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What else might you call a gathering of bloggers? A pack? A flock? No, I definitely think that this sort of group would be described as a gaggle, and that's just what I was lucky enough to be a part of yesterday afternoon. Led by Matt Armendariz of Matt Bites, how could I have resisted joining in on a class about the finer points of photographing and writing about food, especially when it was being held right under my nose at a Whole Foods Market in NYC! Now, I'm not exactly in my element at public events, and my fear was only augmented upon sight of the cozy classroom- Planning to hide in the back and quietly take notes while soaking in the talent surrounding me, this threw quite wrench into the gears. In this classroom that would hold no more than two dozen bodies, this strategy went right out the window, and I quite nearly turned tail and fled the scene. With my stomach tangled up in my throat, I picked a less prominent seat and held my breath.
Awestruck by the creators of the brilliant, insightful, funny, and gorgeous blogs that I frequent, my tongue abandoned me, and I simply couldn't find the words with which to convey what a pleasure it was to meet them. A deer in the headlights, I'm embarrassed to say that my greatest contribution to the gaggle was an occasional nod of agreement. The only peep that managed to escape my lips was an awkward introduction, although I probably looked like I was about to burst into tears by the time I squeaked out my name. Anxiety took hold the minute I stepped through the door, but the panic attack was well worth it, considering all of the invaluable pointers I picked up. For an abbreviated version of some of the photography techniques mentioned, here's my spin on a couple tips.
Since I'm always trying to improve the quality of my photos (And ironically, I took my point-and-shoot so the quality of the pictures included in this post leave quite a bit to be desired. I truly apologize for that, but I still wanted to share this outing with you!), I was eager to hear what someone as skilled as Matt might say. Much of it was fairly basic but important reminders of what to take into consideration, such as lighting. My approach is natural light all the way, and using the built-in flash is perhaps the worst crime you can commit. Matt, however, surprised me by suggesting that flash can indeed produce decent pictures when used properly. Instead of blasting the subject away with that harsh flare, try diffusing the flash by holding something in front of it- A simple paper towel will work just fine!
In terms of composition, there are no set rules or principles as to what will look good, but trust your eye. Try looking at the subject from different angles, move things around to different positions, and just think of all the possibilities suggested by the particular dish in question. Think of the basic shapes involved, patterns, and colors. Choosing props depends on what you want to feature about the food, but I personally like to make everything match, in a sense. For example, if I've made an apple cake, I would want to show off how full of apple-goodness it was, and therefore have a big bowl overflowing with the fruit. On the other hand, if it's something easy and basic like a salad, extolling the virtues of simplicity, I wouldn't want any extra clutter around, and would lean towards nothing but a solid colored (bright!) background.
Finally, when it comes to food styling, there are two camps of thought: Food looks best ready to eat, as you would serve it at home, or pristine and perfect, like shots out of magazines or dreams perhaps. Both approaches work depending on the circumstances, so don't be afraid to venture on both sides of the street- Just remember the context. I personally wouldn't spend hours hiding the ends of spaghetti, or using tweezers to individually place cereal flakes in a bowl… But I will admit I'm guilty of cleaning off plates with q-tips and sometimes strategically placing crumbs. Everything in moderation, right? As for the tricks using inedible components, I think you've already heard it all, from fake ice cream made of confectioner's sugar and frosting (Won't melt!) to placing marbles in a bowl of soup (Makes all the noodles rise to the top and fill the bowl!), but Matt showed us one trick that I didn't yet know…
Looks like an artfully arranged bowl of chips, no? Well I don't know about you, but I've never poured chips out of a bag and had them look like that. Ever stop to think about how they're arranged to stay straight up and beautiful like that?
A layer of mashed potatoes holds them vertical, of course! I wouldn't recommend trying this for an everyday shot of your snack, because the unique support system renders them rather unpalatable. Still, pretty cool, and completely unexpected.
There was just so much to learn from these amazing bloggers, I'm sorry I can't do them better justice by giving a more complete lesson. Hopefully those interested in photography could get something useful out of all of this- I know I sure did!
Many thanks to Matt and everyone who helped make the lecture so much fun!


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Former president Jimmy Carter said Tuesday on the nationally syndicated radio show the Thom Hartmann Program that the United States is now an "oligarchy" in which "unlimited political bribery" has created "a complete subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors." Both Democrats and Republicans, Carter said, "look upon this unlimited money as a great benefit to themselves."
Carter was responding to a question from Hartmann about recent Supreme Court decisions on campaign financing like Citizens United.
HARTMANN: Our Supreme Court has now said, "unlimited money in politics." It seems like a violation of principles of democracy. … Your thoughts on that?
CARTER: It violates the essence of what made America a great country in its political system. Now it's just an oligarchy, with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nominations for president or to elect the president. And the same thing applies to governors and U.S. senators and congress members. So now we've just seen a complete subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors, who want and expect and sometimes get favors for themselves after the election's over. … The incumbents, Democrats and Republicans, look upon this unlimited money as a great benefit to themselves. Somebody's who's already in Congress has a lot more to sell to an avid contributor than somebody who's just a challenger.
I've added Carter's statement to this list of politicians acknowledging that money controls politics. Please let me know if you have other good examples.
(Thanks to Sam Sacks for pointing this out.)

subset: commoncrawl


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03 Dec 2001 Project 21 Release: Is It Wrong to Require Work in Exchange for a Welfare Check? – December 2001
Black Group Says Public Housing Residents Wrong to Spurn Community Service Provision
Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 sharply criticize a provision in the pending 2002 Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) spending bill that would repeal a requirement for out-of-work and able-bodied residents of public housing to perform community service.
Enacted in 1999, the current law gives housing authorities the ability to require residents between the ages of 18 and 62 to spend eight hours a month doing things around their communities like gardening, security and daycare. Exemptions are provided for the disabled, the employed, students and people already performing welfare-related work. An amendment inserted into the pending housing bill by Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY), however, bans HUD officials from spending any money to enforce the requirement. Rangel calls the requirement an "indignity" because "there is no such requirement for any other type of federal assistance." President George W. Bush is expected to sign the bill despite the Rangel amendment.
"It's too bad that Congressman Rangel sees getting something for nothing as being more noble than having to put in an honest day's work for it," said Project 21 member Michael King. "As opposed to sitting on their hands and doing nothing, residents are asked to give a portion of one day in exchange for receiving housing. What's the problem? Oh, I forget – this gives Congressman Rangel and his compatriots something else to point to at election time."
According to a Associated Press report, less than ten percent of public housing residents in New York City would be required to perform community service under the existing provision. In the month of December, if each of those residents got a full eight hours of sleep each night, performing such community service would only consume less than two percent of their waking hours that month. It might also provide them with job skills or, in the case of daycare, allow other resients to find employment. Still, New York City public housing residents are so incensed by the imposition that they took the time to travel to Washington to lobby legislators to repeal it.
Opponents of the community service provision consider asking capable unemployed people who are receiving public assistance and free housing to provide a service to their communities to be nothing more than modern slavery.
"Providing services such as picking up trash or providing childcare is a excellent way of returning something to the community and gives a sense of pride to those living there since we have always been told it takes a village to raise a child," said Project 21 member Kevin Martin. "It also gives those who are able-bodied and jobless something to do rather than sitting around with idle hands – which can be the devil's workshop when you consider the drug sales and violence common in some communities."
Project 21 has been a leading voice of the African-American community since 1992. For more information, contact David Almasi at (202) 507-6398 x106 or [email protected], or visit Project 21's website at http://www.project21.org/P21Index.html.


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John Landis
Review by Victoria Large
Posted on 11 May 2012
Source Universal DVD
Categories Favorites: Transformations
An American Werewolf in London is one of those movies that I'll never really be through with: there's always going to be a next time, and I will never fail to sit watching it on cable even though I have it on DVD. It's found its way under my skin.
Part of the film's appeal is the fact that so many aspects of it sound infelicitous – indeed, willfully so – on paper, yet manage to work onscreen. Writer-director John Landis famously mixes seemingly clashing tones throughout. Dry, humorous dialogue and downright silly comedy (like a police inspector fumbling with a set of nesting bedpans or the lead actor racing around naked with only some stolen balloons to cover his most delicate parts) commingle with fearsome suspense sequences, throat-tearing gore, and well-chosen snatches of pathos. This is why Roger Ebert argued that "the laughs and the blood coexist very uneasily in this film" back in 1981 (it wasn't a compliment), but it's also the source of American Werewolf's cult cool.
Indeed, like its eponymous monster, the film itself a shapeshifter, genial in one instant and vicious in the next. It begins with a likable pair of American tourists joking around as they travel through northern England and then brutally switches gears when the two young men are attacked on the moors under a full moon. One of them, Jack, is killed. The other, David, survives but is severely wounded and – no big spoiler, this – fated to transform into a wolf.
American Werewolf contains one of cinema's most famous creature transformations, a tour-de-force of special effects that won Rick Baker the first competitive Academy Award for achievement in makeup. It starts with David leaping up from reading a book after an extended sequence of pacing and worrying in anticipation of the full moon. Shouting, "Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ! What?" before tearing at his clothing, he sweats and cries out in pain, then looks on in horror as his limbs begin to stretch, twist, and sprout hair. David writhes on the floor and we hear what sounds like cracking bone. It's a far cry from the fade-in transformation of Lon Chaney Jr. in 1941's The Wolfman (a film that gets name-checked and referenced throughout American Werewolf). This transformation looks like it hurts. It's also held up quite well in the more than thirty years since the film's release, though I should confess an eighties child's bias in favor of practical effects over too-slick CGI.
Yet while the transformation scene is remarkable as a grisly technical watershed, it is also, and perhaps more importantly, a pitch-perfect centerpiece for American Werewolf's brazen genre-bending style. The diegetic sound of the transformation scene is all creaks and cries and groans, but Landis' twisted sense of humor comes out in the pop tune on the soundtrack: Sam Cooke's gentle take on "Blue Moon." Funnier and loopier still, Landis briefly cuts away from David's agonizing change in favor of a close-up of a little Mickey Mouse doll standing on a table. And in the moment that comes close to summing it all up – funny and freaky and heartbreaking all at once – David calls for his dead friend Jack while in the throes of a transformation, apologizing for an earlier insult.
This may be the right time to mention that David's transformation is not the only one in the film, and, if I'm honest, it's not even the one that I find the most interesting. Jack reappears after his gruesome death, and he's transformed, too—into a decaying corpse. He shows up in David's hospital room with a clawed face and a glistening, shredded throat, still the cheerful, faithful friend that we met at the beginning of the film. It's just that now he's the undead harbinger of bad news, warning David to kill himself before the next full moon.
Jack's transformation works so well – is so tragicomic and haunting and memorable – in large part because of Griffin Dunne's performance. The actor (who has often mentioned how depressed he became on set while watching himself decompose) plays the dead Jack as joshing and upbeat, delivering a performance made up of tiny moments that are somehow sweet and horrible at once. We see Jack taking toast from David's breakfast tray with a bloody hand and casually dunking it in an egg yolk or pausing to smell a flower before once again exhorting his friend to commit suicide. Jack's transformation is in some ways an extended sight gag, but it also gets literally and figuratively closer to the bone than David's change into a wolf. Jack's not a mythical creature. He's just dead. Perhaps it's telling that the idea of a friend returning from the grave was actually what sparked Landis to write the screenplay in the first place.
Jack may remind us of our mortality, but David embodies our anxieties about what we might be or become. At the heart of his story is guilt. It isn't just that David is unable to save Jack from the wolf at the beginning of the film; it's that he doesn't really try. In the scene on the moors, Jack pauses to help David up after the latter has slipped and fallen – that's when he's attacked – but once Jack is pinned down by the monster, David immediately runs from the scene, not turning back until it's too late. It may be tough for the audience to blame him (self-preservation instincts are going to kick in when a werewolf attacks), but it's easy to see why he might blame himself for his friend's death.
Viewed in this light, it makes pointed thematic sense that David, played with boyish amiability by fresh-faced former Dr. Pepper pitchman David Naughton, spends so much time in the film worrying that he is a monster. He frequently examines himself in the mirror – before the transformation sequence, for instance – and his nightmares are mostly about being an aggressor rather than a victim. (A notable exception is the dream in which David's family is attacked by demons that look like Nazi stormtroopers, one of a few places where the film rather explicitly speaks to, or perhaps from, the collective psychic scars of the twentieth century. In another instance, Jonathan Woodvine's Dr. Hirsch, who has been established as a WWII veteran, cryptically tells David, "You'd be surprised what horrors a man is capable of.")
The guilt and anxiety doesn't dissipate; it just builds to a crescendo, consistently undermining the film's romantic subplot. After David has gone home with his sympathetic hospital nurse, Alex, and enjoyed a Van Morrison-soundtracked romp with her in the bedroom (and shower), he wakes in the middle of the night and finds his dead friend lurking in the bathroom mirror—a great stinger of a scare that's been imitated ever since). Of course Jack is there. In the wake of the attack, David can't simply be a young man enjoying a surprise love affair in London, not without consequence. (It's worth noting that, in contrast to other horror films, sex is not the source of disaster here. The boy was doomed before he met the girl. He can't escape the tragedy that he survived.)
David and Alex's relationship is always slightly off—"I find you very attractive, and a little bit sad," she tells him, seemingly drawn to David's damaged qualities. Scenes of Jenny Agutter's affectionate and protective Alex simultaneously mothering and flirting with the young American in her care ("Shall I be forced to feed you, David?") take the relationship into vaguely uncomfortable territory early in the game, but it's the film's shatteringly unsentimental conclusion, complete with harshly insensitive end title music ("Blue Moon," again, this time The Marcels' raucous doo-wop take) that really slaps us for even imagining that love could be the answer. It doesn't even bother to apologize, either; it just ends and leaves us to cope.
All of which is pretty heavy for a film from the director who had thus far been best known for Animal House and The Blue Brothers, a film that, furthermore, contains such sprightly, quotable lines as "A naked American man stole my balloons!" And that's kind of the point. American Werewolf is the spiritual godfather of comic horror films like Edgar Wright's Shaun of the Dead, funny genre pieces that don't pull their punches. Yet as influential as Landis' film has become, it still feels bold and deeply, wonderfully strange. It remains one of cinema's ultimate misfit toys, and I love it to death.
Altered States1980
Alien: Resurrection1997
In the Mouth of Madness1994
Now, Voyager1942
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids1989
The Toxic Avenger1984
Teen Wolf1985
Teen Wolf Too1987
An American Werewolf in London1981
The Curse of the Cat People1944
That Obscure Object of Desire1977
Now, Voyager1942
From Beyond1986
The Beast Within1982
The Family Man2000
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A Franciscan Responds to The New Yorker
We asked Daniel P. Horan, OFM, a Franciscan author, to respond to Joan Acocella's long and substantive article in this week's New Yorker on St. Francis of Assisi. Ms. Acocella, a superb writer, looked at several books on Il Poverello and offered a reflection on his life. Father Horan's own meditation follows:
. . .
You know that you're not just a saint but a "big deal" when, in addition to being frequently lauded as the most-popular saint in all of Christian history (after Mary, of course), you are featured in a six-page article in the most recent issue of The New Yorker. Such is the case with Francesco di Bernardone, or "St. Francis of Assisi" as he is known to most of the world.
In what initially appears to be a review of two recent biographies of Francis — Francis of Assisi: The Life and Afterlife of a Medieval Saint(Yale 2012) by the French historian André Vauchez and Francis of Assisi: A New Biography(Cornell 2011) by the Dominican Priest Augustine Thompson — Joan Acocella's essay, "Rich Man, Poor Man: The Radical Visions of St. Francis," turns out to be a profile on someone who died almost 800 years ago in the Umbrian region of Italy and whose life, writings, and the religious orders that bear his name continue to influence the world.
What is it about Francis that continues to capture the attention of so many? Why would such a prestigious, if admittedly "secular," magazine dedicate such a large amount of space to this medieval saint? The answer to these questions comes in the form of Acocella's depiction of the Poverello, the "little poor man" from Assisi.
This is not the first time that Acocella, a dance and book critic, has dabbled in portraying saints in popular writing. Her 2007 book, Twenty-Eight Artists and Two Saints, a collection of essays, features Mary Magdalene and Joan of Arc. But there is something about this survey of the life of Francis — occasioned by two excellent (if predictably imperfect) new scholarly biographies of the saint — that draws the reader into a world that is both familiar and oddly intriguing.
The story that Acocella tells is, by and large, accurate according to the best in current Franciscan historical scholarship. Sure, there are the minor mix-ups, like when she refers to the "Portiuncula" as "a district" in Assisi ("Portiuncula," which means "little portion," was the nickname for the chapel that she later correctly identifies as Santa Maria degli Angeli and not some geographic region) or when she characterizes the deaths of several friars in Morocco as "murder" without the qualification that they provoking hostility by preaching against Islam (something Francis did not condone). However, like the occasional faux pas or stylistic difficulty she notes in the respective works of Vauchez and Thompson, such slight errors in fact can be forgiven easily. Mistakes are easy to make. Presenting the life of Francis in six pages is not easy to do.
Just as the editors of America are sure to get nervous when hearing a non-Jesuit or some non-professional talk about Ignatius Loyola, we Franciscans are likely to feel our blood pressures rise when a piece like Acocella's hits the newsstands. Yet, what Acocella does here is admirable for its succinctness, while still paying attention to detail. Early into the essay, knowledgeable readers are able to relax a little.
Francis is presented as a unique historical figure, but not one of antiquated value or passé curiosity, like an artifact in the museum of saints to be viewed and admired from afar. Acocella's Francis, shaped by her reading of Vauchez, Thompson, Thomas of Celano, St. Bonaventure, Octavian Schmucki, Paul Sabatier, and Francis's own writings, largely withstands the test that Acocella credits to Sabatier for establishing in the late nineteenth century. Those who wish to talk about Francis, let alone present him in biography, must take seriously the scholarly developments of history, paleography (the study of manuscripts), and hagiography (the study of saints' lives).
One of the highlights of this essay is the way in which Acocella presents Francis as a complex figure who unsettled (and continues to unsettle) both those who wished to make him out to be the champion of their respective agendas including certain iterations of "leftist causes" (Acocella's term) and those in positions — then and now — of ecclesiastical authority who wish to "neutralize" or tame the "dangerous radicalism of the new Gospel-based theology" introduced by Francis's life, writings, and religious orders. Francis is both a radical "leftist" and a loyal son of the church. He is also neither of these things.
This is the paradoxical reality of Francis that few have been able to capture adequately in the past. Which seems to explain, in part, his universal appeal and why this medieval mendicant continues to be attractive to religious "conservatives" and "liberals" alike. Who else can claim such a status, especially today?
Acocella is keen to note several of the characteristics about Francis and his way of life that remain universally appealing. One of these is the explicit emphasis his vision of living the Gospel places on universal holiness and the laity. Centuries before the Second Vatican Council will rightly recover and emphasize the "universal call to holiness," Francis, a layperson (he was never ordained a priest and, contrary to a passing claim in Thompson's book, contemporary scholarship has cast serious doubt on the legend that said he was ever a deacon), recognized that what it meant to be a Christian was the responsibility of all people.
Another thing that is appealing about Francis is the simultaneous respect he had for the church as an institution and its leaders, while also loyally dissenting and challenging some of the standard teachings and practices of the time. Perhaps the greatest example of this is Francis's decision to meet with Sultan Malek al-Kamil in Damietta, Egypt, during the height of the Fifth Crusade. Acocella only briefly mentions this historic event, but what most who recall this interreligious moment usually fail to recognize is that Francis disobeyed both Pope Innocent III's command in calling for all of Christendom's support of the crusade as well as a cardinal's order forbidding the would-be saint from crossing the enemy line at the crusader's camp in Egypt. In an act analogous to civil disobedience — perhaps, "ecclesiastical disobedience" is the right term — Francis's actions didn't always reflect what some, like Pope Benedict XVI, would have us believe about this beloved Italian saint (I have written about Benedict XVI's interpretation and use of Francis in my recent book, Francis of Assisi and the Future of Faith). Acocella seems to get intuitively that Francis was neither an unquestionably loyal son of the church nor a renegade friar.
Still, I think one of the most attractive aspects of Francis's life and personality is something Acocella presents well in her essay. Francis was a gregarious man that, although ascetic and at-times extreme in his religious practices, could be incredibly generous, forgiving, and patient, even if that patience was occasionally tried. His renunciation of all property, and his insistence that those who wished to follow his way of life do the same, was emblematic of his desire to rid himself of the barriers that interfered with and prevented the building of authentic relationships: one's relationship to self, one's relationship to others, and one's relationship to God. In a keynote address at Siena College some years ago Franciscan theologian Kenneth Himes summarized Francis's attraction this way: "It was the fact that no one ever had to fear Francis. Francis never sought to dominate, manipulate, or coerce anyone. No person ever looked into the eyes of Francis and saw a lust for power or control."
Francis's life provides a model for all Christians, but his own words challenge the sentiments of historian Ernest Renan cited at the end of Acocella's essay that Francis is proof of what authentic Christianity looks like. Near the end of his life Francis is remembered to have said, "The Lord has shown me what was mine to do, may he show you yours." While the church collectively and each Christian individually can learn from Francis, the answer is not that true Christianity is achieved only when we all look like little Francis clones. On the contrary, true Christianity is achieved when, in following in the footprints of Jesus Christ, each Christian lives authentically his or her true self as created by God.
Acocella's New Yorker piece nicely introduces an audience that might otherwise not give much thought to Francis of Assisi as a perennially relevant model of Christian living. Her treatment of his life and legacy will surely disabuse the skeptical nonbeliever as well as the pious churchgoer of the mistaken caricature of Francis that is so popularly reinscribed in the imaginations of those who think first of stone birdbaths, tamed wolves, and other such romantic images when they hear his name.
Daniel P. Horan, OFM is a Franciscan friar of Holy Name Province, a PhD student in systematic theology at Boston College, and the author of several books including, Dating God: Live and Love in the Way of St. Francis and Francis of Assisi and the Future of Faith: Exploring Franciscan Spirituality and Theology in the Modern World. He blogs at DatingGod.org


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Photo Credit
The Rainbow Arch Bridge in Fort Morgan, Colorado, is the only bridge of its kind in the state and one of the longest of its kind in the country. The remarkable bridge design includes 11 graceful arches that together stretch 1,100 feet over the South Platte River. This exceptional design won the bridge a space on the National Register of Historic Places and designation as a Colorado Civil Engineering Landmark. The unique character of the bridge also inspired a local community group, the Fort Morgan Historical Society, to save the aging bridge from collapse in the early 1990s. The Society worked with the city of Fort Morgan and the Colorado Historical Society to generate matching funds for a two- phase TE award to restore the bridge for pedestrian use. Today, it is a popular tourist attraction and a center for community events such as the annual Tin Man Triathlon. In addition, the Rainbow Arch Bridge serves as the entrance to the Pawnee Pioneer Trails, a part of Colorado's Scenic and Historic Byways system.
The National Transportation Alternatives Clearinghouse provides information on the Transportation Alternatives Program funded by FHWA. To be eligible for TA funds, a project must relate to surface transportation and be one of the 10 TA Activities. For more information about the TA program see trade.railstotrails.org. For our licensing policy see our guidelines.
Transportation Alternatives Data Exchange
@ the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
2121 Ward Court, NW, 5th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20037-1213


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Hello, I upgraded my PC a couple years ago with a new motherboard
ASUS P8 B75 -M /CSM 4 gigs Crucial ram, 500 what power supply and EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti video card. Everything working great. The video card stopped working after helping a friend with his PC and using the VGA port on my monitor, I did disconnect my DVI from the monitor before plugging his computer into the VGA Port. I have removed my video card and now using onboard DVI. I have reinstalled it, but not working, how do I know if it is an issue with the video card or the motherboard ? Also, can you reccomend testing software for all components of my PC ?


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Mapping Lead Generation to Your Sales Funnel
About the Cheat Sheet
Not every lead generation technique works for buyers in every stage of your sales funnel. That's why mapping lead generation to your sales funnel is an essential part of your strategy. Download this handy cheat sheet to learn how Marketo uses a three-part funnel, mapping buyer intent and campaigns to every stage.
To learn more about generating leads, download our 160-page guide, The Definitive Guide to Lead Generation.


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This article originally appeared in the Mar. 12, 2012 issue of Forbes magazine.
Last month President Obama vowed to spend $8 billion to help junior colleges train students for high-growth jobs. Obama is right about the need (though wrong about federal intervention). Even amidst the rotten unemployment rate—8.3% officially, 15% taking the discouraged long-term unemployed into account—many good jobs go begging today.
I recently talked about the skills gap with Jeff Joerres, CEO of Milwaukee-based ManpowerGroup. Readers might be surprised to know that ManpowerGroup now generates $22 billion in annual sales and operates in 80 countries. Joerres, CEO since 1999, is a favorite of Wall Street analysts because of his straight talk.
The skills gap exists not just in Silicon Valley, where jobs demand math SAT scores of 800 and an 80-hour workweek. Even now some high-level blue-collar jobs are easy to get if one has the right skills. In the U.S. there is a shortage of electricians, plumbers and medical technicians. Oilfield laborers in North Dakota's Bakken reserve are pulling down $80,000 a year and more; the same is true in Australia's copper mines. China has a massive shortage of CPA-level accountants.
This skills gap is sure to grow as the population ages and industries from health care to manufacturing are altered by technology. Outsourcing to China won't be the answer, either. Its population is aging the fastest of all the major economies.
Today we speak of a jobless recovery, but we also heard that 10 and 20 years ago. This recession was more global, much bigger and caused a lot more financial fright than those that went before. Companies today want to see demand before they hire people; previously they hired in anticipation, based on economic forecasts. There used to be a rhythm to downturns.
Why do companies think they can hire after demand picks up? Won't that leave them behind the curve? This is really interesting. Companies now have become better at seeing the future than most economists. They see changes in their supply chains instantly. And, thanks to the likes of SAP, Oracle and IBM, companies have become immensely sophisticated at managing just-in-time inventories, as well as the supply of talent.
The new phrase seems to be "talent supply chain." Exactly. That chain's become very sophisticated and global.
You don't hear the word "outsourcing" much anymore. Why not? Companies now have multiple footprints around the world. Their choices are very different. If it makes sense for them to have a footprint in Beijing, Bangalore or Silicon Valley, that's where they'll go.
Do you buy the idea that 8% unemployment is the "new normal" in the U.S.? It would be easy to conclude that. But I'll say no. I think it can be lower than that, but getting below 6% will be very difficult.
Because of the skills mismatch. Yes—that's the phrase we came up with at ManpowerGroup six years ago. We saw data in 2006 showing that companies were evolving their specific needs faster than people were evolving their specific skills.
And that was before the recession. The mismatch, or gap, has grown since then. Yes, because most companies don't have raw demand pushing them toward growth. They achieve growth through productivity and efficiency. Every job has to be productive and efficient. Companies are therefore highly selective in adding jobs. They know exactly what they need and when they need it. That sophistication isn't going to go away.
Fifteen percent of parking lot attendants have B.A. degrees. Would more students be better off going to a trade school? Clearly. This trend started in the 1970s—and for the right reasons: The knowledge economy will need knowledge workers. But the knowledge economy was defined too narrowly. It was defined as a service industry. We failed to see that manufacturing would also be part of the knowledge economy. In many ways manufacturing has a bad name. Parents want to send their kid to a college, not a trade school. That the kid might end up waiting tables with his history degree is, weirdly, considered a better result than if the kid had gone to a technical school and become a master plumber. Even though the plumber will earn four times as much as the waiter.
How do you break the prejudice against trade schools? We have to bring honor to the trades, to technical schools. We have to do that with messaging and proof points, and we have to realize that it will take years to change hearts and minds. It took years to convince people that everyone should go to a four-year college, so it'll take years to undo that thinking. But if we never start, we'll never get out of the quagmire.


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Fuel cells could break into mainstream use very soon, and that means big cuts in energy consumption. The US navy is reportedly ready to deploy generators powered by fuel cells. Meanwhile, a startup in Maryland claims it can offer a cheaper, longer lasting fuel cell than any on the market by next year.
There are several kinds of fuel cells, which work a lot like batteries (watch an explanation here). Some have been used experimentally in passenger buses in London, Beijing and other cities since 2006, and certain types of fuel cells are already sold as generators. But it's solid-oxide fuel cells, like the US military is now using, that have the most potential for energy efficiency. Until recently, their greatest strength—the high temperatures they operate at, which allow them to produce more energy than other fuel cells—had also made them expensive to produce. The materials needed to withstand over 1200 degrees Fahrenheit and proved costly and unreliable; most models couldn't last long enough to return their initial investment in energy cost savings.
But the short-term benefits of using less fuel (reducing the number of convoys needed to carry fuel around the battlefield reduces the number of vulnerable soldiers in the field) motivated the US Department of Defense Energy and Power Community of Interest, a collaboration between branches of the US military, to improve fuel cell technology for battlefield use. In its press release, the US military said it may use the technology to power naval war ships soon, too.
The resulting solid-oxide fuel cell is the first to take high-sulfur fuel like jet fuel, instead of low-emission options like hydrogen, while remaining less pollutive and more efficient than a combustion engine. In tests, the US navy's power unit decreased fuel consumption by 44% compared to similar-sized combustion generators currently in use. Powered by jet fuel, the fuel cell generator runs nearly silently; instead of the roar of a diesel engine, all you hear is the fuel cell's cooling fan, which hums like a refrigerator.
You're probably not looking for a military-grade, jet-fuel packing generator, but the civilian options are getting better, too: MIT Technology Review reports that Redox, a Maryland startup, is using new materials in its fuel cells that cut production costs by almost 90%, as well as increasing power output at lower temperatures, which means they'll be more efficient than options on the market now—and hopefully take longer to wear out. By 2014, the company hopes to have a 25-kilowatt generator, which could produce enough electricity for a grocery store. Later, Redox will move on to models for residential use. If the company delivers and moves off grid—in other words, providing power in regions that lack reliable power infrastructure—solid-oxide fuel cells will get cheaper, and using fossil fuel could get a lot less terrible for the planet.


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SAMJ: South African Medical Journal
versão On-line ISSN 2078-5135
versão impressa ISSN 0256-9574
SAMJ, S. Afr. med. j. vol.101 no.9 Pretoria Set. 2011
Nevirapine plasma concentrations in premature infants exposed to single-dose nevirapine for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1
Pierre MugaboI; Ilse ElsII; Johan SmithIII; Helena RabieIV; Peter SmithVI; Mark MirochnickVII; Wilhelm SteynVIII; David HallIX; Richard MadsenX; Mark F CottonV
IMB ChB, MMed, PhD. School of Pharmacy, University of the Western Cape
IIIlse Els, MB ChB, FCP, MMed. Neonatal Services, Tygerberg Children's Hospital and Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, W Cape
IIIMB ChB, MMed, FCP, PhD. Neonatal Services, Tygerberg Children's Hospital and Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, W Cape
IVMB ChB, MMed, FCP, PGDipID. Children's Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Unit, Stellenbosch University
VMB ChB, MMed, PhD, FCPaed, DTM&H, DCH. Children's Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Unit, Stellenbosch University
VIBSc, BSc Hons, PhD. Department of Pharmacology, University of Cape Town
VIIMirochnick, MD. Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Mass, USA
VIIIMB ChB, MMed, FCOG, MD. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital
IXMB ChB, DObst, FCOG, MMed, MD. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital
XAB, MS, PhD. Department of Statistics, University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo., USA
BACKGROUND: No pharmacokinetic data exist for premature infants receiving single-dose nevirapine (sd NVP) for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV. Aim. To describe NVP decay pharmacokinetics in two groups of premature infants - those whose mothers either received or did not receive NVP during labour.
METHODS: Infants less than 37 weeks' gestation were prospectively enrolled. Mothers received sd NVP during labour if time allowed. Infants received sd NVP and zidovudine. Blood was collected on specified days after birth and NVP concentrations were determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.
RESULTS: Data were obtained from 81 infants, 58 born to mothers who received sd NVP during labour (group I) and 23 to mothers who did not receive NVP (group II). Of the infants 29.6% were small for gestational age (SGA). Median (range) maximum concentration (Cmax), time to reach maximum concentration (Tmax), area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) and halflife (T½) were 1 438 (350 - 3 832) ng/ml, 25h50 (9h40 - 83h45), 174 134 (22 308 - 546 408) ng×h/ml and 59.0 (15.4 - 532.6) hours for group I and 1 535 (635 - 4 218) ng/ml, 17h35 (7h40 - 29h), 168 576 (20 268 - 476 712) ng×h/ml and 69.0 (22.12 - 172.3) hours for group II. For group II, the median (range) volume of distribution (Vd) and body clearance (Cl) were 1 702.6 (623.7 - 6 189.8) ml and 34.9 (6.2 - 163.8) ml/h. The AUC was higher (p=0.006) and Cl lower (p<0.0001) in SGA infants. Plasma concentrations exceeding 100 ng/ml were achieved over 8 days in 78% infants in group I and 70.0% in group II. The MTCT rate was 4.8%.
CONCLUSION: Women in preterm labour often deliver with little advance warning. Our study suggests that NVP dosing of preterm infants as soon as possible after birth without maternal intrapartum dosing may be as effective as combined maternal and infant dosing.
The mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) rate for HIV-1 is 15 - 40% in the absence of intervention, with most of the transmission occurring late in pregnancy or during labour and delivery.1,2 Treating HIV-infected pregnant women with combination regimens of potent antiretrovirals can reduce the rate of transmission to 1%.3 In resource-poor areas where antiretrovirals are not readily available, less intensive regimens, although less effective, still significantly reduce transmission.4
Nevirapine (NVP) is a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor that has a potent antiviral effect (inhibitory concentration (IC)50 of 10 ng/ml), rapid oral absorption, good bio-availability and a long half-life after an initial dose (46 hours following a single 200 mg tablet in adults), and crosses the placenta.5-8 Administering a single dose (sd) to the mother during labour and to the infant after birth reduces HIV transmission by around 40%.9,10 In term infants, this regimen maintained infant plasma NVP concentrations above 100 ng/ml (10 times the in vitro IC50) throughout the first week of life.11,12 While approximately 18% of births in lower income settings are premature, there are no data describing NVP pharmacokinetics in premature infants.12
Our aim was to describe NVP decay pharmacokinetics in two groups of premature infants: those whose mothers either received or did not receive NVP during labour.
Material and methods
Site and population
The study was conducted in the Neonatology Department at Tygerberg Children's Hospital from February 2005 to April 2009. Premature infants whose mothers were admitted during labour were eligible. Infant growth was classified as small (SGA), appropriate (AGA) or large for gestational age (LGA) using the Fenton chart.13 All infants were fed with either formula milk or pasteurised expressed breastmilk.
Inclusion criteria. Infants born to HIV-infected women before 37 weeks' gestation were eligible. The new Ballard score14 was primarily used to determine gestational age, and when it was not available, data from abdominal ultrasound scans or the date of the last menstrual period were used. Maternal HIV infection status was determined according to South African Department of Health programme guidelines, which are based on guidance from the World Health Organization.15 HIV-1 antibodies were detected by a rapid test and positive results were confirmed on a second assay from a different manufacturer. Informed consent was obtained from the women enrolled and, when available, from the fathers.
Exclusion criteria. Infants were excluded if their mothers were on long-term NVP or other antiretrovirals, or receiving any drug known to interfere with NVP absorption, metabolism and distribution; on request by the mother; or if the infant's haematocrit was below 30%. If the haematocrit fell below 24% during the study, blood sampling was deferred until the haematocrit was higher than 24%.
Mothers received 200 mg NVP during labour if time allowed. All babies received sd NVP as soon as possible after birth. The infant NVP dose was 6 mg if birth weight (BW) was above 2 000 g and 2 mg/kg if it was below 2 000 g. Infants also received zidovudine (AZT) for 7 days, 12 mg twice daily if the BW was above 2 000 g and 4 mg/kg twice daily if it was below 2 000 g. Infant blood samples (0.2 ml) were collected on days 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 14 and 21 after birth. After sampling, blood was immediately centrifuged and the plasma was separated from the centrifugate and stored in a -80ºC deep freeze until the assays were performed.
Plasma concentrations of NVP were determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry using a Waters Alliance 2690 HPLC coupled to a Waters/Micromass ZMD single quadrapole mass spectrometer.16 The mobile phase consisted of 50% acetonitrile in 4 mM ammonium acetate, 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid. A 20×2.1 mm Hypersil Gold C18 column (Thermo) was used at a flow rate of 0.3 ml/min. Neostigmine served as internal standard. Detection in positive ionisation mode of nevirapine was at 276.2 (m/z) and neostigmine at 223.2 (m/z). To precipitate protein, 50 µl of acetonitrile containing 1 µg/ml internal standard was added to 20 µl of each sample or control. Samples were vortexed for 30 seconds, and centrifuged for 5 minutes at 750 g. After this 2 µl of the supernatant was injected onto the column. The standard curve was linear to 0.1 µg/ml. The lower limit of quantification (LLQ) was set at 100 ng/ml. Quality control samples of 0.8, 3 and 9 µg/ml were included with each run. Inter- and intra-day percentage coefficients of variation were less than 10% for all controls. An HIV-DNA-PCR test was done 28 days after birth.
Determination of pharmacokinetic parameters
After determining NVP plasma concentrations, the plasma concentration-time profile for each patient was plotted using GraphPad Prism 4 (GraphPad Software Inc., USA). NVP pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated using a non-compartmental analysis. The maximum concentration (Cmax) and time to reach the maximum concentration (Tmax) were obtained directly from the plasma concentration-time profile. The area under the plasma concentrationtime curve from zero to 21 days (AUC0-504) was calculated by the trapezoidal method. The AUC from zero to infinity (AUC0-∞) was calculated using the following formula: AUC0-504 + Cplast/ Ke, where Cplast is the last measurable plasma concentration. The following formula was used to determine the volume of distribution: Vd = dose/ (AUC0-∞ × Ke). The total body clearance (Cltot) was calculated using the following formula: Cltot = dose/AUC0-∞. The elimination rate constant (Ke) was calculated as the slope of terminal log-linear phase of the plasma concentration-time profile multiplied by -2.303. The half-life (T½) was calculated using the formula: T½ = 0.639/Ke.
Statistical analysis
Patient data were organised and coded onto data collection forms and captured into Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. NVP concentrations and pharmacokinetic parameters were analysed using descriptive statistics. The proportion of infants with NVP plasma levels >100 ng/ ml on day 8 in groups 1 and 2 were compared using the chi-square test with the null hypothesis that the proportions for the two groups were equal. The statistical software used was SAS version 9.2 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA).
Ethical considerations
The study was approved the ethics committees of the universities of the Western Cape (Reference Nb 04/7/10) and Stellenbosch (Reference Nb 04/10/183).
Of 100 mothers, 68 received NVP during labour. Of their infants, 2 were withdrawn before enough blood samples could be collected, 1 died before the study was completed, and the volume of blood collected was insufficient for 7. Of the 32 infants whose mothers did not receive NVP, 2 were withdrawn, 1 died, and the volume of blood collected was insufficient for 6. Gestational age was determined with the new Ballard score in 59 cases (72.8%) and antenatal ultrasonography in 19 (23.5%).
Table I sets out the demographic data for the 81 evaluable infants. The median gestational age was 34 weeks (range 28 - 37 weeks) and the median birth weight 2 052 g (range 950 - 3 400 g) for group I and 36 (28 - 37) weeks and 2 100 (1 028 - 3 460) g for group II. Twentyfour (29.6%) of the infants were SGA. Sixty-three received formula milk and 18 pasteurised expressed breastmilk.
NVP concentrations over time
NVP plasma concentrations are presented in Table II and as box plots in Fig. 1. In the box plots the mean is denoted by +. The lower, middle and upper edges of the box represent the first quartile, the median and the third quartile, respectively. Extreme values are denoted by *. At 8 days after birth, 78% of infants whose mothers had received NVP had a NVP plasma concentration above 100 ng/ml compared with 70% of infants whose mothers had not received NVP (p=0.49).
Nevirapine pharmacokinetics
The median (range) Cmax, Tmax, AUC and T½ were 1 438.00 (350 -3 832) ng/ml, 25h50 (9h40 - 83h45), 174 134 (22 308 - 546 408) ng×h/ml and 59.00 (15.40 - 532.60) hours, respectively, for group I and 1 535 (635 - 4 218) ng/ml, 17h35 (7h40 - 29h), 168 576 (20 268 -476 712) ng×h/ml and 69.00 (22.12 -172.26) hours for group II. The median (range) Vd and Cl were 1 702.56 (623.74 - 6 189.77) ml and 34.91 (6.20 - 163.79) ml/h in group II (they could not be calculated in group I). The AUC was significantly higher and Cl significantly lower in SGA than AGA infants (Wilcoxon rank sum test p=0.006 and p<0.0001, respectively).
MTCT rate
Four infants (3 from group I and 1 from group II) were infected (transmission rate 4.8%) (95% confidence interval 1.3 - 11.9%).
This study presents the first pharmacokinetic data for NVP in premature infants, a group comprising nearly 20% of deliveries in South Africa. The NVP concentration on day 8 exceeded our target of 100 ng/ml in 78% of infants whose mothers had received sd NVP and 70% of infants whose mothers had not received it. In previous studies of full-term infants, all had NVP concentrations over 100 ng/ ml at 7 days of life if both mother and infant received sd NVP.11,13,17,18
In our study, NVP exposure was not appreciably greater in infants whose mothers received intrapartum NVP compared with those who did not. Our median age at infant NVP dosing was less than 1 hour, compared with 3 - 5 hours in previous studies of the pharmacokinetics of single-dose NVP in term infants.11,12 Women in preterm labour often deliver with little advance warning, and our study suggests that NVP dosing of preterm infants as soon as possible after birth without maternal intrapartum dosing may be as effective as combined maternal and infant dosing. Avoiding maternal intrapartum NVP dosing eliminates the risk of maternal NVP exposure and subsequent maternal NVP resistance.19-21
The median NVP elimination T½ in the preterm infants in our study was prolonged compared with that of 48.5 hours seen after initial doses in adults, but was not markedly different from the 64.5 hours previously observed in term infants.16 The primary elimination pathway for nevirapine is oxidative metabolism by cytochrome P-450 enzymes of the CYP3A family, although CYP2B6 enzymes contribute as well.11 The major CYP3A isoform in adults is CYP 3A4, while fetuses express predominantly CYP3A7. After birth, CYP3A4 activity increases and CYP3A7 decreases over the first weeks and months of life.22 Clearance of midazolam, a known substrate for CYP3A metabolism, is reduced in newborns compared with older children and adults but not in premature neonates compared with term neonates.23,24 The lack of further prolongation of NVP and midazolam elimination in preterm infants compared with term infants is probably due to CYP3A7 activity. Our data suggest that the 2 mg/kg dose recommended for use in term infants is also appropriate for use in premature infants.9
Our study was the first to look at NVP elimination in both SGA and AGA preterm infants. The NVP AUC was significantly higher and Cl significantly lower in the SGA infants. We postulate that placental insufficiency could impair the levels of activity and maturation of CYP enzyme systems.
Our data support an NVP dosage of 2 mg/kg for infants born before 37 weeks' gestation. In term infants whose mothers do not receive intrapartum NVP, we recommend giving two doses of NVP, one immediately after birth and a second 48 - 72 hours later. Our data suggest that this may not be necessary in premature infants.
Acknowledgement. The South African Medical Research Council (MRC) supported the study. We thank the mothers and babies who participated, personnel from the labour ward, Department of Neonatology and Children's Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Unit (especially Sr B Hill, T Wahl and Mr G Fourie), Dr J L van Zyl of the High-Risk Neurodevelopmental Follow-up Clinic, Tygerberg Children's Hospital, and colleagues from the Pharmacokinetic Laboratory at UCT and the School of Pharmacy at UWC.
1. Rouzioux C, Costagliola D. Burgard M, et al. Estimated timing of mother-to-child human immunodeficiency virus type 1 transmission by use of a Markov model: The HIV Infection in Newborns French Collaborative Study Group. Am J Epidemiol 1995;142:1330-1337. [ Links ]
2. Bertolli J, St Louis ME, Simonds RJ, et al. Estimating the timing of mother-to-child transmission of human immunodeficiency virus in a breast feeding population in Kinshasa, Zaire. J Infect Dis 1996;174:722-726. [ Links ]
3. Townsend CL, Cortina-Borja M, Peckham CS, de Ruiter A, Lyall H, Tookey PA. Low rates of motherto-child transmission of HIV following effective pregnancy interventions in the United Kingdom and Ireland, 2000-2006. AIDS 2008;22(8):973-981. [ Links ]
4. Fowler MG, Lampe MA, Jamieson DJ, Kourtis AP, Rogers MF. Reducing the risk of mother-to-child human immunodeficiency virus transmission: past successes, current progress and challenges, and future directions. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2007;197(3 Suppl):S3-9. [ Links ]
5. Merluzzi V, Hargrave K, Grozinger K, et al. Inhibition of HIV-1 replication by a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor. Science 1990;250:1411-1413. [ Links ]
6. Cheeseman S, Havlir D, McLaughlin M, et al. Phase I/II evaluation of nevirapine alone and in combination with zidovudine for infection with human immunodeficiency virus. J AIDS 1995;8:141-151. [ Links ]
7. Havlir D, Cheeseman S, McLaughlin M, et al. High-dose nevirapine: safety, pharmacokinetics, and antiviral effect in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection. J Infect Dis 1995;171:537-545. [ Links ]
8. Cheeseman S, Haltox S, McLaughlin M, et al. Pharmacokinetics of nevirapine: initial single-rising-dose study in humans. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 1993;37:178-182. [ Links ]
9. Guay LA, Musoke P, Fleming T, et al. Intrapartum and neonatal single-dose nevirapine compared with zidovudine for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 in Kampala, Uganda: HIVNET 012 randomised trial. Lancet 1999;354:795-802. [ Links ]
10. Jackson JB, Musoke P, Fleming T, et al. Intrapartum and neonatal single-dose nevirapine compared with zidovudine for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 in Kampala, Uganda: 18-month follow-up of the HIVNET 012 randomised trial. Lancet 2003;362:859-868. [ Links ]
11. Mirochnick M, Fenton T, Gagnier P, et al. Pharmacokinetics of nevirapine in human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected pregnant women and their neonates. J Infect Dis 1998;178:368-374. [ Links ]
12. Musoke P, Guay LA, Bagenda D, et al. A phase I/II study of the safety and pharmacokinetics of nevirapine in HIV-1-infected pregnant Ugandan women and their neonates (HIVNET 006). AIDS 1999;13(4):479-486. [ Links ]
13. Barros FC, Bhutta ZA, Batra M, Hansen TN, Victora CG, Rubens CE; the GAPPS Review Group. Global report on preterm birth and stillbirth (3 of 7): evidence for effectiveness of interventions. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 2010;10(Suppl 1):S3. [ Links ]
14. Ballard JL, Khoury JC, Wedig K, Wang L, Eilers-Walsman BL, Lipp R. New Ballard score, expanded to include extremely premature infants. J Pediatr 1991;119(3):417-423. [ Links ]
15. World Health Organization. Rapid HIV Tests: Guidelines for Use in HIV Testing and Counseling Services in Resource-constrained Settings. Geneva: WHO, 2004:1-48. [ Links ]
16. Mirochnick M, Clarke DF, Dorenbaum A. Nevirapine considerations in children and pregnant women. Clin Pharmacokinet 2000;39(4):281-293. [ Links ]
17. Mirochnick M, Siminski S, Fenton T, et al. Pharmacokinetics of nevirapine in pregnant women and in their infants following in utero exposure. Presented at the 7th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, 30 January - 2 February 2000, San Francisco. Abstract No. 716. [ Links ]
18. Warner A. Drug use in neonates: Interrelationship of pharmacokinetics, toxicity, and biochemical maturity. Clin Chem 1986;32/5:721-727. [ Links ]
19. Jourdain G, Ngo-Giang-Huong N, Le Coeur S, et al. Intrapartum exposure to nevirapine and subsequent maternal responses to nevirapine-based antiretroviral therapy. N Engl J Med 2004;351(3):229-240. [ Links ]
20. Lockman S, Shapiro RL, Smeaton LM, et al. Response to antiretroviral therapy after a single, peripartum dose of nevirapine. N Engl J Med 2007;356(2):135-147. [ Links ]
21. Palumbo P, Violari A, Lindsey J, et al. Nevirapine (NVP) vs lopinavir-ritonavir (LPV/r)-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) in single dose nevirapine (sdNVP)-exposed HIV-infected infants: preliminary results from the IMPAACT P1060 trial. Presented at the 5th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention, 19-22 July 2009, Cape Town. [ Links ]
22. Shapiro RL, Thior I, Gilbert PB, et al. Maternal single-dose nevirapine versus placebo as part of an antiretroviral strategy to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission in Botswana. AIDS 2006;20(9):1281-1288. [ Links ]
23. De Wildt SN, Kearns GL, Hop WC, Murry DJ, Abdel-Rahman SM, van den Anker JN. Pharmacokinetics and metabolism of intravenous midazolam in preterm infants. Clin Pharmacol Ther 2001;70:525-531. [ Links ]
24. Lee TC, Charles BG, Harte GJ, Gray PH, Steer PA, Flenady VJ. Population pharmacokinetic modeling in very premature infants receiving midazolam during mechanical ventilation: midazolam neonatal pharmacokinetics. Anesthesiology 1999;90:451-457. [ Links ]
Accepted 4 March 2011.
Corresponding author: P Mugabo (email@example.com)


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WASHINGTON (AP) ? House Republicans introduced legislation Friday that would extend the Social Security payroll tax cut through 2012 and trim extra benefits for the long-term unemployed.
The measure invites a year-end clash with President Barack Obama and Democrats by including language that would pave the way for construction of a controversial oil pipeline.
The legislation, which also seeks to head off an automatic cut in Medicare reimbursements to doctors, is less generous than a version that Obama and congressional Democrats have championed. The GOP measure's cost, which exceeds $180 billion, would be fully paid for by freezing federal workforce salaries, requiring higher earning elderly people to pay more for Medicare and raising some federal fees. But it ignores the higher taxes on the rich that Democrats would use to cover the costs of their proposal.
New details of the GOP measure revealed Friday include provisions that would let states require some applicants for unemployment benefits to take drug tests, prevent welfare recipients from spending their benefits in strip clubs, liquor stores and casinos, and require illegal immigrants and others to submit their children's Social Security numbers before they could receive refunds under the children's tax credit.
The Republican measure would keep the payroll tax that about 160 million American workers pay at 4.2 percent in 2012, the same as it has been this year. It is normally 6.2 percent. Obama proposed trimming the levy to 3.1 percent and giving reductions to employers as well.
Without congressional action, the tax would revert to 6.2 percent on Jan. 1. With next November's presidential and congressional elections looming, both sides have been accusing each other of delays that would result in tax increases for workers.
House GOP leaders plan a vote on the measure next week.
"If the president is serious about his commitment to get the economy going and help small businesses create jobs in this country, he'll work with us and sign this bill," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said in a written statement.
Even before the bill's full details were known, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pronounced it dead on arrival in the Senate.
The Nevada Democrat focused his objections on language that would give the Obama administration two months to issue a permit allowing work on the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline, which would run from Canada to Texas. The pipeline is opposed by environmental groups but favored by business and some unions, and Obama has threatened to kill the bill if opens the door for the pipeline to be built.
"With the middle class facing a huge tax increase on the first of January, now is not the time to be debating unrelated measures like an oil pipeline," Reid said in a written statement. "If the House sends us their bill with Keystone on it, they are just wasting valuable time because it will not pass the Senate."
The bill would gradually reduce the current 99 week maximum unemployment coverage for the long-term unemployed to 59 weeks by mid-2012.
Doctors who serve Medicare patients are currently scheduled to automatically receive a 27 percent cut in the reimbursements they receive from the government. The bill would replace that cut with 1 percent increases for 2012 and 2013. That would give Congress time to come up with a totally new system for paying doctors under Medicare.
The $39 billion cost of that change would be mainly paid for by increasing Medicare premiums for upper income retirees, along with some cuts in spending authorized by Obama's health care overhaul. It's unclear if Democrats will accept those.
?????The GOP plan also heads off Medicare cuts that would affect rehabilitation medicine and rural ambulance services.


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The Double-inner Cloister in Mont Saint-Michel
Don't forget about the freebie version of "Organize Your Photos!"
On the day we announced the new blog, we did a huge giveaway of this video series to local camera clubs! Be sure to pop over there to see all the details. It's only valid for two more days, so check it out! 🙂
Daily Photo – The Double-inner Cloister
When touring the fortified monastery inside Mont Saint-Michel, one of the final areas after many twists and turns opens into this charming cloister. The arches and craftsmanship is remarkable and makes for at least a few hours worth of photos. It's one of those amazing places where you just take a few steps then resign yourself to taking yet another photo!
Unfortunately, this place is not open at night, which was too bad because I was really looking forward to one of those sorts of shots. I think this place would be so moody in low light!


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A new Umass-Amherst study suggests that naps during preschool can enhance learning and memory.
Psychologists recruited 40 Western Massachusetts preschoolers and played a memory game with them under different napping conditions. They found that children who napped during the day had better recall than those who didn't — even after factoring in night-time sleep. Researcher Rebecca Spencer says she hopes the study will encourage policy makers to include naps as part of the ever-expanding preschool curriculum.
"So for instance, in the state of Massachusetts, we now have teeth brushing as part of the curriculum. You also see most of the preschools are including some sort of emotional regulation curriculum," Spencer says. "All of these things are putting pressure on how they spend their day and leaves less and less time for kids to take a nap.
Spencer says her research has also shown napping benefits for adults — but only if napping doesn't get in the way of a good night's sleep.
Listen to audio for a conversation between Rebecca Spencer and NEPR's Karen Brown.


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pan, prototyping is not a silver bullet. There is still an art to doing it effectively. Just because your estimators forgot to estimate the time to doing validation, doesn't mean prototyping is bad. It means your estimators are ignoring crucial areas of the application. Personally, I'm against the ... read more »


text: Tomâ"¢ Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 (edited) www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-17116882/Dolphins should be treated as non-human "persons", with their rights to life and liberty respected, scientists meeting in Canada have been told. Experts in philosophy, conservation and animal behaviour want support for a Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans. They believe dolphins and whales are sufficiently intelligent to justify the same ethical considerations as humans. Recognising their rights would mean an end to whaling and their captivity, or their use in entertainment.The move was made at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Vancouver, Canada, the world's biggest science conference. It is based on years of research that has shown dolphins and whales have large, complex brains and a human-like level of self-awareness. This has led the experts to conclude that although non-human, dolphins and whales are "people" in a philosophical sense, which has far-reaching implications. Ethics expert Prof Tom White, from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, author of In Defence of Dolphins: The New Moral Frontier, said dolphins were "non-human persons". "A person needs to be an individual. If individuals count, then the deliberate killing of individuals of this sort is ethically the equivalent of deliberately killing a human being." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Intelligent cetacean behaviourA member of a group of orcas, or killer whales, in Patagonia had a damaged jaw and could not feed. The elderly whale was fed and kept alive by its companions. Dolphins taking part in an experiment had to press one of two levers to distinguish between sounds, some of which were very similar. By pressing a third lever, they were able to tell the researchers they wanted to "pass" on a particular test because it was too hard. "When you place dolphins in a situation like that they respond in exactly the same way humans do," said Dr Lori Marino. "They are accessing their own minds and thinking their own thoughts." A number of captive dolphins were rewarded with fish in return for tidying up their tank. One of them ripped up a large paper bag, hid away the pieces, and presented them one at a time to get multiple rewards. In Iceland, killer whales and fishermen have been known to work together. The whales show the fishermen where to lay their nets, and in return are allowed to feed on part of the catch. Then they lead the fleet to the next fishing ground.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"We're saying the science has shown that individuality - consciousness, self-awareness - is no longer a unique human property. That poses all kinds of challenges." The declaration, originally agreed in May 2010, contains the statements "every individual cetacean has the right to life", "no cetacean should be held in captivity or servitude, be subject to cruel treatment, or be removed from their natural environment", and "no cetacean is the property of any state, corporation, human group or individual". It adds: "The rights, freedoms and norms set forth in this declaration should be protected under international and domestic law." Psychologist Dr Lori Marino, from Emory University in Atlanta, told how scientific advances had changed the view of the cetacean brain. She said: "We went from seeing the dolphin/whale brain as being a giant amorphous blob that doesn't carry a lot of intelligence and complexity to not only being an enormous brain but an enormous brain with an enormous amount of complexity, and a complexity that rivals our own." Dolphins had a sense of self which could be tested by the way they recognise themselves in mirrors, she added. "When you get up in the morning and look in the mirror and know that's you, you have a sense of 'you'," said Dr Marino. "They have a similar sense. They can look in a mirror and say, 'Hey, that's me'." ------------------I've heard before that Dolphins should be classed as 'non human persons' and I think it's pretty interesting. I was wondering what other people thought of this Edited June 4, 2012 by Tomâ"¢ Link to post Share on other sites


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Rule #1 - Be Patient - Rule #2 - Don't ask when, if you don't contribute - Rule #3 - You have coding skills - LinuxMCE's small brother is available: http://www.agocontrol.com
Hi,are there any instructions how to setup photo screen saver ? Does it work under normal UI ?Thanks in advance,regards,Rob.
Hi Andrew,i also work with the great transparent ui2; it really motivates in developing pluto !Is it possible to add a button's onto the orbiter('s) to activate andto deactivate the (flickr's) screensaver? Could i somehow route the screensaver to a (my) specific site todownload the pictures?BTW is it recommend to get an actual kernel from example kernel.orglike it is at usual distros?Regards to AllEddie


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Companies across the globe are re-engineering themselves to compete in the fast-changing marketplace!
They are cutting employees (mostly from management), abolishing old hierarchies and opening up lines of communication and decision making from top to bottom. Businesses can't afford to lose good ideas in several layers of management, the competition is too tough.
In this changing environment, long-term positions disappear overnight, some people sink while others swim. But those who do the best are those who carry their value with them.
Opportunities for a self-management, self-starter have never been better. Your most valuable assets today are your abilities to use your mind...to access, communicate and creatively evaluate information. In a society in which the main commodity is becoming information, it's not your status that matters, but what you know and how quickly you can learn. As Churchill said " ...only the empires of the mind endure."
Because the information revolution is on now...because you must be an inventive self-leader to maintain your relevance in the workplace...because you need specific tools and techniques for maximizing your personal potential...because change is the only constant in our technology-driven world...because most assumptions you can make about the future are soon obsolete...
Denis Waitley has developed for you this revolutionary new program, Empires of the Mind.. This program goes to the very heart of your life today, both professional and personal, and examines your prospects for the future. You'll learn how to discover and exploit your core passion-finding the skills you were born to develop and using them to increase your personal motivation, success and achievement.
Listen as one of the few true self-development legends tells you how to "fireproof" your career in today's volatile business climate while developing the qualities of personal integrity and sincerity necessary to lead others and to lead a personal life full of satisfaction.
You'll learn specific steps to develop your capabilities and confidence, such as:
- Ten ways to develop personal responsibility.
- Seven ways to enhance self-esteem.
- Ten action steps for identifying and pursuing your mission in life.
- Seven essentials for building a winning team around you.
- Five strategies for conditioning new habits.
- Twelve pointers on developing healthy personal relationships.
The most exciting thing about the future is that it will be driven by creativity and inventiveness. You will need to live by your wits and abilities to listen and communicate.
Your most valuable asset is luckily the one limitless in its capabilities to improve: your mind. Use it to challenge old assumptions, to break with tradition and absorb every new idea you can find. Begin by listening to Empires of the Mind, Denis Waitley's blueprint for the new millennium and action plan for inventiveness and integrity on the new, more level playing fields of the modern workplace.
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Financial Markets Laboratory
Plugging students into financial-sector technology
In a global marketplace driven by complex and often interconnected forces, and by rapid and continual technological change, financial markets can shift in a keystroke.
At the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, we give students hands-on training in the cutting-edge software and data products they will need to track, understand and trade in the global financial markets.
Two pioneering Financial Markets Labs at the Smith School are equipped with real-time and historical data and econometric analytical tools provided by leading industry vendors. The labs also feature data on equity, fixed income and commodity markets that are displayed on four electronic boards and two electronic stock tickers.
Our Financial Markets Teaching Theater, equipped with 32 personal-computer terminals and 64 seats, is used mainly for teaching classes.
Our Financial Markets Data Center, equipped with 16 PC terminals and 32 seats, is an open lab that lets students use real-time and historical financial accounting data, and macro- and micro-economic data, to conduct research and complete projects and assignments. They also can build and test investment portfolios using professional software packages.
In our Financial Markets Labs, students learn where to find information, and how to use best-of-class products to retrieve that information, increasing their understanding of financial instruments and markets.
At the Smith School, our students are wired into the technology they need to navigate the global financial markets.
The Smith School
Inspired to learn. Determined to succeed.


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What does "real food" mean to me?
Confronted by such a seemingly simple question posed by the Real Food Blog on Yahoo, I found myself at a loss for words. Technically, anything edible could be considered "real" by the fact that it's physically there, tangible, and therefore part of our reality… But I know in my heart of hearts that it's not as easy as that. If you had asked me this a week or two ago, I might have hemmed and hawed over the validity of this assumption, and then talked about chemically enhanced and modified food and how they don't qualify for various reasons… And while this is still true in my eyes, being forced to scrape together the most minimal meals thanks to constraints on budget, time, and availability, "real food" has now taken on new meaning to me. Eating my way through boxes of questionable carbohydrates, the ambiguity of those contents left me hungry- Both physically and mentally- For something of true substance.
When you can look at a cooked or raw dish, any dish, and identify the individual components- That's real food. If you look into some cold metal can, puzzle over the indistinguishable shapes and smells, well, that's something else entirely. Even if these ingredients are all natural, vegan, "healthy"… How could it possibly be real if you can't even figure out it's true identity? Still, that definition is rather shallow and unsatisfying in my mind. Real food is something that you know where it came from, has a story, has a history, means something to the eater beyond simple sustenance. Anyone can make something borderline edible and take energy from it, live a full and happy life, but to have food that you can enjoy and appreciate, that you can trace back through generations or even just through your own hands and the creativity borne of your own mind… That's the kind of "real food" that I want to eat. Food doesn't just happen- It's a process, and if you remove yourself from that process, then who's to say that the materials going into your mouth and body truly are what they claim, and can be considered "real"?
That's what I think.
And maybe I'm not so far from the truth, seeing as the above photo of mine is now featured as Real Food Image of the Week! How exciting!


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Many ask, "How can you mix spirituality and social service?"
We ask, "How can you separate the two?"
Those who wish to sincerely serve society must be spiritually pure and only those who are spiritually pure can sincerely serve society!
Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) is a socio-spiritual Hindu faith with its roots in the Vedas. It was revealed by Bhagwan Swaminarayan (1781-1830) in the late 18th century and established in 1907 by Shastriji Maharaj (1865-1951). Founded on the pillars of practical spirituality, the BAPS reaches out far and wide to address the spiritual, moral and social challenges and issues we face in our world. Its strength lies in the purity of its nature and purpose. BAPS strives to care for the world by caring for societies, families and individuals. Its universal work through a worldwide network of over 3,850 centers has received many national and international awards and affiliation with the United Nations. Today, a million or more Swaminarayan followers begin their day with puja and meditation, lead upright, honest lives and donate regular hours in serving others. No Alcohol, No Addictions, No Adultery, No Meat, No Impurity of body and mind are their five lifetime vows. Such pure morality and spirituality forms the foundation of the humanitarian services performed by BAPS.


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PageSpeed Ninja is the ultimate WordPress performance plugin. You can make your site load faster on desktop and mobile, fixing Google PageSpeed Insights issues with one click.
- Easily enable Gzip file compression
- Fix render blocking CSS and JavaScript
- Improve Critical Rendering Path and auto-generate above-the-fold critical CSS
- Minify HTML, JavaScript and CSS files
- Combine and inline Javascript and CSS
- Defer loading of Javascript and CSS
- Optimize style / script order
- Compress all images to optimize size
- Defer images by lazy loading with optional low-quality image placeholders
- Leverage browser caching and server-side caching
- Optimize your images accurately for nearly 10,000 different mobile browsers thanks to the included AMDD database – one of the most comprehensive mobile device databases available.
- And MUCH more, based on 10+ years of experience in mobile-optimizing over 200 000 websites.
Why PageSpeed Ninja?
We've been optimizing web on mobile for over a decade now (you might know one of our popular projects, Lazy Load XT on Github). PageSpeed Ninja for WordPress is the result of 10+ years of experience in optimizing the performance over 200 000 websites on mobile. We believe you won't find a similar, easy to use, all-in-one package of performance boosting features anywhere else.
We've built heaps of unique features to make sure your site loads super fast, like the above-the-fold critical CSS generation method, not seen in any other plugins.
We'd love your feedback – always feel free to send us your questions, thoughts and suggestions.
Before you install
According to our stats, our plugin improves speed of 4 out of 5 sites. However in some cases, certain theme and plugin combinations (particularly related to caching and optimization) cause incompatibility issues. Therefore our plugin might not be suitable for everyone. In order for you to see how PageSpeed Ninja could work on your site, we created a simple tool where you can test your site before installation. We highly recommend you visit PageSpeed.Ninja and test your site beforehand.
When the plugin is deleted, it will automatically revert all settings on your site back to way they were before installing this plugin. It restores all optimized images and removes /s directory with optimized JS and CSS files. Also all changes in .htaccess files are reverted back.
Please note that this restoration may not work reliably if in the meanwhile there have been any conflicts with other plugins, e.g. if the other plugins dynamically create/edit/remove files (including the files backed up by this plugin).
Feedback, Bug reports, Logging possible issues
We welcome all questions, comments, suggestions, issue reports. Contact us to be added to our private tester Facebook group.
PageSpeed Ninja logs all php errors in wp-content/plugins/pagespeedninja/includes/error_log.php file (see Troubleshooting section in Advanced tab of the PageSpeed Ninja settings page)
If you find a problem, would be great if you can also send that file along.
- Upload the plugin files to the
/wp-content/plugins/psn-pagespeed-ninjadirectory, or install the plugin through the WordPress plugins screen directly. We recommend taking a backup of your site first, just like with any other new plugin.
- Activate the plugin through the 'Plugins' screen in WordPress
- Use the Settings->PageSpeed Ninja screen to configure the plugin
- After you have installed the plugin, navigate to Settings->PageSpeed Ninja and enable optimization levels suggested by Google's PageSpeed Insights. By default all optimizations are disabled. The plugin then optimizes images, JS and CSS files, and modifies .htaccess files as required to fix issues identified by Google PageSpeed Insights.
Does this plugin have any conflicts with Yoast or any of the other SEO plugins out there?
The PageSpeed Ninja plugin should work pretty well with most other plugins without issues. However, if some SEO plugins try to do some of the same things as this plugin, then conflicts could be possible especially if gzip compression is enabled. However that is pretty unlikely.
"PageSpeed Ninja" 是开源软件。 以下人员对此插件做出了贡献。贡献者
= 0.9.45 Beta Release [22 February 2023]
– Fixed anonymous statistics collection
– Updated AMDD database
= 0.9.44 Beta Release [17 November 2022]
– Added "Global Above-the-fold CSS" option
– Updated AMDD database
– Fixed compatibility with PHP8
– Minor bugfixes
= 0.9.43 Beta Release [29 August 2020]
– Fixed possible error during deactivation
= 0.9.42 Beta Release [29 August 2020]
– Fixed conflict with AMP plugin
– Fixed issue with infinite loading animation for local websites
= 0.9.41 Beta Release [6 July 2020]
– Fixed loading of PageSpeed Insights scores via API v5 (usability score is set to 100)
– Changed Google Fonts loading for "Flash of unstyled text" mode via display=swap
= 0.9.40 Beta Release [1 December 2019]
– Fixed compatibility with PHP 7.4 in CSSTidy minifier
= 0.9.39 Beta Release [13 November 2019]
– Fixed compatibility with WP 5.3
– Fixed URL parsing in "Optimize integrations"
– Fixed lazy image loading
= 0.9.38 Beta Release [30 April 2019]
– Fixed issue with exclusion of JavaScript files
– Fixed issue with priority of template_redirect action handler (resulted in conflict with Smart Slider 3)
– Fixed issue with processing of AJAX requests
– Fixed issue with page caching for logged users
– Fixed issue with file cache cleaner in the case of large time-to-live value
– Fixed work of "Configure the viewport" setting
– Fixed work of libxml-based HTML optimizer
– Added new setting to enable/disable optimization for logged users
– Added file exclusion in "Non-blocking Javascript", "Optimize integrations", "Load external stylesheets", and "Load external scripts"
– Registering of new WP images sizes is applied to the "Fit" image rescaling method only
= 0.9.37 Beta Release [12 February 2019]
– Fixed issue with Distribute Method: PHP
= 0.9.36 Beta Release [12 February 2019]
– Fixed file permissions
= 0.9.35 Beta Release [12 February 2019]
– Fixed issue with possible incorrect markup generation in DNS Prefetch and Google Fonts optimizations
– Fixed issue with WooCommerce caching
– Fixed issue with open_basedir enabled
– Updated AMDD device database for "Scale large images" feature
– Improved atomic file operations
= 0.9.34 Beta Release [21 December 2018]
– Fixed version number in WordPress repository
= 0.9.33 Beta Release [21 December 2018]
– Fixed issue in URL parser
– Fixed processing of inlined scripts in libxml-based HTML parser
0.9.32 Beta Release [29 November 2018]
- Fixed processing of xml (e.g. in sitemap)
- Removed copyright headers from minified Lazy Load XT files
- Improvement of "Skip initialization scripts" setting
0.9.31 Beta Release [13 September 2018]
- Fixed gzip compression for "headers sent" issue
- Fixed displaying of active preset name
- Fixed removing of empty directories in cache cleaner
- Fixed libxml HTML parser
- Added support of DONOTCACHEPAGE and DONOTMINIFY constants
- Improved performance of the Standard full HTML parser (Pharse library)
- Few minor fixes
0.9.30 Beta Release [16 July 2018]
- Fixed conflict of "Manage CSS/Javascript URLs" and "Load external stylesheets/scripts" settings
- Fixed "Gzip compression" feature for cached pages
- Fixed internal caching TTL (detached from "Caching time-to-live" parameter)
- Automatic detection of gzip support during initial activation of the plugin
0.9.29 Beta Release [02 July 2018]
- Fixed invalidation of expired page cache after clearing fragment cache
- Fixed invalidation of page cache after saving settings
- Fixed work with Beaver Builder and Massive Dynamic Builder
- Changed default cache time-to-live in presets
- "Generate srcset" feature is moved from experimental to stable
0.9.28 Beta Release [27 June 2018]
- Fixed issue with image rescaling
- "Generate srcset" feature is moved from experimental to stable
0.9.27 Beta Release [25 June 2018]
- Fixed external Above-the-fold CSS generation in backend
- Fixed issue with merging of non-existing files
- Fixed merging of JS/CSS URLs with hash-part in URL
- Fixed conflict with ob-handlers ordering
- Added experimental caching of optimized pages
- Added HTTPS support for all requests to pagespeed.ninja
- Added tooltips displaying for touch screens in Advanced tab
- Updated TidyCSS to ver. 1.5.7 from https://github.com/airyland/CSSTidy
- Updated presets
- Performance optimizations
0.9.26 Beta Release [14 June 2018]
- Fixed "Flash of unstyled text" mode of Google Fonts loading
- Fixed position of the Support badge
- Fixed conflict with plugins that do ob_start() in 'template_redirect' action (by setting priority to 5)
- Fixed generation of absolute URLs in merged CSS files
0.9.25 Beta Release [09 May 2018]
- Fixed javascript order with "Skip initialization scripts" option
0.9.24 Beta Release [08 May 2018]
- Fixed URL quoting in CSS minification
0.9.23 Beta Release [07 May 2018]
- Fixed Fast stream and libxml parsers
- Fixed work of Above-the-fold CSS with libxml parser
0.9.22 Beta Release [06 May 2018]
- Fixed "Configure the viewport" feature
- Fixed "Load external files" feature
- Fixed clearing of Page Cache
- Fixed generation of above-the-fold CSS in the Advanced tab
- Fixed check for AMP pages
- Fixed processing of inlined tags with CDATA wrapping
- Added new optimization feature: Skip initialization scripts
- Added support of Cache-Control:immutable header for generated files
- Updated AMDD database
- Default JPEG quality level is set to 85 (95 in Safe preset)
- Options to load external CSS and JS are moved to "Leverage browser caching" section
0.9.21 Beta Release [20 March 2018]
- Fixed issue with editing of theme files
- Fixed loading and caching of external files
- Fixed backend rendering issues
- Fixed issue with onload/onerror attributes and async javascript loading
- Fixed issue with onload/onerror attributes and lazy image loading
- Fixed libxml HTML parser
- Fixed CSS parser
- Fixed URL minification in rel attribute of tag (rel=stylesheet allowed only)
- Fixed gzip compression in the case of enabled ob_gzhandler
- Fixed uninstallation of advanced-cache.php
- Fixed issue with initialization of lazy image loading
- Fixed processing of "id" attribute in tags
- Added select of preset in the after-install popup
- Added new settings preset: "Compact"
- Added descriptions for presets
- Improved compression of JPEG images
- Improved Troubleshooting section in Advanced settings
- Improved detection of the "Distribute method" after initial plugin activation
- Improved cleaning up of outdated cache files and directories
- Disabled optimization of AMP pages
- Disabled optimizations prior to apply profile preset
0.9.20 Beta Release [22 February 2018]
- Fixed pre-check of free memory amount in GD image rescaling and optimizing
- Improved Imagick image compression
- Minor performance improvements
- Updated tooltips in Advanced settings
0.9.19 Beta Release [15 January 2018]
- Fixed rebasing of CSS in the "Load external files" mode
- Fixed conflict of http and https caches
- Added option to merge embedded scripts and styles in section only
- Added warning about conflict of advanced caching and WooCommerce
0.9.18 Beta Release [03 January 2018]
- Fixed blank screen issue
- Fixed issue with incorrect URLs in optimized css files
- Improved Google Fonts loading
0.9.17 Beta Release [07 December 2017]
- Fixed issue with Google Fonts loading
0.9.16 Beta Release [06 December 2017]
- Caching of PageSpeed Insights scores
- Improved Google Fonts loading
- Fixed javascript processing in "Optimize integrations" feature
- Fixed lazy loading with some slider plugins
- Fixed issues with above-the-fold css and async css loading
0.9.15 Beta Release [15 November 2017]
- Fixed issues with nonblocking CSS loader
0.9.14 Beta Release [14 November 2017]
- Fixed merging of JavaScript
- Fixed merging of CSS
- Fixed CSS parser
- Fixed processing of @import in CSS optimizer
- Fixed parsing of tag in HTML5 parser
- Fixed nonblocking css and js in IE6-8
- Fixed lazy image loading in IE8
- Fixed conflict with few plugins that use lazy image loading
- Fixed issue with hidden switches in backend settings page
- Fixed conflict of the Masonry library and asynchronous css loading
- Added Autogeneration of srcset attribute for lazy image loading
- Added cache reset after post/page/attachment/theme changes
- Disabled optimization of comment feeds
0.9.13 Beta Release [10 October 2017]
- Fixed backend interface
- Enabled optimizations by default
- Reset js/css cache after update
0.9.12 Beta Release [10 October 2017]
- Fixed processing of @import rules in css files
- Fixed error in config reading
- Fixed Fatal error in libxml HTML parser
- Fixed Fatal error in loadATFCSS()
0.9.11 Beta Release [09 October 2017]
- Fixed error message during uninstallation
- Fixed warning message in the case of disabled js and css minification
- Added lazy loading of iframes
- Updated presets
- Updated AMDD database
- Changed configuration file format to allow plugin to be translated to other languages
0.9.10 Beta Release [30 September 2017]
- Fixed text domain slug
- Fixed issue with quoted keyframe name in css parser
- Fixed disabling of caching for logged-in users
- Fixed disabling of non-blocking js mode
- Improved estimation of required memory in image processing
- Reduced memory usage by css optimizer
- Switched remote connections to use download_url function
0.9.9 Beta Release [27 September 2017]
- Marked as tested with WordPress 4.8.2
- Fixed undefined index in abovethefoldcss.php
- Removed unused jQLight option
0.9.8 Beta Release [27 September 2017]
- Fixed render blocking issues
- Fixed image lazy loading with Fast simple HTML parser
- Fixed Google Fonts loading
- Added check of memory limit in image optimization and rescaling
- Added new lazy loading script (Lazy Load XT 2.0)
- Minor backend changes
0.9.7 Beta Release [06 September 2017]
- Marked as tested with WordPress 4.8.1
0.9.6 Beta Release [05 September 2017]
- Switched to native updating
0.9.5 Beta Release [27 August 2017]
- Added optimization of srcset attribute in images
- Added support of HTTP/2 Server Push
- Fixed "Viewport width" feature
- Fixed "DNS prefetch" feature in the "Fast simple" HTML parser mode
- Fixed Google Font optimization
0.9.4 Beta Release [23 July 2017]
- Added request to allow using of external pagespeed.ninja critical CSS service and to send usage data
- Removed update from versions prior to 0.8.23 (first public alpha release)
- Moved "Optimize Emoji loading" option to "Minify JavaScript" section
0.9.3 Beta Release [03 July 2017]
- Fixed lazy image loading in the "stream" optimizer mode
- Improved settings page for small/medium screen width
- Colors of switches depend on diference between original and current scores
- Updated AMDD database
0.9.2 Beta Release [20 June 2017]
- Added preview of results (without affecting website for other users)
- Added "Optimize Emoji Loading" feature
- Added "Google Fonts loading" feature
- Added "Skip first images" and "Noscript position" features to fine tune lazy image loading
- Added support of ImageMagick PHP extensions for image optimization
- Fixed processing of non-standard JPEG and PNG images
- Fixed CSS parser
- Fixed issue with merging of subsequent javascripts before
- Fixed merging of Javascript and CSS in the "stream" optimizer mode
- Fixed merging of Javascript and CSS with "onload" attribute
- Fixed processing of tags
- Fixed dnsprefetch generation
- Fixed timeout issue in the plugin activation
- Added set width and height attributes for lazy loading images
- Fixed loading of URLs starting with "//"
- Fixed settings page in older browsers
- Fixed several minor issues
- Improved performance of local above-the-fold css generation
- Google fonts are loaded synchronously by default
- Excluded Google Analytics from "Non-blocking Javascript" feature
- Default limits of inlined Javascript and CSS are set to 4096 bytes
0.9.1 Beta Release [07 April 2017]
- Added "Clear Cache" and "Clear Database Cache" button to the Troubleshooting section
- Fixed Manage URLs feature in Troubleshooting section
- Fixed automatical cache clearing
0.9.0 Beta Release [04 April 2017]
- New backend design
- "Troubleshooting" section in Advanced settings
- Fixed image lazy loading in "stream" html optimizer
- Fixed in-browser generation of above-the-fold css
- Fixed "Exclude files list" feature
- Added notification about unsaved changes
- Added notification about generated above-the-fold css
- Minor performance improvements
- Updated AMDD database
0.8.27 Alpha Release [01 December 2016]
- Added server-side page caching implementation
- Fixed activation of image optimization and lazy loading settings
- Minor performance improvements
- Updated AMDD database
0.8.26 Alpha Release [08 November 2016]
- Significant code refactoring
- Performance improvements
- Added "Experimental" preset
- Added loading animation for Google's Page Speed scores in backend
- Fixed PHP warnings in plugin activation/deactivation
- Fixed few Windows-related issues
- Removed "Avoid app install interstitials that hide content" section (removed by Google's Page Speed service)
- Moved image lazy loading settings to "Prioritize visible content" section
0.8.25 Alpha Release [07 October 2016]
- Fixed few PHP warnings and notices
- Enabled logging for backend settings page and frontend pages only
- Added compatibility with caching plugins
- Added "Auto" option for "Load jQLight library" setting
- Other minor changes
0.8.24 Alpha Release [04 October 2016]
- Added notice about compatibility with caching plugins
- Uninstall of the plugin deletes generated low-quality image placeholders and gzipped svg images
0.8.23 Alpha Release [21 September 2016]
- Significant code refactoring
- Added error logging to includes/error_log.php
- Added "Low-quality image placeholders" setting
- Added "Vertical lazy loading threshold" setting
- Updated AMDD database
- Other minor changes
0.8.22 Alpha Release [14 July 2016]
- First pre-public alpha release. Distributed privately.