Anatomy

How much for Lionel Messi? Anatomy of one of the most complicated transfers in history – Telegraph.co.uk

Lionel Messis decision to hand in a transfer request at Barcelona is set to trigger a scramble for his signature.

But how many clubs would be willing and able to afford someone many consider the greatest footballer of all time? Here, Telegraph Sport breaks down the potential cost of signing Messi.

This could prove the key to Messi being allowed to leave Barca at all this summer. His contract has a buyout clause worth a staggering 700 million (631.3m). Strangely, the same four-year deal, signed in 2017, also contains a clause allowing him to leave for nothing at the end of every season until June of this year. In his transfer request, Messi asked for that clause to be honoured now because last season had been artificially extended due to the coronavirus crisis. Barca are refusing to budge and are reportedly insisting on a world-record transfer fee in excess of 200m. Spending that on any other 33-year-old would be madness but some clubs may view signing Messi as worth the gamble.

Even if Messi secures a free transfer, he is likely to command an astronomical signing-on fee. The one he secured when he last extended his Barca contract totalled 133.5m (120m) over the course of the deal. The size of it was said to be partly to compensate him over his conviction for tax fraud. But, transfer fee or no transfer fee, any club wanting to bring in Messi would also likely need to fork out a signing-on fee costing tens of millions of pounds.

Messis fixed weekly Barca wage before tax is 1.37m (1.23m), or 60.4m (54.3m) a year. To put that in context, the Premier Leagues highest paid player ever, Alexis Sanchez, was on less than half that at Manchester United. Paying Messi somewhere near what he earns at the Nou Camp would therefore shatter the wage structure of any club.

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How much for Lionel Messi? Anatomy of one of the most complicated transfers in history - Telegraph.co.uk

Anatomy

The Revolutionary Guards: The Anatomy of a State Terrorist Organization – besacenter.org

Iranian MPs in IRGC uniforms, photo by Mohammadreza Abbasi via Mehr News Agency CC

BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,709, August 26, 2020

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) was originally intended by the Islamist regime to be an ideologically oriented militia that would compensate for the regular Iranian armys lack of revolutionary zeal. It has since replaced the regular army as Irans main military force and has spent decades working doggedly to export the regimes Islamist brand of imperialism and conquest to the rest of the region and around the world. The IRGC is responsible, either directly or indirectly, for most of the worst terrorist outrages the world has ever seen. The US declared the Guards a state terrorist organization in 2019, but it needs to be completely dismantled.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), better known as the Revolutionary Guards, is the ideologically driven military force of the Islamic Republic in Iran. This organization is tasked with guarding the Islamist regimes revolutionary values at home as well as exporting them to other parts of the world.

The Guards are distinct from the classic Iranian army. Iran has had a regular army in the manner of modern Western armies since the early 20thcentury. However, after the Islamist Revolution of 1979, the army was deemed insufficiently revolutionary by the countrys new leaders. The mullahs decided to create an ideological militia that would compensate for the armys supposed lack of ideological zeal. Thus was born the IRGC.

However, before the revolution, the core of the Guardswhich was composed of hardline Islamists and leftistshad been trained and battle-hardened in Syria and Lebanon during their ongoing internal and international conflicts, the most important of which was the Lebanese Civil War (1975-90). Indeed, the regional and later global interest and reach of the Guards stems from the fact that they started their fight as part of an international anti-Western and anti-Israeli effort that continues to this day.

In the course of the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88), the Guards gradually replaced the regular army as Irans main military force. After the warwhich ended in a stalemate slightly in favor of Iraq, and which directed the Islamists ambitions toward a different kind of foreign adventurethe Guards became the regimes main instrument for exporting its Islamist brand of imperialism and conquest to the wider Middle East and the rest of the world.

The notorious Quds Force branch of the IRGC was formally established in the early 1990s to systematically carry out the Islamist regimes program of extending its ideological and political influence beyond the borders of Iran. Since its establishment, the Quds Force, in line with its mandate, has been engaged in some of the worlds bloodiest conflicts, including the Bosnian War (1992-95), the Afghan Civil War (1992-96), the Israel-Hezbollah War (2006), the Syrian Civil War (2011-present), and the Yemeni Civil War (2015-present).

The Quds Force is tasked with organizing and supporting pro-Iranian-regime non-state actors such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Palestinian Territories, the Houthis in Yemen, and Shiite militias in Iraq, Syria, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan. The Quds Force is also known to have occasionally worked with and supported operations of Sunni Islamist forces that are not necessarily affiliated with the Shiite Islamist regime in Iran, including al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and ISIS. In those cases, the common targets have usually been Westerners, Arabs, Israel, and Jews worldwide.

The Guards initially took little overt part in politics in Iran. Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution and founder of the Islamic Republic, issued an injunction forbidding the Guards from entering the political arena. However, after the Iran-Iraq War, Khomeinis death, and Khameneis ascent to the leadershipwhich sparked a domestic power struggle and brought about a sea change in strategic priorities overseasthe Guards started to openly enter Iranian politics.

Like all military forces in ideological, totalitarian regimes such as the Brown Shirts/SA/SS in Nazi Germany, the Red Army in the Soviet Union, and the Chinese and Cuban armies, the Revolutionary Guards see themselves as the embodiment of a revolutionary ideology, and as such consider it their mandate to enforce and advance that ideology by any means necessary. In the case of the Guards, ideology mandates the establishment of a global Shiite Islamist government by subduing all ideo-mythological adversaries and conquering the whole world, with the US (Great Satan), Israel (Little Satan), and Saudi Arabia (Wahhabi infidels) as the arch enemies. It goes without saying that the Guards are inherently antisemitic and anti-Sunni.

To fulfill that goal, the Revolutionary Guards have dominated not only the military but also the economy and politics in Iran. Today, practically all Iranian officials in any capacity are members, either former or present, of the IRGC. It is estimated that around three-fourths of Iranian MPs are or were members of the Guards. The most prominent Guards alum today is the current speaker of the Majlis (parliament), Muhammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who was a brigadier general and commander of the IRGC Air Force. In addition, almost all of Irans trade, industry, and banking is run by the Guards or their affiliates. The Guards also maintain a tight monopoly on import/export and overseas investment, which is their main conduit for money-laundering on the international stage.

During their history, in line with their goal of exporting Islamist ideology, subduing enemies of Islam and establishing zones of influence around the world, the Revolutionary Guards have committed some of the most heinous acts of terrorism the world has seen. It can be said that most of the major acts of terrorism against Westerners, Jews, and Sunni Arabs were either directly conducted or indirectly orchestrated by the Guards.

Some of the better-known of these terrorist attacks by or involving the Revolutionary Guards are the Beirut barracks bombings (1983) during the Lebanese Civil War, which killed 307 American and French peacekeeping forces; the Lockerbie bombing (1988), which brought Pan Am Flight 103 down over Scotland, killing all 259 people on board; the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association bombing (1994), which killed 85 and injured hundreds; the Khobar Towers bombing (1996), which targeted the living quarters of the coalition forces in Saudi Arabia and killed 19 US Air Force personnel and injured close to 500; the September 11 attacks (2001) that destroyed the World Trade Center, resulting in the deaths of 2,996 and the injuring of over 6,000; and the attack on US government facilities in Benghazi, Libya (2012), which killed US Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others.

In addition to these major terrorist attacks, the Revolutionary Guards and their proxy forces are collectively responsible for the ongoing killing of coalition forces in the Middle East; creating unrest as well as engaging in mass trafficking of narcotics in Latin America; taking Western citizens hostage in the Middle East; war crimes in Syria and Yemen; and posing the most severe existential threat to Israel. As part of its campaign between wars, the IDF has been pounding the Guards bases and units across the Middle East for at least a decade. In response to the Guards increasingly menacing activity, the Trump administration in 2019 finally designated it as a state terrorist organization. However, in order to rid the Middle East and the world once and for all of the organizations carnage and destruction, it needs to be completely dismantled, as was the Nazi military machine.

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Dr. Reza Parchizadeh is a political theorist, historian, and senior analyst.He can be reached athttps://twitter.com/rezaparchizadehandhttps://iup.academia.edu/RezaParchizadeh.

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The Revolutionary Guards: The Anatomy of a State Terrorist Organization - besacenter.org

Anatomy

Anatomy of a Panel: Rina Ayuyang BLAME(s) IT ON THE BOOGIE – Comicosity

Right out of the gate, let me say that Ignatz and Eisner Award-nominated Rina Ayuyangs comics have me thinking a lot about movement and comics.

Comics as movement: within the panel and between panels and page flips.

Movement in content: all those physical and psychological emplotments.

Movement within and across identities exquisitely shaped by creators like Rina: ethnocultural, ancestral, geographic, and imaginative.

Rinas extraordinarily kinetic word-drawn stories of her Filipina American identity and experience vitally add to the work of other like-visioning creators such as Lynda Barry (One Hundred Demons, especially), Trinidad Escobar (Crushed), and Malaka Gharib (I Was Their American Dream). As with these creators, Rina uses word-drawn narrative shaping devices to blaze new biomythographix stories that tease out the nuance of intersectional Filipina Americanness; biomythographix is my comics re-spin on Audre Lordes neologism to identify new storytelling forms that weave together history, biography, myth.

Indeed, Rina adds forcefully to creators from around the globe who seek to texture the spectrum of good-to-bad experiences of forced migration within and across geopolitically bounded spaces. I think readily here of Alberto Ledesma, Marjorie Satrapi, J.P. Stassen,Henry Yoshitaka Kiyama, Shaun Tan,Mohamed Arejdal and Cedric Liano,Lila Quintero Weaver, Jos Alaniz, Breena Nuez, Thi Bui, Robin Ha,Augusta Mora, Dami Lee,and Nnedi Okora.

From Rinas first book Whirlwind Wonderland to her zines as well as award-winning short story comics like Beginnings End and her longer form Blame this on the Boogie, she shows how comics can and do draw their life-force from multispatial and multitemporal planetary physical, cultural, and creative border crossings, routings, and rootings. Rina reminds us that the sine qua non of comics is its movement of bodies, minds, and imaginations.

To my great fortune, Rina recently gifted her time and expertise to share her insights into her process in the creating of Blame this on the Boogie.

You can learn more about Rina Ayuyang here.

Frederick Luis Aldama: So, Rina, tell me: Why comics?

Rina Ayuyang: I loved comics as a kid. I read comic strips in the Sunday newspaper funnies section and those paperbacks of collected Peanuts comic strips. I loved the humor, the timing, characters the creating of these bubble worlds.

Later on, it was the independent, alt comics scene that really got me excited: John Porcellino and Adrian Tomine, Chester Brown, and Lynda Barry. They showed me that comics could be more than about superheroes; they could for adults and tell life-stories that were truthful and universal.

FLA: When did you begin to tell stories through drawing?

RA: Since I was a kid, Ive always loved drawing. And, Ive always been passionate about creating stories as a way to connect with peopleno matter where they come from. I knew that I always wanted to write stories through comics. In high school, I created a fictionalized autobio comic strip. I was in charge of a late night talk show. And, later on in life I started creating mini-comics like Namby Pamby. Influenced by John Porcellinos King Cat mini-comics that focus on his own life and his experiences in Chicago, I, too, wanted to tell stories about my own life.

Page 1

FLA: To decide to go into this professionally requires a lot of courage.

RA: Yes it does require courage. However, its also important to remember that comics can be a really inclusive, supportive community unlike other professions where theres often power struggles and a competitive atmosphere. Ive always felt like the comics creators have been very welcoming, willing to share what they know about making and distributing comics. In other professions, Ive never seen this same level of welcome inclusivity that I have in the comics community.

Page 2

FLA: Today, your experience with comics is vast. You publish and self-publish zines, comics, and a graphic autobiography, Blame this on the Boogie, with Drawn & Quarterly. Your works appeared in exhibitions across the country. Youve been recognized with big industry awards. And, with your podcast you help promote other comics.

RA: Everything about comics excites me, including especially what other cartoonists are doing. So, using the podcast or helping publish other creators comes naturally. The pandemic has made it easier for me to talk to people who would normally be out on book tour. Its been a great way for them to talk about their work so that more people know more about it. This, sharing then publishing their work (micro imprints and online) has helped promote community, sharing and showcasing work with each other. Creating these inclusive spaces for comics creators of color is especially important.

Page 3

FLA: Lets talk about how you begin your autobiographical Blame This On The Boogie. From idea to finished panel and page, whats your process?

RA: I wanted pay homage to the era of the Technicolor musical, so I chose to use a cinematic take. By this I mean, the first page begins from a very abstract place, coming from the cosmos. With each turn of the page, the scene telescopes in, moving closer and closer from the sky to city (where everything looks the same) to a row of houses, to the house I grew up in.

FLA: To create this telescoping technique, you use one image for each of the first ten pages.

RA: In addition to this cinematic effect and homage to film, I wanted to create this huge, expansive moment. That we are these small little things within this vast universe. I also have this thing about giving a full page to a panel. Maybe it comes from the painter in me.

Page 4

FLA: Do you sketch and script before you set down your final color penciling?

RA: With these opening pages, I went right at it with colored pencils; it was kind of going back to my painting days and just getting, going right in there on a blank canvas. Think of Raymond Pettibons animated and gestural brush strokes and vibrant colors in his California surfing drawings. That said, when it comes to really tricky, intricate scenes (with different characters, for instance), I do script and create quick thumbnails.

FLA: Great comic book storytelling invites readers to take pause and to think deeply about things that weve become habituated to in life. Ten pages in and the shapes and color palette you use ask readers to take pause: your childhood neighborhood in Pittsburgh.

RA: Paying attention to color was important. A lot of it came from my what I remember of the neighborhood; how things looked in my mind. The green of the grass; the grays and reds of the roofs; the red, purple and pink of the brick. I liked the boldness of this.

Page 5

FLA: You use the landscape the streets in particular to divide the page up into panels, giving the eye the divisions needed to create rhythm and balance.

RA: Its really important to me to figure out how to set up a scene, creating patterns and maps for the reader to follow. And, the shape of the house itself is important. The house always felt very asymmetric to me; it never felt quite right. So, I drew it with slanted, imperfect lines.

FLA: Jumping deeper into the story when youre a young girl in Catholic school theres so much now happening on the page.

RA: In general, I love to pack everything into a page. This was my first grade. We had transferred from public to private school. The scene takes place within a beautiful, huge chapel inside the school. At the top where the altar is, there is the painted eye of God that looks down on you.

For me, this is key to Catholicism: the omniscience of God looking down at you all the time, reminding us to behave and follow the commandments. I thought Id find more connection and more of a nurturing community. Thats not quite what happened.

Page 6

FLA: While theres a lot going on here, you are careful to create discrete time-space units. We dont have the traditional grid here. However, the page layout does guide our eye and meaning making as we move down the page and across different units of time-space.

RA: Thats what I like about the panel-less structure. It comes off as spontaneous. Like it just came out of a sketchbook. But everything is very much planned out. I want the reader not only to move from right to left as they travel down the page. I also want them to have an immersive experience; like the way I dove into childrens book illustrations as a child. I want it to be more than just reading the story. I want it to be where you look and discover in all the drawings details.

Page 7

FLA: Turning to this two-page spread, theres so much movement, joyfreedomin the way you visually shape the story of yourself here.

RA: I wanted to express my newfound freedom. I would get lost in Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers musicals, dancing and not caring about being bullied or being different. My younger self could be truthful to herself through dance. I wanted to bring that energy to these pages. I start with a realistic version of me: in my jeans and my green sweater. Then it turns from a whirling dervish movement and energy into a dream like state, with the pink and the mauve and the yellow. Then I return to reality: my younger self not liking school and not liking myself.

Page 8

FLA: As we travel deeper into the story theres the moment when your siblings have moved out and you declare to your parents that you want to be an artist. The layout here gives your panels more space to, say, breathe. You also include pop culture references.

RA: Right. I wanted the space between the panels to convey this time when I was pretty much by myself. With the Paula Abdul cartoon cat I wanted to convey how pop culture was to escape from things. Finally, as you reach the bottom of the page theres the punch-line: Im going to be an artist. As the quintessential cynic, my dad responds: Well, at least its not a degree in toilet. I draw my moms chinelas [slippers] as shes doing a flop take out of the final panel.

Page 9

FLA: Theres the absence of color around the first 4 panels. Then, you bring color into this final panel.

RA: Right. In that final panel, I convey how Im less playful and more serious. Its a sobering moment. The feeling of freedom from the musicals I watched from my childhood has left me. Im entering adulthood. Im talking about my career choiceto be an artistand the vibrant red comes back. The more passionate, emotional part of me comes back.

Page 10

FLA: In this final page that makes up our discussion, you include an incredibly self-reflexive moment?

RA: Im waking up early to try to get my work done before anything else would distract me. This was hard to draw, especially getting the darkness right. I wanted to use layers of color instead of just pitch-black to show how dark it was, without it looking too flat. This was around the time my son was a baby too. I knew that any time I had to myself was precious and had to be focused on drawing, even if it was in the dark. It would make me happy knowing that I did something creative before my day even started.

Page 11

FLA: Rina, the image of you drawing shows you to be a lefty?

RA: Yeah. Im a lefty. But just for drawing. Im a righty with everything else. Its like Jaime Hernandez. Its the one thing I have in common with a legend.

FLA: What are you working on now?

RA: Im working a story thats totally different from the autobio. Its fiction. Its a Filipino noir that focuses on the Filipino immigration experience in the San Francisco Bay Area during the 1930s; it involves a lot of research into Filipino and Filipino American history as well as studying old photographs. Its a new challenge. Its a new adventure. Im so excited to tell more of our story.

FLA: I cant wait. Rina Ayuyang, thank you so much!

RA: Thank you so much too.

Want to watch this discussion on video? Check it out below:

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Anatomy of a Panel: Rina Ayuyang BLAME(s) IT ON THE BOOGIE - Comicosity

Anatomy

Seven days to disaster – the anatomy of a week from hell for ‘Big Phil’ Hogan – Independent.ie

JUST after 10.15pm last Thursday night Independent.ie broke the first news of Phil Hogans attendance at an Oireachtas Golf Society dinner at the Clifden Station House Hotel in Galway the previous night.

ess than a week later the EU Trade Commissoners dramatic demise has come about not just because he made the mistake of going to the now-infamous dinner, but his farcical handling of the details surrounding his movements in Ireland in the weeks leading up to it.

Over the past six days a drip feed of information about his travels across the country since he arrived on July 31 has served to undermine his credibility in the eyes of the Irish public.

Although they are confused themselves about some of the Covid-19 rules that now apply the public are in no doubt that Mr Hogan breached them, a view shared strongly by the Government, but a claim strenuously and repeatedly denied by Mr Hogan over recent days.

In his first public response to the unfolding controversy last Friday, Mr Hogan sought to lay the blame at the feet of the event organisers and the hotel, saying he attended on the clear understanding they had been assured it would be in compliance with Government guidelines. Prior to the event, I had complied fully with the governments quarantine requirements, having been in Ireland since late July, he added.

An EU Commission spokesperson went further and said in accordance with the Irish guidelines, he self-isolated himself for 14 days following his return to Ireland.

This specific claim crumbled on Friday afternoon, however. Independent.ie revealed that Mr Hogan was based at his property in the K Club in Kildare after returning to Ireland but then left for a medical appointment in Dublin (on August 5) and after leaving hospital went to stay in Kilkenny.

It also emerged that Mr Hogan also travelled to Dublin to meet with Tnaiste Leo Varadkar on August 12 - inside the 14-day period the Commission originally said was restricting his movements. A spokesman said last Friday that Mr Hogan completed his period of quarantine in Kilkenny, but the Commissioner would later contend that he was not actually required to quarantine once he had tested negative for Covid-19.

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Phil Hogan (left) with former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. Photo: Laura Hutton

RollingNews.ie

That Friday evening, Taoiseach Michel Martin went on RTs Six One News to give his first reaction to the extraordinary and unfolding controversy that had claimed his second Agriculture Minister in less than two months. Mr Martin said that Mr Hogan should apologise and give a more meaningful response to the mood of the public.

A spokesman for Mr Hogan said the Commissioner apologised for any distress caused. Nearly two hours later another statement was issued with that wording removed.

Mr Hogan remained defiant on Saturday, but behind the scenes there were significant developments. Mr Martin was informed by Justice Minister Helen McEntee that Mr Hogan had been stopped by Garda while travelling to Galway on August 17 for using his mobile phone, while driving. Ms McEntee had been informed of this by the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris under garda legislation.

Mr Martins unhappiness with Mr Hogans handling of matters was made clear in a phone call with the EU Commissioner that afternoon. Mr Varadkar had a similar phone call with Mr Hogan. The Tnaistes unhappiness was underscored later when he said: Commissioner Hogans apology came late and should have happened sooner.

That evening the Taoiseach and Tnaiste issued a joint-statement to the Sunday Independent - which broke news of it just after 8.30pm - calling on the Commissioner to consider his position. It was an extraordinary and unprecedented move by the Irish Government which was in effect withdrawing support for its nominee to one of Brussels top jobs.

On Sunday just after midday Mr Hogan sought to address the escalating crisis by issuing an unreserved apology for attending the dinner - a move welcomed by the Tnaiste in a radio interview an hour later.

But still the Governments position was that Mr Hogan needed to give a more detailed account of his movements. His case was not helped as more details emerged that afternoon of Mr Hogan having travelled back to Kildare from Kilkenny for personal belongings and work documents before he drove to Galway for the golf event on August 17. That evening details of his encounter with An Garda Sochna also emerged with Independent.ie revealing that Mr Hogan had not informed the Taoiseach and Tnaiste of this incident.

Ultimately Mr Hogans fate lay in Brussels and at the hands of the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who was giving careful consideration to the matter and seeking more detail. Mr Hogan compiled a dossier on his movements for his boss and submitted it to her on Tuesday. The detailed dossier confirmed he had also played golf in Adare, Co Limerick on August 13.

That evening, Mr Hogan argued in an interview with RT that once he had tested negative for Covid-19 while in the course of receiving medical treatment in Dublin, he was no longer required to restrict his movements. When it was put to Mr Hogan that this was not the HSEs advice for people arriving into Ireland from overseas he said he did not accept this.

The interview did not go down well in Government Buildings. A joint statement from the three Coalition party leaders stated: It is clear that breaches of public health guidelines were made by Commissioner Phil Hogan since he travelled to Ireland.

Yesterday, Mr Hogan was late arriving to an online webinar to discuss EU-US trade and left early as he was being called away to do something else. Just before 7pm, news of his departure emanated from Brussels sources and within minutes was confirmed by Independent.ie. He said he broke no law and resigned to remove this distraction.

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Seven days to disaster - the anatomy of a week from hell for 'Big Phil' Hogan - Independent.ie

Anatomy

‘Grey’s Anatomy’ star shares 1st photo with newborn son – ABC News

August 26, 2020, 3:15 PM

3 min read

"Grey's Anatomy" star Camilla Luddington and her husband Matthew Alan have a new addition to the family -- a baby boy.

On Tuesday, alongside a photo of the 36-year-old actress cuddling her newborn, she shared, "After what felt like a year long third trimester... it finally happened!! Matt and I are SOOO happy to announce the birth of our sweet baby BOY Lucas, otherwise known as my little lion ?? (shoutout to Leos!)."

Lucas is the second child that Luddington and Alan share. They already have a 3-year-old daughter together named Hayden.

Despite having gone through childbirth already, Luddington admitted to People that this go around was "much more stressful" due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I absolutely had more daily anxiety," she explained. "Not only did I have concerns over contracting COVID and what that could potentially mean for my pregnancy, I was also worried about things like my husband not being able to be present with me during the birth."

At the end of the day though, the couple is just happy to finally meet their son.

"Our bubble feels complete now that he's here," Luddington said.

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'Grey's Anatomy' star shares 1st photo with newborn son - ABC News

Anatomy

‘Grey’s Anatomy’: Camilla Luddington Shared the ‘Insulting’ Part of Preparing for Her Role as Princess Kate – Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Camilla Luddington of Greys Anatomy has been a fan fave since her debut in 2012. While she wasnt a superstar when she started on the medical drama, the British-born actor was a familiar face due to her portrayal of Kate Middleton on Lifetimes 2011 movie William & Kate.

In a previous interview, Luddington revealed she now considers one area of training for the role as a bit of a slight.

Chronicling the long courtship of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge that led to the altar, William & Kate became one of Lifetimes highest-rated movies. Discussing the royal role in a conversation with BUILD, Luddington revealed she didnt have much time before getting into character.

I had like maybe 10 days to prepare, the Greys star said in 2016. I remember when I got it, [Prince William and Princess Kate] had done one interview. They had done their engagement interview so there wasnt, like, much knowledge necessarily about her.

With little to work with other than magazine headlines highlighting Middletons fashion show attendance or night life outings, Luddington had to improvise to fill in the blanks.

RELATED:What Greys Anatomys Camilla Luddington Says About Her Other Acting Gig

Obviously there was tabloid stuff, the British actor recalled. We knew where she went to school a breakup and her out clubbing. But when you dont have much material to work with, you kind of have to take artistic license.

When asked in the interview how she prepared to portray the Duchess of Cambridge, Luddington revealed one aspect that, in retrospect, she sees as somewhat of an affront.

I think they just decided that I wasnt naturally graceful, Luddington explained. They sent me to, like, a coach to teach me how to be more graceful with my movement. Its insulting now that I think about it.

The Greys star was taught how to adopt a royal stance and posture so she could accurately emulate Princess Kate.

RELATED: Camilla Luddington Reveals the Character Shed Most Want To Switch Roles With on Greys Anatomy

Like how to sit and get out of a car properly and how to curtsy properly, Luddington described. You know, things you definitely need in your everyday life.

Despite the required princess practice, Luddington enjoyed her time on the TV movie. Released shortly before the actual wedding of Prince William and Princess Kate, the films publicity tour coincided with the big event.

It was so fun, Luddington recalled. We got to do press in England after, during the week of the wedding. I felt like I was part of the wedding, and I was getting married, she added with a laugh.

Promoting the TV film also allowed the Greys star to experience some royal rituals.

RELATED: Greys Anatomy star Camilla Luddington Reveals How They Learn All That Medical Lingo

We got to do like these amazing cheesy things like take a horse carriage ride around Windsor, Luddington said. I was like waving at randoms that didnt know who I was. I was like, Hey, its me. So, it was just so fun. It felt super festive.

While the Lifetime movie was a hit, the highest praise may have come from the famous couple on which the film was based.

We heard that Will and Kate did see the film from an insider, Luddington told Access Hollywood in 2011. They loved it.

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'Grey's Anatomy': Camilla Luddington Shared the 'Insulting' Part of Preparing for Her Role as Princess Kate - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Anatomy

Ellen Pompeo REVEALS that Sandra Ohs exit from Greys Anatomy hit her harder than Patrick Dempseys – PINKVILLA

Ellen Pompeo is opening up about the heartbreaking exits of her Greys Anatomy co-stars Sandra Oh and Patrick Dempsey. In a recent chat with Dax Shepard, the actress revealed that Sandras death in the show hit her harder than Dempseys.

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Greys Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo looked back on how both Sandra Oh and Patrick Dempseys exits from the show affected her. The 51-year-old star chatted with Dax Shepard on his Armchair Expert podcast, revealing that Sandras exit weighed on her more than Patricks exit did. Ellen admitted that she had a fear about Sandra leaving and wondered if there even was a show without Sandra? She added that if she had left along with Sandra, she worried about being typecast.

Ellen went on, saying, Sandra is a different kind of actor. You never doubt whether Sandra Oh is gonna work again, right? Shell work forever, right? But for me, I had to think, Am I gonna work again? Or am I going to be so typecast?

However, with Patricks exit, Ellen was determined to stay and prove that she could carry the show without the man. I couldve left because the man left, which is not a story that I want to tell. Like, Hes not here anymore, so I have to go. So that story then becomes, What can I do without the man? Because they had put that in my head for so long that I was no good without him, she says.

Ellen added that she stayed and one of the reasons was that she wanted [to] prove to [herself] that they were wrong in all of the things they put into [her] head over all of those years.

ALSO READ: Ellen Pompeo gets candid about watching herself age from 33 to 50 on Greys Anatomy: Its not so fun

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Ellen Pompeo REVEALS that Sandra Ohs exit from Greys Anatomy hit her harder than Patrick Dempseys - PINKVILLA

Physiology

Encyclopedia of Bone Biology 2020 – ResearchAndMarkets.com – Business Wire

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Encyclopedia of Bone Biology" book from Elsevier Science and Technology has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Encyclopedia of Bone Biology covers hot topics from within the rapidly expanding field of bone biology and skeletal research, enabling a complete understanding of both bone physiology and its relation to other organs and pathophysiology. This encyclopedia will serve as a vital resource for those involved in bone research, research in other fields that cross link with bone, such as metabolism and immunology, and physicians who treat bone diseases. Each article provides a comprehensive overview of the selected topic to inform a broad spectrum of readers from advanced undergraduate students to research professionals.

Chapters also explore the latest advances and hot topics that have emerged in recent years, including the Hematopoietic Niche and Nuclear Receptors. In the electronic edition, each chapter will include hyperlinked references and further readings as well as cross-references to related articles.

Key features:

Key Topics Covered:

1. General Introduction

2. The Notch Pathway

3. WNT Signaling

4. The RANK-L/LGR4 Loop

5. The Sphingosine Pathway

6. Nuclear Receptors

7. Epigenetic Regulation of Bone and Bone Cells

8. The Brain-Bone Connection

9. Pituitary-Bone Axis

10. Muscle-Bone Interactions

11. Bone and Fat

12. Bone and Energy Homeostasis

13. Hematopoietic niches, Blood Cells and Skeletal Homeostasis

14. Bone and the Vasculature

15. Osseous-Immune Interactions

For more information about this book visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/r78lai

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Encyclopedia of Bone Biology 2020 - ResearchAndMarkets.com - Business Wire

Physiology

When Host Diets are Lacking, Gut Bacteria Pull Together To Survive – Technology Networks

To study how the microbiome affects their host behavior, a group of researchers at the Champalimaud Centre used the fruit fly combined with high-tech tools to show that two gut bacteria establish a metabolic cross-feeding that enables them to grow in diets that lack the nutrients that are essential for their growth and to allow them to change host decision making and reproduction. Results reveal a mechanism through which the right combination of bacteria can lead to microbiome resiliency to dietary perturbations and changes in brain function.A balanced intake of essential amino acids is crucial to ensure the well-being and health of all animals. The essential amino acids are the building blocks of proteins but they also influence how much offspring animals produce, and what animals decide to eat. Intriguingly, researchers at the Champalimaud Centre had previously shown that the microbiome plays an important role in dictating how amino acids affect the brain. What was most puzzling was that bacteria could only affect the decisions of the animal when they were present in specific combinations. It is widely known that the microbiome often contains many different species of bacteria but why different types of bacteria are needed to influence brain function and alter host physiology remains a mystery.

This is the puzzle Carlos Ribeiro and his team set out to tackle. "To study how bacteria affect their host physiology is a daunting task in organisms with very complex microbiomes. This is where the fly and its less complex microbiome emerges as a powerful tool. It allows us to precisely dissect the mechanisms used by the microbiota to change the host's feeding decisions," points out Slvia Henriques, post-doctoral researcher and author of this study.

In the laboratory led by Carlos Ribeiro, principal investigator and senior author of this study, it was previously found that flies deprived of single essential amino acids develop a strong appetite for protein rich foods. However, in flies that were associated with two bacteria that are very abundant in the microbiome (Acetobacter pomorum and Lactobacillus plantarum) their preference for protein was drastically reduced and they preferred to eat sugar. "Interestingly, the association of flies with any of these bacteria alone could not reduce yeast appetite. Thus, in this new study our main focus was to understand why these two particular bacteria need to be present to change the feeding behaviour of the fly," says Ribeiro.

Work from several groups working on the microbiome, including the Ribeiro Lab, has shown that it is typically necessary for a community of bacteria, rather than isolated bacteria, to produce an effect on the host behavior and this was most likely due to specific substances bacteria produce, so called metabolites. Therefore the team set out to measure the metabolic interactions established between the bacteria within the microbiome and to map how specific bacteria and their metabolites affect the animal.

To tackle these, the authors ran a series of elegant experiments. To follow the feeding choices of the flies, researchers took advantage of a sensor developed in the lab the flyPAD and used it to measure with great detail the feeding pattern of individual flies. Then they used bacterial mutants to understand the impact of specific functions of the bacterial cells in the behavior of the host. And at last with collaborators at the University of Glasgow, they have also used a sophisticated technique called 'Isotope-resolved metabolomics' that enabled them to track the metabolites that were exchanged between the two different bacteria.

"We found that the two bacteria exchange metabolites and that this cross-feeding (syntrophy) enables them to grow and act on the animal even if diets lack the nutrients that are essential for them. Specifically, we now understand that Lactobacillus strains produce lactate which is used by the Acetobacter strains to synthetize amino acids and other metabolites. These are then used by the Lactobacillus strain which cannot synthetize them to continue to produce lactate. Furthermore, these bacterial amino acids are very likely used by the animal for egg production. But most importantly, we now understand that the lactate is also used by the Acetobacter bacteria to change the behaviour of the fly," explains Darshan Dhakan, post-doctoral researcher and author of this study.

By establishing this cross-feeding relation, the bacterial community becomes resilient to drastic dietary changes enabling their growth in the intestines of animals that ingest diets that lack nutrients that are essential to their survival. Ribeiro adds, "It is well established that our diet affects both the microbiome and our brain. What makes it complicated is the microbiome then in turn affects how diet affects us and what animals decide to eat. This makes it a very complex puzzle to solve. But by combining the right technologies with the right experimental system we can get at the heart of the mechanisms by which the microbiome interacts with our diet to affect our brain and our body. Importantly we show that the right associations of bacteria can make the microbiome resilient to dietary perturbations explaining why some animals and people might be more sensitive to the nutrient content of food than others. It is also a beautiful example of how nature establishes circular economies where nothing gets wasted and everybody gains."

In conclusion, this study emerges as an important example of how model organisms can be used to disentangle the influence of diet on the microbiome and to understand the individual contributions of gut bacterial species on brain function and behavior. "The methodologies that were used in this study will allow us to identify all the metabolic interactions established amongst bacteria and will allow us to understand the precise mechanisms responsible for altering what animals decide to eat and brain function. Those insights can then be used to guide the search for similar mechanisms in animals with much more complex microbiomes, including in humans," concludes Ribeiro.Reference: Henriques SF, Dhakan DB, Serra L et al. Metabolic cross-feeding in imbalanced diets allows gut microbes to improve reproduction and alter host behaviour. Nat. Commun. 2020;11(4236). doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-18049-9

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

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When Host Diets are Lacking, Gut Bacteria Pull Together To Survive - Technology Networks

Physiology

Stronger together in the microbiome: How gut microbes feed each other to overcome dietary deficiencies, change host behavior, and improve reproduction…

(Title: Stronger together in the microbiome: how gut microbes feed each other to overcome dietary deficiencies, change host behavior, and improve reproduction)

To study how the microbiome affects their host behavior, a group of researchers at the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, in Lisbon - Portugal, used the fruit fly combined with high-tech tools to show that two gut bacteria establish a metabolic cross-feeding that enables them to grow in diets that lack the nutrients that are essential for their growth and to allow them to change host decision making and reproduction. Results reveal a mechanism through which the right combination of bacteria can lead to microbiome resiliency to dietary perturbations and changes in brain function.

A balanced intake of essential amino acids is crucial to ensure the well-being and health of all animals. The essential amino acids are the building blocks of proteins but they also influence how much offspring animals produce, and what animals decide to eat. Intriguingly, researchers at the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown had previously shown that the microbiome plays an important role in dictating how amino acids affect the brain. What was most puzzling was that bacteria could only affect the decisions of the animal when they were present in specific combinations. It is widely known that the microbiome often contains many different species of bacteria but why different types of bacteria are needed to influence brain function and alter host physiology remains a mystery. This is the puzzle Carlos Ribeiro and his team at the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown set out to tackle: . "To study how bacteria affect their host physiology is a daunting task in organisms with very complex microbiomes. This is where the fly and its less complex microbiome emerges as a powerful tool. It allows us to precisely dissect the mechanisms used by the microbiota to change the host's feeding decisions.", points out Slvia Henriques, post-doctoral researcher and author of this study published today (August 25th) in the journal Nature Communications.

In the laboratory led by Carlos Ribeiro, principal investigator and senior author of this study, it was previously found that flies deprived of single essential amino acids develop a strong appetite for protein rich foods. However, in flies that were associated with two bacteria that are very abundant in the microbiome (Acetobacter pomorum and Lactobacillus plantarum) their preference for protein was drastically reduced and they prefered to eat sugar. "Interestingly, the association of flies with any of these bacteria alone could not reduce yeast appetite. Thus, in this new study our main focus was to understand why these two particular bacteria need to be present to change the feeding behaviour of the fly." says Ribeiro.

Work from several groups working on the microbiome, including the Ribeiro Lab, has shown that it is typically necessary for a community of bacteria, rather than isolated bacteria, to produce an effect on the host behaviour - and this was most likely due to specific substances bacteria produce, so called metabolites. Therefore the team set out to measure the metabolic interactions established between the bacteria within the microbiome and to map how specific bacteria and their metabolites affect the animal.

To tackle these, the authors runned a series of elegant experiments. To follow the feeding choices of the flies, researchers took advantage of a sensor developed in the lab - the flyPAD - and used it to measure with great detail the feeding pattern of individual flies. Then they used bacterial mutants to understand the impact of specific functions of the bacterial cells in the behavior of the host. And at last with collaborators at the University of Glasgow, they have also used a sophisticated technique called 'Isotope-resolved metabolomics' that enabled them to track the metabolites that were exchanged between the two different bacteria.

"We found that the two bacteria exchange metabolites and that this cross-feeding (syntrophy) enables them to grow and act on the animal even if diets lack the nutrients that are essential for them. Specifically, we now understand that Lactobacillus strains produce lactate which is used by the Acetobacter strains to synthetize amino acids and other metabolites. These are then used by the Lactobacillus strain which cannot synthetize them to continue to produce lactate. Furthermore, these bacterial amino acids are very likely used by the animal for egg production. But most importantly, we now understand that the lactate is also used by the Acetobacter bacteria to change the behaviour of the fly." explains Darshan Dhakan, post-doctoral researcher and author of this study.

By establishing this cross-feeding relation, the bacterial community becomes resilient to drastic dietary changes enabling their growth in the intestines of animals that ingest diets that lack nutrients that are essential to their survival. Ribeiro adds, "It is well established that our diet affects both the microbiome and our brain. What makes it complicated is the microbiome then in turn affects how diet affects us and what animals decide to eat. This makes it a very complex puzzle to solve. But by combining the right technologies with the right experimental system we can get at the heart of the mechanisms by which the microbiome interacts with our diet to affect our brain and our body. Importantly we show that the right associations of bacteria can make the microbiome resilient to dietary perturbations explaining why some animals and people might be more sensitive to the nutrient content of food than others. It is also a beautiful example of how nature establishes circular economies where nothing gets wasted and everybody gains."

In conclusion, this study emerges as an important example of how model organisms can be used to disentangle the influence of diet on the microbiome and to understand the individual contributions of gut bacterial species on brain function and behaviour. "The methodologies that were used in this study will allow us to identify all the metabolic interactions established amongst bacteria and will allow us to understand the precise mechanisms responsible for altering what animals decide to eat and brain function. Those insights can then be used to guide the search for similar mechanisms in animals with much more complex microbiomes, including in humans.", concludes Ribeiro.

Link:
Stronger together in the microbiome: How gut microbes feed each other to overcome dietary deficiencies, change host behavior, and improve reproduction...