Tesla’s vehicle sales have picked back up in China last March following a slow February. The electric automaker’s registrations of its most affordable sedan, the Model 3, spiked 450% in March compared to the prior month, according to LMC Automotive, a United Kingdom-based research company.
According to LMC, Tesla’s registration numbers rose to 12,709 in March. This figure stands in stark contrast to February, where only 2,314 Teslas were registered in China. The spike in numbers could be due to the Chinese government’s lift on COVID-19 quarantine measures. China was, for a considerable amount of time, the leader in reported cases of the coronavirus.
However, Wuhan, widely considered as the epicenter of the outbreak, has reopened for business, along with many other Chinese populated cities. Tesla’s store in Wuhan reopened on March 30 after a two-month closure.
Although Tesla stores and public facilities were closed for an extended period following the outbreak of the virus, the company took extensive measures to continue offering top-quality customer service to those who were interested in purchasing an electric vehicle.
After implementing a series of measures like home deliveries, unlimited Supercharging, and webcam-based customer service to make life easier for those affected by the virus in China, Tesla has rebounded from a slow start of the year.
On the contrary, the automotive industry sank 43.4% in March as a whole in China as the pandemic continues to affect many industries across the globe,
Reuters reported. Tesla’s approach in assisting customers amidst the chaos may have contributed to the company’s growth despite the general slowdown in the economy.
China has fully embraced the growing electric vehicle market. Recently, government officials announced the country would be extending subsidies for “new energy vehicles,” which are classified as any vehicle with plug-in capabilities to receive power. The subsidies are valid for another two years and were announced alongside a new plan to limit the amount of diesel emissions from trucks within large cities.
This move could entice consumers who are in the market to buy a new vehicle to purchase sustainable forms of transportation. As Tesla begins to roll out more configurations of its Model 3 in China, the car should start appealing to a bigger audience. The Model 3’s Long Range variant, which offers a WLTP-estimated 404 miles of range, for example, could appeal to families who love road trips.
It is evident that Giga Shanghai’s increased production rates, alongside the demand for EVs in the country, undoubtedly helped Tesla achieve its deliveries for the first quarter of 2020. Despite China’s automotive market seemingly falling as a whole, Tesla’s performance is spelling opposite trends as the company continues to grow in the largest car market in the world.


By Taylor Hoogsteden
During my sophomore spring of college, I experienced some health issues. As a result, I spent a lot of time visiting doctors, and was physically unable to partake in many social events. However, the one thing that kept my mind off of how bad I felt was my classwork. So, that’s what I did, in full force. Thus, while my sophomore spring was, admittedly, a challenging semester, it did serve as a friendly GPA booster, and I was thankful for this one silver lining amid an otherwise difficult time.
I have been reflecting on my sophomore spring a lot recently, as it taught me two valuable lessons: how to find silver linings during uncertain times, and how, sometimes, a loss can result in a gain. I have applied these lessons to numerous situations I have encountered since my sophomore spring, including the situation we now face. I would like to note that—as the coronavirus outbreak has resulted in immense suffering, economic setback, and global anxiety—I do not believe any silver linings from the outbreak can even come close to compensating for the devastation that has occurred. However, I do believe that, moving forward, it is important to remember that not everything in the world is bad right now. As such, I encourage you to keep an eye out for silver linings where possible, and to hold onto any ones you might find.
So here’s to the good in the world, what little of it there may be; may it last, and may it grow.
Instagram:
@tayloravas


Gila Trout Oncorhynchus gilae, and Apache Trout Oncorhynchus apache are critically threatened species that can be found in various streams of the Southwest. The general public is often unaware that these species exist due to many factors including a dissociation of fish and desert environments and limited availability of high quality underwater and surface footage of Arizona streams. Surface and underwater videography was utilized to create an educational video on Gila and Apache trout from Mount Graham streams to be displayed at a Coronado National Forest visitor center and other locations. We captured high definition quality footage with low cost equipment with the intention of enabling natural resource managers to produce similar conservation videos easily in the future. To evaluate what aspects make a conservation video most effective, the footage was shown in a public space. By analyzing which images people viewed the most, we were able to understand how we might produce more engaging presentations. Macro images, contrasting colors, texture, and movement held audience attention the longest. These results allowed us to draw conclusions about which factors and characteristics of the film contributed to optimal audience engagement. Well-designed videos will better acquaint people with species that are not commonly seen, thus aiding in their conservation. Videos were produced for display for the U.S. Forest Service, Coronado District.


Highlighting the Magnitude of Work Motivation and Teamwork in Developing and Exploiting Human Capital: An Autoethnographic Study
Doshi, Rahul (2010)
Abstract
This research aims to emphasize the need and importance of work motivation and teamwork in the management and development of human capital. Employees form the backbone of companies and motivating them rightly can ensure success for any organization. In this research, I look to explore these boundaries by reflecting on some past incidents specifically on motivation and teamwork. By using autoethnography as a source of data collection, I am better able to relate and identify the need for personalized motivation. The findings prove to contradict as well as complement the literature review, inevitably contributing to the need for managers to understand the significance of motivating their staff.
Actions (Archive Staff Only)


Regional ministers seek ways to facilitate ASEAN trade
Thursday, 2020-06-04 17:41:03
NDO/VNA - Economic ministers from ASEAN member nations convened an online meeting on June 4 to implement instructions from ASEAN leaders made at the Special ASEAN Summit on COVID-19 on April 14.
Tran Tuan Anh, Minister of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, which holds the ASEAN Chairmanship 2020, chaired the meeting.
The ministers approved the Hanoi Action Plan, which aims to enhance economic cooperation within the bloc and connect supply chains amid the changing circumstances in the region caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The action plan was built on the basis of a joint statement from ASEAN economic ministers, which was proposed by Vietnam and adopted at the ASEAN Economic Ministers Retreat in March.
It includes concrete measures to reboot ASEAN’s economy, such as maintaining commitments to market opening to ensure food security and enhancing the capacity for recovery and sustainability in regional supply chains.
Apart from avoiding new and unnecessary non-tariff measures, the bloc will also build a platform to facilitate regional trade and promote and support supply chain connectivity.
It will also optimise technologies and digital commerce to assist enterprises, especially micro-small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
The approval of the action plan demonstrates the role of the ASEAN Community in responding and adapting to COVID-19 as well as Vietnam’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2020.
The ministers also looked into joint statements issued by business advisory councils, including the ASEAN Business Advisory Council.


Our team is well-versed in delivering complex laboratories that require a strong attention to detail, high technical knowledge and intricate programming. We are capable of providing laboratories under Design & Construct, Minor Works, Construct Only and Construction Management contracts. We have delivered works across the Education and Health sectors for educational, research and medical purposes.
General works consist of the demolition of an existing teaching/laboratory space, including the removal of all services, followed by refurbishment and/or fitout. This often includes the installation of new equipment, services, mechanical works, and life safety systems that comply with the laboratory’s specifications.
We have delivered Physical Containment (PC) Certified laboratories as well as ISO Clean laboratories, which require ISO clean rooms and extreme care during the construction process. Over the years we have also delivered Dry Electronics, Wet Chemical, Electrochemical, Functional Coating Corrosion Science, Cell Culture Research, IVF Clinic, Chemistry and Physics Laboratories.
We have completed laboratory upgrades and refurbishments at the following institutions;
RMIT University; La Trobe University; University of Melbourne; Victoria University; Southern Cross University; University of Wollongong; University of Newcastle; University of Sydney; Macquarie University; University of Technology Sydney; University of New South Wales (UNSW); St Vincent’s Hospital; Reckitt Benckiser; Westmead Dental Hospital; IVF Auchenflower and; HCF Dental Centre.
Notably, we have completed over 20 highly complex PC1, PC2, ISO5, ISO6, ISO7 and ISO8 laboratories at UNSW (regarded as one of Australia’s leading research universities) in the past 10 years. We have also completed laboratories in the Medical Centre at UNSW, including a Tissue Culture Lab which is currently under construction.
Our team understands the sensitivities required when operating within live environments, ensuring the project does not compromise any ongoing experiments in surrounding labs. Our vast expertise in delivering laboratories gives our team the ability to effectively manage challenges that arise throughout the construction process, including long lead times on lab equipment. An important aspect of a laboratory project that is often overlooked until it is too late is the commissioning stage. This is why we assign a dedicated team to proactively manage all required commissioning through the use of a Commissioning Management Plan. This plan is submitted to all stakeholders on the first day of the project and discussed at each PCG to ensure all requirements are captured well in advance.


In 2016, definitions of sepsis and septic shock were updated to focus on organ dysfunction rather than systemic inflammatory response as the identifying trait.
This article aims to compare and evaluate the effectiveness of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) in detecting sepsis in emergency department (ED) patients. A systematic search of the literature was undertaken using four databases. A total of 307 articles was identified. After the selection process, 13 articles met the inclusion criteria for the review.
Five themes emerged from the meta-analysis: SIRS; qSOFA; timeliness and simplicity; sensitivity versus specificity; and adding lacate. SIRS offered users greater sensitivity when assessing for sepsis. However, qSOFA is a simple bedside tool with greater specificity, which does not require any blood test results. The author created a new qSOFA screening tool, which incorporated the use of point-of-care serum lactate measurement. He found that qSOFA outperforms SIRS as an ED sepsis screening tool with its strengths of efficacy, efficiency and ease. It was also found to differentiate better between uncomplicated infection and sepsis, which can commonly cause trigger fatigue in EDs.
Emergency Nurse.
doi: 10.7748/en.2019.e1939
This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and has been checked for plagiarism using automated software
None declared
Feist B (2019) Screening for sepsis: SIRS or qSOFA? A literature review. Emergency Nurse. doi: 10.7748/en.2019.e1939
Published online: 15 October 2019
Alternatively, you can purchase access to this article for the next seven days. Buy now


Many of the following sources are publicly available to anyone. Some are from a list at Princeton University Library, which maintains a comprehensive annotated list of data available to its students and faculty.
Ask yourself - Who has to compile this information? Who needs this information?
Then consider the time-frame and the geography needed.
The U.S. government, or state governments and universities (public and private) conduct research. Many times, the raw data from this research is available (but not always). It
typically would be free, but there are exceptions.
Organizations and companies also conduct research. This
typically would be a charge, but there are exceptions.
Note that there is likely a delay in accessing data after it is compiled. From a private publisher, it could be due to an "embargo" (paying clients get exclusive access for a time period). From a government agency, it could be due to the extensive number-crunching, or to staffing levels.
TIPS:
Contact regional offices of federal agencies.
Contact state headquarters offices of Georgia (or other state) agencies


Commercial Real Estate Law in Georgia
In Chatham County, Georgia, "commercial real estate" is any type of land or building which is used for a business, as opposed to residential, purpose.
Commercial real estate in Chatham County, Georgia is regulated by laws which differ significantly from state and local laws that apply to residential real estate.
People who buy and rent residential unites have a greater deal of legal protections not available to buyers of commercial property.
These include implied warranties of habitability, rent control, and covenants of use and quiet enjoyment, among many others. Of course, the most basic protections, such as prohibiting the seller from actively concealing defects, apply to both.
Common Commercial Real Estate Law Issues in Chatham County, Georgia
Financing: Some small businesses in Chatham County, Georgia find it necessary, at some point, to purchase a piece of real estate, for various reasons. However, most owners of small to medium-sized businesses can't afford to make a real estate purchase up front, with the cash they have on hand. Simply put, very few people have hundreds of thousands of dollars just sitting in the bank. One solution to this is a mortgage, which is similar to most other types of secured loans: a bank lends you money, and you put up some piece of property as collateral, so the bank has some security in the event of default. With a mortgage, however, the property being purchased with the loan also secures the loan, allowing the bank to foreclose on it in case the buyer defaults.
Concealment of Defects: Sellers and lessors of commercial real estate are under a duty to disclose any defects in the property which might impact the buyer's decision to purchase it, such as water damage, mold, or other structural problems. These defects are quite common, and the buyer has a right to know about them. If the seller doesn't disclose these defects, where they exist, the buyer can sue for any harm this causes.
Duty to Inspect: While buyers of real estate have some significant protections with respect to defects, they also have some obligations. Before finalizing a purchase, buyers are expected to undertake a reasonable inspection of the property, usually by using a licensed building inspector. If the buyer fails to conduct an inspection, they usually won't be able to successfully sue, if defects are discovered after the purchase.
Encumbrances: Encumbrances are defects of a different type: rather than physical defects, they are defects of title. In Chatham County, Georgia, an encumbrance is an interest in a piece of real estate held by a third party, such as covenants or easements. An easement is a right held by someone to use the property of someone else for a certain purpose. For example, a person might have an easement on the land of another person, allowing them to cross the land to access a public road.
Can a Chatham County, Georgia Attorney Help?
These issues are sometimes complex, and almost always very important. Therefore, it's essential to seek the assistance of a Chatham County, Georgia real estate attorney if you have any dealings in this area.


Identification of a Novel Virulence Factor in Campylobacter jejuni: Characterization, Pathogenesis and Immunity of Cj1534c AuthorTheoret, James Issue Date2009 Committee ChairJoens, Lynn A.
MetadataShow full item record PublisherThe University of Arizona. RightsCopyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. AbstractInfection with Campylobacter jejuni is one of the leading causes of bacterial gastroenteritis, causing an estimated 2.1 million cases annually. Although infections with C. jejuni resolve naturally, over 13,000 hospitalizations and 100 deaths are attributed to this organism. Despite these alarming numbers, relatively little is known about C. jejuni pathogenesis, when compared to other enteric pathogens. This dissertation outlines the identification and characterization of a novel virulence factor in C. jejuni, the protein expressed by the Cj1534c gene. Using microarray and RT real time PCR, Cj1534c was found to be greater than 10 fold over expressed in both swine and poultry. Employing immunoelectron microscopy, we determined that at least a subset of the protein is surface localized. Based on the surface localization and up regulation in poultry, colonization studies were performed. Results demonstrate a significant reduction in colonization by a Cj1534c deficient mutant as compared to wild type. In vitro binding assays using both biotic and abiotic surfaces indicate this protein is involved with attachment to surfaces, as well as the invasion of cultured epithelial cells. In vitro findings were confirmed in vivo using swine, with the Cj1534c mutant being highly attenuated as compared to wild type strains. Additionally, the Cj1534c protein was tested for its potential as a vaccine in poultry. Studies demonstrated that Cj1534c recombinantly expressed in a Salmonella expression vector partially protected chickens, reducing cecal colonization three logs as compared to wild type. Taken together, this data demonstrates a major role of Cj1534c in both chicken cecal colonization and infection of swine. Typetext
Electronic Dissertation
Degree NamePh.D. Degree Leveldoctoral Degree ProgramMicrobiology
Graduate College


New York City is participating in a pilot program for a unique, zero-waste initiative. Loop, a new platform from a coalition of major consumer product companies, is hoping to reduce waste and dispose of disposable packaging. Your favorite brands of over 300 products—from ice cream to shampoo—will soon be available in reusable containers.
Instead of tossing your empty, stainless steel Häagen-Dazs container into the trash, you’ll toss it into your personal reuse bin. It will then be picked up and delivered to a sterilization and renewal facility so it can be refilled and sold to someone else. Each product’s reusable container has been designed to be used 100 or more times.
Companies like PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, Unilever, and more are behind Loop and eager to reduce their impact on the plastic waste crisis.


Identity and Access Governance is a niche technology that has gained strong grounds. Owing to the regulatory environment, many businesses are required to set up right checks for their employee’s usage of corporate data. This is in addition to attending to operational maintenance, administration IAM Technology and technical contingencies that require the attention of Administrative IT. IdM is a highly specialized domain, IT departments’ stakeholders are often stuck at a dead-end due to technical deficiencies in IdM setup. This impacts monitoring and maintaining overall technical / IT infrastructure.
Avancer’s IAM Consulting Services helps organizations in designing, implementation, deployment, and maintenance of an integrated identity management system setup. Since such systems are highly customized depending on business requirements, we help organizations in getting standardized access management across platforms for users, devices, applications, and business processes. We also extend requisite support to establish physical security points through Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) that includes biometric, smart-card and badge readers. We collaborate with enterprises to address the need to monitor operational changes on an on-going basis to pave way for smooth functioning of business processes.
In terms of Support Services, businesses can collaborate with Avancer in following ways:
Setup a comprehensive portfolio of strategically established solutions in Identity and Access Governance space.
Establish a structured protocol-driven approach that ties with an organization’s identity management life-cycle from user onboarding to exit.
An efficient, cost-effective and optimized identity management processes that fall in line with existing government and industry regulations.


Posted by Allie Wright
The British Dental Association (BDA) has stated that there are a wide range of challenges facing those dental professionals operating in Scotland.
It was noted by the body that the release of two reports published by the NHS Information Centre highlight some of the issues facing the industry north of the border.
Dr Robert Donald, the chair of the BDA’s Scottish Dental Practice Committee, described the current circumstances for dentists in Scotland as “challenging”.
He said: “Recent years have seen a number of constructive initiatives, including Childsmile and the General Dental Practice Allowance, that the profession feels are making a positive difference in the fight against the oral health inequalities.”
It was noted by Dr Donald that while dentists recognise the pressures facing the public purse at the present time, oral health is something that must be invested in over time.
Dr Donald took the BDA role after its previous incumbent Dr Robert Kinloch was elected to the BDA’s new Principal Executive Committee.


The second bug, meanwhile, led police to, in some instances, associate a device with the wrong cellphone tower. As a result, they may have linked innocent people to crime scenes.
Following an audit, authorities determined they will need to review 10,700 court cases dating back to 2012. The review will start with cases that are already before the country's courts, in addition to ones where individuals are serving prison sentences. The country has also ordered that cell location data not be allowed as evidence in any criminal cases for two months while it continues to investigate the issue.
At the moment, it's unclear whether the situation in Denmark will force justice systems in other countries to reevaluate how they use cellphone data to try criminal cases. Unless they licensed their tools from a third-party, the bugs Danish Police discovered were likely limited to their system. That said, it may add fuel to ongoing discussions on how authorities use cellphone data to pursue criminal cases in other parts of the world. In the US, for instance, police use of IMSI catchers — devices that mimic a cellphone tower, thereby allowing authorities to collect a wealth of sensitive data — has been a controversial topic over the past few years.


Divorce can be a grueling experience for both spouses. When children are involved, the stakes are even higher. But, often, the system seems to be stacked against divorcing fathers.
While divorce often leads to a better quality of life and a brighter future, many courts favor moms over dads regarding child custody and parenting time. Working with a family law attorney focused on fathers’ rights can help you prepare for the road ahead.
Most common obstacles for divorced dads
While many states have taken a more balanced approach to custody and co-parenting, gender bias remains strong in the Nebraska court system. That often leads to challenges in these areas:
Family court system:Men are often relegated as the traditional “breadwinner,” while women are seen as the primary or custodial parent. While some fathers quit their jobs to care for their kids, many divorced dads feel shame asking for alimony and child support. Flawed child support system:Since fathers are less likely to gain sole custody of their children, they are more likely to be ordered to pay child support. While the goal is to provide an adequate level of care for their child, the system can be especially harsh on low-income fathers. Increased health risks:Divorce is one of the most stressful experiences for any person. Research shows men’s mortality rates increase after divorce and they are more at risk for developing high blood pressure, depression, heart disease, cancer, substance abuse and suicide. Lack of emotional support:Men are less likely to seek much-needed mental help from friends or family members after divorce, and researchers say that translates into having more difficulty recovering. Many times, couples shared the same social circle, and those friendships go away. Acknowledge the challenges
Perhaps the most critical takeaway for dads is recognizing that these adversities exist and to take pro-active measures to keep them from getting a foothold in their future. Working with a lawyer who understands a father’s rights when it comes to divorce, custody and support issues can be a crucial step in setting a positive foundation for your new life.


HICC: Humoral Immune Correlates for COVID19 HICC: Humoral Immune Correlates for COVID-19 Defining protective responses and critical readouts for clinical trials of vaccines and therapeutics
SARS-CoV-2 is an emerging virus with very high infectivity, responsible for the ongoing global pandemic of COVID-19. To maximise our success in protecting people against this disease, we work to understand and develop highly accurate tests to identify when a person has developed a protective immune response versus a COVID-19 disease response.
This is critical for guiding clinic and public health decisions and developing safe, effective vaccines.


Only by the blood of Jesus can we receive God's forgiveness through His redemptive plan. God is love and He loves us. However, He did not die for us simply because He loves us, but because He needed to in order to forgive us. Just because God loves everyone does not mean that all have received the forgiveness that God has provided. Forgiveness only comes when we accept God's full payment for sin. Until we accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour we will not experience God's forgiveness and be reconciled to Him. This is the key to our freedom.
In the garden Satan came in the form of a serpent to Adam and Eve convincing them that God was holding out on them. This lie caused them to sin as they disobeyed God and obeyed the serpent by eating the fruit from the forbidden tree. Their intimate relationship with God was destroyed. They immediately hid and separated themselves from the presence of God because now they were naked and afraid of Him. God asked them where they were, wanting them to realize what they had done. God was holding them responsible for their actions. Many people today are afraid of God because they have sinned by listening to the voice of Lucifer.
God in His holiness killed two animals in front of Adam and Eve. He wanted them to see each animal die and its blood poured out for them to let them know that this was the requirement for sin. He then made coats for them before putting them out of the garden. He showed them by the shedding of blood that only He can deal with and take away sin. They were responsible for the animal that was sacrificed for their sin. They needed to remember that it was an animal's blood that was poured out to cover their sin. Genesis 4:1-5 tells us that in the course of time that Abel brought a firstborn lamb as an offering to the Lord and He accepted it. However, Cain's offering of wheat, which was the work of his hands, God did not accept. This reveals that man cannot be forgiven by works.
God has always had a plan of redemption from the very beginning, even from the foundations of the world (Ephesians 1:4). In the Spirit, the Lamb was already slain before Adam sinned. The enemy thought He destroyed God's plan for mankind, but he did not. As Hebrew 10:4-5 says, Christ came into the world because it was not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin. It only covered the sin. God gave Himself (Jesus) a body to offer for sin because He was the perfect sacrifice for sin. His shed blood washes the sin away and removes the penalty and the wrath of God.
Sin is a direct attack against God's holiness. Sin cannot come near Him. God's holiness and righteousness was being satisfied on the cross. He was dealing with all of man’s ungodliness. God's divine wrath against sin came upon Christ. Jesus became the curse for us. Only Jesus could bear the punishment and wrath of God in His body as He was both God and man. No other person but God Himself could be the sinless one to bear His wrath against sin.
God has always had the answer for sin and provided it through the cross. He loved us so much that He was willing to take upon Himself the punishment for our sin at Calvary. Otherwise we would be forever separated from Him. The cross is the divine miracle of God for us. We are forgiven. Jesus said He counted it all joy enduring the cross for all of us (Hebrew 12:2). Jesus death was the only reason He came to earth. He came to pay the penalty for sin. That's why Jesus said “Do this in remembrance of me” when we take communion. God prepared all of this so that He could forgive you and me. So, when we accept the powerful work of the cross and receive His forgiveness; we must be willing to forgive those who have hurt us by slander, offense or abuse. If we do not forgive, our Heavenly Father cannot forgive us as it says in Matthew 6:14-15. May we do what Ephesians 4:32 tells us and be kind to one another, forgiving each other, as God in Christ forgave us.
- Pastor Carol McLean


NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) probe launched from its Cape Canaveral platform on Nov. 26, 2011, bound for the red planet. The spacecraft's onboard rover, Curiosity, entered the Martian atmosphere on Aug. 5, 2012, (EDT) and landed in an ancient equatorial depression known as Gale Crater. From there, the rover traveled out to explore the alien landscape, collect samples, and take pictures of the extraterrestrial scenery.
Over the course of its first year on Mars, the rover has covered a considerable amount of ground and enabled a greater understanding of the Martian surface. Curiosity's engineering achievements—to date—include the following three milestones:
"Has Mars ever been capable of supporting life?" Curiosity definitively answered that question when it examined an area known as Yellowknife Bay in 2012 and 2013. The rover gathered data over the course of approximately six months, during which it also sent over 70,000 photographs to NASA researchers on Earth. Substrate analyses revealed clay deposits, indicating that water had previously been present at the site in the form of an ancient—and pH-neutral—lake. Initially, members of the NASA team controlled Curiosity remotely. However, on Aug. 27, 2013, the rover began using autonomous navigation for the very first time. This precisely engineered feature—also known as autonav—allows Curiosity to calculate a safe path over the Martian surface using data extracted from images taken during a drive. On Aug. 17, 2013, Curiosity took several strikingly clear photographs of the Phobos solar eclipse. The rover's advanced engineering includes a mast camera known as the MastCam system, which has a 1600 x 1200 pixel imaging capacity, 720p video capability, and a ten-frame-per-second continuous shooting mode. When the eclipse occurred, Phobos's irregular outline became a clearly visible silhouette against the sun: Curiosity's solar eclipse pictures were the sharpest ever taken from the Martian surface.
Many innovative concepts have already emerged from the data gathered by Curiosity. Professor Steven Benner, for example, recently proposed a new theory about the evolution of life on Earth. According to Benner's hypothesis, the conditions at Yellowknife Bay may have led to RNA formation via a prebiotic chemical process. If true, life potentially started as RNA on Mars and hitched an interplanetary ride to Earth aboard a Martian meteorite before evolving into DNA.
Other data, including a series of solar radiation measurements taken on the journey from Earth to Mars, will likely prove beneficial to engineers involved in the proposed Mars One mission. If successful, the privately funded mission—which is currently planned for 2023—will take four people on a one-way expedition to the planet. Engineers will need to take solar radiation levels into consideration as they design and build a spaceship capable of making the journey.
The latest rover expedition has shed new light—literally and figuratively—on the surface of Mars. As well as identifying ancient water sources, Curiosity has captured crisp imagery and navigated the terrain all by itself. The innumerable engineering marvels aboard the rover have enabled its continued exploration and may one day help human beings create a manned spaceship suitable for interplanetary travel—and a personal trip to Mars.
(Photo courtesy of Victor Habbick / Freedigitalphotos.net)


America's wetlands, which provide critical wildlife habitat as well as pollution and flood control, are drained, filled and polluted at an alarming rate. This July 2002 report from NRDC and the National Wildlife Federation looks at the potentially damaging consequences of a January 2001 Supreme Court decision regarding "isolated wetlands," and illustrates the vital role these areas play in ecosystems across the United States.


Alternatively, your doctor might start by spraying your throat with a local anesthetic. Your doctor will then pass a tapered dilating instrument through your mouth and guide it into the esophagus. Your doctor may also use x-rays during the esophageal dilation procedure.
Continue Learning about Ear, Nose and Throat
Important: This content reflects information from various individuals and organizations and may offer alternative or opposing points of view. It should not be used for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. As always, you should consult with your healthcare provider about your specific health needs.


I am frequently asked about how to “snake proof” a home. To answer this question, it is important to understand snake behaviour around homes and where I have personally found them when attending emergency snake call outs.
My favourite snake to catch is the red bellied black snake. These snakes are very beautiful and typically have a great temperament. The first time I encountered a red bellied black snake was as a child and my fascination continued until this day.
There are three types of copperhead snakes in Australia. The one you should commonly find in Melbourne and surrounding areas is the Lowland Copperhead snake. This snake is not typically known compared to other snakes such as the tiger or eastern brown, howe...
Most of the venomous snake call outs I receive in Melbourne are where someone has spotted a tiger snake in their home or backyard. This snake (depending on which scientific journal you read) is the 5th most venomous snake on land in the entire world. They a...


By Jennifer Burek Pierce
Library providers to teens may still aspire to 2 primary pursuits: to interact youth via significant and beautiful responses to their leisure and informational wishes, whereas aiding sturdy developmental results. How are these people who paintings in libraries, who might even see youngsters in basic terms sporadically and for brief sessions, imagined to paintings successfully with them? --From the IntroductionHow can we most sensible achieve our teenager buyers? younger grownup librarians and others who serve them always attempt to raised comprehend this often-unpredictable audience.In this insightful consultant, Jennifer Burek Pierce offers a desirable examine this present day s teenager during the lens of neurological, mental and academic study. placing this examine within the context of library prone, she demanding situations librarians to question their assumptions approximately youngster consumers and supply new solutions according to learn discovering. very like early literacy study trained library prone to youngest consumers, this provocative booklet outlines what others who paintings with teenagers have discovered from their expert actions and the way that wisdom can motivate new priorities and partnerships in formative years services.Use this learn to:?· support deal with the evidence from fiction approximately adolescent mind improvement and sexuality?· Equip employees to appreciate and sensitively engage with teens?· Foster realizing approximately kids, expertise, and multitasking?· comprise teenager pleasant prone and actions into the library


One hundred and nine years ago, on September 11, 1911, a dam built on Freeman Run north of the town of Austin, Potter County, PA, broke. The the ensuing flood caused significant damage to Austin and to the town of Costello further downstream. Seventy-eight people lost their lives during the disaster.
The concrete impoundment dam at Austin was built by the Bayless Pulp and Paper Company in 1909. Almost immediately concerns were raised about the dam’s safety. Cost saving shortcuts in the design, including a draw-off pipe with a wood cap that could not be operated when the water level rose too high, compromised the integrity of the dam. Even before it was filled with water cracks were noticed in the face of the dam. Despite warning signs and the urging of concerned individuals the Bayless Co. did nothing to sure-up the dam, and at this point in history there was no official regulation regarding dam safety in Pennsylvania. Even in the aftermath of the Johnstown Flood in 1889 (another severe dam failure disaster), the PA legislature failed to pass new safety laws or regulations. It took the Austin Dam disaster for changes to be made.
The ruins of the dam can be visited today at the Austin Dam Memorial Park, located approximately 20 miles southwest of the museum along Route 872.
These images from our archival collection (LM2018.3) document the aftermath of flood’s destruction.


Correctional healthcare defense is a unique form of litigation related to the delivery of medical care within the correctional setting through contracts between state, federal and local agencies and private healthcare providers.
The representation of these providers requires an understanding of the constitutional requirements for healthcare in correctional facilities as well as the operations of these facilities, the contractual terms for how care is delivered inside and outside of the correctional facility, the unique challenges facing medical providers in a correctional facility setting, and the management of acute and chronic medical issues. Litigation related to the correctional healthcare setting can be brought in state and federal courts and can include claims that the plaintiff’s civil rights were violated, giving rise to the potential for awards of attorney’s fees and punitive damages.
HPS has significant experience defending providers of healthcare in correctional facilities against claims alleging wrongful death, medical negligence, and civil rights violations. These claims have included issues related to obstetrical care, hunger strikes, mental health, suicide and sudden death. Our experience allows us to vigorously defend matters of litigation as well as counsel providers of correctional healthcare regarding trends and the law to assist with planning, allocation of resources, and identification of issues to reduce the risk of future litigation.
HPS has represented correctional healthcare clients in multiple states, including Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico and Wyoming.
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Negative regulators of cell death signalling pathways in cancer
Cancer is a primary cause of human death with a global economic toll of around US$1.4 trillion each year. It is estimated that about 12 million people will yearly die of cancer by 2030. Conventional cancer therapies such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy usually interrupt vital cellular events and are often associated with side-effects, tumour drug-resistance, and cancer recurrence. The main challenge in conventional therapies is that cancerous tissues evolve drug-resistance rapidly through inhibition of cell death signalling pathways such as apoptosis, ferroptosis, necroptosis, autophagy, and anoikis.
De-regulation of cell death principally occurs through the activation of negative regulators suppressing cell death mechanisms during oncogenesis. For instance, resistance to apoptosis is known as the hallmark of cancer leading to tumorigenesis and the development of drug-resistance. Therefore, to overcome cancer drug-resistance, it is important to deactivate the negative regulators of cell death pathways.
We critically discussed the current state of knowledge on targeting negative regulators of cell death pathways and evaluated the advances in clinical and pre-clinical research on biomarkers of negative regulators. It aimed to provide a comprehensive platform for designing effective combinational therapies including novel agents for reactivating cell death signalling pathways or targeting alternative resistance pathways to increase the chances for anti-tumour responses. In conclusion, understanding negative regulators of signalling pathways will help to identify potential therapeutic targets, and design diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. Strategically “molecularly targeted therapies” are emerging through investigation of apoptotic signalling pathways. However, evidence is accumulating that non-apoptotic modes of cell death such as necroptosis and autophagy also play a significant role in inducing drug-resistance, necessitating more attention for drug discovery.
Ali Razaghi Centre for Biodiscovery and Molecular Development of Therapeutics, James Cook University,Townsville, Australia Present affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden PublicationNegative regulators of cell death pathways in cancer: perspective on biomarkers and targeted therapies.
Razaghi A, Heimann K, Schaeffer P.M, Gibson S.B
Apoptosis. 2018 Feb


Census
Cyber and IT challenges remain as Census resumes operations
By Derek B. Johnson Jun 11, 2020
The IT systems needed to carry out the 2020 census still face numerous testing challenges and unaddressed critical cybersecurity risks, according to a new audit from the Government Accountability Office.
The report details how the U.S. Census Bureau, which has begun resuming its work after halting operations amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, faces a range of new challenges and delays caused by the spread of the virus and resulting lockdowns. Those challenges include communicating "timely, clear and consistent" information for continuity of operations plans to local field offices, meeting previously established targets for self-reporting households, maintaining sufficient staffing levels, monitoring ongoing risks to IT systems and managing disinformation and misinformation campaigns.
The bureau had announced it would resume operations at 211 area offices in all 50 states as of May 29. In advance of that, according to an GovWinIQ analysis, 99% of Commerce spending the week of May 17 (totaling $51.2 million) was dedicated to Census operations and COVID-19. Expenditures included advertising services, laptops and disinfectant supplies.
Addressing outstanding cybersecurity weaknesses in systems expected to be used during the census are a top concern. The audit reveals that as of April 2020, the agency was still struggling to implement more than 234 unaddressed remediation plans for "high" and "very high" risk cybersecurity weaknesses in the 52 IT systems that will be used in the census.
Testing schedules for those systems have also been impacted by the pandemic. An official said told auditors that the bureau "was continuing to assess the risks associated with the COVID-19-related schedule changes to the implementation of IT, including the number of enumerator handheld devices expected to be available and the significant contract support required to conduct the 2020 Census."
For instance, the bureau has purchased an additional 125,000 handheld devices in anticipation of hiring more census workers, but it has not conducted testing to ensure that IT systems can handle the increased workload without degrading overall performance. The agency must also reassess its timeframes for reducing contractor-provided IT servers, storage capacity and software licenses in response to schedule delays associated with the pandemic.
The agency must also deal with a wave of disinformation, misinformation and conspiracy theories—often widely shared on social media—about the purpose of the census.
Earlier this year Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, wrote to the Bureau and executives at Facebook, Twitter and Google, calling such campaigns "a significant threat" to achieving an accurate count.
"These private organizations are in unique positions to support the Bureau's fight against misinformation disinformation throughout the 2020 Census, including during the awareness, self-response and Nonresponse Followup phases," Peters wrote to U.S. Census Director Steven Dillingham in February.
Auditors at GAO share those concerns, and urge the bureau to further strengthen internal processes while continuing to forge relationships with social media partners to remove misleading content.
Compressed timeframes caused by the pandemic are also likely to impact the quality and processing of data used for delivering congressional apportionment and redistricting. During past counts, census operators could make up to six door-to-door visits to collect information from a non-responsive household. Amid the pandemic social distancing guidelines, such efforts "may be less effective" and impact the quality of data for hard-to-count populations.
Derek B. Johnson is a former senior staff writer at FCW.


Abstract
Disturbed activity patterns in cortical networks contribute to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia (SZ). Several lines of evidence implicate NMDA receptor hypofunction in SZ, and blocking NMDA receptor signaling during early neurodevelopment produces cognitive deficits in rodent models that resemble those seen in schizophrenic patients. However, the altered network dynamics underlying these cognitive impairments largely remain to be characterized, especially at the cellular level. Here, we use in vivo two-photon calcium imaging to describe pathological dynamics, occurring in parallel with cognitive dysfunction, in a developmental NMDA receptor hypofunction model. We observed increased synchrony and specific alterations in spatiotemporal activity propagation, which could be causally linked to a previously unidentified persistent bursting phenotype. This phenotype was rescued by acute treatment with the NMDA receptor co-agonist D-serine or the GABA
B receptor agonist baclofen, which similarly rescued working memory performance. It was not reproduced by optogenetic inhibition of fast-spiking interneurons. These results provide novel insight into network-level abnormalities mediating the cognitive impairment induced by NMDA receptor hypofunction. ASJC Scopus subject areas Psychiatry and Mental health Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience Biological Psychiatry


Achieving Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 6: The case for gender-transformative water programmes
As we approach the 10-year countdown to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it is clear we are far from achieving SDG 5 on gender equality, and SDG 6 on universal access to water and sanitation. While gender equality and access to safe water and sanitation are often treated as separate issues, they are deeply linked and interdependent.
This paper argues that to achieve both Goals, the international community must adopt more gender-transformative approaches to water development. Improved data collection at national and sub-national levels is needed; there is also a need for increased opportunities for women’s meaningful participation in water governance. It is essential to address gendered social norms – particularly around unpaid care work.


This report brings together 27 indicators of human and ecosystem wellbeing using IUCN's pioneering Sustainability Assessment method. It is intended to complement Wellbeing Scores software, which allows users to explore different standards and combinations of what comprises sustainable development. The publication may provoke debate amongst forest conservationists and critics and provide them with a platform for exploring this new software.
Includes bibliographic references, and a computer program, Wellbeing Scores, on a cd-rom.


In Xenopus tadpoles, all retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) send axons contralaterally across the optic chiasm. At metamorphosis, a subpopulation of EphB-expressing RGCs in the ventrotemporal retina begin to project ipsilaterally. However, when these metamorphic RGCs are grafted into embryos, they project contralaterally, suggesting that the embryonic chiasm lacks signals that guide axons ipsilaterally. Ephrin-B is expressed discretely at the chiasm of metamorphic but not premetamorphic Xenopus. When expressed prematurely in the embryonic chiasm, ephrin-B causes precocious ipsilateral projections from the EphB-expressing RGCs. Ephrin-B is also found in the chiasm of mammals, which have ipsilateral projections, but not in the chiasm of fish and birds, which do not. These results suggest that ephrin-B/EphB interactions play a key role in the sorting of axons at the vertebrate chiasm.


Brain opioid peptide systems are known to play an important role in motivation, emotion, attachment behaviour, the response to stress and pain, and the control of food intake. Opioid peptides within the ventral striatum are thought to play a key role in the latter function, regulating the affective response to highly palatable, energy-dense foods such as those containing fat and sugar. It has been shown previously that stimulation of mu opiate receptors within the ventral striatum increases intake of palatable food. In the present study, we examined enkephalin peptide gene expression within the striatum in rats that had been given restricted daily access to an energy-dense, palatable liquid food, chocolate Ensure(R). Rats maintained on an ad libitum diet of rat chow and water were given 3-h access to Ensure(R) daily for two weeks. One day following the end of this period, preproenkephalin gene expression was measured with quantitative in situ hybridization. Compared with control animals, rats that had been exposed to Ensure(R) had significantly reduced enkephalin gene expression in several striatal regions including the ventral striatum (nucleus accumbens), a finding that was confirmed in a different group with Northern blot analysis. Rats fed this regimen of Ensure(R) did not differ in weight from controls. In contrast to chronic Ensure(R), acute ingestion of Ensure(R) did not appear to affect enkephalin peptide gene expression. These results suggest that repeated consumption of a highly rewarding, energy-dense food induces neuroadaptations in cognitive-motivational circuits.


A recent publication based on the work done by ICTS post-doctoral fellow Dr. Amit Kumar Chatterjee and faculty members Dr. Anupam Kundu and Dr. Manas Kulkarni, titled ‘Spatiotemporal spread of perturbations in a driven dissipative Duffing chain: An out-of-time-ordered correlator approach’, in the journal Physical Review E, has been selected by the Editors as the ‘Editors’ Suggestion’.
Study of chaotic phenomena has always been a subject of interest in the context of dynamical systems, due to its wide applications in diverse fields, starting from atmospheric sciences to technological electro-mechanical devices. However, search for proper tools, for systematic study of chaos in spatially extended classical and quantum systems, are still in progress. In this regard, to probe open (no energy conservation) classical many-body systems, the authors in this study have implemented a recently proposed classical analogue of quantum out-of-time-ordered commutators that have been extensively used to study quantum chaos. In this classical analogue, the out-of-time-ordered correlator (OTOC) has been successfully incorporated by the authors to diagnose different dynamical regimes of a chain of coupled Duffing oscillators in presence of external drive and dissipation. The OTOC provides a clear demarcation of three distinct dynamical regimes where chaos is sustained, transient, and absent. The work exhibits the significance and prospect of OTOC as a remarkable diagnostic of spatio-temporal chaos in generic classical many-body systems in presence of dissipation and drive. The present work consisting of extensive information about the degree of chaos can be of potential use in areas like encryption devices, secure communications, and signal detection to name a few.
The study marks a significant step forward in the area of driven-dissipative systems and was selected by the editors due to its particular interest, importance and clarity.


For Immediate Release July 8, 2020 Washington, D.C.- In response to the ongoing negotiations in the UN Security Council for the renewal of cross-border assistance to Syria, Dr. Mufaddal Hamadeh, SAMS President, has released the following statement:
“We are deeply concerned by efforts to reduce the number of crossings in the cross-border mechanism, which is a vital lifeline to the 4 million civilians living in northwest Syria. At a time when the humanitarian needs are growing and the threat of COVID-19 remains, such action would be nothing short of reckless.”
“Both border crossings in the northwest – Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salam – provide critical, life-saving humanitarian assistance to highly vulnerable populations. Bab al-Hawa is used to support 2.8 million people in Idlib, while Bab al-Salam is used to support 1.4 million people in Northern Aleppo. Presently, there is no proven alternative that can deliver assistance to these populations on such a large scale.”
“We reiterate our call for both crossings in the Northwest to be renewed for 12 months. The Security Council must set aside politics and instead pass a resolution that reflects the humanitarian needs on the ground in Syria. This also includes addressing the dire humanitarian situation in northeast Syria.”
SAMS operates 50 medical facilities in northwest Syria. Last year, we provided 2,452,082 services to 1,142,164 individuals. In 2019, SAMS delivered 238 containers to its medical facilities in northwest Syria, totaling over $12 million in medical and humanitarian assistance.
For media inquiries, contact SAMS Senior Media & Communications Manager Lobna Hassairi at [email protected]


Thank you for your question. A “leaking fallopian tube” (hydrosalpinx) occurs when the end of the tube is damaged from STIs causing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), surgery, or adhesions (scar tissue). Hydrosalpinx occurs when the tube becomes blocked, filling with sterile fluids, which creates an enlarged tube. You may not even know you have hydrosalpinx, because you don’t always experience pelvic pain. The only sign of hydrosalpinx you may experience is infertility (inability to become pregnant), particularly if both tubes are affected. If you have a hydrosalpinx, ask your primary care provider about your making an appointment to see a gynecologist to discuss options, including laparoscopy (surgery that uses a video camera) or fertility treatment.


Since trade finance is lifeblood of global business, it has a positive role to play in driving sustainable practices. Here, banks can lead by example: through collaborative efforts, they can play a crucial role in encouraging a diverse network of counterparties to safeguard environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles, while also stimulating growth. So, how can “sustainable trade” be fully realized to meet these ends?
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As the world gets used to the new normal, businesses are gradually preparing to reopen and resume everyday work. However, after months of quarantine and remote work, it seems like a challenging task to open up offices, especially with the looming danger of a second wave of the pandemic.
In addition to ensuring the physical health and safety of the returning workforce, HR managers are particularly concerned about staff mental health and psychological safety. This mandates the need for policies and strategies to make employees welcome and safe in the workplace.
Streamlined internal communication is a crucial aspect of this movement. And it can only happen with the right software and a robust company intranet that makes it easier than ever for employees to access frequent updates, information about staying well, and tools that aid their work.
Read on to find out how an intranet can make your return to work transition smoother:
5 Ways SharePoint Intranet Supports You While You Return To Work
As you make plans to ensure a smooth return to work process, it’s also important to devise contingency plans for the uncertain future ahead.
The following are some ways your company intranet can help your business to navigate the new normal:
Centralized Location for Policies on Switching Back to Remote Work
With the increase in Covid-19 cases, the chances of a second wave of the disease are still looming. Now, you already have the policies and protocols that were created during the first wave. But it would be best if you re-evaluated their potency.
SharePoint intranet serves as a common platform that houses all the protocols and procedures related to work-from-home in case of a second wave. Your employees can also use it to gain access to real-time official updates on Covid-19. It also allows you to create a forum where the leadership can update their employees if a second lockdown is implemented.
Keeps Tabs On Your Employee’s Physical Well-Being
SharePoint Intranet serves as a platform where you can keep tabs on any symptoms reported by your employees through forms. The HR then presents them with necessary isolation protocols that can be saved on the platform and be viewed from anywhere.
The intranet works as a centralized platform for all information on maintaining employee safety that should be available in multiple formats, including audio, video, and subtitles.
Offers Help on Mental Health Issues
COVID-19 has exposed the global population to stress elements that have a massive impact on their mental health. This is why a company returning to the new normal must be vigilant about its employee’s mental health.
This is where the intranet helps you. It serves as the platform where you can offer information on mental health awareness and counseling services. You can also provide contact information or links to HR or occupational health workers to access them easily.
Shares the Burden of Your HR Team
The HR team is overburdened with devising safety protocols, overseeing the layoffs and furloughs, and implementing the SOPs at the workplace.
With the SharePoint intranet, you can automate HR processes and workflows that save them enough time to manage other important tasks that they could not spare time for.
Streamlines Remote Workflow
Most organizations continue to allow some of their workforce to work from home, but this usually means a hindrance in communication between your on-site and remote teams.
With the help of the SharePoint intranet, you can assess the success of your remote work strategies through your employee satisfaction levels. It also gives them complete access to all the digital tools and information they need to work from home effectively.
In Conclusion
To encourage digital transformation in your workplace, you need to leverage the power of an intranet. Getting the right intranet software helps you connect remote workers, streamlining the workflow, keep tabs on your employees’ well-being, and update them on the latest information.
Definity First offers Microsoft SharePoint Intranet that allows you to empower your employees with the right collaboration tools. It also keeps a heightened focus on your company’s goals, culture, values, and preferences.


Looming Disasters
Too Big to Handle - Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Question of Why Societies Ignore Looming Disasters
Systemic risks such as climate change and pandemics, and natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes and asteroids, are often too big to handle physically, but they are no longer ‘Acts of God’ and beyond human understanding and the possibility of prevention and disaster relief preparation. Indeed, in many of these areas there is much talk, less action and only paltry gains. This free to access special issue of Global Policy explores the question of when and why societies are unable to handle these looming disasters. It stems from a conference held on 9th and 10th October 2014, at the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin (Institute for Advanced Study, also popularly and internationally known as the WIKO), well known for its encouragement of cross-disciplinary interactions.
Introduction Special Issue Articles Philip Kitcher - Masking The Meaningful Andreas Glöckner - Psychology and Disaster: Why We Do Not See Looming Disasters and How Our Way of Thinking Causes Them Françoise Lavocat - Catastrophes To Come: What Can Literature Tell Us? Todd Sandler - Strategic Aspects of Difficult Global Challenges Scott Barrett - Collective Action to Avoid Catastrophe: When Countries Succeed, When They Fail, and Why Susan Rose-Ackerman - The Limits of Cost/Benefit Analysis When Disasters Loom Jonathan B. Wiener - The Tragedy of the Uncommons: On the Politics of Apocalypse Anne van Aaken - Is International Law Conducive To Preventing Looming Disasters? Janis Antonovics - The Value of Concept: Lessons from the Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance Peter Kareiva and Emma Fuller - Beyond Resilience: How to Better Prepare for the Profound Disruption of the Anthropocene


Abstract
It has been well-established that unfavorable scaling relationships between *OOH, *OH, and *O are responsible for the high overpotentials associated with oxygen electrochemistry. A number of strategies have been proposed for breaking these linear constraints for traditional electrocatalysts (e.g., metals, alloys, metal-doped carbons); such approaches have not yet been validated experimentally for heterogeneous catalysts. Development of a new class of catalysts capable of circumventing such scaling relations remains an ongoing challenge in the field. In this work, we use density functional theory (DFT) calculations to demonstrate that bimetallic porphyrin-based MOFs (PMOFs) are an ideal materials platform for rationally designing the 3-D active site environments for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Specifically, we show that the *OOH binding energy and the theoretical limiting potential can be optimized by appropriately tuning the transition metal active site, the oxophilic spectator, and the MOF topology. Our calculations predict theoretical limiting potentials as high as 1.07 V for Fe/Cr-PMOF-Al, which exceeds the Pt/C benchmark for 4e ORR. More broadly, by highlighting their unique characteristics, this work aims to establish bimetallic porphyrin-based MOFs as a viable materials platform for future experimental and theoretical ORR studies.


You might not think about cleaning your carpets and upholstery often, but maybe you should. These soft, porous surfaces collect dirt, soil and bacteria, impacting your air quality and producing odors. Luckily, TG's Carpet Cleaning & Restoration is an established carpet cleaning and upholstery cleaning company in Flagstaff, AZ.
We know how to efficiently extract dirt and soil without harming your belongings. Textile care is our passion and we take specific steps to handle each job correctly. That includes grooming, vacuuming, steam extracting, pH balancing and drying. We've spent decades perfecting our process.
Who do you turn to for textile cleaning services? TG's Carpet Cleaning & Restoration has been serving Flagstaff, AZ and the rest of Northern Arizona for more than 20 years. We're family-owned and -operated, meaning that we take a special pride in our work. You can trust that you're getting thorough services performed with state-of-the-art tools and products. Once we're finished, you'll have a stunning and sanitary space again.
Schedule upholstery, tile or carpet cleaning services with our team today.


The traditional wisdom of the corporate sector states that if the employees are paid higher, they would be more productive. It might be true to some extent, but modern research negates the authenticity of this statement. It is owing to the fact that personal satisfaction always stands higher as compared to financial strength.
There is no denying that happiness counts more weight when compared with the money. It is evident from the fact that people want to stay in such workplaces that are open to cater to them with the ultimate opportunities for happiness sharing.
Top reasons positivism is essential for higher productivity
A recent study has revealed that a happy workforce showed a 12% increase in their productivity while the staff that was not happy with their work environment were estimated at 10% less productive. It clearly indicates that encouraging positivism is crucial for higher productivity in the workplace.
It is undoubtedly the reason that many corporations in UAE and located in other parts of the world pay focus to get specialized soft skills training to encourage the employees for positivism.
Here are given the reasons elaborating the importance of positivism for workforce productivity:
Work-Life Balance
Many times, employees feel the difficulty in striking a perfect balance between their personal and professional life. It is because they consider the job as a way of earning money, but the majority of them don’t enjoy their work.
Further, they show higher concern to their personal affairs as compared to the work. In this way, their thinking gets negative towards a balanced approach.
The training to encourage positivity among the employees is essential to help them considering a balance between their job responsibilities and personal activities.
Augmented motivation
There is no denying that an individual with a positive attitude is more motivated as compared to the one who is pessimistic. You can well understand that a motivated individual is highly productive.
Therefore, it is imperative to focus on grooming positivism among the workforce for better performance in their specialized fields.
Appreciative and Inspiring leaders
Positivity fosters the concept of self-esteem among the people who are internally enlightened to inspire others. It is something very crucial for emerging leaders.
Precisely speaking, a leadership that believes in appreciating others is highly helpful to achieve organizational goals. Don’t forget, every individual should show the qualities of a leader while accomplishing their tasks and activities.
Conclusion – Positivism in the Workplace
Summing up, it is essential for people to stay positive. It is because life is not a bed of roses and every single day, employees have to deal with a lot of ups and downs in professional as well as personal life. But, with an attitude of positivism, they can deal with the routine life situation with courage and firm resolution. Ultimately, this helps them to perform better and stay highly productive.
Remember! The negative impact of adverse circumstances cannot be denied, but it can be eliminated through rigorous motivational vibes and positivity training!


3/2020
vol. 19
abstract:
Original paper
The effect of educational program based on the theory of planned behavior on HIV prevention skills
1.
School of Health, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran
2.
Department of Health Education and Promotion, Research Center of Health and Environment, School of Health, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran
3.
Health Promotion Research Center, Zahedan University of Medical Science, Zahedan, Iran
4.
Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Saveh University of Medical Sciences, Saveh, Iran
HIV AIDS Rev 2020; 19, 3: 180-186
Online publish date: 2020/10/09
Introduction The prevalence of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is dramatically expanding in the world and the only way to deal with it is through health education. This study sought to determine the effect of educational intervention based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) on AIDS preventive behaviors in nursing and midwifery students. Material and methods This was a quasi-experimental study conducted in 2016, and included 104 nursing and midwifery students from Guilan University of Medical Sciences. A questionnaire consisted of sections with demographic characteristics, awareness, behaviors, and constructs of the theory of planned behavior, and was provided to every participant. The questionnaire content validity rate was 0.8, content validity index was equal to 0.82, and Cronbach’s a coefficient test was 0.9. After collecting data in both groups, educational intervention was conducted within the framework of the theory of planned behavior in the intervention group. Data was collected before the intervention and three months later and was analyzed with SPSS statistics version 21. Results There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of demographic variables (p > 0.05). Additionally, no significant differences were noted between the intervention and control groups before the educational intervention in terms of awareness, attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, behavioral intention, and preventive behaviors (p > 0.05). However, after the implementation of educational program, these variables significantly increased in the intervention group (p < 0.05). Conclusions The TPB was effective in teaching students in the field of AIDS prevention skills. Therefore, it is recommended to use the theory of planned behavior for human immunodeficiency virus prevention behaviors.
keywords:
AIDS, education, students


Monday, June 15th: Simcha Barkai Value without Employment by Simcha Barkai (London Business School) and Stavros Panageas (UCLA, Anderson and NBER) [pdf]
While young firms’ contribution to aggregate employment has been underwhelming over the past decades, a similar trend is not apparent in their contribution to aggregate sales and aggregate stock market capitalization. We provide evidence that the weak job creation by young firms coincided with an increase in the ratio of firm-value-to- employment and sales-to-employment for these firms. The weak job creation suggests that recent firm cohorts have faced a comparatively lower marginal product of labor (for a fixed unit of labor) compared to their predecessors, while the higher firm value-to- employment ratios suggest a higher average product of labor. Motivated by these facts, we study the implications of the arrival of “high average / low marginal” product-of- labor firms in a stylized model of dynamic firm heterogeneity, and show that the model can account for a large number of facts related to the decline in “business dynamism”. While accounting for the decline in business dynamism, the model also shows that aggregate output and productivity may remain unaffected by the decline in dynamism.


Summary
Liquid crystal surfaces can undergo topographical morphing in response to external cues. These shape-shifting coatings promise a revolution in various applications, from haptic feedback in soft robotics or displays to self-cleaning solar panels. The changes in surface topography can be controlled by tailoring the molecular architecture and mechanics of the liquid crystal network. However, the nanoscopic mechanisms that drive morphological transitions remain unclear. Here, we introduce a frequency-resolved nanostrain imaging method to elucidate the emergent dynamics underlying field-induced shape-shifting. We show how surface morphing occurs in three distinct stages: (i) the molecular dipoles oscillate with the alternating field (10–100 ms), (ii) this leads to collective plasticization of the glassy network (~1 s), (iii) culminating in actuation of the topography (10–100 s). The first stage appears universal and governed by dielectric coupling. By contrast, yielding and deformation rely on a delicate balance between liquid crystal order, field properties and network viscoelasticity.


I define yoga as an inner peace practice to unify mind, body, and spirit. I study how African American women's #historicalwellness is recorded in memoirs and autobiographies since at least the mid-nineteenth century. This work demonstrates how Black women's self-care traditions, including meditation and yoga, are feminist-womanist acts of liberation.
My inner peace and wellness research began in 2013 and has been quite a journey. In my work, I highlight power brokers (redefining power through writing), self-healers on a quest for mental health, and elders in their 90s and 100s who offer guides for longevity. Rosa Parks (who lived to age 92) is a primary example of Black women's yoga history: she learned "stretching" from her mother, took formal classes with nieces and nephews and--in her 60s--taught yoga to communities in Detroit and Akron. As cited in a
Yoga Journal's "Yoga 101/Wisdom feature, this healing history is also part of understanding the struggle for civil and human rights.
As intellectual history, memoirs unveil strategies found in IndexUS and other public health research. I argue that memoirs are mentors and elders offer tools for sustainable wellness. These practices are especially important for survivors of sexual violence, an issue which disproportionately impacts Black women. Women like Sonia Sanchez, Jana Long, and Kanika Bell write about peace as a practice. Black women's yoga history builds on their research.
| | | Research


She hungered, and so she ate.
At first, she ate only that which was laid before her, presented as a meal. For a time, this sated her, yet as is the way with hunger and desire, she could not be sated forever. As the days and years passed the meals given to her came to bore her, and it came to be that she took no joy in them. Without joy, her hunger could not be sated.
She began to seek her own meals. At first, she scrounged from cabinets and cupboards, eating what she could that required no preparation. She prepackaged snacks and desserts, and fruits and vegetables, and plain bread, too impatient to form any ingredients into meals. Yet she discovered that, no matter how much she consumed, it seemed to leave an empty void within her, aching to be filled.
Therefore, she began to craft her own meals. She learned quickly how to cook simple things that came ready-to-prepare, with instructions on how to make them into a meal. These dulled the ache of her hunger, but still, she was often left wanting more, at which time she reverted to scrounging for snacks until she worked up the drive to prepare another meal.
When she realized that such simple meals were not enough, she began to learn how to truly prepare food. Studying from cookbooks and from articles she found on the internet, she studied the art of food preparation. Her meals grew not only in complexity, but in size. Soon large swaths of her life were themselves consumed by the time it took her to prepare what eventually equated to feasts for each of her meals.
These satisfied her more fully than any of her previous attempts. Yet, no matter how much she made herself for breakfast, by the time lunch rolled around, she had become ravenous once more. The same held true for dinner, and — because she began eating four such meals a day — supper.
Her family and friends expressed their concerns for her. This frustrated her. She had begun to share her feasts with them, even though it deprived her of portions of her sustenance, because they had marvelled at the amount of food she produced, and the increasing quality of it. They had, for a while, raved about the excellence of her cuisine, and encouraged her to pursue becoming a professional chef.
She’d had no desire to do that, and she blamed the fact that she didn’t conform to their whims for the attack they launched upon her. They told her she had grown too large, and that to continue to consume so much for every meal, every day, would eventually cause her to collapse from her own weight, if no other side effect of it brought her down before then. They told her that her consumption was depleting her parents’ money, and her own, and that eventually she would run out and be unable to sustain her lifestyle.
Their attacks drained her, and she found that the meals she had come to covet, for they had resulted in the most fulfilled time of her life, were not enough to replace the energy her family and friends were taking from her with each blow. She wept as she ate, because each bite felt empty and fruitless, and the meals into which she poured so much of her effort no longer satisfied her.
In desperation, she began to devote less of herself to cooking. In fact, she abandoned it entirely, and within the span of a few days, she had gone from making extravagant meals to eating her ingredients raw. Vegetables, fish, eggs, meat, flour — it didn’t matter. She consumed it. She no longer felt she had time, between the pangs of hunger, to process the food into a more edible form.
When her food ran out, she turned to her parents, who stood before her, weeping with concern. She sat upon the floor, legs splayed out before her, and the stains of food that had fallen from her mouth smeared across her girth. Her parents pleaded with her to stop and allow them to help her, but the hunger was too strong. She couldn’t listen to them. She had no strength to bear their pleading. She had only strength to consume, and so she did.
She reached out for her mother and took her in her hand, pulling her into her mouth. She feared at first that she would not be able to open her jaw wide enough. Her fears were unfounded. She loosened her throat and, with effort, swallowed her mother whole. Her tears as she did so were too strong to allow her the effort of chewing.
Next came her father, who did not flee, but came forward to strike at her feebly, moaning in anger and fear. She took him in both hands. Head-first, she pushed him into her mouth, quieting his pleading and ranting. He followed her mother down her esophagus, clothes and all. Once he was gone completely, she sat in silence, contemplating what she had just done.
She felt full. The meal had dampened her hunger in a way that nothing before had ever accomplished. She reveled in the feeling, even while parts of her rebelled against the action she had just taken. The joy of feeling so deeply full dampened her regrets.
She wanted more of that joy. She wanted it to last forever. So, one by one, she called each of her remaining friends. One by one they came to her, drawn in by sweet lies of change and reinvention, which she promised for herself, if only they could come over and help her through a difficult time. One by one, she took them in her hands and swallowed them whole, so that they could join the others she had consumed before them.
When she had gone down through the whole list of those who would consider responding to her, she tossed her phone away from her, disgusted, for the first time in her life, at how full her stomach felt. She couldn’t stand. She could hardly move, with the hard knot of people compacted into such a small space within her. She feared that if she shifted the wrong way, she might burst from the strain of keeping them inside.
She had nothing left in the world. She had eaten all the food in her house. She had eaten her family and her friends. She had only herself. Unable to move, she sat for hours in her kitchen. The pressure in her stomach remained, given her the sense that she was still physically full, but the hunger returned anyway. She had to eat. She wanted to eat, but there was nothing left, and her phone was out of reach. She couldn’t even call to have food delivered.
She raised her hand to her mouth and bit down. Her jaw was weak from sadness and fear and her growing hunger, but desperation lent it strength. The first bite wasn’t enough. It didn’t slice cleanly through. She had to grind her teeth together for that first, sweet release. She wept, not from pain, but from the relief of chewing, of the beauty of having something flowing down her throat once more after hours going without even water.
Bit by bit, she chewed and crunched, letting her mind relax into the rhythm that brought her euphoria. Her head grew light, and she allowed herself to believe it was from the pleasure of eating as she consumed herself. She felt her mind drifting upward, and her thoughts floating away, as everything within grew too light to be contained by a mortal vessel. Feeling lighter than she had since she first began to eat, she dispersed and faded away.


Abstract
OBJECTIVE. To compare stance control between children with sensory modulation disorder (SMD) and typically developing children in various visual and somatosensory conditions. METHOD. Thirty-one children participated in this study, including 17 children with SMD and 14 matched typically developing children. The Sensory Profile was used to screen for sensory modulation problems, which were further confirmed by measures of electrodermal response and the Evaluation of Sensory Processing. Stance parameters for an assessment of postural stability were obtained with a dual-axis accelerometer on the lumbar area. RESULTS. The children with SMD presented atypical sensory responses in terms of both electrophysiological and behavioral measures. The results for stance showed a greater body sway in the SMD group than in the control group (p < .05). However, the group difference was not always significant under the conditions of reliable somatosensory input and sway-referenced vision. CONCLUSION. Our findings first confirmed impaired stance control in children with SMD.
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes Occupational Therapy


This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the galaxy Messier 86. Despite its being discovered over 235 years ago by astronomer Charles Messier, the morphological classification of Messier 86 remains unclear; astronomers are still debating over whether it is elliptical or lenticular (the latter being a cross between an elliptical and spiral galaxy).
Messier 86 is part of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies and is situated about 50 million light-years from Earth. The galaxy is moving through space remarkably quickly — its current trajectory is bringing it in our direction, back towards the center of its cluster from the far side, at the incredible speed of over 543,000 mph (874,000 kph)! Because of the speed with which it is moving through the cluster, Messier 86 is undergoing a process known as ram-pressure stripping. The resistive material filling the gaps between individual cluster galaxies is pulling at the gas and dust in Messier 86 and stripping them out as the galaxy moves, creating a long trail of hot gas that is emitting X-ray radiation.
Astronomers are using Hubble observations such as this to study elliptical and lenticular galaxies, both of which are often found at the centers of galaxy clusters. By studying the cores of these galaxies, astronomers hope to determine details of the central structure and to analyze both the history of the galaxy and the formation of its core.
Messier 86 is featured in Hubble’s Messier Catalog, which includes some of the most fascinating celestial objects that can be observed from Earth’s Northern Hemisphere.
Image: ESA/Hubble & NASA, P. Cote et al.


Key Points Two primary types of investments: Debt & Equity Perceived risk vs. real risk Understanding investor emotions
Investing is allocating resources, often savings, with the goal of generating an income or profit. Your life stage and financial circumstances play a significant role in your investment objectives. However, regardless of your objectives, investing boils down to two important rules; earning a return on your investment and ensuring the protection and return of your principle.
Investing is generally broken into two major category, debt and equity. Debt investments involve lending your money to others, a borrower, in exchange for a fee. This fee functions like rent, but it is commonly referred to as interest. The general goal with debt investments is preservation of capital and income. Debt investments include:
savings & money market accounts certificates of deposits (CDs) Corporate bonds government & municipal bonds Private lending Annuities
Unlike debt investments which don’t participate in ownership, equity investments involve partial or complete ownership of an asset and offer the potential for the asset to increase in value. If the asset, such as a business is profitable, the equity investment may also provide income in the form of dividends or rental income such as from real estate. The general goal with equity investments is for the asset to increase in value, commonly referred to as growth. Equity investments include:
Stocks Mutual Funds Real Estate Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) commodities Businesses
Another factor to consider when investing is risk. Risk can be real or perceived. If you’ve ever experienced turbulence while flying on a commercial airline, the perceived risk to passengers may appear high while the real risk is low. Passengers on the Cruise ship Titanic probably had exceptionally low perceived risk but tragically faced high real risk.
Real risk can actually be lowest when perceived risk is highest. The stock market in March of 2003 and February of 2009 had just experienced significant declines from previous highs. After experiencing substantial losses, investors were fearful that the market would continue lower. While the perceived risk was extremely high, these dates turned out to be exceptional buying opportunities and real risk was in fact low.


Abstract: The history and significance of Helena Rutherfurd Ely (1858-1920) and hergardens at Meadowburn Farm are relatively unknown. At the turn of the century, Elywas one of America’s most influential writers on practical gardening: her first book, AWoman’s Hardy Garden, was an extraordinary and lasting success. She was also afounding member and subsequent Vice President of the Garden Club of America.While her name has faded from common household knowledge, Ely’s gardens atMeadowburn Farm still remain, and the owners have begun to consider possibilitiesfor preserving and opening the gardens to public visitation.This study clarified the significance of Ely’s gardens, assessed the feasibilityof their preservation, and suggested applicable preservation models for the owners toconsider. Research methods relied on qualitative data gathered through site visits,historical record research, and interviews with professionals and community leaders,complemented by quantitative survey data. Results indicated that Ely’s gardens arehistorically significant as the surviving personal gardens of an influential figure inAmerican horticultural history. The characteristics of Meadowburn Farm and thesurrounding community suggest preservation efforts will capture interest andpatronage. Preserving these significant gardens will require investment of resourcesand dedicated leadership.


In addition to ISO 26262, which refers to functional safety of road vehicles for safety-critical E/E systems, the ISO 21448 SOTIF standard addresses the safety of the intended functionality (SOTIF) to establish a safety standard for driver assistance systems and functions for autonomous vehicles.
SOTIF focuses on the absence of unreasonable risks due to hazards resulting from functional deficiencies of the intended functionality or due to reasonably foreseeable misuse by persons.
In the development of automated functions and autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles, accurate situational awareness is critical to safety. SOTIF describes situational awareness that is derived from complex sensors and processing algorithms. Defining measures that comply with SOTIF is absolutely crucial for automotive systems of an OICA/SAE J3016-defined automation level 2 and higher.
dSPACE offers a consultancy service to define these measures and implement them into processes, methodologies, tooling, and verification and validation criteria.
dSPACE participates in the VDA (Verband der Automobilindustrie – German Association of the Automotive Industry) working group on establishing SOTIF as the ISO 21448 (NA 052-00-32-08-06 AK „SOTIF“) standard.


Navigating Through Ph.D Programmes: Experiences of Ghanaian Ph.D Graduates from Universities across the Globe (Published) This research sought to examines the experiences of Ghanaian PhD graduates from various universities across the globe. A qualitative research model was therefore designed and used to explore factors that motivated the PhD graduates to pursue their programmes, challenges they faced in the course of their study, effects of these challenges on them and how they dealt with the challenges. Purposive and convenience sampling techniques were employed to select twenty participants for the study. The theoretical focus of the study was on human capital theory. The data was analysed using thematic approach. It emerged from the study that job placement and security, the academic environment, family aspiration and expectation, personal desire to stand out to be visible and availability of scholarships were factors that motivated Ghanaian PhD graduates to pursue their programmes. The findings also revealed that Ghanaian PhD graduates lost most of their acquaintances deliberately, missed their families and social life, and had difficulty managing supervisor/student relationship, battling with theories, data management and analysis. It became obvious that as part of PhD students orientation they should be made to understand that uncertainty, doubt, disappointments are parts of the PhD experience and they should not be derailed by those conditions. Universities running PhD programmes should provide counselling centres and programmes that are tailored towards the reduction of stress factors accompanying PhD programmes.


Federal law makes it illegal for your employer to discriminate against you or sexually harass you, but those rights would be meaningless if your employer could retaliate against you with impunity for complaining. If you believe that anyone at your company has taken adverse actions against you for making a complaint of illegal workplace practices, the dedicated employment attorneys at Sanford Law Firm in Birmingham are ready to fight to stop the retaliation and get you compensated for any damages you may have suffered as a result.
The Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Act protects employees from sexual harassment as well as discrimination based on race, gender, disability, age, religion and certain other characteristics. The law also prohibits retaliation against employees for engaging in certain “protected activities” related to its enforcement. These include:
Retaliation is any adverse action taken for the purpose of punishing you for engaging in protected activity, including:
If you suspect that your employer is retaliating against you for engaging in protected activities, our employment lawyers will review the facts of your situation and advise you if you have a legal claim.
If you do have a case for retaliation, we are ready to push promptly for a resolution in your favor. After investigating the facts and assembling evidence, we make a demand that the employer cease all adverse actions and compensate you for any damages suffered as a result. If your employer is unwilling to comply, we will file charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The standard of proof is that it is more likely than not that any adverse job action was motivated by retaliation. This can be shown by evidence of:
We will present the strongest case that is supported by the facts and evidence and will vigorously contest your employer’s defenses.
Retaliation can include adverse actions taken by workers outside of management. For instance, if a woman accuses a male co-worker of sexual harassment, and he or another co-worker defames her or makes her job more difficult, that constitutes retaliation. Furthermore, if management doesn’t stop the adverse actions, it may also be liable. We are ready to bring a case against anyone in the organization who engages in retaliation or who allows it to continue.
Sanford Law Firm handles all types of claims where Alabama employees face discrimination, workplace harassment or retaliation. Please call 205-675-0726 or contact us online to schedule a meeting at our office on Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard North in Birmingham.