text:
In case you think you've read this before, you did, if you read TigerBlog 104 weeks ago and 156 weeks ago today:
As holidays go, you can't do much
better than Thanksgiving. It's got it all, really: a huge meal (with
turkey, no less), football, family, history (dates back to 1621), start
of a four-day weekend for most people, leftovers. It's even a secular
holiday, so every American can dive right in, regardless of religion.
attended many Manalapan-Marlboro Thanksgiving games a long, long time
ago. The Lions and the Cowboys, obviously, always play at home on
Thanksgiving, and the NFL has now added a third game (maybe a little too
much). Beyond watching football, how many out there have played their
own Thanksgiving football games, all of which, by the way, are named
"the Turkey Bowl?"
The holiday may lag behind Christmas in terms
of great Hollywood movies, and "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" is no
match for "A Charlie Brown Christmas" or "It's the Great Pumpkin,
Charlie Brown." Still, there are some great moments in movies and TV
shows around Thanksgiving.
Rocky and Adrian had their first date
on Thanksgiving – "To you it's Thanksgiving; to me it's Thursday," Rocky
said romantically – as did Meadow and Jackie Jr. on "The Sopranos" (it
didn't quite work out as well as it did for Rocky and Adrian).
"Everybody Loves Raymond" had two pretty good Thanksgiving episodes, the
one where Marie makes a low-fat dinner and the one where Debra makes
fish instead of turkey. As an aside, TigerBlog's Aunt Regina once made
Cornish game hens instead of turkey, so he knows how they all felt. And
of course, there was the Thanksgiving episode of "Cheers," which has the
big food fight at the end.
The Woody Allen movie "Hannah and Her
Sisters" starts and ends on two different Thanksgivings. "Miracle on
34th Street" is a Christmas movie, but it does start with the
Thanksgiving parade in New York City.
And of course, there is the
best of all Thanksgiving movies: "Planes, Trains and Automobiles."
It'll make you laugh a lot and cry a little, and it ends on
TigerBlog didn't include that last year, so he figured he'd revisit it this time around. He was going to simply reproduce it without saying that he'd used it before, but then that would be a violation of the University's honor code.
If you asked 100 people what their favorite holiday is, TB is pretty sure you'd get 50% Thanksgiving and 50% everything else combined. TB would be in the first 50%.
TB has so many great memories of Thanksgivings, going back as far as he can remember. Happily, TigerBlog Jr. and Miss TigerBlog are also off to great starts with the holiday.
As TB is writing, various members of the women's basketball team have walked by, on their way to the bus and the airport, headed to Los Angeles for games Friday against UC-Riverside and Sunday against UCLA.
There will also be a big team Thanksgiving meal at Nicole Hung's house. It's not uncommon for winter teams to be traveling today and playing over the weekend and having their Thanksgiving together on the road, adding to the overall experience of being a team.
Of course, the women's basketball team travel party won't be the only people who are flying someplace on this day, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Today is the busiest travel day of the year, as everyone scrambles to get where they're going for the big day.
As TigerBlog thinks back to his Thanksgivings when he was younger, he remembers people like his Uncle Herbie, his cousin Toby, his Aunt Regina and Uncle Larry, his grandparents and of course MotherBlog, all of whom are gone now.
He says this not to be morbid or to be a downer as the holiday approaches.
He says this instead as he smiles, as he thinks back to the great times he had with them all those Thanksgivings, how he cherishes those memories, how they were some of the best days of his life.
And how he wants everyone tomorrow to stop and look around at everyone they are with and to cherish them and that moment as well, knowing that it's a special day, this Thursday in late November.
It's about the food and fun and football, and it's about the traffic and the crowd in the supermarket or liquor store or bakery. It's about all of those things, yes, but it's mostly about the people you're with.
Stop for a second tomorrow. Put your plate down. Look away from the TV.
And take a good look around at the people who are there with you.
And be thankful for them.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Have A Great Thanksgiving
Posted by Princeton OAC at 11:23 AM
Labels: General
1 comment:
- Pay per Head said...
I think it's great to share these special days with family and friends and, of course, can not miss football. happy Thanksgiving.
- November 23, 2012 at 9:33 AM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Bloody Graduation — Part II
A multi-part short story on teenage drama.
Read Part I here.
Okay, so I'm wearing thicker socks. My mum was right. She's always right. One day I'm going to be right, and she's going to feel like me now. I know it. My uniform is pristine today. No blood. No permanent marker. No dirt. It's almost as if I never wore it.
I can see a sea of red gowns and caps bobbing up and down like the ebb and flow of a river streaming down a hill. Who am I kidding? I'm not a poet.
"Hi, Miss Jackie," I say.
She's walking on my right with a short black skirt and black stockings. Her orange blouse is frilly and sleeveless. "Hi, Max. I'm glad you did so well in my class."
I can feel my cheeks burn. She's only the hottest teacher in the school, and she's my English teacher. Everyone does well in her class, and I mean everyone.
"Thank you, Miss Jackie," my mum says.
Shit. I forgot she's right beside me. Did she see my cheeks blush? I hope not. That'd be awkward. I turn to look at my mum; just a peek. She's smiling, but not at me. Good. That's over.
"Everyone, please take your seats," Vice Principal Gregory says. He steps forward from behind the microphone and flaps his arms like a helpless turkey to hurry everyone up.
My mum and I take a seat somewhere near the back. My foot's hurting a little, and I wish I had a painkiller with me now. I gesture to my feet for my mum, but she ignores me and stares up at the stage.
"I'd like to thank all the parents in attendance today," Gregory says. "It was truly an honour to encourage your children over the last five years at our school."
Boring. I hate speeches. I hate this school. My toe hurts. I want to get out of here. Please, God, let this be quick. I promise I'll pray to you more. Maybe. No, scratch that. I won't. Just let this be over. Okay?
Originally published at www.amaitken.com on May 9, 2017.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Fumihiro Maruyama won the men's race at the 41st annual All-Japan Corporate Team Half Marathon Championships in Yamaguchi with 1:01:15, while Yukiko Akaba, who also won this race in 2008 with the course record of 1:08:11, took the women's honours in 1:08:59.
In the men's race, with overcast conditions but no rain and the temperatures in the 10-12 degrees range, Kenya's Gideon Ngatuny led the pack in the early stages of the race but he was soon joined by his compatriot Johana Maina at the front.
After 4km, the pair started to put daylight between themselves and the leading pack, taking Maruyama with them.
After passing 5km together in 14:24, Ngatuny then broke away just before 7km. At 10km, passed in 28:41, Ngatuny led Maruyama and Maina by three seconds before the trio quickly came together again.
After passing 14km, Maruyama decided it was the right moment to push the pace and by 15km, reached in 43:28, Maina had been left behind.
Ngatuny stayed with Maruyama until 19km before the Japanese runner moved away. Maruyama passed 20km in 58:06 and won in 1:01:15. Maina got his second wind and passed Ngatuny in the final kilometre to finish second in 1:01:28, with his flagging countryman coming home third in 1:01:45.
"This is my final road race of the season. My goal for the track season is to run the World Championships qualifying time at 10000m," said the 22-year-old Maruyama, who improved his Half Marathon best by more than two minutes.
The women's race also turned into three-woman battle very early.
Rei Ohara, Yukiko Akaba, and Half Marathon debutante Hanae Tanaka passed 10km together in 32:50. After 14km, Ohara was left behind, leaving Akaba and Tanaka duel it out at the front
The leading pair passed 15km together in 49:15 but over the next five kilometres Akaba gradually exerted her authority. By 20km, which was passed in 1:05:29, Akaba, was alone in front.
The fifth-place finisher in the 2011 IAAF World Championships Marathon pushed hard in the closing stage to finish in 1:08:59, the third fastest time of her career. Akaba is planning to run next month's London Marathon with the goal of making Japan's 2013 IAAF World Championships marathon team.
Tanaka, the 2011 World University Games 10000m silver medalist, made a very respectable Half Marathon debut with 1:09:18 in second place while Ohara, held onto third place with 1:09:45, a personal best by more than a minute.
Ken Nakamura for the IAAF


text:
Offering great daily features, friendly service and a varied selection of craft beers. Join us at the bar to enjoy the baseball games or relax in the dining room for an intimate dinner.
Come check out our heated streetside patio and enjoy the people watching.
Mon to Thu
10am - midnight
10am - 1am
9am - 1am
9am - midnight


text:
You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'lucky' tag.
Happy new year everyone! Did you get kissed last night? I got a hug! :)
Maybe it was due to eating those lucky black eyed peas everyone goes on about. I've got no problem with an excuse to them, though, being all mushy and sweet and darned adorable with that little black spot. I found out later that the collards they're traditionally eaten with in the south symbolize paper money, so I missed out on that part, but do you see those basil leaves? Looks leafy and green to me! I even ate this all on lettuce, I'm probably set on the symbolic moolah front. Oh, and the beans themselves were a vegan version of Jukut Murab – a Balinese salad with coconut, tamarind, chile and lime and very very delicious – it's going into bean salad rotation and will definitely be gracing the table of a potluck sometime in the future. It's exotic and wonderful on the tongue and easy and healthy and cheap = win!
And speaking of inconceivably delicious food being actually very healthy – stuffed zucchini globes, Isa-style definitely qualify. How had I not made these yet? The millet here is basically a delivery device for tomato-y, olive-y, caper-y superflavour, which doesn't get any further up my alley. I ate the leftover millet rolled up in steamed red cabbage with a squish of lemon, which forgive me, may have been even tastier than the squash, and um… I even put this stuff on crackers. Recommended!
Oh Extraveganza, shall you be in all my posts and will I never mind? Yes. :)
Especially when you offer recipes like pear and cardamom pudding, zomg. I doubled the cardamom and I shouldn't have done that, because it became somewhat impossible to NOT have perfumed vanilla sweetness for dinner two night in a row. I am considering making more…
Finally, eek, I made saucy asian takeout style food! I can see why people do this now… It's kind of a Gyudon (japanese beef and rice bowl) made with eggplant, as per Vegan Ronin's excellent adaptation, and somewhere between adding a splash of requisite sriracha and licking my bowl clean this was dreamy good eating. Even the rice happened to be purple in aubergine agreement! Goodness, I think now I'm gonna have to make General Tao's tofu and cross that dish off my lifetime list now that I'm all hooked on sweet thickened sauces. YUM!
Bonus picture >>>>>>>>>>>>>
My favourite salad these days involves green apple and crushed up organic Wheat Thins, which was inspired by fatoush, if you can believe it. The crackers are sweeter than the apples, and with a noochy citrus dressing it's a perfect snack.
(can you believe I got organic crackers at the dollar store? madness! I'm not complaining though)


text:
"He needs to begin building a hut using the boards from the sunken ship, together with new things found on the island he's washed up on."
"In every new era, one can apply the image of the shipwreck because there are things that we no longer need, temporary things, and (eternal) values that get expressed in another way."
-Pope Francis- via CNS


text:
I'm not sure if I like the Rebel Spell's Last Run. It hits me in a place that is so rare and specific that it only highlights how rarely I get hit. I'll dispense with the fuckery as soon as possible, because the questions that the Last Run brought up deserve an examination. It's a Beautiful Future was something of a sleeper hit with many, and those who loved the first album will be surely excited for the latest. But for me, it brings me to a place I love and loathe in equal measures.
Last Run is perfectly executed. I'll get that out of the way immediately. Musically, it's a loud and brash behemoth that reminds me a little bit of Morning Glory's bombast in Poets Were My Heroes. But the anchor is dropped in the tight ferocity of skate punk. The first track, "Hopeless," wears its influences on its sleeve with chugged power chords and a big chorus. "Breathe" introduces a more metallic side to the band, featuring an extended guitar solo that perhaps hints at their greatest influence, fellow Canadians Propagandhi. The title track is the first hint of their grander musical tendencies, and when the rock instruments fade out halfway through and all that's left is melancholy piano notes and the howls of "Blame me! Blame me! Blame Me!," it becomes quickly apparent that this is a band equipped to transcend.
"The Tsilhqot'in War" is the masterpiece on the album, a sprawling, epic song that opens with Jo Yeong-wook-esque strings. Its difficult to sustain a five minute punk song, but here the Rebel Spell do it with ease– transforming their passion into an audience's rapt attention. Throughout Last Run, they have a firm hand on both music and lyrics, executing each one impressively.
I won't bury the lead: I hate political punk. It reeks of attentive masturbation and holier-than-thou posturing that preaches directly to the choir and little else. I think back to the earliest punk rockers, these willfully nihilistic dinosaurs of another time and place; they were certainly political, but it was mostly discourse grounded in the real world. They were tearing down the barriers between musician and audience, and one of the ways they were doing it was through the issues of the time. They sang about the downtrodden, for the downtrodden– it was all blue collar anthems for the freaks on the outskirts by the freaks on the outskirts, and everyone bought in because the gap was closing. With the Rebel Spell, I only feel like they're widening the gap.
Bare with me, this may be a little out-of-bounds for a review, but I'm going to bring in a quote from the Rebel Spell's Facebook in the interest of painting a fuller picture of this band and their stances:
"We don't like things all that much and we tend to think for ourselves. Food, shelter, warm clothes, community, friendship, travel, love, hate, you know life."
That's right. They don't like 'things.' The road to punk rock nirvana is a road paved with much treachery and deceit, but the Rebel Spell have risen above it all. They're levitating somewhere by a bird's nest, viceless wonders wondering how all these mere mortals can live with themselves, living their lives of consumption and little less. The gap widens.
I'm not a paragon of punk virtue. I have a cell phone. I pay Comcast for my internet. I bought Nicki Minaj's "Anaconda" single. But nonetheless I believe in DIY art and the complete unfettered pursuit thereof. Punk rock is a place for the bellows of the downtrodden to be heard and felt, but for me, Last Run just sounds like a checklist of punk rock talking points being checked by a band so far removed from modern human experience it feels like the far left version of telling a homeless guy to "just get a job."
It's all here. Racism is bad. Religion is bad. The environment needs protecting. Sexism is bad. White people mistreated Native Americans. Cops are criminals, man! But the one that irks me the most is the Luddite streak that runs through "Breathe." It comes off as a thoughtless target when so many of us use technology as a means to communicate and learn. We all get annoyed when we're talking to someone and their nose is in their phone, or when the kid with headphones jumps into the middle of the street like Dr. Dre personally told him to, but I guess it all comes off as too black and white. I always go back to Videodrome on this, David Cronenberg's 1983 film that handles the growing prevalence of technology in our lives with surprising prescience. The film depicts the merging of man and machine and reality with television, and the general takeaway is that technology is just another step in our evolution. It's scary because it's new, but who's to say which of the before or after is better? The easy thing to say is "let's regress back to what we know." But the challenging thing is to admit that the things you loathe are just things (as the Rebel Spell are happy to not be into), and there is no perfect or natural state. Humanity is fluid. Long live the new flesh, baby.
I'd like to think that we've moved beyond the usual punk topics. Why not write a song about the dissonance some of us feel between enjoying our consumerist culture while we vehemently trash it in our art? Why not write a song about balancing your belief in feminism with your everyday objectification? Are the Rebel Spell so far across the gap they've never found joy in modern vices or the perfect shape of a twenty-something's ass? They might be, but I'm not. I partake in grey areas of morality all day and all night, because I'm not perfect and it's not something I want to strive for. The disconnect here might not be from artist to audience, but from person to person.
But, the other take on it is this: Last Run is exactly what we need in punk rock. Maybe the Rebel Spell is right, and I'm sucking on the teats of the corporations and I need to protest a pipeline and live amongst bears right-fucking-now. Maybe the basics are being pounded out again and again because they happen to be important, and they happen to be outsider issues worth discussion. Maybe the rest of us, living in the system don't get it and this is the benevolent aural hand to slap us in the face and yell: "wake the fuck up!" And it very well could be just another political punk jerk-off session. If it is, I hope they came. But, I'm left with the very real sense that Last Run is a work of art. It's certainly confrontational, but it interacted with me in a way that a lot of music just doesn't. There's give and take here. It made me think– reconsider what is important to me and inspires me to discuss and write a review that is too long for anyone's good. And all of that is worth a lot more than just finding something to agree with.
5/5 Stars – Give the album a listen below.


text:
Pro Series Drag Racing was made and distributed by "fight Creek Games" skipulag, og það er aðgengilegt að vera sótt og spilað á Android og IOS stig. Pro Series Drag Racing was made and distributed by "fight Creek Games" skipulag, og það er aðgengilegt að vera sótt og spilað á Android og IOS stigum.
Ace Series Drag Racing is notable for its sensible and connecting with racing knowledge. They have figured out how to execute all the authenticity highlights into one spot. We are speaking here about tuning and adjusting the various pieces of your drag vehicle.
The online profession mode is something phenomenal in this game. It is offering a focused domain… envision having these highlights in one multiplayer internet testing game.
Star Series Drag Racing cheats will conceal all your redesigning cost and make the existence a lot simpler for you inside. Remember to look down to adapt more in such manner…
Pick Your Home Territory
There are different choices accessible for you to look over. Here is a rundown with the accessible domains…
1- West
2- North
3- South
4- East
They all are situated in North America, so you ought to expect some genuine streets actualized from the live scenes. Hope to get a one turn token for nothing, in the wake of choosing a domain. You can generally get any number of tokens by means of Pro Series Drag Racing cheats or Pro Series Drag Racing hack, yet we are simply educating you with the smallest subtleties.
It would be the ideal time to buy a vehicle. The game will allow you $25,000 to begin, which is sufficient for a vehicle and a few mods. The ideal spot to get your vehicle from is the vendor. This is the main spot, where you can get vehicles for money.
Since this is your first time at the vendor, at that point you will be just enabled to see the vehicles that you can buy. sem felur í sér, the vehicles out of your arrive freely be covered up until further notice. Það sem meira er, on your following visit, you can check a wide range of vehicles uninhibitedly, without stressing by any means.
Every vehicle will accompany its own trait framework. So as to become familiar with the marker behind every vehicle, you should peruse the following section cautiously.
• Read the accompanying Pro Series Drag Racing Review and put your hands over Pro Series Drag Racing hack for ideal experience.
Buying your first vehicle will decide a great deal about your vocation and dashing style. It is a significant part as every vehicle will accompany its very own advantages and disadvantages. We are talking here about the exhibition on the track, not simply figures and irregular numbers.
You don't need to stress over the expense of any autos, as long as you are utilizing Pro Series Drag Racing cheats or Pro Series Drag Racing hack, you ought to be more than fine.
They have figured out how to put a point by point report about every vehicle to aggregate up all the confounded figures in only four fundamental bars. We have chosen to clarify these bars for you as a peruser to have a superior view over every vehicle…
1- Power: this is the way the vehicle will react to your press on increasing speed pedal. It will arrive at specific velocities as indicated by its capacity limit.
2- þyngd: on the off chance that your vehicle is light, at that point it will have simpler moving and can arrive at higher speeds effectively, yet it could go on misguided course on the off chance that you are alternating.
3- Grip: it is connected primarily to your authority over your vehicle on the black-top.
4- Strength: how you will get up from the zero to legend on the vehicle. It is the devoured time to take head begin
How To Get authorized?
There are two primary sorts of monetary forms in-game "gold" og "dollars", you can utilize both to buy ordinary things yet some uncommon things will require from you to have Gold.
Presently you have the vehicle, this implies the race opportunity has arrived and you need to substantiate yourself on the track. Tap on the race catch to take you through the race map. Before beginning your vocation you need to finish the first permitting assessment. Í öllum tilvikum, you can peruse this part to realize the accurate guidelines to pass it effectively.
• After finishing this permitting test you will be cleared to race in the road class and will approach contend in and complete the road class title.
Permitting test has three objectives:
1- Learn how to drive a road vehicle
2- Finish under 12.5 sekúndur
3- Beat your rival.
nú, you know about the central matters identified with the game highlights and how it works, it is shrewd to gain proficiency with the controls on the following section. Keep in your mind that the Pro Series Drag Racing hack will give you an entrance to the most developed vehicles on the scene.
How to Drag?
The livelinesss inside the game are not the fanciest thing available. Vera það sem það getur, they have figured out how to make it look reasonable as conceivable as far as survey heavenly attendants and impacts.
Your vehicle is in the center, dropped down you can discover RPM measure, Gear counter and tire temp. On the correct base corner you can discover your gas pedal and move pedal. Hold it until your tire temp is in the upper green.
There are perfect new companies, standard ones, and horrible ones. The green meter is a marker on the ideal start up for a dragger.
When your tires are set up as far as warmth, you will be moved towards the pre organize. Presently tap the gas pedal to organize your vehicle, this will flag that you are prepared to race.
This light impels you are completely organized and perused to race. Hold down the dispatch catch to execute a brisk start up for your vehicle.
On the off chance that you are confronting inconveniences winning races and feeling that you are by and large forgotten about, at that point the Pro Series Drag Racing cheats or Pro Series Drag Racing hack will conceal the redesign cost.
You should know precisely when to change the gear. This should be possible flawlessly by following your RPM check… it is part into three lights
1- Grey shading: this is too truly not suggested
2- Green shading: this is the perfect time to change the gear
3- Red shading: this is past the point of no return, and you need to hustle just a bit
Changing gears at the opportune time, will verify you an effectively accomplishing to the greatest speed and getting the best out of your vehicle.
Buy the Fastest Cars with Pro Series Drag Racing Cheats
There are a few extraordinary highlights in the game, which will wind up accessible for you as you advance forward. Vera það sem það getur, we will give you a speedy investigate these highlights to know precisely what you will manage.
There is a choice to have a server and welcome your companions and challenge each other in racing. We have delighted in playing this mode such a great amount, as we were utilizing Pro Series Drag Racing cheats and Pro Series Drag Racing hack, so we had the high ground on the racing regarding powers.


text:
New Research In
Physical Sciences
Social Sciences
Featured Portals
Articles by Topic
Biological Sciences
Featured Portals
Articles by Topic
- Agricultural Sciences
- Anthropology
- Applied Biological Sciences
- Biochemistry
- Biophysics and Computational Biology
- Cell Biology
- Developmental Biology
- Ecology
- Environmental Sciences
- Evolution
- Genetics
- Immunology and Inflammation
- Medical Sciences
- Microbiology
- Neuroscience
- Pharmacology
- Physiology
- Plant Biology
- Population Biology
- Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
- Sustainability Science
- Systems Biology
Salmochelins, siderophores of Salmonella enterica and uropathogenic Escherichia coli strains, are recognized by the outer membrane receptor IroN
Edited by Kenneth N. Raymond, University of California, Berkeley, CA, and approved January 29, 2003 (received for review December 17, 2002)
Members of a family of catecholate siderophores, called salmochelins, were isolated by reversed-phase HPLC from Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium and structurally characterized by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance–MS/MS and GC–MS. The tentative structure of salmochelin 1 contained two 2,3- dihydroxybenzoylserine moieties bridged by a glucose residue, bound to the serine hydroxyl group of one moiety and the carboxylate of the second moiety. Salmochelin 2 contained in addition a second glucose residue linked to a third 2,3-dihydroxybenzoylserine moiety. Salmochelins were not produced by an iroBC mutant, which indicated that the IroB protein might be responsible for the glucosyl transfer predicted by sequence similarities to known glycosyltransferases. Uptake experiments with radiolabeled 55Fe-salmochelin and growth promotion tests with salmochelins showed that the IroN outer membrane receptor, encoded in the iroA locus of S. enterica and uropathogenic Escherichia coli strains, was the main receptor for ferric salmochelin transport.
In iron-poor environments, many bacteria secrete iron-complexing agents called siderophores to satisfy their iron needs. For some pathogenic bacteria, siderophores are important virulence factors because iron is bound to transferrin and lactoferrin in body fluids. These proteins reduce the free Fe3+ concentration to about one molecule per liter. Enterobacteria, including Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica, often produce the catecholate siderophore enterochelin (also called enterobactin) (1, 2). It has been postulated that enterochelin is an inferior siderophore in serum because it adsorbs to hydrophobic sites in serum proteins, such as albumin (3). This fact has always been puzzling because iron supply for many pathogens plays a decisive role in the infection process, and enterochelin, a major siderophore synthesized by S. enterica, does not seem to enhance pathogenicity.
Recently, the iroA locus, consisting of the two convergent operons iroN and iroBCDE, has been defined in S. enterica serotype Typhi and also in most other S. enterica serotypes (4, 5). The outer membrane siderophore receptor, IroN, is involved in the transport of several catecholate siderophores in S. enterica (5, 6). In the present investigation, we show that the presence of the iro gene cluster in S. enterica leads to glycosylation of the enterochelin building block 2,3-dihydroxybenzoylserine (DHBS), which makes the hydrophobic enterochelin molecules more hydrophilic, thereby possibly contributing to the observed pathogenicity of Salmonella strains. This siderophore was named salmochelin because it appears to be a characteristic siderophore of Salmonella strains. Interestingly, certain E. coli strains, e.g., the uropathogenic E. coli 563, also possess a very similar iro gene cluster on pathogenicity island III (7). The production and the tentative structural elucidation of salmochelins and their specific uptake via the outer membrane receptor IroN are described. In addition, it is shown that salmochelin is not secreted in an iroBC mutant.
Materials and Methods
Strains and Growth Conditions.
The strains used are described in Table 1. Strains were routinely grown on TY medium containing 8 g/liter tryptone, 5 g/liter yeast extract, and 5 g/liter sodium chloride. Growth response to siderophores was tested on nutrient broth plates (8 g of nutrient broth, 5 g of NaCl, and 15 g of Difco agar per liter) containing 0.2 mM 2,2′-dipyridyl; the plates were seeded with the appropriate strain in 2.5 ml of soft agar in water. Filter-paper discs loaded with 15 μl of siderophore solution were applied, and growth zones were measured after 18 h. Strain AIR50 has been constructed by A. Bäumler and his group (Texas A&M University, College Station) by inserting a kanamycin resistance cassette into the unique BglII site of iroD and introducing this mutation by gene replacement in a similar way as described for AIR49 (4, 5). S. enterica serotype Stanleyville strains H5546 and H5547 were constructed by P22 transduction of the aroA+ gene from S. enterica serotype Typhimurium strain LT2. The WT strain S. enterica serotype Stanleyville strain 207/81, isolated from an infected cow, produces neither enterochelin nor aerobactin (8). Strain S. enterica serotype Paratyphi B IHS 1319 was kindly provided by B. Stocker (Stanford University, Stanford, CA).
Isolation of Salmochelins.
Cells grown to stationary phase in TY medium were used to inoculate [1% (vol/vol) inoculum] M63-glycerol minimal medium (9). After 16–18 h, the cells were sedimented, and 5 mM FeSO4 was added to the supernatant. After 10 min, the precipitate formed was removed by sedimentation, and the clear supernatant was passed slowly through a column containing 100 ml of DE52 DEAE-cellulose; all negatively charged siderophores bound to the DEAE-cellulose. After washing with 2 column vol of water, the iron siderophores were eluted either batch-wise with 2 M ammonium chloride or a water/2 M ammonium chloride gradient. The blue-red fractions containing the catecholate siderophores were pooled, concentrated by evaporation, and purified on a Biogel P2 column by using water as an eluent. The deep-red fractions obtained were subjected to further purification by HPLC. When some batches of culture medium were extracted with ethyl acetate according to published procedures (2), it was observed that salmochelins remained in the water phase (see Results).
Siderophore fractions obtained from DEAE-cellulose and Biogel P2 columns were analyzed by HPLC as described (10). Highly purified salmochelin samples were obtained by preparative HPLC (Shimadzu LC20 pumps) on a reversed-phase Nucleosil C18 column (5 μm, 4 × 250 mm, Grom Herrenberg, Germany) by using a gradient of acetonitrile/water (6–40%) containing 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid over 20 min (flow rate 1 ml/min), followed by 60% acetonitrile for 5 min; detection was at 220 nm. The collected fractions were checked for purity by analytical HPLC, lyophilized, and analyzed by GC–MS, electrospray ionization–MS, and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR)–MS.
Electrospray ionization–FTICR–MS was carried out with a passively shielded 4.7 Tesla APEX II-electrospray ionization/matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–FTICR mass spectrometer (Bruker Daltonik, Bremen, Germany); the data obtained were processed with the MS software xmass version 5.0.10 (Bruker Daltonik) running on a Silicon Graphics O2 Workstation. Substances were dissolved in methanol containing 0.1% triethylamine, and negatively charged ions formed by electrospray were measured over the mass range of m/z 150–2,000. The samples were internally calibrated by adding Hewlett–Packard MS calibration standard to the sample solutions.
For fragmentation studies, high-resolution FTICR–MS/MS was acquired by sustained off-resonance irradiation (SORI)–collision-induced dissociation (CID) by using argon as the collision gas.
For amino acid analysis, the sample (≈50 μg) was hydrolyzed in 6 M HCl (110°C/24 h), the hydrolysate was dried at 110°C under a stream of nitrogen, and the liberated amino acids were derivatized to their N-(O-)trifluoroacetic acid/ethyl esters and analyzed by GC–MS (Agilent 5973/6890 GC-MS, Waldbronn, Germany) on a homemade chiral capillary column (20 m × 0.25 mm; 30% 2,6-dipentyl-3-butyryl-γ-cyclodextrin/70% PS 255). The above-mentioned hydrolysate was extracted with ethyl acetate, the extract was dried over Na2SO4, and the solvent was evaporated under a gentle stream of nitrogen. The products were trimethylsilylated (60 μl of 1:1 N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide/acetonitrile; 60°C/60 min) and analyzed by GC–MS as described above on a 15 m × 0.25 mm BD5-MS capillary column.
For methanolysis, samples (≈20 μg) were heated to 110°C for 1 h in 1.5 M HCl/methanol. After removing excess reagent in a stream of nitrogen at room temperature, the products were trimethylsilylated and analyzed by GC–MS (DB5-MS capillary and derivatization as described above).
Sequence Analysis of the Predicted Iro Proteins.
The iroA locus of S. enterica and E. coli contains five genes (Fig. 1). Only the function of the gene product of iroN from E. coli (82% identical to IroN of S. enterica), an outer membrane siderophore receptor with the ability to transport different catechol siderophores, including N-(2,3-dihydroxybenzoyl)-l-serine and enterochelin, has been experimentally defined (5, 6). The second gene of S. enterica related to siderophore function is iroD, whose gene product has low similarity to enterochelin esterase encoded by the fes gene of E. coli (Table 2). The gene products of all other genes in this Fur- and iron-regulated operon (4) are not related to any known protein involved in siderophore biosynthesis or uptake. The IroB protein has similarity to glycosyltransferases. SnoG from Streptomyces nogalater, involved in the glycosylation of an anthracycline antibiotic, is the closest functionally defined and related protein. IroC has similarity to eukaryotic multidrug exporters; in bacteria, no functionally characterized homolog was found. IroE has a signal sequence characteristic for exported proteins and has similarity to hydrolases. Based on these characteristics, we propose that the iroA gene locus is responsible for the glycosylation of the catecholate siderophore enterochelin, which is secreted, loaded with Fe3+, and subsequently transported by IroN into the periplasm. There, the ferric siderophore might be hydrolyzed by IroE to allow Fe-catecholate uptake via the FepBCDG transporter across the cytoplasmic membrane (Fig. 1). However, IroE could also be involved in further modification of salmochelin during export. Fig. 1a provides an overview of our current working model on the functions of the different Iro proteins in S. enterica.
The iroA locus is not only found in S. enterica, but also in some E. coli strains (7). Homologs of IroB and IroD are also encoded in gene clusters involved in the synthesis of certain microcins, namely microcin E492 from Klebsiella and microcins M and H47 from E. coli (11).
Isolation of Salmochelins from E. coli and S. enterica.
During the study of microcins M and H47 (formerly called colicin G) produced by E. coli CA46, it was observed that large amounts of a siderophore with the typical wine-red color of a catecholate siderophore were produced after addition of iron. E. coli CA46 was grown in M63 minimal medium overnight. Ferric chloride (5 mM) was added to the culture supernatant, which became purple-blue. Following the published protocol for the isolation of enterochelin (2), the siderophore complexes were bound to a DE52 DEAE-cellulose column. After elution of the deep-blue siderophores with 2 M NH4Cl, the eluate was adjusted to pH 2 and extracted with ethyl acetate. The ethyl acetate extract was analyzed by HPLC (12), which allowed the detection of enterochelin and the linear degradation products: monomer of DHBS, dimer (DHBS)2, and trimer (DHBS)3 (Fig. 2a).
HPLC analysis of the water phase of the ethyl acetate extract (Fig. 2b) revealed three additional peaks that contained catechols and did not coincide with known siderophores. The same three peaks were found in the ethyl acetate extract, but only as minor components (Fig. 2a). The finding of catecholates in the water phase suggested that the siderophores are more hydrophilic because of glycosylation. Size fractionation on a P2 column and preparative HPLC yielded three iron-free, colorless compounds, with retention times of 12.9, 13.4, and 13.8 min; these compounds were named salmochelins 1, 2, and 3. The compound S4, obtained only in small amounts, was also observed in a mutant (see below) and remains to be characterized. The same compounds were also identified in extracts from different S. enterica strains by HPLC. Because S. enterica serotype Paratyphi B IHS1319 seemed to be the best producer of salmochelins, this strain was used for further purification experiments.
Salmochelin Production Depends on iro Genes.
To demonstrate that the iro genes take part in the synthesis of salmochelin, S. enterica serotype Typhimurium ATCC14028 and the derived mutants H5546 iroBC∷kan and H5547 iroD∷kan (5) were tested on M63 minimal medium for the production of siderophores. After addition of iron, a deep-purple-red color developed in the spent medium of S. enterica serotype Typhimurium ATCC14028 and mutant H5546 iroBC∷kan, whereas in the medium of mutant H5547 iroD∷kan, a less-intense color developed. HPLC analysis revealed production of salmochelins 1, 2, and 3, and DHBS by S. enterica serotype Typhimurium ATCC14028, similar to that observed in S. enterica serotype Paratyphi B and E. coli CA46. The iroBC mutant H5546 produced the degradation products of enterochelin (DHBS, DHBS2, and DHBS3) and traces of enterochelin, but no salmochelins (Fig. 2d), which shows that iro genes are responsible for salmochelin synthesis. The iroD mutant H5547 produced DHBS and an unidentified peak (S4) (Fig. 2e).
Chemical Characterization of Salmochelin(s).
FTICR–MS of salmochelin 1 revealed an exact m/z for the [M-H]− ion of 625.15343, consistent with an elemental composition of C26H29N2O16, with a relative error between theoretical and experimental mass (Δ) of 1.9 ppm. The double-negatively charged ion [M-2H]2− had an m/z of 312.07281, consistent with an elemental composition of C26H28N2O16 (Δ = 0.6 ppm). Thus, the elemental composition of the neutral molecular species (M = 625) of salmochelin 1 is proposed to be C26H30N2O16.
FTICR–MS of salmochelin 2 revealed an m/z of 1010.2536 for [M-H]−, corresponding to an elemental composition of C42H48N3O26 (Δ = 0.46 ppm). The elemental composition of the neutral molecular species (M = 1011) of salmochelin 2 is proposed to be C42H49N3O26. The difference between salmochelin 1 and 2 is thus C16H20NO10, corresponding to one hexose-DHBS unit.
Amino acid analysis revealed l-serine as the sole amino acid present. 2,3-Dihydroxybenzoic acid was found in the ethyl acetate extract of the hydrolysate. Upon methanolysis and subsequent trimethylsilation, DHBS [OMe/(TMS)3] and glucose [methylglucoside/(TMS)4] were identified by GC–MS, together with 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid [OMe/(TMS)3 and (TMS)4].
The SORI–CID–MS/MS spectrum of the singly charged ion salmochelin 2 (m/z 1010.25) is shown in Fig. 3, and the spectrum of the singly charged ion of salmochelin 1 (m/z 625.15) is shown in Fig. 6, which is published as supporting information on the PNAS web site, www.pnas.org. Losses of DHBS (223.05 Da) and a hexose (162.05 and 180.06 Da, depending on loss of H2O) are apparent in both spectra. The similarity of the SORI–CID–MS/MS of the two salmochelin species in a mass range <625 suggests that salmochelin 1 is a structural element of salmochelin 2 (Fig. 4). The sequential loss of DHBS, DHBS-glucose, and DHBS-glucose-DHBS indicated that salmochelins contain alternating DHBS and glucose units.
It was difficult to separate salmochelin 3 in pure form from salmochelin 2. Salmochelin 3 seemed to be an oxidized form of salmochelin 2 (loss of two mass units). Because there was no biological activity detected in growth promotion assays (see below), salmochelin 3 was not chemically characterized further.
Growth Promotion Tests.
To test the siderophore activity of the purified salmochelins, growth promotion assays with different E. coli K-12 test strains were performed. Salmochelins 1 and 2 did not support growth of those E. coli K-12 strains, which do not contain the iro genes. In contrast, S. enterica serotype Stanleyville and the mutants WR1361 cir and WR1367 cir fepA showed good growth; strains WR1359 iroN and WR1366 iroN fepA grew poorly; and strains WR1363 iroN cir and WR1368 iroN cir fepA did not grow (Table 3). These results indicated that IroN is the main outer membrane transport protein for the salmochelin siderophores and that only low amounts are taken up via Cir.
Salmochelin 3 was also tested, but no growth stimulation of any of these strains was observed, rather a zone of growth inhibition was observed in plates showing background growth of S. enterica serotype Stanleyville.
Uptake Experiments.
Salmochelin-2-mediated 55Fe uptake was measured in strains S. enterica serotype Stanleyville, WR1361 cir, WR1359 iroN, WR1363 iroN cir, and WR1368 iroN cir fepA. Rapid uptake was observed with the iroN+ strains S. enterica serotype Stanleyville and WR1361 cir (Fig. 5), whereas a gradually reduced uptake was obtained with strains WR1359 iroN and WR1363 iroN cir, no uptake was observed with the triple mutant WR1368 iroN cir fepA, which is unable to make any known iron catecholate outer membrane transport protein. Similar results were obtained with salmochelin 1. From these results, we concluded that IroN is the receptor for salmochelins 1 and 2. Cir and FepA might contribute to salmochelin-mediated iron uptake. Because it is not known how stable the salmochelins are in the transport assay, it cannot be excluded that the residual uptake via Cir and FepA is mediated by small amounts of salmochelin degradation products. It is interesting to note that E. coli K-12 H1443, although not able to use salmochelin 1, bound 10 times more 55Fe-salmochelin1 than mutant H1876 cir fiu fepA, which is devoid of any catecholate receptor.
Ferric siderophores are specifically recognized by membrane receptors present in the outer membranes of Gram-negative bacteria. Structures and functions of receptors for ferrichromes (FhuA) and enterochelin (FepA) from E. coli have been analyzed and described in detail (reviewed in refs. 13 and 14). Although enterochelin is the major catecholate siderophore in enteric bacteria, the present investigation shows that the iro genes of S. enterica synthesize additional catecholate siderophores together with their cognate receptors.
The function of the iro operon has been puzzling because its identification in 1996 by Bäumler and coworkers (4) in nearly every S. enterica strain tested (5, 15). The specificity of IroN for catecholate-containing siderophores gave the first hint that the other Iro proteins might be responsible for the biosynthesis of a catecholate-type siderophore. Because Salmonella is known to possess the genes for enterochelin biosynthesis, it was tempting to speculate that the Iro proteins also synthesize a modified enterochelin. The sequence similarity of IroB to glycosyltransferases pointed to a sugar-modified enterochelin. By HPLC analysis of low-iron culture supernatants of S. enterica, the predicted salmochelin siderophores were identified. Strain H5546 iroBC produced only DHBS oligomers and traces of enterochelin. Interestingly, strain H5547 iroD seemed to produce mainly DHBS and compound S4, which remains to be characterized.
In 1970, enterochelin was detected in E. coli by O'Brien and Gibson (16), and the same substance, called enterobactin, was found in S. enterica serotype Typhimurium by Pollack and Neilands (17). Our HPLC chromatograms showed that enterochelin represents only a minor fraction of the catecholates synthesized by S. enterica serotype Typhimurium, whereas the salmochelins are a major fraction. The amounts of enterochelin are higher in the supernatants of the E. coli strain, which did not produce salmochelins (16).
As shown in the HPLC chromatograms with C18 reversed-phase columns, the salmochelins eluted between the DHBS monomer and DHBS dimer and consisted of three peaks (S1, S2, and S3) with different ratios depending on the growth conditions, strain, and length of incubation. Whereas S1 was clearly separated, S2 and S3 could not be well separated. Salmochelin 1 and 2 showed high siderophore activity, whereas salmochelin 3 was inactive. The structure elucidation of salmochelins 1 and 2 by MS and GC–MS indicated linear structures consisting of two or three DHBS moieties, respectively, with each DHBS pair bridged by a glucose residue (Fig. 4).
In growth promotion assays, the IroN protein was shown to be the receptor for salmochelin, as was expected from the clustering of the transport and biosynthesis genes in S. enterica and uropathogenic E. coli strains. This was confirmed by uptake experiments with radiolabeled 55Fe-salmochelin. However, low uptake was also observed with the catecholate-specific Salmonella receptors Cir and FepA in feeding assays and uptake experiments. The iron complexes of DHBS, (DHBS)2, and the linear form of enterochelin are transported by Cir (18). In addition, different catechol-cephalosporin derivatives synthesized as antimicrobial agents are taken up via Cir (19). Therefore, it would not be surprising if Cir also transports ferric salmochelin, but, as already pointed out, it is difficult to decide whether this is the case and whether Cir also transports ferric salmochelin fragments to some extent. In E. coli K-12, no growth promotion was observed with salmochelin, which might indicate that the periplasmic hydrolase IroE or the Fes-like IroD protein is necessary for the iron utilization process.
The sequence of IroB clearly suggests a glucosyltransferase function in biosynthesis, and the substrates could be an UDP-activated glucose and DHBS. Although the salmochelins secreted by E. coli CA46 had the same HPLC retention times as those secreted by S. enterica, the sugar and its linkage to DHBS remain to be determined because E. coli IroB and IroD share only 72% and 68% identity, respectively, with their counterparts from S. enterica. A candidate for the esterification of DHBS to glucosyl-DHBS could be IroD, which has low similarity to Fes, the enterochelin esterase. Oligomeric (DHBS)n could be substrates for the transesterification reaction. However, it is also possible that the enterochelin synthase cluster transfers activated DHBS to a hydroxyl group of glucose.
The structure of salmochelin also has implications for the synthesis of microcins E492 (20), H43 (21), and M (11), for which homologs of IroB and IroD have been found (Table 2). These three microcins are peptides of 84, 77, and 60 aa, respectively, and possess a glycine/serine-rich C terminus with a C-terminal serine residue. It is suggested that homologs of IroB and IroD crosslink microcins at their C-terminal serine residue by using a sugar residue in the same way as DHBS is linked by sugars in salmochelins. It is interesting to note that these microcins also use the salmochelin receptor IroN (11).
We are grateful to Andreas Bäumler and Renee Tsolis for constructing strain AIR50. We thank Sandra Frick for technical assistance in HPLC separations, Kerstin Haible for technical assistance in isolating salmochelins, and Volkmar Braun and Karen A. Brune for critical reading of the manuscript. The work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, the Fonds der Chemischen Industrie, and Ardeypharm.
↵† To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: hantke{at}uni-tuebingen.de.
This paper was submitted directly (Track II) to the PNAS office.
- Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance;
- sustained off-resonance irradiation;
- collision-induced dissociation;
- 2,3-dihydroxybenzoylserine
- Received December 17, 2002.
- Copyright © 2003, The National Academy of Sciences
- ↵
- Neidhart F C
- Earhart C F
- ↵
- ↵
- ↵
- ↵
- Bäumler A J,
- Norris T L,
- Lasco T,
- Voigt W,
- Reissbrodt R,
- Rabsch W,
- Heffron F
- ↵
- Rabsch W,
- Voigt W,
- Reissbrodt R,
- Tsolis R M,
- Bäumler A J
- ↵
- Dobrindt U,
- Blum-Oehler G,
- Hartsch T,
- Gottschalk G,
- Ron E Z,
- Fünfstück R,
- Hacker J
- ↵
- ↵
- Miller J H
- ↵
- ↵
- ↵
- ↵
- Winkelman G
- Van der Helm D,
- Chakraborty R
- ↵
- Winkelman G
- Braun V,
- Hantke K
- ↵
- Bäumler A J,
- Heffron F,
- Reissbrodt R
- ↵
- ↵
- ↵
- ↵
- Curtis N A,
- Eisenstadt R L,
- East S J,
- Cornford R J,
- Walker L A,
- White A J
- ↵
- ↵
- Rodriguez E,
- Gaggero C,
- Lavina M
- ↵


text:
- Description
The Tulip Style Oval Marble Coffee Table is inspired by slender, elegant stem like pedestals and organic shapes. With smooth lines and no edges, the table top and base are made from premium natural polished white marble. As practical and versatile as it is visually inspirational, this piece is a contemporary classic, and a bold feature piece for your space. Topped with natural white marble and supported by a metal base, the table is both sturdy and sleek. This item ships in 5-12 working days.
This Tulip Style Oval Marble Coffee Table makes a great addition to living rooms, lobbies, and offices.
Natural Stone Disclaimer: Marble is a product of nature and no two pieces are exactly alike. Photos on this website do not represent the actual stone that will be shipped or delivered to the customer. These photos are for illustration purposes only. Decor8 is not responsible for natural stone fractures or color variations from one slab to another. Customers must physically inspect material at the Decor8 Showroom or Warehouse prior to shipment or delivery. If physical or photographic inspection is waived by the customer absolutely no claims will be accepted for any reason. Decor8 makes NO GUARANTEES OR WARRANTIES AGAINST GRAZING, SCRATCHING OR WEAR ON THE STONE SURFACE OR OTHERWISE, AND ALL PRODUCTS ARE SOLD SUBJECT TO NATURAL VARIATION IN COLOR, FLOW, GRAIN, TONALITY, SPOTTING, VEINING, SHADE, AND TEXTURE.
- Additional Information
Additional Information
Colors Available White & gray or black marble top and white or black base Dimensions Decor8 Modern Furniture and Home Decor
Tulip Style Oval Marble Coffee Table
Length: 105.5cm; Depth: 70.5cm; Height: 39.5cm
Finish Gloss Material Premium natural oval marble top and painted metal base


text:
Paris: the cabaret capital
Guide to cabarets in Paris with the Paris tourist office: see presentations of the shows, price lists, programme schedule and online booking.
Paris is the place to find glamour and entertainment! The city has a thriving nightlife scene with a varied range of lively night spots, including its iconic cabarets. They are an integral aspect of the city's glittering image. People all over the world dream about visiting a Paris cabaret.
The Lido de Paris
The Lido de Paris, the iconic cabaret on the Avenue des Champs-Elysées, closed its doors for several months to get a makeover and put together a dazzling new revue, signed by Franco Dragone, the internationally-renowned artistic director, and creative director at the Cirque du Soleil. This ultra-modern new show 'Paris Merveilles' follows on from previous Lido revues – the Bluebells, the costumes and amazing stage sets, the music and sequins are all still there –, but it reinvents the codes of the genre by placing an emphasis on extravagance and cutting-edge technology. With its original scenography and acts as varied as they are unexpected, this latest of Parisian revues offers the public a wonderful spectacle.
Le Lido de Paris
116 bis avenue des Champs-Elysées
Paris 8th
Metro: George V
Revue 'Paris Merveilles', every night at 9pm and 11pm
The Crazy Horse
The Crazy Horse, the most avant-garde of Parisian cabarets offers a show titled 'Dessous Dessus'. Signed by Chantal Thomass, the show is performed by the cabaret's famous dancers with their curvaceous silhouettes spectacularly highlighted by a traditional play of light and shadows that has made this a top Parisian nightspot since 1951: 90 minutes of captivating choreography on the endless theme of feminine seduction.
12 avenue George V
Paris 8th
Metro: Alma-Marceau
From Sunday to Friday: 2 shows daily at 8.15pm and 10.45pm. Saturday: 3 shows daily at 7pm, 9.30pm and 11.45pm
The Moulin Rouge
The Bal du Moulin Rouge, the internationally famous Paris cabaret, is currently staging the evocatively titled variety show 'Féerie' (enchantment). The show features a troupe of 60 artistes including the famous Doriss Girls, 60 outstanding dancers decked out in feathers, rhinestones and sequins. You can choose either the show alone, with a half-bottle of champagne per person included in the ticket price, or dinner and show with three possible menus. Spend an unforgettable evening at the Moulin Rouge and walk out all starry-eyed after the show.
Le Moulin Rouge
82 Boulevard de Clichy
Paris 18th
Metro: Blanche
Revue 'Féerie', every night at 9pm and 11pm
Chez Michou
A legendary address in the famous Montmartre district, Cabaret Michou has been the burlesque hotspot of Rue des Martyrs since 1956. This Parisian institution sees Les Michettes on stage each night, performing as Mylène Farmer, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Chantal Goya, and many others! It also gives you the chance to meet the famous Prince Bleu de Montmartre, a key figure of Parisian nightlife – and all in a friendly atmosphere.
Cabaret Michou
80 rue des Martyrs, Paris 18e
Métro : Pigalle / Les Abbesses
Cabaret Michou is open daily from 8:15 pm for the dinner show, 10:30 pm for the show
The Paradis Latin
With its revue 'L'Oiseau Paradis', this welcoming cabaret introduces spectators to a festive and frenzied Paris. The City of Light is sung here, there's the high-kicking French cancan, hearts and musical tableaux follow on one after the other, and the quality of the entertainment and the liveliness of the master of ceremonies recreate the enthusiasm, atmosphere and flavour typical of the Paris of the Left Bank.
Le Paradis Latin
28 rue Cardinal Lemoine
Paris 5th
Metro: Cardinal-Lemoine
Revue 'L'Oiseau Paradis', every night at 9.30pm. Closed on Tuesday.
Le Manko
Tucked away beneath the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the Manko is the trendy new spot in Paris's Golden Triangle. Hosted by the creators of the famous Club Sandwich nights, Marc Zaffuto and Emmanuel d'Orazio, this Peruvian-inspired cabaret promises offbeat, burlesque and extravagant Friday and Saturday evenings.
15 avenue Montaigne - Paris 8e
Métro : Alma - Marceau
The Manko is open on Fridays and Saturdays from 11 pm to 4.30 am
Bel Canto
Bel Canto has taken a concept that was fashionable in the 18th-century and brought it up to date: the combination of gastronomy and opera! This restaurant has two addresses: one in the Marais district and another in the West of Paris in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Every evening, customers have the pleasure of dining in the company of Mozart, Verdi, or Rossini. A quartet of young classical singers play the greatest arias in the repertoire near the dining tables (Don Giovanni, Tosca, The Magic Flute, La Bohème, etc.) and take part in serving food to customers. A unique opportunity to combine opera with good food!
Bel Canto
72 Quai de l'Hôtel de Ville - Paris 4th
Metro:Pont Marie
6, rue du commandant Pilot - 92200 Neuilly sur Seine
Métro : Les Sablons or Porte Maillot
The Bel Canto restaurant is open every day from 7.30pm.
ReminiSens, Cabaret Baroque
In the city of Versailles, ReminiSens, Cabaret Baroque invites you to a gastronomic and theatrical journey of the 18th century. Just for one night, enjoy meals inspired by some recipes from the 17th and the 18th centuries, while admiring the actors around you...
ReminiSens, Cabaret Baroque
20 rue Baillet Reviron
Rer : Versailles Rive Gauche
ReminiSens, Cabaret Baroque is open the whole year from 7.30pm.


text:
By The Hays Daily News
DODGE CITY -- The Hays Larks put up 10 hits and gave up just two on the road Wednesday to the Dodge City A's, but still fell 2-0.
Hays (10-5 overall, 7-4 Jayhawk League) left 11 runners on base as Dodge City (8-7, 3-7) scored after its only two hits of the game.
In the sixth inning, the A's led off with a walk offered by Hays starter Jose Gomez. Gomez had a no-hitter going through five innings before Dodge City laid down a bunt single to put runners at first and second following the walk.
Then, Dodge City's first run came on their second hit, an RBI double. Later in the inning, the A's scored on a wild pitch to give Gomez (0-2) the loss.
The Larks got two hits each from Tito Andino, Cam Brown, and Kelton Rule but left at least two runners four times, and left the bases loaded in the fourth.
Hays now returns home for five games this week. The Larks host Colorado in a non-league doubleheader today at 6 p.m., then host Colorado in a single game Friday before playing Liberal twice this weekend.
The loss leaves the Larks in second place in the Jayhawk League standings behind Haysville, which took over first with a win Wednesday against Derby, which fell to third. Haysville is 9-5 in league play, while Derby fell to 7-5.
Saturday is "Poker Run" night at Larks Park as Hays hosts the Liberal Bee Jays, the defending NBC champions.
As part of the festivities, Larks players will be brought onto the field by Harley Davidsons.
Fans on hand will have the opportunity to purchase poker hands for a chance at cash prizes.


text:
Links and Articles from Recent Issues of LeadingAge Connecticut's
Weekly Capitol Line Newsletter
June 2019
2019 State Legislative Session Overview
EVV Update to MAPOC - June 14, 2019
Medicaid Supportive Housing Benefit PowerPoint
New CCRC Resident Guide Book
Seabury Announces Leadership Transition
April 2019
CMS Announces Plan for Nursing Home Quality Care
March 2019
CMS Nursing Home QSO Memos
Specialized Infection Prevention and Control Training for Nursing Home Staff in the Long-Term Care Setting is Now Available Memo # 19-10-NH, Posting Date 2019-03-11
Memo # 19-08-NH, Posting Date 2019-03-05
February 2019
Leadingage Partners with Timeslips, A Nonprofit Offering Inspirational Training to Caregivers and Elders
How to Conserve Water at Skilled Nursing & Senior Living Facilities - Checklist
How to Buy Greener Products Skilled Nursing & Senior Living Facilities - Checklist
January 2019
State Legislative Session Set to Open
Governor Lamont Inauguration
State's Annual Nursing Facility Census Report
NEMT Update
We want to remind members throughout the continuum that they can contact LeadingAge Connecticut if they are experiencing issues with NEMT and we will work with Veyo in an attempt to resolve those issues.
CMS Issues QSO Memorandum on New Nursing Home Oversight to Ensure Adequate Staffing Using PBJ Data
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced actions that will increase nursing home oversight in order to ensure that facilities are staffed adequately to provide high-quality care. These actions include sharing data with states when potential issues arise regarding staffing levels and the availability of onsite registered nurses; clarifying how facilities should report hours and deduct time for staff meal breaks; and providing facilities with new tools to help ensure their resident census is accurate.
November 2018
Changes in New Nursing Home Quality Reporting from Both CMS and U.S. News and World Report
Notice to Nursing Homes - September 17, 2018
Residential Care Home Rate Increase
RCH Rate Increase Guidance Letter - October 3, 2018
RCH Rate Increase Cost Analysis
RCH Rate Increase Frequently Asked Questions - October 19, 2018
DSS Issues Second FAQ on Nursing Home Rate Increase
Nonprofit Collaboration Incentive Grant Program (NCIP) Summary
Medicaid 101
DEEP has also created the following new materials for nursing homes and senior living communities that have also been reviewed by CT DPH Licensing Division and has a webpage focused on this sector.
September 2018
CDC Flu Vaccine Recommendations for the 2018-2019 Flu Season
August 2018
CMS Finalizes PDPM Rule
For a fact sheet on the FY 2019 Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility PPS final rule
1. Achieve adequate and sustainable provider reimbursement levels that support the cost of LTSS and quality requirements for all segments of the LTSS continuum in order to ensure capacity to meet the evolving needs and demographics of Connecticut residents.
2. Continue and expand State investment in the development of housing that is affordable and accessible for older adults and persons with disabilities.
3. Address the LTSS workforce shortage.
We will also be asking that the plan add a recommendation to study the economic status of the aging demographic to understand the future demand that will be placed on public financing of LTSS and the supply of affordable senior housing.
that the Service Coordinators in Multifamily Housing Online Learning Tool and a companion resource guide, HUD's Service Coordinators in Multifamily Housing Program Resource Guide are now available on HUD Exchange.
The Service Coordinators in Multifamily Housing Online Learning Tool is a self-paced, self-directed training provides guidance on how to run an effective service coordination program. It is designed for service coordinators who are new to the program as well as experienced practitioners who want to refresh their skills. The tool includes up-to-date information on program standards for the Service Coordinators in Multifamily Housing; video interviews with practitioners highlighting best practices; and short quizzes to test your knowledge. This training is not required, but is highly recommended by HUD. Service coordinators who complete the training will receive credit towards ongoing training requirements.
10/1 Region 5, 12:00 PM - 3:45 PM
June 2018
Anti-Ageism Quick Guide
Blast Fax 2018-25: Legionella Webinar
Blast Fax 2018-26: Sent on behalf of DPH's HAI Program regarding upcoming Train the Trainer Program
DSS Bulletins and Messages
TO: All Providers regarding Revised Provider Manual Chapters (Updated 6/14/18)
May 2018
Lobbying and Election Activity: Guiding Principles for Nonprofit Providers
Links to the bipartisan budget documents:
SB 543, An Act Concerning Revisions to the State Budget for FY 19 and Deficiency Appropriations for FY 18
Governor Signs Budget Bill
Although Governor Malloy signed this bill, he wrote a letter to the members of the General Assembly regarding its content. Governor's letter
Attention: Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), Connecticut Home Care (CHC) Service Providers, Access and Case Management Agencies and Personal Care Assistance (PCA) regarding Service Authorization Changes and Reminders (Posted 5/8/18)
DXC PB18-29 Expedited Medicaid Eligibility Processing for Individuals with Medical Emergencies View Bulletin
New Bridgeport Ascend Worker Assignment List
Link to the Connecticut's Cybersecurity Action Plan
March 2018
LeadingAge Applauds Omnibus 2018 Spending Bill
New HUD Funding, RAD for PRAC in Omnibus Spending Bill
LeadingAge Lauds Congress' Support for the Expansion and Preservation of Affordable Housing for Low-Income Older Adults
Updated CMS FAQs on the Nursing Home RoPs
February 2018
Governor Malloy Releases Budget Proposal
First Statewide Standard Hospice Training for Skilled Nursing Facilities
Should you have any questions or feedback, please contact your contracted hospice provider or Tracy Wodatch at [email protected] at the Association.
DSS Medicaid Provider Bulletins
DSS bulletin regarding Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program: Attesting to Objective 8 and 9 for Modified Stage 2. View Message
Additional Guidance on the Use of the Home Health SOC/ROC and Recertification Service Codes for CHC, ABI, PCA and Autism Waiver Clients View Message
To: All Providers regarding DXC PB18-06 Billing Clients for Missed Appointments- Reissue of PB15-05. View Bulletin
DSS Eligibility Processing Updates
ASCEND Update
January 2018
Nursing Home Rate Letters
2018 Platinum Partners
Amenta Emma Architects, HealthPRO Heritage, IT Direct, KBE Building Corporation, M&T Bank, Mobilex/US Laboratories, OneDigital, Unidine and Wiggin and DanaEmerging Leader Partners
CliftonLarsonAllen, MatrixCare and Symbria
December 2017
New NEMT Contractor Reminder
DSS Provider Bulletin regarding the new NEMT contractor
Bulletin DXC PB17-94 Regarding Prior Authorization for all Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT)
Veyo is replacing Logisticare and the new contract is an attempt to improve upon the NEMT services. Please let us know if there are questions or concerns that you may have with this new vendor so that we can work with DSS to continuously improve the services.
Addendum to the 2017 Legislative Summary
LeadingAge Silver Partner, CliftonLarsonAllen Releases Their 32nd Edition SNF Cost Comparison Report
SNF Medicare Rate Calculation Tools Update
Rate Calculator: Home Health Medicare Rates for CY 2018
Nursing Home RoP Phase 2 Toolkit on the LeadingAge Website
Money Follows the Person OLR Report
Just a reminder, LeadingAge has many RoP tools available to the membership at LeadingAge.org.
Ombudsman Guidance
November 2017Resources for Phase 2 of the Nursing Home RoPs
LeadingAge has several excellent resources available to the membership to help with compliance. The resources can be found on the LeadingAge website:
Information is also available on the CMS website, including this link to the surveyor training for providers: New Survey Process Training and the following information from the September 7 MLN Nursing Home Facility Assessment Tool call: Nursing Home Facility Assessment Tool and State Operations Manual Revisions.
State Budget Update
CMS Rule on Emergency Preparedness Now in Effect
October 2017State Budget Update
The Governor signed into law the bipartisan budget, SB 1502, passed by the Senate and House, but in doing so he also took advantage of his rarely used authority to issue a line item veto relative to the hospital supplemental payment provisions tied to the increased hospital provider tax contained in the budget. The Governor has maintained his assertions that the hospital provider language needs to be changed in order to achieve CMS approval. It is not clear whether the legislature shares those concerns and the issues are under review. At this juncture, the legislature could choose to override the veto or let it stand and work toward a consensus oriented solution. Either way, it seems pretty clear there will be at least one more session day before we officially close the books on the current fiscal year. A summary of the budget can be found here.
The bill that was passed can be found at the following links:
Full OLR Summary – an easier document to read
Connecticut's CT211.org Resources Presentation
Connecticut's 2-1-1 administrator, United Way, gave a very thorough presentation of the services and vast resources that are available to both consumers and providers who are seeking information on available services and supports in the state. 2-1-1 information can be accessed through their website, www.ct211.org.
Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection Releases Guide for Consumers Seeking to Hire Homemaker Companions
The Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) has released a new fact sheet for consumers seeking to hire homemakers and companions. The fact sheet is meant to help families understand the process of working with homemaker companion agencies so they are able to make the best decisions possible for their specific needs. A copy of our fact sheet can be found here.
Community Health Workers
Please find below a linked Office of Legislative Research report on Community Health Workers and how they are regulated in Connecticut and other states that may be of interest. Community Health Workers
Deposit of Personal Needs Allowance
Please find attached an important correspondence from DSS regarding a change in how DSS will send nursing homes the $30 personal needs allowance for those residents who are recipients of SSI. This change became effective on September 1. LeadingAge Connecticut and CAHCF do not agree with the new process and continue to work with DSS to modify this practice.
Voices Forum Encourages Person Centered Care
At the annual Voices Forum for nursing home resident council presidents held at the Aqua Turf and hosted by the State's LTC Ombudsman Nancy Shaffer, residents were encouraged to express their personal preferences to their caregivers and to participate in their person-centered care plans. Consumer Voice has published a useful form for residents to use communicate their preferences which was distributed at the Voices Forum. We thought that the membership might also find it helpful. The following is a link to the preferences form and the Consumer Voice website which has additional person-centered care materials that may be of interest.
2018 Social Security COLA Announced
The Social Security Administration announced today that a 2.0 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will be implemented for 2018. The COLA will begin with benefits payable to more than 61 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2018. Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 29, 2017. For additional information, visit the Social Security Administration website at: www.socialsecurity.gov/cola. Information about Medicare changes for 2018, when announced, will be available at www.medicare.gov.
Opioid Factsheet
The following is a link that was posted on the DMHAS website entitled, "What You Need to Know about Prescription Opioids" that may be of
Factsheet: What You Need to Know About Prescription Opioids
September 2017
LTC Survey Process Posting on CMS website
Entrance Conference and Facility Matrix
Critical Element (CE) Pathways and Facility Tasks (large file)
LeadingAge article: Clearing Up the SNF Quality Reporting Program Confusion
Seasonal Influenza Prevention Information
New LTC Survey Process: Posting to CMS website
Entrance Conference and Facility Matrix
Workforce Center is Open for Business
Report on the 2017 State Legislative Regular Session Outcomes
CMS Releases Provider Impact File for New Proposed Reimbursement Model
CMS Releases Revised Appendix PP with Renumbered F Tags
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a new Survey & Certification letter, S&C: 17-36-NH, detailing revisions to the State Operations Manual (SOM) Appendix PP for Phase 2, F-Tag revisions, and related issues. The revisions will be effective on November 28, 2017.
Read more on McKnight's Senior Living
Governor Malloy Releases Budget Proposal
February 6: In a somewhat surprising move, Governor Malloy publicly released his proposed adjustments to the two-year state budget yesterday. It was anticipated that he would release his proposal on Wednesday when he is to address the General Assembly to open the 2018 Regular Session, but instead he released it two days early.
The Governor is asking for a combination of reduced spending and increased revenue in an effort to close the current $244 million deficit. What follows is a condensed summary of the items of interest contained in his proposal. Each item will be scheduled for a public hearing before the Appropriations Committee in accordance with the date noted. The Committee then will have until April 5th to report out their own document which may, or may not reflect, what the Governor has proposed. February 6 Update on the Governor's State Budget Proposal
First Statewide Standard Hospice Training for Skilled Nursing Facilities
We are pleased to announce that our collaborative partner, the CT Association for Healthcare at Home, has launched Connecticut's first statewide standard Hospice training for Skilled Nursing Facilities.
The Association's Hospice and Palliative Care Committee created the curriculum along with a post-test which will meet both the federal and state regulations for mandated Hospice training for all new direct care staff in the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF).
The benefit of this approach is the SNF staff only needs to receive this information and complete the post-test one time during orientation. It does not need to be repeated by each hospice provider!
To implement this training, the SNF designee responsible for orientation should incorporate this training and post-test into every orientation of new direct care staff. All instructions on implementation and guidance along with the training material can be found by accessing the following link: SNF Hospice Training Implementation Package.
Should you have any questions or feedback, please contact your contracted hospice provider or Tracy Wodatch at [email protected] at the Association.
Nursing Home Rates Posted
The Nursing Home Rate Computation letters have been issued and the new rates are now posted on the DSS website.
Link to the nursing home rates
DSS Medicaid Provider Bulletins
DSS bulletin regarding Peer-to-Peer Review and Reevaluation for Medically Necessary Determinations- Licensure Requirements.
DSS bulletin regarding AS Modifier.
DSS bulletin regarding Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program: Attesting to Objective 8 and 9 for Modified Stage 2.
Additional Guidance on the Use of the Home Health SOC/ROC and Recertification Service Codes for CHC, ABI, PCA and Autism Waiver Clients
To: All Providers regarding DXC PB18-06 Billing Clients for Missed Appointments- Reissue of PB15-05.
DSS Eligibility Processing Updates
LeadingAge Connecticut continues to work with DSS on the ongoing issues of eligibility and redetermination processing. DSS has informed us that recently several requests for assistance were sent to the inappropriate offices at DSS and in such cases, the nursing home was not able to receive the assistance they were requesting. As a result, DSS has requested that send out the following guidance to our nursing home members regarding who at DSS the nursing home should contact based on the situation they are encountering.
To ensure that you receive a response timely and efficiently please follow the DSS guidance outlined below:
Escalation Tool
DSS would like us to remind members that the eligibility escalation tool for redeterminations is only to be used when the following criteria is met:
Uploading documentation through MyAccount
DSS has received concerns from providers that the renewal and proofs were submitted online, but DSS did not receive them. DSS believes that this may be an issue of not completing the online submission process. They want to remind providers that:
ASCEND Update
DSS has provided the attached ASCEND breakdown for the New Haven LTSS Office effective 2/21/2018.
Redetermination Deadlines
We want to remind members that the re-determination deadlines are strictly enforced with the new ImpaCT system. As a rule of thumb, DSS must receive at least the re-determination form by the 26th of the month in which it is due. If the form is received after that date, the case may be discontinued. In addition, if additional documentation is then requested by DSS, there is a strict ten day deadline to provide it to DSS.
Nursing Home Closure Listing
The list of Nursing Home Closures from 1995 to 2017 has been posted on the DSS website. List of Nursing Home Closures
NEMT Transition Update
A reminder of the helpful tips that Veyo has provided to us at recent meetings:
Tue Jul 21, 2020Workforce Symposium
Category: Events
Tue Jul 28, 2020Dementia Council Meeting
Category: Events
Tue Sep 15, 2020Board and Membership Meeting
Category: Events
Thu Sep 17, 2020Dementia Symposium featuring Teepa Snow
Category: Events
Wed Sep 30, 2020Engineering & Maintenance Council Meeting
Category: Events


text:
– I'm No Milburn Moneybags –
I never liked Monopoly,
we used to play it all the time
when it was raining.
Steady dripping pitter-patter
of the droplets on the canvas
overhead …
… it made me wonder.
In sheltered spaces of our singular worlds;
the dog, the iron, the boat
and me.
I am the hat, it suits me best.
But that's beyond the point.
I never liked Monopoly.
We played it all the time
when we were bored and stuck inside
the flimsy canvas of our tiny world.
Rained in again, no chance to go outside
and so we play.
We play at money-making,
Making microcosms.
We take a Chance:
"Go straight to jail.
Do not collect £200."
Our freedom dependent on
the roll of a dice.
I never liked Monopoly.
When the opposition owed me money
I told them "keep the change".
I never cared for exact sums;
The paper rainbow of the game.
Brighter than the real thing,
it makes you want it,
makes you want the greater value;
five zero zero, dollar signs in the eyes
of the materialistic.
I used to play for the sake of playing
before I learned to hate the game.
I never liked Monopoly.
Pretending at success in round
upon round
upon round
of paying money;
making money;
spending money
to earn more money.
Making microcosms.


text:
Life is all about choices…and consequences.
That's what my new book, BROKEN TRUST, is all about. The main character is Chrysalis better known as Chryssie. A chrysalis is another name for a cocoon and a cocoon is one of the necessary steps for a caterpillar to become a butterfly.
Chryssie wants to soar like a butterfly but because of a lifetime of bad choices she seems to be stuck in the caterpillar stage. She knows good choices can propel her forward but it's not always easy to make the good choices.
And isn't that true for all of us? We know that eating that second piece of cake isn't a good choice but… We know that buying that expensive "whatever" isn't a good choice but…We know that arguing with our spouse about insignificant things isn't a good choice but…
Lots of times we don't even think about what we're doing, we are just stuck in a pattern of bad choices and then complain because we don't like what's happening in our life. If you want to change something in your life, start making better choices.
Chryssie is only days away from graduating when she witnesses a murder. Common sense would tell her to call the police, but she's so focused on taking her final exam for nursing school, she decides to take the easy way out—again.
Life is all about choices…and consequences.
Chryssie makes a bad choice—and even worse consequences follow! Her easy way out not only puts everything she's worked so hard for in jeopardy but her very life!
Each day we make hundreds of choices—they may not be life and death choices like Chryssie, but they will either move us toward our goals or away from our goals. It's not easy to break patterns and bad habits but it can be done—one choice at a time.
Life is all about choices…and consequences.
To celebrate the release of BROKEN TRUST, Lillian is giving away Amazon Gift Cards. All you have to do is hop over to her blog, Tiaras & Tennis Shoes at www.lillian-duncan.com and leave a comment under one of the Broken Trust posts and you're entered. Easy Peasy!
Lillian Duncan…Stories of faith mingled… with murder & mayhem.
Lillian is a multi-published author who lives in the middle of Ohio Amish country with her husband and a menagerie of pets. After more than 30 years working as a speech pathologist for children, she believes in the power of words to transform lives, especially God's Word.
Lillian writes the types of books she loves to read—fast-paced suspense with a touch of romance that demonstrates God's love for all of us. To learn more about Lillian, you may visit her at www.lillianduncan.net or www.lillian-duncan.com. She also has a devotional blog at www.PowerUpWithGod.com.


text:
When the temperature is dropping low and the snowflakesstart falling one by one, it means that you should start getting ready for winter. Yes, winter is the most favourite time of the year and it will surely excite you as well as your kids. Winter just comes around once a year and you need to make sure that you look into getting the best outcome from winter. You might think that there is no way that you can spend the time withyourfamily having fun during the winter rather than staying indoors. However, you should back off having fun withyour family membersjustbecauseit's cold or it'ssnowing, but you should always be on the lookout for ways to better the winter time and enjoy with your family. Here are some of the best ways to enjoy winterwith your family members:
Go shopping
Christmas is the time of the year that notonly your neighbourhood or country but the whole world is celebrating. Also, right after thecomes thenew year. To deal with the excitement of it, you will surely want to go shopping with your family. Shopping during the winter can be fun and shopping with your significant other and the kids will make things even better.
When you go shopping, you will surely meet Santa and yourchildren will never be more excited. Meeting Santa will make their day better and you add tospicethings up for them buying them gifts and taking pictures of them with Santa.
Go play with the snow
When the grounds are filled with snow, there is no way that your kids will resist. They will want to play with snow. So why not join them? You can get withoutyourkids and build snowmen, creating snow angels, have a snowballfight and there are so many fun things to do and your children will love if you could be a part of their play time. If you are interested, you could also get involved in activitiessuch as hiking or skiing. However, it is important that you get the professional supervision and that you prioritize safety.
Explore the city
The cities will be the most beautiful during the winter. There will be so manydecorations, lights, carols and manythings that will not only excite the kids but also adults. Therefore, makesure that you look into exploring the city to witness the man-madebeauty of winter and to enjoy it to the fullest.


text:
Managing payroll is an essential but often expensive core HR activity and payroll software and outsourcing are the two main strategies for reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO) associated. A 2011 survey report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), The Hidden Reality of Payroll & HR Administration Costs, looks in depth at the hidden costs behind payroll and HR and seeks to identify some characteristics of cost-effective organizations—covering (in a somewhat roundabout fashion) what the research firm believes really matters when it comes to maximizing your investment in payroll software. Exploring the administration of payroll, workforce administration, time & attendance, and health & welfare benefits, the payroll-related findings (including the role of payroll software) of the PwC study are not necessarily shocking, but they do convincingly question some conventional wisdom of both business software and process automation.
The obvious and visible costs of any payroll system are often the only ones taken into account when considering the introduction or upgrading of an organization's payroll software. These 'surface' costs include:
However, PwC found that the following 'hidden' and often unconsidered costs can account for up to 65% of the total TCO:
Because these hidden costs are not always explicitly stated or are spread throughout the entire workforce (or at least, the management) they are often ignored—leading to a false impression of the payroll software solution's TCO; which may in turn lead to future payroll and technology strategies being based on insufficient data.
Despite the increasing sophistication of payroll software and the definite efficiencies that can be gained from integrating payroll data with other HR and business systems, PwC's regular survey has noted an increase in cost: "TCO for payroll is actually increasing-contrary to our expectation, and despite technological advances, administration costs have actually increased rather than decreased since 2003 as organizations focus on technology transformation rather than process transformation." Contrary to expectation, the survey found that the cost of administration had risen by $1 per paycheck, which multiplied by the number of employees every month becomes a significant sum for any business. The key to the mystery seems to lie in a common implementation or adoption failing – most organizations expect the mere presence of the software to create savings; they do not review and improve their business processes to align with the capabilities of the technology leading to unused features and even manual work-arounds – a classic case of trying to fit the square peg into the round hole. Best practice software implementation always includes a review of the processes being automated, so that the full value can be realized. As the survey report says, "The results of the study suggest that many organizations need to focus on process redesign when they decide to change software. Failure to do so drives both these hidden and seams costs described above."
SaaS (software-as-a-service) is an increasingly popular deployment method for HR software - highly configurable, no heavy-duty hardware needed, a 'pay-as-you-go' model, a reputation of innovation and classed as an operating expense rather than a capital one - when a February 2012 blog can have a top 21 list of SaaS payroll vendors, the market is responding to a definite demand. However, the PwC survey finding may surprise some: "SaaS helps reduce costs for many organizations—but only to a point. Our analysis also showed that the benefits of SaaS models, when deployed without the added benefit of process outsourcing, taper off as organizations get larger and actually provided no TCO savings, on average, over on-premise software solutions for large organizations with more than 1,000 employees." Once again, the identified missing ingredient is the process review. SaaS is a cost-effective deployment method but if the software is not aligned with the processes being automated (and vice versa) then savings are limited.
The top four identified TCO reduction tactics are:
Having pointed out how expensive payroll can be, highlighted that many organizations are failing to leverage their payroll software, and then cast doubt on the SaaS trend, PwC seem to be aiming for confrontation, if not controversy. However, the core message for enabling cost savings when implementing payroll software – in addition to the tips mentioned above – seems to lie in the process-system interface. The time spent reviewing and honing current systems and matching them to a solution that can deliver what the organization needs seems to be the lever for success. By doing this not only will companies net improvement in organizational payroll software, but they also now have a much better understanding of the payroll process itself—a key element in keeping costs down.
Categories: Payroll Software Enhancements
Tags:Payroll Software TCO
Permalink: www.payrolllab.com/reduce-payroll-tco.php
Author: Dave Foxall
Because these hidden costs are not always explicitly stated or are spread throughout the entire workforce (or at least, the management) they are often ignored—leading to a false impression of the payroll software solution's TCO; which may in turn lead to future payroll and technology strategies being based on insufficient data."
Follow Us on Twitter


text:
Transformers Animated Activators Soundwave Toy Review
General Information:
Release Date: September 2009
Price Point: $7.99 (varies depending on retailer)
Retailer: General (Toys R Us, Target, Wal-Mart etc.)
Accessories: None
- On Card*
- Card Scan (Back)
- Official Hasbro Picture (Vehicle Mode)*
- Official Hasbro Picture (Robot Mode)*
- Vehicle Mode
- Vehicle Mode (Side)
- Vehicle Mode (Back)
- Vehicle Mode (Overhead view)
- Robot Mode (Angle view)
- Robot Mode
- Robot Mode (Side)
- Robot Mode (Back)
- Robot Mode (Close up)
- Robot Mode (Angle view)
- Robot Mode (Posed)
*Images and text from Transformers.com:
SOUNDWAVE is a master of manipulation. He twists sound to his own ends, imitating voices, wrecking radio broadcasts, or causing machinery to malfunction. He does it all just to play on the fears of his victims. He takes delight in causing friendships to collapse, and his favorite sounds are a voice raised in anger, or a scream of panic.
Spring into action with this quick conversion vehicle-to-robot enemy! With just the press of a button, this DECEPTICON villain changes from SUV mode to robot mode – and back again! Ages 4 and up.
Activators are sub-line of Transformers aimed at providing simpler transformations with a fully functional and posable Transformers figure. Activator transformations are primarily accomplished through the pressing of a switch or tab and manipulation of a few extra parts. Such transformations are much akin to the early "spring loaded transformations" used in many Beast Wars Transformers figures.
There are few Transformers as well recognized and loved as Soundwave. Jokes are sometimes made about his now outdated tape deck mode from Generation One, but many updates on this classic character have shown that he can be reworked into objects that make sense in a 21st centurty world. In the case of "Animated" Soundwave, the character was given a new form that still reflected some of the primary elements of the original G1 character. This Activator was much anticipated as it was delayed for a while following the end of the "Animated" television series (along with several other figures that are slowly trickling out over the next few months).
Robot Mode:
Many of the animation models from Transformers Animated were based on the designs of the characters' Generation One predecessor. In the case of Soundwave, his robot mode was given some key aspects of his G1 design. Each of these aspects is represented in the Activators sculpt:
- The robot head is designed with a high crest and a crown-like structure right under it. Fans may recognize this as the basis for part of the traditional Decepticon symbol. In addition, G1 Soundwave had visor "sunglass" eyes and a mouthplate, both of which are found on Animated Soundwave but exaggerated.
- On Soundwave's chest is a panel outlined by a thin line and flanked by two lines extending left and right. In G1 this represented his cassette storage compartment. In Animated Soundwave, it seems to be where his primary intelligence is stored. Either way the homage is obvious and appreciated.
- On Soundwave's waist is a section with several buttons representing the "Play", "Stop", "Pause", "Rewind" and "Fast Forward" buttons from a radio. While unpainted, they are sculpted onto this figure.
- The panels on his forearms each have a rectangular design with two circles inside of it. These are visual references to the cassettes which G1 Soundwave carried. These tapes shared a similar shape and I love how a cool looking design can also act as a nice bit of visual homage.
In addition to these G1 based designs, Animatd Soundwave has many designe elements unique to the character. Among these details are a set of speakers, one mounted on each shoulder and two mounted onto the panel on his back. He also has six sided knee armor panels on each leg, just like the animation model. On the insides of the forearm panels, you'll find his lower arms sculpted in a slightly curved shape with a fist at the end. Like the animation model, the figure's upper body is very wide but then shrinks into a small mid-section before moving down to tube shaped thighs. The thighs then lead to large lower legs that are more angular. The result of this design is one tough looking robot. The smaller parts in the middle bring visual emphasis to the top and bottom sections of the character, which looks fantastic.
Soundwave is cast in black and blue plastic, the two primary colors of the character in the cartoon. Blue makes up most of this form with black used for parts such as his thighs and upper arms. Metallic gold paint with a bit of a greenish tint to it is used for a lot of detailing including his fac eplate, the speakers on his shoulders and his feet. Unfortunately this color was not used on the "buttons" on his waist. Still they were used to nice effect on the chest, where they paint the outline of his "tape deck" chest plate. Inside the plate is a gold Decepticon symbol. Matching the animation model and following Transformers tradition, Soundwave's eyes are painted red. It's the only red spot in this mode so it really stands out nicely against the darker blue and black colors.
Soundwave has fifteen points of articulation. I'm really glad that Activators managed to continue the tradition of highly articulated fields even if they are in a smaller, more compact form. The way I see it, if Beast Wars could do it, why can't the Activators? This articulation includes three points of articulation on each arm and the ability of his head to turn. It may not have been intentional, but Soundwae does have sort of an action feature. If you pull back on his arm at the shoulder joint and let go, it springs back since that's where the spring loaded mechanism for the figure is located. Depending on how you position his arms this either looks like he's punching someone or slapping them, either way it's quite amusing.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Swing the robot feet up into the lower legs.
- Connect the two lower robot legs together.
- Rotate the lower arms so the forearms face forward, then swing them in against the body.
- Pull the panel on the back of the robot mode forward and push the clips into the slots on the hood.
Vehicle Mode:
The difficulty with updating Soundwave is often the question of "What do we turn him into now?" This time around, the designers made the Decepticon an SUV vehicle that seems partly inspired by SUV's such as the Escalade and party by more "fun" vehicles such as the Scion xB. The vehicle is a high riding one indeed, with a very tall front end that leads to a cabin section that extends all the way to the back. His tall and wide doors also give a sense of the size of this vehicle if it were real. The beauty of this design is that it retains much of the "blocky" look of the G1 Soundwave tape deck while creating something unique for this character.
Several sculpted details add to the visual appeal of this vehicle. First and foremost are "button" like designs on the front of the vehicle that look like the buttons on his waist in robot mode. In this form the cassette homage details form the arm panels in robot mode are much more prominant, making most of the side of the vehicle. On the top of the hood and cabin are raised designs resmbling the letter F and E respectively. In the middle of the "E" shaped designs on the top of the cabin is a circle with a line through it, a symbol traditionally representing power on modern electronic devices. He also has smaller design features such as three lights on either side in the front of the vehicle and small lines and indentations running along the sides of the vehicle.
In this form Soundwave is mostly blue, with the wheels being the only black plastic showing. Black paint is used to paint his windows and light blue paint is used on the sculpted details on the sides and top of the vehicle. I like the way the light blue contrasts with the darker blue that makes up most of the vehicle. It gives it the appearance of energy radiating off of his body. The "Power" symbol is painted gold along with the "buttons" on the front of the vehicle. Overall it's a great paint job that represents the animation model in a relatively accurate manner and still manages to look powerful despite its small size.
Final Thoughts:
I'm really fond of this little figure. He represents the animation model in plastic form very well and I like the paint job done on the figure. He has plenty of articulation and even a fun "action feature" in robot mode to boot. Add in his rather simple transformation and you have a figure that looks great and is fun to mess around with. Highly recommended!