If your mom was anything like my mom, you know apples are nutritious – and you probably ate them so much as a child you can no longer stand them. What I never realized was how nutrient-rich they are! All throughout elementary school, my best friend would have a peeled and sliced apple in her lunch every day. Apparently her mom also knew the old adage, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

While apples are not a cure-all or a prevent-all, they are beneficial to our health. They contain high amounts of both soluble and insoluble fiber, which prevent cholesterol buildup and aid in intestinal and digestive health. The pectin found in apples also contributes to intestinal well-being due to its pectin content. Other nutrients found in apples include Vitamins A, C, and E, with lower amounts of some of the B vitamins. Potassium, magnesium and calcium are also present, along with small percentages of other nutrients like iron, zinc, copper, and manganese and selenium.

 Apples are not only good for you nutritionally, but are also excellent for oral health. Eating an apple helps clean your teeth and when eaten before singing, an apple can help you sing with more clarity and better vocal tone. (Just try drinking a glass of milk before singing rather than eating an apple before you sing and you will see what I mean!)

 Apples are available in a plethora of varieties, but when you are deciding which to purchase at the grocery store, be sure to look for organic apples. While some shops may not carry them, they are worth the extra trip to a specialty or health food store, and even the extra cents you will spend on them. Apples are abundantly sprayed with pesticides before they are harvested and are covered with a wax coating before being shipped to stores. This coating seals in the poisons from the pesticides. When you wash your fruit before consumption, the coating prevents the harmful chemicals from being cleaned off the apple, and you ingest them into your body. Thus, organic apples are the best choice.

 If you are choosing your fruit based on taste, apples include an array of sweet, juicy, and tart flavors. If you have not yet developed a liking for apples, try a few different kinds. You may be surprised to find one perfect for your taste!

Easy Baked Apples

Craving something sweet but still want to watch what you’re eating? These baked apples are simple, healthy and delicious – a guilt-free treat!

Ingredients:

Your choice of organic apples, cored and sliced (peeled also if you prefer them without skin)
Water
Cinnamon
Natural/raw sugar or honey (optional) 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your apples and spread them evenly in one layer in a baking dish. Drizzle enough water over them to provide a little bit of liquid in the bottom of the dish. Do not overdo it, though. You are not trying to drown your apples. Sprinkle with a small amount of your choice of sweetener, whether it be a natural or organic raw sugar or a bit of honey, if you prefer. You do not need much! Add a coat of cinnamon to the apples (you cannot put too much, but cater to your taste). Bake at 350 until softened. Let cool slightly before serving.

Disclaimer: I am not a professional. I am not affiliated with any company mentioned. I purchase apples with my own funds and all opinions are my own. Photo courtesy of m_bartosch at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Medications are essential for certain acute conditions. There are people who take medications for chronic symptoms, however. It’s all fine and well until side effects happen. That’s why, a person’s biochemical individuality should always be taken into account when a person has to take medications long-term. A regular review of your medications should be in order, taking into account that there’s less metabolism or excretion of medications as we age.

Fortunately, there are genomic tests available that could tell you instantly and reliably on the kind of pharmacological substances which are most suitable for you. It furthermore advises you which dose grants you optimized therapeutic success.

One such lab is called Genosense in Vienna, Austria. They have a genomic test called Pharmacosensor. This test examines carefully selected polymorphisms which lead to structural changes in proteins that strongly influence the speed of metabolism in a series of pharmacological substances and also account for the accelerated or reduced transformation of harmless precursors of given medication into highly efficient substances.

If a person is unable to do this test, then at least they should be aware of possible nutritional deficiencies their medications could cause and make sure to replenish them.

One such class of medications are the antacid or ulcer medications. Nutrient deficiencies in Vitamins B12, folic acid, Calcium, Iron and Zinc could occur with the following potential health problems: anemia,depression, birth defects, increased cardiovascular risk, cervical dysplasia, heart disease, cancer risk, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, hearing loss, tooth decay, hair loss, brittle nails, loss of sense of taste or smell, and sexual dysfunction.

Another class of meds are the cholesterol-lowering agents called “statins”. They deplete the body of Coenzyme Q10. When this happens, various cardiovascular problems, a weakened immune system and low energy could occur.

Anticonvulsants could deplete the body of Vitamins D, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, C, Magnesium, Selenium and Zinc. Potential health issues could include osteoporosis, muscle weakness, hearing loss, tooth decay, heart and blood pressure irregularities, cervical dysplasia, anemia, hair loss, depression, dermatitis, fatigue, reduced antioxidant protection, poor wound healing and skeletal problems.

My purpose is not to alarm people who take these medications but to make them aware that an integrative approach to any medical condition yields better results. It’s a good thing that we can now check for nutritional deficiencies. One such functional test in done through Spectracell. It checks for 33 nutrient deficiencies. I love this test because it takes the guesswork out of supplementation. Better yet, most PPO’s and Medicare cover for this test.

If you are using maven for your selenium tests and you have extended Selenium using user-extensions.js, You can add following to your pom.xml. This plugin will run after your code has compiled. It will unzip selenium-server.jar and add you user-extensions.js to it core/scripts folder and then repackage it back.

pom.xml

<plugin>
    <artifactId>maven-antrun-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>1.1</version>
<executions>
 <execution>
    <phase>install</phase>
    <configuration>
    <tasks>
     <unzip src="${project.build.directory}/lib/selenium-server-1.0.1.jar"
         dest="${project.build.directory}/temp" overwrite="true"/>
     <unzip src="${project.build.directory}/lib/selenium-core-1.0.1.jar"
         dest="${project.build.directory}/temp" overwrite="true"/>
     <unzip src="${project.build.directory}/lib/selenium-server-coreless-1.0.1.jar"
         dest="${project.build.directory}/temp" overwrite="true"/>
     <copy file="${project.build.directory}/resources/user-extensions.js"
         tofile="${project.build.directory}/temp/core/scripts/user-extensions.js"
         overwrite="true"/>

     <jar basedir="${project.build.directory}/temp"
         manifest="${project.build.directory}/temp/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF"
         destfile="${project.build.directory}/temp/temp.jar"/>

     <copy file="${project.build.directory}/temp/temp.jar"
         tofile="${project.build.directory}/lib/selenium-server-1.0.1.jar"
        overwrite="true"/>

     <delete file="${project.build.directory}/lib/selenium-server-coreless-1.0.1.jar"/>
     <delete file="${project.build.directory}/lib/selenium-core-1.0.1.jar"/>
     <delete dir="${project.build.directory}/temp"/>
    </tasks>
    </configuration>
    <goals>
        <goal>run</goal>
    </goals>
 </execution>
</executions>
</plugin>

Once you clean and build your project you should have selenium-server.jar which has your updated user-extensions.js inside.

Selenium provides a way to to capture the entire page displayed in the browser as a screenshot and save it as a png file on the disk. This functionality is only available in Selenium RC and is available for firefox (*chrome mode) and in IE (*iexploreproxy ) using Experimental utility Snapsie.

// Capture screen shot
selenium.captureEntirePageScreenShot("screenshot.png");

Firefox is supported out of the box but it needs little setup for it to work in IE. To use the method in IE go through following steps.

1. Download and install Microsoft VC++ Redistributable Package

2. Download and unzip Snapsie from http://snapsie.sourceforge.net/
Copy Snapsie.dll to windows/system or windows/system32 folder Register Snapsie.dll using “regsvr32 Snapsie.dll

3. Snapsie download comes with some tests, open the test files and try to save the page in browser as a screenshot. You will have to allow the browser to install the active-x control since snapsie is an active-x control.

4. Add the site you are testing and want to capture to Trusted Sites in Internet Explorer otherwise the active-x control will not be loaded when you run your site through RC and try to capture the screenshot.

To programatically add your site to Trusted Sites for Internet Explorer add the following keys to windows registry. Save the contents in .reg file and double click to run or call from a windows batch script. The following example adds http://www.aol.com to the trusted sites.

ie-trusted-sites.reg

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains]
@=""

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains\aol.com]

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains\aol.com\www]
"http"=dword:00000002

If you run your tests on a fresh windows image every time, here is a sample .bat file you can use to install all the above things and start your selenium tests.

launch.bat

@echo off

REM Install in silent mode

C:\selenium-tests\vcredist_x86.exe /Q

C:\windows\regedit.exe  /s C:\selenium-tests\ie-trusted-sites.reg

copy C:\selenium-tests\snapsie-0.2\Snapsie.dll  C:\windows\system32\Snapsie.dll

C:\windows\system32\regsvr32.exe /s  C:\windows\system32\Snapsie.dll	

REM Start your tests here

In the early 1980s I had the privilege of doing cancer research at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) under the direction of a world-famous scientist named Dr. Gerhard Schrauzer.  We were researching the relationship between selenium and breast cancer.  We used a strain of mice that are bred to naturally develop cancer.  Since we were studying breast cancer, we only used female mice and divided them into 2 groups.  The test group received 1-2 ppm (parts-per-million) in their drinking water.

After 15 months, 85% of the control mice had developed mammary tumors while only 10% of the mice receiving selenium had breast tumors.  This was one of the first experiments to show that selenium has a powerful ability to prevent breast cancer.  In future blog reports I will discuss other studies that show that selenium is a powerful anti-cancer agent.  I recommend that adults ingest about 400 micrograms of selenium daily.

For additional information visit www.AskDrRoss.com or
www.twitter.com/askdrross

Selenium is an open source, javascript based web testing tool that supports testing of web 2.0 applications on multiple browsers and operating systems.
Home Page: http://seleniumhq.org/

Why Selenium???
It is FREE!!
One script runs on most of the browsers and OS’s
Multiple language support-Knowledge of any one of these languages : HTML, Java, C#, Perl, PHP, Python or Ruby is enough to write test scripts.
It is as powerful and your own programming skills.

Last Friday, a couple of friends and I headed over to the G2IX Techbar to attend a PinoyJUG meetup. It was the second time for my housemate and me, and I think it was a first for Renz. As with the last time, I had wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible. For one, I’m not a Java developer, and second, I’m not even a developer. Although I tend to rationalize (rather lamely) that it’s a Java User Group, and don’t we all use Java.

Anyway, there were two talks scheduled for that evening. One’s on Aspect Oriented Programming with Spring by Jasper Blues, and the other one which is more relevant to me was on Automated Testing with Selenium by Aaron Tinio.

I have tried playing around with the Selenium IDE before but not really in depth. I basically tried to create some tests on a login function using the record and playback feature. During the talk, the speaker demonstrated the use of Selenium RC which I’ve never tried out for myself or seen in action before. It was way better than the IDE since you can just issue out commands to manipulate and check your browser’s content. So that bit was really interesting for me. I also liked the faker gem he used to generate random data. That seems quite nifty.

The company’s intending to have some training lined up for the staff. I wonder if they (whoever is on the planning committee) are considering automated testing at all. Although I am not hopeful. But if they are, Selenium seems to be worth a shot.

What I’ve been reading this month…

Methodology

• The Problem with User Stories – an interesting negative reflection on user stories. I don’t completely agree with his solution, but I do understand where he’s coming from.
• Does Methodology Matter? – some good points about what we should be thinking about regardless of our methodology perferences.
• The Risk of Scrum – another I don’t necessarily agree with but I understand the problems… I do think he’s missed the value of the sprint time-box and the responsibility of the product owner to prioritize activities.
• Scrum Anti-pattern : Prioritizing Stories Within Sprints – we need to trust the team to get things done and when we can’t we need to learn from the estimation and the velocity and adjust planning accordingly.

Web

• List of Web Design Mistakes You Should Avoid – 35 basic rules that should be followed.

Programming

• Google Collections is now 1.0 final – some interesting advanced collections: maps and sets and the like.
• Secure Coding Guidelines for Java – required reading for anyone thinking seriously about security, and not just web security.
• Scala and Lift – Status after six months – interesting observations about my favorite future programming language… I really need to spend some more time on Scala…

Testing

• UI Test Automation Tools are Snake Oil – Not sure if they are snake oil but they are challenging and brittle.
• Project SIKULI – this looks very interesting for general purpose acceptance testing.
• Behavior Driven Development in Flex – Where we are? – one of my next efforts is to pick an acceptance test tool for my Flex programming.
• Selenium And Easyb – this looks something like Cucumber… I may try this on my next project.

Healthy foods often get an unfair bad rap.  They are tasteless, like cardboard, bland, boring, yuck.   Think:  plate of overcooked, squishy, lifeless vegetables staring back at you when the ad comes on TV for the new bacon double cheese special sauce burger.  Hmmm, which to choose?

At Fantasy Healthball, we are not about deprivation of taste.  And as we say on our nutrition page, starving yourself is like treating your body like the enemy and makes about as much sense as not exercising for a year and then running a marathon to make up for it.  So, you gotta eat.  And you gotta eat healthy.  So you might as well also make it tasty! 

In this short article, nutritionist Joy Bauer talks about foods that are good for you, will fill you up, and taste great!  One of her suggestions is a shrimp cocktail.  Shrimp taste great and are a great source of protein.  They are also high in B12, iron, selenium, and niacin.  All great vitamins you can read more about here.  And they are just plain fun to eat!  But which shrimp to buy?  When it comes to seafood, we love the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch.  As best choices, they recommend US farmed freshwater prawns, wild caught pink shrimp from Oregon, pacific and west coast white shrimp, and spot prawns from British Columbia.  They say stay away from imported tiger prawns, black tiger shrimp, ebi, and white shrimp.  At their website, you can download their handy Seafood Watch card and bring it with you to the fish store or grocery store. 

Other than the shrimp cocktail, Bauer recommends a fiery chicken salad, homemade pumpkin pudding, vegetable soup, cucumber tomato onion salad, and ginger green tea.  Specifically for the veggie soup, she recommends a Creole version that is “super spicy.”  Speaking of spicing things up, we love it!

One of our favorites is plain old Tabasco sauce, which is a pure pepper sauce.  It can be found in every grocery store and corner market on Earth.  Take the photo above for example.  Some nice pasta, a little tomato, parsley, it will taste good all by itself.  But add a little Tabasco to kick it up a notch or three! 

And my personal flavor secret, that I put on practically everything, is Sriracha hot sauce (made in the USA).  It is particularly wonderful on Chinese food, but great in soup, on pasta, veggie burgers, chicken, cooked veggies, fish, rice, well, practically everything.  Try it out, and let us know what you think.  You can find it in Asian supermarkets, Albertsons, Ralphs, Vons, others, or order it online.  Your food will never be bland again!  Healthy?  Yes.  Tasty?  Yes!  — Jim Ballard

(NaturalNews) When scientists gathered in Houston recently for the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, they heard groundbreaking evidence about how colon cancer can be prevented. The new data wasn’t about drugs or surgery, either. Instead, two separate research groups concluded natural substances appear to protect from often deadly colon malignancies.

Colon cancer, which the American Cancer Society estimates is diagnosed in over 108,000 Americans each year, is intricately linked to adenomas, also called polyps. These lesions grow in the large bowel and start off as benign. However, they can turn into cancerous tumors and 70 to 80% of all cancers of the colon (the longest part of the large intestine) and rectum result from adenomas-turned-malignant.

So, in hopes of preventing future cancerous growths, polyps found during colonoscopies are snipped off and biopsied. Unfortunately though, pre-cancerous polyps often return. But scientists at the National Institute for Cancer Research in Genoa, Italy, conducted a long term study that shows the risk of pre-cancerous polyps (dubbed colorectal metachronous adenomas) coming back after they’ve been removed can be greatly reduced. The key? Taking specific antioxidants, including a selenium-based compound.

“Our study is the first intervention trial specifically designed to evaluate the efficacy of the selenium-based antioxidant compound on the risk of developing metachronous adenomas,” said Luigina Bonelli, M.D., head of the unit of secondary prevention and screening at the National Institute for Cancer Research, in a statement to the media.

40% reduced risk

The research team studied volunteers between the ages of 25 and 75 who had already had one or more colorectal adenomas removed. None of the participants were diagnosed with any additional colorectal disease, cancer or other life-threatening illness and none were taking vitamins or mineral supplements when the study began. The scientists randomly divided the 411 participants into two groups: those in one group received an inactive placebo and those in the second group took a daily antioxidant supplement containing a selenium compound (selenomethionnine 200 ug), zinc 30 mg, vitamin A 6,000 IU, vitamin C 180 mg and vitamin E 30 mg.

“Our results indicated that individuals who consumed antioxidants had a 40% reduction in the incidence of metachronous adenomas of the large bowel,” Bonelli said. “It is noteworthy that the benefit observed after the conclusion of the trial persisted through 13 years of follow up.”

Omega-3s help prevent colorectal cancer

Another study just released at the Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference — this one from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina — found that omega-3 fatty acids, which are primarily found in cold water fish such as salmon, may be able to prevent colorectal cancer.

The scientists recruited 1,509 Caucasian participants (716 cancer cases and 787 controls) and 369 African-American participants (213 cancer cases and 156 controls). A validated food questionnaire was used to collect information on the frequency and amount of foods typically consumed by the research subjects in the past 12 months. Those who ate more long-chain omega-3 fatty acids had a significantly reduced risk of large bowel cancer. In fact, the highest intake was linked to an almost 40% decreased cancer risk. Unfortunately, the greatly reduced risk was only seen in white research subjects and the scientists are trying to figure out what might account for the racial disparity.

“Experimental data have shown benefits of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids in colorectal carcinogenesis, ranging from reduced tumor growth, suppression of angiogenesis and inhibition of metastasis,” research leader Sangmi Kim, Ph.D., said in a statement to the press. “Our finding of inverse association between dietary intakes of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and distal large bowel cancer in white participants adds additional support to the hypothesis.”

These new studies linking natural substances to colon cancer prevention are part of a growing body of evidence indicating dietary measures can fight this kind of cancer successfully. For example, as NaturalNews has previously reported, the disease is primarily linked to the typical Western diet (http://www.naturalnews.com/025974_c…), so avoiding processed food and trans fats (http://www.naturalnews.com/025880_t…) can go far to prevent it. What’s more, blueberries have been shown to slash the risk of colon cancer by 57% (http://www.naturalnews.com/021951_b…) and apples contain natural phytochemicals that have a protective effect against colon cancer (http://www.naturalnews.com/023136_c…), too.

For more information:
http://www.aacr.org/home/public–me…
http://www.aacr.org/home/public–me…
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/…

One of the things that the BrowserMob system doesn’t do too well is provide analytics on top of the data that they generate during their load tests.  Luckily they do give you a mysql install script that allows you to get the data into a local database & use whatever tools you want to get the data you need.

Unfortunately, being a Microsoft guy, I don’t want to use MySql if I can help it! Luckily, it isn’t too difficult to modify the script so you can use it in Sql Server.

I also want to keep the historical data, so that I can compare test runs against each other & track progress towards our goals over time.

To start with I’ve just created the tables by slightly modifying the Create table scripts :

CREATE TABLE test (

test_id int NOT NULL,

[name] varchar (255),

unique_id varchar (255),

CONSTRAINT PK_TEST PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED(test_id ASC)

)

CREATE TABLE run (

run_id int NOT NULL,

starttime datetime DEFAULT GETDATE(),

comments varchar (255),

run_by varchar (255),

CONSTRAINT PK_RUN PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED(run_id ASC)

)

CREATE TABLE [tx](

[tx_id] [bigint] NOT NULL,

[run_id] [int] NULL,

[browser_num] [int] NOT NULL,

[bytes] [bigint] NOT NULL,

[end_time] [datetime] NOT NULL DEFAULT (getdate()),

[err_line_num] [int] NULL DEFAULT (NULL),

[err_msg] [varchar](255) DEFAULT (NULL),

[err_screenshot_id] [varchar](255) DEFAULT (NULL),

[instance_id] [varchar](255) NOT NULL,

[script_id] [varchar](255) NOT NULL,

[start_time] [datetime] NOT NULL DEFAULT (‘0000-00-00 00:00:00′),

[step_count] [int] NULL DEFAULT (NULL),

[success] [bit] NOT NULL,

[time_active] [bigint] NOT NULL,

[time_paused] [bigint] NOT NULL,

CONSTRAINT PK_TX PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED(tx_id ASC)

)

ALTER TABLE tx

WITH CHECK ADD CONSTRAINT FK_TX_RUN FOREIGN KEY(run_id)

REFERENCES run (run_id)

CREATE TABLE step (

step_id bigint NOT NULL,

bytes bigint NOT NULL,

end_time datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT GETDATE(),

obj_count int DEFAULT NULL,

start_time datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT ‘0000-00-00 00:00:00′,

step int NOT NULL,

time_active bigint NOT NULL,

time_paused bigint NOT NULL,

tx_id bigint NOT NULL,

CONSTRAINT PK_STEP PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED(step_id ASC)

)

ALTER TABLE step

WITH CHECK ADD CONSTRAINT FK_STEP_TX FOREIGN KEY(tx_id)

REFERENCES tx (tx_id)

CREATE TABLE object (

[obj_id] [bigint] NOT NULL,

[bytes] [bigint] NOT NULL,

[dns_lookup_time] [bigint] NULL DEFAULT (NULL),

[end_time] [datetime] NOT NULL DEFAULT (getdate()),

[err_msg] [varchar](256)  NULL DEFAULT (NULL),

[host] [varchar](256)  NOT NULL,

[ip_address] [varchar](256)  NULL DEFAULT (NULL),

[method] [varchar](16)  NULL DEFAULT (NULL),

[obj_num] [int] NOT NULL,

[path] [varchar](4096)  NOT NULL,

[protocol] [varchar](16)  NOT NULL,

[query_string] [varchar](4096)  NULL DEFAULT (NULL),

[start_time] [datetime] NOT NULL DEFAULT (‘0000-00-00 00:00:00′),

[status_code] [int] NOT NULL,

[time_active] [bigint] NULL DEFAULT (NULL),

[time_to_first_byte] [bigint] NULL DEFAULT (NULL),

[url] [varchar](4096)  NOT NULL,

[step_id] [bigint] NOT NULL,

CONSTRAINT PK_OBJECT PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED(obj_id ASC)

)

ALTER TABLE object

WITH CHECK ADD CONSTRAINT FK_OBJECT_STEP FOREIGN KEY(step_id)

REFERENCES step (step_id)

Then start cleaning the insert scripts & running them in, do so in the same order as the table order above.  To do this I’ve broken them out so that I just have the insert commands for each table in text files & start doctoring them like so :

1. SQL server doesn’t support the ` character, i.e INSERT INTO `object` – easily solved by a quick find and replace, replacing it with nothing.
2. Some of my data contains \’, so I needed to replace \’ with \”
3. SQL Server doesn’t support multiple sets of values as part of INSERT INTO so in each file I replace ),( with a new INSERT INTO statement, e.g
   Replace : ),(
   With : )\nINSERT INTO step VALUES (

I’m currently looking at how we can improve our load test process to dial out some of the problems we have & also to extend the coverage of our load test.

Most organisations have the same problem when it comes to load testing – it’s done at a specific part of the project as a one time exercise & when complete the tests are left to rot until the next time a load test is needed, often months or years later when they bear little or no relation to the application under test any more.

Many of the tools available for web testing contribute to this problem by forcing you to work at the http layer, often resulting in brittle tests that break based on the smallest change to the implementation in the web application. Functional test tools like selenium provide a much easier to use abstraction, allowing a simple point a click browser experience to record & validate tests.  With a functional test suite in place surely a load test is just selecting the ratios at which those tests need to run to simulate your real/estimate usage patterns and away you go?  This has the added benefit of not needing to maintain two sets of scripts so that as long as you’re keeping your functional test suite up to date, your load test is being kept up top date pretty much for free. The problem is that operating at this layer of abstraction brings with it a significant performance overhead; instantiating browser instances for each simulated user in the load test.

Cloud computing/virtualisation is a game changer here; BrowserMob http://browsermob.com will import your selenium scripts & allow you to configure a load test in their system, running it for you on the Amazon Elastic Computing cloud.  This is a great option & I will be posting more on how our efforts in this area pan out, but moving forward maybe this type of technology can be brought in house too – being primarily a UK based organisation we have a significant infrastructure investment sized to deal with the peak load during the UK day (and the peak days of the year).  During the quieter times of year, and the quieter times of the day this infrastructure could be used instead of the EC2 cloud to run our load tests.  I’m not sure if BrowserMob are looking at this type of solution yet, but if not it’s only a matter of time before someone does…

Blackstrap Molasses is the liquid byproduct in the production of refined sugar and was once used as the primary sweetener in foods.  What is so wonderful about Blackstrap Molasses is that it is loaded with minerals and is an easily assimilated form of energy for the body.

People have known for ages of the health benefits of Blackstrap Molasses.  Numerous home remedies have included molasses in the treatment of anemia due to its high iron content.  Along with iron, molasses is also an excellent source of calcium, potassium, manganese, copper and magnesium and a good source of vitamin B6 and selenium.

Two teaspoons of Blackstrap molasses provides your body with 11.8% of your daily need for calcium, 13.3% of your iron, 14% of your cooper, 18% of your manganese, 9.7% of your potassium and 7.3% of daily need for magnesium.  (1)

Traditional folk remedies tout Blackstrap molasses as a panacea or a “cure-all”.  Although, it might not actually be a “cure-all”, blackstrap molasses has been traditionally indicated for the following health conditions:

• Arthritis
• Ulcers
• Dermatitis and eczema
• High blood pressure
• Constipation and colitis
• Varicose veins
• Anemia
• Bladder troubles such as difficult urination
• Nerve damage

Here are a couple of traditional remedies once used for anemia:

Mix 2 teaspoons each of apple cider vinegar and blackstrap molasses with water to strengthen the blood (2)

Another remedy called for using 1/3 of a cup blackstrap molasses mixed with milk or as a sweetener (2)

If you don’t like the taste of Black Strap Molasses you can add two tablespoons to your soups.  I have been adding it to my beef stew and find that it adds just a hint of sweetness which actually improves the flavor of the soup or stew.

When selecting blackstrap molasses choose one that is organic and unsulphured as it contains no chemicals which are often used in processing and has a much better taste.

References:

(1) The George Mateljan Foundation

(2)  Todd, J.C., Herbal home remedies.  (2005), Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, MN.

Functionality of selenium can be easily extended using JavaScript functions. JavaScript methods can be added in user-extensions.js to the Selenium prototype object and can be called from either IDE or selenium RC.

user-extensions.js

Selenium.prototype.method_name  = function( param1 ) {
   // do your specific stuff here
   alert(param1);
}

Now either start selenium server with the userExtensions option and pass it your user-extensions.js

Or you can use the following code in java to call this newly added method.

// Instantiate  HttpCommandProcessor and selenium object
HttpCommandProcessor proc ;
proc = new HttpCommandProcessor("localhost", 4444, "*firefox", "http://yoursite.com/");
DefaultSelenium selenium = new DefaultSelenium(proc);

// Define input parameter for our method
string[] inputParams = {"Hello World"};

// Call the method
proc.DoCommand("method_name", inputParams);

Another way to call the above method could be by using getEval() method of selenium object

// call the method using the getEval method
selenium.getEval("this.medhod_name(\"Hello World\")");

There is nothing more important than one’s health. Keeping up your health can be a difficult task because of work, family, and stress.
Seaweed Marine
Gigartina Chamissoi
Is one of the most nutritious foods on earth and does not generate over weight.It is considered an ideal complement in the growing phase, in convalescence periods, pregnancy and during slimming regimes.It has all the basic nutrients that we need, helping us to preserve a good health.

http://www.lindavida.com/seaweedmarine_en.htm

Algas Marinas100 Caps 30,00 €

Body Mix Plus 4 and 1
Ajos 40mg,Caigua 40mg,Algas Marinas40,Hercampuri240 mg
Controls and prevents the obesity and reduces cholesterol in blood,hercampuri eliminates fat and reduces overweight; garlic eliminates impurities, intestine toxins and parasites; caigua has valuable hypotensile action.

http://www.lindavida.com/bodymixplus_en.htm

Body Mix Plus 100 Caps 30,00 €
Chanca Piedra
Phyllanthus Niruni
Its use is recommended for the treatment of kidney and biliary stones. It eliminates toxins from kidneys.

http://www.lindavida.com/chancapiedra_en.htm

Chanca Piedra 100 Caps 28,00 €
Graviola
Annona Muricata
It is beleived that about 2% minimum of cancer cells remain after chemotherapy. These cells can develop what is known as the pump. These cells become extremely resistent to further chemotherapy as they are able to pump out any attempt for chemo to enter the cell. These resistant cancer cells eventually grow to create drug resistent tumors. Graviola has been shown to cut off the energy supply to these resistent cells as well. The HSI member’s alert informs that Graviola contains Annonaceous Acetogenins which have remarkable cytotoxic, anti-tumor activities effective against 12 types of cancer, including colon, breast, prostrate, lung and pancreatic.

http://www.lindavida.com/graviola_en.htm

Graviola 100 Caps 29,00 €

Herbal Fem
Malva 75 mg, Matico 75 mg, Manayupa 75 mg, Sangre de Grado 75 mg
Desinflamante of the ovaries, vaginal matrix of the utero and walls ademas the prolapse, the reductions, flows, cysts and sores.

http://www.lindavida.com/herbalfem_en.htm

Herbal Fem 100 Caps 30,00 €

Hercampuri
Gentionella Alboracea
Hypocholesterolemic, cholegogue, choleretic and blood depurative. It is recommended in treatments for weight loss and cholesterol reduction. Also used to treat hepatic affections and as a natural blood purifier. Due to its lipotrophical action, it has a remarkable action on fat metabolism eliminating fatness without cause anorexy.

http://www.lindavida.com/hercampuri_en.html

Hercampuri 100 Caps 27,10 €

Maca Lepidium Meyeni

http://www.lindavida.com/maca/faqs_english.html

The large quantity of proteins combined with iron and vitamins,Maca a source of ENERGY and in particular the vitamins B1, B2, B12, C, E, supports the nervous system, helps to fight against FATIGUE and STRESS It is recommended in cases of anemia, osteoporosis, infertility.

http://www.lindavida.com/maca_en.html

Maca 100 Caps 28,10 €

Manuyapa
Desmonium Molliculum
Dépuration or detoxification is the process by which the body eliminates toxins exogenous or endogenous affecting the functional balance of the individual, altering the state of health. Many of these toxins accumulate over the years in our body and eventually spread a series of illnesses.Symptoms such as insomnia, headaches, fatigue, tingling, stains on the face and coprs,etc.can be manifestations of poisoning or recent accumulated

http://www.lindavida.com/manayupa_en.htm

Manayupa 100 Caps 28,10 €

Noni
Morinda Citrifolia
Provides powerful antioxidants, may be beneficial to the immune system, and increases energy.

http://www.lindavida.com/noni_en.htm

Noni 100 Caps 35,00 €

Pasuchaca
Geranium Dielsiaum
Plant with excellent hypoglicemiant effect (reduces sugar levels) reason why is recommended in the treatment of light and moderate diabetes. It is also antidiabetic, hypoglicemiant and blood purifier, considered as a good astringent and anti inflammatory that fights mouth ulcers and diarrheas

http://www.lindavida.com/pasuchaca_en.html

Pasuchaca 100 Caps 28,55 €

RSX
Sexual Power
Sexual Reconstituyente, acts like revitalizador of the impotence and premature eyaculation.
Composition: Maca, Chuchuhuasi, male Huanarpo, Iporuro, Nail huasca.
It is recommended in cases of sexual dysfunction

http://www.lindavida.com/rsx_en.html

RSX
Maca, Chuchuhuasi, Huanarpo macho, Hiporuro, Sanango, Clavo huasca.

100 Caps 30,00€

Sangre de Grado
Croton Lechleri
Is an excellent cicatrizant used in problems of gastrointestinal ulcers and external ulcerations or injuries (cellular repair). Its hemeostatic property goes hand in hand with cicatrisation, since it stops the hemorrhage of a wound or ulceration. Traditionally used for diverse afecctions like uterine colics, hemorrhages, disenteria and treatment of tumors

http://www.lindavida.com/sangre_grado_en.html

Sangre de grado en líquido

Gotero de 30 ml 20,10 €

Uña de gato
Uncaria Tomentosa
It is a powerful natural anti-inflammatory recommended for the treatment of arthritic and rheumatic affections, articulation and osteomuscular pains. Stimulates the immunologic system and it has showed to be very effective also in the treatment of cancer, tumors, gastritis, AIDS and some epidemic diseases

http://www.lindavida.com/una_de_gato_en.html

Uña de gato 100 Caps 28,10€

Yacón
Smallanthus sonchifolius
is recommended in cases of diabetes, digestive problems, in cases of high levels of cholesterol in the blood. It regulates the pancreas function, it facilitates the assimilation of calcium and vitamins of the B complex. Its use is recommended in the treatment of obesity

http://www.lindavida.com/yacon_en.html

Yacón 100 Caps 28,89 €

A couple days ago I wanted to move all of my work email out of the inbox and into an archive folder, similar to how I use Gmail but I ran in to a problem. I had over 3,000 emails in my inbox and Outlook Web Access only allowed me to move up to 100 emails at a time.

The process to move emails is as follows:

1. Click the check box in the table header that checks all of the emails.
2. Click the ‘Move’ button
3. Choose the folder to move it to
4. Click the ‘Move’ button to commit the move

Who wants to sit around clicking the same buttons for 20 minutes just to move messages. It sure would be nice if Outlook Web Access had the same feature as Gmail:

So instead of doing the same old, mundane, click-wait, click-wait task, I downloaded and installed Firefox and the Selenium IDE plugin.

Selenium IDE is a free plugin that allows you to record your use of a web page and play it back. I’ve been using it now for some time in creating automated tests of a website I’m working on.

I played the test back and it worked beautifully. I then copied the test steps and pasted them countless times within the same test. Next I hit ‘play’ and was able to watch a recorded lecture while all of my mails were moved over to the archive folder.

Problem solved. All emails were moved in a couple minutes time.

I will be on the lookout for more ways that Selenium IDE can save me time.

It’s been a long time coming but Melbourne finally has its very own Selenium Meetup group!
Following the success of Selenium meetups in the US and UK, Melbourne’s Selenium Meetup group will give Selenium users of all skill levels the opportunity to network and discuss a variety of different topics including (but not limited to) Selenium, Agile Testing, Test Driven Development, Behaviour Driven Development and Continuous Integration.
Now that the group is live, its all about generating interest so if you know anyone in a software development / test related field that might be interested in attending (or even volunteering to present), please direct them to the Selenium Meetup group site to register their interest.

You can visit the official Melbourne Selenium Meetup group page by clicking on the link below.

Melbourne Selenium Meetup Group

Placenta Compositum = Rp. 275.000,-/10 ampul
Circulo = Rp. 275.000,-/10 ampul
Selenium = Rp. 275.000,-/10 ampul

Want to hear something ridiculous? I still have my Christmas tree up.

Today, I finally took the red holiday bow off my apartment door. At least the neighbours won’t know what a slacker I am.

Well, a slacker in terms of Christmas decorations, that is. You know what I’m not a slacker about? Broccoli.

(You know what else? I still haven’t learned to spell broccoli. I have to use the spell-checker every time. In fact, I just noticed I spelled in wrong in my original Mini-Resolution.  Maybe I should make a Mini-Resolution to get that straightened out.)

If you’ll recall, sometime ago I made Mini-Resolution #4: Find and prepare two tasty broccoli recipes between Saturday, Jan. 9 and Friday, Jan. 15.

This stemmed from Dr. Weil’s simple request that I eat broccoli twice during the week. I (like a fool)  decided to up the ante and not only eat broccoli twice this week but attempt to cook it in two new tasty ways. And to judge the tastiness (or lack thereof)? My carnivore of a fiancé.

The only survivor of this week's broccoli binge.

As a result, I bought more fresh broccoli in the past week than any other week before. Maybe more than all weeks before added together.

It’s not that I don’t like broccoli. It’s that I don’t like preparing it. I got that from my mother. She only buys frozen broccoli so she doesn’t have to deal with the actual preparation. And I don’t blame her.

I also learned this week that you’re supposed to peel broccoli. As if it wasn’t enough of a pain in the ass already. This was shocking to me. I mean, I’m no gourmet chef but I spend a pretty significant amount of time in the kitchen and still somehow missed the memo on this one.

Maybe that’s because most broccoli I’ve met in my life has come from the frozen food section. Who knows.

I tested out two recipes this week: Garlic-Spiked Broccoli and Mushrooms with Rosemary and Oven-Roasted Broccoli with Panko and Parmesan.

The first one kinda sucked. I think maybe I’m not a huge rosemary fan. I also think I undercooked it. Nonetheless, I’m counting it because my fiancé claimed it was in fact “tasty” and proceeded to eat the leftovers the next day of his own volition.

The second one was super good. Of course, I’m of the mindset that you could put Panko crumbs on just about anything and have it taste fan-frickin’-tastic.

Health-wise, you really can’t go wrong with either of these recipes. The second one is higher in calories and fat. About 108 calories per serving (the recipe says it makes four servings but I’d say it’s actually closer to six so that’s what I’m calculating with) versus 56 for the first one, and 7 g of fat versus 2.7 g for the first one. Both clock in with 2-3 g of fibre, around 4 g of protein and more than 100% of your daily recommended intake of Vitamin C.

Of course, I’m not done with the whole broccoli fiasco just yet. As I embark on Week 2, Dr. Weil is insisting I keep on eating the stuff. That gives me plenty of time to test out the cooking methods recommended by a couple of my readers. Thanks again, my lovelies!

And now, because I don’t eat right 100% of the time (take last night, for example, when supper consisted of tortilla chips and salsa and some left-over holiday fruitcake), there is my Mini-Resolution #6: Begin taking Dr. Weil’s Antioxidant Formula.

My slew of supplements

In addition to my regular multivitamin and calcium supplement, I am now taking selenium (200 mcg), Vitamin E (400 IU), Vitamin C (250mg) and, to meet Dr. Weil’s mixed carotenoid requirement (in addition to the beta-carotene that’s in my multivitamin), lycopene (10 mg) and lutein (50 mg).

Now I should mention that I’m not blindly following everything Dr. Weil has said. I have done some research into the pros and cons of the supplements I’m taking. Here’s the quick and dirty:

Selenium

• Pros:  Supports a strong immune system, regulates thyroid function, may help reduce the risk of some cancers and play a role preventing cataracts and heart disease
• Cons: May increase the risk of Type II diabetes. High intakes (over 400 mcg per day) can cause selenosis (symptoms of which include gastrointestinal upsets, hair loss, fatigue and irritability)

Vitamin E:

• Pros: May prevent or delay coronary heart disease, reduce incidence of breast and prostate cancer, prevent cataracts or age-related macular degeneration and slow cognitive decline (i.e. delay the progression of diseases like Alzheimer’s)
• Cons: In very high doses, it can interfere with the body’s ability to clot blood meaning it’s probably a no-no for people taking blood thinners.

Vitamin C:

• Pros: May prevent most types of cancer, reduce risk of cardiovascular disease, cataracts and age-related macular degeneration and may successfully treat and/or prevent the common cold
• Cons: At high doses, can cause nausea, diarrhea, abdominal cramps and other gastrointestinal disturbances. Possibly associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease mortality for postmenopausal women with diabetes.

Lycopene:

• Pros: May help to prevent macular degeneration, cataracts, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Also appears to reduce incidences of preeclampsia in pregnant women. May also help fight gingivitis. May reduce exercise-induced asthma
• Cons: Dangerous for people allergic to tomatoes. That is all. (So far, at least. Give science some time; they’ll come up with something)

Lutein:

• Pros: May reduce the risk of macular deterioration, skin diseases and cataracts.
• Cons: In a very low percentage of cases, causes slight headache when taken in supplement form. May increase risk of lung cancer.

So there. What does it all mean? At the very least, I shouldn’t get cataracts.  *thumbs up*

I’m taking it all with a grain of salt. It seems everything we ingest comes with a lot of benefits and risks and sometimes both sides seem to carry equal weight. I mean my birth control could kill me (increases risk of blood clots, stroke, heart attack and breast cancer), but it also has benefits (decreases PMS, acne, pelvic inflammatory disease and endometrial and ovarian cancer).

I’ve committed to trying out Dr. Weil’s formula for eight weeks. After that? Well, we’ll see where I’m at.

In the mean time, let’s all just take a nice deep breath and talk about Mini-Resolution #7: Practice breath observation, five minutes a day from Saturday, Jan. 9 to Friday, Jan. 15.

This ended up being more of a pain than anything else. My plan was to get in my five minutes before I fell asleep at night. Unfortunately, breath observation has a tendency to put me to sleep. Come to think of it, it’s basically been my lifelong method of falling sleep: just relaxing, clearing my mind and focusing on my breath.

So this didn’t do much for me. Occasionally, when I was still awake enough at the end of my five minutes to take notice, I did feel more relaxed, my heart rate slowed down a bit and I seemed to have gained a little distance from the things that had stressed me out most of the day.

This week I have to continue my breath observation, with an added breath-related activity that I’ll get into later. But I’m going to try to mix things up and do it first thing in the morning. Hopefully, I’ll be a bit more attentive then. We’ll see.

Finally, there’s Mini-Resolution #8: Buy flowers.

Dr. Weil seems convinced that simply being in the presence of flowers improves a person’s well-being exponentially. So do a lot of other people.

I’m reading a book by Bill Strickland, founder and CEO of the Manchester Craftmens’ Guild — an innovative non-profit agency in Pittsburgh which uses the arts to inspire success in inner-city teenagers. Mr. Strickland describes being so moved by an orchid that he spent years plotting and scheming to find funding to create a greenhouse at his Pittsburgh organization. That’s how passionately he felt that good things would come for him and the people he worked with just by being around these flowers.

I’m also working my way through Eckhart Tolle’s book A New Earth in which he credits flowers with playing an essential part in the development of human consciousness since they were among the first things human beings came to value which served no utilitarian purpose.

Maybe I’m lacking something every other human seems to have.

Here’s my dilemma: I feel like buying flowers is wasteful. They only last for a few days and then die and it’s always kind of broken my heart to dump a vase of dead flowers in the garbage.

That leaves me with buying potted flowering plants to fulfill Dr. Weil’s recommendation. And the problem with that? I kill every potted plant I touch. Every last one of them. Guaranteed.

They freak me out. During the holidays, my boss brought in a lovely poinsettia for my office. It scared the bejesus out of me. Left in my incapable hands, a plant doesn’t stand a chance of lasting more than a week.

The orchid I bought for Nicholas which, I swear, shakes in horror every time I come within five feet of it.

Luckily, my fiancé has something of a green thumb. And luckily, he shares Bill Strickland’s fascination with orchids so I bought him one.

The orchid now sits on the desk in our living room so I am able to enjoy its splendour from a safe distance.

Although, I’ve got to admit I don’t feel particularly inspired by it. But Nicholas adores it and I adore him so I guess that adds to my overall sense of well-being after all, right?

And now, tally time!

Days to go: 340

Mini-resolutions to go: 251

Today, I begin Week 2 of Dr. Weil’s 8 Weeks to Optimal Health. I’ve got some new mini-resolutions to post which I’ll get to later today, I hope.

First, lunch.

Then… maybe taking down that damn tree?

Wish me luck.

**Before I begin, I’ve decided to make this a multi-part post. The post below will include some conceptual information and implementation requirements. I’ll be adding the remaining parts as I experiment with the concept over the next few weeks so stay tuned.**

In todays world, web analytics play an important role in developing & maintaining any successful web presence.
As more and more organisations begin to rely on their web analytics data to drive strategic decision making, the importance of verifying your website’s web analytics code becomes paramount.

From a testing perspective, web analytics testing is typically done manually. In fact, I’ve never heard of if being done any other way. The process involves scouring your website with a browser based analytics profiler like WASP and verifying that data being sent to your analytics provider is accurate. While this type of testing is relatively simple (and tedious), it’s repetitive nature makes it the perfect candidate for automation.

Fresh from integrating yslow performance analysis into our Selenium tests, the next step was to analyse what part Selenium could play in validating our onsite analytics code.

The Concept

The concept for automated web analytics testing is relatively simple. As Selenium drives GUI based tests through your web application, we intercept any outgoing analytics data, capture it and store it in a database for further processing. The process isn’t actually all that different to what’s already happening under the hood with the exception of the “intercept” component – typically, the data hits your analytics provider where its stored and processed in a similar manner. Once you’ve captured this data, it’s simply a matter of comparing it against a production baseline and identifying any differences every time you execute a test run.

Environment Setup

In order to implement the above, here’s a list of what I needed:

1) A website… with web analytics code embedded.
In my specific context, the target site includes a significant implementation of Omniture web analytics code. The concept will work with other analytics providers too so this solution isn’t confined to a single flavour of web analytics. Ultimately, the bigger your target site and the more analytics code it includes, the more value that you’ll derive from this exercise.

2) A machine that runs your Selenium based automation against your target site.
My guess is you already have something in place here so I wont go into any further detail.
For the sake of transparency, I run in a Selenium Grid environment where I’ve configured multiple clients with this setup.

3) A custom analytics host – essentially, a machine that will collect your analytics data.
This machine will impersonate your actual analytics provider. It needs to be running apache web server and must run a database (mysql or similar). PHP is recommended but optional (you’ll need it for (5) listed below but you can replace it with whatever technology you prefer).
NOTE: I’d strongly recommend implementing this on the same machine running your showslow server as the prerequisites are the same. In fact, if you’ve already got showslow setup, this should be a pretty simple extension for you.

4) A hosts file redirect which hijacks your analytics traffic and directs it to your custom analytics host in step 3. This needs to be completed on the machine performing your automated tests. Analysing your target site’s html should reveal your analytics host, for example analytics.company.com. Once you have this information, redirect all traffic accessing this host to your custom analytics host.

5) An analytics beacon to capture, parse and store your analytics data on your custom analytics host.
You need a little bit of development knowledge for this bit. Similar to how yslow / showslow work, your analytics data is usually sent to your analytics provider in a query string containing a series of name / value pairs. These pairs hold the analytics variable name and associated value. In order to strip these values, you’ll need to setup a page that you can direct traffic to (this page will be hosted on your custom analytics host) which strips parameters from the query string and logs them to the database. I’d strongly recommend having a look at how showslow’s yslow beacon has been setup as the concept is practically the same. Also, I have some code in this area that I could possibly share (after I clean it up a little) so feel free to get in touch if you need some assistance. Once you’ve setup the beacon, ensure you configure apache to load the beacon page automatically when you hit the location of the page in your browser.

Finally, you need to actually verify the format being used to send analytics data to your analytics host. If the URL actually includes subdirectories for example, “http://analytics.company.com/site/data?test=test&test1=test1&”, you’ll need to set a rule in apaches httpd.conf alias_module so it can redirect any traffic including the “/site/data” component of the URL. This will ensure your analytics data is directed to the right place.

Once you’ve configured the above, you should have most of the pieces in place to capture and log your analytics traffic. Part 2 of this post will include details on the pro’s and con’s of this implementation as well as some important factors which need to be considered before entirely eliminating your manual web analytics test effort.

“[T]here is extensive evidence that certain micronutrient deficiencies are associated with faster disease progression or increased mortality risk, and that dietary supplements . . . can prolong survival in HIV/AIDS. . . .
one aspect stands out in importance: the potential relationship to oxidative stress. . . . the antioxidant role of selenium in glutathione peroxidases . . . .
a daily supplement of 200 μg of selenium alone stopped progression of HIV-1 viral load increases, and lead [sic] to  improved  CD4  counts. . . . selenium status was reported to be 10 times  more  significant  than  CD4  cell  count  as  a  predictor  of   mortality. . . .
HIV infection is typically characterized by a dramatic decline in glutathione levels . . . [which] suggests an abnormal degree of biological oxidation, manifesting as elimination of cysteine sulfur as sulfate. A key feature of HIV disease is an apparent ‘antioxidant defect’ . . . [which] can be aggravated by co-factors such as malnutrition, co-infection with other microorganisms, and the use of various oxidant   drugs, such as nitrites. . . .
Intermediates of oxidative tryptophan metabolism have also been implicated in neurotoxicity, potentially contributing to AIDS dementia. . . .
oxidative   stress   can   induce niacin/NAD+ depletion. . . .
The oxidative stress-induced niacin sink (OSINS) model for HIV pathogenesis. . . . links oxidative stress and selenium to the observed tryptophan abnormalities and immunosuppression in HIV/AIDS. . . . [and] provides a mechanism whereby oxidative stress associated with HIV infection can contribute to immunosuppression via tryptophan deletion, as well as neurotoxicity via toxic tryptophan metabolites and ATP depletion. . . .
But whatever the source of oxidative stress, there would be a net effect towards niacin depletion and compensatory tryptophan oxidation. . . .
the need for certain nutrients in HIV infection may be largely secondary to an underlying defect that could be largely rectified by another nutrient, with antioxidants being the most fundamental to an effective regimen. . . .
whatever underlies or contributes to the antioxidant defect and increased oxidative stress . . . leads also to intracellular niacin depletion, and thereby to tryptophan depletion, with an end result of immunosuppression . . . and also T-cell loss” [emphases added].

It might seem natural to infer that this was written by the Perth Group, who have argued for upwards of two decades that “AIDS” results from oxidative stress, possibly with co-authorship by Rebecca Culshaw, who described the crucial role of glutathione, and by Harold Foster, who has long argued the central role of selenium, not to mention Matthias Rath, who has long spoken up for the value of micronutrients in treating AIDS patients.
But no. What’s more, none of those earlier publications are mentioned in this article by Ethan Will Taylor, “The oxidative stress-induced niacin sink (OSINS) model for HIV pathogenesis”, published on-line in Toxicology (Received 1 July 2009 — Received in revised form 10 October 2009 — Accepted 15 October 2009 — On-line at PubMed 24 October  [Epub ahead of print, PMID: 19857540, ).

(The review is described as “Hypothesis”, suggesting it might equally have been accepted by another Elsevier journal, Medical Hypotheses, were it not that the latter seems nowadays to bar anything that questions HIV/AIDS orthodoxy.)

At any rate, this article talks about “HIV-associated” oxidative stress and the benefits of nutritional supplements in “HIV-infected” people without demonstrating that “HIV” is actually involved. Essentially the same network of reactions and feedback applies in any situation of oxidative stress, as noted in the article: “whatever the source of oxidative stress . . . whatever underlies or contributes to the antioxidant defect and increased oxidative stress”. The only suggested involvement of HIV in the network of reactions is via a postulated stimulation of IDO (indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase) by tat and nef proteins and an increased level of interferon γ ascribed to viral infection and immune activation.

If it could be shown that under generalized oxidative stress, substances are released that are capable of yielding an “HIV-positive” response, that would combine with this comprehensive review of the literature to make oxidative stress an entirely plausible cause of AIDS, a worthy alternative to the HIV/AIDS hypothesis.

In point of fact, it is already well and long known that “HIV-positive” is a condition that can be brought on by a large range of conditions and infections: hypergammaglobulinemia, tuberculosis, or vaccination against flu, and dozens more documented by Christine Johnson (“Whose antibodies are they anyway? Factors known to cause  false positive HIV antibody test results”, Continuum, #3, Sept./Oct. 1996, p.4, anti-tetanus shots (Saag et al., Nature Med 1996;2:625-9 and Gonnelli et al., Lancet 1991;337:731), and even pregnancy (Taha et al., AIDS 1998;12:197-203; Gray et al., Am J Obstet Gynecol 2001;185:1209-17; Gray et al., Lancet 2005;366:1182-8). Drug abusers very often test “HIV-positive”. That the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention included increasing numbers of conditions as “AIDS-defining” after “HIV-positive” became a criterion reflects the fact that many illnesses induce oxidative stress and the resulting “HIV-positive” status.

Here is a simple way of Rethinking AIDS:
There are two hypotheses.
1. AIDS is caused by a previously unknown retrovirus that first infected gay men simultaneously in several large metropolitan areas in the United States even though it had first crossed into humans in Africa. No vaccine or microbicide against it has been found after more than two decades of concentrated effort. Transmitted sexually, it is however very difficult to transmit, which is why it has remained within the original risk groups of promiscuous drug-abusing gay men and other drug abusers, except in Africa where 20-40% of the adult population has several sexual partners simultaneously and changes them frequently (James Chin, The AIDS Pandemic); however, the retrovirus has never actually been observed, in prospective studies, to be transmitted sexually. It kills T-cells by some unknown but certainly indirect as well as obscure mechanism. Though transmitted by breastfeeding, it is transmitted less, the greater the degree of exclusive breastfeeding. The presence of antibodies denotes active infection even when no actual virus can be detected. Some significant proportion of those infected remain healthy, even as no reason for this immunity has been discovered. One of the three original salient AIDS diseases supposedly caused by this retrovirus, Kaposi’s sarcoma, turns out not to be caused by it after all. Antibodies to the retrovirus appear after vaccination against flu, or after an anti-tetanus shot, and in a host of illnesses as well as natural conditions of some physiological stress like pregnancy. In an appreciable number of AIDS cases, no antibodies or retrovirus could be found, but this could be explained away as another new disease, idiopathic CD4-T-cell lymphopenia. Drugs that kill the virus do not correlate with restoration of the immune system nor with improved health. Indeed, purported restoration of the immune system with these drugs brings on another new ailment, “immune restoration syndrome”, a worsening of clinical condition with symptoms that mimic AIDS. The retrovirus mutates at unprecedented speed, so that infected individuals harbor not a single variant but a swarm of variants; and all variants and strains appear to be pathogenic to similar extents. Antiretroviral treatment is by toxic drugs whose side effects are so severe that non-compliance by patients has been observed or estimated at nearly 50%. Deaths from AIDS continue to occur in the same age-range as before, roughly mid-30s to late 40s. Although the retrovirus is latent for an average of a decade before causing illness, the age of first infection, of first AIDS diagnosis, and of death are all in that same age range.
2. AIDS is caused by oxidative stress. Proof: dietary supplements of antioxidants and essential minerals and vitamins restore health and extend life without dangerous side effects.