text:
"Price is what you pay. Value is what you get." ~ Warren BuffettAlphaFlow, with a mission to make it easy to invest in previously inaccessible asset classes, has again enhanced its value with a new addition to the Client Services team. Aleese Peterson-Cotton, AlphaFlow's Associate Director of Client Services, brings further depth and experience to the team already comprised of finance, real estate and technology professionals.
Click on the image to enlarge it.
Click on the image to enlarge it.With the introduction of our monthly statements, we made it easier to understand what happened in your portfolio each month. The "Account Activity" section takes a step further, and gives you a summary of each month's activity in a single place, showing all account inflows and outflows!
Click on the image to enlarge it.
AlphaFlow Optimized Portfolios (as of 3/5/18)The missing statistics are our actual yield on our investments and total AUM. To produce our offering, we needed to become a registered investment advisor with a fiduciary obligation to our clients, meaning we're bound to put your interests ahead of our own. Being a regulated entity comes with restrictions though, including those around showing performance, so we unfortunately can't share these metrics. That said, our fiduciary duties align nicely with our culture of credit over volume. Our underwriting, led by our Director of Investments, Miles Deamer, has been conservative. The results speak for themselves: after one year our delinquency rate* is an astonishingly low 1.66%! To illustrate, you can see that our LTV actually decreased over time:
Daily Weighted LTVOur investments have been spread across the country, providing clients with tremendous geographic diversification:
Current AOP Geographical DiversificationOur clients have been pleased, perhaps demonstrated best by the additional capital they've added to their accounts after launching their AOP. In fact, the average annualized growth rate of a portfolio after it's been opened is 69% (ie clients are almost doubling down on their initial investment after experiencing the platform). Real estate bridge loans offer very attractive returns, but we've experienced the immense challenges that come with this asset class as well. Our 90%+ rejection rate tells you how much work we think it takes to find good investments. In addition, "cash drag" can absolutely kill returns. These loans typically have 12 month maturities, but we've found the actual average duration to be closer to 6.5 months and so making sure your money isn't just sitting in your account and dulling your returns is critical. Our auto reinvest feature, which almost 80% of our clients use, makes this effortless and usually reinvests repaid capital within a matter of days. As we look to the next year, our focus is on a few areas:
About the author:
Ray Sturm is a leading entrepreneur in financial technology, and is currently the CEO of AlphaFlow. Prior to launching AlphaFlow, he founded RealtyShares, one of the P2P industry's top platforms for real estate investing. His early career in finance included investment banking at Bear Stearns, restructuring at Lazard Frères and private equity at CCMP Capital.
Ray has a BBA-Finance from the University of Notre Dame and a JD/MBA from the University of Chicago.Legal Information and Disclosures This memorandum expresses the views of the author as of the date indicated and such views are subject to change without notice. AlphaFlow has no duty or obligation to update the information contained herein. Further, AlphaFlow makes no representation, and it should not be assumed, that past investment performance is an indication of future results. Moreover, wherever there is the potential for profit there is also the possibility of loss. This memorandum is being made available for educational purposes only and should not be used for any other purpose. The information contained herein does not constitute and should not be construed as an offering of advisory services or an offer to sell or solicitation to buy any securities or related financial instruments in any jurisdiction. Certain information contained herein concerning economic trends and performance is based on or derived from information provided by independent third-party sources. AlphaFlow Advisor, LLC ("AlphaFlow") believes that the sources from which such information has been obtained are reliable; however, it cannot guarantee the accuracy of such information and has not independently verified the accuracy or completeness of such information or the assumption on which such information is based. This memorandum, including the information contained herein, may not be copied, reproduced, republished, or posted in whole or in part, in any form without the prior written consent of AlphaFlow. It's been an incredibly exciting month at AlphaFlow, as many of our investors hit optimization on their portfolios and we brought on some huge additions to the team to help us better serve you: our clients. On May 15th, we announced that AdaPia d'Errico joined AlphaFlow as COO and I could not be more excited to have her as a partner in setting the strategic vision and growing the company.
About the author:
Ray Sturm is a leading entrepreneur in financial technology, and is currently the CEO of AlphaFlow. Prior to launching AlphaFlow, he founded RealtyShares, one of the P2P industry's top platforms for real estate investing. His early career in finance included investment banking at Bear Stearns, restructuring at Lazard Frères and private equity at CCMP Capital.
Ray has a BBA-Finance from the University of Notre Dame and a JD/MBA from the University of Chicago.
Today AlphaFlow is excited to launch a revolutionary investment platform unlike anything on the market. For the first time, investors can 100% passively invest in a diversified real estate portfolio at any time. It is ultimately a simpler, more intelligent way to invest in real estate.
Real estate investing has evolved at a rapid pace over the last 5 years and those of us at AlphaFlow have been at the forefront at each step. In 2013 I co-founded what is today one of the largest real estate crowdfunding platforms in the country: RealtyShares. For the first time, we made it possible to invest in residential and commercial real estate with as little as $5,000. It also gave me a unique perspective in understanding how platforms around the industry source and underwrite deals, along with the inherent pressure to move underwriting standards in order to stimulate growth.
In 2016, Bogdan Cirlig and I launched the industry's first multi-platform funds. With one investment of as little as $10,000, our clients got a diversified portfolio of 75 to 100 loans sourced from the real estate crowdfunding industry's top platforms. For investors, this meant that in just a few years they had gone from needing to write checks that were likely six figures, to now being able to invest as little as $100 in a first lien mortgage! Simply incredible.
Our funds invested in over 230 real estate loans in more than 25 states around the country. Each fund was exceeding the return target, and feedback from our clients was exceptional. We weren't meeting all of their needs though, so we stepped back and designed a new platform from the ground up. We needed to build the next evolution of real estate investing.
At AlphaFlow, we believe in challenging the status quo in investing so that every investor has access to the best investments without needing to have millions of dollars to invest. To do that, we use top-caliber analytics and technology to create an elegant automated investing experience. Today we're introducing AlphaFlow Optimized Portfolios to help fulfill that mission.
AlphaFlow Optimized Portfolios
The Result: You get a diversified portfolio of the best loans from the best lenders, all with one investment.
For our fund investors, there were three major improvements here that fundamentally changed the investment experience:
Thirty years ago, to trade stocks you might have needed to call your financial advisor at Dean Witter. Firms like E*Trade and Schwab changed that with online platforms and made trading cheaper and easier for everyone. Today, robo-advisors like Wealthfront and Betterment are applying Jack Bogle's lessons online with equity portfolios. Today is a big step in AlphaFlow bringing that same philosophy to real estate. Welcome to the future of real estate investing. Welcome to AlphaFlow!Note: AlphaFlow is available today for all accredited investors. If you enjoyed this post, sharing it on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter with the links below is the highest form of flattery. Thank you!
About the author:
Ray Sturm is a leading entrepreneur in financial technology, and is currently the CEO of AlphaFlow. Prior to launching AlphaFlow, he founded RealtyShares, one of the P2P industry's top platforms for real estate investing. His early career in finance included investment banking at Bear Stearns, restructuring at Lazard Frères and private equity at CCMP Capital.
Ray has a BBA-Finance from the University of Notre Dame and a JD/MBA from the University of Chicago.
Please click HERE to download a PDF of this September 2016 Quarterly Investor Letter.
"We don't have to be smarter than the rest. We have to be more disciplined than the rest." – Warren Buffett
2016 has been a tumultuous year for investors. Between volatility in the stock market and a dearth of fixed income alternatives, many are questioning where to invest. We're even seeing many of our customers pull their capital off of platforms like Lending Club. To fill that void, many investors have gotten creative – perhaps too creative – in looking for one-off opportunities to produce yield.
In the meantime, it's continued to be a strong time for AlphaFlow and our origination partners. However, general market conditions have led to an influx of new capital, which brings both challenges and opportunities for us as investors. Unfortunately, deciphering which is which isn't always obvious, making discipline paramount. Below please find our thoughts on the real estate market and our industry.
Ray Sturm
CEO, AlphaFlow
AlphaFlow Portfolio
In a world of limited upside with debt investing (your return is generally capped by the interest rate), protecting your downside is critical. Prudent investing suggests a highly diversified portfolio is the most effective shield. In February 2016, we launched AlphaFlow Fund 1, the first of its kind in the real estate crowdfunding industry. The idea was simple: You make 1 investment, and we build you a diversified real estate portfolio.
Since then, we've launched two more funds (Fund 3 is still open for investment until 9/24) and have invested in over 150 loans across over 20 states. Both Fund 1 and Fund 2 are on track to exceed their 9% target returns and are both substantially below the 75% target LTV ceiling we set. Within these two funds, we have one deal in default and with a 70% LTV on that specific property, we feel optimistic about making at least a full principal recovery ahead of the original maturity date.
Investor re-investment has been high, as many of our clients have suggested they'll continue to choose their own equity deals but we'll now serve as the debt arm of their portfolio. With 75-100 properties per fund and a single K-1 at the end of the year, things are working well.
Crowdfunding Industry
"Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together." – James Cash Penney
I keep hearing real estate crowdfunding insiders speak loudly about consolidation coming to the space. We've been told only a few players would survive and that a 2-3 winners would emerge and ultimately absorb the loan volume currently originated by the long tail of smaller platforms. As we get ready to go into the 4th quarter, the world simply isn't playing out that way. Instead, we're seeing an increase in the number of platforms being launched by real estate veterans. Along with these new entrants, we're hearing about a number of larger platforms significantly behind on their board-approved 2016 volume goals. That may mean a change in leadership at some platforms, but I also think it means a misunderstanding of how the real estate industry works.
Our thesis continues to be that real estate is inherently fragmented because it is and should be a local business. Today, inputting a zip code into a database doesn't tell the story of why a property on one street should be valued quite differently from a structurally similar building only two blocks away. The result is that the market defeats any winner-take-all scenario in loan originations, as the efficiencies of scale still lose to the superior underwriting that comes with local expertise. As an example, below please see an overview of the U.S. mortgage industry, in which the biggest player (Wells Fargo) owns about 12% of the market and the top 10 players combined represent about 40% of the market.
Our focus is on finding strong originators who share our values around transparency and disciplined underwriting. We are in discussions with a number of new platforms about investing in the loans they originate, but to date, the majority of our investing has been done across five platforms (in alphabetical order):
Fund That Flip
Patch of Land
Market-wide, we've seen interest rates decline as new players emerged and increased the competition for attractive borrowers. That does not seem to have decreased investor demand, as platforms like PeerStreet had to actually send out an email to users apologizing for how quickly they were filling deals. That's a testament to PeerStreet's work over the last year in establishing a platform with good tech, responsive customer service, and of course, strong underwriting.
As mentioned in our previous quarterly letter, Patch of Land went through a small restructuring in the spring. Consequently, we did not heavily invest on their platform in Fund 1. In April they brought on Paul Deitch as CEO to help scale the company. Since then, Paul has built a strong management team and impressed us in our in-person meetings. As a result, Fund 2 invested in a number of deals on the platform and we look forward to working more with the Patch team in the future.
Real Estate Market
Housing is arguably the most important sector in the U.S. economy, accounting for 15-18% of GDP. Given its enormous position, it's not surprising that growth in the housing market has often worked to pull the country out of recessions. However, when housing is the catalyst behind an economic near-collapse like we experienced in 2008, its potential role in any recovery is less clear.
Internally, we caution against absolute acceptance of the term "the real estate market" when pundits and journalists attempt to speak about where we are in the cycle. Yes, home prices in Fort Myers, FL have some correlation to those in Portland, OR as both are affected by myriad factors including interest rates. Real estate is extremely local though, so being well below the peak nationally may not mean that parts of Santa Monica are not overheated. Similarly, feeling like we're at the peak doesn't mean there aren't great opportunities in places like Austin, TX or Ashville, NC. Prudent investment means nuanced and local analysis. With that large caveat, below are some macro factors we're paying attention to as we evaluate each and every deal on a local level.
Yes, people are actually looking to buy and not just rent forever.
"Owning a home is a keystone to wealth – both financial affluence and emotional security." – Suze Orman
A common topic today is how millennials aren't buying homes and are instead choosing to be permanent renters. Whether it is that generation or others, buyer interest in purchasing homes has increased substantially in the last few years.
One factor driving this: buying is now more affordable than renting in 58% of U.S. markets. Obtaining credit from banks is still difficult for many middle class borrowers though, leading to an increase in alternative lending opportunities.
Building Bigger Houses
"Generally, the greater the stigma or revulsion, the better the bargain." – Seth Klarman
New home construction is certainly on an upswing, with a lack of workers actually serving as the bottleneck to even greater growth. However, it's incredible to see how much bigger new homes have gotten over time. There are a number of tailwinds supporting the rise in fix-and-flips. One is certainly illustrated in the graph below: buyers of average-sized homes have fewer opportunities to purchase new construction, spurring the rehabilitation of current housing stock.
Conversely, we've been wary to participate in loans in homes above a particular valuation threshold (currently $800k for us), as the data around these properties is much less reliable above this hurdle. Given the additional market competition this type of property faces from new home construction, we subject these investment opportunities to greater scrutiny. There is a temptation by many investors to actually have a lower underwriting bar for these, as they may look prettier and be in neighborhoods where you'd want to live yourself, but that doesn't necessarily make them great investment opportunities for us. As is often the case in real estate, the ugliest homes can lead to the most beautiful investments.
Please click HERE to download a PDF of this September 2016 Quarterly Investor Letter.
Note: AlphaFlow is available today for all accredited investors.
If you enjoyed this post, sharing it on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter with the links below is the highest form of flattery. Thank you!
About the author:
Ray Sturm is a leading entrepreneur in financial technology, and is currently the CEO of AlphaFlow. Prior to launching AlphaFlow, he founded RealtyShares, one of the P2P industry's top platforms for real estate investing. His early career in finance included investment banking at Bear Stearns, restructuring at Lazard Frères and private equity at CCMP Capital.
Ray has a BBA-Finance from the University of Notre Dame and a JD/MBA from the University of Chicago.
This AlphaFlow Quarterly Investor Letter is a summary highlighting key points regarding AlphaFlow Fund 1, LP ("Fund 1") and AlphaFlow Diversification Fund 2, LP ("Fund 2") to its investors.
This document does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security, product, service or fund. This document is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be, and must not be, taken as the basis for an investment decision. The information contained herein may not be used, reproduced or distributed to others, in whole or in part for any purpose without the prior written consent of AlphaFlow, Inc. ("AlphaFlow"). Neither AlphaFlow nor any of its affiliates is under any obligation to inform you if any of this information becomes inaccurate. No representations is made as to the accuracy and completeness of information obtained from third parties. This document is qualified in its entirety by the Offering Memorandum of AlphaFlow Diversification Fund 3, LP ("Fund 3"), which should be carefully read prior to any investment in Fund 3, a successor fund to Fund 1 and Fund 2.
This document has been prepared for prospective investors who are legally eligible and are suitable to invest in the type of investment described herein. Generally, prospective investors would include investors who are "accredited investors" under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") and verified pursuant to rule 506(c) of Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act. An investment in Fund 2 is suitable only for sophisticated investors and requires the financial ability and willingness to accept the high risks inherent in such an investment. It is the responsibility of any prospective investor to satisfy itself as to full compliance with applicable laws and regulations of any relevant jurisdiction. For a description of certain risk factors associated with an investment in Fund 3, please refer to the "Risk Factors and Conflicts of Interest" section of the Fund 2 Offering Memorandum.
Interests in Fund 3 have not been and will not be registered under the securities laws of any U.S. State or Non-U.S. Jurisdiction, and have not been recommended or approved by any U.S. federal or state or any non-U.S. securities commission or regulatory authority. Furthermore, the foregoing authorities have not passed upon the accuracy or determined the adequacy of the information contained herein.
Past performance is not indicative of future results. Any AlphaFlow Fund 1or Fund 2 investments listed herein are being provided for informational purposes only. Investments in real estate loans may result in the loss of principal. There can be no assurance that Fund 3 will be able to achieve the same portfolio composition and underlying loan terms as Fund 1 or Fund 2.
These materials contain projections and other forward-looking statements. Any statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and are inherently uncertain. Sentences or phrases that use such words as "believe," "anticipate," "plan," "may," "hope," "can," "will," "expect," "should," "goal," "objective," "projected" and similar expressions also identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Projections and other forward-looking statements, including statements regarding AlphaFlow's assessment of the market, are by their nature uncertain insofar as actual realized returns or the projected results can change quickly based on, among other things, unexpected market movements, changes in interest rates, legislative or regulatory developments, errors in strategy execution, acts of God and other developments. There can be no assurance that projections and other forward-looking information will not change based on subsequent developments and without further notice, and no assurance can be given as to outcome. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, including forecasts and projections, and statements regarding the assessment of the market, which speak only as of the date referenced herein.
These materials do not constitute legal, tax, financial or other advice. The legal, tax and other consequences of any proposed transaction may differ for each recipient as a result of, among other things, the particular financial situation of, and the laws and regulations applicable to, each recipient. You should consult your own legal counsel, accountants and other advisors regarding the information contained herein and the transactions described hereby.
Today we're very excited to make a big step forward as a company at AlphaFlow. From our earliest days, our mission has been to give real estate investors the best experience possible. When we first launched last September, that meant providing investors with a consolidated dashboard so that they could finally track their entire portfolio in one place. As one of the founders of RealtyShares, I often heard about this challenge from our customers who loved us, but also had accounts in 5 to 10 other platforms and couldn't keep track of all of their investments.
Fast forward 6 months, and we were also providing a place to see deals from the industry's top platforms all in one place – the AlphaFlow Exchange. Many investors, including institutional investors, wanted something more passive though that allowed them to invest across the industry instead of with just one platform. To solve that, we launched the industry's first multi-platform fund. You make one investment, and we build a portfolio for you (Fund 1 launched in February and after huge demand, we'll be launching Fund 2 in a couple of weeks).
Our investors today are tracking almost $100 million of investments on AlphaFlow, and we've found we have an amazing group with fantastic insights on what would create a better investment experience for them. Two new features we're excited to launch today with Fund That Flip are:
Simple Account Creation: Don't have an account with Fund That Flip yet? We will seamlessly create one for you on the spot.
Direct Investing: We continually heard from investors who wanted to invest in deals across the industry without hopping from site to site. Beginning today, you can invest in Fund That Flip deals without leaving the AlphaFlow Exchange.
Note: We're excited to launch today with an exclusive deal for AlphaFlow users (accredited investors only)!
We'll be rolling these new features out with other platforms soon, making the investment experience better than ever.
I've known the Fund That Flip team for some time and we thoroughly dug in on both their company and their underwriting rules, and have found their real estate knowledge and processes to be incredible. They have a focus on residential debt in geographies they know very well. As we move later into the housing cycle, I think that type of specialization will lead to real benefits for investors around the industry.
I couldn't be more excited about the industry today. We're seeing success in firms like RealtyShares and Realty Mogul, both of which have wide mandates on asset classes and investment types. We're also seeing the emergence of specialization with companies I really love like PeerStreet and LendingHome and Patch of Land (it says a lot when Jason Fritton can recruit someone with a track record like Paul Deitch from Oaktree to join as CEO), and of course, Fund That Flip. We'll be writing a lot more in the coming months to help you all get to know the industry, and I hope to get to know as many of you as possible as we build an amazing investor community!This week, we were very excited to launch The AlphaFlow Exchange. For the first time, investors can easily see and compare real estate crowdfunding deals from some of the industry's most respected platforms. The Exchange, or the AFx, has been live about 24 hours now and in that time, we've sent $181,000 in investments to the platforms. The feedback from our users has been tremendous. Ryan Smolek wrote in to say, "The Exchange! Finally! I can't remember being this excited to see a filter on a Web page." We'll see if we can bring things more exciting than a web filter next, Ryan! 🙂 AlphaFlow is now working with investors in a number of ways, so I wanted to step back and tie this all together. As an active investor in the crowdfunding space, many of you have a number of accounts around the industry. There are many great platforms out there, and while some are fading away, we're also seeing a number of new platforms being launched by experienced real estate professionals. The result is more fragmentation. That creates challenges in not only managing your portfolio, but also in building it the right way. We could do better as an industry, and so we launched AlphaFlow! We asked ourselves, "As an investor, what would I want the experience to be?" I'd want to see all my investments in one place. I'd want to have analytics around my portfolio, making it easy to understand if too many of my deals were correlated. And of course, I'd want easy ways to invest across the industry – both passively in funds and actively by seeing all of the available deals. In short, I'd want a platform that empowers me to do with my P2P portfolio what E*TRADE lets me do with my stock portfolio. I'm proud to say that we're moving down that path today. We're fortunate to now call some of the industry's most respected platforms our partners. The AFx was launched with Fund That Flip, Patch of Land, PeerStreet, and RealCrowd. This week we're excited to also add LendingHome, and we're working through a backlog of additional platforms which will be joining soon. We're already talking with one platform about closing your investments on AlphaFlow, so building and managing a diversified portfolio will be easier than ever.
From day one, our mission at AlphaFlow has been to help investors like you easily build and manage a P2P portfolio. We've come a long way since we launched in September, but we're just getting started! If you have any suggestions or requests, please feel free to reach out to us directly. We're excited to get to know you! Welcome to the future of real estate crowdfunding! Note: AlphaFlow is available today for all accredited investors in the United States. If you enjoyed this post, sharing it on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter with the links below is the highest form of flattery. Thank you!
About the author:
Ray Sturm is a leading entrepreneur in financial technology, and is currently the CEO of AlphaFlow. Prior to launching AlphaFlow, he founded RealtyShares, one of the P2P industry's top platforms for real estate investing. His early career in finance included investment banking at Bear Stearns, restructuring at Lazard Frères and private equity at CCMP Capital.
Ray has a BBA-Finance from the University of Notre Dame and a JD/MBA from the University of Chicago.


text:
Are you sure?
This will redirect you to the selected website and the basket will be emptied
Out Of StockoutOfStock false false
FREE Service; You will receive email within 1 hour when your order is Ready for Collection. Have your phone with this Ready for Collection email with you. We will hold your order for 2 days. Still can't make it, no problem, no charge.
Leeds Birstall
Sophie the Giraffe So Pure Teething Ring. The first teething ring made of 100% natural rubber. Made from the same natural rubber and food grade paints as the original Sophie la Girafe. Easy to hold and is ideal for soothing painful gums with a variety of textures.
Supplier Contact Details: http://1two.co.uk/contact-us-2-w.asp Supplier Phone: UK: 01383 735134 ROI: 0044 1383 735134
For full shipping and delivery information please visit Shipping & Delivery. For information on how to return items, please visit Returns Policy

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Australia, its historical past and fascinating facts
A brief history
Humans are believed to have arrived in Australia about 40,000 years ago from Southeast Asia. They are the very first residents, known as aborigines and they have descendant still today. The population was around a million before the European settlement and today about 350,000 people live in Australia.The Dutch sighted Australia in 1606 while the British landed in 1688. However it was Captain James Cooks maiden voyage that claimed the land for Great Britain. A British colony was established in 1788 with about 161,000 English convicts transferred and settled there. Previous prisoners and free settlers established six colonies which became states later. In 1901 these colonies were federated to the Commonwealth of Australia and a constitution was introduced that included the US federal traditions and British parliamentary.
A few exciting information about Australia
Australia is counted among the most one of a kind spots on earth. From the crazy Aussie laws, that might still exist, to the strange wild life, this continent is filled with strange and awesome stuff. Though you may have heard about several of the Australia facts, you may find here something totally new. So here are a few intriguing facts about Australia
- 1. About 80% of Australian creatures are unique – Some of the interesting animals on earth are located in Australia that includes marsupials, kangaroos, koalas, platypus, and a wide variety of birds. You could find them in zoos or parks and can even find them in the wild.
- 2. The huge rock Uluru extends up to 2.5 km underground – Uluru is holy to the aboriginal tribes and it has been listed by UNESCO as a heritage site. Amazingly about 2.5 km of this rock is considered to be underground and connected to the Olgas which emerges 16 milesaway.
- 3. More than 60 wine regions – Going to Australia and not trying wine may not be a good idea, although with such a wide range it will be hard to choose among them. There are numerous vineyards stretched across the continent and you can get to those areas to enjoy the amazing landscape.
- 4. Biggest eco-system on the planet – The Great Barrier Reef comprises of about 2500 reefs which are visible from space. Scuba diving and snorkeling among the turtles and colorful fishes are the main highlights for a visit to Australia.
- 5. More snow than Swiss Alps – While a lot of people pay a visit to Australia for fantastic beaches, skiing lovers visit the Australian Alps. Snowfall begins in June and continues till September which makes the place exquisite for skiing.
- 6. Worlds largest sand island – The sandy shores are the spotlight of Fraser Island, so jump on a boat and check out the delights of this paradise. It wonderful to spot a dingo and this island has about 150 of them. Keep a safe distance as they are wild and aggressive.
- 7. Worlds biggest war memorial – Picturesque and stunning views along the way will get you mesmerized while traveling on the Great Ocean Road. The road was developed as a memorial by the soldiers going back to their land after World War – 1.
So these were some of the interesting information about Australia and if you wish to experience more of such incredible things, pack your bag and visit this great location.


text:
Fifty years ago, in 1969, "Peace, Love and Music" was the motto of the "Summer of Love", in which hippies adorned with flowers danced and celebrated at the legendary Woodstock Music Festival. Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock Music Festival, SATA is recognizing the cultural impact of the era with a Special Edition spray gun.
The colorful motifs of the SATAjet X 5500 Hippie aim to remind users of this unique movement. The spray gun is fully functional and suitable for daily use in the spray booth.
The special edition spray gun is available in HVLP and RP technologies (select nozzle sizes). This is a time-limited promotion available from SATA, while stocks last.


text:
«Baker nutrition oficiālais brendu pārstāvis.
Visi produkti ir nopirkti tieši no ražotāja. Mēs garantējam produkta kvalitāti un autentiskumu.»
Skip the mess and inconvenience! Quest Nutrition made it super easy to add HEALTHY fats to your shakes to make your supplements work better, get more energy, and increase fat burning! If you mix protein with healthy fats, you can go further than ever before! Easy measuring, creamer shakes, and great for baking, this is a must have! Are you ready to naturally get rid of that fat and start building lean muscle while getting nutrients? Introducing Quest Coconut Oil Powder!
Great question! Coconut is a great fat component to add to your protein shakes. Coconut Oil alone helps turn bad cholesterol into good cholesterol because its high in natural fats. You need natural fats to make it healthy and overall help 2x more than without it. Most of our hormones are made up of fat. Didn't know that did you? So by adding natural fats like coconut oil, your actually raising the hormones you want to raise. Also, adding natural fats like coconut oil helps for optimal nutrient absorption, to make your supplements work better and faster. What about fat burning? How can fat burn fat? Adding coconut oil to your shakes provides a readily available source of energy from fat to the body, so your body naturally begins to burn fat faster because of the consistent energy. There is so much more advantages to adding natural fats, but those are just a few. And since its in a powder form, you can bake with it! Be creative and keep your mouth interested on whatever you make next! You can make high protein treats knowing that they will be delicious and helps burn off.
We recommend to use 1 scoop of powder into your shakes or baking items. You can add extra to reach a daily recommended limit.


text:
Vailoa fashion designer makes lasting impression in London
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — All the world's a stage. And for a moment, the stage — and the world — belonged to local transgender fashion designer Berta Laumoli, a school teacher from Vailoatai (pictured, 2nd from left).
Berta's collection, Fierce Island Couture. lived up to the hype and those who were fortunate to witness the 2019 London Pacific Fashion Week (LPFW) in person — and through live streamed videos — were definitely pleased.
Peteru Gago-Lam Yuen, who is in London as part of an entourage of American Samoa supporters, wrote in a social media post that the spectators were "wowed and amazed at the level of creativity" …and Berta "represented American Samoa very well, with her unique talent in fashion design."
One of the models wearing an item from the Fierce Island Couture collection, by local designer Berta Laumoli, showcased during London Pacific Fashion Week. [photo: courtesy]
Berta's family and friends, as well as her sisters from the Sosaiete O Faafafine I Amerika Samoa (SOFIAS) — of which she is a member — rallied behind her as the cameras were rolling, and the world watched. And the show didn't disappoint.
Reigning Miss SOFIAS Vanessa Simanu was one of the models, and Berta's proud mother couldn't resist getting on stage to 'boogie' with her wonder child.
Berta's line-up included a Samoan taupou ensemble, featuring the traditional tuiga, and an 'ie toga. Other designs — for both men and women — incorporated the use of the tifa, elei motifs, and dried and preserved leaves in striking colors like red, fluorescent green, and royal blue.
Thousands worldwide have viewed the live videos of the event, showing Berta's models performing the Samoan siva while they graced the stage. Well wishes and congratulatory messages have been pouring in, for the Pava'ia'i Elementary School teacher whom the LPFW organizers have dubbed, the first LGBT "emerging fashion designer" to showcase her creations at the annual event.
A unique piece from the "Fierce Island Couture" collection — by Berta Laumoli of Vailoatai — showcased during London Pacific Fashion Week. [photo: courtesy]
In her own words, Berta says her passion to design is a way to get people to "see beyond the physical appearance", and how "fa'afafine can be a positive change in the world through fashion and talent."
Malo lava Berta. Job well done!


text:
Welcome to PracticeUpdate! We hope you are enjoying access to a selection of our top-read and most recent articles. Please register today for a free account and gain full access to all of our expert-selected content.
Already Have An Account? Log in Now
As the COVID-19 pandemic was surging throughout the world, reports began to emerge of a severe manifestation of the disease in children, what has become to be known as Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). It is a hyper-inflammatory state that has involved multiple organ systems. While biomarker evidence for cardiac involvement has been reported, the magnitude and duration of specific structural or functional cardiac abnormalities has not to this point been well documented.
The present paper documents echocardiographic findings in 28 children with MIS-C, 20 of whom had follow-up echos approximately 5 days after the initial study. There are several important findings. While there had been some thought with initial reports that the syndrome was similar to Kawasaki's disease, in this series only 1 of the 28 MIS-C patients had coronary artery dilatation, which was seen to resolve on the follow-up study. There were detectable abnormalities in systolic and diastolic left and right ventricular function and left atrial function. Patients with biomarker evidence of myocardial injury (troponin) or elevated wall stress (natriuretic peptides) had more unfavorable findings in almost all measurements, including measures of myocardial strain. During the follow-up, those with mild ventricular dysfunction on the early study had reversed in terms of EF moving back to normal, but abnormalities in diastolic function were still observed.
These important data shed light on yet another cardiovascular manifestation of COVID-19. In adults we have recently learned that even after the acute phase of the illness has resolved, cardiac MR imaging identifies subclinical myocardial abnormalities in a significant number of people. Further follow-up of children in the aftermath of MIS-C will be crucial in order to understand any late cardiovascular manifestations, or whether the echocardiographic abnormalities identified in this paper may completely resolve.
Centers from Europe and United States have reported an exceedingly high number of children with a severe inflammatory syndrome in the setting of COVID-19, which has been termed multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).
This study aimed to analyze echocardiographic manifestations in MIS-C.
We retrospectively reviewed 28 MIS-C, 20 healthy controls and 20 classic Kawasaki disease (KD) patients. We reviewed echocardiographic parameters in acute phase of MIS-C and KD groups, and during subacute period in MIS-C group (interval: 5.2 ± 3 days).
Only 1 case in MIS-C (4%) manifested coronary artery dilatation (z score=3.15) in acute phase, showing resolution during early follow up. Left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic function measured by deformation parameters, were worse in MIS-C compared to KD. Moreover, MIS-C patients with myocardial injury (+) were more affected than myocardial injury (-) MIS-C with respect to all functional parameters. The strongest parameters to predict myocardial injury in MIS-C were global longitudinal strain (GLS), global circumferential strain (GCS), peak left atrial strain (LAS) and peak longitudinal strain of right ventricular free wall (RVFWLS) (Odds ratio: 1.45 (1.08-1.95), 1.39 (1.04-1.88), 0.84 (0.73-0.96), 1.59 (1.09-2.34) respectively). The preserved LVEF group in MIS-C showed diastolic dysfunction. During subacute period, LVEF returned to normal (median: from 54% to 64%, p<0.001) but diastolic dysfunction persisted.
Unlike classic KD, coronary arteries may be spared in early MIS-C, however, myocardial injury is common. Even preserved EF patients showed subtle changes in myocardial deformation, suggesting subclinical myocardial injury. During an abbreviated follow-up, there was good recovery of systolic function but persistence of diastolic dysfunction and no coronary aneurysms.
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is an illness that resembles Kawasaki Disease (KD) or toxic shock, reported in children with a recent history of COVID-19 infection. This study analyzed echocardiographic manifestations of this illness. In our cohort of 28 MIS-C patients, left ventricular systolic and diastolic function were worse than in classic KD. These functional parameters correlated with biomarkers of myocardial injury. However, coronary arteries were typically spared. The strongest predictors of myocardial injury were global longitudinal strain, right ventricular strain, and left atrial strain. During subacute period, there was good recovery of systolic function, but diastolic dysfunction persisted.
Additional Info
Disclosure statements are available on the authors' profiles:
Echocardiographic Findings in Pediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome Associated With COVID-19 in the United StatesJ Am Coll Cardiol 2020 Aug 31;[EPub Ahead of Print], D Matsubara, HL Kauffman, Y Wang, R Calderon-Anyosa, S Nadaraj, MD Elias, TJ White, DL Torowicz, P Yubbu, TM Giglia, AN Hogarty, JW Rossano, MD Quartermain, A Banerjee
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.


text:
Zagreb is a fun and adventurous place for visitors of all ages. There are places to see and things to do on almost every corner of the city. While adults usually want to try new foods, go sightseeing and have a relaxing holiday, children have a different set of expectations. Only the most exciting experiences stay in their memories. To help you plan your trip, we made a list of 5 attractions in Zagreb your children will love.
Museum of Illusions
Museum of Illusions is certainly a treat for the whole family. Are you big or small, close by or far away? Is the floor you're standing on levelled or tilted? Challenge your mind and see for yourself how optical illusions distort your perception of what's real and what's not. The museum has more than 70 exhibits, including the Rotated Room, Anti-gravity Room, Infinity Room and the largest collection of holograms in Eastern Europe.
Location, working hours and ticket prices Museum of Illusions
Nikola Tesla Technical Museum
Inspire your children to take an interest in science with a visit to Nikola Tesla Technical Museum. There are numerous departments to explore such as the Cabinet of Nikola Tesla where visitors can learn about Nikola Tesla's childhood, education, life and work through various multimedia content. In the Energy Transformation department visitors can see the historical development of devices and machines made to transform energy from one form to another and find out why each of the devices played an important role in the making of modern day civilisation. The Astronautics Department exhibits models of famous space crafts, rocket-carriers and orbital stations and the Planetarium uses a specially designed projector to show visitors the starry sky from the North Pole to the Equator at any time of the night and any time of the year.
Location, working hours and ticket prices Technical Museum
Zagreb Puppet Theatre
The love of theatre starts at a young age. Visually appealing and engaging puppet shows are just the thing to kick start a passion that lasts a lifetime. Zagreb Puppet Theatre has been providing high quality puppet shows since 1948. Performances are aimed at family audiences and include fairy tale classics such as Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Ridding Hood, The Ugly Duckling and Cinderella as well as Croatian classics White Deer, Hedgehog's Home and more.
Location, working hours and ticket prices ZKL
Park Maksimir and Zagreb ZOO
Maksimir Park is Zagreb's oldest public park, dating back to the late 18th century. Once you come through the entrance you would never know it was situated in the middle of a big city, with lakes, streams, trees and flowers all around. A perfect escape from the hustle and bustle where children can freely run around and adults can take in the gorgeous scenery. There are also two playgrounds for children to enjoy, a restaurant right at the main entrance as well as a few historical buildings. Another reason why Park Maksimir is attractive to families is the ZOO. From mammals, amphibians and reptiles to invertebrates, fish and birds Zagreb ZOO has an impressive collection of animals.
Location, working hours and ticket prices Zagreb ZOO
Backo Mini Express
Many children's books and nursery rhymes were written about trains, cars and buses, and for good reason. Young children are simply amazed with anything and everything that moves and makes sounds. Some take that enthusiasm and make it a passion later in life. Scale model "BACKO MINI EXPRESS" covers an impressive 70 square meters with 150 locomotives, 1 000 wagons, 1050 meters of rails, 300 points and crossings, 300 meters of roads for electrical cars and 2500 real-life details. Enter the magical world of trains where everyone can be a train operator for a day and imagination has no limit.
Location, working hours and ticket prices Backo Mini Express


text:
The White House has announced a "National Week of Making," June 12–18, 2015. To celebrate, libraries across Idaho will be hosting events! Albertsons Library will be taking part by hosting two events:
Thursday, June 18th, 10-11am, Library 201c, Come Meet Mini! Albertsons Library invites Boise State University students, faculty, and staff to come meet the library's newest 3D printer, Mini. As part of LulzBot's First Annual Educators Giveaway, Albertsons Library was one of only 20 educational institutions to be award a new LulzBot Mini 3D printer.
Monday, June 22nd, 1-2pm , Library 201c, Silhouette Paper/ Vinyl Cutter Afternoon
University students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to join us in the Library for a fun afternoon break! Come experiment with the new Silhouette vinyl/ paper cutter we were awarded by Instructables. Watch the machine in action, learn all about what it can do, share ideas, and play with precut pieces. No experience necessary, but a fun attitude and willingness to learn are!
These events will celebrate the creativity and diversity of inventors, tinkerers, entrepreneurs, and innovators who are contributing their talents in new and exciting ways. The maker movement is changing the face of higher education with learning that is inherently experimental, inventive, creative, and project-based.
Looking forward to seeing you there!


text:
In Search of Reliable Assistance with Writing an Assignment?
Over the years, we have made it very easy for scholars to attain excellent grades in their relevant schoolwork, consequently, making us the most trustworthy essay writing company for students in all academic fields. Let it be in law, medicine, biology, history, or any other field, you are assured of the best essays in the market. Looking for a qualified essay writing service provider has been a rising primary concern for scholars due to the pressure they are subjected to. We do understand the need to perform can be at times very demanding, while still excellence is expected. As such most scholars find it necessary to involve professional writers they can depend on for writing the essays. The clients approaching the firm wish to have their work submitted before deadlines and also to have met all the necessary requirements. Our firm understands your needs and wishes to deliver promptly. Professional paper writing assistants are right here for you to get that tiring workload off your back. Our prestige is your essay writing problems being handled by a competent firm, one that is concerned about you and provides competence in your work.
Why Hire Our Professional Experts to Write your Custom Essay
A lot of service providers have come up claiming to help students handle their academic essays. That has also given room for fraudulent companies to be established in the writing industry. You can avoid getting assistance from such firms by reaching out to us since we have skilled essay helpers.
Our custom essay writing services are provided by qualified professionals. We house writers who have higher academic qualifications in different subjects. That means you can get a qualified essay writer who is specialized in your area of study in this firm.
We have essay writing experts who deliver flawless documents. Grammatical, spelling, punctuation and other writing errors cannot appear in the draft delivered by our writers. That is because they have an editing experience that can enable them to rectify the mistakes present in the essay they help you write.
Our custom essay writing help is available on a 24/7 basis. You can reach out to us for essay writing services at any time and get immediate help. Our credible writing assistants, as well as the customer support staff, operate around the clock to ensure you get quick essay help once you contact us.
We have essay writing helpers who deliver the final drafts without delays. You can expect the paper to be sent to you within the time limit you will give. That is because our essay writers know it is in their best interest to meet your expectations.
Several challenges hinder scholars from writing top quality academic papers such as inadequate knowledge on how to write an essay and lack of time since one has other important things to do. Are you faced with such challenges? Our professional firm has a team of qualified and well-versed professionals who offer professionals who offer essays writing assistance among other services to scholars at every academic level. This eases your writing burden and gives you time to relax and enjoy free time with friends, and still be assured of a professionally written essay or term paper. Our custom writing services have served as a very reliable bridge to success since we give our best to ensure that everyone who comes to us feeling "help me write an essay urgently" receive the best assistance at the right time. Although our custom services may not be as cheap, one thing you need to understand is that our services are always of high quality. It is until you use our reliable essay paper writing services, that you will realize how professional we can be in delivering the best. We are here to ensure that at any time you need assistance with writing a custom essay; you will obtain expert writing services.
Link up with Credible Assistants who Write Assignments
Our reputation as the most trustworthy online writing service provider is solely accredited to our highly qualified staff. Regarding this, at Custom Writing Bay, services are provided by very competent writers and editors. Our writers have proved to be the best writing helpers as all our services have lived up to the expectations of our clients. They are all adequately qualified with every one of them being at least a Bachelors degree holder. More so, our recruitment process makes us the best essay writers on a global scale. Per se, we have enlisted writers and editors are from different parts of the world. More to this, what makes us your first choice writing service providers is our engagement in helping clients come up with the most suitable topics for their respective assignments. This drive is founded on our belief that lucid papers can only be derived from an appropriate topic. Although essays have been written by scholars for quite a long time, you may find scholars having their work rejected by the professor. You may have considered a paper that you can write within a very short time, only to commit errors that may seem small but with huge consequences. Spending sleepless nights will not guarantee you quality work, therefore do not hasten through your work with a lot of fatigue and still expect high grades. If you realize that you have enough time to write an essay and as such you need quality writing assistance, make the right choice of working with experts in essay writing. The reason why we empathize with scholars to work with us is that we always hire the most professional writers with the required skills to produce excellent work. You need to understand that it takes qualified writers to deliver reliable assistance; therefore if you feel "I need to write a reliable essay" you can trust our writers to provide you with custom essay writing services. By the time you work with us, you can be sure that all that seems like a mountain climbing task will be very easy and fast to handle.
Need Online Help with Writing an Essay in the Best Way?
We simply work for you to get your paper done in a professional manner thus avoiding shady and incompetent work. Our firm is an ideal place when looking for writers. When it comes to providing online essays writing help to our clients we offer our services to you diligently. One major aspect that guarantees the clients of our capability to deliver is our highly trained and qualified staff that is proficient in writing essays. We have a team of expert writers whose competence is much guaranteed. They are well knowledgeable in writing essays. Our team is selected keenly so as to only recruit the best in the market. We are more into detailed research and reference from updated sources. This assures you that we are the best essay writing firm in the market. Our outstanding results are bound to impress you and your satisfaction is our delight. Choose to share a great fulfilling experience with us. A lot of creativity and competence is required for you to write a high-quality essay. During your school life, a time comes when different tasks are assigned to you. If you are overwhelmed with academic work and you still have to write an essay, it can be very wise to get additional help. We are a firm with professional essay writers who can help you do your paper. An essay is given by the professor to test your understanding of a certain concept in your subject. You might have a good grasp of it but then find it hard to organize your ideas in a focused manner. When you are in that situation, you can hire an essay writing assistant here to help you write a logical paper. Before you can start the research process, you need to analyze the essay question so that you can determine the type of paper you need to write. If you are required to write an essay type that you have not yet mastered, you can reach out to us for remarkable writing services.


text:
Occult Girls - Esebeth The Necromancer Enamel Pin
VENDOR: Occultcreations
You Save: $5.00 (20%)
Esebeth the Necromancer is the first in a line of occult girls. She will be the first one coming in at 3.5 inches in size and sporting 6 amazing variants, with one being limited to just 5/5. For this preorder, there will only be 25 spots open so grab these at a special price. Anyone who orders the set will receive it in a special box. Due to the limited variant of this wave, only one set can be offered. The set will come in a beautiful wooden box with the 6 pins
B Grade - Original Version is only available as a B grade. B grade has small air bubbles on the enamel and some have noticeable imperfections.
Art was made by the talented @Cyen_art.
The occult girls are an original price of work between occult creations and Cyen_art. These illustrations are copyrighted under United States law. Any use of these images without express written permission from Occult Creations will result in legal action. You may not trace over these images, post these images or anything that might alter the concept with our express written permission from Occult Creations.


text:
Yan-Yeung Luk
Associate Professor
3-048 Center for Science and Technology
Research Interests
Bioorganic chemistry; surfaces; nanomaterials; chemical biology
- B.S., 1994, Polytechnic University
- Ph.D., 2001, University of Chicago
- Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Honors & Awards:
- Stereochemical Society of Greater New York, Travel Award, 2007
- NSF CAREER, 11-1-2009 to 10-31-2014
- Scientific Advisory Board, Orthobond Inc. 2011-
- CHE 117: General Chemistry Laboratory
- CHE 275: Organic Chemistry Lecture I
- CHE 276: Organic Chemistry I Laboratory
- CHE 326: Organic Chemistry II Laboratory
- CHE 400/600: Chemistry at the Interfaces – Biomaterials
- CHE 427/627: Intermediate Organic Chemistry
- CHE 685: Organic Mechanisms
Research Focus
Luk group has a keen interest in the sciences and applications at the interface of organic chemistry and life sciences. Our research is highly multi-disciplinary. For example, new organic reactions are discovered in aqueous solutions, which are applied for efficient drug synthesis and bioconjugation. Apart from the pursuit in modern medicinal chemistry, the new drug molecules are immediately used in the contexts of surfaces and materials for mechanistic study of adhesion biology for both mammalian cells and community formation (biofilm) of bacteria.
Organic synthesis is also applied to make a new class of drug molecules that also form a unusual class of nonamphiphilic lyotropic liquid crystals, which are used as templates for making a genesis of new structures of hydrogel materials. These nascent sciences form the basis for a new discipline of nonamphiphilic colloidal chemistry. Overall, our research bridges discoveries in fundamental sciences to applications that impact human health. Our approach is largely hypothesis-driven, but we have enjoyed significant amount of discovery-based sciences – they just come to us.
Below describes three intertwined programs in our laboratory with some brief highlights.
I. Bioorganic chemistry: Water-Driven organic reactions, bioconjugation and active agent development
We have made discoveries in organic reactions in water, with unusual organic reaction mechanisms. These reactions lead to the efficient synthesis (2-4 steps) of a new class of highly potent non-peptide integrin antagonists that have the therapeutic potential for a wide range of cell adhesion-based diseases. Other applications include immobilization of peptide on surfaces exclusively via N-terminus cysteines and new warheads for cysteine active proteins, which is useful for array assays for proteomics. We have also made a new class of molecules that inhibitor quorum sensing of bacteria. This new class of molecules can efficiently conjugate with peptides, proteins or labeling agents.
Publication in Program I:
- Modification of Proteins with Cyclodextrins Prevents Aggregation and Surface Adsorption and Increases Thermal Stability Langmuir, 2011, 27, 13091-6.
- Adamantane-Platinum Conjugate Hosted in β-Cyclodextrin: Enhancing Transport and Cytotoxicity by Noncovalent Modification Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett., 2011, 21, 7421-5.
- Water-Driven Ligations Using Cyclic Amino Squarates: A Class of Useful SN1-Like ReactionsChem. Comm. 2011, 47, 1348-1350.
- Inhibiting microbial biofilm formation by brominated furanones Medical Device Materials V, Proceedings of the Materials & Processes for Medical Devices Conference, 2010, 6-10.
- Inhibition of Candida albicans Growth by Natural and Synthetic Brominated Furanones Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol., 2010, 85, 1551-1563. (Collaboration with Ren Group)
- Selective Immobilization of Peptides Exclusively via N-Terminus Cysteines by Water-Driven Reactions on Surfaces J. Org. Chem., 2009, 74, 6843-6846.
- Utilizing the high dielectric constant of water: efficient synthesis of amino acid-derivatized cyclobutenones Tet. Lett., 2008, 49, 2128-2131.
- Water-Driven Chemoselective Reaction of Squarate Derivatives with Amino Acids and Peptides Org. Lett., 2007, 9, 4897-4900.
- Identifying the important structural elements of brominated furanones for inhibiting biofilm formation by Escherichia coli Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett., 2008, 18, 1006-1010. (Collaboration with Ren Group)
II. Self-Assembly: water-in-water emulsion and templated synthesis – a new discipline of nonamphiphilic colloidal science.
For nearly five thousand years, spontaneous self-assemblies of small molecules in water have been known to involve amphiphilic molecules, which are part oily and part water-soluble. This program studies self-assembly of entirely water-soluble molecules, and will use these assemblies as templates to support gel formation of polymers coated on the assemblies. This approach, templated synthesis, will result in a new class of structures, including bicontinuous hydrogels, connected hydroshells, microcapsules and nano-molecular rods. Because the synthesis does not involve amphiphilic or surfactant molecules that can denature proteins, proteins will be copolymerized into the gel materials with preferred spatial location and with retained enzymatic activities. These structures can function as supported biocatalysts, having the potential to simulate living tissues.
Another effort in self-assembly involves designing and making unnatural organic molecules that fold into unique conformations out of many possibilities. With great structures comes great opportunity for functions, including binding recognition, drug candidates, catalysis and assembly of virus-like particles.
Publication in Program II:
- Noncovalent Polymerization of Mesogens Crystallizes Lysozyme: Correlation between Nonamphiphilic Lyotropic Liquid Crystal Phase and Protein Crystal Formation Langmuir, 2011, 27, 10901-6.
- Noncovalent Polymerization and Assembly in Water Promoted by Thermodynamic Incompatibility J. Phys. Chem. B, 2010, 114, 10357-67.
- Controlling Thread Assemblies of Pharmaceutical Compounds in Liquid Crystal Phase by Using Functionalized Nanotopography Chem. Mater., 2010, 22, 2434–2441.
- Induced Folding by Chiral Non-Planar Aromatics J. Org. Chem., 2009, 74(18), 7023-7033.
- Non-Amphiphilic Assembly in Water: Polymorphic Nature, Thread Structure and Thermodynamic Incompatibility J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2009, 131, 7430-7443.
- Chiral Molecules with Polyhedral T, O or I Symmetry: Theoretical Solution to A Difficult Problem in Stereochemistry Chirality, 2008, 20, 878-884.
- Water-in-Water Emulsions Stabilized by Non-Amphiphilic Interactions: Polymer-Dispersed Lyotropic Liquid Crystals Langmuir, 2007, 23, 1453-8.
- A Biocompatible Surfactant with Folded Hydrophilic Head Group J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2006, 128,13913-20.
III. Biointerfaces: Anti-biofouling chemistry, protein modification and mechanistic adhesion biology.
Organic chemistry at interfaces is common phenomena for both mammalian cell adhesion that controls normal biology and many diseases as well as for microbial biofilm formation that cause a wide range of infectious diseases and industrial losses. In this program, we have demonstrated prolonged confinements of mammalian cell adhesion and biofilm formation of bacteria. We also use the stereochemistry of the surfaces to study the mechanism for such prolonged resistance to cell adhesion. These progresses in anti-biofouling chemistry have enabled us to form a hypothesis and a systematic approach in another seemingly unrelated area – how to modify protein surfaces to prevent protein aggregation, and increase protein lifetime in the blood stream, which is a key issue in biopharmaceutical sciences that has been entirely empirical.
Publication in Program III:
- Stereochemical Effects of Chiral Monolayers on Enhancing the Resistance to Mammalian Cell Adhesion Chem. Comm. 2011, 47, 6165-7.
- Anti-Fouling Chemistry of Chiral Monolayers: Enhancing Biofilm Resistance on Racemic SurfaceLangmuir, 2011, 27, 6124-31.
- Prolonged Control of Patterned Biofilm Formation by Bio-inert Surface Chemistry Chem. Commun., 2009, 10, 1207-1209. (Collaboration with Ren Group)
- Molecular Gradients of Bio-inertness Reveal Mechanistic Difference between Mammalian Cell Adhesion and Bacterial Biofilm Formation Langmuir, 2009, 25, 1547-1553. (Collaboration with Ren Group)
- Enhancing Cell Adhesion and Confinement by Gradient Nanotopography J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2007,129, 4892-4893.
- Inhibiting Escherichia Coli Biofilm Formation by Self-Assembled Monolayers of Functional Alkanethiols on Gold Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 2007, 73, 4300-4307. (Collaboration with Ren Group)
The three programs are well integrated. For example, the chemoselectivity of the water driven reactions (bioorganic chemistry) was tested on the bio-inert surfaces (biointerfaces) for selective peptide immobilization. Organic synthesis of dichromonyl molecule of potential therapeutic value (bioorganic chemistry) also contributed to discovery and study of the nonamphiphilic lyotropic liquid crystals (self-assembly). Heterogeneous biocatalysts (bioorganic chemistry) were built from water-in-water emulsion (self-assembly) based template synthesis.
Selected Publications
- Non-Amphiphilic Assembly in Water: Polymorphic Nature, Thread Structure and Thermodynamic Incompatibility Lei Wu, Jyotsana Lal, Karen A. Simon, Erik A. Burton and Yan-Yeung Luk* J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2009, 131, 7430-7443.
- Water-Driven Chemoselective Reaction of Squarate Derivatives with Amino Acids and Peptides Preeti Sejwal, Yongbin Han, Akshay Shah and Yan-Yeung Luk*, Org. Lett., 2007, 9, 4897-4900. » full article
- Enhancing Cell Adhesion and Confinement by Gradient Nanotopography Karen A. Simon, Erik A. Burton, Yongbin Han, Jun Li, Anny Huang and Yan-Yeung Luk*, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2007, 129, 4892-4893.» full article
- A Biocompatible Surfactant with Folded Hydrophilic Head Group: Enhancing the Stability of Self-Inclusion Complexes of Ferrocenyl in a β-Cyclodextrin Unit by Bond Rigidity Yongbin Han, Kejun Cheng, Karen A. Simon, Yanmei Lan, Preeti Sejwal, Yan-Yeung Luk*, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2006, 128, 13913-20. » full article
- Surface-Driven Switching of Liquid Crystals using Redox-Active Groups on Electrodes Yan-Yeung Luk, Nicholas L. Abbott,* Science, 2003, 301, 623-6.
(Aug. 17, 2016)
Biologist Anthony Garza, Chemist Yan-Yeung Luk will 'clone' organic compounds from unculturable bacteria
(Nov. 10, 2015)
Yan-Yeung Luk's Research Group develops therapeutic agents from synthetic molecules, which mimic, dominate ones made from bacteria
(Sept. 4, 2015)
Professors Yan-Yeung Luk, John Chisholm redefine possibilities of organic chemistry


text:
Squeeze in rehearsal in Greenwich in 1975. Photographed by Lawrence Impey.
Chris and Glenn
Chris, Glenn and Jools
Chris, Glenn, Jools and Harry
Lawrence writes: "These photos were taken in the rehearsal room at Greenwich Swimming Baths, where the band used to practise. My favourite memory has to be when Squeeze got arrested. At the time I was co-managing the band (with Miles Copeland) and, as was traditional, we had a Ford Transit van to get to the gigs in. I used to drive the van and the rhythm section used to sit up front with me and the other three members of the band and the roadie used to sit on a sofa in the back – the equipment went between us in the middle. Anyway one day I was driving them to a gig and we were going down the Marylebone Road heading out of town when suddenly this cop on a motorbike overtook us and indicated to me to stop the van. He came up to my window and said something like "This is absolutely disgusting and you will follow me to the nearest police station". Of course I didn't have a clue what he was talking about but didn't feel I had much choice, even though it meant blowing out the gig.I later discovered that the guys in the back had been exposing themselves to the Lady Mayoress of London whose entourage had been following us down Marylebone Road. They had also been displaying signs saying "If you want some, just come and get it" and so on. Anyway, they were all pretty young and their parents had to come and get them released from the police station."
Contact Me


text:
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Deal \Deal\ (d[=e]l), noun [OE. del, deel, part, AS. d[=ae]l; akin to OS. d[=e]l, D. & Dan. deel, G. theil, teil, Icel. deild, Sw. del, Goth. dails. [root]65. Cf. 3d {Dole}.]
1. A part or portion; a share; hence, an indefinite quantity, degree, or extent, degree, or extent; as, a deal of time and trouble; a deal of cold.
Three tenth deals [parts of an ephah] of flour. --Num. xv. 9.
As an object of science it [the Celtic genius] may count for a good deal . . . as a spiritual power. --M. Arnold.
She was resolved to be a good deal more circumspect. --W. Black.
Note: It was formerly limited by some, every, never a, a thousand, etc.; as, some deal; but these are now obsolete or vulgar. In general, we now qualify the word with great or good, and often use it adverbially, by being understood; as, a great deal of time and pains; a great (or good) deal better or worse; that is, better by a great deal, or by a great part or difference.
2. The process of dealing cards to the players; also, the portion disturbed.
The deal, the shuffle, and the cut. --Swift.
3. Distribution; apportionment. [Colloq.]
4. An arrangement to attain a desired result by a combination of interested parties; -- applied to stock speculations and political bargains. [Slang]
5. [Prob. from D. deel a plank, threshing floor. See {Thill}.] The division of a piece of timber made by sawing; a board or plank; particularly, a board or plank of fir or pine above seven inches in width, and exceeding six feet in length. If narrower than this, it is called a batten; if shorter, a deal end.
Note: Whole deal is a general term for planking one and one half inches thick.
6. Wood of the pine or fir; as, a floor of deal.
{Deal tree}, a fir tree. --Dr. Prior.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Deal \Deal\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Dealt} (d[e^]lt); p. pr. & vb. n. {Dealing}.] [OE. delen, AS. d[=ae]lan, fr. d[=ae]l share; akin to OS. d[=e]lian, D. deelen, G. theilen, teilen, Icel. deila, Sw. dela, Dan. dele, Goth. dailjan. See {Deal}, noun]
1. To divide; to separate in portions; hence, to give in portions; to distribute; to bestow successively; -- sometimes with out.
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry? --Is. lviii. 7.
And Rome deals out her blessings and her gold. --Tickell.
The nightly mallet deals resounding blows. --Gay.
Hissing through the skies, the feathery deaths were dealt. --Dryden.
2. Specifically: To distribute, as cards, to the players at the commencement of a game; as, to deal the cards; to deal one a jack.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Deal \Deal\, verb (used without an object)
1. To make distribution; to share out in portions, as cards to the players.
2. To do a distributing or retailing business, as distinguished from that of a manufacturer or producer; to traffic; to trade; to do business; as, he deals in flour.
They buy and sell, they deal and traffic. --South.
This is to drive to wholesale trade, when all other petty merchants deal but for parcels. --Dr. H. More.
3. To act as an intermediary in business or any affairs; to manage; to make arrangements; -- followed by between or with.
Sometimes he that deals between man and man, raiseth his own credit with both, by pretending greater interest than he hath in either. --Bacon.
4. To conduct one's self; to behave or act in any affair or towards any one; to treat.
If he will deal clearly and impartially, . . . he will acknowledge all this to be true. --Tillotson.
5. To contend (with); to treat (with), by way of opposition, check, or correction; as, he has turbulent passions to deal with.
{To deal by}, to treat, either well or ill; as, to deal well by servants. "Such an one deals not fairly by his own mind." --Locke.
{To deal in}. (a) To have to do with; to be engaged in; to practice; as, they deal in political matters. (b) To buy and sell; to furnish, as a retailer or wholesaler; as, they deal in fish.
{To deal with}. (a) To treat in any manner; to use, whether well or ill; to have to do with; specifically, to trade with. "Dealing with witches." --Shak. (b) To reprove solemnly; to expostulate with.
The deacons of his church, who, to use their own phrase, "dealt with him" on the sin of rejecting the aid which Providence so manifestly held out. --Hawthorne.
Return . . . and I will deal well with thee. --Gen. xxxii. 9.
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
1: a particular instance of buying or selling; "it was a package deal"; "I had no further trade with him"; "he's a master of the business deal" [syn: {deal}, {trade}, {business deal}]
2: an agreement between parties (usually arrived at after discussion) fixing obligations of each; "he made a bargain with the devil"; "he rose to prominence through a series of shady deals" [syn: {bargain}, {deal}]
3: (often followed by 'of') a large number or amount or extent; "a batch of letters"; "a deal of trouble"; "a lot of money"; "he made a mint on the stock market"; "see the rest of the winners in our huge passel of photos"; "it must have cost plenty"; "a slew of journalists"; "a wad of money" [syn: {batch}, {deal}, {flock}, {good deal}, {great deal}, {hatful}, {heap}, {lot}, {mass}, {mess}, {mickle}, {mint}, {mountain}, {muckle}, {passel}, {peck}, {pile}, {plenty}, {pot}, {quite a little}, {raft}, {sight}, {slew}, {spate}, {stack}, {tidy sum}, {wad}]
4: a plank of softwood (fir or pine board)
5: wood that is easy to saw (from conifers such as pine or fir) [syn: {softwood}, {deal}]
6: the cards held in a card game by a given player at any given time; "I didn't hold a good hand all evening"; "he kept trying to see my hand" [syn: {hand}, {deal}]
7: the type of treatment received (especially as the result of an agreement); "he got a good deal on his car"
8: the act of distributing playing cards; "the deal was passed around the table clockwise"
9: the act of apportioning or distributing something; "the captain was entrusted with the deal of provisions"
1: act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression; "This book deals with incest"; "The course covered all of Western Civilization"; "The new book treats the history of China" [syn: {cover}, {treat}, {handle}, {plow}, {deal}, {address}]
2: take into consideration for exemplifying purposes; "Take the case of China"; "Consider the following case" [syn: {consider}, {take}, {deal}, {look at}]
3: take action with respect to (someone or something); "How are we going to deal with this problem?"; "The teacher knew how to deal with these lazy students"
4: come to terms with; "We got by on just a gallon of gas"; "They made do on half a loaf of bread every day" [syn: {cope}, {get by}, {make out}, {make do}, {contend}, {grapple}, {deal}, {manage}]
5: administer or bestow, as in small portions; "administer critical remarks to everyone present"; "dole out some money"; "shell out pocket money for the children"; "deal a blow to someone"; "the machine dispenses soft drinks" [syn: {distribute}, {administer}, {mete out}, {deal}, {parcel out}, {lot}, {dispense}, {shell out}, {deal out}, {dish out}, {allot}, {dole out}]
6: do business; offer for sale as for one's livelihood; "She deals in gold"; "The brothers sell shoes" [syn: {deal}, {sell}, {trade}]
7: be in charge of, act on, or dispose of; "I can deal with this crew of workers"; "This blender can't handle nuts"; "She managed her parents' affairs after they got too old" [syn: {manage}, {deal}, {care}, {handle}]
8: behave in a certain way towards others; "He deals fairly with his employees"
9: distribute cards to the players in a game; "Who's dealing?"
10: direct the course of; manage or control; "You cannot conduct business like this" [syn: {conduct}, {carry on}, {deal}]
11: give out as one's portion or share [syn: {share}, {divvy up}, {portion out}, {apportion}, {deal}]
12: give (a specific card) to a player; "He dealt me the Queen of Spades"
Definitions retrieved from the Open Source DICT Webster's English and WordNet 3.0 dictionaries. Click here for database copyright information.
http://www.define.com is a PRIVATE SECTOR EDUCATIONAL NONPROFIT TERRESTRIAL ALIEN BLOG that PROMOTES FUTURISTIC SECULARISM, WORLDWIDE ELECTRONIC DEMOCRACY, OPEN and TRANSPARENT GOVERNMENT and WORLDWIDE BANKING REFORM. THIS IS COMPUTER-AIDED PEACE ON EARTH. COMPUTERS WILL PAY FOR EVERYTHING. PEOPLE DO NOT NEED MONEY.
www.FreeWorldBank.org on Amazon S3
Eye and Pyramid BANKING REFORM CHALLENGE


text:
Add Kaucher as Friend | Send Kaucher a Message | View Kaucher's Friends
I am a 21 year old guy and am in the Appleton area through August. I am looking for a girl around the same age 1826 would probably be fine who would like to hang out naked. I would not consider myself a nudist but i do enjoy being naked and think socializing naked would be interesting and fun. I am not looking for anything sexual just some good company for some good times. Im posting on here because there really is no way of meeting other younger people who would be interested without embarrassment. I am comfortable with my body but it would be nice to keep my personal activities discrete. I think i am decent looking and in decent shape. I enjoy the outdoors and open to just about anything. This is a real post so if you have any interest please email me and we can talk for a bit and feel free to email me to ask me any questions. Please put hang out in the subject line or it will be filtered as spam, Thanks!
Please sign up here to see Kaucher's personal info.
This is the best place to meet new people in and around your local area. Chat, flirt, socialize and have fun! Signing up is easy -- and free. Sign up now or check out who your know here first.
Here are some of BalarucleVieux Kaucher's friends:


text:
Oliver Uberti
Oliver Uberti is a visual journalist. He travels the world with a sketchbook in hand. From 2003 to 2012, he worked in the design department of National Geographic Magazine, most recently as Senior Design Editor. His designs, information graphics, and art direction have won numerous international awards. In 2010, he designed 826DC's Museum of Unnatural History – a novelty gift store, non-profit tutoring and writing centre, and the only museum he knows of with a cave, unicorn tears, and hundreds of volunteers teaching children to write.
Oliver is a member of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators and has spoken at TEDx on creativity and the time required to produce good, soulful work. Oliver left National Geographic in 2012 to form his own studio, Oliver Uberti Creative, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.


text:
Level transmitters are used to determine the level of a certain bulk-solid or liquid at any given time. They are instruments that provide constant level measurement.
Level Transmitters are different to level switches, which only sound an alarm when the level of material reaches a predetermined level. Below are the different kinds of level transmitters available.
Types of level transmitters and how they operate-
There are six main types of level transmitters. Each of these transmitters work in different ways, making them useful for a number of different types of processes.
1. Radar fill level transmitters, use radio wave emissions just like radars. Usually, these devices are mounted at or near the top of a tank filled with a liquid. The transmitter itself sends out a radar signal into the liquid in the tank and receives a reflection of that signal. The transmitters will then accurately calculate the current fill level of the tank based on how long it takes the transmitted signal to return.
2. Ultrasonic level transmitter, which acts in a manner similar to the non-contact radar fill level transmitters. With this transmitter, an ultrasonic transducer mounted to or near the top of the container sends out an ultrasonic pulse. When the pulse hits the surface of the liquid, it is reflected, and the sensor calculates fill level based on the time between the pulse and the return signal.
3. Guided Microwave Level Transmitters, this type of level transmitter works by sending a microwave or electromagnetic pulse through a sensor rod/cable. When the signal hits the surface of the liquid, it travels back up the sensor rod and back to the transmitter housing. The electronics are integrated into the transmitter housing, which determine the filling level from the time taken for the signal to travel down the sensor rod and back up again. The value is then shown in the display of the transmitter. This type of level transmitter is suitable for liquids, and is used in industrial applications in all areas of process technology.
4. Magnetic Level Transmitters, use a small, magnetic object suspended in a buoyant float. This is normally inside a narrow auxiliary column, in order to restrict any lateral movement of the the float. While the float sits on top of the liquid, a different magnetic device measures the movement of the float. This allows an accurate, consistent fill level to be transmitted. This method is useful for continuous measurement, due to the float's tendency to rise or sink in harmony with the level of liquid.
5. Capacitance Level Transmitters, take their name from capacitors. In other words, the electrical circuit element that temporarily stores energy for a circuit to use. Capacitors store energy between two insulated electrodes. A non-conductive medium is placed between the two electrodes to help store electrical charge. The more dielectric the medium, the more energy can be stored. So capacitance level transmitters therefore use the liquid in a tank as a dielectric medium between two or more electrodes.
6. Hydrostatic Level Transmitters, also known as pressure level transmitters, essentially determine a container's fluid contents by measuring the pressure of the resting body of fluid within it. The bigger the force of the liquid, the bigger the volume of fluid inside the container. This is one of the most common types of fill level detection devices. It is crucial that the liquid's density remains constant to ensure accurate measurement. As the liquid's gravity increases, the pressure per cubic inch exerted on the transmitter also rises.


text:
I've discovered that work stress encourages me to seek out sugar as a coping mechanism. I think it is a throwback to the days when I was first a freelancer and unable to say 'no' to impossible workload demands from my main client. Those days I worked 18 hour days, and ate lots of chocolate, biscuits, sweets, crisps, sandwiches, pies, ready meals - and drank coffee by the gallon, instant of course, because it was quick! Ouch Ouch Ouch!!! So much processed food, so much salt, so much additives, and so much sugar. Oh my. :o And practically no exercise either, except for the odd stretch and quick walk to the kitchen and back to my seat at the computer.
Sedentary body mistreatment. And learned behaviour. And it reared its ugly head again today. A project which was dumped on me last minute yesterday afternoon which was supposed to only take a couple of hours has taken up all of today plus a few hours, and I have eaten half a pack of mini marshmallows and drunk a pot of coffee with loads of sugar. Both things I haven't partaken of in quite a while in such quantities. My poor gut feels most unhappy. And I'm feeling over-buzzy from all the caffeine.
Note to self. Coffee only for weekends! Drink roobios tea or real tea. I don't like those with sugar in them. And put the marshmallows in the hot chocolate!
Hurrah for me! I didn't allow the workload dump to sway me from the lunchtime swim. I'm coming to look on that as a treat rather than an obligation. I do love the water, and our pool is lovely because it is low-chlorine. Yay! Another 32 laps, another half mile!
I have another 33 weeks before my swim card runs out, so potentially I could swim 80 odd miles at my present rate. heh. Let's just stick to turning up at the pool every weekday instead and be happy about that! And a challenging walk somewhere once a week. And when I feel fit enough, back to the golf course for a spot of learning how to play golf in winter. I had lessons this summer but found that walking tired me out so decided getting fit was more imperative than forking out for games I wouldn't enjoy. Not to mention the crippling backache - ow ow ow!!! Those ab muscles really need some toughening up to help out my back.
Okay the food low-down: SW Extra Easy Day SW 36.5 calories 2586. Hmm, not exactly slimming rates! Ho-hum. Again, it is BETTER by far than gorging lots of cake, crisps and chocolate which I might well have done. And the only casualty of today is my stomach which will feel better tomorrow.
Hmm - measured my stats today. My waist is smaller - 41 and a quarter inches, my bust is 50 inches, but my butt is bigger?? 59 and three-quarters?? Hmpf. I do know that I lose weight off my face first when it goes, and my legs and bottom last... Yikes! Pear shape city. Oh well, a generous bum can be an asset in the right circumstances ;)
Time to drink my quota of water and early to bed.


text:
A report from the Bellagio Initiative: In 2011, over a period of six months, a number of leading figures came together in an ambitious exploration of the major challenges to and opportunities for protecting and promoting human wellbeing in the twenty-first century. A diverse group of policymakers, academics, opinion leaders, social entrepreneurs, activists, donors and practitioners from over 30 countries took part in a series of deliberations collectively called the 'Bellagio Initiative'. Its aim: to generate discussions and stimulate innovative thinking on how philanthropies and international development organisations might find ways to move forward together to better protect and promote human wellbeing in the twenty-first century.
Published By
- Copyright 2012 Institute of Development Studies, Resource Alliance, and Rockefeller Foundation.
Document Type
Linked Data show/hide
This web page is marked up with Schema.org microdata and formatted for machine-reading. Here's why that matters. Have a peek at what a machine sees here .Title: Human Wellbeing in the 21st Century: Meeting Challenges, Seizing Opportunities
Publication date 2012-09-01
Publication Year 2012
Copyright holder(s) Rockefeller Foundation , Resource Alliance , Institute of Development Studies (IDS)
Keywords bellagio , international development , philanthropy , protecting and promoting , development organisations
Document type Report/Whitepaper
Language English
URL: https://www.issuelab.org/resource/human-wellbeing-in-the-21st-century-meeting-challenges-seizing-opportunities.html
Resource provided by IssueLab


text:
Court OK's Business Park on California Wetlands
(CN) – The 9th Circuit upheld the government's approval of a 678-acre business park on protected California wetlands, saying it was the least damaging site for endangered and threatened species like the vernal pool shrimp and slender Orcutt grass.
The Butte Environmental Council filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, the Fish and Wildlife Service and Redding, Calif., after they approved the city's plan to build the 678-acre Stillwater Business Park on protected wetlands along Stillwater Creek.
U.S. District Judge Garland Burrell ruled for the agencies and the city after Redding modified its construction plans and environmental impact statement to address the needs of the threatened vernal pool fairy and tadpole shrimp and the endangered Orcutt grass.
Burrell concluded that the Stillwater site was the least environmentally damaging site for the project. He determined that the Corps' approval of the plan was reasonable.
The environmentalists appealed to the 9th Circuit, arguing that the Corps' decision to issue a permit to build on the Stillwater Creek wetlands was based on a flawed evaluation of the city's environmental impact statement.
The group argued that the agencies had "simply deferred" to the city's judgment on how the project would impact the species and their habitat.
But the San Francisco-based panel upheld the lower court's ruling.
"In sum, the Corps stated a rational connection between the facts found and the conclusion that the proposed Stillwater site was the least environmentally damaging practicable alternative," Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain wrote.


text:
- Carlos Ghosn emerged from his more than 100 days in a Tokyo detention center dressed as a Japanese laborer earlier this week.
- The stunt backfired, says his lawyer, who described it as an "amateur plan."
- Japan's entertainers seized on the incident, with numerous TV shows mocking Ghosn's disguise.
"Like a scene from a movie," Carlos Ghosn emerged after more than 100 days in a Tokyo detention center, flanked by guards, curiously dressed as a Japanese construction worker earlier this week.
He wore blue workman's clothes, a baseball cap, and a face mask as he headed to his new home, a court-approved house in Tokyo.
But the stunt, designed so that the Brazilian-born former Nissan and Renault executive could evade onlookers, backfired, says his lawyer, Takashi Takano. The lawyer wrote the comments in a blog post translated by media including the BBC on Friday.
"The disguise was all planned and carried out by me," Takano wrote. "I feel sorry about that … due to my amateur plan, the fame he has built over a lifetime was tainted."
Japanese entertainers seized on the incident, with one TV show dressing someone as Ghosn during a sketch. See below:
OK, Fuji TV wins – not content with just dressing someone up as Ghosn, they seem to have bought the *actual Suzuki van* he rode in yesterday. pic.twitter.com/btltKDpwW5
— Gearoid Reidy (@GearoidReidy) March 7, 2019
The lawyer dressed him that way to avoid his being noticed and potentially followed or flooded with onlookers and press,Bloomberg quoted Takano as saying, citing his blog post.
Japanese morning TV programs obsessed with Carlos Ghosn's camouflage outfit. Kudos to the props department for the overnight blue cap sourcing effort. #Japan ???????? pic.twitter.com/CdZ3IEVA9P
— Melanie Brock (@melaniebrockjpn) March 6, 2019
"The plan failed," Takano wrote, according to Bloomberg. The incident "threw mud" on Ghosn's "lifetime of fame," Takano added.
Ghosn has been accused by Nissan of under reporting his income over numerous years. He has maintained his innocence, and his lengthy jail sentence has shone a spotlight on Japan's criminal justice system.
Ghosn, who was CEO of Renault, paid one of the largest bail fees in the history of Japan – 1 billion yen, or $US8.9 million – to leave jail in Tokyo.
Japan's press scoffed at such an amount, showing just how big a pile of cash 1 billion yen is:
Japanese TV shows how 1 billion yen looks like in cash ???? ????#Ghosn pic.twitter.com/FXWQNaHo3h
— Yumi Asada (@yumi_asada) March 6, 2019
Business Insider Emails & Alerts
Site highlights each day to your inbox.
Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.


text:
Golden retrievers are made out of pure love. They are one of the best family dogs and great with children. Golden Retrievers in India are also one of the most popular breeds. But, before you rush off to adopt or buy a golden puppy – you should know more about this lovely dog.
Who hasn't wanted to pet a golden retriever puppy? The golden pups are angelic, friendly and beautiful. When properly trained, Golden's also make great guide dogs for the blind. They work as narcotic detection dogs and also tracking dogs for the missing people. They are as versatile as they come!
But before you rush to buy (please adopt!) any pup for yourself, you should take out some time to learn about the breed first. Try to attend the dog shows, meet with different owners of Golden Retrievers, and also interact with them.
Golden Retriever Puppies Price in India.
India's most loved breed. Social, amiable, playful and extremely fond of water and swimming – highly unusual which makes them one of the most popular breeds in the country. These dogs were originally bred to hunt, however, now, they are considered more like sniffer dogs, guide dogs, more often than not, a therapy dog.
These dogs can be purchased for Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 30,000. Breeders usually have a lot of experience in making healthy puppies. The breeder here plays a significant role. It is crucial to make sure that the puppies are adopted from a reliable, experienced breeder. This breed of dogs is extremely cheerful and are quick at picking up words and phrases, thus, easy to train, however, they get anxious and depressed if left alone for long periods of time.
So who really are golden retrievers?
⎫ The Retrievers are a very social and interactive dog breed. Golden's being so people-oriented, it is very important that they live with their owners. They need to be involved in your life.
⎫ The golden retriever's are very tender by heart and will tolerate all your mistakes, wanting nothing more than you to acknowledge that they are there and a small pat on the head.
⎫ These dogs right from puppyhood require and enjoy physical activities like walking, jogging, and hiking.
⎫ Golden's have a great temperament and are quite tolerant even if a child accidentally pokes it or pulls its tail. However, it is still an animal and you should always supervise the interaction between an animal and a child. No matter how great your Golden Retriever may be around kids, you'll never want to leave your dog and your kids alone.
⎫ Almost all retrievers are fond of water and will never leave a chance to get wet or drench in rain. They love to play in mud also on a frequent basis.
⎫ Just like any long-haired breed, retrievers need enough of moving air, shade, and water. They can easily get overheated. Do take care of your dog so that it doesn't overexert themselves in summers.
In most places in India, the temperature is hot and the weather dusty. You will need even more precaution to have a healthy pup. Keep your house clean and the dog's food bowl hygienic. Under no circumstances should you keep a dog tied down in the heat. Allow it a shady place to rest.
How are Golden Retriever puppies in temperament?
Just like any other puppy, the first few days in a new home are tense for both the dog and the family. The pup will be anxious and testing out.
When you bring the retriever puppy home, make sure you are giving it the same food that it was accustomed to. A good breeder would have started the pup on puppy food by 8 weeks, so ask him what food you should provide. The puppies have very delicate stomachs so make sure you don't feed it table scraps or your leftovers. When you first bring your little puppy home, don't be afraid if it does not respond to the food you have offered because puppies take time to accept the surroundings. Don't force it to eat –
instead, let it relax and give proper time to adjust to the atmosphere of your house.
Once it has completed its first night sleep, give him some space to run around and let him relax to gain some energy in the morning sunshine. Do make the feeding plan as per the dog's requirements and in consultation with your vet.
Remember, when you bring a puppy home, you are bringing a lifelong friend and a family member with you.
Again, we always recommend to adopt rather than buy – since there are so many lovely pups in need of a better home.
Top questions from people who own a golden retriever puppy?
Why does my golden retriever puppy bite me?
Almost always, it is nothing but regular puppy behavior. The puppies bite when they want to play, or simply trying out everything: pawing, licking, biting. Sometimes they are even not aware of teething hence starts biting everything.
The other reasons are it may be feeling hungry or anxious about certain things. Do not scold the puppy. Use a firm "No" or reactions such as "Ouch" that tell the puppy that this is bad behavior.
Why does my golden retriever puppy have short hair?
The retriever pups are very notorious and often shed its hair twice a year
especially at the time of bath. But, the owners should not be worried, the pups
can gain their hair as fast as they lose it. If the problem seems persistent – have a talk with your vet.
Why does my golden retriever puppy sleep so much?
Puppies are hyper-energetic beings. They exhaust themselves quickly and then sleep soundly. However, there could be underlying reasons like health issues or anxiousness. If in conjunction with sleep, you also notice a loss of appetite – talk to your vet.
Why does my golden retriever puppy look aggressive?
Mostly it is play fighting. It is rare for puppies to be actually aggressive but pay attention to if they are guardng their food or are getting scared about something.
Why does my golden retriever puppy look so skinny?
Puppies grow with respect to time. Some puppies take time to grow as their
digestive system takes time to adapt the food they eat.
For more information on Golden Retrievers, please visit https://retrieverking.com/