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Introduction of the Alcatel OT 153 GSM Phone

The Alcatel Company has been offering its low-end brands for long and therefore raises its market sales in the GSM phone environs. Since we are in a world were dynamism takes the lead way, it is imperative for every manufacturer that wants to make head-way in the market should from time to time update it product; this brought the succession of the Alcatel 320 that led to the introduction of the Alcatel OT 153 GSM phone. The structure has been altered and is more targeted on the aim group.

Design of the Alcatel OT 153 GSM Phone
The Alcatel OT 153 GSM Phone has a weight approximately 89 grams and a dimension 107×46x20 mm. This phone is mobile and could be easily carry to any way a procurer is going. One service line that has a resolution of 112×64 pixels is feature by its graphical screen that has a green backlighting and may show up to 3 texts. The font-size is moderately outsized and a procurer does not need to stare at the monitor closely before he/she could read what written on it. Besides that it is also convenient, except that when reading an SMS a procurer have to either demand on a mechanical scroll or scroll it him or herself. The keypad is average in comfort, the keys are disposed far from each other and no any great problems appear during work. The backlighting is green.

Interface of the Alcatel OT 153 GSM Phone
On the base of the Alcatel OT 153 phone an interface connector is positioned, a handy hands-free built-in into the housing is linked to the same hole. On the top of the handset there is a strip-gap, it's not built-in into the standard kit. The OT 153 phone is operational with a 700 mAh Li-Ion battery, which also means that the Alcatel OT GSM phone acquire its energy from the battery. Additionally the phone is competent of working for up to 7 hours when calling or receiving calls and up to 5 days in the standby.

Menu of the Alcatel OT 153 GSM Phone
When a procurer pushes a perpendicular scroll button and he or she will see vibrant icons of the most important menu. Every menu is consists of the roll of performances, which a user can select from. There is availability in shortcut navigating numbers; it makes the menu routing much simpler even taking into detail that the menu of the GSM phone is not long. A procurer can allocate each alphanumerical button to a phone number to call it rapidly or a command. The option is up to the procurer to decide. One of the quibbles is that number of menu stuff occasionally surpasses nine, so, it is not probable to use this quick routing. For instance, a procurer or a user can choose a kind of the ringing tone of the handset; there are more than 11 ring tones available in the Alcatel OT 153 GSM Phone. Therefore, a procurer can rapidly set one of 11; to set others a user should list all earlier items. Almost certainly experts planned to put into practice full shortcut number routing, because there are numbers close to all ringing tones.

Phonebook of the of the Alcatel OT 153 GSM Phone

In the total list phone numbers from both phone and SIM-card memories are showed. When a procurer includes a fresh get in touch with, he or she can choose where your phone numbers will be stored: either in phone or SIM-card respectively, except that they cannot be shown disjointedly. It is a quibble for many procurers, as very often they dual their phone numbers in SIM-card in case of dismal require. The phone memory can saved up to 100 phone numbers. One thing a potential procurer should note is that only a phone number could be included to a particular name. When adding a new entry into the phone memory, it displays only a name and a phone number. It is also probable to allot one of the 5 caller groups in the edit mode. It is not very opportune, as a procurer should do an additional operation and squander his or her precious time. A chosen ringing tone and a portrait are included to every caller collection. Likelihood to duplicate all phone numbers in the phone memory and there is seek by nomenclature. It is essential to keep in mind that modern SIM-cards permit to store up to 200 phone numbers, so, it is advisable using this kind of memory, as phone memory does not have any choices here apart from the only one.

The Alcatel OT 153 GSM Phone is a very handy phone and also has some function useful functions. Check your local shop for adequate pricing.

Big Walnut Elementary School students were whisked away to the wild plains and serene savannahs of the African wild last week.

The Feb. 7 safari was led by John Becker, a former Columbus Zoo leader. He's currently a resident of Delaware County and a children's author.

In 1985, Dr. Becker journeyed to Africa on a safari dedicated to the surveillance of the native animals, particularly those facing the dangers of extinction. While there, he spotted a lone baby cheetah amid the backdrop of a vast savannah plain, the long grasses hiding any number of dangers for the young.

This memory stayed with him and eventually became the renowned children's book, Mugambi's Journey. It's a story of a young cheetah named Mugambi who faces the dangers of African wildlife along with his sisters and mother.

Illustrated by Mark Clapsadle, a graduate of the Art Institution of Pittsburgh, Mugambi has become a favorite and was chosen to be read to the students.

“I've been to Africa, so I know what it feels like, what it smells like, and I can describe it in my books,” Dr. Becker explained to a group of wide-eyed third-graders.

He instructed the children to “use your gifts and experiences to add to your writing.”

Becker encouraged the students to write fiction and non-fiction on the natural world; what they know, what they experience and what they love. With the older children, he included a small lecture on the process of creating the story, beginning with the formulation of ideas and continuing with the main character and plot.

“The main character isn't always the perfect person,” he explained, “but that is what makes for interesting stories and reading.”

He informed them of the upcoming Thurber Summer Writing Camp for those interested, and even made time for the students to begin their own short stories and share them out loud. The result was a stunning array of creative flow, from one student writing a sequel to Mugambi's Journey to another imagining the Browns beating the Steelers.

The kindergarten groups, to their delight, were shown the safari video from Becker's second visit to Africa in 1999.

“I enjoy showing the African safari video,” said Dr. Becker. “It's like reliving the trip all over again.

“If someone were to ask me today to go back, I would not hesitate. Africa is so beautiful.”

Footage taken from a Land Rover made it possible for the students to see small bush babies with their glowing eyes, silver-backed jackals, a lone but beautiful cheetah and even a traditional dance performed by the locals, all bringing Africa to Ohio.

“They have been so interested in this,” said Susan Walaszek, a BWE teacher. “It is so neat.”

Becker explained that this second trip was greatly different from the first. The '99adventure showed him a vast “decimation of the animal population;” where once he had seen large herds of elephants, at least seven cheetahs and several rhinos, now he was lucky to spot a few if any, he said.

The inclining extinction of African wildlife inspires Becker to spend much of his time in education through writing.

Mugambi's Journey is only one of more than 20 books written by Becker. Working with wildlife expert Jack Hanna, these other books stem from his observations of endangered animals in their natural habitat, as well as a series on those animals that were able to make a recovery from the brink of extinction.

These books are written with children in mind so that the future generations can become educated on their favorite animals and can make a difference in the days to come.

Becker concluded each presentation with a book-signing. He plans on making a return visit sometime this week to sign the books of those kids who did not get the chance.

Dr. Becker's new book, Wild Cats, is scheduled for release later this year.

“Use your gifts and experiences to add to your writing.”

The movie Dancer in the Dark focuses on Selma, a Czech immigrant, living in a small industrial town in Washington state in 1964. She is focused on saving enough money for her 12-year-old son to get an operation to prevent him from going blind. He inherited the same disease that she has and it will make him go blind if it is not treated just as it made her go blind. She works two jobs to save up enough money and deals with her struggles by daydreaming song and dance musicals in which she and everyone around her contributes. Examples of this are the song and dance routines she does in the factory, on and around the train, in the courtroom, and in the prison hallway. 

Lars Von Trier directs the movie and says that it is the third part in what he calls his “golden-heart trilogy”. The first two parts of the trilogy are the movies Breaking the Waves and The Idiots. Goldenheart was a picture book Lars read as a child. The story is about a little girl who goes out in the woods on her own with things in her pocket. She meets people along the way and shares her belongings with them until she is naked and has nothing. The story ends with the line “I’ll manage all right anyway”. Both Goldenheart and Lars’ trilogy involve a martyr who suffers and makes sacrifices to advance a principle or to help someone else. Dancer in the Dark’s Selma played by Björk “has a more rebellious piece of mind than her predecessors (in the first two movies of the trilogy) but she can neither steer nor escape her fate.” (Björkman, 1999) 

Lars says that his method of working in the movie was also used by Carl Dreyer. Dreyer was a Danish movie director and screenwriter who directed silent films such as The Passion of Joan Arc in 1928. “He strived towards an always bigger simplification. With the difference that he never let his actors come with any input at all. That goes against everything I am trying to do here. I want to give the actors the freedom to build on with their own ideas. It’s similar to a game, sort of ‘cops and robbers,’ where the conflict is clearly defined from the start,” said Lars. He explained that he followed the same guidelines as his last movies. In the first takes, he instructed actors to stick to the script as close as possible but in every new take he gave permission for the actors to rework the script. “The scenes that I now am most pleased with are the ones that are completely improvised, where we have gone very far away from the original dialogue. Catherine Deneuve (who plays Kathy) is horribly good at improvising!” Lars also mentioned in the interview that unlike most movies, his movie was shot on video and in Panavision-format and then transferred to film. He was extremely pleased with the results and says that someday every movie will be shot on video. (Björkman, 1999) 

Lars said that he used one hundred video cameras scattered throughout the shooting site for the musical numbers. “The advantage with the hundred cameras is that we get everything we expected out of the scene, and on top of that, we get all these randomly selected images, pictures captured as it happens, which can be very speaking and expressive.” (Björkman) He said that if he had done a musical ten years ago he would have done it the traditional way with dolly shots and crane shots. (Von Trier) 

In an interview, Björk explains her role in the movie and why she was picked. “The role is in a way designed for me… I think the reason I got the role is because he sees something in me that is in the role. I haven’t dared to ask…. [he is able to see] that I feel more comfortable inside a song than I do in real life”. Björk explains that sometimes she is known as the world’s “little Miss Different”. “I’ve lived with the label ‘different’ since I was a kid. I’ve always laughed at it. And I don’t feel bad of people making fun of me. Or…I really like it if I should be honest.” (Bråstedt & Börjesson) Björk doesn’t like retakes and would prefer playing her scene only once. This is the reason why she uses such seriousness in the movie because she has taken Selma’s fate to herself. (Björkman) Her acting paid off; she won the Best Actress award at the year 2000 Cannes Film Festival for her performance in Dancer in the Dark. She also won the Best Actress award at the 2000 European Film Awards as well as the Best Cinematic Breakthrough award at the 2000 Online Film Critics Society Awards. She also was nominated for the 2001 Golden Globe’s Best Actress Award. (Schmitz) 

Dancer in the Dark “is a brave throwback to the fundamentals of the cinema – to heroines and villains, noble sacrifices and dastardly betrayals. This relatively crude visual look underlines the movie’s abandonment of slick modernism.” The 140-minute movie is “not like any other movie at the multiplex this week, or this year. It is not a ‘well-made film,’ is not in ‘good taste,’ is not ‘plausible’ or for many people, ‘entertaining.’ But it smashes down the walls of habit that surround so many movies. It returns to the wellsprings. It is a bold, reckless gesture,” said Roger Ebert in a review that appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times. He gave the movie 3 ½ stars. (Ebert) 

CNN described the movie as “a perplexing film that contains moments of astonishing power…. You get the uneasy feeling that he’s just as happy to aggravate people as he is to touch them…. This movie, for all its flaws, is a unique journey, and needs to be experienced rather than explained. Hang on tight, open your mind, and give it a shot.” (Tatara) The movie is full of emotion and can be interpreted different ways by different people. “There were those who saw it as a cynical shock-opera from a manipulative charlatan, others wept openly at its scenes of raw emotion and heart-rending intensity.” (Wise) “It is one of the most miserable musicals ever made…. It was set in the U.S. but made in Sweden by a Danish director who has never crossed the Atlantic.” (Filmfour.com) 

Dancer in the Dark’s musical numbers were excellent. The movie was pretty depressing however and even though I knew from the feel of the movie that it would have a bad ending, I was hoping as the movie progressed that it would end on a somewhat good note. The movie was too long and drawn out, in my opinion, and the jittery movements of the camera reminded me of old home videos. However, the director did a superb job developing the theme of the movie, which is self-sacrifice. Selma’s unselfishness and sacrifices have allowed her son to get the surgery he needed so he will not go blind. 

The director also did a good job showing the poor working conditions in the textile mills in the 1960’s. We all have dreams and goals we want to achieve but unfortunately they cannot always be attained and we must suffer even if we have the best intentions, especially when we are trying to help somebody else. 

The movie won the Best Foreign Language Film award at the 2001 Independent Spirit Awards. It also won for Best European Feature by the 2000 European Film Awards. Not only that, but it won the Palme d’Or award at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. It was nominated for the 2001 Golden Globes for Björk as Best Actress and for Best Song “I’ve Seen It All”. The same song also was nominated for the 73rd Annual Academy Awards. (Schmitz)

Istanbul Turkish restaurant is located in the Rice Village at 5613 Morningside, and it is convenient if you want to combine a good meal and shopping. The hours of operation are Tuesday through Sunday from 11:00 A.M to 10:00 P.M and they are closed on Monday. Parking might be a problem especially Friday and Saturday evening as the Rice Village offers a lot of shopping and pubs. Istanbul Turkish restaurant has been open since 1998 and it was one of the first Turkish restaurants in the city.

The restaurants offers a wine list of typical Turkish wines such as the Yakut which comes at $4.50 a glass and is made from Bogazkere and Öküzgözü grapes, the taste is of a dry red wine, and it has an aroma of cherry, banana, spice, and strawberry, or the selection Beyaz which comes at $5.50 a glass and it is made from the most distinguished white wines obtained from the Narince and Semillion grapes, and it has the aroma of citrus fruits, quince, honeysuckle, and acacia, with a finish of coconut and fresh quince.

For their appetizers you can order some yaprak salma also known as dolma's which are tender grape leaves stuffed with rice, herbs and spices for $3.79, patchan salata for $3.29 which is charbroiled eggplants, onion, green-red bell peppers mashed and tossed with fresh garlic, parsley olive oil and lemon juice, or even some hummus mashed chickpeas, blended with fresh garlic, sesame paste and herbs for $3.79.

And for their entrées you can order different kebab plates such as doner kebab (gyro) thick slabs of beef and lamb marinated with a house blend of seasonings, stacked on vertical skewer, cooked on a rotating spit in front of slow fire and thinly-sliced or you can even order a kofte meatball kebab which is ground lamb tossed with onion, parsley, garlic and all is charbroiled for $8.49.

For their specialty platters you can order the Ali Nazik which is charbroiled, peeled and mashed eggplant served with garlic-yogurt sauce, topped with hand chopped and stir fried seasoned lamb for $10.49, or the Istanbul grill which is a combination of chicken shish kebab, beef shish kebab, doner kebab, lamb adana and chicken adana kebab served with soup of the day for $13.99, or even a Etsiz Türlü ratatouille which is green beans, eggplants, zucchini, potatoes and green peppers baked with tomatoes, onions and carrots in olive oil, served with rice for $8.49.

They also have typical desserts such as the baklava for $1.29, the sekerpare which is a baked mixture of enriched Turkish delights for $1.39, the kaddayif which is shredded wheat stuffed with walnuts for $1.99 or even Furn Sütlac which is baked rice pudding for $2.99.

Some of the best home theater systems are those that not only provide you with beautiful sound, but also an impressive outward design. If you are like most consumers, you want your entertainment room to not only impress others, and yourself, with the overall sound and visual quality of your products, but you also want the room to be sophisticated with its appearance. If you are looking for a new home theater system, it is important to not only buy one that has the necessary audio technologies to enhance your viewing pleasure, but also to have one that will stun viewers when its turned off. The Sony HDMI Component Theater System, Model: HT-7100DH is one of the most stunning sound systems both externally and internally. I would highly recommend this home theater system for all consumers.

Product Ratings:

Audio Quality: 4.5/5 Stars
Product Features: 5/5 Stars
User-Friendliness: 4.5/5 Stars
Overall Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Main Product Features:

A home theater system needs to do more then simply give you a higher level of audio quality. It must transform your entertainment room into a place where high-quality entertainment and vibrant sound circulate like a hurricane. This Sony HDMI Component Theater System will provide you just this within its amazing features.

The first feature that I found quality impressive was the simplicity of controlling not only the speakers, but your entire entertainment system. The BRAVIA Home Theater Sync function allows you to easily control your television and sound system through one remote control. In order for this function to work, you must have a Sony BRAVIA television, or any other Sony HDMI components.

The Digital Cinema Sound feature uses the same audio phases as movie theaters undertake. The three dubbing stages are implemented to provide you with sound that is just like what you would hear from a Hollywood blockbuster.

With the Digital Media Port, you are able to connect nearly any type of digital player to this sound system. If you have an iPod, then you will love this feature, and if you require further connectivity, you can purchase the DMP accessory to allow you the option of playing music directly from your PC or Bluetooth device.

One of the coolest features that is placed within this theater system is a rarity within the home theater industry. The four speakers that are normally placed close to your TV (front and surround speakers) have been magnetically shielded, which will allow you to place them close to your TV without having any type of video interference.

Product Price:

This Sony Home Theater System can be purchased in online and retail stores. You can expect to find an average price tag of $415 for this home theater system.

After my last waterpik died I decided to try the Waterpik dental water jet. The price of the Waterpik Ultra was very affordable at $59.99 and it was a nice slim size for a jet that could be used by multiple people. The Waterpik Ultra claims to be up to 93 more effective than flossing and brushing and also removes food and bacteria that can be stuck under your gums for months or even years. Special piks are included for people who have mouth wear such as crowns and braces.

Included in the box of the Waterpik Ultra is the waterpik system which comes with three regular jet tips, three tips for tongue cleaning, one tip that give gums a deep cleaning and one special tip for braces and other dental work. Depending on the sensitivity of an individuals teeth, there are 10 settings on the waterpik system that will change the pressure of the water. The manual of the Waterpik Ultra also suggests that new users start off on the lowest jet setting and slowly move up to a higher setting later on.

After buying the Waterpik Ultra, I set it up and filled the holding tank with water. When I turned on the waterpik system however, no water came out of the handle. A quick scan of the instruction manual shows that you need to press down gently on the tank to connect both parts of the system. Once this was done the waterpik began to work.

The Waterpik Ultra on the lowest setting was gentle on my teeth and gums and after the first use my mouth did feel much better and fresher than it was before. With my first use of the machine I had tried out the standard jet tips and from there I moved on to the deep cleaning tip. The deep cleaning tip unlike the regular tips is supposed to gently lift the gum line and let water flow under the gum to clean out any debris and hidden pieces of food. I have to say that this tip worked very well and did a great job of cleaning under the gum line. I do not have braces or sensitive dental work so I skipped the ortho tip and moved on to the tongue scraper which cleaned my tongue the way it is supposed to.

If I have one complaint about the Waterpik Ultra it is that the water tank might need to be refilled once or twice during use, depending on how slowly you clean your teeth. Overall this was a great product that I would highly recommend.

A study of the Irrigation & Power Department (IPD) of Pakistan’s agricultural province, Punjab, has found that 65% of its underground water is not fit for animals and crops — humans as well. Bahawalpur, one of its southern division, stands out as the largest loser where underground water has been found unfit to the tune of 75 per cent. DG Khan is another region that has attained this ratio. How should this deficiency be overcome? The Punjab Agricultural Research Council is in the process of formulating the ‘right’ strategy — now!

Bahawalpur’s one-third area makes a green strip, fairly understood as the cotton belt. It lies between the dried-up river Hakra and the near-to-dying river Sutlej. When the people at the helm of affairs were signing the Indus Basin Treaty with India, the phenomenon of expansion and contraction of a desert like Rajasthan was either not taken into account or the defunct princely state was not consulted on the matter of selling its lifeline to India.

Only rivers can alleviate the sufferings of life in the desert. Filled with fresh water the whole year, Sutlej was such a river. The river has been the last hope of the Bahawalpur region, a part of Rajasthan, since centuries after the disappearance of the Hakra from the face of the earth. The population of the desert would turn to this river to save its livestock from the onslaught of the drought. For the green belt, it kept the aquifers intact. The Abbasids, who established their rule in the Bahawalpur region through conquering 17 forts on the lower banks of the Hakra in the late 17th century, had brought various tribes from Sindh who were predominantly agriculturalists. It was the first encroachment on the desert. The social space available to the Rohillas, the herding community of the area, was somewhat reduced but not so effectively as occurred later.

The next wave came with the introduction of the Sutlej Valley Project in the early 1920s. This time the immigrants came from East Punjab. The princely state had invested in the Ferozepur headworks; it had to accommodate the displaced farmers. The herding community, known as Rohillas, moved deep into the desert to compensate for the loss of social space. They would appear with their goats, cows and camels in the months of drought — April to July — every year. Life would again become normal with the news of rain in greater Cholistan. The canal system in Bahawalpur received the first jolt when the Ferozepur district went to India. The selling out of Sutlej and Beas, after the reduction of Bahawalpur’s status to merely a division of West Pakistan, would prove the last straw on the camel’s back. Its major source of water supply was cut off but it got new agriculturalists in the form of retired officials of the Punjab government and the military. This time the old farming community saw their share of water reduced; the livestock of the Rohillas started being killed by the new farmers.

For the last one decade, Bahawalpur is receiving 40 per cent of its share of water. There have been scanty rains and the region has been mostly under a spell of drought. Agriculturalists have increasingly sunk tube-wells to keep their business afloat. As the water quality deteriorated, resulting in low per acre yield, farmers turned toward the use of fertilisers and pesticides to sustain their profits. Ironically, the loans provided by the Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) have only increased the profits of oil, pesticides and fertiliser companies while the farmers’ fate keeps hanging in the balance.

The input cost has gone too high. The situation has reached the point where farmers are not able to sow crops without the help of ZTBL that has been charging 13 per cent interest till recently. Since the credit demand was high, its mobile credit officers in this region became millionaires due to their powers to sanction these loans. A class of middlemen also prospered. The failure of a cotton crop could force farmers to sell even their jewellery to meet the loan deadlines. Subsidies are not benefiting farmers either, for they grow wheat for their own consumption and cash crops to meet other expenses.

Now when the cat is out of the bag, what options rest with the government of Punjab? Can it check the advancing desert that is devouring the whole region? Will it be able to stop agriculturalists from pumping out ground water? Will the provincial government be able to convince the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) to increase water supplies to Bahawalpur? If not, will the provincial government pay off the loans the agriculturalist communities have obtained from the ZTBL and other commercial banks? Their failure to pay off loans will definitely put their lands on sale. The flow of credit to the agricultural sector will fall.

The realistic course for the government as well as the banking sector is to adopt a long-term strategy that should encourage livestock and horticulture in areas like Bahawalpur. Stopping recovery of loans for at least five years and diverting credit to livestock will revive hope in the region. The dairy industry can also be encouraged with emphasis on value addition. Many incentives can be given to the investors in this regard.

What is now needed is to stop subsidising the agriculture sector. Once a thriving business, it has now become a burden on the national exchequer. Pumping more funds will not benefit agriculturalists but oil, pesticides and fertiliser companies. The cost for the environment is big; many birds have vanished from the area and crop-friendly worms destroyed. Human health is also worse affected by the excessive use of pesticides and fertilisers.

When the world gets digital, what worth should Bahawalpur claim? Why has its lifeline been cut off? How can Bahawalpur get its links with the Himalayas restored? The ethnic nations registered in Pakistan —Sindhis, Baloch and Pushtoons — should check whether their politics has got any role in the degeneration of life in Bahawalpur. As far as Punjab is concerned, it has a fair reason to reconsider the question of Bahawalpur: “Can it revive the Sutlej?” If not, Bahawalpur must be handed over to the Centre again, in good faith? This a relevant question as the federation rethinks about restructuring itself anew for its easy entrance into the global age.

On March 22, 2007, the Burlington Township High School conducted a mock terror drill using Right Wing Christian Fundamentalists as the terrorists. The scenario revolved around a family attacking the school after their daughter was expelled for praying before class. Disturbed by the fictional scenario, many Christian students went home and complained to their parents.

In the mock terror drill, the gunmen, portrayed by two Burlington Township police detectives, were members of a right wing fundamentalist group called the “New Crusaders”. This group supposedly didn't support the separation of church and state and had entered the school, shot some students and took over the school's media center because one of their daughters had been expelled for praying before class.

Many sources are highly irate about this mock terror drill, stating that using “Christian” fundamentalists, instead of Islamic terrorists, makes no sense. The school Superintendent, Chris Manno, worked with Burlington Township Police Department to come up with the strange scenario for the mock terror drill. “You perform as you practice,” Superintendent Chris Manno said prior to the exercise. “We need to practice under conditions as real as possible in order to evaluate our procedures and plans so that they're as effective as possible.” Considering the fact that prayer before class is protected by the Constitution, the basis of the scenario was completely unrealistic.

In response to Chris Manno's statement above, Bob Pawson, a Trenton public school teacher, asks, “So what allegedly real condition was imagineered? A grotesque scenario saturated with Christian-bashing prejudice and bigotry; a scenario which could never possibly occur.”

Burlington Township released the following statement on April 4, 2007:

“On Thursday, March 22, 2007, an emergency management exercise was conducted at Burlington Township High School to test the emergency lockdown and evacuation procedures of the school and also to evaluate the response and mitigation procedures of the police, fire, and emergency medical services. The exercise lasted for approximately two and a half hours and tested many areas of emergency response. The scenario chosen was intended to be generic in nature and never to offend any group, affiliation or religious belief. The term “Christian” was not included in the scenario. It was believed that all groups pray and prayer in school is a universal issue. Similarly it is further believed that all groups experience right-wing fundamentalists in their organizations. The bottom line was the protection of human life should a significant event unfold. That goal was met. The Township regrets any insensitivities that might have been inferred by this action.”

Bob Pawson said, “This denigrating drill is also a test of the reactions and responses of New Jersey's Christians, along with all other fair-minded citizens of any faith, to such a blatant example of anti-Christian animosity. A public apology is in order. The citizens of Burlington County could rightly demand the resignation or termination of school officials who dreamed up and approved this reprehensible scenario.”

The fact that no major news organizations have reported on this, besides Fox News Channel, really makes one wonder.

This is a reply to Lucinda's article, Limbaugh's Statement About Michael J. Fox: Crass but Not Malicious. At Least Rush Limbaugh Had the Decency to Treat Fox Just like He Treats Everyone, posted October 27, 2006.

Let me state my bias right here. I detest right-wing hate mongers like Rush Limbaugh. In my pecking order beneath Limbaugh are the ditto-heads who don't even have the benefit of an original thought bouncing around in their head. And at the bottom of the list are rational people who should know better, but who bend over backwards to support half-baked ideas, invoking the political equivalent of “boys will be boys” in their defense of the zealots like Limbaugh. And that's where Lucinda's column fell in my opinion.

For those who may have forgotten, actor Michael J. Fox, a person afflicted with Parkinson's disease, appeared in a commercial for a political candidate who supports stem cell research. In the ad, Fox' condition is jarring to the average viewer, who may have never seen a person suffer from the disease.

Limbaugh, surprised, too, at the actor's condition, made comments on his radio show that Fox was either overacting or had forgotten to take his medication. Limbaugh, in his typical style, went beyond the comment and into even more dangerous waters when he opted to mimic the ad. Later on, a caller alerted Limbaugh that Fox had indeed displayed these conditions before. The talk show host apologized.

I don't understand how Limbaugh can recognize when he is wrong but his defenders cannot. Look, no one has a monopoly on truth, not even Rush.

Lucinda states that the comments were inappropriate but that Limbaugh is a talk show host who does this kind of thing for ratings. Ah, the “boys will be boys defense”! It no longer matters what a talk show host says or does, because that's what they do, they are outrageous on purpose.

It is one thing if the megalomaniacal talk show host himself says this, but when listeners use this as a defense, it's really just sad. How lucky for Limbaugh that he no longer has to use this justification himself - he's got his audience to do it for him! Personally, I would be embarrassed to listen to someone whose mantra was that the end justified the means. I expect more from both my political commentary AND my entertainment than for someone to start off being ignorant, accelerate into hate, downshift into apology when it's pointed out he's wrong and then explain it all away by saying - who cares, it gets huge ratings!

Lucinda goes on to say that Limbaugh was a little crass in his description and that this should have only been visible to paid subscribers on his online service. At least Limbaugh had the stones to show his ignorance and hate to the world. Lucinda would have him hide behind a wall of secrecy, where he could spill his invective to only the true believers. That's not the purpose of either a free society or a subscription-based online service for a radio star as big as Rush.

Next, Lucinda informs us that this was not a personal attack on Fox. I'm not sure how many rationalizations it takes to say this with a straight face, but regardless, I am impressed at how she made the attempt.

Fox is endorsing a political candidate who favors stem cell research; something Fox believes will provide a cure for his disease. Now, it would not be personal if Limbaugh, Lucinda, or anyone else, attacked Fox' claim on a scientific basis. It would not be personal if one objected to stem cell research on moral grounds. But it is most definitely personal when one claims that Fox either neglected to take medication or “acted” sicker than he was, to advance his position in this matter! This is the textbook definition of personal. Limbaugh was questioning the character of Fox, plain and simple. If Lucinda does not think that this is personal, I am truly frightened.

Lucinda goes on to say that the statement was not malicious. The simplest definition of malicious is deliberately harmful. So, let's review. Limbaugh makes a statement that attacks the character of Fox, in an effort to minimize the effect of his political ad. Fox did the ad because he believes stem cell research will find a cure for his disease. So, it certainly was malicious. The statement was designed to keep stem cell research from happening, which is deliberately harmful to a person with Parkinson's.

The article asked how Limbaugh was supposed to know that shaking was a side effect of Parkinson's medication. Well, perhaps it would be in Limbaugh's best interests not to publicly ridicule someone without all of the facts. I don't expect Rush to know everything about everything. But I do expect him to have a staff to conduct a bit of research on his behalf. And here's an idea - err on the side of caution every once in awhile! If you don't have all of the facts, admit it upfront and don't assume you know everything.

I understand that Limbaugh has a political objective. And that's fine. But he crossed the line on this one. But I give Rush credit. He acknowledged that he was wrong. That doesn't undo the hurt that he did, but it's something. Now, if only his listeners would do the same thing and stop making excuses for him, we would have some real progress.

Congenital abnormalities are defined as malformations which are present birth due to factors which have affected the fetus' development. These malformations can be found anywhere on the baby but the most common organs affected are the heart, brain and limbs (Thein et al 1992). Congenital malformations affecting the heart are seen to be the most deadly; around 50% of deaths due to congenital malformations are due to malformations of the heart (Yang et al 1997). The causes of congenital abnormalities can be classified into 4 groups - genetic, environmental, multifactorial (combination of genetic and environmental factors) and unknown. Up to 60% of congenital abnormalities are still caused by unknown factors. Only around 10% of malformations have been recognized as having an environmental basis. Environmental factors are classed as teratogens and several groups of exist; infection (rubella virus, herpes), radiation (nuclear bombs, radiation therapy), metabolic (diabetes, folic-acid deficiency) and drugs (ecstasy, isotretinoin, alcohol). Different environmental teratogens will cause different effects through different mechanisms. The fetus will also have 'most-susceptible-periods' to each teratogen depending on the organs it effects. As a general rule the most susceptible period for the fetus is during the first eight weeks of development as the most important developmental processes are taking place at this time (Finnell et al. 2002). This report will focus on a common environmental teratogen, folic-acid deficiency, and will investigate the mechanisms with which it effects fetal development.

Folic-acid deficiency

Folic acid deficiency has been shown to have a high correlation with incidence of neural tube defects (NTD) (Kirke et al 1993) with supplementation of folic acid to pregnant mothers reducing the risk of NTD development in the fetus by up to 70 %(DeWals et al 2007). This has led to the accepted view of folic acid having a role in normal neural development. Deficiency in folic acid can result in malformations such as anencephaly (failure of the cerebrum, cerebellum and cranial vault to develop with only rudimentary brain stem structures developing), lubosacral myelomeningocele (failure of the lumbar bones to form causing the lumbar part of the spinal cord and associated meninges to poke through) or craniorachischisis where none of the nervous system develops. To understand how these abnormalities in development come about we need to look at normal neural tube formation

Normal neural tube formation

Formation of neural plate via signals originating from the notochord is the first step of neural tube formation. This plate of neuroepithelial cells will shape itself so that it extends over the anterior-posterior axis of the embryo. Neurulation (see figure-1) of the neural plate occurs around a median hinge point. Conformational changes in the neuroepithelial cells, which become narrower at the apex and wider at the base, are the main mechanism for this folding movement. Elevation of the neural folds is thought to be accomplished through mainly extrinsic forces generated by the ectoderm lateral to the neural plate. Fusion of the neural folds will first occur near the middle of the forming neural tube where the first somites appear. This fusion will then proceed to continue both in the anterior and posterior directions until a hollow, open-ended tube is formed. The open ends at each end of the neural tube are called the anterior and posterior neuropore. These will close off forming a closed tube. This neural tube gives rise to the CNS.

Figure 1. - lateral folding of the neural plate in Ambystoma mexicanum (process is close to that of mammals)

Lateral folding of the neural plate Anterior neuropore

Neural plate Median hinge point Primary fusion point Posterior neuropore

NTDs will form as a result of defects in neural tube closure with different resulting defects depending on the position of where the defect occurs (e.g.

anencephaly - anterior neuropore fails to close;

lubosacral myelomeningocele - posterior neuropore fails to close;

craniorachischisis - failure of the whole neural plate to fuse). Thus the main cause of neural tube defects comes from a common cause - failure of normal neural tube folding and closure.

Folic acid in normal neural tube closure

Folic acid is a water-soluble B vitamin and has a range of functions within the body including gene expression, cell function and cell differentiation (Vanderput et al 2001). As folic acid cannot be synthesized by humans, sufficient intake is needed. Deficiencies may arise through a variety of reasons such as; insufficient intake through diet, malabsorption, altered metabolism, increased elimination. Genetic factors are thought to be the main reason for folic acid deficiencies (poor absorption and altered metabolism) arise rather than a poor diet. The mechanisms in which folic acid may affect neural tube closure can be traced back to two major pathways; the synthesis of nucleic acids (guanine and adenosine) which are needed for cell proliferation and the role folic acid plays in methylation reactions. Reduction of folic acid will reduce the efficiency of these pathways and consequently effect neural tube formation.

Folic acid in Methylation reactions

The AdoMet (adenosylmethionine) enzyme is responsible for many methyltransfer reactions in the body. AdoMet requires folic acid for synthesis as methionine is produced either directly from folic acid derivatives (via methionine synthase) or via transfer of a methyl group from folic acid derived enzymes onto homocystein to form methionine (MTHFR, MS, CBS). MAT (methionine adenosyl transferase) will then transfer ATP to methionine to form AdoMet. AdoMet acts in the body to methylate DNA and cytoskeletal proteins, both of which are important in neural tube folding and closure. As folic acid is involved in the production of AdoMet, when folic acid levels in the body are reduced, AdoMet would be produced at lower levels leading to a reduced ability to undertake methylation reactions.

Epigenetic regulation of DNA is essential for normal development to take place as it allows selective silencing of genes within particular cell types. A type of epigenetic regulation is DNA methylation where the promoter region for a gene is methylated, interfering with the binding of transcription factors and thus suppressing gene expression. AdoMet is one such molecule which may transfer a methyl group to DNA and thus regulate gene expression (Klein 1997). An example of the importance of epigenetics in neural tube closure is in the selective expression of specific cadherins, glycoproteins responsible for cell-cell adhesion. During neural plate formation the neuroectoderm will express only N-cadherins while during neural plate folding, the neuroectoderm cells will express E-cadherins on the dorsal surface and N-cadherins on the ventral surface. These specific surface cadherins allow the movement of cells so that neural tube formation may be accomplished and also facilitates fusion of the two folds at the ventral surface (Halbleib & Nelson 2006). The change from just N-cadherins to N and E cadherins is under epigenetic control; i.e. AdoMet will act to suppress specific genes via methylation as to produce a specific result (N and E cadherin expression in neuroectoderm cells) which allows neural folding and closure.

With a reduced ability to regulate gene expression via DNA methylation (due to folic acid deficiency), proper gene expression may not be able to be maintained. In the neuroectoderm cadherin-expression example, this might mean that E-cadherin is not expressed when it should be. This could lead to restriction of cell movement needed for neural plate folding due to the difference in properties between E-cadherin and N-cadherin. Also as lateral plate fusion is partially dependant on cadherin expression, fusion may not occur also due to incorrect cadherins expressed on cells. These would lead to failure of normal neural tube formation and thus NTDs.

Cytoskeletal proteins such as microtubules and microfilaments are present in the neural plate ectodermal cells at the apices. These filaments will cause narrowing around the apex of the neuroectodermal cells. This apical narrowing combined with cell proliferation and also the positioning of nuclei to the base of cells to broaden the base will generate intrinsic forces which act to fold the neural plate around to form a tubular structure. The methylation of 3 cytoskeletal filaments produces the observed narrowing at cell apices; actin, α and β tubulin, neurofilament-L (Bjrklund & Gordon 2006). AdoMet will act to generate an intrinsic force via methylation of cytoskeletal proteins which allows neural plate folding.

Generation of intrinsic folding forces via cytoskeletal proteins could not take place also if folic acid availability (and thus AdoMet) was limited. Without intrinsic folding forces caused by methylation of cytoskeletal filaments which narrow the apical ends of neuroepithelial cells, neural tube formation may not occur normally because of the reduction of force being generated to fold over the neural plate. Without enough force to fold the neural plate, the neural plate could not meet dorsally and fusion would not occur leading to NTDs.

Homocysteine levels

After AdoMet donates a methyl group, AdoHyc (adenosylhomocysteine) is formed. As this is a toxic substance it is quickly acted upon by SAH (S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase) which cleaves AdoHyc to form adenosine and homocysteine. Usually homocysteine levels are quickly reduced via folic acid derived enzymes which either remethylate homocysteine into methionine (MTHFR and MS) or transsulfate homocysteine into cysteine or turine (CBS). A deficiency in folic acid will cause reduction in the amount of homocysteine that may be readily transformed at any time due to a reduction in the amount various folic acid derived enzymes. (MTHFR, MS, CBS).

Homocysteine has been shown to be teratogenic at high levels with studies showing that a high level of homocysteine in the mother is correlated with neural tube defects seen in offspring (Rosenquist et al. 1996).

The teratogenic effects of homocysteine may be linked to its growth factor effects on cells; as a growth factor it alters the expression of genes to the process of neural tube formation and closure (Finkelstein 1998). This view of homocysteine is consistent with the fact that low levels are essential for normal growth of embryos but at high concentrations, just like other growth factors (eg. Pax-2), homocysteine will effects the normal expression of genes and through this mechanism, adversely affect normal development of the neural tube.

Synthesis of nucleic acids

Folic acid is needed as a substrate for the synthesis of guanine and adenosine. As such, cell proliferation requires folic acid for DNA synthesis (mitosis) to occur. As neural tube closure relies on cell proliferation to produce intrinsic as well as extrinsic forces, a reduced capacity for the embry to undergo mitosis will affect the amount of force generated to produce folding of the neural plate and concequently effect neural tube formation.

Conclusion

Folic acid deficiency has a probable genetic basis where folic acid is not properly transported into cells or metabolized leading to a reduction of folic acid levels in mother and fetus. As folic acid is essential for methylation reations (epigenetic gene regulation, contraction of neuroepithelial microfilaments) and also for cell proliferation (important in generating intrinsic and extrinsic forces), a reduction in the levels of folic acid available to the fetus will reduce the ability of the fetus to carry out these essential processes, leading to the development of neural tube defects. Yet such devastating effects can be easily eliminated in most cases by simple supplementation of folic acid to the mother before and during pregnancy. Informing the general public about the ease of which NTD may be prevented should be undertaken as to reduce the number of lives ruined by the range of devastating conditions caused by a simple deficiency in folic acid.

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