On his way back home from the OCMC board meeting, Fr. John reflects on his recent visit and interview with Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Community Church.

Welcoming the Christ Child: Family Readings for the Nativity Lent, "The Three Youths in the Fiery Furnace and The Prophet Daniel in the Lion’s Den," by Elissa Bjeletich, illustrated by Jelena Jeftic (Sebastian Press, 2017).

Fr. Lawrence Farley talks about his new book A Song in the Furnace, the message of the book of Daniel.

On the Feast of the Entry of the Theotokos, Fr. Emmanuel Kahn reflects on the hymns and poetry of the feast.

Bobby Maddex interviews Fr. Lawrence Farley, the author of the new AFP book A Song in the Furnace: The Message of the Book of Daniel.

Ulster prop Tom O'Toole will miss Ireland's Test against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night.

Discover how Hollywood star Luke Evans, who's also been in The Hobbit, is coming to Herefordshire.

A team of engineers are checking the engines so the hydroplane can return to the water.

This week: New concept cars, a turbine Batmobile, good news for U.S. automakers and holiday weekend car events.

Shehbaz expresses optimism that interest rate cut will boost investor confidence and increase investments in Pakistan

In Hard am Bodensee, almost directly on the German-Austrian border, one of the largest and best bowls of Europe is located. This is the location of the Ride Further Tour 2017 from the 2nd - 3rd September with a big stint in the fifth round.

From England have already announced Kriss Kyle, Bas Keep, Matt Priest, Chaz Mailey and Lima Eltham, but that's not all. A total of 16 international pros will go to Hard in the start and then there would be the winners of the four wildcards. Chris Halbritter and Mätti Hilber have already qualified at the BMX Männle Turnier in Tuttlingen, two other wildcards can be won on the 2nd September at the Pre-Quali directly on site. But be careful: the number of participants is limited, so register quickly (register@wayfurther.com)

For more information on the Ride Further Tour 2017 in Hard, visit Facebook.

BMX STREET FRANKFURT 2017

Our bro Robin Kachfi was recently with his homies Jan Mihaly , Michael Dunger , Michael Lorenz , Yannic Hammel , Leon Ditzel and Philipp Becker in Frankfurt, where the guys filmed a lot of good clips. Enjoy the video, your kunstform BMX shop team!

Video: Robin Kachfi

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Brügglesjam Schweinfurt 2017

Like the last couple years, the "Brüggeljam" BMX & MTB contest in Schweinfurt, germany will take place again. The whole is organized by the guys of the Bike Unit e.V. and the municipal youth work of the city of Schweinfurt.

The date is the 23th of september at 14:00 clock. The park is open all day and the registration for the contest starts at 13:00 clock The start fee is 5€. There are two BMX groups and one MTB group. afterwards a Bunnyhop or Best Trick Contest will take place.

You can win prize money and prizes!

As usual, the guys from the Brüggeljam provide you with suitable music and cool drinks.

We look forward to your coming! For more information about the "Brüggeljam" in Schweinfurt, please visit Facebook.

Violence in Amsterdam; Israel sends rescue planes. Analysis of governing possibilities post-war: among them, Israeli sovereignty over Judea & Samaria and the 'Resettle Gaza' movement. United Hatzalah medical volunteers' bravery on October 7.

O’Shaughnessy Ventures LLC, a family office that invests in ambitious seed and pre-seed startups, announced Feb. 2 that it has invested in Furno Materials Inc.

Florida acquisition expands complementary product offering in Southwest Florida; four new greenfield locations expand presence in key markets.

Washington – OSHA has released a bulletin with information on how to protect workers from carbon monoxide explosion hazards related to electric arc furnaces in the steelmaking industry.

In the past, being environmentally responsible could mean spending more money, but with a unique program from American Communications, Irving, Texas, that is not the case.

These modules offer detailed insights into key products including the Galileo video wall processor, XtendPoint networked KVM, and the Zio platform.

Washington — Nearly two years after the Federal Railroad Administration first published a final rule requiring commuter and intercity passenger railroads to develop and implement system safety programs, the process has hit another hurdle.

The scrap metal recycling industry is large, intricate and full of dangerous processing techniques that pose a variety of safety and health hazards to workers, according to OSHA.

The advantages of choosing refurbished or hybrid conveyors, especially when considering bottle conveyors, are numerous and extend beyond simple cost savings.

Designed by Woogmaster Studio for Walters Wicker, the Avant and Varenna series are inspired by idyllic outdoor living in Italy's picturesque coastlines + villas.

Billary Squintin used AI to vividly re-create scenes from Mad Max: Fury Road with Muppets in place of the actual actors.

The trend of purchasing refurbished IT equipment is on the rise among MSPs. A significant majority of 84% have admitted to buying refurbished technology in the past, while about 30% are currently making such purchases.

RFID technology does not just exist since yesterday, but especially now, it has a major impact on the profits and losses of companies, for example in retail and logistics. RFID tags that are attached to goods can be read with mobile computers in such a way that real-time results for transactions, stock levels or the order history of customers are displayed.

Cleveron, a click-and-collect automation solutions innovator, is proud to launch a modular outdoor parcel locker, Cleveron 355. The newest solution is specially engineered for DIY and home furnishing retailers, enabling the automated handover of extra-large items.

[Culture] :
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said the nation has a duty to further develop the Korean alphabet, hangeul, which has gained worldwide recognition as a unique writing system. At a government ceremony marking the 578th Hangeul Day on Wednesday, Han raised concerns about “indifference to the Korean language” ...

[more...]

The crystal structure of a pyrrolidine analogue obtained from the stereoselective reduction of the enolic form of 4-hy­droxy-2-furyl-pyrrole­carboxyl­ate is described.

In the title compound, [Cu2(L)2]·2CH2Cl2, the CuII ions coordinate two (S,O)-chelating aroyl­thio­urea moieties of doubly deprotonated furan-2,5-di­carbonyl­bis­(N,N-di­ethyl­thio­urea) (H2L) ligands. The coordination geometry of the metal centers is best described as a flat isosceles trapezoid with a cis arrangement of the donor atoms.

Reaction between equimolar amounts of 3,3,3',3'-tetraethyl-1,1'-(furan-2,5-dicarbonyl)bis(thiourea) (H2L) and CuCl2·2H2O in methanol in the presence of the supporting base Et3N gave rise to a neutral dinuclear complex bis[μ-3,3,3',3'-tetraethyl-1,1'-(furan-2,5-dicarbonyl)bis(thioureato)]dicopper(II) dichloromethane disolvate, [Cu2(C16H22N4O3S2)2]·2CH2Cl2 or [Cu2(L)2]·2CH2Cl2. The aroylbis(thioureas) are doubly deprotonated and the resulting anions {L2–} bond to metal ions through (S,O)-chelating moieties. The copper atoms adopt a virtually cis-square-planar environment. In the crystal, adjacent [Cu2(L)2]·2CH2Cl2 units are linked into polymeric chains along the a-axis direction by intermolecular coordinative Cu...S interactions. The co-crystallized solvent molecules play a vital role in the crystal packing. In particular, weak C—Hfuran...Cl and C—Hethyl...Cl contacts consolidate the three-dimensional supramolecular architecture.

The title compound, [Fe(C4H8O)4(H2O)2][Fe4Ga4(C2H6O2Si)Cl4(CO)15]·4C4H8O, consists of an iron(II) cation octa­hedrally coordinated by two water mol­ecules (trans) with four tetra­hydro­furans (THF) at equatorial sites. Two additional THF mol­ecules are hydrogen bonded to each of the water mol­ecules. The dianion of the title compound is an organometallic butterfly complex with a dimethyl siloxane core and two iron-gallium fragments. The lengths of the iron to gallium metal–metal bonds range from 2.3875 (6) to 2.4912 (6) Å.

The coordination of hydro­tris­[3-(2-furyl)pyrazol-1-yl]borate (Tp2-Fu, C21H16BN6O3) to lan­tha­nide(III) ions is achieved for the first time with the com­plex [Ln(Tp2-Fu)2](BPh4)·xCH2Cl2 (1-Ln has Ln = Ce and x = 2; 1-Dy has Ln = Dy and x = 1). This was accom­plished via both hydrous (Ln = Ce) and anhydrous methods (Ln = Dy). When isolating the dysprosium analogue, the filtrate produced a second crop of crystals which were revealed to be the 1,2-borotropic-shifted product [Dy(κ4-Tp2-Fu)(κ5-Tp2-Fu*)](BPh4) (2) {Tp2-Fu* = hydro­bis­[3-(2-furyl)pyrazol-1-yl][5-(2-furyl)pyrazol-1-yl]borate}. We con­clude that the pres­ence of a strong Lewis acid and a sterically crowded coordination environment are contributing factors for the 1,2-borotropic shifting of scorpionate ligands in conjunction with the size of the conical angle with the scorpionate ligand.

It is well known that Hirshfeld surfaces provide an easy and straightforward way of analysing inter­molecular inter­actions in the crystal environment. The use of atomic Hirshfeld surfaces has also demonstrated that such surfaces carry information related to chemical bonds which allow a deeper evaluation of the structures. Here we briefly summarize the approach of atomic Hirshfeld surfaces while further evaluating the kind of information that can be retrieved from them. We show that the analysis of the metal-centre Hirshfeld surfaces from structures refined via Hirshfeld Atom Refinement (HAR) allow accurate evaluation of contacts of type M⋯H, and that such contacts can be related to the overall shape of the surfaces. The com­pounds analysed were tetra­aqua­bis­(3-carb­oxy­propionato)metal(II), [M(C4H3O4)2(H2O)4], for metal(II)/M = manganese/Mn, cobalt/Co, nickel/Ni and zinc/Zn. We also evaluate the sensitivity of the surfaces by an investigation of seemingly flat surfaces through analysis of the curvature functions in the direction of C—C bonds. The obtained values not only demonstrate variations in curvature but also show a correlation with the hybridization of the C atoms involved in the bond.

Fragment-based drug design using X-ray crystallography is a powerful technique to enable the development of new lead compounds, or probe molecules, against biological targets. This study addresses the need to determine fragment binding orientations for low-occupancy fragments with incomplete electron density, an essential step before further development of the molecule. Halogen atoms play multiple roles in drug discovery due to their unique combination of electronegativity, steric effects and hydrophobic properties. Fragments incorporating halogen atoms serve as promising starting points in hit-to-lead development as they often establish halogen bonds with target proteins, potentially enhancing binding affinity and selectivity, as well as counteracting drug resistance. Here, the aim was to unambiguously identify the binding orientations of fragment hits for SARS-CoV-2 nonstructural protein 1 (nsp1) which contain a combination of sulfur and/or chlorine, bromine and iodine substituents. The binding orientations of carefully selected nsp1 analogue hits were focused on by employing their anomalous scattering combined with Pan-Dataset Density Analysis (PanDDA). Anomalous difference Fourier maps derived from the diffraction data collected at both standard and long-wavelength X-rays were compared. The discrepancies observed in the maps of iodine-containing fragments collected at different energies were attributed to site-specific radiation-damage stemming from the strong X-ray absorption of I atoms, which is likely to cause cleavage of the C—I bond. A reliable and effective data-collection strategy to unambiguously determine the binding orientations of low-occupancy fragments containing sulfur and/or halogen atoms while mitigating radiation damage is presented.

The expansive scientific software ecosystem, characterized by millions of titles across various platforms and formats, poses significant challenges in maintaining reproducibility and provenance in scientific research. The diversity of independently developed applications, evolving versions and heterogeneous components highlights the need for rigorous methodologies to navigate these complexities. In response to these challenges, the SBGrid team builds, installs and configures over 530 specialized software applications for use in the on-premises and cloud-based computing environments of SBGrid Consortium members. To address the intricacies of supporting this diverse application collection, the team has developed the Capsule Software Execution Environment, generally referred to as Capsules. Capsules rely on a collection of programmatically generated bash scripts that work together to isolate the runtime environment of one application from all other applications, thereby providing a transparent cross-platform solution without requiring specialized tools or elevated account privileges for researchers. Capsules facilitate modular, secure software distribution while maintaining a centralized, conflict-free environment. The SBGrid platform, which combines Capsules with the SBGrid collection of structural biology applications, aligns with FAIR goals by enhancing the findability, accessibility, interoperability and reusability of scientific software, ensuring seamless functionality across diverse computing environments. Its adaptability enables application beyond structural biology into other scientific fields.

Two compounds, (S)-8-{[(tert-butyl­dimethyl­sil­yl)­oxy]meth­yl}-1-[(2,2,4,6,7-penta­methyl-2,3-di­hydro­benzo­furan-5-yl)sulfon­yl]-1,3,4,6,7,8-hexa­hydro-2H-pyrimido[1,2-a]pyrimidin-1-ium tri­fluoro­methane­sulfonate, C27H46N3O4SSi+·CF3O3S−, (1) and (S)-8-(iodo­meth­yl)-1-tosyl-1,3,4,6,7,8-hexa­hydro-2H-pyrimido[1,2-a]pyrimidin-1-ium iodide, C15H21IN3O2S+·I−, (2), have been synthesized and characterized. They are bicyclic guanidinium salts and were synthesized from N-(tert-but­oxy­carbon­yl)-l-me­thio­nine (Boc-l-Met-OH). The guanidine is protected by a 2,2,4,6,7-penta­methyl­dihydro­benzo­furan-5-sulfonyl (Pbf, 1) or a tosyl (2) group. In the crystals of both compounds, the guanidinium group is almost planar and the N–H forms an intra­molecular hydrogen bond in a six-membered ring to the oxygen atom of the sulfonamide protecting group.

The neutral organosilicon(IV) complex, (C6F5)2Si(OPO)2 (OPO = 1-oxopyridin-2-one, C5H4NO2), was synthesized from (C6F5)2Si(OCH3)2 and 2 equiv. of 1-hy­droxy­pyridin-2-one in tetra­hydro­furan (THF). Single crystals grown from the diffusion of n-pentane into a THF solution were identified as a THF hemisolvate and an n-pentane hemisolvate, (C6F5)2Si(OPO)2·0.5THF·0.5C5H12 (1). p-Tol­yl2Si(OPO)2 (2) and mesit­yl2Si(OPO)2 (3) crystallized directly from reaction mixtures of 2 equiv. of Me3Si(OPO) with p-tol­yl2SiCl2 and mesit­yl2SiCl2, respectively, in aceto­nitrile. The oxygen-bonded carbon and nitro­gen atoms of the OPO ligands in 1, 2, and 3 were modeled as disordered indicating co-crystallization of up to three possible diastereomers in each. Solution NMR studies support the presence of exclusively the all-cis isomer in 1 and multiple isomers in 2. Poor solubility of 3 limited its characterization in solution.

The title compound, [Mo3(C9H18NS2)3(S2)3S]2S, crystallizes on a general position in the monoclinic space group P21/n (No. 14). The cationic [Mo3S7(S2CNiBu2)3]+ fragments are joined by a mono­sulfide dianion that forms close S⋯S contacts to each of the di­sulfide ligands on the side of the Mo3 plane opposite the μ32− ligand. The two Mo3 planes are inclined at an angle of 40.637 (15)°, which gives the assembly an open clamshell-like appearance. One μ6-S2−⋯S22− contact, at 2.4849 (14) Å, is appreciably shorter than the remaining five, which are in the range 2.7252 (13)–2.8077 (14) Å.

X-ray Laue microdiffraction aims to characterize microstructural and mechanical fields in polycrystalline specimens at the sub-micrometre scale with a strain resolution of ∼10−4. Here, a new and unique Laue microdiffraction setup and alignment procedure is presented, allowing measurements at temperatures as high as 1500 K, with the objective to extend the technique for the study of crystalline phase transitions and associated strain-field evolution that occur at high temperatures. A method is provided to measure the real temperature encountered by the specimen, which can be critical for precise phase-transition studies, as well as a strategy to calibrate the setup geometry to account for the sample and furnace dilation using a standard α-alumina single crystal. A first application to phase transitions in a polycrystalline specimen of pure zirconia is provided as an illustrative example.

Italy-based unicorn Satispay has announced...

Incineration is widely used in the United States to reduce the volume of waste. Hundreds of incinerators -- including industrial kilns, boilers, and furnaces -- combust municipal and hazardous waste, while many more are used to burn medical waste.

Evidence exists that people who lived or worked at Camp Lejeune Marine Base in North Carolina between the 1950s and 1985 were exposed to the industrial solvents tricholorethylene (TCE) or perchloroethylene (PCE) in their water supply, but strong scientific evidence is not available to determine whether health problems among those exposed are due to the contaminants, says a new report from the National Research Council.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine examines evidence on whether providing permanent supportive housing (PSH) – a combination of stable housing and supportive services -- to individuals who are experiencing homelessness improves their health.

The National Academies are partnering with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to administer a new funding opportunity that aims to recognize and further the leadership and scientific accomplishments of excellent biomedical researchers who — through outreach, mentoring, and teaching — have a record of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in their fields.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater surveillance has provided advance indications of community-level outbreaks, sometimes weeks before other indicators. A new report says that wastewater surveillance is worthy of investment and outlines a vision for the future of a national system.

Cost, safety, efficiency, footprint, operator familiarity, and the ability to meet regulations are among the key factors that snack and bakery facilities need to consider when deciding whether to keep and refurbish an old piece of equipment, or send it to the scrap heap and buy new.

The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) says it is “encouraged” after seeing newly released data that shows a continued decrease in occupational injuries and illnesses, but thinks even more can be done to protect workers. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Nov. 9 that workplace injuries and illnesses at private industry employers were down by 48,500 cases in 2016 compared to the previous year.

The company is announcing its featured listing for Southern California, focusing on serviced and furnished apartment opportunities.