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Yesterday, September 6, PDKI's Peshmerga Forces carried out two separate operations against two Iranian military bases near the city of Bokan in eastern (Iranian) Kurdistan.
In a statement, the Peshmerga Forces Operational Command informed that the first operation was carried out against an Iranian military base in the vicinity of the village of Nachit. The base was completely destroyed at 10:30 PM.
The second operation was carried out against an Iranian military base in the vicinity of the village of Sarchnar. The base was taken over at 12:10 PM.
The Peshmerga Forces Operational Command will provide further information on these operations in due course.
These operations were conducted following a number of terrorist attacks and ambushes against PDKI's Peshmerga Forces and the party's officials in eastern Kurdistan by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRC). They were also carried out the backdrop of a wave of executions of Kurdish political prisoners and prisoners of conscience and the daily killing of Kurdish civilians who work as Kolbar.
The Kolbar in Kurdistan are the most impoverished and vulnerable. They carry goods on their back from southern (Iraqi) Kurdistan back to eastern Kurdistan in difficult terrain. This activity is their only source of income. Aside from stealing their goods, members of the IRGC kill Kurdish Kolbars on a daily basis.


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+ Author affiliations
+ Author affiliations
1. Children's Hospital Informatics Program, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, United States
2. These authors contributed equally to this manuscript as first authors
3. Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States
4. Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
5. Spatial Ecology and Epidemiology Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
6. Oxford Big Data Institute, Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
7. Department of BioScience, University of Melbourne, Australia
8. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, San Juan, Puerto Rico
9. Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, United States
10. Malaria Atlas Project, Oxford Big Data Institute, Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
11. World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
12. Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Division of Infectious Diseases, St Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada
13. These authors contributed equally to the manuscript as last authors
14. Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Correspondence: Elaine O. Nsoesie (
Citation style for this article: Nsoesie EO, Kraemer MU, Golding N, Pigott DM, Brady OJ, Moyes CL, Johansson MA, Gething PW, Velayudhan R, Khan K, Hay SI, Brownstein JS. Global distribution and environmental suitability for chikungunya virus, 1952 to 2015. Euro Surveill. 2016;21(20):pii=30234. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2016.21.20.30234
Chikungunya fever is an acute febrile illness caused by the chikungunya virus (CHIKV), which is transmitted to humans by Aedes mosquitoes. Although chikungunya fever is rarely fatal, patients can experience debilitating symptoms that last from months to years. Here we comprehensively assess the global distribution of chikungunya and produce high-resolution maps, using an established modelling framework that combines a comprehensive occurrence database with bespoke environmental correlates, including up-to-date Aedes distribution maps. This enables estimation of the current total population-at-risk of CHIKV transmission and identification of areas where the virus may spread to in the future. We identified 94 countries with good evidence for current CHIKV presence and a set of countries in the New and Old World with potential for future CHIKV establishment, demonstrated by high environmental suitability for transmission and in some cases previous sporadic reports. Aedes aegypti presence was identified as one of the major contributing factors to CHIKV transmission but significant geographical heterogeneity exists. We estimated 1.3 billion people are living in areas at-risk of CHIKV transmission. These maps provide a baseline for identifying areas where prevention and control efforts should be prioritised and can be used to guide estimation of the global burden of CHIKV.
Recent emergence and re-emergence of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in several regions globally underscores the importance of implementing and strengthening surveillance systems for rapid and accurate case identification [1]. CHIKV causes an acute febrile illness with severe arthralgia [2]. It is a mosquito-borne pathogen of the genus Alphavirus and transmitted to and between humans by Aedes mosquitoes with four circulating genotypes [3,4]. In the eastern part of Africa CHIKV is sustained in an enzootic, sylvatic cycle that involve arboreal mosquito vectors and non-human primates [5]. Clinical manifestations of the disease usually include fever, rash and arthralgia, which are similar to dengue symptoms, potentially leading to misdiagnosis and underreporting in the absence of specific laboratory diagnostic testing [6]. CHIKV and dengue also share the same primary vector Ae. aegypti and occasional co-infection has been reported [7]. Although it has been shown that also Ae. albopictus can transmit the virus between humans such outbreaks have been more localised [8]. Mortality from CHIKV infection is rare, infected persons can experience prolonged joint pain and arthritis over a period of months to years. There are also no antiviral agents or treatments for chikungunya fever (CHIK), but candidate vaccines are under development [9].
In 2013, the first autochthonous transmission of CHIKV in the western hemisphere was reported on Saint Martin Island in the Caribbean. The outbreak subsequently spread to several Caribbean islands and the wider Americas (including many countries in Central and northern South America), reaching over one million suspected and confirmed cases by December 2014 [10] due to the presence of a large naïve population and competent vectors. Despite an increasing global spatial distribution and clinical significance, detailed spatial information of the global geographical extent of CHIKV remains sparse. Previous work has mostly focused on assessment of CHIKV presence at a country level [1]. A comprehensive assessment of CHIKV transmission records globally is critical to identify knowledge gaps and regions where preventive and targeted control efforts should be prioritised. Additionally, this information can be used to guide estimation of the global clinical burden of CHIKV, which is currently unknown. Studies on the prediction of future trends and possibility of transmission in unaffected regions would also benefit from a thorough evaluation of the contemporary distribution and mapping of the extent of CHIKV on a fine spatial scale.
To assess the global distribution of CHIKV, we adopt established disease mapping approaches [11] previously used for dengue [12,13], Zika [14], and the leishmaniases [15]. We developed a comprehensive database of unique locations where CHIKV transmission has been reported and an evidence consensus score – a summary statistic of evidence for CHIKV presence or absence using a weighted scoring system [13]. We then couple these data with a comprehensive set of environmental correlates and contemporary Aedes distribution maps in a species distribution model to generate high-resolution risk maps (5km x 5km), representing environmental suitability for CHIKV transmission and to derive population-at-risk estimates. These maps and estimates can be refined as new data on disease and vector range expansion become available.
Data on CHIKV transmission events were obtained from peer-reviewed literature, health organisations, and supplementary evidence such as, data on vector presence. A comprehensive review of peer-reviewed literature was initially conducted on 4 April 2014 in PubMed using the search term 'chikungunya'. The data were subsequently updated every month until 7 May 2015. A total of 2,120 articles were identified. Abstracts of all articles were read to identify those that possibly included geographical information of clinical cases, epidemiological records or outbreaks of CHIKV. Information was extracted on: (i) date of occurrence, (ii) type of event (autochthonous vs imported cases), (iii) number of cases, and (iv) the geographical location (latitude, longitude and administrative level) following a standard protocol [16]. If people were diagnosed after returning from travel but the location of infection could be identified unambiguously due to information on the travel history, the data were retained. Of the 2,120 articles, 339 were used, resulting in 463 unique occurrence points.
We also consulted health organisation webpages, including the World Health Organization (WHO), Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Global Infectious Disease and Epidemiology Network (GIDEON) and the United States (US) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Data on recent and ongoing outbreaks in the Americas were obtained from weekly PAHO epidemiological reports. Since PAHO is a WHO affiliate organisation, PAHO and WHO data were combined to represent a single health organisation data source resulting in 65 unique occurrence points.
Finally, 600 occurrence points based on reports of CHIKV outbreaks were obtained from the online surveillance system, HealthMap (http://www.healthmap.org/en).
Each location was then classified as precise (e.g. a town) or an administrative unit and the latter were linked to the appropriate polygon information from the Global Administrative Unit Layers dataset (http://www.gadm.org). Each occurrence point was attributed to a specific location (latitude and longitude) based on the level of detail presented in the data source. We used Google Maps (https://www.google.co.uk/maps) to support the geopositioning. The database subsequently underwent temporal and spatial standardisation using a standard protocol described elsewhere [16]. We removed any duplicate records so that the resulting database contained only one occurrence record per spatial entity. Further, any records reported from the above mentioned data sources that fell outside land borders (e.g. due to wrong geopositioning of the original source) were removed. Occurrence records were then cross-checked manually and for each occurrence point, the probability of occurrence for both vectors was extracted (Figure 1c and d) and records deemed implausible (probability of occurrence for both vectors individually fell below 70%) [17] were removed. The cut-off at 70% was chosen based on a qualitative interpretation of the Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus probability of occurrence maps, where > 90% of the geographical spaces with non-zero probabilities were recorded between vector presence 70% to 100%.
Environmental covariates used in this study to predict the global environmental suitability of chikungunya virus transmission
EVI: enhanced vegetation index; LST: land surface temperature.
A. Urban accessibility, with brown representing high relative accessibility to urban areas and yellow representing rural isolated areas; B. Urban, peri-urban and rural areas; C. Aedes aegypti suitability,with red representing high environmental suitability for the vector and blue representing low suitability; D. Ae. albopictus suitability, with red representing high environmental suitability for the vector and blue representing low suitability; E. EVI mean values, whereby dark green represents areas with year round vegetation growth and light green represents areas with low moisture levels; F. EVI range; G. LST mean values, whereby orange represents high temperatures and yellow lower relative temperatures; H. LST range, with orange representing high variation throughout an average year and yellow representing little annual variation.
The evidence consensus is a summary statistic representing confidence in the presence or absence of CHIKV for a given political region. We calculated evidence consensus scores at a national level for all countries apart from Argentina, Brazil, China, France, India, Italy, Mexico, and the US, where sufficient detailed epidemiological information was available to distinguish within-country epidemiological, environmental, and economic variability. Smaller countries were not considered for subnational assessment.
Each evidence category was scored independently and category weights applied to reflect the level of detail each category provides: health organisation status (max. score 6), peer-reviewed evidence (max. 9), case data (max. 9) and supplementary evidence (max. 6). For example, if all three health organisations considered (i.e. PAHO/WHO, GIDEON and CDC) agreed on presence/absence of CHIKV, the country was assigned a score of + 6/-6. If two health organisations agreed on presence/absence, the country was assigned a score of + 3/-3. For each country, we identified peer-reviewed evidence to confirm CHIKV presence based on seroprevalence studies, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) confirmation, case reports and local outbreaks. Each published study was scored independently based on date of disease occurrence and the average was taken and added to a score of accuracy, which was assigned based on diagnostic procedure. The case data category was scored based on the most recent outbreak year and pre-defined inter-epidemic period intervals to account for herd immunity [18,19]. In the absence of case data, healthcare expenditure (HE) was used as a proxy to indicate confidence in a country's ability to detect and report CHIKV cases and to supplement this category [13]. In addition, countries for which HE data were unavailable were assigned low HE, and overseas territories were assigned the same HE as their parent nations.
For areas with conflicting reports from the input sources and recent geographical expansion (e.g. Mexico and Brazil), database records were cross-checked against expert knowledge and recent national reports. Supplementary evidence was extracted from peer-reviewed literature on mosquito presence, dengue presence, travel advisories (http://www.nathnac.org/travel), and the HealthMap database (http://www.healthmap.org) and scored based on number of evidence types. The HealthMap database contains data extracted from online news sources and alerts from official public health sources (e.g. ministries of public health) and was available from 2006 to 2014. We also used data on the global evidence consensus on dengue transmission from Brady et al. [13] to supplement data on the presence of other arboviruses for each country. See Table 1 for a summary and Brady et al. [13] for additional details on the scoring process.
a The three health organisations considered included (i) the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), (ii) the Global Infectious Disease and Epidemiology Network (GIDEON) and (iii) the World Health Organization (WHO) and Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) taken together.
b The types of evidences include (i) reports from health organisations, (ii) the date of chikungunya virus transmission occurrence, and (iii) the diagnostic procedure.
c The types of evidences include (i) mosquito presence, (ii) dengue presence, (iii) travel advisories, and (iv) HealthMap.
The scores from all previously described evidence categories were summed, divided by the maximum potential score, 30 and multiplied by 100. The evidence consensus was then mapped based on seven equidistant categories: complete evidence for presence (>71.42 to ≤100) or absence (>-100 to ≤-71.42), good evidence for presence (>42.84 to ≤71.42) or absence (>-71.42 to ≤-42.84], moderate evidence for presence (>14.27 to ≤42.84) or absence (>-42.84 to ≤-14.27), and indeterminate evidence (>-14.27 to ≤14.27).
A boosted regression tree (BRT) modelling approach was applied to derive probabilistic global environmental risk maps for CHIKV. BRT models combine the strengths of regression trees with boosting and are frequently used in species distribution modelling (SDM) [20] with the overall aim to identify areas that exhibit similar conditions to areas where the disease has been reported. These statistical models heavily depend on the input occurrence database. We included the following globally available environmental and socioeconomic covariates in our models: (i) probabilistic global niche maps for Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus [17]; (ii) land surface temperature (LST); (iii) a categorical differentiation in urban, peri-urban and rural environments, as well as their accessibility; and (iv) enhanced vegetation index (EVI).
We constructed probabilistic global Aedes risk maps based on the most comprehensive globally representative occurrence dataset for both Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus species and a set of contemporary environmental covariates explaining their global distribution (Figure 1c and d) [17,21].
Temperature is one of the most important determinants of Aedes survival [22]. We used MODIS daytime LST after processing through a gap-filling algorithm to account for variation in temperature globally [23] (Figure 1g and h). Additionally, transmission of CHIKV is dependent on the persistent presence of the disease vectors, Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes. Both adult female longevity and length of first gonotrophic cycle are temperature dependent. We used the combined temperature suitability of population persistence for both species to identify areas where by proxy we expect the geographical limits of transmission of CHIKV to be located [13,15]. The binary outputs of this model were used as a mask to exclude the placement of 10,000 pseudo-absences inside their physiologically plausible range.
Water availability is another important factor for CHIKV transmission, as it has been shown, for example, that mosquitoes may cluster around houses if containers with standing water due to precipitation are present [24]. EVI measures vegetation canopy greenness and can be used as a proxy for soil surface-level moisture that are associated with the presence of vector larval development sites [25]. We used range and mean values of MODIS EVI after processing through a gap-filling algorithm described in Weiss et al. [23] (Figure 1e and f).
To account for differences in urban, peri-urban and rural environments we built a categorical variable by supplementing the projected 2010 Global Rural Urban Mapping Project (GRUMP) urban rural categories with land-cover classes using night-time light satellite imagery and population density based on the most up-to-date national censuses available at the smallest available administrative unit [26]. A gridded surface of 5 km x 5 km cells was generated with each pixel representing urban, peri-urban, or rural areas (Figure 1b).
Human movement defines the spatial scale of transmission of most communicable diseases. To account for areas that are highly accessible, we used a friction surface that shows pixel level travel time through the respective region of interest [27] (Figure 1a).
We then applied an ensemble BRT using 180 sub-models to derive probabilistic estimates and underlying uncertainty at a 5 km x 5 km resolution. We also estimated populations-at-risk of CHIKV transmission. For each occurrence record we identified the maximum risk probability of transmission within a buffer of 10 km around the occurrence record to derive a threshold value of probability of occurrence that should be included in the population-at-risk estimate. We then converted the continuous surface of transmission risk into a binary at-risk/not-at-risk classification. Finally, we extracted the population living in areas of potential transmission using a global population surface.
The data abstraction yielded 528 occurrence points from peer-reviewed evidence and health organisations. The distribution of occurrence points by region is shown in Figure 2. Individually, WHO (+ PAHO), CDC and GIDEON implicated 60, 96, and 70 countries with reported CHIKV transmission, respectively. However, based on evidence from all available sources, we identified 94 countries with good or better evidence consensus on CHIKV presence from which 47% were in Asia and Africa and 44% in the Americas. Of the 94 countries, at total of 24, 41, 20, two and seven were located in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania, respectively.
Distribution per continent of chikungunya virus transmission occurrence points from peer-reviewed evidence and health organisations, 1952–May 2015
High probability of Ae. aegypti occurrence was the strongest predictor for environmental suitability with a mean contribution of 46% (Table 2). Based on our environmental suitability predictions, we estimate that 1.3 billion people are living in areas of potential CHIKV transmission.
Global consensus on CHIKV presence or absence based on the evidence consensus scoring system and predictions of environmental suitability for CHIKV are further presented in for Africa and Europe, the Americas, and Asia and Oceania, respectively. The evidence ranges from complete presence to complete absence.
Most of the African countries with reliable evidence on presence and absence were located in Central and North Africa, respectively. The strong evidence for CHIKV presence in Central Africa was aided by in-country seroprevalence studies such as in Cameroon and Gabon and confirmed imported cases to non-endemic regions [28,29]. There was insufficient data to determine presence or absence for some countries in Africa such as Ghana, Ethiopia, and Mozambique, due to a general lack of data and poor surveillance. South Africa, for example, had a reported outbreak in 1977 [30], but there have been no new reports of outbreaks or seroprevalence studies. Most countries in Central and parts of West Africa with strong evidence on CHIKV presence also demonstrated high environmental suitability for CHIKV (Figure 3b). We estimated that over 240 million people live in areas at risk for CHIKV transmission in Africa.
Evidence consensus (a) and predicted environmental suitability (b) for chikungunya virus in Africa and Europe, as of May 2015
The colour legend for the evidence consensus ranges from red to blue, representing complete consensus on presence to complete consensus on absence. Indeterminate consensus is in yellow. Evidence consensus is presented at Admin1 level for Italy and France, and Admin0 level for all other countries. The predicted environmental suitability map is presented in similar colours with 1 and 0 representing most and least suitability for chikungunya virus, respectively.
Autochthonous transmission of CHIKV in Europe has been reported in Ravenna, northern Italy in 2007 and in the south-eastern French city of Fréjus in 2010 and Montpellier, southern France in 2014 (Figure 3a). Prior to these cases, CHIKV in Europe was limited to travel-related cases. Genomic micro-evolution of CHIKV in Reunion facilitated transmission by Ae. albopictus [31] in strains belonging to the so called Indian Ocean lineage (IOL) which increased the likelihood of CHIKV outbreaks in Europe. We predicted moderate environmental suitability for parts of France, Spain, Germany and Italy (Figure 3b), which is in agreement with previous projections of increased risk of CHIKV for France, northern Italy and the Pannonian Basin [32].
Systematic reporting of confirmed cases to PAHO provided well-documented evidence for CHIKV occurrence in the Americas. As of 13 March 2015, 45 countries had reported local transmission of CHIKV, while the evidence consensus identified 90% of countries and island states with good or better consensus (Figure 4a). Laboratory confirmation of autochthonous cases made a major contribution in defining the South and Central America's higher consensus cluster on presence. The evidence strength varied across states for Brazil and Mexico. Brazil had strong evidence on presence in south-central states; indeterminate evidence for several southern states and Amazonas state in the north; and moderate evidence in central and northern states. In contrast, the environmental suitability map predicted that coastal Brazil and areas in the Amazon were highly suitable for CHIKV transmission. Peru and states in Brazil where evidence currently suggest absence, demonstrated a moderate to high suitability for CHIKV (Figure 4b).
Evidence consensus (a) and predicted environmental suitability (b) for chikungunya virus in the Americas, as of May 2015
The colour legend for the evidence consensus ranges from red to blue representing complete consensus on presence to complete consensus on absence. Indeterminate consensus is in yellow. Evidence consensus is presented at Admin1 level for United States, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil, and Admin0 level for all other countries. The predicted environmental suitability map is presented in similar colours with 1 and 0 representing most and least suitability for chikungunya virus, respectively.
Our models identified Ae. aegypti as the strongest predictor of CHIKV suitability, which is the primary vector implicated in the outbreak in most of the Caribbean and the Americas [33,34]. Based on the environmental suitability predictions, we estimated that over 260 million people live in areas at risk for CHIKV transmission in the Americas.
CHIKV presence is well documented for most countries and islands in south and south-east Asia. Persistent vector populations and naïve populations contributed to notable pre-2000 CHIKV outbreaks in India, Myanmar/Burma, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam [35,36]. In the last decade, outbreaks have been reported in India, Indian Ocean islands, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, following a 41-year period of quiescence [37,38]. Good to better consensus on CHIKV presence was reported for 80% of Asian countries and clusters of complete consensus were observed ranging from Myanmar/Burma to Vietnam for south Asia and Indonesia to Papua New Guinea for south-east Asian islands (Figure 5a). Complete consensus on CHIKV presence was noted for Guangdong province, China, where an outbreak was reported in 2010 [39]. With the exception of Chhattisgarh in Central India and smaller states in the north-east and north-west, most Indian states had good consensus on CHIKV presence. There was insufficient data on presence or absence of CHIKV in Nepal. Despite reports of large outbreaks in neighbouring India and indication of possible local transmission, there are no published national seroprevalence surveys for Nepal and CHIKV cases are possibly misdiagnosed as typhoid or other bacterial or viral fevers [40].
Evidence consensus (a) and predicted environmental suitability (b) for chikungunya virus in Asia and Oceania, as of May 2015
The colour legend for the evidence consensus ranges from red to blue representing complete consensus on presence to complete consensus on absence. Indeterminate consensus is in yellow. Evidence consensus is presented at Admin1 level for India and China, and country level for all other countries. The predicted environmental suitability map is presented in similar colours with 1 and 0 representing most and least suitability for chikungunya virus, respectively.
The environmental suitability map strongly complemented the evidence consensus with high risk of CHIKV transmission predicted for most south-east Asia islands and parts of south-east Asia, and moderate risk predicted for India (Figure 5b). Predictions of suitability for CHIKV transmission in China were patchy, with high risk predicted for regions where local CHIKV transmission has been observed. High prevalence has been noted for other arboviral diseases in south-east coastal regions, and northern and inland regions [41,42], signalling suitability and risk for CHIKV transmission. We estimated that over 270 million people live in areas at risk for CHIKV in Asia.
We present the global distribution and predict environmental suitability for CHIKV transmission. In this analysis we combined extensive evidence available at multiple geographical scales and integrated them into a well-established disease mapping approach. We identified areas particularly in Africa where CHIKV status is uncertain (e.g. Ethiopia, Mozambique) although there is high environmental suitability, presence of disease vectors and reported outbreaks in neighbouring countries such as Tanzania. We also predicted high environmental suitability for some regions but observed moderate evidence for absence of local transmission, such as in the Amazon basin. The former could be attributable to inadequate surveillance or misdiagnosis, while the latter could be explained by the recent emergence of CHIKV and the endemicity of dengue in these regions. Our comprehensive assessment of these evidence gaps enables the identification of areas where surveillance, seroprevalence studies, and vector control measures are increasingly important [43].
Despite the growing economic and public health impact of CHIKV outbreaks, there have not been any thorough assessments of knowledge gaps or high-resolution distribution maps of the disease. This is the first comprehensive assessment of the current spatial extent and environmental suitability of CHIKV transmission globally. We considered extensive available evidence from 1952 when CHIKV was first identified in Tanzania. We observed the following: (i) CHIKV evidence is dynamic, re-emerging and due to its high attack rate likely to cause outbreaks with significant timelags; (ii) misclassification and delay in reporting may influence the perception of current vs. former presence; (iii) while there is strong evidence for some areas (e.g. Asia), data on CHIKV occurrence in many parts of Africa remain sparse.
Similar to dengue [44], CHIK appears to be an under-recognised problem in Africa. Our environmental suitability maps indicate moderate to strong risk for CHIKV transmission in most of West, Central and East African countries. However, there is insufficient data to determine presence or absence for several countries in West Africa and parts of East Africa. Seroprevalence surveys are needed for countries with indeterminate status.
Additionally, co-occurrence and comorbidity of CHIKV and other arboviruses have been reported, which stresses the importance for better diagnostic tests. Furthermore, since dengue and CHIKV share the same primary vectors, similar estimates for population-at-risk would be expected. Population at risk of dengue virus transmission has been estimated at 3.97 billion people [13], which is far more than the 1.3 billion predicted for CHIKV. However, the estimates for dengue were derived on a national level, while our estimates are at a 5 km x 5 km spatial scale.
Improvements, such as the identification of the primary vector for each occurrence record can be made as new data become available. Particularly in Africa and Micronesia it is hypothesised that other mosquito vectors (Ae. afticanus, Ae. luteocephalus, Ae. furcifer-taylori and Ae. hensilli) are responsible for transmitting CHIKV between humans [45]. Data on their geographical distribution however remains sparse and could not be integrated in the current analysis. Furthermore, since the maps are derived using long-term average covariate layers, they identify areas that are at risk of transmission at any time during the year but do not consider explicitly how seasonality or human mobility affects transmission; these factors influence the short and long-term dynamics of CHIKV transmission. In addition, there are a number of other factors that may influence the probability of infection that relate to social aspects, such as, housing quality, poverty, susceptibility of the population, and the use of air-conditioning. Such factors were not included in our study since no reliable data are available on a global scale.
Furthermore, there are some challenges in developing a global model to predict environmental suitability for CHIKV transmission. For instance, although there have been reports of major outbreaks of CHIKV in India, the environmental suitability models predicted moderate environmental suitability for CHIKV in these regions. The spatial variability observed for India is similar to the Ae. albopictus distribution map [17]. This suggests that our modelling approach strongly mirrors Ae. albopictus distribution in India, which has been implicated in recent outbreaks, but fails to capture the distribution of other covariates. Similarly, in Europe where there have been documented outbreaks of CHIKV in France, and Italy, risk appears to be low in our prediction. Modelling the likely distribution of CHIKV based on Ae. albopictus which is well distributed in southern Europe could help refine our approach. However, as transmission of CHIKV is relatively low in Europe, our results indicate the likely lower relative global contribution of Ae. albopictus compared with Ae. aegypti. Additionally, our maps indicate high transmission risk in small island states that have experienced large outbreaks in the last decade. However, herd immunity was not incorporated into the environmental risk models, implying that small countries or islands with (> 50% attack rates) might have a lower risk of CHIKV outbreaks despite environmental suitability. These observations highlight the need for region or country-specific modelling, which would be most beneficial for local public health policy decisions. These maps can however be used as baseline layers for future projections of CHIKV and compared with global maps of dengue [12].
Despite these limitations, the usefulness of these maps cannot be understated, especially given the CHIKV's currently expanding range in the Americas and elsewhere. By synchronising the evidence consensus, environmental suitability prediction maps and population at-risk estimates, areas most in need of CHIKV surveillance resources were identified. It is equally important that these maps are updated as soon as new information becomes available, such as recent reports of local CHIKV transmission in states of Brazil, and Peru and this will be achieved by incorporating the results of this study into the Atlas of Baseline Risk Assessment for Infectious Diseases (ABRAID, at www.abraid.ox.ac.uk).
We thank Maria Devine for proofreading.
EON is supported by funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (#K01ES025438). MUGK receives funding from the International research Consortium on Dengue Risk Assessment Management and Surveillance (IDAMS; European Commission 7th Framework Programme (21893)). NG is supported by a University of Melbourne McKenzie fellowship. DMP is funded by a Sir Richard Southwood Graduate Scholarship from the Department of Zoology at the University of Oxford. OJB is funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (#OPP1053338). CLM is funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (#OPP1093011). MAJ is supported by the Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study program (cooperative agreement #1U54GM088558). PWG is a Career Development Fellow (#K00669X) jointly funded by the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) and the UK Department for International Development (DfID) under the MRC/DfID Concordat agreement and receives support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (#OPP1068048, #OPP1106023). KK is funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. SIH received a grant from the Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises (R2HC) Programme, managed by ELRHA (#13468) which also supported NG & MUGK. The Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises (R2HC) programme aims to improve health outcomes by strengthening the evidence base for public health interventions in humanitarian crises. Visit www.elrha.org/work/r2hc for more information. The £8 million R2HC programme is funded equally by the Wellcome Trust and DFID, with Enhancing Learning and Research for Humanitarian Assistance (ELRHA) overseeing the programme's execution and management. SIH is funded by a Senior Research Fellowship from the Wellcome Trust (#095066), and grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1119467, OPP1093011, OPP1106023 and OPP1132415). JSB acknowledges funding from NIH National Library of Medicine (#R01LM010812-05) and from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (#OPP1093011). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Conflict of interest
None declared.
Authors' contributions
Elaine Nsoesie and Moritz Kraemer performed data collection and analysis, and drafted the manuscript. Catherine Moyes reviewed data for accuracy. Michael Johansson served as the expert reviewer. Nick Golding, Oliver Brady and David Pigott advised on methods. John Brownstein and Simon Hay provided resources. All authors contributed to the writing and editing of the manuscript.
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Is MRI better than CT for detecting a vascular component to dementia? A systematic review and meta-analysis
Identification of causes of dementia soon after symptom onset is important, because appropriate treatment of some causes of dementia can slow or halt its progression or enable symptomatic treatment where appropriate. The accuracy of MRI and CT, and whether MRI is superior to CT, in detecting a vascular component to dementia in autopsy confirmed and clinical cohorts of patients with VaD, combined AD and VaD ("mixed dementia"), and AD remain unclear. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate this question.
We searched eight databases and screened reference lists to identify studies addressing the review question. We assessed study quality using QUADAS. We estimated summary diagnostic accuracy according to imaging finding, and ratios of diagnostic odds ratios (RDORs) for MRI versus CT and high versus low risk of bias.
We included 7 autopsy and 31 non-autopsy studies. There was little evidence that selective patient enrolment and risk of incorporation bias impacted on diagnostic accuracy (p = 0.12 to 0.95). The most widely reported imaging finding was white matter hyperintensities. For CT (11 studies) summary sensitivity and specificity were 71% (95% CI 53%-85%) and 55% (44%-66%). Corresponding figures for MRI (6 studies) were 95% (87%-98%) and 26% (12%-50%). General infarcts was the most specific imaging finding on MRI (96%; 95% CI 94%-97%) and CT (96%; 93%-98%). However, sensitivity was low for both MRI (53%; 36%-70%) and CT (52%; 22% to 80%). No imaging finding had consistently high sensitivity. Based on non-autopsy studies, MRI was more accurate than CT for six of seven imaging findings, but confidence intervals were wide.
There is insufficient evidence to suggest that MRI is superior to CT with respect to identifying cerebrovascular changes in autopsy-confirmed and clinical cohorts of VaD, AD, and 'mixed dementia'.
Dementia can be caused by different pathological processes that are often difficult to distinguish clinically, particularly in the early stages of the condition. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most frequent, followed by vascular dementia (VaD), mixed pathology and dementia with Lewy Bodies
Autopsy is the reference standard for differential diagnosis of dementia in a research context. In clinical practice, and in research that does not follow patients until death, diagnostic criteria consisting of a combination of patient medical history, cognitive function assessment and imaging findings are often used. These include the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and Association Internationale pour la Recherche et l'Ensignement en Neurosciences (NINDS-AIREN) criteria for VaD
Previously, neuroimaging was used to exclude abnormalities such as normal pressure hydrocephalus, tumours and subdural hematoma
We produced a protocol for the review (available from the authors on request) detailing the proposed review methods.
Literature search
We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIOSIS, Science Citation Index, ZETOC, NTIS, Dissertation Abstracts, and the GrayLit networkfrom database inception to February 2011 for published and unpublished studies. We combined terms for each imaging test (Magnetic Resonance Imaging" OR "mri" OR "Computed Tomography" OR "ct scan$") with terms for the target conditions ("Alzheimer Disease" OR "Vascular Dementia" OR "multi-infarct dementia"). We did not use a methodological search filter to identify diagnostic accuracy studies, because such filters may result in omission of relevant studies
Study selection
Studies that assessed the accuracy of MRI and/or CT (index tests) for the detection of cerebrovascular changes in patients with VaD, AD or mixed dementia (target conditions) against an appropriate reference standard were eligible for inclusion. Eligible reference standards for VaD and AD included: autopsy; NINCDS-ADRDA
Data extraction and quality assessment
Data extraction and quality assessment were completed by one reviewer and checked by a second; disagreements were resolved through discussion or referral to a third reviewer. We extracted data on: inclusion/exclusion criteria, included patients, CT and MRI technical and operator details, reference standard, imaging finding, definition of a positive imaging finding, numbers of patients in each patient group (VaD, mixed dementia,AD or other diagnosis), and number of patients with positive imaging findings in each group. The patient groups were dichotomised as VaD or mixed dementia compared to AD or other diagnoses. This allowed construction of 2x2 tables of test performance, separately for each imaging finding assessed. Study quality was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration's adaption of the QUADAS tool
Statistical analyses
We calculated sensitivity, specificity, and the diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) of MRI and CT for the detection of VaD or Mixed dementia, for each 2x2 table. We plotted estimates of sensitivity and specificity from individual studies in summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) space, separately for each imaging finding. We conducted separate analyses for studies that did and did not use autopsy as the reference standard. Summary sensitivity and specificity were estimated using the bivariate/HSROC meta-analysis models when sufficiently many studies (usually at least four) reported on the same imaging finding
We assessed the impact of patient spectrum (QUADAS item 1) and incorporation bias (QUADAS item 6) on diagnostic accuracy using meta-regression to calculate ratios of RDORs comparing the DOR in studies that were rated "no" or "unclear" with those rated "yes" on these QUADAS items, separately for MRI and CT. In these analyses, we selected one set of 2x2 data from each study on the basis of the following hierarchy: (1) global assessment, (2) white matter hyperintensities, (3) lacunar infarcts, (4) periventricular hyperintensities, (5) any other imaging finding. All analyses were done using Stata™ version 11, using the
The searches identified 19,669 titles and abstracts; 38 studies (4377 patients, range 23 to 683) were included in the review (Figure
Figure 1
Flowchart of systematic review process.
Flowchart of systematic review process.
Seven studies used autopsy as reference standard; all others used clinical criteria with or without imaging findings. VAD was confirmed by NINDS-AIREN (13 studies), DSM-III or DSM-III-R (16), and ICD10 (1). Reference standards used to define AD were NINCDS-ADRA (24 studies), DSM-III or DSM-III-R (6) and ICD10 (1). Six studies included mixed dementia patients, 2 used DSM-III-R, 2 used ADDTC, 1 ICD10, 1 Hachinski Ischemic Score and 1 history and examination as reference standard. Mean age, where reported, ranged from 66 years to 85 years and was generally higher in autopsy than non-autopsy studies. Individual study demographics and results are shown in the Additional file
Additional file 1:
Web Appendix: Included study details
Click here for file
The main limitations of the included studies were the potential for biased selection of patients and incorporation bias. Most studies (61%) did not enrol an appropriate patient spectrum, defined as patients with suspected dementia in whom the diagnosis had not been confirmed. There was a risk of incorporation bias in 23 (61%) of the non-autopsy studies, because the reference standard included the imaging findings. Other QUADAS items were classified as adequate or unclear in the majority of studies (Figure
Figure 2
Proportions of studies rated as 'yes", "no" or "unclear" for each QUADAS item.
Proportions of studies rated as 'yes", "no" or "unclear" for each QUADAS item.
Overall findings
There was substantial variation in estimates of accuracy reported in individual studies (Additional file
Figure 3
Summary ROC plots showing imaging findings from individual studies, according to imaging method and reference standard.
Summary ROC plots showing imaging findings from individual studies, according to imaging method and reference standard. Solid lines join MRI and CT results from the same study (direct comparisons).
Autopsy studies
Six autopsy studies assessed CT and one assessed MRI (Table
Non-autopsy studies
We compared the DORs in studies that incorporated imaging findings in the reference standard with those that did not, and in studies that enrolled a selected sample of patients with those did not (Table
MRI was found to have greater accuracy than CT for six of the seven imaging findings assessed (Table
In this systematic review, we searched nearly 20,000 titles and abstracts in order to identify 38 studies that investigated the diagnostic accuracy of MRI or CT for detecting a vascular component to dementia. Only four of these studies assessed both imaging methods. Included studies were generally small and many were at high risk of bias due to the potential for biased selection of patients and possibility that test results were incorporated into the reference standard. However there was little evidence that these sources of bias impacted on estimates of accuracy. Only seven studies used autopsy as the reference standard, and their results were heterogeneous. Among the 31 studies that used a non-autopsy reference standard, no individual imaging finding was assessed in a majority of studies, and results were heterogeneous. White matter hyperintensities were the most frequently assessed imaging finding, but based on summary estimates of sensitivity and specificity this finding had limited utility for ruling in or ruling out a diagnosis of VaD or mixed dementia. The presence of general infarcts showed the greatest potential for ruling in a diagnosis of VaD or mixed dementia, but none of the findings appeared sufficiently sensitive to rule out a diagnosis of AD. Comparative analyses suggested that MRI may be more accurate than CT for distinguishing vascular or mixed dementia from Alzheimer's disease and other conditions, but confidence intervals on estimated ratios of diagnostic odds ratios were wide.
We performed a comprehensive search, without language restrictions, to identify both published and unpublished literature: thus it is unlikely that relevant studies have been missed. We employed systematic review methods to minimise bias and errors during study selection, data extraction and quality assessment and used the most rigorous methods of meta-analysis for diagnostic accuracy data. We made both direct and indirect comparisons of the accuracy of CT and MRI, but were limited by the substantial between-study heterogeneity and small number of studies that directly compared the imaging methods. We assessed study quality using accepted criteria for diagnostic accuracy studies and investigated the effects of potential sources of bias in the analysis. Most of the included studies did not enrol an appropriate patient spectrum, which we defined as patients with symptoms of dementia in whom the diagnosis had not been confirmed. In practice, MRI and CT will have most clinical value if used at a relatively early stage in the diagnostic work-up of patients with symptoms of dementia, in order to help reach a definitive diagnosis and begin appropriate treatment early in the course of disease. Studies that did not assess MRI and/or CT in this context may produce less applicable, or biased, estimates of diagnostic accuracy: for example if they used a case–control design where cases already have a confirmed diagnosis of dementia subtype, or if they were conducted in patients with a longer duration of illness.
We stratified the analysis based on whether studies used an autopsy or non-autopsy reference standard. Because only a small number of autopsy studies were available, the impact of the type of reference standard on estimated diagnostic accuracy could not be evaluated with precision: no more than three autopsy studies assessed any individual imaging finding and most findings were assessed in only one or two studies. Although we considered autopsy to be the least biased reference standard there is a potential risk of disease progression bias as there will be a time lapse between the imaging and the autopsy examination. This means that some patients may not have had VaD orAD when they were assessed by MRI/CT but have developed one of these conditions before they died. This has the potential to impact on estimates of sensitivity and specificity, depending on whether the original reference standard is more likely to wrongly classify patients as VaD or AD. There was a risk of bias due to incorporation of test results in the reference standard, in many studies that used a non-autopsy reference standard. There was a suggestion that incorporation bias resulted in greater diagnostic accuracy for studies of CT but this was not found for studies of MRI. We would expect incorporation bias to increase agreement between the index test and reference standard leading to inflated estimates of sensitivity and specificity
In the United States, the use of either CT or MRI as part of the diagnostic work-up of a dementia patient is recommended
Both CT and MRI technology have developed considerably in the time since the majority of the included studies were conducted. For example, helical CT with multiplanar reconstruction is now routinely used and has higher image resolution than the CT scans evaluated in the included studies. Modern CT may be considered to be preferential to MRI because it is quicker and much cheaper to buy and run, it is more comfortable for the patient and there are fewer contraindications to its use. It can be reconstructed in the coronal plane for direct visual assessment of hippocampal volume. These factors should be weighed against increased exposure to ionising radiation exposure with CT. In the future, fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) - positron emission tomography (PET) may be useful in predicting decline in normal subjects and individuals with mild cognitive impairment
New diagnostic accuracy studies are needed to compare the utility of the latest generation of MRI and CT techniques in detecting a vascular component to dementia. The design of studies should aim to avoid the weaknesses of the studies located for this review. They should assess both MRI and CT in the same group of patients with symptoms of early dementia. Study size should be large enough to allow precise estimates of relative diagnostic accuracy. The reference standard should consist of accepted diagnostic criteria, without incorporating imaging findings, ideally supplemented by autopsy confirmation. Global assessment criteria for MRI and CT, based on the most useful individual imaging findings that are indicative of a vascular component to dementias, should be established, and their diagnostic accuracy quantified.
This comprehensive, systematic literature review has shown that, despite its longstanding and widespread use, there is no strong evidence to suggest that MRI is more accurate than CT in identifying cerebrovascular changes in autopsy-confirmed and clinical cohorts of VaD, AD, and 'mixed dementia'. There is a need for new, large, high quality studies comparing state of the art CT with MRI in patients with symptoms of early dementia.
Competing interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interest.
Authors' contributions
GW, PW, JS, ML, YBS, WH developed the idea for the review and designed the review methods. JS, PW, RB, and RH analysed the data. RB, PW, JS, GW, ML, WH, MA, MW, RH, AB, YBS contributed to acquisition of data and/or interpretation of data. RB, PW, and JS drafted the manuscript. GW, ML, and WH critically revised the manuscript for important intellectual content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
The review was funded by the United Kingdom Medical Research Council (Grant Code G0801405). GW was partly funded by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre Programme, Oxford.
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Pre-publication history
The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here:


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The Sales Manager for the Western Cape Province will be required to build and grow the business in his/her area by identifying key partners (Distributors, Construction Companies, Retails, Plumbers, etc.) with high concentration of high net-worth individuals.
Sales Manager Western Cape Province
Sales Department
Department Head
Managing Director
Reference to
Managing Director
Main Tasks
- Organizing daily work schedule to make appointments to meet new and existing customers and decision makers
- Find new and trustable clients
- Meet designers, architects, engineers to develop ACO specifications on target projects
- Develops accounts by checking customer's buying history; suggesting related and new items; understanding your customers' needs; explaining technical features
- Making presentations to promote new products and specials
- Recording orders and sending details to the sales office
- Agreeing sales, prices, contracts and payments
- Advising customers about delivery schedules and after-sales service
- Keeping in contact with existing customers in person and by telephone and email
- Meeting sales targets, specifications targets
- Maintain and track the projects in your area
- Participating in marketing initiatives by developing tools as presentations, publications, etc. and participating in the marketing strategy plan, to define market potential, competitors, market shares, etc.
- Provide customer complaints by investigating problems; developing solutions; preparing reports; making recommendations to management
- Recommends changes in products, service, and policy by evaluating results and competitive developments
- Monitors competition by gathering current marketplace information on pricing, products, new products, delivery schedules, merchandising techniques, etc.
Our members are looking for potential candidates to fill these roles:
Sales Agent: Ceramiche Marca Corona SpA
Job Opportunity: sales agent
The "Ceramica Marca Corona SpA", the oldest Italian manufacturer of ceramic tiles (founded in 1741) is looking for a sales agent.
Main Products:
Flooring – Paneling - Mosaics
- Age: 25-30
- Required languages: English, Afrikaans
- Experience: 3 years experience in the sale / promotion of sanitary ware, adhesives, natural stones products.
- Availability to travel on business trips alongside the Area Manager to Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth
For more information and candidatures please contact Luca Beneventi at the following email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Our members are looking for potential candidates to fill these roles:
Open positions: Italtile
Job Opportunity: Italtile
"Italtile", forma parte dell'Italtile Limited Group, azienda leader nella vendita di porcellana e ceramiche.
Principali prodotti:
Piastrelle - Accessori per il bagno - Sanitari
Posizioni aperte
- Assistant / Trainee Branch Manager
- Internal Sales Consultants
- External Agents
- Werehouse Assistant
- Werehouse Manager
Per maggiori informazioni consultare il sito internet:


text:
Pioneer DJCSC1 Soft Bag
- Description
- Additional Information
Pioneer DJCSC1 Soft Bag Product Description
The DJC-SC1 from Pioneer is a high quality padded carry bag custom made for the DDJ -T1 and DDJ-S1 controllers. It has seperate compartments to hold up to a 17" laptop, headphones and accessories.
The bag adapts to 4 different styles. It can be carried by hand, vertically and horizontally, on the DJ's shoulders or back.
The bag includes numerous pockets designed for different accessories such as headphones, cables, cell phones or MP3 players. These pockets allow DJs to store the various accessories used for digital DJing and other necessary items. The color inside the bag is red to make it easier for DJs to locate the different pockets. Moreover, the expandable pockets are useful when DJs need to carry many items.
- Pocket for laptop
- Various pockets for DJ accessories and other items
- Fastener lock hole 884938141932
- Material: polyester, nylon
- It can be carried by hand, vertically and horizontally, on the DJ's shoulders or back
- Lush padded interior
- Heavy duty, made from strong and durable materials
Pioneer DJCSC1 Soft Bag Additional Information


text:
38.999935, -77.03376)
Cause Areas
WhenIt's flexible! We'll work with your schedule.
Where8818 Georgia Ave., #101Silver Spring, MD 20910
Work 4 hours a week, interviewing clients, for their medical prescription needs, eviction & utility assistance, referring to food banks, dental clinic.
Good Match For
People 55+
Requirements & Commitment
- Must be at least 18
- Orientation or Training
- four hours one day a week


text:
GUITARISTS TODAY ARE AN EXCEEDINGLY LUCKY BUNCH. FEED OUR PIGG YBANKS WELL and we've got access to a greater variety of high-end guitars than ever before—many of which nail lust-worthy alternative tones and looks, while still performing all the traditional tricks your nightly gig requires. The three upmarket electrics featured here are a case in point: each emanates from a small-shop American maker using unique designs and/or materials, to provide an instrument that helps you make a very individual statement in your own playing. I tested each guitar through a Matchless Phoenix 1x12 combo and a Bogner Goldfinger 45 head and 2x12 cab.
As the spec box indicates, the b3 Fire SL comprises many of the classic elements of the LP format, with quality components at every turn: TonePros hardware, Lollar Imperial pickups, a Tusq nut with Buzz Feiten Tuning System, and Dunlop Strap Loks. More fundamentally, the wood itself screams of similar quality and attention to detail. The softly V'd '59 neck carve feels superb in the hand, with nary a ragged fret end, and a lightly chambered mahogany body keeps the overall weight equally appealing. Finally, a distressed "lemondrop" nitro finish, with cherry back and neck, seems the perfect way to show off the remarkable flame of this carved maple top.
Fired up, the b3 presented ballsy, confident dual-humbucker tones, yet with the oft-surprising finesse of a great Les Paul when called for. It laid down anything in the broad range of classic rock just as effortlessly as you might suspect, yet when eased back, exhibited a depth and grace that is rare in guitars of this format. The neck pickup rolled effortlessly from warm, vocal, jazz tones to singing blues-rock, and there was even more versatility across the board when I popped up the neck-position Tone control for some single-coil action. But kick it to the bridge pickup, crank the amp, and the rock-all- day bluster is where this guitar really won me over. For its effortless playability and rich, muscular dual-bucker tones, the b3 Fire SL wins an Editors' Pick Award.
To this foundation, Ronin bolts a one-piece mahogany neck to reveal what might seem a rather Strat-ish platform—if not for the wildly revisionist-retro hijinks going on in the electronics department. The two Foilbucker pickups (say it five times fast) are Ronin's own creation, entirely custom-machined and designed from the ground up to replicate the hallowed tone of vintage Rowe/DeArmond "gold foil" units, but in a humbucking format. Between the Master Volume and Tone controls (dig the knobs!) and 3-way switch lurk nifty push-button coiltaps. A more contemporary MannMade twopost vibrato presents a great feel and superb return-to-pitch stability. A lightly distressed Daphne blue finish in plasticizer-free nitro with "wear" on the neck back completes a package that looks and feels long-loved.
Through my Matchless Phoenix set to clean-going- crunchy, the Mirari's Foilbuckers proved some of the more mudless humbuckers I have played in a while; they helped give the guitar a very tactile clarity, and a touch sensitivity that segued from glassy clean to juicy grind the harder I dug in.
Throughout, these pickups chased the velvety highs and dynamic feel of their single-coil inspirations, yet they exceled under high-gain conditions in ways those potential howl-monsters rarely do. There were Fender-style tone tricks aplenty, especially with coil-tap switches engaged (impressively little hum here!), but between the light and superbly resonant redwood body and the very individual pickups, the Mirari revealed one unique voice after another, and that's what really turned me on most about this guitar.
The thin-ish V-to-C profile neck and a faultless overall setup made the Mirari supremely playable, and the MannMade trem proved itself an impeccable re-think of an iconic piece of hardware. The only minor glitches I could find concerned the push-button coil-tap switches, which don't reveal their mode visually—you have to play to know where you stand—and the vibrato bar needs a right-angled plug in the jack to swing freely. Otherwise, this guitar is an out'n'out stunner.
Plugged into the Matchless Phoenix at plexilike settings, the Gypsy Queen easily dished up thick Hendrix-y tones. Elements such as the upside-down headstock for a longer low- E-string length behind the nut, and reversed bridge and middle pickups for tighter lows and beefier highs do seem to add up to something significant. The lively Spanish cedar body, the unifying mass of the metal top, and a glued-in neck (the screws are only esthetic) with scarfed and back-angled headstock, are likely contributing factors too.
Run through its paces a little more, though, the Gypsy Queen showed greater versatility than most mere S-clones. Thanks to a fourth Lollar pickup (between the trad bridge and middle positions), blendable as desired via the Mood knob, it swept effortlessly from thick humbuckerstyle tones to bright yet never brittle twang and chime. It clearly loved to grind, but revealed untold subtleties through more nuanced playing, and didn't fall apart amid heavy overdrive.
The wide-thin neck profile and 1 3/4" width at the nut might take some getting used to, but the Gypsy Queen proved an easy player regardless. The Wilkinson vibrato was set for downbend only, a situation that can feel a little alien to a player, like me, who's more at home with a floating trem (changing to floating mode can be done via the trem screws or by removing one of the springs). A more universal bugbear was that, somewhere between the vibrato and a couple of tight nut slots (the G-string's in particular), I experienced persistent return-to-pitch difficulties during moderate whammy usage. On the whole, though, the Teye Gypsy Queen La Estrella makes a powerful statement, both in the hand and under the stage lights.
CONTACT b3guitars.com
PRICE $3,685 street
NUT WIDTH 1 11/16", GraphTech Tusq XL
NECK Mahogany, soft V '59 profile
FRETBOARD Rosewood, 12" radius
FRETS 22 medium-jumbo
TUNERS TonePros Kluson
BODY Chambered mahogany with figured maple carved top
BRIDGE TonePros Nashville Tune-o- Matic with stopbar tailpiece
PICKUPS Two Lollar Imperial humbuckers
CONTROLS Independent Volume and Tone controls, 3-way switch, push-pull coil tap
FACTORY STRINGS Cleartone, .010-.046
WEIGHT 7.68 lbs
KUDOS Extremely well crafted. Comfortable to play. Blends classic high-end LP tones with alternative looks.
CONCERNS None.
CONTACT roninguitars.com
PRICE $3,900 street
NUT WIDTH 1 5/8", unbleached bone
NECK Mahogany, soft V-to-C profile
FRETBOARD Cocobolo, 7.25"–9.5" radius
FRETS 22 Stew-Mac 152 (medium)
TUNERS Hipshot open-gear
BODY Solid reclaimed old-growth redwood
BRIDGE MannMade two-post vibrato
PICKUPS Two Ronin Foilbucker humbuckers
CONTROLS Master Volume and Tone controls, 3-way switch, individual push-button coil-taps
FACTORY STRINGS GHS Boomers, .010-.046
WEIGHT 7.2 lbs
KUDOS Excellent build quality. Appealing alternative looks. Impressively original voice, yet extremely versatile.
CONCERNS Pushbuttons give no visual indication of pickup mode.
CONTACT Teye-guitars.com
PRICE $4,650 street
NUT WIDTH 1 3/4", bone
NECK Maple, slim C profile
FRETBOARD Rosewood, compound 10"-16" radius
FRETS 24 medium-jumbo
TUNERS Grover Mini
BODY Solid Spanish Cedar with laser-etched metal top
BRIDGE Wilkinson two-post vibrato
PICKUPS Four Lollar S-style single-coils
CONTROLS Master Volume and Tone controls, 5-way switch, Mood knob (blends in fourth pickup)
FACTORY STRINGS D'Addario, .010-.046
WEIGHT 7.95 lbs
KUDOS A hip marriage of Zemaitis and Strat. Fat S-style tones, with a surprising range of voices beyond.
CONCERNS Some return-to-pitch issues with vibrato use.
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text:
Attaching Turrets/pillars - Castle Cake
Decorating By ambermarie Updated 10 May 2011 , 6:11pm by Freedomx6
Hi All,
I have to make a castle cake for a friend's cousin (last minute) and I'm wondering if anyone has any tips on attaching the turrets/pillars to the cake? I am dropping the cake off to my friend, who is bringing it with her to the party so I want to make sure it is as stable as possible since I won't be there to fix it.
Also, I've never put a rod through the middle of the stacked cake before (I ususally set up the cakes on site). Does the rod actually go through the cardboard and keep the cake together in transit?
If your turrets have a solid bottom, you can use a dowel that is 1 inch shorter than your tier height. Attach the dowel to the bottom of the turret with melted chocolate. The turret will go into the tier 1 inch. I've found this to be very stable.
On the bottom tier, you can attach the turret with buttercream on the bottom, and side of the turret.


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STARmeterSEE RANK
Up 41,305 this week
Stewart East (1913–2007)
Stewart East was born on November 19, 1913 in the USA. He is known for his work on Have Gun - Will Travel (1957), The Mountain Men (1980) and The Buccaneer (1958). He died on February 18, 2007 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA. See full bio »
Born:in USA
Died:(age 93) in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA


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With First Tutors: Music you can locate a Milnthorpe cello teacher. Cello tuition are a brilliant way to start a fun new hobby, pick up a new skill and gain confidence with cello. Try our service to find Milnthorpe cello tutors and choose which matches your requirements so you can start your cello tuition in Milnthorpe straight away!
This is the best place to find Milnthorpe cello tutors in the UK, helping you discover Milnthorpe cello lessons in your area and Milnthorpe tutors to help with any instrument, for example, piano, violin or guitar. We can help you find Milnthorpe cello lessons or a Milnthorpe cello teacher to prepare for cello grades and develop your cello skills! We order Milnthorpe cello teachers local to you according to their tuition charges and distance from you.
If you are a cello teacher and would like to offer your cello tuition services in Milnthorpe or throughout the UK, please register with First Tutors: Music or learn about us here. Becoming a Milnthorpe cello tutor is a great way to re-affirm your own skills through providing cello tuition while assisting others, all in your local Milnthorpe area!


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THE owner of a former vehicle dismantling yard on the Flintshire-Chester border has been convicted of failing to remove scrap vehicles and restoring the site to its original condition.
Christopher Brian Williams, 62, who suffers from cancer and attended court on oxygen and in a wheelchair, denied failing to comply with two planning enforcement notices.
But he was convicted by a jury of 10 women and two men at Mold Crown Court yesterday.
Williams, of Saltney Terrace, Saltney Ferry, told the court he had about 20 children and the remaining vehicles on the site in Saltney Ferry were either owned by him or members of his family, said he did as much as he could to remove items from the premises.
Hundreds of vehicles were removed when he ceased to run his car dismantling business, he claimed. But he was ill and could do no more.
His sons had started to remove the cladding off a building.
But they had got jobs in Liverpool and he could not employ anyone else to complete the work and remove the steel frame because he had no money, he said.
Asked by the judge about a swimming pool which appeared in one of the photographs of the site, he said his partner had saved for that for the grandchildren.
After the conviction, Judge Philip Hughes adjourned sentence for three weeks and ordered a
pre-sentence report from the probation service, an up-to-date medical report from his doctor, and details of his financial means.
Williams said the vehicles, including an ice-cream van and a burger van, were not scrap but owned by family members.
Tyres were theirs including bicycle tyres owned by his grandchildren. Wire fencing where there were tyres was in fact a chicken run, he said.
He claimed he had done everything possible but that was not good enough for the council.
The authority had accepted in previous proceedings the vehicles were not scrap, he claimed.
David Ackerley, defending, said it was clear from medical evidence his client was an ill man who found himself without recourses to carry out the remaining work.
Martin Carter, prosecuting for Flintshire Council, said enforcement notices had been served, an appeal to the Welsh Assembly Government dismissed and the requirements should have been put into effect long ago.
But planning enforcement officer Alex Walker examined the site last summer and took photos, finding there were still vehicles there along with parts, tyres and other items.
While the cladding had been taken off a building the steel frame remained together with a ramp.
The site had not been restored.
l In SEPTEMBER 2012, during previous proceedings at Mold Crown Court, the former scrapyard was described as a blight on the local community.
Mr Williams at that stage admitted failing to comply with notices on the basis the vehicles there were not scrap and he ended up with a £1,900 court bill.
See full story in the Leader


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text:
Beside the main-use of a master-calendar to create various date-clustering fields like week, month, quarter, year and similar to the date-values could be an extended use the calculation of working days. Of course you could within the GUI use something like: count(distinct Date) or networkdays(Date1, Date2, OptionalHolidays) to calculate these values but they have some limitations in their functionalities and the usability. For example, networkdays() counts only days from Monday to Friday and a holiday-list over years is quickly cluttering and a count() approach will be probably need several conditions to get the expected results.
Therefore it is easier to transfer these task into the script - especially if your workingday-counting don't go from Monday to Friday and if you need to respect movable holidays like the Easter holidays.
The attached application creates a multi-level holiday-listing in an inline-table which then filled several mapping-tables which are then used for each date to determine is it a holiday or not and which factor will be applied. Beside fixed holidays like Christmas it's only necessary to calculate the Easter Sunday then most of the other Christian holidays are fixed related to this day. To calculate the Easter Sunday I use this expression:
let vOstern = round(num(date(makedate(year($(vStart) + $(i)), 4, day(minute(year($(vStart) + $(i)) / 38) / 2 + 55)), 'DD.MM.YYYY')) / 7) * 7 - 6;
Within the GUI you could the simply use sum(Workingday) to get the amount of workingdays related to your selections and/or further conditions in your expressions. Further on a monthly level are the workingdays cumulated and compared with the max. number of workingdays in this month to get a forecast-factor. Also included are a WeekCounter and a MonthCounter to simplify year-overlapping calculations.
This calendar counts the days from Monday to Saturday and is related to german holidays and to a special week counting which excludes that the 01.01. could be belong to a week 53 or the 31.12. could be associated to week 1 - but I'm sure that you could adapt it to your needs. Further informations about master calendars could you find here: How to use - Master-Calendar and Date-Values
You are invited to give feedback and suggest improvements. Have fun!


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Thursday, November 5, 2009
I realized I was trailing him a few moments after walking down the road. He was a good 30 paces ahead of me. He never turned around to look, which is odd if you're looking for an auto, which he evidently was. He must have been getting out of his gate the same time I was exiting mine. A mild tilt of the head and he couldn't have missed me. A mild tilt was inevitable unless he was wearing blinders. Missed that bizarre new born shoot green, missed the immediate realization that he was in the exact same shade of green. He would have made that comparison immediately. He was always rather fashion forward, braver while dressing than most men I knew.
I watched his thin frame walking cautiously ahead of me. He had gotten even thinner. It must be the stress of his mother's death. His friend had sent me a message to attend the funeral a week ago. I hadn't gone.
He reached the end of the road and I knew he would cross over to the other side and try and catch a rick, which meant he would be facing me soon enough.
I immediately pretended to be on the phone. He looked straight at me with sad accomplishment. It wasn't the first time we had successfully avoided each other. It wouldn't be the last. Though if he had been 5 or 10 paces ahead of me, we're both absolutely sure we'd greet each other in high pitched hello's. Maybe we'd even laugh about being in the exact shade of fab India green. Maybe.
Later in the day, the same friend who'd messaged me about his mother's death meets me in an official capacity. He is a writer. He's been writing for a famous director that I desperately want to nab for my company. He's also published a book of graphic verse that he brings for me as an advance birthday gift he says.
I open the A3 size hard bound and immediately start reading. We can get to business in a bit.
The words that jump up at me are the sort of words you never forget. I'd spent hours lingering over them, over analyzing them and falling in love with them 6 years ago. Words that had sealed an infatuation as pure love.
"You didn't write this did you"
"Of course I did….who else would" he says bemused
"I feel like I've read them before" I lie. Of course I had. They were branded in my brain.
"I'd mailed them to X years ago…maybe you read them then? The newer poems are at the end of the book"
It almost seemed funny instead of upsetting after all these years. Maybe I'd replace the high pitched 'Hello' with a condescending 'Nice Shirt' I decided.
6 comments:
- Pinochyo said...
Lol..Damn Funny. The same thing happened to me. Except, this was just a male friend..and I certainly wasn't in love with him. Also, I didnt have to wait for 6 years to find out. Google jindabad!!
- November 9, 2009 at 5:52 AM
- Coo said...
yay, finally one commentsu :) what would i do without you my long nosed friend.
- November 9, 2009 at 6:21 AM
- alwayshappykya said...
Ah..a new post here, finally! What have you been upto?
Am on the sinners side here...do copy a line or two from poems read and twist them a lil to go with my mindset before putting them on cards or gifts :D
Since I put my little thing into them..I don't really feel guilty, shud I? :P
- November 9, 2009 at 5:52 PM
- Radiantly Urs said...
How many of us kno da feelin! I kno a lot of guys like that.... fortunately they stayed jus friends!
Tho I have a history of likin all da flirts! ;)
- November 20, 2009 at 2:28 AM
- Silverstreak said...
Lol. Hilarious!
- December 3, 2009 at 5:34 PM
- La vida Loca said...
post already dude!!!
oh wait b'day blues? I know its this month but forgot the date...So happy birthday (in advance/belated)
- December 6, 2009 at 3:33 PM


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Monday, November 23, 2015
MFT Sketch 255
I had so much fun playing with this PI image from MFT.
I colored it with copics and used the coordinating die to place it on the die cut snow banks.
Here is my take on this week's
sketch 255
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