text:
Stop, Thief!
This story appears in the January 1998 issue of Business Start-Ups magazine. Subscribe »
At some point, you'll need to share your idea with others who can help you. This can be very frightening. Who can you trust? How do you find the right people to do business with? Let's be candid. You may be inexperienced in many areas of business, so you are a likely target to be taken advantage of. Well, here is some help.
First, let me say there are many respectable people with whom to do business. Many individuals will go to great lengths to be fair and honest. At some point, however, most of us will come in contact with less-than-scrupulous people. To protect yourself, you need to know the signs and what to look out for.
Blatant crooks who will steal your idea are not very common. More common are people who charge for useless and unnecessary services, give unusually high quotes for work, tie up your idea without doing anything with it, or analyze your intellectual property and develop a legal knockoff. These people are especially dangerous because the law won't necessarily protect you from them.
The possibility of someone stealing your idea is a very real concern, but probably not in the context you initially imagine. Instead, they will wait in the bushes and watch while you do all the work and spend money advertising and marketing your idea. The moment it becomes successful, they'll arrive on the scene to catch the wave of your success and sell your idea for less.
Tomima Edmark is the inventor of the TopsyTail and several other products and is author of The American Dream Fact Pack ($49.95), available by calling (800) 558-6779. Questions regarding inventions and patents may be sent to "Bright Ideas," Entrepreneur, 2392 Morse Ave., Irvine, CA 92614.
Know The Type
There are basically three types of companies to be wary of: invention development companies, knockoff companies and large corporations.
1. Invention development companies. If you've been looking through inventors' magazines, you've probably seen their ads. An invention development company or invention marketing company offers to help you make your idea a reality for a fee (usually upfront) and a percentage of the profits. These companies provide services such as a patent search, marketing reports, and development and distribution contacts, and their sales approach is usually high-pressure. They'll flatter you by telling you how great your idea is and play on your sense of guilt because you don't have what it takes to develop your idea. Steer clear of these kinds of companies.
2. Knockoff companies. You won't find these companies in the phone book under "Knockoff." They specialize in finding successful products in the marketplace, making another version of it and distributing it to retailers. They vary in sophistication from a one-person company with a P.O. box and a foreign connection to a manufacturer to multimillion-dollar companies that pay their attorneys to advise them on how to manufacture a product without violating your patent.
These companies fit a profile you should watch out for. Their product lines are generally less expensive versions of products made successful by other companies. The names of their products are very similar to the originals. Most of the time, their products are manufactured "off-shore," meaning in a country where labor is cheap, and they will more likely be privately owned, rather than publicly traded. They will not necessarily market the product under their company name but will private-label it for a store. They generally do not use registered or trademark symbols on their products.
You don't find these companies--they find you. They have representatives who attend trade shows. They monitor infomercials, home shopping channels and catalogs looking for the next product to knock off. Another sad reality is that many times retailers team up with them. The retailer gives them a product that is doing well, and the knock-off company makes it for them under the store's name.
3. Large corporations. The large corporation that markets a copy of your idea is a formidable adversary. It has strong brand names and established relationships with store buyers so they are able to distribute a product quickly and in larger quantities than you.
These companies have many advantages over you. In fact, many times these companies have been assigned or have purchased shelf space from retailers. You, on the other hand, are most likely a new vendor with the retailer. You'll have to negotiate to get your product in the store, which can take as long as a year.
The good news is big companies also have the Goliath syndrome: Everything they do is expensive and done on a large scale. Therefore, they aren't going to develop a new product unless they are sure it's going to sell in big numbers. The likelihood of your idea being copied by these companies in the beginning is very low. It's when your idea becomes a success that the big guys will want it.
Partnering Up
There is no guaranteed method for determining a potential business partner's legitimacy other than to do business with them. You can increase your chances of finding good people, however, if you take the proper precautions and consider the following tips:
1. Check references. Any legitimate person or company is more than happy to provide references--and more than one. If they are not, or have excuses why they can't, you should see this as a red flag.
2. Find other references. A company will give you its best references. It's also helpful to find others who have done business with the firm. In conversations, make note of people or firms the company mentions having done business with. Later, ask if you may call them. If there was a problem, the good business tells you up front and explains its side.
3. Get industry referrals. I have found that if you can hook up with one good person in the industry, he or she knows who the other good people are. For example, my injection molder, who is trustworthy, has referred me to several other companies, which have all been very reputable.
4. Don't pay in advance. If someone is going to represent you, he or she should work on a percentage basis with no upfront fees (with the exception of out-of-pocket expenses). If someone is going to make something or provide services, only a partial payment, if any, should be required upfront.
5. Don't immediately choose the "Big Name." Many people feel if they use the largest law firm, the biggest printer and the dominant supplier, they'll be safe. The truth is, you will be a very small account to them and possibly get lost in the shuffle. When starting out, I've found it's best to find a small but reputable company that is hungry for your business. If you are trying to find financing, however, it can be a plus to have a large or well-known business partner to add credibility.
6. Visit the company's location. You can learn a lot from just looking around. Is the company organized? Does the place look safe to work in? Do the employees appear happy? Is the environment friendly? Are they willing to take you on a tour?
7. Find a "player." A player is a person or company that has been in the business for a number of years. It is a pretty good bet that if they've been around for a while, they are legitimate. Players can also help you in ways you might not have considered. One player I used was very connected with city hall; through this person, I was introduced to people who have been very helpful to me.
8. Don't agree to long-term contracts. Personal managers and agents deserve some protection if they are going to invest in you and your idea; however, they should also be able to prove themselves within a year. A contract should have a reasonable escape clause should you not see results or feel uncomfortable working with them.
9. Create a relationship. On a first date with someone, you are friendly and on your best behavior. If you want your spouse to do something, you finesse him or her. These are the same skills you should use when you establish a business relationship. I have had several business partners jump through hoops for me to help me make a deadline. They didn't have to, but they did because I had a good relationship with them.
10. Don't work with friends or family. Time and time again, I have seen friendships and families fracture because they worked together. Think twice before doing this.
11. Don't allow yourself to be pressured. Some companies may offer to give you a discount if you agree to do business with them at the first meeting. Others might try to scare you by saying raw material prices are going up or they have an opening to do your work but need an answer right away. Any respectable business will agree to let you sleep on it before making a commitment.
12. Remember the old adage "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."
In developing your idea, you'll eventually need the assistance of others. Be careful and thoughtful when selecting business partners, but don't be afraid to risk. The American dream cannot be achieved without taking some chances.


text:
Skip to Main Content
Doing Business
Living Here
Experience Wickenburg
How Do I...
Social Services
Senior Center
Senior Center
The Wise Owl Senior Center is operated by the
Foundation for Senior Living
. Operations are supported in part by
Area Agency on Aging
and the Town of Wickenburg.
Lunch - M-F at 11:30 AM with $3.50 contribution requested
Deliver Hot Meals from Wittmann to Aguila five days a week to qualifying clients
Coffee and Pastries starting at 8:00 AM daily
Exercise Daily
Silver Sneakers on Wednesday and Thursday at 10:00 AM ($2.00 per day)
Licensed Bingo games on Monday morning and Thursday afternoon ($3.00 for ten games)
Dominoes- Mexican Train
Special Events Monthly
Contact Us
Wise Owl Senior Center
466 W. Wickenburg Way
Wickenburg, AZ 85390
(928) 684-7894
Dial-A-Ride Transportation
Low-Income Assistance
Senior Center
Arrow Left
Arrow Right
Slideshow Left Arrow
Slideshow Right Arrow

subset: commoncrawl


text:
CLINITEK® Microalbumin 2 Reagent Strips
In-office, clinic or hospital testing for early detection of kidney disease in patients with diabetes
CLINITEK® Microalbumin 2 Reagent Strips make it simple and easy to test patients with diabetes. Because testing for microalbuminuria can detect kidney disease in its early stages, physicians may begin intervention earlier than might otherwise have been possible. CLINITEK Microalbumin 2 Reagent Strips permit detection of elevated albumin sooner, more sensitively and more specifically than products designed for general protein testing.1
The American Diabetes Association has stated that "Annual testing for microalbuminuria will allow identification of patients with nephropathy at a point very early in its course."1
The CLINITEK Microalbumin 2 Reagent Strips provide semi-quantitative results with a hard-copy report on the CLINITEK Status® family of analyzers, making them ideal for point-of-care testing. Patient samples can be tested immediately during a physician, clinic or hospital visit, rather than sending them out and waiting for results. The strips are also convenient for testing random urine samples, eliminating the need to collect a timed sample.
The CLINITEK Microalbumin 2 Reagent Strips are CLIA-waived for use on the CLINITEK 50® and CLINITEK Status Family of Analyzers.
Related Products, Services & Resources
The products/features (mentioned herein) are not commercially available in all countries. Due to regulatory reasons their future availability cannot be guaranteed. Please contact your local Siemens organization for further details.


text:
Mar 6, 2015
Three Minute Weekend with TC Kirkham March 6
It's friday again, and time to check out all the new releases for
the weekend of March 6 2015!
Check out Three Minute Weekend every Friday, from Subject:CINEMA
and PNR Networks!
Wanna know what's coming to your local US theaters each week? Then spend a few minutes and find out with Subject:CINEMA's "Three Minute Weekend". Host TC Kirkham gives you the rundown on all the films hitting the US market each week - from blockbuster to indie darlings and everything in between - Check us out every Friday morning! Now also includes our new "Tuesday Digidex" show featuring the latest in DVD and streaming releases!
Having trouble logging in?


text:
Choose reusable! Join the mailing list and you'll get 20% off* your first order.
There are no items in your cart.
If you have an account with us, please log in to see items you previously added.
Continue in English
Continuer en français
Spill-proof, easy to clean and simple one-handed operation
View All
Simple one-handed operation and leak-proof lid
Keeps drinks piping hot and locks in temperatures for hours
There are no products matching the selection.


text:
'Amazing Race' recap: Rolling alpine cheeses
Welcome back, Amazing watchers! Six teams remain in the "Amazing Race" global sprint for a million buckaroos. The hockey bros, country singers, uber-annoying newlyweds, roller derby moms, You Tube hosts and Mr. & Mrs. Mullet (Chuck and Wynona) are bound for Switzerland and the small, snowy alpine town of Grindelwald.
The teams wait outside a church in the early morning light as a shepherd, bearing yellow clue envelopes, slides up via a really cool sled thing. They're instructed to take a train to the Kleine Scheidegg at the base of the Eiger and collect rescue dogs, St. Bernards with the classic little barrel attached to their collars.
Chuck and Wynona are already bickering over Chuck's motivational style and they haven't encountered any icy challenges yet. He thinks "egging her on" helps. She begs to differ: "You would think that after 24 years that isn't egging me on, it's pissing me off." They're both getting on our last nerve.
"Teams must now travel by train with their new BFFs to Europe's highest rail station, built 11,000 feet above sea level," Phil tells us, snuggling up with an adorable dog. The teams must deliver their rescue dogs at the top of the mountain. Wynona gripes that Chuck is treating the dog better than her. He retorts that the dog runs faster. Wow.
Now, from a tiny station perched precariously on the itty bitty tip of a crag, one member of each team must climb out an observation window on the north face of Eiger and inch across a sheer rock wall, thousands of feet in the air, and reach a gnome -- yes, a product placement gnome -- with the next clue written on his feet. Wynona, dizzy from the altitude, has only done three roadblocks, Chuck has done five, so she opts to do the task. This does not bode well.
Bates heads out on a two-by-four, harnessed to the Eiger face via ropes and carabiners. It looks pretty straightforward, other than the intensely vertical spectacle of certain death. "I never looked down the whole time," country singer Jen says as she completes the task in minutes. That seems like a vastly preferable strategy to Wynona's, which consists of a steady "I can't do it! I can't do it!" wail. The marital bickering resumes as soon as she returns to the safety of the observation deck.
Next up: 50-pound wheels of cheese! OMG, best challenge in Amazing Race history and they're not only doing it again, they've added sleds, snow and a hill so steep, there's a rope to haul oneself up. Newlywed Katie is at the front of the line, falling again and again and again. Just getting up the hill is proving a major problem, even before the fromage gets involved.
The hockey bros get up the hill first and they've figured out a great system: "Letting the cheese push us down the hill." Katie nearly gets buried by her cheese, but everyone manages pretty well and the first four teams complete the task fairly quickly. Chuck and Wynona and the YouTubers run into them as they approach the cheese arena.
Wynona struggles on the snowy hill, as Chuck grouses in his usual charmless style, telling his wife, "I can't do both these sleds and your ass." At the top of the hill he says, "Catch your breath and get some brains back. You sucked on this hill." They have managed to make the previously-loathsome newlyweds look like Mr. and Mrs. Congeniality.
Joey YouTube is emitting high-pitched shrieks as he slides down the hill, cheeses flying. Chuck is running the sleds UPSIDE DOWN. Wynona has begun tossing cheeses downhill.
The pit stop
At the pit stop, Bodmi Snowboard and Ski School, the hockey boys are team number one again -- winning a trip for two to Bora Bora. Roller derbies Mona and Beth are team two. The newlyweds are held up by a cow traffic jam, but they still arrive in third place and do a happy dance on the pit stop mat. Country singers Caroline and Jennifer are team four, and unless the YouTubers do something really dumb and get lost, they'll be in fifth place.
Oh no. Seriously?
Chuck and Wynona have somehow arrived first. The good news? They didn't transport the cheeses properly and have incurred a 30 minutes penalty. We are now shrieking at the TV as Megan and Joey straggle up slowwwwly -- whew, they come in fifth place and Chuck and Wynona are out at last.
Next time: Screaming descents down skyscraper exteriors and weird labyrinths. See you then!


text:
Natural Products for MedicineView this Special Issue
Research Article | Open Access
Hitomi Kurose, Masa-Aki Shibata, Munekazu Iinuma, Yoshinori Otsuki, "Alterations in Cell Cycle and Induction of Apoptotic Cell Death in Breast Cancer Cells Treated with α-Mangostin Extracted from Mangosteen Pericarp", BioMed Research International, vol. 2012, Article ID 672428, 9 pages, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/672428
Alterations in Cell Cycle and Induction of Apoptotic Cell Death in Breast Cancer Cells Treated with α-Mangostin Extracted from Mangosteen Pericarp
The development of molecularly targeted drugs has greatly advanced cancer therapy, despite these drugs being associated with some serious problems. Recently, increasing attention has been paid to the anticancer effects of natural products. α-Mangostin, a xanthone isolated from the pericarp of mangosteen fruit, has been shown to induce apoptosis in various cancer cell lines and to exhibit antitumor activity in a mouse mammary cancer model. In this study, we investigated the influence of α-mangostin on apoptosis and cell cycle in the human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB231 (carrying a p53 mutation, and HER2, ER, and PgR negative) in order to elucidate its anticancer mechanisms. In α-mangostin-treated cells, induction of mitochondria-mediated apoptosis was observed. On cell-cycle analysis, G1-phase arrest, increased expression and decreases in cyclins, cdc(s), CDKs and PCNA were observed. In conclusion, α-mangostin may be useful as a therapeutic agent for breast cancer carrying a p53 mutation and having HER2- and hormone receptor-negative subtypes.
1. Introduction
Various molecularly targeted drugs against a range of cancers, including breast cancer, have recently been developed. Trastuzumab is a monoclonal antibody against human epidermal growth factor (HER/ErbB) receptor 2 (HER2/ErbB2). Around 15–20% of patients with breast cancer have HER2-positive tumors, and overexpression of HER2 is observed in these patients [1]. Trastuzumab has been shown to induce tumor regression in such patients. Sunitinib, sorafenib, and bevacizumab are multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors that inhibit tumor neovascularization and are currently in clinical trials [2, 3]. These drugs are associated with serious problems such as adverse effects, drug resistance, and low efficacy of single therapy, particularly against metastatic or recurrent breast cancer. Hormone therapy has also been used against hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. However, about 10 to 15% of breast cancers do not express either estrogen or progesterone receptor (ER and PgR, resp.) and do not overexpress the HER2 gene [4].
Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana Linn) pericarp contains various phytochemicals, primarily xanthones, and the resin extracts have long been used for medicinal purposes in Southeast Asia [5]. α-Mangostin is a one of xanthones present in mangosteen pericarp (78% content). A recent study has shown that α-mangostin induces cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis in various types of human cancer cells [5–8]. We previously reported that α-mangostin significantly inhibits both tumor growth and metastasis in a mouse model of mammary cancer [9, 10]. In addition, α-mangostin treatment significantly decreased the levels of phospho-Akt-threonine 308(Thr308) in a human mammary carcinoma cell line and mammary carcinoma tissues in vivo [10].
Here, we investigated the antitumor potential of α-mangostin on apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in a human breast cancer cell line carrying a p53 mutation and having HER2-, ER-, and PgR-negative status.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Experimental Regimen
Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana Linn) pericarps were dried, ground, and successively extracted in water and 50% ethanol. After freeze-drying the 50% ethanol extract, the resultant dried powder was suspended in water partitioned with ethyl acetate. The ethyl acetate extract was then purified by chromatography on silica gel with the n-hexane-ethyl acetate system and recrystallized to give α-mangostin at >98% purity. For in vitro use, crystallized α-mangostin was dissolved in dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO), and aliquots of stock 20 mM solution were stored at −20°C.
2.2. Cell Line
The MDA-MB231, a human mammary carcinoma cell line stably expressing the green fluorescence protein (GFP) [11], was maintained in RPMI-1640 medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum with streptomycin/penicillin in an incubator under 5% CO2. MDA-MB231 cells have a p53 mutation [12, 13] and HER2-, ER-, and PgR, negative feature [14].
2.3. Cell Viability
MDA-MB231 cells were grown in RPMI-1640 medium supplemented with 10% bovine serum under an atmosphere of 95% air and 5% CO2 at 37°C. These cells were plated into 96-well plates (1 × 104 cells/well) one day before α-mangostin treatment. They were subsequently incubated for 24 h with culture medium containing DMSO vehicle alone (control) or with medium containing α-mangostin at various concentrations up to 48 μM. Cell viability was determined using a Cell-Titer-Bule Cell Viability Assay (Promega Co., Madison, WI, USA). The IC50 under these conditions was found to be 20 μM α-mangostin for 24 h treated and 16 μM for 48 h treated in MDA-MB231 cells; thus, all in vitro studies were performed using 20 μM α-mangostin.
2.4. Time-Lapse Imaging
Cells were grown on 35 mm culture dishes under the above-mentioned condition. These cells were subsequently incubated for 24 h with culture medium containing DMSO vehicle alone (control) or with medium containing 20 μM α-mangostin. Imaging has started when the reagents were added into dishes. Time-lapse images were taken using the fluorescence microscope BZ8000 (Keyence, Osaka, Japan)
2.5. Nuclear Staining
For nuclear staining, DAPI with mounting medium (Vector Laboratories, Inc., Burlingame, CA, USA) was used after immunofluorescence staining. For morphological examination of apoptotic changes, Hoechst33342 (Lonza Walkersville, Inc., Walkersville, MD, USA) was added to culturedmedium at a concentration of 5 μg/mL.
2.6. Caspase Activity
MDA-MB231 cells were plated into 96-well plates at a concentration of 1 × 104 cells/well one day before α-mangostin treatment. Cells were treated with 20 μM α-mangostin or DMSO alone for 24 h. The activities of caspase-3, caspase-8, caspase-9, and caspase-4 were measured using a Fluorometric Protease Assay Kit (MBL, Inc., Nagoya, Japan) in which cells were lysed with Cell Lysis Buffer contained in this kit and the protein concentration adjusted to 50 μg in each sample. Caspase activity was measured in terms of fluorescence intensity produced by caspase cleavage of the corresponding substrate, using Fluoroskan Ascent (Thermo Election Co., Helsinki, Finland).
2.7. Cell-Cycle Distribution
Flow cytometric analysis was conducted on trypsinized MDA-MB231 cell suspensions that were harvested after a 24 h treatment with 20 μM α-mangostin and fixed in cold 70% ethanol. The cells were stained with a 50 μg/mL propidium iodide solution containing 100 μg/mL RNase A for 20 min at 37°C and then placed on ice just prior to flow cytometric analysis (EPICS Elite ESP; Coulter Co., Miami, FL, USA). The percentage of cells in each phase of the cellcycle was determined using a Multicycle Cell-Cycle Analysis program (Coulter Co.).
2.8. ssDNA Analysis
MDA-MB231 cells were plated into 96-well plates at a concentration of 1 × 104 cells/well one day before α-mangostin treatment. Cells were treated with 20 μM α-mangostin or DMSO alone for 24 h. Single-Strand break DNA (ssDNA) levels were detected by using ApoStrand ELISA Apoptosis Detection Kit (Enzo Life Sciences International, Inc., Butler Pike Plymouth Meeting, PA, USA) and measured using Microplate reader (Corona ELECTRIC Co. Ltd., Ibaraki, Japan).
2.9. Cytochrome Release
Cytochrome leaving the mitochondrial membrane was measured using the InnoCyte Flow Cytometric Cytochrome Release Kit (Merck; Darmstadt, Germany). MDA-MB231 cells were harvested after a 24 h treatment with 20 μM α-mangostin or DMSO alone and 1 × 106 cells were resuspended in 300 μL Permeabilization Buffer to remove the cytosolic cytochrome . The cells were fixed 4% paraformaldehyde and washed. After treatment with blocking buffer, the cells were treated with anticytochrome mouse monoclonal antibody (clone 7H8, Santa Cruz, Biotechnology, CA, USA), followed by secondary antibody conjugated to FITC. Then, the cells were analyzed using a flow cytometer, BD FACSAria (Becton Dickinson, Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA).
2.10. Immunofluorescence Staining
MDA-MB231 cells were grown on 24 mm × 24 mm cover glasses and fixed in 4% formaldehyde solution in phosphate buffer. Immunofluorescence staining was performed with anti-PCNA mouse monoclonal antibody (clone PC10; Cell Signaling Technology, Danvers, MA, USA), cyclin D1 rabbit monoclonal antibody (clone 92G2; Cell Signaling Technology), p21cip1 rabbit polyclonal antibody (clone C-19; Santa Cruz Biotechnology). These antibodies were also used in Western blotting.
2.11. Western Blotting
Total protein was extracted from whole cell lysates of MDA-MB231 cells treated with DMSO or α-mangostin according to the IC50 data previously stated. Total protein (40 μg) was fractionated on 16% SDS-PAGE mini gels (TEFCO, Tokyo, Japan) under reducing conditions and transferred to PVDF membranes (Immobilon -P Transfer Membrane, Millipore; Billerica, MA, USA). The membranes were activated in 100% methanol for 15 seconds and incubated with primary antibodies for the following proteins: cytochrome c, Bid, PCNA, cyclin D1, p21cip1, and β-actin. Membranes were then incubated with the corresponding secondary antibodies conjugated with horseradish peroxidase (HRP). β-Actin (clone N-21) and Full-length Bid (clone FL-195) antibodies were from Santa Cruz Biotechnology. Antibody recognizing cleaved Bid was obtained from R&D Systems (R&D Systems, Inc, Minneapolis, MN, USA). Antibody binding was subsequently visualized by exposure to an enhancing chemiluminescence reagent (Amersham ECL; GE Healthcare UK Ltd., Buckinghamshire, UK). Blots were visualized using a LAS-3000 image analyzer (Fujifilm, Co., Tokyo, Japan).
2.12. Real-Time PCR
MDA-MB231 cells were treated with DMSO or 20 μM α-mangostin for 6, 12, and 24 h. Protein was extracted using cell lysis buffer containing protease and phosphatase inhibitor cocktail. Total RNA was extracted from these cells with FastPure RNA kit (Takara Bio Inc., Shiga, Japan) and cDNAs were synthesized with PrimeScript RT reagent kit (Takara Bio Inc.). Primers involved in the cell-cycle regulation were used containing PrimerArray Cell cycle (human) (Takara Bio Inc.) and real-time PCR reaction was performed with Thermal Cycler Dice Real Time (Takara Bio Inc.). Data were corrected against glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) values and expressed as mean ± SD.
2.13. Statistical Analysis
Significant differences in the quantitative data between groups were analyzed using Student's t-test via the method of Welch, and values less than 0.05 were considered to represent a statistically significant difference.
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Cell Viability
Viability analyses of MDA-MB231 human mammary cancer cells showed significantly lower viability after 24 and 48 h of treatment with more than 12 μM α-mangostin (Figure 1(a)). Based on the IC50 data, 20 μM was determined to be the optimal concentration of α-mangostin for in vitro studies.
3.2. Morphological Changes
For morphological examination of apoptotic changes, MDA-MB231 cells were stained with Hoechst 33342 (Figure 1(b)). After 20 μM α-mangostin treatment for 24 h, cells appeared shrunken and chromatin condensation was observed (yellow arrow heads in lower right panel). These changes suggest that the antiproliferative effects of α-mangostin are associated with apoptosis in MDA-MB231 human mammary cancer cells. Furthermore, we performed time-lapse imaging from the start of 20 μM α-mangostin treatment for 24 h. After 6 h, cell proliferation started to decrease significantly and cell shape had changed after 12 h (data not shown).
3.3. Apoptosis Studies
3.3.1. ssDNA Analysis
In order to confirm that the morphological changes observed after α-mangostin treatment occurred as a consequence of apoptosis, we measured ssDNA levels of α-mangostin treated cells, as compared to controls. In α-mangostin-treated cells, ssDNA levels were significantly elevated (, Figure 1(c)). This suggests that the morphological changes in human mammary cancer cells that occurred after α-mangostin treatment were caused by apoptosis.
3.3.2. Caspase Activity
Significantly elevated caspase-3, caspase-8, and caspase-9 activity was observed in MDA-MB231 cells treated with α-mangostin for 24 h (Figure 2), as compared to controls. The activity of caspase-4 did not differ significantly between control cells and α-mangostin-treated cells (Figure 2). These results indicate that α-mangostin-induced mitochondria mediated apoptosis.
3.3.3. Cytochrome c Release
In order to confirm mitochondria-mediated apoptosis, levels of cytochrome were measured by flow cytometry and Western blot. The levels of cytochrome protein in mitochondrial fractions were significantly lower in cells treated with α-mangostin for 24 h (Figure 3(a)). Cytochrome protein was released from mitochondria, leading to decreases in concentration (Figure 3(b)). These results were strongly suggesting engagement of the mitochondria-mediated apoptotic pathway.
3.3.4. Bid Cleavage
As caspase-8 activity was elevated, we examined whether the mitochondrial pathway was activated via caspase-8-Bid cleavage by performing Western blots for Bid. Full-length Bid (22 kDa) was equally detected in control cells and in cells treated with α-mangostin for 24 h (Figure 3(c)); this indicates that no Bid cleavage occurred. In addition, no cleaved Bid (15 kDa) was observed when using cleaved Bid-detectable antibody in any of the groups (data not shown). These results suggest that apoptosis was induced by α-mangostin via mitochondria, but was not accompanied by Bid cleavage. We previously reported that α-mangostin decreased phospho-Akt-Th308 in MDA-MB231 cells and mammary carcinoma tissues [10]. Akt is a serine/threonine protein kinase that mediates the downstream effects of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) by phosphorylating multiple targets involved in regulating diverse cellular functions, including proliferation, growth, and survival. Therefore, Akt phosphorylation by therapeutic agents leads to growth inhibition, cell-cycle arrest, and apoptosis in cancer cells. A previous study in human colon cancer cells showed that α-mangostin inhibited Erk1/2 and Erk5 phosphorylation involving the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway [5]. PI3K/Akt and Erk signaling target Bcl-2-associated agonists of cell death (Bad), a member of the Bcl-2 family. Bcl-2 family members are known to be regulators of programmed cell death. Bad promotes apoptosis by displacing Bax, another Bcl-2 family member, from binding to Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, causing cytochrome release from mitochondria [15]. These data suggest that apoptotic cell death caused by α-mangostin treatment in human mammary carcinoma cells occurs via mitochondria-mediated apoptosis, followed by inhibition of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, and may include Bad activation.
3.4. Cell-Cycle Distribution
As measured by flow cytometry, 24 h exposure to 20 μM α-mangostin induced a significant elevation in the number of cells in the G1-phase, as compared with control cells (Figure 3(d)). There was also a significant reduction in the S-phase population in α-mangostin-treated cells (Figure 3(d)). These results suggest that G1-phase arrest was the result of α-mangostin inhibiting entry into S-phase.
3.5. Expression of Cell-Cycle Regulatory Genes
As α-mangostin treatment induced cell-cycle arrest, we investigated the expression of cell-cycle regulatory genes. Real-time analysis revealed that the expression of p21cip1 was up-regulated and CHEK2 expression tended to increase for more than 6 h after α-mangostin treatment (Figure 4). p21cip1 is a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor and the encoded protein binds to and inhibits the activity of cyclin-CDK2 (CDK: cyclin-dependent kinase) or -CDK4 complexes, thereby functioning as a regulator of cell-cycle progression at the G1-phase [16]. CHEK2 is one of the cell-cycle checkpoint regulators and putative tumor suppressors that lead to G1-phase arrest through CDK phosphatase and cell division cycle 25 homolog A (cdc25A) phosphorylation [17]. Increases in p21cip1 and CHEK2 expression lead to decreases in CDKs and cyclins, and G1-phase arrest and inhibition of cell proliferation, followed by decreases in proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). Furthermore, we confirmed the expression of G1/S-phase-related molecules, particularly p21cip1, PCNA, and cyclin D1 by using Western blotting and immunofluorescence staining (Figures 5 and 6). On Western blotting analysis, PCNA (36 kDa) and cyclin D1 (36 kDa) protein were significantly lower, and p21cip1 (21 kDa) protein was significantly elevated in cells treated with α-mangostin for 24 h, as compared to controls (Figure 5(d)). These results agreed with those of the real-time PCR analysis shown in Figures 4 and 5(a)–5(c). Immunofluorescence staining revealed that PCNA and cyclin D1 expression were lower and that p21cip1 expression was elevated in the nuclei of α-mangostin-treated cells, as compared to controls (Figure 6). These results suggest that α-mangostin induces G1-phase arrest and S-phase suppression by altering the expression of cell-cycle-related molecules, such as p21cip1, CHEK2, cyclins, cdc(s), CDKs, and PCNA.
4. Conclusion
In conclusion, our results demonstrated that the therapeutic effects of α-mangostin are mediated by mitochondria-mediated apoptosis under control of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. α-Mangostin may be useful as a therapeutic agent for breast cancer carrying a p53 mutation and including HER2/hormone-negative subtypes.
This investigation involved Industry-Academic-Government collaboration as follows: PM Riken-yakka Ltd., Field & Device Co., Osaka Health Science University, Osaka Medical Collage, Gifu Pharmaceutical University, and a Grant-in-Aid for Private Universities from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan. The authors thank Mr. Teruo Ueno (the Central Research Laboratory of Osaka Medical Collage) for assistance with the cell-cycle analysis.
- J. Baselga, D. Tripathy, J. Mendelsohn et al., "Phase II study of weekly intravenous trastuzumab (Herceptin) in patients with HER2/neu-overexpressing metastatic breast cancer," Seminars in Oncology, vol. 26, no. 4, supplement 12, pp. 78–83, 1999. View at: Google Scholar
- H. Wildiers, C. Fontaine, P. Vuylsteke et al., "Multicenter phase II randomized trial evaluating antiangiogenic therapy with sunitinib as consolidation after objective response to taxane chemotherapy in women with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer," Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, vol. 123, no. 2, pp. 463–469, 2010. View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
- N. S. Azad, E. M. Posadas, V. E. Kwitkowski et al., "Combination targeted therapy with sorafenib and bevacizumab results in enhanced toxicity and antitumor activity," Journal of Clinical Oncology, vol. 26, no. 22, pp. 3709–3714, 2008. View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
- K. R. Bauer, M. Brown, R. D. Cress, C. A. Parise, and V. Caggiano, "Descriptive analysis of estrogen receptor (ER)-negative, progesterone receptor (PR)-negative, and HER2-negative invasive breast cancer, the so-called triple-negative phenotype: a population-based study from the California Cancer Registry," Cancer, vol. 109, no. 9, pp. 1721–1728, 2007. View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
- Y. Akao, Y. Nakagawa, M. Iinuma, and Y. Nozawa, "Anti-cancer effects of xanthones from pericarps of mangosteen," International Journal of Molecular Sciences, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 355–370, 2008. View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
- K. Matsumoto, Y. Akao, H. Yi et al., "Preferential target is mitochondria in α-mangostin-induced apoptosis in human leukemia HL60 cells," Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 12, no. 22, pp. 5799–5806, 2004. View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
- P. Moongkarndi, N. Kosem, S. Kaslungka, O. Luanratana, N. Pongpan, and N. Neungton, "Antiproliferation, antioxidation and induction of apoptosis by Garcinia mangostana (mangosteen) on SKBR3 human breast cancer cell line," Journal of Ethnopharmacology, vol. 90, no. 1, pp. 161–166, 2004. View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
- K. Matsumoto, Y. Akao, K. Ohguchi et al., "Xanthones induce cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis in human colon cancer DLD-1 cells," Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 13, no. 21, pp. 6064–6069, 2005. View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
- H. Doi, M. A. Shibata, E. Shibata et al., "Panaxanthone isolated from pericarp of Garcinia mangostana L. suppresses tumor growth and metastasis of a mouse model of mammary cancer," Anticancer Research, vol. 29, no. 7, pp. 2485–2495, 2009. View at: Google Scholar
- M. A. Shibata, M. Iinuma, J. Morimoto et al., "α-Mangostin extracted from the pericarp of the mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana Linn) reduces tumor growth and lymph node metastasis in an immunocompetent xenograft model of metastatic mammary cancer carrying a p53 mutation," BMC Medicine, vol. 9, article 69, 2011. View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
- M. A. Shibata, Y. Miwa, J. Morimoto, and Y. Otsuki, "Easy stable transfection of a human cancer cell line by electrogene transfer with an Epstein-Barr virus-based plasmid vector," Medical Molecular Morphology, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 103–107, 2007. View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
- J. Bartek, R. Iggo, J. Gannon, and D. P. Lane, "Genetic and immunochemical analysis of mutant p53 in human breast cancer cell lines," Oncogene, vol. 5, no. 6, pp. 893–899, 1990. View at: Google Scholar
- P. M. O'Connor, J. Jackman, I. Bae et al., "Characterization of the p53 tumor suppressor pathway in cell lines of the National Cancer Institute anticancer drug screen and correlations with the growth-inhibitory potency of 123 anticancer agents," Cancer Research, vol. 57, no. 19, pp. 4285–4300, 1997. View at: Google Scholar
- Y. Liang, J. Wu, G. M. Stancel, and S. M. Hyder, "P53-dependent inhibition of progestin-induced VEGF expression in human breast cancer cells," Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, vol. 93, no. 2–5, pp. 173–182, 2005. View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
- E. Yang, J. Zha, J. Jockel, L. H. Boise, C. B. Thompson, and S. J. Korsmeyer, "Bad, a heterodimeric partner for Bcl-x(L), and Bcl-2, displaces Bax and promotes cell death," Cell, vol. 80, no. 2, pp. 285–291, 1995. View at: Google Scholar
- Y. Xiong, G. J. Hannon, H. Zhang, D. Casso, R. Kobayashi, and D. Beach, "p21 is a universal inhibitor of cyclin kinases," Nature, vol. 366, no. 6456, pp. 701–704, 1993. View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
- J. Falck, N. Mailand, R. G. Syljuåsen, J. Bartek, and J. Lukas, "The ATM-Chk2-Cdc25A checkpoint pathway guards against radioresistant DNA synthesis," Nature, vol. 410, no. 6830, pp. 842–847, 2001. View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
Copyright © 2012 Hitomi Kurose et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


text:
The King of Blue Grass, Bill Monroe, would be 100 years old today. Probably no other artist in the 20th century impacted Country and Blue Grass than mandolinist supreme, William Smith Monroe. His love of music was evident in his performances and in his impact on other artists. Consider "Blue Moon of Kentucky", likely his most recognizable hit.
And, renditions by some folks you may be more familiar with:
The King of Rock & Roll
The Queen of Country Music
A Few Lads
While they all went up tempo, I still prefer Bill's original version. Bluegrass is such a guttural genre. It is hurtful, introspective and joyous, all at the same time. Bill Monroe almost single-handedly brought Bluegrass out of the mountain hamlets to the masses. Other "disciples", like Barbara Mandrell, would continue the message through the years but perhaps the best known is a young boy who first got to play with Monroe on stage at age six:
While this performance is with Flatt & Scruggs (part of Monroe's original "Bluegrass Boys"), Ricky talks about his first experience of playing with "the man" hisself here:
Likely my favorite, Bill Monroe tune in Uncle Pen, a song, that ironically, became a #1 hit for Ricky Skaggs many years later:
Bill Monroe. A true American icon, lover of music and consemate mentor. Happy Birthday, old boy.


text:
This blog post has to do with the reasons why Firefox 4.0Beta 5 and Beta 6 are totally inaccessible to most, if not all, Windows assistive technologies, and also cause problems with some mouse drivers and such.
It all started with Bug 130078, a sequence of digits probably everyone in the Mozilla platform team will memorize for a long time. 😉 What this patch essentially did was remove all but the most top level window from the window hierarchy so commonly used in Microsoft Windows. In Windows, every window (visible and otherwise) usually is associated with a window class, a string that loosely identifies what the window does. Experience having worked with a screen reader vendor for 8 years, however, has shown that this can also be quite bogus stuff. In the dark ages of Windows development, where there was virtually nothing else than screen scraping and some basic MSAA, this was the most reliable way for screen readers and other software to identify certain parts of the UI of an application.
However, times are better now, and have essentially been, since Firefox 3.0. There, we already knew that this removal of several window widgets with associated class names, would be upon us one day. So we started evangelizing with screen reader vendors to use newer, more future-proof methods of finding our accessibility information. But as time went by, this somehow got lost by the sideways, and suddenly, August 27, 2010, was upon us.
This was the day when Bug 130078 landed on the Mozilla-Central Mercurial repository. The August 28 nightly build was broken for all screen readers on Windows. Subsequently, I filed Bug 591874. In addition, the landing of Bug 589529 made things even worse for some of the screen readers, since now, no focus events or such were processed at all any more.
This, and David's alert blog post, shook up assistive technology vendors, open-source and commercial alike, enough so they started to tell us what kept them from using the newer methods, or what additional things they'd require to be able to work without relying on the Windows widget information any more. Subsequently, Bug 592913 was filed, which, when fixed, did get NVDA back in working order. With some adjustments on their end, which are included in the recent NVDA 2010.2Beta1 release, they are now able to work with both Firefox 3.x that still has the window hierarchy, and also Firefox 4, which has the newer method for them to get all the information they need.
A second bug, Bug 594413 is going to land very soon, which should give all those assistive technologies still primarily using iSimpleDOM to also get all the required information without having to rely on Windows widgets.
As a fall-out from the above fixes, we had to deal with Bug 594775 and some fall-out from that as well, but believe we now have most things in order again. Most, if not all of this will be in Beta7, so the user experience should again be much better than it was in beta 5 and 6, and users can again experiment with the newest and greatest Firefox beta versions.
Also, the above quoted bug 591874 is fixed now, giving select older versions of commercial assistive technologies the benefit of an emulated window hierarchy, so users do not need to upgrade their screen readers at a fee to be able to use Firefox 4. However, it must be stated that this is not going to be there forever, so we strongly recommend that software that still relies on this window hierarchy use the better and more reliable methods to detect our accessible tree and get away from using things like MozillaContentWindowClass to rely on. We now turn this emulation on only for some commercial screen reader vendor versions, but strongly suggest to also backport the new solutions to older existing user bases as soon as possible. It will go away, but we haven't decided yet when exactly that will be.
Talk to us, we'll be glad to assist you!


text:
The Modesto City Council has adopted City Codes and Ordinances specifically designed to provide all citizens access to great safe neighborhoods. The Neighborhood Preservation Unit (NPU) is responsible for ensuring compliance with these codes and ordinances. Our team consists of highly motivated and experienced code enforcement officers who understand neighborhood dynamics and are passionate about solving problems.
The Neighborhood Preservation Unit (NPU) team cannot solve every problem within a neighborhood, but we partner with other City departments to find the root of the problem and initiate positive change.
Ensure compliance with adopted property and land use codes and ordinances by:


text:
Academic training
Academic training posts offer paediatricians the opportunity to do crucial research in child health. Take a look at our guidance and links to further resources.
Archives of Disease in Childhood - our journal
The College's scientific publication is one of the leading paediatric journals in the world. A peer-reviewed journal, ADC focuses on all aspects of child health and disease from the perinatal period to adolescence. Its Education and Practice edition can help paediatricians in their ongoing professio...
Being me - supporting children and young people
What keeps children in care happy, healthy and well? Care-experienced children and young people worked with RCPCH &Us to create these free resources, including 'health and wellbeing passports', a poster and games to help share who they are, how they are feeling and what support they would like - as ...
BMJ Paediatrics Open journal
BMJ Paediatrics Open is a peer-reviewed open access journal showcasing research, clinical reviews and protocols on any aspect of child health from healthcare professionals. It was launched by RCPCH and BMJ Publishing in May 2017.
BPSU - 30th anniversary report (2016)
For over 30 years the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit has been facilitating research into childhood rare diseases and disorders. To mark this milestone and to celebrate the Unit's ongoing impact we published our 30 year anniversary report.
BPSU impact - case studies
The BPSU has facilitated research into over 100 rare conditions. In many instances, the findings have had an immense influence over decisions relating to the condition and patient. Read case studies on the impact of BPSU's research below.
BPSU 'Orange Card' reporting scheme - applying to run a study
The British Paediatric Surveillance Unit (BPSU) welcomes applications from clinicians and researchers who wish to carry out national surveillance on rare childhood diseases.
BPSU Rare disease tea party - reports from past events
Since 2014, we've invited stakeholders from across the rare disease community to this informal networking event. Young people speak about their experiences of living with a rare disease, and patient advocates, researchers and health professionals talk about working in the field. Read on for highligh...
BPSU reporting instructions
Download monthly reporting instructions for the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit - for each current study, and for previous months.
BPSU study - Surveillance of female genital mutilation (FGM) in children and young people under the age of 16 in the UK and ROI
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a procedure which involves deliberately cutting or causing injury to the female genitals. This can include partial or total removal of the external female genitalia intentionally for non-medical reasons. There are no health benefits of FGM for girls and women and c...


text:
Skip to main content
Franke Group
Franke Americas
Search results
No results found for
More results
Franke Americas
Systems designed to make every kitchen wonderful.
Delicious coffee can make almost any moment more wonderful.
Serve up wonderful moments with our foodservice systems.
Any bathroom has the potential to be truly wonderful.
Residential Kitchens
Find out more
Coffee Systems
Find out more
Foodservice Systems
Find out more
Commercial Systems
Find out more
Franke Group
Franke Americas


text:
|Swap Coordinator:
|jaimierandolph (contact)
|Swap categories:
|Number of people in swap:
|Type 1: Electronic
|Last day to signup/drop:
|February 23, 2018
|Date items must be sent by:
|February 26, 2018
|Number of swap partners:
We will have 5 partners!
You will go to your partners profile and type a quote there for them!
Yes, of course you can leave a picture there for them but it is NOT a requirement of this swap!!!!!
This swap is very easy and it is to get those ratings back up! Please remember to rate when you receive a quote from your partner. (I tend to rate once the swap is closed and with these it is isn't long that way I can rate everyone at the same time!)
I reserve the right to ban with or without reason.
These are meant to have fun and be fun for your partners to read on their profile....
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Click here to log in.


text:
|This is the article on volume 57 of the manga. For chapter 536, head to Naruto towards the Battlefield…!!.
|Naruto towards the Battlefield…!!
|(ナルト戦場へ…!!, Naruto Senjō e…!!)
|Volume Info
|Reunited, Team Asuma!
|57 (Read Online)
|Naruto vs. Itachi!!
|Release Date
|August 4, 2011 (ISBN 978-4-08-870271-1)
|July 10, 2012 (ISBN 978-1-4215-4306-2)
Naruto towards the Battlefield…!! (ナルト戦場へ…!!, Naruto Senjō e…!!) is volume 57 of the Naruto manga.
Chapter 535
- "Iruka's Persuasion" (イルカの説得, Iruka no Settoku)
Naruto questions the presence of more Konoha ninja on the island. Iruka and the others try to trick Naruto into staying in the temple. Naruto enters Sage Mode and forces his way out of the temple. Outside, Naruto senses others fighting in the battlefields with Sage Mode. Iruka explains the situation. Naruto remembers Nagato's words on war and says he'll end the war and endure it by himself. Iruka tries to convince Naruto to stay, letting him know what he thinks of him. Iruka tries to keep Naruto from leaving with a barrier, but Naruto escapes it with his Nine-Tails' chakra. Naruto finds a note from Iruka in his forehead protector, asking him to come back alive. Naruto keeps on towards the battlefields.
Chapter 536
- "Naruto towards the Battlefield…!!" (ナルト戦場へ…!!, Naruto Senjō e…!!)
Killer B leaves the temple as well and speaks to Iruka, who asks B to protect Naruto. They bump fists. Naruto eats Iruka's note. The Eight-Tails disagrees with following Naruto, but B dismisses it, as they still have to train, and considers actual battle better than training. The daimyō are bored playing cards. Black Zetsu arrives at their location, but is intercepted by the Fifth Mizukage, Chōjūrō, Raidō, Genma, and others there to protect them. The Fourth Raikage berates Tsunade for failing to keep Naruto in. Naruto and B break through the barrier around the Island Turtle with B's Tailed Beast Ball, Naruto pushing it to break its layers. Black Zetsu detects Naruto and B out of the barrier, and alerts White Zetsu who tells Tobi. Tobi gives up on using the daimyō as bargaining chips, but decides to keep Zetsu fighting the Mizukage to split their forces. At the coast, all White Zetsu are defeated, and reincarnated ninja are incapacitated. Tobi appears and summons the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
Chapter 537
- "Towards the Night…!!" (夜へ…!!, Yoru e…!!)
Chōza and Chōji attack the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, which simply shrugs it off, and sends a shockwave throughout the battlefield, devastating it. While en route, Naruto goes into his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, B telling him he will run out of chakra when he needs it. Naruto says he has no time to waste. The Sensor Division detects the statue and Tobi on the battlefield, Tsunade wonders why he'd go to the front-lines. The Intelligence Division learns that B and Naruto escaped, and that they teamed up to get past the barrier. The Fourth Raikage decides to deal with the jinchūriki himself, telling Tsunade to come with him, leaving Shikaku Nara in charge. Back at the battlefield, Kakuzu is sealed, and the barrier around Dan dissipates. Kitsuchi tries to crush the statue, but it resists, and further devastates the battlefield. Tobi moves in to get the Benihisago and the Kohaku no Jōhei. Shikamaru and Darui try to stop him, but he has the statue stomp on them. They are saved by Chōji and Kitsuchi. Tobi retreats, and Kabuto notices Tobi got Kinkaku and Ginkaku. The Allied Shinobi Forces prepare for the night, both them and Akatsuki having lost half their forces.
Chapter 538
- "Cross-Examination" (詰問, Kitsumon)
As Naruto (in Nine-Tails Chakra Mode) and Killer B head towards the battlefield, the Nine-Tails pulls Naruto into his subconscious and berates him for squandering its chakra like that. Naruto and the fox have a conversation and the fox tells him to stop being naive as there was no way he could shoulder the hatred of an entire war and Sasuke. After a flashback of Naruto and Sasuke while in the Academy, Naruto walks into the Nine-Tails' cage and brings down the torii to pin the fox down. Naruto then stares dead into the Nine-Tails' eye and brimming with confidence tells him that he will do something about the war and Sasuke.
Chapter 539
- "Night of Blood…!!" (血の夜…!!, Chi no Yoru…!!)
The Nine-Tails recalls Naruto's growth. Naruto says he'll do something about the Nine-Tails' hatred as well, one day. In turn, the Nine-Tails reproaches him for thinking he can do it. In the battlefield, Neji collapses from overuse of the Byakugan; so, Kiba has him go to the medical unit. Nagato and Itachi talk about Akatsuki, their dōjutsu and what their summoner has in mind for them. Itachi states that the combination of his Mangekyō Sharingan, coupled with Nagato's Rinnegan could be almost unstoppable. At the Logistical Support and Medical Division, medical-nin heal the wounded. Three jōnin-level medical-nin are later found dead. The sensors say they have not detected the enemy, and suspicion arises that someone is being controlled. Sakura argues that despite that, they must keep healing the shinobi. Neji opts to find the spy. Sakura receives a love letter from another shinobi but tells him she has feelings for someone else. Two medical-nin are later seen preparing to get back to work, but Neji then reveals himself as the killer. He attacks and presumably kills the two medical-nin.
Chapter 540
- "Madara's Strategy!!" (マダラの作戦!!, Madara no Sakusen!!)
After a short talk with an Iwa shinobi, Sakura is shown pondering her feelings for Sasuke. The Iwa-nin leaves the tent. "Neji " enters the tent and startles Sakura. Itachi and Nagato discuss Tobi's strategy while waiting near a shrine, and the real Neji is seen still in the battlefield, complaining to Kiba that he doesn't want to go to the the medical compound. Kiba tells Neji that getting himself killed from overexertion won't impress anyone, and chides Neji when he can't even tell Kiba and Akamaru apart when he starts directing his responses to Akamaru instead of him. Hinata and Shino keep on watch with the Byakugan and kikaichū respectively. Shino tells her not to overdo it, to which Hinata responds that they are fighting the war to protect Naruto. "Neji " asks Sakura where Shizune is, and she tells him she's tending to Tonton's leg. "Neji", assuming Tonton is a human, says that at least a leg injury is better than a hand injury, which would prevent Tonton from forming seals, arousing Sakura's suspicion that something with Neji is amiss. He asks her to take a look at his arm, which he claims is still causing him pain, simultaneously reaching for a kunai with his free hand, when Sakura slams him into the ground before he can stab her. The "Neji " reverts into a White Zetsu clone, and recalling Yamato's report, Sakura figures out how the clone was able to imitate Neji perfectly. She then informs the HQ of her findings. Meanwhile, the White Zetsu continue their assassinations under the cover of night. At the headquarters, Inoichi and Ao relay the reports they receive to Shikaku, and he tries to formulate a strategy. A and Tsunade then intercept Naruto and Killer B as they head towards the battlefield.
Chapter 541
- "The Raikage vs. Naruto?!" (雷影VSナルト!?, Raikage Bāsasu Naruto!?)
The Raikage declares that he won't let Naruto and B go any further, and Naruto attempts to reason with him, albeit unsuccesfully. He then pleads Tsunade to act, but she reluctantly refuses, stating that she's unable to take individual action as the Hokage to help him this time. Naruto, understanding this, tries to escape, but the Raikage intercepts him. Tsunade marvels that Naruto is able to keep up with the Raikage, who states that he is the fastest shinobi alive now that the Fourth Hokage has passed away. He angrily berates Naruto that he is just like his father — a hot-headed idiot — and that if the Fourth Hokage, who Jiraiya had called the Saviour of this World, had succeeded in dealing with the Nine-Tailed Fox that they would never be in this situation. The Raikage states that if Naruto still refuses to stand down, then he will have no choice but to kill him in order to prevent Tobi's plan from coming to fruition, and moves to attack him, but is stopped by B. The Raikage angrily tells them that they are jinchūriki and cannot act on their own. Tsunade is furious that the Raikage would attempt to act without the approval of the rest of the Kage, and that he immediately went for Naruto, to which the Raikage replies that he would kill his brother too, if and when the time came, but that presently B is the more useful jinchūriki. B refuses to move aside, telling his brother that he's not merely a weapon, but an individual with things he loves and would fight for. They bump fists, and the Raikage recalls the time B was chosen to be his brother and partner.
Chapter 542
- "The Secret Story of the Strongest Tag Team!!" (最強タッグ秘話!!, Saikyō Taggu Hiwa!!)
A's flashback continues. The two "brothers" go on several missions together, on one of which they are joined by A's cousin. A and his cousin discuss the possibility of Killer B becoming the next jinchūriki of the Eight-Tails. A wonders if B will have enough control to suppress the Eight-Tails. A's cousin reflects on what it means to be a jinchūriki, and despite outwardly appearing to have everything, what a jinchūriki really needs is something to fill the hole in their heart and give them strength. Later, A and B are shown attending A's cousin's funeral. A sets B the goal of matching his own strength, to which B replies that someday he will surpass his brother. The day arrives when the Eight-Tails will be sealed in B, and A tells B that from here on out, things will be different. They bump fists, and A says that no matter what happens, he'll be there for him. Sometime later, A clashes with Minato for the first time. Minato commends B for his bravery, and tells A that he should find out his brother's values as a person — what B holds most important — before he became neither a human nor a jinchūriki.
Chapter 543
- "Words not Cast Aside" (捨てられねェ言葉, Suterarenee Kotoba)
The Fourth Raikage tells Minato to save his nonsense, and runs in to attack. Minato moves to stab B, but B too has a blade pointing at Minato. Minato states that he's taken a liking to B. In the present, Naruto moves to attack the Raikage, but misses. B and A trade blows, and B attempts to use the Lightning Release: Lariat against his brother, who claims that B's Lightning Release: Lariat is inferior to his own. The Raikage calls for Tsunade's aid, but instead, she moves to stand in front of Naruto and B, remembering Naruto's promise that he wouldn't die until he became the Hokage, arguing that were Naruto to die, the next jinchūriki wouldn't be able to control the Nine-Tails as well as Naruto can. The Raikage asks what guarantee they have that Naruto will succeed. B again tries his Lightning Release: Lariat against the Raikage. The brothers recall the time the Third Raikage passed away, when A told B that he didn't need to use the Lightning Release: Lariat anymore, that he should focus solely on improving his Tailed Beast Ball and that he was forbidden to leave the village. Again, A and B clash with their Lightning Release: Lariat, with B's proving the strongest, much to A's dismay. B proceeds to tell him that his and Naruto's power doesn't come from being jinchūriki, and that his brother's words long ago gave him the strength to surpass him.
Chapter 544
- "Two Suns!!" (二つの太陽!!, Futatsu no Taiyō!!)
At the Allied Shinobi Forces HQ, Shikaku continues to search for a strategy to counter the White Zetsu. Elsewhere, A marvels that his words gave B the strength he needed to surpass him. B states that while a jinchūriki might fall into the trap of losing hope and becoming "hollow", as long as they have something to fight for, they can overcome the tailed beast within and retain their sense of humanity — a light to follow. He refers to these lights as "suns", stating that A is his sun, and Naruto has two "suns" — his mother and his father. Naruto explains to Tsunade and the Raikage how he met his parents and how they believed that he could overcome the Nine-Tails. He also mentions the "masked man", whom A guesses is Tobi. Tsunade marvels at Minato's foresight in perceiving Tobi as that big a threat, and consequently sealing the Nine-Tails inside Naruto. The Raikage asks if Minato, the "Saviour of this World", left everything to Naruto. Naruto replies that he doubts his father thought of himself as a saviour, but that Jiraiya did, and that although Minato may have passed away, he and Kushina instilled in Naruto their faith that he could finish their job and fulfil that role. Tsunade asks A to let Naruto pass — to believe in Naruto. Naruto dodges the Raikage's fastest attack, to both B and Tsunade's astonishment, vowing that he won't fail. The Raikage states that he wanted to test Naruto in his own way, and that he is only the second person in the world to dodge his top-speed punch, telling Naruto that the saviour is alive and well within him, and allowing him to continue on, towards the battlefield. Back at the Allied Shinobi Forces HQ, Shikaku decides on using Naruto's ability to sense evil thoughts and intentions while in Nine-Tails Mode to seek out the White Zetsu impersonating the shinobi. Meanwhile, as the sun begins to rise, Tobi stands with a newly created Six Paths of Pain, composed of the reincarnated jinchūriki — all bearing both the Sharingan and the Rinnegan.
Author's Note
|Main character Naruto finally returns to centre stage in this volume! I'm so glad to be able to draw the titular character again! I was told by someone that this was "a manga where the main character
—Masashi Kishimoto, 2011


text:
| 4.9°C Belfast
Parents are more likely to worry about their child not making friends at school than they are about their youngster struggling with lessons, according to a poll.
It reveals that one in three parents (33%) admit to being anxious about their child finding friends when they start school.
And just over one in ten (11%) said that their main worry was that their son or daughter would not be able to keep up with the school work.
The same proportion were concerned that their youngster would not ask for help when they needed it, while the rest cited other worries
Action for Children, which commissioned the poll, said that a child's first day at school can be an anxious time, sometimes more so for parents than the pupils themselves.
Jan Leightley, the charity's executive director of operations said: "Our centres help them prepare youngsters for their first year at school by giving them a place to play with other children, to learn to make friends and to develop their language skills."
Previous research conducted by Action for Children of its own centre managers found that two fifths (41%) said that they felt children were needing more help to reach basic milestones such as being toilet trained and following simple instructions.
:: The YouGov poll questioned 9,015 adults including 2,267 parents of children aged 18 or under between 10-17 February.


text:
Prices Exclude VAT & Delivery
The UK's Premium supplier of display stands
We adopt a modern approach to business solutions. You can buy a broad range of classic banners - roll up displays, marketing signage, exhibition equipment and exhibition accessories combining new and innovative exhibition products with well established ranges of displays. Well help you choose your promotional displays and make purchasing easy with our online shopping cart. Then we can get your orders to you quickly. No pushy sales people or sales pressure to buy our equipment.
Our in house large format digital printing department produces huge vinyl banners, exhibit panels, exhibition stand graphics for display stands, event display boards and floor graphics.
Graphics Design
Whatever your exhibit or trade show opportunity, whether the stand is in the UK, USA or Europe, we offer you not only a great looking exhibition stand, and creative stand design that will give you a real commercial edge!
Do you want to make a great impression? Custom built modular exhibition stand are the ultimate solution. Our bespoke designs combine large format graphics with innovative exhibition ideas including interactive displays, hospitality areas, exhibition video screens and multimedia displays.
|Roller Banners are the easiest type of stand to use as the digital printed graphic is stored securely inside the protective base when not in use on stand. To assemble, the digital print is simply pulled upwards and hooked over an upright pole that extends from the base of the stand. All our roll-up's come with carry cases.
|Pop Up Stands these are larger, modular systems that are made of a tubular aluminium framework. The structure of pop up displays is cleverly designed to be expanded outwards into large stands, geometrically correct back wall onto which either printed graphic panels or Velcro fabric panels can be attached to the stand.
|Merchandising display counters are modern, stylish, effortless tool free assembly and takedown, they are ideally suited for branding with custom logos and graphics, creating a very high impact traffic stopper. The counter stands are designed for your indoor & outdoor shows.
|Plasma screen stand uses the elegant, slim anodised aluminium profiles as part of the graphic displays with multimedia technology for advertising on stands at exhibitions. This system is a completely modular stand, a whole range of units can be built, here are a few examples of kits for exhibits and event.
|Folding Panel kits are lightweight, velcro friendly display boards that can enable you to present your company details or product displays with ease at events. These display panel systems are extremely portable and easy to carry around to different conferences, venues, halls and events in PVC carry cases.
|Brochure dispensers are multi-pocket/compartment brochure holders are dual wall mounting and free standing dispensers which will display A4, A5 and 1/3 A4 literature in 2, 3 or 4 tiers. Business card holders are available in landscape and portrait formats, freestanding or wall mountable.
Large format printed graphics
Trade Show Graphics
Notice Boards
Pavement Signs
Vinyl Banner stand
Flexable Banners
Event Flags
Multimedia display stands
Literature - Brochure Racks
Custom built exhibition stands?
When you want to make a big impression, a custom built exhibition stand is the ultimate solution. Our bespoke designs combine large format graphics with innovative ideas including interactive displays, hospitality areas, video screens and multi-media.
Portable Modular Stands?
Modular exhibition stand systems are effective and eye catching, but also flexible and reconfigurable for different stand spaces, a very economic solution if you exhibit regularly.
Outdoor events?
We have a unique range of portable outdoor equipment: portable telescopic flagpoles, banner frames, outdoor banner stands, pavement signs, A-boards, display systems and roll up displays. Everything is in house from initial consultation, printing, finishing stands and dispatch so you get fast delivery, first class quality on all your portable exhibition display requirements and large format digital print. All outdoor printing is done with UV inks so your graphics have a long life as standard inks will fade fast when exposed to sunlight, rain and frost.


text:
Qualls rejoins Marlins after birth of son
MILWAUKEE -- The Marlins' bullpen welcomed back right-hander Chad Qualls on Friday, four days after his wife gave birth to a baby boy.
The 34-year-old was placed on baseball's paternity list on July 13 and reinstated in time for the series opener at Milwaukee.
Cavin Chance Qualls was born on Monday.
The timing of the birth, which was during the All-Star Break, meant Qualls missed only two games -- Saturday and Sunday against the Nationals.
Qualls has been one of the Marlins' steadiest relievers, sporting a 2.89 ERA in 37 1/3 innings with 28 strikeouts.
Signed as a non-roster invitee in Spring Training, Qualls has been a reliable veteran on a youthful roster. He's also been the subject of trade rumors in recent weeks.
If he is moved by the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline, it won't be the first time.
A year ago, about five minutes before the deadline, he was sent from the Yankees to the Pirates. And in 2010, he also was dealt on July 31 from Arizona to Tampa Bay.
"Anything can happen," Qualls said. "If you've been around this game long enough, nothing surprises you. You take everything with a grain of salt and keep on moving on."
Qualls understands he could be on the move again, but he added he would like to remain in Miami.
"They have a really good chance to be good the next couple of years," Qualls said. "They've got a lot of pieces in this room right here. It's going to be fun to watch, whether I'm here or not.
"They only need a few extra pieces brought in, and they could be a really good ballclub. I'd like to be part of it, but like I said, who knows?"


text:
Welcome to my blog! I'm a Sr. Software Development Engineer in the Seattle area, who has been performing C++/C#/Java development for over 20 years, but have definitely learned that there is always more to learn!
All thoughts and opinions expressed in my blog and my comments are my own and do not represent the thoughts of my employer.
Thanks for all your patience during my move to a new job and a new area. I've been settling into my new position here at Amazon in Seattle and am loving every minute of it so far!
Unfortunately, there's still a lot of life and work juggling at the moment. The whole team is changing to a new building this week and moving out of corporate housing and into our own apartment next week.
I'm trying to blog as I'm able, though, and hope to be able to get back to regular blogging by the end of the month.
Thanks again for your patience!
Print | posted on Thursday, January 3, 2013 11:33 PM |
Filed Under [
My Blog
Powered by:
Copyright © James Michael Hare


text:
Products and Machines | Putzmeister
- Gunning Machines
Little maintenance and easy to operate
- Piccola Rotary Gun
Proven performance and dependability
- Versatile, robust, easy to operate
- Requires minimal maintenance
- Shoots up to 6 yd³/hr (4.6m³/hr)
- Standard 1.5 in (38mm) outlet diameter is used widely in refractory applications
Benefits at a glance
Gunning Machines
Since the introduction of the first cement gun at the New York Concrete Show in 1910, Putzmeister has been the leader in the design, engineering and manufacturing of innovative and effective gunning equipment. Building on the rich history of Allentown, every Putzmeister machine gives you proven performance and dependability on the most demanding job sites.
Piccola Rotary Gun
Versatile and robust


text:
Uber started offering its taxi service in Washington, D.C., today, according to the controversial on-call car service's blog.
Uber said the number of taxis are limited for now. "Many taxis don't fit Uber standards, so we are curating our supply pretty carefully," the blog reads.
Uber lets users order cars through its app and put all charges onto an on-file credit card. To request a taxi instead of the usual black sedan, customers need to select "TAXI" in the Uber app. Standard taxi fees apply, and a 20 percent gratuity will be automatically added to charges.
The service is only available in D.C., but Uber plans to expand to Virginia and Maryland.
This comes a month after the city's leaders approved a legislative framework for "digital dispatch" transportation services, giving Uber some solid footing in the industry. It's had a much rockier road in places like New York, where it had tostop its service, and its hometown of San Francisco, where it faces a lawsuit.


text:
Hi, I've been trying to make a virtual driver with daemon tools lite so I can start up my "The sims 2" without the disc (lost it awhile ago.) It's been working all day until around 4 hrs ago when i took my computer from my friends house back to mine.
Since then i've tried re-installing and un-installing and even installing different programs to get this .msd file to load onto a driver. But every program including daemon keeps making these weird BD-ROM drivers instead of the usual dvd-rom driver (i think it's dvd-rom that i usually use.
Is there any way to get the virtual drivers to go back to their old "-ROM" type so i can actually play my game?
Im running windows 7, and I have tried removing the drive and adding a new one. the closest i've come to getting it back to normal was switching it to the cd-rom type. but i still cant switch it back to dvd-rom.


text:
Päivi and Santeri Kannisto were a well-to-do Finnish couple with all the trappings of a successful life – both well educated with a nice house and great careers. But seven years ago they got tired of the rat race, sold all their worldly possessions and set out to tour the world – permanently.
Q. Talk about your life in Finland when you were still "normal",
working career people?
Santeri had an open source software house for some 12 years and Päivi
worked as a Management Consultant.
Q. It seems that both of you had found your vocation. You had an
interesting careers that no doubt paid quite well. What are the
reasons why you grew tired of that kind of a standard western life?
Those careers were what others expected us to do, not what we wanted
from our lives. Päivi wanted to travel and Santeri wanted to devote
his life for love and get rid of possessions.
Q. You allowed three months to prepare for your new nomadic life
style. Lift that curtain a little – what did you do with taxation,
property and how much savings did you take with you?
We finance our travelling by writing books. Our income is modest but
we consume very little nowadays. Our average total monthly spending
varies between US 400-700$. The taxation keeps on taxing no matter if
they have the right to do it any longer or not. Our income is too low
for any country to tax and most of it consists of tax free grants.
Päivi sold her property and Santeri walked out of his life leaving
everything behind. Santeri's possessions ended up mostly to the
pockets of lawyers fighting for what was left.
Q. The United States and Finland are both expensive countries – every
time you leave your house, you spend money on gas, food, shopping,
etc. What kind of a daily budget do you normally have – how much is
spent of food, lodging, transportation, etc. and do you select the
countries you go to based on the costs?
We buy fruits and vegetables (we are vegans) and cook ourselves. We
walk distances under 10 miles and use the cheapest public
transportation available for longer distances, and use Couch Surfing.
If we stay around in a place for a bit longer, we rent a small
room/apartment and often help the landlord to decrease the rent by
doing renovation work, installing electricity, fixing things,
painting, etc.
Our living costs have varied very little between countries and
continents. We don't buy stuff except the bare minimum such as clothes
and shoes, and laptops for writing. There is enough pollution in the
world without us increasing it by consuming products and services.
Working in the traditional sense of the word and possessing cars and
real estate are the most expensive things in life. We don't do any of
them. We have no need to show off with possessions.
Q. What kind of cultural differences and barriers have you run into?
In Finland people take shoes off when they enter someone's house. We
do that, too. Sometimes it has been hard to convince people from other
cultures to do the same when they come to our place.
Q. You have said that some countries have been pleasant and some less
pleasant surprises – tell us a little of both – which countries have
you liked, which not and why?
We like countries that allow free debate and do not condemn
differences in opinion. We avoid countries that believe they can make
peace by killing people or countries that support or participate in
such activities. For us, there is no acceptable excuse in taking any
life, human or animal. We are all one. If you hurt others, you end up
hurting yourself.
Q. I bet you have run into some characters on your travels – tell us
about some of the most memorable people you have met?
Meeting Professor Erik Cohen was definitely such an occasion. We have
been doing research on lifestyle travellers and he is also interested
in the subject. We went to see him and ended up sharing a wonderful
night together cooking and talking philosophy. He is almost 80 and
beat us in speed walking.
Q. Right now you are in China. What part of the country are you at and
what is life like there?
We are right now in Guangzhou in the province of Canton in Southern
China. We are staying this week with our American friend from Iowa
whom we met four years ago when we were touring China for the first
time. The country itself is not very tempting because of visas and
pollution, but we came here to meet our friends.
The environment is pretty much spoiled thanks to all products made for
the Western countries. In bigger cities you can't see the blue sky,
it's just grey and hazy all year around. Western companies come to
China where it is cheaper to make products. The reason why it is so
much cheaper is because they don't have to care about labour or
environment. Unfortunately the pollution does not respect the borders
and will eventually spread everywhere just like Fukushima radiation.
It's pretty short-sighted.
Q. You mention the internet censorship in China – talk about that and
have you witnessed other kind of human rights abuse there?
Four years ago it was possible to find open proxies and web services
allowing access to censored web services. None of them work any more.
The only viable option is to buy a vpn service which is both costly
and technically challenging, because vpn documentation and client
downloads have been blocked, too.
Human rights are rhetoric everywhere in the world, not just in China.
For example freedom of movement has been limited with all kinds of
artificial restrictions and payments. Think about having to obtain a
permit to practise a religion and then pay a fee every 5 years to have
your freedom of religion.
Perhaps the situation is a bit better now, because Google is no more
working in China revealing the emails of dissidents to the government
for persecution.
Q. You are currently doing a study of the nomadic lifestyle and you
have interviewed other people who share this lifestyle with you – give
us a little peak into what you have found out?
We interviewed 30 contemporary nomads (9 Americans) from 17 countries,
who have been travelling the world continuously over 4 years without
permanent residence or work. Many of the travellers wanted to get rid
of the Rat Race and enjoy adventures, idleness, and masterless life.
They are not owned by countries or corporations. They are
professionals of travelling for whom the mobile lifestyle has solved
some of the biggest mysteries in life. The book will be published next
Q. You are both now about 40 years old. After six years on the road,
how long do you think you can keep on traveling and will there come a
point when one simply gets too old to do that – in other words, have
you talked about eventually settling down, and if so, where?
We are both 41 and have been 7 years on the road. This is now our 8th
year. For us, the future does not exist. We are living in this very
moment with only one plan: no plans. Earlier we had the idea of
finding a perfect place and settling down, but then we discovered
there are are too many of them and so many places still to see, so we
kept going.
Q. In the United States the Occupy movement has spread into every
major city. The Occupy people demonstrate against corporate and
capitalistic greed. Do you feel affinity with the Occupy movement?
We have no sympathy for corporate and capitalist greed, nor for police
states that some of the Western countries represent. In that sense, we
feel affinity and might well stop by to spend a few days in such a
Q. How often do you visit your family and friends in Finland?
Last time we visited Finland in 2006. Some of our family members and
friends have come to visit us abroad which has worked better for us.
People tend to have more time for us when they are on holiday.
Q. What do you think is the best country in the world?
There are so many of them. Some countries we like a lot include
Brazil, France, and the city of Hong Kong.
Q. And the worst?
In general all countries. It is an absurd idea to divide the small
earth into even smaller pieces of land (countries) that quarrel with
each other and try to build barriers between people instead of uniting
We tend to avoid countries that charge for visas or entry permits
complicating border crossings. Visas are the best way to unwelcome
Q. What is the most valuable thing you have learned from your travels?
Less is more. Travels have taught us that we don't need much, and the
less we have, the happier we are. When we possess something, that
thing starts to possess us and as a consequence, we loose our freedom.
Q. What is your typical day like – I mean, what do you do and how
much is spent on working?
It depends if we are Couch Surfing or renting a room. With other
people we usually follow their rhytm and habits. When we are alone, we
usually wake up before sunrise, have a morning walk or go jogging,
then write a bit, prepare lunch, go shopping groceries, sometimes
watch a film or play computer games, and go to bed soon after sunset.
Q. What happens if either one of you gets sick?
Santeri does not believe in medicine and if Päivi gets seriously sick,
we travel to a third world country such as Thailand that offers
affordable, high-quality medical services.
Q. Have you been in danger?
We visited Indonesia 2 weeks after the Bali bombings. The island was
empty of tourists and local businessmen were desperate. One evening we
we went to a hotel and agreed the price. In the morning, the business
owner wanted to double the price. We declined his offer and then he
started taking our photos with his camera phone and sending them to
his friends saying that they would come and beat us. Then he showed
his backyard and told that the previous tourists who refused to pay,
had been killed there. We sat down with him smiling and repeated that
we are happy to pay him the agreed sum. After 3 hours, he gave up and
accepted the agreed payment.
Visit Päivi & Santeri's fascinating website for more information, pictures and videos:


text: Photos: Top images from around the globeMAHMUD HAMS, AFP/Getty Images 04.04.2016A picture taken from the sea on April 4, 2016, shows the sun rising over Gaza City. Gaza fishermen have begun working further off the coast after Israel relaxed restrictions for the first time in a decade but said that the measure was not nearly enough. Palestinian boats started to fish as far as nine nautical miles off the coast on April 3, the first extension to the zone since 2005.MAHMUD HAMS / AFP/Getty ImagesA Pakistani resident sits on a innertube in a flooded area following heavy rain on the outskirts of Peshawar on April 4, 2016. At least 53 people were killed and 60 injured after heavy rain across northwest Pakistan and areas of Kashmir caused landslides and the roofs of dozens of homes to collapse, officials said.A MAJEED / AFP/Getty ImagesA fisherman carries a sailfish on his head to the fish market in Hamarweyne near the port of Mogadishu on April, 4, 2016.MOHAMED ABDIWAHAB / AFP/Getty ImagesA skier in the Canadian debut of the Red Bull Slopesoakers competition launches off a jump at Grouse Mountain North Vancouver, April 2 2016. The Red Bull SlopeSoakers competition fuses together two formats, slopestyle and a pond skim.Gerry Kahrmann / PNGThousands of runners fill the eastbound lanes of the new State Route 520 floating bridge across Lake Washington, Saturday, April 2, 2016, during a 10K run to kick off weekend ceremonies for the grand opening of the span, which connects the cities of Seattle and Bellevue, Wash. The structure will open to vehicular traffic later in the month.Ted S. Warren / AP PhotoA boy pose for a photo in a makeshift refugee camp at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni, Greece, Sunday, April 3, 2016. A plan to send back migrants from Greece to Turkey sparked demonstrations by local residents in both countries Saturday, two days before the deal brokered by the European Union is set to be implemented.Darko Vojinovic / APA teenage boy on a BMX bike jumps at the skate park in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, April 3, 2016.Mindaugas Kulbis / APHong Kong director Tsui Hark, right, celebrates with Hong Kong actress Miriam Yeung after winning Best Director award for his movie "The Taking Of Tiger Mountain" at the 35th Hong Kong Film Awards in Hong Kong, Sunday, April 3, 2016.Vincent Yu / APRefugees prepare to sleep at the port in the town of Chios where refugees and migrants who broke out from Vial detention center camp out on April 3, 2016. Under a European Union deal with Turkey, migrants and refugees arriving after March 20 are to be held in centres set up on five Aegean islands, including Chios, and sent back if their asylum applications are not accepted. Returns are supposed to begin on April 4.LOUISA GOULIAMAKI / AFP/Getty ImagesPeople fight with pillows during World Pillow Fight Day in front of the City Hall in Copenhagen, Denmark April 2, 2016.NIKOLAI LINARES / AFP/Getty ImagesFrench Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, Archbishop of Lyon, leads a mass for migrants in the Saint-Jean Cathedral, in Lyon, central France, Sunday, April 3, 2016. French investigators have searched Catholic church offices in Lyon amid allegations that a renowned cardinal and others had covered up a priest's sexual abuse of boy scouts. The office of Cardinal Barbarin said Wednesday that the headquarters of the Lyon diocese were searched as part of a preliminary investigation into the case, and that church officials have handed over documents "to shed light on these painful events."Laurent Cipriani / APModels display creations by Rohit Bal during the grand finale of the Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai, India, Sunday, April 3, 2016.Rafiq Maqbool / APThe Weeknd appears on stage to accept his Juno award for single of the year at the Juno Awards in Calgary, Sunday, April 3, 2016.JEFF MCINTOSH / APA Bahraini anti-government protester carries a sign opposing Sunday's Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix, in Daih, Bahrain, Sunday, April 3, 2016. Small protests and tire burnings were reported in parts of the country, but protests against the race were stymied in many opposition areas by police checkpoints and constant patrols of police jeeps and armored vehicles.Hasan Jamali / APA woman walks next to a tall wire fence at Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, Sunday, April 3, 2016. More than 3,000 migrants and refugees stay in the camp as the plan to send back migrants from Greece to Turkey is set to be implemented starting Monday.Petros Giannakouris / APSyrians walk past campaign posters of candidates for the upcoming parliamentary election in Damascus on April 2, 2016. The streets of Damascus are plastered with campaign posters and banners as President Bashar al-Assad's regime pushes ahead with parliamentary elections despite Syria's nearly five-year-old civil war. The war is dominating the campaign for the April 13 vote, which will see nearly 12,000 candidates vying for seats in Syria's 250-seat legislature.JOSEPH EID / AFP/Getty ImagesChildren stand behind a fence inside the Moria migrant camp transformed in police-run detention facility in Mytilene, on Lesbos island on April 3, 2016. Migrants returns from Greece to Turkey will begin on April 4, 2016 under the terms of an EU deal that has worried aid groups, as Athens struggles to manage the overload of desperate people on its soil. Over 51,000 refugees and migrants seeking to reach northern Europe are stuck in Greece, after Balkan states sealed their borders. Hundreds more continue to land on the Greek islands every day despite the EU deal.ARIS MESSINIS / AFP/Getty ImagesDemonstrators protest against a possible tightening of Polands abortion law, already one of the most restrictive in Europe, in Warsaw on April 3, 2016. Rallies in Warsaw and other cities are being held under the slogan No to the Torture of Women and come as the influential Roman Catholic church launches a campaign for a total ban on abortion, something supported by Prime Minister Beata Szydlo and ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski.JANEK SKARZYNSKI / AFP/Getty ImagesA Sri Lankan candy floss vendor awaits customers by a road side at dusk as light emits from burning garbage from behind an adjacent house, right, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, April 3, 2016. The Colombo Port is seen silhouetted far behind.Eranga Jayawardena / APSudanese supporters arrive for a rally organised during the visit of the Sudanese President in the town of Zalingei, capital of Central Darfur state, on April 3, 2016. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir started a tour of Darfur on April 1, 2016 ahead of a referendum on whether to keep the conflict-torn western area as five states or to create one united region. Bashir -- who is wanted over war crimes allegations in Darfur -- said he is holding the vote under a 2011 agreement between Khartoum and some of the rebel groups that have been battling his forces for more than a decade.ASHRAF SHAZLY / AFP/Getty ImagesSwitzerland's Anne-Flore Marxer competes in the women's snowboard event at the Bec des Rosses during the Verbier Xtreme Freeride World Tour final on April 2, 2016 above the Swiss Alps resort of Verbier.FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP/Getty ImagesMigrants and refugees block the highway near the town of Polykastro to protest for the opening of the Greek-Macedonian border on April 2, 2016 after thousands of them are stranded by the Balkan border blockade. Migrant returns from Greece to Turkey will begin on April 4, 2016 under the terms of an EU deal that has worried aid groups, as Athens struggles to manage the overload of desperate people on its soil. Over 51,000 refugees and migrants seeking to reach northern Europe are stuck in Greece, after Balkan states sealed their borders. Hundreds more continue to land on the Greek islands every day despite the EU deal. \BULENT KILIC / AFP/Getty ImagesNice's French goalkeeper Yoan Cardinale jumps during the French L1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain and Nice at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on April 2, 2016.FRANCK FIFE / AFP/Getty ImagesA man walks past the Canada Post building as sunlight reflects off the windows of an office tower in downtown Vancouver, on Thursday March 31, 2016.Darryl Dyck / THE CANADIAN PRESSRescue workers look at the mangled remains of a vehicle taken out from underneath a partially collapsed overpass in Kolkata, India,Thursday, March 31, 2016. A long section of a road overpass under construction collapsed Wednesday in a crowded Kolkata neighborhood, with tons of concrete and steel slamming into midday traffic, killing several and injuring many.Bikas Das / AP PhotoBarry McKnight is silhouetted by the morning sunlight as he takes advantage of the calm water for a spring slalom ski in Port Moody, Wednesday, March 30, 2016.Jonathan Hayward / THE CANADIAN PRESSSupporters of Bosnia-Herzegovina celebrates after their team scores the second goal during the friendly football match between Switzerland and Bosnia-Herzegovina at Letzigrund Stadium in Zurich on March 29, 2016.FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP/Getty ImagesA balloon thrown by a North Korean defector containing a colored liquid bursts on a portrait of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a rally protesting North Korea Wednesday, March 30, 2016, in Seoul, South Korea. North Korea fired a short-range projectile from an area near its eastern coast on Tuesday, South Korean officials said, in what appears to be another weapons test seen as a response to ongoing military drills between Washington and Seoul.Ahn Young-joon / AP PhotoIn this March 19, 2016 photo, Kay Pike transforms herself using body paint and latex into Superman while live streaming at her home in Calgary. The Canadian artist turns her body into different characters for an Internet audience.Jeff McIntosh / The Canadian Press via APA wave breaks against a pier in front of a lighthouse in Boulogne-sur-Mer, on March 28, 2016. Tens of thousands of homes were without power in northwestern France early Monday after the region was pounded overnight by winds gusting to hurricane force that also triggered flight cancellations and outages in southern England.PHILIPPE HUGUEN / AFP/Getty ImagesSouth Korean conservative activists launch large balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets at a field near the Demilitarized zone dividing the two Koreas in Paju on March 28, 2016. A group of South Korean activists sent to the North tens of thousands of leaflets criticising the leader Kim Jong-Un via giant balloons at a time of heightened military tension.YONHAP / AFP/Getty ImagesA Kosovo Albanian man is reflected in a memorial dedicated people killed during the Kosovo war, during a ceremony marking the 17th anniversary of the massacre in the village of Izbica on March 28, 2016. In 1999 during the Kosovo war 150 civilians were killed by Serbian forces in Izbica. The massacre, one of the bloodiest that occurred in Kosovo crisis, led to massive international pressure on Serbia to stop their ethnically motivated killings of civilian Albanians and to a NATO led air campaign that ousted Serbian security forces from Kosovo.ARMEND NIMANI / AFP/Getty ImagesKitesurfers enjoy the high winds off Ambleside Park in West Vancouver, BC., March 27, 2016.Nick Procaylo / PNGSunshine lights up a daffodil and draws people to the Coal Harbour seawall, Vancouver March 26 2016.Gerry Kahrmann / PNGA woman resident of the Bacongo district in Brazzaville sits on the stairs of the Saint Pierre Claver church on March 26, 2016 for the beginning of the Easter vigil.MARCO LONGARI / AFP/Getty ImagesJockeys compete during the Dubai Kahalya Classic race as part of the Dubai World Cup day horse racing event on March 26, 2016 at the Meydan racecourse in the United Arab Emirate of Dubai. Closing the UAE racing season, the Dubai World Cup day features nine races including the worlds richest horse race, the ten million US dollars Dubai World Cup.MARWAN NAAMANI / AFP/Getty ImagesAn Afghan car wash worker looks on as he waits for customers as he sits beside Shuhada Lake in Kabul on March 26,2016.WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP/Getty ImagesMalaysia's police stand in formation as one of them is fainted due to hot weather on the Police Day in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Friday, March 25, 2016. Malaysian police have detained 15 more suspected Islamic State members, who police say planned to launch attacks and tried to obtain chemicals to make bombs, National police chief said in a statement Thursday.Vincent Thian / APRepresentatives throw papers up in the air at the conclusion of the final day of the Georgia General Assembly at the capitol in Atlanta, Friday, March 25, 2016.Jason Getz / APA model presents a creation for the Hempel Award, as part of the 24th China International Young Fashion Designers Contest, at China Fashion Week in Beijing, Friday, March 25, 2016.Mark Schiefelbein / APShareAdjustCommentPrint xSharePhotos: Top images from around the globe Email Twitter Facebook Pinterest Google Linkedin


text:
j5create VGA to HDMI Video adapter
Browse all deals at Best Buy
See more in Computer Accessories
* This offer may contain time-sensitive information and offers. Please check with Best Buy to confirm actual price & availability.
- Be the first to comment!
Best Buy
4230 Belden Village Mall, #A13a
Canton, OH 44718
Best Buy
6595 Strip Ave Nw
North Canton, OH 44720