capture Custom Lung Panel, ThunderBolts NGS assay and TruSight Tumor 15, where some or all samples were unsuccessfully analysed (see table 3C), but with no false-positive results being reported.
In the case of PrimePCR ddPCR Mutation Assays, four of the six wild-type samples were incorrectly identified as having mutations. Two of the four samples showed very low mutant frequencies of 0.08% G12C and 0.08% G12V in sample 1 and 0.2% G12D in sample 2, respectively, at high total numbers of positive droplets. Sample 3 showed a false-positive G12C mutation at a frequency of 1.1%. However, this sample had to be repeated as the first measurement did not deliver any result. This could indicate an assay performance problem in this sample. Sample 4 showed G12D/G12V mutations but at an extremely low total number of positive counts (<110 per assay). This again indicates a very low amount of DNA and data that are very difficult to interpret.
Real-time qPCR assays
In total, three qPCR-based assays were carried out. The therascreen KRAS RGQ PCR Kit was able to detect all codon 12 and 13 KRAS mutations at the 10% and 20% allele frequency level in the 100 copy sample, and three out of four of these mutations at the 5% level or lower. With the 50 copy samples, codons 12 and 13 mutations were detected only at the 10% level (table 3).
The cobas KRAS Mutation Test detected KRAS mutations successfully down to the 5% LoD, and lower for p.G12D, p.G13D and p.G12V in both the 100 copy and 50 copy samples. For p.G12C, the lowest level of detection was at the 10% level. For p.G12V mutations, cobas detected mutations as low as 1% in the 100 copy sample. The p.Q61H mutation was detected at 20% and 10% in the 100 and 50 copy samples, respectively.
The Idylla KRAS Mutation Test correctly identified the genotypes of KRAS p.G12C, p.G12D, p.G12V and p.G13D mutant samples at both mutant input levels. For KRAS p.Q61H, all mutant samples were identified at 100 copies input, while at 50 mutant copies input two samples expected to contain a p.Q61H mutation were scored as KRAS wild-type. Subsequent retesting after unblinding of these false-negative wild-type samples using Idylla KRAS multiplex PCR master mixes on a Bio-Rad CFX96 thermocycler identified one additional KRAS p.Q61H mutant sample, leaving only the 1% (50 copy) KRAS p.Q61H sample undetected. Overall, performance was thus in accordance with claimed LoD.
Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry
The iPLEX Pro MALDI-TOF assay was able to detect all codon 12 and codon 13 KRAS mutations down to a level of 5% in the 100 and 50 copy number admixtures, with the exception of the p.G12C mutation which was only detected at the 20% level in the 50 copy number sample.
UltraSEEK detected all codon 12 and codon 13 mutations down to the 0.5% level in both the 100 copy and 50 copy samples. For the p.Q61H mutation, detection was achieved down to the 5% level with both the 50 and 100 copy samples.
Next-generation sequencing
We evaluated two different NGS library preparation principles, hybridisation capture and amplicon-based sequencing. The Illumina Nextera Rapid Capture Custom Lung Panel was not successful in identifying any KRAS mutants. After running the analysis, standard quality control filters were applied to eliminate poor quality calls (eg, due to issues such as stand bias and poor quality mapping score), and the resulting data did not detect any KRAS mutations. Relaxation of the quality control filters resulted in the detection of two common KRAS variants (p.G12D and p.G12C); however, the accuracy of these findings could not be determined as the genotype of the samples was not known at the outset of the study. Consequently, these results have not been included in further analyses.
Among the amplicon-based NGS tests, the Oncomine Focus Assay identified all five KRAS mutations studied. All mutations were detected in the 100 and 50 copy admixtures and at all levels of allele frequency down to 0.5%, the lowest level assessed (table 3).
The ThunderBolts NGS assay identified all codon 12 and 13 mutations. These KRAS mutations were detected at 5% with 100 copies and 50 copies of input, but not with all higher levels of allele frequency. For the p.Q61H mutation, this was detected at 10% with the 100 copy admixture.
The Sentosa SQ NSCLC Panel identified three out of four codon 12 and 13 mutations down to 5% and one down to 10% (p.G12C) with the 100 copy sample, and three out of four down to 5% with the 50 copy sample. It was able to quantify the allelic frequency of samples in cases that were below the established detection cut-off. For the p.Q61H mutation, the Sentosa panel detected only at the 20% level with both the 100 and 50 copy samples. The kit has a manufacturer-defined limit of 5% so that any results below 5% are defined as 'mutation not detected'.
The Ion AmpliSeq Cancer Hotspot Panel v2 assay performed consistently well across both the 50 and 100 mutant allele copy admixtures. All five KRAS variants were detected in both cell admixtures, down to at least the 5% frequency. The assay also reported quantitative data and was able to detect mutations down to 1%.
The TruSight Tumor 15 assay identified all four codon 12 and 13 mutations to 5% and two of four to 1% (p.G12D and p.G12V) with the 100 copy sample. For the p.Q61H mutation, the TruSight Tumor 15 assay detected down to 5% frequency with the 100 copy sample. The assay identified all four codon 12 and 13 mutations to 5% and one of four to 1% (p.G12V) with the 50 copy sample. Some 10% and 20% levels of allele frequency were not identified due to nucleic acid input being below the manufacturer's recommendation.
ddPCR assay
The PrimePCR ddPCR KRAS Mutation Assays were able to identify codon 12 and 13 mutations down to 1% with the 100 copy input. However, across both admixture and wild-type control samples, the assay identified the incorrect mutation in eight different mutation/allele frequency combinations (see table 3). The p.Q61H assay did not perform successfully in this experiment as none of the mutated samples were detected.
Sanger capillary sequencing
Sanger capillary sequencing produced weak PCR products and mutation peaks were only observable below the detection threshold. The overall results captured in table 3 show that this method did not identify any of the KRAS mutations at any of the levels of allele frequency tested.
Comparison of different assays
The detailed characteristics of the tested assays are reported in table 4, which provides an overview of the advantages of each assay, such as regulatory status provided. qPCR assays were observed to have the fastest turnaround time, with the Idylla KRAS Mutation Test being able to deliver the fastest turnaround time from sample to result a minimum of operator handling steps, while being a CE-marked product like therascreen and cobas tests. The UltraSEEK assay is able to detect low-level mutations with a quick turnaround time.
Typically, coverage beyond the usual mutation hot spots of the KRAS gene was achieved when using sequencing-based assays such as NGS or Sanger. The Idylla test and the cobas provided comprehensive coverage of the all the codons of interest in this study. For NGS, the KRAS mutation status was typically available in parallel with many other genes (at least ≥11; table 4). With respect to additional performance characteristics, NGS required more manual operating steps, with the exception of the CE-IVD Sentosa assay, which has a shorter turnaround time and provides a higher degree of automation. Sanger sequencing has comparable characteristics to the NGS technologies, with complete coverage and similar DNA requirements and throughput. Its coverage is limited to one gene and has low sensitivity.
Here we aimed to establish a 'snapshot' of the relative performance of a range of currently established KRAS mutation detection platforms and assays. Our objective was to obtain information to assist in the selection of the most appropriate technology for KRAS mutation detection, particularly in those derived from small biopsies, which commonly have limited tissue available for testing. It is important to note that in some assays established DNA input requirements were exceeded or not met as part of this study and that this study does not show or claim to show superiority of one technology over another. In addition, the authors would like to point out the limitations of cell line admixtures to mimic clinical FFPE-derived samples and that validation using this sample type would be necessary for each technology in its laboratory setting.
The data showed that the use of admixture samples with low levels of DNA can result in variability in performance across the testing platforms and assays. Of the 13 assays evaluated in this work, nine showed relatively similar levels of accuracy and reliability in detecting KRAS mutations at low levels with varying sensitivities. Three assays, that is, Oncomine Focus Assay (NGS technology), Idylla KRAS Mutation Test (qPCR) and UltraSEEK (MALDI-TOF) performed particularly well, with high sensitivity and specificity across the entire cell line panel. The sensitivities of NGS, PCR and iPLEX Pro technologies were similar. In contrast, Sanger capillary sequencing failed to detect any mutations, as expected, due to its low sensitivity, which is the least of all the technologies, highlighting the need for optimisation for low copy DNA input levels.
Assay sensitivity is an important consideration with respect to the presence of tumour heterogeneity in clinical samples. The PrimePCR ddPCR assay generated some non-specific results, especially in the 50 mutant copy samples, which were concluded to be false-positive results due to the lower quantification limit being reached. We conclude that the sensitivity of the Bio-Rad ddPCR assays was not as high as proposed, especially not in the case of samples with low amounts of DNA. To optimise its further use, it would be recommended to establish positive controls with a known amount of mutant spike-in to wild-type samples at low levels.27 If such controls are used, a low-level mutant sample can be discriminated against a wild-type sample with very few false-positive mutant droplets and the lower limit of quantification can be lowered considerably.
Further, there are underlying reasons for some of these differences in performance; for example, only 3 of the 56 samples tested with the Illumina Nextera Rapid Capture Custom Lung Panel met the manufacturer's recommended minimum DNA concentration of ≥50 ng/10 µL assay input, which may explain the apparent low sensitivity in the results. Additionally, the ThunderBolts Cancer Panel and the TruSight Tumor 15 assays recommended DNA concentration of ≥20 ng/10 µL, which may explain the lower sensitivity in the results. However, irrespective of the various reasons for the differences in performance observed in this analysis, the results highlighted that not all KRAS mutation assays were the same and the importance of choosing a mutation test that is appropriate for the quality and quantity of DNA in the sample type investigated.
Moreover, it is essential that the testing laboratory ensures appropriate validation of a mutation test with samples that are representative of the intended sample type has been carried out. Establishment of such tests is less laborious where the test is already validated and has regulatory approval, for example Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval or CE-IVD certification. The Bio-Rad PrimePCR data in table 3 clearly show the potential issues of non-specific mutation detection when an assay has not been optimised appropriately for a given sample type. Commercially available ddPCR assays should be thoroughly optimised and validated before use.28 Reference standards can now be obtained for use to monitor assay performance, for example Horizon Diagnostics (Cambridge, UK) or AcroMetrix (Thermo Fisher Scientific). Where an incorrect test result could have a serious impact on patient health, external quality assessment schemes with ISO 17043 accreditation offer valuable support for molecular testing laboratories.
The NGS data showed that the p.G12V and p.Q61H mutation admixtures were almost double and almost half, respectively, of the intended nominal concentration. However, this is unlikely to affect the overall interpretation of the results of the study as the same samples were used consistently across all the technologies.
The admixture concentrations used in the analysis were designed to be challenging as many NSCLC patient samples or biopsies do not contain high levels of amplifiable DNA. Increasing use of fine needle aspirate (FNA), endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS)-guided biopsy and other small biopsy methods can result in challenging samples for the molecular pathology laboratory, with typically only 200–500 intact/evaluable cells per sample, and occasionally as few as 50 cells.29 30 Based on these data, we included a 50-copy admixture in addition to the 100-copy admixture combined with a wide range of wild-type background DNA.
We also demonstrated the KRAS mutation detection hit rates for the different technologies and may suggest the applicability of KRAS mutation tests based on the sensitivity data. However, it is important to also consider the range of sample types that may be encountered. In a clinical situation, only robust and thoroughly validated assays should be used. If a clinical laboratory tends to predominantly collect one or two sample types, then the choice of assay can be based on optimum performance with the expected quantitative DNA content for those samples, but an assay that is highly tolerant of sample variability without compromising assay performance should also be considered.
Our study had several limitations. Among them, the admixtures did not meet the recommended minimum DNA input requirements for the different technologies and assays in all cases, which may have affected subsequent template preparation or amplification and detection of KRAS mutations. However, the data generated show the comparative sensitivities various technologies can offer at the specified copy numbers, and can guide the selection of a test platform for use in a given application. Second, there may also be limitations to how the results can be extrapolated to performance on clinical samples. For instance, the failure rate for certain NGS mutation panels on FFPE samples can vary between 5% and 20%, depending on the technology used and on the implementation of preanalytical quality control measures.31 32 Further studies will be required to establish appropriate DNA input quantity cut-offs when assays are used with clinical FFPE-derived DNA, which contains many artefacts that can affect the DNA sequence.33 Third, extraction of the DNA from the cell lines was not performed in all instances with the validated method or kit specified for use with a given assay or workflow.
When choosing an appropriate platform and assay to meet the needs of a particular clinic laboratory, there are many factors to consider. In addition to the sensitivity of the assay being appropriate for the DNA content of the sample, it is also important to consider which KRAS mutations an assay can detect. For example, while the therascreen is an FDA-approved In-vitro Diagnostic (IVD) and European Conformity In-vitro Diagnostic (CE-IVD)-approved assay,34 it does not cover KRAS p.Q61 codon mutation, which accounts for up to 5% of KRAS mutations in NSCLC.15 In this case, the laboratory may need to consider if an additional KRAS mutation test should be used so that a larger number of hot spot mutations are tested for. Complete coverage of all clinically relevant codons in the KRAS gene is typically seen when using sequencing-based assays such as NGS or Sanger, or in case of large-panel qPCR assays such as in the Idylla test, or to lesser extent the cobas test. A clear advantage of NGS is that the KRAS mutation status is available in parallel with information on many other genes, making more use of precious limited amount of tumour material.
Furthermore, in order to assess the suitability of a given test for use in the clinic, other parameters associated with assay use need to be considered, such as ease of use, number of manual operating steps, turnaround time from clinical sample to result and the number of samples that can be assessed in one instrument run. Using an assay with a long turnaround time may not be appropriate when servicing a clinic sending high numbers of samples for mutation testing, or an assay requiring high levels of technical laboratory expertise may not be appropriate in a situation with limited resources. As shown in table 4, different assays have various characteristics that may be taken into consideration. For example, the CE-IVD Idylla KRAS Mutation Test automates the complete workflow after sectioning of the FFPE sample to result, and no manual pipetting or analysis steps are required to generate the test result, whereas the NGS Sentosa SQ NSCLC Panel assay (Vela Diagnostics), which is also a CE-IVD test, has a longer turnaround time but instead covers more target genes and analysis is automated. In general other NGS assays required more manual operating steps and somewhat more interpretation than the single-gene assays included in our study.
In conclusion, the variation between technologies and assays highlighted the need to select the most appropriate test for the particular clinical situation and the importance of appropriate test validation. Most technologies used to detect KRAS mutations are also available for other molecular biomarkers, meaning the results of this study may be applicable to other solid tumours where mutation status is needed for therapy selection.
This study was sponsored and supported by AstraZeneca. We thank Andrew Brooks of Bioprocessing Solutions Alliance for the RainDance ThunderBolts NGS data. Medical editing support was provided by Sandra Brave, PhD, of iMed Comms, an Ashfield Company, part of UDG Healthcare funded by AstraZeneca.
Contributors Conceived and designed the experiments: JLS, HB, AK. Performed the experiments: JLS, AR, AS, GC, BC, BA, RC, BSGK, AOHN, ILD and PC. Analysed the data: JLS, AR, AS, GC, BC, BA, RC, BSGK and PC. Wrote the paper: JLS, AR, AS, GC, BC, BA, RC, BSGK, AOHN, ILD and PC.
Funding AstraZeneca provided funds for this research.
Competing interests JLS, HB and AK are employees and shareholders of AstraZeneca. AR is an employee of Birmingham Women's NHS Foundation Trust. AS is an employee of IMGM Laboratories. GC is an employee of University of Cambridge. BC is an employee of Biocartis NV and has a patent pending for the isolation of nucleic acids. BA is an employee of Vela Diagnostics and Eppendorf. RC is an employee of NewGene. BSGK and PC are employees of Thermo Fisher Scientific. AOHN is a paid employee of Agena Bioscience and holds company stock options. ILD is an employee of Illumina and holds stock in the company, and an employee of Invivoscribe.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
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BOSTON, Mass. – The Simmons University women's swimming team won 11 of 13 events to defeat visiting Merrimack College, 168-69, in a dual meet today at the Holmes Sports Center Natatorium on the campus of Simmons in Boston, Mass. The Sharks improve to 10-2 on the season to notch double-digit victories for the sixth straight season, while the Warriors fall to 1-3 in dual meet action.
Junior Aine Scholand (Albuquerque, N.M.), senior Kerry Fleming (Northampton, Mass.) and first year Sarah Singleton (Mission Hills, Calif.) all won a pair of events to lead Simmons.
Scholand also added a fourth-place showing to give her a meet-high 20 points for the Sharks. She won the first individual event of the day by over 23 seconds with a mark of 18:03.64 to take the 1650-yard freestyle and added a second triumph later in the meet when she touched the wall first in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:16.51. Fleming dominated the 200-yard freestyle by more than five seconds with a time of 2:00.04, before winning the 100-yard freestyle by more than a second at 55:45. Singleton cruised to a six-plus second victory in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:48.50 and left no doubt in the 200-yard butterfly with a winning mark of 2:20.96 for another six-plus second margin.
Simmons swept both diving events with sophomore Sara Manjikian (Belmont, Mass.) nipping junior teammate Cristina Samaniego (Avon, Conn.) by just over a point on the one-meter board, 200.30-199.05. First year Natalie Krieg (Cambridge, Mass.) was right behind with a personal-best 191.00 points. Krieg saved her best for last, winning her first collegiate event with a career-high 208.05 points on the three-meter board. Manjikian finished second with 199.75 points and Samaniego tallied a season-high of 196.70.
Senior Laura Simpson (Perkiomenville, Pa.) touched the wall first in the 500-yard freestyle for the Sharks, winning by more than 16 seconds with a time of 5:26.63, while classmate Jason Erichsen (Banks, Ore.) led a Simmons one-two-three sweep in the 200-yard breaststroke with a mark of 2:35.70 to win by more than four seconds. The Sharks closed the meet with a three-plus second win in the 200-yard freestyle relay with Fleming opening the relay, followed by Singleton, Simpson and junior Laura List (Bedford, Mass.) to combine on a time of 1:43.58.
Senior Maeve McGowan (Mansfield, Mass.) led Merrimack with 11 points for the day, including a first-place showing in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 26.02. Sophomore Erin Claflin (Newton, Mass.) placed third in the race to give the Warriors 12 points for the event. McGowan also finished fourth in the 100-yard freestyle.
Merrimack opened the meet with a win in the 200-yard medley relay behind junior Andrea Taylor's (Ludlow, Mass.) lead backstroke leg, followed by junior Hailey Keelips (Rowayton, Conn.) in the breaststroke, junior Lucia Quesada Nylen (Malden, Mass.) in the butterfly and McGowan's freestyle anchor to contribute to a mark of 1:58.83. The Warriors placed third in the opening relay as well to take a 13-4 lead to open the meet. Merrimack held a 19-17 margin after two events, but the Sharks pulled ahead for good at 30-25, following three events.
Simmons returns to the pool on Saturday, January 19 when it hosts Mount Holyoke College at 12:00 p.m., while the Warriors travel to Wellesley, Mass. on January 25 to take on Wellesley College.


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Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is playing an increasingly important role at schools as a means of improving the teaching of English as a foreign language. The aim of this course is to introduce teachers to this methodology and provide the necessary tools to apply it in the classroom.
- To learn the basic principles of CLIL methodology
- To receive support in preparing content and materials for applying this methodology in the classroom
- To answer the most common questions about using this methodology in the classroom
Intended for
Pre-primary, primary and secondary school teachers


text:
Dreaming, I said, "When she is come,
This desert garden that is me
For her shall offer mellowly
Its myrrh and its olibanum—
When she is come.
"The flowers of the noon for her
With blossoms of the sun shall bloom,
The fading roses breathe perfume,
The lightly fallen petals stir,
And sigh to her.
"Her presence, like a living wind
Each little leaf makes visible,
Shalt enter there, or lilac the spell
(Upon the lulling leaves divined)
Of silent wind."
Alas! for she has come and gone,
And in the garden, green for her,
The flowers fall, the flowers stir
Only to winds of night and dawn:
For she has gone.
Printed from: www.eldritchdark.com/writings/poetry/527
Printed on: October 29, 2020


text:
Re: Credit Card Machine UpdatesModerator Berta Mar 28, 2013 1:51 PM (in response to amspcs)
Thanks for sharing this information with us amspcs!
Re: Credit Card Machine Updatesamspcs Mar 29, 2013 7:30 PM (in response to Moderator Berta)
Berta, Did this post get deleted? If so, why? I don't see it anywhere in the thread.
Re: Credit Card Machine UpdatesLWMareS Mar 29, 2013 11:34 PM (in response to amspcs)
Hello Amspcs,
Berta is off right now, however I wanted to let you know that I see two posts by you in this thread. Perhaps there was a glitch keeping you from seeing one or both? They are both showing for me.
Please let us know if you continue to have any problems.
Thanks so much for being a part of the Small Business Online Community!
Mare Stern
Moderation Manager
It has just been announced that, effective April 1, 2013, the GLOBAL front end network server (call your processor customer service to find out if you are on this network) Comm Server application that some of you use will be retiring. The ONLY terminals that will be affected are the Omni 3740, 3750 and certain Vx570 models. Merchants using these terminals will need to update their file build by completing a new download or they will be unable to process over IP after April 1st. This has to do with security-related PCI issues. Please understand that having to do a new download into your terminal, inconvenient as that may sound, is far better than getting an 'end of life' notification and having to buy a new machine. And therein lies the rub: Some processors hear 'cha-CHING" when they receive these sort of notices, and use them as a sales tactic to scare merchants into buying new terminals they don't need. So if you have one of these terminals and your processor tells you you must buy a new one, that should tell you all you need to know about your processor. While on the subject, here's another scam you merchants out there would be wise to avoid. When and if you need to re-download your credit card device, make sure you are talking to your processor, not to a scam artist posing as your processor out to steal your money by downloading THEIR program into YOUR terminal...it happens! That means that YOU initiate the call to your tech support department,, and never respond to online links or anonymous phone calls. And NEVER let someone you don't know who walks through your door anywhere near your credit card terminal until you are absolutely sure who he/she is and where they come from.


text:
Bots are complicated. They're made to process repetitive actions autonomously and can be fairly easy to build, but they aren't always working on the side of good. Here's what you need to know.
Each year, EContent magazine compiles a list of the 100 companies that matter most in the digital content industry.
Voting is now closed. We'll announce the results of the first-ever EContent 100 list chosen by the people!
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