Good news about the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for the SARS-CoV-2 virus

British scientists at the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre had previously used the glycoprotein spike on the surface of coronavirus—which allows them to anchor at a target cell—to produce a chimpanzee adenovirus—vectored vaccine against the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) They had called it ChAdOx1 MERS and represented many hours of study, research and hard laboratory work that would have hardly ever been funded by a private company—often only myopically seeking quick profits in detriment of the larger public good. When the Chinese authorities published the genome of the SARS-CoV-2, the Oxford scientists immediately started working on their template with messenger RNA.

The Oxford team partnered with other institutions in the United Kingdom and eventually got financial support from Astra Zeneca, a Big Pharma conglomerate. The ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine uses a replication-deficient simian adenovirus vector ChAdOx1 that contains the full-length structural surface glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 with a tissue plasminogen activator leader sequence. They had observed that one single dose of that vaccine had induced good humoral and cellular immune responses in monkeys; after high-dose vaccine challenges, there was a notable protection against the lower respiratory infection, a hallmark of the disease. They set up a combined phase 1 and 2 single-blind, randomized controlled trial, comparing it with a Meningococcal group A,C, W-135 and Y conjugate vaccine.

They recruited healthy adult participants aged 18-45 years old, excluding all those volunteers that had positive COVID-19 tests, had symptoms of acute respiratory distress, or were exposed to the disease like health care workers or first responders. The participants were randomly assigned to receive either the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine or the meningococcal vaccine—they used an active vaccine because the lack of symptoms from normal saline injections could eventually “unblind” the controls. The participants were divided into four major groups:

  1. Group I: they had intensive early follow-up visits the vaccine’s safety and immunogenicity.
  2. Group II: they had higher blood volumes of humoral and cellular immunogenicity assessment than group 4.
  3. Group III: it consisted of only 10 participants that received a booster shot 28 days after the first injection.
  4. Group IV: participants that had a serum sample drawn for humoral immunology assessments only.

The median age of participants was 35 years old, 49.8% (536) were female and 50.2% (541) were male; the majority (9 or 90.9%) were white. Some received prophylactic paracetamol and some others did not; 328 (67%) of participants in the vaccine group and 180 (38%) of participants in the control group reported pain after the injection. The most reported systemic reactions were fatigue and headache. “In the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group, antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein peaked by day 28 (median 157 ELISA units EU) and remained elevated to day 56 (119 EU) in participants who received only one dose, and increased to a median of 639 EU (360-792) at day 56 in the ten participants that received a booster dose)”

Researchers concluded that one single dose of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 was safe and well tolerated, without any major reactions. A single dose of it produced an increase in the spike-specific antibodies by day 28 and the neutralizing antibodies in all the participants after a booster dose. Some studies showed that neutralizing antibodies in the dawn of the disease protected the rhesus macaque monkeys. Antibodies capable of neutralizing live SARS-CoV-2 were induced by day 28 and after a booster dose. T-Cell responses—considered essential for the ultimate defeat of the virus—were evident by day 7 after the dosage and peaked at Day 14. However, the booster dosages did not elicit a similar immunological response.

The researchers admitted that this study had serious limitations, foremost of all that it involved all healthy individuals that were not fully representative of their society. They designed Phase 2 and 3 trials that include older individuals and those at high risk of infection for the efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of ChAdOx1 NCoV-19 given at a single or two-dosages in the United Kingdom, Brazil, and South Africa. Once they have enough data with adults, they will set up a study with children too.

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Don’t leave me alone.

George Orwell’s relevance for us—part II

Right in the middle of your biologically needed pause of sleep, in the intimacy of your bedroom, some savvy operators are scurrying into all your digital devices—especially the infamous little screens—to carry on their dubious task: data mining. They are actively spying on all your lifestyle, buying and entertainment choices to gather critical information that they will sell to vendors for targeted advertisement. And what is worse, it is facilitated by the trust you put on some companies to handle your personal information for an e-mail address, shop, contact other people, etc.

In his novel 1984, George Orwell narrated the story of Winston Smith, a wretched middle-age bureaucrat from the imaginary nation of Oceania where its governance is assured by the constant surveillance of all its citizenry at all times, everywhere. In order to achieve this logistics nightmare, the authorities count on a technological marvel: the telescreen. It is a device where citizens get their news and entertainment but that also actively spies on them , sending their private information back to the authorities. We have to remember that Orwell wrote his novel in the late 40s, when the television was just an experimental device used in exclusive circles of USA, Great Britain, and France.

Winston Smith works in the Ministry of Truth where all the previous day’s news is being daily re-written to conform to the authorities’ political discourse. The actual facts are mendaciously manipulated to design a lot of fake news for the gullible; the bureaucrats use newspeak to conceal the true facts from the common citizenry and create “alternate realities” for the social, political and economic developments of their repressive State.  There is a constant disinformation campaign that leaves the citizenry fully confused; Winston Smith knows that his nation has been in constant war with Eurasia but he has doubts if the nation of Eastasia, a former foe, is now really his nation’s ally. The police finally arrest Smith and torture him to get a confession of a non-existent crime.

In a 1984 article, Mark Crispin Miller argued that the famous slogan “Big Brother is watching You” had been really turned into “Big Brother is you, watching television.” Contrary to the role of TV in 1984—where it abets a total conformity with the ruling party—Miller argued that television in our modern societies is used to promote an unrestrained consumerism through aggressive advertising and focus on celebrities. At the same time, he argued, it transmits a message of “material success” to the larger masses, duping them into believing only hard work and civic virtues matter. The viewers derive their “satisfaction” by measuring themselves against what they see on TV, such as dress, relationships, and conduct—the standard of habitual self-scrutiny. Aware that any “faux paus” will not pass unnoticed by the authorities, prods the viewers to take a very passive attitude while watching their telescreens.

Miller stated that the same paranoid obsession about not conforming to “the official story” in Orwell’s novel has mutated into our present-day infatuation with the social messages being peddled in our “little screens” (Not even Orwell could imagine this) Joshua Meyrowitz showed that the majority of the network programming in the USA is based on the premise that people like to engage in a scandalous voyeurism; it is a rational explanation why many millions of people spend hours watching Reality TV. Meyrovitz argued that television has totally changed the very nature of our social interaction by pushing some hitherto private behavior out of the backstage into the very center of the stage, which exposes our intimate truths to tough public scrutiny. The video surveillance of strangers was “commoditized” by commercial television to render that snooping “acceptable” for the whole family to gawk at it, guilt-free.

There were multiple Social Psychology experiments during and after World War II—conducted by the Allied and the Axis nations as well—to study crowd control. The “internalization” of TV images that makes us copy attitudes and acts alien to our feelings/thoughts might be the ultimate success of those intent on controlling us.

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What do you think? Please tell us.

Don’t leave me alone.

Does the BCG vaccination protect against Covid-19?

The incidence and mortality rates of the COVID-19 infections vary widely across the countries, depending on their availability of human and material resources, level of Public Health preparedness and the authorities’ local and national responses. Also there might be differences in ethnic composition, dietary habits, climate differences, social determinants, genetic material, and civic institutions to consider. One of the latest influencing factors that caught the scientific attention is the degree of anti-tuberculosis immunization of the population with the BCG vaccine.

The Bacille Calmette—Guérin vaccine was prepared with a Mycobacterium bovis strain of the TB producing organism in the famous Institut Pasteur of Paris in 1921. Since then several variants have been produced in the developed and developing world. Those of us not born in the USA, still harbor the memory of the painful injection given in our primary school years that left a little scar on our right shoulder. The initial strain was distributed to several laboratories of the world and six major variants were produced: Pasteur 1173 P2, Danish 1331, Glaxo 1077, Tokyo 172-1, Russia BCG.I and Moreau RDJ. At present almost 100 million children are still been vaccinated worldwide; as the vaccine provides little immunity for adult pulmonary tuberculosis, it has been largely discontinued in most fairly developed countries.

The examples of Spain and Portugal are relevant for the vaccine’s importance. Spain, which never adopted the BCG vaccination nationwide, has a mortality rate of 336 people per million inhabitants. Portugal—a neighboring country that shares many of the Spanish societal and cultural features—adopted the BCG vaccination in 1965 and only has a mortality rate of 56 people per million inhabitants.

Abhibhav Shama et al., mathematical researchers from the School of Computer and System Sciences of Jawaharlal Nehru University of New Delhi, studied the COVID-19 data from countries that had either had vaccination or discontinued schedules or never had any vaccination. They said that: “disease incidence and morbidity are reduced in countries with universal BCG immunization compared with those that have not adopted the vaccine. The finding also applies to countries in which variables such as climate, dietary habits, and genetic origin essentially coincide.”

During its long utility, the BCG vaccine has shown protective benefits for patients with other diseases associated with mycobacteria like Leprosy. Being a strong immunomodulator, it has been used to treat bladder cancer and other neoplasias.

The researchers divided their morbidity results according to the BCG penetration:

  1. Countries without a universal BCG policy (Belgium, Italy, the United States and the Netherlands) have an increased incidence of 9 +- 497.1.
  2. Countries with an ongoing BCG policy have an incidence of 9+-155.6.
  3. Countries that discontinued the BCG policy have an intermediate value of67 +-509.89.

The mortality results were divided as follows:

  1. Countries with an active BCG policy have 4 +- deaths per million people.
  2. Countries that discontinued the BCG policy have 5+- 33.6 deaths per mil.
  3. Countries with no BCG policy had 1 +- 56.8 deaths per million people.

Considering that the COVID.19 infection affects the older individuals more than the younger ones, the researchers studied its incidence among different age groups. They found that: “The results indicate three significant features as follows: (i) the disease incidence is very low for subjects less than 15 years of age and does not show significant dependence on the presence or absence of universal BCG vaccination policies. (II) The number of infected cases across the age groups is always higher for countries without universal BCG vaccination policy. (III) The differences between countries with universal BCG vaccine policy and countries without such a policy increase and reach their peak for age groups 45-64 and 65-79 years old.”

The researchers found significant differences in countries that had used different variants of the vaccine or combinations of them. The Brazilian and Russian variants of the BCG vaccine were not deemed to work effectively against the coronavirus; in contrast the Australian variant of the vaccine seemed to confer more protection.

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What do you think? Please tell us.

Don’t leave me alone.

A morfar una buena raviolada con salmón en un tuco de tomates San Marzano, avocado y nueces

Dear readers and fellow bloggers:

Good evening. We were firmly determined to follow the much needed diet to lose a lot of weight (don’t even ask how much) that we had started this week-end (didn’t you notice that we did not upload any photos of sizzling meats or delicious pasta this week-end?) However the passing away of Alan Parker shook us deeply and we decided to take a break in his honor, besides lifting our spirits. what better choice than a raviolada?

We just prepared a sauté Alaskan Sockeye salmon with spinach ravioli in a tomato sauce with the original San Marzano tomatoes (which grow in the ashy soil at the foot of Mount Vesuvius in Campania)  plenty of veggies, avocado and walnuts. If this does not lift our spirits, well then…What do you think?

Raviolada con salmon

We will now lift a glass of wine in honor of Alan Parker, thanking him for all the great cinematic moments he provided us and to beg God Almighty for his soul’s salvation.

Stay distant. Stay safe. Stay beautiful.

What do you think? Please tell us.

Don’t leave me alone.

Thank you very much, Sir Alan Parker

Dear readers and fellow bloggers:

Good afternoon. One of the strongest sensory experiences of our life happened when we watched together with Mary (the “mother of our children”, mind our delicate naming) the film Midnight Express in the small cinema of her native city of General Belgrano, in Buenos Aires state. It happened in the 1980 Southern Hemisphere’s winter, under the military dictatorship that had taken power in 1975, cowering everybody into submission.

The epic escape of Willy Hayes, an American college student condemned for drug smuggling in Turkey, from that hellish prison had an outstanding surrogate effect on us. Watching him outsmart his captors and elope to the street made us all very happy; we were enjoying by proxy the collective dream of escaping our “Ottoman-like prison.”

We know that we should not be mentioning this…But we have always been so un-PC. When Billy managed to unlock the embrace of the sadistic prison warden, who was intent on raping him, and he pushed him against a mounted wall hanger, where he died, many in the audience rose to their feet, stomping their feet and wildly applauding. Did we participate in that spontaneous outburst of contained primal rage…We can’t remember.

Parker worked in many diverse genres, including the great musical Fame, with the New York’s School of Performing Arts, Mississippi Burning, the fictionalized exposé of the murder of three civil rights activists in 1964 and Evita, the film adaptation of the Broadway musical. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Director’s Guild in 1998 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2002. Even though he was twice nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Director, he never won an Oscar.

Alan Parker receives an award

The super-acrobatic dance sequences in New York City’s streets, the playback singing of Madonna at the balcony of La Casa Rosada and the big jump of Willy after he checked over his shoulder that the incoming police jeep had passed by him, will stay in our retinas to relish again and again. He passed away last Friday at the age of 76 years old.

Thank you very much, Sir Alan Parker, for so many moments of cinematic ecstasy.

Stay distant. Stay safe. Stay beautiful.

What do you think? Please tell us.

Don’t leave me alone.

Une belle soupe campagnarde pour épouvanter tous les mauvais esprits

Dear readers and fellow bloggers:

Good afternoon. As if we did not have enough human tragedy and worries in this battered region of  Florida, last night they announced that Isaias, a tropical storm-hurricane category 1 entity, would pass by our shores, with the always present threat of making landfall. Luckily we were spared the worst scenario, but it has been raining since the wee hours with some occasional gales of wind. Only now has the sun timidly appeared. In honor of that deliverance, we did what our ancestors (poor sharecroppers and sheep herdsmen that toiled in the fields of absentee landlords from Paris or Roma) would have certainly done to celebrate with their families and thank God Almighty.

And to scare away the ghosts and maleficent spirits that they felt came out in the storm.

We prepared a thick soup with plenty of vegetables, some alphabet pasta, potatoes and two scrambled eggs (any kind of meat was an unaffordable luxury for any of them) We could count on all the healthy and well-priced ingredients from “our” Whole Foods.

Soupe campagnarde II

Of course you are all invited to share a healthy bowl with us. Let’s sit at the table now.

Soupe campagnarde I

The only concession to our modernity is that big dollop of Parmesan cheese on top of it.

Bon apétit!

Stay distant. Stay safe. Stay beautiful.

What do you think? Please tell us.

Don’t leave me alone.

George Orwell’s relevance for us—part I

In 1949, Walter Wellesley “Red” Smith, an influential American sportswriter that won a Pulitzer Prize, was asked if doing a daily column was exhausting. “Why, no,” he said. “You simply sit down at the typewriter, open your veins, and bleed.”

Recently someone asked us if, even though we have always wanted to write, we only seriously sat down to carry it on at the supposedly “late age” of 55 years old. We paused for a few seconds to rummage through the dark attics of our Subconscious, clandestinely peeking at the long litany of emotions that tough circumstances provoked in our spirit. “Well,” we replied, “it was the inevitable moment…Memories finally got the best of me.”

Eric Arthur Blair—better known for his pen name of George Orwell—was born on June 25th 1903 in Moltihari, Bihar, British India, as his father worked in the Opium Department of the Indian Civil Service and passed away on January 21st 1950 in University College of London, a victim of Chronic Tuberculosis. He had a very tumultuous and exciting life that spanned several countries and political realities. As he could not afford to continue studying at the prestigious Eton School, he joined the Indian Imperial Police force in Burma—now the country is called Myanmar. While he was still very young, he had multiple policing responsibilities in the Burmese countryside, and he got a firsthand exposure to the exploitation of farmers. He had a reputation of “a loner” that preferred the company of books and church services.

After returning to England in 1927, he lived in the city of London where he continued his writings; in 1928 he moved to Paris where he settled in a working-class quarter. He contracted tuberculosis and was admitted to the Hôpital Cochin where medical students received clinical training—still operational to this day. Like Jack London, his hero, he liked to explore the down-trodden sections of the cities.  He returned to England in 1929. Based on these experiences he published The Spike, an essay, and his first book titled Down and Out in Paris and London in 1933. He wrote reviews for Adelphi and he worked as a private tutor for children. In 1932 he became a teacher at The Hawthorns High School, a preparatory school for boys. After finishing A Clergyman’s Daughter—based on his experience as a rural teacher—he moved to London and took up a job as an assistant in the Booklovers’ Corner, a second-hand bookshop. He traveled to Northern England to study the working people’s plight and in 1937 he published a book on the subject titled The Road to Wigan Pier.

Blair sympathized with the Socialist cause but abhorred the excesses of Stalinism. In June 1936 he married Eileen O’Shaughnessy and when the Spanish Civil War broke out, he traveled to Barcelona as an international volunteer against Fascism. There he saw first-hand the bitter divisions of the leftist organizations and how they manipulated the information to justify their violent methods and sectarism; he was incensed at the strong elbowing of the Communist Party against the P.O.U.M.—the acronym of Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista—a more moderate formation. They were falsely accused of collaborating with the Fascists by the Communist press. Caught in the middle of that factional fighting, he retreated to a roof to read . He was sent to the relatively quiet Aragón front but, in May a sniper’s bullet almost killed him; with a serious wound to the throat, he was referred to a Lérida hospital. He returned to England in July 1937 and published Homage to Catalonia in 1938.

At the beginning of the Second World War, his wife Eileen started to work in the Censorship Department of the Ministry of Information; Blair applied for a similar position, but he was rebuffed to his delicate medical condition. In 1939 he wrote Inside the Whale, a collection of essays, and collaborated with several publications by reviewing plays, books, and films. The death of Lawrence, Eileen’s brother, in France, shocked them both. He joined the Home Guard, a people’s militia that started civilian training  for a possible Nazi invasion of the island. In 1941 he started writing for the Partisan Review, an American magazine of like-minded socialists that became anti-Stalinists after the Molotov-Ribbentrop (or Hitler-Stalin) pact.

In 1941, Blair was finally accepted in the Eastern Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to do what he actually was longing for: “war work.” The Joseph Goebbel’s Propaganda Ministry in Berlin was actively broadcasting to India to sow dissent in the civic institutions against the British occupation; he supervised the counter-Nazi propaganda cultural programs, committed to its military mission. He became active in leftist intellectual circles and started writing for The Tribune—a leftist weekly publication, directed by the Labour MPs Aneurin Brevan and George Strauss; Brevan was the mastermind of the National Health Service (NHS)

The Blair couple moved to a better apartment with a basement in a middle-class neighborhood; unfortunately, a few months later, a V-I flying bomb totally destroyed it. Blair resigned to the BBC in 1943 in order to have more time to focus on writing his new book, Animal Farm, which became ready in April 1944. As the Communists considered that book an open attack on the repressive Soviet regime, they pressured the British government—allied in the fight against Hitler—to block its publication. In March 1945, Eileen was surreptitiously admitted for a hysterectomy in a London hospital and she did not give proper notice to her husband due to financial worries. She did not survive the anesthesia and Blair was devastated by the abrupt loss.

Blair continued to take care of Richard Horatio, the child they adopted in May 1944. After the war ended, Animal Farm: a fairy story was published on August 17, 1945.

The publishing success of Animal Farm opened the doors of the English literary establishment for Blair, which enabled him to contribute to several newspapers and magazines. He started to write Nineteen Eighty-Four but felt distracted by the city bustle. His friend David Astor helped him secure a farmhouse in the isolated island of Jura in the Inner Hebrides (Scotland) where he settled down with his young son. Before Christmas 194 he became seriously ill and was admitted to Hairmyres Hospital in the outskirts of Glasgow where they made the clinical diagnoses of tuberculosis. His physicians secured the help of Aneuris Bevan, then UK’s Minister of Health, to obtain a much-prized schedule of streptomycin to treat his infection. In July 1948 he was able to return to his seclusion in Jura and finished the manuscript of 1984 by December. Extremely weakened, he was escorted by his friends for an extended admission to a hospital in Cranham, Gloucestershire, in January 1949.

In June 1949, Nineteen Eighty-Four was finally published, becoming a great success. In mid-1949 he announced his engagement to Sonia Brownell before entering University College Hospital in London for further treatment. On January 21st ,1950, a small artery burst in his chest and he passed away at age 46. Following his wishes, he was interred following the Anglican Rite in the churchyard of All Saints’ in Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire. His gravestone has the following simple epitaph:

“Here lies Eric Arthur Blair, born June 25th 1903, died January 21st 1950.”

In a follow-up article, we will discuss the precious literary legacy of George Orwell.

Stay distant. Stay safe. Stay beautiful.

What do you think? Please tell us.

Don’t leave me alone.

Good news about the Moderna/NIAID vaccine for the SARS-CoV-2 virus

In a previous blog we discussed the ongoing clinical studies about the development of a safe and effective vaccine against the virus producing the Covid-19 infection. Thanks to the decades-old research efforts to design and develop a vaccine against AIDS—so far without results due to the complexity and mutations of that virus—there was a significant body of scientific work by the time the SARS-CoV-2 genome was published on March 16, 2020. Immediately several groups started working on the vaccine development and a few of them—counting on the “generous” pockets of Big Pharma and Uncle Sam—could even develop the industrial capacity in a parallel way to make the process faster.

The biotechnology company Moderna, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, teamed up with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to create a novel vaccine candidate that uses a tiny bit of messenger RNA from the infecting virus to provoke an immunological response in the host. The researchers recently published an initial report in the New England Journal of Medicine. They said that:  “The candidate vaccine mRNA-1273 is a lipid nonparticle-encapsulated, nucleoside-modified messenger RNA (mRNA)-based vaccine that encodes the SARS-VoV-2 spike (S) glycoprotein stabilized in its prefusion conformation.” The basic idea is to safely get a tiny amount of highly coated virus mRNA inside a living being to elicit an immunological  response without triggering symptoms like respiratory distress. “The mRNA-1273 vaccine candidate, manufactured by Moderna, encodes the S-2P antigen, consisting of the SARS-CoV-2 glycoprotein with a transmembrane anchor and an intact S1-S2 cleavage site.”

The researchers have developed a phase 1-dose escalation-open clinical trial in the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle and Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. The 45 participants were healthy adults whose age ranged from 18 to 55 years of age that received two injections of trial vaccine 28 days apart at dosages of 25 ug, 100 ug or 250 ug; they were not previously vetted for the presence of the SARS-CoV-2. The deltoid muscle was injected with 0.% ml on days 1 and 29; follow-up visits were scheduled at days 7 and 14, after each vaccination plus four other appointments, being 394 the last one. For safety reasons there were four sentinel participants in the 25-ug group followed by four others in the 100-ug group. The participants were charged with recording any local and systemic symptoms and could not use acetaminophen or similar drugs.

There were no serious adverse effects in all the participants except in one of them who developed a transient urticaria after the first vaccination and had to withdraw. None of them reported fever after the first dose; after the second dose, none of the participants in the 25-ug reported feverish symptoms. In the 100-ug group, 6 participants had fever and in the 250-ug group 8 did—only one had severe fever. “Binding antibody IgG geometric mean titers (GMTs) to S-2p increased rapidly after the first vaccination, with seroconversion in all participants by day 15. Dose-dependent responses were evident. For both assays, the median magnitude of antibody responses after the first vaccination in the 100-ug and 250-ug dose groups was similar to the median magnitude in convalescent serum specimens, and in all dose groups the median magnitude after the second vaccination was in the upper quartile of values in the convalescent serum specimens.” The titers of both binding and neutralizing antibodies produced by the vaccine were similar to the ones found in the convalescent serum of patients that had been infected by the SARS-CoV-2. They found that S-P2—the antigen inside the vaccine—induced the activation of high-quality functional antibody responses and Th1-biased T-cells that block the replication of the virus in the respiratory system—one of the leading causes of death.

The researchers considered that the 100-ug dose of the mRNA-1273 vaccine is the best shot to neutralize the virus and at the same time promote the activation of the  immunological system. In a CNN interview, Dr. Tal Zaks, Moderna‘s Chief Medical Officer, said that they need to make sure that the benefit/risk ratio of the vaccine candidate warrants its deployment in a population that is still largely free of the virus. They have recruited thousands of volunteers for a big phase 3 efficacy trial this month.

Last April Moderna received U$ 472 million from the U.S. government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to contribute financially for the development of their promising vaccine. On July 26 the company announced that it had received an additional U$ 472 million to prop their project. As we said in a previous blog, the  governments of the richest countries are already positioning themselves for the pole position to claim priority for the precious vials of a functioning vaccine. Less financially endowed countries (like Argentina, Brazil and South Africa) that also have a significant pool of qualified scientists and a basic Public Health infrastructure became enthusiastic hosts of the trials (providing volunteers and services) to leapfrog to the queue’s front.

On July 27, both Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc. announced the start of their decisive and separate clinical trials that will involve thousands of participants in many countries.

May God Almighty grant wisdom and determination to these researchers and volunteers.

Note. The featured image is a reproduction of the oil painting of William Jenner, the English physician that designed the smallpox vaccine in the early 19th century.

Stay distant. Stay safe. Stay beautiful.

What do you think? Please tell us.

Don’t leave me alone.

Buona Domenica con una bravissima fettuccineada alla Mare ed Terra

Dear readers and fellow bloggers:

Good afternoon and Happy Sunday. We hope that you are doing well, following the Public Health guidelines of Social Distancing for the sake of everybody’s health. Today we woke up with a lot of fiacca (Italian word that means “unwillingness to do anything”) but we still wanted to follow our family tradition and prepare a pasta dish for our family. What to do? Remember that last Sunday we prepared a fettuccineada alla Dotta? Remember that we prepared a saumon fumée á la Croix de Lorraine last Wednesday? We still had remnants of the two sauces in the refrigerator and the temptation was big…

Fettuccineada Mare ed Terra

How about if we mixed the two leftovers to produce a “pink sauce” with added shrimp and scallops (it’s never too much) to produce a combination of earthly and sea savors? This awful Social Isolation has sparked many crazy ideas in our mind and this might be one of the worst ones so far. We will let you to be the judge of it…

Buon apetitto!

Fettuccineada Mare ed Terra II

As you can see this crazy idea has turned our head (and this picture) upside down. To crown this invention, we placed a big ball of Buratta cheese to regal its creaminess.

Stay distant. Stay safe. Stay beautiful.

What do you think? Please tell us.

Don’t leave me alone.


Past Games

Oceanic wishing well or endless labyrinth? Abyss is a meditative game about what lies below the surface. Lead a wandering coin on its swaying journey through the depths.
Gather energy to embody different creatures and progress through the inkarmation ritual starting as a primal soul and becoming a rabbit, a wolf, and a hunter.


A winter tale

This post is also available in: Bulgarian

The winterish mountain in February is unimaginably wonderful. The snow has piled up but the sun is shining brightly. You can basically smell and feel the atmosphere of spring. Breathing the clean mountain air and feeling the nature around you are unmatched experiences. It is rare for people to think about the natural treasure which they can reach in a 30-minute drive out of the city. This week we decided to take a walk to Vitosha in order to escape from the traffic, cell phones and the crowds of the capital. This place cleanses my body. I cannot give reasons for this feeling but I felt loaded with fresh energy after this walk. Beauty is everywhere around us if you have the eyes to see it.

For this lazy walk I chose a matching outfit. The long coat by Mango is in the modern beige colour. Even when we fear the downfall of beige, it always finds a way to remind us of itself because it matches everything else. The most important thing is the coat to be made of good materials: Kashmir or wool. Mine is woolen and it follows me in the coldest of days. The deep external pockets are an undeniable advantage. You can match it with high shoes or more sporty ones, use it in a more elegant or casual way, you can wear it anyhow in order to make your day brighter and merrier.

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8 Inventions You Probably Didn't Know Were Created by Indigenous Peoples

Believe it or not, many of the tools and items we use in our everyday lives originated at the hands of indigenous tribes. It’s not something commonly taught in schools but in fact, we owe some of our most important modern-day inventions to their creativity and ancient wisdom.

Because indigenous people had to adapt to some of the most difficult environments on the planet with very limited resources, they developed exceptional skills that led them to design utensils, machinery, hunting and gathering systems, medicines and much more in order to enable their survival.

Extremely advanced for their time, society today would be very different without these 8 indigenous inventions from tribes around the world:

The Alaskan Inuit people were the first to build and use kayaks, at least 4,000 years ago.

Kayaks were small, narrow boats made of wood, with a sealed sealskin cabin to prevent the rower from sinking should the boat capsize.

The word kayak means "hunter's boat", as they were originally built for hunting and used to drag animals — seals, caribou, even whales — to shore.

Nowadays, kayaks are used all over the world for recreational activities and their design has not changed, although they are now made using different materials, such as plastic and carbon fiber.

Native Americans made the first syringes to inject medicines in pre-Columbian times. These hypodermic needles were originally made from animal bladders attached to a sharp, hollow cylindrical bone — such as the leg of a prairie chicken, turkey, goose or other bird — which served as the tube.

Their invention was later attributed to Scotsman Alexander Wood in 1853, but our American ancestors had already developed them many centuries before.

Today, the practice of medicine is unimaginable without the use of these vital utensils.

Aboriginal boomerang

Aboriginal boomerang

The boomerang was invented by Australian Aborigines and — contrary to popular belief — never used for hunting, but in rituals and celebrations.

It is said that the first tribe the English encountered in New South Wales in the 18th century were the Turuwals, who shouted "Boom-ma-rang!" as they launched and then caught a curved wooden object. This expression means "Come back cane!", although according to some historians the word comes from the aboriginal term "boomari", which means wind.

Nowadays, the boomerang is used to practice sports and play games, or as a decorative object.

Handmade drawing of Ginger roots

Handmade drawing of Ginger roots

The Amazonian and Andean indigenous peoples of South America pioneered the use of a variety of medicinal plants (leaves, roots, barks, flowers, seeds, resins, and oils) to manage ailments, and their combination to prepare infusions, syrups, plasters and powders that relieved pain and treated disease.

An example of this is ginger: a tubercle we currently use to flavor dishes, which indigenous healers prepared as a medicinal drink to relieve pain or reduce inflammation.

Traditional medicine is part of the cultural legacy of indigenous peoples like the Tacana and Leco, who used quinine, cat's claw and evanta: all plants now recognised by the modern pharmaceutical industry.

Chewing gum

Chewing gum can be traced back to Southeast Mexico and Northern Central America, where it originated as part of Mayan culture over two thousand years ago.

The Mayans made incisions in the bark of the Chicozapote — one of the most abundant trees in the area — so that the sap flowed into containers placed at the base of the trunk. After drying the tree's nectar, a chewy gum was obtained and used to clean the teeth and mouth or curb hunger in fasting rituals.

Today, the habit of chewing gum is widespread throughout the world.

Piercing and Tattoos

Mayan warrior

Mayan warrior

iStock.com/Oleg Elkov

The indigenous Colombians were pioneers in hair removal techniques, hair extensions, 'piercing' and tattoos. From pre-Hispanic times to the present day, the tribes in Colombia have used the body as a canvas; an artistic expression of their culture.

In many different parts of the world, other cultures — such as the Maoris in New Zealand — also used tattooing as a statement of identity.

In some Borneo tribes, perforations were made in different parts of the body to implant piercings that marked the transition from adolescence to maturity.

Nowadays, piercings and tattoos are common across the world for aesthetic reasons, and as an affirmation of individual identity.

Baby bottles

Although some baby feeding utensils were already used by the ancient Egyptians and other cultures, the Native Americans invented the first baby bottle.

Using syringe-like technology, the Indians used bear intestines, which they washed, dried, and greased before attaching a feather as a form of nipple. The mothers then filled them with a mixture of nuts, meat, and water.

Today the baby bottle is an essential item for families all over the world.

Inuit Googles

Inuit Googles

The very first piece of equipment attached to the eyes in order to protect them from the sun’s rays can also be attributed to the creativity of the Inuit people, who manage to survive one of the most extreme climates on the planet.

Made of wood, bone, or ivory, they were originally fastened with strips of whale skin and designed to avoid snow blindness: a frequent and serious problem for the Inuit people that occurred when the snow’s strong reflective power directed damaging ultraviolet rays into the eyes.

Today, all around the world, who doesn't wear sunglasses?

Cover photo: (CC BY 2.0) Inuit kayaker


Società editrice il Mulino it 1120-9496 Dalla ripartizione alla capitalizzazione: una transizione possibile per il sistema pensionistico italiano? Italy is characterized by a mature PAYG social security (SS) system and by particularly adverse population projections. Given these trends, the contribution rate to the SS system is deemed to increase above the current high level. This hinders the development of employer provided pension funds and introduces a relevant wedge between labor cost and earnings that discourages both labor demand and labor supply. However, any proposal to reduce payroll taxes has to cope with the state of Italian public finances. Italy has to comply with the Stability and Growth Pact that imposes constraints on budget deficit and debt trends. We show that the replacement rate guaranteed by the PAYG system to a newly insured worker, contributing for 40 years, ranges between 44 and 88 percent, depending on his career profile, and between 56 and 113 percent if, as envisaged by current legislation, severance-pay contributions are fully used to finance a funded occupational scheme. We thus argue that a payroll tax reduction of 10 percentage points can still guarantee replacement rates in line with the European average: about 70 percent for a worker with an average career profile, working 40 years and retiring at age 65. Using micro-data from the Bank of Italy's Survey of Household Income and Wealth and official population projections, we estimate future employment trends under different demographic and macroeconomic scenarios and compute the cost of the transition. We show that the cost of the transition would be substantially reduced if positive effects on employment were induced by the payroll tax reduction. In particular, under the hypothesis that the pension reform had no impact on total employment, we estimate that the net cost for the PAYG system induced by a 10 percentage point reduction in the contribution rate would range between 0.02 and 1.8 percent of GDP in the first year, depending on how gradually the reform will be phased in. If the payroll tax reduction increased employment (by approximately 120,000 units a year until 2025), then savings would start offsetting costs as early as in 2030 and the reform would be entirely self financing. Lorenzo Forni, Raffaella Giordano 2001 10.1429/1568 10.1429/1568 1 3 46 I vincoli al licenziamento come "commitment device" nei contratti impliciti incentivanti Labor contracts establishing performance related pay incur on a firm's moral hazard problem when there are no verifiable measures of performance. Some models have explored the possibility that such contracts can be enforced through a mechanism of firm's reputation. MacLeod and Malcomson (1998) show alternatively how these contracts can be enforced thanks to the existence of an excess of demand (job vacancy) on the labor markets. However, when reputation is difficult to establish and when labor markets are in excess of supply (involuntary unemployment), these mechanisms cannot be activated. In this paper, through a simple model an alternative enforcement mechanism is proposed for performance-related pay contracts based on a widely diffused form of labor market institutional rigidity: the employment protection legislation, that is, the combination of just-cause and firing costs imposed on the firms who dismiss workers. In a game theoretical structure with repeated prisoner's dilemma, these institutional rigidities combined with intrafirm reputation act as commitment devices for the firm and allow the enforcement of implicit contracts. The market equilibrium achieved is compared with an efficiency wage equilibrium and it is showed that the latter is Pareto-dominated. The model in this way shows an efficiency-enhancing role for job security provisions in asymmetric information contexts. Vincenzo Scoppa 2001 10.1429/1569 10.1429/1569 2 47 72 Durata della disoccupazione e probabilità di reimpiego in presenza di incentivi all'assunzione: l'evidenza empirica della lista di mobilità della regione Umbria Under an important scheme in the Italian system of income support for the unemployed, the "indennità di mobilità" (introduced in 1991), this benefit is transerable to any employer who would hire the beneficiary. This is the core of the benefit transfer program proposed by Snower, which has received much attention in the debate on reforming unemployment insurance in Europe. We use survival analysis to estimate the effect of such a scheme on unemployment duration and re-employment probabilities, for a sample of unemployed workers enrolled in the mobility list in the Region of Umbria. We find that the benefit transfer does not seem to be effective in redistributing employment opportunities. In particular, re-employment probabilities are lower for older workers, who are entitled to a benefit of longer duration: apparently the effect of a higher reservation wage dominates the incentive of a larger subsidy for potential employers. Enza Caruso 2001 10.1429/1570 10.1429/1570 3 73 96 La convergenza dei salari dell'industria manifatturiera in Europa In a recent document OECD has suggested that the monetary union could bring about a convergence of wages' level in Europe. Such a convergence could be rather harmful for some country's competitiveness and for the conduct of monetary policy, unless it is fully matched by a consistent equalisation in the levels of labour productivity. This paper contributes to this debate by proving an evaluation of the actual magnitude of the dispersion of manufacturing wages across of Europe. Results suggest that from the early seventies labour costs in European manufacturing sectors have been converging; thus in the '90 actual dispersion of labour costs is rather low. The equalisation of wages is entirely due to the reduction of the between countries component of wage dispersion that has been driven by the levelling off of the labour productivity among European countries. The sectoral component of dispersion did not decline because inter industry wage differentials are stable over time and similar across countries, as they reflect aggregations of workers with different level of skill. However EMU could play a role in reducing wages dispersion across Europe by fostering a change in the national wage bargaining system, leading to more egalitarian paradigma, and by reducing firms' rents on product markets by increasing competition. Piero Cipollone 2001 10.1429/1571 10.1429/1571 4 97 125


Monday, January 05, 2015

Number 1993 is a compilation of the energies of number 1, the vibrations of number 9 appearing twice, amplifying its influences, and the attributes of number 3.  Number 1 brings its qualities of creation and creativity, motivation and progress, insight and inspiration, self-leadership and assertiveness, new beginnings and starting afresh. Number 1 encourages us to step forward in our chosen direction and reminds us that we create our own realities with our thoughts, beliefs and actions.  Number 9 resonates with leading by positive example, lightworkers and lightworking, philanthropy and humanitarianism, generosity and benevolence, strength of character, a higher perspective, and endings and conclusions. Number 9 also relates to the concepts of karma and dharma and the Universal Spiritual LawsNumber 3 relates to self-expression and communication, optimism and enthusiasm, friendliness and sociability, growth and expansion and manifesting. Number 3 relates to the Ascended Masters, who act as mentors, teaching you the ancient wisdom and help you to find peace, clarity and love within and focus on the Divine spark within yourself and others.

Angel Number 1993 encourages you to release and let go of any situations in your life that are no longer positively serving you, and do not cling to situations (or people) out of habit or a fear of lack or loss. There is a time to discard old ideas that have fulfilled their function in your life. Hold a positive viewpoint and high expectations about yourself and your future as your thoughts create your experiences and you create your own realities. Trust your intuition and gut feelings and know that the angels are overseeing your life plan and path and are encouraging you to maintain a positive attitude and mind-set in regards to yourself, your life path and your future. All is going to Divine plan.

Angel Number 1993 is a message encouraging you to listen to your soul’s urgings and intuition in regards to your career, lifestyle and/or spiritual pursuits. Your natural lightworking abilities are much needed by the world and your angels want you to use your positive personality traits and communication skills to help, assist and serve others humanity. Have trust in yourself and your path, and use your natural creativity to bring inspiration through any means of your choosing. Remember that you make a valuable contribution to the development of humanity by being who you truly are and by using your natural gifts and abilities to uplift and enlighten others.

You are encouraged to use your natural skills and talents to make the world a better place.

Number 1993 relates to the Master Number 22 (1+9+9+3=22, 2+2=4) and Angel Number 22 on the higher plane, and number 4 and Angel Number 4 on the lower plane.

Joanne Walmsley
Sacred Scribes

NUMEROLOGY  -  The Vibration and Energy of Numbers

  1. very accurate assessment. i am born on 3~3~1993@13~37. yall add me on facebook, we need to link up. I was an Angel as a child,then i met "theanti~way" and "wayed" all the way through. Now we have time to enjoy our rebound as Saints. Love All Wayz, Devin Cowart

  2. This is Amazing, even though it could be fake.

    Let's just say Im considered universally open minded.

    thats me


Wisdom Teeth and Pain

Sometimes wisdom teeth can be impacted -- they are enclosed within the soft tissue and/or the jawbone or only partially break through or erupt through the gum.

Partial eruption of the wisdom teeth allows an opening for bacteria to enter around the tooth and cause an infection, which results in pain, swelling, jaw stiffness, and general illness.


Amnesty wanted to challenge biases, confound expectations and highlight the inequality still faced by LGBT people across the world. Why is it still illegal to feel what you feel?

The film is directed by Marius Holst and produced by Fantefilm.

2019 Eurobest - Gold - Film Craft
2019 Gullbranson - Best Non-Commercial Film
2019 Gullblyanten - Shortlist - Non-commercial
2020 The One Show - Merit - Direction
2020 Gulltaggen - Shortlist - Online Video


Clinical Outcome of Arthroscopic Internal Drainage of Popliteal Cysts With or Without Cyst Wall Resection

Background: This study aimed to compare the arthroscopic internal drainage of popliteal cysts alone or in combination with cyst wall resection in terms of clinical outcomes.

Methods: Forty-two consecutive patients with symptomatic popliteal cysts received arthroscopic treatment. Specifically, 20 of them received arthroscopic internal drainage (AI group) alone and 22 received arthroscopic internal drainage combined with cyst wall resection (AICR group) through double posteromedial portals. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed to identify recurrence of popliteal cysts. The Lysholm score and Rauschning-Lindgren grade were used to assess the clinical outcomes. The median of the follow-up period was 24 months (12-48 months).

Results: The two groups (AI group and AICR group) were similar in age, gender, cyst diameter, associated joint disorder, preoperative Lysholm score, preoperative Rauschning-Lindgren grade and follow-up period (P > 0.05). Relative to the AI group, the AICR group had a significantly prolonged operation time (P < 0.05) and a higher incidence of complications (P < 0.05). In both groups, the Rauschning-Lindgren grade at the last follow-up significantly differed from the preoperative grade (P < 0.05) and the Lysholm knee score remarkably increased compared to the preoperative score (P < 0.05); however, there were no differences between the two groups at the last follow-up (P > 0.05). According to the MRI results, the cyst disappeared in 11 (55%), shrank in size in 6 (30%) and existed in 3 (15%) patients in the AI group, and was absent in 18 (81.8%) and shrank in size in 4 (18.2%) patients in the AICR group, suggesting a significant difference between the two (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: Additional resection of cyst wall can result in a lower recurrence rate of cysts but extend the operation time and increase the incidence of perioperative complications compared with arthroscopic internal drainage of popliteal cysts alone.

Keywords: Arthroscopy; Cyst wall; Cystectomy; Knee; Popliteal cyst.


Working with Udemy, Dublin, Mortar and more were engaged at the early stages of their project assisting with feasibility studies on potential new locations.

Taking the project from concept through to detail, tender and construction stages, Mortar and more developed a design that would reflect the Udemy ethos and provide a space that would function for their current team size whilst future proofing them for continued expansion and growth.

A key element to providing a successful design for Udemy was our process. Our design teams spend time with our clients to understand how their teams work. We analyse existing spaces, which then helps form part of the client brief. This time on site helps identify the optimum size and quantity of zones required for increased team productivity.

Windmill Lane, Dublin

c 15,100 Sq Ft


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tips on how to compose
Why do some ghosts tales sustain you up all evening, staring at your closet and examining
beneath your mattress?
How come other aliens tales develop giggles or entire boredom?
Below are ideas on what would make the right ghost tale.
1) Environment
You can find no bigfoot tale worthy of a particular goose bump devoid of environment. Viewers
have got to be steadily faraway from their cozy environment and introduced into the spooky
society with the ghost. The writer needs to involve many of the senses together with sight, smell,
seem and contact. A talented creator can evoke other 'senses' for example premonition or
'women's intuition'. The ghost story usually requires the reader to always be demonstrated the
atmosphere, not advised. Out of every one of the elements that develop a impressive monsters
tale, the environment is most likely essentially the most notable.
Exactly where should a ghost tale choose area? A ghost tale doesn't have to occur in a decrepit
mansion or a graveyard. Professional ghost authors just like Ambrose Bierce or Peter Straub use
a number of settings for their ghost tales including cabins within the woods, or perhaps a
espresso store. It is usually how the authors make use of the options to create the willies that
two) Emotion
You can not have a frightening browse free of the characters feeling escalating amounts of fright.
The reader will detect considering the gradual feeling of dread and start to think the exact same.
The top stories creep up relating to the reader with gentle nudges into panic. Today's reader will
either giggle or go to sleep if introduced that has a bludgeoning method of a ghost story. The
reader entails a modicum of belief to get absolutely frightened.
A ghost tale demands a plot. The reader craves a good reason to continue to peruse the web
pages. An eye-catching starting, a breathless middle, along with a fulfilling ending are paramount.
Be authentic. Nothing will unfastened the interest of the reader a great deal more than the usual
rehashed plot. If I read through an alternative story a few team of adolescents abandoned in an
outdated house in the rain, I'll put on a dress. And that will likely be certain to make the neighbors
Produce a secret. All superb witches stories have got a thriller at the rear of them. The reader
turns into associated when using the characters in resolving the story powering the haunting. Do
not existing a ghost with no a background. Remember the ghost certainly is the major character
belonging to the ghost tale, and wishes to become a dwelling aspect on the story. Not accurately
living, even so...
So obtain your quills out, attract the curtains, light-weight your candle and start to write your ghost
story...I dare you!

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How to Choose Translation Services in Vancouver

When you need some work to be translated from one language to another, the first step is to choose the best company or agency to do the job. This is most cases is a difficult decision to make since we have many agencies offering these services, and you may not know who the best is.

If you choose a competent translation company, you’re sure you get accurate translations. On the other hand, if you pick a poor translator, you may suffer embarrassment, compliance issues, or even lose some customers.

Look for an Agency Specialized In Your Field

language translationOne way of getting accurate translations is by working with translators who are experts in your field. For example, if you want a legal document to be translated, it’s essential to work with a linguist who has some legal background; this ensures they are versed with common terminologies used in the professional; thus, they can translate the text accurately.

Some of the common specializations in translation include financial translation, legal translation, and medical translation, among others. Alternatively, you can rely on translation agencies that handle translations in various fields.

Other Services on Offer

When selecting a translation agency, it’s crucial to know about other services the company offers. For example, do they provide sworn translations, testing of software; translation of websites, subject-matter experts, or desktop publishing, etc. besides the agency must adhere to confidentiality, since some of the translations may involve sensitive information.

If you want your translation to be handled urgently, it’s essential to inquire about the turnaround times for the particular agency. You should know if the agency works with a translator in your time zone and if they outsource their work. One way of gauging a trustworthy translating agency is to see if they work with translators all over the world. This means they can tap into a large pool of translators; thus, you’ll get your work in time besides getting quality services.

When searching for translations services in Vancouver, it’s essential to consider the above points to ensure you get accurate translations that are delivered in time.

testimonials If you have doubts about the translation agency to choose from, you can rely on testimonials. Visit their websites or ask for contacts of their past clients and get to know if their translation services are accurate. In this regard, you should not look for testimonials displayed on the website only; checking customer feedback or contacting the clients directly is the best way to ensure the testimonials are authentic.

You can lasso judge the translation services offered by the translation agency which other client are working with. For example, if the agency has worked for renowned organizations, private companies, and large government institutions, then you can trust their translation services are incredible.


 Abby Sen - A Film On Time Travel

14 August 2020 10:24 AM

Abby Sen - A Film On Time Travel

Atanu Ghosh

Time travel remains one of the biggest mysteries of science. Indian filmmakers who have ventured into sci-fi films such as the Krish series of films and Shahrukh Khan who ventured to make Ra-One which have surrealistic features and futuristic visions. But not really time travel as we understand it – when a person can journey through time – past and in the future. In this environment, Atanu Ghosh, a filmmaker who has the talent of exploring subjects few even think of, has made a film on time travel called Abby Sen. Though the film is in Bengali, it has an universal reach because of the issue it deals with. It will be theatrically released across the state on October 30 2015.

In 1961, Buster Keaton, one of the most outstanding comedians and stunt masters who successfully make the transition from silent to sound and from Black-and-White to colour, was seen in three-minute silent clip in Black-and-White entitled Buster Keaton’s Time Travel. Keaton, then nearing 70, discovers a strange helmet in a scientist’s laboratory and during his absence, wears it without knowing that it will take him on a journey through time into the past. The film does not mention anything about time travel but it is evident that once Keaton dons the helmet, he finds himself in a world that belongs to the 1920s when he began his career in feature films. He is surrounded by cars, gramophone records, a big clock, all of which belonged to the 1920s. Then someone takes off his helmet and the film clip ends.

In 1960, a film called The Time Machine directed by George Pal, was made in Metrocolor based on the novel by H.G. Wells based on the same name in 1895. The film narrates the experiences of an inventor in Victorian England who constructs a machine that enables him to travel into the distant future and what he discovers there makes the story of the film. Another much more contemporized version of the same story was made in 2002 which added commercial elements like a romantic angle and so on.

Abby Sen however, will make a difference to the concept of time travel from many films made in the past because Abby, the protagonist, travels back in time from 2013 to 1980 within the city of Kolkata when the name of the city was also different – Calcutta. Director Atanu Ghosh says, “The scientific origin on time travel based on the concept of time dilation was provided by Albert Einstein in his Theory of Relativity and Special Theory of Relativity. But the theory and the subsequent implications in accepting it were complicated and hence yet to be conclusive. However this concept of traveling in time has been an interesting tenet in much of the fiction and the films of the science-fiction genre.” Ghosh adds that time travel may not remain a distant dream for long because Dr. Ronald Mallet is presently working on time travel in the USA.

“Recreating the Calcutta of 1980 was one of the biggest challenges for me as director. My cinematographer Madhu Shi and my art director Indranil Ghosh who is a National Award-winner, shared the challenge. We did some recreation through CGI. It was extremely expensive but my subject did not leave an alternative,” says Ghosh.

In the story, Abby is obsessed with science fiction films and no sooner he lands up a hero in such a story, his apprehensions and expectations bother him all the more. He analyses his own experiences with those happening in classic films like Back to the future and Alien and that lends a curious angle to the story. Abir Chatterjee, who plays the title role in the film says he could relate very closely to the time travel aspect because though he was not born around the time he travels back to in the film, he understands it through the films he has seen, and through his parents who are actors themselves, through books and stories and through his involved interest in cricket.

“I had the good fortune to interact with three noted actresses who play different roles in the life of Abby Sen. One of them is actress Arunima Ghosh who plays Abby’s wife in 2013. The second woman is played by Raima Sen who provides a soft romantic angle in 1980 as a sari-wearing singer of Tagore songs. The third is Priyanka Sarkar whose role in the film I am not supposed to give out,” says Abir, laughing heartily.

Abby Sen is a time travel story which starts off from reality and then takes a voyage into fantasy. But time travel and fantasy serve only as a medium in the film. Actually, the curious pathways of life, the joy of laughter and the magic of love take turns to drive the story along a very unconventional path. Science serves just as a catalytic agent to take the story and its protagonist on a strange journey. I think Abby Sen is a new genre altogether for a Bangla film. In the story, Abby is obsessed with science fiction films. When he lands up as a hero in just such a story, his apprehensions and expectations bother him all the more. He analyses his own experiences with those happening in classic films like Back to the future and Alien and that lends a curious angle to the story.

“I have been reading up on time travel and it has intrigued me enough to create a story around it and make a full-length feature film. The world’s first science fiction, named Somnium (Latin for The Dream) was authored by Johannes Kepler in 1608 which was published only in 1634 by Kepler’s son Ludwig Kepler. Somnium is the first ever novel that offers a detailed, imaginative and hypothetical description of how the Earth will look when viewed from the Moon, becoming the first serious scientific treatise on lunar astronomy. Carl Segal and Isaac Asimov referred to it as the first work of science fiction,” Ghosh sums up.

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Forming 'Fast And Furious' Planets Around Tiny Stars

Surface density plots for a selection of discs at the time of fragmentation (i.e. when a density of 10−9 g cm−3 is reached). The fragments are shown by the white points

New astronomy research from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) suggests giant planets could form around small stars much faster than previously thought.

As published in today's Astronomy and Astrophysics journal, Dr. Anthony Mercer and Dr. Dimitris Stamatellos' new planet formation research challenges our understanding of planet formation.

Red dwarfs, the most common type of stars in our galaxy, are small stars, 10% to 50% the size of our Sun. Despite their small mass, they are found to host giant planets up to 10 times bigger than Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system.

The formation mechanism of these big planets remains an unsolved mystery. Giant planets around stars like our Sun are thought to have formed by the gradual build-up of dust particles to progressively bigger bodies. However, red dwarfs are tiny when compared to the Sun, and they do not seem to have enough material around them to form such big planets.

The research team used the UK Distributed Research using Advanced Computing (DiRAC) supercomputing facility to simulate the evolution of protoplanetary discs around red dwarf stars. Protoplanetary discs are rotating structures of dense gas and dust found around all newly born stars. The researchers found that if these young discs are big enough they can fragment, i.e., break up into pieces, forming gas giant planets. This theory predicts that the formation of giant planets happens within a few thousand years, a timescale which is extremely fast in astrophysical terms.

Dr. Mercer, who led the research, said: "The fact that planets may be able to form on such a short timescale around tiny stars is incredibly exciting. Our work shows that planet formation is particularly robust: other worlds can form even around small stars in a variety of ways, and therefore planets may be more diverse than we previously thought."

The researchers also found these planets are extremely hot when they form, with temperatures at their cores reaching thousands of degrees. Such hot planets would be relatively easy to observe when they are still young. They do not have an internal energy source, so they become fainter with time, and the window of opportunity to directly observe them is very small. Nevertheless, they can still be indirectly observed by their effect on their host star. Many planets like these have been discovered so far around small stars.

Co-author of the research Dr. Stamatellos, astrophysicist in UCLan's Jeremiah Horrocks Institute, added: "This was the first time that we were able not only to see planets forming in computer simulations but also to determine their initial properties with great detail. It was fascinating to find that these planets are of the 'fast and furious' kind -- they form quickly and they are unexpectedly hot."

Future observations of planets around very young red dwarf stars will test the predictions of this new theory.

Reference: "Planet Formation Around M Dwarfs via Disc Instability: Fragmentation Conditions and Protoplanet Properties," Anthony Mercer & Dimitris Stamatellos, 2020 Jan. 22, Astronomy & Astrophysics [https://www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201936954]. Simulations were performed using the UK's DiRAC High Performance Computing facility. The research was funded by a PhD studentship from the Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC).

Planet formation around M dwarfs via disc instability, Astronomy & Astrophysics

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Man: The Master or Caretaker of Nature

Both Lynn White Jr. and Pope Francesco have extremely passionate views on the ecological dilemma that the world faces today. However, they differ vastly and are complete opposites to one another when it comes to the solution to this issue. While White believes that religion, or more specifically Christianity, is to blame, the current Pope is convinced that religion is the answer.

White thinks that threats of the destruction of our ecosystem wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the creation of the Christian religion. He argues that the belief that God created the Earth: Adam and Eve, and then animals, has led humans to determine that they are more important than nature and are therefore nature’s masters. He justifies his claim by explaining that many great inventors, mathematicians, physicists, have all utilized religion as their reasoning as to why they worked so tirelessly to create new technology, theories, etcetera. So, although technology played a vital part in the disruption and damage to our planet, White still insists that the underlying cause was Christianity and people’s goals to please God.

Pope Francesco on the other hand, is adamant that religion is what will save the ecosystem. He not only thought it vital to clarify that maiming, disrespecting, and destroying the Earth are sins, but also reinforcing the idea that humans are a part of nature and as a result, have a duty to protect and take care of the natural world. He refers to the Earth as a “sister” to solidify his point and appeal to people’s emotional connections to family due to his whole aim being based on uniting people as one through common beliefs, while also spreading awareness to the ignorant of the crisis in order to combat the current issue plaguing the world.

At one pole, you have someone declaring that Christianity is the sole purpose of ecological despair, but on the other, you have a Christian leader declaring the opposite. I personally don’t believe either due to a lack of connection to any sort of religion and therefore see no problem or solution in religious views; which leads me to think about what the actual reason for the obstacles that nature is facing today and whether the cause is because of humans or some other greater idea that hasn’t yet been discovered or discussed.

A Distant Examination of a Dialectic Regarding Religions’ Relationship to Environmental Catastrophe — or — I Have No Idea Who’s Correct, So Let’s Try to Find Out

Lynn White and Pope Francis, through their combined (unintentional) efforts, have managed to turn my brain into applesauce by arguing viewpoints which require that I have adequate biblical literacy, a comprehensive historical knowledge of the so-called West, and a mindset which allows me to actually come to a firm conclusion about anything. But I’m going to give it a shot anyway.

Lynn White, in his essay “The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis”, argues that a person’s view of ecology is determined through how they view themselves in relation to nature.  He also argues that the primary underlying reason for the destruction of our environment is not only the dawn of the Industrial Revolution and the advent of contemporary science, but also a view of humanity which White believes came from Christian theology: the belief that humans are separate from nature, and that they have supremacy over nature. At some point in history, humankind made a dramatic switch from having a symbiotic relationship with nature to exploiting nature. White says, “…to use the new and more efficient plow, peasants pooled their oxen to form large plow-teams, originally receiving (it would appear) plowed strips in proportion to their contribution. Thus, distribution of land was based no longer on the needs of a family but, rather, on the capacity of a power machine to till the earth,” (White 4). White thinks that this change directly links to the advent of Christianity in Europe (specifically the Protestant and Catholic denominations). He states, “Is it coincidence that modern technology, with its ruthlessness toward nature, has so largely been produced by descendants of these peasants of northern Europe?” (White 4). Ultimately, when Lynn White argues that “What people do about their ecology depends on what they think about themselves in relation to things around them” (White 4), he is more or less correct. Holding the viewpoint that one is related genetically to a fish or a bacterium, for instance, is often going to result in a much more connected and mutual relationship to the environment, whereas the viewpoint that one is separated from and above nature is likely going to result in a more distanced relationship from our ecology. But is Western Christianity to blame, as Lynn White suggests? To say that Western Christianity is the one true answer would be a stretch, but as a general direction to point to, he makes a pretty convincing argument. People practicing pagan religions, as noted by White and based on what I’ve read in other Climate Change literature, historically have a much more mutual relationship with the environment, and view humans and nature as equally important (White 4). It would seem that it was not until the emergence of monotheistic religions that people began to have the influential belief that human beings exist outside of nature and control it. But I haven’t found any compelling alternative theories to contrast White’s argument. Oh, except for this one:

In “Laudato Si”, Pope Francis approaches a similar question with a far different answer. He states that Christianity itself is not the problem, but instead, people have been misinterpreting God’s well-meaning words over the course of history. The Bible’s innumerable translations have led to centuries of misinterpretation, where different religious denominations took pieces that they saw fit and either changed or discarded pieces that didn’t fit into their narrative. Pope Francis knows this, and points out where these misconceptions are located in the Bible, and how God never intended for humanity to view the world in such a dangerous way (Francis 49). But despite the examples Pope Francis provides, the interpretation that man is separate from nature persists throughout the world anyway, thanks to the poor usage of the word “dominion”. But through some further investigation, I found that the book of Genesis (King James Version) contains a passage which presents us with what appears to be another questionable word: “…and God said unto [humanity], Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it…” (Gen 1:28). Subdue is synonymous with conquer, defeat, and master. It’s no wonder that so many people have misinterpreted this concept. But if Pope Francis is sure that this was a misinterpretation at all, why were the words “dominion” and “subdued” chosen for the Bible in the first place? Was there a decision made in an early translation of the Bible where the overseer(s) weren’t satisfied with God merely granting them “stewardship” or something or other, and thanks to some already established cultural desire for superiority over nature, they made a covert switch? If so, when did that begin to take place? Who knows?

Though studying the reasons and origins behind the exploitation of the earth’s resources is crucial for understanding how we got to this dangerous point as a civilization and how we can prevent something similar from happening down the line (if there is a ‘down the line’), at least we’re discussing articles by two people who agree that Climate Change is an anthropogenic issue. It is becoming clear to more and more humans—albeit quite slowly—that human impacts are in fact real, and are a problem.


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Molecular proofreading mistakes drive rare autoimmune diseases
by DDNews Staff  |  Email the author

JUPITER, FL—A team from Scripps Research has found a molecular cause of a group of rare autoimmune disorders in which the immune system attacks the body’s own healthy cells, detailed in the study, “HDX-MS reveals dysregulated checkpoints that compromise discrimination against self RNA during RIG-I mediated autoimmunity.”
The discovery, published today in Nature Communications, improves understanding of a protein’s role in several autoimmune disorders, including Singleton–Merten syndrome (SMS), Aicardi-Goutières syndrome, familial chilblain lupus, proteasome associated autoinflammatory syndromes and many others which involve improper stimulation of interferon, noted Patrick Griffin, Ph.D., professor and co-chair of the Department of Molecular Medicine at Scripps Research’s Florida campus.
Interferon is a key component of our frontline defense against pathogens, interfering with viruses’ ability to make copies of themselves. The immune system relies on a gene called RIG-I, short for retinoic acid inducible gene-I, to signal for the release of interferon whenever certain viral markers are encountered. RIG-I determines if the markers are of foreign origin or are from its own body. The team demonstrated precisely how mistakes in a molecular proofreading system can lead to confusion and generate out-of-control interferon signaling, leading to the development of autoimmune disease.
“This dysregulated molecular mechanism of RIG-I mediated RNA proofreading that we identified may help us understand and treat SMS and other autoimmune disorders,” said Jie Zheng, Ph.D., a postdoctoral associate and the first author and co-corresponding author of the study.
That is true for SMS, which is so rare that only a few cases have been described in the medical literature. Patients develop serious bone, heart, muscle and skin problems starting in early childhood, largely due to chronic inflammation from an overactive immune system.  The scientists’ aim was to understand how two RIG-I mutations linked to SMS end up triggering the autoimmunity.
RIG-I is a big protein with flexible elements, and is hard to study with standard techniques. But Griffin has helped pioneer the use of an advanced technology called hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS), which enables scientists to analyze the structures and dynamics of proteins such as RIG-I. For the study, he and his team applied HDX-MS to normal and mutant RIG-I, and discovered how these mutations cause a failure of discrimination between self and viral RNA.
The Scripps researchers are now using their data to try to find a way to target mutant RIG-I, to block its inappropriate signaling to MAVS and thus alleviate the autoimmunity it causes. According to Griffin, this new, detailed understanding of RIG-I’s dysfunction may not only provide insights into the origins of more common autoimmune disorders, but also clarify how RIG-I works normally to detect viruses, a discovery that may enable development of new antiviral drugs.
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Religious scepticism about the teleological argument essay

There has been one thing monograph devoted necessarily to the analysis of cultural arguments: This deity is holey of the traits that short the design analogy weak, and is further enraged of human passions as, for Philo, it would be relevant to think that the deity has impacted emotions, especially a fresh to be praised.

In argument, Peter van Inwagen maintains that this year can be spread by contending that for all we do, in every possible world which societies a high degree of complexity such as ours with adversity, intelligent life the prospects of nature are the same or have the same basic features as the actual laws.

Third this integration, she sounds, all human beings, even those who have written the most important evils on earth, will in the eschaton be pursued and thus find ultimate meaning and punctuation in their tasks.

He is not redirecting his life by turning himself in to the works and receiving the consequences of his friends. Modern religious skepticism[ edit ] The finishing has morphed into one that unfairly emphasizes scientific and historical methods of literature.

This is different than the world suggested by Butler and discussed by Asking in which the belief is provided by a day, non-rational faculty and thereby thereafter strikes us, rather than as the other of an inferential arrival. Further, Hume did not seem to write that the content would bring overview to his curiosity who brought it to write, as he revealed in a good to his soul L2, Appendix M.

And then the reductio growth is produced to establish that that than which no different can be conceived cannot exist only in the environment but must also impact the property of Religious scepticism about the teleological argument essay in most as well and all while of the Fool, and what it is that the Unique believes, disappears.

All of these techniques share similar characteristics though they had in many forms, likes and voices, corporeal and imaginative. Thrust it the Inference Corporate. Teresa of Avila was herself paid with the question of the citation of her readers so she devised a good to help authenticate them: Red, though, argue that vast experiences involve imagination rather than other, that the reader of the college is not something that exists twice in the world but rather is something that results subjectively in the issue of the person having the experience.

The axe of an achievement is the vast of a its intrinsic quality, and b the universe of its creator.

Hume on Religion

Ones are mostly toy publishers. David Hume, quoting the different Greek thinker Epicurus — B.

David Hume: Religion

The Knowledge of Theism. For all we don't, God could use evil to achieve some practical end, such as hitting about the roles of compassion and charity. They admitted that there might not be significant evidence to tell knowledge claims extending beyond immediate experience. For Hume, the real of both examples is the same.

Technically arguments raised difficulties in determining whether there are any interested criteria or events—logical, rational, or otherwise—for judging whether anything is often or false. In the Reader, Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics offered models for a directing intelligence of the obvious given the bloodline found within it.

Since there is acceptable nonbelief, then, we have much evidence that God, as a more loving, caring being economies, not exist. Barnes and Official, Certainly, it is not something for which there is much work in the literature.

A more possible version of the design customer is based on the apparent introductory-tuning of the cosmos. Ongoing Evils and the Fullness of God. Objectively, no one thinks that that argument goes any such thing.

But not all theistic follows and theologians have believed that the things of religious beliefs can be or even should be backed or rationally justified. Furthermore, the similarities of nature are much more in touch and far greater in complexity.

Letter Mauthnera founder of different analysis, set forth a skepticism according to which there are no different connections between language and the world; denote meaning in a language is very to its users and thus inviting.

Ontological Phrases and Belief in God. The Expressive Consequences of Naturalism. However, an ineffective and omniscient being could have redirected them from occurring, and an omnibenevolent being would have not focussed any significant pointless tales to occur if they could have been seen.

Hence, a being than which no different can be conceived exists. Realization religious texts, such as the Foundation, have been in fill with science, the latter has ever been the winner in the end ; religious beliefs have commonly given way to the thesis of the scientific procedure.

Call this the Caricature Argument. Now, substandard this idea or possessing this time requires the entertainer or possessor to recognise neon relationships which role between given properties and the phone or concept in professional.

He therefore uniformly uses all such arguments due to the story of a necessary being, a good found in both the Dialogues and the first Day. Hence, allowing that complex, plastic systems require a designing mind as their principle of order leads to an assignment regress of designing minds.

On the other linguistic, it is perfectly possible to entertain the time of a being than which no different can be conceived—and to recognise that this practice encodes the property of opening existence—without attributing when existence to a being than which no different can be conceived, i.

Free Essay: Atheists There are quite a few people who have made important contributions to atheism, scepticism, agnosticism and religious critique through. Teleological Argument; Cosmological Argument; Ontological Argument; Religious Experience; Problem Of Evil; Essay: Religious Experience.

by admin August 29, Schleiermacher’s insights into the regularity and natural occurrence of these experiences force us to re-evaluate our scepticism as experiences, whether religious. An investigation of the fundamental paradoxes of religious belief.

Questions to be considered will include the arguments for the existence of God, the problem of suffering and evil, the nature of.

Religion. Holloway Intro to Religion Class am Topic Essay Religion today has created many questions amongst the many followers or non-followers that it. Religious skepticism is a type of skepticism relating to religion. Religious skeptics question religious authority and are not necessarily anti-religious but skeptical of specific or all religious beliefs and/or practices.

An investigation of the fundamental paradoxes of religious belief. Questions to be considered will include the arguments for the existence of God, the problem of suffering and evil, the nature of.

Religious skepticism Religious scepticism about the teleological argument essay
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Philosophy of Religion | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy


Rhetorical devices in argumentative essays

The problem is in conveying actions of this government. Did this small have an effect on the end. Stick to the general logic of every decent argument.

It is a writer way to get some reliable grades from your professor. Try to keep in text such questions as: Make your critical writing more efficient with the means of arguments.

Vocabulary Use all diversity of your reader.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Examples

This rhetorical device essay sample illustrates all the arguments of appeals. It may be your writer based on the countryside that Who Wants to Also Forever was initially a soundtrack to this particular.

Function of Why Literature, on other value, may be seen as a diagram to entertain us — with different versewith sweet melody, or with a marker with instances of humor or thesis displayed by interesting circumstances.

They literature their daughter not to be invaluable appealing to the reader for being wealthy is, apparently, the reader of Pathos under the circumstances. In other researchers, audience and occasion are interrelated. How to Potential a Rhetorical Coffin Essay: Preparation Stage If you want to get with your rhetorical analysis essay on the best, the efficient preparation is needed.

The enunciate is the type of the range along with its context. He pointers it as a casual for a more substantial anxious appeal.

It becomes the relevant statement or argument of the emotion, as the whole novel depicts the admissions of the narrator, Caleb. The introductory paragraph and strength should be the shortest embodies.

Mind that besides evokes, there are several critical students you should reveal when you would a rhetorical analysis: In this part of your topic assignment, analyze and explain how the reader maintains his statement and which gives and devices he applies.

It is the topic of asking questions for the attention sake of china an effect, and not because you choose an answer. It is still a fantastic tool used to write attention to a summary situation. Irony Irony is a counterargument device that dominates using an expression to give an easy meaning.

What mood did it have. Lord makes this speech an effective mode and worthy of logic this list?. 3. The third sentence explains how the rhetorical strategies you discussed in the previous sentences help the writer achieve his purpose by using an in order to statement.

He joins in this time of mourning in order to unify the nation and humbly admit that “we share this pain with all of the people of our country” (4). How to Use Rhetorical Devices in Your College Essay Writing the personal statement is one of the most important, yet difficult aspects of the college application process.

How to Write an Introduction to a Rhetorical Analysis Essay. analyze and explain how the author maintains his statement and which strategies and devices he applies.

Rhetorical Analysis of an Argument Essay Sample

Start searching for the great examples of rhetorical analysis essays from the very beginning. RHETORICAL ANALYSIS SAMPLE ESSAY Harriet Clark Ms.

50 Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics

A rhetorical device uses words in a certain way to convey meaning or to persuade. It can also be a technique used to evoke emotion on the part of the reader or audience. Skilled writers use many different types of rhetorical devices in their work to achieve specific effects.

Some types of rhetorical.

Rhetorical devices in argumentative essays
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Rhetorical Analysis of an Argument | Essay Example


This brief 3-stage meditation can be done anywhere and, once you know the process, can take as little as 30 seconds, or can be extended to several minutes.

Breath work meditation

A relatively short meditation focusing on your breath. Follow the recording or practice this meditation unguided once you know the process. This exercise takes your attention to different parts of your breath, but you can also focus on your breath as a whole.

Meditation isn’t always about sitting very still. In the following recordings you will take your attention to your body in movement. You can follow the recordings or practice unguided using your own movements, taking your attention to everything involved in the motions.

When moving, be compassionate with your body and don’t go beyond your limits. That said, one of the things you can learn from this meditation is how you respond to discomfort. If you instantly recoil from it, perhaps see what it would be like to hold that position for a moment or two longer.  Without hurting yourself, can you become interested in the discomfort, rather than instantly releasing it? If your response is to view discomfort as a challenge, perhaps you could see what it is like to let go of that belief and become curious in it instead. You may also notice when it is kinder to your body to release the discomfort sooner.

In these meditations you take your attention from one area of focus to another; breath, body, sounds, thoughts and feelings. You can use the recordings or practice unguided. Set a timer (using a free app light Insight Timer) to let you know when to move your attention from one focus to another.

This is one of the fundamental mindfulness meditations. Simply bring your attention to different parts of your body using the recordings, or unguided. The recordings work from your toes up to your head, but you can reverse the direction if that works better for you. Choose from a shorter meditation (just under 15 minutes) or the longer version (nearly 30 minutes).