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- What Is Emtricitabine?
- Who Should Take Emtricitabine?
- What About Drug Resistance?
- How Is Emtricitabine Taken?
- What Are the Side Effects?
- How Does Emtricitabine React With Other Drugs?
What Is Emtricitabine?
Emtricitabine (Emtriva) is a drug used for antiretroviral therapy (ART). It is manufactured by Gilead Sciences. Generic versions have been tentatively approved under PEPFAR (see Fact Sheet 925.) Emtricitabine is also known as FTC. Emtricitabine is also active against hepatitis B.
Emtricitabine is a nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase inhibitor, or nuke. These drugs block the reverse transcriptase enzyme. This enzyme changes HIV's genetic material (RNA) into the form of DNA. This has to occur before HIV's genetic code gets inserted into an infected cell's own genetic codes.
Who Should Take Emtricitabine?
Emtricitabine was approved in 2003 as an antiretroviral drug (ARV) for people with HIV infection. It has not been carefully studied in the elderly. In 2005 the FDA approved a liquid version for use in children over 3 months old.
There are no absolute rules about when to start antiretroviral treatment (ART). You and your health care provider should consider your CD4 cell count, your viral load, any symptoms you are having, and your attitude about taking ART. Fact Sheet 404 has more information about guidelines for the use of ART.
If you take Emtricitabine with other ARVs, you can reduce your viral load to extremely low levels, and increase your CD4 cell counts. This should mean staying healthier longer.
Emtricitabine was approved for use by people 3 months old or older.
Emtricitabine has not been approved to fight hepatitis B. Some people with HIV had their hepatitis B get worse after they stopped taking emtricitabine. Get tested for hepatitis B before you start taking emtricitabine to treat HIV. If you have hepatitis B and stop taking emtricitabine, your health care provider should carefully monitor your liver function for several months.
What About Drug Resistance?
Many new copies of HIV are mutations. They are slightly different from the original virus. Some mutations can keep multiplying even when you are taking an ARV. When this happens, the drug will stop working. This is called "developing resistance" to the drug. See Fact Sheet 126 for more information on resistance.
Sometimes, if your virus develops resistance to one drug, it will also have resistance to other ARVs. This is called "cross-resistance." For example, if HIV is resistant to the drug 3TC (Epivir) it will almost certainly be resistant to emtricitabine. If you have already taken 3TC, your health care provider may want to do a resistance test (see Fact Sheet 126) to see whether emtricitabine will work for you.
Resistance can develop quickly. It is very important to take ARVs according to instructions, on schedule, and not to skip or reduce doses.
How Is Emtricitabine Taken?
Emtricitabine is available in 200 mg tablets. The normal dose of emtricitabine is 200 mg daily: one tablet once a day. Emtricitabine can be taken with food or between meals.
Be sure your health care provider knows if you have had kidney problems: your dose of Emtricitabine may need to be lowered.
Emtricitabine is also available in Truvada, a combination of tenofovir and emtricitabine (see Fact Sheet 421).
What Are the Side Effects?
When you start any ART, you may have temporary side effects such as headaches, high blood pressure, or a general sense of feeling ill. These side effects usually get better or disappear over time.
The most common side effects of Emtricitabine are headache, diarrhea, nausea, and rash. Levels of lactic acid in the blood (lactic acidosis, see Fact Sheet 556) increase in some people taking nucleoside analog drugs. Liver problems including "fatty liver" may also occur. In rare cases, people had some limited changes in skin color.
How Does Emtricitabine React With Other Drugs?
Emtricitabine can interact with other drugs or supplements you are taking. These interactions can change the amount of each drug in your bloodstream and cause an under- or overdose. New interactions are constantly being identified. Make sure that your doctor knows about ALL drugs and supplements you are taking. However, no significant interactions have been identified yet between emtricitabine and several other ARVs.
Emtricitabine should not be combined with lamivudine (3TC) because these drugs are very similar. There is no added benefit.


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Tuesday, 1 February 2011
If something is shared do you value it less?
Image: Sharing the juice by zummersweet
If you listened only to those I know online, who are interested in learning, you would think that the world believed in trying to make and share educational content as easily as possible. But that is not always true. I have participated in discussions where it has been suggested that students might think that a course has less value if the content is freely available. The usual response is that a student should sense more value in participating in a course, than that which can be derived from easily shared online content. There should be more to it than a few lectures.
This morning I saw a tweet about a lecture on health inequities in the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. My immediate thought, which I tweeted back, was that it was a pity that the lecture wasn't more widely available (recorded, shared and able to be embedded in a blog) since the topic is so important. The things is that I've started getting a little spoiled. Last week I was able to watch sessions from the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making (FIMDM) conference in Washington DC here, live as they were being streamed, and for free. Last year, I watched many of the sessions in a 2 day conference on "Innovation in the Age of Reform" and you can too now, because those sessions are still available here. That conference was organised by Swedish . I had never heard of them before but I have now and so have you.
Lecture capture is becoming so easy to do that most universities have started already. And if you have the lecture then why not share it? Many are. iTunesU is one way of sharing your content freely with others. Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard and Yale are some of the universities already sharing with iTunesU. MIT have a whole website devoted to sharing 2000 of their courses. So all of these institutions have decided that there is something to be gained from making some of their content freely available. Maybe they believe that it is morally right to share, or that is will garner them positive coverage, or attract future students.
Anyway, the doctor I was speaking to thought that it wouldn't be appropriate to share material from a post-graduate course that someone was paying for. I asked if she thought it would devalue the course and she said yes. So, away from the echo chamber that I seem to inhabit more often I wanted to ask how you would feel about paying to attend a course where some of the materials were made freely available to others. Would it put you off? Would you feel proud that others could see the high standard of teaching you were receiving? Would you feel glad that your fees were helping to share knowledge around the world? Or would you feel cheated?
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Polyurethane U-cup buffer seals
RBB profiles
fig. 1) have a LUBRITHANE (TPU) sealing ring that incorporates a polyamide (PA) or polyacetal (POM) anti-extrusion ring. The flexible outside static sealing lip and notches in the front face ensure that pressure can return to the system side of the buffer and prevent build-up of pressure between the rod and buffer seals. These profiles are suitable for extreme pressure peaks and demanding workloads in heavy duty applications up to 690 bar (10 000 psi). They are available in metric (Size list [pdf]) and inch sizes (Size list [pdf]), some metric sizes fit seal housings in accordance with ISO 7425-2:1989.


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Married patients with locally advanced lung cancer are likely to survive longer after treatment than patients who are single, according to a study by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center. The results of the retrospective study were presented on September 6, 2012 at the 2012 Chicago Multidisciplinary Symposium in Thoracic Oncology.
University of Maryland researchers studied 168 patients with Stage-III non-small cell lung cancer, the most common type of lung cancer, who were treated with chemotherapy and radiation over a 10-year period, from January 2000 to December 2010. They found that 33 percent of married patients were still alive after three years compared to 10 percent of the single patients, with women faring better than men. Married women had the best three-year survival rate (46 percent), and single men had the worst rate (3 percent). Single women and married men had the same 25 percent survival rate at three years. White married patients had a better survival rate than married African-Americans.
"Marital status appears to be an important independent predictor of survival in patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer," says the study's lead author, Elizabeth Nichols, MD, a radiation oncology resident at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center. "The reason for this is unclear, but our findings suggest the importance of social support in managing and treating our lung cancer patients. Patients may need help with day-to-day activities, getting to treatment, and making sure they receive proper follow-up care."
"We believe that better supportive care and support mechanisms for cancer patients can have a greater impact on increasing survival than many new cancer therapy techniques. Not only do we need to continue to focus on finding new drugs and cancer therapies, but also on ways to better support our cancer patients," says Dr. Nichols, who collaborated on the study with senior faculty at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
The study's senior author, Steven J. Feigenberg, MD, an associate professor of radiation oncology at the School of Medicine, says additional research is planned. "We need to better understand why marriage is a factor in our patients' survival," says Dr. Feigenberg, who is also a radiation oncologist at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center. "We're also trying to determine if these findings can be corroborated in the multi-institutional setting."
E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, vice president for medical affairs at the University of Maryland and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, says, "Lung cancer is the No. 1 cause of cancer death in both men and women, and this study by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine suggests that having a spouse who can act as a caregiver may improve survival for patients with this type of cancer. We must figure out ways to help all of our cancer patients live longer, with a better quality of life, regardless of their marital status."
The patients in the study were evaluated by a multidisciplinary team of radiation oncologists, surgeons and medical oncologists at the Greenebaum Cancer Center and were treated with a standard combination of radiation and chemotherapy, typically followed by additional rounds of chemotherapy. With a mean follow-up of a year and four months, the mean survival was 13 months. Researchers used an analysis tool to estimate overall survival, with 21 percent of the patients alive at three years and 12 percent at five years.
Previous studies have found decreased survival for single men diagnosed with several types of cancer, including prostate and head-and-neck cancers. A study of 440,000 Norwegian men and women, published last year, found that men who never married were 35 percent more likely to die from cancer than married men. Never-married women were 22 percent more likely to die of cancer than those who were married. The study looked at deaths from 13 common cancers.
The 2012 Chicago Multidisciplinary Symposium in Thoracic Oncology is sponsored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), and the University of Chicago.
About the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center
The University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center is a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center, which is part of the University of Maryland Medical Center and the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The center is recognized for its active clinical and basic science research program. It has comprehensive programs to treat all types of cancer and is a major referral center for patients throughout Maryland and the region. It has been recognized as one of the top 15 cancer centers in the nation by U.S. News & World Report in 2012-13. For more information about the center, go to www.umgcc.org.
To help transform medicine through education, research and patient care, please make a donation to the School of Medicine.


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South African Journal of Science
versión On-line ISSN 1996-7489
versión impresa ISSN 0038-2353
S. Afr. j. sci. vol.110 no.9-10 Pretoria oct. 2014
Trace element composition of two wild vegetables in response to soil-applied micronutrients
Sydney MavengahamaI; Willem P de ClercqII; Milla McLachlanIII
IDepartment of Agriculture, Faculty of Science and Agriculture, University of Zululand, Empangeni, South Africa
IIDepartment of Soil Science, Faculty of AgriSciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
IIIDivision of Human Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, Cape Town, South Africa
Wild vegetables are an important commodity in the subsistence farming sector. They are considered to be rich in micronutrients and can therefore be used to overcome inadequate nutrition. However, research on micronutrients in wild vegetables remains limited and sporadic. In this study, we evaluated the responses of two wild vegetables - Corchorus olitorius and Amaranthus cruentus var. Arusha - to micronutrients added to the soil in comparison with a reference crop, Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla). Swiss chard concentrated significantly (o<0.01) higher amounts of Cu, Zn and Mn in the leaves than did the wild vegetables. Variations in micronutrients among the vegetables were greater for Zn (72-363 mg/kg) and Mn (97.9-285.9 mg/kg) than for Cu (8.8-14 mg/kg). C. olitorius had the least capacity to concentrate Mn and Zn in the leaves. However, C. olitorius concentrated significantly more Fe (327 mg/kg) in the leaves than did A. cruentus (223 mg/kg) or B. vulgaris (295 mg/kg). The mean per cent S concentration in the leaves ranged from 0.26% in C. olitorius to 0.34% in A. cruentus and B. vulgaris. We conclude that the different vegetables had different abilities to concentrate Cu and Zn in the order B. vulgaris > A. cruentus > C. olitorius. These results seem to contradict the belief that wild vegetables have an inherent ability to concentrate mineral micronutrients in their tissues.
Keywords: wild vegetables; soil; fertiliser; micronutrient concentration; fortification.
A review of micronutrients in diets in South Africa and other developing countries by Steyn and Herselman1 revealed widespread shortages. They concluded that the poor micronutrient status among the poor is caused by insufficient and undiversified diets and compounded by soils of low micronutrient status. There are three main ways in which micronutrients can be added to foods: (1) food fortification or supplementation, (2) genetic bio-fortification and (3) agronomic biofortification.2 Food fortification is widespread and efficient for those who can afford fortified foods, but is not applicable to most rural populations in Africa, which produce most of their staple crops, vegetables and meat at their farms and therefore do not generally purchase micronutrient fortified foods. Biofortification through conventional breeding shows promise, but research is currently limited to a small range of staple crops.3 Genetic biofortification is still mostly at the experimental stage, and even when it becomes viable, it might be some time before the genotypes that result are widely available and affordable to subsistence farmers. Agronomic biofortification, which is the increase in plant tissue micronutrient content through soil or foliar application of fertilisers, also involves the purchase of these mineral fertilisers and is only viable in commercial agriculture. Another strategy, which is the long-term goal of our present study, is to use locally available wild, semidomesticated and domesticated vegetable species that have the ability to concentrate the mineral micronutrients Zn, Cu and Fe, even from depleted soils. The possibility of exploiting the variability in shoot mineral content among different plant species in combating micronutrient under-nutrition has been discussed in detail by Broadley et al.45
Our targeting of wild vegetables is based on the knowledge that they are widely available and relatively easily accessible to poor subsistence farmers. These wild vegetables (also known in South Africa as African leafy vegetables, indigenous vegetables, morogo and imfino) are variously reported to be superior to conventionally cultivated vegetables such as Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla) and cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata)67 in micronutrients, including beta-carotene and minerals such as Zn, Fe and Cu. These vegetables are important to subsistence farmers, especially the poor, some of whom rely on wild vegetables as a major form of relish used to complement and accompany staple meals such as phutu, pap, ugali and sadza.8
A recent (2012) report on the importance of African leafy vegetables reaffirmed the potential of these vegetables in the eradication of micronutrient under-nutrition.7 The report particularly highlighted the prevalence of vitamin A and Fe deficiencies in rural parts of South Africa. Although Zn deficiency was reported as not being well documented in developing countries9, including South Africa7, the World Health Organization has identified Zn as one of the most serious deficiencies in the past decade.10 The consumption of fruits and micronutrient-rich vegetables has been reported to be low, leading to monotonous and micronutrient-poor diets in several provinces of South Africa.7,11 It is against such a background that promotional and research efforts for wild vegetables need to be taken seriously.
Wild vegetables are widely reported to have superior nutritional properties with respect to micronutrients compared to conventional vegetables such as cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) and Beta vulgaris var. cicla.12-16 There is wide variability in the nutritional composition reported for these vegetables in different studies. The claim that uncultivated indigenous vegetables could have superior micronutrient levels to cultivated conventional vegetables suggests that there is the possibility of increasing their micronutrient content if micronutrients are added to the soil.17 For most conventional crops, research has established critical points for deficiency or excess (toxicity).18 Such information is important in crop production if correct amounts of fertilisers are to be applied. The toxicity risks associated with applying excessive amounts of micronutrients to the soil were extensively reviewed by White et al.18 The levels of nutrients applied in crop production also determine the ability of a food crop to supply nutrients to humans. Deficiencies of these micronutrients in the soil also lead to reduced crop yields, thereby presenting a double problem: reduced amounts of food of poor nutritional quality.17 Some studies that have reported the superior nutrient composition of wild vegetables in South Africa12-16 were not controlled experiments and involved collection from the wild or purchasing from the market and conducting tests. The aim of the present study was to compare, under well-defined conditions, the accumulation of Zn, Cu and Fe in the leaves of two leafy wild vegetable species commonly consumed in the rural areas of South Africa - wild okra (Corchorus olitorius) and pigweed (Amaranthus cruentus var. Arusha) - and a reference vegetable crop that is also widely eaten - Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla).
Materials and methods
The experiment was conducted on potted plants in a greenhouse at the University of Zululand (28o51'S; 31o51'E). The growing medium used was soil collected from the university farm. The soil has been classified as Glenrosa soil form.19 Prior to filling the pots, the soil was sieved through a 13-mm diamond mesh wire mounted on a wooden frame, to homogenise it and to remove large stones, clods, sticks and grass.
There were two factors in the study - vegetable species and micronutrient fertiliser. Vegetable species were of three types: Corchorus olitorius, Amaranthus cruentus var. Arusha and Beta vulgaris var. cicla. Micronutrient fertiliser had four levels: 0 kg/ha (control), 5 kg/ha, 10 kg/ha and 15 kg/ha each of Cu, Fe and Zn mixed and applied in the form of CuSO4.5H2O, FeSO4.7H2O and ZnSO4.7H2O (Table 1). The combination of the two factors resulted in a 3x4 factorial experiment with 12 treatments arranged in a randomised complete block design with three replications. The micronutrient, basal fertiliser and nitrogen top dressing rates were calculated per plant based on a standardised plant density of 100 000 plants per hectare for the three vegetable species. Because basal fertiliser was not a treatment in this study, a general basal fertiliser of 5 g per plant of NPK 2:3:2 (14) was added pre-plant to all the pots resulting in 0.2 g N, 0.3 g P and 0.2 g K applied per plant. Lime ammonium nitrate (LAN, 28% N) top dressing fertiliser was also applied 10 days after transplanting to all pots at a rate of 3 g per plant resulting in 0.84 g of N applied per plant. Each pot contained 2.4 kg of air-dried soil. The micronutrient treatments were added 15 days after transplanting.
Plant management
Seedlings of each of the three test species were germinated and grown for 38 days in the commercial growth medium Hygromix. (Hygrotech Sustainable Solutions, Pretoria, South Africa) in polystyrene trays. Seedlings of uniform size were selected and transplanted into moist soil in which basal fertiliser had been applied pre-plant as described above. One seedling was planted per pot and there were four pots for each treatment. Thereafter, plants were watered in a way that avoided leaching of the nutrients from the soil. There were no plant mortalities such that at harvesting time each treatment had four plants. Samples of the youngest fully expanded leaves (blade and petiole) were taken 26 days after the application of micronutrients for chemical analysis. Samples were harvested from all the four plants per treatment so as to collect enough samples for analysis. Leaf samples were washed in distilled water soon after harvesting. Excess water was allowed to drain off for 4 h before the samples were placed in new brown paper bags and dried in the oven at 60 0C until they had attained uniform mass.
Chemical analyses of youngest fully expanded leaves
Dried plant samples were milled in a Retsch ZM200. mill (Retsch GmbH, Haan, Germany) to pass through a 0.5-mm sieve. They were then submitted for analysis to the Fertiliser Advisory Services of the South African Sugar Research Institute, Mount Edgecombe, KwaZulu-Natal.
Measurement of leaf nutrients
All the analysed elements were determined according to methods described by Wood et al.20 For Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn and S, a 1-g dried leaf sample was digested in 15 mL nitric acid followed by 5 mL perchloric acid. After digestion, the resultant mixture was filtered and then made up to 50 mL using water. The elements were then determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. S was determined colorimetrically. For N, P K, Ca and Mg, a 0.25-g dried leaf sample was digested in 2 mL selenised sulphuric acid for 1.5 h in a Kjeldatherm block digester at a temperature of 370 0C. After digestion, the samples were diluted by adding water to a volume of 1 L and K, Ca and Mg were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry; N and P were determined colorimetrically.
Soil analyses
Information on physico-chemical attributes of the soil (Table 2) was obtained prior to fertiliser application. Soil pH was determined in 0.01 M CaCl2. Exchangeable acidity was determined by titration after extraction with 1 M KCl. The macronutrients P K, Ca, Mg and Ca and micronutrients Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn were determined using the method described by Van der Merwe et al.21 after extraction by the Ambic-2 extraction method using EDTA-di-ammonium solution. Truog-extractable P was determined colorimetrically after extraction with 0.02 N sulphuric acid. Si was determined as described by Miles et al.22 after overnight extraction with 0.01 M CaCl2.
Data analysis
Analysis of variance was performed on the data using the Genstat 12 statistical package to test for significant treatment effects. Statistical significance was evaluated at p<0.05. Where the F-tests were significant, the treatment means were separated using the least significant difference test.23,24
Results and discussion
The effects of the micronutrient mixture on leaf nutrient concentration varied according to plant species and application rate. B. vulgaris concentrated Cu, Zn and Mn in the leaves significantly (p<0.01) more than did A. cruentus and C. olitorius (Table 3). The variations among the vegetables in these three micronutrients were greater for Zn (72-363 mg/kg) and Mn (98-286 mg/kg) than they were for Cu (9-14 mg/kg). In a previous study, in which Swiss chard was grown in several different types of soil in South Africa,1 wide variations in micronutrient concentrations (2.72-152.12 mg/kg for Cu and 11.9623.8 mg/kg for Zn) were reported. In that same study, Swiss chard samples from fruit and vegetable markets and shops had Cu levels of 9.4-111.7 mg/kg and Zn levels of 34.0-816.0 mg/kg.1 The large discrepancies between our study and that of Steyn and Herselman's1 in leaf Cu and Zn concentration ranges of Swiss chard are difficult to explain. Similar variations in Zn concentrations in plant tissues used for food were also reported in other studies.25 In the present study, C. olitorius had the least capacity to concentrate Mn and Zn in the leaf, which suggested that this vegetable is a less satisfactory candidate for agronomic biofortification of these micronutrients. However, C. olitorius leaves concentrated significantly more Fe (327 mg/kg) than did A. cruentus (223 mg/kg) or B. vulgaris (295 mg/kg).
Leaf Cu, Zn and S concentrations increased with increasing application rate, whereas Fe concentrations did not show a defined pattern (Table 4). The application of micronutrient fertilisers did not affect the concentration of macronutrients Ca, K, Mg, P and N (not shown), but there were significant (p<0.05) differences in the concentrations of Ca, Mg, P and S among the plant species tested (Table 5). The general trend of B. vulgaris > A. cruentus > C. olitorius in terms of leaf micronutrient content was also observed for the macroelements Mg and P (Table 5). However, the trend was reversed for Ca concentration, with C. olitorius leaves having three times the Ca content of B. vulgaris. However, a regression analysis of this negative relationship showed that it was not significant. The concentration of shoot Ca and Mg and their variations across different plant families have been investigated in comprehensive studies.45 These studies revealed that the order Caryophyllales, to which Amaranthus and Swiss chard belong, has a tendency towards high shoot Mg levels, resulting in lower Ca:Mg ratios, as observed in B. vulgaris in the present study.
There were significant (p<0.05) interactions (Figure 1 and 2) among plant species and fertiliser rate in terms of leaf Zn and Cu. In all three vegetables, the leaf Cu concentration increased with Cu addition up to 10 kg/ha but declined at 15 kg/ha (Figure 1). The decline in leaf Cu concentration at 15 kg/ha Cu was more marked in C. olitorius than in Swiss chard and A. cruentus. The reason for the decline in Cu concentration in C. olitorius at high application rates in the current study is not known but could be a result of toxicity or simply the inherent inability of C. olitorius as a species to accumulate the microelement, as alluded to by several researchers.4,5,18,25-26 Swiss chard concentrated more Zn and Cu at all fertiliser application rates (Figures 1 and 2), which contradicted our hypothesis that wild vegetables have a greater inherent ability to accumulate micronutrients from the soil than the widely cultivated exotic vegetables. Nonetheless, the wild vegetables also responded positively to the incremental application of the two micronutrients, which supported our postulate that the addition of micronutrients would result in increased micronutrient concentrations in wild vegetables leaves. Thus, when the vegetables were grown in soil with augmented micronutrient content, they concentrated increased quantities from the soil.
The concentrations of micronutrients tested in this study could be considered high, or even toxic to crops. We did not evaluate toxicity in this study, but observed no visible toxicity symptoms. The concentrations of micronutrients obtained from the leaf analysis results after applying micronutrient fertiliser were much higher than those reported for wild vegetables collected from the wild.12-16 However, not all micronutrients present in crops are available for uptake by humans. Some are complexed in unavailable forms by various biomolecules.2,25 It is therefore necessary to investigate if the increase in leaf micronutrient level has a positive effect on bioavailability of the micronutrients in wild vegetables. Micronutrients are generally applied in smaller quantities than macronutrients,27 but mostly in commercial agriculture. There is a danger of accumulation of micronutrients to hazardous levels in soils associated with high application rates of micronutrient fertilisers such that some countries have statutory maximum limits of micronutrients to be applied to soils to prevent accumulation to toxic levels.18 The nutrient content of most soils in the subsistence farming sector is generally not well known, yet there is a belief among agriculturalists that micronutrients occurring naturally in the soil are adequate for crop production. In contrast, in commercial agriculture, in which the nutrient status of soils is well known, farmers periodically apply micronutrients, either as foliar sprays or chelates to soils.28
The different vegetable species investigated demonstrated different abilities to take up Cu and Zn, in the order Swiss chard > A. cruentus > C. olitorius, and they responded to soil-applied micronutrients by taking up more from the soil, as more was supplied, but up to a certain point. The trend B. vulgaris > A. cruentus > C. olitorius was observed for the macroelements Mg and P but it was reversed for Ca concentration, with C. olitorius leaves containing three times the Ca content of B. vulgaris. Our results contradict the current claim that wild vegetables have superior micronutrient content to exotic vegetable species.
We thank the Research Committee of the University of Zululand for financial support and the Agricultural Research Council - Vegetable and Ornamental Plant Institute for supplying the Corchorus olitorius and Amaranthus cruentus seeds.
Authors' contributions
All authors contributed to the research and write-up. S.M. was responsible for the design and conduct of the experiments, and the data collection and analysis. W.Pd.C. and M.M. were responsible for overall supervision of the project.
1. Steyn CE, Herselman J. Trace elements in developing countries using South Africa as a case study. Comm Soil Sci Plant Anal. 2005;36:155-168. http://dx.doi.org/10.1081/CSS-200043017 [ Links ]
2. White PJ, Broadley MR. Biofortification of crops with seven mineral elements often lacking in human diets - iron, zinc, copper, calcium, magnesium, selenium and iodine. New Phytol. 2009;182:49-84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2008.02738.x [ Links ]
3. Nestlel M, Bouis HE, Meenakshi JV Pfeiffer WH. Biofortification of staple food crops. J Nutr. 2006;136:1064-1067. [ Links ]
4. Broadley MR, Bowen HC, Cotterill HC, Hammond JP Meacham MC, Mead A, et al. Phylogenetic variation in the shoot mineral concentration of angiosperms. J Exp Bot. 2004;55:321-336. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erh002 [ Links ]
5. Broadley MR, Hammond JP King GJ, Astley D, Bowen HC, Meacham MC, et al. Shoot calcium and magnesium concentrations differ between subtaxa, are highly heritable, and associate with potentially pleiotropic loci in Brassica oleracea. Plant Physiol. 2008;146:1707-1720. http://dx.doi.org/10.1104/pp.107.114645 [ Links ]
6. Flyman MV Afolayan AJ. The suitability of wild vegetables for alleviating human dietary deficiencies. S Afr J Bot. 2006;72:492-497. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2006.02.003 [ Links ]
7. Oelofse A, Van Averbeke W. Nutritional value and water use of African leafy vegetables for improved livelihoods. Report no. TT535/12. Pretoria: Water Research Commission; 2012. p. 332. [ Links ]
8. Mavengahama S, McLachlan M, De Clercq W. The role of wild vegetable species in household food security in maize based subsistence cropping systems. Food Security. 2013;5:227-333. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12571-013-0243-2 [ Links ]
9. Rosado JL. Zinc and copper: Proposed fortification levels and recommended zinc compounds. J Nutr. 2003;133(9):2985-2989. [ Links ]
10. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The state of food insecurity in the world. Economic crises - impacts and lessons learned. Rome: FAO; 2009. p. 61. Available from: http://www.fao.org/docrep/012/i0876e/i0876e00.htm [ Links ]
11. Labadarios D, Steyn NP Nel J. How diverse is the diet of adult South Africans? Nutr J. 2011;10:1-11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1475-2891-10-33 [ Links ]
12. Ndlovu J, Afolayan AJ. Nutritional analysis of the South African wild vegetable Corchorus olitorius L. Asian J Plant Sci. 2008;7(6):615-618. http://dx.doi.org/10.3923/ajps.2008.615.618 [ Links ]
13. Nesamvuni C, Steyn NP Potgieter MJ. Nutritional value of wild, leafy vegetables consumed by the Vhavhenda. S Afr J Sci. 2001;97:51-54. [ Links ]
14. Odhav B, Beekrum S, Akula U, Baijnath H. Preliminary assessment of nutritional value of traditional leafy vegetables in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. J Food Comp Anal. 2007;20:430-435. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfca.2006.04.015 [ Links ]
15. Steyn NP Olivier J, Winter P Burger S, Nesamvuni C. A survey of wild, green leafy vegetables and their potential in combating micronutrient deficiencies in rural populations. S Afr J Sci. 2001;97:276-278. [ Links ]
16. Van der Walt AM, Loots DT, Ibrahim MIM, Bezuidenhout CC. Minerals, trace elements and antioxidant phytochemicals in wild African dark-green leafy vegetables (morogo). S Afr J Sci. 2009;105:444-448. [ Links ]
17. Nube M, Voortman RL. Simultaneously addressing micronutrient deficiencies in soils, crops, animal and human nutrition: Opportunities for high yields and better health. Staff working paper WP-06-02. Amsterdam: Centre for World Food Studies; 2006. [ Links ]
18. White PJ, Broadley MR, Gregory PJ. Managing the nutrition of plants and people. Appl Environ Soil Sci. 2012;2012, Article ID 104826, 13 pages. [ Links ]
19. Mulder GJ. Subsurface flow response to rainfall on a hillslope plot within the Zululand coastal zone. In: Dardis GF, Moon BP, editors. Geomorphological studies in southern Africa. Brookfield/Rotterdam: AA Balkema; 1988. p. 445-456. [ Links ]
20. Wood RA, Meyer JH, Govender M. A rapid system of cane leaf analysis using X-ray spectrometry and infra-red reflectance. Proceedings of the South African Sugar Technologists Association. 1985;June:195-201. [ Links ]
21. Van der Merwe AJ, Johnson JC, Ras LSK. An NH4HCO3-NH4F-(NH4)2-EDTA method for the determination of extractable P K, Ca, Mg, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn in soils. Pretoria: Soil and Irrigation Research Institute; 1984. [ Links ]
22. Miles N, Van Antwerpen R, Van Heerden PDR, Rhodes R, Weigel A, McFarlane SA. Extractable silicon in soils of the sugar industry and relationships with crop uptake. Proceedings of the South African Sugar Technology Association. 2011;84:189-192. [ Links ]
23. Gomez KA, Gomez AA. Statistical procedures for agricultural research. 2nd edition. New York: John Wiley and Sons; 1984. [ Links ]
24. Steel RG, Torrie JH, Dickey DA. Principles and procedures of statistics: A biometrical approach. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co.; 1997. [ Links ]
25. White PJ, Broadley MR. Physiological limits to zinc biofortification of edible crops. Frontiers Plant Sci. 2011;2, 11 pages. [ Links ]
26. Broadley MR, White PJ, Hammond JP Zecko I, Lux A. Zinc in plants. New Phytol. 2007;173:677-702. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2007.01996.x [ Links ]
27. Fertilizer Society of South Africa. Fertilizer handbook. Pretoria: Fertilizer Society of South Africa; 2007. [ Links ]
28. Van der Waals JH, Laker MC. Micronutrient deficiencies in crops in Africa with emphasis on southern Africa. In: Alloway BJ, editor. Micronutrient deficiencies in global crop production. Dordrecht: Springer Science+Business Media B.V.: 2008. p. 201-224. [ Links ]
Sydney Mavengahama
Department of Agriculture, Faculty of Science and Agriculture
University of Zululand
Private Bag X1001, KwaDlangezwa 3886, South Africa
EMAIL: email@example.com
Received: 31 Oct. 2013
Revised: 17 Jan. 2014
Accepted: 02 Mar. 2014


text: What could the Over the Moon Stamp Set be about? Cows of course! To be more precise, the cutest cows on earth! (Or should that be "in the entire universe"?) Also available in French.Stampin' Up!'s cling stamps * Are premium rubber stamps.* Have deeply etched images so you get a superior stamped impression each time. * Are precut so you don't have to trim.* Are repositionable; temporarily mount them on clear blocks for stamping, then remove them for storage.* Save space—you need only one set of blocks for all your cling stamps (blocks sold separately). * Come packaged in cases with images on the spine for easy storage and quick reference.Quantity: 11 cling stampsSuggested clear blocks (sold separately): a, b, c, d, g


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I just can't figure out whats wrong with this code. It compiles but just outputs no answer! The desired function is for a user to enter nicegroan for example, and for the java program to run through dictionary.txt and find the longest word it can make from the user input which in this case would be ignorance. Any help would be appriciated.
import java.util.Scanner; public class countdowntwo { public static void main(String[] args){ //instantiate an instance of FileIO FileIO reader = new FileIO(); //the code below shows how to load a file String[] contents = reader.load("C:\\dictionary.txt"); //now you can process the contents of the file as a String array Scanner in = new Scanner(System.in); System.out.println("Insert your letters"); String input = in.nextLine(); char[] inputArray = input.toCharArray(); for(int i = 0; i < contents.length; i++)//loop through dictionary array { for(int j = 0; j < contents[i].length()-1; j++)//loop through contents of that array { char[] word = contents[i].toCharArray();//create a character array for each word in file for(int k = 0; k < word.length-1; k++)//loop through character array { while(k<inputArray.length)//while its less then user input { if(word[k]==inputArray[k])//if letters in word is equal to user input { word[j]=' '; for(int l = 0; l < word.length-1; l++) { if(word[l]!= ' ') { break; } else { System.out.println("The word is "+contents[i]); break; } } } } } } } } }


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I have just had a chance to peruse the NEWLY RELEASED LDS WEBSITE I had searched it when it was in beta format and did not find anything.
Today I found my great grandmother Bridget Naughton. I knew the names of her parents, Thomas Naughton and Catherine Ward, but what I did not expect to find was she was born and was Baptized in Galway. More information to be discovered. It gives the file number which I, hopefully, can research.
Perhaps now I can find her twin sister, whom my father had said looked just like her and he could not tell them apart.
I can not find my O'Rourke's or Mortel's. Since both Patrick and Ellen were born in 1851, I now have to investigate whether they were born in England, this would have been in the midst of the Potato Famine. Did they leave and move just to survive.
I will need to check the UK census records for 1851, 1861 and 1871. They both emigrated in 1874 for the USA.


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Action | Adventure | Crime | Thriller
James Bond (Agent 007) must investigate the murder of a fellow agent who was clutching a priceless Fabergé egg at the time of his death. The trail leads to the mysterious Octopussy, whose traveling circus features a company of gorgeous, athletic women. Bond and Octopussy share a passionate attraction, but soon 007 discovers that the elegant Kamal Khan is working with a mad Russian officer to hurl mankind into World War III. As Bond tries to stop the nightmarish scheme, his exploits include a tense chase through the streets of India, a deadly brawl on top of a speeding train, and a treacherous mid-air knife fight on an airplane wing.
Starring: Roger Moore, Maud Adams, Louis Jourdan, Kabir Bedi, Steven Berkoff, Kristina Wayborn
Director: John Glen


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There's a scene in the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding where the Greek family is horrified that the man their daughter is about to marry, is a vegetarian. The news silences the room and everyone's faces drop with pity for the man.
This is something I go through A LOT, with friends and family members thinking that I'm missing out on something that would otherwise make my life wonderful. That being a vegetarian is something that I must be really struggling with. That life without meat must be devastating for me.
So it's no surprise that the word "Orfana" is used at the end of a Greek dish title to indicate that it's a vegetarian version of a dish that would normally contain meat. The dish is considered "orphaned" without its meat component. This probably originated from a time when poorer families had to resort to eating meatless dishes when they couldn't afford to buy meat. Meat was for the fortunate ones, and if you couldn't afford it, you just had to settle for the much more inferior, poor-man's version of the dish.
It's interesting then, that there exists so many delicious Greek vegetarian dishes. These dishes may have once emerged as a result of the poorer times in Greece, but the fact that they still exist in today's Greek cuisine indicates that there's no denying these dishes actually taste really good without meat!
One such dish is Lahanodolmathes Orfana which are cabbage leaves stuffed with rice and herbs, and slow cooked in either an egg and lemon sauce or a rich tomato sauce.
In my version of this dish I have added lentils to the rice mix. I love the combination of rice and lentils, especially when used as a stuffing. The lentils help hold everything together, and add a bit of bulk and texture to the filling. They also taste lovely when cooked in a tomato sauce so my recipe today utilises the lentil and rice filling, a rich tomato sauce, and the gigantic cabbage that I received in my organic veggie box last week.
Lentil Stuffed Cabbage Leaves (Lahanodolmathes Orfana)
Serves 4–5
- 1 large cabbage
- 2 cups cooked lentils
- 1/4 cup uncooked long-grain rice
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 large onions, finely diced
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
For the tomato sauce
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 2 400g cans chopped tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons honey or 1 teaspoon sugar
- Place whole cabbage in a large pot, cover with water, bring to the boil and let simmer for 5 or 6 minutes.
- While the cabbage is cooking, fry the garlic for one minute until fragrant, then add chopped tomatoes, oregano, cinnamon, honey (or sugar) and salt and pepper to taste. Bring the tomato mixture to the boil and allow to simmer until you finish preparing the cabbage leaves (around 20 minutes).
- Heat remaining oil in a separate pot and set the onions to fry over low heat for around 20 minutes, or until golden, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, remove cooked cabbage from pot, drain and rinse under cold water. Carefully remove 8 to 10 large leaves from the cabbage, blot dry with a paper towel and trim thick parts of the stem using a paring knife, being careful not to slice through the cabbage leaf. The idea is to make the leaf as uniformly thin as possible, to enable easy rolling.
- Roughly chop up the remaining cabbage and use about two cups of this to cover the bottom of a heavy-based saute pan. You will need a pan that is around 25cm diameter with 6cm-high vertical sides and a lid. Drizzle with a few tablespoons of olive oil and set aside.
- Place cooked lentils, cooked onions and tomato paste in a large bowl, mix with your hands and season with salt and pepper to taste. Then add uncooked rice and egg and continue to mix with your hands until well combined. The mixture will be quite sloppy but will firm up when cooked.
- Remove tomato sauce from heat, cover and set aside. It should have been cooking for at least 15 minutes, but no longer than 30 minutes.
- Place about three teaspoons of the lentil filling onto a cabbage leaf and carefully roll up, folding in the sides before completing the roll, and place seam-side down on the bed of chopped cabbage in the saute pan.
- Repeat with remaining mixture and arrange all cabbage rolls in one layer in the saute pan.
- Pour tomato sauce over cabbage rolls until completely covered. It should look like this:
- If the sauce doesn't completely cover the rolls, add water.
- Place lid over pan and simmer on very low heat for 2 hours.
This dish is hearty and healthy and freezes really well. Just defrost and reheat in a saucepan over low heat with the lid on. You can add a small amount of water if necessary.
I'm linking this post with Veggie Mama's Meatless Mondays. Go take a look for some more fantastic vegetarian recipe ideas.


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Rams Suffer 3-0 Loss to Ramapo
Sep 11, 2004
Ramapo College 3
Farmingdale State 0
The Rams (0-2) fell to Ramapo College (3-2) today with a final score of 3-0. Ramapo controlled the game early and took a 2-0 lead into halftime with goals by Lisa DePree (Ringwood, NJ) and Lindsay Kotula (Manalapan, NJ). Farmingdale held the Roadrunners to one goal in the second as Pam Baione (Farmingdale, NY) made 11 saves in the second half, 13 total.
Farmingdale hosts FDU-Florham next Thursday, Sept. 16th at 3:30pm.


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from $49.99Flip up or down Your child will love our handy flip stool. A hinged back creates their very own seat, or folds to help kids with those hard to reach places. Available in white and espresso. 12" x 12½" x 6½" - "seat" is 5 1/2" from floor. Sample displays our Hand Painted Sports design. All Paint Certified Lead Free!! Assembles easily or have MyBambino assemble it for you for a small fee. Product is for Indoor use only and stains vary slightly from product to product! We also offer personalized step stools in white, natural, and expresso colors.
In Stock ITEM # STOO-NAT-hp
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I got exactly what I ordered and it came really fast. I did want to change the design on my order and I emailed the company only a couple hours after my order. They never returned my email or changed the design. It's not a huge deal because both are very cute and I like both of them, as does my son but a reply just stating they couldn't change the design on the order would of been nice. I'm really happy with the product!
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Just as an example, here is a webpage from the Mid-Continent Public Library, a library with a large genealogical collection, entitled "America's Favorite Pastime." In the body of the article the title is modified to read, "Genealogy has become one of America's favorite pastimes." However, there is nothing in the article citing a source to support the conclusion. Reading many more of the results from a Google search on "genealogy pastime" you find a lot of qualified statements saying that "many people have genealogy as a favorite pastime" which is a far cry from being a favorite with everybody.
I am highly suspect of most "favorites" lists because they usually turn out to support whatever special interest group wrote the list. So if "gardeners" write the list, gardening comes out high and so forth. What indication do we have as to how many people are directly involved in genealogy on a regular basis? So far, I have never been able to find anything that would indicate that genealogy ranks on any list of pastimes. But what about the numbers?
Here is a good number to start with; the number of Ancestry.com subscribers. Ancestry.com's second quarterly report for 2012 lists total subscribers worldwide at 1,870,000 as of March 31, 2012. The figure has to be approximate, but let's assume it is relatively correct. Let's assume all of those users are in the U.S. This is not a valid assumption but is probably high. Let's further assume that anyone willing to fork out $300+ a year is likely interested in the subject. But even though there are that many subscribers, how many of them would rank genealogy as their "favorite" pastime? For the purposes of argument, let's further suppose that all of them rank genealogy as their favorite pastime.
By the way, none of those assumptions are at all valid. It is also not fair to assume that all of the people who consider genealogy to be their favorite pastime or hobby, also subscribe to Ancestry.com. But we have to start somewhere.
Before going too much further, I need to cite a few "favorites" lists from the Internet:
- The 50 Most Popular Hobbies
- Top 25 Most Popular Sports/Recreational Activities in the U.S. You might notice with this site that even if there were double the number of genealogists based on Ancestry.com, it would still rank near the bottom of this particular list.
- Most popular US activities by share of time, 1995-2007 Citing a Harris Poll
- InterExchange Guide to Favorite U.S. Customs and Pastimes
OK, back to numbers. What about gauging pastime interest by readers of the popular genealogy blogs? Dick Eastman's blog is considered the most popular, so lets look at the most recent statistics from the date of this post. Eogn.com (Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter) ranks number 7,629 in the U.S. Pretty respectable, but Nascar.com ranks 695. I mentioned the number of Ancestry.com subscribers, well, the Phillies baseball team had 2,235,781 paid attendance for 50 games in 2012. The average ticket price for a major league game is almost $27 dollars so over the course of a season, if a fan went to all 50 games, they would pay $1,350 or more even if you didn't count food or drinks.
Genealogy is a great pursuit, but I don't think we need to worry about it being number one on anybody's list except our own.


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Tumblr Launches New iPad App
Tumblr New iPad App
Tumblr unveiled its native app for the iPad on Wednesday, just two days after the blogging platform updated its Android app to support tablets.
Version 3.2.3 of the iOS app is now compatible with both the iPad and iPad mini, and features markdown support as well as a new "Explore" tab. Bloggers can also access a sidebar navigation menu and a circular menu for composing posts.
Like its iPhone counterpart, the long-awaited iPad app lets users manage all their blogs, view and reply to messages, access the camera by swiping the compose button up, and share photos, videos, links and text. It also offers offline support, such as the ability to reblog even when not connected to the Internet.
Last month, Tumblr released a new version of its iOS app, debuting a redesigned dashboard, larger photos, faster post loading and notification previews for the iPhone.
Its latest Android app, which launched Monday, now has a new tags page and an alphabetical "following" list that shows a user's followed people.
Recently, Tumblr experienced major service disruptions, including one last week and another in October.
iOS users, will you download Tumblr's new iPad app? Tell us in the comments below.
Gallery images courtesy of Apple / Thumbnail image courtesy of Flickr, Sean MacEntee


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Elephants weigh 3 tons and eat 200 pounds of food per day. Sustaining these massive animals is an enormous (and expensive) task. So what happens to circus and zoo elephants when they grow old and can no longer earn their keep by entertaining audiences? They move to a retirement home in Tennessee. Here's how two elephant trainers created a safe, beautiful place for these animal elders to enjoy their golden years.
Located roughly 100 miles outside of Nashville, Tennessee in the small town of Howenwald The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee on 112 acres of land and with only one elephant in 1995. Their first elephant, the 22-year old Tarra, spent her life working in film and television, and learned to roller skate along the way.
Elephant trainers Carol Buckley and Scott Blais chose the small Tennessee town of Howenwald as its climate is similar to the indigenous climate of African and Asian elephants. Over time, the sanctuary grew from 112 to 2700 acres, and the staff grew and changed. The sanctuary currently features a 25 acre pond, a variety of terrain, and several heated barns to house the elephants on cold nights. The sanctuary is divided into three areas, with areas specifically created to simulate the home terrain of African and Asian elephants.
A hands off approach
18 elephants currently roam the 2700-acre sanctuary. Several caregivers work tending the creatures, but for the most part, the elephants are left to their own devices as a part of the sanctuary's passive management policy. This allows the elephants to form a herd as they would in the wild.
Caregivers maintain the barns, in addition to making sure that each elephant leaves the barn during the day and roams the sanctuary. The elephants often walk 3 to 15 miles throughout the terrain over the course of the day. Some of the elephants refrain from sleeping in a barn at night, choosing to stay on the sanctuary 24 hours a day.
Ladies only
In the wild, male and female elephants rarely live together. Asian elephants form herds based on gender, with a female herd containing several generations of elephants. Young males stay with the female herd until they are 6-10 years of age. Once they begin to exhibit breeding behavior, males are pushed out of the female herd.
Only males in dire health situations are accepted on the reserve. In one case, the sanctuary took in a captive-born elephant named Ned, an elephant confiscated from his owner. Extremely underweight and in poor health, Ned received around the clock veterinary care, but died five months after entering the sanctuary.
The sanctuary is also trying to acquire two elephants from Topeka Zoo — the 49 year-old Sunda and 40 year-old Tembo. Sunda and Tembo spent the last 36 years on display at the Topeka Zoo.
A goal of 100 elephants
The sanctuary's facilities can currently care for up to 25 elephants comfortably, but the available 2700 acres is enough area for 100 elephants to roam. The caregivers hope to expand the infrastructure over time, particularly the barns, to provide care for more elephants. The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, along with other wildlife sanctuaries throughout the world are providing wonderful homes for these animals in their last years of life.
How you can help
The habitat seeks to raise $185,000 per elephant as an endowment. Similar to a university endowment, the money is invested, with the funds garnered used to feed and care for the elephant through the rest of her lifetime. The sanctuary also accepts donations of food, money for specific items to upgrade the sanctuary like an automatic watering system, and "feed an elephant for a day" donations in the amount of $30.
To allow the elephants to lead peaceful lives, the sanctuary is not open to the public . If you need cute elephants right now, the sanctuary does offer streaming video of the elephants and maintains an active YouTube page.
Top image from anupjkat/DeviantART. Images from the The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. Sources linked within the article.


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Calipari Gets 7-Year, $52 Million Contract Extension
University of Kentucky men's basketball coach John Calipari, who led the Wildcats to the school's 16th NCAA Final Four appearance last season, has been rewarded with a new seven-year contract, UK Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart announced Thursday.
"Basketball has long been the marquee sport at the University of Kentucky," Barnhart said. "It's a sport that the traditions of this university and this state have been founded on. They were developed and sort of started from the get-go by Adolph Rupp and through many good people since. What Cal has done is returned us to those glory days of Final Fours and championship efforts, great players, and all along he's helped young people understand the responsibility of going to class, of the commitment to each other and to a program that has as rich of a tradition as this one does. It has long been our goal over the last three to five years that Cal enjoy this as his final stop in coaching and that he has an opportunity to finish his career at the University of Kentucky and hopefully set standards and win championships that will be remembered for many, many years to come."
"Under Coach Cal's leadership, the most storied program in NCAA basketball has reached new heights of success and excellence," said UK President Eli Capilouto. "And that continued success, in which Coach Cal plays a critical leadership role, is a major reason why we have one of the handful of programs in the country that is financially self-sustaining and that has entered into an unprecedented partnership to fund nearly two-thirds of a more than $100 million science building dedicated to learning and research. As important to me, the Coach, his staff and our entire program are focused intently on putting students first in everything that they do. Nowhere is that more evident than in their continued efforts to ensure that our student athletes are prepared for success in life as well as in sports. They perform on the court and in the classroom."
According to the terms of the new Contract, Calipari is guaranteed $52.5 million if he completes all seven years of the deal. The new deal starts in the coming season. There are bonuses attached to the team's academic performance.
When Calipari was hired in Lexington from Memphis in 2009, he signed an eight-year deal worth $31.65 million. This new deal replaces that one.
In five seasons, Calipari has led the Wildcats to a 152-37 (.804 winning percentage) overall mark, including four Elite Eights, three Final Fours, two appearances in the national championship game and the 2012 national championship. Under Calipari's tutelage, 17 Wildcats have been selected in the NBA Draft in four seasons, including 13 taken in the opening round, two No. 1 overall selections, five top-five picks and eight lottery picks.
Calipari has guided UK to two Southeastern Conference championships, a pair of SEC Tournament titles and has comprised 20 consecutive 20-win seasons, leading all active coaches with that streak. He is a mere three wins shy of becoming just the 13th active Division I coach to achieve 600 on-court victories.
"I'd like to thank Mitch (Barnhart) and Dr. Capilouto for their commitment to me, my family and the basketball staff," Calipari said. "I've said over and over that I have the best job in the country. With the continued support from our administration and the greatest, craziest fans in college basketball, we have accomplished a lot in our five quick years, but we still have lofty goals for the future. We want to continue to help young people and their families reach their dreams, while at the same time maintaining our success on the basketball court, in the classroom and in the community."
Calipari's teams have showed remarkable success off the court. Most recently, the men's basketball team posted a 3.11 cumulative grade-point average during the 2014 spring semester, including 10 student-athletes who amassed a 3.0 or better. It marked the sixth time in the last seven semesters the basketball team has achieved a 3.0 or higher GPA. In addition, Kentucky totaled a perfect APR score of 1,000 for the 2012-13 year.
Since Calipari arrived in Lexington, his teams have posted one-year APR scores of 979 in 2009-10, 979 in 2010-11, 977 for the 2011-12 national championship season and 1,000 for 2012-13. Kentucky's most recent four-year composite score of 989, ranked in the 80th-90th percentile among all Division I basketball scores and the 60th-70th percentile within all Division I sports. The NCAA's average APR for all Division I men's basketball schools was 957.
Additionally, all 10 players at UK who were eligible to graduate by the end of their senior years, under Calipari, walked away with a degree in hand. Two of those players (Jarrod Polson and Patrick Patterson) earned a degree in just three years.
Calipari's foundation, The Calipari Foundation, has raised millions of dollars to help the lives of those in need in the Commonwealth and across the country, and in 2010, he used a telethon to raise more than $1 million for victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. He followed that up with another telethon in 2012 that raised $1 million for victims of Superstorm Sandy that ravaged the New England coast.
A year after helping raise $350,000 for charity during the inaugural UK men's basketball alumni weekend, Calipari was the driving force behind the more than $1 million that was donated to local and national organizations during the second annual alumni weekend.
His foundation has also worked with and donated money to Samaritan's Feet, the West Liberty Recovery Fund, 4 Paws for Ability, the Starkey Hearing Foundation, the Urban League of Lexington and the V Foundation. Calipari has also headed up the EverFi Financial Literacy Program, which teaches students across Kentucky the importance of money management.
UK has hauled in the top-rated recruiting class in four of five seasons under Calipari's direction. This year's four-player class is rated No. 2 overall by most recruiting services and will accompany eight scholarship players from the 2013-14 national runner-up squad.
Kentucky is set to return 67 percent of its assists (300), 65 percent of minutes played, 59 percent of its scoring (1,773) and 54 percent of its rebounds (872) produced from its 2013-14 roster, which includes Willie Cauley-Stein, Aaron and Andrew Harrison, Dominique Hawkins, Dakari Johnson, Marcus Lee, Alex Poythress, and Derek Willis as scholarship returnees.
The Wildcats will also welcome four McDonald's All-America and Jordan Brand Classic players in Devin Booker, Trey Lyles, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Tyler Ulis.
From UK Athletics


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You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'accessibility' tag.
So as of yesterday, I've been approved to move forward with some usability testing on our online application for admission. As an excellent bonus, I'll be allowed to waive the application fee of the students who help us by letting them observe them.
Our Directors Planning Team, which collectively makes most of the important decisions in the office (which I'm a member of), was somewhat characteristically interested in the details. Who are we testing? Just students who visit? Out-of-state students? Students in the different regions of Pennsylvania? Those who visit our Community Recruitment Centers? I took it a step farther to make it clear that breadth isn't necessarily our aim considering our resources for the project–as of yet, I have no further funding approved–by suggesting transfers and international students. Further than that, we should look at adult students. But if I intend to test 5 – 10 students, there's no way we'll hit all these populations. How do we balance my funding, resources, support, and time? Not to mention equipment and travel, possibly?
The easy answer is: we don't. Keeping it simple and keeping it close to home (so to speak) keeps it feasible. And we'll get plenty of useful feedback just with that, potentially more than we can change in the time we have. If I get the funding and time I need, though, the equation changes completely.
This morning (during the Spend a Summer Day admissions presentation, I'll admit, with the caveat that I've seen it five times now) I started mulling over my own questions about the project, which in some ways I find more important. What should we ask on a pre- or post-survey? Do we really strip this down to make it fast and easy and not have either? Do I want to publish/speak on this topic and thus slow us down with the IRB process? (No, probably not. What we do now falls under process-improvement and hasn't required one thus far.)
Should I contact my Usability Engineering instructor from last semester and see if he knows a student who might be interested in helping with this very important research? Do we want to try to include someone with accessibility issues to make the point that we need to work on that end of things? (One rule of usability testing is not to go in with an agenda, so I probably shouldn't pursue this.)
The questions go on and on.
In the end, we'll probably end up on the end of a stripped-down version, because doing that way gets it done. Getting ambitious may mean it doesn't happen, and I'd hate for that to occur. We need to know what real students do rather than continuing to make suppositions.


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So, I only see it fair to give credit where credit is due. Two weeks ago I sent in a 5 year old pair of glasses that were broken in half at bridge. Two seperate halves.
I didn't know what to expect or if they would do anything at all.
Well, upon checking the mailbox today, a new pair had arrived.
Total cost $49.
Well done! Thanks, Costa!


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Item Description
Letter, John F. King to Tho. Ewing Jr
Author: King, John F.
Date: July 1, 1858
Ewing's correspondent, John F. King of Lawrence, had just given testimony in the Lane-Jenkins hearing that supported Lane's testimony that he shot Gaius Jenkins in self-defense on June 3, 1858, and wrote to provide Ewing (one of Lane's attorneys) with some information regarding "the exact position of the court." In the preliminary hearing, conducted by three justices of the peace (Erastus D. Ladd and two others) beginning on June 15, the decision was that no murder had been committed.
Location of Original: KSHS Call Number: Thomas Ewing, Jr. Collection, #341, Correspondence, Box #3
Item Number: 100611 Number of images: 3
Keywords: Courts; Douglas County, Kansas Territory; Ewing, Thomas, 1829-1896; Jenkins, Gaius; Justices of the peace; King, John F.; Ladd, Erastus D.; Land claim disputes; Lane, James Henry, 1814-1866; Lawrence, Kansas Territory
pg. 1
pg. 2
pg. 3


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Bowden v. Kirkland & Ellis, 2011 WL 1211555 (7th Cir. April 1, 2011)
Two former employees of a law firm sued the firm for violation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 USC 2510 et seq. and for violation of the Illinois Eavesdropping Act, 720 ILCS 5/14-2. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the law firm. The former employees sought review with the Seventh Circuit. On appeal, the court affirmed the grant of summary judgment.
The court held that the former employees' evidence of eavesdropping raised no more than a "theoretical possibility" of a violation. Even one of the strongest experts in the case triple hedged his testimony, saying the records "could indicate the potential that interception may have occurred." So the grant of summary judgment was proper.
The plaintiffs had also raised an electronic discovery issue, namely a claim that the law firm spoliated evidence by destroying a server that contained phone records relevant to the case. The court rejected that argument, finding no credible evidence that the destruction was undertaken in bad faith.


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Among the more surprising coaching hires over the past couple of weeks has been Bret Bielema's move from Wisconsin to Arkansas just days after the Badgers won their second consecutive Big Ten conference championship. Although athletic director and former UW coach Barry Alvarez decided he would serve as interim coach for the program's third straight Rose Bowl, the search for a more permanent coach is ongoing.
So far, that search has reportedly included Oregon State's Mike Riley, Miami's Al Golden and NFL assistant Mel Tucker — all of whom have downplayed interest in the job. Interestingly enough, Alvarez himself followed a similar path. Speaking with reporters after a Sunday practice, Alvarez admitted he was also interested in returning to the sidelines as the Badgers' coach. Before he wasn't, that is.
Alvarez after practice confirms he considered coming back full time "for about a day" this week #Badgers
— Badger Football (@BadgerFootball) December 16, 2012
You can point to the likes of Chris Ault at Nevada and Bill Snyder at Kansas State as coaches to come back to a school for another successful tenure, but Alvarez has the title of AD as well so it's not likely he would come back as a coach as well. Either way, Wisconsin still has options to land a good replacement for Bielema.


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This week's installment of our new battered-and-fried summer series goes deep on Chicago's odorous namesake: the ramp.
Three weeks after Facebook refused to remove a doctored video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi slurring her words, Mark Zuckerberg is getting a taste of his own medicine.
An infant boy who was cut from a Chicago woman's womb with a butcher knife died Friday at a hospital where he had been in grave condition since the April attack that killed his mother, family spokeswomen said.
Illinois banned capital punishment in 2011, but a state resident now faces a possible death sentence in a first-of-its-kind murder trial since that ban took effect. A Northwestern law professor explains how that's possible.
A new pilot program will give Chicagoans another option for getting around the city. But will electric scooters help reduce transportation-related pollution?
A new study shoots down the notion that medical marijuana laws can prevent opioid overdose deaths, challenging a favorite talking point of legal pot advocates.
As communities across the country celebrate Pride Month, LGBTQ organizations and activists are speaking out against Trump administration policies that limit those individuals' access to health care.
A federal judge OKs construction of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park. Mayor Lori Lightfoot stares down the police union. A stunning admission in the trial of Brendt Chrisetensen. And: the scooters are coming.
Paris Schutz and guests discuss more of the week's City Council news, including a hotly debated "fair workweek" ordinance.
Alaaulldin Al Ibrahim, or "Al" to his friends, was born in Syria, moved to Jordan and eventually resettled as a refugee in Chicago. This fall he'll attend the University of Illinois at Chicago on a full scholarship to study pre-med.


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Seductive Selling Free Trial – less than 33 hours remaining to get this
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Seductive Selling is read in 14 countries and has been published monthly for the last five years. Here's what you're missing out on, in this month's issue:
* 7 Live Marketing and copywriting examples of ads, sales letters and lead generation pieces
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* A complete re-write and detailed analysis of an ad that sells directly to homeowners. You'll discover critical headline and sub-headline analysis… a 'reason why' you're running this ad… how to layout an ad… how to use photos in the ad… how to create highly-perceived guarantees… how to create an offer… how to track your results… and more!
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P.S. Listen to this: "Craig, I want to thank you for the Seductive Selling Newsletters and the Audio CD's. It's very difficult to put down into words just what your newsletters and CD's have done to change my life. The best way I can explain it is that I feel as if I've been re-born into an entire new world I didn't know existed — a world FULL of opportunities.
My story is not unlike many others out there struggling day by day, just trying to keep their head above water. I so related when you discussed the embarrassment of having to charge diapers at the grocery store. I've been there too! There is NOTHING worse than being a grown man walking into a grocery store hoping your credit card is not maxed out so you can buy groceries for your kids.
What people don't realize is that mentors and coaches can only lead you to a door. It's up to the person being coached to open that door. Like you've said so many times before, once I opened one door, it lead me to another and another… opportunity is endless as long as you continue opening doors for yourself and that's what I plan on doing.
Craig, I want to thank you again and I want you to know you have inspired me to improve my life for myself and my family." Bill Parlaman – Chester Springs, PA
Full disclosure: months later, after I received this comment, Bill went on to become a member of my Mastermind Group, and he is now on pace to earn over $200,000 this year
Check out how Seductive Selling changed his life, now.


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Rosebud Fashions 5113
- Brand: Rosebud Fashions Flower Girl
- Style #: 5113
- Availability: Available to Order
- $108
Style 5113 is a sleeveless dress with a peter pan collar. The natural waist is accented with a satin sash with self-tying streamers. Satin buttons cover the zipper.
Fabric: Satin And Organza
Available Colors:
Dress is available in both Ivory and White. Ribbon colors include white, ivory, champagne, gold, old gold, silver, maize, lime, sage, celedon, emerald, pink, dusty rose, fuschia, azela, lavender, victorian, purple, plum, coral, tangerine, rust, red, claret, wine, cinnamon, aqua, blue, turquoise, teal, royal, navy, sable, and black.
Click Color Swatches below to see samples of the the available colors. Advise us of your color choice when placing your order


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Advanced Machine & Engineering
About Advanced Machine & Engineering
Advanced Machine & Engineering® (AME) has been developing and producing machine tool components and metal cutting machines for over 50 years. With blue collar values and employee development programs that support STEM education, AME is driven to support the revival of the American manufacturing industry.
AMROK® Tombstones, Custom Fixtures, and Workholding Components
Booth#432423 | www.amrok.com
AMROK workholding products were created by engineers that needed a specific set of solutions—machining times that would meet lean requirements, processes that provide improved precision, and a more impressive bottom line. With over 30 years of workholding research, development, and expertise, you can be confident in our ability to offer standard and dedicated fixturing solutions that allow you to focus on cutting chips, not designing fixtures. [Coming Soon] Reserve a time to meet with an engineer at IMTS to start developing your dedicated fixturing solution.
Take a moment to check out all things workholding at www.workholdingwisdom.com to review articles written by our expert contributors.
OTT-JAKOB Spindle Drawbars and Complete Tool Clamping Systems
Booth#121117 | www.ame.com/ott-jakob-power-drawbars
For over 30 years, Advanced Machine & Engineering has been the exclusive North American partner of OTT-JAKOB, the leading manufacturer of automatic tool clamping systems. As a technological leader in this niche market, OTT-JAKOB has set numerous standards in clamping technology over the past few decades, and are a valued development partner of the world's leading spindle and machine too manufacturers. Their extensive user expertise as wide-ranging as it is profound, their development and manufacutring skills and their sound knowledge of processes enable us to deliver clamping systems which you can rely on. Now and in the future.
Product Categories
- Automation & Material Handling > Lifting and Positioning Equipment
- Cutting & Forming Tools > Saw Blades
- Cutting & Forming Tools > Tool Holders and Adapters
- Cutting & Forming Tools > Tooling Systems, Modular and/or Quick-Change
- Machine Components and Accessories > Bearings, Pulleys, Clutches, Gears and V-Belts
- Machine Components and Accessories > Connectors & Fasteners
- Machine Components and Accessories > Couplings
- Machine Components and Accessories > Hydraulic and Pneumatic Equipment
- Machine Components and Accessories > Indexers and Rotary Tables
- Machine Components and Accessories > Milling Heads/Attachments
- Machine Components and Accessories > Press Safety Equipment
- Machine Components and Accessories > Replacement Parts/Repair Parts
- Machine Components and Accessories > Slides, Ways, and Linear Guides
- Machine Components and Accessories > Speed Reducers and Gear Boxes
- Machine Components and Accessories > Spindles
- Materials > Tooling Materials, Blanks and Pre-Machined Stock of All Types
- Sawing > Sawing Machines, Circular Cut-Off Saws (Cold)
- Services > Contract Manufacturing and Machining Services
- Services > Maintenance and Repair Services
- Services > Retrofitting, Rebuilding, Remanufacturing Services
- Services > Spindle Repair and Maintenance Services
- Workholding Devices > Actuators, Hydraulic and Pneumatic
- Workholding Devices > Angle & Sub Plates
- Workholding Devices > Clamps and Fixturing Devices
- Workholding Devices > Fixturing Systems
- Workholding Devices > Pedestal Type Fixtures and Tombstone Blocks
- Workholding Devices > Vises and Vise Jaws
- Workholding Devices > Workholding, Custom
Languages Spoken in Booth
- German
- Russian
Distributors International
|OTT-JAKOB Spanntechnik GmbH
|49 83 64 98 21 0


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Static Ropes
Static Rope is a robust abrasion-resistant rope, where the highest demands of durability and competent use are necessary.
This rope fulfills all the requirements of a static rope intended for intensive use and fully complies with EN1891 Type A standard.
10.5mm:- Elongation at 1.5Kn 3.4%: Weight 69g/m: Proportion sheath/core 39/61%:Break strength 30KN
Suitable for Rope Access; Abseiling; Caving and Rescue work.
Performance Static must NOT be used for climbing walls
To avoid possible injury to yourself or others always make sure that you are using the correct rope for your intended application and seek the advice of an expert if in any doubt.
Displaying 1 to 1 (of 1 products)
- 1


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NATIONWIDE — Fitness facilities in New York, Washington, Oregon and Florida face new state laws that increased the minimum wage last month.
Because the health club industry generally pays above minimum wage for most positions,the effect on the industry should be minimal, but the increase does push up the starting wage, said Rick Caro, president of New York City-based consulting company Management Vision.
"It pushes up the whole structure," he said. That could cause some clubs to review their staffing hours and perhaps reallocate one person to two departments, he said.
Dennis Tan, president and CEO of two Gold's Gyms in New York City, followed New York State's legislation closely as the minimum wage increased from $6 to $6.75 on New Year's Day. The increase is one of three hikes scheduled over the next three years in New York. The next raise to $7.15 is set for Jan. 1, 2007.
Tan's 54th Street club has 50 employees, three to four of which are paid minimum wage. Most of his employees earn $3 to $4 more than that, he said.
"If you want to run a successful club, you have to pay more," Tan said. "It's the issue of getting proper help, and you get what you pay for. [The minimum wage increase] is not going to affect us much in New York City."
It pays to keep abreast of your state's politics and legislation to avoid any surprises, said Mark Alesse, New York state director of the National Federation of Independent Business. Following state laws is of vital importance to the health club industry, he said.
"The best thing to do is to realize that your business is operating in a political economy," Alesse advises club owners. "What goes on in your state capital dictates the name of the game."
Sabrina Slusser, general manager of the RiverPlace Athletic Club (RAC) in Portland, OR, said her state's minimum wage increase to $7.50 from $7.25 will not have much of an effect on the RAC. Typically, she starts employees at $8 an hour and then increases that based on performance after 30 to 90 days. The higher wage helps attract better staff, she said.
"Of course, our highest turnover is in our club attendants," Slusser said. "Most of our other positions are fairly stable, and we don't have a lot of turnover."
Slusser followed the minimum wage legislation by checking state Web sites and watching the local news, although she saw little coverage on it, she said.
Oregon is one of three states that adjusts its minimum wage according to a national index covering the cost of goods and services needed for day-to-day living. That index rose 3.8 percent during the 12 months ending Aug. 31, 2005, said Elaine Fischer, spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. Under this index, the state of Washington raised its minimum wage to the highest in the country at $7.63, and Florida increased its wage by 25 cents bringing it to $6.40.
The federal minimum wage is $5.15, although Congress has debated raising it in the past few years.
On Aug. 1, 2005, Minnesota raised its minimum wage to few complaints, said James Honerman, spokesperson for the Department of Labor and Industry. Large employers (annual gross volume of sales made not less than $625,000) must pay at least $6.15 an hour, and small employers (annual gross volume of sales made less than $625,000) must pay at least $5.25 an hour. Employers must also pay employees younger than 20 at least $4.90 for their first 90 consecutive days of employment.
"I think the general feeling is that it was tough on some smaller businesses who hadn't planned on that in their budget for the year," Honerman said. "However, we've received no issues since we rolled it out."
Many small business owners are too busy to remember to keep abreast of political issues and adjust accordingly, especially when the economy is doing well, Alesse said.
"I can honestly say that not enough of them pay close enough attention to what's going on and that's totally understandable and acceptable when things are going well," Alesse said. "It would be great if you could ignore it, but you can't."


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I felt that my computer was slow today so I checked Activity Monitor. What I found was a process called SafariDAVClient hogging up 3.32GB of memory.
I am not even running Safari. Has anyone seen this problem? I've recently updated to 10.7.2 and my first suspicion is iCloud syncing. If anyone else is having the same problem, we should probably file a bug to Apple.


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November 2, 2017United States
On Friday, President Donald J. Trump will start a two week trip that includes visits to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Recent resources from the Council on Foreign Relations…
July 5, 2017Global Governance
Will the leaders' gathering in Hamburg find consensus on pressing global economic issues? Experts from many of the group's member states assess prospects.
September 1, 2016United States
The Authorization for the Use of Military Force, passed by Congress in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks, has been cited by the Bush and Obama administrations as sanctioning …
September 3, 2015Middle East and North Africa
The nuclear deal inked by Iran and major powers has implications not just for proliferation, but Middle Eastern security as well. Five experts weigh in on what the deal means for regional powers and …
December 19, 2013China
Experts weigh in on what happened to Obama's Asia "pivot" in 2013, and give their projections of what 2014 will bring for regional policy.
February 7, 2013United States
What sort of foreign policy agenda will President Obama's second term pursue? Asia, trade, and Mideast crisis management must all be in the forefront, say four global experts.
June 8, 2011Pakistan
U.S. drone strikes and "kill/capture" missions against al-Qaeda operatives, particularly in Pakistan and Yemen, have gained new attention and notoriety this spring. Four experts debate the legality a…
May 2, 2011Afghanistan
Osama bin Laden's death is a real and symbolic blow to al-Qaeda, and its stature in the Middle East is already diminished by the pro-democracy movements in the region, but the group remains lethal. S…
April 5, 2011United States
How can the United States improve its aging infrastructure to maintain its global economic competitiveness? Four experts offer their suggestions and discuss the implications of inaction.
December 16, 2010United States
Four CFR fellows weigh in on the effectiveness of the State Department's Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review recommendations.


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You may have noticed some rather substantial changes to Google's suite of Web services. Some, such as changes made to Google Documents, came a while ago, and were far more subtle. Two fresh implementations are more jarring: Gmail's, and Reader's.
For Reader, the changes have been made and they look here to stay. For Gmail, you can avoid them for a little while, but Google warns that you can only "revert to the old look temporarily." Read: you won't be able to cling to the open doors of that airlock forever.
So, let's dig right in.
We knew these redesigns were coming for a while. Considering that I am both a regular user of the Google services mentioned above and a blogger, I figured I'd prepare myself to receive the inevitable with an open mind and skip the initial round of griping that always occurs when anything changes on the Internet ever.
Changing your habits is always tough. I use Gmail constantly, and Reader is an integral part of my workflow. The former feels more robust and streamlined than ever; the latter, surprisingly, feels hobbled and sluggish. Before we get to that, though, let's talk about what you'll notice first.
That New Google Look
No bones about it, the new look of Gmail and Reader is a substantial departure from the old scheme. Gone are the soft default blues and tightly-packed strips of email subjects and article headlines. In the place of all that you'll find white and gray and black. For the usually colorful Google, it's a pretty stark palette for the company to use. (This may not bother you if you're a fan of the built-in themes Gmail offers to spruce things up, though Reader users are more or less stuck.)
The "Compose" and "Subscribe" buttons on Gmail and Reader, respectively — your two big action buttons on either website — are both red and bold and really pop, but they're also striking in that they're by and large the only non-grayscale color on either page. Other than red, you've got yellow for starred or important items, blue for the textless search buttons and green — rounding out the colors of Google's rainbow logo — for active buddies to chat with.
In Gmail you have your various multicolored labels, too, which makes me almost want to start using them more just to decorate the page a bit. Labels certainly have more room to breathe now — and "having more room to breathe," in fact, is apparently the engine powering Google's rethinking.
The New Gmail: It'll Grow on You
The first step to take to get comfortable with the new Gmail is to pick what spacing works for you. You'll probably notice up front that your email strips got a lot fatter. This default setting is Google's "comfortable" mode. The old style? That's "Compact." Between these two — and my favorite — is "Cozy," though I still find myself going back to Compact when I have a lot of emails to manage at once.
From a design standpoint, the new Gmail has plenty of visual flourishes the you'll only notice and appreciate as you use it more, from shading in the Gchat text box to the colors that notify you when you've got a new message (blue now, instead of orange). The aforementioned spacing plays into this, too: resize the dimensions of your browser window and Gmail will switch between space levels on the fly. It's a small touch, but one that's pretty smart considering all the various screen sizes out there between monitors, laptops, phones, tablets and so on.
More than anything, what'll make or break your new Gmail experience is the changes to how it handles email threads. They're still bundled in conversations, but Google has removed a lot of the buttons and visual elements that gave the eye breaks between the deluge of information, relying on spacing to do most of the heavy lifting instead. It takes a lot of getting used to, but it's grown on me, and I'd go so far as to call it an elegant way to structure an email thread.
(That said, there are certainly times when the threads feel a little clunky. When you're emailing folks who don't use Gmail or don't have Google profile pictures, for instance, you're missing a crucial identification cue for a very minimalist layout.)
You can read more about these changes over on the Official Gmail Blog.
The New Reader: in Danger of Becoming Irrelevant
It's not quite clear what Google's commitment to Reader is anymore. The company has removed it from its top billing along its suite of Web properties, instead relegating Reader to the "More" drop-down menu you see at the top of Google sites when you're logged in. The search giant also has a next generation, Flipboard-like reader in the works, Propeller, which makes one wonder 1) if Reader will be a priority going forward, and 2) why Google bothered to mess with it at all. For visual continuity? The changes are deeper than that.
All of the alterations to Gmail's interface that make sense the more you use them are less welcome in Reader. Maybe it has something to do with the lack of customization. You can't change the new wider spacing, for instance, meaning fewer headlines at your fingertips at once, and there are no themes to choose from. Where Gmail feels streamlined, Reader feels like it's just been reskinned. The changes come off as more forced and less meaningful.
Even more striking is the absence of the social element Reader enjoyed previously. Like the slowly dying Buzz, Reader's built-in social aspect is going the way of the bees, and you're presented with the option to share what you're reading on Google+ instead. For folks plugged into Google's fledgling social network, this makes injecting content into your Google+ profile a snap. For long-time Reader users who had a group of loyal sharers, they just vanished in a poof.
The business of RSS reading is a crowded field, and Reader isn't the only option out there, not by a long shot. Even if this isn't a step backward, it's certainly not one that moves Reader forward, and it's not something that will particularly make you want to stick with it. Personally, I am solidly on the fence as to whether or not Reader will continue to be my RSS ingestion method of choice. I'm interested by the prospect of Google creating a more cohesive ecosystem with Google+ as its nucleus, but in its state right now, Reader could use a little love.
Where do you land, fellow Readers? Did the change improve your experience? Did it disappoint? Did it not even matter at all? Let us know in the comments below.
You can read more about these changes over on the Official Google Reader Blog.