text:
Delta conservation plan is only a piecemeal solution
STATEN ISLAND, Calif. — The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is one of the most biologically diverse and ecologically sensitive areas in the country and the source of 30% of Southern California’s water. It’s also broken.
Those may be the only facts about the delta on which everybody agrees.
Because of oxidation of the area’s unprotected peaty soil, the level of farm tracts on some of its 57 levee-ringed islands has dropped to as much as 30 feet below sea level. That makes them especially vulnerable to a rise in the water level, deterioration of the levees and contamination by saltwater flowing in from San Francisco Bay. Habitat for countless species of fish, bird and mammal has been destroyed. Before 1850, the delta comprised 540 square miles of freshwater wetlands and more than 300 salt marshes; today those ecosystems have been shrunk to a combined 48 square miles.
“The delta is one of the most degraded estuary and wetland systems in the nation,” Chuck Bonham, director of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, told a group of journalists this week. He also said that fixing it “might be the most intractable natural resources problem in America.”
Bonham was speaking from this 9,100-acre island owned by the Nature Conservancy, which operates a migratory bird refuge and demonstration farm growing corn and wheat on the tract. His audience was assembled to tour the delta, a filigree of winding waterways east of San Francisco Bay and west of Stockton, by the Metropolitan Water District and the state Department of Water Resources. Their goal was to promote the latest in a long sequence of delta fixes, the so-called Bay Delta Conservation Plan.
The massive scheme includes a pair of 30-mile tunnels to carry water from the Sacramento River upstream of the delta to an existing pumping station downstream, where it feeds into the California aqueduct serving the Central Valley and Southern California. The tunnels would be paid for by growers and urban water users in the south — the average bill for a Southern California resident served by the MWD would move $5 a month higher over several years, according to Jeff Kightlinger, the district’s general manager. A final environmental impact statement for the plan is due to be published Nov. 15.
The second part of the plan is a large-scale rehabilitation program aimed at reclaiming 150,000 acres of wetlands and marsh after decades of destruction. The restoration would be financed out of the proposed $11-billion water bond issue that Gov. Jerry Brown hopes will prevail on the November 2014 ballot.
There are obvious virtues to shifting the aqueduct intakes 40 miles upstream from their current location in the south delta. The change would yield improvements in water quality and accommodate new technologies to keep fish out of the intakes — currently salmon fry and delta smelt get sucked into the pumping plants and mulched. The project’s supporters say the tunnels would reduce the risk that earthquake or storm damage to the levees would interrupt the flow of water to users in the Central Valley and Southern California.
Yet the very nature of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan underscores its greatest flaw. The plan yokes a major infrastructure improvement to an environmental upgrade serving one discrete element of the state’s water supply network. What’s needed is a statewide, or even regionwide, solution to the problem of limited water supply and burgeoning demand.
“Our water use isn’t planned, it’s haphazard,” says Peter Gleick, president and co-founder of the Pacific Institute and one of the most incisive analysts of water issues today. As he points out, every part of California’s water supply system is connected to the whole. Yet state and regional water policy focuses on solving problems as though they occur in separate sandboxes.
Is there a dispute over Southern California’s supply from the Colorado River? Then we solve it narrowly through agreements among the dozens of government bodies, Indian tribes and water districts with claims on the river. Corporate growers plant almond and pistachio trees in the Central Valley because they’re hugely profitable. But the trees are exceptionally thirsty, and once they’re planted they create a permanent demand for lots of water. Are thirsty almonds the best crop for a semi-arid region with lots of competing demands? Doesn’t matter; they’re planted because their owners happen to have access to lots of water — for now.
“If we took the amount of water we know we have reliably and divided it up in a logical, socially responsible fashion, it would look different from what we have today,” Gleick observes. “But there’s no overarching guidance about who can plant what where or how much water people use in their homes.”
On Gov. Brown’s order, the Department of Water Resources is developing a statewide water strategy to be issued next month. But it’s not yet public and is sure to be nothing like the ambitious program that’s needed for a future of limited supply. The vacuum is only getting more dangerous, since climate change is likely to make rainfall and snowpack in the American West more sporadic and unpredictable.
In the meantime, the best we have is piecemeal approaches such as the delta conservation plan. Proposals to divert southbound water intake around the most sensitive portions of the delta have emerged every 20 or 30 years since the 1930s. The last one was the peripheral canal, a $3-billion, 42-mile project that suffered a resounding ballot defeat in 1982.
The campaign over the canal pitted farmers against urban dwellers, and some farmers against other farmers, but the major split was geographical. Its 2-to-1 support in Southern California was swamped by voting in Northern California that in some counties ran 95% against.
The latest political strategy for the delta aims to circumvent the north-south split that doomed the peripheral canal. The tunnel project itself won’t go before the voters, since it’s part of a comprehensive delta stewardship plan approved by the Legislature in 2009.
The portion of the conservation plan that will need voter approval is the conservation and restoration scheme, which will be covered by a water bond of up to $11 billion currently scheduled for the November 2014 election. (Voters are thought to be more amenable to spending on conservation than, well, water tunnels.)
The tunnel plan still isn’t a slam-dunk. The release of the environmental impact report is certain to prompt many rounds of questioning and dickering by stakeholders on all sides of this multifaceted debate. That process will last another year at least. The plan has already been scaled back to meet objections from local residents and government environmental regulators, and the likelihood that it will evolve further is therefore 100%.
Southern California has achieved wonders through conservation and renewable uses. MWD’s water sales have gone down over the last two decades despite a growth of 3 million residents in its service area, and Kightlinger says the district thinks it can fulfill demand through 2050 or even 2075 without expanding the supply it has today.
But make no mistake: Water will continue to be taken out of the delta to serve the Central Valley and Southern California, if only for the simple reason that 75% of precipitation in the state falls north of Sacramento, and 75% of demand is south. Finding a way to do it better is essential. Whether the tunnel plan is that way will be hashed out over the coming months by stakeholders who see the situation through their own lenses. The conflict over their rights is bound to become more intense.
At every stop the journalists on tour this week were shadowed by representatives of local delta landowners and farmers, who maintain that the tunnels will destroy their way of life.
They have a right to be heard. As Bonham put it, “You can’t do delta restoration on the backs of the local community.” But their interests, and everyone else’s, also need to be measured against myriad other statewide interests — salmon fishermen, dairy farmers, semiconductor manufacturers, San Franciscans, Angelenos — and balanced against the immutable realities of supply.
As Gleick puts it, California and the West have reached “peak water.” He says, “We’re at the limits of what we can do.” In the Delta, “we’re taking out too much water and the consequences are disputes over allocations and devastated ecosystems.” But that’s not the only place where more water has been promised than can be responsibly delivered.
“It doesn’t solve our problems if we fix only a piece of them at a time,” he says. “The delta tunnel is only one piece.”
The view from Sacramento
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WALTON COUNTY, GA (Dec. 7, 2022) At Tuesday’s Walton County Board of Commissioners meeting in October, Chairman David Thompson asked that the BOC members consider cutting the chairman’s salary to almost 1/4 of what it currently is and that the position be made part-time. This request was affirmed at Tuesday’s meeting when the BOC approved the measure, voting to cut the future salary to $30,000. It will go into effect at the next election cycle. Whoever is elected to the position in 2024, instead of earning $99,000 will instead be employed part-time and will earn a $30,000 annual salary.
Thompson had requested the change in light of the fact that the county now has a county manager who runs the day-to-day operations of Walton County. John Amos Ward, III was hired as county manager in April of this year, also after prompting from Thompson who said at the time he didn’t believe the chairman of the BOC should be involved in the day-to-day operations.
“I think it’s proper an elected official should not be running the day-to-day operations of the county. That is a bureaucratic job,” Thompson said. He went on to explain that the enabling legislation at the state legislature for Walton County also furnishes a vehicle for the board chairman. However, Thompson uses his own vehicle and gets reimbursed for mileage used for county business.
Thompson has continued to earn a full salary since Ward came on board, but has donated it to various charities around Walton County. Ward earns an annual salary of $180,000.
At the meeting Tuesday, the BOC approved this change to the enabling legislation for the county as well as to raise the purchasing authority for the chairman from $5,000 to $25,000 to avoid him having to constantly get in touch with board members on some items.
The measure passed with just Walton County Commissioner Lee Bradford voting against it. The request for the change will now be carried by State Rep. Bruce Williamson to the Georgia General Assembly for approval in the 2023 Legislative Session.

domain: law


text:
Pir Ejaz Hashmi of JUP and senior journalist Mujeebur Rehman Shami were also part of the ceremony.
Also, Pir Ejaz Hashmi met Bilawal at Bilawal House and discussed country’s political situation.
Hashmi told PPP leader that his grand-father and mother had started politics from Punjab and it was time for him also to focus on this province.
He also lauded the services of Z.
A Bhutto for inclusion of Islamic provisions into the 1973 Constitution.
Published in The Nation newspaper on 11-Jan-2016

domain: news


text:
Busy as a Bee - Penny Rug
Designed by Carol Endres, multi-layered, hand appliqued garnet flowers with gold centers and warm toast trim spill out of a finely stitched chocolate brown antique basket, while intricately crafted honey bees buzz nearby. Dark sage green leaves add color, while embroidery and French knots add interesting texture to the Penny collection's transitional styled Busy as a Bee rug!
Our hand-appliqued felt rugs and runners have captured the hearts of many decorators and consumers. These felt rugs make a statement whether on the floor or hung on the wall as a piece of art. Homespice Decor teamed with designer Carol Endres for the fascinating designs and details such as hand embroidery and French knots.
Contents: 35% wool, 20% cotton, 33% acrylic, 6% nylon, 5% polyester, 1% other

domain: artistic


Iron Sieve Palette
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text:
Date of Degree
PhD (Doctor of Philosophy)
First Committee Member
Finamore, John F
Second Committee Member
Third Committee Member
Fourth Committee Member
Swanson, Carrie E
This dissertation offers new answers to the ethical questions posed by Homer’s epics by implementing interdisciplinary methods and perspectives. Drawing insights from anthropology, literary criticism, philosophy, and psychology, I construct an ethical model, which evaluates ethical systems not primarily as a means of regulating conduct but as a means of endowing particular actions with exemplary significance. My methodology, which is based on this ethical model, approaches ethics as a complex system that can never be adequately described in its totality but only in reference to specific human problematics. The problematic I investigate is death: how it serves as an opportunity for Homeric heroes to pursue the most significant kind of life they can in light of their mortality.
The Homeric hero is obliged to protect his “lot” in life as his birthright and property in the divinely-governed world; he is obliged also to recognize the limits of his lot and respect the lot of other noblemen by rendering them due honor. Not all lots are equal, of course, and certain ethical sensibilities are required to negotiate the social domain properly. The Iliad and Odyssey illustrate what ethical sensibilities come into play as their exemplars struggle against a diverse range of human vicissitudes. Three sensibilities are especially important: (1) a sense of culturally appropriate restraint out of fear of retribution, (2) a sense of culturally appropriate anger upon seeing shameless behavior, (3) a sense of culturally appropriate love/friendship and pity that opens a path for even strangers to be treated as intimates, i.e. to have their needs met.
Corresponding to these sensibilities are battle customs and civic customs. A heroic death garners significance from occurring either under the auspices of battle customs or under the auspices of civic customs. The Iliad illustrates good death in war as a “beautiful death,” and the Odyssey illustrates good death in the community as a “gentle death.” Death is the culmination of one’s living actions, and glorious actions are worthy of being remembered by a community in song. Even when a hero no longer can act in the world, he is able, if his actions are preserved in memory, to participate in the life of the community. To be remembered and honored “equally to a god” is the greatest good a mortal can have, insofar as it approximates the immortal existence of the gods. In my conclusion, I also discuss methods of researching the reception of Homeric ethics, especially by Plato.
Anthropology, Death, Epistemology, Homer, Narratology, Psychology
ix, 289 pages
Includes bibliographical references (pages 280-289).
Copyright © 2017 Tyler Fyotek
Fyotek, Tyler. "Deathics: Homeric ethics as thanatology." PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) thesis, University of Iowa, 2017.

domain: literature


Deep-rooted problems require soul searching solutions
Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has a legitimate concern.
Judging from a string of headlines about some of the criminal developments in Samoa recently, the image of Samoa being created in the minds of people who don’t know us better will certainly not be flattering.
You see, if we in Samoa are asking the question of what is wrong with some of our very own people today, imagine then what other people, who don’t know anything about Samoa, are thinking. Especially with the barrage of incidents involving rape, incest, petty theft, robberies and more.
All these have been captured and reported in the media for the world to see.
Let’s quickly revisit some of the more recent headlines to highlight our point. It wasn’t long ago that a story titled “Brother and sister investigated for incest” shocked us all. According to the Acting Police Commissioner, Sala’a Moananu Sale, the brother and sister go to the same church where the pastor had become suspicious about their activities.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, another story under the headline “Man charged for making13-year-old girl his wife” was equally disturbing. Who does that?
Try this for another story: “Police furious about new baby sex case.” This story was about the sexual violation of two babies, aged two and six, by their male babysitter. Mind blowing, isn’t it?
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg, folks.
Which is perhaps what led to Prime Minister Tuilaepa’s decision to try and put a lid on the source of these stories. Last week, he expressed concerns over the negative impact of media reports about incest and rape cases.
“These negative reports give the impression that our country is not a place people would like to visit, and this is what the newspapers and radio are doing,” he said.
“In New Zealand, with its thousands and thousands of citizens, you hardly hear of any incest case being reported like here in (Samoa).”
Well, this is not true. There are cases of incest being reported on a daily basis in the New Zealand media -- and many of them involve Pacific Island people.
But we don’t want to delve into that today. The point is, while the Prime Minister might have a legitimate concern about protecting the image of Samoa, it doesn’t take away the fact we have got a real problem on our hands.
The idea, that in 2017, these incidents are continuing in Christian state Samoa really does boggle the mind. When we look at all these cases, you really have to ask the question, what has become of morality in Samoa today? How did we get to where we are now?
This is the real issue and this is where leaders, like Tuilaepa, can do some real work. Muzzling the media is not the way to do it. We need to hold everyone accountable since this is a country that belongs to all of us, not just a few people.
We need to look the pillars of our community and find out where we have gone wrong. For instance, where is the church? What is it doing to stop such repulsive incidents involving immorality of the worst form and violation of basic human rights for these girls?
Let us be reminded once more today that Samoa has just become an official Christian state. The decision is not necessarily a bad thing and when the actions of this country follow our declaration, it can be a most wonderful development.
But let’s stop kidding ourselves. Samoa today is a mess. And enshrining Christianity in our Constitution does not automatically cure this sickness.
The fact is, Christianity is not supposed to be a label you wear. It is a daily lifestyle that reflects a person’s intimate relationship with his God. It’s a personal matter that you don’t need to shout from the rooftop.
Anybody can claim to be a Christian, which is probably the biggest problem in Samoa today. But it’s their integrity and actions which prove who they really are. And that’s what matters.
Mind you, the church is not the only pillar of this community.
Does our Samoan culture have a role? Where are our cultural values and principles? Do they have a part to play in stopping the rot we are seeing?
What about the village leaderships? Where are the Alii ma Faipule?
Do they have a part to play? And what is that part?
What about the mothers? The fathers? The children?
As for government leaders, well, their role is quite simple. They are entrusted to formulate and implement policies that should help the people of this country deal with economical and social challenges which are directly connected to the social ills we are talking about today.
Is that happening? What is our government doing about this? Does it care at all? Or is their only solution -- and response -- to shoot the messenger and pretend that all is well, contrary to what are seeing?
What do you think? Write and share your thoughts with us!
Have a wonderful Wednesday, Samoa, God bless!


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The International human rights association (IHRA) has requested the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for de-recognition and to withdraw the funding of Maharaja Chandrakirti Singh’s memorial park under construction at Chivu in Churachandpur district.
A letter written by IHRA (Manipur State) president Mark Thangmang Haokip to the director-general of ASI stated that the said park has been constructed by distorting the history through political manipulation in order to grab the ‘Kuki ancestral land’, and it is a disastrous move which will endanger the life of the indigenous Kuki. The Manipur government has gravely violated the indigenous human rights, it said.
It further mentioned that the park is being constructed ‘under fake archaeological inscriptions which had never been heard about in real Kuki history’. It accused the Manipur government of using distorted and fake historical documents. It is the work of some dishonest academics in order to install the said park, IHRA said.
The letter further said that the Lushai-Kuki Expedition of 1871-72 was carried out by the then British government and king Chandrakirti, under the control of the British, was sent to help the expedition and it was not done for the expansion of the kingdom of Manipur. Thus, how the credits of that expedition should go to king Chandrakirti, IHRA questioned.


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[StBernard] ST. BERNARD FIRST LADY EASTER EGG HUNT TO BE SATURDAY, APRIL 16 AT 10 A.M. AT TORRES PARK BEFORE THE ART IN APRIL FESTIVAL
Westley at da-parish.com
Tue Apr 12 15:16:05 EDT 2011
ST. BERNARD FIRST LADY EASTER EGG HUNT TO BE SATURDAY, APRIL 16 AT 10 A.M.
AT TORRES PARK BEFORE THE ART IN APRIL FESTIVAL
The fourth, annual St. Bernard Parish First Lady Easter Egg Hunt will be
Saturday, April 16 at 10 a.m. at Torres Park before the festivities begin
for the Art in April Festival.
Hundreds of children enjoy the Easter Egg Hunt annually, and parents should
bring their cameras to take pictures of their children with the Easter
Bunny. Easter eggs will be hidden at Torres Park between the hill and the
newly constructed gazebo.
Since 2008, First Lady Debbie Taffaro and Parish President Craig Taffaro,
who have eight children, have sponsored the event for children ages 0 to 9.
There will be separate hunts for children ages 0 to 4 and for those who are
5 to 9. There also will be refreshments and a drawing for door prizes.
After the event, families are encouraged to attend the 15th Annual Art in
April Festival, which will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. near the
Community Playground on the Judge Perez Drive side of the park. Art in April
will have live music and performances from local children as a Children's
Pavilion with free hands-on arts and crafts, face painting, puppet shows,
magicians, storytelling and much more.
More information about the StBernard


text:
A week ahead of it’s scheduled release we get Kendrick Lamar’s sophomore effort To Pimp A Butterfly. The LP comes with 16 tracks, with contributions from Snoop Dogg, Bilal, Ronald Isley, Fauntleroy, Rapsody and more. You can grab the album on iTunes now.
Tracklist & Stream below. Read more
Kendrick Lamar covers Rolling Stone.
Late last night, Kendrick Lamar took to his Instagram account to reveal the artwork and title for his upcoming album. The album which releases march 23rd will be called To Pimp A Butterfly. Check out the track durations below. You can pre-order the album on iTunes now. Read more
Big Boy made his debut on Real 92.3 yesterday and had Kendrick Lamar stop by as his first guest. On Biggie’s day of passing, Kendrick freestyles over some Biggie classics. via S4TB. Read more
Fresh off his Grammy win last night, K. Dot returns with a new single titled ‘The Blacker The Berry’. Produced by Boi-1da and Terrace Martin. Read more
Breezy returns to drop a visual for his single ‘Autumn Leaves’. The song features K. Dot, although he doesn’t make an appearance in the video. This lives on his X album out now. Read more
Kendrick Lamar‘s personal letter in XXL’s last issue opened fan’s eyes to what he’s been thinking and going through the past few years, working on his album and what his thoughts are in the wake of his sophomore effort. If you haven’t seen the cover in newsstands quite yet, here’s some behind-the-scenes footage of the making, as he takes the pictures for the spread. Read more
K. Dot covers XXL’s Winter 2014 Issue. Check out a quick freestyle below. Read more
Kendrick Lamar stopped by The Whoolywood Shuffle promoting his latest single ‘i.’ He speaks on traveling to St. Louis to gain Ron Isley’s permission for use of his ‘That Lady’ sample. K. Dot also confirms George Clinton collaborations are underway. Read more
K. Dot returns with the visual for his ‘i’ track. Directed by Alexander Moore and The Little Homies. Read more


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Last week, House Republicans released the full text of the PROSPER Act, a bill that proposes dramatic changes to the financing of higher education — including the elimination of student loan forgiveness programs.
Here’s a breakdown of the bill and how it could affect you.
What is the PROSPER Act?
The Promoting Real Opportunity, Success, and Prosperity through Education Reform (PROSPER) Act was introduced by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) and Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.).
“We need a higher education system that is designed to meet the needs of today’s students and has the flexibility to innovate for tomorrow’s workforce opportunities,” tweeted Foxx. “The PROSPER Act is higher education’s long-overdue reform.”
If approved, it would be “the biggest overhaul of education policy in decades,” according to The Wall Street Journal.
Here are some of the most striking provisions of the bill:
- Simplification of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
- “Wind-down” of the Federal Perkins Loan Program
- Reduction of available repayment plans
- Changes to the amount students and parents can borrow
- Elimination of federal student loan origination fees
- Increase in funding for community colleges and apprenticeships
- Elimination of rules — such as 90/10 and gainful employment — that regulate for-profit institutions
Reactions from higher education experts haven’t been positive, with many saying the bill will mainly benefit for-profit schools.
“Increasing the already heavy burden of student debt and gutting critical protections for students and taxpayers will not promote ‘real opportunity, success, and prosperity,’” said Debbie Cochrane, vice president of The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS), in a statement.
“Make no mistake,” she continued, “this bill would close the door to a quality higher education and economic mobility for those who need it most.”
How student loan forgiveness could change
For people who’ve already borrowed money for college, the biggest blows come to student loan forgiveness programs.
Under current income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, loans are forgiven after 20 to 25 years of payments. Under the new plan, interest would be capped after 10 years of payments — but borrowers would never receive forgiveness.
Also on the chopping block is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program, which allows borrowers working at nonprofit or government agencies to have their loans forgiven after 10 years of regular payments. The House bill eliminates this program entirely.
Will these changes affect you?
If you’re currently seeking forgiveness through one of these programs, you might find this news alarming.
But changes to IDR and PSLF will affect only borrowers who enroll after June 2018, according to The Washington Post. In other words, if you’re already on track to receive forgiveness, you don’t need to worry.
If you’re in school, however, and contemplating a public service career or IDR plan with the hope that your loans will eventually get forgiven, you should track this bill as it moves through Congress.
It goes to the Senate next and reportedly could take more than a year to work its way through. The final version is likely to look “vastly different” from the current legislation, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.
One reason is the fact that members of the Senate’s education committee have said they’ll pursue a bipartisan proposal — a striking change from the current bill, which was written with little input from Democrats.
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|2.57% – 6.65%3||Undergrad & Graduate||Visit CommonBond|
|2.72% – 8.17%4||Undergrad & Graduate||Visit Citizens|

domain: finance


text:
Movies & TV
Watch What Happens Live
Mariah Carey Returned To ‘Watch What Happens Live’ And Still Doesn’t Know Anybody
Either this is an early onset of Alzeheimer's or Mariah Carey is truly the fairy godmother of shade.
Mariah Carey Clarifies Her “I Don’t Know Her” J.Lo Comment
...but stays silent when asked about Nicki Minaj.
Three Days Later, 50 Cent Is Still Going After Vivica A. Fox
Talk about persistence...
Vivica Fox Suggests 50 Cent Is Gay On “WWHL” With Andy Cohen
The Internet is patiently waiting for 50 Cent's clap back because oh, there WILL be a clap back.
Tyra Banks Visits ‘Watch What Happens Live’
Model-turned-businesswoman Tyra Banks recently paid a visit to Andy Cohen’s Watch What Happens Live on Bravo. During her sit-down, she dished about the…
Watch: 50 Cent Talks Beyoncé’s Breath, Says Jay Z’s Overrated
Report, Replay, Repeat: ‘I Slept With a Celebrity’ Playlist
Andy Cohen is opening Pandora's Box with his new reality series, I Slept With a Celebrity. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the…
Porsha Stewart on Ex-Husband Dating Towanda Braxton: ‘I Think That’s Great!’
Porsha Williams (Stewart) may be newly divorced, but she harbors no ill feelings toward her ex-husband. The RHOA star recently stopped by Watch…
Movies & TV
Mariah Carey Talks ‘Glitter’ Bomb, More Kids And Eminem On ‘Watch What Happens Live’
Susan Sarandon Admits To Being High At Major Award Shows
During a game of "Plead the Fifth" with Watch What Happens Live host Andy Cohen, Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon answered the question, "Name one major…
Jenny McCarthy Says She’s Probably On ‘Oprah’s Sh*t List’
Jenny McCarthy's biggest fear may be Oprah. During a sit-down with Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live, the View cohost revealed that she was…
NeNe Leakes Clarifies Opinion of Porsha Stewart [Video]
Yep, NeNe Leakes wanted fellow Real Housewives of Atlanta star Porsha Stewart booted off the show at one point, but now she's singing…
Coco & Phaedra Parks Square Off In Bravo’s “Booty Olympics”
When it comes to famous "round rumps", nobody comes close to competing against Ice T's wifey Coco—that is, unless your name is Phaedra Parks.
What She Say? Lil Kim: ‘You Must Be The Stupid Hoe’
Few people are fans of Nicki Minaj’s diss track "Stupid Ho*." And as you can imagine, the person who is the least fond of it…
Around The Web
The VIBE Mix Newsletter
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Home Depot Co-Founder Alleges EBT Card Holders Use…
Paying your cannabis supplier with an EBT Card? Ain't that some sh**.
Bronx Residents Honor Kalief Browder’s Life & Legacy…
On what would have been his 24th birthday, Bronx officials present "Kalief Browder Way."
Betty Shelby To Receive “Reparations” In More Than…
Apparently, they really don't care about us.
Christian High School Tells Pregnant Maryland Teen She…
"You can't be pro-life, but then refuse to support the girl that keeps her baby," she says.
Premiere: Rebstar And LE SINNER Bounce Through The Club On…
May 26, 2017 - 3:07 pm
The Today is Vintage collective debuts a bouncy track from Sweden.
Musiq Soulchild's 'Juslisen' And The Art Of Writing About Love
NEXT: Consider ELHAE An Alchemist Of Modern R&B Moods
Ashanti Reflects On Her Record-Breaking Debut Album
Exhume Those Bodies: Remembering 21 Of The Most Influential Women Artists In The Last Century

domain: celebrity


text:
After Joey and Sarah dated:
Joey said that he had had a great time.
Sarah had a great time.
They both had a great time.
Joey didn't like the fact that:
Sarah used her fingers to eat.
Sarah took some fries from his plate.
She ordered a salad.
Rachel said that:
Joey hadn't let her have some grapes from his plate last week.
Emma was the only person Joey shared food with.
She knew that Joey didn't share his food.
Joey was not very excited about the cheesecake because:
Sarah's chocolate tort seemed very delicious.
He didn't like the raspberry coulis.
He was on diet and he only ate heathy food.
didn't let Joey taste her desert.
thought that it was ok to share her desert with him.
agreed to share as long as he would do the same.
had just a tiny little bite of tort.
managed to help himself.
started digging into the tort.
was wearing a soft sweater.
didn't like the idea that they were without company that night.
wanted to tease Joey by eating his muffin.

domain: food


text:
Frequency of involvement different parts of the gastrointestinal tract in the pathological process in children with biliary dysfunction
Keywords:children, biliary dysfunction
The close anatomical and physiological connection of the digestive organs leads to a significant spread of functional disorders in various diseases.
Purpose — to investigate the frequency and features of the clinical course of biliary dysfunction (BD) in children.
Materials and methods. 66 children aged 10–18 years with BD were examined. The study included a complete clinical examination of children, laboratory and instrumental methods. To assess the severity of clinical symptoms in the examined patients was used traditional score scale of symptoms (0–3 points) and the frequency index (FI).
Results. In most children, the database was combined with other functional and organic lesions of the digestive tract (n=56, 84.8%). The database was most often combined with chronic gastritis and duodenitis, as well as with functional motor disorders. FI in children with BD involved in the pathological process of the stomach and duodenum was the highest (0.59), and IR in children with BD and intestinal involvement was the lowest (0.23). The relationship between the frequency of combined pathology and the frequency of cases of increase in the size of the gallbladder (χ2=22.87 at a critical value of χ2=9.33 for the significance level p<0.01). Hyper- or hypofunctions of the biliary tract occurred with the same frequency.
Conclusions. Biliary dysfunction in children is significantly more often combined with chronic gastritis and duodenitis, as well as with other functional disorders of the gastrointestinal tract (duodenogastric reflux). In children with biliary dysfunction and involvement in the pathological process of other parts of the gastrointestinal tract there is an increase in the frequency of exacerbations, more pronounced signs of dyspeptic syndrome on the background of pain with the same intensity and more often ultrasound reveals signs of gallbladder dysformation.
The research was carried out in accordance with the principles of the Helsinki declaration. The study protocol was approved by the Local Ethics Committee of all participating institution. The informed consent of the patient was obtained for conducting the studies.
No conflict of interest was declared by the authors.
Bates JA, Dinnan K, Sharp V. (2019). Biliary hyperkinesia, a new diagnosis or misunderstood pathophysiology of dyskinesia: A case report. Int J Surg Case Rep. 55: 80-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijscr.2019.01.011; PMid:30716707 PMCid:PMC6360460
Chen CH, Lin CL, Hsu CY, Kao CH. (2018). Association Between Type I and II Diabetes With Gallbladder Stone Disease. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 9: 720. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2018.00720; PMid:30555418 PMCid:PMC6281708
Cullen JM, Stalker MJ. (2016). Liver and Biliary System. Jubb, Kennedy & Palmer's Pathology of Domestic Animals. 2: 258-352.e1. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-7020-5318-4.00008-5; PMCid:PMC7149729
Di Serafino M, Gioioso M, Severino R et al. (2020). Ultrasound findings in paediatric cholestasis: how to image the patient and what to look for. J Ultrasound. 23 (1): 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40477-019-00362-9; PMid:30756259 PMCid:PMC7010886
Lin TK, Fishman DS, Giefer MJ et al. (2019). Functional Pancreatic Sphincter Dysfunction in Children: Recommendations for Diagnosis and Management. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 69 (6): 704-709. https://doi.org/10.1097/MPG.0000000000002515; PMid:31567892 PMCid:PMC6878194
Loranskaya ID. (2013). Functional disorders of the biliary tract. M: Forte print: 92.
Ministry of Health of Ukraine. (2013). Order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine No. 59 of January 29. Unified clinical protocols of medical care for children with diseases of the digestive system. Sovremennaya pedyatryya. 4: 20-31.
Norsa L, Nicastro E, Di Giorgio A, Lacaille F, D'Antiga L. (2018). Prevention and Treatment of Intestinal Failure-Associated Liver Disease in Children. Nutrients. 10 (6): 664. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10060664; PMid:29882922 PMCid:PMC6024802
Sasahira N, Hamada T, Togawa O et al. (2016). Multicenter study of endoscopic preoperative biliary drainage for malignant distal biliary obstruction. World J Gastroenterol. 22 (14): 3793-3802. https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v22.i14.3793; PMid:27076764 PMCid:PMC4814742
Sebekina OV. (2011). Features of the course of urticaria in patients with Helicobacter-associated diseases of the upper digestive tract: Abstract dis. for scientific research. degree of Cand. honey. Sciences: spec. 01.14.04 «Internal Diseases». Moscow: 24.
Shanmugam H, Molina Molina E, Di Palo DM et al. (2020). Physical Activity Modulating Lipid Metabolism in Gallbladder Diseases. J Gastrointestin Liver Dis. 29 (1): 99-110. https://doi.org/10.15403/jgld-544; PMid:32176752 PMCid:PMC8114792
Simon DA, Friesen CA, Schurman JV, Colombo JM. (2020). Biliary Dyskinesia in Children and Adolescents: A Mini Review. FrontPediatr. 8: 122. Published 2020 Mar 24. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2020.00122; PMid:32266192 PMCid:PMC7105807
Wilkins T, Agabin E, Varghese J, Talukder A. (2017). Gallbladder Dysfunction: Cholecystitis, Choledocholithiasis, Cholangitis, and Biliary Dyskinesia.Prim Care. 44 (4): 575-597. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pop.2017.07.002; PMid:29132521
YiD Y, ChangE J, Kim JY, Lee EH, Yang HR. (2016). Age, Predisposing Diseases, and Ultrasonographic Findings in Determining Clinical Outcome of Acute Acalculous Inflammatory Gallbladder Diseases in Children. J Korean Med Sci. 31 (10): 1617-1623. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2016.31.10.1617; PMid:27550491 PMCid:PMC4999405
Copyright (c) 2021 Modern Pediatrics. Ukraine
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The policy of the Journal “MODERN PEDIATRICS. UKRAINE” is compatible with the vast majority of funders' of open access and self-archiving policies. The journal provides immediate open access route being convinced that everyone – not only scientists - can benefit from research results, and publishes articles exclusively under open access distribution, with a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 international license(СС BY-NC).
Authors transfer the copyright to the Journal “MODERN PEDIATRICS. UKRAINE” when the manuscript is accepted for publication. Authors declare that this manuscript has not been published nor is under simultaneous consideration for publication elsewhere. After publication, the articles become freely available on-line to the public.
Readers have the right to use, distribute, and reproduce articles in any medium, provided the articles and the journal are properly cited.
The use of published materials for commercial purposes is strongly prohibited.


text:
Furry Vengeance: Brooke Shields struggles with pet pooch as she takes dog for a walk with daughter Rowan in New York
She has previously spoken out in the past about being allergic to her pet dog.
But actress and model Brooke Shields didn't look like she would let a measly thing like a pet allergy come between her and her pooch as she went for walk in New York on Sunday.
Lapping up the sunshine with her 12-year-old daughter Rowan and four legged friend for company the 49-year-old beauty looked like she was doing most of the hard work, as she carried her pet whilst daughter Rowan played on her phone.
Puppy love: Brooke looked like she was struggling to control her pet pooch as the dog wriggled in her arms
The Chalet Girl actress laughed as her energetic puppy wriggled in her arms, licking her ear and at one point seemingly giving her a kiss on the cheek.
Brooke looked relaxed and colourful for the Sunday stroll, wearing a yellow Addidas T-shirt and crochet skirt, finishing off the look with orange pumps and aviator style sunglasses.
Although Brooke was spotted getting close and cuddly with her pet, she has in the past revealed that she is actually allergic to her dog, and has to have vaccinations in order to spend time with her beloved pooch.
It's a dogs life: Brooke's pet pooch looked like he was only too happy to be carried by the former Calvin Klein model
Pet affection: Brooke's daughter Rowan looked more interested in her mobile phone than playing with her mother and pet dog
Brooke is openly an animal lover and has spoken out in the past about how upset she was when her 13-year-old buldog Carla died from cancer in 2011.
The Army Wives actress told People at the time: 'It's very sad, actually, we're all in that sort of trauma where we have her ashes and the girls carry these little footprints of hers around.'
Puppy patrol: It looked like Brooke's dog was making her do all the work on their walk as she carried him like a baby in New York
Doggy daycare: Both Brooke and their pet dog looked like they were interested in what Rowan was showing in her mobile phone
In a recent interview the 48-year-old actress opened up to Untitled Magazine on how her priorities have changed as she's grown older, shifting from professional to personal.
She said: 'I don't like to leave my children for long periods of time. It's made me more picky about roles that are close especially on television.'
The Blue Lagoon actress has two daughters, Rowan and Grier with husband Chris Henchy.
Happy families: Brooke and daughter Rowan looked like they were thoroughly enjoying the company of their pet as they went for a stroll together on Sunday
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Rumors and confirmations of the upcoming iPhone 4G are making their move on the internet. They’re definitely buzzing! And people are in search for exploring the possibilities of what the next iPhone has in store for them!
Some part of the Apple has been shaken by the pictures and videos of iPhone 4G leak, the sources are most probably real! What about the specifications of iPhone HD? And what are the new iPhone HD features? Would the next iPhone meet consumer’s demand?
Lots of questions are on our minds. All of them are to be answered during the WWDC event, for sure. However, the specifications of the next iPhone, although not official, has been presented by Gizmodo, again.
Details, Features and Specifications of Apple iPhone 4g/iPhone HD
- iPhone 4G weighs 140 grams
- Sleek, flat design
- Larger battery size
- Shiny glass/plastic back
- Higher resolution; therefore the name iPhone HD
- Battery energy: 5.25 WHr
- Surrounded with the aluminum border
- Easy Video chatting thanks to the front end camera
- Camera Flash support
- Additional MIC next to the headphone jack
- Use of Micro Sim
- Expected resolution to be 960×640
- Better battery life
- Metallic buttons for the power, cute and volume control
Obviously, the pricing of iPhone 4G aren’t out. But they are supposed to be reasonable (Aren’t apple products affordable? ) and it’d be interesting to see if Apple can come up with extra large storage space!


From Our Editors
Don't hesitate to fix your car's wear and tear by bringing it into the body shop at Tony's Auto Center in Bethel Park. In the long run, what's cheaper? An oil change or a new engine? It provides correct service to maximize your engine's life. You'll be happy to know that Tony's Auto Center conveniently offers fluid replacement as part of their transmission service.
From tune-ups to total body work, you can always find great service for your vehicle at Tony's Auto Center.


text:
Carole has worked with thousands of MBAs and hundreds of high-profile execs and their teams for 40+ years to increase their EQ and interpersonal effectiveness by helping them understand the difference between contact and connection. She’ll unpack how to deepen relationships during COVID.
We will talk with John Seigel Boettner, the Santa Barbara representative of Cycling Without Age. A worldwide movement providing joy and vitality to older adults through the magic of a bicycle ride. Memories are awakened by the wind, community renewed by a wave, and citizenship remembered when a silver-haired giant gives you a wink and a nod at the crosswalk.
We will talk with Sharon Allen, the co-founder of World Telehealth Initiative about their mission to provide sustainable medical expertise to the world’s most vulnerable communities to build local capacity and deliver core health services, through a network of volunteer health care professionals supported with state-of-the-art technology.
Jan Rutherford has been studying leadership since before he became a Green Beret. His exploration of this topic has led him to conversations with hundreds of leaders all over the world. We’ll tap into his expertise, especially to understand the unique challenges facing leaders during the COVID crisis.
Bree Hendrick helps organizations find the best talent from around the country and has been doing that for years. Now with COVID’s constraints, the challenges for the workplace have multiplied. We’ll talk about how growing businesses are creatively finding key people to add to their teams.
As we look to a new normal of collaborating, we’ll talk with Matt Beane, an expert in understanding the workplace. We’ll go beyond how humans interact, especially under constraints of physical distancing, et al., and delve into a topic that’s long fascinated us, how we’ll work with smart machines.
To close out the year and to find an appropriate way to celebrate our 10th year of TEDx in Santa Barbara we’ve asked friends to join us for a concert followed by a series of candid conversations. Join TEDxSantaBarbara host and Executive Producer Mark Sylvester as he welcomes special guests.
O.P. asks, “Is your building asymptomatic?” As the first restoration company in the US that is certified by the Global BioRisk Advisory Council, he knows what a clean workplace should look like. He has advice to employers, employees, and homeowners who want their buildings to be safe.
Distance learning brings education and training to where students or trainees are connecting their world to worldwide learning communities. This presentation will cover how all of these technologies can transform the world and foster a continuously learning economy for society’s good.
Dr. Galea thinks about health in a very different way than the discussion we’re used to surrounding healthcare. He is thinking much bigger. In fact, he’s concerned about our collective health and the factors that affect us as a society and the public at large.
Dr. Keith has a unique point of view of our culture. He believes that our collective worldview is fraying at the edges, and the process of change we are all experiencing is existentially scary and dangerous. Specifically, he will discuss three ways to look at our culture: Integration, Disintegration, and Reintegration.
John Greathouse has been studying entrepreneurship since graduating with an MBA from Wharton. He suggests that new challenges will arrive from today’s solutions and are unanticipated, creating entrepreneurs’ opportunities.
As one of our leading pediatricians, Dr. Gordon suggests there are too many unknowns about COVID to guide long-term decision-making. Recent news from the American Pediatric Society suggests that children and teenagers are not immune, and we need radical behavior change.
More people have suffered at the hands of depression and attempts of suicide in the state of California alone than even coronavirus.
Women of color face unique health challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. This disproportionate impact on women of color should not be dealt with by women and their families alone.
A sustainability scientist draws a parallel between environmental problems and the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the importance of rapid testing, tracing, and isolation.
As the head of the ASPCA, Matt has a deep understanding of the effect of poverty on our nation’s animals. Couple that insight with the Pandemic and you’ll look forward to hearing about what he describes as a seismic shift in the animal welfare community.
Michael has a long history of innovation in the retail industry. His current project is using technology to monitor what’s going on within a physical store to understand how merchants can make shopping safe and give consumers peace of mind.
The role of philanthropy during the COVID Crisis.
Geoff makes conversations about philanthropy fascinating because he is fascinated by it. While now may seem the wrong time to ask for donations, Geoff makes a case that now is the exact time to put your money to work, especially during an emergency.
- Page 1 of 2

domain: sociology


text:
Who we are
Our research is focussed on the fertilisation process in plants and how plants are able to adapt fertilisation to climate change, especially to drought. As biophysicists we are particularly interested in transport processes that allow a pollen tube to grow through the style tissue and to find the ovule. The well-balanced uptake of ions and water together with a sophisticated synthesis of new cell walls at the tip enables the pollen tube to react to environmental changes thus guaranteeing successful fertilisation and in turn, the production of food and nutrients.
Why/How are we going Green
Daily lab work and especially student courses usually produce a large amount of plastic waste, which is pretty unsatisfactory. A few years ago we seized the opportunity to buy a large amount of glass ware from a lab closure. We decided to reduce the throw-away consumables step-by-step by glass ware: pipettes, tubes, beakers, Petri dishes etc. By now we could halve our plastic waste. In addition, we are repairing old lab equipment or use parts of it to build new lab devices. This helps to recycling electronic parts and also saves quite some money!

domain: agronomy


text:
GIBRALTAR - MARKING THE FREEDOM OF THE CITY TO THE RN - 2004
(MP087). Mandy Shepherd (1960 - ). Watercolour, each one signed with the limited edition copy within the blind stamp..
Limited Edition worldwide: 50
Standard size: 18 x 13 ins (45.7 x 33 cms) approx.
Price: £22.50 (rolled in a tube)
This is a series of vignettes each highlighting some of the major events that took place on the Rock to mark the Freedom of the City celebrations in August 2004. The First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Alan West GCB DSC ADC, and the Secretary of State for Defence, The Rt Hon Geoffrey Hoon MP, were both present throughout the majority of the week’s celebrations.

domain: history


text:
This magnificent wedding event fascinator has a pair of ivory satin and Organza peonies with a little turned edges. This piece is embellished with a hand stitched pearl beads.
This flower is roughly 4 inches x 2 1/2 inches. This piece can be made larger or smaller sized based on your preference.
Connect to white piece:
We specialize in custom-made orders, especially for wedding events, and enjoy doing them. Kindly simply ask me if I can work with your colors, the number of pieces you need, etc. I am always pleased to discount rate multiple orders of an item.
All my pieces are custom-made work, please permit small variations in your finished product. My best effort will be made to produce your product to look like close as possible to exactly what is envisioned. Kindly bear in mind, the look of colors differ from display to keep an eye on, if you are attempting to match a specific color, ask me for information.Можно get on Etsy for browneyedgirlsboutiq


text:
LANSDALE, Pa., Oct. 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The marketplace has never offered more challenges for privately held business owners who want to grow their businesses or sell their companies, according to small business growth expert Derrick Handwerk, managing member of Handwerk Multi Family Office in Lansdale, PA. He's written a special report that outlines the problems – and offers solutions – called "Challenges Facing Privately Held Businesses." To get a free copy, go to http://www.handwerkmfo.com/p/white-paper
"I've never seen an economy where small business owners are getting crushed as they are right now," said Handwerk, a "Personal CFO" who works with accountants and tax attorneys to save business owners millions of dollars in taxes, to reduce risk, and to set up estate plans. "All business owners are having problems. They are not alone."
Handwerk, who is a Certified Wealth Preservation Planner also said, "It's getting more and more difficult to run a business and position it for eventual sale. It's like running on a treadmill, but the incline keeps on going up."
Part of the problem lies with the economy – no one is lending money, and technology is disrupting nearly every business model. But another part of the problem deals with the business owner.
"Most business owners who want an exit strategy make two critical mistakes: They overvalue their businesses and they don't start planning to sell or work on a succession plan until it is too late to make significant improvements."
Handwerk further explained, "It could take 5-10 years to plan a good exit. Business owners need to start early to monetize their assets. I get calls from people when they are 63 years old. They should have started 10 years sooner to avoiding going down with the ship or paying millions in taxes."
One answer is for business owners to set up retirement plans to hedge their bets. Many business owners believe it is too expensive to set up a retirement plan. Actually, the opposite is usually true. If the owners save $200,000 in federal tax, but it costs $25,000 to share profits with the employees….I think that is a win. Also, a well constructed retirement plan is bulletproof from creditors.
Unlike financial planners or business consultants who can offer only one set of skills, Handwerk reaches out to his vast network of consultants and advisors to help his clients.
"Most people can't find professionals like me to help them. Most consultants are specialists or are selling a product. I have run or owned businesses for over 25 years and I have assembled a professional network (i.e. accountants, lawyers, social media specialists) to help a business owner successfully grow or sell their businesses," he said. "I make sure the owner gets a ROI of their time and on their money, protect against loss of assets to creditors, create an estate/succession plan, and help them build a better business," he said.
Handwerk's report raises concerns and offers to solutions to such topics as:
- A Zero-Sum Game: Why Large Corporate Profits Grow at the Expense of Privately Held Businesses
- The Regulatory Environment
- Access to Capital
- Changes in Technology
- Technology as a Business Disrupter
- Technology as a Job Disrupter
- Vulnerability to Foreign Competition
- The Exit Strategy: Liquidity Events
To obtain a free copy of the report, go to http://www.handwerkmfo.com/p/white-paper
To request a free, 30-minute, no obligation introductory call, email firstname.lastname@example.org or call 215.238.0212.
About Handwerk Multi Family Office, LLC
Handwerk Multi Family Office (HMFO) provides a multi-dimensional and personalized approach to managing the financial life of affluent families and individuals, and privately-held businesses. Known for its in-depth and holistic approach to wealth management, HMFO works with clients of significant net worth in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties to develop actionable financial plans that go well beyond investing to effectively managing their specific needs. The company proudly serves a small, elite group of clients in order to have a truly meaningful impact on their lives. For more information, visit http://www.handwerkmfo.com/.
Derrick Handwerk is the managing partner of HMFO. He has owned, managed, and consulted for privately-held businesses for over 25 years. He received his MBA from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA and was nominated a Martindale Business Scholar. His certification in Wealth Preservation and Asset Protection is from the Wealth Preservation Institute. He has also been certified as a Certified Wealth Strategist. The CWS training focuses specifically on real world strategies for the affluent.
Derrick has written over 50 articles and has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, World Press, RDH Magazine, Dental Economics, Podiatry Exchange, DentistryIQ, Latenewslink.com, Charles Schwab, Lehigh University Press, Practicelink, and PA MGMA among many others news outlets.
To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/succession-planning-experts-at-handwerk-multi-family-office-indicate-economic-factors-affecting-small-business-owners-300350445.html
SOURCE Handwerk Multi Family Office, LLC

domain: economics


Name Entity Recognition (NER)
Name Entity Recognition (NER) is a task of our processing pipeline that involves identifying and categorizing named entities in the text data. Named entities refer to specific entities such as names of persons, organizations, locations, dates, quantities, and more. We can understand them as classifications of concepts in a given domain.
If you need help to analyze your data and detect important insights, by automatically identifying and categorizing entities, NER enables systems to organize, categorize, and process large volumes of textual data efficiently.
Entity Extraction is one of the components of our NER. It's objective is to identify and extract named entities from text. Entity Extraction focuses on extracting the entities within the text. By using semantic machine learning techniques, our NER systems can automatically detect and classify entities, providing valuable understanding for various applications. #expecificar que esto se basa en extraer
In Nuclia we have developed a NER module that effectively extracts named entities from your data. It can identify entities like persons, organizations, locations, dates, and other relevant entities based on the context and structure of the input data. Our system is capable of automatically detect and classify various types of entities.
In addition to Entity Extraction, our NER system also incorporates Entity Relation capabilities. While Entity Extraction focuses on extract, Entity Relation focuses on understanding the relationships between different named entities within the text. By analyzing the context and co-occurrence patterns, our system can uncover meaningful connections and associations between entities, contributing to a deeper understanding of the text data.
The Entity Relation feature of our system enables the extraction of valuable insights. It contributes to building knowledge graphs by capturing the relationships between entities, representing entities as nodes and relationships as edges, creating a structured representation of information. These graphs facilitate semantic search, knowledge discovery, and advanced data analytics.
An example of this feature would be to recognize key persons involved in specific organizations or identify events and their associated entities.


text:
Okay, the blood tests I am having this month are supposed to include a test for blood clotting disorders... I guess I'll wait and see what the tests uncover.
Do some people just take baby aspirin anyway as a 'just in case' measure even if their Doctor hasn't prescribed it?
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15-01-2012 16:39 #21Senior Member
- Join Date
- Jan 2010
15-01-2012 17:19 #22
I'm sorry for your loss. I've lost 2 babies to miscarriage and have been blessed with a healthy baby despite being sent home at 6 weeks with a '95%.chance' I'd lost her too. I also had PND for 18 months despite being healthy athroughout riot to pregnancy.
I went to different doctors looking for answers, had thousands of dollars worth of scans and tests to figure out what was wrong with me. I finally found Dr Greg Emerson in Brisbane who specialises in finding the biochemical cause to issues like this rather than dismissing me, saying I was just 'degenerating' or treating symptoms with drugs and never finding a cause.
Dr Emerson found I had low zinc, low B6, critically low iodine and high copper. This explained everything and is strongly linked to miscarriage, depression and the fatigue I'd had so long. I was prescribed a tailored compounded vitamin for day and night and take nascent iodine drops. I went through a detox period and am finally feeling 100% better. I haven't TTC since but I feel positive I'm in a good position to do so.
Miscarriage is often due to factors out of our control but if you feel like there is something not quite right I urge you to keep looking for answers. I wish you the best.
18-01-2012 16:05 #23Senior Member
- Join Date
- Jan 2010
Thanks for your reply MMelissa - I'm sorry for the loss of your little ones too.
I replied to another thread you had posted in and was wondering what costs were involved in seeing Dr Emerson? Please PM me if you would prefer to share these details more privately. I just think he sounds right up my ally!
I have experienced exhaustion for some time now too. So far it has been attributed to my very low iron levels - levels that have only become worse after 2 natural miscarriages
19-01-2012 06:00 #24
I think I paid around $350 for the 1.5 hours but after seeing him twice (2nd time was a short consult to follow up) I haven't been to a doctor or been unwell since. For me, it was totally worth that investment. I was at the doctors way too often beforehand.
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domain: medical


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Report: Canada to drop PCR test rule for short cross-border visits
OTTAWA (WWNY) - A key restriction at the border may be lifted, likely leading to more day trips by Canadians to the U.S. that could be a very big boost to U.S. businesses along the border.
Right now Canada requires anyone entering that country to provide a negative COVID result from an expensive PCR test taken at the traveler’s own expense and taken no longer than 72 hours prior to their arrival at the border.
On Wednesday, a Canadian news outlet, Global News, said the Canadian government is expected to announce that it is dropping that requirement for Canadians who leave the country for 72 hours or less.
That would affect primarily what are called day-travelers to the U.S.
North country Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R. - 21st District) met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Wednesday with other congressional leaders.
“I’m very optimistic that there is going to be positive movement. This is an issue we’ve worked directly with Canadian MPs on. The prime minister has heard this not only from the U.S. from us today, but as well as from some of the leaders in Canada, so I’ll let Canada make those announcements on their timeline. But, I’m very proud to have worked to get this in a position where I’m optimistic of what the movement on this issue will be,” said Stefanik.
Global News reports the change may be announced later this week.
Copyright 2021 WWNY. All rights reserved.


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NSYNC minus Justin Timberlake posts selfie with Ariana Grande at Coachella prior to surprise performance
Joey Fatone, J.C. Chasez, Chris Kirkpatrick and Lance Bass posed next to the 7 Rings artist in the shot.
They joined her onstage amid her performance of Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored - which samples their 2000 track It Makes Me Ill - to a massive ovation from the crowd.
Scroll below for video
Pop royalty: (L-R) Joey Fatone, 42, J.C. Chasez, 42, Ariana Grande, 25, Chris Kirkpatrick, 47, and Lance Bass, 39, posed before their outing at the Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California on Sunday
Grande, who also performed her hit God Is a Woman, gave the quartet a huge introduction in saying, 'I’ve been waiting all my motherf***ing life to say this: *NSYNC!'
The group then delivered a rendition of their 1997 smash hit Tearin' up my Heart with Grande, thanking her in saying, 'Coachella, this has been a dream of ours, thank you Ariana!'
The collaboration went over huge with fans, many of whom took to Twitter to sound off about the unlikely pairing in the desert.
One user wrote that 'there was absolutely NO void' without Timberlake, and that Grande 'gave Nsync more in 3 [minutes] ... than than JT has given them in 17 Years!'
Super-group: Fans were overjoyed to see the starlet and 90s pop stars performing together
Luxe life: Ariana's area of the desert music festival was decked out in style
Music to our ears: Ariana and NSYNC performed the tracks It Makes Me Ill and Tearin' Up My Heart at the show
Passionate: Chasez and Grande pleased the crowd with the collaboration
'She took Justin's 90 seconds said nah and gave every Nsync fan what they truly deserved. THANK YOU ARI.'
Another user congratulated the pop group for forging on without Timberlake to take the stage: 'shout out NSYNC for fully giving up on needing Justin Timberlake to come back in order to reunite the band,'
One user noted the nostalgic value in Grande's collaboration with the group, praising her for bringing the experience to the stage.
'Performing with *NSYNC is exactly what any ‘90s kid would do once they’ve made it,' the user wrote. 'What a relatable queen #ARICHELLA.'
Well-received: Fans had positive reactions to the dual performance on Twitter


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8 foods to feed your brain during exams
The food you put into your body can have a huge impact on how your brain works. This is important to remember around exam time, when you are probably paying more attention to books than brekkie.
Learn how the food you eat affects your body so you can choose foods that improve your memory, fuel your brain and help you smash your study schedule.
Mbali Mapholi, who is a clinical and consultant dietitian affectionately known as the Urban Dietitian, says following a healthy dietary pattern is important when you are studying and taking exams.
Mapholi says although an overall healthy diet and lifestyle is important, research shows that certain foods may help enhance performance, which makes them an excellent choice for students both full-time and part-time students sitting for exams.
She notes that if you are looking to enhance your performance or help somebody else sitting for exams with their mental performance and improving overall health, the food items stated below can be beneficial.
Eggs are packed with essential nutrients which may help boost brain health due to the concentration of nutrients, including vitamin B12, choline, and selenium, found within the egg, especially the egg yolk. Choose to eat whole eggs instead of only egg whites for optimal brain health and nutritional benefit.
Beetroot is rich in nitrates, which may help improve blood flow to the brain, nerve cell communication, and overall brain health. Studies have linked beet juice consumption to improved performance on tests. You can add beetroot into your salads or as a salad itself, or drink as beetroot juice shots.
Berries, for example, strawberries, blueberries, and mulberries contain compounds, including anthocyanins, that may enhance mental performance. You can snack on berries as they are, add them to plain yoghurt for extra benefit, and add them in your smoothies, frozen or fresh, to give your diet that berry boost, which is beneficial for mental performance.
4. Green tea
Green tea contains both caffeine and l-theanine, making it a great study aid that can help boost your brainpower. The caffeine content in green tea is in the right amount to improve brain performance but still induce a state of calm and focus. In addition, green tea contains especially high amounts of catechin, known as EGCG, which may be beneficial for learning and memory. Choosing green tea offerings with added vitamins, for example, vitamin B5 and vitamin C, offer that extra nutritional benefit for overall good health.
5. Nuts and nut butter
Nuts are nutrient-dense and contain vitamins and minerals essential to brain health, including vitamin E and zinc. Eating nuts may help improve overall mental status. You can eat nuts as a snack, add in smoothies and salads or use peanut butter as a spread or dip.
6. Chocolate and cocoa products
Chocolate and cocoa products are loaded with flavonoid compounds. Consuming cocoa products may help increase blood flow to your brain and improve your memory and reaction time. Choose chocolate that is at least 75% cacao for the full nutritional benefit.
7. Oily fish
Adding fish and seafood to your diet may enhance memory and boost overall brain health. Eating fish may also help slow mental decline. You can aim to have at least three servings of oily fish a week, which can be part of main meals or snacks, for example, sardines on toast with an avocado spread.
Avocados are an excellent source of lutein, a carotenoid that accumulates in your brain and eyes and may positively influence brain function. They’re very versatile and can be eaten in several ways, including mashed into guacamole, spread on toast, or simply enjoyed whole with a bit of salt. As a convenient study snack, they may also help boost your brain function.

domain: biology


We live in a digital world where every sec a new thing happens we are immediately updated about it. The digital marketing revolution has launched a new era of human empowerment both in terms of personal and professional. Digital is the need of the hour and as stated by Bill Gates, “The internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow”. Marketing being an indispensable part for not only business development but also for augmenting brand awareness, it’s important to analyze and understand which kind of marketing will have a long-lasting impact on the users. According to Philip Kotler, one of the preeminent marketing minds, a leading expert on strategic marketing and the forefather of social marketing, ”Marketing is not the art of finding clever ways to dispose of what you make. It is the art of creating genuine customer value. It is the art of helping your customers become better off. The marketer’s watchwords are quality, service, and value”. However the raging debate between digital marketing and traditional marketing is a persistent one, reason being, though most of the marketing is done in the traditional way, digital marketing is steadily gaining an edge.
Traditional marketing is one of the conventional methods of advertising. It is used since the inception of advertising. It incorporates different forms of marketing starting from print, broadcast to direct mail marketing. This encompasses the following:
- Flyers, pamphlets, brochures
- Magazine ads
Traditional marketing includes all the 4Ps of marketing- Product, Price, Promotion and Place, while when it comes to digital marketing, primary focus is given on promotion wherein the product/service can get more exposure and response. Digital marketing encompasses all digital channels such as search engines, social media, email, and their websites to promote the brand/ service as well to generate sales. It aids in direct connection with the target audience.
Advantage of Digital Marketing over Traditional Marketing
Both traditional marketing and digital marketing has its own perks. With the advent of new age digital technologies, there is no doubt that internet marketing has set a new revolution altogether. Digital marketing has some clear winning benefits over traditional marketing and some of those are mentioned below.
1. Comparatively Low Cost
Advertising and marketing is a vital part of any business, but certainly it’s a costly affair. While shelling out money might be comparatively easy for big businesses, for small businesses or start-up companies, it is quite difficult. However, marketing via digital platforms is more affordable as compared to the traditional method. With just a bare minimum investment, you can subscribe to an email marketing provider and send emails to thousands of customers. While on the other hand marketing through the newspaper, television and other such media ads cost a lot.
2. Higher Return On Investment
For any company or business, all that matters the most is the return on investment. Digital marketing offers a significant return on small investments. Be it email marketing or running advertising campaigns on social media platforms, it’s always cost-effective when compared to traditional marketing techniques.
3. Real Time Result
In case of traditional marketing you actually can’t track everything and do not get to see the results immediately. It takes a longer time to evaluate the precision of a campaign. Whereas in case of digital marketing it is easy to comprehend the success rate of the digital campaign. You can know whether a campaign is running successfully or not instantly. It is also easy to measure, for instance the number of views, the conversion rate, the engagement rate and so on.
4. Brand Development
Every small or big company needs branding to some extent, even in case of lead generation, it is very important for the company to be visible and available for the target audience. It is mostly through a brand awareness campaign that a company reaches its visibility. However when the question arises about which particular type of marketing is more effective, digital or traditional marketing, digital marketing takes the winning position. A well-developed website, a high quality blog and useful articles, a social media channel, are some of the ways by which a business can create brand awareness. Unlike traditional marketing, you can consistently build the image of your company and whenever you want.
5. More Interactive
When we talk about traditional marketing, we are reminded of methods that are informative but not interactive in true sense. After reading a newspaper you can at the most discuss that amongst people or just keep it to yourself. Even when you see any billboard, you react to it or max to max take an initiative if you are one of the target audiences. You can not only interact with your targeted audience in the real time, but also make prompt and fruitful steps based on their feedbacks.
In case of traditional form of marketing device, it is not always possible to cover a certain area or population or just focus on one part of the population and ignore the rest. As opposed to this, digital marketing has the ability to reach out to the whole world or you can even set your specific target audience accordingly. In case of digital marketing, you can retarget the audience based on their likings and preferences. Even a person has a choice to see an ad or ignore, participate in a social media discussion group or read or ignore a marketing email.
As digital marketing uses internet marketing, it is easy for anyone to share the ads or the articles across different platforms and with multiple followers. This in turn enhances the visibility of the service/product or the company, which again aids in increasing the sales and create better brand awareness.
With digital marketing accurately measuring your marketing efforts, tracking each penny that you spend, it becomes very easy and quick to gauge the success rate of an ad campaign. You can instantly see which strategy is working and which isn’t through Google Analytics, inbound traffic, conversion rate, interested audience, bounce rate and profit.
9. Globally Accessible
The world is now said to have turned into a global village. There has been a paradigm shift with digitalization. Now anyone, sitting in any corner of the world can see any ad campaign whenever they want. Digitalization is bringing everyone closer and enhancing a more integral and connected world than ever before.
Steve Irvine, Vice President of Global Partnerships for Facebook had some insights on “Personalized Marketing at Scale”. He stated in a conference “When marketing via mobile, you are competing with family and friends. So be smart and targeted. Facebook is getting 4 billion video views per day! The average person checks Facebook on their phone 14 times a day. On Facebook you are competing with everything, so targeting is the key! Smartphone is the driver of digital today.”
Nevertheless the key to staying relevant and keeping customers in this highly competitive world is to ensure a continuous engagement with the target audience. We are constantly progressing towards a digital world with each passing day and with the above stated facts it’s almost clear that digital marketing has a profound impact when it comes to branding or generating revenue. According to Philip Kotler, “it will be foolish for any company to go overboard on digital media. Companies should use a mix of social and traditional media to promote products. They can experiment with the amount of digital media that is optimal but it is unlikely that companies will only use digital marketing. Companies often need a 30-second commercial that gives a big picture of the brand and then use social media on the back of it. Social and traditional media can reinforce each other and work together.”


Sebastian Vettel hung on to win a tense Hungarian Grand Prix despite problems with his Ferrari and a valiant attack by title rival Lewis Hamilton.
In a nail-biting finish, Vettel had his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen behind complaining that he could go faster but being used by the team as a buffer against Hamilton.
The Mercedes driver closed in but was unable to overcome the problems created by losing grip in the wake of another car.
And he let team-mate Valtteri Bottas past into third place, honouring a promise he made earlier in the race when the Finn moved aside to let Hamilton attack the Ferraris.
Vettel’s victory with Hamilton in fourth extended his championship lead to 14 points as Formula 1 heads into its four-week summer break.
What they said
Vettel said: “I am over the moon. It was a really difficult race. I had my hands full from three to four laps after the safety car, the steering started to go sideways and it started to get worse. It wasn’t easy but it didn’t do a favour to Kimi who could obviously go faster.
“You go down the straight and it’s not straight. In right-handers it was OK, but in left-handers you had to go further than your head is telling you you should.
“I tried to hang in there as much as possible. The race felt very long”.
On extending his championship lead, Vettel said: “I don’t mind. It’s OK. Could be worse”.
Bottas said: “For sure in the end I was getting little bit worried because I was losing ground with all the backmarkers. So really thanks to Lewis for keeping his word”.
Credit: Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at the Hungaroring


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Usha Ramanathan, The Statesman
Is UID mandatory? What does the government think? What is the government saying? That it is mandatory, or that it is not?
On 23 August 2013, Mr Rajiv Shukla, Minister of State for Planning, declared in Parliament: “Aadhaar is not mandatory for availing subsidies. If any public sector undertaking is making it mandatory, we will correct it.” This categorical statement set the cat among the pigeons. The Minister’s statement was a response to the CPI MP from Kerala, Mr Achuthan’s query during Zero hour about LPG subsidy being linked with the UIDAI, and asking who had given companies the authority to make UID compulsory for getting the subsidy.
The Minister’s assertion plainly did not impress other wings of his government. For on 27 August 2013, the PIB released a press note for the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas titled “Aadhaar mandatory to avail LPG subsidy in DBTL (direct benefit transfer for LPG) districts ~ 2.4 million LPG consumers already receiving subsidy in their bank accounts”. The note read: “In order to avail transfer of cash subsidy into the bank account, aadhaar number of LPG consumer has to be linked to the LPG consumer number and the bank account of the LPG consumer for which a grace period from the date of launch is provided.”
In case anyone was in doubt about what had been said: “All LPG consumers of these 34 districts (as well as 20 districts covered earlier) are advised to obtain aadhaar number and provide them to their LPG distributors and to their banks if they wish to avail of the LPG subsidy.” And to make trebly sure that the reader was not left in any doubt, it added: “It may be noted that aadhaar number is mandatory for availing LPG subsidy in DBTL districts after the initial grace period of 3 months. Aadhaar number is not required for availing LPG cylinders at non-subsidised rate.”
Flip the calendar back, just a little bit. On 26 July 2013, Finance Minister P Chidambaram reportedly said in an interview to DD News: “Today I have asked my office to issue an advisory to all the chairmen of the banks to say that banks must directly approach the beneficiary and get the aadhaar number and seed it into bank accounts.” He described DBT as a ‘game changer’, and voiced his expectation that 80 per cent (seeding of aadhaar with bank account) is doable, achievable…” Of the other 20 per cent, he thought half may be duplicate or false accounts, and the rest for whatever reason may not wish to claim the subsidy through the aadhaar platform.”
He thought the savings would be “quite a bit” and did a back-of-the-envelope calculation which gave him a monthly saving of Rs 500 crores, and Rs 4500 crores a year. (This is the only kind of arithmetic that there is in relation to the UID; so one must not blame the Finance Minister for being comforted by simple acts of assumption and multiplication.) Where there is no aadhaar, he clarified, it will still go through the National Electronic Funds Transfer payment system – which is to say, there is another way. “So, today,” he said, “the payment is going through two channels. The goal is that all the payments should move to aadhaar channel.” That is, there is another way, but soon choice is to be removed from the people.
Fast forward to 27 August 2013. Mr Jairam Ramesh is being interviewed for the Economic Times, and he says in the context of the Food Security Bill: “The reform of the PDS and the use of aadhaar are integral parts of the Bill.” And, to reassure us, he says: “We have already seen the savings that can accrue from PDS reform and aadhaar in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.” So, eight months after launching DBT the Minister for Rural Development had still to invoke the spirit of East Godavari to give the UID project a sheen. But, East Godavari is, by now, known to have had an administrator who worked tirelessly over two years to clean up and update the lists, computerise records and do a door-to-door investigation to ensure that the records ran a straight course.
And, yet, a couple of weeks into the introduction of the DBT in East Godavari, reports emerged to speak of exclusion when a person did not have a UID number.
“The authorities ask for the aadhaar number for every social scheme… They are depriving us of food and pension because we do not have the number,” a reporter recorded a complaint. And Mr R Subrahmanyam, the well-intentioned and hard-working administrator, protested that this could not be a problem. “Those who are yet to be enrolled in the aadhaar system will be allowed to use the existing smart card for a period of 2 months.” After that, the statement implied, the UID would be mandatory.
Move to 8 May 2013. The Minister of Planning Mr Rajiv Shukla is answering an unstarred question (No 6678) raised by Mr Rudramadhab Ray, MP: “Aadhaar card is not mandatory to avail subsidised facilities being offered by the government like LPG cylinders, admission in private aided schools, opening a savings account etc.”
Hop and skip to 29 August 2013. The Minister for Planning, Mr Rajiv Shukla, has changed his mind. He had spoken on 27 August 2013, to declare that UID was not mandatory. But the Petroleum Ministry had had other plans. So, the Minister…w ell…he’s now changed his mind too. Aadhaar will indeed be mandatory for receiving LPG subsidies in districts where the pilot projects are underway. “But.” the Minister reportedly said, “this will be after the three-month grace period given to the LPG customers and after every LPG customer receives aadhaar.”
As the clock struck the midnight hour between 29 and 30 August 2013, if you had googled “aadhaar mandatory”, the headlines staring back at you from the page would have read: “Aadhaar mandatory to avail LPG subsidy in DBTL districts: Oil Ministry”, two days ago; “Aadhaar not mandatory for availing of subsidies: Government”, six days ago; “Aadhaar not mandatory?” nine days ago; and “Now, minister says aadhaar number must to get LPG subsidy”, 22 hours ago.
Earlier this year, a petition was filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging the direction of the Deputy Commissioner in Chandigarh by which the UID was made compulsory for getting a driving licence or registering a vehicle.
The court asked the state to set out its position. Before you could say ‘public servant or our master?’, or any other phrase of like length, the state had withdrawn the direction and so reported to the court. On 2 March 2013, the court took this withdrawal on record; and one moment of reckoning on mandatoriness and compulsion was averted. There are still petitions in the Madras High Court, Bombay High Court, Bangalore courts, Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court, and mandatoriness is under challenge in each of these petitions. Will the government know what the answer is before they respond to the court?
This flip-flop show may have been a source of entertainment if it were not for the effect it has on people who feel bullied, threatened with exclusion, and are, only for those reasons, falling in line (pun intended). Parliament, and the courts, will have to step in. Well, Parliament did, when the Standing Committee rejected the Bill that was presented to it. Contrariwise, Cabinet Ministers admitted on 31 January 2013 that they did not know what the UID was – four years after the project started! It may be the courts that will have to work their way through this maze of obfuscation.
The author is an academic activist. She has researched the UID and its ramifications since 2009.
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League City Post 554 was all over West Texas Pecos Post 460 from the get-go, cranking out four home runs in an 18-0 run-ruled win in the American Legion baseball state tournament championship Friday at Lutheran South Academy.
Friday, conditions began improving with light south to southeast wind prevailing over our area. Brandon Rowan and Kelly Groce, of Mariner Magazine, joined me for a morning of fishing that turned out to be much slower than we anticipated.
Kevin M. Cox
Kevin joined The Daily News in 2006 and works the evening shift. He has a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice & a minor in Photography from Texas State Univ. He lives in League City with his wife Ashley, a wedding photographer, & their daughter.


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Flowers and Seascape Posters
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