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Cyber security expert Eugene Spafford, a professor of computer sciences at Purdue University and former member of the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee, responds to GPS readers' questions. The views expressed are his own, based on publicly available information, and do not necessarily reflect those of any other organization.
"Danish Ahmed" notes we have laws governing the high seas and space – should governments be doing more to implement rules in cyber space?
Definitely, yes. Unfortunately, there are many significant obstacles in the way. We've had governments for thousands of years and we are still working out how to balance national interests against each other with simpler technologies, and to understand and enforce the laws and norms those governments set for their populations. The whole notion of international computing networks is about 35 years-old – about one human generation. That isn't enough time for us to get the experience necessary to really understand what needs to be done and what will work.
We have need of better agreements on behavior about what might be considered illegal, for instance. But to do that, we need to come up with some norms or appropriate use to which (almost) everyone can agree. This will not be simple or quick because there is such a variety of national and cultural standards that must be bridged. As one particular case, there are broad general protections in the U.S. for political and religious expression. However, that is not the norm everywhere else. For example, references to Nazi symbols are criminal offenses in Europe, Christianity is effectively banned in some Muslim countries with proselytization a capital offense, any criticism of the king is a crime in Thailand, and discussion of the failings of the Communist Party is blocked in the People's Republic of China. The situation may be even more complex as we consider images, video, and sound. Cartoons that purport to be of the Islamic prophet Mohammed will generate violence in many countries and be seen as valid speech in others. Posting pictures of naked people will be (boring) art in some countries, scandalous pornography in others, and possibly generate a death sentence in a few more. How do we begin to define norms for everyone to use?
It might seem to be the case that viruses, spam, break-ins, fraud, phishing, botnets, and espionage would all be obvious cases, but they aren't if you look closely. For instance, spam is defined as "unsolicited, unwelcome email" in some places. But can you tell ahead of time whether a particular email will always be unwanted? And how do we define "unsolicited" when people regularly click thru on "I agree" buttons everywhere without reading the agreements? Sometimes the fine print includes an agreement to accept marketing emails. Espionage is against local law, but almost every major country practices it and treats it as patriotic service; there is no general agreement internationally that espionage is a crime, nor will there likely be one anytime soon. And so on for the rest.
More from CNN: Why cyber attacks threaten our freedom
We have conflicts between security and privacy, and national privilege versus individual rights within countries as well as between countries. It is often simpler to invade privacy to collect information for law enforcement, especially if people are frightened by terrorism (which, is effectively saying that the terrorists have won). Privacy, once sacrificed, can't really be reclaimed without incredible effort and time, if at all. And some countries do not believe that individuals have rights that are the equal of (or greater than) that of government officials, political parties, religious institutions or preaching, royalty, or companies.
Getting agreement about what kinds of online behavior and postings are allowed and which ones are criminal (or simply rude) is going to take time and negotiation. Then there is also the discussion that needs to be conducted about evidence, about extradition, and about punishment. Reconciling civil courts with military tribunals with sharia councils with royal decree is not going to be simple, for instance. Standards of evidence, too, is a problem when we need to collect it in different countries for presentation in prosecution. What are the appropriate standards? Who does the collection? Keep in mind there are concerns of national sovereignty, privacy, individual rights, and technological capacity – what may be the expected norm in Canada is going to be very different from Sierra Leone, Vietnam, and Bolivia.
That isn't to argue that it can't be done. The Hague Conventions and the United Nations have made some progress in international consensus, but it has been slow going. We do have international agreements on investigating forms of fraud, extraditing thieves and murderers from some countries, and there is a patchwork of laws against narcotics and human trafficking. Those laws and treaties work imperfectly, and not all countries respect them, but we do have some in place. One problem with the "cyber domain" is tying acts back to specific people (attribution) and the fact that we are concerned with people able to act at a distance. If a theft occurs at my business, I can perhaps tie it back to a person who was in the building. In cyber, that same theft may be occurring at the behest of someone half the globe away…sitting in a cyber café using a stolen identity and remote access software. We have a long way to go to understand and develop better controls and laws.
At a level of nation-to-nation we also have issues. Countries gathering information, infiltrating infrastructure, and possibly sabotaging critical systems are all a concern. But consider – if a country has an advantage in what its personnel can accomplish, why would they want to have limits in place? If a country is so small or weak that it's dominated physically and economically already, what good will controls do for them? As it stands now, there aren't many incentives to put in place new rules. And even if we did, how would they be enforced? What would the penalty be for breaking them?
So, yes, governments need to be doing more about developing common rules for better behavior, but it is going to be a long, difficult process.
"Jamie Robinson" asks on Facebook how confident the U.S. public can be that the government won't pass new cyber security laws that conflict with the public interest? Essentially, how much do you trust lawmakers to do the right thing?
We can't be confident of this at all. Think about some of the bad laws that have been passed – or the lack of action on things that should be obvious to address!
First, consider that we elect almost no scientists or engineers to public office. Instead, they are primarily lawyers or business owners. This means that the majority of elected representatives are unlikely to know the fine details of the technology, among other things. Take the late Senator Ted Steven's "series of tubes" description of the Internet in 2006, and the overwhelming lack of understanding of SOPA/PIPA effects last year. This lack of fundamental knowledge presents a huge obstacle to explaining the nuances of complex issues posed by cyber (and space science, and quantum physics, and genetic engineering, and many other cutting edge areas). Furthermore, officials and representatives who are operating according to an agenda based on political zealotry, religious ideology, or similar extreme views are not likely to really care about highly nuanced technical issues. However, those are the people who we, the people, elect to a large number of important offices.
Those elected officials – including both the zealots and the ones who are more open to discourse and thoughtful consideration – are responsible for decisions across a great many areas, so they depend on advice from staff and outside sources. Congressional and many state staff are often quite good, but the pay for those positions does not always attract the best and the brightest, nor does it keep them there long. The lure of better-paying jobs with more reasonable hours takes the majority of them away after a few years. Sometimes other governmental organizations have deep expertise, but they are officially part of the executive branch and so Congress often keeps them at arms' length; state governments seldom have access to that expertise.
More from GPS: The real cyber threat
So where does guidance come from? Three of the main sources are constituents (you), non-partisan organizations, and lobbyists. The lobbyists often get heard the most and earliest because they have money to spend and a tight focus on a few outcomes. They can be very persuasive, and often the lobbyists are "trusted" because they are former legislators, staff, or officials themselves, and because they can afford to bring in cherry-picked, impressive-sounding experts to back their points of view. Lobbyists also make donations to campaign funds, and that helps get them in the door to talk to the officials. Few non-partisan organizations can afford to make similar donations, and they don't necessarily have the gravitas of a group representing multi-billion dollar businesses.
Constituents are really important here. The voters (you do vote, right?) should carefully research issues and facts (and that means MUCH more than believing radio or TV talk show hosts, who sometimes "spin" a story to make it more interesting – media needs to attract an audience to stay in business, after all). As voters, you should participate in the process of nominating and then electing representatives who understand important issues and who are willing to address them. This means people who have had real careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) so they can tackle important issues affecting computing, space science, education, and high tech industry – don't automatically vote for someone based on political party affiliation unless that's more important to you than everything else!
But it doesn't stop there. No matter who is elected, it's important to regularly communicate your concerns and views to your elected representatives. An online petition is easily ignored these days, as are form emails. A personal email is given more weight, a paper letter more attention than email, a telephone call to the office means more than a letter, and a visit to your official's office to talk to someone (staff usually, but that's their job) is even more notable. And if an official does take actions contrary to what you view as public interest, DON'T vote them back into office and DO tell them about it!
There is much more that could be said about this topic, but it's important that you take it on yourself to investigate and educate yourself rather than listen to only one or two outside voices, no matter how expert. I also hesitate to recommend any groups or sources, because I don't want people who disagree with some of my points of view to label those sources as immediately suspect. However, as a start, you can easily find I'm associated with three organizations that do attempt to educate officials about computing technology, so mentioning them shouldn't make a difference; I believe all three are all politically neutral, but technology savvy: USACM (usacm.acm.org), the Computing Research Association (cra.org), and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (epic.org).
The United States refused to sign the United Nations WCIT Internet Peace Treaty, writes "John Bingham." Do you think this hands off approach by the U.S. government is the right one?
I'm not aware of a "peace treaty." The WCIT agreement that I know about that was not signed was about Internet governance and a possible attempt to assign that to the ITU. I think it was correct to not ratify that agreement. If you are asking about something else, my apologies for not understanding.
China's cyber hacking activities date back at least a decade. Why do you think the Pentagon chosen now to call more attention to it? "Jim Goltz" asks if something happened recently, the proverbial "game changer," or is this merely being used as domestic political leverage?
Espionage and crime (and that is what "cyber hacking" really is) have been going on for decades in computing. It has been getting worse every year. Where it has been getting more noticeable is the targeting of private companies to steal their intellectual property, and (to some extent) the targeting of some private citizens (e.g., advocates for Tibetan independence). The loss of economically important data, and its use to advance non-U.S. industries that then compete with the United States, has become increasingly acute, especially when we look at the health of the US economy and the balance of trade.
There have been people inside and outside of government who have been warning of the problems for decades, first as potential threats then as actual problems. Those warnings were largely ignored both because they weren't well understood in context, and because to act on them might hurt the economy. Now, more decision makers (and the public) are beginning to understand some of the deeper issues, and the economy is clearly being hurt by inaction.
China has been called out because it appears groups within China have been particularly aggressive about such acts, and also are indulging at intrusions and theft in a grand scale (perhaps a function of their large population). I've heard some officials refer to it as "large scale hoovering of information." I imagine that some U.S. officials hoped that the public condemnation might cause second-thoughts by the perpetrators and a lessening of the brazen intrusions, but that doesn't appear to have happened – at least, news reports indicate that not much has changed.
I should note that the government of the PRC has firmly denied any such activity by their government. However, I also don't know of any modern country that has admitted to large-scale espionage when accused of such. You may draw your own conclusions.
So, specifically to your question, I don't believe it was a result of a specific "game changing" event, nor is it being used as domestic leverage. I think it's simply a case of the weight of evidence and the increasing pace of loss finally getting to a point where officials had to act. It's a serious issue that probably has been ignored for too long and can't be ignored any more.
Because not much has changed, I wouldn't be surprised if the level of rhetoric on this issue is increased in coming months. When – or if – visible action will be taken, and in what form, are active topics of speculation on some of the policy blogs and mailing lists I follow.
"Richard H" asks if we are focusing too much on China?
I believe that is possible, at least as far as public appearances. And by "we" I assume you mean the USA, although it appears from recent news reports that at least Canada, Australia, the U.K., Germany, France and India have all been victimized by attacks emanating from China, too.
Many countries around the world have been indulging in espionage via "cyber" for years. That is to be expected as they've been indulging in espionage of all sorts, and cyber is simply one more means. Entities in the USA.(government and military) continue to be a target for nearly all of those countries because of our advanced industries and prominent world position. If you look through news reports of break-ins and theft over the last few years you will find incidents in the U.S. that suggest ties to actors in Russia, Cuba, Syria, and Iran (among others).
An even bigger problem is that of criminal activity – theft, fraud, and vandalism. For instance, in the news recently were reports of a major $45 million fraud that was enabled by cyber hacking. Cyber criminal activity is going on all the time, and it's a large drain on the economy. It has traditionally been easier to get Congressional attention for existential threats (e.g. military threats) than criminal activities, so it's not particularly surprising that the military has taken an early lead in getting funding and attention despite the sizable criminal activity. (Note that in the U.S., the uniformed military is not involved in criminal investigations, so support for one does not equate to support for the other.)
There is a grey area between the espionage activities of nation-states and private criminals. Theft of the latest aircraft designs from a major manufacturer is theft no matter who does it. It doesn't matter if it is done by a gang to sell to a competitor, by agents of that competitor, or by members of some country's intelligence service to give to one of their domestic companies – it's still theft. From our viewpoint, the result is basically the same: the foreign company gets a new design without investing in any of the R&D or testing necessary to validate it, so it can better compete against our domestic manufacturer. From an investigation standpoint, we may never be able to tell who was involved.
Not all espionage is conducted by national governments, however. Some of the criminal activity we have seen over the years is not state-sponsored – it's state tolerated. Criminals are allowed to operate within national borders so long as their victims are in certain other countries, and perhaps the criminals are required to pay a percentage to local officials. The national leadership is not directing the activities, but neither is it prohibiting them. When the results lead to increased intellectual and economic advantage, or a decrease in the capacity of "competitors," why would they try to stifle such behavior?
China is probably an issue simply because there are so many people there, and so much criminal activity online appears to originate from there. There's also likely growing concern over trade imbalances, and the weak intellectual property laws in the PRC that enable the use of intellectual property stolen from the U.S. without much recourse.
As I noted in the answer to the previous question, the government of the PRC has denied any involvement in these activities.
All of this also ties back to the first question, and my answer to it: The international norms of behavior and the methods of enforcing them need a great deal of work.
How prepared overall do you believe the U.S. government is in terms of cyber security?
This is a very ambiguous question, covering a lot of ground. So, I'll try to give brief answers to a few selected components:
a) Although I don't know specific details, I suspect we have an outstanding military capability for offense, should that ever be needed. Our military isn't limited to cyber, either, so it seems unlikely anyone would want to provoke us enough to cause a military response.
b) Defensively, the government is in good shape some places, but in quite poor condition in most places. I'm led to believe that the most common computing operating system still in use in the U.S. government (across all branches and agencies) is Windows XP. If you know anything about cyber security (or computing!) that should be worrisome. It's also indicative of the level of overall cyber preparedness.
c) Law enforcement has been neglected for years, so we have too few investigators and too few tools to respond to many things. Courts aren't prepared to handle too many cases, both because of their level of complexity and because most Federal courts are simply overloaded. (Also, the Senate has done a very poor job of confirming judges to fill vacant seats in Federal courts. You might contact your senators about why that is so and encourage them to speed this up.) State courts and investigators are generally in even worse shape for similar reasons of cost, manpower, tools, and capacity.
d) At the Federal level there is insufficient support for education in this area, and insufficient funding for advanced (not applied) research that would get us away from the massive, ongoing "catch-up" patching we have been doing for years. In the states, support for education at every level has been declining. State universities have been hard hit by shrinking budgets. K-12 education has also been under incredible financial and political strain. Computing is not even considered a core science in the majority of states – if anything, cyber is taught beyond how to type, it's offered as a vocational skill such as auto mechanics or home economics!
Computing is not the only technology/science shortfall. I recommend finding online the two (free) reports "Rising Above the Gathering Storm" and "Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Revisited" by the National Academies Press. These didn't get much public attention when they were published, but what they have to say is important for the future of the country (if not the world), and they aren't too long or difficult to read.
e) By various estimates, between 75 percent and 95 percent of the critical computing infrastructure in the USA is owned and operated by the private sector. Government attempts have failed to pass cyber security regulations to cover what the private sector operates. The operators/owners claim that it's too expensive to take even some basic security measures; neither do they understand the incredible cost of failures, unfortunately, nor the likelihood of risk. Thus, by failure to educate and regulate, the government isn't ready here, either.
f) The U.S. government is of the people, for the people. The citizens of the U.S. don't apply patches to their own systems, don't run good security software, and don't bother to learn about basic cyber hygiene. The citizens don't press their vendors for better security and privacy. The citizens (the minority who vote) continue to elect people to Congress who don't understand the issues, and in some cases appear to be completely incompetent – but manage to appeal to extremism enough to be elected by energizing a core of extremists who vote. The lack of citizen concern and informed participation is another aspect of the overall picture, and by this measure the U.S. is definitely not prepared.
So, we aren't really well prepared. Fortunately, probably no other country is better situated, so it isn't all doom and gloom.
Cyber security expert answers readers' questions – Global Public Square – CNN.com Blogs
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Traveling past Braidwood and LaSalle County Generating Station it is possible for spectators to see wildlife, such as deer, wild turkeys and birds.
BRACEVILLE, Ill. - Traveling past Braidwood and LaSalle County Generating Station it is possible for spectators to see wildlife, such as deer, wild turkeys and birds. Although these Exelon Nuclear power facilities have a great deal of security and armed forces, these animals flourish and love to live undisturbed on Exelon's property.
Acknowledging this, the Wildlife Habitat Council, recently presented both facilities with the Wildlife at Work Certification. This environmental stewardship certification was awarded to Braidwood Generating Station in Braceville, Ill. and LaSalle County Generating Station in Marseilles, Ill. for their commendable wildlife habitat management and environmental education programs at their respective sites.
"Formed as an unbridled partnership between corporations, communities and conservation organizations, the Wildlife Habitat Council exemplifies the power of collaborative conservation as the foundation of environmental stewardship," said Robert Johnson, WHC president. "Congratulations to Exelon for its commitment and contributions to wildlife habitat enhancement, community outreach, and conservation education."
This distinction was awarded to the facilities for their commitment to establishing long-term wildlife habitat enhancements that provide undisturbed habitats with food, water, cover and space for animal species living on Exelon's property. A couple of examples Exelon has undertaken to protect animal species and promote environmental awareness at the stations include: • Braidwood Station currently participates in the Wildlife at Work program through its fish habitat restoration project where artificial habitats are placed in the Braidwood Lake. The habitat units are designed to provide multiple benefits to largemouth bass, a favorite of Midwest fishing enthusiasts, at various stages in their life - from acting as a nursery habitat for young fish to providing feeding sites for larger, mature bass. The artificial habit program along with fish restocking efforts has greatly enhanced the fishery.
• LaSalle Station currently participates in the Wildlife at Work program through its support of LaSalle Lake Habitat maintenance and Fish Hatchery Management. Fisheries management activities have taken place for decades and the lake has been supplementally stocked with a variety of warm and cool water fish species that are raised in the on-site fish hatchery. These included largemouth and smallmouth bass, blue catfish, striped bass, bluegill and red sunfish. The lake supports a diverse fish population, provides vital habitat for birds and is important for recreation. Maintaining the quality of the habitat allows the community to benefit from the recreational opportunities and the support of local and migratory wildlife.
"We are pleased that our efforts to help wildlife near our facilities are making a difference," said Braidwood Station Site Vice President Dan Enright. "We are committed to the ensuring the continuance of healthy wildlife around our plant, just like our 100% commitment to ensuring the safe operation of Braidwood Station."
In total, nine of 10 of Exelon Nuclear's facilities have been recognized by WHC for programs that minimize impact on the environment and promote local wildlife. Other station's holding the certification include Byron Generating Station in Byron, Ill., Clinton Power Station in Clinton, Ill., Three Mile Island Generating Station in Middletown, Pa., Limerick Generation Station in Pottstown, Pa., Oyster Creek Generating Station in Lacey Township, N.J., Quad Cities Generating Station in Cordova, Ill. and Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station in Delta, Pa..Both Braidwood and LaSalle County Station are a part of Exelon Generation's fleet of 10 nuclear power facilities. The Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) is a nonprofit, non-lobbying organization dedicated to increasing the quality and amount of wildlife habitat on corporate, private and public lands. WHC devotes its resources to building partnerships with corporations and conservation groups to create solutions that balance the demands of economic growth with the requirements of a healthy, biodiverse and sustainable environment. WHC-assisted wildlife habitat and conservation education programs are found in 45 states, the District of Columbia and twelve other countries. To learn more, visit www.wildlifehc.org.

subset: commoncrawl


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This is the introduction to "Retrofitting the Dream: Housing in the 21st Century," a new report by Joel Kotkin. To read the entire report, download the .pdf attachment below.
In recent years a powerful current of academic, business, and political opinion has suggested the demise of the classic American dream of home ownership. The basis for this conclusion rests upon a series of demographic, economic and environmental assumptions that, it is widely suggested, make the single-family house and homeownership increasingly irrelevant for most Americans.
These opinions — which we refer to as 'retro-urbanist' — gained public credence with the collapse of the housing bubble in 2007. The widespread media reports of foreclosed housing in suburban tracts, particularly in the exurban reaches of major metropolitan areas, led to widespread reports of the "death of suburbia" and the imminent rise of a new, urban-centric "generation rent."
Yet despite this growing "consensus" about the future of housing and home ownership, our analysis of longer-term demographic trends and consumer preferences suggests that the "dream," although often deferred, remains relevant. We see this in the strength of suburbs, as well as in the growth of the post-war "suburbanized cities" that generally have been the fastest growing regions of the country. These trends are notable in the three key demographic groups that will largely define the American future: aging boomers, immigrants, and the emerging millennial generation.
This does not mean that suburbia, or home construction patterns, will not change in the coming decades. Higher energy prices, for example, could necessitate shorter commutes, even with automobile fuel efficiency improvements. The emerging concentration of employment centers could help bring this about by improving job housing balance. There is a need to fully make use of the high speed digital communication that can promote both dispersed and home-based work.
For these and other reasons McKinsey & Company, among others, has noted that meeting environmental challenges does not require the kind of radical alteration of lifestyles and aspirations so widely promoted in the media, academia, and among some real estate interests. Equally important, there has been little consideration of the profound economic and social benefits of both home ownership and low to medium density living. These include, on the economic side, the huge impact on employment from home construction and the ancillary industries associated with household upkeep and improvement.
More important still may be the social benefits. Most serious studies have shown that lower-density, homeowner-oriented communities are more socially cohesive in terms of volunteerism, neighborly relations, and church attendance, than denser, renter-oriented communities. Suburban and lower density urban neighborhoods are particularly critical for the growth of families and the raising of children, an increasingly important factor in a 'post-familial' era of plunging birthrates.
To be sure, housing has been changing rapidly from the model developed in the 50s, and this process will continue over the next generation. Houses today are more energy efficient, and look to accommodate home-based work, as well as extended, multigenerational families. Similarly, the suburbs and low/mid density urban communities are already far more diverse, in terms of ethnicity and age profile, than the homogeneous communities often portrayed in media and academic accounts. This trend is also likely to accelerate.
Ultimately, we believe that the dream is not at all dead, but is simply evolving. America's tradition of property ownership, privacy, and the primacy of the family has constituted a critical aspect of our society since before the nation's founding. It will need to remain so in the decades ahead if the country is to prove true to the aspirations of its people and the sustainability of its demographics.
Joel Kotkin is executive editor of NewGeography.com and a distinguished presidential fellow in urban futures at Chapman University, and a member of the editorial board of the Orange County Register. He is author of The City: A Global History and The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050. His most recent study, The Rise of Postfamilialism, has been widely discussed and distributed internationally. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.


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Apr 12, 2007 (CIDRAP News) – An influenza vaccine grown in insect cells instead of chicken eggs proved safe and yielded a good immune response in a trial in healthy adults, possibly signaling a significant advance in flu vaccine production technology, according to a report published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
The vaccine also reduced the incidence of actual flu by 86% in comparison with a placebo group, though the groups were too small to make this finding statistically significant, according to the report by John Treanor, MD, of the University of Rochester, and colleagues.
The vaccine, made by Protein Sciences Corp., Meriden, Conn., has hemagglutinin, the protein found on the surface of flu viruses, as its sole active ingredient, or antigen. The protein is produced by infecting insect cells with a harmless virus that has been altered to contain the gene for hemagglutinin. Most conventional flu vaccines consist of whole, killed flu viruses or viral fragments that contain several proteins, not just hemagglutinin (though one vaccine uses a live, weakened virus).
Cell-culture technology makes it possible to develop and produce flu vaccines faster than with the traditional egg-based method, which takes about 6 months. It also is considered safer, because there is no production of live flu viruses, and, in the case of the Protein Sciences vaccine, no preservatives or adjuvants are used.
Protein Sciences expects to obtain Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of its vaccine, called FluBlok, in time for the 2008-09 flu season, according to Manon M.J. Cox, the company's chief operating officer and the senior author of the JAMA report.
The FDA has granted the vaccine "fast track" status, and Protein Sciences plans to begin submitting its application documents in the fourth quarter of this year, Cox told CIDRAP News by e-mail.
No cell-based flu vaccine has yet been approved in the United States. The European Union licensed a cell-based flu vaccine made by Solvay Pharmaceuticals several years ago, but the company has not sold any of it, according to Cox.
The virus used to make the Protein Sciences vaccine is a baculovirus, a type that infects a few insect species and is commonly found on green vegetables but does not grow in mammalian cells, according to a recent journal article by Cox and D. Karl Anderson, also of Protein Sciences. A serving of coleslaw typically contains millions of baculovirus particles, the article says.
The vaccine is made by cloning hemagglutinin genes from target flu viruses and splicing them into baculoviruses. The recombinant baculoviruses are then used to infect lab-grown cells derived from the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), according to Cox and Anderson. The viruses grow in the cells, producing hemagglutinin.
The FluBlok study was sponsored by Protein Sciences and conducted during the 2004-05 flu season. The vaccine contained hemagglutinin from the same three strains as were used in conventional flu vaccines that season: a New Caledonia strain of influenza A/H1N1, a Wyoming strain of influenza A/H3N2, and a Jiangsu strain of influenza B.
The investigators used 460 volunteers, randomly divided into three groups. One group received a placebo; the other two groups received one of two vaccine formations. One formulation contained 45 micrograms (mcg) of hemagglutinin from the H3N2 strain and 15 mcg each of the H1N1 and B hemagglutinins, for a total of 75 mcg; the other contained 45 mcg of hemagglutinin from each of the three flu strains, for a total of 135 mcg.
The immunogenicity criterion used in the study was a fourfold or greater increase in serum hemagglutination-inhibition antibody at 28 days after vaccination. For the H1N1 strain, this response occurred in 3% of the placebo group, 51% of the 75-mcg vaccine group, and 67% of the 135-mcg group. Responses to the H3N2 strain were found in 11% of the placebo group, 81% of the 75-mcg group, and 77% of the 135-mcg group. For influenza B, an immune response was seen in 4% of the placebo group, 65% of the 75-mcg group, and 92% of the 135-mcg group.
Thirteen cases of laboratory-confirmed flu infection occurred among the volunteers, but only nine met the CDC case definition for flu (fever plus sore throat or cough). These nine cases involved 7 of the 153 placebo subjects (4.6%), 2 of 150 volunteers in the 75-mcg vaccine group (1.4%), and 0 of 151 volunteers in the 135-mcg group. The four lab-confirmed cases that didn't meet the CDC case definition included one in the placebo group, two in the 75-mcg group, and one in the 135-mcg group.
"When considering both vaccine groups combined, the cumulative incidence of culture positive CDC-defined influenza-like illness was reduced by 86%," the report states. The authors describe this as "preliminary" evidence of protection against flu, because the sample size was small.
As for safety, rates of local and systemic side effects of the vaccine were low. Injection-site pain was more common in the vaccine recipients than the placebo group, but it was mild in 97% of cases. The rates of systemic symptoms were similar in the vaccine and placebo recipients, and there were no reports of fever.
The responses to the 75-mcg vaccine met the European Union criterion for flu vaccine licensure, but the 135-mcg formulation triggered a stronger response "and might be expected to provide greater or longer-lasting protection," the authors write. They add that the 135-mcg formulation should be used in further development of the vaccine and that "these doses are well within the production capacity of the system."
Of the lab-confirmed flu infections, three were influenza B and 10 were H3N2. All 10 of the latter were found to be A/California/7/2004-like viruses, a variant that was not included in the 2004-05 vaccine and that accounted for 75% of the H3N2 isolates in the United States in 2004-05.
The report says others have suggested that neuraminidase, another flu virus protein that is typically found in conventional flu vaccines but not in FluBlok, may be important for protection when the hemagglutinin in the vaccine does not closely match the circulating virus. The current findings, however, suggest that "it is possible to generate a substantial amount of protection in an immunologically primed population against influenza with a pure hemagglutinin vaccine, even in the presence of significant antigenic drift."
Treanor, commenting by e-mail, said, "It's unclear what our observation really means about this, but the protection we saw against the drifted virus (86%) was comparable to that seen with the inactivated vaccine in another study (77%). I would not want to make too much of this, but it does suggest that a hemagglutinin-only vaccine can provide reasonable protection against a drifted virus."
The authors say the approach used to make FluBlok has already been used to make effective vaccines against hepatitis B virus and human papillomavirus. They add that using recombinant baculovirus is especially appropriate for producing flu vaccine because genes can be copied and inserted into the virus quickly, making it easier to update the vaccine.
"In addition, the extraordinarily high yields of protein possible in this system provide the opportunity to use much higher and potentially more effective doses of vaccine," the report states.
Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH, said the new findings may signal a "breakthrough" in the ability to quickly produce large amounts of flu vaccine, in a world that currently can produce only about 350 million doses of trivalent flu vaccine annually.
"Other cell-based vaccines are using the same viruses we use in egg production. We now have this novel flu vaccine in which we use the baculovirus to serve as the means to produce this recombinant hemagglutinin," said Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, which publishes CIDRAP News.
With this technology, he said, "production could be ramped up much more quickly and from the standpoint of quantity of vaccine this could be a major breakthrough."
Commenting that the vaccine seems to have good efficacy, Osterholm added, "This is not just an incremental increase in our vaccine work; to me this is truly a major and exciting step forward. . . . There's a lot more work to do here, but I think it's very important that it's gotten this far."
Cox said the baculovirus technology makes it possible to move a flu vaccine into full production in about 6 to 8 weeks from the time the target viruses are identified. In response to the original H5N1 avian flu outbreak in Hong Kong in 1997, Protein Sciences created an H5 hemagglutinin vaccine in 8 weeks, according to Cox and Anderson's recent report.
Treanor commented, "I don' t really know how much faster this vaccine is [compared with egg-based vaccines] but I am guessing it might shave a couple of weeks off the production time—that is, a baculovirus vaccine might be ready in mid August compared to early September. This isn't a big difference in time but could mean many thousands more people getting vaccinated."
Cox said she expects that the vaccine will cost about $1 per dose once full-scale production is under way, but the initial cost will be higher.
Protein Sciences launched trials of FluBlok in children and the elderly last October. Cox said both studies will be concluded by the end of May and reports of the results are expected by the end of June.
Treanor JJ, Schiff GM, Hayden FG, et al. Safety and immunogenicity of a baculovirus-expressed hemagglutinin influenza vaccine. JAMA 2007 Apr 11;297(14):1577-82 [Abstract]
See also:
Protein Sciences page with information on the vaccine
January 2007 report by Cox and Anderson in Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses
Jun 27, 2005, CIDRAP News story "Momentum builds for cell-culture flu vaccines"


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Note: These thoughts (and the conclusion) are purely focused on considering the use of a stock Robur (dosered) grinder at home. I'm not taking into account suitability for on-bar work. And I'm not considering how the Robur could be modified in any way, shape, or form.
1 - fantastic grind quality. The grind quality is on par with if not better than what I've seen with an Alinox. Far better than any home grinders I've ever seen.
2 - great shot clarity coupled with great shot density. Perhaps largely due to the grind quality, the Robur enables the hard act of producing shots that have both clarity and density. No "home" grinders really do this in my experience.
3 - forgiving on prep. Again, perhaps due to the grind quality (or the grind quality combined with the lack of clumping in the coffee), working with coffee from the Robur allows a certain amount of sloppiness in distribution.
4 - quiet, fast, clean. As compared to almost all grinders the Robur is pretty easy to live with. There are no rattles and minimal grinding or motor noise. Grinding a shot is very (VERY) quick. And it's (reasonably) clean.
1 - wastes a lot of coffee. I'm a reasonably efficient barista. But I'm wasting about 1/4lb out of every pound of coffee I use. Between adjusting the grind when changing coffees and the periodic overfill (it's a FAST grinder as I said) and the amount of coffee trapped in the grinder and the issues with minimum volume of beans in the hopper (see below) it's nearly impossible to be truly efficient with your use of coffee.
2 - significant learning curve. For me the learning curve was a couple of days - but that is largely because it consisted of remembering all the stuff I was taught when I worked at Stumptown. From the timing with the grind (reasonably quick to learn) to the amount of coffee required to flush post grind change (slow to get nailed) to tricks for adjusting the grind (hard to learn) and for keeping the grind consistent (very hard to learn) - there are a lot of things about working with the Robur that are challenging. Most of these are minor issues or non-issues on bar as you're just working them into the flow. At home... I'd guess that many baristas learning to use this machine would be pulling a lot of frustrating sub-par shots with wildly varying extractions for quite a while unless they really didn't change coffee.
3 - grind impacted by volume of beans. With a stock Robur you cannot do the home barista trick of weighing a single dose, dropping it in the hopper and grinding. Or, rather, you can do it but it negates the single biggest advantage of the Robur (the grind quality). I found a sweet spot that started at a little less than 1lb in the hopper. Variance in the grind was minor from full hopper down to about 1.25lbs. From 1.25lbs down to a little less than 1lb variance started to increase but was still manageable. Below that minimum (say 0.85lbs) it seemed like I would have to adjust the grind with each shot - endlessly chasing an ever-changing and unpredictable target. Once down below 0.5lbs not only was the grind constantly changing, the grind quality started to degrade.
4 - enormous. It's huge. Massive. I've got a small kitchen but honestly, I can't see this really "fitting in" to even the largest kitchen.
5 - expensive. Sure, if price is no object then this is not a con. But realistically, for most people the price point of the Robur is the biggest negative.
I love having the Robur in my house. My shots are easy to pull and are as good if not better than what I'm used to. The shots are slightly less consistent due to the wandering grind issues with volume changes, but that's just something that requires more discipline. I love the quiet of it. I love the speed of it. I love the simplicity of it.
But.... I pay for a small fraction of the coffee I make espresso from. If I were paying full retail for all the coffee I use - I'd be pretty seriously unhappy about this grinder. Wasting that much coffee.... yeah that would be tough.
And.... I know how to work with this grinder. I've had a few folks over who don't have the same experience and training and their frustration with just trying to get the grind into something close to the sweet spot for a specific coffee was illuminating for me.
In other words -- I love the Robur.
But I'd never suggest that the imaginary "average" home barista buy one.
It's still probably the best bar grinder out there.
But there are far cheaper, far easier to live with and far less demanding grinders for the home.


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My teenage daughter loves art... creating, manipulating mediums and dreaming up her next idea. I think I was about her age when I really discovered my love for creating... and once I got a taste I was hooked!
She recently had a piece of her work "Vases" submitted to the 2011 Boston Globe Scholastic Art Competition. There were over 12,000 submissions and she was awarded a silver key for her drawing. It was a "blind" drawing in which she was not able to look at her paper while she drew.
The artwork of all gold and silver key recipients will be hanging from Feb 14 - April 7 at the State Transportation Building in Boston. On March 6th there will be an awards ceremony for all.
Below is a tile that was supposed to be submitted as well but was not finished. It is a 11Wx9.5H hand created 3D tiled mosaic of the landscape of Greece.
Mehndi Art inspired the following drawing which was submitted for the final of the class.
I admire what my daughter has accomplished at only 16 and look forward to seeing her grow as an artist, athlete, scholar and individual in the years to come.


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Helping you to find your perfectpark & caravan holiday home
No. 1 dealer in North Wales & Cheshire
This caravan is located at Lloyds Caravan & Lodge Sales - Towyn. For address and directions please
click here.
Conveniently located on the main Towyn Road within easy access from the A55.
From Chester leave the A55 at junction 24A, Towyn exit. Follow signs for Towyn, turn right at Towyn crossroads and we are 500 yards on the right.
From Conwy leave the A55 at J24 Abergele exit. Follow signs for Rhuddlan, take first left for Towyn, turn right at Towyn crossroads and we are 500 yards on the right.
Lloyds Caravan & Lodge Sales Towyn, Towyn Road, Towyn LL22 9NWTel: 01745 email@example.com
A holiday home which embodies both comfort and practicalilty, The Regency features an innovative layout which is both spacious and full of seating for the whole family. Bright and airy, this holiday home features neutral textures and tones, creating a modern and relaxing environment, where youcan spend holidays time and time again.
Sleeps 4/6
36 x 12 feet 2 bedrooms (sleeps 4/6)
Located: Showground - Towyn
To arrange a viewing of this caravan or to discuss ordering and specifications please click through to our enquiry form using the buttons to the right.
Length: 36 feetWidth: 12 feetBedrooms: 2 (sleeps 4/6)
Price: £23,993.00
Other versions of this caravan are available:
Lloyds Caravan & Lodge Sales are a trusted name in the industry with an excellent reputation for after sales care and customer service, and with over 50 years' experience in the industry you can be sure that if you need us for anything, before, during or after your purchase – we are here to help!
All new holiday homes come with at least a 12 months manufacturer's warranty from the date of purchase giving you peace of mind. Some holiday homes also carry a structural and even a corrosion warranty that can last up to 10 or 12 years!
As standard Regal Holiday Homes come with a two year warranty from the date of purchase.
For peace of mind Regal offers a further 4 years warranty cover on specific structural items.
Information true as of August 2016. Warranty covers are subject to certain terms, conditions and exclusions depending on each manufacturer. Please contact us if you require further information. Warranty only applies to the first owner of the holiday home and is not transferable. And the warranty takes effect from the date of purchase and ownership of holiday home.
Transport Delivery Dates
Depending on when you want your new caravan holiday home delivered by and the delivery dates available, we at Lloyds Caravan & Lodge Sales will liaise with your chosen park and arrange for your new holiday home to be ready for when you need it.
Transport Delivery Costs
Holiday homes which are on display at our showground will include the delivery cost from factory to showground in the window price of the caravan; but you will have to pay extra for delivery from our showground to your chosen park, and is dependent on location. Please enquire.
Holiday homes which are already sited at a Caravan Park will include the delivery cost from the factory to the Caravan Park, in the window price of the Caravan that is for sale at the park.
If you are special ordering direct from the manufacturers please include the following delivery charge:
Delivery charges from Factory to Lloyds Caravan & Lodge Sales showground
10ft wide = £900
39ft x 12ft = £1,020
12.5ft/13ft/14ft wide = £1,194
Twin = £2,148
Regal Holiday Homes;
12ft wide = £1,320
13ft wide = £1,560
14ft wide = £2,160
Delivery charge from factory to Caravan Park varies depending on location, so please enquire.
Please note
To enquire about this caravan please click the button below:
Subject to availability
Caravans shown are for illustrative purposes only. Price shown is the standard retail price, options and transport costs are extra.
01745 832050 // email@example.com
01745 832050
Experience Comfort
With Lloyds Caravan & Lodge Sales
Incorporating Roy Kellett Caravans


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Leather Hair Bows
I was gifted some awesome red leather a few days ago and finally figured out what I wanted to use it for– hair clips! More specifically, bow hair clips. As of late I've been trying to "do" my hair before I leave the house. That includes brushing it and on occasion, using hair spray. *gasp*. I know.
I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out!!!
You see that spot on the bottom left corner in the picture? Something got on my lens and I have absolutely NO idea how to get it off. In other pictures I can actually see that it's a thing and not a water mark. I've cleaned the lens numerous times and even removed it to see if I could see it on the body of the camera–no luck! I think I have to take it to a camera place so they can do their thang. It's ruining some good shots!
Happy Wednesday!
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you. Look forward to finding out about your web page repeatedly.


text:
HRC-Backed 2020 Candidates
- Dutch Ruppersberger for Reelection (MD-2)
- John Sarbanes for Reelection (MD-3)
- Anthony Brown for Reelection (MD-4)
- House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer for Reelection (MD-5)
- David Trone for Reelection (MD-6)
- Jamie Raskin for Reelection (MD-8)
The Human Rights Campaign fights for LGBTQ equality in Maryland alongside state and local groups and lawmakers. Find out more about what HRC is doing for LGBTQ equality in Maryland and how you can get involved with the local community in Washington D.C.
The existing patchwork of legal protections for LGBTQ people in the United States leaves millions subject to uncertainty and potential discrimination. That's why the Human Rights Campaign is continuing the fight on the local, state and federal levels for full LGBTQ equality.
If you are a reporter seeking up to the minute information about measures in Maryland, please email firstname.lastname@example.com and/or subscribe to our daily tipsheet.


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- Home
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Fri Aug 7, 2020First Friday Forum: Caring for the Human Spirit: A Cooperative Approach to Whole-Person Care
Category: Webinar
Wed Aug 19, 2020Virtual Difficult Dialogue Series: #2
Category: Virtual Social
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Category: Webinar
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The Minnesota Psychological Association actively encourages the participation of all psychologists regardless of age, creed, race, ethnic background, gender, socio-economic status, region of residence, physical or mental status, political beliefs, religious or spiritual affiliation, and sexual or affectional orientation.Although we are an organization of individuals from diverse cultures and backgrounds, the Minnesota Psychological Association also recognizes our core unifying identities as Psychologists who practice in America. We also recognize that we may hold unintentional attitudes and beliefs that influence our perceptions of and interactions with others. Within this context of unity and self-exploration, we are committed to increasing our sensitivity to all aspects of diversity as well as our knowledge and appreciation of the unique qualities of different cultures and backgrounds.We aspire to becoming alert to aspects of diversity, previously unseen or unacknowledged in our culture. In this spirit, we are committed to collaborating with multicultural groups to combat racism and other forms of prejudice as we seek to promote diversity in our society. To this end, we are dedicated to increasing our multicultural competencies and effectiveness as educators, researchers, administrators, policy makers, and practitioners.


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Please help support the mission of New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more all for only $19.99...
("Communication of Idioms").
A technical expression in the theology of the Incarnation. It means that the properties of the Divine Word can be ascribed to the man Christ, and that the properties of the man Christ can be predicated of the Word. The language of Scripture and of the Fathers shows that such a mutual interexchange of predicates is legitimate; in this article its source and the rules determining its use will be briefly considered.
The source of the communicatio idiomatum is not to be found in the close moral union between Christ and God as maintained by the Nestorians, nor in Christ's fullness of grace and supernatural gifts, nor, again, in the fact that the Word owns the human nature of Christ by right of creation. God the Father and the Holy Ghost have the same right and interest as the Son in all created things except in the human nature of Jesus Christ. This the Son by Assumption has made His own in a way that is not theirs, i.e., by the incommunicable property of personal union. In Christ there is one person with two natures, the human and the Divine. In ordinary language all the properties of a subject are predicated of its person; consequently the properties of Christ's two natures must be predicated of his one person, since they have only one subject of predication. He Who is the Word of God on account of His eternal generation is also the subject of human properties; and He Who is the man Christ on account of having assumed human nature is the subject of Divine attributes. Christ is God; God is man.
The communicatio idiomatum is based on the oneness of person subsisting in the two natures of Jesus Christ. Hence it can be used as long as both the subject and the predicate of a sentence stand for the person of Jesus Christ, or present a common subject of predication. For in this case we simply affirm that He Who subsists in the Divine nature and possesses certain Divine properties is the same as He Who subsists in the human nature and possesses certain human properties. The following considerations will show the application of this principle more in detail:
(1) In general, concrete terms stand for the person: hence, statements interchanging the Divine and human properties of Christ are, generally speaking, correct if both their subjects and predicates be concrete terms. We may safely say, "God is man", though we must observe certain cautions:
APA citation. (1908). Communicatio Idiomatum. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04169a.htm
MLA citation. "Communicatio Idiomatum." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04169a.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Sean Hyland.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmaster at newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.


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This is a very clean, elegant and stylish template.
This theme is ideal for designers, photograpers, writers and any other creatives that are in need of a portfolio website.
Colors are easy to change.
Font & other download links are included in the help file, all font are free for commercial use.
- 7 pages design (homepage, about, works, blog, single post, contact, fullwidth)
- 5 color options
- 3 slides options (nivoSlider, CoinSlider, jQueryCycle)
- 2 footer options
If you like it, please rate it.


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The Price Is Right's George Gray
George Gray with rescue cat Cracker Sinatra. Officially Mr. Cracker "Sweetie" Sinatra. Cracker because he is The Whitest Cat in Show Business and Sinatra because he is an old cat with bright blue eyes - "Old Blue Eyes." When George's best buddy Stinky died at age 15, George was beside himself. After some time had passed, George was ready for another companion. One thing George knew for certain - he was going to rescue a cat on Death Row! One of his good buddy's sister worked at the Burbank Animal Shelter; he told his buddy that if there is cat that is absolutely going to be put to death to let him know. A few weeks later George received a call that there were two cats in particular whose time was running out. George looked at both cats and one in particular spoke to him. Each time George would pass by, Cracker, who happens to be a polydactyl (six-toed) cat, would stick his big, mitten-like paws up against the cage. Cracker was also much older than the other cat and his chances of being adopted were slim. According to the nice folks at the shelter, Cracker was found abandoned in a field, but they believed he came from a loving family. Even in the notes, the staff wrote "so sweet". Now Cracker is his new Best Buddy and his nickname is "Sweetie" because he is the sweetest cat ever! (Photo by Shane Eitner Furtography)


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Welcome to the Fly Away Simulation downloads section. Here you will find our library of freeware add-ons and mods for all of the major flight simulation packages. We feature Microsoft Flight Simulator X, Flight Simulator 2004 and have just started featuring X-Plane. Also included here will be files for Microsoft Flight, once the software has been released to the public. Adding additional aircraft or scenery to your flight sim is a great way to expand your experience and play for longer.
All of the add-ons here are freeware, you don't even have to register to download, however a membership comes with many benefits including downloading files at full speed so that you don't have to wait - more information about a registered account here. The most popular add-ons are aircraft; there are literally thousands of repaints and models available. There are even repaint kits, where a user may download a blank repaint pack and create their own custom aircraft with a livery of their choice and design.
Scenery expansions are also becoming increasingly popular and users will be able to find them here too; from global mesh scenery to missing airports. You may browse our categories below, or use the search function of our library. Each flight sim expansion has a description and image to preview the add-on in the sim.
The Fly Away Simulation library is quite possibly the only complete all-in-one library online for FSX, FS2004 & X-Plane. Files are added daily, and the library is continually growing. With the release of Lockheed Martin's Prepar3D package, you will also find that pretty much all of the FSX downloads work with it too.
There are tutorials on our information pages with guides on how to install the addons, visit this page for installation help.
A Boeing 747 landing at the famous St Maarten airport. Screenshot from Microsoft Flight Simulator X.
Microsoft Flight Simulator X, or as it's known within the community as FSX, is the latest released version of their flight simulator package for Windows computers. This has become the standard in PC simulation, with an estimated 75% of the market using this package. The package is designed for a whole range of PC simulation uses, including fun flights for complete novices to IFR and navigation practice for trainee real-life pilots.
The add-ons we cover for FSX include aircraft, scenery and many utility files that enhance your simulation experience and enable you to play for longer with a wider range of scenarios. FSX downloads are our main attraction here at Fly Away Simulation.
Image shows a Saab 37 military aircraft flying over the French Alps. The screenshot was captured from X-Plane.
X-Plane Flight Simulator, developed by Laminar Research, has always been the simulator of choice for aviation professionals and professional simulator developers. This was usually the simulator used in commercial simulators and to train pilots for real-world scenarios because it was more customizable in these situations. When Microsoft announced the closure of the ACES studio (the team that developed Microsoft's Flight Simulator), the community were more open to change and adopted the use of other simulation packages on the market. X-Plane has always been there, but only at the back of the minds of MSFS users.
When Microsoft announced the closure, users of MSFS started looking elsewhere for a more advanced or "next-generation" simulator package. X-Plane 9 was the first choice and many users gave it a try. Fortunately for Microsoft users, Microsoft announced the development of "Microsoft Flight", the flight simulator package they would be releasing after Microsoft Flight Simulator X.
With the recent release of X-Plane 11, we have begun focusing our efforts on providing add-ons for this platform. X-Plane 11 is the future of flight simulators and many ex FSX users are adopting this platform as their next-generation flight simulator. This category is growing daily so stay tuned.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 or as it's know, FS2004 was released in 2003 and was the next generation of PC flight sim packages after the release of FS2002. Flight Simulator 2004 set the benchmark for PC flight simulators, and the environment engine was overhauled after the previous release. Many aspects of the simulator were changed; from weather settings and generation to the new included auto-gen scenery features (computer generated trees and other objects).
The world environment was a serious upgrade from FS2002 and FS2004 shortly became the most popular flight simulator of all time. Even after the release of FSX, many avid flight simmers and users still think of FS2004 as the "ultimate" simulator and prefer it over later versions, claiming that the package is more stable and tried and tested.
By popular user demand, we have launched our Prepar3D v4 page which only displays add-ons and mods that are compatible with v4.
Aircraft addons for Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3
Miscellaneous files for Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3
Utilities for Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3
Listed in this category are a selection of flight simulator packages and games that are free-to-download. Most of them...
All the files from Flight Sim 2002 now in one category.
Flight Simulator pre 2000, including FS98 and FS2000.
Other downloads including movies, demos and presentations, benchmark software and more.


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CHICAGO (Reuters) - A small group of Ecuadoreans with a genetic mutation that causes dwarfism may hold clues to preventing cancer and diabetes — two of the biggest killers in the Western world, researchers said on Wednesday.
A 22-year study of people in a remote village in Ecuador who have genetically low levels of growth hormone reveals startlingly few cases of both diseases, the international team reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
And drugs that are already approved to block growth hormone may help prevent these diseases, they said.
The team, led by Valter Longo of the University of Southern California and Jaime Guevara-Aguirre, an Ecuadorean endocrinologist, followed residents of an isolated community who had Laron syndrome.
It is a deficiency in a gene that prevents the body from using growth hormone, causing very small body size.
The team followed about 100 people with the syndrome, and 1,600 normal-sized relatives in nearby towns.
Over 22 years, there were no cases of diabetes and only one non-lethal case of cancer among the Laron group. Among the relatives, about 5 percent developed diabetes and 17 percent developed cancer.
The team believes that low levels of growth hormone played a role because both groups lived in similar environments and had similar genetic risk factors.
It is unclear how having low levels of growth hormone are protective, but prior studies of longevity in both yeast and mice have pointed to growth hormone as an important factor.
In the study, the team examined the blood of patients in the Laron group and found two differences. It protected the DNA against cancer-causing agents, and it quickly killed off any damaged cells before they could develop into cancer.
"We think that maybe this double-protective mode may very well be the reason for the lack of any cancer in this population," Longo told the briefing.
The team also found that people in the Laron group had higher levels of insulin sensitivity, which might explain how they resisted diabetes, despite somewhat higher levels of overweight and obesity.
Longo said the study suggests that using drugs to reduce high levels of growth hormone might help cut the risk of cancer and diabetes.
The Food and Drug Administration has already approved drugs that block growth hormone activity in humans to treat acromegaly, a condition related to gigantism.
"Because they are FDA-approved, there is the hope the process of testing these drugs may go much more quickly," Longo said.
Editing by Xavier Briand


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Writing macros, a series of lessons (8 of…)
At long last, we're going to dip our toes into scripting. First, a few resources and terms.
Resources… I know in an earlier lesson I was lamenting not having all of Iriel's concise lists of changes to hand. I was being an idiot – I did have it, but had forgotten. It's part of a set of resources – well, one resource with a lot of branches – that as a beginner you're going to find almost mandatory. That's the API resources at WoWWiki.com. (Note this is a category listing. You're going to want the subcategory and the first six articles. The rest of the 199 PAGES of stuff is, at this time anyway, unnecessary.)
API is an abbreviation for Application Programming Interface. And that is… Remember I said the underlying script language was Lua. Well, if you're programming in Lua you're free to make up your own function and variable and so forth names. (Yes, we'll get to those terms too if you don't get them. Bear with me.) The thing is, since Blizzard wrote so much of WoW in Lua, they've already NAMED a bunch of these things. So you don't have to make up your own command to play a soundfile from the game (PlaySoundFile). Or to run a macro (DoMacro). Or, well, you get the idea.
OK, let's start our syntax learning. Actually, let's digress for a public service announcement – if this makes no sense to you then you need not worry about it.
If you are an experienced programmer, please recognize I'm trying to introduce this to non-programmers, and be gentle with the corrections. Yes, I know functions and numbers and strings are types in Lua – but the nature of a dynamically typed OO language extension language is such that a lot of terminology can easily appear confusing – and recursive – with no relief in sight. If I make a GLARING error, please correct. If it's a 'well, sorta kinda'… use some judgment, ok? My skin is tough, but I don't want to be the one cleaning all those exploded skulls off the walls. Anyway…
At the very core of our scripting system is this sytax:
Function is "Do something" – what in macros we called a command.
Arguments are, well, paralleling our macro syntax, arguments are the parameters and conditionals (and more) for the function. They tell the function what to do something TO, and what type of something to do to that what.
Notice the parenthesis. The arguments for a function are ALWAYS in parenthesis, and there's never a space. It's worth adding here that if you see what appear to be two words with no space, the computer considers that one word. (Remember what I said about German language for 'target' and 'focus'? It's about to get moreso.) There CAN be spaces within the argument, however, in certain cases. Just none between the apparent words of the function, and none between function and opening parenthesis.
Now, there are a lot of things that can be arguments. And there are things that can go OUTSIDE the function that further control it. And we're going to get to those – but slowly. And to that end…
I'll be using some terms frequently, so let's get them out of the way here. The first is "string". A string is a series of characters – usually considered a word, but it can include numbers and (with caveats) symbols. The really important thing about a string I want you to keep in mind is that for now it's immutable. It doesn't change. If I tell the script to say "player" in chat, it puts in "player", not "my character's name". Now when we write a script, a string is always in quotation marks.
The second term you'll see a LOT is variable. A variable is a placeholder. We've used them before – target and player in macros are examples. During the script – at the time the script runs – we'll either tell the script what the variable means at that instant, or it'll pull it from the situation. (Am I targeting myself, my tank, that mob over there…?) Now, a variable can be a lot of things — types, in Lua speak — so it can get confusing. Just remember – it's a placeholder. Oh, and generally we tell the variable what type it's expecting and it will never be anything else (in that script). In other words, if we tell it the variable is a number, it'll never accept or see a string.
There are also some reserved words. These words CANNOT be used as variables or functions or anything else – they have specific meaning to the computer, and that meaning will override what you wanted it to mean. These words are:
and break do else elseif end false for function if in local nil not or repeat return then true until while
Umm, let me take this opportunity to tell you, again, that case matters. To the computer, 'and' is a reserved word, but it doesn't care at all about And, aNd, ANd, or any other combination of letters that isn't 'and'. Oh – it also doesn't care about the word as a part of a longer string or label. The 'and' in ThisandThat (or thisandthat, or whatever) is not going to trigger the reserved behavior.
By the same token, some symbols are reserved. Now unlike the words above, if THESE show up in the middle of a label (function, variable, etc) they will have their effect. We can OVERRIDE this behavior (if, for example, we want to say it as part of a text string being sent to chat), but we have to make a specific effort. The list of these symbols is:
+ – * / % ^ # == ~= <= >= < > = ( ) { } [ ] ; : , . .. …
Ummm – a space has a reserved function too. It separates terms. (grin) Seriously, if you create a variable called this+that, the computer is going to see two variables that it's supposed to be adding together.
OK, that's rather dense, so even though there's a lot more in the area let's take a break. Let's see the basic script structure in progress, and maybe learn something while we're out it. Here, try this bit of fun:
/run PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Music\\ZoneMusic\\Karazhan\\KA_OperaHarpsiWalkUni01.mp3")
/run PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Music\\ZoneMusic\\Karazhan\\KA_OperaOrganWalkUni01.mp3")
Note that both are on one line. As with almost every single line macro, you can type that into a chat box and have it run.
Yep, it's the music from karazhan's opera – the organ, and the harpsichord. Thank Rickyk of Draenor-US for assembling the list of these and several hundred other sounds from the game – you can find it on the forums. Now let's dissect them to focus our learning.
The command that starts both scripts is \run – something we already knew.
PlaySoundFile is the function. It tells the computer to find the soundfile and do all the necessary steps to play it over your speakers/headphones. The argument for which this function is waiting is "what file?" You will put the file inside the parenthesis. And since you're going to tell it EXACTLY where to go, it's a string — which means it's enclosed within quotation marks. By the way, the double backslashes (\\) are because single backslashes within the computer have a special meaning that is NOT "=>subdirectory".
Though this has been relatively short (for me), I'm going to stop here. Take some time to go through those references, though, as we'll pull from them several times and it's nice to be comfortable. But mostly,
go have fun.
3 Responses to "Writing macros, a series of lessons (8 of…)"
Your script doesn't work for me in WoW (US) but this one does:
/script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Music\\ZoneMusic\\Karazhan\\KA_OperaOrganWalkUni01.mp3″)
I use /script instead of /run and " instead of ^
Anyways, thank you for the songs! They're probably the only two out of tune songs I can tolerate. XD
Oh, and I'd like to share one as well:
/script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Music\\GlueScreenMusic\\BCCredits_Lament_of_the_Highborne.mp3")
Nice work on these tutorials, I have a questions for everyone….
Remember that old addon whispercast ? Well I would like a whisper heal, where I could send a whisper to my alt and he would cast a heal on me. Could this be done ?


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BOSTON — Milan Lucic is having relationship problems.
See, there's this girl. Gorgeous girl. Lucic has known her his entire life. She's sophisticated and enchanting, but grounded. Sure, her disposition turns grey and bleak at times, and she's expensive to be around. But when she smiles, it's like all the diamonds in the world are in one place, sparkling for you. Her name is Vancouver.
And lately, she has been breaking Milan Lucic's heart.
"I never knew it would go this way," Lucic, the Boston Bruins' winger, said Monday of the strain he feels toward his hometown. "It does hurt you a little bit. I'm an athlete and have grown up my whole life loving competition. It just happened to be I was on the team that was going up against my hometown team — the team I grew up cheering for — and it went my way instead of Vancouver's way.
"I wish people could just forget about that when I go home. I'm just a regular person like anybody else."
Well, not quite, because Lucic makes $6 million a year in the National Hockey League and that kind of money, no matter people say, tilts things. But what really distinguishes him is that he was a forceful part of the Bruins' team that deprived Vancouver of its first Stanley Cup in a century when it beat the Canucks in the epic 2011 final.
That was the series, Lucic said, when his parents and grandparents were harassed at Rogers Arena.
A year later, vandals defaced the family's church in East Vancouver. Then seven weeks ago, after the Canucks thumped the Bruins 6-2 in Lucic's first game in his hometown since the Stanley Cup win, the 25-year-old somehow ended up in front of a Granville Street nightclub in an altercation with a man.
An embarrassing smartphone video of the incident showed Lucic telling police he had been punched twice and bellowing at the alleged assailant: "Do you know who you're f------ with?"
No charges were laid, but Lucic initially inflamed matters when he told Boston reporters the next day: "I have no reason left to defend my city and the people of my city. I'm just disgusted and outraged that it had to come to something like that."
That blanket indictment hung for a day before Lucic issued a conciliatory statement: "As I have had more time to think, I want to make it clear that regardless of what has happened, I am still — and always will be — proud to be from there. It is home."
It wasn't like this for Andrew Ladd of Maple Ridge or Delta's Brent Seabrook when the Chicago Blackhawks bounced the Canucks from the playoffs on their way to a Stanley Cup in 2010. Or for Burnaby's Joe Sakic earlier in the decade when the Colorado Avalanche won its second Stanley Cup and had a rivalry with the Canucks that escalated so dangerously that Todd Bertuzzi ended Steve Moore's career in 2004.
When former Canuck Willie Mitchell won a Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Kings in 2012, launching it with a first-round demolition of the Canucks, his day with the trophy was like a civic holiday on Vancouver Island. It was a lovefest. When Lucic brought the Cup home to Vancouver in 2011, he was so wary of inciting Canucks fans or appearing to flaunt the Bruins' victory that he organized a private party for friends and family atop Grouse Mountain.
"The unfortunate part is I've always prided myself on just being a regular person and acting like a regular person and being among regular people, never putting myself on a pedestal and pretending to be someone bigger," Lucic, the son of a longshoreman, said after the Bruins practised for Tuesday's game against the Canucks.
"I never wanted to be that person. But I end up in a situation like what happened (at the nightclub) and now I have to think twice as far as putting myself in that situation."
It didn't get much publicity, but Lucic also said the day after the December incident that "you've got to take ownership of it and know that it happened because you were in that situation."
Lucic wasn't carried to the sidewalk. He didn't have to drink with his friends in a public venue downtown, full of inebriated people, early in the morning after a volatile Canucks-Bruins' game.
But, still, you can't imagine a Vancouverite, no matter how ardently he supported the Canucks, walking up to Sakic anywhere and punching him in the face.
The animosity has to do with how Lucic plays and for whom, and how he and his team not only beat the Canucks in the Stanley Cup Final, but bullied them. And since we're all Canucks, he/they must have done it to us, too.
But none of that makes Lucic a bad person and deserving of an assault.
"Am I supposed to be sorry we won?" he said Monday. "I'm an athlete; I play to win, no matter who it's against. I don't want anyone to feel bad for me or sorry for me. I'm just saying I wish it wasn't this way."
He means his relationship to Vancouver, where he went to Killarney high school and nearly quit hockey at 16, but persevered and made the Junior-B Delta Ice Hawks, then the Junior-A Coquitlam Express and the Western Hockey League's Vancouver Giants.
Bypassed by the Canucks in the NHL draft, Lucic was named the Memorial Cup's most valuable player when the Giants brought a rare major hockey championship to Vancouver in 2007. On home ice.
A jubilant, youthful Lucic told me that night: "Hometown boy. There's nothing better than winning the Memorial Cup here. There's only one trophy out there that could top this one."


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Between Naps on the Porch
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If Ya Gotta Wear One, It Might As Well Be Pretty
January Favorites & Some Recent Purchases for Spring & Summer
My September Favorites, From Practical to Decorative to Whimsical
March Favorites & a Genius Life Hack When You've Forgotten Your Readers
January Favorites & My Absolute Favorite Cozy, Warm Shoes for Indoors


text:
set (someone or something) loose
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set (someone or something) loose
To make free or give up control of something or someone; to release or discharge something or someone, as from confinement. Due to a lack of evidence, the suspects were set loose by police. Samantha was suspended for setting mice loose throughout the school.


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Chain Guards
Unlike most stock chain guards our bike specific chain guards are manufactured from Carbon Fibre, They don't only prevent chain lube and oil getting kicked up on your clothes they also keep other parts of the bike clean and they also protect you from getting clothing and foreign objects caught in the chain.
Another purpose is that chains do snap and if it snaps whilst you're riding the aftermath can very very hazardous. After all you can replace a chain guard much easier than a leg!
All Chain Guards are available in Matt or Glossed Carbon Fibre.


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When an iTunes banner announced that tomorrow would be a day "you'll never forget," we speculated that it probably hinted at the arrival of the Beatles catalog on iTunes. The Wall Street Journal says that the Beatles are, in fact, on their way.
Though there's no official comment from Apple, EMI or Paul McCartney, and "there is still a chance that Apple could change plans at the last minute," the deal was allegedly cut last week, said the Journal.
Music biz watcher Billboard has all but confirmed the news. "After a day of phone calls, e-mails and cryptic messages, Billboard.biz is sticking its neck out and saying this is what we're going to hear tomorrow."
Copyright MSNBC - MSNBC


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Whether you're gearing up for the holidays, or prepping your patio for warmer weather, shop Holidays and Celebrations at Big Lots for amazing deals.
Start your seasonal styling with spring favorites - Valentine's Day and Easter décor and candy. Spring into summer savings with patio furniture, Fourth of July party favorites, pools and summer toys. Pick up your favorite accents for fall and a spooky display for Halloween. Find Christmas décor and more to celebrate the holidays. Keep your outdoor space looking great year-round with outdoor lighting, power cords, and everything seasonal in décor.
Whatever season you're celebrating, shop seasonal at Big Lots for hot products at low prices.


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National Institute of Speech & Hearing
Accredited as Excellent Institution by RCI | ISO 9001:2015 Certified | Accredited by NAAC with A Grade
"Vikranth's efforts to promote sports in the campus and participation by our students in national and international events are quite praise-worthy. We appreciate his training and motivating students to scale significant heights in the recent National deaf Sports Meet 2019 held at Chennai. These achievements have been brought to the notice of NISH Project Board and the board has approved a special budget for purchasing sports gear needed by students based on the suggestion by Vikranth.
Vikranth, congratulations and best wishes for your continued efforts! "


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Version Date: May 17, 2013 View help for published
Cite this study |
Export Citation:
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Brenda Uekert, National Center for State Courts;
Inger Sagatun-Edwards, National Center for State Courts;
Ann Crowe, National Center for State Courts;
Tracy Peters, National Center for State Courts;
Fred Cheesman, National Center for State Courts;
Dina Kameda, National Center for State Courts
Version V1
This study tested the effectiveness of two court-based intervention programs in California (Santa Clara County, San Francisco County) that addressed juvenile domestic and family violence. The court-based intervention programs included an intake assessment process for domestic and family violence, specialized prosecution and defense, a dedicated docket, intensive supervision, offender programs, and victim services. Probation and court records of juvenile domestic/family violence offenders provided the source of data to compare the intervention programs with a third county that did not have a specialized response (Contra Costa County). The final study group included 303 closed cases (201 cases from Santa Clara County, 40 cases from San Francisco County, and 62 cases from Contra Costa County).
Access to these data is restricted. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete a Restricted Data Use Agreement, specify the reasons for the request, and obtain IRB approval or notice of exemption for their research.
The study involved two separate phases: contextual analysis and program evaluation. Contextual analysis, conducted through site visits, was necessary to identify variances in court/probation processing and case treatment and was a prerequisite to the collection of data. In Santa Clara and San Francisco counties, the research team interviewed agency and community-based staff participating in the programs, observed court hearings, and collected agency protocols and reports. In Contra Costa County, staff interviewed the presiding juvenile judge and probation staff. Data resulting from the contextual analysis component of the study are not available as part of this data collection at this time.
The project's report (Uekert et al., 2006; NCJ 216614) indicates that both quantitative and qualitative data were collected, including textual summaries of the offender's performance while on probation. The qualitative data collected by the research team are not available as part of this data collection at this time. The quantitative data include two variables coded from the qualitative data that specify whether the youth's adjustment was a success and the reason the case was closed.
The project's report (Uekert et al., 2006; NCJ 216614) references a final sample of 304 closed cases (202 cases from Santa Clara County, 40 cases from San Francisco County, and 62 cases from Contra Costa County), however the data being distributed as part of this collection contain information on 303 closed cases (201 cases from Santa Clara County, 40 cases from San Francisco County, and 62 cases from Contra Costa County).
The purpose of the study was to test the effectiveness of the Santa Clara County and San Francisco County court-based intervention programs that addressed juvenile domestic and family violence.
A quasi-experimental research design incorporating two experimental groups (Santa Clara County, San Francisco County) and a comparison group (Contra Costa County) was used to examine program effects on recidivism and offender behaviors. Program evaluation included analysis of the minors' background, incident data, and outcome evaluation, which focused on the impact of court, probation, and treatment on individual levels. The program evaluation involved coding probation and court files in each of the three counties to (1) document the sociodemographic, experiential, and delinquency backgrounds of juvenile domestic/family violence offenders, (2) profile victim backgrounds and the nature of the incident, (3) collect information on probation conditions, intervention programs, and probation violations, and (4) gather information on subsequent arrests and convictions for domestic and family violence offenses and any new re-arrests.
Coding sheets were used to quantify data collected from probation files, court files, and criminal record checks. The actual coding took place at the probation department or juvenile court file rooms at each site. Recidivism data were collected from juvenile probation files as well as criminal record checks. Adult records were checked up to August 31, 2005 -- allowing a period of six years from the time in which the Santa Clara program first began operations, and four years from the time in which the San Francisco court program first started. In Contra Costa County, adult criminal records were checked from September 1999 through August 2005. The adult criminal records were provided from the probation department or court personnel in all three counties, using the records from the California Criminal Justice Information Control. The final study group included 303 closed cases (201 cases from Santa Clara County, 40 cases from San Francisco County, and 62 cases from Contra Costa County).
The research team only coded closed juvenile domestic/family violence cases in Santa Clara County, San Francisco County, and Contra Costa County. In Santa Clara County and San Francisco County, the probation departments provided a list of all the cases assigned to their juvenile domestic/family violence courts for September 1999 to August 2003 for Santa Clara County and for September 2001 to August 2003 for San Francisco County.
Since there was no such list available in Contra Costa, researchers first had to identify domestic/family violence cases from the general caseload. After a review of offenders in the Santa Clara Juvenile Domestic and Family Violence Court, the Contra Costa cases were initially selected by the major domestic/family violence penal codes and other batterer/assault codes that potentially might have involved a teen relationship violence or family violence incident. The Probation Department technical staff in Contra Costa County searched all their case records during the period from September 1999 to August 2003 for cases adjudicated with at least one of four penal code violations that were indicative of a domestic or family violence crime. Cases that clearly involved a domestic or family violence relationship were included in the sample, resulting in a list of 381 potential cases. A number of cases identified as domestic or family violence, primarily in Contra Costa County, were dismissed either before reaching the court or because the court determined that the case was a dependency case rather than a delinquency case. These cases were excluded from the final sample as they were not comparable to the sample of cases that received the court-based intervention in Santa Clara and San Francisco Counties.
The final sample is comprised of 303 closed cases (201 cases from Santa Clara County, 40 cases from San Francisco County, and 62 cases from Contra Costa County).
All juvenile domestic/family violence court cases in Santa Clara County, California between September 1999 and August 2003, in San Francisco County, California between September 2001 and August 2003, and in Contra Costa County, California between September 1999 and August 2003.
Adult criminal records.
Court records.
Probation files.
The study contains 386 variables including county, various important date variables, background variables, incident data, intervention data, and outcome variables. Background information variables include offender characteristics and victim characteristics. Outcome variables include intervention outcomes, juvenile recidivism outcomes, and adult recidivism outcomes.
Not applicable
2013-05-17 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.
One or more files in this data collection have special restrictions. Restricted data files are not available for direct download from the website; click on the Restricted Data button to learn more.


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Will someone please help me out with disabling keys? I cant figure this out for ANYTHING. Im 14, so please be patient with me, I'd like to disable the Alt + Cntrl + Del keys in my Visual Basic Program.
P.s. Im open to all links to good tutorial sites for VB.


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We the undersigned, strongly condemn the practices that have led to the elimination of millions of girls and women from India's population, and hold the government of India accountable for failing to protect the lives of its female citizens.
We further contend, on grounds of human rights, that immediate and effective action be taken by the government, through the implementation of rapid action task forces, to halt this femicide. We also insist the government officially commit to a time-line within which the associated practices of female feticide, female infanticide and dowry murders will be effectively arrested through the rigorous enforcement of existing laws and a stringent accountability on the part of India's hospitals, government offices, and law enforcement agencies.
We further urge international human rights bodies and other governments to join in this effort to persuade the government of India to acknowledge and honor the call of this petition.
THE 50 MILLION MISSING: A Campaign Against India's Female Genocide
This petition closed 8 months ago
For 6 years, we at The 50 Million Missing Campaign have been working hard to tell the world about the ongoing female gendercide in India which has killed about 50 million women in the country in 3...
For 6 years, we at The 50 Million Missing Campaign have been working hard to tell the world about the ongoing female gendercide in India which has killed about 50 million women in the country in 3 generations through practices like infanticide, feticide, deliberate starvation and neglect of girl under 6 years, dowry murders, bride 'trafficking,' "honor" killings, and "witch" hunts.
It is our goal now to get large global mandate, of at least a million people to demand official accountability and action to stop female genocide in India through the systematic, and accountable implementation of existent laws. If you are visiting the cause for the first time please look through the information we've provided on our two blogs below --
The Gender Equal Blog: http://www.genderequal.info
The 50 Million Missing Newspaper Log on Reports of Violence on Women and Girls: http://violenceonindianwomen.wordpress.com/