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So here we sit. The end of 2016. And what a year it was…
We saw Britain vote to leave the EU… a firing shot that may lead to the collapse of Europe.
We learned that the IRS knowingly allowed thieves to use stolen Social Security Numbers to file crooked tax returns — and didn't tell the people affected!
And we saw one of the nastiest campaigns in modern history, leading to the election of the most unlikely candidate in a very long time.
In short, we saw a lot of chaos. A ton of black swans. And sadly, this looks set to continue into 2017.
That's why I continue to do what I do. Because I want to help as many people as possible protect themselves from the events that may just be around the corner. The ones we can't yet see.
Will 2017 be the year of asset confiscation? Will Trump ruffle the wrong feathers and end up losing his presidency? Will China react to the president's rhetoric and trigger an international incident – or even a war?
I don't know. No one does, even if they pretend to.
About the only thing we can be sure of is this: We're living in volatile times.
And it's in volatile times that things get very dangerous for those of us with any net worth.
Maybe the government will make escape darn near impossible. Maybe a greedy lawyer will lob a frivolous lawsuit your way and take nearly everything you have. Maybe the police will accuse your possessions of a crime and just take them away. (Yes, that's a thing.)
There's no simple way to know.
But there is something you can do. You still have time to prepare.
And we'd like to help you do so. That's why we first launched Private Wealth back in 2014.
- You work with me to put together a 100% legal and fully compliant offshore asset protection plan. (We also review your domestic situation to make sure everything fits well together.)
- My team and I help you implement it safely and without risk — including making sure everything starts out and stays kosher with any government regulations.
- You receive ongoing support to ensure your strategy stays fully aboveboard with all the latest regulatory or legal changes that might come up in the future.
It's a high-level concierge service that makes protecting yourself easy.
Want to learn more?
If so, consider a complementary, no-obligation phone consult with my associate Paul Castillo. He will tell you more about the program, answer all your questions and together, you can see if Private Wealth is right for you.
And if it's not for some reason, he'll let you know that too. But at least you'll know.
Click here to book in your time
Now is the time to start preparing for 2017. Not to worry… or panic… to prepare.
Because like the old saying, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
When it comes to your nest egg, this year may be where we really find out how true that is.
Mark Nestmann
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subset: commoncrawl


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Call : 08045803739
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I've got another great meatless meal for you today! We enjoy pizza in this house, but my husband is not a big fan of tomato sauce, so we are big fans of the alfredo pizzas! We are always on the hunt for new creative ways to get those pizza flavours we love!
While this wasn't the prettiest of dishes I've ever made, the flavours & taste made up for it! And the best thing is it's completely customizable! Add some meat if you'd like, switch it up to tomato sauce, whatever your heart desires!!
Spinach Alfredo Pizza Bake
- 1 cup chopped green bell peppers & onions – I used a frozen blend
- 2 tablespoons butter, divided
- 2 cans (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 bunch fresh spinach leaves, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves minced garlic, divided
- 1 cup alfredo sauce
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 tube (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rounds
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2-quart baking dish and set aside. In a large non-stick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add the onion and diced pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes, until the onion is translucent and the pepper is tender. Add the spinach and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until just wilted. Stir in the drained tomatoes & Alfredo sauce. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes until the liquid is somewhat reduced. Remove from heat & add both kinds of cheese to the skillet and stir into the mixture. Spoon the sauce mixture into the prepared dish.
- Unroll the crescent rounds to make long breadsticks. Arrange breadsticks in a criss-cross pattern over the sauce, being sure to cover the entire dish. Sprinkle additional Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses on top if desired.
- Bake 20-25 minutes until the breadsticks are golden brown and cooked through and the filling is hot and bubbly. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.
*I used crescent rounds because they were the cheapest option for a 'breadstick' to cover the dish. Feel free to use any type of breadstick you'd like – you might just need to adjust the cooking time.


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March 23rd, 2007, 06:01 AM | #1 |
Major Player
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Simsbury, CT
Posts: 247
Is the Canon XH-A1 the new DVX?
When Panasonic introduced the DVX100, it took the indie world by storm and became THE must-have tool for independent filmmakers using DV.
Is the XH-A1 becoming the same for indies shooting HD? |
March 23rd, 2007, 08:18 AM | #2 |
Obstreperous Rex
It's an interesting idea Dave, but honestly I don't think anything will ever match the frenzy of the DVX... except maybe RED.
March 23rd, 2007, 10:29 AM | #3 | |
Regular Crew
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Austin, Texas
Posts: 89
Seems to me that the buzz among users around this camera is much louder than the HVX release, which was met by many I know, mostly who do docs as well, with "$2000 for a freaking card? As if...." There aren't a whole lot a producers seeking out the A1 specifically yet, but that kind of thing seems to always lag behind users. I would have to concur with the notion that the XH-A1 has at the very least surplanted the DVX as THE camera in that price range, at least among owner/operators. It also attracts users myself who were intially excited about the HVX, but for practical considerations based on the type of material I shoot, chose to wait it out for the next big thing, and in my case, and then some. Seems the A1 IS that next big thing I was looking for, and I'm certainly not alone. I think the Red does not fulfill that same type of "got to own one" feeling for many users, just like other cameras in that price range before. It's still priced at the "got to work on a shoot that's renting one" niche, but to buy? The folks who purchased the SDX-900 instead of the DVX-100 are the audience that will certainly get a Red right away, but DVX users - I just don't see that happening en masse. That's more A1 territory for most folks.... In order to create a feeding frenzy, something really has be priced in the that sub-5K price range, complete, which to be honest pushes the HVX into a next level that is somewhere above the lower priced prosumers and below the "pro" cameras - whatever that means anymore. Superprosumer? As for the Red One - at a minimum of $24,000, for someone who is looking to upgrade their DVX or just get in the game, it really is talking Apples & Orangutans to even have them uttered in the same breath. Now a sub-$5000 Red Three or Four or however long it takes to make it cheaper, whoa Nelly!!! Last edited by Todd Mattson; March 23rd, 2007 at 11:18 AM. |
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Sony at CES 2020: Electric car concept, new TVs and PS5 logo
Vision S is the concept of an electric car from Sony, in which the company showed its technologies and the achievements of partners, including NVIDIA, BlackBerry, Bosch, Qualcomm and others. 33 different sensors were installed inside and outside the car body, they monitor other cars on the road, potential interference and other objects around.
A widescreen display is installed on the dashboard in the cabin, and two screens stand behind in the head restraints for passengers. Inside the car, a 360-degree surround sound was created. The characteristics of the car are not disclosed, it runs on the platform of the famous parts manufacturer Magna. The maximum speed is 230 km/h, and up to 100 km/h and accelerates in 4.8 seconds.
Sony did not share the details of why it needs the concept of an electric car and whether it has plans to discover this market. So all that remains is to wait for news from the company in the future.
Bike Price in Nepal 2023 (30+ Brands)
Sony also showed the new line of televisions which uses full direct illumination Full Array LED – there are models with 4K and 8K. This backlight allows you to darken or brighten certain areas as much as possible to achieve high contrast and transmit images with a wide dynamic range.
Some Sony TVs are already ready for next-generation consoles – they support 8K resolution or 4K with a maximum frame rate of 120 FPS.
As part of CES 2020, Sony has also announced 4K TVs. These are panels of the A8 series with diagonals of 55 and 65 inches, and also the XH95 and XH90 series with diagonals of 85, 75, 65, 55 and 49 inches.
For those who need a flagship TV with a small diagonal, the company also introduced the Sony A9S with a 48-inch display – this is an OLED matrix with 4K resolution, HDR and all modern technologies.
All devices use the Android TV platform: TVs will be equipped with pre-installed tools Google Assistant, Google Play Store and Chromecast.
The smallest announcement is the logo of the console of the new generation of the PlayStation 5. It looks exactly the same as the previous logos, only the number has changed. But Sony shared the successes of the previous generation – PS4 sold in the amount of 106 million units.
Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Jim Ryan said the PlayStation 5 will feature high-speed SSDs, surround sound, Ultra HD Blu-ray, hardware-assisted ray tracing, and vibrating and adaptive triggers on the controller. More console news will appear in the coming months.


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Latin may not have been spoken or written for hundreds of years, but it is undoubtedly a beautiful language. The impact of Latin has been immense and its traces can still be found in many languages. In fact, even today we end up saying several Latin phrases and words without even realizing it.
Today, we will look at some of the wisest Latin phrases that are filled with deep and profound meanings about life. You might be aware of some common Latin phrases like "Carpe diem" or "Quid pro quo". However, this beautiful language consists of several other expressions that are filled with great wisdom. A majority of these phrases were invented by ancient Roman scholars and writers and continue to enlighten us even today. Let's learn about a few of them.
See Also: Learn the History Behind These Commonly Used Phrases


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During the 2011 renewal period Criminal Background Checks will be required for all Social Workers who have not completed a CBC to be licensed by the DC Board of Social Work. Social Workers applying for new licensure after January 3, 2011 will not be required to undergo another CBC. Click here for more information.
Please note that Criminal Background Checks that have been completed by other government agencies or employment agencies will not be accepted for the Social Work renewal requirement. All Background Checks will need to be scheduled by HPLA Criminal Background Unit or completed specifically for the D.C. Licensure Renewal.
Criminal Background Checks completed for a seperate D.C. License (ex: Addiction Counseling Certification or Licensed Practical Nurse license) within the past 6 months will be accepted for this renewal.


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People of ACM - Meena Mahajan
October 22, 2020
How did you initially become interested in theoretical computer science?
My first non-trivial interest in theoretical computer science was automata theory. Turing machines and cellular automata seem such simple devices and yet are so powerful—why is this so? While studying finite-state automata, I encountered lower-bound arguments concerning state space explosion, and arguments establishing non-regularity. The flavor of these arguments really appealed to my mind—a wonderful cocktail of logical thinking, combinatorial reasoning, some discrete mathematics, and modelling of computation—and got me hooked!
One focus of your research has been algebraic complexity, and in a 2019 article in Communications of the ACM, you, along with co-authors Madhavan Mukund and Nitin Saxena, noted that Indian researchers have developed numerous foundational results and proof techniques in this area. Will you discuss how advances in algebraic complexity are impacting other areas of computer science?
Algebraic complexity is driven by two differing goals. On the one hand, more efficient algorithms for specific algebraic problems (such as matrix multiplication, polynomial factorization, and testing polynomial identities) can yield efficient algorithms for a broad swath of problems which are not even algebraic in nature. On the other hand, obtaining non-trivial lower bounds for algebraic computation is a necessary step towards resolving the celebrated P-versus-NP question and its variants; thus every step forward in the quest for algebraic lower bounds brings us closer, in some sense, to the still-very-distant goal of understanding the power of nondeterminism.
You have said that combinatorial puzzles emerge in real-life situations more often than people recognize. Will you explain what you meant by this? What is an example of an interesting recent advance in the field of combinatorial algorithms?
When we teach NP-completeness, we describe Satisfiability, but inevitably the next NP-complete problems we discuss are problems like Vertex Cover, Clique, and Knapsack.
These problems model real-life situations, and stripped of the asymptotics, what are they if not combinatorial puzzles?! Take graph coloring—scaled-down versions of this on cleverly-chosen graphs can easily form the basis of single-player or even multi-player board games for elementary school children. Finding perfect matchings in graphs is just pairing up compatible items. And so on…
One of my all-time favorite combinatorial algorithms is the Gale-Shapley algorithm for the stable marriage problem. But that algorithm is hardly recent—it was devised before I was born. An interesting recent advance is hard to pick; there's so much clever stuff going on worldwide! One result that I really like is the constant-factor approximation algorithm for the asymmetric Travelling Salesperson Problem, as proposed by Svensson, Tarnawski and Vegh. The authors repeatedly simplify the structure of the network using insights from polyhedral optimization, solve a related problem on the simpler network, and use the solution to retrieve a solution to the original problem. Why do I like this result? The algorithm is very clever and neat, it gives the first constant-factor approximation algorithm for this problem, and the problem itself is such a natural, simple-to-state, and enormously well-studied one. (The paper announcing this result won the Best paper Award at the 50th ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing, STOC 2018.)
How are organizations such as the Indian Association for Research in Computing Science (IARCS), as well as international collaborations, such as the Indo-German Max Planck Center for Computer Science at IIT Delhi and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) research lab in Chennai, benefiting computer science research in India?
I can speak best from the viewpoint of theoretical computer science, although some comments could well apply to all of computer science research. IARCS has played a crucial role in fostering a sense of local community among theoretical computer science researchers in India. At a time when there were very few such researchers based in India, IARCS enabled the streamlining of activities that could enlarge this base, including organizing teacher-training workshops as well as summer schools and research workshops for graduate students.
Today the community has achieved critical mass. However, within specific subareas, the communities are still quite small. (For instance, one of the areas I have been working in for the last few years is proof complexity, and there are barely a handful of active researchers in this area in India. I hope this will change soon!) International collaborations, especially of the kind supported by IMPECS (with Germany) and Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research and CNRS (with France), have allowed researchers in India to tap a significantly larger pool of specialists as potential collaborators. These collaborations have provided avenues for graduate students in India to obtain wider international exposure, not only to research themes, but also to different academic cultures and styles. The current pandemic has sent us back to collaborating through virtual online interactions rather than exchange visits, but it is the real exchanges in the past that have made this possible.
For computer science research in India to achieve its potential, it is imperative that we researchers have a strong sense of local community as well as confidence about our standing in the international community. The impetus provided by the activities of IARCS and ACM India contributes immensely to both these goals.
What is a current challenge in your field?
Access to archival-quality literature. The open-access publication model can be a game-changer for many researchers, provided it is properly implemented as diamond access—free to author, free to reader. More important, beyond benefiting individuals, it can change the trajectory of future research by making immersion in a global space that much easier for everyone. We advance best when we advance together.
Meena Mahajan is a Professor at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Chennai, India. Her primary research interest is in computational complexity theory, with a current focus on proof complexity and algebraic complexity. She is also interested in combinatorial and discrete algorithms.
She has served in numerous professional roles in service to the field, including member and Past Chair of the Steering Committee of the IARCS Conference on Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science. Currently she is on the Board of Trustees for the Computational Complexity Conference as Paper Chair, a member of the Editorial Board of the Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics, and an editor of Logical Methods in Computer Science. Since 2019, Mahajan has been an ACM India Eminent Speaker, where she gives talks on topics including computability and complexity, matchings in graphs, threshold circuits, and the power of negations in Boolean circuits.


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Fiberglass Sliding Doors With Blinds – Amongst homeowners all over the world, folding sliding doors have increased in popularity recently. It is advisable to select folding sliding doors which are generated from toughened glass which will provide sufficient protection and safety to you if you do choose to opt for glass folding sliding doors.
If you're focusing on a strict budget, you might want to select the less expensive softwood instead of hardwood. Nevertheless, hardwood is a preferable alternative as it is significantly more durable, to be able to resist the vagaries of harsh weather and provides insulating material that is better.
Folding sliding doors are perfect to utilize to replace sliding patio doors or your French. It is because they have been able to transform the existing space while opening that particular room up to the exterior. These doors have turned into a favorite option for homeowners to make use of in new buildings, in addition to when building extensions for their houses. These kinds of doors are also excellent to use when upgrading your property by adding a conservatory.
In addition to being aesthetically pleasing, the kinds of doors that you just choose needs to be practical, enhance its overall appearance, as well as supply security and insulation to your property. Singling out a good group of folding sliding doors will also work in raising the value of your property, later on, in the event you select to sell it. Folding sliding doors can allow you to enjoy unobstructed openings of up to six meters as well as more, seeing as the panels are able slip to fold and neatly stack to a side or both sides of the aperture.


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1 What is AA?
Aplastic anaemia is a non-malignant haematological disease. It is due to a disorder of bone marrow function that results in reduced development of blood cells.
Aplastic anaemia can be divided into congenital forms (e.g. Diamond-Blackfan or Fanconi anaemia) and acquired forms, depending on the age at which it occurs. Acquired forms can occur at any age.
The incidence of aplastic anaemia in Central Europe is 2-3 new cases per million people per year. Aplastic anaemia is therefore a very rare disease. Most people who are affected fall ill between the ages of 10 and 25 or above the age of 60, with both sexes being equally affected.
Studies have shown that a subtype of lymphocyte in the body's own immune system attacks cells in the bone marrow, and this autoimmune process prevents the development of new blood cells.
In most cases, it is not possible to identify the cause of aplastic anaemia, so the origin of the disease is still unknown (idiopathic). In some cases, medications, toxic substances or viral infections are thought to be the cause.
In order to classify a disease as aplastic anaemia, the following criteria must be met:
Aplastic anaemia is subdivided according to blood values (see table below) into:
and is of crucial importance for prognosis and treatment.
A reduction in oxygen-transporting red blood cells (erythrocytes) can cause weakness, fatigue and shortness of breath and even palpitations, especially during physical exertion. In addition, patients with anaemia often show paleness, especially in the palms of the hands, although the presence of paleness is not evidence of anaemia.
A reduced number of white blood cells (leukocytes) increases the risk of infection. Since the body's own defence system does not function sufficiently with a reduced number of neutrophils, a subtype of white blood cells, such an infection can take a life-threatening course within hours and lead to blood poisoning (septicaemia).
It is therefore important that you inform your doctor immediately if you develop a fever. A fever is defined as a body temperature of over 38°C measured in the ear twice within an hour or over 38.3°C measured once in the ear.
If the number of blood platelets (thrombocytes) is reduced, blood clotting may be impaired. This can lead to bleeding gums and petechiae, small punctiform bleedings in the skin, or bruises (haematomas). These can also occur spontaneously, i.e. without previous injury. In the case of impaired clotting, even a relatively slight bleeding or injury (e.g. during a visit to the dentist) can be serious. In the event of bleeding, you should therefore contact your doctor as soon as possible so that he can decide whether special measures (e.g. platelet transfusion) are necessary.
If one or more of the above complaints and symptoms are present, the family doctor will have a blood test done. If this reveals an irregularity in the blood count, the patient may be referred to a specialist in haematology and/or oncology..
A number of further examinations will be carried out in this case:
If a reduced number of one or more blood cell lines is confirmed without any known cause for increased damage or breakdown of these blood cells, an urgent bone marrow examination should be carried out. This will help to determine whether there is a disorder of blood development or another causeegt.
For this purpose, a bone marrow puncture is performed, which can be done on an outpatient basis. A bone cylinder is usually taken from the pelvis under local anaesthetic using a hollow needle (Jamshidi needle) (bone marrow biopsy, bone marrow punch). This cylinder is approx. 1.5 cm in length with a diameter of 2-3 mm and is examined and evaluated under a microscope (histology).
In addition, blood, bone marrow and yellow marrow fragments are obtained with bone marrow aspiration. These are spread out over a glass microscope slide, dried and stained. They are then assessed under the microscope, whole and in their position in relation to each other (cytological examination).
Furthermore, genetic tests can be carried out on the bone marrow cells, and the results of these tests can help to distinguish between diagnoses.
As the individual laboratory steps in preparing the bone marrow histology are time-consuming, it takes about 1-2 weeks to obtain a complete result. If the development of two or three cell lines (erythrocytes, leukocytes, platelets) is impaired according to the diagnostic criteria in Section 1.4 without the presence of pathologically altered cells (e.g. leukaemia cells) and without prior chemotherapy or radiotherapy, the disease is referred to as aplastic anaemia
The aim of these numerous investigations is to:
In patients with severe or very severe aplastic anaemia who are in good physical condition, it is advisable to carry out HLA typing of the patient as soon as the condition has been diagnosed. If the patient has siblings, they can also be typed to determine their suitability for stem cell donation.
Without specific therapy, aplastic anaemia is fatal in up to 70% of cases in adulthood.
Aplastic anaemia may develop into myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) or acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). In addition, some AA patients have a PNH-specific mutation.
Haematological spontaneous healing (spontaneous remission) only occurs very rarely in cases of severe bone marrow failure.
Treatment is needed for:
If the patient has nSAA, one can usually apply 'watchful waiting' without intensive therapy.
While a few decades ago there was hardly any prospect of a cure or long-term improvement, there are now promising options. Two main types of treatment are available: immunosuppressive therapy (IST), and stem cell transplantation (SCT) or bone marrow transplantation (BMT). In addition, there are specific treatments for certain subgroups of patients. Which of these is appropriate depends on the severity of the disease, the patient's age and possible concomitant diseases — as well as the degree of the HLA match (HLA compatibility) with the potential bone marrow donor, whether related or unrelated.
If therapy is indicated, treatment should be started as soon as possible to avoid the progression of the disease and its possible complications (e.g. pronounced anaemia, infections, bleeding and coagulation disorders). Early therapy planning in cooperation with a specialised centre is therefore important.
The course of therapy for patients with severe or very severe aplastic anaemia and for patients with nSAA who require treatment is shown in the figure below:
Since in aplastic anaemia the body's own immune system turns against its own bone marrow, immunosuppressive therapy is often indicated, especially in the case of:
Immunosuppressive therapy is usually a combination of the drugs antithymocyte globulin and ciclosporin. This allows the bone marrow to recover. In the course of the therapy, the blood count usually deteriorates for a short time before there is an improvement. The most common complications are fever or allergic reactions and rarely infections.
ATG is an antibody that destroys the overactive, bone marrow-damaging T lymphocytes. ATG is usually given for 4-5 days as an infusion into a large vein via a central venous catheter (CVC). During ATG therapy, the platelet count should be elevated to 30 G/l or kept there by means of platelet transfusion, if necessary, as the platelet levels can drop rapidly during therapy. For an ATG therapy, an inpatient stay of about 1-2 weeks must be expected. Side effects of ATG therapy can be allergic reactions such as skin rash and fever. To suppress acute side effects of ATG, a cortisone preparation, e.g. prednisone or prednisolone, is also administered for a short time.
Current data show that serum obtained from horses (equine ATG, horse ATG, hATG) is significantly more effective than rabbit ATG (rATG). However, the only approved horse ATG (hATG) preparation (Lymphoglobulin®) was withdrawn from the market in the EU in 2007, so the medication must currently be imported from outside the EU. Due to the lack of approval in the EU, it is advisable to clarify the responsibility for costs in advance with the respective health insurance company. A new approval of equine/horse ATG in the EU has been applied for by the manufacturer, but not yet decided.
Ciclosporin, which inhibits the release of immunostimulants, is another key factor in the therapeutic response to the disease. CsA is subject to regular laboratory tests to ensure that the optimal effect is achieved by adjusting the dose, if necessary. The aim is to achieve a minimum concentration of 100-200 ng/ml in the blood. For a stable effective level, the medication should be taken very regularly at fixed intervals of 12 hours.
Possible side effects of CsA therapy are infections, deterioration in kidney function, increased blood pressure, gum growth (gingival hyperplasia), increase in hair growth or tremor.
CsA is taken as a capsule or juice for at least 12 months. To ensure a good and stable response to therapy, it is important that discontinuation involves reducing the dose of CsA very slowly and gradually in order to prevent a relapse. However, in some patients, CsA needs to be given for a longer period or even permanently to maintain the success of the therapy.
By intensifying immunosuppressive therapy, a cure (complete remission, CR) or at least a marked improvement (partial remission, PR) can be achieved in about 50-75% of patients, with transfusion independence and a significant reduction in the risk of infection and bleeding. It takes about 2-4 months, in some patients even 6 months, until an improvement of the blood values occurs. In most cases complete normalisation of blood values cannot be achieved.
If there is no response, a repeat of the immunosuppressive therapy can be considered after 4-6 months.
The risk of a relapse of the disease (recurrence) was about 35% earlier, when slow CsA tapering was still uncommon. The risk of relapse is lower with very slow CsA reduction. In the event of a relapse, a repeat of the immunosuppressive therapy is possible, as the chance of a renewed response is 30-60%.
In addition to specific therapy, every patient should receive supportive therapy, see usupportive therapy .
There are also other drugs that work through the same mechanism of immunosuppression. These include alemtuzumab, an antibody that works against T lymphocytes. This drug is used to treat chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) or multiple sclerosis (MS), but it has also shown good response rates in trials of aplastic anaemia, especially in older patients. One advantage of this drug is that it is only injected under the skin, so no hospital stay is necessary. If the patient previously had an infection with the cytomegalovirus (CMV), this blood value should be checked regularly, as this viral infection can reoccur under therapy.
Patients who did not respond to other therapies showed response rates of 37-48% when treated with alemtuzumab.
In patients up to the age of approximately 50 years with severe or very severe aplastic anaemia (SAA or vSAA) and availability of a sibling donor who is fully compatible with the patient with respect to compatibility markers (HLA) (HLA-identical), the preferred treatment (first-line therapy) is an allogeneic transplantation.
Patients younger than 18 years of age can also receive stem cells from an unrelated HLA-identical donor (foreign donor) if they do not have an HLA-identical family donor. It is important that 'fine mapping' is performed and that donor and recipient are completely identical in this regard.
In recent years, the complication rate for HLA-identical foreign donor transplantation has been significantly reduced, so that it is increasingly used – especially in patients up to 40 years of age who do not respond to immunosuppressive treatment.
The aim of allogeneic transplantation is to replace the patient's non-functional bone marrow with healthy stem cells from a donor. To achieve this, the patient's bone marrow is first destroyed by various measures (chemotherapy, antibody therapy, radiation). This 'conditioning' is carried out in the days immediately before the transplantation.
In parallel, new, healthy stem cells are collected from a healthy, related or unrelated volunteer.
Stem cells can be obtained directly from the bone marrow with bone marrow biopsy under anaesthesia. The punctures in the iliac crest for bone marrow collection may cause bruising and pain that may last for several days. In addition, there is the general anaesthetic risk.
Alternatively, the donor is injected with a drug that stimulates granulocyte development (G-CSF) over several days. The increased number of blood stem cells produced in this way migrate from the bone marrow into the blood. These 'peripheral blood stem cells' (PBSC) are then removed with a special device (apheresis), as in a blood plasma donation. The procedure can lead to flu-like symptoms and pain.
If the stem cells are obtained directly from the bone marrow, this is called a bone marrow transplantation (BMT). If the stem cells are obtained by apheresis, this is called a stem cell transplantation (SCT).
Studies suggest that treatment of aplastic anaemia with stem cells from peripheral blood may be associated with increased complications such as acute or chronic rejection. If possible, stem cells obtained directly from the bone marrow should therefore be used.
Regardless of the method of obtaining the stem cells, they are purified and examined for infectious agents. The patient then receives the healthy stem cells. The transplantation itself is like a blood transfusion. If everything goes well, the donor stem cells "grow" and lead to normal bone marrow function and blood development. An inpatient stay of at least four weeks is required for a transplant.
During the transplantation, the patient receives prophylactic medication to prevent infections caused by bacteria and fungi. In addition, a cortisone preparation, e.g. prednisolone, and ciclosporin (CsA) are administered to influence the immune system for several months.
Potential complications due to the transplantation are:
Graft versus Host-Disease (GvHD): Here the donated immune system reacts against the body's own cells. This can be short term (acute) or long lasting (chronic), so that under certain circumstances permanent suppression of the immune system (immunosuppressive therapy) may be necessary.
Some patients with aplastic anaemia have a rare congenital disorder in which the ends of the chromosomes (telomeres) are shortened, which is called telomeropathy. The shortening of the telomeres results in disrupted cell division and thus to reduced development of blood cells in the bone marrow.
Danazol, a synthetic variant of the male sex hormone testosterone, may cause the telomeres to lengthen, which can lead to an improvement in symptoms and even normal blood development.
Eltrombopag has been approved for adult patients with acquired severe aplastic anaemia (SAA) since 2015 if they:
Eltrombopag acts to control the development of blood stem cells and platelets. The medication activates thrombopoietin, which controls the development of platelets and blood cells (haematopoiesis). The initial dose is 50 mg/day (maximum dose 150 mg/day). In the authorisation trial, it was shown that the use of eltrombopag led to an improvement of platelet, erythrocyte and neutrophil levels in some patients. Eltrombopag resulted in an improvement or normalisation of bone marrow cellularity. Patients who had previously required regular transfusions had an increased number of days until the next transfusion or became transfusion-independent. Due to the very good response rates in clinical trials, eltrombopag has already been approved in the USA in combination with hATG and CsA for first-line treatment of aplastic anaemia. An application for approval in the EU has also been filed.
Therapies without proven efficacy, e.g. steroid monotherapy or monotherapy with haematopoietic growth factors, should be avoided, as they only mean loss of time and can significantly worsen the initial situation of the patient with regard to one of the proven therapeutic options.
Transfusions are necessary for many patients to ensure adequate physical fitness and quality of life and to avoid bleeding complications. They can temporarily replace the missing blood cells in case of corresponding symptoms (anaemia, bleeding). Not all of the blood is transfused, but only the type of cell that is needed (red blood cells or platelets).
To do this, the blood is examined after a blood donation to rule out transmissible infections. The white blood cells are then removed, and finally the various blood components are separated and concentrated. Family members are not allowed to donate blood, as these so-called directed donations pose particular risks.
In order to ensure satisfactory tolerance, the preparation used is not only selected according to blood group (A, B, AB, O) and rhesus factor, but each individual preparation is tested individually for each patient. For this purpose, in a compatibility test or 'cross-matching', the patient's blood is mixed with blood from the packed red blood cells (PRBCs) and examined. Especially if antibodies are present, it can take longer to find suitable PRBCs. If a patient is cytomegalovirus (CMV) negative and there is a possibility of a later bone marrow or stem cell transplantation, CMV-negative concentrates should be given.
In general, packed red blood cells should be used with caution, as they can lead to the body being overloaded with iron. Indications for a transfusion are:
Each unit of packed red blood cells absorbs more than 100 times the amount of iron than is taken in daily with food. As the human body cannot actively excrete iron, it is deposited in various organs, especially the liver, heart, kidney and bone marrow (see Table 2) and can damage them. Patients with aplastic anaemia or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) are particularly at risk because the impaired bone marrow function already decreases the development of new red blood cells and the iron cannot be used completely for the development of new ones.
As a rule, in the first few months after diagnosis, no storage iron (ferritin) or liver iron levels are reached which require immediate therapy to bind and excrete the excess iron (chelation therapy). It is therefore advisable to wait at least 6 months after initiating immunosuppression. If there is a continuing need for regular transfusions and serum ferritin levels are above 1,000 µg/l, chelation therapy is indicated. This is especially true for transplant candidates, as iron overload is associated with higher transplant-related mortality and morbidity.
The drugs used today to treat iron overload are generally well tolerated. The major side effects include nausea, diarrhoea and renal dysfunction, but these disappear after discontinuation.
If the serum ferritin is permanently below 500 µg/l and there is transfusion-related iron overload, interrupting treatment may be considered depending on individual transfusion needs. However, this should always be done in consultation with the treating doctor.
Further information on this issue can be found in the Broschüre "Transfusionsbedingte Eisenüberladung" (German) of the Deutsche Leukämie- & Lymphom-Hilfe.
In the case of febrile infections, a doctor should be consulted as soon as possible to make a diagnosis and initiate therapy.
In certain cases, the preventive use of antibiotics against bacteria and of antimycotics ('against fungi') can be useful.In addition, if the granulocyte/neutrophil count is low (< : (< 0.5/nl), various behavioural measures should be observed
In very rare cases, e.g. severe infections, the use of the haematopoietic growth factors G-CSF or GM-CSF to stimulate the body's immune defence or the transfusion of white blood cell concentrates (granulocyte concentrates) may be considered.
You can find more detailed information in the Broschüre "Infektionen? Nein, danke!" von M. Exner und A. Simon der Deutschen Leukämie- & Lymphom-Hilfe.
In case of bleeding, platelet concentrates (PCs) can be transferred to avoid complications. As bleeding with low platelet counts can be life-threatening acute emergencies, immediate action must be taken in these cases. If the platelet count is very low, platelet concentrates can also be given as a preventive measure. The life span of platelets is only a few days. If there is very little or no production of platelets in the bone marrow, the administration of platelet concentrates may therefore be necessary several times a week.
Platelets carry tissue characteristics (HLA markers) that are different for each person. Some patients have antibodies against these HLA markers. This can happen spontaneously, during illness or after pregnancy. If such HLA antibodies are present, the transfused blood platelets are immediately destroyed and there is not a sufficient increase in platelets after a transfusion of a platelet concentrate. For these patients, special HLA-compatible platelet concentrates must be prepared from donors with matching HLA characteristics.
The use of platelet aggregation inhibitors such as acetylsalicylic acid (ASS) should be considered very carefully, particularly with very low platelet counts.
In women who have severe problems with menstrual bleeding, blood loss due to platelet deficiency can also be temporarily discontinued with hormone therapy, e.g. continuous administration of contraceptive pills or 3-monthly injections.
BIn patients with aplastic anaemia, physical activity and exercise are recommended, depending on blood levels and the patient's state of health. However, care should be taken to ensure that no excessive demands are made. It is therefore advisable to monitor the pulse rate during exercise. This is particularly important in anaemia, because if the red blood cell count is low, the body often tries to compensate for this deficiency by increasing the heart rate, which can lead to excessive strain on the heart. In the case of thrombocytopenia, sports with a risk of injury (e.g. martial arts or rock climbing), should be avoided at all costs.
If one's participation in "normal" life can no longer be carried out as usual due to aplastic anaemia, rehabilitation measures, outpatient physiotherapy or psychological or psychotherapeutic care may be appropriate. These measures should be individually tailored to the patient.
If intensive therapy measures are planned, it makes sense to carry out rehabilitation measures only after these therapies. Physiotherapy or a psychological or psychotherapeutic care is also helpful to accompany the therapy.
If a child suffering from aplastic anaemia is reintegrated after treatment with immunosuppressive therapy or transplantation, a family-oriented measure in a paediatric-oncological aftercare facility can be useful due to the high psychosocial burden on the families.
The higher the granulocytecount and the lower the age of the patient at the time of diagnosis, the better the prognosis.
The data on survival after different therapies listed below are statistical data. This means that they cannot be automatically transferred to the individual patient. This list is only intended to give an overview of how possibilities and survival have improved in recent years. There are often subgroups that are not included here. For all specific forms of therapy, the results are significantly better for patients under 20 years of age than for patients over 20. The same applies to patients under 40 years of age compared to patients over 40 years of age. For stem cell transplants, the results are considerably better if the donor provides stem cells directly from the bone marrow and not peripheral peripheral stem cells obtained from the blood.
According to published data, overall survival in SAA/vSAA is after 3-6 years and separately for the different specific therapies:
Patients with evidence of a PNH clone can be entered in the international PNH Registry at the University Hospital in Essen in order to extend our knowledge about this group of AA patients.
If you are interested or have any questions, please email Prof Dr Alexander Röthalexander.roeth(at)uk-essen.de.
Patients with a telomeropathy can be included in thetelomeropathyregister at the Aachen University Hospital in order to gain further insights into this subgroup of AA patients.
If you are interested or have any questions, please email Prof Dr Tim H. Brümmendorftbruemmendorf(at)ukaachen.de.


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Cookbook Showdown: Best Buttermilk Biscuit Recipes
Welcome back to Cookbook Showdown, where we take four different recipes for the same dish from popular cookbooks and test them side-by-side to find out which cookbook wins! Today I'm testing four recipes for a beloved classic from the southern U.S., buttermilk biscuits. Which biscuit recipe will rise (get it?) to the top? Stay tuned to find out!
Have you ever wondered why a "biscuit" is a hard, flat baked good in the U.K. and a light, fluffy bread in the U.S.? That's partially due to the food's long, winding history. Biscuits were created as a way to make a bread that was simple, storable, and longer lasting. Dry, hard biscuits last much longer than soft, fluffy breads. That's why they were the food of choice in military meals ready to eat (MREs) for centuries.
But while the British definition of a biscuit remained — a firm, dry baked good that Americans might call a cracker or cookie — the bread transformed into something new in the U.S. as flour mill technology improved. When flour became cheaper and more easily accessible in the early 19th century, particularly in the South, the American biscuit was born. It first arose as the beaten biscuit, requiring bakers to beat or knead air into the dough. But the rise of commercially available baking soda brought about the biscuits we know and love today.
How Buttermilk Biscuits Are Made
Biscuits are a quick bread, meaning they are made with baking soda or baking powder instead of yeast and don't require extra time to rise. Recipes also typically call for flour, buttermilk, butter or lard, and salt. Thanks to simple ingredients and short preparation time, biscuits are a staple in American cooking, showing up alongside breakfast spreads, fried chicken, barbecue, and many Thanksgiving dinners.
So how to achieve the perfect buttermilk biscuit? I'm talking mile-high, flaky layers, buttery flavor, crisp yet fluffy, golden brown biscuits. As someone who grew up in Arkansas and Oklahoma, I have very high standards for biscuits and a lot of experience making (and eating) them. While I've tried a handful of recipes, I have yet to find a favorite. In search of the dream biscuit, I tested recipes from Alton Brown, Samin Nosrat, Claire Saffitz, and Nicole A. Taylor. Read on to find out which biscuit rocked my gravy boat.
Cookbook Showdown: Buttermilk Biscuits
The Up South Cookbook: Chasing Dixie in a Brooklyn Kitchen by Nicole Taylor
This cookbook from Hot Grease radio show host and podcaster Nicole A. Taylor is a celebration of the Southern food that Taylor grew up with in Georgia. But rather than sticking to classic recipes, Taylor puts a spin on old favorites using modern ingredients and international flavors. "Chow Chow with Pickled Ramps," "Collard Green Pesto," and "Smoked Trout Deviled Eggs" are just a few examples of her dishes that bring fresh life to Southern favorites.
Taylor's "Buttermilk Biscuits," though, are classic through and through. The recipe calls for flour, baking powder, baking soda, butter, buttermilk, and salt. She recommends working quickly and keeping the dairy nice and cold. Here's how these classic biscuits turned out.
Nicole A. Taylor's "Buttermilk Biscuits"
Appearance: 4/5
I wanted to put these beautiful biscuits in my mouth the second they left the oven. The sky-high rise and defined layers did cause some of the biscuits to fall to the side while baking, but I don't mind a bit of a crooked biscuit.
Taste: 3.5/5
Buttery, salty, delicious flavor? These biscuits had it for sure. The outside had a nice crunch and the inside was fluffy and light. The layers were gorgeous. My biggest criticism is that the biscuits were on the dry side, which meant they were quite crumbly and messy to eat.
Difficulty: Easy
This is a fantastic recipe for beginners, as it doesn't require any special ingredients or tools. Taylor lays out the recipe clearly and concisely while still hitting all the important tips for good biscuits.
Overall: 4/5
Tasty and beautiful biscuits. If they'd risen straight up (which may have been a fault of my folding and rolling rather than the recipe) and been a bit more moist, it would have been a home run.
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat
Anyone who has talked to me about cooking for more than five minutes has heard me preach the gospel of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. This is so much more than a cookbook; it's a lesson in how to cook without recipes and improve your skills over time. Samin Nosrat explains that salt, fat, acid, and heat are four factors in cooking that balance and elevate all flavors. This book is often the first place I look when I'm trying something I've never made before, thanks to Nosrat's thorough but approachable explanations. She covers an enormous amount of territory, including soups, pasta, meats, sauces, desserts, and so much more.
Nosrat explains in the introduction to her "Light and Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits" recipe that it's a bit unconventional. The ingredients are all very standard for biscuits — buttermilk, butter, flour, baking powder, salt, and heavy cream — but the technique is what stands out here. Conventional wisdom says to handle biscuit dough as little as possible, both to keep the butter intact (which creates steam in the oven and helps the biscuits rise) and to avoid overworking the flour (which builds more gluten and makes for a tougher biscuit). However, Nosrat's recipe calls for completely incorporating half of the butter with a longer mixing time, then carefully incorporating the rest of the butter at the end to get those highly desired flaky layers. Here's how it went.
Samin Nosrat's "Light and Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits"
Appearance: 5/5
I mean, look at them! They're gorgeous! Perfectly golden brown, well risen, and you can see the layers.
Taste: 4.5/5
Crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, light texture, and buttery flavor. What more could you ask for? My only note is the use of coarse kosher salt, which meant some bites had large flakes of salt while others had none. Next time, I would use sea salt instead, which would better distribute itself through the dough.
Difficulty: Easy
Fully incorporating the first half of the butter requires a stand mixer, which not every kitchen has, and a little extra time. But otherwise, it's a very straight-forward recipe with great tips for beginning bakers.
Overall: 5/5
Samin Nosrat came through with an easy-to-follow recipe that led to a delicious, classic biscuit. The only question: Is it exciting enough to win best biscuit in this Cookbook Showdown?
EveryDayCook by Alton Brown
Alton Brown is best known for his shows on Food Network like Good Eats and Cutthroat Kitchen. He's also published a wide variety of cookbooks, but EveryDayCook is specifically written to be Brown's most personal book yet, featuring accessible recipes for home kitchens and culinary staples for feeding the people you love. It's organized by time of day, with recipes for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snacks, dinner, and midnight munchies. From drinks like "Buttermilk Lassi" and "Bad Day Bitter Martini" to filling favorites like "The General's Fried Chicken" and "Smoky the Meat Loaf," EveryDayChef has dishes for the whole family. And, fun fact: all of the photos in the book were taken on Brown's iPhone!
For this experiment, I made his "Little Brown Biscuits," which Brown claims are his go-to everyday biscuits. The major difference between this recipe and the others I tried is the use of lard in place of butter. It took me several trips to various groceries to find lard, and I was still unable to find the specific kind of lard Brown calls for: leaf lard, made from the abdominal fat around pigs' kidneys. Let's see how these biscuits turned out.
Alton Brown's "Little Brown Biscuits"
Appearance: 2/5
Sorry, Alton, but no one will fall in love with these biscuits based on looks alone. They hardly rose and had few visible layers, I'm guessing because the lard used in place of butter didn't give them the same steamy lift as the other biscuits. And this was the only recipe that didn't call for any kind of butter or cream brushed on top before baking, so they didn't brown as beautifully as others either.
Taste: 2/5
As it turns out, I'm not a fan of the taste of lard, and it's very present in these biscuits. They're also pretty dense since they didn't rise well. But after smothering them in gravy, they tasted just fine.
Difficulty: Advanced
Not only were the ingredients (leaf lard, whole wheat pastry flour) hard to find; it was also a moist, sticky dough, making it hard to roll out and cut.
Overall: 2/5
Lard-based biscuits aren't for me. I'll stick to butter and will never skip brushing the tops of biscuits with something to help them brown. But my love for Alton Brown isn't diminished by his biscuits. To each his lardy own!
Dessert Person: Recipes and Guidance for Baking with Confidence by Claire Saffitz
This is the first cookbook by Claire Saffitz, known for her work at Bon Appétit and for her Gourmet Makes YouTube series. I was drawn to Saffitz's videos and recipes because she has a way of making challenging recipes feel approachable (although I still haven't forgiven her for making croquembouche seem like something I could totally make — spoiler alert, I couldn't). This cookbook features a wide array of baked goods, many with interesting twists like "Babkallah" (a combination of babka and challah) and "Caramelized Honey Pumpkin Pie." With gorgeous photography, foundational techniques, and troubleshooting tips, this cookbook has something for every baker, no matter their skill level.
Of course, Saffitz's buttermilk biscuit recipe comes with a twist — miso paste. This Japanese seasoning is made from fermented soybeans and lends a salty, complex flavor to the biscuits. She also includes instructions to make miso butter. I used sweet white miso as recommended in the recipe, which has a more subtle taste than other varieties. Saffitz's recipe calls for cutting the dough into squares rather than using a round cutter. Let's take a look at how the "Miso Buttermilk Biscuits" turned out.
Claire Saffitz's "Miso Buttermilk Biscuits"
Appearance: 3.5/5
I really loved the process of cutting the biscuit dough into squares instead of using a round cutter. It required a lot less re-rolling with the leftover dough. I didn't take extreme measures to make them uniform in size, but I like the unconventional look of square biscuits. My critique here is that the biscuits didn't rise as much as I'd like. I miss the towering layers.
Taste: 5/5
I never would have clocked miso as the mystery ingredient based on taste, but it added a subtle, savory flavor that worked really well. They were moist, flaky, and soft, and with the miso butter on top, I could not stop eating them.
Difficulty: Moderate
To be fair, this is still a pretty easy recipe in the realm of all baked goods. But the added challenge of incorporating miso and her technique for cutting and stacking the dough rather than folding makes this recipe a bit tougher than the others in this Cookbook Showdown.
Overall: 4.5/5
The flavor was a real standout, but the square shape and lack of rise made them a little less visually enticing than a sky-high round biscuit.
Tips for Better Biscuits
Before we get to the winner, I want to share a few tips I picked up from testing these recipes and general research for this piece:
- Keep the butter as cold as possible: Pieces of butter in the biscuit dough cause bursts of steam in the oven, which helps the biscuits rise and creates beautiful layers. Keep the butter cold to keep it from melting into the dough. In fact, keep all of your ingredients and tools as cool as possible for best results.
- Use a sharp cutter and don't twist: Use sharp round cutters for your biscuits, and press them straight down into the dough instead of twisting. This will help your biscuits rise with distinct layers. Don't use something like a glass jar with a thicker edge, as this will press the dough down instead of cutting through it. If you don't have round cutters, use a sharp knife to make square biscuits.
- Don't let the dough sit before baking: Baking soda and baking powder start working as soon as they're combined with a liquid in your dough, so the longer you wait after mixing the dough, the less active the rising agent will be in the oven. For tall, airy biscuits, work quickly and bake them as soon as they're mixed and cut.
- Use bleached flour: Bleached flour uses bleaching agents to speed up the wheat's aging process, which results in a finer-grain, softer flour. In the case of quick breads like biscuits, this makes for a lighter, fluffier finished product that typically rises more than those made with unbleached flour.
Alright, it's time to announce the best biscuit of them all. Let's take a look at the slice-by-slice:
And the winner is…
Samin Nosrat's "Light and Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits" From Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat
No other recipe could beat the classic flavor, gorgeous look, and mile-high flaky layers of Samin Nosrat's buttermilk biscuits. I'm still dreaming of them! This will be the recipe I return to time and time again for the perfect biscuits to pair with breakfast favorites, barbecue, fried chicken, and so much more.
Thanks for joining us for another round of Cookbook Showdown to test the best buttermilk biscuit recipes! For more cooking inspiration, check out our other experiments:


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Our programs
Academic Programs Summer 2019 Course Descriptions Housing & Student Life Travel Documents Fees & Deadlines Photo GalleryQuestions & Answers Apply NowSpecial programs
Summer 2019 Term I and II
Summer 2019
The Barcelona International College summer program offers students from around the world the opportunity to become members of our student body, earn college credits for courses taught in English
Summer 2019
The Barcelona International College summer program offers students from around the world the opportunity to become members of our student body, earn college credits for courses taught in English
Questions & Answers
Barcelona International College ( BIC )
What's Included?
- Tuition for full semester programs or 3,4 or 5 weeks for the summer programs
- Choice of double and single housing arrangement
- Coordinator assistance on site from the host school
- 24-hour emergency support overseas and in the US
- Full and comprehensive insurance
- Supporting documents for visa application
- Material to prepare you for your study abroad experience
- Study abroad orientation
What's Not Included ?
- International and local airfares
- Visa application fees
- School fees (text books, lab fees lunch, etc.)
- Personal expenses, souvenirs, incidentals
- Transportation to and from school
- Phone cards, cell phones
How Does It Work ?
- First, review the program materials on our website.
- Choose your desired program and confirm that you meet any pre-requisites.
- Complete the online application for your program of choice.
- Print out and complete all required forms
- Send the completed application with your application fee to our office for review.
Then What ?
- Once your application packet has been reviewed, you will receive an acceptance letter.
- You have to make deposit to hold your space or make the full payment for your program.
- You will receive your enrollment letter to present to the embassy for your visa.
- Make travel arrangements and apply for visa.
Application Deadlines
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- If you cancel between 60 and 30 days prior to when the term starts*, the students will be liable for 20% of tuition.
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- If you cancel Any cancellation notice receivedduring the First week period prior to when the term starts* will result in the student's liability for 100% of tuition and under no circumstances will a refund be made. Failure to attend does not constitute official cancellation.
* A term starts on the date students are required to arrive


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- Offline play enabled
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- Offline play enabled
- 1 - 2 players
Blackwind is a top-down sci-fi action game that puts you in the shoes of a teenager trapped inside a prototype battle armor suit during an alien invasion. Face off against enemies, cut through their ranks, and fight back in a last-ditch attempt to stop a planetary invasion.
When the starship Pandora is shot down, James Hawkins finds himself trapped inside a military prototype Battle Frame armor as he hurtles towards Medusa-42. As the Raknos hordes ravage the planet and leave every human mining colony in ruins, James doesn't have long to discover how to operate the Battle Frame if he wants to survive his dangerous surroundings and find his missing father.
But James isn't alone on his quest – an unexpected ally hides inside his Battle Frame…
-Choose your playstyle: Engage in melee combat, shoot at will, launch missiles at enemies, or use special Battle Suit powers to survive showdowns.
- Fiercely terminate your opponents with brutal moves.
- Evolve your Battle Frame with new powers and expand your skill tree.
- Use the Battle Frame Drone to expand your fighting and exploring capabilities in the single-player campaign.
- Local Coop Mode: the Battle Frame and its Drone can be controlled by two players.
- Platform:
- Release:
- 1/20/2022
- Publisher:
- Blowfish Studios Pty Ltd
- Genre:
- Unique
- Voice:
- English
- Screen Languages:
- Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), English, French (France), German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish (Mexico)
Online features require an account and are subject to terms of service and applicable privacy policy (playstationnetwork.com/terms-of-service & playstationnetwork.com/privacy-policy).
Software subject to license (us.playstation.com/softwarelicense).
You can download and play this content on the main PS5 console associated with your account (through the "Console Sharing and Offline Play" setting) and on any other PS5 consoles when you login with your same account.


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PayPal Notches Largest Bitcoin Volume For The First Time In Months
Payment giant PayPal has seen the most significant Bitcoin activity on the platform in recent months. It seems that the move to embrace cryptocurrencies has had positive ripple effects for its wider adoption.To get more news about CHZ, you can visit wikibit.com official website.
$145 Million Worth Of Activity
As Bitcoin climbed to a new all-time high that was sparked by the SECs approval of Bitcoin ETFs, PayPal was also recording its own BTC milestone. The payment platform saw trading volumes of the asset by $145.60 million which is the highest since May 19th. During that time, the platform recorded volume up to $304 million which is double the recent metric.
Analysts are unsure whether or not the spike in volume is because of investors selling the top or because of retail traders buying in to ride the waves. Across the internet, searches for the word Bitcoin also experienced the same kind of spike.
PayPal's decision to incorporate cryptocurrencies has been met with adulation from several quarters. The platform's millions of customers now have the option to buy, hold and sell selected cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin from the platform and is shining a pATH for the other payment giants to follow the same path which can spur Bitcoin to new highs.
"The increased buying pressure from PayPals users and its corresponding impact on the price of Bitcoin may stir a notable up-shoot this fourth quarter and as the year runs to an end," says Alexander Vasiliev, co-founder of mercuryo. "With the ATH at $67K, we may see a worse case price high of $80,000 by year-end and a best-case scenario of $100,000."
PayPal's Love For Cryptocurrencies
Aside from the integration of cryptocurrencies on the platform, PayPal now provides educational materials to its users on the app to foster a deeper understanding. The platforms vice president noted that "these changes will enable our customers to have more choice and flexibility in purchasing cryptocurrency on our platform."
As part of the cryptocurrency expansion drive, the company acquired Curv, a digital asset security firm. The companys VP, Fernandez da Ponte in a statement noted that "the acquisition of Curv is part of our effort to invest in the talent and technology to realize our vision for a more inclusive financial system."
Paypal's co-founder, Peter Thiel has stated that he feels like he "under-invested" in Bitcoin. The positive reactions from customers over cryptocurrency offerings may spell even deeper forays into the field by PayPal.
For more blockchain news, please download WikiBit - the Global Blockchain Regulatory Inquiry APP.
Elon Musk Says He Doesn't Own Shiba Inu Tokens
Elon Musk has a SHIBa Inu puppy at home. Elon Musk has joked about Shiba Inu, but Elon Musk doesnt hodl Shiba Inu.To get more news about BNT, you can visit wikibit.com official website.
Replying to one of the many Shiba Inu accounts on Crypto Twitter, the famous Elon Musk confirmed that he didnt own Shiba Inu, despite being a highly influential figure for that community.
Elon Musk Has no Shiba, FLOKI, or Any Other DOGEcoin Spin-Off
And although his puppys name is FLOKI, Elon Musk does not have a single Floki token either.
Elon Musk said he only owned Bitcoin, ETHereum, and Dogecoin (a portfolio he had already revealed). The disclosure came with a piece of advice for all maximalists —be it Bitcoin, Shiba Inu, or any other cryptocurrency: faith in a coin does not matter as much as the ecosystem of services built around it.
It seems that Elon Musk prefers the original MEME to the copy. The worlds richest man has been actively working to improve Dogecoin and make it globally viable as a fast, cheap, and scalable medium of exchange.
The Dogecoin Foundation even appointed an associate of Elon Musk as a member of its board of advisors, so it could be said that the entrepreneurs relationship with Dogecoin goes far beyond MEMEs.
Elon Musks love for Dogecoin has spread throughout his company. In a subsequent tweet, the entrepreneur claimed that many of his employees also owned Dogecoin, and this was one of the things that motivated him to get into this cryptocurrency.
Lots of people I talked to on the production lines at Tesla or building rockets at SpaceX own Doge. They aren't financial experts or Silicon Valley technologists. That's why I decided to support Doge – it felt like the peoples crypto.
NZD Outstrips AUD Due to the Later Facing Many Unfavorable Factors
Commodity currencies have performed well recently, among which CAD and NZD rocket, followed by AUD that bounces off continuously. I am looking forward to a further increase in the CAD and NZD. While AUD has recovered constantly, whether will the currency keep going up or not, that is a question, because the unfavorable factors are dominant among the basic ones that affect the AUD most for a long time.To get more news about ifx brokers sign up, you can visit wikifx.com official website.
Driven by the rising coal prices, AUD has rebounded overall recently. The coal prices are estimated to keep soaring because of the energy shortages in Asia. In addition, among the basic factors which have a long-term bearing on the AUD, there are two major ones, economy and base metals, in the Asian-Pacific region. Many countries in the region released a falling GDP, indicating that the economy has suffered from flood situation, pandemic and energy shortage.
In terms of base metals, copper futures staged a recovery recently, boosting in part the Australian economy, compared with the soaring coal prices that bolster the economy most. However, iron ore remains weak after a plummet. With an energy shortage, it is estimated that the demand of industrial base metals will decline. Meanwhile, many countries determine to take a low-carbon emission policy, continuously decreasing the demand of refined steel and base metals. So the copper futures and aluminum futures prices are expected to adjust enormously after surging.To get more news about xifx markets, you can visit wikifx.com official website.
Im not very optimistic about the future AUD temporarily, due to the unfavorable factors that have a bearing on the currency. On the contrary, the CAD and NZD enjoy more favorable factors. Confronted with a well-performed economy in Canada and New Zealand, the local central banks are likely to introduce hawkish monetary policies in the future including tough measures to hike interest rate. Therefore, the CAD and NZD may be bullish, especially against the JPY, which is possible to be weaker because of the related cross trades.To get more news about ifxbroker, you can visit wikifx.com official website.
The governor of Bank of England Andrew Bailey intimates that more pressures are put on the rate interest hikes, sending the pound rising in a short term. But the severe labour shortage in the UK have affected the local economy badly. It is believed that the future economic data issued by the country may reflect the negative influences from the shortage, further ratcheting up pressure on an overall bullish pound in the future.
Gold Prices Look to Real Rates as November FOMC Nears
Gold prices continue to tread water in familiar territory as expected, anchored by static real interest rates. Nominal yields are on the rise thanks to a hawkish turn in the Fed policy outlook, which has in turn tracked surging inflation expectations. Recently however, the rise in price growth bets has outpaced nominal rates, capping real yields.To get more news about ifx brokers, you can visit wikifx.com official website.
This seems to imply that markets expect the US central bank to fall behind the curve on curbing prices. Not surprisingly, that has kept gold afloat: traders have understandably reckoned that the 0% yield offered by bullion is a better store-of-value prospect than the negative return on cash.To get more news about ifx brokers minimum deposit, you can visit wikifx.com official website.
A rethink may be in order. Fed Funds futures imply that markets now price in 130 basis points in tightening through the end of 2024. Chair Jerome Powell and company projected a more spirited 175 basis points in hikes over the same period at last months FOMC conclave however.To get more news about ifx brokers review, you can visit wikifx.com official website.
With this in mind, the spotlight may shift to speculation about the November 3 gathering of the rate-setting committee in the days ahead. It is expected to formally introduce the process of tapering back QE asset purchases, setting the stage for rates to rise in the second half of 2022.
Traders pondering hawkish surprise risk might look to rebalance portfolios accordingly in the days ahead, pressuring bullion. Lasting follow-through seems unlikely for now however, with directional conviction in short supply before policymakers guidance can be gleaned and properly onboarded.
October's flash PMI surveys from the US, UK and Eurozone headline the data docket in the coming hours. Global economic news-flow has increasingly underperformed relative to forecasts recently, which may imply that analysts' forecasts are rosier than reality supports and set the stage for downside surprises.
That might bode ill for gold if soft headline results come alongside indications of sticky price growth, which may in fact be amplifying the downshift in global output expansion since May. That mix might beckon swifter action from monetary authorities, pulling the metal lower within recent ranges.
Gold prices remain locked in familiar territory below the $1800/oz figure, though the bearish bias established from August 2020 remains intact. A break below support at 1750.78 may expose 1717.89 on route to the 2021 floor under $1700/oz. Resistance begins at 1808.16, followed by the range top at 1834.14. A daily close above that seems needed to make the case for upside follow-through.
The bending radius of the cable and its influence on the cable
1. What is the bending radius of the cable?
Cables must be actively or passively subjected to bending during the manufacturing, transportation, and installation and construction processes. When the cable is bent, the degree of bending is directly related to the bending radius of the cable.
1. The bending radius of the cable: Normally, we regard the bent cable as an arc, and the radius of the circle where the arc is located is the bending radius of the cable in the bending state.
2. The minimum bending radius of the cable: Due to the cable material and structural characteristics, the cable has a certain limit to withstand bending. The cable bending radius under this limit is the minimum bending radius of the cable.
2. The influence of too small cable bending radius on the cable
1. The effect of bending on the conductor
The cable conductor is made up of multiple single-core wires twisted at a certain pitch. The number of single wires and the pitch of the conductor determine the stability of the conductor during bending. Excessive bending will cause the conductor to become loose and loose. The protrusion directly affects the performance of the semi-conductive layer and insulating layer of the outer conductor.
2. The influence of cable bending on insulation
When the cable is bent with a certain bending radius, the insulation at the bend will undergo tensile deformation. When the bending exceeds the allowable minimum bending radius, it may cause insulation damage.
3. The effect of bending on metal shielding
Usually medium voltage cables are shielded by copper tape. When the cable is bent too much, the metal tape will wrinkle or curl, which will easily lead to insulation damage.
Precautions for installation of flame-retardant and fire-resistant cables
The characteristics of flame-retardant and fire-resistant cables: have the function of self-extinguishing, and can maintain the normal operation of the electrical circuit for a period of time under burning conditions. Therefore, the installation of flame-retardant and fire-resistant cables can effectively control major disasters caused by cable fire and prolonged combustion, thereby improving the fire protection level of electric lines. So, what matters should be paid attention to when installing flame-retardant and fire-resistant cables?
1. When laying cables in the same pipeline, it is not advisable to configure both flame-retardant and fire-resistant cables and ordinary non-fire-resistant cables.
2. When the number of cables to be installed is small, fire-resistant paint, tape, etc. can be added to the cables.
3. Places with high safety performance requirements, such as oil tank farms, important wooden structure public buildings, dense wire tunnels, hospitals, shopping malls, etc., need to be equipped with Class A flame-retardant and fire-resistant cables.
4. In industrial buildings, important circuits such as fire protection, alarm, emergency lighting, breaker operation DC power supply, and emergency shutdown power supply for generating sets and other important circuits need to be equipped with Class A flame-retardant and fire-resistant cables.
5. When too many cables are laid in the same pipeline, the cables need to be laid in the fire-resistant trough box.
6. In order to reduce the failure rate of wire connectors in fire accidents, the number of connectors should be reduced as much as possible during installation to ensure that the lines can work normally in a fire. If branch wiring is needed, fire-proof the joints should be done.
Classification of flame-retardant cables and flame-retardant grades A, B, and C
1. Definition and background
Due to the frequent occurrence of electrical fires, people have put forward higher requirements for the safety of wires and cables. Flame-retardant cables refer to cables that can spread the flame within a certain range and have the function of self-extinguishing when an electrical fire occurs.
The combustion of the cable is caused by the external heating to produce flammable gas. To realize the flame retardant of the cable, the three elements that cause the combustion must be suppressed: flammable gas, heat and oxygen. The traditional method is to add halogen-containing halides and metal oxides to the sheath material. This limits the spread of fire to a certain extent. However, because these materials contain halide, they release a large amount of smoke and hydrogen halide gas when burned. The visibility during fire is low, which brings great impact to the safety of personnel evacuation and fire fighting. obstacle. In recent years, with the continuous improvement of the level of science and technology, the flame retardant problem has been further developed from the halogen flame retardant in the past to the low halogen, halogen-free flame retardant.
2. Flame retardant grade
The determination of flame-retardant cable grade usually adopts the vertical burning test method of bundled wires and cables. The test divides wires and cables into flame-retardant A, B, and C three categories. That is to say, multiple wires or cables with a length of 3.5m (the total number is different due to the flame retardant category and the non-metallic materials contained in each meter of the wire and cable) are installed in bundles on the sample ladder and placed vertically in the test box In the medium, a gas burner with an intensity of 20.6kW is used to supply fire to the wires and cables vertically.
Class A and B flame-retardant wires and cables provide fire time for 40 minutes; Class C fire time for 20 minutes. After the test, if the carbonization height of the wire and cable does not exceed 2.5m, it will be passed. Specific grades of non-metallic materials per meter of wire and cable are as follows: A type 7 liters/meter; B type 3.5 liters/meter; C type 1.5 liters/meter.
Five principles of circuit wiring in home decoration
Circuit wiring is an important part of home decoration. The quality of home decoration circuit wiring directly affects our future life, and will also affect our future circuit maintenance and transformation. Do you know how home decoration circuit wiring should be implemented and what wiring principles should be followed?
1. Principles of circuit design: walk on the top without walking on the ground, on the top without walking on the wall, and on the wall without walking on the ground.
2. The principle of circuit grouping: according to the circuit application in the home, carry out strong and weak current grouping, keep the distance between strong and weak current groups at 30-50 cm; group the circuits into living room, kitchen, bedroom and other applications according to the spatial layout of the family;
3. Circuit positioning principle: According to the placement of household electrical appliances, the layout of switches, the positioning of sockets, etc., carry out the planning and layout of the circuit.
4. Circuit grooving principle: The principle of horizontal and vertical grooving should be followed, and horizontal grooves should be opened as little as possible; if there are no more than 3 inflection points on the line, the shortest line should be planned and then grooved .
5. The principle of circuit buried pipe: circuit wiring generally adopts the method of concealed buried pipe. There are two types of wire pipes: cold-bent pipe and PVC pipe. Cold-bend pipes can be bent but difficult to break. It is recommended as the preferred choice for buried pipes.
Adhering to the five principles of circuit wiring in home decoration can enhance the safety of life electricity and provide convenience for future circuit maintenance and transformation.
6 skills that must be mastered when laying outdoor cables
The installation and construction of outdoor power cables is relatively difficult due to the complex terrain and numerous equipment and facilities in the urban area. In order to avoid problems such as cable abrasion, equipment damage, and personnel safety caused by construction, the following summarizes the 6 major techniques for laying outdoor power cables.
1. Before laying the cable, check whether the type and specification of the cable meet the design requirements: armored cables should be used for direct burial laying; unarmored cables should be used in cable trays, in cable shafts, overhead and pipe laying; Flame-retardant cables should be used in public places with higher fire protection requirements.
2. Check whether the cable reel and its protective layer are intact, and whether the two ends of the cable are damp.
3. According to the actual situation of the construction site, it is determined that the cable shall be laid in direct buried, vertical shaft, pipe-through or overhead laying methods.
4. When the power cable is buried directly underground, the distance from the ground should not be less than 0.7 meters, the distance between the pipeline and other parallel pipelines should be kept at least 2 meters, and the pipeline spacing should be more than 0.5 meters during cross laying.
5. The sequence of cable laying and the location of cable brackets should be planned as a whole before construction.
6.Pay attention to the abrasion of the cable at the bend during construction, and ensure that the cable has enough space for expansion and contraction.
Talking about the Causes and Preventive Measures of Electric Wire Fire
Reasons for the wire fire:
1. Short circuit: the phenomenon that the live wire and the live wire, and the live wire and the neutral wire are short-circuited on the electrical circuit. A short circuit can easily make the metal conductor instantaneously high temperature and cause the cable insulation material to catch fire.
2. Overload operation: Due to long-term overload operation, the operating temperature of the cable far exceeds the maximum allowable temperature during normal heating, which makes the insulation material of the cable aging and dry, so it is easy to break down and cause the wire to catch fire.
3. Excessive contact resistance: The contact resistance is too large due to poor contact at the junction of line and line, line and switch, and line and other electrical equipment. When strong current passes, it will also cause local heating and high temperature and cause line fire.
4. Leakage: The quality problems of the wire, such as poor insulation performance or friction or scratches in the laying of the wire, will cause the wire to leak. The electric spark and high temperature caused by the leakage will cause the wire to catch fire.
Prevention of wire fire:
1. Short-circuit prevention: Use safe fuse electrical switches and select flame-retardant cables with high safety factors. When a short-circuit fault occurs on the electrical circuit, the fuse will blow and cut off the current, and the flame-retardant cable has its own self-extinguishing performance, which greatly reduces the spread of fire.
2. Overload prevention: Do not pull wires randomly. When using high-power electrical appliances, consider the acceptable range of wires and cables. for
To prevent aging and breakdown of insulating materials during overload operation, it is recommended to use wires and cables with better aging resistance and lower eccentricity.
3. Prevention of excessive contact resistance: The electrical wiring must be installed in strict accordance with the electrical installation regulations. If necessary, please ask a professional electrician.
Set up the line.
4. Leakage prevention: choose wires and cables with good insulation material quality and strong bending resistance. In addition, regular
Check electrical wiring and equipment, etc.


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Essential Tips for Choosing the Best Prescription Medication Access Program
One thing that you should understand is that many people are spending a lot in buying their prescription medicine. The good news is that we have many access programs or facilities like Prescription Hope which will make your medication affordable. One thing that you should know is that getting the best access program will not only be about affordability and there are other things that you should check as well. Here are some of the tips that will help you to learn more or discover more about choosing the best medication access program.
The first thing that you should consider is their list of medications. You find that this is vital because we have many diseases such as Januvia, diabetes, Lyrica among many chronic diseases which will require different medication. Therefore, you should ask for a list of their medicines, or you can check it on their websites so that you can know if they will be able to meet your needs or not. You can as well choose a prescription medication access program that provides a wide range of medication which increases your chances of getting the medicine that you need.
The other thing that you should consider is where they get their medication. This is one of the sensitive areas because you will have to ensure that there is no chance you are taking low quality medicines which can be equally dangerous. Because of that you should make sure that they are getting their medication from some of the top pharmaceutical companies which have been accredited to manufacture different types of medication. With this, you will be sure that you are getting the best quality medicine which will aid in your recovery.
Also, you should also inquire about their deliveries. In this case, you will have to inquire with them so that you can know the time it will take before you get you to get your package after you have placed your order. This is essential as it will ensure that you don't run out of medication. Besides, you should also ask more about the delivery fee and if they will be in a position to reach your area.
Besides, you should also check their pricing. Even though the access programs are cost saving, but there are some which are affordable compared to others. For that matter, you should make sure that you shop around for an access program that provides the best quality medication at a reasonable rate. Apart from that, you should also make sure that there is no hidden cost.


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IRS Extends Disclosure Deadline for Certain Captive Insurance Companies
Anthony P. Daddino
View Bio
Last month, I blogged on the IRS' identification of Code Section 831(b) micro captives as "transactions of interest," which triggered an obligation by taxpayers and material advisors to formally disclose the details of their prior-year insurance transactions to the IRS by January 30, 2017 or otherwise face potential penalties up to $50,000. For a detailed discussion of the disclosure requirements, see blog post linked here.
On December 29, 2016, in response to Congressional concerns, the IRS announced an extension of the January 30th disclosure deadline. The extended deadline is now May 1, 2017. See IRS Notice 2017-08, linked here.
Given the detailed disclosures required by the IRS, including the who/what/where/when/why/how of the microcaptive and its history of operations, as well as the identity of all involved parties and fees paid, the time extension was certainly a welcomed holiday present from the IRS. The extended deadline, however, arrives just two weeks after the April 15th filing season. Tax practitioners must therefore remain diligent in their efforts to prepare the required disclosures, made on Form 8886, to insure that their client's disclosure obligations are timely met. Instructions to the Form 8886 are linked here.
If you have any questions about your client's disclosure obligations, or the obligations that you or your colleagues may have, please do not hesitate to contact me at (214) 749-2464 or email me at email@example.com.


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MIDDLEBORO, MA – Brookfield Engineering is offering two courses to help customers get the most out of their viscosity measurement equipment.
The "Practical Course on Viscosity Measurements" is a one-day course designed to help Brookfield viscometer users understand the functionality of their instrument, solve the mysteries of fluid behavior and rheology, and create successful and repeatable viscosity test methods for use in both research and development, and quality assurance/quality control environments. Discussion topics include how to pick a spindle/speed combination, methodology, rheology, calibration and verification checks. The course is designed for beginner to intermediate users. It is offered at Brookfield's headquarters in Middleboro, MA, and at major cities across the United States. Space is limited and customers are encouraged to sign up early. On-demand courses are conducted at the customers' facilities or at Brookfield's headquarters.
"Lab Day/Advanced Viscosity Test Methods" is an on-demand, one-day, advanced course that focuses on the customer's interests, formulations and processing problems. The course covers viscosity and related rheological measurements including: yield stress, shear rate ramps, viscosity vs. temperature profiles, creep, and viscoelastic behavior. It is designed for intermediate to advanced users, and covers the more advanced viscosity topics utilizing sample testing.
For additional information about these courses, visit www.brookfieldengineering.com/services/educational-programs, or call 800/628.8139.


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While some people raised concerns over Far Cry 4's box art, the creative director says the character featured in the center of the image is not the player.
When Far Cry 4 was announced along with a promotional image of the box art, some people voiced concerns over the image and whether it was racist. Far Cry 4 creative director Alex Hutchinson revealed two details concerning the art, which depicts a lighter-skinned man sitting on the remains of a statue with his hand on the head of a kneeling darker-skinned man.
"Just so it's clear for those jumping to conclusions: He's not white and that's not the player," Hutchinson wrote on Twitter as a response to a GamesIndustry.biz article about the controversial art and how it appears out of context.
Concerns over the image being racist in part lay in the depiction of the lighter-skinned character. He is framed to be in the middle of the image, smirking, and in power over the darker-skinned character. Previously, Far Cry 3, which features a white protagonist, has been criticized as racist. In response lead writer Jeffrey Yohalem called the game "a subversion of any kinds of racist stereotypes."
A Far Cry 4 preorder screen leaked a brief synopsis of the game's plot. The details indicate the player will assume the role of Ajay Ghale, who has traveled to a country named Kyrat in the Himalayas and is caught up in a civil war to overthrow an oppressive dictator.
Source: Twitter


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The Scottish FA has called on football to unite to make the country's national sport more representative and inclusive than ever before as it launched its new equality framework.
Football Unites invites stakeholders at every level of the game to come together and deliver meaningful change which will ensure Scottish football is more reflective and representative of the country's demographic.
The strategy was launched at Oriam, Edinburgh, by Malcolm Kpedekpo, the Scottish FA's independent non-executive board director and former Aberdeen striker, Pauline MacDonald, the Scotland Women's Under-17 coach who is currently completing her UEFA Pro Licence, and David McArdle, the Scottish FA's Diversity and Inclusion Manager.
Football Unites aims to remove barriers to access and participate in football and a platform to educate the wider football community on the challenges and requirements for diverse groups to access the game, and allow their voices be heard.
The framework is based around four key strategic pillars:
- LEAD by example in implementing diversity and inclusion practice
- INSPIRE individuals and members to view the power of football within diversity and inclusion
- EDUCATE the Scottish game on in improving the footballing diversity and inclusion environment
- GROW the diverse representation within Scottish football
Malcolm Kpedekpo said: "The Football Unites framework is a well-researched, tangible and ambitious document produced by a group of experts in this subject and we ask everyone involved in our game to support it.
"I suffered racism as a player and want to help bring about change to the game: there is no place for discrimination of any kind within football or indeed wider society.
"We are making progress in Scottish football but we have a long way to go and this framework will help us bring about more change to ensure our game is more representative from the boardroom to the dressing room and everywhere in between."
After achieving the prestigious Advanced Level for the Equality Standard for Sport in 2019 and becoming the only Football Association and one of only a few governing bodies in Scotland to achieve this award, the Scottish FA has re-affirmed its commitment to delivering sustainable change and greater diversity throughout the sport.
The Equality Standard for Sport was launched by the UK Sports Councils to address inequality within the sports sector and the Scottish FA achieved Foundation Level back in 2009, Preliminary Level in 2012 and the Intermediate Level in 2014.
David McArdle added: "The Scottish FA is committed to driving diversity and inclusivity at all levels of the game and this framework will be the catalyst to the next phase of our journey.
"Our aim is to ensure Scottish football is representative and reflective at all levels of the game, regardless of age, disability, gender identity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
"This is a vital area of our national game and Football Unites will provide everyone within Scottish football with the tools required to create a safe and inclusive environment."
Pauline MacDonald said: "We've made huge strides in recent years but we still have a lot of work to do to educate people within the game about this important subject.
"The development of the girls' and women's game in Scotland has provided growth opportunities for players and coaches to access football and hopefully this framework will provide us with the platform to bring about meaningful change to our national sport and continue to improve awareness and increase participation numbers."