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Collective cell migration is a key process during the development of most organisms. It can involve either the migration of closely packed mesenchymal cells that make dynamic contacts with frequently changing neighbour cells, or the migration of epithelial sheets that typically display more stable cell-cell interactions and less frequent changes in neighbours. These collective movements can be controlled by short- or long-range dynamic gradients of extracellular signalling molecules, depending on the number of cells involved and their distance of migration. These gradients are sensed by some or all of the migrating cells and translated into directed migration, which in many settings is further modulated by cell-contact-mediated attractive or repulsive interactions that result in contact-following or contact-inhibition of locomotion, respectively. Studies of collective migration of groups of epithelial cells during development indicate that, in some cases, only leader cells sense and migrate up an external signal gradient, and that adjacent cells follow through strong cell-cell contacts. In this Commentary, I review studies of collective cell migration of differently sized cell populations during the development of several model organisms, and discuss our current understanding of the molecular mechanisms that coordinate this migration.
This article is part of a Minifocus on collective cell migration. For further reading, please see related articles: `Mechanisms of collective cell migration at a glance' by Olga Ilina and Peter Friedl (J. Cell Sci.122, 3203-3208) and `Wound repair at a glance' by Tanya Shaw and Paul Martin (J. Cell Sci.122, 3209-3213).
Collective cell migration plays a key role in developmental processes that range from gastrulation to organogenesis. In many cases, individual cells migrate actively in large cohorts of closely interacting cells over long distances. However, cells can also migrate as epithelial sheets, in which there is often limited change in neighbour relationships. The mesenchymal migration of Dictyostelium discoideum cells, or of neural crest cells and ingressing mesoderm cells during the development of higher organisms, is better understood than the migration of epithelial sheets: although mesenchymal cells are in frequent contact with their neighbours, their migration occurs in a manner similar to that of single cells, about which much is known (Keller, 2005). Migrating mesenchymal cells extend lamellopodia and filopodia at their leading edges in an actin-dependent process, make and break contacts with neighbouring cells and the extracellular matrix, and pull the cell body forward through the action of myosin thick filaments located mainly at the rear of the cell (Affolter and Weijer, 2005; Ridley et al., 2003). During development, mesenchymal cells can move in cohorts in a collective manner to their destination. Their behaviour is often orchestrated by a collective signal, which might require that all cells have access to guidance information and the ability to interpret this information individually. Alternatively, coordination of mesenchymal migration might be achieved by only selected cells that read a signal and then instruct other cells to follow them by relaying the guidance information to follower cells through chemical or mechanical signalling. In some situations, a mixture of these two mechanisms might operate (Garcia and Parent, 2008; Goswami et al., 2005).
It is much more difficult to understand how cells in epithelial sheets move, because these cells have a distinct apical-basal polarity, interact strongly with each other through adherens and tight junctions at their apical side, and interact with a complex basal lamina at their basal side. These interactions restrict the movement of the epithelial cells within the sheet and limit the rearrangements that can occur between them (Zallen and Blankenship, 2008). However, it is known that local cell rearrangements in epithelial sheets do occur, and that when they occur throughout a tissue they cause large-scale tissue deformations and the transport of cells over large distances, as observed during gastrulation (Keller, 2005). It is commonly thought that, in order for epithelial cells to move actively over long distances, they must undergo at least a partial epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which causes to the cells loosen their strong junctional interactions and become individual polarised mesenchymal-like cells (Montell, 2008; Revenu and Gilmour, 2009). This transition allows for greater freedom of movement and even allows neighbouring cells to move to distinct locations.
In this Commentary, I discuss collective cell migration in development using examples from Dictyostelium, zebrafish, Drosophila, and gastrulation in higher organisms. To set the stage, I begin with a description of the mechanisms that might be involved in instructing cell movement in these different settings.
Instructing collective cell migration
In development, collective cell migration is a process by which groups of cells are transported to new locations, where they are required to perform specific functions. Cells require precise guidance signals to instruct them how to reach their specific destinations. The number of migrating cells is highly variable: it can involve as few as ten cells (as in border-cell migration during Drosophila egg chamber development); hundreds of cells [as occurs during the migration of the lateral line primordium (LLP) in zebrafish]; thousands of cells (as in the migration of mesendoderm cells during gastrulation in higher organisms) or as many as several hundred thousand cells (as in Dictyostelium slug development). In addition, the distances that the cells move can vary widely from as few as tens of microns to centimetres. Thus, it is clear that the signals that guide these movements must also vary considerably (Affolter and Weijer, 2005). When cells move over short distances (in the range of tens of cell diameters), diffusion gradients of chemicals are effective guidance signals (Fig. 1A). When the migration distance is greater, `trails' of guidance substances might operate. Finally, if the migration distance is very great (millimetre to centimetre range), other mechanisms such as signal relay are probably involved to counteract the attenuation of the signal over distance (Fig. 1B). Specific examples of each of these situations are discussed in more detail below.
In all cases, it remains a major question whether all of the migrating cells sense the guidance signals and derive information from this, or whether only some leader cells read the primary guidance signal and then instruct other cells to follow them via chemical signals or physical cell-cell or cell-matrix interactions. In addition, whether feedback mechanisms that link signalling and movement exist – for instance the migrating cells might modulate the signal – is a question that has yet to be addressed.
Collective cell migration in Dictyostelium
The Dictyostelium life cycle
In evolutionary terms, Dictyostelium is a simple organism, and sits on the threshold between single cell and multicellular life (Baldauf and Doolittle, 1997). It has been used extensively to study the molecular machinery of cellular polarisation and chemotaxis, but also has an interesting multicellular life cycle that is dominated by collective cell migration. Normally, the organism lives as a single amoeba in soil, but in response to nutrient starvation it enters a multicellular developmental cycle in which up to a million amoeboid cells can aggregate to form a motile slug structure. Under appropriate environmental conditions, the slug transforms into a fruiting body, which consists of a stalk that supports a mass of spores (Kessin, 2001; Weijer, 2004). Dictyostelium cells are in direct contact during the multicellular stages of development, but stay amoeboid during all stages of this multicellular life cycle until the very last stages of fruiting body formation when the cells terminally differentiate into spores and dead vacuolated stalk cells.
Cell migration during the multicellular stages of Dictyostelium slug development is highly similar to the collective migration of mesenchymal cells that occurs in higher organisms. In both settings, the migrating cells are closely packed, make dynamic contacts with surrounding cells and move collectively in response to a dynamic signal. Dictyostelium cells get traction from surrounding cells and from a specialised extracellular matrix, the slime sheath, which they secrete and modulate. Important questions that this model has helped to investigate include which signals control collective cell migration, how are these signals detected and interpreted, and what are the mechanisms of collective movement?
cAMP signalling centres
Cell movement during the multicellular stages of Dictyostelium development is controlled by a series of signalling centres that emit periodic pulses of cyclic AMP (cAMP). The initial aggregation phase has been well investigated: aggregation of the starving cells is mediated by chemotaxis in response to cAMP `waves' secreted by a group of cells that form a signalling centre (Fig. 2A). Starvation triggers the expression of many genes that are involved in cAMP production and detection and that are responsible for aggregation. Such genes include those that encode cAMP receptors, G-proteins and the aggregation-stage adenylylcyclase (ACA) (Kessin, 2001). cAMP produced by the cells in the signalling centre is degraded continuously by an extracellular phosphodiesterase (PDE). However, a proportion of the secreted cAMP binds to its receptors and, in an autocrine cAMP amplification step, results in the production and secretion of more cAMP in a so-called cAMP relay reaction (Mahadeo and Parent, 2006). Cells that express more ACA, more cAMP receptors and/or less PDE (owing to the stochastic nature of gene expression) secrete more cAMP than their neighbours and thus locally amplify the cAMP signal in an autocrine manner, which then spreads by diffusion to neighbouring cells. Once these neighbouring cells are stimulated with cAMP above a certain threshold concentration, they in turn produce and secrete cAMP, passing the signal on to their neighbours and propagating the cAMP wave from the signalling centre outward. These waves typically propagate as spirals, as is typical for excitable systems (Fig. 2A) (Siegert and Weijer, 1989; Siegert and Weijer, 1991).
The binding of cAMP also triggers an adaptation process that, after a certain time delay, results in the desensitisation of the cells to cAMP and a cessation of cAMP production (Comer and Parent, 2006). As cAMP is degraded continuously by the extracellular PDE, cAMP concentrations fall, which results in a gradual re-sensitisation of the cells. As result of chemotaxis, the cells that initiated the cAMP wave have at this point attracted more cells, resulting in a cell density increase near the signalling centre. This increases the probability that a new wave will be initiated at this location, establishing these cells as a signalling centre (Dormann et al., 2001; Mahadeo and Parent, 2006). When the wave passes and the cAMP gradient reverses, cells that have been recruited to the signalling centre cannot detect this reverse gradient because they are adapted to peak cAMP levels. This prevents them from turning around and following the wave away from the signalling centre; instead, they stop during the falling phase of the wave and begin to move again when cAMP concentrations rise as a result of the next passing wave. Overall, the chemotaxis of cells towards the cAMP gradient emitted during the rising phase of the wave results in the collective migration of the cells towards the signalling centre.
Coordination of collective movement during Dictyostelium aggregation
After a few cAMP waves have passed, cells make contact with each other and form extensive aggregation streams. cAMP waves propagate through the streams outward, directing the movement of the cells towards the signalling centre. Cells in aggregation streams are highly polarised. They are highly elongated and make specific end-to-end contacts through special calcium-independent adhesion molecules, as well as side-to-side contacts through calcium-dependent cadherin-type molecules (Gerisch, 1977; Siu et al., 2004). These cell-cell contacts are presumably important for aggregation; however, deletion of either of the adhesion molecules involved does not result in major defects in stream formation or in multicellular development (Harloff et al., 1989; Wong et al., 2002). Stream formation might involve localised cAMP secretion from the rear of the cell. It has been described that aggregation-stage ACA localises to the rear of aggregating cells and is often associated with small vesicles. It is possible that cAMP is secreted by the fusion of ACA-containing vesicles with plasma membrane via a mechanism that resembles synaptic transmission, whereby one cell directly signals a follower cell (Kriebel et al., 2008; Maeda and Gerisch, 1977). However, earlier experiments showed that the rate of secretion of cAMP was proportional to the internal cAMP concentration, and that there was no appreciable delay between cAMP production and secretion, which supports the idea that cAMP secretion occurs via a pump (Dinauer et al., 1980; Kesbeke and Van Haastert, 1988).
During aggregation of Dictyostelium, cells start to differentiate into precursors of the stalk and spore cells. There is no correlation between the tendency of cells to initially differentiate into pre-stalk or pre-spore cells and their position in the forming aggregate; they arrive in the aggregate at different times and form a random distribution of cell types. Once all of the cells have entered the aggregate to form the hemispherical mass of cells known as the `mound', the pre-stalk cells are sorted from the pre-spore cells to form a distinct morphological structure known as the tip. This cell-sorting process results from the chemotactic aggregation of pre-stalk cells within the mass of pre-spore cells. The mechanism by which this reorganisation occurs is still not completely resolved, but probably involves differential signalling and motility of the pre-stalk and pre-spore cells (Vasiev and Weijer, 2003).
Compared with pre-spore cells, pre-stalk cells express ACA and higher levels of myosin II, and assemble more myosin II thick filaments. The thick filaments provide the cells with the force required to move through the mass of other cells to the cAMP signal coming from the centre of the aggregate (Maeda et al., 2000; Maeda et al., 2003; Verkerke-van Wijk et al., 2001) (Fig. 2B). During slug migration, the cells in the tip periodically produce cAMP signals, which are relayed through the slug by the anterior-like cells that are scattered throughout the body of the slug (Dormann and Weijer, 2001) (Fig. 2B). Tip cells must stay at the front of the slug because they initiate the cAMP signal. Other cells cannot `overtake' the tip cells unless they acquire the ability to initiate their own cAMP signals and can entrain cAMP secretion by other cells.
It is interesting to note that the cAMP signal is detected through four different receptors that bind to cAMP with different affinities; these receptors are expressed at different stages during the Dictyostelium multicellular stage. The high-affinity cAMP receptor, cAR1, is the first receptor to be expressed during Dictyostelium aggregation and is responsible for relaying the cAMP signal and for chemotaxis. From the late aggregation stage onwards, a low-affinity cAMP receptor, cAR3, is expressed specifically in pre-spore cells. Finally, there are two lower-affinity receptors, cAR2 and cAR4, that are specifically expressed in pre-stalk cells (Tsujioka et al., 2001). Experiments have shown that cAR1 and cAR3 are required for slug migration (but that slugs can migrate when either one of them is expressed), whereas cAR2 and cAR4 appear to be required for pre-stalk-cell-specific gene expression and are not directly involved in controlling movement (Louis et al., 1994; Saxe et al., 1993) [Dirk Dorman (MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London, UK) and C.W., unpublished data].
From the mound stage onwards, the pre-stalk cells secrete a slime sheath, which is an extracellular matrix that keeps the cells together. During slug migration, the slime sheath is synthesised continuously by pre-stalk cells and serves as a substrate for the outer cells of the slug to move on top of and get traction from. The interaction between the slug outer cells and the slime sheath involves specialised cell-matrix-adhesion molecules of the integrin family, and contacts are organised in focal adhesions that contain talin B and paxillin B (Bukharova et al., 2005; Cornillon et al., 2008; Patel et al., 2008). The sheath is stationary with respect to the substrate on which the slug moves and collapses when the slug has moved through, leaving behind a slime trail (Kessin, 2001). The slime sheath keeps the cells together and even allows the slug to leap through the air between different patches of substrate in its native environment, the upper leaf litter layer of the soil (Sternfeld and O'Mara, 2005).
The slug as a whole can respond to external signals such as light and temperature gradients, but the details of how this occurs are so far unknown. The mechanisms might involve local changes in the speed of cAMP wave propagation, resulting in local changes of cell movement and the steering of the slug towards or away from light and temperature gradients. The photoreceptors and thermoreceptors that might modulate cAMP relay remain to be identified (Fisher et al., 1997; Maree et al., 1999; Miura and Siegert, 2000). Although the study of this simple organism has shed considerable light on the mechanisms that underlie collective cell migration, many detailed questions – especially with respect to the relative importance of signalling pathways and direct cell-cell interactions – remain to be resolved.
Migration of lateral line primordium cells in zebrafish
The development of the lateral line, a mechanosensory organ in fish, involves the directed migration of a cluster of ∼100 epithelial-like cells (known as the LLP) over the forming musculature of the developing embryo. The cells in the anterior of the LLP undergo a partial EMT and become more mesenchymal in character, although they remain in close contact with each other and the epithelial-like cells at the rear of the LLP. During this migration process, the LLP drops several mechanosensory organs (known as neuromasts) at regularly spaced intervals during its movement from the anterior head region to the posterior tail region over a period of 2 days. Neuromasts consist of a sensory hair cell innervated by a specialised sensory nerve cell, surrounded by supporting cells. The migration of the LLP appears to follow a line of the chemokine stromal-derived factor 1 (SDF-1), which is expressed by cells of the horizontal myoseptum in the zebrafish embryo, and crucially depends on the expression of an SDF-1 receptor, CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4), in the cells of the leading edge of the LLP (Haas and Gilmour, 2006) (Fig. 3).
Experiments in which mosaic LLPs (which consist of only a few cells expressing CXCR4 in a background of cells that lack this receptor) were created have shown that only a few CXCR4-expressing cells at the leading edge of the LLP are required to guide its movement. The behaviour of the leader cells is characterised by the extension of protrusions in the direction of the SDF-1 signal; deletion of CXCR4 abolishes the extension of these protrusions and prevents the forward movement of the cells. It has become apparent that the cells in the LLP also express another SDF-1 receptor, CXCR7, which is mainly expressed in the posterior part of the LLP (Valentin et al., 2007). Deletion of this receptor impairs the migration of the LLP, indicating that, in addition to CXCR4, CXCR7 is also important for migration in this setting.
It has been shown that two signalling pathways control the expression of CXCR4 and CXCR7 and other crucial cell behaviours in the LLP. Wnt signalling appears to be active in the cells of the leading zone of the LLP, whereas fibroblast growth factor (FGF) initiates a signalling cascade in the trailing zone. Wnt signalling represses CXCR7 expression in the leading zone, and FGF signalling might play a role in suppressing CXCR4 expression in the trailing zone (Aman and Piotrowski, 2008). Furthermore, FGF signalling appears to control the formation of rosettes at the rear of the LLP that are associated with the formation of neuromasts by controlling and stabilising the epithelial fate of the cells (Lecaudey et al., 2008; Nechiporuk and Raible, 2008). Inhibition of FGF signalling results in a failure of rosette formation and indirectly inhibits cell migration, possibly by allowing CXCR4 expression throughout the LLP while simultaneously inhibiting CXCR7 expression (Aman and Piotrowski, 2008). However, this remains to be tested in more detail.
Although it has been argued that the SDF-1 signal does not provide directional information for the LLP to follow, evidence from studies of zebrafish support the idea that the regulated expression of CXCR4 and CXCR7 is involved in translating the continuous SDF-1 signal into a graded signal across the LLP, which the migrating cells of the primordium might be able to sense and respond to. It was first suggested that CXCR4 and CXCR7 read and shape an SDF-1 gradient in studies of the migration of primordial germ cells (PCGs) in zebrafish. PCGs cells move as individuals in a coordinated manner in response to a dynamic expression pattern of SDF-1, which is also directed by CXCR4 in this setting (Stebler et al., 2004). Surprisingly, it was recently found that cells in the tissue through which the PGCs migrate abundantly express CXCR7. It was proposed that CXCR7 plays an essential role in controlling the local dynamics of the SDF-1 signal by sequestering and possibly internalising the ligand so that it becomes unavailable for PCG guidance via CXCR4 (Boldajipour et al., 2008; Raz and Mahabaleshwar, 2009). Assuming that a similar mechanism controls the migration of cells in the LLP, CXCR4 expressed by leading edge cells might be responsible for sensing the SDF-1 gradient, and CXCR7 might be involved mainly in shaping the gradient across the LLP through receptor-mediated downregulation (Fig. 3). However, confirmation that there is an SDF-1 gradient across the LLP awaits measurements of in vivo SDF-1 protein concentrations. In addition, the exact mechanisms by which cells might follow such a gradient remain to be resolved. Although direct data are not yet available, it is reasonable to speculate that all cells in the LLP are moving actively. In the simplest case, all cells might read the SDF-1 gradient and contribute to directing cell movement. Alternatively, it might be that only some leader cells read the gradient and signal to follower cells by other chemical and/or mechanical signals.
Collective migration of border cells in Drosophila
Another fascinating and well-investigated example of collective cell migration is the migration of border cells in Drosophila. These are cells that derive from the follicular epithelium of the egg chamber and, after undergoing a partial EMT, migrate initially towards the oocyte and then upward to form the micropyle, a structure important for sperm entry. The small cluster of six to eight border cells surrounding two central cells moves between the nurse cells and towards the developing oocyte (Montell, 2003) (Fig. 4). The movement of these cells is guided by signals from the oocyte, in particular epidermal growth factor (EGF) and PVF (PDGF- and PDGF/VEGF-related factor) (Duchek and Rorth, 2001; Rorth, 2002) (Fig. 4). The border cells are epithelial-like in character and, similarly to the cells in the LLP, have an apical-basal polarity and make contact with a basal lamina. It is evident that cell-cell adhesion needs to be dynamically regulated during the migration of border cells, and that the control of cadherin-mediated adhesion is also crucial (Geisbrecht and Montell, 2002; Melani et al., 2008).
Two different phases of border-cell migration have been distinguished (Bianco et al., 2007; Prasad and Montell, 2007; Tekotte et al., 2007). Initially, migration depends on cell polarisation and the extension of long protrusions, and involves clear leader cells. During this initial phase of migration, the cells move in response to gradients of EGF and PVF in a chemotactic process as they polarise and extend long protrusions in the direction of migration towards the oocyte; these are used to pull the cell body forward (Rorth, 2003). In the second phase of migration, the cells extend shorter protrusions and lamellipodia. Interestingly, it was recently described that the same cells are not always found at the front of the migrating cluster; particularly during the second phase of migration, there appears to be a continuous exchange of leader cells (Bianco et al., 2007; Prasad and Montell, 2007). Thus, being a leader cell is a temporary role in this setting.
A key outstanding question is how the cells maintain directionality of movement when the leader cells are continuously changing. Analysis of MAP kinase phosphorylation in fixed egg chambers has shown that there is a gradient of signalling across the cluster of border cells, with highest level of phosphorylation in the most anterior cells of the cluster, without clear differences across individual cells (Bianco et al., 2007). It has been suggested that the cluster of border cells as a whole can sense a gradient along the length of the cell cluster, and that there is no specific requirement for specific cells to be at the front of the cluster for the duration of migration. Rather, the cells at the front might generate a stronger (more polarised) motile response than the cells at the rear of the cluster, and the cells closer to the signal determine the direction migration of the cluster (Rorth, 2007). This migration depends heavily on strong cell-cell contacts. To fully understand the mechanisms at work in this system, it will be necessary to find ways to measure the individual cellular responses to guidance signals in terms of their adhesive interactions and the motive forces that are generated during collective migration.
Collective cell migration during gastrulation
Gastrulation is a period during the development of higher organisms when cells move extensively in a collective manner. During gastrulation, the endoderm and mesoderm (both derived from the mesendoderm) move into the embryo to take up their characteristic positions. The endoderm, which gives rise to the epithelial lining of the digestive tract and associated glands, is surrounded by the mesoderm, which gives rise to the muscles, skeleton and vasculature. The mesoderm is surrounded by the outermost ectoderm, which gives rise to the epidermis and the nervous system. During gastrulation, the epithelial precursors of the mesendoderm undergo a partial (Xenopus, fish) or complete (chick, mouse) EMT as they ingress through the blastopore or the primitive streak, respectively (Keller, 2005; Shook and Keller, 2003). In amniotes such as the chick, gastrulation follows with the induction of the mesendoderm at the posterior interface between the extra-embryonic region (area opaca) and the embryonic region (area pellucida) in the epiblast. This begins with the movement of these cells into the midline of the embryo to form the primitive streak, followed by EMT and ingression of the mesendoderm cells. [For details on the similarities and differences in gastrulation in various organisms, see the book by Stern (Stern, 2004).]
Mesenchymal migration
Several competing hypotheses have been proposed to explain the guiding mechanisms that underlie the movement of mesodermal cells during gastrulation. In most species, the cells of the leading edge mesoderm – especially of the prechordal plate mesoderm – are among the first mesendoderm cells to invaginate. These cells undergo a near-complete EMT and migrate towards the anterior part of the embryo essentially as mesenchymal cells. In frogs and fish, it has been shown that cells of the leading edge mesoderm migrate to the anterior in response to graded PDGF signals produced by the overlying ectoderm. During their migration, these cells show extensive protrusive activity of their leading edges in the direction of the PDGF gradient in a phosphoinositide-3-kinase-dependent manner (Montero et al., 2003; Nagel et al., 2004). In addition, there is evidence that this response to PDGF is modulated by sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) signalling through the Edg5 receptor expressed by mesoderm cells (Kai et al., 2008).
In contrast to what is known about the leading edge mesoderm, the mechanism of migration of cells in the paraxial and axial mesoderm is less clear. During gastrulation in Xenopus, cells of the paraxial mesoderm move from lateral positions towards medial positions in a process known as medio-lateral intercalation, which drives the elongation of the embryo (Keller, 2005). The process starts when the cells become polarised as a result of the planar cell polarity (PCP) signalling pathway, which stimulates cells to acquire polarity in the plane of the cell sheet (Keller, 2002; Klein and Mlodzik, 2005). The cells elongate and restrict their actin-driven protrusive activity to their ends, resulting in bipolar protrusive activity. The cells that are in close contact push and pull on each other and on the extracellular matrix aligning their long axes, and start to move in between each other in the process of medio-lateral intercalation. The mechanisms by which this cellular polarisation is achieved are still unresolved, but there is some evidence that it might depend on signalling through the non-canonical Wnt signalling pathway (Wallingford et al., 2002). The tissue-wide coordination of cell intercalation is probably under the control of the anterior-posterior patterning system; however, the details remain to be established (Ninomiya et al., 2004).
The PCP signalling pathway – possibly through its control of cell polarity – also controls the remodelling and alignment of the extracellular matrix, which might also regulate collective cell migration (Davidson et al., 2006; Goto et al., 2005). Alternatively, it has been proposed that the direction of medial migration of mesoderm cells is regulated by E-cadherin-mediated adhesive gradients, because cells in medial areas are more adhesive than those in lateral positions. The underlying hypothesis is that cells move towards regions of greater adhesion where they can get more traction. These adhesivity gradients are probably controlled by signalling pathways initiated by bone morphogenetic protein (BMP). BMP expression is high in lateral regions of the embryo and low in medial regions, and has been shown to inhibit cell-cell adhesion through an unknown mechanism (von der Hardt et al., 2007).
Finally, it has been proposed that, for fish and amniotes, in which the paraxial and lateral plate mesoderm precursors undergo a complete EMT during their ingression in the primitive streak, mesoderm cells move in response to chemotactic signals. Several potential chemoattractants have been identified. It has been shown in zebrafish that apelin, which is expressed in the midline of the embryo and is detected by the G-protein-coupled serpentine transmembrane receptor Agtrl1b, directs migration of lateral plate mesoderm cells towards the heart field (Zeng et al., 2007). In addition, studies carried out with frog, zebrafish and amniotes have provided evidence that growth factors of the FGF, PDGF and VEGF families direct the migration of axial and paraxial mesodermal cells (Dormann and Weijer, 2006; Solnica-Krezel, 2005). In chick embryos, the combined availability of chemoattractants and chemorepellents steers the paraxial and lateral plate mesoderm cells in specific directions after their ingression through the streak (Dormann and Weijer, 2006) (Fig. 5). Another study of chick embryos showed that FGF8 produced in the primitive streak acts as a repellent that causes cells to move away, whereas FGF4 produced in the midline by the axial mesoderm (headprocesss and notochord) acts as an attractant (Yang et al., 2002). These findings are in agreement with studies carried out in mice showing that the deletion of fgf8 results in the accumulation of mesodermal cells in the primitive streak (Sun et al., 1999). In addition, cells ingressing through the posterior streak were found to move in response to VEGF signalling triggered by activation of the receptor VEGFR2. These cells were shown to be in direct contact, and it was proposed that leader and follower cells could be distinguished on the basis of differential VEGFR2 internalisation [Xuesong Yang (Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine of the Ministry of Education, Medical College, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China), Manli Chuai (Division of Cell and Developmental Biology, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK) and C.W., unpublished observations].
It has been shown that PDGFA secreted by cells in the epiblast and detected by migrating paraxial mesodermal cells through the receptor PDGFR-α modulates the expression of N-cadherin in mesoderm cells. N-cadherin is typically enriched at points of cell contact and probably influences the amount of traction that these cells get when they move on and between other cells. Therefore, N-cadherin might be a crucial determinant for collective cell migration (Yang et al., 2008).
Finally, there is evidence in chick that Wnt3a, which is expressed in the primitive streak, acts as a repellent for cardiac mesoderm cells that are leaving the streak. There are also strong indications that Wnt5 and Wnt11b, also expressed in the streak, are involved in promoting the migration of posterior mesoderm cells away from the streak (Hardy et al., 2008; Sweetman et al., 2008; Yue et al., 2008). It is still unresolved whether Wnt5 and Wnt11b signaling controls cell movement, EMT and/or adhesion through regulation of E-cadherin expression in amniotes, as has been proposed in studies of zebrafish (von der Hardt et al., 2007). It is likely that many more guidance factors that control the collective migration of mesendoderm cells remain to be identified.
After gastrulation, EMT continues during many stages of development. A well-studied example is the formation of crest cells that delaminate from the closing neural tube and migrate to form pigment cells, parts of the head skeleton and several types of ganglia along the body axis. Recently, it has been proposed that contact inhibition of locomotion could result in directed cell migration and the ability of neural crest cells to invade other tissues. It was shown that neural crest cells show contact inhibition of locomotion when they meet one another, retracting their processes and setting off in another direction. Surprisingly, when these cells contact other types of cell, they do not show this behaviour and can therefore invade new tissues. It was shown that contact inhibition depends on signalling through the non-canonical Wnt signalling pathway and might impinge on ephrin signalling (Carmona-Fontaine et al., 2008). Other mechanisms that control the collective migration of neural crest cells have been reviewed in detail recently and will not be discussed further here (Sauka-Spengler and Bronner-Fraser, 2008).
Migration of epithelial sheets
In addition to the collective migration of individual cells that have undergone EMT, gastrulation also involves massive tissue deformations in epithelial sheets, beginning with the outer epithelial layer that eventually surrounds the entire embryo. Cells of the outer epithelial layer move towards the site of ingression – the blastopore in fish and amphibians, and the primitive streak in amniotes. This involves extensive changes in the local organisation of epithelial cells, which occurs through mechanisms that are not yet fully understood. On the basis of studies carried out in Drosophila and frogs, it has been proposed that small local rearrangements (such as cell-cell intercalation that occurs through junctional remodelling) could result in large-scale tissue deformations. Evidence that supports how this process might occur has mainly been obtained from studies of germband elongation in Drosophila. It has been proposed that epithelial cells polarise their actin-myosin cytoskeleton (which is under the control of the anterior-posterior patterning system) such that myosin II localises mainly in cell-cell junctions formed between anterior and posterior cells, and other molecules such as Bazooka (Par-3 in mammals) localise mainly in junctions between dorsal and ventral cells (Bertet et al., 2004; Zallen and Wieschaus, 2004). The actin-myosin-rich junctions then contract to form rosette-like structures, which then relax along the anterior-posterior axis, resulting in a change in tissue shape and an elongation of the embryo along this axis (Blankenship et al., 2006; Zallen and Blankenship, 2008). Similar intercalation mechanisms might underlie the formation and extension of the primitive streak in mouse and chick, which involves large-scale flows of cells in the epiblast (Chuai et al., 2006; Cui et al., 2005; Voiculescu et al., 2007). However, it is possible that other mechanisms, such as the movement of epithelial sheets in response to chemotactic signals embedded in the basal lamina, are also involved (Chuai and Weijer, 2007). Interestingly, it was recently reported that fibronectin, a component of the basal lamina, shows little movement relative to the migrating cells, possibly suggesting that the migrating cells take extracellular matrix with them when they move, or even that the cells do not move actively but are transported passively by deformations of the extracellular matrix (Czirok et al., 2006; Zamir et al., 2008) [see Chuai and Weijer (Chuai and Weijer, 2009) for a commentary on this idea]. Based on the studies discussed here, it is clear that our understanding of the mechanisms by which epithelial sheets move, and the signals that influence this movement, is still in its infancy, and that these are certainly exciting areas for future investigations.
Conclusions and outlook
Study of both the mechanisms that guide collective cell migration and the mechanisms that execute it is of crucial importance for understanding many essential steps in the development of higher organisms. There is substantial evidence that collective cell migration depends on gradients of chemoattractants that instruct cells where to move. As reviewed here, however, it is not yet clear in many settings whether all cells receive and interpret a guidance signal or whether only some cells receive and read the signal and therefore other factors (such as cell-cell contact) determine whether the migration of cells in a population occurs in a collective manner. In populations of mesenchymal cells that easily make and break cell-cell contacts, collective cell migration occurs when all cells move individually in the direction of a signal. In large cellular structures, static gradients are probably not sufficient for the long-range information required to instruct migration; thus, relaying of the guidance signal (as has been observed in Dictyostelium) might be necessary for collective cell migration to occur. Although this has not yet been extensively investigated in other systems, some evidence suggests that it also operates in higher organisms. For example, during chemotactic cancer-cell migration, it has been suggested that macrophages and metastatic fibroblasts signal each other through a paracrine loop involving colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF-1) and EGF during their migration (Goswami et al., 2005).
In the coordinated migration of epithelial sheets, in which cells are connected by stronger and more specialised cell-cell junctions than those between mesenchymal cells, it also appears that not all cells receive and sense the guiding signal. Rather, movement involves some leader cells at the edge that sense the guiding signal and relay the information to follower cells through cell-contact-dependent or mechanical interactions.
There are many exciting open questions that have yet to be addressed. How are the signals that guide collective migration generated? How do migrating cells modify these signals? It will be essential not only to examine the expression of these signals in situ, but also to visualize the activation of signalling pathways and the actin-myosin cytoskeleton in the migrating cells. Determining how leader cells instruct other cells to follow them, and the role of contact-mediated signalling and mechanosensing in this process, also requires further study. Our understanding of the mechanism of the in vivo migration of epithelial sheets is particularly rudimentary. Do these cells get traction mainly from other cells or from the extracellular matrix? How are shape changes at the apical side, which is dominated by junctional contacts, coordinated with shape changes at the basal side, which is dominated by cell-matrix interactions? The development of new tools to visualise and quantify intracellular signalling pathways and the nature of the interactions between collectively migrating cells will help to address these questions.


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In the 4.5 km2 of Ammouliani island, there is a little hidden paradise. The Island is the only inhabited one of Halkidiki in the southern European country of Greece. It has only 400 locals, mainly fishermen. The island is only accessible by ferryboats. There are regular routes from Thessaloniki which is 120 km away. Ammouliani is a place for those who appreciate tranquility, for those who like to enjoy privacy, but at the same time for active, adventurous people and sport fanatics. The beaches are white and sandy surrounded by huge rocks, the water is clean and vegetation prevails.
Your day will be short if you decide to thoroughly investigate the island and visit all the beaches. Alikes, Ag. Georgios, Megali Ammos, Karagatsia are just some of them. They are all easily accessible. Another interesting thing to do is taking a boat trip to the neighboring islands Gaidouronisi, Tigani, and Pontiki where you can continue sunbathing and swimming in the see-through waters. Mount Athos or the Holy Mountain is very close and if you are lucky to get permission you can go and see this holy place and its monasteries. This, however, only refers to male visitors. Women are forbidden on Mount Athos.
Ammouliani Island has everything to meet the needs of tourists. Hotels and apartments are charming and comfortable. Camping is quite an experience in such a magical place too. Restaurants, taverns, and cafes are places for socializing, little shops, and supermarkets-places for getting souvenirs. Anywhere you go you will feel the friendliness of the local people. The island is well-known for its hospitality.
Despite the more usual water sports, the island offers a unique diving experience. The water is perfect and for all those who like to explore, diving can be a pleasant pastime. The waters are rich in marine life and this can be a beautiful underwater sight. Fishing is popular too. The water is very clean which means that there are a lot of fish. Combine fishing with diving and challenge yourself to try underwater diving. While you are on Ammouliani, your eyes will get some rest as green is the color that you will mostly see around. There are olive plantations and vegetation that is flourishing during the long season from May to October.
Ammouliani lies far away from noisy streets, traffic jams, and concrete jungles. If you want to forget about that for a while, this is where you should come. Serenity, calmness, warm sunshine and blue sea- this sounds like the vacation you wanted to have since a long time ago.

subset: commoncrawl


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Wednesday, November 14, 2007
You're doing it wrong. Again.
9 comments:
- Christina RN LMT said...
No, you see:
It's like "garaging" the car...you know, park the car on the porch...oh, to hell with it!
You're right, he (or she) is a dolt.
- 1:32 AM, November 15, 2007
I thought it was "torch the car".
- 1:46 AM, November 15, 2007
One summer, a buddy of mine cricked two Jags.
- 6:07 AM, November 15, 2007
- theirritablearchitect said...
"One summer, a buddy of mine cricked two Jags."
I'm assuming he was driving at the time...maybe a bit too fast for the handling dynamics of the car, or his own, possibly?
- 8:50 AM, November 15, 2007
b, that ain't the half of it. An XK120 ("steering by torsion bar"; ISTC I've had pickups that handled better) and (genuflect) an E.
He was a good driver. I have a suspicion that a very mild psychedelic may have been involved. (State Motto of Michigan: "Vinum Posset," Alcohol May have been a factor). In a certain sense of the word, hilarity ensued. Good Bad Ugly quote: "So many of us have had a session...in there." Post on this subject over at your place, we'll go round & round.
- 3:03 PM, November 15, 2007
- Gewehr98 said...
Still let him find the blog, though.
Just sayin'...
- 3:31 PM, November 15, 2007
Reminded me of the story which ended with:
"Oh, I gave it TWO coats. And it wasn't a Porsche, it was a Mercedes."
- 11:37 PM, November 15, 2007
If I ever need my car porched this is the place I'm coming to learn how to do it.
- 6:28 AM, November 16, 2007
- Adrian K said...
Random House Unabridged says a porch is: an exterior appendage to a building, forming a covered approach or vestibule to a doorway.
Who knows, maybe porch is Kiwi for carport?
Of course, here on the West Coast, carport means "Please come steal my motorcycle."
- 2:16 AM, November 17, 2007


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When I come across things like this on my internet travels, it makes me want to pick up crochet again. When my friend gives my hooks back, maybe I'll attempt this awesome Snorlax!
This adorable (and large) Snorlax was designed and created by Ana Amélia Mendes Galvão, otherwise known as MiaHandcrafter. It stands at about 18 inches (46cm) tall!Â
So snuggly! If crocheting is your jam, there's a free pattern on "Mia's Atelier". There are other free patterns there too, including Pokemon, anime stuff and more!


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Garment Measurement Spec Sheet is an integral and Important part of Tech Pack. So, a tech pack designer need to know how to prepare garment measurement spec sheet. There are two ways how spec sheets are prepared. One by using the body measurement and the other is using finished garment. But, Which one is correct is a matter of debate. The designers of most reputed brand prefer to use body measurement parameter though.
Garment Measurement Spec Sheet Parameters based on Body vs Garment
Preparing Garment Measurement Spec Sheet
Garment Fit is major part in success or failure of a brand so is garment measurement chart in tech pack. If a garment style fits well it will also look good. Customer although go for look at first glance but when it comes to fit the priority always goes to fit. So garment spec with measurements are important aspect of a garment tech pack. You need garment measurement spec sheet before bulk production to avoid fit issues. This is an unavoidable step if you are planning to start your business in a serious note. Prepare a detailed measurement chart with size gradation based on approved fit sample. If there is any deviation you must adjust it right here before going for bulk production. So, adjust your graded garment measurement chart based on your approved fit sample. You need a complete tech pack and measurement spec sheet to execute garment production.
Garment Measurement Vs Body Measurement
It is often confusing whether to take a garment to measure the fits or we should go for body measurement. To come to a conclusion we must figure out the difference. There is a basic difference between garment measurements vs body measurements. The most appropriate method of preparing spec sheet is by considering body measurements. Unless you don't find a right body type the least you can do is by taking measurements from garment. Remember every garment brand have their own measurement guideline. So you must cross verify your measurements with more than one brand. Other than this there are many other aspects that a pattern maker considers while preparing the final garment measurement spec sheet.
Tech Pack Templates For Common Styles
There are few basic style brands wants to include in their collection line-sheet. Some of them are t-shirts, hoodies, tank tops, and so on. Technical designers charge higher price for the same style they have done before. So, keeping this in mind, we have come up with a solution that suits our readers and customers. We have come up with an innovative solution that saves a lot of time for both buyers and designers. If you are looking for a tech pack of a t-shirt design and tech pack, no need to hire a technical designer. We developed tech packs and garment measurement spec sheets commonly used by brands. Those we have put on our online store " Tech Pack Templates". You can easily go to the store and buy from there instead of hiring a clothing designer with higher cost.
You may also like to see


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First Nations Confront Devastating B.C. Wildfires
First Nations are rallying as wildfires ravage large swathes of British Columbia. The blazes have destroyed homes on several reserves, and many indigenous people have refused to be evacuated, choosing instead to stay and fight the flames. The province has declared a state of emergency, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged federal resources, and First Nations chiefs called for a shutdown of the Kinder Morgan TransMountain pipeline.
With several First Nation communities under states of emergency or on evacuation alerts, indigenous leaders supported the decisions of many reserve residents to stay and try to protect their homes rather than leave and risk losing everything. Tsilhqot'in communities reported that wildfires threatened at least four of their six communities: Yunesit'in (Stone), Tl'etinqox (Anaham), ?Esdilagh (Alexandria), and Tl'esqox (Toosey).
"Many Tsilhqot'in members have been evacuated to the Tsilhqot'in communities of Xeni Gwet'in (Nemiah) and Tsi Deldel (Alexis Creek), and Williams Lake, Quesnel and Prince George," the Tsilhqot'in said in a media release on July 10. "Some of the communities, including Tl'etinqox and Tsi Deldel, are without power, water and phone. Food, water, fuel and medicine are in short supply. The Tsilhqot'in National Government continues to provide support despite challenges posed by road closures."
Between 250 and 300 people stayed behind to fight the fires, said Chief Joe Alphonse, Chief of Tl'etinqox and Chair of the Tsilhqot'in National Government, in a statement. They were armed with heavy equipment and the determination to save the 120 homes in the community.
"Tl'etinqox experienced evacuations twice before, and leaving the community caused even more stress and grief," Alphonse said in a statement. "The Tsilhqot'in Nation is in a state of emergency–but we won't leave without a fight. These fires are big and unpredictable. Our able-bodied volunteers have stayed and are dedicated to saving our communities. Our brave men and women are doing a great job."
Most of the homes on the Ashcroft Indian Reserve west of Kamloops, British Columbia, had burned to the ground, reported the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN). By last Sunday evening July 6, more than more than 7,000 people had been ordered to evacuate, APTN reported, given the more than 220 fires scorching more than 56,000 acres.
Read More
While B.C. Forests Minister John Rustad called the decision to stay and fight "troubling," according to the Vancouver Sun, indigenous leaders voiced their approbation.
"The Union of BC Indian Chiefs totally supports the informed decisions of indigenous leadership and community members to stand and to fight to protect their communities," stated Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, UBCIC President, in a statement. "If and when houses and band infrastructure are lost to these fires, it will take years to rebuild and we fear in many instances the homes and infrastructure may never be built. It is early on but already it is abundantly clear there is an urgent need to do an in-depth review of the disturbing gaps in communications, support, capacity and equipment with respect to Indigenous communities, BC's Emergency Program Act and Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada."
First Nations are also calling for the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline to be shut down both out of fear that it "poses a serious safety hazard" and because "the unprecedented increase in fires is evidence of global warming created, in part, by Alberta tar sands oil transported by Kinder Morgan," said the Secwepemec (Shuswap) Nation, a group of 17 Native bands in south-central British Columbia, in a statement.
Help has been pledged, from the grassroots to the federal level.
The residents of Fort MacMurray, devastated by wildfires around this time last year, have sent trailer loads of supplies to the region, reported CTV News.
"We want to be able to help as much as we can," said Fort McMurray resident Stephanie Klaamas, who had helped organize a load of supplies, to CTV News. "And being through it, we know exactly what's needed."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, speaking from Rhode Island, announced the creation of a new ad hoc Cabinet committee that would "coordinate federal efforts to help the many communities affected by the wildfires raging through British Columbia," according to a statement from his office.
"Our thoughts are with all British Columbians dealing with the devastating impacts of these wildfires," Trudeau said in the statement. "Our new Cabinet committee will work hard to address both the immediate and long-term needs of all the families, communities and businesses affected. I would like to thank the first responders, members of the Canadian Armed Forces, and all those working around the clock to help those affected by the wildfires."


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Prof. Haruna Wakili: The Passing of a Great Scholar-Administrator, By Samaila Suleiman
POLITICS DIGEST – "Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you" ― Shannon Alder
I am writing this tribute with painful tears of sorrow over the unimaginable loss of my dependable teacher, mentor, colleague, father, benefactor, friend and supporter, Prof Haruna Wakili. Until his body was interred on 21 June 2020, I was still hopeful that he would somehow miraculously resurface. He fought one the bravest cancer battles I've seen. Until his demise he was the Deputy Vice Chancellor (administration) at Bayero University, Kano. Apart from his public reputation as an honest man with peerless integrity, he lived an illustrious life of commitment to scholarship and public service. A brilliant and forward-looking historian, Prof Wakili was a gentleman extraordinaire and epitome of scholar-administrator tradition. He was a good listener who spared time for relatives, friends, colleagues and students. A perfectionist to the core, Prof Haruna Wakili was the very essence of empathy, kindness, honesty, courage, self-discipline, meritocracy and philanthropy.
He impacted many lives across different walks of life. From family members, colleagues, friends, students and the general public, everyone has a story to tell of how he transformed their lives for the better. The outpouring of incredible tributes and encomiums on Prof Wakili is a testimony to how well he lived his life. In a moving tribute, Dr Nuruddeen Muhammad , former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, describes his last encounter with Prof Wakili as the most impactful as it relates to his journey towards self-growth and discovery. His colleague, and former Vice Chancellor, Kogi State University, Professor Mohammed Sanni Abdulkadir, described him as a renowned scholar and administrator.
I first met Prof Wakili in 2003 when I took his Comparative Historical Methodology class, which he jointly taught with Professor A.G. Saeed. I was immediately struck by his intellectual posture and penchant for multidisciplinary history. He did not only make the class intellectually vibrant through his engaging tutorial sessions, but also exposed us to the comparative advantages of history within social science and humanities disciplines, which significantly boosted our morale and self-confidence in a climate of utter public disdain for the pursuit of history as a career. Students were challenged and encouraged to think beyond the traditional boundaries of History and to incorporate the methods and theories from other disciplines. That was the origin of my passion for critical and theoretical history!
Our second, perhaps most decisive, initial encounter was at a departmental postgraduate seminar. I had just joined the History Department as a Graduate Assistant and was grappling with my Masters proposal on the Intellectual biography of late Yusufu Bala Usman. As a proponent of multidisciplinary historiography Prof Wakili was quick to recognize the intellectual merit of my attempt to study historiography from biographical perspective. He offered constructive critique and comments on the proposal, which reassured me that I was venturing into a promising area of historical studies. Henceforth, my relationship with him blossomed into a strong mutual academic admiration.
One outstanding quality of Prof Wakili was his capacity to straddle scholarship and administration without compromising standard. As Director of the Aminu Kano Center for Democratic Research and Training, Mambayya House, he nurtured a viable institutional culture in line with the philosophy of his predecessor, Professor Attahiru Jega. Under Prof Wakili's leadership, Mambayya House transmogrified into a pivotal intellectual rendezvous for public discourses, seminars, conferences, workshops and policy dialogues on critical national issues, bringing together the town and the gown in very profound and productive ways.
My first involvement in Mambayya House was at the instance of Prof Wakili who invited me, alongside Malam Ismail Bala and Dr Haliru Sirajo, to serve as research assistants in a high profile research project on the biography of Late Babba Dan Agundi. The other members of the team were all senior professors. Highly impressed by our performance during the fieldwork he commissioned us each to draft chapters irrespective of our ranks as junior colleagues. Prof Wakili was that meritocratic! After the completion of the Dan'Agundi project he continued to involve me in research projects and major committees of the Center.
Following his successful tenure as Director of Mambayya House in 2011, Prof Wakili was made the Head of History Department, BUK where he brought his extraordinary administrative and scholarly acumen to bear, transforming the Department within the span of six months before his Excellency Sule Lamido, former Governor of Jigawa State, appointed him as Commissioner of Education, Science and Technology. One of the legacies of his brief tenure as HOD was inspiring the younger colleagues to enroll for PhD program, preferably overseas. His logic is that this was necessary to expand and deepen the intellectual tradition of the Department through collaboration with and exposure to different academic cultures across the world. He went out of his way to initiate contacts with his colleagues overseas. Thus, after successfully defending my Masters thesis, he immediately introduced me to his good friends Steven Pierce and Steve Howard of the University of Manchester and Ohio University respectively. Although the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures accepted me with partial funding I could not make it to Manchester because the tuition fee was exorbitant. However, my prospective supervisor, Steven Pierce, read and improved my doctoral proposal. Professor Wakili did his best to assist me secure local funding to go to Manchester. I eventually got admitted to the University of Cape Town (UCT) with generous funding support from the Social Science Research Council in New York. As if his interventions and efforts were not adequate, Prof Wakili went out his way to offer me a generous financial support throughout my doctoral years in Cape Town.
As Commissioner for Education, Science & Technology in Jigawa state he was a strong pillar of Sule Lamido's Jigawa renewal agenda. He accomplished a lot during his tenure, thus blurring the imaginary gulf between academia, public administration and politics. He was among the most-performing members of the cabinet, described by Sule Lamido as "a true symbol of loyalty, hard work, and commitment". It was during his term as commissioner that the idea of Jigawa State University (now Sule Lamido University) was conceived and successfully executed. Prof Wakili was quite instrumental to the establishment of the famous Jigawa State Academy for the Gifted in Bamaina. Other accomplishments of Prof Wakili include the conversion of the College of Agriculture Hadejia to a state polytechnic. The College of Islamic and Legal Studies Ringim was also converted to College of Education and Legal Studies, and the college received full accreditation from the National Commission for Colleges of Education to start NCE and diploma programs for law students. Under Prof Wakili, there was unprecedented massive recruitment of teachers and renovation of schools in Jigawa state. He was also a passionate advocate of girl child education, believing that no nation would develop without educating its female population.
Following his successful tenure as Commissioner in 2015 he resumed his professorial position in the History Department, BUK, which coincided with my return from doctoral studies in Cape Town. We were assigned to jointly teach Comparative Historical Methodology and the experience of collaborative teaching with him was quite instructive in terms of mentorship. I am especially indebted to him for most of my latest books on historical methodology. Between 2015 and 2020 my relationship with him blossomed into an intimate personal and family friendship.
In 2016, he reluctantly accepted another appointment to serve as Director Mambayya House. The management of Bayero University was convinced that another term of his stewardship would make remarkable difference and take the Center to greater heights in view of his stupendous record of performance. As Director of the Center he demonstrated another administrative and intellectual perspicacity. His accomplishments are too numerous to mention here but I will only highlight a few of them. One of the illustrious projects he coordinated at Mambayya was a US Embassy sponsored project on the "Role of Religious Leaders in Combating Corruption in Nigeria". The project was completed successfully and the Center declared the balance of three million naira from the grant. This unusual gesture of transparency and accountability attracted accolades and commendation for Mambayya House from Washington. Base on its record of integrity and productivity the Center was approached by MacArthur Foundation to apply for a one million dollar grant to work on a project on anti-corruption through Inter-Faith platforms in Nigeria. The project has been very successful under his coordination. Prof Wakili has bequeathed a legacy of transparency, teamwork, and hard work and to the Center that will last for a long time.
In 2018 he was unanimously appointed as Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), Bayero University. Similarly, he brought with him a package of cutting-edge initiatives and ideas on university management and administration. In his wisdom and foresight he conceived a brilliant initiative for the establishment of an ultramodern Institute for Historical Studies at Bayero University, Kano to grapple with the challenges of historical studies and the preservation of primary sources of history. Professor Dalha Waziri, current HOD History, once marveled at Prof Wakili's rare administrative wisdom and capacity for original thinking.
Prof Wakili was not only an excellent scholar. He combined scholarship with administration in the most productive manner possible. Despite the enormity of office work as DVC he insisted that he should be assigned courses to teach and students to supervise. He remained very active at Departmental seminars, offering constructive comments on students' projects. He spared adequate time to read students' dissertations and made extensive comments and corrections. We jointly taught "History of Political Ideas" for which he developed a comprehensive course outline, lectures notes and gave me the latest books on the subject. He edited a book the social and political thoughts of Malam Aminu Kano, which was published last year, and was truly looking forward to completing his second book on Hadejia titled "Hadejia: A Century of History".
The autobiography of Sule Lamido is another important project, which was quite close to his heart. As principal coordinator of the project, which includes Dr Nu'uman Habib, Mustafa Chinade and myself, he steered the team with great scholarly sagacity and leadership. In fact, we had already held several marathon meetings and engaging discussions with our principal, Sule Lamido, and the project had reached an advanced stage before the beginning of Prof Wakili's health travails and eventual referral to India for further medical care.
In Abuja from where he departed to India for medication, we had the most emotional tête-à-tête about life challenges. As if he had premonition of his impending journey to the great beyond, he counseled me on critical life decisions and choices in his typical candor and fatherly love. His condition was fast deteriorating and I was so despondent that I broke down in tears at the airport. As they boarded their flight to India he sent me a touching message that still resonates with in powerful ways.
Prof Wakili was one of the strongest men I have known in my life. Even on his sickbed in India he was constantly checking to ask and push for the progress of ongoing projects. He would send lengthy emails stipulating implementation roadmaps believing that his absence should not affect the progress of any project. In one of our latest communications while he was in India he wrote:
"Dear Dr. Samaila, How are you feeling now? I hope you are ok. As for me I am getting much better. I am writing to bother you again. First, I would like you and Dr Shehu to resume work on my edited book on Hadejia. My plan is that when I return we take a week to review and finish it. I know you have a lot on your table but it's doable and I know you have the capacity to make it happen. Again, where are we on Isa Alkali's Abba Institute of Historical Studies? Remind the HOD"
That was Prof Wakili even in his most distressful and unproductive moment– hardworking and committed to service. His unwavering belief in my capacity has been most inspiring and encouraging throughout my career. He returned from India in a critical medical state and was further hospitalized at the Executive Wing of the National Hospital Abuja. Despite his condition, he did not relent in his usual altruistic responsibilities and support to relatives and friends. He remained exceedingly kind and committed to the wellbeing of others.
When I visited him on Friday 20th June 2020 at the National Hospital he could barely talk or move, but he stared at me with eyes full of empathy. He muttered to his son, Ahmad Wakili to tell me that he was getting better, but I knew he was just trying to assuage my fears, knowing how emotional I could be after he saw me broke down at the airport. I immediately left the room in tears unknown to me that Prof Wakili had less than 24 hours left to live. It was the last time I saw him alive. I left the hospital traumatized but still optimistic that he would win the battle and bounce back to life. But as Almighty Allah destined it, I received the heart-shattering news of his demise in the early hours of Saturday morning, 21 June, while I was getting ready to go the hospital. Prof Haruna Wakili, the man who had greatly inspired and tutored me to become a better person is no more! I left my hotel immediately and headed to the hospital. The eleven-hour journey from Abuja to Hadejia, driving behind the ambulance conveying his body, was one of the most horrible and sad moments of my life. We arrived in Hadeija, his hometown at midnight in the presence of hundreds of mourners waiting to receive the body of the deceased. His funeral is adjudged to be one of the largest in the history of Hadejia. It was a life well spent and so impactful!
May Allah (SWA) comfort his family and of all of us who are deeply bereaved and saddened by the demise of this great scholar-administrator. He is survived by his two wives and ten children. He will be sorely missed and remembered for his fearlessness, honesty, dedication to duty and courage not only at BUK but the Nigerian intellectual community as a whole. Allah ya gafarta ma, Sir!


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Valhalla, N.Y. — Hoping to get a jump on the CES deluge, Fujifilm announced several new digital cameras today, including a lower-cost version of its infrared camera and models that can accept both SD and xD-Picture Card flash memory cards.
The 8-megapixel FinePix F40fd will be the company's first model to offer support for two memory cards – SD and xD – in a single slot. It features the company's face detection technology, which can be used before an image is captured to ensure proper focus and in review mode to zoom in on specific faces to see if their eyes are open.
Using the company's Real Photo processor, the F40fd can achieve ISO sensitivities to 2000 and offers a dual-shot mode for taking two photos in succession – one with the flash turned on, the other with the flash off.
The camera features a 3x optical zoom, a 2.5-inch LCD display with a new wide view filter, a picture stabilization mode, Fujifilm's i-Flash system, an updated graphical user interface (GUI), 14 scene modes, and a 300 shot battery life.
The FinePix F40fd ships in March for a suggested retail price of $299.
The company will also make two introductions in its entry-level A-series in March with the 6-megapixel FinePix A610 and the 8-megapixel A800. Both models incorporate dual memory card support, 3x optical zoom lenses, 2.5-inch LCD screens, and Fujifilm's new GUI.
The FinePix A800, for a suggested $179, is the first A-series model to use Fujifilm's 8-megapixel Super CCD sensor. It is also the first entry model to sport a mode dial. It can achieve light sensitivities to ISO 800 at full resolution and offers 17 scene modes.
The A610 features 14 scene modes and will retail for a suggested $129.
Finally, Fujifilm will follow-up its first infrared camera (the S3 Pro UVIR) with the lower-cost IS-1.
The 9-megapixel model, geared toward forensics and medical users, can capture images in both the visible and infrared light spectrums.
The model offers a live preview mode, articulating LCD, 10.7x optical zoom lens (28-300mm, 35mm equiv.), picture stabilization mode, and ISO sensitivities to 1600 when shooting visible light images.
The IS-1 ships to select dealers in February for a suggested $899.
- Pocket Camcorders Get Feature Rich - January 24, 2011
- Camcorders Hop On The 3D Bandwagon - January 6, 2011
- Camcorders Focus On Flash At International CES - January 7, 2010


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Coro parure set, adjustable gold plated link choker, bracelet and earrings, textured light gold set, 1950s early 60s, rare! A looked high and low and cannot find another example of any pieces in this set, rare for Coro.
A lovely bridal or formal set, the bracelet looks like hearts!
The largest manufacturer of it's time, the Coro company closed its doors in 1979, making the pieces highly collectible.
Necklace measures 13" (33 cm) without the clasp with a 3" (7.6 cm) extender, bracelet measures 7" (17.8 cm) without the clasp and the earrings are 1 1/8" (2.8 cm) X 3/4" (1.9 cm) and all are in very good vintage condition with minimal wear to metals.
Not what you were looking for? You can see more bracelets here: http://etsy.me/H1UCE2
Please take a look at my other necklaces: http://etsy.me/IAlokT
To see more Coro go to: http://etsy.me/P9bIGi
To see more designer jewelry go to http://etsy.me/1dOqTwJ
1. All jewelry items come in an organza or velvet bag and, when able, a gift box.
2. Like my Facebook page to get a 15% off coupon in the about section: http://on.fb.me/16M4TA5
3. Now with free shipping in the United States. If you are out of the country and your package is small enough to lower shipping, I will refund any difference over $1.00, after insurance.
4. All measurements are approximate.
5. If you want to save this item for later or make a 'wish' list to share with others, click on the 'favorites' link next to the 'add to cart' link.
6. For questions click on the contact link under shop owner info on the right.
7. To visit my shop click here http://www.etsy.com/shop/maggiescornerstore
8. Gift-wrapping and drop shipping available. Contact owner.
9. For information about our policies go to http://etsy.me/112id32
mom, mother, dad, father, present, gift, vintage jewelry, birthday
Please follow me for the latest news from my shop:
Payment is expected at time of purchase. We accept Paypal and Etsy direct payment.
If you are out of country and your package is small enough to lower shipping, I will refund any difference over $1.00, after insurance. I generally ship USPS first class unless there is a request for different. I am willing to work with the customer. Insurance in the states is available for an extra charge. I ship within 1 to 2 business days. International buyers are responsible for any Custom fees.
Just contact me within: 14 days of delivery
Ship items back to me within: 30 days of delivery
All refunds of items not as advertised (not sterling silver etc) are guaranteed within 14 days of purchase. The shop must be contacted about the return.
These are vintage items and as such should not be expected to be in brand new condition. Any refunds other than not as advertised, within 14 days, will be subject to a 25% restocking fee and return shipping will be the buyer's responsibility. Returned items must not have been worn, worked on or altered.
Contact 412-601-0291 with questions


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Creative ArtsCorporate GiftsEvent Planning & ServicesWoman Owned
Driving Directions:
Pottery with a Purpose is a woman-owned business promoting individual + community well-being through a thoughtfully curated line of eco-conscious, DIY pottery sculpting kits + team pottery workshops that invite you to unplug, unwind + unleash creativity - all while donating 5% of profits to mental health initiatives every day of the year.
We curate + deliver the equivalent of a hands-on, tech-free "pause" button straight to your doorstep or office - a unique corporate wellness activity that sparks creativity + relives stress.
The kits + workshops include everything needed to hand build a footed pot, hanging planter or personalized mug — or whatever you can dream up. Custom branded kits for special occasions available.
•In-person workshop at your office led by founder + lifelong Needhamite, Samantha (Sam) Hoff
•Virtual workshop led by Sam to accommodate remote/dispersed team
•Lead your own event using the beginner-friendly instructions included in each kit
•Gift for employees or clients (for holiday, to support mental health/corporate wellness, intern thank you)


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More on the "Pay Czar" and Compensation Issues
I mentioned briefly in my most recent blog entry the Obama Administration's recent appointment of a "pay czar" to regulate executive compensation in companies that receive federal bailout money. I expand on my discussion here.
There are two distinct compensation issues arising from the current economic crisis. One involves the compensation of executives of firms that are owned or controlled by the federal government, such as General Motors, American International Group, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, as a result of federal bailouts in the form of equity investments rather than loans. The other issue involves recipients of federal bailout money that nevertheless remain under private ownership and control.
The former group--firms actually owned or controlled by the government--are (or were, when the government took them over) deeply troubled firms, and there was, and perhaps still is, a danger that management might try to siphon bailout money into dividends and bonuses so that shareholders and executives would be "bailed out" should the company fail completely. If management yields to this temptation, the company's creditors are hurt and the company is weakened.
The right time to deal with this problem, however, is when the bailout is made. Suitable conditions can be attached to the bailout. For example, a maximum percentage of the company's cash flow could be specified that could be used for compensation of top management, and the board of directors left free to decide how to allocate that money among the top executives. Cash dividends could be limited or banned altogether. But to instead appoint a "pay czar" to regulate executive salaries of bailout recipients on an ongoing, ad hoc basis (and with dividends left unregulated) is bound to create confusion and uncertainty and may cause a flight of able executives from the firms and difficulty in hiring good replacements.
These problems are especially grave with regard to General Motors and Chrysler, as these are fast-failing firms that need to be able to offer high salaries to retain and attract able executives. Between efforts by the "pay czar" to limit these companies' flexibility in compensation, and the efforts by Congress to limit the companies' ability to import vehicles and close plants and dealerships, the government is doing to best to minimize its chances of ever recovering its $60 billion investment in the two firms.


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Different Spanish-speaking Markets
All Varieties AvailableCALL US ON 080-3753-1249, 081-1445-6164, ! Target Spain, Latin America, or even a single country such as Chile or Argentina!
Spain Iberic Spanish for Spain. Translation based on the standards from the Real Academia Española
United States Neutral Spanish for United States. Translation based on the standards of the Academia Estadounidense de la Lengua Española
Mexico Mexican Spanish for Mexico. Translation based on the standards of the Academia Mexicana de la Lengua
Venezuela Venezuelan Spanish for Venezuela. Translation based on the standards of the Academia Venezolana de la Lengua
Puerto Rico Puerto Rican Spanish for Puerto Rico. Translation based on the standards of the Academia Puertorriqueña de la Lengua Española
Seeing all the business opportunities that are in Spanish-speaking markets, many businesses have either set up business operations in the locations of the Spanish regions or started taking the Spanish-speaking market seriously. The source for competition in Spanish-speaking markets is due to the post-globalization of businesses after agreements with the World Trade Organization.
These new trends in business have also created tremendous opportunities for the Spanish translation industry in various fields like legal translation, marketing translation, business translation, advertising translation and many other fields of translation. In some areas, certified Spanish translation is demanded.
Since we focus on our human resources in a single idiom, the Hispanic Spanish, we are able to handle several market segments.
Spanish to English Translation / English to Spanish Translation
Legal Texts and Contracts
Technical & Engineering
Medical Records
Website Translation
Marketing Material
Software Localization
Understanding the technical differences between Spanish to English Translation and English to Spanish Translation:
A Spanish to English translation enables you to decode business originally created in the Spanish language. A professionally produced Spanish English translation will give you access to sources in the Hispanic and Latino markets… While an English to Spanish Translation is used by Companies converting their current products and services to Hispanic / Spanish-speaking markets..


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Blockchain and cryptocurrency will begin to become standard issue in P2P marketplaces of all kinds for their ability to build trustless reputations and transfer asset ownership.
According to a recent article in Venturebeat , cryptocurrency in general is finally "accomplishing Paypal's original mission."
And while people are not rushing out to spend their bitcoins, many existing online marketplaces are adapting to the times and creating their own cryptocurrencies for several reasons – including payment and to build a third-party verified "authority". Because many of these new currencies are also based on and can be easily converted back to ETH, this means that the cryptocurrency craze this year, no matter what will boost not only the overall worth of these tokens but also increase the liquidity of the marketplaces they aim to enable.
For all the fancy goods and services on the cryptocurrency, smart contract, and token table right now, the reality is that there are still large P2P, online-enabled marketplaces where cryptocurrency has not yet penetrated.
Look for that to change, and dramatically this year.
Ink Protocol is an idea that is easy to understand. The goal is to enable decentralized reputation and payment management across a broad spectrum of P2P marketplaces using an ETH-based utility token.
Think of it, on one level, as a Paypal at the time eBay launched. Except, in this case, the cryptocurrency has been developed by Listia , an existing online freebie barter exchange. Or as the company called itself at launch a "Marketplace for Free Stuff." The company's initial vision was to help people get rid of unused items around the house and also be able to exchange these items for things they needed.
One of the major attractions of the Ink token (XNK), in fact, is that it will be introduced automatically to the existing Listia P2P marketplace. Launched in 2009, the marketplace now has over 10 million registered users who have exchanged over 100 million items. The company itself is also no stranger to raising capital the "more traditional way." In fact, it has so far raised over USD$11 million from prominent investors like Y Combinator, General Catalyst, and SV Angel.
Ink can also be integrated into other P2P exchanges (either new or existing) like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace that do not directly process payments. The benefits include:
Faster market access for sellers – Creating a public reputation across platforms quickly is one advantage of using this cryptocurrency.
Smart contract and cryptocurrency management of payment – Both sellers and buyers can access and use both Ink's cryptocurrency and smart contracts to facilitate the exchanges of goods, services, and capital easily and securely.
Ethereum based – XNK is based on an ETH-20 utility token and can be easily exchanged back into ETH.
A valuation system for even illiquid and hard to value items – Listia was created to help people swap assets that are hard to quantify value for. Second-hand items do not automatically have an aftermarket or "blue book" price. Sellers and buyers need to understand other attributes and price those into the terms of sale. In such cases, third party "authority" is even more important.
No or low transaction fee environment – Most P2P marketplaces for new or accurately priced goods charge a sales commission that usually ranges between 10-20% of the transaction. Plus credit card charges of course. This system creates a fee-free environment for P2P transactions while building online reputation and trust.
Unlike many new cryptocurrency marketplaces, XNK is actually being swapped out for an existing credit system developed by Listia over the last 8 years. This means that the founders have not only a wealth of experience but information on how to translate existing credibility and process into cryptocurrency and smart-contract enabled processes while introducing it to millions of existing users.
There are few better ways to build "quick" cryptocurrency cred.
The ETH-based XNK token, in fact, only strengthens Listia's existing "Credit" system by creating:
Decentralized Reputation: This is information that comes from the aggregate of all of a seller's feedback and transaction history. Such information can be read via the Ink system via a smart contract. Buyers will be able to leave permanent comments readable via the Ethereum blockchain. However because not all information should be treated equally, the system can help filter out which information should be public and which should not.
Decentralized Escrow and Third Party Dispute Resolution – The Ink platform supports a decentralized escrow account. When a buyer pays, XNK tokens are held by the contract until the buyer indicates that they have received the item (or service). Sellers must stake their reputation against tokens until the buyer receives the item.
Low Transaction Costs – Transaction and mediation fees can all be established via the use of system smart contracts and tokens.
Ink turns P2P marketplace transactions into a series of "states." This flow has been based on the Listia Team's experience in running their service, including multiple outcomes and edge cases.
Initiating a Transaction: Transactions are created by the buyer. The buyer specifies who the seller is (identified with an Ethereum address), the price of the item in XNK tokens, the mediator and the metadata of the transaction represented as a hash.
Accepting a Transaction: The seller specified by the buyer can decide to accept the transaction (or not). By accepting the transaction, the seller can begin to process and ship the item. The payment is secured in escrow.
Transaction in Progress: Once the seller accepts the buyer's offer, the transaction is now in progress. Fulfilment time is set by the parties and the seller must fulfill within this time for the transaction to be successful.
Disputed, Mediated Transactions: If transactions are not successful due to a fault, buyers and sellers can mediate transactions – either to success or to failure. In each use case, the escrow account preserves the status of the trade until there is a final resolution.
Here are the details of the upcoming Ink token sale:
Token name: XNK
Token base: Ethereum (ERC-20 compliant)
Token supply: 500 million
Token sale duration: Presale begins on January 22, 2018
Token sale target: $15 million (hard cap)
Token exchange rate: USD$.10


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Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi on Thursday ordered that the necessary measures be taken to keep the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt open throughout the holy month of Ramadan, Egypt Today reported.
"I issued directives to take the necessary measures to keep the Rafah border crossing open throughout the holy month of Ramadan in a bid to relieve some of the burdens suffered by our brothers in the Gaza strip," Sisi tweeted.
Egyptian authorities have kept the Rafah crossing virtually sealed since a terrorist attack in the Sinai Peninsula in October 2014, though they have temporarily reopened the crossing several times since that attack, mostly for the passage of humanitarian cases.
Egypt blames Hamas terrorists for providing the weapons for the lethal 2014 attack, which killed 30 soldiers, through one of its smuggling tunnels under the border to Sinai. Hamas denies the allegations.
The crossing was supposed to reopen for three days soon after a Fatah-Hamas reconciliation deal was reached in October, but Egypt cancelled the opening following an Islamic State (ISIS) attack in northern Sinai which claimed the lives of six Egyptian soldiers.
Earlier this week, reported Egypt Today, the country dispatched humanitarian aid, food, relief and medical supplies to Gaza while keeping the Rafah crossing open for individuals and those injured in the violent riots along the Gaza-Israel border.
Despite the fact that the violent riots have been openly encouraged by Hamas, the IDF offered humanitarian aid to Gaza this week. Hamas, however, rejected the assistance and returned two trucks carrying medical supplies to the Kerem Shalom crossing.


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The final Cross country of the season was the South East Schools year r7&8 xc held at Reigate Park on 25th March. Running for Sussex were yr 8 girls Amber Blake 20th (3rd Sussex) and Hannah Miller 25th (6th Sussex) Daisy Burton Year 7 girls 27th (2nd Sussex) and Ben Beckley Yr 8 boys 77th. Congratulations to all.
Hannah Daisy and Amber


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Formal versus informal: Efficiency, inclusiveness and financing of dairy value chains in Indian Punjab
This paper highlights that 1) Both formal and informal value chains coexist in the dairy sector of Indian Punjab, but formal value chains are prominent, 2) Resource-rich farmers partner with formal value chains; and smallholders are more dependent on informal chains, 3) Farmers in the cooperative value chains earn more profit per unit of output, and 4) Chain-based financing is limited to informal value chains., and the external financing by commercial banks or other such institutions is limited and biased towards resource-rich farmers.
Here is an abstract of the paper:
Using a unique set of household-level data from the Indian state of Punjab, this paper assesses the performance and financing of dairy value chains at their upstream. We find co-existence of formal value chains driven by dairy cooperatives and private processors including multinationals and informal value chains driven by vendors or local traders and consumer-households. The resource-rich dairy farmers prefer partnerships with private dairy processors or vice versa. The small dairy farmers are more dependent on informal channels for the sale of their produce. Although, there is no significant difference in milk yield across herd sizes and value chains, the farmers associated with cooperative value chain earn more profit. The findings also indicate the practice of scale-based price discrimination in the formal segment, especially by the multinationals. Further, more than half of the dairy farmers finance their dairying activities borrowing from the formal as well as informal sources. The chain-based financing is restricted to the value chains driven by the local traders and private domestic processors. The financing by commercial banks is limited and is biased in favour of resource-rich dairy farmers.
-photo credit:http://www.thedialogue.co/evolution-dairy-farming-india/


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The growth of mobile traffic is one of the most important trends. A number of mobile users grows exponentially, and in some countries it has already overcame an amount of desktop traffic. Here is the official data from researches:
As you can see, mobile traffic grows, and search engines can't ignore this trend. Starting from 21 April 2015, Google officially increases the importance of such ranking factor as mobile-friendliness for mobile users in all languages. That's what they say in their official Mobile Friendly Guide:
There are four ways to optimize your website for mobile traffic:
Google prefers responsive web design over separate mobile versions and DHTML (and forget about 'rubber'). First of all, it guarantees that users get the same content regardless of their device. Secondly, mobile versions and DHTML often become a reason for users landing on an irrelevant page. Finally, smartphone users can even be left without access at all, if there is no corresponding mobile content on a website or a page's mobile version.
In most cases, responsive web design is the best way to optimize a website for mobile traffic. The only exception is when a website owner wants to display different content for desktop and mobile users for some reason.
We know that mobile optimization helps improve user and usage data and drive mobile traffic. After launching a responsive design on our website, we got the following results:
In just one month an average bounce rate on our website decreased by almost 4 times (70,8% before, 18,1% after). Average session duration increased by 2 times (01:58 before, 03:59 after). Organic traffic increased by 27,5%.
If you want to optimize your website for mobile users, but you don't know which way to choose, fill and submit the form below, and we'll give you a free consultation.
Request a call back
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Ask us a question
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We will notify our editors about a misspelling.


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Family Reaches Out to the Stars with $10,000 for Charity
Oct 25, 2016, 08:00 ET
OTTAWA, Oct. 25, 2016 /CNW/ - Dine with a Star, based in Ottawa Ontario, is connecting fans with stars, all in support of good causes. The organization has just launched its #FirstStar campaign initiative, whereby it hopes to get a #FirstStar onboard. Dine with a Star will donate $10,000 to the winning star's favourite charity and one lucky fan gets an all-expenses paid trip to meet the star for dinner!
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161024/432122)
"It's really about helping people," says Dine with a Star co-founder, 21, Kayla Howard. "I want to provide the opportunity for deserving fans to meet their role models, all while being able to help out local and national charities."
Fans can enter the contest online by submitting their YouTube video through the Dine with a Star's website here: https://info-dinewithastar-com.wishpond.com/firststarvideocontest/. Fans are encouraged to share their videos on social media and encourage others to vote for the video they think should win.
Voting will run until December 2, 2016, at 12pm EST. The top ten videos with the most votes will be considered finalists. Finalists will have targeted ads, including letters and emails, sent to the star of their choice, encouraging them to participate in the program. The first star to sign up will be given the $10,000 to go to the charity of their choice. The fan whose video has the most votes and is connected to the first star to sign up wins!
"We are simply trying to raise money for great causes all over North America, while at the same time making fans wishes come true," says Dine with a Star co-founder David Howard. "I really do hope this message will spread amongst stars and they will encourage each other to donate their time, in exchange for a charitable contribution. Just think of the impact this can have for charities everywhere."
For more details on the program visit: www.dinewithastar.com. To submit your entry, please visit https://info-dinewithastar-com.wishpond.com/firststarvideocontest/.
SOURCE Dine with a Star
Image with caption: "Who will be the #FirstStar? (CNW Group/Dine with a Star)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20161025_C4703_PHOTO_EN_802557.jpg
For further information: Chris Howard, Dine With A Star, [email protected], Phone # 613 720 7629


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Fenland's Poet Laureate Inspires Students
Fenland's own Poet Laureate came into school this term to lead a poetry workshop.
Fenland's own Poet Laureate came into school this term to lead a poetry workshop.
Three students, who are budding poets themselves, invited Leanne Moden into school and were delighted when she arrived on December 3rd and gave a poetry workshop during period 4.
Year 10 students Molly-Mae Taylor, Bethany Ellerby and Daniel Putterill were also thrilled to have a chat with the award winning poet after the visit.
Afterwards Molly-Mae (Year 10) said: " The workshop was very interesting and fun. It's really beneficial for those students who wish to work in Poetry. We gained a lot from the workshop, and I hope we can do the same in the future."
The poet said she thoroughly enjoyed inspiring the students and is hoping to return in February to run a prose workshop
The Fenland Poet Laureate award is run by Arts Development in East Cambridgeshire and creative arts organisation Atelier East (working in partnership with Fen Speak and the Wisbech and Fenland Museum).
On winning the award Miss Moden said: "The award has opened so many doors for me, and allowed me to provide opportunities for many more Fenland Poets. It's been a fantastic experience!"
The search is now on for the next Fenland Poet Laureate and there is an opportunity for those aged 16 and under to receive a poetry commendation.
The judges are looking for poems that represent and relate to the theme 'Fenland'. The deadline for entries is January 31st and for more information and entry details visit here http://bit.ly/18uQCMf


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Hi All. Few weeks ago, I installed Windows 10 Technical Preview
Microsoft has released new Windows 10 Technical Preview version 10162 which you are able to download from Windows Insider Program here: Windows Insider Program
So, once you download new ISO image, lets upgrade already installed Windows 10 TP to the newest version.
Instead of turning the VM off and doing it from scratch, I'll just do an in-place upgrade which is much faster.
For this purposes, I have a VM on which I have installed WIndows 10 Technical Preview version 10130:
I have attached .ISO image to my VM, and it is showing in File Explorer (you have noticed it is not called Windows explorer anymore):
Run the setup to start the process. It will start loading the image:
After the image is loaded, a Windows Setup screen is shown:
As Microsoft suggests, download and install important updates before you start doing an in-place upgrade.
Next page is a License Term page. Click Accept:
It'll check for updates. It will show few messages, like 'Making sure everything is ready for update' and such. Just be patient.
And finally, we have got a message that everything is ready for the upgrade:
Now, you can keep it as it is, leaving to Microsoft to decide what to keep, or you can choose what to be kept during the upgrade.
If you want to change the options, click on "Change what to keep" link. You'll get something like this:
As you may see, nothing sensational was offered. I would go for the first option, to keep personal files, and some options which we set.
After you click next, unfortunately, you'll go thru one more 'Make sure that everything is ready and steady' cycle. Be patient 🙂
Install will finally start. You'll get something like this:
After few restarts, it will actually start upgrading:
When the upgrade is finished, you will see a welcome screen:
Just go thru the setup, and once it is done, you will be logged. Check the lower right corner, just above the clock, to verify that you indeed have build version 10162: