Genetic Engineering – HowStuffWorks

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Genetic Engineering, the process of extracting DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid, which makes up the genes of all living things) from one organism and combining it with the DNA of another organism, thus introducing new hereditary traits into the recipient organism. The nature and characteristics of every living creature is determined by the special combinations of genes carried by its cells. The slightest alteration in these combinations can bring about significant changes in an organism and also its progeny. The science of devising techniques of modifying or controlling genes and genetic combinations is referred to as genetic engineering. It was practiced in one form or another in the past by farmers and agriculturists trying to create economically viable species of plants and animals through various breeding techniques Genetic engineering, as a science, was developed in the mid-1970's primarily to create new strains of microorganisms that produce certain chemicals useful in manufacturing or as drugs. Genetic engineering is now also applied to improving plants and creating transgenic animals (animals containing foreign genetic material).

Some persons oppose genetic engineering on religious, ethical, or social grounds. Among the religious questions is whether humans have the right to transfer traits from one organism to another. A social concern is the possibility of creating harmful organisms that, if accidentally released into the environment, could cause epidemics.The creation of human clones, for example, is facing serious opposition especially on moral grounds. Organizations, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), are seeking to control the harmful effects of genetic engineering by imposing guidelines and safety measures for genetic experimentation. Treatment of hereditary defects through gene transplantation and controlled interchange of genes between specified species was approved in 1985 and 1987 respectively by the NIH and the National Academy of Sciences. The USDA has framed regulations for the genetic alteration of plants by plant breeders.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1980 that genetically engineered microorganisms could be patented. In 1988 the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued its first patent for a higher form of life, a transgenic mouse that is highly susceptible to certain cancers that appear frequently in humans. This mouse is used in cancer research.

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A Brief Guide to Futurism | Academy of American Poets

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Futurism was a twentieth-century Italian and Russian avant-garde movement in literature and arts. It promoted extreme artistic innovation and experimentation, declaring a radical disassociation from the past and a focus on new art, technology, and politics, commonly manifested through primitivism. The Futurists strongly rejected the self-awareness behind the overextended lyricism of symbolismthe dominant school of the time. In contrast, it showed a preference for the visual arts that discussed conservative social elements and challenged them in order to provoke a violent negative response.

Italian Futurism began with a manifesto by F. T. Marinetti (1876-1944) titled "Fondazione e Manifesto del Futurismo" ("The Founding and Manifesto of Futurism"), which declared that artistic work without an aggressive element could not be considered a masterpiece. He enunciated the principles of Futurism in relation to poetry in "Parole in Libert" ("Words in Freedom"), demanding a language free of syntax and logical ordering that allowed the poet to rapidly convey intense emotion. In "Immaginazione Senza Fili" ("Wireless Imagination") and "Analogia Disegnata" ("Pictorialized Analogy"), he discussed the maximum freedom of imagery and metaphor, which led to expressive use of typographya varying of font sizes and styles within a word or on the same line and free disposition of words on the printed page. Other important Italian Futurists poets were E. Cavacchioli, L. Folgore, and A. Palazzeschi.

Russian Futurism, like Italian Futurism, began as a revolt against the symbolist movement in Russia. The Russian Futurists split into two sub-schools: Cubo-Futurism and Ego-Futurism. Cubo-Futurism called for a broadening of the language with arbitrary and derived words. Major poets of this movement included David Burliuk (1882-1967), Aleksej Krucenyx (1886-1968), Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893-1930), and Viktor (Velemir) Khlebnikov (1885-1932).

Khlebnikov was acclaimed as the most profound and inventive poet of the Cubo-Futurism movement. His study ranged from dense and private neologisms to exotic verseforms written in palindromes. His poetry, albeit innovative and inspirational to his contemporaries, was too impenetrable to reach a popular audience. Another widely celebrated poet to come out of Cubo-Futurism was Mayakovsky, whose poetics were a mixture of extravagant exaggerations and self-centered and arduous imagery.

After his death, Mayakovsky was canonized by Joseph Stalin as "the best and most talented poet of the Soviet epoch." The second sub-school, Ego-Futurism, gained momentum in 1911 with poet Ivan Ignateev, who lived in Petersburg, Russia. He wrote numerous manifestos and ran the Petersburg Herald. Ego-Futurism, like Cubo-Futuristm, was preoccupied with urban imagery, eccentric words, neologisms, and experimental rhymes. In contrast to Cubo-Futurism, the Ego-Futurists employed a less typographically rigorous method of experimentation and were more interested in the intensive exploration of the "self" through poetry. Other poets in Ego-Futurism include Vasilisk Gnedov (1890-1978), Igor-Severjanin (1887-1941), and V. Sersenevic (1893-1942).

Futurism became a vast movement in the early 1900s, influencing poets throughout Slavic countries, Spain, and England.

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Edward Hirsch also writes about Futurism in his book A Poet's Glossary:

futurism:Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (18761944) dramatically launched the futurist movement on February 20, 1909, with his violently upsetting, incendiary manifesto called The Founding and Manifesto of Futurism (We had stayed up all night, my friends and I) and then bombarded Europe with his proclamations about the future. The wordfuturismhad a startling success, and the new movement spread rapidly through Italy, France, Spain, England, and Russia. The hyperkinetic Marinetti, who christened himself the caffeine of Europe, the self-proclaimed primitive of a new sensibility, was the driving force of futurism. I felt, all of a sudden, that articles, poetries, and polemics no longer sufficed, he said. You had to change methods, go down in the street, seize power in all the theatres, and introduce the fisticuff into the war of art. The manifesto was his weapon, and he used it to praise danger and revolt, aggressive action, the beauty of speed (he famously proclaimed that A racing car . . . is more beautiful than the Victory of Samothrace), the metallization of man, the violent joys of crowds and cities. He also showed appalling innocence about war, which he glorified as the worlds only hygiene.

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Anti Aging Arts Medical Center | Welcome

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What is Anti-Aging Medicine? Go beyond healthy; imagine stopping the clock or even reversing it. Anti-Aging Arts helps you through education and consultation by combining nutrient dense physically nourishing real food, and alternative medicine in applying the principles of Dr. Weston A Price and the Trivium Method to assist you in discovering your optimal health. Add to a traditional diet, appropriate exercise, and addressing stress reduction with an applied method of critical thinking, you can achieve satisfaction in optimal health easily and consistently. Another appeal of Anti-Aging Arts involves self-improvement. As anti-aging medicine evolves, you'll see more innovations, inventions and breakthroughs every year that directly benefit you. About Us Our mission is to help you achieve Optimal Wellness with "one-stop convenience" services to save you time and help you looking and feeling healthy! Optimal Health is possible with our TLC educational approach as well as a commitment to education so you consistently integrate positive changes to your whole self with the application of these principles. We strive to keep a professional medical practice, and we want you to feel at home, comfortable and at ease. We know how excited about these new products and procedures and methods you will be and invite you to call us now. We appreciate your business and encourage you to let us know how were doing and how we can better serve your needs now and in the future.

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Stem Cell Therapy for Neuromuscular Diseases | InTechOpen

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1. Introduction

Neuromuscular disease is a very broad term that encompasses many diseases and aliments that either directly, via intrinsic muscle pathology, or indirectly, via nerve pathology, impair the functioning of the muscles. Neuromuscular diseases affect the muscles and/or their nervous control and lead to problems with movement. Many are genetic; sometimes, an immune system disorder can cause them. As they have no cure, the aim of clinical treatment is to improve symptoms, increase mobility and lengthen life. Some of them affect the anterior horn cell, and are classified as acquired (e.g. poliomyelitis) and hereditary (e.g. spinal muscular atrophy) diseases. SMA is a genetic disease that attacks nerve cells, called motor neurons, in the spinal cord. As a consequence of the lost of the neurons, muscles weakness becomes to be evident, affecting walking, crawling, breathing, swallowing and head and neck control. Neuropathies affect the peripheral nerve and are divided into demyelinating (e.g. leucodystrophies) and axonal (e.g. porphyria) diseases. Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) is the most frequent hereditary form among the neuropathies and its characterized by a wide range of symptoms so that CMT-1a is classified as demyelinating and CMT-2 as axonal (Marchesi & Pareyson, 2010). Defects in neuromuscular junctions cause infantile and non-infantile Botulism and Myasthenia Gravis (MG). MG is a antibody-mediated autoimmune disorder of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) (Drachman, 1994; Meriggioli & Sanders, 2009). In most cases, it is caused by pathogenic autoantibodies directed towards the skeletal muscle acetylcholine receptor (AChR) (Patrick & Lindstrom, 1973) while in others, non-AChR components of the postsynaptic muscle endplate, such as the muscle-specific receptor tyrosine kinase (MUSK), might serve as targets for the autoimmune attack (Hoch et al., 2001). Although the precise origin of the autoimmune response in MG is not known, genetic predisposition and abnormalities of the thymus gland such as hyperplasia and neoplasia could have an important role in the onset of the disease (Berrih et al., 1984; Roxanis et al., 2001).

Several diseases affect muscles: they are classified as acquired (e.g. dermatomyositis and polymyositis) and hereditary (e.g. myotonic disorders and myopaties) forms. Among the myopaties, muscular dystrophies are characterized by the primary wasting of skeletal muscle, caused by mutations in the proteins that form the link between the cytoskeleton and the basal lamina (Cossu & Sampaolesi, 2007). Mutations in the dystrophin gene cause severe form of hereditary muscular diseases; the most common are Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and Becker Muscular Dystrophy (BMD). DMD patients suffer for complete lack of dystrophin that causes progressive degeneration, muscle wasting and death into the second/third decade of life. Beside, BMD patients show a very mild phenotype, often asymptomatic primarily due to the expression of shorter dystrophin mRNA transcripts that maintain the coding reading frame. DMD patients muscles show absence of dystrophin and presence of endomysial fibrosis, small fibers rounded and muscle fiber degeneration/regeneration. Untreated, boys with DMD become progressively weak during their childhood and stop ambulation at a mean age of 9 years, later with corticosteroid treatment (12/13 yrs). Proximal weakness affects symmetrically the lower (such as quadriceps and gluteus) before the upper extremities, with progression to the point of wheelchair dependence. Eventually distal lower and then upper limb weakness occurs. Weakness of neck flexors is often present at the beginning, and most patients with DMD have never been able to jump. Wrist and hand muscles are involved later, allowing the patients to keep their autonomy in transfers using a joystick to guide their wheelchair. Musculoskeletal contractures (ankle, knees and hips) and learning difficulties can complicate the clinical expression of the disease. Besides this weakness distribution in the same patient, a deep variability among patients does exist. They could express a mild phenotype, between Becker and Duchenne dystrophy, or a really severe form, with the loss of deambulation at 7-8 years. Confinement to a wheelchair is followed by the development of scoliosis, respiratory failure and cardiomyopathy. In 90% of people death is directly related to chronic respiratory insufficiency (Rideau et al., 1983). The identification and characterization of dystrophin gene led to the development of potential treatments for this disorder (Bertoni, 2008). Even if only corticosteroids were proven to be effective on DMD patient (Hyser and Mendell, 1988), different therapeutic approaches were attempted, as described in detail below (see section 7).

The identification and characterization of the genes whose mutations caused the most common neuromuscular diseases led to the development of potential treatments for those disorders. Gene therapy for neuromuscular disorders embraced several concepts, including replacing and repairing a defective gene or modifying or enhancing cellular performance, using gene that is not directly related to the underlying defect (Shavlakadze et al., 2004). As an example, the finding that DMD pathology was caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene allowed the rising of different therapeutic approaches including growth-modulating agents that increase muscle regeneration and delay muscle fibrosis (Tinsley et al., 1998), powerful antisense oligonucleotides with exon-skipping capacity (Mc Clorey et al., 2006), anti-inflammatory or second-messenger signal-modulating agents that affect immune responses (Biggar et al., 2006), agents designed to suppress stop codon mutations (Hamed, 2006). Viral and non-viral vectors were used to deliver the full-length - or restricted versions - of the dystrophin gene into stem cells; alternatively, specific antisense oligonucleotides were designed to mask the putative splicing sites of exons in the mutated region of the primary RNA transcript whose removal would re-establish a correct reading frame. In parallel, the biology of stem cells and their role in regeneration were the subject of intensive and extensive research in many laboratories around the world because of the promise of stem cells as therapeutic agents to regenerate tissues damaged by disease or injury (Fuchs and Segre, 2000; Weissman, 2000). This research constituted a significant part of the rapidly developing field of regenerative biology and medicine, and the combination of gene and cell therapy arose as one of the most suitable possibility to treat degenerative disorders. Several works were published in which stem cell were genetically modified by ex vivo introduction of corrective genes and then transplanted in donor dystrophic animal models.

Stem cells received much attention because of their potential use in cell-based therapies for human disease such as leukaemia (Owonikoko et al., 2007), Parkinsons disease (Singh et al., 2007), and neuromuscular disorders (Endo, 2007; Nowak and Davies, 2004). The main advantage of stem cells rather than the other cells of the body is that they can replenish their numbers for long periods through cell division and, they can produce a progeny that can differentiate into multiple cell lineages with specific functions (Bertoni, 2008). The candidate stem cell had to be easy to extract, maintaining the capacity of myogenic conversion when transplanted into the host muscle and also the survival and the subsequent migration from the site of injection to the compromise muscles of the body (Price et al., 2007). With the advent of more sensitive markers, stem cell populations suitable for clinical experiments were found to derive from multiple region of the body at various stage of development. Numerous studies showed that the regenerative capacity of stem cells resided in the environmental microniche and its regulation. This way, it could be important to better elucidate the molecular composition cytokines, growth factors, cell adhesion molecules and extracellular matrix molecules - and interactions of the different microniches that regulate stem cell development (Stocum, 2001).

Several groups published different works concerning adult stem cells such as muscle-derived stem cells (Qu-Petersen et al., 2002), mesoangioblasts (Cossu and Bianco, 2003), blood- (Gavina et al., 2006) and muscle (Benchaouir et al., 2007)-derived CD133+ stem cells. Although some of them are able to migrate through the vasculature (Benchaouir et al., 2007; Galvez et al., 2006; Gavina et al., 2006) and efforts were done to increase their migratory ability (Lafreniere et al., 2006; Torrente et al., 2003a), poor results were obtained.

Embryonic and adult stem cells differ significantly in regard to their differentiation potential and in vitro expansion capability. While adult stem cells constitute a reservoir for tissue regeneration throughout the adult life, they are tissue-specific and possess limited capacity to be expanded ex vivo. Embryonic Stem (ES) cells are derived from the inner cell mass of blastocyst embryos and, by definition, are capable of unlimited in vitro self-renewal and have the ability to differentiate into any cell type of the body (Darabi et al., 2008b). ES cells, together with recently identified iPS cells, are now broadly and extensively studied for their applications in clinical studies.

Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent cells derived from the early embryo that are characterized by the ability to proliferate over prolonged periods of culture remaining undifferentiated and maintaining a stable karyotype (Amit and Itskovitz-Eldor, 2002; Carpenter et al., 2003; Hoffman and Carpenter, 2005). They are capable of differentiating into cells present in all 3 embryonic germ layers, namely ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm, and are characterized by self-renewal, immortality, and pluripotency (Strulovici et al., 2007).

hESCs are derived by microsurgical removal of cells from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst stage embryo (Fig. 1). The ES cells can be also obtained from single blastomeres. This technique creates ES cells from a single blastomere directly removed from the embryo bypassing the ethical issue of embryo destruction (Klimanskaya et al., 2006). Although maintaining the viability of the embryo, it has to be determined whether embryonic stem cell lines derived from a single blastomere that does not compromise the embryo can be considered for clinical studies. Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT): Nuclear transfer, also referred to as nuclear cloning, denotes the introduction of a nucleus from an adult donor cell into an enucleated oocyte to generate a cloned embryo (Wilmut et al., 2002).

ESCs differentiation. Differentiation potentiality of human embryonic stem cell lines. Human embryonic stem cell pluripotency is evaluated by the ability of the cells to differentiate into different cell types.

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What Is A Stem Cell, Stem Cell Questions, How Do Stem …

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Phoenix Stem Cell Treatment Center uses adipose derived stem cells for deployment & clinical research. Early stem cell research has traditionally been associated with the controversial use of embryonic stem cells. The new focus is on non-embryonic adult mesenchymal stem cells which are found in a persons own blood, bone marrow, and fat. Most stem cell treatment centers in the world are currently using stem cells derived from bone marrow.

A recent technological breakthrough enables us to now use adipose (fat) derived stem cells. Autologous stem cells from a persons own fat are easy to harvest safely under local anesthesia and are abundant in quantities up to 2500 times those seen in bone marrow.

Clinical success and favorable outcomes appear to be related directly to the quantity of stem cells deployed. Once these adipose derived stem cells are administered back in to the patient, they have the potential to repair human tissue by forming new cells of mesenchymal origin, such as cartilage, bone, ligaments, tendons, nerve, fat, muscle, blood vessels, and certain internal organs. Stem cells ability to form cartilage and bone makes them potentially highly effective in the treatment of degenerative orthopedic conditions. Their ability to form new blood vessels and smooth muscle makes them potentially very useful in the treatment of peyronies disease and impotence. Stem cells are used extensively in Europe and Asia to treat these conditions.

We have anecdotal and experimental evidence that stem cell therapy is effective in healing and regeneration. Stem cells seek out damaged tissues in order to repair the body naturally. The literature and internet is full of successful testimonials but we are still awaiting definitive studies demonstrating efficacy of stem cell therapy. Such data may take five or ten years to accumulate. At the Phoenix Stem Cell Treatment Center we are committed to gathering those data by conducting sound and effective clinical research. In an effort to provide relief for patients suffering from certain degenerative diseases that have been resistant to common modalities of treatment, we are initiating pilot studies as experimental tests of treatment effectiveness with very high numbers of adipose derived stem cells obtained from fat. Adipose fat is an abundant and reliable source of stem cells.

Phoenix Stem Cell Treatment Centers cell harvesting and isolation techniques are based on technology from Korea. This new technological breakthrough allows patients to safely receive their own autologous stem cells in extremely large quantities. Our treatments and research are patient funded and we have endeavored successfully to make it affordable. All of our sterile procedures are non-invasive and done under local anesthesia. Patients who are looking for non-surgical alternatives to their degenerative disorders can participate in our trials by filling out our treatment application to determine if they are candidates. Phoenix Stem Cell Treatment Center is proud to be state of the art in the new field of Regenerative Medicine.RETURN TO TOP

We are currently in the process of setting up FDA approved protocols for stem cell banking in collaboration with a reputable cryo-technology company. This enables a person to receive autologous stem cells at any time in the future without having to undergo liposuction which may be inconvenient or contraindicated. Having your own stem cells available for medical immediate use is a valuable medical asset.

Provisions are nearly in place for this option and storage of your own stem cells obtained by liposuction at PSCTC or from fat obtained from cosmetic procedures performed elsewhere should be possible in the near future.RETURN TO TOP

Adult (NonEmbryonic) Mesenchymal Stem Cells are undifferentiated cells that have the ability to replace dying cells and regenerate damaged tissue. These special cells seek out areas of injury, disease and destruction where they are capable of regenerating healthy cells and enabling a persons natural healing processes to be accelerated. As we gain a deeper understanding of their medical function and apply this knowledge, we are realizing their enormous therapeutic potential to help the body heal itself. Adult stem cells have been used for a variety of medical treatments to repair and regenerate acute and chronicially damaged tissues in humans and animals. The use of stem cells is not FDA approved for the treatment of any specific disease in the United States at this time and their use is therefore investigational. Many reputable international centers have been using stem cell therapy to treat various chronic degenerative conditions as diverse as severe neurologic diseases, renal failure, erectile dysfunction, degenerative orthopedic problems, and even cardiac and pulmonary diseases to name a few. Adult stem cells appear to be particularly effective at repairing cartilage in degenerated joints.RETURN TO TOP

Regenerative Medicine is the process of creating living, functional tissues to repair or replace tissue or organ function lost due to damage, or congenital defects. This field holds the promise of regenerating damaged tissues and organs in the body by stimulating previously irreparable organs to heal themselves. (Wikipedia)RETURN TO TOP

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Redheads Engineering Solutions (Pty) Ltd

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Looking for Mechanical Turbine Commissioning Engineers in South Africa (multiple vacancies) for review & optimisation of steam turbines of coal-fired power plants. Extensive commissioning as well as operations experience with large conventional steam turbines and good English skills required. We have a number of vacancies opening up over the coming months, one is available immediately, and there are a number of vacancies opening up during the following 3-6 months. The main task is to optimise the plants' turbines and balance of plant equipment from a mechanical perspective. The power stations are all over 35 years old and their turbines need to be reviewed and optimised. more...

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The Libertarianism FAQ – CatB

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Definitions, Principles and History What is a libertarian? What do libertarians want to do? Where does libertarianism come from? How do libertarians differ from "liberals"? How do libertarians differ from "conservatives"? Do libertarians want to abolish the government? What's the difference between small-l libertarian and big-l Libertarian? How would libertarians fund vital public services? What would a libertarian "government" do and how would it work? Politics and Consequences What is the libertarian position on abortion? What is the libertarian position on minority, gay & women's rights? What is the libertarian position on gun control? What is the libertarian position on art, pornography and censorship? What is the libertarian position on the draft? What is the libertarian position on the "drug war"? What would libertarians do about concentrations of corporate power? Standard Criticisms But what about the environment? Who speaks for the trees? Don't strong property rights just favor the rich? Would libertarians just abandon the poor? What about national defense? Don't you believe in cooperating? Shouldn't people help each other? Prospects How can I get involved? Is libertarianism likely to get a practical test in my lifetime? Resources Online Books Magazines Libertarian political and service organizations

There are a number of standard questions about libertarianism that have been periodically resurfacing in the politics groups for years. This posting attempts to answer some of them. I make no claim that the answers are complete, nor that they reflect a (nonexistent) unanimity among libertarians; the issues touched on here are tremendously complex. This posting will be useful, however, if it successfully conveys the flavor of libertarian thought and gives some indication of what most libertarians believe.

The word means approximately "believer in liberty". Libertarians believe in individual conscience and individual choice, and reject the use of force or fraud to compel others except in response to force or fraud. (This latter is called the "Non-Coercion Principle" and is the one thing all libertarians agree on.)

Help individuals take more control over their own lives. Take the state (and other self-appointed representatives of "society") out of private decisions. Abolish both halves of the welfare/warfare bureaucracy (privatizing real services) and liberate the 7/8ths of our wealth that's now soaked up by the costs of a bloated and ineffective government, to make us all richer and freer. Oppose tyranny everywhere, whether it's the obvious variety driven by greed and power-lust or the subtler, well-intentioned kinds that coerce people "for their own good" but against their wills.

Modern libertarianism has multiple roots. Perhaps the oldest is the minimal-government republicanism of the U.S.'s founding revolutionaries, especially Thomas Jefferson and the Anti-Federalists. Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill and the "classical liberals" of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were another key influence. More recently, Ayn Rand's philosophy of "ethical egoism" and the Austrian School of free-market capitalist economics have both contributed important ideas. Libertarianism is alone among 20th-century secular radicalisms in owing virtually nothing to Marxism.

Once upon a time (in the 1800s), "liberal" and "libertarian" meant the same thing; "liberals" were individualist, distrustful of state power, pro-free- market, and opposed to the entrenched privilege of the feudal and mercantilist system. After 1870, the "liberals" were gradually seduced (primarily by the Fabian socialists) into believing that the state could and should be used to guarantee "social justice". They largely forgot about individual freedom, especially economic freedom, and nowadays spend most of their time justifying higher taxes, bigger government, and more regulation. Libertarians call this socialism without the brand label and want no part of it.

For starters, by not being conservative. Most libertarians have no interest in returning to an idealized past. More generally, libertarians hold no brief for the right wing's rather overt militarist, racist, sexist, and authoritarian tendencies and reject conservative attempts to "legislate morality" with censorship, drug laws, and obnoxious Bible-thumping. Though libertarians believe in free-enterprise capitalism, we also refuse to stooge for the military-industrial complex as conservatives are wont to do.

Libertarians want to abolish as much government as they practically can. About 3/4 are "minarchists" who favor stripping government of most of its accumulated power to meddle, leaving only the police and courts for law enforcement and a sharply reduced military for national defense (nowadays some might also leave special powers for environmental enforcement). The other 1/4 (including the author of this FAQ) are out-and-out anarchists who believe that "limited government" is a delusion and the free market can provide better law, order, and security than any goverment monopoly.

Also, current libertarian political candidates recognize that you can't demolish a government as large as ours overnight, and that great care must be taken in dismantling it carefully. For example, libertarians believe in open borders, but unrestricted immigration now would attract in a huge mass of welfare clients, so most libertarians would start by abolishing welfare programs before opening the borders. Libertarians don't believe in tax-funded education, but most favor the current "parental choice" laws and voucher systems as a step in the right direction.

Progress in freedom and prosperity is made in steps. The Magna Carta, which for the first time put limits on a monarchy, was a great step forward in human rights. The parliamentary system was another great step. The U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, which affirmed that even a democratically-elected government couldn't take away certain inalienable rights of individuals, was probably the single most important advance so far. But the journey isn't over.

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What is Gene Therapy ? – Learn Genetics

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Gene therapy could be a way to fix a genetic problem at its source. By adding a corrected copy of a defective gene, gene therapy promises to help diseased tissues and organs work properly. This approach is different from traditional drug-based approaches, which may treat symptoms but not the underlying genetic problems.

Most commonly, gene therapy uses a vector, typically a virus, to deliver a gene to the cells where it's needed. Once it's inside, the cell's gene-reading machinery uses the information in the gene to build RNA and protein molecules. The proteins (or RNA) can then carry out their job in the cells.

But gene therapy is not a molecular bandage that will automatically fix any genetic problem. While many disorders or medical conditions can potentially be treated using gene therapy, others are not suitable for this approach. So what makes a condition a good candidate for gene therapy?

Could the condition be corrected by adding one or a few functional genes? For you to even consider gene therapy, the answer must be "yes." For instance, genetic disorders caused by mutations in single genes tend to be good candidates for gene therapy, while diseases involving many genes and environmental factors tend to be poor candidates.

Do you know which genes are involved? If you plan to treat a genetic flaw, you need to know which gene(s) to pursue. You must also have a DNA copy of the gene available in your laboratory.

Do you understand the biology of the disorder? To design the best possible approach, you need to learn all you can about how the gene factors into the disorder. For example, which tissues the disorder affects, what role the protein encoded by the gene plays within the cells of that tissue, and exactly how mutations in the gene affect the protein's function.

Will adding a normal copy of the gene fix the problem in the affected tissue? Or could getting rid of the defective gene fix it? Sometimes when a gene is defective, no functional protein is being made from it. In cases like these, adding a functional copy of the gene could correct the problem. But sometimes a defective gene codes for a protein that starts doing something it shouldn't or prevents another protein from doing its job. In order to correct the problem, you would need to get rid of the misbehaving protein.

Can you deliver the gene to cells of the affected tissue? The answer will come from several pieces of information, including the tissue's accessibility and molecular signatures.

APA format: Genetic Science Learning Center (2014, June 22) What is Gene Therapy?. Learn.Genetics. Retrieved July 08, 2015, from http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/genetherapy/gtintro/ MLA format: Genetic Science Learning Center. "What is Gene Therapy?." Learn.Genetics 8 July 2015 <http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/genetherapy/gtintro/> Chicago format: Genetic Science Learning Center, "What is Gene Therapy?," Learn.Genetics, 22 June 2014, <http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/genetherapy/gtintro/> (8 July 2015)

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Sexual Futurist.com IIlluminating the world through …

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Rewilding the Tamed Sex Life

May 28, 2015

Ever had a dark, yet unspoken, sense of something really important missing from your personal sex life? You're not alone: witness the enormous popularity of sex toys, pornography, erotica, sexy lingerie, and oh yes, "Fifty Shades of Grey." It's not that we don't love our partners, but the lubes, new positions, and battery-powered toys (fun thought they might be!) are simply a distraction for a limited period of time from a level of boredom with a soupon of fear, maybe even terror. Is this really all there is? Is this all you wanted? Is this enough to keep the interest of the other? Instead of entering the mysterious forest of enchantment, our bedrooms and our sex lives often seem more like a low-rent theme park. George Monbiot's "Feral," a movingly written continuation of his thoughts on rewilding the so-called "tamed" (more accurately, "broken") landscape around us focuses not just on the environment, but also the damage we have done in neglecting our own need for a wilder experience in our lives. In Chapter 4, "Elopement," Monbiot brings up the disturbing truth that, when given a choice, colonialists and other pioneers of civilized, industrialized cultures seem to invariably choose the native...

May 26, 2015

The Nevada State Legislature is stampeding toward family values...of a sort. In a packed hearing to review "parental notification for abortion" legislation, Republican Ira Hansen (at left with one of his more enlightened quotes) said, The No. 1 positive thing that comes out of these laws in other states is there has been a substantial decrease in the number of abortions, Hansen said. Has there been a consequent rise in the amount of domestic-violence situations and things like that? There is absolutely no evidence to support that in all of the 38 states that have these laws on the books. So, rather than this legislation being pro-family or pro-child (as in the child who is pregnant), the legislation is a covert attempt to prevent abortions. That this is a good is based on the notion that life begins at conception. That this is a falsehood is demonstrated by the lack of legislation (or picketing demonstrators) preventing fertility clinics from fertilizing eggs, storing them, and eventually quietly taking them from the freezer to the trash. We're talking hundreds of thousands of humans sitting in freezers, people! Oh, the inhumanity! SF exists to help the world learn to talk about human sexuality--in...

May 25, 2015

Outside of the politically correct, fans of Game of Thrones (GOT) may have missed a recent controversy. A very brief rape scene in a recent Game of Thrones (HBO) episode of season 5 has offended a lot of people. Many seem to be offended that the rape scene is NOT in the books upon which the series is based. Others seem to dislike that there was a depiction of rape at all. Still others were offended by...something they have a hard time talking about. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) tweeted. "Gratuitous rape scene disgusting and unacceptable." Hmmm. Just what does that mean actually? "Gratuitous" is an odd word here; it means "uncalled for" or "unwarranted." One wonders, just how many rapes are called for? How many forms of literary or cinematic art "warrant" a rape? And "disgusting?" One imagines an argument with someone responding, "No, I liked that rape. She was raped tastefully!" Who, besides (presumably) rapists, is not disgusted by rape? Ditto for "unacceptable." But for those of us who watch the relentlessly cruel world depicted in GOT, there have been innumerable thousands killed with medieval weapons, torture scenes galore, beheadings of fathers in front of...

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2 Billion Jobs To Disappear By 2030 – Futurist Thomas Frey

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A picture of me speaking at yesterday's TEDxReset in Istanbul.

Yesterday I was honored to be one of the featured speakers at the TEDxReset Conference in Istanbul, Turkey where I predicted that over 2 billion jobs will disappear by 2030. Since my 18-minute talk was about the rapidly shifting nature of colleges and higher education, I didnt have time to explain how and why so many jobs would be going away. Because of all of the questions I received afterwards, I will do that here.

If you havent been to a TEDx event, it is hard to confer the life-changing nature of something like this. Ali Ustundag and his team pulled off a wonderful event.

The day was filled with an energizing mix of musicians, inspiration, and big thinkers. During the breaks, audience members were eager to hear more and peppered the speakers with countless questions.They were also extremely eager to hear more about the future.

When I brought up the idea of 2 billion jobs disappearing (roughly 50% of all the jobs on the planet) it wasnt intended as a doom and gloom outlook. Rather, it was intended as a wakeup call, letting the world know how quickly things are about to change, and letting academia know that much of the battle ahead will be taking place at their doorstep.

Here is a brief overview of five industries - where the jobs will be going away and the jobs that will likely replace at least some of them - over the coming decades.

No one will miss the clutter and chaos of power lines.

1.) Power Industry

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2 Billion Jobs To Disappear By 2030 - Futurist Thomas Frey

Amazon.com – HumanScale Freedom Chair with Headrest, Black …

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First, let me say that if you don't spend much time reclining in your office chair, then this is the WRONG chair for you. Plain, and simple.

Second, getting this chair without the headrest is a waste of time. If you don't get the headrest, get a different chair. You'll thank yourself.

This is by far the best chair I've found and this is almost entirely due to the recline-headrest mechanism. The most unique feature of this chair is the ability to recline and still have adequate support to see your monitor.

Out of a 10-hour workday, I will spend roughly 7-8 hours of it in a slightly-reclined to fully-reclined position. This position helps take a lot of pressure off of my back. The headrest is designed to stay "upright" while you lean back which makes it easy to read, view a monitor, type, etc.

The lower-back/lumbar support is aggressive when compared to other chairs, mainly because it's intended to be used while reclined. The back support also moves a little to encourage movement and shifting while sitting in the chair.

The arm rests recline with the back which helps keep the arms comfortable. They also can adjust in quite far and are longer than normal arm rests.

The seatpan can include standard foam or gel. I personally prefer the gel and can easily sit in this chair for 10-hours or longer.

That all said, in the upright position, the headrest may be in the wrong position for some folks and may push your head too far forward (or let it fall too far back). As I mentioned before, the headrest works best when slightly reclined. I had one of these chairs for 7 years and there was never a problem--even the fabric showed almost no wear. I sat in it 10 hours a day, 5 days a week.

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200 companies – OpenStack Open Source Cloud Computing Software

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Want to speak at the next OpenStack Summit? Submit a talk before July 15! SUBMIT A TALK

The OpenStack Foundation would not exist without the support of the Platinum, Gold, and Corporate Sponsors listed below. Learn more about how your company can help.

OpenStack Foundation Platinum Members provide a significant portion of the funding to achieve the Foundation's mission of protecting, empowering and promoting the OpenStack community and software. Each Platinum Member's company strategy aligns with the OpenStack mission and is responsible for committing full-time resources toward the project. There are eight Platinum Members at any given time, each of which holds a seat on the Board of Directors. Thank you to the following Platinum Members who are committed to OpenStack's success.

OpenStack Foundation Gold Members provide funding and pledge strategic alignment to the OpenStack mission. There can be up to twenty-four Gold Members at any given time, subject to board approval. If your organization is highly involved with OpenStack and interested in becoming a Gold Member, read more about joining the Foundation. Thank you to the following Gold Members who are committed to OpenStack's success.

Corporate Sponsors provide additional funding to support the Foundation's mission of protecting, empowering and promoting OpenStack. If you are interested in becoming a corporate sponsor, read more about supporting the Foundation. Thank you to the following corporate sponsors for supporting the OpenStack Foundation.

The resources provided provided by the Members and Sponsors are critical to making the OpenStack Foundation successful, but there are many ways to support the OpenStack mission, whether you're contributing code, building an OpenStack product or helping build the community. Below are companies who are actively involved in making OpenStack successful. If you would like your company listed here, please complete the logo authorization form and send your logo.

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What is Bitcoin? Learn everything you need to know. What …

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Why Bitcoin Popular Opinion What is Bitcoin?

With the Bitcoin price so volatile everyone is curious. Bitcoin is extremely complicated and no one definition fully encapsulates it. By analogy it is like being able to send a gold coin via email. It is a consensus network that enables a new payment system and a completely digital money.

It is the first decentralized peer-to-peer payment network that is powered by its users with no central authority or middlemen. Bitcoin was the first practical implementation and is currently the most prominent triple entry bookkeeping system in existence.

The first Bitcoin specification and proof of concept was published in 2009 by an unknown individual under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto who revealed little about himself and left the project in late 2010. The Bitcoin community has since grown exponentially.

Satoshi's anonymity often raises unjustified concerns because of a misunderstanding of the open-source nature of Bitcoin. Everyone has access to all of the source code all of the time and any developer can review or modify the software code. As such, the identity of Bitcoin's inventor is probably as relevant today as the identity of the person who invented paper.

Nobody owns the Bitcoin network much like no one owns the technology behind email or the Internet. Bitcoin transactions are verified by Bitcoin miners which has an entire industry and Bitcoin cloud mining options. While developers are improving the software they cannot force a change in the Bitcoin protocol because all users are free to choose what software and version they use.

In order to stay compatible with each other, all users need to use software complying with the same rules. Bitcoin can only work correctly with a complete consensus among all users. Therefore, all users and developers have a strong incentive to protect this consensus.

From a user perspective, Bitcoin is nothing more than a mobile app or computer program that provides a personal Bitcoin wallet and enables a user to send and receive bitcoins.

Behind the scenes, the Bitcoin network is sharing a massive public ledger called the "block chain". This ledger contains every transaction ever processed which enables a user's computer to verify the validity of each transaction. The authenticity of each transaction is protected by digital signatures corresponding to the sending addresses therefore allowing all users to have full control over sending bitcoins.

Thus, there is no fraud, no chargebacks and no identifying information that could be compromised resulting in identity theft. To learn more about Bitcoin, you can consult the original Bitcoin whitepaper, read through the extremely thorough Frequently Asked Questions, listen to a Bitcoin podcast or read the latest Bitcoin news.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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What Is A Near-Earth Object (NEO)? What Is The Purpose Of The Near-Earth Object Program? How Many Near-Earth Objects Have Been Discovered So Far? What Are Asteroids And Comets? What Are The Differences Between An Asteroid, Comet, Meteoroid, Meteor and Meteorite? Why Study Asteroids? Why Study Comets? What Are Atiras, Atens, Apollos and Amors? What Is A Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)? What Is A Great Comet? What Spacecraft Are We Sending To Asteroids & Comets?

Also, see our FAQ on Impact Risk Assessment.

What Is A Near-Earth Object (NEO)?

Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) are comets and asteroids that have been nudged by the gravitational attraction of nearby planets into orbits that allow them to enter the Earth's neighborhood. Composed mostly of water ice with embedded dust particles, comets originally formed in the cold outer planetary system while most of the rocky asteroids formed in the warmer inner solar system between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

What Is The Purpose Of The Near-Earth Object Program?

The purpose of the Near-Earth Object Program is to coordinate NASA-sponsored efforts to detect, track and characterize potentially hazardous asteroids and comets that could approach the Earth. With over 90% of the near-Earth objects larger than one kilometer already discovered, the NEO Program is now focusing on finding 90% of the NEO population larger than 140 meters. In addition to managing the detection and cataloging of Near-Earth objects, the NEO Program office will be responsible for facilitating communications between the astronomical community and the public should any potentially hazardous objects be discovered.

How Many Near-Earth Objects Have Been Discovered So Far?

As of June 29, 2015, 12863 Near-Earth objects have been discovered. Some 872 of these NEOs are asteroids with a diameter of approximately 1 kilometer or larger. Also, 1597 of these NEOs have been classified as Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs).

What Are Asteroids And Comets?

Asteroids and comets are believed to be ancient remnants of the earliest years of the formation of our solar system more than four billion years ago. From the beginning of life on Earth to the recent spectacular impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter, these so-called "small bodies" play a key role in many of the fundamental processes that have shaped the planetary neighborhood in which we live.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Academics | Johns Hopkins University

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Johns Hopkins enrolls more than 21,000 full-time and part-time students throughout nine academic divisions. Our faculty and students study, teach, and learn across more than 240 programs in the arts and music, the humanities, the social and natural sciences, engineering, international studies, education, business, and the health professions. No matter what their field of study, our students are active and engaged learners, fully immersed in the process of discovery.

Use ourinteractive program explorerto see what we offer. Sort by division and/or degree type, or use the keyword search to get started.

To interact with the academic explorer, please enable JavaScript in your browser.

For a more interactive experience, please upgrade your browser.

Master's Certificate

This area of academic emphasis addresses the needs of principals and other administrators, as well as those aspiring to move into effective leadership positions as department...

The discipline of media studies has emerged from the cultural studies, critical theory, and philological disciplines dedicated to historical, cultural, and linguistic...

Master's Doctoral

The African Studies Program offers an extensive curriculum covering development, governance and security across the continent. We draw on leading theories of international...

Bachelor's Major Minor

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Academics | Johns Hopkins University

Ecosystem OData – the Best Way to REST

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(Unofficial) SSIS import script A SQL Server Integration Services script for importing OData into SQL Server. ADO.NET Driver Read, Write, and Update OData services through ADO.NET. The OData Data Provider makes OData Services look like SQL tables in your applications. With the ADO.NET Provider developers can simply DataBind to data, just like using SQL Server. BOARD Board (www.board.com) is a platform for Business Intelligence, Performance Management and Predictive Analytics. It comprises an in-Memory multidimensional database which can be populated with OData feeds from on-premise and cloud based data sources. Browsers Most modern browsers allow you to browse Atom based feeds. Simply point your browser at one of the OData Producers. Client Libraries Client libraries are programming libraries that make it easy to consume OData services. We already have libraries that target: Javascript, PHP, Java, Windows Phone 7 Series, iPhone (Objective C) and .NET. For a complete list visit the OData SDK. combit combit supports OData consumtion both for their reporting component List & Label and their self service BI tool Report Server. Database .NET v3 Database .NET v3 A free, easy-to-use and intuitive database management tool, supports OData DataPublic DataPublic provides a complete cloud-ready open data portal solution for citizen engagement using OGDI DataLab, Windows Azure and Drupal 7. DevExpress DataExplorer DataExplorer is a code-free way to create native, data-enabled apps for the iPad. With its straightforward design, you or members of your team can deliver data-driven apps for todays most popular tablet without writing a single line of Objective-C code. DotNetNuke HTML Module Calling Visual Studio LightSwitch Using OData Visual Studio LightSwitch provides the fastest and easiest way to create Line-Of-Business, Forms-Over-Data applications. Drupal Excel Add-In Connect with live OData services directly from Microsoft Excel. Use Excel to directly search, aggregate, read, write, and update live OData feeds. Perfect for mass imports / exports / updates, data cleansing & de-duplication, Excel based data analysis, and more! JBoss Data Virtualization JBoss Data Virtualization allows you to import OData services and converts them to relational objects (tables and procedures) allowing you to federate your OData based sources with other disparate sources for a single view of all your data. Informatica OData Connector Informatica Connector for OData helps customers to integrate OData compliant systems with other on-premise or cloud Applications. JDBC Driver Connect-to live OData Services services from all kinds of BI, Reporting, ETL, Database, and Analytics tools. With the JDBC Driver users can access OData Services the same way that they would connect to any other JDBC data source. Joomla The OData Component for Joomla supports reading and parsing data from OData feeds from within content pages like Articles and Basic Pages. Users can include data from any OData publishers. Lightning Connect Lightning Connect leverages the OData protocol to connect with external data without copying or storing that data inside Salesforce. Data retrieved via OData 2.0 protocol will manifest as Salesforce external (virtual) objects so that it can be tightly integrated into the Salesforce1 Platform. LINQPad LINQPad is a tool for building OData queries interactively. Nucleon Database Manager supports OData Nucleon Database Manager 6 supports now OData protocol for database management. Database Manager simplifies managing, querying, editing, visualizing, designing and reporting relational and NoSQL database systems. OData Client Library for Tcl/Tk OData Client Library for Tcl/Tk. OData Helper for WebMatrix The OData Helper for WebMatrix and ASP.NET Web Pages allows you to easily retrieve and update data from any service that exposes its data using the OData Protocol. OData Native Client for BlackBerry 10 Open Data Protocol (OData version 4.0) library for BlackBerry 10 (BB10) Cascades/C++ apps. This library makes it easy to build native BB10 apps that consume OData services. OData Powershell Explorer An OData Explorer PowerShell application designed to allow ad-hoc browsing of OData Services using the command line or GUI using WPK from the Microsoft PowerShell Pack. ODBC Driver Read, Write, and Update OData services through ODBC. Access OData services like you would any standard database - read, write, and update etc. through a standard ODBC Driver interface. Pebble Reports Pebble Reports lets you create reports consisting of tables, charts and crosstabs. Reports can be exported to Word, Excel and PDF formats, or emailed via Outlook. PowerPivot for Excel PowerPivot for Excel 2010 is a plugin to Excel 2010 that has OData support built-in. PowerQuery for Excel Now supporting both OData V3 and OData V4, Microsoft Power Query for Excel is a free Excel add-in that enhances the self-service Business Intelligence experience in Excel by simplifying data discovery, access and collaboration. Sesame - OData Browser A preview version of Fabrice Margueries OData Browser Tableau Tableau an excellent client-side analytics tool can now consume OData feeds Teiid Teiid allows you to import OData services and converts them to relational objects (tables and procedures) that can then be exposed as an OData service, allowing you to federate your OData based sources with other disparate sources for a single view of all your data. Telerik Telerik, always being a pioneer in supporting new technologies, not only provides native support for the OData protocol in its products, but also offers several applications and services which expose their data using the OData protocol. Telerik RadControls for Silverlight and WPF Being built on a naturally rich UI technology, the Telerik Silverlight and WPF controls will display the data in nifty styles and custom-tailored filters. Hierarchy, sorting, filtering, grouping, etc. are performed directly on the service with no extra development effort. Telerik RadGrid for ASP.NET Ajax RadGrid for ASP.NET Ajax supports automatic client-side databinding for OData services, even at remote URLs (through JSONP), where you get automatic binding, paging, filtering and sorting of the data with Telerik Ajax Grid. Telerik Reporting Telerik Reporting can connect and consume an existing OData feed with the help of WCF Data Services. XOData XOData is a generic web-based OData Service visualization & exploration tool that will assist in rapid design, prototype, verification, testing and documentation of OData Services. The online version of the tool is free. It provides direct service or metadata URL access option for visualization and exploration of publicly accessible OData services, and metadata XML File upload option for offline visualization of metadata (entity relationship). A presentation of it can be found here.

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Ecosystem OData - the Best Way to REST

CCNE | Northeastern University

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Welcome!

The NIH-funded Northeastern University Center for Translational Cancer Nanomedicine (CTCN) was established in September 2010 as part of Phase 2 of the National Cancer Institute's Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer program with collaborators at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital; Harvard Medical School; Tufts University, Auburn University and Nemucore Medical Innovations, Inc. The CTCN will utilize the support and facilities of the NU-based Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing.

Northeastern University CTCN is one of only nine Centers of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNE) across the country that has been awarded a five-year $13.5 million grant from the NCI Alliance in an open nationwide competition.

Building upon Northeasterns strong base of interdisciplinary nanotechnology research, the center will create new drugs that target cancer cells, advance technology on how nanocarriers deliver these drugs, and utilize imaging tools that track how they travel through the body. To enable the translation of these nanomedicines from bench to bedside, test batches of the nanopreparations will be developed for preclinical use to meet FDA standards for further clinical testing. The team will also develop semi-industrial and industrial processes to scale up their production.

Cross-disciplinary collaboration will enable integration of the fundamental biological knowledge base with physical science and engineering approaches for intimate involvement in scale-up and manufacture to rapidly translate bench research into animal testing and GMP production and to narrow the gap between discovery and development of anticancer therapeutics. The CTCN will concentrate on multifunctional, targeted devices that will bypass current biological barriers to delivery of multiple therapeutic agents at high local concentrations, with appropriate timing, directly to cancer cells.

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CCNE | Northeastern University

Digital Dodge: Some Greeks Using Bitcoin to Evade Currency …

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There is at least one legal way to get your euros out of Greece these days, to guard against the prospect that they might be devalued into drachmas: convert them into bitcoin.

Although absolute figures are hard to come by, Greek interest has surged in the online "cryptocurrency", which is out of the reach of monetary authorities and can be transferred at the touch of a smartphone screen.

New customers depositing at least 50 euros with BTCGreece, the only Greece-based bitcoin exchange, open only to Greeks, rose by 400 percent between May and June, according to its founder Thanos Marinos, who put the number at "a few thousand." The average deposit quadrupled to around 700 euros.

Using bitcoin could allow Greeks to do one of the things that capital controls were put in place this week to prevent: transfer money out of their bank accounts and, if they wish, out of the country.

"When people are trying to move money out of the country and the state is stopping that from taking place, bitcoin is the only way to move any value," said Adam Vaziri, a board member of the UK Digital Currency Association. "There aren't any other options unless you buy diamonds, and that's very difficult to move."

But Marinos said the bitcoin buyers' main aim was to shield their money against the prospect that Greece might leave the euro zone and convert all the deposits in Greek banks into a greatly devalued national currency. If voters reject the demands of international creditors in a referendum on Sunday, this becomes much more likely.

"A lot of people are keeping all the bitcoins they buy on our platform, until they understand what to do with them," Marinos said. "In their eyes, now they have bitcoins, they're safe."

That said, the value of a bitcoin, a web-based digital currency invented six years ago that floats freely and is not backed by a government or central bank, has been highly volatile.

It peaked at over $1,200 in late 2013 before crashing almost 70 percent in less than a month after a hacking attack on the Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox in early 2014.

This week, as Greece defaulted on a debt to the IMF, the price jumped to a 3-1/2-month high of $268 BTC=BTSP on the Bitstamp exchange -- up more than 20 percent since the start of June -- while the number of daily transactions reached a record 150,917.

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What Is Agnosticism? – About.com Religion & Spirituality

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What is Agnosticism?:

A means without and gnosis means knowledge. Hence, agnostic: without knowledge, but specifically without knowledge of gods. Strictly speaking, agnosticism is about knowledge, and knowledge is a related but separate issue from belief, the domain of theism and atheism. Thus agnosticism is not a third way between atheism and theism. Read More...

What is Philosophical Agnosticism?:

Philosophically, agnosticism can be described as being based upon two separate principles. The first principle is epistemological in that it relies upon empirical and logical means for acquiring knowledge about the world. The second principle is moral in that it insists that we have an ethical duty not to assert claims for ideas which we cannot adequately support either through evidence or logic. Read More...

Defining Agnosticism: Standard Dictionaries:

Dictionaries define agnosticism in a variety of ways. Some are close to how close to how Thomas Henry Huxley defined it when he coined the term. Some define it as a third way between atheism and theism. Some go further and describe agnosticism as a doctrine, something that Huxley took pains to deny. Read More...

Strong Agnosticism vs. Weak Agnosticism:

If someone is a weak agnostic, they state only that they do not know if any gods exist or not. The possibility of some theoretical god or some specific god existing is not excluded. The possibility of someone else knowing for sure if some god exists or not is also not excluded.

If someone is a strong agnostic, they dont merely claim that they dont know if any gods exist; instead, they also claim that no one can or does know if any gods exist. Read More...

Are Agnostics Just Sitting On the Fence?:

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What Is Agnosticism? - About.com Religion & Spirituality

The 3 Stages Of Spiritual Enlightenment : In5D Esoteric …

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Spiritual enlightenment is the fundamental goal of most spiritual practices that you undertake. Enlightenment marks the culminating point of your practice you feel unity of soul with everything, all the mental and physical engagements are left aside. Spiritual enlightenment is the possession of highly evolved souls. Spiritual masters from all over over the world experience spiritual enlightenment, and help others on their own paths.

Spiritual enlightenment is often categorized into levels for practical purposes. The highest stage of spiritual enlightenment marks the attainment of unity with God or being one with everything. But can still there are certain levels through which the individual needs to evolve. In a similar way that man has evolved from more primitive animals, the human conciousiness or soul also evolves. For our practical purpose, put them in stages and analyze the state of being in each stage:

At the very first level of enlightenment, the individual starts experiencing reality as it is. It means that your mind ceases to interfere with what you are experiencing. We are engaged in continuous talk, gossip, analyzing the environment around us, planning about future, or worrying about the past. When you are in a state of spiritual enlightenment you are completely in the present moment. You stop judging and labeling the world. Your mind is calm, quite and still. You are very awake, and aware of the current moment right now.

At the second stage of enlightenment, you feel apart of yourself in everything around you. You feel a connection with every object and individual in the world. The borders between yourself and the world around you dissipate. Your soul begins to merge with Supreme Soul. You feel that you are not individual anymore and not separate from anything. You feel that you are in everything and everything is just a part of the Supreme Soul from where you also have emerged. Many people describe this feelings of completeness and love.

The third stage of enlightenment, you no longer feel connected to everything but realize you are everything. You the experience the oneness of Creator Source and are not separate from anything in the universe. This stage of enlightenment is a direct experience of oneness.

Spiritual enlightenment is the fruit that sets you free, as you lose all wants and wishes to receive the fruits of your actions. You feel the bliss of completeness and true love. At first it gives you the feeling that you need Light. At the next stage, you feel that you are merging in Light. And in the final stage you and the Light are one.

source

Gregg Prescott, M.S. Editor, In5D.com

It is important to remember that when it comes to spiritual enlightenment, you cannot enlighten anyone else for this is a sole (and soul) journey. You can always help others along their path or even light the candle that piques their curiosity, but the only one you can truly enlighten is yourself. When it comes to enlightening others, all you can do is to plant the seed and hope the garden is watered with knowledge.

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