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Hearts From Rodents Exposed to Intermittent Hypoxia or Erythropoietin Are Protected Against Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury
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Background— Preconditioning phenomena provide evidence for adaptive responses to ischemia that have important implications for treatment/prevention of myocardial infarction. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) mediates adaptive transcriptional responses to hypoxia/ischemia.
Methods and Results— Exposure of wild-type mice to intermittent hypoxia resulted in protection of isolated hearts against ischemia-reperfusion injury 24 hours later. Cardiac protection induced by intermittent hypoxia was lost in Hif1a+/− mice heterozygous for a knockout allele at the locus encoding HIF-1α. Erythropoietin (EPO) mRNA expression was induced in kidneys of wild-type mice subjected to intermittent hypoxia, resulting in increased plasma EPO levels. EPO mRNA expression was not induced in Hif1a+/− mice. EPO administration to rats increased functional recovery and decreased apoptosis in isolated hearts subjected to ischemia-reperfusion 24 hours later.
Conclusions— Hearts isolated from rodents subjected to intermittent hypoxia or EPO administration are protected against postischemic injury. Cardiac protection induced by intermittent hypoxia is critically dependent on Hif1a gene dosage. Our data suggest that additional studies to evaluate therapeutic applications of EPO administration are warranted.
Received April 2, 2003; revision received May 9, 2003; accepted May 9, 2003.
The survival of myocardial tissue subjected to ischemia can be increased by prior exposure to repeated brief periods of sublethal ischemia induced by transient coronary artery occlusion and reperfusion, a phenomenon known as preconditioning.1 After the preconditioning stimulus, there is an early window of acute protection that lasts 1 to 2 hours, followed by a late window of delayed protection that lasts from approximately 12 to 72 hours.2,3 The molecular mechanisms underlying delayed ischemic preconditioning have been investigated in detail but remain incompletely understood.4 Exposure of animals to chronic systemic hypoxia also induces protection against myocardial ischemia, although the mechanisms are poorly characterized.5–7
Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) activates the transcription of genes whose protein products mediate adaptive responses to hypoxia/ischemia, including erythropoietin (EPO), glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1), nitric oxide synthase 2 (NOS2), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).8 HIF-1 consists of a constitutively expressed HIF-1β subunit and an O2-regulated HIF-1α subunit.9 Peak HIF-1α expression is observed after 1, 2, and 4 to 6 hours of continuous hypoxia in mouse kidney, liver, and brain, respectively.10 In this study we report that subjecting rodents to brief periods of systemic hypoxia and reoxygenation (intermittent hypoxia) induces delayed protection against myocardial injury after ischemia-reperfusion (I-R) and that this response is critically dependent on HIF-1α expression. We also show that prior EPO administration protects the isolated perfused heart against I-R injury.
Experiments used adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (≈250 g; Harlan, Indianapolis, Ind) or adult male littermate mice (≈25 g) arising from brother-sister matings of wild-type and Hif1a+/− mice that have been interbred since their derivation.11
Langendorff Preparation
Isolated heart perfusion was performed as described.12 Sodium pentobarbital (45 mg/kg) was administered by intraperitoneal injection. The heart was excised, and the ascending aorta was cannulated and perfused at a constant pressure of 100 cm H2O with Krebs-Henseleit buffer (in mmol/L, glucose 11, NaCl 118, NaHCO3 25, CaCl2 1.2, KCl 4.7, KH2PO4 1.2, and MgSO4 1.2), which was maintained at 37°C and bubbled continuously with a mixture of 95% O2 and 5% CO2. A fluid-filled latex balloon was inserted into the left ventricle and inflated to an initial end-diastolic pressure of 4 to 8 mm Hg. Left ventricular pressure, heart rate (HR), and coronary flow rate (CFR) were recorded continuously. Left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP) was calculated as the difference between the systolic and end-diastolic pressures.
Triphenyltetrazolium Chloride Staining
Hearts were sliced into 5 transverse sections and each was weighed, incubated for 15 minutes at 37°C in 1% triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC), and photographed, and the area of infarcted (unstained) and viable (stained) tissue was measured by computed planimetry. The mass-weighted average of the ratio of infarct area to total cross-sectional area of the ventricle from each slice was determined (percent infarction).
Reverse Transcriptase–Polymerase Chain Reaction
Total RNA was extracted from mouse heart and kidney using TRIZOL (Life Technologies Inc) and reverse transcribed into cDNA using Superscribe First-Strand Synthesis System (Invitrogen) for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of EPO, EPOR, GLUT1, NOS2, and VEGF mRNA and 18S rRNA. The ratio of mRNA to 18S rRNA was normalized to the mean value for control samples.
Plasma EPO Levels
An ELISA for human EPO (R&D Systems) was used according to the manufacturer's instructions. A standard curve was generated with recombinant human EPO. Results are presented as relative values that have been normalized to the mean EPO level in untreated mice.
TUNEL Assay
Rat hearts were formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded, and sectioned. The TUNEL assay was performed using the ApopTag Apoptosis Detection Kit (Intergen) followed by methyl green counterstaining. For each heart, ≈70 fields encompassing an entire section of the left ventricle at its greatest diameter were photographed. The total number of TUNEL-positive cells was determined in a blinded manner.
Activated Caspase 3 Assays
Hearts were lysed in 50 mmol/L Tris-HCl (pH 7.4), 1% NP-40, 0.25% sodium deoxycholate, 150 mmol/L NaCl, and 1 mmol/L EGTA. Aliquots (15 μg of protein) were incubated for 5 minutes at room temperature in a 100-μL reaction containing 30 μmol/L Ac-Asp-Glu-Val-Asp-amino methyl coumarin (Upstate Biotechnology), and fluorescence intensity was measured. A standard curve was generated using purified activated caspase 3 (Upstate Biotechnology). Lysate aliquots (150 μg) were fractionated by SDS-12% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and immunoblots were analyzed using antibodies specific for activated caspase 3 (Cell Signaling Technology).
Statistical Analysis
Data are presented as mean±SEM. Differences between experimental groups were analyzed for statistical significance (P<0.05) by ANOVA or paired t test.
Exposure of Mice to Intermittent Hypoxia Induces Delayed Cardiac Protection
Ischemia resulting from impaired tissue perfusion has multiple components, including hypoxia, nutrient deprivation, and metabolic waste accumulation. We hypothesized that protection induced by brief coronary artery occlusion-reperfusion may be the result of adaptive responses induced specifically by hypoxia-reoxygenation. We therefore investigated whether exposure of mice to cycles of hypoxia-reoxygenation would induce a protective response similar to the effect of occlusion-reperfusion. Mice were placed in a closed chamber in which the O2 concentration was rapidly reduced to 6% for 6 minutes, after which the chamber was vented to room air for 6 minutes. The process was repeated for 5 cycles over 1 hour. Control mice were placed in a chamber flushed with room air at 6-minute intervals. Hearts were isolated for 30 minutes or 24 hours after exposure to intermittent hypoxia (IH) (Figure 1A).
For all hearts, HR and LVDP dropped to zero within 2 minutes after cessation of perfusion. At 60 minutes, ie, 30 minutes of reperfusion, the LVDP of hearts from control wild-type (WT) mice was 12.0±2.8 mm Hg, a recovery of 23.7% (Figure 1B). Hearts from WT mice subjected to IH 24 hours before ischemia (WT-IHD) exhibited a mean LVDP of 27.9±4.4 mm Hg at 60 minutes (50.7% recovery), which was significantly increased relative to control WT mice. In contrast, acute exposure of WT mice to IH 30 minutes before ischemia (WT-IHA) had no protective effect, because the LVDP was 9.9±2.3 mm Hg at 60 minutes (19.4% recovery). Mean HR did not differ significantly between groups. The significant differences in LVDP (Figure 1B) resulted in significant differences in the rate-pressure product (LVDP×HR) between groups.
To demonstrate an effect of IH on myocardial survival, hearts were subjected to I-R and incubated in TTC, which stains viable myocardium red. Infarct size in hearts from WT mice exposed to IH 24 hours before ischemia-reperfusion (21.1±8.6% of LV volume; Figure 1C) was significantly reduced compared with hearts from control WT mice (42.0±12.2%) or WT mice exposed to IH 30 minutes before I-R (39.5±8.4%). Thus, IH 24 hours before I-R resulted in dramatic cardiac protection, as reflected by recovery of function and maintenance of viability.
Loss of Cardiac Protection in Hif1a+/− Mice
To establish a role for HIF-1 in delayed cardiac protection induced by IH, we analyzed mice heterozygous (HET) for a knockout allele at the Hif1a locus. Hif1a+/− cells manifest reduced expression of HIF-1α protein and HIF-1 target genes under hypoxic conditions.11 Previous studies have demonstrated impaired physiological responses to hypoxia in Hif1a+/− mice.13–15 Untreated HET mice demonstrated poor recovery of cardiac function (LVDP60 minutes/LVDP0 minutes=12.5%; Figure 1B) and large infarcts (49.6±8.8%; Figure 1C), similar to WT littermates (control WT mice analyzed above). Exposure of HET mice to hypoxia 24 hours before ischemia (HET-IHD) had no protective effect on functional recovery (LVDP60 minutes/LVDP0 minutes=20.3%; Figure 1B) or infarct size (42.2±9.9%; Figure 1C). Thus, partial loss of HIF-1α expression results in a complete loss of protection induced by IH.
Analysis of Gene Expression in Hypoxic Mice
To analyze the effects of hypoxia on the expression of HIF-1 target genes, total RNA was isolated from hearts of WT mice that were untreated, exposed to continuous hypoxia, and immediately killed or exposed to IH and killed 0, 1, 2, 4, or 8 hours later. Reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR analyses of mRNAs encoded by HIF-1 target genes, including GLUT1 (Figure 2F), VEGF (Figure 2E), and NOS2 (data not shown) mRNA, failed to show increased expression in response to intermittent or continuous hypoxia.
HIF-1 was originally identified as a factor that activated transcription of the EPO gene, and, among HIF-1 target genes, EPO shows the greatest induction in response to hypoxia.16 Analysis of RNA isolated from mouse kidneys (the primary source of plasma EPO) revealed a >5-fold increase in EPO mRNA expression after continuous or intermittent hypoxia (Figure 2A). In contrast, the expression of VEGF mRNA was not significantly increased in the kidneys of mice subjected to hypoxia (Figure 2D). EPO mRNA expression in the heart was at the limits of detection and could not be reliably quantified. Thus, among the genes analyzed, exposure of mice to 1 hour of IH selectively induced EPO mRNA expression in the kidney.
Increased Plasma EPO Levels After Intermittent Hypoxia
Plasma EPO levels were significantly increased after IH (Figure 2B). EPO mRNA levels in the kidney peaked at 0 to 1 hour after IH (Figure 2A), thus preceding the peak plasma EPO levels at 1 to 2 hours (Figure 2B). The lag between mRNA synthesis and protein secretion may explain the less robust increase in plasma EPO levels after continuous hypoxia, because plasma EPO levels were only measured immediately after the hypoxic exposure.
Loss of Hypoxia-Induced EPO Expression in Hif1a+/− Mice
To demonstrate that HIF-1 is required for the induction of EPO mRNA, WT and HET mice were exposed to IH and killed immediately after the fifth cycle of hypoxia-reoxygenation (IH-0 time point). RT-PCR analysis of kidney RNA demonstrated that in WT mice, EPO mRNA expression was induced 6.4-fold (Figure 2C). In contrast, HET mice showed no significant increase in EPO mRNA expression.
Cardiac Expression of EPO Receptor mRNA
The biological activity of EPO is mediated by binding to EPOR, its cognate receptor. EPOR mRNA was detected in the hearts of WT and HET mice by RT-PCR (Figure 3). In contrast to the expression of EPO mRNA in the kidney (Figure 2A), expression of EPOR mRNA in the heart was not induced immediately after IH (IH-0 time point; Figure 3).
Protective Effect of EPO Administration
The results described above did not prove that increased EPO expression was necessary for the protection induced by IH. However, because EPO is a drug with an extensive history of clinical use, we next tested whether EPO administration was sufficient to induce protection against I-R injury. Rats received an intraperitoneal injection of saline or recombinant human EPO at a dose of 5000 U/kg. Hearts were isolated for Langendorff perfusion 24 hours later and subjected to I-R. Compared with the poor recovery in controls (LVDP60 minutes/LVDP0 minutes=18.4%; Figure 4A), hearts from EPO-treated rats showed significantly increased recovery of function (LVDP60 minutes/LVDP0 minutes=54.1%). EPO had no significant effect on HR (Figure 4B) or CFR (Figure 4C).
Reduction of Ischemia-Induced Apoptosis in the Hearts of EPO-Treated Rats
EPO inhibits apoptosis in erythroid progenitors, neurons, and endothelial cells.17–20 To determine whether EPO protected against myocardial apoptosis, rats were treated with saline or 5000 U/kg of EPO, and 24 hours later isolated hearts were subjected to ischemia. As before, EPO treatment was associated with increased recovery of LVDP. After 45 minutes of reperfusion, the hearts were processed for TUNEL assay (Figure 5). In the LV free wall of both hearts, most apoptotic cells were localized to the subendocardial region, whereas in the interventricular septum, the distribution of apoptotic cells was transmural. There was no TUNEL staining in areas of necrosis in either heart. EPO treatment was associated with a dramatic reduction in the total number of apoptotic cells (Figure 5).
As an independent measure of apoptosis, hearts from EPO- and saline-treated rats were subjected to I-R, lysates were prepared, and levels of activated caspase 3 were determined. Activation of caspase 3 is a critical event linking signals from the endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, or plasma membrane with downstream effectors of apoptosis. Compared with the control, the heart from the EPO-treated rat showed improved recovery of function (Figure 6A) and decreased caspase 3 activity as measured by incubation of lysates with a fluorogenic caspase 3 substrate (Figure 6B). Immunoblot analysis of lysates revealed the presence of activated caspase 3 in the control heart but not in the heart from the EPO-treated rat (Figure 6C). Thus, data from 3 independent assays demonstrate that systemic EPO administration reduces apoptosis in the postischemic heart.
In this study we report 4 related but distinct findings. First, we have demonstrated for the first time that exposure of mice to brief episodes of IH induces protection against myocardial ischemia 24 hours later. While this work was in progress, another group reported delayed protection after continuous exposure of mice to 10% O2 for 4 hours.21 In that study, NOS2 protein expression was increased in the heart, and inhibition of NOS2 activity blocked the protective effect of hypoxia. We found no evidence of increased NOS2 mRNA in the hearts of mice after IH but did not analyze NOS2 protein expression. Thus, the role of NOS2 in protection against myocardial ischemia induced by IH remains to be determined. We have found that at lower oxygen concentrations (7% O2), exposure of rats to continuous hypoxia for 1 hour is sufficient to induce protection against I-R injury 24 hours later (Z. Cai and G.L. Semenza, unpublished data, 2003). Our studies suggest that the systemic stimulus of hypoxia-reoxygenation may induce protection via a systemic response that would represent a mechanism that is distinct from the local protective response induced by brief coronary occlusion-reperfusion.1–4 The absence of acute protection in hearts of mice subjected to hypoxia-reoxygenation is consistent with this hypothesis.
Second, we demonstrated that the protective effect of intermittent hypoxia was lost in Hif1a+/− mice. Previous studies demonstrated dramatic defects in these mice, including a loss of hypoxic ventilatory responses mediated by the carotid body.13 The complete loss of hypoxia-induced cardiac protection in mice that are only partially HIF-1α deficient indicates that one functional Hif1a allele is not sufficient to mediate the adaptive responses induced by IH.
Third, we demonstrated that EPO mRNA expression is induced in the kidneys of WT but not Hif1a+/− mice. The selective induction of EPO expression (relative to the other HIF-1 target genes analyzed) in response to brief episodes of hypoxia-reoxygenation may reflect the fact that compared with other hypoxia-inducible genes, EPO expression is more sensitive to changes in O2 concentration. In addition, HIF-1α expression is rapidly induced (relative to other organs) in the kidneys of hypoxic mice,10 a result that is consistent with our data demonstrating rapid induction of renal EPO mRNA expression.
Our data are not sufficient to conclude that EPO expression is necessary for protection induced by IH. However, these results lead to our fourth finding, that EPO administration alone is sufficient to mediate increased functional recovery and decreased apoptosis in hearts subjected to I-R 24 hours later. EPO administration also induces protection against ischemic brain injury.18 Exposure of cultured neurons to EPO inhibits apoptosis via activation of the Jak2 tyrosine kinase and NF-κB transcription factor.19 EPO protects cultured endothelial cells against anoxia-induced apoptosis via activation of AKT1 and inhibition of caspase activation,20 and apoptosis of endothelial cells has been shown to precede cardiomyocyte apoptosis in Langendorff-perfused hearts subject to I-R.22 Additional studies are required to determine which signaling pathways mediate the protective effects of EPO in the heart. Administration of the iron chelator desferrioxamine, which induces HIF-1 activity and EPO gene expression, also induces delayed protection against cerebral23 and myocardial (Z. Cai and G.L. Semenza, unpublished data, 2003) I-R injury.
Astrocytes produce EPO in response to hypoxia and neurons express EPOR, suggesting a paracrine mechanism for cerebral protection induced by hypoxic preconditioning.23–25 Although we demonstrated EPOR mRNA expression in the mouse heart, cardiac EPO mRNA expression was at the limits of detection, arguing against a paracrine mechanism. Renal EPO mRNA expression and plasma EPO levels were significantly induced by IH, suggesting an endocrine mechanism of cardiac protection. However, additional studies are required to confirm this model. In addition to its expression by endothelial cells,26 EPOR protein expression has been demonstrated in the myocardium and endocardium of 12.5-day mouse and 18-week human embryos.27,28 Additional studies are required to determine whether EPOR expression in the adult heart is localized to myocytes or endothelial cells.
Our data provide the first evidence that EPO administration is protective against myocardial injury after I-R. Although the Langendorff-perfused heart preparation is a well-established model for studying I-R injury, it differs from coronary artery occlusion in situ in several important respects, including the presence of asystole during the ischemic episode and the absence of an inflammatory response. Thus, additional preclinical studies involving coronary artery occlusion in situ are necessary to determine whether these observations can be translated to the treatment of patients with myocardial ischemia.
This work was supported by grant P01-HL65608 and by R01 grants DK39869, HL55338, HL38324, HL65608, and HL63744 from the National Institutes of Health. D. Manalo was supported by a Pulmonary Hypertension Fellowship from the American Heart Association and by National Institutes of Health grant T32-HL07534. G. Wei was supported by American Heart Association fellowship 0020249U. The authors thank Dr Jerry L. Spivak (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md) for generously providing recombinant human erythropoietin. They are grateful to Drs William Baldwin III, Lewis Becker, David Kass, and Jerry L. Spivak for helpful discussions.
This article originally appeared online on June 9, 2003 (Circulation. 2003;107:r107–r113).
↵*These authors contributed equally to this study.
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- Hearts From Rodents Exposed to Intermittent Hypoxia or Erythropoietin Are Protected Against Ischemia-Reperfusion InjuryZheqing Cai, Dominador J. Manalo, Guo Wei, E. Rene Rodriguez, Karen Fox-Talbot, Huasheng Lu, Jay L. Zweier and Gregg L. SemenzaCirculation. 2003;108:79-85, originally published July 8, 2003https://doi.org/10.1161/01.CIR.0000078635.89229.8A
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- Hearts From Rodents Exposed to Intermittent Hypoxia or Erythropoietin Are Protected Against Ischemia-Reperfusion InjuryZheqing Cai, Dominador J. Manalo, Guo Wei, E. Rene Rodriguez, Karen Fox-Talbot, Huasheng Lu, Jay L. Zweier and Gregg L. SemenzaCirculation. 2003;108:79-85, originally published July 8, 2003https://doi.org/10.1161/01.CIR.0000078635.89229.8APermalink:


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***If you are reading this chapter for a second time it is because it has been re-uploaded and edited a bit, the whole story so far (6 chapters) is going through a "re-edit".***
A/N: VERY AU, the characters are only losely based off of the books but through out the story you will find that they aren't really all that different from the real characters. This story has a contemporary setting and the "hunger games" never happened. I hope you enjoy it, I haven't written anything for a long, long time so please don't be too mean :)
enjoy the first chapter, if you do, please review or subscribe or anything :)
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to The Hunger Games, I do however own the intellectual property of this story (the plot and what not)
Chapter 1 – GOOGLE, THE KNOWER OF ALL
"Hey Gale, while your playing Play Station I'm gonna use your computer, that cool?" I ask my boyfriend Gale.
"Yea sure Hun, I'm going to the shops later, want anything in particular?"
"nah, I think I'm right..." I sigh.
This is what it's been like between us. So mundane, no romance, no butterflies. Nothing. This is my only day off, half of the day at least, and all my boyfriend can do is play Play Station. Which doesn't even bother me, which alone, bothers me that it doesn't bother me.
Ugh. I love him, I know I do. He's my best friend. Always has been, we've been dating for 2 years and we were best friends before that too. These lulls happen in relationships though right? Aren't we meant to work through them? I don't feel like working through anything, I feel like there is nothing left to work through. Does that make me a bad person? I know I'm not an angel but I've never particularly fancied myself as being outright mean, or a bitch. I scowl a lot, I don't let people in and I don't believe in being in love but it doesn't mean I think Gale is not worthy or deserving of trying.
I think that's it, he deserves better than me, somebody who wants to get married one day, have kids and fight to the ends of the Earth for him no matter what. To put it bluntly, I'm just not that person. I never have been and I probably never will be that person. It's not the whole "it's not you, it's me" situation though because at the same time it isn't entirely my fault we are in the position today either.
I don't know. It's not like he treats me badly, not that at all. Gale has been a wonderful boyfriend, I don't think I will ever find a guy who will treat me this nicely again. Sure, we didn't have dates all the time or do all the normally couple-y things, but he was amazing, is amazing.
I'm not the easiest person to be around. Quite frankly I'm a horrible person to be around, I'm cranky, I'm moody, I have too many issues that I don't deal with. Gale accepts me for all these things, that's what makes us work. He doesn't care that I'm damaged goods, and I accept him for who he is.
Maybe that's it, maybe we accept too many things and should learn to expect something else. I don't expect anything of Gale though. If I had, would things have changed? If I expected him to be romantic, expected him to take me on dates and bring me flowers maybe things would be different. Then again if he expected me to dote upon him, expected me to fawn all over him things would be different too. That was never going to happen though. Maybe it isn't him, or me, but 'us'.
All those things aside though we have a good relationship. People always made fun of us that we were more like an old married couple then a couple of teenagers in a relationship. They were right. What about now though? What has happened to us? We fight more often than not and it feels like all the little things we do for each other, like massages or ignoring the other persons stupid comments seem like such a hard task.
When all else fails, consult Google. Google is the know-er of all. Google is wisdom. Google is there for you, when others are not. Chuck Norris doesn't search Google, Google searches Chuck Norris. Oh, all mighty Google! what does it feel like to be in love?
[Google Search Bar: What does it feel like to be in love? -enter-]
"when you always want to be together." Well I suppose that's true, I am always with him and I like spending time with him. I don't think we are ever by each others side but I could say the same thing about my younger sister Prim really, how has that got anything to do with BEING in love?
"without them, your life feels incomplete."I can't imagine my life without Gale, but does that mean he has to be in my life romantically? When I look into the future I see us living together, going to family Christmas celebrations together (with what little family we have left). We don't have to be boyfriend and girlfriend to do those things though, in fact, I've never seen a romantic future with us. Not marriage, not a family, not even romantic weekends where we do nothing but stay in bed together and light candles. Or more realistic, stay in bed all weekend and watch old friends reruns on tv and cook each other silly meals.
"Their needs come before you own, you only want them to be happy" That's definitely true. Then again, that is the same for Prim and was the same for my father before he died. I'm certainly not IN love, nor was I in love, with either of them. These are stupid results, Google why are you failing me?
"Love is giving someone the power to destroy you, and trusting them not to." Nobody has that power, or at least will ever have it again.
"When you touch, butterflies are born. When you kiss, your breath is stolen. When he's hurt, you are torn. When you're smitten, he has fallen. You smile at the very thought of him and your heart feels like it is full to the brim." Hmmm, how poetic...If you're into that kind of thing, I suppose. It makes me feel a little bit sick to be honest but I don't think those are the kind of butterflies they are talking about though.
I think I need to break up with Gale.
Turning around in my seat I look over to my boyfriend, my best friend, my lover – no, lover is a bad word - my casual booty call. He is just lying there, lounging on the bed being as lazy as ever. Is this part of the reason I feel like this? because he's so lazy he's just not trying with us anymore?
Ugh, Katniss that's not fair. It takes two to make a relationship work.
Walking over to him, I collapse onto the bed with a big huff.
"Hey Catnip, what's up?" Gale asks me, his gaze not daring to break away from the television screen.
"Are we in love?" I blurt out. We've always had a bit of a weird relationship, I tend to self-disclose a crap load of things to him, but it goes both ways. No bars hold, nothing is too personal. All though I do still tend to hold a lot of bars.
"I mean, it feels like we've just reverted back to being friends with benefits. You know what I mean Gale?" at this, he pauses his game and turns towards me. I brace myself. I knew it would be like this, he loved me for years before we got together. Me being my oblivious self, it took us going from friends, to best friends, to friends with benefits for him to confess his love for me and had loved me for years.
At first it scared the living shit out of me and I refused to talk to him for days, until one morning, I woke up and just decided. Why the hell not. He's good looking, we're sexually compatible, we're together 24/7 anyway. So I said 'O.K.'
I'd been heart broken before, by family and lovers, I thought I'd never feel real love again. I just didn't know. I still don't know what real love feels like any more. But really, do any of us? Is love purely just a fictional idea promoted by drugged up musicians and sexually frustrated authors? Or is it merely a force that causes people to do stupid things, let themselves get hurt and hurt others in the process. My favourite movie is Moulin Rouge but fuck knows what they're singing about.
Because Gale has "loved" me for so long I was afraid. I knew this, us breaking up, was inevitable. I knew it would be me to do it, I just don't want to see him heart broken. I couldn't possibly bear it. But it must be done.
He's just sitting there staring at me. Oh crap, say something Katniss, don't make him cry!
"It's just, I know I love you, but like...are we IN love any more? It just feels like lately we only act like friends- but we still have sex, so friends with benefits- which isn't knew to us anyway, I mean a girls gotta get some- but-" Gale interrupts my babble.
"Sshh Katniss, I feel the same way." He hushes me. Excuse me, what?
"huh?" I lamely respond. Gale shifts positions so he can look at me straight on.
"I've felt like this for a little while now, too, it's just like, the past 6 months we've reverted. I mean I love you too and you'll always be my best friend, always be a huge part of my life." Gale confesses. SIX MONTHS! What the hell? I was talking about the last couple of weeks not 6 fucking months. Is Gale breaking up with me?
"Are you breaking up with me?" what am I saying of course he is breaking up with me, didn't I want to break up with him?
"well isn't that the whole point of this conversation Katniss?" Gale reads my thoughts.
"yea, I guess, but 6 months you've felt like this? Just last week you told me you loved me during sex! Were you ever going to tell me?" I say angrily, why am I even angry? Calm down Katniss, you're being irrational, you initiated the conversation for christs sake!
"eventually I guess"
"you guess?"
"Katniss why are you getting upset, I thought this is what you wanted?" is this what I want?
"Are you only saying this because I initiated the conversation, do you really want to break up with me? I mean YOU WANT to? not just what I want? I don't want you doing anything you don't want to and I don't want to force you into anything."
"You're not forcing me into anything Katniss, like I said I've felt like this for a little while now, is this what you want? I personally think it is the right thing to do." Gale admits. So this is going not like I planned at all.
"I don't know Gale, I just thought we'd talk about things and you'd convince me I was being stupid and it would all go back to normal. I guess, I don't really know. This is all so confusing." I sigh dejectedly. What's the big problem, we're breaking up, shouldn't I be ecstatic that this is going so, for lack of a better word, well.
"is that why you're upset Katniss, because I'm not 'fighting' for you? I mean, I suppose 6 months was a bit of an exaggeration but do you want us to break up? do you want to stay with me?" Gale asks me. Do I?
"I think so...is that okay? I mean, I'm so confused, I don't want to lose you, and the thought of not being your girlfriend makes me feel sad, because I'm not feeling sad...shouldn't I feel sad?"
"haha Katniss, don't feel sad because you DON'T feel sad. We've never been a normal couple, why should our break up be any different? I mean we talked about this before we got into it, that if we felt like it wasn't right we'd be honest so we wouldn't jeopardise our friendship. Well That's what we're doing right now."
And that's how Gale and I ended up sleeping together that night, having the best sex we've ever had. All because we broke up.
What are we now? Eventually at 2 in the morning we agreed to just play things by ear and not label anything. Why must everything be so confusing.
On a brighter note I feel relief. Whether it's from being single, or just having a decision made, I dunno. Sweet relief.
[Google Search Bar: Define Platonic -enter-]
pla·ton·ic (/pləˈtänik/)
- Of or associated with the Greek philosopher Plato or his ideas.
- (of love or friendship) Intimate and affectionate but not sexual.
Well Google, I see we have to re-think our relationship too now seeing as though you've been no help today. Platonic my ass. What is going to happen to us?
A/N: Thanks for reading, a review would be nice, I'd love some criticism, I haven't written in so long (other than academic papers) so I'm a little nervous it's going to be total shit. ANYWAYS hope you enjoyed it, I will put the next chapter up if the stats show at least one person has read this chapter LOL
***If you are reading this chapter for a second time it is because it has been re-uploaded and edited a bit, the whole story so far (6 chapters) is going through a "re-edit".***

subset: commoncrawl


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The ACAH_Accolades_Trailer.mov file you have requested: Media / Videos and Trailers / Official Videos / Ace Combat Assault Horizon - Accolades Trailer - 480.27mb is not available. Perhaps try browsing all files for the game Ace Combat: Assault Horizon and upload any files you want to share or are missing. This is the only information we could locate:
Since its release, ACE COMBAT ASSAULT HORIZON has received a barrage of accolades from reviewers and consumers alike. To celebrate the games positive reception, NAMCO Bandai Games America released a new trailer showing off just a handful of the many accolades the game has received.
We recommend you return to the download list and browse the links from there. If the problem persists, contact us with the details.


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Finding our Purpose Our past can inform our future.
Purpose: Why we rise and strive.
Purpose is a reason to get up in the morning that is larger than you. Think of it as your most renewable energy source. Purpose drives you to do what matters most to you. It is the fuel that keeps your spirit alive. Whatever our guiding purpose may be, our ways of living it out will change with the stages of our lives. What gives your life purpose now? Family? Meaningful work? Learning? Your answers need not be earth shattering, but they should speak to your deepest motivations.
It doesn't seem to matter who we are, how much money we have or don't have, what stage in life we are in, or what profession or status we have achieved so far – without purpose we often struggle to understand what really matters in our lives.
When our team works with individuals as they create and share their Life Reflection Stories, Ethical Wills/Legacy Letters or Making a Difference Plans, we often find that those with the greatest sense of life purpose are happier and have a higher perceived quality of life. Why, you might ask? As one of our basic human needs, we all wish to live a meaningful life, to make a difference while we are here, and to leave this earth with few or no regrets. Without a sense of purpose, we can lose our zest for life, we become less engaged, or we may find our lives feel less meaningful.
One way to overcome these challenges and to live a more purposeful life, particularly as we grow older and our work and life styles change, is to take time for reflection. We are often so busy planning our calendars, responding to our list of tasks, and ever racing forward, that we rarely take time to look back and to reflect upon what we have learned and experienced during our lifetime so far. The benefit of a Legacy Journey® is not just to inform future generations, but it is a wonderful tool to help us gain greater meaning, perspective and intention in our lives.
Sometimes the best answers for going forward, come from our past. Learn how your life lessons, wisdom and values gained throughout your life journey can inform your passions, purpose and life direction going forward. Our affordable and meaningful legacy resources or ne of our certified legacy facilitator scan help you navigate your Legacy Journey®.
May you continue to discover your life purpose to provide the energy needed to keep your spirit alive and your passions well nourished!
© 2013 Celebrations of Life Services Inc. 651.600.6412651.600.6412


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This is an incredible facial moisturizer! It includes Vitamin A, C & E and makes your skin soft, bright and really helps the texture! It is oil-free and is SPF 30! This moisturizer has everything you could want! I purchase mine at Walmart. I highly recommend this moisturizer.
I love this lotion, it is not too heavy/Or greasy. It goes on light feeling and the fragrance is a light scent as well. I have really dry skin and I find it keeps my face moisturized for the day.
I love love love this product! I have sensitive skin that dries out in the winter and this moisturizer keeps me alive. It's oil-free, so it doesn't leave my skin feeling greasy at all, but keeps my face from getting tight or rough. It's packed with vitamins A, C, and E, plus it is SPF 30. Win.
A well priced moisturizer, that has an SPF 30, and keeps my normally dry skin feeling refreshed all day is amazing. I have recommended this product to family and friends, and will continue to do so. This smells fresh, feels fresh, and leaves your skin looking fresh ..
These reviews are the subjective opinions of ChickAdvisor members and not of ChickAdvisor Inc.


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Every Gadgeteer's dream? A Gadgeteer Home Automation System
Today's Hardware Friday project by a friend of the blog, Marco Minerva, shows how he, and with his help, us, can build a cool home automation system with some of our favorite tools.
Gadgeteer Home Automation System
In this post I want to describe how to create a Home Automation System that puts together many of the modules and source code we talked about on this blog during the past months. In particular, we'll create a Gadgeteer device that uses touch screen capabilities of Display T35 to provide access to all the functionalities of the system.
So, let's start. Connect the following modules to a FEZ Spider Mainboard:
- USB ClientDP;
- WiFi RS21, to retrieve current time from the Internet;
- Display T35, to manage the system using touch;
- SD Card, to store the configuration file of the application;
- Temp & Humidity, to show an example of information that can be acquired using sensors;
- Relays, to control eletrical devices;
- Camera, with which we can show, for example, people that ring our bell.
You can see the result in following screenshot.
Almost all the FEZ Spider sockets are filled. As said before, we'll use source code from some articles that have been published on this blog. In particular:
- XML Configuration Files for .NET Micro Framework
- Synchronize the Clock with a Reference Server on the Internet
- Windows-like Interface for the .NET Gadgeteer Display
Moreover, we need to create some custom fonts for the application. .NET Micro Framework SDK provides a command line tool that allows to do this. Alternatively, you can use the Tiny Font Tool GUI to make things simpler. In the ZIP file attached to this article you can find all the fonts we'll use.
This project goes into all the details, from build the hardware, coding it and constructing the UI
Our application has three sections: Temperature & Humidity, Relays and Camera. So, we need to create three menu items:
The result is shown in the following screenshot.
Here's a video of it in action.
And as you would expect, the source available for download (click through and it's at the bottom of the page)
More episodes in this series
This Windows Phone 7.1(5) app is your source for WinSource (which comes with the source)
Related episodes
How cool is this bus? Using the Service Bus to create a cloud enabled smart thermostat
32feet.NET, Bluetooth and .Net Gadgeteer
Tyrant's aren't all bad, especially when they are micro and running on .NET Gadgeteer's
Mom always said, "Sit up straight..." Well, here's a hardware project to help with that...
GHI Electronics NETMF and Gadgeteer 2016 R1 SDK is out!
.NET Gadgeteer 101
Gadgeteer and Motors and you...
Magic Costume and Garage Of Mystery make for Halloween Hardware Madness
Home Automation with a little help from Netduino, Microsoft Kinect Point Cloud and Speech…
"Learn to program with Visual Basic & .NET Gadgeteer"
The Discussion


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When I was in 8th grade there was this kid who i sat next to in my English class. He would always constantly touch me and it would happen every single day. I would feel sick to my stomach whenever he would touch me and I remember writing in my notebook saying that everything would be okay and he would eventually stop. However it just got worse. One day it got so bad, I walked out of that class crying not knowing what to do. I didn't want to tell anybody because I thought that this would just lead to problems and stress me out more then I already was. I also helped out a lot in my school office and knew everybody. Looking back on it it was stupid I waited so long. When I walked out of the class crying that day my best friend at the time noticed how upset I was over this and how bad it got so be decided to tell for me. I had about 10 meeting with the school. I remember that we had an awful principal. When I talked with him he told me that it was basically my fault that this kid kept doing this to me because I never told him to stop. I actually believed it was my fault. The kid got suspended for 3 days. If you're going through something like this please tell someone and get the help you need. I promise you everything will be okay and you are not a burden. I do not think the school handled my situation well. At all. Just nobody seemed to care and when the principal told me it was my fault this kid continued with his actions just crushed me to this day. Nobody should be told that.
— Lauren, age 14


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Parshas Shelach (5768)
Around ten years ago today, the scientific world accomplished a truly amazing feat. Witness the following article written at the time:
Jun 26 2000 10:53AM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - Researchers announced Monday that they had completed the working map of the human genome, giving scientists a genetic blueprint that will transform medical care in the 21st century. Researchers will use the three billion letters that make up human DNA to identify the estimated 60,000 to 100,000 genes in humans and to find where they are located on chromosomes and how they contribute to disease. "Over the decades and centuries to come, this sequence will inform all of medicine, all of biology, and will lead us to a total understanding of not only human beings but all of life," said Dr John Sulston, the lead British researcher who sequenced one third of the genome. [Copyright 2000 Reuters Limited]
This got me thinking a lot about genes and identity and about who exactly is the real me.
In his book Endless Light, Rabbi David Aaron explores the search for self that many people are plagued with in our times. He writes:
It is quite common these days to hear of someone we know who is having a sort of identity crisis in which he is "looking for himself". What a strange concept! How do you look for yourself? If you are not here, then where are you? How many times have you heard people say, "I don't like myself"? What does that mean? How do you not like yourself? How can you be both the subject and the object of the sentence? Who exactly is the "you" that doesn't like "yourself"?
The Kabbalists (Jewish mystics) explain that we all know on some level that there is the "me" that is the body and the personality, and then there is some higher level of consciousness that is distinct but has a relationship with the body and personality. For example, we all talk to ourselves. When you do that, whom are you talking to? You know you are not two people. There is one you, and yet within your oneness, there is an internal relationship between those parts you call "me", "myself" and "I". So I can talk to myself. I can dislike myself. And I can even look for myself.
Most people, at least once in their lives, have asked themselves the question, "If my mother would have married another man, who would I be?" If you have asked yourself this question, it is because on some deep, intuitive level you sensed you could have been somebody else. You sensed that your inner self would be the same you, but it would be playing a different character.
I know that I am playing the character who is a rabbi, who lives in Israel, who is married, who has kids, etc. I know the "me" who is this character. But my "self" transcends this kind of conscious knowledge. When I describe myself, I am not really describing my self, I am actually describing "me" - my persona, the character I play. I have a character, but I am not my character.
To try to keep this straight, let's define our terms. There is "me" - the character I play. That is the ego - the persona with its psychological clothing, like thoughts and feelings - and the body with its physical sensations. This is the character I play. And then there is my "self" - what the Kabbalists refer to as the "soul". This is the conscious self, the knower, the experiencer, the actor who plays the character.
So we see that from a Torah perspective, the human being with the soul at its core is much, much deeper than is evident on the surface. And when the scientists crack the complex code of the human genome - helping us to understand how our bodies and minds work and hopefully enabling us to cure many diseases - while it is indeed a massive accomplishment on par with the lunar landing and other worthy human endeavors, it is hardly the full picture. The mapping of the human DNA cannot give scientists a "total" understanding of human life (as the doctor in the above article claimed) - because what is encoded in the human genome is only the "me" of my self. It holds within it the secret code to the persona of man - his physical characteristics and psychological tendencies - but does not cover the self - that area known to us as the soul. And it is the soul of the human being that ultimately defines him.
The problem is that since the soul is hidden away inside us, we often think of ourselves as purely physical beings. What all of us could really use is a constant reminder of who we truly are. (Okay, maybe the women dont need it as much, as they are generally far more in tune with their selves than we men are). Enter the tzitzis ...
In this week's Torah portion, we find the Biblical commandment for men to wear tzitzis, or fringes, on the four corners of their garments. (The reward for this commandment is that you receive "fringe benefits"!) The Torah states, "It shall constitute tzitzis for you, that you may see it and remember all the commandments of G-d and perform them; and not explore after your heart and after your eyes after which you stray." (Numbers 15:39) Now we have to ask ourselves .... how exactly does that work? When was the last time you heard of someone who was about to cheat on his wife, and at the last minute recalled that he was wearing tzitzis, and said to himself, Wait! I cant do this! I just remembered the Seventh Commandment! It doesn't usually happen that way! So what then does the Torah mean?
The answer to this question talks to the essence of who we are, what we wear, and how we choose to identify ourselves. Permit me to explain. Let's say you see a man running down the street wearing a blue uniform with a badge. You would be safe in assuming that he is a policeman. The garment indicates the role he is playing, but not who he is. He might go home, put on some sweatpants, and go out running again; now he is an athlete. Your garment is never your essence. The clothes you wear are not you, they are on you. Similarly, your character is not you. So you must never confuse the two. The self is the soul. You have a persona, the character you play, but you are a soul.
In your search for your true identity and self-worth, the key questions you must answer are: What do I choose to identify with? Do I identify with my ego, my character, my persona - me? (When people ask you to describe yourself, do you say, "I am a doctor"?) Or do I identify with that which is truly me - my soul, the spark of G-d inside me, my connection to the transcendent? Unfortunately, it is quite easy for us to confuse the two.
Which is where the mitzvah of tzitzis comes in. Garments are our means of playing a role in this world, of presenting ourselves to the world as we would like to be perceived. But in order that we don't fall into the trap of thinking that "we are what we wear" - that the roles we play in life and the physical and psychological characteristics that are encoded in our DNA define our essence - the Torah bids us to attach fringes to our garments, and to thus consecrate our garments with reminders of G-d, so that we remain cognizant of our true essence, our souls.
With this message embedded in our clothing, and in our hearts, we are being reminded constantly not to "explore after our hearts and after our eyes after which we stray" (Numbers ibid.). The tzitzis are there to help us avoid making bad decisions in life - decisions which only deal with our "me", our hearts and eyes, but neglect to take into account the impact these decisions will have on our "selves", our G-dly souls.
Tzitzis is the mitzvah with strings attached - strands that carry within them the message of our true spiritual makeup.
Do you remember in university when your philosophy teacher taught you all those abstract and seemingly irrelevant, mind-wrenching ideas from philosophers with funny names like Plato and Nietzsche? Well, folks, I have found one of those philosophical teachings in particular to be extremely useful for our times - it is known as Pascal's Wager. And it goes something like this: We might as well believe in G-d. Because if we believe in Him, and He doesn't exist - well, then, we've gained nothing but we've also lost nothing. But if we dont believe in G-d and it turns out that He does truly exist - boy, are in we in trouble!!!!
So I say the same in regards to the Biblical commandment for men to wear a four cornered garment with fringes on it at all times (in addition to wearing a Tallis, or prayer shawl, during the services in the synagogue).
The Torah promises eternal reward in the Hereafter for every second (!) that we wear the tzitzis on our garments. So why not go out to the local Jewish bookstore and pick up a pair for about $25?
Either way, you can't lose! If the Torah is (G-d forbid) not true - then you have been wearing this weird, four-cornered garment under your clothing - where no one even knows you're wearing it all for nothing (Ok, you don't have to wear it to the gym where the guys might laugh at you when you take off your shirt!), but you have also lost absolutely nothing. Except twenty-five bucks, of course.
And if what the Torah says about tzitzis is true - then in addition to the benefit that the tzitzis will have served to remind you of who is the true "you", you will also receive a great heavenly reward for all the time that you had those fringes on! And that's not a bad deal after all!


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Lost and Found: The Final War 「第三次世界大戦 四十一時間の恐怖」
Though largely unseen since its release in December of 1960 it's not strictly accurate to say that Toei's nuclear war drama The Final War (「第三次世界大戦 四十一時間の恐怖」, or World War III: 41 Hours of Terror) was a lost film. That's not to say it was an easy film to find. Unlike the rest of the company's special effects product The Final War never found its way to VHS or Laserdisc, and has yet to appear in DVD either – a dubbed version which played US television is rarer still. Until recently the only visual evidence of the film's existence were the few stills making rounds online, including the poster thumbnail to the left (shamelessly copied here from the Eiren film database).
But things change, and even that considered most rare can eventually come to light. A few years ago The Final War aired on a Japanese television network, proving at the very least that it still existed. Yesterday a copy of the same made its way to me. It might have been a thrilling moment had the circumstances not proven so mundane – there's little sense of discovery when long-lost artifacts arrive first class on sharpie-marked DVD-R.
As for the film, I'll devote an article to it properly once I've had the time to parse through all of its drama. It was clearly a big-deal production for Toei, who may have been looking to one-up Toho films by getting their dismal Cold War tragedy into cinemas first. Where Toho's The Last War elaborated on its fictional conflict with lavish miniature effects sequences, in blazing color no less, The Final War opts for a more personal approach, following the lives of several everyday Japanese citizens (a student, a reporter and so on) as war and rumors of war swirl about them. Everything is seen from a distinctly human perspective, with chilling results. Radios broadcast the latest political huff from either side (familiar gaijin in the roles of American and Soviet representatives), while jet aircraft speed overhead, ominous and untouchable.
The intricate effects sequences that mark the Toho production (a showcase for effects pioneer TSUBURAYA Eiji) fall largely by the wayside here in favor of big-scale dramatic set-pieces. Thousands amass in an exodus from doomed Tokyo, and huddle in forests far from the city limits to hope and pray that the worst doesn't come to pass. It does, of course. Survivors are few, and there is no cheerful resolution, no escape from the all-consuming crucible of a dumb and pointless war.
Filmed in stark black and white 'Scope and directed by the little-known HIDAKA Shigeaki, who flourished in the early years of Japan's post-occupation film boom only to disappear at the start of the '60s, The Final War benefits as cinema from its technical inferiority to Toho's melodramatic effort. Its perspective is direct and human, its conclusion understated and terrifying. It's about the tragic consequence of a world that puts wars of ideology ahead of the welfare of billions, and it remains a harrowing watch more than fifty years on from its original release.
Would that I could provide the whole film here, but the best I can offer is a taste. Rest assured that it does exist, and that it's a hell of a lot easier to find now than it used to be.


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Orphan Black Style
You may have read this post about my latest TV show obsession, BBC America's Orphan Black. If not, go read it and come back! If you've seen the show, then you'll know what I'm on about.
A Quick Rundown
If you don't feel like reading my post on Orphan Black, then I'll give you a quick rundown. Basically, Orphan Black is a show about a woman – Sarah – who witnesses another woman (who looks identical to Sarah) commit suicide by throwing herself in front of a train. Sarah then steals her left-behind handbag and assumes her identity in an effort to steal her money, but gets caught up in a huge conspiracy that has a lot more to do with her than she realizes. You find out (basically) that Sarah is a clone and that many of her genetic identicals are out in the world, living their lives, who may or may not know what they are.
Given how obsessed I've become with the show (seriously it is AWESOME), I decided to share some of my favorite looks from my 3 favorite characters of the show because orphan black style is seriously amazing. I mean, when you binge watch 2 seasons of a show, it deserves some recognition, amirite?
Alison Hendricks
Alison's style is really very preppy and mom-ish. She's a crafty housewife so it makes sense, but somehow her character gives her preppy clothing a kind of attitude anyway.
Cosima Niehaus
Cosima is a brilliant scientist so it makes sense that her style is completely bohemian chic. Everything looks built for comfort with knits, dresses and crop tops.
Sarah Manning
Sarah is not only the main character – she's also my favorite. Actually, I'm pretty sure she's nearly everyone's favorite because she's such a badass. She has her problems, that's true, but she's a survivalist. I love her punk rock chic style. It's definitely my ideal style for sure.
Do You Watch Orphan Black?
Who Is Your Favorite Character?
♥ Tianna
Image Source: Google Images / BBC America
*affiliate links in post; not all links are affiliate.


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Home »
Oracle Forum
Hello Experts,
How to create dmp file of Oracle database?
Since now thanks...
Run -- > exp , username: _______ password: ________ , buffer size < ____ > (press enter and dont change the buffer size) , file name: dmp> (put the path that you wanna save the dmp file in for eg. "d:\folder name\dumpFileName.dmp" , then choose wether to export the whole User data or just tables by typing ( U or T).
Apply datapump if you are using oracle 10g version & above. Use the following command if you want to create a dmp file for a complete database on Linux :
$ expdp system/password@host_string full=Y directory=TEST_DIR dumpfile=dmp_file_name.dmp logfile=log_file_name.log
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The Houston Rockets (25-22) take on the Denver Nuggets (28-18) Wednesday night at 9:00ET. Get NBA odds at Bovada sportsbook.
Bet the Nuggets Now and Claim your Free $1000 Bonus From Oddsmaker Sports-Book: CLICK HERE
Houston has won three games in a row to bring their record to 25-22 SU and 24-22-1 ATS. They are four games under .500 on the road this year, posting a 10-14 mark, although they have won their last three away from home. They seemed to have turned thing around after a long losing streak, and are moving in the right direction.
Denver has won four in a row and eight of their last ten matchups. For the season, they are 28-18 SU and 26-20 ATS. They have been fantastic at home, going 18-3 this season. They are 8-2 in their last 120 contests straight up, but only 4-6 against the spread.
Bet Now on the NBA and Claim Your 150% Bonus From Top Bet Sports-Book: CLICK HERE
Denver is a 4 ½ point favorite. Although they haven't fared well against the spread, you are getting value here. Take the Nuggets -4 ½ at www.sportsbookroom.com.


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Sixth Form Prospectus
Parents and Carers
I am delighted that you are considering Bridgnorth Endowed School for the next stage of your son or daughters education. Choosing the right secondary school is a vital decision for each and every family. I hope that the information in this prospectus, together with our developing reputation within the local community and beyond, will give you a flavour of what we believe is distinct and special about Bridgnorth Endowed School. Receiving a national award for outstanding improvement, putting us in the top 10% of schools, demonstrates how hard we are working to be the best we can be. Our website, bridgnorthendowed.co.uk will give you more information about our work.
We have a long tradition of serving the community of Bridgnorth, dating back to 1503 when the school was founded, in the reign of King Henry VII. Today we welcome students from a wide geographical area and aim to provide the best possible education and opportunities for all and to be at the forefront of educational development. We seek to offer an environment that is secure and caring, of high aspiration and in which students take pride in their achievements.
We believe in a curriculum which develops the academic potential of each student to the full, no matter what their starting point. We offer a breadth of curriculum that will meet and respond to individual need. We seek to encourage social responsibility and care for others. We expect those who choose to attend the Endowed School to be hard working, to aim high and to achieve their very best in everything they do.
Our vision for the school may be summarised by the phrase: Be the best that you can be by working together for success The key elements of our vision are:
Learners who are:
• Happy, secure inspired and confident
• Fully engaged in the life and development of the school
• Developing the life skills of thinking, teamwork, resilience, responsibility, communication, creativity and independence to prepare them for the changing world in which they live
• Valued as individuals of real potential
In a school community that is:
• Collaborative
• Reflective
• Forward looking in teaching, learning and technology
• Student centred
• Creative
• Communicative
Our close links with the London 2012 Olympic legacy project means that we have Olympic athletes visiting the school regularly throughout the year. They help us develop our vision with the students by giving them practical strategies and motivation to 'Be the best' that they can be in all things. This is an important part of providing inspiration for all students to reach for the stars.
We value a close working relationship between parents, students, the local community and the school. If you would like to find out more about us or visit us to sample the atmosphere and experience what we can offer as a school we will be pleased to make an appointment with you.
Mr P Loveday


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1660 E Spring St
Long Beach, CA 90755
Your privacy is important to us.
Long Beach BMW takes your privacy seriously and does not rent or sell your personal information to third parties without your consent. Read our privacy policy.
Long Beach BMW
1660 E. Spring St.
Directions Signal Hill, CA 90755


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on sale in the UK in June 2016. It has also been published in French (Pyramyd), German (Michael Fischer), Spanish (Editorial Gustavo Gili), Portuguese (GG Brasil) and Dutch (Librero).
Buy a signed copy here.
here. It was chosen as one of Amazon's Best Books of 2015.
Visit my Facebook Page for more news.
I'd be very happy if you'd review any of the books online. Thanks.


text: Human Rights Observatory Special Olympics Set to Open Saturday More than 6,000 athletes from 165 countries have gathered in Los Angeles for the Special Olympics, a competition for people with intellectual disabilities. The Special Olympics torch, called the Flame of Hope, is nearing the end of its journey of thousands of kilometers. The torch procession is part of a fundraising effort for the Special Olympics movement by law enforcement agencies. Saturday's opening ceremony for the games will be held at the opening site of the 1984...Read complete article© Voice of America - Friday, July 24, 2015


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Currency forex online trading qatar
Forex | Forex Trading | Trade Currencies Online - IFC Markets
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Lou Pallo And The Gibson Bus
// May 22nd, 2011 // 4 Comments » // Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, Jazz Events, News
Just got an email from organist Radam Schwartz, who runs the Tuesday Night Jazz Jam at the Crossroads in Garwood. Check it out and consider attending. Sounds like a fun time! Here's Radam's original email with full details:Lou Pallo and friends pull up in the decked-out Gibson bus on Tuesday, May 24th to hang at the Crossroads weekly jazz jam. (more…)


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This week in the Flog:
- Making Lactobacillus Serum
- Photos to go with the recipe!
I finally ran out of lacto serum! It gives me an opportunity to finally publish pictures to go with this recipe. So let's look at the process from start to finish with pictures.
I didn't have rice wash handy for the first step. But I did have cheerios. There you go, great carbohydrate source. Not as ideal as a bran cereal or rice wash, but it will do just fine for the purpose of attracting wild microbes. Here is the 'rice wash vessel' with at least half air, and open on top. I left the Cheerios in for about 5 minutes, until they started really shedding into the water. Here they are getting soggy:
I strained out the cheerios, and loosely secured some mesh netting over the top so that large critters like cockroaches can't get in. This is my carbohydrate wash that will sit out for 5-7 days:
Now the vessel sits in a shady area of the garden for 6 days. After 6 days it's pretty cloudy and you can see 'threads' in it – bacterial growths. No separating into layers but that's ok, it will work fine. I drained off most of this solution since I'll use the same vessel for the milk, and I need 10 parts milk. So I drained until just about 1/10th the vessel was wash water:
Now we add the milk – just regular old UHT processed milk, nothing special. Although natural cow's milk would be the absolute best. I put the lid of the jar on top but not clamped down. This creates a seal but if gas builds up it can escape if needed:
Jar goes back to the shady corner of the garden. Now wait another 7 days. The curd on top starts out pretty thick and gets thinner, while the solution turns very cloudy white. It's pretty sweet. Here is the jar after 7 days:
Now I used the same mesh, in combo with a funnel, to make a strainer to transfer the solution into a plastic jug. Then just pour out the lacto serum:
Now we have the lacto serum separated out, it needs sugar to stabilize it for storage. I have about 750ml of serum, so it needs either 750ml of molasses or 750gm of sugar. I had nice brown sugar handy, cost <1$ so I like the price vs molasses here. I weighed out around 750gm of brown sugar to be added. Here they are: [caption id="attachment_830" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Sugar and Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) ready to be mixed[/caption]
Conveniently I had a 1.5L bottle handy which I added the serum to initially. After adding the sugar, the solution is almost up to the top. Just perfect:
After a few shakes, the sugar dissolves and the solution becomes a bit thicker consistency, with few bubbles. It's as easy as that. Now I have 1.5L of pure stabilized lacto serum.
- Store this pure solution I've just made above wherever, in my home office for now.
- Get 500ml bottle and add 2tbsp of this pure lacto to that bottle and fill to top with clean, un-chlorinated water
- Use this 500ml bottle for all the applications I use lacto for around the house/balcony
- 2tbsp per meal, after we eat, mixed in half glass of water
- 1tbsp/L (or less) sprayed everywhere indoors – to kill all those humid-country-tropical-smells that somehow crop up
- 1tbsp/L to spray plants, foliar feed keep their leaf surface healthy (equivalent to us using after meals)
- 1tbsp/L when watering compost piles, keep them moist when they dry out
- 1tsp/L in roach water, dog's water
- 2tbsp/L for periodic moistening of Bokashi bran and when adding stuff to bokashi bin
- 2+tbsp/L drain cleaning – inundate at night after we finish using sinks/toilets
- 2+tbsp/L grease trap cleaning – in Philippines sinks have bins below them that are grease traps that get super smelly. This kills it
- 1tbsp/L added to water bucket with organic fertilizer, 12-24hrs before watering plants (usually night before)
Pretty cool huh? I guess now I need to write a post showing all those applications. The smell killing is a pretty cool one. I should get a video. You can kill smells in 10mins flat. You can have something rotting on your balcony, to the point it makes your eyes water to stand out there. Spray it with a strong lacto mix (5tbsp/L or something). Come out to the balcony 15mins later, and you don't even know there is some rotting thing there next to you. I speak from personal experience. Hah.
In any case, here is the illustrated lacto serum recipe. Please, share your experiences with lacto, what you've used it for and how it's worked for you. Ideas grow by sharing.
Keep on growing. 🙂


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Second Star-Studded 'New Year's Eve' Trailer Debuts
A new trailer has arrived for New Year's Eve, the latest saccharine rom-com from septuagenarian celebrity-hoarder Garry Marshall. The cast includes Ashton Kutcher, Halle Berry, Josh Duhamel, Sofia Vergara, Robert De Niro, Sarah Jessica Parker, Zac Efron, Hilary Swank, Michelle Pfeiffer, and a host of other attractive famous people of different ages and ethnicities. Hidden within the trailer is an easter egg: the faintest trace of a plot. See if you can find it!
New Year's Eve opens December 9, 2011.
Source: CinemaBlend
Click on the image below to feast your eyes on our wondrous gallery for Zac Efron:


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True or false: during adolescence, your brain is becoming more efficient, but it is also losing some of its potential for learning.
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During adolescence, there is a surge of neuron development and synaptic connectivity. Basically, the brain is wide open to new leaning in adolescence. The application of this learning means that while specialized neuro connections are developed and strengthened, perhaps piano playing skills, the neuro connections that are not selected fade into lessened activity. Neuro connection spurts of activity during adolescence start at the back of the brain and move through to the front. So, in a sense it may be true to say you lose some potential for learning, that is only having gained masses of new potential for learning. The answer to this must reflect your textbook and your instructor's expectations though it may not reflect the most current results of brain research.


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Listen to free music played by JoshCleveland
Blip.fm is internet radio made social. It's easy to search for, play, and discover free music recommended by real people. Join today to create your own free station and start listening to @JoshCleveland.
JoshCleveland In this world they choose to see me, they choose to see me like a setting sun. So it's up to me, I have to see me, I have to see me like a rising one.


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San Diego, California (PressExposure) January 15, 2008 -- San Diego-based do-it-yourself beauty makeover firm, Noixia, has finally enabled consumers to quickly answer the question, âHow long will it take me to lose weight?â Noixia created a free online weight loss tool, that asks the user five straightforward questions about her eating and exercise habits. Then based on the userâs responses to those five questions, the program will tell her how many days it will take to lose however many pounds she wishes to drop.
The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Weight Loss Tool, as the program is called, helps consumers feel more empowered about losing weight, says company president Nicole Dial, âBecause the estimation of weight loss is based on what a person is willing and able to do, not what they should do to lose weight.â
The proven formula for losing weight is simpleâ exercise more, and eat less. But, according to Dial, âPutting this basic equation into practice is easier said than done, and I from what Iâve seen, people truly do not believe that losing weight is a simple matter of just cutting back on food and getting fit.â
Noixia hopes that the free DIY Weight Loss Tool will help consumers take a fresh, and a more self-reliant look at the whole dieting process.
To appreciate how weight loss works, explains Dial, âYou at least need some facts like how many calories you consume and how many calories you burnâ. Yet for many consumers, these numbers are whimsical, not realistic.
For instance, clinical studies have demonstrated that people can grossly underestimate their calorie consumption and overestimate how many calories they burn with exercise. Not surprisingly, it is this kind of numerical miscalculations that can leave consumers screeching, âDiets donât work!â
To add to the importance of psychology and perception in weight loss, Dial explains that, âIt is a known fact that people will endure (if you will) painful or new experiences longer if they simply know exactly how long this strange, or frightful experience will last.â
Dial predicts that giving people an exact day by which they can lose weight based on the lifestyle changes that they are comfortable with, will make attaining their weight loss goals more likely. Moreover, since the program is based on what a person is comfortable doing with respect to weight loss, it will help users keep weight off for the long term.
Noixiaâs free DIY Weight Loss Tool is located at: http://www.noixia.com/blog/?page_id=548.


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Michael Daniels Collection
Abracadabra is a proud exclusive Michigan retailer of Michael Daniels' mokume gane creations. Michael Daniels Collection, named for it's two goldsmiths Michael Parrish and Daniel Jenkins, create all of their own metal alloys to produce bold mokume patterns utilizing a proprietary combination of heat, pressure, forging and carving in their studio in Cool, California. Custom orders take approximately 3-6 weeks so please stop in or email us with any questions.


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My family has never really celebrated Christmas. I know – how weird (and a little sad). In fact, we're not big on holidays and celebrations, in general. I never got to experience what it felt like to be a little kid waking up on Christmas morning and rushing down the stairs to discover the treasures under the Christmas tree.
But, I'm a big kid now. And once a year, around this time, I get to experience what Christmas must feel like to big kids.
You see, I woke up this morning, and the first thing I did was check the standings for each of my eight fantasy football leagues. The rushing blood, the pounding heart, the goosebumps, the ragged breathing, the anticipation. It all sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it?
As the page is loading, your mind is going over all kinds of scenarios. Did you or did you not make the playoffs? What seed are you? Is your nemesis in your half of the bracket? Do your players have favorable matchups?
After all, we are in Week 14, the week that most fantasy football playoffs begin. Playoffs? Don't talk about…playoffs?! You kiddin' me? Playoffs?!
Oh, playoffs.
As I scan the standings, this is what I see: 2, 3, 5, 2, 1, 4, 7. I made the playoffs in seven leagues (in the one where I'm in seventh place, the top eight make the playoffs). As for that eighth league, it's best to just forget about it and permanently erase it from memory.
I can already taste the sweetness of victory. The money? I'm spending it in my head. But really, the icing on the cake is knowing that I'm a fantasy football genius; that's the real Christmas present. There's no dollar amount that can buy pride.
Back in 2008, I worked in casino management. It's common knowledge that the worst gamblers are casino workers themselves. In this 12-team casino work league, we paid a $50 starting entry fee. For every loss we took each week, we had to pay another $10. For every waiver wire transaction we made, we had to pay another $10.
By the time it was all over, I had well over $300 invested in the league (I'm very active on the waiver wire). I not only won the league, I won the league without a real quarterback.
I had drafted Detroit's Jon Kitna, but that experiment turned ugly quickly with a trip to Injured Reserve. I experimented with Chicago's Kyle Orton and Houston's Sage Rosenfels before winning my championship game with San Francisco's Shaun Hill. Shaun Hill. You can imagine my indignation when Alex Smith took over the starting job in 2009, relegating my star quarterback to a backup role.
My other starters had slightly more star power than Hill: Chris Johnson, Clinton Portis, Steven Jackson, Carolina's Steve Smith, and DeSean Jackson.
When you're in a league full of degenerate gamblers and self-proclaimed experts, coming out on top is not easy, especially when you're a woman. The money was nice, but being able to reign as a fantasy football goddess for an entire year was wholly more satisfying.
This year, I plan on winning multiple leagues. One of my leagues is a 14-team all-female league called "Girls Guide Pro." Heavy hitters such as Olympic swimmer Summer Sanders (The Joy of Rex) and MSG reporter Tina Cervasio (Knix Chix) are part of the league.
With a team consisting of Jay Cutler / Sam Bradford, Jamaal Charles, Mike Tolbert, Brian Westbrook (formerly Frank Gore), Calvin Johnson, Tampa Bay's Mike Williams, Percy Harvin, and Antonio Gates, my record should be better than it is.
As you can see, I have the highest number of points, but I also have the highest number of points scored against me. Therefore, I sit with a nasty (not the good nasty) 7-6 record, but made the playoffs regardless. And, as we all know, anything can happen in the playoffs.
Mm, playoffs. It's finally here, which means that once again, Christmas is here early.


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This post is syndicated (?) from The Whisky Exchange - New Products & News
Dupont 1988 Pays d'Auge Calvados / 70cl / 42%
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Price: £82.45 Inc. VAT…
Continue read this article at The Whisky Exchange - New Products & News


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My husband and I went on the 4 day trip from Marrakech to the desert and back and it was great. Our guide Hassan was so accommodating and nice, he was an excellent driver and he helped us during meals since my husband has quite...More
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You can now listen to the whole of 'Let Them Talk' exclusively on Spotify Premium HERE!
If you're not already signed up, click HERE to get your free 7 day Spotify Premium trial!
Posted: Wed 04 May 2011
We're giving you the chance to win a signed copy of 'Let Them Talk (Special Edition)' , and all you have to do is answer one simple question:
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text: Vectra is coming up to its 3rd birthday next month and hence out of warranty . Anyway, car is going into garage next week to check something out and I have asked them to check for rear alloys as the paint finish is starting to pit and bubble and I hope they may change them under warranty - What do reckon, think I'll get them??


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Teeth Whitening in Sydney
The natural colour of teeth vary between individuals. Various factors can cause your teeth to discolour, these include diet, medication, genetics as well as aging. Teeth whitening can help lighten the colour of your teeth by several shades and can be the easiest way to enhance the appearance of your smile. At John Michalopoulos Dental we are pleased to offer different choices for whitening procedures.
If you are time poor or desire instant results, our in-house Opalesence treatment is the most patient friendly system. Your teeth become lighter while you relax watching a film, listen to music or even have a nap, we do the rest to ensure a brighter smile.
We also offer a complete take home whitening package. Our system is completely safe and provides exceptional results. With precise custom-fit trays and using TGA approved whitening gels, you will be shown how to achieve the best results so that you are happy with your whiter, brighter smile.
Sometimes a tooth that has had the nerve removed (Root Canal Therapy) can become discoloured, we can sometimes correct this with internal whitening.
Our staff are more than happy to answer all your questions. If you are interested in going ahead with the treatment, we will organize for your teeth and gums to be examined ensuring the process will be safe and effective for you.


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Everyone's heard it, "breakfast is the most important meal of the day". Not only does a HEALTHY breakfast provide energy for morning activities, eating breakfast also revs up your metabolism, and keeps you from binging later in the day. An easy go- to breakfast full of whole grain and protein is this quick and easy clean oatmeal recipe!
For the 21 Day Fix this is 1 yellow (with water), 1 purple, and 1 tsp!
1/2 cup of old fashioned oats
1/2 cup of skim, almond, or soy milk
1/2 a banana
1 tsp of natural peanut butter
I also added a few blueberries : )
1) Add oats, milk, and banana to a microwave safe bowl
2) Microwave for 1 minute, stir, and microwave another 30 seconds.
3) Stir in the peanut butter (and blueberries if you like!)
Looking at the recipe 1/4 cup of oatmeal seemed a little skimpy to me but after adding in the milk, banana, and peanut butter – it made the perfect amount! Using skim milk this recipe has about 165 calories. However, if you are feeling hungry go ahead and double the recipe (still only 330 calories!)