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Utility of Amsel Criteria, Nugent Score, and Quantitative PCR for Gardnerella vaginalis, Mycoplasma hominis, and Lactobacillus spp. for Diagnosis of Bacterial Vaginosis in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Women
Beverly E. Sha, Hua Y. Chen, Qiong J. Wang, M. Reza Zariffard, Mardge H. Cohen, Gregory T. Spear
Beverly E. Sha
Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois
For correspondence: bsha@rush.edu
Hua Y. Chen
Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Qiong J. Wang
M. Reza Zariffard
Department of Immunology/Microbiology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois
Mardge H. Cohen
Department of Medicine, CORE Center, Cook County Bureau of Health Sciences, Chicago, Illinois
Gregory T. Spear
DOI: 10.1128/JCM.43.9.4607-4612.2005
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a clinical syndrome presenting with a malodorous vaginal discharge and increased vaginal pH. Diagnosis has been based on clinical Amsel criteria and direct Gram stain of vaginal secretions. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected participants in the Women's Interagency HIV Study contributed cervicovaginal lavage (CVL) samples. Lactobacilli, Gardnerella vaginalis, and Mycoplasma hominis in cervicovaginal lavage samples were quantified by PCR. Gynecologic evaluation included Nugent score and Amsel criterion assessment. We compared the gold standard Nugent score to Amsel criteria and quantitative bacterial PCR for diagnosing BV in 203 CVL samples from women with Nugent scores of 7 to 10 (BV group) and 203 samples from women with BV Nugent scores of 0 to 3 ("No-BV" group). Only 75 of the 203 CVL samples from women with Nugent scores of 7 to 10 met positive Amsel criteria. Increasing levels of G. vaginalis and M. hominis and decreasing levels of lactobacilli were significantly associated with BV by Nugent score. Of the group with Nugent scores of 7 to 10, 83% and 81% had log10 G. vaginalis counts and log10 M. hominis counts greater than 6.81 and 4.82, respectively, while only 30% and 31% of the group with Nugent scores of 0 to 3 were above these thresholds, respectively. There was significant overlap in the log10 lactobacillus counts between the two groups. Utilizing all three log10 bacterial counts (G. vaginalis, M. hominis, and lactobacilli) in our model improved the sensitivity and specificity to 83% and 78%, respectively, in comparison with Nugent score. In this cohort, Amsel criteria were poorly predictive of BV. PCR quantification of G. vaginalis and M. hominis from CVL is significantly more sensitive than Amsel criteria for diagnosing BV.
In women of childbearing age, bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common cause of vaginitis. In BV, normal vaginal flora, consisting of hydrogen peroxide-producing lactobacilli, are replaced by Gardnerella vaginalis, Mycoplasma hominis, Mobiluncus species, and anaerobic gram-negative rods (14). BV has been associated with preterm delivery, chorioamnionitis, postabortion infection, and pelvic inflammatory disease. In 1983, Amsel et al. established clinical criteria for diagnosing BV. The presence of three of the following four criteria is considered to be consistent with the presence of BV: vaginal pH of >4.5, clue cells on saline wet mount, release of a fish amine odor on addition of 10% KOH to a drop of vaginal discharge, and a characteristic thin, homogenous vaginal discharge (1). In 1991, Nugent et al. described a Gram stain scoring system of vaginal smears to diagnose BV (10). The Nugent score is calculated by assessing for the presence of large gram-positive rods (Lactobacillus morphotypes; decrease in Lactobacillus scored as 0 to 4), small gram-variable rods (G. vaginalis morphotypes; scored as 0 to 4), and curved gram-variable rods (Mobiluncus spp. morphotypes; scored as 0 to 2) and can range from 0 to 10. A score of 7 to 10 is consistent with BV.
Compared to the Amsel criteria, the Nugent score allows for assessment of alteration in vaginal flora as a continuum rather than a dichotomy. Vaginal cultures for G. vaginalis are sensitive but not specific, as 50 to 60% of healthy asymptomatic women will be culture positive (14). Because Amsel criteria are dependent on the acumen of the clinician, the Nugent score has been favored for diagnosing BV due to superior reproducibility and sensitivity (9). Nevertheless evaluation of smears is also subjective and therefore requires an experienced slide reader (10).
Recently we reported on a PCR method to quantify M. hominis, G. vaginalis, and lactobacilli in cervicovaginal lavage (CVL) samples obtained from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected women and were able to demonstrate that M. hominis and G. vaginalis bacterial counts were significantly increased and lactobacillus bacterial counts were significantly decreased in the presence of BV (13, 16).
To further explore the relationships between BV diagnosed by Amsel criteria and Nugent score and that diagnosed by quantitative PCR for G. vaginalis, M. hominis, and lactobacilli, we analyzed 406 CVL samples from the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) repository.
Patient cohort.Four hundred six CVL samples obtained from 362 HIV-infected women were selected from the WIHS repository. WIHS is a longitudinal, multicenter cohort study of HIV-infected and high-risk uninfected women followed at six clinical sites in the United States. Following institutional review board approval, 2,059 HIV-infected women were enrolled from October 1994 through November 1995. Informed consent was obtained from all subjects, and human experimentation guidelines of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and/or those of the investigators' institutions were followed. A detailed interview, physical and gynecologic examination, and laboratory monitoring are performed every 6 months (3). A detailed description of the women from whom the 406 CVL samples were obtained has been previously published (13).
Gynecologic examination included assessment for genital tract infections and genital tract dysplasia as previously described (6). Women were scheduled for visits when they were not menstruating and were instructed to avoid inserting any substance into the genital tract for 48 h before their examination. Samples were collected in the following order: vaginal pH; vaginal swabs for Gram stain, wet mount, and KOH with amine odor test; CVL collection; and Pap smear. Bacterial vaginosis was assessed by Amsel criteria (1) and Nugent score (central reading at the laboratory of Sharon Hillier, University of Pittsburgh-Magee Women's Hospital) (10). We required the presence of at least three of the four Amsel criteria for the diagnosis of BV by Amsel criteria.
CVL collection and processing.CVL samples were collected by irrigation of the cervix with 10 ml of nonbacteriostatic sterile saline followed by aspiration from the posterior fornix. CVL was held on ice until being processed within 6 hours of collection. CVL was gently vortexed to evenly distribute cells before aliquoting and freezing at −70°C. Two hundred three CVL samples from women with Nugent scores of 7 to 10 (bacterial vaginosis group) and 203 CVL samples from women with Nugent scores of 0 to 3 (non-bacterial vaginosis group) in 1-ml aliquots were selected for analysis. Paired CVL samples from the two groups were each matched by plasma HIV RNA levels within 0.3 log10 and by site and visit number (visits 2 to 5).
Bacteria.Mycoplasma hominis and Gardnerella vaginalis were both obtained from the American Type Culture Collection (Manassas, Va.), and Lactobacillus crispatus was kindly provided by Lin Tao (University of Illinois at Chicago Dental School). Bacteria were grown as previously described (16).
DNA isolation and real-time PCR.DNA was isolated, and real-time PCR was performed as previously described (16). Briefly, bacteria obtained by centrifugation of 1 ml of CVL were disrupted by treatment with lysis buffer. DNA was purified using phenol-chloroform. DNA (50 ng) was mixed with MgCl2, deoxynucleoside triphosphates, primers, uracil-DNA N-glycosylase, and Taq polymerase (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA). Amplification used an ABI Prism 5700 Thermocycler (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA). Primer sequences were as follows: for M. hominis, F-RNAHI, 5′-CAATGGCTAATGCCGGATACGC-3′, and R-RNAH2, 5′-GGTACCGTCAGTCTGCAAT-3′); for G. vaginalis, F-GVI, 5′-TTACTGGTGTATCACTGTAAGG-3′, and R-GV3, 5′-CCGTCACAGGCTGAACAGT-3′ (16). The Lactobacillus primer sequences were designed to detect both L. jensenii and L. crispatus, the two most common Lactobacillus species in the female genital tract (F-LBF, 5′-ATGGAAGAACACCAGTGGCG-3′; R-LBR, 5′-CAGCACTGAGAGGCGGAAAC-3′) (7, 16). All three primer sets resulted in amplification of DNA from the appropriate type of bacteria but showed no cross-reactivity to the other two organisms or any of a panel of 16 common genital tract bacteria (16). In each thermocycler run, six standards consisting of 103 to 107 copies of DNA from the appropriate bacterium were included to generate a standard curve (16). CVL sample DNAs that resulted in values higher than the standard curve were diluted and rerun. The bacterial counts represent the total amount in 1 ml of CVL. This was obtained by determining the total DNA isolated from the CVL samples times the number of bacteria in 50 ng DNA.
Statistical methods.Descriptive statistics for the three bacterial counts were computed. SAS 8.1 (Cary, NC) software was used for all the statistical analyses. The associations between BV by Nugent score criterion and the quantitative bacterial PCR counts were analyzed by the logistic regression models (SAS PROC LOGISTIC) with the subject's BV status as the outcome and one or more quantitative bacterial PCR counts as predictors. Cut points for the bacterial counts to predict BV versus its absence ("No-BV") were determined according to whether the predictive probability obtained from the fit of the logistic model was less or greater than 0.5. The cut points were used to reclassify the observed samples based on their bacterial counts, and the sensitivity and specificity were computed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated using different combinations of quantitative bacterial PCR counts to define BV. In our analyses we controlled for plasma viral load to account for possible selection bias because, in the sampling design, our CVL samples were matched between the BV group and the No-BV group by plasma viral load.
Logistic regression models with BV status by Nugent score as outcome and Amsel criteria alone or Amsel criteria plus the bacterial counts as predictors were also fitted to the data. Similarly, the plasma viral load was adjusted in the analyses. Sensitivity and specificity were estimated.
Since 362 subjects contributed the 406 CVL samples, 12% of the samples were repeated measures. Because the number of subjects contributing repeated measures was relatively small, and because the repeated measures were separated, in general, by ≥6 months, the possible correlations among repeated measures were ignored in the analysis for simplicity. We also performed the same analyses on data that excluded the 12% repeated measures.
The mean log10 bacterial counts/ml CVL for G. vaginalis, M. hominis, and lactobacilli are 7.6, 4.57, and 8.17, respectively, for the BV group and 5.65, 3.8, and 8.8, respectively, for the No-BV group (Fig. 1). The Pearson correlation coefficient between BV by Nugent score and levels of G. vaginalis, M. hominis, and lactobacilli are 0.38, 0.47, and −0.24, respectively.
Box plot diagram showing the distribution of log10 bacterial counts for each bacterial species, Gardnerella vaginalis (G vag), Mycoplasma hominis (M hom), and Lactobacillus spp. (Lacto) by Nugent score. The cut points identified for G. vaginalis, M. hominis, and Lactobacillus spp. that differentiate the BV group from the No-BV group are denoted by a dashed line.
Using Nugent score as the gold standard for diagnosing BV, we assessed the sensitivity and specificity of the Amsel criteria. Seventy-five of the 203 CVL samples from women with Nugent scores of 7 to 10 and two of the 203 CVL samples from women with Nugent scores of 0 to 3 met positive Amsel criteria (sensitivity = 37%, specificity = 99%). Because of the poor sensitivity of Amsel criteria in this population, we analyzed the performance of each of the individual components of the Amsel criteria compared to Nugent score. Vaginal pH of >4.5 improved the sensitivity of diagnosing BV at the expense of specificity compared to the other three components of the Amsel criteria (Table 1).
Sensitivities and specificities of Amsel criteria and individual components in comparison to Nugent score for the diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis
For the 406 CVL samples, BV by Nugent score and BV by Amsel criteria were strongly associated (odds ratio = 58.9, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 14, 244). The association remained strong (odds ratio = 143, 95% CI: 21, 990) even after the bacterial counts were adjusted in the model. The odds ratios between BV by Nugent score and a 10-fold increase in G. vaginalis, M. hominis, or lactobacilli after controlling for plasma viral load are 1.45 (95% CI: 1.3, 1.62), 1.85 (95% CI: 1.6, 2.14), and 0.61 (95% CI: 0.5, 0.75), respectively. When all the other bacterial counts and Amsel criteria in addition to the plasma viral load are included in the logistic model, the odds ratios between BV by Nugent score and a 10-fold increase in G. vaginalis, M. hominis, or lactobacilli are 1.24 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.4), 1.82 (95% CI: 1.51, 2.19), and 0.54 (95% CI: 0.43, 0.68), respectively.
Cut points separating the BV group from the No-BV group were determined for each individual bacterial count based on whether the predictive probability (Fig. 1) is greater than or less than 0.5. We found that, if these cut points were used to differentiate the BV group from the No-BV group, a high agreement with BV by Nugent score was observed for G. vaginalis counts and for M. hominis counts. Log10 G. vaginalis counts/ml CVL were greater than 6.81 in 83% of the BV group and lower than 6.81 in 70% of the No-BV group. Log10 M. hominis counts/ml CVL were greater than 4.82 in 81% of the BV group and lower than 4.82 in 69% of the No-BV group. The cut point obtained based on the log10 lactobacillus counts/ml CVL (<8.5 or >8.5) differentiated the BV from the No-BV group poorly with only 58% correct for both the BV group and the No-BV group.
We also determined cut points (using predictive probability) based on counts of pairs of bacteria or combining all three bacteria to see if this would improve the agreement with BV by Nugent score (Table 2). Using BV by Nugent score as the gold standard for diagnosing BV, we calculated sensitivities and specificities for each approach (Table 2). Combining two or more bacteria improved the specificity with only a mild loss in sensitivity of quantitative bacterial PCR for diagnosing BV when the same rule was followed to obtain the cut points.
Log10 bacterial cut points for M. hominis (MH), G. vaginalis (GV), and lactobacilli (L) alone and in combination and sensitivities and specificities of these models using Nugent score as the gold standard method to diagnose bacterial vaginosis
To investigate the diagnostic characteristics of the predictor(s) obtained in the logistic regression models, we computed sensitivity and specificity for all possible cut points corresponding to the fit of each logistic regression model and plotted them as ROC curves (Fig. 2). The values of the area under the curve (AUC in Fig. 2) show clearly that the combined predictors are better for the diagnosis of BV. The analyses were repeated for the data with the 12% repeated measures removed. The results were either unchanged or minimally changed. The changed sensitivity and specificity are provided in parentheses next to the first set of analyses in the tables. Other changes corresponding to the analyses without the repeated measures including the ROC curves were not presented due to the minimal differences seen.
ROC curves for combinations of one or more bacterial counts as diagnostic criteria for BV. MH, M. hominis; GV, G. vaginalis; LA, lactobacilli; AUC, area under the curve. The closer the AUC is to 1.0, the better the bacterial counts predict BV. The bottom row of curves shows that the inclusion of all three quantitative bacterial counts in the model provides better predictive power. The addition of Amsel criteria further improves the power, and inclusion of plasma viral load does not change the power.
At least 30% of women presenting with vaginal complaints remain without a diagnosis after a comprehensive workup (2). Thus, improved diagnostic tests are needed. BV is the most common identified cause of vaginitis and is a common disorder in women throughout the world, regardless of HIV status. Although the diagnosis of BV by Amsel criteria is simple, it is relatively insensitive. Of the 203 samples we analyzed from the WIHS cohort that had BV (Nugent score of 7 to 10), only 75 met the definition of BV by Amsel criteria. Thus, if Nugent score is considered the gold standard for diagnosing BV, the sensitivity and specificity of Amsel criteria in this cohort were 37% and 99%, respectively. Schwebke et al. reported the sensitivity and specificity of Amsel criteria compared to Nugent score to be 70% and 94%, respectively, in a cohort of nonpregnant women (12). The sensitivity of Amsel criteria in our cohort was very poor and much worse than the sensitivity of 70% reported by Schwebke et al. However, in two pregnant cohorts the sensitivity of Amsel criteria compared to Gram stain was only 35% and 46% (5, 15). While we suspect that variability in clinician interpretation was an important factor, we cannot exclude the possibility that the sensitivity of the Amsel criteria is different in women with HIV infection.
Our data demonstrate that quantitative bacterial PCR for G. vaginalis, M. hominis, and lactobacilli significantly correlates with the Nugent Gram stain method to diagnose BV. We found that women with BV diagnosed by Nugent score have significantly higher numbers of G. vaginalis (P < 0.0001) and M. hominis (P < 0.0001) and significantly lower numbers of lactobacillus (P < 0.0001) organisms in the CVL than women without BV. Using quantitative culture techniques on vaginal swabs, others have shown similar log10 changes in G. vaginalis (4, 8) and M. hominis (8) bacterial counts in women with BV by Nugent score. Variable results have been seen using quantitative culture techniques to assess log10 lactobacillus changes in the presence of BV. Hillier et al. (8) found significant loss of total and H2O2-producing lactobacilli in 39 vaginal swabs taken from women with Nugent scores of 7 to 10 compared to 47 vaginal swabs taken from women with Nugent scores of 4 to 6 and 85 vaginal swabs taken from women with Nugent scores of 0 to 3. Mean log10 total lactobacillus CFU/ml were 6.3 for the BV group (Nugent scores, 7 to 10), 6.6 for the intermediate group (Nugent scores, 4 to 6), and 7.0 for the No-BV group (Nugent scores, 0 to 3, P < 0.001) (8). In contrast, Delaney et al. found no significant change in log10 lactobacillus counts by Nugent score but did find that the proportion of H2O2-producing strains of Lactobacillus markedly declined as Nugent score increased from 0 to 3 to 7 to 10 (4). He analyzed only 11 vaginal swabs from women with Nugent scores of 7 to 10 and 71 and 22 vaginal swabs from women with Nugent scores of 0 to 3 and 4 to 6, respectively. While we found significantly lower numbers of mean lactobacilli/ml of CVL in the BV group (Nugent scores, 7 to 10) than in the No-BV group (Nugent scores, 0 to 3), there was significant overlap between the two groups (Fig. 1). There were differences between our study design and those of Hillier and Delaney. Because we utilized CVL fluid and not vaginal swabs, we sampled both cervical and vaginal flora. Our PCR primers were designed to detect and quantify two species of Lactobacillus (L. jensenii and L. crispatus), whereas Hillier and Delaney performed culture to detect and quantify all Lactobacillus spp. We also did not assess for H2O2 production.
Others have used PCR methods to assess BV. Obata-Yasuoka et al. previously reported on a multiplex PCR method of diagnosing BV via quantifying Mobiluncus mulieris, Mobiluncus curtisii, Bacteroides fragilis, and G. vaginalis from vaginal swabs in pregnant (n = 138) and nonpregnant (n = 34) women (11). PCR was considered positive for BV when 103 to 104 CFU of any tested bacterial species was present in a vaginal swab. Compared to Gram stain, 78.4% (29/37) of the samples with Nugent scores of 7 to 10 were found to be positive for one or more bacteria by PCR compared to 4.4% (6/135) with Nugent scores of 0 to 6. Overall the sensitivity and specificity of the multiplex PCR in comparison to Nugent score were 78.4% and 95.6%, respectively.
In addition we were able to identify cut points for G. vaginalis and M. hominis that differentiated the BV group from the No-BV group. Modeling of combinations of bacteria demonstrated that the combination of the three bacteria provided the best combined sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing BV when using Nugent Gram stain as the gold standard. We did not assess for other bacteria identified as important in bacterial vaginosis such as Prevotella spp., Bacteroides spp., Mobiluncus spp., Peptostreptococcus spp., or Ureaplasma urealyticum (4, 8). The addition of one or more of these bacteria to our model could improve the correlation with Nugent score.
We did not include plasma HIV RNA levels as a variable in the models because the effects were insignificant. While we are unaware of any data to suggest that BV alters plasma HIV RNA levels, our results should be interpreted as being controlled for plasma HIV RNA levels because our selection of CVL samples was not random (the BV group and the No-BV group were matched by plasma HIV RNA levels). Thus, while the sensitivities and specificities of our models should be expected to be similar when applied to a randomly selected population (even HIV-negative populations), the specific cut points generated here cannot be generalized to a randomly selected population if the plasma HIV RNA level is associated with BV by Nugent score. We treated repeated measures in a single subject as independent samples. Although this can result in underestimation of the variability, it does not introduce bias into estimates of regression coefficients. The underestimation of the variability can be expected to be small in our analysis, because repeated measures accounted for only 12% of the samples, and the repeated measures were separated by significant time intervals. Further analyses excluding repeated measures confirmed this conclusion.
While a PCR method of detecting BV is more labor-intensive and costly than the Nugent Gram stain scoring method for clinical diagnosis, it is less cumbersome than older quantitative culture techniques utilized in research settings where assessing for changes in specific bacteria could aid in understanding the pathogenesis and/or consequences of BV. For example, we recently demonstrated that BV was associated with increased HIV expression in the CVL of HIV-infected women. In multivariate analysis, this was found to be inversely associated with lactobacillus bacterial counts and positively associated with M. hominis bacterial counts in the CVL but not associated with Gardnerella vaginalis bacterial counts. This analysis could not have been done with the Nugent Gram stain method as the Nugent score cannot assess for M. hominis due to its lack of a cell wall nor provide quantitative information about specific bacteria associated with BV.
We conclude that quantitative bacterial PCR has potential as a tool to evaluate the bacterial microflora of the vagina. These data need to be confirmed in HIV-seronegative populations.
We thank all the women who participated or are still participating in the WIHS. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the WIHS in providing samples and clinical data. The six clinical sites (Principal Investigators) are as follows: New York City/Bronx Consortium (Kathryn Anastos); Brooklyn, NY (Howard Minkoff); Washington DC Metropolitan Consortium (Mary Young); the Connie Wofsy Study Consortium of Northern California (Ruth Greenblatt and Herminia Palacio); Los Angeles County/Southern California Consortium (Alexandra Levine); and the Chicago Consortium (Mardge Cohen) and the Data Coordinating Center (Alvaro Munoz). We thank John O'Keefe, University of Illinois at Chicago, for data management and Cheryl Jennings, Rush University Medical Center, for cataloging the CVL samples.
Financial support was from National Institutes of Health grant P01 H040539; the Women's Interagency HIV Study, which is funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases with supplemental funding from the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (grants U01-AI-35004, UO1-AI-31834, UO1-AI-34994, UO1-AI-34989, UO1-AI-34993, and UO1-AI-42590); the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (grant UO1-CH-32632); and the National Center for Research Resources (grants MO1-RR-00071, MO1-RR-00079, and MO1-RR-00083).
Received 28 January 2005.
Returned for modification 10 March 2005.
Accepted 3 June 2005.
American Society for Microbiology
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Journal of Clinical Microbiology Sep 2005, 43 (9) 4607-4612; DOI: 10.1128/JCM.43.9.4607-4612.2005
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Ingemar Cox receives a distinguished runner-up prize
Lloyd's Science of Risk prize
DIKU's Professor Ingemar Cox in collaboration with a research team from Microsoft Research, Herzeliya, Israel as well as University College London, received a Lloyd's Science of Risk runner-up Prize 2015 for their paper "Automatic Identification of Web-Based Risk Markers for Health Events".
The paper "Automatic Identification of Web-Based Risk Markers for Health Events" was awarded a runner-up prize at the 2015 Lloyd's Science of Risk prize award.
Ingemar Cox and his colleagues showed that web search engine queries coupled with information on Wikipedia can be used to infer Web-based risk markers that are precursors to some common health events, including cardiovascular disease, sexually transmitted infections and mental health conditions.
Examples: Searches for pet stores were risk markers for allergy. Possible new risk markers could be: searching for fast food and theme restaurants was associated with a transient increase in risk of heart attack, suggesting this exposure goes beyond a long-term risk factor but may also act as an acute trigger of heart attacks. Dating and adult content websites were risk markers for sexually transmitted infections, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
In their article the team conclude that web-based methods provide a powerful, low-cost approach to automatically identify risk factors, and support more timely and personalized public health efforts to bring human and economic benefits.
Read the full paper (PDF)
Professor Ingemar Cox is newly appointed ACM Fellow
Ingemar Cox receives Sustained Impact Paper Award
ingemar.cox@di.ku.dk


"Armed Forces Don't Need…": Rahul Gandhi Rejects Digvijaya Singh's Remark
January 24, 2023 January 24, 2023 TodaysTrendNewsLeave a Comment on "Armed Forces Don't Need…": Rahul Gandhi Rejects Digvijaya Singh's Remark
JAMMU: Dissociating his party from a controversial statement by a senior party leader. Rahul Gandhi today said the Congress does not agree with. Digvijay Singh's comments questioning India's surgical strikes and described the statement as "ridiculous".
"We do not agree with Digvijay Singh's views. The party's views are above Digvijay Singh's views," Rahul . Gandhi said in response to questions from reporters on the sidelines of . His Bharat Joro Yatra in Jammu.
"Party views are formed out of a conversation. Digvijay Singh's views are outside views. They are not views held by the party. We are crystal clear – the armed forces do one job, and they do it well. They don't need to give proof," the Congress leader said.
Rahul Gandhi's clarification came as the . Congress came under fire for Digvijay Singh's comments at the . Bharat Joro Yatra rally on Monday.
They are ruling with a bundle of lies," Mr Singh said.
Trying to do damage control, the Congress said the comments did not reflect the views of the party.
Mr Singh also said: "I have the utmost respect for the Defense Forces".
But the BJP seized on. The remark and slammed him and the Congress as "anti-national" for questioning the Army. The party also demanded an apology from Rahul Gandhi.
"Congress leaders are doing bharat todo (divide India) on Rahul Gandhi's orders. Digvijay Singh has become the epitome of toxic comments. Trust in the army is unshakeable and above politics. If the army says there was a surgical strike, how come? You want proof again and again. It shows that You don't have confidence in our army," said BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia.
"It has become a characteristic of Congress to make irresponsible statements. But it will not be tolerated if they speak against the Indian Army. It seems that Rahul Gandhi and Digvijay Singh are blinded by their hatred for Narendra Modi," said. BJP leader
India launched surgical strikes in 2016 after 18 soldiers were killed in a terrorist . Attack on an army base in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir.
The February 2019 Pulwama attack on a security convoy was blamed on. Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Days after the attack, India retaliated with an airstrike in. Pakistan's Balakot, leading to an aerial dogfight between the neighbors.
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Everyday Heroes: Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin
By christianajiki
There is a women's empowerment evolution going on in the world currently, and take it or not, it is one that has come to stay. Not only has it come to stay, it keeps advancing. In addition, women are now a driving force; raising, building, and pushing fellow women to heights formerly restricted to only the male. The more interesting fact is that, Nigerian women are not left out of this evolution. Talk of Mo Abudu setting the pace in the movie industry; Tara Durotoye in the beauty industry; or even Temi Ajibewa – The Millionaire Housewife – teaching and helping several hundreds of women to attain financial freedom and yet balancing things up as wives and mothers. ABISOYE AJAYI AKINFOLARIN For Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin, it is technology. The Ondo State-born hero is a Computer Programmer, Women Rights Activist, and the founder of Pearls Africa Youth Foundation, a foundation whose objective is to train young and vulnerable girls in underdeveloped communities in Nigeria, particularly in the field of technology. Born on May 29, 1985, her interest in computers was ignited at the age of 10, after she visited her brother's friend's business center. This interest kept budding, and she decided to intern with an IT firm after her secondary school education. Afterwards, she attended the Nigerian Institute of Information Technology (NIIT) and later, the University of Lagos, where she obtained a BSc in Business Administration. HER CAREER
bellanaija.com
Abisoye's career kick started when she joined E.D.P Audit and Security Associates, where she worked for seven years. She built her career from the scratch – as an intern – and rose to the level of Associate Consultant. Irrespective of her growing career as an IT Consultant, Abisoye quit her job in 2012 for a call – passion for women liberation and relevance. WHY PEARLS AFRICA YOUTH FOUNDATION? In 2013, Abisoye came across a government survey which revealed that, less than 8% of Nigerian women were employed in professional, managerial or technology jobs. This further highlighted the fact that an enormous number of girls were unskilled in computer programming. Riding on the oars of this passion now stirred, she decided to close up the gender gap in technology. Hence, she began to encourage young girls to gain relevant technological skills. She chose to focus on young girls because, according to her, "gender justice is a matter of basic rights and also a key means to addressing poverty. An empowered girl will become an empowered woman; an empowered woman builds an empowered family, and an empowered family builds a powerful nation through transforming local communities and adding more to the world's economic prosperity." THE 'WHAT' Over the years, Pearls Africa Youth Foundation has developed programs and projects to train and empower girls. Girls Coding: This program is directed at young girls between the ages of 10 and 17, and living in underdeveloped communities or orphanage homes in Nigeria. Through this program, girls are trained in computer skills, robotics, and programming, using HTML, JavaScript, CSS, Pythons and Scratch. It also connects these young girls with female mentors and Tech Companies for internship, in order to reinforce their learning and broaden their horizon. The program is supported by the United States Mission in Nigeria. As the name suggests, Empowered Hands is a project that empowers less privileged girls with vocational training in bead making, fashion designing, Aso-oke weaving, Ankara Crafts, hair styling, making of wigs, which runs from July-August yearly. Other programs include Lady Labs, Safe Space, community outreach, medical outreach, Educate Her, school outreach, as well as internship placements. ACHIEVEMENTS
Some of the students at Girls Coding. tink-africa.com
The Foundation has trained over 400 girls since its establishment. One of such girls is Sharon Okpoe, a student of the Foundation, aged 17 years old, who is also a beneficiary of Girls Coding. Sharon recently created a website called Makoko Fresh with her team, STAM. Makoko Fresh is a website where the fishermen in Makoko would be able to sell their fishes to other people living outside the community without the help of a middleman. She created the website to bridge the gap between fisherman and willing consumers. REWARD Abisoye Akinfolarin was featured as one of CNN's top 10 heroes of the year (2018) and as the first Nigerian CNN hero. She would be given $10,000 in support of her heroic endeavors. References: PearlsAfrica, CNN, Guardian Life
US-Based Nigerian Woman Returns Lost $36,000 Dollars
Nigerian Senate Recommends Fuel Tanker Driver For National Honour
'The Labour of our Heroes Past': Securing the Future for the Coming Generation
Everyday Heroes: Mallam Mukhtar Gulma
This article was first published on 24th November 2018
christianajiki
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Vicky Umodu who is a granny said God has given her everything she has asked for, there was no need to steal another person's money. Read more about Discover Nigeria Nigerians in Diaspora have always defied the odds to prove that Nigeria is a nation filled with great and trustworthy people. The story of a … Continue reading US-Based Nigerian Woman Returns Lost $36,000 Dollars
There were no casualties recorded due to the driver's bravery and courage. The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has recommended a brave tanker driver identified as Ejiro Otarigho to President Muhammadu Buhari for National Honour. In a bid to avert a tragic fire incident that would have cost numerous lives and properties, Mr … Continue reading Nigerian Senate Recommends Fuel Tanker Driver For National Honour
Everyday Heroes History Personal Development
The fifth line of the first stanza of our national anthem reads, 'The Labours of our heroes past, shall never be in vain!". However, this evokes different thoughts in the mind of Nigerians when they sing this line of our anthem. Despite the setbacks of post-independence Nigeria, it's important to recount some of the "labours … Continue reading 'The Labour of our Heroes Past': Securing the Future for the Coming Generation
Discover Nigeria Everyday Heroes
Mallam Mukhtar Gulma, the school teacher who sacrificed his life for his students in Federal government College Birnin Yauri, Kebbi state, is a hero by whatever standard you may want to choose or whatever definition you might like to adopt. A normal man with a sign of beyond normal courage, Mallam Mukhtar Gulma will be … Continue reading Everyday Heroes: Mallam Mukhtar Gulma
By jeremiah


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Главная / Souvenirclock / Heart ERA better opt to move right
Heart ERA better opt to move right
Tommy Talau 24.
You go out there, you get your reads and when the ball gets Custom Stitched jerseys in the air like that, everything feels like it slows down.
Offseason lookahead: This is another offseason position to watch.
Murray also has 1 rushing yards and 15 TDs.
– Head Coach Doug Marrone on WR Laviska Shenault Jr.
I think, like always, guys in our secondary, we move on fast and I think we always come to the sideline and understand exactly what it was and why a bad play happened for us, and then we fix it and got right down to it.
But the reality of the situation that may have been the most troubling is there was nothing fluky about the defeat.
20 during the Jays' dreadful series at the Yankees.
Miami coach Brian Flores took some heat when he decided to hand the reins to rookie Tua Tagovailoa as the Dolphins were in the thick of the playoff hunt.
Elias and Corbin had way too much time for a feud that didn't have a great deal of momentum.
Daniel Jacobs will take place Saturday, May 4 — the weekend of Cinco de Mayo.
What is clear is that four linebackers will be a feature of this defense and that is indeed a unique and welcome throwback.
There are some things he does that Pat did.
I could see the Jaguars signing a veteran here, but I don't sense they feel it's a have to.
Help support Rhode Island communities by ordering your Patriots license plate today!
I'm sure he's learned customize my own jersey things about our organization and learned some things from us, and I think we've all learned some things from him.
Louis that cemented his status as a future Cooperstown inductee before he ever played for the Angels.
Our focus also goes far beyond whether we play in the fall, Ambrosie wrote, noting that non-player football operations were asked to cut budgets by 20 percent and that he and league's executive team took 20 percent pay cuts in April.
Bouye: You definitely don't want to let the coach down.
I'm just really proud of my team.
Might be a better guard or right tackle at the next level.
It faced Coppin State and Bellarmine, but three similar games were canceled because of COVID protocols; one was to be rescheduled, but when Krzyzewski became concerned about how the pandemic was affecting his players, he called off the game so his players could have a break at Christmas.
Bryan wasn't the only player Marrone singled out as playing well Thursday.
Michael from Orange Park, FL: Buying Wembley Stadium also means Shad Khan get a part of every rent check given to Wembley, including the NFL games.
— Before defeating McGregor, Mayweather had landed roughly 46 percent of his punches, customized jerseys limiting his opponents to connecting on just 22 percent.
Now, we're not in the same position that we've been in years past with our cap situation, but we're hopeful that this is just a short period of time that we're like that, and we move on and going forward, that we'll have the flexibility back to be able to do that.
It will be the second time Canelo has fought at the venue and Saunders' first appearance there.
It just shows that as a whole offensive unit we're just imposing our will, said Wynn on Monday.
The stories of their own families begin on this campus, where they met their wives, Michelle and Melissa.
Предыдущая запись: 349 game NRL, veteran also upset MMA legend mark
Следующая запись: Saints think that helped maybe different offense, smart


The Kirishima Thing: Review
The Kirishima Thing: ReviewJ. FletcherAugust 12, 2012 March 8, 2022
Regardless of creed, culture or country there is a singularly unifying trial that all teenagers endure, the cruelty and disruptive refinement of high school. And in a country like Japan, where the image of the archetypal uniformed school student has become something of a national trademark, that hormone driven ecosystem remains as fragile as it is combustible. It's this volatile and ambiguous adolescent playground that advertising director turned filmmaker Daihachi Yoshida's has set his latest film, The Kirishima Thing.
Based on the award-winning novel of the same name by Ryo Asai, Yoshida delivers a darkly comedic, and occasionally confronting dissection of teen angst as he navigates the butterfly effect unleashed when the most popular of the popular kids, Kirishima (who is never actually seen, but only referenced throughout the film) simply disappears, leaving a power vacuum within the school's hierarchical social scene.
Condensing the acclaimed novel to its fundamental themes, Yoshida pulls his narrative focus to encapsulate Ryoya Maeda, an awkward film-club student, portrayed by rising star Ryunosuke Kamiki (20th Century Boys 3), and Hiroki Kikuchi, newcomer Masahiro Higashide, who excels within the school's elitist clique. Crafting a deeply intricate character study of his two primary protagonists, Yoshida delivers a compelling and intricate expose of teen morality as the teenagers waver under the flux of their shifting social standings in the wake of Kirishima's mysterious absence.
Produced by hit-maker Takahiro Sato, whose previous works include the cult film franchises Death Note & Gantz, and boasting an outstanding support cast including Ai Hashimoto (Confessions) and Suzuka Ohgo (Memoirs of a Geisha), Yoshida's off-kilter vision never panders to the atypical teen drama tropes, instead he deftly pries open themes of abandonment, jealousy and ambition from the most ordinary of subjects, allowing his somewhat cynical narrative to surge forward unrestrained. The result is poignant, albeit twisted morality tale that manages to entertain as much as it resonates.
dramafilmJapanesereview


Albert Watson drawing on Larne 'hunger' in defence of Shield against Linfield
North West 200 to return in 2022 after two-year absence
SportMotorcycling
Irish road racing dates 2022 - Mid Antrim 150 to return for first time since 2016?
A full season of Irish national road racing is on the cards in 2022 after two barren years, with the sport heavily hit by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
By Kyle White
Updated Tuesday, 16th November 2021, 5:43 pm
No national events have taken place in the Republic of Ireland since 2019, while the Cookstown 100 was the only Irish road race meeting that went ahead in 2020.
This year, Armoy made a welcome return to the calendar in the summer, while the Cookstown 100 also proceeded on a rescheduled date in September after the Co Tyrone event was postponed from April.
However, things are looking up for next season, when road racing is set to return in the south, while a full calendar is also scheduled in Northern Ireland – including the return of the North West 200 in May. Plans are also afoot to rescue the Ulster Grand Prix and restore the historic Dundrod meeting to the calendar in 2022 after it was hit by a financial crisis in 2019.
Derek Sheils leads the late Malachi Mitchell-Thomas as the Mid Antrim 150 in 2016.
A number of milestone dates are on the horizon, with the Cookstown 100 and Ulster Grand Prix set to celebrate 100 years, while the Tandragee 100 will aim to mark its 60th anniversary in May.
The Mid Antrim 150, last held in 2016, is also slated for a comeback next year.
Further afield, it is hoped that racing will return on the Isle of Man with the TT, Southern 100 and Classic TT and Manx Grand Prix meetings, which haven't taken place since 2019.
The TT will run from May 29 to June 11, with the Classic TT and Manx Grand Prix scheduled from August 21 to September 2. The Southern 100 is pencilled in for July 11-14.
Irish road racing dates 2022
April 22-23 – Cookstown 100
April 29-30 – Tandragee 100
May 10-14 – North West 200
June 18-19 – Kells
June 25-26 – Cork
July 2-3 – Skerries 100
July 9-10 – Walderstown
July 16-17 - Faugheen
July 29-30 – Armoy
August 12-13 – Mid Antrim 150 (tbc)
August 16-20 – Ulster Grand Prix (tbc)


Meryem Ok researched microfluidic and bulk production of cationic liposomes/siRNA complexes for applications in gene therapy
Meryem at the 2014 MIT-Brazil Networking Event, presenting her summer internship to MIT-Brazil's sponsor Santander Universities.
Over the course of two and a half months in the summer of 2014, Meryem worked with Professor Lucimara de La Torre at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) School of Chemical Engineering, Department of Materials and Bioprocess Engineering and the Center for Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering (CBMEG). She also collaborated with the Brazilian Nanotechnology National Laboratory (LNNano), part of Brazil's National Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM). Her project was entitled, "Microfluidic and Bulk Production of Cationic Liposomes for RNAi Delivery." The goal was to help Prof de La Torre's lab transition from DNA-‐based therapeutics to RNA interference by transfecting HeLa cells with cationic liposomes/siRNA complexes, ultimately for applications in gene therapy.
As a bioengineer, Meryem had previously worked on projects in immunology, DNA damage and repair, and chemically modified antibacterial or photosensitive nanoparticles. "People often ask me what it actually means to be a bioengineer. Biological Engineering is the application of engineering to solve biological problems or, in some cases, the application of biology to solve engineering problems. It is an extremely interdisciplinary field, which is what I love about it."
Thank you, MISTI, for providing me with the opportunity to experience the interdisciplinary field of bioengineering, from the nanoscale to the global scale.
Meryem became interested in nanomedicine in the fall of 2013 when she participated in a semester‐long Advanced Seminar in Biomaterials at MIT. While she had some previous experience with nanoparticles, working with microfluidic devices was a novel experience for her. "When I first started working with these devices, it took me quite a while to set everything up and reach hydrodynamic stability. However, by the end of the internship I felt like I had developed a certain level of proficiency and facility in manipulating the tubing and flow within the device. Also, it was really fascinating to be able to produce nanoscale biological structures in micrometer-‐scale channels. To put things in perspective, the thickness of an average human hair is 80,000 to 100,000 nanometers, and I was producing liposomes 1/1,000 of that size, with diameters on the order of 100 nanometers. It gave me confidence as a bioengineer, and it confirmed my newfound passion for nanomedicine."
In addition to the technical training, interning in Brazil offered Meryem a global perspective on research. She enjoyed working in a university environment with the added bonus of delicious Brazilian food and desserts. Despite some setbacks due to limited resources and inevitable World Cup distractions, Meryem learned to be proactive and creative, like her coworkers, in order to accomplish tasks while in Brazil. "I had to take a lot of initiative as a scientist and collaborate with researchers in different departments and labs, both on and off-‐campus, given that my project required a variety of materials and analytical instruments." While in Campinas, Meryem also attended the 4th annual Microfluidics Workshop at CNPEM, where she viewed seminars and participated in discussions on the broad applications of microfluidics in health, energy and electrical engineering, among others. "In Brazil, I had to become comfortable enough with the concepts and scope of my project to discuss and present my work to graduate students, post‐docs and professors in Portuguese. This helped me develop confidence in the subject material and in my ability to interact with other scientists on a global level."
Link to blog: http://meryemok.wordpress.com/
Major & Class Year
BioE '15
MISTI Program
MISTI Host
State University of Campinas (Instituto de Química/ Unicamp)


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Glen D. holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Vanderbilt University and a master's degree in education from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Before his relocation to Hong Kong in 2013, he was a high school science teacher near Raleigh, North Carolina for six years. He has been teaching ACT and SAT prep since his senior year at Vanderbilt in 2004, and he has taught over 600 students in classroom and individual settings.
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Arashijar The Breakdown Of The Basic Nature Of
Spanish and mexican war - rectoria.unal.edu.co
spanish and mexican war
The Mexican War of Independence — was an armed conflict between the people of Mexico and the Spanish colonial authorities which started on 16 September The movement, which became known as the Mexican War spanish and mexican war Independence, was led by Mexican-born Spaniards, Mestizos and Amerindians who sought independence from Spain.
It started as an idealistic peasants' rebellion against their colonial masters, but ended as an unlikely alliance between Mexican ex-royalists and Mexican guerrilla insurgents. In the early 19th century, Napoleon's occupation of Spain led to the outbreak of revolts all across Spanish America. After the abortive Conspiracy of the Machetes in[2] the War of independence led by the Mexican-born Spaniards became a reality with the Grito de Dolores coming 11 years after the conspiracy, which is considered in modern Mexico to be a precursor of the War of Independence. As indicated perhaps by the failed conspiracy, before the movement for independence was far from gaining unanimous support among Mexicans, who became divided between non-independent persons, autonomists and royalists.
Analysis Of Resistance To Civil Government By Henry David Thoreau
These meetings came to include famed military leader Ignacio Allende. In Hidalgo arrived at the conclusion that a revolt against the colonial government was needed because of the events and injustice being perpetrated upon the poor of Mexico, which had gotten out of hand. By this time Hidalgo had achieved some notoriety.
Later he also became known as a top theologian. When his older brother died inHidalgo took over as Priest for the town of Dolores.
Henry David Thoreau Resistance To Civil Disobedience Analysis
Hidalgo was in Dolores on 15 Septemberwith other leaders of the rebel "conspiracy" including military commander Allende, when word came to them that the conspiracy had been found out. Needing to move immediately, Hidalgo ran to the church, calling for all the people to gather, where from the pulpit he called upon them to revolt. Being inspired and tired of their ill-treatment by the wealthy who had befriended the Spanish and mexican war and the Spanish, they all shouted in agreement for such a revolt.
They were a comparatively small group, and poorly armed with whatever was at their disposal. Spanish and mexican war only had sticks and rocks as weapons. On the morning of 16 SeptemberHidalgo called upon the remaining locals who happened to be in the market on that day, and again, from the pulpit, he announced his intention to strike for independence and exhorted the people of Dolores to join him.
Most did: Hidalgo had an army of some men within minutes. Hidalgo and Allende marched their little army through towns including San Miguel and Celaya, and where the angry rebels killed all the Spaniards they found.
Along the way they adopted the standard of the Virgin of Guadalupe as their symbol and protector.]
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https://apnews.com/article/11ab5a446a584202b0fb0dd5ebb6b626
The Chemours Co
EPA hits chemical maker for not notifying on new compounds
By EMERY P. DALESIOFebruary 15, 2019 GMT
FILE - This June 15, 2018, file photo shows the Chemours Company's PPA facility at the Fayetteville Works plant near Fayetteville, N.C. where the chemical known as GenX is produced. The EPA said in a violation notice letter this week that The Chemours Co. also failed to provide information showing when the company learned the chemical GenX contaminated water wells and properties around its factories near Fayetteville and Parkersburg, W. Va.. The agency says the violations found came after inspecting the two plants in 2017. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A chemical maker's North Carolina plant may have broken federal law by failing to notify the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency before it started manufacturing and repurposing new industrial compounds, the agency said this week.
The Chemours Co. also failed to provide information showing when the company learned the chemical GenX contaminated water wells and properties around its factories near Fayetteville and Parkersburg, West Virginia, the EPA said in a violation notice letter dated Wednesday.
Federal law requires the producers of potentially toxic substances that "may present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment" to notify the EPA before the companies start making new chemicals or use an existing compound for a significantly new use. That would allow the agency to investigate their effects.
"The review process exists to make sure that new chemicals are safe and that new uses those chemicals are put to are also safe," environmental lawyer Robin Smith said. "It's a basic requirement that's intended to protect health and safety."
Operators of Chemours' Fayetteville plant failed to give those required notices for several chemicals including HFPO, a chemical used to make the compound GenX. GenX has been found in drinking water wells near the plant and also the municipal utility serving the city of Wilmington, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) down the Cape Fear River.
The EPA classifies GenX as an "emerging contaminant" needing research. Animal studies show GenX has the potential to affect the kidneys, blood, immune system, liver and developing fetuses following oral exposure, the EPA said in a draft report released last year. "The data are suggestive of cancer," the report said.
Chemours also failed to contain GenX within its West Virginia plant despite a 2009 agreement with the federal agency that the company would stop 99 percent of the chemical from getting into the water and air.
EPA said it found the violations after inspecting the two plants in 2017. Since then, Chemours has made changes to address some of the issues raised, company spokeswoman Lisa Randall said in an emailed statement. She wouldn't say why Chemours didn't provide EPA with the required notices.
Chemours also should provide within 30 days information EPA previously asked for describing when the Fortune 500 company first learned that GenX had contaminated drinking water wells near the two plants, the agency said.
Its Chemours investigation may find other violations and fines could follow, EPA said.
"It's significant that EPA is now weighing in," said Geoff Gisler, a Southern Environmental Law Center attorney. "EPA ensuring the company is properly documenting and registering the chemicals they're using at the site is an important thing to have happen."
Follow Emery P. Dalesio on Twitter at http://twitter.com/emerydalesio. His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/emery%20dalesio.


On to Ottawa in marvelous, meandering prose
by Yutaka Dirks Feb 28, 2012 4 min read Share
The Time We All Went Marching
By Arley McNeney
Goose Lane, 2011
The last spike was driven in the transcontinental railway in 1885, satisfying a commitment made to British Columbia by the Canadian federal government. The railway would unite the Confederation, open up new lands for colonization, and provide greater access for industry and trade. Fifty years later, in June 1935, hundreds of unemployed men took to those same rails in what was dubbed the On to Ottawa Trek.
In response to staggering unemployment rates during the Great Depression, the federal government set up isolated relief camps where single, jobless men toiled in poor working and living conditions. Thousands of these men walked out in April 1935 and boarded boxcars heading to Ottawa to raise their demands with the government of Prime Minister R. B. Bennett. The march was crushed in Regina when a police riot against the Trekkers ended with two people confirmed dead and over 100 arrested. This is the historic moment in Canadian working peoples' history referred to in the title of Arley McNeney's beautifully written second novel.
The Time We All Went Marching is composed of vignettes that move back and forth through time and from character to character, bringing the struggle of working-class men and women in the 1930s and 1940s to life through luminescent prose.
The story begins in the aftermath of the Second World War as Edie takes her four-year-old son, Belly, and boards a train bound for New Westminster, B.C. She leaves Slim, her husband of 10 years, passed out in their apartment covered in ice and snow from an open window and a burst pipe.
Throughout the journey, Edie spins stories for her son, and for herself, about the On to Ottawa Trek. She relates how the men lacked placards and so used shoe polish to write slogans – We Want Work and Wages! End the Slave Camp System! – on their clothes. "They wear their sweaters until the letters bear their scent," McNeney writes, "until the sweat bleeds the message imprecisely onto their damp skins."
Slim's stories of taking part in the Trek were what first captivated Edie. She returns to these stories after leaving him behind, retelling Slim's story the way she imagines it. And she tells it wonderfully: "Slim knows that the train can confuse your body so much it thinks it's been airborne. He knows the way your legs reject solid ground when you've been moving so fast for so long."
The lyrical rhythm of the prose and the working-class subject matter prompt favourable comparisons to Michael Ondaatje's classic novel In the Skin of a Lion, but the story lacks Ondaatje's narrative drive. It is not until a quarter of the way through that the story picks up a solid pace. An accident on the train leaves Belly injured, and the passengers are forced to stop in a snowbound saloon. Even then, the drama and conflict feel muted.
Unfortunately, the almost-phantasmic vignettes and twisting narrative threads that are the novel's strength work against building needed suspense. McNeney's treatment of the Regina Riot as a memory retold by Edie, a non-participant, brings poetry to the experience but lessens the tension.
Ultimately, this is not a peoples' history but the story of one woman on the cusp of change. Edie has made a bold decision to break with her current life. However, instead of looking to her future, she spends the journey returning to the past: her teenage love affair with a prisoner in a graveyard, and her first years with Slim when she disguised herself as a miner to keep him company in the tunnels.
Edie also wrestles with her ambivalent feelings toward her son. McNeney acknowledges that rearing children can be a burden as easily as a blessing, and that this burden may not always be overcome by a mother's love. Edie loves Belly but yearns for the freedom to pursue the wildness within her. "There are those who want to ascend in life and those who want to move straight and fast as far as they can go: those who seek clouds and those who seek the sun setting along a horizon they will never touch. Edie believes that the world can be divided into those who dream of walls and those who dream of trains."
A train is a machine with unwavering purpose; it moves relentlessly forward on the rails. If the cars leave the track, there is no escaping disaster. Unlike a train, McNeney's beautiful novel takes time to meander; the prose jumps ethereally off track, and patient readers will find themselves richer for the derailment.
Tags: activism labour review
This article originally appeared in the March/April 2012 issue of Briarpatch.
Finding our own voices
A profile of Migrante Ontario
Peak oil for preteens
Why strike support isn't enough
Lessons in solidarity organizing on the one-year anniversary of the postal strike
Good ideas are not enough
by MaryCarl Guiao Jul 1, 2010 4 min read
by Airin Stephens Sep 1, 2011 2 min read
by Dave Bush and Kaley Kennedy Jul 1, 2012 4 min read
by Yutaka Dirks May 1, 2013 3 min read


< ALL ARTISTS
Tomi Ungerer is best known for his witty children's books, as well as being a successful political commentator, prolific writer, and erotic artist. Born in Strasbourg in 1931, he first gained notoriety after moving to New York in 1956 and creating illustrations for magazines such as Esquire, Life, Harper's Bazaar, The Village Voice, and The New York Times. Ungerer is now internationally renowned for his etched caricatures imbued with sharp social satire—a style maintained in his children's books, which he began to publish with Harper and Row in 1957. These books include such fantastical tales as "The Mellops Go Flying," (1957) about a family of daring pigs, "The Three Robbers" (1962) a classic French and German story about bandits made honest by an orphan girl, and "Moon Man" (1967) about the man in the moon's adventure to Earth.
During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s Ungerer began to branch out from advertising and editorial work to make personal pictorial responses to racism, fascism, and war—most notably a set of brutal anti-Vietnam War posters. In the 1970s he began to draw erotic illustrations for adult books—which he continues, in addition to children's books, since moving to Ireland in ...
During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s Ungerer began to branch out from advertising and editorial work to make personal pictorial responses to racism, fascism, and war—most notably a set of brutal anti-Vietnam War posters. In the 1970s he began to draw erotic illustrations for adult books—which he continues, in addition to children's books, since moving to Ireland in 1976.
Ungerer's work has been shown internationally including a retrospective exhibition that traveled from the Louvre to Munich, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Dublin, and the Royal Festival Hall in London; as well as solo exhibitions at Itabashi Art Museum in Tokyo, Strasbourg's Museum of Modern Art, and Max Ernst Museum in Brühl, Germany. The Council of Europe chose Tomi Ungerer as their first Ambassador for Childhood and Education and he has been awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Prize for children's literature. In 2007 a museum dedicated solely to the artist's work and collections opened in Strasbourg.
Click here for more books by Tomi Ungerer.
Artists Books / Children / Erotic
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Hometown Strasbourg, France
Lives and Works Strasbourg, France and Ireland
Musée Tomi Ungerer-Centre international de l'illustration
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Church Updates and Response to Covid-19
CentralOnline
Church Updates & COVID-19
2021 Prayer Goals
As we start our year together, we want to challenge you to pray — for our community, our city and our world. And we want to give you two simple prayer goals for 2021. You can write them down.
Maybe you need to make a reminder on your phone that pops up every week. We want to make these prayers a priority, because we believe these prayers line up with God's will for our church. We believe these prayers are foundational prayers. Prayers that He will hear and respond to.
We hope you'll accept this challenge. We hope you'll make it a priority to pray these foundational prayers — for unity and leaders. And if you do, we can't wait to see where God will take us.
UNITY - "So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." Philippians 2:1-4
LEADERS - "As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace." 1 Peter 4:10
In compliance with the regulations put in place by the BC Health authorities on November 19th, we will be extending our office closure until at least February 5th.
We will continue to offer our services online - HERE and on our Facebook page, and encourage you to participate.
Due to the recently announced provincial health order, the leadership of Central Christian Assembly has advised that, from Monday, November 9 until Monday, November 23, the church office will be closed. Staff will be working from home and we are discouraging anyone from coming to the building
Although our province has entered phase three of reopening, the building of Central Christian Assembly remains closed to the public. We are continuing online services and are carefully considering reopening Sunday services in-person in September, but will continue to have online accessibility even when this happens.
Our other church ministries including Second Chance Clothes Closet, Youth, and Young Adults will remain canceled for now, but we are working towards starting up some of these ministries soon.
Kids ministry, live-streamed services, pre-service prayer as well as a post-service gathering are all still occurring every Sunday.
Pre-service prayer begins at 10AM via Zoom
The live stream service begins at 10:45AM via Facebook or the Church Website
The post-service gathering begins at 11:30AM via Zoom
Kids Ministry resources are available at any time using this link | www.centralmychurch.com/cca-kids-online
Equip Nights will be starting up shortly, please check back here shortly for more details or sign up here if you'd like updates on this.
In compliance with the government's restriction on gatherings of 50 or greater, Central Christian Assembly is cancelling in-person worship services effective Sunday, March 22 until further notice. During this time, our church website will be a valuable resource for you to connect and to receive updates as to when we may resume our normal in-person Sunday services.
In the meantime, we will be live-streaming Pastor Bill's sermons via a live link. On March 22 he will begin a new series entitled "The 23rd Psalm in the Times of COVID-19". Psalm 23 was written by a man who faced his own crises and yet was able to say, "The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want.
All other church-related activities will be cancelled until further notice. This includes Children's Ministry, Youth, Young Adults and Second Chance Clothes Closet. Prayer requests and praise reports may be submitted through the contact form on the website.
We would like to put together a list of volunteers who are able to assist seniors and/or those in self-isolation with grocery shopping, pharmacy pickups, and prayer requests. Please indicate your willingness to be part of this team by emailing Robyn at the church office (rs.cca@telus.net) or by completing the contact form on the website.
If you are a member or a regular attender at Central Christian Assembly and would like to continue to tithe during this time, there is an online option through our website. Cheques may also be mailed to the church (5855 Imperial Street, Burnaby, BC, V5J 1G4) or dropped through the mail slot at the west door of the building (Russell Avenue).
These are uncertain times for all of us, and unsettling for many. Please remember God's promise to His people in Philippians 4:6-7:
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Our prayer is that you remain as safe and healthy as possible and that it will not be long before we can join together in worship. God bless you!
CENTRAL CHRISTIAN ASSEMBLY | 5855 IMPERIAL STREET, BURNABY, BC, V5J 1G4, CANADA
|  Tel: 604-433-2324 | info@centralchristianassembly.com |
COVID-19 REQUEST FOR PRAYER CONTACT US
© 2020 Central Christian Assembly


Turkish banks press ahead with football club debt restructuring
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's banking association said on Friday that the restructuring of the mounting debts of the country's top football clubs was moving forward, adding that the debts would be matured for five years, with two years without paying the principal on the loans.
In January, the Turkish banking Association (TBB) said Turkey's top football clubs, such as Fenerbahce and Galatasaray, will have their debts restructured but not written off, in a move to ease their spiralling debts.
In a statement on Friday, the TBB said there would be "no erasing of debts or pricing beyond market norms. The financial liabilities subject to restructuring will be matured for a total of five years, with two years of non-refundable principal."
"It is not possible to transfer the debts of football clubs to a bank, and each bank will continue to manage its own credit risk," it added.
Like many Turkish businesses which took large foreign currency loans, clubs have also suffered from a currency crisis that saw Turkey's lira lose almost 30 percent of its value against the dollar in 2018.
The "Big Four" clubs - which also include Besiktas and Trabzonspor - have spent heavily to attract foreign stars. Poor domestic and international results have exacerbated the debts they have amassed.
As the clubs struggle with their debts, which have racked up to more than 10 billion lira (1 billion pounds), they have started to offload valuable players to alleviate some of the financial burdens - putting the teams under more pressure on the pitch.
Reporting by Ebru Tuncay and Tuvan Gumrukcu, editing by Louise Heavens


LOWELL SPINNERS
Minor League Baseball - A /
Lowell Spinners Tickets
6 events near Ashburn, VA
WedJul 1
Lowell Spinners at State College Spikes
TBD - Medlar Field At Lubrano Park, College, PA, US
ThuJul 2
FriJul 3
FriAug 14
Lowell Spinners at Williamsport Crosscutters
TBD - Bowman Field, Williamsport, PA, US
SatAug 15
SunAug 16
ThuJun 18
Connecticut Tigers at Lowell Spinners
7:05 PM - LeLacheur Park, Lowell, MA, US
FriJun 19
SatJun 20
SunJun 21
Lowell Spinners at Vermont Lake Monsters
1:00 PM - Centennial Field Vermont, Burlington, VT, US
MonJun 22
TueJun 23
WedJun 24
Staten Island Yankees at Lowell Spinners
Hudson Valley Renegades at Lowell Spinners
SatJul 4
Lowell Spinners at Staten Island Yankees
7:00 PM - Richmond County Bank Ballpark, Staten Island, NY, US
SunJul 5
MonJul 6
TueJul 7
Auburn Doubledays at Lowell Spinners
FriJul 10
Lowell Spinners at Brooklyn Cyclones
TBD - MCU Park, Brooklyn, NY, US
SatJul 11
Northwest Pioneer League All-Star Game
West Virginia Black Bears
Auburn Doubledays
State College Spikes
Mahoning Valley Scrappers
Batavia Muckdogs
Hudson Valley Renegades
Lowell Spinners Schedule
The Lowell Spinners have been the most popular minor league baseball team in Massachusetts since the Elmira Pioneers moved to Lowell. The town is simply abuzz with energy as the New York - Penn minor league season gets underway in summer and several of the best minor league players in the country step onto the diamond looking to earn their way to the Majors while scoring big wins for the Spinners. The Spinners are affiliated with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball and annually feature players who will go on to become big time MLB stars. Be sure to get your tickets to see the Lowell Spinners from StubHub as soon as possible so you can have the best seats to all of the biggest games.
The home season opener will be on June 13th against the Vermont Lake Monsters who will be in town through the 15th. The Spinners' home opener is always a spectacular event and you will definitely want to be in the stands for the 2014 event. June 20th through 22nd brings the Tri-City ValleyCats to LeLacheur Park to take on the Spinners. The ValleyCats won the Stedler division last season, finishing just in front of the Spinners and any series between these two teams has huge repercussions on the division standings, even one early in the season. The Connecticut Tigers, another Stedler division rival, then come to town at the beginning of July for another important series. All of the best New York - Penn League teams will be coming to LeLacheur Park to take on the Spinners as they look to finish the 2014 season at the top of the Stedler division standings. Take a look at the complete Lowell Spinners schedule here on StubHub and get tickets for the games you hope to attend.
The Lowell Spinners are now affiliated with the Boston Red Sox, one of the best teams in Major League Baseball and were previously associated with the Florida Marlins. Being affiliated with such a prestigious MLB team means that you have the opportunity to see some of the future MLB stars playing in a smaller venue with better access to the players for pictures and autographs. Tickets to see the Red Sox play at Fenway Park can be hard to come by but you can see future Red Sox players on the diamond today in the comfortable confines of LeLacheur Park. Past players for the Lowell Spinners who have gone on to success in the Major Leagues include Jacoby Ellsbury, David Eckstein, Jonathan Papelbon, Kevin Youkilis, and Hanley Ramirez. The Spinners last won a division title in 2009 but after finishing just two and a half games back in the Stedler division last season this could be the year that the Spinners once again bring home a division title and make a return to the playoffs.
Nothing quite compares to the time honored tradition of taking in a baseball game. After all, there is a reason it is referred to as America's Pastime. From the smell of the freshly cut grass to the National Anthem bellowing through the stands and the crack of the bat as a hitter connects with a pitch, to the sight of a ball flying over the outfield wall and the taste of a fresh hot dogs or Cracker Jacks, attending a baseball game is a a sensory experience like no other and the memories it produces will last a lifetime. The ultimate family day or night out, a baseball game is the perfect bonding experience whether seeing the game with family, friends, or co-workers. As the innings and pitches pile up everyone in attendance can feel the intensity pick up as every pitch, run, and base runner, begin to matter more and more. By the time the seventh inning stretch rolls around a break from the action is welcome just to settle the nerves and enjoy a traditional song before getting right back to all the excitement for the final two and a half innings. As you file out of the stadium after the last out you likely will already be wanting to start making plans for your next visit to the ballpark.
Lowell Spinners New York - Penn League
The New York - Penn League is a short season league which runs from late June to early September and plays only 76 games, meaning every game in every series takes on extra importance. The league is timed to start after the MLB has held its amateur draft and players have been signed so New York - Penn League players are all looking to impress to get signed for the following season as well as to pull off big wins for their club. The history of the league dates back to 1939 and it is currently made up of 14 teams from seven different states.
The Spinners reached the New York - Penn League playoffs for the first time in 2008 when they won the first of their back-to-back Stedler division titles but have yet to make a return to the playoffs since 2009.


You are here: Home | Catalogues | 2016 | Cupid with Bow and Arrow, Sitting on the Back of a Lion
Vilhelm Nicolai Marstrand
(1810–1873, Copenhagen)
Cupid with Bow and Arrow, Sitting on the Back of a Lion. Pen and brown ink over a preliminary drawing in pencil. 34.6 x 38.3 cm. Circa 1836–39.
With light, masterful strokes of the pen Marstrand has sketched the God of Love in a playful mood sat nonchalantly on the back of a good-natured lion. The genre painter and portraitist, Vilhelm Marstrand, was just fifteen when he began his studies under C. W. Eckersberg at the Copenhagen Academy. From 1836 to 1839 he lived in Rome, where he joined the resident circle of Danish artists. Constantin Hansen's famous group portrait of 1837 shows the artist in front of an open window in the company of his Danish colleagues (Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen). It was in Rome that Marstrand discovered his own field of artistic endeavour in the depiction of the everyday life of Romans. His genre scenes reflect the day-to-day activities of the inhabitants of Rome and the colourful goings-on in the streets of the città eterna. Marstrand used this genre, which quickly gained great popularity, to address a new, middle-class clientele back home. Pictures of the everyday life of ordinary people were in vogue around 1840 and served to satisfy the yearning for Italy felt among the Danish public. In 1841 Marstrand returned to Copenhagen, where he was appointed a member of the Academy two years later. From 1848 he taught there as a professor, although he subsequently returned to Italy on many occasions for study tours lasting several years.
The present study sheet from a sketchbook probably arose during his first stay in Italy. The drawing is a witty, playful variation on a theme treated by his famous colleague, the sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen, in a relief done in 1831. Whereas classical severity dominates in Thorvaldsen's work, Marstrand's interpretation radiates a carefree light-heartedness.