Oli Bayston is a songwriter and producer who has written and performed for The 2 Bears, George FitzGerald (also Domino Publishing) and remixed and produced songs for artists including the The Bohicas and Petite Noir (both Domino Publishing). Oli is now bringing his wide array of talents to bear on his own solo project Boxed In on Nettwerk Records. Boxed In's fantastic debut LP brings together Oli's two greatest musical loves: Krautrock and House music. Inspired by the motorik rhythms of Can, Cluster and Neu! as well as house producers, like Pépé Bradock and Theo Parrish, Oli nevertheless emphasises that the art of pop song writing is...


Life-ification of Games: Facial Recognition in L.A. Noire
Posted by Pankin at 4:17 PM
In the recent past we've seen a rise in the "Gamification" of various aspects of our digital life. Developers of websites, mobile apps, and computer programs have begun appealing to our natural inclination to accomplish objectives in pursuit of some goal or achievement in an attempt to make mundane tasks, such as filling out a list or completing a survey, more enjoyable. The idea is to make people associate certain products with gameplay rather than tedious work, so that people return to said products with more frequency and with a better attitude.
Foursquare lets you earn achievements and titles. LinkedIn provides you with a progress bar, tracking the completion of your profile. All over the Internet, we're seeing creative applications of every gaming mechanic except the boss fight. But how have games themselves reacted to the gamification craze? Some games have further gamified themselves, turning the mirror inward onto additional mini-games and rewards (such as Mortal Kombat's system of virtual currency). Others, like L.A. Noire, have taken the completely opposite path and decided to "life-ify" their game.
In order to progress through the story of L.A. Noire, your character (an LAPD detective in 1947) has to interrogate suspects and determine whether they are lying or telling the truth based only on their responses and subtle facial cues. The game is able to accomplish this feat with absolutely stunning and state-of-the-art software created by Australian company Depth Analysis, and put to use by game developer Team Bondi. But what this technology does is make your success in the game contingent not upon your gaming skills, but on your real-life conversation skills.
A novel idea, to be sure. But what does it mean for the gaming community when Gamification and Life-ification start to converge to a single point?
Rockstar Games (the publisher behind Team Bondi's L.A. Noire) has been leading the charge in using their games to hold a mirror up to life. In GTA IV, your character has possession of a cell phone (accessed by pressing L1), on which you can make and receive calls, read text messages, store all your contacts, set a reminder for a certain time, and (more practically) access the game's side missions. You can also browse the in-game Internet (from anything to dating websites to classified ads), watch the in-game cable television, and go on in-game dates with your in-game girlfriends. It almost gets to the point where keeping up with all your virtual mundane responsibilities becomes as much work as keeping up with your real-life mundane responsibilities.
GTA was far from the first game to factor real-life responsibilities into the gameplay; does anybody remember Tamagotchis, and the unbearable stress caused by the incessant beeping of that nasty, overly-dependent little mass of pixels? At least with GTA, you can stop the constant calls triggering side missions and texts from your criminal friends wanting to hang out by turning off your system. If you wanted a break from your virtual Tamagotchi pet, you'd wind up with a dead Tamagotchi pet. I don't think my 10-year-old self ever got over the trauma of coming home from school and seeing my erstwhile little friend lifelessly twitching in a pile of his own droppings.
So we've seen various gaming platforms try to emulate the inner workings of everyday life, both the important responsibilities and the mind-numbing regular tasks. But what we've never seen before is an aspect of real life so accurately portrayed in the world of a game. Thanks to 32 precisely placed cameras, impeccable lighting, and lots of orange T-shirts, Depth Analysis's MotionScan technology can capture every inch of an actor's face, enabling you to observe your conversation-mate in agonizing detail. Now not only does my gaming experience revolve around doing things I would do in real life, but it actually *looks* like it could be happening in (a pixelated version of) real life.
With the advent of this technology, a lot of people are talking about the burgeoning link between games and cinema, since now everything looks like it could have been shot with a movie camera. But the facial recognition software isn't used to enhance the cutscenes of L.A. Noire, it's directly linked with the gameplay. You need to see accurate representations of these faces in order to make the correct decisions to progress through the game, they're not there just to look pretty. And making choices about which way to proceed in a conversation based on subtle facial cues is something you have to do in real life, not something you generally want to watch a movie about.
So if I'm playing games about mundane real-life tasks at the same time as my actual mundane real-life tasks are being configured to seem more like games, where does it all end? Can we find a happy medium between the games we play because we want to escape from reality and the games our lives are becoming through gamification? Will the two eventually converge into a gigantic Virtual Reality, where the game aspects become indistinguishable from the actual world? If that's where we're headed, then I'd immediately put my money into companies like Depth Analysis. Because if I'm going to be gamified, I'd like to look as lifelike as technologically possible.
tag! you're it! Gaming, tech


1 Chemistry as a Science
Learn what science is and how it works.
Chemistry is a branch of science. Although science itself is difficult to define exactly, the following definition can serve as starting point. Science is the process of knowing about the natural universe through observation and experiment. Science is not the only process of knowing (e.g., the ancient Greeks simply sat and thought), but it has evolved over more than 350 years into the best process that humanity has devised to date to learn about the universe around us.
The process of science is usually stated as the scientific method, which is rather naïvely described as follows: (1) state a hypothesis, (2) test the hypothesis, and (3) refine the hypothesis. Actually, however, the process is not that simple. (For example, I don't go into my lab every day and exclaim, "I am going to state a hypothesis today and spend the day testing it!") The process is not that simple because science and scientists have a body of knowledge that has already been identified as coming from the highest level of understanding, and most scientists build from that body of knowledge.
An educated guess about how the natural universe works is called a hypothesis. A scientist who is familiar with how part of the natural universe works—say, a chemist—is interested in furthering that knowledge. That person makes a reasonable guess—a hypothesis—that is designed to see if the universe works in a new way as well. Here's an example of a hypothesis: "if I mix one part of hydrogen with one part of oxygen, I can make a substance that contains both elements."
Most good hypotheses are grounded in previously understood knowledge and represent a testable extension of that knowledge. The scientist then devises ways to test if that guess is or is not correct. That is, the scientist plans experiments. Experiments are tests of the natural universe to see if a guess (hypothesis) is correct. An experiment to test our previous hypothesis would be to actually mix hydrogen and oxygen and see what happens. Most experiments include observations of small, well-defined parts of the natural universe designed to see results of the experiments.
Why do we have to do experiments? Why do we have to test? Because the natural universe is not always so obvious, experiments are necessary. For example, it is fairly obvious that if you drop an object from a height, it will fall. Several hundred years ago (coincidentally, near the inception of modern science), the concept of gravity explained that test. However, is it obvious that the entire natural universe is composed of only about 115 fundamental chemical building blocks called elements? This wouldn't seem true if you looked at the world around you and saw all the different forms matter can take. In fact, the concept of the element is only about 200 years old, and the last naturally occurring element was identified about 80 years ago. It took decades of tests and millions of experiments to establish what the elements actually are. These are just two examples; a myriad of such examples exists in chemistry and science in general.
When enough evidence has been collected to establish a general principle of how the natural universe works, the evidence is summarized in a theory. A theory is a general statement that explains a large number of observations. "All matter is composed of atoms" is a general statement, a theory, that explains many observations in chemistry. A theory is a very powerful statement in science. There are many statements referred to as "the theory of _______" or the "______ theory" in science (where the blanks represent a word or concept). When written in this way, theories indicate that science has an overwhelming amount of evidence of its correctness. We will see several theories in the course of this text.
A specific statement that is thought to be never violated by the entire natural universe is called a law. A scientific law is the highest understanding of the natural universe that science has and is thought to be inviolate. For example, the fact that all matter attracts all other matter—the law of gravitation—is one such law. Note that the terms theory and law used in science have slightly different meanings from those in common usage; theory is often used to mean hypothesis ("I have a theory…"), whereas a law is an arbitrary limitation that can be broken but with potential consequences (such as speed limits). Here again, science uses these terms differently, and it is important to apply their proper definitions when you use these words in science.
There is an additional phrase in our definition of science: "the natural universe." Science is concerned only with the natural universe. What is the natural universe? It's anything that occurs around us, well, naturally. Stars; planets; the appearance of life on earth; and how animals, plants, and other matter function are all part of the natural universe. Science is concerned with that—and only that.
Of course, there are other things that concern us. For example, is the English language part of science? Most of us can easily answer no; English is not science. English is certainly worth knowing (at least for people in predominantly English-speaking countries), but why isn't it science? English, or any human language, isn't science because ultimately it is contrived; it is made up. Think of it: the word spelled b-l-u-e represents a certain color, and we all agree what color that is. But what if we used the word h-a-r-d-n-r-f to describe that color? (See Figure 1.9 "English Is Not Science".) That would be fine—as long as everyone agreed. Anyone who has learned a second language must initially wonder why a certain word is used to describe a certain concept; ultimately, the speakers of that language agreed that a particular word would represent a particular concept. It was contrived.
Figure 1.9 English Is Not Science
How would you describe this color? Blue or hardnrf? Either way, you're not doing science.
That doesn't mean language isn't worth knowing. It is very important in society. But it's not science. Science deals only with what occurs naturally.
Which of the following fields would be considered science?
geology, the study of the earth
ethics, the study of morality
political science, the study of governance
biology, the study of living organisms
Because the earth is a natural object, the study of it is indeed considered part of science.
Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals with right and wrong. Although these are useful concepts, they are not science.
There are many forms of government, but all are created by humans. Despite the fact that the word science appears in its name, political science is not true science.
Living organisms are part of the natural universe, so the study of them is part of science.
Which is part of science, and which is not?
dynamics, the study of systems that change over time
aesthetics, the concept of beauty
not science
The field of science has gotten so big that it is common to separate it into more specific fields. First, there is mathematics, the language of science. All scientific fields use mathematics to express themselves—some more than others. Physics and astronomy are scientific fields concerned with the fundamental interactions between matter and energy. Chemistry, as defined previously, is the study of the interactions of matter with other matter and with energy. Biology is the study of living organisms, while geology is the study of the earth. Other sciences can be named as well. Understand that these fields are not always completely separate; the boundaries between scientific fields are not always readily apparent. Therefore, a scientist may be labelled a biochemist if he or she studies the chemistry of biological organisms.
Finally, understand that science can be either qualitative or quantitative. Qualitative implies a description of the quality of an object. For example, physical properties are generally qualitative descriptions: sulfur is yellow, your math book is heavy, or that statue is pretty. A quantitative description represents the specific amount of something; it means knowing how much of something is present, usually by counting or measuring it. As such, some quantitative descriptions would include 25 students in a class, 650 pages in a book, or a velocity of 66 miles per hour. Quantitative expressions are very important in science; they are also very important in chemistry.
Identify each statement as either a qualitative description or a quantitative description.
Gold metal is yellow.
A ream of paper has 500 sheets in it.
The weather outside is snowy.
The temperature outside is 24 degrees Fahrenheit.
Because we are describing a physical property of gold, this statement is qualitative.
This statement mentions a specific amount, so it is quantitative.
The word snowy is a description of how the day is; therefore, it is a qualitative statement.
In this case, the weather is described with a specific quantity—the temperature. Therefore, it is quantitative.
Are these qualitative or quantitative statements?
Roses are red, and violets are blue.
Four score and seven years ago….
qualitative
Food and Drink App: Carbonated Beverages
Some of the simple chemical principles discussed in this chapter can be illustrated with carbonated beverages: sodas, beer, and sparkling wines. Each product is produced in a different way, but they all have one thing in common. They are solutions of carbon dioxide dissolved in water.
Carbon dioxide is a compound composed of carbon and oxygen. Under normal conditions, it is a gas. If you cool it down enough, it becomes a solid known as dry ice. Carbon dioxide is an important compound in the cycle of life on earth.
Even though it is a gas, carbon dioxide can dissolve in water, just like sugar or salt can dissolve in water. When that occurs, we have a homogeneous mixture, or a solution, of carbon dioxide in water. However, very little carbon dioxide can dissolve in water. If the atmosphere were pure carbon dioxide, the solution would be only about 0.07% carbon dioxide. In reality, the air is only about 0.03% carbon dioxide, so the amount of carbon dioxide in water is reduced proportionally.
However, when soda and beer are made, manufacturers do two important things: they use pure carbon dioxide gas, and they use it at very high pressures. With higher pressures, more carbon dioxide can dissolve in the water. When the soda or beer container is sealed, the high pressure of carbon dioxide gas remains inside the package. (Of course, there are more ingredients in soda and beer besides carbon dioxide and water.)
When you open a container of soda or beer, you hear a distinctive hiss as the excess carbon dioxide gas escapes. But something else happens as well. The carbon dioxide in the solution comes out of solution as a bunch of tiny bubbles. These bubbles impart a pleasing sensation in the mouth, so much so that the soda industry sold over 225 billion servings of soda in the United States alone in 2009.
Some sparkling wines are made in the same way—by forcing carbon dioxide into regular wine. Some sparkling wines (including champagne) are made by sealing a bottle of wine with some yeast in it. The yeast ferments, a process by which the yeast converts sugars into energy and excess carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide produced by the yeast dissolves in the wine. Then, when the champagne bottle is opened, the increased pressure of carbon dioxide is released, and the drink bubbles just like an expensive glass of soda.
Soda, beer, and sparkling wine take advantage of the properties of a solution of carbon dioxide in water.
"cola with ice" by Simon Cousins is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. "Beer" by Will Vanlue is licensed under Cre- ative Commons the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic. "Sparkling Water" by T. Faltings is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic.
Science is a process of knowing about the natural universe through observation and experiment.
Scientists go through a rigorous process to determine new knowledge about the universe; this process is generally referred to as the scientific method.
Science is broken down into various fields, of which chemistry is one.
Science, including chemistry, is both qualitative and quantitative.
Describe the scientific method.
What is the scientific definition of a hypothesis? Why is the phrase a hypothesis is just a guess an inadequate definition?
Why do scientists need to perform experiments?
What is the scientific definition of a theory? How is this word misused in general conversation?
What is the scientific definition of a law? How does it differ from the everyday definition of a law?
Name an example of a field that is not considered a science.
Which of the following fields are studies of the natural universe?
a) biophysics (a mix of biology and physics)
b) art
c) business
8. Which of the following fields are studies of the natural universe?
a) accounting
b) geochemistry (a mix of geology and chemistry)
c) astronomy (the study of stars and planets [but not the earth])
9. Which of these statements are qualitative descriptions?
a) The Titanic was the largest passenger ship build at that time.
b) The population of the United States is about 306,000,000 people.
c) The peak of Mount Everest is 29,035 feet above sea level.
10. Which of these statements are qualitative descriptions?
a) A regular movie ticket in Cleveland costs $6.00.
b) The weather in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the wettest in all of Africa.
c) The deepest part of the Pacific Ocean is the Mariana Trench.
11. Of the statements in Exercise 9, which are quantitative?
12. Of the statements in Exercise 10, which are quantitative?
1. Simply stated, the scientific method includes three steps: (1) stating a hypothesis, (2) testing the hypothesis, and (3) refining the hypothesis.
3. Scientists perform experiments to test their hypotheses because sometimes the nature of natural universe is not obvious.
5. A scientific law is a specific statement that is thought to be never violated by the entire natural universe. Everyday laws are arbitrary limits that society puts on its members.
7. (a) yes (b) no (c) no
9. (a) qualitative (b) not qualitative (c) not qualitative
11. Statements b and c are quantitative.
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Next: Some Basic Definitions


/ News / Fluor Named to Forbes JUST 100 List
Fluor Named to Forbes JUST 100 List
Parul Dubey on December 6, 2016 - in News, People
IRVING, Texas – Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) announced today that it was named to the inaugural Forbes JUST 100 list. Fluor was also ranked as the most just company in the Capital Goods category.
"We are honored to make the Forbes inaugural JUST 100 list of top companies," said David Seaton, chairman and CEO of Fluor. "The recognition reaffirms the values that have contributed to Fluor's 100-plus year global legacy and why we are recognized as an employer of choice in our industry."
The Forbes JUST 100 list is the first-ever annual ranking of how America's top companies perform on the issues Americans care most about according to Forbes. The list was compiled through one of the largest surveys ever conducted on attitudes towards corporate behavior involving 50,000 Americans over the last 18 months.
Forbes worked with the Independent Research Organization NORC at the University of Chicago and with JUST Capital, an independent nonprofit 501(c)(3), founded in 2013. JUST Capital is considered to be the definitive source of information and rankings on how large publicly-traded corporations measure up against the American people's definition of just business behavior.
The top six issues ranked highly by the public include the following: providing fair pay for industry and job level; non-discrimination in hiring, firing and promotion practices; providing a safe workplace; following laws and regulations; respecting workers; and creating jobs in the U.S. Each company's score was weighted to reflect the overall priorities of the American public. JUST Capital's full methodology is available online at www.justcapital.com/methodology as both an interactive guide and a comprehensive report.
The complete list of winners can be found at www.forbes.com/just100. The inaugural list will appear in Forbes magazine's December 20, 2016 issue.
About Fluor Corporation
Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) is a global engineering, procurement, fabrication, construction and maintenance company that designs, builds and maintains capital-efficient facilities for its clients on six continents. For more than a century, Fluor has served our clients by delivering innovative and integrated solutions across the globe. With headquarters in Irving, Texas, Fluor ranks 155 on the FORTUNE 500 list with revenue of $18.1 billion in 2015 and has more than 60,000 employees worldwide. For more information, please visit www.fluor.com or follow us on Twitter @FluorCorp.
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José María Carazo
Prof. Jose-Maria Carazo
Biocomputing Unit (BCU), Head
National Center for Biotechnology
Email: carazo@cnb.csic.es
Curriculum Vitae (normalized)
I was born in the beautiful town of Granada, Spain. It was in this University where I finished my Master in Physics. I then moved to the IBM Madrid Scientific Center, where I was confronted with the image processing challenges behind the emerging techniques, at the time, of three-dimensional electron microscopy (3D-EM) and the different atomic scanning techniques in whose development IBM was engaged. I defended my PhD in Molecular Biology at the University Autonoma of Madrid (UAM) in 1984.
I left for Albany, New York, in 1986, to join the Wadsworth Center of the NYS Department of Health, to work under the direction of Dr. Joachim Frank. My coming back to Madrid happened in 1989, setting up the BioComputing Unit of the newly established National Center for Biotechnology (CNB), nowadays the largest Center of the Spanish High Research Council (CSIC), located in the campus of the UAM.
Currently I keep busy in Madrid, fully engaged in my activities at the CNB and Instruct, after a period in which I was deeply involved in technology transfer, spinning of, maturing and finally selling to Perkin Elmer (PKI) our bioinformatics company Integromics.
Originally trained at the University level as a Physicist, and having been exposed for six years in IBMto a broad range of computational aspects, it may appear natural that my introduction to the Biological arena was in the area of Structural Biology. In this way I have always being engaged in both the development of new image processing methods for the experimental determination of large macromolecular complex by three-dimensional electron microscopy (3D-EM), as well as in their practical application to concrete biological problems.
The need to organize the data that were being produced by 3D-EM lead us to another line of activity in the development of new structural databases, while the desire to extract as much information as possible from these databases naturally introduced us into the area of data mining. Along these lines, I coordinated the European project BioImage, which finally ended in the starting up of a branch of PDB devoted to structures determined by Electron Microscopy, currently known as EMDB and widely used in the field.
Technological transfer is one of the mandates stated in the CNB Mission, and as one of the actions towards its fulfilment we started in 2003 the spin-off company Integromics, that defines itself as "Understanding LIFE Complexity", and it represents a fine blend of strong engineering and strong biology oriented to the development of new sofware tools for data management and data analysis in genomics and proteomics. We have already achieved worldwide impact and I am proud to serve as its Founder. The company was acquired in July 2014 by the American multinational Perkin Elmer (PKI).
Professional appointments
I was a predoc and postdoctoral student from 1981 to 1986 at the IBM Madrid Scientific Center (at the time, one of the twelve Scientific Center of IBM worldwide). From 1986 to 1989 I was a Research Associate at the Wadsworth Center, in Albany, New York. Then, from 1989 on I head the BioComputing Unit of the CNB, serving as Deputy Director for Research of the CNBfrom 1997 to 2002. Later on, during part of 2002 and the whole of 2003, I was involved in the definition of the strategic Spanish Research Plan 2004-2007 as Deputy Director General for Research Planning of the Science and Technology Ministery (on leave from the CNB-CSIC).
The extension to X-ray microscopy started in 2005, when the Spanish synchrotron ALBA was defining its first set of beam lines and, together with Prof. Carrascosa, we led the proposal for a Soft X-ray Microscope for cellular tomography, that entered in full operation in 2012.
Finally, in 2010 we won the European competition to become the Instruct Image Processing Center, working at the core of the development of a new generation of European Estrategic Infraestructures in the area of Structural Biology.
Of course, I cannot but warmly thank the different European, American, National and Regional Agencies as well as the CSIC, that help financing our interdisciplinary laboratory.


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Officials Blame Car Accident Death On Takata Airbag
Few people here in Texas and across the country have not heard about the controversy involving Takata airbags. Numerous car manufacturers had to recall a plethora of vehicles that had these dangerous airbags in them. Some vehicles that have these dangerous airbags in them somehow managed to escape the recalls. Recently, officials blamed a car accident death on yet another Takata airbag.
The 17-year-old high school senior was driving a Honda with a Takata airbag on March 31, 2016 when she was involved in the accident that took her life. The company claims to have sent a notices to all owners about the recall, but the girl's family says they never received anything. Further, it appears that the parts needed to fix the issue are in short supply due to the sheer numbers of vehicles that have been recalled due to this issue.
Officials and witnesses both say that the accident the girl was in was just a minor fender-bender. Unfortunately, the impact was enough to trigger the air bag, but instead of deploying as designed, shrapnel flew out at her. The injuries she suffered were fatal. The suppositions made at the scene and in the hours following the accident were confirmed when the vehicle was inspected as part of the investigation.
The girl's family retains the right to file a wrongful death claim against the vehicle manufacturer, the airbag maker and any other parties who might share some responsibility for the death of their loved one. If a Texas court determines that negligence on the part of one or more of the defendants caused or contributed to her death, the family might be awarded damages. Any restitution received could help defray the financial burdens that arise in the aftermath of a fatal car accident.
Source: abc7news.com, "High school senior in Texas becomes the tenth US death from Takata airbags", April 7, 2016


BMC Endocrine Disorders
Changes in glycemic variability, gastric emptying and vascular endothelial function after switching from twice-daily to once-weekly exenatide in patients with type 2 diabetes: a subpopulation analysis of the twin-exenatide study
Jun Inaishi1,2,
Yoshifumi Saisho1,3,
Yuusuke Watanabe1,
Tami Tsuchiya1,
Hironobu Sasaki1,2,
Tatsuhiro Masaoka4 &
Hiroshi Itoh1
BMC Endocrine Disorders volume 22, Article number: 20 (2022) Cite this article
110 Accesses
We investigated the changes in blood glucose fluctuation, gastric emptying, and vascular endothelial function by switching from an exenatide twice-daily formulation (BID) to a once-weekly formulation (QW) since the evaluation of postprandial glucose excursion and glycemic variability (GV) by continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) after switching was lacking.
Twenty-nine patients with type 2 diabetes treated with exenatide BID were included in this study and switched to exenatide QW for 24 weeks. GV assessed by CGM, gastric emptying (by 13 C-acetate breath test) and vascular endothelial function (by reactive hyperemia - peripheral arterial tonometry) were evaluated at baseline and 24 weeks after switching.
HbA1c decreased significantly from the baseline to week 24, while postprandial glucose levels after breakfast and dinner significantly increased (both P <0.05). However, the increases in GV indices were modest and not statistically significant at week 24. Vascular endothelial function was also not significantly changed after switching (P >0.05). Gastric emptying was significantly accelerated at week 24 (Tmax 83.4 ± 12.1 min vs. 58.2 ± 16.4 min) (P <0.001) and correlated with increased postprandial glucose levels after breakfast and dinner (both P <0.05).
Despite the increase in postprandial glucose associated with accelerated gastric emptying after switching from exenatide BID to QW, change in GV was modest and no significant deterioration in vascular endothelial function was observed after switching. These results support the superiority of treatment with exenatide QW over exenatide BID in clinical practice; however, attention should be paid to the monitoring and management of postprandial glucose levels when selecting exenatide QW.
Clinical trial registry number; UMIN000016390 and jRCTs031180320.
Approval date of Registry and the Registration: December 12, 2014.
Many new anti-diabetic medications for diabetes have been developed and marketed, including incretin glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), in the past two decades. It has been shown that GLP-1RAs reduce cardiovascular events in addition to lowering body weight and HbA1c in a recent meta-analysis [1]. For the management of type 2 diabetes (T2DM), the American Diabetes Association recommends treatment with GLP-1RAs for patients with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, indicators of high risk, or chronic kidney disease [2]. However, the heterogeneity of the benefits on cardiovascular events among GLP-1RAs remains unclear [1], and it is necessary to clarify the characteristics of each GLP-1RA.
According to the differences in pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic profiles, GLP-1RAs are categorized as short- or long-acting compounds [3]. Exenatide, one of the GLP-1RAs, was developed based on exendin-4 [4], and there are two formulations of exenatide, a twice daily (BID) formulation as a short-acting GLP-1RA, and a once weekly (QW) formulation as a long-acting GLP-1RA. We have previously reported that switching from exenatide BID to exenatide QW reduced HbA1c and fasting plasma glucose, and improved beta cell function and treatment satisfaction in Japanese patients with T2DM [5]. Our and other studies also reported increased postprandial hyperglycemia after switching, using self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) [5,6,7]; however, they lacked evaluation of postprandial glucose excursion and glycemic variability (GV) by continuous glucose monitoring (CGM).
Here, in this subpopulation analysis of the Twin-exenatide study [5], we evaluated the change in GV measured by CGM after switching from exenatide BID to exenatide QW, and its relation to gastric emptying and vascular endothelial function in Japanese patients with T2DM.
This study was carried out with the approval of the Keio University Institutional Review Board for Clinical Research (20140298, approval date: Dec 12, 2014), and registered as trial numbers UMIN000016390 and jRCTs031180320. Before enrollment, all participants provided written informed consent to the investigators.
Study design and subjects
The Twin-exenatide study was an investigator-initiated, prospective, single-arm, multicenter study. The details of this trial have been described in a previous report [5]. Adult 62 subjects who had been treated with exenatide BID (either 10 or 20 µg daily) for at least 3 months for T2DM were enrolled. The patients were switched from exenatide BID to exenatide QW (2 mg once-weekly) for 24 weeks. During the study at the Keio University Hospital, in addition to body weight, blood pressure and fasting blood and urine samples, CGM, 13 C-acetate breath test and reactive hyperemia - peripheral arterial tonometry (RH-PAT) were assessed at baseline (week 0) and week 24 and subjects who completed these assessments were included in this subpopulation analysis. Figure 1 shows the disposition of the participants in this study. Thirty patients not followed by the Keio University Hospital were excluded since CGM, 13 C-acetate breath test and RH-PAT were conducted only in the Keio University Hospital. Two patients withdrew consent before the trial and one patient did not undergo CGM. The characteristics of the remaining 29 patients who completed this study are shown in Table 1.
Disposition of study participants
Table 1 Characteristics of study participants
Continuous glucose monitoring
CGM was performed using an iPro2 (Medtronic Japan Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) for 5 days under blinded glucose levels, and patients were asked to conduct SMBG four times a day for calibration and record the time of meals during CGM measurement. We evaluated CGM indices for GV as follows; standard deviation (SD) of glucose, coefficient of variation (CV) of glucose, and mean amplitude of glycemic excursion (MAGE). The definitions and interpretation of each index were described in previous reports [8, 9] and recent review [10]. The SD glucose is influenced by the mean glucose level, while the CV glucose is calculated from the SD and mean blood glucose. The MAGE is the average of absolute differences between glucose peaks and nadirs. Time-in-range (TIR; percentage of time within the target range of 70–180 mg/dL), time-above-range (TAR; >180 mg/dL) and time-below-range (TBR; <70 mg/dL) were also evaluated. TIR is not a GV index, but it is widely recognized as a clinically appropriate target and has been reported that GV and TIR correlated with each other [10, 11].
13C-acetate breath test
This test was conducted as reported previously [12, 13]. Participants were asked to fast during more than 8 h before the test, and ingested a liquid diet (Racol, Otsuka, Japan) providing 200 kcal/200 ml, mixed with the test diet consisting of 13 C-acetate (100 mg). They exhaled air into a breath sampling bag as follows: prior to diet (0) and after 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 75, and 90 min. The 13CO2 value (‰) in breath was measured using an infrared spectrophotometer (POCone, Otsuka, Japan). The peak time (Tmax) of 13CO2 excretion was evaluated, and Tmax >90 min was defined as 90 min in this study.
Reactive hyperemia - peripheral arterial tonometry
Vascular endothelial function was evaluated by RH-PAT using an EndoPAT2000 (Itamar Medical, Israel). RH-PAT were performed in spine position after an overnight fast. This system measures digital volume changes accompanying pulse waves in a finger probe. The principle of RH-PAT and the calculation method of reactive hyperemia index are described elsewhere [14, 15]. Briefly, a blood pressure cuff was placed around the arm of subjects, and the opposite arm was defined as a control. After the pulse amplitude at baseline was measured, the cuff was inflated to 60 mmHg above systolic blood pressure or 200 mmHg for 5 min. After cuff deflation, the pulse amplitude was measured for 5 min.
Laboratory measurements
Blood and urine samples were obtained after an overnight fast and before taking any medications. HbA1c and glycated albumin (GA) were measured by HPLC and enzymatic methods, respectively. Adiponectin was measured by latex agglutination turbidimetry. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein was measured by nephelometry. Urinary 8-hydroxy-2´-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and 8-isoprostaglandin F2a (8-isoPGF2α) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, as previously reported [5].
All statistical analyses were performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 24 (IBM, USA). The level of significance was set at 5% (P<0.05). Data are presented as mean ± SD for continuous variables, and as proportion for categorical data in the tables. Paired t-test or Wilcoxon test was used to analyze changes in parameters from week 0 to week 24, and unpaired t-test or Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare differences in parameters between two groups. Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to assess the association between two variables.
Change in glycemic profile measured by CGM
The daily glycemic profile assessed by CGM and changes in postprandial glucose levels are shown in Fig. 2 A and B. In week 24 compared to week 0, glucose levels at 1 and 2 h post-breakfast (149 ± 41 vs. 186 ± 55 mg/dl and 141 ± 41 vs. 194 ± 68 mg/dl) and 1 and 2 h post-dinner (136 ± 41 vs. 184 ± 52 mg/dl and 132 ± 46 vs. 185 ± 61 mg/dl) were significantly increased (all P <0.01). Changes in CGM indices after switching from exenatide BID to exenatide QW are shown in Table 2. Despite the increase in postprandial glucose after switching, the increases were modest and there was no significant difference in GV indices, TIR and mean glucose assessed by CGM at week 24 (all P >0.05).
Median glucose levels measured by CGM throughout 24 h at week 0 and week 24 (A). Gray and black lines show levels at week 0 and week 24, respectively. The thick line in the middle shows the median, and the lines below and above the median show 25th and 75th percentiles, respectively. Changes in 1 and 2 h postprandial glucose excursions assessed by CGM (B). **P < 0.01 versus baseline (week 0)
Table 2 Changes in CGM indices, 13 C-acetate breath test (Tmax) and vascular endothelial function (reactive hyperemia index) during study
Changes in gastric emptying, vascular endothelial function and inflammation/oxidative stress markers
Table 2 and Supplementary Table 1 show the change in each parameter after switching from exenatide BID to exenatide QW. HbA1c and fasting plasma glucose were reduced (7.4 ± 1.4% vs. 7.1 ± 1.3% and 164 ± 52 mg/dl vs. 143 ± 47 mg/dl, both P <0.05) and gastric emptying (Tmax) evaluated by 13 C-acetate breath test was accelerated (83.4 ± 12.2 min vs. 58.2 ± 16.4 min, P <0.001) at week 24. There was no significant change in reactive hyperemia index by RH-PAT at week 24 (1.76 ± 0.39 vs. 1.84 ± 0.47, P = 0.21). Inflammation/oxidative stress markers (adiponectin, high-sensitivity CRP, urinary 8-OHdG and urinary 8-isoPGF2α) were not significantly changed at week 24 (all P >0.05) in this subpopulation analysis.
Associations among CGM indices, gastric emptying, vascular endothelial function and inflammation/oxidative stress markers
To elucidate the associations among CGM indices, gastric emptying, inflammation/oxidative stress markers and clinical parameters, we conducted a pooled analysis of week 0 and 24 (Table 3 and supplementary Table 2). As a result, gastric emptying was significantly correlated with MAGE, TIR, TAR and postprandial glucose levels at breakfast and dinner (all P <0.05, Table 3). Moreover, there were significant correlations between change in gastric emptying and changes in MAGE, TIR, TAR, GA and body weight from week 0 to week 24 (all P <0.05, Supplementary Tables 3 and 4).
Table 3 Associations between 13 C-acetate breath test (Tmax), vascular endothelial function (reactive hyperemia index) and inflammation/oxidative stress markers and CGM indices in pooled data of week 0 and week 24
There were significant correlations between high-sensitivity CRP and TIR, and between urinary 8-OHdG and SD glucose, CV glucose and MAGE (all P <0.05, Table 3), suggesting the possible effects of GV or TIR on inflammation and oxidative stress. On the other hand, there were no significant correlations between reactive hyperemia index or adiponectin and CGM indices.
The present study characterized the changes in blood glucose fluctuation, gastric emptying, and vascular endothelial function after switching from exenatide BID, a short-acting GLP-1RA, to exenatide QW, a long-acting GLP-1RA, in patients with T2DM. The main findings of this study were that (1) postprandial glucose levels measured by CGM increased after switching, which were correlated with accelerated gastric emptying, and (2) the increase in GV assessed by CGM was, however, modest and not statistically significant and there were no significant changes in vascular endothelial function as well as inflammation/oxidative stress markers after switching.
It has been reported that long-acting GLP-1RAs primarily reduce fasting plasma glucose levels through enhancing insulin secretion [3], while short-acting GLP-1RAs primarily reduce postprandial glucose levels by delaying gastric emptying [16]. In this study, postprandial glucose levels after breakfast and dinner measured by CGM were increased after switching from exenatide BID to exenatide QW, in line with the results of previous studies using SMBG [5,6,7].
On the other hand, despite the increase in postprandial glucose after switching, we found that the increase in GV assessed by CGM was modest and not statistically significant. TIR and TBR were also not significantly changed after switching. This could be due to the improvement of overall glucose levels and reduction in glucose fluctuation especially during night time, accompanied by improvement of beta cell function after switching. Unexpectedly, mean glucose levels assessed by CGM were not significantly changed at week 24 despite the reducing HbA1c at week 24. As shown in the original Twin-exenatide study [5], this subpopulation analysis also showed that fasting plasma glucose was reduced significantly at week 24. Since HbA1c is reported to more closely correlate with fasting plasma glucose than with postprandial glycemic excursion [17], improving fasting plasma glucose, rather than GV, TIR or mean glucose levels, by switching to exenatide QW might have affected the reduction of HbA1c. The short period of CGM monitoring, i.e., five days rather than 14 days, and the effects of dose reduction in concomitant medications such as sulfonylurea during the study might also cause the discordance between HbA1c and mean glucose level assessed by CGM in this study. There were also no significant changes in vascular endothelial function as well as inflammation/oxidative stress markers after switching.
In this study, gastric emptying was significantly accelerated after switching, in line with previous studies [16, 18]. Gastric emptying was significantly associated with postprandial glucose excursion after breakfast and dinner, indicating that the increase in postprandial glucose levels after switching was due to the recovery of gastric emptying. Furthermore, change in gastric emptying was correlated with changes of GA and body weight as well as MAGE. Thus, our findings indicate the significance of gastric emptying in postprandial glucose excursion, GV and weight control during GLP-1RA therapy.
GV has been shown to increase reactive oxygen species production and cardiovascular complications [19,20,21,22]. Although inflammatory/oxidative markers were not significantly changed after switching from exenatide BID to exenatide QW, oxidative stress markers such as high-sensitivity CRP and urinary 8-OHdG were associated with some GV indices and TIR in the pooled analysis of this study. We have also reported a significant increase in urinary 8-isoPGF2α level after switching in the original Twin-exenatide study [5]. In the Exenatide Study of Cardiovascular Event Lowering (EXSCEL) study [23], treatment with exenatide QW failed to reduce cardiovascular events compared with placebo. A recent study also showed no difference in carotid plaque progression between treatment with exenatide QW and placebo [24]. Taking these results together, the non-significant cardiovascular protective effects with exenatide QW could be due to insufficient suppression of oxidative stress, although other long-acting GLP-1RAs have shown significant cardiovascular protection [25].
The efficacy and safety of exenatide QW have been shown in a number of trials [26,27,28,29,30,31]. In addition, treatment with exenatide QW has been reported to result in reduction in fasting plasma glucose, HbA1c, incidence of hypoglycemia, and gastrointestinal adverse events, and improvement of beta cell function and treatment satisfaction compared to exenatide BID [5,6,7, 32, 33], and these results have been confirmed in patients of the Twin-exenatide study [25]. This subpopulation analysis of the Twin-exenatide study also showed no significant deterioration in GV and endothelial function after switching from exenatide BID to exenatide QW, supporting the superiority of use of exenatide QW over exenatide BID in clinical settings. However, attention should be paid to monitoring postprandial glucose levels when selecting exenatide QW, and prompt management of postprandial glucose excursion is needed.
The strength of this study is that this was the first study precisely evaluating change in GV after switching from exenatide BID to exenatide QW by using CGM. However, there are several limitations of this study. First, this study did not directly compare the two drugs because of its single-armed design. However, our results can be applied to clinical practice in the real-world since this study was carried out in general practice. Second, the statistical power might be limited by the small sample size of this subpopulation analysis. Third, the participants of this study tended to be obese and predominantly male. Thus, the results may not be applicable to those without obesity, females, or other ethnicities.
This subpopulation analysis of the Twin-exenatide study demonstrated modest, but not significant, deterioration in GV after switching from exenatide BID to exenatide QW, although postprandial glucose was increased after switching, associated with accelerated gastric emptying. Moreover, there was no significant change in vascular endothelial function after switching. Together with the results of the Twin-exenatide study [5], these findings support the superiority of treatment with exenatide QW over exenatide BID in clinical practice. However, attention should be paid to the monitoring and management of postprandial glucose levels when selecting exenatide QW.
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study, are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
T2DM:
QW:
once-weekly
GLP-1:
glucagon-like peptide-1
HbA1c:
glycated hemoglobin
FPG:
fasting plasma glucose
GA:
glycated albumin
eGFR:
estimated glomerular filtration rate
8-OHdG:
8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine
8-isoPGF2α:
8-isoprostaglandin F2α
CGM:
RH-PAT:
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We thank Dr. Wendy Gray, self-employed, for editing the manuscript. We also thank the members of the Twin-exenatide study group and the study participants for their contribution to the study.
This study was supported by funding from AstraZeneca. The sponsor of this study had no access to the original data and no role in writing the manuscript.
Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
Jun Inaishi, Yoshifumi Saisho, Yuusuke Watanabe, Tami Tsuchiya, Hironobu Sasaki & Hiroshi Itoh
Center for Preventive Medicine, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
Jun Inaishi & Hironobu Sasaki
Department of Internal Medicine, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, 160-8582, Tokyo, Japan
Yoshifumi Saisho
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
Tatsuhiro Masaoka
Jun Inaishi
Yuusuke Watanabe
Tami Tsuchiya
Hironobu Sasaki
Hiroshi Itoh
J.I. and Y.W. wrote the manuscript and analyzed the data. Y.S. conceptualized the study, contributed to the discussion and reviewed and edited the manuscript. T.T., H.S., T.M. and H. I. contributed to the discussion and reviewed and edited the manuscript. Y.S. is the guarantor of this work and, as such, had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. The author(s) read and approved the final manuscript.
Correspondence to Yoshifumi Saisho.
J.I., Y.W., T.T. and H.S. have no conflict of interest to declare. Y.S. reports honoraria from Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co. T.M. reports honoraria from AstraZeneca K.K. and Otsuka Pharmaceutical. H.I. reports grants and honoraria from Shionogi & Co., Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim, MSD K.K., Daiichi Sankyo, Takeda Pharmaceutical, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp., Taisho Toyama Pharmaceutical, and Shionogi & Co.; grants from Astellas Pharma, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Teijin Pharma, Kyowa Hakko Kirin, Mochida Pharmaceutical Co., Chugai Pharmaceutical, Ono Pharmaceutical Co., and Eli Lilly and Company, Japan K.K.; and personal fees from SBI Pharmaceuticals Co. and Nipro Corp.
Additional file 1.
Inaishi, J., Saisho, Y., Watanabe, Y. et al. Changes in glycemic variability, gastric emptying and vascular endothelial function after switching from twice-daily to once-weekly exenatide in patients with type 2 diabetes: a subpopulation analysis of the twin-exenatide study. BMC Endocr Disord 22, 20 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12902-022-00932-9
Received: 02 November 2021
GLP-1 receptor agonist
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HomeWhite Resistance NewsAll but three people who died from COVID-19 in a major US city were black
All but three people who died from COVID-19 in a major US city were black
April 14, 2020 White Resistance News
In St. Louis, Missouri, all but three people who have died after being infected with the coronavirus were African American.
In St. Louis, at least 14 of the city's 17 residents who died from the novel virus were also African American.
All of the St. Louis' reported COVID-19 deaths were African American until April 10, when the City of St. Louis Department of Health reported the first deaths outside the racial minority group. The deaths of a Hispanic female in her 50s, a white male in 90s, and a woman in her 80s whose race was not identified in reports to the public health officials were announced on Friday in a press release.
Broadly, the novel virus has ravaged St. Louis' black community. Of the confirmed coronavirus cases whose race was reported in St. Louis County, 55% positive cases were black while 36.6% were white, according to data obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis County. (40% of St. Louis County's positive cases were unknown.)
Although African Americans make up more than half of St. Louis' coronavirus cases, only 24.9% of its population is African American only, while 68.2% of its population are white only, according to the US Census Bureau.
However, the unfortunate reality is that St. Louis is not the only US city to be grappling with the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19.
"If you look at the health disparities in the city of St. Louis, they're not unique," St. Louis' health director Dr. Fredrick Echols said during a briefing Wednesday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
"Inequities exist across the U.S. and across the world, and it's posed a challenge for public health agencies, (which) have to address those issues and ensure all individuals, regardless of race, socioeconomic status, income, or educational attainment have access to quality health-related resources," he added.
The novel coronavirus has swept across the country infecting more than 542,000 and killing over 21,000 in the US alone, according to data collected by John Hopkins. As the number of people stricken by the coronavirus continues to soar, emerging data on the novel virus in the country shows that black communities have been hardest hit by the novel virus.
In Chicago, African Americans make up 30% of the population — but 72% of the people who've died from COVID-19 were black. The racial disparity is also evident in emerging data on coronavirus deaths in Louisiana, Illinois, New Jersey, and Michigan, according to CNN.
Although data has laid bare the glaring racial disparities in the impact of the novel virus in St. Louis and beyond, US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said the impacts on black communities across American have more to do with social issues than race.
"We do not think people of color are biologically or genetically disposed to get COVID-19," Adams said Friday at the White House coronavirus press briefing. "But they are socially predisposed to coronavirus exposure and to have a higher incidence of the very diseases that put you at risk for severe complications from coronavirus."
Research shows that the US's long history of racism and social inequity has contributed to racial minorities being disproportionately impacted by national health crises, such as the coronavirus outbreak.
Dr. Alex Garza, the head of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, said that these social and racial inequities have long exited in St. Louis and beyond long before the coronavirus ravaged the US. "
"We know that populations that are socioeconomically challenged that don't have access to good health care, that don't have access to nutritious food, are victims of many diseases including diabetes, high blood pressure, " Gaza told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "It's an indication of social inequities that existed before this pandemic came around."
*story by Business Insider
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A Pilgrims Progress: The Story of John Bunyan
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Actors: Derick Bingham • DVD Release Date: August 10, 2010 • Directors: James McCelland • Format: Multiple Formats, Full Screen, NTSC • Number of discs: 1 • Rated: GGeneral Audience • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.) • Run Time: 60 minutes • ... Show moreStudio: Ambassador Films
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The Pilgrim's Progress Book Review | Plugged In
As Christian leaves, the porter at the gate mentions another pilgrim had passed by The narrator begins the second part of the story by acknowledging that the reader First published by John Bunyan; published by many now; reviewed copy ...
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Harold (whose story was in part inspired by the terminal illness of Ms. Fry" takes its opening epigraph from John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress. A version of this review appears in print on July 30, 2012, on Page C1 of the ...
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Unbridled Mo Captures Remington Park Oaks, Oklahoma Derby Undercard Recap
Posted on September 26, 2016 September 26, 2016 by American Racehorse
Unbridled Mo (Photo by Dustin Orona Photography)
The Uncle Mo parade continued with another winner in a huge race in North America this year, as Unbridled Mo won the $200,000 Remington Park Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at 1-1/16 miles. The race was one of 10 stakes on Sunday as part of Oklahoma Derby Day.
Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher had Unbridled Mo ready for the race and Hall of Fame jockey John Velasquez was in the irons, keeping the filly mid-pack in the early going. In mid-stretch Unbridled Mo quickly left four front-runners in her wake to win by 1-1/4 lengths over Ready To Confess with beaten 1-2 favorite Family Tree finishing third, 2-1/4 lengths behind the winner.
Away at generous 4-1 odds, despite the fact she had won her previous three races in a row, including the Grade 3 Monmouth Park Oaks in August for her final effort before shipping to Oklahoma. One factor that helped make Family Tree the heavy betting favorite is that she had most recently finished third to Songbird, who currently is making history as one of greatest fillies to ever set hooves on a track as she continues to pile up Grade 1 stakes victories.
Unbridled Mo paid $10.80, $4.60 and $2.80 across the board. The $2 exacta was worth $89 with Ready to Confess and the $1 tri with the heavy favorite paid $102.90. The 5-8-9-7 superfecta $1 play returned $455.20.
The running time for the Remington Oaks was 1:42.03 after fractions of :23.73 for the opening quarter-mile; :47.06 for the half-mile; 1:11.17 for three-quarters of a mile and 1:35.94 for the mile.
Unbridled Mo pocketed $120,000 in earnings to boost her career marks to four wins in five starts with $223,680 in her bankroll. Unbridled Mo was bred in Kentucky by her owner Red Oak Stable of Old Bridge, N.J. She is out of the Unbridled mare Unbridled Waters.
In other stakes on Oklahoma Derby Day…
Moment is Right Wins Flashy Lady
The moment for the winning horse in the Flashy Lady Stakes was when the starter popped the gate. That's when Moment is Right went straight to the lead and never looked back. Rider Florent Geroux milked the lead in this 6-furlongs sprint race from start to finish holding off a strong charge from Wheatfield for the win in the $50,000 Flashy Lady Stakes.
Geroux won for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen aboard this 3-year-old filly by Medaglia D'Oro in a time of 1:09.92, padding the states for the second-leading trainer all-time at Remington Park, who is also a member of the Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame to go with his national accolades.
The favorite in the race, Steel Cut, was just back of Wheatfield, to finish in the show spot.
Moment is Right was making her debut at Remington Park for owner Ten Broeck Farm Inc. out of Washington state. She had been heavily immersed in stakes races since breaking her maiden by almost nine lengths in her first try at Gulfstream Park in Florida as a 2-year-old in May 2015. This dark bay filly immediately impressed by winning her first effort against stakes horses in the $250,000 Astoria B Stakes at Belmont Park under jockey Joel Rosario.
This was her second stakes victory, but had not won in stakes company in her last five efforts in New York, Kentucky, Maryland and California. It was the first time Geroux had been in the saddle for this horse but they clicked like a timely watch.
Moment is Right pushed her record to three wins in nine tries with another two runner-up efforts. She was bred in Kentucky by Woodford Thoroughbreds. The filly earned $30,000 for her efforts bumping her career stats to $220,945 in earnings for Ten Broeck Farm, Inc.
She paid $7.80 to win, $4.60 to place and $3.60 to show. Wheatfield returned $3.80 and $2.80 and Steel Cut paid $3.80 to show. The $2 exacta price was $27, followed by $59.10 for a $1 trifecta and $249.
Cool Arrow Wins Kip Deville Stakes
If you haven't heard much about the stallion Into Mischief, you might want to start paying attention. His 2-year-old progeny Practical Joke won the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes this summer at Saratoga in upstate New York and now he has thrown another easy winner in a stakes race at Remington Park – the $75,000 Kip Deville Stakes – as Cool Arrow left his rivals behind like they were stuck in mud.
Cool Arrow gave jockey Joel Rosario his second stakes win of the night on Oklahoma Derby Day. The 2-year-old bay son of Into Mischief from the Mr Purple mare Phoenicia has now won two races in a row by daylight measure, effortlessly. He broke his maiden at Laurel on July 15 for trainer Joe Sharp, who said his wife and formerly the top female rider in the country Rosie Napravnak who is doing great in retirement as she enjoys time with her infant child.
Brad Grady of Covington, Texas, is the owner of Cool Arrow, he wouldn't say where Cool Arrow's next start would be.
"I just want to thank Joe Sharp for doing wonders with this horse for me," said Rosario, who earlier won the Remington Green on the undercard. "Joe made it easy for me."
Sharp said there were no doubts in their minds about this horse even though Cool Arrow took three tries to break his maiden and finally had to drop to maiden claimers to do it.
"We liked him from Day 1," said Sharp. "He had a bit of a breathing issue, so we took him in for the surgery and now we've been rewarded with this fantastic horse."
Running time for the 2-year-olds was 1:10.76 for the 6 furlongs and Cool Arrow paid $5.80, $3.60 and $3.20 across the board. Mannford was the runner-up and Cu Rahy, at 36-1 odds was your third place finisher.
Cool Arrow improved to two wins from four starts with his first stakes victory. He earned $45,000 for the win and now has earned $74,935. Cool Arrow was bred in Kentucky by Allen Poindexter.
The Kip Deville Stakes is named in honor of the top earning Oklahoma-bred of all time. Kip Deville broke his maiden at first asking at Remington Park in November 2005. He went on to win multiple stakes races including the Breeders' Cup Mile in 2007.
The Kip Deville Stakes is the first of three main stakes races for 2-year-olds at Remington Park. The $100,000 Clever Trevor Stakes is next in November, followed by the $300,000 Springboard Mile in December.
Taghleeb Rallies to Victory in Remington Green Stakes
Some of the top jockeys in the country on a regular basis converged on Remington Park in Oklahoma City on Sunday and the cream rose to the top in this race at 1-1/8th miles on the turf. Joel Rosario, who won the richest race in the world aboard Animal Kingdom and then won the 2013 Kentucky Derby in the same year with Orb, took the mount aboard Taghleeb in the $100,000 Remington Green and rode the perfect race for the stakes victory.
He let the other horses chip away at each other in the early going as he sat well back of the pack. At the quarter pole, saving every step of ground, he let out a notch on Taghleeb and he hunted the leaders down one by one until his head hit the wire first in this grass race. It wasn't Rosario's first stakes win at Remington Park, however. He had won the Oklahoma Derby in 2010 aboard Pleasant Prince for trainer Wesley Ward. This time he did the trick for trainer Michael Maker, a conditioner always in the running for top 10 nationally.
"I tucked him in early, and then saved some ground," said Rosario. "I didn't think we'd be that far back so I was trying to figure out what he wanted to do."
What he wanted to do was win and he showed that as he hit his stride on the rail in this grass race and ate it up like a lawnmower.
The early money showed on this contender as he dropped down to 7-5 odds at first flash before he moved back up to 7-2 by post-time. Taghleeb paid $9.40, $3.40, $2.80 to win, place and show. Running second was the 4-5 favorite Pumpkin Rumble, who was only beaten three lengths in the recent Grade 1 $1 million Arlington Million race, always the top grass race in the country during the summer.
Pumpkin Rumble returned $2.40 and $2.20 and Golden But Stormy checked in third and paid $3.20 to show.
The $51.20 winner in the second race keyed the largest Pick 5 payout of the season with a $13,939.30 return after the fifth race with Taghleeb in front.
Fractions of the race were 23.94, 47.85, 1:12.14, 1:35.54 and a final time of 1:46.97 for the mile and an eighth over firm turf.
Taghleeb ran his record to 21 starts, 4 wins, 4 places, 4 shows for owner Michael Hui of Little Rock, Ark.
(from Remington Park news release)
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WATCH: Days after ACL surgery, video shows Alabama's Terrell Lewis lifting his leg
Alabama's best pass rusher will miss the majority of the season, if not all of it, due to an ACL injury.
Nick Saban announced Monday that Terrell Lewis had surgery to repair a torn ACL, and he's out indefinitely. Lewis missed most of the 2017 season due to an elbow injury suffered against Florida State, and the Tide's lack of pass rush was evident.
Lewis was primed for a monster 2018 campaign as one of the defense's leaders. The 6-foot-5, 256-pound pass rusher has a rare combination of speed and power, and it's a beautiful collision when it all comes to together. Unfortunately, that may not be until 2019.
RELATED: Here's how Alabama will replace Terrell Lewis
Lewis, however, isn't wasting any time making his comeback. In a video shared by Twitter user Monster Maker, Lewis can be seen raising his leg without the help of trainers.
"Don't touch it," he told the trainer. "Watch a master at work."
TERRELL LEWIS ALABAMA!!! CUT FROM A DIFFERENT CLOTH. #MM @_Real24_ pic.twitter.com/rxMYWT19p3
— MONSTER MAKER (@MonsterMaker_1) July 14, 2018
With Lewis out, the Tide's defense will rely heavily on Christian Miller, Jamey Mosley, Chris Allen and Jarez Parks to help fill Lewis' void.


Pakistan Vs West Indies in UAE 2016 »
Abu Dhabi Test preview: Younis set to return as ...
Abu Dhabi Test preview: Younis set to return as Pakistan look to seal series
Tags: Pakistan Vs West Indies in UAE 2016, Pakistan, West Indies, Mohammad Younis Khan, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Michael Bravo
After an unexpectedly close encounter in the first Test, the historic day-night game in Dubai, Pakistan and West Indies will lock horns in the second Test beginning at Abu Dhabi on Friday
After an unexpectedly close encounter in the first Test, the historic day-night game in Dubai, Pakistan and West Indies will lock horns in the second Test beginning at Abu Dhabi on Friday. The second Test will be a traditional encounter. Pakistan managed to stave off an impressive challenge from West Indies to clinch the first Test by 56 runs in a hard-fought manner. The hosts, in a sense, would now be keen to clinch the series with yet another winning effort at Abu Dhabi. The Windies, on the other hand, will look to build on their dogged effort in the opening Test, and will hope to register their first win.
Pakistan won the last Test without the services of their talisman Younis Khan. The veteran batsman is all set to make a comeback, and that is only good news for the hosts. In his absence, Azhar Ali took up the responsibility of coming up with the massive score, putting together a triple hundred. Ali's confidence will be sky high following the brilliant effort. Sami Aslam also came up with a confident knock in the opening Test, alleviating the woes at the top to some extent.
It will be interesting to see what bowling combination Pakistan adopts. Yasir Shah got five wickets in the first innings, and a couple in the second. But, West Indies did reasonably well to keep the Pakistani bowlers at bay. Mohammad Amir managed three scalps in the final innings after going wicketless in the first. But, some of the others were not as impactful. Sohail Khan, Mohammad Nawaz and Wahab Riaz could not do much. As a result, there is a chance that Pakistan may recall Zulfiqar Babar in the second match.
West Indies may have ended up on the losing side. But, they came very close, and competed on an even keel for the first time in the series. Darren Bravo was superb on the last day with his fighting hundred, which nearly took the Windies to an improbable victory. He will look to carry on the great work. Devendra Bishoo's performance was also spectacular. His eight wickets in the second innings brought West Indies back into the match from out of nowhere. Thanks to his the Windies will now believe they can compete with the ball as well.
The form of Marlon Samuels was one massive worry going into the opening Test for the visitors. And while he wasn't spectacular, his first innings 76 was definitely a step in the right direction. They will definitely need better efforts from their openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Leon Johnson. A big effort from either of them can make a difference. Jermaine Blackwood must also begin to play the big knocks now. Among the bowlers, Shanon Gabriel and Miguel Cummins will be expected to give Bishoo good support. West Indies would be desperate to somehow push towards a victory.
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Where Do Greenhouse gases come from?
Global warming sounds pretty scary, right? It feels so monumental. How can one person make a difference?
Coral reefs are dying. The sea is getting warmer. Plastics are filling the ocean. Natural disasters are becoming more intense. Landscapes are shifting. Resources are becoming scarce.
Is there a point to even trying? Can we truly change the tides?
It seems so overwhelming to try and tackle global warming as one person, but I want to encourage you that one person can make a difference.
Everything you do is interconnected. Every decision you make is a ripple effect influencing both the environment and others around you.
But, where do you start?
Getting started is always the hardest part. Some of the easiest changes you can make are the Big Four.
For more information The Big Four: Read 10 Easy Ways to Live with Less Plastic
Individual action is so important. There are a lot of small changes you can make to live lighter on the planet, but it's important to also talk about where the majority of greenhouse gases comes from. What industries are responsible for the lion's share of the problems?
Once we figure out where the problems are, we can start trying to solve them.
25% Electricity Production:
The majority of greenhouse gases come from electricity. While renewable energy is rapidly growing it still only accounts for 10-15% of the total energy supply.
The remaining 90-85% comes from burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas. Coal is the most carbon intensive of all the fossil fuels. Coal accounted for 34% of the electricity generated in the US. 30% came from natural gas, 20% came from nuclear power, and less than 1% came from petroleum.
Electricity is the largest producer of greenhouse gases because it's consumed by all of the other sectors as well. Of the 25% the Residential/Commercial, Industry, and Transportation all use a third of the electricity while the remaining 10% is used by the agriculture industry.
24% Agriculture:
Most of these emissions are from the cultivation of crops, livestock, and deforestation. The management of agricultural soils accounts for half of the emissions from the agriculture economic sector. Irrigation practices, synthetic fertilizers, and the breakdown of nitrogen in livestock manure and urine result in the emissions of nitrous oxide.
Nitrous oxide molecules stay in the atmosphere for 114 years, and they are 300x more powerful than carbon dioxide.
A third of the agriculture emissions come from methane. Livestock produce methane as a part of their normal digestive process. Their manure factors into both nitrous oxide and methane emissions.
The rest of the emissions are accounted for in the growth of other crops like rice and soybeans.
21% Industry:
This involves both direct and indirect emissions. The industry sector is responsible for delivering the goods and raw materials we use every day. They're responsible for extracting metals and creating alloys and altering a mineral's chemical composition.
Direct emissions are produced on site. Indirect emissions are still vital for the production of goods, but occur off site at another facility.
The consumption of fossil fuel accounts for most of the direct emissions. Around a third of the direct emissions come from natural gas and petroleum leaks, chemical reactions, iron, steel, and the creation of cement.
14% Transportation:
95% of the world's transportation relies on petroleum based fuels like diesel and gasoline. The majority of the emissions are carbon dioxide. Transportation in this instance includes cars, busses, boats, trains, and planes.
This sector has been on the rise with the increased demand for travel, population growth, and urban sprawl.
6% Buildings:
This does not include electricity but rather the burning of fuel for heat, cooking, waste, wastewater, and refrigerants.
Heating and cooking accounts for two thirds of the emissions. Most of it comes from natural gas. Very little coal is used in these sectors.
Organic waste sent to the landfill emits methane. In fact, organics in landfills comprise 16% of the total methane emissions in the US. Wastewater treatment plants also account for methane and nitrous oxide.
A small portion also comes from fluorinated gases which are used in air conditioning and refrigeration. The gases can leak or can be released during machine maintenance.
10% Other Energy:
The remaining emissions that aren't directly associated with electricity, transportation, refining, and fuel extraction.
This breakdown is a road map to where we can effect change the most.
Individual action plays a huge part in the overall grand scheme of creating a better planet, but so does group action, business action, and policy change. We cannot truly succeed without all pieces of the puzzle.
This is the first blog post in a series. I'll be breaking down most of the areas and how we can help through individual action, group action, business action, and policy change.
https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions
https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/analysis/renewable-energy-to-decline-in-2012/#_ednref1
https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/pdf/tbla17.pdf
http://www.tsp-data-portal.org/Breakdown-of-GHG-Emissions-by-Sector-and-Gas#tspQvChart
https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-data
https://instituteforenergyresearch.org/topics/encyclopedia/renewable-energy/
https://www.c2es.org/content/international-emissions/


Shakespeare's Sonnets
William Shakespeare; Edited and with analytic commentary by Stephen Booth
Request Print Exam/Desk Copy
Description Reviews Awards
This prize-winning work provides a facsimile of the 1609 Quarto printed in parallel with a conservatively edited, modernized text, as well as commentary that ranges from brief glosses to substantial critical essays. Stephen Booth's notes help a modern reader toward the kind of understanding that Renaissance readers brought to the works.
Stephen Booth is at the University of California, Berkeley.
"This edition of the sonnets is a heroic enterprise. . . . [Booth's] annotation does far more than any previous edition to show the fantastically rich way that Shakespeare exploits the verbal resources of his culture. . . . No serious reader of the sonnets will want to do without Booth's edition."—C. L. Barber, New York Review of Books (on an earlier edition)
"Explications and analyses that will greatly enhance a reader's understanding and enjoyment."—New York Times Book Review (on an earlier edition)
"Booth's edition, like Shakespeare's sonnets, is something of a miracle. His extensive commentary, like the poems it describes, is a dazzling commixture of intricate detail, multiplicity, bombast, bawdiness, suppleness, and grandeur. . . . [It] will enlarge and alter its reader's experience—of the sonnets, of the plays, and of other texts as well."—Carol Thomas Neely, Modern Philology (on an earlier edition)
"The engaging commentary—with its wit, energy, and sane conviction—makes a plea for a reading of the sonnets that values meanings which may not be intellectually convenient or the basis of a unified interpretation. For purists, the Quarto text is printed parallel to the modernized text."—Library Journal (on an earlier edition)
"May well become a standard, incorporating as it does in one volume much of what is needed for a serious study of the sonnets. . . . Anyone from advanced undergraduate to scholarly specialist will probably make this book one of his first references on matters concerning the sonnets of Shakespeare."—Choice (on an earlier edition)
"The book seems to me to be indispensable to the serious student of Shakespeare's Sonnets, as well as being a repository of relevant information and sound critical sense for 'the common reader' who wants to deepen his understanding and enjoyment of these remarkable—and often baffling—poems."—L. C. Knights (on an earlier edition)
"Undoubtedly, this edition constitutes a landmark in Shakespearean criticism. . . . [It] is a work of first-rate importance, hopefully a precursor of a long-needed revolution in our understanding of reading Shakespeare."—G. F. Waller, Dalhousie Review (on an earlier edition)
"Refreshingly different, Professor Booth's book reduces the usual questions about biography, dating, and ordering the poems to six pages of an appendix, while the four hundred pages of notes continue the exciting amplification of possibilities in reading that he began in his well-received An Essay on Shakespeare's Sonnets. . . . There is little question that the reader will return to the poems with greater sensitivity to their possibilities, to echoes, to patterns that make them richer than before."—Shakespeare Studies (on an earlier edition)
Winner of the ninth annual James Russell Lowell Prize given by the Modern Language Association (MLA)
Winner of the 1978 Explicator Literary Foundation Award
Publication Date: July 11, 2000
608 pages, 5 x 7.75
Sales Restrictions: World excluding India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka
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MASH WEST & MASH CENTRAL
National team meets to resuscitate rural WASH
18 Jul, 2019 - 00:07 2019-07-17T22:28:56+00:00 2019-07-18T00:00:04+00:00 0 Views
Fungai Lupande Mashonaland Central Bureau
The Rural Water, Sanitation and Hygiene national action committee this week met with the provincial sub-sector in Mashonaland Central to resuscitate the Rural Wash Information Management System (RWIMS).
Acting provincial development coordinator Mr Cosmas Chiringa thanked the Government and its development partners for extending the programme to the province.
"No development can be achieved in any society when the provision of potable water is not satisfied," he said.
"RWIMS will enable us and every development partner to practice evidence-based planning for intervention in our communities."
WASH information and knowledge management officer Mr Lovemore Dhoba said RWIMS was developed as a national database for the rural WASH sub-sector.
"We didn't have a central system acting as a one-stop-shop," he said.
"When this system started it was meant to collect data in the eight rural provinces, but we lacked a system that brought different structures and stakeholders together.
"Mashonaland Central and Manicaland have upgraded systems that address response services rather than the only indication where boreholes have broken down. We are not capitalising on the system as a province and it is unfortunate that the chief executive officers for rural district councils did not come.
"We have a centralised geographic database in Harare that is hosting data from the provinces. The data is supplied by extension workers in their different wards who have a tablet connected to the national database.
"However, they are not capacitated to move from one point to another and we have connected the community of users. We identified a key informant who sends a free text message about challenges in their respective communal water points, schools or health facilities."
District Development Fund's director for water supplies Mr Edwin Toriro said information management was critical in the WASH sector.
"We are happy to have the Ministry of Education being a permanent player in the WASH committee because we have been having a lot of problem with new schools being built in areas without water supplies," said Mr Toriro.
"WASH sector relies on various data sources, we need to harmonise and enhance the information across the districts. It is a matter of time before we hear another outcry in Rushinga district because the water level is dwindling."
The national coordinator for National Coordination Unit (NCU) Mr Hasios Ronald Mashingaidze said the (RWIMS) was introduced last year, but the national action committee was having challenges in data capturing and having it automated at national level.
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