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The exact mechanisms that govern the visual identification of complex words (e.g., build-er) are not entirely clear. In particular, it is not obvious why the system would identify (pseudo–)morphemes in words that only have an appearance of morphological complexity (e.g., corn–er, iron–y). One hypothesis is that this phenomenon is driven by letter co–occurrence regularity - morphemes are also recurrent clusters of letters. To test this hypothesis, we assessed masked priming as induced by morphologically structured (e.g., bulb-er) and non-morphologically structured nonwords whose endings were either as frequent (e.g., bulb-le) or less frequent (e.g., bulb-og) than suffixes. We observed equivalent facilitation by the three prime types, suggesting that neither the frequency nor the morphological status of word endings affects masked morphological priming with nonwords. Since this challenges the pattern of results typically observed with word primes, we ran a second experiment where morphological (bulb-er) or non-morphological (bulb-og) nonword primes were compared with transparent derivations (deal-er), pseudo-derived words (corn-er) and orthographic controls (dial-og). The data show a graded pattern of results, with maximal facilitation for transparent primes and no priming for orthographic controls; nonword primes elicited comparable facilitation again, regardless of their morphological status.


About
Progress in Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) has had a dramatic impact on bacterial epidemiology. It has become possible to reconstruct outbreaks and epidemics in unprecedented detail. WGS also allows linking genotypes to phenotypes and has been surprisingly effective in the context of diagnosing Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR), with AMR profiles inferred from sequence data being increasingly more accurate and cost-effective than those obtained through classical microbiology. In the first part of the talk, I will illustrate the progress in the field with some recent examples on MRSAs and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. What is less widely acknowledged is that such successes are largely limited to “clonal” organisms such as MRSA and Mycobacteria. In the second part of the talk I will discuss some of the conceptual and computational challenges that lie ahead before we can hope to replicate the successes in the genetic epidemiology of “clonal” bacteria to microbes with extensive recombination, large accessory genomes and resistance determinants situated on plasmids.
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A new report: the 'Impact of IIoT in the Global Water & Wastewater Industry', launched by Research and Markets finds that water and wastewater utilities across the globe are increasingly exploring digital solutions to improve their resilience, and economical and environmental sustainability, which have been impacted by factors like water stress, pollution, and climate change.
Digitalization through Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) based smart solutions has emerged as the key solution to tackle various challenges posed by the above factors. Digital transformation (DT) includes the installation and implementation of the following products/solutions: Smart design & engineering, Data collection through IIoT sensors, Smart communication network, Data analytics and Data intelligence.
All these are effectively combined to create a smart water grid. Smart analytics platforms are now increasingly being adopted by W&WW utilities for their ability to improve efficiency, comply with regulations, positively impact customer value & service, and improve sustainability of the infrastructure.
Circular economy has now become a more achievable goal through IIoT-based DT. Water utilities are now exploring new business models such as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Data-as-a-Service (DaaS), and Equipment-as-a-Service (EaaS) which have faster return on investment (ROI) and allow for an even placement of investment risks which in turn eases the burden on customers. Research Scope
This study estimates that the smart water grid market will reach $20 billion by 2020 and provides market forecast for key smart solution segments such as the Smart NRW leak management solution market, Smart water meters market and Smart online water sensors market, all of which form the core of smart solutions. The study aims to simplify concepts such as IIoT and their applicability as a DT tool in the W&WW industry.
This research presents key challenges faced by W&WW utilities, the W&WW network, customer demand management, and W&WW treatment facilities and highlights how IIoT-based smart solutions could be used to tackle these key challenges. It also encompasses cases studies which highlight successful implementation of DT solutions and their benefits. Additionally, the study provides insights on the future of IIoT-based DT solutions, growth opportunities for companies to action, strategies to implement DT, and strategic imperatives crucial for success.
Key Issues Addressed How can IIoT add value to an existing process? What are the current challenges faced by utilities across the W&WW industry and how IIoT tackles these challenges? How can IIoT accelerate the push toward smart water grids? What is the market size of key smart solutions? Who are the incumbent participants in the IIoT market, and what are they focusing on? Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary Key Findings DT Framework for a Water Utility The Core Elements of DT Digital Water Innovation Hotspots Key Segments of a Smart Water Grid Global Smart Water Grid Market - Market Landscape of Key Segments Key Factors Driving DT Research Scope Key Questions This Research Will Answer 2. Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) in Water & Wastewater Industry - An Introduction IIoT Fundamentals - What is a Smart Water Grid? IIoT Fundamentals - Sensors and their Application in IIoT IIoT Fundamentals - Water Asset Management Features IIoT Fundamentals - Data-/Software-as-a-service (DaaS/SaaS) 3. Industrial Internet of Things - Water & Wastewater Utilities Key Challenges Faced by Water & Wastewater Utilities How IIoT-based Smart Solutions Improve the Sustainability of Water & Wastewater Utilities Case Study - Asset Management in Water Utilities Enabled by AI Case Study - Big Data and Data Analytics for Water Utilities Case Study - Digital Twin Solutions for Water Utilities 4. Industrial Internet of Things - Water & Wastewater Networks Key Challenges in Water & Wastewater Networks How Smart IIoT Solutions Can Tackle NRW Loss and Improve Energy Efficiency in a Water & Wastewater Network? Revenue Forecast - Smart NRW Leak Management Solutions Market Revenue Forecast Discussion Case Study - Satellite-based Leak Detection Case Study - Smart Pressure Management & Pump Controller Case Study - Smart Acoustic Sensors for Continual Leak Monitoring in Water Networks Case Study - Smart Leak Detection and Pipe Condition Assessment Device for Wastewater Networks 5. Industrial Internet of Things - Customer Demand Management Key Challenges Faced in Customer Demand Management DT through Smart Water Metering LPWAN Communication Technologies and their Potential in Smart Water Metering Unit Shipment and Revenue Forecast - Smart Water Meters Market Revenue Forecast Discussion Case Study - Smart Water Metering Enabled by Advanced Communication Network and Analytics Improves Customer Service Case Study - Smart Water Meter Enables Reduction in NRW 6. Industrial Internet of Things - Water & Wastewater Treatment Key Challenges Faced in a Water & Wastewater Treatment Facility Smart Online Water Sensors and their Impact on Process Efficiency Revenue Forecast - Smart Online Water Sensors Market Revenue Forecast Discussion Case Study - Smart Online Sensors for Intelligent Process Control Case Study - Water & Wastewater Treatment System Automation through AI Case Study - Smart Analytics for Optimized Operation of a Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Facility 7. Industrial Internet of Things - Market Strategy & Analysis What Should be the IIoT-based DT Approach Strategy for Water Utilities? Future of DT in the Water & Wastewater Industry Disruptive Innovations in the Water Industry - Data Analytics Platforms & AI 8. Market Participant Profile Participant Profile - Xylem Participant Profile - ABB Participant Profile - Veolia 9. Growth Opportunities and Companies to Action Growth Opportunity 1 - Value-add Services Growth Opportunity 2 - Partnerships/M&A Strategic Imperatives for Success and Growth


CEMEX signed the agreement with Carbon Upcycling, a leading company in the development of nanomaterials derived from the use of CO2 for industrial use, through its corporate venture capital unit, CEMEX Ventures.
While CEMEX uses approximately 3 million tons of industrial residue each year, as additions to cement and concrete, a large portion of industrial waste produced annually cannot be recycled due to its low reactivity. Large quantities of residue or by-products are deposited in landfills and dumpsites, creating significant economic, environmental, and social costs. This initiative seeks to increase industrial residue's reactivity property, allowing more availability of additions with cementitious qualities. With this venture, CEMEX expects to double its current use of industrial residue to consume annually 6 million tons by 2030, thereby reducing its carbon footprint significantly. Carbon Upcycling technology transforms residues such as fly ash and slag, making them more reactive and increasing their cementitious properties. The use of CO2 previously captured, combined with a physical transformation of the material during the process, generates a new addition for the cement that allows the production of concrete with a low environmental footprint. The improvement in the cementitious capacity of materials achieved by the Carbon Upcycling technology will expand the range of sources that can be used to reduce the amount of clinker needed in cement production and the amount of cement required in concrete. The agreement will begin with a coordinated analysis between CEMEX and Carbon Upcycling and its implementation on an industrial scale. The know-how and experience in materials science of CEMEX's Global R&D, in addition to Carbon Upcycling's innovative process, would generate synergies that accelerate the development and industrialization of the technology. CEMEX and Carbon Upcycling anticipate initial results from this joint research and development effort by mid-2021. "This agreement with Carbon Upcycling is yet another example of our determination to deliver net-zero CO2 concrete products globally by 2050," said Gonzalo Galindo, Head of CEMEX Ventures. "Our roadmap to achieve this global ambition involves continuing to innovate our technology internally while, at the same time, continuing to seek complementary innovation outside of CEMEX through investments in startups, consortia, and high-value collaboration agreements such as the one reached with Carbon Upcycling." "We're thrilled to be partnering with CEMEX Ventures on this initiative and working with CEMEX to achieve their net-zero CO2 commitment," said Apoorv Sinha, CEO of Carbon Upcycling Technologies. "Investigating industrial residue that could be upcycled will unlock the applicability of our technology to achieve emissions reduction in concrete products globally. This works towards a larger vision of beneficiating under-utilized materials, such as natural pozzolanic materials, to reduce the use of portland cement in commercial concrete mixes. We've already shown the ability to reduce cement use by over 10% in field deployments across Calgary and are confident that this number can be significantly improved with further research and development."
Read the original article on CEMEX.


There has been much controversy in the media lately about the status of families who are separated by U.S. citizenship or permanent residency. However, in Miami and elsewhere in the United States, family relationships are cherished, and the government has set up some programs to prevent children from being separated from their parents who have permanent residency, as long as they meet eligibility requirements.
According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, there are many programs that allow for family immigration opportunities not offered to other categories of immigrants. This is particularly true for sons and daughters who are considered children. They meet this requirement if they are under the age of 21 and unmarried, as children in these circumstances often depend on their parents for emotional, physical and financial support.
The USCIS provides some detailed guidelines about which children may be eligible for this immigration opportunity. When the child is born to married parents, or the genetic mother is filing the petition, the qualification is straightforward. If a green card holder married the child’s parent before the child turned 18, that step-child may qualify. An adoptive parent must meet several requirements. These include maintaining both physical and legal custody of the child for at least two years before the age of 16. Exceptions may apply in some situations, though.
Another situation that is less clear-cut involves a child of a father who was not married to the mother at the time of the birth. In this case, the father must legitimate the parent-child relationship, and the process is governed by the laws of the location of the father’s residence or the child’s. There are also exceptions that may be considered by the court if the father can demonstrate that there is a parent-child relationship, even if there is no legal legitimation.
Because of the many factors that may affect an application, a permanent resident may not want to rule out the possibility of a child’s immigration until all angles of the situation have been evaluated carefully.


Population ageing raises common challenges for cities: to adapt their environments physically and socially, so that older people’s quality of life remains unaffected.
A transition towards a circular economy does not happen by itself; it needs to be supported and encouraged by policy and planning.
Polycentric territorial patterns encourage more balanced development between regions and more co-operative urban-rural relationships.
This is a supportive page of our


Oxidative stress
Rubrerythrins Rubrerythrins are a family of proteins which contain two domains: a N-terminal erythrin-like domain containing a four helix bundle with a diiron site, and a C-terminal rubredoxin-like domain containing a FeCys4 center. These proteins were first isolated from anaerobic and microaerobic organisms, e.g., Desulfovibrio vulgaris, Clostridium and Porphyromonas species .They have also been isolated from archaea, e.g., Sulfolobus tokodaii, and eukarya, e.g., Trichomonas vaginalis. The function of these proteins is, as yet, not fully established, and different activities have been reported for them, such as ferroxidase, superoxide dismutase, pyrophosphatase and NADH peroxidase activity, the latter being the most consensual. Rubrerythrins have also been found to complement catalase null strains, and rubrerythrin deletion mutants are known to be more sensitive to oxygen and hydrogen peroxide. I have been studying the desulforubrerythrin from Campylobacter jejuni, which is a rubrerythrin type of protein, with a desulforredoxin domain with a FeCys4 center on the N-terminal.
Superoxide reductase Superoxide reductases are proteins involved on the reduction of the superoxide anion (O 2 .-) generating H 2O 2. These enzymes are quite distinct from the superoxide dismutases (SOD) since these ones are responsible for the dismutation of superoxide anion, while the SORs are only able to perform the reductive step. These proteins have been classified according to their iron-content in two families: 1Fe-SORs, initially named neelaredoxin due to their blue color, and the 2Fe-SORs, known as desulfoferrodoxins, that contains an extra iron atom coordinated by four cysteine-sulfurs in a distorted tetrahedral geometry [Fe(Cys)4]. Structurally these two families are similar, with a common domain harbouring the catalytic center. This center, where the reduction of superoxide occurs, is conserved and is a pentacoordinated iron ion with four equatorial histidine-imidazoles and one axial cysteine-sulfur in a square pyramidal geometry. These proteins are quite widespread among the three domains of life. I am currently interested on the structural determination and characterization of different proteins belonging to this family.
Flavodiiron proteins Flavodiiron proteins have been described as part of the response mechanism against both nitrosative and oxidative stresses. This type of proteins are also widespread in anaerobic and facultative microrganisms, from the three life domains. Structurally these proteins are minimally composed by two domains, a metallo β-lactamase like domain, at the N-terminal, that contains a diiron site where reduction of oxygen or nitric oxide occurs, followed by a flavodoxin-like domain that contains an FMN group. More complex arrangements have been described, involving mainly extra domains at the C-terminus (e.g., rubredoxin or flavin reductases-like domains). I am currently interested on the structural determination and characterization of different proteins belonging to this family.


A rotating screw pump lifts water along its axis, although the position of the screw itself is fixed inside its housing. Similarly, an adiabatic modulation of a periodic potential can move particles from one potential minimum to the next. However, this so-called Thouless pumping loses its quantization in the presence of losses or when the drive is not adiabatic. Zlata Fedorova and colleagues have now shown that the quantization can be recovered if the dissipation is also periodically modulated.
When they incorporated this modulation in their theoretical modelling, counter-propagating modes in a lossy system could no longer hybridize, which restored the quantization — even if the modulation of the driving potential was non-adiabatic. Fedorova and colleagues realized their model using coupled sinusoidal plasmonic waveguides, for which the periodically varying losses were achieved by modulating the cross-section that controls the mode confinement. Despite the optical demonstration, this dissipative Floquet engineering can be applied to a wider class of periodically driven systems.


A revised draft
PIC/S Guidance on Good Practices for Data Management and Integrity in Regulated GMP/GDP Environments has been prepared by the PIC/S Working Group on Data Integrity, co-led by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration and UK MHRA.
Providing inspectorates guidance in interpreting GDP/GMP requirements on data management and data integrity, including reporting, is one goal of this document. The guidance will also serve as a tool to facilitate a harmonized approach to inspections and ensure their quality, particularly regarding data integrity expectations.
PIC/S published a first draft of this guidance in August 2016. Following feedback received from PIC/S Participating Authorities during its six-month implementation trial period, the Working Group updated and expanded that draft.
To help develop a focused stakeholder consultation on this document, PDA seeks substantive comments on specific questions relating to the proportionality, clarity and implementation of the guidance requirements.
The consultation period will be open from Nov. 30, 2018, to Feb. 28, 2019. Comments can be sent to PDA’s Vice President of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs
Tina Morris using the template found on the PDA website.


Any company, regardless of the size, does not want to spend money on things they believe, can be done “in-house”. The reality is that office cleaning is often the first expense companies eliminate when cutting expenses.
There is no doubt that it will save money on the...
How often do you wash your bed sheets? Do you wash them regularly? A while back, AllYou.com asked readers how often they wash their sheets. Turned out, the majority of the readers stripped the bed every 10 to 14 days, while a good many of them went three and even four...
We are all surrounded by bacteria. Yes, there are bacteria everywhere, even in the most unimaginable places. Disease-causing bacteria are called pathogenic. These come in many forms and can cause illnesses from an ear infection to strep throat to cholera. They can get...


The Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA) has a staff of project managers, construction managers, inspectors, and labor compliance officers who have successfully managed and completed projects cumulatively valued at over $100 million, including new construction or rehabilitation of libraries, community centers, parks, and public housing; and residential and commercial refurbishments involving public funds.
The LACDA manages projects in a complex regulatory environment. These projects can involve a broad range of complexity and uncertainty that must be managed from early project feasibility to construction completion. In addition, these projects or programs may have unique concerns and corporate or political mandates that may require a multi-faceted approach to development.


1.. Formalize a mentoring relationship with someone you trust.
Every entrepreneur, especially an introvert, can benefit from the perspective of another businessperson, ideally one who has prior experience in the domain you are about to enter. Asking someone to be your mentor is not a sign of weakness, and most mentors love to help.
2. Turn existing connections into productive relationships.
We all know some people through friends, family, and social connections. Do your homework to determine which of these might be able to help, and make a sincere effort to turn these connections into win-win business relationships. That means proactively finding common exchanges of value.
3. Actively expand your business networking activities.
This doesn’t mean randomly attending every networking event you can find, but it does mean joining and actively participating in a couple of entrepreneurs group in your area, such as a local business incubator.
4. Increase your visibility and expertise in your domain.
These days, by starting a blog or publishing on the internet, you don’t have to be a social butterfly to get supporters and be recognized as an influencer. By helping others, and participating in online debates and industry events, you will find productive relationships emerge naturally with peers.


Biodiesel Retail and Storage Requirements
All biodiesel and biodiesel blends sold in Michigan must meet state fuel quality requirements, including ASTM D6751 specification. A refiner, distributor, or retailer cannot transfer or dispense biodiesel or biodiesel blends unless the fuel is visibly free of undissolved water, sediments, and other suspended matter. Additionally, a biodiesel retailer may not sell biodiesel or biodiesel blends drawn from a storage tank that has more than two inches of water or water-alcohol at the bottom. Any retailer of biodiesel or biodiesel blends must obtain a license from the Michigan Department of Agriculture for each operating retail location. (Reference Michigan Compiled Laws 290.642 - 290.647)


May 11, 2015 – Reported by the Huffington Post – “Where are you?” I stared expectantly at my dark phone screen, impatiently waiting for it to come to life. I knew that today only one person could understand my profound disappointment. Our vision had just been shattered, and for a moment, I seriously doubted our ability to piece it back together. It was over. We had lost. But could it really have been for nothing? In those minutes before my friend’s message lit up my phone, I knew I had a decision to make: fight or flight. I had chosen wrong before; I refused to make the same mistake. A buzz directed my eyes back to the now glowing screen. “Library. Coming?” I took a deep breath and reached for my phone. “Be there soon.”
When my friend, Sy Abdul, approached me to apply for the University of Pennsylvania’s inaugural President’s Engagement Prizes — a $100,000 grant awarded annually to Penn seniors to design and implement local, national, or global engagement projects during the first year after graduation — I hesitated. I doubted my ability to open up about something that I had gone to such lengths to conceal in the past. Luckily, the necessity of our project inspired me to be brave.
The initial concept for our project, AsylumConnect, was borne out of Sy’s personal experiences as an LGBTQ asylum seeker in the U.S. Our premise was simple: to support people seeking political asylum in the U.S. because of sexual orientation or gender expression. We would accomplish this by creating the first ever website and mobile app specifically designed for LGBTQ asylum seekers. These platforms would feature a centralized catalog of available LGBTQ-friendly services by location, themed educational webinars, and animated how-to videos.
As we combined our distinct experiences into a singular effort to advance AsylumConnect, the line separating us from our project faded. What I uncovered during my research — what I was hearing from existing organizations and LGBTQ asylum seekers — deeply affected me. It altered my worldview and rearranged my priorities.
The reality is sobering for anyone….story continues below…


A hangover refers to a set of symptoms that occur as a consequence of excessive alcohol use. Typical symptoms include fatigue, weakness, thirst, headache, muscle aches, nausea, stomach pain, vertigo, sensitivity to light and sound, anxiety, irritability, sweating, and increased blood pressure. A hangover can vary from person to person.


A team of engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center developing solutions to mitigate potential thrust oscillations of the Ares 1 rocket have received approval for two options during a December 17 meeting of the Constellation Program Control Board. The options include an passive upper-plane C-spring isolator for shock absorption and a LOX tank damper to detune the LOX propellant resonance from the rocket structural resonance.
Thrust oscillations occur on all solid rockets due to a coupling of the structural resonance of the launch vehicle with the pressure wave created during burning of the solid rocket propellent. The presence of thrust oscillations are of concern to astronauts during launch of Ares 1 because significant thrust oscillations could present a danger to crew safety and response capabilities during launch. Early simulations of Ares 1 showed the potential for unacceptable thrust oscillations. However, neither the Ares 1-X test nor the DM-1 test of the Ares-1 solid rocket motors exhibited problematic thrust oscillations.
The development and incorporation of the isolators provides a further measure of conservatism and safety within the Ares 1 design and is indicative of a development program addressing real issues that arise during engineering design and testing.


Design collective Envisions have created a paving design scheme for Eindhoven, in the Netherlands, which aims to illustrate how the city’s streetscape could better showcase itself as a central hub for innovation in contemporary design.
Envisions is a collective of 24 designers, each of whom place importance on material innovation, with a focus not just on material aesthetics, but also on functionality and practicality.
Envisions’ Stone in Progress project was devised by Iwan Pol, Tijis Gilde, Tomas Dirrix, Sanne Schuurman and Simone Post.
The project is a paving strategy which aims to make Eindhoven's stones appear more diverse, by manipulating their colour, texture and structure.
The city had previously imposed the rule that all paving should be red, yet there were no limitations regarding the design or pattern of the paving.
Using previously used tiles around the city, the team employed three strategies to transform the stones into their chosen design: washing, cutting and stamping.
Envisions initially washed the stones using water jets which revealed the gravel that is ususally hidden inside the stones, giving each piece a unique pattern and texture.
The team’s cut out method involved cutting into the stones, into which new stones can be placed, adding new decorations to the design.
The stamping technique involves imprinting stones, creating wave-like patterns upon the surface of the object.
The team have also collaborated with concrete manufacturer, Morssinkhof, who focused on how Envision’s designs could be applied at an industrial scale.
This enabled the team to uncover new ways of working, for example, the team learnt that colour last much longer when it is inherent to the material.
The team also recognised that placing colour within stones isn't durable as the pigment only last for approximately four years, thus colour is best generated via the typical shades of natural gravel-based materials.
To view more about the project, visit Envisions’ website.


Your workers’ compensation doctor diagnosis your work-related injury. He or she may also refer you to other doctors and rehabilitation specialists who can help you recover. To do these jobs effectively, though, your doctor needs some information from you. Because...
Most jobs require you to perform specific tasks over and over again. Office workers often spend long hours using a computer, while factory employees may repeat the same motion throughout the day to operate a machine or assemble a component. Over time, these motions...


Sardenne, F., Hollanda, S., Lawrence, S., Albert-Arrisol, R., Degroote, M., & Bodin, N. (2017). Trophic structures in tropical marine ecosystems: a comparative investigation using three different ecological tracers. Ecol. Indic., 81, 315–324.
Résumé: We looked at how three ecological tracers may influence the characterization and interpretation of trophic structures in a tropical marine system, with a view to informing tracer(s) selection in future trophic ecology studies. We compared the trophic structures described by stable isotope compositions (carbon and nitrogen), the total mercury concentration (THg) and levels of essential fatty acids (EFA) at both the individual and species level. Analyses were undertaken on muscle tissue samples from fish and crustacean species caught in the waters surrounding the Seychelles. The carbon isotope composition (delta C-13) correlated to the proportion of arachidonic acid (ARA), whereas the nitrogen isotope composition (delta N-15) correlated to the proportion of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and THg. At the individual level, trophic position obtained with these three last tracers are similar. In ' contrast, the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) was not clearly correlated to any of the tracers. At the species level, the use of EFA (ARA and DHA), as compared to stable isotopes, resulted in slight structural modifications, mainly in the middle trophic levels. For example, the EFA overestimated the trophic positions of Thunnus alalunga and Etelis coruscans but underestimated the trophic positions of other snappers and groupers. While ARA mainly originates from coastal/benthic areas, DHA is conserved throughout the food web and may be used as a proxy indicator of trophic position. However, metabolic disparities can affect ecological tracers and in turn, distort the trophic structures derived from their results. This is especially true for species with close trophic ecologies. Despite these caveats, we think that analysing at the individual level the wealth of ARA, DHA and THg data that has already been obtained through earlier nutrition or food security studies would enhance our understanding of trophic structures.


The HSE have updated their guide to Musculoskeletal Disorders (INDG143).
This leaflet (previously published in 2012) provides practical guidance on reducing the risk of injury from hazardous manual handling. It helps employers comply with their duties under the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992. They have revised the leaflet to bring it into line with their legal guide to the regulations (L23) and current ways of working. It now includes more advice on simple filters to help you identify low-risk tasks which do not need further assessment. They have removed the safe lifting tips from the leaflet, but they will be available from HSE’s website.
The leaflet is available here.


Imagine Philanthropy for Europe
Private money for the public good plays a significant role as foundation budgets in Europe amount to €60 billion annually. The current challenges and the sense of urgency force foundations to reinvent themselves, ready to take a greater responsibility, and to enable greater European solidarity. However, philanthropy with a European purpose remains unchartered territory.
The process of European integration seems to have stopped at the doorstep of the European philanthropic sector. Genuine European philanthropy is hardly existing, a niche. So, something needs to be done.
Philanthropy with a Europen purpose is yet to be imagined and resourced. And we know that we cannot do that alone. The Corona shock could become Europe’s moment and the moment for philanthropy to commit to our common ground, Europe.
With this study the European Cultural Foundation and the Allianz Kulturstiftung for Europe would like to invite you to a discussion to imagine European philanthropy for a common future.
The study will be available soon, but we hope this preview already kickstarts your imagination on European philanthropy.


Like many organisations, our work has been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak - here’s how we’re adapting!
Although we had to cancel activities throughout February 2020, we know how important continued learning is to our participants. In addition to fears of the current situation, many of them now face the additional barrier of limits to their day off, so we’ve been exploring ways of engaging with them, particularly to address mental health concerns.
With our new website, participants can now access educational resources through their personal Enrich Accounts. We are sharing educational content on Facebook (English and Bahasa Indonesia), such as our "Ask the Experts" interviews and ‘learning packages’ from our Lunch & Learn lecture series (including takeaways, video clips and quizzes). We conducted a survey with our participants and learned that while the English/Tagalog-speakers prefer online classes, the Bahasa Indonesia-speakers prefer learning face-to-face; so we are running our first workshops using online conferencing tools as well as outdoor workshops in parks (with precautions in place). We encourage our participants to check our website first for the most updated course schedules.
Additionally, we are collaborating with Mind HK to translate their guide ‘Managing our Mental Health & Staying Well During a Virus Outbreak’ into Bahasa Indonesia and Tagalog. We are also taking this opportunity to work on internal projects, such as a new CRM system and accounting software, to ensure we are operating efficiently.
We appreciate the support we’ve received during this time and continue to grow and adapt to meet the needs of our participants.


Severe neuronal loss characterizes Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the mechanisms by which neurons die remain elusive. Additionally, it is also unclear why some neurons within the same brain region are more resistant to neurodegeneration than others. In this application, we will attempt to address these two critical issues. We focus on necroptosis, a programmed form of necrosis, triggered by receptor-interactive protein kinases (RIPK) 1 and 3 and executed by the mixed lineage kinase domain-like (MLKL) protein. Upon activation by multiple inflammatory stressors, RIPK1 can trigger cell survival or cell death pathways, with the former being a default response to inflammatory stimuli. This default survival pathway is regulated, among others, by the Lys63- deubiquitylating enzyme cylindromatosis (CYLD) and MAPKAP kinase-2 (MK2), which ubiquitinate and phosphorylate RIPK1, respectively. We provide compelling evidence showing that necroptosis is activated in postmortem human AD brains and it correlates with Braak stage, brain weight, and tau pathology. We further show that blocking necroptosis in a mouse model of AD reduces neuronal loss. These novel and exciting data, together with the experiments proposed here, may answer two key but unresolved questions: 1. Which mechanisms do govern cell loss in AD? 2. What does make some neurons more susceptible to neurodegeneration than others? Our overarching hypothesis is that necroptosis contributes to neurodegeneration and selective neuronal vulnerability in AD.
Specific Aim 1 will identify the mechanisms linking RIPK1 activation to necroptosis induction in AD. Specific Aim 2 will identify the mechanistic link between RIPK1 and tau. Specific Aim 3 will determine the role of RIPK1 in the gene expression dysregulation observed in AD. Impact: Neuronal loss is a cardinal feature of AD and invariably affects multiple brain regions. Despite this indisputable evidence, the mechanism by which neurons die is still unknown. We propose that necroptosis is a key mechanism by which neurons die in AD and propose experiments to dissect the role of this pathway in AD fully. Our results will open new opportunities for research and interventions for this insidious disorder. From a basic biology perspective, these studies will uncover new and critical knowledge into the pathogenesis of this disease. From a therapeutic perspective, these studies will determine to what extent targeting necroptosis might be a valid approach to mitigate neuronal loss in AD.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia among the elderly and the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. This application aims at identifying the molecular bases underlying neuronal loss in AD. Elucidating these mechanisms will likely highlight several novel and clinically translatable targets; thus, aiding in the development of new treatment for AD.


Nielsen, a global measurement and data analytics company, recently released a Top Innovations report which has highlighted Kellogg’s Granola range as one of the Top 14 successful Innovations in South Africa. The brand won in the Nielsen’s ‘Brand Grower’ category. This award not only recognises cereal brands, but brands across all categories. This survey examined a wide range of products which were drawn from the food, personal care, beverages, and snacks categories.
The Kellogg’s name has been synonymous with iconic cereal brands such as Corn Flakes and All-Bran for generations, but, as consumers’ needs and tastes have broadened; the company has kept pace introducing new brands and products to meet these needs. “As a leading food company, this recognition and acknowledgement of our innovation success by this study, has affirmed that, as Kellogg’s, we are on the right track in our journey to delight our consumers through our product range.” Say Avik Sarkar, Marketing Director at Kellogg’s South Africa.
The report points out that at least 38% of local consumers enjoy trying out new products, and 41% actively search for new products. This confirms that there are opportunities for unique, tasty, and healthy foods for brands to remain relevant in a highly competitive market.In 2019, the Kellogg’s Granola range was repositioned with the ‘Indulge All Your Senses’ campaign that aimed to highlight how the range offers consumers wholesome, real ingredients that they can indulge on. “This year – 2020, we have amplified our campaign through a significant marketing investment across digital platforms and have partnered with influencers to drive the message and showcase our products to consumers at large.” Concludes Sarkar.


The Aga Khan University has launched a new mobile application, ‘CoronaCheck’, enabling people to safely evaluate coronavirus symptoms with an in-home screening tool of the application.
According to an official statement, the app uses an interactive chatbot, driven by artificial intelligence, which allows users to understand their symptoms and recognise whether they may have contracted COVID-19 or not. With the app providing help promptly, it also aims to identify potential coronavirus carriers and limit their risk of transmission.
The application also provides guidelines for people to look after themselves if they are having any sort of symptoms of the highly contagious disease.
By reducing the need for suspected patients to visit hospitals for screening, the app will also contribute to curb the burden on the healthcare system and ensure care for those most in need.


Background: Increased fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and 2-hour postchallenge plasma glucose (PCPG) levels with normal hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels are recognized as risk factors for cardiovascular disease. We undertook this study to determine the relationships between FPG and 2-hour PCPG levels over the normal HbA1c range and to assess the need to control FPG and 2-hour PCPG levels to achieve HbA1c targets recommended by the American Diabetes Association (ADA), International Diabetes Federation (IDF), and American College of Endocrinology (ACE). Methods: The data of all healthy individuals with HbA1c values less than 7.0% (N = 457) who underwent oral glucose tolerance tests between 1986 and 2002 for either screening as potential research volunteers (93%) or diagnostic purposes (7%) were analyzed. Results: Of 404 individuals with normal HbA1c levels (<6.0%), 60% had normal glucose tolerance, 33% had impaired glucose tolerance, 1% had isolated impaired FPG, and 6% had type 2 diabetes mellitus. Of 161 individuals without normal glucose tolerance, 80% had normal FPG levels. Both FPG and 2-hour PCPG levels increased as HbA1c increased and were significantly correlated (r = 0.63, P<.001), but the 2-hour PCPG level increased at a rate 4 times greater than FPG and accounted for a greater proportion of HbA1c. People who met the IDF and ACE HbA1c targets (<6.5%) had significantly lower 2-hour PCPG levels than those who met the ADA target (<7.0%) (P =.03), whereas FPG levels were similar. Conclusions: Most individuals with HbA1c values between 6.0% and 7.0% have normal FPG levels but abnormal 2-hour PCPG levels, suggesting that an upper limit of normal for FPG at 110 mg/dL (6.11 mmol/L) is too high and that attempts to lower HbA1c in these individuals will require treatment preferentially directed at lowering postprandial glucose levels.


Abstract
Physical activity is known to decline during pregnancy and the postnatal period, yet physical activity is recommended during this time due to the significant health benefits for mothers and their offspring. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions imposed to reduce infection rates, pregnant and postnatal women have experienced disruption not just to their daily lives but also to their pregnancy healthcare experience and their motherhood journey with their new infant. This has included substantial changes in how, when and why they have engaged with physical activity. While some of these changes undoubtedly increased the challenge of being sufficiently active as a pregnant or postnatal woman, they have also revealed new opportunities to reach and support women and their families. This commentary details these challenges and opportunities, and highlights how researchers and practitioners can, and arguably must, harness these short-term changes for long-term benefit. This includes a call for a fresh focus on how we can engage and support those individuals and groups who are both hardest hit by COVID-19 and have previously been under-represented and under-served by antenatal and postnatal physical activity research and interventions.
Original language English Article number 7304 Number of pages 9 Journal International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Volume 17 Issue number 19 DOIs Publication status Published - 7 Oct 2020 Bibliographical note© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access
article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution
(CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Keywords Behaviour change COVID-19 Physical activity Postnatal Pregnancy Theory


Human immunodeficiency virus/Hepatitis B virus (HIV/HBV) co-infections are frequently observed due to shared routes of transmission, with reported figures indicating 6-9% of HIV-infected individuals in developed countries are chronically infected with HBV. HIV infection impacts on the natural progression of HBV infection, increasing levels of HBV replication and the risk of liver-associated mortality. Liver diseases associated with HBV are affected by the antiviral drugs used for HIV infection (toxic side effects), the current immune function in the patient, by improvements in the immune system brought about by control of the HIV infection, and by the development of resistance to the antiviral agents used for both the hepatitis B and the HIV infection. Tenofovir (TDF) is a newer antiviral drug that is frequently used for HIV infection and is also highly active against hepatitis B; however it is still unknown whether resistance to TDF will eventually develop and how this will affect the long-term outcomes
Cohort
There is one SNP
We did not identify the
mutation rtA194T or rtV214A/
Q215S in individuals failing TDF and found that the only
persisting mutations were LMV-resistant mutations. --- Q215S ---


Gastric Dilatation Volvulus (GDV)
Gastric Dilatation Volvulus (GDV) is a multifactorial issue that can be caused by a combination of genetics, anatomy, and environmental factors. GDV is the twisting of the stomach in a way that cuts off blood supply, trapping gasses and creating a life-threatening circumstance. Typically, larger dog breeds or breeds with narrow, deep chests are at a higher risk for GDV, and that risk increases with age. Cats and small dogs can still develop GDV, though it is very rare.
GDV is a two part process in which the stomach first bloats or dilates, filling with air, then undergoes torsion or volvulus, spinning on its axis. In less severe cases, a pet suffers from bloat (gastric dilatation) alone. The actual twisting of the stomach (volvulus) is a life-threatening situation that can be fatal within a matter of minutes. When a pet suffers GDV it can then cause the following emergencies:
Swollen stomach.
Pressure on the abdomen.
Damage to cardiovascular system.
Decreased blood flow.
If your pet can burp or vomit it is probably not experiencing GDV. However, if your pet seems to be in excruciating pain, contact our office immediately and we can initiate tests to check for torsion.
Abdominal pain.
Anxiousness.
Depression.
Difficulty breathing.
Excessive salivation.
Hardness developed in the stomach.
Sudden collapse.
Unexplainable weakness.
Vomiting or dry heaving.
Gastric dilatation is considered an emergency situation. Once your pet arrives, we will assess their condition and administer any necessary pain relievers or antibiotics prior to gastric decompression. After relieving the bloat from the stomach, we will perform X-rays to determine if your pet is suffering from dilatation alone or if volvulus has also occurred.
If volvulus is present, surgical options will be discussed. Surgery is necessary to return internal organs to their normal positioning, and permanent gastropexy (surgically securing stomach in upright position) is often recommended. Once a volvulus has occurred, 75 to 80% of dogs develop it again; gastropexy can prevent future reoccurrences of GDV. If you witness any of these changes in your pet, please contact our office immediately as it could indicate a serious health emergency.


In desperation, you need desperate measures. The Corona Virus Pandemic has exposed severe obstacles across daily life. It has compelled social isolation that has paved the way for an immense crisis in personal and professional spheres.
Software is the only effective way to keep people connected these days. It pushes software companies to take up more significant effort to win new clients and retain their existing clientele. It paves the way for immense competition in the IT domain.
With ever-rising race, software companies now have lesser margins for errors. They are putting their best to ensure the qualitative aspect of their products. A software bug is strong enough to trigger irreversible damages to a brand and the revenue figure. As such,
QA Outsourcing services are all set to get paramount importance in the domain of technology.
IT professionals are finding an adamant time in combating these challenges. Their focus is to ensure the company’s existence, leave apart the chances of consolidating the revenues. However, this crisis time is a high potential for companies to prepare themselves for the forthcoming times. Here are the tricks and tips that software companies should inevitably follow to find a way-out through challenging times.
Focus on delivering complete testing services with ¼th workforce
Businesses of all types and sizes are cutting down their operational spending plans. They are getting compelled to drain their talents to keep the operational expenses within control. However, it never calls for limiting the extent of Testing. Instead, your focus should be on maximizing the area in this regard. The only way to materialize this plan is to optimize the hourly production rate. Even if businesses have the responsibility to minimize the count of jobs-lost, it cannot retain its operation, if the fixed cost gets to an alarming extent. Hence, optimizing the workforce becomes crucial.
Testing must cover Performance and Functionality Testing Software Testing involve Test Automation as a critical component. The Automation process is to automate the practice of testing an application. The scope of work in this regard comprises two significant aspects- Performance and Functionality Testing.
Functional Testing involves the orientation to validate AUT Errors, maturing out of its functionality. For example, once a user hits the Login Tab. He/she should move to the Navigation page.
Performance Testing is all about verifying the total performance and the system’s scalability under Load. It gets measured by evaluating the time taken across the complete transaction for the data that flows between the terminals. Besides, it involves the evaluation of the sustainability of users. Usually, log-in communication is likely to take a second for one thousand users.
Working with testers without experience in Test Automation
Usually, Software Testing services involve manual Testing. In the majority instances, the Quality Assurance team gets dominated by professionals without experience in coding or Test Automation. These instances come as the most severe challenges for testing team leaders.
The real-time professional domain will hardly allow the luxury to learn new things or play the Trial and error game. Hence, companies are looking for personnel who are conversant with Test Automation and Coding. Therefore, Testers with profound experience in Test Automation will get preference over their counterparts, who are yet to have hands-on experience on Test Automation.
Companies have some unsolicited experience, trying Test Automation in the past.
The majority of businesses tried implementing Test Automation and ended up making some unwanted experience. The significant part of their effort and their budget likely got exhausted in maintaining scripts than regressing Testing. If you aspire to taste significant success in this regard, you must approach the implementation process in a considerate manner. You must ensure that you are picking appropriate tools that support the application undergoing the test. Most importantly, the device needs to be compatible with the specific Development Life cycle.
In the majority instances, Test Automation teams focus on optimizing the return on investment, or they are reluctant about investing in similar tools unless they get substantial results. Hence, these teams prefer working with Free Tools that never suits the professional working ambiance. It is hard to ensure efficient Testing if your team is working with such low-end tools.
Companies are trying Test Automation without substantial results.
Many businesses are working with Test Automation over the last few years. However, deploying only a handful of engineers cannot cope with the ideal schedule for Regression Testing. In case your organization has made a similar experience, it demands you to reconsider your Test Automation Framework.
Suppose you are targeting the optimum return on your investment in Testing Automation. In that case, you inevitably need to downsize the Articrafts to the extent possible. Portability On Cross-Platform and the Shareability of the Testing Automation Framework Components hold paramount significance in this regard. For example, a line of Test Automation Coding is equivalent to the expenses in per-minute Script Maintenance. It gets determined by the tools you deploy across the Test Automation process.
AUT Demands Testing across various platforms with broader scripts
· AUT, majorly demands testing across multiple web browsers and operating systems.
· The majority of companies hold the notion that it is impossible to retain their present testing frequency with the workforce downsized to 1/4th of the actual workforce volume.
Ensure considerate selection of the Testing Tools
Experts suggest that these companies should pick Test Automation Tools that feature a single test execution with a single script. It enables a company to operate with a unique text, rather than having multiple scenarios to facilitate Test Automation.
Companies can even redesign their Test Automation Framework. Ideally, they should give their framework an event-oriented, logic-rich, Data-intensive, and modular design. Such a configuration facilitates streamlining all business logic upon a sole Test process that will deal with Procedural Test, involving test data.
Considering the points discussed above, companies put their sincere efforts to automating their testing methodology to optimize team productivity. Most importantly, they must make a wise selection of the tools that match the team’s ability and skill sets and become compatible with their development plans. There are no other alternatives than to design Test Automation Architecture in a precise manner for downsizing the persistent maintenance needs.


City Controller Alan Butkotvitz recently commissioned a citywide survey, which found that Philadelphia’s “eds and meds” spend over $5 billion annually on good and services. This finding has prompted Butkotvitz to explore opportunities for how local anchor institutions can boost local employment by shifting 25 percent of their procurement to local vendors. The Democracy Collaborative was pleased to be asked to contribute to the report.


What foods are in the Protein Foods Group?
All foods made from meat, poultry, seafood, beans and peas, eggs, processed soy products, nuts, and seeds are considered part of the Protein Foods Group. Beans and peas are also part of the Vegetable Group.
Beans and peas are the mature forms of legumes. They include kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans, lima beans, black-eyed peas, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), split peas and lentils. They are available in dry, canned, and frozen forms. These foods are excellent sources of plant protein, and also provide other nutrients such as iron and zinc. They are similar to meats, poultry, and fish in their contribution to these nutrients. Therefore, they are considered part of the Protein Foods Group. Many people consider beans and peas as vegetarian alternatives for meat. However, they are also considered part of the Vegetable Group because they are excellent sources of dietary fiber and nutrients such as folate and potassium. These nutrients, which are often low in the diet of many Americans, are also found in other vegetables.
Because of their high nutrient content, consuming beans and peas is recommended for everyone, including people who also eat meat, poultry, and fish regularly.
The Food Patterns also indicate that beans and peas may be counted as part of the Protein Foods Group. Individuals can count beans and peas as either a vegetable or a protein food.
Green peas, green lima beans, and green (string) beans are not considered to be part of the beans and peas subgroup. Green peas and green lima beans are similar to other starchy vegetables and are grouped with them. Green beans are grouped with other vegetables such as onions, lettuce, celery, and cabbage because their nutrient content is similar to those foods.
Select a variety of protein foods to improve nutrient intake and health benefits, including at least 8 ounces of cooked seafood per week. Young children need less, depending on their age and calorie needs. The advice to consume seafood does not apply to vegetarians. Vegetarian options in the Protein Foods Group include beans and peas, processed soy products, and nuts and seeds. Meat and poultry choices should be lean or low-fat.


Selina Hofstetter - Making Suffrage Work: The impact of female suffrage in different environments
I exploit quasi-random local franchise extensions to Swiss women in the late 20th century to empirically identify the political impact of female suffrage in different contexts. First, I analyze municipalities with a male majority in favor of women’s vote and ones with a majority against it. I further study municipalities with a parliament versus direct-democratic assemblies. My findings show that female suffrage caused a right-wing effect in municipal party vote shares and expenditure. However, municipalities that favored female suffrage moved more center-right than right, and experienced a lower drop in electoral turnout. Municipalities with a parliament instead of an assembly making budget decisions, experienced an increase instead of a drop in expenditure. I complement my findings with a national election survey from 1972 to show that the effects might be driven by differences in women’s political interest.
I am a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University’s Democracy & Polarization Lab. I hold a Ph.D. in Political Science from the London School of Economics (LSE). My research analyses the performance of democratic institutions with a focus on women.
I use empirical quantitative methods with a focus on causal inference, but I am also familiar with game theory and very interested in co-authoring with formal theorists. For my dissertation on the introduction of local female suffrage in Switzerland, I collected and coded an unique historical dataset at the Swiss municipality level between 1940-1990. To complete this, I received support from the Baroness Birk Award and the STICERD Ph.D. Grant.
From March until June 2020, I visited Uppsala University. From September 2019 until March 2020, I was a visiting researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. I attended the EITM Summer Institute at Emory University in 2019 and the Zurich Summer School for Women in Political Methodology in 2017.


Sitra’s working paper proposes 35 steps for implementing the European data strategy, highlighting the need to include personal data on the agenda.
The European Commission’s new data strategy aims to create a common European data space, that is, a single market for data, which will allow data to flow freely within the EU and across sectors for the benefit of businesses, researchers and public administrations.
Sitra’s working paper, created together with the A New Governance initiative, proposes 35 future-proof steps for policymakers and companies to take in the short and long term to make the vision outlined in the European data strategy work. The proposals, targeted at the European Commission, the EU’s member states, industry, those creating data sharing initiatives and the research field, are grouped into four main topics according to the strategy chapter in the data strategy:
the management of the cross-sectoral availability and reuse of non-personal and personal data; the creation of an infrastructure for data markets; the empowerment of individuals and businesses through the reuse of data; the development of a complementary cross-sectoral personal data space.
“It is hard to make a clear-cut distinction between industrial (non-personal) and personal data. A good example is data collected by vehicles. Without including personal data in the data strategy, a significant amount of data is excluded from the data markets, and consequently cannot be exploited for innovation purposes,” notes
Laura Halenius, Senior Lead on Sitra’s IHAN project. A European single market for data enables innovation
Currently, there is not enough data available to promote innovation. To make data fully available to public entities and companies of all sizes, we propose actions such as developing common standards and best practices, providing investment, and building cloud services to ensure the creation of the necessary infrastructure for functioning data markets.
To promote cross-sectoral data sharing, we propose the creation of a governance body that would help to ensure the interoperability of different data spaces, a human-centric approach at all stages of decision-making, and close co-operation with the European standardisation bodies.
For businesses, non-personal and personal data sharing is key to creating new business models and innovative services. To overcome the lack of trust and skills that prevent individuals from sharing data, people need to be motivated by innovative services that add real value to their lives. We also propose the creation of a “fair data label” for trustworthy digital services.
“Better use and sharing of data is also crucial in the current Covid-19 crisis and its aftermath – it will enable governments and businesses to respond to future challenges more efficiently,” notes
Markus Kalliola, Senior Lead on the IHAN Project at Sitra. “European companies need support and funding to renew their business models to respond to the changed operating environment.”
To unleash the full potential of Europe in the digital age, we recommend the co-ordinated development of data spaces. We also recommend adding a horizontal and cross-cutting personal data space to the data strategy alongside the sector-specific data spaces.
More information Read more in Sitra’s working paper, 35 proposals to make the European data strategy work, compiled by Sitra’s fair data economy project in collaboration with the A New Governance initiative. Sitra’s working papers provide multidisciplinary information about developments affecting societal change. They are part of Sitra’s future-oriented work conducted by means of forecasting, research, projects, experiments and education.


In 2019, the bubble well-and-truly burst for pot stocks, sending many investors running for the hills. Now, it looks like we're seeing the cannabis industry rally back up.
As we've covered extensively, 2019 was not a kind year for cannabis investors, and by the time the COVID-19 pandemic became widespread in March 2020, the American Cannabis Index was valued at just a tenth of its value in the previous year.
While COVID-19 was itself largely responsible for what is now being called the "March 2020 crash," the cannabis industry was already dealing with internal issues that had sullied investor confidence.
Overpriced valuations, a persistent black market, cash hemorrhaging, and a lack of available funding all converged to bring the cannabis industry to its knees.
In response to these issues and the COVID-19 crisis, many companies began to cut costs wherever possible. Canopy Growth laid off over 1,000 staff, and ceased operations across three continents, OrganiGram cut 45% of its workforce and Aurora cut hundreds of jobs, including 25% of its corporate positions in February.
But now, as we enter the final quarter of 2020, it's beginning to look like pot stocks are beginning to bounce back.
As shown above, the American Cannabis Index on New Cannabis Ventures has increased by over 260% since mid-March. Additionally, the ETF ETFMG Alternative Harvest (MJ) has climbed 50% since that same period. While these current gains felt by the industry admittedly pale compared to its 2018 bubble-heights, we may be seeing a more realistic evaluation of the cannabis industry's trajectory and potential.
And it looks as though portfolio managers are beginning to think the same, with Investopedia reporting that the Boston-based investment manager 'Putnam Investments LLC' had purchased 6 million shares of the U.S.-based cannabis MSO 4Front Ventures, and Wasatch Advisors Inc., a Utah-based asset manager, is now the second-largest holder of Cresco Labs shares.
Evidently, investor sentiment is slowly but surely returning to the cannabis industry, and there are several reasons for this. As we've discussed previously, the COVID-19 pandemic brought some unexpected benefits to the cannabis industry.
During the pandemic, cannabis stores were deemed "essential," and throughout the world recreational and medicinal cannabis sales climbed despite the ongoing economic downturn. Additionally, it is likely that the cost-cutting measures implemented by cannabis companies in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic sat well with investors, who have been watching capital pour out of the industry at sky-high rates.
However, as is often the case, some companies have thrived more than others during this growth period for the cannabis industry. Let's take a look at two of the top performers during the second half of 2020.
Disclaimer: Past performance is not an indicator of future performance.
Few marijuana stocks have performed as well as Green Thumb Industries has recently, as the company's recent quarterly results show. Had investors bought into GTI stock during the March 2020 crash, they'd be up roughly 300% right now.
Employing an 'enter, open and scale' strategy, Green Thumb Industries (CSE: GTII) is a Multi-State Operator that owns and operates a series of cannabis stores throughout the United States called Rise™ and Essence. GTI has 13 manufacturing facilities, 48 stores open across the U.S, and enough licenses for a total of 96 retail locations and operations across the country.
Green Thumb's family of consumer brands is produced, distributed, and available in retail locations in nine states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, and Green Thumb currently employs over 1,800 people.
As per the recent quarterly results, GTI managed to bring in over $100 million for the second consecutive quarter, with the most recent quarter bringing in $119.6 million for the company. This represents a 167.5% increase year-over-year and a 16.6% increase over the previous quarter. In the first half of 2020, GTI has already exceeded the company's total revenue for 2019.
While Green Thumb Industries reported a net loss of $12.9 million this quarter, the company's adjusted EBITDA was $35.4 million, which was leaps and bounds higher than the adjusted EBITDA of $2.3 million during the same period last year.
Disclaimer: Past performance is not an indicator of future performance.
Green Thumb Industries wasn't the only cannabis company to have a stellar second quarter, with GrowGen also achieving solid growth over the period, as revealed by its own Q2 results for 2020.
GrowGeneration Corp. is the largest hydroponic supplier in the US since its founding in 2014. GrowGen currently has 28 organic garden centers across 10 states, allowing the company to supply the cannabis industry with crucial lighting technology, pest controls, ventilation, soils, and propagation supplies.
During the most recent quarter, GRWG enjoyed a 123% revenue increase, from $19.5 million during Q2 last year, to $43.5 million for Q2 2020. Additionally, GrowGen's Adjusted EBITDA was $4.6 million for Q2 2020 compared with $1.7 million for Q2 2019, an increase of 166% or $0.12 per share.
Had investors bought GrowGeneration stocks during the March lull, they similarly would have enjoyed returns of over 300%.
Moreover, not only is GrowGeneration's balance sheet moving quickly in the right direction, but the company is an ancillary stock, one that we've identified previously as a key "pick and shovel" company. The ancillary nature of the company buttresses it against the unpredictability of the cannabis industry more generally, specifically when compared with "plant-touching" companies.
GrowGeneration projects that sales could reach $260 million, with an Adjusted EBITDA of roughly $28 million throughout 2021.
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FTSE 100 listed chemicals and tech company, Johnson Matthey (LON:JMAT), watched its share price shed 5% on Thursday, as the company saw its bottom line contract significantly during the recent half-year of trading.
The company reported that sales fell by 20%, driven by reduced demand for its Clean Air, Efficient Natural Resources and New Markets offerings. Despite this, reported revenues rose by 2%, led by increases in average previous metals prices.
Following the trend of painful fundamentals, its reported operating profits contracted by 74%, from £259 million to £68 million. Similarly, profit before tax dropped by more than 88% year-on-year, following ‘major’ impairment and restructuring charges of £78 million.
In terms of its balance sheet, Johnson Matthey reported cash flow of £482 million, while its net debt to EBITDA ratio stood at 1.6 and its return on invested capital fell to 10.6%, pushed by lower operating profit.
The situation was equally rough for the company’s shareholders, with reported EPS falling 87%, to 12.3p, and the interim dividend per share sliding 18% to 20.0p, due to reduced profits and higher net finance charges.
Responding to the challenges pandemic trading environment, and looking to the future, Chief Executive, Robert MacLeod said: “ It has been a challenging period but the steps we have taken in recent years to create a more simple, agile and efficient business, coupled with the dedication of all my colleagues across the whole of Johnson Matthey, have enabled us to navigate it well. I am pleased that we delivered operating performance ahead of market expectations, as well as good cash generation, and made further progress on transforming the group.”
“[…] I am excited by our medium term growth prospects driven by accelerating global trends and we are purpose led to reduce the impact of climate change. We are investing for our future and remain focused on executing our growth opportunities including battery materials, fuel cells and our hydrogen production technologies.”
Following the stinging trading update, Johnson Matthey shares fell by 4.59%, to 2,433.00p a share 19/11/20. This price is below its post-lockdown high of 2,654.00p a share, but fairly consistent with its going rate over the last six months.
Analysts currently have a consensus ‘Hold’ stance on the stock and a target price of 2,555p – which is roughly where it began the day. It’s p/e ratio of 18.40, which looks like good value versus the basic materials sector average of 26.81. The Marketbeat community currently has a 53.32% “underperform” stance on the stock.


O'Brien T, Social control and trust in the New Zealand Environmental Movement, Journal of Sociology, Volume 51, Issue 4, 2015, Pages 785-798
Abstract:
Escalating concern regarding environmental issues has resulted in an increase in the number and scope of environmental movements internationally. The diversity and proactive nature of these movements has put pressure on public (state) actors to address challenges and engage with movement actors. Engagement is not universally positive and can lead to attempts at disruption or subversion of challenging movements. This article examines the impact of perceived state subversion on trust within the New Zealand environmental movement through the alleged use of spies. The analysis finds that short-term emotional reactions within the movement that led to questioning of relationships were outweighed by longer-term pragmatic view about the need to maintain collective action


Abstract
Amyloid precursor protein (AβPP), a precursor of amyloid β (Aβ) peptide, is one of the molecules involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Specific mutations in AβPP have been found in patients inheriting familial AD (FAD). These mutant AβPP proteins cause cell death in neuronal cell lines in vitro, but the molecular mechanism of cytotoxicity has not yet been clarified completely. We analyzed the cytotoxic mechanisms of the London-type AβPP mutant, V642I-AβPP, in primary cortical neurons utilizing an adenovirus-mediated gene transfer system. Expression of V642I-AβPP protein induced degeneration of the primary neurons. This cytotoxicity was blocked by pertussis toxin, a specific inhibitor for heterotrimeric G proteins, Go/i, and was suppressed by an inhibitor of caspase-3/7 and an antioxidant, glutathione ethyl ester. A specific inhibitor for NADPH oxidase, apocynin, but not a xanthine oxidase inhibitor or a nitric oxide inhibitor, blocked V642I-AβPP-induced cytotoxicity. Among mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family proteins, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38MAPK, but not extracellular regulated kinase (ERK), were involved in this cytotoxic pathway. The V642I-AβPP-induced cytotoxicity was not suppressed by two secretase inhibitors, suggesting that Aβ does not play a major role in this cytotoxicity. Two neuroprotective factors, insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and Humanin, protected these primary neurons from V642I-AβPP-induced cytotoxicity. Furthermore, interleukin-6 and -11 also attenuated this cytotoxicity. This study demonstrated that the signaling pathway activated by mutated AβPP in the primary neurons is the same as that by the other artificial insults such as antibody binding to AβPP and the artificial dimerization of cytoplasmic domain of AβPP. The potential of neurotrophic factors and cytokines in AD therapy is also indicated.
Keywords Alzheimer's disease Humanin NADPH oxidase Neurodegeneration c-Jun N-terminal kinase ASJC Scopus subject areas Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience


Abstract
All people are vulnerable to having their self-concepts shaped by others. This article investigates that vulnerability using a theory of narrative self-constitution. According to narrative self-constitution, people depend on others to develop and maintain skills of self-narration and they are vulnerable to having the content of their self-narratives co-authored by others. This theoretical framework highlights how vulnerability to co-authoring is essential to developing a self-narrative and, thus, the possibility of autonomy. However, this vulnerability equally entails that co-authors can undermine autonomy by contributing disvalued content to the agent’s self-narrative and undermining her authorial skills. I illustrate these processes with the first-hand reports of several women who survived sexual abuse as children. Their narratives of survival and healing reveal the challenges involved in (re)developing the skills required to manage vulnerability to co-authoring and how others can help in this process. Finally, I discuss some of the implications of co-authoring for the healthcare professional and the therapeutic relationship.
Keywords Autonomy Co-authoring Narrative Vulnerability


Abstract
Despite considerable examination of gender and gender equity within early childhood education, gender inequity remains problematic in many early childhood settings. Using qualitative methods, the study reported in this article investigated four early childhood teachers’ understandings about gender and their commitment to promoting gender equity. It adopted a triangulated investigation of the teachers’ understandings, attitudes and commitment to gender equity that involved talking with the teachers about their practice, observing their pedagogic practice, and inviting them to reflect on gender-based scenarios. While the participants believed gender to be a significant issue for early childhood teachers, their understandings about many aspects of gender and gender equity were heavily grounded in socialisation theory. In addition, their reliance on socialisation theory seemed to contribute to a sense of fatalism regarding their capacity for intervention. The study concludes that engaging with feminist poststructuralist theory may enhance teachers’ understanding about gender and gender equity and offer a way of intervening effectively at the local level.
Original language English Pages (from-to) 21-27 Number of pages 7 Journal Australian Journal of Early Childhood Volume 30 Issue number 1 Publication status Published - 2005 Keywords preschool education sex role teachers


In the decades following World War II, psychology as a science made notable strides in diagnosing and treating pathologies. While the contribution of psychological research on mental illness and adversity has …
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Emotional wellbeing, self-empowerment, and emotional breakthrough support and coaching is Bethany’s skill and passion. Her mission is to inspire and empower you to reach your personal, physical, health and emotional wellbeing.
CERTIFIED HYPNOTHERAPIST
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2020 has been a year of stark challenges, exposing privilege and inequity across economic, health and educational systems. Equity, specifically in the context of education, refers to every student having the resources and support they need in order to succeed academically. The opportunities for learning for students during the COVID-19 pandemic have been mired by inequity – varying drastically and have been correlated with student location, racial demographics, family income-level, and special needs.
While digital inequities existed and impacted students before COVID-19, the shutdown of physical school buildings has exacerbated them and brought necessary attention to the issue. This Digital Divide is one manifestation of inequity in education and describes the gap between students who have sufficient access to and knowledge of technology to succeed academically, and those who do not. The resiliency of educational systems across the world has been tested during this pandemic, and those students most impacted by the Digital Divide have faced the biggest challenges in continuity of learning.
We know access is a foundational piece of educational equity and for many years, access to institutionalized education was inherently tied to the access to physical school buildings. No matter the background and individual challenges of students, once inside the walls of a school, students had the opportunity to learn. However, a student’s ability to learn has always been determined in part by their access to learning opportunities once they leave the school, including digital access.
There is an opportunity to increase educational equity – in the midst of these challenging times- by addressing the Digital Divide head on, affirmatively examining inequities, and investing in solutions that support access to and resilience of learning opportunities for all students.
In our recently released discussion paper “Education Equity, the Digital Divide, and COVID-19“ we examine some of the equity concerns correlated with COVID-19 and K–12 education— and provide foundational knowledge in the hopes of facilitating meaningful action towards alleviating inequity and creating resilient systems of learning. It includes recommendations for how education leaders can use this crisis as an opportunity to propel us into a future where all students have more robust and equitable learning opportunities.


This study evaluates the effectiveness of contracting out mandatory publicly provided counselling and training for long-term unemployed in Flanders (Belgium) to private for-profit and non-profit organisations (FPOs and NPOs). A multivariate transition model exploits timing-of-events and novel exclusion restrictions to account for selection on unobservables. Overall, the intervention was highly effective in reducing unemployment duration, but also spurred employment instability and withdrawals from the labour force. FPOs slightly, but significantly enhanced exits to employment without reinforcing recidivism relative to the public provider but not significantly relative to NPOs. FPOs also charged lower prices and hence were the best performing providers.
Subjects:
contracting out of employment services non-profit versis profit private provision of public services timing-of-events long-term unemployment


BACKGROUND. Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) improves diagnostic rates in individuals with suspected Mendelian conditions to varying degrees, primarily by directing the prioritization of candidate DNA variants identified on exome or genome sequencing (ES/GS). Here we implemented an RNA-seq guided method to diagnose individuals across a wide range of ages and clinical phenotypes. METHODS. One hundred fifteen undiagnosed adult and pediatric patients with diverse phenotypes and 67 family members (182 total individuals) underwent RNA-seq from whole blood and fibroblasts at the Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) clinical site from 2014-2020. We implemented a workflow to detect outliers in gene expression and splicing for cases that remained undiagnosed despite standard genomic and transcriptomic analysis. RESULTS. The transcriptome-directed approach resulted in a diagnostic rate of 12% across the entire cohort, or 17% after excluding cases solved on ES/GS alone. Newly diagnosed conditions included Koolen-de Vries syndrome (KANSL1), Renpenning syndrome (PQBP1), TBCK-associated encephalopathy, NSD2- and CLTC-related intellectual disability, and others, all with negative conventional genomic testing, including ES and chromosomal microarray (CMA). Fibroblasts exhibited higher and more consistent expression of clinically relevant genes than whole blood. In solved cases with RNA-seq from both tissues, the causative defect was missed in blood in half the cases but none from fibroblasts. CONCLUSION. For our cohort of undiagnosed individuals with suspected Mendelian conditions, transcriptome-directed genomic analysis facilitated diagnoses, primarily through the identification of variants missed on ES and CMA.
David R. Murdock, Hongzheng Dai, Lindsay C. Burrage, Jill A. Rosenfeld, Shamika Ketkar, Michaela F. Müller, Vicente A. Yépez, Julien Gagneur, Pengfei Liu, Shan Chen, Mahim Jain, Gladys Zapata, Carlos A. Bacino, Hsiao-Tuan Chao, Paolo Moretti, William J. Craigen, Neil A. Hanchard, Brendan Lee
Guidelines: The Editorial Board will only consider letters that we deem relevant and of interest to our readers. We will not post data that have not been subjected to peer review, nor will we post letters that are essentially a reiteration of another letter. We reserve the right to edit any letter for length, content, and clarity. Authors will be notified by e-mail if their letters were accepted. No appeals will be considered. Specific requirements: All letters must be 400 words or fewer. You may enter the letter as plain text or HTML. The author's name and e-mail address are required, and will be posted with the letter. All possible conflicts of interest must be noted, even if they are not posted. If you wish to include a figure (keep in mind that non-peer-reviewed data will not be posted), please contact the editors directly at editors@the-jci.org.


The Sino-Vatican Agreement Renewal: Pro Deo or Pro Patria?
On October 22, 2020, the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China announced a renewal of their two-year agreement regarding the appointment of bishops for another two years. The deal had previously symbolized a monumental shift in relations between the Vatican and the Catholic Church in China, and its renewal raises questions and concerns about the future of Vatican relations with East Asia.
Since the establishment of the state-run Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association in 1957, China’s Catholics, numbering approximately 12 million, have been split between the government-ordained churches and the underground and unofficial churches that remain outside the government’s reach. During this period, the Vatican maintained links with the underground churches and approved their clergy, while refusing to recognize the State-appointed bishops in the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association and excommunicating their bishops. The 2018 accord, which has never been released in writing, gave the Pope a role in approving bishops, shortlisted by Beijing, for the State-run church. As a price for Papal sanction of the official church, the Vatican has encouraged the appointment of state-approved bishops to previously “underground” dioceses — a move some call a “selling out” of the faithful.
The Vatican insists that its agreement with China, and its subsequent renewal, is “purely ecclesiastic and pastoral in nature, not political.” Its primary objective was for the entirety of the Catholic faithful in China to have bishops in “full communion with the Successor of Peter” and settle the nature of the relationship between the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association and Rome. The Holy See’s official statement praised the initial application of the Agreement as positive, and stated, “The parties intend to pursue an open dialogue for the benefit of the life of the Catholic Church and the good of Chinese people.” In recommitting to the agreement, the Vatican indicates that it believes it is on the right path to healing the fractured Church. There are 40 dioceses without formal leadership, and over one hundred bishop appointments need to be approved. The Vatican also expects that formalization and legitimacy for the unified Catholic Church will lead to improvements in daily life for Catholics in China, who face ever-mounting persecution. It is also spiritually significant for Chinese Catholics to be in unity with the Pope, and be accepted within the broader global church.
That China has given this influential foreign government a say in choosing leaders is a meaningful concession, considering how closely the government guards its domestic affairs. In a time of rising hostility among the international community towards China, this deal is arguably a diplomatic win for the Communist Party and a boon to its public image. A more cynical view might argue China has obtained religious legitimacy for its “sinification” of the Catholic faith. Cardinal Joseph Zen, former Bishop of Hong Kong, strongly opposed the deal and its re-signing — even travelling to Rome to plead his case. In his view, both the official and unofficial churches will be weakened by the deal, as the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association is legitimized while the underground church is abandoned. Since the initial signing, the Vatican has not appointed bishops to any of the underground churches, while approving several State-approved candidates to the Patriotic Church. The Holy See’s willingness to negotiate with Communist China is a marked departure from previous Papal administrations. Zen attributes part of this pivot to Pope Francis’ Latin American background, where leftists advocated for the poor and opposed the persecution of Christians. In the broader picture, Zen believes the deal is a step towards “re-establishing diplomatic relations [between the PRC and Holy See],” which he believes to be misguided by virtue of being “political, not religious.”
The relationship between the Catholic Church and worldly political authorities has always been a delicate balance between the practical and the principle. Catholic social teaching affirms that “every civilized community must have a ruling authority…and this authority has God as its author.” This authority, however, “must guarantee community life without usurping the free activity of individuals and groups.” Herein lies the theological dilemma facing Catholic leadership in the face of a broken world; to what extent should the Pope work with countries that are avowedly opposed to Christian values and teachings? Unity and spiritual communion both within China and with Rome is certainly a laudable objective for the Catholic Church, but it may be too early to tell whether this agreement will deliver that result. Ever cognizant of the fragile relationship between the Church and political authorities, Pope Francis has had to walk a fine line in shepherding his flock. In a letter to Chinese Catholics at the time of the 2018 deal, Pope Francis wrote they should be “good citizens, loving their homeland and serving their country with diligence and honesty [….] At times, this may also require of them the effort to offer a word of criticism, not out of sterile opposition, but for the sake of building a society that is more just, human, and respectful of the dignity of each person.”
If the renewal of the 2018 agreement is truly emblematic of rapprochement between China and the Holy See, there are significant geopolitical concerns at stake. The Vatican is the last European government to recognize the Republic of China (Taiwan), and despite Papal assurances to the Taiwanese that they will continue recognition, it remains a significant bargaining chip the Vatican could use in further negotiations with the Mainland. Hastily switching recognition from democratic Taiwan (ROC) to the Mainland (PRC), where Catholic clergy remain imprisoned, may signal a weakness in the moral legitimacy of the Church. Only seventeen countries recognize Taiwan’s government, and a dissolution of relations by the Pope and the one billion followers he represents would be a significant political and moral blow to the island. While it may be tempting for the Vatican to offer this diplomatic coup in exchange for needed religious-freedom reforms in China, the Catholic Church needs to keep the balance between practical and principle in mind.
Perhaps Pope Francis has made a fatal geopolitical and spiritual error in trying to legitimize the state-run church; maybe Chinese Catholics will successfully keep their faith and freedom, and render unto Xi what belongs to Xi. In any case, the success or failure of the 2018 clerical agreement will be crucial in determining the future for global Catholicism, Taiwanese legitimacy, and religious freedoms in China.
Edited by Max Clark


Correlating Culture to Corporate Success
Tawnya Starr’s presentation, “Culture Shock: Wake up your Business with the Right Culture,” discussed strategies for companies to improve their internal culture among their employees and the culture they develop with their customers. Starr, president of PrinterPresence (Booth 4058), shared some of the practices that have been effective for her company, a provider of website solutions for the printing industry. She outlined three steps to building a sustainable culture with both employees and customers.
Developing a strong internal culture, Starr said, stems from the development of strong corporate values. She recommended that companies make a concerted effort to move beyond the typical values often found in many organizations and discover the values that make the most sense for their organization. To discover the right values for a company, Starr explained it should check five specific boxes:
It is distinguished? Are we obsessed with it? Will it outlive us? Can we actually live this value every day? Would we sacrifice money to protect it?
Starr noted that once a company has established its core values, it’s important to hire with these values in mind, rather than hiring based on skill and then teaching values.
The third step to creating a strong culture that Starr outlined is living these values every day. She recommended that companies post them throughout their facilities to ensure they’re instilled in the minds of all employees on a daily basis.


LEWISTON, Idaho - An officer with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport (LWS) discovered a loaded firearm Monday morning at the security checkpoint during routine screening of carry-on baggage.
The Transportation Security Officer (TSO) found the firearm around 6:15 a.m. in the carry-on bag of a male passenger ticketed for travel to Salt Lake City International Airport. The firearm - an American Arms .22 Magnum - was loaded with five rounds of ammunition.
When the TSO saw the image of a firearm on the X-ray screen, the Lewiston Police Department (LPD) was immediately notified and responded to the checkpoint. LPD confiscated the firearm and the passenger was allowed to continue to his flight.
“This incident is yet another reminder for all passengers headed to the airport - make sure you know what is in your luggage,” said TSA Federal Security Director for Idaho Andy Coose. “Firearms traveling in the cabin of an airplane pose a significant hazard to the aircraft and to passengers. Firearms in carry-on luggage discovered at the security checkpoint can result in police action, delays in screening and fines or prosecution. I urge all travelers to look carefully and know what they are bringing in their bags
before heading to the airport.”
This is the first firearm TSA has discovered in carry-on baggage at LWS in 2017. No firearms were discovered in carry-on baggage at LWS in 2016. However, TSA officers discovered a total of 22 firearms at Idaho airports in 2016 including 18 at the Boise Airport, two at Joslin Field Magic Valley in Twin Falls and two at Idaho Falls Regional Airport.
Nationwide in 2016, TSA found 3,391 guns in carry-on bags at airport security checkpoints. In 2015, TSA officers across the country detected 2,653 firearms in passengers’ carry-on bags.
Firearms, ammunition, firearm parts and realistic replicas of firearms are always prohibited in carry-on baggage. However, these items can be transported in checked baggage provided the traveler declares them to the airline during the ticket counter check-in process.
Firearms in checked baggage must be unloaded and stored in a locked, hard-sided container. TSA urges passengers to contact their airline for specific firearm and ammunition policies and to check local laws related to the carrying and transport of firearms.
In addition to facing local or state criminal charges, TSA reserves the right to levy a civil penalty of up to $7,500 for bringing a dangerous weapon like a firearm to the checkpoint. Each penalty is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
TSA reminds passengers to be aware of the contents of their carry-on bag prior to coming to the security checkpoint. TSA has multiple resources available to passengers to help them determine whether an item is permitted in carry-on baggage, checked baggage or not at all. For more information, visit the prohibited items page on tsa.gov or use TSA's app -
myTSA.
Additional traveler information specifically related to the commercial air transport of firearms and ammunition can be found on the transporting firearms and ammunition page on tsa.gov.


Abstract
Intelligence has consistently been recognized as a robust correlate of health, life success, and behavior. Evidence also suggests that intelligence may contribute to another key correlate of behavior: self-control. The current study builds on recent work in this area by examining the association between intelligence and self-control across multiple raters and when accounting for potential confounding influences not accounted for in prior research. Results based on a national sample of U.S. children indicates that higher scores for intelligence are associated with more self-control in both cross-sectional and longitudinal models, even when accounting for prior self-control, child executive functioning, maternal intelligence, and maternal self-control. Moreover, the association persisted across both teacher and mother ratings of child self-control. As such, these findings support and extend prior work examining the nexus between intelligence and self-control, and may explain why both traits are important for understanding success across a host of life outcomes in humans.
Keywords Adolescence Childhood Intelligence SECCYD Self-control ASJC Scopus subject areas Experimental and Cognitive Psychology Developmental and Educational Psychology Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)


AAFP Urges CMS to Safeguard Continuity of Care for Seniors AAFP, other groups concerned about commercial entities undermining value of annual wellness visit
MONDAY, May 18, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- In a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and other organizations emphasize the importance of encouraging Medicare beneficiaries to engage with their primary care physician in an annual wellness visit.
Noting that the annual wellness visit aims to keep senior patients healthy by allowing them to engage with their primary care physician on an annual basis for prevention and early detection of illness, the AAFP and six other organizations expressed concern that some commercial entities were subverting the benefit and misleading patients by offering additional services.
In their letter to the CMS, the organizations emphasize the importance of continuity of care and note that patients may be denied some of the benefits of the annual wellness visit if the provider has no prior relationship with the patient or intent of continuing care for the patient after the annual wellness visit. In addition, the patient's primary physician may not know that the patient has received an annual wellness visit from a distinct entity until after the fact. Some of these entities engage in direct-to-consumer marketing, and the advertisements are misleading for consumers.
"We would like CMS to engage with our organizations in a conversation about creative ways to ensure that the benefit of the annual wellness visit is preserved rather than perverted," the letter reads.