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The invention relates to a trailer lighting system comprising connection means for connecting the system to a towing vehicle, lighting elements and wiring for interconnecting said connection means and/or said lighting elements.
Such a trailer lighting system is widely used in trailers and is a standardized method to connect the trailer lighting system to the lighting system of the towing vehicle.
In current trailer lighting systems, each light group of the trailer has a separate connection to the lighting system of the towing vehicle. A light group is a set of light elements, which must be activated or deactivated simultaneously (For example, brake lights, reversing lights etc). In order to activate a light group, power is applied to corresponding connection.
The disadvantage of trailer lighting system according to the state of the art is that a lot of wiring is needed to connect each light group to the towing vehicle. Also, the fact that each light group needs separate wiring to the towing vehicle adds to the probability of making mistakes during the installation of the trailer lighting system.
The trailer lighting system according to the invention provides a system that does not have these disadvantages. To lift the mentioned disadvantages, the trailer lighting system according to the invention is provided with a controller connected to the connections means and the lighting elements, wherein the controller has encoding means for operating the lighting elements by sending encoded control signals to the lighting elements using a communication protocol, and that the system is further provided with identifying means, detection means and switching means wherein the identifying means are arranged for identifying the intended function of the lighting elements, the detection means are arranged for receiving said encoded control signals, for decoding the control signals and for operating the switching means in order to operate the lighting elements and that all elements of the system are provided with a common power line. By using the combined features of the trailer lighting system the total wiring used can be greatly reduced, since no separate power line is needed from the lighting system of the towing vehicle to each light element of the trailer lighting system. By using identifying means, the intended function of each lighting element can be individually controlled. This will reduce the amount of installation errors greatly, and therefore reduces the amount of time necessary to install a trailer lighting system.
Preferably, in the trailer lighting system according to the invention, the controller comprises pulse generation means and the detection means comprises pulse counting means, and the lighting elements are controlled by the controller using a pulse based serial communication protocol. Communication by means of pulses can be achieved by a limited number of inexpensive electrical components and is therefore a preferred way to establish communication between the controller and the detection means. By using a one way communication control, the number of electrical components in both the controller and detection means can be further decreased. However, a two-way communication protocol is a possibility.
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According to a first embodiment of the trailer lighting system according to the invention, the said identifying means are used to group said lighting elements into lighting groups and said communication protocol comprises a start pulse and for each active lighting group k 2 pulses, wherein k= 1, 2, ...,n. By using this simple communication protocol, the number of electrical components used by the controller and detection means can be kept to a minimum. Also, the number of lighting groups to be controlled can be easily extended as the sequence of pulses does not have a fixed length.
According to a second embodiment of the trailer lighting system according to the invention, the said identifying means are used to group said lighting elements into lighting groups and said communication protocol comprises a start pulse, a sequence of n pulses in a defined time frame, where n is at least the number of lighting groups and spaced apart by a defined time period, and optionally a parity pulse and one or more stop pulses. This is a more complex communication protocol the protocol as mentioned above, but certainly feasible.
According to a third embodiment of the trailer lighting system according to the invention, the controller comprises means for simultaneous generation of multiple sine waves with different frequency and the detection means comprises sine wave frequency detection means, and wherein the lighting elements are controlled by the controller using a frequency based parallel communication protocol. Frequency based communication is in this case more expensive than pulse based communication.
In another embodiment of the trailer lighting system according to the invention, the control signals are superimposed on the common power line of the system. This eliminates the need for separate wiring for the control signals, which will further decrease the amount of wiring.
In yet another embodiment of the trailer lighting system according to the invention, the controller and the lighting elements are interconnected by the wiring in a parallel fashion. This drastically reduces the amount of wiring and the time to install the trailer lighting system. Preferably, in order to avoid malfunctions due to bad electrical connections, a separate ground wire is used in the trailer lighting. However, a common ground for each element (i.e. the chassis of the trailer) in the trailer lighting system can be used, where only one wire has to be used to connect each light element in the trailer lighting system.
In yet another embodiment of the trailer lighting system according to the invention, the controller is integrated into the connection means. By integrating the controller into the connection means, there is no need for an additional housing to accommodate the controller. Also, a connection means as used in the current state of the art can be made waterproof and therefore suitable to place the controller.
Preferably, the detection means and switching means are integrated into the lighting elements.
In an elegant embodiment of the trailer lighting system according to the invention, the controller is further provided with means for detection of a malfunctioning of one or more lighting elements and means for communication said malfunctioning to the towing vehicle.
In a practical embodiment of the above mentioned embodiment, the means for detection of a malfunctioning of one or more lighting elements comprises means to measure the difference in current before and after operating the one or more lighting elements. As only one power line is used in the system, the malfunction of a lighting element can be easily detected by measuring the current through the power line before switching on a lighting element and after switching on this lighting element. If no difference in current is measured, the lighting element is malfunctioning. The malfunctioning of this lighting element is communicated back to the towing vehicle, for example by setting a specific control line, which is connected to the towing vehicle to high impedance.
Figure 1
shows a schematic view of a trailer lighting system according to the current state of the art;
Figure 2
shows a schematic view of the trailer lighting system according to the invention;
Figure 3
Figure 2
show a trailer equipped with a trailer lighting system of ;
Figure 1
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shows a schematic view of a trailer lighting system 1 according to the current state of the art. The trailer lighting system 1 is connected to the towing vehicle 17 through connector 2 of the trailer lighting system and connector 3 of the towing vehicle. Every light group 4 to 4 is connected by wires 5 to 5 to the corresponding wires 6 to 6. A light group is formed by connecting light elements to the same wire. The system has a common ground 7, which is connected to the common ground of the vehicle 20. This may be a separate wire.
Figure 2
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shows a schematic view of the trailer lighting system 1' according to the invention. The trailer lighting system 1' is connected to the towing vehicle 17 through connector 2 of the trailer lighting system and connector 3 of the towing vehicle 17. The wires 5 to 5 of the trailer lighting system are connected to the corresponding wires 6 to 6 of the vehicle. At the other end wires 5 to 5 are connected to the controller 8. The controller 8 is provided with an encoder 9. The controller 8 is preferably placed on a small Printed Circuit Board (PCB). Detection means 10 is connected to switching means 11, which in turn is connected to light element 12 Detections means 10 is also connected to identifying means 13 Light element 12 is connected to common ground of the vehicle 7. The detection means 10, identifying means 13, and switching means 11 are preferable placed on a small PCB. The controller 8 is connected to the detection means 10,...,10 through the common power line 15. The lighting elements 12 to 12 are arranged in lighting groups 4 to 4 by setting the identifying means 13 to 13 accordingly. As an example one can assign the two brake lights 12 and 12 of a trailer to lighting group 4.
Three possible embodiments of the trailer lighting system according to the invention will now be discussed.
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In the preferred embodiment the controller 1' controls the lighting elements 12 to 12 through a sequence of pulses, in which the number of pulses depends on the active lighting groups. These pulses are superimposed on the power line 15 of the trailer lighting system 1'. Each lighting group 4 (where k=1,2,...n) is assigned a fixed number of pulses, where the number of pulses = 2, e.g. for lighting group (1) 2 pulses are generated, for lighting group (2) 4 pulses are generated, for lighting group (3) 8 pulses are generated etc. The sequence of pulses always start with a start pulse and for each active lighting group (k) 2k pulses are added (where k= 1, 2,...n).This sequence of pulses will be repeated continuously with a small amount of time between two subsequent sequence of pulses. The detection means 10,...,10 detects the beginning and end of these sequence of pulses that are superimposed on the power line 5 and counts the number of pulses in this set. Based on the number of pulses counted and the setting of the identifying means 13, the detection means 10 will activate the switching means 11 in order to active the lighting element 12 For example, if 11 pulses are counted, lighting groups 4 (2 pulse), lighting group 4 (8 pulses) must be active. The identifying means, detection means and the switching means are preferably situated nearby the lighting element.
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In the second embodiment of the trailer lighting system according to the invention the lighting elements 12 to 12 are also controlled by the controller 8 using a repetitive sequence of pulses. However, in this embodiment the length of the sequence is fixed. The pulse sequence represents a bit sequence, starting with a start bit, intermediate bits, parity bits and a stop bit. Each bit in the intermediate bits represents a lighting group. To activate a lighting group, the corresponding bit must be active. For example, a typical trailer lighting configuration has 7 light groups. Therefore the intermediate bits have a fixed length of 7 bits. In order to activate the first, the second and the last lighting group, bit 1,2 and 7 must be active. The detection means detects the sequence of pulses. Based on the intermediate bits found in the sequence of pulses and the identifying means, the detection means will activate the switching means in order to active the lighting element. The identifying means, detection means and the switching means are preferably situated nearby the lighting element.
In the third embodiment of the trailer lighting system according to the invention the trailer lighting system uses different sine waves with different frequencies to establish communication between the controller and the detection means. For each active light group, the controller generates a corresponding sine wave frequency by a sine wave generator. The different sine waves are superimposed on the power line of the trailer lighting system. Using the identifying means, the detection means detects the sine wave frequency for a specific light group. If this sine wave is detected, the detection means will active the switching means in order to active the lighting element. The identifying means, detection means and the switching means are preferably situated nearby the lighting element.
Figure 3
shows a trailer equipped with a trailer lighting system according to the invention. The trailer lighting system 1'is connected to the towing vehicle via connector 2. The controller 8 is preferably placed inside the connector 2. In the preferred embodiment of the trailer lighting system according to the invention the controller superimposes the control signals on the power line 15. Therefore only one wire 15 is needed to connect all lights of the trailer. The chassis can be used as ground, however a separate ground cable can also be used to reduce noise and disturbances in the system. In this figure the outline marker lights 14 and tail lights 16 are connected to the same power line. The identifying means, the detection means and the switching means are preferably integrated in each light of the trailer.
Identifying means are available in the art. An example of an adjustable identifying means is a dipswitch. It can be used to set the function of the light element.
The invention is not limited to the shown and described preferred embodiments, but extends generally to any embodiment which falls within the scope of the appended claims as seen in light of the foregoing description and drawings.
The invention will be further elucidated by the following figures, where: | |
OBJECTIVE Psychosocial screening has been recommended for pediatric patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes and their families. Our objective was to assess a psychosocial screening protocol in its feasibility, acceptability to families, and ability to predict early emerging complications, nonadherent family behavior, and use of preventive psychology services.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 125 patients and their caregivers were asked to participate in a standardized screening interview after admission at a large urban children’s hospital with a new diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. Medical records were reviewed for subsequent diabetes-related emergency department (ED) admissions, missed diabetes clinic appointments, and psychology follow-up within 9 months of diagnosis.
RESULTS Of 125 families, 121 (96.8%) agreed to participate in the screening, and a subsample of 30 surveyed caregivers indicated high levels of satisfaction. Risk factors at diagnosis predicted subsequent ED admissions with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 98.6%. Children from single-parent households with a history of behavior problems were nearly six times more likely to be seen in the ED after diagnosis. Missed appointments were likeliest among African Americans, 65% of whom missed at least one diabetes-related appointment. Psychology services for preventive intervention were underutilized, despite the high acceptability of the psychosocial screening.
CONCLUSIONS Psychosocial screening of newly diagnosed patients with type 1 diabetes is feasible, acceptable to families, and able to identify families at risk for early emerging complications and nonadherence. Challenges remain with regards to reimbursement and fostering follow-up for preventive care.
Management of type 1 diabetes requires adherence to a complex daily regimen and consistent maintenance of health-related behaviors. Difficulties with psychologic adjustment or adherence to the medical regimen can have profound effects on long-term health outcomes. Longitudinal research has shown that psychologic, demographic, and family factors at diabetes diagnosis predict subsequent negative outcomes, including nonadherence, poor metabolic control, medical complications, and depression (for review, see ). At the same time, data from the Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC) Research Group have shown that good metabolic control early in the course of the illness has a protective effect against later complications (2). Youth with diabetes are also at increased risk for serious mental health concerns, such as depression (3), that are often underdiagnosed (4).
Screening of psychosocial and family factors is therefore critical for promoting the health of children with type 1 diabetes (5). In recognition of this, current national and international standards of diabetes care recommend psychosocial screening at the time of the diabetes diagnosis (6,7). Yet we are unaware of any published descriptions of a standardized psychosocial screening protocol for children with newly diagnosed diabetes. This lack likely reflects a number of perceived barriers to implementing psychosocial screening for children with new onset of a chronic illness. Barriers that have been identified in the literature include
the difficulty of integrating screenings into routine pediatric practice, especially given time constraints set by third-party payers;
staffing challenges, including questions about who can or should provide screenings (8);
concern about the acceptability of the screening to families due to perceived stigma associated with receiving psychological services (4,5,9);
concerns about how identified problems should be managed and lack of knowledge among health care providers regarding where to send identified patients (9,10); and
questions regarding cost-effectiveness and the overall effect of screening on children’s health (11).
This article reports a psychosocial screening program for pediatric patients newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes that we have implemented as a standard clinical service at our institution since July 2007. The protocol was designed to identify patients and families at risk for maladjustment or nonadherence to the medical regimen, taking into account the noted barriers. Our long-term goal is to develop an empirically supported approach to identifying at-risk children and families at or near the time of the diabetes diagnosis to guide tertiary prevention efforts. Our specific aims were to assess the screening’s feasibility (in number of screenings completed), acceptability (percentage of families who agreed to participate; caregiver satisfaction), and predictive validity with regards to early complications (diabetes-related emergency department [ED] admissions) and early emerging nonadherent behavior (missed diabetes-related outpatient appointments). We also examined utilization of recommended preventive follow-up services through the Psychology Service.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
This study is a retrospective record review of all patients who were 1) admitted with a new diagnosis of type 1 diabetes at a large urban children’s hospital in the Southwestern United States during a 9-month period (July 2007–April 2008) and 2) approached to participate in a psychosocial screening assessment as part of their standard clinical care. All children with a new diagnosis of type 1 diabetes were eligible for this service; only two patients were excluded because they needed to be seen by other mental health care providers for trauma-related services unrelated to their admission for diabetes. Approval for the study was obtained from the institutional review board of record.
The initial pool included 125 children with type 1 diabetes and their caregivers. The medical records of these 125 children were reviewed for this study. Four families declined to participate in the screening. The demographics reported subsequently reflect the 121 patients whose families participated in the screening assessment; the 4 patients whose families declined are treated separately.
The sample of 121 included 64 boys and 57 girls, aged 1 to 17 years (mean, 8.8; SD, 4.2 years). More than half (58.7%) were white/Caucasian, but minority groups were also well represented: 19.0% were black/African American, 18.2% were Latino, and 4.1% were of Asian or Arabic ethnicity. Most patients (91.7%) were English speaking; the primary language in seven families (5.8%) was Spanish; and three families (2.5%) spoke Urdu or Arabic. For non-English-speaking families, the interview was completed by a psychology trainee fluent in Spanish or with the assistance of a hospital translator.
Twenty-seven patients (22.3%) lived in single-parent households. Insurance status was used as a proxy for socioeconomic status (SES). Eleven of the 121 families (9%) had no insurance, 33 (27.2%) had Medicaid, and 77 (63.6%) had private insurance. Mean HbA1c for our sample at the time of data abstraction was 8.1% (SD, 1.4%).
Screening interview
A semistructured screening interview was developed to assess psychosocial factors known to put youth with type 1 diabetes at risk for poor health-related and psychologic outcomes. Following the approach delineated by Kazak et al. (12), we reviewed the research literature on early risk factors for nonadherence (1) and used other recent reviews (5) to help identify risk factors for psychologic maladjustment in response to the illness.
This literature was used to develop two semistructured interviews, one for parents of children aged 0 to 4 years and the other for parents of children aged 5 years and older. Both assessments examined risk factors in the following areas: sociodemographic and environmental factors (e.g., family structure, race/ethnicity, SES), family factors (e.g., family conflict, cohesion, and communication skills), child history of behavioral or emotional concerns, child history of developmental, neurocognitive, or learning concerns; adjustment to diagnosis (child and caregiver), and diabetes-specific concerns (e.g., needle phobia).
Screening procedure
Interviewers were trained to ask scripted questions that could be explained or reworded as needed, although changes were generally kept to a minimum. The interview was designed so that questions did not have to be asked in a particular order, allowing the interviewer to embed questions in a more conversational framework. All participants were seen for the screening in a private room during their initial inpatient hospital admission, within 3 days of the diabetes diagnosis. At the start of the screening, the psychologist introduced himself or herself and a trainee as pediatric psychologists and behavioral health experts who are part of the diabetes team. Rights and limits of confidentiality were reviewed with the family, and written informed consent (and assent where appropriate) was obtained for the clinical visit, as was permission to release information to the medical team for continuity of care.
The trainee then completed the screening interview with the caregiver (with the child present), while the psychologist completed a brief mental status exam with the child. The child did not answer any of the interview questions. The screening interview generally took between 20 and 30 min. Within 1 to 2 weeks after discharge, the family was sent a letter summarizing the findings and recommendations.
The initial pilot data (13) were used to develop triage algorithms using risk factor counts to identify families most in need of follow-up (compared to ). Patients were considered for referral for psychology follow-up if they presented with six or more risk factors (i.e., >1 SD above the mean for the pilot sample), had a history of clinically significant mental health concerns, or if the caregiver requested follow-up. On the basis of these criteria, 25 of 121 children (20.6%) were referred for follow-up psychology services. Referred families were provided with a contact number in the follow-up letter and asked to contact the Psychology Service to schedule an appointment.
The total number of risk factors and each specific risk factor were both examined in our analyses. Sociodemographic and developmental risk factors were scored by their presence or absence. For example, if a caregiver was self-identified as a single parent, this was sufficient to score the risk factor as present. Family and behavioral risk factors, however, needed to meet a second criterion to be scored: a respondent who indicated the presence of behavioral risk was then directly asked to assess the current or expected affect of the factor on their child’s life. For example, if a caregiver indicated that their child had a history of behavior problems, they were asked whether this issue currently had a “significant impact” on the child’s life. Similarly, adjustment to diagnosis was screened by asking whether the child or any family members were “having a difficult time” with the diagnosis, and if so, whether this difficulty was having a “significant impact.”
Family functioning was assessed by asking caregivers to rate family conflict, communication, and closeness as average, above average (high), or below average (low); families were considered at risk if they endorsed high levels of conflict or low levels of communication or closeness between family members. Potential difficulties with diabetes management were screened by asking if the parent anticipated any difficulties with injections, blood glucose checks, or dietary changes. We did not inquire about more advanced aspects of management (e.g., carbohydrate counting) because many families were seen for screening before they had completed their diabetes education. When both parents were interviewed, a risk factor was scored if it was indicated by either parent.
Outcome measures
To assess service utilization (ED admissions, diabetes appointment-keeping, psychology follow-up), one of us (V.D.C.) examined the appointments listed in the electronic medical record for each patient during the study period. The full records were then examined for all patients who had one of the relevant visit types to ensure that the appointment or admission occurred after the diabetes diagnosis and discharge from the hospital, was diabetes-related (in the case of ED admissions), and was not a continuation of prior treatment (in the case of psychology follow-up). A subset of these records was reviewed by a second author (D.D.S.), and all discrepancies were resolved by further reference to the medical record.
Statistics
All analyses were conducted using the IBM SPSS Statistics 18 software package. α levels were set at 0.05.
RESULTS
During the 9-month study period, there were 161 admissions for new-onset type 1 diabetes. We approached 125 patients (77.6%) for screening. Of the 36 patients we did not approach, 21 (13.0%) were not referred to us, 13 (8.1%) were unable to be seen because of scheduling conflicts, and 2 (1.2%) were deferred because the patients needed to be seen by other mental health care providers for services unrelated to their admission for diabetes. Of the 125 families we approached, 4 (3.2%) declined to participate.
Feasibility—screenings completed
Screenings were therefore completed on 121 families, or 75.1% of the total admissions for type 1 diabetes. The interview was completed by 79 mothers (65.2%), 6 fathers (4.9%), 35 mother–father pairs (28.9%), and 1 other relative with parental permission (0.8%).
Acceptability
As noted, 121 of 125 families approached for the screening agreed to participate, indicating that the screening was acceptable to nearly all of the families (96.8%). Of the four families who declined, three were white, and one was of another ethnicity; all four patients were males. Two families had private insurance, one had Medicaid, and one had no insurance.
Parent satisfaction ratings for the new onset diabetes program were collected from an independent hospital survey commissioned by the Endocrine Service during a portion of the study period. A sample of 30 parents was randomly selected and interviewed by phone using a 15-question survey, with one question focused on behavioral health. Specifically, respondents were asked to “rate the effectiveness” of the behavioral health care teams, which included the Psychology Service. Nineteen parents (63.3%) rated the behavioral health service as “excellent,” seven (23.3%) rated it as “very good,” and four (13.3%) rated it as “good.” No one gave ratings of “fair” or “poor.” This resulted in a satisfaction percentage score (i.e., percent of the maximum possible average) of 90%, reflecting an average rating of 4.5 of 5 (very good to excellent).
Predictive validity for diabetes-related ED admissions
Four of 121 children in our cohort (3.3%; three boys) had diabetes-related ED admissions in the 9 months after diagnosis. Three of the four had been referred for psychology services after the screening, although none followed up within that time period. The children were 4 years old, 5 years old, and two were 11 years old at the time of admission. Two were Latino, one was African American, and one was white. All were from English-speaking families. Two had no insurance, and two had Medicaid; none had private insurance. An independent samples t test showed no significant difference in ED admissions between children with Medicaid and children with no insurance (t = 1.437, P = 0.160); therefore, for subsequent analyses these groups were considered together.
ED admissions were positively associated with insurance status (χ2 = 7.239, P = 0.007), single-parent household (χ2 = 6.541, P = 0.011), caregiver with less than a high school education (χ2 = 4.767, P = 0.029), parent-anticipated conflict over diabetes management (χ2 = 4.128, P = 0.042), and parent-reported history of child behavior problems (χ2 = 0.7.439, P = 0.006). There were no effects of age, sex, race/ethnicity, or limited English proficiency. There was also no correlation between emergency department admissions and the other outcome variables (missed diabetes clinic appointments; psychology follow-up).
A multinomial logistic regression was performed using the significant variables above to predict the likelihood of having a diabetes-related emergency department admission after diagnosis. A test of the full model versus a model with intercept only was statistically significant (χ2(6, 76) = 28.569, P < 0.001). This model had a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 100% for predicting ED admissions. Stepwise regressions were then computed to find the best fitting model. A model using only four variables (insurance status, single-parent family, caregiver education, anticipated conflict) improved sensitivity to 100% while maintaining specificity at 98.6%.
Clinic attendance
We examined missed diabetes-related outpatient appointments (education classes and scheduled clinic visits) as an early indicator of adherence behavior (1). We did not include cancelled appointments in our analyses because we assumed that cancellations were to be expected and indicated a reasonable level of involvement in diabetes care.
In the first 9 months after diagnosis, 78 of 121 families (64.5%) did not miss an appointment, 26 (21.5%) missed one appointment, and 17 (14.0%) missed two or more appointments. Missing one or more appointments was associated with race/ethnicity (χ2 = 13.331, P = 0.004), having Medicaid or no insurance (χ2 = 6.313, P = 0.012), and single-parent households (χ2 = 0.3.888, P = 0.049). There were no effects of age, sex, or parent education. The three significantly correlated variables were entered into a multinomial logistic regression analysis to predict families more likely to miss one or more appointments. The model was significant (χ2(5, 120) = 16.223, P = 0.006), with a sensitivity of 41.9% and a specificity of 85.7%.
Pairwise comparisons revealed that African American families were significantly more likely to miss diabetes follow-up appointments than white families (P < 0.001), and were also more likely to miss appointments than Latino families, although this trend was not significant (P = 0.078). Most African American families (65.2%) missed one or more appointments, compared with 40.9% of Latino families and 23.9% of white families. Multiple appointments were missed by 43.4% of African American families, compared with 13.6% of Latino families and 4.2% of white families. Race/ethnicity remained significantly associated with missed appointments when single-parent status and insurance were held constant (F = 2.9, P = 0.038), whereas neither single-parent status nor insurance was significant when holding race/ethnicity constant. In fact, a regression model using only race/ethnicity as a predictor of missed appointment had only moderately worse sensitivity (34.9%) and slightly better specificity (89.7%) than the full model.
Glycemic control
No associations were found between any of the predictor variables and HbA1c.
Psychology service utilization
Using the referral algorithm described in Research Design and Methods, 25 of 121 children (20.6%) were referred for follow-up psychology services, of which 13 (52%) were white, six (24%) were African American, five (20%) were Latino, and one (4%) was Arabic, which closely approximates our cohort’s demographics. Of the 25 children who were referred, only three (12%) followed up; as a result, there was only a nonsignificant trend between referral and follow-up (r = 0.166, P = 0.070). Three families who were not referred after the screening also sought psychology services at our institution. Of the six children (four girls, two boys) who did follow-up, three were Latino and three were white. No African American patients followed up for psychology services. Psychology follow-up was significantly associated with parent-reported history of child behavior problems (χ2 = 3.875, P = 0.049) and prior psychologic treatment (χ2 = 10.343, P = 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS
To our knowledge, this is the first published report of a standardized psychosocial screening for pediatric patients newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. We have documented that it is feasible to complete a relatively brief but comprehensive screening at diabetes diagnosis in a pediatric hospital setting. Of the 161 patients admitted for new-onset type 1 diabetes during the study period, we were able to complete screenings on 75.2%. Most of the patients who were not seen were missed due to correctable logistic factors, including not being notified of a patient’s admission or difficulties coordinating our visit with a time that the family was in the room.
Feasibility was enhanced by having the service staffed by predoctoral psychology trainees, which allowed us to provide good patient care in a relatively cost-effective manner while also contributing to the training of our students. Patients benefited from being seen by clinicians who were trained in clinical interviewing, could manage minor crises, and could provide brief on-the-spot counseling to families in greater distress. Appreciative comments from caregivers reinforced for us the value of this approach. The main limitation to relying on trainees is that this approach is only feasible at institutions with established training programs, although the screening could conceivably be implemented by other professionals with appropriate training (e.g., clinical social workers).
Our findings also indicated that the screening was highly acceptable to patients and their families. Fully 96.8% of the families we approached consented to participate. We were not able to identify any factors that discriminated families who declined from those who agreed to participate. Of note, none of the caregivers we interviewed were reluctant to answer questions about family history of mental health concerns, family stressors, their own adjustment to their child’s diagnosis, or their family’s general functioning. This argues against the concern raised by Cameron et al. (5) that assessment of caregiver and family functioning would not prove acceptable for many families. Caregiver satisfaction with the overall behavioral health service was quite high, with all 30 of the families surveyed rating the service as good to excellent.
A significant challenge to implementing the screening was the lack of a clear billing mechanism. We were able to work around this constraint through reliance on trainees and institutional support, but the longer-term feasibility of screening will depend on finding more stable ways to secure reimbursement for the service. Mental health procedure codes are not appropriate for screening because most patients would not meet criteria for a mental health diagnosis. Although we believe it would be appropriate to use a Health & Behavior assessment code (i.e., CPT 96150) given the predictive value of the screening from a medical health perspective (see below), Medicaid in our state does not cover these codes. However, it is possible that screenings in other states could be covered using these codes. Noll and Fischer (15) provide useful guidelines for advocating for the reimbursement of these codes.
In the long run, the strongest arguments for reimbursement of early screening will come from demonstrating its cost-effectiveness, which can best be accomplished by demonstrating the ability of psychosocial screening to identify patients at heightened risk for costly and avoidable complications. Our screening was able to identify factors that increased the likelihood that a child would have a diabetes-related ED admission, which can cost >$10,000 (16). In fact, a simple model using only insurance status, family structure, caregiver education level, and anticipated conflict over diabetes management had 100% sensitivity and 98.6% specificity for predicting who would or would not have an ED admission after diagnosis.
ED admissions were most likely among children living in single-parent households who had a reported history of prior behavior problems, with a nearly sixfold increase in probability of a subsequent admission after diagnosis. Preventive resources should focus on these high-risk families. For example, brief parent training in behavior management could potentially provide an empirically based and cost-effective way to reduce the likelihood of ED admissions for these children (17). Other interventions could focus on preventing conflict in families who anticipate conflict over diabetes management. Anderson et al. (18) showed that a low-cost, low-intensity psychology intervention to improve family teamwork was highly effective in preventing the typical diminishment of parent involvement seen in adolescence, helped insulate families from conflict, and resulted in improved adherence over time.
The screening was also able to identify patients at greater risk for missing diabetes clinic appointments, which is itself a risk factor for poor metabolic control (19). More than 33% of the families in our cohort missed at least one appointment within the first 9 months after diagnosis, indicating that this is a substantial problem, at least at our institution. Consistent with the literature, missed appointments were related to race/ethnicity, single-parent family status, and insurance, although race/ethnicity was by far the most important predictor. Most African American families (65%) missed one or more diabetes outpatient appointments, and 43% missed multiple appointments. In addition, no African American families followed up for recommended psychology services, despite participating in the screening and being referred for services at rates comparable to other racial/ethnic groups. Lack of follow-up among African American families appears to be part of a broader phenomenon, not just within our institution, but nationally (20). Further research is needed to help identify modifiable factors that contribute to poorer follow-up among African Americans. Reducing this gap in service utilization should be a primary goal of public health policy in the years to come.
There is now good evidence that psychologic interventions are effective in reducing nonadherent behaviors in children with chronic illness (21), but fostering follow-up for preventive services through psychology services for our cohort proved to be a general challenge. Although we were successful in identifying families who we believe could have benefited from preventive intervention—for example, three of the four children with subsequent ED admissions had been referred to psychology after the screening—very few referred families actually followed up. Poor follow-up for psychology services is not unique to our setting. For example, in an evaluation of a pediatric psychology consultation service at another large medical center, Rodrigue et al. (22) found that despite recommending follow-up for 83% of patients referred to their service, only 2% returned for outpatient psychology intervention after discharge.
Our poor follow-up rates occurred despite the high acceptability of the screening, which suggests that factors other than reticence to see a psychologist may have accounted for families not pursuing recommended care. The likeliest explanation is that the families at greatest risk are typically those with the fewest resources, which makes follow-up more difficult. This is often the “Catch-22” in prevention and intervention programs with a focus on adherence. We might also have attempted to provide a greater level of care than was needed (or perceived to be needed) by these families. For example, a “Care Ambassador”-type intervention (23,24) might have been more effective in getting the right level of care to families who did not perceive a great enough need to overcome practical barriers (such as expensive medical center parking) to follow up for appointments with our service. Finally, it is possible that families continued to associate psychology follow-up with traditional mental health interventions. Our findings did suggest that the families most likely to come for follow-up were those families with more traditional mental health concerns or previous experience with psychology services. It seems clear that for preventive health efforts through psychology to be successful, they will have to be packaged in a way that minimizes associations with mental health and instead highlights their focus on improving medical health, for example, through fostering better adherence (21).
We were only able to examine follow-up appointments with the Diabetes Clinic and the Psychology Service that occurred at our institution, and some families possibly sought services elsewhere. Our data should therefore be considered a conservative estimate of follow-up. Nonetheless, some of the relevant outpatient services provided through our hospital—including diabetes education classes and pediatric psychology services with specific expertise in diabetes—are unique to our area, making it less likely that families were obtaining these services elsewhere.
A strength of our study was the relatively large number of Latino families in our cohort, who comprised approximately 18% of our sample. As we have noted elsewhere (1), there are little published data on whether levels of risk are higher in Latino youth with type 1 diabetes. We found no significant differences between Latino and white participants on any of the outcome variables. There was also no effect of limited English proficiency, which we expected might have been a barrier for families trying to navigate our system; however, our hospital has substantial resources for monolingual Spanish-speaking families, which may have mitigated this risk.
A potential limitation of this study is the use of an interview format rather than validated questionnaires. Questionnaires have the benefit of greater reliability and portability to other sites. However, they also have significant drawbacks. Written questionnaires generally have lower completion rates than interviews, especially among higher-risk patients, many of whom have limited literacy or prefer a more personal, face-to-face approach (25) and who are therefore at risk for being disenfranchised from full participation in screening when written questionnaires are used. We therefore decided on an interview as the best way to maximize acceptability and participation in the clinical service, especially for more vulnerable patient groups.
Not all of the risk factors incorporated into our interview were related to subsequent diabetes outcomes. Our next step in designing an efficient, empirically supported screening is to refine the interview further, focusing on just those risk factors with demonstrated predictive validity. Given the short time frame so far investigated, there are important outcomes whose relationships to the screened variables remain unclear. For example, we did not find differences in glycemic control based on the results of the screening, probably because many of our patients were still in the honeymoon phase that typifies the first year after diagnosis. It will be important for future research to assess whether the screen is able to identify patients at risk for poor glycemic control later in the course of the illness.
Cameron et al. (5) recently argued that psychosocial screening should be given precedence over other routine complications screenings in diabetes care. Our article provides the first published demonstration that standardized screening of newly diagnosed patients is feasible, acceptable to families from very diverse backgrounds, and able to identify patients and families at heightened risk for early emerging nonadherent behavior and diabetes-related complications. The next step in developing an empirically supported approach to minimizing psychosocial risk in children with new-onset diabetes is to link screening to preventive intervention. We attempted to provide preventive intervention through our hospital’s Psychology Service, yet our small follow-up rates suggest that our approach to linking at-risk families (especially African American families) to preventive services is insufficient. It may be possible to improve follow-up for preventive intervention by creating programs that minimize practical barriers, highlight behavioral aspects of fostering medical health, and provide care at the level of perceived need. We believe that a program that integrates early psychosocial screening with targeted preventive intervention has substantial potential for improving the health of children and youth with type 1 diabetes.
Acknowledgments
No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.
D.S. researched data, wrote the manuscript, and edited the manuscript. V.D.C. researched data and reviewed and edited the manuscript. M.E.A. contributed to discussion, and reviewed and edited the manuscript. B.J.A. contributed to discussion and reviewed and edited the manuscript.
The authors thank their colleagues on the Texas Children's Hospital Diabetes Inpatient-Outpatient teams whose collaboration allowed for the successful integration of this psychosocial screening protocol into the inpatient diabetes service: Stacy Ahmed, LCSW; Donnett Bell, RN; Katherine Dawn Bunting, RD; Arisally Castillo, RN; Kelley Cerasulo, RN, CPNP; Lesley Chong, MA, CCLS; Misty Davis, RN, LD; M. Kylie DeLao, RN; Matt Girotto, MHA; Morey Haymond, MD; Rubina Heptulla, MD; Anh Mac, RN; Lori Malone, MBA, MA; Kimberly Mason, RN, CDE; Sara Montenegro, MBA; Shelly Nalbone, RN; Yvette Ochoa, RN; Gail Parazynski, RN; Christina Rodriguez, RN; Jennifer Smith; Rona Sonabend, MD; Suzanne Tadlock, RN, CDE; Tangula Taylor, RN; Charlexia Taylor-McQueen, RN, CDE; Renee Thompson, MA; and Rhonda Wolfe, RN.
- Received August 11, 2010.
- Accepted October 22, 2010.
- © 2011 by the American Diabetes Association.
Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ for details. | https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/34/2/326?ijkey=afc518893720baa0a94042daaaf891792bae577d&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha |
Ms. Yang Tsui-Hua is a famous Taiwanese painter who uses the pseudonym Beitsui. Born in Kinmen County, an offshore island of Taiwan 100 miles (161 kilometers) east of Mainland China across the Taiwan Strait, Ms. Yang is talented in painting/drawing.
When she was a first grader in junior high, she won the Honorable Mention in an All-Taiwan Watercolor Competition, and was the first prize winner of the Kinmen County Outdoor Sketching Competition the following year. She started to learn oil painting while studying in senior high, and won the first prize in the school’s oil painting competition soon after that.
Motivated by the honor of winning awards, she became confident in walking down the path of painting in her life. She thus entered the National Taiwan University of Arts afterward.
Over the past decades, in addition to holding solo art exhibitions, Yang Tsui-Hua has won some awards in international painting competitions. Among others, she won the Second Runner-up at the NTDTV Second Chinese International Figure Painting Competition in 2009, and the Honorable Mention at the Competition in 2011.
Yang Tsui-Hua held a solo art exhibition titled “The Millennium Promise” in Taipei City in March this year. She shared with visitors happily that her inspirations of artistic creation are from her pure artistic thinking and personal cultivation.
She noted that she especially likes to paint flowers, including lotus flowers, camellia flowers, and peony flowers. She explained that probably it has something to do with her first name “Tsui-Hua,” as “Hua” is a homophone for “flower” in the Chinese language. Her sincere sharing often deeply touches those who attend her painting exhibitions.
All of Yang Tsui-Hua’s flower paintings are truly magnificent and beautiful. She explained that the flowers in her paintings have crystal texture that can seemingly make people feel a pure aura. But she stressed that flowers’ temperament can be affected by people’s attitude.
She likes to paint in the realistic manner by using traditional painting techniques, so as to let viewers fully appreciate the inner beauty of her works. In this regard, she said that it is essential to excel in fundamental skills so that the form and the spirit of our works can be fully demonstrated, and it is also a symbol of respect for the works we created.
Follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our weekly email. | http://www.visiontimes.com/2016/07/26/a-taiwanese-artist-and-her-famous-flower-paintings.html |
When the landing moment comes, a series of commands from SpaceIL and IAI's control room in the central Israeli city of Yehud, will activate the spacecraft's sensors, after which its engine will run as it makes its way to the landing site.
A packed audience including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had gathered at mission control to watch the event, which was broadcast live on national television and YouTube.
The Beresheet spacecraft lost communication with ground control as it was making its final descent.
Beresheet marks the first time the Israelis have attempted to land a craft on the surface of the Moon.
Beresheet's landing would have made Israel the fourth country to put a robotic probe on the lunar surface, after Russian Federation, the United States and China. "We have also made Israel the seventh country ever to orbit the moon and, hopefully by tonight, the fourth country to actually land on the moon".
The country's main airport has included an impending flight to the moon in the landing schedule, which is expected to take place on the evening of 11 April.
Beresheet, which is the first word of the Hebrew Bible and means "in the beginning", was a combined effort between SpaceIL, a privately funded non-profit and Israel Aerospace Industries.
"Don't stop believing! We came close but unfortunately didn't succeed with the landing process", tweeted SpaceIL.
Three US soldiers killed in Afghanistan
The Taliban have held talks with a USA envoy in recent months while continuing to carry out daily attacks on Afghan forces. Abdullah said the Taliban could partake in elections and even compete for the presidency if they renounce violence.
The lander launched on the night of February 21, soaring into Earth orbit atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The four-legged spacecraft, which was approximately the size of a washing machine, had been circling the Earth in increasingly large orbits waiting to be captured by the moon's gravity.
The spacecraft was created to photograph its landing site and snap a selfie.
It was the first such crash for an uncrewed mission, but far from the last. "We're looking forward to future opportunities to explore the Moon together".
"For me it actually started on Facebook when a friend wrote to me saying he wanted to open the Israeli team to compete in the X Prize", Damari said.
Although the mission failed, it was relatively cheap compared with previous lunar-landing attempts.
"We are on the moon but not in the way we wanted", one unidentified staffer said. What we do know, however, is that the lander didn't land, it crashed. SpaceIL also planned to share its data with NASA and other space agencies and "hop" Beresheet to another location using its thrusters. By the time connectivity was restored, the spacecraft was moving too quickly to be fully braked before impacting the lunar surface.
"Putting a spacecraft on the Moon is a little bit of a kind of a weird project", Kahn said. | http://tododeportelatino.com/2019/04/12/israeli-spacecraft-fails-to-make-successful-moon-landing.html |
C2 Sports Limited was set up on Friday the 4th of November 2005. Their current partial address is Dublin, and the company status is Dissolved with the company closing on Saturday the 28th of August 2010. The company's current directors have been the director of 2 other Irish companies between them; 1 of which is now closed.
Company Vitals
- Company Name:C2 Sports Limited
- Time in Business:4 Years
- Company Number:410371
- Current Status:Dissolved (28/08/2010)
- May Trade As:C2 Sports Ltd
- Size:Micro Company
- Principal Activity:Retail Sale of Clothing
- Partial Address:Dublin
- RiskWatchFINAL MEETING OF MEMBERS AND CREDITORS
Took place on 06/05/2010
- RiskWatchMEETING OF CREDITORS
Took place on 09/02/2009
Documents
|Document||Pages||Effective||Received|
|E3 LIQUIDATORS A/C OF HIS ACTS AND DEALINGS||3||08/02/2010||28/05/2010|
|E5 LIQUIDATORS FINAL STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT||4||26/05/2010||28/05/2010|
|E7 FINAL WINDING UP MEETINGS OF MEM AND CREDITORS||1||26/05/2010||28/05/2010|
|B10 CHANGE IN DIRECTORS/SECRETARY||4||30/01/2008||18/03/2009|
|B2 CHANGE IN SITUATION OF REG OFFICE.||3||09/02/2009||11/02/2009|
|E2 NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF LIQUIDATOR||2||09/02/2009||10/02/2009|
|B1 ANNUAL RETURN||7||04/05/2008||28/05/2008|
|A1 APPLICATION TO REGISTER AS A NEW COMPANY,||13||04/11/2005||01/11/2005|
This company has 9 other documents. | https://www.businessbarometer.ie/Risk-Management/C2-Sports-Limited-410371 |
PRIORITY CLAIM
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
REFERENCE NUMERALS OF THE DRAWINGS
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
CONCLUSION
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 62/813,248, entitled Wig Storage System and having a filing date of Mar. 4, 2019, in its entirety.
The present disclosure relates to a wig storage system. More specifically, the present disclosure presents a portable, protective storage system for wigs through the use of a specialized wig clip hanger and a corresponding protective storage case and methods of use.
Wigs are a popular and relatively easy way for someone to change his/her look. Many people wear wigs out of necessity due to health reasons or simply due to aesthetic and vanity reasons. Wigs can be made from human hair or synthetic hair, and high quality wigs can last more than one year. High quality wigs made from human hair can cost thousands of dollars. Therefore, the care and storage of such wigs is important for getting the most use out of the wig.
Traditionally, wigs are stored in either a box, a collapsible hanger, or on a model head and placed on a shelf. None of these storage options will adequately protect the wig during travel. There are some wig travel storage boxes available with a dome insert and wig mounts, but such boxes and inserts do not hold the wig in place to prevent tangling. Wig travel boxes are also large and bulky which can be problematic when the person traveling has limited allotment for luggage.
Special care needs to be taken to preserve the delicate construction that makes the best wigs look the most natural. For example, the underside of a wig that rests along the scalp is called a cap. The cap can be constructed in various ways. Standard and cap-less wigs are priced lower and look the least natural. The cap will have strips of hair sewn with alternating openings to allow for breathability. The hair strips are delicate and can easily be damaged or tangled. Wigs with a monofilament construction are higher quality and contain a thin nylon mesh fabric base that blends in with the scalp's natural color. Hand knotted wigs provide a natural scalp and hair strand look around the cap edges and at the crown where hair is parted. Lace front wigs are the most sophisticated and delicate where each strand of hair is sewn to a nylon lace cap. The nylon blends around the hairline, providing the most natural look.
Due to the delicate caps that many wigs have, it is essential to store the wigs to protect the shape and prevent tangles, avoid dust and moisture, and to prevent the caps from ripping.
What is needed is the wig storage system of the disclosure. The wig storage system comprises a wig clip hanger and a storage case. The wig clip hanger has a hook end, a neck, a sigmoidal portion, a clip portion, a linear cross bar, and a flared end with a flat bottom portion. A wig is placed on the wig clip hanger by separating the linear cross bar up and away from the flat bottom portion, sliding the front of the wig onto the flat bottom portion and sliding the wig toward the back of the flared end so the linear cross bar will lie along the wig center part line. The hanger and wig are placed in a storage case having a hook hole, a window pocket, at least one interior pocket, and at least one interior loop for storage of accessories and brushes. The storage case is opened and closed with fasteners. An exterior loop can be looped over the hook protruding from the hook hole. The wig storage system securely holds delicate lace-front wigs.
1
. Wig clip hanger
3
. Flared end
6
. Edge
9
. Grip portion
12
. Hook end
15
. Clip end
18
. Hook
21
. Neck portion
24
. Clip portion
27
. Clip bottom portion
30
. Clip lip
33
. Clip flat bottom
36
. Tapered opening
39
. Back of the flared end
42
. Tapered end
43
. Linear cross bar
45
. Sigmoidal hanger portion
48
. Storage case
51
. Wig holding interior space
54
. Opening
57
. Fastener
60
. Hook hole
63
. Window pocket
66
. Interior pocket
67
. Interior surface
69
. Exterior surface
72
. Exterior loop
75
. Interior loop
The present disclosure provides generally for a wig storage system that allows a wig owner to protect each wig from the elements, tangles, and cap rips while preserving the quality and value of the wig. The wig storage system can be used for stationary storage or on-the-go storage. The wig storage system comprises a specially shaped wig clip hanger. The wig clip hanger can be used with a protective storage case. The present disclosure provides apparatuses and methods for protecting wigs, especially wigs with delicate caps such as lace caps.
In the following sections, detailed descriptions of examples and methods of the disclosure will be given. The description of both preferred and alternative examples are exemplary only, and it is understood that to those skilled in the art that variations, modifications, and alterations may be apparent. It is therefore to be understood that the examples do not limit the broadness of the aspects of the underlying disclosure as defined by the claims.
FIG. 1A
Referring now to , an exemplary wig clip hanger is shown. An exemplary wig clip hanger has a hook end and a clip end. The hook end at the top provides for a curvature structure to rest the hanger on a rod or other hook to allow hanging. The hook may swivel about a neck portion. The neck portion connects into the clip portion. The clip portion may have a short, wide sigmoid configuration with a tapered open end and a flared end. The clip portion has a bottom portion with a lip and flat bottom.
In some embodiments, the wig clip hanger may be constructed from a single, continuous piece or multiple pieces. The hook portion may or may not have swivel capabilities. In some embodiments, the wig clip hanger may be constructed from a rigid but somewhat flexible metal such as aluminum or tin. The weight of a wig should not cause the wig clip hanger to bend, and the wig hanger clip should have sufficient strength to hold a wig weighing at least 3 kilograms without bending or buckling. The bottom portion of the wig clip hanger should be substantially flat to provide a base for the wig cap interior to lay on and be supported.
In some embodiments, the wig clip hanger may have a polymer coating to either increase or decrease friction or both. For example, the tapered end may be coated with a texture to help frictionally secure the wig cap and prevent it from coming loose from the wig clip hanger. However, other parts such as at the bottom portion may have a slick coating to promote sliding the wig securely toward the back of the flared end.
The overall sigmoid shape of the wig clip hanger not only serves to hold the wig securely in place while minimizing damage but also serves to balance the weight, so the hanger and wig will be held substantially straight rather than lopsided. A wig clip hanger may have a height of about 7 inches, a width of about 8 inches, and a depth at the bottom portion from about 0.8 inches to about 1.7 inches. The hanger itself may have a diameter of approximately 0.12 inches.
FIG. 1B
Referring now to , an upside-down view of an exemplary wig clip hanger is shown. In the exemplary embodiment, the flared end and tapered end are evident. The tapered end is connected to the sigmoidal hanger portion whereby the hanger portion is either removably or fixedly attached to the base having a tapered end and flared end. A wig may be slid onto the base portion at the flared end which will provide support. The hanger portion may be attached to the base portion with an adhesive, by welding, or may be slid into an optional sheath portion on the bottom of the base portion. The base portion may be rigid or may be flexible. The base portion may have additional shapes or protrusions to aid in holding a wig in place and to minimize damage to the wig.
The flared end of the base may have beveled, straight, or rounded edges. The edges may be contoured to aid in keeping the wig in place and minimizing damage. In embodiments where the base is flexible or semi-rigid, the base may be bent or molded to a different shape or angle to accommodate wigs that may be more or less voluminous than average. The flared end may have at least one or a plurality of grip portions. The grip portions may be polygonal or linear. The grip portions along with the sigmoidal end of the hanger portion may serve to aid in wig storage or improve grip onto the underside or lace portion of the wig. Grip portions may be made out of rubber, plastic, sticky tack, or other polymer to help hold the wig in place. The grip portion may be an integrated or add-on material.
FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C
Referring now to , an exemplary protective storage case is shown with the respective front, interior, and rear views. An exemplary storage case may be soft bodied and have an opening that may be opened and closed with fasteners such as buttons, hook-and-loop closures, or zippers. The storage case is defined by an exterior surface and an interior surface revealed by the opening. The storage case is opened, and the wig secured to the wig clip hanger is placed inside the bag with the hook threaded through a hook hole or opening, so the hook is accessible outside of the storage case. The storage case may be hung on a hook, knob, or rod. The storage case may be constructed from canvas or a woven material such as cotton, polyester, combinations thereof, or any natural or synthetic fabric. The storage case may have an additional lining to protect the wig from moisture.
A storage case has an exemplary measurement of 28 inches long by 11 inches wide and is substantially flat when empty. On the front exterior, there is the opening which may run longitudinally and a window pocket. The window pocket could be left alone to provide a preview of the wig being stored inside or may be used to place an identification or wig detail card. Inside the exemplary storage case, there may be a plurality of interior pockets. The pockets may serve to hold wig accessories such as spray, tape, brush, comb, and other accessories such as scarves, hairpins, elastics, and shower caps. In some embodiments, a series or plurality of interior loops may be present for additional storage options.
FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C
Turning now to , exemplary usage method steps are illustrated to show the side views of the resting position, the opening position, and the tightening position, respectively. The system is specifically designed to securely yet gently hold delicate lace-front wigs in place. In order to secure a wig on a clip hanger, a person should grab the linear cross bar and sigmoidal parts of the hanger and press down on the bottom portion flat bottom. The goal is to pull the tapered opening at the clip end away from the flat bottom of the bottom portion to expand the wig holding space to accommodate a wig. The lip of the bottom portion is inserted at the front of the wig, and the wig is slid over and along the flat bottom portion of the clip portion and toward the back of the flared end. In preferred embodiments, the crown or top interior of the wig should cover the flared end flat bottom of the clip portion. The tapered end is lowered on top of the wig and should align to the top rear of the crown of the wig. The linear cross bar should align with a center part along the top of the wig. The flat bottom of the clip portion and the linear cross bar can be squeezed or compressed or further pulled apart to accommodate wigs of varying thickness and to promote grip and security of the wig.
A number of embodiments of the present disclosure have been described. While this specification contains many specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any disclosures or of what may be claimed but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments of the present disclosure.
Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in combination in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.
Thus, particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. In some cases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. Various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings that are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification illustrate several embodiments of the disclosure and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.
FIG. 1A
shows a side view of an exemplary wig clip hanger.
FIG. 1B
shows an upside-down or bottom perspective view of an exemplary wig clip hanger.
FIG. 2A
shows a front exterior view of an exemplary storage case.
FIG. 2B
shows a front interior view of an exemplary storage case.
FIG. 2C
shows a rear exterior view of an exemplary storage case.
FIG. 3A
shows a side view of a resting position of usage of an exemplary wig clip hanger.
FIG. 3B
shows a side view of an opening position of usage of an exemplary wig clip hanger.
FIG. 3C
shows a side view of a tightening position of usage of an exemplary wig clip hanger. | |
Design is a learning process where a fundamental role is definitely the willingness to listen, the curiosity to experiment, and an attitude of deep reflection. For IID it is a “Project of Culture” around the idea of design. The designer, in addition to creativity and research, should not miss these fundamental qualities, because the design is at the service of the Company and its changing needs.
The course is valid within the European Union.
The course is valid within the European Union.
Design is a discipline in the technical part, partly scientific, but also sociological and humanistic, that through the wise use of materials acts as a link between production and the market. Design therefore implies the awareness of the present and imagining the future.
Objectives
Design is the key to the company’s evolution. Identify and develop design solutions that facilitate and strengthen the capacity for action of man in relation to his reality and to the contexts in which he lives, make the company a competitive company in the market.
- The historical-critical concepts related to design culture and the evolution of the products;
- The ability to design taking into account the social and cultural variables in the contexts in which they are input into the designed products;
- Semiotic skills, aesthetic and sociological, and the use of tools and techniques related to the morphological representation, material and product function: the manual design to technical drawing and digital representation, from photography to three-dimensional production of study models and prototypes of the product;
- Scientific and technological skills related to materials and their chemical and physical characteristics, performance, structural and functional;
- skills related to processing technologies, industrial processes, the production constraints; the aspects of the economic culture in relation to the business environments and markets, together with the analysis of economic feasibility of the products and the elements that define the kind of coherence in driven innovation processes. | https://www.istitutoitalianodesign.it/en/industrial-design/ |
Oncologists generally agree that screening patients with colorectal cancer for Lynch syndrome is a good thing. Patients who turn out to have the hereditary syndrome can inform their first-degree relatives, who in turn can undergo genetic testing. Those who have the characteristic mutations can take preventive measures—frequent colonoscopies, for instance—that are known to be effective. The question is who to screen and how.
Now, a large study suggests that testing tumor samples of all patients with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer—a strategy known as universal tumor testing—is more sensitive and efficient than other strategies that rely on family history and clinical criteria. The study, a pooled analysis involving more than 10,000 patients, was led by Leticia Moreira, MD, of the University of Barcelona, Spain, and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.1
People with Lynch syndrome (also known as hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer, or HNPCC) have germline mutations in one or more mismatch repair (MMR) genes. The mutations cause microsatellite instability (MSI) and put carriers at high risk of colorectal cancer as well as endometrial and other cancers.
Design and Data
To determine which patients with colorectal cancer should undergo germline genetic testing for Lynch syndrome, the researchers compared universal tumor testing with three other approaches: (1) the Bethesda guidelines, which combine family history with clinical and pathologic criteria; (2) the Jerusalem recommendations, which call for testing of all patients with colorectal cancer under age 70; and (3) a “selective strategy,” which identified patients for testing who were age 70 and younger or fulfilled at least one of the criteria in the revised Bethesda guidelines.
Of the 10,206 patients in the analysis, 3.1% were mismatch repair gene mutation carriers. As expected, universal tumor testing was 100% sensitive at identifying patients with Lynch syndrome. The specificity of this approach was 93%.
Next most efficient was the selective strategy, with 95.1% sensitivity and 95.5% specificity, indicating fewer false-positives. The Bethesda guidelines had 87.8% sensitivity and 97.5% specificity, the Jerusalem recommendations, 85.4% sensitivity and 96.7% specificity.
Study Conclusions
These data indicate that “unless a universal screening approach, consisting of tumor [mismatch repair] testing in all patients with colorectal cancer, is performed, a clinically meaningful proportion of [mismatch repair] gene mutation carriers will remain undiagnosed,” the authors wrote.
They also noted that the selective strategy had almost the same diagnostic yield as universal tumor testing. It missed 4.9% of Lynch syndrome cases but resulted in 34.8% fewer patients requiring tumor mismatch repair testing and 28.6% fewer patients undergoing germline mutational analysis.
Where resources are limited, the selective strategy could be an alternative to universal tumor testing, the authors said, though “it remains to be demonstrated whether this strategy can be implemented consistently in a clinical setting.” They added that more cost-effectiveness research is needed on all the strategies evaluated in their study. ■
Disclosure: Dr. Moreira reported no potential conflicts of interest.
Reference
1. Moreira L, Balaguer F, Lindor N, et al: Identification of Lynch syndrome among patients with colorectal cancer. JAMA 308:1555-1565, 2012. | http://www.ascopost.com/issues/december-15-2012/finding-lynch-syndrome-among-patients-with-colorectal-cancer-routine-tumor-testing-looks-best/ |
- From:
- Public Health England
- Part of:
- NHS infectious diseases in pregnancy screening (IDPS) programme
- First published:
- 1 January 2015
- Last updated:
- 1 April 2016, see all updates
This document explains the NHS infectious diseases in pregnancy screening (IDPS) programme, its policies and services, and contact information.
Screening is the process of identifying people who appear healthy but may be at increased risk of a disease or condition.
Healthcare professionals will offer information, further tests and appropriate treatment to reduce any complications arising from the disease or condition.
Evidence and recommendations
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) assesses evidence and makes recommendations to the 4 UK governments about population screening programmes.
Conditions
The infectious diseases in pregnancy screening (IDPS) programme currently screens for:
Screening tests
Midwives and healthcare professionals should offer and recommend testing to all pregnant women as part of their antenatal care. The woman’s decision to accept or decline testing should be noted in the woman’s health records.
Healthcare professionals take a blood sample from a pregnant woman and send it for testing. The screening tests for you and your baby leaflet sets out the test process and purpose.
Providing prompt care
Each condition has a clear pathway to care. Healthcare professionals should be familiar with these pathways and the timeframe in which to refer patients.
Acute hepatitis B is a notifiable disease in England and Wales. The screening lab must report all confirmed positive results to Public Health England (PHE). Further information on the diagnosis and vaccination of babies born to infected mothers is available from PHE.
The IDPS programme is currently developing leaflets to help support discussions with women who screen positive.
More information on hepatitis B, syphilis and HIV as well as the the screening process is available on NHS Choices.
Training
Healthcare professionals can register for the IDPS learning module to update their knowledge about the screening process.
Commissioning
All commissioners and service providers should refer to the NHS IDPS service specification, and supporting documents to ensure a programme is set up correctly and is meeting the standards set by the national screening team.
The service specification sets out expected outcomes and funding provided for NHS England to commission public health services.
Data
Key performance indicators (KPIs) for the NHS screening programmes measure how the screening programmes are performing. The IDPS programme currently collect 2 KPIs.
The IDPS programme works collaboratively within PHE to support the national antenatal infection screening and monitoring (NAISM) team by sharing programme data.
The IDPS programme commissions the Medical Research Council (MRC) Centre of Epidemiology for Child Health at University College London Hospitals (UCLH) Institute of Child Health to collect data on screening programme outcomes. Current projects include:
The guidelines on handling patient information explain how to use and safeguard personal data in screening.
Contact the screening programme
NHS population screening helpdesk
Public Health England Zone B
Floor 2 Skipton House
80 London Road
London
SE1 6LH
Contact form http://legacy.screenin...
Helpdesk phone number 020 3682 0890
Please note the helpdesk is not for media enquiries.
The helpdesk and national programmes do not have access to screening results.
Parents: contact your midwife or health visitor for information on screening results.
Health professionals: contact the local screening team, screening laboratory or local child health records department.
Document information
Published: 1 January 2015
Updated: 1 April 2016
- Updated to reflect cessation of rubella susceptibility in pregnancy screening from 1 April 2016.
- First published. | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/infectious-diseases-in-pregnancy-screening-programme-overview |
Rarely does one major publication on the nature of consciousness include articles on all its aspects — philosophical, mystical and neurological. The four volume set listed below, Consciousness, edited by Max Velmans, is an essential reference work for the serious researcher into the nature of consciousness. As is evident in The table of contents , the volumes contain original articles that should be of interest whether one approaches consciousness neurologically or mystically. Max Velmans describes the work as follows:
As this collection of Major Works on Consciousness forms part of a Critical Concepts in Psychology series, this selection of 89 readings drawn from the entire field of Consciousness Studies focuses mainly on writings that have a direct psychological relevance. From the mid 19th Century onwards, psychology began to separate itself from philosophy, and the development of psychological thought about consciousness links intimately to the development of psychology itself. In order to trace this development, the four volumes of this collection follow a rough, historical sequence. Volume 1 deals with The Origins of Psychology and the Study of Consciousness. Volumes 2 and 3 deal with contemporary Cognitive and Neuropsychological Approaches to the Study of Consciousness. And Volume 4 focuses mainly on New Directions: Psychogenesis, Transformations of Consciousness and Non-reductive, Integrative Theories, which deal with issues likely to expand current, mainstream thought in potentially novel, and, sometimes, challenging directions. Ultimately, such novel investigations of and theories about consciousness lead us back us back to the same questions asked by the ancients about the relation of consciousness, mind and soul to the material world—issues that SMN members are likely to find of particular interest.
The printed, 4-Volume collection presents 89 major readings (or salient extracts from major readings) along with an introduction to the entire collection, the readings in each volume, and an extensive index. It also introduces 5 additional readings that were selected for inclusion, but could not be reprinted for the reason that reprint permissions were prohibitively expensive. There are also four freely available online Companions (one for each Volume). Although these Companions cannot substitute for the 2030 page printed collection, they do provide prepublication versions of the introductions along with a wealth of additional sources in the form of online links both to background readings and to the selected readings themselves, thereby providing a major resource for Consciousness Studies in themselves.
Velmans, M. (ed.) (2018) Consciousness (Critical Concepts in Psychology), Major Works Series (4 Volumes), Routledge, London, pp. 2030. | https://explore.scimednet.org/index.php/what-is-consciousness-max-velmans/ |
Introduction
============
A high frequency of *RAS* mutations has been found in various types of human cancers, including colon [@B1], [@B2], lung [@B3], and pancreatic [@B4] cancers, which are the most deadly malignancies worldwide [@B5]. The three *RAS* oncogenes, *NRAS*, *HRAS*, and *KRAS*, make up the most frequently mutated gene family in human cancers. *KRAS* mutations are the most prevalent (21%) among the three genes, while the other two mutations are 3% and 8% for *NRAS* and *HRAS*, respectively [@B6].
*KRAS* is predominantly mutated in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDACs), colorectal adenocarcinomas (CRCs), and lung adenocarcinomas (LACs) [@B7]. A majority of oncogenic *KRAS* mutations occur at codon 12, 13, and 61. G12 mutations are the most common variations (83%). It was reported that *KRAS* G12S is present in 1.84% of all colorectal adenocarcinoma patients, while only present in 0.5% of non-small cell lung carcinoma patients [@B8] (Table [1](#T1){ref-type="table"}).
Based on the well-validated role of mutation- induced activation of KRAS in driving cancer development and growth, comprehensive efforts have been undertaken to develop therapeutic strategies to halt mutant KRAS function for cancer treatment. Different strategies to inhibit KRAS signaling have been under investigation, including exploring direct KRAS-binding molecules, targeting proteins that facilitate KRAS membrane-associated or downstream signaling, searching for synthetic lethal interactors and novel ways of inhibiting *KRAS* gene expression, and harnessing the immune system [@B9]-[@B11]. While KRAS G12C inhibitors are now in early phase clinical trials with encouraging results (NCT03600883, NCT03785249) [@B12], [@B13], the past three decades of KRAS-targeted therapy had not shown a significant clinical benefit.
The numerous studies involving blocking the RAS pathway have demonstrated the necessity to pursue mutation-specific RAS-targeted strategies. Small molecules that selectively bind to the KRAS G12C mutant were reported but demonstrated limited effects *in vitro* [@B14]. Gray et al. also targeted KRAS-G12C with a GDP analogue which could covalently bind to the cysteine of the G12C mutant, but was limited by its ability to penetrate into cells [@B15]. Synthetic lethal interactors have also been screened in G13D [@B16], [@B17] or Q61K [@B18] mutant cell lines to specifically target cancer cells, but are still far out from clinical applications. Despite the various attempts to directly interfere with KRAS, this protein is still considered to be a challenging drug target due to the lack of a suitable binding pocket for small molecule inhibitors in its structure [@B10].
Development of antibodies and small molecule inhibitors is cost-ineffective and time consuming. Compared to the traditional antibody or inhibitor which is mainly used to alter one specific target, genome editing technology could be a better alternative to flexibly manipulate biological activity of designated molecules at the DNA level. The CRISPR/ SpCas9 system, developed from *Streptococcus pyogenes*, recognizes specific DNA sequences and is widely applied to the genome editing of mammalian cells [@B19], [@B20]. Taeyoung Koo et al. has used CRISPR/ Cas9 to target an epidermal growth factor receptor (*EGFR*) oncogene harboring a single-nucleotide missense mutation to enhance cancer cell killing [@B21]. Zhang-Hui Chen et al. targeted genomic rearrangements in tumor cells through insertion of a suicide gene by Cas9 [@B22]. Those findings have preliminarily proved the concept of specifically disrupting mutant tumors by using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. *KRAS* mutant alleles, including G12V, G12D, and G13D, have also been targeted by the CRISPR/Cas9 system to control tumor growth [@B23], [@B24]. In addition, the CRISPR-Cas13a system was engineered for the targeted therapy of *KRAS*-G12D and *KRAS*-G12C mutants in pancreatic cancer [@B25]. Although the above mentioned three *KRAS* mutant alleles have become established targets for the CRISPR/Cas9 genome- editing system, the G12S mutation, with rectal adenocarcinoma, colorectal adenocarcinoma, and colorectal carcinoma having greater prevalence than the other cancer types (Table [1](#T1){ref-type="table"}) [@B26], has not yet been targeted by the CRISPR system.
Here we demonstrate that the G12S mutant allele can be specifically targeted by the CRISPR/SpCas9 system, while leaving the wild-type *KRAS* allele unaffected. The delivery of SpCas9 and a guide RNA targeting the G12S mutant allele affected the *in vitro* proliferative ability and cell cycle of tumor cells, and the *in vivo* tumor growth. Besides the genome-editing CRISPR/Cas9 system, a transcription-regulating dCas9-KRAB system [@B27], which binds to the target sequence using dCas9 and downregulates mRNA transcription using the transcriptional repressor KRAB, was also applied to inhibit tumor growth. However, the dCas9-KRAB system was less effective than the CRISPR/Cas9 genome-editing system. Furthermore, the specific CRISPR targeting sites of 31555 oncogenic mutations in the top 20 cancer driver genes were screened using our high-throughput bioinformatics analysis, which allows for the application of this genome editing strategy to other cancer mutations. Our study is the first to target the *KRAS*-G12S mutant with the CRISPR/Cas9 and dCas9-KRAB systems for inhibition of tumor growth. The bioinformatic pipeline for analyzing the distribution of protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) sequences could also be a useful tool for the screening of edited targets. Combining next generation sequencing (NGS) with the genome-editing approach would be a promising strategy for targeting *KRAS* or other oncogenic mutations for personalized cancer treatment.
Results
=======
Cas9-sgG12S specifically targeted KRAS mutant alleles
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The*KRAS* gene is located in the short arm of human chromosome 12. There are four dominant mutant alleles at the G12 position in exon 1, G12S (c.34G\>A), G12V (c.35G\>T), G12C (c.34G\>T), and G12D (c.35G\>A) (Figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}A). These single nucleotide missense mutations are next to a PAM (TGG) sequence recognized by SpCas9. Since variations of DNA bases in the PAM or seed sequences can affect the recognition of SpCas9, five sgRNAs in total were designed to target the four *KRAS* mutant alleles, including G12S (sgG12S), G12V (sgG12V), G12C (sgG12C), and G12D (sgG12D), and the *KRAS*-WT gene (single guide G12 wild-type RNA, sgG12-WT).
We first examined the activity of these five sgRNAs in 293T cells (Figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}B), which harbors the wild-type *KRAS* gene. To confirm the editing efficiency of sgG12-WT, and the specificity of sgG12- Mu (mutant), we transfected plasmids encoding spCas9 and different sgRNAs (Supplementary [Figure S1](#SM0){ref-type="supplementary-material"}A) into 293T cells separately. We found that the sgG12-WT disrupted *KRAS*-WT effectively with an efficiency of 66% by a T7E1 assay, while the editing efficiency of sgG12S, sgG12V, sgG12C, and sgG12D in *KRAS*-WT were 3%, 12%, 2%, and 15%, respectively (Figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}B). Thus, sgG12S and sgG12C were more specific with much lower off-target effects on wild-type *KRAS*. Next, we confirmed the editing efficiency of sgG12S in A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells harboring the *KRAS* G12S mutant allele. H2228, another lung adenocarcinoma cell line carrying no G12S mutant allele, was utilized as a negative control. A549 and H2228 cells were infected by lentivirus containing spCas9-sgG12S or spCas9-sgG12-WT and a non-targeting control virus (Figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}C), respectively. We found that the spCas9-sgG12S was able to edit the *KRAS* G12S mutant allele in A549 cells with a high efficiency of 77%, but there was limited or no editing efficiency in the wild-type *KRAS* allele in H2228 cells (Figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}D). On the other hand, sgG12-WT was able to edit *KRAS* in A549 and H2228 cells with an editing efficiency of 40% and 80%, respectively, indicating that the sgG12-WT non-specifically bound to the *KRAS* G12S sites with a high mismatch tolerance. To further confirm that the sgG12S specifically edited the *KRAS* G12S mutant allele, but not the wild-type allele, the *KRAS* gene in puromycin-selected A549 and H2228 cells was sequenced 2-3 days post infection (Figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}E). Next generation sequencing (NGS) showed that indels occurred in the *KRAS* G12S allele edited by spCas9-sgG12S (Figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}F). Among all the generated mutations, insertions (61.4%) and deletions (19.8%) occupied most of the mutations, rather than substitutions (17.6%) and combinations (1.2%, ≥2 types of edition). In addition, 1 bp insertions (I1, 52%) occurred more frequently than other types, eg. I2, S2, et al. (Figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}G). The mutated positions were analyzed to further explore where the mutations occurred, and most mutations (26%) occurred at the N of the NGG PAM sequence. Most mutations were changed by 1 bp (63.9%), followed by a 2 bp change (16.6%). Overall, based on bioinformatic analysis, most mutations were less than a 10 bp change at the *KRAS* G12S locus (Figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}H). To summarize, *KRAS* in A549 was destroyed around the PAM (TGG) sequence, while H2228 was not affected, further confirming the success of our spCas9-sgG12S system in efficient and specific targeting of the *KRAS* G12S allele (Figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}F).
Genome editing of the KRAS G12S mutant allele inhibited the proliferation and cell cycle of tumor cell lines *in vitro*
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To investigate whether targeting and disruption of the *KRAS* mutant allele by sgG12S could inhibit the proliferation of tumor cells, the cell numbers of A549 and H2228 cells were examined after gene editing (Figure [2](#F2){ref-type="fig"}A). The proliferation of sgG12S-targeted A549 cells was dramatically inhibited and almost retarded compared to the non-targeting control and untreated groups. Meanwhile, the targeting of sgG12S had no effect on the proliferation of H2228 cells. In addition, a cell colony formation assay (CFA) (Figure [2](#F2){ref-type="fig"}B) and CCK-8 cell proliferation assay (Figure [2](#F2){ref-type="fig"}C) confirmed the growth inhibition by Cas9- sgG12S targeting. As demonstrated by cell counting (Figure [2](#F2){ref-type="fig"}A), the proliferation of A549 cells was significantly suppressed, shown in the CFA and CCK-8 assays. In contrast, the targeting of sgG12S had a lesser effect on the proliferation of H2228 cells carrying the wild-type *KRAS* allele. To exclude the possibility that random DNA breaks induced by Cas9, rather than specific disruption of mutant *KRAS* allele, are contributing to the specific inhibition of tumor cell proliferation, a CCK-8 cell proliferation assay was performed after treatments with Cas9 and control sgRNAs targeting *AAVS1* (the adeno-associated virus integration site 1) and *TTN* genes. The *AAVS1* locus in the first intron of the *PPP1R12C* gene is one of the most commonly used genomic safe harbor (GSH) sites in human cell research [@B28], and TITIN encoded by *TTN* gene is one of the myofibrillar proteins thought to play an important role in the assembly and function of muscle sarcomeres [@B29]. Disruption of both genes had no effects on tumor cell proliferation compared to untreated and LentiCas9-vector groups in both A549 and H2228 cells (Supplementary [Figure S2](#SM0){ref-type="supplementary-material"}A-S2C), illustrating the specific inhibition of A549 tumor cell proliferation by sgG12S targeting.
We further assessed the cell cycle of sgG12S- targeted A549 and H2228 cells (Figure [2](#F2){ref-type="fig"}D). The Cas9-sgG12S treated A549 cells were mostly arrested at S phase, and the ratio of the cell population at G2/M phase was downregulated correspondingly. There was no effect on the cell cycle of sgG12S-treated H2228 cells. Next, we examined the activities of the KRAS downstream signaling pathways, including the expression and activation of AKT and ERK (Figure [2](#F2){ref-type="fig"}E). The treatment of Cas9-sgG12S in A549 tumor cells dramatically suppressed the expression of the KRAS (G12S) protein, while the expression of wild- type KRAS protein in H2228 cells were not affected. In addition, the levels of phosphorylated-AKT (S473) and phosphorylated-ERK (T202/Y204) proteins were significantly downregulated in A549 cells edited with SpCas9-sgG12S, while another type of phosphorylated-ERK (T183/Y185) protein was not affected. As expected, AKT and ERK signaling pathways in H2228 cells were not affected by SpCas9-sgG12S. Collectively, our results suggested that the mutant allele-specific targeting by sgG12S can effectively inhibit tumor cell proliferation and arrest the cycle of tumor cells at S phase, likely through downregulation of the AKT and ERK signaling pathways.
Transcription-repressing system dCas9-KRAB inhibited the proliferation of tumor cell lines *in vitro*
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We next explored whether there were off-target effects from the mutant allele-specific nuclease outside of the *KRAS* gene region by using targeted deep sequencing at 14 potential off-target sites (Supplementary [Table S1](#SM0){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). The potential off-target sites, which differ from the on-target site by up to a 4 nt-mismatch in the human genome, were identified by Feng Zhang lab\'s CAS-OFFinder algorithm (<http://www.rgenome.net/cas-offinder/>). No indel was detected at these sites in Cas9-sgG12S treated A549 and H2228 tumor cells (Figure [3](#F3){ref-type="fig"}A, 3B).
Genome-editing systems have the potential of causing undesirable double stranded breaks (DSB) in the genome (Figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}B, 1D). In order to avoid the undesired disruption of the genome, we constructed a non-cutting transcription-regulating system, dCas9-KRAB system (Figure [3](#F3){ref-type="fig"}C), where KRAB is a transcriptional repressor to downregulate mRNA expression when binding to the regulatory elements of certain genes [@B25], [@B26]. To test whether sgG12S linked to dCas9-KRAB may repress KRAS expression specifically in the G12S mutant allele, A549 and H2228 cells were infected by dCas9-KRAB-sgG12S and non-targeting control lentivirus. As expected, the transcription of the *KRAS* G12S mutant allele in dCas9-KRAB-sgG12S treated A549 cells was dramatically downregulated compared to the non-targeting control or untreated cells (Figure [3](#F3){ref-type="fig"}D), while in H2228 cells, the transcription of wild-type *KRAS* was not affected in all three groups. In addition, the effect on tumor cell growth was also investigated by a CCK-8 assay (Figure [3](#F3){ref-type="fig"}E). Consistently, the proliferation of dCas9-KRAB-sgG12S treated A549 cells was inhibited significantly in comparison to the controls, while no significant effect on H2228 tumor cell growth was observed. These results confirmed the *in vitro* specificity of the dCas9-KRAB system.
Targeting KRAS-G12S mutant suppressed tumor growth in tumor-bearing mice
------------------------------------------------------------------------
To further explore the effects of *KRAS*-sgG12S targeting *in vivo*, AdV-Cas9-sgG12S and non-targeting control adenovirus were constructed and packaged (Supplementary [Figure S3](#SM0){ref-type="supplementary-material"}A). Lentivirus has a relatively limited use for *in vitro* or *ex vivo* gene delivery due to their restricted insertional capacities and relatively low titers [@B29]. Thus, the *in vivo* gene delivery experiments were conducted by adenoviral infection. The editing efficiency of AdVs was firstly confirmed in A549 and H2228 cells by a T7E1 assay (Supplementary [Figure S3](#SM0){ref-type="supplementary-material"}B) and sanger sequencing (Supplementary [Figure S3](#SM0){ref-type="supplementary-material"}C). As expected, AdV-Cas9-sgG12S specifically edited the *KRAS* G12S mutant allele in A549 cells, but not in H2228 cells harboring the wild-type *KRAS* gene. In addition, AdV-Cas9-sgG12S inhibited the proliferation of A549, but not H2228 tumor cells *in vitro* (Supplementary [Figure S3](#SM0){ref-type="supplementary-material"}D).
Next, we examined the effect of sgG12S editing in cell-derived xenograft models of A549 and H2228 cells (Figure [4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}A-D). Local injections of AdV-Cas9-sgG12S significantly inhibited tumor growth, resulting in a 46% reduction in tumor volume (P\<0.01) in A549-bearing mice (Figure [4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}A). In contrast, tumor volumes of control groups treated with either PBS or AdV-Cas9 vector grew over time, reaching an average size of more than 2000 mm^3^ 28 days after treatment (Figure [4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}A). As expected, no significant difference in tumor volume was seen in AdV-Cas9-sgG12S, AdV-Cas9 vector, and PBS-treated mice implanted with H2228 cells containing the wild-type *KRAS* allele (Figure [4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}B). This confirmed the high specificity of *KRAS* G12S targeting *in vivo*. The tumor weight also significantly decreased by 30% in animals treated with AdV-Cas9-sgG12S, compared to control groups treated with either AdV-Cas9 vector or PBS (P\<0.05) in A549 bearing mice (Figure [4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}C). Consistent with tumor volume, there was no difference in tumor weight of the H2228-implanted groups (Figure [4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}D).
To examine the efficacy of repressing G12S transcription by dCas9-KRAB system *in vivo*, NSG mice were xenografted with A549 and H2228 cells, and treated with dCas9-KRAB-sgG12S, non-targeting virus, or PBS once the tumor size reached a volume of 100-200 mm^3^ (Figure [4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}E-H). The mice xenografted with A549 cells and treated with dCas9-KRAB-sgG12S showed a 15.6% (P\<0.05) decrease in tumor volume compared to a control (Figure [4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}E), and exhibited no notable metastasis or mortality during the observation period of 28 days. In contrast, the mice xenografted with H2228 cells treated with dCas9-KRAB-sgG12S did not show any inhibition of tumor growth and experienced a quick increase in tumor volume (Figure [4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}F). A similar rate of increase in tumor size was also observed in mice treated with the non-targeting vector or PBS. Tumor weights were measured in mice treated with different viral constructs (Figure [4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}G, 4H). A significant decrease in tumor weight (28.2%, P\<0.05) was observed in dCas9-KRAB-sgG12S treated mice grafted with A549 cells (Figure [4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}G). In contrast, the H2228-bearing mice injected with either dCas9- KRAB-sgG12S, non-targeting vector or PBS treatment (Figure [4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}H) had little change in tumor weight.
Throughout the mouse studies of the gene- editing and transcription-repressing systems, no sign of weight loss (Supplementary [Figure S4](#SM0){ref-type="supplementary-material"}A-S4D) was observed. Taken together, these *in vivo* data suggested that gene targeting of mutant *KRAS* by SpCas9- sgG12S and dCas9-KRAB-sgG12S was effective and only restricted to the tumors with the *KRAS* mutations, with no obvious effects on the other cell types. In addition, the CRISPR/Cas9 genome- editing system targeting the mutant *KRAS* was more effective than the dCas9-KRAB mRNA-regulating system.
Potential off-target effects are an issue in CRISPR/Cas9 editing approaches. To analyze the off-target activity of CRISPR/Cas9 system, genomic DNA was isolated from mice treated with AdV-Cas9 and AdV-Cas9-sgG12S. Unintended mutations after CRISPR/Cas9 editing in mice AdV-Cas9-sgG12S \#1, \#2, and \#3 were compared with mice AdV-Cas9 by whole exome sequencing (WES) (Table [2](#T2){ref-type="table"}). There were some unique variants (Supplementary [Figure S4](#SM0){ref-type="supplementary-material"}E) and indels (Supplementary [Figure S4](#SM0){ref-type="supplementary-material"}F) in the control mice treated with AdV-Cas9, which suggests that the coverage of exome sequencing was not 100%. Likewise, 1, 4, and 2 indels were found only in mice AdV-Cas9-sgG12S \#1, \#2 and \#3, respectively. In addition, a search in WES data was conducted for potential off-target sites for up to 4-nucleotide mismatches with on-target sites (Figure [3](#F3){ref-type="fig"}A). No off-target indels were identified in the comparison of the potential off-target sites with the indel locations identified by WES (Table [2](#T2){ref-type="table"}).
Indels in mice treated with AdV-Cas9-sgG12S after background exclusion were listed in Table [3](#T3){ref-type="table"}. *MED15*, a general transcriptional cofactor of the mediator complex involved in RNA polymerase II dependent transcription, was found to be edited in introns in all three tumor samples. In addition, *LOC105376360*, *JPH1,* and two other non-annotated gene loci were commonly found to be edited in mice AdV-Cas9-sgG12S \#2 and \#3. All indels were found with low abundance in the introns, except one insert that was found in the exon of *LOC286177* gene (Table [3](#T3){ref-type="table"}). *LOC286177* is an RNA gene and affiliated with the lncRNA class. Considering there were no disorders found for the *LOC286177* gene, this genome editing method seems to be safe for manipulating genes *in vivo*.
Disruption of KRAS-G12S significantly inhibited the protein expression of the mutant KRAS in tumor-bearing mice
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The antitumor efficacy of oncogenic mutant-specific gene editing and mRNA-regulating systems were further investigated by western blot and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining in the xenograft tumor tissues that had disrupted *KRAS*-G12S mutant alleles (Figure [5](#F5){ref-type="fig"}). A western blot (WB) assay revealed markedly reduced expression levels of KRAS and KRAS G12S mutant proteins in the tumor tissues of A549 cells-engrafted mice edited by AdV-Cas9-sgG12S, but not in the AdV-Cas9 treated control group. In the tumor tissues of H2228 cells-engrafted mice, the expression level of wild-type KRAS protein was not significantly changed in both the AdV-Cas9 or AdV-Cas9-sgG12S treated groups (Figure [5](#F5){ref-type="fig"}A). Consistently, dCas9-KRAB-sgG12S, but not LentiCas9-vector, treated tumor tissues exhibited markedly lower levels of both total and mutant KRAS proteins in A549-engrafted mice (Figure [5](#F5){ref-type="fig"}B). Importantly, tumor tissues from A549-engrafted mice treated with AdV-Cas9-sgG12S and dCas9-KRAB-sgG12S both showed significant reduction of KRAS G12S protein through in situ IHC staining, but this same reduction was not observed in the control groups (Figure [5](#F5){ref-type="fig"}C, 5D). This implied that the CRISPR/Cas9 system can effectively target and reduce KRAS mutant protein expression. Taken together, the data indicated that the application of both the gene-cutting CRISPR/Cas9 and mRNA-regulating dCas9-KRAB systems could lead to KRAS G12S protein downregulation *in vivo* and result in a strong anti-tumor efficacy.
Extending the strategy of targeting a tumor-specific mutant locus with a gene editing system
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*The* Cas9-sgG12S editing system could be a highly specific strategy for targeting cancer driver gene mutations, with almost no difference in off-target effects between sgG12S and control groups (Figure [3](#F3){ref-type="fig"}A, 3B). Moreover, Cas9-sgG12S targeting specifically and efficiently inhibited tumor growth, both *in vitro* and *in vivo*. Thus, this approach holds great potential in treating *KRAS* G12S mutation-driven cancers. In order to extend this strategy to different DNA nucleases for targeting other oncogenic mutations, driver gene mutations were collected from the Cosmic database and the top 20 driver genes were selected to continue our proof-of-concept study (Supplementary [Figure S5](#SM0){ref-type="supplementary-material"}A). These high-frequency driver gene mutations, including *JAK2*, *TP53*, *KRAS*, *EGFR*, etc., are widely found in human malignancies [@B30] (Supplementary [Figure S5](#SM0){ref-type="supplementary-material"}B). Among these mutations, most of them are missense mutations, leading to single nucleotide variations (SNV) (Figure [6](#F6){ref-type="fig"}A). SNV occupies 74% of the overall mutations, while the percentage of deletions, insertions, and indels (insert and deletion) was 16%, 7%, and 3%, respectively.
There are a large number of mutations in each cancer driver gene, and it is important to identify whether these oncogenic mutations could be edited and which DNA nucleases could be applied for editing. To identify the mutations that could be specifically targeted by genome-editing nucleases including SpCas9, SaCas9, and LbCpf1 [@B31], [@B32], we analyzed the SNV mutations to examine whether their flanking sequences fit the PAM or seed sequence requirements (Supplementary [Figure S6](#SM0){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). There was a length limitation of the seed sequence, and the seed sequence length of different nucleases differed (Figure [6](#F6){ref-type="fig"}B). In order to guarantee the targeting specificity, the lower limitation of the seed sequence length was used as the threshold in our analysis (Supplementary [Figure S6](#SM0){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). Among the 31555 SNV mutations of the 20 genes, about half of them can be edited by the above mentioned three CRISPR nucleases (Figure [6](#F6){ref-type="fig"}C). PAM sequences lying in the sense (S), the anti-sense (AS), or both sense and anti-sense (S+AS) sequences were counted. The genes carrying over 50% mutations that were able to be edited by either of the three CRISPR nucleases occupy half of the 20 genes, including *JAK2*, *EGFR*, *BRAF*, *IDH1*, *TERT*, *PIK3CA*, *CTNNB1*, *MUC16*, *LRP1B*, and *DNMT3A* (Figure [6](#F6){ref-type="fig"}D). The range of the SNV mutations that can be edited in each gene varies between 20.7% to 70.7%, and the highest predicted editing frequency was in the *TERT* gene by SpCas9. The distribution of the LbCpf1 PAM sequence was less frequent than that of SpCas9 and SaCas9. Altogether, specific targeting of cancer driver mutations by CRISPR nucleases has potential in treating oncogenic mutation-driven cancers, especially in the types of cancers that don\'t currently have effective therapies. Through bioinformatic analysis of 31555 SNV mutations, a reference list was generated to target these oncogenic mutations. The high-throughput bioinformatic pipeline could be used to analyze the distribution of PAM sequences and to estimate the target potential of other candidate genes.
Discussion
==========
The CRISPR/Cas9 genome-editing system is a powerful technique which can specifically target genomes or their mutated sequences. In our study, CRISPR/Cas9 was demonstrated to target the *KRAS* mutant allele, but not the wild-type allele. Other cancer-driven mutations, including the *EGFR* mutation (L858R), genomic rearrangements (*TMEM135-CCDC67* and *MAN2A1-FER* fusions), and the *BRAF* (V600E) driver mutation, have also been disrupted using CRISPR systems to control tumor growth [@B20], [@B21], [@B33]. Unlike cancers driven by *KRAS* mutations, many EGFR inhibitors have been used in the treatment for lung cancers, including Erlotinib (Tarceva), Afatinib (Gilotrif), Gefitinib (Iressa), Osimertinib (Tagrisso), Dacomitinib (Vizimpro), and Necitumumab (Portrazza). There are also several clinical drugs that target cells with *BRAF* mutations, including Dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and Trametinib (Mekinist). Therefore, it is vital a system for targeting *KRAS* mutant alleles is developed, and may hold great promise for future cancer treatments.
In comparison to the traditional treatments using inhibitors for the KRAS pathway, the CRISPR/Cas9 system has extended the previous targeting from the protein level to the genomic DNA level, and this strategy can be widely and easily applied to other oncogenic mutations. The development of traditional inhibitors, including antibodies and small molecules, is complicated and the whole process is generally designed for a single target. For example, though the KRAS G12C inhibitors AMG 510, discovered by Amgen (NCT03600883), and MRTX849, invented by Mirati (NCT03785249), demonstrated promising clinical outcomes on their specific target, the G12C mutant, the two G12C inhibitors did not show any effect on other KRAS mutant alleles. Retargeting of different KRAS mutations at the protein level would be required to implement a new design, which is both time and cost-consuming. However, the CRISPR system is capable of targeting different mutant alleles specifically and precisely at the DNA level and can be used to target other oncogenic mutations by simply changing the sgRNA sequences. Combined with NGS, individual patients can be specifically treated with CRISPR/SpCas9 targeting their unique mutations. This editing of oncogenic mutations could be combined with inhibitors of KRAS or other oncogenic mutations, or immunotherapy, to further improve the anti-tumor efficacy.
In previous studies, the CRISPR/Cas9 system was harnessed to rectify disease-associated genetic defects [@B34]-[@B36] and deactivate disease-causing wild-type genes [@B37]-[@B39]. However, the targeting was limited in specificity, and could not discriminate between the wild-type oncogenes and mutant alleles. Our study showed that a single-nucleotide mutation of a cancer driver gene can be selectively disrupted *in vitro* and *in vivo* by using sgRNAs, which can distinguish the mutant allele from the wild-type one. Among the four sgRNAs targeting mutations at the G12 locus, sgG12S showed the highest specificity with its ability to discriminate between the difference in a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (Figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}B, D, E). To our best knowledge, this is the first report to demonstrate that the *KRAS* G12S mutant allele could be specifically targeted, thereby inhibiting tumor growth *in vivo*. Though Kim W. et al. [@B22] has targeted G12V, G12D, and G13D mutant alleles with lentiviral and adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors, the mechanisms related to the tumor inhibition by targeting *KRAS* mutant alleles was not illustrated in their study. Zhao X. et al. [@B25] has used the CRISPR-Cas13a system to knockdown the KRAS G12D allele at the transcriptional level. The Cas13a system was reported to be tolerant to one mismatch and sensitive to two mismatches in the crRNA-target duplex. A second mismatch to the crRNA had to be introduced in their study, making their system more convoluted. In addition, the off-target effects of the study were not assessed. In our study, due to the limited availability of *KRAS* G12S cell lines, there was still the limitation of using only one single cell line for proof of concept. Therefore, two additional control sgRNAs, sgAAVS1 and sgTTN, were incorporated to rule out the possibility that A549 is uniquely sensitive to CRISPR editing of any type (Supplementary [Figure S2](#SM0){ref-type="supplementary-material"}A-S2C).
Our data showed that the disruption of the driver gene mutation in the *KRAS* G12S allele resulted in the inhibition of cancer cell growth *in vitro*. Moreover, on- and off-target indels, as well as cell cytotoxicity associated with CRISPR/Cas9 editing, were not detectable in H2228 cells with wild-type *KRAS* alleles. These results were consistent with *in vivo* data showing that tumor growth inhibition was not observed in AdV-Cas9-sgG12S treated H2228 tumors, demonstrating the specificity of CRISPR/ Cas9 for targeting a mutant allele. This finding was in line with the previous report by Cong et al. [@B19]. In another study, CRISPR/Cas9 was used to target a mutant allele where the single nucleotide mutation generates a 5\'-NGG-3\' PAM sequence not present in the wild-type allele, thus enabling specific targeting of mutant alleles by the Cas9 nuclease [@B21]. To extend this strategy to other cancer-driven mutations that are either located in seed sequences or to generate PAM sequences recognized by SpCas9 or other Cas9 variants, we chose the top 20 mutated genes and analyzed whether their mutations could be targeted by SpCas9, SaCas9, and LbCpf1 (Figure [6](#F6){ref-type="fig"}C, 6D, Supplementary [Figure S6](#SM0){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). Though some of these genes were reported as passenger genes like *MUC16*, most missense mutations were suspected of being driver mutations [@B40]. We found that PAM sequences of CRISPR nucleases, especially for SpCas9 and SaCas9, are widely distributed around the mutated sites. These results indicate that this approach could be widely used to target other oncogenic mutations and be applied to other Cas9 families or variants. Furthermore, this approach could be utilized for multiple gene editing strategies in cancers frequently characterized by mutation heterogeneity, and to test functional relevance of tumor mutations using the CRISPR/Cas9 system [@B41], [@B42].
In contrast with two previous studies [@B22], [@B24], we assessed the off-target effects *in vitro* (Figure [3](#F3){ref-type="fig"}A, 3B) and *in vivo* (Table [2](#T2){ref-type="table"}, Table [3](#T3){ref-type="table"} and Supplementary [Figure S4](#SM0){ref-type="supplementary-material"}E and S4F). Off-target indels were of low abundance and most of them were in introns, except one in an exon of an RNA gene, *LOC286177*. Considering no disorders were found for the *LOC286177* gene, it seems that this genome editing method is safe for manipulating genes *in vivo*. We further identified the associated mechanisms by which disruption of the *KRAS* G12S allele leads to the blockade of the AKT and ERK signaling pathways, thus inhibiting tumor growth. In addition, we assessed both the non-cutting transcription repression system, dCas9-KRAB, and the cleaving system, Cas9-sgG12S, to find that the transcription repression system is also capable of inhibiting tumor growth, but at a lower efficiency both*in vitro* and *in vivo*. Given that the dCas9-KRAB-sgG12S treatment only led to transient transcription repression by binding rather than by disrupting the genome sequence of the mutant gene, a constant growth inhibition in proliferating tumor cells may not be completely achieved using dCas9-KRAB-sgG12S. On the other hand, the genome-editing CRISPR/Cas9 system will be a more practical system to persistently abolish the oncogenic activation induced by the *KRAS* G12S mutant. Finally, among thousands of mutations of the top 20 cancer driver genes we surveyed, our bioinformatic analysis showed that more than 50% of the mutations in ten of the genes have the potential to be targeted by the CRISPR system. Due to the lack of PAM sequences, not every oncogenic mutation can be specifically targeted. Therefore, our bioinformatic pipeline could provide a convenient, efficient, and high-throughput method of predicting the editable sites.
Finally, though CRISPR/Cas9 systems provide powerful tools for fighting human diseases, undesired double stranded DNA breaks caused by off-target cutting of Cas9 nuclease are still its major concern in clinical application [@B43]. There has been rapid progress in the field with the development of reagents that should increase editing efficiency and decrease off-target effects [@B44]. Another obstacle for the translation of CRISPR/Cas9 is the inefficient delivery systems [@B45]. CRISPR-based medicine was locally injected to subretinal for treating Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA10) (NCT03872479) [@B46]. Lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-based delivery system has been developed by Intellia [@B47] (<https://www.intelliatx.com/publications-and-presentations-2/>). An IND application will be submitted for its LNP-based product, NTLA-2001, for the treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR) (<https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/10/31/1938637/0/en/Intellia-Therapeutics-Announces-Third-Quarter-2019-Financial-Results.html>).
Conclusions
===========
We systematically demonstrated that gene-editing and mRNA-regulating systems specifically targeted the *KRAS* G12S mutant allele, which resulted in the inhibition of tumor cell proliferation and growth *in vitro* and *in vivo*. The findings demonstrate that these promising therapeutic alternatives could be applied for treating oncogenic mutation-driven cancers, though further hurdles need to be overcome. In addition, bioinformatic analysis of 31555 SNP oncogenic mutations could provide a potential pipeline for analyzing the distribution of PAM sequences for the screening of targeted genes.
Materials and Methods
=====================
Materials Cell lines and cell culture
-------------------------------------
HEK293T cells (ATCC, CRL-11268) were purchased from ATCC. HEK293T cells were cultured in DMEM (Gibco, 21063029) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (Hyclone, SH30084.03HI), penicillin (100 IU/mL), and streptomycin (50 µg/mL). A549 (ATCC, CRM-CCL-185) and H2228 (ATCC, CRL-5935) cell lines were purchased from ATCC, USA. The cells were cultured in RPMI-1640 medium (Gibco, C22400500BT) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (Hyclone, SH30084.03HI), penicillin (100 IU/mL), and streptomycin (50 µg/mL).
Plasmid construction
--------------------
pX330-U6-Chimeric vector (Addgene, 42230) and LentiCas9-vector plasmid with puromycin-resistance (Addgene, 52961) were purchased from Addgene. For sgRNA expression, oligonucleotides containing each target sequence were synthesized (BGI), followed by annealing in a thermocycler. Annealed oligonucleotides were ligated into the lentiCRISPR v2 plasmid digested with Bsm BI (Supplemental [Figure S1](#SM0){ref-type="supplementary-material"}).
Lentivirus production
---------------------
HEK293T cells were seeded at 70-80% confluency on 100 mm dishes. One day after seeding, the cells were transfected with a mixture (18 µg) of transfer plasmid (empty LentiCas9-vector or LentiCas9-vector containing sgRNA), psPAX2 (Addgene, 12260), and pMD2.G (Addgene, 12259) at a weight ratio of 4:3:2 using 54 µL PEI (Polysciences, 24765-1, 1 µg/µl). The medium was changed after 4-6 hours of incubation at 37 °C and 5% CO2. Viral supernatants were collected 72 hours after transfection and filtered through a 0.45 μm filter (Millipore, SLHP033RB), then ultra-centrifuged for 1.5 hours at 35,000 rpm (TYPE 45 Ti rotor of Beckman) at 4 °C to concentrate the virus. The resulting pellet was then resuspended in RPMI1640 medium without FBS, and stored at -80 °C. The lentiviral titers were determined with a Lenti-X™ qRT-PCR Titration Kit (Clontech, 631235).
RNA extraction and qPCR
-----------------------
Total RNA was isolated from cells using TRIzol LS reagent (Invitrogen, 10296028) following the manufacturer\'s protocol. One microgram of RNA was then reverse transcribed using Primescript RT Reagent (Takara, RR047A). Quantitative PCR was performed using Fast Sybr Green Master mix (Thermo Fisher, 4385612) and the primers used were: *KRAS* forward, 5\'-atgcatttttcttaagcgtcgatgg-3\'; *KRAS* reverse, 5\'-ccctgacatactcccaaggaaag-3\'. Each messenger RNA (mRNA) level was measured as a fluorescent signal normalized based on the signal for GAPDH. Relative quantification was determined by the ΔΔCt method and normalized according to GAPDH.
Cell proliferation assay and cell cycle analysis
------------------------------------------------
Cells were seeded in 96-well plates at 1 × 10^3^ per well in 90 µL cell medium. Cell proliferation was assessed by Cell Counting Kit-8 (YEASEN, 40203ES80) according to the manufacturer\'s instructions. Briefly, 10 µL of CCK-8 solution was added to cell culture and incubated for 3-4 hours. Cell proliferation was evaluated by absorbance at 450 nm wavelength. For analysis of cell cycle, cells were plated in six-well plates at 6 × 10^5^ per well. After staining by propidium iodide (Sigma-Aldrich, P4170-10MG), the cell cycle distribution was analyzed by flow cytometry.
Western blot analysis
---------------------
A549 and H2228 cells were plated in six-well plates at a confluency of 70%. 48 hours after adenovirus infection, whole-cell extracts were prepared by lysing cells with the addition of 500 µL of hot SDS-PAGE buffer (Beyotime, P0015B). Tumor tissues were homogenized by TGrinder (Tiangen, OSE-Y30), and lysed with RIPA buffer containing complete protease inhibitor cocktail (Roche, 11697498001). Target proteins were detected by western blot analysis with the following antibodies: GAPDH mouse monoclonal antibody (Proteintech, 60004-1-Ig,), Akt (pan) (40D4) mouse monoclonal antibody (Cell Signaling Technology, 2920), Phospho-Akt (Ser473) (D9E) XP Rabbit mAb (Cell Signaling Technology, 4060), p44/42 MAPK (Erk1/2) (137F5) Rabbit mAb (Cell Signaling Technology, 4695), Phospho-p44/42 MAPK (Erk1/2) (Thr202/Tyr204) (D13.14.4E) (Cell Signaling Technology, 4370), mouse monoclonal Anti-MAP Kinase, activated (Diphosphorylated ERK-1&2) antibody (Sigma-Aldrich, M8159), Ras Antibody (Cell Signaling Technology, 3965), and Anti-RAS (G12S) Mouse Monoclonal Antibody (NewEast Biosciences, 26186).
Generation, treatment and analysis of tumor xenografted mice
------------------------------------------------------------
Xenograft mouse models of human lung cancer tumors were created by implanting A549 (5×106 cells in 200 µL DPBS (Gibco, C14190500BT)) or H2228 cells (2× 106 cells in 200 µL DPBS) through subcutaneous injections under the left upper limb in the abdomens of 6- to 8-week old male NCG mice. After tumor cell injection, when tumor volumes reached a range of 50-100 mm^3^, mice were randomly separated to one of five groups to receive PBS, AdV-Cas9, AdV-Cas9-sgG12S, LentiCas9-vector, or dCas9-KRAB-sgG12S (nine mice per group). The first day of treatment was designated as day 1. PBS, Adenovirus (1 × 10^9^ PFU in 10 µL DPBS), or lentivirus (5 × 10^10^ copies in 70 µL DPBS) was administered intratumorally on day 1, 4, and 7. Tumor growth inhibition was evaluated twice a week by measuring the length (L) and width (w) of the tumor. Tumor volume was determined using the following formula: volume = 0.523L(w)^2^.
IHC staining
------------
Tumor tissues were formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded, and stained using anti-RAS (G12S) mouse monoclonal antibody (NewEast Biosciences, 26186), followed by incubation with the HRP-conjugated corresponding secondary antibody (Millipore, AP160P). The expression levels were evaluated by the H-score method. Scoring was independently reviewed in parallel by two experienced pathologists.
PAM analysis
------------
*G*enomic variants were annotated and prioritized based on previous reports [@B47]. ANNOVAR [@B48] was used to annotate the COSMIC v88 mutation database (perl table_annovar.pl humandb/hg19_cosmic88.txt humandb/ -buildver hg19 -out cosmic -remove -protocol refGene -operation gx -nastring . -csvout), and to select the variants located in the exons of the 20 cancer driver genes. Based on the gene mutation and wild-type genome information (<https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/assembly/GCF_000001405.25>), we applied Pandas (<https://pandas.pydata.org/>), a python package, to analyze the COSMIC SNP mutation information to generate a data frame. We applied Pyfaidx [@B49], a python package to extract specific sequences from the GRCh37.p13 reference genome. PAM sequences of SpCas9, SaCas9, and LbCpf1 CRISPR nucleases were analyzed in the GRCh37.p13 reference genome. Once the SNP mutations were in the seed region of the PAM sequences, we considered it to be editable by CRISPR nucleases.
Statistical analysis
--------------------
Significance of all data was determined using two-tailed Student\'s t-test, and p-values \<0.05 were considered statistically significant.
Data availability
-----------------
Data supporting this study has been deposited in the CNSA (<https://db.cngb.org/cnsa/>) of CNGBdb with accession code CNP0000672, and submitted to the NCBI (PRJNA576375), available online: <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/576375>.
Ethics approval and consent to participate
------------------------------------------
The mouse model studies were performed according to the guidelines provided by the Chinese Animal Welfare Act and approved by the Institutional Review Board on Bioethics and Biosafety of BGI.
Supplementary Material {#SM0}
======================
######
Supplementary figures and table.
######
Click here for additional data file.
This research was funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China, grant number 81903159 and 81502578; Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, grant number JCYJ20170817145218948 and JCYJ20170817145845968.
Author Contributions
====================
Conceptualization, Qianqian Gao and Xu Han; validation, Qianqian Gao, Xu Han, Wenjie Ouyang, Bin Kang, Ying Xiong, Renpeng Ding, Yijian Li, Lei Chen, Yanshan Li, and Baichen Ze; investigation, Qianqian Gao; software, Lei Huang and Dan Wang; formal analysis, Qianqian Gao; writing---original draft preparation, Qianqian Gao; writing---review and editing, Chen-chi Chao, Ying Gu, Bin Kang and Wenjie Ouyang; supervision, Cheng-chi Chao, Ying Gu, Yuanyuan Ma, Huanming Yang, Yong Hou and Xuan Dong; funding acquisition, Bin Kang, Xuan Dong and Yuanyuan Ma.
PDACs
: pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas
CRCs
: colorectal adenocarcinomas
LACs
: lung adenocarcinomas
CRISPR
: Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats
SpCas9
: *S. pyogenes* CRISPR associated protein 9
EGFR
: epidermal growth factor receptor
dCas9
: dead Cas9
KRAB
: Krüppel associated box
PAM
: protospacer adjacent motif
NGS
: next generation sequencing
CFA
: colony formation assay
DSB
: double stand break
IHC
: immunohistochemical
WB
: western blot
SNV
: single nucleotide variation
SNP
: single- nucleotide polymorphism
AAV
: adeno-associated viral
ATCC
: American Type Culture Collection
DMEM
: Dulbecco\'s modified Eagle\'s medium
GAPDH
: glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase
H&E
: hematoxylin and eosin
{#F1}
{#F2}
{#F3}
{#F4}
{#F5}
{#F6}
######
Occurrence of *KRAS* G12S mutation in different diseases
Diseases Occurrence of *KRAS* G12S (%)
------------------------------- -------------------------------
Rectal Carcinoma 2.56
Colorectal Adenocarcinoma 1.84
Colorectal Carcinoma 1.66
Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma 0.5
Squamous Cell Lung Carcinoma 0.23
Myelodysplastic Syndromes 0.19
Acute Myeloid Leukemia 0.14
######
Variants in mice identified using WES
Mouse sample AdV-Cas9 AdV-Cas9-sgG12S\#1 AdV-Cas9-sgG12S\#2 AdV-Cas9-sgG12S\#3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- -------------------- -------------------- --------------------
All variants 88 81 258 243
All indels 12 9 19 16
Possible off-target sites after alignment with predicted off-target sites N/A 0 0 0
N/A, not applicable
######
Distribution and classification of indels in AdV-Cas9-sgG12S treated mice
Sample Gene Reference Alteration Abundance Exon/intron Reframed
------------------------ -------------- ----------- ------------------- ----------- ------------- ----------
**AdV-Cas9-sgG12S\#1** MED15 TGTG TGTGGTG 1 intron No
ZMAT4 GA GATA 1 intron No
**AdV-Cas9-sgG12S\#2** LOC105376360 AG AGTGGAGGGGTATCTCG 9 intron No
MED15 TGTG TGTGGTG 3 intron No
Non-annotated ACCC ACCCC 7 N/A N/A
RAB22A CGGGGGG CGGGGGGG 6 intron No
Non-annotated C CCG 1 N/A N/A
JPH1 TCCCC TCCCCCC 2 intron No
Non-annotated CAT C 5 N/A N/A
CPQ C CGCCG 1 intron No
Non-annotated AACAACAACAA AACAACAA 2 N/A N/A
**AdV-Cas9-sgG12S\#3** LOC105376360 AG AGTGGAGGGGTATCTCG 7 intron No
MED15 TGTG TGTGGTG 4 intron No
Non-annotated CCC CCCCCGCC 1 N/A N/A
Non-annotated ACCC ACCCC 5 N/A N/A
LOC286177 TGGGGG TGGGGGG 3 exon Yes
JPH1 TCCCC TCCCCCC 5 intron No
Non-annotated CAT C 6 N/A N/A
[^1]: \*These authors contributed equally to this work.
[^2]: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.
| |
Educators hope DeVos lets states and districts run schools
With Betsy DeVos now at the helm of the U.S. Department of Education, Michigan educators are considering the benefits of handing more decision-making power to the states – a priority DeVos has repeatedly expressed.
Superintendent Rick Seebeck of Gladwin Community Schools would welcome such a shift. He attributes Michigan’s education troubles to a needless “level of federal intrusion into the local education process” over the years, which he said has hindered the ability of educators to serve their students as they see fit.
“I think you can have accountability without mandating so much of what has to be done,” Seebeck said. “We have to keep the accountability, but we have to get rid of all the red tape that’s keeping us from actually meeting those accountability standards.”
The federal government has long held power over schools, Seebeck said, by providing them with the funds they need so long as they follow federal rules that not every educator has found productive. Seebeck called this exchange “educational blackmail,” adding that Michigan was especially vulnerable because of the state’s dire need for education funds. This was caused by the state government’s own inability to allocate more resources to public schools, he said.
“If we’re not going to have to agree to implement processes and programs that we know we don’t need in order to get that money, then it will be a welcomed thing,” Seebeck said, although he expressed worries about federal money going away altogether.
State Superintendent Brian Whiston said that although the Michigan Department of Education has to meet federal regulations, under the new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), unlike the No Child Left Behind Act, state officials are – for the most part – forging their own path.
Whiston would like to see a further expansion of this kind of freedom, and hopes that DeVos “returns the power to the states, and really gives us the control to decide what should happen to students in our own state and not have the federal government dictate to us,” he said.
“More flexibility and autonomy — that’s what we’ve been expecting with the ESSA,” said Bill DiSessa, a communications specialist for the state Education Department. The act was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2015, before DeVos was nominated, but state department officials hope the new Cabinet secretary will give state officials even more room to implement their own plans for success.
DiSessa is hoping “more elbow room” will allow his department to realize a new plan to become a “top-ten state” in education. The plan for school improvement involves 47 recommendations that are to be implemented over the next couple of years.
“Betsy has a unique insight on the education landscape in Michigan, more than any other state in the nation,” DiSessa said, adding that the state department expects to agree with her on many of the goals they are setting.
Whiston described DeVos “as someone who’s been seen as a disruptor to the system” because of her push for a nontraditional agenda of school choice, charter schools and voucher programs.
“We’ve not been on the same page in our careers and we’ve had our disagreements,” Whiston said. But, “We both are fighting for what we believe in, and we’re fighting for what we think is best for kids. We just have different ideas on how to get there.”
Whiston said he hopes to put any differences of opinion with DeVos aside to work together for Michigan’s children.
Seebeck said he remains skeptical about DeVos’ qualifications for the education secretary position, but is keeping an open mind in the hopes that she will allow for equal room on the playing field for traditional and non-traditional educational schools. | https://www.petoskeynews.com/story/news/2017/02/14/educators-hope-devos-lets-states-and-districts-run-schools/45122645/ |
The following is not an exhaustive list, but studies have shown the following benefits for silica:
- Silica is the principal contributor to the synthesis of collagen and elastin, leading to skin growth and elasticity.
- A crucial component of healthy and strong hair in the form of increasing hair shaft follicle thickness.
- A factor in the chain of development of cartilage.
- An enabler of calcium mineralization which then leads to improving a condition of excessive calcium loss as in bone spurs or calcium deficiency, osteoporosis, or weak finger/toenails.
- An enabler in bone composition leading to increased flexibility in the bones. This is a derivative of calcium absorption referenced above.
- A major constituent in the heart, arteries, and lungs regarding maintaining healthy connective tissue and organs.
- A factor in increased nervous system signaling/firing of impulses.
- A binder with heavy metals as in aluminum, which extracts the same from the body. | https://knowledgebase.livingsilica.com/how-silica-works-in-the-body |
Juvenile delinquents, or youth that have been convicted of a crime, seem to be the norm these days. Citizens, families, and poliy makers want new programs and policies within the juvenile justice system. Researchers have found that the family structure can be a precursor to delinquent behavior, and families do not have the control or blance that they once did. As such, mew measures need to be implemented to help these families in crisis. Rehabilitation of the family unit is the answer, say many, not punishment. In response to this, new ideas have formed to rehabilitate the family unit, but first, the family structures that are precursors to delinquent behavior must be identified.
“Family Life, Delinquency, and Crime: A Policymaker’s Guide,”compiled by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, introduces us to the theory that the family structure is a precursor to delinquent behavior. The authors and research contributors cite various family “dysfunctions” that contribute to delinquent behavior. Some of the family dysfunctions that the authors focus on are; parental criminality, parental interaction, parental supervision, and single-parent families. Parental criminality plays an important role in relation to delinquency, but based upon the stdies reviewed, poor parenting appears to be among the most powerful predictors of juvnile dleinquency. A good parent/child relationship has a positive impact on desistance from delinquent behavior. Two researchers, West and Farrington, sum it up by concluding in their research that, “the fact that delinquency is transmitted from one generation to the next is indisputable.” (West and Farrington, 1973, p.109) They also conclude that poor parenting is linked with delinquent behavior.
Parental interaction and supervision, or lack of, also contributes to delinquent behavior. The authors are unequivocal in their beliefs and studies that children that have parents who do not interact with them, or supervise them are much more likely to become juvenile delinquents. Parents need to teach their children morals and values, and when there is a lack of parental interaction and supervision these morals are not being taught.
Researchers also suggest that there is a direct relationship between single-parent families
and delinquency. Most researchers agree that the trauma of separation from a biological parent, strained parent/child relationships, and less effective parenting are common effects of single-parent homes. The researchers have found that single parent families correlated with juvenile delinquency, and children from single-parent homes were more likely to increase their delinquency as they passed through adolescence, whereas, children raised in two parent homes were more likely to desist from delinquent behavior as they matured. Family structures, such as, single-parent families and stepfamilies, seem to disrupt a child’s normal socialization process. In conclusion,... | https://brightkite.com/essay-on/juvenile-delinquency-5 |
MCW's Office of Community Engagement hosted their fall conference on Thursday, November 1, 2018. The conference kicked off with keynote speaker, Becca Berkey, PhD, Director of Service-Learning at Northeastern University, speaking on "Building and Sustaining a Culture of Engagement: The Role of Individuals as a Creative Catalyst for Professional Development and Institutional Change." Attendees explored how community engagement provides opportunities for developing leadership potential, as good leaders and effective community-engaged professionals share many of the same qualities. During the Community Engagement Fall Conference, attendees explored these commonalities across the community-academic partnership spectrum.
Spreading the Word: Dissemination Strategies for Community Engagement
MCW’s 4th annual Community Engagement Conference hosted by the Office of Community Engagement and the Community Engagement Core took place on April 26th and 27th as a part of a 2018 conference series. The conference offered special sessions focused on community engaged dissemination methods, with inspiration, insight, and instruction to creatively share a message with a target audience and took place at the Ambassador Hotel.
Elevating Community Voices in Health
The 2017 MCW Community Engagement Week included almost 700 unique attendees through the week’s events, our greatest attendance so far. The week’s accomplishments included building a greater awareness of social determinants of health that have significant impact in our communities. Panel discussions, a world café session, volunteer sandwich-making event and active workshops helped to raise community voices and perspectives, and provided opportunities to engage directly with community organizations, and to participate in rich discussion around issues where we can work to make a greater impact.
Community Engagement: Bridging the Gap between Academics and Community
The 2016 Community Engagement Conference was an opportunity for community partners, colleagues, and MCW faculty, staff and students to learn and network in a variety of different settings and on different topics. The week included panel discussions, a poster-sharing session, several networking opportunities and presentations from existing community-academic partnerships! Each day had a different theme to provide greater knowledge and understanding of the issues affecting our communities and how to find solutions and bridge the gap between academics and the community. | https://www.mcw.edu/departments/community-engagement/mcw-engage/past-conferences |
This training advises practitioners of legal, medical, and ethical considerations when serving transgender and gender diverse communities and serving families with transgender and gender diverse youth who are involved in the Family Court system.
Topics will cover cultural competency standards for serving transgender and gender diverse folks, statutory considerations in family law cases involving transgender and gender diverse youth, and medical considerations for transgender youth including adolescent medicine, hormones and emotional health.
This is presented in collaboration by Lavender Rights Project, QLaw Foundation, and the Children’s Hospital Gender Clinic. Sponsored by the Unified Family Court Training Oversight Committee and KCBA Family Law Section.
Morgan Mentzer is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Lavender Rights Project, a nonprofit providing free and low bono legal services to queer and transgender communities. Morgan began her legal career in foreclosure defense coupled with direct action organizing, which inspired her commitment to community-based legal services. She co-founded Lavender Rights Project in 2016 to fill the need for free and low cost civil legal services to the unique experiences of queer and trans communities. She practices primarily in civil rights, family law, dependency and trans-specific legal issues.
Denise Diskin joins the QLaw Foundation of Washington as its first Executive Director after nearly ten years of legal practice representing individuals harmed by discrimination, with a particular focus on cases impacting individuals with multiple marginalized identities. As an advocate, she enjoys working in partnership with her clients, creating strategies together and working to build individual and community power through informed legal decision-making. She is a frequent speaker on employment discrimination, healthcare coverage for transgender and nonbinary people, and LGBTQ access to the legal system.
Lara Hayden is a licensed clinical social worker in Washington State, with a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Washington. She has worked for the last ten years providing clinical care and program management in community health settings, including chronic illness case management, HIV case management, student health programs, and since fall 2016, with the Gender Clinic at Seattle Children’s Hospital. At the Gender Clinic, she supports patients and families from their first contact with the Clinic all t he way until they graduate from care at age 21; she also collaborates with the Clinic’s research team, hospital administration, and medical providers to provide outreach and education to community partners about care for trans and gender-diverse youth. | https://www.lavenderrightsproject.org/events/2019/4/10/serving-transgender-amp-gender-diverse-communities-tlzjx |
WAYNESVILLE, Mo. (Oct. 26, 2015) — We are certainly disheartened by the situation that occurred during Friday night’s Waynesville versus Camdenton football game where several of our marching band students endured negative comments. We take these comments very seriously, and have been investigating the situation through interviews with our band members, as well as sharing these concerns with Camdenton School District officials. Through interviews, we have discovered that the comments came from an isolated, very small group of individuals as Waynesville band students were at attention and preparing to march onto the football field to perform. Waynesville students heard a variety of comments, including some that were insulting and demeaning. A few students have alleged the use of racial slurs. If further allegations arise, they will be investigated.
Sportsmanship, respect for others and understanding the true reason for extra-curricular activities in public schools, which is to enhance the educational experience and build the confidence and leadership abilities of the participants, was lost in this extremely unfortunate incident. Shouting derogatory or disrespectful comments toward participants, faculty, administration, coaches, or anyone attempting to support young people and their school district has no place in extra-curricular activities and will not be tolerated in the Waynesville R-VI School District.
Camdenton School officials have welcomed the information we have provided and are also interviewing students who were standing in the identified area of concern and will assess appropriate discipline in accordance with their district policy. This investigation is not complete at this time; however, Camdenton officials have assured us that it is a significant concern for their district and will be dealt with immediately.
Many have reported adults engaging in similar behavior and we will do all we can to assist in the identification of these individuals. It is important to note that extra-curricular activities are a privilege — not a right for individuals — and attendance at these events is solely under the discretion of the school district. If individuals cannot adhere to the Ozark Conference Sportsmanship Creed and basic respect for others, they will not be allowed to remain at an event, or future events, regardless of their team affiliation.
Our district is a high-performing and diverse school district that prepares students for success in a very diverse and rapidly changing world. We plan to use this incident as a tool for educating and creating a much better understanding of what high school activities are supposed to be about. Many of our students have indicated an understanding that this behavior came from a small group, not the majority, demonstrating their maturity and thoughtful approach to this difficult situation. | http://pulaskicountydaily.com/waynesville-superintendent-responds-to-camdenton-comments-against-waynesville-band-cms-15740 |
South Carolina is home to four nuclear power plants, which provide more than half of the state’s electricity. The Oconee Nuclear Station on Lake Keowee is the third largest power plant in the United States in terms of annual generation (as of April 2017). This plant has a generating capacity of approximately 2.6 million kilowatts — enough to power 1.9 million homes. Since 2008, South Carolina has been transitioning rapidly from coal to natural gas. In 2016, coal provided about one-fifth of South Carolina’s electricity, while natural gas provided about one-sixth.
Hydroelectric and biomass are South Carolina’s primary renewable energy sources. The dozens of hydroelectric power plants in South Carolina contribute about 2.5% of the state’s electricity production. About two-thirds of South Carolina is forested, and the wood waste from the related industries provides plenty of fuel for biomass plants. South Carolina also has about 20 plants that convert methane gas from landfills into electricity.
South Carolina Electricity Prices
South Carolina has a regulated electricity market, whereby local utility companies set and control electricity prices, generation, and delivery in their service areas.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average retail price of electricity for South Carolina residents in December 2016 was 12.02¢ per kWh, while the average U.S. electricity price was 12.21¢ per kWh.
Residential electricity prices are on the rise in South Carolina, having increased more than 37% over the past 10 years. This trend has led to higher electricity bills for South Carolina residents, motivating many to switch to renewable energy (i.e. go solar) to save money.
South Carolina Energy Mix
Net Electricity Generation By Source:
Source: Energy Information Administration, 2016
From 2008-2016, natural gas went from about 6% to 17% of total electricity production in South Carolina. Over the same period, coal’s share of total electricity production dropped from about 41% to 21%.
South Carolina Energy Sector Employment
According to the 2016 South Carolina Clean Energy Industry Census, there are over 18,000 full-time employees working for clean energy firms in South Carolina. About 55% of these employees work on building efficiency. Biomass creates the second most jobs, making up 18% of all clean energy jobs in South Carolina. Solar, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal are also big job creators in South Carolina, making up a combined 18% of the state’s clean energy jobs.
Fun fact: more Americans are employed by renewable energy than coal, oil, and gas combined, despite wind and solar energy only making up 5% of the total U.S. energy mix. According to a study from the University of California, Berkeley, solar energy creates over 7 times more jobs than coal or oil per MWh produced. The employment estimates for wind power differ from source to source, but most agree that it also produces more jobs than fossil fuels.
South Carolina Utility Companies
Some of the largest electric utilities in South Carolina are Duke Energy, South Carolina Electric & Gas, and Santee Cooper. Being in a regulated energy market, these utilities own the entire flow of electricity in their territories and also dictate electricity prices. As such, they are responsible for generating electricity, maintaining infrastructure, delivering electricity, and providing billing to all their residential and business customers across the state.
Duke Energy
- Serves approximately 740,000 South Carolina electric customers
- Headquartered in Charlotte, NC
- Founded in 1904
South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G)
- Serves approximately 664,000 South Carolina electric customers
- Headquartered in Cayce, SC
- Subsidiary of SCANA Corporation
Santee Cooper
- Serves over 165,000 South Carolina electric customers
- Headquartered in Moncks Corner, SC
- South Carolina’s only publicly owned electric and water utility
Arcadia Power’s South Carolina Renewable Energy Services
With Arcadia Power’s clean energy offerings, homeowners and renters across the state can now sign up to reduce their impact, be more energy efficient, and save on their energy bills while keeping their same utility company. Here are three programs currently available to South Carolina residents:
Wind Energy
As a South Carolina utility customer, you can reduce your impact by matching your home’s electricity usage with renewable energy certificates from wind farms. You can sign up for our 50% Wind Energy plan for free, and begin service with your next utility bill. All you need is your local utility login to link up with Arcadia’s platform and start supporting wind farms each month at no extra cost to you.
Learn more about how it works >
Community Solar
We offer a community solar-savings program to homeowners and renters in South Carolina. No matter where you live, you can subscribe to community solar projects across the country and start saving on your utility bill each month. There aren’t any installations, site visits, or equipment necessary, and if you move, your savings will even move with you.
See our projects and check availability in your area >
Zero-down Energy Efficient Products
Our pay-as-you-save energy program enables South Carolina utility customers to access energy efficient products for $0 down. We will offer LED light bulbs, Wiser Air Smart Thermostats, and other home energy products to help you be more efficient and save on your utility bills. As an Arcadia customer, you can simply pay for your efficient products over time using the energy savings you’ll start seeing each month.
Learn more and reserve your Smart Thermostat today >
Sources: | http://blog.arcadiapower.com/south-carolina-renewable-energy/ |
Events at 28. February
Psychological effect against pushing and shoving
Jülich/Bochum, 30 June 2017 – A dense crush at the entrance to concerts and sports events can suddenly turn into a dangerous situation. In such cases, artificial constrictions created by crowd control barriers can help to avoid crushes as experiments by researchers have shown. However, the observed effect cannot be explained in purely physical terms and can only be understood if psychological aspects are also considered. The results have been published in the journal PLoS ONE.
More: Psychological effect against pushing and shoving …
Theory of the Strong Interaction Verified
Jülich, 27. März 2015 – The fact that the neutron is slightly more massive than the proton is the reason why atomic nuclei have exactly those properties that make our world and ultimately our existence possible. Eighty years after the discovery of the neutron, a team of physicists from France, Germany, and Hungary headed by Zoltán Fodor, a researcher from Wuppertal, has finally calculated the tiny neutron-proton mass difference. The findings are considered a milestone by many physicists and confirm the theory of the strong interaction.
More: Theory of the Strong Interaction Verified …
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Research Location:
Restoration Category: Research
Injured Resources Addressed: Not Specified
Abstract: This small amount of funding will allow for completion of this project, which is assessing and testing the application of satellite archive, pop-up tags on marine fishes of the Gulf of Alaska. Software and tag technology will be adapted and developed for geolocation tracking using light, depth, and bathometry data from satellite pop-up tags. Tag application and light-geolocation relationships will be tested on live halibut brought into husbandry at the Alaska SeaLife Center and kept under an accelerated solar-shift regime mimicking standard conditions in the gulf. These data will be compared to light and depth readings taken from tags placed on live fish released into their natural habitat and to an array of tags attached to a stationary buoy in the gulf. The effectiveness of light sensors for geolocation, duration of light measurements, and data sequence design will be determined. These developments will assist in applications of this new tag technology in fisheries-independent habitat assessments for the nearshore and pelagic marine environments in the gulf.
No keywords defined.
Proposal: View PDF (117 KB)
Funding Recommendations: View
Funding Detail For: 2001
Quarterly Project Tasks For: 2001
Annual Report: 2001: Not Available
Final Report: View
Publications from this Project: None Available
More information may be available for this project under other years:
We continue to populate our database to make all of our project information available online. If you would like more information on any project listed below, please contact us and we can search our files for the information you request.
|Project Number||Proposal||Annual Reports||Final Report||Data|
|2000: 00478||Not Available||
2000: | http://evostc.state.ak.us/index.cfm?FA=searchresults.projectInfo&Project_ID=445 |
Promoting healthy lives for all Ontarians through research, hospital partnerships, community initiatives and new technologies.
The rapid aging of the population requires creative solutions to confront the challenges to Ontario’s health-care system. McMaster University’s Institute for Research on Aging is helping transform the lives of the elderly population now and in the future. At the research institute, cross-faculty project teams engage with older Ontarians, their families, health-care providers and other stakeholders in the process from research to evaluation and the implementation of treatments, technologies and services. The institute also houses the Labarge Centre for Mobility in Aging, a hub for research, education and community engagement in mobility to help create positive outcomes for older Ontarians, improving their physical and mental health and allowing them to live independent lives.
Health Ecosphere, a multipartner collaboration led by York University, Southlake Regional Health Centre and University Health Network, is an innovation pipeline to develop new health technologies that improve patient outcomes and make health care more efficient. The partners are working with businesses, other PSE institutions and research bodies in development of more than 50 projects, including a system to monitor movements in patients with neurological disorders; a mobile app to help obstructive pulmonary disease sufferers; a system to improve the safety and accuracy of laparoscopic surgery; and a data analytics system to reduce the frequency of emergency room readmissions.
A mobile laboratory called M-CROSH travels across Northern Ontario providing workers with on-site training and clinical testing to improve occupational safety. The unique 40-foot vehicle, operated by Laurentian University’s Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health (CROSH), visits workers in Northern industries such as mining, forestry, pulp and paper, and firefighting. It’s outfitted with innovative portable equipment to support research into factors such as fatigue, accident prevention, vibration-induced injury, heat stress, and nutrition to promote safety and evaluate new intervention programs.
Hoping to increase access to mental-health therapy and make it more affordable, social entrepreneurs from OCAD University’s Imagination Catalyst incubator designed a digital platform called TranQool. The tool allows users to connect with licensed therapists from home through secure video chats, and access online resources such as cognitive behavioral therapy assignments, thought diaries, goal identification for therapy, and a daily emotional tracker. The tool was recently acquired by Employee Assistance Program provider HumanaCare, giving many more Canadians access to virtual health-care help.
The University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health is partnering with the City of Barrie and public health institutions in the city to develop a holistic strategy to help the population live healthier lives. The collaboration, Healthy Barrie, is looking at factors in the city such as transportation, food and housing to help reduce chronic disease, improve mental health and encourage physical activity in residents’ everyday lives. In one initiative, Healthy Barrie is developing plans to tackle physical inactivity through neighborhood design, transit and educational programs in schools.
The University of Waterloo partners with Grand River Hospital to develop new treatments and technologies to improve the health and well-being of the community. The collaboration has yielded promising developments across the health-care spectrum, including an innovative tool kit that deploys wearable devices to help professionals assess a patient’s balance. Poor balance and mobility is a challenge for the elderly and for survivors of strokes and other disorders, leading to health risks such as falls, decreased activity, and difficulty recovering from illness and injury. The tool kit is designed to be low-cost and simple to use even in remote and rural communities.
Wilfrid Laurier University’s Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education (KPE) operates a community outreach program, the Sun Life Financial Centre for Physically Active Communities, that aims to improve activity levels and the overall health of young people. With the help of Laurier students, the centre provides free or low-cost physical activity programming to high-priority children to prevent chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, that are associated with sedentary lifestyles, improving the lives of young people throughout the Waterloo Region.
Researchers at Trent University have partnered with Canada’s National Ballet School to study the effectiveness of using dance to help improve quality of life in seniors with dementia. The Sharing Dance for Active Seniors program uses dance to address common health issues in the population such as the impact of social isolation and falls. Dance has been proven to help improve aerobic power, muscle strength, balance and mental health. A pilot class was held in the Peterborough area in 2017, with about 20 people aged between 60 and 90 demonstrating positive early results. In the current phase, Mark Skinner, director of the Trent Centre for Aging & Society, is employing graduate students to help analyze the data on the pilot project. The program will be tested in 20 communities across Canada, and could expand to more than 120 communities in the next five years. | https://ontariosuniversities.ca/partnering-for-ontario/partnering-with-communities/50-partnerships-communities-health-aging |
Located at the back of the eye, the retina is attached to the vitreous, the gel-like substance that makes up for most of the eye’s volume. Although the vitreous begins as a thick substance with a firm shape, the consistency of the gel changes and becomes thinner and more watery as we age. A change in the shape of the vitreous can cause it to pull away from the retina and leave a tear. A retinal tear leaves the retina unprotected and can allow fluid to travel between the retina and the wall, which may lead to retinal detachment.
Retinal tears may occur in patients with myopia (nearsightedness), as the condition may cause the vitreous to pull away from the retina. Although a retinal tear does not cause pain, patients may experience flashes or floaters in their field of vision, a reduction of vision, a shadow or curtain forming in the peripheral vision, or other vision changes. It is important to see your doctor at the first symptom of a retinal tear.
Early detection and prompt treatment of a retinal tear can often prevent the retina from detaching. A retinal tear is usually treated with a laser to burn the area around the tear, causing it to scar and seal the retina to the tissue underneath it. This prevents fluid from flowing through the tear and leading to retinal detachment. Treatment for a retinal tear is usually effective in relieving symptoms and preventing retinal detachment from occurring.
Retinal Vein Occlusion
Blood and nutrient circulation to and from the surface of the retina is mostly done through one vein and one artery. If these passages or any of the smaller branches connected to them are blocked, blood flow to the retina can become seriously disrupted. Blockage of one of these passages is known as occlusion, and can result in sudden vision loss.
The retinal vein carries blood away from the body, and may cause blood to build up and hemorrhage if it is blocked. Retinal vein occlusion, also known as venous stasis retinopathy, can also cause swelling, bleeding and growth of abnormal blood vessels, which can in turn lead to other serious eye diseases.
This condition is most common in men and women over the age of 50, although the risk continues to increase with age. Other risk factors may include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, glaucoma and, rarely, blood clotting and inflammatory conditions.
Although there is no cure for retinal vein occlusions, there are several treatment options available to help minimize risks, treat symptoms, and prevent further vision loss. The best treatment for each patient depends on the severity and location of the blocked vein, but may include laser photocoagulation or intraocular steroids.
Vitreous Hemorrhage
The vitreous is the gel-like substance that makes up approximately two-thirds of the eye’s volume and is located in between the lens in the front of the eye and the retina in the back of the eye. In normal, healthy vitreous gel, there are no blood vessels, but diseases such as diabetic retinopathy can lead to the development of new blood vessels which can grow into the vitreous gel. These blood vessels are often fragile and susceptible to leaking blood and fluids.
A vitreous hemorrhage occurs when one of these blood vessels ruptures and causes bleeding within the vitreous gel, causing visual symptoms. Normal blood vessels may also rupture, although less common, as a result of force from a retinal tear or detachment. Patients with vitreous hemorrhage usually notice a sudden, significant increase in the number and size of floaters blocking their vision. Severe bleeding can also cause vision to appear blurry, cloudy or hazy.
When symptoms occur, it is important for patients to seek prompt medical attention. Your doctor will examine your eye along with your medical history to determine the cause of the hemorrhage and then recommend an appropriate treatment. Treatment for a vitreous hemorrhage may include vitrectomy, cryotherapy, laser photocoagulation, or intravitreal injections. | https://www.floridaeyeclinic.com/eye-conditions/eye-conditions-4/ |
In 2015 the climbing season was canceled and no climbers successfully summited the mountain for two years.
Mount Everest is the highest peak in the world and a hugely commercialized climbing destination. Standing at 29,029 ft. (8848 meters) tall, the mountain has seen over 8,000 climbers reach its summit since the first successful attempt by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa in 1953. However, in 2015 no one summited Mount Everest, and the entire climbing season was canceled. Here’s why:
The Catastrophic 2015 Everest Earthquake
Nepal is one of two entryways to the mountain. It was devastated by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that killed over 8,000 people in the country in April of 2015. The quake claimed the lives of 16 sherpas near Everest Base Camp while the teams were actively fixing ladders in the infamous Khumbu Icefall.
The devastation ultimately lead to the injury of over 21,000 Nepalese natives. And the disaster provoked a strike by Sherpas who were demanding better benefits for their loved ones in the event another natural disaster or mountaineering accident claimed their lives in the future.
While most of the fame and glory of summiting 8,000-meter peaks is given to westerners and foreign climbers, many forget that Sherpas make up a resilient group of native climbers that act as the gears for many expeditions. They climb and carry what would be impossible weights of equipment for most climbers to and from camps.
The quake and the strike contributed to the cancellation of the 2015 spring Everest climbing season. The unstable nature of the mountain after the quake also contributed.
Who Are Sherpas & Why Did They Strike in 2015?
Sherpas, quite simply put, are the “people of the mountains.” They are a native Nepalese race of remote village people who have, over time, moved their settlements to elevated locations near the base of the Himalayan Mountains. They serve as guides on Himalayan expeditions. They also serve as porters, transporting the equipment of climbers and expedition groups up to the mountains from the village.
Sherpas are divided into two categories: high-altitude sherpas and porters. Porters simply carry the equipment of climbers from the nearer villages, like Lobuche, to the base of the mountains. Here, high-altitude sherpas then carry the equipment up the mountains, setting up camps. Without Sherpas, the Himalayan climbing industry would not exist.
We have to remember that Sherpas do everything from setting up camps for expedition groups to preparing meals and even serve as climbing guides for expedition companies on a contract basis. Sherpas also set up the climbing routes for commercial expeditions each season, setting ladders through the Khumbu Icefall and fixed ropes through the most treacherous parts of the climbing routes. It was during the fixing of ladders within the Khumbu Icefall that the magnitude 7.8 earthquake killed 16 Sherpas.
Sherpas Go on Strike
After the 2015 Nepal Earthquake, Sherpas and their families commenced a strike. This was mainly due to the fact that the majority of those killed during the earthquake on the mountain that day were Sherpas. They were risking their lives to set ladders for western expeditions in the icefall. Their strike was aimed at the Nepalese Government, which makes the majority of its revenue from Himalayan expedition permits from foreign commercial guiding tours and individual climbers and teams.
Sherpas Demand Better Benefits
The Sherpa’s main concern was the recognition of their roles in the prosperity of Himalayan mountaineering. They also wanted to ensure that they secured better benefits for their dependents if they should perish while participating in the country’s most profitable “industry.”
The Nepalese Government did not meet the demands of the Sherpas. But they did offer a lower sum of monetary gains for their families and better benefits. In the end, the Sherpas accepted the offer, effectively ending the strike. But by then, the season was considered over.
2015 Everest Spring Climbing Season Cancelled
After assessing the damage done to the mountain, which included the leveling of Everest Base Camp, Sherpas concluded that the routes were far too damaged and unstable to pursue a climbing season. Without Sherpa support and the possibility of ladder and fixed rope routes being unstable, the Nepalese Government suspended the season.
Although they aired on the side of caution, much criticism fell upon the Nepalese Government for their efforts to save 160 climbers that were stuck at Camp 1. These climbers were unable to make it through the treacherous Khumbu Icefall and into Everest Base Camp on their own. Because of this, the Government dispatched helicopters to transport the climbers, which many say was an irresponsible use of resources that could have been used to aid the 21,000 Nepalese injured by the quake throughout the country’s most affected areas.
But with Everest and Himalayan expeditions earning the bulk of the country’s revenue, it was probably a decision that fell upon the conservation of the country’s livelihood.
This is the story behind the most devastating event on Everest to pass and why the 2015 season was canceled. Climbers were not allowed to climb again until 2017. As a result of the earthquake of 2015, in 2017 climbers reported that the Hillary Step had collapsed. Prior to this, the Hillary Step was the most technical and iconic part about climbing Mount Everest. | https://basecampmagazine.com/2016/12/21/no-one-summits-mount-everest-in-2015/ |
We marked International Women’s Day this week, and so it seems a prominent time to share some of my own thoughts around balance, prioritisation and the concept of parental guilt.
I recently heard some valuable advice from an Inclusion Works Podcast that triggered some thoughts for me. The particular quote that stood out was “You can have it all, you can’t do it all”. This really resonated with me. It’s a simple but incredibly powerful point that can be helpful for many people. So often we look around and think, how do they do it? It’s easy to assume and to compare, but the simple and honest truth is that for everyone, prioritisation is key and knowing your own priorities will really help you.
This concept isn’t new; it’s comparable to the economic principle of ‘Opportunity Cost’ – what do we miss out on when choosing one option over another. In nearly every aspect of our lives, we must constantly weigh up what other alternatives we are happy to live without when we choose a certain path. We also need to realise that even the best alternative for us will sometimes require compromises or have a sting in its tail. This is certainly clear for many parents making the decision to return to work and ensuring they create and maintain a healthy balance that’s right for their family.
Setting personal priorities
I started my return to work when my daughter was still quite young and in turn I did suffer from ‘Mum guilt’. However, the more I speak with people the more I realise that the feeling is pretty normal, and not a phenomenon that only affects Mothers. I’ve also realised that the guilt doesn’t really go away either! I think in my situation, I have just gotten better at managing it. For my family, we have embraced the principle of ‘you can have it all, but you can’t do it all’. We also prioritise by considering the ‘opportunity cost’ of doing something to achieve a balance that works for us; whether that’s looking into outsourcing tasks such as walking the dog or hiring a cleaner to help us stay on top of the housework.
Tips to achieve balance
Making sure you can maintain a healthy balance is essential to becoming the best version of yourself. Here are a few tips to help with prioritising:
- Personal drivers: Identify your own personal drivers – what is important to you and your family? Refer back to these and make sure that when you are making choices you are considering your own personal goals and drivers.
- Outsourcing: Is your time, or the sacrifice you are making, worth more than the cost of outsourcing something? Is outsourcing an affordable and sensible option?
- Compromise: Know your trade-off – what gaps or engagements do you have in your week that you are willing to give up?
- Capacity: Be honest with yourself about your capacity. You can have it all, you can’t do it all.
As the theme for International Women’s Day this year is ‘#ChooseToChallenge’ – I challenge you to clearly identify your priorities to successfully balance your work and life responsibilities. | https://www.xero.com/blog/2021/03/balance-work-and-life/ |
The first Patch Tuesday of 2023 is here, with Microsoft putting in quite the effort to start the year on a high note.
In total, the Redmond software giant unveiled fixes for 98 security flaws, including generally known vulnerabilities, as well as those being abused in the wild.
Almost a dozen (11) have been rated “critical” as they allow threat actors to remotely execute malicious code.
Fixes to Microsoft Exchange servers
The flaw that hackers are currently exploiting is CVE-2023-21674, a Windows advanced local procedure call (ALPC) elevation of privilege vulnerability that allows threat actors to gain SYSTEM privileges. This one has a severity score of 8.8.
Another vulnerability with an 8.8 severity score is CVE-2023-21549, a Windows SMB Witness Service elevation of privilege vulnerability that allows attackers to execute RPC functions usually reserved for privileged accounts.
“To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker could execute a specially crafted malicious script which executes an RPC call to an RPC host,” the security alert reads.
The list of fixed vulnerabilities is quite long, but a few other notable mentions include CVE-2023-21743, a Microsoft SharePoint Server security feature bypass vulnerability that allows threat actors to bypass the expected user access as an unauthenticated user, CVE-2023-21762 and CVE-2023-21745 (spoofing vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange servers), and CVE-2023-21763 and CVE-2023-21764 (elevation of privilege flaws in Exchange servers).
It’s also worth mentioning that these are the last security updates to ever hit Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. The former has reached the end of its three-year- pay-extra-to-get-extended-security-updates period, while Windows 8.1 simply won’t be getting any, regardless if firms are ready to pay or not. | https://3000tech.com/the-first-microsoft-patch-tuesday-of-2023-includes-some-rather-important-fixes/ |
Innovation in full flight
A fast-growing international start-up, Oqton provides software solutions for flexible production environments that increasingly utilize a range of advanced manufacturing and automation technologies. This requires deep expertise in artificial intelligence, automation, robotics and machine learning. Their cloud-based platform enables manufacturers to easily manage and scale complex digital manufacturing processes in response to changing market demands, such as those for dentistry, healthcare, biotech, aerospace and automotive.
As a result of the acquisition, co-founder and CEO Ben Schrauwen, a former professor of robotics at UGent, one of Flanders’ five universities, will now lead all of 3D Systems' R&D activities from Belgium, of which Flanders is the northern region. | https://www.flandersinvestmentandtrade.com/invest/en/news/3d-systems-us-acquires-software-firm-oqton-flanders |
Compared to other chronic diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been under-recognized for its severity and lethality as a leading cause of death and disability. Updated data at the national level are available from various organizations. The purpose of this presentation is to describe the public health burden of COPD from a data perspective.
Methods
Morbidity, mortality, and cost burden data will be presented, using resources that include CDC, NHLBI, American Lung Association, and others. This will be done primarily through the use of graphics on prevalence, co-morbidities, death rates, emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, and healthcare costs. COPD risk factors will also be discussed in addressing preventive measures that can be undertaken for targeting COPD.
Results
COPD prevalence in 2011 was 6.3%, ranging from 3.1% (Puerto Rico) to 9.3% (Kentucky). In North Carolina, the leading co-morbidities are disability status (65.8%), depression (43.8%), asthma (38.9%), history of cardiovascular diseases (29.4%), and diabetes (25.7%). The age-standardized death rate in 2010 was 40.8 per 100,000 US population – men had a higher rate (47.6/100,000) than women (36.4/100,000). ED visits were higher among women (85.2/10,000) than men (71.0/10,000), and hospitalizations were also higher among women (5.6/1,000) than men (5.5/1,000). Of the estimated $49.9 billion in annual cost for COPD, $29.5 billion was for direct healthcare expenditures.
Conclusions
Epidemiologic and economic data amplify the need for a coordinated, broad-based, multi-faceted approach in targeting preventive and control measures for this chronic disease. These data are critical and available to support and drive policies for COPD.
Learning Areas:Advocacy for health and health education
Chronic disease management and prevention
Epidemiology
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research
Learning Objectives:
Discuss the magnitude of COPD in the US from a data perspective Identify three major COPD comorbidities Explain how COPD data can be used to support and drive COPD-related policies
Keyword(s): Chronic Disease Management and Care, Chronic Disease Prevention
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have analyzed, presented, and published COPD data. Having been a chronic disease epidemiologist at the NC Division of Public Health, I have worked with chronic lower respiratory disease data and programs.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation. | https://apha.confex.com/apha/143am/webprogram/Paper330026.html |
core-forger offers a top-level wrapper around the forging process. While not directly responsible for the block creation logic (that can be found in the Delegate model), core-forger coordinates the environment in which forging occurs and updates other Ark Core packages on its own forging status.
The core-forger package is enabled by default in full nodes and forging nodes, and disabled by default on relay nodes. To start your forging node, either use core-commander or run the following command within your node's packages/core directory:
yarn full:mainnet
Swap out the node type and network as necessary by using the scripts in core's package.json file.
core-forger needs to have a host to connect to. As the forger holds no information about the blockchain state, it must make REST calls to an Ark Core node's P2P API to determine when to forge.
The core-forger package generalizes its peer connection in the client class, which handles communication between the forging process and the rest of the node. The client establishes peers based on the hosts config.
By default, your hosts config includes a link to the default P2P API port. This assumes that you are running a full node, or a node with both relay and forging capabilities.
If you are running a forging node without relay capacities, you will not have an internal P2P API available to you. In this case, you must connect to an Ark Core node with a P2P interface.
core-forger determines what forging delegate wallets it should use, calculates forging order based on network constants, grabs unconfirmed transactions from the transaction pool, passes transactions to the delegate to forge at the appropriate slot.
The top-level core-forger index file creates a ForgerManager before adding the delegate wallets specified in plugin options. Typically, these values are passed into the node at runtime using the —bip38 and —password runtime flags.
After all delegates have been loaded into the manager, their passwords are deleted from memory so they cannot be reused by other plugins or processes.
From there, core-forger enters the monitoring process, which initiates a forging attempt whenever a saved delegate is in line to forge. Segments of the forging functions are included here:
The __getTransactionsForForging method fetches transactions from the transactions/forging endpoint of the P2P API. This endpoint polls the Blockchain API, which returns a list of forging transactions from the Transaction Pool.
This transaction list is returned to __forgeNewBlock, which combines the transaction data with information from the current round to create a new block using the delegate.forge method.
From there, the newly forged block is converted to a JSON representation and propagated throughout the network via the client's broadcast method. This method sends a POST connection to the P2P API's /blocks endpoint, which queues the new block and broadcasts it to peers for validation:
| |
Assistant District Manager
The Statesman Journal is seeking an Assistant District Manager for our Circulation department.
This position will assist the District Manager, and has distribution responsibility for:
- home delivery
- single copy
- blue chip
- education
- non-daily circulation
- third party distribution partner contracts.
The Assistant District Manager may also receive work assignments within many areas of the distribution function, which may include:
- Transportation
- customer service
- redelivery operations
The primary role of the Assistant District Manager is to achieve company objectives. The Assistant District Manager will also contribute to growing circulation volumes and revenue within the assigned district, byensuring customer/subscriber service and satisfaction levels are met orexceeded. This position works part of the time in an office or distribution center and majority of the time within the assigned newspaper district or distribution area.
The successful candidate will work flexible, collections/returns, deliver open / down routes.
Overall responsibility for insuring product position, rack sales effectiveness,point of purchase material application, timely reporting. Manage product integrity (ABC/insert verification), field verification of TMC,
This position promotes customer satisfaction, and is responsible for ensuring that SOP's/contracts for customer service, complaint resolution, reporting, compliance of all local, state, federal, and Gannett regulations and policies are established and implemented consistently across the region in the delivery area.
EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE
A high school education is necessary; a college education will help in advancement opportunities. A good motor vehicle report, valid driver's license, dependable automobile, and liability insurance are necessary for this position.
Gannett Co., Inc. is a proud equal opportunity employer. We are a drug free, EEO employer committed to a diverse workforce. We will consider all qualified candidates regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity, family responsibilities, disability, education,political affiliation or veteran status.
Meet Some of USA TODAY NETWORK's Employees
Miranda P.
Junior Designer
Miranda’s main goal is creating unique, practical layouts that perfectly pair graphics and content to appeal to users. She considers readability and presentation of magazines paramount. | https://www.themuse.com/jobs/usatodaynetwork/assistant-district-manager-4f168b |
Learn about the wide range of important legal issues that affect small business owners. Topics include business formation, corporations and LLCs, protecting personal assets, relations among business partners, negotiating and drafting contracts, employee relations, government regulations, negotiating leases, security interests and liens, obtaining and collecting judgments, protecting intellectual property, buying and selling businesses and many other critical topics.
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Course:145-472-001
Law for Business Owners
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Seats:3
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Instructor:Klang, Jeremy M
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Tuition:$51.47
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Dates:02/06/19-02/27/19
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Days:WednesdayW
Times:06:30pm-09:20pm
Ready to register? Note the CRN number of the class you want to take, then follow our registration steps.
Looking for a different semester? Start over. | https://www.wctc.edu/academics/programs-courses/course-search/course-search-listing.php?code=145&num=472&term=201920 |
The most significant figure in all of postwar Soviet cinema, Andrei Tarkovsky died in 1986 at age 54, leaving behind only seven features, the first five produced in the Soviet Union and the last two in Italy and Sweden. The son of a poet, Tarkovsky made deliberate, cryptic films that dealt with such intangibles as the mysteries of existence, the contradictions of faith, the power of art and — most indelibly — the passing of time.
He was hardly the first or only filmmaker to engage with questions of temporality in film. Michelangelo Antonioni (obsessed with ennui and empty spaces), Andy Warhol (given to provocatively long running times) and Chantal Akerman (fixated on everyday ritual and minutiae) all made important contributions to the "cinema of duration," to use a term coined by the critic André Bazin.
But Tarkovsky, whose famous long takes signal a profound mistrust of the rapid montage of revolutionary Soviet cinema, was perhaps the most single-minded believer in the transcendent ability of the moving image to express what he called "the course of time within the frame." He spoke of "the pressure of time" and described the process of finding a film's rhythm as "sculpting in time" — a phrase that provided the title for his collection of essays.
These are no longer novel concepts in art cinema. Many of today's great directors — Hungary's Béla Tarr, Thailand's Apichatpong Weerasethakul or Alexander Sokurov, the Russian director most often called Tarkovsky's successor — make movies that in different ways respect and reflect the passage of time.
That said, lesser talents have adopted the long-take style as easy shorthand, an automatic bid for significance. Just as problematic, some impatient critics have rushed to classify any movie with a contemplative pace under the reductive rubric of "slow cinema" or, worse yet, written off all such films as boring and alienating, the province of elitist snobs.
While Tarkovsky has been a clear influence on many, his cosmic poetry remains inimitable. His ghostly sci-fi parable "Solaris" (1972) was recently issued on Blu-ray by the Criterion Collection, and his final film, "The Sacrifice" (1986), makes its DVD premiere this week, on standard-definition and Blu-ray editions from Kino.
Premiered at Cannes half a year before its director's death, "The Sacrifice" is often called a last testament. Tarkovsky completed it knowing he had terminal cancer, and he dedicated it to his son "with hope and confidence."
But while the film, which stares into the maw of mortality and apocalypse, has the grandeur of a final summation, it is far from neat or definitive, and despite what its title might suggest, it is not exactly a simple allegory of Christian atonement and self-sacrifice.
"The Sacrifice" unfolds over a 24-hour period, as friends and family gather to celebrate the birthday of Alexander (Erland Josephson), a wealthy actor turned professor who lives on a desolate Swedish island. The setting evokes Ingmar Bergman, one of Tarkovsky's favorite filmmakers, as does the involvement of Josephson and cinematographer Sven Nykvist, both Bergman collaborators.
The festivities coincide with the outbreak of World War III, and in the grip of a "sickening animal fear," Alexander strikes a deal with God, promising to sever all his worldly ties if the extinction of mankind is averted.
Leonardo da Vinci's painting "Adoration of the Magi," seen in the opening credits and referenced in the film, depicts the ceding of a pagan world to a Christian one. Tarkovsky's theological scheme is not as clear-cut: Alexander is an atheist who turns to God, but salvation depends on persuading a witch to sleep with him, or so he's told by the Nietzsche-quoting postman who arrives bearing telegrams and perhaps a divine message or two.
The concluding annihilation is powerful not least for its ambiguity: an act of faith, madness and transfiguration.
Given the sheer beauty and unwieldy philosophical ambition of Tarkovsky's films, it's not too far-fetched to suggest that his true heir is Terrence Malick — a filmmaker whose approach to space and time is fragmented where Tarkovsky's is unified but who shares with the Russian a mystical connection to nature and the elements and a compulsion to pose unanswerable questions with utmost seriousness and sincerity. ("The Sacrifice" opens and closes with the image of what you might call a tree of life.)
More than most filmmakers, both have molded the language of cinema to their own ends. Their ultimate project — to find concrete expression for the spiritual — is perhaps a perverse one. It's telling that they have inspired similar responses, a mix of cult-like reverence and hostile derision.
Both belong to the increasingly rare breed of artists who dare to think of art as a spiritual quest, who risk ridicule as they search for the sublime. | https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-jul-10-la-ca-second-look-20110710-story.html |
Artist Betsy Youngquist creates three-dimensional mixed media utilizing beadwork, crystals, and found doll parts like eyes, mouths, and hands. The elements merge to create surreal creatures that exist between human and animal, mixing animated facial features with long tentacles or hooves. For the works, Youngquist and her partner R. Scott Long first cut apart antique doll heads to determine what sort of animal the face might inspire. Next, Long sculpts a form for the sculpture and Youngquist adheres an assemblage of glass beads, stones, and eyes.
“History and the energy of times past are contained in old materials, in addition to bead color and bead variations that you can’t find among contemporary beads,” the artist explains about her decision to use vintage beads in her mosaic-like pieces. “While playing in my studio I love the intuitive dance of selection, when everything starts humming along and I know which bead choices to make. Beads as a material are ancient and primal. I love that about them. There is also definitely a meditative quality to working with beads.”
Youngquist runs the New Orleans-based Gallery Two with fellow artist Ann Marie Cianciolo, and has work in the exhibition Season of the Surreal at Patina Gallery in Sante Fe, New Mexico from November 2 and through December 2, 2018. You can see more of her beaded sculptures on her website and Instagram. | https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2018/09/surreal-assemblages-by-betsy-youngquist/ |
The Du Bois Review (DBR) is a scholarly, multidisciplinary, and multicultural journal devoted to social science research and criticism about race
Now celebrating its 18th year in print, the journal provides a forum for discussion and increased understanding of race and society from a range of disciplines, including but not limited to economics, political science, sociology, anthropology, law, communications, public policy, psychology, linguistics, and history.
The spring 2021 issue (18.1)—“Paths to Race Privilege” features Thomas F. Pettigrew on the positive outcomes of desegregated education in the United States, as well as a lively debate between Deniz Uyan and Adam Hochman on the utility and limits of the concept of racialization. Alejandro de la Fuente and Stanley R. Bailey explore contrasting perspectives on racism and racial inequality in Cuba; Mary Pattillo and colleagues examine group identity and political engagement among the Black middle class in Colombia. Other themes include how professional attire influences the perception of Black men as threatening; predictors and mediators of psychological distress among working-age African Americans; abolitionist possibilities in Black community practices of safety and security; and workplace mobility among racialized public servants in British Columbia.
The fall 2020 issue (17.2) includes Andrew J. Cherlin’s examination of upward mobility and loss of community in the Black steelworker neighborhood of Turner Station, MD. This issue also considers race, place, and relationship formation in the digital age; skin tone and identification among recent U.S. immigrants; the racialization of Muslim newcomer youth; differences in racial identification among Mexican-origin adults in CA and TX; belonging and anti-Blackness in Portugal; how policing is used to racially segregate residential spaces; Black social interactions on public transportation; race and queer experiences among gay men in Seoul, Korea; and Muslim American double consciousness.
Published by Cambridge University Press, all Du Bois Review articles are available on Cambridge Core. | https://hutchinscenter.fas.harvard.edu/dubois-review |
A reflective statement about your personal philosophy of teaching and learning provides the foundation for all other elements of your portfolio it is an essential part of. Reflective practice nursing essay - reflection there are many definitions in the literature of reflection, most however agree that it is an active, conscious process reflection is often initiated when the individual practitioner encounters some problematic aspect of practice and attempts to make sense of it. As the name suggests, a reflective report is a piece of writing that summarises a student's critical reflection on a subject while traditional academic writing discourages first-person accounts, reflective reports rely on them. Definition of reflective in english: 'just make sure you wear reflective clothing and don't forget to take lights for the ride home' reflective piece on.
The current critique of denominational education, and of denominational religious education in particular, risks undermining the place of this core subject in all schools, just at a moment when. Reflective writing as an assessment is a great way for your marker to see your thoughts progress you can ask questions, add suggestions, argue with the material and question your own experiences or previous understanding. Continuous prose is a piece of written work with text flowing from one paragraph to the next without subheads examples of continuous prose include essays, newspaper articles, journal articles, blog posts and research papers the structure of an essay or piece of written work in continuous prose. This means finding ways to remain healthy and able-minded through the stressful days by connecting with others who have discovered methods of physical and mental renewal, teachers have a better chance of staying enthused about teaching despite the many inevitable setbacks during the school year.
Does it denote what you were taught, or what you learned (and remember) if the term applies to what you now know and can do, you could be poorly educated despite having received a top-notch education. The need to reflect on self as a means of self-development is widely endorsed in schools of education globally often there is a requirement to reflect on practice, which can be traced. Why you ask a question (in terms of the desired result of asking it) matters more than how you phrase it no question is inherently essential or trivial no question is inherently essential or trivial. A short video explaining how to write reflectively what to write about, what to avoid writing about and the benefits of reflective writing.
How to write a reflective statement writing effective reflective statements will take time following this format can assist you to organize your thoughts and experiences in a way that results in more than descriptions and critical reflection on your teaching. Self reflection is like looking into a mirror and describing what you see it is a way of assessing yourself, your ways of working and how you study to put it simply 'reflection' means to think about something. Reflective portfolios are becoming a common part of assessments, especially in practical subjects like education, medicine, business, and the arts students are often confused about the requirements and expectations for reflective portfolios, but this summary will help you understand what's involved. Reflective practice is, in its simplest form, thinking about or reflecting on what you do it is closely linked to the concept of learning from experience, in that you think about what you did, and what happened, and decide from that what you would do differently next time thinking about what has. Experience you had—becoming reflective is in part about feeling comfortable with this dual process the great benefit of including reflection in your learning is that by understanding why you do something in a particular way and recognizing how you feel about it, you can spot where your.
Hi, what does it mean to write a reflection paper on based on group project on paid domestic workers in canada write an essay with your thoughts on the work that a group of people (probably including you) did on the topic of 'paid domestic workers in canada. That reflective journals can be meaningful tasks for the student • if you compare the table on the previous page to this synthesis, it becomes clear that this student writer is restating each author's ideas like a grocery shopping list. Reflective teaching means looking at what you do in the classroom, thinking about why you do it, and thinking about if it works - a process of self-observation and self-evaluation. Withitness is a teacher's confidence of leading learning in a diversified classroom it also involves critical self-assessment, which is crucial for not sending out subliminal messages. A reflection is a personal responsein education (academia), a written reflection, is a personal response to an experience, a reading, or a specific question what is wanted is that you.
Learning to teach: becoming a reflective practitioner this free course is available to start right now review the full course description and key learning outcomes and create an account and enrol if you want a free statement of participation. What is a reflection paper to put it simply, a reflection paper or essay is something that reflects your insights, opinion, or observation you could quote once in a while but the essay should not be entirely what other people think about the subject. Of reflective practice, and the sorts of skills and attributes we would wish you to develop at the beginning of your teaching career, are explored later in this chapter reflective practice and professional knowledge.
The reflective teaching model what is the reflective teaching model reflective teaching is an inquiry approach that emphasizes an ethic of care, a constructivist approach to teaching, and creative problem solving (henderson, 2001. What follows is an introduction to reflective writing, followed by examples of structures you could use when you write a 'reflective' piece what is 'reflective writing' take a step back for a moment, and think about good practitioners of any profession that you have come across. Writing a reaction or response essay reaction or response papers are usually requested by teachers so that you'll consider carefully what you think or feel about something you've read the following guidelines are intended to be used for reacting to a reading although they could easily be used for reactions to films too. Well, i think that liberal arts education is a great way to expand your knowledge in different areas, while also focusing on you major it shapes a person, an individual, someone, who is interesting to talk with.
Whether you are interested in creating a reflective journal to improve your writing or any other part of your life, the pages you fill can become a participatory element in your daily routine. | http://pbassignmentxkrw.laluzsiuna.info/what-does-education-mean-to-you-reflective-piece.html |
While diet cannot eliminate mood disorders in all cases, many people have successfully relieved their mental health issues by changing their diets.
Mood swings can be caused when blood sugar levels are repeatedly allowed to spike and crash. High sugar foods or refined carbohydrates can raise blood sugar too high. Eating too much fat can prevent the body from processing sugar, thereby causing the same effect.
Mood disorders also result from an imbalance of neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, serotonin, glutamine, and endorphins. These neurotransmitters cannot be manufactured by the body without the required amino acids, fatty acids, minerals, and other nutrients obtained through a healthy diet.
Feelings of depression can further lead to cravings for sugar, fat, and processed carbohydrates, which feed into the cycle of poor eating and depression. | http://www.foodscout.org/benefits/mood.html |
The Energy and Climate Change Committee has criticised the lack of understanding in how to measure the success of the Green Deal
MPs on the government’s select committee laid into ministers for being unable to define what they hope to achieve through the government’s flagship energy efficiency policy which launched back in January 2013.
In a report, published today (22 May) entitled ‘The Green Deal, watching brief’, MPs said: ‘There is some confusion about exactly what outcomes DECC is expecting to see. We were disappointed that the minister was not able to give us a clear idea of what success would look like.
‘This is problematic because without this information, it will be impossible to tell whether delivery is happening according to plan, exceeding expectations or whether improvements are required. We hope that DECC will be able to provide greater clarity on this point.’
The chairman of the Energy and Climate Change Committee, Tim Yeo added: ‘Our role is to hold Government to account. But it’s impossible to do this if the Government itself cannot explain precisely what it is hoping to achieve through its policies.’
The UK Green Building Council’s chief executive Paul King has also agreed with this: ‘With rocketing energy bills becoming a real worry for householders; it’s encouraging that Government has moved home energy efficiency higher up the agenda. However, while there are positive signs that the Green Deal is helping to catalyse greater interest in home retrofit, there is a lack of clarity about what success looks like. Government needs to work with the private sector, to produce a clear route map for retrofitting the UK’s 26 million gas-guzzling homes, detailing what needs to be achieved, by when – giving industry the confidence to invest in a new market of energy services and retrofit solutions’.
The committee plans to monitor progress of the Green Deal over the coming years. The report sets out seven key areas in which it will focus including public awareness and communications, take-up levels, energy and carbon savings, financial savings and value for money, access to the Green Deal and ECO, customer satisfaction, and supply chain and job creation.
The report calls on the Government to publish information showing how well the Green Deal is progressing and also to collaborate with researchers to gain a better understanding of how the scheme is working.
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Links may be included in your comments but HTML is not permitted. | https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/mps-call-for-greater-scrutiny-over-green-deal-success/8648216.article |
Thomson JL, Landry AS, Tussing‐Humphreys LM, Goodman MH. Diet quality of children in the United States by body mass index and sociodemographic characteristics. Obes Sci Pract. 2020;6:84--98. 10.1002/osp4.388
1. INTRODUCTION {#osp4388-sec-0005}
===============
Assessment of diet quality involves both the quality and variety of a holistic diet, rather than individual nutrients, and can evaluate how closely eating patterns align with dietary recommendations [1](#osp4388-bib-0001){ref-type="ref"}. A recent systematic review and meta‐analysis of prospective cohort studies found that diets scoring highly on several diet quality indices were associated with significant reductions in risk of all‐cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes in adults [2](#osp4388-bib-0002){ref-type="ref"}. Because unhealthy dietary behaviours established early in life can lead to obesity in childhood that follows into adulthood [3](#osp4388-bib-0003){ref-type="ref"}, assessing the diet quality of children is important for addressing current and future health issues. Determining diet quality among child populations defined by weight status is crucial given the high prevalence of childhood obesity present in the United States. The relationship between diet quality and weight status in children has been studied by others, but results are inconclusive because both negative and positive associations have been reported [1](#osp4388-bib-0001){ref-type="ref"}, [4](#osp4388-bib-0004){ref-type="ref"}. Several sociodemographic factors have been associated with diet quality in children, including socio‐economic status (positive association), age (negative association), sex (higher for girls), race/ethnicity (lower for black children, higher for Mexican American children), and geographic location (lower for rural) [1](#osp4388-bib-0001){ref-type="ref"}, [5](#osp4388-bib-0005){ref-type="ref"}, but their interactions with weight status have not been extensively studied. Further exploration of the relationships among diet quality, weight status, and sociodemographic characteristics of children is needed as such information may be important for understanding obesity disparities in child populations and can aid in designing interventions to improve diet quality in children, especially those targeting specific populations.
The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) is a reliable and validated diet quality index that measures how well individuals in the United States aged 2 years and older meet dietary recommendations promoted by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans [6](#osp4388-bib-0006){ref-type="ref"}. Because scoring for the HEI operates on a density basis (eg, amount per 1000 kcal, ratio of fatty acids), diet quality is assessed independent of quantity [7](#osp4388-bib-0007){ref-type="ref"}. The current version, HEI‐2015, corresponds to the 2015‐2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and higher index scores have been associated with reduced risk for cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular disease mortality, and all‐cause mortality in a prospective cohort of black and white adults [8](#osp4388-bib-0008){ref-type="ref"}. HEI‐2015 scores can be interpreted both quantitatively (score range = 0‐100) and qualitatively (10‐point grading scale; A = 90‐100 points, B = 80‐89 points, C = 70‐79, D = 60‐69 points; F = 0‐59 points) to describe adherence to the Guidelines [9](#osp4388-bib-0009){ref-type="ref"}. For the US population overall and by child and adult status, HEI‐2015 scores are available on the US Department of Agriculture\'s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion website [10](#osp4388-bib-0010){ref-type="ref"}. However, to date, HEI‐2015 scores have not been published in the peer‐reviewed literature for nationally representative samples of children in the United States by body mass index (BMI) category. The purpose of this research was to use the HEI‐2015 to describe and provide reliable estimates of diet quality of children in the United States by BMI category and by sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender, race/ethnicity, and poverty status) within BMI category. These analyses provide estimates of nationally representative total diet quality and component scores within BMI categories that can be employed by researchers to compare child populations of interest and to identify dietary components that score especially low for quality.
2. METHODS {#osp4388-sec-0006}
==========
2.1. Study design and data source {#osp4388-sec-0007}
---------------------------------
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is a programme of studies designed to assess the health and nutritional status of noninstitutionalized children and adults in the United States [11](#osp4388-bib-0011){ref-type="ref"}. The NHANES interview includes demographic, socio‐economic, dietary, and health‐related questions. The 2009 to 2010, 2011 to 2012, and 2013 to 2014 cycles of NHANES data were used for this analysis because they were the most recent cycles with available dietary data at the time the analyses were conducted. To obtain reliable estimates for child populations, three cycles of data were used. The NHANES protocol was approved by the National Center for Health Statistics Research Ethics Review Board (protocol \#2005‐06 and \#2011‐17). Informed consent was obtained from participants 18 years of age and older. Written parental consent and child assent was obtained from participants 2 to 17 years of age.
2.2. Dietary intake {#osp4388-sec-0008}
-------------------
Two days of dietary intake were collected using the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Automated Multiple‐Pass Method (AMPM), a fully computerized instrument for collecting 24‐hour dietary recalls either in person or by telephone [12](#osp4388-bib-0012){ref-type="ref"}. The first day\'s interview was conducted in person in the Mobile Examination Center. The second day\'s interview was collected by telephone 3 to 10 days after the first day. Only the first day\'s data were used in these analyses. Proxies reported dietary intake for children 5 years of age and younger and assisted with the dietary interview for children 6 to 11 years of age. Children 12 years of age and older self‐reported dietary intake. Only recalls that were coded as reliable and met the minimum criteria (first four steps of five‐step AMPM were completed and food/beverages consumed for each reported eating occasion identified) were included in the analyses. Recalls were checked for consumption of human milk, which can be problematic because amounts are not quantified causing missing values for amounts of energy and nutrients from human milk. No child reported consuming human milk on the first day of intake; hence, no recalls were excluded for this reason. Of the 9000 participants between 2 and 18 years of age with reliable dietary recalls, 106 were excluded due to missing BMI data.
2.3. HEI‐2015 scores {#osp4388-sec-0009}
--------------------
To compute HEI‐2015 scores, nutrient content and food serving equivalents are needed. We used the USDA Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies, versions 5, 2011‐2012, and 2013‐2014 [13](#osp4388-bib-0013){ref-type="ref"}, to code nutrient content of the dietary intake data. We used the USDA Food Patterns Equivalent Database, versions 2009‐2010, 2011‐2012, and 2013‐2014 [14](#osp4388-bib-0014){ref-type="ref"}, to compute food serving equivalents. Total HEI‐2015 scores can range from 0 to 100 and are computed by summing scores for 13 components. The nine adequacy components are as follows: total fruits, whole fruits, total vegetables, greens and beans, whole grains, dairy, total protein foods, seafood and plant proteins, and fatty acids. The four moderation components are as follows: refined grains, sodium, added sugars, and saturated fats. Higher intakes of adequacy components result in higher scores (increase intake for healthier diet) and maximum scores are based upon meeting or exceeding the lowest recommended amount for each component. Lower intakes of moderation components result in higher scores (decrease intake for healthier diet), and maximum scores are based upon meeting or remaining under the recommended limit for each component. Additional details of the HEI‐2015 scoring standards can be found on the National Cancer Institute\'s website [15](#osp4388-bib-0015){ref-type="ref"}.
2.4. BMI and sociodemographic characteristics {#osp4388-sec-0010}
---------------------------------------------
Body measurements were conducted in the Mobile Examination Center by trained health technicians. BMI was calculated as weight (kg) divided by height (m^2^), and categories were based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\'s sex‐specific 2000 BMI‐for‐age growth charts. The four categories are underweight (BMI \< 5th percentile), normal weight (5th percentile ≤ BMI \< 85th percentile), overweight (85th percentile ≤ BMI \< 95th percentile), and obese (≥95th percentile). Age, gender, race/ethnicity, and family income were self‐reported directly by participants 16 years of age or older and emancipated minors. For participants less than 16 years of age or those who could not answer the questions themselves, a proxy (eg, parent or guardian) provided this information. For analytic purposes, we categorized age into three groups---2 to 5 years, 6 to 11 years, and 12 to 18 years---based on mode of dietary recall (proxy, proxy assistance, and self‐report) and education level (preschool, grade school, and middle/high school). Race/ethnicity included five categories---non‐Hispanic black, non‐Hispanic white, Mexican American, other Hispanic, and other race (including multiracial). Poverty to income ratio (PIR) was calculated by dividing family income by the Department of Health and Human Services poverty guidelines specific to the survey year. The PIR value was not computed if income was missing or insufficiently reported for computational purposes (ie, in dichotomous form as \<\$20 000 or ≥\$20 000). PIR values at or above 5.00 were coded as ≥5.00 because of disclosure concerns (eg, potential for participant identification). For analytic purposes, we dichotomized PIR as \<1.00 (below poverty threshold) or ≥ 1.00 (at or above poverty threshold). For succinctness, children living in families with income below the poverty threshold were identified as PIR \< 1 and children living in families with income at or above the poverty threshold were identified as PIR ≥ 1.
2.5. Statistical analyses {#osp4388-sec-0011}
-------------------------
Statistical analyses were performed using SAS software, version 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc, Cary, North Carolina). BMI and sociodemographic characteristics of the child dataset were summarized using procedures designed for complex sample surveys that can incorporate cluster, strata, and weight variables. Six‐year weights were constructed for these analyses since three cycles of NHANES data were used. Based on SAS programs and examples provided by the National Cancer Institute [15](#osp4388-bib-0015){ref-type="ref"}, the population ratio method was used to estimate intakes of dietary components for use in calculating HEI‐2015 scores. For this method, intake of the relevant dietary constituents and energy were summed for all children in the population of interest to obtain estimates of the population\'s total intake, and then ratios of the constituent to energy were computed and scored [15](#osp4388-bib-0015){ref-type="ref"}. Usual intake at the population level is estimated using the population ratio method. To aid in visualization of the multidimensional qualities of HEI‐2015, the 13 component scores were graphed using radar charts. Component scores were converted to percentages of the maximum score such that the outer edge of the circle (or spoke) represented a score that is 100% of the maximum score for that component, while the centre of the circle represents a score of 0% for any component. Additionally, HEI‐2015 mean total scores and 95% confidence intervals were graphed using interval plots. Because no direct test exists for making statistical comparisons between groups when using the population ratio method [15](#osp4388-bib-0015){ref-type="ref"}, comparisons were based upon the computed 95% confidence intervals. If the confidence intervals overlapped between two child populations, it was concluded that a significant difference did not exist. Conversely, if confidence intervals did not overlap between two populations, it was concluded that a significant difference did exist. Due to small sample sizes, estimates were unreliable for race/ethnicity within the underweight category, and therefore, these estimates were not reported.
3. RESULTS {#osp4388-sec-0012}
==========
Anthropometric and sociodemographic characteristics of the children included in the analytic dataset (N = 8894) are presented in Table [1](#osp4388-tbl-0001){ref-type="table"}. The majority (64%) of children were classified with normal weight while one‐third (33%) were classified with overweight or obesity. Percentages of children increased with ascending age group. Percentages of boys and girls in the analytic sample were approximately equal. The majority of children were non‐Hispanic white (55%) with other Hispanic representing the smallest racial/ethnic group (7%). Approximately three‐fourths of the children lived in families that were at or above the poverty threshold.
######
Anthropometric and sociodemographic characteristics for children 2‐18 years of age: NHANES 2009‐2014 (N = 8894)
---------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------ -------- ------
Characteristic n[a](#osp4388-note-0002){ref-type="fn"} \%[b](#osp4388-note-0003){ref-type="fn"} 95% CI
BMI[c](#osp4388-note-0004){ref-type="fn"}, kg/m^2^
Underweight 305 3.3 2.7 3.8
Normal weight 5590 64.2 62.6 65.7
Overweight 1396 15.5 14.5 16.6
Obese 1603 17.0 15.9 18.2
Age, y
2‐5 2310 22.3 21.2 23.4
6‐11 3334 33.9 32.6 35.2
12‐18 3250 43.8 42.2 45.4
Gender
Male 4538 50.8 49.3 52.3
Female 4356 49.2 47.7 50.7
Ethnicity
Non‐Hispanic black 2190 13.9 11.5 16.3
Non‐Hispanic white 2456 54.7 49.6 59.8
Mexican American 2083 15.4 12.0 18.8
Other Hispanic 991 7.3 5.5 9.1
Other race[d](#osp4388-note-0005){ref-type="fn"} 1174 8.8 7.5 10.0
Poverty income ratio
Below (\<1) 2797 23.9 21.1 26.8
At or above (≥1) 5349 76.1 73.2 78.9
---------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------ -------- ------
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; CI, confidence interval; NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Sample sizes are unweighted.
Percentages & CI adjusted for 6‐year survey weights.
Underweight BMI \< 5th percentile; normal weight 5th ≤ BMI \< 85th percentile; overweight 85th ≤ BMI \< 95th percentile; obese BMI ≥ 95th percentile.
Includes multiracial.
3.1. HEI‐2015 total scores {#osp4388-sec-0013}
--------------------------
HEI‐2015 mean total scores for children by BMI category and by age, gender, race/ethnicity, and PIR within BMI category are presented in Tables [2](#osp4388-tbl-0002){ref-type="table"}, [3](#osp4388-tbl-0003){ref-type="table"}, [4](#osp4388-tbl-0004){ref-type="table"}, [5](#osp4388-tbl-0005){ref-type="table"}, [6](#osp4388-tbl-0006){ref-type="table"} and Figures [1](#osp4388-fig-0001){ref-type="fig"}, [2](#osp4388-fig-0002){ref-type="fig"}, [3](#osp4388-fig-0003){ref-type="fig"}. Mean total scores were 50.4, 55.2, 55.1, and 54.0 for children with underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obesity, respectively, and were not significantly different (Table [2](#osp4388-tbl-0002){ref-type="table"} and Figure [1](#osp4388-fig-0001){ref-type="fig"}). Significant differences were present for age group within BMI category (Table [3](#osp4388-tbl-0003){ref-type="table"} and Figure [2](#osp4388-fig-0002){ref-type="fig"}). Mean total scores were significantly higher for the youngest versus the two older age groups for children with normal weight (60.2 vs 54.0 and 52.0) and for children with obesity (59.7 vs 53.3 and 52.6). Mean total scores were significantly higher for the youngest versus the oldest age group for children with overweight (59.2 vs 51.5).
######
HEI‐2015 scores for children 2‐18 years of age by BMI category: NHANES 2009‐2014 (N = 8894)
-------------------------- ----------------------- -------------------------- ----------------------- ------------------ -------- ------ -------- ------ -------- ------ ------ ------ ------
Underweight (n = 305) Normal Weight (n = 5590) Overweight (n = 1396) Obese (n = 1603)
Component Range Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI
Total fruits 0‐5 3.1 2.6 3.7 3.8 3.6 4.0 3.7 3.3 4.1 3.3 3.0 3.7
Whole fruits 0‐5 3.8 3.1 4.5 4.7 4.4 5.0 4.6 3.9 5.0 4.2 3.7 4.7
Total vegetables 0‐5 2.0 1.7 2.3 2.3 2.2 2.3 2.3 2.2 2.4 2.5 2.2 2.7
Greens & beans 0‐5 1.5 0.7 2.4 1.6 1.4 1.8 1.7 1.4 2.0 1.9 1.2 2.5
Whole grains 0‐10 2.4 1.8 2.9 2.7 2.5 2.9 2.4 2.1 2.7 2.3 2.0 2.5
Dairy 0‐10 9.5 8.3 10.0 9.0 8.7 9.3 8.7 8.3 9.0 8.6 8.2 9.1
Total protein foods 0‐5 4.3 3.9 4.7 4.5 4.3 4.7 4.9 4.5 5.0 5.0 4.8 5.0
Seafood & plant proteins 0‐5 2.8 2.0 3.6 3.0 2.7 3.4 3.1 2.7 3.5 2.9 2.5 3.4
Fatty acids 0‐10 1.9 1.0 2.8 3.1 2.8 3.4 3.3 2.9 3.7 3.6 3.1 4.0
Refined grains 0‐10 4.4 3.4 5.3 4.7 4.5 5.0 4.9 4.4 5.4 4.6 4.2 5.1
Sodium 0‐10 4.8 4.0 5.6 4.7 4.5 5.0 4.5 4.1 4.9 3.9 3.5 4.4
Added sugars 0‐10 5.8 4.9 6.6 5.5 5.3 5.8 5.7 5.3 6.0 5.5 5.1 5.9
Saturated fats 0‐10 4.2 3.2 5.2 5.6 5.4 5.8 5.4 4.9 5.8 5.8 5.4 6.2
Total score 0‐100 50.4 46.5 54.5 55.2 54.1 56.2 55.1 53.2 56.9 54.0 51.6 56.5
-------------------------- ----------------------- -------------------------- ----------------------- ------------------ -------- ------ -------- ------ -------- ------ ------ ------ ------
*Note.* HEI scores are calculated using population ratio method. Underweight BMI \< 5th percentile; normal weight 5th ≤ BMI \< 85th percentile; overweight 85th ≤ BMI \< 95th percentile; obese BMI ≥ 95th percentile.
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index (kg/m^2^); CI, confidence interval; HEI, Healthy Eating Index; NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
######
HEI‐2015 scores for children 2‐18 years of age by BMI category and age group: NHANES 2009‐2014 (N = 8894)
-------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- -------------------- -------- ------ -------- ------ -------- ------ ------ ------
Underweight (BMI \< 5th Percentile)
2‐5 y (n = 102) 6‐11 y (n = 113) 12‐18 y (n = 90)
Component Range Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI
Total fruits 0‐5 4.8 3.8 5.0 3.1 2.2 4.1 2.0 1.4 2.6
Whole fruits 0‐5 4.9 4.3 5.0 3.7 2.6 4.8 2.8 1.9 3.6
Total vegetables 0‐5 2.0 1.4 2.6 1.8 1.3 2.3 2.3 1.8 2.8
Greens & beans 0‐5 2.0 0.7 3.3 1.1 0.3 1.9 1.9 0.0 3.8
Whole grains 0‐10 2.6 1.9 3.2 2.5 1.4 3.7 2.1 1.1 3.2
Dairy 0‐10 9.9 9.1 10.0 9.5 7.5 10.0 8.5 6.7 10.0
Total protein foods 0‐5 4.0 3.1 4.9 3.6 2.9 4.5 5.0 4.6 5.0
Seafood & plant proteins 0‐5 3.8 1.9 5.0 3.0 1.8 4.2 2.1 0.8 3.3
Fatty acids 0‐10 2.0 1.0 3.2 1.8 0.3 3.7 1.9 0.9 3.0
Refined grains 0‐10 5.0 2.9 7.1 4.0 2.5 5.4 4.6 2.7 6.5
Sodium 0‐10 5.8 4.6 7.0 5.4 4.3 6.4 3.6 2.0 5.3
Added sugars 0‐10 6.5 5.6 7.3 5.5 4.2 6.8 5.8 4.6 6.9
Saturated fats 0‐10 5.1 4.0 6.1 4.1 2.5 5.8 3.9 2.6 5.2
Total score 0‐100 58.4 50.8 64.9 49.0 42.6 55.8 46.4 41.2 51.7
Normal Weight (5th ≤ BMI \< 85th Percentile)
2‐5 y (n = 1619) 6‐11 y (n = 2024) 12‐18 y (n = 1947)
Component Range Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI
Total fruits 0‐5 5.0 5.0 5.0 3.8 3.5 4.1 2.8 2.6 3.1
Whole fruits 0‐5 5.0 5.0 5.0 4.9 4.6 5.0 3.6 3.1 4.0
Total vegetables 0‐5 2.1 2.0 2.2 2.1 2.0 2.3 2.4 2.2 2.6
Greens & beans 0‐5 1.6 1.3 1.9 1.5 1.3 1.8 1.6 1.3 1.9
Whole grains 0‐10 3.4 3.0 3.8 2.7 2.4 2.9 2.4 2.1 2.6
Dairy 0‐10 10.0 10.0 10.0 9.0 8.6 9.3 8.0 7.5 8.5
Total protein foods 0‐5 4.0 3.8 4.2 4.2 4.0 4.3 4.9 4.6 5.0
Seafood & plant proteins 0‐5 2.9 2.4 3.5 2.7 2.4 3.0 3.4 2.8 3.9
Fatty acids 0‐10 2.3 1.9 2.7 2.9 2.6 3.2 3.6 3.1 4.1
Refined grains 0‐10 5.9 5.5 6.4 4.4 4.0 4.7 4.5 4.1 4.8
Sodium 0‐10 5.8 5.5 6.2 5.0 4.7 5.3 4.1 3.7 4.4
Added sugars 0‐10 6.8 6.6 7.1 5.4 5.1 5.7 5.1 4.7 5.4
Saturated fats 0‐10 5.3 4.9 5.8 5.5 5.2 5.8 5.8 5.4 6.1
Total score 0‐100 60.2 58.5 62.1 54.0 52.5 55.4 52.0 50.3 53.7
Overweight (85th ≤ BMI \< 95th Percentile)
2‐5 y (n = 317) 6‐11 y (n = 540) 12‐18 y (n = 539)
Component Range Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI
Total fruits 0‐5 5.0 4.9 5.0 3.7 3.2 4.3 2.8 2.3 3.4
Whole fruits 0‐5 5.0 5.0 5.0 4.9 4.1 5.0 3.6 2.6 4.6
Total vegetables 0‐5 2.1 1.8 2.4 2.2 2.0 2.4 2.5 2.2 2.8
Greens & beans 0‐5 1.3 1.0 1.6 2.0 1.4 2.5 1.7 1.2 2.1
Whole grains 0‐10 2.9 2.4 3.5 2.5 2.1 2.9 2.2 1.7 2.6
Dairy 0‐10 10.0 10.0 10.0 8.7 8.1 9.3 7.4 6.7 8.1
Total protein foods 0‐5 4.0 3.6 4.3 4.5 4.2 4.9 5.0 4.7 5.0
Seafood & plant proteins 0‐5 3.0 2.3 3.6 3.4 2.6 4.2 3.0 2.3 3.7
Fatty acids 0‐10 2.2 1.4 3.1 3.1 2.4 3.8 4.0 3.4 4.5
Refined grains 0‐10 6.3 5.7 7.0 4.2 3.4 5.0 4.9 4.2 5.6
Sodium 0‐10 5.6 5.2 6.1 4.8 4.0 5.5 3.7 3.0 4.4
Added sugars 0‐10 7.0 6.6 7.5 5.8 5.3 6.2 5.1 4.4 5.8
Saturated fats 0‐10 4.8 3.9 5.7 5.2 4.3 6.1 5.8 5.4 6.1
Total score 0‐100 59.2 56.4 62.1 54.9 52.1 57.5 51.5 49.4 53.7
Obese (BMI ≥ 95th Percentile)
2‐5 y (n = 272) 6‐11 y (n = 657) 12‐18 y (n = 674)
Component Range Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI
Total fruits 0‐5 4.9 4.3 5.0 3.5 3.1 3.9 2.8 2.2 3.3
Whole fruits 0‐5 5.0 4.9 5.0 4.5 3.9 5.0 3.5 2.6 4.3
Total vegetables 0‐5 2.2 1.9 2.4 2.3 2.1 2.4 2.8 2.3 3.2
Greens & beans 0‐5 1.5 0.8 2.2 1.5 1.2 1.9 2.2 0.9 3.6
Whole grains 0‐10 2.7 2.1 3.3 2.5 2.1 2.8 2.0 1.6 2.4
Dairy 0‐10 10.0 9.5 10.0 9.0 8.3 9.6 8.0 7.3 8.7
Total protein foods 0‐5 4.6 4.2 4.9 4.7 4.3 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0
Seafood & plant proteins 0‐5 2.5 1.9 3.2 3.1 2.5 3.8 2.8 1.9 3.8
Fatty acids 0‐10 2.9 2.3 3.6 2.9 2.4 3.5 4.2 3.6 4.9
Refined grains 0‐10 6.4 5.7 7.0 4.0 3.4 4.6 4.8 4.1 5.6
Sodium 0‐10 5.1 4.3 5.9 4.3 3.9 4.7 3.3 2.6 4.1
Added sugars 0‐10 6.1 5.5 6.8 6.1 5.6 6.5 4.9 4.1 5.7
Saturated fats 0‐10 5.9 5.1 6.6 5.1 4.6 5.6 6.3 5.8 6.9
Total score 0‐100 59.7 57.2 62.2 53.3 50.8 55.8 52.6 48.6 56.9
-------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- -------------------- -------- ------ -------- ------ -------- ------ ------ ------
*Note.* HEI scores are calculated using population ratio method.
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index (kg/m^2^); CI, confidence interval; HEI, Healthy Eating Index; NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
######
HEI‐2015 scores for children 2‐18 years of age by BMI category and gender: NHANES 2009‐2014 (N = 8894)
-------------------------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- ------------------ ------ -------- ------ -------- ------ -------- ------ ------ ------ ------
Underweight (BMI \< 5th Percentile) Normal Weight (5th ≤ BMI \< 85th Percentile)
Boys (n = 164) Girls (n = 141) Boys (n = 2836) Girls (n = 2754)
Component Range Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI
Total fruits 0‐5 2.8 2.3 3.4 3.4 2.5 4.4 3.7 3.4 4.0 3.8 3.5 4.1
Whole fruits 0‐5 3.8 2.9 4.7 3.8 2.8 4.9 4.5 4.2 4.9 4.9 4.4 5.0
Total vegetables 0‐5 2.0 1.5 2.4 2.0 1.6 2.5 2.1 2.0 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.5
Greens & beans 0‐5 1.4 0.1 2.7 1.7 0.8 2.7 1.5 1.2 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.9
Whole grains 0‐10 2.1 1.7 2.5 2.7 1.7 3.7 2.7 2.5 2.9 2.6 2.4 2.9
Dairy 0‐10 9.0 7.7 10.0 9.7 8.5 10.0 9.2 8.8 9.6 8.8 8.3 9.2
Total protein foods 0‐5 4.2 3.6 4.8 4.4 3.8 5.0 4.7 4.4 4.9 4.3 4.0 4.5
Seafood & plant proteins 0‐5 2.6 1.6 3.5 3.1 1.9 4.3 2.9 2.5 3.4 3.1 2.8 3.5
Fatty acids 0‐10 1.7 0.7 2.7 2.1 0.9 3.5 3.0 2.6 3.4 3.2 2.9 3.4
Refined grains 0‐10 4.2 3.1 5.3 4.5 2.6 6.3 4.7 4.4 5.0 4.7 4.4 5.1
Sodium 0‐10 5.3 4.5 6.0 4.3 2.8 5.8 4.6 4.2 5.0 4.9 4.6 5.2
Added sugars 0‐10 5.3 4.2 6.5 6.3 5.3 7.3 5.6 5.4 5.9 5.4 5.1 5.8
Saturated fats 0‐10 4.0 2.9 5.1 4.4 3.2 5.8 5.7 5.4 5.9 5.5 5.3 5.8
Total score 0‐100 48.2 43.9 52.7 52.7 47.1 58.2 55.0 53.6 56.4 55.3 54.0 56.6
Overweight (85th ≤ BMI \< 95th Percentile) Obese (≥95th Percentile)
Boys (n = 701) Girls (n = 695) Boys (n = 837) Girls (n = 766)
Component Range Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI
Total fruits 0‐5 3.7 3.2 4.3 3.6 3.1 4.1 3.3 2.8 3.8 3.4 3.1 3.7
Whole fruits 0‐5 4.6 3.7 5.0 4.5 3.8 5.0 4.1 3.3 5.0 4.2 3.8 4.7
Total vegetables 0‐5 2.3 2.0 2.5 2.4 2.1 2.6 2.4 2.2 2.7 2.6 2.2 3.0
Greens & beans 0‐5 1.7 1.1 2.2 1.8 1.3 2.2 1.9 1.2 2.5 1.9 1.0 2.7
Whole grains 0‐10 2.3 1.9 2.7 2.6 2.2 2.9 2.2 1.9 2.6 2.3 1.8 2.8
Dairy 0‐10 8.5 8.0 8.9 8.9 8.3 9.6 8.9 8.2 9.6 8.2 7.8 8.7
Total protein foods 0‐5 4.9 4.4 5.0 4.7 4.3 5.0 5.0 4.8 5.0 4.8 4.5 5.0
Seafood & plant proteins 0‐5 3.0 2.5 3.4 3.4 2.6 4.1 3.1 2.5 3.8 2.7 2.2 3.1
Fatty acids 0‐10 3.2 2.7 3.8 3.5 3.0 4.0 3.3 2.8 3.9 3.9 3.4 4.4
Refined grains 0‐10 4.7 4.1 5.4 5.1 4.5 5.6 5.0 4.4 5.6 4.2 3.6 4.8
Sodium 0‐10 4.4 3.8 5.0 4.5 4.0 5.1 4.1 3.5 4.7 3.7 3.1 4.2
Added sugars 0‐10 5.6 5.1 6.2 5.8 5.3 6.2 5.3 4.7 5.9 5.7 5.4 6.1
Saturated fats 0‐10 5.4 4.7 6.0 5.4 4.9 5.9 5.8 5.2 6.3 5.8 5.3 6.4
Total score 0‐100 54.2 51.7 56.5 56.0 53.5 58.6 54.4 51.7 57.2 53.4 50.4 56.5
-------------------------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- ------------------ ------ -------- ------ -------- ------ -------- ------ ------ ------ ------
*Note.* HEI scores are calculated using population ratio method.
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index (kg/m^2^); CI, confidence interval; HEI, Healthy Eating Index; NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
######
HEI‐2015 scores for children 2‐18 years of age by BMI category and race/ethnicity: NHANES 2009‐2014 (N = 8894)
-------------------------- ---------------- --------------- -------------- -------------- ------ -------- ------ -------- ------ -------- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
Normal Weight
NHB (n = 1342) NHW (n = 1670) MA (n = 1179) OH (n = 583) OR (n = 816)
Component Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI
Total fruits 3.5 3.2 3.7 3.6 3.4 3.8 4.3 3.9 4.8 4.1 3.5 4.6 4.1 3.6 4.6
Whole fruits 3.5 3.2 3.9 4.8 4.4 5.0 5.0 4.7 5.0 4.5 3.5 5.0 4.7 4.2 5.0
Total vegetables 2.1 2.0 2.3 2.2 2.1 2.4 2.5 2.3 2.6 2.3 2.1 2.5 2.4 2.1 2.7
Greens & beans 1.5 1.2 1.8 1.4 1.1 1.6 2.2 1.7 2.7 2.0 1.5 2.5 2.0 1.5 2.5
Whole grains 2.4 2.1 2.7 2.8 2.5 3.1 2.2 1.9 2.4 2.8 2.2 3.4 2.9 2.5 3.4
Dairy 7.1 6.6 7.6 9.6 9.1 10.0 9.1 8.7 9.6 8.2 7.8 8.6 8.6 8.0 9.2
Total protein foods 4.8 4.6 5.0 4.2 3.9 4.5 4.8 4.5 5.0 4.8 4.3 5.0 4.8 4.4 5.0
Seafood & plant proteins 2.4 2.1 2.8 2.9 2.5 3.4 3.6 2.9 4.3 3.2 2.3 4.1 3.6 2.9 4.3
Fatty acids 4.4 4.0 4.7 2.7 2.3 3.1 3.1 2.7 3.5 3.4 2.9 3.9 3.2 2.8 3.6
Refined grains 5.1 4.7 5.4 5.0 4.7 5.4 3.5 3.1 4.0 4.9 4.1 5.6 3.8 2.8 4.8
Sodium 4.8 4.5 5.1 4.9 4.5 5.3 4.8 4.4 5.1 5.0 4.6 5.4 3.2 2.3 4.1
Added sugars 5.4 5.1 5.7 5.0 4.7 5.4 6.6 6.3 6.9 5.8 5.3 6.2 7.3 6.6 7.9
Saturated fats 5.9 5.7 6.2 5.4 5.1 5.7 5.4 5.1 5.8 6.2 5.7 6.7 6.2 5.8 6.7
Total score 53.0 51.5 54.5 54.6 53.3 55.9 57.1 55.0 59.2 57.0 53.9 60.0 56.8 54.2 59.4
Overweight
NHB (n = 341) NHW (n = 344) MA (n = 384) OH (n = 178) OR (n = 149)
Component Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI
Total fruits 3.0 2.6 3.4 3.6 2.9 4.3 4.3 3.7 4.9 3.4 2.7 4.2 4.4 3.3 5.0
Whole fruits 2.6 2.1 3.0 4.6 3.4 5.0 5.0 4.7 5.0 4.1 2.9 5.0 5.0 4.4 5.0
Total vegetables 2.2 2.0 2.5 2.1 1.9 2.4 2.7 2.3 3.0 2.2 1.9 2.4 2.8 2.3 3.2
Greens & beans 1.4 0.8 1.9 1.3 0.9 1.8 2.6 2.0 3.2 1.8 0.9 2.7 2.9 1.3 4.3
Whole grains 2.2 1.7 2.7 2.5 2.0 3.0 2.1 1.7 2.6 2.2 1.4 3.0 3.2 2.1 4.2
Dairy 7.3 6.4 8.1 9.1 8.4 9.7 8.6 8.0 9.3 8.5 7.5 9.6 9.0 7.9 10.0
Total protein foods 4.7 4.2 5.0 4.8 4.2 5.0 4.9 4.5 5.0 4.6 4.1 5.0 4.7 3.9 5.0
Seafood & plant proteins 2.3 1.4 3.2 2.8 2.3 3.4 3.6 2.8 4.4 3.2 2.2 4.1 4.5 2.2 5.0
Fatty acids 4.6 3.9 5.2 2.8 2.2 3.4 3.9 3.3 4.6 3.0 2.1 4.1 3.6 2.3 5.1
Refined grains 4.7 3.6 5.8 5.4 4.6 6.2 3.9 3.3 4.6 4.3 3.1 5.5 4.8 3.7 6.0
Sodium 4.2 3.4 5.0 4.6 3.8 5.3 4.6 3.9 5.2 5.3 4.4 6.1 3.1 1.8 4.4
Added sugars 5.2 4.5 6.0 5.5 4.9 6.1 6.5 6.1 6.9 4.9 4.1 5.7 7.0 6.1 7.9
Saturated fats 6.0 5.4 6.6 4.8 4.1 5.5 6.2 5.7 6.8 5.9 5.1 6.6 5.6 4.0 7.3
Total score 50.3 47.1 53.6 53.9 50.9 56.6 59.0 55.7 62.2 53.3 50.0 56.6 60.4 55.0 65.4
Obese
NHB (n = 438) NHW (n = 359) MA (n = 458) OH (n = 203) OR (n = 145)
Component Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI
Total fruits 3.3 2.7 3.9 3.1 2.5 3.7 3.7 3.2 4.2 3.9 3.1 4.7 3.1 2.1 4.0
Whole fruits 3.6 2.9 4.4 4.4 3.5 5.0 4.2 3.5 4.9 4.5 3.4 5.0 3.7 2.4 4.8
Total vegetables 2.2 2.0 2.5 2.5 2.0 3.1 2.5 2.3 2.7 2.6 2.1 3.0 2.6 1.9 3.2
Greens & beans 1.6 1.1 2.1 1.7 0.5 3.1 2.0 1.6 2.5 2.4 1.5 3.3 2.2 0.8 3.7
Whole grains 2.3 1.9 2.8 2.3 1.9 2.7 1.9 1.6 2.2 2.6 1.7 3.5 2.4 1.5 3.3
Dairy 7.0 6.3 7.8 9.1 8.4 9.8 8.6 7.7 9.6 8.6 7.8 9.5 9.1 7.7 10.0
Total protein foods 5.0 4.9 5.0 4.8 4.5 5.0 5.0 4.6 5.0 5.0 4.6 5.0 4.7 4.1 5.0
Seafood & plant proteins 2.7 2.0 3.3 2.7 2.0 3.5 3.2 2.5 3.9 3.6 2.6 4.6 3.2 1.8 4.7
Fatty acids 4.2 3.8 4.7 3.4 2.7 4.2 3.7 2.9 4.4 3.6 2.4 4.8 2.9 1.8 3.9
Refined grains 5.3 4.5 6.0 4.9 4.2 5.7 3.7 2.9 4.4 4.6 3.5 5.8 4.4 3.4 5.3
Sodium 4.4 3.8 4.9 3.8 3.0 4.5 4.0 3.3 4.6 4.3 3.6 5.0 3.2 1.6 4.9
Added sugars 5.2 4.7 5.8 4.7 4.0 5.5 6.5 5.9 7.0 6.6 5.8 7.3 6.6 5.8 7.5
Saturated fats 5.7 5.2 6.3 6.0 5.3 6.6 5.6 5.1 6.2 5.9 4.9 6.8 5.0 4.0 6.0
Total score 52.6 49.9 55.5 53.5 49.3 57.9 54.5 51.8 57.4 58.0 53.0 63.1 53.0 49.3 56.8
-------------------------- ---------------- --------------- -------------- -------------- ------ -------- ------ -------- ------ -------- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
*Note.* HEI scores are calculated using population ratio method. Underweight racial/ethnic groups are not reported due to small samples sizes resulting in unreliable estimates.
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index (kg/m^2^); CI, confidence interval; HEI, Healthy Eating Index; NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; NHB, non‐Hispanic black; NHW, non‐Hispanic white; MA, Mexican American; OH, other Hispanic; OR, other race.
######
HEI‐2015 sores for children 2‐18 years of age by BMI category and PIR class: NHANES 2009‐2014 (N = 8894)
-------------------------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- -------------------- ------ -------- ------ -------- ------ -------- ------ ------ ------ ------
Underweight (BMI \< 5th Percentile) Normal Weight (5th ≤ BMI \< 85th Percentile)
PIR \< 1 (n = 91) PIR ≥ 1 (n = 191) PIR \< 1 (n = 1725) PIR ≥ 1 (n = 3418)
Component Range Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI
Total fruits 0‐5 2.6 1.8 3.5 3.2 2.6 3.8 3.6 3.3 3.8 3.8 3.6 4.1
Whole fruits 0‐5 3.0 1.8 4.3 3.8 3.1 4.6 4.1 3.7 4.5 4.9 4.5 5.0
Total vegetables 0‐5 2.2 1.7 2.7 1.9 1.5 2.3 2.3 2.2 2.5 2.2 2.1 2.4
Greens & beans 0‐5 1.1 0.2 2.0 1.7 0.6 2.8 1.9 1.5 2.3 1.5 1.4 1.7
Whole grains 0‐10 2.0 1.5 2.6 2.5 1.9 3.2 2.4 2.1 2.6 2.8 2.5 3.0
Dairy 0‐10 8.9 7.1 10.0 9.6 8.3 10.0 8.6 8.2 9.1 9.1 8.7 9.5
Total protein foods 0‐5 4.4 3.7 5.0 4.3 3.8 4.9 4.7 4.4 4.9 4.4 4.2 4.7
Seafood & plant proteins 0‐5 2.9 1.3 4.6 2.8 1.9 3.8 2.8 2.4 3.3 3.0 2.6 3.4
Fatty acids 0‐10 2.0 1.0 3.1 1.9 0.7 3.2 3.2 2.8 3.6 3.1 2.7 3.4
Refined grains 0‐10 3.8 2.4 5.2 4.6 3.5 5.8 4.6 4.2 4.9 4.9 4.6 5.1
Sodium 0‐10 4.9 3.8 6.0 4.7 3.7 5.7 4.5 4.2 4.8 4.8 4.4 5.1
Added sugars 0‐10 4.9 3.5 6.4 6.0 5.1 6.8 5.8 5.4 6.1 5.4 5.1 5.7
Saturated fats 0‐10 4.8 3.7 6.0 4.0 2.7 5.3 5.4 5.1 5.8 5.7 5.4 5.9
Total score 0‐100 47.7 42.8 52.8 51.1 46.6 55.8 53.9 52.2 55.6 55.6 54.5 56.6
Overweight (85th ≤ BMI \< 95th Percentile) Obese (BMI ≥ 95th Percentile)
PIR \< 1 (n = 429) PIR ≥ 1 (n = 834) PIR \< 1 (n = 552) PIR ≥ 1 (n = 906)
Component Range Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI Mean 95% CI
Total fruits 0‐5 3.4 3.0 3.9 3.7 3.1 4.3 3.2 2.8 3.5 3.4 2.9 3.9
Whole fruits 0‐5 4.0 3.3 4.8 4.6 3.7 5.0 4.0 3.5 4.6 4.3 3.5 5.0
Total vegetables 0‐5 2.4 2.2 2.7 2.2 2.1 2.4 2.5 2.2 2.8 2.5 2.1 2.9
Greens & beans 0‐5 2.4 1.6 3.2 1.4 1.1 1.8 1.7 1.3 2.1 2.0 1.1 2.9
Whole grains 0‐10 2.3 1.8 2.7 2.6 2.2 3.0 2.0 1.6 2.5 2.3 2.0 2.6
Dairy 0‐10 8.4 7.6 9.3 8.7 8.2 9.3 8.8 8.2 9.5 8.6 8.0 9.2
Total protein foods 0‐5 4.9 4.2 5.0 4.7 4.3 5.0 5.0 4.8 5.0 4.9 4.7 5.0
Seafood & plant proteins 0‐5 3.1 2.1 4.0 3.0 2.5 3.6 2.5 2.0 3.0 3.1 2.5 3.7
Fatty acids 0‐10 3.7 3.0 4.5 3.1 2.6 3.7 3.7 3.1 4.2 3.5 2.9 4.1
Refined grains 0‐10 5.1 4.3 5.8 4.8 4.2 5.5 4.6 4.1 5.1 4.8 4.1 5.4
Sodium 0‐10 3.9 3.2 4.7 4.6 4.1 5.1 3.8 2.9 4.7 4.0 3.5 4.5
Added sugars 0‐10 5.7 5.0 6.4 5.7 5.3 6.2 6.1 5.4 6.6 5.2 4.7 5.8
Saturated fats 0‐10 5.8 5.2 6.5 5.2 4.5 5.8 5.4 5.0 5.9 5.8 5.3 6.4
Total score 0‐100 55.2 52.5 57.9 54.4 52.0 56.7 53.3 51.1 55.5 54.3 51.2 57.6
-------------------------- -------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- -------------------- ------ -------- ------ -------- ------ -------- ------ ------ ------ ------
*Note.* HEI scores are calculated using population ratio method.
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index (kg/m^2^); CI, confidence interval; HEI, Healthy Eating Index; NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; PIR, poverty to income ratio.
{#osp4388-fig-0001}
{#osp4388-fig-0002}
{#osp4388-fig-0003}
A significant difference was present for BMI category within gender for boys (Table [4](#osp4388-tbl-0004){ref-type="table"}). The mean total score was significantly higher for boys with normal weight vs underweight (55.0 vs 48.2). Significant differences were present for race/ethnicity within BMI category (Table [5](#osp4388-tbl-0005){ref-type="table"} and Figure [3](#osp4388-fig-0003){ref-type="fig"} \[normal weight and overweight only\]). For children with normal weight, the mean total score was significantly higher for Mexican Americans versus non‐Hispanic blacks (57.1 vs 53.0). For children with overweight, mean total scores were significantly higher for Mexican Americans and other races vs non‐Hispanic blacks (59.0 and 60.4 vs 50.3). Significant differences were not found for PIR class within BMI category or BMI category within PIR class (Table [6](#osp4388-tbl-0006){ref-type="table"}).
3.2. HEI‐2015 component scores {#osp4388-sec-0014}
------------------------------
HEI‐2015 mean component scores for children by BMI category and by age, gender, race/ethnicity, and PIR within BMI category are presented in Tables [2](#osp4388-tbl-0002){ref-type="table"}, [3](#osp4388-tbl-0003){ref-type="table"}, [4](#osp4388-tbl-0004){ref-type="table"}, [5](#osp4388-tbl-0005){ref-type="table"}, [6](#osp4388-tbl-0006){ref-type="table"} and Figures [4](#osp4388-fig-0004){ref-type="fig"}, [5](#osp4388-fig-0005){ref-type="fig"}, [6](#osp4388-fig-0006){ref-type="fig"}, [7](#osp4388-fig-0007){ref-type="fig"}, [8](#osp4388-fig-0008){ref-type="fig"}, [9](#osp4388-fig-0009){ref-type="fig"}, [10](#osp4388-fig-0010){ref-type="fig"} (Figures [5](#osp4388-fig-0005){ref-type="fig"}, [6](#osp4388-fig-0006){ref-type="fig"}, [7](#osp4388-fig-0007){ref-type="fig"}, [8](#osp4388-fig-0008){ref-type="fig"} and [10](#osp4388-fig-0010){ref-type="fig"}). Among BMI categories (Table [2](#osp4388-tbl-0002){ref-type="table"} and Figure [4](#osp4388-fig-0004){ref-type="fig"}), the mean total protein foods score was significantly higher for children with obesity versus children with underweight and normal weight. The mean fatty acids score was significantly higher for children with overweight and obesity versus children with underweight. The mean sodium score was significantly higher for children with normal weight versus children with obesity. The mean saturated fat scores were significantly higher for children with normal weight and obesity versus children with underweight.
{#osp4388-fig-0004}
{#osp4388-fig-0005}
{#osp4388-fig-0006}
{#osp4388-fig-0007}
{#osp4388-fig-0008}
{#osp4388-fig-0009}
{#osp4388-fig-0010}
Age group differences were somewhat similar among BMI categories (Table [3](#osp4388-tbl-0003){ref-type="table"} and Figures [5](#osp4388-fig-0005){ref-type="fig"}, [6](#osp4388-fig-0006){ref-type="fig"}, [7](#osp4388-fig-0007){ref-type="fig"}, [8](#osp4388-fig-0008){ref-type="fig"}). In all four BMI categories, the mean total and whole fruits scores were higher for the youngest versus one or both of the older age groups, while the total protein foods score was higher for the oldest versus one or both of the younger age groups. For children with normal weight, overweight, and obesity, the dairy, refined grains, and sodium scores were higher in the youngest versus one or both of the older age groups, while the fatty acid scores were higher in the oldest versus one of the younger age groups. For children with normal weight and overweight, the added sugars score was higher in the youngest versus the two older age groups. Additionally, for the oldest age group, the fatty acid and saturated fat mean scores were higher for children with normal, overweight, and obesity versus children with underweight.
For gender (Table [4](#osp4388-tbl-0004){ref-type="table"}), the mean fatty acids score was significantly higher for boys with obesity versus boys with underweight. Similarly, the mean saturated fats scores were significantly higher for boys with normal weight and obesity versus boys with underweight. The mean sodium score was significantly higher for girls with normal weight versus girls with obesity.
For race/ethnicity (Table [5](#osp4388-tbl-0005){ref-type="table"}, Figure [9](#osp4388-fig-0009){ref-type="fig"} \[normal weight\], and Figure [10](#osp4388-fig-0010){ref-type="fig"} \[overweight\]), the mean whole fruits score was significantly higher for non‐Hispanic black children with normal weight versus those with overweight, while the mean added sugars score was significantly higher for other Hispanic children with obesity versus those with overweight. For children with normal weight, racial/ethnic differences in mean scores were found for all components except for total vegetables. For children with overweight, racial/ethnic differences in mean scores were found for seven components---total fruits, whole fruits, greens and beans, dairy, fatty acids, added sugars, and saturated fats. For children with obesity, racial/ethnic differences were found for two components---refined grains and added sugars. For PIR ≥ 1 (Table [6](#osp4388-tbl-0006){ref-type="table"}), the mean saturated fats score was significantly higher for children with normal weight versus children with underweight.
4. DISCUSSION {#osp4388-sec-0015}
=============
The study represents the most up‐to‐date estimates of diet quality for nationally representative populations of noninstitutionalized children in the United States according to categories of BMI and sociodemographic characteristics within BMI categories. Significant differences in HEI‐2015 mean total scores were not observed among BMI categories. However, lower component scores were observed for total protein foods, fatty acids, and saturated fats in children with underweight, and lower sodium scores were observed in children with obesity. Results from two studies investigating the relationship between intake of fatty acids and task performance in children indicated that neither HEI‐2010 scores nor n‐6/n‐3 fatty acid ratios were associated with BMI [16](#osp4388-bib-0016){ref-type="ref"}. However, the studies were conducted in the Southeast and therefore are not nationally representative [16](#osp4388-bib-0016){ref-type="ref"}. Likewise, a systematic review and meta‐analysis found no relationship between reduced saturated fats intake and BMI in children [17](#osp4388-bib-0017){ref-type="ref"}. Similar to the present study, a positive relationship between diet quality related to sodium intake and body weight in children has been reported in two other studies [18](#osp4388-bib-0018){ref-type="ref"}, [19](#osp4388-bib-0019){ref-type="ref"}.
Significant and similar age group differences in total diet quality and the majority of diet quality components were found in children with normal weight, overweight, and obesity. Age group differences also were similar in children with underweight, but significance was not reached likely due to smaller samples sizes. In agreement with the present study, others also have reported negative relationships between child age and intakes of fruit, whole and refined grains, and dairy (less healthful as age increases) [20](#osp4388-bib-0020){ref-type="ref"}, [21](#osp4388-bib-0021){ref-type="ref"}, [22](#osp4388-bib-0022){ref-type="ref"}, positive relationships between age and intakes of protein foods and fatty acids (more healthful as age increases) [20](#osp4388-bib-0020){ref-type="ref"}, and positive relationships between age and intakes of sodium and added sugars (less healthful as age increases) [18](#osp4388-bib-0018){ref-type="ref"}, [20](#osp4388-bib-0020){ref-type="ref"}, [23](#osp4388-bib-0023){ref-type="ref"}. The present study\'s results also confirm the lack of significant relationships between age and vegetable intake reported by some researchers [21](#osp4388-bib-0021){ref-type="ref"}.
Significant racial/ethnic differences in total diet quality and most components of diet quality were found, notably in children with normal weight. Others also have reported racial/ethnic differences in diet quality among children, although not within BMI categories. Similar to the present study, HEI‐2005 and HEI‐2010 total scores were highest for Mexican American children and lowest for non‐Hispanic black children [24](#osp4388-bib-0024){ref-type="ref"}, [25](#osp4388-bib-0025){ref-type="ref"}. Contrary to the present study, racial/ethnic differences were found for HEI‐2005 component scores for total vegetables but not for oils, saturated fats, or discretionary calories [24](#osp4388-bib-0024){ref-type="ref"}. Comparisons should be interpreted cautiously due to different versions of HEI used, number of race/ethnicity categories reported, and analysis for race/ethnicity without regard to BMI category versus race/ethnicity within BMI categories.
In the present study, mean total diet quality scores were less than 60 for the populations of children categorized by BMI and sociodemographic characteristics within BMI categories with two exceptions---children 2 to 5 years of age with normal weight (score = 60.2) and children of other race with overweight (score = 60.4). Scores less than 60 correspond to a qualitative failing ("F") grade while scores less than 70 correspond to a grade of D [9](#osp4388-bib-0009){ref-type="ref"}. Thus, although differences were apparent among some populations of children in the United States, all children\'s diets are poor and in need of improvement, regardless of BMI status, age, gender, race/ethnicity, and PIR class. In particular, mean component scores were generally low (\<50% of maximum score) for greens and beans, whole grains, fatty acids, and sodium for most populations of children included in the study. Conversely, mean component scores were generally higher (\>50% of maximum score) for total and whole fruits, dairy, and total protein foods. Focusing on components of the diet most in need of improvement will likely have a large effect on overall diet quality than components that are approaching their maximum score.
In a systematic review of interventions to prevent global childhood overweight and obesity, the authors concluded that their findings support recommendations that schools should be the focal point of child obesity prevention efforts, and school‐based interventions should include diet, physical activity, and home components [26](#osp4388-bib-0026){ref-type="ref"}. The home component may be particularly relevant for younger children because parents report feeling more responsibility for feeding their younger children than their older children [27](#osp4388-bib-0027){ref-type="ref"}. In black children, the potential for school and child care interventions to effectively improve nutrition and physical activity was found in three reviews [28](#osp4388-bib-0028){ref-type="ref"}. In another systematic review of family‐based and institutional nutrition interventions, the authors concluded that the most effective strategies for improving child eating habits included the use of rewards, cartoon characters promoting healthy foods, modelling by teachers, and the use of older peer educators [29](#osp4388-bib-0029){ref-type="ref"}. Cultural tailoring of nutrition interventions may be particularly relevant for Hispanic child populations because food choices are affected by culturally mediated health beliefs and by popular food classifications (eg, hot‐cold) [30](#osp4388-bib-0030){ref-type="ref"}.
The use of nationally representative child datasets, the most recent HEI, and the population ratio method for estimating diet quality scores are strengths of the study. The population ratio method provides reasonably accurate population level estimates of usual intake means [31](#osp4388-bib-0031){ref-type="ref"}; however, it does not adjust for skewness or account for correlations between dietary constituents and energy intake. Limitations of this study include the use of self‐reported dietary intake, which can result in biased measurement (eg, under‐reporting intake) and the large number of comparisons performed, which can result in inflated type 1 error rates. However, reporting estimates of diet quality for various nationally representative child populations by categories of BMI was the focus of the study (not statistical comparisons).
In conclusion, results from our analysis of nationally representative data suggests that commonly examined subpopulations of children, defined by weight status and sociodemographic characteristics, are eating very poorly. For all populations of children represented in this study, total diet quality scores were low both quantitatively and qualitatively. Total and most components of diet quality did not significantly differ among child populations classified by BMI status. Within BMI categories, the majority of significant diet quality differences were found for age and race/ethnicity groups. These results suggest that much work still needs to be accomplished to improve the diet quality of children in the United States, regardless of BMI status. Researchers, practitioners, and clinicians can use these estimates when designing nutrition interventions, setting nutrition policies, and counselling paediatric patients and their caregivers about the importance of a healthful diet. Stakeholders may need to address or target specific dietary components with low quality in various child populations to have the greatest effect on improving nutrition nationwide.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT {#osp4388-sec-0016}
==============================
No conflict of interest was declared.
J.T. designed and carried out the statistical analyses and drafted the manuscript. A.L., L.T.‐H., and M.G. designed the statistical analyses. All authors participated in the revising of this paper and have read and approved the final paper. This work was supported by the US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (Project 6001‐51300‐003‐00D). The findings and conclusions in this publication are those of the authors and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or US Government determination or policy.
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The School of Spatial Planning and the Academy for Spatial Research and Planning cordially invite you to contribute to the next Dortmund Conference on the 5th and 6th of February 2018. The overall theme of the conference is:
‘The Great Transformation – Challenge and Opportunity for Spatial Planning‘.
The focus of the conference is for example on the following questions:
• How can urban neighbourhoods, cities ordering flomax and regions become engines of a socio-ecological transformation?
• Which structures, actors and processes does the Great Transformation require? And which are hindering this transformation?
• What could be entry points for initiating processes towards a more sustainable development? | http://eura.org/dortmund-conference-on-spatial-planning-and-planning-research-2018/ |
The editors of Discover, a science mag published by a Disney subsidiary, replied to a letter from an intelligent-design advocate (January '05) with this comparison:
Language is an information medium, as is DNA. Language gets transmitted and transformed from generation to generation, just as the information in DNA gets transmitted and transformed. Many languages have appeared, changed, and vanished over the centuries, but nobody has ever seen a new language spontaneously appear. Nevertheless, people accept that languages evolve and that modern languages derive from earlier ones that were, in many cases, considerably different. Why then is it so hard to accept that the same process might happen to the information in our DNA?
Obviously, this doesn't settle anything. My own thinking here is that it would be a fairer comparison were there any languages as complex as DNA strands: there are, admittedly, only four different building blocks, but the structures are astoundingly convoluted.
Then again, my own thinking along these lines has always been something like "Evolution is God's standard upgrade path," a position that appeals neither to hard-core Darwinists nor to young-earth partisans. I'd like to hear some rational (or at least justifiable) arguments either way.Posted at 8:54 PM to Dyssynergy
Francis Crick provided insight on intelligent design in a lecture that can be read at the link below. His expertise on the structure and function of DNA cannot be disputed.
http://www.positiveatheism.org/india/s1990a01.htmPosted by: hernesheir at 8:12 AM on 8 December 2004
"nobody has ever seen a new language spontaneously appear"
Not necessarilly true. There are numerous documented cases of twins or abandoned children or others without generational language exposure (such as communities of the deaf) creating thier own unique languages that have no correlation with other known languages. Humans have a need to communicate, and if the mechanisms aren't provided they will, through their own intelligence and design, create a means to do so. "In His image" indeed.Posted by: submandave at 10:54 AM on 8 December 2004
The excerpt is interesting to me because while it acknowledges one of the problems that critics call a flaw in the dogma of evolution (which differs from the theory of evolution in ways the dogmatists seem to miss), and addresses it with an analogy that suffers from the same apparent flaw: Nature did not invent language out of nothing -- intelligent creatures did, as a means of conveying information too complex to be communicated any other way. | https://dustbury.com/archives/003514.html |
Any time writing a private composition, choose feelings you should describe and the setting you wish to write that lends insight into your individuality. Your very own essay could be about a past event and might feel authored as an appearance down at an event and exactly how they relates to found circumstances. If you are writing about an ongoing celebration, the essay is likely to be created from a present opinion and so the affect believed today. With regards to the shade of your respective composition, concentrate on illustrating your visitor into the story.
Instances
- Last: i will be a second-generation North american produced to adults that educated me the significance of cooperation and introduction.
- Provide: Todays educational possibilities have actually permitted me to attain a lot more than we ever thought i might.
5. feature a session or ethical
Your individual article features a crucial message or moral you may be relating to the audience to demonstrate their abilities, qualifications as well as the power of your respective individual. Consider what you wish the reader to keep in mind regarding your essay and make clear how, the reason and what your practice keeps shown you.
Illustrations:
- Overcame a difficulty
- Flower on top of the match
- Identified with a tradition or neighborhood
- Became a person
- Read from errors
6. publish the advantages
A smart guideline for all the period of an introduction is always to keeping it to a single or two paragraphs that focus on your main areas without supplying excessively depth. The benefits highlights the key points of your own history together with the opening sentence should render a positive change. Use an opening words that activates an individual so they really like to keep reading to get more information. Consider cracking open with an inspirational or interesting rate or observance to begin your very own basic principles.
Advice:
- If Steve projects, the founder of fruit, said, creativity distinguishes between a person and a follower, we really don’t know he had been preaching about myself, so far.
- If there’s a very important factor i am aware undoubtably, their that at times I am prosperous, and quite often We understand.
7. compose you
Your body of your respective article contains the many info and it is generally speaking 2-3 words long. Your body could be the primary words that broadens per associated with details you made when you look at the advantages and employs a chronological order. And here we supply promote proof the course or moral you are communicating in your history. Utilize advice within essay to help make the history vibrant and understandable and develop an emotional link by explaining images or functions through picture, seem and reach.
Situation:
- Through the smoke-filled haze of the fireplaces aftermath, it was hard to observe the support of other individuals would determine with the rest of my entire life. As being the tobacco smoke cleared, hence performed your capability to see just what the genuinely considerations happen to be.
8. publish the conclusion
The securing is generally a couple of paragraphs very long and repeats your primary factors in your body. Try to avoid express brand new details and concentrate on relaying your individual communication. Eliminate the essay with a sentence that amounts down the class in journey and connections the essay with each other.
Variations:
- Whenever it wasnt for the fateful morning once I read just how to believe, i would have not determine the nerve to publish this essay.
- Previously, I had been doubtful about our means, however nowadays now I am confident the instructions I learned will see me through every succeeding challenge.
Tips for create an engaging individual essay
Try these tips helping increase your own article, recognize problems and improve quality:
- Incorporate a proactive sound.
- Prepare conversationally.
- Proofread.
- Browse the essay out loud.
- Inquire friends or co-workers for feedback.
- Use publishing resources.
Make use of a dynamic express
Incorporate motion verbs in the writing and attempt to stay away from passive express by creating sure the niche acts the verbs motion. Generally be direct.
- Productive:Monkeys enjoy apples. The cashier measured the income.
- Passive:Bananas is admired by monkeys. This money is relied from the cashier.
Write conversationally
A personal essay communicates emotion within the central content. Compose as you happened to be talking-to a colleague but steer clear of slang and jargon that can not just read to an alternative age bracket.
Proofread
Go through your own composition to determine for grammatical or spelling problems. Ensure the prices and formatting reach any appropriate guidelines. Take your time proofreading and ponder examining more than once.
Look over your very own composition aloud
Studying your article out loud makes it possible to hear the way it will sound to your visitor. Checking out aloud will also help a person see problems or areas wherein their information is definitely confusing. Take notes whenever you essay writers review and also make variations wherein needed.
Query family or fellow workers for feedback
Check with other folks to be controlled by their article for those who read aloud to help discover the place where you might move off-topic or require further clarification. Contacts may also check the article and capture spelling or grammar mistakes.
Incorporate authorship software
Modern day authoring methods can help you decide spelling, grammar, passive words, understanding and overall tone. Consider using internet based authorship means or apps to make your own article apparent and legible. | http://www.kttsy.com/businessnews/think-about-your-build-creating-a-personal-article/ |
Daniel Hill from Chicago is talking white supremacy, racism and his own awakening to his white cultural background. Listen to understand:
- why people so often congregate with their own racial groups even when given many positive opportunities to interact with others.
- What makes white people so oblivious to white culture
- What we can all do to be less ignorant and make race relations better
Discussion questions:
1) Where have you believed the lie of white supremacy (the unconscious or conscious belief that white people are more valuable) in your own life?
2) Think about an occasion where you now recognize you minimized racism as just ‘insensitivity’. Do you need to repent? What would you do differently next time?
3) Do you surround yourself with people from a variety of cultures and backgrounds? What steps can you take to become more culturally aware? (Develop new friendships, follow people from different cultures on social media, read books from a variety of different backgrounds.)
Dorcas Cheng-Tozun is a writer and speaker Author, writer and columnist and is talking to Jo and Steph today about anxiety, marriage and her new book, Start, Love, Repeat: How to Stay in Love with Your Entrepreneur in a Crazy Start-up World.
Listen in to hear how Dorcas and her husband have cultivated their marriage through international moves and juggled family life and their careers as they have sought to love and support one another well.
How can we access whether the feedback we get (and give) is worth investing time and energy in or not? That’s where the feedback assessment tool comes in. Looking in depth at the 4 spectrums, Jo and Steph examine how we can filter our feedback and invest our energies where they should be - in growth and learning, no matter how the feedback is presented.
The 4 spectrums:
1) Kind of feedback it is
2) Kind of person
3) Clarity of the feedback
4) Relevance to our call, context and community
If you do not see the free resource attached to the show notes you may use this link:
Please note that this book is NOT written by our Lead Stories Jo Saxton: Snail Trail: In Search of a Modern Masterpiece. It is a lovely book for your kids so you may want to check it out, but any positive feedback needs to be sent to the real author and not our Jo Saxton. Thank you.
We would however love feedback on the feedback assessment tool! You can let us know at:
Amena Brown is laughing with Jo and Steph on the podcast today as she shares about her new book and what it means to be a businesswoman offering the service of poetry, the spoken and written word. Listen in to hear her journey in growing in confidence in her calling and her laugh-out loud stories!
When you lead you will be criticized. So how can we lead on in the midst of criticism? Jo and Steph talk from personal experience about how they have received criticism and how to filter negative feedback without getting bitter or discouraged.
Discussion questions:
What have you not done for the Kingdom because of the fear of rejection or criticism?
What inner critique do you have of other leaders that you haven’t processed yet?
What is at stake if you don’t lead on in the midst of criticism or potential criticism?
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A Solo Piece For A Flamenco Dancer is an artistic project where different narratives and artistic languages converge stemming from a poetic whole.
We want to generate a special bond between body, sound, video and space, creating an emotional interaction of sorts.
To that end, the flamenco dancer, Eduardo Guerrero, is the unifying body that binds the relationship between musician and video maker. Eduardo Guerrero transcends and generates a connection, a corpus filled with subjectivities, which give rise to a fully emotional and visually impactful performance.
A Solo Piece For a Flamenco Dancer is an artistic proposal that will seize memories and sensations in order to make them shine in an oneiric universe, for an emotional instance. An open and dynamic exchange, creating an intense and energetic setting, where diverse languages will merge and bring us together as spectators. | http://eduardo-guerrero.com/en/espectaculos/a-solo-piece-for-a-flamenco-dancer/ |
Transcriptional and post-transcriptional control of tubulin gene expression in Trypanosoma cruzi.
We have shown that tubulin mRNA accumulation is regulated at the transcriptional level during metacyclogenesis of Trypanosoma cruzi, although the contribution of post-transcriptional mechanisms is also indicated. mRNA heterogeneity is not restricted to beta-tubulin, and differential regulation of alpha-tubulin mRNAs is observed during this stage of the parasite's life cycle. Treatment of epimastigotes with the microtubule-depolymerizing agent vinblastine resulted in growth inhibition and morphological alterations. Vinblastine also induced a rise in the pool of free tubulin subunits, concomitant with diminished tubulin synthesis and reduced mRNA levels. Tubulin gene transcription remained unaltered during vinblastine treatment, suggesting post-transcriptional control. These observations are in agreement with the autoregulatory model of tubulin gene expression described for a variety of cell types. We conclude that T. cruzi utilizes transcriptional and post-transcriptional control mechanisms for tubulin gene expression.
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There is a growing awareness of the complex, and mostly negative attitudes and views many adolescent girls express and hold regarding Physical Activity (PA) and Physical Education (PE) in particular. This case study focused solely on adolescent girls’ understandings, experiences, and motivations of PA and PE. The literature alludes to a wide range of understandings which are underpinned in this study, in an attempt to comprehend and construe girls’ insights, as well as the connections between the body, gender ideologies and social relationships and networks within a PE and PA context. The study consisted of questionnaires (n=87) and semi-structured focus group interviews (n=10) with female high school students aged 12-15 (M = 13.5; SD = 2.1). Varied sub-cultures and identity, issues within gender, hegemonic masculinity and emphasised femininity were drawn upon to enhance familiarity and make sense of the girls’ narratives. The study drew upon previous findings revealing gender as a prominent barrier, where polarised images of adolescent girls taking part in PE or PA are non-congruous amongst the traditional roots, and embedded ideologies of acceptable femininity. These contradictions appeared to force the female students into uncomfortable situations and required them to make complex decisions regarding their sense of self-identity, which signified a theme of tension in attempt to cope with the paradoxes faced. Furthermore, it was found that girl-only PE settings also raised problematic concern, where routinely in order to reinforce social status and marginalise others; lessons were ‘used’ to include and exclude. This study’s findings have replicated many ideological perspectives previously encountered by researchers. The development of PE curricula and structure to gain and uphold the interest of females is eminent and valuable, in providing a prosaic basis, rationale, and recommendations for educators to work from, embedded within the structure and organisation of the subject to tackle this conundrum.
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Sport & Physical Education BSc (Hons)
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The Impact of Primary PE Specialist Teachers and Non Specialist PE Teachers Physical Literacy Journeys on High Quality Physical Education and their Pupils’ Physical Literacy. Veall, Amy (Cardiff Metropolitan University, 2015)Physical literacy is a current topic and has become a major focus within physical education (PE). The aim of the study was to identify where PE specialist primary school teachers and non specialist PE primary school ...
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An investigation in to what extent is young people’s Physical Literacy skills developed in PE? Hosey, Hollie (Cardiff Metropolitan University, 2014)The aim of this study was to explore the concept of Physical Literacy within Physical Education (PE). The concept of physical literacy is formed with the attributes motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge ...
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An investigation into year 6 (10-11 year olds) pupils’ physical literacy journey and physical activity levels at two Welsh primary schools in South Wales. Evans, Lauren (Cardiff Metropolitan University, 2015)Physical literacy has become a prime focus in physical education (Giblin et al. 2014). It aims to provide individuals with the confidence, motivation, physical competence and the knowledge and understanding to pursue ... | https://repository.cardiffmet.ac.uk/handle/10369/4746?locale-attribute=en |
Solar Hot Water
Project Drawdown defines solar hot water as the use of solar radiation to preheat or heat water for residential use within buildings. This solution replaces conventional fossil fuel-based water heating. We acknowledge that solar hot water is also used in commercial buildings but do not model this application.
Solar hot water systems can be differentiated by the type of solar thermal collector used (unglazed and glazed flat plate collectors and evacuated tube collectors) and the type of system operation (active, which have circulating pumps and controls, and passive, which do not). This analysis estimates the emissions and financial benefits of a high adoption of solar hot water. Data suggest that 8 percent of the total water heating market had already been adopted by 2018 with a heavy concentration in China, the world’s largest market.
Methodology
Total Addressable Market
The total addressable market (TAM) for solar hot water is defined as the total amount of water heating demanded by residences worldwide, and has been estimated using data from several sources including the International Energy Agency (IEA) and Global Buildings Performance Network. It amounted to 5,400 terawatt-hour (therms) in 2018.
Adoption Scenarios
Custom scenarios were created to align with increased adoption of solar hot water from 2020 to 2050 at varying rates. Both scenarios were assessed in comparison to a Reference Scenario, where the solution’s market share was fixed at the current levels.
- Scenario 1: This scenario assumes that 15 percent of the total TAM is adopted in 2050, and 50 percent of that would be adopted by 2030. A second-order polynomial curve is fit to those points to create a smooth curve.
- Scenario 2: This scenario assumes that 30 percent of the total TAM is adopted in 2050 and 45 percent of that would be adopted by 2030. A second-order polynomial curve is fit to those points to create a smooth curve.
Emissions Model
The emissions included in this work cover electricity and fuel for conventional heating of water, electricity for pumping of water in solar hot water systems, and indirect emissions from construction of the water heating systems.
Financial Model
Solar hot water systems were assumed to supplement the existing electric and gas heaters in houses, not replace them, so in all cases we assume that first costs for conventional systems would always have to be paid. This is a rather conservative assumption, but it accommodates the need to provide backup systems with as much heating power as needed by households. The solution’s first cost was an average of 41 data points from the International Energy Agency (IEA), Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21), and other sources. The operating costs are represented by the fuel and operating costs for using either type of system. Emissions used emissions factors from the guidelines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Integration
The solar hot water solution was integrated with others in the Buildings Sector by first prioritizing all solutions according to the point of impact on building energy usage. This meant that building envelope solutions like insulation were first, building systems like building automation systems were second, and building applications like heat pumps were last. The impact on building energy demand was calculated for highest-priority solutions, and energy-related solar hot water input values were reduced to represent the impact of higher building envelope solutions.
Results
The environmental impacts of Scenario 1 show a total greenhouse gas reduction of 3.6 gigatons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions. This is a result of adding 0.5 terawatts of additional heating capacity by 2050. These environmental benefits come at a cost of US$729 billion in marginal first costs (including installation and replacement costs), and US$293 billion in lifetime operations savings.
Scenario 2, in which 1.78 terawatts is added, shows 14.3 gigatons avoided for US$2.7 trillion in net costs. However, only US$1143 billion is saved over the lifetime of installed technology.
Discussion
Despite high up-front costs, solar hot water heaters are an important solution due to their attractive emissions savings. Financial savings are very conservative here since we assumed that the conventional water heating systems are still purchased. If instead better hot water storage tanks are installed along with smaller conventional systems, a better financial impact could result.
Country-specific evidence indicates that some other factors may keep adoption low, such as limited roof space, high up-front costs, and perhaps lack of knowledge and access to the technology in some regions. The countries with highest adoptions are those with firm national policies of encouraging solar hot water investment. Once purchased, residents can enjoy the clean, low-cost technology and keep greenhouse gas emissions low.
Although we used the term “priority,” we do not mean to say that any solution was of greater importance than any other, but rather that for estimating total impact of all building solutions, we simply applied the impacts of some solutions before others, and used the output energy demand after application of a higher-priority solution as the energy demand input to a lower-priority solution.
All monetary values are presented in 2014 $US. | https://www.drawdown.org/solutions/solar-hot-water/technical-summary |
Pork is considered the most popular meat, which is cooked in almost every family. This meat is very juicy, tender, soft and nutritious. It contains a real storehouse of vitaminized and mineral components. From pork you can cook a huge number of dishes. Braised pork with gravy is considered a classic culinary genre.
Culinary tips
Before you go into the kitchen and start cooking stewed pork with flavored gravy, read the advice of experienced chefs. They will help you prepare a delicious culinary masterpiece:
- for cooking stews, choose chilled or fresh pork;
- initially, the pulp should be washed and the bones removed from it;
- portions depend on your preferences;
- You can stew pork in a thick-walled container, oven, baking sleeve, multi-cooker, pressure cooker, and even in a cauldron;
- in order to give the dish a delicacy and savor, pre-meat can be held in the marinade;
- pork goes well with various vegetables: onions, garlic, eggplants, potatoes, fresh tomatoes, zucchini, sweet peppers;
- when cooking braised pork, use of any fresh herbs or dried herbs is allowed;
- juicy and soft turns pork, baked in the sleeve;
- if you stew pork with gravy, then you can add sour cream or tomato sauce to taste.
Braised pork with gravy: recipe with photos
In the classic version, braised pork is cooked in a conventional pan with thick walls and a bottom. To give the dish flavor and spice, use fresh carrots and onions. When roasting vegetables, you need to add a little sifted flour so that they acquire the desired texture and golden hue.
Composition:
- pork pulp - 0.3 kg;
- 1 carrot;
- 1 onion;
- 0.5 l of purified water;
- 1 tbsp. l sifted flour;
- cooking oil for frying;
- salt and pepper mixture;
- bay leaf or other seasonings.
Cooking:
- Pre-should naturally defrost the pork pulp and wash it thoroughly.
- You also need to prepare other necessary ingredients.
- Pork pulp should be cut into equal portions.
- On hot vegetable oil, roast the meat for 8-10 minutes and then put it into a thick-walled container.
- Carrots and onions should be cleaned, washed and cut into small cubes. Carrots can be rubbed.
- Vegetable oil must be fried with the addition of sifted flour.
- To roasted pork you need to add browned vegetables, bay leaf, a mixture of peppers and salt, all should be mixed and pour warm water.
- Stew pork to a state of readiness on moderate heat for 45 minutes.
- Finished pork with gravy and vegetables should be divided into portions and served to the table.
Cooking goulash in a slow cooker
Even an aspiring cook can be able to prepare a complete and delicious meat dish with tomato sauce, especially if you have a wonder cooker in your kitchen arsenal. Thanks to this kitchen appliances, you can not worry about the fact that the meat will burn or not enough roasted. The choice of the program mode depends on the model and power of the multicooker. It is best to stew pork in the "Multipovar", "Quenching" or "Meat Dishes" mode. Some housewives choose the program "Baking", setting the appropriate time and temperature threshold.
Composition:
- pork pulp - 350 g;
- 2 tbsp. l vegetable oil;
- 1 onion;
- fresh tomato pulp or sauce - 3-4 tbsp. l .;
- table salt, a mixture of peppers and other seasonings;
- 3-4 Art. l greasy sour cream;
- 1 tbsp. l sifted flour;
- bay leaf.
Cooking:
- Pork pulp should be prepared as described in the previous recipe.
- The onion must be peeled and cut into equivalent cubes or half rings.
- At the bottom of the multicooker tank, pour vegetable oil and put the pork pulp with onions.
- Having set the program mode "Baking", for 5-6 minutes you need to fry these components, stirring them constantly.
- After giving the sound signal to the pork, add the sifted flour, mix and continue frying in the program mode "Baking" for another 5-6 minutes.
- In a separate shallow dish you need to mix sour cream and fresh tomato pulp (tomato paste or sauce). To make the dish piquant, the sauce can be seasoned with garlic.
- Add cooked sauce to the multi-cooker container.
- Pork pulp should be salted and seasoned with spices.
- Stew pork with tomato gravy must be in the "Quenching" program mode for 90 minutes.
- The finished dish can be served with potato garnish and fresh herbs.
The recipe for a delicious meat dish in tomato sauce
Not necessarily a tasty dish should be difficult to prepare. You can make an appetizing and delicious pork goulash for half an hour for lunch or dinner. You will need a classic set of products. Depending on personal taste preferences, goulash can be varied with any kind of vegetables.
Composition:
- 1 onion;
- pork pulp - 0.4 kg;
- 1-2 tbsp. l tomato sauce or pasta;
- 1 tsp. sugar sand;
- table salt and seasonings;
- bay leaf;
- 3-4 Art. l vegetable oil;
- 1 tbsp. l sifted flour.
Cooking:
- Pork fillet must be washed, dried and cut into equivalent pieces.
- The onion should be peeled and chopped.
- On hot vegetable oil you need to roast the pork pulp.
- After 10 minutes, chopped onions should be added to the meat.
- After another 10 minutes, pour the sifted flour into a saucepan or saucepan and continue frying the pork pulp for another 5-7 minutes.
- Then add tomato sauce (pasta or pulp of fresh tomatoes), granulated sugar, spices and table salt.
- For the aroma, be sure to put bay leaves.
- To make the gravy liquid, you can add warm filtered water.
- In a closed container stew pork should be about half an hour. The readiness of the dish is determined by the softness of the meat and the consistency of the sauce.
Pork goulash with aromatic and spicy gravy will be a full-fledged dish of the everyday table. You can combine pork with any side dishes, including cereals. Fresh greens will help you to add a fragrant touch of summer heat to the dish. The sharpness of gravy, determine in accordance with personal taste preferences. If you want the gravy to be thicker, increase the amount of flour. Enjoy your meal! | https://womeninahomeoffice.com/cooking/braised-pork-with-gravy.html |
Failure to Diagnose Uterine Cancer
The American Cancer Society predicts that in the US in 2021, doctors will diagnose 66,570 cases of uterine cancer (that is, endometrial cancer and uterine sarcomas), and 12,940 people will lose their lives to uterine cancer. Data published by the ACS shows that when uterine cancer is diagnosed in its earliest stage, patients have a five-year survival rate of 95%. This rate that decreases the later the cancer is diagnosed, making it critical for medical practitioners to detect the condition early in its development. Failure to diagnose uterine or endometrial cancer can result in delayed treatment and death.What Are Symptoms of Uterine Cancer?
Like certain other cancers, endometrial cancer—a term that is generally used interchangeably with uterine cancer, though the terms refer to slightly different conditions—can present symptoms that are also associated with other conditions. Since higher survival rates for the disease are associated with earlier detection, an early, accurate diagnosis is critical. Symptoms commonly associated with uterine cancer include vaginal bleeding; vaginal spotting; other unusual vaginal discharge; pelvic pain; an unusual mass of tissue in the pelvis; and sudden, unplanned-for loss of weight.
While it's not yet known what causes endometrial/uterine cancer, common risk factors include obesity; medications or conditions (like pregnancy or ovarian tumors) that influence a person's hormones; estrogen therapy; type 2 diabetes; using an intrauterine device; the use of radiation therapy to treat a different type of cancer; and hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer, a condition that puts women at increased risk for uterine cancer.Are There Screenings for Uterine Cancer?
There are currently no tests to screen patients with no symptoms for uterine cancer. Medical experts recommend that patients experiencing symptoms that may be associated with uterine cancer promptly see a physician. Unfortunately, screening measures used for cervical cancer are not considered effective when it comes to detecting uterine cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. Nor are pelvic exams, at least not for early-stage uterine cancer.
Patients who report symptoms of uterine cancer may receive one or more of several possible tests, according to the ACS. Physicians typically conduct a pelvic exam, and they may take sonic imaging with a pelvic ultrasound or transvaginal ultrasound. An endometrial biopsy takes a tissue sample from the patient's endometrium for testing; a hysteroctopy is a procedure uses a thin, lighted tube with a camera at the end to examine the uterus and take tissue samples; and a dilation and curettage procedure involves the opening of the cervix so the physician can take a sample of uterine tissue. The physician then sends the tissue to their lab for examination.Is Uterine Cancer Preventable?
Medical professionals recommend a few ways of reducing one's risk of developing uterine cancer, though there is no known method of completely preventing it. According to the American Cancer Society, available research leads experts to recommend an active lifestyle to stay at a healthy weight; discussing with one's physician whether estrogen therapy for menopause symptoms may increase one's risk of uterine cancer; seeking early treatment for possible pre-cancer conditions in the uterus, such as endometrial hypersplasia or abnormal bleeding; and discussing possible surgeries with your physician if you have hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer, which increases your risk of uterine cancer.How Do Doctors Fail to Diagnose Uterine Cancer?
As with other conditions, uterine cancer misdiagnosis can occur in many stages of the patient journey. In some cases, the physician fails to consider that the presenting symptoms may be caused by uterine cancer; in others, the fail to order the proper tests, or to consult the proper specialists. Lab technicians may misinterpret results or inaccurately record results in the patient’s medical records. In each case, the ultimate result is an incorrect or delayed diagnosis that in turn delays critical treatment. Not all misdiagnoses are medical malpractice, but all negligent failures to diagnose uterine cancer put the patient’s life at risk.What Can I Do If a Doctor Failed to Diagnose My Uterine Cancer?
The victims of uterine/endometrial cancer misdiagnosis generally need to demonstrate that they had a doctor-patient relationship with their doctor, and their doctor had a duty of care to them; that their doctor failed to uphold the duty of care; that this failure resulted in harm to the patient; and that this failure resulted in damages. If you or a loved one have suffered a negligent failure to diagnose uterine cancer, you may be entitled to recover compensation for medical expenses, lost wages and future earnings, and more.
The medical malpractice attorneys at the Law Offices of Thomas L. Gallivan have decades of experience holding New York medical practitioners accountable for their negligence. Our seasoned team of lawyers and medical experts will thoroughly examine your claim to evaluate whether a negligent uterine cancer misdiagnosis occurred, and we will do everything we can to ensure you get the peace of mind you deserve as we aggressively pursue justice. Please contact our medical malpractice lawyers today to schedule a free consultation. | https://www.gallivanlawfirm.com/failure-to-diagnose-uterine-cancer.html |
Mavra Ahmed is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Nutritional Sciences and Joannah and Brian Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition, University of Toronto. She completed her MSc at St. Michael’s Hospital where her area of focus was on the role of thiamin in heart failure patients. Mavra obtained her PhD at University of Toronto, specializing in characterization of dietary intakes of Canadian Armed Forces and evaluation of novel technologies for dietary assessments. During her doctoral studies, she completed a CIHR Fellowship in Public Health Policy. Her current postdoctoral research focuses on assessing the impact of nutrient profiling models (algorithms to assess healthfulness ratings of foods and beverages) on improving: a) the nutritional value of foods available to Canadians and, 2) the dietary intakes and health outcomes of Canadians using the Canadian Community Health Survey as well as investigating the nutritional quality of school food programs. Her research interests include investigating the impact of a smartphone app, FoodFlip©, on enabling consumers to make healthier food choices.
Didier Brassard, M.Sc, RD, PhD Candidate - Université Laval
I am a registered dietitian since 2014 and completed a master’s degree in nutrition in 2017 at Université Laval. During my master’s degree, I studied the impact of dairy fats and other dietary fat consumption on cholesterol metabolism and cardiometabolic risk factors. I am currently a PhD nutrition candidate at Université Laval. Dietary assessment instruments and dietary scores, nutritional epidemiology and statistical modelling of dietary intakes are my fields of interest. In particular, I am interested in new instruments that have the potential to increase precision of population-level assessment of dietary intakes, e.g., Web-based instruments; the overall objective is to improve cardiometabolic health through diet. I am also interested in biomarkers of dietary intakes obtained using metabolomics approach to predict actual dietary intakes more accurately.
Stéphanie Chevalier, PhD, McGill University
Stéphanie Chevalier is an Associate Professor and the Graduate Program Director of the School of Human Nutrition, McGill University, Associate Member in the Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics and Medical Scientist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre. A registered dietitian, she earned her Ph.D. degree in nutrition, from the University of Montreal and then completed postdoctoral studies in nutrition and metabolism at the former McGill Nutrition and Food Science Centre.
Her research program was launched with support from the Fonds de la recherche du Québec-Santé Chercheur Boursier Career Awards Junior 1 and 2, and is funded by the CIHR, Dairy Farmers of Canada and Canadian Foundation for Dietetics Research. Her main area of expertise is protein metabolism and the role of dietary protein, amino acids and other nutrients in muscle and function loss observed in aging and metabolic disorders such as cancer and type 2 diabetes. She has expended her interests to the links between nutrition, muscle health and cognition.
She is a member of the Canadian Nutrition Society-Education Committee, the Canadian Frailty Network- Clinical Practice Guidelines Working Group, the Québec Longitudinal Study on Nutrition and Aging (NuAge)-Steering Committee and the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging – Lifestyle Working Group.
Jess Haines, PhD, MHSc, RD - University of Guelph
Jess Haines’s research aims to bridge epidemiologic research on the determinants of health behaviours with the design, implementation, and evaluation of interventions to support children’s healthy eating and growth. Dr. Haines is the Co-Director of the Guelph Family Health Study, a longitudinal family-based cohort, and the Director of the Parent-Child Feeding Laboratory, which focuses on identifying how parent-child feeding interactions influence children’s eating behaviours.
Sharon Kirkpatrick, PhD, MHSc - University of Waterloo
Dr. Sharon Kirkpatrick leads a public health nutrition research program at the School of Public Health and Health Systems at the University of Waterloo. Her research primarily focuses on understanding dietary patterns in populations and influences on these patterns, using a systems thinking lens to consider the array of factors at play. Much of her work is aimed at improving methodologies for measuring dietary patterns to foster a robust evidence base on the influence of diet on health and the impact of interventions on diet. She has contributed to the development of freely-available and highly-accessed resources for researchers, including an online dietary assessment primer and a web-based dietary assessment tool. Dr. Kirkpatrick also has longstanding interests in food security and equity. Dr. Kirkpatrick holds a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and Master of Health Science in Community Nutrition from the University of Toronto.
Benoît Lamarche, PhD - Université Laval
Dr. Benoît Lamarche is Full Professor at the School of Nutrition and Chair of Nutrition at Laval University. He is also the Scientific Director of the FRQS-funded Research Center on Nutrition, Health and Society (NUTRISS). He has published more than 370 peer-reviewed papers on physiological, clinical, epidemiological and public health issues related to food and health. He has contributed the training of more than 60 MSc, PhD students and postdocs. He has received numerous awards, including awards from the Société Québécoise de lipidologie, nutrition et métabolisme (Prix des Fondateurs, 2013) and the Canadian Nutrition Society (Centrum New Investigator Award, 2011 and the Khursheed Jeejeebhoy Award, 2020). He has co-written two books with the acclaimed Chef Jean Soulard on the topics of nutrition, sport and health. Benoît Lamarche is an Olympian (1984, 1988) in long track speed skating.
Yvonne Lamers, PhD - University of British Columbia
Dr. Yvonne Lamers is an Associate Professor in the Food Nutrition and Health Program at The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. She is also Investigator at the British Columbia Children’s Hospital Research Institute and the Women's Health Research Institute in Vancouver. Dr Lamers held the Canada Research Chair in Human Nutrition and Vitamin Metabolism from 2010-2020. Dr Lamers’ research focuses on micronutrient adequacy, with a special interest in B-vitamins, with the overarching goal to identify biological mechanisms linking nutrition, health, and disease, and to evaluate optimal micronutrient status to maintain biochemical functions. Her current research projects focus on maternal-fetal micronutrient dependency, periconceptional vitamin adequacy, and the role of maternal and infant nutrition on growth and development. Her research is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canadian Foundation for Innovation, the British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund, and the Dairy Farmers of Canada. She is leading two international team grants under the European Joint Programming Initiative – A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life (JPI HDHL). Dr. Lamers established the UBC Nutritional Biomarker Laboratory that is set up with externally validated methods for blood and tissue biomarker assessment and has participated in various inter-laboratory comparison studies. One of her program’s goals is to identify sensitive nutritional biomarkers for early diagnosis of micronutrient inadequacies. As evidenced by her recent work, her goal is to contribute new knowledge that can be applied in clinical practice and public health for the benefit of individuals and vulnerable population groups.
Nadia Moran-Garcia, PhD - University of British Columbia
Dr. Nadia Moran-Garcia holds a Postdoctoral Research Fellow position at The University of British Columbia (UBC) in the research team of Dr Yvonne Lamers since April 2018. Dr Moran-Garcia is the UBC lead scientist on the transnational and multidisciplinary project DERiVE for the DEvelopment of Riboflavin biomarkers to relate dietary sources with status, gene-nutrient Interactions and Validated health Effects in adult cohorts, in collaboration with Professor Mary Ward (lead-PI of DERiVE) from Ulster University, Northern Ireland/UK, and Professor Albert Flynn from University College Cork, Ireland, and all co-investigators and members of the Ulster, Cork, and UBC teams.
Dr. Moran-Garcia completed her MSc and PhD in Molecular Biomedicine in the Center of Investigation and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV-IPN) and held research positions at the National Institute of Nutrition “Salvador Zubiran” (INNSZ) in Mexico City. With an academic background in chemistry, pharmaceutics and biology, her research expertise is in the analysis and evaluation of nutritional biomarkers, the development and characterization of infectious disease models, and the study of the effect of maternal and infant dietary interventions on child development.
Anne-Julie Tessier, RD, PhD Candidate - McGill University
Anne-Julie is a dietitian and PhD candidate in Human Nutrition at McGill University in Dr. Stéphanie Chevalier's lab. Her research focuses on nutritional epidemiology, more specifically the interplay between nutrition, muscle mass, physical performance and cognitive function in aging. Her training is supported by the Fonds de Recherche du Québec en Santé (FRQ-S) and the McGill University PhD Graduate Excellence Fellowship.
Her interest is also toward dietary assessment. She is the cofounder of Keenoa, an intelligent food diary for dietitians and researchers. Anne-Julie and her team were awarded federal grants, among others, to pursue their mission of developing cutting-edge technologies to elevate dietetics practice and research.
David Wishart, PhD - University of Alberta
Dr. David Wishart (PhD Yale, 1991) is a Professor in the Departments of Biological Sciences and Computing Science at the University of Alberta. He also holds adjunct appointments with the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and with the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. He has been with the University of Alberta since 1995. Dr. Wishart’s research interests are very wide ranging, covering nanotechnology, molecular biology, analytical chemistry, nutritional science and bioinformatics. For the past 12 years, Dr. Wishart has led the “Human Metabolome Project” (HMP), a multi-university, multi-investigator project that is cataloguing all of the known metabolites in human tissues and biofluids. Using advanced methods in NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, multi-dimensional chromatography and machine learning Dr. Wishart and his colleagues have identified or found evidence for more than 110,000 metabolites in the human body. This information has been archived on a freely accessible web-resource called the Human Metabolome Database (HMDB). More recently, Dr. Wishart’s efforts have focused on characterizing the content of various foods and food products, including milk and dairy products, eggs, meats, herbs, spices, fruits and vegetables. This information is now available in a resource called FooDB. Over the course of his career Dr. Wishart has published more than 380 research papers in high profile journals on a wide variety of subject areas. He currently directs The Metabolomics Innovation Centre (TMIC), Canada’s national metabolomics laboratory. | https://www.cns-scn.ca/events-activities/cns-mini-virtual-conference-series/contemporary-methods-to-assess-food-intake-and-diet-quality/speakers |
Tara Murphy and Fiona McFarlane explain how Tourette’s affects children, how to live with it and what the treatments are
What is Tourette’s syndrome?
Tourette’s syndrome is a common neurological condition affecting up to about one per cent of children. Children with Tourette’s experience both vocal (sound) and motor (movement) tics and frequently have difficulties with other areas of wellbeing and learning.
At our specialist tic disorder clinic at Great Ormond Street Hospital we see many children with Tourette’s. Sometimes, parents are very concerned about tics (involuntary movements and sounds that occur singly or in clusters for a long period of time called tic attacks) and can focus less on the rest of their child’s life. As motor and vocal tics are very noticeable it can make parents, teachers and professionals very concerned that the tics could cause the child to be targets for bullying or impair their quality of life. This is rarely the case. To explore these issues, this article will describe the experience one child with Tourette’s and his family as they learned more about Tourette’s and how to live with it.
Peter, an eight-year-old, recently attended our clinic with his parents. Peter has had involuntary motor movements and vocalisations for about two years. We discussed how the movements and sounds are called tics. The first tic Peter had was a rapid eye blinking, which is a very common tic. He then started to open his mouth, jerk his head and shrug his shoulder. As the head jerk reduced in frequency Peter then developed a sniffing vocal tic which persisted. He then started to clear his throat and a very quiet squeak emerged, which was most noticeable when he watched TV. Peter’s parents were worried and went to see their GP who suggested that Peter would probably grow out of the tics and not to worry. This was good advice as tics are common in primary school children and many children grow out of them. But when the tics changed and new tics appeared Peter’s parents continued to worry and asked to see a paediatrician. Peter’s father and grandfather had both had tics when they were younger and grandfather still sniffs most days, although it doesn’t bother him.
Peter himself was not worried about the tics. He was in Year 3 at school and no-one had ever mentioned the tics to him. At times he noticed a head jerk when he was reading but the movements and sounds had not bothered him. He didn’t know what to call the tics, though, and was aware that his parents sometimes worried about him.
The paediatrician told Peter that he had Tourette’s syndrome and referred him through to our clinic. Peter and his parents came to the clinic with lots of questions. Their main concern was how to help Peter stop his tics as they were worried that he could be bullied or misunderstood by people. They described worries about what might happen with Peter’s tics and what could happen in the future. Their toolbox for managing Tourette’s was quite empty. We discussed the sorts of treatments that have helped other children. We divided the treatments into several categories.
Becoming an expert on tics
The first and most important treatment was learning about Tourette’s and becoming an expert on tics. Peter learnt that Tourette’s syndrome is a neurological condition which is often passed down in families. He understood that for most people with Tourette’s, tics start at about six to seven years of age with motor tics. Then, about one to two years later, children with Tourette’s typically develop vocal tics. The tics wax and wane, with days with lots of tics and other days with few tics. The tics typically tend to be at their most frequent between ten to 13 years of age. From about 14 years of age, most children’s tics start to reduce. Peter learnt that many people either grow out of their tics or the movements and sounds become so unimportant in their lives that they don’t then notice when they have them. We also explained to Peter that it might be helpful for him to tell some of his friends about having tics. We explained that doing a presentation for classmates about Tourette's can be helpful. We showed Peter and his parents an example of a presentation available on the Tourette’s Action website and told them about research which said that this was a good idea.
Peter himself reported that he was not sure what he might say if someone asked him why he had made a noise many times or why he blinked so much. He wasn’t sure how he might explain the tics to the person. We discussed how this would be an important activity for Peter to practice with people he knew well, in the beginning, before telling people he knew less well. This would mean that should Peter be in a situation where someone he didn’t know asked him, he could explain that he has Tourette's, give the person some helpful background information and then distract them with a question about something different.
We recommended that Peter met with other children with Tourette’s and that his parents also met with other families to hear about Tourette's syndrome. We invited him to afternoons we run where families could learn and share ideas about how to cope with tics and other difficulties that go with them. We knew from studies that such groups can help children with tics feel happier about their lives and cope better with their difficulties.
Therapies for tics
We discussed that Peter’s tics were not really bad enough for him to take medication as they were not bothering him or causing pain. If his tics got worse in the future, we said there were a number of medicines that could be tried. Medicines can’t cure Tourette’s but they can reduce the number of tics children have. Like all medicines, they can have side-effects, though, so they are only given when tics are really interfering with life.
Peter’s parents wondered about psychological therapies to help Peter manage his tics. We explained there are two forms of behavioural therapy which have been shown during the last 40 years to help some people in controlling their tics. Like medicines the treatments are not a cure but they can reduce tics by on average about a third (which is the same as the effect of medicines).
Habit reversal training
This type of behavioural treatment involves the child becoming aware of when the tic is about to happen and doing an action that makes it impossible to do the tic and holding it until the urge to tic has passed. This can happen because many children with tics experience an urge or tension just before the tic occurs which we call a “tic signal”. Peter was surprised to know that we had heard about this sensation as he thought he was the only person with this tingling feeling. Sometimes, it didn’t feel comfortable to have the tic signal and he was relieved when he did the tic as it meant this feeling went away. During practice time it’s the parent’s job to notice when the child is doing their tic or alternative action and say how helpful it is. We discussed about how the treatment is not a cure but people with tics can use the strategy in places where their tics are bothersome (such as for vocal tics at the cinema).
Exposure and response prevention
This is a similar approach in which children gain control over their tics by practising suppressing their tics for a short period of time. Children don’t have to figure out any actions to prevent their tics but instead try to “hold them in”for as long as possible and to set records for their maximum record time. In doing this they get used to the uncomfortable sensation of the tic signal and discover that it goes away with time even if they don’t tic.
For both treatments the child meets with a therapist six to 12 times (depending on the tic severity) to learn the strategy. Importantly, the child would have to spend time practising the exercise between meetings. Peter’s father queried if tic treatments were only for children with severe tics. We discussed how this was not necessarily the case but that the main reason to come for treatment was because of the extent to which tics were affecting the child’s life. We don’t recommend trying these treatments on your own as there is important understanding involved that is best worked through with a professional.
We have also developed a habit reversal training program to treat groups of children at the same time. A recent study we completed showed that the group program helped children control their tics better and also improved how happy they felt about their lives.
Peter told us that, at the moment, the tics didn’t bother him and he would rather not miss school or football practice. We agreed that it was a sensible decision not to start treatment at that time; if the tics started to annoy Peter a lot, he could always come back to the clinic.
We discussed how it was likely that if Peter and his family could think about his tics as friends this might be helpful. It was likely that his tics were going to be with him for the next few years. There would be times when the movements or sounds might annoy him, other times when they could be funny and certainly moments when they would be less or more frequent. All the time, though, they would be there in the background, a bit like a friend. We explained that focusing too much on the tics might mean that Peter was less able to focus on all of the other activities he really enjoyed in his life.
Peter will come back for an annual check-up to keep track of how he is doing, in addition to appointments with his local doctor. The family are already much more knowledgeable about Tourette’s and thus more able to manage the challenges it throws at them.
Common questions about behavioural therapies for tics
If my child holds their tics in won’t they all just burst out later when they stop?
Psychologists have looked at this question very carefully. Studies show that practising holding tics in reduces tics overall. Even if we measure tics just after a child has been holding them in for a while we don’t see a “rebound”; if anything, they go down slightly.
If my child stops one tic, won’t their other tics just get worse?
The opposite is actually true. When we have looked at this in studies we have discovered that learning to control some tics might actually make all your tics slightly better –even the tics you haven’t worked on.
If my child is busy fighting their tics, won’t they find it difficult to pay attention to anything else?
When children first learn to control their tics it definitely takes some effort, so perhaps practising in a key lesson or exam might not be the best idea. However, the effect on their attention is small and probably fades as the child gets better at it (just like when we first learn to drive a car we have to use all our concentration but when we get good at it we can think about many other things at the same time).
If my child meets other children with tics, will they catch new tics off them?
It is true that tics are suggestible and children may briefly catch new tics from others with tics. These tic bouts are short-lived however (they usually last only a day or two) and studies show that children who go to groups for children with tics actually experience a reduction in tics overall.
Further information
Tara Murphy is a consultant psychologist who co-leads the National Specialist Tourette Syndrome Clinic at Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust, London with Dr Isobel Heyman, Consultant Child Psychiatrist. Fiona McFarlane is a clinical psychologist working in the same service.
Further information about Tourette’s is available on these websites: | https://senmagazine.co.uk/articles/articles/senarticles/understanding-tourette-s |
You will need
- - Easy Recovery.
Instruction
1
Note that in any case it is not necessary to write to the USB drive any information. The more you use the drive after formatting, the less chance you have of recovering files. Download and install Easy Recovery. For this purpose, use system hard disk partition.
2
Connect formatted USB drive to the appropriate port of the computer or laptop. Run Easy Recovery. In the quick launch menu, point to Data Recovery. In the opened window, select menu Format Recovery. In the left window select the desired USB drive. Be sure to specify the previous file system type of the stick. Click the Next button.
3
Wait some time for the tool to gather information about the files previously stored on the USB drive. This process can take a long time. A lot depends on your computer's performance and speed used stick. Wait until the new menu.
4
Now, select the checkboxes of those filesthat you want to restore. If you want to return all available information, just scroll to the top of the gurneys in the left menu. Click the Next button. Enter the hard drive partition and the folder in which you want to restore deleted files. Again click Next and wait until the process of recovery.
5
If you need to recover documents of a certain type, in the quick launch, select menu File Repair. Select the document type in the menu. It can be text documents, spreadsheets and presentations created using the programs in the Microsoft Office Suite. Follow a similar algorithm to search and recover lost data.
Note
Data recovery after formatting hard disk. If data is lost, many are willing to restore from hdd or the recovery USB flash drive. How to alter the file system of pendrive from FAT to NTFS, see how to format the flash drive to NTFS. Later I will write an article about how to recover deleted files using powerful free program. not to miss.
Useful advice
The program R-Studio is perfect to recover data from flash drive – DOWNLOAD. After starting the program immediately see a list of your storage media. Choose your flash drive and click "scan" to begin searching lost files. Methods:. And finally, before you deleted the files that the program found on the flash drive. The data found will be presented in folders by file type, you will only have to select the file that was deleted when formatting or... | https://eng.kakprosto.ru/how-77208-how-to-recover-files-after-formatting-usb-drive |
Since the race for space began in the 1950s and ‘60s, astronauts have been turning their eyes and cameras back on the Earth. Perhaps the most famous look back was the photograph dubbed “Earthrise,” taken by the Apollo 8 astronauts on their way to the Moon in 1968.
Seeing the Earth from space is an identity-and perspective-shifting experience. The planet, when viewed from orbit or the Moon, appears as a thing of beauty, a dynamic and borderless oasis, alive with myriad swirling colors and textures beneath its bright blue ribbon of atmosphere -- a spaceship on a four-billion-year cosmic journey. To see it is to be suddenly conscious of the unity and oneness of all life… without borders, boundaries, enemies, or strangers.
In 1987, space philosopher Frank White captured the imaginations of many both within the space community and the public at large when he coined the term the “Overview Effect” to describe the cognitive shift astronauts experience when viewing the Earth from orbit or on a lunar mission and documented it in his seminal book, “The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution.”
As the interest in space exploration has grown so has space-related media, which has coincided with a global movement to “bring the Overview Effect down to Earth” for millions of people around the world. Of course, most of us will never leave the planet to experience the Overview Effect firsthand.
The Overview Effect Film Festival (OEFF) aims to provide the next best thing; to screen compelling international films and media projects that feature The Overview Effect by recognized and emerging filmmakers from across the globe.
This year we will select theatrical and documentary films, feature films, shorts, and other media (both traditional and immersive) representing different genres and styles that convey the impact and experience of the Overview Effect as it relates to human space exploration, how we perceive ourselves and life on Earth, and our collective future on this planet or in space. | https://www.oefilmfest.com/ |
MAKATI CITY (MindaNews / 20 March) – Way back in early 1990s in Mindanao State University, main campus, in order to facilitate easy memorization, we had to literally sing the ‘six principles’ of Hans Morgenthau’s neoclassical realism in International Relations (IR).
No doubt, alongside Keohane and Nye’s Power and Interdependence (1977) and Kenneth Waltz’s Theory of International Politics (1979) that respectively represent two sides of the neoliberalism-neorealism divide, Morgenthau’s Politics among Nations (1960) had been the IR bible of the Cold War era.
IR as discipline
As a distinct discipline that was born out of the ashes of the First World War, IR deals with both substantial and methodological issues. In particular, it endeavors to identify which issues should be treated as the most important ones, and which method to use in studying a given issue.
State sovereignty, international anarchy, diplomacy, foreign policy, and international organizations and institutions are among the examples of substantial issues perennially dealt with in IR, and as such, countless written works are devoted to them.
Methodological issues encompass both ontological and epistemological questions. What is the nature of the social world which includes international relations? How is our knowledge related to that world? Is there an objective reality in the social world, or is everything there just a social construct of people? How can we acquire knowledge of that world? Is it through ‘explanation’ or ‘understanding’?
Gone were the days of IR positivism which used to privilege state-centric or inter-state substantial issues such as those mentioned above.
Gone also were the days of IR positivism which used to posit that ‘there is an objective reality out there’ (ontology) and that ‘explaining’ is the only way to acquire knowledge of the social world by means of building a ‘valid social science’ on the basis of verifiable empirical propositions (epistemology).
Religion
In positivist approaches in which secularism in the post-Westphalian international system is a given, religion is relegated to the fringes of domestic politics and private domain. In structural realism’s anarchical world, for instance, religious beliefs and ideological convictions are located at the bottom of the hierarchy of state interests.
This is no longer the trend in recent years.
Research works and studies about religion in IR – both in its positive and negative lights – are on the rise. Even in thesis defense sessions I sat either as a mentor or a panelist this month, the number of theses with religious underpinnings is quite conspicuous.
One thesis, for example, is about two Buddhist transnational societies that push for cosmopolitan causes such as humanitarian services, poverty reduction, universal education, nuclear disarmament, and environmental protection.
Another thesis is an analysis of Pakistan-Bangladesh diplomatic relations through the lens of faith-based diplomacy.
Yet another thesis is an assessment of Islamophobia in the U.S. media narratives and its impact upon U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.
Post-positivism
Alongside the surge of other substantial issues such as religion, women, and the environment, among others, which had been marginalized in IR literature for decades, there is also the entrance of post-positivism in the methodological debate within the discipline.
United not in what they commonly believe but in their dissatisfaction with the established IR theoretical traditions, post-positivist alternatives are challenging positivism’s postulates of an objective external reality, the subject/object distinction, and value-free social science.
Ontologically, post-positivist approaches reject any notion of an objective reality out there, for the social world is nothing but a product of intersubjective conception of people. Epistemologically, they lean toward ‘understanding’ (in contrast to ‘explaining’) as the means to obtain knowledge of the social world by comprehending and interpreting the substantive topic under study. In sum, post-positivism is anti-foundational in methodology, for, all theories make their own assumptions about the social world, and therefore, as Steve Smith argues, “There can never be a ‘view from nowhere’.”
In the aforementioned thesis about two Buddhist transnational societies, for instance, the researchers utilize the eclectic and middle-way International Society Theory, which is better known in the IR circle as the ‘English School of International Relations’, or the ‘English School’, in short. In particular, the thesis is informed of Barry Buzan’s concept of ‘world society’ (in contradistinction with the ‘international system’ and ‘international society’) which, according to him, is the “Cinderella concept” of the English School for receiving almost no conceptual development.
The second thesis which is about faith-based diplomacy employs Peter Katzenstein’s strand of social constructivism that highlights the internal makeup of states in affecting their internal behavior. Accordingly, the domestic normative structure of every state shapes its identity, interests, and subsequently, its foreign policy.
The last thesis mentioned above, which examines the influence of Islamophobia in American media narratives toward the U.S. foreign policy, is inspired by Anthony Giddens’ sociological theory of structuration, which is anchored in the analysis of both structure and agents, without giving primacy to either.
In conclusion, in today’s age of globalization, there will be a resurgence of substantial issues in IR, which for many decades were deemed peripheral or secondary in importance. There will also be parallel mushrooming of post-positivist theories that will pose as alternative lenses in methodologically looking at those substantial issues in IR.
Expect for a recurring saga of re-centering and de-centering in the years to come. | http://mlimba.com/religion-and-post-positivism-in-international-relations/ |
Although whales may seem like they’ve been around as long as dinosaurs, the creatures we know as whales are only about 34 million years old. Before that, their ancestors were vastly different creatures that spent a significant portion of their lives on land! All this may sound confusing, so we’re going to take a look at the oldest whale fossil ever and explore the origins of these creatures!
Specifically, we are going to focus on the oldest fully aquatic whale ancestors. After all, whales descended from terrestrial creatures. Since those animals are probably not the ones most people are interested in learning about, we’re going to consider only those animals that lived in the oceans.
Get ready to take a deep dive into whales!
What Is the Oldest Whale?
Before we look at the oldest whale fossil, we need to know what animal we’re looking at. After all, whales were not always the creatures that we know today. In fact, an ancestor of the whale had functional legs and was believed to be semi-aquatic at best.
Pakicetus inachus was a wolf-like, four-legged mammal that ate fish and other small animals. Scientists believe this animal lived along shorelines and had webbed feet. The creature is often considered the species that marked the beginning of the differentiation between land mammals and whales. Fossils from this creature were located in the Kuldana Formation in Pakistan, and it’s believed that they date as far back as 56 to 41 million years ago.
Now, you may be wondering how scientists looked at a mammal and believed that it was one of the creatures that evolved into modern whales. The answer lies in the animal’s physical features. Fossils of Pakicetus had ear bone structures and ankle bones that are only found in cetaceans. The fossils also displayed an elongated skull that is found in whales.
Still, Pakicetus was merely an ancestor of whales. It was not the oldest whale. We have to go forward in time from the emergence of the Pakicetus to find the oldest whale in existence and its fossils.
When Did Whales First Appear?
The first whale relatives appeared about 50 million years ago. Pakicetus is often referred to as the first whale even though it is nothing like the whales that inhabit the oceans in the present day. This creature probably spent a lot of time near the shoreline.
Other early cetaceans, like those belonging to the Maiacetus genus, spent a lot of time in the water but also walked upon and gave birth on land. Fossil records suggest that this creature lived about 47.5 million years ago. Interestingly, fossils belonging to this genus were also found in Pakistan, this time in the Habib Rahi Formation.
Still, we did not get to fully aquatic creatures yet.
The First Aquatic Cetaceans
Basilosaurids and Dorudontines were the first fully aquatic cetaceans that resemble something like modern whales, and they lived together at the same time. Both of these creatures lived about 41 to 33.9 million years ago, but the timeline is not exactly fixed. Both members of this family possessed small tail flukes and spent their entire lives in the water.
Interestingly, members of the Basilosaurus genus were originally believed to be reptiles, and that’s why they have the “-saurus” suffix attached to their name. However, these creatures were archaeocete whales, large marine mammals.
Now that we have identified some of the earliest genera of whales, we can finally talk about the oldest fossils on record.
How Old Was the Oldest Whale Fossil Ever Found?
The oldest whale fossil ever found is between 37 and 40 million years old. The intact fossil of a Basilosaurus, the most complete one ever found, was discovered in Wadi Al-Hitan, a site in Egypt. The fossil of the creature measured about 54 feet long!
Fossils of animals eaten by the Basilosaurus were also found where the creature’s stomach would have been. Also, shark teeth in the immediate area demonstrated how other creatures fed on the whale after it had died.
Another old whale fossil was discovered in March 2022, dating back as far as 36 million years. This Basilosaurus fossil was found in modern-day Peru. The discovery included a well-preserved skull that showed the creature was a vicious predator.
What Did the Oldest Whale Fossil Teach Us?
The whale fossil discovered in Egypt was significant for a few reasons. For one thing, the fossil showed the tail spines of a member of the Basilosauridae genus for the first time. Also, the new fossil showed some of the diversity of sea creatures that existed at the time, including smaller whales, sawfish, and crabs.
Also, the fossil continues to strengthen the belief that the Basilosaurus was the first fully aquatic whale species. Another interesting thing is that fossils of Basilosaurus have been found in many places around the world. They’ve been found in Africa, the U.S., South America, and more. At least one fossil was also located in Antarctica, and it caused a bit of a stir.
Controversy in the Whale Fossil Record
A jawbone from a whale that lived near the Antarctic has potentially muddied the whale evolution timeline a bit. In 2011, scientists found a 24-inch fossil on the Antarctic Peninsula that was apparently 49 million years old.
Some scientists believed that it represented a fully aquatic creature when the discovery was made. Yet, other fully aquatic whales weren’t around for millions of years after that, according to the current fossil record.
However, a great deal about the fossil is up for debate, including whether it belonged to an aquatic creature or a true whale at all as well as the actual age of the fossil. Interestingly, the scientists that made the discovery have not released any new information about the discovery since it was made.
That could mean that the initial claims surrounding the discovery were not entirely accurate.
At the very least, the fossil discovery in Antarctica could mean the Wadi Al-Hitan discovery is not the oldest fossil found! We’ll post updates if anything changes on that front!
Up Next:
The Featured Image
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us? Contact the AZ Animals editorial team. | https://a-z-animals.com/blog/whats-the-oldest-whale-fossil-ever-found/ |
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – U.S. President-elect Joe Biden should ban imports and financing of commodities linked to deforestation in Asia-Pacific and engage with the region – including China – to reward nations tackling illegal forest clearing, environmentalists said.
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Biden urged to work with business, China to protect SE Asia rainforest Back to video
Biden’s election as the next U.S. leader, replacing climate-change skeptic Donald Trump, has raised expectations that protecting Southeast Asia’s rainforests, seen as a vital buffer against global warming, will get more attention in Washington.
“In Southeast Asia, much of the rubber, sugar, rice and palm oil that is now responsible for deforestation is ending up in the export market,” said Kerstin Canby, a senior director at U.S.-based nonprofit group Forest Trends.
“While we do not want to limit Southeast Asian countries from being able to responsibly allocate their land for economic development, the fact is that much of this forested land is being cleared illegally,” she added.
In 2019, tropical rainforests – whose preservation is considered crucial to limiting planetary heating – disappeared at a rate of one football pitch every six seconds, according to data from online monitoring service Global Forest Watch. | https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/disaster-pmn/biden-urged-to-work-with-business-china-to-protect-se-asia-rainforest |
Authors:
Irma Caraballo Álvarez
Abigail Childs
Kirsten Jurich
Mentors/Advisors:
Dr. Juan L. Torres-Pérez (Bay Area Environmental Research Institute)
Dr. Sherry L. Palacios (Bay Area Environmental Research Institute)
Past/Other Contributors:
Chippie Kislik (Center Lead)
Martha Sayre
Abstract:
Elkhorn Slough in Monterey, California, has experienced substantial nutrient loading and eutrophication as a result of fertilizer-rich runoff from nearby agricultural fields. This study seeks to identify and track spatial patterns of eutrophication hotspots and the correlation to land-use changes, possible nutrient sources, and general climatic trends using remotely sensed and in situ data. Threats of rising sea level, subsiding marshes, and increased eutrophication hotspots demonstrate the necessity to analyze the effects of increasing nutrient loads, relative sea level changes, and sedimentation within Elkhorn Slough. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model integrated specified inputs to assess nutrient and sediment loading and their sources. TerrSet’s Land Change Modeler forecasted the future potential of land change transitions for various land cover classes around the slough as a result of nutrient loading, eutrophication, and increased sedimentation. TerrSet’s Earth Trends Modeler provided a comprehensive analysis of image time series to rapidly assess long-term eutrophication trends and detect spatial patterns of known hotspots. Results from this study will inform future coastal management structures and provide greater spatial and temporal insight into Elkhorn Slough eutrophication dynamics. | https://earthzine.org/elkhorn-slough-detecting-eutrophication-through-geospatial-modeling/ |
In this half term, children encouraged to think about how they have changed from being a baby and what may change for them in the future. They consolidate the names and functions of some of the main parts of the body and discuss how these have changed. They learn that our bodies change as we get older in lots of different ways. Children understand that change can bring about positive and negative feelings, and that sharing these can elp. They also consider the role that memories can have in managing change.
Key Vocabulary
Eye, Foot, Eyebrow, Forehead, Ear, Mouth, Arm, Leg, Chest, Knee, Nose, Tongue, Finger, Toe, Stomach, Hand, Baby, Grown-up, Adult, Change, Worry, Excited, Memories.
KS1
In this half term the children are introduced to life cycles e.g. that of a frog and identify the different stages. They compare this with a human life cycle and look at simple changes from baby to adult e.g. getting taller, learning to walk etc. They discuss how they have changed so far and that people grow up at different rates. As part of a school’s safeguarding duty, pupils are taught the correct words for private parts of the body (those kept private by underwear: vagina, anus, penis, testicles, vulva). They are taught that nobody has the right to hurt these parts of the body, including a lesson on inappropriate touch and assertiveness. Children practise a range of strategies for managing feelings and emotions. They are also taught where they can get help if worried or frightened. Change is taught as a natural and normal part of growing up and the range of emotions that can occur with change are explored and discussed.
Key Vocabulary
Changes, Life cycles, Baby, Adult, Adulthood, Grown-up, Mature, Male, Female, Vagina, Penis, Testicles, Vulva, Anus, Learn, New, Grow, Feelings, Anxious, Worried, Excited, Coping.
LKS2
(Jigsaw 7-8)
In this half term, the class learn about babies and what they need to grow and develop including parenting. Children learn that it is usually the female that carries the baby in nature. This leads onto lessons where puberty is introduced. Children first look at the outside body changes in males and females. They learn that puberty is a natural part of growing up and that it is a process for getting their bodies ready to make a baby when grownup. Inside body changes are also taught. Children learn that females have eggs (ova) in their ovaries and these are released monthly. If unfertilised by a male’s sperm it passes out of the body as a period. Children discuss how they feel about puberty and growing up and there are opportunities for them to seek reassurance if anything is worrying them.
Key Vocabulary
Changes, Birth, Animals, Babies, Mother, Growing up, Baby, Grow, Uterus, Womb, Nutrients, Survive, Love, Affection, Care, Puberty, Control, Male, Female, Testicles, Sperm, Penis, Ovaries, Egg, Ovum / ova, Womb / uterus, Vagina, Stereotypes, Task, Roles, Challenge, Looking forward, Excited, Nervous, Anxious, Happy.
Year 5
(Jigsaw 8-9)
In this half term the class revisit bodily changes at puberty with some additional vocabulary, particularly around menstruation. Sanitary health is taught, including introducing pupils to different sanitary and personal hygiene products. Conception and sexual intercourse are introduced in simple terms so the children understand that a baby is formed by the joining of an ovum and sperm. They also learn that the ovum and sperm carry genetic information that carry personal characteristics. The unit ends by looking at the feelings associated with change and how to manage these. Children are introduced to Jigsaw’s Circle of change model as a strategy for managing future changes.
Key Vocabulary
Personal, Unique, Characteristics, Parents, Sperm, Egg / ovum, Penis, Testicles, Vagina / vulva, Womb / uterus, Ovaries, Making love, Having sex, Sexual intercourse, Fertilise, Conception, Puberty, Menstruation, Periods, Circle, Seasons, Change, Control, Emotions, Acceptance, Looking forward, Excited, Nervous, Anxious, Happy.
Year 6
(Jigsaw 9-10)
In this half term the class revisit self-esteem and self/body-image. They learn that we all have perceptions about ourselves and others, and these may be right or wrong. They also reflect on how social media and the media can promote unhelpful comparison and how to manage this. Puberty is revisited with further detail explaining bodily changes in males and females. Sexual intercourse is explained in slightly more detail than in the previous year. Children are encouraged to ask questions and seek clarification about anything they don’t understand. Further details about pregnancy are introduced including some facts about the development of the foetus and some simple explanation about alternative ways of conception e.g. IVF. Children learn that having a baby is a personal choice. Reasons why people choose to be in a romantic relationship and choose to have a baby are also explored. Children look at what becoming a teenager means for them with an increase in freedom, rights and responsibilities. They also look at the perceptions that surround teenagers and reflect whether they are always accurate e.g. teenagers are always moody; all teenagers have a boyfriend/girlfriend etc.
Key Vocabulary
Body-image, Self-image, Looks, Personality, Perception, Self-esteem, Affirmation, Comparison Oestrogen, Fallopian Tube, Cervix, Develops, Adam’s Apple, Scrotum, Genitals, Hair, Broader, Wider, , Erection, Ejaculation, Urethra, Wet Dream, Growth spurt, Larynx, Facial hair, Pubic hair, Hormones, Scrotum, Testosterone, Circumcised, Uncircumcised, Foreskin, Epididymis, Ovaries, Egg (Ovum), Period, Fertilised, Unfertilised, Embryo, Umbilical cord, IVF, Foetus, Contraception, Pregnancy, Menstruation, Sanitary products, Tampon, Pad, Towel, Liner, Hygiene, Age appropriateness, Legal, Laws, Responsible, Teenager, Responsibilities, Rights. | https://www.frenchwood.lancs.sch.uk/summer-2-changing-me/ |
The honey bee mushroom bodies (MBs) are brain centers required for specific learning tasks. Here, we show that environmental conditions experienced as young adults affect the maturation of MB neuropil and performance in a MB-dependent learning task. Specifically, olfactory reversal learning was selectively impaired following early exposure to an impoverished environment lacking some of the sensory and social interactions present in the hive. In parallel, the overall number of syn-aptic boutons increased within the MB olfactory neuropil, whose volume remained unaffected. This suggests that experience of the rich in-hive environment promotes MB maturation and the development of MB-dependent learning capacities. | https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/experience-during-early-adulthood-shapes-the-learning-capacities- |
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Covid: Overburdened psychologists are turning away patients
Almost half of psychologists said Covid-19 and the containment measures had aggravated the symptoms of existing patients and clients Keystone
Mental health is particularly at risk in times of crisis. Demand for counselling and therapy has risen sharply during the Covid-19 pandemic since the summer, according to a survey of 1,300 Swiss psychologists.
This content was published on November 3, 2020 - 13:48November 3, 2020 - 13:48
More than 70% said they had already been forced to refuse patients or clients because of a lack of capacity, the Swiss Federation of Psychologists said in a statement on Tuesday. Almost half (46%) said demand for psychological therapy or counselling had increased since the summer due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences.
What’s more, 31% of psychologists mentioned new pathologies linked to the pandemic. “We’re talking here partly about people who were already suffering from psychological problems and for whom the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown triggered the need for professional help,” said Yvik Adler, the federation’s co-president.
Of the psychologists surveyed, 47% said Covid-19 and the containment measures had aggravated the symptoms of existing patients and clients.
The federation said it was concerned about the situation. “Today problems already exist in the field of mental health. In rural areas and where children and adolescents are concerned, patients often have to wait up to six months for outpatient therapy,” Adler said. | |
March 30, 2016
We get the futures we imagine.
This simple statement carries within it both hope and warning. It covers past, present and future. The present we now have was once an imagined future; the future we imagine now will be carried forward. If we look at popular media, such as films and television, our imagined future does not look very bright – post-apocalyptic futures such as portrayed in Mad Max and the Hunger Games trilogy, or futures in which we abandon this planet, such as in Elysium and Interstellar, fill our movie theatres and our minds.
But what if we imagined a different future? What if instead, we imagined a future where the environment is green and flourishing, where all people have equal access to fresh water, fresh, healthy food, adequate shelter and health care? What if we wrote a completely new and different story?
This is the hope and vision of ecofeminism.
Feminism, and by association ecofeminism, has become something of a dirty word in recent years, raising images of militant, man-hating women who vengefully scheme to replace patriarchy and the oppression of women with a matriarchal structure for the oppression of men. This, however, is not at all what feminism aims to achieve. Feminism, and ecofeminism, are much more sophisticated, more nuanced, far-sighted, and far-reaching than this.
Feminism is concerned with creating a society in which men and women are treated equally, fairly, and respectfully. It strives not to replace patriarchy with matriarchy, but to create an egalitarian social system that values all people equally. In other words, the goal of feminism is to create social justice. This paradigmatic shift is not about swapping one oppressive power for another, but instead is about creating new ideologies that represent a balance of power between genders, and also takes into account other intersections of identity, including ethnicity, sexual orientation, ability, religion, and more.
Ecofeminism is also concerned with social oppression, but in addition pays attention to what is happening with the environment. Ecofeminism contends that in order to end the oppression of people (not just women, but also those who live in Third World countries, people of colour, members of the LGBTQ community, etc.), we must also end the oppression and destruction of nature. This would involve a major shift in societal ideals, affecting almost every aspect of the dominant Western social order. If these ideals could be adopted, what would an ecofeminist social transformation look like?
Perhaps the best place to start is with a little bit of history. Feminism as a movement gained momentum as part of the more general social justice movement in the 1960s. The peace movement and the modern environmental movement gained traction at about the same time. These three things – the social justice movement, the peace movement, and the environmental movement – have been called the three great movements of our time. The early feminist movement focussed on obtaining equal legal footing for women in terms of workplace opportunities, equal pay for equal work, and advocating for anti-discrimination legislation. Over time, the movement evolved to encompass not just political but also personal freedoms, such as sharing of household assets, sharing in child-rearing, and being allowed to make their own decisions regarding their bodies, for instance, access to birth control. Much of this work continues today.
The fusion between environmentalism and feminism came about in the 1970s. The term “ecofeminism” was coined by French writer Françoise d’Eaubonne in 1974 to describe “ecological feminism”, or the role that women in particular could have in creating changes to the way society exploits the natural world. She noted that the way in which patriarchal society devalues, disregards, and mistreats women in many ways reflects the same kind of thinking that allows for the devaluation, degradation, and mistreatment of nature. While ecofeminism has been criticized for essentialising women – the idea that women are better placed to take care of the environment because of an essential nurturing nature – it has also been pointed out that in many societies women have historically been the ones who till the land, fetch the water, and gather plants and firewood, and that the knowledge that women have thus gained can be used in environmental reparation. This is not saying that women are somehow “closer to nature” than men, but that their experience and expertise is in caring for the environment in which they work.
From this beginning, two basic premises of ecofeminism emerged. The first is that the oppression of women and the degradation of the environment are at least conceptually linked; therefore if we can find ways to improve the condition and treatment of one, this will lead to improvement in the condition and treatment of the other. Second, there are differences in the way women and men relate to and interact with the natural world. This is mediated by social, economic, and historic factors. But the complex weaving of relationships and cultural contexts is finely nuanced and influenced by many variables – not only gender but also (as previously mentioned) such things as race, class, sexual orientation, (dis)ability, where you live, and what you do.
Today, some of the more prominent ecofeminists include the activist and physicist Vandana Shiva, and the well-known primatologist Jane Goodall. Goodall’s Roots and Shoots organization is a good example of what, at least in part, an ecofeminist social transformation would look like. Roots and Shoots empowers young people (ages 9 to 17) to create change in their communities. While it is an international organization with groups in over 130 countries, each Roots and Shoots group focusses on projects in their own communities. The group creates three projects; one that helps animals, one that helps the environment, and one that helps people (although clearly there will be some overlap in these categories). This kind of grassroots activism is an essential component of ecofeminism.
Vandana Shiva is perhaps best known for her opposition to GMOs and the companies that produce them. She is the founder of Navdanya, a seed-saving and sharing organization based in India. Seed saving and sharing between farmers is a tradition that stretches back to the beginnings of agriculture. Navdanya describes itself as “a women centred movement for the protection of biological and cultural diversity,” and fights against the “biopiracy” of indigenous agricultural knowledge and plants by corporations such as Monsanto. The group supports small, organic farms planting locally sourced crops, and lobbies against agribusinesses and the creation of huge monocrop plantations.
An ecofeminist social transformation encourages local grassroots activism, in both First World and Third World countries. It is important to understand that the motivations for activism vary – First World feminism tends to focus on changing minds about issues, whereas Third World activism is more often aimed at challenging the incursion of foreign corporations to preserve traditional cultures and ways of life.
In this way, an ecofeminist social transformation seeks to change our relationships not only with each other but also with the natural world. Rather than seeking to dominate or coerce nature, an ecofeminist environmental ethic seeks to create a partnership ethic with nature – working with natural processes, such as soil types, climate, water cycles and water availability – rather than against them. It seeks to create relationships based in an ethic of care and compassion, grounded in power-with rather than power-over, in both societal and environmental contexts.
But if we are to create ethical relationships and partnerships of compassion and care, we will have to change the ways that we do many things. One thing in particular that would need to change is the way that we produce and reproduce knowledge. After all, if we simply continue to tell the same stories in the same ways, and if we simply continue to seek new knowledge in the same old ways, we end up reproducing the same kinds of results and living in the same kinds of ways. Two ways that we can change this is by looking at different approaches to science, and to history.
Now, if we count Shiva and Goodall among today’s leading ecofeminists it is easy to see that following an ecofeminist theory of scientific research leads to rigorous, reproducible, and groundbreaking advances in scientific knowledge. But what do they do differently from traditional science? What characterizes an ecofeminist approach to science and knowledge production?
One thing to realise about science, whether feminist or not, is that it is always contextual and it changes over time. Since the time of the Scientific Revolution (beginning in the mid-1500s), science, at least the way science has been done in the Western world, has been dominated by men. Additionally, science as we now conceive of it and practice it, often serves to oppress rather than liberate humanity. If we accept the idea that technology is the practical application of science, then upon reflection it is not too hard to make this case.
Feminist science aims to use science to help make the world a better place for people, rather than a better place for technology. In its simplest terms, feminist science is about uniting head, hand, and heart. That is, it uses sound methodologies, based in experience rather than just observation, and emphasizes holism, harmony, and complexity rather than reductionism. Jane Goodall’s work with chimpanzees again serves as a good example: her work was based on experience in the field, interacting with and getting to know her subjects, thus making discoveries about chimpanzee behaviours that could never have been made through experimentation and dispassionate observations. She also got to know and understand the situation of the people living in the communities surrounding the chimpanzee habitat. Goodall used her research not only to increase our knowledge about primates, but also to help preserve chimpanzee habitat, and to encourage and engage young people in conservation work.
Her work, and the work of other feminist scientists, such as Shiva, Dian Fossey, Rachel Carson, and many others, is widely accepted as rigorous, but it is also compassionate. One of the main objectives in feminist science is to “do no harm” –research should never inflict suffering. Further, they aim to use science for harm reduction, and to improve the lives of not just women, but all people and all creatures and for Earth itself. Creating a new conceptual framework for science also creates new outcomes and possibilities. Rather than leading to the creation of harmful technologies, feminist science looks to heal relationships between humans and nature, and between culture and nature.
So, an ecofeminist social transformation would also include the practice of feminist science. It would understand the importance of uniting head, heart, and hand in relevant, experiential, movement-generated research that remains reflexive and accountable, and understands complexity and connectivity to be more useful than reductionism. Feminist science looks for technologies that improve lives for both humans and the other than human world, in ways that conserves and works in partnership with Earth, with an ethic of care and compassion.
Another way to create social transformation is to ensure that the historic contributions of women, indigenous people, and people of colour, to science, medicine, politics, art, literature, and all other areas of human endeavour are acknowledged and celebrated. Currently we tend to emphasize certain kinds of achievements –we commemorate historic wars, colonization, and the deeds mainly of dead white men. This is a product of the Enlightenment and the approach to history taken during that time. Of course, records of wars and colonization are important to know and understand, but we need to move away from allowing history to be written by the victors with no regard for those defeated, and what happened to them. In fairness, there has been more attention paid in recent years to the abhorrent treatment of Aboriginal populations in both North America and Australia, but this acknowledgement and remediation needs to continue. All voices deserve to be heard, and all people deserve to be treated with respect, dignity, and compassion.
Lastly, an ecofeminist social transformation would recognise the importance of a spiritual, loving connection to the earth, understanding that everything is connected – that we really are all made of stardust. Ecofeminism helps us to understand that to harm the Earth, or any of its inhabitants, is also to harm ourselves. By practising care and compassion for the natural world, we also practice care and compassion for our communities, ourselves, and each other. This care and compassion does not have to follow one particular religion, or any religion at all for that matter. Care and compassion for the earth and for people can be found in Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, and any of the many indigenous religions, such as those of North American First Nations, and pagan spiritualities, such as Druidry or Wicca. A person may also choose to follow their own set of spiritual beliefs and practices without adhering to any specific religion.
This approach allows the embrace of multiple spiritualities, including major world religions, pagan, and indigenous spiritual traditions, and honours the elders in our communities, while treasuring the young. It values women’s wisdom about the Earth and about creating and sustaining life. It would practice rituals and celebrations that honour the Earth and its inhabitants. Everyone would have a place – each person treated with respect, dignity, and compassion, in a community that practices hope and envisions an ecologically and socially harmonic future.
In sum, then, an ecofeminist social transformation strives for social and environmental justice, achieved through a partnership ethic with the natural world. It challenges existing ideologies and power structures to create an ecotopic (rather than dystopic) future, centred on equal participation and equality. Ecofeminism recognises that change and healing needs to take place within and between cultures, and between nature and cultures. It also recognises the healing power of nature, and understands that healing includes healing hearts, land, and culture. Ecofeminism understands that the three great movements of peace, social justice, and environmentalism work together.
Ecofeminism understands that we get the futures we imagine, and seeks transformative action through the practice of hope, believing that change only happens through intentional action and taking responsibility for both social and ecological challenges and change, and realizing that change is always possible. Ecofeminist historian and scholar Carolyn Merchant wrote that “Ideology is a story told by people in power. Once we identify ideology as a story… we realise that by rewriting the story, we can challenge the structures of power. We recognise that all stories can and should be challenged.” In challenging those stories, we imagine and write a new story about the present, and about the future. These are the stories that create the paradigms that create the society in which we live. In essence, we live within these stories.
But the thing about stories, is that you always have a choice about what story you listen to, and what story you live. Choosing to live the story of an ecofeminist social transformation is as simple, and as complex, as imagining a different future. | http://www.uisio.com/philosophy/envisioning-an-ecofeminist-social-transformation/ |
Call forwarding (or call diverting), in telephony, is a feature on some telephone networks that allows an incoming call to a called party, which would be otherwise unavailable, to be redirected to a mobile telephone or other telephone number where the desired called party is situated. In North America usually (though not always) the forwarded line rings once, to remind the customer using Call forwarding that the call is being redirected. More consistently, the forwarded line indicates its condition by stutter dial tone.
In Europe, most networks indicate that unconditional call forwarding is active with a special dial tone. When the phone is picked up it is immediately apparent that calls are being forwarded.
When and Why to Use it
Diverting calls can increase one's availability to a caller. The main alternative is an answering machine or voicemail, but some callers do not wish to leave a recorded message, suspecting that the party will delay returning their messages.
Some businesses find that the human touch can improve contact, thus sales, but traditional wired answering services are expensive, so they have their calls forwarded to a call center, so the client can reach an operator instead of an answering machine or voice mail.
Some services offer international call forwarding by allocating for the customer a local virtual phone number which is forwarded to any other international destination. | https://kb.virtualphoneline.com/tiki-index.php?page=Call+Forwarding |
neochromologism.io is a creative artifact for research where you can spontaneously name colors. Your naming reflects a very individual or shared color vocabulary. If shared, we hope to find out.
Please, use your mother tongue and enter the name that you would use to describe the background color to someone else. The database generated will be used for artistic and scientific research in the field of art, psychology, and linguistics.
Behind this project are María Boto and Kristel Peters (Laboratorium, KASK / School of Arts Ghent), Juan Luis Font (University of Seville), Prof. Christine Mohr and Domicele Jonauskaite (Colour experience research group, University of Lausanne) and Prof. Mari Uusküla (Tallinn University).
This project is funded by Arts Research Fund of University College Ghent and Doc.CH fellowship grant to Domicele Jonauskaite from the Swiss National Science Foundation (P0LAP1_175055).
Previous versions of neochromologism.io launched as part of the research project “The color biolab” and developed by Laboratorium and Juan Luis Font are available here: http://lab.neochromologism.io
You agree that we can use your anonymous responses for our research, giving up any intellectual property rights over the names included in the database. No personal information is saved. | http://neochromologism.io/about |
Setting up an anti-hail system over a newly planted orchard of cherry trees, in order to mitigate the impact of climate change over agricultural production.
Projects & Practice
A livestock farmer received training and undertook a consultation to find out how to improve animal welfare on his farm.
Poland’s RDP allocated a ‘lump sum’ funding package for LEADER Local Actions Groups to help them prepare their Local Development Strategies for the 2014-2020 period.
An agricultural business affected by extreme weather conditions used RDP support to repair the damage to its infrastructure and enable it to operate as normal.
An example of how afforestation allows for the development and maintenance of farm lands where crop cultivation is almost impossible.
A LAG organised a series of tailored workshops to combat digital exclusion among people over 50 years old.
Bringing together public authorities, research institutes and farmers to explore low carbon emission production models in agriculture.
Organising bicycle rallies as a means of promoting social interaction and integration.
A Polish NGO used EAFRD funding to promote local traditional foods from the Mazovia region through a culinary trail, a food contest and a series of educational courses.
In a rural area that is rather disadvantaged and in risk of abandonment, EAFRD and ESF support were combined in a project for the integration of migrants through work training. | https://enrd.ec.europa.eu/projects-practice/_en?project_keywords_filter=19753&%3Bamp%3Bproject_country=All&%3Bamp%3Bfield_enrd_prj_measure_tid=All&%3Bamp%3Bfield_enrd_prj_focus_area_tid=All&%3Bamp%3Bf%5B0%5D=im_field_enrd_prj_keywords%3A20479&%3Bf%5B0%5D=sm_enrd_eu_countries%3ADenmark&f%5B0%5D=im_field_enrd_prj_keywords%3A19722&f%5B1%5D=im_field_enrd_prj_keywords%3A19757&f%5B2%5D=sm_enrd_eu_countries%3AItaly&f%5B3%5D=im_field_enrd_prj_keywords%3A19725&f%5B4%5D=im_field_enrd_prj_keywords%3A19743&f%5B5%5D=sm_enrd_eu_countries%3APoland |
The American Society of Civil Engineers released its assessment of Georgia’s infrastructure Jan. 23, and the word of the day might very well have been “momentum.”
The volunteer-led evaluation of the state’s critical systems rated Georgia’s infrastructure a cumulative C+ — it’s highest grade so far and the first time the grade improved. Still, a C indicates roads, bridges, dams, schools, water systems, parks, waste treatment and other infrastructure need attention, according to ASCE’s grading scale.
“We have made progress; we must continue to make more progress,” was how School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Adjo Amekudzi-Kennedy put it, rather succinctly. Amekudzi-Kennedy served as chair of the 2019 Georgia Infrastructure Report Card advisory board, a group of outside experts who review the grades assigned by the report card’s authors.
“The report cards make a difference by focusing the public’s and lawmakers’ attention on what the critical issues are in the particular season when they are released. The passage of laws supporting dedicated sources of funding is one of the first steps for addressing deficiencies, and we have seen this happen over the past several years. We must build on this momentum to continue to improve the quality of infrastructure in the state.”
Amekudzi-Kennedy has been part of the panel of experts who review the report since its inception in 2004. Volunteer engineers from across Georgia help assess the state’s infrastructure every five years.
In 2019, that assessment reported improvement in nine of 14 categories of infrastructure and deterioration in two — solid waste and wastewater systems. The three remaining categories held steady. The report also praised “significant progress” over the last five years, including:
- the Savannah harbor deepening, now about half finished.
- $1 billion in new funding for transportation authorized by the Georgia General Assembly.
- a more than doubling of staff for Georgia Safe Dams, increasing inspections and emergency action plans to protect downstream communities.
- legislation creating a new umbrella public transit agency for metro Atlanta, the ATL.
- new stormwater utilities and more dedicated funding for stormwater systems.
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Still, challenges remain, according to the report card: capitalizing on the landmark new transit agency, providing more funding to water utilities — drinking water, wastewater, stormwater — and ensuring the state’s truck and rail freight networks are ready for the larger ships that will call on the deeper Savannah harbor.
“From a bigger picture perspective, Georgia’s population is growing and becoming more urban,” Amekudzi-Kennedy said, noting forecasts from Georgia Tech’s Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development have projected a 51 percent increase in people along the coast between 2000 and 2030.
“The growth in coastal populations and the changing climate mean we must think about system resilience. We must work on adapting technologies to make our state’s infrastructure smarter, more resilient, and more supportive of healthy communities.”
The 2019 report card was Amekudzi-Kennedy’s third as chair of the advisory panel, a group that included four other experts from the School — Ching-Hua Huang, Terry Sturm, James Tsai and Kari Watkins — plus consultants, practitioners and faculty members from other disciplines at Georgia Tech and several of the state’s other universities. | https://cee.gatech.edu/news/amekudzikennedy-georgia-infrastructure-report-card-progress-made-more-be-done |
As the Democrats and GOP leaders prepare to meet with the President at the February 25 health summit, the Republicans have a big problem. They don’t have a plan. While demanding a clean-slate do-over from the Democrats, all they have to offer in return is a grab-bag of simplistic, ineffective remedies that won’t fix the problems of our unsustainable health care system. They lack the vision thing. They need to recognize the market failure at the root of the system’s dysfunction and to propose the following actions to fix it. (Note: Hyperlinks provide additional discussion for those wanting to delve further.)
First, let’s agree on our ultimate goals. Neither party has done this. Here they are:
1. Access to affordable health insurance for all Americans
2. Sustainable medical care affordability and value
3. Free-rider prevention that allows universally available insurance to work
4. Voluntary participation with no individual or employer mandates
5. Financial protection against unaffordable, medically necessary care
6. Individual choice of insurers, providers, and treatments
7. Portability of coverage regardless of employment or government assistance
8. Effective prevention of chronic diseases that now consume 75% of total medical costs
Second, we don’t need a clean slate. The Democratic health plan has a core feature that can form the basis for achieving these goals: the individual health insurance exchange.
Third, here are the necessary changes to the Democratic proposals:
1. Open the insurance exchange(s) to everyone. Employers, FEHBP, Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP will allow their constituents to opt out of their current health plans and to receive equivalent funds to enable them to buy their own portable health insurance from a plethora of private insurers through the exchange.
2. Create Super HSAs. Improve affordability and provide tax equity by allowing everyone to open health funding accounts (HFAs) that permit tax-exempt contributions by individuals, employers, and government programs sufficient to pay for individual insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs. Replace any Cadillac-tax or fixed-dollar-tax-rebate proposals with uniform tax-exemption limits on HFA contributions.
3. Reform Medicare and safety-net programs. Replace current proposals for middle-class welfare subsidies with safety-net reforms in which Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and other programs will provide defined-contribution HFA funds for those who cannot otherwise afford to buy adequate health insurance and medical care.
4. Redefine health insurance. Minimum benefit requirements will assure financial protection against the unaffordable costs of medically necessary care. Any other benefits that increase premiums will not be required. Consumers will decide whether to buy additional insurance coverage for normally affordable, regularly consumed medical services or to buy them directly from providers. Individuals will be encouraged to choose the highest out-of-pocket deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments they can reasonably afford, thus reducing unnecessary insurance premiums and incentivizing consumers to focus on provider quality, price, and value. Insurers will be allowed to offer negative copayments and other consumer incentives to seek high-value medical care.
5. Get Medicare out of the medical price-fixing business. Allow providers to set their own prices in a competitive market in which consumers, assisted by insurers, have the money and the clout to demand value, convenience, and customer service.
6. Allow voluntary insurance purchases, but with strong controls to prevent free-riders. Replace mandates with voluntary participation and stringent controls to prevent people from gaming the system by waiting until they get sick to buy bargain insurance.
7. Require insurers to use modified community rating. Premiums based on individual health status and history will not be allowed. Premiums may vary only by a person’s age, gender, residence location, occupational risk, and the degree to which the person effectively controls health risk factors that are amenable to personal control (e.g., smoking, obesity, alcohol abuse). Likewise, employers and government programs will be allowed to vary their contributions to their constituents based on these factors, with appropriate adjustments to incentivize personal control of individual health risks.
8. Optimize participating insurer regulation. Eliminate any public option proposals, and instead allow participation by any licensed insurer that self-certifies compliance with the exchange’s requirements for minimum benefits, enrollment eligibility, and premiums. Rely on audits, complaints, penalties, and corrective orders to assure compliance. Maintain current state regulation of insurer financial health. Encourage development of community-based health plans.
9. Allow the states to experiment within the above parameters. Give them the flexibility to iteratively develop optimal solutions to be copied by others. Avoid one-fix-fits-all solutions.
The above modifications to the Democrats’ proposed health reform plan will empower America’s consumers to demand the answers to two fundamental questions: (1) Which are the best, most appropriate insurers and medical providers for my needs? (2) Which of these are the least expensive? This deceptively simple value proposition is the same one that has powered America’s unparalleled economic success and generated the widespread affordability of high-quality, infinitely varied food, clothing, housing, transportation, and recreation. The same dynamic will work for health care. Under this proposed health reform package, the consumer will reign supreme. The government’s roles will be appropriately limited to those of rule maker, fair referee, enforcer, and safety net of last resort—not insurer or regulator of actual prices or benefits (beyond the above requirements).
Properly implemented, this program will produce massive benefits that achieve all eight of our long-term health care goals. | https://www.hydeonhealthcare.com/health-reform-summit-fixing-obamacare.html |
What did you have for breakfast this morning? Did you skip lunch yesterday because you were too busy at work? Have you ever wondered how skipping meals daily affects your long-term health and possibly even your chances of getting pregnant?
So many people I know are regularly in the habit of skipping meals, most commonly, breakfast. Granted, most of us lead busy lives and have a lot going on in the morning – I get it, I too have been guilty of skipping breakfast here and there!
We tend to think that our busy lifestyles justify the decision to starve ourselves, however, you may change your mind when you find out the long-term health implications. Skipped meals can be detrimental to hormone balance, overall health, and fertility.
Skipping Meals Affects Your Body in 4 Main Ways:
1. Weight Gain or Inability to Lose Weight
When you skip a meal, you’re directly affecting two key hormones: insulin and cortisol. Your cortisol increases because your body thinks it’s starving, which triggers a stress response. Over time, increased cortisol can lead to weight gain, particularly in the abdominal region. Not only is this weight difficult to take off, it is also hormonally active, meaning that it’s the perfect place to store excess hormones such as “bad” estrogen.
Cortisol blocks the release of leptin from fat tissue and reduces the production of dopamine. These hormones are involved in decreasing hunger and cravings. Leptin and dopamine send a signal to your brain that you’ve had enough food and it’s time to start burning fat. If the production of these two hormones is inhibited by too much cortisol, you will continue to feel hungry, and crave foods like cheese, nuts, chips, and alcohol.
Women who are overweight, with a BMI of 30 or more, generally have the most trouble conceiving. Research shows that these women can be up to 43% less likely to achieve spontaneous pregnancy, as it has been suggested that leptin disruption may interfere with fertilization.
2. Insulin Dysregulation
The meal that you consume after a skipped meal can spike your insulin in two ways…
First, via increased cortisol, which can also raise blood sugar. Second, people tend to “fast and feast” meaning that after a skipped meal, they go for an easily available carbohydrate-heavy meal, since carbs fuel the brain and muscles.
Long-term insulin dysregulation is a huge problem for women who are trying to conceive and is one of the key symptoms of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). PCOS also happens to be one of the main causes of infertility today and often arises when women have recently transitioned into a more “Western” diet. A study published this year showed that the only therapy that restored normal glucose tolerance in subjects with PCOS was intensive lifestyle modification [Chaffin, 2014].
3. Estrogen Dominance
As we’ve established, cortisol increases when you skip meals. Where does the cortisol come from? It’s made from another hormone called progesterone. Some of you may know that a woman’s menstrual cycle heavily depends on the healthy balance between estrogen and progesterone. If you continuously skip meals, you use up a lot of your progesterone to create cortisol. This results in estrogen dominance and can present as a variety of symptoms including PMS, irritability, breast tenderness, bloating, headaches, anxiety, decreased libido and of course, an irregular cycle. This makes it difficult to know if you’re ovulating on time or whether or not you’re ovulating at all. The first step to conceiving is ensuring a regular cycle and, unfortunately, this can be compromised by skipping meals.
4. Thyroid Dysfunction
Another consequence of increased cortisol is the fact that it directly inhibits something in your brain called the hypothalamus, which can inhibit the release of thyroid hormone. Over time, this can result in suboptimal function of the thyroid gland and symptoms of hypothyroidism.
Both infertility and miscarriage are more common when the thyroid gland is not functioning properly. There is a 30-40% increased need for thyroid hormone during pregnancy, so women with an existing thyroid condition (even one that’s subclinical) should seek treatment prior to conception.
Final Thoughts
Having a lot on your plate metaphorically, doesn’t mean it’s okay to literally leave food off your plate and make a habit of it. At the end of the day, it’s all about valuing your nutrition levels and daily food intake.
Take small steps daily to ensure that your body is healthy and well prepared for a healthy baby:
- Plan meals ahead of time in order to ensure you always have something nutrient-dense to eat.
- Plan your day so you have time to eat each morning – get up earlier if you have to.
- Pack your own lunch to avoid grabbing something quick and processed.
- Pack nutrient-dense, whole food snacks to ensure regulated hormone levels.
- Make what you eat a priority, it is the fuel for your body. | https://natural-fertility-info.com/skipping-meals-disrupts-fertility.html |
Not entitled to get angry? Really? It's a radical, provocative idea: We're not entitled to get offended or stay angry. The idea of our own "righteous anger" is a myth. It is the number one problem in our societies today and, as Dallas Willard says, Christians have not been taught out of it. As it turns out, giving up our "right" to be offended can be one of the most freeing, healthy, simplifying, relaxing, refreshing, stress-relieving, encouraging things we can do. In Unoffendable readers will find something of immeasurable value-a concrete, practical way to live life with less stress. They'll adjust their expectations to fit human nature and replace perpetual anger with refreshing humility and gratitude. The book offers a unique viewpoint, challenging the idea that Christians can ever harbor "righteous anger" or that there evenis such a thing for believers. Few other books exist with such a radical, provocative proposal to consider. We have no right to anger. We are to get rid of it, period. Completely. And it is possible to choose to be "unoffendable." Through the author's winsome, humorous, and conversational style, this book doesn't add another thing to do on a stressed-out person's ever-growing list. Better, it actually seeks to lift religious burdens from readers' backs and allow them to experience the joy of gratitude, perhaps for the first time, every single day of their lives.
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|Titlu complet: Unoffendable|
|Autor: Brant Hansen||Limba: engleză|
|Legare: Carte broșată||Data emiterii: 2015|
|Număr pagini: 214||EAN: 9780529123855|
|ISBN: 0529123851||Codul Libristo: 08012794|
|Editura: Thomas Nelson Publishers||Greutatea: 206|
|Dimensiuni: 140 x 214 x 20|
Este simplu, rapid și vei face o mulțime de bucurie. Utilizeză butonul de mai jos: Cumpără ca un cadou sau în coșul de cumpărături selectează ambalaj cadou și cartea va fi livrată în ambalja cadou frumos.
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Vom ambala cărțile cu mare plăcere ca un cadou pentru o taxă mică.
Posibilitatea de alegere din milioane de titluri nu vă este oferită de oricine.
Trimitem cărțile bine ambalate în ambalaj special din carton solid.
Oferim reduceri pentru studenți și profesori.
Clienții fideli beneficează de cadouri și alte beneficii.
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Vă informăm despre fiecare etapă a procesării comenzilor.
Livrare gratuită pentru comenzi de peste 200 lei.
Poți face cadou orice carte din oferta noastră.
Ce cărți așteptăm în viitorul apropiat?
Vrei să faci pe cineva fericit sau te interesează un anumit gen de cărți? | https://www.libristo.ro/ro/carte/unoffendable_08012794 |
What is GDPR?
The EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the result of several years of work carried out by the EU to bring data protection legislation in line with the way data is presently used day to day in business.
Currently, the UK utilises the Data Protection Act 1998, which will be superseded by the new legislation. GDPR introduces far tougher fines for non-compliance and breaches, and gives the individual more control over what companies can do with their data.
When will the GDPR apply?
GDPR will apply in all EU member states from 25 May 2018. It is estimated that there is a significant lack of action in the IT industry presently and under half of all organisations are carrying out detailed assessments.
Giving Consent under GDPR
Consent must be an active process provided by the subject for whom the data is relevant as opposed to the current process of passive acceptance and active denial of consent.
Data Controllers must keep detailed records of when the consent was given.
The ‘Right to be Forgotten’
Individuals have the right to access any information a company holds on them and have the right to know why such data is being processed. If they chose to withdraw their consent then they can request their data to be deleted and data controllers are expected to respond within one month.
How does Brexit affect GDPR
Although UK is leaving the EU and Article 50 has been triggered, the process can take 2 years from when Theresa May invoked it which means that GDPR will take effect long before the legal consequences of the Brexit vote, meaning the UK must still comply for the time being.
Techolony provide consulting and formal accredited GDPR training courses at classrooms around the UK to enable our clients prepare for May 2018. If you require any help or assistance and wish to be contacted by one of our consultants for some free impartial advice then email [email protected].uk or phone our Manchester office on 0161 209 3922. | https://www.techolony.co.uk/news/1/consulting-services/gdpr-are-you-ready/ |
Korean 1: Upper Beginning” is designed for students to be able to demonstrate communication and to read, write, and listen to formal and informal passages. Communicative functions include talking about the past, talking about how to get to a specific destination, asking for numbers on the phone, talking on the phone, planning a party, inviting people to a party, and more.
With such basic command of Korean language, “Korean 2: Low Intermediate” is designed for students to be able to demonstrate communicative skills. Communicative functions include asking and answering questions about hobbies, suggesting a pastime activity, talking about one’s favorite season, talking about the weather, asking and answering questions about a travel plan, talking about one’s travel experience, and more.
The course is designed to help students to improve their listening and speaking skills based on grammar and vocabulary by using Korean soap operas or movies as learning materials. The course will allow students to become aware of the difference between spoken and written language. It will also help students with understanding Korean society, pop culture, and Korean history.
The course focuses on reading and listening to Korean news articles, magazines, and other materials on the internet so that students will be able to enrich their vocabulary as well as improve their reading and listening skills.
The purpose of this course is to help students improve their scores on Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK), a test used to assess Korean proficiency of non-natives whose first language is not Korean, focusing on grammatical structures that have frequently been on the TOPIK.
The purpose of this course is help students improve their TOPIK scores corresponding to TOPIK II, focusing on grammatical structures that have frequently been on the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK), a test used to assess Korean proficiency of non-native speakers whose first language is not Korean. | http://uni.dongseo.ac.kr/gsi/index.php?pCode=MN0000088 |
Garden of the Cordeliers
Like a green lung in the heart of the city, this garden created centuries ago by monks has now been reinvented by gardeners, artists and botanists...
Description
The design of the Cordeliers garden is traversed thanks to the paths lined with boxwood separating four squares dedicated to the relationship between men and plants: the garden of uses evokes the companionship between plants, humans and gods, the Mediterranean garden tells the slow work of domestication of plants with in particular a wild rose garden and a collection of lavender, the artist Jean Daviot dedicates a garden of words...to Maria Borrely, writer who gave her name to the colleague who surrounds the garden. The garden will also contain the rose called Alexandra David-Neel, a reminder that plants also travel...
These places await you to read, have lunch or stroll.
COVID 19 special provisions
We are attentive to health developments and compliance with the health rules in force. We are committed to an approach that respects the recommendations made by the various competent authorities. Do not hesitate to contact us to know them.
Labels & accessibility
- Lavender Routes
- Haute Provence members
Adapted tourism
- Wheelchair accessible with assistance
- Accessible for self-propelled wheelchairs
Visit
Individual
- Duration of individual visit: 30 minutes (on average)
- Unguided individual tours permanently
Groupes
- Unguided group tours permanently
- Guided group tours on request
Situation
Comfort / services
- Pet Friendly
- Parking nearby
- Theme visit
- Free visits
- Guided tours
- Educational visits
Activities on site
- Animation
Pet Friendly
Complementary animal welcome: Kept on a leash and supervised.
Prices
Free.
Opening
All year-round
Open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Hours vary according to work periods.
Timetables available at the entrance to the garden and on the Tourist Office website. | https://www.dignelesbains-tourisme.com/en/cultural-heritage/Cordeliers-garden-worthy-of-the-baths/ |
Out of stock. Delivery time unknown.
DescriptionSummer drought and poor soil confront gardeners with difficult garden conditions that impose stress on plants and gardeners alike. However, it needn't be so. Practical and inspiring, Gardening the Mediterranean Way shows the reader how to create a healthy, lush garden that conserves water, prevents soil erosion and uses environmentally friendly methods. Creating mediterranean gardens is Heidi Gildemeister's passion, and she marshals her considerable experience, inimitable design flair and imagination to explain how best to exploit the features and microclimates that exist in every mediterranean climate region. Her presentation of twenty gardens - among them an olive grove in bloom, a scented shade garden and a haven by the sea, each with extensive plant lists and practical advice - is at the heart of the book, which is gloriously illustrated with the author's own exquisite photographs. This important reference work both for beginners and experienced gardeners is enhanced by a comprehensive listing of drought-tolerant plants, which offers invaluable information for gardeners keen to preserve the beauty of their gardens throughout the summer. It is completed by a glossary, list of useful addresses and an extensive bibliography.
See the Mediterranean Garden Society website.
Product Details
Price
£19.95 £18.55
Publisher
Thames & Hudson Ltd
Publish Date
26 July 2004
Language
English
Type
Hardback
EAN/UPC
9780500511831
BIC Categories: | https://uk.bookshop.org/books/gardening-the-mediterranean-way-practical-solutions-for-summer-dry-climates/9780500511831 |
Particle Sizing Techniques and Laser Diffraction
The ability to measure the size of very fine particles is an integral part of many industries today. For every material that goes through a grinding or milling process, the final particle size is usually the primary factor that governs product performance or process efficiency. This is why particle sizing has become essential in areas such as the pharmaceutical industry, foods and beverages, cement and building materials and for manufacturers of chemical compounds for industrial and residential uses.
One of the most popular and widely used particle sizing technologies available today is Laser Diffraction. Laser Diffraction has become so popular because it offers a very wide dynamic range; it can be applied to liquid suspensions, dry substances and aerosols and provides a very rapid and reliable measurement process.
The goal of all particle sizing technologies is to provide a systematic and reliable measurement for a range of different sized particles. However it is important to understand that there is a wide range of particle sizing technologies available and no one technology is suitable for every job. Each measurement technology has its own advantages and each is often best suited to specific industries or applications.
It is also important to understand that different measurement technologies can often give different particle results for the same sample. This is because each measurement technique measures a different aspect of the same material.
Sphere Approximations
When reporting particle size, we tend to display a graph showing “particle size” on one axis and “percent of material” on the other axis. However, it is very difficult to describe a multi-dimensional particle using one dimension. In fact there is only one shape that can be described by one dimension, and that is the diameter of a sphere.
For this reason, all particle sizing techniques measure some property of material and then relate this to an “equivalent sphere”.
Some common particle sizing techniques and there reporting methods are as follows:
- Sedimentation techniques – measures the rate at which particles settle in a liquid column and reports the size of a sphere with the same settling rate.
- Sieve technique – measures the mass of material retained on a series of screens and reports the amount of material between spherical hole sizes.
- Aerodynamic sizing technique – measures the behaviour of particles in an airstream and reports the size of a sphere that has the same behaviour.
- Laser diffraction – measures light scattering from a group of particles and reports the size of a sphere that produces the same scattering.
So, with so many different measurement techniques available. The question is: which techniques are the best?
Getting the Answer as Right as Possible
Like most questions in the world of science, the answer has multiple parts. In short, you need to choose the most suitable measurement technology for your product and your process. However, if you had to pick a single technology that can universally applied then it would have to be Laser Diffraction.
Laser diffraction is the best general technique as it can be used with a very wide range of particle sizes and also a very wide range of sample types. Laser diffraction works very well for sprays, dry powders, suspensions and emulsions. The results reported are also displayed in terms of a “volume” distribution, which is the most appropriate description for bulk material properties.
Apart from Laser Diffraction, another technique that is gaining popularity is Image Analysis. Image Analysis is also considered a particle sizing technique, but it does offer one significant difference. It is the only methodology that provides any information on particle “shape”! If particle shape is known to have an influence on product performance, then image analysis may be the most appropriate option. | https://www.atascientific.com.au/particle-sizing-techniques-and-laser-diffraction/ |
Published: Tues., June 16, 2015
The semester’s over. Your assignments are in and you've learned your grades for each course. But you've discovered that there's still more you want or need to learn.
Perhaps you didn’t understand a key concept you’ll need for your future coursework and research. Maybe you lost some valuable points on a quiz and identified some key areas you still need to work on. Or perhaps at some point during the semester, you discovered there’s a foundational concept you were supposed to pick up as an undergraduate, but your previous coursework didn’t cover the topic. That doesn't mean you're stuck not knowing something!
No matter which situation describes your experience, summer’s the perfect time to focus on building your academic knowledge so you’re prepared for the coming semester. Whether you're interested in learning about string theory or developing the ability to apply multivariable calculus to study vector fields, what we know about developing mastery will give you the framework to build the knowledge you’ll need.
How Knowledge Works: The Organization of Ideas
There are four stages to developing proficiency or mastery of a topic. Susan Ambrose and her coauthors explain the progression from novice to expert in How Learning Works (2010). As you move from not knowing anything, to a basic understanding of what you’re learning, to fully mastering a subject or skill, you’re also developing consciousness about what you do and don’t know. Your progress through these stages is best illustrated in the following graphic:
Source: How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching
As the learner moves toward mastery, facts, theories, and information are no longer viewed in isolation. They begin fitting together into a complex picture, where ideas form a web of knowledge that can be recalled and applied to new problems, yielding novel and innovative solutions. Another way of looking at these connections would be to imagine concepts or discrete bits of information as many tiny dots. As you learn more and develop skills associated with an area, you begin to see the structure and organization of knowledge in your field; to understand the patterns of information and how facts and concepts are interrelated. So when you can draw on what you know and apply it to new problems, you know you’ve truly mastered a topic.
Here’s how this looks in practice: If you’re learning coding, you’d move from memorizing individual tags to seeing how a series of tags can affect the styling of an entire section of text. You’d truly master coding when you can sit down and easily style a page or even learn another new language with facility because you've already mastered a similar language.
How you acquire those connections or build that proficiency varies slightly, depending on whether you’re learning something totally new or if you’re building a skill you didn’t master the first time around. Still, the four stages in achieving mastery are the same.
The trick is figuring out how to move from one stage to another, from being unaware of your incompetence, where you don’t know what you don’t know, to being conscious of your competence, knowing that you’ve mastered a topic or skill.
Steps to Building Proficiency or Mastery
Use the five steps below to help you focus your energy and efforts as you begin building your new web of knowledge. Remember—these steps are iterative. You’ll repeat them as you explore the topic further, digging deeper and making connections between the areas you’ve studied. Along the way, you’ll develop an awareness of where you’re competent and what you still need to learn.
Take notes. If you’re dealing with a number of interrelated concepts, try outlining your notes or sketching a Concept Map. Paraphrase terms in your own words and try to synthesize ideas, rather than simply highlighting the text or writing down direct quotes. Synthesizing an argument or trying to use your own words helps you make connections and develop a more comprehensive and enduring understanding. You’re more likely to remember the relationships; you can draw on this new knowledge as you continue exploring the topic. When you have difficulties seeing how two topics relate (e.g., if two concepts are at odds or if one concept is part of a larger concept), take a step back and assess where you need to focus your attention, or ask a friend or professor for help.
Repeat and revisit.You won’t understand all the concepts and all the connections the first time you sit down to read about them. Exposure to ideas from a multitude of perspectives improves your chances of having an idea “click.” Revisit the readings and your notes. When you find you didn’t grasp a reading the first time around, take a step back. Ask yourself if there’s new terminology you're getting stuck on, or if you need to approach the topic from a different angle.
Slowly widen your scope.To find additional resources on your topic, start with the introduction to your topic. Look at the resources the textbook cites, or, if you started with an online introduction, find out who’s the expert in the area. Then find what they wrote. As you read deeper and for greater understanding, continue adding to your notes. Over time, you’ll find that you have a better understanding of the concept.
Test yourself and reflect on what you’ve learned. To check for proficiency and move towards mastery, regularly go back and test yourself—see if you can define key terms and show how they fit together without using your notes. If you can’t, you’ve made yourself aware of what you don’t yet know. Use this information to refocus your efforts.
Perhaps you’re working on developing an ability, like deriving equations. After reading about derivatives (i.e., where they’re used, key principles and defining characteristics of derivatives, and how they work), begin by working simple examples from a textbook without looking at the solution. Then check your work against what the author outlines. After working a few simpler questions, try more complex equations. Resist the urge to “plug and chug”—sticking with one approach and simply plugging in numbers. Start each new problem by asking yourself if you need to use a particular approach and, if so, which one. By challenging yourself and working analytically, you’re making those deep, enduring connections that help you truly master the skill set.
Before long, you’ll find yourself developing competencies and getting better at learning and mastering new topics. When the fall semester rolls around, you’ll be ready to tackle new coursework or continue making progress on your research. Having new insight into how to develop mastery can help you as you move on to new areas of knowledge—or even when you’re teaching and helping students move through their own stages of mastery. | https://graduate.unl.edu/connections/five-steps-building-key-academic-knowledge |
We have an exceptional knowledge of funding and grants through which we help our clients achieve projects where their ambitions often exceed their available resources.
We are experts in developing funding strategies and in accessing and packaging funding from key primary sources as diverse as the National Lottery, English Heritage, regional growth funds and enterprise partnerships and the EU.
However, we can also help clients identify and use more unusual resources such as enabling development, planning contributions, training resources and volunteer efforts, often using them to achieve 100% capital funding.
For third sector clients we can even help secure long term financial sustainability for their projects by building in funded revenue generating elements that support their maintenance and wider running costs. | https://www.purcelluk.com/services/funding-advice |
The invention provides a composite ion purification device and a control method thereof. The composite ion purification device comprises a main control unit, one or more negative ion generators and one or more water ion generators, and the negative ion generators and the water ion generators are controlled by the main control unit to generate negative ions and nano water ions synchronously. The control method is that the device is triggered to operate by a local button or remote control, the negative ion generators, the water ion generators, a fan and a water condensing refrigeration sheet arestarted, and then the negative ions and the water ions are released outwards; a sensor is started to obtain measured data of air indexes, and the air indexes comprise PM2.5 and TCOO; and the obtainedmeasured data of the air indexes are uploaded and displayed on local and user terminals. According to the composite ion purification device, the negative ions and the pure nano water ions are released at the same time, the requirements of dust removal are met, the better functions of sterilization, bacteriostasis and odor removal, durability and permeability are also provided, and the dual requirements of dust removal and sterilization of the air are both met. | |
- SKU:
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DescriptionReviewsAdditional Info
Description
Erzi Cat Food
What if all these pet stuffed animals want to be fed as well? Erzi's cat food is a cute assortment of wooden cat treats stored in a metal tin.
Wood
8.1 x 7.1 x 3 cm
Made in Germany
Not suitable for children under 3 years.
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Additional Info
- SKU:
- 18461
- Shipping: | https://www.avasappletree.ca/erzi-cat-food/ |
The Electronics and IT Ministry, last week had sent notices to 21 smartphone companies, with a majority of them Headquartered in China, asking them to outline the procedures and processes adopted by them to ensure security and privacy of users data. Soon after, nine more companies, including Motorola, Honor, Asus, OnePlus, InFocus, were added to that list.
The latest update states that a total of twelve companies including HTC, Xiaomi,Vivo, Huawei and Lenovo, have responded to the notice, while others like Samsung, Oppo, Sony, etc. have acknowledged and requested an extension. The ministry official said that agreeing to the requests, the government is likely to extend the [...]
One of the most popular mobile web browsers in India, UC Browser is under the scanner for reportedly sending data from Indian users out of the country. According to a report by Business Standard, “a government lab in Hyderabad is probing how UC Browser can send user details and location data to a remote server.”
This aforementioned lab is the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), an R&D organisation for the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. If found guilty, the Alibaba-owned app could be banned. Further, the report said that the government plans on sending [...]
Amidst the multiple reports of online thefts and data leakage, the Ministry of Electronics and IT has taken steps to ensure privacy and safety of user data. The Ministry sent our notices to 21 smartphone makers to provide the framework as well as the procedures they follow for data security.
Aside from the global providers like Apple and Samsung and Indian firms like Micromax, majority of the listed 21 Smartphone companies included Chinese makers such as Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi and Lenovo. | https://www.igyaan.in/tag/ministry-of-electronics/ |
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Air pollution is one of the biggest health hazards and environmental threats of our time. It kills tens of thousands of people in the UK every year, speeds up climate change and is a major contributor to the biodiversity crisis.
It affects everyone in the UK but it affects the vulnerable - the young, the old, those with pre-existing health conditions - most. You can choose if you want to swim in our polluted rivers but you can’t opt out of breathing the polluted air around you.
Jenny Jones Clean Air Bill aims to protect people against air pollution by enshrining the right to clean air precisely and explicitly in UK law. It is named Ella’s Law as a tribute to nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah who died from asthma in 2013 and was the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as cause of death.
We need to get the Government to recognise clean air as a human right, take action and clean up the dirty air. That is the purpose of the bill introduced by the Green Party’s Jenny Jones.
If you would like more info about how air pollution locally watch our web page https://www.westoxon-greens.uk/-_-_air_pollution.html
If you would like to contribute to the Green Party’s campaign “Make every day clean air day” visit https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/clean-air/
Witney continues to suffer from pollutants and toxic air at harmful levels in Bridge Street and on other congested roads.
Traffic is the biggest contributor to air pollution in the town. People want and need to move around the town freely, but also to avoid toxic fumes and congestion.
West Oxfordshire Green Party hosted an event at the Corn Exchange in 2019, which looked at the impact of pollutants to health, current plans and activities to tackle these, and to identify potential solutions to improve air quality in Witney.
Since then Witney Town Councillor Andrew Prosser has been putting pressure on the West Oxfordshire District Council to come up with an air quality plan to address the problems of air pollution at some of the routes in and around Witney.
It’s been 16 years since the District was forced to set up Air Quality Management Areas in both Witney and Chipping Norton.
We have yet to see any action plan for Witney and the 2008 plan for Chipping Norton has not been fully implemented. Meanwhile residents in both towns continue to inhale the polluted air and are exposed to the long-term consequences to health.
What are the two main types of air pollutant that cause environmental and health problems?
What are the impacts of air pollution on health?
According to the World Health Organisation, outdoor air pollution is a major cause of death and disease globally. The health effects range from increased hospital admissions and emergency room visits, to increased risk of premature death; mainly from heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections in children.
In children and adults, both short- and long-term exposure to ambient air pollution can lead to reduced lung function, respiratory infections and aggravated asthma. Maternal exposure to ambient air pollution is associated with adverse birth outcomes, such as low birth weight, pre-term birth and small gestational age births. Emerging evidence also suggests ambient air pollution may affect diabetes and neurological development in children.
According to Asthma UK, children and young adults with asthma are more at risk from the effects of pollution because they have faster breathing rates and their lungs are still developing. Children living in areas with high pollution are more likely to have reduced lung function as adults. Long-term exposure to high concentrations of air pollution may cause asthma in children.
What can you do to protect yourself and your children from air pollution?
What can be done about air pollution in Witney?
To reduce congestion and pollution requires a change in travel habits, including reducing car drop-offs and engine idling, as well as targeted investment in infrastructure, so that for more people getting about by walking, cycling, electric mobility, and shared vehicles, becomes less the exception and more the norm.
The District Council must implement an air quality plan to address nitrogen dioxide levels in the Witney Air Quality Management Area (AQMA), which includes Bridge Street and parts of High Street, Witan Way, Mill Street, West End, and Newland. Other areas suffering from congestion include the Ducklington Lane junction with Station Lane and Thorney Leys and the rest of Witan Way. Monitoring tests have shown that nitrogen dioxide pollution levels within the AQMA remain above national health standards and might continue to be exceeded without intervention. Tests have also identified traffic as the overwhelming source of pollution.
Andrew Prosser 13th April 2021
Biography
Andrew Prosser has lived in Witney for over 20 years and is married with two daughters. He runs his own company, which helps organisations reduce their environmental impacts. Andrew was elected as a Witney Town Councillor in May 2019. | https://www.westoxon-greens.uk/-_-_air_pollution.html |
Q:
Latin plurals when talking about fallacies
I have read multiple questions on this site on Latin plurals, and I’ve learned that you can use both English plurals and Latin plurals with words which originate from Latin (e.g. referendum - referenda/referendums). I however have a somewhat different question:
An example - When reading a text full of fallacies, like for example the argument from ignorance - argumentum ad ignorantiam, you often need to use plural forms to show that a text is ridden with them. How do you pluralize these types of Latin “word groups”?
If I extrapolate the rules which I have read from the other questions on the site, it would be (taking the argument from ignorance for example) both argumentum ad ignorantiams (or something similar) and argumenta ad ignorantias (argumentum is neutral, so the plural is argumenta, and ignorantiam is feminine accusative because of the preposition ad, so it becomes feminine accusative plural which is -as). However, the first form just seems totally wrong. Is this still legitimate? Or would the only option in these cases be correct Latin plurals?
P.S. I know you all probably think “why don’t you just say arguments from ignorance”, but I feel this could come in useful in other cases, for example in legal terminology.
A:
If you want to go by the Latin, argumentum ad ignorantiam pluralises as argumenta ad ignorantiam (arguments to ignorance), and similarly reductio ad absurdum pluralises as reductiones ad absurdum (reductions to absurdity) – the point is that ad ignorantiam and ad absurdum (and, for that matter, the principii in petitio principii) serve as adjectival phrases, and are thus indeclinable in Latin.
A:
The short answer is
ad hominem arguments
or
arguments ad hominem
or
argumenta ad hominem
in that order of popularity, because there are no stated rules.
To explain, first the Latin.
The plural of the stand alone 'argumentum' in English follows that in Latin:
argumenta
The plural of 'argumentum ad ...' in Latin is
argumenta ad ...
the noun is properly (for Latin) the thing pluralized.
Now let's turn to English. A foreign phrase is often declined by the borrowers in the know exactly as in the original language. Depending on the language, the later users of the phrase may or may not be proficient in the grammar of the original, and usually it gets analyzed in as natural way as possible in English.
The plural of 'argumentum' alone given in dictionaries is the same as in Latin, namely:
argumenta
That is for the word by itself.
In this example 'argumentum' is easily recognizable in English as 'argument', so the phrase is often given in mixed English/Latin as 'argument ad hominem' or 'an ad hominem argument'. There the plural is given as expected only affecting the noun:
ad ... arguments
or
arguments ad ...
or the proper Latin way
argumenta ad ...
the English/Latin mix becoming more popular recently for ad hominem and ad populum.
Also, sometimes the qualifier is given as the name of the argument type, e.g. "He used an ad hominem against me", and so there the plural is given as:
ad hominems
but again a plural only ever seems to have appeared for 'ad hominem'.
but this never seems to appear ever in a plural form like 'argumentum ad hominems' (pluralizing the entire Latin phrase as though it were a single thing).
The latter support for the plural is only an argument de facto (by the questionable ngrams) rather than de jure, since dictionaries and style guides seem not to consider the possibility.
A:
I wouldn’t try. You can instead say, if you must, 'The text contains many instances of argumentum ad ignorantiam.'
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The theories which will be used to analyze the problem are all based in quite conventional theories within international relations – neorealism, neoliberalism and constructivism. The latter two theories have been chosen because they can both be conducive to the analysis of the problem instead of dismissing the importance of public diplomacy, nation branding and similar concepts right away – which a theory like neorealism would have a tendency to do. Within neoliberalism the main concept used will be Joseph S. Nye’s soft power, which stresses the existence and importance of other power factors than military and economic might – which he terms hard power. The acknowledgement of the power of attractiveness being just as military and economic power and worth competing over will help justify the existence and growing importance of public diplomacy, nation branding and other communicative strategies of conducting foreign affairs and will ultimately – it is hoped – provide a path to understanding whether these approaches signify a more effective way of achieving foreign policy goals compared to traditional diplomatic tools.
Constructivism will be used as it can possibly attribute even more importance to the increased focus on dialogue and communication in international relations than neoliberalism and soft power can. The reason for this being that constructivism is more open to the potential change of the most basic of mechanisms in international relations. Therefore it will be explored whether the new approaches might be a tool of states to change the most basic premises of the community of states in the world of today.
The final theory utilized in the thesis will be neorealism. The choice has fallen upon this theory to maintain a critical view of the new communicative approaches to diplomacy and international relations and question the importance of it altogether. Furthermore it will pose counter arguments to the other two theories and thereby help driving forth the analysis and discussion of the problem.
It is standing out that the choices of theories are all very state-centred which might be considered as quite old-fashioned, but taking the problem formulation in to account this is the most obvious way to approach the problem. As focus is on the traditional diplomacy and its utilization of these new concepts the theoretical focus will therefore also need to be centred on state agents. Even though international organizations, NGOs, big business and civil society in general all can be involved in both public diplomacy, nation branding or cultural diplomacy in one way or the other focus remains on state institutions and their views on international relations.
After this chapter of methodology the empirical chapters will follow. These will include a short outline of the development of traditional diplomacy and ministries of foreign affairs which will set the setting from where the new concepts will have to be viewed in relations to the scope of the thesis. The short outline will be followed by a presentation of the three communicative aspects of the new way of conducting diplomacy, namely – public diplomacy, nation branding and cultural diplomacy. The main focus will be on the concept of public diplomacy as this must be deemed the most significant new approach to diplomacy and foreign affairs. Cultural diplomacy is not a new concept in international relations but will be presented together with public diplomacy and nation branding nonetheless as it is so closely related to these and overlaps the two other concepts in several areas.
After the empirical chapter the three theories mentioned above will be presented and discussed after which the analysis will follow. In the analysis the explanatory models of the three theories above will be applied to the empirical evidence and will be poised against each other. The analysis will generally be quite heavy on the theoretical side as the new public diplomacy in particular still is a fairly new phenomenon and difficult to measure in general so undisputable empirical evidence is generally limited and difficult to come by. Furthermore it is the theoretical discussion which is truly the most interesting aspect of the possibilities of public diplomacy, nation branding and cultural diplomacy, as this cannot be answered unless one has a clear understanding, or rather belief, of how the dynamics of international relations truly work and whether the mechanisms are static or not. As an extension to this, the data which will be used in the thesis will be of a secondary character. | http://essaydocs.org/table-of-contents-introduction-4-methodology-5-an-historical-o.html?page=2 |
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FIELD OF INVENTION
BACKGROUND
SUMMARY
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The current invention relates to customer behavior, marketing and sales intelligence in general, and specifically to a method of evaluating and making decisions based upon customer relations intelligence.
A conventional approach used today is that of various Business Intelligence (BI) systems and techniques, which have the underlying assumption that people are rational, consistent and that they strive to maximize their profit. A major shortcoming of these systems is that they rely upon this traditional economic theory, meaning that consumers consistently behave rationally. As a result, these systems give solutions and output that do not reflect a true familiarity with the customer; the ability to forecast is not good—usually not in real time—and the results of such systems are strongly dependent on the system operator's capabilities.
Today there is near-universal agreement between academia and industrial business—marketing people that solutions based upon traditional BI are limited in effectiveness and represent a “glass ceiling”.
Professor Daniel Kahneman (psychologist and winner of the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his work in prospect theory; known for his work on the psychology of judgment and decision-making, behavioral economics and hedonic psychology);
The late Professor Amos Natan Tversky (a cognitive and mathematical psychologist; pioneer of cognitive science, who worked with Daniel Kahneman to develop prospect theory, which aims to explain irrational human economic choices, which is considered one of the seminal works of behavioral economics);
Professor Vernon Lomax Smith (professor of economics at Chapman University's Argyros School of Business and Economics and School of Law in Orange, Calif.; a research scholar at George Mason University Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Science; a Fellow of the Mercatus Center, Arlington, Va.; and shared the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with Daniel Kahneman);
Professor Alvin Elliot Roth (visiting professor at Stanford University and George Gund Professor of Economics and Business Administration at Harvard Business School; having made significant contributions to the fields of game theory, market design and experimental economics, and known for his emphasis on applying his economic theory to solutions for “real-world” problems; and in won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for the theory of “stable allocations and the practice of market design”);
Professor Dan Arieli (professor of psychology and behavioral economics; teaching at Duke University; founder of The Center for Advanced Hindsight; author of Predictably Irrational and The Upside of Irrationality, both of which became New York Times best sellers);
Professor Richard H. Thaler (American economist and the Ralph and Dorothy Keller Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business; perhaps best known as a theorist in behavioral finance, and for his collaboration with Daniel Kahneman and others in further defining that field);
Professor Ernst Fehr (Professor of Microeconomics and Experimental Economic Research and chairman of the Department of Economics at the University of Zurich, Switzerland; whose research covers the areas of the evolution of human cooperation and sociality, in particular fairness, reciprocity and bounded rationality; and also well known for his important contributions to the new field of neuroeconomics, as well as to behavioral finance and experimental economics).
An up-and-coming trend in university and industrial business-marketing circles is that of behavioral economics. Behavioral economics is a an innovative trend which integrates elements of psychology, economics, sociology, game theory, and neurology to understand the behavior and method of decision making under uncertainty, of a person in the business world. This is in fact the method of the future to accurately analyze motivations, desires, intentions and the decision making process of a person in the business world. Behavioral economics is based on assumptions which are opposite those of BI, meaning people are not rational, they are not consistent, and they do not always strive to maximize their profits. Among the leaders of this approach are well-known and respected scientists including, but not limited to:
Most organizations today know their customers based upon after-the-fact analyses of consumer behavior, without any understanding of real-time customer motivation and with limited forecasting ability, as described further herein below.
Today, the problems noted above are addressed primarily in two methods:
BI systems serve to analyze customer activity/operational/business patterns of activity in an overall fashion, with no ability to forecast. The systems are semi automated, employing a non-continuous frequency of sampling and they are dependent on the software operational capabilities of professional staff and interpretation of results. As a result, the timeliness and value of such results are limited. Analytical CRM systems—in contradistinction to the BI systems noted hereinabove—include automated forecasting algorithms. However, they have limited effectiveness due to their being based upon cluster/superficial semantic analyses without any real understanding of the complexity of customer motivations and desires.
1. BI and Analytical CRM Systems
Such research is performed by external research companies or by in house analysis departments using methods based upon small samples and techniques such as: focus groups, questionnaires and interviews. Results obtained by these techniques are applicable to the entire customer population, meaning there is neither analysis nor recognition of each individual customer. A process to address the individual is time consuming and cumbersome—yielding results that frequently are not timely.
2. Customer/Market Research
Continuous and automated BIG DATA analysis, based on behavioral economics and having consumer behavioral forecasting abilities is not available today with any system.
There is therefore a widespread need in the marketplace to combine BI and behavioral economics methods and to better understand consumer behavior in real time while using effective management tools to enable company management to make decisions and to effectively give instructions to sales and service staff.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of customer true understanding based on behavioral economics, comprising: retrieving parameters from an organization's data sources, the parameters including historical operations of the organization's clients; providing a dependent variable indicating consumer behavior and its operational definition; creating a random sample of the retrieved parameters; selecting cognitive heuristics and biases that may be tested using the sample parameters; partitioning the selected heuristics into clusters wherein each cluster is assigned a grade; assigning psychological attributes to clusters; testing the influence of each psychological attributes on the dependent variable; scoring the attributes per customer; and calculating the value of a super variable by a weighted sum of the attributes.
The retrieved parameters may comprise at least one of data and meta-data.
Creating a random sample of the retrieved parameters may comprise cleansing the parameters and selecting the cleansed parameters having significance in a regression model or being appropriate for a statistical testing.
Assigning a grade to each cluster may comprise summing standardized Z-scores of the cluster's parameters.
Testing the influence of each psychological attributes on the dependent variable may comprise calculating a partial correlation between the cluster's grade and the entries in the relevant row in a psychological constructs table.
Testing the influence of each psychological attributes on the dependent variable may comprise performing factor analysis and performing at least one of a t-test and a regression analysis on the remaining psychological constructs.
Scoring the attributes per customer may comprise standardizing the customer's parameters and multiplying them by a weight comprising the grade of the respective cluster.
In another aspect of the present invention there is provided a system for customer true understanding based on behavioral economics, comprising: an organizational server comprising a customers' data base; and a system server communicating bi-directionally with the organizational server, the system server running a server application configured to communicate with the organizational server's data base to extract historic customer behavior quantitative parameters and return feedback of customer analysis. The server application may comprise: a history analysis module configured to cleanse and filter quantitative parameters imported from the organizational database; a segmentation module configured to categorize the parameters according to cognitive biases and heuristics; a customer attributes module configured to translate the cognitive biases and heuristics to psychological variables; and a reports module configured to create clusters of super-variables which comprise variables found in previous stages.
The reports module may further be configured to present visual results and recommendations.
The recommendations may be per customer and may be stored in the customers' data base.
In the specification and claims which follow, the term “customer” is intended to have a wide meaning, including “consumer”, “client”, “user” and other individual and organizational customers. While the discussion below deals mainly with consumers, other customers—as defined above—are equally applicable.
In addition, the term organization may refer to a physical organization or a virtual/online organization (for example: E-commerce).
In general, one embodiment of the current invention is a SaaS organizational software, which processes and transforms existing data in customer contact systems vis-a-vis an organization/product to create a behavioral psychological profile of each customer.
Embodiments of the current invention include an innovative customer true understanding (CTU) system, based on a behavioral economics approach, having on-line/real time automated analyses and BIG DATA processing, as known in the art with Customer relationship management (CRM), Interactive voice response (IVR), and billing systems. One output of the CTU system is an exact profile of each customer and real segmentation in organizations having many customers. The profile output is based upon variables from the field of behavioral economics and enables individual customer recognition and behavior forecasting.
Examples of variables include, but are not limited to: pragmatic collaborations; emotional collaborations; need for a framework; impulsiveness; long term planning; purchasing intentions; churn probability; loyalty; and customer/product matching.
FIG. 1
is a graphic representation of some of the abovementioned variables and their derivatives, in accordance with an embodiment of the current invention.
FIG. 2
100
110
120
150
130
140
is a schematic module-block diagram of the system according to the current invention, comprising an organizational server communicating bi-directionally with a CTU server . The CTU server runs a CTU application which communicates with the organizational server's databases (, ) to extract historic customer behavior quantitative parameters and return feedback of customer analysis.
FIG. 3
is a block diagram showing the main modules of the main CTU application, in accordance with embodiments of the current invention:
History analysis module—in charge of cleansing and filtering the quantitative parameters imported from the organizational databases, leaving only the relevant data useful for analysis and forecasting, using data mining procedures and patterns validation.
More specifically, relevant parameters are imported from the organizational system server (from existing data) with the data being “cleansed” and coded in a 1:1 value manner. In other words, the system receives the data with no customer identifying details. Following processing, the organization knows how to associate specific customer results according to the 1:1 coding it has received. This process is performed by a scheduler on a time (e.g. daily) basis by an automatic crawler which scans the data, thereby yielding up-to-date results.
Segmentation module—in charge of categorizing the numeric parameters according to cognitive biases and heuristics, using various statistic methods.
Customer attributes module—in this module the cognitive biases and heuristics are translated to psychological variables using indices based on scientific literature/thousands of researches and after which, double checking using statistical analyses and game theory techniques—empirical checking to ensure the findings are effective and are valid forecasts.
Reports module—this module creates clusters of super-variables (such as: churn probability, purchase intention, etc.) which comprise variables found in previous stages and filtering of variables that were found to be irrelevant to any cluster. This process is intended to increase results validity.
1. Detailed strategic managers' reports, which display segmentation and real customer behavioral patterns, motivations and tendencies;
2. A dashboard, on an operational level, for service and sales representatives. The customer profile is displayed for the representative as a supporting decision tool for use when he interacts with the customer.
At the end of the process, there are two major outputs (that can be used for a sophisticated drill down):
FIGS. 4A and 4B
400
Reference is currently made to the flowcharts of , showing steps of a method of customer relations intelligence in accordance with embodiments of the current invention.
405
In step , data and meta-data from the organization's data sources is communicated to the CTU server. The data includes historical behavior (operations) of the various clients.
The transfer may be done by web service/API request or by manual uploading of one or more data files.
The organizational data sources may be, for example, Customer relationship management CRM (For example: SAP CRM, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle CRM, Salesforce, Amdocs CRM), Interactive voice response IVR (For example: Genesys, Centcom, Avaya), Billing (For example: Amdocs, Oracle, Convregys), Polls or Data Warehouses.
The data is preferably raw data (facts), where each customer's operation occupies at least one full row.
According to embodiments of the invention, if raw data is unavailable, the input may comprise semi-raw data aggregated per each customer. For example, the use of ‘Data’ of a cellular service may be depicted to each user in the following manner:
Raw Data (Facts):
Customers'_key_num
Date
Data_Amount_used (MB)
Data_Balance
123
22.12.13
0.32
3
123
23.12.13
0.13
1
123
26.12.13
1.15
8
Alternatively, Semi Raw Data (Aggregated):
Customers'_key_num
Date
Data_Amount_used_sum (MB)
Data_Balance _sum
123
Dec 13
14.47
12
410
In step an operator characterizes the nature of each parameter in the data table(s). This operation is done once per data base. Each data item may be identified by a number of identifiers. For example:
Data type—key/date/hour/money/amount_used/address/area_code/phone number/product key/service_sale_call/service_sale_data/internet_use.
Data format—date/string/numeric.
Data measure—ordinal/nominal/scale.
415
In step , each parameter/file is aggregated (the break variable is the customers' key identifier) by means of mean/sum/moving_average/count/std/variance/date/min/max etc.
After the aggregation new parameters are composed by computing simple mathematical functions between the aggregated parameters (arpo_SMS=seniority (date aggregated)*interactions(count sms aggregated)/balance (sum aggregated)).
Following this step, the number of parameters is increased.
For example:
Customers'_key_num
Activated_Date
seniority
sms_Balance_mean
Sms_balance_sum
Sms_interactions_sum
Arpo_sms
90
10.10.12
461
54.2
591
1319
1028
180
23.03.13
52
82.0
150
491
160
210
16.12.12
414
115
662
1693
1058
Each Customer has 6 parameters after transformation:
Activated_Date, seniority, sms_Balance_mean, Sms_balance_sum, Sms_interactions_sum and Arpo_sms.
While originally the customer had 2 parameters:
Activated Date and Sms_balance_after_use
In the following process, the aggregated and new parameters in the different files (where each customer is a row in the database) are merged into one file that contains all the parameters.
The merge procedure may be done by a ‘merging by variables’ method such as known in the art, where the key is the customers' identifier.
The next procedure is cleansing (parsing, anomalies, correction and standardization): each row (customer) is tested for outliers/missing data and if found ‘true’ it is discarded (marked as N/A). The same is done for each column (parameter): if it has more than 35% of missing data or the variance is lower than 1 —the parameter is discarded (see http://en.wikipedia.org/Data cleansing).
420
In step , the data set of parameters for analysis is created (all the processed data without the discarded cases and parameters).
425
In step an offline strategic management discussion takes place in order to define mathematically the dependent variable/s (for example, in the pre-paid cell phone industry, the operational definition of the dependent variable “purchase” may be defined as “charging your account in the sum of over $50”.)
430
In step , a dataset is created, which is a 1.5%, randomized sample of the previous data set (IF N<1000 then stop process).
435
440
In steps and a regression analysis is done to determine which of the sample parameters may be used for the model. All the parameters in the dataset are assigned into the model as independent variables and the dependent variable is the one that was defined in the strategic meeting. If the dependent variable is categorical then the regression model is ‘logit’ and if it is continuous then the model is ‘simple linear’.
2
If the R>0.25 and sig. (α<0.05) of the model, then it is fit to be a valid data model, and if βn sig. <0.05 (t=b/se(b) and >2) then parameter n is included in the cleansed data model.
436
Hot-hand fallacy—HHF
Conjunction fallacy—CF
Base rate fallacy—BRF
Confirmation bias—CB
Availability-heuristic—AH
Representativeness heuristic—RH
Pseudocertainty effect PE
Status quo bias—SQB
Zero-risk bias—ZRB
Zero-sum heuristic—ZSH
Anchoring—ANCH
Endowment effect—EE
regressive bias—RB
Neglect of probability—NOP
Frequency illusion—FE
Clustering illusion—CI
Loss aversion—LA
Overconfidence effect—OE
Framing effect—FE
Gambler's fallacy—GF
Ambiguity effect—AE
Backfire effect—BE
Denomination effect—DE
Money illusion—MI
In step the process looks (according to literature indices) for cognitive heuristics and biases that may be tested using the cleansed model parameters, such as:
437
a. Calculating correlation between the various parameters by production of a correlations Pearson coefficient matrix (n×n) of all the combinations between the parameters.
b. Calculating partial correlation between the correlation of (a) and correlations coefficients (heuristics coefficients) controlling the shared heuristic.
In step the process double-checks whether the same parameters actually belong to the heuristics. This is done by:
The partial correlations that are found to be significant indicate the heuristics that are supported by the actual parameters.
438
In step the process partitions the selected (supported) heuristics into clusters, using e.g. the k-means method. In the clustering process each created cluster is assigned a grade which is the sum of standardized Z-scores of the cluster's parameters.
FIG. 5
Pragmatic/Cognitive Cooperation/Empathy—PC
Emotional Cooperation/Empathy—EC
Defection—D
Need of environmental/frame/social support—NOS
Impulsiveness—I
Long term planning/thinking—LTP
Meta-cognition—MC
Repetitive/Iterative behavior—RB
Sensation seeking—SS
Risk loving/seeking—RL
Risk aversion—RA
Competitiveness—C
Fear of failure—FF
Fear of success—FS
Sunk cost ratio—SCR
is a psychological constructs table derived from literature, where:
439
In step the process checks the influence of the cluster on each given psychological construct (see psychological constructs table) by calculating the partial correlation between the cluster's grade and the entries in the relevant row in the psychological constructs table. Only the construct(s) having produced significance is selected and the cluster is named thereafter (psychological attributes). The psychological attributes are assigned the cluster grades as initial weights.
455
a. Use the coefficients (constructs' weights) as factors to factor analysis method Principal Component Analysis (PCA).
b. Constructs that get value higher than 1 (delta)—are assigned a valid structure, the others are discarded.
2
c. Perform regression analysis (and t-test if possible) between the independent variables and the significant psychological constructs (If the data model's R>0.25 and sig. (α<0.05) and βn sig. <0.05 (t=b/se(b) and >2) then construct n is included in the model, or t-test for independent variables according to classification of 0 and 1—below average: 0 above average: 1 to each psychological construct).
d. If both methods were used—choose the method that predicts more n's as sig predictors (β or sig t-test for independent variables).
In step the attributes that were found in the previous step are being tested empirically (if they are manifested in the data) to test which factors (constructs) influence the dependent variable (i.e. whether they participate in creating the super variable, which is the tested behavior of the customer). The test may be done, for example, using factor analysis, as follows:
465
Multiply each parameter by its score.
Round the score to a scale of 1 to 9.
a. Attributes scoring per customer: standardize the raw parameters values that are the building blocks of each attribute found in the previous step as being fit to the model, by assigning the parameters the score of the attribute (construct) to which it belongs.
b. Super variable scoring per customer: Calculate the super variable value by a weighted sum of the constructs and transform to an integer score of 1 to 9.
In step a scoring procedure is performed for the attributes that were found in the previous step and for the predicted super variable (that is built out of sum of the attributes), per customer:
470
475
In steps and the results are prepared for presentation, e.g. a manager's strategic report and a representative dashboard are created.
The representative's report may include presentation of relevant customers' profiles (optionally graphic) and a personal trend graph predicting the customer's future behavior.
The manager's report may include characteristics and motivation values of each customer and aggregate calculated values predicting customers' future behaviors.
The reports may include verbal individual and/or general recommendations based on the characteristics found.
The system may include means (API) for extracting analyzed data (feedback) to from the reports and integrating it in the organizational systems.
It will be appreciated that the above descriptions are intended only to serve as examples, and that many other embodiments are possible within the scope of the present invention and as defined in the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For better understanding of the invention and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, purely by way of example, to the accompanying drawings.
With specific reference now to the drawings in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the preferred embodiments of the present invention only, and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the invention in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice. In the accompanying drawings:
FIG. 1
is a graphic representation of some variables and their derivatives, in accordance with an embodiment of the current invention;
FIG. 2
is a schematic module-block diagram of part of the CTU in accordance with an embodiment of the current invention;
FIG. 3
is a block diagram showing the main modules of the main CTU application, in accordance with embodiments of the current invention;
FIGS. 4A and 4B
are a flowchart showing steps of a method of customer relations intelligence in accordance with embodiments of the current invention; and
FIG. 5
is a psychological constructs table. | |
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Students from rural areas historically struggle with college access. And as the coronavirus has shut down high school and college campuses across the country, educators are anxious about their enrollment rates.
Approximately 3 million Americans live more than 25 miles from a public university and lack access to high-speed internet, according to a 2018 Urban Institute report. Meanwhile, about 30% of adults ages 18-24 enrolled in postsecondary education come from rural areas, latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics shows.
“I worry a lot about losing those young people,” said Dreama Gentry, executive director of Partners for Education at Berea College in Kentucky. Rural high school graduates were already at a disadvantage “because of a lack of access, geographic isolation and a lack of investment in rural schools in general.”
In many ways, Gentry’s program, which focuses on rural academic success in the Appalachian Mountains, is on the front lines of what the coronavirus might mean for incoming rural college students. The college partners with public schools in 47 school districts in Eastern Kentucky, staffing them with trained tutors and academic counselors.
Gentry’s staff has been working to smooth rural students’ transitions to college, setting them up with summer bridge programs, campus visits and more. But “now all of that is just unknown,” she said. “And they may not have anyone in their direct family who can help them process that, because they’re probably first in their family who was even thinking about college.”
Given the economic impact of the coronavirus, she’s concerned some students won’t be thinking about college come fall. Rural households have a lower median household income than their urban counterparts, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, which doesn’t bode well for their finances during a crisis.
Gentry increasingly sees teenagers in her area working. The workers who deliver her groceries are now high school students, she said. With parents potentially losing their jobs, she expects rural students to feel extra pressure to stay home to supplement their families’ incomes.
“The economic crisis is already hitting our families, especially the most disenfranchised families,” she said. For many households, students leaving for college “will take away the babysitter or the other income that’s really keeping the family going.”
It’s not just a financial issue. It’s also a matter of college counselors being able to communicate with students. Rural education has always been challenged by limited internet access. Notably, a 2019 Pew Research Center study found that two-thirds of Americans in rural areas have broadband internet access at home, but that’s 12 percentage points below Americans overall.
Reliable access to internet and devices will likely be rural students’ “biggest issue” when it comes to college access right now, said Kelsey Hargis, who works for Partners for Education as an academic and career counselor at Southwestern High School. One of her fellow counselors told her one student does homework in a parking lot because of a lack of internet at home, though an internet service provider recently made free internet access available in the area during the crisis.
Regardless, she and her colleagues have found workarounds, such as printing paperwork that can be picked up by or delivered to students, making phone calls, and in her case, using the texting platform Remind to keep students on top of important deadlines for their transition to college. Even if students don’t have laptops, they usually have cell phones so she tries to do regular check ins to the extent she can.
“Some kids don’t have a great home life,” Hargis said. “So, worrying about school and getting their work done and getting all of their college paperwork completed, doing orientation, housing … that kind of stuff is in the back of their minds because they’re probably struggling at home.”
To keep her high school students focused on college, she’s been posting information from college representatives on Google Classroom, since they can no longer meet with students in person. She’s been satisfied with colleges’ virtual outreach to her students, she said, and appreciates events like remote orientations to engage them before fall.
“I think colleges are really trying to do their best,” she said.
Gentry stressed that the most important tool for reaching rural students during this time – and preparing them for college – isn’t a single method or online platform, though Zoom meetings, calls and even “pen-pal-type relationships” with students have proven useful. For her, most essential are tutors and college counselors with “individualized knowledge” of students and their communities.
What helped her staff members was “they knew the students,” she said. “They understood not just the students’ access to technology, which was critical – they had an idea of who would have computers, who would have smartphones, and who would be totally isolated – but they also knew their students’ learning styles. They know who’s going to respond to different types of interventions.”
Sara Weissman can be reached at [email protected]. | https://www.diverseeducation.com/covid-19/article/15106662/how-will-the-coronavirus-impact-enrollment-for-rural-students |
Download annual report of the bank assigned to your group for the year 2008 from http://www.sbp.org.pk/stats/stat-bal-sheet.htm and find the impact of:
(i)10% currency appreciation and
(ii) 10% currency deprecation
on its net income by taking into account all its foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities.
Assets may include:
(i) Cash in foreign currency
(ii) Foreign currency deposit with SBP
(iii) Loans in foreign currency
(iv) Foreign securities like shares or bonds etc
(v) Mark-up accrued on foreign currencies
(vi) Un-realized gain on forward foreign exchange contracts – net
(vii) Forward purchase of foreign currencies
Liabilities may include:
(i) Borrowings in foreign currencies
(ii) Deposits in foreign currencies
(iii) Forward sale of foreign currencies
Notes: After taking into account all its foreign assets and liabilities, suggest to the bank what it should do (i) when rupee depreciates against foreign currencies
(ii) when the rupee appreciates against foreign currencies(i.e. suggest when should the company take long position and when should it take short position in derivative market). | http://www.opendoors.pk/Home-Page2/fmi/assignment-no-1---drawing-yield-curve-and-calculating-interest-rate/bba-8th-assignments/assignment-no-3 |
Matt Buttigieg, MS, NP-P, PMHNP-BC, is an ANCC Board Certified Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Matt offers both therapy and medication management. He has experience and a passion for working with the LGBTQ community.
Matt creates a safe, supportive, and non-judgmental environment for every client, and understands the importance of empathy, trust, and kindness. He focuses on the whole person to foster a successful therapeutic experience. He believes that a personalized treatment plan can help each of his clients reach their goals and make positive changes.
Matt has clinical experience working at inpatient behavioral health units, most recently at Columbia Medical Center. Having worked closely with diverse and complex individuals, he has an in-depth knowledge around the treatment for many mental health conditions including: Attention Deficit Disorders, Mood Disorders, and Anxiety Disorders. | https://www.unionsquarepractice.com/team_member/matt-buttigieg/ |
On Monday Natural Resources Minister Derrick Dalley announced the provincial government will commission an independent review of fracking before making a decision on whether or not to allow the controversial method of natural gas extraction into the province.
The decision came after the province placed a moratorium on fracking last November until it had undertaken “a balanced review of regulations, rules and guidelines in other jurisdictions,” had completed “the technical work necessary to fully assess the geological impact in Western Newfoundland,” and, “following this process,” Minister Dalley announced in the House of Assembly, “to undertake public engagement to ensure that our residents have an opportunity to comment and are fully informed before any decision is made.”
Citizens’ groups—mainly on the island’s west coast, where junior exploration companies have applied to use fracking to access what it believes to be a profitable amount of natural gas in the Green Point shale formation—have since lobbied for an independent external review of the method used to access unconventional (shale) gas deep under the Earth’s surface.
And now that the government is taking a more conciliatory approach to the matter, residents and citizens’ groups want to be sure the process is transparent, fully independent, and not tainted by any real or perceived conflicts of interest, like Nova Scotia’s.
“For the government to gain public trust and credibility in this external review they need to ensure to start right away with transparency and a panel that has no ties to either government or industry,” Simon Jansen, a spokesperson for the Newfoundland and Labrador Fracking Awareness Network (NLFAN) said in a written statement the organization released Wednesday.
“It is important that the review will examine all potential impacts of fracking, especially on human health,” Jansen said. “But the economic, environmental and social implications for the region are vital as well.”
Other groups welcome the announcement but see it only as a short-term win for those who oppose fracking on the island.
“Some of us are not applauding the government because from the beginning many groups…have been calling for an outright ban,” Erika Steeves, spokesperson for the St. John’s chapter of the Council of Canadians and a member of the East Coast Fracking Awareness Group, said in a written statement to The Independent on Thursday. “We are already convinced by expert opinions on the dangers inherent in fracking and other forms of unconventional oil and gas extraction.
“Furthermore, there are certainly no guarantees that the outcome of an independent review by a panel of experts will call for a ban, or even an extension of the moratorium. The example of the ongoing independent review in Nova Scotia, with a panel of experts that have links to the oil and gas industry (and conflicts of interest), lead to questions about how independent they really are,” she continued.
“The review process may itself be deeply flawed and condition a particular outcome (i.e. a business- and industry-friendly one) based on the methodology used and the sorts of input and comments from the public that are considered legitimate. This is why we believe that any review must be based on a strong precautionary principle and must include comments and input from the public that may not be framed in scientific or technical terms, even comments that are deemed of ‘an emotional nature’ (which were cast aside during the CNLOPB’s 2012 Strategic Environmental Assessment).
“Any legitimate review must also not compartmentalize the various parts of the fracking process — as though surface spills, tailings pond failures, increased road traffic, fugitive emissions, and other factors that impact the environment and quality of life of people living near frack wells can be separated from the moment of fracking itself (as was done by Maurice Dusseault during his Harris Centre talk ‘The Facts on Fracking: An Engineering Perspective’),” Steeves continued.
“Whether an independent review deems certain comments emotional and not worthy of inclusion, they are in fact how the people living in the area feel about the adverse effects of fracking on their communities and therefore are directly relevant to any legitimate review.
“In short, if valid concerns raised by the public are not taken into account, within the purview of a methodology based on a strong precautionary principle,” she concluded, “the review process—no matter how independent we’re told it is—will simply reinforce an industry-backed foregone conclusion.”
“Any legitimate review must also not compartmentalize the various parts of the fracking process — as though surface spills, tailings pond failures, increased road traffic, fugitive emissions, and other factors that impact the environment and quality of life of people living near frack wells can be separated from the moment of fracking itself…” — Erika Steeves, Council of Canadians
The government’s announcement in Stephenville Monday came in the midst of a by-election campaign for the district of St. George’s-Stephenville East, following the resignation of Tory Environment Minister Joan Shea in June.
In an interview with The Independent last October, prior to the government’s decision to place a moratorium on fracking pending further review, Shea emphasized the integrity of the province’s environmental assessment process.
“If fracking is proposed as a project, just like any other project … it would go through a rigorous environmental assessment,” she said. “So we wouldn’t be taking a position as government to say, you know, fracking is allowed. Anything is permitted, I guess, if it meets the environmental standards that are set out.”
Following a lengthy environmental assessment process, the controversial Muskrat Falls hydroelectric mega-project was rejected by the two independent bodies—the Joint Review Panel (JRP) and the Public Utilities Board (PUB)—that the government itself commissioned to analyze the thousands of pages of information, public input and data collected over two years. The JRP and PUB rejected the assessment partially on the grounds that the project would cause too much environmental destruction and its downstream effects could pose dangerous risks to human health. Yet in December 2012 the provincial government sanctioned the project anyway.
Before any projects involving fracking could reach the environmental assessment process stage, however, the government will have to initiate the independent review to determine whether or not it will first lift the moratorium on the controversial practice, which involves injecting a mixture of large amounts of water, sand and toxic chemicals into the ground at high pressure to fracture shale rock formations to release the trapped gas.
“Throughout North America the industry has created controversy due to extensive groundwater contamination, methane seepage, air pollution, land fragmentation, property devaluation, road destruction, earthquakes, public health issues and persistent regulatory neglect. In addition little comprehensive science exists on the novel industry and its complex impact on geology and groundwater,” wrote Andrew Nikiforuk, an award-winning Calgary-based journalist who has been covering Canada’s oil and gas industry for 20 years, in a recent article for The Tyee.
“To date Canadian energy regulators have uniformly failed to do proper groundwater monitoring let alone isotopic fingering of gases produced by the industry to track long-term contamination from hydraulic fracturing. None do cumulative impact reviews on developments that puncture landscapes with thousands of wells.”
In Newfoundland, residents of the Island’s west coast have been doing their homework on the information that is available on fracking, Jansen said.
“A lot of people in the region have done an enormous amount of research on fracking, and they are eager to participate in this conversation,” he concluded in the NLFAN statement.
Editor’s note: If you would like to respond to this or any article on TheIndependent.ca, or if you would like to address an issue we haven’t yet covered, we welcome letters to the editor and consider each of them for publication in our Letters section. You can email yours to: justin at theindependent dot ca. Not all letters will be printed, but all will be read. | https://theindependent.ca/news/government-promises-external-review-of-fracking/ |
NIVA is looking to expand its team of researchers within the field of plastic litter (micro and macro) in the aquatic environment. In this regard, we are looking to recruit a researcher who wants to contribute to the national and international effort to enhance knowledge and reduce the impact from plastics litter in marine and freshwater environments. Your core expertise should be project development and project management, with experience from mapping marine litter and / or inflow from rivers, monitoring and mitigation. International work and travelling must be expected, particularly to Asia. You will join NIVA’s Section for Environmental contaminants, a section of currently 19 researchers and research assistants, and will be expected also to cooperate with researchers across NIVA.
Norwegian Institute for Water Research
The Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) is Norway’s leading institute for basic and applied research on marine and freshwaters. The institute’s research comprises a wide array of environmental, climatic and resource-related fields. NIVA’s world-class expertise is multidisciplinary with a broad scientific scope. We combine research, monitoring, evaluation, problem-solving and advisory services at international, national and local levels.
The NIVA group has approximately 340 employees. NIVA´s head office is in Oslo with regional offices in Bergen, Grimstad, Hamar, Copenhagen and China, a research station at Drøbak (Oslofjord), as well as subsidiaries in Tromsø and Chile.
Main tasks
- Project development and follow-up of national and international projects and project stakeholders, including authorities, private sector and NGOs.
- Development of research ideas related to plastic littering
- Secure funding by leading, and cooperating, on scientific proposals nationally (e.g. Norwegian Research Council) and internationally (e.g. JPI Ocean, Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe) as well as national project acquisition (e.g. Norwegian Environment Agency) within the plastic litter field of research. This also includes leading and participating in such projects.
- Dissemination of projects, including publishing in peer reviewed scientific journals and popular science publications and presentations.
- Interacting with stakeholders. Develop and maintain national and international networks by participation in conferences, research projects etc.
Qualifications and experience
We are looking for a researcher with a PhD primarily within the natural sciences though social sciences may also be of interest. Relevant working experience for at least 5 years duration may compensate for lack of PhD. In addition, applicants will be expected to show the following;
- Proven experience and skills as project leader/coordinator. International project experience is desirable.
- Profound knowledge of the development and/or implementation of various international plastic-related strategies, policies and guidelines.
- Documented experience with funding acquisition from scientific funding bodies, industry and government actors.
- Strong cross-sectoral national and international network, experience with cooperation between nature and social sciences.
- Excellent written and spoken English are required. Scandinavian language skills are advantageous.
Personal abilities
We are seeking a social, systematic and independent person who likes to work in a dynamic working environment. The ability to inspire and communicate well with international colleagues, partners, customers and users will be emphasized. You must like to work across a range of disciplines, be open to new ideas and other perspectives, and should see differences as opportunities. Flexibility, tolerance and positive attitude, dedication and perseverance are crucial abilities, as is the ability to handle complex and challenging tasks. High professional integrity and scientific approach are very important.
NIVA offers
- Possibility to contribute in the development of science-based understanding and solutions to some of the most profound environmental challenges of the twenty-first century
- Challenging and inspiring tasks at Norway’s leading water research institute with a broad project portfolio and a comprehensive international contact network.
- Excellent development opportunities.
- Well-equipped research infrastructure and lab facilities.
- Stimulating, international work environment with highly skilled and dedicated employees.
- Head office centrally located at the Oslo Science Park near the University of Oslo.
- Competitive conditions and salaries, pension plans and insurance benefits.
Contacts: | https://stilling.forskning.no/forsker-niva-oslo-og-akershus/researcher-environmental-contaminants/1349418 |
Kafka has achieved widespread popularity as a popular distributed queue and event streaming platform, with enterprise adoption and a billion dollar company (Confluent) built around it. But could there be value in building a new...
Machine Learning Carbon Capture with Diego Saez-Gil
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Rust and Golang are two of the newest lower level languages for doing systems programming. They are often used for applications such as file systems, operating systems, and latency-sensitive applications. How do they compare in...
Greatest Hits
Language Design with Brian Kernighan Holiday Repeat
Originally published January 6, 2016 “The best computer science is the kind where the theory is inspired by some practical problem, you develop a better theoretical understanding of what you want to do, and that feeds back into better practice.” Brian Kernighan is... | https://softwareengineeringdaily.com/ |
The purpose of this case was to help verify and support consumer direct initiatives in line with strategic priority, market development of the North West Food Alliance (NWFA) agri‐food sector strategy for the North West. To achieve this, a study was made into the viability, sustainability and future development of farmers’ markets in North West England and also a consumer attitude survey into direct selling initiatives such as farm outlets. There was a correlation in the type of consumer frequenting farmers’ markets and farm outlets. Most people purchasing were female, aged 55+ and retired. A total of 36 per cent of people heard of the farm outlet by word of mouth or just drove past the outlet. Therefore, convenience of parking was important to most consumers along with the presentation of the shop. Consumers’ perceptions of purchasing at a farm outlet were that they were purchasing fresh, quality, tasty and healthy produce that was often from a local source but not necessarily. Consumers did not always expect the produce to be cheaper. Many expressed an interest in the availability of refreshments – café facilities.
Keywords
Citation
Julie Youngs (2003) "A study of farm outlets in North West England", British Food Journal, Vol. 105 No. 8, pp. 531-541Download as .RIS
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/00070700310497282
Publisher: | https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/00070700310497282/full/html |
Living in Nigeria is a lot right now. While, we have always dealt with issues like corruption, poverty, hunger, violence, lack of electricity, things have progressively worsened since the End sars protest and the massacre that followed on the 20th of October 2020.
Both incidents understandably took a toll on the mental health of people living in a country that ranks 15th in the world for the number of suicides with 50 million people suffering from some form of mental illness according to a World Health Organization (WHO). A survey by Annals of Nigerian Medicine showed that an estimated 20 per cent to 30 per cent of the country’s population could be dealing with mental disorders.
Commenting on the mental health of the society at the time, Mentally Aware Nigeria told Engage Africa Foundation Blog; “As with every high-pressure situation, people, young and old, are exposed to negative emotions and stress which can be detrimental to their mental health. While some have more long term implications, like the possibility of PTSD, there are some that are more immediate, like panic attacks or emotional breakdowns.”
Currently, the latest addition to the craziness comes from the presidency’s Twitter ban and the attorney general decision to prosecute anyone caught tweeting amidst the surge in killings, abductions, and violent robberies across the country. We also have the nationwide protests on June 12th to commemorate Democracy Day, demand the resignation of President Muhammadu Buhari and the reversal of the Twitter ban.
With the ongoing assault on Nigerians’ welfare and state of mind, here is how to hold on to your sanity in a problematic country:
Avoid your phone when you wake up
Reaching for your phone first thing in the morning can have an adverse effect on your mental well-being. Bombarding yourself with all the negative issues this country has as soon as you wake up will only put you in a bad mood for the rest of the day.
Take some time in the morning to meditate, pray, journal how you feel, check-in with yourself, use a mindfulness app, do whatever you need to centre yourself and prepare to deal with whatever Nigeria throws out.
Limit your screen time
Constantly seeing the bad news and outrage from fellow Nigerians will only stress you out. So, put yourself on a schedule, where you devote a certain amount of time daily to staying informed.
Take regular social media breaks
Social media breaks are the closest thing to curling up in bed under the covers and forgetting all the problems in Nigeria.
They are necessary especially if you are the type to be deeply affected by what you read or hear. Tune the country get when things get too stressful by taking regular social media breaks.
Get enough sleep
Sleep is the cheapest way to keep yourself sane and maintain good mental health. Without proper sleep, you are prone to anxiety, fatigue, irritability, anger, depression and other mental disorders.
Getting a good night’s sleep gives your brain what it needs to reset and reboot.
Exercise regularly
Exercising, even for 15 to 20 minutes a day, has a positive effect on your mental health. Working out gets your body to produce endorphins also known as happy hormones which relieve stress, pain and ward off anxiety.
Studies show that exercise can relieve the symptoms of depression, Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other mental health disorders.
Find joy
Constantly worrying and freaking about this country’s problem will not make them go away any faster. So, take the time to seek activities that bring you joy.
Add as much joy as you can by spending time with family and friends, people you actually like. You can also see a movie, read a book, go out, do whatever brings you joy.
Focus on what’s in your control
Living in this country can leave you feeling constantly hopeless and defeated. Focusing on what you can do, on the other hand, has the opposite effect.
So, figure out what you can do to fix things in your neighbourhood, church, amongst friends. To affect some change in politics, you should also engage in Voter Registration which resumes on Monday, June 28 2021.
Do deep breathing exercises
Deep breathing is something you can do when you are panicking or practice regularl,y even when you are not anxious.
You can learn how to do deep breathing exercises from Youtube videos and apps.
Talk to a professional
These days, it’s so easy to seek professional help. You can reach out to a therapist online, find a mental health agency, download an app or call Nigeria’s toll-free 24-hour helplines. | https://culturecustodian.com/nigerias-mental-health-crisis-heres-how-to-hold-to-your-sanity/ |
I was completely shocked today after reading that Lucky Dube had died during an apparent car-jacking attempt. He was just here last month and performed at the Mesa (AZ) Convention Center. Losing him is on the scale of Bob Marley’s death from cancer. Both of these artists, along with Fela Kuti, were struck down in their prime. But they were beyond artists. They were poets/prophets who fought injustice, corruption and exploitation wherever it was found. They risked their own freedom and safety to get their message out………….
He had been dropping his teenage son off in the Johannesburg suburb of Rosettenville on Thursday evening.
Police say three shots were fired through a car window killing Mr. Dube.
Alongside Bob Marley, he was thought of as one of the great reggae artists – singing about social problems.
He was also one of the apartheid regime’s most outspoken critics.
Correspondents say the killing has shocked South Africans who are already accustomed to one of the highest murder rates in the world.
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Reggae superstar Lucky Dube will be remembered for musical genius and efforts to create a better world.
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Mr Dube was born in Ermelo on 3 August 1964. After a few failed pregnancy attempts by his mother Sarah, Lucky came into the world. Giving birth to a boy was considered a blessing and his mother considered his birth so fortunate that she aptly named him “Lucky”.
This luck followed him for decades as he accumulated an incredible 21 albums under his musical belt, and proved himself one of not only South Africa’s, but also the world’s greatest reggae according to the Gallo Music Group.
His recording company said he was “a man with superb musical taste and genius, an artist with a message, with a reason and a rhyme behind everything he does”.
“As one can judge by listening to his music, he has a message on every album. His songs are based on three main things – political issues, social issues and personal issues – things that play an important role in everyone’s lives.”
When asked what inspired him Mr Dube answered: “People! Looking at people, watching people’s movements, the things they do. My songs are based on real life situations and experiences.”
He released his first reggae album in 1984 and toured the world sharing the stage with Maxi Priest, Sinead O’Connor, Peter Gabriel, Michael Jackson, Seal, Ziggy Marley, Celine Dion, Sting, amongst others.
He also won over 20 local and international awards for his music and videos and his hits Taxman, Prisoner, The Way It Is, Victims, Trinity and many others will be remembered by people all over the world.
Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan described the violent death of Mr Dube as not only a family tragedy but a monumental loss for the nation and the music loving people of the world.
“We in the Ministry of Arts and Culture are saddened and stunned at the manner of his death. It marks a sad day in the history of our country,” said Mr Jordan.
He said that Mr Dube was not just a global ambassador for South African musical talent, music and heritage but also a world-renowned African composer, singer, band leader, cultural activist, visionary and performer.
“We hope and pray that his family, friends, relatives and fans throughout the world will have the strength to let his spirit rest in peace,” he said.
“But, above all, we wish to express our heartfelt thanks for his life. He was one of the most important and relevant reggae voices to come out of this country in the 20th Century.”
The minister said that Mr Dube’s death was made more painful because it happened at a time when government has renewed the pledge to forge a partnership with people, communities and their institutions to fight crime.
“We state it categorically that crime is everybody’s problem in this country. Of course, as Government we are not just concerned by its prevalence but doing something to address it,” he said.
“Thus we condemn this senseless and violent killing of an artist who nourished our souls as a nation, articulated the experience and aspirations of the people and used his talent to give us our identity, musical heritage and culture.”
Mr Jordan said that for the last 30 years, Mr Dube had been single-mindedly focused on being a cultural activist and musical visionary who used reggae as an instrument to highlight the plight of the oppressed and call for transformation.
In the 1980s, he was inspired by legendary Bob Marley and Peter Tosh to use his unique voice as a tool to boost self-love and the assertion of African self-determination, identity and heritage. | https://thisproteanlife.com/reggae-musician-lucky-dube-shot-dead/ |
WHY DO WE EXIST?
Traditionally, marginalized youth are challenged when navigating life and are critically disadvantaged when competing with their peers in other groups due to the lack of knowledge, access, mentorship and resources available to them and their families.
GEM CULTURE is a non-profit youth organization based in Miami, Florida designed with the sole purpose of creating safe spaces for BIPOC teenagers, ages 13-18, that enhance their quality of life and the world around them, ensuring their successful transition into and beyond adulthood. Those that we serve and their families, identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color (BIPOC). The uniqueness of our existence is that the majority of the GEMS that we serve and attract are primarily free-thinkers, creatives and innovators who are supported in a space in which they may thrive.
We offer a holistic approach to their successful transition into and beyond adulthood by offering knowledge, fundamental life skills, connecting them to resources and by helping them to develop a sense of self. Our programs are designed for the sole purpose of breaking generational patterns and to equip them with the tools that will allow them to confidently navigate life successfully.
We believe it takes a village to raise a child so we’ve created a community in which we work closely with their families to support the overall development of their child. Because we believe it takes a village, we partner with individuals, businesses and organizations that are experts in their industry to share their knowledge and expertise with our youth. We also use a model in which our mentees become mentors, paying it forward, breaking the cycle and creating new ones that reflects a new narrative and the advancement of blacks, indigenous and people of color. | https://gemculture.org/about |
The global Catholic population is growing – so quickly, in fact, that priest and parish numbers cannot keep up, says a new study on trends in the worldwide Church.
And this poses a challenge: With an overall growth in the number of Catholics, especially in Africa and Asia, but not enough growth in the number of parishes and priests to supplement it, there are fewer opportunities for Catholics to receive the sacraments and participate in their parishes.
“The Church still faces a global 21st century problem of keeping Catholics engaged with parish and sacramental life,” stated the study by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University.
The study “Global Catholicism” drew from Vatican statistics and other surveys since 1980 to detail where the Catholic Church has grown and shrunk at the parish level and to predict the demographics of the next few decades for the Church.
This growth was examined at the parish level because parish life is ultimately the “brick and mortar” of the Church where Catholics receive the sacraments, associate with fellow Catholics, and participate the most in their faith, the study explained.
It tallied the growth of Catholics, priests, religious, parishes, reception of sacraments, seminarians, and Catholic welfare institutions like hospitals and schools in five regions — Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and the Americas.
The overall finding of the report is that the Church is in the midst of a “dramatic realignment.” It is waning in its historical center of Europe, its growth is slowing in the Americas and Oceania, and it is booming in Asia and Africa.
This forecasts a Catholic shift away from the traditional centers of Europe and the Americas and toward the “Global South,” the mostly-developing parts of the world that include Central and South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Oceania, and much of the Far East.
Dr. Mark Gray, a senior research associate with CARA, explained the implications of this shift to CNA in an interview.
One problem highlighted by the study is that most of the world’s parishes are still in Europe and the Americas, where the Church is declining or stagnating in population. The developing world is seeing more Catholics, but not nearly enough parishes to serve them.
“You’ve got all these beautiful parishes,” Gray said of Europe. “You can’t pick them up and send them from one part of the world to another very easily. So in one place the Church is going to have to close parishes, and in another place it’s going to have to build a bunch more, and it’s going to have to figure out how to manage its clergy.”
Another finding of the report is that Catholics are participating less in the Church as they grow older, as seen in sacramental participation rates.
In every region, the number of infant baptisms per 1,000 Catholics is greater than the number of first Communions, which is greater than the number of confirmations, which is greater than the number of marriages conducted within the Church.
While this may not be surprising in regions like Europe, which is seeing an overall decline of priests and religious, it is also the case throughout other regions where Church numbers are growing.
The Americas have both a lower Mass attendance rate and fewer marriages per 1,000 Catholics than does Europe, despite the overall American Catholic population growing. Gray admitted that these findings have yet to be explained.
Furthermore, the number of religious priests, brothers, and sisters all declined in the Americas since 1980, even though the number of Catholics and diocesan priests has risen there.
And even in Africa, where the Church is growing the most, there is a steep decline in sacramental participation from baptisms to marriages – the marriage rate is actually as low in Africa as it is in the Americas.
This might have to do with Africa’s population boom fast outpacing the growth of its parishes. The continent leads the world with more than 13,000 Catholics per parish.
“In Africa, more than elsewhere, the Church needs to explore the possibility that some forego or delay sacramental activity due to a lack of access to a nearby parish,” the CARA report states.
Asia, however, is setting the bar in sacramental participation. It leads all the other regions in rates of first communions, confirmations, and marriages.
“Something’s happening in Asia that is remarkable. It’s bucking the trend of everywhere else,” Gray said. Catholic leaders should be paying attention to what’s happening there, he added.
Excluding mainland China, for which the Vatican did not provide data, the Catholic population rose in Asia by 63 percent since 1980. Overall Mass attendance did not significantly decline, either, although some Asian countries reported a higher Mass attendance than others.
The number of diocesan priests more than doubled on the continent since 1980, and the number of religious priests, brothers, and sisters each almost doubled in that time frame.
What are the consequences of having too few priests, religious, and parishes to keep up with the overall growth of Catholics around the world?
In some places, closings and consolidations will lead to “mega parishes.” Especially in Europe and North America, where this is already happening, the result could be a crisis of community where many Catholics experience “anonymity” amidst so many fellow parishioners, Gray explained.
And these “anonymous” Catholics may be less inclined to participate in the life of their parish – donating less, participating in sacraments less and bringing fewer children to Church.
This is particularly difficult for Europe and North America, Gray noted, because historically these regions were well-staffed with parishes and priests, and were used to having smaller local parishes rather than larger mission parishes.
Now, not only might the parishes be larger, but priests could be serving multiple parishes, leaving Catholics with fewer opportunities to associate with their parish priest.
“People for the longest time expected they could go to their neighborhood parish whenever, knock on the door, and there would be a priest there. Especially when someone was really sick,” Gray said. Now this may not be the case.
Europe will see a five percent decline in its Catholic population by 2050, the report predicted, but far more alarming is that the number of diocesan priests and vowed religious has already fallen by 40 percent there since 1980. The overall number of parishes has declined as well.
Consequently, priests from other continents like Africa have already had to come minister to European and American Catholics. This puts a further strain on the African Church, where the significant growth in parishes, priests, and religious has still not kept up with the major Catholic population boom there.
“While some African priests serve internationally in parishes throughout the world this may become more challenging in the coming decades with more pressing needs at home,” the report states.
Of the regions covered in the report, Africa saw the largest increase of Catholics per parish since 1980, jumping from 8,193 Catholics per parish in 1980 to 13,050 in 2012.
Although the number of priests and parishes in Africa have jumped by well over 100 percent in that time frame, the number of Catholics has skyrocketed by 238 percent, thereby increasing the gap between the numbers of Catholics and the number of priests and religious.
The continent’s Catholic moment is a consequence of its population boom, the report said, as fertility rates in any given region are directly connected with the vibrancy of the Church in that area.
Where the fertility rate is below the replacement level of 2.1 children per couple – such as in most of Europe – the Church is struggling.
Where the fertility rate is highest above replacement rate – like in Sub-Saharan Africa where it is 5.15 – the Church is growing rapidly.
And where the fertility rate is approaching replacement rate level – like in Latin America and the Caribbean where it fell from 4.2 in 1980 to 2.18 in 2012 – the Church’s growth is slowing down. | https://catholicsay.com/the-global-catholic-population-is-growing-so-quickly-in-fact-that-priest-and-parish-numbers-cannot-keep-up-says-a-new-study-on-trends-in-the-worldwide-church/ |
A group of four organizations representing sustainable farmers has written a plan on how to solve the agricultural crisis. In the so-called Green Farmers Plan they explain in ten points how the agricultural sector can survive in a sustainable and promising way.
About 2500 farmers are connected to the plan, writes Fidelity, which was the first to report on the initiative. That is about 5 percent of all Dutch farmers, based on the CBS figures about the agricultural sector from 2019 (more than 53,000 farmers in total). Triodos Bank, among others, supports the plan.
Fair price
The plan writers say they want to help Ministers Van der Wal (Nature and Nitrogen) and Staghouwer (Agriculture) “to develop a government policy that offers perspective for all farmers who want to participate in the agricultural transition”.
For example, the organizations state that it is “easily possible” for farmers to farm without the use of artificial fertilizers, pesticides and with less nitrogen emissions. Banks, the government and supermarkets will then have to work together in a different way. For example, sustainable farmers should receive a “fair price” for their products, for example by lowering VAT. Products that are not sustainably produced should be taxed extra.
Furthermore, farmers “who are part of the solution” must quickly obtain clarity as to whether they can continue with their business and land that becomes available when a farmer is bought out should also become available for a new, young farmer who commits to circular agriculture. “Close the loop”, the organizations write.
The initiators further argue that there is room “for a greatly reduced pig and poultry sector” and they write that large, intensive livestock farms with little or no land, “which are often the largest peak loaders”, should be the first to qualify for buyout.
Support unclear
It is not clear how those farmers view the plan of the organic farmers. None of the farmers’ organizations that were explicitly involved in recent, large demonstrations against government policy, such as Farmers Defense Force, LTO Nederland or Agractie, have committed themselves to the plan.
Imke de Boer, professor of Animals & Sustainable Food Systems at Wageningen University, describes the plan to Trouw as a good start. She only fears for support in the rest of the sector. “Do other farmers want this? It should be clear that you can earn money with sustainability without necessarily becoming an organic farmer,” says De Boer.
Minister Van der Wal for Nitrogen presented her nitrogen plans just a month ago. This showed that in parts of the Netherlands, nitrogen emissions must be reduced by 70 percent.
This concerns 131 areas close to vulnerable nature. This means that not all farmers can continue with their business. The provinces are now tasked with further developing the plans. The nitrogen plan caused a stir in the agricultural sector, resulting in numerous protests. | https://www.paudal.com/2022/07/06/plan-sustainable-farmers-to-solve-crisis-no-fertilizer-fair-prices/ |
Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP has today urged Police Scotland to "look closely" at new data which shows that only 1% of police officers ranking sergeant or above identified as BAME and consider why the top tiers of policing "aren't nearly as diverse as the public it serves".
Freedom of information requests by the Scottish Liberal Democrats revealed top tier positions including Sergeant, Inspector, Chief Inspector, Superintendent, Chief Superintendent, Assistant Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable and Chief Constable were only held by 44 people of BAME backgrounds - equating to 1% of those in high-ranking positions.
The pattern was repeated throughout the force, with people from BAME backgrounds making up only 1% of constables, holding 209 positions.
Scotland's 2011 census recorded that 4% of the population identified as being part of minority ethnic groups.
Liam McArthur commented:
“People from BAME backgrounds are woefully underrepresented in Police Scotland, at every level. That’s a problem for a whole host of reasons, not least fairness and representation. It also creates a barrier between the police and the communities they work in.
“Sadly, the recent Independent Review of Police Complaints showed that racism within these ranks is not yet a thing of the past. Dame Angiolini found evidence of a canteen culture stuck in the same rut recorded by the Macpherson report 20 years ago. She said accounts from officers and staff left her feeling ‘extraordinarily depressed’.
“The Black Lives Matter movement forced us all to face uncomfortable truths about society and its attitudes. The purpose is to find a better way forward, and every institution has a responsibility to help make that happen.
“Increasing diversity now would strengthen the police's ability to engage with communities, and would pave the way for a new generation of talented individuals for the future. | https://www.scotlibdems.org.uk/only_1_of_top_policing_jobs_held_by_people_from_bame_backgrounds |
Essay Outline: Crucial Steps For Enhancing the Quality of Your Essay
An essay outline provides a framework and guidance for writers to present their supporting ideas of the subject in a better way. It enables students to develop a coherent and logical structure of their work; hence becoming easy to transform the ideas into sentences or words. As a student, it’s essential to have the outlining skills since many instructors require their students to outline their papers before submitting them. Keep reading to understand how you can develop a useful essay outline for your writing.
- Prepare to outline the essay
Before you start drafting your work, it’s vital that you first carefully go through the assignment guidelines. Underline or highlight the critical phrases and words in your essay instructions. Ensure that you have understood the details and if not, ask for clarification from your instructor.
- Develop a good topic
Now that you have understood you have a better understanding of the work, you can develop a good topic. It might be necessary for you to try some prewriting strategies to come up with a better topic. You can use these pre-writing tips to generate ideas:
- Write all the ideas (whether bad or good) that come to your mind
- Free write- note your ideas down for around 10 minutes.
- Question your ideas; how? When? Who?
Collect supporting materials– reviewing materials will assist you in planning well for the essay. Write the subtopics that have many related quotes, ideas or statics. However, you can skip this step when outlining a creative essay. The research will only be vital for adding trustworthy information but won’t be included in the essay outline. Mark the specific page numbers that contain each information piece.
Identify your purpose and audience– why are you writing this paper? Do you want to entertain, enlighten or persuade? Ensure that the purpose goes handily with the instructions of the assignment. The keywords can direct you to avoid going out of topic.
Think about the people who will read your essay. Is it your instructor? Strangers, or classmates? The essay outline should engage your audience and also meet their expectations.
- Develop your thesis
Useful thesis statements show the primary focus of the entire paper. An ideal thesis statement should be arguable, and it should provide adequate information. For example, instead of saying that an idea is “effective,” state specifically what makes it “effective.”
- Decide a general structure for the essay outline
If you want your paper to have an excellent basic structure: Select an alphanumeric structure- alphanumeric framework makes your work more neat and presentable. Use capitalized letters, roman numerical, lower case letters or Arabic numerical to mark your points.
- The roman numerals (I, II.III.IV) mark the main sections or headings.
- The capitalized letters (A, B, C, D) show the primary points of the main sections
- Arabic words (1, 2, 3, 4) flesh out the major points
- Small letters (a, b, c, d) elaborate the detailed points.
Determine if you will use a brief phrase or long sentences in your essay outline– in most essays, the long sentences are preferred to the short ones. This is because they provide detailed information. However, you can choose to use short and clear sentences.
When outlining an essay, it’s vital to use parallel structures. For instance, in one of your sections uses past tense and starts with a verb, the other parts should also follow the same format for uniformity.
For example, if the first section begins with “buying an old book,” then the following section should also start with something like “reading the old book.”
Coordinate your subordinate subsections and section titles- all the sections titles should contain equally important information while the subsections should contain less critical information.
Divide the essay headings into many parts- if you want to provide in-depth information in all sections, you should elaborate your ideas using more than five parts.
- Organize your essay outline information
When outlining an essay, you should do your work as organized as possible to make your audience understand your point. You should begin with an introduction section that provides the necessary information of the essay. It should be exciting and engaging enough since it will determine whether the readers will go through your work or not.
The information provided in your essay introduction should become specific gradually as you progress through the subsections. The final part of the introduction should be a thesis statement.
- Use an anecdote, or a shocking fact start your introduction
- In the second section, describe the main essay topic, background, history of the major issue or the problem. Keep this part brief but include the critical points that the readers must know.
- Your thesis statement should be the last sub-point of your essay outline. State your argument or idea that will be discussed in the essay.
Provide detailed information about the essay in the second part of your paper- the body contains all the work thus it is always the most substantial part. You can divide it into three subsections.
- Avoid labeling all the points as “major point.” Instead, write directly about the point.
- You should explain or supporting evidence right after your main points.
- If desired, you can introduce transition sentences into your significant points. It is however not strictly relevant.
- Give your essay outline a great conclusion
The conclusion part should be framed such that it returns the reader to the introduction part of the essay outline. When concluding, you should first restate your thesis but avoid copying the introduction thesis word-by-word. Copy the idea only but paraphrase it using other words.
After thesis, you can now create an excellent concluding statement that will address thesis implications, provide possible solutions to the addresses issues then discuss the significance of the essay thesis to anything outside the essay range.
Although outlining an essay may seem tedious, it makes the writing process a smooth experience. Once you complete your essay outline, the hard part of the paper is done. You are therefore ready to put the ideas into complete sentences, and then write a well developed logical essay. | https://www.whizwriters.com/essay-outline/ |
Earlier this year Walter Alvarez published a popular book recounting this mainstream theory which he and others originated in 1980: T. rex and the Crater of Doom, Princeton University Press, 1997, $24.95 in hardcover. This well written work recounts both the work by Alvarez and his team before the original publication of the impact theory in Science in 1980 as well as the work of others in testing their theory in subsequent years.
You will recall that the impact theory of the end Cretaceous (KT) mass extinction event proposed that a comet sized body impacted the earth about 65 million years ago. The resultant side effects so disrupted the climate and ecology of the entire planet that the dinosaurs and many other life forms became extinct. Part of the debate following the original publication came from Charles Officer and his supporters who claimed that the evidence offered to support the impact theory could also be explained by less fantastic earthbound causes. Many offered that the dinosaur extinction was gradual in nature and that even if a comet hit the earth at the KT boundary the dinosaurs were all but extinct by then anyway. Over the past seventeen years most of the doubters have been swayed to accept the impact theory although Charles Officer remains steadfast in his beliefs and, from what I understand, many vertebrate paleontologists still feel that the dinosaur extinction was well under way before the impact.
T. rex and the Crater of Doom is written by Walter Alvarez, a geologist and son of Nobel winning physicist Luis Alvarez. It was this father-son team along with their colleagues who did the original investigations and analysis of KT boundary sediments. Discovery of the now famous Iridium anomaly at Gubbio, Italy was the first clue to an extraterrestrial impact.
Alvarez presents the impact theory as a story of discovery. This is not a dry account of events nor presentation of abstract facts. His first dozen pages relate his interpretation of the impact events as they may have happened. He then relates the probable longer reaching effects. This material is meant to pique your interest.
The next few chapters take the reader into the world of geological theory. Alvarez briefly explains some of the history of geology including plate tectonics, uniformitarianism and catastrophism, magnetic reversals, extraterrestrial elements, and the interaction of geology and physics.
The remainder of T. rex and the Crater of Doom accounts for the development of the original theory and the subsequent protracted peer review and testing (of their theory). Many of you who have watched the many dinosaur extinction PBS programs are familiar with the search for the "smoking gun" - the impact crater evidence at the precise timing of the KT boundary. This search is well documented in this book with the discovery of the Yucatan Chicxulub impact structure providing the final proof.
Alvarez’ book is fairly short in length having only 146 pages of text. Twenty-two pages of notes keyed to the text by chapter follow for use as reference to further study by the reader. I think you’ll find this an interesting book that will keep your interest. | http://drydredgers.org/jack9801.htm |
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