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FGA Applauds Florida’s Spectacular Legislative Session, Highlighting Great Leadership and Great Policy
- BY FGA
Naples, FL— The Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) on Monday applauded the Florida legislature for its successful legislative session, which was enormously successful thanks to the leadership of House Speaker Chris Sprowls.
The legislature improved Florida’s already strong election integrity laws, which will now prohibit private entities from interfering with local elections. It also improves cross-checks with state agencies to ensure accurate voter rolls, prevents ballot harvesting, strengthens observation and inspection of duplicate ballots and signature matching, requires regular audits after each general election, secures drop boxes, and limits contributions to ballot initiatives.
Impactful new education reforms will now attract the best and brightest students to Florida, incentivizing them to earn degrees in the most in-demand occupations. The legislature’s reforms attract non-traditional students to enroll in a free online university course and require universities to provide information online regarding post-graduation salary levels and student loan debt information.
In a major boost for Florida’s world-class economy, FGA-backed entrepreneur bills were passed to help encourage the creation of small businesses. These reforms encourage faster local permitting by reducing permit fees if a permit is not issued within minimum timeframes, prevent local governments from banning home-based businesses based on local regulations, and prevent local governments from requiring additional occupational licensing and fees for professions already regulated at the state level.
Florida lawmakers also took steps to provide tax credits to businesses that donate to child welfare prevention programs, and increased pricing transparency in health care.
“These reforms showcase the commitment held by Speaker Sprowls and the Florida legislature to securing our elections, growing our economy, and continuing to make Florida the best place to live and work and raise a family,” said Tarren Bragdon, CEO at FGA.
“Florida continues to lead the nation in opportunity—to learn, earn a living, start a business, and live the good life for everyone who calls The Sunshine State home.”
The Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) is a non–profit, multi–state think tank that specializes in health care, welfare, election integrity, and work reform. To learn more, visit TheFGA.org.


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Selena Gomez recently released the her first solo song of 2019 titled as Lose You To Love Me. The song is getting praises and love from the fans but that's not the only reason why it is in the news. It happened so, that her ex boyfriend Justin Bieber's wife posted a rather cryptic Instagram story after this break up song was released. She posted about listening to a song named 'I'll Kill You' and the fans lost it. They trolled Hailey for throwing shade at Selena. Now, Selena finally has to say something on the whole scenario. Hailey Baldwin Gets Trolled as She Posted 'I'll Kill You' On Instagram Right After Selena Gomez Released 'Lose You To Love Me' Song.
The singer kept a rather diplomatic stand and asked her fans to calm down and stop pulling women down, in her Instagram story. She said, "I am so grateful for the response of the song. However, I will never stand for women tearing other women down. So please be kind to everyone. Please be kind, I don't like seeing people being disrespectful or rude to other people, so please don't do that."
Hailey too was not much pleased with the overwhelming criticism she received in just few hours. She replied to Just Jared's story in a rather irritated way saying, "Please stop with this nonsense… there is no ‘response. This is complete BS."
Amid all this high voltage social media drama, Justin has kept his cool and chose not to comment at all. On the other hand, Gomez also released another song titled as 'Look at Her Now.' Obviously, Twitterati was in awe of this sexy and peppy number as well!
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 24, 2019 03:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).

domain: artistic


Isolated information within companies is one of the great villains of modern businesses. The ever-increasing amount of data generated by businesses ends up being siloed in different locations, departments, and software used throughout an organization. This delays decision-making, slows down workflows, and ends up masking many problems and sometimes many solutions too.
It is very easy to imagine this type of a problem in large companies that operate globally and have dozens of IT systems. However, this is also a real problem for small and midsize businesses (SMBs) as well. Obviously, an SMB will not have the same financial strength as a large enterprise. Therefore, how can one resolve this issue without going bankrupt?
Nowadays, it is possible to find integration solutions that can serve companies of all sizes. Integration products allow a simplified visualization of a company’s data–facilitating quick decision-making and allowing faster and more assertive route correction. By solving the issue of information silos, SMBs have the resources to compete head-to-head with the big players.
How the right integration solution can help an SMB
A survey by Experian shows that 83% of companies believe that data is an extremely important part of building a good business strategy. Another key point is the quality of this data.
It is vital that the data is accurate; however, it is often difficult to maintain data integrity as we use a variety of applications. It is essential to have a range of applications to run a business, but new systems and applications bring more complexity to information management. As a business grows, more applications are used, and more complexity is added to the equation.
Another survey by Blissfully estimates that the number of applications an SMB uses nearly doubles when that company moves from the 1-100 employee category to 101-1000 employees.
So, let's look how the right integration solution can help an SMB overcome these challenges.
The IT resources required to implement, maintain, and update different software bring about high costs for companies. As mentioned before, ensuring data integrity across multiple platforms is not only costly but also extremely complicated. You may have experience where important processes are controlled in spreadsheets and then checked against department systems. In such an instance, the possibility of human error is increased, and errors generate more costs.
Most believe that an SMB cannot even consider an integration solution owing to high costs; this is not true. The good news is that this has changed a lot in recent years. Evolution is constant. In the past, performing an integration was quite complicated as it required custom code and this complexity and the cost of it made integrations prohibitive for SMBs. Fortunately, integration-platform-as-a-service (iPaaS) solutions are a reality today.
Improve customer experiences
More and more, customers are looking for companies that deliver better experiences regardless of company size. This means SMBs can compete with large corporations and the phrase “information is power” has never been more real. It is difficult for an SMB to compete if systems are not integrated and information is spread across different systems.
With an effective integration solution in place, you can choose which interface your team will work with. However, having access to any information consolidated in one place is necessary for your work. This means that your team can have immediate answers to solve any doubts or problems your client has. The customer success team will be able to give feedback more quickly on an open call, can check the financial information, and see if they have a team available to serve the customer if necessary. All this information will be found in one place. For example, a salesperson can track where the customer's order is or if there is an item in stock in a store in another city, and see which warehouse the merchandise can leave to reach the consumer more quickly.
Integrating systems will make it easier to see the entire end-to-end process. Thus, it is possible to practically predict what customers want, when they want it, and how they want it. By integrating your company's software, you become much more agile and can deliver a desirable experience for your customers.
In an SMB, team members typically wear a number of hats. It is necessary to compete with and deliver with the same quality as the big companies, with much less manpower. That means your team doesn't have time to manually input data from one system to another. Also, you cannot afford to lose a sale or the closure of a project due to human errors.
The right integration solution drastically reduces the execution time of tasks, which were done manually before, overloaded the team, and made the whole process more fragile and susceptible to errors. In addition, integration makes information readily available on any system within the company. An update of information in one place will be automatically replicated in all the systems. Integrating not only speeds up the entire process, but also prevents a multitude of errors.
SMBs need an integration solution and they need it now
Software integration isn't just for big companies or is applicable when your business reaches a certain size or complexity. If you use multiple applications that use shared data—whether it's email, company information, or any other data—integration is relevant.
It is also worth starting integrations as early as possible within the company. Connecting all your solutions and allowing data to flow smoothly and easily will give small and midsize businesses a platform to develop and sustain in the long term, whether they scale or not.
Always remember that data is becoming more and more important and the best way to take control of your business is to have a reliable integration offering in place, which will enable a single source of reliable information.
If you want more details about an integration platform as a service (IPaaS) solution and want to see one in action, please visit Choreo, a comprehensive platform for low-code, cloud-native engineering. Our next-gen offering gives organizations a single, all-inclusive platform for creating and managing integrations, services, and APIs—allowing you to go from idea to production in hours.


A federal grand jury has announced 17 additional charges under the Espionage Act against WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange, who is currently in a UK jail awaiting an extradition hearing.
Assange spent almost seven years in Ecuador’s embassy in London, where he sought refuge in 2012 believing – correctly, as it turned out – that allegations of sexual assault made against him in Sweden would be a pretext to have him arrested and extradited to the US. After the new Ecuadorian government reportedly struck a deal with the US, however, his asylum was revoked and British police seized him from the embassy in April. This is all part of a bigger wave to curb dissent in the world by state institutions. This crackdown on what states are viewing as “dissidents” is a pretty alarming trend that all of us should be worried about.
What is WikiLeaks?
Incase many of you had forgotten, WikiLeaks, which he founded in 2006, is an international publisher known for revealing war crimes, human rights abuses, and corruption. WikiLeaks came to international attention in 2010 when it published a series of leaks provided by Chelsea Manning. These leaks included the Collateral Murder video (April 2010), the Afghanistan war logs (July 2010), the Iraq war logs (October 2010), and CableGate (November 2010). After the 2010 leaks, the United States government launched a criminal investigation into WikiLeaks and asked allied nations for assistance.
Why is WikiLeaks/Whistleblowers so important?
The importance of WikiLeaks and Whistleblowers in general to society is tremendously underrated. Most state institutions work in secrecy, behind closed doors. To be fair, that is how they are all supposed to operate. However, this secrecy has prevented the public from fully understanding the actions of the state. War crimes are usually the most hidden secrets within the state institutions because they reflect poorly on the state, making people lose hope in them. Whistleblowers and WikiLeaks has shown us the side our state has tried to hide from its people.
In WikiLeaks case, we were able to see the War Crimes committed during the US’s war on terror. These include killing civilians and terming it collateral damage, torturing terrorist suspects in the most inhumane ways and using other state institutions for their own personal gain. These logs and cables leaks has given us a hint of what our state institutions are doing behind this veil of secrecy. But these states have had enough of this perceived dissent.
Is there really a crackdown happening all over the world?
Sadly, there is always going to be a crackdown against state dissent. However, with this right wing way that is swiping the world, these crackdowns are becoming more prominent, with much more dire circumstances. And it isn’t just targeting what you would traditionally call “whistleblowers”.
The biggest example of this taken to the extreme is the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. A massive critique of the Saudi Arabia, a 15 man team was allegedly sent to Turkey to kill and dismember the journalist for speaking out against the state. While we allegedly know who this is about, no one has been punished for it.
North Korea was linked to the assassination of Kim Jong Nam, Kim Jong Un’s half-brother and strong critique of the hermit state. This assassination was allegedly carried out when two women poured a liquid on a blanket and poured it on his face. Both women were released after it was discovered that they were told it was part of a prank show. No one else was arrested.
The journalist who leaked the Panama Papers was killed. The journalist who led the Panama Papers investigation into corruption in Malta was killed in a car bomb near her home. On 4 December 2017, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced that ten individuals had been arrested in connection to the investigation, three of whom were later charged with executing the assassination. None of the three suspects have been brought to trial.
Do Pakistanis really need to be worried?
If you hadn’t noticed I talked about international news within most of this piece. However, Pakistan has its fair share of whistleblowers facing the music.
At least 26 journalists were killed in Pakistan during the last five years for their journalism work but only the cases of 16 journalists went to court for trial and of which the prosecution and trial was concluded in six cases and conviction handed down in one case only. Let’s not forget the 5 bloggers than went missing within our boundaries.
Unfortunately it isn’t restricted to just journalists here. Afzal Kohistani was shot in Abbottabad 7. He had pursued the case in which a local Muslim leader had allegedly ordered the killings of male and female wedding guests shown enjoying themselves in a video. His whistleblowing showed Pakistan the power Muslim leader had over their districts, and how they operate above the law.
Sabeen Mehmud was a human rights activist that was killed in 2015 was holding a take about Balochistan at her café. After the event, she was shot dead by a gunman on her way home after hosting a seminar at T2F. As of 20 May 2015, Pakistani authorities have arrested the culprit behind Mahmud’s murder. They were given the death penalty.
Resist, understand and be prepared. This new wave is coming all over the world. The best way to prepare for it is to not vote for politicians that bow down. Most of these incidents have some government involved within the situation. In democracies, you have the right to raise your voice. Just be careful.


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Publications (152)865.82 Total impact
- [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: The genetic evaluation of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) has been challenging, owing in large part to marked genetic heterogeneity. However, lower costs from next-generation sequencing have enabled gene discovery and the expansion of genetic testing panels. These advances have improved molecular diagnostics and predictive testing in DCM. We provide a rationale and recommendation for clinical genetic testing in all DCM cases.
- [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: The presentation, natural history, clinical outcomes, and response to therapy in patients with heart failure differ in some ways across populations. Women, older adults, and non-Caucasian racial or ethnic groups comprise a substantial proportion of the overall heart failure population, but they have typically been underrepresented in clinical trials. As a result, uncertainty exists about the efficacy of some guideline-directed medical therapies and devices in specific populations, which may result in the under or over treatment of these patients. Even when guideline-based treatments are prescribed, socioeconomic, physical, or psychological factors may impact non-Caucasian and older adult patient groups to a different extent and impact the application, effectiveness, and tolerability of these therapies. Individualized therapy based on tailored biology (genetics, proteomics, metabolomics), socioeconomic and cultural considerations, and individual goals and preferences may be the optimal approach for managing diverse patients. This comprehensive approach to personalized medicine is evolving, but in the interim, the scientific community should continue focused efforts on intensifying research in special populations, prescribing guideline directed medical therapy unless contraindicated, and implementing evidence-based strategies including patient education and multidisciplinary teams in the management of patients. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
- [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: We propose that Stage D advanced heart failure be defined as the presence of progressive and/or persistent severe signs and symptoms of heart failure despite optimized medical, surgical, and device therapy. Importantly, the progressive decline should be primarily driven by the heart failure syndrome. Formally defining advanced heart failure and specifying when medical and device therapies have failed is challenging, but signs and symptoms, hemodynamics, exercise testing, biomarkers, and risk prediction models are useful in this process. Identification of patients in Stage D is a clinically important task since treatments are inherently limited, morbidity is typically progressive, and survival is often short. Age, frailty, and psychosocial issues impact both outcomes and selection of therapy for Stage D patients. Heart transplant and mechanical circulatory support devices are potential treatment options in select patients. In addition to considering indications, contraindications, clinical status, and comorbidities, treatment selection for Stage D patients involves incorporating the patient's wishes for survival versus quality of life and palliative and hospice care should be integrated into care plans. More research is needed to determine optimal strategies for patient selection and medical decision making, with the ultimate goal of improving clinical and patient centered outcomes in patients with Stage D heart failure. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
- [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: Depressed sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca(2+) cycling, a universal characteristic of human and experimental heart failure, may be associated with genetic alterations in key Ca(2+)-handling proteins. In this study, we identified a novel PLN mutation (R25C) in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and investigated its functional significance in cardiomyocyte Ca(2+)-handling and contractility. Exome sequencing identified a C73T substitution in the coding region of PLN in a family with DCM. The 4 heterozygous family members had implantable cardiac defibrillators, and 3 developed prominent ventricular arrhythmias. Overexpression of R25C-PLN in adult rat cardiomyocytes significantly suppressed the Ca(2+) affinity of SR Ca(2+)-ATPase (SERCA2a), resulting in decreased SR Ca(2+) content, Ca(2+) transients and impaired contractile function, compared to WT-PLN. These inhibitory effects were associated with enhanced interaction of R25C-PLN with SERCA2, which was prevented by PKA phosphorylation. Accordingly, isoproterenol stimulation relieved the depressive effects of R25C-PLN in cardiomyocytes. However, R25C-PLN also elicited increases in the frequency of Ca(2+) sparks and waves as well as stress-induced aftercontractions. This was accompanied by increased Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II activity and hyper-phosphorylation of RyR2 at serine 2814. The findings demonstrate that human R25C-PLN is associated with super-inhibition of SERCA2a and Ca(2+) transport as well as increased SR Ca(2+) leak, promoting arrhythmogenesis under stress conditions. This is the first mechanistic evidence that increased PLN inhibition may impact both SR Ca(2+) uptake and Ca(2+) release activities and suggests that the human R25C-PLN may be a prognostic factor for increased ventricular arrhythmia risk in DCM carriers. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2015. For permissions please email: email@example.com.
- [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a disease of the myocardium characterized by left ventricular dilatation and diminished contractile function. In this report we describe a novel DCM mutation identified for the first time in the myosin regulatory light chain (RLC), replacing Aspartic Acid at position 94 with Alanine (D94A). The mutation was identified by exome sequencing of three adult first-degree relatives who met formal criteria for idiopathic DCM. To gain insight into the functional significance of this pathogenic MYL2 variant, we have cloned and purified the human ventricular RLC wild-type (WT) and D94A-mutant proteins and performed in vitro experiments using RLC-exchanged porcine cardiac preparations. The mutation was observed to induce a reduction in the α-helical content of the RLC and imposed intra-molecular rearrangements. The Ca(2+) -calmodulin-activated myosin light chain kinase phosphorylation of RLC was not affected by D94A. The mutation was seen to impair the binding of RLC to the MHC (myosin heavy chain), and its incorporation into the RLC-depleted porcine myosin. The actin-activated ATPase activity of mutant-reconstituted porcine cardiac myosin was significantly higher compared to ATPase of WT. No changes in myofibrillar ATPase-pCa relationship were observed in WT- or D94A-reconstituted preparations. Measurements of contractile force showed a slightly reduced maximal tension per cross-section of muscle with no change in calcium sensitivity of force in D94A-reconstituted skinned porcine papillary muscle strips compared with WT. Our data indicate that subtle structural rearrangements in the RLC molecule followed by its impaired interaction with the MHC may trigger functional abnormalities contributing to the DCM phenotype. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
- [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: We describe the development and implementation of a randomized controlled trial to investigate the impact of genomic counseling on a cohort of patients with heart failure (HF) or hypertension (HTN), managed at a large academic medical center, the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (OSUWMC). Our study is built upon the existing Coriell Personalized Medicine Collaborative (CPMC®). OSUWMC patient participants with chronic disease (CD) receive eight actionable complex disease and one pharmacogenomic test report through the CPMC® web portal. Participants are randomized to either the in-person post-test genomic counseling—active arm, versus web-based only return of results—control arm. Study-specific surveys measure: (1) change in risk perception; (2) knowledge retention; (3) perceived personal control; (4) health behavior change; and, for the active arm (5), overall satisfaction with genomic counseling. This ongoing partnership has spurred creation of both infrastructure and procedures necessary for the implementation of genomics and genomic counseling in clinical care and clinical research. This included creation of a comprehensive informed consent document and processes for prospective return of actionable results for multiple complex diseases and pharmacogenomics (PGx) through a web portal, and integration of genomic data files and clinical decision support into an EPIC-based electronic medical record. We present this partnership, the infrastructure, genomic counseling approach, and the challenges that arose in the design and conduct of this ongoing trial to inform subsequent collaborative efforts and best genomic counseling practices.
- [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: Remarkable progress has been made in understanding the genetic basis of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Rare variants in >30 genes, some also involved in other cardiomyopathies, muscular dystrophy, or syndromic disease, perturb a diverse set of important myocardial proteins to produce a final DCM phenotype. Large, publicly available datasets have provided the opportunity to evaluate previously identified DCM-causing mutations, and to examine the population frequency of sequence variants similar to those that have been observed to cause DCM. The frequency of these variants, whether associated with dilated or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, is greater than estimates of disease prevalence. This mismatch might be explained by one or more of the following possibilities: that the penetrance of DCM-causing mutations is lower than previously thought, that some variants are noncausal, that DCM prevalence is higher than previously estimated, or that other more-complex genomics underlie DCM. Reassessment of our assumptions about the complexity of the genomic and phenomic architecture of DCM is warranted. Much about the genomic basis of DCM remains to be investigated, which will require comprehensive genomic studies in much larger cohorts of rigorously phenotyped probands and family members than previously examined.
- [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: Recent advances have expanded our ability to conduct a comprehensive genetic evaluation for dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). By evaluating recent literature, this review aims to bring the reader up-to-date on the genetic evaluation of DCM. Updated guidelines have been published. Mutations in BAG3, including a large deletion, were identified in 2 % of DCM. Truncating mutations in TTN were reported in 25 % of DCM. Two new genes have been reported with autosomal recessive DCM. These studies illustrate the role of improved technologies while raising the possibility of a complex genetic model for DCM. The inclusion of TTN has led to an increased genetic testing detection rate of 40 %. While our ability to identify disease-causing variants has increased, so has the identification of variants of unknown significance. A genetic evaluation for DCM must therefore address this complexity.
- [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: The value of family history (FH) is well established, but its sensitivity to detect familial dilated cardiomyopathy (FDC) has been infrequently examined. A genetic ancillary study was created as a component of the HF-ACTION trial, a multicenter, prospective, randomized clinical trial of exercise in patients with heart failure and an ejection fraction <35%. A FH-based study using a structured questionnaire mailed to all consenting individuals was incorporated into the genetic ancillary. FH responses were analyzed for dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in family members. Of the 741 individuals with data available, 358 (48.3%) had nonischemic and 383 (51.6%) had ischemic etiology, and of these 164 (45.8%) and 201 (52.4%), respectively, returned evaluable questionnaires. Of those with nonischemic etiology, 14/164 (8.5%) reported at least one first-degree family member with DCM or an enlarged heart; another 21/164 (12.8%) reported a FH of "cardiomyopathy," a less specific term to indicate DCM. At least 8.5% of patients with nonischemic etiology in the HF-ACTION genetic ancillary study provided FH indicating familial DCM, information important to inform further genetic analyses of this cohort and to plan other studies.
- [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: Acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) is a complex clinical event associated with excess morbidity and mortality. Managing ADHF patients is challenging because of the lack of effective treatments that both reduce symptoms and improve clinical outcomes. Existing guideline recommendations are largely based on expert opinion, but several recently published trials have yielded important data to inform both current clinical practice and future research directions. New insight has been gained regarding volume management, including dosing strategies for intravenous loop diuretics and the role of ultrafiltration in patients with heart failure and renal dysfunction. Although the largest ADHF trial to date (ASCEND-HF, using nesiritide) was neutral, promising results with other investigational agents have been reported. If these findings are confirmed in phase III trials, novel compounds, such as relaxin, omecamtiv mecarbil, and ularitide, among others, may become therapeutic options. Translation of research findings into quality clinical care can not be overemphasized. Although many gaps in knowledge exist, ongoing studies will address issues around delivery of evidence-based care to achieve the goal of improving the health status and clinical outcomes of patients with ADHF.
- [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: The number of clinically available genetic tests for heritable cardiovascular diseases has recently increased because of novel gene discoveries and advancements in DNA sequencing technologies. The purpose of this review is to provide up-to-date genetic testing information and guidance on how to incorporate genetic testing into cardiovascular medicine. Heritable cardiovascular conditions display vast genetic heterogeneity, genetic overlap between phenotypes, incomplete penetrance and variable expressivity, and are associated with risk for sudden cardiac death, making the practice of cardiovascular genetic medicine a great responsibility. Multigene testing panels now exist for many cardiovascular conditions, and test utility has recently been augmented by population-based genomic sequence datasets. Large amounts of DNA sequence data necessitate rigorous interpretation of this probabilistic information. Timely practice guidelines and expert statements have been published. To fully realize the benefits of clinical genetic testing in cardiovascular medicine, clinicians must implement several components including judicious genetic testing, pretest and posttest genetic counseling, interpretation and application of genetic test results, and cascade family genetic testing and clinical screening. Components important to the proper integration of cardiovascular genetic medicine are offered.
- [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: LMNA cardiomyopathy presents with electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities, conduction system disease (CSD), and/or arrhythmias before the onset of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Knowing the time interval between the onset of CSD and its progression to DCM would help to guide clinical care. We evaluated family members from 16 pedigrees previously identified to carry LMNA mutations for the ages of onset of ECG abnormalities, CSD, or arrhythmia and of left ventricular enlargement (LVE) and/or systolic dysfunction. Of 103 subjects, 64 carried their family LMNA mutation, and 51 (79%) had ECG abnormalities with a mean age of onset of 41.2 years (range 18-76). Ventricular dysfunction was observed in 26 with a mean age of onset of 47.6 years (range 28-82); at diagnosis 9 had systolic dysfunction but no LVE, 5 had LVE but no systolic dysfunction, and 11 had DCM. Of 16 subjects identified with ECG abnormalities who later developed ventricular dysfunction, the median ages of onset by log-rank analyses were 41 and 48 years, respectively. ECG abnormalities preceded DCM with a median difference of 7 years. Clinical surveillance should occur at least annually in those at risk for LMNA cardiomyopathy with any ECG findings.
- [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: -Familial dilated cardiomyopathy is a genetically heterogeneous disease with >30 known genes. TTN truncating variants were recently implicated in a candidate gene study to cause 25% of familial and 18% of sporadic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) cases. METHODS AND RESULTS: -We used an unbiased genome-wide approach employing both linkage analysis and variant filtering across the exome sequences of 48 individuals affected with DCM from 17 families to identify genetic cause. Linkage analysis ranked the TTN region as falling under the second highest genome-wide multipoint linkage peak, MLOD 1.59. We identified six TTN truncating variants carried by affected with DCM in 7 of 17 DCM families (LOD 2.99); 2 of these 7 families also had novel missense variants segregated with disease. Two additional novel truncating TTN variants did not segregate with DCM. Nucleotide diversity at the TTN locus, including missense variants, was comparable to five other known DCM genes. The average number of missense variants in the exome sequences from the DCM cases or the ~5,400 cases from the Exome Sequencing Project was ~23 per individual. The average number of TTN truncating variants in the Exome Sequencing Project was 0.014 per individual. We also identified a region (chr9q21.11-q22.31) with no known DCM genes with a maximum heterogeneity LOD score of 1.74. CONCLUSIONS: -These data suggest that TTN truncating variants contribute to DCM cause. However, the lack of segregation of all identified TTN truncating variants illustrates the challenge of determining variant pathogenicity even with full exome sequencing.
- [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: The goal of the Familial Dilated Cardiomyopathy (FDC) Research Project, initiated in 1993, has been to identify and characterize FDC genetic cause. All participating individuals have been consented for the return of genetic results, an important but challenging undertaking. Since the inception of the Project we have enrolled 606 probands, and 269 of these had 1670 family members also enrolled. Each subject was evaluated for idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC) and pedigrees were categorized as familial or sporadic. The coding regions of 14 genes were resequenced in 311 to 324 probands in five studies. Ninety-two probands were found to carry nonsynonymous rare variants absent in controls, and with Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment of 1988 (CLIA) compliant protocols, relevant genetic results were returned to these probands and their consented relatives by study genetic counselors and physicians in 353 letters. In 10 of the 51 families that received results >1 year ago, at least 23 individuals underwent CLIA confirmation testing for their family's rare variant. Return of genetic results has been successfully undertaken in the FDC Research Project. This report describes the methods utilized in the process of returning research results. We use this information as a springboard for providing guidance to other genetic research groups and proposing future directions in this arena.
- [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: This review provides the rationale for integrating genomic and protein biomarkers in the evolving diagnosis and management of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and its causal pathway to heart failure (HF), with a larger objective to serve as a template for genomic and phenomic profiling of other cardiovascular disease. DCM is a major cause of HF and accounts for more than half of heart transplantation in adults and children worldwide. DCM may remain asymptomatic for years, but HF and/or arrhythmias, both late manifestations of the disease, ultimately cause significant morbidity and mortality. A significant proportion of DCM has a genetic etiology. DCM can also result from environmental injury such as infection, toxins, or catecholamine excess. While molecular genetic testing can identify those at risk for genetic DCM, epigenetic and sentinel phenomic staging can help to identify those at highest risk in need for intervention. Phenomic staging includes integrating clinical and imaging features, transcriptomics, higher order proteomics and metabolomics interactions, and epidemiological data. This principle can be applied in family members of patients with DCM, where genetic testing and clinical phenotyping are indicated. This will allow the design of specific interventions tailored to individuals sharing similar risks, to alter the natural history of DCM and obviate complications such as HF/arrhythmias.
- [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: Aldosterone antagonists (or mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists [MRAs]) are guideline-recommended therapy for patients with moderate to severe heart failure (HF) symptoms and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and in postmyocardial infarction patients with HF. The Eplerenone in Mild Patients Hospitalization and Survival Study in Heart Failure (EMPHASIS-HF) trial evaluated the MRA eplerenone in patients with mild HF symptoms. Eplerenone reduced the risk of the primary endpoint of cardiovascular death or HF hospitalization (hazard ratio [HR] 0.63, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.54-0.74, P < .001) and all-cause mortality (adjusted HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.62-0.93, P < .008) after a median of 21 months. Based on EMPHASIS-HF, an MRA is recommended for patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class II-IV symptoms and reduced LVEF (<35%) on standard therapy (Strength of Evidence A). Patients with NYHA Class II symptoms should have another high-risk feature to be consistent with the EMPHASIS-HF population (age >55 years, QRS duration >130 msec [if LVEF between 31% and 35%], HF hospitalization within 6 months or elevated B-type natriuretic peptide level). Renal function and serum potassium should be closely monitored. Dose selection should consider renal function, baseline potassium, and concomitant drug interactions. The efficacy of eplerenone in patients with mild HF symptoms translates into a unique opportunity to reduce morbidity and mortality earlier in the course of the disease.
- [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: This review examines the application of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies in the identification of the causation of nonsyndromic genetic cardiomyopathies. NGS sequencing of the entire genetic coding sequence (the exome) has successfully identified five novel genes and causative variants for cardiomyopathies without previously known cause within the last 12 months. Continual rapidly decreasing costs of NGS will shortly allow cost-effective sequencing of the entire genomes of affected individuals and their relatives to include noncoding and regulatory variant discovery and epigenetic profiling. Despite this rapid technological progress with sequencing, analysis of these large data sets remains challenging, particularly for assigning causality to novel rare variants identified in DNA samples from patients with cardiomyopathy. NGS technologies are rapidly moving to identify novel rare variants in patients with cardiomyopathy, but assigning pathogenicity to these novel variants remains challenging.
- [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: Association tests that pool minor alleles into a measure of burden at a locus have been proposed for case-control studies using sequence data containing rare variants. However, such pooling tests are not robust to the inclusion of neutral and protective variants, which can mask the association signal from risk variants. Early studies proposing pooling tests dismissed methods for locus-wide inference using nonnegative single-variant test statistics based on unrealistic comparisons. However, such methods are robust to the inclusion of neutral and protective variants and therefore may be more useful than previously appreciated. In fact, some recently proposed methods derived within different frameworks are equivalent to performing inference on weighted sums of squared single-variant score statistics. In this study, we compared two existing methods for locus-wide inference using nonnegative single-variant test statistics to two widely cited pooling tests under more realistic conditions. We established analytic results for a simple model with one rare risk and one rare neutral variant, which demonstrated that pooling tests were less powerful than even Bonferroni-corrected single-variant tests in most realistic situations. We also performed simulations using variants with realistic minor allele frequency and linkage disequilibrium spectra, disease models with multiple rare risk variants and extensive neutral variation, and varying rates of missing genotypes. In all scenarios considered, existing methods using nonnegative single-variant test statistics had power comparable to or greater than two widely cited pooling tests. Moreover, in disease models with only rare risk variants, an existing method based on the maximum single-variant Cochran-Armitage trend chi-square statistic in the locus had power comparable to or greater than another existing method closely related to some recently proposed methods. We conclude that efficient locus-wide inference using single-variant test statistics should be reconsidered as a useful framework for devising powerful association tests in sequence data with rare variants.
University of PittsburghPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Oregon Health and Science University
Portland, OR, United States
- Department of Medicine
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
- Division of Cardiology

domain: biology


Washington, DC (July11, 2014) — World Vision is increasing efforts in the United States and abroad to assist children caught in the growing humanitarian crisis along the U.S. border. The White House estimates at least 60,000 unaccompanied children will be flooding into the United States this year alone – a number that is expected to double in 2015.
“At the heart of the issue are children who have an immediate need for basic necessities both in the United States and in Central America. Many of these children are literally fleeing for their lives from constant threats of gang violence and high levels of poverty in their home countries. We know both sides of the issue need to be addressed for there to be any long-term solution,” said Jesse Eaves, World Vision’s senior policy advisor for child protection.
In the United States, World Vision is working with the churches and community partners at numerous locations throughout the country, including California, Texas, Florida, and New York, to supply unaccompanied children with items such as: clothing, school supplies, and activities for children. The organization is also furnishing cleaning supplies, paper products, and other materials to equip the local centers that are hosting children.
Starting on Monday, World Vision’s Dallas warehouse location will be seeking volunteers to help assemble items for child friendly spaces and get them to partners and children as quickly as possible. More information on open time slots and how to sign up are available on World Vision’s U.S. Programs website.
“We have seen tremendous efforts from many local organizations stepping up to help children caught in limbo. Our goal is to come alongside these groups to provide the materials and support they need to help these vulnerable young people while they remain in the United States,” said Phyllis Freeman, World Vision’s director of disaster response in the United States.
In Honduras, World Vision is leading the coordination with other organizations to provide support to the children who have been deported from the U.S. and will be arriving back in Honduras. The organization is working to provide sanitation kits to meet the needs of those returning.
In Central America, World Vision has worked for more than four decades to address root causes like poverty and the threat of exploitation that cause children to flee. At the same time, violence has continued to be a rising issue forcing children to leave their home countries. Honduras has one of the highest murder rates in the world and the country had to recently shut down its entire child welfare system due to abuse. World Vision is working with the government there as they form their new system.
In a study World Vision released earlier this year, children in several Central American countries spoke about the gang violence and threats they face daily. In fact, the number of people seeking asylum in countries in the region has increased by 435 percent since 2009. In World Vision’s own programming, in El Salvador and Honduras, staff have been forced to scale back some programs and activities back because of the violence.
World Vision continues its work on the community level to address the root causes of poverty – including disaster relief, access to clean water and sanitation, economic development opportunities, healthcare programs, and vocational and leadership training. In El Salvador, World Vision is specifically addressing gang violence with programs like urban and rural children’s clubs to give kids positive role models and a place to escape the violence.
Throughout Central America, World Vision is working with low-income families to improve economic opportunities through family credits for family businesses, vocational training, and micro-entrepreneurial activities for young people.
In addition, child protection is a main focus and incorporated in all of World Vision’s work in Latin America, with groups of parents and community leaders who are being trained to spot child protection issues and advocate for reforms to benefit children on a local and national level.
“We have heard unimaginable stories from many of the children we work with of friends being killed by gang violence or of they themselves being threatened if they do not join a gang. It’s these sorts of situations that leave children and families with few choices besides fleeing to surrounding countries or the United States. This is a complex issue, but one thing we do know – if we don’t address the root causes forcing children to flee in the first place, this will be a problem that only continues to grow,” said Amanda Rives, World Vision’s advocacy director for Latin America.
– END –
About World Vision:
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization conducting relief, development, and advocacy activities in its work with children, families, and their communities in nearly 100 countries to help them reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. For more information, please visit www.WorldVision.org/media-center/ or on Twitter @WorldVisionUSA.
- Tens of thousands of children from Central America fleeing to escape violence, poverty
- World Vision providing essential supplies through partner organizations to help those in the United States and Central America
- Organization working to address root causes in Central America that push children to flee


text: Dr. Alisa Volpi grew up just down the road in Garland, Texas. From the tender age of 7, being a veterinarian was the only job she wanted to do. She attended Texas A&M University and earned her associate's degree in Biomedical Science in 1996. She went on to graduate from Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine in 2000 and was the proud recipient of The Gentle Doctor Award. She recently became Fear Free Certified, a program for Veterinarians to learn and put in place an environment that is positive and FEAR FREE for animals who come in our hospital. There are only 25 veterinarians in Texas who are currently certified, only 1200 in the whole world – one of them being Dr. Volpi. She has a special interest in Behavior Medicine, especially in preventing behavior problems in puppies. She was in full-time private practice for 5 years before becoming a mom. Now her family consists of a husband, two kiddos, a geriatric golden retriever, an orange tabby kitty boy, and a crazy border collie puppy. When she’s not at the clinic, you can find her drinking iced coffee, photographing babies, or trying to learn agility with Ollie, her new Border Collie puppy.

domain: pet


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LORETTA'S ARTIST OF WEEK 2/08/16
Emily is currently living out her teenage years in Plymouth Ma with all of this lovely New England weather and taking any opportunity she can to learn, write, and preform. For the past 3 years, she has been writing and figuring out what type of music she wants to pursue. Finding herself was only the beginning of this journey though. Emily hopes to spend many more years with all of you who have stuck with her since the days of half covered songs and squeaky chords, and for those whom she has just met.
Upcoming Shows at Loretta's:
Wednesday, February 10th at 7PM


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Chelsea Football Club head coach Frank Lampard on Saturday tasted the vinegary liquor in a 97 terrific minutes at Wembley stadium.
Six minutes after the whistle was blown to kick off the match, the blues striked humble but lethal arsenal through Christian Pulisic opening goal leaving the Gunners behind by a nill to a goal.
Christian Pulisic celebrates after scoring against Arsenal at Wembley stadium.
He becomes the first American footballer to score in FA Cup finals.
Arsenal’s captain Pierre Aubameyang won a penalty in the 28TH minute few seconds after scoring from an offside position, equalising through the penalty shoot with the two teams settling for halftime with a draw of a goal each.
The penalty was awarded by match referee Anthony Taylor after Aubameyang was hauled to ground by Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta.
Hector Bellerin’s super pass to Pepe after fantasticly challenging Andreas Christensen created room for a second goal after Pepe forwarded the ball to Aubameyang who converted it to put the Gunners ahead of the first victorious Chelsea.
Arsenal’s captain Pierre Aubamayeng scores the penalty shoot to equalise the match
Six minutes later, Mateo Kovacic was red carded for a second bookable offence leaving his team 10 man.
Aubameyang, Cellabos and Niles were ranked the best match players with ratings of 9 – 8 – 8 respectively while Pulisic, Caballero and Jorginho were the three best match players from Chelsea side with match ratings of 7 – 6 – 6 respectively.
Arsenal captain Pierre Aubameyang lifts the trophy together with teammates after beating Chelsea 2:1 in the FA Cup final at Wembley stadium.
Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta praised his squad for showing an impressive performance, adding that Aubameyang did fantastic job just like it was in the case during semi final.
“Big games require big moments from big players. Aubameyang delivered that in the semi-final, he’s done it again in the final and that’s why you ask about those players. He said.
He described the moment as one of ‘his proudest’ in football career expressing his contentment with the victory.
On 12 March this year, Arteta tested positive for Covid – 19 prompting the entire team to go for isolation.
“I think [it’s the proudest moment of my career]. I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved as I know the difficulties and everything we’ve been through.
The former Arsenal captain admitted that the team has been going through tough times over the last six months but he (in the capacity of head coach) had one great mission of making the entire club fretenity to believe that it’s possible.
“It’s been so tough the last six months for a lot of things that have happened in our lives, but I had only one mission when I came here which was to make the players and the staff believe that we could do it.”
Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard admitted that his team did not play well enough to win the game adding that the team was not able to contain Aubameyang.
“We didn’t play well enough. We didn’t play great for us, but we did compete in the game and we had chances. When you give an opportunity like that to Aubameyang, he will finish you off.”
Lampard who described Aubameyang as top – class player linked the teams poor performance to lack of players after losing a good number of players to inyury.
“A frustrating part of today’s game was that I showed that a lot to the players and we worked on it, but we allowed him in easily. He’s a top-class player, and the second goal is the sort of speed and quality of a player at this level that wins games like these.”
He is also the second manager to win a major trophy in their first season in charge of the club after George Graham in 1986 – 87.

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Today, Cathy McLeod, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and MP for Kamloops – Thompson - Cariboo, announced Run to Quit, a program to help smokers quit by incorporating running into their daily lives. She was joined by John Stanton, President of the Running Room and Martin Kabat, Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Cancer Society (Ontario Division).
Run to Quit is an innovative program in which participants learn to run 5 kilometres over 10 weeks while receiving support to quit smoking.
Apparently he thinks so. At an African Union summit in Addis Ababa earlier this week President Obama declared:
“I actually think I’m a pretty good president,” he said. “I think if I ran, I could win. But I can’t. So there’s a lot that I’d like to do to keep America moving, but the law is the law.”
It's understood that those who seek the Presidency must have a certain degree of amour-propre. Yet it's hard to recall another President who so obviously regards himself as a major historical figure. It's even harder to think of another President who so little deserves that distinction. A record which contains such highlights as a stagnant economy, crippling deficits and the recent Iranian deal suggests a clock puncher who leans to the Left.
Yet the comment about winning a third term isn't quite as absurd as it sounds. The President's approval ratings currently sit at 46%, about five points short of his popular vote percentage in 2012. They have never dipped below 38% and rarely fallen into the low forties. This is the strange paradox of the Obama Administration: A mediocre President who, if the 22nd Amendment was repealed, might very well win a third term.
Comparing Obama to other Presidents at this point in their terms he ranks below Reagan, Eisenhower, Clinton and Johnson but ahead of Truman and George W Bush. The latter two had their ratings dragged down by war. Reagan, Clinton and Eisenhower were buoyed by a surging economy. For a presidency in what might be described as quasi-peacetime Obama's approval ratings are below par. Yet despite his failures and shortcomings the 44th President is not hated in the same way as Harry Truman and the younger Bush.
What distinguishes Obama from the genuinely unpopular presidents is the lack of a lighting rod issue. A flagging or failing war can destroy even the most skillful of political operatives, witness the decline and fall of Lyndon Johnson. In a little more than three years LBJ went from a landslide victory over Barry Goldwater to a comparatively narrow victory over Eugene McCarthy in New Hampshire. Both Truman and Bush saw less precipitous, though ultimately decisive drops.
Running through the demerits of the Obama legacy there is just enough mitigation for him to get a pass from much of the electorate. The runaway deficits are usually pegged on Congress. The unemployment rate has been so fiddled with as to be nearly meaningless. This allows President Obama to proclaim an improvement in the economy, though an improvement that few working or lower middle class Americans have benefited from. Even in what is regarded as a traditional purview of the presidency, the management of foreign affairs, there is enough voter apathy for the Iranian deal to go through on the shrug.
Barack Obama reminds me of nothing so much as that charming slacker at work. He does his job well enough, never seems to be completely blamed or credited with anything and yet glides from promotion to promotion. Certainly he has his detractors. The ambitious workaholics who know who really writes his reports, the underlings who struggle to clean up his messes and his enemies who know where the bodies are buried but have been bought off. Should any speak up they'll be met with his grinning face and a well studied style of self-deprecation. Who could hate a nice guy like that?
This is what we have in store for the next year and a half. The problems mount, the crises are ignored and President Obama drifts glibly into the future.
The Town of St. Andrews wharf will soon undergo important improvements and upgrades, thanks to support from both the federal and provincial governments.
John Williamson, Member of Parliament for New Brunswick Southwest, on behalf of the Honourable Rob Moore, Regional Minister for New Brunswick and Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) and John Ames, MLA, Charlotte-Campobello, joined Town of St. Andrews officials to make the announcement today.
The upgrades and improvements to the wharf include the installation of protection anodes over existing piers to help eliminate corrosion, the installation of floating decks, upgrades to the old section of the wharf’s deck, repairs to the wharf’s understructure and a new breakwater.
The Government of Canada, through ACOA’s Innovative Communities Fund, is contributing $515,000 to the project, while the Province of New Brunswick is providing $375,000 and the Town of St. Andrews is providing $400,000.
The sad sorry Senate saga takes another pointless turn:
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall are expected to appear together Friday to call for the abolition of the Senate, according to a source familiar with their plans.
Harper is scheduled to hold a press conference at the Saskatchewan Legislative Building in the afternoon, where he will be joined by Wall.
Neither the Prime Minister’s Office nor the office of the Saskatchewan Premier could be reached Thursday evening to confirm the announcement.
Rumours are as yet unconfirmed that Premier Wall and Prime Minister Harper will also be issuing a joint statement calling for warmer weather in February, that the Leafs win the cup and that the CBC finally replace Peter Mansbridge. Their respective communications directors could not be reached for further comment.
The Senate is our great constitutional appendix. It gets a bit inflamed from time to time but, a hundred and fifty years in, we've generally come to the conclusion that it's too much of a hassle to get rid of. In other countries, normal nation states, amending a constitution is just one of those things. There's a convention, people argue about it and eventually some words get swapped in and out of the country's basic law. The Americans might go so far as to fight a civil war over such things, but for most countries it's routine stuff.
Having successfully avoided civil wars, insurrections, coup d'etats and other assorted public disturbances, the Canadian project has retained one bizarre character flaw: Our inability to amend the constitution in anything like a sensible manner. For those old enough to have lived through the constitutional wars of the 1970s and 1980s the very mention of the C-word induces terrible flashbacks. Sometimes when I close my eyes I can see Joe Clark talking about amending formulas. In those moments I question the existence of a merciful God.
The latest idea to drift out of the PMO is that Stephen Harper will stop appointing Senators. This is actually quite similar to how the PM approaches maintenance on 24 Sussex Drive. The official residence is almost as old as Canada itself. Unfortunately so is much of the plumbing. The building is literally falling to bits and requires millions in renovations. Being a politician first and a government tenant second, Stephen Harper knows that doing more than the bare minimum to keep up his Ottawa home will provoke shrieks of outrage from the Opposition. Only when the building finally collapses will anything really be done. And at three times the original price.
This same logic will now be applied to the Senate. The PM will stop appointing senators until there is no more Senate. Sounds neat, eh? Except that the Senate is ensconced into the bedrock of our constitutional order. If the number of living breathing Senators drops below quorum the Supreme Court, the real rulers of our fair Dominion, will order the PM to appoint more. Then the PM of the day, perhaps Mr Harper or Mr Mulcair, will shrug their shoulders and do as their bosses tell them.
The only way to get rid of the Senate is to amend the constitution. Like going to the dentist this would be both painful and expensive. Unlike going to the dentist it would also be interminable. Dentists, you see, have golf games. Constitutional lawyers don't play golf. It would interrupt from their fascinating work of discussing whether or not the power of disallowance is genuinely obsolete. If you don't understand what that means don't worry neither do they.
Problems, my old father used to say, are really opportunities in disguise. While I suspect he said that as I way of tricking me into mowing the lawn it does contain a vital truth. We've been looking at the Senate as a problem, as a waste of the taxpayers money. Let's think outside the red lined box for a moment. Let's us begin to realize what the Senate truly is: A money making opportunity!
Since we can't stop appointing Senators all we can do is change their method of appointment. Various suggestions have been mooted over years. Holding Senate elections and then, as a gentleman's agreement, the PM appoints the winner. Only Alberta really took this idea seriously. In the rest of the country more democracy is frowned upon. The leaders of the other nine provinces understand that the less you hear from the voters the better it is for them. So if we're changing the method of appointment we'll need to try something more subtle.
So here's my proposal: Sell Senate seats. Now selling them to the highest bidder would probably raise the most money for the treasury. The problem is that it smacks of elitism. Many Canadians would be uncomfortable if the Upper House of Parliament were dominated by the Westons and whatever is left of the Eaton family. No we need something more egalitarian. That's why I'm suggesting a Canadian Senate Sweepstakes.
For five dollars a ticket, limit one ticket per citizen, you could buy a chance to become a Canadian Senator. In order to maximize the take the Senatorial terms would be shortened to one year. This wouldn't require a constitution amendment. It would mean that every years we'd see 105 lucky winners of the easiest job in Canada. The salary and the perks would stay the same. The Senate chamber would remain as it's always been. It's just that instead of a senate composed of superannuated politicians it will be composed of ordinary Canadians.
Through this scheme enough money will be raised to fund the Senate's operations. With any luck there will be enough left over to pay down some small portion of the debt that Daddy Trudeau ran up back in the 1970s. Overnight the Senate will become a far more legitimate and popular body than it is today. All it requires is a bit of a imagination. Along with a healthy contempt for our political class.
The former Conservative parliamentary secretary, who left the party after being denied the chance to run, was defeated Sunday by lawyer and long-time Liberal volunteer Marco Mendicino. Party officials initially said Mendicino garnered 1,127 votes to 792 for Adams, The Canadian Press reported, but updated numbers provided by Mendicino's campaign put him at 1,178 to Adams's 745.
Adams is declining interview requests, leaving many wondering what comes next for one of the party's most recognizable MPs.
The next step would be the NDP. Thing is that Tommy Mulcair, unlike Justin, is a pro.
The NDP’s hard-hitting, anti-Conservative ad ‘Enough,’ which has so far attracted more than 500,000 hits on YouTube and lots of free media attention, was produced and edited entirely by internal NDP staff, and experts say it’s an “effective” ad, and part of a new era of online, self-produced political ads.
Hard hitting is a relative term. Whenever I send Canadian attacks ads to Americans they find them adorable. What's considered dirty pool in Canada is Marquess of Queensbury rules down south. Yet the NDP's new swing at the Tories is well put together, concise and clearly communicates its message: The Tories are old and corrupt.
H.L. Mencken observed nearly a century ago that elections are an advanced auction of stolen goods. Governments inevitably become corrupt. That much free money would tempt St Francis of Assisi to say nothing of the mere mortals who run for public office. One can search in vain through the annals of Canadian political history to find a truly honest government. The choice is between degrees of necessary evil and levels of incompetence.
Taking the broad view from John A Macdonald wiring Hugh Allan for money, to Jean Chretien looking elsewhere as the miasma of Adscam drifted across the Gatineaus, the Harper Tories come out fairly well. This is not a uniquely corrupt or incompetent government. Briefcases full of cash don't routinely come floating down the Rideau Canal in springtime. The Prime Minister has not, so far as we are aware, spent weekends at Harrington Lake chatting amiably with shady German "businessmen".
Though well produced, as far as attack ads go, the NDP's latest effort is overall a swing and a miss. Watching the Dipper's "Enough" video I kept asking: Who the hell is that? And I pay attention to politics for fun. Pity the poor voter with better hobbies and less free time.
Leaving aside Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin, famous broadcast journalists for decades, the rest of the parade of the near and actually indicted is a cast of nobodies. Irving Gerstein? Bruce Carson? Michael Sona? If you eat and breadth politics you know these people. Aunt Sally from Burlington doesn't know or care. Then finally we reach Patrick Brazeau. Chucking away an easy job for life is such face palm moment of stupidity you almost feel sorry for the suspended senator. But only almost.
The NDP pitch, that the Tories are corrupt, runs up against a fairly prosaic reality: The actual corruption is petty. The numbers run into the tens of thousands not tens of millions as they did with Adscam. Instead of a regime of scandal we have a few small fries who exceeded their authority or lined their pockets. None of this really, truly, touches the Prime Minister.
Then there is what might be called the Senate Shield. Much of the more noticeable nonsense has gone on in the Red Chamber. Canadians don't perceive the Senate as a partisan institution. The basic illegitimacy of the upper house means people see a corrupt Senator more than they see a corrupt Tory or Liberal. The instinctive reaction isn't to blame the respective party leaders, it's to wonder why the Senate still exists a century and a half into the Canadian project.
"Enough" is only enough to nibble around the edges of Conservative credibility. What the NDP, the likely government in waiting, would really need is a knock out blow. Despite the bungling appointments of Duffy, Brazeau and Wallin the Prime Minister has been shrewd enough to deny his enemies a weapon powerful enough to end Tory rule.
The Kings County Court House will be updated, thanks in part to Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program (CIP 150) funding announced today by the Honourable Rob Moore, Regional Minister for New Brunswick, Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) and Member of Parliament for Fundy Royal.
The Government of Canada has approved a contribution of $267,045 to update the building and improve accessibility. This funding is part of the up to $16.6 million in funding allocated for projects in Atlantic Canada under CIP 150, announced earlier this year by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Upgrades to the building include new insulation in the walls and roof, replacing the roof system, installing a heat pump system for heating and ventilation, replacing the existing electrical entrance, as well as new wiring and lighting throughout the building.
If it's a county court house why is Ottawa fixing it?

domain: news


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Well into the New Year but I am yet to get over my holiday mood. It is not that I have not been feeding myself but I do not feel like putting down anything for my blog. Just being lazy and watching a lot of TV these days- after office.
My work preoccupies me. Too much work on hand. Movement back home is making me restless. I should have been there with my friends who have taken to the roads of Delhi. My mind is there. It seems useless start of a year! I am angry, upset and demotivated. I watched the parliamentary discussion every morning before leaving for office-they disgust me. Police atrocities over protesting public infuriate me. Lack of political will for change makes me think…maybe it is time for violence…an eye for an eye. Is it so?? I am angry!
I would have preferred not to give any recipe for my blog, as it is not the top priority for me now- not at the moment. I did celebrate Christmas. P and A were at home, we had lunch together and watched movies on DVD. But it was not the same.
I am going to give the recipe of the roast chicken that I made on Christmas-maybe feeling a little responsible to keep the blog alive.
Indian Spiced Roasted Chicken
1- Whole chicken with skin (around 1.5kg) (you can do without skin too)
4/5 cloves of garlic grated
2” ginger grated
1-teaspoon cumin powder
1-teaspoon coriander powder
1-green chili grated
150 ml coconut milk
50g of butter/oil /r vegetable spread
Salt as per taste
1. Make a paste of vegetable spread, grated ginger, grated garlic, cumin, coriander ,salt and chili
2. Use half the paste to marinate the chicken both underneath and over the skin
3. Keep the marinated chicken in fridge for 30mins ( I kept overnight as I had to roast it first thing in the morning)
4. Take out the chicken and keep in room temperature before roasting
5. Pre heat the oven in 170c in fan oven
6. Rub the chicken again with the paste ( don’t use all, keep aside little bit of the paste for later use)
7. Place the chicken in the middle of a roasting pan and place the roasting pan in the middle shelf of the oven
8. Roast the chicken for 45mins, occasionally bringing it out to spread the oil that have deposited in the roasting tray over the chicken. This way chicken will remain soft and moist.
9. If the chicken had already browned, cover the chicken with foil and roast for another 20mins
10. Meanwhile, add the remaining of the paste with coconut milk
11. Take the chicken out and pour the mixture over the chicken so that whole chicken is wet with coconut milk
|Chicken after the coconut milk has been poured
12. Then cover with foil and roast for another 30 mins or until done.
13. Then uncover the chicken and roast for a while until new spices are golden brown
14. Take out of the oven and rest for 20 mins before serving, so that chicken is soft
15. Place the chicken on the wide serving plate and arrange.
16. Use the gravy that is left in the roasting pan as gravy to be served with roast chicken. Do not have to mix any flour, as it will be thick from the coconut milk. You can get red rid of residues of fat though
|roast the coconutmilk along with chicken and then use as gravy to go with the chicken
17. Serve with roast potatoes.
Tip : How to know when is your roast is well done: Insert a skewer on the thickest part of the chicken thigh and take out. Then press the area and see the liquid coming out. If the liquid is clear then the chicken is well done otherwise it might need few more minutes of roasting.
For Roast Potatoes Repice look at Crispy Roast Potatoes
I have a facebook page Pet Pujo and Adda. Please visit my page and click ‘like’ if you like my blog. also please send it any suggestions or guest recipe if you want to be part of pet pujo and adda
have a wonderful new year!

domain: food


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We have a great new webinar for ya this week! Join me on November 12th at 11:00 AM MT for my Knock Off Tee Shirt Webinar!
This webinar is about creating that perfect tee shirt, a staple in any wardrobe. Take your own shirt (one that fits is best) and we will make a pattern out of it. We will talk about fabric types, sewing orders, and making modifications to the necklines and sleeves. And don’t worry, we will talk about fixing anything that might be just a little off. This is a great beginner class in taking an existing garment and making a pattern out of it.
In order to view or attend the Knock Off Tee Shirt Live Webinar, you must be a current subscriber to the club membership!! We have so much fun on these webinars and would love to have you join us!
Don’t miss out!

domain: hobby


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Child Poverty: The Questions We Should Ask
Feb 24, 2012
Every time a major study is released that reveals the increasingly difficult time that ordinary Americans are having, the automatic next questions for policymakers should be, "What are we going to do about it?" and, "How fast can we get it done?"
Such should have been the case on Thursday when the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Kids Count project released a report on children living in high poverty communities. The news is not good. Nearly 8 million children live in neighborhoods with high poverty concentration, a 25 percent increase since 2000. Given the state of the economy, the rise is sobering but not startling.
Reducing the number of children living in distressed communities is an important policy question. Poor children already begin life with significant social and economic disadvantage. They have worse outcomes on every measure, from educational attainment to economic success. The persistence of poverty matters, too, with adult outcomes worse for those who spend a longer period of their childhood in poverty than others.
Children in high poverty communities face a double whammy of sorts. Concentrated poverty exacerbates disadvantage. Parents in distressed communities are more likely to struggle to meet basic needs than families with similar incomes living in more economically advantaged areas. Parental stress can foster unhealthy development for children, and the adverse effect of living high poverty communities is evident in educational outcomes. According to the report, children in low-income schools "have lower test scores than those who attend predominantly higher-income schools, regardless of their family's income."
So, what are we going to do about it? We don't have to resign ourselves to the status quo. When the federal government and states invest in child care and early education, it makes a difference. A recent Foundation for Child Development report on child and youth well-being backs this up. Critical supports, including tax credits for working families, nutrition assistance, and health insurance, bolster families' income while ensuring that children have all that they need to thrive. But far too few families eligible for supports receive them due to insufficient funding, onerous program requirements, and other challenges. We can put policies in place that make it easier for families to get the help they need, rather than more difficult.
The policy solutions are clear. What we need to do is evident. And the research on the long-term effects of child poverty tells us that in fact it matters that we get this done fast. Policymakers need the will to support our most vulnerable children. What are we going to do about that?

domain: sociology


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Light Night 2012 at the Walker
Friday 18 May 2012
Gallery open 5-10pm
Join us for Light Night at the Walker Art Gallery. Take in our stunning displays of paintings, sculpture, craft and design and be inspired by our Rolf Harris exhibition.
The venue will be open until 10pm with a packed programme of performance, tours and family activities.
From 5pm - opening event for 'Rolf Harris: Can you tell what it is yet?'
Attend the opening event for this fantastic exhibition of work by the legendary artist, musician and TV personality, Rolf Harris. Find out more about the exhibition here.
In one of the smaller galleries Rolf Harris will create a large scale broad-brush painting for a live audience at 6.30pm. Due to the size of the rooms at the Walker, places for this part of the evening are extremely limited and are on a first come first served basis.
Rolf's performance will also be broadcast on screens around the gallery so everyone can get the chance to see the maestro at work.
There will be lots of events going on throughout the gallery - see below for our full list of events.
Rolf Harris book signing - Saturday 19 May 2012
Rolf will also be present at the gallery on Saturday 19 May for a book signing event from 10.30am- 12.30pm and from 1-2pm.
Events for Light Night at the Walker
- Big Art for Little Artists: 5 - 7.30pm
Bring your little ones to enjoy our special children's gallery Big Art for Little Artists. Families can explore art through costume, puppets, stories and get hands on with our special crafts.
- Highlights tours: 6pm, 7.45pm, 9pm
Join our friendly visitor hosts for a free introductory tour of the Walker Art Gallery. Find out more about the history of the Gallery and look closer at some of the highlights of our world-class collections of paintings, sculpture and decorative arts.
We invite Liverpool's Polish community to join us for free Polish language tours. Highlights include a look at the Impressionist works and the 'Feathercuts and Flares' costume exhibition. Please pre-book by emailing Anna.email@example.com
- Kaleidescape - open mic night: 7 - 9pm
Join Tony Kehoe, local singer-songwriter, as he hosts an open floor of music, poetry and performance. This informal event showcases Liverpool's creative talents. Performers can sign up from 6.30pm - other visitors can drop in at any time to relax and enjoy!
All visitors are invited to have a go at drawing in this informal session led by our volunteers. Experiment with a variety of drawing materials and equipment. All ages welcome - no previous experience necessary.
- Liverpool sings Rolf: 8.30-9pm
Join Liverpool Community Choir as they perform a selection of Rolf's well known hits and other Liverpool favourites.
- Acoustic music by LIPA students: 8pm, 9pm
Sit back and relax in our wonderful café and enjoy music by the talented students from Liverpool's very own fame school. At 8pm, singer songwriter Catherine Murphy treats us to a selection of her songs, followed by Charley Blue accompanied by electric guitar and keyboard.

domain: entertainment


text:
Weather in Switzerland – St. Gallen – St. Gallen
|St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland|
St. Gallen is the capital of the canton St. Gallen
The native names of Switzerland are Schweiz (German), Suisse (French), Svizzera (Italian), Svizra (Romansh)
|Current Time||Friday, March 7, 2014 at 8:23:39 PM CET|
Clear. Quite cool.
|Forecast next 48 hours||Location for forecasts: Sankt Gallen|
next 15 days
Weather provided by CustomWeather, copyright 2014
Time Zone Calculators for St. Gallen
- Current local time in St. Gallen
- Make a Personal World Clock and include St. Gallen
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- If it is e.g. 4 pm in St. Gallen, what time is it elsewhere?
- Time difference between St. Gallen time and other time zones
- Display a free clock for St. Gallen on your web site or blog
Useful weather Information
- How to use our weather pages
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domain: geography


text:
Chapter 1: an introduction to gender and beliefs about gender seem to be obvious truths, that we need to step back and examine gender from a gender as social. 24 what are the consequences of traditional gender role socialization the research application for the chapter beliefs, and behaviors appropriate to. Gender roles in modern society thereby making gender-specific behaviors irrelevant these stereotypes can be harmful because they motivate people to condemn and. Transgender affirmative cognitive behavioral therapy: clinical considerations and applications negative self-beliefs, maladaptive behaviors) and society (eg, antitransgender attitudes.
Gender socialization a group in which membership is based on shared commitment to specific nonconformist beliefs or behaviors strain theory. Gender norms and sexual health behaviors gender and sexual health, part 2 risk taking behavior when does gender socialization begin application of the. Measurement of gender-role attitudes, beliefs, and principles measurement of gender-role attitudes, beliefs, and principles journal of personality and social. Beliefs and attitudes regarding drug treatment: application of beliefs about the social norms surrounding the behavior (perceived norms), and beliefs about the.
The impact of socialization on gender gender stereotypes reflect the dynamics of beliefs, norms and behaviors among men gender stereotypes: definition & examples related. Many aspects of identity theory and its derivatives are still in their relative infancy as theories the application of these theories to gender, socialization, and the family is a logical step to make the theories more robust and sociologically viable. Gender roles are social constructs or labels given to people based on behavior, societal and cultural norms, and expectations (unger, 1979) gender role beliefs shape and are shaped by.
The religious beliefs and behaviors of baby exploratory study uses cross-sectional survey data from the 2012 and 2014 general social survey to examine the gender. Human social behaviors—violence, crime, academic perfor - mance, mate selection, economic success, gender roles, and other behaviors too numerous to mention here—by exam. Home beliefs transgenderism, transsexuality, and gender cross-gender behavior may also cover a variety of expressions ranging from secretly cross-dressing to.
The key for this type of explanation is that the relevant biological differences do not directly cause the gender inequality being explained, but have effects on social behavior and social organization that lead to gender inequality. Race and gender differences and the role of behavior by race and gender emphasizes the role of socialization for example, research shows that females are. Gender socialization is the process through which children learn about the social expectations, attitudes and behaviours typically associated with boys and girls. Now that we reviewed socialization and its application to schools, families, and media approaches, let us now take a cross-cultural approach of gender socialization around the world first, lets read the following articles about gender roles and gender equality in different regions of the world. Likewise, gender stereotypes and the patriarchal gender hierarchy of us society exert strong influence on socialization processes cultural expectations for gender roles and gendered behavior are imparted to children from birth through color-coded clothes, toys that emphasize physical appearance and domesticity for girls (like play makeup.
How does culture affect behavior a: practices and beliefs of another group, enculturation and socialization, states that all behavior is learned from the. Organized beliefs and expectations about maleness and femaleness that guide children's thinking about gender goodness of fit the match or synchrony between a child's temperament and characteristics of parental care that contributes to positive or negative personality development. Gender-stereotypes belief and practices in the abstract-this study explores the gender-stereotyped beliefs and address the gender inequality in the social. 12 sociological perspectives on social problems problematic behaviors often learn these behaviors from other people as arising out of gender differences in.
Gender role theory emphasizes the environmental causes of gender roles and the impact of socialization, or the process of transferring norms, values, beliefs, and behaviors to group members, in learning how to behave as a male or a female. Gender: early socialization gender socialization is the process through which children learn about the social expectations, attitudes and behaviours typically associated with boys and girls this topic looks at this socialization process and the factors that influence gender development in children. Through all these socialization agents, children learn gender stereotyped behavior as children develop, these gender stereotypes become firmly entrenched beliefs and thus, are a part of the child's self concept.
Lastly, for social behaviors, we differentially expected that females would express greater gender-typic beliefs for prosocial behaviors than would males however, this was not the case males and females reported that both boys and girls could behave in all of the prosocial ways (ie, sharing toys, helping to pick up, being nice, letting. Gender roles and society society's values and beliefs about gender gender an understanding of the term gender't''gender is a social term that is often. Socialization is important in the process of personality formation while much of human personality is the result of our genes, the socialization process can mold it in particular directions by encouraging specific beliefs and attitudes as well as selectively providing experiences. Beliefs about men's gender roles were associated with both men's and women's behaviors, which may be because cultures traditionally value masculine more than feminine behaviors thus, more conventional beliefs about the male role may indicate acceptance of a power differential between men and women.

domain: psychology


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Plastic, Stainless steel


text:
On Fox News Friday, Megyn Kelly, once again, embarrassed herself on national cable television.
She did so by "interviewing" her own husband, Douglas Brunt, about his new book "The Ghosts of Manhattan."
Had Kelly actually studied journalism, she would have known in Journalism 101 that you don't interview your family members and friends.
It's not only tacky and unprofessional, but it's unethical. But hey, it's Fox News, so who cares, right?
"The novel is getting rave reviews being compared to Charles Dickins and Tom Wolfe," Kelly said of her husband's book.
Click here to watch a video clip of the
vanity piece interview -- if you think you can stomach it.

domain: celebrity


text:
Canal Shipping Agencies Co.
Please be advised that Canal Shipping Agencies co., is In A Position To Offer The Following Realistic Points Of View Towards achieving Mutual Interests. in this respect ,you are kindly requested to Inform Us On Demand Of Appointed Ships Agencies In the Suez Canal And the Egyptian Ports As Well As in the Middle East Region .So, please keep Us in Close Contact Of Any Additional Services Required To Enable Us to Bring You the best Services Covering Your Entire Request. We Shall Be Pleased To Study Your Proposals As For Doing A Joint Venture In Maritime Transport Activities Within Egyptian Ports And Middle East Region .We have the Pleasure to Welcome your Esteemed Company’s delegates By Arranging Special Visit To our headquarter In Egypt For discussing our future Business Co-Operation and if you could Advise us of your Terms & Conditions By Return Messages or If You Require A Formal Agreement Copy from Us .In the meantime We, Remain At Your Disposal And Look Forward to Closer Co-Operation And Fruitful Venture With Your Esteemed Organization. We Have Confidence that ties between us will continue To Expand Business And Opportunities Of Success And promotion For our mutual benefit.
Prof.Dr Ahmed Abdel Hafez Abdel Wahhab
Chairman & Managing director
Why Choose Us
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Trust and credibility
We as a public business sector company, the state owns more than 90% of its shares, and we have confidence, credibility and strong communication with the authorities at the highest levels, which overcomes all routine difficulties and reduces risks in business to the lowest levels.
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We guarantee the full security and confidentiality of your transactions and financial balances.
We have the efficiency
We work with the same efficiency with free competition with the private sector since 1998, with our own capabilities that ensure continuity and development in our field and in a manner consistent with current and future data.
We are pioneers
Our company is a leader company since 1965 and is one of the first companies to establish such businesses in Egypt and the Middle East.
Have you an inquiry ?
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Cargo Handling Services
Complete handling of transit cargoes including customs clearance, transshipment operations. carrying out all formalities in respect of cargo (customs, sanitary ,veterinary etc..) organized and control of cargo handling at all of the Egyptian ports
Canal Shipping Agencies co., arrange supervises stevedoring operation as stipulated by customer requested instructions through the highly qualified staff. customs and stevedoring contractors must been formed prior to vessel's arrival.
Marine and Freight services
supply of provisions , deck engine, saloon stores ships spare, electronic items , fresh water and bunkers etc... supply of life rafts(any brand) and fire extinguishers .

domain: economics


text:
Featured Image Caption: Young Nurse Covering Disabled Elderly Man in Wheelchair with Warm Plaid
Navigating life with an illness or disability can be overwhelming, particularly as needs and abilities continue to change. Making the decision to seek home health care services is a major milestone in this journey that should not be taken lightly, but how do you know when it’s time? A few key signs can help guide your decision-making process. From increased tasks being placed on family members to struggles adapting to daily activities, keep reading for guidance on recognizing when the support of at-home health care may become necessary.
Increased Tasks Placed on Family Members
Life in the 21st century is full of busy schedules and demands that are often placed on family members. With more people working from home and an increased focus on digital communication, the tasks placed on family members have grown significantly over the last decade. From taking care of children and managing the household to running errands and helping with the finances, the responsibilities of family members have become more numerous and complex.
The number of additional tasks placed on family members has had a profound effect on the day-to-day lives of many households. With more and more tasks to keep up with, the lives of family members can become increasingly stressful and chaotic. This can lead to feelings of burnout, resentment, and a lack of quality time spent together.
It is important for families to recognize the strain that increased tasks can have on their relationships. To counter this effect, family members should prioritize making time for each other, engaging in activities that promote relaxation, and delegating tasks among the family members.
Creating a family plan is also key in managing increased tasks. This plan should involve setting realistic goals for each family member and establishing a schedule that works for everyone. This will help ensure that family members are able to stay on top of their tasks and have time to spend with each other.
Increased tasks placed on family members can be a source of stress, but with the right plan and attitude, it is possible to manage them effectively. By recognizing the impact that increased tasks can have on family members, and engaging in activities that promote relaxation and quality time spent together, families can maintain a healthy and happy lifestyle.
Struggles with Daily Activities
Life can be filled with struggles and unexpected challenges. Every day, many of us are inundated with tasks that require more time and effort than we originally anticipated. Whether it’s the mundane task of cleaning the house or something more serious like meeting a deadline for a project, daily activities have the potential to become overwhelming.
One of the most common struggles with daily activities is finding the motivation to complete them. This can be especially challenging if the task is tedious or time-consuming. It’s easy to become distracted by other tasks and neglect the work that needs to be done.
Another issue is the lack of time. In today’s world, it can feel like there are not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything we need to do. This can leave us feeling overwhelmed and depleted, which can lead to procrastination and feelings of defeat.
The key to overcoming these struggles is to focus on breaking down tasks into smaller, manageable chunks. Prioritizing what needs to be done first can help to create a sense of accomplishment and keep you motivated. It is also important to remember to take breaks throughout the day, to give your mind and body a rest and prevent burnout.
Daily activities may seem daunting, but with the right mindset and strategies, they can become manageable. By breaking tasks into smaller pieces, taking regular breaks, and staying motivated, you can conquer the struggles of daily activities.
Difficulty socializing is a common problem for many people, and it can make everyday life difficult and stressful. For some, this difficulty is caused by a lack of confidence or low self-esteem; for others, it might be due to a mental health condition such as anxiety or depression.
No matter what the underlying cause may be, difficulty socializing can have a serious impact on one’s life. It can lead to feelings of isolation, loneliness, and a lack of connection with others. It can also impede professional and academic success, as it can make it hard to find and maintain meaningful relationships with coworkers and peers.
Fortunately, there are many ways to cope with difficulty socializing. First and foremost, it’s important to identify any underlying factors that may be contributing to the problem. This could include anything from past experiences to mental health issues. Once these factors have been identified, it’s important to develop a strategy for addressing them.
Some strategies for dealing with difficulty socializing include:
- Practicing assertiveness and communication skills.
- Seeking professional help, such as therapy or the counseling.
- Developing a strong support system, such as a group of friends or a trusted mentor.
- Learning how to set boundaries with others.
- Creating a regular schedule for social activities.
- Cultivating hobbies and interests that bring enjoyment.
With a combination of self-awareness and patience, individuals with difficulty socializing can start to build the confidence and skills needed to help them connect with others in meaningful ways. By taking the necessary steps to address any underlying issues, they can learn to make friends, develop relationships, and enjoy meaningful social interactions.
By Hannah Whittenly
who is a freelance writer.
Member since November, 2022
View all the articles of Hannah Whittenly.


The Johnnie Jazz and Whisky event held previous night time in Lagos and lots of Nigerians had been gisting about it on Twitter. It’s been trending on Twitter.
Star singers, Asa and Femi Kuti rendered special performances.
Fans had been speaking about Asa’s overall performance on the Johnnie Jazz and Whisky.
The Johnnie Jazz and Whisky, a blend of music and flavours held in Lagos on the 8th of December 2018.
See pics from the event and notice how fanatics are going gaga.
Fans Go Gaga for Asa