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Message from the Mayor
Welcome to the City of Prince Albert's website. We are in a digital age which is why the City of Prince Albert recognizes that a well-functioning and well-designed website is an important tool for residents, visitors and investors. I am confident that our website will provide you with the information you are looking for.
If you are here as a resident and you are looking to stay connected and stay informed with the City of Prince Albert, I encourage you to sign up for one of our many email subscription lists or like our municipal Facebook page or Twitter feed. If it is recreation programs you are looking for you may also be interested in the online bookings for arts and sports programming.
If you are here as a visitor, I encourage you to check out Prince Albert's Arts and Cultural offerings, explore one of our beautiful parks, take a walk along the rotary trail, or take in a Prince Albert Raiders hockey game at the Art Hauser Centre.
If you are here as an investor you may be interested in the property we have for sale or our recent Economic Development news. If you are looking to open a business I encourage you to take a look at some of the resources we've put together on the New Business Start-up page.
Whatever your interest in Prince Albert I believe our website is a great place to get started. If you have any feedback for us we'd be happy to hear it. Please feel free to send us a message through our online contact form.
- Mayor Greg Dionne
Contact the Mayor's OfficeYou may forward a request to the Mayor to attend an event, to issue a message, certificate or proclamation or to provide a supply of City of Prince Albert lapel pins.
Mayor's OfficeCity of Prince Albert1084 Central AvenuePrince Albert, SKS6V 7P3
Phone: 306.953.4300Fax: 306.953.4399
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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The United States Department of Commerce is organizing an executive-led Trade mission to Indonesia and Vietnam. This trade mission will begin on November 11th 2012 and conclude on November 17th 2012. Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee Partners invited include the Trade Development Agency, Export-Import Bank, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
Download the full video (29MB)
The purpose of this mission is to inform U.S. firms about opportunities in Southeast Asia's rapidly expanding market and to position U.S. companies to seize export opportunities. We at the Department of Commerce have tailored this mission to fit the needs of representatives from leading U.S. companies providing state-of-the-art market services and technologies to sectors critical to infrastructure development.
This particular mission will visit Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Jakarta. During each of these stops, participants will receive market briefings and meet with key government decision makers and prospective private sector partners during customized, one-on-one meetings.
Within Indonesia and Vietnam, the trade mission will focus on the following infrastructure sectors: Energy, Aviation, Environmental Technology, and Architecture, Construction and Engineering. While all of these sectors have shown recent development, there remains a vast array of opportunities to meet the high demand of the local governments, businesses, and individuals.
Recruitment for the mission will begin immediately and conclude no later than September 3, 2012, by the close of business. For more information and an application packet please contact Jessica Arnold at firstname.lastname@example.com or (202) 482-2026.
Notice to Visitors!
The link you have chosen will take you to a non-U.S. Government website.
If the page does not appear in 5 seconds, please click this: outside web site
Export.gov is managed by the International Trade Administration and
external links are covered by its website disclaimer statement.
BuyUSA.gov is managed by the International Trade Administration and
external links are covered by its website disclaimer statement.

subset: commoncrawl


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Industry Innovation
Premier Technology was recently awarded a multi-million dollar contract to supply gloveboxes for a Department of Energy site. To learn more about Premier click here.
Working to Exceed our Clients' Expectations
Premier Technology Inc. is a vertically integrated engineering, manufacturing and construction company. Possessing core competencies in a wide range of skill sets, our integration is an asset and we extend the benefit of that integration to our clients. Our attention to detail ensures complete customer satisfaction and forms the basis of all of our many on-going business relationships.
Premier's culture is infused with innovation and this has positioned us at the forefront of the industry. Capital investments in our processes provide higher quality products and shorter lead times. We have the resources necessary to provide turn-key solutions for a wide variety of applications and industries. We have an intense focus on teamwork, from design to delivery, each and every member striving to provide satisfaction to our customers.
Our culture of attention to details also extends to our commitment to safety. Safety is the focal point of operations. Our pledge and current safety campaign is "I Choose Safety". We understand the importance of a healthy workforce and the impact on products and services. Customers who chose us, also choose safety.
Combining state of the art technology with old world craftsmanship values, Premier Technology is THE supplier of choice for numerous companies across numerous industries. Let us put our experience, dedication, and team focus to work for you.
Our Mission Statement
"To develop our people into the leaders of the industry, while providing our customers with the highest quality service."


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Scuba Diver Vinyl Wall Art Decal
No tax Delivery: 4 to 5 days
Scuba Diver wall art decal.
Scuba Diver, Vinyl wall art mural.
Please choose size and colour before heading to the checkout.
Small – 25cm wide x 30cm tall
Medium – 40cm wide x 48cm tall
Large – 60cm wide x 73cm tall
Easy to apply. Simply peel of the back sheet, line up and stick.
All our orders come complete with detailed instructions on how to apply these vinyl decals to almost any flat, clean surface. We also have YouTube videos that show you in detail how to apply these decals.
Each item is made to order, and is hand finished by our experienced craftsmen. Every care is taken to ensure that your item arrives in the best possible condition. It is carefully packed and shipped to you.
Image is for illustration purposes only, and is not to scale


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Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides made major updates to its iPhone and iPad apps Monday that could potentially replace Microsoft's Office 365 subscription service.
With the updates, Google's Slides app (Google's answer to PowerPoint) is available as a separate app for devices running on the iOS platform. Until now, it was accessible only through the Google Drive on iOS. Google Drive is Google's online file storage tool.
Google Docs and Sheets (Google's answers to Word and Excel, respectively) already had standalone apps on iOS, but they can now open, create, and edit native Microsoft Office files on any iOS device. Before these updates, you couldn't directly create or edit Microsoft Office files through Google Docs or Sheets on devices like the iPhone or iPad.
These are all part of the updates that were announced in June, when Google made the same updates to all Android devices first.
Google wrote on its official Enterprise Blog on Monday:
Now you can use the Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps on your iPad or iPhone and all other devices (your Chromebook, laptop, Android phone or tablet), to complete the same tasks — online or offline. In addition, you can open, create and edit native Microsoft Office files with the Google Docs suite on iOS.
Monday's updates could become a major threat to Microsoft's Office 365 service, which requires a paid subscription. Although not as polished as Microsoft's product, Google Apps can now run some of the basic and most frequently used functions that are available on Office 365 — all for free.
Google pointed out that nearly 80% of Office licenses are "only lightly used," and most employees use Office only "for a handful of minutes a day or not at all."
If true, that means most employees would not feel much of a difference by using the slightly less sophisticated Google Apps products.
However, Microsoft's Office 365 business is doing pretty well. It has 5.6 million subscribers, and one million of those were added last quarter alone.
Google still has a long way to go. According to VentureBeat, Google Docs is No. 7 among productivity apps in the U.S. on iOS, while Microsoft Word for iPad is No. 1 among productivity apps and No. 13 overall.
Get the latest Google stock price here.


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Martha Wainwright
On Black Friday – the day after Thanksgiving – most people in the US are either camping out for a chance to buy cut-price electronics or preparing enough turkey sandwiches to nourish them through three solid days of American football. Canadian-American singer Martha Wainwright is spending her last day at home in New York signing CDs before an 11-date European tour to support her new album Come Home To Mama.Signing things is not such an unusual activity for a musician but in this case the discs are going to fans who have supported Wainwright's fundraising campaign on Pledgemusic.com, a direct-to-fan site started by Benji Rogers in 2009.Wainwright's campaign succeeded in raising the $25,000 she needed to bring a band along with her when she tours the US in March 2013. Her label, Cooperative, is not providing any support for either her European or American tours, even though they will benefit from additional album sales generated from the increased exposure. She expects to break even while touring in Europe but it's the less-certain American market (she's always been more popular in Europe) where the top-up is needed."If I didn't raise the money," she says, "I would have to go out on my own, which is fine but sometimes it's not the best representation of the music. Also, it's very hard for me to justify going out by myself for an extended period of time because I have a child. I can't put him in the car for five hours a day and leave him in crappy backstages until I finish."Crowdfunding is all the rage these days, with artists as varied as B.B. King, Ben Folds, Emmy the Great and the Libertines all using the platform to fund special projects. In a nutshell, bands post their idea and fans get out their credit cards to help make it happen. Fans are rewarded for their support, with the value and format of the rewards determined by the artist. It can be anything from a download or a special release to a private concert, depending on the scale of the donation.At the moment, most artists raise funds to make an album but, as smaller record labels struggle to remain profitable, soliciting funds for touring is becoming more and more popular."Previously, when album sales were the lion's share of income, touring wasn't designed to make money, it was designed to sell albums that would make money," says?Rogers,?of?Pledgemusic. "That's one of the big shifts that's happening now."In theory, it seems like an easy way to raise capital. Make a video, post your project and then watch the money roll in. In practice, it takes time to publicise the campaign – an engaged social media audience doesn't appear overnight – and then, afterwards, to fulfil all the rewards.Wainwright has previously received no-strings grants from the Canada Council for the Arts. What, then, is the benefit of raising funds from fans instead?"There is a connection that's been made," says Wainwright. "I feel now that there's an exchange. [Signing CDs] is the least I can do for people that have coughed up $25. It's like homework. I'm happy to sit here in the sunshine and do this. Perhaps in five years [crowdfunding] will be standard. It's a very American concept in a way."Rogers says: "Fans have traditionally been left out of the music experience until the very last minute. Access to artists [used to be either] at gigs or buying an album in a shop. Now with social networking being what it is, artists have to share as the process happens."Rogers' parents and stepfather were all in the music business and he toured as a musician for years before turning his attention to Pledgemusic. "Unless some miracle happens and albums begin to sell again in the tonnage they used to sell, artists are going to have to look at different ways to monetise their business," he says. For stadium bands such as the Rolling Stones or Coldplay, this means high ticket prices and merchandise. Artists such as Wainwright, who have a small but highly engaged fan base, find the best way is by offering access to fans.But there can be pitfalls. When former Dresden Doll Amanda Palmer scored an astonishing $1.2m from a crowd-sourcing appeal in August this year, she came under heavy attack when it became known that for her American tour she had recruited volunteer musicians paid only with "beer, merchandise and hugs". Palmer discovered that thousands of backers also meant thousands of opinions on how you should spend the money.So, for Wainwright, is the money worth giving up some control? "I don't feel like the fans that have donated want a stake in my career as much as they want me to be more visible. I've always been a little bit of an underdog and been surrounded by people that are more successful – even within my own family."Indeed, Martha is the sister of Rufus and daughter of folk singer Loudon Wainwright III and Canadian singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle. "More people probably know my name than my music," she adds.Wainwright admits to a certain level of panic among her colleagues as money seems tight for everyone but the likes of Justin Bieber. Yet even a quick glance at music history will show that for most artists who are happy to exist outside the mainstream, it was always like this."My father put his kids through school by getting in his car, going to the gig, selling two or three records at the end of the night and checking into a cheap motel and then going on to the next gig," she says. "What gets you through and allows you go keep going, even when you're just playing for 10 people, is the music. I know that sounds tacky but honestly it's true."This piece first appeared in the Financial Times.


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My mail account (OS X Lion) refuses to send email. It receives mail fine and I have checked and rechecked all the settings etc. My iPhone and iPad send and receive mail with no problems, using the same settings, the same network, and the same accounts.
Any ideas why this is happening?


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Freespins and where to find them
One of the most sought after bonuses in the online casino world are freespin offers. There are a couple of reasons for this, the first one being that they are usually free. In other words you don't have to make a deposit or anything, you simply get a few free spins from the casino, and if you are lucky you can then use them to win money that you can withdraw after a while. This means that you get an opportunity to play casino games with no risk of losing your own money, which is quite rare in the gambling world, which is built on the principle that people have to bet money in order to have a chance to win money. Another reason to why freespin offers are very popular is the fact that freespins are usually valid on certain slot machines, and slot machines are by far the most popular games in online casinos today, meaning people have a chance to play their favorite games and win big, all for free! I got the idea for this blog post after I read a very interesting article on freespins on www.casinoonline.re, which is an online gambling portal where you can find everything from exclusive offers to casino reviews and strategy articles and everything in between. They support several language versions, although their primary focus is on Sweden, and you can find the Swedish language version at www.casinoonline.re/se, and even better – They also have a facebook page where you can receive regular updates on the latest news from the online casino world, you can find it on this link!
So let us go over some of the different variations of freespin offerings. The most common form of freespins are the ones that are given out when a player opens a new account at an online casino. With this type of freespins, you do not have to make a deposit, all you need to do is to sign up, and the casino will usually give you something along the lines of 10-20 freespins that you can use on a selected slot machine. These freespins can then be used to win real money in the casino. One thing to keep in mind however, is that the casino usually request that you have made a deposit before you can withdraw anything from the casino, but that is not something that means that you can't win money from the freespins. If you have won money in the casino as a result of your freespins and need to make a deposit in order to request a withdrawal, that is just because the casino needs to verify your card details. You can then withdraw the freespin-winnings as well as the sum of the deposit you just made.
Another form of freespin offer is when they are given out as an additional bonus for depositing money. This is also common when you are new to a casino and make your first deposit. When you get freespins along with a deposit, the offer is usually much better than a no deposit offer, and it's not uncommon that you get up to 100 freespins when you make your first deposit. If you like playing slot machines, you should definitely keep an eye out for the casinos that offer bonuses like this. A good place to visit if you want the latest information about casino bonuses and freespins is www.eurogambler.org/se, which is an international gaming news site, which continuously update users about the latest and best bonuses in the online gambling world.
One of the most important things to remember when it comes to freespins and bonuses is that no money actually comes for free. When you are playing on freespins your winnings will typically be categorized as bonus money. Bonus money are not immediately available for withdrawal, as the user has to meet a certain wagering requirement before the bonus money is converted to real money that can be withdrawn. This simply means that all the winnings that your freespins generate has to be played through a certain amount of times before you can take them out. If the wagering requirement is 20 times the bonus amount, and you have just won €10 on your freespins, you will have to bet a total of €200 before you can request a withdrawal.
Before I finish this post off, I wanted to give out some general tips that you can use to get the best freespin offers. First of all, these types of offers are very common on slot machines from the Swedish game developer Net Entertainment. Therefore, it's a good idea to seek out casinos that offer games from Net Entertainment. Some of the classic games that Net Entertainment have, that often have freespins in various casinos, are Startburst, Robin Hood, Twin Spins, Wild Water, Jack Hammer and Mega Fortune. In order to find these casinos, you can try to visit www.casinozx.com/se, which is a casino review site which is pretty much specialized in Net Entertainment casinos. Other game developers that are quite often associated with free spin offers are Playtech and Microgaming, and typical games for these developers are The Incredible Hulk, Spiderman, Mega Moolah and Thunderstruck I and II.
Lastly, remember that the more active you are at a casino, the more likely you are to be subject to various campaign that the casinos launch. Casinos love people who are spending time in the casino, so the regulars are sure to be treated with freespins on a regular basis. Therefore, I strongly suggest that you subscribe to the newsletters of the casinos that you are playing at. This gives the casino permission to send out special offers to you via email, which gives you the chance to stay updated on what offers are currently running on the website.
I hope that this blog post help you to understand freespins and how they work a little better. I remember when I first got into casino gaming, and felt confused on how bonuses, freespins and wagering requirements actually work, so I hope this article made it a bit easier for you. Stay tuned for more information about casinos and gambling!


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Educational Borrowing
There are many opportunities to manage educational costs through long-term student and parent borrowing. Federal student loans are the best option, offering low cost and postponement of repayment until the borrower graduates. The parent PLUS is another federal borrowing opportunity that offers reasonable rates and attractive repayment terms. Enrollment of at least half time (6 hours undergraduate, 4 hours graduate) is required to receive federal loans. Private loans are the least desirable option. Interest accrual begins immediately and fluctuates with market rates. Unlike federal loans most undergraduate private loan borrowers will need a cosigner. Overall, federal loan programs are less expensive than private loans and should be considered first when developing your cost management plan.


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Emerging Leaders 2008: Group J
IFRT: Brainstorm for the use of new technologies to facilitate IFRT's goals.
The Emerging Leaders team will become familiar with the IFRT, our goals (education for and advocacy of intellectual freedom), resources, membership and audience. They will brainstorm the use of new technologies (for example blogs, rss feeds, chat, wiki's, virtual realities, and anything else that they discover) to facilitate IFRT's goals.
Expected Outcomes
The team will prepare a report documenting the new technologies that they explored including an analyzed, prioritized list of practical ways in which we might use these new technologies to get out our message. Their report will be a key element in the work of our newly reconstituted Communications Committee.
Group members
- Stella Farris
- Melanie Maksin
- Jenny McCraw
- Lauren Pressley
- Ellen Shave
Group J Midwinter Brainstorming
For our project, we created a dynamic information portal for IFRT's Publications and Communications Committee. You can visit the portal at http://www.netvibes.com/ifrt and read more about it below!
Final Report
Introduction and Evolution of the Project
Group J was assigned to work with ALA's Intellectual Freedom Round Table (IFRT) for our Emerging Leaders 2008 project. The description of our project was as follows: "The Emerging Leaders team will become familiar with the IFRT, our goals (education for and advocacy of intellectual freedom), resources, membership and audience. They will brainstorm the use of new technologies (for example blogs, rss feeds, chat, wiki's, virtual realities, and anything else that they discover) to facilitate IFRT's goals." Our expected outcomes were described as, "The team will prepare a report documenting the new technologies that they explored including an analyzed, prioritized list of practical ways in which we might use these new technologies to get out our message. Their report will be a key element in the work of our newly reconstituted Communications Committee." After meeting with our mentor, Lauren Christos, we understood the expected outcome to be somewhat different than that which was initially expressed. Working with our mentor, we settled on an outcome of a portal, a centralized location guiding visitors to information on intellectual freedom issues from a variety of online sources. This portal would push RSS feeds and include other Web 2.0 technologies, facilitating the IFRT Publications Committee's shift to a Publications and Communications Committee.
This marked a significant change from our initial understanding of the project, and therefore shifted our thinking and our process. Instead of simply exploring new technologies, such as blogs, RSS feeds, social tools, and so on, we determined that it would be most effective for us to create applications for these technologies in a centralized location for IFRT members to access. In doing so, we did brainstorm the use of new technologies, as our initial project description suggested. At the heart of Web 2.0 is the concept of participatory online culture, and we focused on tools that would highlight that concept as it relates to IFRT. A discussion of these technologies can be found throughout this report, and definitions can be found in the section entitled "New Technologies and Their Implications for IFRT," which begins on page four of this report.
Creating the Portal
Our group wanted to create a portal for IFRT to improve communications, to enhance IFRT's online presence, to provide IFRT members with up-to-date information relating to intellectual freedom, and to create an online community for IFRT members. We first discussed creating a customized portal by coding the site ourselves. However, after more discussion, we realized there were many advantages to using an "out-of-the-box" solution. In using an existing service, we could guarantee the coding would be kept up-to-date, we could spend more time focusing on content rather than coding, and we could assume that an existing site would be more compatible with other content sources than something we could write.
We needed to find a web service provider that would be flexible enough to allow for multiple types of information inputs (RSS feeds, dynamic searches, static links, videos, etc.), yet fixed enough to be simple to maintain. We needed a service that made it easy for us to train new Publications and Communications Committee members to update. We needed a portal, or personalized homepage, that would allow us to gather information from a number of sources into one publicly accessible location. Even more importantly, we wanted this portal to have current information with minimal work required for the IFRT Publications and Communications Committee members.
There are currently a number of homepage options including Pageflakes and iGoogle, but after discussion we selected Netvibes as our homepage of choice. Netvibes (http://www.netvibes.com) is an established personalized homepage service that offers the ability to publish a homepage a public homepage not requiring a login, and it works well as a stand-alone RSS reader. The service is free, easy to use, and viewers do not have to be a member in order to use the site.
Criteria for Inclusion
We pre-populated the Netvibes IFRT portal with a variety of intellectual freedom content. We included static links to key sites, such as the IFRT's official website, along with dynamic content from blogs, news outlets, and other frequently updated sites. There are many websites dealing with intellectual freedom issues, so we needed to choose those most useful for our project when creating the portal.
We first looked for credible and authoritative information related to intellectual freedom. Currency of information and regular maintenance of the website was also key to our project. Finally, in order to have a dynamic website, we required that the site either have RSS or the ability to create an RSS feed. RSS pushes new content to the Netvibes portal without requiring any extra steps of the users, so this was particularly important. However, many of the sites that we found that met all other criteria did not meet this one. We made feeds when we could, and would recommend periodic checking of other sites of interest in case RSS is added in the future.
Integrating Web 2.0 Technologies
Netvibes allows one to integrate a number of Web 2.0 technologies. We believed this to be particularly important, as with the explosion of information available on web 2.0 sites, it is difficult to keep up with everything. In creating a site that integrated a number of Web 2.0 sites, users could save time, going to one place to get all the most current information on their topic of interest: intellectual freedom.
We included image, podcast, video, social bookmarking, and other searches, which update dynamically, to represent the value of "Web 2.0" tools for keeping up to date with intellectual freedom issues. These sites represent the diversity of media formats available on the topic. We included RSS feeds to get headlines from blogs and other regularly updating sites. Finally, we also included the ability to be friends or followers of IFRT and a wall for user comments. This gives the portal a few other Web 2.0 characteristics. Getting Connected
We believe the portal is easy to use, convenient, and will help to build the IFRT community. There are two ways members can be connected to the new communications portal. First, they can bookmark www.netvibes.com/ifrt or place it on a social bookmarking site like Backflip or del.icio.us for easy access. They can also get connected by becoming a part of the Netvibes community, creating their own page, and linking the IFRT communications portal to this page. Either way, members can stay current with intellectual freedom issues using these Web 2.0 tools.
We recommend that members of the Publications and Communications Committee be given login access to maintain the site and update new feeds and technologies as needed.
Group J's Web 2.0 Toolkit
In keeping with the "new technologies" focus of our project, Group J maintained a commitment to using free technology tools for collaboration and communication regarding the portal. We used the following free tools to develop our portal:
•Backflip (http://www.backflip.com), a web-based bookmark-sharing service. Backflip is similar to other social bookmarking sites, including del.icio.us. Since several group members were already familiar with del.icio.us, using Backflip allowed us to explore a less familiar bookmark-sharing service.
•Google Talk (http://www.google.com/talk), Google Docs (http://docs.google.com), and Google Groups (http://groups.google.com) for communication and collaboration. Rather than using a designated project management software, we took advantage of Google's suite of tools. Several of us already had Google accounts and wanted to explore the tools available beyond email and calendars. We set up a Google group, which allowed for sharing of links, file uploads, and discussion posts. We also used a shared Google Doc to develop outlines, design our poster, manage tasks, and draft our report. Google Talk served as an easy way to participate in synchronous online communication, especially as our project neared completion.
•Jing (http://www.jingproject.com), a screencasting tool. Jing allows users to record short videos with narration to demonstrate computer or web-based processes. We used Jing to develop the tutorials that introduce IFRT Communciations and Publication Committee members to the Netvibes portal and explain how to add content and make changes to the portal. Jing has the added benefit of hosting screencasts on a free website, http://www.screencast.com, thus requiring no server space.
•Netvibes, a personalized homepage tool. Netvibes has been described in more depth earlier in this report, but it is important to note that one reason we selected this particular solution was that it was a free and collaborative technology.
New Technologies and Their Implications for IFRT
While we did deviate from the initial project description, we still explored numerous Web 2.0 technologies in the development of our portal. We believe that the IFRT could use many of these technologies to facilitate its goals. Prioritization of these technologies is difficult, as they serve different purposes, but we have attempted to arrange them in a rough order, based on their ease of implementation and overall usefulness for the Publications and Communications Committee as a means of getting its message out to the membership and audience of IFRT. General recommendations for the use of these technologies are also included. Not included on the priority list are portal or personalized homepage tools like Netvibes, which are described in more depth earlier in the report and are assigned a high priority by Group J, based on our own experiences exploring and implementing the IFRT Netvibes portal.
Blogs now serve as one of the most common and recognizable Web 2.0 technologies. In general, they provide a space for an author or group of authors to post frequently updated content, including news, commentary, and announcements. The participatory aspect of blogs is that they are typically open for comment from readers. This makes blogs an ideal technology for the IFRT Publications and Communications Committee, and Group J considers blogs to be a high priority for this group.
The IFRT created a blog in advance of the 2007 ALA Annual Conference (http://ifrt.blogspot.com/), but it has not been updated since. Emerging Leaders Group J recommends that the IFRT Communications Committee revisit that blogging venture and regularly update the blog with relevant news, announcements, links to other content, and commentary. Since a framework for a blog is already in place in a free, hosted service (Blogger), the implementation of a blog for IFRT-related communication would simply be a matter of assigning authors and providing them with rights to the account. Maintaining an IFRT blog would be an excellent way for the organization to get its message out to its membership and beyond. Several robust free blogging sites, including Blogger and Wordpress.com, require no server space and are hosted remotely, significantly reducing the amount of technological expertise needed. These services also allow blog authors to easily create feeds for content and comments. Readers can then subscribe to the content of the IFRT blog and be notified each time the blog is updated. The feed for the IFRT blog could also be integrated into the IFRT Netvibes homepage.
In addition to using blogs to create content, Group J also recommends that the IFRT Publications and Communications Committee explore existing blogs related to intellectual freedom as sources of current information on these issues. The Netvibes portal begins to do this, and serves as an example of how content from other blogs can be valuable in creating a space for communication and information-sharing related to intellectual freedom. One such resource would be to find professional blogs created by its members already.
Really Simple Syndication (RSS) Feeds
The second high-priority technology that would facilitate the IFRT's goals relates closely to blogs. RSS is a lightweight technology requiring no installation. RSS is used to publish content that is frequently updated, including blog posts, news stories, podcasts, and more. This content is usually published in a format called an RSS feed, which takes that content out of its original format and "feeds" it into other spaces. These other spaces might be other websites or "feed readers," where users subscribe to feeds from several sites and have them all aggregated into a single web location. This means that users are not required to visit each blog they read individually, but can instead have that content pushed to a single location, a one-stop source of information. There are many web-based feed readers or feed aggregators such as: GoogleReader, Pageflakes, Bloglines, and Netvibes available. The IFRT portal, housed on Netvibes, is an example of how the IFRT Publications and Communications Committee could use RSS feeds for the purposes of communicating with its members and the public at large. Again, since a framework is already in place in the form of the Netvibes page we created as part of our project, Group J recommends that the IFRT Publications and Communications Committee continue to use RSS feeds, from their own blog as well as from other sources, to integrate content into a single information portal.
Social Tagging
Social tagging occurs when content creators and consumers can apply keywords (tags) to websites, blog posts, podcasts, images on photosharing sites like Flickr (http://www.flickr.com), links on social bookmarking sites like del.ic.ious (http://del.icio.us), and more. While social tagging does not refer to a single Web 2.0 technology, this participatory online activity could be used to great advantage by the IFRT to facilitate its goals and create an online community. We explored the potential of social tagging in the creation of the IFRT Netvibes portal, and recommend that the Publications and Communications Committee continue to explore tagging as a way to foster non-traditional web communication among people interested in intellectual freedom. Several examples of how social tagging could be used to facilitate the IFRT's information-sharing goals can be found in the Netvibes portal, particularly on the "General News" tab (http://www.netvibes.com/ifrt#General_News). On this page, we have created several searches that run dynamically. Among these searches is an image search from Flickr, which searches the tags that photographers have assigned to their own images. The same is true of the del.icio.us search, which searches that social bookmarking site for links tagged "intellectual freedom." We recommend that the IFRT consider assigning a universal tag that could be used to tag content related to the IFRT and its goals on social sites. For instance, if a simple tag like "IFRT" was decided upon, then Publications and Communications Committee members could reliably create dynamic searches on the Netvibes portal to pull content tagged as IFRT-relevant. A dynamic search of del.icio.us for the tag IFRT would pull in the links most recently tagged in that manner. In the context of the existing Netvibes portal, leveraging social tagging thus has great potential to pull in current content relevant to the IFRT's goals and message. This is a moderate priority tool for Publications and Communications Committee members to explore. Social Networking
Slightly lower on the priority list is social networking. Sites like myspace (http://www.myspace.com) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com) offer opportunities for organizations like the IFRT Publications and Communications Committee to communicate with a large group of people at one time. Creating an IFRT group on a social networking site like Facebook, for instance, would allow members with Facebook accounts to join and communicate with one another. Such a group would also allow the IFRT to post announcements, links, messages, and upcoming events relevant to members. Sites such as Ning (http://www.ning.com) allow people to create their own social networks, which would also be a possibility for IFRT. As social networking sites are robust, implementation of such a group or network would be relatively easy for the Communications Committee. Group J recommends considering this technology as an option, but encourages the IFRT to recognize that such a group would not likely reach the whole of its membership and audience, and might therefore not be the ideal way to facilitate its educational and advocacy goals. The committee also needs to be aware that such a site will require a minimum amount of maintenance.
Wikis are an excellent example of Web 2.0 technology, as they are designed to be participatory. Even though we did not integrate wikis into our Netvibes portal, we did explore wiki technology as part of our Emerging Leaders project. Unlike blogs, in which one person or group creates content and allows for comment, wikis are, by definition, editable by all contributors. We recommend that the IFRT Publications and Communications Committee consider a wiki as an alternative to a static webpage for organizational content that might need to be edited with some frequency. Wikis are valuable because they allow for many editors, but they also maintain a history of changes, so that errors can be easily corrected. Wikis, because of their participatory nature, are also excellent spaces for brainstorming, planning, and developing content with a group of contributors.
As with blogs, there are several free wiki services, including MediaWiki (http://www.mediawiki.org). However, free wikis are often distributed as software packages that must be installed on servers. This tends to require some technical support, and is thus a lower priority for IFRT's newly reconstituted Communications Committee, as a longer implementation timeframe would be required.
A low priority technology that still has great value for communication is chat. Many free web-based chat services, including Meebo (http://www.meebo.com) and GoogleTalk (http://www.google.com/talk), allow for group chat and would thus be a way for Publications and Communications Committee members to communicate synchronously in a group. We used GoogleTalk for our Emerging Leaders group work, and found it to be an effective way to communicate. For the purposes of communicating the IFRT's message to the larger membership and beyond, however, chat is less likely to be effective, as it would be difficult to manage a large group conversation using a chat service. Chat is therefore only recommended as a way to facilitate small group communication and collaboration.
Virtual Worlds
At this time, Group J does not recommend that the IFRT focus much attention on exploring virtual world technologies. Virtual worlds and immersive technologies like Second Life, while they are being explored as learning and collaboration spaces, require a high level of hardware and software proficiency and support, and have a much longer and more involved implementation period. Additionally, since there is still a relatively low participation rate in virtual worlds, Group J recommends that the IFRT wait to explore them until they are more prevalent.
ALA Emerging Leaders 2008 Group J explored a variety of new technologies in the development of the IFRT Netvibes portal. Overall, we recommend that the IFRT Publications and Communications Committee assume the maintenance of the Netvibes portal as a way to gather current intellectual freedom information in a single web location and to facilitate its goals of educating its membership and audience on intellectual freedom issues. We also recommend that the IFRT consider revisiting its existing blog and begin to explore the use of that as a tool for getting its own message out. Other technologies, including RSS and social tagging, are recommended for consideration as well.
We believe that the new communications portal supports IFRT goals of education and advocacy of intellectual freedom within the American Library Association and to the World Wide Web community. It shifts the IFRT Publications Committee to more of a Publications and Communications Committee with the inclusion of available online publications and the increased ability of communication and online presence of intellectual freedom issues and information to IFRT members and others who are interested in this important topic. We feel that we accomplished our goal of a free, easy to use, communications portal that is capable of evolving and changing with the needs of the Intellectual Freedom Round Table.


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In fact, bamboo flooring in bathroom is not a bad thing that you can take as a reference. Bathroom is one important part of the house that you need to design well. Unfortunately, there are many people who overlook the importance of their bathroom design. If anything, they just design their bathroom with the common bathroom design that they see form other houses. That is not creative. If you are into something unique and creative for your house design, then you might have to consider taking bamboo flooring in bathroom. This idea is actually quite new, but id does not mean that this is not a good idea that you can apply for your bathroom construction project. Even though this idea seems so fine, but it has some drawbacks too. Here is the mode detailed information about it.
The Advantages Of Installing Bamboo Flooring In Bathroom
There are some advantages that you can get if you are taking bamboo flooring for your bathroom. Bamboo has been used a a flooring material for so many years. This is mainly because bamboo is resistant to water. It means that water cannot seep through bamboo surface. Besides, bamboo is very affordable. For those of you who want to remodel your bathroom design, then this material can be a good option that you can take. Second of all, bamboo is also very durable. Bamboo can last for many years and they are so down-to-earth. It can bring a natural atmosphere into your bathroom design.
The Disadvantages Of Installing Bamboo Flooring In Bathroom
However, there are some disadvantages that you can get from this flooring idea. First of all, bamboo is not that versatile. Unlike any other flooring materials, such as tile or granite, bamboo is not suitable for any bathroom design. If you are planning to have a minimalist bathroom design, then this is not the most suitable flooring material that you can take. Bamboo flooring is just suitable for traditional-style bathroom design. Second of all, it is hard to find bamboo flooring material nowadays. Even if there is, you have to spend more money for the installation process. It might take time and it is not the most suitable material for a relatively small bathroom. That is why, you have to think of these things before you can decide to install bamboo flooring for your bathroom.
That is some points of advantages and disadvantages of installing bamboo flooring in bathroom.


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- Peter Gabriel
- Tony Banks
- Phil Collins
- Steve Hackett
- Mike Rutherford
Two bands for the price of one.
From the whimsical and eccentric Gabriel-era to Collins' more down to earth reign, Genesis walked the line between boundary-pushing creativity and commercial appeal.
The story of Genesis really is a tale of two bands with virtually identical lineups.
The first era of Genesis ran from 1968 to 1975, with Peter Gabriel serving as lead vocalist. The second lasted from 1975 to 1996, during which drummer Phil Collins assumed the departed Gabriel's duties as singer and frontman. Both phases are distinct, with the Gabriel-era Genesis tending toward epic-scaled progressive rock with a distinctly eccentric British cast, while the Collins-fronted edition moved in a more contemporary and commercial direction.
But to say that one period was "prog" while the other was "pop" oversimplifies the situation, doing an injustice to the often sprightly melodies of the former and the continued musical depth of the latter. With Gabriel's and Collins' voices sharing certain characteristics of tone and timbre, the transition was, in fact, less jarring than might be supposed.
The group's initial core—singer/flute player Peter Gabriel, keyboardist Tony Banks, bassist/guitarist Michael Rutherford and guitarist Anthony Phillips—came together at the Charterhouse school in 1966 under the name the Garden Wall. The group's demo tapes caught the attention of pop producer and songwriter Jonathan King, who suggested the band change its name to Genesis. The group went through several drummers before settling on Phil Collins, who joined in 1970. In fact, Collins was not on Genesis' debut album, From Genesis to Revelation, released the previous year. Another lineup change saw Phillips replaced by guitarist Steve Hackett.
The lineup of Gabriel, Banks, Rutherford, Hackett and Collins remained intact for the first half of the Seventies. During that period, they recorded a series of endearingly eccentric albums, including Trespass (1970), Nursery Cryme (1971), Foxtrot (1972) and Selling England by the Pound (1973). Gabriel's vivid imagination concocted such fanciful narratives as giant hogweeds overrunning the planet and an eavesdropping lawn mower elating old folks' teatime gossip. "The Musical Box," one of Genesis' early masterpieces, spun a Dorian Gray-style tale of murder, reincarnation and desire. The strange, sidelong epic "Supper's Ready" was the highlight of Foxtrot.
Genesis didn't hit the charts in America until 1973, when their sixth album, Selling England by the Pound, rose to Number Seventy on the coattails of such established prog-rock successes as Yes, Jethro Tull and the Moody Blues.
In concert, Gabriel brought Genesis' songs to life with a series of theatrical guises donned for every song. He'd appear as a giant sunflower in "Willow Farm" and a glowing-eyed extraterrestrial in "Watcher of the Skies." His stagecraft became the visual focus of Genesis' live shows; the other members would position themselves in an inconspicuous semicircle toward the back of the stage.
In 1974, Genesis unveiled The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, a conceptual double album with an elliptical story line about Rael, a New York street kid, and his quest for spiritual self-discovery. Instead of the usual lengthy epics, there were twenty-three songs strung across Lamb's four sides. A six-month tour followed, filled with intricate staging that included two thousand slides and a host of special effects. It was a spectacle on par with anything attempted in the world of rock to that point, and in its wake, an exhausted Gabriel announced he was leaving the band.
Ironically, though they fretted about continuing without him—and auditioned four hundred replacements before deciding Collins was up to the task—Genesis' most successful days lay ahead of them. The four-man lineup released a pair of delightful albums, A Trick of the Tail (1976) and Wind and Wuthering (1976), that mined the same rich vein of British whimsy and musical inventiveness for which Genesis had been known. Following the 1977 release of a double-live album, Seconds Out, Steve Hackett departed. He was not replaced, and Genesis acknowledged the attrition in their numbers by titling the next album ...And Then There Were Three...(1978).
Something wholly unexpected happened at this point: Genesis began having hits. They first cracked the U.S. Top 40 with "Follow You Follow Me," from ...And Then There Were Three...Tapping into the streamlined sound of the New Wave movement of the Eighties, Genesis found a way to incorporate pop hooks and artful concision into their work, and the four studio albums they released in the Eighties—Duke (1980), Abacab (1981), Genesis (1983) and Invisible Touch (1986)—generated ten Top 40 hits. Invisible Touch became one of the biggest albums of the Eighties, launching five major hits: "Invisible Touch" (Genesis' first and only Number One single), "Throwing It All Away" (Number Four), "Land of Confusion" (Number Four), "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" (Number Three) and "In Too Deep" (Number Three). After Hackett left, Genesis added guitarist Daryl Stuermer and drummer Chester Thompson to their touring lineup.
Collins had become the extroverted frontman and undisputed sparkplug of Genesis. Away from Genesis he launched a highly successful solo career that culminated with the phenomenal success of his third album, No Jacket Required (1985), which sold more than 12 million copies and stayed atop the album charts for seven weeks. Banks and Rutherford released solo projects, including Rutherford's band Mike + the Mechanics, but none of them matched Collins' commercial heights.
Genesis reconvened in the Nineties for one more album (We Can't Dance, 1991) and world tour before Collins decided to leave for good. Now they were down to two, but Genesis didn't break up. Recruiting a new vocalist, Ray Wilson, they recorded the 1997 album Calling All Stations. And then Genesis did go silent—until 2007, that is, when Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford reunited for the first time in 15 years for a highly successful world tour.
Inductees: Tony Banks (keyboards; born March 27, 1950), Phil Collins (vocals, drums; born January 30, 1951), Peter Gabriel (vocals, flute; born February 13, 1950), Steve Hackett (guitar; born February 12, 1950), Mike Rutherford (bass, guitar; born October 2, 1950)


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It's back to work and school around these parts after Sandy roared through. My friends on the coast and everywhere Sandy took her tour of devastation are in my heart, and I pray you're safe and sound. Things can be replaced, but you and your loved ones safe is what truly matters.
Happy Samhain!


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|(Note the little IKEA desk lamp I normally use. It always create such harsh shadows.)
|(Here the Tulip OttLite functions as a mini torchiere lamp, providing great ambient light for the whole area.)
|(I love how the lamp pulls up and out of the base to angle directly where I need the most light.)
To enter to win your own Tulip OttLite, simply leave a comment telling me why or how you could use it.


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Rose gold filled wire is intricately wrapped in teardrop earrings with grey moonstone and rose gold hematite rondells framing a sparkling light purple Amethyst. Lightweight at approximately 2 inches long.
Please pay for your purchase via paypal within 24 hours of placing your order.
I will accept a layaway option. I require a 30% nonrefundable deposit and ask that you pay for the balance within 90 days. Please convo me for additional information.
Shipping from United States
Insurance complementary for all domestic shipments. If your item is being shipped internationally, it is up to you to add the insurance, however it is strongly recomended.
I take great care in the construction of each piece and I hope that you love them as much as I do. If for any reason you are unsatisfied with your purchase, you may return the piece with its original tag and box within 5 days for a refund credit towards another piece, minus the shipping cost. Please note that custom and layaway pieces are nonrefundable. Contact me for a return authorization number before sending anything back.
I guarantee the quality of my work and will repair any damage, within reasonable circumstances, within 1 year or purchase free of charge. That being said, please remember that you are purchasing a precious piece, please wear and treat it with care. Contact me for additional information.


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From NBC's Chuck Todd
The GOP averted a P.R. disaster after the race came down to Steele and Dawson. It was a pretty obvious choice: Pick the African American or the guy who had to quit an all-white country club. Had Dawson not had that negative mark on his resume, he would have won because he was a party insider. (Will this lead to him and other southern Republican politicians to end these country club restrictions? It's very retro in this day...)
As for Steele, he's got a lot of work to do. The big knock on him was that he wasn't an RNC insider and he's not the best organizer. His Senate campaign in 2006 was a lot of hot air, but he was simply crushed and he ran as a moderate at the time. Get used to a lot of sentences that end in "baby," Steele is fond of the word when he wants to showboat a tad in speeches. He certainly will be a better TV book than Duncan or Dawson would have been. And that does matter.
But Steele will be judged on mechanics more than optics. The issue for the GOP isn't finding a new face; it's finding a new political identity and catching up with the Democrats on the technological front. Steele may become a good spokesperson for the party -- the bar's kinda low right now as it stands. But can he raise the real money and put in place the grassroots tools necessary to make the party competitive?
By the way, while Steele's an outsider to the RNC, he's not exactly a Washington outsider. He was born and raised in the DC area and has hob-nobbed plenty with the powers that be in the GOP. So it won't be the culture shock to the GOP leadership that, for instance, an Anuzis or Dawson election would have been since neither were DC guys.
Discuss as:
Chuck's thoughts on Steele's victoryFriday Jan 30, 2009 5:54 PM
From NBC's Chuck Todd


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BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Friday that blind dissident Chen Guangcheng could apply to study abroad, a move praised by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and suggesting an end may be near to a diplomatic standoff between Beijing and Washington.
But rights activists sounded a note of caution, saying Beijing could move slowly on granting Chen permission to leave out of fear that appearing soft might embolden other challengers to Communist Party rule before a power handover late this year.
An announcement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry followed a dramatic and very public appeal by Chen, who spoke by phone to a U.S. congressional hearing on his case and asked to be allowed to spend time in the United States after fleeing 19 months of extra-judicial captivity in his home village.
"If he wants to study abroad, he can apply through normal channels to the relevant departments in accordance with the law, just like any other Chinese citizen," ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said in a brief statement, adding that Chen was still being treated in hospital.
Clinton, in Beijing for strategic and economic talks, said the U.S. ambassador to Beijing, Gary Locke, had spoken to Chen again on Friday when he had confirmed he wanted to go to the United States to study, along with his family.
"Over the course of the day, progress has been made to help him have the future that he wants and we will be staying in touch with him as this process moves forward," she said.
"This is not just about well-known activists; it's about the human rights and aspirations of more than a billion people here in China and billions more around the world and it's about the future of this great nation and all nations," Clinton added.
U.S. officials said they now expect American diplomats and doctors to have regular access to Chen, who campaigned against forced abortions under China's "one-child" policy.
They also said that checks had shown that Chen had three broken bones from his escape, and his foot was put in a cast.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Chen had been offered a fellowship by a U.S. university, where he can be joined by his wife and two children. New York University said it had invited Chen to be a visiting scholar at its law school.
Nuland also said Washington expected Beijing to deal quickly with Chen's application to travel abroad. "The United States government would then give visa requests for him and his immediate family priority attention," she said in a statement.
While some activists said China could drag its feet on Chen, Bob Fu of the Texas-based advocacy group ChinaAid said in a statement on Friday that "Chen is so widely popular now, Beijing probably wants him in New York as soon as possible."
The crisis erupted on April 22, after Chen made a dramatic escape from his rural home, where he was effectively under house arrest, and made his way to Beijing and sought refuge at the U.S. Embassy.
He stayed there for six days until Wednesday when U.S. officials took him to a Beijing hospital after assurances from the Chinese government that he and his family would receive better treatment and could move out of Shandong province, where rights activists said they had suffered surveillance and abuse.
But within hours, Chen, 40, had changed his mind, scuppering what had seemed to be a delicately constructed deal between Chinese and U.S. diplomats to allow him to receive treatment for a broken foot, and be reunited with his wife and children.
Chen, in translated comments, also told the congressional that villagers who had helped him were "receiving retribution" and he was most concerned about the safety of his mother and brothers.
"Chen's frail mother remains detained, his brother Chen Guangfu and nephew Chen Kegui will be sentenced, and the netizens who helped Chen escape, like He "Pearl" Pierong, still face charges," ChinaAid, the main source of information about Chen while he was at the U.S. Embassy, said in a statement.
The issue cast a shadow over this week's visit to Beijing by Clinton for talks intended to improve ties between the world's two biggest economies.
Despite the friction, a U.S. official said China would raise foreign ownership limits in domestic joint-venture securities firms and allow them to trade commodities and financial futures in a move to further liberalize capital markets. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said China had also made significant reforms to its currency regime, long a bone of contention.
Clinton told Chinese President Hu Jintao ties were the strongest they had ever been. Nevertheless, Beijing has accused the United States of meddling in its affairs in the Chen case.
Chinese human rights lawyer Tang Jitian cautioned that the authorities could easily hold up the paperwork to delay Chen's departure from China. China's security forces might not be as keen as its diplomats for a quick exit.
"How it will play out we don't know. For instance, getting the approval for the paperwork to go, there are many potential pitfalls," said Tang. "We can't be 100-percent optimistic."
U.S. officials said they did not know when Chen might leave but said they had no reason to believe it would be this weekend.
The Obama administration has come under criticism for its handling of the matter, particularly from Republicans such as House Foreign Affairs Chairman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
"U.S. officials made a mistake by escorting Chen away from the safety of the U.S. embassy and into an uncertain fate," she said. "The State Department must press China to carry out its commitments. We cannot assume that this saga has been resolved."
Congressmen Chris Smith and Frank Wolf, both Republicans, hope to grill senior U.S. officials as soon as next week.
Chen himself was attacked by one of China's main official newspapers, which accused him of being a pawn of U.S. subversion of Communist Party power and described U.S. Ambassador Locke as a backpack-wearing, Starbucks-sipping troublemaker.
"Chen Guangcheng has become a tool and a pawn for American politicians to blacken China," the Beijing Daily said.
The dissident's village remained under lockdown. Guards chased away two Reuters reporters who attempted to enter the village on Friday. The four heavy-set guards ran slowly, yelling at the reporters as their car drove away.
The Chen case comes at a tricky time for China, which is engaged in a leadership change. The carefully choreographed transition has already been knocked out of step by the downfall of ambitious senior Communist Party official Bo Xilai in a scandal linked to the apparent murder of a British businessman.
Additional reporting by Beijing, Hong Kong and Washington bureaux; Writing by Mark Bendeich and Nick Macfie; Editing by Jeremy Laurence and David Brunnstrom


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This study was conducted to assess the ill-defined relationship between sleep quality and multiple, specific domains of cognitive function in patients with cirrhosis.
A comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests (divided into six neurocognitive domains) and a standardized, validated measure of sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI]) were administered to patients with cirrhosis and without evidence of overt hepatic encephalopathy, recruited from liver transplant and advanced liver disease clinics (n = 34). An inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) control group (n = 23) was similarly recruited and evaluated to control for the secondary effect of a chronic illness on cognition. PSQI global and component scores were used to predict cognitive function in each neurocognitive domain, using linear regression
Global PSQI scores were significantly higher (indicating poorer sleep quality) in the cirrhosis group (median [range] = 10 [1-19]) than in IBD controls = 5 (1-14); p = 0.002). After controlling for age and education, short duration of sleep was associated with impaired memory for patients with cirrhosis; the use of soporific agents was associated with poor visual-perceptual function in patients with IBD.
Poor sleep was associated with worsening of the already impaired cognitive function of patients with cirrhosis.
Stewart CA; Auger R; Enders FTB; Felmlee-Devine D; Smith GE. The effects of poor sleep quality on cognitive function of patients with cirrhosis. J Clin Sleep Med 2014;10(1):21-26.
Up to 70% of individuals with cirrhosis (regardless of etiology) experience sleep disturbances.1,2 These disruptions commonly manifest as difficulty falling asleep and a shift in sleep schedule toward the latter part of the night, resulting in daytime sleepiness.2 Sleep deprivation has profoundly negative effects on cognitive function,3–10 which is already impaired in the majority of patients with cirrhosis.11,12 Hence, it is probable that sleep dysfunction from a circadian delay in patients with cirrhosis could have an additive effect on cognitive impairments.
In the general population, the psychomotor deficits associated with sleep deprivation are similar to those attributed to blood alcohol levels at or above the legal limit.10 Among patients with cirrhosis, deficits in sleep and cognition can have serious negative effects on their quality of life, safe driving, and workplace productivity.1,13–15
In previous work, actigraphy and a validated sleep questionnaire were used to evaluate sleep disturbances in patients with cirrhosis compared to a healthy volunteer group.1 The cirrhosis group was found to have greater difficulties initiating sleep, significantly shorter total sleep time, more frequent awakenings, more difficulty awakening in the morning, and higher levels of daytime sleepiness. Underlying these findings was a circadian delay, as evidenced by the plasma melatonin peak in patients with cirrhosis and a healthy group.1 A correlation between severity of hepatic encephalopathy (using the Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score [PHES]) and sleep quality (as measured by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI]) was not found; however, this study was limited in that individual cognitive domains were not examined.2
Current Knowledge/Study Rationale: This study was undertaken to compare the effects of poor sleep quality on cognitive function in patients with cirrhosis and patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to determine whether poor sleep in patients with cirrhosis affected their cognitive function.
Study Impact: The findings of worsening cognitive function of patients with cirrhosis who have poor sleep, indicates that larger studies are needed to further classify the sleep disorders and develop efficacious and safe treatment.
The objectives of our study were twofold: to evaluate differences in sleep quality between patients with cirrhosis and patients with another chronic disease (inflammatory bowel disease [IBD]); and in both groups, to test for an association between sleep quality and multiple specific domains of cognitive function. Sleep quality was assessed by a validated sleep questionnaire, the PSQI (global scores and individual component scores). Cognitive function was assessed by a comprehensive neuropsychological battery that evaluated specific neurocognitive domains, and therefore was expected to yield more accurate findings. We hypothesized that poorer sleep quality would be associated with more impaired cognitive function, and that this association would be stronger for patients with cirrhosis than for the IBD control group.
This study was approved by the Mayo Foundation Institutional Review Board. We recruited consecutive adult outpatients with a diagnosis of cirrhosis (based on histological, clinical, and radiological parameters) who were being treated in the liver transplant and advanced liver disease clinics at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, between May 2003 and June 2006. Patients were eligible for inclusion if they were English-speaking and abstinent from alcohol and other substances of abuse for at least 6 months. We excluded patients taking benzodiazepines or antipsychotic medicines, those with acute complications from liver disease, hepatic encephalopathy greater than grade 2, history of primary neurological disorders, and current uncontrolled psychiatric disorder.
Consecutive patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were recruited from the IBD clinics at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. The same inclusion and exclusion criteria used for patients with cirrhosis were employed, except patients with IBD who had liver disease or abnormal liver tests were excluded. All patients in the study were assessed with standardized neuropsychological tests and clinical evaluation during a single visit. The grade of hepatic encephalopathy for each patient was determined by a clinician on the basis of the West Haven Criteria within 24 h of neuropsychological testing. No patients were found to have overt hepatic encephalopathy.
Patients with cirrhosis and IBD control subjects completed the same set of neuropsychological and sleep measures, administered during a single clinic visit.
Participants were prospectively assessed with a standard pencil-and-paper neuropsychological battery as outlined in Table 1. Testing occurred under blinded conditions by the same trained neuropsychometrist. Results were interpreted by a single neuropsychologist.
Neurocognitive domains and associated neuropsychological tests
(more ...)
All scores were transformed to age-adjusted standard scores (placed on a common z-score metric), such that negative scores represented poorer performance. Age adjustment was based on appropriate normative samples (i.e., the standardization samples for WAIS/WMS-III,16,17 CVLT,16 CPT-II,17,18 Heaton,19 norms for Trail Making,20 Groove Pegboard,21 Meyers norms for Rey-Osterrieth22). These standard scores were then organized into pertinent cognitive domains as reflected in Table 1. All domains included ≥ 2 measures in order to enhance the reliability of the estimated z-score in each domain. The score for each domain is the average age-adjusted z-score for all subtests in that domain.
Although each domain examines a different class of behaviors, they work in concert and are interdependent. In this study, attention/concentration refers to the ability of an individual to focus on selected sensory stimuli and ideas without being distracted by other stimuli. Information processing speed refers to the ability to rapidly process and respond to stimuli. The learning domain evaluates the ability to acquire new information. The memory domain samples recall or recognition of words and stories. Visual perception refers to the understanding of figural and spatial relationships and construction of designs. The motor domain involves tests of manual dexterity over a period of time.16,22
The PSQI is easy to administer and interpret, and is widely used in sleep investigations. The questionnaire has 24 items; 19 are self-rated, and 5 are rated by the bed partner of the participants. The self-rated items are combined to form 7 component scores of subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleeping medications, and daytime dysfunction. Each of the 7 components is scored according to severity: a score of 0 = no difficulties for the component of interest; 1 = fairly good; 2 = bad; and 3 = very bad. These component scores are combined to generate a global PSQI score that reflects sleep quality and disturbances over a 1-month period. The global score ranges from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicative of poorer sleep quality.23
Using a cutoff of a global PSQI score > 5, the test demonstrated 89.6% sensitivity and 86.5% specificity in distinguishing between good and poor sleepers during an 18-month field trial. In our study, a PSQI score > 5 was considered consistent with the presence of poor sleep quality. We assessed both global PSQI and component scores, and determined their correlation with each of the neuropsychological domains.
We compared cases and controls with respect to demographic predictors, using the Fisher exact test for binary variables and the Wilcoxon rank sum test for continuous variables. Unadjusted PSQI scores were compared between study groups with the Wilcoxon rank sum test for the global score and Fisher exact test for the subscores. Age was not tested as a confounder, because neuropsychological scores are already adjusted for age.
To assess the differential impact of PSQI scores on neuropsychological domain between cases and controls, we used the global PSQI score to predict neuropsychological domain scores using multiple linear regression. The outcome of the neuropsychological domain was predicted by global PSQI, together with case-control status, and the interaction of global PSQI and case-control status. The interaction term was included to test for any differences in association of global PSQI with each neurocognitive domain between cases and controls. These models were also adjusted for age and education, as these variables proved different between the patients with cirrhosis and IBD. As a secondary analysis, we repeated these models, replacing the global PSQI score with each PSQI subscore.
We enrolled 34 patients with cirrhosis and 23 IBD control subjects. The causes of cirrhosis included alcohol use (14/34, 41%) and cholestatic liver disease (4/34, 11.7%); the remainder (16/34, 47%) were uncharacterized. Median MELD score (range) was 11 (6-32). Gender distribution was similar in both groups (Table 2). Median age was greater for the cirrhosis group than the IBD control group (58 vs. 52 years; p = 0.028), whereas mean years of education was greater for IBD controls (15.5 vs. 14.3 years; p = 0.018).
Characteristics and sleep abnormalities in patients with cirrhosis vs IBD controls
Global PSQI scores were significantly higher in the cirrhosis group (mean ± SD = 9.8 ± 4.9) than in IBD controls (5.6 ± 4.2; p = 0.002), indicating poorer sleep quality in patients with cirrhosis (Table 2). Patients with cirrhosis also reported higher scores (poorer sleep quality) than did the IBD control group for the following 4 PSQI components: sleep disturbance (p = 0.034), daytime dysfunction (p = 0.019), habitual sleep efficiency (p = 0.001), and sleep latency (p = 0.031). The groups did not differ significantly in their reported sleep duration, frequency of using soporific medications, or subjective sleep quality.
There were differences in PSQI component scores for patients with cirrhosis compared with IBD controls. With regard to sleep disturbance component scores, all patients with cirrhosis reported sleep disturbances (34/34), with 23/34 (68%) reporting scores ≥ 2 (i.e., greater than once weekly). In comparison, 22/23 (96%) IBD controls reported sleep disturbances, but only 9/22 (41%) had scores ≥ 2 (p = 0.034). Using the same method of comparison, daytime dysfunction was reported in 29/34 (85%) patients with cirrhosis, of whom 11/29 (38%) had scores ≥ 2. For daytime dysfunction, in comparison, 12/23 (52%) IBD controls reported difficulties, 5 (22%) of whom had scores ≥ 2 (p = 0.019). Poor sleep efficiency was reported by 25/34 (74%) patients with cirrhosis, 15 (44%) of whom had scores > 2 (< 75% habitual sleep efficiency [HSE] versus 7/23 (30%) of IBD controls who reported impaired HSE, 4 (17%) of whom had scores ≥ 2 [p = 0.001]). Finally, prolonged sleep latency was reported in 29/34 (85%) patients with cirrhosis, 19 (66%) of whom had scores ≥ 2, compared with 5/23 (22%) of subjects with IBD (p = 0.03; Table 2).
In the cirrhosis group, 76% (26/34) of patients had global PSQI scores > 5. There were no significant differences in age, gender, MELD scores, or etiology of disease between patients with cirrhosis who had high (> 5) versus low (< 5) PSQI scores (data not shown). In the IBD control group, 39% (9/23) of patients had a global PSQI score > 5. There was a statistically significant difference between the patients with low PSQI compared with those with high PSQI with respect to age (p = 0.025), but no relationship was seen with gender (data not shown).
We performed a set of linear regression models to compare cirrhotic cases with IBD controls with respect to the impact of PSQI score on neuropsychological function. The association of the global PSQI score with the neuropsychological domain score did not differ significantly between cases and controls for any of the 6 neuropsychological domains (Tables 3A and 3B). For only one neuropsychological domain did either of the 2 potential confounders prove statistically significant: higher education level was positively associated with attention/concentration after adjusting for age, global PSQI, and study group (p = 0.039).
When this analysis was repeated for each PSQI subscore, a few more specific associations became apparent. There was no association between sleep disturbance and learning in the IBD controls; but for patients with cirrhosis (cases), a greater sleep disturbance subscore was associated with higher functional learning (p = 0.04; Table 3A). There was no association between duration of sleep and better memory in controls, but in cases, better sleep duration (i.e., lower PSQI sleep duration subscore) was associated with better memory (p = 0.05; Table 3B). In controls, more use of sleep medications was significantly associated with poorer visual perceptual function; this association was not observed in the case group (p = 0.04; Table 3B).
Another important statistical outcome of these models was to identify strong differences between cases and controls in the association between PSQI and neuropsychological domain. To do this, we relied upon the linear regression coefficient and the coefficient of determination. The coefficient for global PSQI is on the same scale for all the neuropsychological domains, as the domain scores are adjusted z-scores. Unfortunately, none of the global PSQI interaction terms has a strong association with the neuropsychological domain, as the difference between cases and controls represents at most 0.06 SD in neuropsychological function, suggesting that the stronger coefficients of determination are driven by other variables in these models. The interaction coefficients in Tables 3A and 3B are also on the same scale for all the PSQI subscales. There was a 0.2 SD difference in the association between sleep disturbance and learning for cases and IBD controls. There was a 0.3 SD difference in the association of daytime dysfunction and visual perception for cases and IBD controls (other large effects for the visual perception domain were driven by associations within the control group, which were not as strong for cases). There was a 0.23 SD difference in the association of HSE and motor function between cases and controls.
Linear regression analyses to assess the association between neurocognitive function and sleep quality (global PSQI scores and separate composite scores) with neurocognitive assessment as continuous variables for patients with cirrhosis versus IBD controls revealed that sleep latency and time to bed were significantly associated with poor attention/concentration. However, after these variables were adjusted for age and educational level, only time to bed component was significantly associated with poor attention/concentration (p = 0.008; R2 = 0.383).
In this study we sought to determine the difference in sleep quality between patients with cirrhosis and a chronic illness control group of patients with IBD, and to assess whether poor sleep was associated with worsened cognitive function among the patients with cirrhosis.
Although sleep disturbances and cognitive impairment are both common among patients with cirrhosis, a definitive link between these two complaints has not been documented. If a specific association were found, greater clinical attention might be paid to sleep disorder screening (which is not routinely done in patients with cirrhosis and without overt hepatic encephalopathy), and to the testing of treatment strategies to ameliorate both sleep and cognitive dysfunction in these patients.
We found that patients with cirrhosis had significantly worse sleep quality than the control IBD group. Moreover, there was an association between poor sleep and cognitive impairment in both groups. Although a relationship between memory impairment and poor sleep has been documented in the general population, this is a new finding for patients with cirrhosis who have poor sleep.24 In general, a direct and multi-faceted relationship exists between sleep and memory, such that sleep enhances recall performance on memory related tasks, and sleep is necessary for long-term memory consolidation. Sleep is important for newly acquired memory; declarative memory, a component of long-term memory, is dependent on sleep activity. The interdependency between sleep and memory has been substantiated by functional imaging of the brain, which has demonstrated decreased activity of the hippocampus, the area of the brain that is needed for memory functions, in individuals with poor sleep.24 This reduced hippocampus activity is associated with increased work of the individual to accomplish tasks. Overall, poor sleep leads to impaired learning and memory in the general population.25,26 Hence, the findings of this study are important for these sick patients, especially for patients with cirrhosis, most of whom are already cognitively impaired. The association between the use of soporific agents and visual perceptual impairment in patients with IBD is not surprising, since visual perceptual impairment is a known side effect of soporific agents.15,27–29 However, the surprising finding of improved learning with sleep disturbances in cirrhosis is very probably due to a type I error, as we are not aware of a biological explanation for this finding.
The findings described herein are clinically significant, because they demonstrate that there is a high rate of self-reported difficulties with sleep among patients with cirrhosis, as has been shown by others.1,30,31 In addition, we found poor sleep quality is correlated with variable effects on cognitive function in this population in which diffuse neurocognitive deficits are pervasive, emphasizing the significant health burden that poor sleep has in the cirrhotic population. Sleep and circadian rhythm disorders are, however, treatable; therefore, there is a potentially reversible component of the cognitive deficits seen in patients with cirrhosis. Additionally, it is well known that the neurocognitive effects of these sleep disturbances have negative consequences on quality of life, workplace productivity, and safety,10 all of which could be addressed with accurate identification, characterization, and treatment of sleep disturbances in patients with cirrhosis. Hence, the identification of safe soporific agents could have a significant impact on the health of patients with cirrhosis, in whom metabolism of standard soporific agents is impaired by their diseased livers.32–34
This study is one of the few comparing sleep in cirrhosis to a sick control group using a validated sleep questionnaire, and it illustrates the need for larger studies to evaluate the association between sleep and cirrhosis. The findings suggest that intervening with efficacious treatment will be important for patients with cirrhosis who have poor sleep quality.
This was not an industry supported study. The authors have indicated no financial conflicts of interest. Financial Support: NIH NIDDK 60018 to Dr. Stewart.
The authors thank Drs. Anne Marie Weber-Main and Michael Howell for their critical review and editing of manuscript drafts.
Montagnese S, Middleton B, Mani A, Skene D, Morgan M, authors. On the origin and the consequences of circadian abnormalities in patients with cirrhosis. Am J Gastroenterol. 2010;105:1773–81. [PubMed]
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Bajaj JS, Hafeezullah M, Hoffmann RG, Saeian K, authors. Minimal hepatic encephalopathy: a vehicle for accidents and traffic violations. Am J Gastroenterol. 2007;102:1903–9. [PubMed]
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Clay Aiken and Jaymes Foster: Expecting!by Free Britney at .
Many people have long speculated that Clay Aiken may be gay.
Why? No idea. Well, he's apparently not - he's gotten someone pregnant... though her name is Jaymes. Our point? We have none. We're just saying.
According to TMZ, Clay Aiken is going to be a daddy, having knocked up Jaymes Foster. No, we're serious! Clay Aiken and Jaymes Foster are expecting!
Sources say that the baby mama is a record producer, who produced some of his albums and is Clay's best friend. He lives with her when he's in L.A.
Jaymes Foster, seen here with Clay Aiken, is due in August.
She's the sister of record excutive and (Brody Jenner's stepfather) David Foster. Jaymes Foster in her late 40s, though her exact age is not known.
She divorced a few years back and has no kids. Clay Aiken is 29.
UPDATE: Apparently Jaymes Foster was artificially inseminated.
Clay is a gonna be more than just sperm to her, however - he will have an active role in raising her child. Aiken's rep has not yet commented. Stay tuned.


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Tyga (Feat. Chris Brown) - Regular Girl / Wonder Woman
Tyga feat. Chris Brown - Regular Girl / Wonder Woman
Directed by Alex Nazari for firstname.lastname@example.com
For bookings email email@example.com
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
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text:
Tacrine Hydrochloride Oral capsule
What is this medicine?
TACRINE (TAK reen) is used to treat mild to moderate dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease.
This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.
What should I tell my health care provider before I take this medicine?
They need to know if you have any of these conditions:
difficulty passing urine
heart disease, slow heartbeat
liver disease
lung or breathing disease, like asthma
stomach or intestinal disease, ulcers or stomach bleeding
an unusual or allergic reaction to tacrine, other medicines, foods, dyes, or preservatives
pregnant or trying to get pregnant
How should I use this medicine?
Take this medicine by mouth with a glass of water. Follow the directions on the prescription label. It is best to take this medicine on an empty stomach, at least 1 hour before or 2 hours after meals. If this medicine upsets your stomach, you can take it with food. Take your doses at regular intervals. Do not take your medicine more often than directed. Continue to take your medicine even if you feel better. Do not stop taking except on the advice of your doctor or health care professional.
Talk to your pediatrician regarding the use of this medicine in children. Special care may be needed.
Overdosage: If you think you have taken too much of this medicine contact a poison control center or emergency room at once.
NOTE: This medicine is only for you. Do not share this medicine with others.
What if I miss a dose?
If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you can. If it is almost time for your next dose, take only that dose. Do not take double or extra doses.
What may interact with this medicine?
medicines for motion sickness like dimenhydrinate, meclizine, scopolamine
medicines that relax your muscles for surgery
NSAIDs, medicines for pain and inflammation, like ibuprofen or naproxen
This list may not describe all possible interactions. Give your health care provider a list of all the medicines, herbs, non-prescription drugs, or dietary supplements you use. Also tell them if you smoke, drink alcohol, or use illegal drugs. Some items may interact with your medicine.
What should I watch for while using this medicine?
Visit your doctor or health care professional for regular checks on your progress. Your doctor will need to regularly check your blood to monitor the effect of this medicine on your liver. Check with your doctor or health care professional if there is no improvement in your symptoms or if they get worse.
Avoid alcohol while you are taking this medicine. Alcohol may increase the risk of getting liver damage. Also try to avoid smoking. Smoking tobacco may lessen the effect of this medicine. Ask your doctor or health care professional for ways to help you stop smoking or drinking.
You may get drowsy or dizzy. Do not drive, use machinery, or do anything that needs mental alertness until you know how this medicine affects you. Do not stand or sit up quickly, especially if you are an older patient. This reduces the risk of dizzy or fainting spells.
What side effects may I notice from receiving this medicine?
Side effects that you should report to your doctor or health care professional as soon as possible:
allergic reactions like skin rash, itching or hives, swelling of the face, lips, or tongue
changes in vision
dark yellow or brown urine
diarrhea, if it is severe or does not stop
dizziness, fainting spells, or falls
increase in frequency of passing urine, or incontinence
muscle pains
nervousness, agitation, or increased confusion
pain in the stomach or abdomen
slow heartbeat, or palpitations
uncontrollable movements
yellowing of eyes or skin
Side effects that usually do not require medical attention (report to your doctor or health care professional if they continue or are bothersome):
dry mouth
loss of appetite
This list may not describe all possible side effects. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
Where should I keep my medicine?
Keep out of reach of children.
Store at room temperature between 15 and 30 degrees C (59 and 86 degrees F). Protect from moisture. Throw away any unused medicine after the expiration date.
March 21, 2017
U.S. FDA-approved Package Insert


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Teacher resources and professional development across the curriculum
Teacher professional development and classroom resources across the curriculum
In this session:
How To Take This Course
The NCTM Standards
Course Goals and Structure
Course Overview
Course Pretest
Welcome to the Teaching Math online course for grades 6-8. This course will introduce you to the five process standards developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM, 2000): Communication, Problem Solving, Reasoning and Proof, Representation, and Connections. These process standards complement the mathematical content standards from NCTM. When both are used effectively in the classroom, students gain a fuller sense of what mathematics is, and have a greater opportunity for achieving understanding of its concepts.
For teachers, this course will help bring alive the process standards in the classroom. They are ideas that can be of direct help to you, showing ways to expand your practice, and, in turn, helping your students better understand mathematics. In a larger sense, these standards promote habits of mathematical thinking that are useful to teachers and students in any mathematical context.
In this session we will explain how to take this course, introduce the standards, introduce the course structure and format, provide the syllabus for the course, and ask you to make some reflections on the standards in a pretest that you will return to on completion of the course.
"Effective teaching involves observing students, listening carefully to their ideas and explanations, having mathematical goals, and using the information to make instructional decisions. Teachers who employ such practices motivate students to engage in mathematical thinking and reasoning and provide learning opportunities that challenge students at all levels of understanding. Effective teaching requires continuing efforts to learn and improve" (NCTM, 2000, p. 19)
Learning Objectives
This session will do the following:
|Teaching Math Home | Grades 6-8 | Introduction | Site Map | © |
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Google not going black to protest SOPA may have turned out for the best for those opposed to the Congressional measure.
The Mountain View-based search company chose to black out its Google Doodle on Wednesday instead of joining sites, such as Wikipedia, and going black for 24 hours to oppose the controversial measure, which would give the US Justice Department the ability to track and go after Internet pirates, has rallied some of Silicon Valley's largest tech companies together to oppose the measure.
Google had its censored doodle link to a page with information and a petition about the Stop Internet Piracy Act and a second bill called the Protect Internet Protocol Act, or PIPA.
A spokeswoman for Google told The Los Angeles Times that it was able to get 4.5 million people to sign its anti-SOPA petition Wednesday -- something it would not have been able to do had it gone black.