text: Hypoxia Augments Oscillatory Blood Flow in Brachial Artery during Leg CyclingIWAMOTO, ERIKA1; KATAYAMA, KEISHO2; OSHIDA, YOSHIHARU2; ISHIDA, KOJI2Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: June 2012 - Volume 44 - Issue 6 - p 1035–1042 doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e31824294f9 Basic Sciences Abstract Author Information Article Outline Purpose The purpose of the present study was to elucidate changes in mean blood flow and oscillatory blood flow patterns to the inactive limb during leg cycle exercise in hypoxia. We hypothesized that oscillatory antegrade and retrograde blood flows to the nonworking limb would increase during incremental cycle exercise under hypoxic condition. Methods Eight males participated in this study. Two maximal exercise tests were conducted on a semirecumbent cycle ergometer while subjects inhaled a normoxic (inspired oxygen fraction [FIO2] = 0.21) or hypoxic gas mixture (FIO2 = 0.12). The exercise began at an initial power output of 30 W, and workload was increased by 30 W every 2 min until exhaustion. Brachial artery blood velocity and diameter were simultaneously recorded during exercise using Doppler ultrasonography. Blood flow was calculated using the cross-sectional area of the brachial artery and time-averaged mean blood velocity. Results Mean blood flow decreased until 120 W in both trials (P < 0.05), and the magnitude of the reduction in mean blood flow was not different between two trials. However, the extent of changes in antegrade and retrograde blood flows during submaximal exercise in hypoxia was greater than that in normoxia (normoxia vs hypoxia: antegrade blood flow at 120 W = 145.4 ± 10.3 vs 172.4 ± 9.0 mL·min−1 and retrograde blood flow at 120 W = −89.1 ± 4.9 vs −118.1 ± 6.2 mL·min−1, P < 0.05). Conclusions These results indicate that hypoxia has a significant effect on oscillatory antegrade/retrograde blood flow patterns in nonworking limb during cycling exercise. 1Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University, Nagoya, JAPAN; and 2Research Center of Health, Physical Fitness and Sports, Nagoya University, Nagoya, JAPAN Address for correspondence: Erika Iwamoto, M.S., Research Center of Health, Physical Fitness and Sports, Nagoya University, Furocho E5-2 (130), Chikusaku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan; E-mail: email@example.com. Submitted for publication March 2011. Accepted for publication November 2011. Abstract METHODS Subjects Experimental procedures Respiratory and cardiovascular variables and myoelectrical ... Brachial blood flow Reproducibility Statistical Analysis RESULTS Physical characteristics of subjects Reproducibility Baseline descriptive data Respiratory and cardiovascular variables Blood flow and vascular variables DISCUSSION Limitations REFERENCES Regular aerobic exercise augments conduit vessel function (5,13). Interestingly, the improvement of vascular function has been observed in nonworking limbs, such as the forearm in response to leg cycling or walking (5,10,13,21). It has been supposed that the exercise-induced enhancement of vascular function could associate with an increase in blood flow and the elevated shear stress (9). Aerobic exercise induces an increase in mean blood flow even in nonworking limb (6–8,36,40). In addition, recent studies revealed that exercise changes a marked oscillatory blood flow pattern in the nonworking limb: there is antegrade blood flow during systole, followed by substantial retrograde diastolic flow (2,8,24). Furthermore, it has been suggested that changes in oscillatory blood flow pattern have important implications for the adaptation of vascular function observed with exercise training (11). Recent studies have reported reductions in blood pressure (BP) at rest and during exercise after exercise in hypoxia (1,22,34). In addition, vascular function improved after aerobic exercise under hypoxic condition (26). From these results, it has been supposed that the aerobic exercise training in hypoxia may be useful to reduce cardiovascular risk factors (1). Blood flow pattern is tightly linked to the relationship between systemic perfusion pressure (upstream) and the "critical closing pressure" in the peripheral resistance vessels (downstream) (12,37). Exercise under systemic hypoxia is associated with augmented systolic function and systemic perfusion pressure (38). Also, it is predicted that a rise in sympathetic vasoconstrictor nerve activity during hypoxic exercise (18,31,35) should increase the critical closing pressure and peripheral vascular resistance (12,28). Based on these results, we hypothesized that oscillatory antegrade and retrograde blood flows to the nonworking limb would increase during incremental cycle exercise in hypoxia. Alternation of oscillatory blood flow pattern during aerobic exercise under hypoxic condition may be important modulators of the improvement on vascular function. However, to our knowledge, no studies have assessed changes in blood flow pattern in the nonworking limb during hypoxic exercise. The purpose of present study, therefore, was to elucidate changes in mean blood flow and oscillatory blood flow patterns during cycling exercise under hypoxic condition. To accomplish this, we determined the changes in mean, antegrade, and retrograde blood flows to the upper limb during incremental leg cycling under normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Back to Top | Article Outline METHODS Subjects All were healthy males with no history of cardiorespiratory disease. Some subjects participated in moderate-intensity exercise a couple of times a week, but none of them were engaged in exercise training at high intensity. The subjects were informed of the experimental procedures and possible risks involved in the present study, and their written informed consent was obtained. The human research committee of the Research Center of Health, Physical Fitness and Sports, Nagoya University approved all procedures. Back to Top | Article Outline Experimental procedures The subjects were first familiarized with the equipment to be used at a preliminary visit to the laboratory. During practice sessions, subjects were instructed to laterally extend both arms and were shown how to hold their arms during leg cycling using an electromechanically braked ergometer in a semirecumbent position (Aerobike 75XL III; Combi, Tokyo, Japan) (32,33). All subjects were asked to abstain from caffeine-containing beverages and to avoid strenuous exercise for 12 h before the experiment. The study was performed at least 2 h after a light meal. Subjects reported to the laboratory on three additional occasions at the same time of day on three separate days. The exercise trials were performed at least 1 wk apart. All experiments were performed in an air-conditioned room maintained at a constant temperature (22°C–24°C). For the first and second visits, incremental exercise was performed while subjects breathed a normoxic or hypoxic gas mixture (normoxic and hypoxic trials). After the 30-min rest, subjects wore a facemask (5719 Hans Rudolph, Kansas City, MO), and inspired gas mixture was provided by a generator (YHS-310; YKS, Nara, Japan). First, cardiorespiratory and vascular parameters were measured for 5 min in normoxia (inspired oxygen fraction (FIO2) = 0.21; rest 1). After this period, the inspiratory gas mixture was either maintained or switched to a hypoxic (FIO2 = 0.12) gas mixture. The order of gas mixture (normoxia or hypoxia) was randomly assigned, and the subjects were blinded to this procedure. The subjects were exposed to the respective gas mixtures for 10 min at rest before incremental exercise (rest 2). Leg cycling exercises began while subjects were breathing a normoxic or hypoxic gas mixture. Exercise began at an initial power output of 30 W, and the workload was increased by 30 W every 2 min until exhaustion. The pedaling rate was kept constant at 60 rpm with the aid of a metronome, and exhaustion was defined as the point when they could not maintain a pedaling rate at 60 rpm. To affirm the reproducibility of experimental data, a third trial was performed, and all methods were performed using the same protocol while subjects breathed a normoxic (FIO2 = 0.21) gas mixture. Back to Top | Article Outline Respiratory and cardiovascular variables and myoelectrical activity For breath-by-breath measurement, respiratory parameters at rest and during exercise were determined with the same online system that was used in our previous studies (19,20). The gas fractions were analyzed by a mass spectrometer (ARCO-1000; Arco System, Chiba, Japan). Inspired and expired gas volumes were measured by a Fleisch pneumotachometer (PN-230; Arco System). Breath-by-breath data were analyzed continuously using customized software on a computer to calculate oxygen uptake (V˙O2), carbon dioxide output (V˙CO2), expiratory minute ventilation (V˙E), and respiratory exchange ratio (RER). Respiratory variables were averaged during a 30-s sampling interval. The highest value obtained for V˙O2 during exercise was used as the peak oxygen uptake (V˙O2peak). An ECG was also measured using a three-lead arrangement throughout the experiment, and HR was calculated from every R-R interval obtained from the ECG. Arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2) was measured by a pulse oximeter (Biox 3740; Ohmeda, Madison, WI) placed on the tip of the right forefinger. EMG was measured with active electrodes to verify the lack of muscular movement from the radial and ulnar muscles (40) (brachioradialis muscle and flexor carpi ulnaris muscle, respectively) on the right forearm. The skin surface was cleaned with alcohol and rubbed with sand particles. Surface bipolar electrodes (Ag–AgCl, 6-mm contact diameter, 10-mm interelectrode distance) were placed on the muscle. The EMG signals were connected to an amplifier (input impedance = 5.1 MΩ, gain = 1000×, common-mode rejection ratio >110 dB), with a bandwidth of 5 to 500 Hz (FA-DL-140 sensor and FA-DL-720 8-main amplifier unit, 4 assist, Tokyo, Japan). The ECG, SpO2, and EMG signals were sampled at a frequency of 1000 Hz through an analog-to-digital converter (Power Lab 16/s; ADInstruments Co., Ltd., Bella Vista, New South Wales, Australia) and were stored in a computer (MT7000; Epson, Nagano, Japan). To determine arm muscle activity, the EMG RMS for brachioradialis and flexor carpi ulnaris muscles was calculated using a commercially available software (Chart ver. 5; ADInstruments). The cardiorespiratory parameters at rest were averaged during the last 1 min at rest 1 and rest 2. During exercise, the parameters were reported as time averages of the last 30 s at each workload. Arterial BP was taken in the left arm using an automated BP unit at 1-min intervals (Colin STBP-780; Colin Medical Instruments, San Antonio, TX) (39). Before measurement, pressure values were confirmed using a mercury sphygmomanometer, which was joined to the pressure line using a Y-connector (18,39). The sound signal was synchronized to the ECG-R wave, and a detection algorithm was used to determine both systolic and diastolic BP (SBP and DBP). The elevation of HR during exercise causes a change in the ratio between the systole and diastole period of the cardiac cycle (25,29). Thus, we calculated the MBP from DBP, HR, and pulse pressure (PP): MBP = DBP + [0.33 + (HR × 0.0012)] × PP (29). Back to Top | Article Outline Brachial blood flow The blood flow in the brachial artery was measured using a Doppler ultrasound system (LOGIQ 5 PRO; GE-Yokogawa Medical Systems, Tokyo, Japan) equipped with an 8.8-MHz linear transducer (GE-Yokogawa Medical Systems). Brachial arterial blood flow was measured in the distal third of the right arm. The anatomical sites at which ultrasound probes were placed were standardized. Arterial diameter and blood flow velocity were captured simultaneously. We first used brightness mode (B-mode) to measure the diameter of the brachial artery in the longitudinal section. The systolic and diastolic diameters were measured every 2 s (averaged 3 points each), and the values were averaged within every 10 s. The Doppler velocity spectrum was identified by pulsed-wave Doppler mode (PW-mode). The time-averaged "mean" blood flow velocity obtained during the automatic calculation mode (PW-mode) was defined as the mean blood flow velocity (cm·s−1). We obtained the time-averaged positive and negative "mean" blood flow velocities separately using automatic calculations to provide a global index of the velocity of antegrade (positive) and retrograde (negative) blood flows. Blood flow velocity measurements were performed with an insonation angle <60° and were corrected for the insonation angle (40). The sample volume gate was adjusted to cover the width of the vessel diameter. From the cross-sectional area of the brachial artery (cm2) and the time-averaged mean blood flow velocity (cm·s−1), the time-averaged blood flow was calculated: blood flow (mL·min−1) = [π × (diameter / 2)2 × mean blood flow velocity × 60] (28,37). Antegrade blood flow was calculated by time-averaged antegrade blood velocity and systolic diameter, and retrograde blood flow was derived from time-averaged retrograde blood velocity and diastolic diameter. Mean blood flow was calculated by subtracting retrograde blood flow from antegrade blood flow. Shear rate (s−1) was defined as: 4 × blood flow velocity / diameter (28,37). Antegrade and retrograde blood flow velocities and systolic and diastolic diameters were used to calculate antegrade and retrograde shear rates (37). Mean shear rate was calculated by subtracting retrograde shear rate from antegrade shear rate. Blood flow parameters at rest were averaged during the last 1 min of each session (rest 1 and rest 2), and variables during exercise were averaged during the last 30 s in each workload. Back to Top | Article Outline Reproducibility Reproducibility of the experimental data was assessed using coefficients of variation (CV) from repeated exercise trials in normoxia on separate visits to the laboratory. Back to Top | Article Outline Statistical Analysis All values are expressed mean ± SE. For all data, the assumption of normal distribution was verified using a Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, and the data were found to be normally distributed. To determine the behavior of observed variables during exercise in normoxia and hypoxia, a two-way ANOVA with repeated measures was performed. The trial (normoxia vs hypoxia) was one factor considered in the analysis, with workload as the second factor. Dunnett test was used to determine differences between baseline data and each workload. Comparison of parameters in normoxic and hypoxic trials was achieved using Bonferroni test. SPSS (version 11.5; SPSS, Inc., Tokyo, Japan) and StatView (version 5.0; SAS Institute, Tokyo, Japan) statistical packages were used for these analyses. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Back to Top | Article Outline RESULTS Physical characteristics of subjects Eight males participated in this study. The mean ± SE for age, height, and body mass were 21.3 ± 0.5 yr, 173.8 ± 1.6 cm, and 70.7 ± 2.2 kg, respectively. Back to Top | Article Outline Reproducibility The CV for blood velocity and vessel diameter during incremental exercise were limited to data collected at 210 W, because one subject could not achieve 240 W of exercise during one testing session. Between-day CV were 3.1% for V˙O2peak, 17.8% and 1.5% at rest 1, and 7.0% and 2.0% at 210 W for blood velocity and diameter, respectively. Back to Top | Article Outline Baseline descriptive data No differences in all variables at rest 1 were found between the normoxic and hypoxic trials. Statistical comparisons of variables between normoxic and hypoxic trials during submaximal exercise were limited to data collected at 150 W and at exhaustion, because one subject could not achieve 180 W of exercise during the hypoxic trial. The V˙O2peak and peak workload in the hypoxic trial were lower than those in the normoxic trial (normoxia vs hypoxia, V˙O2peak = 40.5 ± 1.5 vs 28.7 ± 1.2 mL·kg−1·min−1, and peak workload = 251.3 ± 11.3 vs 206.3 ± 8.9 W, P < 0.05). In addition, time to exhaustion was shorter in hypoxia than in normoxia (normoxia vs hypoxia, 16.6 ± 0.8 vs 13.2 ± 0.5 min, P < 0.05). The RMS for brachioradialis and flexor carpi ulnaris muscles showed 0.0 ± 0.0 mV throughout all experiments; thus, no myoelectrical activity was detected in the upper limb during leg cycle exercise. Back to Top | Article Outline Respiratory and cardiovascular variables At rest 2, HR and RER were increased and SpO2 was decreased in hypoxia from rest 1 (P < 0.05; Table 1). TABLE 1 V˙E, V˙CO2, RER, HR, and SBP during submaximal exercise increased in both trials (P < 0.05), whereas DBP did not (Table 1). During exercise, a two-way ANOVA revealed a main effect of trial on respiratory and cardiovascular variables (P < 0.05), except MBP and DBP. At exhaustion, V˙O2, V˙CO2, and SpO2 were lower (P < 0.05), and RER was higher (P < 0.05) under hypoxia compared with normoxia. Back to Top | Article Outline Blood flow and vascular variables Resting blood flow, shear rate, and vascular variables did not change markedly from rest 1 under hypoxic condition (rest 2; Table 2). TABLE 2 Retrograde blood velocity has main effects of trial and workload, and the change in retrograde blood velocity was greater in hypoxia as compared with normoxia (P < 0.05; Table 2). A two-way ANOVA revealed only one main effects of workload on systolic and diastolic diameters (P < 0.05), and those parameters decreased during exercise under both conditions (P < 0.05; Table 2). There was only one main effect of workload on the mean blood flow, mean shear rate, and antegrade shear rate (P < 0.05). Mean blood flow and shear rate decreased during exercise at 30 to 120 W in the normoxic trial (P < 0.05), and those returned to preexercise levels at 150 to 210 W (Figs. 1A and 2A). Mean blood flow and shear rate during submaximal hypoxic exercise decreased below the resting value until exhaustion (P < 0.05). On the other hand, a two-way ANOVA revealed significant main effects of workload and trial on antegrade and retrograde blood flows and retrograde shear rate (P < 0.05). Antegrade and retrograde blood flows and retrograde shear rate were enhanced with increasing workload under both conditions (P < 0.05). Antegrade blood flow at 30, 60, and 120 W in hypoxia were higher than those in normoxia (P < 0.05; Fig. 1B). Antegrade shear rate during submaximal hypoxic exercise tended to be higher (P = 0.08) than during normoxic exercise (Fig. 2B), but it was not statistically significant. Retrograde blood flow and shear rate were also higher during submaximal hypoxic exercise at 30 to 150 W and at exhaustion compared with normoxic exercise (P < 0.05; Figs. 1C and 2C). FIGURE 1 FIGURE 2 Back to Top | Article Outline DISCUSSION In this study, we obtained the following major findings: 1) mean blood flow to the nonworking limb during submaximal normoxic and hypoxic exercises decreased below the resting value, but the magnitude of the reduction in mean blood flow was not different between two exercises and 2) antegrade and retrograde blood flows in the inactive limb were greater during hypoxic exercise than during normoxic exercise. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to clarify mean, antegrade, and retrograde blood flows to the inactive limb during submaximal hypoxic exercise to exhaustion. Mean blood flow in the resting upper limb during normoxic exercise exhibited a biphasic response pattern, i.e., an initial decline relative to the baseline flow, followed by a gradual increase. On the other hand, decreased mean blood flow during hypoxic exercise remained until exhaustion, but the extent of this decrease in blood flow did not differ from that during normoxic exercise (Fig. 1A). Changes in mean blood flow in the nonworking limb depend not only on exercise intensity but also on exercise duration (16,45). It was reported that exercise duration was related to changes in internal temperature and that skin blood flow was increased in proportion to the increase in internal temperature during leg cycling exercise (15,27). In the present study, time to exhaustion was longer in normoxia than in hypoxia (P < 0.05). Thus, it is speculated that the return (increase) of mean blood flow to preexercise levels during normoxic exercise may result from an increase in skin blood flow in the forearm (4,27,36). Also, mean blood flow in normoxia tended to decrease at exhaustion (Fig. 1A), and this result correspond with the data of previous studies (30,44), which may indicate a alternation of mean blood flow at exhaustion is due to change in skin blood flow. Several studies have identified a change in blood flow patterns during exercise under normoxic condition (7,8,41). The changes in antegrade and retrograde blood flows during normoxic exercise in this study were consistent with previous studies (7,8). In addition, in the present study, acute hypoxia had a significant effect on the magnitude of antegrade and retrograde blood flows during submaximal exercise. The extent of increase in antegrade and retrograde blood flows was greater during exercise in hypoxia than that in normoxia (Figs. 1B and C). The observed differences of blood flow pattern between normoxia and hypoxia may be related to the differences in pressure gradients between systemic perfusion pressure (upstream) and the critical closing pressure (downstream) (12,37). Exercise under hypoxic condition induced an increase in systemic perfusion pressure during systole; HR and SBP during hypoxic exercise were significantly higher than those during normoxic exercise (Table 1). In addition, hypoxia leads to an augmentation of left ventricular contractile force (3). Therefore, the greater antegrade blood flow during exercise in hypoxia than in normoxia may be due to the rise in the systemic perfusion pressure in hypoxia. However, DBP was not significantly different between two conditions, suggesting that there is no difference in systemic perfusion pressure during diastole. It was indicated that an increase in the sympathetic tone during exercise in hypoxia was greater compared with that in normoxia (18,31,35). The increased muscle sympathetic nerve activity enhanced the retrograde blood flow (28). In this study, the downstream resistance during exercise in hypoxia would be greater than that in normoxia, and this might induce higher retrograde blood flow in hypoxia. In addition, other candidate factors may also contribute to the change of antegrade and retrograde blood flows, such as stroke volume, HR, compliance (capacitance) of the vessel, varying reflex pathway involved, and redistribution of regional blood flow (28). It is supposed that the exercise-induced enhancement of vascular function could associate with increases in blood flow and the elevated shear stress (9). In the present study, mean blood flow and shear rate during hypoxic exercise decreased below the resting value and remained until exhaustion (Figs. 1A and 2A). Thus, it is conceivable that hypoxic exercise does not induce the beneficial effect on vascular function. However, when we look at the changes in blood flow pattern, the magnitude of antegrade and retrograde blood flows and shear rates during exercise in hypoxia was greater than that in normoxia. It has been suggested that the magnitudes of antegrade blood flow and shear rate are associated with an improvement in endothelial function (11,42,43). Furthermore, substantial antegrade/retrograde oscillation may present more potent stimulus to endothelial cell than increases in antegrade flow alone (8). From these, it is likely that hypoxic exercise augments vascular function. On the other hand, increases in retrograde blood flow and shear rate, which is induced by cuff inflation, caused a dose-dependent attenuation of endothelial function (41). However, another study suggested that increases in antegrade shear might prevent any impairment in endothelial function associated with unopposed increases in retrograde flow and shear (42). Further investigation is needed to clarify whether higher antegrade and retrograde blood flows and shear rates during hypoxic exercise are related to vascular function. Back to Top | Article Outline Limitations There are potential limitations that should be mentioned. A lot of studies have used constant load exercise with the same duration, whereas we used incremental exercise protocol. Accordingly, time to exhaustion was different between normoxic and hypoxic exercises. The difference of exercise duration affects the change in skin blood flow (15,27) as mentioned previously, and thus, the differences in the skin blood flow would affect the changes in blood flow during submaximal exercise. In the present study, the variables between normoxia and hypoxia were compared at the same absolute workload. Dynamic leg exercise under hypoxic condition precipitates reduced maximal exercise capacity, that is, reduced peak workload and V˙O2peak, which leads to a shift in the given absolute workload to a higher relative exercise intensity (17,23). Different relative work intensities are expected to influence the rate of increase in metabolism (14). Therefore, a comparison of blood flow pattern during exercise between normoxia and hypoxia at the same relative exercise intensity would be needed in future study. In summary, we did not find a significant difference in mean blood flow in the brachial artery of the inactive limb during leg cycling exercise between normoxia and hypoxia. In contrast, hypoxic exercise caused a greater change in oscillatory blood flow pattern, and antegrade and retrograde blood flows were greater in hypoxia than in normoxia. These results indicate that hypoxia has a significant effect on blood flow patterns in the nonworking limb during cycling exercise. This study was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, and Culture (grant No. 22700649). The authors thank Dr. K Sato and Dr. A Ooue (Japan Women's College of Physical Education) for informative discussions of blood flow data. There is no conflict of interest with any organization regarding the result of this article. The results of the present study do not constitute endorsement by the American College of Sports Medicine.Back to Top | Article Outline REFERENCES1. Bailey DM, Davies B, Baker J. Training in hypoxia: modulation of metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors in men. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2000; 32 (6): 1058–66. Cited Here... | View Full Text | PubMed | CrossRef 2. Blackshear WM Jr, Phillips DJ, Strandness DE Jr. Pulsed Doppler assessment of normal human femoral artery velocity patterns. J Surg Res. 1979; 27 (2): 73–83. Cited Here... | PubMed | CrossRef 3. Buss DD, Bisgard GE. 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Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2006; 38 (1): 81–5. Cited Here... 41. Thijssen DH, Dawson EA, Tinken TM, Cable NT, Green DJ. Retrograde flow and shear rate acutely impair endothelial function in humans. Hypertension. 2009; 53 (6): 986–92. Cited Here... | View Full Text | PubMed | CrossRef 42. Tinken TM, Thijssen DH, Hopkins N, et al.. Impact of shear rate modulation on vascular function in humans. Hypertension. 2009; 54 (2): 278–85. Cited Here... 43. Tinken TM, Thijssen DH, Hopkins N, Dawson EA, Cable NT, Green DJ. Shear stress mediates endothelial adaptations to exercise training in humans. Hypertension. 2010; 55 (2): 312–8. Cited Here... | View Full Text | PubMed | CrossRef 44. Wiles PG, Grant PJ, Jones RG, Knibbs AV, Hampton IF. Lowered skin blood flow at exhaustion. Lancet. 1986; 2 (8501): 295. Cited Here... | PubMed | CrossRef 45. Yoshizawa M, Shimizu-Okuyama S, Kagaya A. Transient increase in femoral arterial blood flow to the contralateral non-exercising limb during one-legged exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2008; 103 (5): 509–14. Cited Here... | PubMed | CrossRef Keywords:AEROBIC EXERCISE; HYPOXIA; BLOOD FLOW PATTERN; DYNAMIC LEG EXERCISE ©2012The American College of Sports Medicine Article Outline Abstract METHODS Subjects Experimental procedures Respiratory and cardiovascular variables and myoe... Brachial blood flow Reproducibility Statistical Analysis RESULTS Physical characteristics of subjects Reproducibility Baseline descriptive data Respiratory and cardiovascular variables Blood flow and vascular variables DISCUSSION Limitations REFERENCES Source Hypoxia Augments Oscillatory Blood Flow in Brachial Artery during Leg Cycling Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise44(6):1035-1042, June 2012. Full-Size Email + Favorites Export View in Gallery Email to a Colleague Colleague's E-mail is Invalid Your Name: (optional) Your Email: Colleague's Email: Separate multiple e-mails with a (;). 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Catering Central was the team we hired for our Christmas Party in Indian Creek, Redwood Shores. The food was incredibly superb! Marcos prepared a delectable menu per our request for traditional Christmas fare, and we were surprised to discover how truly sumptuous each dish was! Our guests have been raving ever since!
Word also has it that our corporate office has heard of the success of the event brought on by this impressive array of gastronomic delights. Working with Marcos was a bree...
Time to Plant Your Kale Garden
If you're looking for a way to grow your own salad greens, look no further than kale. Relatively easy to grow, kale is a nutritional powerhouse – boasting huge amounts of vitamins A, C, and K. Plant your kale in mid-July and you can expect a harvest in the fall. We have a few tips for creating space for your kale patch.
- Prepare a bed of light, nutrient-rich soil. If the soil in your backyard leaves a lot to be desired, go to your local hardware store and pick up a bag. Use natural fertilizers to build in extra nutrients, which in turn gives your garden better chances of growing.
- Plant kale seeds in small biodegradable pots, so the seedlings don't have extra stress while being transferred. These Peat Pots can be planted directly in the ground.
- When it's time to put them in the ground, space the pots 8-12 inches apart so that each kale bunch has space to grow.
- Water the plants regularly, with a moderate amount of water. Make sure you don't overwater!
Here at Catering Central, we love making fresh food taste great. We'd be happy to hear about the vision you have for your party, and work with you to make it happen. We do Private Party catering in the San Francisco Bay Area (94110), Corporate Catering in Silicon Valley, and events all the way from Mountain View to San Francisco. If you're looking for catering when it comes to parties, events and gatherings – call us today on (650) 961-3300.
Contact Us
Client Holiday Party Success!!
Catering Central was the team we hired for our Christmas Party in Indian Creek, Redwood Shores. The food was incredibly superb! Marcos prepared a delectable menu per our request for traditional Christmas fare, and we were surprised to discover how truly sumptuous each dish was! Our guests have been raving ever since!
MH Podell Property Management
Consistent Quality!!
We use Marcos and Catering Central for 100+ person company lunches every so often, and our employees always have good things to say! Marcos does a consistently quality job, on-time, and the price is right. We have ordered something different every time, and it's all been good. If you have a group to feed, they will work with you from menu selection through billing, definitely recommend!
Company Event is a Success!!
I've had Catering Central do two events here at Tesla. Marcos went above and beyond to make sure that both of my events were a success. His food also matched their excellent service throughout the whole planning - from picking out the menu, to working with our budget, to the day of the event and even afterwards. Enzo also was very professional and was on top of things on the day of.
I can't wait to use them again for other events.
Tesla (Palo Alto/Freemont)
Quality Food and Service!
Came across Catering Central website while looking for caterers to bring lunch to our office every week. Our employees are typically very picky but Marcos' meets or exceeds our expectations every time. Everything is always fresh and hot. We only have about 40 or less employees but the portions are generous and it's nice to have friendly people delivering who make sure we are satisfied with our order. I highly recommend Catering Central for any event!
Just Phone Him Now
Marcos and central catering provided a fantastic spread for our wedding reception. We were looking for a no fuss, tasty garden party and he delivered on all counts. The food was fantastic and servers he brought in to man the bar and pass through with the food were great, personable guys.
If you are looking for good food and great service, stop looking and just phone him now... ;)
Robbie B.
Mountain View, CA
Service Areas
Pleased to serve the following Bay Area/Peninsula locations: Belmont, Cupertino, Foster City, Los Altos, Menlo Park, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Redwood City, San Carlos, San Jose, San Mateo, Stanford University, and Sunnyvale.

subset: commoncrawl


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Model No. 28118 – Pull Out Spray Kitchen Sink Mixer Tap With Swivel Spout.
Sanliv pull out spray kitchen mixer tap features deck-mounted, single-hole, one handle with swivel spout and pull-down spray for efficient cleaning. Solid brass body and Sedal Spain cartridge for for long life using. All mounting hardware and hot/cold flexible hoses are included.


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Happy weekend y'all! I am so happy the weather has let up a bit this week and it was actually sunny! Cold as heck, but I will take cold and sunny over wet and rainy. I missed my Random Ramblings post last weekend because I was off doing THIS!!! But I am back this weekend with some exciting news and of course some fun pictures and even funnier stories!!!! So read on friends!
I feel like this last week was a blur! James and I didn't end up staying overnight in San Francisco last weekend when we went to the show. We decided it was easier to just go up for the day. So I didn't get to do my San Francisco bakery tour yet, but now I just have another excuse to go back to the city soon! James and I had so much fun at the Fancy Food Show, so if you missed that post, make sure you check it out HERE.
Monday was spent at the gym paying or my sins from Sunday at the Food Show and then home to do 10,000 things including clean the house, bake and write a few blog posts, etc. Tuesday was busy with meetings…ughhhhh and making Healthy Peanut Butter Poppers. Wednesday was gym class and then time in the kitchen making fondant and chocolate decorations for Ethan's birthday cupcakes, and I also baked a pan of S'mores Bars for a #FoodBloggerLove event I am participating in. Thursday was spent making four dozen cupcakes that ended up being a total failure (and ended up in the garbage). Baking experimentation gone SO WRONG. And they were the cupcakes for Ethan's birthday party…so I had to start over from scratch (cue kitchen temper tantrum) 🙁
Cupcake explosion! Ahhhhh…See? We all have bad days in the kitchen. I was so close to telling James that Ethan would be getting Savemart cupcakes for his birthday instead of my homemade ones, but I just didn't have it in me to do that. So back to the kitchen I went. Here are the final cupcakes for the party:
Coffee Mocha Chocolate Cupcakes with Mocha Buttercream Frosting and my Homemade Funfetti Vanilla Cupcakes with my Vanilla Buttercream Frosting. Football themed cupcakes. That's supposed to be grass on the Funfetti cupcake. Just use your imagination, k? Ethan's birthday party is football themed and we are celebrating his birthday with a party at Rockin Jump. Rockin Jump is an indoor trampoline park where we live. It's soooooo much fun! Ethan got to invite several friends from school and we have family coming too. Should be a fun time! I will be doing a blog post later about football themed party ideas, since I spent
hours some time on Pinterest planning Ethan's party. Just in case you are going to plan a football themed party. I got ya covered!
Speaking of football….sooooooooo I do not watch football…I know, the horror right? So when James was telling me about a speech Ethan was going to give at school for winter class elections, my jaw dropped when James said Ethan was going to end it "dabbing." Ok so here's the cop in me, I was like "that is so inappropriate…that's a drug reference!" James started laughing then went on to explain it was a move Cam Newton, from the Carolina Panthers, does to celebrate first downs and touch downs during football games. Good ol' urban dictionary to the rescue to prove my point though…I knew it was drug related! Dabs are also concentrated doses of cannabis, also known as butane hash oil….illegal. See why I was confused?! But now we know. Dabs and dabbing can mean two things. Here is a visual of "Cam Newton dabbing" because I needed one too:
Look at me dab. Thanks Migos! Oh and my new obsession??? Bitmoji. Have you seen or heard of it? I know my BFF Jessie has, because I sent her one of the Bitmoji's I made and she sent hers back to me hehehe. So it's a FREE app where you get to design an emoji based on how you look. So that there is supposed to be me hehehe. Kinda??? It's too much fun…you gotta got try it! If you have an iPhone, just search Bitmoji in the app store and you will find it.
Ohhhhh so you want to know my exciting news?!?!?! So you know it has been such a long road for my recovery from anorexia. If you are new to the blog, you can catch up by reading my previous Random Rambling posts. I have been dealing with anorexia since 2011, and this is my second shot at getting better, which started in February 2016. On my last day at work I weighed 94-pounds. I left and went to Denver in February and stayed at the Eating Recovery Center for several weeks before returning home to my "team" here. I have the BEST doctor in the Bay Area, who has been amazing in helping me progress with my recovery. And she does not put up with any shit…plus she just understands and gets "it." So every 3-4 weeks I go in for my appointments with Dr. Knight and I have my weigh-in and check-up. Usually I have a certain amount of weight Dr. Knight wants me to gain by the next time she sees me. Dr. Knight knows my motivation for getting better is because #1: I want to be healthy, happy and normal And #2: I WANT TO GO BACK TO WORK! I miss my job…my friends…the work.
Here's me at my lowest weight….
And me today:
My exciting news: at my appointment on Friday, I got the good news that I had gained the weight I needed for Dr. Knight to consider letting me go back to work part time!! So….. as long as I keep this weight on by the time I go back to see Dr. Knight in a few weeks, then I will get to go back to work part time. It's not patrol (where my heart is), but hey, at least it's getting me back to work one way or another. It's not feasible for me to jump back into work full force, working 11-plus hour days, running 20-plus calls a day, etc etc. So I get that I need to take it slow. But still…I am on the up and up! Literally. So my weight today? 121-pounds (according to her scale…my scale said 123-pounds). I am trying to be okay with all of the weight gain, which is why sometimes it feels good to write about it here. It helps me to process how I feel about it. I was in the fight for my life and I am lucky to be where I am at today. And lucky to have the best husband, parents, sister (and brother-in-law and nieces!), friends and co-workers, and I am appreciative of those of you who have left me such sweet comments here on the blog or on Instagram and Facebook. So thank you…you all know who you are and what you have done to support me through this. Love y'all!
Okay…I am off to go show some kids how to bounce on the trampolines like a boss!
You can find this recipe and tons of other recipes at the following parties I have linked up to: What's Cookin' Wednesday, Create, Link and Inspire, Sugar and Spice, Weekend Potluck, Pretty Pintastic Party, Friday Frenzy, Meal Plan Monday. Click on the links to check out tons of amazing crafts, recipes and ideas from a variety of bloggers who love to party like me!! 🙂


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For desk jockeys who stare at pixels all day, blurred vision, headaches and burning eyes are an occupational hazard with a name of its own: computer-vision syndrome.
It's a fancy term for computer-related eye strain. Although the symptoms are temporary, vision problems are a growing complaint among people who are glued to computers, smartphones and tablets, says the Canadian Association of Optometrists.
Just a few hours a day of computer work is very demanding on the eyes, according to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. Focusing the eyes at close distances for long periods may cause eye-muscle spasms and dry eyes, as well as neck, back and shoulder pain as workers contort their bodies in the attempt to see clearly.
As many as 40 per cent of baby boomers report computer-related vision problems, according to a 2009 survey by the Canadian research firm Leger Marketing.
"Most people who work in an office have some kind of [visual]discomfort," says Henry Smit, an optometrist in Truro, N.S.
Children, too, may suffer from computer-vision syndrome, notes the CCHOS. Although young eyes are better able to focus at near distances, they haven't adapted to withstand 7.5 hours a day of screen time, the average logged by kids aged 8 to 18, according to a 2010 survey by the U.S. Kaiser Family Foundation.
Optometrists report that workers under 40, even those with small prescriptions, are struggling to keep their eyes healthy in a digital world.
In recent years, a plethora of eyewear products has flooded the market with promises to fix the problem. But experts caution that not all are a sight for sore eyes.
Gunnar Optiks, a California-based manufacturer, says its line of "high- performance eyewear" are designed for "for those that live a digital lifestyle." Launched in 2008, Gunnars sell for $79 to $189 in optical shops, online and in the computer department at Best Buy.
The company's slick marketing campaign targets hard-core gamers and computer programmers using buzzwords and stylish designs. On its website, Gunnar claims the glasses' wraparound lenses "creates a preferential ocular microclimate" – in other words, they keep eyes moist – while the yellowish lens tint "takes artificial light and precisely tunes it to the physiology of the eye."
Online skeptics describe Gunnars as the "nerd equivalent of reading glasses." Others point out that knockoffs (with a green instead of yellow tint) are available for about $30 from sites such as Eyefatigue.com.
But the jury is out on whether non-prescription computer glasses are of benefit. Gunnar's wraparound design and yellow tint may help prevent dryness and increase contrast, Dr. Smit says, but he adds, "there appears to be more hype than science to the glasses."
Dr. Smit cautions against investing in expensive computer glasses without seeing an optometrist, who may detect underlying problems such as farsightedness, nearsightedness or astigmatism. Without an eye exam, he says, "you could be missing something with more serious consequences."
For patients drawn to the trendy look, prescription Gunnars are available through the company's partnership with Carl Zeiss Vision.
But as the demand for computer glasses has grown, many optometrists have come to rely on other prescription lenses launched in recent years, such as Nikon's Relaxsee, Essilor's Computer Lens and Hoya's Nulux Active 8.
Lenses like these combine a distance prescription at the top with reading power at the bottom for use at close range. Unlike bifocals, there is no visible line between the segments of the lens. This makes prescription computer glasses attractive to clients under 40 who associate bifocals with aging, says Sheldon Salaba, an optometrist in Hamilton, Ont., and spokesperson for the Canadian Association of Optometrists.
He adds that patients tend to experience less visual distortion with prescription computer glasses compared with the progressive lenses often worn by patients over 40. The reason is that computer lenses have smaller transition areas between the reading and distance portions of the lens. That said, patients with strong prescriptions may purchase both types of lenses to meet their various needs.
Before the new range of computer lenses hit the market, optometrists typically offered prescription reading glasses. But reading glasses didn't work well for workers whose jobs require that they constantly shift their gaze from the computer to interact with co-workers, "which is pretty common," Dr. Salaba says.
Optometrists used to advise workers suffering from computer-related eyestrain to give their eyes a 20-second break every 20 minutes. But the recommendation was difficult for people in high-pressure work places to follow, he adds.
Since Dr. Salaba began prescribing computer glasses three or four years ago, his patients have come back saying their symptoms of computer-vision syndrome are gone, he says. "Their eyes feel comfortable at the end of the day."
How to protect your sight:
Work is tiring enough without suffering from computer-related eye strain. Here's how to safeguard your vision on the job.
- Blink more often instead of staring at the screen.
- Use lubricating drops to keep eyes moist.
- Clean the computer screen often and eliminate reflections using a glare-reduction filter.
- Increase the font size of documents for easy reading.
- Sit 50 to 65 centimetres away from a computer monitor, with the centre 10 to 15 centimetres below the eyes.
- Have eyes tested to check for underlying vision problems and ask about prescription computer glasses.
- If possible, take a break for 20 seconds every 20 minutes and focus on something 20 feet away.


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CINspirational People: Katie Walters
CINspirational People is a new feature of Good Things Going Around profiling diverse people of Greater Cincinnati, what inspires them, and what is inspiring about them.
Today we are featuring Katie Walters, promotions coordinator for Q102.
GTGA: What is an accomplishment you achieved that you are proud of?
Katie: I have two accomplishments that I'm proud of. First and foremost, being a mother and raising my children right. I have 13 and 12 year old boys, and I work very diligently in teaching them respect, hard work, and character. Secondly, I am proud of my position at Q102 radio. I first started working at Q when I was 18 years old, and always had a goal of being hired into my current position. I am very lucky and very fulfilled with both my children and career.
GTGA: Tell us about someone who has been a positive influence in your life.
Katie: Two people, no question. My mother, Sally Walters, has instilled values that I live by and she led by example. My mom represents and is the epitome of strength, courage, and unconditional love and is the best role model any daughter could have. Secondly, my boss, Patti Marshall. She has taught me the ins and outs of my career and set an example of a being a successful woman in the music industry. Patti is not only my boss and mentor, but she is also my friend. I would not be where I am today without the guidance, love, support, and encouragement from Patti.
GTGA: What is a motto you live by and why or how has it impact you?
Katie: Always, always be yourself and believe in yourself. Confidence is very empowering and only you can blaze your own path in life. Also, always be kind….you never know what someone else is going through.
GTGA: What is your biggest motivator?
Katie: Happiness. If you are happy with your job, family, and life in general, then waking up every day with a smile on your face is a gift.
GTGA: Tell us about an act of kindness you have done, witnessed or been the recipient of and how that made you feel.
Katie: I am a Board Member at the Brighton Center and I throw an 80s Party every February to benefit Brighton's Recovery Center for Women (80% are recovering heroin addicts). The recovery ladies volunteer and help me set up the party. This year, I was able to have the Highland Country Club (party venue) donate a fancy lunch to the ladies. We all sat together and ate a served lunch on white tablecloths in the club's dining room. The conversation consisted of past stories and choices made by everyone in the room. It really broke down a barrier and showed the women that people do care and they are of value. Just to see them treated nicely, eating a delicious lunch, and laughing made me almost cry from happiness. Each of those ladies matters and it reinforced why I throw the 80's benefit party….because of them, not me.
GTGA: Tell us about what you do and what are some of the reasons why you enjoy it.
Katie: I am the promotions coordinator for Q102 radio. Essentially that means that I run "front of house" for Q102 and execute all events. Patti refers to me as "the station's cheerleader." I love my job because it's different every day and I get to work incredible events and meet amazing people. The Q102 staff is family to me and I am very, very blessed in my career.


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The media wants war. Washington Post's Abby Phillip decided to publicly tweet out Sheriff David Clarke's home address, obviously hoping leftists would attack the Sheriff's house and his family living in it. This is typical left wing media thug-ism to attack those who expose them for the frauds they are.
Can't wait until someone gets Abby Phillip's home address and spreads it. We'll see how she likes it when the tables get turned on her.
Here is an edited version of Phillip's tweet, with the Sheriff's address blacked out.
|Washington Post Abby Phillip tweets Sheriff David Clarke Jr.'s home address
Abby Phillip also works for CNN, which should come as no surprise.


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Contemporary rug with a thick, chunky pile adds casual splendor and is able to bring simple attractive look with absolute comfort. Using machine-made technology, this pleas rug from Kalora Interiors Inc. will be the focal point of your room.
- Collection: Ashbury
- Color: Brown/Cream
- Construction: Machine-made
- Fibre: Heatset Polypropylene
- Pattern: Geometric
- Price level:
- Style: Casual
- Texture: Flat
- Area Rug: 5'3" x 7'7"(160 x 230 cm)
Kalora is the biggest manufacturer providing rugs to accentuate great furniture. It develops successfully since 1984. Over the years, Kalora has had the opportunity to expand its selection of products and sources of supply, including machine-made rugs from Belgium and Turkey, as well as handmade rugs from India. Kalora boasts wide collections variety, original design, exceptional quality materials and acceptable prices.
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From contemporary and minimalist to bizarre, our modern rugs and carpets give your home a great softness, warmth and burst of color. With an extensive selection of different colors, styles and patterns, they blend in nicely with your home decor. The braided or shag rugs are made from wool, viscose and cowhide and have deep and rich colors which will create intensive and bold statement in your rooms.


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Hope you all enjoy your weekend. I'm taking Monday off for the Labor Day holiday. In the meantime, you should mark your calendars for the first show curated by Kelly Lynn Jones of Little Paper Planes.
See you on Tuesday!
One Comment
Kelly Lynn Jones on 09.14.2008 at 21:24 PM
thanks so much for the post!!! so sweet!


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Didn't like this very much tooooooo strong at first and then dies out after a little
I have been a user and Lover of the eau Belle by Azzaro perfume since the 90's~ I first was introduced by my exchange student from france....I am so excited that it is avaiable in Canada now!! The scent is not flower, or too over powering. I put on in the morning and the scent satys in clothes untilt he end of work. Azzaro Eau Belle Is Classified As A Luxurious, Woody, Arid Fragrance, I wood agree completely! I love it! My boyfriend says the scent gets him riled!
These reviews are the subjective opinions of ChickAdvisor members and not of ChickAdvisor Inc.


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Having spent seven weeks in Baghdad during the Iraq war, Andrew Gilligan, the defence correspondent on the BBC's Today programme, is used to coming under heavy fire. Even Gilligan, however, is likely to have been shaken by the ferocity of the shelling he has endured in recent days.
On Wednesday, the Government unleashed its heavy artillery, in the form of its gruff Glaswegian enforcer, Dr John Reid, on Radio 4's flagship news programme in general and Gilligan in particular.
In an even-more-bitter-than-usual interview with John Humphrys, Dr Reid dismissed Today's claim that the Government had "sexed up" the threat posed by Saddam Hussein as "untrue". He then accused Gilligan - who broke the story last week - of being the patsy of "rogue elements" in the intelligence services.
Gilligan is in the Orkneys this week on a long-scheduled holiday and the BBC has told him not to speak to the press. The reason, it says, is to prevent him becoming the story. But if that is its aim, it isn't working.
Yesterday, newspapers carried a photograph of Tony Blair with a folder of PMQ briefing notes under his arm. One of the bookmarks was clearly labelled "Gilligan". He may be a long way from Westminster, but the Today reporter's name remains central to a controversy threatening irreparable damage to Blair's premiership.
So who is Andrew Gilligan and, more importantly, can he be trusted?
Gilligan, 34, was born in Teddington, south-west London, the son of a teacher (mother) and computer software engineer (father). He attended the local comprehensive before going to Cambridge to study history. After a stint as a reporter on the Cambridge Evening News, he moved to London, doing news shifts around Fleet Street before joining The Sunday Telegraph, where he eventually became defence correspondent.
In 1999, after five years at the paper, Gilligan was poached by the Today programme's then-editor, Rod Liddle, with a brief to cause trouble. And he has been making merry mischief ever since.
Gilligan first ruffled Labour's feathers in November 2000 with a report about a draft European Union constitution. Downing Street went ballistic, claiming the story was old while branding the reporter "gullible Gilligan". "The hounds of hell were let loose [by Downing Street]," Liddle wrote recently. "But as we now know, Gilligan was right."
The spat set the tone for relations between Number 10 and the Today programme, with Gilligan a frequent catalyst of the Government's ire.
His coverage of the Ministry of Defence - notably the revelation that Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, was going skiing on the eve of the Iraq war - revealed Gilligan's unrivalled capacity for getting up the Government's nose. After he broadcast details of a leaked report about Britain's performance in the Kosovo war - including the revelations that the guns and radios had not worked properly - senior MoD officials even held a meeting to discuss "The Gilligan Problem".
And it is rumoured that Downing Street has this week been encouraging some newspapers to do "hatchet jobs" on the BBC man.
Yet despite the frequency with which he has clashed with Labour it is understood that Gilligan has no party affiliations or overt political sympathies. Rather, say colleagues, he is simply a diligent troublemaker. One newspaper executive who worked closely with him said he was "probably the best story-getting journalist I've ever known", while Liddle calls him "one of the best reporters in the BBC".
However, not everyone he has worked with is a fan. "He was a nightmare to work with, an unreliable maverick," said one newspaper executive. "He was arrogant and upset everyone."
At the BBC Gilligan has often found himself at odds with the corporation's other defence correspondents, notably Mark Laity (before he moved to become a Nato spokesman).
"There is a strongly held view among large swathes of BBC journalists that their job is to report events not to go around causing trouble," says a BBC insider. "It's irritating for those newsgathering journalists who do the run-of-the-mill stuff. When Gilligan breaks a story on Today they then have to spend the whole day following it up. "
For the Government, too, it is Gilligan's ability to set the agenda - and disrupt their well-laid plans - that most rankles.
"What the spinners really don't like about him is that he produces a story which then blows their media plans out of the water," says a respected defence analyst. "Blair was in Basra last week on what was meant to be a victory parade. Then Gilligan comes along and ruins the party."
But while he may be disruptive, is he credible? In his set-to with Humphrys, Dr Reid tried to belittle Gilligan's journalism and alleged the story was poorly sourced.
Even his supporters acknowledge that Gilligan's personal eccentricities don't encourage faith in his journalism. When he worked at The Sunday Telegraph, he would keep his own hours - often not arriving at work until 6pm - or go awol for days. It was not unknown for him to sleep the night on the couch in the editor's office, and he would invariably file his stories only at the eleventh hour - and often under duress.
For all his idiosyncracies, however, it is hard to fault Gilligan's record. A newspaper executive who worked with him says: "Some people regarded him as a chancer. But he was always scrupulous about accuracy and the use of words."
A more telling criticism, perhaps, is that Gilligan has a mild propensity to editorialise. Exhibit A for the prosecution has been his report, following Saddam's downfall, in which Gilligan claimed the lawlessness meant the people of Baghdad were more fearful than at any time under the previous regime.
Not surprisingly, the suggestion made Downing Street apoplectic and it promptly accused Gilligan of "making the news" rather than reporting it.
But friends insist that is not Gilligan's style. "He's not out to seek the limelight. While in Baghdad he repeatedly refused to appear on television."
Gilligan now appears to have been vindicated over his WMD story. "It is now clear that Gilligan's sources were not 'rogue elements' but very much part of the mainstream of the intelligence services," says a source at the BBC close to the story. "Even Downing Street is distancing itself from Reid."
Having been put through the wringer, Gilligan could be forgiven if he felt some animosity towards Number 10. But friends say he is more likely to be grateful. He is currently working on a proposal for a book about the Iraq war and the media operation that went with it. Dr Reid's outburst will only have added another 'zero' to his advance.


text: Most of us, including myself have given up on them. 17 losing seasons is a record for professional sports. The problem here in Pittsburgh is that people keep going to the games regardless of all of the talent that is traded away. I am guilty of this... it is a beautiful ballpark and a nice night out for the family. So why should ownership invest in players when they are making money? We still have the Steelers & Penguins. It could be worse. I could live in Cleveland.


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- 20 years old
- Date of birth: Apr 4, 1991
- Date of passing: Feb 26, 2012
|Let the memory of Stephen be with us forever
This memorial website was created in the memory of our loved one, Stephen Wright, 20, born on April 4, 1991 and passed away on February 26, 2012. We will remember him forever.
"I think about you so often and you and Alex hanging out. You were a good friend to him. I wish you were still here. There is a still a lot of love for you here in Temple and Belton. Rest in peace! Love you!"
"I miss you Buddy. I know you are watching over us. I see you and feel you in the boys so much. They are both getting so big. You would be so proud. Merrick is already intrigued by skateboards. Gannon is so big. Sometimes I still can't believe that I will never get to see you play with him. I really wish you were here Stephen. I love you Bud, always."
"Stephen, to all of your family,mom,dad,grandparent's,sister's, Just want you all to know I am praying 4 God to carry everyone of you as you journey through this horrifically painful time! Only he know's the answer's to all of your ?'s as to why, who and what happened to your loved one, I pray that you will call on him at this time & he will be more real than ever before, Jason&Mers aunt"
"I always remember you, Stephen, having the best sense of humor and the jokes you'd tell in school always had me laughing....we had been going to the same school ever since pre-k at first baptist church, I found the shirt all of us put our tiny handprints on as a memory. It wasnso saddening to hear of your passing. May you rest in eternal peace....."
"Even though this is a rough time, I'm trying to remember all the good, and there was a ridiculous amount of good tiimes. First and formost, you were my bestfriend first , before a boyfriend, before a lover. I love you so much, and we'll find who did this to you."
"The past few days I have been in complete shock and I just can't even think of why anyone would even do what they did to you. It literally breaks my heart. I know even after we foubd out who did this to you..its noy going to get easier, but whoever they are deserves everything that is going to happen to them. I miss you so much dudde, and I know your smiling down on us. Love yu Stevie. Rip"
"Stephen, words cannot expressed how truly missed you will be by your friends and family. I am trying not to mourn, because I know you wouldn't want that. I will celebrate the life you lived, and always remember you. <3"
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This novel sculpture brings words of love to life with a beautiful red rose and enchanting serenade. Alabastrite. 8 1/4 x 3 1/4" x 5 1/2" high. Plays "Amazing Grace."
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NICL AO RESULT 2015 EXPECTED CUT-OFF NICL "National Insurance Company Limited" previous conduct in various date of April 2015. Huge numbe rof candidates particepated in online written examination 2015. Now After successfully conduct NICL AO Exam 2015. All candidates eagerly waiting to check AO Administrative Officer Result. Official website soon announced NICL AO Result 2015 Cut Off Marks. NICL AO ... Read More »
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NICL AO Admit Card 2015 Call Letter NICL organization Today 18/3/2015 issued Administrative Officer exam Admit Card 2015 Call Letter, So candidates need to download NICL Admit Card before April 2015, NICL AO Call Letter will available now at – http://nationalinsuranceindia.nic.co.in/ NICL ( National Insurance Company Limited) organization is ready to conduct Administrative officer (AO) Written exam on April month ... Read More »


text: Oh man! Ad-blocking software has been detected! :'( This website is run by the community, for the community... and it needs advertisements in order to keep running. Blocking our ads means your killing our stats! Please disable your ad-block, or become a premium member to hide all advertisements and this notice. Hey everyone, So I've been thinking alot recently regarding where I'm going in life and I don't think I want to continue looking for an IT support job and want to pursue for something else like SQL, Sharepoint or even programming for the mobile platforms. That's not to say that it will be any easier but I'll like to give it a go nevertheless. SQL looks interesting and is something I always wanted to do which I kind of hoped that would of been able to dabble in once I got my foot in the IT door. When it comes to programming, I would say that I have basic skills that I learnt at college and university - Java, C and C++ OOP. The problem is HOW do I even get into these roles in the first place ? Take Sharepoint developers for example; from what I gathered Sharepoint skills are in demand but all job ads I see require 3-5yrs commercial experience. Where are the entry level jobs for these? That goes for SQL as well. At least there are entry level IT support jobs about but just alot of competition. Don't tell me 1st line support is the only way in


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Cutting-edge Primare products in Tweed Heads
At Toma Audio, we supply and install Primare products for our customers across Tweed Heads, Northern Rivers, and the Gold Coast. Here's why you should be tempted to go Scandinavian:
Primare products boast the sound and vision of Scandinavia and are available right here in Tweed Heads. Whether you need power amplifiers, high performance CD players, DACs, home theatre systems, streamers, or phono stages to hear the best of your vinyl, Primare has it all. You can have the very best, cutting-edge audio systems installed in your very own home.
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The Borgias returns soon for more backstabbing, treachery, sinning, and nudity.
Lots and lots of nudity.
Set in 15th Century Italy, it follows the Borgias family and their patriarchal leader, Pope Alexander (), as they scheme and sin in order keep their power. They also get naked a lot, although I think I mentioned that already.
A television spot for Season 3 has just landed, so check it out if you want to feel kinda dirty:
The Borgias Season 3 premieres Sunday, Apr 14th, 10 PM ET/PT.
Will you be tuning in to The Borgias when it airs in April?
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This piece may be shown differently in our showroom than as pictured on website.
Select items have different fabric choices available, price may vary depending on fabric chosen.
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Chic and sophisticated, this club style accent chair dresses up your decor. The rounded back is adorned with line tufted details, while tapered legs, a comfortable T-style seat cushion, and track arms complete the design. The brown hues of the diamond pattern fabric add visual interest sure to suit a living room, bedroom, or home office.
The Aquaria Tufted Back Accent Chair by Millennium at Becker Furniture World in the Twin Cities, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Minnesota area. Product availability may vary. Contact us for the most current availability on this product.
Browse other items in the Aquaria collection from Becker Furniture World in the Twin Cities, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Minnesota area.
This item has been tagged as: Rocker, Rocking Chair, Nursery Furniture, Nursery Rocking Chair, Glider, Nursery Glider, Glider Chair, Glider Rocker, Glider Rocking Chair, Glider Rocking Chair, Childrens Room Rocking Chair, Chair and a Half, Chair and a Half Recliner, Chair and a Half Sleeper, Chair and a Half with Ottoman, Big Chair, Oversized Chair, Chair and Ottoman, Ottoman Chair, Chair and Ottoman Set, Accent Chair, Chaise, Chaise Lounge, Small Chaise, Chaise Lounge Chair, Custom Chaise Lounge, Chaise Lounger, Double Chair, Exposed Wood Chair, Accent Chair with Wood Arms or Legs, Exposed Wood Seating, Exposed Wood Pieces, Wing Chair, Wingback Chair, Queen Anne Chair, Easy Chair, Fireplace Chair, Daybed
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If both supply and demand increase (shift rightward), is the change in equilibrium quantity indeterminate or ambiguous?
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The supply curve which is the graph of the price of the product versus its quantity supplied is an upward sloping curve and the demand curve is a downward sloping curve.
Along the same graphs that are used initially, an increase in demand corresponds to a higher price that consumers are willing to pay, and an increase in supply corresponds to a lower price at which producers are willing to sell the product. There is no change in the equilibrium quantity per se.
If the increase in the supply and demand leads to the formation of new demand and supply curves, they intersect at a point corresponding to a new and larger equilibrium quantity; the price at this point is dependent on the actual values provided by the new curves.
The change in equilibrium quantity is not indeterminate or ambiguous. It can be estimated using the new supply/demand curves.
When both supply and demand increase, equilibrium quantity traded must rise, but the change in price depends upon the relative magnitudes of the two shifts. (Ralph Byrns. UNC, Chapel Hill)


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For three decades, plans for the Interstate 26 expansion have been driven by dangerous, outdated ideas that will hurt our city. The sky isn't falling, and it's time to call the state out
Above: This postcard of the Smokey Park Bridge from the 1960s shows sidewalks on both sides of the bridge with connections on the east side to downtown. They were obliterated by the state in the 1970s and now Asheville is being asked to pay to replace them.
"Two or eight lanes, it don't matter, it's just another town."
– Drive-By Truckers
Chicken Little lives in a world where he believes everyone drives a car. He prioritizes billions of dollars' worth of road construction projects with for rates of economic return. He promotes bisecting and isolating thriving city neighborhoods with 10-lane highways. He believes the movement of vehicles is more important than the movement of people. Chicken Little constantly complains about not having enough money.
And he's been telling Asheville the sky is falling for nearly three decades.
Evidence of Mr. Little's handiwork is evident in the $800 million I-26 Connector project consisting of the widening of I-240 through West Asheville and other projects so it can shed its "Future I-26" moniker.
Chicken Little's real name is the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
The draft Environmental Impact Statement for the I-26 Connector was published last week with a public hearing set for November 16.
Many community conversations have occurred over this project since North Carolina identified the freeway widening in 1989 as a project that would be funded by the state's then-new highway trust fund, which was organized to build highway loop routes around cities. November 16 will likely be the final conversation.
It's easy to see why Asheville leaders were desperate to accept a wider highway in the late 1980s. Downtown was largely a ghost town, still recovering from the shockwaves sent through the community with the exodus of businesses to the suburbs and a proposed downtown shopping mall that would have obliterated nearly a third of downtown.
Today, just as in the 1960s and 1970s, the NCDOT tells us widening highways is the key to economic success. History and a growing collection of economic studies tell us otherwise. The first massive highway building era in and around Asheville was followed by nearly 30 years of economic stagnation. The Crosstown Expressway, Patton Avenue Expressway and NC 191 Expressway were all constructed in this era and combined to form I-240 in the 1970s. This was followed by an extension of the route that blasted through Beaucatcher Mountain to connect to I-40 at Charlotte Highway.
The difference now is Asheville is a marquee "go-to" destination, but $800 million is mobilized for I-26 Connector to treat Asheville as a "go-through" destination.
Asheville has made more progress economically in the past two decades in an era when there were no highway widenings. So why do our leaders continue to listen to the state's promises of economic vibrancy when the past tells us otherwise? Why do they support the removal of $90 million in private property from the city tax base and 50 businesses at a time when the city has no ability to recoup that land elsewhere?
The region is thriving, downtown is bustling like never before, and formerly tired city neighborhoods are experiencing a renaissance. It took Asheville three decades to recover from the massive economic drain the original highway widening projects resulted in for downtown and city neighborhoods. While other cities across the country are tearing down waterfront freeways, North Carolina is full steam ahead to build one in Asheville. A massive highway expansion doesn't fit our current trajectory.
DOT's release of the draft Environmental Impact Statement and the upcoming public hearing are just a formality. It's highly unlikely that much will change in NCDOT's approach to the project despite nearly three decades of public concern and comment. Attorneys will likely decide its fate.
How can $800 million be bad thing?
We are prohibited from having a real conversation over how $800 million could be better spent on transportation in this region.
After all, as the old adage goes, if they feed us, how can they be bad?
Highway agencies are the modern day manifestation of sophism in its most negative terms. And the public officials who constantly bow to them are just as culpable. After all, how can we turn down $800 million, of which $90 million will be spent to transfer private property to the government? Removing that much taxable value from the city will almost certainly necessitate substantial property tax increases precipitated, in large by part, by the General Assembly prohibiting Asheville from expanding its boundaries to recoup the loss of this property.
In 2014, US Public Interest Research Group identified the proposed to widen I-240 through West Asheville as one of 11 highway boondoggles in the United States. The study showcased that hundreds of millions were proposed to save the average motorist 17 seconds out of a 6.5-minute commute during the p.m. rush hour.
Let that sink in. You save more time when they open a new register while you're in line at Sam's Club.
A Career in Modeling
What would happen if projections for social entitlement program recipients never came close to what the government anticipated? Republicans would threaten to de-fund the program and most Democrats would call for some type of investigation.
But when it's a highway entitlement program, government forecasts are accepted as gospel.
NCDOT and FHWA utilize a tool is called a "travel demand model." It's a complicated set of algorithms developed in the 1950s for major metropolitan areas to evaluate how highways perform based on certain traffic and growth assumptions. After nearly three decades of debate about I-26 and the Bowen Bridge, the traffic congestion is still only confined to a short p.m. rush hour period or when there is a crash.
Nearly 40 years-worth of utilizing these models has proven only one thing: the sky doesn't fall.
The table below illustrates the lackluster projections from past travel demand models that have all led to DOT stating that the number of lanes proposed through West Asheville was predicated on the outcomes of these models. These were compiled through researching NCDOT traffic counts back to 1980s in addition to travel model projections contained in regional long-range transportation plans adopted by the region since the mid-1970s. (Thanks to Joe Minicozzi from Urban3 for putting them in graphic form to illustrate how poorly the models have predicted Asheville's traffic).
The Federal Highway Administration requires the use of these archaic models and scares the public with terms such as "unacceptable congestion" without giving the community the ability to define what is or is not unacceptable. The draft Environmental Impact Statement executive summary says in 2033 that 41 of 80 segments of the project would have these "unacceptable" levels of congestion. Similar past projections said this would occur long before 2033, but it never has.
When FHWA was asked by local leaders to consider fewer lanes on I-240 through West Asheville, their retort was that they require all new interstate highways to be built to standards based on what's called "level of service" and that the highway performs at a certain level of service 20 years from construction. DOTs would widen a cul-de-sac if the model told them to do it.
These travel demand models, in combination with the design guidelines adopted as gospel by the NCDOT and FHWA, have a much greater impact on the design of cities than even the most stringent zoning ordinance. The model cares nothing about community context, the safety of people, or the long-term economic impacts of removing taxable land via wide swaths of right-of-way. It does not account for the needs of pedestrians, bicyclists or transit users. It cares only about helping us ensure that motorists who don't yet exist can move without delay 20 years from now.
The draft EIS casts the six-lane option aside from the start. West Asheville never had a chance.
The Cascade Effect
A close examination of NCDOT's preliminary design drawings for the I-26/240 widening reveals additional cause for concern for West Asheville residents and businesses. Highway engineers will tell us the sky is falling on Amboy Road, Haywood Road, Brevard Road and I-240 through the heart of downtown.
The Amboy Road linkage to I-240 will be altered to become a four-lane highway that connects to Brevard Road near its intersection with Shelburne Road. Two lanes magically necessitate four lanes in NCDOT's world of highway models. The proposed medians along the route will cut off existing neighborhood bicycling routes and the overall corridor is planned to resemble any other suburban corridor built by NCDOT over the past 50 years.
The design gives no respect to the existing neighborhoods along the route or the context of West Asheville. Fourteen or more homes will be obliterated along near Amboy Road and Brevard Road in a city that is already struggling with a housing shortage. (The draft EIS estimates the lowest number of homes removed to be around 130, in addition to at least 50 businesses.)
Brevard Road will be widened to 6 lanes and then transition to 2 lanes within a few hundred feet of the interchange in West Asheville. Shelburne Road will be 4 lanes west of Brevard Road.
A 2004 study of the entire Amboy Road corridor, based on assumptions that I-240/I-26 would be widened per the I-26 Connector revealed NCDOT feels the entire stretch of Amboy Road from I-240 to the French Broad River should be a 4-lane divided highway. NCDOT vaguely acknowledged the Wilma Dykeman Riverway project in their study but said they still stand behind widening Amboy to 4 lanes, a move that would build a community barrier between the riverfront, Carrier Park, Karen Cragnolin Park, Pisgah View Apartments and neighborhoods in West Asheville.
Because of environmental rules, NCDOT's only option for doing this is widening Amboy Road north of Carrier Park, which would wipe out emerging business and residential development along the route. Any other economic development potential for properties fronting Amboy Road, highlighted by RiverLink in a September 12 email titled "Amboy Road Rebirth," would be negated. The opportunity for a riverfront district that creates synergies between the park, river and businesses is gone forever if NCDOT plans proceed — all resulting from the cascade effect of the I-26 Connector.
The current Haywood Road interchange is not the prettiest part of West Asheville, but NCDOT's design concept for the interchange provides motorists with much faster ingress and egress from the main business district of West Asheville. NCDOT's designs treat Haywood Road just like every other suburban interchange in the state. The curvature of the turns at on- and off-ramp intersections with Haywood Road allow motorists to move at higher rates of speed than they do now while entering and exiting. The Haywood Road footprint is the same as what is proposed at the new Brevard Road and I-26 interchange, at which NCDOT is requiring a design speed of 50 mph.
Higher speeds of traffic and expectations of higher speeds will make it more difficult to cross the overpass on foot or by bike. Families wishing to access the proposed I-26 greenway from West Asheville will have to cross through two interchange intersections where motorists who have expectations of driving faster are less likely to see bicyclists and pedestrians approaching or moving through the interchange given the high speed right turn lanes at the off-ramps.
Getting it Right for Pedestrians & Bicyclists
The draft EIS has some positive language about pedestrian and bicyclist access, stating that the project "would improve both bicycle and pedestrian mobility within the study area through the inclusion of bicycle lanes and sidewalks on many of the cross streets roadways affected by the project." History tells us we should still proceed with caution.
The original freeways in Asheville disconnected local streets between neighborhoods, walled off public housing, and obliterated the sidewalks that once existed on both sides of the Bowen Bridge. Little of that changes after $800 million in new infrastructure. Based on concepts developed by NCDOT, facilities are present but provide no real connectivity to places that are most likely draw people to use them.
NCDOT created the existing gaps and barriers for pedestrians and bicyclists when it began bisecting the city with expressways. Asheville has correctly asked NCDOT to include features that correct the problems created by NCDOT in the 1960s and 1970s. Unfortunately, NCDOT requires Asheville to pay for what NCDOT terms "incidental" investments due to the state's antiquated cost-share policies that absolve the state of funding transportation projects for people on foot. No other municipality or agency in the region whose residents will drive through the new highway is asked to put a dime toward the project, but when people other than motorists have needs for basic transportation, the City is on the hook. At minimum, DOT should be required to replace the pedestrian connectivity that once existed on both sides of the bridge before expecting the city to pay to correct deficiencies the state created.
The greenway concept along the east side is a good starting point for restoring some of the barriers brought on by NCDOT's original highway projects. NCDOT's concept for the greenway needs substantial work by those who understand how to design facilities for pedestrians and bicyclists, not highway engineers.
With the I-26 Connector, the NCDOT will accommodate dozens of design features for the comfort of motorists to provide them with no delay and little inconvenience. Just a few feet away, pedestrians and bicyclists will be forced into the street if their concepts advance.
Would NCDOT force motorists to drive on a railroad track for a short segment? That would be absurd. But under the state's current drawings children and families would leave the protection of the greenway to cross a freeway on-ramp after being forced to walk and ride in the street. Further, NCDOT proposes no connection to the planned Smith Mill Creek greenway identified in the city's greenway plan and the Burton Street neighborhood community plan.
Getting this right is the least we can do because, in the end, Chicken Little gets his new highway. Asheville gets scratched.
Don Kostelec is an award-winning professional planner, WNC native and safety advocate.
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