News Eighth Regional CBD Workshop Focuses on Biodiversity and Finance 28 July 2011: Participants at the West Africa regional workshop on biodiversity and finance in support of the Nagoya Outcomes shared information on their national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs) and heard presentations on finance-related issues.
Organized by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in collaboration with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) country support programme, and with the financial support of the European Commission, the workshop was held on 22 July 2011, in Monrovia, Liberia. It followed the GEF Expanded Constituency Workshop for the region, held from 19-21 July 2011, in Monrovia. The Monrovia workshop was the eighth regional workshop on biodiversity and finance in support of the Nagoya outcomes.
The workshop was attended by CBD and GEF national focal points from Benin, Cote d' Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Togo. Participants shared information on the progress made in preparing NBSAPs project proposals and heard four presentations from the CBD Secretariat on: the scope of biodiversity activities and finances; the strategy for resource mobilization; market-based innovative financial mechanisms; and governance-related innovative financial mechanisms.
Participants highlighted the need to include cost estimation in revised NBSAPs, and called for organizing capacity building and training for resource mobilization focal points. On market-based innovative financial mechanisms, they expressed concern with the distribution of benefits on the value chain, and suggested that markets for green products and offset mechanisms should be examined first under the CBD, while further research should be conducted on payment for ecosystem services to clarify net local and global benefits. The presentation on governance-related innovative financial mechanisms provided an update on environmental fiscal reforms, while participants noted that it is not very clear how biodiversity activities can benefit from such mechanisms. [CBD Communiqué]


“The Case for Age-Friendly Suburbs Several trends are conspiring to challenge America’s ability to house and care for its senior citizens. Utilizing successful examples, architect and planner Eric C.Y. Fang examines how the suburbs can be adapted to support an aging population. Eric C.Y. Fang. April 5, 2013
America’s established framework for housing and caring for its senior citizens addresses a range of needs, from those with independent and active lifestyles to those requiring more intensive levels of care. What each of these models has traditionally had in common is they are typically housed in discrete, standalone facilities with an extensive – and expensive – array of on-site services. The focus is on services and amenities, rather than place.
Despite the demonstrated success of this framework, several trends may challenge its ability to continue as the dominant paradigm for housing America’s senior citizens. The first is the sheer number of people poised to cross the threshold into retirement age. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the anticipated tide of Baby Boomer retirees will double America’s senior population by 2030, increasing its ranks by 35 million [PDF]. The changing lifestyle preferences of seniors will also play a role, as increasing numbers continue working into their 70s and living in their own homes. Finally, the drop in property values resulting from the Great Recession has significantly impacted the retirement choices available. Together, these developments have begun to reverberate in how seniors choose to live, with a dramatic drop in the migration to Sunbelt states, and an increase in the average age of those moving into assisted-living facilities. The need for a greater range of attractive living options for this rapidly growing age cohort has never been more apparent.”
Photo: Eric Fang


We tested the hypothesis that generics (e.g., *Dogs* have four legs) are a cognitive default, thereby allowing faster and less effortful processing in comparison to quantified noun phrases (e.g., all dogs). Participants judged sentences containing either generics or universally-quantified noun phrases as true or false. Under time pressure, participants treated universally-quantified noun phrases as if they were generics (e.g., responding true to "All dogs have four legs," despite the existence of three-legged dogs). Participants also took longer to respond to sentences with universal quantifiers vs. generics. Data thus support a generics-as-default account.


Seth has suggested experiments that Dwave can perform to prove if their system is achieving a quantum state.
The pioneers of superconducting quantum computation had been able to demonstrate the quantum nature of their devices by zapping them with fast microwave pulses and looking at their responses. But those devices weren't adiabatic; they operated at speeds comparable to those of a conventional computer. The D-Wave device, by contrast, is purposefully slow: therefore, no zapping is possible. As a result, there are a limited number of experiments that can indicate whether the device is really doing quantum computation. One, however, is to vary the slowness with which the device oozes from its initial state to its final state. Halfway through the oozing process, the computer arrives at a point where it must start making the hard choices that lead to the problem's solution. Here the computer is in a weird quantum state, in which every bit registers 0 and 1 at the same time. I urged the D-Wave researchers to explore this critical point and search for the telltale signs. More recently, I [Seth Lloyd] spoke with Herb Martin, the CEO of D-Wave, and Geordie Rose, the company's chief technology officer and cofounder, and emphasized the need for them to pursue these experiments if they are truly interested in explaining how their devices work. One experiment that I [Seth Lloyd] recommended to Rose is a specific protocol for creating and verifying the presence of a so-called Schrödinger's-cat state, a specific instance of the state in which all the qubits register both 0 and 1 simultaneously Scott Aaronson also has a short article with his views.


Overall, a good communications pattern serves as a focal point, or perhaps more accurately, a center of gravity for creatively drawing together content, tools, practices and team resources to resolve a significant problem.
More specifically, a good communications pattern:
Is discrete, in the sense of having clear boundaries and applicability Is persistent, enduring beyond specific events and products through varying degrees of presence throughout an organizations communications environment; it is more than one speech or a Web site page. Integrates multiple facets of communications by:Informing the scope and substance of content Suggesting the effective use of specific tools and practices (e.g., newsletters, email, speeches, graphic displays) Naturally integrating the efforts of multiple levels and types of staff or team members; a powerful pattern will elicit previously “hidden” or underutilized skills, abilities, and creativity Resolves a significant obstacle or challenge Releases or generates new energy and resourcefulness Builds upon and addresses the gaps in other communications patterns Provides an expanded capacity for meeting new challenges and opportunities


I remember the first time I bought real estate. I had absolutely no idea what I could afford nor where I should buy my place. After talking with coworkers, family, friends, and doing my own research, I figured it out. It was quite depressing how much buying power I had but it helped set my personal expectations. In any case, here are my top 3 key performance indicators for those looking to buy a place.
Your monthly housing costs should not be more than 32% of your gross monthly income. Monthly housing costs typically include:
Mortgage payments (principal...


This June article on renewable chemicals, “When Life Gives you Lemons, Make Ethyl Acetate,”was not widely read, compared to most Digest Top Stories, covering a trend that was unmistakable at the BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology: the shift from biorefineries making fuels to integrated biorefineries producing a host of high-value, small-volume chemicals in addition to fuels.
The trend has become strong enough that it spawned its own publication, the weekly Biotech Digest, to cover all the developments in renewable chemicals, plastics and other materials made from biomass.


Innovative practice in schools suggests that students are more engaged with their studies when teachers give them the opportunity to share their work with “authentic audiences.” Authentic audiences are those that are ‘real life’ as in student publication of writing for professional review, dramatic or artistic productions with live audiences or demonstrating their products in competitions such as robotics.


(1) The secretary of the department, or designee, authorizes department staff to request an exception to a rule in the Washington Administrative Code (WAC) for individual cases, except as noted in subsection (5) of this section, when:
(a) The exception would not contradict a specific provision of federal law or state statute; and
(b) The client's situation differs from the majority; and
(c) It is in the interest of overall economy and the client's welfare; and
(d) It increases opportunities for the client to function effectively; or
(e) A client has an impairment or limitation that significantly interferes with the usual procedures required to determine eligibility and payment.
(2) The secretary or the secretary's designee makes the final decision on all requests for exceptions to a rule.
(3) Clients have no fair hearing rights as defined under chapter
388-02 WAC regarding exception to rule decisions by department staff.
(4) Clients who do not agree with a decision on an exception to rule may file a complaint according to chapter
388-426 WAC.
(5) This section does not apply to requests for noncovered medical or dental services or related equipment. See WAC
388-501-0160.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057. 04-05-010, § 388-440-0001, filed 2/6/04, effective 3/8/04. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, and 74.08.090. 00-03-034, § 388-440-0001, filed 1/12/00, effective 2/12/00; 98-16-044, § 388-440-0001, filed 7/31/98, effective 9/1/98.]


Background Serum potassium levels affect insulin secretion by pancreatic β-cells, and hypokalemia associated with diuretic use has been associated with dysglycemia. We hypothesized that adults with lower serum potassium levels and lower dietary potassium intake are at higher risk for incident diabetes mellitus (DM), independent of diuretic use.Methods We analyzed data from 12 209 participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study, an ongoing prospective cohort study, beginning in 1986, with 9 years of in-person follow-up and 17 years of telephone follow-up. Using multivariate Cox proportional hazard models, we estimated the hazard ratio (HR) of incident DM associated with baseline serum potassium levels.Results During 9 years of in-person follow-up, 1475 participants developed incident DM. In multivariate analyses, we found an inverse association between serum potassium and risk of incident DM. Compared with those with a high-normal serum potassium level (5.0-5.5 mEq/L), adults with serum potassium levels lower than 4.0 mEq/L, 4.0 to lower than 4.5 mEq/L, and 4.5 to lower than 5.0 mEq/L had an adjusted HR (95% confidence interval [CI]) of incident DM of 1.64 (95% CI, 1.29-2.08), 1.64 (95% CI, 1.34-2.01), and 1.39 (95% CI, 1.14-1.71), respectively. An increased risk persisted during an additional 8 years of telephone follow-up based on self-report with HRs of 1.2 to 1.3 for those with a serum potassium level lower than 5.0 mEq/L. Dietary potassium intake was significantly associated with risk of incident DM in unadjusted models but not in multivariate models.Conclusions Serum potassium level is an independent predictor of incident DM in this cohort. Further study is needed to determine if modification of serum potassium could reduce the subsequent risk of DM.


Introduction to the ‘Complex Self’ The ‘Complex Self' represents a fully contextualized understanding of ‘self-identity’, based on ‘inclusional logic’ (as distinct from conventional rationalistic ‘impositional’ or ‘box’ logic), which reciprocally couples distinct but not discrete inner (local) and outer (non-local) spatial aspects through an INTERMEDIARY domain or ‘dynamic self boundary’. Our cultural denial of this ‘triple-aspect Self’ through our conventional rationalistic focus on ‘discrete individuals’ as ‘contents abstracted from context’, is, I suspect, the source of profoundly damaging and abusive internal and external conflicts, including those that induce human beings to indulge in going to war and to punish others who do not share their beliefs and values. In sensitive people, these conflicts manifest in various kinds of ‘escape mechanisms’, including addictions and psychoses, and are at the root of the epidemic of ‘stress in the workplace’.
Our current environmental and social crises and associated need to develop ‘sustainable ways of living together’ cannot be resolved governmentally without a radical shift from the logical premise of discreteness and consequent independence of material contents (‘objects’ or ‘things’) from their spatial context that has led to these crises. Inclusional logic provides a basis for this necessary shift in understanding, whilst being fully grounded in current knowledge. Here, rather than being an external ‘absence of presence’ that can safely be disregarded, space is regarded as a vital, inductive ‘presence of absence’ or ‘dynamic attractor’, and boundaries are regarded as pivotal intermediary domains through which inner and outer spatial domains of different intensity (curvature) are both distinguished and coupled together. Correspondingly, we perceive the world and Universe about us in terms of dynamic, space-incorporating, uniquely situated, relational places, nested over all scales from microcosmic to macrocosmic, rather than disjunctive objects that can only be moved by external force.
The implications of this shift are profound for all fields of human understanding concerned with evolutionary (irreversible) processes, and the need to explore these implications more fully, alongside practical efforts to transform the way we relate with one another and our living space, is urgent. Through this shift, it is possible to reverse the culturally damaging priority that has emerged from conventional impositional logic of profits before people before living space. We can recognize that our local human identities are expressions of energy-space; like all other natural forms, from quarks to galaxies, we are relational products and participants, not primary producers or ingredients of our dynamic context. Two guiding principles emerge from this recognition:
(1) Love and Respect Other as the Distinct, but not Discrete,
Outer Aspect of Your Complex Self (2) Give Primacy to Your Living Space, which permeates Everywhere,
within, through and around Every uniquely situated Place. Do these seem familiar?


School Snacks and Drinks The foods and beverages schools offer outside of meal programs are often called competitive foods because they compete with school meals for students' spending.
January 1, 2011 | Toolkit
These resources from San Souci Community Garden, were designed to serve as guides for gardeners in growing fresh, healthy food in their community gardens.
November 1, 2012 | Journal Article
A restaurant nutrition-labeling regulation was accompanied by some, but not uniform, improvements in two counties—one regulated and one nonregulated.


This month, in collaboration with the Breast Cancer Fund, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and notable coalition members such as actor Jeff Bridges and author Bill McKibben, the Plastic Pollution Coalition is calling on the United States Food and Drug Administration to ban the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in food and drink containers and packaging. A known endocrine disruptor, BPA has been linked to autism and attention deficit disorders, heart disease in women, diabetes, obesity, depression, and infertility.


Red takes on different properties depending on what colors you pair with it. The most effective framing color for a red-flowered standout is its complement: green. When a border focuses on green foliage, a single red-flower or red-leaf accent truly shines.
Include red in your garden's color scheme by partnering it with silver or white. Silver calms red into good behavior in a border; white offers a crisp contrast to richly colored reds.
Write mystery into your garden plots by combining the deep reds, such as burgundy, maroon, and russet, with equally dark purple and chocolate brown. Such sultry combinations create the illusion of depth and hidden distances.
Red berries, twigs, and bark create magic in the winter garden against a snowy background.
Jarring on a large scale, red tends to dominate a scene. Use it sparingly for best results. In thin, weak spring light, red brightens the entire garden. Summer morning and evening light kindles a glow in red petals that appears harsh in midday sun. In fall, red looks deeper and richer; it has a warming effect. Red flowers (especially tubular-shape ones) signal hummingbirds that nectar awaits. Botanical (Latin) plant names often allude to their color. Cardinalis ,coccineus ,rosea ,rubra ,ruber , andsanguineus all refer to kinds of red. Weave red accents, such as linens and candles, into your outdoor living areas for a cheery how-do-you-do when company calls.


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CCL2 Is Associated with a Faster Rate of Cognitive Decline during Early Stages of Alzheimer's Disease
Published:
Monday, January 30, 2012
Author:
by Karin Westin, Peder Buchhave, Henrietta Nielsen, Lennart Minthon, Sabina Janciauskiene, Oskar Hansson
Chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 2 (CCR2)-signaling can mediate accumulation of microglia at sites affected by neuroinflammation. CCR2 and its main ligand CCL2 (MCP-1) might also be involved in the altered metabolism of beta-amyloid (Aß) underlying Alzheimer's disease (AD). We therefore measured the levels of CCL2 and three other CCR2 ligands, i.e. CCL11 (eotaxin), CCL13 (MCP-4) and CCL26 (eotaxin-3), in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma of 30 controls and 119 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) at baseline. During clinical follow-up 52 MCI patients were clinically stable for five years, 47 developed AD (i.e. cases with prodromal AD at baseline) and 20 developed other dementias. Only CSF CCL26 was statistically significantly elevated in patients with prodromal AD when compared to controls (p?=?0.002). However, in patients with prodromal AD, the CCL2 levels in CSF at baseline correlated with a faster cognitive decline during follow-up (r s ?=?0.42, p?=?0.004). Furthermore, prodromal AD patients in the highest tertile of CSF CCL2 exhibited a significantly faster cognitive decline (p<0.001) and developed AD dementia within a shorter time period (p<0.003) compared to those in the lowest tertile. Finally, in the entire MCI cohort, CSF CCL2 could be combined with CSF Tau, P-tau and Aß42 to predict both future conversion to AD and the rate of cognitive decline. If these results are corroborated in future studies, CCL2 in CSF could be a candidate biomarker for prediction of future disease progression rate in prodromal AD. Moreover, CCR2-related signaling pathways might be new therapeutic targets for therapies aiming at slowing down the disease progression rate of AD.
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Paul Heger, «Source of Law in the Biblical and Mesopotamian Law Collections», Vol. 86 (2005) 324-342 This study argues that the source of the law constitutes the crucial ideological and practical difference between man-made and God-given codices. In the Mesopotamian codices, while the gods grant to the sovereign the authority to govern, it is he who ultimately creates the relevant laws. He is thus the source of the law and controls its application. God is the only source of biblical law, and is involved in its implementation. This crucial difference has far-reaching consequences. In particular, Mesopotamian laws focus on the redress of harm done to humans and on disruption of human order; further, legal procedures, sanctions and modes of compensation can be changed, forgiven or abolished. Biblical law regards some infractions as harms against humans, but others are also perceived as crimes against the Lord and a disruption of the divine order. Punishments are fixed by God in both cases, and are eternal and inalterable.


colombia: trusting in societies’ strength: the climate justice tribunal
Despite their vulnerability to such two-pronged threats, it is these societies’ inherent strength, rather than technological change, that will play the greatest transformative role in solving these crises. While alternative technologies are useful tools, comprehensive solutions must embrace social, political, economic and cultural dimensions. These are the fundamental tools of those who struggle to survive, and defend and reaffirm peoples' sovereignty and rights. Based on this analysis, Friends of the Earth Colombia / CENSAT Agua Viva aimed to create a space for victims of climate conflicts, to air their demands and proposals, and build up collective momentum towards key forums, such as the 2007 UN climate negotiations in Bali. FoE Columbia also wanted those responsible for the climate crisis to be judged, at the national and international level.what happened: FoE Colombia coordinated dialogue with their allies, in a quest to incorporate climate-related conflicts into the wider social movement agenda, and strengthen the struggle for environmental justice, specifically climate justice. They analysed climate change causes, implications and solutions. They also identified necessary elements for a national agenda and action plan to fight for climate justice. This process led the creation of a Climate Justice Tribunal. The Tribunal aims to ensure climate change is on the national political agenda. It also aims to coordinate victims and people affected by climate change nationwide. These two objectives reflect FoE Colombia’s national and international climate change strategy. The Climate Justice Tribunal set to out to complete three specific tasks: to identify communities affected by climate change in Colombia and map out anticipated impacts; to raise public awareness and identify affected peoples’ actual experiences of climate change; and to draft an action plan to tackle climate change which reflects the social movements’ proposals. Designed to have both an educational and political function, the Climate Justice Tribunal has three main actors: the plaintiffs, defence and juries. There were also witnesses – people from affected communities, or those whose testimony could reinforce the defence or plaintiffs’ arguments. The Tribunal formally began with the chief justice reading a “Bill of Indictment.” The Bill listed the defendants and charges. It was written by the organizers, and the charges it contained were filed by the prosecutors against the perpetrators of climate change. The tribunal ended with a “Ruling” issued by the judges, based on the debates. The Ruling clearly indicted those responsible for causing climate change, and gave reasons why the indictment was well grounded. The ruling was delivered by the juries to the chief justice, who read it and issued a sentence based on this final declaration. what we learned: While incorporating climate change into the social movements' agenda is relatively easy, getting it onto the academic or political parties' agenda is very challenging and will require substantial further effort. This is especially true if FoE Colombia is to base its work on justice, rather than technological fixes. To ensure the Tribunal has an educational function, work must be done to obtain a deep understanding of the causes, effects and impacts of climate change, in all their dimensions. Illustrating this need, in some instances it is currently difficult to explicitly link climate change to ecological and social impacts. As for the actual cases presented in the Tribunal, in many instances affected communities are unable to relay their experience in a systematic way. Working together with these communities to assist them to analyse and present their cases would help overcome this barrier. what next: FoE Colombia is dedicated to continue building a popular movement to struggle for climate justice and combat climate change. This includes gaining a comprehensive understanding of climate change, and working to put it high on the national political agenda. The lessons learned so far will help inform continuing efforts to ensure that this complex social-environmental conflict is addressed and dealt with.
with thanks to our funders: the isvara foundation


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Employer engagement is a key government priority for colleges and training providers. Tribal has developed the Raising Skills series to meet this agenda providing standardised, high-quality learning and support materials for full-cost delivery. The courses are comprehensive, yet concise, and focus on key issues for employers. This series of courses is suitable for a range of delivery models, including face-to-face, distance or blended learning.
This programme outlines the role and responsibilities of appointed fire marshals in the context of current fire legislation. On completion of the programme, delegates will be able to understand the principles of current fire legislation; demonstrate awareness of the common causes of fire and methods of prevention; understand the role and responsibilities of the fire marshal; and be aware of the appropriate use of fire-fighting equipment.
For the learner, materials include:
For the tutor, materials include:
A comprehensive tutor guide is supplied to accompany these materials. To view a sample of a tutor guide, click here.
This programme aims to provide learners with a sound introduction to the fundamentals of fire marshalling. Those wishing to build on this introductory knowledge may want to embark on further study in this area, including Awards, Certificates, Diplomas and NVQs, depending on their situation and previous experience.
Click here to view a sample.


ankle sprains are extremely common, especially lateral ankle sprains – where the ankle is rolled over so that the sole of the foot faces inwards and ligament damage is sustained on the outside of the ankle. This can occur in also all sports and regularly in day-to-day life, with stairs and curbs being the most frequent culprits.
Now, we all know that right away after a sprained ankle we must use the good old RICE protocol, so we rapidly reach for the frozen peas and tubi-grip. And we are right to do so! Icing regularly, elevating the foot and using a compression bandage are very effective in limiting swelling and bleeding. However, after a few days, maybe a week, of


Women on the Border is a Texas-based 501c3 non profit organization engaged in educational projects involving contact with women who are fighting against abuses by U.S. based investor corporations under the North American Free Trade Agreement. We are dedicated to supporting the workers in their efforts to bring about justice in the maquiladoras. They complain regularly of the following: workers are not paid living wages, regularl exposure to toxic chemicals in the workplace, verbal and sexual harassment, abusive treatment by supervisors who abuse their authority and treat workers more like animals and machinery than like human beings. The pay at hundreds of factories regularly amounts to less than $1 per hour. Lack of proper training or safety gear for working around dangerous machinery or chemicals is a standard feature in many maquiladoras. Chronic illnesses and injuries are also a common feature among workers as a consequence of the toxicity they endure in the workplace. Women on the Border’s educational mission seeks to connect the experiences at the Mexican border with the broader issues of the global economy today.


Rotational grazing refers to the practice of moving livestock herds into new pastures to allow old fields to recover and regrow. Crops are often planted between grazing cycles since the animal waste deposited by grazing livestock produces richer, more fertile soil. Pasturing or grazing can save farmers the costs associated with buying grain feed for their livestock, and rotational grazing is one way to ensure a reliable supply of healthy grass for consumption by cattle, hogs, chicken or other pastured animals.


Maj. Kuşçu had tried to inform the state of preparations ahead of the bloody 1960 coup but was instead tried by a military court, along with the eight officers he had accused of plotting to overthrow the Democrat Party (DP) government of the time.
Last week it was reported that the Ministry of Justice is planning to add an article to the new judicial package making it possible to penalize journalists who report on such voice recordings. In Turkey, it is common to hear recordings featuring the voices of senior military officers or bureaucrats expressing their views about political and military-related issues.
Kasap said the release of private conversations is a violation of privacy, and those who record and disseminate them should be punished. However, it does not comply with the principle of freedom of the press to punish journalists who report on these recordings after they are released into the public arena, and when they concern matters of relevance to the public.
“In its current format, the law will not punish members of the junta but people like Samet Kuşçu who inform the authorities about the activities of the junta,” Kasap said.
He also noted that just as there are limits to every human freedom there are limits to freedom of the press, but added that these limits should not render journalists unable to perform their jobs.


Figure 2. Distribution of districts where epidemic meningococcal meningitis are likely to occur. a) observed distribution of meningitis epidemics (1841–1999). b) fitted model of observed meningitis epidemics based on environmental variables.
The opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.


Customers already use social technologies to wrest power away from large corporations. Now employees are adapting social technologies in pursuit of innovations to support these empowered customers; Forrester calls these employees HEROes (highly empowered and resourceful operatives). By designing social technologies as part of their Innovation Networks, CIOs and their IT teams help establish new Social Innovation Networks — innovation ecosystems employing social technologies to enhance HEROes' innovations. These Social Innovation Networks help drive faster, more effective innovation across the enterprise. And CIOs must rise to the challenge of nurturing and developing these networks while structuring their IT teams to fully support them.


Our first 10 videos in the newborn care series are now available. They were filmed in the developing world with partial support from USAID/MCHIP. The videos follow international standards of care, and several include animation to highlight key learning points. They have been reviewed by global content experts and field-tested among frontline health workers in developing countries. By helping providers learn newborn best practices, these films can help improve newborn survival in low-resource settings.
July 1, 2012


a1 Griffith University, PO Box 3428, South Brisbane 4101, Australia scott.harrison@griffith.edu.auAbstract
Despite three decades of research, gendered participation in music continues to be problematic. While many aspects of Western society maintain a patriarchal stance in the workplace, it is apparent that girls have made some significant changes in their musical choices. Males, it seems, are maintaining the same preferences for instruments as they did 100 years ago, avoiding ‘gentler pursuits’ like singing and playing the flute. This paper seeks to investigate the continued existence of stereotyping of musical participation and to discover some of the underlying reasons for this in the musical choices for boys through the literature. Furthermore, themes arising from existing research are investigated through fieldwork recently conducted in Australia.


After the first snow crab had been found on the Goose Bank in 1996 the number of reports on the snow crab by-catches in bottom trawl fishery has gradually increased (Pavlov, 2002). Since 2003 the snow crab has been observed in stomachs of cod, haddock, catfishes and thorny skate and thereby became a new food item for bottom fishes in the Barents Sea. In 2005, a snow crab was, for the first time, found during the ecosystem survey. In 2005-2008, the number of trawl stations where this species occurred and the number of individuals per station, increased.
During that period, the crab was found in bottom trawl catches in most of the eastern Barents Sea concentrated mainly in the areas adjacent to the Goose Bank and the southern extremity of the Novaya Zemlya.
In 2007-2008, directed trawl surveys for the snow crab was conducted for the first time. At the Goose Bank and adjacent areas in the eastern Barents Sea were surveyed. During the surveys, highest number of snow crabs was 95 specimens per haul/hour. Males predominated (84%) in the catches and the greatest density of crabs (145-320 ind./km2) was registered to the south of the Goose Bank.
The results indicate that the snow crab has adapted to the Barents Sea and it is assumed that the abundance of this crab will grow in the eastern Barents Sea in the nearest future. Due to this, it is expedient to monitor the distribution and abundance of the crab regularly, and to estimate any impact on the native ecosystem.


Spirulina platensis: Potential Biosorbent for Lead
Heavy metal contamination is one of the problems encountered by industrialized countries due to its harmful implications. At present, biosorption, a biological method in removing heavy metal ions, is deemed as an inexpensive and effective alternative to physico-chemical methods of separation in treating wastewater contaminated with heavy metal ions. This study Spirulina platensis: Potential Biosorbent for Lead aimed to prove the effectiveness of Spirulina platensis in absorbing lead ions from simulated wastewater. S. platensis and lead acetate were obtained from UPLB. Four separate 90 ml lead solutions, each containing 50 ppm of lead, were prepared and inoculated with 10 ml of S. platensis.
To test for contact time, each of these lead solutions was filtered and the filtrates were analyzed spectrophotometrically for the remaining lead concentrates. Results obtained from the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer showed that S. platensis biologically absorbed 89.12% lead within the first 6 hours of contact with the solustion. However, in the succeeding hours of contact, fluctuating absorbance was observed but still favorable for biosorption. Correlation analysis showed that there was no significant relationship between the final concentration and the contact time. The variance accounted for the concentration by the contact time was only 28.09%. Based on the standard deviation, which is 19.64% between the samples in the concentration, there was a significant decrease between the initial and final concentration. Therefore, S. platensis is an effective biosorbent and can be used to bioremediate lead contaminated water.
Further clarification of the procedures and results should be directed to the researchers and adviser.
Researchers Jose Alfonso A. CasurraAdviser Marygen C. Sitoy Caraga Regional Science High SchoolSource: DOST


Teams are usually selected or authorized by the quality council. A team will consist of a team leader, facilitator, recorder, time keeper and members. All team members have clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
The team leader, who is selected by the quality council, sponsor or the team itself, has following roles.
Ensure the smooth and effective operation of the team, handling and assigning record keeping, orchestrating activities, and how overseeing preparation of reports and presentation. Facilitate the team process, ensures that all members participate during the meetings, prevents other members from dominating, actively participates when appropriate, guides without domineering, and uses positive interpersonal behavior. Serves as a contact point between the team and the sponsor or quality council. Orchestrates the implementation of the changes recommended by the team within organizational constrains and team boundaries. Monitor the statues and accomplishments of members, assuring timely completion of assignments. Prepare the meeting agenda, including time, date, and location; and ensures the necessary resources are available for the meeting. Ensures that team decisions are made by consensus where appropriate, rather than by unilateral decision, handclasp decision, majority-rule decision, or minority-rule decision. The facilitator is not a member of the team; him/her neutral assistant and may not be needed with a mature team. This person does not get involved in the meeting content or evaluations of the team’s idea. Roles are as follows.Support the leader in the facilitating the team during the initial stages of the team. Focuses on the team process; is concerned more with how decisions are made rather than the decision itself. Acts as resources to the team by intervening when necessary to keep the team on track. Does not perform activities that the team can do. Provides feed back to the team concerning the effectiveness of the team process. The team recorder , who is selected by the leader or by the team and may be rotated on a periodic basis, has the following roles.
Documents the main ideas of the main team’s discussion, the issues raised, decisions made, action item and future agenda items. Present the documents for the team to review during the meeting and distribute them as minutes after the meeting in a timely manner. Participate as a team member The timekeeper , who is selected by the leader or by the team and may be rotated on a periodic basic, has the following roles.
Monitor the time to ensure that the team maintains the schedule as determined by the agenda. Participate as a team member The team member , who is selected by the team leader, sponsor, or quality council or is a member of a natural work team, has the following responsibilities
Contributes best, without reservation, by actively participating in meetings and sharing knowledge, expertise, ideas, and information. Respects other people’s contribution, does not criticize, complain, or condemn. Listens carefully and asks questions. Is enthusiastic-it’s contagious and helps galvanize the entire team. Works for consensus on decision and is prepared to negotiate important points. Supports the decision of the team-badmouthing a decision or a member reduces the effectiveness of the team. Trusts, supports and has genuine concern for other team members. Understands and is committed to team objectives. Respect and is tolerant of individual differences. Encourage feedback on own behavior. Acknowledges and works through conflict openly. Carries out assignments between meetings such as collecting data, observing processes, charting data, and writing reports. Gives honest, sincere appreciation.


A well-constructed salary guide is a crucial element in enabling school boards to meet their staffing goals. As boards strive to remove costly balloon steps and retain recently hired staff, many have met with success after acquiring a better understanding of the issue.
Centrally Located Program To equip school board members and administrators with the skills needed to address salary guide concerns, NJSBA will conduct a training program, Analyzing and Constructing Salary Guides, on Feb. 23 at the Robert Wood Johnson Hamilton Center in Mercer County. Participants will engage in a step-by-step analysis of salary guide construction, they will understand how to recognize and address salary guide aberrations, and they will learn strategies to effectively negotiate guide changes.
Districts that participated in past NJSBA salary guide training have reported dramatic improvements. For instance, one district eliminated 19 balloon steps from its guide, the largest of which represented a 15 percent increment raise. (The largest increment on the district’s new guide is only 4.4 percent.)
For more information about Analyzing and Constructing Salary Guides or to register, contact the NJSBA Call Center at (888) 886-5722, ext. 5217, or by e-mail.


Marylhurst University and Clackamas Women’s Services Seminar:
Instructor: Melissa Erlbaum
Saturday, August 4, 2012
9AM – 6PM
Location: Marylhurst University Campus
Credit Hours: 1 Credit (Also Offered for CEU and non-credit)
This seminar will explore the impact that domestic violence and sexual assault have in the workplace. The seminar will approach these topics from a Human Resource perspective. Employees’ home lives can affect their performance at work, particularly with an issue like domestic and sexual violence. Many abusers attempt to stalk, harass, threaten or injure victims at work. For the victim, actions like these can present barriers to getting and keeping a job and often result in reduced productivity and lost wages. For the employer and co-workers, it can result in increased medical costs, reduced productivity, absenteeism and heightened risks of violence to others.
However, by choosing to proactively address this issue in the workplace, employers can enhance workplace safety, increase employee productivity and moral, decrease absenteeism and turnover, create a powerful, positive impact in the community, and implement effective prevention and intervention strategies.
For additional info, e-mail mwellman@marylhurst.edu or call (503) 675-3961.


According to Science Daily,
Aquaculture, once a fledgling industry, now accounts for 50 percent of the fish consumed globally, according to a new report by an international team of researchers. And while the industry is more efficient than ever, it is also putting a significant strain on marine resources by consuming large amounts of feed made from wild fish harvested from the sea, the authors conclude. Their findings are published in the Sept. 7 online edition of the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences(PNAS).


The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has received over 500 consumer complaints about the steering on 2009 and 2010 Toyota Corolla and Matrix vehicles, expressing concerns that the cars wander at highway speeds and can be difficult to control. After an investigation, Toyota has confirmed that the “design and performance of the steering system is appropriate.” However, the automaker has issued a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) that would allow dealers to replace the electronic power steering electronic control unit (ECU) if a customer complains, but will not issue a recall.
Toyota claims the problem is a design characteristic and not a safety issue. By avoiding a formal recall, it will save Toyota from adding almost 750,000 more vehicles to the 8.5 million recalled this past year. In addition, it would save on cost and legal requirements.
Toyota tells us that the revised programming will change the steering feel, but it will not affect the handling performance.
In our tests, we noted that “the steering is a bit light and rather vague on center,” but we did not judge it to be a safety issue.
If you own one of these models and want the steering fix, you will need to request the change through your dealership.
—Liza Barth


This effective approach to flowmeter selection involves a step-by-step method that begins by matching the application with the flowmeter(s). Then, a series of criteria are applied to narrow the selection.
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Trends in the treatment and outcome of congenital diaphragmatic hernia over the last decade. MedLine Citation:
PMID: 23089981 Owner: NLM Status: Publisher Abstract/OtherAbstract:
PURPOSE: Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) remains a challenging and life-threatening congenital anomaly. The aim was to evaluate whether treatment and survival has changed during the last decade. METHODS: We retrospectively analysed all consecutive infants with CDH referred to two European tertiary paediatric surgical centres over 11 years (January 1999 to December 2009). Minimum follow-up was 1 year. χ(2) test for trend was used to evaluate significance. RESULTS: There were 234 infants. There was no significant variation over time in the proportion of infants receiving high frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) (p = 0.89), inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) (p = 0.90) or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) (p = 0.22). 205 infants (88 %) were stabilised and underwent surgical repair; of these, 186 (79 %) survived after surgery. Over time there was a significant increase in the proportion of infants undergoing surgical repair (p = 0.018) without a concomitant significant improvement in survival (p = 0.099). CONCLUSION: This multicentre analysis indicates that the survival rate of infants with CDH referred to two European paediatric surgical centres is high (79 %). The use of HFOV, iNO and ECMO has not changed in recent years. We observed a significant increase in the proportion of infants who undergo surgery but this has not resulted in a significant increase in the overall survival rate. Authors:
Massimo Garriboli; Johannes Wolfgang Duess; Elke Ruttenstock; Mark Bishay; Simon Eaton; Paolo De Coppi; Prem Puri; Michael E Höllwarth; Agostino Pierro Publication Detail:
Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE Date: 2012-10-23 Journal Detail:
Title: Pediatric surgery international Volume: - ISSN: 1437-9813 ISO Abbreviation: Pediatr. Surg. Int. Publication Date: 2012 Oct Date Detail:
Created Date: 2012-10-23 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID: 8609169 Medline TA: Pediatr Surg Int Country: - Other Details:
Languages: ENG Pagination: - Citation Subset: - Affiliation:
UCL Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, UK, m.garriboli@ucl.ac.uk. Export Citation:
APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex MeSH Terms Descriptor/Qualifier:
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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Academic Standards
Issue Brief and Resources There is strong consensus that improved efforts must be directed to ensure rigorous standards. However, policy differences exist among major stakeholders regarding whether such standards should be developed and mandated by the federal government or whether such efforts can be taken by states and local school districts individually or collectively by groups of states to achieve this goal. NSBA strongly urges Congress to provide maximum authority and flexibility to the states in this effort.


Even as planetary scientists were going into raptures over images from the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) that suggest water may have flowed on Mars in recent years, a lonely rover stood poised on a Martian crater's edge, ready to tackle another big question: was the Red Planet once washed by oceans?
Last week's pictures from the orbiting MGS spacecraft revealed fresh, light-coloured material in two of the gullies it was monitoring. Over the past three years, NASA's rover Opportunity, operating on the Martian surface, has found physical and chemical evidence showing that water was once present. This could have been groundwater that never appeared on the surface for any significant length of time, but the MGS images now raise the exciting possibility that the marks they show were left by flows of liquid water, indicating that groundwater might still be surfacing.
Tim Parker, a planetary geologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion ...
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Description Transport in the twenty-first century represents a significant challenge at the global and the local scale. Aided by over sixty clear illustrations, Peter Headicar disentangles this complex, modern issue in five parts, offering critical insights into:
the nature of transport the evolution of policy and planning policy instruments planning procedures the contemporary agenda. Distinctive features include the links forged throughout between transport and spatial planning, which are often neglected.
Designed as an essential text for transport planning students and as a source of reference for planning practitioners, it also furthers understanding of related fields such as urban and regional planning, geography, environmental studies and public policy. Based in the postgraduate course the author developed at Oxford Brookes University, this indispensable text draws on a lifetime of professional experience in the field.
Contents Part 1: The Nature of Transport Part 2: The Evolution of Transport Policy and Planning Part 3: Public Choices – Ends and Means Part 4: Planning Procedures Part 5: The Contemporary Policy Agenda


Businesses encouraged to submit entry; must demonstrate improved operations through Vision, Business Rules and Technology Cleveland, OH — May 10, 2005 — The International Supply Chain Education Alliance (ISCEA) has announced that it will showcase a corporation that has made significant operations improvement by awarding them with a Annual Prize named the "Ptak Prize for Supply Chain Excellence."
The corporation that wins the award will have to demonstrate how it improved operations by combining clear objectives with aligned business practices supported by flexible and adaptable technology.
"We are pleased to offer this prize to recognize a corporation that has contributed to improving total supply chain operations through Vision, Business Rules and Technology," said Lalith DeSilva, executive director of ISCEA.
DeSilva added that ISCEA is equally pleased to have the opportunity to name the prize after Carol Ptak, (CFPIM, CIRM, Jonah, PMP) whose holistic approach to supply chain is in line with ISCEA's vision. "We see this prize in line with Shingo Prize and Deming Prize," he said.
Carol Ptak has over two decades of practical experience as a practitioner, consultant and educator in manufacturing operations. She is the past president and CEO of APICS, the Educational Society for Resource Management.
Ptak holds an MBA from Rochester Institute of Technology and completed the EMPO program at Stanford University. She is a frequent educator at the university level and presents at many technical conferences around the world. She is also the author of numerous articles and the books, including MRP and Beyond and ERP, Tools, Techniques and Applications for Integrating the Supply Chain . Her book, Necessary but not Sufficient was co-authored with Dr. Eli Goldratt and Eli Schragenheim.
Dr. Charles Watts, executive director of Education & Certification at ISCEA, stated, Carol is one of the top visionaries in supply chain management. She understands the importance of having technology and business rules aligned with a firm's vision. She is on the leading edge of a revolution in how firms manage the supply chain. If we follow her lead, supply chains will soon become the demand chains we have been talking about over the last few years."
The first "Ptak Prize for Supply Chain Excellence" will be given at the 2006 ISCEA Supply Chain Conference & Exposition in Las Vegas, Nev., which takes place May 22-24, 2006. ISCEA said that both members and non-members can submit entries for the "2006 Ptak Prize for Supply Chain Excellence," starting May 15, 2005.


I saw a recent survey where software developers across the United States revealed they would rather do their taxes or visit a dentist than test their own software. While that might seem cute, the most alarming aspect of the survey indicated developers know and understand the financial risks associated with their disdain for testing. On average, developers estimate their last bug cost their employer at least $200,000. Despite this large financial penalty, less than 20% of respondents indicated the company’s financial pain caused them to change their behavior.
These are alarming statistics for those of us in the software industry.
As I thought about this survey, I couldn't help contrast these findings with the behavior of my local lawn care provider, Scotts.
Here me out.
I hired Scotts to take care of my lawn. They spray for weeds once a month and keep my neighbors happy with me. When I was recently contacted at my home about additional Scott's services, I noticed the salesperson was very familiar with my lawn. Since I tend to notice good upsells (hey, it’s part of my job) I asked the caller how he knew so much about my circumstances. Turns out the caller on the phone that night was the same guy that sprays my lawn for weeds during the day.
This approach doesn't work in every business but it should.
From a customer perspective, there is nothing more compelling than buying a product from someone who has ownership in the product they are selling. From Scott's perspective, this approach is not only effective but it’s extremely efficient from a resource perspective.
If more software companies asked their developers to be resonsible for client success, developers would think twice before consciously not testing their code.
We're blessed at iGoDigital. We have a team of dedicated developers who really are focused on building great product recommendation software and delivering real value to our clients. Despite the talents and passions of our team, I wonder what would happen if we asked our developers to behave like the employees of Scotts.


This week as I was searching for news on borderline personality disorder (BPD), I found this article on Charlie Sheen in the Huffington Post. While the piece is tagged as an article about borderline personality disorder, it is attempting to draw parallels between Charlie Sheen's behavior and a "high conflict personality" pattern.
I had never heard of "high conflict personality" before (it is not a DSM-IV diagnostic category), but the symptoms listed in the article sound very much like the features of BPD (i.e., unable to accept or heal from a loss, strong negative emotionality) and narcissistic personality disorder (NPD; i.e., difficulty empathizing, blaming others). There is a great deal of comorbidity (co-occurrence) of NPD and BPD-- I wonder if this "high conflict personality" construct is merely a description of individuals who have both disorders.


JURIST Contributing Editor L. Ali Khan, Professor of Law at Washburn University says the Congressional hearings proposed by Representative King violate the dignity of individual Muslim Americans, encourage over-generalizations that promote public panic and fear, and reveal inflated concerns for homeland security...
D espite calls to stop the proposed Congressional hearings on the inflammatory topic of, "the radicalization of American Muslims," Representative Peter King--a Roman Catholic, the Republican Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and a strong advocate for the Irish Republican Army--is determined to investigate the so-called homegrown Islamic terrorism. Numerous faith groups, including the Catholics, oppose King's Hearings as a crude attack on the religious dignity of Islam. Jewish leaders and rabbis, such as Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, have been most vocal in condemning the undignified implication that, "there is an inherent link between Islam per se and terrorism [which] is not helpful to religious tolerance in America."
A league of other faith groups warn that, "singling out a group of Americans for government scrutiny based on their faith is divisive and wrong." However, King remains unpersuaded, reaffirming regrettable popular opinions that Islam poses a threat to national security, that mosques are turning into centers of radicalism, and that American Muslims are actively planning to engage in acts of terrorism.
Dignity of the Individual In addition to challenging the religious dignity of Islam, a religion now well-established in the U.S., Representative King's hearings violate the principle of human dignity, the bedrock of the law of human rights. Human dignity requires that group identity should not be the sole criterion for judging individuals. Every individual, regardless of his or her racial, religious, or other group identity, is entitled to human dignity. This principle of dignity of the individual, though it applies to all, is particularly protective of individuals of vulnerable minorities, such as American Muslims. King knows that several million Muslims living in all parts of the U.S. epitomize diversity and individuality. They all are not the same. American Muslims are South Asians, Arabs, African Americans, and Caucasians. They are immigrants and they are native-born; they are men, women, and children. They are cab drivers, students, doctors, engineers, and lawyers. Ignoring complex compositions of American Muslims as individuals, Representative King's hearings endorse an inaccurate impression that American Muslims constitute a violent monolithic community, or, worse, that each and every American Muslim poses a threat to homeland security.
Harmful Overgeneralization As public figures wielding influence, lawmakers are bound to avoid harmful over-generalizations that cause public panic or fear. Opponents of these hearings point out that Representative King is following Senator Joseph McCarthy, who in the 1950s tilled the popular American fear that Soviet-sponsored communist spies had infested the nation and were planning to overthrow the U.S. Constitution. Senator McCarthy was correct to the extent that communist spies had indeed infiltrated the U. S. What was incorrect with McCarthy's Red Scare was an irresponsible over-generalization under which every egalitarian person, every critic of free markets, and every opponent of the U.S. foreign policy was regarded as a communist spy. Patriotic Americans who disagreed with Senator McCarthy's conservative agenda were seen as state enemies. McCarthyism is now associated with a phenomenon that morphs legitimate concern into an unlawful over-generalization.
Unfortunately, King's Hearings are charting the McCarthyist path. King underscores a legitimate homeland security concern. A few individuals would likely commit acts of terrorism and some already have. In 2010, Faisal Shahzad, a naturalized Muslim citizen, attempted to detonate a car bomb in Times Squares. In 2009, Major Nidal Hasan, a Muslim born in Virginia, killed 13 persons at Fort Hood. However, select acts of terrorism, no matter how despicable, cannot be inflated into the collective guilt of an entire community. History teaches us, again and again, that over-generalizations lead to error and tragedy. Most Muslim Americans are like most other Americans, engrossed in their daily lives. They commute to work, they take their children to school, they work, they come home, and they look forward to a restful evening. Committing violence against their own country does not cross their mind. Committing the cardinal error of over-generalization, Representative King, despite legitimate concerns he has for homeland security, comes across as a prejudiced lawmaker determined to demonize American Muslims as violent radicals. At a time when the U.S. needs the goodwill of domestic Muslim communities to safeguard homeland security, King is widening the gulf of trust and mutual respect among Americans.
Inflated Concerns for Homeland Security Homeland security is a legitimate congressional concern. Members of Congress are bound by oath or affirmation to defend the U.S. Constitution against domestic and foreign enemies. However, it is the U.S. Constitution that members of Congress must defend. No responsible lawmaker would reduce the Constitution's complex rights-based architecture to mere homeland security. It is no secret that inflated concerns for homeland security can assault civil liberties and protected rights. For instance, Middle Eastern autocrats, as we witness the revolt against them, have for decades denied the people's freedoms in the name of homeland security. Rights-based democracies interweave homeland security into the precious fabric of rights and liberties. The internment of Japanese Americans during the Second World War was a grave error precisely because the internment policy threw away rights and liberties for the sake of homeland security. Congressional leaders, including the Speaker of the House, must not allow Representative King to conduct these hearings that challenge the religious dignity of Islam and promote harmful generalizations decline to treat American Muslims as individuals.
L. Ali Khan is law professor at Washburn University School of Law and the author of A Theory of International Terrorism (2006).
Suggested citation: L. Ali Khan, King Hearings Targeting American Muslims Must Be Stopped , JURIST - Forum, March 10, 2011, http://jurist.org/forum/2011/03/kings-hearings-targeting-american-muslims-must-be-stopped.php.


R. van Berkel, P. van der Aa and N. van Gestel
European Journal of Social Work, vol.13, 2010, p. 447-463
Over the past decades the role of social security systems has changed from delivery of benefits to passive claimants to being 'stepping stones' to employment. This article explores the impact of the implementation of active labour market policies on the discretionary room available to frontline workers, focusing on local welfare agencies in the Netherlands, which are responsible for the administration of social assistance and the activation of recipients. It is argued that the discretion available to frontline workers involved in the activation of claimants has increased significantly. There is a shift from a bureaucratic towards a more professional treatment of frontline workers, combined with attempts to introduce a more performance-oriented style of management.
A. Barrientos
Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, vol. 11, 2010, p. 579-593
Social protection has emerged as a strong policy framework addressing poverty in developing countries. Research on social protection has focused on the relative efficiency of interventions, but has not paid sufficient attention to conceptual and ethical foundations. This paper aims to draw attention to the significance of these fundamentals, by arguing that the capability approach can provide a firm basis for social protection, and examining this argument in the context of Chile Solidario. Chile Solidario was introduced in 2002 with the aim of eradicating extreme poverty in Chile. It provides intensive support to the 225,000 poorest households in Chile along seven dimensions of well-being: education, health, income, employment, household dynamics, housing and registration.


Far too often, America is stunned by the sudden death of a young person. This person seems perfectly healthy and then several hours later will die with no warning.
Sudden Adult Death Syndrome vs. Sudden Cardiac Death A Sudden Cardiac Death is generally caused by a heart condition, known or unknown. If the condition was previously unknown, specific cause can be determined upon autopsy.
Sudden Adult Death Syndrome is also known as Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS.) When sudden death occurs with no explanation nor previous illness or accident, nor a heart condition, usually a coroner will perform tests on tissue samples, blood samples and study the organs. If the coroner cannot find a reason for the death, sometimes a cardiac pathologist will be called. The cardiac pathologist will do further tests on the heart to determine any underlying condition that contributed to death.
The use of the word 'adult' enables the distinction between different forms of Sudden Death Syndrome, making the distinction between Sudden Infant Death Syndrome - SIDS and Sudden Adult Death Syndrome - SADS.
Sudden Adult Death Syndrome events are defined as non-traumatic, non-violent, unexpected occurrences resulting from cardiac arrest within as little as six hours of previously witnessed normal health.
The Warning Signs Fainting (syncope) or seizure during physical activity. Fainting (syncope) or seizure resulting from emotional excitement, emotional distress or startle. Family history of unexpected sudden death during physical activity or during a seizure, or any other unexplained sudden death of an otherwise healthy young person.


Sponsor
Rep. Runyan, Jon Date
May 23, 2011 (112th Congress, 1st Session) Staff Contact
Jon Hiler
On Monday, May 23, 2011, the House is scheduled consider H.R. 1407 under a suspension of the rules, requiring a two-thirds majority vote for passage. The resolution was introduced by Rep. John Runyan (R-NJ) on April 6, 2011, and referred to the Committee on Veterans Affairs. The full Committee considered the bill and held a mark-up session on May 12, 2011, with the bill passing by voice vote.
H.R. 1407 would increase the rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled veterans, effective on December 1, 2011. The dollar amounts would be increased by the same percentage (Cost-of-Living Adjustment, or COLA) applied to Social Security benefits on the same effective date.
The bill would also extend by five years VA’s authority to provide adaptive housing grants to veterans residing temporarily in housing owned by a family member. This pilot program is set to expire on December 31, 2011; the bill would extend that authority to December 31, 2016.
Under current law, veterans who are classified by VA as totally disabled and who have certain mobility limitations are entitled to receive housing grants of up to $63,780 to be used to purchase, construct, or modify a home to meet their specific needs. Totally disabled veterans who are blind or have lost the use of their hands are entitled to receive grants of up to $12,756 for those same purposes. Qualifying veterans may use up to $14,000 from the larger grant or $2,000 from the smaller grant to adapt the home of a family member when the veteran resides with that family member temporarily.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the bill would increase direct spending by less than $500,000 over the 2012-2021 period, relative to CBO’s baseline projections. This estimate assumes that the COLA effective on December 1, 2011, would be 1.1 percent.
Based on recent rates of usage of housing grant benefit, CBO estimates that the bill would increase direct spending by less than $500,000 over the five years of the proposed extension, 2012-2017.
H.R. 1407 would affect direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that the net effects would be insignificant for each year. The bill would not affect revenues.


Purpose: This study of fixed partial dentures (FPDs) evaluated the long-term efficacy and determined frequencies and causes of failures. Materials and Methods: A total of 322 FPDs in 193 patients, fabricated at an undergraduate university clinic, were evaluated over a 20-year period. All patients were invited to participate in a supportive maintenance program. Failures of the FPDs were divided into irreversible complications (loss of FPD/abutment) and reversible complications (FPD intact after conservative treatment) and into biologic and technical/patient-related failures. Results: The Kaplan-Meier survival rate after 20 years was 66.2%. Statistically significant differences in survival rates were found between FPDs without post-and-core abutment teeth as compared to FPDs with at least one post-and-core abutment tooth (P = .002) and for vital abutments versus post-and-core abutments (P = .001), but significant differences were not found between restorations in the maxilla and mandible (P = .27). Caries and loss of retention were the main reasons for failure and accounted for 61% of the failures. Conclusion: The survival of FPDs by undergraduate students at a university clinic during a 20-year period was comparable to the results published by university departments or general practitioners. Occurrence of a previously reversible complication is a predictive factor for an irreversible complication later on. A reversible complication within the first 2 years will probably lead to an early irreversible complication.
Int J Prosthodont 2006;19:143–153.


[show abstract] [hide abstract]ABSTRACT: The ability to conduct advanced functional genomic studies of the thousands of sequenced bacteria has been hampered by the lack of available tools for making high-throughput chromosomal manipulations in a systematic manner that can be applied across diverse species. In this work, we highlight the use of synthetic biological tools to assemble custom suicide vectors with reusable and interchangeable DNA "parts" to facilitate chromosomal modification at designated loci. These constructs enable an array of downstream applications, including gene replacement and the creation of gene fusions with affinity purification or localization tags. We employed this approach to engineer chromosomal modifications in a bacterium that has previously proven difficult to manipulate genetically, Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough, to generate a library of over 700 strains. Furthermore, we demonstrate how these modifications can be used for examining metabolic pathways, protein-protein interactions, and protein localization. The ubiquity of suicide constructs in gene replacement throughout biology suggests that this approach can be applied to engineer a broad range of species for a diverse array of systems biological applications and is amenable to high-throughput implementation. Applied and environmental microbiology 09/2011; 77(21):7595-604. · 3.69 Impact Factor


Objectives To develop a model for determining the level of dose adherence of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) clients from the first day of ART to the day of interview and to determine the dose adherence levels of the ART clients using the model.
Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted using pre-tested standardized questionnaires in exitinterviews in three ART centres and eleven social support groups to determine the dose adherence levels of ART clients in the Eastern Region of Ghana. A dose-adherence model was developed from three types of dose records; the observed doses, the expected doses and the missed doses and the frequency at which clients defaulted since commencement of ART. This model encapsulated the short-term recall of missed doses and the long-term default frequency of ART clients to arrive at the observed / expected adherence level ratio; the expected doses being the theoretical number of doses to be taken from the first day of ART to the time of interview and the observed doses being the difference between the expected doses and the missed doses.
Results Standard adherence levels derived from the model based on literature were 25% [1], 50% [2], 80% [3] and 100% [4]. However, 83.2% of respondents were 100% adherent having honoured all their re-fill appointments and never missed doses since commencement of ART. 14% and 1.7% of the 725 respondents were 80% and 50% adherent respectively whereas the remaining 1.1 % were 25% adherent. Observed adherence levels were statistically significant at a p-value of 0.0517. Further analyses on factors affecting dose adherence were conducted on the respondent's knowledge, attitudes and practices, socio-demographic features, social support received, ARV dispensing consistency and sources of ART information and there was no significance over the adherence levels. Contrarily, the mechanisms adopted for adherence significantly (p-value = 0.0517) affected the adherence levels.
Conclusion The dose-adherence model complements other methods for deducing client's level of dose adherence by considering the long-term default frequency as an addition to the short-term recall of missed doses or self-report.
References Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome 2003,34 (3): 281-288. Publisher Full Text Haubrich RH, Little SI, Currier JS, Forthal DN, Kemper CA, Beall GN,
et al .:The value of patient-reported adherence to antiretroviral therapy in predicting virologic and immunologic response. California Collaborative Treatment Group.


When a veteran is not satisfied with the decision reached by the Regional Office (RO), he/she must file a Notice of Disagreement (NOD). The RO then offers two options for appeal, review by a Decision Review Officer (DRO) or the traditional appeal process. The RO will issue a letter outlining these two options. You have 60 days from the date of the letter to respond with your selection. If you do not respond, your appeal will be sent through the traditional process. In either process, the reviewer can (1) award a full grant of benefits, (2) award a partial grant of benefits, or (3) confirm the original RO decision.
Traditional Appeals Process This process involves a review of the claims file and any additional information that is submitted. The reviewer can hold a formal hearing with the veteran to gather additional evidence. However, he is only allowed to change the original decision in two instances, (1) new evidence has been submitted, or (2) the original decision was based on clear and unmistakable error. This means the original reviewer made a mistake. The decision can also be changed based on a difference of opinion, BUT the new decision must be approved by the Central Office.
The RO will then issue a Statement of the Case (SOC) explaining the decision. In order to continue to appeal to the Board of Veterans Appeals, you must return the enclosed Form 9 with 60 days of the mailing of the SOC, or within one year of the original decision, whichever is later.
DRO Review Process This process also involves a review of the entire claims file and any new information that is submitted; however, the DRO considers the evidence without deference to the original decision made by the RO.
DROs can hold formal hearings, just like in the traditional review process, but they are also allowed to hold informal conferences with the veteran or his representative to discuss the appeal.
If the DRO does not award a full grant of benefits, a Statement of the Case (SOC) will be issued and the appeal process will continue in the same way as the traditional appeal process explained above.
Why Should You Choose a DRO Review? 1. DROs are senior level RO employees; therefore, they are more experienced than the average VA decision makers that denied your original claim.
2. DROs have broader powers than regular reviewers. This includes the power to change the original decision without approval from the Central Office.
3. DROs have the ability to hold informal conferences with veterans to discuss the facts or evidence.
4. The DRO process takes, on average, a month longer than the traditional appeals process. This is the time period between when you file a NOD and when you receive a SOC. However, a study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), found that you are more likely to receive at least partial benefits if you choose the DRO process instead of the traditional appeals process.
5. According to the same report, the average wait time for decision by the Board of Veterans Appeals is more than 1,000 days from the time a NOD is filed. The average wait time for a decision by a DRO is only 266 days from the time the NOD is filed. Therefore, if you receive a partial grant from the DRO, you will begin receiving your benefits much faster than if you appealed directly to the Board.
6. If your claim is not granted by the DRO, you can still continue your appeal to the Board without having to start the process over again.
Overall, the DRO review process gives veterans an additional chance for a favorable decision, is more likely to result in a grant of benefits early on, provides an opportunity to speak directly with the individual making the decision, and does not forfeit the right to appeal to the Board of Veterans Appeals. There is no real downside to choosing this option, and it may end up being more beneficial.
You can find the complete report by the GAO at: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11812.pdf
Krystle D. Waldron, J.D. is a May 2011 graduate of William and Mary Law School.


Hypothesis Precise preoperative staging for gallbladder carcinoma is difficult, despite recent advances in hepatobiliary imaging. However, the most accurate preoperative staging may be possible by integrating preoperative key data.
Objective To establish useful strategies for the surgical treatment of gallbladder cancer based on information available before resection.
Design Retrospective review.
Setting University hospital and tertiary referral cancer center.
Patients and Methods From January 1, 1978, through March 31, 2001, 152 patients with gallbladder cancer underwent surgical resection with curative intent. Preoperative diagnoses of the T factor (image-T) and N factor (image-N) in the TNM classification were determined by evaluating all findings of diagnostic imaging, including ultrasonography, enhanced computed tomography, endoscopic ultrasonography, and angiography. The distribution of lymph node metastasis and prognostic factors were also analyzed.
Results The overall diagnostic accuracy for image-T was 52.6% (95% confidence interval, 44.7%-60.6%) and was lower in patients with pT1 and pT2 disease (37.2% and 33.9%, respectively). However, image-T was a significant predictor of lymph node metastasis and patient outcome. Preoperative staging for N was more difficult, with only 24.5% (95% confidence interval, 12.4%-36.5%) of the node-positive patients being correctly diagnosed. An analysis of harvested lymph nodes showed that the cystic, pericholedochal, and posterosuperior peripancreatic nodes were the most prevalent sites of metastasis, and these were considered key nodes for the lymphatic spread of gallbladder cancer. By combining data on image-T and positivity of these key nodes, more accurate TNM staging was possible. Although an extended lymph node dissection provided significantly better survival in patients with pN2 disease, there was no survival advantage to more radical operations, including bile duct resection or pancreaticoduodenectomy.
Conclusions Although precise preoperative TNM staging for gallbladder carcinoma was difficult, the most accurate staging before resection was possible by integrating image-T classification and data from the intraoperative histopathologic examination of key lymph nodes. Based on this staging, we propose algorithms for the surgical treatment of gallbladder carcinoma.


Valve graft sterility is a prerequisite for long term success in transplantation of homologous or heterologous aortic valves. Grafts obtained sterilely or unsterilely have been treated with β-propiolactone,1,2 ethylene oxide,3 irradiation,4,5 4% buffered formaldehyde solution (formalin),6 and antibiotic solutions.7 These methods are generally considered effective in eliminating organisms from the tissue. However, the long-term resistance to infection of grafts so prepared is not known. Endocarditis involving the homograft has been reported by several investigators utilizing these techniques,4,6,8-11 although the incidence is not particularly higher than prosthetic substitutes. Analysis of our own experience12 with the β-propiolactone sterilized valve revealed late failure from infection in a high percentage of cases, but common bacteria were not responsible for failure in most patients.
The relative importance of factors such as the type of bacteria present at the time of harvest, interval between donor's death and valve procurement,


Question: Can I Collect Unemployment if I'm Self Employed?
Answer: In most cases, self employed workers and/or freelance workers who lose their income are not eligible for unemployment benefits. That's because employers contribute to a fund for unemployment benefits and if you are operating as self employed, you probably didn't pay into the unemployment fund.
However, if your business is incorporated and pays into unemployment you may be eligible to collect unemployment benefits.
If you were unemployed as a result of a major disaster you may be eligible to receive Disaster Unemployment Assistance.
If you're not sure whether you're eligible, check with your state unemployment office to determine your eligibility for unemployment compensation.
Self-Employment Assistance Program
There is a federal government Self-Employment Assistance program which offers unemployed workers in some states unemployment benefits when they are starting a business. The Self-Employment Assistance Program pays a self-employed allowance, instead of regular unemployment insurance benefits, to help unemployed workers while they are establishing businesses and becoming self-employed.


WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?Symptoms can be mild or severe, and can vary widely from woman to woman. This is part of the reason doctors often miss the diagnosis. Someone with PCOS may have one or all of the following symptoms in varying degrees:
- irregular periods: abnormal, irregular, heavy or scanty (oligomenorrhea) - absent periods (amenorrhea)
- ovarian cysts
- hirsutism (excess facial and/or body hair)
- alopecia (male-pattern hair loss)
- obesity
- acne
- skin tags
- acanthosis nigricans (brown skin patches, often found on the nape of the neck)
- high cholesterol levels
- high blood pressure
- exhaustion and/or lack of mental alertness
- decreased sex drive
- excess "male" hormones, such as androgens, DHEAS, or testosterone
- infertility
- decreased breast size
- enlarged clitoris(rare)
- enlarged ovaries
- enlarged uterus
Note that symptoms can worsen over time or with weight gain.
SYMPTOMS of PCOS


In this rapidly globalizing world, any investigation of architecture inevitably leads to considerations of regionalism. But despite its omnipresence in contemporary practice and theory, architectural regionalism remains a fluid concept, its historical development and current influence largely undocumented. This comprehensive reader brings together over 40 key essays illustrating the full range of ideas embodied by the term. Authored by important critics, historians, and architects such as Kenneth Frampton, Lewis Mumford, Sigfried Giedion, and Alan Colquhoun, Architectural Regionalism represents the history of regionalist thinking in architecture from the early twentieth century to today.
These seminal textsmany of which are out of print and hard to locateare organized around themes that include regionalism and rapid modernization, modernism, historicism, regional planning, bioregionalism, and critical regionalism. Also included are a small group of recent, previously unpublished essays that extend the notion of architectural regionalism into the future. Taken as a whole, the collection underscores the continuing relevance of the concept as it fosters thoughtful works that engage the senses, embody and express local cultural processes, promote environmental sustainability, and enhance people's awareness of the world around them. Editor Vincent Canizaro's insightful introduction and his brief analysis of each essay guides readers through the lively debate surrounding this topic, making this the definitive reference on architectural regionalism for faculty, students, and practitioners in design and design-related fields.


All of Day & Zimmermann's engineering, construction and maintenance projects are managed through a comprehensive safety program that includes policies and procedures that are based on the five “high-impact Zero Injury techniques” identified by the
Construction Industry Institute (CII) as best practices used by owners and contractors striving to achieve zero injuries.
In our drive for ZERO, Day & Zimmermann has become an industry leader in the development and execution of innovative, industry-specific tools that allow us to prevent injuries while working in often hazardous environments. Our Environmental Safety & Health reporting tool is a robust, web-based application that captures safety and human performance-related incidents; methodically guides supervisors through a thorough safety investigation process; tracks, trends, and graphically outputs key safety performance indicators; and generates real-time reports for both our management team and customer representatives. This vital data, and our ability to share it in real-time, allows us to work with our customers to respond immediately and effectively to incidents and later disseminate lessons learned information across our organization.
Our senior management champions and exemplifies our safety culture and commitment, including purposeful collaboration with customers in promoting our zero injury philosophy throughout all projects; advocating for comprehensive assessments and detailed analyses by our expert safety teams; sponsoring extensive and specialized safety training for all employees; and fostering an environment that is conducive to the successful implementation of our safety processes.
Nuclear Worker Fatigue Management Program As part of our commitment to stay on the cutting edge of industry safety practices, we have also developed a comprehensive Nuclear Worker Fatigue Management Program in response to evolving worker fatigue rules and guidelines.


A new study shows that a low-carbohydrate diet changes hepatic energy metabolism. When carbohydrates are restricted, the liver relies more on substances like lactate and amino acids to form glucose, instead of glycerol. These findings are in the November issue of Hepatology, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). The article is also available online at Wiley Interscience (www.interscience.wiley.com).
Over the past 30 years, the U.S. population has reduced its fat intake, and increased its consumption of carbohydrates. During the same time period, obesity has been rising along with the prevalence of metabolic liver disease in which fatty deposits in the liver can lead to inflammation, fibrosis and cirrhosis. Some evidence has suggested that a high carbohydrate diet leads to fat formation in the liver, although confirming the association has been difficult.
To better understand hepatic energy production and glucose formation among various types of diets, researchers led by Jeffery Browning of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center measured the sources of hepatic glucose and TCA cycle flux in weight-stable subjects, and in subjects following carbohydrate- or calorie-restricted diets.
They recruited 14 subjects whose BMI fell between 25 and 35, and divided them into two groups of seven, matching them for age, BMI, gender and ethnicity. They also included seven lean subjects (BMI < 25) to act as a weight-stable comparison group.
The high-BMI groups followed either a low-carbohydrate or a low-calorie diet for fourteen days, while the weight-stable group continued their regular diet. All subjects then underwent an overnight metabolic study in which the researchers simultaneously assessed the metabolic pathways of hepatic glucose production and the TCA cycle.
In the weight-stable group, who consumed carbohydrates as a significant proportion of their diet, the TCA cycle alone provided sufficient energy to drive glucose formation. "This was not the case in individuals undergoing carbohydrate restriction," the authors report.
Carbohydrate restriction increased the rate of glucose formed using lactate or amino acids (GNGpep). "This suggests that in fasted human subjects undergoing weight loss, the elevated gluconeogenesis associated with carbohydrate restriction is driven by substrates such as lactate or amino acids," the authors report. In spite of this, TCA cycle flux in the low-carbohydrate group was similar to the low-calorie group, indicating similar rates of energy generation.
In contrast to previous reports, the present study showed similar hepatic glucose production among the dietary groups. The low-carbohydrate group was able to maintain hepatic glucose production at the levels observed for the weight-stable and low-calorie groups by increasing glucose formation using lactate or amino acids to match the reduction in glucose formation from glycerol.
"This observation is reminiscent of 'hepatic autoregulation' by which endogenous glucose production remains unchanged in the setting of altered gluconeogenesis or glycogenolysis because the two pathways tend to compensate for each other," the authors report.
They noted it was interesting that the increased glucose formation using lactate or amino acids in the low-carbohydrate group was not associated with increased TCA cycle flux (i.e. energy production.) However, they did not measure absolute rates of fatty acid delivery to the liver or ketone body production, limiting their ability to further interpret that finding.
"We have shown that the sources from which endogenous glucose is produced are dependent upon dietary macronutrient composition," the authors write. They suggest that the shift in glucose metabolism associated with a low carbohydrate diet could be beneficial in individuals with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) due to improved disposal of hepatic fat.
In conclusion, these findings may partly explain the correlation between carbohydrate intake and severity of liver disease in individuals with NAFLD.
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Exercise Guidelines Essential exercise information and weight-gain guidance for pregnant women.
The following is a summary of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ guidelines for exercising while pregnant:
1. In the absence of contraindications (see below), pregnant women are encouraged to engage in 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise a day on most, if not all, days of the week. (See “Don’t Exercise If ...” below.) As always, check with your doctor before beginning an exercise program.
2. During the second and third trimesters, pregnant women should avoid standing motionless for too long and exercising while lying on their backs.
3. A wide range of recreational activities appears to be safe. However, activities with a high risk of falling or abdominal trauma should be avoided; these include basketball, soccer, in-line skating, downhill skiing, horseback riding, ice hockey, gymnastics and vigorous racquet sports.
4. Scuba diving is not safe at any time during pregnancy.
5. Exertion at altitudes of up to 6,000 feet appears safe. However, engaging in physical activities at higher altitudes carries various risks and should be avoided.
Don't exercise if...
Aerobic exercise during pregnancy is not safe if you have any of these medical conditions:
■ Significant heart or lung disease
■ An incompetent cervix or cerclage
■ You are carrying more than one baby and are at risk for premature labor
■ Persistent second- or third- trimester bleeding
■ Placenta previa past 26 weeks of pregnancy
■ Premature labor during your current pregnancy
■ Ruptured membranes
■ Preeclampsia (pregnancy-induced hypertension)
Warning Signs to Stop Exercising and Call Your Doctor
■ Vaginal bleeding
■ Dyspnea (difficult or labored breathing) prior to exertion
■ Dizziness
■ Headache
■ Chest pain
■ Muscle weakness
■ Calf pain or swelling
■ Preterm labor
■ Decreased fetal movement
■ Amniotic fluid leakage


The eight patients were admitted to the Tropical Disease Institute in Hanoi capital on Tuesday and Wednesday, raising the total number of confirmed and suspected cases under treatment there to 21. Of the patients, three have been confirmed to contract the bird flu virus H5N1. The distribution of human and bird cases this year has some analogies with last season. The initial human cases were children in Hanoi, while most of the poultry infections were in the south. This year there are initial reports of cases in the south and none of the confirmed cases in the south have recovered. In contrast there has been one discharge in the north and two more are expected this week. The difference in recovered patients and number of cases may indicate two distinct H5N1′s in Vietnam. However, the rapid spread of the virus infecting ducks without causing symptoms is spreading and if there are two distinct genotypes in Vietnam, they may soon be co-circulating in the same region. Co-circulation leads to dual infections involving distinct genotypes, which leads to recombination. If the H5N1 in the north is more infectious and the H5N1 in the south is more lethal, a recombinant could be formed in ducks. This could lead to a virus with both properties, which would be an unfortunate evolution involving an increasingly unstable H5N1 genome.
Category : Health


Welcome to the more than sound podcast.
Many of us seek Good Work – work which is excellent, personally meaningful, and ethical. Our challenge is to forge these elements into a rewarding, profitable career. For his Wired To Connect audio series, Daniel Goleman sat down with Howard Gardner to discuss tools that can help us turn our ideals into reality, and connect who we are with what we do. This episode features an excerpt from their conversation, Good Work: Aligning Skills And Values.


[show abstract] [hide abstract]ABSTRACT: Two barley transformation systems, Agrobacterium-mediated and particle bombardment, were compared in terms of transformation efficiency, transgene copy number, expression, inheritance and physical structure of the transgenic loci using fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH). The efficiency of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation was double that obtained with particle bombardment. While 100% of the Agrobacterium-derived lines integrated between one and three copies of the transgene, 60% of the transgenic lines derived by particle bombardment integrated more than eight copies of the transgene. In most of the Agrobacterium-derived lines, the integrated T-DNA was stable and inherited as a simple Mendelian trait. Transgene silencing was frequently observed in the T1 populations of the bombardment-derived lines. The FISH technique was able to reveal additional details of the transgene integration site. For the efficient production of transgenic barley plants, with stable transgene expression and reduced silencing, the Agrobacterium-mediated method appears to offer significant advantages over particle bombardment. Plant Cell Reports 04/2005; 23(12):780-9. · 2.27 Impact Factor


Doctors don't always agree on what's "normal" for iron, but generally 150 to 170 mcg/dl is considered the healthy upper limit. But don't stress about your number too much: Mild elevations such as yours aren't a worry. Still, asking for a more detailed test might be smart, particularly if your family has a history of high iron; some disorders are genetic and could bring on liver or spleen damage or infertility. Serious complications are rare though. In fact, iron deficiency is more common, especially in women who have heavy periods. Low iron can lead to anemia, which causes fatigue or, in more severe cases, heart problems. Iron-rich foods (soybeans, fish, lean red meat) can help. Talk to your doc if you're anemic.


Secondary Education A secondary education of quality helps young people realize their full human potential and take their place in society as productive, responsible and democratic citizens.
Progress towards achieving Universal Primary Education and the rapidly changing needs and requirements of a modern society and economy has led to a growing demand for secondary education. In response, there has been widespread expansion of secondary education in all regions of the world. The most notable increases during 1999 to 2009 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, where the Gross Enrolment Rate for lower secondary education rose from 28% to 43%. Despite significant improvements in access to secondary education, 21.6 million in Africa and 14.1 million in East Asia and the Pacific of lower secondary school-age children were out of school in 2009.
UNESCO supports national efforts to meet this demand, along with improving access to secondary education and enhancing its quality
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