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- AltCar Auto Show
- Beijing Auto Show
- CES Auto Show
- Chicago Auto Show
- DC Auto Show
- Detroit Auto Show
- Frankfurt Auto Show
- Geneva Auto Show
- LA Auto Show
- NAIAS Auto Show
- New York Auto Show
- Paris Auto Show
- Philadelphia Auto Show
- SEMA Auto Show
- San Diego Auto Show
- Shanghai Auto Show
- St. Louis Auto Show
- Tokyo Auto Show
Auto Show: 2012 La Auto Show
2013 VW Beetle Convertible & R-Line Models: LA Auto Show
- Volkswagen unveils 2013 Beetle Convertible at LA Auto Show.
- Beetle will be most fuel-efficient convertible in the U.S.
- Features soft-top roof that folds in 9.5 seconds up to speeds of 31 mph.
This year's LA Auto Show marks the unveiling of the 2013 VW Beetle Convertible. Inspired by Beetle convertible models of the past, but with distinctive modern bodylines, features and three engine options, the 2013 Beetle Convertible proves itself to be not only fashionable but also sporty and eco-friendly.
Incorporating design cues from Beetle convertibles from the 1950s, the latest Beetle Convertible is sportier looking, better equipped and more livable than ever. For 2013, the Beetle Convertible is 3.3 inches wider, 6 inches longer and has 3.4 cu ft more interior room. In the rear, VW has fitted the Beetle Convertible with folding rear seats, which allows for greater storage capacity and versatility.
Customers will find even the base model, starting at $24,995, to be extremely well appointed, with an 8-speaker audio system, Bluetooth cell phone connectivity, heated front seats, cruise control, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and 17-inch aluminum alloy wheels. Standard equipment includes an Automatic Rollover Support System, with rollover bars behind the rear bench seats that are automatically deployed with the airbags in the event of a collision. Also standard is an electronically retractable soft-top that folds in just 9.5 seconds and can be activated at speeds up to 31 mph.
Volkswagen is offering the 2013 VW Beetle Convertible with a choice of three engines: a 2.5-liter inline 5-cylinder, a 2-liter turbocharged inline 4-cylinder engine called the TSI and a turbocharged 2-liter inline 4-cylinder diesel engine known as the TDI.
The 2.5-liter 5-cylinder is paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission and produces 170 hp and 177 lb-ft of torque. The 2.5-liter is estimated to achieve 21 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway.
The 2-liter TSI is offered with either a 6-speed manual transmission or a dual-clutch transmission called DSG. When fitted with the manual, the TSI is expected to achieve 21 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway.
Last--and most fuel-efficient--is the 2-liter TDI diesel engine, which is also offered with either a 6-speed manual or the DSG transmission. When optioned with the 6-speed manual, TDI models are expected to achieve 28 mpg in the city and 41 mpg on the highway, making it the most fuel-efficient convertible available in the U.S.
The 2013 Beetle Convertible goes on sale in December 2012, just in time for the holidays. Pricing ranges from the $24,995 base model up to $32,395 for the fully loaded Turbo model.
In addition to the Beetle Convertible debut, Volkswagen also announced a new trim level for the rakish 4-door CC sedan: the CC R-Line. The R-Line adds 18-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, a larger lower air intake, side skirting, R-Line badges including stainless steel R-Line rocker panels, and projector fog lights. The CC R-Line starts at $32,195. A similar R-Line package was also announced for Beetle coupes and the just-released Beetle convertible.
Although it's not brand-new news, VW is also publicly displaying the new Jetta Hybrid. Powered by a 1.4-liter TSI turbocharged four-cylinder engine and an electric motor/generator receiving power from a Lithium-ion battery pack. The sporty Jetta Hybrid is estimated to achieve a combined fuel economy score of 45 mpg. The new Jetta Hybrid starts at $24,995 and ranges up to the $31,180.
What it means to you: Volkswagen revives the Beetle Convertible, breathing new fuel-efficient life into the drop-top market, along with German sensibility and sportiness.
See more LA Auto Show news.


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Our phone line is open from 10:00am - 6:00pm. If we don't answer leave a message and we will call you back at our expense.
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Alternatively you can contact us via email at email@example.com or via the contact form below.
Should you require a postal address for old fashioned snail mail just ask and we will provide you with one.
Copyright © 2018 RAM Models

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Trade Forex, Stock CFDs, Stock Indices, Oil and Gold on MT4/MT5.
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Thursday, September 29, 2011
What 2 Eat in London?
34 comments:
We ate at Wild Honey on St Georges St near Regents Park last summer. Fantastic!ReplyDelete
THANKS Rene!ReplyDelete
Wild Honey looks perfect.
Hi There CarolReplyDelete
So glad you loved the Sketchrecommendation I sent you last time !!
Fish and Chips at The Seashell in Lisson Grove consistently wins awrds & is very Close to Alfie's Antique market which is worth a visit .
Have you been to Spitalfields Market ?? That is worth a look and there is a fabulous Coffee House opposite in Brushfield Street called The Market Coffee House, it does a wonderful breakfast/brunch/lunch/dinner oysters etc etc. In a wonderfully atmospheric building dated 1670. Do go and look upstairs if you visit and i would recommend you go.
Thanks Rosemary!!ReplyDelete
I never know where to get fish n chips - The Seashell looks perfect!
I'll have the skate...or the haddock or...the fishcakes?
Fish Pie?ReplyDelete
(Cod, Salmon, Prawns and Mushrooms Finished With Cheesy Mash)
After seeing those pics, I am now officially starving, and it's not even 10 am yet. Thanks a lot!ReplyDelete
I think the paella at Covent Garden is a must! (Preferably the large-size serving. Small really just isn't enough.)ReplyDelete
I love British food too..ReplyDelete
Don't know why people say it's not so delicious when it is!
Don't forget my fav Breakfast tea from Fortnum & Mason!!!ReplyDelete
.. oh Carol .. all good, so yum ... how will I fine this post when I get to London? Very good stuff here. Thanks a bunch .. hope you have a GREAT time in Paris ... we all love it when you go. xoReplyDelete
Ohhh it makes me think of my favorite British food : fish & chips and scones at Fortnum ... I'm hungry now I have read your post!ReplyDelete
I would add something forbidden : Marks & Spencer' white chocolate cookies :)
Three words Carol.....Eat it all!! When are you coming? xvReplyDelete
fyi - pierre herme is now at selfridges and nopi is ottolenghi's new all day restaurant behind regent's st.ReplyDelete
the burrata with (i believe) fennel powder is the biz!
bon appetit!
- Kerrie2:51 PM
Asian food in London is awesome, especially Indian. I'm always on such a budget that I tend to eat take-away sandwiches, but my favorite treat is the little pot of tea just about anywhere for not much money. Add a scone, and it's just right! :) So many lovely art exhibits and theater going on this fall. Wish I was going, too!ReplyDelete
Oh yes- the cafe at St. Martin in the Fields has good comfort food, lots of scope for imagination, & it's across the street from the Nat'l Gallery, one of my favorite free London indulgences. Still free, for the moment!
It looks amazing..My friend went to J .O's resto and loved it..ReplyDelete
My other friend love the Indian food..and one friend went to a famous woman's chef resto and I forget the name:(
You will show us all!
I fell you have this subject well in hand!ReplyDelete
It all looks wonderful. I am sure where ever you eat it will be great. Now I am hungry looking at all this food. :)ReplyDelete
What fun! These all look like grandma's infamous tea parties. Can't wait to see where you go this time. I feel certain you'll share your adventures with us, your loyal groupies.ReplyDelete
I too have always loved London foods, from Pub offerings to Indian fare.ReplyDelete
Yummmmy! I'm jealous, Carol.
I'm going to London in 10 days. Food for Thought looks great, but is there a more central location?ReplyDelete
Oh my, you are lucky! I love London! We were there in June last year. My fav shop of all time- Fortnum & Mason! I love love that turquoise colour in their logo and decor! We ate in their cafe - scrumptious and so prettily decorated too - I think you'll enjoy it- try it out if you haven'r yet!ReplyDelete
Florida Bird -ReplyDelete
Food for thought is in Covent Garden area - you can't get more central London than that.
Ah ha Veronica!
So Shepherds Market is a kind of foodie mall of sorts...many, mnay choices.
Just came across your blog . . . those meringues are incredible!!!ReplyDelete
- Leslie in London3:58 AM
I Was in Rococo in my neighborhood this afternoon, buying some things to take as gifts to LA and it turns out that next week is Chocolate Week in the UK !!!!ReplyDelete
Rococo is doing a number of events, and you will be in London for their Autumn 2011 launch and tasting --- as well as other events, though you will miss the chocolate and wine tasting.
You can book for the events at rococochocolates.eventbrite.com --- perhaps you planned this, or perhaps serendipity....
Have a great time ---- I bought some homemade marshmellows, raspberry and blackberry.... thinking of them floating in hot chocolate......


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Nigeria president compares unrest in nation to Syrian civil war and wonders about 'end times'
ABUJA, Nigeria – Nigeria's president has compared the violence by an Islamist extremist sect in his West African nation to the ongoing civil war in Syria.
President Goodluck Jonathan made the comments Sunday before a church in Nigeria's capital, Abuja.
Jonathan said the sect known as Boko Haram "is taking over Abuja (and wants) for me and those working in government to run and hide somewhere else."
Jonathan also told worshippers at the church that the violence around the world made him wonder if this is a "way of telling us that the end times are so close."
According to an Associated Press count, Boko Haram has killed more than 780 people this year alone in Nigeria. The killings continue despite soldiers and police flooding the nation's north.


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AARP driver
safety course
Drivers of any age may take the Safe Driving Course from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. April 28 in the Savannah River Room of Hidden Cypress. The course will review current information; strengthen your driving awareness; talk about senior processing skills; help you become an alert, aware driver; and provide information about bicycles, golf carts, RVs and motorcycles.
Discussions will include current South Carolina laws and local regulations and facing the realities of driving in Beaufort County. Participants should bring lunch. A certificate of completion will be issued for the car insurance rate reduction.
For information and registration, call Joyce Tartow at 705-5692 or email email@example.com.
Board of
directors meeting
The board of directors will hold its quarterly meeting at 1 p.m. today in Magnolia Hall. The agenda is available on www.schhnews.com.
Harlem Gospel Revue tickets on sale
The Harlem Gospel Choir is one of America 's premier gospel choirs and has traveled the globe for 25 years. The choir represents the finest singers and musicians from churches in Harlem and the New York area. They'll perform twice in Magnolia Hall stage at 3 and 7 p.m. Oct. 7. Tickets are $18 for the 3 p.m. show and $22 for the 7 p.m. show. Please call Lifestyle Services at 705-4027 for more information.
Don't miss The Eagles Tribute Band
Time is running out to get tickets for Hotel California: Tribute to the Eagles. The band was founded to fill the void left by the demise of The Eagles in 1980. By blending their vocal and musical talents, Hotel California faithfully and accurately reproduces the sound of The Eagles. Tickets are $22 for the show at 7 p.m. May 7 in Magnolia Hall. Buy tickets in Lifestyle Services in Pinckney Hall.
From 'America's Got Talent' to Sun City
With a voice and musical style that has been compared to Frank Sinatra, the phenomenal Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., 2011 winner of "America's Got Talent," will grace the Magnolia Hall stage for two shows at 3 and 7 p.m. May 21. Murphy won "America's Got Talent" in September, and released his first recording on the Columbia label soon afterward. Tickets are $22 per person and are on sale in Lifestyle Services in Pinckney Hall. There is a limit of four tickets per household.


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Why and how should I cite data?
Why should I cite data?
Citing data files in publications based on those data is important for several reasons:
Other researchers may want to replicate research findings and need the bibliographic information provided in citations to identify and locate the referenced data.
Citations appearing in publication references are harvested by key electronic social sciences indexes, such as Web of Science, providing credit to the researchers.
Data producers, funding agencies, and others can track citations to specific collections to determine types and levels of usage, thus measuring impact.
Where do I find the citation?
Citations for ICPSR data can be found in the following locations:
- Study descriptions that appear on the website
- File manifest
- PDF study description file
Both the file manifest and the PDF study description file are automatically included with every download. Thus, every download is accompanied by a copy of the standard citation that can be copied and pasted with ease.
What do the citations look like?
Here are some examples:
ABC News, and The Washington Post. ABC News/Washington Post Poll, May 2007 [Computer file]. ICPSR24588-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2009-04-17. doi:10.3886/ICPSR24588
United States Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census, and United States Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Current Population Survey: Annual Demographic File, 1987 [Computer file]. ICPSR08863-v2. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2009-02-03. doi:10.3886/ICPSR08863
Johnston, Lloyd D., Jerald G. Bachman, Patrick M. O'Malley, and John E. Schulenberg. Monitoring the Future: A Continuing Study of American Youth (12th-Grade Survey), 2007 [Computer File]. ICPSR22480-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2008-10-29. doi:10.3886/ICPSR22480
Hall, David, Clement Leduka, Michael Bratton, E. Gyimah-Boadi, and Robert Mattes. Afrobarometer Round 3: The Quality of Democracy and Governance in Lesotho, 2005 [Computer file]. ICPSR22203-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2009-05-19. doi:10.3886/ICPSR22203
Note that we also include a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) at the end of each citation. A DOI is a unique persistent identifier for a published digital object, such as an article of a study, providing a link to the article or study. This means that if you publish an article using ICPSR data and you include the DOI in the data citation, you make it easy for other researchers to get back to the original data.
How can I let ICPSR know about my publication?
Users of ICPSR data are required to send us bibliographic citations for each completed manuscript or thesis abstract. This allows us to provide funding agencies with essential information about use of archival resources and facilitates the exchange of information about the research activities of principal investigators.
Email firstname.lastname@example.com to submit citations for inclusion in our Bibliography.


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New Car Review
2012 BMW X6 M: New Car Review
Pros: Ridiculous acceleration; ridiculous handling; adult-friendly back seat with three-across option; usable cargo space
Cons: Limited cargo capacity relative to X5 M
The 2012 BMW X6 M is such an audacious exercise that we can't help admiring BMW for actually building the thing. Let's be honest-even the regular X6 is a rather daring vehicle, although we've found plenty of things about it to appreciate. Now imagine a group of people looking at the slick-handling X6 xDrive50i with its twin-turbocharged 400-horsepower V8 and exclaiming: "It's not athletic enough! And it needs more power!" That's what happened when the maniacs at BMW's Motorsport division got their hands on the X6, and that's why we now have the 555-hp, 100 percent insane X6 M.
A case can be made that, relative to the standard model, the X6 M is actually less compromised than the X5 M. Unlike the X5, the X6 is explicitly for pavement only, so you're not losing any bushwhacking ability by giving it the full M treatment. Also unlike the X5, the X6 doesn't offer a third row, so you can't complain that the M guys cost you a couple of seats. Indeed, the X6 M offers largely the same versatility as the X6. It just happens to be as capable on a winding road as most dedicated sports cars, not to mention quicker in a straight line.
That's why the X6 M is without question our favorite X6, and frankly one of our favorite four-door vehicles of any stripe. We still can't believe BMW actually built a 555-hp all-wheel-drive hatchback with a hard-core sport suspension and a real back seat, but the 2012 BMW X6 exists, and we want one.
Comfort & Utility
The X6 M comes in one feature-packed trim level. Standard equipment includes 20-inch alloy wheels, sport-tuned adaptive dampers, a self-leveling rear air suspension, a power liftgate, adaptive xenon headlamps with retractable washers, foglamps, a sunroof, keyless entry with push-button ignition, extended leather upholstery, 14-way M sport seats with driver memory, dual-zone automatic climate control, iPod/USB and Bluetooth connectivity, a 16-speaker audio system with dual subwoofers and the hard-drive-based iDrive information and entertainment system with navigation, digital music storage and a wide-screen display.
If that's not enough for you, some of the more notable options include quad-zone automatic climate control, 20-way multi-contour sport seats, a leather-trimmed dashboard, an 825-watt audio system (crushing the base system's measly 600 watts) and a rear-seat entertainment system.
The X6 M's standard front sport seats are fantastic, offering support comparable to the X5 M's but in a more intimate, coupelike driving position. The optional multi-contour chairs, however, are worth their weight in gold; they're phenomenally supportive and comfortable. The gauges are classic BMW-white-on-black numerals that change to orange on black at night. The dashboard is similarly recognizable as a BMW design, although the X6 is aging rapidly and we find newer BMW dashboards to be a little nicer in materials and build quality.
We find the X6 M's standard rear bucket seats more comfortable for two passengers than the X5 M's rear bench. BMW raised the hip point of the back row for X6 duty, which means you sit up higher with better thigh support. There's an available middle seat, but we think the rear compartment is cooler with just the business-class buckets.
As for cargo space, the X6 M may pale in comparison to the boxier X5 M, but it's actually not bad at all relative to smaller crossovers, boasting 25.6 cubic feet behind the rear seatbacks and 59.7 cubic feet with those seatbacks folded.
The X6 M may have a somewhat dated interior relative to newer BMW products, but its technology is quite modern. Every X6 M comes with the hard-drive-based version of iDrive, which includes a beautifully crisp wide-screen display and plenty of digital music storage. The iDrive interface has improved dramatically from its controversial early years, now featuring a vastly better menu structure and numerous physical buttons next to the controller knob for direct access to common pathways. It's one of the best information and entertainment systems on the market, and we appreciate that it's controlled by that console-mounted control knob instead of a touchscreen, so there's no need to lean forward and smudge the screen with your fingertips.
Performance & Fuel Economy
The X6 M is powered by a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 rated at 555 horsepower and 501 lb-ft of torque. The transmission is a satisfactory six-speed automatic. Acceleration is 100 percent mental in the X6 M; there's no way a 5,000-pound SUV should be able to cover ground like a Corvette, but that's exactly what this BMW does. Our only quibble is with the flatulent noises emitted by the exhaust system during full-throttle upshifts. You don't want to be making embarrassing sounds while you're out-sprinting Porsches to the next stoplight, do you?
All X6 M models get an exclusive all-wheel-drive system with torque vectoring to let you put maximum power to the pavement in all situations. Fuel economy is a dismal 12 mpg city/17 mpg highway.
The 2012 BMW X6 M comes with standard stability control, four-wheel ABS and six airbags (front, front side and full-length side curtain).
Neither the government nor the independent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has crash-tested the X6.
Driving Impressions
The X6 M's lowered sport suspension does a ridiculously good job of keeping this massive SUV planted at speeds you won't believe until you drive the thing for yourself. In fact, the X6 M is even more capable than the already insane X5 M. Yet the ride remains more than tolerable, which is a tribute to the fundamental goodness of this aging platform. The steering is amazingly precise for a vehicle of this type. Among SUVs, only the far more expensive Porsche Cayenne Turbo can do what the X6 M does dynamically.
Other Cars to Consider
Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG: Now equipped with a twin-turbo 5.5-liter V8, the AMG-tuned ML has plenty of firepower in a straight line. Corners are another matter.
Porsche Cayenne Turbo: The Cayenne is a good match for the X6 M but, man, is it expensive.
Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8: The hot-rod Grand Cherokee isn't the best dancer in this class, but it gives you the massive grunt of a 6.4-liter Hemi V8 for about half the price of the BMW.
AutoTrader Recommends
We'll take the multi-contour seats, the 825-watt stereo and, what the heck, how about every other available option as well? The X6 M definitely isn't about holding back.


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Used 2009 Dodge Hybrid/Electric Values
Select a used 2009 Dodge Hybrid/Electric model
Dodge/Ram Truck note:
For 2019-2010 RAM Truck pricing and information, click here.
Several changes shape the 2009 Dodge product range. Among the most eye-catching additions to the Dodge line-up is the widespread debut of the all-new Challenger. Introduced with a limited number of SRT8 models in 2008, 2009 allow customers better access to the two-door coupe with a V-6 or the R/T trim model. The leading alteration with the Dodge line-up is the debut of an all-new Ram 1500 pickup truck. An aggressive, tough exterior of the new Dodge Ram is complemented by expanded towing capacity, new suspension and a Rambox storage system incorporated into the bed wall. Replacing the Dodge Magnum wagon, the auto brand has opted for a crossover utility. Capable of holding up to seven passengers, the all-new Dodge Journey is powered by either four-cylinder or six-cylinder engines. The Dodge Charger SRT-8 Super Bee returns as a rarer special edition model than in previous years. Only 425 HEMI Orange Pearl Coat painted Super Bee sedans will be sold in 2009.


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Irrigators, county commissioners make flood plans
BLACKFOOT — Preparations for possible flooding was the agenda item for representatives of four irrigation companies as they met with the Bingham County commissioners on Tuesday.
"Most of the canals are in better shape than we were in 1997," said C. Paul Robertson of the Parsons Ditch Company. "In '97, that was a nervous two weeks."
The last major flood came through this part of the state most recently in 1997.
The Parsons Ditch Company is the last irrigation canal in Bingham County, just before American Falls.
Robertson said the Aberdeen Springfield Canal could hold an additional eight inches of water.
United, Blackfoot Canal, Watson Slaugh and Parsons Ditch Company were the irrigation canal companies represented at the meeting.
"We want to be in line to be helped if the flood washes away the diversion dams," said Robertson. "We will need help repair the coffer dams when the river goes down."
Diversion dams and coffer dams are boulders built in the river to divert water into the irrigation canals.
Ron Ellis from United Canal said the greenbelt walking path at Jensen Grove is built one foot above the water level.
"If the water raises another foot, possibly the county can come in and cut it," Ellis said.
After some discussion, it was suggested a dip eventually be built into the walkway to allow water to flow back into the river.
Since irrigation companies are private entities, Bingham County commissioner Ladd Carter questioned how much help the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would give them.
The county is better able to handle any flooding because of all the preparation that has been done, commission chairman
Cleone Jolley said. "In '97, we were behind in preparations for the flooding; now we are ahead of it."


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|International Space Station Imagery
high res (1.0 M) low res (81 K)
|ISS027-E-035206 (20 May 2011) --- NASA astronaut Greg Chamitoff, STS-134 mission specialist, nears the completion of his role in the mission's first session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. During the six-hour, 19-minute spacewalk, Chamitoff and NASA astronaut Andrew Feustel (out of fame) retrieved long-duration materials exposure experiments and installed another, installed a light on one of the station's rail line handcarts, made preparations for adding ammonia to a cooling loop and installed an antenna for the External Wireless Communication system.
Curator: JSC PAO Web Team | Responsible NASA Official: Amiko Kauderer | Updated: 10/30/2012


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Tile-Painting Tips or Avoid it Altogether?
Q: HELP! We've been living in our house for 3 years and the bathroom is the one room we haven't done much with. I can't handle the color of the tile anymore! I have thought about painting the tile but I need help...tips or tricks. Is it smart to paint bathroom tile? How easy is it and what products did you use? OR should I just leave it and paint the wall above the tile?
(These pictures are from the walk-through of the house 3 years ago--we have a different shower curtain, new towel holders, and I painted the medicine cabinet & light fixture white.)
Sent by Christy
Editor: Leave your suggestions for Christy in the comments - thanks!
• Got a question? Email yours with pic attachments here (those with pics get answered first)


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How much do you know about RA?
Myths and Facts about RA
Let's see how much you know about Rheumatoid Arthritis.
http://www.webmd.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/rm-quiz-rheumatoid-arthritis-myths-facts - http://www.webmd.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/rm-quiz-rheumatoid-arthritis-myths-facts
I have the disease and I made a couple of mistakes on the quiz. I was not diagnosed with RA until March 2006, after my 'child-bearing' days so I am a bit unaware of the risks associated with RA and pregnancy. Believe me, with the continued research I do, if this was something I would have had to handle, it would have been thoroughly researched as well.
I don't pretend to have all the answers about Rheumatoid Arthritis. I am not sure that anyone does. RA does not have the funding that some other medical conditions have simply because there are not enough people talking about it as yet. But that is changing daily. If you Google (or use a different search engine) rheumatoid arthritis today, you will see a more extensive list than I saw when I was first diagnosed. Its victims are getting the word out now but it has taken advancements in social media to do this and there are still so many people in the U.S. who have no idea what RA is.
If you learn nothing else from my blog than this, then I will be happy…when someone tells you they have a medical condition, don't just assume you know what it is based on one word being familiar. Having people tell me they have RA and they are speaking of osteoarthritis (OA) or when they say, "But you don't look sick…" is hurtful and very frustrating. I have even been told it is all in my head and that as I am getting older, aches and pains are a part of life.
People with RA are twice as likely to die as people their age who do not have it. Since it is an autoimmune disorder we are more likely to succumb to infections and with the biologic medicine I take to control the RA, the risk increases even more.
Many of us take cancer treatments (chemotherapy) to control the disease and have to take steroids on a daily or monthly basis. This disease is unpredictable and it loves to remind us that we are not in control of our own bodies. Things will be going along great then you wake up in the middle of the night almost crying from the pain, sometimes actually crying.
I had to end this with two pieces of good news. #1: I FINALLY slept after a week of little to no sleep. You can't imagine just how good I feel today!!! #2: Studies are showing that use of biologics treatment in RA patients is decreasing hospitalizations. Find out more in the article: http://www.everydayhealth.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/1113/use-of-biologic-drugs-for-rheumatoid-arthritis-cuts-hospitalizations.aspx?xid=aol_eh-arth_8_20121112_&aolcat=AJA&icid=maing-grid7|maing7|dl11|sec3_lnk3%26pLid=234349


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Crucial questions in the debate on the origin of quintessential human behaviours are whether modern cognition and associated innovations are unique to our species and whether they emerged abruptly, gradually or as the result of a discontinuous process. Three scenarios have been proposed to account for the origin of cultural modernity. The first argues that modern cognition is unique to our species and the consequence of a genetic mutation that took place approximately 50 ka in Africa among already evolved anatomically modern humans. The second posits that cultural modernity emerged gradually in Africa starting at least 200 ka in concert with the origin of our species on that continent. The third states that innovations indicative of modern cognition are not restricted to our species and appear and disappear in Africa and Eurasia between 200 and 40 ka before becoming fully consolidated. We evaluate these scenarios in the light of new evidence from Africa, Asia and Europe and explore the mechanisms that may have led to modern cultures. Such reflections will demonstrate the need for further inquiry into the relationship between climate and demographic/cultural change in order to better understand the mechanisms of cultural transmission at work in Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens populations.
1. Introduction
It is too easy to argue that since we are the only hominin species left on the planet we must be unique and special in some respect. This proposition does not tell us what were the paths that our ancestors took to become so distinctive and to what extent we share partially, or entirely, this supposed uniqueness with our present or past relatives.
The question of the origin of the attributes that define us as humans is the subject of a lively debate among scholars from disciplines such as primatology, archaeology, palaeoanthropology, genetics, evolutionary psychology and linguistics. Ongoing gradual integration of results from these disciplines enables researchers to ask the old questions about who we are and from where do we come on new bases, and hopefully providing more informed answers. Once firmly separating us from the remainder of present and past hominids, genetic and behavioural boundaries are becoming less and less well defined. Depending on the exact comparison made, chimpanzees share about 95–98% of our genes [1], and have the capacity to develop cultural variants—for example in gathering or processing food—which are largely independent of environmental opportunities and genetic differences between groups [1]. We now know that symbolic thinking—the capacity to attribute specific meaning to conventional signs—is not peculiar to us and that we share that capacity with a growing number of primate and non-primate species [1]. The recent finding that significant interbreeding occurred between Neanderthals and modern populations [2] refutes the long-standing model that proposes all living humans trace their ancestry exclusively back to a small African population that expanded and completely replaced archaic human species, without any interbreeding. These discoveries raise again, but in a more cogent way, the question of what factors drove cultural evolution in our lineage, how these factors interacted, and what was the timing of the emergence of quintessential human features such as modern cognition, language, imagination, art, religious beliefs and so forth. A number of different explanations have been proposed to account for the origin of cultures comparable to ours. Some authors consider that a genetic mutation in the functioning of the brain is the most probable prime mover and have argued that such a mutation, leading to a sudden diffusion of modern traits, must have occurred approximately 50 000 years ago (50 ka) among African anatomically modern humans (AMH) [3]. Others situate this neurological switch between 60 and 80 ka and associate it with cultural innovations recorded at this time in southern Africa [4]. These views have been strongly challenged by authors supporting the scenario of a gradual emergence of modern cultural traits in Africa as a consequence of the selection processes that have led to the emergence of our species in that continent [5,6]. Other authors share the view of the three previous models that modern cultural traits may have arisen among AMH populations in Africa, but consider that population size rather than a speciation more plausibly accounts for the spread, episodic disappearance, and re-emergence of innovations in Africa [7–9]. Finally, partisans of what could be called the 'cultural' model argue that the cognitive prerequisites of modern human behaviour were already largely in place among the ancestors of Neanderthals and modern humans and cite social and demographic factors, arguably triggered by climate change, to explain the asynchronous emergence, disappearance and re-emergence of modern cultural traits among both African 'modern' and Eurasian 'archaic' populations [10–15]. In such a scenario, 'modernity' and its corollary 'cumulative culture' is the end product of a saltational cultural evolution within human populations that were to a large extent, and irrespectively of their taxonomic affiliation, cognitively modern. The main driving force in this last scenario is long-term climatic and environmental variability and its effect on population dynamics.
How can we test these scenarios? Many behavioural features considered as keys to crossing the Rubicon towards cultural modernity, such as altruism, enhanced memory, complex language and increased social learning leading to cumulative cultures [8], leave little direct archaeological traces behind them, and we are forced to infer their emergence in ancient human populations from the occurrence of elements of material culture that may signal their acquisition. Thus, evaluating the pertinence of the above models depends on the cultural traits we label as 'modern', the chance that they leave a durable and unambiguous trace in the archaeological record, and reliable dating. It also hinges on the abilities of the various schools of thought to convincingly link a favoured mechanism (genetic mutation, speciation, demography, climate, etc.) to a predicted outcome (stochastic event, gradual emergence, punctuated equilibrium, saltational evolution, etc.), and to demonstrate that the favoured mechanism was at work during the entire time span that led to the emergence of cultures comparable to ours. Ideally, we would also expect the preferred mechanism(s) to account for the cultural variability observed among historically known human societies, and the societies of our extant and extinct closest relatives.
The criteria used to identify modern cultures in the archaeological record—or degrees of cultural modernity in the case of gradual scenarios—vary according to the authors [3,5,11,13,14], and are far from unanimously accepted. Exploitation of coastal environments; greater complexity of food gathering procedures, such as the use of nets, traps, fishing gear; complex use of fire for cooking, food conservation; ecosystem management; producing and hafting stone tools; invention of specialized tool-kits to adapt to extreme environments; higher population densities approaching those of modern hunter–gatherers; complex tools, the styles of which may change rapidly through time and space; structures such as huts that are organized for different activities; long-distance transport of valued materials; formal artefacts shaped from bone, ivory, antler, shell; musical traditions; sea crossing and navigation technology; personal ornamentation in the form of body painting and personal ornaments; art, including abstract and figurative representations; evidence for ceremonies or rituals; complex treatment of the dead: the more the 'checklist' of modern traits has expanded in the last decade, the more it appears that preferences in the selection made were largely dictated by the conscious or unconscious intention of favouring one scenario over another. Additionally, many historically known modern human societies were either lacking a consistent number of these features or, while displaying them, would have left little evidence of them behind for recognition by future archaeologists. However, some consensus exists on the fundamental role played by symbolically mediated behaviours in the creation of modern cultures [16]. This innovation, which demonstrated the ability of sharing, storing and transmitting coded information within and across groups, has played a crucial role in creating and maintaining technical and social conventions, beliefs and identities that characterize all known human societies. Chimpanzees clearly have the capacity to develop and transmit cultural traditions [1], but they have never been observed creating systems of symbols in the wild, embodying them in their material culture or displaying them on their bodies. In this paper, we will evaluate the scenarios proposed to account for the origin of modern cultures in the light of the earliest archaeological evidence for crucial cultural innovations, including symbolically mediated behaviours, in Africa, Asia and Europe. Such reflections demonstrate the need for further inquiry into the relationship between climate and demographic/cultural change, in order to better understand the mechanisms of cultural transmission at work within Neanderthal and early Homo sapiens populations.
2. Archaeological evidence for the origin of modern cultures
(a) Subsistence strategy and technology
Recent discoveries have dramatically changed our knowledge concerning the chronology of the emergence of modern traits, and the fossil human populations with which they were associated. For most of the last century, the astonishing evidence of the complexity of Cro-Magnon behaviour in Europe convinced a large part of the scientific community that modern features had a punctuational origin, coinciding with the beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic in Europe, approximately 40 ka. This perception was to a large extent determined by a lack of information on Africa and Asia, and a reductive view of Neanderthal cultural achievements. Research conducted in southern Africa has challenged the idea [3] that the reduction in prey size, in high ranking prey abundance, and shift to fast moving creatures such as birds or hares, recorded at Later Stone Age (LSA) sites, results from the lack of suitable technology and cognition in preceding Middle Stone Age (MSA) populations. Data now show that MSA people were competent hunters with a focus on large ungulate prey, but who also opportunistically exploited smaller ungulates, tortoises and small mammals, probably using traps and snares [17]. Fishing and shellfish exploitation are attested at coastal sites [6] but were, apparently, strictly controlled by changes in coastline configuration determined by sea-level fluctuations [18]. Demographic pulses are now seen as a best-fit explanation to account for changes in hunting strategies between the MSA and the LSA but also within each of these periods [17,19]. It has also become clear, as more data have become available, that there are both time related and geographical variations among MSA faunal assemblages, suggesting that subsistence strategies were both complex and adaptable [17]. Technology during the Middle Stone Age shows a pattern of innovation followed by disappearance. Blade technology and formal stone tools in the form of backed pieces—tools modified by retouch on a side—are signalled at sites such as Twin Rivers and Kalambo Falls, Zambia, dated at approximately 300 ka [20], but absent at many others. Uncertain instances of small blade production come from a Pinnacle Point cave dated at approximately 160 ka [6]. Although changes in lithic technology are recognized between the MSA I (approx. 110–115 ka) and the MSA II (approx. 94–85 ka) at Klasies [21], no formal stone tools nor a dedicated knapping technology to produce them are recorded before the Still Bay. Characterized by foliate bifacial points used as spear tips (figure 1a), this technocomplex apparently spans only 1–3 ka, and disappears near the transition between the end of the last interglacial (sensu lato) and the downturn to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4 (approx. 70 ka). After a possible gap corresponding to the peak of this isotopic stage, interpreted as a phase of depopulation or low population density [22], lithic technology became characterized by the production of small blades retouched into segments [23], and other backed pieces (figure 1b), called Howiesons Poort (HP), spanning between approximately 65 ka and 59 ka. This gives way, during the following post-Howiesons Poort, to unifacial points on flakes (figure 1c), similar to the Mousterian points made by Neanderthals in Europe [23,24], and subsequently to unstandardized microlithic tools produced by the bipolar technique during the early LSA. A precocious emergence of technical innovation is also observed in north Africa, where new dating situates the earliest occurrences of the distinctive pedunculate point forms typical of the Aterian at 145 ka [25].
Evidence for a controlled use of fire to increase the quality and efficiency of stone tool manufacturing processes has been reported from Pinnacle Point, Mossel Bay, approximately 72 ka [26]. Laborious heat treatment to produce compound glues combining plant gum and ochre is attested in the Howiesons Poort layers of Sibudu Cave [27]. Location of such adhesives on small HP backed pieces indicates the latter were used as barbed spear [23] or arrow points [28]. One of the major discoveries of MSA archaeology in the last decades has been the identification of a varied and relatively complex bone technology, previously seen by many authors as an innovation directly stemming from the spread of AMH across Europe at the beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic. Large harpoons made from substantial mammals limb bones (figure 1d), found at Katanda, central Africa, may possibly go back to approximately 90 ka [29]. Fully shaped bone tools (projectile points, awls and spatulas) are found at southern African Still Bay and HP sites such as Blombos and Sibudu [30,31]. The careful deliberate polishing of the approximately 75 ka Blombos bone projectile points (figure 1e) has no apparent functional reason and, rather, seems a technique used to give a distinctive appearance and/or an ''added value'' to this category of artefacts. This may imply that symbolic meaning was attributed to bone tools. Reduction in size between the Still Bay and HP projectile points (figure 1f) has been tentatively interpreted as a shift from the use of hand-delivered bone spear heads to bow and bone arrow technology, possibly with the use of poison [28]. This hypothesis is now reinforced by the morphometric and microscopic analysis of HP segments [28]. However, it is unclear why, if they represented an advantageous innovation, bone tools occur only at a few MSA sites and are absent or rare after the HP. It is equally unclear why no evidence for the use of bows and arrows is found among modern human populations during their expansion in Asia and Europe.
New discoveries and reappraisal of key Mousterian sequences in Europe and the Near East identify trends in Neanderthal subsistence strategies and technology that parallel in many respects the pattern of innovation followed by disappearance described for Africa. Very few scholars would argue now, as was routine in the early 1980s and 1990s, that contrary to Upper Palaeolithic Cro-Magnons, Neanderthal subsistence strategies were based on scavenging large mammal carcasses, constrained to favourable biotopes, that these populations had limited planning capacities, and were only able to develop expedient technologies involving a low degree of conceptualization. Now we know from prey hunted that Neanderthals were effective, flexible hunters, at a number of sites they were able to live in cold inhospitable environments, and at times they also exploited a broad range of terrestrial and marine resources [32–35]. Ongoing research on the technological variability of the Mousterian in Europe identifies variations in time and space in lithic technology and tool types interpreted as discrete cultural adaptations, comparable to those observed in contemporary African populations. As with Africa, in Europe we observe the punctuated emergence and disappearance of blade technology (figure 1g) and more 'formal' stone tools (figure 1h) since 200 ka, with an apparent acceleration in the turnover of types of débitage and tools after the last interglacial [36]. This culminated in a clear regionalization of cultural features during the millennia that immediately preceded the recognized arrival of modern humans in Europe. Research conducted in the Levant reveals that at sites with diagnostic Neanderthal and modern human remains, the two populations hunted the same species, produced their tool kits by applying Levallois flaking and manufactured a comparable range of tool types [37]. Differences between the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic of Europe in lithic raw material procurement strategies [38] have been interpreted as evidence for more reduced Neanderthal geographical ranges and social networks. However, such distances are extremely variable within the Mousterian, for example reaching figures comparable with those recorded in the Upper Palaeolithic in eastern Europe [39]. On the other hand, very local procurement strategies are recorded at many MSA sites in South Africa, including HP sites [23,24].
Recent research has shown that Neanderthal hunting weapons were comparable to those used by broadly contemporaneous Middle Stone Age populations in southern Africa. Wooden spears over 2 m long, made of spruce and pine, have been discovered at Schöningen in Germany, dating from approximately 300 to 400 ka. These were probably used as thrusting spears but might also have been javelins, as suggested by their forward centre of gravity [40]. This has been contested [41] on the basis of the upper limb morphology associated with projectile-throwing Upper Palaeolithic humans (but absent in Neanderthals), on the too-close range of hand-thrown spears to hunt large animals and the fact that the Schöningen spears are too heavy to be thrown. However, it has been shown contra [41] that the Romans and Greeks used long and quite heavy javelins in war, and for hunting wild animals, and that over-arm throwing was not necessarily an habitual activity until the late Upper Palaeolithic [42]. Moreover, a large literature now supports the view that the hunting equipment of Neanderthals was not limited to simple wooden spears. Tip morphology, evidence of hafting and the presence of diagnostic impact scars indicate that at a number of sites from Europe and the Levant, going back at least to early MIS 6 (approx. 186 ka), Levallois and retouched Mousterian points were used as weapon armatures [42].
As far as hafting and the production of composite tools are concerned, the level of technical development of Neanderthals seems comparable to that recently identified at HP sites from South Africa. At the Italian site of Campitello, dated to MIS 6, Neanderthals heated birch bark in a reductive environment to temperatures of ca 350° in order to obtain pitch for hafting flint flakes, found associated with elephant bone [43]. A similar treatment is attested at the Middle Palaeolithic site of Königsaue in Germany, dated to approximately 48 ka, where two fragments of birch-bark pitch (figure 1i) still show the imprint of the bifacial tool once adhering to them [44]. Heat treatment of lithic raw material to facilitate knapping is so far unrecognized among Neanderthals, Upper Palaeolithic modern humans before the Solutrian (approx. 22 ka), and most African and non-African modern humans contemporaneous with or posterior to the Pinnacle Point instances of this technique. An alternative 'ecological' explanation to the 'cognitive' one, favoured by Brown et al. [26], might better account for this pattern: heat treatment may be an innovation that occurs in situations in which ecological constraints exert pressure for the creation of specialized stone tool kits made of highly anisotropous raw material, thereby creating something that does not occur naturally in the environment.
The most common use of bone during the Eurasian Lower and Middle Palaeolithic is that of long-bone shaft fragments to retouch lithic tools [45]. Knapped handaxes and scrapers were also occasionally produced at Acheulian and Mousterian sites. Bone industries showing a level of technological complexity equivalent to that normally associated with Upper Palaeolithic cultures are only found in 'transitional' technocomplexes such as the Châtelperronian in France (figure 1j) and the Uluzzian in Italy (figure 1k). The former technocomplex is now firmly attributed to Neanderthals [46] while such an attribution is still tentative for the latter due to the scarcity and undiagnostic character of the human remains associated with those layers. The interpretation of the Châtelperronian bone tools and, as we will see later, personal ornaments, in particular those from the Grotte du Renne, Arcy-sur-Cure, is controversial [10]. Their presence in Châtelperronian layers has been interpreted as the result of independent Neanderthal innovation, as reflecting trade or scavenging from abandoned contemporary Aurignacian sites, as intrusion from overlying Aurignacian layers or, more recently, to the fact that the Châtelperronian makers of those tools may have well been modern humans [47]. A number of factors, linked to the stratigraphic distribution of the bone tools, personal ornaments, human remains and diagnostic Châtelperronian tools, as well as to the presence of by-products of bone tool manufacture, indicate that Châtelperronian Neanderthals were the makers and the users of the bone tools [10,48]. This conclusion is further supported by similar finds from the Châtelperronian site of Quinçay, Vienne region, where contamination from later AMH occupation can be excluded, as none exists. The conclusion that Châtelperronian bone tools were made by Neanderthals does not resolve the contentious problem of whether this technology was independently invented prior to the arrival of AMH in western Europe or if it was in some way adopted or re-elaborated as a result of contact with the latter [10,49]. To address this question, we need a consensual stratigraphic, chronological and palaeoclimatic framework for the early Upper Palaeolithic technocomplexes [50] and a refined knowledge of the material culture associated with them.
Archaeozoological, technological and microscopic analyses of Châtelperronian and Uluzzian bone tools [48,51] demonstrate that they are not expedient tools used in single instances to fulfil immediate needs, but rather are the result of planned chains of complex technological actions, shared by groups belonging to the same cultural tradition. This is demonstrated by the consistency that we have identified in the choice of the species and bone type, technique of manufacture, overall tool morphology and resharpening techniques. Such know-how does not appear qualitatively different from that recorded at more recent Upper Palaeolithic sites. This indicates that even if it was demonstrated that the use of bone tools or personal ornaments by Neanderthals was the result of cultural contact with moderns, this would in fact reinforce rather than dismiss the modern character of their cognition, as it would show their ability, as observed in many historical instances among modern human populations, to incorporate external stimuli and reshape those influences in order to make them an integral part of their own culture.
(b) Symbolic mediated behaviour
What is the earliest evidence for symbolic behaviour in the archaeological record? Although inhumation and treatment of the dead are generally regarded as quintessential features of modern humanity, carrying of infant corpses—in one case for 68 days—and attention paid to corpses of adults has been reported from a number of primates in the wild [52]. We ignore the meaning of these practices and whether they are to some extent symbolic in nature, but they suggest that chimpanzees may have a greater awareness of death and dying than previously thought. A second problem when searching for early funerary practises is, of course, their variable archaeological visibility: burials will leave more traces than exposure in the open. A rapid survey of the evidence reveals that this reason can account for the patchiness of the archaeological record, and that both Neanderthals and modern humans probably engaged very early in a variety of funerary practices. The claim for a polish suggestive of curation of a skull at the approximately 160 ka old site of Herto in Ethiopia has not, so far, been supported by further data [53]. At present, the approximately 115 ka cave occupation of Skhul in Israel has the oldest known symbolic burial, an early modern male interred clasping the lower jaw of a massive wild boar [54]. The 100 ka occupation of Qafzeh Cave near Nazareth also has a number of modern human burials, one of which was a child whose body was covered by deer antlers [55]. However, we hardly pick up this practise again in modern humans for more than 40 ka. Only three MSA burials are known, that of the Border Cave, with a possible age of 70 ka, and those of Nazlet Khater [56], and Taramsa, Egypt [57] dated, respectively, to 40 ka and 68 ka. In Europe the oldest burials are Gravettian and date to approximately 30 ka. The bodily traces of earlier moderns in Europe, the Aurignacians, are mainly in the form of pierced human teeth [58] suggesting that they preferred to carry traces of their enemies or their ancestors with them rather than burying them. Around 40 ka two individuals were interred separately at Mungo [59] in south eastern Australia—a woman was cremated at high temperature and another adult (sex uncertain) was buried stretched out and with a covering of haematite pigment (perhaps originally on the skin, or perhaps on some covering material such as a hide or bark). Neanderthal burials in the Levant are as old or might be even older than those of moderns, if one accepts the most ancient date for the Tabun C1 burial [60]. Neanderthal burials in Europe are numerous but concentrated in a few areas, suggesting that Neanderthals, as modern humans in Africa, may have engaged in funerary practices leaving no traces in the archaeological record. Although in a number of cases this information is difficult to verify now, grave goods consisting of stone tools, bone retouchers, engraved bone and a rock slab engraved with cupules were reported at Neanderthal burials such as La Ferrassie, La Chapelle-aux-Saint, Le Moustier in France, Amud and Dederiyeh in the Middle East [61]. The oldest known human bone used as a tool is a fragment of Neanderthal skull from La Quina in the Charentes region of France [62].
Although systematic exploitation of pigmental material is generally interpreted as the archaeological expression of symbolic behaviour, this view remains controversial. Supporters of the symbolic interpretation stress deliberate choice for intense red hues, preference for pigment from far away sources, deliberate heating to change pigment colour, presence on just one side of an object, coloration of shell beads, and the inferred light colour of Neanderthal skin appropriate to receive black painting [63–65]. Supporters of the functional interpretation often do not deny that pigment may have also been used for symbolic purposes, but they stress the difficulty of firmly demonstrating such an interpretation. They rely on the attested ethnographic use of pigmental material to propose alternative functions such as skin protection from sun or insects, as medicine, for tanning hides, or as a binding agent to facilitate hafting [27]. The debate between the two sides has probably become unnecessarily polarized. Ethnographically, the symbolic/functional divide would be an alien concept to most contemporary hunter–gatherer societies, who do not perceive such distinctions between material, actions and causality. Symbol use and its material expressions are ultimately functional in the sense of creating or marking individual and group identities and as such, have potential adaptive value by enhancing group cohesiveness. In other words, a systematic and purely functional use of pigments is difficult to conceive. Red pigmental material, attested in Africa at archaeological sites dated to approximately 160 ka [6] and possibly at sites dated to approximately 280 ka [5] becomes a common feature of approximately 100 ka (figure 1l) and younger MSA sites [5,63]. In the Middle East the oldest evidence for systematic use of pigments dates back to approximately 100 ka (figure 1m,n) and comes from Qafzeh [66] and Skhul [65]. Clear evidence of heating, probably to change the colour of the pigmental material, is attested at these two sites [65]. Pigments, mostly black but also red, have been used by Neanderthals in Europe (figure 1o,w) since approximately 300 ka [64], but their use became systematic only after approximately 60 ka [64]. The last-known Neanderthals in France made intensive use of both black and red pigments. A case in point is the 18 kg of red and black pigments, often bearing traces of use, found in the Châtelperronian layers of the Grotte du Renne, Arcy-sur-Cure [50], the largest quantity of pigmental material found so far at a Palaeolithic site.
Convincing evidence for the use of personal ornaments, consisting of perforated marine shells belonging to a single species at each site, is found from caves in south Africa, north Africa and the Middle East dated to between 120 and 70 ka [67]. At Blombos Cave, 49 deliberately perforated Nassarius kraussianus shell beads (figure 1p) with clear evidence of use-wear, some bearing traces of ochre come from approximately 75 ka old levels. The perforated Conus shell from Border Cave, associated with the burial of a young individual may be as old as 76 ka according to the recent chronological attribution of this burial [68]. Perforated Nassarius gibbosulus shells were recovered at the Aterian site of Oued Djebbana, Algeria (figure 1q), and Skhul from approximately 100 ka levels that include 10 Homo sapiens burials. Perforated shells of the same species (figure 1r,s) showing traces of intentional modifications, possible deliberate heating to change the colour of the bead, use-wear and traces of red ochre were recovered from approximately 80–70 ka levels at Grotte des Pigeons, Rhafas, Ifri n'Ammar and Contrebandiers in Morocco [67]. Other marine shells interpreted as beads (figure 1t) come from the approximately 90 ka Mousterian levels at Qafzeh Cave in Israel [69]. They consist of 10 naturally perforated Glycymeris insubrica shells. The only Neanderthal site that has yielded possible evidence for the use of shell beads by Neanderthals is the Cueva de los Aviones in southern Spain [12]. The Mousterian layers of this site, dated to approximately 45–50 ka BP, contained a marine shell assemblage including three valves of Acanthocardia and Glycymeris, bearing natural perforations (figure 1v). One of the latter contained a residue of red pigment identified as haematite. Beads seemingly disappeared in Africa and the Levant between approximately 70 ka and approximately 40 ka [67], and reappeared almost everywhere in Africa and Eurasia after this time span; approximately 40 ka old beads from Europe are associated with both Neanderthals and AMH [64]. They differ from their approximately 120–70 ka antecedents in that they take the form of hundreds of discrete types, identifying regional patterns [58]. As with formal bone tools (see above), the minimalistic consensual interpretation of personal ornament use by Neanderthals (figure 1x) is that they were fully able to incorporate new categories of symbolic items in their own culture. At approximately 40 ka, beads in Africa were made on ostrich egg shells (figure 1u), and only later are diverse ranges of raw material introduced for bead manufacture. In southeast Asia, the oldest documented ornament is a perforated tiger shark tooth found in New Ireland, New Guinea at a site dated between 39.5 and 28 ka [70]. The earliest evidence for bead use in Australia comes from the site of Mandu Mandu, Cape Range of Western Australia, where 22 Conus sp. shell beads were recovered in a layer radiocarbon dated to ca 32 ka [71].
The earliest secure abstract designs, engraved on bone and ochre, are found in South Africa and are dated to ca 100 ka [72]. Examples are the complex geometric patterns on ochre (figure 1y) from approximately 100 to 70 ka levels at Blombos Cave and from MSA layers at Klein Kliphuis in the Western Cape, and approximately 73 ka old notched and engraved bone from Blombos and Klasies [30]. Abstract designs on artefacts seem to disappear in southern Africa between approximately 70 ka and 55 ka, after which they reappear at Diepkloof shelter (figure 1z) in the form of engraved ostrich eggshells [73]. Evidence from the Middle East includes an engraved cortex dated at approximately 50 ka from the Mousterian site of Quneitra that could be associated with H. sapiens or Neanderthals, and an engraved lithic core from approximately 90 ka levels at Qafzeh. A number of objects bearing putative engravings have also been reported from Lower and Middle Palaeolithic sites in Europe. Some of these 'engravings' resulted from natural phenomena and carcass processing. Others were deliberate engravings [64], but still need detailed publication. Figurative representations consisting of painted, engraved and carved animals, are so far only well dated to much later, at approximately 31 ka in Africa, at Apollo 11 shelter [74], Namibia, and at approximately 35 ka in Europe, for example at Chauvet, Fumane and in southern Germany [75]. The oldest known carved musical instruments, consisting of flutes made of bird bone and mammoth ivory decorated with notches, are found in Europe and also date back to approximately 35 ka [76]. No convincing musical instruments are associated with Neanderthals, so far [77].
3. Discussion and conclusion
Our review of the evidence contradicts the idea that the emergence of crucial technological innovations and symbolic material culture was the result of a sudden change in human cognition occurring in Europe or Africa approximately 40–50 ka, or just in Africa approximately 60–80 ka. Possible differences in subsistence strategies and technology between anatomically modern and late archaic humans, as well as their variations in time and space, do not prove the case for an inherent incapacity of the latter to reach the degree of fitness that we observe in their penecontemporaneous modern counterparts. Although comparisons between cultural adaptations in very different and changing environmental settings are obviously difficult to draw, it is clear that in some instances European Neanderthals developed knapping techniques and tool types that were more 'advanced' than those of some African Middle Stone Age groups, that the opposite also occurred, and that in other situations, such as in the Levant, technology was virtually identical. Instances of symbolically mediated behaviours comparable to those observed in historically known human populations are recorded by at least 100 ka, probably before, in Africa, by approximately 120–100 ka in the Middle East and probably by at least 60 ka in Europe. This contradicts the assumption that the crucial innovations that have made us as we are can only have come from, or have been assimilated from an anatomically modern humanity, and counters the simplest versions of the Out of Africa model for the origin of modern cultures that directly link the origin of these innovations to events taking place in Africa at about 200 ka, or between 40 and 80 ka. Evidence also shows that no uninterrupted accretion of innovations or exponential growth, as predicted by this model, is observed in Africa (or in Europe). During the period between approximately 160 ka and 20 ka complex technologies, adaptation to hostile environments, engravings, pigments, personal ornaments, formal bone tools and burial practices apparently appear, disappear and reappear in different forms, suggesting major discontinuities in cultural transmission. The discontinuous nature in time and space of this process, and the commonalities found in both hemispheres, indicate that local conditions must have played a role in the emergence, diffusion and the eventual disappearance or continuity of crucial innovations in different regions. These local conditions must have been closely linked to the size and organization of cultural systems and ecological settings in which these populations evolved, and sometimes probably disappeared.
A string of recent papers [8,9] following the seminal work of Cavalli-Sforza, Feldman and Boyd and Richerson have explored the role of demography in the emergence and loss of cultural innovations through modelling.
Powell et al. [9] reach the conclusion that the number and size of subpopulations and the degree of interaction between them are key factors in the emergence, maintenance, spread and loss of innovations. They speculate that population size in Africa could have reached a critical threshold about 100 000 years ago, when population density and enhanced contact between groups could have allowed the rate of accumulation of innovations to significantly overtake their loss. Thus, cultural change in the Middle Stone Age greatly accelerated and the increased store of learning was beneficial to the survival of individuals and their groups. In turn this would have started a feedback mechanism, leading to a further increase in population density and contacts and so on. Their results are significant because they provide a sound explanation for the emergence and loss of innovations without invoking speciation as a prime mover. However, one may argue, particularly after the publication of the preliminary results of the Neanderthal Genome Project, that the model they develop could equally be applied to explain the emergence and loss of similar innovations among Neanderthals and the asynchronous emergence of innovations in other regions of the planet. Behavioural differences between Neanderthals and modern humans, as well as between different subpopulations belonging to these human types, may largely depend, following the logic of Powell et al.'s own conclusions, on group size and cultural exchange rate rather than on in-built differences in cognition. Also, the predictions of Powell et al. rather leave open the question of what stimulated demographic growth in the first place. For example, they evoke the climatic deterioration of MIS 4 as a possible factor leading to population decline and the loss of cultural innovation that we observe in north and south Africa after approximately 70 ka, but no clear mechanism is proposed to explain how this deterioration might have produced a similar demographic demise in areas of the planet where this climatic deterioration certainly had very different impacts. This suggests to us that in order to make further progress in this field, we need a research strategy that allows us to model and quantify the link between environment and a particular past cultural adaptation, predict the response of that adaptation to climatic change and verify whether the rise and spread of innovations result in an expansion or contraction of the eco-cultural niche of a given population. Assumptions about cognition based on taxonomic affiliation should play no a priori role, and the key tools would then be archaeology, palaeoenvironmental studies, climate modelling and methods to integrate results from these disciplines. At present this appears to us to be the best way to reconstruct the timing and mode of emergence of key innovations in material culture in Europe and southern Africa, to identify whether and how climatic changes have influenced the distribution of Neanderthal and modern human populations and behavioural patterns in these two regions, and to understand the mechanisms that have governed cultural transmission and social learning during this crucial time span for the evolution of human cultures. The predominance of Africa in the story of modern human origins was probably primarily because of its larger geographical and human population size, which gave greater opportunities for morphological and behavioural variations, and for innovations to both develop and be conserved, rather than the result of a special evolutionary pathway. Exactly as with our present genetic diversity, 'modernity' was not a package that had a unique African origin in one time, place and population, but was a composite whose elements appeared at different times and places, including some outside the African continent, either shared or developed in parallel. These were then gradually assembled through a variety of paths and processes to assume the form that we recognize as behavioural modernity today. However, the Neanderthal Genome Project adds another level of complexity to the issues that we have attempted to unravel in this paper in that it has identified a number of genes that appear to be unique to the modern humans sampled, and some of these appear to have as yet unresolved cognitive and physiological functions. The likelihood that modern humans both within and outside of Africa have small but different suites of 'archaic' genes acquired through introgression [78] and that archaic populations might in return have received varying 'modern' components, may shed further light on the complex issue of the emergence of 'behavioural modernity'. Increases in archaeological resolution—most of the evidence presented here was unknown a decade ago—and new insights into our genetic history may aid in unravelling the mechanisms that have driven our ancestors' genetic-cultural coevolution.
The authors thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments. Francesco d'Errico acknowledges financial support from the European Research Council (FP7/2007/2013)/ERC Grant TRACSYMBOLS n°249 587) and the Programme PROTEA of the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research. Chris Stringer is a Member of the Ancient Human Occupation of Britain project, funded by the Leverhulme Trust.
One contribution of 26 to a Discussion Meeting Issue 'Culture evolves'.
- This journal is © 2011 The Royal Society


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Home and garden
It's that time of year
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A History of Human Services, Universal Lessons, and Future Implications
Presented by Wolf Wolfensberger, Ph.D. and Susan Thomas, Training Coordinator
Day 1: An Interpreted Pictorial Presentation on the History of Human Services
Part 2c: The Rise of Pauperism
Click the CC button at the far right of the control bar above to view closed-captioning.
Click the Full Screen button to watch in Full Sceen mode.
©2009 Wolf Wolfensberger Unauthorized use and/or duplication is prohibited.


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Linked by Eugenia Loli on Thu 24th Apr 2008 22:45 UTC
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MP735, New February 2002
Modified conventional synchronization systems for beef cows boost fertility and increase the total number of females that can be inseminated.
The beef cattle industry has seen rapid gains in economically desirable traits, largely due to the selection of genetically superior males and increased use of artificial insemination. Recent surveys indicate, however, that less than 5 percent of the beef cows in the United States are bred by artificial insemination (AI), and only half of the cattle producers who practice AI use any form of estrus synchronization to facilitate their AI programs.
The inability to predict time of estrus for individual cows or heifers in a group often makes it impractical to use artificial insemination because of the labor required for detection of estrus. Available procedures to control the estrous cycle of the cow can improve reproductive rates and speed up genetic progress. These procedures include synchronization of estrus in cycling females, and induction of estrus accompanied by ovulation in heifers that have not yet reached puberty or among cows that have not returned to estrus after calving.
There are several advantages to a successful estrus synchronization program:
As an example, consider what happens during a restricted breeding season. If females are cycling when an estrus synchronization treatment is implemented and they exhibit estrus during the synchronized period, they would have three opportunities to conceive during a 45-day breeding period or four opportunities during a 63-day period. This compares with only two or three opportunities for nonsynchronized females, based on the average 21-day estrous cycle for the cow.
To avoid problems when using estrus synchronization, females should be selected for a program when the following conditions are met:
At present, there are three approaches to estrus synchronization:
This publication reviews recently developed methods using MGA to control estrous cycles of cows or heifers in breeding programs with either natural service or artificial insemination. Four methods will be outlined for using the melengestrol acetate (MGA Premix, Pharmacia Animal Health, Kalamazoo, Mich.) program to facilitate estrus synchronization in heifers or cows.
The choice of which system to use depends largely on a producer's goals.
Melengestrol acetate is the common denominator in each of the systems presented here. MGA is an orally active progestin. When consumed by cows or heifers on a daily basis, MGA will suppress estrus and prevent ovulation.
MGA may be fed with grain or a protein carrier and either top-dressed onto other feed or batch mixed with larger quantities of feed. MGA is fed at a rate of 0.5 milligram per animal per day. The duration of feeding may vary between protocols, but the level of feeding is consistent and critical to success. Animals that fail to consume the required amount of MGA on a daily basis may prematurely return to estrus during the feeding period. This can be expected to reduce the synchronization response. Therefore, adequate bunk space should be provided so that all animals may consume feed simultaneously.
Animals should be observed for behavioral signs of estrus each day of the feeding period. This may be done as animals approach the feeding area and before feed distribution. This practice will ensure that all females receive adequate intake.
Cows and heifers will exhibit estrus beginning 48 hours after MGA withdrawal, and this may continue for 6 to 7 days. It is generally recommended that females exhibiting estrus during this period not be inseminated or exposed to natural service because of the reduced fertility females experience at the first heat after MGA withdrawal.
Figure 1
The simplest MGA breeding program depends on using MGA alone for 14 days, followed by natural service.
The simplest method involves using bulls to breed synchronized groups of females. This practice is especially useful in helping producers make a transition from natural service to artifical insemination. In this process, cows or heifers receive the normal 14-day feeding of MGA and are then exposed to fertile bulls about 10 days after MGA withdrawal (Figure 1).
No more than 15 to 20 synchronized females should be exposed to a single bull. Producers using this program must be sure to consider age and breeding condition of the bull and results of breeding soundness examinations.
Figure 2
Physiology of the estrous cycle.
A more pecise means of estrous cycle control involves the combination of MGA with a prostaglandin. Prostaglandins (PG) are luteolytic compounds normally secreted by the uterus of the cow. Prostaglandins can induce luteal regression but cannot inhibit ovulation. When prostaglandins are administered in the presence of a functional corpus luteum during days 6 to 16 of the estrous cycle, premature regression of the corpus luteum begins and the cow returns to estrus. Figure 2 depicts these hormonal changes.
Figure 3
MGA + prostaglandin.
In this program, prostaglandin should be administered 19 days after the last day of MGA feeding. This treatment places all animals in the late luteal stage of the estrous cycle at the time of injection, which shortens the synchronized period and maximizes the conception rate (Figure 3). Although a 19-day interval appears optimal, 17- to 19-day intervals produce acceptable results and provide flexibility for extenuating circumstances.
Four available prostaglandin products for synchronization of estrus in cattle can be used after the MGA treatment: Lutalyse, ProstaMate, InSynch, or Estrumate. Label-approved dosages differ with each of these products; carefully read and follow directions for proper administration before their use.
Figure 4
MGA in combination with prostaglandin concentrates estrus activity in a herd and facilitates artificial insemination.
Figure 4 shows differences in the distribution of estrus under two estrus synchronization programs — MGA alone versus MGA + prostaglandin. The MGA + prostaglandin program is best suited for use with artificial insemination because it concentrates estrus activity and reduces the labor expenses associated with the breeding program. Furthermore, it decreases the amount of time required for estrus detection. Under natural mating conditions, however, there is an advantage in distributing estrus over several days with MGA alone to avoid overworking or semen depletion in herd bulls.
Figure 5
By incorporating both prostaglandin and GnRH, the MGA Select program improves synchrony in postpartum cows.
The MGA Select treatment is useful in maximizing estrus response and reproductive performance in postpartum beef cows. The MGA Select protocol is a simple program that involves feeding MGA for 14 days followed by an injection of GnRH (Cystorelin, Factrel, or Fertagyl) on day 26 and an injection of prostaglandin on day 33 (Figure 5). The addition of GnRH to the 14 to 19 day MGA prostaglandin protocol improves synchrony of estrus, while maintaining high fertility in postpartum beef cows.
Figure 6
The 7-11 Synch program is shorter than MGA Select.
7-11 Synch is a recently developed estrus synchronization program that:
The program calls for feeding MGA for 7 days and administering prostaglandin on the last day of MGA feeding. Cows receive an injection of GnRH 4 days after PG and a second injection of PG 7 days after GnRH (Figure 6).
An additional consideration for Methods 2, 3 and 4 pertains to cows or heifers that fail to exhibit estrus after the last prostaglandin injection. In this case, cows or heifers would be re-injected with prostaglandin 11 to 14 days after the last injection of prostaglandin was administered. These females would then be observed for signs of behavioral estrus for an additional 7 days. This procedure would maximize efforts to inseminate as many females within the first 2 weeks of the breeding period as possible. Cows that were inseminated during the first synchronized period should not be re-injected with prostaglandin.
The flexibility in matching specific synchro-nization methods with the particular manage-ment system involved is one of the major advan-tages of using MGA to control estrous cycles of cattle. Before implementing any estrus synchro-nization program, remember that most failures occur when treated females fail to reach puberty or resume normal estrous cycles after calving. Estrus synchronization should not be used as a crutch for poor management. However, when administered appropriately, estrus synchroniza-tion is an effective management tool that can be used to facilitate artificial insemination, increase weight and uniformity of calves at weaning, and ultimately improve profitability of the cow/calf enterprise.
Order publications online at http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/shop/ or call toll-free 800-292-0969.


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Staff Profile: Jonny Shaw
The Wick's 2012 Employee of the Year is one of the Inn's most valuable and well-liked workers ever. In fact, not only did staff in every department of the Inn nominate him, the senior management team was unanimous in selecting him as well, the first time this has ever happened. But when you see what his colleagues had to say about Jonny Shaw, it's little wonder why.
"Not only does he have the kindest heart, but he is always reliable, approachable, hard-working and any task given is done in an efficient manner," says one. Another says, "He always responds to requests in a timely and friendly fashion. His follow-up is the best I've ever experienced." And yet another: "It is refreshing to work alongside someone who never complains, and is always in a good mood." Even his boss – who also happens to be his dad – says his offspring "maintains a curious trait, believing that perfection is the acceptable standard, not the aspiration."
Jonny Shaw has been at the Inn for nearly four years. He manages the Inn's landscaping needs and takes on everything from fine woodworking projects to engineering and other maintenance tasks. You might find him climbing a 40-foot ladder to clean the uppermost windows in the Beach Building or adzing the wood panels in the Pointe Building. But where you won't find him is basking in the limelight – at least not most of the time.
"I am the kind of guy who likes to stay in the background, helping the stars of the show, so it was a surprise to now be the star, being recognized like this," Jonny says, adding, "The people I work with make it a pleasure to go to work each day. Their recognition is very special to me."
The Wick, he says, is the ideal workplace, in part because its high standards are such a satisfying challenge. "Charles McDiarmid and (Director of Operations) Christine Stocker continually push us all to do things we never thought we could, and they encourage us along the way," he says. "I like the unexpected things that come each day I work at the Inn. No two days are ever the same. I guess I like the unpredictability of my job."


text:
Life in Christian County, Kentucky...
Technorati tags:
Hey Gene,
I'm a fan! I saw ol'EP on the Ed Sullivan Show, live in black & white.
Ed said: "No video from the waist down?" & I think that one went in Doc Parker's favor. He could sing his church music... like no other!
Thank's for visiting, ~(:-_))-kfh
Elvis brought it out in 1970. I was just out of high school.
Kentucky rain keeps pouring down
And up ahead's another town
That I'll go walking thru
With the rain in my shoes,
Searchin' for you
In the cold Kentucky rain,
In the cold Kentucky rain.
When I was looking for the lyrics, I learned that the song was written by Eddie Rabbit who became a star in his own right a little later on.
CONTENTMENT: Keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry, live simply, expect little, give much, sing often, pray always, forget self, think of others and their feelings, fill your heart with love, scatter sunshine. These are the tried links in the golden chain of contentment.
(Author unknown)
IT IS STILL BEST to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasure; and to be cheerful and have courage when things go wrong.
(Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1867-1957)
Thanks for reading.


text:
Fall Colors from Valspar Paint
Nature can be one of the best places to find color inspiration, and fall is is a great time to look for it. Rich reds, golden yellows, and deep greens are everywhere. Valspar Paint is ready to help you turn those inspirations into reality with five palettes for fall.
Bold Modern Style
A bright orange, used sparingly, brings just enough pop to enliven this mostly-neutral living room. The long, horizontal stripe on the wall keeps it looking clean.
• Island Orange 2010-2
• Pale Ivory WV31002
• Sable Evening 5006-2C
Green & Glamorous
Fall colors don't have to be warm. Inspired by the cloudy skies of November and the deep color of evergreens, this combination feels chic and sophisticated.
• Bright Parrot 6011-7
• Sea Salt Blue C1191
• Dove White 7002-7
Autumn Elegance
A classic Craftsman home looks great in natural colors like browns, reds, and greens. The leafy walls in this room provide a breath of fresh air above the dark, heavy paneling.
• Fired Earth 6011-1
• Spring Leaves 5008-68
• Autumn Fire 1007-1A
Amber Waves
Sometimes subtle colors are the most surprising. Set against dark gray and black accents, these amber walls really come to life.
• Amber Pearl 3006-3C
• Del Coronado Amber 3005-5B
• Olive Suede 6010-3
Warm & Welcoming
This palette feels crisp and clean, like a walk through the park as the leaves are turning. A cool gray brings just enough contrast to warm red and yellow.
• Golden Delight 3005 1-A
• Mark Twain House Ombre Gray 4004-2A
• Orange Maple 2010-5
Photos: Kristen Lubbe | Apartment Therapy, Jill Slater | Apartment Therapy, Evan Thomas | Apartment Therapy, Leah Moss | Apartment Therapy, Molly Anderson | Apartment Therapy


text:
Telefax: No fax number available
Website: No web address available
Biz owner? Moderate reviews or edit listing.
Search entire category for Credit Unions
Credit Unions, in Ellsworth, are financial institutions that are formed and owned by their members with the objective of providing financial assistance to the members at competitive rates of interest.


text:
With half the 2012 season finished, Sporting News' network of NFL correspondents asked 103 players from 27 teams everything you want to know about this year in our annual midseason players poll.
As always in our midseason poll, players were not allowed to name their teammates or head coach for any of their answers.
PHOTOS: Sports dirtiest players
Who is the dirtiest player in the league?
Lions DT Ndamukong Suh — 32
Dolphins G Richie Incognito — 19
Rams CB Cortland Finnegan — 14
Steelers LB James Harrison — 6
Titans OT David Stewart — 3
Eagles DE Jason Babin — 2
Steelers S Ryan Mundy — 2
Twelve players received one vote
"Ndamukong Suh. I mean, the step-on and the choke and the kick and the arm bar. Enough said, right?" —NFC defensive player
"Suh. He hasn't done anything crazy (this year). The type of hits he puts on quarterbacks, the way he finishes guys—some of them are legal, but a lot of them I'd say are over the top." —NFC defensive player
"Richie Incognito. I've seen a couple of plays on a D-lineman where (Incognito) is trying to roll up his ankle while he's trying to get him off him. Crap like that is not needed in this game." —NFC defensive player
"Cortland Finnegan. That guy will grab you everywhere … in the facemask, everything. He's just nasty." —NFC offensive player
—Which big-time college coach would you like to see in the NFL?
—Who is the most underrated head coach?
—Who is the most overrated head coach?
—Which is the best organization in the NFL?
—Which is the worst organization in the NFL?
—Which player has been the biggest disappointment?
—What coach would you most like to play for?
—What coach would you least like to play for?
—Should pass interference become a reviewable play?
—Who is the dirtiest player in the NFL?
—Which rookie QB is going to have the best career?
—Should kickoffs be removed from the game altogether?
—Who is the offensive MVP of the first half?
—Who is the defensive MVP of the first half?
—Who is the most overrated player?
—Would you try to hide concussion symptoms to keep playing?


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Reviewed By Craig R (Rensselaer, IN) Reviewed for a 2006 Chevy Suburban —3/6/2008 3:22 PM
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