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The role of vitamin D in female reproduction has been intensively examined over the last few decades. A large body of evidence suggests that vitamin D might have beneficial effects on metabolic/hormonal parameters of PCOS and endometriosis, while it appears to be associated with IVF outcomes. However, due to the heterogeneity among observational and interventional studies, no cause-effect relationship has yet been established. The aim of this review is to analyze recent in vitro animal and human studies which examined the association of vitamin D with disease entities affecting female fertility potential. Recent research data strongly imply that vitamin D is implicated in female reproduction and might represent a beneficial and inexpensive therapeutic approach, in combination with first-line medical treatments, to female infertility.
The aim of this review is to critically assess current literature data regarding the role of vitamin D in IVF and its association with PCOS and endometriosis.
We searched Pubmed for English language publications up to February 2017 under the following terms: “Vitamin D and female infertility” and “Vitamin D and female reproduction” and “Vitamin D and PCOS” and “Vitamin D and endometriosis”, “Vitamin D and granulose cells” and “Vitamin D and IVF”. We also used the terms 25-hydroxyvitamin D or 25(OH)vitamin D or 1,25-dihydroxyvitaminD or 1,25(OH)2D3 instead of Vitamin D, and the term assisted reproduction technologies (ART) instead of IVF. Additionally, we included references on relevant topics from the reviewed articles in order to widen our search. Because a comprehensive background is a prerequisite for further discussions on vitamin D-induced effects, we provide a brief description of vitamin D metabolism and mechanism of action.
VDR is expressed in human ovarian tissue and placenta.15,16 In terms of ovarian steroidogenesis, human ovarian cells stimulated progesterone, estradiol and estrone production in the presence of calcitriol.16 Furthermore, human granulosa cells cultured with vitamin D3 increased 3β-HSD messenger (mRNA) levels and progesterone release.17 In line with animal models, in vitro experiments in human models showed that vitamin D induces dehydroepiandrosterone sulfotranserase (SULT2A1).13 Vitamin D is also associated with markers of ovarian reserve, especially with AMH.18 Interestingly, a subsequent study demonstrated that the human AMH promoter contains a functional VDRE.19 Finally, human granulosa cells treatment with vitamin D3 resulted in a significant decrease in AMHR-II and FSH receptor mRNA.17 Given the inhibitory effects of AMH on the development of human granulosa cells, the decrease of AMH expression after vitamin D treatment may reflect a beneficial effect of vitamin D in the differentiation of these cells.
Recent evidence from in vitro studies conducted in human and animal cells points to the functional role of the vitamin D endocrine system in the physiology of female reproduction. However, there are divergent results, possibly attributable to its two forms and several metabolites, the different concentrations of vitamin D used and to species-specific variations. Moreover, since various cell types are involved in the reproductive machinery and a local system mainly driven by 1a-hydroxylase activity is present in almost all of these cells responsible for the concentrations of the active metabolite at the tissue level, any relevant experimental data extracted from in vitro experiments must be interpreted with caution.
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endrocrinopathy and the leading cause of infertility among women of reproductive age.41,42 It is a syndrome with clinical and biochemical heterogeneity which affects about 6-10% of women worldwide.
Accumulating evidence suggests that vitamin D is associated with various metabolic and reproductive features of PCOS and thus may be involved in the pathogenesis of the syndrome. It is noteworthy that hyperinsulinemia and IR have a central role in the pathogenesis of PCOS, affecting the severity of clinical features independently of the presence of obesity. The following potential mechanisms linking vitamin D with IR have been proposed: (i) vitamin D improves insulin action by upregulating the expression of the insulin receptor and enhancing insulin responsiveness for glucose transport;43 (ii) 1,25(OH)2D3 activates the transcription of the VDRE of the human insulin gene which it has in its promoter;45 (iii) vitamin D regulates intracellular and extracellular calcium, which is crucial for insulin-mediated actions in insulin-responsive tissues;43 (iv) vitamin D exerts anti-inflammatory actions.2,9 However, most PCOS women are either overweight or obese. Obesity is associated with lower 25(OH)VitD levels, mainly due to the sequestration of the lipophilic vitamin in adipose tissue as well as due to lower sunlight exposure of obese subjects. These data raise the crucial question: Is vitamin D deficiency an additional risk factor aggravating IR in PCOS irrespectively of obesity? The following data attempt to address this issue.
The role of VDR in the regulation of the human genome has motivated researchers to examine the contribution of the VDR gene polymorphisms in metabolic and endocrine disturbances of PCOS. The results reflect an influence of VDR gene variants in PCOS features; however, because they are as yet controversial, it is difficult to establish a clear association of VDR polymorphisms with the development of PCOS.
Numerous observational studies investigated the association of 25(OH)VitD status with metabolic and endocrine parameters of PCOS (Table 1). In general, PCOS women had lower 25(OH)VitD levels compared to healthy controls. Among the PCOS population, obese women exhibited lower 25(OH)VitD levels than overweight or lean subjects.
Interestingly, low 25(OH)VitD levels in PCOS women was associated with higher levels of an antiapoptotic protein, phosphoprotein enriched in diabetes gene product (PED/PEA-15).68 This inverse association could account for the dysregulated ovarian apoptosis seen in PCOS women.
The heterogeneity of the studies could be explained by the variety of methodologies used for the assessment of VitD, the heterogeneity of study populations (small study samples, absence of control group) and the lack of adjustement for confounders, such as seasonality of 25(OH)VitD.
It could be concluded that the existing data converge towards a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among PCOS women and an inverse association with insulin sensitivity markers. However, the exact interrelationship between vitamin D status, obesity, IR and hyperandrogenism in PCOS still remains unclear and warrants further research.
In conclusion, despite the abundance of existing literature data regarding supplementation studies, their results are inconsistent and no clear conclusion can be drawn about the effect of vitamin D administration on metabolic and reproductive parameters of PCOS. The aforementioned intervention studies are subject to several limitations, which partially explain the lack of apparent concordance. Firstly, some of them include a small sample size and/or lack randomization and allocation concealment, hence increasing the risk of selection bias. There is substantial heterogeneity with respect to 25(OH)VitD status of patients at baseline, the methodology used for 25(OH)VitD assessment, dosing regimen and intervention formulations, duration, use of concomitant therapies, all of which could contribute to the discrepancy of the observed results. Furthermore, these studies were conducted in different countries and at different seasons, factors which could also influence the results. In fact, lack of adjustment for confounders such as the seasonality of 25(OH)VitD or even the existence of residual confounders are significant shortcomings in the studies conducted. The use of a single baseline vitamin D measurement which may not reflect longterm vitamin D status could also affect the validity of the interventional studies.96 Moreover, the ultrasound criteria of diagnosis of PCOS and of the definition of ovulatory cycles varies among studies this also conducing to the low quality of many of them.
Taken together, these data may indicate a plausible implication of vitamin D in the pathogenesis of endometriosis through exerting an autocrine/paracrine role in the endometrial microenvironment; however, further research is needed to determine whether vitamin D supplementation could have a role as an adjuvant therapy in the treatment of endometriosis or is merely a confounding factor.
The implication of Vitamin D in the outcome of ART (clinical pregnancy and live birth) has been examined in numerous studies. Nevertheless, the data are inconsistent and a clear role of vitamin D in the success of IVF outcome remains elusive.
In the first experimental attempt to link vitamin D status with IVF outcome, vitamin D sufficient women undergoing IVF had higher pregnancy and implantation rates compared with the vitamin D deficient women.110 The beneficial impact of high vitamin D status on IVF outcome could be attributed to the effects of vitamin D on the endometrium, since vitamin D status was not significantly associated with ovarian response parameters.
In order to test this hypothesis, a subsequent study investigated the influences of vitamin D status on ART outcomes in donor-recipient cycles.112 Egg-donation recipients with non-replete vitamin D status [25(OH)VitD <30 ng/ml] had reduced clinical pregnancy and live birth rates. Moreover, no correlation between recipient vitamin D status and ovarian stimulation parameters, fertilization rates, embryo quality or the number of embryos transferred was noted, suggesting that vitamin D appears to exert its effects on fertility via the endometrium. However, donor characteristics were not included in the latter study, which could confound these results.
Conversely, a prospective observational study found that elevated follicular fluid (FF) 25(OH)VitD levels in combination with decreased FF glucose levels were associated with poorer embryo quality and negative IVF outcome, indicating a potential negative role of vitamin D at the oocyte level.117 However, the above observation is in contrast to the detrimental effects of vitamin D deficiency on the endometrium reported in previous studies.110-112,116 Additionally, two Iranian studies118,119 failed to demonstrate any significant association between serum or FF vitamin D levels and implantation or pregnancy rates. However, the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in the examined population limits the strength of their research.
Furthermore, vitamin D status was not associated with clinical pregnancy rates of women undergoing euploid embryo transfer,120 frozen-thawed embryo transfer121 and clinical pregnancy rates among oocyte recipients.122 An interventional trial examined potential effects of vitamin D insufficiency treatment on fertility outcomes regarding frozen-thawed embryo transfer cycles but did not show any association.123 Finally, a recent meta-analysis failed to document any correlation between vitamin D deficiency and pregnancy rates in women undergoing IVF.124 The heterogeneity among the aforementioned studies and their contradictory results highlight the need for further research so as to clarify the exact association of vitamin D status and IVF success.
Endocrine Task Force guidelines define vitamin D deficiency as a 25(OH)VitD level of <20 ng/ml, vitamin D insufficiency as a 25(OH)VitD level of 21-29 ng/ml and vitamin D sufficiency as a 25(OH)VitD level of ≥30 ng/ml.125 The Institute of Medicine Committee defines vitamin D deficiency at a level below 20 ng/ml.126 These definitions however are related only to skeletal health and an optimal level of vitamin D levels for its non-skeletal actions has not been established. Of interest, according to the Endocrine Society Task Force, vitamin D2 or vitamin D3 are the suggested treatment options for vitamin D deficiency. On the other hand, literature data indicate that vitamin D3 is more effective in increasing 25(OH)VitD levels than vitamin D2.127-130 Clearly, the optimal level of vitamin D in female fertility and the type of supplements required for the treatment of vitamin D deficiency are two significant issues which merit further research and need to be addressed.
There are a large number of in vitro, animal as well as human observational studies which strongly point towards an association between vitamin D and female fertility. Research data indicate that vitamin D might be implicated in the pathogenesis and prevention of endometriosis, while vitamin D status has been linked to IVF outcome. Furthermore, vitamin D supplementation in PCOS women ameliorated some of the metabolic and, mainly, the reproductive disorders. Although promising, these data are not sufficient to establish a cause-effect relationship between vitamin D status and fertility issues. Moreover, there is still no general consensus as to the minimum level of vitamin D optimal for female reproductive health and fertility, while the screening of vitamin D status in women undergoing IVF is still under debate. Vitamin D administration is a well-tolerated and inexpensive treatment. However, whether vitamin D supplementation could be a novel adjunct agent in the treatment of metabolic/hormonal aspects of PCOS and endometriosis is a question still awaiting an answer. Large-scale, high quality dose-response RCTs with longer follow-up are needed 1) to determine the exact role of vitamin D in female IVF outcome, evaluated by indices such as the number of oocytes retrieved, the number and the quality of the embryo formed, the clinical pregnancy rates as well as the live birth rates and 2) to identify threshold effects of vitamin D supplementation on hormonal, metabolic and reproductive outcomes in PCOS.
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99. Hartwell D, Rodbro P, Jensen SB, Thomsen K, Christiansen C, 1990 Vitamin D metabolites--relation to age, menopause and endometriosis. Scand J Clin Lab Invest 50: 115-121.
100. Agic A, Xu H, Altgassen C, et al, 2007 Relative expression of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptor, vitamin D 1 alpha-hydroxylase, vitamin D 24-hydroxylase, and vitamin D 25-hydroxylase in endometriosis and gynecologic cancers. Repr Sci 14: 486-497.
101. Harris HR, Chavarro JE, Malspeis S, Willett WC, Missmer SA, 2013 Dairy-food, calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D intake and endometriosis: a prospective cohort study. Am J Epidemiol 177: 420-430.
102. Ciavattini A, Serri M, Delli Carpini G, Morini S, Clemente N, 2017 Ovarian endometriosis and vitamin D serum levels. Gynecol Endocrinol 33: 164-167.
103. Somigliana E, Panina-Bordignon P, Murone S, Di Lucia P, Vercellini P, Vigano P, 2007 Vitamin D reserve is higher in women with endometriosis. Hum Reprod 22: 2273-2278.
104. Ferrero S, Gillott DJ, Anserini P, et al, 2005 Vitamin D binding protein in endometriosis. J Soc Gynecol Investig 12: 272-277.
105. Borkowski J, Gmyrek GB, Madej JP, et al, 2008 Serum and peritoneal evaluation of vitamin D-binding protein in women with endometriosis. Postepy Hig Med Dosw (Online) 62: 103-109.
106. Cho S, Choi YS, Yim SY, et al, 2012 Urinary vitamin D-binding protein is elevated in patients with endometriosis. Hum Reprod 27: 515-522.
107. Hwang JH, Wang T, Lee KS, Joo JK, Lee HG, 2013 Vitamin D binding protein plays an important role in the progression of endometriosis. Int J Mol Med 32: 1394-1400.
109. Vilarino FL, Bianco B, Lerner TG, et al, 2011 Analysis of vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms in women with and without endometriosis. Hum Immunol 72: 359-363.
110. Ozkan S, Jindal S, Greenseid K, Shu J, Zeitlian G, Hickmon C, et al, 2010 Replete vitamin D stores predict reproductive success following in vitro fertilization. Fertil Steril 94: 1314-1319.
111. Rudick B, Ingles S, Chung K, Stanczyk F, Paulson R, Bendikson K, 2012 Characterizing the influence of vitamin D levels on IVF outcomes. Hum Reprod 27: 3321-3327.
112. Rudick BJ, Ingles SA, Chung K, Stanczyk FZ, Paulson RJ, Bendikson KA, 2014 Influence of vitamin D levels on in vitro fertilization outcomes in donor-recipient cycles. Fertil Steril 101: 447-452.
113. Garbedian K, Boggild M, Moody J, Liu KE, 2013 Effect of vitamin D status on clinical pregnancy rates following in vitro fertilization. CMAJ open 1: E77-82.
114. Paffoni A, Ferrari S, Vigano P, et al, 2014 Vitamin D deficiency and infertility: insights from in vitro fertilization cycles. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 99: E2372-2376.
115. Farzadi L, Khayatzadeh Bidgoli H, Chojazadeh et al, 2015 Correlation between follicular fluid 25-OH vitamin D and assisted reproductive outcomes. Iran J Reprod Med 13: 361-366.
116. Polyzos NP, Anckaert E, Guzman L, et al, 2014 Vitamin D deficiency and pregnancy rates in women undergoing single embryo, blastocyst stage, transfer (SET) for IVF/ICSI. Hum Reprod 29: 2032-2040.
117. Anifandis GM, Dafopoulos K, Messini CI, et al, 2010 Prognostic value of follicular fluid 25-OH vitamin D and glucose levels in the IVF outcome. Reprod Biol Endocrinol 8: 91.
118. Aleyasin A, Hosseini MA, Mahdavi A, et al, 2011 Predictive value of the level of vitamin D in follicular fluid on the outcome of assisted reproductive technology. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 159: 132-137.
119. Firouzabadi RD, Rahmani E, Rahsepar M, Firouzabadi MM, 2014 Value of follicular fluid vitamin D in predicting the pregnancy rate in an IVF program. Arch Gynecol Obstet 289: 201-206.
120. Franasiak JM, Molinaro TA, Dubell EK, et al, 2015 Vitamin D levels do not affect IVF outcomes following the transfer of euploid blastocysts. Am J Obstet Gynecol 212: 315.e1-6.
121. van de Vijver A, Drakopoulos P, Van Landuyt L, et al, 2016 Vitamin D deficiency and pregnancy rates following frozen-thawed embryo transfer: a prospective cohort study. Hum Reprod 31: 1749-1754.
122. Fabris A, Pacheco A, Cruz M, Puente JM, Fatemi H, Garcia-Velasco JA, 2014 Impact of circulating levels of total and bioavailable serum vitamin D on pregnancy rate in egg donation recipients. Fertil Steril 102: 1608-1612.
123. Aflatoonian A, Arabjahvani F, Eftekhar M, Sayadi M, 2014 Effect of vitamin D insufficiency treatment on fertility outcomes in frozen-thawed embryo transfer cycles: A randomized clinical trial. Iran J Reprod Med 12: 595-600.
124. Lv SS, Wang JY, Wang XQ, Wang Y, Xu Y, 2016 Serum vitamin D status and in vitro fertilization outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Arch Gynecol Obstet 293: 1339-1345.
125. Holick MF, Binkley NC, Bischoff-Ferrari HA, et al, 2011 Evaluation, treatment, and prevention of vitamin D deficiency: an Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 96: 1911-1930.
126. Rosen CJ, Abrams SA, Aloia JF, et al, 2012 IOM committee members respond to Endocrine Society vitamin D guideline. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 97: 1146-1152.
127. Heaney RP, Recker RR, Grote J, Horst RL, Armas LA, 2011 Vitamin D(3) is more potent than vitamin D(2) in humans. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 96: E447-452.
128. Trang HM, Cole DE, Rubin LA, Pierratos A, Siu S, Vieth R, 1998 Evidence that vitamin D3 increases serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D more efficiently than does vitamin D2. Am J Clin Nutr 68: 854-858.
129. Armas LA, Hollis BW, Heaney RP, 2004 Vitamin D2 is much less effective than vitamin D3 in humans. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 89: 5387-5391.
130. Binkley N, Gemar D, Engelke J, et al, 2011 Evaluation of ergocalciferol or cholecalciferol dosing, 1,600 IU daily or 50,000 IU monthly in older adults. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 96: 981-988.


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Today’s Transitions is recognizing local services and communities whose innovative ideas are improving the quality of life for seniors and caregivers. Read about one of our four Today’s Transitions Innovation Award winners who won in the Innovative Structural Design category.
Good Samaritan Society gives rehab patients a safe environment for easing themselves back into their daily tasks. Its post-acute center provides an entire living area designed to help patients regain the independence they need before returning home. The center’s therapy gym has multiple outdoor walking surfaces for learning to adjust to walking on brick, gravel, grass, and sloped areas. Good Samaritan has an indoor garage for rehab patients. “They can bring their own vehicle from home so they can learn to get in and out of their vehicle post surgery,” says Bill Shoulta, director of community relations at Good Samaritan Society — Jeffersontown. The gym’s bathroom also includes a standardized tub, grab bars, and a bench for patients who might need extra help stepping into the tub. Instead of staying in their room, patients can prepare meals in the fully operational kitchen. “They can get their own snacks. So it’s not like they have to push a button to get waited on. The whole concept is to help them develop a sense of self sufficiency,” Shoulta says.
Read more about our Today’s Transitions Innovation Award winners in the Healthcare Services , Support Services and Therapeutic/Mobility Services categories. Also, read this feature on ways of improving your mobility for different situations.

industry_corpus2: Health & Medicine


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On Monday 31 October PLC Sydney college Choirs presented a short-but-sweet concert of beautiful vocal items for family and friends. It's always a nice way for the choirs to end the year. The groups that sang included: Vocal Ensemble, College Choir, Chamber Choir and Madrigal Group.
To a small but appreciative audience, the girls presented a varied range of items by Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten, Piazzolla (with a Halloween twist), Traditional Rounds, Schubert, and Simon and Garfunkel.
Our 2017 Music Captain, Isabella Zhu, did a wonderful job compering. Mrs Trisha Hamilton was presented with flowers of thanks for covering Mrs Casey Allen’s maternity leave this year. Concert performers and audience were generously catered for, thank you to Mrs Jennifer Trynes, Mr Ray Priest and Mrs Rosaria Cusumano. Thank you to staff who assisted on the evening and to parents and friends for coming along to enjoy beautiful choral singing.
Jess Lyons has had great success in the field of critical analysis and Drama. She shared her passion for the subject with students.
It was wonderful to work with the boys from Sydney Grammar, St Ives and we hope to continue the tradition.

industry_corpus2: Subject Education


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Caiman free games: Gyroball by MiniClip.
A 3D ball game in Flash, a skill game.
A very simple game, but a hard one.
Steer your bal to the finish without falling off the playfield.

industry_corpus2: Gaming


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Our best professional practices podcasts series focuses on the business end of being an artist.
• Social: How Does Socially Engaged Art Happen in Los Angeles speaks to what is needed in L.A. for artists to be effective working in communities and non-traditional spaces.
• Shop Talk talks about project management and best practices of sustaining a career.
• What Do Curators Want focuses on the curator and gallery’s perspective on how to develop and sustain professional relationships.
Was a Roundtable Workshop hosted by LACE. It explored the possibilities and limits of current organizational models and curatorial strategies that support Social Engagement Art practices. From trust building and community process to funding and timing, this session invites participants to grapple with fundamental questions: How to sustain a project? How to represent in the community? How long will the work really take?
Features frank conversations with your favorite contemporary artists. Hosted by artist Bari Ziperstein, you can think of Shop Talk like that “Inside the Actor’s Studio” show on Bravo, except for visual artists. What are some misconceptions about being a contemporary LA artist? How do you juggle deadlines, personal life, and your day job? Has your life suffered because of art? These are tough questions, and Bari gets some very honest answers from some of LA’s most celebrated and respected artists.
Much thanks to the Tremaine Foundation and The Pasadena Art Alliance for their support of this series. Special thanks to Jonathan Stoffenmacher.
A 10-part podcast series addressing best professional practices for contemporary visual artists.

industry_corpus2: Film & Entertainment


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New Yorkers are known to run around in questionable footwear. Because the city is built on mass transit and walking, people frequently wear formal wear with their most comfortable shoes, then switch them out upon arrival at their destination.
Sure enough, when I met Amber, she had an adorable outfit on that was accessorized with her go-to Princeton flip-flops. Her glowing smile and darling outfit was a welcome sight in the laundromat, so I stopped to chat with her about her outfit and she put on her adorable wedge sandals – which she was planning to wear out – for our photoshoot.
Amber got this amazing one-of-a-kind necklace from her trip to Tanzania. Now, not everyone can just go on a trip to Tanzania on a whim, but paying more attention to similar jewelry at your thrift stores and street fairs is key. You never know what unique items will turn up!
Wedge sandals are must-haves, since they’re not only work and school-appropriate, but they are great for events too. A neutral-colored pair like Amber’s will elongate your legs and can be paired with just about anything in your closet.
What do you think of Amber’s look?
Do you love her printed dress with a denim jacket? Would you wear her thrifted wedge sandals? What do you think about her bold statement necklace? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think!

industry_corpus2: Others


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For anyone in Sydney, I’ve started a Google Group for those in DFIR to meet up every so often and have a drink. If you want to join just submit a request, it’s open to all.
Hideaki Ihara at the Port 139 blog looks at the relationship between $INDEX_ALLOCATION (0xA0) and the Virtual Cluster Number (VCN).
Oleg Skulkin and Igor Mikhaylov take a look at detecting if the clock on a MacOS system has been backdated. If I recall correctly there’s a date in the extended attribute relating to files downloaded from the Internet (I think it’s called kMDItemWhereFroms). Something else I’ve seen is that the elements relating to the Date & Time preferences panel get accessed when it’s opened, so if you can correlate that with the date and time change then that can support your theory.
Ankit Gupta at ‘Hacking Articles’ describes how to create a forensic image of a device using Encase Imager, and then restore the image to a drive.
Magnet Forensics have released a whitepaper written by Jamey Tubbs on Windows passwords. The whitepaper explains how to extract the NTLM hash from a Win10 system, generate a wordlist, and then run a dictionary attack with hashcat. I would also suggest throwing the NTLM password at one of the online password repositories, as I’ve had success with reversing passwords that way.
Yulia Samoteykina at Atola Technology shares the imaging speeds that the Atola Insight can achieve on HDD and SSDs – on the drives tested they were able to show the Insight get quite close to the max read speed on the drives. Unfortunately, they didn’t give the imaging time taken so we have to assume the drive was reading at the max speed the whole time (and without bad sectors/errors).
Stefan Bildhaeuser has started a new blog called Reflections, or My4n6, I’m not sure.
The first shows how to mount a drive as read-only with virtual write support using Caine Linux.
The second shows how to use qemu-nbd to mount vhdx images.
SalvationData provides some information about the WeChat group control system PC application.
Pieces0310 shows how to boot into a VM using Paladin. The end indicates that they think that producing an image from a VM via a bootdisk will produce better results than examining the VMDK/VHDs of the VM itself; no evidence to support this is provided, however.
Javvad Malik and Christopher Doman at AlienVault have a post indicating the top malware and malicious domains that they have identified.
Shusei Tomonaga at JP CERT shows “how unauthorised logon attempts can be identified using” LogonTracer.
Adam Mathis at Red Canary explains how to use the MacOS EggShell framework, and then detect and prevent various attacks.
Xavier Mertens at the SANS Internet Storm Centre shows how attackers can use a BITS integration into PowerShell to download and execute code. He also explains where a defender can look if a malicious actor is suspected to have used BITS.
Jason Jordaan will be hosting a SANS webcast on testifying at court. The webinar will take place on Tuesday, February 13th, 2018 at 3:30 PM EST (20:30:00 UTC).
Webcast 1: So, You Have To Testify, Now What?
VB2018 call for papers now open!
Ace Lab have announced the 15th ACE Lab International Conference, to be held March 23, 2018, in Prague.
Xavier Mertens at /dev/random shared his thoughts on the CoRIIN “Incident Response and Digital Forensics Conference”. He also included the slides from his presentation: “Full Packet Capture for the Masses”.
Devon Ackerman of AboutDFIR fame joined Dave and Matthew on the Forensic Lunch. Devon described a bit of the work that he’s been doing at Kroll and AboutDFIR, and then presented some of his research on IR in Office365.
Kasten Hahn at ‘Malware Analysis For Hedgehogs’ has uploaded a couple of vides on deobfuscating .NET binaries using de4dot.
On this week’s Digital Forensic Survival Podcast, Michael covers the basis of the shellbags artefact.
Richard Davis has uploaded a video on Recycle Bin forensics.
Joe Security unpack and analyse a malicious sample that opens a PDF of the book cover of the newly released “Fire and Fury” book.
Jared Myers at Carbon Black examines the Pylot (Travle) malware.
The Cylance Threat Guidance Team examine how the Kovter malware infects hosts.
SpriteCoin: Another New CryptoCurrency…or NOT!
Hasherezade walks through a Python-based crackme challenge.
Oleg Boyarchuk and Stefano Ortolani at Lastline examine the qkG malware.
Zaid Arafeh at Microsoft provides some information about a recent Misfox infection.
Patrick Wardle at Objective-See analyses the CrossRat malware.
Josh Grunzweig shares details of a recent campaign distributing the XMRig Monero mining software, which on its own isn’t malicious, but has been used for malicious purpose.
Robert Falcone examines an IIS backdoor called “RGDoor”.
Alberto Garcia Illera at Salesforce Engineering has added multi-platform support to the Ponce plugin for IDA Pro.
Xavier Mertens shares some information surrounding a ransomware-as-a-service provider.
Brad Duncan examines the infection chain of the recent wave of malspam distributing hancitor.
CH Lei, Fyodor Yarochkin, Lenart Bermejo, Philippe Z Lin and Razor Huang examine the Ratankba malware used by the Lazarus group.
Chaoying Liu and Joseph C. Chen show how attackers are abusing Google’s DoubleClick to deploy the Coinhive mining malware.
Martijn Grooten at VirusBulletin shares Randy Abrams’ presentation from VB2017 on VirusTotal tips, tricks and myths.
Zerophage Malware has a post examining a maldoc that distributes the Loda Logger malware.
Chris Sanders reviewed chapters 38-46 of the Cuckoo’s Egg.
Stacey Champagne at Cyberly has listed her goals for the year. I think it’s good to publicise your goals like this, it takes courage to put them out publically, but also motivates you to achieve them.
Brett Shavers has posted a couple of times on the DFIR.Training blog about the recent addition of the forensic artefact database, and the benefits of reviewing it periodically.
A goldmine of DFIR nuggets!
Oleg Afonin advised that as of iOS 11.3, Lockdown records will have a one week expiry. This will have significant implications for examiners utilising this method to bypass the user passcode to obtain an extraction.
There’s a post on the Endgame blog providing suggestions for how to get into InfoSec. This includes attending meetups and conferences where you can, as well as working through openly available CTFs and challenges. I also recommend starting a blog and documenting your experiences.
Robert Merriott has posted his thoughts on the adoption of ISO 17025 for digital forensics. There has also been some healthy discussion happening in the forum.
James Zjalic shares his thoughts on charlatans in DF. This goes well with what was said in the discussion on ISO 17025 – we shouldn’t be worrying about certifying computer labs, but rather set a standard for DF examiners to work towards.
There are now two copies of the Forensic Wiki running concurrently. Simson Garfinkel cloned the wiki to this location, however, since then the contractor running the original decided to keep it up and running as well; so I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but I guess it means the original is here to stay for now.
H-11 Digital Forensic Services have listed 30 of their favourite open source digital forensics tools.
Jared Greenhill at ‘Just Another DFIR Blog’ provides some advice for international students looking for work in DFIR in the US. Jerry Bell also tweeted some useful advice.
Didier Stevens at the SANS Internet Storm Center shows how to use the ‘Decode as’ feature of Wireshark to decode TLS traffic (which Wireshark appears to think is SSH traffic based on the use of port 22).
Who’s Who Legal highlighted “66 experts from 27 firms in the field of digital forensics”. I’m not really sure what criteria was used to list the individuals and companies. I have to admit that I know very few names on the list, and even fewer I could vouch for their abilities; that’s not to say that they don’t have top-notch abilities, I just don’t really know of a good objective way to judge without people sharing their knowledge or showing what they’ve achieved – now if only we could find a way to get them to share more.
Blackbag Technologies have released Macquisition 2018 R1. The update adds APFS support, logical acquisition, live RAM capture from MacOS High Sierra, and NTFS write support.
Dan Gunter has released a Python script for parsing Bro logs.
DME Forensics have released DVR Examiner v2.2. The main update is the addition of “Filesystem Database Updates”, which allow DME to provide new file systems faster. They have also changed their license so that you will only be able to process data with an active license. Expired licenses will still be able to view old cases.
Updates More Often with DVR Examiner 2.2 – Available Now!
“Elcomsoft Explorer for WhatsApp 2.30 can now download and decrypt Android user’s encrypted WhatsApp communication histories stored in Google Drive”. Oleg Afonin explains the acquisition process.
Forensicist have released a new tool specifically for analysing the USN Journal.
Foxton Forensics have released Browser History Examiner v1.8.
Adam at Hexacorn has updated DeXRAY to version 2.05, adding support for “Kaspersky’s System Watcher” quarantine files.
Jad Saliba at Magnet Forensics announces the release of a new free tool, “Magnet AXIOM Wordlist Generator”, that can be used to generate a wordlist from an Axiom case file.
Minoru Kobayashi has released ‘vss_carver.py’, which can be used to carve deleted VSS snapshots.
MOBILedit Forensic Express 5.1 Beta has been released with a number of new features, improvements, and bug fixes.
Oxygen Forensics released version 10.0.3 of their Detective product, including Project VIC integration, as well as other features and bug fixes.
X-Ways Forensics 19.6 Preview 5 was released with some additional features.
And that’s all for Week 4! If you think I’ve missed something, or want me to cover something specifically hit me up through the contact page or on the social pipes!

industry_corpus2: Technology & Research


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Company Name : Talisma Corporation Pvt. Ltd.
> Manual Testing & Automation Testing Knowledge with 4 Yrs of manual and 3yrs of automation testing experience.
> Individual will be responsible for validating enterprise products (SSD/Controllers).
> implement and execute both automated and manual tests.
> Should have good understanding and knowledge in SDLC.
> Should have knowledge in documenting Testcases and deriving test scenarios.
> Develop coding (business layer coding, interface development, service development, creation of stored procedures etc) as required in the project.
> Raise clarifications / issues / concerns regarding work output to the lead on time.
> seek review from peer / Senior Developer periodically.
> rework on the code based on code review / defects raised in unit testing or any other relevant testing phases.
> participate in code peer review, as required.
> Highlight any potential risks to the Leads and seek inputs to resolve issues identified.
> support integration of components, as required.
> Update traceability matrix for the work package developed.
> provide support on process audit activities.
> Adhere to process and tools (usage of cognizant 20, awareness of Quality Management System).
> Write unit test cases for the specific unit.
> seek review from peer / Senior Developer for the test cases written.
> Execute the test cases.
> Capture and fix defects as and when found, and retest the areas during testing and warranty phase.
> Review work to ensure adherence to SCM policies set for project.
> Follow up on integration of the component developed with the application.
> Understand and execute automation tools for testing.
Company Name : Infiniteworx Omnichannel Pvt. Ltd.
> Performance testing experience with Web App, Web services and Mobile App.
> Test data creation by using excel, macro etc.
> baselines for various workloads.
> Setup, automate and execute performance suites and analyze results to evaluate product performance.
> Strong in end-to-end root-cause analysis on performance bottlenecks and reporting observations.
Contact Company : Infiniteworx Omnichannel Pvt. Ltd.
> Total 6 to 13 years of experience in writing high-quality code in C or C++ and scripting languages like Python.
> Must have experience on Unix or Linux with code that has high reliability requirements; code that needs to pay attention to low-level operating characteristics (memory usage, efficient performance, correct conformance to external standards) is also highly desired.
> The ideal SDET candidate must have demonstrated passion to find bugs i.e. they must like breaking software as much as writing code!
> Must have ability to read code with a focus on its robustness and security.
> Minimum 5 years of IT working experiences in complete SDLC.
> Experience in writing test scenarios.
> 3+ years of hands-on experience in designing automation tests on Selenium.
> Hands on experience in C#.
> Good knowledge on testing frameworks: JUnit, TestNG etc.
> Worked on Automation Framework development/modifications.
> Team Player, ability to multi-task, work independently and provide excellent follow-through on tasks.
> Experience with SoapUI, PostMan, Fiddler etc.
> Good knowledge in Database and UNIX.
> Should have experience in Selenium RC, IDE & Grid, JIRA, Automation framework.
> Experience in Manual Testing using selenium.
> Software Testing,Black Box testing,Regression testing.
> To work closely with BAs team/Vendor/developers/Biz to understand and define the system requirements/acceptance criteria of user stories and upcoming features.
> Bachelors or Masters in Computer Science or Engineering and 6+ years of cumulative experience in software development and/or test automation.
> Good understanding of testing process, test types and testing methodologies.
> Demonstrated understanding and experience with object oriented design.
> Excellent written and oral communication skills.
> Graduate in CS or equivalent with 3 to 6 years of experience in Automation Testing and Quality Assurance profile.
> Good experience working in Agile testing projects.
> Good exposure in Functional testing, Performance Testing , Quality testing and Scalability testing on multiple environment including web and mobile.
> Hands-on experience with testing web applications, multi-tier applications, office utilities and web dashboards.
> Knowledge on Cucumber/Protractor/Jasmine framework preferred.
> ISTQB FL certification is preferred.
> Retail or Supply Chain domain Knowledge preferred.
20) FRESHWORKS IS HIRING FOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER IN TEST !!!
Company Name : Freshworks Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Contact Company : Freshworks Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

industry_corpus2: Computing & Telecommunications


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Learn more about the good works of the Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation.
Over the course of the last three years, grantees have reported back to the Foundation across a core set of indicators that roll up to our 2020 strategic goals. The 2020 goals are that all Iowa children under 300 percent of poverty and under age 12 be free of cavities and ensuring access to oral health care for older Iowans, especially nursing home and homebound.
As you will see, we have made significant progress toward measureable outputs, but there is still work to be done. It is through our continued partnerships and focus that we can make strides toward our goals while making a difference in the oral health of underserved Iowans.


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Applicator Type: Sponge; Quantity: 12 per carton.
Applicator Type: Sponge; Color(s): Black; Quantity: 48 per carton.
Applicator Type: Sponge; Color(s): Black; Quantity: 12 per carton.
Applicator Type: Sponge; Color(s): White; Quantity: 12 per carton.
Applicator Type: Cloth; Color(s): Black; Quantity: 144 per carton.
Applicator Type: Brush; Sponge Applicators; Shine Cloth; Color(s): Black/Brown; Quantity: 6 per carton.
For use on all leather products Applicator Type: Sponge; Color(s): Clear; Quantity: 12 per carton.

industry_corpus2: Manufacturing


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Is your garage door as old as the history of Orleans and you require immediate garage door installation?
How long it’s been since you last checked the basic functioning of the system? From simple inspection to complicated repairs, our company can assist you and service you with high speed and the greatest possible quality.
Why does Garage Door Repair Orleans can succeed where others fail? Our main secret is the right selection of the best and most qualified technicians and their constant training. You must never forget that garage door repair services evolve as technology evolves and manufacturers make better mechanisms and improved garage door repair parts. Another reason of our success is our organizational system, which allows us to keep track of our equipment and always get extra supplies because when time is of essence we cannot stall the client searching for our tools. Another parameter is our prices, which we try to keep them low because we believe that repairs are not a luxury, but a necessity.
It’s a pity, but some people in Ontario still neglect to check the condition of their garage door cables and the other vital parts creating a big gap to their home security and to their daily convenience. A broken garage door spring, for example, will not only block the good operation of the door, but will also be the cause of an accident. When your garage door doesn’t close properly, you will also have a gap in the insulation efficiency of your garage and the entire house and will create a bad appearance of the property, which will decrease its value.

industry_corpus2: Real Estate & Construction


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Windows/Mac/Linux: It's still slim pickings when it comes to finding a good freeware application for ripping Blu-Ray discs, but ripping and converting tool MakeMKV is free for as long as it's in beta—and it's undoubtedly the simplest ripper around.
Those of you with large Blu-Ray collections have probably already invested in a good ripping tool, but those running a bit behind on the format changes (or that don't have the space on your HTPC to hold all those 50 GB files) should take advantage of this limited time opportunity. MakeMKV is a two-click decrypting, ripping and converting tool for DVDs and Blu-Ray discs. Literally all you do is pop in the disc, click the DVD or Blu-Ray icon, and then hit Make MKV—30 minutes later, you've got yourself a high-definition MKV file that can be played in most media players (like Lifehacker favorites VLC or XBMC). You can opt to rip only certain chapters, as well as edit a few advanced preferences, but the default settings work just fine for those not well versed in DVD ripping lingo.
MakeMKV is a free download for all operating systems. DVD ripping will always be free, but Blu-Ray ripping is only free as long as it's in beta, after which it will go to a to-be-determined price, so get ripping now!


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CONWAY - This time the University of Central Arkansas Bears' late rally wasn't enough as the Missouri State Bears escaped with a 33-31 victory on Saturday night at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.
The Bears (1-3), as they had done two weeks early on "The Stripes" in a 26-24 win over UT Martin, drove 76 yards in 13 plays with no timeouts to grab a 31-30 lead with just 59 seconds left to play. But the visiting Bears (3-1) drove to the UCA 36, and junior Marcelo Bonani came on a nailed a career-long 53-yard field goal as time expired to win it.
Senior running back Willie Matthews scored from the 1 for the go-ahead touchdown after the Bears had trailed 27-17 midway through the fourth quarter. Matthews, from Bartlett, Tenn, drew the Bears within 27-24 with a 13-yard touchdown run at the 7:48 mark.Missouri State answered with another field goal from Bonani, who had missed an extra point in the first half, this time from 34 yards out for a 30-24 lead. That left UCA with 3:32 on the clock and 76 yards to cover.
Senior quarterback Ryan Howard directed the Bears on a 13-play drive, converting a fourth-and-10 and a key third-and-6 pass to Damien Watts. Howard hit Desmond Smith for 26 yards to midfield on the fourth-down play. He then found Courtney Whitehead for 13 yards before scrambling for 12 himself and a first down at the Missouri State 25. On third and six, Howard hit Watts over the middle for a first down at the Missouri State 1.
Three plays later, Matthews went over the top for the touchdown. Jace Denker added the PAT for a 31-30 lead.
After a 21-yard kickoff return, Missouri State got a big 13-yard completion from quarterback Kierra Harris to Julian Burton, then a 29-yarder to Burton to the UCA 31. The visiting Bears were called for a false start on a attempt at spiking the ball with three seconds to play. Bonani then came on and bested his career long _ set last week _ by two yards to win the game.
UCA opened the scoring with a 90-yard touchdown pass from Howard to senior Dezmin Lewis on the Bears' first offensive play. The teams traded touchdowns the rest of the half as the Bears took a 14-13 halftime lead. Lewis caught two passes for 108 yards to move into fourth place in career receiving yards at UCA with 2,083. His 16th career touchdown reception tied him for sixth all-time.
Howard, in his first start of the season, completed 18 of 26 passes for 242 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions. UCA entered the game without a turnover in its previous three games, but had two interceptions and lost a fumble. Missouri State ran 93 plays for a season-high 579 yards, while the Bears had 61 for 388.
MSU's Harris had a career-high 342 passing yards, completing 20 of 35 with two touchdowns. Burton caught 10 passes for 194 yards. UCA's defense recorded 10 plays for lost yardage, with sophomore defensive end Bailey McIver recording a career-high three tackles for loss. Linebacker Ricky Wyatt and cornerback Prince Ene had career highs with 11 and 10 tackles, respectively.Watts blocked a punt for the Bears, the first since the 2013 season opener by Smith.
UCA continues its two-game homestand with a 3 p.m. kickoff next Saturday against Nicholls State, the Southland Conference opener for both teams.

industry_corpus2: Sports


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Take a load off and let Blush Bloomsburg pamper your hands and feet. Relax in our massaging pedicure chairs as you submerge your feet into a warm whirlpool bath.
We exclusively use CND Nail Polish and Hempz Lotions.
Blush Bloomsburg gift certificates make the perfect gift anytime! They may be purchased in the salon or instantly on our facebook page, or by clicking here!
Customer Satisfaction is our #1 Priority. Our talented and experiences stylists strive to provide you with the best quality services, friendly and relaxing atmosphere, and high quality products. 100% satisfaction is our goal. Please register any concerns with management before leaving the salon.
Bring in your current student ID and get an additional 10% off your services or product purchase (excludes Saturday men's hair cut).

industry_corpus2: Hospitality & Catering


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Developed in PHP and MySQL under Apache. Created and manage their website, social media and maps.
Served on the Board of Directors. Managed several Drupal ("LAMP") websites, social media and emailing lists.
Developed in PHP and MySQL under Apache/Linux. Created and still manage the Drupal website, social media and emailing lists of this famed circus.
Developed in PHP and MySQL under Apache to manage their Drupal website, and created their social media presence.
Working in PHP and MySQL under Apache to create and manage their Drupal website, social media and emailing lists.
Developed in PHP and MySQL to maintain and enhance web-based project management software.
Developed in Perl and PHP, SSI and HTML under Apache to overhaul and maintain Chicago's leading party resources advertising system.
Developed in PHP, MySQL, HTML and CSS under Apache.
Developed in Perl under Linux to create an e-commerce system for PalmPilot software.
Created a Windows/DOS game in Pascal and its e-commerce site in Perl under Unix.
Created e-commerce sites in Perl under Unix to sell PalmPilot software.
Created early online retail system with integrated credit card processing in C under Unix for enigmatic game sales.
Developed e-commerce system in C under Unix to sell PalmPilot accessories.
Developed in Informix/Cobol SQL/4GL under Unix, C under NT to implement online video ordering.
Developed in NetDynamics, C and Informix under NT and SCO Unix to implement online order entry to a Cobol legacy mainframe.
Developed server software in C under Linux to support thin-client browsers.
Developed in Cobol and C under Unix to maintain and enhance a high-end accounting system.
Developed in Tex, Awk and PostScript under DOS and Unix. Converted diverse media and file formats for printing.


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MM961G - RTV i AGD - Manta S.A.
A keyboard for real players!
Manta MM961g is a unique product that impresses not only with its functionality, but also with a unique, modern design that will appeal to all lovers of computer games.
Manta MM961g is an innovative keyboard. It is a plug and play device that allows you to play or use your computer immediately after connection. The keyboard is equipped with a 1.5 m braided cable with a ferromagnetic filter and a durable and elegant ABS casing.
Thanks to the backlit keys, this keyboard becomes a real treat for the greatest fans of computer gadgets. The backlight comes in three colors - red, blue and magenta. The device is equipped with 12 multimedia buttons.
There are no frequently asked questions for the productMM961G.


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Buying a kitchen is a big decision for most customers – and nothing works quite so well in driving that decision as seeing products in an appealing display – which is why Bushboard is offering retailers an unmissable opportunity to show off new Evolve solid core worksurfaces at their best.
To showcase Evolve at its best, Bushboard recommends a minimum of two worksurfaces, an undermount sink, drainer grooves and a splashback or upstand.
Evolve is a brand-new collection of 15 designer worksurfaces in four exciting surface textures, The range also includes a new acrylic splashback selection. Innovative and brand new, Evolve dual-faced solid core worksurfaces have a 12.5mm ultra-slim design with a sharp square edge profile which has been designed to give an authentic, slab-like appearance.
The new Evolve range includes 15 bold, 100% waterproof designs which have been matched with one of five principal, solid core colours, white, cream, light grey, dark grey and extra black. The matched core colour means perfectly contrasting drainer grooves and machine cuts edges.
Caption: Evolve Luna from Bushboard.


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How far are you in your wedding planning? Have you found yourself completely caught up in this wedding "stuff" yet?
away trying to make the day perfect.
tips for you to think about before you even go out looking.
up there that each addition can equal a significant amount of money.
invited. If you are inviting 300 guests that is a total savings of $141!
be to send your invitations and you will not have to deal with returned invitations or even over-paying for them.
easy to fold. They will also have matching envelopes and many will even have response cards for you to print on also.


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This past Palm Sunday after the high mass aloha hour had finished, I went over to the church and garden to reflect upon the morning. We had two wonderful Palm Sunday liturgies. The 8:00 am mass was beautiful in its simplicity and minimalism, and I have come to appreciate that this mass has very little music. In contrast, Sunday's high mass had a glorious procession, wonderful music, and extravagant ritual. It was quite the spectacle to see our congregation marching down Kapahulu Avenue, palms waving in the air with thurifer, crucifer, and banner leading the way. Twice traffic came to a halt on Kapahulu as our procession crossed the avenue. Everyone seemed to enjoy the walk through the neighborhood. There was more traffic this past Sunday on Kapahulu due to the Hapalua Half-Marathon, and thus many more people witnessed our walk than on past Palm Sundays.
As we have done in the past, we followed the traditional Palm Sunday liturgy that is outlined in the prayer book. Some churches are moving the passion story to after communion, and more churches are completely omitting the passion on Palm Sunday. The Liturgy of the Palms with the Mass of the Passion has worked well for us at St. Mark's. The three choir men who chanted the Passion of St. Matthew did a stellar job. I also appreciate hearing two passion narratives every Holy Week, the first being on Palm Sunday and the second being on Good Friday. All of us need to hear more scripture on a regular basis. I have always been grateful that we are not allowed to shorten the readings at the Sunday masses in the Episcopal Church, but we do have the option of lengthening the readings. Hearing more scripture is always a good thing.
As we welcome the resurrection of Jesus Christ this weekend, we will hear a lot more scripture. At the Easter Vigil we will have five Old Testament readings, an epistle, and the resurrection story from Matthew's Gospel. At the Vigil the Exodus story is required, but we will also hear stories of the creation from Genesis, Noah's ark, the sacrifice of Isaac, and Ezekiel's valley of the dry bones. You can see the full options for readings in the prayer book's Easter Vigil service.
If you come to church on Easter Day in addition to Easter Eve, you will hear even more sets of readings. There are actually three to four possible Easter mass choices (depending on how you do the counting), beginning with the Vigil on Easter Eve and ending with the evening mass on Easter Day. Early in the morning on Easter Day at 8:00 am we will hear Matthew's account of the resurrection once more. Later in the morning at the 10:00 am High Mass we will hear John's account of the resurrection with Mary Magdalene in the garden. On Easter evening we will hear a resurrection story from Luke's Gospel - the disciples walking on the road to Emmaus when they encounter the risen Christ in the breaking of the bread.
If you desire an Easter mass with full choir and organ, you should come to the Easter Vigil or the Easter Day Solemn High Mass. If you want a quiet, contemplative mass without music, you will be happiest at the early 8:00 am mass on Easter Day. Sunday evening's mass is contemplative, but with the music of chant. All four masses have their beauty and purpose. Why so many Easter masses you might ask? The Easter story is a broad story that spans several hours and places, whether it is the early morning or the evening sunset. Each of these Easter masses recalls a specific moment in the resurrection drama, and thus these liturgies are celebrated at the times that match the resurrection events.
All worship is mission. As a church, we are challenged to have our doors open as much as possible, inviting people to come and encounter Jesus in as many ways as possible. William Temple, a former archbishop of Canterbury, is famous for saying, "the Church is the only society on earth that exists for the benefit of non-members." When we come to worship this Easter, let us remember that we come for the Risen Christ, and we come so that we might share the Risen Christ with others. Too often churches fall into the trap of becoming a closed family, existing for the desires of the members. Membership is not our goal or concern. We strive for discipleship. As we celebrate another Easter at St. Mark's, let's remember that we open our doors for others and not just ourselves, and that ultimately, everything we do is for the glory of Jesus Christ.


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Logo is that corporate identity which makes up the stance and impression of a company/organization. Before starting a business firm or a company, the owner wants an appropriate logo design for his platform so that people would keep the company’s existence in mind and won’t forget its landmark.
A logo design works like magic, it helps communicating the niche, façade and forte of the organization therefore it is highly recommended that logos should not be ambiguous in appearance to put people into “wondering” mode. A logo has to represent the company’s perspective and should act like its spokesperson.
Just by looking at a company’s logo design, one can know what is the meaning, motive, ideology and story behind the corporation. A graphic designer should be open to ideas; he should use the elements of creativity and innovation in his designs rather than stereotyping the stuff. He can bring a new streak and a flash of novel gesture in the logo design to make it different and yet so unique.
However to extract ideas, one can always look up to the works of the experts, through this, the process of designing and creating logo designs becomes way too easy. A logo design should neither be too simple or too complex. Here is a tip for all: use apt colors, don’t go overboard with the design, and keep it within creative boundaries, a fanciful logo design can sometimes be not gotten across easily. It should be easy enough to be understood by a common man of average intellect.
Here I am presenting before you 10 guidelines for a logo design. For the new designers this little post can make big differences, because if they keep certain cardinal ingredients of designing a logo, in their minds, it would become easy for them to do it nicely. Have a glimpse at the important commandments and I am sure it will be fruitful for you for your coming logo projects.
Its great post. I like the information as I was looking for the same info for a long time.


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Top quotes from the Eagles’ thrilling, roller-coaster, season-saving, ref-ripping 32-30 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.
It's third-and-10. The Eagles had just blown a 29-16 lead in the fourth quarter.
Nick Foles completes a 19-yard pass to Alshon Jeffery to keep the drive alive — but is Nick Foles alive?
Foles was bulldozed by Jadeveon Clowney and is flat on his back in the end zone.
Center Jason Kelce held himself responsible.
He was still alive, and minutes later — thanks to Zach Ertz, Darren Sproles and Jake Elliott — so was the Eagles’ season.
Which didn’t surprise Long at all.
“It’s Christmas. It’s Saint Nick,” Long said.
Long wants some credit too.
Foles appreciates the shrine which his teammates built to him in the locker room, complete with lit candles, pictures of Foles and a copy of Foles' book.
Foles threw for a franchise record 471 yards. The Eagles have nine 400-yard passing games since 1999, and Foles has four of them.
He has been great, but Carson Wentz is still the franchise QB. This may have been Foles’ final game at the Linc, and the thought crossed his mind.
“It did,” he said. “It’s emotional. I love playing in Philly. I knew there was a chance this could be it. I don’t think about the future, but I am aware of that because the city means a lot to me. This team means a lot to me. Wearing that jersey means a lot to me.
Brandon Graham in the second quarter was called for roughing the passer on what looked like a perfectly clean hit.
“What did he tell me. He told me that I hit him in the shoulder and neck area. That’s what he said. It wasn’t the body weight,” Graham said.
Ertz in the third quarter caught his 111th pass of the season to break Jason Witten’s single-season record for receptions by a tight end.
With 12 receptions for 110 yards, Ertz now has 113 this season.
“I don’t think I’ve truly come to grips with it yet," he said before expressing his thanks to Witten and Brent Celek, among many others.
It’s his franchise record 10th career game with double-digit receptions. Only two other tight ends in league history have recorded double-figure games with double-figure receptions: Witten (11) and Tony Gonzalez (15).
Deshaun Watson somehow escaped a handful of Eagles late in the fourth quarter and threw a 22-yard laser to tight end Jordan Akins to convert a third-and-11.
With a win over Washington and a Vikings loss at home to the Bears, the Eagles are in the playoffs.


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Time for pampering! Anyone who receives one of these gifts will feel loved and cared for. They are easy, healthy, very relaxing, or even invigorating!
These are the most common recipes you will find, but they are also the most treasured. Most people won’t make these things for themselves, so they love to get them from others. They are most often quick and super easy and smell amazing.
People love to receive health gifts that they can have on hand to try when in need. This is also a great way to introduce someone to the power of essential oils. I’ve had a number of friends who had never used them before get hooked after a gift, because of the great benefits they saw when using them for the first time.
Essential Oils can be used all around the home – in diffusers, candles, when you clean and when you relax. Here are some great ideas that would make wonderful gifts! I love how beautiful these crafters are able to make these gifts.
By definition, soap is not soap without lye and the saponification process. So, no short cuts here, but you definitely can make soap 3 weeks out and have wonderful hard bars that people will “ooh” and “ahh” over.
Guys love homemade gifts as well. I have a friend who makes wine as a gift, as well as amazing wood work that anyone would love. Here are a few very simple gifts that are a big hit as well.
And of course, who everyone loves a great Hot Cocoa mix!
Any ideas for a men’s cologne? My husband wears store-bought cologne and it make me sick to my stomach to smell it.
Love, love, love seeing so many going organic.
You forgot to include the link.
Kelly, I just wanted to tell you I love your blog, I love this post so much, I had to share it on my pinter estate and fb, you always have great things to share.
Happy Holidays to you and may the new year be even better!
I love your ideas Kelly! Perfect for the festive season!
Kelly you have lovely presentation! These gifts look so attractive and interesting! My nose just want’s to smell them all!
I love giving and receiving homemade gifts, what a great list!
What great ideas! I love using natural products so giving them as gifts is an outstanding idea.
WOW! What a different array of lovely gifts. I am especially intrigued by the diffuser beads, wool dryer balls and the cornstarch ornaments. What lovely gift ideas!! Thanks for sharing them.
I know. I want to make the diffuser bracelet. I’ve looked and haven’t found the right kind of beads yet.
Really, you can’t? I had never heard of that.
Lovely round-up! Thanks for sharing with us at Mommy Monday!
I feel like I’m being pampered just looking at this post. Now I am trying to think of who I can BEG to make me a few!
THIS IS AWESOME!! Thank you!! Pinned this to our #MMBH board to save for later. 🙂 Thanks for sharing with us.
You’re welcome! I’m glad you found some ideas that you can use.
Thank you for the great resource, I’m definitely bookmarking this one!!


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Think•Move Chess Academy offers special classes to varying ages and skill levels. All classes last a total of six weeks , one hour each, where participants come in once a week. In all classes, time is divided for lecture, practice and supplemental activities.
This is a perfect class for students starting from scratch. In this class students will learn the movements of all the chess pieces as well as the most important chess rules: check, checkmate, and stalemate. By the end of the class students should be able to confidently set up a chess board, move pieces legally, and fully understand the difference between, check, checkmate, and stalemate.
This class is great for students who know how to move all of the pieces, and has some idea of what check, checkmate, and stalemate is, but not much else. The students in this class will master several common, but critical, checkmating techniques, such as: the Helpers Mate, King and Queen v King Mate, Ladder Mate, and Bank Rank Mate. In addition, students will learn the very important special rules: promotion, en passant, and castling. By the end of this class, students should be able to confidently play a legal game of chess!
This class will pick up where the Beginner II class left off. Students will begin by reviewing the special rules and a few basic, but important, mating patterns. The students will then dive into some of the most critical chess strategies & tactics every beginner chess player should know: the value of pieces, looking out for hanging pieces, what the three opening principles are, and counting attackers v defenders to know when to trade pieces. In addition, we will break down the Scholar’s Mate, how to defend against it, and why it’s not recommended to play in competition. After this class, players will be ready for tournament/competition play!
In this class, students will move on past the basic concepts of tactics and strategy and begin more advanced topics in not only those areas, but openings and endgames. This class will help students prepare for the Master Class, as well as help them compete at a higher tournament level. In this class students will learn tactics such as: double attacks, forks, pins, skewers, discovered attacks and double checks. These are basic, yet critical tactics every chess player must be familiar with. Finally, students will learn the algebraic chess notation used to record games; a very important skill to become comfortable with for every aspiring tournament player.
This class is designed for students who want to increase their USCF rating, and compete at a higher tournament level. Students in this class will learn how to apply all of the basic, but critical, concepts taught in the previous classes. The goal of this class is to achieve a USCF Rating of 1000. It is a requirement to have completed our Intermediate II class, or fully understand the concepts taught in that class, prior to joining the Master classes. With our punch card system, you can drop in at your convenience until all lessons purchased have been used..
ThinkMove Chess Academy: © 2019. All rights reserved.


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Chicago: “Morning Pro Musica; Takacs Quartet,” 03/29/1985, WGBH Media Library & Archives, accessed April 20, 2019, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/A_4C0D00BB70E14D138FE9E278A20DF112.
MLA: “Morning Pro Musica; Takacs Quartet.” 03/29/1985. WGBH Media Library & Archives. Web. April 20, 2019. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/A_4C0D00BB70E14D138FE9E278A20DF112>.


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I've been culturing raw milk into yogurt for about a year now but as I've been reading more about the benefits of traditionally fermented foods, I wanted to diversify.
Traditional cultured milks are not only digestible but also nutritious. According to Harold McGee, beneficial bacteria found in "traditional, spontaneously fermented milks" take up residence in our guts and promote health all over the body. The bacteria secrete antibacterial agents, enhance immunity, break down cholesterol, and reduce carcinogens. The bacteria added to industrial yogurt don't necessarily do the same good work.
The immune system (which protects our bodies from everything from common colds to vile cancers) is inextricably linked with the digestive system, you simply can't have a healthy body without a healthy digestive system! That is why we *need* traditionally cultured foods. Think of it as an inexpensive health insurance policy.
Now on to the fun stuff. Over the past few weeks I have dabbled in kefir, kombucha, villi yogurt and lacto-fermented mayonnaise and pickles. It has been quite fun, though not everything has been a smashing success.
Lacto-fermentation is an ancient process of preserving vegetables. Think of traditional saurkraut. Cabbage is put in a crock with water, salt and spices. Lactic acid is formed and the good bacteria and enzymes preserves the cabbage into something healthful and delicious. No heat or refrigeration needed. Nourishing Days has a lovely four part series on fermenting. I used her method for making these pickles.
These turned out absolutely delicious; crunchy, tangy and not too salty. I am going to branch out as the summer season goes on. Since these pickles turned out so well, I made the investment in a dozen quart size wide mouth mason jars. I really want to pickle perfect summer peaches to enjoy in the dead of winter.
I once tried to make my own mayo. It would not emulsify, no matter how much I beat, whipped, how slowly I dribbled and streamed. And cried. All those eggs and good olive oil gone to waste. It would be a long time before I tried again. But I'm not one to bow down from a challenge in the kitchen. Armed with my trusty blender, farm fresh eggs and this method, I tried again. This time adding whey to make it lacto-fermented, upping the nutritional value as well as making it keep longer.
Success! It turned out thick and lovely. Having everything at room temperature is a must and the blender made it so easy. Although the fermentation is supposed to make it keep, tell that to Rob, who is slathering it on everything he can get his hands on.
I purchased some cultures and starters from Cultures for Health. Specifically milk kefir grains, kombucha tea starter culture and villi yogurt culture. Villi yogurt is meant to culture on the counter top. I followed the directions to the letter, it turned out thick and lovely looking but was so sour it was completely inedible. But it wasn't all wasted. I strained out the whey to keep for other uses like soaking brown rice and making more lacto-fermented goodies.
The kefir grains (read more about kefir here) needed to be rehydrated also. Place the grains in a little milk and let sit for 24 hours. Strain and repeat daily for about a week until the milk starts to sour and thicken. Then they are ready.
Add the kefir grains to a larger quantity of milk let sit on the counter for up to 24 hours. After 12 hours start sniffing and checking the texture. The longer it sits the thicker and more sour it gets. My favorite batch was cultured for about 16 hours. Strain out the grains, cover the jars with their lids and refrigerate for 6 hours to finish the culture.
The finished product is wonderful! The dairy kefir is thick and sour but very tasty. Richer and tangier than the store bought kind. I find that pushing the dairy kefir through a fine mesh strainer before refrigerating results in a super silky and smooth tangy drink which is perfect for making protein shakes and smoothies or just sipping on its own.
My favorite of all my fermented goodies is the coconut kefir. IT IS INSANE!!! I bought good quality organic coconut milk. The full fat kind. There is no sugar, no water, just pressed organic coconut meat. I used the kefir grains the same as with dairy milk. Just put grains and coconut milk in a jar, cover loosely with a coffee filter and rubber band and let it sit on the counter for up to 24 hours. Fish out the grains, cover and refrigerate.
Thick enough to defy gravity! But also fluffy, creamy, sweet and tangy at the same time, coconutty and totally rediculicious. Yes, it's so good it is inspiring nonsensical descriptors. I have used it in chocolate protein shakes, plopped on top of blueberries and bananas, stirred into hot coffee and straight out of the jar. I have another batch culturing this very minute.
There is very little hands on time when making cultured products but like a pet goldfish, you need to keep your kefir grains alive by changing the water in their bowl, as it were. When not in use just keep them in a little jar of milk on the counter, loosely covered. Change the milk every day or two. I mix the milk with filtered water to make it more cost effective. It hasn't changed the effectiveness of the grains. You can store the grains in the fridge if you need a rest, be sure the follow the instructions of the grains you purchase to be sure you keep them in tip top shape.
If you made it to the end of this novel, congratulations! I'd love to hear your results with home fermentation and if you haven't tried it, give it a go. Fermented foods are most definitely nutritious and delicious.
OMG, I am speechless over that coconut kefir! It looks as delicious as Marshmallow Fluff!
I'm re-inspired now! I bought the jars with the airlocks, the starter culture and all. Then I failed miserably at fermenting garlic scapes. No action whatsoever and I followed the directions faithfully. Your kefir sounds fabulous and I can't get over that coconut kefir.

industry_corpus2: Agriculture & Fisheries


text: The authors explored the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA) and the feasibility of the kidney--tonifying (KT) method through observing the influence of pure KT traditional Chinese drugs (TCD) on the cartilage and the synovium in rabbit knee OA. OA models were made by injecting papaininto rabbit knee articular cavity and treated by KT TCD given through the stomach. Six weeks later, the specimens were harvested for gross observation. Then. the femoral internal condyle was taken and observed under transmission electron microscope and under light microscope afterHE, Masson and Safranin-0 staining; the synovial tissue taken from the anterior knee was observed under light microscope after HE staining. Theresults showed that the degrees of the joint chondrocyte destruction and the synovial tissue injury of the rabbit knee in KT group were significantlylowered (P 0. 10 ) and the disturbance and type-transformation of the chondral collagenous fibers were much alleviated in comparison with thoseof the model group. It was believed that KT TCD function to effectively prevent and treat experimental osteoarthritis, which verified the theory oftraditional Chinese medicine 'The kidneys govern the bone" again.


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In order to combat consumer frustration with online ads that disrupt their experience, interrupt content and slow browsing, the Coalition for Better Ads was formed to develop and implement new global standards for online advertising. It established the type of ads that fell below a threshold of consumer acceptability (and would increase the propensity for consumers to adopt ad blockers). In tandem, Google released the Ad Experience Report which systematically audits sites for any invasive ads. If sites fail the Ad Experience Report and fail to rectify the intrusive ads or extensive ad density, Chrome activated an ad blocker to block that publisher’s ads across their domain.
GDPR’s implementation, in general, triggered an initial tailspin for programmatic ad buying that has since recovered. However, many U.S. websites chose to not deal with GDPR and simply ceased operating in the European Union.
Google Chrome unleashed what amounted to a cattle-prod to force publishers to upgrade from unencrypted websites by basically doxing those that didn’t adopt HTTPS as “non-secure.” While a strong majority of Chrome traffic is already encrypted, the process of migrating to HTTPS is becoming easier, and the reasons to adopt HTTPS are undeniably positive, this became a big headache very quickly for those sites that haven’t obtained new HTTPS certs from other authorities.
Everyone understands change is a constant in the business world. But such a relentless influx of change, combined with the knowledge that more is coming, increases the threat that the business models of professional digital publishers become harder to execute. Then you wonder about the successful monetization of the online publishing industry and keeping content “free” sustained by ads. How can it be maintained when publishers and ad tech companies are continually thrust into a “whack a mole” approach to solving the problems caused by so many sudden changes? How long can an ecosystem implement sudden and critical changes – even if it’s for the betterment and evolution of the web – before it corrupts the content that’s provided to consumers? The only conclusion you can draw right now, looking at the big picture, is that it’s complicated.
Xavi Beumala is the CEO and co-founder of Marfeel, an ad tech firm based in Barcelona, Spain. Marfeel specializes in the optimization of mobile websites by delivering meaningful, resonating content that publishers produce to their readers as quickly, and as smoothly as possible.
The post A year of ad tech in review: drastic change in digital publishing appeared first on ClickZ.


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Spectacular Pacific Hills pool home! This home has it all! 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 3,526 sq. ft., 26,388 sq. ft. lot with private gated drive way, plenty of parking for all your guests, spacious 3-car garage with storage space and full-size RV GARAGE with full hookups. A large, amazing backyard offers a resort style pool with waterfalls, spa and your own private grotto. This is must see home with upgrades to galore. Beautiful custom flooring with medallions and upgraded carpet throughout, separate living, dining and family rooms, wet-bar, large kitchen with peninsula counter and Viking appliances. Let the elevator take you comfortably from the mudroom to the second floor office/loft area. Master bedroom offers a fireplace, huge master bathroom with jetted tub, separate shower and a large walk-in closet. Laundry room, two other bedrooms and one full bath with two sinks are also located upstairs. Downstairs offers one bedroom with its? own full bathroom. NO MELLO-ROOS, LOW HOA. Make an appointment for a private tour of this spectacular home!
Sold by Cherrie Brown BRE#01406423 of Nexthome Real Estate Rockstars.
Listing provided courtesy of Katia De Los Reyes DRE#01406423 of Compass.


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The musical version of Lion King debuted in 1997. I'm late to the party...saw it for the first time Wednesday night...but what a party it is!
Sensory overload: the costumes, the dancing, the music...it's a brilliant, exuberant show! I felt fifty years younger leaving the Durham Performing Arts Center, so take your kids!
Lion King is here for 32 shows through January 30th, and the musical is expected to attract 75,000 people to downtown Durham.
New York Times: VISIT DURHAM!
Facebook: "You Got to Have Friends"


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As part of an on-going brand refresh project, Gill R&D has launched a revived website, designed to reflect the ambitions of the leading engineering company’s brand vision.
The new website, gillrd.com, has undergone a large development project to focus the site towards the direction the company is moving in and to provide a superior user journey. The site has undergone a major transition from its previous style and now boasts a highly stylised and contemporary design. Technology has also played a key part in the development to ensure the design is representative of the innovative solution the company has become known for.
The team behind the site has undertaken extensive research into usability functions, visual elements and interactive features to create an innovative user experience.
Re-branding of the Gill site has been a fundamental process to the development of its brand identity and its independence from sister company Gill Sensors.