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COURSE: Advanced T-SQL Querying, Programming and Tuning for SQL Server 2012 - 2017Transact-SQL is an essential skill for data professionals and developers working with SQL databases
Master your T-SQL Querying, Query Tuning and Programming skills. Create highly efficient solutions to your common business tasks
| May 27, 2019 – Milano Enroll here
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June 10, 2019 – Chicago Enroll here
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Jun 24, 2019 – London Enroll here
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| Sep 16, 2019 – Oslo Enroll here
Sep 23, 2019 – Los Angeles Enroll here
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Dec 2, 2019 – Vienna Enroll here
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Dec 16, 2019 – London Enroll here
Along the course you will learn how to use T-SQL to solve practical problems.Become a T-SQL Pro learning first hand from the best!
You will learn how to tune your queries, how to develop efficient routines including user defined functions, stored procedures and triggers, work in multi-user environments with transactions and isolation levels, and use dynamic SQL securely and efficiently.
Do you want more info about this course?
will take place in a classroom with no more than 15 students in order to maintain a good level of interactivity.
Course Benefits
Did you know that one of our foundors wrote this course and is known worldwide?
Yes. This course was developed by Itzik Ben-Gan, a mentor and one of the founders of SolidQ, author of award winning books about T-SQL, a Microsoft Data Platform MVP since 1999, and a regular speaker in SQL Server related events.
Are you already using TSQ-Query but you need to get the most out of it?
You will learn how to tune your queries, how to develop efficient routines including user defined functions, stored procedures and triggers, work in multi-user environments with transactions and isolation levels, and use dynamic SQL securely and efficiently. The course provides a dedicated module focusing on query tuning. Focus on solving the issues.
Is the level appropriate for you?
This course is intended for T-SQL developers, DBAs, BI Specialist, Data Scientist, and Analysts who need to write or review T-SQL code in SQL Server 2012-2017, or Azure SQL Databases.Contact us for guidence on how to be ready to take this course.
Expert Mentors
Our instructors have faced in previous real case projects, the same problems you are facing now. Learn from experience professionals.
Interaction and Q&A
In all of our trainings, you will have the chance to ask individual questions and be capable of solving certain issues.
Course Coverage
Developed in-house by SolidQ, the Advanced T-SQL course focuses on writing and tuning queries and programming with T-SQL in SQL Server 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017 and in Azure SQL Database.
In this course you will learn the details and capabilities of T-SQL in the following areas: Logical Query Processing; Query Tuning (Internals and Index Tuning, including Columnstore Indexes, Query Store, New Cardinality Estimator, Temporary Tables, Sets vs. Cursors, Query Tuning with Query Revisions); Subqueries and Table Expressions (Derived Tables, CTEs, Views, Inline Table-Valued Functions), Recursive Queries, APPLY Operator, Joins and Set Operators; Aggregating, Pivoting and Windowing (including Aggregate, Ranking and Offset Window Functions), Custom Aggregates and STRING_AGG; TOP and OFFSET-FETCH; Data Modification; Working with Date and Time (including System-Versioned Temporal Tables); Programmable Objects (Dynamic SQL, User Defined Functions, Stored Procedures, Triggers, Transactions and Concurrency, Exception Handling); In-Memory OLTP.
Along the course you will learn how to use T-SQL to solve practical problems such as: Relational Division, Missing and Existing Ranges (Gaps and Islands), Separating Elements, Pivoting and Unpivoting, Ranking and Offset, Running Totals, Moving Averages, YTD, Custom Aggregations, TOP and OFFSET-FETCH Problems, Paging, Top N Per Group, Median, Data De-Duplication, Handling Sequences, Merging Data, Treatment of Temporal Intervals (Intersection, Max Concurrent, Packing), Dynamic Search Condition (aka Dynamic Filtering), Migrating On-Disk to Memory Optimized Data, and more.
You will learn how to tune your queries, how to develop efficient routines including user defined functions, stored procedures and triggers, work in multi-user environments with transactions and isolation levels, and use dynamic SQL securely and efficiently.
The course provides a dedicated module focusing on query tuning. The module covers internals and index tuning, including coverage of Columnstore data, index access methods, cardinality estimations, query store, temporary tables, set vs. cursors, and query tuning using query revisions. Moreover, query tuning is in the heart of this course and is incorporated in the different modules throughout the course. With each querying/programming task the discussions will revolve around logical aspects, set-based vs. iterative/procedural programming and optimization of the solutions.
The course workbook also contains a bonus self-study appendix on Graphs and Recursive queries. This appendix covers graphs, trees and hierarchies. It explains how to model and query such structures. It also covers the HIERARCHYID datatype, and the SQL Graph feature.
Before attending this course, it is recommended that students have at least one year of T-SQL querying and programming experience in SQL Server or Azure SQL Database
Understand logical query processing and SQL Server's internal data structures
Be able to analyze & tune query performance, and analyze query execution plans
Handle data and time data, including intervals
Describe the changes between the legacy and new cardinality estimators
Be able to solve complex querying and programming tasks
Create system-versioned temporal tables
Think of therms of sets, and be able to compare set based and iterative solutions
Describe performance problems related to use of user defined functions and possible workarounds
Be able to migrate on-disk data to memory optimized data
"Itzik's course opened my eyes and helped me re-discover the passion I have for solving problems using creative and efficient methods"John Smith
"I am extremely happy after Herbert's class. I will need more time to process everything I´ve learnt from this course"Matt Johnson
"I can see why people love T-SQL. Being able to learn from Itzik has been a pleasure"Jason Harris
Module 01: Logical Query Processing
- Logical Query Processing Order
- Logical Query Processing Example
- Phase Details
- Quiz
Module 02: Query Tuning
- Internals and Index Tuning
- Quiz
- New Cardinality Estimator
- Temporary Tables
- Sets vs. Cursors
- Query Tuning with Query Revisions
Module 03 – Multi-Table Queries
- Subqueries and Table Expressions
- APPLY Operator
- Joins
- Set Operators
Module 04: Grouping, Pivoting and Windowing
- Window Functions
- Pivoting and Unpivoting Data
- Custom Aggregations
- Grouping Sets (bonus self-study unit)
Module 05: TOP and OFFSET-FETCH
- Top N Per Group
Module 06: Data Modification
- Inserting Data
- Sequences
- Deleting Data
- Updating Data
- Merging Data
- The OUTPUT Clause
Module 07 – Working with Date and Time
- Date and Time Datatypes
- Date and Time Functions
- Date and Time Challenges
- System-Versioned Temporal Tables
- Date and Time Querying Problems
Module 08: Programmable Objects
- Dynamic SQL
- User Defined Functions
- Stored Procedures
- Triggers
- Transactions and Concurrency
- Exception Handling
Module 09: In-Memory OLTP
- Intro to In-Memory OLTP
- Architecture
- Memory Optimized Tables and Indexes
- Natively Compiled Procedures
- Transaction Semantics
Appendix A: Graphs and Recursive Queries (Bonus Self-Study Material)
- Graphs, Described
- Materialized Paths
- Custom
- Using the HIERARCHYID datatype
- Nested Sets
- Nested Iterations
- Loops
- Recursive Queries
- SQL Graph
Meet our Instructors
Itzik Ben – Gan
Itzik Ben-Gan is a Mentor and Co-Founder of SolidQ. A Data Platform Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) since 1999, Itzik has delivered numerous training events around the world focused on T-SQL Querying, Query Tuning and Programming. Itzik is the author of several books including T-SQL Fundamentals Third Edition and T-SQL Querying. He has written articles for SQL Server Pro, SolidQ Journal, MSDN and SQL Performance blog. Itzik's speaking activities include SQLPASS, SQLBits, SQL Nexus, SQLU, SQLTeach and various user groups around the world. Itzik is the author of SolidQ's Advanced T-SQL Querying, Programming and Tuning and T-SQL Fundamentals courses along with being a primary resource within the company for their T-SQL related activities.
Herbert Albert
Herbert Albert is a Mentor and Managing Director of SolidQ's Central and Eastern Europe subsidiary. Since SQL Server 6.0 Albert worked as a consultant, a database developer and trainer and holds several Microsoft certifications including MCT. He was involved in the development of several Microsoft Official Curriculum courses. Herbert co-authored "SQL Server Upgrade Technical Reference Guide" for SQL Server 2008 and 2012 and the Microsoft Press book "SQL Server 2005 Step-by-Step Applied Techniques". He is a regular speaker at international conferences and events. As a trainer Herbert is focused on courses for T-SQL programming and performance tuning, which he delivers successfully all over Europe.


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I have had the pleasure of being in the presence of certain people lately who speak ever so "proper" and I love it! It is always such a pleasant surprise for me to encounter another person who can use eloquent words. It is also lovely when they can connect their words using some of the beauties that come from a colourful vocabulary. I would love if more people would avoid restricting themselves to using like a million and a half times or the same adjective twelve-hundred times in the same sentence. Life is just more enjoyable when you can use pretty words, or at least words with some shazam to them!
Some words I adore:
– allure, alluring, allured
– nostalgia, nostalgic
– epiphany
– euphoria, euphoric
– distraught
– endeavour
– repertoire
– cowardice
– candor
– irate
– ensue, ensuing, ensued
– deplorable
How's that for an interesting blog? Just thought I'm remind you how much of a nerd I like to be, woot!

subset: commoncrawl


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Establishing the Experimental Game Farm
Excerpted from Five Rivers: The History of a Special Place
The Delmar Experimental Game Farm, the forerunner of Five Rivers, owes its beginning in 1933 to a dramatic decline in ruffed grouse. Wild turkeys, wood ducks, beaver, and even deer had almost disappeared from the area, thanks to unregulated hunting and loss of habitat. The ruffed grouse, or partridge, was a popular game bird because its erratic escape flight made it a challenging target, but it was also heavily hunted and even trapped year round during the Depression to supply the table.
Many of the most effective and committed early conservationists (like Theodore Roosevelt) were hunters and anglers, and the New York hunting community was upset by the loss of the popular game species. They pressured state government to address the problem.
Arthur A. Allen of Cornell University was already engaged in research to describe the full life cycle of the ruffed grouse. One of Allen's protégés, Gardiner Bump, was pursuing related research at a NYS Conservation Department site at Connecticut Hill near Ithaca. Bump moved to Delmar in 1929, planning to raise and study grouse. The Department's Commissioner at the time, Henry Morgenthau, Jr., told Bump "Find [a farm] that you want and we'll buy it."
Find one he did—a 113 acre farm in two parcels in Delmar and New Scotland owned by Edward and Catherine Ackerman. There were cornfields near the Vlomankill, a large wheat field in the area now surrounded by the North Loop Trail, and several orchards. In 1933 the Conservation Department bought the land for $10,000. The Ackerman Farm would become the core of the future Five Rivers, and was the first two of sixteen purchases that would bring together the 446 acres that are the Center today.
Shortly thereafter, the Civilian Conservation Corps, a key feature of Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal," set up CCC Camp S-72 on the site to assist the state in developing the Game Farm. The CCC workers became an invaluable resource in the effort, constructing paths, roads, ponds, walls, and dams. They also modified existing buildings to create laboratories and temperature controlled breeding houses, and installed water and sewer systems connecting all the buildings.


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Assistant Curate for the G7 Benefice, Rev Sue Starkings writes about harvest, remembrance and chrysanthemums "…a flower of remembrance… cheerfulness… and [to celebrate] a wonderful friend", and she shares with us a prayer to remember loved ones.
Dear Readers
At the time of writing all our parishes are looking forward to their Harvest Festival Services where we give thanks for all the wonderful food that we produce that we grow and harvest. There is a comfort in the annual cycle of celebration that our churches follow. In the harvest celebrations we sing familiar hymns and remember all those who are involved in the harvest of our food.
At the end of October we have our services of commemoration where we especially remember our loved ones who have passed away. During the Service your loved ones name will be read out and a candle lit, with prayers, soft music, poems, readings and time for remembering and reflection. Do please join one of our services – see services/events listings on the churches page or on the relevant church pages: Charing, Charing Heath, Egerton, Hothfield, Little Chart, Pluckley, and Westwell, for times – and let us know of a loved one who you wish to be remembered. Christ died for us so that we might have eternal life.The following short prayer can be used for you to remember your loved ones:
O Lord, grant those who have died the joy of Your Presence, and us who are living the happiness of knowing this.
Father in heaven, you have gathered in your keeping and celebration of our loved ones through the ages and from every nation.
Not one is lost, and every one of them lights up the halls of heaven with their beauty and faithfulness.
Thank you for the brightness of their witness to you and their inspiration to us.
The chrysanthemum is a flower of remembrance and is often used to remember a loved one. In general the Chrysanthemum, according to the language of flowers, also stands for – Cheerfulness; or you are a wonderful friend. So remember your loved ones and that Jesus was and still is a wonderful friend to us all.
My prayers are with you all. Love and best wishes.
Rev Sue Starkings, Assistant Curate for the G7 Benefice


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Of all the household nasties children might accidentally eat, dishwasher tablets are disturbingly poisonous and are landing children in emergency departments.
A U.S. study published in Injury Prevention found children younger than six were four times as likely to end up in hospital after contact with laundry pod detergent as opposed to regular liquid or powder.
The research looked at all hospital admissions data of children under the age of 5 between 2012 and 2014 and during that time, 10,000 children sought emergency care after coming into contact with laundry pod detergent.
This compares to 26,000 after other types of detergent.
The study is calling for changes to detergent pods including childproof containers, more muted colours, opaque packaging; and better public awareness of the dangers posed by laundry pod detergent for young children.
In the meantime, It might be worth storing detergent pods in a hard-to-reach place.


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NYT reports that the Russian media's reaction to the arrival of Michael McFaul, President Obama's new ambassador, has been remarkably virulent.
In the annals of American diplomacy, few honeymoons have been shorter than the one granted to Michael A. McFaul , who arrived in Russia on Jan. 14 as the new American ambassador.
It was toward the end of his second full day on the job when a commentator on state-controlled Channel 1 suggested during a prime-time newscast that Mr. McFaul was sent to Moscow to foment revolution. A columnist for the newspaper Izvestia chimed in the next day, saying his appointment marked a return to the 18th century, when "an ambassador's participation in intrigues and court conspiracies was ordinary business."This is only the most recent of the vocal attacks on U.S. "interventionism" that have been coming from the Kremlin over the past year, and particularly in the months leading up to the Duma and Presidential elections. PM Putin's suggestion that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was responsible for the December protests, President Medvedev's threat to move Iskander missiles to Kaliningrad in response to US missile defense plans, and the Kremlin's persistent criticism of perceived NATO overreach in the Libya operation all illustrate a pattern of increased verbal hostility towards Washington.
The official and semi-official rhetoric appears to be outpacing both reality and actual Russian policy. Certainly calling Ambassador McFaul "not a Russia expert" is stretching the bounds of language itself. But despite suggestions that the Kremlin's increasingly harsh tone signals the end of the "reset," the incentives for cooperation remain strong in key areas. Indeed, the Libya case reveals that the Russian government is perfectly capable of both rhetorically opposing and substantively accepting U.S. action. Undersecretary of State for Arms Control Ellen Tauscher is likewise sanguine about Russian missile defense rhetoric:
In a November speech, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev suggested talks had broken down and he threatened several retaliatory measures, including Russia's potential withdrawal from the New START nuclear reductions agreement.
Tauscher responded that these statements were part of the Russian campaign season and that progress would speed up once the March Presidential elections in Russia had subsided. She also acknowledged that the Russians are demanding a legally binding document from the Obama administration promising U.S. missile defenses in Europe will not impact Russia's strategic deterrent, which Tauscher said they will never get.So the recent surge in confrontational rhetoric appears to be primarily a reaction to domestic political developments. It is reasonable to expect that the Kremlin, facing flagging popularity and an increasingly vocal public opposition, will try to leverage the traditional bogeymen of NATO and Western interventionism more broadly as a means of consolidating support. However, I am skeptical regarding whether this will actually be effective.
What accounts for the rise and fall of public support for the Russian leadership over the past 10 years? The traditional "story" behind Vladimir Putin's surging popularity over the 2000s is that it was fueled by strong economic growth on the basis of high oil prices. This graph shows the correlation between Putin's monthly approval ratings (as gathered by the Levada Center) and the spot price for Brent oil lagged by 2 months (obtained from the Energy Information Administration) for the years 2000 to 2010.
Indeed, higher oil prices, which serve as a good proxy for Russian economic performance overall given how crucial the oil sector is to the economy, tend to be associated with higher approval levels (r = .5531). However, when you add 2011, the relationship begins to break down. The graph below adds in the ratings for 2011 - highlighted in red.
Despite the recovery in oil prices after the 2008 crash, Putin's approval rating has plunged below 70% (levels not seen since the months after the Ukrainian Orange Revolution). The link between oil and popularity has become much weaker (r = 0.2576).
Why is this so? Consider a third factor - Russian attitudes towards the United States - a somewhat general proxy for pro-western/anti-western sentiment. The next graph shows the monthly U.S. disapproval rating (as provided by Levada Center) against Putin's monthly approval rating:
There does appear to be a relatively strong relationship between negative opinions of the U.S. and positive opinions of Putin (r = 0.5306). Moreover, the data from 2011 actually fits the trend - recent polls have indicated that Russians have a much more positive attitude toward the United States than in previous years. Does this mean that Putin's popularity stems more from his government's ability to frame the "West" as a threat and generate a "rally 'round the flag" effect than Russia's economic growth? Probably no. The correlation may simply indicate that low levels of popularity mean that the public is less willing to "buy" the government's foreign policy rhetoric (i.e. the relationship goes the other way). It may also suggest a third variable that correlates with both - something like "trust in government." If it is relatively low now (as the protests may suggest), then boisterous foreign policy rhetoric is less likely to be taken seriously. Indeed, the decline in the popularity of television and the rise of the internet may be cutting into the credibility of the Kremlin's traditional anti-U.S. messaging strategy.
It may be that the two narratives behind Putin's popularity, the economic growth story and the "enemies abroad" story, are intertwined. The ability of the Putin/Medvedev government to benefit politically from economic growth rests on whether or not the public accepts the linkage between the economy and the government's actions - that is, that the government deserves credit for the improvement in living standards. This only happens when the public generally sees the government's messaging as credible. Public opinion of the United States may therefore be a proxy measure of how much the public believes the Kremlin's narrative generally, particularly since the growth and foreign policy messages are often mixed (Putin has tended to link Russia's economic resurgence to its "sovereign democracy" and its "regained" influence and independence on the international stage). In this case, there may be an interaction between the two variables - high levels of growth (oil prices) translate into higher levels of support for Putin if U.S. disapproval is also high.
The table below gives the results of a series of linear regressions with approval rating as the dependent variable:
|Independent Variable
|1 - no 2011
|2 - include 2011
|3 - include 2011
|4 - include 2011
|Lagged DV
|Brent Oil Price - Lag 2 Mo.
|U.S. Disapproval
|Interaction Effect
|Adjusted R^2
|Num. of observations
T-values in parentheses. * = 90% significance, ** = 95% significance, *** = 99%+ significance
I included a lagged dependent variable in each regression to account for autocorrelation. The first three regressions generally confirm the argument made in the previous graphs - approval rating correlates with both oil prices and U.S. disapproval through 2001-2010 but U.S. disapproval is the better predictor when including 2011. However, regression number four is interesting. The interaction effect is significant and positive at the 90% level, giving some limited support to the above hypothesis.
Of course the "story time" part of this analysis is getting far ahead of the data - 90% significance is a relatively low bar and the accuracy of many of the proxies and assumptions that I'm using is questionable. Oil prices may not be the best measure of economic performance (per capita income is likely better, though I was unable to find monthly data). Moreover, the size of the sample is tiny and plagued with missing data. Nevertheless, this is a blog post and the initial results do suggest some interesting speculation/avenues for further research.
While I expect that the Russian government will continue its rhetoric over "U.S. interventionism," I highly doubt that it will have any significant effect on either Russian citizens' approval of the United States or of the government/Putin/Medvedev. It is difficult to make any meaningful predictions about the future of the opposition protests or the survival of the Putin/Medvedev tandem after the presidential elections. However, the data do suggest that the government is in trouble - it can no longer rely on a steady stream of oil income to assure public support. In fact, that "support" was hollow to begin with and confrontational showmanship is unlikely to bring it back. Stephen Holmes' recent piece in the London Review of Books summarizes this sentiment quite succinctly:
Some of the time, at least, rulers become fleetingly popular because they are believed to wield power. From the predictable tendency of opportunistic citizens to flock obsequiously to the power-wielders of the day it follows that an incumbent who seems to be losing power may see his poll-tested 'popularity' vanish overnight.
This is the nightmare now faced by Putin's team. Keen to avoid any appearance of weakness, they are well aware that public support can be artificially inflated by the illusion of power. They have long depended on theatrical displays which, however easy to stage, gave spectators an outsize sense of what the government could achieve...Can an internally warring, socially detached and rapacious oligarchy hold onto power with only a minimum use of violence now that such electoral fakery seems to have outlived its usefulness?Edit 1/25: Fixed the title on the third graph


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These past few weeks have been exciting as our partnership with PS119 – The Dr. Emmett W. Bassett School continues to gear up. Last Friday our NY office visited the school in 2 yellow buses and received an amazingly warm welcome from students, parents and teachers.
Going forward we have 2 major events taking place over the coming weeks: next week Next Jump will be hosting a Professional Development Day for about 70 teachers and staff in our offices. The following week our After School Program kicks off! Our engineering teams will be visiting the school on Thursday November 12 to start teaching the kids their most requested topics: how to code video games and how to get into robotics. I get goosebumps as I think about our ability to expand their horizons and raise their expectations on what they can do and become.
Now, I took a pause last night to reflect on what we have learned so far, from our doing and also from talking to others who have offered their help and valuable advice (Raymond John – CEO of 12plus, Steven Bautista – Head of Karma at Zappos, Winnie from Panda Express and their Leader in Me program, …), and I started making a list of what I believe our Adopt A School Program IS and IS NOT. The 2 top things that came to mind are:
1. It is NOT about writing checks and walking away. Instead, it is about being engaged, mentoring, learning and feeling fulfilled as a human being.
2. It is NOT about helping a single school. That is valuable but it won't change the world. Our Adopt A School is about creating a movement to change education. To do that We need to create blueprints and models others can follow, and so we need to document everything and share it, open source all our learnings.
Below is a longer list, which is just the beginning and no doubt will change and expand over time.


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Sarah Hall, Managing Director
Named by PR Week as being in the top 1% of the UK's PR industry and both highly influential and creative, Sarah Hall is a multi-award winning consultant, combining business acumen with a passion for PR and marketing to drive profits and growth for any organisation she works for.
With over sixteen years of experience working for the public, private and not-for-profit sectors and a proven track record of success behind her, Sarah ran the North East office of the UK's largest independent marketing agency prior to launching her own business. She started her career at Tyne Tees Television before moving into PR and marketing consultancy and has particular strengths in reputation management, stakeholder communications, media relations, social media, issues management, internal communications and event organisation.
Sarah is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and is the youngest practitioner to be awarded this status in the region for her contribution to the industry.
In 2014 she was awarded the Sir Stephen Tallent's medal by the CIPR, which is given at the discretion of the President to recognise exceptional achievement in public relations practice.
Former chair for the CIPR North East committee, with which she has been involved since launching her career, Sarah sits on the CIPR's Executive Board and Council, helping to shape and implement strategies and policies. She also chairs its Professional Practices Committee, which sets best practice and handles member disciplinary matters. In 2010 Sarah led the chartered body's volunteers' review.
Sarah is committed to demonstrating the value of PR and marketing in achieving business success. She judges regional and national industry awards and regularly speaks at events.
Sarah graduated in 2014 from Google's Squared Online course with a Certificate in Digital Marketing. She also has an MA in Marketing and holds the accolade of being the Chartered Institute of Marketing North East Postgraduate of the Year 2005. She was awarded the title of Young Communicator of the Year at the CIPR PRide Awards in 2004.
A Trustee for the Sunshine Fund, her dedication to delivering the most appropriate business support, being a voice for business and indeed the best ambassador possible for her clients led her to become a CBI North East Council member and she is a graduate of the CBI North East's inaugural Future Leaders programme. She is involved with the Institute of Directors, as well as various marketing trade bodies. Sarah graduated from Common Purpose's first ever Trader programme and following a listing in the Journal's 'Rising Stars, Future Leaders' supplement, was named as one of the North East's 'Most Influential 2013'.
Gordon has a proven track record of delivering quality, targeted public relations activity for high profile organisations and now is a key part of the team at Sarah Hall Consulting.
Throughout his 25-year career both as a senior daily newspaper journalist and as a PR professional, he has worked to and met tight deadlines, often under intense pressure in the full glare of the media spotlight.
He has a keen news sense and, as PR Manager at the Government-funded regional development agency One North East, strategically planned all PR activity to successfully guard and enhance the organisation's reputation with a wide range of stakeholders and audiences.
Gordon has extensive experience delivering communications activity for businesses across a host of different sectors, from crisis communications work with Northern Rock to seed funding publicity for SMEs.
With more than twelve years' experience in PR and marketing, nine of which has been spent in the arts/culture and travel sector, David has worked for a diverse range of clients including VisitEngland, Royal Shakespeare Company and Theatre Royal Newcastle. He continues to work for destination marketing agency, NewcastleGateshead Initiative in a part time role.
Bringing a creative approach and can do attitude, he is an integral part of the Sarah Hall Consulting team.
David has secured coverage for his clients regionally (ncjMedia, BBC North East, Metro Radio), nationally (The Guardian, Independent, Sunday Times Travel Magazine) and internationally (New York Times, Irish Independent, De Telegraaf).
In his current part-time role as Media & PR Manager at NewcastleGateshead Initiative, David has worked on high profile campaigns including the Football Association's bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018/22, the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Newcastle upon Tyne, and he is currently providing communications support for Rugby World Cup 2015 in Newcastle upon Tyne. He also leads successful communication campaigns for the destination's festivals and events programme, including EAT! NewcastleGateshead, Juice – NewcastleGateshead's festival for children and young people, and the NewcastleGateshead Winter Festival.
Emma is the person behind marketing campaigns for some of the region's biggest cultural venues and events.
She's contributed to record-breaking visitor numbers, secured media coverage where it matters and, above all, delivered results within budget and on time.
With more than 10 years' experience across all aspects of PR, marketing and communications, Emma has worked not only in the cultural sector but has also helped numerous private sector clients to achieve their objectives.
Copywriting, digital strategies and media relations are Emma's specialities and she loves getting stuck in drafting text, optimising websites and pitching stories.
She's an award winner too, with accolades from the Chartered Institute of PR, the Worshipful Company of Marketors and the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Since graduating from De Montfort University in Leicester with an MA in Television Scriptwriting, Debbie has written for theatre, TV and film.
A highly talented copywriter, whose strengths lie in getting underneath the skin of a brand to communicate key sales messages in a very succinct and appealing way, Debbie enjoys the day job of promoting businesses by writing website copy, printed promotional material and TV adverts.
Debbie has just written her first national TV commercial and is currently working on a 3 minute trailer for a feature film set in the North East.
Jenny is an award-winning video journalist and digital video producer with a background in broadcast and online journalism.
She has produced video content for national and regional media websites including the Guardian, the Telegraph and Johnston Press, and was part of the inaugural team working on Sky's pilot video-led regional news website Sky Tyne and Wear.
She is passionate about visual storytelling for digital platforms, and is the winner of an RTS North East Best Newcomer Award and a BBC North Developing Talent Journalism Award.


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ForNAV – Microsoft Dynamics NAV Reports Made Easy
Learn how the Reports ForNAV makes it easy to convert from classic to RDLC, lowers conversion costs and frees resources for Microsoft Dynamics NAV partners.
Reports ForNAV Converter makes it really easy to run reports developed for Microsoft Dynamics NAV in C/SIDE (or "classic") on newer versions requiring the RDLC format. Simple. Fast. Accurate.
Reports ForNAV Designer is an easy-to-use tool for creating and modifying reports for Microsoft Dynamics NAV. If you are familiar with the C/SIDE reporting tool, you can start working with the Reports ForNAV Designer instantly.


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Scientists are one step closer to curing severe nut allergies that affect thousands of people across the UK, according to research published today.
Doctors at Addenbrooke's hospital in Cambridge said they had developed a successful desensitisation programme which builds up tolerance in patients by slowly exposing them to tiny doses of peanut.
Four children who took part in the trial, which is published in the Allergy medical journal, were fed minute doses of peanut flour over six months. Researchers said the children, who risked fatal anaphylactic shock from contact with traces of peanut, were started on an initial dose of 5mg but by the end were able to tolerate 880mg - the equivalent of five peanuts.
Dr Andy Clark, who led the research, said: "Every time people with a peanut allergy eat something, they're frightened that it might kill them. Our motivation was to find a treatment that would change that and give them the confidence to eat what they like."
He said peanut allergy affected one in 50 young people in the UK. "Unlike other childhood food allergies like cow's milk, it rarely goes away," he said. "For all our participants, a reaction could lead to life-threatening anaphylactic shock - but now we've got them to a point where they can safely eat up to 10 whole peanuts or more. It's not a permanent cure, but as long as they go on taking a daily dose they should maintain their tolerance."
Kate Frost, whose nine-year-old son Michael had suffered non-stop vomiting and hives from a 16th of a nut, said the family were "over the moon" at the results of the trial at the Wellcome Trust clinical research facility. "It's hard to describe how much of a difference it's made. I feel I've been playing Russian roulette with my child's life. It's absolutely fantastic."


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Designed by first year Products of Design student Louis Elwood-Leach, Crowdstorm is a brainstorming platform designed to foster fresh ideas, encourage global perspectives, and provide a unique space for collaborative ideation. Crowdstorm addresses the issue of solitary solution making by empowering ideas with varied perspectives. According to Louis, "Crowdstorm takes ideas out of our heads and grows them within a diverse community."
Louis developed Crowdstorm after he experienced the power of collaborative ideation firsthand while brainstorming with classmates. Students were tasked to imagine several ideas for future projects. Louis had difficulty, but after concentrating on the ideas of those around him, he refocused. "I saw how helpful it was to take a break from my work to contribute to someone else's. If you share your ideas with other people, they can offer fresh solutions," Louis submitted.
Using the Crowdstorm app, people can share ideas with friends, contribute to ideas posted by strangers, or collaborate globally with individuals and corporations.
Inspired by weather, Crowdstorm uses a storm metaphor to visualise how concepts grow during the ideation phase. A partly-cloudy icon alerts the Crowdstorm community to an emerging idea, for example. Louis created a simple taxonomy that reflects the amount of participation that an idea receives: "The darker and deeper the weather gets, the heftier the storm. A cloud with one raindrop reveals that an idea has at least five contributors. The two-drop cloud icon represents an idea with over one hundred contributors, and the lighting bolt cloud shows an idea that's been pondered by over one thousand users!"
One unique Crowdstorm feature is what Louis calls the "karma concept." Here, the app prioritizes the ideas of consistent contributors by pushing their ideas to the top of the screen. Louis offers, "we were all on a train contributing to Kevin's idea one day. I felt like the brainstorm was productive but we ran out of time so the rest of the group was neglected. I realised the need for all of us to benefit. That's where the karma concept came from. Everyone is encouraged to pay it forward."
"I want to build on the karma concept. If you add to someone else's idea, your idea becomes a priority."
Crowdstorm can help companies and individuals rally around good ideas, but Louis is open to other possibilities. "Pinterest started out as an app for weddings," for example. "Now, it's used for everything. The same could be possible for Crowdstorm." He envisions Sponsored Storms—a new way for companies to engage with customers by including them as a part of the ideation and decision-making process.
Going forward, Louis will test Crowdstorm with a variety of user groups to determine how the platform can best utilise the power of shared ideas. "There are no limits to what a platform like this could improve...it's really up to the users to be as inventive as possible."


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Milo graduated from his crib to a big boy bed this week.
His grandparents brought Rob's old "super single" waterbed -- which has spent the last 20 years languishing in the crawl space under their house -- over on the ferry this past Monday, and Milo slept on it for the first time that night.
Of course, being the procrastinators we are, Rob and I didn't get the new foam mattress for the bed, like we were supposed to.
(Um... can I just say in our defence that we've had other things on our mind lately?)
And so -- once Rob and his dad hauled the bed into the house and put it together in Milo's room -- we decided to put Milo's crib mattress in it for the time being, just until his new foam mattress gets delivered on Saturday.
That poor little mattress looked lost inside the waterbed's huge cavity -- which hammered home the point that Milo's big boy bed is indeed VERY BIG.
Assuming he doesn't try to set it on fire at some point over the next 16 years, he'll probably be sleeping in that thing until he graduates from high school.
Just think of it: He's now sleeping in the bed in which he'll probably experience his first wet dream.
He might even lose his virginity in it.
Excuse me while I wash out my brain with soap and water...
Okay, I'm back.
So we filled the cavernous space around that tiny little crib mattress with blankets, pillows, and stuffed toys -- whatever would help ensure that Milo wouldn't roll off and go "thunk" in the middle of the night.
Thankfully, Milo took to the bed like a fish in... something... and has been enjoying blissfully long sleeps every night.
The person who hasn't been adjusting to this new situation very well is ME.
After he went to sleep that first night, it hit me. I will never see him standing in that crib again, rubbing his blankie under his nose as he waits for me to pick him up and bring him to my bed or the couch for a snuggle and some milk.
The sight of my little string-bean sleepyhead standing in that crib was one of my favourite things in the whole wide world.
And I never even took a picture of it.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Saturday, September 01, 2007
You know you've had a great walk in the woods when...
... You go home covered in ice cream and blood.
Posted by Erin Whalen at 12:19 PM No comments:
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1. How did the idea for Life in Crisis: The Ethical Journey of Doctors Without Borders came about? What inspired you?
I had friends who had worked for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) so I'd heard about them for some time. I thought it would be an interesting subject in part because the phrase sans frontières — "without borders" — later became a tagline for globalization. Historically this is the group that popularized that expression, if with rather different aims than to open markets. The organization's core movement in France began to engage a "borderless" world of sorts in the early 1970's, imagining that doctors should be able to reach patients anywhere, overcoming all barriers. I wanted to look at what it means to practice medicine with this global ambition in mind: How to take biomedicine (i.e. the sort of healing taught in medical schools) and move it anywhere in the world and try to make it work.
I'd also just finished my first book and started to teach at UNC. I was meeting a lot of undergraduates who wanted to do something good in the world — to make a difference, to live a meaningful life. Whether they were actively thinking about it or not, many of them were likely going to work in the world of NGOs, nonprofits, etc. So I wanted to look at such engagement once you put it in practice, into motion. What happens when your great idea actually takes off?
While there have been lots of things written about MSF in French, at the time there was little in English, even at a journalistic level. There was not a great deal of analysis in an anthropological sense (although now there is much more). Over the last dozen years, global health has emerged as a key term. Even the School of Public Health changed its name! Looking at MSF is a way to try and think about global health, or one version of it in practice. To see it in motion over time, to see what it means to try to be global in the most literal sense of direct cross-border mobility as opposed to having "international" relationships in the nation-to-nation sense. Historically, one of MSF's claims (which is exaggerated but has a kernel of truth) is that the group can go anywhere in the world in 48 hours. That's the kind of infrastructure for emergency response they sought to realize, and to a certain extent they succeeded. They can go to most places in the world relatively quickly, and as long as everything cooperates — all the people and things — they can set up an operation. There's a similar conception of the "global" in global health, which tends to focus on particular projects and campaigns as opposed to general system building in a given nation state (unlike the older international health). It likewise generally shares MSF's secular, medical focus on "saving human lives". This notion of biomedicine as a response to human suffering reveals complex technical and ethical issues, particularly when cast at a global scale.
I should also note that MSF is no longer really a French organization; it became European in the 1980s and has increasingly grown transnational. Indeed the French part is a minority at this point. The dominant language across MSF has increasingly become English, which is also the dominant language of aid, trade etc., often in an asymmetrical way. At the same time most people involved with the group believe strongly in human equality, value diversity and don't want to mimic colonial empire. So there are several kinds of globalization at work, not all of which neatly line up. That's anthropologically interesting.


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When a waitress brought an overflowing bowl of something very prehistoric out I didn't hesitate to sink my teeth in (although I probably should have!).
Tag: lifestyle
The Ultimate Style Crush: Nicole Warne
To visit Nicole Warne's website Gary Pepper, is to step into another world. A world of fantastical fashion, jaw-dropping images … More
Life Through the Lens
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About This Project
The Web App Monitoring Project
There are many tools available online to monitor and help improve the speed, functionality and performance of web applications, but it can be confusing and time consuming trying to test each tool. While this is by no means an all encompassing project, we feel like we have taken a fair cross section of the different web app monitoring tools on the market at the time of this writing. We hope this can be a simple source of information to help you navigate the vast sea of web performance and optimization tools.
To those who say, "What about this other tool?". or "Have you seen the latest update to XYZ?". Over time we will plan to include some additional tools as the market matures, but we have also seen a lot of consolidation in the market; where Company A bought out Company B and merged their products, then bought out Company C and scrapped the products from Company B. We try to stay away from those consolidated products and have chosen to start with monitoring platforms that have been proven in the marketplace for a number of years with strong solutions that stand up to the rest of the industry. We appreciate your patronage and hope this information has been valuable in finding the best solutions to fit your needs.


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[ sahy-koh-bahy-ol-uh-jee ]
/ ˌsaɪ koʊ baɪˈɒl ə dʒi /
the use of biological methods to study normal and abnormal emotional and cognitive processes, as the anatomical basis of memory or neurochemical abnormalities in schizophrenia.
the branch of biology dealing with the relations or interactions between body and behavior, especially as exhibited in the nervous system, receptors, effectors, or the like.
Nearby words
- psychoanalytic therapy,
- psychoanalyze,
- psychobabble,
- psychobilly,
- psychobiography,
- psychochemical,
- psychochemistry,
- psychodelic,
- psychodiagnosis,
- psychodiagnostics
Origin of psychobiology
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
/ (ˌsaɪkəʊbaɪˈɒlədʒɪ) /
psychol the attempt to understand the psychology of organisms in terms of their biological functions and structures
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
[ sī′kō-bī-ŏl′ə-jē ]
The study of the biological foundations of the mind, emotions, and mental processes.biopsychology
The school of psychiatry that interprets personality, behavior, and mental illness in terms of adaptive responses to biological, social, cultural, and environmental factors.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.


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- Research note
- Open Access
Antivirals for allosteric inhibition of Zika virus using a homology model and experimentally determined structure of envelope protein
- Sandun Fernando1Email authorView ORCID ID profile and
- Teshan Fernando1
© The Author(s) 2017
- Received: 24 May 2017
- Accepted: 22 July 2017
- Published: 28 July 2017
An approach to inhibiting enveloped flaviviruses is to deter the ability of the envelope protein(s) binding onto glycoproteins. In previous work, using a small ~100-amino acid homology model of Zika virus envelope protein (ZVEP), we proved the susceptibility of Zika virus to inhibition. In this work, we verify the efficacy of the homology model based antiviral search method using a larger protein (>400 amino acids) and comparing the results with the experimentally determined one (PDB ID:5IRE).
By examining how glycan molecules, small-molecule probes and screened ligands that have a high affinity to ZVEP, we report the mechanics of ZVEP to inhibition via allosteric blockage of the glycan-binding domain while proposing even more possibly potent inhibitors. The small molecular probes based study using the homology model and subsequently verified using actual experimental structure, 5IRE, revealed that ZVEP is druggable. A pharmacophore analysis followed by screening showed at least four ligands that allosterically binds to the glycan binding domain constituted by residues VAL 153 and ASN 154 in 5IRE. Based on further selection criteria ZINC40621658 was identified to have high potential to be a strong antiviral candidate for Zika virus inhibition.
The World Health Organization estimates that Zika disease, an infection caused by Zika virus, to reach epidemiological levels [1, 2]. An infection with the virus causes Zika Fever [3, 4], and yet, no vaccines or drugs are available to prevent or treat an infection [5]. The connections of the virus to microcephaly [1, 6] and neurological conditions in infected adults, including cases of the Guillain–Barré syndrome [7, 8], make Zika potentially destructive.
Among several approaches to developing antiviral drugs targeting the Zika flavivirus, inhibition of the envelop protein is considered to be promising. Computational and experimental work have proven that blocking envelope protein is a viable approach to inhibiting flaviviruses [9–11], which include Zika, Dengue, Encephalitis, and West Nile.
To perform in silico inhibitor screening, experimentally determined structures of the protein(s) responsible for virus' virulence are essential; and in many instances, these structures are not available [12]. So, there is a need for a technique to reliably screen for drugs in the absence of three-dimensional structural data. Nevertheless, advances in biotechnology have enabled rapid availability of nucleotide sequence data that could be used to develop homology models that in turn could be utilized for inhibitor screening. This work looks at finding antivirals targeting ZVEP using a homology model and then comparing the efficacy of the potential inhibitors with the experimentally determined NMR structure of ZVEP 5IRE [13]. The methods can be applied to druggable proteins of any emerging pathogen even in the absence of complete structural information.
Main text
Based on the target-template alignment, homology models were built via Promod-II [18]. Conserved coordinates between the target and the template were copied from the template to the model. Insertions and deletions were remodeled using a fragment library. Then, side-chains were rebuilt. Lastly, the geometry of the model was regularized by using force fields. The overall and per-residue model quality was assessed using the QMEAN4 [19] and Global Model Quality Estimation (GMQE) scoring functions as shown in Fig. 1c, d. Each residue is assigned a QMEAN reliability score between zero and one, describing the expected similarity to the native structure and higher numbers indicate a greater reliability of the residues. GMQE combines properties from the target-template alignment, and the score is expressed as above reflecting the expected accuracy of a model built with that alignment and template.
Dengue virus envelope protein (WNEP, PDB ID: 3j27) was identified to be the best template to be used for the development of the final ZVEP homology model and a three-dimensional model for the target protein was generated (Fig. 1b). Model quality assessment tools were used to assess the reliability of the resulting models are given in the inset (Fig. 1c, d). The predicted ZVEP homology structure (yellow—Fig. 1b), when overlaid with that of 5IRE for comparison (blue—Fig. 1b), shows >50% structural identity preserved indicating the model's utility as a proxy for studying ZVEP behavior.
Active site analysis
Druggability assessment of homology model and experimental structure of ZVEP
The hotspot distribution when the druggability analysis was applied to ZVEP 5IRE is depicted in Fig. 3c. The druggability analysis revealed 203 small-molecule binding hotspots ranging from a minimum ∆G of −2.34 kcal/mol and maximum of −1.00 kcal/mol. Throughout the protein surface, 105 binding hotspots of isopropanol was detected with the lowest binding free energy of −2.34 kcal/mol. Again, isobutene (51 hotspots, −1.85 kcal/mol), isopropylamine (15 hotspots; −1.94 kcal/mol), acetamide (6 hotspots, −1.90 kcal/mol), and acetate (26 hotspots, −1.99 kcal/mol) enrichment were more isolated. The analysis predicted the presence of two druggable domains (Fig. 3c). The probe occupancy grid distribution across the ZVEP surface of the homology model at the vicinity of the receptor—suggesting active site compositions of a potential drug candidate—are depicted in Fig. 3d.
The analysis suggests that the homology model predicts the potential druggability of ZVEP which was further confirmed by 5IRE. The primary active probe for ZVEP is isopropanol while the secondary being isobutene.
Pharmacophore analysis
Chemical characteristics of select compounds screened via ELIXIR-A
Affinity (kcal/mol) on homology model
Affinity (kcal/mol) on 5IRE
NAG (substrate)
All the four ZINC candidates depicted in Table 1 had higher binding affinities for the site than the glycan NAG—indicating that the ligands would bind tighter to the location as opposed to the glycan. It should be noted that the efficacy of ZINC33683341, the more conservative candidate of the three that has the highest affinities on 5IRE has been already analyzed using in vitro assay as described previously and verified to inhibit Zika virus [16] successfully. A close inspection of the binding confirmations of ZINC33683341 on 5IRE suggests the inhibition action is allosteric, i.e., although the ligand bound transverse to the primary glycan binding site (Fig. 4b), the binding action was able to trigger inhibition. Excitingly, based on binding affinities with the homology model and in silico verification of interactions on 5IRE, ZINC40621658 seems to hold even more promise (Fig. 4c–e). The distribution of ZINC40621658 (Fig. 4c) on 5IRE (Fig. 4e) is consistent with that predicted by the homology model (Fig. 4d). A close examination of the interaction diagram reveals that ZINC40621658 would bind at proximity to the glycan binding site and the inhibition would be allosteric (since all conformations of NAG make hydrogen bonding and close interactions with residues 153–154 on 5IRE as depicted in Fig. 2f, g whereas ZINC40621658 form interactions with several residues between residues 145–148 and 364–373. Due to more attractive affinities, spatial distribution, and desirable pharmacophore properties, ZINC40621658 has the potential to be a strong antiviral candidate for Zika virus inhibition and has to be experimentally verified for its efficacy.
How ligands and small molecule drug-like probes interact with ZVEP was analyzed using a homology model developed using West Nile envelope protein as the template. The small molecular probes based study using the homology model and subsequently verified using actual experimental structure, 5IRE, revealed that ZVEP is druggable. A pharmacophore analysis followed by screening showed at least four ligands that allosterically binds to the glycan binding domain constituted by residues VAL 153 and ASN 154 in 5IRE. Based on further selection criteria ZINC40621658 was identified to have high potential to be a strong antiviral candidate for Zika virus inhibition and has to be experimentally verified for its efficacy. We believe that identification these compounds that have a high affinity to the glycan receptor is a decent starting point for drug discovery targeting ZVEP.
Of the five potential inhibitors that were screened, only one was experimentally verified. To ascertain the efficacy, all five should be subjected to experimental verification. Although this work targeted inhibition of the envelope, primarily due to advantages of the drug not being required to penetrate the virus, inhibition via this route requires relatively high ligand concentrations (~100 µM).
Authors' contributions
TF was responsible in performing a portion of the simulations and ligand screening. SF analyzed data and wrote the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Some of this work was conducted with the help of high-performance research computing resources provided by Texas A&M University (http://hprc.tamu.edu).
Competing interests
Authors confirm that they have read BioMed Central's guidance on competing interests and declare that none of the authors have any competing interests.
Availability of data and materials
Materials described in the manuscript, including all relevant raw data, will be freely available to any scientist wishing to use them for non-commercial purposes.
Consent to publish
I am the author responsible for the submission and the BioMed Central License Agreement as detailed.
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Open AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
Authors' Affiliations
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Here are my lovely RPM socks! I am really happy with how they turned out!Pattern: RPM socks from Knitty
Yarn: Yarn Pirate Merino in Rum Runner (Booty Club exclusive)
Needles: US #1 cirs using magic loop
Notes: I made the larger size since I was using #1 needles and thinner yarn and it really worked out perfectly. They're not too tight nor too loose. I think they may be the most comfortable and best fitting socks I've ever made. The only thing I did change was I just lengthened the leg by several pattern repeats.
The other fun thing I did last week was a little yarn trading. Library Liz saw that I had my Yarn Pirate Booty Club yarn in the Calamity colorway up for trade on Ravelry and offered something up from her stash. It worked out so perfectly! I ended up with her Pure Knits Yarntini club yarn in the Mint Mojito colorway! Ravelry is just so cool like that!
Hope everyone is having a great weekend!


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Sesame Street 1st Birthday
October 11, 2014 § 1 Comment
Adán loves Elmo and I love Adán. So needless to say, his 1st birthday had to be an Elmo/Sesame Street extravaganza. And believe me, I worked my butt off to make it happen.
I know I am 4 months behind, but here are some photos of his big day. My only regret is that I don't have better images of the party, as I was running around like a crazy lady making sure everything was in order. Lesson learned… hire a photographer (aka barter with a photographer friend) to take pics of the next one.
§ One Response to Sesame Street 1st Birthday
[…] in August. This will be our second Elmo themed birthday, as my first son also celebrated his first birthday in Elmo […]


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Unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections are among the greatest health risks and barriers to education for indigenous Guatemalan adolescent girls. Between 2008 and 2012, more than one in ten Guatemalan women had given birth by the age of 18. Unfortunately, sexual and reproductive education is uncommon in schools and other institutions for indigenous youth, as it is considered a sensitive and often taboo subject from a religious and cultural standpoint.
The most recent Guatemala Reproductive Health Survey reports that 59% of young indigenous women surveyed (aged 15 to 24) had never received any type of formal talk or course in sexual health. Of those women who did report receiving some form of sexual health education, less than a third report receiving information on sexually transmitted infection or methods of contraception.
Mayan Families has a unique opportunity to reach middle and high school students who participate in our Student Sponsorship Program and empower them to protect their reproductive health and have greater control over their futures. The Ojos Abiertos ("Open Eyes") program incorporates a series of sexual health promotion workshops into the existing community service requirement for Mayan Families sponsored middle and high school students.
Our goals are to advance sexual health knowledge and prevent teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections among indigenous youth in the Lake Atitlan region of Guatemala. Our specific aims are to:
- Increase sexual and reproductive health knowledge. Among this target population, we will increase knowledge of sexual health concepts, specifically regarding sexuality, reproductive health, family planning, condom use, consequences and prevention of sexually transmitted infections and gender rights surrounding sexuality.
- Increase access to condoms. With instruction on correct condom use, we will inform students on where condoms can be obtained. We will also work with local health centers to supply the with condoms. Additionally, a limited number of condoms will be distributed to high school students during workshops.
- Increase access to local reproductive health services. During educational workshops, students will be informed of what reproductive and sexual health services are available at both community health clinics and the local national hospital.
Ojos Abiertos workshops
Students participate in educational workshops that focus on sexuality, family planning,contraception, sexually transmitted infection and HIV/AIDS. In addition, the health promoters discuss gender issues regarding sexuality and reproductive health during these sessions. This includes attitudes toward women and women's rights concerning their sexuality and reproductive choices. Students are also informed of the family planning methods available locally including barrier methods (primarily male condoms), intrauterine devices, and hormonal contraceptives (oral, sub-dermal, and injected).
Workshops leaders use a variety of media and engaging activities to inform effectively communicate the importance of sexual and reproductive health among teens. Promoters lead short lectures followed by group discussions and activities in order to create an atmosphere of trust and to overcome cultural stigma surrounding sexual topics.
These workshops are given in Spanish and the local indigenous language of the area and are be led by Mayan Families health promoters trained by WINGS staff. WINGS is a 501.c3 nonprofit that has been operating out of Guatemala since 2000 and provides family planning education and increases access to reproductive health services.
The population directly targeted by this project is indigenous adolescent girls in rural Guatemalan communities. The program not only gives adolescents the information they need to take control over their reproduction and sexual health but also serves to increase their educational and professional opportunities. In Guatemala, pregnancy is one of the leading reasons why adolescent and teenage girls abandon their studies. At Mayan Families we have seen several of our most promising students leave the Student Sponsorship Program due to unwanted pregnancy, sometimes as young as 15 years old. By these girls a chance to delay motherhood and finish their schooling, we allow them the ability to generate more income and achieve better standing in their families and communities.
Education of adolescent boys through Ojos Abiertos is another key aspect to improving outcomes for indigenous girls. Male-centered decision making persists as the norm in indigenous Guatemalan culture, so it is crucial that boys have a sound understanding of sexual and reproductive health. Informed young men can make relationship decisions that will benefit both themselves and their partners and are better equipped to understand and respect women's rights.
How to get involved
Supporting the Student Sponsorship Program or our General Education Fund allows us to keep providing all of our students with tuition and materials they need to succeed in school and gives them access to programs like Ojos Abiertos in the future. Be sure to follow our blog to learn about our post-workshop evaluations as we look to expand the program in the future.
For more information, contact firstname.lastname@example.com.


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The creation of local historic districts, and the subsequent enforcement of historic preservation laws, creates a special set of challenges for preservation planners. Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places are afforded little—if any—protection against inappropriate alterations or even demolition. Protection comes on the municipal level when towns or cities adopt a bylaw or ordinance such as MGL Chapter 40C Massachusetts Historic Districts Act or similar statutes in other jurisdictions. Once a city or town adopts the law they can move toward the creation of local historic districts (LHD) that are governed by an historic district commission (HDC.)
Getting property owners to agree to an LHD is a daunting challenge, no doubt. Culturally, we're programmed to resist and question any infringement of our rights by government, especially the suggestion of someone telling us what we can or cannot do with our property. And HDCs are government entities telling people what they can and cannot do with their properties. We cannot ignore that fact—it must be dealt with head on. There is a statement that could be made to the building owners within proposed LHDs everywhere: "This isn't about you—we know you'll do the right thing—it's about what someone else might do some day." This appeals to the building owner because you're assuaging any concern that the purpose of the LHD is to tell him what he can or can't do.
And you're planting the seed of concern: "What happens when the people next door sell some day and the new owner wants to do something hideous to the façade of the house?" Or, what happens when the new owner of the charming block of stores next to your business wants to knock it down and build a new Dunkin' Donuts? Isn't that the purpose anyway, to prevent the wrong thing from happening in the future, not correcting or changing existing conditions? Theoretically, the building and home owners in these areas like old houses and structures and appreciate the charm and character that they possess. Hopefully they also understand and appreciate the economic value this adds to properties in their neighborhood. Build on that.
Public perception of historic districts and commissions appears to be the greatest hurdle preservation planners have to overcome when creating and overseeing LHDs. How often have we heard the rally cry, "Nobody is telling me what color I can paint my house!" yet HDCs don't dictate color choices. The best way to counter such myths and misconceptions is through transparency of actions and clear, wide-reaching communication to the public. The internet is the perfect vehicle for that process. Every LHD needs design guidelines and the Town of Brookline has an exemplar:
The Historical Commission in the Town of Ipswich has a website that should be closely studied:
The Historical Commission in the Town of Ipswich has a website that should be closely studied:
The home page of the Ipswich website is a one-stop directory to all of the resources and information that home and building owners need to access. It is also an engaging site that pulls the viewer in with great pictures and wonderful local history and pertinent, contemporary information. The charm and value of antiquity is present here and viewers are compelled to buy into it. Increasing public awareness of historic preservation is the best way to increase public appreciation of historic preservation. Click HERE for an article on this very subject. Selling people on the importance of historic preservation is critical, as even old home enthusiasts can occasionally be recalcitrant in their support.
Our society is pretty good at accepting the need for zoning laws, permits and building code, but somehow restrictions due to historic preservation concerns send folks over the edge. Why? Once a building is protected within an LHD it can't be inappropriately altered or demolished. That's the law. Period. Don't like it? Sell it and move on. The mindset that an owner should be able to do whatever he wants with a building simply because "he owns it" is ridiculous.
Should he be able to hire an unlicensed, uninsured contractor to throw together a set of ramshackle stairs without a permit? Why not? He owns it. Should he be able to make changes and alterations that violate code? Why not? He owns it. Should he be able to dump toxic waste in the basement? Why not? He owns it. Can he pile as many tenants inside as he wants, and provide one crummy toilet and no fire protection? Why not? He owns it.
Should he be able to hire an unlicensed, uninsured contractor to throw together a set of ramshackle stairs without a permit? Why not? He owns it. Should he be able to make changes and alterations that violate code? Why not? He owns it. Should he be able to dump toxic waste in the basement? Why not? He owns it. Can he pile as many tenants inside as he wants, and provide one crummy toilet and no fire protection? Why not? He owns it.
Just because you own a house or other building doesn't mean the law be damned, like it or not. Saying a building owner should be able to do whatever they want with their building is tantamount to saying that one should be able to mistreat a pet--because they own it--or burn money because they can. Anyone who thinks that way shouldn't be allowed to have a pet or doesn't deserve to be rich. Same goes for historically significant buildings. The fact that one fails to recognize, appreciate and respect that significance is neither here nor there. It is illegal to abuse your dog or destroy US currency. And it's illegal to alter or demolish a building in an LHD without HDC approval.
Photo credits: Carole Osterink, The Gossips of Rivertown, except the historic photo of the Upper Depot in Hudson, NY, credited to City of Hudson Historian Pat Fenoff and the contemporary image of the same building taken by international photographer Lynn Davis.


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Life Enrichment Services
Site Programs
The site programs are designed to offer social interaction, physical exercise and educational activities at various locations within Elkhart County.
State Health Insurance Assistance Program
Counselors are available onsite to provide guidance to those enrolling in or navigating Medicare.
Learn more about our State Health Insurance Assistance Program here.
MEDICARE SAVINGS PROGRAM (and EXTRA HELP)
Counselors are onsite to help beneficences apply for assistance with Medicare and prescription drug cost.
Learn more about our Medicare Savings Program here.
We offer support to individuals who find it increasingly difficult to manage their finances, including bill payment and budgeting.
Money Management
Referral services help the aging with a variety of needs including housing, medical supplies, and social service connections.
Resource Referral Services
Go to our Events Page on this site or call us at (574) 295-1820 to find out what's happening next!


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A steampunk journal cover
Not even released yet! I hope they do soon, because Im going into serious withdrawal. Are you reading this, Prima?????
The kit gave some explanations on how to achieve 'the look'. I can't claim that I have, but I had so much fun making the covers for my book:
The Prima kit comes with all the metal flowers, and the fabric flowers. It also has the grunge board letters, the metal wheels, and lots of dooh dahs!!!
I didn't take any pictures of the inside, because I forgot! Here's the main heroine, MS Magdalena Orgenloff. Dressed for her journeys and adventures around the world. A little montage in Photoshop. Her various parts come from a kit on DeviantScrap from Brimm-steamtown-celebrations. Fun!
Oh, valid point, Kathy, I didn't describe the process. I painted the background with white gesso, because it was cardboard. Then I glued down cardboard pieces, cheesecloth, and with the gel medium I was using, I also make some marks and designs. Then I used spray glimmer mists from 'outsidethemargins.com' since I've had good luck with their sprayers. I also added some titan buff and gold paint, and van dyke brown for edging the sides. Voila!
The Rosa of Cairo
In my pages, the Sheik of Arabia comes to the studio, meets Auntie Rosa, falls in love with her, and marries her.
Not until he orders her wedding gown to be made by the studio. Hence the introduction of ARABesques, and damasks in Paris, which became all the rage at in the 19th century.
This is how she became the Rosa of Cairo.
The left page shows the scroll that tells the story.
The scroll 'holder' has a story. I was browsing on the internet to find some arabic text. And I saw this scroll holder which just triggered my mind. Yesterday, a wonderful neighbor gave me a bag of goodies. You know, broken jewelry, unloved scarves and earrings. And this outrageous pen. We both looked at each other, wondering what I could possibly do with it.
Well, not 24 hours later, this wonderful pen has become a jewelled scroll holder! Don't you just love synchronicity?
And here is Auntie Rosa herself, quite transformed, and quite glamorous on her wedding day…
Beautiful people and a tutorial
And thank you to all the glorious women who became followers. I can't wait to get to know you. I've made many wonderful friends online already. What a great way to connect!
It's my pleasure to announce that I'm launching a lace kit so you can make one of the fabric lace pages like this one:
The kit will contain everything that is needed: a choice of two images printed on fabric, the doillies, a piece of antique lace from my private collection, vintage buttons, a piece of jewelry, everything. Just go to my store to get a complete kit.
It will work along with the tutorial that I post on this blog.
And since so many of you are interested in the tutorial, let's start TODAY!!!!!
The first thing you need for your fabric collage is a great image on fabric. Yes, you need lace and more lace, but if your image is not right, your collage will not be stunning.
There are many ways to get a good image on fabric. The fastest and most expensive way is to buy your fabric ready to go from brands like Jacquard, Claudine Hellmuth, Fredrix. You just Google them and you will have an infinite choice of material, such as canvas, cotton, silk, organdy. And a choice of prices too. These are ready to run through your printer, either laser or inkjet. You can find most brands at Michaels or Joann's, and most definitely online, Amazon being a quick source.
The next method which I like to use, gives great results, and is inexpensive, is to create my own fabric sheets ready for the printer. That way, I have the choice of the materials and fabrics I'll use.
You need some freezer paper and an iron. Any old brand of freezer paper will do. Freezer paper is found in most grocery stores in the same aisle as foil, plastic wrap, etc. Make sure it says FREEZER paper. Do not use wax paper, it's not the same thing and wax paper won't work.
It's best if your fabric is ready to go. By that, I mean have it coffee or tea stained already, and ironed flat.
Take a long sheet of the freezer paper, and with the glossy side up, iron your fabric on the glossy paper. The glossy is a very mild type of wax that will bond your fabric to the freezer paper.
You can even buy your freezer sheets already cut to 8.5 x 11. These are $8.95 for 30 sheets.
Voila. All you have to do now is run your freezer/fabric through your printer as you would with paper. Select an image that has good contrast. You can manipulate your image in any free image processor online, to make sure it has good contrast.
Some printers will have a setting for printing on fabric. My HP does.
Then print. Once the freezer/fabric comes out, gives it a minute for the ink to dry, then peel the fabric from the freezer paper. Your image is now ready to sew onto the fabric collage.
Sometimes, you'll find that the ink is still a bit faint. Golden make a great product, that of course, being Golden, is not cheap! (
Here is a pretty lady that is free for you to use in your fabric collage. Do come back for the next step of making your collage: preparing your fabrics. In the meantime, go through your stash and start pulling pretty fabrics. Or go to my store to get a complete kit.
Email me if you have any questions. I'm happy to help.
And you can still enter my blog giveaway. See the post immediately below. The draw is Feb 1.
See you soon!
Blog giveaway
Come in, it's nice and sunny in Palm Springs today, 72F, almost summer. I have lived here since July, seeking the endless sun.
My name is Socrates, and this is my faithful studio assistant, Paul, working hard by the pool…
I make lace books, beaded jewelry, and I paint abstract paintings.
I also love to make lace books. Here:
At the moment, I'm putting together a tutorial on how I make these fabric collages. It will be available in the next week, so come back to find out.
And in honor of your visit, I created a vintage Paris journal, just for you. You don't have to become of follower, although I'd love you to, so we can meet again. All you need do is leave a comment on this post.
On Feb 1, all of the members of the blog hop will have their draw. I will pick a name at random from the comments list and one of you will receive this vintage Paris journal. Here it is, full of old laces which I buy on Ebay or find at garage sales. There are doilies, mattress ticking, pieces of old jewelry, and plenty of painted and white pages inside for you to keep notes and records, or add photos:
And the spine, with some charms, because you ARE a Star!!!!!
Let me know if you would like me to make a piece for you, either lace book or jewelry. I would be happy to.
Be sure to leave a comment today, and come back on the 1st of February when I will announce the winner!
Good luck, and thank you for your visit. And be sure to visit the other blogs:
Lace book pages and a giveaway
My other Lace Book theme is vintage, and I just made two pages for Marita. Her colors are black, white and sepia for vintage ladies.
I found an old black glove, which is holding a vintage lace handkerchief. The focal image is printed on fabric, as well as the text pieces.
The black bead in the middle is a vintage beaded ear-ring.
The fabric in the background was gifted to me by the Druxinia mattress people. They gave me one their sample catalog, which I am putting to good use
I found the amazing black lace on ebay. It is all covered in beads and sequins, very impressive.
And the fantastic flower is from Button Emporium in Portland. I wish I could go there again and get more.
This is the spine of the double page spread. I hope you appreciate the effort at 'art photography'. All in the spirit of the coming Giveaway.
I am part of a blog hop. Next Saturday 19th January is the "Grow Your Blog" Event which is being sponsored by Vicki at
For the occasion, I have made… drum roll… a lovely lace journal. I will be showing it on my blog on the 19th, so be sure to visit Saturday.
To be entered into my Giveaway all you have to do on the 19th is leave a comment. You do not have to become a follower, just leave a comment on that day. The giveaway will be drawn on Feb 1st.
Here's a little teaser: it will be vintage, and it will be Paris inspired. )


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This contributed column is authored by Vikrant Yadav, Business Development Officer, Gaadizo
Founded in 2015 , By Vikas Mitra and his team, Gaadizo is an online service aggregator for all problems related to cars & bike .
At multiple intervals our vehicles give an untimely jolt for long distances or may be short jovial travels. We stand oblivious yet unequipped to deal with such sudden condition. Always end up in an unorganized and a price hostile deal with the Car doctors (The Mechanics). To restore such vehicle aliments here is Gaadizo, the transforming verdict for quality service and transparency in each costing domain.
Currently serving the business hub of National Capital Region and in near future embracing as far as country borders to ease the automotive industry.
Bringing into light a highly organized and reliable system of poise for your cars & bikes. It investigates in your four wheeler travelling companions irrespective of the time of contact. One can even get in touch with wishful service stations with a promise of genuinity and liable service standards.
Gauging its expertise form complicated car servicing to simplified car washing.
Here , we at Gaadizo are bulwarks who understand the value of your monetary resources spend on your beloved cars & bikes.
Our startup addresses many key problem faced in unorganised sector of automobile repair industry such as
- Lack of transparent cost
- Quality service based on set standards of automobile industry
- Use of genuine parts
- No warranty & credibility by unauthorised repair workshops
With Gaadizo one can be assured that he will be getting a transparent & upfront costing, quality service with set standards with an ease of booking an appointment as well as free pick & drop. With 15 Multi-branded workshops on our platform and getting 30-45 cars serviced & repaired on daily basis we are providing services in Delhi NCR region i.e Gurgaon, Delhi, Faridabad, Noida & Ghaziabad.
One can get in touch with gaadizo by visiting website or just by giving a miss call at helpline no. (83-8888-5555)
Lastly, Mobility At Its Best Worth…we are building Gaadizo as the paramour for diseased vehicles.


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As typically happens in a mass shooting, the media goes nuts blasting 2nd amendment rights and the event gets politicized to the hilt. As a fierce defender of the 2nd amendment, I support open carry and concealed carry. Furthermore, I don't believe that a person should needs permission from the government to defend themselves and their families with firearms from violent predators.
With 12 confirmed dead, including a 6 year old girl, and another 58 with gunshot injuries, here's what is known. The shooter has been identified as James Holmes, a neuro-science PHD student at the University of Colorado School of Medicine who was obtaining his higher education on a government grant.
It doesn't appear that the shooter walked through the front door of the theater of the theater as reported by a federal agent to CBS.
Read the rest here
Judy Morris Report
Judy Morris,
Blogger, THL
Articles | Website


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Mozilla Issues Firefox Update
Mozilla has released a set of updates for its Firefox Web browser, which according to Mozilla contain several "security and stability fixes," including a patch for a security flaw we mentioned earlier this month.
To update, click on the "Check Now" tab under "Tools", "Options," "Advanced" -- and then scroll down to the area that reads "Software Update" and click the tab that says "Check now." If that fails, you can manually download and install the update from here.
Brian Krebs
September 21, 2005; 10:58 AM ET
Categories: New Patches
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|Congrats to Dindi and Brian!
And then our alarms went off at 6:15 a.m. on that Friday morning, we dragged ourselves out of bed for some sunrise yoga. I quickly realized that not only did I forget my skydiving rig, but I also forgot my yoga mat. Thankfully, JL had an extra mat for me to use (but no skydiving on the beach for me). The sun was peaking out and the temps were somewhat lower than the death heat and humidity we received days before and certainly on Saturday morning. I tied up Remington, because he wasn't used to all these people and had been really grouchy since he got there the night before. But he had front row center and sometimes he would get on the instructor's yoga mat to what I assume supervise the situation.
|She started off by rubbing our shoulders with a little deep massage cream (the same one JL used on me before). If yogis started their classes out like this every day, they would have a lot more students.
|I have to say that it was weird not being in the lotus pose for this part, but this is what she wanted.
|These ladies got the best spot in my opinion.
|Molly is doing her own version of downward dog.
|I really enjoyed Michelle as an instructor.
|And this right here is why we got up so early.
|I forgot my darn bandana.
|Zori was the only one to get the leg up all the way; I tried, but failed.
|This picture cracks me up, because we were all falling and I was getting molested by Niko.
|I'm so close, but I just do not have the control to lift myself up without jumping it.
|She was the only one to get the headstand without assistance.
|Initial help to get me started.
|She's barely holding on to me.
|After looking at this photograph, I felt like a rock star. Every time that I have attempted the headstand in yoga class, the instructors are holding on to me for dear life. I think the sand really helped me let go.
|Remington is supervising the instructor as the quality control department.
|I've never had an instructor do an extra stretch for me in corpse pose. I liked it.
|My baby boy all tired from chasing flies in the sand and digging for leftover ribs.
|That was a big boy and they had some good tacos that I missed.


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Kyle Hopkins's A Still Life: hour five
It's already the second half of day one of jewellery maker Kyle Hopkins' two-day LiveStudio here at SHOWstudio HQ. The A Still Life broadcast is documenting each and every step of Hopkins' creative process, as he crafts a death mask live on camera.
Watch live as Hopkins and his team continue to weld, hammer and chisel all while answering your questions on life, death and everything in between.


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Uses LED lighting to grow while avoiding the practice of "cutting-corners".
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A family owned i502 garden that grows in the Olympic Mountains using fresh natural spring water to flush their cannabis with. They use both indoor and outdoor growing methods.
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Known for their homemade soil, they use enzymes to break down barley and use tea compost.
Edible Companies
Oakor is a premium cannabis-infused products company focused on providing natural, healthful ways to medicate.
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From our pure, zero-additive vape oil to our decadent dark chocolate bars, we are all about deliciousness. Plus, our products are made with local ingredients and natural colors and flavors whenever possible.


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Sweet + Savory Fig Jam
People often ask me what it was like to grow up in Hawaii.
What can I say? Warm beaches, tropical fruit stands, and frolicking in the sun. Everyday.
But I missed out on things, too. Like, shopping for winter coats. Taking family road trips to the Grand Canyon. Learning to ski on snow days.
And… canning.
Now that I live in warm-beach-less-tropical-fruit-less-generally-sun-less Oregon, I'm making up for lost time.I still haven't gone on a road trip or learned to ski, but I've learned to can, gosh darn it.
I like knowing what's in my food, and I also enjoy the satisfaction of doing something that gives you payback all year long. Perhaps it's a control thing. Aaanyway, I make a variety of different jams, butters and pickles over the course of the year.
Sam can make fun of me, but the only complaint I've ever heard from him is that I didn't make enough pickles.
In years past, I didn't have real canning equipment. So I'd have to freeze or refrigerate the jams. However, my in-laws gave me a gift certificate to Sur La Table for my birthday this year, and I practically sprinted to the store to buy a canning set.
Halleluiah for in-laws! Yup, I said it.
My first attempt at "real" canning [via the boiling water method] was the Fig Jam recipe that I've been eyeing for months in a beautiful canning book called Put em Up. I was pretty impressed with the results. We've used the fig jam on just about anything you can imagine But my favorite combo? Grilled cheese with turkey and fig jam.
Has anyone else used a recipe from Put em Up? I'd love to know how it turned out. I'm ready for my next canning extravaganza.


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I've been a little behind in my weekly round-ups, sorry! Here's what's been happening in verse novels lately:
At the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference there was not one but TWO sessions on verse novels. Here's what they talked about:
Poetry Serving Story Serving Teens: Verse Novels for Young Adults. (Holly Thompson, Ellen Hopkins, David Levithan, Mariko Nagai, Samantha Schutz) Writers of novels in verse and poems will discuss the craft of narrative verse and the compelling use of poetic elements to drive stories that can deeply impact the lives of young adults. This panel will elaborate on challenges of characterization, dialogue, and plotting within verse; the wide range of forms and structural approaches employed today; and the effects and appeal of distilling complex stories for teens into verse.
Staggered Tellings: Immediacy, Intimacy, and Ellipses in the Verse Novel. (Kevin Clark, Wendy Barker, Rita Dove, Kevin Young, Andrew Hudgins) Marrying intimacy of voice to the dramatic arc of a story, the verse novel continues against all odds as an engrossing genre. Our panel will offer answers to key questions, including: What does the verse novel do that the prose novel does not? What is the effect of elliptical plotting? Is narrative subordinate to character? Do authors outline before writing? Do readers find it a more intimate form? How does the poet balance interior life and exterior events?
I'm calling this as a win for verse novels. I hope someone who attended or presented can let me know how it all went.
Tamera Will Wissinger was interviewed about her new book GONE FISHING by One Four Kid Lit and The Lucky 13s.
Here's a bit of translation from Death on Rúa Augusta, a Verse Novel by Tedi López Mills courtesy of Intranslation
LOCOMOTION by Jacqueline Woodson is reviewed by For the Love of Books.
THE LIGHTNING DREAMER by Margarita Engle is reviewed by Books 4 Fun.
ONE OF US by Gilbert Frankau is reviewed by Reading 1900-1950


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