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- Complete pulp mills
- Chemical pulping
Wood handling
- Log receiving
- Debarking
- Chipping
- Chip screening
- Chip storing
- Bark handling
- Water handling
- Bulk material receiving
- Conveyor systems
- Services for Wood handling
Cooking and fiber line
- Cooking
- Screening
- Pulp Washing
- Oxygen delignification
- Bleaching
- Services for cooking and fiberline
Pulp drying
- Bleached stock screening
- Wet end
- Drying
- Cutting
- Baling
- Pulper feed system and dewiring equipment
- Services for Pulp drying
Chemical recovery
- Evaporators
- Recovery boilers
White liquor plant
- Green liquor handling
- Cooling, slaking and causticizing
- White liquor handling
- Lime mud handling
- Lime reburning
- Services for White liquor plant
- Process support and optimization
- Rebuilds and upgrades
- Heat and power production
Services for chemical recovery
- Services to improve reliability
- Maintenance and shutdown services
- Products to improve reliability & safety
- Spare parts and components
- Services to secure availability
- New Technology
- Evaporation Plants Rebuild
- Recovery Boiler Rebuild
- Power Boiler Rebuild
- Air emission control
- New value-adding processes
- Dissolving pulping
Mechanical pulping
- Chip washing
- Chip treatment
- Refining and grinding
- Steam separation
- Washing
- Bleaching
- Screening and cleaning
Services for Mechanical pulping
- Improvements and upgrades
- Maintenance and shutdown services
- Spare parts and components
- Production consumables
- Process support and optimization
- Service centers
- Learning services
- Outsourcing services
- Recycled fiber
Automation for pulp
- Analyzers and measurements
- Quality control systems
APC Advanced Process Controls
- Valmet WinGEMS
- Valmet Debarking Optimizer
- Valmet Batch Cooking Optimizer
- Valmet Continuous Cooking Optimizer
- Valmet Washing Line Optimizer
- Valmet Oxygen Stage Optimizer
- Valmet Bleaching Optimizer
- Valmet Evaporation Optimizer
- Valmet Recovery Boiler Optimizer
- Valmet Recovery Boiler Leak Detector
- Valmet Recovery Boiler Sootblowing Optimizer
- Valmet Causticizing Optimizer
- Valmet Lime Kiln Optimizer
- Valmet Recovery Line Management
AQC Advanced Quality Controls
- TMP Predictive Quality Controller
- TMP Specific Energy Optimizer
- Paper Machine Blend Controller
- Paper Brightness Optimizer
- Power Contract Optimization
- Paper Quality Software Sensors
- Paper Quality Real Time Optimizer
- Sensor Validation
- IMonitor Performance Monitor
- Ponderosa Pulp Quality Software Sensors
- IMAS Process Control Data Server
- Mill information management
- Distributed control systems
- Boiler Diagnostics Systems
Services for pulp
- Shutdown management
- Services Agreements
- Automation services
- Service centers
- Learning services
- Outsourcing services
- Industrial Internet solutions
- Fiber Technology Center
- Pulp news and stories
- Pulp
- Mechanical pulping
- Washing
- TwinRoll press
TwinRoll presses for a new level of washing
TwinRoll is a family of pulp washers covering every need for washing along the entire fiberline.
TwinRoll Evolution is the fifth generation of Valmet's TwinRoll presses. It takes dewatering and washing to a new level. The TwinRoll Evolution is designed for optimal operation while minimizing operational and maintenance costs.
Advantages of Valmet's TwinRoll presses
- Excellent washing efficiency
- Higher specific capacity than competing systems. This means extremely compact installations, which make our TwinRoll presses especially suitable for upgrades.
- Higher output pulp consistencies than competing systems. This means lower water volumes, reduced chemical consumption and a better overall economy.
- High availability
- Low operational and maintenance costs
TwinRoll presses - Spare parts and components
TwinRoll press - Maintenance and shutdown services
TwinRoll press - Process and automation upgrades


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Meet the mother and daughter getting ready to swim in the Thames
PUBLISHED: 11:26 21 April 2017
Neither has swam in open water before
A mother and daughter from Swanley are training to swim a mile in the Thames later this year.
Jacquie Yeoman and daughter Megan took up swimming to relieve the stress of work and GCSEs, but as their swimming continued, 47-year-old Mrs Yeoman decided to enter a competition to swim The Henley Mile, a straight line downstream over the same course as the Henley Royal Regatta rowing event.
Not only was she selected, by organisers Henley Swim also picked 15-year-old Megan to join her alongside four other women in the Oxfordshire stretch of the river on July 9.
The mother and daughter will spend the next three months blogging about their training for the race, supported by This Girl Can, which supports women in sport.
The participants' blog can be found at www.thisgirlcanswim.com.
Henley Swim co-founder Tom Kean said: "Once again we have been overwhelmed by the numbers of women who have entered our This Girl Can competition. This is a hugely important and enjoyable initiative for us, and each year the job of whittling down the entries to our finalist gets bigger. It's clear there are many different motivations for all our swimmers, but what it does show is how getting outside of your comfort zone adds meaning and excitement to life.
"Swimming is one of those rare sports that is truly gender neutral, and with This Girl Can, we hope to introduce more ladies to a sport where they can excel on a personal level.
"In 2016, there were more female swimmers than males at the Henley Mile, which bucks the trend for mass participation events and is a statistic of which we are proud."
If you value what this story gives you, please consider supporting the Gravesend Reporter. Click the link in the orange box above for details.

subset: commoncrawl


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Pedals that fold in - reducing from 10cm to 5cm. NEW - Never used.
Top quality, serious engineering, tough as, made by Japanese pedal icons MKS.
Initially brought from Bike Friday - https://www.bikefriday.com/thestore/pro ... s_id=11471
Ideal for a folding bike, perhaps used on public transport.
On Trade Me. Contact me on 027 357 7901


text: New year, new start! And what better way to begin the year by sharing our news. Today, Andy signed a new lease for the unit next door which provides a great platform for expansion. We've been steadily trading since January 2013. After building the business from scratch, taking on an […] We're expanding!This entry was posted in News Uncategorized on January 15, 2018 by abmotors15


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Not only do I like tabletop RPGs, but I also like computer RPGs. So I really enjoyed this article:
The evolution of the RPG
I played a number of these - the Ultimas, Wizardry, Fallout, Pool of Radiance, Diablo. Not all of them by any stretch. But it's interesting to see the development of the CRPG over time.
It builds from, and up to, a bit of a Dragon Age teaser. But that's fine, it's all tied together, from Adventure and the origins of Link and the way CRPGs have tuned the elements of RPGs as they went.
Very entertaining reading.
Old School informed GURPS Dungeon Fantasy gaming. Basically killing owlbears and taking their stuff, but with 3d6.
Friday, November 21, 2014
The Evolution of the CRPG
Labels: video games
2 comments:
Automapping in CRPGs best break through ever.ReplyDelete
Diablo and Baldurs Gate really changed everything. After that the map was almost always auto.Replies
I remember sitting next to my cousin hand-mapping dungeons.Delete
I also remember spending my hard-saved allowance money up to get complete maps of the Wizardry dungeons so I didn't have to go completely crazy trying to map them by hand myself.
Automap is awesome. It's one of the great additions to gaming. Mapping by hand was really tiresome in comparison and didn't add fun so much as offload work onto the gamer.
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The parish-wide celebration of our Jubilee year has come to its end. The 50th Anniversary of the dedication of St. Mary's of the Lake Church on Walworth Road in 1966 has been observed. This whole year of celebration was full of events that have brought our parish family together in thanksgiving for the many ways our parish communities have inspired our lives. The Jubilee gave us a chance to introduce new programs to our Parish, programs that will be carried on into the future for the benefit of our parishioners, for our towns, and for the surrounding area. We officially closed the Jubilee year at all three weekend Masses, beginning Saturday at the evening Mass at St. Mary's and continuing Sunday at 8:00 at Church of the Epiphany. Bishop Salvatore Matano presided at a Solemn Mass on Sunday, the 11th of September and anniversary date. During this Mass,we dedicated the St. Maximilian Kolbe plaques that will serve as a memorial at each church. With 340 in attendance, including parishioners over 100 and under one year old, and together with our bishop, we prepared a time capsule for 2066, witnessed by some of our youngest parishioners. The Mass was then followed by a luncheon in our St. Mary's of the Lake parish center. A big Thank You to all who have made these and all other Jubilee events possible by their involvement as volunteers or simply by being present.
Father Symon
10:30am Mass at Casey Park and Homecoming Picnic.
All Parishioners (past and current), Family & Friends are invited to the St. Max Jubilee Homecoming Mass and Picnic.
Save the Date & Invite your extended family, past parishioners and friends!
[Click for Flyer ] [Click for RSVP ] [Click for FAQ ]
Though the RSVP date to be entered in the drawing is past, please still RSVP so we can better plan quantities.
A celebration in Song, Dance & Story. Featuring music by Rosalie Mugavero Angie. (Click for flyer)
Dennis shares the history of the life and death of the priest who gave up his life for another.
Refreshments to follow. (Click for flyer)
Followed by refreshments. (Click for flyer)
8:30AM Mass at St. Mary's. Reception follows. (Deadline to be included in a booklet was June 5th.)
June 6, Living Rosary, 6PM at St. Mary's Church (please come 10 minutes early)
May 28-29 Weekend Masses celebrated in Swahili
May 22, Living Rosary, 6:00pm at Epiphany
May 19, Trip to Our Lady of Fatima Shrine, 9AM-6PM, (Reservation Form )
May 2, Praise & Prayer, 6:30 PM at St. Mary's Church
April 30, Volunteer Recognition Event, St. Mary's Parish Center
April 21, Jubilee Half-Time All-Parish Meeting, 6:30 PM at St. Mary's Parish Center
April 9 at St.Mary's. Last Chance: April 21 at St. Mary's.
March 14: Praise & Prayer, 6:30 PM at St. Mary's Church. NEW DAY.
January 16 Jubilee International Potluck Supper, after 4:30 Mass at St. Mary's (photos)
January 8 & 9, Jubilee Parish Directory, Photo Session, St. Mary's Parish Center
January 7, Jubilee Parish Directory, Photo Session, Epiphany Parish Center
October 16, Praise & Prayer at Epiphany Church
[Invitation ] [Event Flyer ] (photos)
Volunteers from across our parish community developed many events and opportunities for the Jubilee Year.
The Calendar of Events includes dates, times, and locations with brief descriptions.
Keep Up-To-Date!
Details and additions may be made to the schedule throughout the Jubilee Year. To keep up-to-date you may:
> Bookmark this website! (www.stmaxparish.com/t_jubilee.html)
> Find, "like", and follow St Maximilian Kolbe Parish on Facebook
> Sign-up for St. Max email distribution list (click here)
> Read your church bulletin each week after Mass
> Ask other parishioners – or share with them if you are up-to-date!
Jubilee 2016 All-Round Support Team
If you would still like to get involved and support a Jubilee event or activity, we welcome you!
To get involved or sign-up, call or email:
Dan Doyle, 315.524.7445, email@example.com
George Bell, 315.524.7281, firstname.lastname@example.com
Nelson Kiedrowski, 315.524.2894, email@example.com
or drop your information into the Jubilee Mailbox at the entrance of any St. Max church.


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The recent expansion of oil and natural gas exploration and production activities in previously unprofitable areas has brought increased attention to issues surrounding compliance with state unclaimed property laws. Producers should be mindful of the powerful incentives that exist for states and third-party auditors to aggressively pursue those who are out of compliance with the often unknown duties arising in the area of unclaimed property, and owners of royalty interests should be aware that states may be holding funds in their names.
State laws generally require a person holding the property of another to attempt to locate the owner of that property after a specified period of time has passed without contact. If the owner cannot be located, then most states require the holder of the property to treat the property as unclaimed or abandoned, to prepare and file a report with the state of all the unclaimed property held, and to turn the property over to the state. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Texas v. New Jersey that the state of the owner's last known address has the first right to receive this property, and if there is no last known address, or if there is no owner's name associated with the property, then the state of the holder's domicile or incorporation will have the second right to lay claim to the property. The state then holds the property as trustee, until the true owner comes forward to claim the property, if ever. In addition to tangible items, such as the contents of safe deposit boxes, common examples of unclaimed property include intangible items like bank account balances, unclaimed life insurance proceeds, un-cashed checks and accounts receivable credit balances. In the oil and natural gas arena, unclaimed royalty payments typically are posted in a producer's suspense account for the required number of years before reporting to a state, and are a consistent compliance burden.
If a true owner never comes forward, or if one comes forward but is unable to prove ownership, then many states can hold the property indefinitely. For states facing budget shortfalls that are reluctant to raise taxes, unclaimed property has become a welcome source of revenue. States can audit holders for unclaimed property outstanding on their books and records, and many states hire third-party auditors that are paid a portion of the property found. These auditors often are contracted to audit a single holder on behalf of many states simultaneously. And unlike taxes, unclaimed property laws often have extended statutes of limitations going back ten, twenty or thirty years, with some states claiming the right to audit as far back as the 1960s. Where holders do not have records to prove that they followed the law, auditors can often estimate the amount of unclaimed property on the holder's books. One state in particular – Delaware – has garnered attention for its aggressive audits and its dependency on unclaimed property revenues. The Delaware Department of Finance, which administers the state's unclaimed property law and offers a voluntary disclosure program, was apparently viewed as so aggressive that the state legislature allowed the Secretary of State to offer its own voluntary disclosure program, which continues through June 30, 2014.
In states such as Texas and Oklahoma, where hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have made previously depleted or low-producing wells viable again, producers are now finding themselves obligated to pay significant royalties to persons with whom they have had little or no contact for years, and who cannot be found. Often royalty interests have been split among many successive generations of the original royalty owner's heirs, and the heirs may live in places far from the site of the well. Sometimes heirs do not even know they have an interest in the royalties. In addition, unclaimed property compliance likely will become an issue in states just beginning shale exploration such as Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan, and is likely to present unique challenges for both new producers unfamiliar with unclaimed property and experienced producers who will need to familiarize themselves with state rules which often were not designed to address problems arising in this context. The BakerHostetler North America Shale Blog will watch for developments in state unclaimed property administration and policy as they relate to the oil and natural gas industry, and will report here accordingly.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.


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Birthdate: Thursday, November 3rd, 1921
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
Died: Saturday, August 30th, 2003
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
Cause of death: Alzheimer's Disease and pneumonia
Best known for: Actor known for his tough guy action roles, weather-beaten good looks and, in later years, a move toward more violent films such as the Death Wish franchise.
Charles had always excelled in action roles in both the movies and on TV, whether it was serial Westerns or blockbuster war movies, but in the 1970s, as he reached his 50th year, this speciality for the genre only grew when he signed with United Artists to make several action pictures, beginning with 1972's Chato's Land. These films were somewhat churned out, but were no less successful, and one of these films was Death Wish, released in July 1974 and directed by Michael Winner. Charles played a New York architect turned vigilante called Paul Kersey who hits the streets and murders random drop-outs after the murder of his wife (Hope Lange) by "street punks".
|Charles aged 53 in Death Wish, and
aged 73 in Death Wish 5
In 1987 came Death Wish 4: The Crackdown, by which time Charles was 66 and not quite as physically convincing as he was in 1974. In this fourth installment Kersey switches location to Los Angeles and takes on a bunch of drug dealers responsible for the overdose of his girlfriend's daughter. Charles's final performance as Paul Kersey came in 1994's Death Wish 5: The Face of Death, in which Kersey goes after a New York mobster threatening his girlfriend's fashion business.
There were just three more acting roles for Charles before he retired, all of them television movies made under the Family of Cops banner. In November 1995's Family of Cops, Charles plays police commissioner Paul Fein who gets involved in his oversexed daughter's life when she's accused of murdering a married man she sleeps with. It's obvious by this time that Charles is in no way a convincing action star any longer, hence the "family" of cops surrounding him to take on some of the more action-packed fare.
|Charles in his last role in Family of
Cops III, aged 77
What wasn't known at the time was that during the filming of Under Suspicion, Charles was suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease. He'd been suffering from ill-health for a couple of years, and was finally diagnosed in 2000, after Kim began to notice her husband changing from "energetic and quick-witted to seeming dazed".
|Charles at the Malibu Film Festival
in March 2001, aged 79
However, at this point at least, Charles still recognised his family and they spent that Christmas together. Catherine added: "Kim rarely leaves his side. She's devoted to him and vows to stick by him."
After being in hospital for several weeks, he died on August 30th, 2003 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles, aged 81, with Kim at his side. He was buried at Brownsville cemetery in West Windsor, Vermont, the town he'd lived in for 30 years, at the foot of Mount Ascutney. He left an estate worth $48m, which included an $8m house in Malibu and a $4.8m beach house and ranch in Vermont.
For an insight into the real Charles Bronson, here's a lovely CNN interview with him from 1993 when he was filming The Sea Wolf for TNT, his first project after taking a year off following the death of his beloved second wife, actress Jill Ireland, in 1990.


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Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event.
As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles.
Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services.
These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience – the local community.
It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times.
Kendal 11°c
Cumbria House, Murray Road, Workington, CA14 2AD
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Photo: Hector Sanchez; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller
How to Make It
Step 1
Cook bacon in a medium skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes or until crisp. Remove bacon, and drain on paper towels, reserving drippings in skillet.
Step 2
Add butter to drippings, and stir until butter melts. Increase heat to medium; add onions, and sauté 10 to 12 minutes or until tender. Add shallots, vinegar, sugar, and kosher salt, and cook, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes or until sugar dissolves.
Step 3
Reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, 20 to 25 minutes or until onions are very tender and brown. Remove from heat; stir in chives, thyme, and bacon. Cool completely (about 20 minutes), or refrigerate in an airtight container up to 3 days.


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Make Life Easier With RA Tools and Technology
Rheumatoid arthritis can make even the simplest tasks difficult. These easy-to-use RA gadgets and devices can come to the rescue.
Necessity may be the mother of invention, but the desire to make everyday tasks pain-free is what's driving the development of new tools, gadgets, and technologies for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). If you have RA, once-simple tasks like buttoning your shirt or opening a jar can become an ordeal. Here are some of the most helpful innovations to assist with the most important aspects of daily life:
- e-Health trackers. Numerous mobile apps are available for iPhone and Android devices to help you keep better track of your health. Use these apps, many of which are free, to chart your nutrition, fitness, sleep, medication, and symptoms. "You can track your activities and your pain level, which also gives the doctor a much clearer picture of your day-to-day life," says Patience White, MD, vice president for public health policy and advocacy at the Arthritis Foundation.
- Exercise video games. Video game systems that use cameras or handheld gadgets to track gamers' movements can be a double boon to those with rheumatoid arthritis. "These video games allow patients to work on stability, strength, and range of motion while they're also having fun," says Maura Daly Iversen, PT, DPT, MPH, a professor and chair of the physical therapy department at Northeastern University in Boston.
- Dressing aids. Putting on clothes can become a pain with arthritic fingers, but devices such as zipper pulls and button hooks make the task much easier. Extension tools are available to help you pull on socks, slip on shoes, and even slide on bracelets. In addition, many items of clothing are available with Velcro fasteners, and elastic shoelaces let you turn lace-up shoes into snug slip-ons.
- Kitchen tools. Innovative gadgets make cooking less daunting when you're coping with rheumatoid arthritis. At the grocery store, look for packaging that's easier on sore wrists, such as easy-to-open jars and freezer bags that take less coordination to seal. Choose kitchen utensils with larger handles that make them easier to grip. Devices such as electric can openers, fixed jar openers, food choppers, and food processors with a variety of cutting blades reduce the need to use your hands for tasks like slicing and chopping. Also consider a reacher, a tool you can use to grab jars and cans on high shelves.
- Personal hygiene aids. Grooming tools such as razors, toothbrushes, nail trimmers, tweezers, hair dryers, and electric shavers are now available with features such as large or long handles and big buttons to make them easier for people with RA to use.
- Gear for yard- and housework. Look for garden hoses with thick connector sleeves that make them easy to attach and gardening shears that have built-in gears for heavy cutting work. For housework, ergonomic tools and appliances, from vacuums to wrenches, have been designed to reduce stress and strain on wrists, forearms, and elbows.
- Mobility aids for the car. Many tools are available to help you drive safely. These include seat belt handles to help you buckle up, slides and swivels so you can ease yourself behind the wheel, support handles for getting out of the car, and panoramic rearview mirrors to reduce the need to turn your head. Wide key holders make it easier to turn on the ignition, and special gas cap openers will help when it's time to fill up.
You can find out more about many of these items at the Arthritis Foundation.


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Generally speaking, the appeals process goes like this: A judge rules on your case, and you then appeal to the court because you do not agree with the judgement. The appeals court then rules, and you either agree with it or you decide to appeal again, this time to the Supreme Court of Canada. What the Supreme Court says stands, so this body makes the final ruling and the case ends. There are also instances where the Supreme Court may order that there should be a brand new hearing or a new trial entirely, as well.
Facts are not found in an appeal
One misconception that people sometimes have about the appeals process is that they're going to give the court a chance to find new facts. They view an appeal as if it is a second trial.
An error of law versus an error of fact
If you're seeking an appeal, it typically means that an error was made by the judge -- at least, you believe such an error was made. You want a higher court to look at the decision to see if it should hold up. You think they will identify the error and rule in your favor because of it. The two main types of errors that can cause this are errors of law and errors of fact.
County appeals wind farm plans: Legal battle continues
The Ontario Township of Clearview, along with the town of Collingwood, are fighting to curb plans to build a wind turbine farm. The plans involve building eight 137 metre high wind turbines not far from the Collingwood airport. Last Thursday, the County of Simcoe voted in favor of the municipalities to appeal the Fairview wind project. The governments have asked that the project be appealed to the Environmental Review Tribune.
Can I file a complaint against a Canada judge?
Litigants who feel that the judge presiding over their case acted inappropriately may wish to file a complaint against the judge. Before moving forward with such a complaint, however, it must be determined whether the issue relates to the judge's conduct or a decision made by the judge.
The structure of Canada's court system
Anyone in Alberta who is considering moving forward with a court case or an appeal should know exactly how the courts are structured and how cases will move through various courts. The whole legal process is sometimes a bit overwhelming if you've never gone through it before, so this information can be very helpful and can put you at ease.
What is the timeline for a notice of appeal?
One of the most important things to know about an appeal is that there is a timeline that has to be followed in Alberta. If you do not adhere to this, even innocently, you may not be able to file an appeal.
Man files appeal of drunk driving prison sentence
A Calgary man who was convicted of killing a motorcyclist while driving drunk has filed an appeal of his six-year sentence. The man is reportedly arguing that the sentence was too long given the facts of his case, and that the sentence should have more appropriately been in the range of four or five years.
Fracking case may go to the Supreme Court
After losing an appeal, a property owner in northeast Calgary plans to take her lawsuit against an Alberta energy regulator to the Supreme Court. On Sept. 15, the Alberta Court of Appeal upheld a previous ruling by an Alberta Court of Queen's Bench judge who said that the woman could not sue Encana. The initial court ruling last fall found that the company was immune from civil claims.


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Hey Blog Buddies!
So my NOTD is Azure by Sula. I found this pretty little lady at Ulta and after passing it up at least 5 times, I finally decided to buy it. The cool part is that it's a "paint and peel" polish. It isn't meant to last for a week. It was meant for people who love polish but hate the removal. Otherwise called "too tired to try" like me. (:
The shade is a dusty teal that applies like a jelly and the reason for that is that it's water based. That is what makes it so easy to peel off. The downside is that it's very sensitive to hot water. You have to be very cautious of what you do with your nails after you take a shower, do dishes, etc.
All the Sula polishes come with a Lasting Love top coat that you can reapply daily until you are ready to peel it all off.
I have to say, I have worn this polish 3 times already, and I love it. The formula is really great and I love the finish. And just as it's made to do, I love the fact that it just peels right off. I don't even have to touch a bottle of remover or a cotton ball. Now I can't wait to purchase more colors.
Do you own and Sula polishes? What do you think of the "Paint and Peel" fad?


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When it comes to industrial fabrication there is a lot riding on the decision of which company to use. The quality and efficiency of the fabrication will have a direct impact on profitability, the quality of future output, maintenance costs, and even safety. Fortunately for many new industrial facilities – as well as established ones that need new equipment and services – finding the best company to use for fabrication may be as simple as checking with the company that provided the original engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services that built the facility. What follows is a list of several of the top advantages of using an EPC company for fabrication.
Better Familiarity with the Project and Company
One of best advantages of using the same company for EPC and for industrial fabrication is that the EPC company will already be fully versed on the project and familiar with the client company. The EPC company will already be acutely aware of the timelines needs, priorities, and budgetary constraints of the project. They will also likely already understand the subtleties of both the general industry as well as the specific client company and they will be able to tailor their services to best fit those needs.
More Efficient Coordination
A major efficiency advantage comes in better internal coordination with a company that handles EPC and then also industrial fabrication. That is because the efficiency of communication and coordination between different internal departments of the same company is typically much stronger than between two or more separate, unrelated companies. With multiple companies in the mix it can be easy for one or more of those companies to drop the ball in terms of coordination. It can also be a time-consuming, logistical nightmare for the client company to attempt to coordinate everything themselves around so many different, unrelated companies and schedules. Comprehensive EPC and fabrication companies have a natural synergy and efficiency between different departments.
Already Established Relationship
Another important advantage to using the same company for EPC and for industrial fabrication is that there is already an established relationship. One of the most important, but often most time consuming aspects of working with a new company is ironing out all details about billing, contact information, schedules, general expectations, and even the personal dynamics between key people. By using the same company for fabrication that was used by EPC much of this learning curve can be eliminated.
Trusted Quality
One of the best things about already having a background with the fabrication company in a different context, such as with EPC services, is that the company's work speaks for itself. If the company consistently delivered dependable, high quality results that were on time and on budget during the EPC phase then that is an excellent indicator that they will continue to deliver great results when it comes to industrial fabrication services.
Overlap in Expertise and Resources
Another great reason to use an EPC company for fabrication is that there is often an overlap in expertise and resources. If the company has the personnel, requisite knowledge, and logistical capabilities to handle a large scale project such as the engineering and construction of a new facility then they very likely also have the skills and resources needed to handle fabrication too if they are set up to handle that. That is true in general of EPC companies that also offer fabrication services, even if they were not the original company to handle the engineering and/or construction for the particular project that now needs fabrication, just the full service nature of the company is a good sign.
Greater Overall Efficiency
What just about all of these advantages boil down to is greater overall efficiency. That is true in terms of the knowledge and skills it takes to do both excellent EPC and high quality fabrication, as well as the logistical and support needs of the projects. It is also simply much more efficient and much less time consuming on the part of client company to use a company they already know and trust for fabrication.
Polaris is proud to offer our customers both state-of-the-art EPC services as well as industrial fabrication services. We have a 47,000 square foot facility which is located on 17 acres and has excellent access to the highway and interstate, as well as potential rail access. This facility can handle projects big and small for our customers and has received ASME's U, R, and S stamps in recognition of high quality and unwavering standards.


text: "And the men who were restraining him mocked and beat him. And they covered his eyes and questioned him, saying, 'Prophesy, which one is it that struck you?' And many other blasphemous things they spoke to him." (Luke 22:63-65) Mockery and scorn seem to be two of the devil's favorite tactics. They are the… Read More


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Listen to Koo Koo , the latest track from Slim Dunkin, featuring Skooly. The cut dropped on Wednesday, February 1st, 2012. Slim Dunkin's future brightens with every new release, and Koo Koo certainly isn't an exception. It's a fitting addition to a solid catalogue that Slim Dunkin has been developing since stepping foot in the game. We're excited to hear more.
Have you heard Slim Dunkin's Now That I'm On (Remix), featuring Future, Riff Raff, Sy Ari Da Kid & K. Camp? If your interest is piqued, hit up Slim Dunkin's profile for more info, news, songs, and mixtapes. Follow Slim Dunkin on Facebook and Twitter, if you aren't already.
How do y'all feel about this collabo? How does this compare to Slim Dunkin's previous work?


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From OC Enhancements
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Before heading to the cinema, check out Cineast Movie Previews each weel for the scoop on what's new and what's worth seeing—or not.
Jersey Boys
One of the most popular Broadway musicals of the last 15 years makes the jump to movie screens. Directed by Clint Eastwood, who is known for making nicely drawn bio-pics about music and musicians, Jersey Boys charts the meteoric rise of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, the doo-wop vocal group from Newark, NJ. In the name of not fixing what isn't broken, Eastwood and the writers have kept the stagey-ness of the musical intact: characters routinely address the camera to narrate the story, adopting an Italian-American North Jersey swagger familiar to anyone who has watched The Sopranos or any number of Jersey-set gangster films. The accents, which sound to my ears more Brooklyn than Jersey (hey, I'm from Jersey, and there IS a difference, people), are there to remind us that the Four Seasons were all lower-middle-class kids from the unfriendly streets of a hard-luck town who made it to the very top of the music world—funny how that seems to happen a lot.
Third Person
Liam Neeson, who seems to be everywhere these days, stars in Third Person, playing a writer who, naturally, moves through the world more as observer than as active participant. In one telling quote, an estranged lover tells him, "You're in love with love—it's people you have a problem with." Ouch! The movie is notable for featuring a large number of beautiful women who are involved in relationships with less-than-attractive men. Beyond these good points, the film is otherwise a pretty somber affair, with a lot of fraught situations, anguished expressions and earnest conversations between troubled couples. Sound like fun? Also stars Maria Bello, Mila Kunis, Kim Basinger, Adrien Brody, Olivia Wilde and James Franco.
Think Like a Man Too
Vegas returns once again as the destination for all that is unholy and debauched in Think Like a Man Too. Just once, it would be nice if a film posited some other locale as being a suitable place to "get your freak on," as the film puts it. After all, there are gambling casinos right in Connecticut. And there is prostitution just about everywhere. Anyway, Think Like a Man Too features diminutive funnyman Kevin Hart as the ringleader of a bunch of guys who, arriving with their girlfriends in Vegas, arrange for a "night off"—that is, 24 hours where they're not responsible for their actions. Now, of course, the women get their own free pass as well, and so you can picture what happens: the women get up to more fun than the men, and the men turn out to be very bad sports about it. But the fun's in getting there, right?


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GCSEs results day 2017: What to do next
PUBLISHED: 08:20 24 August 2017 | UPDATED: 12:34 24 August 2017
If there is one day guaranteed to punctuate the calm of summer it's likely to be today, when youngsters collect their GCSE results from school.
In an ideal world everyone gets an A, but what if you don't get the grades you want?In an ideal world everyone gets an A, but what if you don't get the grades you want?
If they get the grades they want, they and their parents can relax – their path to sixth-form or college is assured. But what should you do if you haven't done as well as expected?
The first thing to do is to contact the sixth form or college you had hoped to attend. It's tempting for parents to do this on behalf of their demoralised children. But don't – it's a mistake. Admissions tutors are much more likely to be impressed if a student takes the initiative and contacts them directly.
Parents may be naturally tempted to appeal a poor GCSE result. This is an option but in most cases the school would have to agree to lodge an appeal, it takes up to 30 days, and the chances of success have declined markedly since the appeals system was overhauled last year. In short, it's an outside bet but it's no substitute for a plan.
Remember, too, that schools and colleges will want to help – they have places to fill and they won't be reimbursed if they remain unfilled. Yes, they won't want to take students who they think will struggle, but if there is a solution they will be keen to help your child find it.
How flexible schools and colleges are prepared to be depends on which GCSEs a student failed to pass and by how much. English and maths are essential, so if you didn't pass them, or failed to get a sufficiently high grade, you should resit them in November.
Many schools and colleges will allow students to start A-levels in other subjects while they resit English and maths, it depends on the subject mix. But it's worth asking before looking elsewhere.
If you value what this story gives you, please consider supporting the Islington Gazette. Click the link in the orange box above for details.


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Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex trait characterised by the production of a range of auto-antibodies and a diverse set of clinical phenotypes. Currently, ∼8% of the genetic contribution to SLE in Europeans is known, following publication of several moderate-sized genome-wide (GW) association studies, which identified loci with a strong effect (OR>1.3). In order to identify additional genes contributing to SLE susceptibility, we conducted a replication study in a UK dataset (870 cases, 5,551 controls) of 23 variants that showed moderate-risk for lupus in previous studies. Association analysis in the UK dataset and subsequent meta-analysis with the published data identified five SLE susceptibility genes reaching genome-wide levels of significance (Pcomb<5×10−8): NCF2 (Pcomb = 2.87×10−11), IKZF1 (Pcomb = 2.33×10−9), IRF8 (Pcomb = 1.24×10−8), IFIH1 (Pcomb = 1.63×10−8), and TYK2 (Pcomb = 3.88×10−8). Each of the five new loci identified here can be mapped into interferon signalling pathways, which are known to play a key role in the pathogenesis of SLE. These results increase the number of established susceptibility genes for lupus to ∼30 and validate the importance of using large datasets to confirm associations of loci which moderately increase the risk for disease.
Author Summary
Genome-wide association studies have revolutionised our ability to identify common susceptibility alleles for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In complex diseases such as SLE, where many different genes make a modest contribution to disease susceptibility, it is necessary to perform large-scale association studies to combine results from several datasets, to have sufficient power to identify highly significant novel loci (P<5×10−8). Using a large SLE collection of 870 UK SLE cases and 5,551 UK unaffected individuals, we firstly replicated ten moderate-risk alleles (P<0.05) from a US–Swedish study of 3,273 SLE cases and 12,188 healthy controls. Combining our results with the US-Swedish data identified five new loci, which crossed the level for genome-wide significance: NCF2 (neutrophil cytosolic factor 2), IKZF1 (Ikaros family zinc-finger 1), IRF8 (interferon regulatory factor 8), IFIH1 (interferon-induced helicase C domain-containing protein 1), and TYK2 (tyrosine kinase 2). Each of these five genes regulates a different aspect of the immune response and contributes to the production of type-I and type-II interferons. Although further studies will be required to identify the causal alleles within these loci, the confirmation of five new susceptibility genes for lupus makes a significant step forward in our understanding of the genetic contribution to SLE.
Citation: Cunninghame Graham DS, Morris DL, Bhangale TR, Criswell LA, Syvänen A-C, Rönnblom L, et al. (2011) Association of NCF2, IKZF1, IRF8, IFIH1, and TYK2 with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. PLoS Genet 7(10): e1002341. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002341
Editor: Mark I. McCarthy, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Received: June 2, 2011; Accepted: August 26, 2011; Published: October 27, 2011
Copyright: © 2011 Cunninghame Graham et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: Funding for the project was provided by the Wellcome Trust (http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/) (Grant number 085492) and Arthritis Research UK (http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/) (Grant number 17761). The generation of the Swedish genotype data in the Gateva et al. paper was performed using support from the Swedish Research Council (Grant numbers K2011-52X-12672-14-3 and K2009-52G-20947-01-3). Funding for the generation of the WTCCC2 out-of-study control genotypes was provided by the Wellcome Trust under award 076113. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a relapsing-remitting complex trait which most commonly affects women of child-bearing age, with a ratio of 9∶1 in female to males. The disease prevalence varies with ethnicity, being more prevalent in non-European populations (approximately 1∶500 in populations with African ancestry and 1∶2500 in Northern Europeans) [1]. The condition is characterised by the production of a diverse range of auto-antibodies against serological, intra-cellular, nucleic acid and cell surface antigens [2]. The wide-ranging clinical phenotypes include skin rash, neuropsychiatric and musculosketal symptoms and lupus nephritis, which may be partially mediated by the extensive deposition of immune complexes. Today, thanks to improved treatments, the 10-year survival rate after diagnosis has increased to 90%, with lower survival rates being related to disease severity or complications from treatment [3]. Increased understanding of the underlying genetic basis for lupus is of key importance in improving the prognosis for lupus patients.
Until recently, the genetic basis of lupus remained largely undetermined, with only about ∼8% of the genetic contribution known [4]. However, within the last three years, tremendous progress has been made in defining novel loci, through three moderate-sized genome-wide association studies in European American cohorts and a replication study in a US-Swedish cohort [5]–[7]. The loci previously identified for SLE include genes involved in the innate immune response (eg. IRF5), T and B cell signalling (eg. STAT4, TNFSF4 and BLK), autophagy/apoptosis (eg. ATG5), ubiquitinylation (UBE2L3, TNAIP3, TNIP1) and phagocytosis (ITGAM, FCGR3A and FCGR3B). All of these pathways are of potential importance in lupus pathogenesis [8]–[10].
To date, a total of 1729 independent SLE cases have been subjected to genome-wide association genotyping using three genotyping platforms: Illumina 317 K BeadChip [5], Illumina 550 K BeadChip [6] and Affymetrix 500 K array [7]. There is currently no published meta-analysis of these datasets.
The aim of the current work was to perform a replication study using our UK SLE cohort on loci that showed some evidence for association in previous studies in order to extend the list of confirmed susceptibility genes for lupus.
To identify additional susceptibility loci for SLE, we first identified the independent genetic variants that showed moderate risk (5×10−3<P>5×10−8) in a combined US-Swedish dataset comprising 3273 SLE cases and 12188 controls [4]. We then genotyped 27 independent SNPs in a replication cohort of 905 UK SLE cases and 5551 UK control samples (Table 1), that included both British 1958 Birth Cohort samples and additional controls from the WTCCC2 project.
For the 27 genotyped SNPs, 10 variants which had not been genotyped by the WTCCC2 project, were imputed using IMPUTE2 [11]. This imputation was performed using CEPH HapMap samples as the phased reference sequence and the boundary of the surrounding haplotype blocks used to demarcate the imputation interval. The subsequent association analysis excluded two of these ten imputed SNPs because they had less than 95% certainty for the imputation (Table S2). In the US/SWE dataset, imputation of selected SNPs not genotyped previously [4] was performed using IMPUTE1 for HapMap. Phase II CEU sample haplotypes were used as reference with subsequent association analysis performed using SNPTEST and a genomic control factor (lambda-GC) values of: 1.05 (US dataset) and 1.10 (SWE dataset) after correction for population stratification.
In the UK replication sample by performing allelic association analysis using PLINK for the 23 SNPs passing QC (Tables S2 and S3), we demonstrated moderate association (P≤0.05) for twelve variants - with a lambda-GC of 1.01 following ancestry correction (see Table 2 and Table 3). Under the null hypothesis, only 1 of the 23 loci would be expected to have P≤0.05. The observed enrichment of associated SLE genes in the UK dataset suggested that many of these loci were likely to be true-positive associations.
We confirmed the similarity of odds-ratios (Het P value) and direction of the effect between the UK and US-SWE datasets (Table S4) and then performed a meta-analysis using Fisher's combined P-value (see Materials and Methods). This meta-analysis revealed five novel associated loci with P<5×10−8 (Table 2): NCF2 (neutrophil cytosolic factor 2) (rs10911363, Pcomb = 2.87×10−11, ORcomb = 1.19); IKZF1 (Ikaros family zinc-finger 1) (rs2366293, Pcomb = 2.33×10−9, ORcomb = 1.24); IRF8 (interferon regulatory factor 8) (rs2280381, Pcomb = 1.24×10−8, ORcomb = 1.16); IFIH1 (interferon-induced helicase C domain-containing protein 1) (rs1990760, Pcomb = 1.63×10−8, ORcomb = 1.15) and TYK2 (tyrosine kinase 2) (rs280519, Pcomb = 3.88×10−8, ORcomb = 1.17)(Table 1). The strength of these associations was similar to those found from a weighted meta-analysis, using the METAL programme (Table S4). A case-only analysis using PLINK in the combined UK/US/SWE dataset revealed no non-additive interactions between the five newly associated variants (P>0.05). These new SLE loci are discussed in more detail below and with additional information in Text S1.
Three of the SNPs tested were for loci that had shown genome-wide levels of significance in other SLE GWAS studies (Table S5). In the UK cohort we found further support for the association at JAZF1 (rs849142 PUK = 0.0243, ORUK = 1.13) and identified a third associated variant in the first intron of TNIP1 (rs6889239 PUK = 9.06×10−6, ORUK = 1.30), which is in strong LD (r2 = 0.895) with both the previous report in Europeans [4] and in perfect LD with a third SNP (rs10036748), first reported in a Chinese GWAS [12]. All three variants in TNIP1 are located within a 661 bp region of intron 1. We did not replicate the previous association with IL10 (rs3024505, PUK = 0.209 ORUK = 1.09) (Table S5).
These analyses increased the evidence of association for a number of additional loci that had shown borderline significance in the original US/SWE GWAS (Table 3), including CFB, C12ORF30, SH2B3, and IL12B. Genotyping of additional samples will be required to determine if the association signals shown in Table 3 represent confirmed genetic loci for SLE.
The work presented here confirms five new susceptibility loci for SLE at the level of genome-wide significance (P<5×10−8). Each of the associated variants lie within, or close to, the coding sequence for genes with known roles in immune regulation: NCF2, IKZF1, IRF8, IFIH1 and TYK2. Interestingly, each of these genes has been implicated in interferon signalling. While the interferons have classically been defined as anti-viral cytokines, recent studies have suggested an important role for interferon in the pathophysiology of SLE [13]. While most evidence points to the role of type I interferon in SLE [14] there is substantial data suggesting that type II interferon (IFNγ) is also involved in SLE pathogenesis [15].
NCF2 (neutrophil cytosolic factor 2) (1q25), is induced by IFNγ and specifically expressed in a number of immune-cell types, including B-cells. Our data suggest that the NCF2 association is independent from the previously reported signal in the neighbouring locus NMNAT2, [5] because we found no evidence of strong LD between the genotyped SNP within NMNAT2 (rs2022013) and that in NCF2 (rs10911363) (r2 = 0.136). Logistic regression in the UK replication cohort confirmed that NMNAT2 did not contribute to the association at NCF2 (P = 0.777).
NCF2, as a cytosolic subunit of NADPH-oxidase, may have a role in the increased production of the free radicals characterising B-cell activation [16] (Figure 1) which increases auto-antibody levels and may suggest a mechanism for the involvement of NCF2 as a susceptibility gene for SLE.
The figure shows the interferon-related pathways involving NCF2, IKZF1, IRF8, IFIH1 and TYK2 and and the ways in which these pathways may contribute to lupus susceptibility. In SLE these five genes contribute to increasing the levels of type-I and –II interferons, imbalances in Th1/Th2 related to disease severity, perturbations in B cell physiology and production of a diverse set of auto-antibodies.
There are allele-specific significant expression differences for rs10911363, following a recessive model of basal expression for the risk T allele of rs10911363 in CEPH individuals but not in YRI and ASN (CHB+JPT) HapMap cohorts (PCEPH = 0.03) (Figure 2A). There is also a significant difference in gene expression for a variant (rs3845466) located 2 kb away from rs10911363 in intron 2 of NCF2 (Figure S2A), using lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) from umbilical cords of 75 individuals which were taken from the GENEVAR collection (P = 0.0228). The population-specific nature of this correlation could be because of local differences in the pattern of LD within NCF2 between the CEU, YRI and ASN (CHB+JPT) HapMap cohorts. These population specific differences in LD may be between the genotyped SNP and an unknown causal allele(s) responsible for an expression difference seen in multiple ethnic backgrounds or between the genotyped marker and an unknown causal allele(s) exhibiting population-specific differences in gene expression itself. However, it will be necessary to confirm these findings in primary cells and tissues, because the EBV-transformed B cells model system may not entirely reflect the physiological conditions in peripheral B cells. Indeed a recent report showed that there may be systematic changes in gene expression within EBV-transformed B cells [17]. Nevertheless, with this caveat in mind, and taking each locus on a case-by-case basis, the model-based approach can provide important insights into measurement of transcript levels in ex vivo cells. For example, the increases in transcript levels that we initially observed in EBV-LCLs for OX40L, were also confirmed in peripheral blood B cells [18].
Regression analysis, as described in the materials and methods, was performed on publically available genotype data from EBV-transformed B cells which were part of the HAPMAP collection and expression data on the same individuals taken from the GEO database. Four populations were used: CEPH, YRI and CHB/JPT (ASN) [36]. The GEO dataset was GSE12526 and the expression probes were: A) NCF2 (209949_at), B) IRF8 (204057_at). For each graph, the mean expression per risk (R) allele and that for the non-risk (r) allele was plotted for each population. The alleles are listed on each bar and for each SNP, the total number of individuals for which there was both genotype and expression data are quoted for the three populations analysed. C) Heritability estimates for each locus were taken from the mRNA by SNP browser (http://www.sph.umich.edu/csg/liang/asthma/).
IKZF1 (Ikaros family zinc-finger 1) (17p14.3) is a transcription factor essential for dendritic cell and lymphocyte development. The association with rs2366293 is supported by a report of a second associated variant, rs921916 (Pcomb = 2.0×10−6) [4], found 860 bp away from rs2362293, which is in strong LD with rs2366293 (r2 = −0.746, D′ = 0.925) (Figure S2B). A third SNP, rs4917014, located ∼200 kb upstream of IKZF1, showed association with SLE in a Chinese GWAS (PGWAS = 2.93×10−06), but it was a separate signal from the European SNPs (r2<0.0002) [9], [12]. IKZF1 has a role in the production of IFNγ, by blocking the production of the Th1 master-regulator T-bet (Figure 1). The shifted Th1/Th2 equilibrium (in favour of Th1 cells) increases the levels of IFNγ directly [19] rather than indirectly as a result of cross-talk between the type-I and type-II IFN signalling pathways eg) via type-I interferon mediated activation of STAT1 homodimers, which are the primary means of signalling from IFNγ [20] and have recently been shown to be associated with SLE in a Swedish cohort [21].
The transcription factor IRF8 (interferon regulatory factor 8) (16q24.1), shows immune-cell restricted expression. rs2280381 is found 64 kb downstream of IRF8, and is in LD with the coding region (Figure S2C), but independent from a susceptibility allele for multiple sclerosis (rs17445836), 1 kb away [22]. The lupus variant influences IRF8 gene expression, since LCLs from three HapMap cohorts, showed a significant increase in IRF8 transcript levels in homozygotes for the risk allele (TT) compared to homozygotes for the non-risk allele (CC) (P = 0.045) (Figure 2A). IRF8 also has a key role in regulating the differentiation of myeloid and B-cells and in mice, IRF8 restricts myeloid cell differentiation but promotes B-cell differentiation [23](Figure 1).
IFIH1 (interferon-induced helicase C domain-containing protein 1) (2q24.3) is an ubiquitiously expressed, cytoplasmic sensor of dsRNA. The SLE risk allele for rs1990760 (Table 1) is identical to that previously reported in two organ-specific autoimmune diseases: T1D [24] and Graves' Disease [25]. Regression analysis using publically available genotype data from HapMap and expression data from GEO dataset GSE12526 revealed that individuals who were homozygous for the common risk T allele of rs1990760 had significantly higher IFIH1 transcript levels compared to individuals who were homozygous for the non-risk allele (P = 0.8.19×10−5) (Figure S3B). Furthermore, a recent paper showed that the presence of the risk T allele of rs1990760 was correlated with increased levels of IFN-induced gene expression, in lupus patients who were positive for anti-dsDNA antibodies [26]. Another report demonstrated that IFIHI was rapidly up-regulated by type-I IFNs (Figure 1), and that IFIH1 signalled downstream through NF-κB, to further increase IFN-α production [27].
TYK2 (tyrosine kinase 2) (19p13.2) phosphorylates the receptor subunits of cytokine receptors, including type-I IFN receptors which are found on all nucleated cells, leading to increased production of type I interferon responsive genes (Figure 1). The significant association in intron 11 TYK2 for rs280519 in our UK cohort (P = 5.24×10−4) crossed the threshold for genome-wide significance when combined with the US/Swedish cohort. The association for rs280519 increases the genetic evidence for the involvement of TYK2 reported in a smaller UK family-based SLE cohort [28]. There was an earlier report, using a Swedish/Finnish population, of association in TYK2. This Swedish/Finnish study showed association for a missense mutation in exon 8 (rs2304256) (Pcomb = 5.60×10−5, PSwe = 9.60×10−5) [29]. The Swedish individuals used in the earlier analysis are a subset of the Swedish individuals analysed for this current manuscript and rs2304526 is in moderate LD with the TYK2 SNP that we typed in this current study - rs280519 (r2CEPH-HapMap = 0.373). The association for rs2304256 was replicated in a second moderate sized European study [30], but not in the GWAS from the SLEGEN consortium [5]. In preliminary analysis in UK cases and controls, there are data to support the fact that rs280519 is enriched in SLE cases (n = 345) with renal disease compared to healthy controls (n = 5551) (P = 0.033).
There were variants in several loci for which we have found evidence of association (P<0.05) in our UK cohort, but which did not reach genome-wide significance in the combined analysis. One of these variants was rs17696736, located in intron 15 of C12ORF30 (MDM20). This protein is a subunit of N-acetyltransferase complex B (NatB), and may promote apoptosis by reducing cell cycle progression [31]. In the joint cohort, rs17696736 was in LD (r2 = 0.625) with a second variant on chromosome 12q24, a missense W262R allele (rs3184504) in the lymphocyte adaptor protein SH2B3. SH2B3 facilitates T-cell activation by mediating the interaction between the T-cell receptor and T cell signalling molecules [32]. Both MDM20 and SH2B3 are also associated with T1D [33], and SH2B3 is additionally associated with celiac disease [34] and both myocardial infarction and asthma [35]. The associated variant within IL12B, rs3212227, is located in the 3′ UTR region, and the SLE risk allele is the same as previously reported for psoriasis [36]. IL12B encodes for the larger subunit (p40) of two cytokines, IL12 and IL23, and thereby contributes to both Th1 [37] and Th17 [38] immune responses.
In summary, we have identified five new genes contributing to SLE risk: NCF2, IKZF1, IRF8, IFIH1 and TYK2. Dense fine-mapping and/or genomic re-sequencing of each locus will be required to reveal the functional alleles for each gene with respect to immune dysregulation in lupus. Taken together, these findings further support an important role of interferon pathway dysregulation in lupus pathogenesis.
Materials and Methods
Ethics statement
The ethical approval for the study was obtained from the London Multi-Centre Research Ethics Committee (London MREC).
Details of the UK SLE samples in the study cohort
All of the 905 UK SLE cases conformed to the ACR criteria for SLE [39] with a diagnosis of SLE being established by telephone interview, health questionnaire and details from clinical notes. Written consent was obtained from all participants. Genomic DNA from the UK samples was isolated from anti-coagulated whole blood by a standard phenol-chloroform extraction.
Genotyping methodology
Each of the 27 SNPs were genotyped on a custom Illumina chip, using the BeadXpress platform at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF), Oklahoma. The panel of ancestry informative markers was typed independently on an Illumina platform at Gen-Probe, Livingstone.
Power calculations
Power calculations were performed in the UK case-control dataset for each of the markers tested, using the algorithm described by Purcell et al [40]. Taking into account varying minor allele frequencies for the risk alleles and the differences in effect size (OR), and by employing a population prevalence of 0.002 and D′ of 1, with an type I error rates, alpha = 0.05, each of the SNPs showing novel genome-wide significance in the meta-analysis showed a power of >48% (2) to detect an association in our cohort.
Quality control of genotyping
Markers were excluded from the analysis if they showed a genotyping success rate of less than 95% or had a Hardy-Weinberg P value in the B58BCC control samples of less than P = 0.001. A total of 21 cases were removed from the final analysis due to low percentage genotyping (<95%). All samples were filtered for cryptic relatedness and duplication using an identity by state test in PLINK (PI_HAT score >0.1). The full list of genotyped variants and the results of the QC analysis are shown in (Table S3).
Correction for ancestry
A total of 35887 markers, distributed across each autosome, were selected for ancestry correction in the UK case-control cohort, these markers had all been typed as part of the HapMap project and on the WTCCC2 samples. The 35887 SNPs were chosen from a set of Illumina 317 K markers pruned for LD (r2<0.25) after removing regions of known extended LD, including the extended MHC and the region covering the inverted repeat on chromosome 8 (pers commun. David Morris, King's College and Kim Taylor, UCSF). This list of AIMs is available directly from the corresponding author, Professor Timothy Vyse.
The EIGENSTRAT PCA analysis was performed on the UK cases and also the control samples, both from the genotyped B58BCC and the WTCCC2 out-of-study controls. The eleven populations from HapMap3 were used as external references. Each SNP included in the PCA analysis showed >95% genotyping in the each dataset. Following EIGENSTRAT analysis, a graph was plotted of PC1 against PC2 for all the cases and controls in the UK study cohort (Figure S1). Individuals were only retained for association analysis if the values for their first two principal components fell within 6 SD of the mean for the CEPH HapMap samples. The genomic inflation factor (lambda-GC) for each population was calculated using PLINK.
Statistical analysis
All sample genotype and phenotype data was managed by, and analysis files generated with BC/SNPmax and BC/CLIN software (Biocomputing Platforms Ltd, Finland).
The imputation intervals for each imputed variant, defined as the bounds of the haplotype blocks, calculated using the Gabriel algorithm in Haploview, (for details of the intervals see Table S2). For SNPs which were not genotyped as part of the WTCCC2 project, we performed imputation using a method described by Marchini et al [11] to generate the missing genotypes for case-control association analysis. Each un-typed variant from our list of tested SNPs, was imputed in the WTCCC2 samples, using HAPMAP as the phased reference sequence. The LD pattern around each un-typed variant was examined using the CEPH cohort from HapMap. The boundaries of the haplotype blocks were determined using the default settings for the Gabriel et al algorithm in Haploview. For each imputed variant, these haplotype boundaries were used to define the boundaries of the imputation interval (Table S2). Only SNPs with greater than a 95% certainty in imputation, assessed using the quality score from the IMPUTE2 output file, were used for subsequent analysis.
Allelic association testing, using UK SLE cases with either genotyped control samples or imputed genotypes, was carried out using PLINK (http://pngu.mgh.harvard.edu/~purcell/plink/).
Prior to performing the meta-analysis, the heterogeneity of odds ratios was tested using METAL and the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test (Table S4). SNPs with P value<0.001 between the two studies were discarded. Combined analysis of P values generated in the UK samples with those from the US/SWE cohort in published data [4] was conducted using Fisher's combined P value and with a meta-analysis using the programme METAL, which weighted the effect size, based on the inverse of the standard error.
To determine whether there was any allele-specific effect on the level of gene expression, we used publically available genotype data on unrelated EBV-transformed B cells (CEU, YRI and CHB/JPT individuals which were part of the HapMap project) and expression data from the same individuals (GSE12526, GEO database) [41]. For each locus, which reached genome-wide significance by meta-analysis, we categorised the expression data based on the SNP genotype for the respective associated variant (homozygote risk allele, heterozygote and homozygous non-risk allele). The significance of the correlation between genotype and expression level was then calculated using logistic regression analysis in SNPTEST, using gender as a covariate.
Interactions between the five SNPs reaching genome-wide significance following meta-analysis, were assessed using the epistatic option in PLINK. To maximize the power of this test, we restricted our analysis to the SLE affected individuals from the combined US/SWE/UK cohort.
Supporting Information
Figure S1.
Correction for population substructure. A total of 16 UK cases and 8 out-of study controls were removed from the final analysis because their PC1 and PC2 values were greater than 6SD away from the mean of the PC1 and PC2 values for the CEPH external reference individuals (−0.00197>value>0.012807). The 870 SLE cases and 5551 control individuals retained for association analysis are located within the ellipse on the graph.
Figure S2.
Patterns of LD around the five SLE susceptibility genes reaching genome-wide levels of significance. Patterns of linkage disequilibrium in CEU individuals taken from HapMap, using positions from data release 27 phase II+III Feb09, NCBI assembly dbSNP 126: (A) 200 kb around rs10911363 (Chr 1:181,716,380-181,916,379); (B) 155.8 kb region around rs2366293 (Chr 7:50,120,474-50,276,274); (C) 100 kb region around the gap between IRF8 and rs2280381 (Chr 16:84500150-845600149); (D) 250 kb region around rs1990760 (Chr 2:162,700,000-162,949,999); (E) 200 kb region around rs280519 (Chr 19: 10,233,933-10433933).
Figure S3.
Variants showing a trend for changes in expression in EBV-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines. Regression analysis, as described in the materials and methods, was performed on publically available genotype data from EBV-transformed B cells which were part of the HAPMAP collection and expression data on the same individuals taken from the GEO database. Four populations were used: CEPH, YRI and CHB/JPT (ASN) [2]. The GEO dataset was GSE12526 and the expression probes were: A) IKZF1 (205039_s_at), B) IFIH1 (219209_at), C) TYK2 (205546_s_at). For each graph, the mean expression per risk (R) allele and that for the non-risk (r) allele was plotted for each population. The alleles are listed on each bar and for each SNP, the total number of individuals for which there was both genotype and expression data are quoted for the three populations analysed. D) Heritability estimates for each locus were taken from the mRNA by SNP browser (http://www.sph.umich.edu/csg/liang/asthma/).
Table S1.
Composition of the study cohorts used. Each of the seven groups of samples included in this manuscript was independent from each other. In the UK population, direct genotyping was carried out on UK casesa and samples from the British Birth Control Cohorta (B58BCC). Genotypes from the WTCCC2b were used as out-of-study controls. The published data used n the meta-analysis described in this current manuscript was derived from US and Swedish samples. The US cohortc consisted of samples included in a GWAS and additional non-GWAS'd samples used just for the replication study, as described by Gateva et al. (2009) [4]. Full details of the Swedish (SWE)b replication samples are also described in Gateva et al (2009) [4].
Table S2.
Quality control of genotype data and imputation boundaries for WTCCC2 control samples. The position of each variant (column "Pos") is given using NCBI Build 36. The number of WTCCC2 control samples is given for each variant in the column marked "WTCCC2 samples."
Table S3.
Power calculations. aNovel associations in this study (5×10−8). The OR, as a measure of effect size was taken from the case-control association study. The power was calculated according to Purcell et al 2003 (http://bioinformatics.oxfordjournals.org/content/19/1/149.full.pdfhtml), using a disease prevalence of 0.0002. The risk allele frequency was calculated in both cases and controls. GRR (AB) = (ABcase/AAcase)/(ABcontrol/AAcontrol) and GRR (AA) = (BBcase/AAcase)/(BBcontrol/AAcontrol).
Table S4.
Results of weighted meta-analysis using METAL and calculation of combined OR. The total number of individuals included in the meta-analysis was: 870 UK SLE cases and 5,551 UK control samples and 3,273 SLE cases and 12,188 controls taken from the US/SWE out-of-study cohort [1]. The risk allele frequency quoted is that from the UK cases. The column marked Het P-value represents the test for heterogeneity of odds ratios between the UK and published dataset and the column marked ORcomb represents the OR in the combined dataset, calculated using METAL. The column marked Direction of Effect demonstrates that the effect for each quoted allele is the same for the UK and US/SWE datasets.
Table S5.
Association Analysis in UK, and US-Swedish Populations for Markers Previously Showing Genome-Wide Significance (P<5×10−8). a For sample numbers see reference [1] and Table S1 (US GWAS: 1,310 cases and 7,859 controls; US replication cohort: 1,129 cases and 2,991 controls; Swedish replication cohort: 834 cases and 1,388 controls). b The risk allele frequency was calculated in control individuals. c Unpublished data.
Text S1.
This file contains supplementary genomic and functional details about the five SLE susceptibility genes reaching genome-wide levels of significance.
We would like to thank all the patients and collaborating physicians for providing the blood samples and both Mrs. Vidya Anand and Mr. Christopher Pinder for their technical support during the sample preparation and genotyping and stages of the project. The genotyping for this project was carried out at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma, United States of America, and at Gen-Probe, Livingston, Scotland, with thanks to Ken Kaufmann (OMRF) and both Jan Baird and Cathlene Eland for their contributions. We also thank Vesela Gateva for early contributions to the project and acknowledge the contribution made by the additional members of the Swedish SLE network for collecting and classifying the Swedish patients: Maija-Leena Eloranta (Uppsala University), Johanna Sandling (Uppsala University), Gunnar Sturfelt, Anders A. Bengtsson, Andreas Jönsen, Ola Nived (Lund University), Elisabet Svenungsson, Iva Gunnarsson (Karolinska University Hospital), and Solbritt Rantapää-Dahlqvist (Umeå University Hospital). This study makes use of out-of-study control data generated by the Wellcome Trust Case-Control Consortium. A full list of the investigators who contributed to the generation of the data is available from www.wtccc.org.uk.
Author Contributions
Conceived and designed the experiments: DSCG RRG. Performed the experiments: DSCG TRB. Analyzed the data: DSCG DLM TRB RRG. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: LAC A-CS LR TWB TJV. Wrote the paper: DSCG RRG TWB TJV. Constructive comments on the manuscript: LAC A-CS LR. Generated the genotype data for the published US data: TRB. Oversaw the genotyping of the Swedish samples at the SNP&SEQ technology platform in Uppsala for the previous publication: A-CS. Supervised the data generation and statistical analysis for the out-of-study US/SWE dataset: RRG. Provided the funding and scientific oversight for the out-of-study US/SWE dataset: TWB. Provided the funding and overall scientific oversight for the study: TJV.
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Sermon: God Answers (4Aug2019)
Understand prayer a bit more in this lesson:
A July 4th Prayer
I thank God for our forefathers with vision to leave us a nation seeking liberty and justice. I also thank God for those who have died, and served protecting our liberties. I am also grateful for those serving now, many away from their families, so we can remain free.
God, please continue to protect those serving, give their families encouragement. Give us peace and sincere wisdom. And, help us to seek peace and blessing for one another. May we never take this gift of justice and liberty for granted.
– Pastor Dan


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So thrilled to find out this afternoon that
Kathy Uyen Nguyen's book review of The Magic Paintbrush has already been published last Wednesday in Philippine Fiesta, a monthly Filipino-American newspaper based in Sacramento, CA.
Kathy Uyen Nguyen is a yoga teacher and a fellow poet/writer-friend.
To read the full article, please click the link and proceed to page 7.


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There have been a lot of studies and reports lately regarding distracted driving which compare texting and driving to drunk driving. Now, studies show that texting and walking can also be hazardous.
Recently, the New York Times cited an Ohio State University study that showed that twice the number of pedestrians are being treated in emergency rooms for trip and fall accidents while using a cell phone to make calls or text message.
In another study, a psychology professor at Western Washington University in Bellingham conducted a study to test the theory of "inattentional blindness." The study which was posted in Applied Cognitive Psychology showed that people who were distracted while walking because of a cell phone or iPod usage or walking in groups were less likely to notice even bizarre occurrences like a clown riding a unicycle. Inattention blindness means that a person can look at something but fail to recognize or register the object because of their inattention.
While many distracted walkers may suffer minor injuries like tripping on a sidewalk and spraining an ankle but other more serious injuries can include walking into fixed objects or in the path of oncoming cars which can be extremely dangerous. While many pedestrian accidents are caused by motorists, pedestrians need to be aware of their surroundings, make eye contact and a wave to drivers before they cross intersections.
This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured in pedestrian accidents due to the negligence of another. With our help, you may receive compensation for your damages including pain and suffering.
Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or email@example.com to schedule a free and confidential case evaluation. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.


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Dr. David R. Curtis DMD
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The Golden Dustman, Noddy Boffin, the eponymous hero of Charles Dickens' novel 'Our Mutual Friend or The Golden Dustman', was in what today would be called 'the recycling business'. Little was wasted in Victorian times and money could be made out of sorting and reselling 'dust'.
His many years of dutiful service were rewarded, on his master's death, with the inheritance of his own dust heap. This was wealth indeed. It raised Mr Boffin to a life of financial independence and ease. For the way he conducted himself in this new life, you will have to read the book.
Meanwhile I hope you find items to value and cherish among the dust heap you find spread before you, which includes images and photographs of the Norfolk Broads, the Rhineland, wildlife, birds and animals, Scotland and gargoyles at Rufford.


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Pinoy Pride Jessica Sanchez will be here in Manila on December 12 for a private gig. However, she has a fresh off the grill news that will definitely excite the Pinoy Fans know as BluJaysPH because she recently released her first ever Christmas EP aptly titled "Christmas with Jessica".
The 6 song EP kicks off with Santa Baby, Jingle bells and Joy To The World, while showcasing Jessica's powerful vocals on beautiful songs like Silent Night, and Ave Maria.
The former American Idol had been hinting her followers on Twitter about the EP since last week, tweeting "Christmas EP & merch coming soon my loves, I seriously cannot wait for y'all to see it ".
It was Produced by James Daniels and Executive Produced by LA Mic Studios & Wise owl Media Group and the EP will brings together some of the most beloved holiday songs that all families can enjoy.
She will also launched her new merchandise store currently drawing raves among her fashion driven fans this coming 2016. The Powerhouse singer Jessica Sanchez's Christmas EP, Christmas with Jessica is available for download today!
To download Christmas with Jessica go to http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jessicasanchez and for more on Jessica like us on www.facebook.com/JessicaSanchezOfficial/ and follow @JessicaESanchez.


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Gone are the days when we downplayed the design of the driveways while beautifying our property.More elegantly designed driveways with matching materials make an amazing transformation to your property.
You will be spending some money on maintenance of your driveway. So this time, invest wisely by using the right material, color, and design to make your home radiate with brilliance and beauty.
Check Out the Options That Are Now Available To Make a Great Driveway
- Grave: Gravel is 2 to 3 cm sized rock pieces, and is one of the cheapest alternatives. You can get gravel of different colors depending on the rocks available near your locality. They are usually available in ash color but some are even off whites. These are used to pave driveways of oversized lawns or properties. The job is easily done by having the driveway borders reinforced with concrete, bricks or any other material that suits the landscape. Since gravel would sink into the ground after some months of vehicular traffic over it, you need to either harden the earth by bedding with a layer of mortar or go for a cement concrete base. This will prevent the gravel from sinking into the ground. Gravel is used in places where you have long driveways and time taken to construct a driveway with other materials is more. Gravel has the drawback of being soiled by tree leaves if the driveway has many trees near it. It also tends to pile up to the sides as the car tires makes way through the gravel, which you are restored by leveling them with a plank once in two weeks or so. One point to note is to allow the side bolsters made of materials that allow rain water to flow out, to prevent water logging the drive way. You must also ensure that the landscaping is done such that water does not seep into the drive way from other areas during rain. Gravel is not suitable in places where there is heavy snowfall.
- Concrete: Concrete is the next most cheapest material for making drive ways, tried and tested also. This is because concrete is the most durable and almost maintenance free. Fortunately, we now have a variety of value additions that can be done to concrete. It can be laid in many designs using templates, numerous designs of which are available with professionals who undertake laying concrete driveways. These designs, different texture materials, colors provide a wide range of choices before you. The latest trend is to use decorative concrete surfacing and sealing. In this technique, concrete surface is designed with custom designs and a final coat of resin sealant is applied. The sealant ensure the finish of the decorated coating remains restored and intact for a few years and all you need is re-coat with sealants after a few years. Pervious concrete on the other hand is a special type of concrete that has high porosity and allows water to pass directly through them reducing runoff helping recharge ground water. Multiple colors can be used to create great designs on driveways with Pervious concrete.
- Paver: Pavers are mostly small slabs of stones or tiles that are laid on a bedding. These can be done in various designs with the same material and color or with two contrasting colors as in a wide variety of designs. Other materials that can be used to pave are flagstone, cobblestone, and bricks. Each material has its own beauty and appeal. They give a rustic look to your property. These are used for average sized driveways and do not suit small or very large ones. The cost per square feet is higher, but will last for 30 to 40 years. Interlocked pavers are another very strong and durable option. These pavers come in various colors. You can either use a single color or two contrasting colors to improve the aesthetics of your driveway. These are also permeable and do not allow water logging.
- Basalt Tiles: Basalt is an igneous rock that can be shaped into small slabs or tiles. They mostly come in dark shades like gray or black. These can be laid with enough gap between the slabs which can be filled with different materials including grass or white cement to transform the looks of your drive way.
- Crushed Shell: Natural crushed shells are eco-friendly and are byproducts, usually filtered out of construction sand. We mostly get shells of oysters, scallop, and clam. These come in a variety of colors. You can either separate the mix and use any specific color or make a design that uses all colors to make the most of the shells. These can be laid with white cement to get a brighter and stronger driveway. The looks can also be changed by thickly or thinly distributing the crushed shells.
- Asphalt: Asphalt is one of the most versatile and durable options. Asphalt withstands heat as well as cold climates better than concrete. It is easier to lay asphalt and need a re-seal once in five years.
- Grass: Grass can be laid in geometric designs. There are many companies that offer "grid" technologies that allows traffic over the grass yet protect the roots from being crushed. There is nothing that is as eco-friendly and permeable as grass. Grass can be used to fill space between pavers. You can also use different shades of grass to make designs on your driveway too.
- Recycled: This is one of the cheapest materials. You can use discarded or excess construction materials like bricks, marble, granite, tiles, stones, and other pavement materials to make some pattern or design in such a way that the final picture looks every appealing. These drive ways have a very earthy feel to it and is very low on maintenance. These can be fixed in place using white cement or other types of colored concrete to improve its looks.
This is also suitable for long drive ways where you want to retain greenery as well do not want any water logging. In this method, you lay any of the above materials in two tracks which is wide enough to accommodate the width of most cars. The gap between can be layered with grass. This saves you a lot on material, though you may not save much on labor. As with pavers, these tracks also need a good bedding before laying the driveway material.


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Dare u 2 Digi Ribbon Challenge....
Hello all, its the end of the week and a little cooler here, Oh without sounding too ungrateful it were getting too hot for me!! Got more of the Garden done yesterday whilst it were cooler with the help of my Dad and step mum Vicky, don't know where i would be without them... We laid sand and cobbles in the gaps that were left after paving, to make features, for the first time in twenty years I have a garden that's half nice!!, I say half as we have done the first half of our garden , with patio, decking and paving the other half still looks like a jungle,with more wildlife than celeb get me out of here!! I have a fair size garden, and its hard work just for one!! I wanted less maintaince, so slabs were the only way... Oh my bones ache, and theres still more to do!!
anyways onto my card, It's Digi dare day today and spookily I have used (Vicki) on the phone, a real funky teen image from Sketching Stamper! I teamed her up with Stampin up stash... The theme this week is Ribbons, and my the rest of the DT, have gone to town, loads of fabulousness to inspire you... So don't forget to check the blog out!!
Stash Used
Vicki on the phone Digi image sketching stamper You can get her HERE
sentiment daisy bucket/ Copics craftsulove
the rest from Stampin up
Old Olive and bashful blue cardstock
Summer picnic papers
Old olive Grosgrain ribbon
14 comments
- Anonymous5 June 2009 at 07:15
How much help did Stamford give with the garden !! Love the colours on this card Kim - another great card xxReplyDelete
oh my kimmie,this card is full of gorgeousness...love it:)ReplyDelete
Wow love your fabulous card!ReplyDelete
Gorgeous image and love your colours!
Brilliant work on your garden!
kim x
What a beautiful card Kim,l love the image and colours.ReplyDelete
So gorgeous papers.
Hugs Riet.x
You deserve a well earned rest now then after all your hard work. I lovre the digi image and you've coloured her so beautifully.ReplyDelete
Thanks to you I am no the proud owner 2 digi downloads (to try) and I love them - thank you x
Love your blog - beautiful cards! Thanks for your comment too!ReplyDelete
gorgeous card Kim, I love the colour combo and the image, beautiful colouring, your garden sounds just like our, expect our's is all jungle lol hugs Jill xxReplyDelete
Is she on the phone to me?ReplyDelete
I love it, well done kimmeister!
Z x
Gorgeous card Kim, love the papers and colours and the way you have tied the ribbon through the button, very nice indeed :) Donna xReplyDelete
Great card Kim. great image and I love the stampin up paper. Love the fresh colours toegether!ReplyDelete
What a fun card! I am lovin' that paper and that image is too cute! And you should post pics of your garden once it's done. Sounds lovely!ReplyDelete
You've been in that house for 20 years? I take it you bought it when you were a toddler ;o)ReplyDelete
Love your card Kim, the colour scheme is so refreshing and the button and Ribbon make such a bold statement. Perfect!
Great to see you today!
Sandra x
Hi ya,ReplyDelete
Loving those papers, this is a great image for all those girlies!
see you soon
Suzie Q
- Anonymous8 June 2009 at 19:25
Wow I love this card very much Kim! Great colours and a fab image :DReplyDelete


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A year after saying it was coming, Sonos finally announced that a public beta is incoming for Alexa support. At an event in New York today, the company said the functionality will be rolling out to all current models of its speakers. Support is provided by your Echo, Echo Dot or other Alexa-enabled device. But this just the first step, don't be surprised if Google Assistant or Siri show up as well. Sonos is also working to get more developers onboard for its ecosystem, with a "Works with Sonos" certification program.
Alexa voice control comes to Sonos speakers in public beta
And it will be available on all current models.