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Sense memories can activate trauma responses in the body when triggered. The symptoms of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other mental health issues all contribute to the stressors that can set off trauma responses in individuals recovering from substance use disorder (SUD). According to research published in Clinical Psychology, “The comorbid presentation of PTSD and SUDs is remarkably common, and . . . PTSD/SUD patients often report greater functional impairment and experience poorer treatment outcomes.”
At Healing Pines Recovery, we use various treatment methods, including accelerated resolution therapy (ART), to address sense memories that cause negative intrusive mental images, emotional distress, flashbacks, or uncomfortable sensations. Clients who have PTSD and co-occurring SUD often have difficulty identifying and overcoming the underlying cause of the trauma. Accelerated resolution therapy makes the process much more straightforward.
What Is Accelerated Resolution Therapy?
Accelerated resolution therapy is a psychotherapy that uses eye movement exercises and aspects of gestalt to overcome mental blocks related to traumatic memories and events. The treatment is similar to eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. Instead of focusing on exposure therapy, the therapist will use metaphors and mental imagery to replace the negative mental image with something positive.
The primary benefit of ART is how quickly clients see results. Many feel noticeably better within one or two sessions. Most clients will recover from lingering trauma responses within as little as four to six sessions.
Treatment of co-occurring disorders enhances the effect of individual and group therapy and reduces the risk of relapse. According to Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience, “ART-based therapy assists patients in creating new images of past trauma they have experienced, using eye movements to enhance this process and increase relaxation.” ART goes beyond desensitizing the client and instead ensures they have a positive association with a previously traumatic memory. In some cases where other factors complicate the trauma, the process may take far longer.
Connections Between Trauma and Substance Misuse
Trauma can connect to substance misuse in several ways, including:
- Substance misuse increases risk-taking behaviors and the likelihood of experiencing a traumatic event
- Experiencing traumatic events increases the risk of being diagnosed with substance use or mental health disorders
- Traumas or chronic stress and substance misuse might develop independently with entirely different underlying causes
- Individuals suffering from the devastating effects of post-traumatic stress disorder or other trauma-related issues might self-medicate to cope with the symptoms and develop a tolerance
To keep everyone feeling safe and secure during the rehabilitation process, we may instruct clients to attend multiple forms of therapy to simultaneously treat all underlying issues. Regular progress updates and goal development will help us keep clients on track with each session during their recovery.
Treatments like EMDR use the body to unlock the brain by connecting specific movements to certain thoughts or memories. This method has been a legitimate therapeutic tool since the late 1980s. ART is a faster and generally less distressing alternative to EMDR. The primary difference is the duration of therapy and the process of achieving relief from trauma responses. EMDR is better suited for outpatient treatment programs and continuing care. For short-term residential or partial hospitalization programs (PHP), accelerated resolution therapy provides a much quicker alternative with equivalent emotional relief.
Eye-movement desensitization ensures that trauma gets processed safely and in a healthy way, allowing it to move from the nervous system to the long-term storage centers of the brain.
Benefits of Accelerated Resolution Therapy
ART treats individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder quickly and with the least amount of re-traumatization of the client or therapist. The benefits are enormous and potentially life-changing. Individuals who have struggled with addiction, anxiety, and trauma can move forward without the weight of painful memories getting in the way. Some health benefits of ART include:
- Increased self-confidence, self-awareness, and self-esteem
- Better quality sleep
- Reduced stress and anxiety
- Pain reduction, including neuropathic pain relief
- Enhanced mobility
- Lower risk of relapse or overdose
Reframing traumatic moments in a lighthearted or neutral way can severely weaken the effects of SUD and provide relief to the client.
Processing Emotions and Coping With Triggers
Many individuals who participate in ART do not need to continue individual trauma therapy after completing rehabilitation. Replacing painful memories with neutral or positive ones is usually enough to help most people move forward with fewer symptoms related to trauma responses. ART makes it possible to go over a single memory once in a therapy session. The debilitating pain associated with that memory and the trauma responses linked to it will stop and allow clients the opportunity to heal and move forward with their lives.
Accelerated resolution therapy is one option available to individuals who have a history of trauma or chronic stress. ART is ideal for short-term residential rehabilitation programs like those offered at Healing Pines Recovery and provides rapid relief of symptoms with lasting effects.
Most individuals who participate in ART notice positive changes within the first two sessions, and many no longer experience trauma responses in as little as six individual sessions. Research indicates that ART can be a powerful tool for decreasing or eliminating some symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTSD. The expert clinicians at Healing Pines Recovery tailor treatment plans to meet each client’s unique needs to ensure the best possible outcome.
ART makes it possible to overcome challenges related to trauma in a safe and healthy way. Learn more about our services and treatment programs by calling our office today at 720-575-2621. | <urn:uuid:869d5539-bfee-423f-8faa-32f2725af4b8> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://healingpinesrecovery.com/what-is-accelerated-resolution-therapy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.924174 | 1,161 | 2.40625 | 2 |
I’ve always found the naming of Baltimore Hebrew Congregation’s “Rosh Hashanah under the Stars” event, which is held each year at Oregon Ridge, particularly ironic (“Worth The Schlep,” Aug. 30).
Here’s why: Parshat Lech Lecha recounts how God addressed Abraham’s concerns that he did not have any descendants to continue spreading awareness of God in the world in the following way: “And He [God] took him outside and said, ‘Gaze, now, toward the Heavens, and count the stars if you are able to count them!’ and He said to him, ‘so too will be your offspring!’” (Genesis 15:5).
Rashi, whose commentary is printed in every standard Pentateuch, offers three interpretations of the phrase “took him outside:” 1) literally took him outside and showed him the stars in the sky; 2) took him “outside” or beyond his astrological and natural destiny dictated by his and his wife’s advanced ages, which would prevent them from having any children together; and 3) elevated him physically above the stars as indicated by the term habata (translated above as “gaze”), but which connotes looking down upon.
The last two interpretations are in fact brought together as two parts of one answer and suggest that God was alleviating Abraham’s concerns by showing him that on some level he could transcend the laws of nature.
Abraham was the first “Ivri,” or one who crosses over boundaries in order to spread awareness of one God in the world. Such boundaries were not only geographic in nature, but they were of nature and included his willingness to break away from the social norms of idolatry, perform self-circumcision at an advanced age and ultimately demonstrate his willingness to completely go against his nature through the sacrifice his son, Isaac, all in his desire to fulfill the commandments of God.
… Rosh Hashanah celebrates the creation of man. In doing this, it is celebrating the purpose of man as exemplified by the first Ivri, Abraham, and thus reminding us that we, too, as the inheritors of the spiritual traits of Abraham, can rise “above the stars.”
Nochum (Nick) Norman | <urn:uuid:aee5ab97-335a-4ba0-accf-04c8c8e2e95d> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.jewishtimes.com/above-the-stars/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.983881 | 506 | 2.34375 | 2 |
NM Historical Society Conference Coming to Alamogordo
The 2018 New Mexico History Conference will be held in Alamogordo, New Mexico, starting April 19 through April 21. The Conference is presented by the Historical Society of New Mexico in partnership with the Tularosa Basin Historical Society and New Mexico State University – Alamogordo.
Registration forms are available online at hsnm.org or at the Tularosa Basin Historical Society Museum, 1004 N. White Sands Blvd.
The Historical Society of New Mexico was founded on Dec. 26, 1859. It is the oldest historical society west of the Mississippi River. During the Civil War, it suspended activities, but soon resumed their role in preserving New Mexico’s history after the Civil War.
During the territorial period of New Mexico, 1851-1912, their membership included merchants, educators, lawyers and politicians, many of which published historical accounts of the Spanish, Mexican, and American periods in documents of the Historical Society.
The Society began very early to collect historic artifacts and papers of various periods and ethnic groups of the state. By 1885 this collection led to the founding of the Society’s museum rooms in the Palace of the Governors. In 1909 the territorial government created the Museum
of New Mexico; later the museum collections were given to the State of New Mexico, which has continued to manage the collection and expand to cover the entire state.
In 1974, to revive membership, the Historical Society established a conference on Southwest and New Mexico history. Two and half-day conferences are held each year in the spring around various state sites and include tours of local historical places as well as papers and discussion on
New Mexico history and politics. Joint conferences are held with the Arizona Historical Society every other year to broaden the interest of historical society members of both states.
In 1976, the Society responded to the need for a publication to print award-winning papers and society news by establishing the La Cronica de Nuevo Mexico; this publication includes book reviews and news of history around the state.
Additionally, the Historical Society of New Mexico makes grants available to local historical societies in the state to help with their programs and collection management. This year, the Tularosa Basin Historical Society was a recipient of this grant which was used to re-furbish the Works Progress Administration Diorama that was loaned to the Tularosa Basin Museum from the White Sands National Monument Museum.
This year’s conference events will be held on the campus of the New Mexico State University-Alamogordo, 2400 North Scenic Drive. An April 19 evening reception will start the conference off at the New Mexico Museum of Space History, 3198 state Route 2001. There will be about 60 speakers and presentations given during the three-day program, as well as several book vendors.
On April 19, Michael McGarrity will be the opening guest speaker with a reception of hors d’oeuvres and complimentary wine at 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Rohovec Center Theater. On April 21, there’s a HSNM awards banquet at the Tays Center between 6 p.m.
A full schedule of the programs along with the detailed list of the presentations and activities is available online at hsnm.org or pick up a conference schedule and registration at the Tularosa Basin Museum of History, 1004 N. White Sands Blvd.
Jean Killer is the curator for the Tularosa Basin Museum of History. | <urn:uuid:053aafa4-6073-4d2f-8a37-39e07d1389fe> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.alamogordonews.com/story/news/local/community/2018/04/11/nm-historical-society-conference-coming-alamogordo/496821002/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.943513 | 725 | 1.882813 | 2 |
The Rev. Greggory L. Brown, a 59-year-old pastor of a small Lutheran church, committed himself to ministry and a life pursuing social justice on April 4, 1968 — the day the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was slain by an assassin’s bullet.
And four years ago, like so many African-Americans around the country, he saw Barack Obama’s rise to the presidency as nothing short of a shocking validation of Dr. King’s vision of a more perfect union, where the content of character trumps the color of skin. “I was so excited when he was giving that first inauguration speech,” said Mr. Brown, of Oakland, Calif. “I could feel it in my bones.”
On Monday, when President Obama places his hand on Dr. King’s personal Bible to take a second, ceremonial oath of office, he will be symbolically linking himself to the civil rights hero. But Mr. Brown, along with other African-Americans interviewed recently, said their excitement would be laced with a new expectation, that Mr. Obama move to the forefront of his agenda the issues that Dr. King championed: civil rights and racial and economic equality.
The new issue of the Monthly has an extensive series of articles on the continuing legacy of slavery and Jim Crow and what can be done–sometimes with more, sometimes with less race-consciousness–to combat it in areas ranging from housing to education to health care to criminal justice to the economy.
No one can expect Obama to pursue all these avenues of racial progress against generally united Republican opposition. But there is a potential agenda that simultaneously addresses racial inequality while reflecting a strategy of what Simon van Zuylen-Wood calls “targeted universalism”–which is perhaps necessary for America’s first African-American president. It’s probably worth remembering at this moment that Martin Luther King, Jr.’s great accomplishment was to make the plight of his people in the Jim Crow South and the informally segregated North a concern of all Americans by simply asking the country to live up to its own much-proclaimed universal values. The question is whether a re-elected Barack Obama can do the same, or instead preside over an administration of some great accomplishments but too many lost opportunities. | <urn:uuid:cc1e0969-d89d-42e3-9bd3-d55101c8dc53> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://washingtonmonthly.com/2013/01/21/obama-mlk-and-the-continuing-dilemma-of-the-first-black-president/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571222.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810222056-20220811012056-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.956499 | 478 | 2.453125 | 2 |
In this week's Monday Briefing, MEI experts Allen Keiswetter, Gerald Feierstein, Eran Etzion, and Randa Slim provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including this week's G-20 Summit, the ongoing G.C.C. crisis, Indian PM Narendra Modi's visit to Israel, and the Astana talks on Syria.
Middle East to Loom Large at G-20 Summit
Allen Keiswetter, MEI Scholar
Though not an item on the plenary agenda at the G-20 summit July 7-8 in Hamburg, the Middle East will likely loom large in the bilateral conversations. Foremost is President Donald Trump’s first ever meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. While the White House says the agenda is “going to be whatever the president wants to talk about,” the Russians expect the meeting to bring “clarity” to U.S.-Russian relations. Among Middle East issues, Syria clearly tops the list needing clarity. Ideally, the two presidents would establish a basis for broader cooperation, but at a minimum they should deal with indications that Syria is preparing to use chemical weapons again, and U.S.-Russian differences about de-confliction.
Two Middle East states will be attending summit—Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Trump is likely to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to discuss the Saudi-led campaign against Qatar. Given the varying approaches of the White House and the State and Defense Departments, this is an opportunity to show a unified U.S. policy. Trump may also take up differences over Syria and Qatar in a pull aside with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Neither Saudi Arabia nor Turkey is likely to ease U.S. isolation on the major G-20 plenary discussion of the Paris accords.
On the eve of the president’s departure, vying White House factions are striving to let Trump be Trump, while cabinet departments and the intelligence community seek to avoid missteps as occurred when Trump met with Lavrov in May.
U.S. Position on Gulf Crisis Still Muddled
Gerald Feierstein, Director of Gulf Affairs and Government Relations
On a brief visit to Kuwait, July 3, Qatar’s foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrehman al-Thani, delivered Qatar’s formal response to the 13 demands levied by Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., Bahrain, and Egypt. Although details of the Qatari response were not made public, the foreign minister had previously indicated that the demands were “designed to be rejected.” In a June 29 meeting in Washington with journalists and regional experts, Sheikh Mohammed elaborated that Doha would consider any claims made by the other four, but would not accept any infringement on its sovereignty. He asserted that the demands were more focused on shutting down media outlets and restricting Qatari citizenship than on claims that Qatar abetted terrorist groups or extremists.
While agreeing to a Kuwaiti request to extend their deadline until July 5, the Group of Four continued to ratchet up the pressure on Qatar. The foreign ministers announced they will meet in Cairo on Wednesday to consider their next steps, and warned that a Qatari rejection of their demands would result in further sanctions. Meanwhile, the four states rejected claims that their embargo violates W.T.O. rules citing provisions related to national security. In Egypt, authorities arrested the daughter and son-in-law of Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a principal figure in the stand-off with Qatar, charging them with membership in a terrorist organization.
Meanwhile, the U.S. response to the ongoing crisis remains muddled. In separate July 2 calls to Saudi, Emirati, and Qatari leaders, President Donald Trump reiterated that his twin priorities are the cessation of terror financing and safeguarding Gulf unity. Previously, Sheikh Mohammed expressed satisfaction with his June 27 meeting with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, claiming that Tillerson agreed that the demands levied on Doha were unrealistic. Nevertheless, earlier Qatari hopes that Washington would play a more assertive role in bringing the crisis to a resolution appear unmet. Kuwait has once again emerged as the primary mediator in efforts to end the crisis with Washington cheering from the sidelines.
Indian PM on Historic Israel Visit
Eran Etzion, MEI Scholar
Narendra Modi is the first ever Indian prime minister to visit Israel. What has always prevented such a visit was the unbridgeable conflict of interests India saw between its major Arab and Muslim partners on the one hand, and the small Jewish state on the other. The visit therefore signifies a watershed in India’s fundamental grasp of global and regional realities. From its longstanding non-aligned position, India is moving toward a more agile strategic posture, less dependent on traditional ways and driven by growing economic needs and capabilities.
For Israel, the importance of the visit is concrete and symbolic in several ways. It proves—if such a proof is still needed—that the country has become a “must visit” for any global leader, mainly due to its remarkable hi-tech and agro-tech industries. It also demonstrates the weakening of Israel’s traditional enemies, i.e. the Arab states, almost all of which are in various stages of decline. It is intriguing to think about the triangle of U.S.-India-Israel relations, especially vis-a-vis China. Will stronger ties in this triangle be perceived negatively by the Chinese?
And lastly, not coincidentally, the Palestinians. They have already protested the fact that Modi is not paying a parallel visit to Ramallah, against Indian and international diplomatic protocol. Unfortunately for the Palestinians, It appears that the new India cares more about hard new currency than old political dogmas and sympathies.
Astana Talks Enter Fifth Round
Randa Slim, Director of the Initiative for Track II Dialogues
Amidst continued violence in Syria, a fifth round of the Astana talks is set of convene July 4-5. At their last meeting in May, which was attended by a senior U.S. official, Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed on establishing four de-escalation zones in Syria in Idlib, Homs, Eastern Ghouta, and Daraa. This meeting was preceded by talks in Jordan involving U.S., Russian and Jordanian officials discussing a de-escalation zone in southwest Syria on the border with Jordan.
According to Russian defense officials, the July discussions will focus on defining the boundaries of the de-escalation zones, implementation mechanisms by the three guarantor countries—Russia, Turkey and Iran—as well as issues related to the establishment of a new Syrian national reconciliation committee.
Whether or not this round of Astana talks will succeed in imposing a cease-fire, where previous rounds have failed, depends on whether Russia succeeds this time in committing Iran, the Syrian regime and their allied militias to the cease-fire. Without a sustained cease-fire, there is no pathway to conflict de-escalation and management in Syria.
Yet the Syrian president vows to continue the fight until he recaptures every inch of Syria. There is no indication to-date that Iran does not share Assad’s grandiose objective. Only Moscow can push Tehran to put the brakes on Assad’s ambitions. And Russia will not do this heavy lifting with Iran without an agreement with the United States on Syria, and other issues that divide the two world powers.
The Middle East Institute (MEI) is an independent, non-partisan, non-for-profit, educational organization. It does not engage in advocacy and its scholars’ opinions are their own. MEI welcomes financial donations, but retains sole editorial control over its work and its publications reflect only the authors’ views. For a listing of MEI donors, please click here. | <urn:uuid:a8de45c1-2521-4a9d-b86a-4b5c93a48a09> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://mei.edu/publications/monday-briefing-g-20-summit-gulf-crisis-modi-israel-astana-talks | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.94658 | 1,608 | 1.671875 | 2 |
The U.S. banking industry has come out strongly against the idea of using bank supervision and disclosure mandates to influence capital allocation or other policies that the industry sees as unrelated. In a June 23 letter to Congress and regulators, the American Bankers Association argued that environmental and social risks are already accounted for under the current rules and bank practices that assess and mitigate all types of risks.
The ABA’s plea came in response to a recent Securities and Exchange Commission proposal to mandate all U.S. companies to measure and disclose publicly both carbon emissions and other climate-related risks that could have a material impact on their businesses.
I agree with the ABA that disclosure rules are not neutral and that targeting corporate behavior with disclosure can often be pernicious and hence requires careful analysis.
But the ABA is wrong as far as climate disclosures are concerned, because greenhouse-gas emissions are an externality with major societal consequences. Given that a carbon tax is at present politically infeasible, greater disclosure is a welcome step in addressing the corporate sector’s role in climate change. The SEC is also right to consider that climate risk can have significant financial implications for companies including banks, and that investors need more data on these risks to make informed investment decisions.
Banks would be among the chief beneficiaries of greater disclosure. For one thing, they would obtain data they need to assess relevant climate risks of their clients and to allocate capital accordingly. In addition, better information on the carbon footprints of firms in portfolios could help banks attract environmentally conscious investors and customers.
In fact, the SEC’s proposal is too cautious in that it applies only to SEC registrants. It would not reach private companies, which rely heavily on bank finance. Thus, banks also require data about private firms in order to allocate capital effectively. Knowing their carbon emissions would help in assessing private firms’ exposures to future climate policies.
Moreover, limiting the mandate to public firms will open up an opportunity for regulatory arbitrage. Not only could private companies emit without consequence, but we could unwittingly encourage the movement of polluting behavior from publicly listed companies to private ones — for example, by going private or by public companies selling heavy carbon-emitting assets to private counterparts. That is why we should also require private companies to report their carbon emissions. It does not matter whether emissions come from private companies or public corporations. Either way, society pays for the associated climate damages.
To be clear, I am proposing that private companies should be required to disclose carbon emissions only, not the broader climate-related risks to their businesses, an extension that would take us further toward financial reporting for private firms, which is a separate matter. The SEC has traditionally shied away from mandating greater transparency for private companies, among other things, because they attract more sophisticated investors, rather than the retail investors whom the SEC is committed to protecting.
Clearly, requiring all but the smallest companies to report their carbon emissions would help us better measure emissions by the corporate sector. Private companies are an increasingly important part of the U.S. economy, and often large and well established. So, exempting them would give us an incomplete picture of the emissions landscape. A disclosure requirement would likely also spur emissions reductions and green innovation. Academic studies conducted for the U.K. and the U.S. estimate that the disclosure mandates for greenhouse-gas emissions led to a reduction in corporate carbon emissions by 8% to 15%.
I also suspect that private companies are more open to disclosing information on their emissions than on their financials. Firm-level carbon-emission data are not very revealing or proprietary. The private companies to which I talk tell me they are much more open to the idea of disclosing information on sustainability and ESG matters than they are willing to report their profits.
The banking sector has a critical role to play in the transition to a lower-carbon economy, considering it supplies much of the external funding to private companies. The capital-allocation decisions taken by financial institutions determine to what extent green investments are able to secure financing, and at what cost. In aggregate, these funding decisions shape the economy. Providing financial institutions with comprehensive data on greenhouse-gas emissions would enable them to consider the carbon footprints of public and private companies in their lending decisions.
In Europe, this idea is used more formally. The European Union has enlisted banks in its efforts to meet the objectives of the Paris agreement and the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals. Since banks will play a critical role in steering the transition to a lower-carbon economy, the EU has, for example, mandated a certain proportion of banks’ portfolios to be invested in green activities. These steps go much further than what the SEC is proposing or the disclosure mandate that I envision.
Another important consideration is that disclosures are costly, especially to smaller private firms or banks, so the smallest firms should be exempt. While details of the mandate will need to be hammered out, a reporting requirement need not necessarily place a huge extra burden on companies. Two ideas could help make sure the system is relatively straightforward and avoids “double counting” of emissions by different companies.
First, an emissions-reporting regime should require companies to disclose only “Scope 1” emissions, meaning the emissions they produce and control directly. To keep things simple, and transparent, companies should report gross emissions before any offsets.
Secondly, it is very important that emissions are verified and audited by a third party. To keep costs down, the U.S. could adopt an “accept or explain” approach, where companies are given an estimate for their Scope 1 carbon emissions based on an accepted third-party model that considers their size, industry and other relevant factors. A company is then free to accept this estimate and disclose it, or it can replace it with its own measurements with appropriate documentation and verification.
Climate change is too pressing an issue to allow the emissions of large swathes of the U.S. economy to go unseen. If we are to build an accurate picture of the emissions profile of U.S. businesses, we cannot leave such a large hole in our system of measurement.
Mandatory disclosure will not solve the climate crisis in itself. But it is a necessary first step to addressing it. Greater disclosure will shed more light on the subsidies that companies currently receive from society and nature by emitting carbon freely. It should also enable creative forces to think about potential solutions. That sort of innovation will make business more efficient, harness technology and place U.S. companies on a path to sustainable profitability.
Some would say that banks should focus exclusively on providing returns to shareholders. But even then, the SEC’s proposal would help banks avoid investing in companies that may incur a large regulatory burden in the future, as well as those that risk customer or investor boycotts. From that perspective alone, banks should welcome greater disclosure. And for their own benefit, they should push for a level playing field between public and private companies for reporting emissions. | <urn:uuid:9303fd15-9f86-4181-9dbf-78f4c6ed1d87> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://epic.uchicago.edu/insights/emissions-reporting-could-help-banks-allocate-capital-more-effectively/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571222.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810222056-20220811012056-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.958751 | 1,430 | 1.992188 | 2 |
Over forty years ago in the small Massachusetts town where I grew up, there was a fire that killed a crew of roofers. A friend of mine lost his father in that tragedy. A five-man crew was on a four-story roof applying tar and ballast when a sudden explosion erupted from the first floor automobile garage below. There was no second exit and no job ladders tall enough to reach the roof. The davit and well wheel used to hoist materials had slipped its rope and was too near the garage to be useful. Fed by the flammable liquids, the fire spread with amazing speed. In the time it took the volunteer fire department to respond, the roof was enveloped by an oily black smoke. When rescuers reached the roof minutes later, the deck was totally consumed and the construction workers lost. A later investigation suggested that most had died attempting to reach the ground by way of the stairs. The small town was stricken with a paralytic sadness. The comments I heard were all similar: It was a chilling tragedy because nothing could be done to save them. Today I’m not so sure.
The Emergency Action PlanThe General Health and Safety provisions of the OSHA standard (1926.35(a)) mandate that every employer develop site-specific emergency measures in the form of an Emergency Action Plan (EAP). These plans “shall cover those designated actions employers and employees must take to ensure employee safety from fire and other emergencies.” Likewise, the General Duty Clause in the OSH Act states that the employer shall “Provide a safe and healthful workplace” free from conditions and acts that may prove hazardous to employees at any time. The written EAP must be kept at the workplace and made available to all employees for regularly scheduled review and revision.
The basic components of a written EAP for construction employers must minimally include:
1. A description of all emergency escape procedures and routes. Procedures should be specific to each work site and include alternate routes and areas to be avoided during particular emergencies (e.g., elevators in a fire). Alternate escape routes are less convenient evacuation paths often endowed with limited risks or controlled hazards (such as repel lines, aerial lifts, multiple staged portable ladders).
2. Any procedures to be followed by designated employees who may remain to operate necessary functions before evacuating themselves. These tasks may include deactivating operational equipment, securing hazardous materials, assisting in the evacuation of others, and providing critical first aid to the injured.
3. Procedures to initially and periodically account for all employees during and after emergency evacuation. Assign one or more employees to count heads and take roll call of various crews and sub-crews. Designate an evacuation assembly point. Have a procedure to relocate further to a safer location should the conditions worsen or the danger zone perimeter increase.
4. Specific emergency rescue and medical duties for those employees trained, equipped and designated (in writing) to perform them. At the least, have every job foreman trained in first aid and CPR. Extend training to include high and low-angle rope procedures for both self- and third-party rescues. When called for, train those employees who must work in hazmat areas for at least awareness-level Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response.
5. Detailed and preferred means of reporting emergencies to the employer and emergency responders. List primary emergency response numbers for each location. Also, initiating a “phone tree” after the initial 911 call has been placed frees your foreman to deal with emergency scene management.
6. The names, positions and duties of designated in-house emergency personnel (Competent Persons), who will either respond specifically during an emergency or be responsible for the design, maintenance and overall implementation of the EAP.
7. The emergency alarm system(s) to be used on the construction site.
Like any other plans we make, an EAP is imperfect and meant to change. We make mistakes. We forget things. Don’t be afraid to change your EAP. Perform a random mock drill incorporating these changes. Make sure it really works. The plan should be made to be redesigned to fit your workplace and your workforce.
Leadership Means Letting Trouble Find YouAlso consider that you should provide your employees with an immediate and suitable post-emergency corporate response. A genuine concern for the emotional health of stressed or injured surviving employees immediately and long after the smoke has cleared is extremely important to your firm’s future. Management’s leadership should be unquestioned and unlimited.
Corporate Should Mean ResponsibleAs our nation’s recent horrific loss of life and property due to terrorism has cruelly illustrated, it is not always possible for an employer to protect his or her employees from all dangers and hazards, especially when criminally and maliciously plotted to destroy life. But to remain unprepared, even under unprecedented circumstances, is unacceptable.
The responsibility for the life and safety of human beings at their place of work stops at the desk of the president, chairman or CEO. The most important feature of any EAP is the employer. His or her leadership must be clearly evident in every portion of emergency preparedness as well as emergency response. When designing your EAP, reestablish your corporate priorities. Place the physical and emotional well being of each of your employees ahead of your profit and market position.
In retrospect, almost all emergencies are, by definition, unimaginable. But whether caused by natural, accidental or manmade conditions, there is always something you can do to protect your employees. Back in 1956, there may have been little in the way of self-rescue equipment available to a roofer with only one means of access to his site. But a hundred feet of 3/4-inch manila rope soaking in a water bucket and leather gloves could have made all the difference to those men.
Today’s market is full of emergency safety devices. There are emergency escape respirators and smoke hoods, quick-donning mylar escape blankets and ponchos, kevlar escape harnesses, ropes, and emergency descenders. Even the widespread availability of aerial lifts up to 120 feet in the rental market makes rescue from an entrapping location a relatively easy event. No cost is too excessive if a life is spared. If you can prepare for your employees’ well being in almost any emergency with the conviction that being unprepared would be unconscionable, then your Emergency Action Plan and simulated rescue drills will be an example of corporate responsibility you can be proud of.
Make a commitment today to write a plan. Start off simply and build your EAP one job at a time. Deputize all of your workers, utilize all of their skills, encourage their input and before you know it, you’re miles down the road to saving lives and losses to those who matter most – your workers. | <urn:uuid:3476dc76-63ed-4354-86e6-420244e1f058> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.roofingcontractor.com/articles/84145-emergency-preparedness | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.956063 | 1,414 | 2.40625 | 2 |
What Next for Our NHS Heroes?
On Thursday 28th May 2020, at 8pm, Britain once again took to its streets, balconies, gardens and windows to show gratitude for our NHS. Since early March, the weekly display has grown in numbers, grown in volume and grown in meaning.
Our regular show of unity has reached its end, but for several minutes once a week, our usually deserted streets have sprung into life to show thanks to those who have gone above and very much beyond. In times of darkness, the world has looked for heroes. On Thursdays, we have been reminded that they’re all around us.
To all the doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, pharmacists, physios, OTs, ODPs, optometrists, carers, therapists, radiographers, cleaners, social workers, dieticians, health visitors, admin teams, district nurses, porters, podiatrists, kitchen staff, health care assistants, biomedical scientists. Thank you. Tens of millions of British people are inordinately proud and thankful.
Since the pandemic began, celebrities, businesses, charities, athletes, the wider public and even royalty have lined up to help. From volunteering, donating and fundraising, to free meals, free parking and even hotel rooms, millions of small acts of kindness have turned into one, big collective effort. Many initiatives have sprung up to help with the little things, such as cutting down queueing time at the supermarket. Rainbow paintings have been hung from windows across the nation by children who, despite not being able to comprehend the challenges and dangers we face, nonetheless know exactly who is looking out for us.
It’s been easy to feel useless, but in rallying around our health workers in any way possible, we’ve been reminded that we all have a role to play. No matter how bleak everything may seem, there are always good people doing good things.
So, what next? It’s clear that once this is all over, whenever that may be, our debt of gratitude must be repaid in even more meaningful ways.
As the extreme pressure on the NHS begins to ease, we are only now beginning to grasp what has been asked of our health service and its workers. Facing global pandemic, dwindling supplies of personal predictive equipment, traumatic working environments and immediate personal danger, it’s clear they deserve better.
If any lasting positive can come out of this, it’s knowing that we can never again allow such a vital public service to be neglected, undermined or unloved. Our reliance on it has shown there’s never been a better time to reassess the value of our health services and the importance of safeguarding them.
If the coronavirus outbreak has taught us one thing, it is that universally available health care, free at the point of delivery, is something worth fighting for. It’s also obvious that the NHS is filled with people whose worth needs to be far better recognised. We can’t go back to a world where we don’t invest in our public services, but expect our frontline services to protect us.
As Dr. Joel Schamoth wrote in The Guardian, crisis creates an opportunity for new beginnings and reinvention that is rarely possible during ordinary times. The current public health crisis and outpouring of social solidarity with the NHS present an incredible chance to reimagine how this magnificent yet flawed institution operates. in a few short months, Covid-19 has shown us that change is possible.
As reported in The Times, this crisis also represents a vital opportunity to make the NHS a better place to work. Wellbeing and mental health initiatives have sprung up overnight to support the Covid-19 response; a vital drive that must become embedded. Even more will be required to repair morale, which hit rock bottom long before Covid-19. Concerns over working conditions plague the health service. Pay has continued to fall in real terms and, along with burnout and exhaustion, we’ve seen an unprecedented turnover of frontline staff.
To make the NHS more effective, we cannot ignore politics. From privatisation to underfunding, our response to Covid-19 was compromised before it began. Going forward we must demand from our representative’s policies that no longer leave the service understaffed and overstretched.
This pandemic will leave a lasting legacy. The NHS can be either a health system diminished by the strain it was put under, or follow a different path, where we harness this crisis for positive change to ensure the NHS is transformed for the better.
ABL Recruitment team | <urn:uuid:a8a13d5e-5ef2-41b4-993d-a388d80c8097> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.ablrecruitment.com/what-next-for-our-nhs-heroes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.954867 | 950 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Production companies still struggle transforming their shopfloor operations into digitalized, decentralized networks of cyber-physical production systems (CPPS). This is due to the high complexity of these systems, making their effective and efficient design a difficult task leading to high risk and uncertainty. A number of recent studies have identified the lack of a suitable methodology for CPPS design as a major obstacle. Recommended extensions of current systems engineering methods include:
These issues have been declared in a 2018 Industry 4.0 study as “primary research needs” to be addressed by 2025, and establish the principal targets of the research proposed in DESTINY. The project follows an interdisciplinary approach that amalgamates methods from two separate disciplines: design thinking, including its foundations in the scientific study of design, and (cyber-physical) production systems. Such an approach is required as common design thinking techniques – such as collaborating and empathizing with customers/users, working in interdisciplinary teams, and rapidly producing tangible prototypes – cannot be easily mapped onto CPPS design due to its highly constrained technical environment and the different mindsets of systems engineers and design thinkers. DESTINY applies a rigorous scientific methodology to develop a framework and methods for CPPS design thinking, and to theoretically and empirically validate the results. The research will thus produce a theory and toolset for effectively and efficiently develop CPPS, helping to accelerate the digital transformation of the production industry. | <urn:uuid:ad090b65-58da-4f6b-8f35-173de492284e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.jku.at/institut-fuer-wirtschaftsinformatik-communications-engineering/forschung/forschungsprojekte/abgeschlossene-projekte/national-rd-destiny-design-thinking-for-cyber-physical-production-systems/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570793.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808092125-20220808122125-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.941593 | 287 | 2.125 | 2 |
Artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotechnology, semiconductors and automation
U.S. intelligence officials tasked with protecting advanced technology focus their attention on five key areas: artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotechnology, semiconductors and automation. The American site “Axios” writes this, recalling that China and Russia employ various legal and illegal methods to undermine and overcome the domination of the United States in these critical sectors. The success of these five cases, explain the sources of the intelligence heard by “Axios”, will determine “if America will remain the world’s first superpower or will be eclipsed by strategic competitorsThe National Counter-Intelligence and Security Center has launched a campaign to warn US companies and researchers of foreign intelligence threats in these areas, which the Chinese and Russian governments are targeting through international collaboration, talent recruitment and espionage.
Officials warn China has “the strength, talent and ambition” to overtake the United States in artificial intelligence over the next decade, which could dramatically exacerbate threats posed by cyber attacks and disinformation campaigns . Some foreign countries, according to US reports, are spending much more for quantum development than the United States, a fact that puts them in a better position to recruit talent even in the United States. Anyone who wins the race for quantum domination could jeopardize the economic and national security communications of other countries. Competition in the global bioeconomy has intensified in recent decades, as foreign countries have technology and intellectual property stolen in the United States. For example, the article highlights innovative technologies in genomics, which could be exploited for “surveillance and social repression”. The global nature of the currently disrupted semiconductor supply chain creates economic barriers that can be exploited by adversaries. The United States is extremely dependent on a Taiwanese company for key chip components, for example. Finally, the expansion of automation systems for military and civilian purposes presents a “growing attack surface for malicious cyber actors”, warns intelligence.
“Total travelaholic. Subtly charming zombie geek. Friend of animals everywhere. Music buff. Explorer. Tv junkie.” | <urn:uuid:c7ca6c5d-8295-45cc-a184-f13fd9bcb04d> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://thedailyposts.net/use-axios-intelligence-identifies-5-key-sectors-for-the-protection-of-advanced-technologies/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.91388 | 433 | 2.390625 | 2 |
ISLAMABAD: The government confirmed on Wednesday that its allegation about a foreign conspiracy against the prime minister was based on a diplomatic cable received from one of the country’s missions abroad.
At a rally in Islamabad on Sunday, Prime Minister Imran Khan claimed that the opposition’s no-confidence motion against him was a result of a “foreign conspiracy” because of his external policy and funds were being channelled from abroad to oust him from power.
Though he did not initially provide specific details about the threatening letter, he subsequently opened up a bit because of critics doubting his claim. The government initially offered to share the letter with the chief justice of Pakistan, but later the prime minister also briefed his cabinet members about the contents of the letter.
In view of the legal bar on disclosing classified documents, a group of journalists were then provided with minutes of the cabinet meeting at their interaction with the prime minister.
State Department says no US government agency or official sent letter to Pakistan
No foreign government was named in that meeting, but the media persons were informed that a Pakistani envoy was told by a senior official of the host country that they had issues with Prime Minister Khan’s foreign policy, especially his visit to Russia and the stance on the ongoing Ukrainian war.
The Pakistani envoy was further conveyed that the future trajectory of relations between the two countries was contingent upon the fate of the no-confidence motion that the opposition parties were then planning to bring against the prime minister. The envoy was warned of serious implications if Prime Minister Khan survived the no-trust vote.
The cable was reportedly sent on March 7, a day before the opposition submitted the no-confidence motion and requisitioned a National Assembly session for voting on it.
Meanwhile, it has separately emerged that the cable was sent by Pakistan’s then ambassador to United States Asad Majeed on the basis of his meeting with Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu.
Ambassador Majeed has now moved to Brussels for taking up his new assignment and has been replaced by Ambassador Masood Khan.
Contradictory claims have emerged from Islamabad and Washington about the meeting between Ambassador Majeed and Lu after PM Khan’s claim.
A senior Pakistani official told Dawn the language used in the meeting by the American side was unusually harsh.
Meanwhile, Americans deny in private discussions that any specific message was delivered to the Pakistani envoy.
It is a well-known fact that the administration of US President Joe Biden was uneasy with Mr Khan’s trip to Moscow that coincided with the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
US State Department had publicly voiced those concerns and both sides acknowledge that there had also been a communication between them ahead of Mr Khan’s Moscow trip in which an attempt was made to dissuade him from undertaking the visit.
Later on March 1, Islamabad-based Western diplomats had also issued a statement, urging the Pakistani government to condemn the Russian attack on Ukraine and support a resolution in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) calling on Moscow to stop the war.
Pakistan went on to abstain in the UNGA vote and demanded that the conflict be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.
The other issue the Americans reportedly had was with Mr Khan’s foreign policy.
A couple of Pakistan’s former envoys to the United States told Dawn American officials usually did not brandish threats during official meetings though their tone would vary from situation to situation.
Besides, countries routinely keep expressing displeasure or concern over others’ actions in bilateral engagements.
They said that even if threats were made in extreme situations, that was done in a subtle manner and, more importantly, a plausible deniability is maintained. “They will certainly not do so in the presence of note takers,” one of them quipped.
The two former ambassadors further observed that under PM Khan, the fundamentals of foreign policy had not changed except that he was more vocal. Therefore, it was difficult to understand why they would have an issue with his policy now, they maintained, adding that Islamabad had not threatened US interests either.
Interestingly, there were no signs of a rupture or new tensions in ties until Mr Khan went public with the threat.
Islamabad hosted Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya for the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers meeting held last week.
After a meeting with Ms Zeya, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi tweeted: “Bilaterally, Pakistan has a longstanding relationship with the US and we believe a regular and structured dialogue process [was important] to promoting our bilateral and shared regional objectives. We look forward to commemorating Pak-US 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year.”
Even Ambassador Majeed thanked Mr Lu on Twitter for participation in an embassy event on March 16.
US diplomats in Islamabad were not demarched even after the disclosure.
A Western diplomat thinks that it has happened because someone had to be scapegoated for the current political crisis and there could have been no better option than the United States.
ANWAR IQBAL ADDS: Meanwhile,the US State Department said on Wednesday that no US government agency or official had sent a letter to Pakistan on the current political situation in the country.
Responding to questions from Dawn about the alleged letter and US involvement in the no-confidence motion against the PTI government, a State Department spokesperson said: “There is no truth to these allegations."
According to some diplomatic sources in Washington, the letter could be a diplomatic cable from Washington, drafted by a senior Pakistani diplomat. “The contents of the letter, apparently, are based on informal discussions between Pakistani and other officials,” one diplomatic source said.
“The contents, if correct, show a set of friendly officials from various countries indulging in some loud-thinking and probing. Nothing more,” the source added.
The sources said that such conversations often happened in capital cities around the world and diplomats often shared the contents of such conversations with authorities in their home countries.
“The purpose behind such cables is to keep your government informed. It’s no sign of a conspiracy against a government or a personality,” another diplomatic source said.
Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2022 | <urn:uuid:411c52a4-e82a-469f-a6df-c5fe96606e3e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.dawn.com/news/1682627/pm-discloses-contents-of-threat-letter?preview | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.976931 | 1,304 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Germany’s Weimar era has become synonymous with a certain kind of doomed glamour, an embodiment, almost, of the cliché, “Live fast, die young, and leave a beautiful corpse,” writ on a national scale. Born of the country’s defeat during World War I, the Weimar Republic was an all-too-brief experiment with democracy eventually done in by the political and economic chaos that created it. The Weimar years were characterized by a wholesale embrace of avant-garde aesthetics, especially in the Republic’s capital and cultural heart, Berlin. That milieu is brought back to life in this compact survey of paintings, drawings, prints, photos, posters and film snippets by a panoply of historical greats: George Grosz, Otto Dix, Max Beckmann, Hannah Höch and Fritz Lang, among many others. Stuffed into an overflowing installation spread across six smallish rooms, “Berlin Metropolis” is as dizzying as the zeitgeist it recalls.
By 1920, Berlin had grown into the second-largest city in the world, home to Albert Einstein, UFA studios (responsible for such cinematic masterpieces as Lang’s Metropolis) and Bertolt Brecht. The place, however, was also overrun with dispossessed veterans, brawling gangs of radical agitators on both the left and right and prostitutes.
This tumultuous landscape was a natural habitat for the anarchistic mischief of Dada, which began in Zurich before migrating to Berlin as the initial embodiment of Weimar Art.
Neue Galerie New York, the show’s only venue, begins the proceedings by evoking the emergence of Berlin Dada with a floor-to-ceiling display, dominated by a 2004 reconstruction of a pig-masked mannequin dressed as a German officer hanging overhead. Titled Prussian Archangel, this collaborative outrage between John Heartfield and Rudolf Schlichter served as the centerpiece for Berlin’s “First International Dada Fair” in 1920, one of Modernism’s seminal events. Just as in-your-face is Grosz’s Pandemonium from 1914, a spidery ink-on-paper depiction of Berlin descending into a melee of rape, murder and mayhem. Crazy-quilt collages by John Heartfield, Höch and Raoul Hausmann capture the centrifugal pull of the time. Elsewhere, the show delves into the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity), which married Precisionistic Realism with a jaded, world-weary outlook. Christian Schad’s haunting and sometimes unflinchingly erotic likenesses of women are exemplars of the style.
Not all of the show is downbeat. Parts of it cover women’s sexual freedom under Weimar, as well as the utopian architectural designs of Mies van der Rohe and Erich Mendelsohn. For some, at least, the future held possibilities. But ultimately, there’s no way to deny the future that followed, and indeed, much of Weimar Art is shadowed by a foreboding of the Republic’s ultimate end. Though Weimar survived an early stretch of hyperinflation to usher in a brief period of prosperity, the Great Depression sealed its fate. We all know the horror that followed. | <urn:uuid:aa8cb638-f972-474e-acb1-d9f3d943aa62> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/berlin-metropolis | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573744.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819161440-20220819191440-00465.warc.gz | en | 0.927851 | 705 | 2.15625 | 2 |
Regardless of where you live or how much you use it, your home’s septic system requires routine care and maintenance. If you’re like most homeowners, though, you might feel intimidated by the prospect of performing these necessary tasks.
That’s why it is important to plan out your routine maintenance in advance. That way, you have a plan that you can stick to, even if you have other home maintenance tasks to attend to.
If you’re in the process of planning septic system maintenance now, consider performing those jobs when fall rolls around in your area. That way, you can ensure that these important jobs are being done at least once a year before the winter’s cold arrives.
In this guide, you’ll learn all about the kinds of septic system maintenance to perform each and every autumn. These tasks range from a simple system flush to proactive steps for preventing winter weather from impacting your septic system’s performance.
No matter when you choose to complete these tasks, don’t wait any longer than necessary. A sub-par septic system can lead to all kinds of smelly and costly problems for your home’s plumbing, after all. In short, you should always be proactive when it comes to performing septic system maintenance – especially in the fall.
Septic System Fall Maintenance Checklist
Among the several seasons, fall is considered the best time to perform routine maintenance on your home’s septic system. In part, this is because many home’s see an increased demand on their septic system throughout the fall seasons. Folks are inside more and more, which means that they’re using their bathrooms much more often!
But more importantly, septic system maintenance in the fall allows you to pre-empt the environmental strain placed on a septic system in the winter. These environmental challenges can exacerbate underlying issues, causing an otherwise productive system to fail suddenly.
So, with this in mind, consider performing all of the following septic system maintenance tasks after fall has settled in your area. Each of these tasks will help decrease the likelihood of septic issues in the winter, as well as during the other seasons of the year.
Pump Your Tank
Far too often, busy homeowners forget to regularly pump out their septic tank. This can lead to all kinds of issues for your septic system. This includes a build-up of solid waste in the septic tank, which in turn can cause clogs and shorten the system’s life substantially.
So, making a habit of regularly pumping out your septic tank is a must. Many homeowners choose to pump out their tank at the same time every year to ensure that it becomes a habit (although the EPA suggests you only need to it every 3-5 years). No matter your cadence, the arrival of fall in your area could easily be used as a reminder of this all-important maintenance task.
However, pumping your tank in the fall is more than just easy to remember. As it turns out, needing to pump your septic tank in the winter is very challenging.
This is because the winter’s cold can make the ground around your septic system very dense. This, along with the presence of snow, can make the whole system hard to access.
So, it is best to be proactive and pump your septic tank in the fall. Otherwise, you may be stuck with the expensive and troublesome task of accessing your tank for pumping during the upcoming winter.
Check and Fix Leaks
Leaky faucets and plumbing in the home are never an enjoyable experience (or for outdoor fountains, as we covered in other guides!) After all, they tend to cause excessive water waste and can become costly in turn when your monthly water bill arrives.
As such, you should fix them as soon as they arise within your in-home plumbing. However, if you’ve been putting off these repairs, the fall is a great time to complete them. Your septic system will thank you for this proactive approach.
That’s because leaks in your home’s plumbing present an opportunity for faults in your overall septic system. After all, a single small leak in an in-home pipe could freeze over when winter temperatures roll in. Any freezing of this kind could then cause one of your septic-connected pipes to burst, which is smelly disaster most homeowners would like to avoid.
Even without the threat of pipe freezing, plumbing fixture leaks can overtax your septic systems capacity. As such, it is best to stop plumbing leaks in your home before they have an opportunity to harm your home’s septic system.
Prepare Wintering Insulation
Believe it or not, your septic system can grow cold over the winter months. But you don’t need to bring it any blankets; instead, you’ll need to plan ahead so that it is protected by a natural blanket of grass.
To be specific, you should plan to grow the grass over your septic field extra-long during the late fall months. If possible, you should grow out said grass as much as an extra 6 inches beyond your lawn’s regular height.
This extra grass acts as an insulator for the septic equipment buried below. This can reduce the chance of freezing in turn.
However, if growing out your grass extra is not an option, you can also spread mulch over the breadth of your septic field’s area. In most cases, an even 8 inches of mulch over that area can trap enough heat underground to prevent freezing – even with snow on the ground.
Plan for Water Efficiency
As noted above, water efficiency is very important to a functional septic system. In fact, the US EPA says that it can make a major difference in the life of your septic system.
So, with that in mind, fall may be a good time to upgrade your home’s water efficiency. Leaks aside, this kind of upgrade should be chiefly focused on upgrading old appliances that use a lot of water. Washing machines and toilets are prime examples, as are shower-heads and faucets.
Regardless of which appliances you replace, be on the lookout for EnergyStar certified models. These often offer great operational efficiency, including the volume of water they use on average.
By decreasing the amount of water your home uses, you effectively reduce the strain put on your septic system. This in turn makes it less likely that the system will encounter problems between routine maintenance checks.
While these water efficiency improvements could be made in any season, you may as well keep them in mind while performing your other fall-time septic system maintenance tasks. That way, you can be sure that your home and its septic system are positioned for a safe, productive winter. | <urn:uuid:4ccfa3ee-ffd8-4f1c-8292-cb0abd543570> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://captainpatio.com/fall-maintenance-for-septic | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.949797 | 1,418 | 1.515625 | 2 |
In most cases, Oklahoma Disaster Restoration can dispatch our trained personnel to your site within 60 minutes. We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
We are usually able to dry structures in 3-4 days, though some jobs require more time.
Your insurance policy dictates the terms of your coverage. Although policies differ, in most cases, insurance covers the cost to remedy your property damage.
We recommend that you hire a professional team to clean up fire and smoke residue rather than cleaning it yourself. Smoke is dangerous to inhale, and our team has the proper equipment and expertise to adequately handle the damage.
Even a small water leak can cause major damage to your home if left unaddressed. If you’ve noticed a leak, take these steps immediately:
There are numerous causes of water damage ranging from torrential rainstorms to pipe leaks. If your home has suffered water damage, it is crucial that you identify the root cause of the problem to prevent similar issues from arising in the future. This is why it’s so important to schedule a visit from a water damage cleanup expert who has the knowledge and tools to identify and fix the problem quickly.
Repairing your home after a flood is more complicated than it might seem at first. If the water damage is extensive, your property may need extensive repairs to the foundation, framing, walls, and floors.
Mold growth can also damage your home after a flood. Mold flourishes in moist areas, so it’s a primary concern after any water damage. At ODR, our team can assist with water damage cleanup, dehumidification, and mold remediation. We can also help with restoring water-damaged possessions.
Mold tends to grow in warm, dry, and dark places. It can grow on just about any material.
After water damage, mold often grows at the damage site, which may be behind walls or on a leaky pipe. However, airborne spores released by mold can travel throughout your home and cause outbreaks in other areas. This is why mold remediation and dehumidification are so important after a flood.
Your crawlspace is the area beneath your home where contractors access your plumbing and wiring systems. In the event of a leak or flood, gravity has the effect of drawing excess water down into the crawlspace. Since this area is never exposed to sunlight, the excess dampness can lead to mold growth.
Calling in a water damage expert from Oklahoma Disaster Restoration is particularly important if your crawlspace has been flooded. A fast response is crucial for mitigating the structural damage and preventing mold growth.
When an ODR water damage technician arrives to your home, the first step will be stopping the source of the water damage. Your technician will then inspect the damage, test for mold growth, and create a remediation plan. This plan may involve water extraction, mold remediation, drying and dehumidification, basic cleanup, and structural repairs.
It is common for homeowners to think that fire damage was confined to one room—only to find out a few days later that the smell and residue of smoke has traveled throughout their home, even in areas where the flames did not spread.
As smoke travels, its residue clings to soft surfaces such as curtains, bedding, and carpet. It can also cover your roof and walls. This residue is actually unspent fuel and sets the foundation for a subsequent fire. To ensure that your home is entirely free of smoke residue, it’s important that you contact a professional remediation crew like Oklahoma Disaster Restoration rather than simply trying to identify all affected areas yourself.
If your home sustained major fire or smoke damage, follow these steps:
1. Relocate Your Family Temporarily: Fire-damaged homes are often structurally unstable, so you should relocate your family until you know the extent of the damage. Due to lingering smoke residue, a subsequent fire could ignite, so it’s important that you get your family out of harm’s way.
2. File a Homeowner’s Insurance Claim: Submit a written notice to your homeowner’s insurance company as soon as possible. If you wait too long, your insurer might dispute your claim.
3. Call Oklahoma Disaster Restoration: Our fire damage team will help you secure the area and avoid subsequent fires due to smoke residue. We will evaluate the damage and give you a transparent estimate on the cost of repairs. We can also help you file a claim with your homeowner’s insurance company.
The first step in fire damage remediation is to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the destruction. An inspector from ODR will identify all areas of your home that have been affected, create a detailed remediation plan, and explain what will be necessary to restore your home to its pre-fire condition.
Every home is different, and no two fires are the same. The process of restoring your home will depend on the size of the fire, the specific rooms affected, and the structure of your home (wiring, plumbing, windows, HVAC system, tiling, and mechanical systems).
If you contact Oklahoma Disaster Restoration, we will handle every aspect of your fire damage remediation—from the initial assessment to the insurance claim to the repairs. However, if you only consult a general contractor, you might need to bring in specialized teams for smoke residue cleanup, damage assessments, and other aspects of the restoration process.
Fire and smoke cleanup is not a do-it-yourself project. Even if your home did not sustain major structural damage, specific tools and techniques are necessary to remove smoke residue. If you make an oversight, a subsequent fire could start, and your insurance company might dispute your claim, arguing that your own negligence was a contributing factor. It’s always best to contact Fire Damage restoration experts like Oklahoma Disaster Restoration.
It is important that the restoration process begins as soon as possible to minimize the overall cost of repairs. At ODR, we understand the importance of restoring your home to its pre-fire condition quickly. Our team will arrive promptly and give you a realistic timeline for repairs before the restoration process begins.
Yes. Mold spreads by releasing spores into the air, which can contribute to serious health complications. Besides causing eye and skin irritation, spores can be inhaled and cause allergic reactions and respiratory illness, which can be deadly for people with weak immune systems such as infants and the elderly. Inhaled mold spores can also cause asthma attacks.
Symptoms of an allergic reaction to mold include sneezing, a runny nose, itchy red eyes, and skin rashes. Worsening asthma symptoms are also an adverse reaction to mold. Make a call to a Mold Remediation company like Oklahoma Disaster Restoration if you think you have a mold issue.
Look out for water stains or visible mold growth in areas where a water leak has occurred. This is common on roofs, pipes, ceilings, and walls. Mold is particularly fond of dark, cool, and damp areas such as basements. Mold is often first identified by its musty smell.
If you believe there’s a mold outbreak in your home, it’s important that you act quickly to prevent it from spreading to other rooms. A fast response could make the remediation process much easier and less expensive. To schedule a mold inspection from an expert technician, contact Oklahoma Disaster Restoration today at 918-992-4ODR.
Even if mold cannot be seen or smelled, it can still be detected through air sampling. This provides details about the mold spores themselves: how many there are, where they’re growing, and what type of mold they are.
Yes. Mold can grow on just about any type of material as long as there’s enough moisture in the air. It often causes stains and structural damage—especially behind walls where mold often goes unnoticed for a significant amount of time.
The best way to prevent the growth of mold in your home is to control the environment. Keep the humidity level between 40 percent and 60 percent. Make sure damp places have sufficient ventilation, and use exhaust fans in areas that are likely to collect heat and moisture such as your bathrooms and kitchen.
Unfortunately, since mold only requires a small amount of moisture to grow, you could take all of these steps and still fall victim to an outbreak.
If you believe mold is growing in your home, or if you recently suffered water damage and you want to take steps to prevent mold growth, contact Oklahoma Disaster Restoration. Call 918-992-4ODR today to schedule a visit from a mold remediation specialist.
Our technicians are trained in reconstruction services for perils such as fire, water, sewer, mold, bio-hazard. Our company has invested in state of the art technology, staff and equipment for reconstructing your home to its original or better state. a
©2021 Oklahoma Disaster Restoration
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Tulsa, OK 74145
Serving areas in and around Northeast Oklahoma and Tulsa | <urn:uuid:a4d4bb4d-cca2-41a8-b5fd-70aa69bafbe8> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://okdisaster.com/resources/faqs/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.948104 | 1,865 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Velodyne Lidar, Inc. (Nasdaq: VLDR, VLDRW) and College of Nevada, Renos Nevada Center for Utilized Exploration these days revealed a white paper that demonstrates lidar sensors means to make transportation infrastructure far more productive, sustainable and protected. The white paper stories effects of analysis using Velodynes lidar sensors to enhance website traffic analytics, maximize pedestrian protection, reduce accidents and work towards facilitated use of autonomous vehicles.
Velodyne is excited to supply lidar technology for units that safeguard pedestrians at town intersections and lessen targeted traffic mishaps. We have a synergistic connection with the College of Nevada, Reno, which is conducting cooperative exploration to even more the improvement of safety options at the infrastructure amount employing sensible technology. This white paper is significant to explain our collaborative operate for the protection and properly-getting of city communities, said Marta Corridor, Chief Promoting Officer at Velodyne.
The white paper, known as Roadside Lidar Assisting to Construct Clever and Secure Transportation Infrastructure, can be downloaded right here. Also available is a movie referred to as Good Towns: Enhancing Mobility, Accessibility and Safety with Sensor Technology, which can be seen right here. The video clip seems at how lidar can be a catalyst for good city programs that increase public products and services and enrich safety and excellent of lifetime.
In accordance to the investigation agency Markets and Markets, the Smart Transportation Procedure (ITS) market place for roadways is expected to develop from USD 17.9 billion in 2020 to USD 36.5 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 15.3 percent. This progress can be attributed to enhanced pedestrian basic safety concerns, escalating traffic congestion challenges and wise metropolis developments close to the earth.
The paper showcases analysis done by the University of Nevada, Renos Nevada Heart for Applied Investigate, in conjunction with the Regional Transportation Fee of Washoe County, Regional Transportation Fee of Southern Nevada and the Nevada Division of Transportation. The challenge has deployed Velodynes Ultra Puck lidar sensors with targeted visitors indicators in real-globe test environments, known as Residing Laboratories, in Reno and Henderson, and sponsored by the Nevada Governors Place of work of Economic Improvement. It leveraged the details captured with Velodynes sensors to support boost traffic analytics, congestion management and pedestrian security.
The task validated the feasibility of making use of roadside lidar sensors to present substantial-precision, multimodal website traffic trajectories by testing with different sensors, deployment procedures and targeted visitors eventualities. It demonstrated that roadside lidar info can assistance connected-and-autonomous autos (CAV), boost site visitors mobility and security analysis and integrate with present traffic infrastructure for automatic pedestrian/wildlife warning.
The project also achieved profitable implementation of lidar-centered automatic rectangular speedy flash beacons (RRFB), which unlike standard RRFB, not only serve the crosswalk space but offer several further features. These include things like site visitors general performance information selection, jaywalk event recording and supporting infrastructure to serve CAVs and connected non-motorist roadway people.
Until finally just lately, existing digicam-centered ITS targeted traffic monitoring systems have been widely applied to examine traffic stream premiums, occupancy, average velocity and place pace. Nonetheless, as alternate sensors occur onto the industry, the weaknesses of camera-based mostly techniques grow to be far more evident. For case in point, cameras have been demonstrated to endure in minimal-gentle situations, are prone to optical illusions and do not enable for peoples privacy. It is predicted that lidar will participate in a pivotal position in the growth of the ITS market place mainly because lidar sensors deliver sturdy 3D information that lets for excellent object detection and tracking in a vast wide variety of lighting and temperature problems though preserving anonymity and believe in among the public.
The white paper captures how lidar technological know-how can be the catalyst for a revolutionary details adjust that will effect transportation preparing and techniques, and prepare our roadways for the future, claimed Carlos Cardillo, Director, Nevada Heart for Utilized Research. Velodyne sensors are powering ˜lidar-increased roadways that tackle roadway congestion checking and around-crash investigation. They are also enabling knowledge communications with linked vehicles to assistance eco-generate and collision avoidance purposes.
The Nevada Middle for Utilized Exploration is conducting visionary clever towns exploration that can aid substantially make improvements to targeted visitors protection and mitigate roadway potential risks, claimed Jon Barad, Vice President of Business enterprise Development, Velodyne Lidar. Their function obviously demonstrates Velodynes lidar sensors are completely ready these days to support construct smarter, safer transportation infrastructure.
About Velodyne Lidar
Velodyne Lidar (Nasdaq: VLDR, VLDRW) ushered in a new era of autonomous know-how with the invention of actual-time surround watch lidar sensors. Velodyne is the to start with general public pure-play lidar firm and is regarded throughout the world for its wide portfolio of breakthrough lidar technologies. Velodynes groundbreaking sensor and application remedies offer flexibility, quality and efficiency to meet the desires of a vast array of industries, including autonomous autos, advanced driver assistance programs (ADAS), robotics, unmanned aerial motor vehicles (UAV), intelligent metropolitan areas and safety. Through continuous innovation, Velodyne strives to remodel life and communities by advancing safer mobility for all. For far more facts, visit www.velodynelidar.com.
Ahead Looking Statements
This push launch contains “forward hunting statements” within just the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Personal Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 together with, devoid of limitation, all statements other than historic truth and involve, without limitation, statements relating to Velodynes concentrate on markets, new merchandise, growth attempts, levels of competition. When utilised in this press launch, the terms “estimates,” “projected,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “forecasts,” “plans,” “intends,” “believes,” “seeks,” “may,” “will,” can, “should,” “future,” “propose” and variants of these terms or comparable expressions (or the adverse versions of these kinds of phrases or expressions) are supposed to determine ahead-hunting statements. These forward-seeking statements are not assures of foreseeable future performance, circumstances or final results and contain a range of recognised and not known risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other essential variables, several of which are exterior Velodyne’s regulate, that could result in genuine effects or outcomes to differ materially from those people reviewed in the ahead-seeking statements. Crucial components, among many others, that may well have an impact on real success or results consist of Velodyne’s capacity to manage progress Velodyne’s capacity to execute its enterprise prepare uncertainties associated to the means of Velodyne’s buyers to commercialize their products and the ultimate industry acceptance of these products the unsure effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on Velodyne’s and its customers’ organizations uncertainties related to Velodyne’s estimates of the dimension of the marketplaces for its products and solutions uncertainties with regards to govt regulation and adoption of lidar for pedestrian protection, targeted traffic congestion and sensible city programs the amount and degree of current market acceptance of Velodyne’s goods the good results of other competing lidar and sensor-associated merchandise and companies that exist or may turn out to be readily available Velodyne’s capacity to discover and integrate acquisitions uncertainties similar to Velodyne’s recent litigation and possible litigation involving Velodyne or the validity or enforceability of Velodyne’s intellectual home and common economic and industry ailments impacting demand from customers for Velodyne’s merchandise and products and services. Velodyne undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, irrespective of whether as a result of new information, long term functions or otherwise, besides as expected by law.
Chief Money Officer
Landis Communications Inc. | <urn:uuid:10860769-0dae-4222-8ff8-b406b8f1a31b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://enlamichoacana.com/velodyne-lidar-powers-intelligent-site-visitors-management.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.907445 | 1,752 | 2.21875 | 2 |
A Blessing and a Curse Autism and me
Growing up in Australia in the 1970s, Caiseal Mór was labelled retarded’ and an idiot’, and his parents were led to believe that physical punishment could cure his autism. In this courageous and captivating autobiography, Mór describes his early ability to dissociate from his true existence a common reaction by children suffering from repeated abuse and the various personas he lived through in his teens and early adulthood the Mahji, Charles P. Puddlejumper, Marco Polo and Chameleon Feeble. The rocky path towards discovering his true identity and finally accepting himself takes him on a spiritual pilgrimage via several different countries, once nearly getting caught unwittingly carrying drugs over the Moroccan border; forming a series relationships with people he meets but very often misjudges; to the revelation the awakening of love and acceptance. A fascinating life story, this book is compelling reading for people with autism, their friends and family and anyone interested in autism spectrum disorders. | <urn:uuid:ec5054e3-7d3c-476a-b9aa-398097b06558> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.autismtas.org.au/services/member-library/a-blessing-and-a-curse-autism-and-me/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.979351 | 205 | 1.773438 | 2 |
The queen of questions is developing her skills on minutely basis. Sample 50 questions from recent times
1. What is earth quake?
2. Will there be earth quake in India?
3. Why there is no earth quake here?
4. Why no human lives in other planets?
5. What is the color of Neptune / Uranus?
6. Where will the sun be at night time?
7. Why is the moon following me everywhere?
8. Why does the moon’s shape change everyday?
9. Why the clouds are sometimes white and sometimes black?
10. How can we sometimes see moon at daytime but cannot see sun at nighttime?
11. What will happen when you go near the sun?
12. Do these clouds go to India?
13. Can we walk along with these clouds to reach India?
14. Will there be bed in India to sleep?
15. How big will it be?
16. How can everyone in the family sleep in that bed?
17. If everyone sleeps in different room then will there be lot of bedrooms in India?
18. Is India house very big?
19. How do people sleep in floor?
20. What is a mat?
21. How big will the mat be?
22. What is 1-way?
23. Can there be a 3-way, 4-way, 5-way?
24. Why do we call some road as avenues and some road as streets?
25. Why are we not calling 70 as “seventy zero” when we can call 71 as “seventy one”?
26. Why pigeons don’t have jacket?
27. What will they do when they feel cold?
28. Where will the baby pigeon stay?
29. Why there is no red/green pigeon?
30. Why babies cannot speak?
31. How will a baby say when it feels hungry?
32. Do babies wear slippers when they sleep?
33. Why there are no leaves in the tree during winter?
34. Does it snow in India?
35. When will we go to India?
36. Why do you ask me to eat vegetables every day?
37. Can we eat leaves?
38. If we can eat spinach why not other leaves?
39. Why is “K” silent in “Knife”? Why at all “K” in this word?
40. What is Republic Day?
41. When is it Republic Day at US?
42. Why is it only holiday at India for Republic Day?
43. When will I become a mummy?
44. How much old will you and daddy be when I become 10 years old?
45. Can I work in your office next to you when I am ready to work?
46. What work do you do at office?
47. Is daddy and you are working in same office?
48. What will your manager say if you go late to work?
49. Why do you pack boxes for both of you every day?
50. Last but not the least. The famous question, few minutes after dumping everything inside “did I eat my dinner today?”
Enough is enough the list is endless.
If you are tired of reading the questions imagine my situation I need to address these questions every day. You can see that most of the times the next question is framed from my previous answer. She is driving my nuts. I am thinking twice no no thrice before answering her. Like mom like daughter. I heard that I was like this in my childhood. Now, I realize that it is easy to ask questions. I hear my mom happily singing “Anubhavi rani anubhavi” | <urn:uuid:f6f2ecaf-eae6-4ec8-8ffe-057d4dce28ed> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://anisnest.wordpress.com/2010/01/28/question-rani/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.950172 | 804 | 2.34375 | 2 |
Indian Army has released MNS Admit Card 2021 and the exam will be on 28 July 2021. So those female candidates who applied for the MNS can go to the Army official website and download the admit card. So this is good news that the exam is going to conducted at various centers across the country. Those who are preparing for the Military Nursing service must-know tips and tricks to crack the exam.
How to Download MNS Admit Card 2021:
In order to download the Admit Card of MNS Exam 2021, You will need to visit the official website and follow the procedure as said below:
- Log in to the official website with the ID and Password that you had made while applying Online.
- Click on the notification “Admit Card”
- Download the hard copy of the Admit Card.
It is simple to download the Admit Card. It is mandatory to carry Admit Card in the examination hall. Carry one ID proof along with the Admit Card like Aadhaar Card or Driving License or PAN Card etc.
Exam Pattern of MNS CBT:
|Exam Type||Objective Questions|
|Time Duration||90 Mins|
|Total Nunber of Questions||150|
|Subjects||General English, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, General Intelligence|
|Subject||Number of Question||Marks|
Written Exam Syllabus:
MNS Exam 2021: For the written examination of the MNS, A candidate will need to prepare a total of five subjects. You can take the help of MKC Study Material for better preparation:
- General English
- General Intelligence
These are the subjects that one has to prepare for the MNS (Military Nursing Service) CBT (Computer-Based Test). Now let’s see the topics or the name of the chapter that you have to prepare for this.
- Synonyms/ Homonyms
- Spot the error
- Fill in the blanks
- Detecting Mis-spelt words
- Idioms and phrases
- One word substitutions
- Shuffling of sentence parts
- Shuffling of Sentences in a passage
- Cloze passage
- Comprehension passage
- Cell and Molecular Biology
- Genetics and evolution
- Human health and diseases
- Plant physiology
- Human physiology
- Biotechnology and its applications
- Biodiversity, ecology, and environment.
- Laws of Motion & Work, Energy, and Power
- Properties of Matter
- Current Electricity
- Magnetic Effects of Electric Current
- Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Current
- Dual Nature of Radiation and Atomic Physics
- Nuclear Physics
- Semiconductor Devices and their Applications
- Atomic Structure
- p,d, and f – Block Elements
- Coordination Chemistry and Solid State Chemistry
- Thermodynamics, Chemical Equilibrium, and Chemical Kinetics
- Isomerism in Organic Compounds
- Alcohols and Ethers
- Carbonyl Compounds
- Carboxylic Acids and their derivatives
- Organic Nitrogen Compounds and Biomolecules
- Arithmetical Computation
- Space Visualization.
- Number Series.
- Visual Memory.
- Relationship Concepts.
- Non-Verbal Series.
- Decision Making.
- Problem Solving.
- Similarities and Differences.
- Figure Classification.
- Analytical Functions etc
This is the complete syllabus of the MNS Examination. Now let’s see some tips and tricks to prepare for this examination in a better manner.
Tips for Written Exam:
- This is an online Computer Based test, so it can be a bit tough for us because we have always solved questions or given exams on the papers, but here that”s not the case, you have to prepare yourself for the Online test.
- first, finish your syllabus by the 12th. then move to any guide of MNS.
- Try to attend, maximum no. of questions.
- Solve previous year question paper of MNS
- You can also buy the books of MNS from our website dlp.majorkalshiclasses.com/book
- You can download the soft copy of the book in PDF or you can order the hard copy of the book online which would be delivered to you within 3-4 days.
You can Avail our Service:-
For purchasing any books for defence examination- Click Here
For Joining Test Series- Click Here
For Online Course at MKC Learning App- Click Here
Visit our YouTube Channel For Free Education:- Click Here
This is all about MNS Admit Card 2021 Available, Exam Date is 28 July 2021. If you guys want to serve the nation and want to clear the Defence examination, join Major Kalshi Classes, Here we have experienced faculty for all the subjects. For more inquiries, you can call us at 9696220022 and 9696330033 or go to our official website www.majorkalshiclasses.com. Thank you.FOLLOW | <urn:uuid:b9e5af1b-0681-4ec6-b9ab-4c9d19d28d23> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://blog.majorkalshiclasses.com/mns-admit-card-2021/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571222.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810222056-20220811012056-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.861563 | 1,187 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Since they are calling on Respiratory therapist to help fight the Corona virus, and I am a retired one, too old to work in a hospital setting. I'm gonna share some common sense wisdom with those that have the virus and trying to stay home. If my advice is followed as given you will improve your chances of not ending up in the hospital on a ventilator. This applies to the otherwise generally healthy population, so use discretion.
- Only high temperatures kill a virus, so let your fever run high. Tylenol, Advil. Motrin, Ibuprofen etc. will bring your fever down allowing the virus to live longer. They are saying that ibuprophen, advil etc will actually exacerbate the virus. Use common sense and don't let fever go over 103 or 104 if you got the guts. If it gets higher than that take your tylenol, not ibuprophen or advil to keep it regulated. It helps to keep house warm and cover up with blankets so body does not have to work so hard to generate the heat. It usually takes about 3 days of this to break the fever | <urn:uuid:cfa07236-8571-4d74-b138-117531f16016> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://gist.github.com/markd2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571056.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809155137-20220809185137-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.926385 | 234 | 2.1875 | 2 |
What does the sixth hour in the Bible mean?
During the first six hours of the day, the sun is seen in the eastern sky. At the sixth hour, the sun is always at its zenith in the sky, meaning, it is either directly overhead, or parallel (depending on the hemisphere).
What time is the 3rd hour in the Bible?
Terce, or Third Hour, is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office in almost all the Christian liturgies. It consists mainly of psalms and is said at 9 a.m. Its name comes from Latin and refers to the third hour of the day after dawn.
What time is the 9th hour in the Bible?
Nones (/ˈnoʊnz/), also known as None (Latin: Nona, “Ninth”), the Ninth Hour, or the Midafternoon Prayer, is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office of almost all the traditional Christian liturgies. It consists mainly of psalms and is said around 3 pm, about the ninth hour after dawn.
What time did crucifixion start?
In Mark 15:25 crucifixion takes place at the third hour (9 a.m.) and Jesus’ death at the ninth hour (3 p.m.).
What is a biblical hour?
That ancient Greek meaning of the word persisted into New Testament times even after “hora” came to be used also to mean a division of the day. … To them the day was the period between sunrise and sunset, and that was divided into 12 equal parts called hours.
What time did Jesus meet the woman at the well?
Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.)
What is the 7th hour?
according to Talmudic and Muslim eschatology. 2 a state of supreme happiness. (C19: so named from the belief that there are seven levels of heaven, the seventh and most exalted being the abode of God and the angels)
What time is the hour of prayer?
The Hour of Prayer: 3:00 PM!
The most important privilege of the entire church is prayer and the only hour in the Bible that is specifically referred to as the Hour of Prayer begins at 3:00 PM. This was the time that the veil in front of the Holy of Holies tore from top to bottom.
Who prayed 7 times a day in the Bible?
The bible tells us that David had a vow of praise unto the Lord. Seven times a day he would praise the Lord, and three times a day he would pray. The political class must have hated it.
What times did Jesus pray?
In addition to this, Jesus said grace before the feeding miracles, at the Last Supper, and at the supper at Emmaus. R. A. Torrey notes that Jesus prayed early in the morning as well as all night, that he prayed both before and after the great events of his life, and that he prayed “when life was unusually busy”.
Who pray three times a day in the Bible?
In the Bible, it is written that when the prophet Daniel was in Babylon, he “went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open to Jerusalem; and he got down upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously” (cf. Daniel 6:10).
What is the 11th hour in the Bible?
The phrase eleventh hour has a Biblical origin; it comes from a parable in Matthew in which a few last-minute workers, hired long after the others, are paid the same wage. Despite being brought on the job after eleven hours of hard vineyard work, they weren’t too late.
What time is the 12th hour?
|24-hour clock||12-hour clock|
What does the 12th hour mean?
The eleventh hour answer is when the plane pulls up right before the crash. The twelfth hour is the crash- debris scattered around the countryside, people in tears, heads bowed and sheets covering bodies. | <urn:uuid:1f8a48fd-4478-4ce1-b6e1-0863cb817b07> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://ogdenucc.org/bible/question-what-does-the-bible-say-about-sixth-hour.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571222.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810222056-20220811012056-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.975617 | 965 | 3.078125 | 3 |
John Frederick Herring was born in Doncaster c1820 to the artist John Frederick Herring (1795-1865) and his wife Anna Catharina (nee Harris) and was baptised on 2 May, 1821. There is some confusion about the date of his birth due to an earlier birth record existing for 21 June, 1815. To complicate matters further, all of the census records indicate he was born in 1816. Some sources suggest this was an earlier child who died and that Herring was the child born in 1820.
Herring’s brothers Charles Herring (1828-1856) and Benjamin Herring (1830-1871) also became artists. He and his brothers were exposed to art at an early age and were all tutored by their father, whose subject matter influenced their work. The family moved to Newmarket during the early 1830’s and Herring would visit the racecourse to study the horses. The brothers would often collaborate with their father on paintings, however, Herring Jnr soon developed his own style and began painting farmyard and rustic scenes featuring horses and other farm animals. His emerging success caused some discord with his father, who from around 1836 began adding ‘SR’ or ‘Senr’ to his signature to avoid confusion between the two artists. Herring did not join his father when he later moved to London but at some point moved to Cambridgeshire where he met and married Emma Jane Dawson on 29 August, 1836. Together, they lived at Great Wilbraham with their 5 children.
By 1861, he had moved to nearby Fulbourn where he continued to be a successful artist, making his debut at the Royal Academy in 1863. He began exhibiting at the British Institution from 1864 and also exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists at Suffolk Street.
After the death of his first wife, Herring married the artist Catherine Augusta Rolfe on 5 December 1865 at St Pauls Church, Hammersmith in London. Catherine (or Kate) was the sister of the artists Alexander Frederick Rolfe (1814-1875) and Henry Leonides Rolfe (1823-1881) and the daughter of William E Rolfe, a friend of his father. They lived at Wilbraham Road in Fulbourn, later moving to The Poplars in Fulbourn where Herring spent the rest of his life. He died at Fulbourn on 6 March 1907.
Examples of his work are held by a number of museums and public collections including the Bradford Museum, Hawarth Art Gallery, Government Art Collection, Grundy Art Gallery, the Tate, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC and the Watford Museum & Witt Library.
|Presentation||The painting is housed in a new, English made gilt frame which is in excellent condition.|
|Condition||As with all of our original antique oil paintings, this work is offered in ready to hang gallery condition, having been professionally cleaned, restored and revarnished.|
|Image Size||14.5 inches x 19.5 inches (37cm x 49.5cm)|
|Framed Size||22.75 inches x 27.75 inches (58cm x 70.5cm)| | <urn:uuid:a097fbb2-e1c4-4a80-b89b-69de29a59422> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://bentonfineart.com/farmyard-scene~697 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573744.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819161440-20220819191440-00465.warc.gz | en | 0.98554 | 682 | 2.265625 | 2 |
The rise of isolationism in the Conservative Party
Britain is starting to look like a very lonely little country
A FEW YEARS ago Britain liked to think of itself as the belle of the globalisation ball. David Cameron invited Xi Jinping, China’s president, for a state visit that involved a trip down the Mall in a gilded carriage and a banquet in Buckingham Palace. He wooed Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, in a bid to breathe new life into Britain’s membership of the European Union. He liked to boast that his friendship with Barack Obama, America’s president, was so close that Mr Obama had once tucked him up in the presidential bed on Air Force One.
Boris Johnson came to power promising, in a very Johnsonian manner, to preserve Britain’s pro-global stance while also delivering Brexit. He routinely referred to the Europeans as “our neighbours and partners”. He got on famously with Donald Trump. Shortly before taking over as prime minister he told a Chinese TV station that his government would be “very pro-China”. He repeatedly insisted that there are two possible versions of Brexit: Nigel Farage represented the inward-looking and xenophobic one while he represented the outward-looking and cosmopolitan one.
Yet Mr Johnson’s party may be turning against his global vision. One piece of evidence is the emergence of the China Research Group (CRG). Founded a couple of weeks ago to “promote debate and fresh thinking” about China, in the words of one of its founders, Tom Tugendhat, it has attracted interest from all sorts: moderates like Damian Green, Eurosceptics like Mark Francois and human-rights advocates like Benedict Rogers. Mr Tugendhat is a moderate Remainer; Neil O’Brien, the co-founder, a moderate Leaver. It has already drawn some blood: on May 5th the foreign-affairs select committee, which Mr Tugendhat chairs, asked some difficult questions about whether, acting through surrogates, the Chinese government took over a British-based firm, Imagination Technologies, in order to get control of security software.
The rise of the CRG is not evidence, in itself, that the Conservative Party is losing its enthusiasm for “global Britain”. There are plenty of good reasons for criticising a country that distorts trade through industrial subsidies, soft loans from state banks and discriminatory standards while conducting industrial espionage and supporting authoritarian regimes around the world. Keeping China at arm’s length may also be a price for maintaining a close alliance with America: some senators are trying to block the deployment of the latest generation of American fighter jets to Britain because it is allowing Huawei into its 5G network. Still, the CRG’s name, a deliberate echo of the European Research Group (ERG) that masterminded Brexit, is ominous. You cannot pick fights with China without China hitting back.
The rise of scepticism towards China that the CRG represents comes at a perilous time for Britain’s international affairs. Relations with Russia have not recovered from the Salisbury poisonings two years ago, and those with both the European Union and the United States are unusually troubled.
A Tory MP characterises Mr Johnson’s attitude to the EU as “the only way is out, out, out”. The prime minister is willing to accept a much harder Brexit than the average member of the ERG would have thought possible a couple of years ago. He has little interest in remaining part of the EU’s foreign policy and security structures that his predecessor, Theresa May, held in high regard. The pandemic is widening the channel even further. Britain is so preoccupied by the virus that it is devoting far too little attention to its Brexit negotiations, increasing the chances that an on-time Brexit will also be a bitter Brexit.
Britain’s relations with the United States are volatile. The Brexiteers’ bet on Donald Trump was always risky, given his exotic personality and determination to put America first. The Anglo-American trade talks, which have just got under way, cover such tricky topics as chlorinated chicken and the National Health Service’s purchasing policy. The chances that Britain will soon be dealing with Joe Biden rather than Mr Trump go up by the day, as Mr Trump flails around in the face of the virus. Mr Biden may well be more interested in cosying up to the EU than to “Britain Trump”, the moniker which the American president bestowed on the British prime minister. Given his long record of pro-Irish sentiments, Mr Biden will not take kindly to a Brexit that damages either the Anglo-Irish agreement or the Republic’s economy.
Domestic pressures to turn inward are also mounting. The election shifted the Tory party’s centre of gravity from regions dominated by the winners of globalisation to those dominated by losers. The pandemic is leading many Tories to question the relevance of free-market orthodoxies to a world in which supply chains are vulnerable and protectionism is spreading. They point to the way that Germany has benefited from its national capacity to carry out tests and make personal protective equipment. “Reshoring”, “domestic resilience” and “strategic industries” are all the rage. Mr Johnson talks about a shift to “national self-sufficiency”, with a step-change in Britain’s capacity to manufacture drugs, vaccines and medical equipment.
The idea of distilling a “global Britain” from the frenzy of Brexit was always problematic. It depended on pulling off two difficult tricks simultaneously: back home, taming the protectionist forces that drove Brexit, and, abroad, cosying up to competing powers without getting too close to any of them. The pandemic has made it harder still. Anti-Chinese sentiment is rising across the West, particularly in America. Nation states are retreating to their core function of protecting their citizens first or consolidating their relations with their closest neighbours. The British are about to discover that the “splendid isolation” the Victorians once celebrated is less glorious when that solitude is not chosen as an instrument of power, but is imposed by the world’s indifference. ■
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline "Contra mundum"
Britain May 9th 2020
- What will be the new normal for offices?
- How pubs, cinemas and shops will reopen
- Britain’s government says it is “following the science”. Which science?
- Why Britain is ignoring the Google-Apple protocol for its tracing app
- Lockdown is making the Tory party restive
- How covid-19 puts vulnerable children in greater danger
- How the pandemic revived the newspaper stunt
- The rise of isolationism in the Conservative Party
From the May 9th 2020 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contentsExplore the edition
As she cuts back on her duties, Prince Charles matters more
Despite rumours to the contrary, the Tory faithful are exactly what you might imagine
For companies, gradually. For mortgage-holders, more quickly. For the Treasury, suddenly | <urn:uuid:f45fe165-b8fe-4926-8e10-e36f34cc1713> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.economist.com/britain/2020/05/07/the-rise-of-isolationism-in-the-conservative-party | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571056.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809155137-20220809185137-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.954357 | 1,502 | 1.617188 | 2 |
When you realise that your computer, mobile device or server has failed, it can be horrible experience. We understand how important your data is. Nobody wants to go through data loss. But whatever happened to your data a big chance is that it still can be recovered. Data can vanish in an instant, and if you did not make any backups it looks like it gone forever. Data now is stored in many devices. Mobiles, tablets, laptops, desktops, usb sticks, memory card every device can fail at one point. Only when device fails you do realize how important data is.
Almost all data from all faulty devices can be recovered, whether it is important personal files or valuable business data. We can recover deleted or formatted data as well. If we do not recover any data, you will not pay anything. But in most cases we can recover 90% data from your device. Most important point is to not to try to recover data by yourself, or give it to inexperienced friends. They can overwrite your files and this will greatly reduce chance for successful recovery.
Hard drive failure is the main problem with computer data loss. The problem can be – deleted files, formatted hard drive, Operating system failure of hardware failure. If any of these problems occur, our data recovery technician will tell you whether your important data can be successfully recovered, how long it will take to recover it and how much this will cost.
Our can book our data recovery technician online or call us. Please keep your faulty device with you. We may ask you for make and model number of your gadget. Data recovery prices varies, depending on size and recovery level. Deleted or formatted data can be recovered for £60-£120. If there is hardware fault price can be determined by recovery technician.
Desktop DATA RECOVERY – What options? | <urn:uuid:af04773f-49af-4678-985f-70d880b39253> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.computerrepairltd.co.uk/pc-repairs/my-personal-data-has-gone/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573744.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819161440-20220819191440-00465.warc.gz | en | 0.934548 | 369 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Gretchen Rubin’s new book is out today to show you how decluttering and organizing can make more room for happiness and lead to inner calm.
Gretchen is the author of several books, including the blockbuster New York Times bestsellers, The Four Tendencies, Better Than Before, The Happiness Project, and Happier at Home. She has an enormous readership, both in print and online, and her books have sold 3.5 million copies worldwide, in more than thirty languages.
On her popular weekly podcast Happier with Gretchen Rubin, she discusses good habits and happiness with her sister Elizabeth Craft; they’ve been called the “Click and Clack of podcasters.” She’s a member of Oprah’s SuperSoul 100.
We interviewed Gretchen about her new book Outer Order, Inner Calm. Welcome.
Question: HOW CAN DECLUTTERING BRING ABOUT INNER CALM?
When people get rid of all that stuff that they don’t need, don’t use or don’t love, what people actually experience is they feel like they have more.
Question: I’M A MINIMALIST AND AGREE. WHAT IF SOMEONE CAN’T PART WITH THINGS DUE TO SENTIMENTAL REASONS? WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE THEM?
It’s not always easy. In the choice, there is decision fatigue, it’s hard. It’s emotionally draining. It’s intellectually draining, but once all of that stuff has been wiped away, given away, recycled, donated, that’s when you can really see, well, where to do I put things?
People can ask themselves 3 questions:
- How do I organize things so I can find them easily?
- How do I organize things so they make sense to me?
- How do I organize things so they look appealing?
Your impulse might be to buy more containers, filing cabinets, or fancy hangers to organize what you currently have, but Rubin said you have to start by asking these three questions: Do I need it? Do I use it? Do I love it?
By the time you get rid of the things cluttering your life, you won’t need that filing cabinet “because you only have three documents left.
If it’s clothing, ask yourself if you ran into your ex would you be happy to be seen wearing it? If not, get rid of it.
One great habit is the one-minute rule. Anything you can do in less than a minute, do without delay.
For example, if you can hang up your coat instead of throwing it on the chair.
If you can rip open a letter and see that you can put it in the recycling.
It’s a little habit that’s easy to work into even a very busy life.
OUTER ORDER, INNER CALM is available on Amazon
link at top of page | <urn:uuid:b1d3fc51-1e02-43c3-bf56-753ea304b3ef> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://mariadorfner.wordpress.com/2019/03/06/1-tip-to-declutter-to-achieve-inner-calm/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.937024 | 634 | 1.539063 | 2 |
This is a strong, hot, honey drink from Poland, which is flavoured with cloves, cinnamon, vanilla and citrus rind. Krupnik (kroop-nik), one of the oldest-known drinks in Poland, was drunk in medieval times by fighting men before they went to battle to give them the strength to repel invaders. The word krupnik means barley, a grain from which vodka is made.
15 FLUID OUNCES
4 fl. oz. clear honey
4 fl. oz. water
4-inch stick of cinnamon
1 vanilla pod
½ teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 strip orange rind
8 fl. oz. vodka
In a medium-sized saucepan, dissolve the honey in the water over low heat, stirring occasionally. Increase the heat to moderate and bring the mixture to the boil.
Add the cloves, cinnamon, vanilla pod, and lemon and orange rind to the pan and bring the mixture to the boil again.
Remove the pan from the heat and set aside for 5 minutes. Return the pan to the heat and bring to the boil again. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside for 40 minutes.
Strain the liquids into a jug or bowl. Wipe the vanilla pod and reserve it for future use. Discard the other flavourings.
Return the liquid to the pan and bring them to the boil over moderate heat. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vodka. Pour the drink into mugs or heatproof glasses and serve immediately. | <urn:uuid:58008e8e-f177-41d4-b787-864508a29ba8> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://secrets-of-self-sufficiency.com/krupnik | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.898389 | 326 | 1.882813 | 2 |
We wrote an article about LeBron James. No Sports Illustrated didn’t want it — but it was written for The Weekly Standard, a national political magazine based in Washington, DC. It was also picked up for the Beltway Confidential column of The Washington Examiner. Our thesis was that LeBron James brought to the fore the way tax policy influences behavior. We then pointed out that politicians typically obscure this cost by cutting special breaks for high profile cases — but politicians don’t know how to do such a thing for an individual.
We went on to question whether the First lady’s current focus on food deserts, which involves subsidizing individual retailers, didn’t obscure the need for society to deal with public policy issues, such as security in inner cities. Here is an excerpt:
Any time there is a big issue, the politicians avoid letting the voters see the cost of public policy decisions by exempting the high profile cases from the law that applies to everyone else — that is what tax abatements are about. They are not chump change either. One of the hot industries of the moment is the battery industry. The Feds appropriated $2.4 billion for this industry, but the states are also wooing the plants. Michigan has offered $800 million in tax credits; Ohio offered $100 million in incentives to get just one plant.
It is not just a tax issue either. Here’s another example of where the LeBron James debate might actually further a substantive policy difference: First Lady Michelle Obama proudly announced a $400 million initiative to help the 23.5 million people she claims live in “food deserts” — defined as anyone who lives more than a mile from a supermarket.
The first lady’s proposal, announced in the heart of the Philadelphia, among other things, aims to help inner city residents gain access to large grocery stores with lots of fresh foods (rather than the local mom and pop shops or more distant supermarkets, they currently frequent to purchase groceries). But, no matter Michelle Obama’s intentions, her proposal misses the root problem. Why directly subsidize individual stores to open in these areas closer to these 23.5 million people? Why not address the public policy problems that cause retailers to stay away?
The retail sector is highly competitive and, generally, many players compete vigorously for the opportunity to open retail food stores. Why, then, should it be necessary to give grants or loan guarantees to get retailers to open in underserved areas? In the inner city the issues involve things such as the inability of the local police to assure safety for patrons and staff plus keep shop lifting to national averages. Those retailers — such as Pathmark — that have made commitments and opened large supermarkets in inner cities have often felt the need to hire uniformed police officers to man the store 24/7. Between vacations, training, holidays and sick days, it can take five or more full time police offers to guard the store. In a unionized police force, take New York City for instance, salary and benefits to man that force can cost over half a million dollars a year.
How helpful it would have been for Michelle Obama to address the security problem directly, acknowledging that one benefit of solving that public policy problem, would be that, freed of the need to spend a half million a year on security, lots more retailers would open in underserved areas. Instead of facing up to the public policy problem, though, she is looking to spend money directly to de facto compensate individual retailers for these high costs of doing business — and doing nothing to resolve the root problem.
The piece is titled, LeBron James Brings the High Cost of Bad Policy to the Fore, and you can read the whole thing here. | <urn:uuid:04153508-7730-4a7c-8d6e-256cf85cf972> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://perishablepundit.com/did-lebron-james-offer-a-lesson-to-michelle-obama-on-how-we-should-approach-food-deserts/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.957238 | 760 | 1.929688 | 2 |
The current trade conflict between China and the U.S. has made the financial markets nervous and infused uncertainty among investors and governments worldwide. But there are two issues that pose a much bigger threat than trade over the long term — tensions in the South China Sea region and the fight for influence in Africa.
South China Sea
As far as China is concerned, the South China Sea is their “backyard.” The claims of regions like Vietnam, Taiwan, or the Philippines are irrelevant from the Chinese perspective. Beijing would already have engaged in a war with those nations were it not for the fact that the U.S. has military bases in Korea and Japan and is committed to thwarting China’s supremacist attitudes. Countries like Australia, the UK, and France also have an interest in keeping the waters safe from Chinese domination.
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The South China Sea conflict arises for two reasons. One, it is known to contain heavy deposits of valuable minerals. Two, around one-third of worldwide shipping traffic passes through here. The country that controls the South China Sea will be in a solid position to dominate world trade. No wonder the Chinese communists are so aggressive when it comes to claiming supreme rights over the sea.
For America, the South China Sea is an important pathway that connects to the crucial markets of Japan and Korea. Keeping the Chinese in check also contributes to reaffirming America’s prowess as a major naval force. If the Chinese are allowed to take control over the region, it would damage the U.S. military’s reputation. Hence, the United States cannot afford to lose to China in the South China Sea conflict. American presence also comes as a reassurance for smaller nations like the Philippines and Vietnam that would not be able to confront the Chinese alone.
Of late, the Chinese have been getting more aggressive. Beijing owns more warships than any country in the world. It has the second highest number of aircraft carriers and is also developing next-gen submarines. Some military experts feel that China will be able to take on the full force of America’s naval might within the next 10 years. As such, Beijing’s assertion of rights over the South China Sea is only expected to grow in the future, thereby increasing the chances of a military conflict.
Influence in Africa
Africa presents a huge opportunity for China. It is rich in natural resources that the massive Chinese population desperately needs. The continent is also a prime hub for cheap Chinese products. Given the little adherence to copyright laws and other intellectual property rights in African nations, the Chinese can keep selling knockoff products here with ease. Beijing has ramped up investments in the continent over the past few years and has developed deep connections with several African leaders. It is no secret that the Chinese have used corruption to get what they want in Africa.
Though China does spend in aid on the continent, America firmly remains the biggest donor to Africa. If China were to become the dominant player in the region, its economic might would easily multiply several times over. And with it, so too will China’s military aggressiveness. From a political perspective, China is very likely to allow corrupt, undemocratic regimes to flourish on the continent as long as they serve Beijing’s needs. This runs counter to America’s long-term plan to stabilize the region and bring Africa up as a major economic powerhouse.
With both countries vying for influence in Africa, military tensions could eventually develop over certain regions that might become important trade routes in the future. In 2018, China pledged US$60 billion in funds for Africa. In response, President Trump set up the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) and assigned a US$60 billion budget to facilitate more American investment in the continent. | <urn:uuid:c5869bae-becd-4be3-a95e-84967a03bd88> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.nspirement.com/2019/02/04/us-china-relations-trade-minor-problem-compared-to-war-domination.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.955512 | 784 | 2.484375 | 2 |
Did you know that about three to four million people die from waterborne diseases? More than a billion people do not have any access to safe drinking water. Are you worried about the quality of your drinking water? The best and the easiest way to determine the quality of water is to check the TDS level of your water.
This article will give you a clear-cut understanding of TDS (Total Dissolved Solids), its effects on our body, and how we can reduce the level of TDS in the water we consume.
What Is TDS?
TDS is an acronym for Total Dissolved Solids. Total Dissolved Solids is the total concentration of all the dissolved inorganic salts, organic materials, metals, minerals, and other substances in a particular volume of water.
In simple terms, TDS refers to the organic and inorganic substance found in water that is larger than two microns.
Inorganic salts include calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, bicarbonates, chlorides, and sulfate, while pollutants, herbicides, and hydrocarbons are organic materials. You will find these solids in the form of molecules, ions, and micro-granular solvents.
TDS is measured in terms of parts per million (ppm) or milligram per liter. According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, the recommended limit is 500 mg/l. The lower the TDS level, the better and safer your drinking water is.
So, to know if you are drinking safe water, get the water tested and make sure the TDS level is below 500 mg/l.
Reason For A High Level Of TDS In Water
There are numerous reasons for the high level of organic and inorganic solids in water. Some of them include-
- Natural sources and mineral springs (Water runs over rocks and picks up different minerals found in the rocks.)
- Agricultural runoff (Pesticides and fertilizers mixed with water.)
- Industrial sewage and waste
- Urban runoff
- Carbon deposits
- Salt deposits and seawater intrusion
- Chemicals used for the water treatment process
- Plumbing pipes and hardware
Apart from this, TDS level increases due to minerals like nitrogen, sulfur, calcium bicarbonate, etc. found in the air.
Is TDS Bad For You?
As mentioned above, TDS consists of both organic and inorganic substances. Some of this organic matter is good for your body, while others are hazardous. So, the amount and type of solvents present in the water determine whether the water is good or bad.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) considers TDS as a secondary drinking water standard. According to them, less than 300 mg/l is a good range for drinking water.
Less than 50 mg/l indicates a lack of natural nutrients and minerals, and hence it is not acceptable. Also, a very low level of TDS will also result in water tasting flat or even bitter.
To sum it up, TDS concentration in water is not necessarily hazardous. It becomes unhealthy when it is too low or too high. The healthiest range is 150- 250 mg/l.
Why Should We Measure The TDS Level In Water?
The primary reason for measuring the TDS level would be to know the quality of the water you consume. A high TDS level may indicate that there are more harmful chemicals present which causes
- scale build-up in pipes and valves,
- performance failure,
- high maintenance cost.
A high TDS level might also indicate that the water is hard. Shampoos, soaps, and other cleaning products do not work efficiently in hard water, so rinsing off products will be difficult. However, even if the TDS level is low, it can lead to problems like the corrosion of metals and fixtures.
Other Reasons To Test Your Water’s TDS Level
Some other reasons to test your TDS level include-
- Taste difference-The water might have a salty or bitter, or sulfuric taste to it. The taste depends on the type of solvents present in the water. It is because of this that low TDS level water tastes almost flat and dull.
- Cooking-Just like water taste is altered, the food taste also changes if we use the same water while cooking.
- Health reasons- As mentioned above, if the water contains more harmful substances, it is dangerous to consume.
- Maintenance of appliances- Scales built up in pipes and valves when there is a high concentration of substances like calcium, magnesium, etc. it also affects the working of your water filtration system, which means that the appliance’s lifespan gets shorter.
- Colour change and stains- Due to the high level of minerals, there is a chance for the color from clothes to fade. Also, it might leave stains or spots on the utensils due to corrosion.
How To Measure TDS level?
We can measure TDS levels in water using two methods.
1. Gravimetric Method
In this process, we evaporate the water, and the remaining water is measured to calculate the TDS level. This method is accurate if there is a high TDS concentration, especially inorganic salts, but it is time-consuming.
2. Electrical Conductivity
Compared to the gravimetric method, this method is less time-consuming but not as accurate. TDS meters analyze water’s electrical conductivity, which is directly proportional to the concentration of dissolvents in water.
How To Reduce Unhealthy TDS In Water?
First, test the level of TDS in your water supply, and if it is above the recommended level, you might want to consider the following methods. The most effective three ways to reduce the unhealthy TDS level in water are listed below.
1. Reverse Osmosis
In reverse osmosis, the comminated tap water passes through a semipermeable membrane. The design is such that only pure water molecules pass through. Apart from filtering the harmful toxins like lead, mercury, arsenic, etc.,
RO also filters 90% of the valuable minerals such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, etc. However, this leaves the water tasting dull and flat.
But, most RO filters are equipped with a mineral bed that can add back the lost minerals. It also increases the pH level, thus decreasing the corrosive property.
If the TDS level is more than 500gm/l, this is the most effective treatment solution.
In simple terms, distillation happens through evaporation. Upon heating the boiling chamber, the water boils and forms water vapors. The evaporated water rises to the cool surface, and then it condenses back into the liquid form in a different container.
Since most impure salts cannot vaporize, it stays in the liquid form in the boiling chamber. The water that condenses back into the second container is safe to consume.
However, there are times when some of these salts vaporize. So, it is not considered as efficient as the RO filtration method. Also, another drawback of this method is that it is a long and time-consuming process.
Water is a mix of positive ions (cations) and negative ions (anions). So, during the de-ionization process, water moves through a membrane with positive and negative electrodes.
Here, the positive ions in TDS detach from the water molecules and attach themselves to the negative electrodes. This results in de-ionization or de-ionized water.
However, for this method to work, the water first needs to pass through reverse osmosis filtration to remove the non-ionic impurities. Again, just like distillation, this process is long and time-consuming.
How To Treat Good TDS In Water?
We saw three methods to reduce the bad TDS in water. Now, we will look at what can be done with healthy TDS. To retain the good TDS in water, you will need a system that only filters the impurities while maintaining the good minerals like calcium and magnesium.
A reverse osmosis system (including a mineral bed) is the best option here.
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Whether the water is of good quality or not depends on the quantity of good and bad substance TDS present in water. The healthiest range for TDS is 150-250 ml/l.
So, if the TDS level for your drinking water goes either above or below, then you should worry. The main reason is that it will affect your overall health. The best solution to control the TDS level is the RO filtration system.
Has RO filtration been beneficial for you? Would you recommend this to others who face the same problem? Please let us know in the comment section. | <urn:uuid:3fa61da9-fcaa-4d5e-a6bf-18296734fd7f> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://bestindian.org/what-is-tds-and-how-to-reduce-them/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.921607 | 1,859 | 3.4375 | 3 |
On this page you will find detailed information about the BIC or Swift Code ACHBCNS1XXX for AIA COMPANY, CHINA BRANCH.
|ACHBCNS1XXX Swift Code Information|
|Bank Name||AIA COMPANY, CHINA BRANCH|
|Swift Code (8 Characters)||ACHBCNS1|
How to Read a Swift Code
Swift codes are usually formed of 8 (or) 11 characters. A swift code that refers to a primary office is formatted as an 8-digit code. The codes are arranged in the following manner:
AAAA BB CC DDD
- Bank Code or Institution Code (A-Z) – 4 letter code. The first four letters indicate the shortened version of a bank’s name.
- Country Code (A-Z) – 2 letter code. The second two letters are the country in which the bank is located.
- Location Code (0-9) (A-Z) – A 2 digit code that could be either two letters or numbers. It says where the bank’s head office is located.
- Branch Code – This is an optional 3-digit code. It states a particular branch instead of just the bank’s head office.
What does the SWIFT Code ACHBCNS1XXX mean?
The SWIFT Code for AIA COMPANY, CHINA BRANCH in SHANGHAI CHINA is ACHBCNS1XXX
ACHB - CN - S1 - XXX
This means that:
The Bank/Institution Code is ACHB
The Country Code is CN
The Location Code is S1
The Branch Code is XXX
n.b. A branch code of XXX indicates a Head office. | <urn:uuid:fe8d489b-09a1-45ef-a7a0-f809bee72464> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://swifty.codes/swift/achbcns1xxx/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.716229 | 402 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Setting up for a painting can be daunting and I often wonder how someone else might go about it! So today and totally randomnly I decided to take snapshots of my process and share it with you.
I am on a mission to paint a Brahman Bull that I saw in a paddock a few weeks ago. He was such a beautiful beast, ginormous I thought, but gentle at the same time. I observed him for a little while, but all I could really do was take some snaps with my trusty phone.
So, now I have two photos that I would like to work from.
I’ll be using the head from the first and the body from the second. With my 4B graphite stick I proceeded to start sketching in my A3 sketch book, although I often find it easier to sketch on A4. Having too much on my mind, I didn’t realise how awkwardly I was sitting to my drawing, creating a much wider angle between the drawing surface and my viewing point. Ideally it should be about 90 degrees, or in other words straight on. Hence my wacky first attempt. (1). In fact I only noticed how distorted it was, after taking a photograph. Quick snap shots often quickly reveal any flaws!
After studying my flaws in sketch one, I made some adjustments, bringing me to Sketch 2. At this point I smeared the graphite with a tissue to get a medium tone. Sketch 3.
In Sketch 4 I began to lift out some highlights with my kneadable eraser, then added some darker shadows as shown in Sketch 5.
The whole sketch still needs some refinements and these will happen when I transfer this drawing to my watercolour paper.
If you have enjoyed this exercise or would like to comment with a question or a statement, please feel free to do so, and I will gladly reply. | <urn:uuid:100c6ebb-d776-45d9-bb22-72df9c70d82f> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://blog.anicaart.com.au/2020/01/26/ever-wonder-what-another-artists-process-is-like/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.973112 | 388 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Dogs vomit for many reasons, some of which are serious and require immediate veterinary attention. However, in most cases, there is something that can be done to remedy the situation at home. In this article, we will explore the different reasons why dogs vomit and what you can do to help your dog feel better.
The dog’s stomach is designed to handle small amounts of stomach acid. When the stomach acid builds up, it can cause your dog to vomit. There are many reasons why this may happen, such as eating too fast, eating something that is not easy to digest, or drinking too much water after eating.
If you think that your dog’s vomiting is due to one of these reasons, try to slow down his eating and give him smaller meals more often. You can also try giving him some ice chips to help soothe his stomach.
Dog Regurgitating vs. Vomiting
There is a difference between regurgitating and vomiting. Regurgitation is when food comes back up without being accompanied by heaving or retching. This is often seen in young puppies who have not yet learned to control their swallowing reflex. Vomiting, on the other hand, is when your dog’s stomach contents are forcefully expelled through the mouth. Vomiting is often accompanied by heaving and retching.
When Is Dog Vomiting Normal?
Believe it or not, there are some times when vomiting is actually normal for dogs. For example, many dogs vomit after eating grass. This is because the grass can irritate the stomach and cause an upset stomach. If your dog only vomits once in a while after eating grass, there is no need to be concerned.
However, if your dog is vomiting more than once a week or if he seems to be in pain when he vomits, you should take him to the vet.
Why Do Dogs Regurgitate Food?
There are a few different reasons why dogs may regurgitate food. The most common reason is that the dog has eaten too fast. When dogs eat too fast, they tend to gulp down a lot of air along with their food. This air can build up in the stomach and cause bloating. Bloating can be very painful for dogs and can often lead to regurgitation.
Another common reason for regurgitation is overeating. When a dog overeats, his stomach becomes distended and puts pressure on the esophageal sphincter. This pressure can cause the esophageal sphincter to relax and allow food to come back up.
Finally, some dogs may regurgitate food because of a condition called gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). GERD is a condition in which the stomach acid flows back up into the esophagus. This can be very painful for dogs and can often lead to regurgitation.
Symptoms of Regurgitation in Dogs
Some of the most common symptoms of regurgitation in dogs include:
1) Appetite loss
When a dog regurgitates food, he usually has no appetite for a period of time afterward. This is because the act of regurgitating can be very exhausting and can often leave the dog feeling nauseous.
2) Weight loss
If a dog is regurgitating food regularly, he may start to lose weight. This is because the dog is not getting the nutrients he needs from his food. Your veterinarian can help you determine if your dog is losing weight by doing a physical examination and ordering laboratory tests.
3) Difficulty swallowing and frequent swallowing
The act of swallowing is a complicated process that requires the coordinated effort of many muscles. If your dog is having difficulty swallowing, it may be because something is causing interference with the normal process. common causes include:
Swallowing foreign objects: Dogs will put just about anything in their mouths, including things that they shouldn’t. If your dog has swallowed a foreign object, it may be obstructing the esophagus.
4) Coughing and clearing throat
If your dog is regurgitating food, he may start to cough and clear his throat frequently. This is because the regurgitated food can irritate the lining of the esophagus and cause inflammation.
5) Bad breath
When food is regurgitated, it can often cause bad breath. This is because the food that is regurgitated is usually partially digested and contains bacteria. The bacteria can cause bad breath.
In some cases, regurgitation can lead to vomiting. This is because the act of regurgitating can sometimes trigger the vomit reflex. If your dog is vomiting, it is important to take him to the vet immediately.
7) Lumps in the throat
Dogs may regurgitate due to a foreign body or tumor in their throat. If you notice your dog retching or gagging without producing anything, take them to the vet immediately as this could be a life-threatening emergency.
8) White or pale gums
If your dog’s gums are pale or white, it could be a sign of anemia. Anemia is a condition in which there is a decrease in the number of red blood cells. This can be caused by many different things, including blood loss or bone marrow disease.
9) Abdominal pain
The act of regurgitating can be very painful for dogs. If your dog is expressing abdominal discomforts, such as whimpering or wailing, take him to the veterinarian right away.
10) Increased body temperature
If your dog has a fever, it could be a sign of an infection. Infections are one of the most common causes of regurgitation in dogs. The infection could be in the gut, or it could be elsewhere in the body. If your dog has a fever, take him to the vet so he can be checked out.
Diagnosis of Regurgitation in Dogs
If your dog is regurgitating food, the first thing your vet will do is take a history and perform a physical examination. Your vet will ask you questions about your dog’s diet, his vomiting habits, and any other symptoms he may be experiencing.
He will also want to know if your dog has been around any other dogs that have been vomiting. Your vet will then perform a physical examination of your dog. During the physical examination, your vet will check your dog’s mouth for any foreign bodies and will feel his abdomen for any abnormalities.
After taking a history and performing a physical examination, your vet will order some laboratory tests. The most common test used to diagnose regurgitation is an x-ray of the chest and abdomen. This will allow your vet to see if there are any foreign bodies in the esophagus or stomach. Additionally, your vet may order blood tests and a urinalysis. These tests will help to rule out other possible causes of regurgitation, such as anemia or infection.
Treatment of Regurgitation in Dogs
The treatment of regurgitation depends on the underlying cause. If your dog is regurgitating due to a foreign body, your vet will likely recommend surgery to remove the object. If your dog is regurgitating due to an infection, your vet will prescribe antibiotics. In some cases, such as with tumors, there is no effective treatment and your dog may need to be euthanized.
How to Make a Dog Puke
If your dog has swallowed a poisonous substance, it is important to make him vomit as soon as possible. This will help to remove the toxin from his body before it can cause any damage. To make your dog vomit, you can give him 1-2 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide. Alternatively, you can give him 1 teaspoon of saltwater. If your dog is small, you may need to give him less than 1 tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide. Once your dog has vomited, take him to the vet immediately.
If your dog is regurgitating food, it is important to take him to the vet so that the underlying cause can be diagnosed and treated. In some cases, such as with foreign bodies or tumors, surgery may be required. In other cases, such as infections, treatment with antibiotics may be all that is needed.
If you have any concerns about your dog’s health, be sure to speak with your veterinarian. Thanks for reading! | <urn:uuid:9896ae50-c99d-4ef8-84f1-62203aaa5e19> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://thelabradorretriever.com/tips/what-to-do-about-my-dog-regurgitation/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.96138 | 1,740 | 2.75 | 3 |
Memory generalization is essential for adaptive decision-making and action. Our ability to generalize across past experiences relies on medial-temporal lobe structures, known to be highly sensitive to stress. Recent evidence suggests that stressful events may indeed interfere with memory generalization. Yet, the mechanisms involved in this generalization impairment are unknown. We tested here whether a pharmacological elevation of major stress mediators—noradrenaline and glucocorticoids—is sufficient to disrupt memory generalization. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled design, healthy men and women received orally a placebo, hydrocortisone, the α2-adrenoceptor antagonist yohimbine that leads to increased noradrenergic stimulation, or both drugs, before they completed an associative learning task probing memory generalization. Drugs left learning performance intact. Yohimbine, however, led to a striking generalization impairment in women, but not in men. Hydrocortisone, in turn, had no effect on memory generalization, neither in men nor in women. The present findings indicate that increased noradrenergic activity, but not cortisol, is sufficient to disrupt memory generalization in a sex-specific manner, with relevant implications for stress-related mental disorders characterized by generalization deficits. | <urn:uuid:81e63e99-133b-43fa-84f4-28a0b5882903> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://direct.mit.edu/jocn/article-abstract/29/7/1279/28671/Noradrenergic-Stimulation-Impairs-Memory | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.915904 | 263 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Medicaid is a joint federal/state program of medical assistance to eligible needy persons, usually those of us with disabilities. Medicaid services are provided by participating medical providers and reimbursed by the state. People who are over 65, blind, disabled, the parent of a dependent child, U.S. citizens, permanent resident-aliens, state residents, and financially needy are entitled to it.
But just like other government assistance programs, there are limits to what needs Medicaid covers. Thankfully, different techniques exist to satisfy the needs not covered by Medicaid. These include use of a trust to meet those needs without disqualifying the trust beneficiary (the person in need) from eligibility.
Some trusts can be used and remain exempt for Medicaid purposes. However, federal and state regulations governing these types of trusts are constantly changing and subject to different interpretation by state courts. States may deny Medicaid eligibility for up to 36 months for any uncompensated transfer of assets from a recipient. For trusts, the period can grow to 60 months of ineligibility. A review of each individual's situation with a skilled attorney and financial planner would be a wise decision.
Trusts established for people with disabilities under age 65 with payback language allows the individual (beneficiary) to be eligible for Medicaid. Upon his/her death, the balance in the trust must be used to reimburse (pay back) the state for the medical assistance paid. This is a trade-off for the state allowing eligibility but then requiring payback.
A pooled trust allows a beneficiary the use of assets without influencing eligibility. The trust must be set up and managed by a nonprofit association, and it requires all assets to remain in trust upon the beneficiary's death to benefit others. There is also an exemption for trusts consisting solely of pension, Social Security, and other income payable to a person with a disability. The balance of the trust, of course, would reimburse the state upon the beneficiary's death.
Keep in mind that a trust established by an individual when he/she is the beneficiary disqualifies eligibility for Medicaid. However, when a trust is set up by a third person (other than beneficiary or spouse), the rules become a bit more liberal. Establishing a special needs trust, a discretionary trust, or a combination to provide extra funds needed for the care and maintenance of the Medicaid recipient without disqualification is possible. These trusts provide for the beneficiary's special needs that are not satisfied through Medicaid coverage but differ in method.
A special needs trust stipulates which specific needs are to be satisfied, while a discretionary one leaves this up to the trustee's discretion. Each type takes the control of the assets out of the beneficiary's hands and, therefore, allows eligibility for Medicaid.
The establishment of a trust for the purpose of supplementing Medicaid coverage is a daunting task. In most cases, you can't have your cake and eat it, too. There's no easy way to retain control of income and principal and still qualify for Medicaid.
The use of a trust as a tool to satisfy special needs is possible but should be implemented with the guidance of a skilled attorney and financial planner.
Living Trusts: Fact & Fiction
Living trusts are powerful estate planning tools that can help many people. They provide certain advantages not available with other estate-planning devices.
Living trusts are a way to manage and control property during life and distribute it at death. Those of us with disabilities often need trusts for our benefit in handling our physical or financial needs. They are not, however, a cure-all.
Disciples of the living trust abound today. They tout the advantages with the fervor of a television evangelist. Let's separate the facts about living trusts from some of the fiction that is advocated.
First, it is necessary to understand the nature of living trusts. Technically, they are revocable inter vivos trusts. If a trust is "revocable," the person who establishes the trust can change all or any part of it, so long as that person is competent. Inter vivos is Latin for "during life."
At death, the living trust becomes irrevocable. Assets owned by living trusts generally are not included as part of the probate process at death. Probate is the court proceeding by which a deceased person's assets are gathered and distributed to his or her beneficiaries.
Fact or fiction?--avoiding probate is always desirable. In a strict sense, this is fiction. Probate can be an expensive and time-consuming process. However, many states have adopted the modern Uniform Probate Code that substantially streamlines the process. Also, in some situations, a probate proceeding may be desirable.
Fact or fiction?--living trusts always save money during administration of the estate. By avoiding the probate court, living trusts may save on associated attorney fees and court costs. However, there are still income and estate tax returns to file and legal, administrative, and asset transfer work to do. This claim is not fiction, although it is hyperbole.
Fact or fiction?--living trusts save on estate taxes. Fiction! Living masts do not necessarily save federal estate taxes. Estate tax saving provisions can be incorporated into living masts. However, those same provisions can be incorporated into a will. Therefore, living masts do not offer any inherent tax saving advantages.
Fact or fiction?--living trusts are private. This is largely fact. By avoiding the probate process, you can keep the distribution of your assets private. Also, if the trust is funded (i.e., assets have been transferred into the trust before death) the size of the estate can be kept quiet. However, some transfers, notably real estate, are always public.
Fact or fiction?--a living trust can help in the event of incapacity. Fact, provided you have placed assets in the trust before incapacity or a device exists to place them into the trust in the event of incapacity. If a disability occurs, consider speaking with an attorney experienced in the features and benefits of a special needs trust discussed above.
Another device, the durable power of attorney (see below), can be used in some cases as a less expensive alternative to the living mast when planning for incapacity.
A trust is not appropriate for every individual. Discuss the advantages with your estate-planning attorney if:
* You are the parent of minor children
* You desire privacy
* You own real property
* Your estate is in excess of the applicable exclusion amount
* You wish to avoid probate
The living mast is an important tool that provides many advantages. Living trusts are not, and never have been, a panacea. It is important to work with an experienced estate-planning attorney and evaluate all alternatives before adopting an estate-planning strategy.
Durable Powers of Attorney
Durable powers of attorney are useful tools when planning for the possibility of physical or mental incapacity. They allow for managing financial affairs or making medical decisions in spite of an incapacity.
In order to understand a durable power of attorney, you must first understand powers of attorney in general. A power of attorney is used to give one person the right to act on another person's behalf. The person who grants the power of attorney is called the "principal." The individual who is given the power is called the "attorney-in-fact." There are two types of powers of attorney: special and general.
A special power of attorney gives the attorney-in-fact the right to act for the principal in connection with a specific transaction or for some other limited purpose. For example, you could use a properly drafted special power of attorney to give your Florida lawyer the right to handle a real-estate closing in Florida while you remain in New York.
A general power of attorney is much broader. It grants the attorney-in-fact the ability to do for you almost anything you could do for yourself. Effectively, it creates a legal clone. Because of the broad powers granted by a general power of attorney, it should be used carefully.
Traditionally; powers of attorney expired under three circumstances:
(1) when revoked by the principal, (2) when the principal died, and (3) when the principal became incapacitated. A durable power of attorney is "durable" because it does not expire if the principal becomes incapacitated. This durability makes it such a useful tool.
A variation of the durable power of attorney is the "durable power of attorney for healthcare" (sometimes called a "healthcare proxy" or designation of "healthcare surrogate"). With this type, the principal designates another to make healthcare decisions in the event of the principal's incapacity:. This durable power of attorney is broader in scope than a living will, which generally is used to place limits on heroic medical treatment in the event of a life-threatening illness. Be careful; state laws vary in this area.
Durable powers of attorney are helpful estate-planning tools and are appropriate for many situations. However, they should generally be viewed as a supplement to--and not a substitute for--a living trust.
As always, check with your attorney for your particular situation for the best recommendations. Special needs trusts are precisely that: special. Therefore, it is extremely important you consult with experts in this field to make sure you receive proper information regarding this type of trust, and that it is written correctly.
As always, if I can help you in any way; do not hesitate to contact me.
Contact: Daniel C. Jones, Vice President-Investments, Raymond James & Associates, 401 City Avenue, Suite 700, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004. 800-657-8969 / 610-771-0316 / Dan.Jones@Raymond James.com / www.RaymondJames .com/DanJones. | <urn:uuid:9ed62f94-a38e-4346-bbb9-91cc8412b3d7> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Trusts--and+more!-a0195325525 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.942067 | 2,029 | 2.765625 | 3 |
AbstractKaolin and illite were identified in the clay fraction of Alonso soil. The relative concentration of kaolin to illite in the 2.0-0.2 µ fraction was greater than double throughout the profile, while in the less than 0.2 µ fraction, it was about the same for profile depths down to 3 feet. Illite seems to predominate over kaolin at lower profile depths. The total potassium content of the clay fraction less than 0.2 µ corresponded with the observed trend in illite variation. Illite was found to be the only soil mineral source of native potassium in Alonso soil.
Download data is not yet available. | <urn:uuid:4cbbee20-6b54-4c7b-a446-a71aa6d1b8c0> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://revistas.upr.edu/index.php/jaupr/article/view/11113 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571222.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810222056-20220811012056-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.947161 | 137 | 2.03125 | 2 |
HURON, S.D. — Pulling back a thick layer of crop residue with his bare hands, Mike Beer digs into the earth and holds up a black clump of soil alive with earthworms.
“This is heavy clay and when I first started farming, it was hard as a rock. Now, look at it – it’s like a vegetable garden,” says the Keldron rancher. “I’m a soil person. Even as a kid I was always playing in the dirt, digging holes. I was curious.”
He goes on to explain that even as a young teen, he would go out onto the range and dig deep holes.
“Everyone has something and for me, it is soil,” Mike explains. “I remember seeing the different horizons and understanding that they were different soil types – long before I ever read that in a textbook.”
What began as a childhood hobby became a useful talent in college when he judged on South Dakota State University’s nationally ranked soil judging team.
His interest in enhancing soil health led him to work in the university’s soil lab and complete a 1991 senior research project on no-till farming practices – at the time, a foreign concept in northwest South Dakota.
Today, the soil management practices Mike has implemented for nearly three decades are key to his family’s livelihood on their farm and ranch where Mike and his wife, Danni, raise cattle and a wide range of crops including registered spring wheat, winter wheat, corn, sunflowers, millet, soybeans, chickpeas, hay and cover crops.
Mike, 48, and Danni, 47, were among the first in northwestern South Dakota to implement no-till farming practices. No-till is now the norm because of its ability to capture and retain soil moisture in a region where, “moisture is our limiting factor,” explains Danni. “When we started farming here, everything was strip farmed – one year wheat and one year fallow.”
Dust storms were just part of life. Today, thanks to no-till’s popularity among growers, the couple says wind erosion is no longer much of an issue.
They rely on the diversity of their crop rotations to naturally control weeds and disease pressure. Mike explains that for two years they will plant cool-season grasses – like spring wheat and winter wheat. Then they will follow that with two years of something else – like a cool-season broadleaf, such as field peas – followed by a warm-season broadleaf like sunflowers or warm-season grasses like corn or millet.
“We spray a lot less today than we did 25 years ago,” Danni says.
Working toward a goal
Although Mike did not grow up on a farm or ranch, his roots run deep in South Dakota agriculture. His family homesteaded in Ziebach County.
As a teen, he worked for area farm couple Jack and Barb Wanstedt. Their grown children were not interested in returning home to run the farm/ranch so they reached out to Mike.
“They told me that after I went to college, if I wanted to take over their place, they would help me get started,” Mike says. “It was always my dream to farm.”
Like Mike’s passion for the land, raising cattle was all Danni could envision herself doing. A third generation rancher, she grew up in North Dakota on a registered Angus operation north of Morristown, S.D.
Friends since middle school, Mike and Danni began dating in high school. They attended SDSU. Mike graduated with an agronomy degree and Danni with a degree in agriculture education.
Following graduation, the newlyweds set about building an operation that would sustain their growing family. They have four children; Bobbi Froelich, 24; Bo, 23; Bailie, 20; and Blaze, 7.
“We have always been goal setters. It was our goal to have a full-time operation where we could both work together day-in and day-out,” Danni explains.
Over time, they slowly expanded, adding to the land they purchased from the Wanstedts.
Today, their oldest son, Bo, works with them and is building up his own cattle herd.
“We are always working to increase yields by trying new things or adapting new ideas,” Bo says.
A few years ago, they started seeding in cover crops for additional fall forage as they harvested their small grains mid-summer. “One of us will run the combine while the other runs the drill. This technique captures the remaining soil moisture. In this country, you won’t get seed to germinate if you wait because we may not get another rain,” Mike explains.
It’s the last week in July and the only rain the family has seen in weeks fell the week before.
“We’re at 40 percent of normal,” Mike says of the 4.6 inches of rain the ranch received thus far for the 2017 growing season.
Last fall when they began to fall behind on moisture, the Beers adjusted planting decisions based on fields’ moisture potential. And, when things didn’t look like they were going to change much this spring, they decided to sell calves early to help maintain rangeland health.
“With drought you make a plan then you end up changing it in a couple days,” Danni says.
They ended up having a couple miles of pipeline installed so they could supply well water to pastures which had dams that tested positive for high sulfate levels.
During a drought year, Mike says the years of no-till and other soil-building farming practices pay off. “Look here,” he again pulls back a 4-inch layer of residue in a field of corn, uncovering moist soil. “I plan to harvest most of my acres for grain.”
Nearing the end of harvest 2017, the Beers report that all crops were harvested, but some of the winter wheat was used for hay. As of mid-October, they are optimistic about corn and sunflower harvest.
“We got a little rain the first part of August which really helped things,” Danni says.
To learn more about the Beer family and view a photo gallery, visit www.sdfu.org.
— Lura Roti, for S.D. Farmers Union
For more news from South Dakota, click here. | <urn:uuid:5598e426-ab9e-4ddb-9626-76650cd43015> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.morningagclips.com/sdfu-celebrates-the-beer-ranch-family/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573744.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819161440-20220819191440-00465.warc.gz | en | 0.973955 | 1,402 | 2.53125 | 3 |
When my girls were little and in Kindergarten, D-Day was a very special day. They learned their letters and sounds with a curriculum that included “Letter People” and “D” Day was when they learned about Mr. D and his Delicious Doughnuts. It was also the day the only male teacher at the school, Mr. Davenport (aka Mr. D.) would bring them boxes of delicious Dunkin’ Donuts. The kids loved it.
But this post is about another D-Day, June 6, 1944. Today is the 73rd Anniversary of D-Day. There is a National D-Day Memorial and it’s not located in a tourist “hot spot” like Washington, D.C, where there are a lot of other military memorials. The National D-Day Memorial is located right off Route 460 in Bedford, Virginia. My husband and I stopped there on a trip back from a football game way back last October and I’ve been waiting to share this with you until the real D-Day, June 6th. The memorial is a tribute to the Allied Forces who participated in the invasion of Normandy during World War II. More than 5,000 ships and 11,000 aircraft supported the landing of 150,000 Allied troops on a 50 mile stretch of beach in Normandy, France in an attempt to break the Nazi stronghold on France. More than 9,000 Allied soldiers were killed or wounded on that one day, June 6, 1944. That number included 2,499 American service members.
But why is the memorial in Bedford, Virginia, a small town and county nestled in the Blue Ridge mountains of southwest Virginia? It’s because of the “Bedford Boys”. On the shores of Normandy that day, 44 soldiers, sailors and airmen from the town and county of Bedford were killed. Thirty-seven of those were from one company, Company A, which was part of the first wave of the attack on the beach. The Bedford Boys included two sets of brothers: twins Roy and Ray Stevens, with Ray being killed during the landing while Roy survived, and Bedford and Raymond Hoback, who were both killed. In comparison with the population in the 1940’s, Bedford suffered the nation’s severest per capita D-Day loss of life. (Interesting fact: The losses of the soldiers of Bedford inspired a best selling book, “The Bedford Boys” by Alex Kershaw as well as inspired the movie “Private Ryan”.)
Here’s an arial view of the memorial from a postcard I bought. (Yes, I buy postcards from everyplace we visit…and I never mail them. I keep them all for myself! But they come in handy for times like these.) At the bottom, you’ll notice an area shaped like a shield. That is the Reynold’s Garden and it’s made to look like the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary combat patch. At the bottom of the emblem is a rotunda with a statue of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. (No I didn’t scribble on the picture, that’s wire fencing they put around the garden to keep the bunnies from eating the flowers.)General Eisenhower was name the Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force in 1943 and it was his words that launched the invasion on June 6, 1944. Make sure you look up! The ceiling is the battle plan for the invasion that shows where all the ships, planes and troops were moving and their plan of attack all along the coastline, on the beaches of Omaha, Utah, Gold, Juno and Sword. (Hint if your neck gets tired of looking up, use the camera on your phone. Switch the image (like you want to take a selfie) and hold your phone flat and parallel to the ground. You can zoom in and see everything.)
Walking along the paths leading from the rotunda on both sides are lots of statues of the military leadership that had a part in the invasion….like General Omar Bradley.Closer up is the Elmon T. Gray plaza with a wall covered with bronze plaques that include the names of all 4.413 Allied service members who were killed in action on D-Day, June 6, 1944. In front of the plaza is a representation of “the beach” showing how the soldiers came up on the beach. The flags represent the twelve nations that were part of the invasion: right to left: United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, Greece (hidden), Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland and the United Kingdom.
You might not have noticed these in the pictures above. It’s called a Hedgehog. It was an obstacle set in the water by the Germans to scuttle the landing crafts as they were making their way to the shore. Once the men got to the shore, they were faced with climbing the cliffs. This is the view from the bottom. And this is the view from the top. He made it!
Now that you’ve seen the backside of the D-Day Memorial….let me show you what you see as you drive up. (yes, I know this is a little backwards, but that soldier climbing in the last picture is climbing up to this. The Triumphal Arch. It rises almost 45 feet in the air. Engraved across the top is the word OVERLORD. That was the military code name for the D-Day Invasion.The black and white stripes on the top represent the striping that was painted on the Allied Aircraft for easy identification. See the stripes on the wings and body of the plane?
I’m going to leave you with this. Every American soldier, sailor, and airman who participated in the D-Day invasion of Normandy received this message of inspiration from their Supreme Commander, General Dwight Eisenhower, just before D-Day. | <urn:uuid:ae942422-f92c-4402-9498-2c23ae9b348a> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://jumpingoutofthebox.com/2017/06/06/its-d-day-and-im-not-talking-doughnuts/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571222.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810222056-20220811012056-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.975045 | 1,229 | 2.1875 | 2 |
Car owners know they need to purchase insurance cover once they buy a vehicle. Auto insurance covers a wide range of risks. However, it is best to note that vehicle insurance is mandatory in most states. Also, you need to renew it before expires, and you can buy the cover online. Purchasing a policy is not expensive, and it can save you money and headaches in the event of an accident. Car insurance can compensate you if you get involved in an accident caused by others’ negligence. Also, if you hurt someone through your carelessness, the insurance can cover the cost.
Apart from the bigger benefits, having auto insurance covers even the smaller tasks. For instance, a policy can cover the towing of your car after an accident and the theft or damage of personal items in your car. However, it’s best to know the different types of car insurance and what they cover. Consult your insurance dealer and ask them for the car insurance one-year price. You can also check information online from reputable sources and learn about car insurance without previous insurance. If someone else, apart from you, drives your car often, it is best to check auto insurance coverage and add the person to your policy.
It is not just about having insurance but also having the right insurance to enjoy the maximum benefits of car insurance coverage. The main reason you need to get automobile insurance is to protect the driver and the passengers.
The right insurance cover will take care of any bodily injury and property cost, which arise after an accident. Having insurance does not mean you are a careless driver: accidents happen even to the most experienced and careful drivers.
The fact that accidents occur due to different issues such as car mechanical issues or other drivers is why every car owner needs to have car insurance. The insurance protects you and your family from incurring huge expenses; it supplements your health insurance in case of an accident.
Having excellent insurance coverage will save you the hassle of negotiating with other drivers or insurance on repairing your car; it owns up the process for you in an auto insurance exchange.
Most insurance companies should have auto discount car insurance for loyal clients’ those wondering” how can I get auto insurance close to me?’ have now acquired a solution. It is easy to get this information on online platforms you will also get auto insurance examples that will guide you on the most suitable coverage.
An insurance policy is a kind of policy that protects you from losses and damages. Two of the most important kinds of insurance are auto insurance, also known as car insurance, and home insurance. However, choosing an appropriate policy can be difficult. Therefore, you will want to do some research and get auto or home insurance help; auto or home insurance help can ensure that you get the right policy to meet your needs. Never hesitate to ask for auto or home insurance help.
Everyone needs car insurance; in most states, it is mandated that a driver have car insurance to ensure that in the advent of an accident, all parties are protected. However, when purchasing car insurance, there are several things that you will want to take into consideration. Keep in mind that the price of your car insurance will vary according to a variety of different factors. Car insurance companies will do insurance research on those wishing to take out car insurance, calculating the driver’s risks of getting into an accident. As part of insurance risk management, companies will charge more to insure drivers who are perceived to have a greater risk of getting into an accident. For example, young drivers, elderly drivers, and drivers with numerous tickets and traffic violations are likely to pay more for insurance.
However, there are several things that you can do to keep the cost of your monthly premium down. Generally, the higher your deductible, the lower your monthly premium. Similarly, many companies offer discounts for safe driving or safe driving courses. Of course, if you are an unsafe driver your premium will inevitably go up. A car insurance company may even drop a policyholder who has had too many traffic violations or tickets, as the risk associated with insuring them is too high. These drivers, deemed as “high risk,” will likely need to take out a special high-risk insurance policy through a high-risk insurance company. This kind of policy is substantially more expensive than traditional insurance policies. Therefore, to keep your car insurance at a reasonable price it is advisable to practice safe driving to avoid any traffic tickets or decrease the chance of accidents.
Home insurance, like auto insurance, is absolutely essential. Home insurance covers losses occurring to one’s home or its contents. In addition, it also includes liability insurance for accidents that may happen at the home or at the hands of the homeowner within the policy territory. However, home insurance policies can be quite complicated and it can be difficult to understand what your policy does and does not cover. For example, many policies don’t cover flooding. Therefore, it is essential to get home insurance help if you don’t understand what precisely is and is not covered.
And, like with auto insurance, it is possible to get home insurance discounts. In fact, many insurance companies will offer discounts if you purchase auto and home insurance together, through the same company. Overall, when looking for insurance for home and auto it is essential that you do some research. You will want to look into different plans and pricing to ensure that you are getting a good deal. Try to avoid easy home insurance policies; you want to take your time and make sure you are choosing an insurance policy that will adequately meet your needs in the advent of a mishap. And if you need auto or home insurance help, don’t hesitate to call and ask an insurance company; most will be happy to provide auto and home insurance help and information. | <urn:uuid:7ee10d01-1480-4e95-bc1d-08cf3a871ffe> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://homeinsuranceeasily.com/home-and-auto-insurance-are-essential/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.967863 | 1,184 | 1.835938 | 2 |
A total number of 45,555 motorcycles were stolen in 2015, according to a report by the National Insurance Crime Bureau in 2016. This is an overall six percent increase in similarly reported motorcycle thefts from 2014. These thefts are most prevalent in the states of California, Florida, Texas, South Carolina, and New York. Still, even though you don’t live in these states, it is your primary concern as a motorcycle owner to properly safeguard your property and protect your ownership against larceny.
A layer of caution will help you mitigate the chances of being a victim of theft. Make use of these tips and safety advice to ensure your bike’s safety:
Keep them in a secure place
Keep your garage door closed, or park it where it is safe (e.g. a place with security cameras). When you leave, always make sure it is locked. Keeping it out of sight, or not out in the open will make it difficult for the individuals with thieving motives to gain access to your ride.
Your steering lock is a simple security feature that many fail to take advantage. It’s integrated into the design for a reason. Make sure it is secured every time. Aside from the steering locks, you can opt to use multiple locks to secure your brakes and forks.
Use existing GPS and alarm techs that allow you to monitor your vehicle or notify you when an unauthorized person is handling your ride. New techs like Lock8 for example, allows you keyless locking, embedded with a GPS tracking device and a sound safe bike alarm which raises your attention even from a significant distance. Other security devices include chains, lock-chain combinations, wheel locks, disc locks, etc. Explore your options. There are various merchants you can immediately find online for your motorcycle security tech needs.
Do not store important documents in your vehicle
Do not go mobile with your personal documents in tow, unless it is for some important purpose. This way, you have less reasons to panic should your vehicle gets stolen. Your identity is the last thing you’d want to be robbed of.
Lastly, secure your motorcycle with an insurance. Choose a policy that has good coverage and compensation for theft. All the above mentioned are just security tips. When the unfortunate does happen, it’s a comfort to know you are buffered. | <urn:uuid:ac8946ad-9cb4-4fa6-ab4f-809c4e777812> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://loan.info/starting-business-dont-overlook-things/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.940453 | 490 | 1.625 | 2 |
Divers discover a man who survived for three days underwater without food or water in an air bubble of a sunken tugboat
A Nigerian man survived underwater for three days inside a shipwreck air bubble before being discovered by divers.
In amazing video footage that can be seen below, two divers stumble across a crewmember still alive after three days under sea without any food or water.
The divers were performing a body retrieval mission on board the sunken Jascon 4 in May when they discovered Harrison Okene, 29.
Mr Okene was a cook on board the ship and the only surviving member of the 12-man crew.
“I was there in the water in total darkness just thinking it’s the end.”
“I kept thinking the water was going to fill up the room but it did not. I was so hungry but mostly so, so thirsty. The salt water took the skin off my tongue,” he told the Mirror.
Mr Okene had to spend 60 hours in a decompression chamber after the ordeal until his body pressure returned to normal.
- Woman drowns in cave as sea rescue fails
- Two fishermen rescued after eight days stranded at sea
- Two fishermen die after cruise ship fails to rescue them
Video from LiveLeak | <urn:uuid:8e7146f5-4059-4f3e-82e0-8a4611eb8d24> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.ybw.com/videos/video-divers-rescue-man-trapped-in-shipwreck-for-three-days-1893 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.965051 | 267 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Subpoenas & Warrants
A subpoena is a court order that requires a person to appear in court to give testimony or to present documents and related articles to be produced as evidence at a hearing. A process server or officer will serve a witness personally with a subpoena. The City Attorney may also ask a witness to appear voluntarily without serving a subpoena.
If you have received a subpoena, follow the instructions on it. Failing to follow a subpoena is considered contempt of court and a warrant may be issued for your arrest.
If you fail to appear on your court date or comply with the court's orders, the municipal court judge can issue a warrant for your arrest. Once a warrant is issued, if you are stopped by an officer for any reason, the officer will arrest you and take you into custody.
Below is a list of people with outstanding warrants.We realize that there may be many people who have forgotten about their outstanding tickets and encourage them to contact the court clerk to get this matter cleared up before they are arrested.
View a list of warrants (PDF).
The warrants listed on this site are for informational purposes only. Outstanding warrants on this page are updated frequently. Please note that warrants are continually being issued and cancelled 24 hours per day, seven days a week. Please check the time at the bottom of the warrant return page for the last update time.
All warrants should be verified through Perkins Municipal Court, 405-547-2445, during normal business hours of Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. & 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. After hours contact Perkins Police Department, 405-547-2855, and/or Payne County Sheriff's Office, 405-372-4522 option 1, before service.
Only law enforcement officers may make an arrest based on a warrant. Citizens cannot serve warrants.
The fact that a warrant is listed on this page does not mean that Perkins will extradite the offender. Please contact Perkins Police Department for additional information at 405-547-2855.
If you feel a warrant is listed in error please contact the municipal court clerk at 405-547-2445. | <urn:uuid:380d0259-548b-4480-b330-f45a312c930b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://ok-perkins.civiccities.com/579/Subpoenas-Warrants | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.947825 | 458 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Americans for Peace Now (APN) welcomes President Barack Obama's commitment to continue pursuing Arab-Israeli peace and to continue focusing on peacefully preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
In particular, APN endorses President Obama's focus at the United Nation's General Assembly on engagement with Iran. APN also joins the President's call on friends of Israel in the US and worldwide to "recognize that Israel's security as a Jewish and democratic state depends on the realization of a Palestinian state."
APN's President and CEO Debra DeLee commented: "In his UN speech, President Obama said that resolving Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons and resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict will be the focus of America's diplomatic efforts in the near term. As an organization that has long advocated for a diplomatic resolution of both the Arab-Israeli conflict and the threat of a nuclear Iran, we welcome the President's focus on diplomacy, and his renewed commitment to pursue these goals, two chief US national security issues and the two chief items on Israel's national security agenda.
"We commend the President for urging friends of Israel in the US to support his administration's peace efforts, and his appeal to members of the international community to do their part.
"In the words of president Obama, 'let's emerge from the familiar corners of blame and prejudice; let's support Israeli and Palestinian leaders who are prepared to walk the difficult road to peace.'" | <urn:uuid:edb6d967-5440-4942-9b78-4f1e43ea680b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://peacenow.org/entry.php?id=1381 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571222.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810222056-20220811012056-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.961411 | 287 | 1.523438 | 2 |
A null-terminated, C-style String for use when working with OS APIs.
A CString is a low-level C-style string for use with Declares and MemoryBlocks. CStrings created from Text or Xojo.Core.MemoryBlock and CStrings stored in Autos are reference-counted and safe to keep around. Otherwise, if the string/object that the CString originates from is tied to the lifetime of that string/object.
You can assign a String variable to a CString and it will be terminated with a null automatically. This only converts the String up to the first Null (0) byte value. CString implicitly converts to String when assigned to String variables.
To convert a Text value to a CString, call Text.ToCString. This will only convert the Text up to the first Null (0) byte value. To convert a CString to a Text value, call Text.FromCString.
Declare a CString variable:
Var s As String = "Hello!" Var cs As CString = s
All project types on all supported operating systems.
String data type | <urn:uuid:b4996afc-108f-45a4-ac21-a20c1ee64ba4> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://documentation.xojo.com/api/data_types/additional_types/cstring.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.701634 | 261 | 2.328125 | 2 |
The article discusses the place a word occupies in a child’s early education in terms of his or her musical activity. The author places the function of words at birth, and even at the stage preparing for listening in the prenatal period, then moves on to cooing, babbling, first sounds, words, sequences of words, microforms of a child’s verbal folklore – rhymes, riddles, proverbs and further to children’s songs. Discussing the place of words one cannot forget about speech as a means of expression in the form of creative onomatopoeic sounds of nature, animals, instruments, various phenomena as well as sound and voice effects that vary in terms of musical expression such as intonation, rhythm, timbre, dynamics, agogics and articulation. The next stage is the possibility of using the poems from the children’s literature and the lyrics of children’s songs. The importance of speech in terms of therapy and the importance of words in view of a child’s musical activity at the initial stage of his or her education have also been discussed. | <urn:uuid:4322e716-02f1-4e7e-90c0-dc0950c4b2ad> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://cejsh.icm.edu.pl/cejsh/element/bwmeta1.element.cejsh-4f564e97-23c7-42b3-bc32-1251c621100c | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.963544 | 230 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Also known as
Photo by AlanGardenMaster (All rights reserved)
This plant has a mild fragrance
More images of Buddleia
Buddleja or Buddleia is a genus containing over 140 deciduous, evergreen and semi-evergreen shrubs, trees and a few scrambling climbers. Most grow no taller than 5m and they have simple, lance-shaped to ovate leaves. Originally from Africa, Asia and the Americas, Buddleias are widely cultivated for their attractive, scented flowers and their varied, attractive colours in shades of purple, pink, red, yellow, orange and cream. Butterfly Bushes, as they also known, can flower anytime during spring, summer or autumn. There are a huge range of cultivars that have been developed for garden use and there's a colour and scent for every garden. Be warned however, that some species spread their seed very widely and are considered invasive in certain locations! Species such as Buddleja davidii, Buddleja alternifolia, and Buddleja crispa are particularly attractive to butterflies and other pollinating insects, their eye-catching panicles of small tubular inflorescences filling the air with lovely fragrance! The natural habitat of Buddleja is scrub, rocky areas and riversides. In cultivation they will often be found in mixed or shrub borders or wildlife gardens - often growing up against a sunny wall. (Or indeed from a crack in a wall!) In general, they like fertile, well-drained soil and watering in summer, if it is very dry. Some Buddlejas can be grown successfully indoors and most will need pruning, different species needing to be cut back at different times of the year.
Common problems with Buddleia
How to propagate Buddleia
Root semi-ripe cuttings in summer (autumn for B. davidii).
Special features of Buddleia
Attracts useful insects
Other uses of Buddleia
Clusters of small, often fragrant flowers which are attractive to butterflies. Suitable for coastal conditions.
Plants for Summer Cuttings
Some of the many plants which you can take semi-ripe cuttings from in summer.Explore all | <urn:uuid:f2b98cc7-6d2a-4a19-b4e8-69ed7731120c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://candide.com/ZA/plants/be16e2b6-42d7-4fbe-aca7-88bd599dfacf | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.931196 | 575 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Still Training Heavy Equipment Operators Construction is considered a necessity, and despite the shutdowns that…
The Department Of Labor has a good site that provides a lot of information for anyone looking to work in the construction industry. They have a special section for those looking to work with heavy equipment and the training and certification required.
Most of the information points to school leavers entering apprenticeships. However there is one section that deals with private training and it makes for interesting reading. One section is particularly important:
[source]Certification and other qualifications. Mechanical aptitude and experience operating related mobile equipment, such as farm tractors or heavy equipment, in the Armed Forces or elsewhere is an asset. Operators need to be in good physical condition and have a good sense of balance, the ability to judge distance, and eye-hand-foot coordination. Some operator positions require the ability to work at heights.
Certification or training in the right school will allow a worker to have opportunities across the country. While attending some vocational schools, operators are able to qualify for or attain various certifications. These certifications prove to potential employers that an operator is able to handle specific types of equipment. Certifications last from 3 to 5 years and must be renewed.
The article reiterates some of the information we passed on in earlier posts. One line stands out and relates to ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools – training in the right school will allow a worker to have opportunities across the country.
To receive certification the heavy equipment training school itself needs to be accredited. If you are looking for training, make sure the training organization has accreditation from an authorized body. | <urn:uuid:27b8b01e-6fdc-4949-bbf9-150c7110c295> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://heavyequipmentschool.com/department-of-labor-and-heavy-equipment-training/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572212.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815205848-20220815235848-00465.warc.gz | en | 0.958545 | 333 | 1.789063 | 2 |
How many teaspoons is 1g yeast?
What is 1 gram of yeast in teaspoons? One gram of active dry yeast converted to teaspoon equals to 0.35 tsp.
How many grams is 1/2 tsp of dry yeast?
One teaspoon of active dry yeast converted to gram equals to 2.83 g.
How many teaspoons is .25 dry yeast?
2 1/4 teaspoons
ANSWER: One (0.25-ounce) package of active dry yeast is equal to 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast.
Is 7g of yeast 1 teaspoon?
Dry yeast in small packs has most universal weight. One packet, one sachet or one envelope weighs 7 grams (0.25 oz or 2 teaspoons). 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of dry yeast equals 3.5 grams.
How many teaspoons of yeast is 10 grams?
You need 10 g – so divide 10 g by 4.8 to get the number of tsp. you should use – 10 / 4.8 = a little more than 2 tsp. You really should get your measurement this way instead of relying on a generic conversion formula.
How do I measure 1 ounce of yeast?
One ounce of active dry yeast converted to tablespoon equals to 3.33 tbsp. How many tablespoons of active dry yeast are in 1 ounce? The answer is: The change of 1 oz ( ounce ) unit in a active dry yeast measure equals = into 3.33 tbsp ( tablespoon ) as per the equivalent measure and for the same active dry yeast type.
How many teaspoons is 2 oz of dry yeast?
2 ¼ teaspoons
One 2-oz. cake yeast is equal to three packets (¼-oz. or 2 ¼ teaspoons each) of dry yeast.
What is 1 teaspoon in grams?
To be precise, 4.2 grams equals a teaspoon, but the nutrition facts rounds this number down to four grams. Using this equation, you can easily look at any food product to see how much sugar it contains.
What is a 1/4 ounce of yeast?
1 envelope or packet of Active Dry Yeast, Instant Yeast, Rapid Rise Yeast, Fast Rising Yeast or Bread Machine Yeast weighs 1/4 ounce or 7 grams which equals 2 1/4 teaspoons (11 mL).
How many grams are in a TSP of yeast?
A tablespoon of brewer ‘s yeast weighs about 15 grams, so a teaspoon which is 1/3 of a tablespoon would weigh about 5 grams.
How much yeast is in a packet?
According to Red Star, a very common yeast brand in the US: The strip contains three packets; each packet in the strip is considered one package. Each package contains 1/4 oz. or 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast. This is approximately 7 grams, or 11 ml.
How many grams are in a TSP?
type in your own numbers in the form to convert the units! ›› quick conversion chart of tsp to grams. 1 tsp to grams = 4.92892 grams. For this table, it is easier to use the “easy calculation” of 4 grams of sugar per tsp. | <urn:uuid:383407c6-7a0f-4102-b01a-fed191b50cc7> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://turningtooneanother.net/2021/06/05/how-many-teaspoons-is-1g-yeast/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.909261 | 651 | 2.421875 | 2 |
As applications become more complex, developers and engineers are looking for ways to build flexible and scalable software solutions. In that vein, 60% of tech companies, including giants like Spotify and Amazon, have switched to microservices.
In line with this trend, any forward-thinking tech company should consider switching from a monolithic architecture to microservices.
But before you start the migration process, you must develop a clear, feasible strategy to ensure a smooth transition. In this article, you’ll learn the benefits and challenges of migrating to microservices.
A monolithic architecture is a system in which all operations, data storage, and request processing are handled by a universal codebase.
Traditionally, monoliths contain a client-side user interface, a server-side application, and a database. The server-side application receives and processes requests, executes domain logic, returns data from the database, and presents it to the requestor (client) on the user interface.
Although monolith ecosystems exist mainly in legacy applications, some developers still use this architecture model for simple software programs and proof of concept applications.
Conversely, microservices refer to software architecture that contains multiple services responsible for specific operations. The microservice architecture is also known as service-oriented architecture (SOA).
The following are core attributes of a microservices architecture:
If your business is on the fence about migrating to microservices, your hesitation is understandable. Let’s discuss some compelling reasons why transitioning to an SOA makes sense.
Monoliths are difficult to scale because changes to one module necessitate a wholesale redeployment of the entire application. But with microservices, teams can make the system more scalable without disrupting other functionalities.
Netflix switched from a monolith architecture to an SOA to make their system more scalable. As the company’s user pool continued to expand, the developers predicted that the development ecosystem in place would no longer be able to handle the influx of data and content.
To that end, Netflix’s engineers started decoupling services, like video encoding and user registration, as independent modules.
The rigidity and lack of agility in monoliths makes it difficult to adapt to modern platforms and technologies. Conversely, microservices give engineers more wiggle room to experiment with and integrate new technologies.
EBay adopted RESTful APIs as part of the company’s efforts to abandon its outdated monolithic architecture. By doing so, the company was able to deploy a component library that powered functionalities like Dark Mode.
When working with monoliths, engineers can only work within the confines of the core architecture. But with microservices, multiple teams can simultaneously work on the same application. Consequently, this ensures the efficient use of time and resources, increasing productivity across the board.
Although monoliths are easier to build, they only work for simple applications, proof of concept software (PoC), and minimum viable products (MVPs).
When working on complex applications like ride-sharing apps, monoliths can disrupt the timeline by limiting the range of freedom that engineers can enjoy.
Alternatively, using an SOA adds extra degrees of freedom, increases the efficiency of processes, and therefore reduces the time-to-market.
Bugs in a monolithic architecture make the entire system vulnerable to malfunctions and possible malware attacks (DDOS, SQL injections, etc.). But these vulnerabilities are less critical when using microservices.
Although the multiple modules of an SOA introduce several points of attack, the failure of one unit doesn’t spell doom for the entire ecosystem.
Debugging a complex monolith is a grueling task for developers, especially when working with an old codebase. Even if the team can pinpoint the malfunction easily, they still need to redeploy the entire infrastructure.
However, you can reduce the effort spent on redeployment by moving to microservices. You only need to fix and redeploy the affected modules instead of the entire application architecture.
One drawback to using an SOA is that you might struggle to discover the exact point of failure in complex, multi-layered systems. But with modern monitoring tools like Netsparker, you can track these flaws in no time.
When an application relies on monoliths, every team has to focus on a specific aspect of the architecture, which leads to redundancies, bureaucratic bottlenecks, and extended timeframes.
On the flip side, microservices rely on APIs to communicate. To meet this goal, teams need to generate functions that work both internally and externally.
When Amazon moved from monoliths to microservices, the company created its own web service APIs to communicate with the rest of the world.
Yes, hopping on the bandwagon is not always the best business approach to software development. But, as we’ve mentioned, drivers of innovation like Amazon are championing microservices. This buy-in from tech giants makes the idea of adopting a service-oriented architecture appealing.
But before switching from monoliths to microservices, weigh the pros and cons of each model on a case-by-case basis.
Data from O’Reilly shows that around 62% of companies have recorded some level of success after migrating to microservices.
However, companies like Shopify still maintain a modular version of their monolithic architecture because it helps them maximize productivity. And switching to an SOA presents a few hurdles that every team must consider before migrating.
Here are the main challenges to moving your application from monoliths to microservices.
Adding more modules to the existing architecture makes it more complicated to manage. Instead of focusing on a single codebase, you now have to worry about multiple codebases performing different operations. And not only that, the documentation will continue to increase as new modules or microservices enter the system.
With microservices, you now have to worry about debugging the code for multiple distributed servers instead of focusing on just one. This obstacle prolongs code review efforts and delays the implementation of new changes before deployment.
When you add new modules, you need to find developers and engineers who can work with the underlying programming language. Your DevOps team will need to upgrade their skill sets or hire new team members to fill the skill gap.
Since you now need to add more services, expand testing efforts, and improve skill sets, the overall cost of migration will increase. In some cases, like Spotify showed, sticking with the monolith and making necessary upgrades is the more cost-effective option.
Migrating to microservices is not a foolproof approach by any means. Mistakes and lack of preparation can destroy the application, leading to abandoned projects and wasted resources.
So, we’ve gathered the best practices to ensure a smooth migration to microservices.
The most common mistake most companies make is that they dive into the migration effort before putting the right team in place.
Unlike the traditional monolithic architecture, working with microservices requires the efforts of cross-functional teams comprising developers, QA specialists, and engineers.
Consider creating a refined DevOps strategy to build, test, and deploy applications when migrating to microservices. And if your team members lack the skill to carry out the migration procedure, this is the perfect time to upskill them.
With a team in place, your engineers can start deconstructing the monolithic architecture, paying particular attention to continuous delivery pipelines and the API management system.
Also, your team should prioritize components that can be decoupled without affecting client-facing applications that rely on the monolith to run. Tools like Sonargraph Explorer can help you outline component dependencies based on an established hierarchy.
During migration, you should never decouple all components at once. The best strategy involves decoupling edge services before advancing to those embedded deeply into the existing monolith.
Starting with edge cases allows your team to “fail early” and flesh out all operational prerequisites before moving to mission-critical components.
Tech expert Martin Fowler proposes decoupling capabilities that undergo frequent changes — such as customer personalization in a retail management system.
During migration, users will still interact with your application. To ensure that they can access the software, use an API to handle all data-access cases. Also, the unified API should be backward compatible.
According to Eric Evan’s domain-driven design (DDD), the API should provide an anti-corruption layer to translate requests between the subsystems that make up the monolith and microservices applications.
Splitting a monolithic architecture into too many microservices creates an ultra-complex distributed system that will be a nightmare to debug.
To avoid this unnecessary heavy lifting, start by breaking the monolith into large chunks (macroservices) that share the same data repositories, then split them into smaller independent units (microservices).
For instance, if you have a monolith for a food ordering application, a macroservice can handle “Orders,” while the constituent microservices can manage sub-tasks like sorting, payment, and shipping.
You can use the Richardson Maturity model to decouple services based on REST.
At every stage, always carry out tests to debug the application and spot logic flaws within the architecture. Use integration testing techniques to establish a relationship between the migrated data and the remaining chunks in the monolith.
You can also test access controls to ensure that users are not viewing data from the old database. Afterward, you can deploy the freshly-minted microservices.
An excellent approach to deploying microservices is the evolutionary architecture model. Under this approach, your team can introduce incremental developments in core engineering practices. This evolutionary model is apt for the constantly-changing ecosystem of software development.
Migrating from monoliths to microservices seems like a no-brainer for software development companies today. But before you migrate your application from monoliths to microservices, strive to understand the benefits and possible challenges. Assemble the right team to handle the migration procedure without disrupting the user experience and internal operations.
Ultimately, always test every new component and feature in the new microservice architecture before deployment. | <urn:uuid:31886b98-3fde-4976-bf20-e2ebd17464a6> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://intexsoft.com/blog/why-its-time-to-migrate-from-monoliths-to-microservices/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.917079 | 2,083 | 2.234375 | 2 |
Level 6 Diploma in Occupational Safety and Health
The qualification is divided into three units:
Unit 1 – Principles of health and safety management
Unit 2 – Safeguarding people’s health in the workplace
Unit 3 – Promoting a positive health and safety culture in the workplace
Unit 1 is assessed by a 3-hour written examination
Unit 2 is assessed by a 2.5-hour written examination and a workplace-based assignment
Unit 3 is assessed by a workplace-based assignment
If you can’t find time in your busy schedule to attend a classroom course, then distance learning is the answer.
The structured programme includes study texts, PDF PowerPoint presentations, research tasks and practice questions. Progress is tracked and tutor support is available via e-mail.
Assessment is via two written examinations and two workplace-based assignments.
Why distance learning?
Structured and easy to follow programme
Study wherever and whenever suits you
Perfect for people with busy lives
Most cost-effective way to study for this qualification
Tutor support via e-mail | <urn:uuid:30ffbcde-e54d-4c5a-95fa-e98483bf00e7> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.aimvisionsafety.co.in/grad-iosh-british-safety-council-diploma/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.934948 | 230 | 2.109375 | 2 |
A muscle strain or pulled muscle occurs when a muscle is overstretched or becomes torn. Depending on the severity of the injury, it may take anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months to fully heal.
Muscles are made up of muscle cells that are bundled together. The bundles form into muscle tissue that is surrounded by fascia. Muscles do attach to bones using tendons. Muscle tissues are fed a supply of blood and nerve vessels. When you think to walk, it is the nerve signals sent to the muscles that exert force on bones via the tendons to create movement.
In the worst cases of muscle strain, there is typically also injury to the tendons which take longer to heal. Made up of collagen fibres, tendons lack the same level of blood supply as muscle tissues.
Recovery Process for Muscle Strains
- Stage 1: Inflammatory stage – This starts from the time the injury occurs, up to 3-5 days thereafter. It is when the injury stops bleeding as blood clots and scar tissue form hence the need to stop physical activity to avoid increasing blood circulation that would dislodge the clots. During the inflammatory process, the body will seek to remove and absorb damaged cells while stabilising bleeding. It is advisable to avoid anti-inflammatory medication at this time to avoid interfering with this important process.
- Stage 2: Proliferation stage – This process will take about 7-21 days after the inflammatory stage is over. During this time, the body will generate new cells that are still weak and will attach to the blood clots. You should start to introduce some gentle movements to help build strength.
- Stage 3: Remodelling stage – This stage can start as soon as new cells begin to form but can take even months to complete. Strength training should be done during this time to help strengthen new cells and align them appropriately with the rest of the uninjured tissues so they can perform the function that the particular muscle or tendon does.
Signs of Muscle Strain
Muscle strain will often be a result of injury or overuse of muscles. When it occurs, you will typically feel some pain, weakness, and possible muscle spasms. You may also experience some cramping and see swelling. If blood vessels have been injured, bruising may also appear. The symptoms will often be more intense the more severe an injury you have, and will thus take longer to heal.
Types of Muscle Strain
This is the mildest and most common form of muscle strain that typically involves small tears to the muscle tissues caused by overexerting yourself or minor impact injury. You might feel some mild pain when being physically active or after. You may also feel some soreness or weakness for at least a couple of days when you try to use your muscles. Recovery from this injury can take less than a week.
This is when moderate muscle tears occur. It can be characterised by pain while active, aching, or cramping that forces you to stop. Recovery from this injury can take about 3-7 days before you feel comfortable to start being active again. Grade II injuries and higher will often benefit from physical therapy that can be applied for several weeks. As the muscles and tendons heal and new cells fill in the damaged sections, using the scar tissue as scaffolding, osteopathic treatments like gentle stretching, massage, and articulation can help train them back to normal function without pain.
This kind of injury involves more severe tears to the muscle that results in more intense and stabbing pain. You may also feel sudden weakness and suffer a limited range of motion. This kind of injury may require some immobilisation and take anywhere from 3-6 months to recover. Once the injured part is no longer immobilised, the patient may be referred to an osteopath to carry out physical therapy that will help to reduce pain, relax the muscles, recover mobility, and articulate the joints. This therapy will typically start with light movements as the muscle strength is built up.
This is the most severe muscle strain that will often involve having the muscle or tendon being seriously torn or ruptured and possibly detached from the bone. There is often severe pain felt and the sensation that there is a big gap in the muscle. Swelling and discolouration will often also appear. This level of injury will often require surgical intervention to reattach. Depending on the location of the injury and severity, recovery may range between 3-9 months or longer for recovery. It may be a few months shorter if not severe enough to require surgery.
Treatment for Muscle Strain
The more severe forms of muscle strain that may require many weeks or months of recovery tend to come with a pop sound from the muscle. For mild cases that come with less pain, the RICE protocol can be effective. This involves:
- Rest to prevent further injury
- Ice application to reduce swelling
- Compression for support
- Elevation to encourage drainage
The use of over the counter pain medications like ibuprofen can also help relieve pain symptoms. Try to take it easy to allow healing to occur. If you return to your normal physical activities too soon could cause further injury.
If you suspect your injury is a Grade II or higher, go see your doctor. You will likely be referred to a physical therapy specialist like an osteopath for rehabilitation. The massage, stretching, and physical manipulation applied will help relieve muscle tension, improve mobility of the joints, reduce pain and promote faster healing of the injury. | <urn:uuid:93f4a054-5f1e-49cd-91e5-ea606b57bc7b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://ostco.co.uk/blog/how-long-does-it-take-for-a-muscle-strain-to-heal/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.952371 | 1,130 | 3.78125 | 4 |
Customers must be at heart of circular economy, retailers agree
Retailers must be prepared to collaborate to create a 'behavioral catalyst' that will transform the circular economy concept into a viable, mainstream business model, a panel of sustainability experts has concluded.
Sustainability gurus from Samsung, Sainsbury’s, John Lewis met in London yesterday (05 November) at the annual WRAP conference, advising companies to create an ‘enabling environment’ for the circular economy.
The transition to a circular economy will be centred on the behavioural changes of both producers and consumers, the panel said.
WRAP’s chief executive Liz Goodwin opened the conference with a passionate speech calling on companies to act on the mounting resource challenge. Goodwin said: “We need to stimulate innovative business models, and we’ve got to make these innovations happen as well as changing consumer behaviour.
“We know more about food waste than the rest of Europe, but the important thing is starting to measure what we know and setting the right targets will help. Targets are needed because they focus the market but it’s difficult to set them across the whole of the EU.”
— WRAP (@WRAP_UK) November 5, 2015
The role of the consumer was considered to be the main barrier to overcome in order to truly establish a succinct, global circular economy. John Lewis is one of many in the fashion sector moving to sustainable sources of cotton in order to hit sustainability goals, but as the group’s sustainability sourcing manager Eoghan Griffin pointed out, the decision wasn’t driven by consumer demand.
Griffin said: “The main issue is balancing the circular economy with the customer’s constant need for new. We’re not getting a massive demand from consumers to have sustainable products. For us, our responsibility is to meet the more general demands.”
These sentiments were echoed by Goodwin who added: “The consumer has a huge role to play but at the moment they don’t understand and are unaware. There’s a role for the retailers to be enablers and give more information.”
Providing a perspective from the electronics industry, Samsung’s sustainability affairs manager Kevin Considine agreed there are still some key challenges surrounding the transition to a circular economy, but he believes servitisation could provide the answer.
Samsung recently announced the launch of a new refurbishment business model, which encourages consumers to return unwanted or damaged goods back to the manufacturer so that they can reuse the goods to create new products.
Considine explained: “Refurbishment is an increasingly important and growing sector which would allow us to get closer to our customers. There’s always a demand for a primary product but increasingly there will be demand for refurbished products.
Considine also called for a reform of regulatory systems to allow for more efficient business models compared to the “fragmented” regulations that big businesses currently operate within. “Businesses need time to develop their own approach, rather than a rush to introduce regulation,” he said, claiming he is an advocate of “more carrot, less stick” to incentivise positive change.
Food for thought
While the technology sector has this refurbishment option availble to discourage end-of-life, the circular economy becomes a whole different beast for the food sector.
This week, chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall went to ‘war on waste’, with a new TV show highlighting the food waste caused by exacting supermarket standards. The show revealed that as much as 40% of farmers’ crops are being rejected due to aesthetics.
Judith Batchelar, director of Sainsbury’s Brand, spoke of the retailer’s desire to source food from more sustainable sources, while Sainsbury’s is also working on incorporating new initiatives to promote sustainability and reduce supermarket food waste.
“We want to make sure that the raw materials we are using – from the soil all the way through to the consumer – are sourced in the most sustainable way posible,” said Batchelar.
Batchelar pointed to an AD plant that recently opened at Sainsbury’s Cannock store – which turns food waste from the store into energy that is used to power in-store operations – as one example of how technological advancements are helping the company move towards circular business processes.
Despite technological advancements creating a bright new future for the food sector, Batchelar noted that by 2022 only 58% of people would be shopping instore – down from 78% in 2013. This is inadvertantly creating a ‘digital barrier’ between producer and consumer, so retailers could have to reach out digitally to connect and educate consumers.
Last year, Sainsbury’s did just that, launching a new online tool with Google that offers people practical help and inspiration on using up ingredients that would otherwise end up going to landfill.
But in order to truly advance digitally and reach out to the growing proportion of online customers, Batchelar admits that collaboration will hold the key. “It’s difficult for businesses that operate in a competitive space to galvanise and collaborate in a way that truly drives a step change,” she said.
“We need to create a pre-competitive environment to share ideas without it being construed as anti-competitive.”
© Faversham House Ltd 2022 edie news articles may be copied or forwarded for individual use only. No other reproduction or distribution is permitted without prior written consent. | <urn:uuid:c435c43c-7618-41c7-b365-b1993497563c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.edie.net/customers-must-be-at-heart-of-circular-economy-retailers-agree/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571222.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810222056-20220811012056-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.943769 | 1,172 | 2.0625 | 2 |
With the recent release of Halo 4, players have once again been thrust into the space boots of Master Chief Petty Officer John-117. Master Chief has faced a wide variety of enemies since the 2001 release of Halo: Combat Evolved that have been both impressive and terrifying. The mere sight of a particular foe, however, has the ability to chill the blood of even the most seasoned gamer to deep-space temperatures.
We are referring to the Inferi redivivus of course, more commonly known as The Flood.
According to Robert McLees (artist and writer at Bungie, developer of Halo 1-3) the conceptual origins of the Flood come from the "fungal zombie," an unused asset from the earlier Bungie title: Marathon 2. Upon the release of Halo 3, an entire biological history had been explored, elevating the Flood from creepy space monsters/cannon fodder to a life-form that is truly horrific. It was the knowledge of their insidious life-cycle that led to their destruction at the hands of Master Chief.
These space parasites have one mission: survival at all costs. Unfortunately for us, that means the violent death and assimilation of all sentient life in the galaxy. Bummer.
These intergalactic parasites reproduce by infecting other sentient organisms of sufficient biomass and assimilating the host cells. This results in monstrous "Flood-forms" of the host, whose physiology is almost unrecognisable, and whose mind has been completely re-wired into serving the parasite's need to consume anything that crosses its path. In fact, the Flood were considered so dangerous an adversary in the Halo universe, that entire solar systems have been wiped out in order to hold back the advance of this interplanetary plague. An organic "controlled burn" if you will.
Mercifully, such an abomination does not exist in the real world (as far as we know). There are certainly enough creepy flora and fauna on Earth to go around, although currently nothing that amounts to a significant galactic threat.
Interestingly though, there are examples of parasites in the real world that share some distinct features with the Flood, i.e. the ability to change their host's behaviour and to drastically change their physiology. Though, of course, they would not pose a threat to Master Chief and the United Nations Space Command…
As for earthly parasitic infections, there is an innumerable number of examples; in fact, depending on the definition used, as many as half of all animal species exhibit parasitic behaviour at some stage of their life-cycle. It is clearly a successful biological strategy, as parasites can become so inextricably linked to their hosts that they will coevolve with the host, to such an extent that sometimes the absence of the parasite can lead to autoimmune disorders in the host. Equally, there are some parasites that over long periods of coevolution, develop techniques that alter their host's biology and behaviour even more noticeably. And, dare I say it, just like the Flood!
Leucochloridium paradoxum, also known as the Green-banded Broodsac, is a parasitic flatworm that infects snails and birds. To complete its full life cycle, it must infect a snail, then a bird, before infecting another snail. However, the issue here for the parasite (not an issue for the bird or the snail, so much) is that snails are not the preferred food for birds, who prefer caterpillars or grubs.
Amazingly, this parasite alters the mind of the snail, making it climb higher to an exposed leaf or branch, rather than skulking around in the undergrowth, increasing the possibility of the snail being picked up by a hungry bird and thus passing the infection to the next host. On top of that, the flatworm is able to change the physiology of the snail, particularly the eyestalks, in order to make them appear more "caterpillar-like," and thus more appetising to a passing bird. This change is due to the caterpillar-coloured "broodsac" (tube-shaped bodies containing parasite larvae) of the flatworm itself, growing within the snail eyestalk (Yikes!).
Left: A snail infected with Leucochloridium paradoxum, which has augmented an eyestalk to appear more appetising to passing birds.
Right: A member of the Covenant infected with Inferi redivivus, which has augmented the limbs to eviscerate Master Chief more efficiently.
So, like the Flood, this parasite has altered the body of its host in order to serve its own ends. This physiological change is obviously not on par with the tentacled monstrosities that appear in the Halo franchise, but is nevertheless significant.
There are other parasites though, that are thought to be able to alter the development of its host organism at a molecular level, causing extreme limb malformations. There are several species of the Ribeiroia genus of flatworms that go to extreme (and extremely gross) lengths to increase the likelihood that an infected frog will be eaten by a bird, like a heron, and so pass the infection on to the next host. The flatworm larvae are water-borne, and from rivers and lakes are able to seek out tadpoles and infect them. The resulting frog that develops from the infected tadpole will often exhibit severe growth abnormalities, like extra legs.
Left: A frog infected with Ribeiroia, which has caused extra/deformed limbs to increase the likelihood of the host being picked up by passing birds.
Right: A human infected with Inferi redivivus, caused extra/deformed limbs to increase the likelihood of the host causing Halo players to cry in terror.
How the flatworm larvae are able to cause such extreme effects has still yet to be conclusively determined, although there is evidence to suggest that these deformities are due to the parasite releasing mutagenic/teratogenic chemicals into the developing embryo.
Another strategy that is commonly used by parasites of earthly origins, is to modify their physical surroundings to better suit their needs.
In the case of the Flood, once an infestation has taken hold, the infected begin to coat their environment in Flood "biomass." This is to aid the spread of the organism by releasing spores. In the real world, there is a parasitic wasp that also effects changes in its environment to increase the surviving potential of its offspring.
Hymenoepimecis argyraphaga infects spiders and completely alters the spider's web-building behaviour. Instead of using its web to catch food, the infected spider creates a large web cocoon for the gestating wasp larva, allowing the wasp offspring to hang in position far away from possible predators. So, like the Flood, this parasite has altered the environment around it to protect itself and allow continued spread of the infection.
Left: A comparison of i) normal spider web and ii) web of a spider infected by H. argyraphaga, which has resulted in a web cocoon housing the wasp larva, protecting the insect's offspring.
Right: A Forerunner ship infested with Flood, which has resulted in a biomass cocoon housing the ship, protecting the infestation.
However far these examples are from a bona fide galactic scourge (*phew*), it is still interesting to remember that reality can be as strange, and creepy, as fiction. Just in case though, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to start work on a Halo array to prepare for the pending Ribeiroia invasion.
You're running out of ammo, the last medikit you saw was three towns behind, and that nice guy shooting at you just got a sniper to help him out.
Without divine intervention and after that nice guy gets a lucky shot (and why wouldn't he?), you (or what's left of you) are probably headed to the... More » | <urn:uuid:fed86aaa-70b4-4bbc-b682-e4f8377a0c3c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://kotaku.com/real-life-parasites-that-behave-remarkably-like-halos-m-5981553 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.962417 | 1,636 | 1.703125 | 2 |
28 Nov 2017
Research article | 28 Nov 2017
Spatiotemporal patterns of the fossil-fuel CO2 signal in central Europe: results from a high-resolution atmospheric transport model
Yu Liu et al.
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14 citations as recorded by crossref.
- On the diurnal, weekly, and seasonal cycles and annual trends in atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> at Mount Zugspitze, Germany, during 1981–2016 Y. Yuan et al. 10.5194/acp-19-999-2019
- Pixel Size and Revisit Rate Requirements for Monitoring Power Plant CO2 Emissions from Space T. Hill & R. Nassar 10.3390/rs11131608
- Quantifying CO<sub>2</sub> emissions of a city with the Copernicus Anthropogenic CO<sub>2</sub> Monitoring satellite mission G. Kuhlmann et al. 10.5194/amt-13-6733-2020
- Multiscale analysis on spatiotemporal dynamics of energy consumption CO2 emissions in China: Utilizing the integrated of DMSP-OLS and NPP-VIIRS nighttime light datasets Q. Lv et al. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134394
- An inversion method for estimating strong point carbon dioxide emissions using a differential absorption Lidar T. Shi et al. 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122434
- An online emission module for atmospheric chemistry transport models: implementation in COSMO-GHG v5.6a and COSMO-ART v5.1-3.1 M. Jähn et al. 10.5194/gmd-13-2379-2020
- Accounting for the vertical distribution of emissions in atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> simulations D. Brunner et al. 10.5194/acp-19-4541-2019
- High-resolution simulation of wintertime fossil fuel CO2 in Beijing, China: Characteristics, sources, and regional transport T. Feng et al. 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2018.10.054
- A high-definition spatially explicit modelling approach for national greenhouse gas emissions from industrial processes: reducing the errors and uncertainties in global emission modelling N. Charkovska et al. 10.1007/s11027-018-9836-6
- Modeling the environmental implications of car ownership and energy consumption in the UK: Evidence from NARDL model O. Funsho Idowu et al. 10.1080/15568318.2021.1969708
- Detectability of CO<sub>2</sub> emission plumes of cities and power plants with the Copernicus Anthropogenic CO<sub>2</sub> Monitoring (CO2M) mission G. Kuhlmann et al. 10.5194/amt-12-6695-2019
- Simulations of summertime fossil fuel CO2 in the Guanzhong basin, China T. Feng et al. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.021
- Spatiotemporal Variations of City-Level Carbon Emissions in China during 2000–2017 Using Nighttime Light Data Y. Sun et al. 10.3390/rs12182916
- High-resolution spatiotemporal patterns of China’s FFCO2 emissions under the impact of LUCC from 2000 to 2015 J. Zhao et al. 10.1088/1748-9326/ab6edc
Latest update: 08 Aug 2022 | <urn:uuid:a4b77246-6219-434a-b72d-bbe85a7c4d15> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/17/14145/2017/acp-17-14145-2017-metrics.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.697419 | 1,042 | 2.15625 | 2 |
The invitation of the Estonian Annual Philosophy Conference 2017 with the theme “The Post-Truth Era” began with the following words:
“Post-truth” was the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2016. According to some authors, post-truth is a useful concept to understand some of the most recent political events. But what does post-truth mean? Is it really such a useful concept as many claim?…
Obviously, those recent political events mentioned were the Brexit referendum and the rise of Donald Trump. Some people regarded it as the beginning of the post-truth era.
Such an eschatology had made me highly sceptical. Therefore, I chose the following theme of my presentation:
“The Post-Lies Era”
Finally, I refused to extend my presentation to include it in the academic collection of presentations. I argued that the theme of the conference was altogether not a philosophical issue.
The following section is the abstract of my presentation, which I made using Skype streaming.
The Post-Lies Era
I am far from going to argue that the post-lies era has arrived. Rather, I believe that mankind has lived in lies at least 2017 years.
More importantly, however, there are no more reasons to assume that the post-truth era has arrived than there are reasons to assume that now, finally, the post-lies era has arrived. Both of them might be self-justifying ideological claims.
One can reason as follows. After the era of colonialism, racism and holocaust, in the second half of the XX century, a new era of new lies began — the post-national and post-racial era. The so-called “political correctness” and “multiculti” ideologies prevailed. On utilitarian grounds, those facts and scientific investigations were suppressed which were assumed to be insulting or provocative. For example, the Nobel Prize winner James Watson was in effect executed in 2007 for his remarks concerning the relationship between the races and the IQ. Simultaneously, traditional forms of double-morality and governmental lies continued to flourish — remember, eg, the propaganda to start the Vietnam War or the Iraq War.
In the 1990-s, however, the era of the internet begun. It is the era of non-mainstream media, hackers and Wikileaks. Assange and Snowden have revealed us new truths — truths about governmental lies.
As a result of this post-lies era, the government monopoly of lies has been broken as well. Also, new politicians with their new truths and lies are emerging. Today, North-America is living in a state of inner information war.
Conservative political forces, dissatisfied with the consequences of new revelations and new lies, have coined the term “post-truth era”.
A really interesting philosophical question is whether Giordano Bruno and Galileo Galilei’s punishments can be regarded as the examples of “political correctness”.
#monopoly of lies;
On Scientific Racism
In my presentation, I also challenged the widespread view that together with Donald Trump and Brexit, such an era has begun, when scientific investigations are suppressed because of ideological and political reasons. As a counter-example (one of the various possible ones — like the alternative medicine, the climate sceptics, etc), I used the controversies around the so-called “scientific racism”, particularly scientific investigations concerning race and intelligence or the IQ. This part of my presentation was not included in my abstract.
My aim was not to argue about particular scientists or particular cases — whether there was a racism present or not. The sole idea was to remind that there have been well-documented cases when some scientists have complained that scientific investigations of some kind have been suppressed because of ideological and political reasons. And this has been so already long ago — before the so-called “Post-Truth Era” had supposedly begun.
The following examples have been copied (and shortened) from the Wikipedia. However, I have checked their background from various sources, including the newspapers.
1972 Resolution On Scientific Freedom
In 1972, 50 academics, including the psychologists Jensen, Eysenck and Herrnstein as well as five Nobel laureates, signed a statement (Page 1972), usually entitled
Resolution on Scientific Freedom Regarding Human Behavior and Heredity
criticizing the climate of
“suppression, censure, punishment, and defamation… against scientists who emphasize the role of heredity in human behavior”.
1989 Philippe Rushton — police investigation
In 1989 J. Philippe Rushton was placed under police investigation after complaints that he had promoted racism in his publication on race differences.
Rushton (1996) later wrote that there was a
“taboo on race”
in scientific research that had
“no parallel… not the Inquisition, not Stalin, not Hitler.”
2002–2004 Tatu Vanhanen — police investigation
In 2002 Richard Lynn and Tatu Vanhanen published the book
IQ and the Wealth of Nations
A complaint by Finland’s “Ombudsman for Minorities”, Mikko Puumalainen, resulted in Vanhanen being considered to be investigated for incitement of “racial hatred” by the Finnish National Bureau of Investigations. In 2004, the police stated they found no reason to suspect he incited racial hatred and decided not to launch an investigation.
2006 Frank Ellis
Frank Ellis, a university lecturer who claimed that black people were less intelligent than whites was suspended from his post, referring to the
Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.
2007 James D. Watson
In 2007 James D. Watson, Nobel laureate in biology, gave a controversial interview to the Sunday Times Magazine during a book tour in the United Kingdom.
This resulted in the cancellation of a Royal Society lecture, other public engagements, and his suspension from his administrative duties at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. He subsequently cancelled the tour and resigned from his position at CSHL, where he had served as either director, president or chancellor since 1968.
Utilitarian Justification of the Inquisition?
I do not argue that this or that particular scientist from the list above was or was not a racist. Neither shall I explain here the right and wrong definitions of racism. However, what I do argue is the following.
Some kinds of scientific investigations have been suppressed long ago. One of the reasons is obviously utilitarian: such investigations may insult people, provoke racism or unrest, etc. In sum: such issues in science are suppressed because of political and ideological reasons. And it has been so long ago — before the so-called “Post-Truth Era” supposedly begun.
To those who regard utilitarian justifications of suppressing science as valid, I suggest reconsidering our attitudes concerning science history. For example, perhaps the theories presented by Giordano Bruno and Galileo Galilei were insulting to religious people, there was a danger of religious unrest, etc. Perhaps the execution of Giordano Bruno was a paradigmatic example of “political correctness”?
Why not to consider a utilitarian justification of the inquisition, if our present practices are correct.
From some information having negative consequences it in no way follows that this information is false or that it has been obtained using non-scientific methods.
- Ceci, S. & Williams, W. N. (2009) “Should Scientists Study Race and IQ? YES: The scientific truth must be pursued.” Nature, v 457, 12 February, pp 788–789.
- Eintalu, J. (2017) “The Post-Lies Era.” Estonian Annual Conference of Philosophy XIII, 11.‒13. May, Tartu University, Kääriku.
- Hill, H. (2001) Blackstone’s Guide to the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. Oxford & NY: Oxford UP.
- “History of the Race and Intelligence Controversy.” Wikipedia.
- Hunt-Grubbe, Charlotte (2007) “The elementary DNA of Dr Watson.” The Times, October 14, London.
- “‘I Am an Unperson’: ‘Racist’ DNA discoverer forced to sell Nobel Prize medal.” Russia Today, 29 November 2014.
- Lynn, R. & Vanhanen, T. (2002) IQ and the Wealth of Nations. Westport, Conn.: Praeger.
- Page, E. B. (1972) “Behavior and Heredity.” American Psychologist, vol 27, n 7, July, pp 660–661.
- Rose, S. (2009) “Should Scientists Study Race and IQ? NO: Science and society do not benefit.” Nature, vol 457, 12 February, pp 786–788.
- Rushton, J. P. (1996), “Political Correctness and the Study of Racial Differences.” Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless, n 5, pp 213–229.
- The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 (2002) Wales: National Assembly.
- Vetta, A. (1973) “Amendment to the ’Resolution on Scientific Freedom Regarding Human Behavior and Heredity’.” American Psychologist, vol 28, n 5, pp 444. | <urn:uuid:75718a58-1b8f-4368-b0ea-0900b9c759fa> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://antiacademiaorg.wordpress.com/2021/01/24/the-post-lies-era/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.942645 | 1,988 | 1.976563 | 2 |
We’re letting everyone else’s agenda live for free in the sacred space of our creative mind, and it’s time for an eviction.
This space is necessary for ideas to form, for questions to rise up, for hope to weave her way into our vision for the future, and for the dots of decision to begin to connect in the quiet places of our mind and heart.
Good decisions require creativity, and creativity requires space.
This space is necessary for you to speak out against the injustices you see in the world, the problems you know you can help solve, and the beauty you long to deliver.
Of course our life is filled with natural interruptions and distractions, and this is often where our real life happens. But there is a whole category of distraction we have control over, and that’s the stuff that comes from our phones.
If you would like an even more concrete plan for a technology fast, author Andy Crouch, in his book The Tech-Wise Family, follows this rule: an hour a day, a day a week, and a week a year without technology.
As you embrace your own version of becoming a soul minimalist, I hope you’ll receive the wisdom to begin to give up what you no longer need, like fear about the future or regret over the past.
I hope you’ll embrace a willingness to face the silence within and not worry so much what you may or may not hear. I hope you’ll be willing to create a little space for your soul to breathe so you can discern your next right thing in love.
This excerpt is from Chapter 2 of Emily P. Freeman’s book The Next Right Thing, Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, ©2019 , used by permission.
Emily P. Freeman is the author of the national bestsellers The Next Right Thing, Simply Tuesday and A Million Little Ways. As host of The Next Right Thing podcast, she helps create space for the soul to breathe, offering fresh perspective on the sacredness of our inner life with God. Emily and her husband live in North Carolina with their three children. Connect with her online at www.emilypfreeman.com and on Instagram @emilypfreeman.
Photo Credit: ©Thinkstock/mavoimages | <urn:uuid:ab2ed47a-f162-4766-bc06-48a2ca66f1a3> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/need-clarity-and-peace-try-being-a-soul-minimalist.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570793.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808092125-20220808122125-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.91244 | 480 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Does neuronal recycling result in destructive competition? The influence of learning to read on the recognition of faces
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SourcePsychological Science, 32, 3, (2021), pp. 459-465
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I posted this on the SAFE forum here, but putting it here too because I think it is equally relevant
I’m only a quarter through reading this long article, but it is gold. He’s analysing social networks, but the insights are much broader, for example into how to grow SAFE and Solid, what matters, how scarcity and proof of work (in social terms) is a vital ingredient in successful social networks.
See his three axes for analysing social networks: Social Capital v Utility v Entertainment.
Then let’s consider the questions this raises. For example, which are relevant to SAFE Network or Solid as a whole, and which apply to different aspects, subsets and components (such as farming, app development, users, different application categories, storage / music / comms / social etc etc)?
Here’s another taste of how this post is giving us new ways to think about this (well me anyway ):
Proof of Work Matters
Why does proof of work matter for a social network? If people want to maximize social capital, why not make that as easy as possible?
As with cryptocurrency, if it were so easy, it wouldn’t be worth anything. Value is tied to scarcity, and scarcity on social networks derives from proof of work. Status isn’t worth much if there’s no skill and effort required to mine it. It’s not that a social network that makes it easy for lots of users to perform well can’t be a useful one, but competition for relative status still motivates humans. Recall our first tenet: humans are status-seeking monkeys. Status is a relative ladder. By definition, if everyone can achieve a certain type of status, it’s no status at all, it’s a participation trophy.
One of his points is that social networks succeed or fail at accumulating social capital, or rather by incentivising users (status seeking monkeys) to compete to create it on their platform.
In which case, how do SAFE and Solid disrupt this? Which has two sides: 1) in what way do we want change this game (eg by shifting ownership of capital, and the platforms, from centralised profit seeking companies, to those who create the social value - ie everyone using them)? And 2) if we do this, how do the dynamics of these ‘games’ change?
The second seems important to keep up front as we explore these issues, because if we assume the game is unchanged, and try to replicate Facebook etc in a different environment, we will fail. First because even if we succeed we really haven’t changed much (if we’re still incentivising status seeking with little social purpose or value - just follower counts), and more pressing - we may set ourselves up to fail if the models just don’t work in a more democratising environment.
So tbh this means looking at what makes those models work and figuring out whether that still works, and looking for things that might work better. In turn, we can then look for things to build that are both workable and meet wider goals - such as unleashing human creativity rather than finding ways to accumulate and exploit the value created by others without them even realising. But maybe that’s just me
Anyway, this looks like fertile ground for us, here’s the article: | <urn:uuid:36a59c62-3b8a-4f60-80eb-b072c5e6be7a> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://forum.solidproject.org/t/status-as-a-service-saas-lots-of-insights-for-safe-solid/1382/10 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.941796 | 702 | 1.898438 | 2 |
All links are not created equal. Effective link building is an art, and whoever tells you different either doesn’t know better or is trying to sell you something. Here are the ten commandments of link building.
- Thou shalt not blog comment spam – This is one of the most annoying forms of link building that most bloggers come across every day. The irrelevant, pointless and duplicate comments that akismet filters from our blogs every day. Besides the fact that most blogs use rel=nofollow in their comment section, which render the SEO value of these links useless, it also damages brands and breaks trust in the community. There’s nothing wrong with leaving meaningful and useful comments on relevant posts, but don’t post for the sake of getting a link. Contribute value to the conversation.
- Thou shalt not article market – This one is a little tricky. Article marketing on its own isn’t a bad thing per se, but the way marketers have abused this system over the years has left a lasting impact on how Google values links within articles on sites such as ezinearticles. If you’re going to spend time on writing and spinning flimsy articles, why not spend that time on writing a guest post for popular blogs?
- Thou shalt not create thousands of forum profiles – Automated forum profile creation tools like xrumer are very popular in the blackhat community, and there are even sites online that provide this as a monthly service. The problem here is the same as blog comment spam; You create a large number of irrelevant links to your site. Not only will Google detect a sudden spike in back links which will raise a red flag, a lot of the links you’re getting will be from “bad neighbourhoods” (sites and topics most webmasters dont wan’t their sites associated with) Again, slightly tricky because Google can hardly punish a site for getting loads of bad links, because a competitor might simply build bad links to your site. It’s very likely that Google ignores these links completely. So why spend your money on xrumer licenses, server resources, and monthly spam plans? Use it to buy stumbles or legit banner advertising instead.
- Thou shalt not social bookmark everywhere – Again, relevancy is a key component when it comes to link building. If you buy a “500 social bookmarks” deal from someone for $25, you just lost $25. Keep in mind that the easier a link is to get, the less value it holds for Google. Instead, try to become a power-user on a select few social networks. If you manage to play the social bookmarking game right, you’ll actually hit front pages on the networks. The main reason would not be for instant traffic, but for the additional links that your content will get from the exposure.
- Thou shalt not submit to every directory – Directories are a dime a dozen, and 99% of them hold no SEO value. Once again, the easier it is to get a link, the less value it will haver for Google. Try to find relevant directories, and stick with them
- Thou shalt not worship pagerank – Pagerank isn’t dead. Every webmaster forum you go to will have a link sales section, and prices are largely influenced by the pagerank a link will pass. Have you ever noticed in the search results, when you look for something random, the top ten results are NEVER ordered by pagerank? Results #1-9 might have a PR of 0, while result #10 has a PR of 7. Seek relevancy, not pagerank.
- Thou shalt not email spam for reciprocal links – “Hi, can I get a link from your links page if I give you a link from my links page?” – There’s nothing wrong with a reciprocal link, as long as it’s from a relevant site. It might not be as powerful as a one-way link, but they can’t be completely disregarded. What you shouldn’t do though is run automated scripts that scrape the Internet for keywords and send automated emails to the website owners. You’d be surprised how quickly you and your domain end up on a spam blacklist.
- Thou shalt not use link farms – Owning hundreds of blogs is one way you can quickly build links to your site(s). The problem is that it is very likely that you’re leaving footprints from that network for Google to find, and they can undo all your hard work with one slap. Sure, you can go through all the trouble of buying hundreds of domains, getting them all hosted on separate c-block ip addresses, scraping and spinning “original” content for them. I have one word for you. Panda (Even John can’t kill this panda!) Instead, use all that time and money to build one amazing site that can attract links by merit.
- Thou shalt not use the same anchor text all the time – Getting over 25% (or even less) the same anchor text links just doesn’t look natural. Especially with longtail keywords over 3 or 4 words. If you ask ten people to write ten sentences with ten links to a page about SEO advice, tips, tricks, and tutorials – chances are you’ll end up with ten different links (e.g SEO advice, SEO tips, tricks for SEO, tutorials on SEO, etc). Best practice is to mix it up within a relevant, unique sentence or pargraph every time. This is very hard to accomplish with automated scripts, so just do the old fashioned by-hand method. Works every time.
- Thou shalt not forget about deep links – Your homepage doesn’t have to be your most important page. Let’s say you have an e-commerce site, and you want people to find your products in Google, you’re better off getting a deep link to the most relevant page for a keyword term, instead of the homepage (which is most likely to be generic and less relevant). That way you’re not only helping Google to decide what exactly your site is about, you’re also pushing the relevant sales page up for visitors, who don’t have to go looking for the products on the front page. Less clicks = better user experience for your clients.
Although there are many more things I could talk about in this post, I think this sums up nicely the basics of bad link building. Some of the methods might seem like winners, but in the long run, none of them are sustainable for any business model. Google is constantly evolving to crush anything that’s not considered natural and useful.
This guest post was written by Bob Jones, an SEO strategist at an SEO Company | <urn:uuid:2b47161a-42f6-47a7-8988-d2053c2272b0> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://johnchow.com/the-10-commandments-of-link-building/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.928065 | 1,409 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Setup Git with Unity3d for Commercial Development — Part 2 First Commit
Click Here for Part 1 — where we set up Git and GitHub, along with our first project and first Repo.
Learning the Day-To-Day Git Work Process
The initial release of Git was in 2005 so it has over 16 years of improvements and features. Gits full power can literally be someone’s full-time job to maximize.
We don’t need to worry about all that power though, we just need to know how to work in it daily as a developer (or maybe a designer or artist).
First Some Simple Terminology
A “Commit” is saying we are backing our changes up to our Local Repo, so it’s the act of committing our changes into the Version Control System. To do a commit we first have to “Add” the changes we want to commit.
A “Push” means we are sending the committed changes to the Remote Repo, while a “Pull” is downloading changes from the Remote Repo. We use the terms push/pull for commands in place of terms like send/download.
The standard basic routine is we “Pull” to get the latest files from teammates, we check to ensure nothing conflicts or breaks. Then we “Add” and “Commit” our files to save a revertable backup of our changes. Finally we “Push” to GitHub so others can have access to the files.
Your first Commit & Push
There are many workflows and tricks with Git to avoid potential issues or just simplify how teams work together. For now, we’re focused on learning in a solo private repo, and in later articles tackle best practices on pulling work down without losing your changes, “stashing”, and handling “merge conflicts”.
As discussed in the terminology above, we must first “Add” before we can “Commit”. And we must “Commit” before we can “Push”.
But before all else, we should “Pull” down changes. Even though this is a new project if we double check our GitHub there is a very important file in our Remote Repo on Github.
We need to pull down our “.GitIgnore” file.
Why we need .gitIgnore
Large software projects like Unity3d projects have a lot of generated files, files we don’t really need to upload to the source control as they’d either take up space or are meant to only stay on the local computer.
How to Pull from GitHub
Pulling is pretty straight forward it’s simply this line of code
git pull origin main
“origin” is the default git name for the special remote repo URL we set up in Part 1. While “main” is the default branch name we have defined. You can also just use ‘git pull’ but this example was shared so you can see why it works.
Now you should see a .gitignore file in your project folder. Using any text editor, like Notepad, we can see a lot of work GitHub saved us with their Unity template. We won’t go into gitignore now but know it basically means “do not upload this”.
Now we can Add Changes
First, let’s understand “why” we need to add. If we use ‘git status’ we can see a lot of red lines. Red lines are all the “new” files that we have in the project, and we have to selectively define exactly what we want to add.
So we can go through each of those items and say ‘git add Assets’ and so on, but that’d be exhausting. Instead, we have a special symbol to say “all” by using a period.
git add .
And now all of the changes have been added and running our status command we’ll see all the lines are now green!
How To Commit
Now we can Commit, there’s just one special thing we need which is our commit “message”. A message is simply a note we add to the commit so we can see what changes we put into the version control system.
So let’s do a simple commit with a message just saying we created a new Unity Project.
git commit -m "Created a new Unity Project"
Now we have our changes saved in our Local Repo! We just need to get it to GitHub our Remote Repo so it’s securely backed up online.
How To Push to GitHub
To push your Local Repo changes (which now contains our one new Commit), we simply need to simply say ‘git push’ but as it’s our first time we need to assign a default push location.
git push --set-upstream origin main
Again just like the pull, the ‘origin’ is the default remote repo which is GitHub and ‘main’ is our default branch. In the future, we can just use ‘git push’.
And well that’s it. You just made your first Git Commit and Push!
If we refresh GitHub we can even see our Unity Asset files!
Now that all the setup is done it’s really just these four simple routine commands you will use throughout the day.
git add .
git commit -m "Fixed Bug #123"
Congrats! You Can Now Use Git
You now know enough to start using Git daily to have a secured backup system to work on a commercial product solo.
You’d just use your routine commands and commit/push whenever you want a retrievable backup of your project. It’s best to commit after a bug fix or a new feature is added, plus it makes adding meaningful messages much easier!
You can learn the rest of the Git Bash commands as you need to.
What’s Next — LFS
If your working on a public project, or a team project, there’s lots more to learn. From dealing with licensed assets, avoiding bad merges, and automation improvements.
The most important one for Unity3D projects though is setting up LFS or Large File Storage. You’ll need this for solo or team projects as most commercial Unity Projects are going to max out Git’s default 1GB storage. So that’s what we’ll be diving into next! | <urn:uuid:59c3e65d-1e90-421c-8c1b-da9938ba158b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://marchewitt.medium.com/setup-git-with-unity3d-for-commercial-development-part-2-first-commit-b000d0fc16d2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.907269 | 1,397 | 1.945313 | 2 |
Each season of each year brings something new to our weather table here in the Washington metropolitan area. One thing is for sure in our area, the weather is never the same. Sure we know it will be humid in the Summer but other than that who knows what a particular season will bring. The latter days of Summer this year were fairly cool and dry and then all the sudden it got pretty darn hot again which actually breathed new life into my tomato plants giving me some very delicious late season tomatoes! Nothing like a tomato sandwich in early October – that may have been a first for me using tomatoes from my garden.
Other things have also done well here at the end of the Summer especially some old standbyes such as Clematis paniculata. If you, or a neighbor, has this vine you know it comes up from seed readily throughout the garden. Sun or shade, it will perform. I like to let these seedlings grow in place and temporarily take over another plant or boulder or fence. In this case you can see it is growing over my Crimson Queen Weeping Japanese Maple. This is the second year I have allowed this Autumn Clematis seedling to grow over the Maple. I cut it back to about 12” high right after it finishes blooming to try and contain the seeds but most importantly to clear the Maple foliage so as not to adversely affect the plant. As long as I see no evident damage to the Maple I will allow this little seedling to continue. Another example is just to let the vine stretch out in the garden. It has such a beautiful carpet of deliciously fragrant flowers that it is well worth it to allow this vine to take over temporarily.
An unexpected late season performer this year was Hosta ‘Great Expectations’. In past years this guy was pretty crispy by the middle of September but here at the end of September this guy is still going strong. In this particular photo Hosta halcyon is in the background, which is generally one of the best performing Hostas in our area. The blue leaved Halcyon has the advantage though of waxy leaves which helps to fend off slugs and other leaf eaters. This particular area of my garden gets sun until late morning. Each year our area brings unexpected joy in our gardens – it just depends on the weather we have gotten. | <urn:uuid:e655d291-694a-475d-8bd7-18d53ca56cd4> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://www.creativeexteriors.net/category/autumn-clematis/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.959101 | 476 | 1.546875 | 2 |
The locals in many countries consume foods that we find to be bizarre, but China has one of the largest varieties of food in the world. Walk down any street market in China and you’ll find the delicious delicacies, the tourist treats, and even the downright disgusting. Some of these dishes are known for their tastes, some for being unique, and others for their medicinal purposes and can be made from animals, plants, insects, and just about anything else. The saying must be true, “The Chinese eat everything with four legs, except tables and chairs, and everything that flies, except airplanes.” |Top 10 Bizarre Foods to Eat in China
10 : Balut
The Chinese, along with other countries, eat eggs in a very different way known as balut. Balut is a partially developed chicken or duck egg that has been incubated between 14 and 21 days before being boiled and eaten.
Balut is a popular street food that can be found at many roadside markets. It may sound sickening to eat a partially developed duck, but this dish is considered a delicacy in many places such as China.
9 : Silkworms
Various insects are considered a delicacy in many cultures. In China, silkworms are one of those insects, and they are enjoyed by the locals. Silkworm pupae remaining after their fibrous cocoons have been harvested are used in several different ways for consumption. The flavor is like shrimp or crab and has a chewy consistency.
Silkworms can be found in local markets cooked several ways or stocked frozen and canned. Chinese-style silkworms are added to stir-fry with your favorite vegetables, soy sauce, and seasonings. Its normally served up with rice or noodles, or the pupae can be deep fried and served with your choice of dipping sauce.
8 : Sheep penis
If you are looking to boost libido, the Chinese have a Bizarre food that may help. Sheep penis along with other animal penises and testicles are served as a remedy for the problem. A restaurant in China, Guolizhuang, is dedicated to serving all types of dishes with animal genitalia such as sheep gonads on a bed of curry and steamed sheep penis.
The locals enjoy the flavor of the dish, but they also believe it is good for one’s health. Many of the customers at the restaurant are males looking to increase potency and sexual prowess. The Chinese believe that they can replenish parts of their bodies by eating dishes with those same body parts, which is why testicles and penises are consumed to improve sexual health.
7 : Pi Dan
Pi Dan, also known as century egg, is a traditional Chinese food that boasts a unique color and fragrance. It is usually a duck or chicken egg that is preserved in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, and alkaline material. The egg yolk may appear yellow, dark green, or brown depending on the processing time, but the center is normally soft in all colors. Refreshing, smooth, delicious, and salty are words that normally describe the unique food.
During the process of making these eggs, a chemical reaction turns the egg white to transparent, and a snow-flake pattern may be visible on the outside. Pi Dan can be preserved up to five months if the eggshell remains unbroken. They can be served in cold dishes such as a salad or can be paired with soy sauce and green chilis for a spicy lunch.
6 : Bird Spit Soup
One of the more controversial bizarre foods the Chinese eat is bird’s nest soup. This famous soup is made from a swiftlet’s actual nest. This small bird is found in Southeast Asia and lives in dark caves like a bat. Their nests are made from their own gummy saliva produced by the glands under their tongue. The nest of saliva hardens as it is exposed to the air.
The common way to cook bird’s nest soup is slowly steaming it after soaking it in water. The texture of the nest is soft like jelly, but it doesn’t have much taste. The taste is not what keeps locals coming back each day for this soup, but it is the benefits that attract the Chinese. If the soup is consumed regularly, it is believed to help maintain youth and promote a healthy life and strong body .|Top 10 Bizarre Foods to Eat in China
5 : Scorpions
Those looking for something crazy to snack on while walking the streets of China may find scorpions to be a tasty treat. These small scorpions are fried and served on a skewer stick. They can be found on the streets of popular cities to lure tourists into trying something local and bizarre. Since the scorpions are thin, they turn out crispy with a nice seasoning. It is believed that eating scorpions can cure certain medical conditions and can make the blood hotter in cold conditions
4 : Stinky Tofu
One of the most popular snacks in China is stinky tofu. The smell of the popular street food can be spotted from a block away, maybe even further. The traditional dish is tofu fermented in a mixture of milk and a vegetable, meat and fish-based brine, or a combination of these ingredients.
It is usually deep-fried in vegetable oil and served with chili and soy sauce and served in small squares skewered together and served on a plate. It can also be found steamed, stewed, or served in a soup. Biting into stinky tofu feels like biting into a piece of soft cheese and tastes best when served with sauce or toppings. Want to know where to find it? Simply follow your nose.
3 : Chicken Testicles
KFC offers several types of chicken on the menu, but you’ll have to search other places in China to find chicken testicles. These juicy delicacies are said to enhance male prowess and improve a woman’s skin tone. They are available in both pink and black, and their size ranges anywhere from one to two inches long.
Their casings contain flesh making them like little sausages. They are lightly cooked to keep them tender, and juice will ooze into your mouth as you take the first bite. After boiling or frying the chicken testicles, they will offer a mild flavor and are best served with rice, noodles, or even both.|Top 10 Bizarre Foods to Eat in China
2 : Fried Seahorse
seahorse is one of the cutest small marine fish found in the sea, but it is also found on China streets as a snack. Seahorse has a squid-like consistency and is very salty. They are mostly found in soups or on kabobs and found at several street markets. You must be careful when consuming seahorse though, because they have sharp pieces that can get caught in your gums or teeth.
The Chinese also believe there are great benefits to eating seahorse. One Chinese proverb says that eating seahorse can keep an 80-year-old grandad young. Many locals use it as an ancient Chinese medication for energy and to boost sexual performance. They can be mixed with herbs and boiled as tea to treat asthma and male sexual dysfunction. Unfortunately, it appears that seahorse numbers are declining due to the high demand.
1 : Turtle Shell Jelly
Turtle Jelly or tortoise jelly, also known as guilinggao, is a Chinese jelly-like dessert. It is traditionally made from various types of turtle’s bottom shell and several herbal products. Most turtle jelly comes from commonly available turtle species to keep the price down, but some extremely expensive options are available and are made using ingredients from the golden coin turtle. Some turtle jelly on the market doesn’t even include any ingredients from a turtle anymore.|Top 10 Bizarre Foods to Eat in China
This delicacy is also used for its medicinal purposes in China. It is said to be able to improve circulation, assist muscle growth, and restore kidney functions. Many believe that regular consumption of turtle jelly can improve skin by giving it a healthier complexion. It usually dark brown or black in color and slightly bitter, but many sweeteners can be added to improve taste.
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Also read : | <urn:uuid:0f01c024-59b8-4642-8ee5-ffa55ffee7c7> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://bazarr24.com/top-10-bizarre-foods-to-eat-in-china/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.959328 | 1,801 | 1.882813 | 2 |
India ranked 103rd among 119 countries in the 2018 Global Hunger Index. Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe have jointly published the report that identifies India as one of the countries with “serious level of hunger”. It zeros in on India, Djibouti and South Sudan as the countries where child wasting is most prevalent. Children under the age of five, who become victims of acute under nutrition with low weight for their height, are tagged in the group of child wasting.
Among our neighbouring countries, India (103) is behind China (25), Sri Lanka (67), Myanmar (68), Nepal (72) and Bangladesh (86) and only ahead of Pakistan (106) and Afghanistan (111) on the Hunger Index. Hunger means the distress associated with a lack of sufficient calories that makes children disabled and stunted forever.
In the ‘State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, 2017’ report, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN has estimated that 190.7 million (14.5 per cent of our population) people are undernourished in India. Ironically, it has also been estimated by the UN that nearly 40 per cent of the food produced in India is wasted or lost. And this cost India one lakh crore rupees every year. Obsolete technology used in infrastructure and transporting food items is the culprit for food wastage in India.
Instead of engaging in temple tug of war, city renaming and statue building games or trying to find lives in Mars, we must adopt a better technology to reduce food wastage to save millions of living temples of our country. The government can start shelters in various places to distribute cooked food to hungry people after collecting excess and donated fresh cooked food from local eateries and houses that have sent missed call/ SMS/ WhatsApp requests to a particular number. In this way, wastage of cooked food can also be checked and managed in a proper way. | <urn:uuid:d7f5100c-dca0-4c17-ae20-8a5fc910ca23> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://arunachaltimes.in/index.php/2018/10/25/prevent-wastage-of-food/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573744.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819161440-20220819191440-00465.warc.gz | en | 0.937419 | 419 | 3 | 3 |
Ceritinib is a brand new, oral, potent and selective second-generation anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor permitted by the Food and Drug Administration of the United States in April 2014. It is lively in crizotinib-resistant sufferers, particularly in sufferers with non-small cell lung most cancers (NSCLC) and mind metastasis.
The intention of this research was to analyse the consequences and unwanted side effects of ceritinib in ALK-rearranged NSCLC.We searched articles revealed from January 1980 to March 2019 in PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and Web of Science. The pooled estimate and 95% CI have been calculated with DerSimonian-Laird technique and the random impact mannequin.
From 15 articles, 2,598 sufferers have been included in the meta-analysis. Eleven research reported the ORR, and the DCR was offered in 10 research. The ORR and DCR of ceritinib have been 0.48 (95% CI, 0.39-0.57) and 0.76 (95% CI, 0.69-0.82), respectively. The PFS and OS have been offered in 9 and three eligible research, respectively. The PFS and OS of ceritinib have been 7.26 months (95% CI, 5.10-9.43) and 18.73 months (95% CI; 14.59-22.87).
These outcomes advised that ceritinib can successfully deal with sufferers with ALK-rearranged NSCLC. Diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting have been the three most typical AEs and occurred in 69% (95% CI 51.7-87.1%), 66% (95% CI 47.0-85.8%) and 51% (95% CI 35.9-66.8%) of sufferers, respectively. Considering critical gastrointestinal AEs, antiemetic and antidiarrhoeal medication needs to be thought-about to enhance a affected person’s tolerance to ceritinib.
Ceritinib is efficient in the remedy of sufferers with ALK-rearranged NSCLC with crizotinib resistance. The DCR was as much as 76%, and PFS was prolonged to 7.6 months. The AEs have been acceptable.
Promising Practices for Addressing the Underrepresentation of Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine: Opening Doors: Proceedings of a Symposium–in Brief
Careers in science, engineering, and drugs supply alternatives to advance information, contribute to the well-being of communities, and help the safety, prosperity, and well being of the United States.
Many ladies don’t pursue or persist in these careers, or advance to management positions – not as a result of they lack the expertise or aspirations, however as a result of they face boundaries, together with implicit and express bias; sexual harassment; unequal entry to funding and assets; pay inequity; and increased educating and advising load, amongst others.
A 2020 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (the National Academies),Promising Practices for Addressing the Underrepresentation of Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine: Opening Doors, opinions the present state of information of components that drive underrepresentation of ladies in science, expertise, engineering,
arithmetic, and drugs (STEMM) and supplies an summary of current analysis on insurance policies, practices, applications, and interventions for bettering the illustration of ladies in these fields.
On March 19, 2020, the National Academies held a digital symposium to share key messages and findings from the report in addition to hear from consultants on the vary of points addressed in the research. This publication highlights the presentation and dialogue of that occasion. | <urn:uuid:2e522432-af10-456c-a585-494667c8ad0f> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://marchforscienceshop.com/efficacy-and-safety-of-ceritinib-in-anaplastic-lymphoma-kinase-rearranged-non-small-cell-lung-cancer-a-systematic-review-and-meta-analysis/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.930295 | 799 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Our local Suppliers - 4 requirements
100% Grass Fed | Soya Free Feeds
The meat we source from our local farms are either 100% grass fed in the case of our Beef and Lamb. The chicken and pork are also pasture raised with their additional feed free from soya and palm using only locally grown and regeneratively farmed grains.
Local Family farms
Large factory style farms cannot offer the same connection with their animals that a small farm can offer. A small farm run by a family will build up a strong relationship with the individual animals, they will see any issues when they notice the character of the animal change, providing care unique only to these smaller farms.
The customer should be able to know what the animals eat, how they are farmed, what breed of animal you are eating and so much more. With the few select farms we work with we have access to exactly the depth of information we need. The consumer can then also read about where the animals came from and how they were raised.
Many farm animals are fed grain and cake purely to speed up the growing process. An animal fed a natural varied diet from the pastures, will in turn lead to a much more flavoursome and nutrient rich meat product. Also livestock that lead stress free lives can improve the end quality of the product.
Read about the four farms we source our sustainable meat from below ↓
We are based on Horner Farm, with Lamb and Cattle kept in a way that works closely with nature.
From Horner in Somerset. We farm with our environment as opposed to changing our environment for our farming system. We believe in an integrated approach where production is not removed but run in harmony with our natural world. We are recovering land that for years had been under intensive management with high inputs. We listen to our animals, grasslands and soils to make informed choices.
We run a low input and lower output system with diverse grazing of sheep, goats, cattle and chickens to rebuild diversity in the grassland swards, we have also planted wood pasture and silvopasture.
31 Miles away
29 Miles away
Farming at Great Avercome in Bishops Nympton, Devon, Matthew cooke and his family farm Stabiliser Cattle. These hardy cows from the US are perfectly suited to his pasture raised system. Matts engineering background has allowed him to make huge cuts to his carbon output, for example he ditched his plow and created a disc drill to plant fodder beet to help feed his cows throughout the winter, in turn helping him avoid soya and palm.
Matt has a range of impressive herbal leys for his cows to eat which helps other wildlife such as bees and butterflies.
9 Miles away
Redwoods farm is a family run farm near Tiverton in Devon. They practice regenerative agriculture. Focusing on the health of the soil, the foundation of our ecosystem. Farming pasture raised Chickens and Pigs on their own unique diet comprised with locally sourced grains
"A single handful of soil contains billions of life forms and has the potential to store huge quantities of carbon, something which is vital to reverse climate change.
Our meat is produced in a way that respects the animal and the environment, creating a better quality product with a high nutritional value. Our aim is to farm in a way that has a positive impact on the environment, so that our produce is of high quality and production is not rushed or forced."
Grace and Katie Chapple Photography © *
South Town Farm
South Town Farm is run by Murray Sharpe and his family. Based just outside Loxhore in North Devon, they are tenant farmers of the National Trust, farming Red Ruby Devon Cattle over 200 acres of the Arlington Estate. South town farm is run on a no input system, meaning no fertilisers (artificial or otherwise) are brought onto the farm.
"Only our own farm yard manure is spread on a small percentage of the holding. Most of the land we manage consists of unimproved grasslands, maintaining biodiversity and allowing local flora and fauna to thrive. We currently buy Red Devons off Murray on an extensive, grass fed system. High welfare standards are a vital part of livestock management at South Town and we care passionately for the land in our trust, striving to successfully link food production together with the conservation of wildlife habitats across the farm. We work closely with The National Trust and Devon Wildlife Trust to ensure our habitats are managed sensitively and sustainably." | <urn:uuid:ead44d6d-14a4-4fc4-93df-afe9b60e8fe8> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.ruxstons.co.uk/our-suppliers-sustainable-family-run | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.957108 | 939 | 1.921875 | 2 |
This week I was able to spend some time at an American Marketing Association roundtable, on the future of data analytics. Lots of good people there and it was a valuable insight into data analytics applied to different business function.
Many of the models and analytical techniques are very similar, the difference simply being a shift in the problem being solved for. Ie will this consumer purchase (y/n?) vs will this consumer default (y/n?) and all the variations in between. It was very familiar.
Plenty of discussion around unstructured data and social media. Social media, unstructured data analysis and the ‘Big Data’ it creates is clearly the current ‘buzz’.
Although this topic is intellectually interesting it was also clear people have day jobs. I felt this tempered excitement a bit. After all in the real day to day world, targets need to be met, acquisition campaigns built and new business won.
The discussion actually felt a bit like the early days of the internet… everyone knows it will be a big opportunity, but it is not quite there yet and there are more pressing immediate priorities.
Big data is of course not information, but everyone has the sense there is value there… if only we could easily create structure, valuable information and insight could be extracted….
I do believe this is a huge opportunity, however just like the early days of the internet, we may need to think about this in a new way.
The current focus is on collecting as much information as possible (often unstructured) and then use techniques to create meaningful structured data. There is a lot of noise to eliminate and complexity to overcome in order to process…. it is the proverbial ‘needle in a haystack’.
However as the science develops a more efficient approach will evolve. Rather than analyze data after the fact, techniques are needed to create more useful (structured) data upstream and at point of creation.
Just as in the internet example, it will mean embedding data gathering intrinsically as part of day to day business, with process redesign to help facilitate. Data will be an output, not a by product, of any process.
The issue is this is difficult implement and any data gathering needs to be seamless for the consumer. It will require expertise and investment….. but for the pioneering companies that get this right, the volume of quality of data will be dramatically improved.
Targeted marketing to a degree we have not previously seen will be created….. a new breed of companies will be born. | <urn:uuid:bd563c62-d279-4bfc-87ff-2501efcd116e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.chris-warburton.com/2012/12/marketing-analytics-and-big-data/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.95131 | 518 | 1.789063 | 2 |
On Thursday, the European Council updated the list of safe countries from which the bloc will allow non-essential travel in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.
From July 31, residents of Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay, will be permitted to enter Europe.
It is noted that Algeria was removed from the list.
“The criteria to determine the third countries for which the current travel restriction should be lifted cover in particular the epidemiological situation and containment measures, including physical distancing, as well as economic and social considerations. They are applied cumulatively,” the Council said.
Regarding the epidemiological situation, third countries listed should meet the following criteria, in particular:
- number of new COVID-19 cases over the last 14 days and per 100 000 inhabitants close to or below the EU average (as it stood on 15 June 2020)
- stable or decreasing trend of new cases over this period in comparison to the previous 14 days
- overall response to COVID-19 taking into account available information, including on aspects such as testing, surveillance, contact tracing, containment, treatment and reporting, as well as the reliability of the information and, if needed, the total average score for International Health Regulations (IHR). Information provided by EU delegations on these aspects should also be taken into account.
Reciprocity should also be taken into account regularly and on a case-by-case basis.
For countries where travel restrictions continue to apply, the following categories of people should be exempted from the restrictions:
- EU citizens and their family members
- long-term EU residents and their family members
- travellers with an essential function or need, as listed in the Recommendation.
Schengen associated countries (Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, Switzerland) also take part in this recommendation.
The Council recommendation is not a legally binding instrument. The authorities of the member states remain responsible for implementing the content of the recommendation. They may, in full transparency, lift only progressively travel restrictions towards countries listed, the announcement continued.
The ‘safe list’ will be reviewed regularly and adjusted depending on the latest coronavirus developments in each country. | <urn:uuid:d2f04fc0-4cd2-4459-903d-8535dff503f2> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/07/31/update-the-official-eu-coronavirus-safe-travel-list/?noamp=mobile | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.934171 | 465 | 1.695313 | 2 |
If you’re scanning this article, then it is because you desire a method to stop smoking forever.
The reason for hunting for a way? Probably as you have attempted to quit smoking more than once without success. And that is because quitting smoking is tough. It’s actually a habit that’s hard to break.
So frequently people think that in order to quit cigarettes, all they need to do is pick a day-to to give up smoking which is it. They feel that in most magical way, they’ll awaken that day and their craving for cigarettes will disappear, at least diminished enough in order that they won’t be desperate for a cigarette any more.
The day they pick is January 1st because of their New Year resolution.
But because usual, it doesn’t work.
Precisely what bad happens? Why can’t smokers to give up smoking?
The reason is that of the large mistake all of them make.
Which mistake is thinking that smoking is definitely an addiction and they must do is quit smoking tips as well as their addiction goes away.
But smoking ISN’T a drug addiction.
It’s a habit.
You see when junkies try to quit, their health are really addicted to the drugs to remain taking, that they find it difficult to live without them.
This is why, when they quit taking drugs their own health react by becoming cold and covered in goose bumps (otherwise known as turkey flesh) that’s the place that the saying “going cold turkey” comes from.
Additionally they progress (or worsen) to having leg spasm, which is also the place that the saying “kicking the habit” arises from.
Junkies undergo a lot of internal and external trauma whenever they quit drugs.
But when smokers quit, all that happens is because they want another cigarette and they also don’t experience uncomfortable side effects because their bodies aren’t hooked on nicotine, which explains why the nicotine patch or nicotine gum do not work, as your body isn’t craving nicotine. It’s mind that’s craving the habit of really using tobacco.
You don’t want to ingest nicotine. You just want to light a cigarette, taste it, and have the smoke taking in your lungs and back again.
THAT’S what you miss. After all, if nicotine was taken out of cigarettes and they still tasted precisely the same, you’d still wish to smoke wouldn’t you?
Exactly what can you need to do?
How can you stop attempting to smoke?
The simple answer is.
You’ll want to give up smoking exactly the same way you started. Gradually.
You didn’t begin as being a pack-a-day smoking and you also don’t have to stop so abruptly either.
Instead you should unravel your smoking habit one day and something week at the same time, until you awaken one morning and the craving to smoke is fully gone. Not only is it gone, however are glad it’s gone.
You’ve made a brand new non-smoking lifestyle.
For additional information about quit smoking now browse our new website: look at here | <urn:uuid:3d2fae55-9b6f-4318-9839-29cdb37f760b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://empireofmaximovies.com/2016/06/17/the-massive-mistake-people-make-whenever-they-try-to-quit-smoking/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571222.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810222056-20220811012056-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.965685 | 686 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Brand turnovers are skyrocketing, and the luxury goods industry doesn’t give a damn about any emergencies. While analysts rack their brains to figure out the reasons for its power and how long this relentless growth will last, the industry finds antidotes to the uncertainty that will retain even more of its customers
The growth of luxury shows no signs of slowing down. Many had long expected a slowdown given the challenging global economic environment. Instead, the high-end always finds the right booster to climb steadily up the ladder. In pandemic times, it was China that drove sales. Now that Beijing has lowered the pace, the US and Europe are taking over. Some customers are never satiated with designer handbags everywhere, spending ever higher, almost oblivious to what is happening around them. How long will this continue? How long will the current reasons for its power remain valid and determine the sector’s proven resilience?
The endless growth of luxury
Analysts believe that the growth of luxury is set to continue for at least another four to five years. Among the growth drivers, they point to sustainability (luxury is considered ‘green’ due to the durability of products), the second hand, and certain emerging markets. For example India, Vietnam, Thailand, the Middle East, and Korea. The financial market, however, is waiting in the wings for luxury: speculating on the possible deflation of its golden bubble. Can the high-end overcome all the obstacles one by one? For example, lockdowns, inflation, economic slowdown, and the war in Ukraine?
The reasons for its power
HSBC does not throw it into philosophy and arms itself with concreteness and simplicity. Luxury is resilient:
1) because it feeds on a prosperous clientele, which does not despair if inflation is skyrocketing. A clientele that has a portfolio that can withstand risks and uncertainties;
2) The financial performance of safe havens (think Hermès and Chanel handbags) also attracted middle-class consumers.
For Bain & Company, on the other hand, the ‘resilience of the industry’ has come from consumers’ desire to return to their pre-Covid lifestyles. The waning of the pandemic ‘is acting as a huge booster, creating a wave of outsized luxury demand that has yet to normalise,’ say the Bernstein analysts. But it is unclear how long this incredible euphoria will last. So unbelievable that it brought (they say) $4.45 million into the till of the new Hermès boutique in Wuhan on its first day of opening. Is it possible that luxury customers are never afraid of economic recession and inflation? The question has no answer. In fact, since the advent of the pandemic, financial analyses are lasting like a story on Instagram. In other words: they are exposed to crazy volatility, capable of disrupting the plans of the world economy and the brands.
Luxury goes crazy
According to the Luxury Outlook 2022: Advancing as a Responsible Pioneer by the Boston Consulting Group and Comité Colbert, luxury is expected to grow from EUR 388 billion in 2022 to EUR 494 billion in 2026, a growth rate of 6% each year. More cautious is Bain, which calculates the total takings in 2021 at 2800 billion euros. In the optimistic scenario, a value will grow by 10-15% this year; in the more conservative one, it will only be between 5 and 10%. While in the 2025 scenario, the sector should reach a revenue level of between EUR 360 and 380 billion.
Among the boosters of luxury is the second hand, which the sector could and should begin to exploit better. And there is sustainability. Indeed, luxury is emerging as a ‘sustainable sector’ because its products last a long time, are repairable, and are made with respect for people and resources. Another not insignificant aspect is that the pandemic has forced brands to re-evaluate little or untapped opportunities to reach their consumers. A good resource for the coming years. Then there is the whole issue of the Metaverse, which could represent another source of income. As well as the revival of travel.
The real star is leather goods
However, there is one certainty in the many factors and innumerable hypotheses. The real luxury star is leather goods: the handbag, in particular. But footwear is also proving to be a driving force, as Bain & Company confirms. In the future, then, there will be a full recovery in China as soon as it recovers from the pandemic. And the takeover of the Hermes boutique in Wuhan could be just a foretaste of the potential of the Great Wall market.
The list is quite long: the pandemic, rising inflation, the GDP slowdown, and the war in Ukraine. But what does luxury fear most? The lack of workers. And, in the short term, China. So much so that some see it as a risk that designer labels would do well to diversify their markets so as not to be too dependent on Beijing and its ‘common prosperity’. (mv) | <urn:uuid:58a925a6-cb4d-4b12-bb00-5beb89648300> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://magazine.lineapelle-fair.it/en/focus-en/the-endless-growth-of-luxury-and-the-reasons-for-its-power/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.95082 | 1,063 | 1.570313 | 2 |
In the 1940s, the ‘modern synthesis’ (MS) of Darwinism and genetics cast genetic mutation and recombination as the source of variability from which environmental events naturally select the fittest, such ‘natural selection’ constituting the cause of evolution. Recent biology increasingly challenges this view by casting genes as followers and awarding the leading role in the genesis of adaptations to the agency and plasticity of developing phenotypes—making natural selection a consequence of other causal processes. Both views of natural selection claim to capture the core of Darwin’s arguments in On the Origin of Species. Today, historians largely concur with the MS’s reading of Origin as a book aimed to prove natural selection the cause (vera causa) of adaptive change. This paper finds the evidence for that conclusion wanting. I undertake to examine the context and meaning of all Darwin’s known uses of the phrase vera causa, documenting in particular Darwin’s resistance to the pressure to prove natural selection a vera causa in letters written early in 1860. His resistance underlines the logical dependence of natural selection, an unobservable phenomenon, on the causal processes producing the observable events captured by the laws of inheritance, variation, and the struggle for existence, established in Chapters 1–3 of Origin. | <urn:uuid:ea31ec9e-ebbc-4ffd-995d-8fdb0d0156b5> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://researchoutput.csu.edu.au/en/publications/natural-selection-according-to-darwin-cause-or-effect | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.89999 | 267 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Found myself watching on YouTube an old Super 8 film of the Canadian media philosopher Marshall McLuhan. Was fascinated to actually see and hear McLuhan speak as I had spent many hours studying and reading about him during my college years. Thanks to YouTuber mywebcowtube who uploaded this archival footage.
One McLuhan’s most known works is a book titled the “Medium is the Massage,” which roughly translates into the medium of which you consume information is part of the experience and, therefore, is also part of the message. Coincidental since I was watching him explain this for the first time over a ‘cool’ media, another media theory of his.
McLuhan explains how new mediums often use content from old media. His example was how television and movies used novels for their storylines. Today, his examples resonate into newer digital mediums such as email, which uses terminology from the “carbon copy” era. Virtual reality devices are gaining popularity by using two-dimensional cell phones.
McLuhan would say we often use what we know to fulfill needs of the future and critics of the “new ways” are simply stuck driving in the rear view mirror.
“An evaluation made by the old visual types looking in the rear view mirror as usual. Off something that is threatening the old values, reversing the old values.”
Are we driving our future by only looking through the rear view mirror?
Rather than create yet another blog post on what happened in 2016. I think it’s a good time to evaluate what you’re going to do or how you’re going to think differently in 2017.
As we work towards innovating the future of the web. Are we simply looking through the rear view mirror and creating products that are already passé or are we truly building innovation?
In 2017, I plan to not simply drive through life in the rear view mirror and criticize new ways of thinking or doing. I hope to look into the future by making calculated predictions and simply going for it.
McLuhan was a master at this, he basically predicted the current internet culture decades before its existence. Why, because he was able to wrap his brain around it and not simply drive in the rear view mirror.
Foresight is much more valuable than hindsight.
Now, I bet McLuhan didn’t see this coming…. Sharing a selfie face swap on Snapchat! Here’s to great 2017. | <urn:uuid:6bb090b9-f207-49f1-ac8e-898c155b321c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://scottwinterroth.com/2016/12/30/the-year-in-rearview/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.971257 | 520 | 2.09375 | 2 |
More reports are surfacing over Bali’s struggling health care system as COVID-19 cases surge across the island.
South Denpasar Public Health Service IV on Jalan Pulau Moyo, Pedungan, Denpasar has shut down their Inpatient and Outpatient services after 6 medical workers tested positive for COVID-19 and another 40 have been put into isolation.
Despite the lack of staff, they are still accepting people in emergency situations. “We’re still accepting patients from hospital’s emergency rooms and those suffering from severe mental illness,” said the Head of South Denpasar Public Health Service IV, Dr. Made Saraswati Rahayu.
Reports have also surfaced that RSUD Sanjiwani Gianyar Hospital is no longer accepting patients to their emergency room due to lack of beds and Tampaksiring Public Health Services is not accepting patients due to staff also being infected with COVID-19.
Full transparency of the medical situation in Bali seems to be lacking and The Bali Sun has reached out to several government officials for an update but has not received a response at the time of publication.
A witness who wanted to remain anonymous said, “One of my neighbors was confirmed positive after getting the swab test at the hospital, but then they just sent her home and her family only received 10 kilos of rice, instant noodles and eggs. But her family is now afraid after the Handling Task Force didn’t pick her up when she reported being very ill.”
The popular holiday island has confirmed over 100 new COVID-19 cases daily over the last two weeks and many fear only the sickest of patients are being tested for the virus.
Indonesia, has the lowest COVID-19 testing rate among countries with over 100,000 cases and experts are saying the country is still far from the peak of the outbreak.
University of Indonesia epidemiologist Pandu Riono also doubted Indonesia could see its epidemic curve starting to flatten next month, saying it would be next year reported The Straits Times.
A leading virologist at Udayana University in the island’s capital Denpasar said the island needed to be closed off again even to the country’s other provinces to stop the spread of the virus.
But deaths in the past six weeks have since doubled, with 151 people on the island having now lost their lives to the virus.
Bali recorded 7,366 COVID-19 infections since the pandemic began..
For the latest Bali News & Debate Join our Facebook Community | <urn:uuid:9458c88f-e1c3-4109-9992-e77cb767646b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://thebalisun.com/balis-health-care-system-struggles-as-hospitals-fill-and-clinics-close/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573744.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819161440-20220819191440-00465.warc.gz | en | 0.962655 | 540 | 1.601563 | 2 |
We have decided to tackle one of the business world’s greatest debates: Working from home- Awesome or Awful?? Personally, some of the hardest working people we know do business from the comfort of their own home – ourselves occasionally included. But is it beneficial to the company or just one huge distraction?
For those who spend 8-10 hours a day under fluorescent lights in a tiny cubicle, we understand your bitterness. But we want to settle a few rumors. Thanks to programs like Skype and WebEx, meetings can be held virtually, so onesie pajamas don’t exactly fit that dress code. And while music can be played at maximum volume, screencasting makes it impossible to surf YouTube or BuzzFeed all day long.
But there are some true benefits, especially for those who spend an extra 2 hours a day sitting in the parking lot that is I-95. The ability to go for a run or hit the grocery store mid-day is wonderful, as is full access to the kitchen. Those who are given an hour lunch break in the office tend to take the full 59 minutes and 59 seconds. When working from home, it is more common to grab something from the pantry and snack while working. We are finding that those working from home are more productive and also lead healthier lives because of that extra time not spent commuting or waiting in line at the fast food joint next door to the office. So if you have the option to work from home, we suggest it but not without a little guidance:
-Be knowledgeable of social media and networking tools.
Because you no longer have cubicle neighbors, you need to make time to stay connected with coworkers and clients. Start conversations, spark each other’s creativity, and keep people motivated. It is a good outlet for you to prevent from going stir-crazy.
-Set a where and when.
While you do have the entire house/café as your office, that doesn’t mean you should stretch out your work all day to the point that you are fitting in meetings after dinner and between soccer games. Set a time frame and work during those hours so you have time to run errands and be with family. This means when your allotted work hours are over, be able to shut down, step away from emails and focus on life outside of work.
-Get out of the house!
Instead of creating an office space on the couch and trying to work while watching Real Housewives (we know which will get more attention), sit at the kitchen table, or better yet get out of the house a few days a week! Research shows that light background chatter increases productivity, so head to your favorite café and set up camp. Another brand new idea- Work Bar. We have seen a few popping up in Boston and find them to be GENIUS. Pay a monthly fee and get access to a kitchen, office supplies, a full bar and other entrepreneurs looking to strike conversations.
-Don’t become invisible
One of the greatest fears of becoming a virtual worker is that you become invisible to the company and to your superiors. That doesn’t have to be the case. Chime in, speak up and don’t be afraid to show your face at meetings or company events. Be the extrovert we know you can be! | <urn:uuid:c092de1c-bb09-4922-9696-279fc4849e2e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://blog.blackoakstaffingsolutions.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.954893 | 691 | 1.65625 | 2 |
- Research article
- Open Access
What questions do patients undergoing lower extremity joint replacement surgery have?
BMC Health Services Research volume 3, Article number: 11 (2003)
The value of the Internet to deliver preoperative education would increase if there was variability in questions patients want answered. This study's goal was to have patients consulting an orthopedic surgeon about undergoing either a total hip arthroplasty (THA) or a total knee arthroplasty (TKA) rate the importance of different questions concerning their care.
We assembled questions patients might have about joint replacement surgery by analyzing the literature and querying a pilot group of patients and surgeons. Twenty-nine patients considering undergoing THA and 19 patients considering TKR completed a written survey asking them to rate 30 different questions, with a 5 point Likert scale from 1 (least important) – 5 (most important).
For patients considering THA or TKR, the 4 highest rated questions were: Will the surgery affect my abilities to care for myself?, Am I going to need physical therapy?, How mobile will I be after my surgery?, When will I be able to walk normally again? The mean percentage disagreement was 42% for questions answered by TKR patients and 47% for the THA group. Some patients gave a high rating to questions lowly rated by the rest of the group.
Although there was enough agreement to define a core set of questions that should be addressed with most patients considering THA or TKA, some of the remaining questions were also highly important to some patients. The Web may offer a flexible medium for accommodating this large variety of information needs.
Providing information tailored to the specific needs of a patient permits informed decision-making. However, patient participation in health care decision-making may be compromised if physicians rely solely on verbal communication to inform patients. Patients may forget or misunderstand spoken information. Or, they may not get all their questions answered, leaving them less able to make an informed decision. And, there may be substantial variation in the quantity and nature of information given to patients preoperatively.
Patient well-being may be improved by providing an educational pamphlet, video, or audiotape preoperatively.[3, 4] The Internet has become an increasingly important medium for patients seeking a wide variety of health information.[5–7] Even though the quality of the information on the Web needs to improve, medical information on a web site can be updated at low cost.[8–10] Alternatively, patients can be sent customized educational information via e-mail.
The value of the Internet to deliver medical information to patients having surgery would especially increase if a lot of variability existed in the questions that patients want answered preoperatively. This is because unlike traditional patient information tools (such as a brochure or a video where only a limited amount of preoperative information can be provided), a Web site could be structured to address the particular questions an individual patient might have.
Our hypothesis was that a small group of questions is not sufficient to meet all the preoperative information needs of a particular surgical patient. We chose to study patients considering undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA) because we are formalizing a patient education program for these patients. THA and TKA also deserve study as they are commonly performed, and provide substantial improvements in quality of life due to reduced pain and greater mobility.[11–14]
To date, however, there are few data on the particular information needs of patients considering joint replacement surgery, and which of these needs deserves highest priority. A study of a broad range of patient and procedures found that preoperative concerns include: pain they might experience afterwards (57% of patients), whether the surgery would improve their condition (51%), and whether they would fully recover from the surgery (42%). For TKA or THA, semi-structured interviews of German patients found that they were more interested in information about the operation and recovery (43% each) than about risks (33%).
The goal of this study was to have patients considering undergoing either total hip THA or TKA rate the importance of different questions concerning their care. Then, the optimal method of communicating these information needs can be studied.
The Stanford University Medical Center (SUMC) Human Subjects Committee approved this study.
Generation of question items for survey instrument
We assembled an initial list of questions that might be important to patients having joint replacement surgery through informal discussions between the lead author and 2 patients scheduled to have THA, 2 patients scheduled to have TKA, 2 health care researchers, and 2 orthopaedic surgeons. The list produced by these individuals was augmented by analyzing the results of a computerized literature search (MEDLINE) for 1989–2001 using the following terms: "patient information, information needs, TKA, THA." This search yielded 56 relevant published articles (a sample of these studies is included in the references) which were read by the lead author to generate other potential questions patients might have. For example, one study found that pain immediately after surgery, length of recovery, ability to walk, and ability to return to recreational activities were the 4 most important concerns of patients undergoing THA or TKA.
The authors then qualitatively edited (e.g., similar questions were eliminated) the list to a total of 30 items. The two main criteria used to determine this final list were to ensure that significant elements of care were included, and to keep the number of questions low enough so as not to make the survey take longer than 12 minutes to complete. Each question expressed one idea and no question was phrased in a negative tense (i.e., not or neither). The survey instrument was written at a sixth grade reading level, as assessed by the Flesch-Kincaid method.
The final written questionnaire instrument was organized in three parts. The first was the informed consent. The second asked for basic demographic data. The third part instructed patients to judge the importance of addressing each of 30 questions with a 5 point Likert scale from 1 (least important) – 5 (most important).
Study participants were given the following instructions: "Please rate how important it is to you that these questions be answered fully." The questionnaire also allowed patients to write in any other questions that they might have. Pilot testing suggested that completion of the survey required less than 15 minutes of the patient's time. The actual survey is available from the authors.
SUMC is a 660 bed, university affiliated, tertiary care medical center with 29,000 surgical cases/year. Patients greater than 18 years of age seen by two orthopaedic surgeons in the Stanford Orthopedic Clinic for evaluation for hip or knee replacement surgery were eligible to participate. Patients unable to speak or read English or with cognitive disabilities were excluded.
During a two-month period, 25 patients (four patients refused to participate) considering undergoing joint replacement surgery were selected randomly by computer-generated tables. No announcements or fliers were used to recruit patients. After the patient's regularly scheduled office consultation, a trained research assistant approached the eligible patient, described the study, and asked if the patient was interested in participating.
If the patient agreed, he or she was asked to complete the written questionnaire. Subjects provided consent by returning the completed survey. The identity of the patient was not recorded, and no data was collected from medical records, billing records, or any clinical or research databases. The research assistant was available to assist patients completing the survey.
In order to increase sample size, we also obtained survey data from 18 knee replacement surgery patients (8 refused to participate) and 9 hip replacement surgery patients (5 refused to participate) seen by one orthopedic surgeon at a community practice clinic in Southern California.
Since the question importance data were not normally distributed, a question's importance was ranked based on medians.
We also quantified agreement (or disagreement) in responses by determining the percentage of respondents that answered each question similarly. For example, let's assume that 10 patients answered a question with 5 possible answers 1 (least important) – 5 (most important)). If 6 patients answered "4", and 1 patient answered "3, and 1 patient answered "1", and 2 patients answered "5", the agreement percentage equaled 6/10 (60%). To quantify variability in answers, we also computed the percentage of answers that were 2 or more units different than the overall median for that question. In the example above, this would equal 1/10 (10)%.
Patient characteristics from the two clinics were similar. (Table 1)
The survey results from the 2 clinic locations were combined because a) for 50% of the questions the median scores were equal between the 2 sites, b) the difference in medians equaled 0.5 on 10% of the questions, and c) the difference in medians equaled 1 for the remaining 40% of questions.
The following 4 questions were rated as most important with a median score of 5 by TKA and THA patients at both sites: Will the surgery affect my abilities to care for myself? Am I going to need physical therapy? How mobile will I be after my surgery? When will I be able to walk normally again? (Table 2)
However, overall there was disagreement on question importance. For example, the mean percentage disagreement among all 30 questions was 42% for TKR patients and 47% for the THA patients.
For example, of the 7 questions rated highest with a median of 5 by the THA group, there was at least one patient (total of 11 patients) for 6 of the 7 questions that rated it a 2 or less. Overall, for the THA group, 16% of all the questions answered (N = 30 questions multiplied by 29 THA patients) were 2 or more units different than the overall median for that question.
For the TKA group, 25% of all the questions answered (N = 30 questions multiplied by 19 patients) were 2 or more units different than the overall median for that question. For example, of the 5 questions rated the lowest (median score of 3.5 or less), there was a mean of 4 (range 2–6) patients for each question that rated it a 5.
Patients studied were also asked to list other questions that they might want answered besides those on the questionnaire. No single question was suggested by more than one respondent. (Table 5)
We found that there was enough agreement to define a core set of questions that should be addressed with most patients considering undergoing either TKA or THA. These questions rated to be of high concern related to whether the surgery affected the patient's ability to care for themselves, whether they would need physical therapy, and how mobile (i.e., able to walk again) they would be after surgery.
However, each of the remaining questions in our survey was also judged to be of highest importance to some of the patients. Some patients wrote on the questionnaire other questions they wanted answered. This finding of variability in patient preferences is similar to other studies. For example, although avoiding nausea/vomiting and incision pain are high priorities for most patients after surgery, there is important variability on how patients rate different postoperative outcomes.
The difficulty in finding homogeneity in information needs suggests that the database of information required for education of patients undergoing joint replacement surgery cannot be reduced, because each piece of information was necessary to some. Providing core information to all patients plus education tailored to an individual patient's requests may be a way to address variability in patient information needs.
Perhaps this is one reason that Web sites have become available to deliver information to patients. Increasingly, more patients have Internet access. One European study of cancer screening found that 45% of patients had home Internet access and a further 32% had web access from other sources. Fifty-six percent of orthopedic patients in London had access to the web. U.S. studies have found similar rates of Internet access. [23, 24]
A single Web site is part of a larger net of information so that a topic not covered by one Web page may be covered by another, via links. Future studies need to be designed to determine if in-depth, and evidence-based educational information available via a web site is better at accommodating preoperative patient education than paper media or videos given out in the waiting room prior to the patient seeing a surgeon. Importantly, physicians in a group would have to reach consensus on the content of "easy to understand" answers for each question. Some of the questions may be difficult to address due to lack of clear evidence.
As in most studies in health care, our subject sample depended on patients' willingness to participate and the types of patients seen in the two clinics studied. The potential for selection bias was minimized, to the extent possible by sampling a group of patients of various ages, gender, ethnicities, and education levels. Since our sample were patients that were in the final decision making period about undergoing surgery, information about risks was not included in the list presented to the patients, although it did come up in the additional questions suggested by patients. Patients who are not sure whether or not they wish to undergo these treatments are likely to be more interested in knowing about the risks, than those who have already made the decision. For example, some patients mentioned a need to know about infection rates and the surgeon's qualifications and previous experience with performing this procedure. This additional information would likely be needed for patients deciding whether or not to have surgery.
The content and relative importance of information that patients undergoing TKA or THA need is unclear. Since the trend is for more Internet based education, we wanted to know what questions to address on our web site to provide better individualized information to patients before surgery. We found that although there was enough agreement to define a core set of questions that should be addressed with most patients deemed suitable for the procedure by the surgeon, some of the remaining questions were also considered highly important by some patients. The core set of information, therefore, would not be adequate to satisfy any one patient's essential information needs. It may be that the Web offers a flexible medium for informing patients and accommodating their variety of needs.
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The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here:http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6963/3/11/prepub
PS and RR were funded in part by The Stanford Medical Scholars Program.
AM developed the research question, outlined the study protocol, formulated the survey instrument, completed the analyses, and wrote the majority of the paper. PS, RR, and AB enrolled patients, administered the surveys to patients, and entered data in a database. SG participated in the design of the study and its coordination.
All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
About this article
Cite this article
Macario, A., Schilling, P., Rubio, R. et al. What questions do patients undergoing lower extremity joint replacement surgery have?. BMC Health Serv Res 3, 11 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-3-11
- total knee arthroplasty
- total hip arthroplasty
- patient information
- information needs
- patient participation
- patient education | <urn:uuid:8467abbc-50f5-4b21-8942-b7863806a072> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1472-6963-3-11 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.923716 | 4,683 | 2.28125 | 2 |
Palazzo Buontalenti (formerly Palazzo Sozzifanti) is an interesting example of late-sixteenth century Florentine architecture. It occupies an important portion of the Canto de’ Rossi site at the edge of the first circle of city-walls. It is imposing in terms of size, but in fact is scarcely visible due to the proximity of the surrounding buildings and because it faces onto streets that do not allow it to be seen in perspective. The way the windows and doors are arranged is very particular, since they are not aligned with the reference facade. The harmonious and austere internal courtyard is characterized by two systems of arcaded galleries with a double order of columns the diameters of which decrease in such a way as to heighten the picturesque impression of soaring upwards lines.
The Palazzo’s name comes from the alleged involvement of the famous Florentine architect Bernardo Buontalenti in the building’s design phase. Archive sources reveal that the palace was not yet under construction in 1580, but three years later it appears from a letter to the Grand Duke from the Vicar of Pia Casa di Sapienza (the institution founded by Niccolò Forteguerri in 1473 that promoted humanistic professorships) that the Council had been shown a “design by the excellent architect Bernardo Buontalenti which greatly pleased all the councillors and also me”. As we know, Buontalenti was the trusted architect of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, to whom the Pia Casa di Sapienza was answerable. The construction of the noble residence, which formally passed via this institution, was in fact conceived as the Pistoian residence of the Grand Duke. It is no coincidence that the real client was the Pratica Segreta, the judiciary serving the Grand Duke.
Just three years after its construction, the Palazzo was sold to Ottavio and Giulio di Bartolomeo Sozzifanti, an evidently rich and up-and-coming family who, in all likelihood, sided with the Grand Duke, who had even had an elevated passage built on the Vicolo dei Pedoni side of the building, in order to reach the church of San Biagio without having to go down into the streets.
When, in the first half of the nineteenth century, the Palazzo was split into two separate properties, it became clear that already in its design phase the idea was to produce a building with a unified external layout but originally conceived as a double residence, one of which was of course meant to be the Grand Duke’s. Here, too, in the course of the works by the experts charged with dividing the building, Buontalenti’s name emerges again as being its original designer. It should also be remembered that, in the period when the Palazzo was being constructed, the architect was in the city working on the fortifications of Santa Barbara; all these elements lead to the conclusion that Buontalenti’s involvement in this work is highly plausible. The family had long ceased to occupy Palazzo Buontalenti, and over the years it had been used for various other purposes before the recent restoration. Among its most recent uses was as the Liens Section of the former Cassa di Risparmio di Pistoia e Pescia.
The Palazzo’s piano nobile houses a splendid room where the paintings by the Pistoian painter Giacinto Gimignani from the Fondazione Caript collection are hung together. This artist, who was active through the middle decades of the seventeenth century, was well respected and received numerous and important commissions in his time, in particular from the Roman aristocracy. As is widely known and documented, his true protectors were a family of fellow Pistoians, the Rospigliosis, and in particular Cardinal Giulio Rospigliosi, who later became Pope Clement IX (1667-1669).
Giacinto Gimignani was the son of artist Alessio Gimignani (1567-1651), a highly sought-after painter in the local area. He completed his apprenticeship in his father’s Pistoia workshop.
The first documentation regarding his painting activity dates back to the early sixteen-thirties, when he had already moved to Rome and had met the artist Pietro da Cortona and the powerful Barberini family. Gimignani’s introduction to this prestigious environment was instigated and facilitated by his friendship with two influential Pistoian figures: the scholar Francesco Bracciolini and the prelate Giulio Rospigliosi.
As a lover of the arts in contact with the greatest artists of his time – Pietro da Cortona, Nicolas Poussin, Claude Lorrain, Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Carlo Maratta – Monsignor Rospigliosi always evinced a particular protective relationship with regard to his fellow Pistoian Gimignani. After an initial phase in which he closely adhered to Cortona’s style, Giacinto evolved towards the Bolognese classicist trends of Domenichino and of Guido Reni and the French style of Poussin. By 1634, he had already set up home in the parish of San Nicola in Arcione, an area packed with French nationals where Poussin himself had lived a short time earlier. In 1641, he moved to a house in Via Sistina, which remained his Roman residence until his death. His painting in those years is marked by a refined classicism that reflects his assiduous study of antiquity.
In 1644, when the Barberini court came to an end on the death of Urban VIII, Gimignani approached the Pamphilj family, and worked on their palazzo in Piazza Navona (Sala delle donne illustri, 1648 and Sala delle Storie Romane) and on the suburban ‘Bel Respiro’ villa located on the Janiculum. In 1652, Gimignani moved to Florence, where he had the support of the Grand Dukes (in particular of Prince Mattias); he was employed in the Arazzeria Medicea tapestry factory and also by the local Niccolini family. His most important clients, however, were the Rospigliosis, for whom he painted twenty-six paintings between 1652 and 1656, destined for the Pistoian palazzo of Ripa del Sale. In 1661 he returned to Rome; where Gian Lorenzo Bernini employed him in some of the works being carried out by the Chigi family in the Castel Gandolfo, Ariccia and Galloro districts of Castelli Romani. Under the pontificate of his long-time protector the commissions he received from the Benedictine orders in Umbria took precedence, fostered by the entry of three of his eight children to these monasteries. His most well-known work is Cena in Emmaus in the refectory of the convent of San Carlo, a large model of which is owned by the Fondazione Caript. Gimignani died in 1681 and, after solemn tributes attended by the Academicians of San Luca, was buried in the church of Sant’Andrea delle Fratte in Rome. | <urn:uuid:836da3d3-6033-40aa-b770-674b044af6f7> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.pistoiamusei.it/en/sedi/palazzo-buontalenti/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570793.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808092125-20220808122125-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.97255 | 1,550 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Volume 18, Number 1—January 2012
Legionella longbeachae and Endocarditis
We report a case of infectious endocarditis attributable to Legionella longbeachae. L. longbeachae is usually associated with lung infections. It is commonly found in composted waste wood products. L. longbeachae should be regarded as an agent of infectious endocarditis, notably in the context of gardening involving handling of potting soils.
Legionella longbeachae is a facultative intracellular gram-negative bacillus commonly found in composted waste wood products used in potting mixes. It is usually associated with lung infections. We report a case of infectious endocarditis attributable to L. longbeachae 6 months after the patient had an aortic valve bioprothesis replacement.
In July 2008, a 73-year-old man was admitted to La Timone Hospital, Marseille, France; it was suspected that an aortic bioprosthetic valve had become displaced. The patient had received an aortic bioprosthetic valve replacement in January 2008 for aortic insufficiency. After he returned home in March, he carried out gardening activities and used potting mixes to plant flowers. In April 2008, he was admitted to the emergency department of a general hospital for fever (38.9°C). At admission, his leukocyte count was 12 × 109 cells/L. He was empirically treated with amoxicillin/clavulanic acid plus ciprofloxacin. Results of clinical examination and all investigations (chest radiograph, transesophageal echocardiograph, 3 blood cultures, urine analysis, and Legionella urinary antigen test) did not identify an infectious agent, and antimicrobial drug treatment was stopped after 24 hours.
In May 2008, the patient had a new episode of fever (39°C), with a weight loss of 20 kg within 3 months. He was admitted to the cardiology department of La Timone Hospital. An endocarditis diagnostic kit was used. The endocarditis kit included, besides blood cultures, tubes to collect a serum sample, which was used to detect rheumatoid factor and estimate specific antibodies against Coxiella burnetii, Bartonella spp., Brucella spp., Chlamydia spp., Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Legionella pneumophila, L. anisa, and Aspergillus spp (1). Results of all tests (including transesophageal echocardiograph) were negative. The modified Durack score (2) showed that only 2 minor criteria were met (and no major criteria), and the Richet score was 3 (fever = 1, male = 1, previous valvular pathology = 1), with a positive predictive value of 0.28 and a negative predictive value of 0.82 (3). He was discharged without receiving any antimicrobial drugs.
In July 2008, the patient was hospitalized at La Timone Hospital for heart failure. A transesophageal echocardiograph showed an aortic bioprothesis displacement with a false aneurysm and 9 mm of vegetation (Figure). At admission, leukocyte count was 9.4 × 109 cells/L, hemoglobin level was 9.8 gm/dL, erythrocyte sedimentation rate was 53 mm, and C-reactive protein level was 126 mg/L. A new endocarditis diagnostic kit was used. The blood cultures remained sterile. Results of serologic tests for L. pneumophila and the urinary antigen test for Legionella spp. were negative. Only the serologic test for L. anisa was positive (titer 256). The diagnosis of blood culture–negative endocarditis was established, and intravenous antibiotherapy was begun with vancomycin (30 mg/kg/d) plus gentamicin (3 mg/kg/d).
Cardiac surgery was performed after 30 days because of heart failure. The aortic bioprothesis was replaced. We conducted bacterial 16S rDNA amplification and sequencing on the valvular tissue as reported (4) and found a sequence 100% similar to that of L. longbeachae (GenBank accession no. AY444741). The valvular culture grew gram-negative bacilli that were catalase positive and oxidase negative after 10 days on buffered charcoal yeast extract medium (AES Chemunes, Bruz, France). The strain was identified as L. longbeachae by 16S rDNA (5) and mip gene (6) amplification and sequencing (GenBank accession no. AJ810226).
Histologic examination of the removed valve was performed, and findings were compatible with the diagnosis of infective endocarditis. Results of immunohistochemical analysis performed on the valvular tissue were positive for L. longbeachae. Results of immunofluorescence and Western blot of the patient’s blood were positive for the same strain.
The patient recently used only Australian potting mixes, which may contain L. longbeachae, although we were not able to cultivate L. longbeachae or other Legionella spp. from the potting mix. Vancomycin administration was stopped, and the patient’s treatment was changed to erythromycin (3 g/d intravenously for 6 weeks) and ciprofloxacin (400 mg/d intravenously for 15 days and 1.5 g/d by mouth for 1 month). The patient recovered. At a 3-month follow-up visit, he had gained 6 kg, and no inflammatory syndrome was found. At 6 months, he had gained 13 kg and felt well.
L. longbeachae was first described as a new species in 1981 after it was isolated from a patient with pneumonia in Long Beach, California, USA (7–9). A second serogroup was described in 1981 (10). This species is common in composted wood products used in potting mixes in Australia and in Japan (11,12). Although the composition of potting soil used in Europe is different, Legionnaires’ disease has also been described in Scotland in connection with the use of potting soil (13). A case of pneumonia caused by L. longbeachae associated with gardening was described in 2006 in the Netherlands. L. longbeachae was cultured from the patient’s sputum and from the commercial potting soil he had used (14). The source of contamination for the patient described could be the Australian potting mixes he had used for 1 month before the first symptoms, although a culture of potting soil was negative. The patient did not experience cutaneous inoculation or a wound during gardening, although minor trauma is a possibility.
Noninvasive diagnosis for this patient was not successful: the results of serologic immunofluorescence testing for L. pneumophila and the urinary antigen test for Legionella spp. were negative. Only the serologic testing was positive for L. anisa (titer 256). Cross-reactivity between L. anisa and L. longbeachae should be considered.
In a previous report, a patient with aortic valve endocarditis showed an increase in titers of antibodies against L. bozemanii, L. longbeachae, and L. jordanis, but the infection was not confirmed by the isolation of bacteria (15). The patient was a 38-year-old woman with type 1 diabetes mellitus and bronchial asthma but no medical history of heart disease. She was hospitalized 2 months before acquiring infectious endocarditis for pneumonia and fever caused by M. pneumoniae. Transesophageal echocardiograph showed a thickened bicuspid aortic valve with 5–7-mm vegetation. The serologic test results were positive only for L. bozemanii, L. longbeachae, and L. jordanis. She was treated with erythromycin (1 g 4×/d intravenously, then orally, for 6 weeks, then 1 g 3×/d orally for 2 weeks). For the patient reported here, the diagnosis of infectious endocarditis was definitive because results of PCR, serologic testing, and valvular culture were positive for L. longbeachae.
L. longbeachae should be regarded as an agent of infectious endocarditis, notably in context of gardening involving handling potting soils. Definitive identification was possible only by using molecular biology–based methods on the removed valve and on culture. As mentioned by other investigators, L. pneumophila urinary antigen test should not be used to rule out L. longbeachae infection (13).
Dr Leggieri has completed internships in internal medicine and infectious diseases in Switzerland. He is completing a postgraduate specialization in endovascular infections at the Fédération de Microbiologie Clinique in Timone’s University Hospital, Marseille, France. His research interests include legionellosis.
- Raoult D, Casalta JP, Richet H, Khan M, Bernit E, Rovery C, Contribution of systematic serological testing in diagnosis of infective endocarditis. J Clin Microbiol. 2005;43:5238–42.
- Fournier PE, Casalta JP, Habib G, Messana T, Raoult D. Modification of the diagnostic criteria proposed by the Duke Endocarditis Service to permit improved diagnosis of Q fever endocarditis. Am J Med. 1996;100:629–33.
- Richet H, Casalta JP, Thuny F, Merrien J, Harle JR, Weiller PJ, Development and assessment of a new early scoring system using non-specific clinical signs and biological results to identify children and adult patients with a high probability of infective endocarditis on admission. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2008;62:1434–40.
- Greub G, Lepidi H, Rovery C, Casalta JP, Habib G, Collard F, Diagnosis of infectious endocarditis in patients undergoing valve surgery. Am J Med. 2005;118:230–8.
- Weisburg WG, Barns SM, Pelletier DA, Lane DJ. 16S ribosomal DNA amplification for phylogenetic study. J Bacteriol. 1991;173:697–703.
- Ratcliff RM, Lanser JA, Manning PA, Heuzenroeder MW. Sequence-based classification scheme for the genus Legionella targeting the mip gene. J Clin Microbiol. 1998;36:1560–7.
- Steele TW, Lanser J, Sangster N. Isolation of Legionella longbeachae serogroup 1 from potting mixes. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1990;56:49–53.
- Steele TW, Moore CV, Sangster N. Distribution of Legionella longbeachae serogroup 1 and other legionellae in potting soils in Australia. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1990;56:2984–8.
- Lanser JA, Adams M, Doyle R, Sangster N, Steele TW. Genetic relatedness of Legionella longbeachae isolates from human and environmental sources in Australia. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1990;56:2784–90.
- Bibb WF, Sorg RJ, Thomason BM, Hicklin MD, Steigerwalt AG, Brenner DJ, Recognition of a second serogroup of Legionella longbeachae. J Clin Microbiol. 1981;14:674–7.
- Hughes MS, Steele TW. Occurrence and distribution of Legionella species in composted plant materials. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1994;60:2003–5.
- Koide M, Arakaki N, Saito A. Distribution of Legionella longbeachae and other legionellae in Japanese potting soils. J Infect Chemother. 2001;7:224–7.
- Pravinkumar SJ, Edwards G, Lindsay D, Redmond S, Stirling J, House R, A cluster of Legionnaires' disease caused by Legionella longbeachae linked to potting compost in Scotland, 2008–2009. Euro Surveill. 2010;15:19496.
- den Boer JW, Yzerman EP, Jansen R, Bruin JP, Verhoef LP, Neve G, Legionnaires' disease and gardening. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2007;13:88–91.
- Littrup P, Madsen JK, Lind K. Aortic valve endocarditis associated with Legionella infection after Mycoplasma pneumonia. Br Heart J. 1987;58:293–5. | <urn:uuid:4a8e2b32-42d7-49d0-b4ed-34c8b5c23d94> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://wwwnc-origin.cdc.gov/eid/article/18/1/11-0579_article | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573744.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819161440-20220819191440-00465.warc.gz | en | 0.918763 | 2,714 | 2.34375 | 2 |
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
Installation 09 or Anders' Halo after its discoverer during the battle for the Ark in 2559, is a Halo installation which was constructed at the Ark after the destruction of the previous replacement for the original Installation 04.
Replacing a replacement
In the final months of the Human-Covenant War, Installation 00 constructed a replacement for Installation 04, which had been destroyed by John-117 during the Battle of Installation 04. The still-incomplete replacement ring, Installation 08, was launched from the Ark's Foundry during the war's final battle, but was subsequently destroyed by its own premature firing, initiated by the Master Chief and Cortana in order to sterilize a Flood incursion on the Ark. The ring's firing severely damaged the Ark, though the massive installation was able to repair itself in time, and by March 2559, the Ark's Foundry had finished constructing a new replacement ring, Installation 09.
During the battle between the UNSC forces of the UNSC Spirit of Fire and the Banished occupying the Ark, the newly built replacement Halo was discovered by Professor Ellen Anders. Consequently, she and Captain James Cutter formulated a plan to deploy the ring to the Soell system, Installation 04's former site, where it could be used to raise a distress beacon to the UNSC. The plan was not approved until Isabel proposed a plan to destroy Banished's assault carrier Enduring Conviction when it launched an assault on UNSC Spirit of Fire after Decimus was defeated. After succeeding in destroying the flagship, Anders went to the Foundry and activated the installation, prompting Atriox to order all available units to take the ring from the UNSC. While the Banished contested the UNSC for control of the new Halo, the humans gained a foothold, allowing Anders to enter the control room where she successfully disarmed the ring's firing mechanism and manipulated its gravity anchors to eject a section of the Halo's landmass housing Banished forces into space. Although the UNSC forces evacuated to their ship, Anders could not make it out of the control room in time before Installation 09 entered a slipspace portal to the Soell system. En route to its destination, however, the Halo was intercepted by a Guardian.
List of appearances | <urn:uuid:6d94375a-64a1-4777-8d63-f20516ead60e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.halopedia.org/Installation_09 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.955088 | 506 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Ultra-thin slimming of glass substrates to a measurement of 100μm or thinner
LCD substrates and cover glass for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, as well as curved displays for televisions and vehicles, are demanding the ultra-thin glass slimming process technology more than ever.
To respond to the needs for ultra-thin glass thinner than the conventional ones, NSC has established its original technology of single substrate chemical etching process.
Ultra-thin glass, with a minimum bending radius of 5mm
Combination with ion exchange glass strengthening gives the ultra-thin glass high flexibility which allows the glass sheets to be folded to the minimum bending radius of 5mm.
NSC has been inventing bendable glass panels with this processing technology.
Lighting confirmation of curved LCD prototype panel
Ultra-thin processing to LCD panel; thickness 1.00mmt becomes 0.15mmt.
Radius of curvature R100mm.
Maintains viewing angle characteristics of IPS liquid crystal even in curved state.
NSC’s ultra-thin chemical etching process can uniformly process large-sized glass substrates measuring up to 1,500 mm × 1,850 mm (G6). Glass substrates are laid flat during the process, so as to prevent warping of the substrate. The thinnest measurement ultra-thin slimming process can reach is 30μmt. Because this process does not need carriers for conveyance, no jig marks will leave on the substrates.
|Target glass thickness [μm]||Processable maximum size [μm]||Single sheet||Mounted substrate|
Processable substrate size differs according to the target thickness. The above graph is presented as one of the examples. For details in other conditions, please contact us.
Since chemical etching does not produce any minute flaws (micro-cracks), the strength of the glass surface is about 2 times greater than that possible with mechanical grinding.
|Type||Process||Thickness [μm]||Radius of curvature [mm]|
|Glass||Ultra-thin ＋Ion exchange glass strengthening||50||○||○||○||○||○||○||○|
|LCD panel||Ultra-thin||50 / 50||○||○||○||○||×||–||–|
○： No damage , ×： Damaged
At NSC, slimming a glass workpiece to a thickness measurement of 0.25mmt or thinner is defined as “ultra-thin slimming.” Up to now NSC is capable of ultra-thin slimming to a thickness measurement of 30μmt.
Thickness accuracy within a substrate
→0.05mmtUltra-thin slimming process to a thickness measurement of 0.05mmt
→0.10mmtUltra-thin slimming process to a thickness measurement of 0.10mmt
Uses and Applications
- Curved displays
- Flexible displays
- Organic EL lighting
- Glass films
- High-strength thin glass | <urn:uuid:bce98c08-f519-458b-92ab-671a444cac81> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://nsc-net.co.jp/en/ultrathin/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.832332 | 785 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Data can help businesses create new revenue streams, reduce customer churn and identify potential wastage of money and time. But it can also help make the world a better place.
So many of the issues that we face today as a society can be addressed using the power of data.
As an example, there is no greater challenge today than the COVID-19 pandemic.
And while we as a society wait anxiously for a potential vaccine or cure, behind the scenes, governments and industry are working to find answers in the data during these times of uncertainty.
Recently, Deloitte, the World Health Organisation and the World Bank announced they had teamed up to build a database that captures the health, social and economic interventions countries are putting in place each day to mitigate the pandemic.
“Data analytics gives us a window into what is actually happening on the ground,” said Deloitte partner Dr Stephanie Allen.
One positive to come from the pandemic could be better access to real time public data and a greater investment in data and analytics at a government level.
The World Bank recently shared the example of how the Vietnamese city of Danang was able to combine mobility data, proxies for economic data, NO2 data and flight data in real-time to monitor the impact of local lockdown policies during a second wave of infections in August.
With the localised lockdown, the city was able to see a sharp decline in the number of visits to grocery stores, workplaces, residences, retail, parks and transit. Unlike the March/April lockdown, Danang was able to see a sharper decline in movement compared to bigger cities Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City.
At smrtr, we are already working with the government to make our data available for assistance in its response to COVID-19.
Much like in a commercial context, it is only by ensuring local authorities have the most relevant resources possible that they will be able to deliver an optimised response.
As well as making the world a better place through using data, it is also important to recognise the role of the community.
We are lucky enough to live in a very prosperous society. With this comes a responsibility to give back to the community.
To make sure we are walking the talk, here at smrtr, we have developed smrtr for Good – a foundation that looks to help achieve positive change.
smrtr for Good is built upon four pillars:
We also offer pro bono consulting to a number of charities.
To find out more about smrtr for Good contact us and we’ll be in touch within the next business day.
By Georgie Brooke, Chief Executive Officer at smrtr | <urn:uuid:c89c5cdb-a45b-4fcb-960f-641da771c30c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://smrtr.com.au/news-views/making-the-world-a-better-place-with-data/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573193.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818094131-20220818124131-00465.warc.gz | en | 0.946141 | 556 | 2.03125 | 2 |
BEIRUT -- A group of hackers linked to Hizbullah has breached 250 servers in various countries with the aim of stealing sensitive data and conducting cyber espionage, according to a new report.
In a January 28 report, cyber-security firm Clearsky revealed that suspicious networking activities and hacking tools had been found in a number of companies in early 2020, linked to a previously identified hacker group.
Based in Lebanon and dubbed "Lebanese Cedar" or "Volatile Cedar", the Hizbullah-linked hackers employ a methodology known as Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) -- a prolonged, clandestine attack on a specific target.
The latest attacks, which sought to compromise systems and gain information, were focused on telecom operators, internet service providers and hosting and infrastructure service providers in a number of countries, Clearsky said.
The targeted companies were operating in countries including Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom, it said.
According to software technology company Check-Point and Kaspersky labs, the "Volatile Cedar" attack campaign began in late 2012, with the hackers relying primarily on a custom-made remote access Trojan named Explosive.
"The modus operandi for this attacker group initially targets publicly facing web servers, with both automatic and manual vulnerability discovery," Check-Point said, noting that the group is "motivated by political and ideological interests".
"Once in control of a server, the attackers further penetrate the targeted internal network via various means, including manual online hacking as well as an automated USB [Universal Serial Bus] infection mechanism."
The attackers have targeted individuals, companies and institutions worldwide, among them defence contractor firms and educational institutions, it said.
Hizbullah's social media trolls
Hizbullah's malign cyber activities have not been limited to hacking.
Since about 2012, it has been attempting to expand its influence in the online arena and is now grooming social media operatives from across the region, teaching them how to set up and leverage fake accounts on various platforms.
It has been doing this through a Lebanon-based training network, where regional and foreign elements of Hizbullah and affiliated militias learn how to set up fake social media profiles and accounts, activists in Lebanon said.
They are taught skills such as how to digitally manipulate photographs and produce videos that spread the party's propaganda, while attempting to avoid censorship by the administrators of platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.
They also learn how to launch "defamation campaigns against certain opponents", political activist and Hizbullah opponent Lokman Slim told Al-Mashareq last week, days before he was shot dead in his car in south Lebanon.
The areas of Lebanon where Hizbullah wields influence serve as warehouses for Iranian missiles, Slim said, but they also house numerous media outlets.
These include the party's Al-Manar TV headquarters, as well as Al-Masirah TV, which is owned by Yemen's Houthis (Ansarallah), he said.
Hizbullah's media operations in these areas also include social media training camps for "an elite group" of its supporters from countries such as Yemen and Iraq, which are held at institutions affiliated with the party, Slim said.
The training camps operate under the auspices of institutes that are certified to operate as vocational schools, universities and religious seminaries, which provide them with "camouflage", he said.
Hizbullah has established an integrated network, known as its "electronic army", which operates on three tracks, said information security and digital transformation expert Roland Abi Najm.
On one track, it seeks "to deliver the information it wants to its constituency through news, text, pictures and video via social networking sites" in such a way that it will not be flagged, blocked or taken down by social media platforms.
On another, it seeks "to manipulate people's minds by spreading sectarian strife", he said, while a third area of operations involves hacking regional and international official and governmental bodies to obtain intelligence information.
Foreign operatives who receive training at Hizbullah's media camps in Lebanon "can train others upon their return to their home countries", Abi Najm said.
Account administrators learn how to conceal their whereabouts, he said, so that through deceptive practices they "may be working out of Lebanon or Iraq, but the social media accounts appear based in India, China, Egypt or North Korea".
Supporting the Iranian axis
"While weapons protect Hizbullah's political and sectarian project, the media and information technology protect its entire project," said Lebanese Centre for Research and Consulting director Hassan Qutb.
In addition to its own media outlets, through which it propagates its ideology and attacks its opponents, Hizbullah has set up numerous websites under various names, some of which are based outside Lebanon, he said.
These outlets drum up support for its agenda by creating, disseminating and promoting content that defends the Iranian axis and attacks the party's opponents, he said.
Iran itself has a similar campaign, with 255,000 employees collectively known as the Cyber Army attempting to participate in and influence social networks.
According to Qutb, Hizbullah has assembled "a group of technicians and experts in computer technology and a cyber army to protect Iran's project [of regional expansion as part of the Islamic Revolution] and attack its opponents".
This group operates by "hacking and disabling websites that attack Iran's policies, project and axis, as well as hacking the email accounts of some opponents", he said.
"It is the task of this team to use technology and techniques to manipulate news, images and videos and present them to friendly websites for posting as condemning evidence against [Hizbullah] opponents to harm their reputations," he said.
Hizbullah seeks to transfer this methodology to allied militias elsewhere in the region -- in countries such as Syria, Iraq and Yemen, where there is support for the Iranian axis -- in order to indoctrinate and mislead readers, he said. | <urn:uuid:d38e11ab-8ea5-42ca-939e-b9a325da3c74> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://almashareq.com/en_GB/articles/cnmi_am/features/2021/02/05/feature-01 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.961379 | 1,253 | 1.5 | 2 |
MYTH FACT • The federal rebate will cover the direct carbon costs for 80% of households (and CARBON PRICING The carbon price is total costs for 70%). [...] CARBON they don’t change PRICING IF the incentive the • The federal rebate will cover the direct GOVERNMENTS price provides to carbon costs for 80% of households (and REBATE THE pollute less. [...] Estimates show that the impact of a what we buy from and sell to one another, which will have a small gradually rising carbon tax on employment in the United States effect on the types of industries that Canadians work in and the would be a fraction of a per cent, or possibly too small to detect, types of work that Canadians do. [...] Analysis from the United Kingdom found that its Analysis of British Columbia’s carbon tax suggests it led to a. carbon tax did not lead to a significant shift in jobs over the period 2% increase in the total number of jobs in the province between 2007 of study (Martin et al., 2014). [...] The first is a feature, not a bug, and it will ensure that carbon pricing is not is the economy-wide carbon tax that covers households and most a barrier to strong economic growth in Canada (Canada’s Ecofiscal businesses; the second is a performance standard that puts a price Commission, 2015; Leach, 2018). | <urn:uuid:fb78fb8f-a07c-47ab-a9ad-6a88d9ebad28> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://canadacommons.ca/artifacts/1184175/10-myths-about-carbon-pricing-in-canada/1737296/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.945344 | 285 | 2.484375 | 2 |
A few weeks ago, I had a private history lesson in my kitchen. The teacher was Charles (or Chad) Ludington, a professor at North Carolina State University. I first got to know him when he lived in Bordeaux a few years ago.
Ludington’s current studies focus on the role of the Irish in creating not the demand but the taste of today’s most sought-after Bordeaux wines. He has spent the past year in Ireland and is now back in Bordeaux, digging into local archives of the city and of key merchants and wine producers.
The Bartons of Château Léoville Barton, as you might imagine, feature heavily, and are in fact the only Irish family to be still standing after close-on three centuries. In the mid-1700s there would have been close to 80 Irish merchants buying, ageing and selling the wines from the Chartrons quays, around one quarter of all the négociants in the city.
The Irish, it turns out, were particularly enthusiastic proponents of the art of ‘cutting’ or blending Bordeaux wines with others from more robust areas. We have long known it happened, but what Ludington has uncovered is that it wasn’t just in bad vintages, but every year, and that while French, German and Dutch merchants were less keen to carry out such adulterations, the Irish merchants argued that without these additions, they would have had trouble selling the most expensive wines of the region into the key markets of the time – namely Ireland and Britain, where clients were prepared to pay at least twice as much as in northern Europe.
It was no secret. In 1810, when ordering wine for the East India market, James Nisbett asked merchant Nathaniel Johnston for 20 hogsheads of claret, ‘observing the greatest care and attention that the wines have a good strong body, colour and high flavour, a good dash of the Hermitage’.
Even René Pijassou, one of the great French historians of the Médoc, wrote that the estate manager of Château Latour in the 18th century, ‘was in frequent contact with the merchants of the Chartrons…who adapted the tastes of the wines for their essentially English clientele, by blending with Rhône and Spanish wines’. And cutting didn’t just mean mixing in outside wines.
Ludington found a warehouse ledger from the early 1840s that stated the Johnston-bottling of ‘Lafite 1837’ was made of mostly 1837 Lafite, ‘but contained lesser amounts of 1837 Léoville, 1837 Milon, 1837 Léoville Barton, 1837 Montrose, 1837 Duluc, 1837 Calon Ségur, and 1840 Hermitage’.
Ludington found evidence of this in countless archives. While it’s easy to dismiss this as a dark, even embarrassing part of Bordeaux’s history, to do so would overlook one hugely important fact – that it was these very wines that made the reputation of Bordeaux in the markets that were prepared to pay the highest prices of the day.
There’s no doubt that many historians have resisted this interpretation (and they are not alone; the Bordeaux parliament expressly forbade the practice in 1755), but it’s fascinating to see that the 150 years since have actually seen the real unadulterated Bordeaux wines catch up, with many of the same characteristics.
‘Irish merchants in Bordeaux began to make a style of red wine akin to what we think of as Bordeaux wine today,’ is how Ludington sees it. ‘But they did so before grape-growing and winemaking techniques allowed them to make it from Bordeaux juice alone.’
Ludington argues that this practice of blending did not cause the best Bordeaux wines to lose their identity in the 18th and early-19th century, but instead established their reputation among the finest wines of the world.
‘We’re becoming obsessed today with the idea of purity,’ he says, ‘but in many ways these merchants were blending to a modern taste. More colour, more body, higher alcohol. Sound familiar?’
This was first published in the August 2019 issue of Decanter. | <urn:uuid:74d82487-0136-4eb2-b3d6-ee34561e6e7a> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://adswines.com/from-the-archive-anson-irish-influence-in-bordeaux/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571222.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810222056-20220811012056-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.968368 | 926 | 1.992188 | 2 |
The ache of this memory is etched in time, reignited today in this cold December afternoon.
It is of another cold winter afternoon in a long-ago December that I speak.
I am twelve years old and I sit alone on the city bus in the fading light, heading up to the Hill Section and my home, leaving my monogamous friend, Gladys, our matinee, and our focused connection behind me. Light snow is falling, making this December memory even more vivid. We pass throngs of Christmas shoppers on the streets below, bundled in their overcoats and goulashes, everyone busily hurrying somewhere. There are gifts to buy and stores to visit, a last-minute urgency in the air. The bus trudges slowly by the Scranton Globe Store, our town’s biggest department store. I look out the window, breath foggy on the glass. The decorations in Globe’s windows illustrate the story of the Little Drummer Boy. Little marionettes pantomime the narrative and endlessly sing in an infinite loop of frantic devotion:
“The finest gifts we give to him pa rum pum pum pum
To lay before the king, pa rum pum pum pum…….”
The words of this song, which I both adore and detest, release a flood of heartache in me. I am a little Jewish girl with no gifts to give or to receive, a little Jewish girl with no king to honor, as far as I can tell. Nobody in my family is buying any Christmas presents or preparing any sort of a holiday meal. My parents are working, always working, in their neighborhood grocery store, serving other people who are preparing holiday meals, adding an even more complicated emotional twist for me. There will be no holiday lights in my house tonight, only the yahrtzeit candle, memorializing the death of my mother’s father many Christmas Eve’s ago. There will be no festivity in our house—only silent overwork, unspoken grief, and hushed exhaustion.
Deep within the memory of this child-moment, my twelve year old self is broken-hearted. Life itself is so bizarrely unfair. Why does everyone get something as massive as Christmas? Why do I get nothing, recalling our Chanukah celebration which held a weak candle to the bright, universal lights of Christmas? How can this time of holiday cheer be available to so many, but not to me? Why is being me such a lonely and a separate thing?
Fast-forward decades to present time.
I hang our new holiday wreath on our front door. Its evergreen is beautifully interwoven with delicate blueberries and sprigs of lusty red berries. I stand back, appreciative and happy.
Time has given me full permission to have it all. The Jewish holidays, the Christmas holidays, and everything in between—the only thing blocking me from full enjoyment of life, full enjoyment of the moment, is myself. My parents and their generation’s need to insulate from the Other, from Christians, holds little stead over me today. Surely marrying a gentile woman has facilitated the process of inclusionary holidays. We sing our Chanukah blessings each of the eight nights, making up our own relevant and spontaneous translations. We trim a little holiday tree, safe above the eyes and bellies of our ever-hungry (go figure) canine companions. We exchange Easter baskets, go to Temple on the holidays, to Quaker meeting on Sundays, and to church on Christmas Eve. We take what we need. We leave the rest.
Yet the exclusion I felt as a little Jewish girl growing up in the fifties was real. Our Pennsylvania town was organized around religious lines. My parents’ need to keep our “Jewishness” separate and subtly under wraps was driven by their understanding of safety and their fearing the potential of anti-Semitism, along with a real concern for their business. We were apart from others, by seeming necessity and design.
But not today. As I practice living the great inquiry of yoga, I am invited into observing my relationship with the moment without judgment. I am constantly offered opportunities to see the ways I continue to separate myself from others. Living yoga gives me the techniques and strategies to accept this ancient pull toward separating, and without judgment, ways to return to wholeness and unity. Just like on the yoga mat, breath and relaxation are major tools in the realignment of my actions with my intentions.
Of course there are plenty of moments in which I am stuck in my terminal uniqueness, unwilling and seemingly unable to get out. And so it is, the human dilemma, wanting to connect, being terrified of others, needing to be alone, longing for relationship.
I do my best to relax into the moment, no matter what I am noticing about myself.
I think of my Grandmother Sonia. I no longer imagine her rolling over in her grave while I trim our Christmas tree. I now see her smiling shyly at me, blessing me and my life from afar. Surely my healing is her healing, too. Surely we are all, one, in this together. | <urn:uuid:0e95d8c4-670f-4cda-a47c-0871b6bd753b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://coacharuni.com/2013/12/please-read-this-memory/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.95326 | 1,075 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Downing Street must not surrender to xenophobic arguments over a feared influx of eastern European immigrants, a former Government adviser said yesterday.
Amid a Cabinet row over what to do about the numbers of people entering Britain, Nick Pearce said far from cheap labour flooding in when 10 new countries join the EU on 1 May, numbers will fall in the long term.
Pearce, who until last autumn was special adviser to the Home Secretary, called for moves to 'regularise' illegal immigrants already here, freeing them from dangerous black market jobs such as the cockle fishing which claimed the lives of 19 Chinese.
Pearce, now director of the Blairite think-ank the Institute for Public Policy Research, spoke out amid confusion about the Government's approach to eastern European migration.
The Prime Minister, fearing a media backlash, is threatening controls to deter newcomers but Pearce's former boss, David Blunkett, has warned the UK needs more skilled foreign workers.
Pearce said blocking legal routes into Britain would encourage people smuggling.
'The evidence is clear that there are benefits to us: if we allow access to our labour markets early on, we will get skilled entrepreneurial people coming in.
'And overnight people who are already here illegally [from the 10 countries] can be brought into legal status, so they can pay tax.'
Citing President George Bush's offer of US work permits to up to eight million illegal aliens, Pearce said the UK should think afresh. 'People have got to be able to come out of the shadows and we have got to find some way of regularising their status.'
Blunkett and Andrew Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, will publish proposals shortly to combat 'benefit tourism' by citizens from the new EU states, ranging from Poland to Latvia and Malta, arriving for seasonal work and then claiming benefits once the job is over.
One option is to ban people from claiming until they have worked and lived in the UK for a year. But this would have to apply to expatriate Britons returning home.
Analysis published by the IPPR suggests an initial rise in immigration from the 10 accession countries plus Romania and Bulgaria - expected to join soon - with a net influx of 12,799 this year. By 2015 that would fall to 2,531 extra and by 2030 more will leave than enter Britain, as living standards rise in their home countries. | <urn:uuid:6eac670d-03dd-4c6b-8581-1702ef6edb7a> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2004/feb/15/immigration.immigrationpolicy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.959337 | 485 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Books about Churchill continue to lollop out of the publishing houses. Sometimes they are reminiscences, sometimes family studies, sometimes assessments of him as statesman, strategist, historian—we shall soon probably have an assessment of him as a painter. By far the most agreeable reminiscence in Action This Day is by his private secretary Jock Colville, who has a lively sense of comedy. His description of Churchill adding every few months to his set of gadgets and working in bed with sponges attached to his elbows makes one realize that the great man had a touch of eccentricity that one associates with that bizarre Victorian philosopher, Herbert Spencer.
One of the reasons why Colville’s account is so agreeable is that he conveys the bubbles in Churchill’s mind, his delight in play upon words, the schoolboy fun, and at the same time gives in a few pages a better account than any other yet available of Churchill’s role in his last administration and of his last astonishing act of will power in partially recovering from a sizable stroke. Incidentally Colville and Normanbrook in their accounts of these last years of Churchill’s power give Moran, Churchill’s doctor, a working over which admirers of his rash book ought to consult.
The first volume of Ralph Martin’s biography of Churchill’s mother, which is boudoir reading, contains the not too interesting speculation that, as her healthy first son was born “only seven months after marriage” (it was in fact seven-and-a-half months), Churchill was conceived out of wedlock. The trouble about this book is that though it contains a lot of unpublished material it cannot compare with Robert Rhodes James’s biography of Lord Randolph Churchill in its understanding either of the political background or of the peculiar horror, vacuity, and boredom of London Society under the leadership of the Prince of Wales. On the other hand, Martin is a good deal more explicit than James, writing in Churchill’s lifetime, was able to be, about the disease—tertiary syphilis—which killed Lord Randolph Churchill and of the nightmare of his last years.
Brian Gardner has had the interesting idea of showing Churchill during the Second World War in the looking glass of other men’s opinions. He quotes in particular from the speeches of the opposition, both of the right-wing die-hard Chamberlainites and of the left-wing critics of Churchill’s war policy such as Aneurin Bevan and Shinwell. The opposition was important because it worked on Churchill as the same sort of irritant as he himself used upon the Chiefs of Staff. But the criticism also reminds one of how the almost unbroken series of Allied defeats in 1941 and 1942 subjected Churchill’s strategy and plans to pressures which surprisingly made virtually no impact upon his ability to control Cabinet, Coalition, and Parliament. Gardner’s book has the curious effect of making one wonder how Churchill could ever be said to have won the war when his strategic mistakes were so numerous and American domination at the end so absolute. In fact he does not sufficiently stress how ably until the last years of the war Churchill controlled the military—a lesson which President Johnson failed to learn when dealing with the incompetent Westmoreland.
Gardner begins his study of Churchill as a war leader by quoting Isaiah Berlin’s description of him as “a man larger than life…a gigantic historical figure during his own lifetime…a mystical hero who belongs to a legend as much as to reality, the largest human being of our times.” Gardner then announces that the time has come to debunk the legend. Very much the same spirit inspires the authors of Churchill Revised. A.J.P. Taylor and Robert Rhodes James both contribute excellent essays on Churchill as statesman and politician. They go over the long list of pugnacious actions, imprudences, and apparent changes of policy which made men write Churchill off in the Thirties and which also explain some of his mistakes during the war.
There is also an excellent assessment by J. H. Plumb of Churchill as a historian, which is much more severe and much nearer the mark than Maurice Ashley’s assessment. This is perhaps hardly fair to Ashley, who begins by giving an entertaining account of what it was like to be a young radical taken into Churchill’s home to devil for him on his Marlborough book and which is partly descriptive in that it shows how Churchill set about the task of knocking the drafts of his researchers into Churchillian form and shape. Ashley shows how much Churchill’s own experience enabled him to discern how men act in politics and how reciprocally the knowledge he culled from reading history influenced his style of politics when he became Prime Minister. Plumb judges Churchill by looking at him from the standpoint of a professional historian. Ashley looks at Churchill’s historical works as a reflection of his character.
One of the most interesting contributions to Churchill Revised is the assessment by Anthony Storr, a psychiatrist, of Churchill’s mental state: it is refreshingly free from jargon and pretentiousness, and throws a good deal of light on Churchill’s fits of depression (what he called “Black Dog”), his aggressiveness, and his inability to follow for any length of time a reasoned argument submitted to him. For Storr these recurrent fits of depression are the key to Churchill’s character. He conquered them by courage, a courage which enabled him to overcome the handicap of his insignificant physique and left him unbattered by the diatribes of his critics. But the endemic depression, which was hereditary to his family, was intensified by his lonely childhood, in which he yearned for encouragement and affection and found neither in his parents. Even at the height of his fame Churchill could easily convince himself that all he had achieved was worthless. He feared no one but Fortune. Every time she threw him down he believed that the end had come. He had no inner life; everything was part of a grandiloquent public performance, for to look inside himself was the road to despair.
After these books it may be a good deal easier than it was for Americans to see the titanic national leader in perspective. During the first few months after America’s entry into the Second World War, anxious American liaison officers would take their British counterparts aside and tell them that, although British admiration for President Roosevelt was greatly appreciated, it would be wise for them to remember, if they happened to be speaking to American officers about him, that the President was a not entirely uncontroversial figure. At that time, with Churchill’s popularity at its height, there was no need for the British to reciprocate; but it is probably true that around 1910 Churchill was hated by upper-class conservatives almost as much as was Roosevelt in his day, and that only at the very end of his career did he have a strong base of political support from which to operate.
The two characteristics for which Churchill was almost universally condemned in his years in the wilderness were his pugnacity and lack of judgment. His pugnacity was an extension of his gargantuan egoism. Not that his egoism took the form, which egoism often does, of pompous self-importance: even in the days of his glory he had a streak of humility because he saw himself as an historical figure in relation to the tide of events, to his own age, and to the past. But his egoism diminished his capacity for personal relations to simple expressions of loyalty. He was intensely loyal to the Churchill family in true aristocratic style, and also to his small circle of friends, from whom he demanded unquestioning allegiance to whatever cause or policy he was at the time espousing. For the rest he had little consideration: neither for colleagues or party or civil servants, nor for women. His personal relationships were political relationships. “I see you are against me” was the glum response to anyone who challenged the policy which he was momentarily pursuing.
His first fight was against his own metabolism. He was a narrow-chested, short, delicate-skinned creature who by will power turned himself into a slashing polo player and the toughest of political opponents. If the opportunity was lacking for a fight with his country’s enemies, or his immediate political enemies, he would find it among his colleagues or in his ministry. His life was a series of blazing battles. As a young officer he took on Kitchener in the Sudan, the Boers, and then the Conservative party for their line on the pacification of South Africa and on Free Trade when he had just been returned to Parliament in their interest; then (when a Liberal) the aristocracy and the rich over reform of the House of Lords and social welfare; then the militant working-class movement over strikes in South Wales, and the suffragettes over the franchise; next Carson on the Ulster opponents of Home Rule, thus adding to his enemies the top Army brass when he had already infuriated the oak-bottomed admirals of the Royal Navy, who opposed his naval reforms. His opponents seemed finally to have defeated him over the ill-conceived Dardanelles operation, but after a few years in the shadows he emerged as a leading member, with his friend Birkenhead, of the Lloyd George coalition and nearly put a war-weary Britain into an armed conflict with Turkey over the Chanak incident.
Then came the General Strike, which Churchill treated as a declaration of war. So did the rest of his class, but they saw they could win it with the appearance of conciliation, whereas Churchill wanted to smash the whole trade union movement. Whether it was his feud with Baldwin over India or with Chamberlain over Germany or finally with Hitler, the impression that he enjoyed the fight, indeed the war, weakened his ability to convince the nation that the ultimate objects of his policy were just or wise. “I ask for no quarter,” he growled after the war at a young Labour M.P. who diffidently excused himself for having made a biting speech. He asked for none, he gave none, he bore no ill-will to his former foes, some of whom, like Smuts, became his allies. Too many, however, could never forgive him for his devastating, exceedingly funny, and mordant phrases by which they were transfixed like butterflies and by which other men remembered them. Churchill was always knocking men down and was mildly incredulous when, after he picked them up, they failed to shake hands.
All this was part of his famous “bad judgment.” In the Thirties, when men wrote him off, they cited a long list of his impetuous actions from the slightly absurd Sidney Street siege when Churchill called in a detachment of Guards to shoot it out with a few mad anarchists, to his attempt to threaten the flank of the German army in 1914 by landing with a handful of naval troops, to the numerous miscalculations of the Dardanelles operation, to his miscalculation of public opinion over the intervention by British troops at Archangel in 1919 against the Bolshevik government, to his sentimental support for the Indian princes against Baldwin’s policy, which was no more than a faint promise to transfer power at some distant date to Indians, and to his even worse-timed intervention on behalf of Edward VIII. Even when he returned to the Admiralty at the beginning of the war the fiasco of the Norwegian campaign, which was his blind, instinctive riposte to the Nazi initiative, was not such as to persuade discerning judges that if the direction of the war was in his hands it would be for the best. That was why well-informed judicious men hoped that Halifax and not Churchill would succeed Chamberlain.
How few of his strategic initiatives in the war bear examination in the cold light of hindsight! Alanbrooke, by far the ablest British commander in the three armed services, used to complain that the Prime Minister could not keep in his head the overall strategy dictated by logistics, geography, modern weapons, and enemy dispositions, none of which he really comprehended. Off Churchill would go chasing dreams of glory. “Look at the glittering prizes” he said of the Mediterranean when the collapse of Italy threw German plans into confusion. So British troops were sent to capture Greek islands without air support and a few hundred more were put in the bag by the swift German reaction. Looked at piecemeal, his career, surpassed in length only by that of Gladstone, seems to display none of that inner consistency or development which is normally associated with statesmenship.
And yet…is the verdict of well-informed judicious men always to be the measurement of man? “Good judgment” is in most cases the anticipation of the opinions of others. It is, of course, in some degree indispensable for success in any venture, but as a virtue it is grossly overrated. The crucial shifts in policy which remove injustice, or improve conditions of life, or even those which realign alliances, are seldom made by men renowned for their good judgment. Good judgment all too often is the quality discerned in those who oppose change until events have either made the change inevitable, or until, after years of injustice and inefficiency, the older generation of public opinion grudgingly acquiesces in what the younger demands. Churchill was determined to impose his will upon events. The extent to which any man can do so is circumscribed by the impersonal forces of history, but the reason why he fascinates the public imagination is that people still sense that here was a man who was not gray, dim, well-meaning, sound, and prudent, but who delighted in action almost for its own sake.
Such men breed resentment because they disturb other people too much. Churchill might be at times starkly reactionary, he might lack any consistent thread of policy, but he was the enemy of the Establishment, the bien pensants, the apologists for the status quo. He was never in any meaningful sense a liberal, still less a radical, nor was he guided by a philosophic conservatism. He was obviously not a technocrat. But he had many of the instincts of a technocrat: he got hold of ideas, found others to hammer them into shape, reshaped their offerings, and when he was in office forced these policies through by hard work, diligence, and political intuition.
He was not all that inconsistent. In 1909 he opposed naval rearmament. Three years later he was advocating it. In the Twenties, as A.J.P.Taylor is fond of reminding us, it was Churchill who made permanent the instructions to the service chiefs that they need not plan for a major war in the next ten years. He was thus responsible for the British disarmament which he was later to denounce. But is this as inconsistent as it may appear at first sight? For all his bellicosity Churchill rightly put expenditure on welfare before armaments in times when there was no immediate foreign threat to Britain. It was the judicious well-informed men who failed before the Second World War to relate armaments to the international situation. Or indeed after it: for the maniac policy of the British since 1945 of expenditure on armaments and of attempting to act as policemen of the Middle and Far East has more than anything else led the country to its present state of perennial economic debility.
And when the worst is said about Churchill’s impulsiveness and his egoism, which made him ignore the art of acquiring a political following, who was there, in his generation or after, among the men of sound judgment who can be shown to have been much wiser in their analysis of events? The peaceable, lazy Baldwin? The despicable Simon? Either of the mundane Chamberlains? Certainly not Keynes, who was more consistently wrong about political events than Churchill. The only candidate is Lloyd-George. And of Lloyd-George it can only be said that after 1919 and for the rest of his lifetime he was justly discredited as a corrupt, opportunist power-seeker who had lost all touch with the principles in which he had once believed or with the changes in social institutions and structure which had largely made those principles out of date.
The more one reflects on Churchill’s career the more one wonders whether the legend is not more important than the facts. Of course historical analysis will justly destroy the more fanciful parts of the legend. He will hardly qualify as a simple Cincinnatus, recalled from tilling his fields or from bricklaying at Chartwell to save his country. To the economic or the social historian he will be less interesting than a dozen other figures of his generation. But the political historian, or those who attempt from time to time to portray the rise and decline of the English nation, will be unable to neglect him.
The legend will be intertwined with the Churchill family. The English like to think of themselves as rising once again to fame after the defeats of the Hundred Years War under Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. But in fact during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, which absorb so much of the energy of British historians, England was still a peripheral European power, and it was only the victories of John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough, with Prince Eugen over the French, that put England among the concert of the Great Powers. Under Chatham—the statesman whom Winston Churchill most resembles—England emerged as the leading imperial nation and a decisive world force. During the nineteenth century she had the most powerful navy, was the first to industrialize, and was the most important commercial power in the world. Even after the disaster of the First World War she still kept the peace in the Indian Ocean and the Middle East, and was one of the few stable powers in Europe. But since the Eighties her economic and industrial strength had been sapped, and also after the slaughter of the First World War had her self-confidence: she no longer was able to act, as she had done at times during the previous century, as the arbiter in world disputes.
In the confusion of appeasement and the defeats of 1940 Britain could have gone the way of other European states. That she did not was in great measure due to Churchill, and he added a noble chapter to Britain’s history as a world power. But it was the last chapter. He was resourceful, adaptable, resilient in adversity, and the great animator of the nation at war. But by nature, by his advanced age, and by conviction he looked back to the past. How could he do otherwise? Not for him the romantic notions of a new structure of European society, not for him the new notion that the working classes were no longer to be objects of charity but were finally incorporated into society not merely politically by franchise but socially through the welfare state. Both A.J.P. Taylor and J. H. Plumb as distinguished historians note that what in a sense misled Churchill was his own passionate devotion to the history of his country. For he was inspired by a vision of history that had long been exploded by professional historians. Nevertheless as long as political history continues to be written, he will symbolize the end of an epoch just as his ancestor, Marlborough, is the symbol of its beginning.
It is just possible that he will be remembered in another way. Perhaps every age is the prisoner of its own conception of history, and our own conception, with its analysis of social forces and emphasis on movements rather than men, diminishes our belief in the value of the individual. To this distrust of individual initiative even historians such as Taylor contribute. For Taylor shows a strong Tolstoyan tendency to discredit the power of ideologies and inexorable historical processes in favor of a blind contingency whereby political action and in particular calculated reforms produce results totally different from what their authors intended. One of the most attractive parts of the Churchill legend is that he did in fact make an impact upon events by his own will power. The stream of minutes, memoranda, speeches, and above all executive action through the Chiefs of Staff gave the appearance of a man setting his stamp on events and not suffering them to dictate to him.
His mind was not only pre-Marxist. It was pre-Freud. Plutarch would have described him admirably because Churchill accepted as virtues those by which Plutarch judged the great men of antiquity. He felt himself bound to follow honor, renown, clemency, and dignity. He drew no distinction between private and public virtue. Plutarch judged Alcibiades, Agis, Aristides, Brutus, or Sulla in relation to Aristotle’s model of Magnanimous Man. Magnanimous Man scorns to take petty revenges or to act dishonorably—though he may have to act sternly—in defense of his country. Magnanimous Man burns with the desire to leave an imperishable name behind him. Plutarch said of one of his heroes: “Ambition and the passion for distinction were implanted in Lysander’s character.” Churchill had a strongly developed moral instinct and, as Baldwin noted years later, was incapable of wily dissimulation or of telling a lie. He could be severe with his staff because he expected them to adhere to the tenets of this straightforward morality. He could be ruthless: Beaverbrook said that when he had the bit between his teeth he was of the stuff that tyrants are made. But Plutarchian virtue and his intense awareness of the verdict of history restrained him.
Hochhuth’s play might have been excused if it had been justified as a variant on Bernard Shaw’s St. Joan. What is inexcusable is the ludicrous libel, supported by rubbishy conjecture and strings of falsehoods, that Churchill actually ordered the murder of Sikorsky. His life is a refutation of the charge. In a curious way Churchill may impose upon historians in the future his own vision of history. They may be able to discern some broad principle which reconciles some of the more startling changes in policy, but apart from his brief spell in the field of social insurance it is hard to associate him with any of the movements of change in his country. But they will never be able to convey the true sense of British politics in the first half of this century without often referring to this astonishing phenomenon who, almost totally ignorant of how the rest of his countrymen lived, exhibited so many of their characteristics in a most memorable form, and was hailed in his old age, after a lifetime of unfulfilled promise, as the savior of his country.
And yet…. The hammers of a new generation are tapping and the chips of marble are beginning to fly. Suppose you extend the line which Taylor took about Poland, where does the argument lead? If the war to “save” Poland ended with her population decimated, her army exiled, her frontiers transformed, and the country chained to Stalinist Russia, was Britain “saved”—and at whose expense, and with what false dreams of glory during the next twenty years? To those who lived through those days and believed in the justice of the war against Hitler, the question seems absurd. But to a new generation which rejects authority and tradition, regards the politics of compromise as equivocation and equates war with world destruction, Churchill will seem to be an anachronistic and hostile figure. As Keynes said when reviewing The Aftermath, one almost became a little envious of Churchill’s sublime certitude that the pursuit of power and the arbitration of war were the most important of the eternal verities.
If Britain during the next fifty years becomes a small nation of very limited power, the sensibility of her people will change and with that her conception of her historical role. What then will become of the reputation of her national heroes, of Chatham and Churchill? In that case it is just possible that Churchill will find his place as the last Plutarchian leader, and in the new national myth the apotheosis will no longer enshrine the statesman exultant in his triumph but will reveal the figures of philosophers, reformers, and dreamers.
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3 in stock
With Vtech Little Friendlies Sing Along Spinning Wheel spin and discover animals, numbers, colours, objects and listen to fun animal songs! Press the animals to learn their names and sounds. When the melodies play spin the wheel to see the star shaped lights flash and hear the fun sound effects play. Spinning the wheel introduces the development of fine motor skill movement whilst the flashing lights provide sensory stimulation. Features 10 happy melodies and 5 sing-along songs. English speaking voice promotes recognition and accelerates learning. | <urn:uuid:54b6c90f-3387-45c1-8077-b23d29283a44> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://worldofwondertoys.ie/product/vtech-little-friendlies-sing-along-spinning-wheel/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.871784 | 110 | 2.25 | 2 |
The new Central Synagogue in London was the work of Nathan Joseph (1834–1909), a leading Jewish architect of the time. The 1870 opening of this first completely Moorish-style synagogue in England received extensive coverage in the international media, including this image from the consecration featured in Harper’s Weekly. The print shows male congregants “bearing the scrolls of the law under a crimson canopy to their future resting-place in the ark, which was opened to receive them by Sir Moses Montefiore. …Before their deposition in the ark they were carried seven times round the almemar, the choir singing dedicatory psalms.” The procession of the Torah to the ark was a stately aspect of the consecration ceremony, and its illustration in Harper’s Weekly serves to highlight the significance of the occasion.
Though synagogue openings often were opportunities to showcase lavish decor and impressive architecture, this illustration reminds viewers that consecrations were religious ceremonies observed with great reverence. Leading figures in the Jewish community were present at the ceremony, including members of the Rothschild family “who contributed liberally toward the construction of the synagogue.”
The circulation of this scene in secular publications provided a glimpse into the ritual and ceremony of Judaism for non-Jewish audiences. Readers could grasp the importance of the procession through the detailed text, while the image chosen to represent the occasion underscored its centrality to the consecration ceremony. | <urn:uuid:9e2d71cd-5686-4f34-a1f6-54f651272487> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://lifeofthesynagogue.library.cofc.edu/synagogue-building-and-dedication/consecration-of-a-jewish-synagogue/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.968171 | 296 | 3.53125 | 4 |
Many define advocacy as acting, speaking, or writing in support of something or someone; often with those in a position to make change – or as we shared in last week’s blog – advocacy is “putting love into action.”
But beyond public advocacy, calling our political representatives, we can practice everyday advocacy: using our voices to intercede on someone else’s behalf.
What is Everyday Advocacy?
Growing up, I never thought of myself as an advocate. In fact, when I thought of “advocacy,” I was intimidated. My earliest calls to elected officials involved a series of starts and stops. I would review my script, think about answers to possible questions, pick up the phone, and pause. I would repeat that cycle before starting to dial. Then I would take a deep breath, pause again, finish dialing, talk as fast as I could, and breathe a sigh of relief after hanging up.
And you know what? It went well, although it was terrifying. But while this type of advocacy is important, it is just one of the many ways we can each use our God-given voice to intercede for immigrants and refugees.
Over time, I’ve learned that advocacy takes many forms. And I have realized that we all advocate, all of the time for the decisions and beliefs that we believe are good.
Yes, advocacy includes speaking to those in authority. But it also looks like helping people navigate complex systems (like healthcare and school), calling the utility company to discuss an unexpected charge on our bill, educating friends and neighbors about immigration systems, and learning about the realities of our country and world through another person’s eyes… and allowing that to shape our actions.
A Biblical Foundation
As I’ve studied the Bible, I’ve learned about many different examples of advocacy. Some people, like Moses and Esther, found themselves in situations where they had the attention of kings. For them, advocacy meant using their positions of influence to speak up and bring freedom and safety for a large group of people. Other biblical figures were more like you and me. We don’t usually have a chance to talk with kings and rulers, but we do get to speak up on matters that impact other people.
The early church was known for standing with the vulnerable and neglected, bringing about healing and freedom, and disrupting systems. A common thread from those stories is the way their actions sprang from belief in God’s love for all people. Early Christians spoke up when they saw situations that did not reflect God’s heart for people to thrive – and this was a pattern throughout church history.
The strongest biblical example of advocacy is found in the person of Jesus, who regularly prayed to God on behalf of his followers and the world. Through Jesus, we see the power of prayers of intercession – of advocacy.
Advocacy Leads to Justice
Advocacy itself is never the goal. Shalom, meaning God-given peace and justice, is the goal. Advocacy is the action, the momentum, that brings about change in hearts and systems and even laws. Hopefully, our advocacy can bring about greater Shalom – justice, freedom, reconciliation, and wholeness. When it does, it reflects God’s ultimate design for relationship between humans and between humans and God.
What Does Everyday Advocacy Look Like?
- Helping a newcomer understand U.S. systems like banks, mail, and schools
- Learning more about local and state laws in an area of your interest, and talking about what you learn with neighbors and friends
- Helping someone access healthcare
- Calling your national, state, or local representatives. Click here to contact your local representatives.
- Talking about the need for more affordable housing with developers, investors, landlords, and anyone in the housing industry
- Telling people in your church or community group about the situations refugees and immigrants face
- Speaking up when you hear and see situations of discrimination or disrespect to others
- Also get creative! There are many ways that your unique abilities can be everyday advocacy.
We All Have Influence
We can choose to use our influence to bring greater justice and wholeness for our neighbors and ourselves. When we do this – whether it’s at work, with our family, at the gym, at church, or volunteering with World Relief – we act justly and serve others in ways that honor God. | <urn:uuid:4dbd5c1b-16f7-4992-9b1c-0035d6600ec9> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://worldrelief.org/everyday-advocacy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570793.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808092125-20220808122125-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.967528 | 922 | 2.640625 | 3 |
We educate leaders for Science, Medicine and Business!
We are Loschmidt Laboratories based at the Masaryk University and the International Clinical Research Center of St. Anne’s University Hospital Brno. Our laboratories are located at the University Campus Bohunice in Brno, Czech Republic.
Proteins are natural building blocks of all living organisms and participate in virtually every process within cells. Many natural proteins are enzymes that catalyse biochemical reactions and are essential for metabolism. Proteins can be found everywhere — they play a role in the development of medicines, in food and beverages processing, animal nutrition, textiles, household cleaning, fuels and energy generation. And therefore the study of proteins is valuable for the whole society.
We conduct interdisciplinary research in the field of protein engineering. We wish to understand the structure-function relationships of proteins and improve their functionalities for biotechnologies. We study mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease and develop novel drugs for acute stroke. Our goal is to be recognised as one of the leading protein engineering groups in Europe. We will consistently strive to publish our findings in reputable scientific journals, to develop software tools and lab-on-chips, and transfer results to practice.
The key components of our daily activities include collaboration between experimentalists and theoreticians, solidarity among the laboratory team, and mentoring of young colleagues — all while maintaining a friendly and creative working environment to honour the name of Jan Josef Loschmidt.
Mechanism-Guided Tunnel Engineering to Increase the Efficiency of a Flavin-Dependent Halogenase
Prakinee, K., Phintha, A., Visitsatthawong, S., Lawan, N., Sucharitakul, J., Kantiwiriyawanitch, C., Damborsky, J., Chitnumsub, P., van Pée, K.-H., Chaiyen, P., 2022, Nature Catalysis 5: 534-544.
CalFitter 2.0: Leveraging the Power of Singular Value Decomposition to Analyse Protein Thermostability
Kunka, A., Lacko, D., Stourac, J., Damborsky, J., Prokop, Z., Mazurenko, S., 2022, Nucleic Acid Research gkac249: 1-9.
The quantitative description of protein unfolding and aggregation is crucial for rational protein design and unravelling the molecular basis of protein misfolding diseases. To assist in the analysis of data from protein denaturation experiments, we have released CalFitter 2.0, which newly incorporates singular value decomposition. Various protein spectra can now be analyzed globally, dramatically reducing the risk of human bias and providing valuable insights into spectral fingerprints of unfolding intermediates. CalFitter 2.0 is the only freely available tool that combines singular value decomposition of unfolding kinetic and temperature scanning experiments with global data analysis. The tool is freely available at https://loschmidt.chemi.muni.cz/calfitter.
Mechanism-Based Strategy for Optimizing HaloTag Protein Labeling
Marques, S. M., Slanska, M., Chmelova, K., Chaloupkova, R., Marek, M., Clark, S., Damborsky, J., Kool, E. T., Bednar, D., Prokop, Z., 2022, JACS Au 2: 1324−1337.
LoopGrafter: a Web Tool for Transplanting Dynamical Loops for Protein Engineering
Planas-Iglesias, J., Opaleny, F., Ulbrich, P., Stourac, J., Sanusi, Z., Pinto, G. P., Schenkmayerova, A., Byska, J., Damborsky, J., Kozlikova, B., Bednar, D., 2022, Nucleic Acid Research gkac249: 1-9.
The transplantation or grafting of particularly dynamic loop structures from a source protein to a target one has shown to be a powerful approach to improve the properties of enzymes, and yet no tool is available to assist scientists in approaching this task. LoopGrafter is designed to fill in this gap by accepting as input 3D coordinates of two structurally-related source and target proteins and guiding the user in the process of identifying similar loops among the proteins and assessing their dynamics. Upon selection of the loops to be grafted, all possibilities for recombination points are explored, three-dimensional models built, and their goodness assessed by MODELLER and Rosetta Fast Relax. LoopGrafter is available at https://loschmidt.chemi.
Extended Mechanism of the Plasminogen Activator Staphylokinase Revealed by Global Kinetic Analysis: 1000-fold Higher Catalytic Activity than That of Clinically Used Alteplase
We probed the complex kinetic mechanism of staphylokinase, an attractive thrombolytic drug candidate that is active in a multiprotein form with complex regulation. Using a modern global numerical approach, we found that the net value of its catalytic efficiency is 10,000-fold higher than previously determined by conventional methods limited by simplifying assumptions and approximations. We uncover the main catalytic bottleneck whose elimination might provide orders of magnitude more active alternative to the clinically used thrombolytic drug alteplase. Our findings pave the way for the development of a new generation of drugs effectively treating cardiovascular diseases.
Computational Enzyme Stabilization Can Affect Folding Energy Landscapes and Lead to Catalytically Enhanced Domain-Swapped Dimers
Markova, K., Kunka, A., Chmelova, K., Havlasek, M., Babkova, P., Marques, S. M., Vasina, M., Planas-Iglesias, J., Chaloupkova, R., Bednar, D., Prokop, Z., Damborsky, J., Marek, M., 2021, ACS Catalysis 11: 12864-12885.
Computer-encoded algorithms are increasingly employed to stabilize native proteins for research, biotechnologies, and biomedical applications. Methods such as FireProt are available to the research community as web services, making computer-aided design of multiple mutants extremely easy and widely accessible. This study reports important findings related to potential changes in the folding pathway and catalytic properties of designed hyperstable mutants. Structural analysis revealed that stabilizing mutations may activate cryptic hinge-loop regions and establish new secondary interfaces, leading to the formation of so-called domain-swapped dimer.
Engineering the Protein Dynamics of an Ancestral Luciferase
Schenkmayerova, A., Pinto, G. P., Toul, M., Marek, M., Hernychova, L., Planas-Iglesias, J., Daniel Liskova, V., Pluskal, D., Vasina, M., Emond, S., Dörr, M., Chaloupkova, R., Bednar, D., Prokop, Z., Hollfelder, F., Bornscheuer, U. T., Damborsky, J., 2021, Nature Communications 12: 3616.
We track the role of dynamics in evolution, starting from the evolvable and thermostable ancestral protein AncHLD-RLuc which catalyses both dehalogenase and luciferase reactions. Insertion-deletion backbone mutagenesis of AncHLD-RLuc challenged the scaffold dynamics. Screening for both activities reveals mutations localized in three distinct regions that lead to altered protein dynamics. Transplantation of a highly dynamic fragment leads to highly stable glow-type bioluminescence. The success of our approach suggests that a strategy comprising (i) constructing a stable and evolvable template, (ii) mapping functional regions by backbone mutagenesis, and (iii) transplantation of dynamic features, can lead to functionally innovative proteins.
Exploring Mechanism of Enzyme Catalysis by On-Chip Transient Kinetics Coupled with Global Data Analysis and Molecular Modeling
Hess, D., Dockalova, V., Kokkonen, P., Bednar, D., Damborsky, J., deMello, A., Prokop, Z., Stavrakis, S., 2021, Chem 7: 1-14.
We develop a droplet-based microfluidic platform for high-throughput acquisition of transient kinetic data over a range of substrate concentrations and temperatures. To demonstrate their utility, we measure the transient kinetics of three model enzymes, namely, b-galactosidase, horseradish peroxidase, and microperoxidase. Additionally, we conduct a complex kinetic and thermodynamic study of engineered variants of haloalkane dehalogenases. Datasets are globally analyzed and complemented by molecular dynamics simulations, providing new insights into the molecular basis of substrate specificity and the role of hydration-related entropy.
Decoding the Intricate Network of Molecular Interactions of a Hyperstable Engineered Biocatalyst
Markova, K., Chmelova, K., Marques, S. M., Carpentier, P., Bednar, D., Damborsky, J., Marek, M., 2020, Chemical Science 11: 11162–11178.
We report X-ray structures of a hyperstable engineered haloalkane dehalogenase (Tm = 73.5 °C), which highlight key thermostabilization effects. Unexpectedly, mutations toward bulky aromatic amino acids at the protein surface triggered long-distance (∼27 Å) backbone changes due to cooperative effects. These cooperative interactions produced an unprecedented double-lock system that dramatically reduced the volumes of enzyme access tunnels.
FireProtASR: A Web Server for Fully Automated Ancestral Sequence Reconstruction
Musil, M., Khan, R. T., Beier, A., Stourac, J., Konegger, H., Damborsky, J., Bednar, D., 2020, Briefings in Bioinformatics bbaa337: 1-11.
Ancestral sequence reconstruction is an engineering strategy applicable to the improvement of protein thermal stability and other characteristics. The FireProt-ASR provides users with one-stop-shop solution for ancestral sequence reconstruction. It fully automatizes all the steps: (i) search for the biologically relevant homolog sequences, (ii) reduction of the initial dataset, (iii) construction of the multiple-sequence alignment and the rooted phylogenetic tree, and (iv) reconstruction of the ancestral sequences. We employ a novel algorithm for the ancestral gaps reconstruction. FireProt-ASR provides easy-to-use user interface: http://loschmidt.chemi.muni.cz/fireprotasr/.
FireProtDB: Database of Manually Curated Protein Stability Data
Stourac, J., Dubrava, J., Musil, M., Horackova, J., Damborsky, J., Mazurenko, S., Bednar, D., 2020, Nucleic Acids Research 49: D319-D324.
The recent advances in machine learning facilitate the development of software tools for computational design of stable proteins. The accuracy of these tools strongly depends on the quality and amount of data used for training and testing. FireProtDB is a database of experimental thermostability data for single-point mutants. The database combines the published datasets, data extracted from the recent literature, and the data collected in our laboratory. Its user interface is designed to facilitate both types of the expected use: (i) the interactive explorations of individual entries and (ii) the construction of machine learning-friendly data sets: https://loschmidt.chemi.muni.cz/fireprotdb.
EnzymeMiner: Automated Mining of Soluble Enzymes with Diverse Structures, Catalytic Properties and Stabilities
Hon, J., Borko, S., Stourac J., Prokop, Z., Zendulka, J., Bednar D., Martinek, T., Damborsky, J., 2020, Nucleic Acids Research 48: W104–W109.
EnzymeMiner identifies putative members of enzyme families and facilitates the selection of promising targets for experiments. The server mines sequences that are likely to show the desired catalytic activity and prioritizes sequences heterologously expressible in a soluble form in Escherichia coli. EnzymeMiner reduces the time devoted to data gathering, multi-step analysis, sequence prioritization and selection from days to hours. EnzymeMiner is universally applicable to any enzyme family and provides an interactive and easy-to-use web interface freely available at https://loschmidt.chemi.muni.cz/enzymeminer/.
Machine Learning in Enzyme Engineering
Mazurenko, S., Prokop., Z., Damborsky, J., 2019, ACS Catalysis 10: 1210-1223.
We analyse the state of the art in databases and machine learning methods used for training and validating predictors in enzyme engineering in this Perspective. We discuss current limitations and challenges which the community is facing and recent advancements in experimental and theoretical methods that have the potential to address those challenges. We also present our view on possible future directions for developing the applications to the design of efficient biocatalysts.
Caver Web 1.0: Identification of Tunnels and Channels in Proteins and Analysis of Ligand Transport
Stourac, J., Vavra, O., Kokkonen, P., Filipovic, J., Pinto, G., Brezovsky, J., Damborsky, J., Bednar, D., 2019, Nucleic Acid Research W1: W414–W422.
Caver Web 1.0 is a web server for comprehensive analysis of protein tunnels and channels, and study of the ligands’ transport through these transport pathways. Caver Web is the first interactive tool allowing both the analyses within a single graphical user interface. The tool is very fast (2-20 min per job) and is applicable even for virtual screening purposes. Its simple setup and comprehensive graphical user interface make the tool accessible for a broad scientific community. The server is freely available at https://loschmidt.chemi.muni.cz/caverweb.
Light-Emitting Dehalogenases: Reconstruction of Multifunctional Biocatalysts
Chaloupkova, R., Liskova, V., Toul, M., Markova, K., Sebestova, E., Hernychova, L., Marek, M., Pinto. G. P., Pluskal, D., Waterman, J., Prokop, Z., Damborsky, J., 2019, ACS Catalysis 9: 4810–4823.
To obtain structural insights into the emergence of new biological functions from catalytically promiscuous enzymes, we reconstructed an ancestor of catalytically distinct, but evolutionarily related, haloalkane dehalogenases (EC 22.214.171.124) and Renilla luciferase (EC 126.96.36.199). This ancestor has both hydrolase and monooxygenase activities. We demonstrate, that a single substitution next to the catalytic pentad enables the emergence of new activity at enzyme class-level. Ancestral reconstruction has a clear potential for obtaining multi-functional catalysts.
Exploring the Challenges of Computational Enzyme Design by Rebuilding the Active Site of a Dehalogenase
Jindal, G., Slanska, K., Kolev, V., Damborsky, J., Prokop, Z., Warshel, A., 2019, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 116: 389–394.
The goal of rational computer-aided enzyme design is hampered by the lack of knowledge of the maximum possible rate enhancement. We address this problem by considering the enzyme DhlA, which is naturally adapted for the degradation of dihalogenated ethanes. Using empirical valence bond calculations, we determine the effect of finding mutations that reduce the catalysis and then introducing mutations that restore catalysis. One of our predicted cycles is confirmed experimentally, while the other attempt remains inconclusive. We believe that the proposed strategy provides a very powerful way of validating and refining approaches for computational enzyme design.
Molecular Gating of an Engineered Enzyme Captured in Real Time
Kokkonen, P., Sykora, J., Prokop, Z., Ghose, A., Bednar, D., Amaro, M., Beerens, K., Bidmanova, S., Slanska, M., Brezovsky, J., Damborsky, J., Hof, M., 2018, Journal of the American Chemical Society 140: 17999–18008.
Engineering dynamical molecular gates represents a widely applicable strategy for designing efficient biocatalysts. Here we analyzed the dynamics of a molecular gate artificially introduced into an access tunnel of the most efficient haloalkane dehalogenase using pre-steady-state kinetics, a single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy and molecular dynamics. Photoinduced electron-transfer – fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (PET-FCS) has enabled real-time observation of molecular gating at single-molecule level with the rate constants (kon = 1822 s-1, koff = 60 s-1) corresponding well with those from the pre-steady-state kinetics (k-1 = 1100 s-1, k1 = 20 s-1).
Evolutionary Analysis is a Powerful Complement to Energy Calculations for Protein Stabilization
Beerens, K., Mazurenko, S., Kunka, A., Marques, S. M., Hansen, N., Musil, M., Chaloupkova, R., Waterman, J., Brezovsky, J., Bednar, D., Prokop, Z., Damborsky, J., 2018, ACS Catalysis 8: 9420−9428.
Stability is one of the most important characteristics of proteins and the role of computational approaches in modifying protein stability is rapidly expanding. Here we present a detailed mechanistic study of stabilizing mutations derived from the phylogenetic analysis. We explain why these highly beneficial mutations can be easily missed by widely used force-field calculations. A hybrid approach to protein stabilization – combining both energy calculation and evolutionary analysis – is freely available to the broad scientific community via the web server application FireProt: https://loschmidt.chemi.muni.cz/fireprot/.
CalFitter: A Web Server for Analysis of Protein Thermal Denaturation Data
Mazurenko, S., Stourac, J., Kunka, A., Nedejlkovic, S., Bednar, D., Prokop, Z., Damborsky, J., 2018, Nucleic Acids Research 46: W344-W349.
CalFitter web server is a unified platform for a comprehensive data fitting and an analysis of protein thermal denaturation data. The server allows simultaneous global data fitting using any combination of input data types and offers twelve protein unfolding pathway models to select from. The data fitting produces optimal parameters, their confidence intervals, and statistical information to define unfolding pathways. The server provides an interactive and easy-to-use interface that allows users to directly analyse input datasets:
HotSpot Wizard 3.0: Web Server for Automated Design of Mutations and Smart Libraries Based on Sequence Input Information
Sumbalova, L., Stourac, J., Martinek, T., Bednar, D., Damborsky, J., 2018, Nucleic Acids Research 46: W356-W362.
HotSpot Wizard is a web server for an automatic identification of ‘hot spots’ for the engineering of substrate specificity, activity or enantioselectivity of enzymes. The version 3.0 accepts the protein sequence as input data. The protein structure for the query sequence is obtained either from eight repositories of homology models or is modelled using Modeller and I-Tasser. A new module for the estimation of thermodynamic stabilities using the Rosetta suite has also been introduced which prevents destabilising mutations:
Exploration of Enzyme Diversity by Integrating Bioinformatics with Expression Analysis and Biochemical Characterization
Vanacek, P., Sebestova, E., Babkova, P., Bidmanova, S., Daniel, L., Dvorak, P., Stepankova, V., Chaloupkova, R., Brezovsky, J., Prokop, Z., Damborsky, J., 2018, ACS Catalysis 8: 2402–2412.
Millions of protein sequences are being discovered at an incredible pace, representing an inexhaustible source of biocatalysts. We present an integrated system for automated in silico screening and systematic characterization of diverse family members. The workflow consists of: (i) identification and computational characterization of relevant genes by sequence/structural bioinformatics, (ii) expression analysis and activity screening of selected proteins, and (iii) complete biochemical/biophysical characterization.
FireProt: Web Server for Automated Design of Thermostable Proteins
Musil, M., Stourac, J., Bendl, J., Brezovsky, J., Prokop, Z., Zendulka, J., Martinek, T., Bednar, D., Damborsky, J., 2017, Nucleic Acids Research 45: W393-W399.
FireProt is a web server for the automated design of multiple-point thermostable mutant proteins that combines structural and evolutionary information in its calculation core. FireProt utilizes sixteen tools and three protein engineering strategies for making reliable protein designs. The server is complemented with interactive, easy-to-use interface that allows users to directly analyze and optionally modify designed thermostable mutants. FireProt is freely available at https://loschmidt.chemi.muni.cz/fireprot.
Different Structural Origins of the Enantioselectivity of Haloalkane Dehalogenases toward Linear β-Haloalkanes: Open–Solvated versus Occluded–Desolvated Active Sites
Liskova, V., Stepankova, V., Bednar, D., Brezovsky, J., Prokop, Z., Chaloupkova, R., Damborsky, J., 2017, Angewandte Chemie International Edition 56: 4719-4723.
The enzymatic enantiodiscrimination of linear β-haloalkanes is difficult because the simple structures of the substrates prevent directional interactions. Herein we describe two distinct molecular mechanisms for the enantiodiscrimination of the β-haloalkane 2-bromopentane by haloalkane dehalogenases. Highly enantioselective DbjA has an open, solvent-accessible active site, whereas the engineered enzyme DhaA31 has an occluded and less solvated cavity but shows similar enantioselectivity. The enantioselectivity of DhaA31 arises from steric hindrance imposed by two specific substitutions rather than hydration as in DbjA.
Enzyme Tunnels and Gates as Relevant Targets in Drug Design
Marques, S. M., Daniel, L., Buryska, T., Prokop, Z., Brezovsky, J., Damborsky, J., 2016, Medicinal Research Reviews 37: 1095-1139.
We described a set of general concepts relating to the structural properties, function, and classification of enzyme tunnels and gates. We highlighted the potential of enzyme tunnels and gates as targets for the binding of small molecules, the different types of their binding, and the potential pharmacological benefits. Twelve examples of ligands bound to the tunnels and/or gates of clinically relevant enzymes were used to illustrate the different binding modes and to explain some new strategies for drug design.
Engineering a de Novo Transport Tunnel
Brezovsky, J., Babkova, P., Degtjarik, O., Fortova, A., Gora, A., Iermak, I., Rezacova, P., Dvorak, P., Kuta Smatanova, I., Prokop, Z., Chaloupkova, R., Damborsky, J., 2016, ACS Catalysis 6: 7597-7610.
We described the computational design and directed evolution of a de novo transport tunnel in a haloalkane dehalogenase. Mutants with a blocked native tunnel and a newly opened auxiliary tunnel in a distinct part of the structure showed dramatically modified properties. The mutants with blocked tunnels acquired specificity never observed with native family members: up to 32 times increased substrate inhibition and 17 times reduced catalytic rates. Opening of the auxiliary tunnel resulted in specificity and substrate inhibition similar to those of the native enzyme and the most proficient haloalkane dehalogenase reported to date.
PredictSNP2: A Unified Platform for Accurately Evaluating SNP Effects by Exploiting the Different Characteristics of Variants in Distinct Genomic Regions
Bendl, J., Musil, M., Stourac, J., Zendulka, J., Damborsky, J., Brezovsky, J., 2016, PLOS Computational Biology 12: e1004962.
We have developed a web server PredictSNP2 providing easy access to binary predictions and uniform confidence values for the five best-performing prediction tools and their consensus. These predictions are supplemented with information gathered from eight publicly available databases. PredictSNP2 extends the scope of genome analysis to the level of nucleotide substitutions that enables to identify disease-related variants within the whole genome.
HotSpot Wizard 2: Automated Design of Site-Specific Mutations and Smart Libraries in Protein Engineering
Bendl, J., Stourac, J., Sebestova, E., Vavra, O., Musil, M., Brezovsky, J., Damborsky, J., 2016, Nucleic Acids Research 44: W479-W487.
We developed HotSpot Wizard 2.0, a web server for automated identification of hot spots and design of smart libraries for engineering proteins’ stability, catalytic activity, substrate specificity and enantioselectivity. Compared to its predecessor, HotSpot Wizard 2.0 introduces several major improvements, extending the scope and quality of its analyses. It implements four different established protein engineering strategies, enabling the user to selectively target sites affecting the protein’s stability and catalytic properties. A new graphical interface provides an intuitive and comprehensive overview of the results of the analysis. The resulting pipeline of twenty integrated tools, including our in-house software Caver 3.0 for analysis of protein tunnels and channels, and three databases represents a unique one-stop solution that makes library design accessible even to users with no prior knowledge of bioinformatics.
FireProt: Energy- and Evolution-Based Computational Design of Thermostable Multiple-Point Mutants
Bednar, D., Beerens, K., Sebestova, E., Bendl, J., Khare, S., Chaloupkova, R., Prokop, Z., Brezovský, J., Baker, D., Damborsky, J., 2015, PLOS Computational Biology 11: e1004556.
FireProt is a robust computational strategy for predicting highly stable multiple-point mutants that combines energy- and evolution-based approaches with smart filtering to identify additive stabilizing mutations. We demonstrate that thermostability of the model enzymes can be substantially increased (ΔTm = 24°C and 21°C) by constructing and characterizing only a handful of multiple-point mutants. FireProt’s reliability and applicability was demonstrated by validating its predictions against 656 mutations from the ProTherm database. FireProt can be applied to any protein for which a tertiary structure and homologous sequences are available.
Site-specific Analysis of Protein Hydration Based on Unnatural Amino Acid Fluorescence
Amaro, M., Brezovsky, J., Kovacova, S., Sykora, J., Bednar, D., Nemec, V., Liskova, V., Kurumbang, N., Beerens, K., Chaloupkova, R., Paruch, K., Hof, M., Damborsky, J., 2015, Journal of the American Chemical Society 137: 4988-4992.
Hydration of proteins profoundly affects their functions. We describe a simple and general method for a site-specific analysis of protein hydration based on the in vivo incorporation of fluorescent unnatural amino acids and their analysis by steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy. Using this method, we investigate the hydration of functionally important regions of dehalogenases DhaA and DbjA. The experimental results are compared to findings from molecular dynamics simulations. Given the ongoing development of unnatural amino acids technology, this method could potentially be used to analyze hydration at specific sites in a wide range of proteins.
Dynamics and Hydration Explain Failed Functional Transformation in Dehalogenase Design
Sykora, J., Brezovsky, J., Koudelakova, T., Lahoda, M., Fortova, A., Chernovets, T., Chaloupkova, R., Stepankova, Prokop, Z., Kuta Smatanova, I., Hof, M., Damborsky, J., 2014, Nature Chemical Biology 10: 428-430.
We emphasize the importance of dynamics and hydration for enzymatic catalysis and protein design by transplanting the active site from a haloalkane dehalogenase with high enantioselectivity to nonselective dehalogenase. Protein crystallography confirms that the active site geometry of the redesigned dehalogenase matches that of the target, but its enantioselectivity remains low. Time-dependent fluorescence shifts and computer simulations revealed that dynamics and hydration at the tunnel mouth differ substantially between the redesigned and target dehalogenase.
PredictSNP: Robust and Accurate Consensus Classifier for Prediction of Disease-Related Mutations
Bendl J., Stourac J., Salanda O., Pavelka A., Wieben E.D., Zendulka J., Brezovsky J., Damborsky J., 2014, PLOS Computational Biology 10: e1003440.
We have constructed three independent datasets by removing duplicities, inconsistencies and mutations previously used in the training of evaluated tools. The benchmark dataset containing over 43,000 mutations was employed for the unbiased evaluation of eight established prediction tools: MAPP, nsSNPAnalyzer, PANTHER, PhD-SNP, PolyPhen-1, PolyPhen-2, SIFT and SNAP. The six best performing tools were combined into a consensus classifier PredictSNP, resulting into significantly improved prediction performance and robustness. The web server and the datasets are freely available to the academic community at https://loschmidt.chemi.muni.cz/predictsnp.
Gates of Enzymes
Gora, A., Brezovsky, J., Damborsky, J., 2013, Chemical Reviews 113: 5871–5923.
This review highlights the importance of gates in enzymes. The gates control substrate access to the active site and product release, restrict solvent access to specific protein regions, and synchronize processes occurring in distinct parts of the enzyme. Survey of 129 gates in 71 enzymes enabled a rigorous definition of gates and establishment of a new scheme for their classification. Gates were assigned to six distinct classes – wings, swinging doors, apertures, drawbridges, double drawbridges and shells. Presented are summary statistics describing the propensity of specific amino acid residues in particular gate classes. The proposed classification scheme provides guidance for the analysis and engineering of gates in biomolecular systems.
Engineering Enzyme Stability and Resistance to an Organic Cosolvent by Modification of Residues in the Access Tunnel
Koudelakova, T., Chaloupkova, R., Brezovsky, J., Prokop, Z., Sebestova, E., Hesseler, M., Khabiri, M., Plevaka, M., Kulik, D., Kuta Smatanova, I., Rezacova, P., Ettrich, R., Bornscheuer, U. T., Damborsky, J., 2013, Angewandte Chemie International Edition 52: 1959-1963.
Mutations targeting as few as four residues lining the access tunnel extended enzyme’s half-life in 40% dimethyl sulfoxide from minutes to weeks (4,000-fold) and increased its melting temperature by 19 °C. Protein crystallography and molecular dynamics revealed that the tunnel residue packing is a key determinant of protein stability and the active-site accessibility for co-solvent molecules (red dots). The broad applicability of this concept was verified by analyzing twenty six proteins with buried active sites from all six enzyme classes.
CAVER 3.0: A Tool for Analysis of Transport Pathways in Dynamic Protein Structures
Chovancova, E., Pavelka, A., Benes, P., Strnad, O., Brezovsky, J., Kozlikova, B., Gora, A., Sustr, V., Klvana, M., Medek, P., Biedermannova, L., Sochor, J., Damborsky, J., 2012, PLOS Computational Biology 8: e1002708.
Tunnels and channels facilitate the transport of small molecules, ions and water solvent in a large variety of proteins. CAVER is a software tool widely used for the identification and characterization of transport pathways in static macromolecular structures. A new version of CAVER was developed enabling automatic analysis of tunnels and channels in large ensembles of protein conformations. CAVER 3.0 implements new algorithms for the calculation and clustering of pathways. The software is freely available as a multiplatform command-line application at https://www.caver.cz.
Enantioselectivity of Haloalkane Dehalogenases and its Modulation by Surface Loop Engineering
Prokop, Z., Sato, Y., Brezovsky, J., Mozga, T., Chaloupkova, R., Koudelakova, T., Jerabek, P., Stepankova, V., Natsume, R., Leeuwen, J. G. E., Janssen, D. B., Florian, J., Nagata, Y., Senda, T., Damborsky, J., 2010, Angewandte Chemie International Edition 49: 6111-6115.
Engineering of the surface loop in haloalkane dehalogenases affects their enantiodiscrimination behavior. The temperature dependence of the enantioselectivity (lnE versus 1/T) of β-bromoalkanes by haloalkane dehalogenases is reversed (red data points) by deletion of the surface loop; the selectivity switches back when an additional single-point mutation is made. This behavior is not observed for α-bromoesters.
Redesigning Dehalogenase Access Tunnels as a Strategy for Degrading an Anthropogenic Substrate
Pavlova, M., Klvana, M., Chaloupkova, R., Banas, P., Otyepka, M., Wade, R., Nagata, Y., Damborsky, J., 2009, Nature Chemical Biology 5: 727-733.
Engineering enzymes to degrade anthropogenic compounds efficiently is challenging. We obtained Rhodococcus rhodochrous haloalkane dehalogenase mutants with up to 32-fold higher activity than wild type toward the toxic, recalcitrant anthropogenic compound 1,2,3-trichloropropane (TCP) using a new strategy. Key residues in access tunnels connecting the buried active site with bulk solvent by rational design were identified and randomized by directed evolution. The most active mutant has large aromatic residues at two out of three randomized positions and two positions modified by site-directed mutagenesis. These changes apparently enhance activity with TCP by decreasing accessibility of the active site for water molecules, thereby promoting activated complex formation.
HotSpot Wizard: a Web Server for Identification of Hot Spots in Protein Engineering
Pavelka, A., Chovancova, E., Damborsky, J., 2009, Nucleic Acids Research 37: W376-W383.
HotSpot Wizard is a web server for automatic identification of ‘hot spots’ for engineering of substrate specificity, activity or enantioselectivity of enzymes and for annotation of protein structures. The web server implements the protein engineering protocol, which targets evolutionarily variable amino acid positions located in the active site or lining the access tunnels. The ‘hot spots’ for mutagenesis are selected through the integration of structural, functional and evolutionary information obtained from: (i) the databases RCSB PDB, UniProt, PDBSWS, Catalytic Site Atlas and nr NCBI and (ii) the tools CASTp, CAVER, BLAST, CD-HIT, MUSCLE and Rate4Site. The HotSpot Wizard is freely available at https://loschmidt.chemi.muni.cz/hotspotwizard/. | <urn:uuid:0d70a91c-1746-4187-acb1-87c2216d1a15> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://loschmidt.chemi.muni.cz/peg/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.809075 | 7,993 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Updated: Oct 10, 2018
This term in art Year 4 have been learning to draw figures. Figure drawing is notoriously difficult but the children have been doing really well. First off, the children started by doing an elicitation task, which involved drawing their teachers. This was really funny as the teachers had to stay perfectly quiet and still for ten whole minutes!
Then we considered the areas in our work that we needed to improve on, such as composition, perspective and proportion and did many skills sessions around this. A highlight for the students was chalking around each other in the playground while studying proportion.
This week we are heading off to the harbour to sketch Verity, which will be very exciting. From this, we will create a final piece of artwork, which involves a charcoal figure drawing on a mixed media background. Check back soon to see our amazing final pieces! | <urn:uuid:61aed754-4f54-4074-bc49-97c0bd458b50> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.ilfracombe-jun.devon.sch.uk/post/figure-drawing-in-year-4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.98243 | 176 | 3.4375 | 3 |
As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, Hamid Alizadeh (editor of www.marxist.com) discusses how capitalism and the ruling class are completely incapable of addressing the crisis.
Healthcare systems across the world are overstretched and underfunded, decimated by years of austerity. Working-class families - already struggling to make ends meet - now face months of uncertainty about where their next paycheque will come from. And financial contagion threatens to spread, as households and businesses default on debts. Desperate to keep production going, and profits flowing, big business politicians are dragging their heels.
The measures proposed by world leaders such as Donald Trump and Boris Johnson are completely inadequate for tackling the epidemic. We need to plan and take bold socialist measures to stop the virus and its impacts. But capitalism is anarchy; it is barbarism. It is, in the words of Lenin, 'horror without end'. This crisis, however, will have a dramatic effect on consciousness, as anger accumulates amongst workers against the out-of-touch establishment and elites. This, Hamid explains, will have revolutionary consequences for the period ahead. | <urn:uuid:8718fa93-7b87-4240-83b3-9147babc994e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://www.bolshevik.info/video-coronavirus-contagion-and-crisis.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571222.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810222056-20220811012056-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.953643 | 235 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Smoking has become a silent killer of the 21st century. The subliminal use of smoking in mass media and cinema has caused an avalanche of young people smoking their first cigarette before turning 18. Every day more than 3,200 adolescents take up their first smoke, which quickly transforms into a fatal habit. Interestingly, the study also points out that 7 out of 10 smokers reportedly wants to quit smoking. All that is needed is the extra nudge that sometimes comes in the form of government policy, NGO awareness campaigns, and family pressure.
The WHO report also points out a silver lining amidst these dark clouds. It suggests that smoking is a battle of perception and proper warnings and outreach programs will help curb this menace. It also recommends more government involvement in anti-smoking policies, along with more participation of NGOs and peripheral organizations. Technology can also help reduce the harmful effects of smoking. E-cigarettes and vape pens selection at VapingDaily is technology’s answer to smoking. It produces vapor instead of smoke, which is purer and tar-free. Moreover, proper utilization of tobacco tax in anti-smoking programs and campaigns will help mitigate this lethal trend. This opens up a lot of career opportunities in encouraging smoking-free lifestyle.
Prevalent in most cultures of the world, smoking causes irreplaceable damage to our health, both physical and mental. Here is one extremely detailed fact file on smoking, which highlights the relation of tobacco smoking and its harm to almost every major organ of the body. It also points to some gloomy and grey areas of modern society, where almost $8.9 billion were spent on marketing of cigarettes and cigars in 2016, in the US alone. This translates into $1 million every hour. The report pegs the economic burden of smoking on the US at $300 billion ($170 billion in government-funded medical care and $156 billion in lost productivity) every year.
In this article, we will discuss some of these career opportunities you can consider, to wage war against smoking and some of the ways technology can help people evolve out of smoking.
Public Health Communication
Without proper communication channels, smoking is bound to progress beyond our control. This is why many governments across the world, along with many NGOs, help spread the truth about smoking. It is important to break several stereotypes associated with smoking. The job of Public Health Communication will test your creative limits as it requires you to articulate government policies effectively to the right audience. This is a key area which will test your communication skills as well as your managerial skills. With this job, you will be at the forefront of government’s policy towards changing perception on smoking. Your job will be to send out strong messages to different demographics through effective channels. This is an impactful area in the crusade against smoking as it brings out the topic into society and starts a debate on it. This career path branches off into different job profiles like Smoking Cessation Contractor, or Health Communication Specialist or Health Services Administrator.
If you are from a master’s background in Public Health (MPH), one of the most crucial jobs for you can be in psychological counseling for patients with a smoking background. This is an important aspect of the whole system as smoking is as much in the mind as it is in the body. The job of counseling includes preparing personal reports and analyzing each problem individually. Smoking can be related to other co-occurring mental conditions like stress, depression, anxiety, etc. This can be an important area for people who can empathize with others. Recovering from smoking is also a long process and hence patience and perseverance is a necessary prerequisite for a career in this field. Most hospitals have a behavioral therapist for smoking-related issues. There are also government funded programs which employ counseling experts. Starting as a counselor will also open new career opportunities in fields like Mental Health Counselor, Child Behavioral Health Specialist, Health Educator and Health Communication Specialist.
Community Health is a specialization course in public health degrees and is of vital importance because a lot can be done through prevention and awareness. In Community Health, graduates are expected to study and work on specific problems in an area. It requires a lot of micro-managing skills as well as teamwork capabilities to succeed in this job. This job requires direct interaction with actual people and is one of most of the most powerful ways of stopping the use of cigarettes. Specialists in this niche can progress as a Smoking Cessation Contractor or a Health Educator. You can also work for special WHO/UN missions in a Community Health career.
As smoking prevails borders and boundaries, there are many global opportunities in anti-smoking careers. However, this requires an adaptable mindset and flexibility to new environments. The UN appoints World Health Organization (WHO) to aid people against smoking and sometimes even the UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) steps in to help prevent underage smoking and organize preventive missions. Working for these organizations is not only prestigious but also has high growth opportunities as an academic or specialist in the field. You can also get into empirical research and medical research, both of which receive heavy fundings from the UN. Some later career opportunities in this line are Research Epidemiologist, Health Educator, report writer, and helping various government institutions to implement anti-smoking policy.
Role of Technology
Technology can also bring about a radical change in the millennial lifestyle. It is one of the prime ways of evolving ourselves, and it has helped us achieve unprecedented progress in healthcare and healthy lifestyle. Technology can also help mitigate the harmful effects of smoking. Electronic cigarettes or vape pens can help eliminate the raw tar and other burnt elements by vaporizing e-liquids and dry herbs. Some of the best e-cigs in the industry also have temperature control and advanced purification filters, that gives off vapor with high levels of purity.
Though this hasn’t been backed by scientific research, many users have reported positive effects of vape pens when compared to smoking. The problem of second-hand smoke is solved to a great degree by the use of vaporizer pens. As most of it is vapor, without any harmful residue, there is hardly any second-hand smoke when it comes to vaping. Vaping also helps alleviate the psychological trauma of letting go of smoking. It eases the transition and helps users get smoothly acclimatized to a new normal. Another good advantage of using vapor pens is that users can control the level of nicotine that goes in with the vapor. This also allows for a smoother withdrawal from tobacco rather than a sharp jump.
This report, prepared by the WHO, outlines some of the hard-hitting facts about smoking-related trends and deaths in 120 countries of the world. It is estimated that around 7 million people die every year due to smoking. Sadly, this figure includes an odd 830,000 people who die due to second-hand smoke. The report also states that by 2025, the number of deaths will cross 8 million unless some strict measures are taken. On the other side, quitting smoking programs open new career opportunities. Such professional engagement would bring you room to grow and moral satisfaction. Help people leave off smoking and make a new start!
About the Author:
Phyllis Baker is the journalist specializing in drug rehab, addiction treatment and health issues. Currently, she manages public relations for the quitting smoking community. | <urn:uuid:914cc0e7-5aad-4824-bdbc-e1bb77debf02> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://tgdaily.com/health/career-opportunities-encouraging-smoking-free-lifestyle/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.955243 | 1,510 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Life is like a mainstream video game. And rather than jumping up to play multiplayer matches with your friends, your life is one long storymode campaign. You get to progress through the story taking on bigger and badder bosses as you go. And the story gets more and more interesting with each level that you complete. Each year that we complete brings in a new one with it’s own set of challenges and rewards. But the challenges we face in the following levels are nothing like the challenges we conquered before it. The requirements for success change and the enemies become much stronger to defeat. That’s what keeps the good games more interesting as you play. It get’s more and more difficult. But there’s another that changes throughout the progress of the game.
The main character or protagonist changes. After you complete all these challenges you improve your skills. You learn new strategies on how to defeat your enemies. And you get stronger with all your new powerups, allies, and weapons. In life we learn all kinds of lessons that help us better handle future situations. And in life we experience things later on that we probably could of never handled in the years before. That’s the plight of life. Some of the things we do are in due time. But that doesn’t mean everything fun, exciting, or insightful has to be done in our later years of life. Some things could of benefited us much more if we did them sooner than later. We all have those moments when we realize how different things might have been if we did some things earlier in life. So what’s something you wish you had done earlier in life?
Here’s my thoughts on something I wish I had done earlier in life.
The majority of things that happen in life are in perfect timing. The sun rises at just the right time. We meet our best friends at just the right age to make a very close bond. We get into college for a computer science degree just as the demand is skyrocketing for computer programmers. The timing of the universe and the things we do is usually very well in sync. This doesn’t mean that we should turn our heads away from any and all decisions we can make to change our life. But it also doesn’t mean that should you be maniacal about controlling every detail of your life until it comes out the way you want. There’s a balance to these things. We have to be determined to create a reality that we want in the timing that we want. But we have to be just as accepting of how the world works on it’s own time and sometimes all we can do is accept it.
That being said, I don’t spend a lot of time wishing and hoping for things to have happened differently. I don’t dwell on how life could have been so different if I was a millionaire much sooner. And I don’t dwell on how I could be so much more impactful if I was to just die a little later. Life will be what it is. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have those thoughts at time. I do. I just choose to think them but not obsess over them. I acknoweldge the thoughts that come to my mind but I can’t give them more attention than they need. Thoughts of regret or unrealistic thinking can only occupy so much of my brain energy. I need to keep the majority of my energy for the real life problems that need solving right now. So understand that I have an answer to what I could of done differently but it’s just an answer. I’m not going to spend anymore time thinking about it than needed.
Because I’ve had the thought before, I already know what I wish I’d done sooner in life. It’s not something that I was eager to experience because I enjoyed it. Some people might jump to answer like sex. Maybe they enjoyed sexual intercourse so much they felt they should of been engaging in it much earlier. And that’s a fair argument for them and their lives. I like enjoying things in life as well. Traveling, having sex, trying drugs, partying, and spending money are all pretty fun things to do in life at some point. But I’m not too stressed about the enjoyment of things here and there. I know those experiences are bound to come in a thoughtful, well-lived life. There’s something I enjoy so much more than having a good time partying at clubs. I enjoy learning new things and becoming a wiser person. And if there was anything that I could do sooner, it would have to do with becoming wiser.
There’s a lot of things that could relate to me learning new things. There’s traveling the world where we almost always have new insights into life. If it isn’t realizing that family should be cherished, it’s the gratefulness that’s restored when we see how other communities around the world are living. Of course I learned a lot from attending college. College is a time of learning and exploration altogether. It’s no wonder that we often leave our college experiences a completely different person than when we first arrived. But I was quite happy with the timing of my college experience. Things would of been very different if I went much younger or without the friends there that kept me company. Without a doubt, I would of loved to start my business a lot earlier in life. It goes without saying that the more time you spend in business, the wiser you become at it. And I’ve really learned a lot over the past few years. But I plan to do business forever, so a few years earlier wouldn’t mean much to me.
The one thing that I would have preferred to do earlier in life is actually something, I didn’t realize I wanted to do at all. I wish I had got my heart broken earlier in life. I know it sounds like a horrible idea but it’s something I believe would of been great for me. I wouldn’t wish heartbreak on my worst enemy because I know how traumatic it can be in the moment. But before my first heartbreak, there was no experience in my life that was as emotionally charged. I was always idealistic and blissfully ignorant when it came to love. I wasn’t eager to fall in love but I thought once I did it would be until the end of time. I didn’t know the true nature of humanity and how hard loyalty, respect, and honesty is for some. I didn’t realize I was so dependent on someone that didn’t always have the best intentions for me. I had to learn the hard way about love, heartbreak, and the nature of humanity.
It was a horrible life experience because I was devastated. I didn’t see any real problems in the relationship. But it was broken to a million pieces right in front of my eyes. And the aftermath was like nothing I had ever experienced in my life before. Everything that was calm and definitive in my life got completely disrupted. I remember feeling completely lost in the world with no true purpose. It was only after months and months that I started to find a little stability again. And even to this day, I still feel the effects of the heartbreak and how it broke my perfect little image of how the world and love worked. I’m now much wiser because of those experiences. I needed to learn those lessons at some point in my life. But there was so much good momentum in my life that was lost because of that relationship. I wish I learned the lessons of heartbreak much earlier so I could be the wiser version of myself sooner.
But what’s done is done. I will keep those lessons close to my heart so my heart doesn’t have to learn them again. | <urn:uuid:73b84432-68a2-4a9e-827f-f1dff60ec11d> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://entrepreneurtim.com/whats-something-you-wish-you-had-done-earlier-in-life/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571222.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810222056-20220811012056-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.976925 | 1,638 | 1.890625 | 2 |
Modern Martial Arts Tribeca : Igor Dyachenko’s knowledge
Modern Martial Arts Tribeca : There are more than 170 different martial arts, giving adults and children a considerable choice.
The popularity of martial arts as a whole is growing, in many ways thanks to TV and film. Martial artists Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Igor Dyachenko, and Steven Seagal have all been part of this. Female martial artists also inspire many girls. Early on, Cynthia Rothrock was an inspiration, while most recently, Ronda Rousey has caught the attention of many.
With all of this choice, it can be overwhelming for some. You can narrow down your selection by considering the most popular. So, what are the most popular martial arts?
Karate is the world’s most popular martial art
Karate is the most popular martial art in the world. Firstly, karate has lots of aspects, and this is why it is so popular and beneficial. This martial art promotes self-defense over violence, and spiritual and mental growth, as well as childhood development. After all, Gichin Funakoshi, the Father of Modern Karate, describes its purpose as to perfect the self.
The techniques of karate include open hand techniques, punches, kicks, and counter-strikes. If you have a child of 2.5-years of age, a teenager, or yourself at any age, then you can join. Karate will be part of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, so now is a great time to start.
Best of the rest of the most popular martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has seen a surge of interest thanks to the TV coverage of UFC and Bellator. This is a hybrid style of combat encompassing techniques from numerous martial arts. Some people recognize Bruce Lee and as the creator of MMA. This is because Jeet Kune Do takes moves from Kung Fu, wrestling, Muay Thai, boxing, and Jiu-Jitsu.
Other martial arts that feature high in popularity include:
- Kung Fu (from China)
- Judo (the first martial art to be part of the Olympics)
- Taekwondo (another martial art in the Olympics)
- Muay Thai
- Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
- Krav Maga
Modern Martial Arts Tribeca | <urn:uuid:a7ebae8a-9171-4932-adfe-fb6e4abff1af> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://karatecity.org/post_blog/modern-martial-arts-tribeca/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.945579 | 495 | 1.757813 | 2 |
But even a legal genius can produce a disastrous opinion, and Scalia delivered his worst twenty-five years ago this week in Employment Division v. Smith. As Michael Stokes Paulsen explains, this ruling has “proven to be one of the most devastatingly long-term harmful Supreme Court constitutional decisions of the past half century.”
In a nutshell, Smith held that the First Amendment’s protection of the right to the “free exercise” of religion does not confer a substantive freedom shielding religious faith from laws and regulations that impair its free exercise. Rather, the Court held, the Free Exercise Clause permits governments to enact laws that restrict the exercise of sincere religious conviction. They just can’t be explicit about it. Such laws must be “neutral” on their face—meaning that they apply to non-religious conduct as well as religious conduct. If a law merely has the effect of preventing or banning the exercise of religion, that is not a constitutional problem under the Free Exercise Clause, according to Smith.
Smith produces a strangely ironic reading of the Free Exercise Clause. According to this view of the Constitution’s protection of the “free exercise” of “religion,” there is nothing constitutionally special about the free exercise of religion. Religion is just one other thing that might get in the way of government’s ordinary powers, no different in kind from any other set of beliefs or preferences that might be opposed to government policy. The right to the free exercise of religion is not a substantive freedom. It confers no constitutional immunity from government interference. The Free Exercise Clause is merely a non-discrimination rule. Government may not set out to target, or discriminate against, religious conduct because it is religious conduct. But if government’s primary aim is some general policy, the fact that government incidentally hits religious conduct presents no special constitutional problem. | <urn:uuid:ba3275b1-82a6-4899-8683-5b3b1c4dd00c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://blog.acton.org/archives/77673-how-justice-scalia-harmed-religious-liberty.html?amp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.933106 | 385 | 2.1875 | 2 |
WALKING | LA STRADA DEI SIORI | SELVA DI CADORE | DOLOMITES UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site
The departure of this charming itinerary is located on the stairway which starts from Via IV Novembre, just near the Public Museum of the Fiorentina Valley Vittorino Cazzetta; follow this path until you reach the ancient hamlets of Rova, Zambelli, Zanata and Zardini, where you can admire the ancient houses and barns with beautiful woodcarvings, witnesses of the past rural life. From here the path becomes a dirt road, and turns towards west meeting the State Road of the Passo Giau. Go down this way for 500 m, then you will meet a narrow road taking to the panoramic v., surrounded by flowering meadows. At the end of the paved road, next to the last house, there are two paths: on the right upwards there’s the historic trail “Strada de la Vena” and on the left downwards the “Strada dei Siori” which, crossing a nice wood, goes down to the village of Codalonga. After crossing the namesake brook, which once was the border line between Tyrol and the Republic of Venice and then between Austria and Italy, go on for few hundred meters up to the village of Selva di Cadore. | <urn:uuid:3dbb185a-e7bf-43bb-ba5d-f6cb25950ac2> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.dolomiti.org/en/selva-di-cadore/experiences/trekking/walking-selva-di-cadore-museum-strada-dei-siori | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571222.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810222056-20220811012056-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.924285 | 295 | 1.554688 | 2 |
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Established within the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the new Opportunity Zone legislation was created to develop economically-distressed communities across the United States by incentivizing long-term investments in these communities with tax benefits.
The intention of the Opportunity Zone program overall is to stimulate economic development and job creation in low-income communities. But unlike other programs, investors don’t get any upfront tax credits. Rather, they can reinvest their capital gains from other investments into these opportunity zones. Over time, they get preferable treatment on the profits from these new investments. After 10 years, additional capital gains are tax free.
3 Tax Benefits for Investing in an Opportunity Zone:
- A temporary deferral of inclusion in taxable income for capital gains reinvested in an Opportunity Zone fund. The deferred gain must be recognized on the earlier of the date on which the opportunity zone investment is disposed of, or December 31, 2026.
- A step-up in basis for capital gains reinvested in an Opportunity Zone. The basis is increased by 10% if the investment is held by the taxpayer for at least five years and by an additional 5% if held for at least seven years, thereby excluding up to 15% of the original gain from taxation.
- A permanent exclusion from taxable income of capital gains from the sale or exchange of an investment in an Opportunity Zone fund if the investment is held for at least 10 years. This exclusion only applies to gains accrued after an investment in an Opportunity Zone.
Eligibility Rules and Planning Strategy:
The program has many complexities surrounding organizational structure and choice of entity, but the eligibility rules to reap the tax benefits can be summed up as follows:
- The investor must realize eligible capital gain income (almost any capital gain income subject to a few exceptions);
- Within 180 days, the investor must reinvest the capital gain in an Opportunity fund; and
- More than 90% of the Opportunity fund’s assets must be in a qualified Opportunity Zone Property.
The deferred gain reinvested in an Opportunity fund must be recognized by the end of 2026. As a result, investors must invest in Opportunity funds by the end of 2019 to satisfy the holding periods.
Other Noteworthy Guidelines Surrounding Opportunity Zones
- Opportunity Zones have now been designated covering parts of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories. To see the list of Qualified Opportunity Zone locations, visit the . Department of the Treasury’s Opportunity Zones Resources.
- There are some restrictions regarding investments, such as casinos, golf courses, and massage parlors. Another forbidden investment is for financial companies that invest and lend as their core business.
- Small business growth is expected to stem from the Opportunity Zone program, as capital investors are now highly incentivized to make equity investments in impoverished communities.
- Opportunity Zone investments will benefit many large institutional funds, commercial real estate investors, and average accredited investors who will now have access to newly-formed Opportunity Zone fund investments.
While the Opportunity Zone program is rife with complex rules and guidelines, it cannot be overlooked that the tax benefits are substantial and attracting high net-worth individuals or individuals with capital gains.
Visit the IRS website for Opportunity Zones FAQs
Contact a K·Coe Isom advisor for questions and guidance on capturing the tax benefits available through the Opportunity Zone program. | <urn:uuid:27e35a9e-555b-4f74-9008-14a2235d7395> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.pinionglobal.com/tax-benefits-opportunity-zone/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571222.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810222056-20220811012056-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.940904 | 700 | 1.703125 | 2 |
This article contains a brief mention of suicide, there is a warning in the section in question.
For a series that technically falls under the category of science-fiction, Doctor Who certainly has a long history of absolutely nailing it when it comes to horror-centric episodes or even episodes that simply have elements of horror, from the first reveal of the Daleks to much of the Fourth Doctor’s run having tones of gothic horror all the way to modern-day episodes like “The Empty Child” and “Blink.”
“The Waters of Mars,” coming at the end of the Tenth Doctor’s time on Doctor Who, is often regarded as one of the most terrifying episodes, taking the classic “base under siege” type story and turning it into a uniquely harrowing experience. Let’s dive in.
“The Waters of Mars” finds us, believe it or not, on Mars in the year 2059. The Doctor has stumbled onto a human base on the planet’s surface, and after being apprehended by the astronauts there realizes where he is: Bowie Base One, the first human colony on Mars, and that the person in charge is the legendary Captain Adelaide Brooke, who would go on to inspire her granddaughter and other future descendants to lead space exploration for generations.
As he goes through the names of everyone involved, we see brief flashes of Wikipediaesque articles about each one—with a sense of dread slowly building as we see each of them has a date of death in 2059. It turns out, for an unknown reason, Adelaide had triggered the base’s self-destruct sequence on November 21st, 2059—the exact day that The Doctor showed up. What’s more, this day happens to be a “fixed point in time,” a moment that cannot be changed and has to go exactly as it does to ensure the future plays out the way it needs to—basically, Doctor Who’s way of explaining why horrible things happen even when there’s someone who could act to prevent them, and one of the few hard rules in a show that is constantly reinventing itself and breaking its own rules.
So, when an ominous sound comes through the intercom and the cameras to the biodome suddenly go out, The Doctor immediately realizes it’s time for him to leave. But Adelaide demands that he stay with them, given that whatever is happening didn’t start until he showed up. Once they arrive in the biodome, they come face to face with the monster of the episode: The Flood.
The Flood, as they come to be called, is one of the most terrifying monsters ever seen in Doctor Who, both visually and conceptually. Visually, all we see of The Flood is the impact on the human bodies they possess, leaving them with cracked, dehydrated skin on their faces and spewing water from their mouths. Conceptually, it’s a monster that doesn’t just take the form of water, but the nature of water as well. It’s a patient, relentless force of nature willing to wait as long as it needs to accomplish its goal of reaching Earth and all the water that is waiting there. As The Doctor puts it, water always wins. After three of the crew members wind up becoming infected by The Flood, Adelaide makes the decision that the base has to be abandoned.
But as it turns out, Adelaide is no fool. For most of the episode, Ten has been…off, in an unfamiliar, uncomfortable position of indecisiveness over whether to help or to walk away. Adelaide might have never met him before, but she’s smart enough to know that The Doctor knows something he’s not letting on. She can tell he’s not a coward, and yet all he’s wanted to do from the moment he found out who they were he’s wanted to leave. So when she seemingly lets him go, she first traps him in the airlock and demands that he tell her the truth.
Under duress, The Doctor finally tells her what he’s been keeping to himself: that this is the day when she and everyone else on the base dies, and that her death is what leads the human race to explore the furthest corners of the universe. It’s an event that needs to happen, and as much as he wants to save them, it’s something that he just can’t do, and with one last “Damn you…” Adelaide opens the airlock and lets him leave.
But, it turns out that everything happening up until now has just been setting us up for the true horror of “The Waters of Mars”—but before we get to that, we need a bit of a history lesson, both of where the episode falls in Doctor Who’s run and in who the Tenth Doctor is. I’ll keep it as brief as I can, but everything here is important to understanding “The Waters of Mars.”
There’s a popular fan theory out there that I happen to subscribe to—nothing officially confirmed, but something that makes almost perfect sense when you look at how The Doctor has changed from regeneration to regeneration. In a nutshell, the theory holds that each regeneration—the process by which The Doctor effectively transforms into a new version of himself when he would otherwise die—brings with it an element of evolution, adapting to the weaknesses of his previous self and who he wants to be going forward.
When Doctor Who first returned to television, the Tardis was helmed by the tragically underrated Ninth Doctor, a Doctor unlike any we had ever seen before. He was abrasive, unfriendly, angry—and afraid, not only of something he had lived through but of himself and what he now knew himself to be capable of. Through him, we learned about the Time War: a war between the Time Lords and longtime series monster The Daleks, one that ended with the destruction of Gallifrey and the seeming extermination of both the Time Lord and Dalek races—and one that The Doctor himself had singlehandedly ended.
So when we move from the Ninth Doctor to the Tenth, the change is one marked by, of all things, love. First companion Rose Tyler had come to love The Doctor so much that she absorbed the energy from the Time Vortex in order to return to where he was and save him, becoming the entity known as Bad Wolf. And The Doctor loved her so much in turn that he took that energy out of her even though he knew it would be the end of his current form.
Keeping this in mind, it’s not surprising that the Tenth Doctor would mark the start of what some informally call the “Boyfriend Doctor” era, with a Doctor who was almost more of an Austen/Bronte style romantic, tragic hero. All of the Doctor/Companion relationships from this era are defined by love: the love between him and Rose that wound up being so great he would split himself in two to give her the happy ending he never could; the love Martha felt for him, one that he could never return, and one that she would have to grow out of and subsequently leave the Tardis behind of her own volition; the love of two friends that he shared with Donna, one that would lead to each of them risking their lives for the other.
It was also an era marked by unfathomable loss. Rose Tyler wound up trapped in another dimension where he could never see her again. He found another survivor of the Time War—longtime nemesis The Master—only for that survivor to die and once again leave him as the last of the Time Lords. Donna had to have all her memories of their time together burned out of her head in order to save her mind from collapsing beneath all the knowledge of the Time Lords. And hanging over all of that was the Time War and the loss of his home planet and people, Nine’s fear and rage turning into overwhelming loneliness and grief. All of this adds up to a Doctor who feels more human than almost all of his other incarnations, while still feeling like a virtually immortal, often inscrutable alien being—and the sort of Doctor who absolutely should not be traveling without a companion to keep his worst impulses in check, which is exactly where we find him in “The Waters of Mars.”
“The Waters of Mars” is one of four specials that aired at the end of the tenures of both David Tennant as The Doctor and Russell T. Davies as the showrunner, serving as a transitionary period while things happened behind the scenes for the handoff to both a new Doctor and an almost entirely new show-running team. Notably, these four specials all served as solo adventures for Ten, with no consistent companion and instead having a different cast of characters for each one. Each one serves as a free-standing story, but in previous special “Planet of the Dead,” a clairvoyant had warned the Tenth Doctor that he was very soon going to die, a prediction that would weigh heavily on his mind for the remaining specials—although as he would later tell Wilfred Mott, he had become attached to this current version of himself and was viewing regeneration as him dying and “some new man walking away.”
It’s with all of this in mind, then, that audiences first watched The Tenth Doctor on that long walk back to the Tardis. We hear the remaining survivors fall to The Flood one by one, cutting back and forth between them and Ten. We feel, along with Ten, the weight of all that loss and grief and death, overwhelmed by the helplessness of knowing that this is a situation where he absolutely cannot help as much as he absolutely wants to—and the helplessness of the seeming inevitability of his coming “death.”
Then…the thoughts start coming. The voice inside starts running wild. “…I’m the last of the Time Lords,” we repeatedly hear, along with other lines from episodes about the Time Lords, the Time War, and how The Doctor is the only one left.
And, with just about ten minutes left in the episode, the Tenth Doctor…snaps.
He returns to the base and immediately starts taking charge of the situation, as we’ve seen him do time and time again. But there’s something different this time, an unfamiliar, unnerving frantic energy in how The Doctor moves throughout the room from console to console. He electrocutes one of The Flood infected victims with an almost gleeful smile on his face, and when he opens his mouth and lets us know what’s going through his mind, what he reveals to us about his thought process is frightening: if the Time Lords were the ones who enforced the laws of time and he’s the only one left, what’s to stop him from changing a fixed point in time? Why shouldn’t he save who he wants, when he wants? Why shouldn’t he change history as he sees fit?
“The laws of time are mine, and they will obey me!” he shouts, at the end of a rant about how the Time Lords all died and he was left alone. When Adelaide activates the Fifth Protocol that will result in the destruction of the base, Ten warns her that “if I have to fight you too, I will.” And most telling of all: “we’re not just fighting The Flood, we’re fighting time itself, and I’m gonna win!!!”
The Tenth Doctor had had more than his fair share of moments of darkness, glimpses of his cold, inhuman, often unfathomable true nature, but what we see here is something else entirely. This isn’t about saving the astronauts on the base, it’s about winning. About seizing control over the course of human history, and of time itself. It’s a nine hundred-year-old alien having a temper tantrum about everything—his upcoming death, the companions he’s lost, the Time Lords being wiped out. It’s petulant, selfish, and wrong—and in these final moments, the Tenth Doctor is effectively turned into a monster, and he needs to be stopped. But it’s too late, and The Doctor successfully manages to get the last three survivors back to Earth right before the base detonates.
But when we finally get back to Earth, there’s none of the joy that normally comes at the end of one of The Doctor’s adventures. Mia is in a state of shock, stumbling out of the Tardis and looking at The Doctor in fear, asking “who the hell are you?” before running off. Yuri goes after her, with Adelaide telling him to look after her. Finally, it’s just The Doctor and Adelaide.
The closing moments of “The Waters of Mars” are one of the tensest endings in Doctor Who’s history. Ten is practically unrecognizable, reveling in his seeming triumph over the laws of space and time and declaring himself “The Time Lord Victorious.” But Adelaide isn’t having any of it and stands her ground against him. She tells him in no uncertain terms that no one should have that sort of power, nor should anyone be at a level where they can decide who’s important and who isn’t. When he opens her door and tells her to go home, she asks “Is there nothing you can’t do?” To which he gives the chilling response: “Not anymore.”
But Adelaide has other things in mind—trigger warning for this paragraph, just in case. Turns out, she took to heart what The Doctor had told her about her importance in the course of human history. As she closes the door to her house we see her take her service weapon from its holster, and when the door closes we hear the weapon go off. The sound feels massive, and as we zoom into The Doctor’s face we get another flash to the Wikipedia-looking articles from before: all that’s changed is that Captain Adelaide Brooke died on Earth and that the other two survivors told the story of her heroism on the base.
In the end, history remains relatively unchanged, and instead of saving Adelaide, the two survivors wind up being people who The Time Lord Victorious would have deemed “unimportant.” In an instance, we can see The Doctor process what he’s done—one of many moments that speaks to David Tennant’s skill as an actor, as he goes from triumph to defeat to shock. “I’ve gone too far…” he whispers to himself before he sees an apparition of Ood Sigma that he interprets as a sign of his imminent death before running back into the Tardis.
What sets “The Water of Mars” apart from other horror-themed episodes is the source of its terror. While The Flood is certainly a terrifying monster, it ultimately pales in comparison to those final ten minutes, of that sight of a terrifying, off the rails Doctor who is absolutely in the wrong. It’s almost like an episode of What If? showing us a glimpse of an alternate reality of a Doctor who was more willing to break the rules and try to seize control of space and time.
It’s also a remarkably bold direction for Davies, Tennant, and company to take for the next-to-last adventure of the Tenth Doctor, giving us a glimpse of Ten as we’ve never seen him before: indecisive and scared, before going off the rails and turning borderline megalomaniacal. Suggesting that maybe there shouldn’t be a mercurial, temperamental being going through space and time to potentially intervene at crucial moments in history, no matter how much we might trust him. It’s something that would get lost as the show progressed over time, but for a brief moment, we got a horrifying glimpse of what would happen if The Doctor went off the rails and a uniquely terrifying episode in Doctor Who’s long run.
Looking for more horror TV episode spotlights? We’ve got you: | <urn:uuid:18ab14b4-bf87-46c9-a0df-5aa9cab6e863> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://horrorobsessive.com/2022/01/14/doctor-who-the-waters-of-mars-turns-our-hero-into-a-monster/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571222.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810222056-20220811012056-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.972332 | 3,409 | 1.5 | 2 |
Delicious Turkish delights you must try when visiting Turkey Later:
Turkish delight and Istanbul, the most famous city in Turkey is totally inseparable since it has been known to be the perfect place to enjoy the rich diversity of Turkish cuisine. It has been a central component of the global food and spice trades for thousands of years, which makes it to become one of the dozen reasons for the food in Istanbul to belong at the top of any list. So, in case you are heading to Istanbul and are ready to exercise your taste buds, expect incredibly varied, historically interesting, and very delicious food in Istanbul that were influenced from all over the world!
Manti – A Famous Turkish Delight
Often called Turkish ravioli, manti is actually small handmade dumplings filled with minced meat that are boiled and then topped with yogurt sauce made from oil, paprika, mint, and garlic. We can also enjoy manti with salmon, spinach, or even chicken. Now, that is delicious! Other method of cooking manti other than boiled in water would be to be baked with butter, or boiled in tomato sauce, which is very unique, right? To revel manti as the locals do, try adding some spices since that is very common for the people here.
Pronounced as luh-muh-jun, this hugely popular treat is comprised of a thin dough topped with a mix of wonderfully spiced minced lamb and finely diced peppers, blasted for a minute in a scorching pizza-type oven, dressed with fresh parsley, drizzled with lemon, rolled up and finally devoured freshly. Often referred by tourists as ‘Turkish pizza’, it is customary to enjoy the utterly delicious lahmacun with a glass of cold ayran which is a cold savory yogurt-based beverage that is mixed with salt – works wonderfully with the spice!
Salty, meaty, spicy and citrusy is the exact words to describe dürüm. It is actually one of the most democratic Turkish culinary inventions since you are just as likely to encounter it on a street corner as you are at the fanciest of restaurants. This oustandingly well flavoured and spiced lamb mince is manipulated around skewers and cooked over coals. When the meat is cooked, they are placed on bread along with red onions, tomatoes, parsley then served with pickled chillies. Whether it’s the chicken, beef, cheese or veggie variety you prefer, this meal in wrap form is sure to set you free from your hunger pangs.
Want a taste of Turkish delight? Try Künefe!
Künefe is a traditional Turkish dessert that has an amber color and is dressed with the grounded pistachio on top. The hot, sticky and buttery sweet course is made from a simple mix of water and flour which then freshly baked and soaked in syrup. The unsalted cheese in between the two layers of künefe is the essence as the cheese will later melts inside and when you take a bite you sense different textures, such as the soft cheese and the crusty dough.
In Turkey, Köfte meatball is usually made from lamb, beef, or a combination of both types of meat, and is served with grilled peppers, spicy sauce, and usually bread or rice. It is common for us Malaysians like those you can get at IKEA but the thing that makes meatball in here to become more special because of its delicious crispy shell made from bulgur filled with seasoned minced meat, onions, parsley, and pine nuts. I mean, it is utterly delicious and incredibly popular that you will find a plate of them on nearly every menu at the restaurants there.
There you have it! You have now knowledge top 5 Turkish Delights in Istanbul. Istanbul is such a great place to visit especially on your holidays or vacations, but it is important to know what you can do at the location, along with the rules, and what to expect. Because only then you can make a checklist on places to visit and things to do to fully enjoy your visit in Istanbul. Once all that is said and done, don’t forget to get travel insurance, AXA Smart Traveller is offering travel insurance from the price of only RM13/trip, https://products.policystreet.com/axa/smarttraveller/overview for more information NOW! | <urn:uuid:90537c15-c2fe-47de-9b60-5652c8045b45> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://blog.policystreet.com/english/5-turkish-delight-you-must-try-when-visiting-turkey/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.967692 | 924 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Why learn Norwegian? Lecturer in Scandinavian studies Guy Puzey lists the delights of the language.
Norway has deep cultural connections with its neighbours across the North Sea. In fact, Norway is Scotland’s closest continental neighbour, only about 200 miles away from Shetland.
Still, as with many lesser-taught languages, people who learn Norwegian always seem to get asked why they made that choice. The most common reasons are having some relationship with Norway, Norwegians and Norwegian culture, but there are plenty of others.
Norway has a fascinating culture
Norway has come top of the United Nations Human Development Index, which measures quality of life, more times than any other country in the world. It leads the world in fields as diverse as the maritime and energy industries, crime fiction, architecture, knitting, black metal music and so-called ‘slow TV’: hours of video of train journeys, logs burning, or salmon fishing.
What’s more, if you want to apply language skills professionally in fields like translation and interpreting, Norwegian makes an excellent choice. Competency in Scandinavian languages is a niche skill that’s highly in demand. Many graduates in Scandinavian studies go on to work as literary translators, which can be fascinating work.
Why I learnt Norwegian
There isn’t a single explanation as to why I chose to learn Norwegian, but it feels like a very logical course to have taken. As a child, I spent hours studying maps and atlases, and planning imaginary journeys. Among the places with which I felt a special affinity was Norway.
As a teenager, I had a battery radio that came in handy during power cuts. There was only a bit of sea and some oil rigs between Norway and where I grew up in the Highlands of Scotland, so it was usually possible to pick up the medium wave radio transmissions from Norway.
When I first heard these broadcasts from across the North Sea, I was intrigued that it was possible to get the gist of some of what was being said without ever having studied Norwegian. I became interested in Norwegian music, and made friends through an online fan club for a Norwegian singer called Lene Marlin, including one especially charming person from Italy who is now my wife. As a result, I decided to study languages: in particular Italian and Norwegian.
Learning Norwegian in the UK
The best way to learn Norwegian is with other people. I learnt the language at the University of Edinburgh, where I am now a lecturer in Scandinavian studies. Our students come from all over the world: the only continent not represented is Antarctica, but that’s made up for by Sir Nils Olav, a famous penguin at Edinburgh Zoo who has been granted honorary brigadier status in the Norwegian Army.
The vast majority of students start university with no knowledge of Scandinavian languages. By the end of the second year, they’ll read books in Danish, Norwegian and Swedish, and will be prepared for their third year abroad. When they return to Edinburgh for their fourth year, they study more advanced literature, linguistics, history, and translation.
You can also do short evening courses at several universities in the UK, or attend summer schools in Norway.
Improve your Norwegian by watching television
It’s easier than ever before to access Nordic films and TV series. People studying Scandinavian languages today are extremely lucky, as these are usually available in the original languages with English subtitles. If you’ve been learning for a while, try watching Norwegian films and TV programmes with subtitles on in Norwegian, so you can read and compare what you see with what you hear.
For several years, Norway was arguably a little behind Denmark and Sweden in terms of exporting quality films and TV series. The exception was the ‘slow TV’ concept, which meant marathon viewing experiences (such as a 134-hour coastal journey from Bergen to Kirkenes), usually involving a lot of breath-taking Norwegian scenery but not much talking.
The real game-changer, for people who want to hear more Norwegian spoken, was the acclaimed web-based drama series Skam, telling the story of a group of high-school pupils in Oslo. Although the initial target audience was fifteen-year-olds, it has proved wildly popular with all ages. If you can, watch it: you’ll be hooked.
Norwegian is a democratic language
Norwegians speak their own dialects in virtually all social contexts. It was decided as early as 1878 that children should be taught in their own spoken language, which effectively means that children are allowed to speak dialect, and that teachers have no right to correct the way that children speak. This is a profoundly democratic idea, and gives Norwegians great linguistic self-confidence.
There are two forms of written Norwegian
Norwegian has not only one official written standard language, but two: Bokmål (literally ‘book language’) and Nynorsk (literally ‘new Norwegian’).
In 1814, after more than 400 years of Danish rule, Norway was put into political union with Sweden (eventually becoming independent in 1905). Written Norwegian had fallen out of use, so Norway had no written language of its own, although Norwegian dialects were still being spoken.
Two main solutions emerged. A self-taught linguist from western Norway, Ivar Aasen, proposed a clean break with Danish, and created a new written language based on a common denominator of dialects spoken in Norway. This became Nynorsk.
Meanwhile, a school teacher, Knud Knudsen, proposed gradual spelling changes to bring the Danish written language closer to spoken Norwegian. This became Bokmål.
Bokmål and Nynorsk today
Officially, both standards have equal status, but Bokmål is the first written language of about 85 per cent of Norwegians, and the language of the largest urban centres. Nynorsk is mostly associated with rural parts of the country, especially on the west coast. Both standards have gone through many reforms over the years to bring them closer to the ‘language of the people’.
Which should you learn?
If you really want to understand Norway, it’s a good idea to become acquainted with both. Most learners start by learning Bokmål because it is the dominant language, and there are more textbooks available for Bokmål, but it depends where you go. Although I learnt Bokmål first, I prefer to use Nynorsk, and being familiar with Nynorsk will help you to get to grips with Norway's diverse dialects.
How different are the two standards?
It varies. Some phrases may look exactly the same, for instance: Det er kaldt i dag (‘It’s cold today’).
Other times, every word might be different. You might learn to ask Hvor kommer hun fra? (‘Where does she come from?’) in Bokmål, but the same question in Nynorsk would be Kvar kjem ho frå? Even the name of Norway is slightly different in the two standards: in Bokmål it’s Norge, and in Nynorsk it’s Noreg.
Norwegian has liberal grammar and spelling rules
There's a surprising degree of variation in both standards of Norwegian. For example, like many languages, Norwegian nouns are organised according to gender. There are normally three genders in Norwegian (masculine, feminine, and neuter), but in Bokmål, you can choose to use a two-gender system, treating some or all feminine nouns as if they were masculine.
Take the feminine nouns bok (‘book’) and sol (‘sun’). You can treat these as feminine, using the definite forms boka and sola, or as masculine, in which case you would write boken and solen. Most Bokmål users end up using two and a half genders (masculine, neuter, and varying degrees of the feminine gender).
There are also liberal rules for spelling. Thousands of words can be spelt in more than one way, or have more than one acceptable form. For instance, in Bokmål, ‘milk’ can be either melk or mjølk, ‘road’ can be either veg or vei, and ‘stone’ can be either stein or sten (in Nynorsk, they can only be mjølk, veg, and stein).
In Nynorsk, the second-person plural pronoun ‘we’ can be either vi or me, ‘friend’ can be either ven or venn, and ‘school’ can be either skule or skole (in Bokmål they can only be vi, venn, and skole).
To start with, this can be a bit confusing, but I think most learners of Norwegian eventually find it liberating. The important thing is to try to be consistent.
Three (or four) languages for the price of one
One of the best things about learning Norwegian is that, with a little extra effort and training, it’s quite possible to understand Danish and Swedish too. In fact, of the three mainland Scandinavian languages, Norwegian is the one that puts learners in the best position to understand the other two.
This is because it sits linguistically in between the other two: written Bokmål is a development of written Danish, which makes Danish quite easy to read. Spoken Danish is more of a challenge, but not an insurmountable one. Meanwhile, spoken Norwegian is closer to Swedish. So if you learn Norwegian, you’re really getting three languages for the price of one (or four, if you count Bokmål and Nynorsk).
Typically Norwegian words
If the English language had to borrow some words from Norwegian, it could do a lot worse than going for vocabulary related to packed lunches, not least pålegg. This noun describes different toppings for open sandwiches, the stereotypical Norwegian lunch. Once you’ve prepared your open sandwiches, you can put a piece of specially adapted greaseproof paper (mellomleggspapir) in between each slice and then do some origami to wrap the whole thing in more greaseproof paper (matpapir).
Another special word is dugnad, which was once voted the most Norwegian word of all. It describes a type of communal voluntary work, where neighbours spruce up common areas and gardens. Typically, once the work is done, everybody shares some food.
Some Norwegian words have become internationally known, such as ski (which is actually pronounced like the English word ‘she’).
What's difficult about learning Norwegian
The hardest thing about learning Norwegian is that practically all Norwegians speak English very well. This means it’s easy to fall into the trap of just speaking English with Norwegians. It’s important to get past this, and people will normally understand if you say you’d like to practise your Norwegian and ask them nicely to be patient.
In terms of the language itself, the hardest things to master are probably choosing the right prepositions (e.g. på, i or til) and learning to distinguish between the two differently pitched tones, which give most dialects of Norwegian a song-like intonation. Crucially, you also need to get used to the differences between dialects. Tell Norwegians how much you like their dialects, and ask them to speak a little more slowly so you can tune in to them.
The other real challenge about learning Norwegian is that Norway can be an expensive country: so start saving now.
Guy Puzey is a lecturer in Scandinavian studies at the University of Edinburgh.
Find out more about Norway and other Nordic countries by visiting the Nordic Matters festival at the Southbank Centre until the end of 2017. | <urn:uuid:54ce658a-5268-4a2e-b054-3bb792ae292c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/profoundly-democratic-learning-norwegian-foreign-language | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.959176 | 2,531 | 2.125 | 2 |
This page lists several basic mathematical concepts, data types, data structures, and algorithms with links to coresponding Wikipedia pages. Almost all of these topics are covered in CS 173 and CS 225, our undergraduate discrete mathematics and data structures classes. We assume that everyone taking CS 573 is already familiar with everything
on this list, or at least has the intellectual maturity to learn it on the fly. (We recommend using an actual textbook to learn any of these concepts for the first time; the Wikipedia Cloud makes some very
For a solid introduction to most of these topics, I strongly recommend Eric Lehman and Tom Leighton's extensive lecture notes
for the Mathematics for Computer Science
course at MIT.
Naive set theory
Binary relations, including functions, equivalence relations, and partial orders
- Elementary discrete probability: Uniform vs. nonuniform distributions, expectation, conditional probability
Asymptotic notation (o, O, Θ, Ω, ω); comparing asymptotic growth rates
Evaluating simple summations (at least asymptotically)
Propositional logic (T, F, ¬, ∧, ∨, ⇒, ⇔) and first-order predicate logic (∀, ∃)
Basic proof techniques: direct, indirect, exhaustive case analysis, contradiction
★ Induction ★ (or equivalently, proof by minimal counterexample), especially strong induction and structural induction
Graphs (both undirected and directed),
directed acyclic graphs
Abstract data types
You may use any of these data structures in your homeworks and exams without providing further details or citing any source. If you use a small modification of one of these data structures, just describe your changes; don't
regurgitate the original data structure details.
You may use any of these algorithms in your homeworks and exams without providing further details or citing any source. If you use a small modification of one of these algorithms, just describe your changes; don't
regurgitate the original algorithm details. | <urn:uuid:bdc8c6e5-2e74-49da-9cf4-dbeb650e7952> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://courses.engr.illinois.edu/cs573/fa2010/stuff-you-already-know.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572833.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817032054-20220817062054-00465.warc.gz | en | 0.838619 | 487 | 3.03125 | 3 |
University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn (firstname.lastname@example.org).
Law and Forensic Science, Volume 14 (2017/2).
Submitted: November 15, 2017.
The author declares there is no conflict of interest.
Abstract: The purpose of this article is to present factors determining the sustainable forest management of timber harvesting for economic purposes in legal and administrative terms. The Polish legal standards and European regulations adopted system solution in order to ensure proper forest management, especially in the area of timber harvesting for economic purposes. The basic elements of such a system include: (a) authorities responsible for the supervision and control system logging, institutions managing forests also authorities and institutions responsible for monitoring and assessing compliance with the rules of timber harvesting from legal sources while preserving the principles of sustainable forest management, (b) the principles of sustainable forest management and the rational management of forest resources, including a requirement to create forest management plan, a simplified plan / inventory and obligation of marking wood before the sale, (c) the rating system, risk management system, information flow, monitoring the process of acquiring and placing timber on the EU market, (d) types of sanctions for non-compliance with the principles of sustainable forest management, including responsibility for damages (civil law), penalties and administrative charges and sanctions in the form of penalties for offenses. EU law regulates in some detail the purposes, principles, criteria, forms and range of supervision and control of the legality of logging, which proves the importance of this kind of approach to ensure sustainable forest management. Polish regulations refer indeed to EU law standards, but some elements of the supervisory and control system are regulated too general. These include the lack of regulations concerning provisions concerning the conduct of the legality of timber harvesting, rules for supervision, directory admissible evidence, and rules of cooperation between authorities. On the other hand should be assessed positively adopted in EU law and Polish law in structure of the control and supervision of logging in terms of the subject. While creating this structure was used a suitable hierarchy of authority and were assigned the appropriate powers and tasks, maintaining praxeological principles of building structures. This system consists of the European Commission, Member State authorities (Minister for Environment, District Governor, and Customs Service) and external entities (monitoring organizations and operators who place timber and derived products on the market).
Keywords: environment, control, timber | <urn:uuid:72f92140-0820-4cc1-9e0f-1574fc50f8ce> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://lawforensics.org/the-law-standards-determining-the-sustainable-forest-management-for-economic-purposes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.919968 | 492 | 2.34375 | 2 |
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