Bridor offers a wide selection of crispy golden baguettes and stone-baked loaves and rolls, destined for hotel and catering professionals. The range includes prestigious recipes crafted by master bakers from the Lenôtre School in Paris. They help make Bridor a renowned provider of bread and pastries to delight the tastebuds of even the most discerning gourmets. The recent launch of a range of large Bridor loaves “Signé Frédéric Lalos” has been a resounding success. These outstanding products are suitable for any establishment looking to offer high-quality stone-baked products.
Bridor takes the greatest care in selecting its flour – this must be of at least T 65 category – to ensure high-quality deep-frozen bread, made as traditionally as possible using natural, French flour, and guaranteed additive-free. Bridor, a supplier of bread and pastries, is constantly engaged in research, devising products that are a skilful blend of health and wellbeing.
Bread and pastry manufacturer Bridor offers a broad selection of tasty products under six brands. One such brand is the Délifibres range of baguettes, based on recipes using 100% soluble natural fibre (like that found in fruit, vegetables and cereals). 100 g of Délifibres bread provides the body 30% of its RDA, prolonging the feeling of fullness.
Another is the Pure Bio Organic range, the first certified organic range of bread and pastries. These baguettes, sandwich breads, small pavés and pastries are made using organically farmed raw materials, minimising the use of fertilisers. Pure Bio Organic bread and pastries combine pleasure and care for the environment – key values that are dear to Bridor, provider of breads and pastries.
Bridor recipes are varied, easy to use and economical – and will satisfy all tastes! Whatever the product – deep-frozen pre-proofed, frozen pre-cooked or unbaked – Bridor ensures guaranteed freshness and quality. Deep freezing does not affect product flavour in any way. Bread and pastries supplied by Bridor stay fresh all day, enabling hotel and catering professionals to fulfil their schedules’ demanding requirements.


Despite securing more than 100 commitments and actions on sustainable energy, Rio+20 has been dubbed a failure by environmental groups.
Speaking at Rio+20 on Friday, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said developing sustainable energy for all was not only necessary but possible.
“Sustainable Energy for All provides a powerful model for the future. This initiative is already mobilizing significant action from all sectors of society. Working together, we can provide solutions that drive economic growth, expand equity and reduce the risks of climate change,” he said.
Under the auspices of the initiative, Ghana has developed a national energy plan to support capacity-develop and innovative financing mechanism and Brazil has pledged $4.3 billion to achieve universal energy access across its borders by 2014.
Meanwhile, the summit has managed to secure a commitment from Microsoft to go carbon neutral and the Renault-Nissan Alliance has promised $5 billion to commercialise affordable zero-emission cars.
The meeting also agreed a plan for future global sustainable development, The Future We Want, which calls for the establishment of sustainable development goals, introducing financing and using the green economy to achieve sustainable development.
But Craig Bennett, director of policy and campaigns for Friends of the Earth, says the meeting has not addresses the real issues.
“World leaders in Rio have responded to the tide of global destruction that’s fast approaching by sticking their heads firmly in the sand,” he said. “These talks have been completely undermined by a dangerous lack of ambition, urgency and political will – and weak politicians too afraid to push for anything tougher.”
For further information: www.uncsd2012.org/ www.foe.co.uk
Related stories: “Gaping holes” in Rio+20 draft deal, say environmental groups (21-Jun) Development banks pledge a $175 billion jump start for sustainable transport (21-Jun) UN launches sustainable cities initiative (20-Jun)
25 June 2012


Sales forecasting updates: how good are they in practice? Both theory and the opinions of practising forecasters expect that, as the lead time before an event reduces, updates to the forecast will efficiently incorporate more recent information and so be more accurate and less biased. However, in practice, it may be anticipated that there will be some inefficiency due to excessive anchoring on the last forecast, leading to positive correlations in forecast revisions. This study tests these expectations using a large sample drawn from judgementally estimated sales forecasts from 10 manufacturing organisations. The results suggest that forecast accuracy does not improve as much as anticipated as the lead time reduces, and that the forecast revisions display negative not positive first-order autocorrelations. The inefficiency of the fixed-event forecast revisions does not appear to be related to the rolling-event forecast accuracy. This is in distinction to the one period ahead forecast errors where efficiency was strongly related to forecast accuracy performance. Some reasons for the findings are discussed.


SIEF progress is mixed Progress amongst SIEF’s has been mixed. This has been partly due to companies being reticent to take up the roles of SIEF Formation Facilitator (SFF) and the more onerous role of Lead Registrant. At time of writing ECHA lists fewer than 2000 SIEFs having formed (see: http://echa.europa.eu/home_en.asp).
Consortium formation has, as anticipated, proved to be a difficult area with a significant legal input being needed. Even so time delays in reaching consensus on issues such as data compensation, data valuation, letters of access, late joiners etc have resulted in significant delays in getting work started. Initiatives from industry bodies such as CEFIC have proved invaluable in getting standardized agreements to allow companies to move forward (see: http://cefic.org/templates/shwPublications.asp?HID=750 ).


Detox Diet Quiz
Are You In Need Of A Detox Diet?
A detox diet can be a powerful self-healing tool. We are constantly being exposed to toxins in our food, water and environment. While our bodies are equipped to remove them, our increasing exposure may mean that we can't do it optimally, which alternative practitioners believe may result in tiredness, constipation, skin eruptions, struggles with weight, brittle nails and other ailments. A detox diet allows our bodies to focus on repairing itself.
Before looking more closely at the detox diet, take this quiz to put your lifestyle and health in focus and become familiar with some of the reasons people try this diet. Affirmative answers to the questions indicate that you may benefit from a detox diet, but keep in mind that this quiz should not replace medical diagnosis or assessment. Start the quiz below!
Sources:
Wong, C. The Inside-Out Diet. Hoboken: Wiley & Sons, 2007. In-Depth: Detox Diets The Detox Diet Plan - A great starting point.
Prepare for a Detox - What to know before you start.
Foods to Eat - A list of foods to eat on a detox diet.
Foods to Exclude - A list of foods to avoid on a detox diet.
Sample Menu - A sample menu on the detox diet.
Top 20 Detox Foods - A gallery of top 20 detox foods.


Peroxiredoxins (Prx) are a family of anti-oxidants that protect cells from metabolically produced reactive oxygen species (ROS). The presence of these enzymes in the secretomes of many parasitic helminths suggests they provide protection against ROS released by host immune effector cells. However, we recently reported that helminth-secreted Prx also contribute to the development of Th2-responses via a mechanism involving the induction of alternatively activated macrophages. In this review, we discuss the role helminth Prx may play in modulating the immune responses of their hosts.


Web Exclusive Essay Forensic Fandom and the Drillable Text While the rise of spreadable media is a major trend of the contemporary era, another development within media seems to pull in an opposite direction: narrative complexity of media storytelling, especially on television. Since the late 1990s, dozens of television series have broadened the possibilities available to small-screen storytellers to embrace increased seriality, hyperconscious narrative techniques such as voice-over narration and playful chronology, and deliberate ambiguity and confusion. These trends, which I’ve explored at length elsewhere (Mittell 2006), are tied into transformations within the television industry and technologies of distribution that have enabled programs to be viewed more consistently by smaller audiences and to still be considered successful.
Such long-form complex narratives as Lost , The Wire , 24 , and The Sopranos seem to run counter to many of the practices and examples of spreadable media found elsewhere in this book. These shows are not the ephemeral “video of attractions” common to YouTube that are shared and commented on during downtime at work. They are the DVD box sets to be shelved next to literary and cinematic collections, long-term commitments to be savored and dissected in both online and offline fora. They spread less through exponential linking and emailing for quick hits than via proselytizing by die-hard fans eager to hook friends into their shared narrative obsessions. Even when they are enabled by the spreadable technologies of online distribution, both licit and illicit, the consumption patterns of complex serials are typically more focused on engaging with the core narrative text than the proliferating paratexts and fan creativity that typify spreadable media.
Perhaps we need a different metaphor to describe viewer engagement with narrative complexity. We might think of such programs as drillable rather than spreadable. They encourage a mode of forensic fandom that invites viewers to dig deeper, probing beneath the surface to understand the complexity of a story and its telling (Mittell 2009a). Such programs create magnets for engagement, drawing viewers into story worlds and urging them to drill down to discover more.
An example of such engagement can be seen in a fan website such as Lostpedia. This wiki, open to be edited by anyone with an interest in the show, aggregates engagement by directing it inward toward the core text itself. Lostpedians come together to decode episodes, to theorize possible explanations, to play paratextual games, and to draw connections among the broad range of episodes, transmedia extensions, and external cultural references. Even though such a site is not an official product of ABC, it is solely focused on the centrality of Lost as the site of collective engagement. Fans congregate at Lostpedia to drill down into the text, not to spread fan practices outward (Mittell 2009b).
Narrative complexity and drillable engagement is not an entirely new phenomenon but rather an acceleration by degree. Highly serialized genres such as soap operas have always bred fan archivists and textual experts, while sports fans have a long history of drilling down statistically and collecting artifacts to engage more deeply with a team or player. Contemporary examples are notable for both the digital tools that have enabled fans to collectively apply their forensic efforts and the demands that mainstream television network programs make on their viewers to pay attention and to connect the narrative dots.
One text can inspire fans to both drill and spread. For instance, the twenty-first-century update to Battlestar Galactica (the reimagined series which first launched on the Sci-Fi Channel in 2003) features a highly complex narrative that engages fans to drill into the mythology on the Battlestar Wiki and countless blogs and online forums. Fewer fans engage as they drill down to deeper levels, but their intensity rises in positing theories and interpretations about the story world and its potential outcomes, or debating the show’s representational politics or social commentary. This type of engaged drilling requires concentration and motivation by fans, making it a realm for the most dedicated and die-hard viewers.
However, even a complex serial in which every aspect of the narrative is interconnected can inspire spreadable offshoots more akin to the bulk of shared texts on YouTube. One such example comes from season four of Battlestar , in which a character unexpectedly and brutally kills herself. Forensic-minded fans took this moment as an opportunity to explore motivations, rationale, and repercussions, but one fan saw a spreadable opportunity. Posting a video on YouTube called “Worst Commercial Placement Ever,” the clip shows the moment of the suicide, ending with the body lying in a pool of blood, and then continues into the advertisement that followed the scene on Canadian television: a cracker commercial with slow-motion shots of splashing tomato soup (resembling blood via this juxtaposition), set to an upbeat song with the lyric “I just want to celebrate another day of living!” This clip fits YouTube’s attraction model, with a clear moment of spectacular humor requiring no depth of story-world knowledge—it is not surprising that the clip has been seen over 250,000 times and linked to on numerous blogs and social network sites. Even after the clip was blocked as copyright infringement, fans posted numerous copies to continue the spreadable moment. (Alas, I have no information as to how successful this ad was in promoting the cracker brand, but clearly many more people have seen it via this spread.)
The opposition between spreadable and drillable shouldn’t be thought of as a hierarchy but rather as opposing vectors of cultural engagement. Spreadable media encourages horizontal ripples, accumulating eyeballs without necessarily encouraging more long-term engagement. Drillable media typically engage far fewer people, but they occupy more of their time and energies in a vertical descent into a text’s complexities. Privileging depth over breadth is a knee-jerk response bred in the humanities, where complexity is a marker of quality over surface pleasures of sensation and surprise that are more typical in spreadable media. However, we need to shift our normative stance to allow that both spreadable attractions and drillable complexity are legitimate forms of cultural engagement, differently appropriate depending on a viewer’s context and goals.
References Mittell, Jason. 2006. “Narrative Complexity in Contemporary American Television.” Velvet Light Trap 58:29–40.
———. 2009a. “Lost in a Great Story: Evaluation in Narrative Television (and Television Studies).” In Roberta Pearson (ed.), Reading Lost, 119–138. London: I. B. Tauris.
———. 2009b. “Sites of Participation: Wiki Fandom and the Case of Lostpedia.” Transformative Works and Cultures 3. http://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/118/117.


The United States Food and Drug Administration approved a helmet that treats depression using — wait for it — magnets. It might sound like weird science, but doctors are hailing it as a non-invasive and effective alternative to antidepressants.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (or TMS), involves wearing a helmet filled with electromagnetic coils that sends magnetic pulses to “rewire” specific neural pathways in the brain. Brainsway, a publicly traded Israeli company, has an exclusive license for the technology.
While TMS bears some resemblance to electroconvulsive therapy, doctors say it works quite differently. Traditional shock therapy induces seizures to release neurotransmitters, the goal for TMS is to energize nerve tracks in the brain by making them fire more frequently. The magnetic field impulses of TMS are far gentler, the same strength as those used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines.


By Judy Harrow I had trouble writing this essay. It seems overwhelmingly difficult to think or write about the Shadow, even in a theoretical mode. How much more difficult must it be, then, to actually encounter our own personal shadows, the challenges (or challengers) that await us at various points in our inner journeys?
Yet, if we do not engage with and resolve those challenges, we cannot progress. Consider Inanna, Who had to pass seven gates, and meet seven challenges, before She could confront Her own dark sister in the Underworld.
Our Shadows are terrifying aspects, yet integral part of us. We can make them disappear — temporarily — by staying out of the light, by immersing ourselves in shadow. This may be what happens when the autonomous, responsible individual disappears into a flock, finding some sense of righteousness in uncritical obedience to authority or adherence to group norms. At worst, such flocks turn into violent mobs: crusaders, jihadists, lynching parties.


Feature
"All of the authors except one are psychologists," noted Miranda, the report's senior science editor and a faculty member at the University of California, Los Angeles.
And that makes sense, she says, because psychologists have "led the way in ethnic-minority research." But, there is still a "tremendous need for research," she added.
"Ethnic minorities haven't participated in treatment outcome research, so there's no real evidence about what treatments work for ethnic minorities," she said.
"We need to really understand how treatment affects ethnic minorities," she said. However, she noted, "They are not seeking treatment. Researchers are predominantly white. We don't provide enough services, such as Spanish services."
She admits she was surprised by the numbers. "Minorities are among the most vulnerable groups. Approximately 40 percent of the homeless population are African American....As a field, we don't really think about them enough."
Miranda says she hopes the report will spur action in the field. "We haven't moved ahead in a long time. Now that there will be national attention on this, I'm optimistic it will bring more research and action."
--J. DAW


This rare skin disorder involves the constant separation of the first and second layers of the skin, between the dermis and epidermis. With exposure to minor injury, irritated, angry-red blisters form on the skin, and then develop into open sores. Often, in many cases, skin on the fingers and toes will heal incorrectly, fusing fingers and toes together; as a result, many epidermolysis bullosa patients need help completing simple tasks, making it a debilitating disorder.
This genetic disorder is classified into four main categories: dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, epidermolysis bullosa simplex, hemidesmosomal epidermolysis bullosa, and junctional epidermolysis bullosa, with dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa being the most severe form. However, some scientists believe there is a fifth type of epidermolysis bullosa known as epidermolysis bullosa acquista, although it is classified as an autoimmune disorder.
Although the exact origin of this disorder remains unknown, this disorder often occurs at birth or shortly after birth. It has also been classified as an inherited genetic disorder, in which both parents must be carriers for the mutated gene. However, epidermolysis bullosa acquisita is usually present in people over 50, but some cases have been seen in children; some scientists have linked the origin of this form of epidermolysis bullosa to Crohn’s disease, otherwise known as inflammatory bowel disease, and to lupus.
Although the symptoms of this skin disorder can vary from condition to condition, patients usually experience blistering of the skin and may face lethal skin blistering that poses a threat on other bodily organs. In contrast, patients with epidermolysis bullosa simplex, the least severe form of E.B., may not see signs until adulthood, causing the individual to go years without diagnosis of the disorder.


Dynamic Evaluation of Atmospheric Response to Emission Trends
Scientific investigations and environmental decision-making rely on environmental models to accurately simulate not only pollutant concentrations but also their sensitivities to emissions. Simulating sensitivities is especially challenging for air pollutants such as ozone and particulate matter that exhibit nonlinear and highly variable responses to multiple precursor emissions. Whereas models are routinely evaluated against observations for pollutant concentrations, much less is known about the accuracy of pollutant sensitivities that cannot be directly observed. This research is considering recent abatement efforts in the United States as a real-world experiment in emissions perturbations and developing innovative techniques to ground-truth pollutant sensitivities to emissions trends. Modeling is being applied to evaluate ozone and PM responsiveness to emission trends and exploring the leading contributors to uncertainty in responsiveness estimates.Funding: National Science Foundation CAREER AwardStudent: Wei Zhou


Strategic initiatives by governments to stockpile “technology metals” or impose policies to limit export quotas on materials which are labeled “rare” indicate the classification of resources is worth considering for investors and industry stakeholders, since it will obviously have broader impacts on global supply and demand dynamics.
Articles Tagged "rare earth elements" Consumer goods manufacturers and industrial companies appear to be showing interest in securing strategic partnerships directly with lithium exploration and development companies.


Peter Costello Treasurer 11 March 1996 - 3 December 2007 NO.025 CONSUMER PRICE INDEX – MARCH QUARTER 2004 Today’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) shows that inflation remains low, with the All Groups CPI increasing by 0.9 per cent in the March quarter 2004 and yearly inflation declining to 2.0percent. This result places annual inflation at the bottom of the medium-term inflation target band.
Australian households benefited from price falls across a range of items in the March quarter, with falls in motor vehicles (down 1.8percent), audio, visual and computing equipment (down 4.5per cent), overseas holiday travel and accommodation (down 5.5percent) and clothing and footwear (down 1.4percent), partly reflecting the strong Australian dollar. Competition in the airline industry saw domestic holiday travel and accommodation prices decline (down 1.1percent). Despite drought which affects meat supplies, meat and seafood prices recorded only a minor increase (up 0.5percent).
The pick up in the CPI was driven by housing, food, automotive fuel, education and other seasonal price increases. Continuing high levels of activity in the construction sector saw house purchase prices rise 1.1percent in the March quarter. An increase in food prices (up 1.8 per cent) was driven by higher fruit and vegetable prices, with a combination of drought, floods and frost affecting supply. Higher automotive fuel prices (up 3.4percent), reflecting increases in world oil prices, and an increase in urban transport fares (up 1.9percent) contributed to an overall rise in transportation prices. Increases were recorded in pharmaceuticals (up 11.3percent) reflecting the annual resetting of the Pharmaceuticals Benefit Scheme safety net in the March quarter. Coinciding with the beginning of the school year, education recorded a strong increase (up 7.6percent), driven by indexed increases in HECS payments, some significant increases in state based TAFE fees and wage and operating costs in the preschool, primary and secondary education sectors.
Looking forward, the key medium-term influences on inflation point to continued moderate outcomes. Housing sector leading indicators are showing signs of a slow-down while wages pressures remain contained, underpinned by solid productivity growth. In addition, the stronger Australian dollar should see continued lower prices for imported consumables. These conditions are consistent with the Government’s forecasts that inflation will remain around, or a little below, the lower end of the medium-term inflation target band in the coming year.
Low inflation is a key to ensuring that the economy can grow strongly on a sustainable basis. Today's CPI release, along with recent employment figures, shows that the Government’s macroeconomic policies continue to deliver solid economic outcomes.
MELBOURNE
28 April 2004
Contact: David Alexander (03) 9650 0244


Turn on more accessible modeSkip to main contentTurn off more accessible modeEducation Final 05-15-12 -1.3.a - State Need GrantThis Site: 1.3.a - State Need GrantEducation Final 05-15-121. Access and Enrollment2. Student Accomplishment3. Student and Economic Outcomes1.1 - State-Funded Preschool Enrollment1.2 - Higher Education Participation1.3 - Financial Aid1.4 - E-Learning1.5 - Foster Child School Changes1.1.a - Percentage of Eligible Children Served1.1.b - Enrollment by Age1.1.c - Child Risk Factors1.1.d - Enrollment by Family Income1.1.e - Enrollment by Parents' Education1.2.a - CTC Enrollment1.2.a.1 - Minority Student Enrollment1.3.a - State Need Grant1.3.b - State Work Study1.3.c - College Bound Scholarship1.3.d - Passport to College Promise Scholarship1.3.a.1 - Unserved SNG Students2.1 - State-Funded Preschooler Learning Outcomes2.2 - CTC Student Achievement2.4 - Workforce Training Completion2.6 - CTC Transfer Rate2.7 - Foster Youth Graduation Rate2.1.a - Social-Emotional Skill Improvement2.1.b - Behavioral Improvement2.1.c - Medical Exams2.1.d - Dental Screenings2.1.e - Family Outcomes2.2.a - Basic Skill Gains2.2.b - Pre-College Course Completion2.2.c - First 15 & 30 College Credits2.2.d - First 5 Math Credits2.2.e - Certificate, Degree, and Apprenticeship Completion2.4.a - CTC Workforce Training Completion3.1 - Degree & Certificate Production3.2 - High Demand Degrees & Certificates3.3 - Training Participant Employment3.1.a - Sub-Baccalaureate Degrees & Certificates3.2.a - High Demand Sub-Baccalaureate Degrees & Certificates3.2.e - Workforce Skill Gap3.3.a - Relatedness of Training to Employment3.3.b - Training Participant EarningsFinal GMAP Reports>9. Education>Education Final 05-15-12>1. Access and Enrollment>1.3 - Financial Aid>1.3.a - State Need Grant1.3.a - State Need GrantWhat has happened to State Need Grant funding and service levels?View History2010-08-152011-04-152010-11-30Print VersionOperation in progress...Data NotesData Source:Higher Education Coordinating Board financial aid data system.Measure Definition:Number of students served and program funds expended on student aid by academic year.Target Rationale:Determine the extent to which the program is adequately meeting the need for student financial assistance.Link to Agency Strategic Plan:TheStrategic Master Plancalls for the state to "maintain its leadership role in providing need-based financial aid by expanding and refining need-based financial aid programs to serve more low-income students."Relevance:The SNG program is the largest Washington need-based aid program.Notes: (Optional):Also AvailableAction Plan:NoExtended Analysis:NoDrill Down Measures1.3.a.1 - Unserved SNG StudentsSummary AnalysisThe chart shows the growth in State Need Grant (SNG) funding and the associated increases in the number of students served through the program.The 2010-11 academic year was unique in that state funding decreased due to a midyear budget rescission but the number of students served went up due to a large shift in served students to the community and technical college (CTC) sector. SNG awards in the CTC sector are less than half of the awards for the public and private four-year sectors, therefore more students can be served.Funding for 2010-11 was reduced by $25.38 million due to a mid-year budget reduction. The reduction was targeted to public institutions where SNG was replaced by local institution funds.Between 2002-03 and 2010-11 funding increased 93% and the number of students served has increased 37%.In the 2009-11 biennium, total program funding increased to compensate for rising tuition. However, the economic effect of the recession prevented funding levels from keeping pace with student demand(seedrill down measure).Extended Analysis and Action Plan


Re:Lymphangioma
Lymphatic Malformations Lymphatic Malformations used to be called cystic hygroma, hemangiolymphangioma, or lymphangiomas. The lymphatics serve as a collection and transfer system for tissue fluids. When something disturbs this system, a lymphatic malformation is formed. The excess fluid accumulates and the affected lymphatic vessels enlarge and you see a mass. Research indicates that an absence of the correct number of lymphatics is the cause of the lymphatic malformation. Lymphatic malformations are sponge-like masses of abnormal channels and spaces containing clear fluid. Leakage from the skin can occur. This can further lead to cellulitis. If the lymph vessels in the face are affected, the face swells because the normal active transport mechanism has been disturbed. These lesions can occur anywhere but are common in the head and neck area. These lesions may be superficial or deep (superficial ones are seen in the mouth area and look like frogs eggs). These lesions increase or grow with the individual. They may enlarge following an upper respiratory infection. Lymphatic malformations are either micro-cystic or macro-cystic. Lesions that are macro-cystic (large spaces in the lesion) appear as a soft, clear mass under normal or bluish skin and may respond to a drug called OK-432. This treatment should be discussed with a physician to determine if the patient is a candidate; and should only be attempted if no prior surgery has been performed on the lesion. Micro-cystic malformations are small raised lesions containing clear fluid. These superficial lesions appear like small, clear bubbles, sometimes turning dark red due to bleeding. It should be noted that only a skilled surgeon should operate on a lymphatic lesion. By removing some lymphatic vessels during surgery, you can actually cause enlargement of the lesion and further growth period. MRI and CAT scan are used to diagnose lymphatic malformations. Laser treatment, sclerotherapy, and surgery are used to treat or remove these lesions. this material is directly from the VBF "facts about vascular birthmarks and Tumors pamphlet. Corinne
__________________
Corinne Barinaga
VBF Director of Family Services
vbfadvocate @ live. com (no spaces)


The KHRC has, since its inception, advocated for constitutional change that would secure for Kenyan people governance systems and structures that promote, protect and enhance the full spectrum of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The promulgation of the constitution this year is the first major step toward this vision.
However, impunity, indifference to corruption, tribalism, nepotism and apathy towards political participation are but a few of the enduring attitudes of the past despotic epochs. If the new constitution is to be effectively implemented there must be a profound change in the peoples approach towards their rights, their Government and their elected or appointed officials. There must also be a shift in the attitude of government itself.
Therefore, the KHRC seeks to engage in securing the pledges made under the new constitution through advocacy initiatives aimed at ensuring the comprehensive observance and implementation of the constitution and the meaningful participation of the citizenry in governance and policy creation.


By Michael Ashbaugh, MarketWatch
Editor’s Note: This is a free edition of The Technical Indicator, a daily MarketWatch subscriber newsletter. To get this column, including 100 technical stock picks every month, click here.
CINCINNATI (MarketWatch) — Market bulls have shown signs of life with this week’s upturn.
In the process, the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index has risen within view of significant resistance, detailed below.
Before detailing the U.S. markets’ wider view, the S&P 500’s hourly chart highlights the past two weeks.
As illustrated, the S&P has sold off from its breakdown point, and is now vacillating around its 50-day moving average.
From current levels, initial resistance holds at the February peak of 1,378 — matching its 50-day moving average, currently 1,377 — and is followed by the breakdown point of 1,391.
A close atop these areas is needed to neutralize the April breakdown.
Meanwhile, the Dow industrials’ near-term backdrop is equally technical.
Consider that its 50-day moving average currently holds at 13,001, matching its breakdown point of 13,002.
More plainly, the 13,000 mark represents an inflection point.
The index is trading above this area in Tuesday’s early action, and a close higher would place the brakes on bearish momentum.
And the Nasdaq Composite’s near-term backdrop is the weakest.
Nonetheless, the index has staged a shaky, but successful, test of well-defined support.
With Tuesday’s upturn, initial resistance holds around 3,032, and is followed by more significant overhead around 3,060, matching the bottom of last week’s gap.
Widening the view to six months adds perspective.
On this wider view, the Nasdaq has thus far drawn buyers around three technical areas:
The Nasdaq’s 50-day moving average, currently 3,005.
The February peak of 3,000.
The early-April low of 2,987.
Looking ahead, a close atop resistance around 3,060 — better illustrated on the hourly chart — would neutralize the April breakdown.
Moving to the Dow, its six-month backdrop is similar.
As detailed previously, resistance effectively holds at the 13,000 mark, matching its breakdown point, and the 50-day moving average.
The index is trading above this area in Tuesday’s early action, and a close at current levels would place the brakes on bearish momentum.
And the S&P 500’s backdrop marks the real bull/bear battleground.
As illustrated, the index is retesting its 50-day moving average (in blue), matching a former three-year range top.
The bigger picture Tuesday’s upturn marks the latest market whipsaw as bulls and bears vie for the trend.
Against this backdrop, the S&P 500 is the most representative U.S. benchmark, making it a useful technical gauge.
Returning to the S&P’s near-term view, three inflection points stand out:
Resistance at the S&P’s 50-day moving average, currently 1,377.
Resistance at the February peak of 1,378.
More significant overhead spanning from 1,388 to 1,391, matching the S&P’s breakdown point.
Technically speaking, a close atop these areas would neutralize the April breakdown.
And the breakdown point — roughly, S&P 1,391 — marks the “real” bull/bear battleground.


November 6, 2012 — In a Slate opinion piece abouta challenge to Arizona’s 20-week abortion ban, Emily Bazelon writes, "When in a pregnancy can a state ban abortion? For years, the answer has been clear: after viability." Bazelon outlines reasons why the court will "probably" strike down the Arizona law, including that it "defies the spirit of Roe v. Wade and the letter of Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Supreme Court's 1992 affirmation of the core of Roe, which allows the state to regulate abortion before viability but to bar it only after that threshold has passed."Nonetheless, the case is a "reminder ... of the impact of the wave of state restrictions on abortion that have passed since Republican electoral gains in 2010, and of how the ground will shift under women's feet if the courts let these [laws stand]" (Bazelon, Slate, 11/5).
Repro Health Watch — an exciting new edition of the Women’s Health Policy Report — compiles and distributes media coverage of proposed and enacted state laws and ballot initiatives affecting women's access to comprehensive reproductive health care, as well as litigation in response to those provisions.


Hint: place your cursor over buttons for tips.
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. They are designed to support a range of delivery models, including face-to-face, distance or blended learning.
This concise programme is ideal for anyone who has direct contact with children as part of their job role, whether this be in a full-time, part-time or voluntary capacity.
The term ‘safeguarding’ covers a range of responsibilities that adults have towards children and young people in their care. This course aims to provide the particular skills and knowledge to enable learners in a wide variety of settings to carry out these responsibilities effectively. As they work through the course, learners will become clear about their role in preventing abuse. They will be able to recognise potential or actual danger and harm and identify the appropriate action to take in response to these different situations.
The programme contains guidance on relevant legislation and provides the learner with an opportunity to understand workplace policies and procedures relating to safeguarding children and young people. It also emphasises the importance of working together and how to share information with others to benefit children and young people.
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.
Raising Skills for Work courses will support learners’ continuous professional development, and potentially improve their career prospects. Learners may also wish to progress to further training or study for qualifications.


A.F.Ferguson Tax Partner Demanding Revolution Syed Shabbar Zaidi, an authoritative and leading tax expert, also partner for taxation of A.F.Ferguson, reminded the policy makers, yet again, that we need a working and stable tax collection system.
Shabbar Zaidi has said that improvement in the prevailing system of tax collection can lead to tax-revenue of Rs 200 billion to 250 billion.
In a statement, Shabbar Zaidi said there was a dire need for revolutionary measures in the system of tax-collection to ensure effective implementation of administrative matters and that of the law.
Zaidi also proposed that, in his view, all political parties should share the same agenda for economic stability in the country. He also emphasized that income tax should essentially be received on all the income above Rupees 400,000, regardless of the sources of income.
Tax has been imposed on agriculture but it is not being collected effectively, he added.
“Despite the target of tax collection amounting to Rupees 1952b, only Rs 1875 bn to Rs 1900 billion would be received as tax during the current year”, added Zaidi. He noted the government was depending on economic growth rate for collecting a tax of Rs 2380 bn in the next year.


As the title indicates, this book bridges the gaps and explores the interfaces between pediatrics, neurology, and psychiatry. The subjects covered include, among others, autism, depression, regressive behavior, sleep disorders, headaches, seizures, movement disorders, learning disabilities, child abuse and neglect, and aggressive and violent behavior. These disorders are not the sole domain of pediatricians, psychiatrists, or neurologists. Most textbooks that concern themselves with these entities exclusively focus on what is relevant to their own discipline. The result is often a discipline-related interpretation of pathophysiologic and narrowing intervention strategies.
The authors have organized the text in a manner that allows clinical application. Each chapter begins by listing questions that, if answered, would give a clinician core information for more effective problem solving. For example, in the chapter on hysteria, the questions addressed are as follows: "What is the definition of hysteria? Is it a diagnosis of exclusion or inclusion? What organic


We review and compare the phenomenological aspects and physical origin of shear-localization and shear-banding in various material types, namely emulsions, suspensions, colloids, granular materials and micellar systems. It appears that shear-banding, which must be distinguished from the simple effect of coexisting static-flowing regions in yield stress fluids, occurs in the form of a progressive evolution of the local viscosity towards two significantly different values in two adjoining regions of the fluids in which the stress takes slightly different values. This suggests that from a global point of view shear-banding in these systems has a common physical origin: two physical phenomena (for example, in colloids, destructuration due to flow and restructuration due to aging) are in competition and, depending on the flow conditions, one of them becomes dominant and makes the system evolve in a specific direction.


Teachers Rather than thinking
of ADHD as a disability, it can be helpful if you regard it as a
condition that has a very different learning style. This section
is designed to help you understand the symptoms of ADHD and the
current treatment options. It also includes teaching strategies
to create a positive learning experience that can help children
achieve their potential as they progress through school.


SFGate.com (San Francisco) (03.07.13)
With pressure from lessening federal funds driving their actions, the West Virginia Senate pushed forward a bill on March 7 that would allow local health departments to charge individuals fees for STD testing. According to Loretta Haddy, director of epidemiology with the state’s Department of Health and Human Resources, for the state to deliver basic public health services, legislation must be amended to allow local departments to charge for delivery services. Haddy explained that, due to budget cuts and the coming Affordable Care Act, states are moving to transfer costs to insurers. Currently, anyone in West Virginia can receive free STD testing and treatment at local health departments; however, throughout the last two years, the state has lost approximately $617,000 in federal funding for its HIV/AIDS program as the federal government has shifted money to other states with higher HIV rates. Despite the funding cuts, local health departments have continued to provide services free of charge; under the proposed bill, they would charge individuals for STD testing but continue to provide free or reduced-cost testing and treatment for those who are uninsured.


As organic production increases, seed sales stay stable
By Ching Lee
Despite the significant growth of the organic market in the last decade and increasing organic crop acreage in the United States, there is one area of organic agriculture that has yet to gain notable traction—organic seed production.
Please log in to see this story. Full online content is available to Farm Bureau agricultural or collegiate members.


Have you heard of service-learning, student volunteerism and work study but do not know the difference? Read on.
Student Volunteer Organizations and Clubs
Most campuses offer opportunities for students to join clubs that match their interests, and some of these clubs provide volunteer hours to the community. In fact, some student groups require their members to participate in a specified number of service hours each year. Examples of student clubs that offer volunteer services include fraternities and sororities, service-related clubs (e.g., Circle K), pre-professional interest groups (e.g., Virginia Academy of Student Pharmacists), and student chapters of national service organization (e.g., Campus Kitchen, Habitat for Humanity, Engineers without Borders). Some benefits of recruiting volunteers from a Student Volunteer Organization include (1) student clubs can host fund raising events, (2) student clubs can provide a targeted short- or long-term service across one or more academic years, (3) student clubs rally a large number of volunteers for special projects, sometimes on a short-notice basis. The challenges of working with student clubs may include: (1) communication challenges due to frequent changes in student leadership, and (2) possible inconsistent participation by students due to academic class demands.
Service-Learning Courses
Service-learning courses integrate community service with an academic for-credit course. Students in a service-learning course complete required community service activities that relate to what they are learning in the classroom. For example, students in a religious studies class assist in urban community gardens while studying how various religions view the man-nature interaction. Service-learning classes typically enroll between 10 and 30 students, place students at one or more community site, and require students to complete a specified number of service hours before the end of the semester. The benefits of partnering with student volunteers from a service-learning course include (1) community organizations often develop long-term relationships with the university faculty member who teaches the class, thereby enabling a steady supply of student volunteers, (2) in their classrooms, students are learning about the social issue addressed by the community organization, and (3) the student volunteers are typically dependable because the service is connected to their academic studies. Potential challenges include: (1) long-term planning with the course instructor (i.e., 3 to 6 months before the volunteers arrive) is often necessary to insure that the service activities completed by the students meet the organization's needs and match the course content, and (2) students are typically involved in the service-learning course for only a single 3-month semester, so a new group of students must be oriented every few months.
Federal Work-Study
While not specifically a student volunteer program, the Federal Work-Study program is worth mentioning here. Federal Work-Study is a government subsidized and needs-based employment program for students with financial need that allows them to earn wages in special student employment positions, typically up to 20 hours per week. Students who qualify to receive federal work-study funding are placed in part-time jobs for an entire academic year, typically for either 10 or 20 hours per week. Many universities approve a list of off-campus, community-based work study positions that enable qualified students to work within local community organizations. Because the federal government pays a portion of the student's hourly wage, the community organizations realizes a significant cost savings when it employs a work-study student. The potential advantages of employing a work-study student include: (1) the student typically remains on the job for at least one academic year and can return to the same position for multiple years, (2) community organizations can typically interview more than one work-study student applicant and select the student who best fits the needs of the organization. Potential challenges of employing a work-study student include: (1) organizations must be flexible in scheduling the student's work hours around his/her class schedule, (2) organizations must pay a portion of the student's wages, (3) organizations must hire only those students who qualify for the work-study award and must be approved by the university as a community work-study site, and (3) typically work-study hiring occurs only once a year in August-September.


Postmodern Evangelism Gospel through shared experience is a conversation about reinventing evangelism for a postmodern world; more specifically, it is a conversation about a new and generative evangelistic methodology, one that is patient and poetic.
Patient. Evangelism is a collaborative process – one plants, another waters, but God makes things grow (1 Corinthians 3:5-7) – and this process takes time.
Contrary to what you might think, being an evangelist is less like being a salesman who can close the deal and more like being a farmer who knows the soil, understands the division of labor, and does his or her part planting, watering and waiting. Effective evangelism is collaborative and patient.
Poetic. Evangelism is more poetry than prose, less reporting, more re-creating.
Taking our cues from the Teacher in Ecclesiastes we begin with commonly observable, shared experience, speaking languages of immediacy that connect with our hearers. It might be a universal human experience like love, loss, pain, suffering, longing or joy or it might be something more specific like music or art, but whatever it is, this language of immediacy is a sort of vicarious experience by which we can pass from our own experience into the realm of shared experience.


Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates - Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work - Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Performing General Physical Activities - Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems - Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Thinking Creatively - Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge - Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Communicating with Persons Outside Organization - Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
Documenting/Recording Information - Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others - Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
Assisting and Caring for Others - Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
Scheduling Work and Activities - Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
Performing Administrative Activities - Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.
Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People - Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates - Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.
Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings - Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events - Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material - Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
Provide Consultation and Advice to Others - Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.
Selling or Influencing Others - Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.
Processing Information - Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others - Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
Controlling Machines and Processes - Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
Handling and Moving Objects - Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others - Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
Developing Objectives and Strategies - Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
Analyzing Data or Information - Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
Interacting With Computers - Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards - Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
Developing and Building Teams - Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.


African and global retail and manufacturing companies increasingly are focusing on emerging markets in Africa. They continue to invest, restructure and expand with the expectation of significant growth.
In Rwanda, PwC works with clients to expand or improve operations in this rapidly-developing market through a variety of service offerings including tax, consulting and assurance.
PwC can help you to manage today’s key issues:
Contact Nelson Ogara T: +250 782 276 058 E: nelson.o.ogara@rw.pwc.com


[show abstract] [hide abstract]ABSTRACT: To evaluate the prevalence, clinical significance, interobserver agreement, and follow-up of extracardiac findings on coronary computed tomographic angiography (CTA).A prospectively recruited cohort of 80 patients at low to intermediate risk of having coronary artery disease underwent CTA with field of view imaging from lung apices to upper abdomen. Two staff radiologists read each scan independently. Scans read by reader no. 1 were read as part of routine clinical practice, and the findings were subsequently reclassified to potentially significant, as defined by requiring clinical or radiologic follow-up, and insignificant by a separate observer, whereas reader no. 2 retrospectively read and autonomously classified the findings as potentially significant or insignificant.Reader no. 1 found 7 potentially significant findings in 7 patients and 33 insignificant findings in 29 patients. Reader no. 2 found 10 potentially significant findings in 10 patients and 59 insignificant findings in 42 patients. Inter-rater agreement was moderate (kappa = 0.49; 95% confidence interval, 0.31-0.67) for the presence vs the absence of extracardiac findings and moderate (kappa = 0.52; 95% confidence interval, 0.15-0.89) for the presence of potentially significant extracardiac findings. The most common potentially significant finding was possibly malignant lung nodule (n = 6 [reader 1], 4 [reader 2]). Four patients with potentially significant findings received follow-up imaging, and 1 patient underwent biopsy, which was complicated by pneumothorax. No diagnoses of malignancy were made.Extracardiac findings are frequent and moderately reproducible, however, in this study, not associated with clinical benefit. Large prospective studies are required to establish whether reporting of extracardiac findings is associated with improved patient outcomes. Canadian Association of Radiologists Journal 12/2010; 61(5):286-90. · 0.69 Impact Factor


This survey report explores ethical misconduct in today's workplace from the perspective of HR professionals and addresses the following six key themes: organizational ethics standards and practices; roles of human resource professionals in organizational ethics; ethical behavior of top management, supervisors and nonmanagement employees; pressures to compromise organization’s ethics standards; observed misconduct on the job; and reporting of ethical misconduct. This report presents an analysis of the results from the current study and examines differences by HR professionals’ industry, staff size and employment sector. Where applicable, this report also discusses the results from the 1997 and 2003 SHRM/ERC surveys on this topic and draws comparisons with ERC’s 2007 National Workplace Ethics Surveys (NWES) of employees.
Purchase report from SHRMStore ($79.95 for SHRM members; $99.95 for non-members)


John Kominek, Gregory Aist, and Jack Mastow Speech offers a powerful avenue between user and computer. However, if the user is not speaking, or is speaking to someone else, what is the computer to make of it? Project LISTEN’s Reading Tutor is speech-aware software that strives to teach children to read. Because it is useful to know what the child is doing when reading, we are investigating some potential uses of computer vision. By recording and analyzing video of the Tutor in use, we measured the frequency of events that cannot be detected by speech alone. These include how often the child is visually distracted, and how often the teacher or another student provides assistance. This information helps us assess how vision might enhance the effectiveness of the Reading Tutor.
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Minimum Wage Increases On the Table Proposals to raise the minimum wage have been placed on the
table at both the federal and state level. At the federal level, President Obama used his State of the
Union address to unveil his plan to raise the federal minimum wage rate in
stages to $9 an hour by 2015. The current federal minimum wage rate is $7.25 an
hour. At the state level, a California legislator introduced a
bill (AB 10 - Alejo) to raise the minimum wage in stages to $9.25 an hour by
2016. The current minimum wage in California is $8 an hour. The bill also
proposes to tie the minimum wage to the California Consumer Price Index
beginning January 1, 2017. This would allow for annual upward adjustments to
the minimum wage. The bill, as currently drafted, would prohibit the state
Industrial Welfare Commission from adjusting the minimum wage downward and from
adjusting the minimum wage upward if the average percentage of inflation from
the previous year was negative. The federal proposal is also tied to inflation. The federal minimum wage has not been adjusted since 2007.
The state minimum wage was adjusted in 2008.Reminder: Employers
in San Jose must comply with a new city minimum wage ordinance effective March
11, 2013. The minimum wage rate for local businesses in San Jose will increase
to $10 an hour. San Francisco has had a higher minimum wage in effect since 2004.
The current rate for employers with employees working in San Francisco is
$10.55 an hour. Both San Francisco and San Jose have mandatory minimum wage
posting requirements. These posters are available for purchase at the
CalChamber Store. HRWatchdog will continue to monitor developments in this
area.
Gail Cecchettini Whaley, CalChamber Employment Law Counsel/Content


Thousand years ago: science was
empirical, describing natural phenomenaLast few hundred years:
theoreticalbranch, using models, generalizationsLast few decades: a
computationalbranch, simulating complex phenomenaToday:
data exploration(eScience)--unify theory, experiment, and simulation. (Data captured by instruments, or generated by simulator; processed by software; information/knowledge stored in computer; scientist analyzes database/files, using data management and statistics.)Jim's equating of "eScience" with "data exploration" seems a little too narrow. (John Taylor, who coined the term, had a somewhat broader definition: "e-Science will refer to the large scale science that will increasingly be carried out through distributed global collaborations enabled by the Internet.") However, the growing importance of data can hardly be overstated, and Jim's perspectives are worthy of careful consideration, especially by those who think of "computation and science" as being entirely about simulation


Publication Details
Network-based elucidation of human disease similarities reveals common functional modules enriched for pluripotent drug targets. PLoS Comput Biol. 2010; (2): e1000662
Current work in elucidating relationships between diseases has largely been based on pre-existing knowledge of disease genes. Consequently, these studies are limited in their discovery of new and unknown disease relationships. We present the first quantitative framework to compare and contrast diseases by an integrated analysis of disease-related mRNA expression data and the human protein interaction network. We identified 4,620 functional modules in the human protein network and provided a quantitative metric to record their responses in 54 diseases leading to 138 significant similarities between diseases. Fourteen of the significant disease correlations also shared common drugs, supporting the hypothesis that similar diseases can be treated by the same drugs, allowing us to make predictions for new uses of existing drugs. Finally, we also identified 59 modules that were dysregulated in at least half of the diseases, representing a common disease-state "signature". These modules were significantly enriched for genes that are known to be drug targets. Interestingly, drugs known to target these genes/proteins are already known to treat significantly more diseases than drugs targeting other genes/proteins, highlighting the importance of these core modules as prime therapeutic opportunities.


Readership: Researchers, academics, and graduates in development economics, China studies, transition economics.
John Knight, Professor of Economics, University of Oxford; and Fellow, St Edmund Hall, Oxford, and Lina Song, Institute of Economics and Statistics, University of Oxford
"invaluable insights into key areas of development" - The Royal Society for Asian Affairs
"This study must be the most comprehensive analysis ever written on the sources and scope of China's urban-rural gap." - David Zweig, The Journal of Asian Studies
"This well-organized study ... Both China specialists and development econonmists will welcome this book for its straightforward, rigorous treatment of a critical contemporary issue." - R.P. Gardella, Choice, Jul/Aug.00.
Part I. Introduction1: Setting the StagePart II. Rural-Urban Comparisons of Income2: The Rural-Urban Income Divide: Macroeconomics3: The Rural-Urban Income Divide: MicroeconomicsPart III. Rural-Urban Comparisons of Welfare4: Eduaction5: Health6: HousingPart IV. The Movement of Factors7: Rural-Urban Transfer of Capital8: Rural-Urban Migration of Labour: Macroeconomics9: Rural-Urban Migration of Labour: MicroeconomicsPart V. Conclusions10: Precis, Policy, and Perspective


November 5, 2012
Taxation of Owner-Occupied and Rental Housing: Working Paper 2012-14 Abstract Larry Ozanne
This paper illustrates how the different tax treatments of owner-occupied and rented houses affect the relative costs of owning and renting. In the examples, a representative landlord computes the rental rate (the ratio of the rent to the value of the house) required to break even on an investment in a house. Potential homeowners compare that market rental rate as a tenant with an implicit rental rate that reflects the cost of owning a home.
The tax advantages tend to make owning more advantageous than renting for higher-income households, but lower-income households can find renting cheaper than owning. The paper also illustrates how limiting or eliminating certain tax advantages would change the cost of owning relative to renting. While the precise comparisons are specific to the conditions detailed in the examples, their general implications are broadly applicable.


GM Holden Environment - Case Studies/Water Holden Engine Operations: HydroShare - real-time water monitoring and reporting Holden Engine Operations has established a long-term collaborative partnership with provider South East Water to refine existing water-saving initiatives and to more effectively monitor, analyse and reduce water consumption at its Port Melbourne facility.
A successful HydroShare program, initiated with South East Water in 2006, is an example of industry and government working together to produce significant environmental benefit.
HydroShare is real time online reporting system that uses water main data loggers to manage and monitor water usage at five minute intervals, where previously water consumption data was available on a monthly basis.
Data is automatically uploaded to a secure website for viewing and analysis by HEO, allowing pinpoint monitoring of plant water consumption. The system is particularly efficient at immediately identifying unaccounted-for water usage - spikes in consumption due to leaks or other causes which can be promptly investigated and rectified.
In the first quarter of 2008, South East Water investigators used acoustic leak detection methods to identify a burst water pipe at the HEO facility. The leak was otherwise undetectable in porous soil beneath thick concrete road paving. Following excavation and pipe repair, the HydroShare system quantified the amount of water that was being lost via the burst pipe. Prompt leak detection and repair represented an annual water saving of 74,935 kilolitres.


[show abstract] [hide abstract]ABSTRACT: This study examined the effectiveness of an assessment and intervention study targeting prekindergarten children at risk for reading failure. Across 38 child care sites, 220 children were identified as "at risk" for reading failure due to their performance on a screening measure of early literacy skills and randomly assigned to receive immediate or delayed intervention. The intervention consisted of eighteen 30-minute lessons delivered twice weekly for 9 weeks and focused on teaching critical emergent literacy skills within small groups. Hierarchical linear models were used to nest children within center and measure treatment and dosage effects for students' residualized gains in rhyming, alliteration, picture naming, and print and letter knowledge skills. Results indicated significant treatment effects on two of four outcome variables (rhyming and alliteration) and significant dosage effects on all four variables. The study demonstrated a significant positive impact of this intervention for prekindergartners at risk for reading failure. Journal of learning disabilities 05/2009; 42(4):336-55. · 1.77 Impact Factor


[show abstract] [hide abstract]ABSTRACT: We studied the efficacy and safety of image-guided balanced orbital decompression for Graves' orbitopathy.The data of 24 patients (45 orbits) were reviewed for demographics, ophthalmologic outcomes, and complications in regard to image-guided (18 orbits) versus non-image-guided surgery (27 orbits).Overall, all patients had a reduction in proptosis (mean reduction, 6.2 mm in proptosis) as measured by Hertel exophthalmometry. There was improvement in the visual acuity of all 12 orbits with preoperative acuity of 20/40 or worse and either complete resolution (38%) or improvement (62%) in the 16 orbits with optic neuropathy. These measures reached statistical significance. Despite subjective improvement in surgeon confidence, the use of image guidance did not result in a statistically significant difference in postoperative ophthalmologic outcomes. Medical and sinonasal complications were experienced by 11.1% and 18.5% of patients who underwent image-guided and non-image-guided orbital decompression, respectively.Image guidance may be a useful adjunct to balanced orbital decompression for Graves' orbitopathy, but it was not associated with a statistically significant improvement in outcomes in this study. The Annals of otology, rhinology, and laryngology 04/2008; 117(3):177-85. · 1.05 Impact Factor


This formula combines the whole adrenal and adrenal cortex with a mixture of herbs that nutritionally supports the adrenal glands. Panax ginseng and Eleutherococcus senticosus, or eleuthero, are used primarily as adaptogens, supporting overall health by a wide range of physical, chemical, and biochemical factors. The ingredients in this formula support the production of certain adrenal hormones and maintain a healthy immune response.
Uses For ADR Formula Adrenal Gland Support: This formulation of adrenal extracts and botanical and nutritional cofactors nutritionally supports the proper functioning of the adrenal glands. This combination contains ingredients that provide complementary support for reducing fatigue, moderating stress, and enhancing resistance.
What Is The Source? This product contains: whole adrenal and adrenal cortex derived from pasture-fed, pesticide-free bovine herds. These glandular extracts are freeze dried and vacuum dried; Panax ginseng extract (root) (standardized to contain 5% total ginsenosides); Eleutherococcus senticosus extract (root) (standardized to contain 0.8% eleutheroside E & B); licorice extract (root) (standardized to contain 12% glycyrrhizic acid); calcium pantothenate (vitamin B5) (synthetic). Vitamin C (ascorbyl palmitate) is derived from corn dextrose fermentation and palm oil.
Serving Size: 1 capsule Servings Per Container: 60
Amount per Serving:
Panax ginseng extract 200 mg. (standardized to contain 5% total ginsenosides) 10 mg.
Eleutherococcus senticosus extract 100 mg. (standardized to contain 0.8% eleutheroside E & B)
licorice 100 mg. (standardized to contain 12% glycyrrhizic acid)
whole adrenal (bovine) 150 mg.
adrenal cortex (bovine) 75 mg.
calcium pantothenate (B5) 100 mg.
vitamin C 15 mg. (as ascorbyl palmitate)
Inactive Ingredients: Vegetable Capsule
Recommended Dosage: 2–4 capsules per day, in divided doses, between meals.
Are There Any Potential Side Effects Or Precautions? If pregnant or lactating, consult your physician before taking this product. Stomach upset and nausea have been reported by sensitive individuals using adrenal extracts. Other reports suggest a general stimulatory effect attributed to adrenal extracts, eleuthero, and Panax ginseng that could result in anxiety, irritability or trouble sleeping. Glycyrrhizin-containing licorice extracts have been associated with increasing blood pressure at several grams per day but not in the amounts provided by this formula. However, eleuthero and Panax ginseng are not recommended for individuals with uncontrolled high blood pressure.
Are There Any Potential Drug Interactions? Some ingredients contained in this formula may adversely interact with Digoxin, Warfarin, Ticlopidine and diuretics.


We performed an empirical study exploring people's interactions with an embodied conversational agent (ECA) while performing two tasks. Conditions varied with respect to 1) whether participants were allowed to choose an agent and its characteristics and 2) the putative quality or appropriateness of the agent for the tasks. For both tasks, selection combined with the illusion of further customization significantly improved participants' overall subjective impressions of the ECAs while putative quality had little or no effect. Additionally, performance data revealed that the ECA's motivation and persuasion effects were significantly enhanced when participants chose agents to use. We found that user expectations about and perceptions of the interaction between themselves and an ECA depended very much on the individual's preconceived notions and preferences of various ECA characteristics and might deviate greatly from the models that ECA designers intend to portray. Au...


On Tuesday, July 31, during a workshop for Veterans Service Organizations, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) emphasized the importance of the Fully Developed Claims (FDC) initiative.
The initiative is designed to encourage veterans and those that assist them with VA disability claims to strive to submit a FDC to help reduce the backlog of disability claims the VA is currently dealing with. According to CBSNews , over 500,000 claims are awaiting decisions, which can take an average of 254 days to reach.
The VA considers a veterans’ disability claim to be fully developed when it includes all available supporting evidence, especially private and federal treatment records. These records can often take the VA up to 175 days to obtain, while the veteran themselves or their veterans’ disability attorney can often gather them much faster.
During the workshop, the VA encouraged Veterans Service Organizations to promote the submission of more FDCs. Currently, only about three percent of the claims filed with the VA are FDCs, which can process in about 110 days.
Veterans Service Organizations have outreach programs across the nation, but one of the best local resources for disabled veterans is still their area veterans’ disability attorneys.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veteran’s disability rights firm today – 1-888-234-5758.


On Tuesday 17 July, in the context of preparations for the budget proposal for the year 2002, the Ministry of Finance reviewed the prospects of the Finnish economy. The economic outlook has weakened further since the assessment this spring.
In the first half of this year, economic growth has fallen off considerably due to downturn in industrial production. Economic development in Finland's most significant export countries is proving weaker than estimated. Thus, the growth estimate for total output for this year has been adjusted down to 2.7 per cent from the previous estimate of 3.7 per cent, and the growth estimate for next year has also been lowered, from 3 per cent to 2.5 per cent.
The need to adjust the estimates is largely due to slower than expected growth of exports. Despite this, however, domestic demand and employment are developing roughly as predicted.
It is estimated that the unemployment rate will fall this year by one percentage point to 9.0 per cent (the previous estimate was 8.9 per cent). In 2002, the unemployment rate is now estimated at 8.8 per cent, compared to the previous estimate of 8.5 per cent.
The inflation rate is expected to slow down to below two per cent in 2002, as estimated this spring.
For further details, please contact: Director General Martti Hetemäki, tel. +358 9 160 3177


As country representatives meet under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to forge a new climate agreement, a major challenge dominates discussions: how can a system be created to assure that countries are held accountable for their commitments and actions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and their obligations to provide technology, finance and capacity building support? This working paper seeks to facilitate progress on this critical component of a successful climate agreement. It aims to help policy-makers, UNFCCC negotiators and civil society groups navigate the complexity of the “MRV” challenge by focusing attention on central questions in advance of the December talks in Copenhagen and presenting country positions to date.
Inquiries Remi Moncel, Senior Associate Permissions All rights reserved. For quotes and references, please refer to suggested citation on the title page of the PDF document. You may reproduce summary information about this report, such as the title, author(s) and summary details, provided you include a link to the publication's landing page where users can download the PDF version and/or other documents. If you wish to use this report in any other manner, please contact us to request permission.


Calcification of the intervertebral disc was mentioned for the first time by von Luschka in 1858 1 and demonstrated in cadavers by x-ray in 1897 by Beneke.2 It was 1922 before Calvé and Galland first described disc calcification in the living subject.3
Since that time, calcification of the lumbar and thoracic discs has often been noted incidentally in older individuals and generally has been ascribed to degenerative changes within the disc. It also has been seen in vitamin D intoxication and in alkaptonuria, apparently unrelated to any symptoms.
In the child, however, especially in the cervical spine, calcification of the disc ordinarily is associated with impressive signs and symptoms. Striking similarity of the natural history, reported complaints, and the physical and roentgenologic findings in cases of cervical disc calcification appears to warrant the consideration of this condition as a specific clinical entity.
The following cases are presented as


Infographic: Importance of feedback in business and its evolution How do we become remarkable at work? We ask questions, we challenge assumptions, and we request feedback to improve! Employee feedback is necessary for both employees to advance their careers and companies to enhance their performance.
Today over 90% of Fortune 500 companies use formal feedback processes; however, we’re shifting into an era where employee empowerment and engagement is crucial to retain talent and the traditional feedback processes are no longer effective. Many of these feedback processes were invented for the military and are top-down driven in nature and happen only once a year.
Moving forward, feedback is being driven by the employee on a continuous real-time basis. Mirroring social networking, employees crave instant feedback to develop their skills and advance their careers. Responding to the market, 7Geese is releasing its employee-driven continuous feedback feature today and we’ve created this infographic to show you how feedback has evolved!
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State of the Nation: Anti-Semitism and the economic crisis State of the Nation: Anti-Semitism and the economic crisis Neil Malhotra and Yotam Margalit The media coverage of the Bernard Madoff scandal made extensive reference to Madoff’s ethnic and religious background and his prominent role in the Jewish community. Because the scandal broke at a time of great public outcry against financial institutions, some, including Brad Greenberg in The Christian Science Monitor and Mark Seal in Vanity Fair , have reported on its potential to generate a wave of anti-Semitism.
This concern makes good sense. In complex situations such as the current financial crisis, where the vast majority of us lack the relevant expertise and information, biases and prejudices may play a significant role in shaping public attitudes. To evaluate just how large a role, we conducted a study (part of a larger survey of 2,768 American adults) in which we explored people’s responses to the economic collapse and tried to determine how anti-Semitic sentiments might relate to the ongoing financial crisis.
This entry was posted on Monday, August 6th, 2012 at 10:16 am and is filed under NEWS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


In an opinion piece for the Telegram & Gazette, Melissa Weiner, assistant professor of sociology at the College of the Holy Cross, argues that increasing funding for low income schools is not easy, but essential. In a recent report released by the Equity and Excellence Commission, solicited by the U.S. Department of Education, a group of 27 educational experts, economists, and civil rights leaders, write that there is a dire need to address the current educational system’s unequal distribution of opportunity, including funding inequities.
She writes, “Money translates into tangible resources that make a real difference. It means more qualified and experienced teachers, laboratory equipment, attractive school grounds, heat and air conditioning, buildings without asbestos, rats, and lead.”
This “Holy Cross in the News” item by Cristal Steuer.


Full Article, submitted by Bridget Scanlon
In her article, Mallory Woodrow provides a “down and dirty” approach to integrating social media on a company website. While some of these tips (i.e. including visible social media buttons, allowing sharing/liking, and using analytics) seem like no brainers, many companies are not even taking these steps, including me! Upon doing a review of my own website, these simple tips are not properly implemented AT ALL!! For example, the placement of the social media buttons that we use, is first on my list to address and relocate. I’ll also be looking into placing smaller buttons on each page of the website.
Additionally, Woodrow suggests using other tools, AddThis and ShareThis, to allow web visitors to share information from a website. Implementing these tools seems both easy and essential to spreading the value of information and activities at no cost to the organization. In my Association, like many other organizations, knowledge is power. Therefore, if we can use a current member, consumer or potential consumer to spread our message or lend credence to our value proposition, at no cost, it is truly a no brainer!
Finally, the ability to produce tangible support for implementing social media or any other strategic tools will always be beneficial. Woodrow suggests a tool, SproutSocial, which integrates google analytics with social media traffic to demonstrate any relationships and hopefully success!
I think that these 9 tips provide a nice starting point for any organization looking to truly integrate their website and social media as part of a larger plan.


Summary:
"Am I my genes? shows how real individuals have confronted these issues in their daily lives. Robert L. Klitzman interviewed 64 people who faced Huntington's disease, breast and ovarian cancer, or Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. The book describes--often in the person's own words--how each has wrestled with the vast implications that genetics has for their lives and their families. Klitzman shows how these men and women struggle to make sense of their predicament and its causes. They confront a series of quandaries--whether to be tested; whether to disclose their genetic risks to parents, siblings, spouses, offspring, friends, doctors, insurers, employers, and schools; how to view and understand themselves and their genetics; what treatments, if any, to pursue; whether to have children, adopt, screen embryos, or abort; and whether to participate in genetic communities. In the face of these uncertainties, they have tried to understand these tests and probabilities, avoid fatalism, anxiety, despair, and discrimination, and find hope, meaning, and a sense of wholeness. Forced to wander through a wilderness of shifting sands, they chart paths that many others may eventually follow." --Publisher description.


While cats tend to live longer than dogs, our feline friends typically receive far less veterinary care. Cats also are a lot better at hiding symptoms, leading to bigger bills when they finally get a thorough examination. Getting cats to do anything other than eat, sleep and play can require a Herculean effort. The idea of placing cats in a carrier and driving across town seems impossible.
But it can be done.
While Victoria Stilwell’s TV show, “It’s Me Or the Dog,” typically focuses on wayward pooches and their people, she has joined forces with Banfield Pet Hospital clinics to launch an “inFurvention” campaign focused on getting more cats face time with their vets…
HERE


On February 29, 2012, Bill S-8, Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act, was introduced in the Senate.
While the spirit of the proposed legislation is the same as former Bill S-11, which died on the Order Paper when Parliament was dissolved March 26, 2011, the Government has incorporated significant changes to the current bill based on feedback received from First Nations, Senators and Members of Parliament.
This enabling legislation is a vital step towards ensuring First Nations have the same health and safety protections for drinking water as other Canadians.
Subject to the proposed legislation receiving Royal Assent, this bill will allow the Government to develop, in partnership with First Nations, enforceable federal regulations to ensure access to safe, clean and reliable drinking water; the effective treatment of wastewater; and the protection of sources of water on First Nation lands.
On June 18, 2012, after due consideration, the bill was passed by the Senate without amendment and received first reading in the House of Commons June 19, 2012. Second reading debate began November 1, 2012 in the House of Commons. The bill is currently awaiting further second reading debate.
Learn more about the Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act by consulting the following reference documents:
Should you have any questions or comments on the Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act, please contact us for more information.


On the cover: Cytokine receptors instigate intracellular signaling by activation of Janus kinases (Jaks) that are constitutively associated with the receptor intracellular domains. Despite the central role of Jaks in a plethora of signaling events, their overall structure has remained elusive. In this issue, Lupardus et al. (pp. 45–55) apply single-particle electron microscopy to visualize the architecture of Jak1 alone and in association with a full-length gp130 receptor homodimer complexed to interleukin-6 and its alpha receptor. The cover illustrates that free Jak is characterized by high flexibility, thereby assuming extended and compact conformations amongst its four main modules (green, FERM domain; blue, SH2 domain; yellow, pseudokinase domain; orange, kinase domain). This intersegmental flexibility is a feature that likely facilitates allosteric activation.


Fractures Stress Fractures Stress fractures are not uncommon and may occur after simple walking without any apparent injury. Metatarsal stress fractures can occur at any age and often cause the foot to swell and hurt with any weight placed on it.Patients often go to an emergency room and are told nothing is wrong as the initial x-rays are often negative, not showing evidence of the fracture. Prompt treatment is helpful to avoid metatarsal deformities. Follow-up x-rays a few weeks later will typically show the fracture.


Grape has long been known for its health bestowing properties. It is a unique fruit which can easily qualify as a super food. It is a rich in phyto-nutrients which act as a powerful anti-oxidant. Grape is also rich in a variety of vitamins such as A and C. It contains a good quantity of poly phenols which are known to be effective in reducing bad fats (Low density lipoproteins) in the body.
At the Kenilworth Resort & Spa, the unique grape therapy is offered on special occasions where in there is a package of spa services that fully utilizes the beneficial qualities of the grape fruit.


Marco Ottaviani (Dipartimento di Economia) ha pubblicato Competition through Commissions and Kickbacks su American Economic Review , Volume 102, No. 2, April 2012, pag. 780-809, doi: 10.1257/aer.102.2.780, con Roman Inderst (Goethe Universität Frankfurt).Abstract : In markets for retail financial products and health services, consumers often rely on the advice of intermediaries to decide which specialized offering best fits their needs. Product providers, in turn, compete to influence the intermediaries' advice through hidden kickbacks or disclosed commissions. Motivated by the controversial role of these widespread practices, we formulate a model to analyze competition through commissions from a positive and normative standpoint. The model highlights the role of commissions in making the advisor responsive to supply-side incentives. We characterize situations when commonly adopted policies such as mandatory disclosure and caps on commissions have unintended welfare consequences.


Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital have shown that combining distal protection devices with the prophylactic use of the drug nicardipine is more effective at preventing life-threatening complications following a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (angioplasty, stenting) on patients who have undergone previous bypass surgery than distal protection devices alone.
Their findings will be presented on Tuesday, October 23rd, at 8 a.m. at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) conference, at the Miami Beach Convention Center by Michael P. Savage, MD, Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab at Jefferson.
Angioplasty or stenting on bypass vessels, called saphenous vein grafts, is associated with a high risk of complications due to distal embolization, the dislodging of plaque and clots downstream, impairing blood flow and leaving patients at-risk for a heart attack.
Distal protection devices are commonly used to prevent blockages by catching the dislodged plaque and clot in a basket-like device, allowing blood to filter through the bypassed artery. Still, complications remain in up to 10 percent of patients. Preliminary studies have suggested that prophylactic doses of the drug nicardipine, a common intracoronary vasodilator, can also help in this regard, but never have the two techniques been combined.
Savage and colleagues looked at clinical outcomes at 30 days post-PCI in 163 consecutive patients with prior bypass surgery. Group I consisted of 60 patients who underwent PCI using a distal protection device alone (no pre-treatment with nicardipine); Group II included 103 patients who underwent PCI with a distal protection device and pre-treatment with prophylactic nicardipine.


Astaneh-Asl said that steel flanges "had been reduced from an inch thick to paper thin." [3] At a recycling center in New Jersey, he saw 10-ton steel beams from the towers that "looked like giant sticks of twisted licorice." [4] He showed the San Francisco Chroniclea "banana-shaped, rust-colored piece of steel" that had somehow "twisted like toffee during the terrorist attack." [5]He noted the way steel from the WTC had bent at several connection points that had joined the floors to the vertical columns. He described the connections as being smoothly warped, saying, "If you remember the Salvador Dali paintings with the clocks that are kind of melted--it's kind of like that." He added, "That could only happen if you get steel yellow hot or white hot--perhaps around 2,000 degrees." [6] In an interview in 2007, Astaneh-Asl recalled, "I saw melting of girders in [the] World Trade Center." [7] He found a foot-long twisted shard of steel that was "like a piece of bread, but it was high-strength steel." He commented, "I haven't seen anything like this [before]." [8] He came across "severely scorched [steel] members from 40 or so floors below the points of impact [by the planes]." [9] The fireproofing that had been used to protect the WTC steel also showed evidence of extreme conditions. In some places it had "melted into a glassy residue." [10] Astaneh-Asl saw a charred I-beam from WTC Building 7--a 47-story skyscraper that collapsed late in the afternoon of 9/11, even though no plane hit it. "The beam, so named because its cross-section looks like a capital I, had clearly endured searing temperatures. Parts of the flat top of the I, once five-eighths of an inch thick, had vaporized." [11] These observations indicate that the World Trade Center steel was subjected to very high temperatures. Yet, while postulating that the towers collapsed due to fire (and without the use of explosives), even Thomas Eagar--an engineering professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology--admitted, "The temperature of the fire at the WTC was not unusual, and it was most definitely not capable of melting steel." [12] One must conclude that the phenomena observed by Astaneh-Asl are therefore highly suspicious. ...
Engineer Sees Evidence of Extreme Temperatures in WTC Steel 1 | 2


Näytä suppeat kuvailutiedot
dc.contributor.author Gürsoy, Mervi dc.date.accessioned 2012-12-01T19:59:42Z dc.date.available 2012-12-01T19:59:42Z dc.date.issued 2012-12-07 dc.identifier ISBN 978-951-29-5241-0 - dc.identifier.uri http://www.doria.fi/handle/10024/86313 dc.description.abstract The mechanisms leading to an enhanced susceptibility to gingivitis in pregnant women have
not yet been completely described. Therefore, the current study series were performed to
investigate longitudinally the influence of pregnancy on periodontal tissues, and to evaluate
microbial and host response factors related to pregnancy gingivitis formation.
Pregnancy-related periodontal changes were analysed in 30 generally healthy women (24-
35 years old) once per trimester, till the end of lactation. Matched non-pregnant women
(n=24) served as the controls, and were examined three times, once per following month.
Pregnancy-related gingival inflammation was observed as enhanced tendency towards
gingival bleeding and pseudopocket formation with a concomitant decrease in plaque
levels. Gingivitis reached its peak during mid-pregnancy and then decreased transiently
visit by visit. After lactation, no differences in periodontal status were seen between the
study and control populations.
In contrast to previous studies reporting increased levels of Prevotella intermedia, a specific
aim was to analyse phenotypically two identical species, P. intermedia and Prevotella
nigrescens, separately using a 16S ribosomal DNA-based PCR. As a result, the increased
levels of P. nigrescens were related to pregnancy gingivitis.
Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are involved in periodontal destruction. However,
their role in pregnancy gingivitis is not well studied. Therefore, neutrophilic enzymes and
proteinases, such as MMP and myeloperoxidase (MPO) levels were analysed from saliva
and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) samples during the follow-up. Despite increased
inflammation and microbial shift towards anaerobes, the host response did not activate the
MMP, elastase and MPO secretion during pregnancy.
These results demonstrate that during pregnancy gingival inflammation is enhanced
especially during the second trimester, when P. nigrescens levels in subgingival plaque were
increased, whereas the neutrophilic enzymes and proteinase levels in both saliva and GCF
remained low. These findings could explain, at least in part, why pregnancy gingivitis itself
does not predispose or proceed to periodontitis. - dc.language.iso en - dc.publisher Annales Universitatis Turkuensis D 1047 - dc.title Pregnancy and periodontium. A clinical, microbiological, and enzymological approach via a longitudinal study - dc.type.ontasot Doctoral thesis (article-based) dc.identifier.urn URN:ISBN:978-951-29-5241-0
Viite kuuluu kokoelmiin: Näytä suppeat kuvailutiedot


Opium cultivation rises in Afghanistan despite major eradication push – UN report 20 November 2012 – Despite significant eradication efforts, high opium prices led to an increase in poppy cultivation in Afghanistan this year, a joint report released today by the Government and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has found.
Cultivation was 18 per cent higher this year than it was last year, covering 154,000 hectares, according to the 2012 Afghanistan Opium Survey. However, since plant diseases and bad weather had damaged crops, potential opium production fell 36 per cent over the same period from 5,800 to 3,700 tons.
The increase in cultivation occurred in spite of a major push by the Government to promote eradication efforts, UNODC noted in a news release. The number of poppy-free provinces remains unchanged at 17, but Ghor province in the west lost that status in 2012 while Faryab province in the north regained it.
“High opium prices were a main factor that led to the increase in opium cultivation,” said UNODC’s Executive Director, Yury Fedotov.
The agency noted that, in 2012, farm-gate prices for opium remained at a relatively high level at $196 per kilogramme, which continues to provide a strong incentive for farmers to start or resume poppy cultivation in the coming season.
Mr. Fedotov called for a sustained effort by the Afghan Government and international stakeholders to address illicit cultivation with “a balanced approach of development and law enforcement measures.”
The Survey highlights a link between insecurity and opium cultivation, noting that this year saw 95 per cent of cultivation concentrated in the southern and western provinces where insecurity and organized crime are present. Seventy-two per cent of cultivation was in Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan, Day Kundi and Zabul provinces in the south, and 23 per cent in Farah, Herat, and Nimroz provinces to the west.
In the east, cultivation rose significantly in the provinces of Kunar, where it was up 121 per cent; Kapisa, where it climbed 60 per cent; and Laghman, where it rose 41 per cent. However, the eastern provinces contributed only four per cent to the national total of opium production in 2012, the Survey pointed out.
Opium cultivation rose by 10 per cent in the northern province of Baghlan despite the eradication of 252 hectares in 2012. Badakhshan was the only north-eastern province to see cultivation rise – up 13 per cent – in spite of a sizeable eradication of 1,700 hectares. Kabul, the central region’s only poppy-growing province, saw cultivation decrease by 45 per cent.
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A remaining challenge for the human genome project involves the identification and annotation of expressed genes. The public and private sequencing efforts have identified approximately 15,000 sequences that meet stringent criteria for genes, such as correspondence with known genes from humans or other species, and have made another approximately 10,000-20,000 gene predictions of lower confidence, supported by various types of in silico evidence, including homology studies, domain searches, and ab initio gene predictions. These computational methods have limitations, both because they are unable to identify a significant fraction of genes and exons and because they are unable to provide definitive evidence about whether a hypothetical gene is actually expressed. As the in silico approaches identified a smaller number of genes than anticipated, we wondered whether high-throughput experimental analyses could be used to provide evidence for the expression of hypothetical genes and to reveal previously undiscovered genes. We describe here the development of such a method--called long serial analysis of gene expression (LongSAGE), an adaption of the original SAGE approach--that can be used to rapidly identify novel genes and exons.