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Log in here Tacoma will soon find out what Gig Harbor has known for quite some time without having to cross the Narrows Bridge: Fondi Pizzeria offers some of the best pizza pies around Tacoma will soon find out what Gig Harbor has known for quite some time without having to cross the Narrows Bridge: Fondi Pizzeria offers some of the best pizza pies around Fondi will debut its new Proctor location on April 18 The expansion looks to replicate the family-oriented community-focused vibe of the Gig Harbor venue with a fresh space to gather over signature Neapolitan brick-oven-fired pizzas there’s a nice list of Northwest and Italian wines Everything at Fondi is made from scratch in house from its house-made mozzarella to the 21-year-old sourdough starter affectionately named Sophia (after the iconic Sophia Loren) which originated in its test kitchen back in 2004 It's not just a pizza," said managing partner and pizzaiolo Chris Olsen this is not your average pizza by the slice Email notifications are only sent once a day Get to know this year's Best of the South Sound cohort learn more about a new swim school in Tacoma Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Casa 1910 has announced that Jeremy Fondi is the company’s new national sales director Fondi has previously held positions at Scandinavian Tobacco Group and Casa de Montecristo; he is also the co-founder of Cigar Cartel he will oversee the company’s sales in the U.S “I am thrilled to join Casa 1910 and work alongside such a passionate and dedicated team,” said Fondi in a press release “Casa 1910’s commitment to quality and innovation aligns perfectly with my own values as a cigar aficionado and industry professional I look forward to leveraging my experience to expand the brand’s presence and continue to build a community of cigar lovers across the country.” I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros Casa 1910 is excited to announce that Jeremy Fondi has joined the company as its National Sales Director With over 10 years of experience in the cigar industry and influential leader who will be pivotal in driving the continued growth and success of Casa 1910 Jeremy’s passion for cigars began over two decades ago and his expertise spans a wide range of areas within the industry He is a Certified Retail Tobacconist and Co-founder of Cigar Cartel (C2) one of the most active and engaged cigar communities on Facebook paired with his ability to connect with enthusiasts and industry leaders has made him a respected figure in the global cigar scene Jeremy has held numerous leadership positions in retail management where he consistently demonstrated his ability to build and lead high-performing teams Jeremy was the managing partner of a South Florida-based cigar lounge that combined premium cigars His entrepreneurial spirit has also led him to successfully launch and grow several startups in different industries Jeremy served as the Innovation Manager for Handmade Cigars at Scandinavian Tobacco Group where he was responsible for developing and implementing innovative strategies that enhanced product offerings and market presence This experience has further sharpened his skills in brand development Jeremy will be instrumental in shaping and executing the company’s national sales strategy building relationships with key distributors and retailers and expanding the brand’s reach across the U.S and proven track record in driving business growth make him the ideal leader to help Casa 1910 continue its mission of delivering exceptional cigars to a growing global audience “I am thrilled to join Casa 1910 and work alongside such a passionate and dedicated team,” said Fondi Enter your email and join the global Cigar Journal family By pressing the ‘I AM OF LEGAL AGE’ button I agree that I am of legal age for smoking and drinking in my country Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website Statistics cookies collect information anonymously This information helps us to understand how our visitors use our website Content from video platforms and social media platforms is blocked by default access to those contents no longer requires manual consent our world lost a treasure and the brightest of lights She tragically passed away in a hiking accident at Makaleha Falls Trail in the waterfall of her dreams with the forever love of her life Gianna’s passion for life was evident in her love of family She enjoyed volunteering at animal rescue shelters and desired happiness for others above herself listening and assisting them to get help was important intuitive insight and gentleness left a lasting impression on everyone she met Her crazy sense of humor lit up a room of laughter that was infectious.  As an executive pastry chef her dedication to perfection in artistry led her to master her talents at Jeune et Jolie in Carlsbad Together they received 3 Michelin stars over the years her love and creativity into everything she brought to the table.  Her sudden passing has left a paralyzing and unimaginable void in the lives and hearts of her family and the culinary community that adored her As her loved ones navigate this unfathomable loss we are asking for your support to help the Buzzetta family cover the overwhelming financial burdens that come with such an unexpected tragedy This fundraiser is an opportunity for all who knew and loved Gianna to come together and support her family in their time of need will make a difference in helping them honor Gianna’s beautiful life and memory the Buzzetta family is deeply moved by the outpouring of love and condolences They are FOREVER grateful to each and every first responder doctor and medical specialist from Kauai to Honolulu that worked selflessly to save Gianna’s life Connor Quinton who gave heroically every last effort to save her running a great distance desperately getting her help.  Captain Francisco “Cisco” Garcia of Rescue 3 and crew the angel couple from Norway (Kelly and Marjike) on the trail that came to Connor’s assistance and gave support during the crisis Sal (brother) and Kalei Buzzetta (sister by marriage) with every ounce of love they stayed by her side to manage and oversee crucial decisions in the darkest moments of life until their parents could arrive Your kindness and generosity mean the world to the Buzzetta family as they grieve this unimaginable loss Follow this campaign to get email notifications when the campaign owner posts an update Click the Pray button to let the campaign owner know you are praying for them Campaign funds will be received by Salvatore Buzzetta 1John F and Linda - $ 100.00 USD8 days agoWe are sorry for your loss 1Merri Ann Hinkley - $ 100.00 USD8 days agoI’m deeply sorry for your loss My heart is with you in every possible way 1Linda and Joe Pardue - $ 1000.00 USD12 days agoWe are thinking of you all everyday ❤️ 1Julie Meisterlin - $ 30.00 USD13 days agoSending prayers; heard this heartbreaking news while with our old team last week May God’s love bring you strength and comfort through your unimaginable loss 1Marian - $ 50.00 USD16 days agoLuv to Buzzetta Fam 🩷 1Donna and Mike P - $ 100.00 USD17 days agoGianna will be missed 1The Keegan Cousins - $ 1000.00 USD17 days agoLove you with all our hearts 1Auntie Fran and Uncle Pat - $ 1000.00 USD17 days agoWith all our love.. 2Stephanie Falcomer Blum - $ 100.00 USD19 days agoSending my condolences for your loss May you find peace in the loving memories you’ve shared 1William St Amant - $ 50.00 USD20 days ago 1Tom Ransom and Betty Mahl - $ 200.00 USD20 days agoSo sorry for your loss 1D Anna family - $ 200.00 USD20 days agoSal 1Anonymous Giver - $ 2500.00 USD21 days agoMay you feel grounded in God’s infinite love 1Brian and Judy Stump - $ 300.00 USD22 days ago 1Kason Kennedy - $ 50.00 USD23 days agoI’m so sorry for your loss Gianna was truly a light that brightened every room My thoughts and prayers are with you during this trying time 1The Rodriguez family - $ 100.00 USD23 days agoOur thoughts and prayers to your family 1Load MoreIn Loving Memory of Gianna BuzzettaGoal: 1Load MoreUpdates Follow this campaign to get email notifications when the campaign owner posts an update The place where help and hope go hand in hand Visitation: Friends will be received August 5 2024 from 4 PM - 8 PM at Devlin funeral Home of Cranberry Service: Mass of Christian Burial on August 6 the only daughter of Gwendolyn and Alphonse Bruss Ruth grew up with three protective brothers Laura (William Glaser) and Paul (Christine Ashton) and her sixteen grandchildren and seven great grandchildren Ruth attended college at Ohio University in 1945 where she met and fell in love with a brash young handsome GI After graduating from Ohio University and getting married she went back to school and received a Masters in Library Science from Rutgers University Ruth started her professional career working as a High School librarian in New Jersey then teaching graduate and undergraduate students at Marywood College in Scranton Ruth continued her education pursuing a Doctorate Degree in Library Science at the University of Pittsburgh completing all of her degree requirements but her dissertation her family always said she also had an “honorary degree” in Social Work because she co-wrote her husband’s dissertation for his Social Work degree Ruth served as the Director of the Sewickley Public Library in Sewickley she made significant improvements to the building and the services it provided to the community she cared for her devoted husband until he passed away from dementia in 1997 She then spent several years living on the Jersey Shore in Somers Point until she moved to Sherwood Oaks in Cranberry Township and morality with the kindest smile ever seen She said the rosary every day and kept a beautiful collection of Madonnas in her home The Madonna symbolizes the profound love between a mother and her child making it a perfect representation for Ruth who embodied gentleness and care as a mother to all of her children Ruth practiced her faith daily through her tremendous kindness She was the kindest woman you would ever know The only exception to this is that Ruth was an aggressive and ruthless card player a fact to which all of her children and grandchildren can attest Ruth showed her family the true meaning of good and she filled our lives with love but the way Ruth lived her life will continue to inspire us for years to come the family kindly requests that donations be made to Bridges Hospice at bridgeshospice.org or 4130 Monroeville Blvd You have left footprints on my heart!!!!!!!!!!!!! The oldest memory I have is of going to see EMPIRE STRIKES BACK with my mom At the Warner in downtown Pittsburgh in the spring of 1980 Weekend movies with grandma were a regular tradition that continued through college and my adulthood Getting Ruth her “ears” before we took our seats at whatever mystery Dinner with with grandma when mom and I were on our way home from teaching in Butler became another tradition As was Ruth’s compulsion to be half an our early to the dining room Thank you for being such an excellent mother to my mom LEAVE A REVIEW Casa 1910 announced yesterday (March 18) that it hired Jeremy Fondi as its new national sales director Fondi has more than 10 years of experience working within the premium cigar industry and is a certified retail tobacconist and co-founder of the Facebook cigar community Cigar Cartel (C2) Fondi will help shape and execute the company’s national sales strategy build relationships with key distributors and retailers and expand the brand’s reach across the U.S.  “I am thrilled to join Casa 1910 and work alongside such a passionate and dedicated team,” said Fondi Fondi has held numerous positions within the cigar industry serving as general manager and regional manager at several companies and most recently served as the innovation manager for handmade cigars at Scandinavian Tobacco Group where he helped develop and implement innovative strategies that enhanced product offerings and market presence ©2025 Nicotine Resource Consortium Essential digital access to quality FT journalism on any device Complete digital access to quality FT journalism with expert analysis from industry leaders Complete digital access to quality analysis and expert insights complemented with our award-winning Weekend Print edition Terms & Conditions apply Discover all the plans currently available in your country See why over a million readers pay to read the Financial Times Sign up for our daily Newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest news You are receiving this pop-up because this is the first time you are visiting our site You are using software which is blocking our advertisements (adblocker) we are relying on revenues from our banners So please disable your adblocker and reload the page to continue using this site.Thanks "The smooth round tomato is less cultivated here in the Fondi Monte San Biagio area than in other areas," says Virgilio Capuano partner-owner of the Capuano agricultural company (Fondi who continues: "We saw a first change of trend around 2010 changing varieties is always complex," explains the grower "We started specialising in the production of smooth round tomatoes in 1996 We now grow this variety on about four hectares and we haven't changed since then It was the most practical choice for us at the time as it was mainly in this segment that we had gained experience both in harvesting and in post-harvest management This variety is less susceptible to price fluctuations which are certainly more stable than in other segments and the profit margin at the end of the year is a little more stable." we opted for continuity from mid-June to mid-November," says Capuano "offering consistency in terms of quantity and quality every day This strategy has worked well for us over time and in the last three or four years we have been very satisfied such an approach requires careful selection of varieties a variety that we have been planting at full capacity for the past two years We are also in the process of evaluating its adaptability to subsequent transplantations in order to extend its production until November." Giuseppe Capuano in a Carreras F1 greenhouse "The plant is well-balanced and easy to manage it does not need to be forced," stresses Giuseppe Piccione "With the right attention to fertilisation there are no problems with the removal of stalks probably because we have always managed fertilisation well adjusting the N/P/K ratio in the different phenological phases and gradually reducing the use of phosphorus It was only this year that we found a few cases in the April transplants but we also have testimonies from growers who had no problems with the coeval transplants; the only difference we found was in the size of the berries which were slightly larger in the Capuano transplants." "Based on our experience in this company," continues the agronomist we have to pay particular attention to the strength of the rootstock We noticed that the variety had some difficulties in taking root when planted in April from the fifth stage; this year we easily solved the problem by supporting the plant with foliar treatments but we are already testing Carreras on different rootstocks that are a little more vigorous and preferably resistant to Fusarium race 3." these aspects must be taken into account if we really want to find flaws," Capuano explains again this variety has very few critical aspects Let's remember that the first five or six clusters are excellent and if we take Carreras to the maximum of 7 stages It has never given me any problems at the rootstock level and at the commercial level it is a very appreciated variety but the product comes out with excellent results Those who grow Carreras here are satisfied." For more information: Harmoniz Italy SrlGiuseppe Busacca: Tel FreshPublishers © 2005-2025 HortiDaily.com enjoy the salad course with Ernesto and Aaron while server Patrick spices things up Sometimes when there is a lot of build-up for an event you set up expectations in your mind and then the reality ends up being a let down to experience just such an “event” — the opening of Trattoria Fondi the newest dining destination at the Bedford Village Inn and this is not one of those occasions.  Don’t forget the bruschetta, seen here with a crispy fig and prosciutto pizza. As the restaurant swung into full-capacity service, we sat down for our meal. Kendal may or may not have shot 100 or so more pictures and, in the process, perhaps moved us all around the table like it was the tea party in Wonderland and there was “no room!” Anything for the shot. I should have shaved. Bitter greens and sweet citrus made for a refreshing salad. I can’t remember the last time I spent four hours on a meal. Looking ahead, I can’t think of a place I would rather do so than at Trattoria Fondi. Bedecked with a curated collection of crockery, this bench feature nicely divided the room without making it feel cramped. Belépés Orbán threatens to veto next EU budget, and talks about a post-2026 problem, but Hungary could lose billions of euros within weeksEnglish Viktor Orbán threatened to veto the EU budget over Hungary's frozen funds and said that making the remaining frozen funds available would be a post-2026 problem The problem with this tactic is that a decision on the seven-year budget is not expected for a long time while deadlines that could mean the loss of huge amounts of funding are about to expire Hungary stands to lose more than 400 billion forints within weeks and even the theoretical chance of avoiding this is close to zero – and on top of it this is nowhere near the size of the stakes for 2026 What Hungary's EU Affairs Minister said a few days prior to the PM’s radio interview had actually set the scene for the Prime Minister's veto threat and Orbán's current approach is also apparent from his handling of the 'Erasmus issue' I am amazed to see that Hungarian public debates tend to be characterised by people speaking with complete confidence about facts they have no knowledge of This is clearly evident because they are talking nonsense," the Prime Minister began his assessment of the situation on Friday only to shortly afterwards follow it up with a statement that had been essentially refuted by the government itself a few days before "The EUR 12 billion are there in Hungary's account we can bring it into the Hungarian economy" using largely the same argument as in September there are three main channels through which EU money distributed through the government can come into Hungary: Given the size of the sum mentioned and the method of drawing it down discussed later in the conversation both in September and last Friday Orbán was only talking about the last of these this roughly €22 billion was previously set aside for Hungary in the EU's current seven-year budget the money can be drawn down for an additional two years meaning that there are still more than ten billions' worth of bills to be shovelled in then the Prime Minister outlined the situation quite correctly The problem begins with his claim that this money is available now. It was in response to a question from Index several days ago that the Ministry of Public Administration and Regional Development itself said that not a penny had arrived from this fund since the end of June Although the author did not elaborate on the reason and tried to justify the situation with the summer vacations that argument is much less believable in December than it would have been at the time of Orbán's September comment it would mean that the cash that the government requested between the imposition of the fine and its most recent collection from this fund has been completely dried up for the time being This does not mean that the European Commission will reclaim the tender funds already allocated from the Hungarian budget so those who received them do not need to worry: it is as if the state had subsidised them – except that the money will not flow back into the Hungarian budget later on The government is supposedly negotiating with the "intention of reaching an agreement" but has so far only managed to come up with a timetable and the methodology The most interesting remarks about these very terms came from Orbán after his assessment of the situation it should be known that it will meet the needs of the Hungarian economy until the end of 2026 There will be more funds for us beyond that and whether or not it will be there will be a problem for after 2026.” If the catch-up funding were the only issue on the table the Prime Minister's point might even be understandable: the government probably expects that the €22 billion in catch-up funding would hit the current ceiling of more than €12 billion around that time One major problem is that Orbán is simply acting as if the third "tap" (outside of the agricultural and the catch-up funding) and this is not at all a post-2026 problem The state can claim 10.4 billion euros from the one-off fund partly as non-repayable grants and partly as soft loans In an interview published on Válasz Online on Monday Tibor Navracsics said that "we were able to agree on the money for the reconstruction fund by December 2023" This agreement was only about the part of the loan that the government had previously referred to as the Soros plan and the supplement to the original spending plan which via a circumvention of sorts only opened the way for an advance of almost one billion euros It was received in two instalments by February but the government is still not in a position to submit a regular request for disbursement while Orbán said that this would be a problem after the end of 2026 the remaining amount can only be called down until August 2026 After the advance pamyents that have already been made are deducted that leaves nearly €6.4 billion in non-repayable subsidies and more than €3.1 billion in loans the government has already included 630 billion forints from here in next year's budget although the Fiscal Council has identified this item as a "significant risk" For Hungary to be able to submit payment requests at all 27 super-milestones would have to be met (after which there are still more than a hundred ordinary milestones although the government is making some progress on some of these such as the utilisation of wind power and the raising of teachers' salaries among others.) With the justice reform package the government ticked off four super-milestones the government could have a little more than a year But there is an even more pressing problem: the conditionality mechanism the expectations are now almost fully in line with the super-milestones (21 out of 23) This is the biggest chunk of the still blocked part of the catch-up funds It is keeping roughly €6.3 billion blocked "commitments suspended in year n cannot be included in the budget after year n+2" The procedure was decided almost unanimously by national governments in December 2022 Even EU Affairs Minister János Bóka admitted this earlier when he said: if the suspension is maintained in the long term which could happen as early as the end of this year but “we are working to ensure that this is not the case” The number of conditions the government has fulfilled is not publicly available. Last December, when the judicial reform package was accepted, the European Commission issued an informal evaluation, but all it said was that not all the expectations had been met a significant number of the conditions had not been met or had only been partially met the European Commission and the Council may be much more soft-hearted though but there will not be much room for manoeuvre when it comes to measurable targets with deadlines the application of a new system of sanctions for serious breaches of asset declaration obligations was not introduced by the third quarter of last year and the proportion of single tender public procurement contracts was not sufficiently reduced by the set deadline government officials have regularly said that they believe they have complied with all requirements they could ask for a re-evaluation of the conditions the government did so for the conditionality mechanism but what it did and how it went about it is indicative of its current attitude One specific part of the conditionality mechanism would have needed to be dealt with so urgently that by now, the government has already missed several deadlines. As well as part of the catch-up funding being frozen, 'public trust foundations' and institutions (mostly universities) maintained by them (our earlier article discusses this in detail) have been banned from all EU commitments meaning they are effectively unable to apply for any new EU tenders Not only is this the case with the Cohesion Funding even those not managed through the Hungarian government but more directly by the European Commission the Hungarian government has failed to address the commission's objections which were made known months before December 2022 The measure has been progressively causing more and more problems for the universities which underwent the model change. By last summer, such institutions complained that the ban was costing them millions of euros in losses on Horizon Europe research collaborations, and by now their students are not even allowed to go on Erasmus exchanges Last autumn, both Szabad Európa and Telex received similar information according to which an agreement on this and even on the whole conditionality procedure seemed close We have heard conflicting readings from both sides on exactly what this was but information from both the government and the European Commission concurs that they felt that the other side lacked the political will for an agreement Regional Development Minister Tibor Navracsics said that the negotiations had stalled The June EP elections could have provided another reason to hurry given that the new European Commission goes on autopilot for a while after that and the very next day the Hungarian government requested an evaluation of the amendment on the public trust foundations which the Hungarian Parliament had in the meantime adopted the legislation was described by many as a capitulation although it admittedly only reflected the government's own position and not all of the committee's proposals were accepted it is weaker than the board expected it to be and exempts foundations that are not behind an "institution of higher education using EU funds" from the majority of the restrictions "It's not really what we were hoping for," the new European Commission budget commissioner said signalling that the government had already been warned about this Piotr Serafin also clarified that the request only concerned the modifications pertaining to the public trust foundations the conditions that are likely to cause a loss of more than €1 billion in funding at the end of the year) Given the one-month deadline for evaluation and the fact that the EU institutions are also going on holiday at the end of December the chances of losing the money are now mostly mathematical The Commission will either pass the amendment on to national governments for a decision indicating whether the conditions have been met in full or in part it will inform the member state concerned and the others accordingly despite knowing that it does not meet the Commission's expectations the government does not stand to lose anything with the re-evaluation it can rely on the goodwill of the ministers to give a partial approval it can blame the EU body for ruining things for Hungarian students – even though the amendment itself clearly is not concerned with their interests alone: part of it is actually not trying to exempt the model-changing universities' foundations from the restrictions The change in the government's attitude is shown by the fact that in May Bóka said that formally the government could initiate a reassessment at any time and they intend to stick to this in good faith A few days before Orbán's comments on the radio Bóka had already said that the rule of law conditions expected of the Hungarian government could no longer be interpreted as a legal and technical problem in their own right although "we do not feel absolved" to cooperate with the EU institutions "as constructively as possible" the minister moved on the subject of the next seven-year budget which he pointed out would require unanimity and then added that they would be aiming to "repair the damage" at the annual hearing before the European Affairs Committee of the Parliament on 2 December 2024 – Photo: Tibor Illyés / MTIInstead of subtle mentions of unanimity and talking about reparations Orbán was more specific about what the government was thinking we will "of course get the money" because "negotiations have started on the budget for the seven year period after 2027 "What I can say for sure" is that we will have to get the money "that we didn't get in '25-'26 in '27-'28 I'm not going to give my consent." It is not clear from his mention of 2027 and 2028 exactly what he is after: whether he would like Hungary to be given the amount it didn't get from the current budget in the new budget starting in 2028 or whether he would like all restrictions to be lifted by the end of the current cycle in 2027 in exchange for his consent for the next seven-year budget The latter could pose legal problems. The European Parliament (EP) is already suing the European Commission for approving the justice reform package last December which previously blocked almost all the catch-up funding The decision about this was made just a day before the last meeting of heads of state and government for the year where they agreed on EU membership negotiations and further support for Ukraine as well as on increasing the long-term EU budget And then you have to hold the bag and that's it The other option is to simply have an amount equal to what has been lost added to the amount set aside for Hungary in the new budget The question is how receptive the EP and the other countries' leaders would be to this especially the net contributors (and especially in light of the fact that the Hungarian government admittedly did not comply with all of the Commission's requests in the case of the public trust foundations operating universities) the recovery fund is a one-off instrument on top of the budget which means that funds equaling a few thousand billion forints would have to be thrown in from the regular budget In the meantime, the Hungarian budget would have to cover the deficit for the developments that have already been paid for, and the rest would have to be either covered from national resources or halted. All this at a time when there's a significant deficit in the budget, which also resulted in an excessive deficit procedure being launched against the country one of the three major credit rating agencies recently downgraded Hungary in part precisely because "the country could end up losing a significant part of its planned EU funding if it fails to meet the conditions for the release of the same" financing the country's debt could become more difficult and more expensive which would worsen the overall situation of the state budget Failing to bring in the recovery funds before the 2026 election wouldn’t benefit the government politically either as there would be that much less available to be handed out while the current polls are looking quite close (between the governing Fidesz-KDNP coalition and their main challenger No proposal has even been made for the next seven-year budget of the EU member states are issuing declarations of principle (which have no legal consequences) on policies such as the one recently issued – under the Hungarian presidency – on the common agricultural policy Bóka said that he expects the proposal for the second half of 2025 and other sources have also suggested a date around next summer Decisions are usually dragged out until the last minute: the current 2021-2027 framework was agreed by heads of state and government in July 2020 but member states only reached a final deal with the European Parliament in November of that year a system of fund distribution which would bypass governments in the event of freezing funds is also being worked on Meanwhile, there have been indications that the Hungarian government is moving ahead with the conditions, and the veto threat is just a back-up plan. As Portfolio has spotted the government made an amendment pertaining to the recovery fund available for public consultation which could contribute to complying with the super-milestones For more quick, accurate and impartial news from and about Hungary, subscribe to the Telex English newsletter! Service: A celebration of Christine's life will be held in the future after bravely battling rapidly advancing pulmonary fibrosis the third of seven children to Ruth and Ben Christine displayed a remarkable passion for the arts a passion that would shape her entire life Dedicating herself to a career in arts education Christine served as an ambassador for creativity touching the lives of thousands of students she shared her expertise as an art teacher in the South Butler County School District she served as the first Director of Art Education at the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum where she continued to inspire young minds Her impact extended beyond traditional classrooms as she also taught at the Pressley Ridge School and worked tirelessly with the North Hills Art Center always nurturing and encouraging others to embrace their inner artistry Christine was the epitome of love and devotion She was the primary parent for her son Matthew and later played an active role in the upbringing of her two grandchildren she was a pillar of strength and unwavering support Christine’s nurturing spirit extended beyond her immediate family as she welcomed and embraced her son’s friends as if they were her own earning her the title of the “cool mom.” Her home was a sanctuary for many She was equally cherished as the “fun aunt” by her numerous nieces and nephews always ready to infuse any gathering with joy and laughter Christine’s presence illuminated the lives of all who knew her Her infectious laughter and compassionate nature left an indelible mark on everyone she encountered and generosity will continue to inspire generations to come Though she may no longer be with us in person her spirit will forever live on in the countless lives she touched Your light will continue to shine brightly in our hearts forever And a tribute from her dearest and oldest friend She loved the children she taught; she loved all children and she gave them art Many of her grown former students have expressed gratitude for far more than an art class She had a tongue that could break rocks or leave you weak with laughter She would only give her dolls to the people whose spirit called them she said her best creation by far was her son Chris left many friends and loved ones behind including me my cohort in wild escapades – my life is richer for you being in it In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made to Persad Center (persadcenter.org) or The North Hills Art Center (northhillsartcenter.org) both causes close to Christine’s heart A celebration of Christine’s life will be held in the future I knew the Fondi family through the store when I worked at Sewickley Pres Then at Sherwood Oaks where I’ve lived for 10 years I always enjoyed seeing Christine as she so faithfully visited her Mom stories and pictures of grandchildren while we taught together The world is less beautiful without her in it So many times my day was brightened when came in to just say hi,and tell me she just needed to speak to a friend So very sorry for your whole family’s loss Matthew Database lungometraggi Database dei film del Mediterraneo del sud Sceneggiatori Scuole europee di cinema Società di produzione Distributori Supporto finanziario Inserisci un film Rapporti industria Co-Production Podcast Recensioni Film Recensioni Serie Corso di sceneggiatura on-line Percorso guidato alla scrittura di un lungometraggio Consulenza script Catalogo di formazione Cineuropa Newsletter Premio Cineuropa Photogallery EUFCN Location Award Euro Film Fest 27 Times Cinema GoCritic! Pubblicità sul sito Logo e banner CEE ANIMATION 2025 di Olivia Popp 01/04/2025 - Alla conferenza CEE Animation Go abbiamo parlato con partecipanti che hanno condiviso le loro opinioni su ciò che è necessario tenere presente quando si crea un fondo di questo tipo Questo articolo è disponibile in inglese Hosted in the European Capital of Culture, Gorizia-Nova Gorica (Italy/Slovenia), in mid-March, CEE Animation’s Go 2025 conference homed in on the planned creation of a brand-new animation co-development fund with a working group at the conference dedicated to exploring the possibilities of such a fund As outlined by CEE Animation’s Matija Šturm there exist models for co-development in Europe To explore the opportunities for such a project Cineuropa dove into discussions from the working group and also spoke further with several participants to learn more about their thoughts on the animation co-development film fund And what would be most beneficial for each national context highlighted how live-action peers “can’t imagine how difficult it is in the cashflow” and often don’t understand how animation differs in this way but the process in between the instalments could last years,” he explained This makes development funding for animation a crucial part of the life of a film which required a significant effort on the part of the film’s producers to ensure that Latvia remained as majority producer A co-development fund would thus provide a chance to reduce the burden of this difficult but necessary strategising with much of the heavy lifting occurring in an animated work’s development phase spoke about the opportunities for leveraging each country’s respective strengths in contributing to co-development and co-production collaboration “Each project has different DNA,” mentioning how animated features often take years to produce meaning that selecting the right collaborators is key – and co-development offers a chance to do this properly In a conversation with Edith Sepp, head of the Estonian Film Institute she presented several questions about the scope of the fund but leaned towards the fund as a way to support feature-length projects: “What the [animation] industry is in need of is to have an opportunity to develop feature-length films I wouldn’t say it is only for children; I think it should also be for documentary makers who want to do something in animation We should be really flexible and open to what we are looking for.” acclaimed history of shorts animation in Estonia she noted that co-production is not the first thing that comes to mind in the national setting whereas for feature films and documentaries they’re co-produced if they want to “hit the international market” Sepp says Estonia is “embracing [collaboration] with open arms” despite not being so experienced in the animation market with co-produced or co-developed works She also emphasised that the co-development fund is “one of the initiatives brought to the table by the producers I’m really happy to point out that this was something that came from the industry to the institute,” rather than the other way around Šturm also called attention to one of the crucial objectives of the project: developing a business model such that the sustainability of the fund could be ensured into the future CEO of and executive producer at Spain’s Peekaboo Animation – as well as the holder of leadership roles in several animation producers’ federations – raised important points about this that he elaborated on in a chat with Cineuropa: “I think a new co-development fund needs to have a clear definition He mentioned two diverging approaches that the co-development fund could adopt: one that is more supranational and involving many countries that rarely collaborate and another that targets countries with “shared values and creative styles” with the goal of just two or three co-developing at the same time he noted that co-production can often involve many players with ease but co-development is more difficult in this regard because a project is still in its infancy: “In development everything is much more intertwined – [involving] many people at the same time enriches the project but it also makes it slower and more difficult.” He spotlighted a flip side: the strength that animation has in terms of both co-production and co-development which he described as animation “not [being] linked to any cultural restraints” this means that collaboration comes even easier than it does for live action making a co-development fund for animation a welcome idea – the specifics just need to be hammered out Iscriviti alla nostra newsletter per ricevere altri articoli direttamente nella tua casella di posta 06/05/2025Cannes 2025 – Marché du Film Classe moyenne punta di diamante di France TV distribution a Cannes 06/05/2025CPH:DOX 2025 – CPH:DOX Industry Europa Distribution esplora la distribuzione dei documentari al CPH:DOX 05/05/2025Cannes 2025 – Marché du Film AFCI organizza il suo secondo Summit annuale del Global Film Commission Network al Marché du Film 05/05/2025Cannes 2025 – Marché du Film Indie Sales presenta una line-up da tre stelle a Cannes 02/05/2025Cannes 2025 – Marché du film Be For Films vende Love Me Tender a Cannes 02/05/2025Cannes 2025/Sponsorizzato La Lettonia brilla a Cannes con il film di Sergei Loznitsa, Two Prosecutors, in concorso Iscriviti alla nostra newsletter per ricevere le più importanti notizie del giorno o della settimana sul cinema europeo Crossing Europe 2025 Recensione: Callas, Darling Cannes 2025 Marché du Film CPH:DOX 2025 CPH:DOX Industry Cannes 2025 Marché du Film Festival / Premi Repubblica Ceca Il festival ceco Anifilm punta sulla fantascienza Distribuzione / Uscite / Esercenti Europa La Giornata europea del cinema d'essai torna il 23 novembre Cannes 2025 Marché du Film HOFF 2025 The Shadow e U Are the Universe vincono al Festival del cinema horror e fantasy di Haapsalu Crossing Europe 2025 Premi The New Year That Never Came e The Flats premiati a Crossing Europe Cannes 2025 Marché du film Cannes 2025/Sponsorizzato Las Palmas 2025 MECAS/Premi Manuel Muñoz Rivas e Joana Carro premiati all'ottavo MECAS Tendenze del mercatoFOCUSUna stagione di festival molto intensa attende l'industria cinematografica europea. Cineuropa continuerà a tenere aggiornati i suoi lettori con le ultime notizie e approfondimenti di mercato, coprendo gli eventi primaverili più attesi, tra cui Cannes, Cracovia, Karlovy Vary, Tribeca, Hot Docs, Annecy, Bruxelles, Monaco e molti altri Distribuzione, esercenti e streaming – 06/05/2025Europa Distribution esplora la distribuzione dei documentari al CPH:DOXIl network ha tenuto un workshop su un caso di studio nell'ambito della sua nuovissima partnership con il festival di Copenaghen Jaśmina Wójcik • Regista di King Matt the First La regista polacca racconta come ha affrontato un classico della letteratura per ragazzi degli anni '20 in modo inaspettato Želimir Žilnik • Regista di Eighty Plus Il regista serbo parla del suo profondo sospetto per le ideologie in relazione al suo ultimo film, irresistibilmente affascinante, che segue un uomo la cui vita attraversa tre sistemi politici Paulina Jaroszewicz • Responsabile distribuzione e marketing, New Horizons Association Cineuropa ha incontrato la distributrice polacca per discutere della strategia della sua azienda e del collegamento tra la sua line-up e il programma del BNP Paribas New Horizons Festival Lorcan Finnegan • Regista di The Surfer Il regista irlandese parla del suo mystery-thriller, di come ha creato il personaggio con Nicolas Cage e del suo approccio all'uso dei colori nel film Privacy Policy Le immagini utilizzate su questo sito web sono state fornite dai giornalisti e si ritiene che siano prive di diritti se sei il proprietario di un'immagine utilizzata su questo sito web e ritieni che la sua utilizzazione costituisca una violazione del tuo diritto di autore ti preghiamo di contattarci immediatamente Rimuoveremo l'immagine in questione il prima possibile Abbiamo fatto tutti gli sforzi ragionevoli per assicurarci che tutte le immagini utilizzate su questo sito web siano utilizzate legalmente e in conformità con le leggi sul diritto di autore Chi siamo | Contattaci | Logo e banner Mission | Partner | Staff | Donazioni | Termini e condizioni SAN DIEGO, Oct. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Classy a giving platform that enables nonprofits to connect supporters with the causes they care about announced today its first acquisition since the company's founding in 2011 a solution that will offer nonprofit customers best-in-class technology for their virtual and hybrid fundraising events that will relaunch as Classy Live for nonprofits Classy acquired Fondi's technology from Lennd a next generation event operations portal that simplifies operations and logistics for events teams nationwide Fondi's technology serves as an all-in-one virtual events platform built for fundraising teams to increase revenue Less than six months after Classy's $118 million Series D funding round where the company promised to invest in customer-forward product development and acquiring technology to complement Classy's existing platform the acquisition and subsequent launch of Classy Live accelerates the company's ability to offer its customers a robust solution to their fundraising events from beginning to end we have witnessed nonprofits work tirelessly to pivot their events which are often critical revenue sources for their cause," said Chris Himes "As virtual and hybrid events continue to play a crucial role in fundraising the launch of Classy Live means we can better serve our customers helping them steward and retain donors from their first fundraising dollar through the end of the event experience." Fondi co-founder and Chief Technology Officer will join Classy as Vice President of Engineering to focus on the Classy Live events platform nonprofits will not only be able to host their day-of virtual and hybrid events but also drive attendee engagement and encourage fundraising and donation activity The platform will also support other activities that help bring a virtual event to life such as providing texting and email messaging before introducing silent auctions and mobile bidding polls and more -- all with the ability to sync with a nonprofit's Classy fundraising campaign so attendees can see fundraising progress in real-time Further improvements will be rolled out in the coming months that include a Classy Live mobile event app so customers can experience the event content virtually on their mobile device and connect with other attendees or sponsors Nonprofit administrators can also use the mobile event app for on-site event check-ins at-door registrations and bidding administration "I could not be more excited for all the possibilities that come with joining the Classy team and launching Classy Live," said Josh Parolin "Having built my career in both the nonprofit and SaaS world coming to Classy feels like a culmination of all the work I've done over the years I know the impact Classy Live will have for our nonprofit customers especially as hybrid events become even more of the norm moving forward." Classy's decision to make its first acquisition in the hybrid and virtual events space was grounded in the immediate value it will provide to customers "After exploring multiple platforms and vetting Fondi's technology against other potential matches including how Fondi would fit with our current offering made them the best choice," said Scot Chisholm Classy's co-founder and Chairman of the Board we offer the social sector the best technology out there to increase their funding and serve their missions we know we'll be able to serve our nonprofit customers more effectively and successfully for years to come." To learn more, please visit: https://www.classy.org/fundraising-solutions/classy-live/ 1 https://learn.classy.org/rs/673-DCU-558/images/classy_impact-report-2021.pdf 2 Source: Classy's Why America Gives study of 1,000 respondents Media Contact: Krista Lamp[email protected] www.classy.org Do not sell or share my personal information: “We used to have very small apartments,” Alma Mushi Albania’s largest microfinance institution Her recollections of the Communist era from 1944 to 1991 paint a vivid picture of cramped living conditions where families were squeezed into tiny spaces - “eight or nine people living in two rooms and one kitchen.” emphasizes the deep cultural value placed on homeownership in Albania: “We Albanians are very sensitive about our houses Recognizing the widespread desire for improved living conditions in Albania, Fondi BESA, with support from Habitat for Humanity’s MicroBuild Fund introduced a new housing loan product in 2021 as Alma from Fondi BESA notes: “We’d had the product for more than a year but we were hardly disbursing any housing loans.” The pandemic and the similarity of this new product to existing loans were significant barriers focusing on product differentiation and staff training “It makes me happy that now we can serve these clients with better loan terms,” Valbona remarks Valbona at her desk in Fondi BESA’s head office In a small village on the outskirts of Tirana we encounter the tangible impact of these efforts in the life of Mereme’s family insists on a unique ritual: rubbing her foot across the doorsteps This small act reflects Mereme’s deep desire to see her son settle down and start a family three-room structure surrounded by smallholder farms adjacent to their home is Ergil’s new house a testament to modern architecture with its clean whitewashed walls and a freshly laid tile patio This new structure symbolizes a significant shift from the family’s humble beginnings The family initiated the house construction four years ago but faced financial constraints When Jersika first met them six months prior “I saw their house was still incomplete and I went to talk to them,” Jersika recounts through Fondi BESA’s housing loan pilot “The loan helped us speed up the building process,” Mereme confirms detailing how they could swiftly purchase doors Jersika and Fondi BESA didn’t stop at just providing financial assistance advising on energy-efficient materials and construction techniques This guidance included insulating the roof and walls significantly reducing the family’s energy usage and costs The family’s aspirations for Ergil’s home extend further “The foundation was built to support two stories,” Jersika explains highlighting the potential for future expansion the story of Mereme’s family is a microcosm of Albania’s journey towards improved housing It exemplifies the transformative power of dedicated support and the enduring spirit of families adapting to and shaping their futures © 2025 Habitat for Humanity® International “Habitat for Humanity®” is a registered service mark owned by Habitat for Humanity International Habitat® is a service mark of Habitat for Humanity International Habitat for Humanity® International is a tax-exempt 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law Agencia IP.- In a recent interview on Paraguay TV’s «Tribuna» program shared his thoughts on the current state of bilateral relations between the two nations who has been in the country for a year and a half highlighted advances in various sectors and the opportunities for future cooperation «The bilateral relations are very good,» said the Ambassador noting that Italy has maintained diplomatic ties with Paraguay since 1865 establishing a long history of friendship based on economic and cultural links He pointed out a growing interest in the Italian language in the cultural sphere which has been one of the most satisfying aspects of the relationship between the two countries the diplomat stressed that there is room for growth in the economic field «Italy is only Paraguay’s 15th largest commercial partner referring to the need to expand trade between the two nations Fondi highlighted Italy’s interest in sectors such as agriculture and high technology mentioning a joint project involving the launch of nanosatellites with Italy aiming to collaborate in Paraguay’s technological development one of the most important initiatives is promoting Italy’s model of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which has been key to their industrial development Fondi believed this model could also benefit Paraguay’s productive sector «I am sure it will interest Paraguay’s productive fabric,» he commented The Ambassador also announced that a delegation led by Maria Tripodi Italy’s Undersecretary of State to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would visit Asunción next week to meet Paraguayan authorities and advance bilateral cooperation projects Fondi noted an increase in Paraguayan’s interest in traveling to Italy reflecting the strengthening ties between the two nations despite the challenges posed by the pandemic the prospects for cooperation between Paraguay and Italy are very positive and he expects the relationship to continue growing in the coming years May 10, 2024 | News | 0 comments Milan-based private equity firm Alto Partners and Italian fund management company Arca Fondi have agreed to the buyout of Eurosirel a manufacturer and distributor of medical devices and cosmetics The transaction is expected to close by June will acquire Eurosirel from the company’s founders through an equally owned and managed special-purpose entity The acquisition is intended to support Eurosirel’s international growth with a focus on research and development Alto Partners and Arca Fondi were advised by OC&C Ernesto Leonelli was advised by Marcianesi & Associati and Orrick Read more:Private Equity Wire Apax Partners leads race for Finastra’s treasury unit in $2bn carve-out from Vista Apax Partners.. Morgan Stanley launches evergreen private equity fund targeting co-investments and secondaries.. Ares raises $20bn in Q1 as private credit inflows drive AUM to $546bn Ares Management has raised.. Subscribe to our Newsletter to increase your edge through our newsletter you’ll receive weekly access to what is happening By signing up for our newsletter, you accept our terms and conditions as outlined under pe-insights.com/privacy-policy Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker We improved our breeding programs about two years ago implementing systematic screening activities over multiple cycles and in different transplanting seasons for the spring and summer campaign," says Saro Tumino the goal has been to introduce varieties suitable for this area Growers select these varieties because of their profitability and safety in cultivation and because consumers who value the taste and quality of fresh products consistently buy them." on-field activities have been crucial to optimize our varietal research We mainly focused on the most common cultivation conditions and methodologies in this area we constantly talked with local growers and technicians which allowed us to fully grasp their needs; on the other hand we received valuable feedback on our experimental varieties," adds Tumino The manager continues: "Through this process we could further consolidate some well-known varieties in the market as well as offer new varieties suitable for Central-Southern Italy The constant presence in the territory and the synergy with growers are the cornerstone of our commercial strategy." "The evolution of our smooth round cluster variety Carreras is an emblematic example of that," explains Tumino "Carreras has already occupied a leading position in its segment on the Sicilian market for a few years; naturally the variety has always been known and appreciated for the size of the fruits and their uniformity and extraordinary post-harvest durability." it requires correct management and appropriate fertilization practices during cultivation has allowed us to provide the necessary agronomic guidelines which are useful to address critical issues The high demand for seeds allows me to claim that Carreras F1 is a particularly appreciated smooth round variety also in this area." "Among our medium-long term objectives is to further strengthen R&D activities on-site and to increase our technical-commercial resources we have planned several promotional activities and Open Days aimed at presenting our varieties most suitable for this area: certainly Carreras F1 but also two new entries in the midi and mini-plum segments Croconì F1(TT-628) and Arucimeli F1 (TT-1053) which are added to the green oblong Socrate F1 and various colored specialties continuing to welcome valuable feedback from producers and to dialogue with them," Tumino concludes For more information: HarmonizGiuseppe Busacca:Tel.: +39 338 344 5650Guglielmo Roccasalvo:Tel.: +39 366 988 7564 President Joe Biden is calling on Congress to pass tens of billions of dollars in military and economic assistance for Ukraine warning of dire consequences if lawmakers don’t act President Joe Biden delivers remarks on funding for Ukraine from the Roosevelt Room of the White House “They’re willing to literally kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield and damage our national security in the process,” Biden said But even as he lashed Republicans for their stance Biden stressed that he is willing to “make significant compromises on the border,” if that’s what it takes to get the package through Congress what is the rest of the world going to do?” Biden added adding that he’s ”ready to change policy as well.” He did not name specific policy proposals and accused Republicans of wanting a political issue more than bipartisan compromise the Oklahoma Republican who has been leading Senate negotiations over border policy saying it seemed like the president is “ready to be able to sit down and talk.” Senators of both parties acknowledged they will need to move quickly if a deal is to be struck Congress is scheduled to be in Washington for just a handful more days before the end of the year has sounded the alarm about what would happen if they don’t approve more funding soon saying Ukraine’s military would be stalled everybody’s undivided attention is there and we realize: ’OK Now it’s time to actually solve this,’” Lankford said Democrats involved in the negotiations also said a direct hand from the president as well as from Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell difficult problem is exactly what Joe Biden and Mitch McConnell have worked on before And we could use their help and their leadership on this,” said Sen has sided with Republicans who are holding firm against the security package unless it includes changes to America’s border policies Every Republican voted against it advancing Wednesday evening called the failed test vote a “a sad night in the history of the Senate and our country.” He urged Republicans to present a border proposal that is “serious instead of the extreme policies they have presented thus far.” Republican negotiators were expected to send a new proposal to Democrats after the failed vote said the Republicans’ hard-charging bargain left little room for agreement and he remained skeptical that a deal can be struck “They have to figure out whether they want to negotiate or whether they want to make take-it-or-leave-it demands,” Murphy said Republicans argue the record numbers of migrants crossing the southern border pose a security threat because border authorities cannot adequately screen them They also say they cannot justify to their constituents sending billions of dollars to other countries while failing to address the border at home senators have found agreement on raising the initial standard for migrants to enter the asylum system But they’ve been at odds over placing limitations on humanitarian parole a program that allows the executive branch to temporarily admit migrants without action from Congress said the Senate talks were “never going to be able to negotiate the kind of meaningful substantive policy changes” that Republicans want He called Biden’s remarks “positive” and said the negotiations should next include the president The president’s willingness to directly engage on the issue comes at a political risk Immigrant advocates and some Democratic senators have sounded alarm about curtailing the asylum system a California Democrat who led a statement with 10 other senators last month calling for an increase in legal immigration to be included in negotiations said he would be watching closely what Biden agrees to on border security adding that the direction of the Senate talks have been “concerning from day one.” Even if the president and senators somehow find a way forward on border security any agreement would face significant obstacles in the House Hardline conservatives who control the chamber have vowed to block it unless it tacks to a broad set of forceful border and immigration policies “The American people deserve nothing less.” Johnson said in a statement NASA can proceed with finding a second moon lander besides Starship The overall allocation, however, is less than the nearly $26 billion White House request put forward  in March Congress tasked NASA to find a second company following a troubled HLS bidding process in 2020-21 that saw SpaceX selected as the sole entrant which sparked protests and an overturned lawsuit Related: NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission explained in photos NASA's allocation is 5.6% more than the $24.041 billion the agency received in fiscal year 2022 but at current inflation rates the agency has fewer dollars to work with compared to last year While NASA's exploration program and space operations effectively received full requests "Science overall gets $7.795 billion in the bill Planetary science and heliophysics get slightly more than requested Earth science and biological and physics sciences suffer cuts," SpaceNews wrote Congress expressed concern about NASA's plans to delay the launch to 2028 noting the agency is behind on its mandate to find 90 percent of objects roughly 460 feet (140 meters) in diameter But agency sources told SpaceNews the extra money is not enough to launch on time in 2026 Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com. Elizabeth HowellFormer Staff Writer Spaceflight (July 2022-November 2024)Elizabeth Howell (she/her) was a staff writer in the spaceflight channel between 2022 and 2024 specializing in Canadian space news She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years from 2012 to 2024 Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House leading world coverage about a lost-and-found space tomato on the International Space Station witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents and participating in a simulated Mars mission 2022) is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams.  'Falcon' flies on Star Wars Day: SpaceX launches Starlink satellites from Florida (photos) 10 must-have 'Star Wars' books and novels coming soon to your galaxy but the French government has devised a surprising plan to raise the funds BBC's Travel Show brings you the latest insider travel news amazing experiences and features and practical hints If you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter called "If You Only Read 6 Things This Week". 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A playable, moss-covered piano for Folklore; a sepia-toned mural that calls to the Tortured Poets Department: Taylor Swift's "eras" are all over the city ahead of her three tour dates. Metrics details Crude oil is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons and other organic compounds that can produce serious environmental problems and whose removal is highly demanding in terms of human and technological resources The potential use of microbes as bioremediation agents is one of the most promising fields in this area Members of the species Acinetobacter venetianus have been previously characterized for their capability to degrade n-alkanes and thus may represent interesting model systems to implement this process Although a preliminary experimental characterization of the overall hydrocarbon degradation capability has been performed for five of them the genetic/genomic features underlying such molecular processes have not been identified Here we have integrated genomic and phenotypic information for six A Besides providing a thorough description of the A these data were exploited to infer the genetic features (presence/absence patterns of genes) and the short-term evolutionary events possibly responsible for the variability in n-alkane degradation efficiency of these strains including the mechanisms of interaction with the fuel droplet and the subsequent catabolism of this pollutant this genus also features both opportunistic pathogens primarily associated with hospital-acquired infections (Acinetobacter baumannii pittii) and biotechnologically relevant strains to be employed The use of such strains for bioremediation of alkane-polluted sites might provide valuable advances to solve this environmental issue venetianus VE-C3 was shown to possess a wide range of determinants whose molecular functions are probably related to the survival in a strongly impacted ecological niche including genes involved in the metabolism of n-alkanes and in the resistance to toxic metals (e.g the importance of HGT in shaping the genome of this species was inferred from its relatively high content of genes involved in DNA mobilization and the presence of compositionally atypical chromosome regions contributed to define the set of alk-like genes possessed by this microorganism together with other genes possibly involved in alkane degradation and tolerance to highly polluted ecological niches (2012) performed a molecular and phenotypic characterization of a set of Acinetobacter strains (including some A This study shed some light on the overall strategies adopted by Acinetobacter strains with regard to diesel fuel degradation suggesting a higher efficiency in this process by A venetianus members relative to the other microorganisms tested a large variability in the efficiency of n-alkane degradation among A RAG-1T) clearly outperforming all the others given the phylogenetic proximity of these strains but raises the opportunity to investigate in great details the underlying genetic bases of the phenotypic diversity concerning the different strategies/abilities in hydrocarbon degradation comparing genomes of closely related microorganisms when searching for genetic variations responsible for different phenotypes should lead to clear and testable findings; this is not always straightforward when comparative analyses are performed on the genome of distantly related and phenotypically unrelated microbes we obtained and integrated genomic and large-scale phenotypic information from six A These data were used to infer the genetic features (genes presence/absence patterns) and the short-term evolutionary events possibly related to the variability in n-alkane degradation efficiency within this species Results obtained allowed the identification of strain-specific differences in the overall strategy of alkane degradation and possibly responsible for higher (and lower) efficiencies in this process this study represents an example of how multi-omics information can be used for connecting microbial phenotype(s) to their underlying genotype(s) Residual over initial HC concentration (C/C0) is plotted over time for each strain (a) and for the abiotic control (b) Black bars represent total Diesel fuel hydrocarbons and white bars the sum of C10 to C25 n-alkanes Overall, results obtained (shown in Fig. 1) revealed that the six A. venetianus strains are capable of degrading diesel fuel hydrocarbons and, more extensively, the n-alkane fraction (white bars in Fig. 1) albeit with a rather large variability among them in terms of extent and rates taking into consideration both the final extent and rate of degradation of both total hydrocarbons and n-alkanes carried out by each strain (see Materials and Methods) we established the following ranking for the six A from the most to the less efficient: RAG-1T > LUH 8758 > LUH 7437 > LUH 5627 > LUH 13518 > VE-C3 Despite the better overall ranking of strain LUH 8758 compared to LUH 7437 the two strains behave remarkably differently in terms biodegradation efficiency of n-alkanes and total diesel hydrocarbons: while the former degrades total hydrocarbons to a much higher final extent the latter degrades remarkably faster n-alkanes This indicates that LUH 7437 is a more efficient n-alkane degrader whereas strain LUH 8758 is most likely more effective in the biodegradation of other fractions of diesel fuel hydrocarbons (other saturated hydrocarbons such as iso- or cycloalkanes when the gene annotations of these genomes were searched for determinants possibly involved in such metabolic processes (and able to explain the observed phenotypic differences) no hints could be derived suggests that i) either the enzymatic complexes responsible for the different growth phenotype are still unknown/unexplored or ii) other cellular processes are responsible for determining the growth of some of the tested strains on such media (e.g Biolog results match those reported by Vaneechoutte et al (2009) who preliminary described this species phenotypically despite not all the compounds tested by Vaneechoutte et al were present in our large scale phenotypic test venetianus strains were capable of growing on acetate malonate and showed no (or very reduced) growth on 2,3-butanediol Genome sequences for strains VE-C3 and RAG1T had already been determined previously, whereas the genomes of the remaining four strains was de novo sequenced and assembled as described in Material and Methods. An overview of the genomic data used for this work is presented in Table 1 A genome-scale based phylogeny was reconstructed according to the Acinetobacter pangenome Only bootstrap values lower that 100 are reported venetianus branches are highlighted in red The number of genes mapped to KEGG database (dark yellow) the overall number of KEGG reactions (red) and the number of exclusive KEGG reaction IDs (pink) are reported venetianus pangenome offers the opportunity to investigate the genotypic mechanisms that are most likely responsible of the phenotypic diversity observed among these strains the different efficiency in hydrocarbon degradation alkane degradation can be divided into two main stages 1) the adhesion of the microbial cell to the hydrophobic fuel oil drops and its further internalization and 2) the metabolic reactions leading to its degradation venetianus genomes for genetic determinants involved in the corresponding molecular processes the average GC content over a 100-bp sliding window is reported (red line) and compared to the average GC content of the same genome (dashed line) venetianus RAG-1T gene cluster are filled in grey and named according to their closest homolog in NCBI nr database (if any) in line with an increasing number of missing genes relative to RAG-1T and LUH 7437 clusters The fact that LUH 13518 only lacks the weeC gene compared to LUH 7437 may tentatively suggest a crucial role of this gene in conferring emulsifying capabilities to A These sequences were used as seeds for a BLAST search (with an E-value threshold of 1e-50) on the six A. venetianus strains. Results of this analysis are shown in Fig. 6 and revealed that the six genomes harbor an almost complete repertoire of alkane degradation related genes. Notable exceptions to this general trend do exist and include: An arbitrary degradation efficiency measure is reported on the top of the table derived from our experimental tests on alkane degradation The asterisks denote the presence of two homologous copies of the corresponding protein respectively) were both located upstream of the two alkane 1-monooxygenase (alkB genes) coding genes Based on this genome-based preliminary exploration further gene expression studies will be necessary to fully unravel the alk genes regulatory network in A LUH 5627 and LUH 7437) encode cytochrome P450 in an operon-like structure with genes encoding a ferredoxin an FAD-dependent oxyreductase and a gene encoding an AraC transcriptional regulator Despite further experimental tests will be needed to infer the actual role of CYP153 in the context of A it is tempting to speculate that the presence of this gene could be the cause of the greater efficiency of LUH 7437 and LUH 8758 strains in respect to the other A venetianus strains tested herein (with the exception of RAG1T) To characterize the genetic determinants possibly accounting for such phenotypic diversity we then sequenced the genomes of these strains and combined comparative genomics with phenotypic data The results revealed that most likely the presence of a functional and highly specialized emulsan gene cluster is crucial in determining a robust interaction with the fuel oil droplet and in providing a greater efficiency in the overall process of hydrocarbon degradation being the best two n-alkane degraders RAG-1T and LUH 7437 the strains sharing the capability to emulsify oil and the highest conservation of the emulsan biosynthetic gene cluster this cluster is poorly conserved from a structural viewpoint among the other strains (despite their phylogenetic relatedness) thus suggesting that several independent events (most likely HGT events) occurred leading to the current organization of this cluster in these bacteria The presence of a repertoire of genes known to be involved in n-alkane degradation was also checked in the analysed genomes except for the presence of specific genes (e.g calcoaceticus was only present in LUH 5627 and LUH 7437) that might confer greater efficiency in n-alkane degradation to those strains harbouring it further experimental tests will be required to validate their exact role and their relevance for bioremediation in these strains this study provided an accurate evaluation of the efficiency of degradation of saturated alkanes present in diesel fuel under one given laboratory condition in A a list of the possible the genetic/genomic features involved in such process was depicted These genes and (catabolic) pathways represent the most promising set of candidates for future experimental characterization of bioremediation related processes in A selecting a Phred score threshold value of 30 and LUH 8758 have been deposited at DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank under the accession numbers JRUE00000000 the strain was grown overnight at 30 °C on LB where cells were then picked up with a sterile cotton swab and suspended in 15 ml inoculation fluid (IF-0 Cell density was adjusted to 81% transmittance (T) on a Biolog turbidimeter PM plates were inoculated (100 μl per well) with the cell suspension added with 1% (v/v) Dye Mix E (Biolog) The bacterial suspension used for the inoculation of PM03 was supplemented with the carbon source (20 mM sodium succinate All the PM plates were incubated at 30 °C in an Omnilog Reader (Biolog) for 48 hours To determine the diesel fuel hydrocarbon biodegradation capability each strain was first cultivated from a glycerol stock culture in LB medium (tryptone 10 g/L NaCl 5 g/L) at room temperature under orbital shaking (150 rpm) and then transferred (5% v/v) first in saline minimum mineral medium (Na2HPO4 2.77 g/L supplemented with yeast extract (0.02 g/L) and diesel fuel as the primary carbon source at the final concentration of 1.0 g/L54 The obtained cultures were used as inoculum (5% v/v) in the HC biodegradation tests in saline medium and diesel fuel at room temperature under orbital shaking (150 rpm) Growth on diesel fuel hydrocarbons was performed in baffled glass bottles closed with a Teflon-coated screw cap in order to prevent losses of the lighter hydrocarbons fraction by volatilization and filled with a medium volume of 1/10 of the headspace volume in order to provide a sufficient amount of oxygen throughout incubation Duplicate cultures were sacrificed at the beginning of the incubation and after 1 4 and 7 days of growth to analyze biomass growth and hydrocarbons concentration Abiotic (uninoculated) controls were also prepared by autoclaving bottles (121 °C 20 min) containing medium before diesel fuel supplementation 4 and 7 days of incubation in order to quantify possible hydrocarbon abiotic losses For the determination of total diesel fuel hydrocarbons (including most unresolved semivolatiles) the overall area of the chromatogram (excluding the solvent peak) was used along with a six point calibration curve obtained by analyzing diesel fuel solutions (in hexane) in the concentration range of 50–1000 mg/L under the same analytical conditions and using the same chromatogram integration approach n-C10 to n-C25 alkanes were identified by comparing retention times with those of an analytical standard n-C10 to n-C25 mixture A six point linear calibration curve in the range 1–50 mg/L was used for the quantification of n-C10 to n-C25 alkanes The strains were ranked according to their biodegradation performances taking into account both the final biodegradation extent (C/C0 after 7 days) and the initial degradation rate (C/C0 after 1 day) of both total hydrocarbons and of n-alkanes biodegradation percentages after 1 and 7 days for total hydrocarbons and for n-alkanes were summed for each strain to obtain a score; strains were ranked from the lowest score (best performing) to the highest one Diesel fuel was taken from a petroleum gas station as described in54 n-alkane analytical standards were purchased from ULTRA Scientific Italia s.r.l all the multialignments were concatenated in a single one (265354 residues) that was used for the phylogenetic analysis The phylogenetic tree was constructed with Mega6 using the Neighbor joining algorithm the Poisson model assuming uniform rates across aligned sites Genomic and phenotypic characterization of the species Acinetobacter venetianus Acinetobacter baumannii: emergence of a successful pathogen Not gliding but twitching motility of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus Exploring the evolutionary dynamics of plasmids: the Acinetobacter pan-plasmidome Extensively drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii: risk factors for acquisition and prevalent OXA-type carbapenemases-a multicentre study doi: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2010.06.049 (2010) Emergence of an extreme-drug-resistant (XDR) Acinetobacter baumannii carrying blaOXA-23 in a patient with acute necrohaemorrhagic pancreatitis 3,4-Dihydrocoumarin hydrolase with haloperoxidase activity from Acinetobacter calcoaceticus F46 Molecular characterization of phenol-degrading bacteria isolated from different Egyptian ecosystems Involvement of a plasmid in growth on and dispersion of crude oil by Acinetobacter calcoaceticus RA57 Molecular characterization of an n-alkane-degrading bacterial community and identification of a new species Long-chain aldehyde dehydrogenase that participates in n-alkane utilization and wax ester synthesis in Acinetobacter sp Identification of novel genes involved in long-chain n-alkane degradation by Acinetobacter sp Description of Acinetobacter venetianus ex Di Cello et al Gene cloning and characterization of a cold-adapted esterase from Acinetobacter venetianus V28 Biodegradation of medium chain hydrocarbons by Acinetobacter venetianus 2AW immobilized to hair-based adsorbent mats Envelope glycosylation determined by lectins in microscopy sections of Acinetobacter venetianus induced by diesel fuel Adhesion of acinetobacter venetianus to diesel fuel droplets studied with In situ electrochemical and molecular probes Discovery of the dual polysaccharide composition of emulsan and the isolation of the emulsion stabilizing component Role for Emulsan in Growth of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus RAG-1 on Crude Oil Emulsan in Acinetobacter calcoaceticus RAG-1: Distribution of Cell-Free and Cell-Associated Cross-Reacting Material An exocellular protein from the oil-degrading microbe Acinetobacter venetianus RAG-1 enhances the emulsifying activity of the polymeric bioemulsifier emulsan a secreted lipopolysaccharide from acinetobacter calcoaceticus Draft genome sequence of the hydrocarbon-degrading and emulsan-producing strain Acinetobacter venetianus RAG-1T The genome sequence of the hydrocarbon-degrading Acinetobacter venetianus VE-C3 Microbial degradation of crude oil: factors affecting the dispersion in sea water by mixed and pure cultures Emulsifier of Arthrobacter RAG-1: isolation and emulsifying properties Molecular and phenotypic characterization of Acinetobacter strains able to degrade diesel fuel DuctApe: a suite for the analysis and correlation of genomic and OmniLog Phenotype Microarray data The genomic diversification of the whole Acinetobacter genus: origins Localization of emulsan-like polymers associated with the cell surface of acinetobacter calcoaceticus Emulsifier of Arthrobacter RAG-1: chemical and physical properties Analysis of the wee gene cluster responsible for the biosynthesis of the polymeric bioemulsifier from the oil-degrading strain Acinetobacter lwoffii RAG-1 The role of horizontal transfer in the evolution of a highly variable lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis locus in xanthomonads that infect rice Genetic variation at the O-antigen biosynthetic locus in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Diversity in the major polysaccharide antigen of Acinetobacter baumannii assessed by DNA sequencing and development of a molecular serotyping scheme Analysis of Pseudomonas putida alkane-degradation gene clusters and flanking insertion sequences: evolution and regulation of the alk genes Molecular characterization of the 56-kDa CYP153 from Acinetobacter sp In Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology (ed KennethN Timmis ) Ch a key player in the Prestige oil spill biodegradation (NW Spain) doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2672.2011.05104.x (2011) Expression of alkane hydroxylase from Acinetobacter sp Strain ADP1 is induced by a broad range of n-alkanes and requires the transcriptional activator AlkR Enzymes and genes involved in aerobic alkane degradation Gene structures and regulation of the alkane hydroxylase complex in Acinetobacter sp doi: 10.1128/JB.183.5.1819-1823.2001 (2001) Complete genome sequence of Alcanivorax dieselolei type strain B5 Whole-cell bacterial bioreporter for actively searching and sensing of alkanes and oil spills doi: 10.1111/j.1751-7915.2011.00301.x (2012) The genes rubA and rubB for alkane degradation in Acinetobacter sp Cytochrome P450 alkane hydroxylases of the CYP153 family are common in alkane-degrading eubacteria lacking integral membrane alkane hydroxylases a soluble P450 oxygenase catalyzing terminal-alkane hydroxylation DNA restriction fingerprint analysis of the soil bacterium Azospirillum SolexaQA: At-a-glance quality assessment of Illumina second-generation sequencing data ABySS: a parallel assembler for short read sequence data Draft genomes of three Antarctic Psychrobacter strains producing antimicrobial compounds against Burkholderia cepacia complex Prokka: rapid prokaryotic genome annotation Characterization of two diesel fuel degrading microbial consortia enriched from a non acclimated Role of Enzyveba in the aerobic bioremediation and detoxification of a soil freshly contaminated by two different diesel fuels InParanoid 7: new algorithms and tools for eukaryotic orthology analysis Automatic clustering of orthologs and inparalogs shared by multiple proteomes Roary: rapid large-scale prokaryote pan genome analysis MUSCLE: multiple sequence alignment with high accuracy and high throughput Download references Marco Galardini for kindly helping us with the use of DuctApe Laboratory of Microbial and Molecular Evolution Florence of Clinical and Experimental Biomedical Science “Mario Serio” Environmental and Materials Engineering (DICAM) Dipartimento di Scienze delle Produzioni Agroalimentari e dell’Ambiente (DISPAA) performed the phenotypic characterization of n-alkane degradation performed Phenotype Microarray experiments All authors contributed to critically revise the manuscript The authors declare no competing financial interests Download citation Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science your new go-to podcast to spice up your weekday mornings with relevant news and 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the experts on the front line of climate change who explore new strategies to mitigate and adapt Nicolas Schmit (Jobs) and Johannes Hahn (Budget) were questioned over the decision to unblock cash for Hungary which the European Commission had previously paralysed over persistent rule-of-law concerns The main point of contention was the particular timing of the mid-December decision to release €10.2 billion in reaction to the judicial reform to decrease political interference that Budapest adopted,which was taken one day before a high-stakes summit of EU leaders The overhaul was designed to satisfy four "super milestones" that Brussels had imposed as a condition to resume payments and ensure proper oversight over taxpayers' money who saw it as a capitulation to Orbán's demands a neglect of duty and an affront to fundamental rights The hemicycle has threatened to launch legal action against the Commission if further funds are unblocked MEPs argued the Commission had rushed to green-light the €10.2 billion just mere hours after Hungary published the remaining piece of the judicial reform in its official journal made it all but impossible to properly examine the new law and its compliance with the "super milestones." it was right before the summit," said Eider Gardiazábal "Of course it was political," Moritz Körner everything is always as it seems to be," Finnish MEP Petri Sarvamaa said Katalin Cseh, a Hungarian politician whose party Momentum is in the opposition, delivered a stinging rebuke, accusing the Commission of ignoring the "warning signals" that Hungarian and international experts had sent about the shortcomings and loopholes of the judicial reform "The time necessary to scrutinise the law was just simply not there," Cseh said the Commission could not properly monitor the implementation the three Commissioners stuck to the line that Hungary had provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate compliance with the four "super milestones," which included measures to strengthen the National Judicial Council and crack down on political meddling inside the Supreme Court "The Commission was under legal obligation to take a decision," Reynders said Schmit noted that the December decision did not "automatically" trigger a €10.2-billion payment to Budapest but only the possibility to request reimbursements for development projects carried out on the ground the Commission is still withholding nearly €12 billion from Hungary's allocated share of cohesion funds and most of its €10.4-billion recovery and resilience plan as Budapest has failed to meet the other milestones related to issues such as conflicts of interests under the regulation that governs cohesion funds the Commission could have waited an additional nine days to approve the release of funds would have allowed a longer time to examine the legislation and avoid the eyebrow-raising coincidence with the summit Lawmakers also complained the executive fast-tracked its rubberstamp on the judicial reform without waiting to see its practical effects on the courts and magistrates "The big question here is: has there been an actual assessment of progress on the independence of the judiciary in Hungary Or was there a political deal to get rid of Orbán's veto?" said Daniel Freund "You wanted this out the door before leaders met," he added criticised the Commission for creating the impression of "succumbing" to Orbán who has repeatedly asked for the entire pot of cash to be unfrozen given the €50-billion facility for Ukraine remains stuck in negotiations "Issues of the rule of law are far too important to be involved in such bargaining," Papadimoulis told the room saying all the elements of the judicial reform had been thoroughly negotiated between Brussels and Budapest meaning the Commission knew "very well" the content of the laws before their publication in the official journal "Your answers seem like Teflon," Monika Hohlmeier the conservative who chairs the parliament's budget control committee Our oceans are teeming with plastic and the problem is getting worse by the day or the equivalent of 250 pieces of debris for every person on Earth.  Now the organization has shared what it thinks went wrong came up with the concept for Wilson at age 16 and has been refining the idea ever since The Ocean Cleanup raised $21.7 million for trials in the Pacific Ocean A little over a year later, Slat's team set out to sea with its first 2,000-foot-long plastic-cleaning array But it seems the technology may have left the harbor a bit prematurely a 59-foot end section broke off from the array forcing the organization to tow Wilson back to land for repairs The Ocean Cleanup previously said that 60 of these arrays would be able to remove half of the trash in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch over the course of five years But Wilson's initial challenges casts doubt on that claim Researchers found that the drifting plastic moved faster than anticipated which meant the system was too slow to keep the plastic it caught from flowing out of the array and back into the ocean A design and manufacturing flaw was responsible for the 59-foot section breaking off An initial crack originated at a gap between the plastic pipe and the screen that catches the debris In a recent update the organization said it hopes to resolve these issues and prove its technology but it acknowledged that "there may still be more unidentified challenges ahead."   Though the first attempt to launch an array didn't quite go according to plan which funnels debris to the center of the system despite wind and waves The team was also able to bring back more than 4,400 pounds of plastic What's more, there was no observable damage to the environment — something that scientists were concerned about before the launch.  "If we do fail, I think there would be a risk that [a gyre cleanup] will not happen for a very long time," he said. Volume 8 - 2017 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2017.00088 Bacteria have evolved to efficiently interact each other forming complex entities known as microbial communities These “super-organisms” play a central role in maintaining the health of their eukaryotic hosts and in the cycling of elements like carbon and nitrogen the mechanisms that influence the functioning of microbial communities and their relationship with environmental perturbations are obscure The study of microbial communities was boosted by tremendous advances in sequencing technologies and in particular by the possibility to determine genomic sequences of bacteria directly from environmental samples the taxonomical composition and the functional genetic elements present in a specific community the metagenomic approach per se suffers some limitations among which the impossibility of modeling molecular-level (e.g. metabolic) interactions occurring between community members as well as their effects on the overall stability of the entire system has been fruitfully used to translate genome sequences in predictive Although these techniques have been initially developed for analyzing single their recent improvements allowed engaging in multi-organism in silico analyses characterized by a considerable predictive capability here we focus on providing an overview of the possibilities and challenges related to the modeling of metabolic interactions within a bacterial community discussing the feasibility and the perspectives of this kind of analysis in the (near) future The advent of high-throughput sequencing platforms (NGS) represents one of the most significant milestones in the field of microbial ecology The possibility of determining genomic sequences directly from environmental samples circumventing the culturability issues related to most of the bacterial species allows to investigate the composition of the microbial communities from taxonomical (microbiome) and functional (metagenome) point of view can be used to identify the metabolic potential of a microbial community in terms of the presence of genes encoding enzymes involved in specific metabolic pathways It is then crucial to have accurate descriptions (or predictions) of the metabolic phenotypes expressed by either a given microbial strain or groups of organisms present in the microbiome This is done by drafting (i) the list of the biochemical reactions that the organism can carry out (resumed from genome annotation and literature information) together with the constraints of those reaction (e.g. (ii) an organism-specific biomass assembly reaction based on the relative abundancies of biomass constituents and (iii) inputs and outputs (exchanged fluxes) from and to the external environment can be exported in a computable format (such as JSON or SBML) and queried with different constraint-based (CB) methods to obtain quantitative predictions of growth phenotypes The most commonly used CB technique is flux balance analysis (FBA) (Orth et al., 2010) which relies on modeling the biochemical system under investigation with a stoichiometric matrix and a flux vector This is a compact representation of the reactions as a linear system of differential equations reporting the association between metabolites and reactions together with the corresponding stoichiometric coefficients Under FBA a pseudo-steady state condition is assumed to let the net sum of production and consumption rates of internal metabolites be 0 it is possible to identify a feasible flux of metabolites optimizing a given objective function (e.g. The predictions obtained with this approach can be used to design targeted experiments and gain insights into the role of genes in different conditions experimental results (such as growth phenotypes and metabolic profiles) can be easily integrated into the model with well-defined protocols to perform accurate condition- or tissue-specific simulations Considering the results that can be obtained with such techniques as the genome sequencing and biochemical characterization of whole microbial communities becomes increasingly more feasible the application of CB methods to microbial communities is turning out as a very promising field A defining feature of community modeling is the sharp increase in complexity with respect to single-organism CB analyses. In other words, the simplistic assumptions at the basis of FBA (i.e., steady-state, biomass production as objective function) become challenging when applied to model multi-organism metabolic interactions. This made necessary the development of innovative approaches, which are briefly described in Table 1 these methods differ in the scope and complexity of the analyzed community dynamics methods based on dFBA are highly predictive for time-resolved analyses but require a number of parameters which effectively limit their application to small (two or three organisms) the enzyme-soup approach relies on simplistic assumptions and limited a priori knowledge of the system under study making it suited for analyzing complex microbial communities (such as the gut microbiota) current approaches for community metabolic modeling can be divided into: (i) quantitative methods having a high predictive potential but being limited to simple systems due to parameterization and/or a priori knowledge required and (ii) large-scale methods providing mostly qualitative insights but applicable to complex microbial communities Overview of the different approaches adopted to perform metabolic modeling of microbial communities Another technical challenge limiting the application of CB methods to complex communities is the quality of GEMREs that can be used. In fact, prediction of metabolic fluxes maximizing a defined objective function requires high-quality metabolic reconstructions (generated with precise protocols; Thiele and Palsson, 2010) to achieve consistency with the actual biology of the organisms accounted by the reconstruction the model typically requires further refinement (such as integration of literature and/or extant physiological data to identify potential gaps) and validation steps which can be quite time (and resource) consuming the protocol used to obtain GEMREs of single organisms cannot be extended to large datasets due to the long time required to carry out these analyses and/or potential knowledge gaps for some organisms (such as unculturable bacteria) hindering the application of bottom-up reconstruction approaches Altogether, this points to the need of (i) established protocols (such as Thiele and Palsson, 2010) to develop and curate GEMREs for large-scale datasets and (ii) public resources to facilitate this task (see Magnusdottir et al., 2017) we specifically stress the lack of a data repository describing the biomass composition of different organisms in a variety of conditions such knowledge could be easily integrated in existing reconstruction pipelines and would allow obtaining more biologically relevant GEMREs Despite all the advances made in the integration of omics data into community-level models more work is needed to overcome limitations imposed by current computational and experimental procedures Overview of the main steps and applications in bacterial community metabolic modeling and industrial relevance (top panel) are selected and models are chosen based on a balance between the desidered model accuracy and the complexity of the microbiome (central panel) Then modeling is applied and combined with information from metagenomic data and genome sequences (and phenotypic/biochemical information) from cultivated microorganisms (lower panel) the automatic generation of models from genomic and metagenomics data is a mandatory step to increase the resolution power of the community model every single cell takes part in maintaining the homeostasis of a particular niche given the paradigm of CB metabolic modeling this could effectively represent a problem when trying to infer the metabolic phenotype of a microbial community it is unlikely that all the members of a microbial consortium are optimally geared toward biomass production the steady-state assumption (that is the foundation of FBA analyses) may not hold true during simulations As ‘omic sciences become more and more affordable and sensible their integration into community-level metabolic models is mandatory to achieve a systems level understanding of these biological entities This highlights the necessity of a working scheme designed to handle large-scale community-level reconstructions and to derive quantitative insights All the authors approved the manuscript and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of 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This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms *Correspondence: Alessio Mengoni, YWxlc3Npby5tZW5nb25pQHVuaWZpLml0 †These authors have contributed equally to this work Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish This scheme seeks to support farmers in undertaking on-farm investments that enhance their efficiency and competitiveness This intervention supports investments exceeding €30,000 to enhance agricultural holdings through advanced techniques addressing production Eligible projects include precision farming Young farmers face significant barriers to entering the agricultural sector new trends in the sector envisage new ideas and innovations that further complicate entry this intervention offers targeted financial support to farmers under 41 at the time of application This support helps eligible young farmers to either start new agricultural businesses or take over existing holdings thereby enabling them to overcome initial challenges. With this funding young farmers will be able to implement a business plan focused primarily on agricultural activities with the aim of creating a more attractive Interested applicants who would like to learn more about these schemes are invited to attend one of the upcoming information sessions currently being organised by the Managing Authority and Servizzi Ewropej f’Malta (SEM) more information on the respective calls will be provided and attendees will have the opportunity to better understand the parameters of the calls and raise any questions they might have more information will be provided on the categorisation of registered farmers by the Department of Agriculture as well as information on SEM’s services related to assistance when it comes to EU funding.  Via Francigena F.A.Q © Associazione Europea delle Vie Francigene | C.F. 91029880340 – P.IVA 02654910344 Powered by ItinerAria Privacy | Cookie Policy  | Legal Notice  © Associazione Europea delle Vie Francigene | C.F Powered by ItinerAria silent yet functional – the Pro-Fondi is the Ambrodesign-patented electrical device that quickly removes coffee grounds and optimally cleans professional espresso machine filters Its effectiveness speaks for itself as over 7000 devices have been sold in Italy and abroad The client list includes roasters and chains both of which care about the quality of the end-cup result and the wellbeing of their baristas with new styling and several new features that make it even more barista and customer friendly The design of the new Pro-Fondi EVO is refined yet simple; there are no sharp edges or protrusions The front boasts three new features: two photocell sensors and a touch button The photocell sensors automatically activate the motor when the barista moves their hand to clean the filter holder; thanks to these new additions The touch button has an ON/OFF function and is connected to a circuit board that controls the device’s operating status in real time and signals any anomalies Another important innovation is the cleaning cycle time: it takes no longer than 2 seconds This is the maximum time required for the thorough cleaning of the filter thus preventing excess energy from being consumed or overuse due to distractions the Pro-Fondi EVO features a new 54 or 58 mm-diameter springless polyurethane impeller that thoroughly cleans the filters This impeller has a long service life and has replaced the use of the springs in the previous version; it should be replaced periodically These new innovations have melded with the features and advantages that have always set the Pro-Fondi apart such as: its quiet operation thanks to the absence of a knock-out drawer and a low-voltage quiet motor (12 V); its ergonomics: the used coffee does not need to be knocked out wrists or forearms; its ease of use: this makes the Pro-Fondi an ideal device for any bar the Pro-Fondi EVO seamlessly supports the workloads of high-volume businesses It can quickly be installed next to the espresso machine: simply drill a 12 mm-diameter hole in the counter insert the device and attach a bag underneath so that the coffee grounds can fall into the bag and any dust is contained there is also an external version with dimensions akin to the classic knock-out drawer www.pro-fondi.com Stand S71 from the 18th to 22nd of October © Copyright 2025 | Editoriale Comunicaffè P.IVA 05752870963 | tel the objective of Comunicaffe International has been to provide an updated punctual and essential information service to operators in the sector cocoa and tea supply chains in order to develop critical thinking and debate Comunicaffe International is also a daily newsletter sent to 38.000 professionals in Italy and more than 85.000 worldwide A deadly 6.4 magnitude earthquake has hit Albania More than a dozen people are confirmed dead Several GoFundMes have been set up to help victims and GoFundMe will work with embassies and local authorities to get the funds to the right place Looking to access paid articles across multiple policy topics Interested in policy insights for EU professional organisations The European Commission today officially signed a €214.9 million grant for works on a new Baltic gas pipeline project aimed at connecting Poland and Denmark with Norway Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Energy Union (R) shakes hands with Mateusz Morawiecki, Polish Prime Minister, in Brussels, 15 April 2019. [European Union, 2019] Donec et orci aliquet nisl suscipit molestie sed sit amet tortor Duis vel urna ac mi sollicitudin lacinia mollis sit amet lorem Sed finibus erat nec libero scelerisque fringilla Morbi at orci sed urna vulputate vulputate Get a subscription on Euractiv Pro and elevate your political insight 2011 at 11:12 pm PTYou could stand on a corner and look around until a restaurant sign draws you in Gig Harbor Patch picks a great restaurant either in town or nearby that is worth checking out and what you eat during the game can be as important as your team winning the shiny Vince Lombardi Trophy And pizza is a no brainer for any hungry football fan the Green Bay Packers are playing and it can't get any cheesier than that pick up any two pizzas for just $20 on Super Bowl Sunday Overview: Pizzeria Fondi is located in the heart of Uptown Gig Harbor off of Point Fosdick Drive The restaurant also has an outdoor seating area for a gorgeous summer day Drinks: The pizzeria offers a wide range of Italian wines Entrees: The menu covers everything from the chopped salad to its famous bruschettas and you can never go wrong with its Neapolitan pizzas The crust is made fresh daily with Caputo flour and you can watch the chefs toss the dough behind the open pizza bar The oven heats up to more than 700 degrees so if you sit at the bar The workers at the restaurant said the key to crafting the perfect pizza is all about flavor combinations Some of its most popular pizzas include the Milano (Pepperoni artichoke hearts) and the Sausage & Mushroom The restaurant also has a special deal that would be perfect for a date night Desserts: Olympic Mountain Creamery makes 12 exclusive flavors of gelato and sorbet for Pizzeria Fondi The flavors rotate depending on the season Cost: Appetizers range from $4 to $7.50; entrees average $7 to $10; pizzas range from $10 to $14; desserts range from $3 to $6 Rush hour: The busiest days are Fridays and Saturdays around 5:30 p.m Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. 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The ongoing Employment Tribunal case between Jordi Casamitjana and the League Against Cruel Sports has concluded with a settlement being agreed between the Parties I am a vegan Zoologist specialised in animal behaviour who has been involved in different aspects of animal protection for decades I am crowdfunding for a hearing at the Employment Tribunal to take place on 2 and 3 January 2020 to determine the sole question of whether Ethical Veganism is a protected philosophical belief under the UK’s Equality Act 2010 the case will secure the first judgment in Europe that Ethical Vegans are legally protected from discrimination because of our beliefs.  This page is a continuation of my previous crowdfunding page here  The reason for the new page is that my solicitor has moved firms from Bindmans LLP to Slater and Gordon  The rules of the crowdjustice website mean that once a campaign has been opened it is assigned to a law firm and cannot be reassigned For that reason I have had to start a fresh page which is assigned to Slater and Gordon.  that in addition of whatever amount I will managed to raise for my case on this webpage which is what I raised with my previous page But the hearing on 2 and 3 January 2020 is not contested by the League Against Cruel Sports who have now formally conceded that Ethical Veganism is a protected philosophical belief under the Equality Act 2010 What we want from the hearing is a clear and reasoned written judgment explaining why Ethical Veganism meets the legal tests for a protected philosophical belief it will mean that other ethical vegans – potentially in other countries too – will be able to refer to that judgment in situations where they feel discriminated against for being an ethical vegan – at work and in the provision of goods and services – to show that the UK legal system has already considered and ruled on this question we still need to advance a strong and coherent case to convince the Tribunal the recognition of a “new” protected philosophical belief is not something that a Tribunal will do lightly  Our case needs to be as comprehensive as possible This means compiling over a thousand pages of evidence and preparing statements for witnesses which explains and puts that documentary into context  Our witnesses include a vegan legal expert and an Oxford University professor of moral philosophy.  This work is legally complex and time-intensive and because I feel the weight of responsibility that this important landmark case carries this is why I have engaged an expert legal team (which implies a considerable cost in legal fees estimated so far to £50,000 for the entire case are working very hard to get the result we want and I am very happy with their efforts But success is never guaranteed in any litigation You will be able to see the work that is going into the case: we have the permission of the Tribunal to publish online all of the material being used at the hearing and the legal submissions made by the barristers.  my discrimination and whistleblowing case will continue in February 2020 but what is important to notice is that if in October the Tribunal rules that veganism is indeed a protected philosophical belief this ruling will stay regardless the outcome of my February hearings The case has already made headlines around the world and it will give a fresh legal protection to hundreds of thousands of people in the UK Please give me your support by donating to  my case and by spreading this page as wide as possible What happens if the funds you raise on Crowdjustice exceed your legal costs for the October hearing we would apply the costs towards any remaining stages of the proceedings  This might include any appeals we bring if we are unsuccessful (or any appeals we need to defend if we are successful) or on the remainder of my discrimination and whistleblowing claim against the League Against Cruel Sports these will be donated to another case on the Crowdjustice platform aimed to improve animal rights the money will go to the Access to Justice Foundation the charity used by Crowdjustice in situations where a case concludes with funding left over.  I will never personally get any money donated on this page and it will only be used to pay lawyers for work they have done on my behalf Judgments in the Employment Tribunal are not binding authorities  What tends to happen is that when Tribunals have issued judgments which recognise philosophical beliefs those judgments tend to have been followed by other courts and tribunals subsequently it is very likely that ethical veganism will effectively be established in law as a protected philosophical belief If there is an appeal brought in my case (either by us if we lose or the League Against Cruel Sports if we win) this would be to the Employment Appeal Tribunal which in this case is a court of binding precedent the League Against Cruel Sports has conceded that Mr Casamitjana was a valued employee who demonstrated professionalism expertise and commitment to the protection of animals The League Against Cruel Sports has conceded that Mr Casamitjana did nothing wrong in raising his concerns about the League’s pension fund The settlement brings to a conclusion a case that attracted international coverage when ethical veganism was recognised as a protected philosophical belief under the Equality Act 2010 and ethical vegans so protected from discrimination “After nearly two years of litigation against the League Against Cruel Sports I am extremely happy with the conclusion that we have secured The case has established that ethical vegans are protected from discrimination and I have received the acknowledgement I sought that my dismissal was based on my ethical veganism the League’s witnesses conceded that the concerns I raised - about the League’s pension fund investing in companies that test on animals and damage the environment - were genuine and correct They acknowledged that my communications on this issue were motivated by my ethical veganism which expressed itself in three desires: firstly not have to invest my own pension in unethical funds secondly that I didn’t want my colleagues to do so without their knowledge and explicit consent and thirdly to protect the League from the reputational and regulatory risk of making investments in companies that tested on animals The League conceded that the decision to discipline me arose from those concerns and communications and that the decision to dismiss me was because of the strength of my ethical beliefs the concerns I raised resulted in them changing in 2019 their pension arrangements so that the League’s current default pension fund for auto-enrolling is finally "ethical" I worked for the League for several years over two separate spells of employment and I know that it is staffed and supported by people with strong ethical principles to protect animals I am hopeful that the events of the past few years will prompt the League to learn from its mistakes and enable it to reclaim its position as one of the most important animal welfare charities in the UK I would like to thank all of those that supported me including current and former members of the League everyone who supported my Crowdjustice campaign the Vegan Society and my lawyers Peter Daly of Slater and Gordon and Chris Milsom of Cloisters Chambers This has been a great victory for all ethical vegans and animal protection and I could not have done it without that support.” Slater and Gordon Principal Employment Lawyer Peter Daly said: “It has been a privilege to act for the first ethical vegan claiming discrimination protection in the UK The success that we have had is testament to Jordi Casamitjana’s courage determination and indelible ethical principles He has established a set of protections that will not only benefit ethical vegans but because of the benefits of ethical veganism to our environment and society “As the Respondent recognised in evidence Jordi Castamatjana is a "thoroughly decent guy" whose actions were "well-intentioned and based on ethical principles." I am delighted therefore to collaborate with Jordi and Peter of Slater and Gordon to achieve this great outcome There are many lessons to be learned here both for the League and more widely to ensure that those guided by protected beliefs are accommodated and valued in the workplace.” From the 24th of February to the 6 of March the full-merits hearing of my case will take place This is where the judges will assess if I have been unlawfully treated by my former employer due to the protected disclosures I made (my whistle-blowing) and/or the fact I am an ethical vegan As in January a judge in my pre-hearing ruled that ethical veganism is a protected philosophical belief under the Equality Act 2010 this allowed the discrimination aspect of my case to be assessed in the full-merits hearing After the 10 days hearing we will have to wait for several weeks to know the judge’s verdict Thank you very much for all your support for my crowfunding which is still active as I haven’t reached my final target yet The Employment Tribunal has now released the full written reasons for its judgment that Ethical Veganism is a protected philosophical belief While the underlying finding was made at the public hearing on 3 January 2020 the full written reasons go further in explaining the extent of the protections that ethical vegans are now afforded I am particularly pleased with the words the judge used in the final conclusion of his written judgment In particular that ‘overwhelming evidence’ made his decision ‘easy’ as this confirms that all the effort I made in attempting to prove that ethical veganism deserves legal protection was worthwhile I am also extremely pleased that the judgment states that ‘ethical veganism does not in any way offend society’ and that ‘it's clearly not simply a viewpoint I hope that in the next few days the full written judgement will be downloadable from the Slater & Gordon webpage about my case (https://www.slatergordon.co.uk/media-centre/blog/2019/12/ethical-veganism/) I really want to thank all of the people who have supported me so far via my crowdjustice.com website without whom this would not have been possible Together we have achieved something important and remarkable My case continues the 24th of February to establish if I was dismissed because of my beliefs and because I blew the whistle on what I believed was serious wrongdoing Now the judge has ruled that ethical veganism is a protected non-religious philosophical belief I need your help to raise all the funds I need to pay the legal fees of my legal team for this and future stages of my broader employment dispute The next hearing begins in the 24th February Now that I managed to help many ethical vegans to be better protected I hope I will be helped as well to win the rest of my case so I can finally resume my long career in animal protection which was so abruptly stopped more than 20 months ago Please help me to reach my target by convincing your family members friends and also vegan organisations you may know to support me in the rest of my case Thank you very much for all your support so far and for all the kind messages I have received congratulating me for what we all collectively achieved last Friday which may have.great positive repercussions all around the world we won today's hearing: Ethical Veganism is a protected philosophical belief  The case we prepared was so thorough and comprehensive that none of the witnesses (including me) were asked any questions by the judge  Even my barrister’s submissions were received without challenge or query following which the judge took what he called the “unusual step” of delivering his judgment in the hearing rather than waiting for written reasons he said that  he was “satisfied overwhelmingly that [ethical veganism] constitutes a philosophical belief and is a new protected characteristic.”  The whole hearing was over in little more than an hour.But this is not the end  Now that I have established that my ethical veganism is a protected characteristic I need now to prove that my dismissal was unlawful  The hearing for this is listed to start on 20 February 2020 more difficult and more strongly-contested hearing and I need your support for it  I am hugely grateful for all the support I have received and together we have achieved something truly remarkable is a “new protected characteristic”  But my journey on this case is not yet over My pre-hearing to determine if ethical veganism is a protected "non-religious philosophical belief" (as already is environmentalism pacifism or teetotalism) began today at Norwich Employment Tribunal neither party had to go there today yet as the entire day was for the judge to read the more of 1,000 pages of evidence that my legal team and I are presenting (I will leave a link in the comments where you can download the evidence) the second day of this two-day pre-hearing and this time it will be a public hearing where the witnesses Then we will have to wait a few days (or weeks) for the judge producing a written sentence.  The documents include my statement and the written statements of other witnesses for this hearing the 1,000+ page bundle with many documents I will be using to support my case and my barrister’s written submissions This only contains the evidence for this pre-hearing not for the full merits hearing which will be dealing with the lawfulness of how my employer treated me it does include both sides’ written pleadings (my Particulars of Claim and the Respondent’s Grounds of Response) which sets out the positions both sides have taken on that dispute it may help you to answer many questions you may have wondered regarding my case and may help to clear up much of the speculation about it that has been circulating Thank you for everyone that has been donating to my crowdfunding (some of you several times!) but I still a long way to reach my extended target so please keep spreading my crowdjustice page and keep supporting me Please remember that if you are planning to attend to the hearing in January (there may be very limited room) we expect that only January 3rd will be worth attending and that the 2nd will be allocated reading time in which the Judge will read the now-published material in private We have now a new date for the postponed pre-hearing to determine if ethical veganism is a protected belief under the Equality Act 2010 It will be the 2nd and 3rd of January 2020  (although only the 3rd will be a public hearing) We asked the tribunal if we could do it sooner but we haven't got any reply We don't know yet if this new day will lead us to postpone the "full merits hearing" as well  when my case should continue to determine if I was unfairly dismissed due to discrimination and/or whistle-blowing currently set up for 24th February-6th March 2020 as this will very much depend on how quickly the judge can give a verdict regarding the pre-hearing issues We have today received notice from the Tribunal that the hearing set to go ahead this week  (17-18 October 2019) has been postponed because of a lack of judges  We are in the process of trying to lift the postponement or fix another date as soon as possible  This is obviously hugely disappointing and frustrating  As soon as I have more information I will share this with you The pre-hearing at the Norwich Employment Tribunal to determine whether ethical veganism is a protected philosophical belief under the Equality Act 2010 is just in a couple of weeks time (17th-18th October 2019 Also, the Vegan Life Magazine has published a feature article about me, which may be useful to those that may be thinking in donating to my case but have not decided yet: https://www.veganlifemag.com/who-is-jordi-casamitjana/ you will be able to know more about who I am If you have already donated it may be useful you sent this article to anyone you think may also want to contribute There are no public comments on this case page KSU has just launched a series of five funds amounting to a whopping €80,000 aimed to empower and support students and Sports funds which hope to increase aid in these sectors within the University of Malta €17,000 has been allocated to promote and encourage the appreciation of arts and culture within the student body the fund hopes to finance projects that are arts and culture-driven to allow students to experience local productions by reimbursing their ticket to their attendance or participation – if and where applicable KSU has set aside €23,000 euros to push students to keep up-to-date with current developments in research as well as give a helping hand to those embarking on educational initiatives and carrying out their own studies The student organisation reiterated its strong belief in promoting and encouraging sustainable practices on campus as part of its holistic approach to promoting alternative modes of transport both on and off campus KSU has launched a €20,000 annual Green Fund available for students to benefit from This is funded by the €4.50 collected from the distribution of student parking permits across campus This fund hopes to get student organisations to work together to hold events in aid of charity and in the interest of students and their well-being KSU set aside €10,000 for this fund with two different aims whereby KSU would sponsor a sports student organisation the fund will be given to student organsiations to fund projects that promote the appreciation and enjoyment of sports within the UoM student body If you want to know more about these, click here Would you like to benefit from one of these funds Kindly check your inbox after sign-up to confirm subscription Support independent journalism, starting from less than $2 a week. By continuing, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy It looks like your email isn't registered yet—let’s get you set up We've sent a code to the below email.  As Prime Minister Scott Morrison offers thoughts and prayers to those ravaged by severe bushfires across NSW let’s not forget that his Liberal Party colleagues in the state government slashed tens of millions of dollars from state fire services just this year In the latest state budget $12.9 million in expenses was cut from Fire & Rescue NSW while the Office of NSW Rural Fire Services — a service run by volunteers — lost $26.7 million in expenses Byron Bay, which is currently being torn apart by fires, was also promised $5.85 million for a new fire station in Kingscliff The cuts were all part of a larger $3.2 billion shake-up in the public sector bonuses and long-service leave entitlements lost Here are some of the ways state fire services could have spent those missing millions