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Chronic Digestive Problems In Your Dog IBD
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) AKA: Protein-losing Enteropathies, Chronic Enteropathies, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Chronic Diarrhea
Ron Hines DVM PhD
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is not one disease. It is many – a spectrum, catch-all term veterinarians use to describe many conditions with similar signs but different primary causes and presentations. That is why one treatment plan is never appropriate for the entire panorama of dogs with IBD issues.
That so many terms are used to describe these situations can be quite confusing. They include IBD, chronic colitis, colitis, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), lymphocytic-plasmacytic enteritis, eosinophilic enteritis, regional enteritis, granulomatous enteritis and spastic bowel syndrome – all depending on what particular symptoms predominate in your dog and what region(s) of its digestive tract are most affected. Some rely on what pathologists see in the biopsy samples taken from your dog and what your veterinarian guesses the underlying causes might be. For the purpose of this article, when I use the word IBD – it pertains to all of them.
Basically, any time your dog’s intestines remain irritated for long periods (greater than ~ 3 weeks) without an infectious or toxic cause, some form of inflammatory bowel disease is often present: (I) Your dog’s intestines are inflamed (particularly the lamina propria layer (I) & (II) The site of the problem is your dog’s bowel (=intestine).
Are There Diseases And Issues Other Than IBD That My Veterinarian Would Want To Rule Out?
Yes, there are quite a few.
Some dogs have idiosyncrasies that lead them to eat stuff they shouldn’t – chewing on sticks, eating leaves, excessive grooming, or getting into the garbage day after day. Others have family members and children who slip the dog stuff they want – but shouldn’t have. It is such a hard thing to resist. That can cause chronic loose stools – even containing blood – that cannot be easily distinguished from IBD. It is not unusual for dog owners not to make the connection that these “dietary indiscretions” are occurring. Sometimes stool from these dogs needs to be collected on various days and passed through a screen or sieve by you or your veterinarian to identify offending materials that are irritating your dog’s intestines. Some of these dogs eat strange stuff because they are just quirky. But some probably have a deranged appetite (pica) – with IBD as the underlying cause as occasionally occurs in humans. (ref)
As dogs mature from puppies, they develop a significant degree of natural immunity to hookworms and roundworms if they are housed in hygienic conditions and well fed. Both hookworms and roundworms can cause persistent diarrhea, mushy or soft stools. Your vet can easily find evidence in the dog’s stool when these worms are present in their intestines in their adult form. Whipworms and strongyloides worms, on the other hand, are considerably harder for your veterinarian to diagnose through stool specimens. They both can be the underlying cause of chronic intestinal problems in mature dogs – with symptoms that mimic IBD. Whipworms are best diagnosed through a PCR test. (ref), strongyloides best treated with fenbendazole or ivermectin when suspected.
Giardia parasites can also cause diarrhea. Giardia is generally treated with metronidazole (Flagyl ®). But when a mature dog develops persistent or reoccurring diarrhea (more than 4-6 days) and giardia are seen microscopically in their stool, there is some underlying defect, often IBD, allowing the parasite to prosper. Kennels, daycare centers and doggy parks are great places for your dog to be exposed to giardia and other intestinal pathogens.
Dogs with underlying liver or pancreatic disease can share signs similar to those of IBD. When pancreatitis cripples the portion of a dog’s pancreas that produces digestive enzymes chronic diarrhea can result. (ref) When primary bile acids are not properly recycled through your dog’s intestine due to liver damage, diarrhea can result. So your veterinarian might want to run some liver and pancreatic tests to rule those issues out too. (ref)
What Signs Might I See If My Dog Has IBD Issues?
The most common observations that bring these dogs in to their veterinarians are persistent loose or mushy stools, straining (tenesmus) and diarrhea – often leading to accidents in the house. This occurs because the pet’s irritated intestines are moving too fast. Too fast to give their colon time to remove sufficient water from the things your dog ate and drank. Irritation of the colon and anus causes the straining. The same colonic irritation often produces a mucusy-coated stool – sometimes showing flecks of blood.
When IBD is severe or advanced, many dogs will loose weigh as well as appetite. Resulting nutritional deficiencies can rob their coats of luster.
Not all sections of your dog’s intestinal tract are affected equally. When the upper portions are involved (closer to the stomach), the dog may vomit. This sort of higher intestinal level involvement tends to produce less frequent, large, bulky and watery stools. Loss of appetite and weight loss are also more likely to occur when IBD inflammation is high in the intestine. Lower level involvement (colon) is usually associated with more frequent, smaller stools, straining, mucus and flecks of recognizable blood. Most often, multiple areas of the intestines are inflamed – with the majority of signs associated to whichever area is suffering the most damage.
In general, pets with the higher forms of IBD look more ill. That is because by the time food reaches the lower portions of the intestine, most important nutrients have already been absorbed.
Persistent loose stools inflame the anus causing scooting and repeated attempts to defecate that can be mistaken for anal sac disease. (ref) Straining to defecate can also be mistaken for constipation. A vet check of these dogs will confirm that their anal sacs are enlarged and sensitive. But that is just the consequence of a stool not firm enough to empty these glands as it passes out the rectum – not primary anal sac disease.
It is not unusual for tummy gurgling (borborygmi), flatulence, bloating and discomfort to also accompany IBD issues.
In the most severe form of IBD, protein-loosing enteropathy (PLE), blood albumen and globulin (the major blood proteins) levels drop due to their leakage into the intestine. Besides appearing emaciated (very thin) these dogs often have a potbelly due to leakage of fluid into their abdomens (ascites) (blood proteins help confine body fluids to the circulatory system). You can read more about protein-loosing enteropathy farther along in this article.
The symptoms of IBD often wax and wane (fluctuate) based on environmental stress, things like separation anxiety, concurrent health issues, and, occasionally, medications administered for other health issues (eg antibiotics, NSAIDs or corticosteroids). Eating things they ought not is usually sufficient to bring on an attack.
What Is Happening In My Dog’s Intestines?
Movement of food through your dog’s intestines are governed by its autonomic nervous system (the dog’s “second brain”) working through the rhythmically pulsing of smooth muscles that form the outer layers of your dog’s stomach and intestines. (ref) The particular nerve that sends these signals from the brain is the vagus . But it can and does function independently from the brain. (ref) These muscle cells are also stimulated into action by chemicals released during inflammation (eg cytokines) in the layers that are in actually contact with the food and bacteria within your dog’s intestine. (ref) Increase in the speed of those pulsations is the cause of the diarrhea of IBD. I have simplified a very complex interaction that you can read more about here.
The “war” that is liberating those cytokines changes the architecture and components of those layers closest to the bacteria and food in your dog’s intestines. The finger-like, nutrient-absorbing villi become distorted or blunt in their shapes. Open ulcers can appear; and the layers just below them pack with defense cells (macrophages, lymphocytes/plasma cells, neutrophils, eosinophils). In some dogs with IBD, these changes are minimal or only occur periodically during flare-ups. The longer the dog has suffered from uncontrolled IBD, the more pronounced they are likely to be. I do not have any descriptions of what is going on at this cellular level in dogs to furnish you with. But you can read a detailed description of similar processes occurring in humans here.
Changes In The Bacterial Residents Of Your Dog’s Digestive Tract = Dysbiosis
Your dog was designed to carry within it, an enormous zoo of microbes (its microbiota ). The vast majority live within the dog in harmony – the dog providing them nutrients and refuge and the microbes providing the dog with vitamins, critical digestive enzymes, detoxification of things ingested, recycling and modifying the dog’s metabolic wastes, and protection against pathogens encountered. Hundreds of different species of bacteria and fungal organisms are normally present in your pet’s digestive tract. Almost half belong to a group called firmicutes . About a quarter to a group called proteobacteria with bacteroidetes, fusobacteria and actinobacteria present in lesser numbers. (ref)
Many of these bacterial groups contain some “unhealthy” (to the dog) as well as “healthy” members. When things go well, the potentially “unhealthy” species are kept in check by the potentially “healthy” ones with your dog’s immune system assisting in the process.
When your dog has IBD, the species of microbes found in your pet’s intestines change and the number of species present tends to decline. It is unclear if the physical changes in the structure of your dog’s intestine that I mentioned earlier are the cause of this population change or if the change in the microbe population results in the physical changes of the disease – the ones that result in diarrhea and other symptoms of IBD. Perhaps in some dogs the microbe change it is the result of the physical changes, perhaps in others it is the cause, perhaps a bit of both. Whichever, dogs with any form of IBD harbor different bacteria in their intestines than health dogs do. (ref1, ref2, rptref3, ref4) This unhealthy change in bacterial populations represents dysbiosis .
The dysbiosis of IBD appears to even involve the virus (bacteriophages) that normally inhabit your dog’s gut bacteria (there are a lot of these virus). (ref) Bacteriophages have generally been considered by physicians and veterinarians to be harmless. Outlier opinions on IBD challenge that. (ref1, ref2)
Changes In Your Pet’s Intestinal Immune System – Mistaking Friends For Enemies
Your dog’s digestive tract, its skin and its respiratory system are the major portals through which diseases enter its body. So it is natural for the bodies defensive soldiers – the immune system’s cells – to concentrate their resources just below the surface of those three areas. The function of some of those soldiers (primarily macrophages) is to kill those invaders. But the job of other sentry soldiers is to decide who is a friend and who is foe; what is self and what is foreign, what is a threat and what is not. Many believe that in pets with IBD, some of those soldiers (helperT cells ) made a mistake. (ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5)
Are My Dog’s Breed And Genetics A Factor?
Yes, they can be.
Any breed or mixed breed dog can develop IBD. But Weimaraners, Rottweilers, German shepherd dogs, Border collies and boxer breeds are noted for their increased susceptibility to IBD. (ref1, rptref2) Basenjis and Shar Pei dogs have their own special forms of IBD (immuno-proliferative IBD). Boxers tend to suffer from a form called histiocytic ulcerative colitis while the IBD seen in Irish setters is thought by some to be triggered by a wheat gluten sensitivity. (ref)
Because dog breeds are formed on the basis of similar gene patterns, veterinarians and physicians alike have been searching for gene combinations that IBD sufferers have in common. The hope is that a better understanding of what those gene combinations are might offer better or earlier tests, and even alternative treatment plans. Dogs give research physicians a convenient window into problems us humans also face. In 2012, veterinarians in London ran a study that focused on a particular gene (TLR5 ) that is involved in deciding which bacteria are friend and which are foe. This gene is known to be inherited in variations (haplotypes) that appear to influence susceptibility to IBD in humans. This gene allows your dog’s immune system to examine a certain protein (flagellin) that allows many bacteria to move about. They found that German shepherd dogs that suffered from IBD were most likely to have certain (defective?) subtypes (SNPs) of this gene. (ref)
Great Dane dogs also suffer from more than their fair share of IBD. Unfortunately, in this breed, IBD often begins at a very young age. It is often misdiagnosed as a giardia problem – since giardia take advantage of dysbiosis. Since the treatment for giardia is quite similar to the treatment for IBD (metronidazole + a bland diet), they often get better. Great Danes are also the breed at highest risk of developing fatal stomach bloat. (ref) A 2016 study focused on how the Great Danes’ immune system responds to proteins found on the surface of all cells (the MHC ) (cells of the dog’s own body and bacterial cells) when deciding which cells are self, which cells are friendly skin and intestinal flora and which are hostile. They found that two gene pattern at the Dane’s MHC tripled their risk of making incorrect ‘friend or foe” decisions when it came to intestinal bacteria. They also found gene combinations that protected against improper “friend vs foe” decisions. Although the study was focused on bloat, perhaps t adds to our understanding of IBD risk in that breed as well. (ref1, ref2)
What Findings Would Make My Veterinarian Suspect IBD?
What Special Tests Might My Veterinarian Run?
Inflammatory Bowel Disease will be on your veterinarian’s diagnostic list as soon as you tell him/her about the symptoms your pet is experiencing: Long-standing diarrhea with or without vomiting, perhaps weight loss and increased mucus on the stools (sometimes with streaks of blood) are all suggestive of IBD. The vet’s focus will particularly turn to IBD when the other common causes of persistent diarrhea that I mentioned earlier in this article have been ruled out. Some will be ruled out by the history you give – some by the tests performed. In veterinary medicine, test and examination results are rarely a perfect match for any chronic disease (there are not that many “textbook” cases). So it may take some time for your vet to sort things out. That is particularly true because, short of intestinal biopsies, vets don’t have any tests they can rely on with certainty to rule IBD in or out. So the vast majority of IBD cases end up receiving the “diagnosis by successful treatment” approach. I will talk about that “diet/probiotic/antibiotic/drug/biopsy” approach later.
During the veterinarian’s physical exam of your pet, he/she might feel thickened intestines and enlarged lymph nodes surrounding them. (ref) The same abnormalities can sometime be seen in ultrasound examinations as well. Those changes are most common in long-standing, significant IBD.
Looking over notes from your previous visits, the veterinarian might notice that your pet has lost weight – or should weigh more than it does. Your vet will observe if your dog is one of the high-incidence breeds or a cross with one. The mean age of dogs in which IBD symptoms finally motivate dog owners enough to bring their pets in is about 6 years. Maybe your dog had bouts of indigestion and soft stools before that. Most IBD dogs did. But you wrote that off to what it ate that day, a sensitive stomach, stomach flu or something else and it resolved on its own or with some kaopectate.
Generally, vets start with a fecal sample examination to rule out parasites, gauge the sufficiency of digestive enzymes or the presence of consumed trash. Some blood work to rule out pancreatic, liver or other systemic disease might be suggested. If the dog is depressed, running a fever or has a painful stomach, probably x-rays as well.
In most cases of IBD, blood work results will be normal. Not so if the problem is long standing and severe. Those pet’s blood protein levels are often low due to their inability to absorb nutrients and loss of blood protein that is leaking out through the damaged intestinal wall. Occasionally the dog’s blood globulin (another blood protein) level will be elevated. If the pet has been vomiting persistently, its blood potassium level might be low. A few pets will have increases in their WBC eosinophil numbers – a possible hint at a food sensitivity or parasitic problem.
There are specific tests that veterinarians can have run to help confirm an IBD problem when doubts remain or when standard treatments fail. We know that many or most dogs with IBD do not absorb sufficient vitamin B12 (cobalamin ). The same goes for folate (eg folic acid, another B vitamin). Some vets will suggest those tests, and others, be run on your dog to firm up the diagnosis. They might be more adamant about it if your dog is already showing signs of malnutrition, weight loss, low energy, and “unthriftiness” (cachexia). The gastrointestinal lab at Texas A&M veterinary school has pioneered the development and interpretation of these tests (ref) Read about some of the tests they offer or plan to offer to your veterinarian for the diagnosis of and construction of a treatment plan when results are abnormal here.
Endoscopy and Intestinal Biopsies
None of the tests I have mentioned up to now will give your veterinarian as clear cut a description of what is occurring in your dog’s intestine as having small snippets of tissue from various levels of its digestive tract examined microscopically by a veterinary pathologist. Those snippets of tissue are best obtains using an intestinal endoscope .
The procedure is expensive. Because of that, most veterinarians only suggest it be performed when response to treatment is poor, when the disease is advanced and life threatening, when the diagnosis is cloudy, or when things like intestinal cancer are suspected. (ref) The veterinary specialist, will look for areas of the intestinal wall that look the most abnormal when deciding where to take the biopsy samples. So the technique is not fail proof. One spot on the intestine may yield a biopsy specimen that shows a degree of inflammation and pathology or lack of it that a sample taken a few millimeters away does not show. (ref)
What Treatments Will Help My Dog?
If you are a Wikipedia editor, change increase the frequency of diarrhea to decrease the frequency of diarrhea in the Imodium/loperamide entry.
About half the cases of IBD markedly improve or resolve when a new diet designed for intestinal issues replaces your dog’s current diet. When they do, your pet’s form of IBD is called Food Responsive IBD (FRE). There are two dietary approaches that seem to work best:
One type (eg Purina’s HA®, Hills z/d diet ®and Royal Canin’s Hypoallergenic HP®) have been processed in ways (hydrolyzed) that reduce the likelihood that your dog’s immune system will react to the proteins they contain. Diets marketed as “easily digested” are not the same thing and probably less likely to be helpful. One study found that these forms of hydrolyzed diets are more likely to help IBD dogs that those that relied on the second type. (ref)
The second type relies on only containing protein sources that are new (“novel proteins”) to your dog’s immune system and therefore not offensive to it (yet). The protein in these types of dog food could be rabbit, duck, venison, fish etc. One can also prepare novel protein diets at home– preferably with the help of an online veterinary nutritionist. (ref) The same study that found hydrolyzed protein diets preferable to these novel protein diets found that of the novel proteins they tried, fish seemed the most beneficial. (rptref)
Try them for 3-4 weeks before deciding on their worth.
One study found an IBD dog’s response to the fiber level in its diet is quite variable. Some dog owners find that low fiber diets are preferable (as is the case in humans); but fiber is also an essential nutrient for many of the “healthy” bacteria that form a dog’s intestinal flora. If you feed a commercial hypoallergenic diet, you are locked into the fiber content given on the label. If you prepare the diet yourself, you have more flexibility. A dog’s response to the fat content of its new diet is unpredictable as well.
I do not know how one might prepare hydrolyzed diets at home. But when attempting novel protein diets, making them at home might have advantages. Especially when your alternative is to feed canned dog food. Canned dog foods are about 75% water. For owner eye appeal, the pet food manufactures add large amounts emulsifiers to make their products appear thicker and meatier. Those emulsifiers include, carrageenan, guar gum, alginates, polysorbate-80, and lecithin – among others.
Hills uses corn starch to thicken their hydrolyzed intestinal diets, the other two use guar gum or carrageenan. Healthy bacteria rely on their position in the intestinal tract to thrive. It appears that emulsification of these bacteria within the gut is harmful to them. If you go to the ncbi index and search for the effects of food emulsifiers on gut microbiota you will find 8 references on the influence of food emulsifiers on intestinal flora. None of the effects of emulsifiers were positive. So you might stay with a therapeutic dry kibble products if you feed off the shelf. You can always moisten them.
Cans of dog food are generally lined with BPA if they are not specified as BPA-free. BPA has also been implicated in intestinal dysbiosis. (ref) and, in some cases, appears to worsen IBD symptoms. (ref)
Prebiotics and Probiotics
Prebiotics are complex carbohydrate such as fiber – a key source of nutrition for the “healthy” bacteria we want to prosper in your pet’s intestine. I mentioned earlier that your dog’s response to increased fiber in its diet is at best unpredictable, at worst problematic.
Probiotics are supplements that actually contain living bacteria – products like Purina’s FortiFlora® which is marketed as helping to reduce flatulence and “promote intestinal health”. They throw in some vitamin E, C and beta-carotene for good measure. None of these products contain more than one or two of the multitude of “healthy” bacteria that are required for a normal gastrointestinal flora (in the case of FortiFlora®, only one, Enterococcus faecium). I advise you not give this product if you are evaluating the effectiveness of a hydrolyzed or novel protein diet because the main ingredient in it is animal digest and there is no telling what “animal(s)” that term refers to – nor their quality. Besides, one report exists that Enterococcus faecium supplementation has the potential to lower a dog’s blood folate levels – something that is often already a problem in some IBD dogs. (ref)
If a new diet alone does not solve your dog’s IBD issues, the second thing often added to your dog’s treatment plan, is an antibiotic – at least until the dog’s diarrhea subsides. IBD dogs that respond positively to antibiotics are sometimes called ARD dogs (antibiotic-responsive diarrhea). They tend to be the larger breeds. The chronic diarrheas of German shepherd dogs with IBD often respond positively to antibiotics.
The most common antibiotic that veterinarians prescribe for persistent diarrheas is metronidazole (Flagyl®). Although Flagyl® is an antibiotic that kills both bacteria and protozoa (like giardia), the drug seems to lessen diarrhea in ways that are not yet understood – through direct influences metronidazole has on the pet’s immune system. Metronidazole is the most horrible tasting medication on your veterinarian’s shelf. It tastes terrible if film-coated tablets or capsules are not swallowed whole or the coatings contaminated with powder. With time cats and a lot of dogs learn to run when they see you coming with Flagyl®. But it is often effective.
Another antibiotic, tylosin (Tylan®), sometimes helps control IBD when it is added to your pet’s food. Others report success using oxytetracycline. A newer antibiotic, used with apparent success in treating IBD in humans, is rifaximin. In the USA it is very expensive. I have no experience using it, but others do. (ref)
The majority of dogs with IBD do not need long-term administration of powerful drugs that lessen gastrointestinal inflammation by “turning down the volume” of your dog’s immune system. With the exception of budesonide, when these drugs exert that effect, they do so throughout the entire body. Any dog on any of these medications needs to be closely monitored.
The most common drug in this group that veterinarians give to IBD dogs is probably oral prednisone. When that drug is first given, the dose is usually daily. With time, the periods between doses is increased to see how little of the drug is effective in controlling your dog’s symptoms. The goal is always to reach a point where the drug becomes unnecessary.
Prednisone is a corticosteroid. When a dog improves on a drug in this class, some call it a “steroid-responsive IBD (SRD). All drugs in this class are very effective in reducing inflammation. However they can have a number of serious side effects. Those include weight gain, liver changes, increased thirst, increased susceptibility to diabetes, increased susceptibility to infections and increased susceptibility to cataracts and corneal ulcers.
Budesonide is the most common corticosteroid given to humans with IBD. That is because it was designed to act locally in the intestine and be less absorbed into the body. (ref1, ref2) Although that is true theoretically, it is not always the case. So dogs taking budesonide still need to be carefully monitored for the possible side effects of corticosteroids.
Budesonide is also quite expensive.
Although sulfasalazine is metabolized by bacteria in your dog’s colon into a sulfa antibiotic, it is not given for its anti-bacterial effect. A portion of the original drug (mesalamine) inhibits inflammation. Because the drug needs to reach the dog’s colon to produce mesalazine, it is not likely to be effective when your dog’s IBD inflammation is higher up in its intestines than its colon. Sulfasalazine has occasionally affected the glands of the eyes that produce tears causing a permanent problem called dry eye (keratoconjunctivitis sicca) (KCS ).
There are cases of severe IBD that will not respond to the drugs I have mentioned. In humans, we now have monoclonal antibody biological drugs that attempt to block intestinal inflammation – drugs like Remicade®, Humira® and Cimzia®. You will notice that all of these drug’s generic names end in mab. That is because they are monoclonal antibodies (ref) designed to block the underlying drivers of inflammation – inflammatory cytokines . These drugs have been bioengineered to be accepted by the human immune system as being normal human proteins. If they were given to dogs, the dog’s immune system would consider them foreign and destroy them.
The only monoclonal antibody currently approved for use in dogs has been “caninized”. It is Cytopoint® and it is marketed for canine allergic skin disease. However Cytopoint® blocks an inflammatory cytokine (IL31) that has also been implicated in IBD. (ref1, ref2) I know of one dog that suffered from both inflammatory bowel disease and canine skin allergies (atopy). When her vet switched the dog from Apoquel® to Cytopoint® not only did its skin improve, its IBD resolved as well. Cytopoint® requires about a monthly injection. It is not a permanent cure. If your IBD dog had a similar positive experience or if it failed to improve its IBD signs while on Cytopoint®, I would appreciate knowing.
In cases where the traditional IBD drugs I mentioned until now fail, your only option is to accept that your dog’s problem is incurable, rely on treatments that are not evidence-based or resort to chemotherapy. There are plenty of chemo drugs that will halt the immune system dead in its tracks. The problem is, at what cost to your dog’s general health? Some of those drugs – occasionally used in dogs with IBD – are cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan®), azathioprine (Imuran®) and chlorambucil (Leukeran®). I have never suggested them. But if I were to go that road, my choice would probably be cyclosporine/Atopica®.
Protein Loosing Enteropathy (PLE) – The Most Severe Form of IBD
When your dog’s intestines are injured by the inflammation that accompanies IBD, occasionally enough damage occurs that the dog’s body can no longer keep blood constituents from leaking out through the intestinal wall and being expelled from the body. One of the first to be lost is albumen, the most prevalent protein in normal blood. Your vet will most certainly glance at your dog’s total protein (TP) levels as reported by their in-office analyzer or a central lab. Low blood protein is never a good sign when dealing with IBD.
Low blood protein with diarrhea is not always a sign of IBD. It can occur when dogs suffer from a condition call intestinal lymphangiectasia or intestinal lymphoma cancer as well. Severe protein deprivation will also cause it. (ref) Your vet will also want to rule out that the protein is not being lost through your dog’s kidneys – as damaged kidneys leak blood albumin as well. (ref) And the vet will have a look at your dog’s liver test results – since a healthy liver manufactures most of your dog’s blood albumen. The vet might find it appropriate to screen your dog for Addison’s disease (hypoadrenocorticism), since signs of that disease and PLE can overlap.
A clinical sign of PLE (besides those of IBD) that occasionally occurs is a bloated abdomen (ascites ). Ascites sometimes causes difficulty breathing by restricting the movement of the pet’s diaphragm. Some dogs with PLE experience muscle tremors, facial twitching and even seizures because other blood elements (like calcium and magnesium) can leak out with the protein as well. Vitamin D levels and cholesterol levels are also sometimes low in these dogs. For reasons unknown, dogs with PLE also seem more susceptible to blood clots (hypercoagulable blood).
Protein leakage in PLE can be through discrete ulcerated areas of your dog’s intestine. But it can also be between the living cells that constitute the intestines inner barrier (lining). Blood must be very close to these inner cell surfaces to receive the food nutrients these cells allow to pass – yet these cells must prevent (hold back) important blood constituents from going the other direction. That is where the concept of tight junctions between these barrier cells comes in to play. In one study in dogs, cells of an IBD-activated immune system (the macrophages) were found to liberate an inflammatory cytokine (IL-1b) which, in turn decreased the formation of one of the major “glues” (occludin) that form these tight junctions in the dog’s intestines to hold back blood protein. Read that study here . If their theory is correct, it might partially explain why some dogs with IBD develop protein loosing enteropathy. But there are other theories. (ref)
Might A Microbiota/Fecal transplantation (FMT) Be Helpful To My Dog?
We know that dogs with IBD have lost much of the rich bacterial flora that should be present inside them. What we do not know is if that is the cause or the result of IBD. We also know that at least in some dogs, their intestines are now inhospitable to bacterial diversity. So it is unclear if re-seeding the dog will lead to lasting improvement. It might be, if your dog had previously been given antibiotics that destroyed important species of its “good” bacteria. In humans, some find their way back on their own with time, a few may not. (ref) Or if a food-responsive case of IBD was now in remission. And it might be worthwhile doing anyway – even if the benefits were only transitory. (ref) In humans, fecal transplants are sometimes though to be helpful in reducing IBD symptoms. (ref) The technique is simple and economical with little or no downside. So it might be something you might consider for your dog. Others agree. (ref1, ref2)
The pastes and jells sold commercially as probiotics for dogs are not a source of rich mixed populations of bacteria. At the most, they contain just a few. The best source of a rich diverse bacterial flora is another healthy dog. I would not fear a mechanical transplant to your pet from a well-screened donor dog.
Many do not realize how resilient most of these health bacteria really are. Many of these organisms – often thought to be fragile and unable to survive outside of the intestine – produce spores that are resistant to drying, oxygen and the environment. (ref1, ref2, ref3) So it may not be necessary for you or your veterinarian to actually mechanically move feces from one dog to another (when that is done, it is generally by high enema). Your pet’s close contact for a week or two with a healthy dog, a shared water bowl, shared food dish and toys might be all that is required.


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Tuesday, April 7, is World Health Day, and this year, the World Health Organization is asking everyone to thank nurses on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis.
WHO designated 2020 the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, and in global times of crisis, they are often the first and only point of care in their communities.
"Nurses and other health workers are at the forefront of COVID-19 response -- providing high quality, respectful treatment and care, leading community dialogue to address fears and questions and, in some instances, collecting data for clinical studies. Quite simply, without nurses, there would be no response," WHO's website reads.
In the United States, several health care workers have died or become seriously ill. Others are moving to hotels, tents and other temporary housing to protect their loved ones -- even as they risk exposing themselves
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the United States' top infectious disease expert, called health care workers "brave warriors."
"Not only are [they] giving life-saving treatment to people, but every single day, [they're] putting themselves at risk for themselves and their family. I just think that the American public owes a phenomenal debt of gratitude for these people, and they should just salute them in every way you can," he said. "When you see health care workers, just applaud them."

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A rebooted restaurant in the heart of Newton Centre revives a Florentine flair, bringing a taste of Italy to the eager residents and students of the Boston area. Situated across the street from a lush park, Cupola, an upscale, Italian casual food restaurant, unifies the concepts of traditional and modern in both its atmosphere and cuisine.
“We love making people happy, and the main reason that I wanted to go into the restaurant business was to create an upscale restaurant at a very reasonable price without abandoning the concept of being family-oriented,” said owner Carlos Trujillo.
Trujillo named the restaurant after the pinnacle of any dome, a cupola. This name appealed to Trujillo, as the ambiance of the restaurant is modeled after Florence, where the famous and grandiose Duomo di Firenze is nestled.
A mural of Florence covers the entire entry wall. The lively scene completes Cupola, adding to the atmosphere and making the customer feel that they are enjoying a delectable Florentine meal in the streets of Trujillo’s muse. Large shelves opposite of the mural display a vast amount of merchandise, showcasing different pastas that are used to make the delicious plates at Cupola.
A replica of a Florentine roof juts out of one wall, giving Cupola a feel of authenticity with its deep, rich red terracotta tiles. Trujillo added that one of the men that works at Cupola is from Florence, one of his favorite cities.
An entrepreneur for many years, Trujillo has always fostered a fondness for the restaurant industry, since he loves the tradition that is ingrained with every type of cuisine. He has an affinity for the history and richness of Italian cuisine. Although he is from Venezuela, his maternal grandparents were Italian, so he was exposed to the food as a boy. He enthusiastically commented that he also has a love for music, considering himself a musician.
After shuttering his original venture, Bottega Fiorentini, Trujillo repurposed the location and opened Cupola on Nov. 1 to an enthusiastic response. Trujillo explained that he decided to remain in Newton Centre as it attracts customers from both the West Metro and Boston areas. Trujillo has hopes of expansion for the restaurant, as he would like to create a chain, offering exposure to a larger number of people.
Cupola has a special promotion, attracting flocks of students and local workers in need of a lunch break to its doors each day. Every day of the week, Cupola offers a pasta special for $4.99. This special, the food, and the unique and exciting ambiance draw customers from a variety of groups including local students, families with young children, professionals, and older couples that live in the surrounding area.
“I am trying to push a couple new dishes,” Trujillo said. “People, thus far, are loving the pizza. I encourage people to try these unique facets of our restaurant.”
The restaurant offers a vast amount of choices that might attract students, from pizza to sandwiches. Cupola partnered with UberEATS to deliver within a five-mile radius, including Boston College.
For Cupola, Trujillo crafted an innovative burger named the Firenze burger, made in a rectangular shape and surrounded by rustic Italian bread. The onions, crunchy lettuce, juicy tomatoes, and the secret white sauce create an interesting and palatable flavor profile. The customer has a choice of adding either fresh mozzarella or provolone to complete this masterpiece.
The delightful Firenze pizza is topped with sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil. The tomatoes add both a pop of juicy flavor and a striking red to this dish. The personal pizza is composed of cooked pizza dough that is fluffy and crunchy, and the melted fresh mozzarella tops this dish, completing a flavorful meal with this chewy and smooth addition.
The unique Cupola fries add a crispy and crunchy element to a dish, consisting of deep-fried fettuccini. As a replacement for French fries, these sides add a delicious addition to any menu item, with a perfected texture and evident taste of pasta.
Trujillo discovered through experience with local customers that they want the capability to customize their dishes.Therefore, Cupola offers a choice of 18 sauces that customers can choose to add to their pasta. A few of these choices include pesto, a mixture of basil, pine nuts, extra virgin olive oil and cheese; alfredo, a combination of butter, cheese, cream, and peppers; and Michelangelo, a delicious creation of tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella.
“I want to show Boston what real Florentine cuisine and traditions are, but at the same time, I want to be able to sell crowd-pleasers such as our innovations such as the Cupola fries and Firenze burger that are not typical dishes from Florence,” Trujillo said.
Featured Image by Max Calleo / Heights Staff

domain: food


text:
Garbage removal, landfill and recycling removal businesses are not required to cease operations, but must apply all the physical distancing and hygiene recommendations of the Chief Public Health Officer.
Owners and managers of all workplaces are required to take every reasonable step to:
WorkSafeNB has deferred employer premiums without interest for February, March, and April 2020. Businesses that report their monthly payroll must continue to report during this period. Businesses that have paid for the full year may submit a revised payroll estimate during the year and WorkSafeNB can adjust your account. For more information contact Assessment Services at 1-800 999-9775 (option 4).
The Government of New Brunswick, through Opportunities New Brunswick, is providing operating loans of up to $100,000 to small businesses, with no interest payments in the first 12 months. Companies considering a request should first (1) speak to their Financial Institution regarding options, (2) look for federal programs (3) and put cash flow projections together for 6 months to assess Working Capital needs.
Businesses may defer loan and interest repayments for up to six months on existing provincial loans. The deferral can be requested by contacting the department that issued the loan.
Provincial Tax Deferrals
Business property taxes must be paid by May 31, but late penalties will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to see if the penalty can be waived for June 1 and July 1 due to undue financial challenges, such as having to close a business due to COVID-19.
All New Brunswick businesses may defer, until after August 31, 2020, the payment of any income tax amounts that become owing on or after March 18 and before September 2020.
We’re here to help! If you have problems getting through you can email us and we’ll get back to you soon.

domain: law


text:
Semicolon on Finger - semicolon project ; "a semicolon is used when an author could've ended a sentence but didn't. i'm the author, the sentence was my life.
Inspiring words can motivate you — and there's no better way to remind yourself than with a tattoo. These tiny quotes pack a powerful punch.
Cute Small Wrist Tattoos For Girls #tattoo #girls #wrist www.loveitsomuch.com…
Tattoo Videos on
Free shipping and returns on Tattify™ 'Bird Is the Word' Temporary Tattoos at…
Super Cute Matching Tattoo Ideas For You and Your Best Friend
#birdtattoo Instagram photos | flying birds tattoo
I want to get a little dove for each person in my family up the side of my leg…
awesome Geometric Tattoo - 100 Small Bird Tattoos Designs with Images - Piercings Models
“if you’re a bird. i’m a bird.”- the notebook by nicholas sparks.
Awesome Tattoo Pics: wow, the size of these birds is amazing... I'd only get three, but this opens new options! very subtle, love it!!
Vögel Hand tatoowieren lassen Ideen Motive
Cute small bird tattoo for girls – tiny birds tattoo in flight on ankle
Cardinal tattoo idea for grandpop
Small Ankle Tattoos For Girls | Life Stylei Maybe a cross instead of birds
Anchor+foot+tattoos+(1) Anchor foot tattoos, anchor tattoo on foot
Mother and daughter or best friend tattoo
>> 60 Tiny Tattoos You Cannot Assist However Love - TattooBlend

domain: hobby


text:
FOR anyone who still resisted the idea we may be in a tough stretch for the remainder of this year, next year and potentially beyond, hopefully you heard Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar’s thoughts on when we would return to pre-COVID tourism success. His response, though indecisive, was much more measured than the last time he offered his thoughts.
ONCE again, Guyana is causing regional and international worry following two sets of killings of young men (two of African origin and two of Indian origin) that have sparked the flames of communal violence and threaten to engulf the country.
IF someone told you last year that the next 365 days would be filled with some of the most devastating circumstances to ever befall our nation, it is doubtful one would have been able to conjure up the calamities we’ve witnessed. Even for the most astute, envisaging a global pandemic on the heels of a natural disaster of cataclysmic proportions may have been a stretch. Yet, that is where we are one year after Hurricane Dorian.
It was a very different start to the school year this time.
Dr Gina Saunders spends her life caring for our sick, holding the hands of patients as they battle through illness, struggling to do the best she can in a health service desperately in need of resources.
PRIOR to the Prime Minister’s address last week, as rumours flew around the country about a potential week-long lockdown, Dr Hubert Minnis surprised us all. A shocking but much welcomed course reversal was in order. Following what would have been a 21-day lockdown had the competent authority not had a change of heart, we are now in the process of a phased opening.
For months, reports have leaked out of Abaco of increasing levels of crime which are leaving residents on the main island and surround cars desperate.
A YEAR after Hurricane Dorian made landfall in Grand Bahama, the island is still declared as a disaster zone with many residents and businesses picking up the pieces.
THE COVID-19 pandemic is severely limiting the work of diplomacy. It could have a lasting adverse affect on international relations if finding a vaccine continues to elude global researchers for much longer.
INSIGHT: Maybe now you’ll understand - a little taste of dictatorship shows what generations of ‘others’ have endured
Loftus Roker’s infamous “reign of terror” as Immigration Minister in the 1980s is largely responsible for cementing in the minds of average Bahamians the idea that Haitians and people of Haitian descent are second class citizens – actually little better than vermin – and underserving of the same rights as everyone else.
IT was only nine months ago that COVID-19 was still a new phenomenon we were watching from afar.
Nearly 200 frustrated Grand Bahama business owners stand ready to protest from today if their pleas to reopen their businesses continue to be ignored by officials at the Office of the Prime Minister in Freeport.
CARICOM countries have been subject to intense scrutiny in the period March to August this year, relating to the conduct of general elections, maintaining democracy and upholding the rule of law.
WITH the country being engulfed in the raging second wave of COVID-19 infections, our knee-jerk response for flattening the curve - lockdown - is once again being implemented in full force.
THE one upside of the challenges facing the Government of Guyana after a five-month impasse in declaring the result of general elections on March 2, is that the country’s economic growth in 2020 is projected at a whopping 52.8 percent – surpassing all 26 Latin American and Caribbean states. This trend is likely to continue for many years to come.

domain: politics


text:
That a a bad credit score record, you could nevertheless get the mortgage in Guidebook Axis vertebra. They will use numerous points to investigate your application and begin will only lend you lots of bucks so that you can supply.
They also stick to the Government 300000 loan Economic Take action to boost reputable financing. You should understand higher by going to their website.
Any absolutely no-acceptance breeze is a progress so as to borrow with no authorization from the financial institution. It is a good option in case you are looking to financial home enhancements or execute a organization. But, there’s something consider previously getting the actual move forward. Original, try to agreement ahead and commence allocation as a result. This will aid avoid over spending to hold your payments in find.
Manual Axis offers a levels of credit, such as loans and begin consolidation. These plans can come in various dimensions and begin vocab, all of which relate with nearly all uses. The organization also provides entombment masking assurance, that will help anyone from a financial aspects in which take place in the event the loss of life of your associate.
The organization is usually an signed up monetary support and begin uses stringent business theory, so that you can rest assured that a advance will be opened. His or her motor provides the educational write-up and begin reviews to be able to find the appropriate improve with you. Make certain you do not forget that credits may not be the level to suit your needs, so you should become mindful since getting an individual.
You may be seeking a quick advance, Udu breaks are the great way of spending an individual. It is deemed an on the web credits computer software broker that will link anyone of an numbers of financial institutions, determined by the design. You’ll be able to training, and you’ll get a progress everyday.
A personal move forward is often a arranged amount any particular one borrow via a put in or financial institution which has a location payment era and commence regular repayments. Its revealed to you, information an individual use’mirielle ought to ignominy the equity. This is an great means for individuals who are worthy of more money, such as to acquire a new steering wheel or even obtain a surgery. It can be utilized to economic key expenditures for example marriage ceremonies, holiday or perhaps remodeling.
Because a personal progress could help abandon monetary concern, make certain you discover how any financial diary impacts any software. The majority of finance institutions definitely look at your credit rating to has not borrowed no less than you can pay for to shell out back. They will too check your monetary-to-income percent to make certain a person put on’michael have too various other deficits.
Use a mortgage loan if you need to combine you borrowed from and initiate shop with need expenses. Manual axis is one of the thousands of fiscal agents offering this specific repair, and it’azines the best way to decrease your economic with no including your system vulnerable to being a banned. You can do as being a bank loan with Guide bloc on the internet, or more the telephone 1 week every week. They are a reliable assistance which has been going for 25 years and initiate employs strict rules through the Financial Help Work.
Which a group of financial, it can be a chance to can decide on eliminating a personal improve with regard to debt consolidation. It is really an effective way to clear sets of cutbacks and start decrease your rates. But before are applying, you have to start to see the ups and downs in this region associated with progress. There are a list of details about the actual query online.
Additionally it is worth writing the the varieties of combination may well are worthy of value, for instance home finance loan breaks, residence price of credits and begin collection associated with economic, account put in a charge card and commence so to speak . refinance. This will ensures that you might drop your house in case you are unable to pay off the loan. A new payment time, fee, bills and start computer software process selection at bank.
The monetary record can help buy your manual axis vertebra credits banned advance. For the reason that banking institutions, financial services and begin financial businesses use your financial journal to find whether to provide you with capital. Using a poor credit log definitely adversely have an effect on your odds of using a move forward.
Loan consolidation is actually academic, however it is donrrrt forget to remember that you need to take a extreme economic-to-funds proportion in the past seeking funding. They’re usually confident that within your budget the new timely getting and become in a position to overlook some cash pertaining to emergencies. If not, you may find yourself get together increased monetary slowly.
In case you’ray forbidden, you can still find options to get a mortgage. You can do for a via a adviser, including DirectAxis. They have credits which range from R4 000 if you want to R100 000 from language your range from 2 to various era. They’re manipulated by the Government Financial Work, and they also wear’michael deserve value.
These people take a look at credit score carrying out a carrying on-by-going forward time frame to determine what reviews meet the requirements with regard to consolidation. Restricting reports often own credit (except for home credits), credit cards, and initiate store stories. An individual agree to a one settlement and a connection fee, which will be lower than what we’re also currently spending. You will also require a personal coverage your determines a extraordinary improve bill in the event of death, preset incapacity, and some fear ailments.
Information Axis vertebra is a professional merchandise involving FirstRand Down payment Restricted, a good authorized monetary support and begin became a member of monetary assistance. They represent financial possibilities to match the unique supplies of each and every Ersus Photography equipment.

domain: finance


Business registration in Battenberg (Eder)
Where can you register a business in the German town of Battenberg (Eder)?
The office for business registration can be found in the council building responsible for the district or town. In the so-called "Ordnungsamt" or the town hall This is normally the place for the registration. The exact address of the office for business registration in Battenberg (Eder) can be found in the contact data, shown below.
Registration of a business - Online, by post or in person?
It is not always obligatory to go in person to the registration office. Some registration offices permit a postal application. In this case all necessary documents have to be sent as well. An online registration of a business is these days increasingly more on offer. The business registration can not be completely done online, as a signature is required. Possibly other documents also are required to be sent. Indeed this is a straightforward possibility to carry out the business registration. The certificate of business registration will then be sent to your address or you can pick it up from the office for registration. To find out if this type of registration is on offer phone the office for registration in Battenberg (Eder).
Documents for business registration in Battenberg (Eder)
- Filled-out application
At the registration office in Battenberg (Eder) the application form can be collected. It may also be possible to download the form from the website of the registration office in Battenberg (Eder). This could certainly be a posibility if the registration office in Battenberg (Eder) has a web presence.
The business registration In Battenberg (Eder) requires a photo ID.
- Residents permit
Non-German residents will require a valid residents permit or visa.
Position on map of office for registration
How much does the registration of a business in the German town of Battenberg (Eder) cost?
The price of registration is not the same in all locations in Germany. Generally it is between 10 and 65 Euros. Regrettably we do not have the exact price for business registration in Battenberg (Eder). It would be best to call the registration office in Battenberg (Eder), to get the current fee.


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The NHS Constitution states ‘You have a right to request that your personal and confidential information is not used beyond your own care and treatment and to have your objections considered’. For further information please visit: The NHS Constitution website.
National data opt-out
The national data opt-out enables patients to opt-out from the use of their personal confidential data for research or planning purposes. To find out more or to register to opt out, please visit NHS your data matters website.
If you have any concerns about use of your data not covered by the National Data Opt out, please contact the practice.


text:
The Cairngorms National Park is a national park located in the heart of the Read more [...]
Complete with an outdoor hot tub and terrace, Ardlogie Guest House offers accommodation in the heart of Cairngorns National Park. Free parking is possible on site, and free WiFi is accessible throughout.
For more information see the Ardlogie Guest House website
Photos from around the surrounding area

domain: travel


text:
<aside> 🔜 Coming back soon – Stay tuned! We're currently evaluating new partners with expanded coverage and hope to have a solution available in the next few weeks.
Our mission at Levels is to help our members better understand how food affects their health. Today we do this primarily through the real-time feedback loops enabled by Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM). But CGM doesn't tell the whole story, and only provides a single dimension of analysis.
The Levels Metabolic Health Panel is a panel of blood tests related to your metabolic health with convenient in-home sample collection by a licensed phlebotomist. We believe this is the best way to measure the progress of one's metabolic health and track the impact of lifestyle changes over time.
The ultimate guide to understanding your cholesterol panel and metabolic blood tests - Levels

domain: biology


text:
As part of a cross-curricular English and Maths day a selection of Year 10 students went to the Gielgud theatre in London’s West End. The Gielgud theatre is currently showing a play based on Mark Haddon’s novel “The curious incident of the dog in the night-time”. The novel concerns an autistic boy and how he interprets events happening to him.
The students attended a series of mini-lectures based on areas of maths touched on in the book. These talks were delivered by Mathematicians Rob Eastaway, Hannah Fry and Ben Sparks. As a special guest, the actor who portrays Christopher in the play performed a section about geometric proof.
Prior to the trip the students read part of the play “The curious incident of the dog in the night-time” and looked at how the introduction compared with that of the novel. They also took part in a class looking at the links between mathematical patterns and harmonics.
The trip was a great opportunity for students to see mathematics in genuinely natural situations.

domain: artistic


text:
- ALSO CONTAINS:
- Microcrystalline Cellulose, Vegetable Cellulose, Vegetable Magnesium Stearate.
- As a dietary supplement for adults, take one (1) vegetable capsule daily, preferably at mealtime, or as directed by a healthcare practitioner.
- DOES NOT CONTAIN:
- Gluten, Wheat, Dairy, Soy, Yeast, Sugar, Sodium, Artificial Flavor, Sweetener, Preservatives and Color.
- 90 Capsules
- If you are pregnant, nursing, taking any medication or have a medical condition, please consult your healthcare practitioner before taking any dietary supplement. Store in a cool, dry place. WARNING: Accidental overdose of iron-containing products i
Gentle Iron 25 mg
(You save )
Iron is an important component of hemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen from the lungs to all tissues of the body and promotes iron rich blood. Iron promotes normal red blood cell production and supports energy utilization. Iron requirements increase during growth, pregnancy and menstruation. Iron nutritionally supports women's health and is a cofactor required for the synthesis of brain neurotransmitters, including dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin.This formulation provides an advanced, patented form of iron which is non-constipating and gentle on the stomach.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

domain: medical


text:
When it comes to litter, we all need to care more
by Nguyen Khanh Chi
My fourth-grade son recently struck me dumb when he said “Mum, I hate living here!” for a single reason: “Lots of adults litter on the outdoor playground downstairs.”
He had been so excited when we moved to an apartment in a modern 31-storey building in Ha Noi several months ago. It has many public facilities, including a playground for children, sports fields and green spaces.
Considered one of the city’s most convenient residential areas, the 12-building complex has maintained its luxury look after three years in operation. It has a strong contingent of sanitation workers. Whenever I play with my children on the playground, I notice that even the security guards say food is not allowed on the playground, and ask us to keep our eyes open for anyone who leaves litter around.
Frankly speaking, during recent weeks I have started recognising that “a man can do no more than he can”, as public places like parking lots, paths between buildings, lobbies and playgrounds around the complex are no longer clean.
No matter how well it is managed, the environment will remain polluted without locals’ self-awareness and self-discipline.
“Generally speaking, the level of environmental awareness of residents here is relatively high, so we do not have to work hard like those working in other residential areas,” said Nguyen Thi Diu, a sanitation worker. “However, not all of them have good attitudes. Some still throw rubbish away randomly, even right by the dustbins. Rubbish bins are everywhere, but it seems opening the lids is too hard for some.
“Some even make a mess in lifts or let kids have a quick pee in public places. They have to keep the environment hygienic for themselves. We are unable to do so without the self-consciousness of those around us.”
Despite efforts by the public and authorities, and even legal regulations, I bet strewn-about rubbish can be spotted anywhere in Viet Nam.
Pham Thi Khuyen, a mother of two, said she felt annoyed seeing parents driving motorbikes with their children and throwing away paper or plastic water bottles, cans, candy wrappers or gum on the streets.
“Sometimes we do not leave litter intentionally, but there is a lack of dustbins in the city’s parks and we often feel too lazy to put rubbish in dustbins that are far from where we’re sitting,” a student in HCM City said. “We know that if we leave litter here or there, there will be public sanitation workers to clean it later.”
Southern Institute of Ecology Director Vu Ngoc Long said types of rubbish such as medical waste, plastic bags and batteries were extremely dangerous.
“These varieties must be dealt with properly,” Long said. “It is unacceptable to throw them freely into the environment. If plastic bags are thrown into canals or the sea, they will hurt sea creatures.”
The Mien Tay Bus Station in HCM City’s Binh Tan District fined 153 individuals so far this year who were caught littering at the station. The practice improved the station’s environment. Many have asked if similar punishments should be imposed in other public places, and if they would make the city cleaner.
Some other localities also take severe acts towards this ugly behaviour.
Ahead of the national holidays on April 30 and May 1 this year, Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province in the south publicised fines for littering on the beach. In July, the Da Nang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism placed “no rubbish” signs on beaches and issued fines from VND50,000 to VND200,000 (US$2.30 to $9) for littering in public places.
The Ha Noi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said the city would wait and see how effective the experimental fines in Da Nang were before using them in the capital.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is drafting a decree dealing with environmental pollution.
“One of the new points of the draft decree is to increase fines for the act of throwing rubbish into the environment,” said lawyer Nguyen Van Hau, deputy head of HCM City’s Bar Association. “Leaving a cigarette in a public place can result in a VND200,000 fine, and leaving rubbish in certain areas could result in a fine between VND200,000 and VND500,000.”
The country has created certain decrees in the past to punish the act of contaminating public places including pavements, streets, and parks.
Many people have recommended installing cameras in public places to spot those who litter.
Nevertheless, none of these measures seem to work well, as the key to reversing this trend is the mindsets of the individuals.
Not long ago, social networks were overwhelmed with pictures of foreign tourists in swimsuits picking up pieces of rubbish on Do Son and Cat Ba beaches.
As a Vietnamese person, I feel ashamed seeing foreign tourists doing this. It should be Vietnamese people who clean up their environment, particularly at tourism sites where we should be welcoming foreigners into the country.
“The ‘Sense of responsibility’ is a common phrase in public, the family and the education system, but many still don’t apply this virtue in their everyday lives.
Viet Nam Centre for Research and Conversation on Culture and Belief Director Ngo Duc Thinh, said many Vietnamese still think in a very local way.
“We always clean our houses, but we still feel free to spit and throw rubbish away in pubic places,” Thinh said. “Our community awareness is poor, and management and punishment by competent authorities remains limited.
“Besides creating more severe punishments, we should work to build a civilised society by increasing the awareness of each individual. We must ensure that each person is well aware that keeping the environment hygienic is not just an act for the civilisation but an act to protect our surroundings.” — VNS

domain: sociology


text:
Discussion in 'Free Speech Alley' started by LaSalleAve, Jun 27, 2011.
Robert Byrd obituary | World news | The Guardian
The first ever Senator has passed away.....
He is the prime example of why term limits should be enacted.
i definitely agree we should have a cap on the number of terms they can serve. when i watch them on C-Span, i'm most often much more embarrassed by those in congress that have been there a long time compared to those who haven't
in general, the ones that have been there a shorter time come to meetings more prepared, ask more thoughtful/intelligent questions, raise more thoughtful/intelligent issues, are rarely egotistical, etc...
while the ones that have been there a long time tend to be more likely come to meetings less prepared, more likely to ask shallow/stupid questions, more likely to not grasp the pertinent issues at hand, are very often extremely egotistical (spend much more time talking about themselves and things they have done in the past than they do addressing anything having to do with the issues being discussed), etc
Two term limit for everyone. Those that have been there so long have developed such a political machine that it's very hard to unseat them. They have large warchest and name recognition which helps them in elections. They should have a two term limit.
I once believed this, too. But I've seen that the ugly flip side of term limits is worse. The Louisiana legislature is now term-limited and what it has done is make the legislature full of folks who have no long-term investment in the future of the state. They make decision that work in their short term that have disastrous consequences down the road. They just don't care. Their first term is all about getting re-elcted and their second term is all about getting pork for the home district, so they can run fro some other office.
Yeah, those old 25-year politicians get a sense of entitlement and act like fat cats, but they at least think beyond two-terms.
I wonder how long it will be before the US Coast Guard starts moving out of WV. There are a LOT of CG orgs in that state thanks to Senator Pork.


The world of Artificial intelligence evolves fast. It seems like there are new applications released every day — it’s hard to keep up.
As AI models get better at understanding code, we decided to start a small research project at NearForm. The goal was to investigate the potential for AI to improve the code review process. Most popular applications are about the AI itself producing code, such as GitHub’s Copilot. Our focus for this project was to use AI to provide useful suggestions on human-written code.
This post explores the intersection of AI and code review. We’ll see what our prototype looks like, how it works and what we learned.
As far as stacks and dependencies go, it is pretty straightforward. We’re using a GitHub App, which is a service offered by GitHub that helps us automate workflows. If you would like to read more, check out the documentation here.
The code used for this prototype is available on this repository.
What we built
Let’s start with the user perspective and what a typical user flow might look like:
- Developer installs the
reviewbot GitHub App
- Developer creates a pull request on GitHub
- Developer types
/reviewbot review as a GitHub comment
reviewbot GitHub App creates a new review of the pull request, which contains comments as suggestions
How it works
So let’s break down the components that make up this workflow. Here’s a high-level sequence diagram with the set of actors that are involved in the process:
Receiving the webhook
The first part of the flow is to get the payload from GitHub to our Probot application.
The recommendation is to use Smee.io for the webhook payload delivery. An alternative that we settled on was to use Ngrok. The combination of webhook forwarding and GitHub App gives us the first major part of this diagram.
To set up a listener and handler for receiving the webhook payload from GitHub, it’s as simple as the following snippet:
Creating review suggestions
Now onto the more interesting part of the project. We decided to go with the OpenAI ChatGPT service for this prototype. They have a couple of different APIs that we explored:
Both of these offer a variety of different models. It was interesting to explore and see what the differences and subtleties were between them. Some of the models that we explored were:
OpenAI recommend the
gpt-3.5-turbo model because it is more refined than the older ones but, more importantly, it’s cheaper.
The main difference in implementation between the two APIs was formatting the prompt on the payload that we send.
At the time of writing this, we’re currently waiting for API access to the newest model — GPT-4. We’ve been using it for various tasks in the OpenAI playground. It seems to be much more accurate with some of the responses.
One of the more interesting aspects of this project was exploring the concept of Prompt Engineering. It’s a relatively new term that has started to pop up alongside all the AI and Large Language Model (LLM) hype. We’ve written more about generating prompts in our Writing Code or Writing Prompts? Solving a Problem With GPT-3 blog post.
The basic idea is that you tweak the content of the question that you send to the AI model so that it will give you better results. To me, it’s like a more advanced form of ‘Google-fu’ — a term that refers to how good someone is at using Google search to find what they want on the internet.
When it comes to natural language generation, there are a variety of different tasks that require someone to ‘engineer’ a prompt. These include:
- Text Summarisation
- Information Extraction
- Question Answering
- Code Generation
The prompt we settled on, after many iterations, was a combination of Question Answering and Code Generation. This seemed to get the best results out of the ChatGPT API for the context of this project. We built a
PromptEngine service that would parse the
git diff and combine it with the prompt dynamically. This is what we then format into the payload to send to the ChatGPT API.
Creating the review
Another useful feature of GitHub Apps is that they are first-class actors within GitHub. That means the app can act on its own behalf, taking actions via the API directly using its own identity.
So, after we got the suggestions from the ChatGPT API, the last thing to do was to format the response into a payload that the GitHub API can understand. With that part done, the full sequence flow from earlier was finished.
What did we learn?
For a long time, building AI-powered tools was a novel concept. It was a technique hidden behind libraries and frameworks that the average engineer would never use, such as Tensorflow.
That idea has been completely flipped on its head with the latest generation of tools. It’s now easier than ever to start integrating these models into applications, which explains why we’re seeing so much hype in this space at the moment.
Alternatives to OpenAI
OpenAI and the ChatGPT suite of models are only a fraction of the options out there. We’ve done some exploration on alternatives to understand what is available.
Huggingface is a good alternative. It’s another leading AI research organization and technology company focused on the development and application of natural language processing (NLP) models and tools. Huggingface has a variety of different services that we might explore in future iterations of this project, for instance:
- Transformers Library: open-source library with state-of-the-art NLP models
- Model Hub: pre-trained models contributed by the community
- Inference API: service that enables developers to access NLP models
There are three core, high-level risk areas that we noticed when building this project. We think this is where many of the problems lie when building an AI-powered tool. These are the three risk areas:
Using ChatGPT for a task like this proved that it can be difficult to get relevant results. This is due to a limited understanding of the codebase context. At times, the model was unable to understand the context and intent behind certain snippets. The end result was usually irrelevant or incorrect recommendations.
Security and Privacy
There’s no storage implemented in this prototype. It’s only moving data back and forth between GitHub and OpenAI, but there appear to be tricky areas around ensuring the confidentiality of private code. This is especially true when relying on third-party AI tools and platforms.
Bias is a big problem with AI models. These models might learn and spread biases that were present in the training data, which can lead to biased recommendations or skewed interpretations of code snippets. We don’t know what bias ChatGPT may have, because we don’t know exactly what code training data it was provided with.
AI-powered code reviews might change how we work in the software industry. It certainly has the potential to make the whole process more efficient and accurate.
As machine learning algorithms improve, we should expect that these models will be able to understand complex code, detect subtle bugs and provide relevant suggestions for improvement. This will not only save time for developers but also help reduce the number of post-merge issues.
I think it is interesting to explore what future platforms with AI-enhanced collaboration might look like. Also, how we can use AI to collaborate, learn and build the next generation of software tools.


text:
Once They Hear My Name
Tamarisk Books; $14.95
Buy this book
The voices that speak throughout Once They Hear My Name: Korean Adoptees and Their Journeys Toward Identity (Tamarisk Books; $14.95) make riveting reading for any adoptive parent. Nine adoptees share candid stories of growing up adopted, struggling to fit in with classmates or colleagues, and searching for their birth families. The youngest interviewee is 25; the eldest, 53.
Several of the adoptees profiled here struggled with challenges that many young people face: parents who divorce, depression. Yet, for some, their adoptive status compounded their feelings about these events; one woman recalls worrying, as a child, that her adoption caused her parents to divorce.
Regardless of the age of the speaker and the circumstances of his or her life path, two common threads emerge: the subjects' appreciation for their parents' willingness to embrace their search for their roots, and their view of themselves as continually evolving Korean-Americans.
I thought about my own son when I read Todd Knowlton's account of the racist teasing to which he was subjected in elementary school. While I won't always be able to defend Jake from taunts, I fervently hope we can help him build a strong core with which to endure them. And I was moved by Ami Nafzger's account of the pride she felt as a Korean-American adoptee after years of living in both Korea and the U.S. I dream for Jake of a world where he'll feel at home in both of his cultures--the culture of his birth and of his family.
Reviewed by Amy Rogers Nazarov, a freelance writer and parent by adoption. She and her family live in Washington, D.C.
Back To Home Page©2014 Adoptive Families. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited.

domain: library


text:
Upper Madison Street Fair 2021
The Upper Madison Street Fair is a tradition in the Pine Hills neighborhood of Albany. Every year the community gets together for an outdoor party to mark the end of summer. After skipping last year the fair was back in full swing last Saturday. Joanna Dreby and Moses Nagel filed a report.


Anna Heim is the founder of MonoLibre and a freelance writer for various tech and startup publications. She is a polyglot French news junkie Anna Heim is the founder of MonoLibre and a freelance writer for various tech and startup publications. She is a polyglot French news junkie with a love for technology.
FlixMaster has partnered with Sony Creative Software to promote its product, the US startup announced today. Following the agreement, Sony Creative Software users will get access to FlixMaster’s video creation and editing platform at a preferential rate during a limited period of time.
In practical terms, it will only cost them $19.95 per month to use FlixMaster’s cloud-based interactive video tools. Usually reserved for groups, this promotional subscription rate also includes unlimited project building, unlimited views for sharing and 10 GB of storage.
As you may remember, FlixMaster is based in Boulder, Colorado, where it graduated from TechStars’ acceleration program in 2011. Its value proposal is to help users create non-linear, engaging videos in which viewers can choose the outcome. As we reported, its features include a drag-and-drop editor and branching tools that make it easy for individual and businesses to create interactive content.
Sony Creative Software is known for its suite of professional editing and authoring apps and its scale makes it an attractive partner for FlixMaster. As part of their commercial agreement, it will help FlixMaster acquire new users by promoting the service in its newsletter and during a dedicated webinar. According to Sony Creative Software’s vice president of Global Marketing, Dave Chaimson, this is also a way for the company to anticipate upcoming trends:
“If you believe, as we do, that online video is going to be interactive in the coming years, then FlixMaster is the platform that is going to get you in the game, ahead of the curve. The partnership between Sony Creative Software and FlixMaster presents our users with the most state-of-the-art means to exercise their creativity in ways never before possible. It will spark project creation that will amaze and meet a broad diversity of consumer needs.”
From Flixmaster’s perspective, partnering with Sony Creative software is an opportunity to reach a new audience, its CEO and co-founder Erika Trautman explains:
“We’re honored that Sony Creative Software recognized the ingenuity that FlixMaster put into its platform to drive the next generation of online video, and excited that for the first time, it’s being made available to the a very broad creative market via this exclusive partnership.”
Earlier this year, the startup had announced that NBCUniversal/USA Network had adopted its platform to create an innovative interactive online video prequel to its TV series ‘Covert Affairs.’
Yet, it’s worth noting that FlixMaster appeal goes beyond the creative industry. According to the startup, its HTML5 platform means that its interactive videos can be viewed on multiple devices, which means it can be used for education, e-commerce or advertising purposes. For instance, online home design flash sale site One Kings Lane used an interactive video created with FlixMaster to present its products to consumers, and it will be interesting to see if this partnership with Sony Creative Software helps it become even more mainstream.
Image credit: Thinkstock
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text:
Avatar’s current tour was originally set to support the 2020 offering ‘Hunter Gatherer’, but comes less than a week since the release of their ninth studio album, ‘Dance Devil Dance’.
While the “C” word still lingers, it’s been a long time coming for Swedish metallers Avatar to be back in the UK. Tonight at KK’s Steel Mill, the wait is finally over, and to say you can feel the anticipation would be an understatement. There’s reasonable support for Hull’s sludge/hardcore five-piece Mastiff, and US metalcore outfit Veil of Maya, but with the greatest respect, there is only one band the ever increasing audience has come to see.
Consisting a two level caged backline and lighting rig, it’s a compact but impressive looking set-up. Smoke fills the stage, a haunting bell chimes, and as John Alfredsson starts to beat the merry hell out of his kit, we catch first sight of Avatar’s demon ringmaster, Johannes Eckerström. New album title track ‘Dance Devil Dance’ is nothing short of the perfect opener. unleashing upon us the beginnings of a full-on metal show and creative theatre.
The cane-twirling Eckerström marches back and forth, patrolling his captivated audience. Combining sinister gaze and mischievous harlequin grin, he leads the way with ‘The Eagle Has Landed’ and ‘Valley Of Disease’. Arms outreached, fingers pointing, reeling and contorting, he takes momentary pauses, leaning back on his cane to survey the reaction of those watching. In return there is an eager and adoring reception, fitting for the rarity of uniqueness in modern day metal, and emphasised during the groove riddled ‘Chimp Most Pit’.
Avatar’s brand of avant-garde, melodic death metal, has both industrial and progressive leanings. It’s a veritable sonic mash-up which in places is desperately dark. and in others joyfully light. Guitarists Tim Öhrström and Jonas Jarlsby provide a maelstrom of complexity and energy, ably accompanied by bassist Henrik Sandelin. During the gallop of ‘Scream Until You Wake’, and the journeys through ‘Bloody Angel’ and ‘When The Snow Lies Red’, the threesome meld together musically and physically, with a regular frenzy of synchronised headbanging.
It’s during the carnival inspired ‘Puppet Show’, and at a time when you figure the showmanship has peaked, that Eckerström appears on top of the bar to engage in balloon sculpting and perform a trombone solo. There’s a guitar battle between Öhrström and Jarlsby leading into 2012’s maniacal ‘Black Waltz’, and for ‘Tower’ Eckerström is seated at a piano for a superb solo performance. “Tonight is incredible!” states the chief provocateur … and it certainly is that.
Relatively late to the party, ‘Collosus’ was my introduction to Avatar and a track I became a little obsessed with. I’m more than happy to discover the thundering bass of Sandelin, that huge chunk of a riff, and Eckerström’s Geoff Tate-esque vocal are all replicated perfectly in the live environment. For ‘Let It Burn’ Alfredsson stands and plays drums front of stage before firing a confetti cannon into the crowd. A theatrical ending has founding member Jarslby decked out in a cloak and crown for ‘A Statue Of The King’, before the bands helpful gimps reset the stage.
There’s no doubt that in terms of vocal range, performance and engagement, Johannes Eckerström is the complete rock star. Upon return to stage he gives a heartfelt interpretation of 22 years in Avatar: “I try to wrap my head around you being interested in us and giving a fuck” he says. “Thank you for giving it meaning.” The set concludes with ‘The Dirt I’m Buried In’, ‘Smells Like a Freakshow’ and ‘Hail the Apocalypse’.
I’m not alone in thinking Avatar should be heading to new heights, but whether they will is for the metal gods to decide. They play Download Festival this year and I have no doubt will go down an absolute storm. That said, it’s hard to imagine the same atmosphere and intimacy of tonight’s show translating to a daylight festival appearance. If anything, it’s reason to go see them at a smaller gig, while you still can. Hail Avatar!
Review & Photography: Steve Johnston


text:
- Download Tangle Master 3D Mod APK – V31.0.0 – download free for Android and untangle them all for Rewards
|Name||Tangle Master 3D|
|Mod Features||Unlimited Money and No Ads|
|Updated||19 July 2021|
Do you like playing simple games that take your mind off any stress but are also very brain-engaging with their gameplay? Bored with simple puzzle games and want something more interesting? App Stores have a lot of games that focus on mind puzzles that improve and develop the brain. Tangle Master is one such interesting puzzle game that you can enjoy.
Tangle Master 3D Mod Apk Here
Tangle Master 3D is an interesting puzzle game where you have to untangle ropes tied together within a given time. You are only given limited moves, so you have to think really hard to untangle the ropes. The stars are given based on the time given and the moves made. It was released in May 2020, and it currently has over three million players worldwide.
The game has over 100 levels, so you can have lots of fun with this mind-puzzle game for long hours. In each level, the ropes will be tied to a bar at the top and attached to knobs below. The players will have to untie the twisted ropes and separate them by shifting the ends at the knobs to different ones.
Even if the game sounds very easy, it is not so simple, and you will have to put your brain to work to solve the puzzles. With each level, the difficulty increases, and the rewards are also equally high.
Tangle Master 3D Mod Apk Features:
The 3D visuals, graphics, and vivid colors make the gameplay very interesting. You need to match different colors with pins of the same color, which makes it easy for kids to play as well. It also has a lot of boosters like Scissors, Bomb Defuser, Extra Pin, and Open Lock which make the game easier for you to play.
The interface is also simple and straightforward. You will only have to move the position of the ropes from one pin to the other with your fingers.
The app gives the users a very involved and interactive experience with the option to customize your game with different colored ropes, backgrounds, and pin shapes. With every level, you can unlock exciting rewards and achievements. This gives you a very indulging and exciting experience while playing the game.
Mod Apk Version:
The app also has an ad-free, fully unlocked Tangle Master 3D Mod Apk version, but it requires you to pay for it. Many websites online now provide a Mod Apk version of the game, to allow users to have the full experience without any advertisements interrupting in between. Here is the link for Moded Tangle Master 3D: DOWNLOAD. However, you can find various other links for the Mod Apk version in Google. The app is safe to use, but there have been a few reports of it not being safe for some users.
Tangle Master 3D is a unique puzzle game, unlike the simple one where you have to match pieces. It is new and interesting to play. But the one major complaint that the users make is that the game has too many advertisements. But the Tangle Master 3D Mod Apk version will make the game an ad-free, fully unlocked, and fully free experience for the users.
For those searching for a new and interesting puzzle game that you can play to relieve your stress, Tangle Master 3D is the perfect game. It is not like the old games where you match puzzle pieces to complete a picture but is unique with its concept of untangling ropes. Many children and adults can enjoy this mind-exercising puzzle game for free.
Stay tuned with Herald Journalism for more updates!

domain: game


PALM BEACH COUNTY (CBSMiami) — The National Weather Service has issued a flood advisory for the Palm Beaches ahead of heavy showers and thunderstorms.
More rain is expected to cover the same area hit hard Friday afternoon with between 2 and 4 inches of rain.
A flood watch is in effect for the coastal, inland and metro parts of Palm Beach until 2 a.m. Saturday.
The additional heavy rainfall could lead to significant flooding of streets, urban areas and low-lying flood-prone areas near small canals or creeks through the evening.
Those living in these areas should prepare to take action should flooding develop.


The global intelligent evacuation system market size reached US$ 719 Million in 2022. Looking forward, IMARC Group expects the market to reach US$ 1,002 Million by 2028, exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 5.5% during 2023-2028.
An intelligent evacuation system is an alert and response generation solution used to enhance the safety level of individuals endangered due to an emergency. It includes various integrated hardware and software systems that facilitate in administering the safety protocol by generating notifications and alerts to initiate hassle-free evacuation during natural disasters, extreme weather conditions or violence. The system is deployed through fire alarms, voice evacuation, emergency lighting and mass notification systems. They are installed in the stairs, elevators, sky-bridges and refuge areas to implement total, phased, defend-in-place and delayed evacuation strategies in high-rise buildings, industrial plants, shopping malls and movie theaters.
Intelligent Evacuation System Market Trends:
The increasing requirement for advanced emergency response systems across the globe is one of the key factors driving the growth of the market. Governments of both developed and emerging economies are mandating the installation of intelligent evacuation systems in the residential and commercial complexes to increase public safety and minimize casualties. Moreover, the widespread adoption of building automation and control systems is providing a thrust to the market growth. Various technological advancements, such as the integration of connected devices with the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing solutions, are acting as other growth-inducing factors. These solutions are also widely deployed in the smart constructions integrated with crowd monitoring solutions, such as global position system (GPS), Bluetooth, computer vision, radio frequency identification (RFID) and infrared (IR) transmitters and receivers, to facilitate controlled evacuations. Other factors, including the implementation of favorable government policies, along with extensive research and development (R&D) activities, are anticipated to drive the market toward growth.
Key Market Segmentation:
IMARC Group provides an analysis of the key trends in each sub-segment of the global intelligent evacuation system market report, along with forecasts at the global, regional and country level from 2023-2028. Our report has categorized the market based on deployment and end users.
Breakup by Deployment:
- Voice Evacuation System
- Mass Notification System
- Emergency Lighting
Breakup by End Users:
Breakup by Region:
- North America
- South Korea
- United Kingdom
- Latin America
- Middle East and Africa
The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of the key players being ABB Ltd, Automated Logic Corporation (Carrier Global Corporation), Beckhoff Automation GmbH & Co. KG, Eaton Corp. Plc, Hochiki Corporation, Honeywell International Inc., Johnson Controls International Plc, Legrand, Robert Bosch GmbH and Siemens AG.
|Base Year of the Analysis
||Deployment, End Users, Region
|| Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, Middle East and Africa
||United States, Canada, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Russia, China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico
||ABB Ltd, Automated Logic Corporation (Carrier Global Corporation), Beckhoff Automation GmbH & Co. KG, Eaton Corp. Plc, Hochiki Corporation, Honeywell International Inc., Johnson Controls International Plc, Legrand, Robert Bosch GmbH and Siemens AG.
||10% Free Customization
|Report Price and Purchase Option
||Single User License: US$ 2499
Five User License: US$ 3499
Corporate License: US$ 4499
|Post-Sale Analyst Support
||PDF and Excel through Email (We can also provide the editable version of the report in PPT/Word format on special request)
Key Questions Answered in This Report:
- How has the global intelligent evacuation system market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years?
- What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global intelligent evacuation system market?
- What are the key regional markets?
- What is the breakup of the market based on the deployment?
- What is the breakup of the market based on the end users?
- What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry?
- What are the key driving factors and challenges in the industry?
- What is the structure of the global intelligent evacuation system market and who are the key players?
- What is the degree of competition in the industry?


text:
The Lagos State Police Command has arrested four women for allegedly abducting and selling a nine-year-old girl, identified as Blessing, for N650,000. The women are Fausat Ogidan, Abibat Oresanya, Bola Obajuruwa and Idiyat Abass.
The women were apprehended on Sunday, June 6, after a tip-off. The Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko, had directed the command’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad, led by SP Abba Kyari, to go after the child sellers’ syndicate.
Mrs Fausat Ogidan, who was with the nine-year-old girl, and had collected the money on behalf of others, was arrested in the Gbagada area of Lagos.
According to Punch, that the 51-year-old woman, who is married with four children, had arranged to sell the girl on that Sunday. The girl was given to Ogidan by Mrs Bola Obajuruwa, commonly known as Iya Alaje, who lives in the Suberu Street in the Alakuko area of Lagos.
Iya Alaje also confessed that she had told Ogidan to sell the girl for N350,000 before she was caught.
In her confession, she said, “I used to sell herbs in the Agege Market. I told Fausat (Ogidan) to sell the girl for N350,000, but Fausat added N300,000 as her own profit. The girl was sold to me by Idiyat (Abass) and her elder sister, Abibat.
“I bought her from them for N130,000. They said they were going to give the money to the girl’s mother who wanted to get rid of her because of poverty.” Obajuruwa, when arrested, led the police to the other two ladies, Abass and Oresanya, who got the girl from her parents and connived to sell her. It was gathered that Oresanya claimed that Blessing’s mother had wanted to dispose of her and use the money obtained to take care of her other children. But during interrogation, Blessing, who said her real name is Yetunde, told the police that she was kidnapped from their residence in Ibadan.


text:
Disney Jr. is about to launch on Friday in
some 30 million homes (see cover story), but Teri Weiss
is confident Nick Jr. will remain the dominant player in cable
programming’s preschool space.
The senior vice president of Nickelodeon Preschool sai
Nick Jr., which runs commercial-free with limited PBS-style
messages, will maintain its lesson plan of providing educational
the 2-5 set and fulfilling
its mission to help 4- and
5-year-olds prepare for
“The landscape is always
changing and more
competitive than ever before,”
Weiss said. “We’re
going to continue curriculum
integration into our
shows that have become
destinations to empower
kids to better understand the world around [them] and recognize
the things they know.”
Weiss said Nick Jr., which began trumpeting its new tagline,
“The Smart Place to Play,” on March 1, has experienced
minimal Nielsen effect from Sprout and more recently The
Hub with its audience and their caregivers.
“No one offers the amount or quality of educational experiences
that Nick Jr. offers,” she said. “The network has posted year
over year gains for the last two years and has seen no significant
negative ratings impact due to new players in the space.”
Nick Jr. traces its roots from a block that continues on Nick
and to Noggin, which became a 24-hour preschool channel
on Dec. 31, 2007. The channel’s name switched to Nick Jr. on
Sept. 28, 2009.
Nick Jr., with 74 million subscribers, scored a 4% increase
to average a 2.9 kids 2-5 rating and 315,000 of those
viewers in 2011. Year-to-date, Nick Jr. also has improved
its count by 4% to a 3.1 rating and 331,000 of those viewers.
Gains are being driven in part by long-running favorite
Dora the Explorer, as well as math-themed Team Umizoomi
and Bubble Guppies. Newcomer Mike the Knight, which not
only tells wondrous tales about dragons but imparts wisdom
about being a good brother and member of the community, is
also performing well with viewers, Weiss said.
Nick Jr. has plenty in its development pipeline, which will
yield a series based on the Peter Rabbit stories come fall and
Tickety Tock. Weiss said the network is excited about an upcoming
and is working on another
tied to STEM
Weiss also addressed
Nick Jr.’s recent
on-air removal of
Moose A. Moose and
Zee, the longtime animated
hosted the network’s
The move has
prompted more than 10,000 people to sign an online petition
seeking their restoration — and hundreds of unhappy comments
on Nick Jr.’s Facebook page.
“We certainly understand that many children and their
parents enjoy Moose and Zee. But we did a lot of research
about Nick Jr. in general and specific shows and we found
that viewers wanted to see more of their favorite characters
in those segments,” Weiss said. As such Dora, Diego,
the Bubble Guppies and Team Umizoomi characters are
now also serving in those roles. (Weiss’s comments came
after the Multichannel News deadline for the cover story.)
In the fourth quarter Nick Jr., whose 53.3% co-viewing
ratio is the highest of all kids networks, will debut a
nighttime NickMom block, with a mix of original longand
short-form humor-based programming, including
talk-show, stand-up, sketch-comedy and hidden-camera
format fare. Research indicates that about 25% of today’s
mothers grew up watching Nickelodeon, Weiss said.
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Kevin Jonas and Danielle Jonas went out to dinner with their friends and family last night (September 26, 2012). Chances are the dinner was filmed for the couple’s reality TV show “Married To Jonas.” The show airs on Sunday nights on E! Have you tuned in for each of the episodes? Which has been your favorite so far?
The Jonas Brothers just revealed that they plan on releasing a new single soon off of their upcoming album. We can’t wait to hear the new song!