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Sources: (1.) American College of Rheumatology. 1997 Update of the 1982 American College of Rheumatology revised criteria for classification of systemic lupus erythematosus. Available at: http://tinyurl.com/zrfsuhs Accessed: September 19, 2016  ; (2.) Hochberg MC. Updating the American College of Rheumatology revised criteria for the classification of systemic lupus erythematosus. Arthritis Rheum. Sep 1997;40(9):1725.
Fever in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is grounds for hospital admission because of the difficulty of distinguishing a disease flare from infection in these immunocompromised hosts. Patients with SLE are often complement deficient and functionally asplenic; therefore, they are at particular risk for infections with encapsulated organisms. For example, meningococcemia in young females with lupus may be catastrophic.
The most serious health risks are cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and stroke. Specifically, people with lupus are at increased risk for atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). In some people, inflammation can occur in the heart itself (myocarditis and endocarditis) or the membrane that surrounds it. Endocarditis can damage heart valves, which can result in heart murmurs. When the disease affects the kidneys, patients generally require intensive drug treatment to prevent permanent damage. Lupus also may attack the brain or central nervous system, which can cause seizures or stroke.
The following drugs are commonly used to treat the inflammation and symptoms of lupus. Since lupus manifests in different ways in different people, treatment regimens differ from patient to patient. In addition, one patient may experience several different treatment regimens during her/his lifetime. It is important that you understand the medications you are taking and the risks, benefits, and restrictions associated with them. Please remember to take your medications exactly as directed by your physician and to address any questions or concerns upon your next visit.
• Important Disclaimer: Information provided on disabled-world.com is for general informational and educational purposes only, it is not offered as and does not constitute medical advice. In no way are any of the materials presented meant to be a substitute for professional medical care or attention by a qualified practitioner, nor should they be construed as such. Any third party offering or advertising on disabled-world.com does not constitute an endorsement by Disabled World. All trademarks(TM) and registered(R) trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Please report outdated or inaccurate information to us.
Mortality rates for systemic lupus erythematosus are particularly high in children. In a retrospective study26 of Brazilian children, overall mortality during 16 years of follow-up was 24 percent. Death occurred because of infection (58 percent), central nervous system disease (36 percent), and renal disease (7 percent). When disease onset was before the age of 15 years, renal involvement and hypertension predicted mortality.
The diagnosis of lupus is best made by an experienced clinician who fully understands the disease and other diseases with similar features that can mimic lupus. The diagnosis is made when a patient has several features of the disease (including symptoms, findings on examination and blood test abnormalities). The American College of Rheumatology has devised criteria to assist clinicians in making the correct diagnosis of lupus.
Other medicines. You may need other medicines to treat illnesses or diseases that are linked to your lupus — such as high blood pressure or osteoporosis. Many people with lupus are also at risk for blood clots, which can cause a stroke or heart attack. Your doctor may prescribe anticoagulants (“blood thinners”), such as warfarin or heparin, to prevent your blood from clotting too easily. You cannot take warfarin during pregnancy.
Many types of wild seafood provide omega-3 fats that help reduce inflammation levels. The best choices are wild salmon, sardines, mackerel, halibut, trout and anchovies. Aim to consume these omega-3 foods about two to three times weekly, or consider supplementing. Just be sure to buy “wild-caught” to reduce intake of things like heavy metals found in farm-raised fish, plus limit intake of fish high in mercury.
Gluten can also lead to what’s known as molecular mimicry. The gluten protein, gliadin, resembles many of your body’s own tissues, particularly thyroid tissue. If you have Celiac disease, gluten intolerance, or a leaky gut, your immune system releases gliadin antibodies every time you eat gluten. Because gliadin looks so similar to your own tissues, sometimes these antibodies mistakenly attack other organs and systems, from the skin to the thyroid to the brain. This case of mistaken identity often leads to full-blown autoimmune disease.
Approval for SC belimumab was based on the BLISS-SC phase III study (n=839), which documented reduction in disease activity at week 52 in patients receiving belimumab plus standard of care, compared with those receiving placebo plus standard of care. SRI response with belimumab versus placebo was 61.4% vs 48.4%, respectively (P = 0.0006). In the belimumab group, both time to and risk of severe flare were improved (median 171 days vs 118 days; P = 0.0004), and more patients were able to reduce their corticosteroid dosage by ≥25% (to ≤7.5 mg/day) during weeks 40-52 (18.2% vs 11.9%; P = 0.0732), compared with placebo.
Corticosteroids may also be used to get rid of lupus flares, or the appearance of symptoms after a period of remission, says Francis Luk, MD, an assistant professor of rheumatology and immunology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. “Depending on severity and type of flare and how many flares the patient has recently experienced, rheumatologists may adjust medications,” he adds.
Affiliate Disclosure: There are links on this site that can be defined as affiliate links. This means that I may receive a small commission (at no cost to you) if you purchase something when clicking on the links that take you through to a different website. By clicking on the links, you are in no way obligated to buy.
Please Note: The material on this site is provided for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always consult your physician before beginning any diet or exercise program.
Copyright © livehopelupus.org

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Aligni is cloud-based software for product lifecycle and manufacturing management. Unified PLM and MRP for engineers, product designers, and manufacturers.
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EU's Kroes declines comment on Fortis/ABN remedy
European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes on Tuesday declined to endorse or reject any potential effort by the Dutch state to sell Fortis assets to ease competition concerns.
The Dutch state is under orders to sell some ABN AMRO assets before it can merge that nationalised bank with the state-controlled Fortis Bank Nederland .
The finance ministry has broached the idea of selling some Fortis assets instead, though.
Kroes told reporters that any deal would have to ensure that adequate competition is preserved in the Netherlands.
Latest News & Stories
- Spain's vehicle production up 10.56% in Feb.
- Orange Spain collects used smartphones for Unicef project
- Low cost airline passengers arriving in Spain up 9.2%
- Rajoy’s Adviser ; "No Election Spending Spree in Spain"
- Investigators rule out mid-air explosion as cause of Alps crash
- Spain to offer passports for Sephardic Jews by May ?
- Spain sees new Bank launched for Expats
- Spain's Telefonica sells O2 UK to Hong Kong
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(Re-posted from The Hollywood Reporter)
They will oversee the the 85th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 24.
Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron have been named to produce the 85th Annual Academy Awards, the Motion Picture Academy said Thursday.
The veteran producers, whose work spans TV, film and Broadway, had not been involved with the Oscar show before, though they had a major Academy Award winner in Chicago, which they executive produced. The musical was named best picture of 2002 and also took home trophies in five other categories. Together, their film credits also include Hairspray and The Bucket List, and Zadan was one of the producers of 1984’s Footloose.
They are currently represented on TV by NBC’s Smash, which they executive produce, and have produced such TV films as A Raisin in the Sun and the upcoming Steel Magnolias. On Broadway, they have produced the musical revivals of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Promises, Promises.


A new study led by Pennsylvania State University has found that short-term, heavy feeding of adult spotted lanternflies on young maple trees inhibits photosynthesis and can stun tree growth by up to 50 percent. These results could help nurseries and forest managers make better decisions to protect these tree species.
“The spotted lanternfly feeds on important ornamental and woodland trees, such as silver and red maples, which are used to manufacture products and are abundant in urban, suburban and rural landscapes throughout Pennsylvania,” said study senior author Kelli Hoover , Professor of Entomology at Penn State.
This Asian lanternfly species was first discovered in 2014 in Berks County in the United States and has since spread to 45 counties in Pennsylvania and a few surrounding states. The pest uses its stinging, sucking maw to feed on the sap of over 100 plant species, with a strong preference for the tree of heaven (which is also an invasive species) and wild and cultivated grapes.
“While the spotted lanternfly likely co-evolved with its preferred host, the tree of heaven, in its native range, the effects on the health and physiology of US-native tree hosts have not been studied,” Hoover explained.
The scientists collected spotted lanternflies at two ages — adults and fourth-instar nymphs (the last developmental stage before adulthood) — and placed them at different “densities” (number of insects per plant) on silver maple, red maple, sky tree, and black walnut seedlings. Over a period of two years, they investigated how insect density affects physiological plant responses such as photosynthesis, depending on their life stage.
“This process produces the nonstructural carbohydrates that trees need to grow and produce flowers or fruit,” Hoover said. “When plants are under stress, they use different strategies to defend themselves; They can shift rates of photosynthesis and change the allocation of carbon and nitrogen resources to growth or induced plant defense.”
Analysis revealed that adult spotted lanternflies thwarted photosynthesis and reduced nitrogen concentrations in the leaves, thereby stunting tree growth, while nymphs had less of an impact on tree development. These decreases in tree growth were proportional to insect density.
“The bottom line is: the older the insects, the more harmful they are. If the spotted lanternfly feeds on your rose bush, particularly the nymphs, or if they’re confined to the underside of the leaves on your maple trees, they probably won’t do much damage. However, if they cover young trees, treatment with biopesticides or insecticides may be necessary,” Hoover concluded.
The study is published in the journal Frontiers in insect science.
Through Andrei Ionescu, Earth.com staff writer
Check us out on EarthSnap, a free app by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.


SUMMER NAMM 2017: Positive Grid has downsized most of its product range for SNAMM, yielding the BIAS Mini guitar and bass amps; BIAS Twin Delay, Modulation and Distortion pedals; plus the BIAS Footswitch, to control any BIAS hardware.
Really great news for rack/pedalboard space-conscious players, this. Head on through the gallery for a closer look at each piece of gear, and visit Positive Grid for more.
Positive Grid BIAS Mini Amplifiers
PRESS RELEASE: Following the success of the flagship BIAS Head, the new BIAS Mini amps from Positive Grid are available in two versions - BIAS Mini Guitar and BIAS Mini Bass.
Both models are compact heads and feature many of the same capabilities of the BIAS Head in a compact 300W (BIAS Mini Guitar) and 600W (BIAS Mini Bass) form factor.
Built with first-class components, BIAS Mini amps feature front panel controls, Effects Loop, XLR Balanced Output and MIDI I/O.
BIAS Mini amps come loaded with 8 factory presets that are easily modified thanks to seamless integration with BIAS Amp software allowing musicians to build their dream tone via the built-in Bluetooth and/or USB connections.
Positive Grid BIAS Twin Pedals
PRESS RELEASE: The new BIAS Twin pedals - Distortion, Delay, and Modulation - bring all the sonic excellence of the Award Winning BIAS Pro pedal series to players who most value a compact footprint, lightweight, and great portability.
BIAS Twin pedals are compact 2-button full metal stomp-boxes designed for musicians who want the best possible tone in a pedalboard friendly format.
Each Twin series pedal comes with 9 different preloaded tones that can be easily modified with the 6 tweak knobs, and feature USB and Bluetooth connections that make them compatible with the iPad / PC or Mac BIAS Pedal software.
Weighing only 0.85 kg each, the Twin pedal can be powered with 9V adapters and includes ¼ TRS input and ¼ stereo outputs, making them the perfect addition for any guitar / bass player pedal arsenal in the studio or on the road.
Positive Grid BIAS Footswitch
PRESS RELEASE: BIAS Footswitch is a solidly built metal foot controller that allows Positive Grid hardware owners to control their devices hands free.
Thanks to the power-saving feature and a maximum performance of up to 24 hours continuous use, BIAS Footswitch owners simply need 2 AA batteries and the included ¼ TRS included cable to control their devices onstage or in the studio.


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For over a thousand years, Marrakesh has been many things. A hub for trade. A cultural melting pot. A powerful world capital. A tourist mecca. For all of these reasons, and many more, make the entire old medina of Marrakesh a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (more…)
You can’t miss the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakesh, Morocco. It looms large over the vast expanse of the Jemma el-Fnaa, the famed public square. From afar, this is the beacon leading you to the Red City.
The long history of Morocco is filled with characters that seem to leap off the page. Perhaps none more so than the Sultan Moulay Ismail. At once feared and respected, villainized and lionized, this Moroccan sultan literally stood head and shoulders above other world leaders. His tall, lithe figure cut bright through his palaces—particularly on beheading days when his flowing saffron-yellow robes reflected the high noon sun of the Middle Atlas, framing his dark features. The sultan’s wrath, his justice, inevitable, like the fire-rimmed eclipse of the moon gliding over the sun. (more…)
Three days in Marrakesh. This is the average most travelers manage to spend in the Red City. Whether you’re coming for work or pleasure, it’s almost impossible to not spend at least a couple of nights in Marrakesh. And for good reason! Marrakesh is a delight, a feast for the eyes as well as all your other senses. It’s familiar and exotic. Decadent and humble. Rustic and opulent. And it manages to be all these things, and much more, all at once. It’s a place that has to be seen to be believed. For whatever reason, two nights seems to be the magical number to spend in Marrakesh. (more…)
The best time to travel to Morocco depends on the type of experience you want to have. Planning to visit the desert? Hoping to surf? Is skiing more up your alley?
Despite extreme summer heat, the peak tourist season occurs in July and August. Temperatures in Marrakech and Fez can reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit during this time, and a day in the Sahara Desert can climb to an arid 120-degree heat.
Expecting to splash in the water?
With long coastlines along the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, water sports are popular among foreign visitors, national tourists and locals alike. Coastal breezes make temperatures in these areas feel more bearable throughout the summer, making it an ideal time for a holiday spent kayaking, surfing or relaxing on the beach. Think Essaouira, Agadir or Tetouan. (more…)
Morocco’s Imperial Cities are the old capitals of historic empires and include Meknes, Fez, Marrakesh and the current capital, Rabat. The smallest and most relaxed of these is Meknes. Known for its grand architecture, medieval walls and beautiful gates, visitors will find much to be enchanted by in Meknes.
Founded in the early 11th century as a military settlement, Meknes became a capital under the rule of Sultan Moulay Ismaïl in the 17th century. The sultan turned Meknes into an impressive city with the creation of vast gardens, numerous edifices, mosques and monuments as well as 40 kilometers of thick walls and monumental gates lining the city.
The 18th century marked an end to Meknes’s glory days with the death of Sultan Ismaïl and an earthquake in 1755 that destroyed parts of the city. In 1996, the city of Meknes made the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites due to its exceptional design including “elements of Islamic and European design and planning in a harmonious fashion.” The designation also fueled many serious renovation projects to help preserve these incredible monuments for the future. (more…)
When you travel, do you like to poke around palaces, indulge yourself in history at a museum or sip coffee at a local café? Do you prefer to take part in extreme sports or wander through the wilderness?
The beauty of Morocco as a vacation destination is that it’s a country diverse in adventure, culture and heritage, and regardless of your travel style, you’ll find something here that suits you. Whatever your preferences when it comes to travel, here are ten good reasons you’ll want to make Morocco your next holiday destination:
1. Trekking experiences are plentiful. The main mountain ranges in Morocco are the Rif Mountains, Atlas Mountains, Middle Atlas Mountains and Anti Atlas Mountains. The Rif Mountains, located in the northern section of the country, are covered with cascades, forested land and caves. Expert trekkers will find more challenging terrain in the High Atlas Mountains. (more…)
The world is filled with fascinating places to visit, and there will be a time when you have to choose which destination is right for you. We’re not afraid to let you know, though, that if you’re looking for a vacation experience that encompasses adventure, culture, history and wilderness, you should look no further than Morocco, a diverse country filled with majestic palaces, interesting museums, mouth-watering cuisine and large expanses of stunning natural landscapes.
Still not convinced? Here are ten great reasons to make Morocco your next vacation destination:
The Rif Mountains, High Atlas Mountains, Middle Atlas Mountains and Anti-Atlas Mountains all fight for attention from trekking enthusiasts. Located in the northern portion of Morocco, the Rif Mountains’ peaks may not be as high as those in the High Atlas Mountains, but they are covered with forests and caves. The Middle and Anti-Atlas Mountains are not as heavily visited as the High Atlas, so they offer a quieter, more personal experience with nature. (more…)
Morocco: Home of fabulous cuisine, beautiful languages, a unique culture and stunning historical sites. With so much to see and do in Morocco, it can be hard to pick the best experiences. If you’re looking for an interesting mix of adventure, education and culture, here are five Moroccan experiences you absolutely shouldn’t miss:
- Visit Ait Benhaddou. This desert fortress (also known as a kabash) is located in the Draa Valley and was built to protect the locals from outside invaders. The city has a frozen-in-history feel with its building designs dating back to the 11th century. It’s little surprise, then, that Ait Benhaddou has been used as a backdrop for several Hollywood films, including Lawrence of Arabia, The Jewel of the Nile and Gladiator. (more…)
Having an understanding of Morocco’s architecture and the layout of its ancient cities will help you to absorb the full flavor of the country, its history, and people. The architecture within each of Morocco’s Imperial Cities offers onlookers an intricate glimpse into Morocco’s fascinating heritage. (more…)

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You asked, we answered
Have a question? Want to learn more about our store and policies? We’ve compiled a list of some of the most popular questions, accompanied by our thorough answers. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, please contact us.
HOW DOES A PAWN LOAN WORK?
Pawn loans are a quick and hassle-free way to borrow money without a credit check or potential negative credit damage. Loans are based on the value of your collateral, not your credit rating. At Chad’s, a pawn loan has a term length of 90 days/three months. If you cannot pay back your pawn loan in full, we offer extensions to give you extra time. Or you may have decided to let your loan mature without payment and your collateral will be sold to the general public.
WHAT IS A LOAN EXTENSION?
If you are unable to pay back your pawn loan in full on its due date, you are able to get an extension on your pawn loan. With an extension, you will be required to pay one month of the interest owed, then you may extend the length of your pawn loan for an additional 30 days/one month.
HOW DO YOU DETERMINE THE VALUE OF AN ITEM?
We base pawn loan amounts on the resale value of your item. Factors that also effect a loan amount are the items current condition and our ability to sell the item. We use an array of research tools to accurately assess the market value of an item to ensure that we offer you the most money we can.
IS MY ITEM SAFE WHILE IN FOR PAWN?
While your item is in pawn, it still belongs to you! At Chad’s Pawn we understand that It is our responsibility to keep it safe and in good condition while it’s in our care. When you give us an item for pawn, we keep all accessories (remote controls, cables, etc.) with your item and place it in a secure area. We are fully insured and licensed by the Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions.
DO I GET MORE MONEY IF I SELL INSTEAD OF LOAN?
Although some other pawn shops may try to pressure you into selling by offering you more money if you sell rather than pawning your valuables, this only means that they are under valuing your item when loaned. At Chad’s Pawn we view this as unethical and always do our very best to offer you the most money for your item. If you choose to sell an item or get a pawn loan it it’s entirely up to you, we won’t pressure you one way or another.

domain: economics


50 years after the original space race the US, Russia and China set their sights back on the moon...
50 years after the original space race the US, Russia and China set their sights back on the moon
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has spotted a supermassive black hole that defies current theories about the universe and shouldn’t actually exist.
The mysterious black hole is located in the heart of the spiral galaxy NGC 3147 and weighs around 250 million times more than the Sun.
The phenomenon of the NGC 3147 black hole has been described in the astronomy journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
The black hole is encircled by a thin disk, made up of debris and gas that races around the edge of the hole.
It is this disk that is confusing astronomers because it technically shouldn’t be there.
This is because the black hole is actually ‘starving’ because not enough material is being captured by its huge gravitational field and ‘hungry’ black holes don’t form disks of material — or so scientists thought.
Lead author of the study Stefano Bianchi said: “It’s the same type of disk we see in objects that are 1,000 or even 100,000 times more luminous.
“The predictions of current models for gas dynamics in very faint active galaxies clearly failed.”
The black hole, which is about 130 million light-years from Earth, has a disk of debris spinning around at casual 18,628 miles per second — that’s 10% of the speed of light.
Spotting this disk has given astronomers the chance to see two of Einstein’s theories on relativity in action and could help them to understand the process that happens at the edge of black holes.
Bianchi said: “This is an intriguing peek at a disc very close to a black hole, so close that the velocities and the intensity of the gravitational pull are affecting how we see the photons of light.”
The researchers will now be looking for more galaxies with black holes like this in the hope of explaining the phenomenon.
The study of black holes is important because they are the biggest and the most powerful objects in the entire universe.
They have the power to create, sustain and destroy but we still know little about them.
Event Horizon Telescope director Sheperd Doeleman described them as: “A one-way door from our universe.”
In other space news, astronomers missed an enormous 3,300ft asteroid circling near Earth for decades — and blame its strange orbit.
Astronomers have created a ‘cosmic cheat sheet’ which could help both experts and amateur stargazers search for alien life.
And, here’s why some people still think the Moon landings were faked 50 years later — and the man who started the ‘hoax’ theory.


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Canada spent about $16-million on the hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 vaccines the country received in December, according to an analysis of trade data from Statistics Canada.
The assessment of vaccine shipments to Canada is the first look at how much the federal government is spending on the crucial shots. Although the first vaccine contracts were signed six months ago, Ottawa has refused to release the total cost of the seven vaccine contracts or the per-unit price. In the fall, the government said it had spent more than $1-billion to secure its vaccine contracts. For weeks, it has said an update to that number is coming.
The United States has released the contracts for its vaccines as well as the price. Canada has said it’s unable to do the same.
But as the government’s vaccination campaign has faltered, it has been under pressure to release more information about the delivery schedules it negotiated. MPs at a House of Commons committee pressed Procurement Minister Anita Anand for the information on Friday. She said the government is trying to find out from the drug-makers what information it can release.
Ms. Anand told NDP MP Don Davies she is “working to find whether there is a solution here.”
The issue also came up in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s virtual meeting with the premiers on Thursday, when Quebec Premier François Legault pushed Mr. Trudeau to release the contracts, a senior federal source said.
Mr. Trudeau told the premiers he is frustrated at delivery delays, but assured them Pfizer and Moderna will meet their commitment of six million doses by the end of March, the source said. If that fails, the official said, Mr. Trudeau told the premiers they can blame him.
The source said the Liberals are examining whether to release at least some parts of the contracts, and the government is wading through legal advice and assessments of Canadian interests.
The Globe and Mail is not identifying the official because they were not permitted to disclose the private deliberations.
Opposition MPs asked Ms. Anand what accountability measures the government negotiated and whether companies guaranteed their delivery schedules or only said they would use their “best reasonable efforts,” as AstraZeneca did in its contract with the European Union.
“The contracts, as I mentioned, are subject to confidentiality and therefore it would be imprudent, if not illegal, for me to go into detail,” she said. She added that she would check if the government can release the confidentiality clauses in the contracts.
Statscan partly lifted the veil of secrecy in its Friday data release. Using import transaction records provided to Statscan from the Canada Border Services Agency, economist Benoît Carrière said the statistics agency was able to calculate the cost of the first COVID-19 vaccine doses to arrive.
“Based on a preliminary analysis, it is estimated that Canada’s imports of COVID-19 vaccines totaled approximately $16-million in December,” the agency’s international trade report says.
The data Statscan receive do not break down the per-unit cost for the vaccines, Mr. Carrière said. Nor do they differentiate between vaccines, which were bought at different prices.
On Dec. 30, Major-General Dany Fortin said 424,150 vaccine doses would be delivered in December. That would mean the government paid an average of about $38 per dose. Canada received deliveries from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech in December. The two companies have different prices for their shots. The federal government has not said what the price difference is for Canada’s doses.
The data agency did not consult the procurement department on its $16-million cost estimate before releasing it.
Based on the average cost per dose, it appears Canada paid more than the European Union or the U.S. for those first shipments.
For example, information released by the U.S. government on Dec. 23 showed it was paying $24.80 per Pfizer dose, after converting into Canadian dollars. And Forbes reported that the U.S. is paying $35 per shot for the Moderna vaccine.
The European Union has also kept its vaccine prices confidential, but the curtain was accidentally lifted when a Belgian politician tweeted a price chart and then deleted it. According to that chart, published by Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, the EU paid $22.91 per dose from Moderna and $18.47 per dose from Pfizer.
“We are paying fair value for our vaccines,” Ms. Anand said in response to a question from Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner about the Statscan data. “When I say fair value, that means comparable prices – to my knowledge. Of course, I don’t know exactly what all other jurisdictions are paying,” Ms. Anand added.
Chris Maloney, the chief of Statscan’s International Accounts and Trade Division, said some assumptions regarding shipments were required.
“While we are confident that we have taken a reasonable approach, the possibility remains that we don’t have it quite right,” he said. “This was our first month receiving data for these shipments, and we haven’t been able to check our figure against other sources of information that may become available.”
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domain: finance


H.E. Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi has been named the Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs under the new UAE Government structure approved in July 2020. Under this role, H.E. Dr. Al Falasi is at the fore of designing national initiatives to strengthen the UAE’s small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, one of the engines of the national economy, and promote entrepreneurship in various industries. H.E. is also tasked to set a strategic direction and develop a general national policy for the country’s tourism sector. Before his present position, he was the Minister of State for Higher Education during which he supervised the development of higher education and scientific research in the UAE. He also formulated new policies for the sector as well as streamlined the work of higher education institutions to ensure quality outputs that match the requirements of the labor market. In October 2017, pursuant to the ministerial amendment to the UAE Government, he took on the responsibility of equipping UAE nationals with skills of the future. H.E. is also the former Chairman of the Federal Authority for Human Resources and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the UAE Space Agency. He represented the space sector at the National Committee for Science, Technology and Innovation. Other positions he previously held included CEO of Masdar Company; Executive Director of Strategy and Tourism Sector Development at Dubai Tourism; Vice President of the Mubadala Industry Unit; and Consultant for the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. H.E. Dr. Al Falasi holds a PhD from Monash University, a Master’s degree from the University of Melbourne in Australia, and a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Engineering from Khalifa University in the UAE.


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RegretPosted: February 11, 2012 Filed under: 365 Yoga Challenge, Adventures in art, Adventures in Life, Air, Earth, goals, home, Letting Go, nature, Photography, snow, Spirit, Walking, water, weather, winter | Tags: birds, Digital Art, Harry Potter, nature, Outdoors, Photography, Picnik, snow, water, winter 39 Comments
We must not weep for what might have been. There is still time.
~ Edward Matchett
I wasn’t sure I’d participate is the Weekly Photo Challenge this week because the theme is regret. I try not to spend too much time with regret because I feel it’s a lot like guilt in that it can hold you back if you wallow in it. However, it can also be a catalyst for change if you learn from whatever it is that had you feeling guilty or regretful in the first place.
Putting regret into an image was challenging, too. Of course that’s the whole point, isn’t it? That’s why it’s called the Weekly Photo Challenge. An epiphany came to visit this morning, one that made me realize I was experiencing regret. The regret was about a loss of time, a waste of time. A year (two years, three years) that could have been.
Sometimes when we’re trying to make changes of the self-improvement variety, time ticks by slowly as we wait to get to the day where the change becomes easy, the new normal. We wish the days away, hoping to get to that day where the change is incorporated into our lives and it’s no longer a struggle to do whatever it is we’re trying to do (or eliminate whatever we’re trying to eliminate). A day may come where there is a slip, a small cheat. Then another. It snowballs and it’s no longer a slip but a fall. So you get up and start over. Or you wait a bit, make new plans, get ready to try again. And time passes. A day, a week, a month, a year, several years. You’re still trying rather than doing.
Then one day you get up, things fall into place, and it’s not all regrets after all because you realize you’ve been making progress all along.
One of the greatest spiritual acts of love is to walk away from recrimination and remorse and accept, in its place, love and your own self-worth.
~ Meredith Young-Sowers
We’re under a winter storm warning here in the Bogs today. It’s a snowin’ and a blowin’. The wind gusts are picking up big chunks of snow and ice, and carrying them as easily as it carries the individual snowflakes.
It’s not a good day to be out and about. The snowplows can’t keep up with the squalls or the blowing of the snow across the roads. M and I have decided to stay in. He’s brewing beer, and I’m getting ready to curl up in the rocking chair by the fire and finish up the Harry Potter series of books. I’m late to the party where Harry Potter is concerned. I read the first book years ago, when it came out, with M the Younger. By the time the second and third books were published, he decided he was too old for Harry Potter. His wife recently talked him into reading the series and he in turn talked me into reading the books. We’re going to have a marathon session of Harry Potter movies when we finish reading the books. I’m on the last one and I think today would be a good day to make some serious progress towards the end.
I have to admit to being surprised. The books are quite good. Well written, and engaging. I was not at all happy with Dolores Umbridge in Book 5 (so obnoxious!), and saddened by the death of a major character in Book 6. I’ve been so immersed in Harry Potter’s world that I’m even dreaming about some of the characters (thankfully NOT Dolores Umbridge!).
I’d better wrap this up or I’ll be going on and on about Harry Potter which I’m sure will be boring to all of you who made their way through the series when it was all fresh and new. (It’s still fresh and new to me… just not to most others.) Thank you for visiting. Feel free to bring whatever you’re reading and have a seat by the fire. It’s warm and toasty and cozy, flames flickering and wood occasionally snapping and popping. A good place to be today.
excellent take on the photo challenge
the clock and images really drew me in
Thanks, Kel. 🙂
I was just thinking this today…that I’ve been trying to decide if I should make some big changes in my life and I keep reminding myself to “live in the moment” and enjoy the now…even if it’s not quite what I envision…because I may regret it later! I love your photos…especially the last one! ~Sherry~
Thank you, Sherry. 🙂
I’m beginning to think that once we truly live in the moment, those changes we want to make start to happen.
brrr! good take on the challenge … time is an issue for all of us … yet as you say things are happening anyway 🙂
Thanks, Dadirri. 🙂
And here I thought I was the last to join the Harry Potter party! But man, once I started into those books I just devoured them! To this day they are the only books that Alex has voluntarily read on his own (oh, how he hates reading otherwise!). Last winter, in anticipation of the last 2 movies coming out which covered the final book, I read it AGAIN all in one day. So so so well written and it just floors me to think that one woman had all of that running through her head! The details that you can trace from the first book to the last…just stunning. And I must say that the film do it justice. Sure, there is much they have to cut out and some versions are worse than others in that regard, but splitting the final book up into two movies was a great plan and they did such a remarkable job of casting the characters from start to finish that I must say, I MISS it all after awhile. I love ti drop in on the Harry Potter wiki page now and then and just browse through character pages and potions and such. I absolutely understand why you dream about them!
One of my friends works for a particularly odius dean at her college. She refers to this person in writings as Dean Umbridge. We *all* completely understand!!
LOL, Christina! Anyone working for a toad who deserves the title Dean Umbridge deserves a prize if they haven’t punched the dean in the face.
I’m finding it difficult to put down the book I’m currently reading to take care of the usual daily chores. I may give in today and just read until I finish. I stumbled upon the Harry Potter wiki page a couple of days ago and immediately left, worried about spoilers.
[…] Life in the bogs […]
Regret was a difficult one for me to try this week – I have very few regrets at this point in my life other than my non-existent relationship with my brother, and that one is too painful to dwell on. So, I am leaving this challenge on the shelf….
btw… I am a former bookseller and current librarian who has yet to get past book two of both the Harry Potter and Twilight sagas! I admire anyone who can slog through them though!
Thanks, Cyndi. I’m enjoying the books. I don’t think I’ll bother with the Twilight sagas. I have a feeling that would involve more slogging than enjoying.
Regret. It is a tricky for a photograph. It is also tricky to live with. I agree that too much focus on regrets causes problems. Living in the present can be a real challenge.
True, Bo. It can be very challenging.
I have no regrets… everything experienced (or not) in the past has made me who I am, and I’m thankful for that!
That’s how I feel about most regrets, Deborah Lee. Good for you. 🙂
I can assure you that there’s no chance of you being the last to read the Harry Potter books, Robin. I haven’t even started! But I’d love to take you up on the invitation to join you by the crackling fire, warm and cozy, reading “An Echo in the Bone”, book six in the series by Diana Gabaldon. That would be fantastic! Today, our weather has been hot and humid, my least favourite kind of summer’s day.
Love your snow photos, but hope the blizzard doesn’t get out of hand.
Thank you, Joanne. 🙂
Shivering in the cold today, your heat sounds wonderful. But come August when we have our own heat, I probably won’t think it’s so great. lol!
You already know I’m not a book person but I soaked up the audio books of Harry Potter all in one go just after the last one was written. They were read by Stephen Fry – he was wonderful !
Films are much more my thing, I didn’t go to the cinema to see the films, I borrowed the first couple as they came out but I had the whole set for christmas this year and spent a few wonderful days in a Harry Potter marathon. 🙂
Thanks, Sallyann. I’m looking forward to it. 🙂
I don’t know how I would even begin to photograph “regret,” so I say kudos to you for your fine effort. Also, I had heard on the news a bit about the snow predicted for your neck of the woods and thought about you. Stay warm and enjoy Harry Potter.
Thanks, Kathy. 🙂
The Harry Potter stuff doesn’t bore me at all! My girls and I really loved the series. I remember when Book 5 came out, hubby was at the book store at midnight to get it. He came home and read half of it that night I think! My older daughter and I jostled for chances to grab the book and read it. That major character death in Book 6 was devastating! I kept waiting for it to turn out not to be true.
Same here, Karma. I’m about half way through the last book and I keep waiting for that character to miraculously come back and start helping.
Oh how interesting to read what you had to share about Regret. Fascinating, the way our minds work. Interesting that you noted that change had been happening all along, even though it wasn’t noticed. Lately I am not working as much to change and make things new–which I have been trying to do fiercely forever. Lately have been allowing Kathy to be more just who she is, in this (flawed) and (golden) place. Does this make sense? And from this allowing, a rising joy is coming. I can’t put it in words yet, but apparently just tried to here in your comments, dear golden friend.
It does make sense, Kathy. The allowing and acceptance seem to help us move towards where we should be. Thank you. 🙂
Regret seems like it would be a very slippery subject to capture in photography, but you did a wonderful job, Robin. The clock photograph is so ethereal.
I also haven’t started reading the Harry Potter books, but I’ll get around to it eventually. I kind of like to let things like that fade into pop culture obscurity, and then I pick them up for myself. 🙂 (I just saw the Terminator movies for the first time this past December. I was expecting Arnold to say “Hasta la vista” and “I’ll be back” about 80,000 times in the movie, based on how often those phrases have been used in pop culture. Imagine my surprise when he only said them ONCE!)
Thank you, Dana. 🙂
I generally like to let things fade too. Otherwise, I end up disappointed because the book, the movie, the whatever, usually doesn’t live up to the hype. Once the hype fades, it’s easier to enjoy something for what it is rather than what people say it is.
Oh how I envy you your winter storm! We were supposed to have one Saturday finally but it fizzled out and disappeared without a trace… Strange winter. Your pictures are enchanting as always…
Will have to see if I can get Harry Potter on my Kindle – I’m lagging behind as usual. 🙂 My husband and daughter loved the series and often weight the pros and cons of the movies compared to the books. Of course I have no idea…
Thank you, Barbara. 🙂
I think there are a few more chances at snow this week. I’ll talk to Old Man Winter and see if you can provide you with something more than fizzle.
Love your musings about how change happens slowly when we are beginning a new habit- and then suddenly we realize we have been making progress! Thanks for the beautiful cardinal in snow photos – all of the snow photos make me smile!
Thank you, Carla. Glad you’re enjoying the cardinals and the snow. It seems a good exchange for my enjoyment of all the Mardi Gras decorations and preparations on your blog. 🙂
Hi Robin. I realise a lot of my time is spent trying to make a change and then feeling guilty because I don’t succeed. I think the photo of the clock captures the culprit which is ‘time’. Jane
Thank you, Jane. 🙂
Hi Frizztext. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
I have to admit that the Harry Potter books were the only novels that I have read in probably over a decade!! My husband got me hooked on them years ago – we started with the first book probably when the 2nd or 3rd one was published. I LOVED them! They are wonderfully written, easy to follow, and I got VERY wrapped up in the world of HP!! In the 6th book, right after I read the death scene, I wanted to pick up the book and hurl it across the room, I was furious!! But…. that’s how good of an author JK Rowling is!! Now someday, I hope to get to the HP theme park in Orlando!!
I never thought I’d ever say (or write) this, Holly, but…
I’d like to visit the HP theme park too. 😀
The reason I never thought I’d say or write that is because I’m not a theme park person and am often puzzled by those who spend every vacation at the same one when there are so many other things to see in the world. However, I have favorite places too, so I can sort of understand it. And it would be kind of cool to see what they did with all the Harry Potter magic.
REGRET was a difficult one for many of us too… I like the way you chose to handle this one. Great photos as always… Finally catching up again. 5 down 500+ blog posts to go. Phew! 😉
Thanks, Elizabeth. 🙂
I don’t know how you do it. I usually end up deleting all those emails and starting over. I don’t like doing it that way, but can’t seem to find the time to do anything else when I get behind.


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A news report confirms that afgan authority going to acquire four light attack helicopters from India. These helicopters are developed in India by DRDO for Indian army but several failure along with the destruction of four of seven examples build for test purposes creates blur future for the project. While, after these crashes a Latin customer canceled their order for this helicopters from india. To save the project DRDO and Indian government find out a new customer afghanistan as this country is now a friend of India in the region. The part of the Ghani Administration in afghanistan led by CEO Abdulla Abdulla is the main strong body for India, sources said.
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Brian Sullivan went missing seven years ago on July, 8 2007. Today, the parents of Sullivan are giving back to the law enforcement departments that have been involved in the search for their son.
The parents of a missing Chili man are giving back to the law enforcement departments that have been involved in the search for their son.
Daniel and Barbara Sullivan will present a check Tuesday morning to Monroe County Sheriff Patrick O’Flynn and Rochester Police Deputy Chief Fred Bell.
The funds will cover the entire cost of training for the two investigators to attend a national conference this fall on responding to missing and undefined persons.
Brian Sullivan went missing seven years ago today. He was last seen in the early morning hours of July 8, 2007 at the Burger King restaurant on Chili Avenue near Route 390 in Gates. His car was found nearby at the end of Lettington Avenue.
Anyone with information on Brian's whereabouts are asked to call 911.

domain: law


Oppo is gearing up to announce its Reno8 series in China next week on May 23. We’re expecting at least three models with a Reno8 SE, Reno8 and Reno8 Pro. Reno8 is expected to debut Qualcomm’s yet to be announced Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset while Reno8 Pro should bring MediaTek’s Dimensity 8100 chipset instead.
In related news shared a leaked render of the Reno8 Pro’s front revealing a flat display with a centered punch-hole cutout for its selfie cam. The panel does appear to have slightly slimmer bezels than the outgoing Reno7 Pro.
Oppo Reno8 Pro display render
Reno8 Pro is rumored to bring a 6.62-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate alongside a 4,500 mAh battery with 80W charging. The back will likely bring a 50MP Sony IMX 766 main cam with OIS alongside an 8MP ultrawide module and 2MP macro lens.


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White Bear Meadery recreates a Viking classic.
Located next to a gun shop and nestled near the junction of County Road East and Highway 61 stands White Bear Meadery. Owner and operator Joshua Eckton says a lot of people who come through the door are surprised—they drive by every day and never even knew it was there. That’s a shame, because this meadery is worth the stop.
Eckton spent most of his early years in Alaska. After getting his food science degree from Oregon State University, he worked in produce before meeting his wife and becoming a stay-at-home dad. Last year, after a fateful visit to a Texas winery/meadery and fueled by his longtime home-brewing passion and desire to explore the fermentation side of his degree, Eckton and his family decided to open White Bear Meadery.
“We saw a need for mead,” says Eckton. “There are a lot of great places for beer and wine, and even spirits now in the Twin Cities, but not mead.”
Despite being a newcomer to the Twin Cities scene, mead is thought to be one of the oldest fermented beverages. Nearly every culture had honey, and nearly every culture figured out how to ferment it.
One of Eckton’s influences for the shop was a culture that featured mead prominently—the Vikings. There is a strong Scandinavian influence in Minnesota, and Eckton wanted to incorporate that along with the Viking influence from his Scottish heritage. Plus, you know, the Minnesota Vikings.
“This is us telling a story about mead and how it relates to the peoples of Minnesota,” Eckton says.
White Bear Meadery uses as many Minnesota ingredients as possible. From local hops to local honey, Eckton believes in small businesses supporting other small businesses.
“We are just a small family-run operation. My wife and I are owners and our kids are on the website. We are just trying to make mead more mainstream,” says Eckton.
White Bear Meadery’s beautiful tasting room is open five days a week Wednesday through Sunday. To find out more, visit them at whitebearmeadery.com.

domain: geography


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Mon January 14, 2013
Elder President Bush Released From Hospital
After nearly two months in a Houston hospital, where he spent some of the time in intensive care for treatment of complications related to bronchitis, an infection and a stubborn fever, former President George H.W. Bush was sent home today.
His doctor said the nation's 41st president will not need special medication but will continue physical therapy as he recovers. Bush, 88, is the oldest of the four living former presidents. His birthday is in June. Jimmy Carter turned 88 in October. Bill Clinton and George W. Bush (son of the ailing former president) are both 66.
The Facebook page says that:
"President George Bush was discharged today from The Methodist Hospital in Houston after being treated for bronchitis, a bacterial infection and a persistent cough.
" 'Mr. Bush has improved to the point that he will not need any special medication when he goes home, but he will continue physical therapy,' says Dr. Amy Mynderse, the internal medicine physician in charge of the former President's care.
" 'I am deeply grateful for the wonderful doctors and nurses at Methodist who took such good care of me,' said President Bush. 'Let me add just how touched we were by the many get-well messages we received from our friends and fellow Americans. Your prayers and good wishes helped more than you know, and as I head home my only concern is that I will not be able to thank each of you for your kind words.' "


About the Project
RWE Generation operates gas (CCGT), biofuel and coal power stations across Europe. It is one of the largest electricity generation companies within Europe. Since its power station components operate at high temperatures and pressures, RWE has technical interest in component life prediction and extension through modelling, plant performance optimisation, metallurgy, welding and new materials.
A previous research programme, conducted over the last 3 years at Nottingham, has involved development of a visco-plastic material model for one of the rotor steels, determination of the material model parameters through experimental testing and development of a finite element model of the rotor with some limited life prediction capability.
The aim of the current project is to continue this research to fully develop a model which can provide accurate life predictions for the rotor given the correct thermal boundary conditions.
Specific objectives will include:
1. Further development of a 3D finite element model of the rotor including all potential high damage regions (e.g. including blade root to rotor contact).
2. Refinement of the visco-plastic model to better simulate creep-fatigue interaction during turbine start up and shut down.
3. Extension of the visco-plastic model to include damage/life prediction.
4. Material testing to provide model parameters for the second rotor material.
High temperature mechanical testing and physical characterization will be carried out using well-established facility. The theoretical and modelling work will be carried out using finite element package ABAQUS through user defined subroutines.
We are seeking applicants to start in December 2019 or February 2020.
Informal enquiries may be sent to Prof Wei Sun ([email protected]). Please note that applications sent directly to this email address will not be accepted.
Please apply here https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/pgstudy/how-to-apply/apply-online.aspx
This project will be partly funded by RWE UK. The student will have opportunity to work with RWE experts. The Industrial Supervisor is Dr Jeremy Hughes at RWE.
The scholarship on offer (to eligible students) comprises a tax-free stipend of £15,009 (2019/2020) a year for three years, and paid UK/EU tuition fees. Due to funding restrictions, this position is only available for UK or EU candidates.
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Localized flooding possible for Brampton and Mississauga due to heavy rain
Published October 25, 2021 at 1:05 pm
Localized flooding in low-lying areas in Brampton and Mississauga is possible due to heavy rainfall Monday (October 25).
Between 10 to 20 mm of rain is expected through Monday afternoon into the early evening, with the total precipitation expected to be between 30 and 50 mm, as showers are expected to continue well into the evening.
The rain is the result of a low-pressure system expected to travel northeast across southern Ontario.
Slippery roads and reduced visibility from heavy rainfall can make travelling dangerous—residents are instructed to drive cautiously.


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The RAM-B-139U consists of a 2.5″ diameter round base with the universal AMPS hole pattern, double socket arm and 2″ x 1.7″ square base with the universal AMPS hole pattern. Designed into the mount is a 1″ diameter patented rubber ball and socket system with adjustment points at both socket ends of the arm; this with RAM’s rubber ball and socket technology allows for almost infinite adjustment and perfect viewing angles.
RAM® Drill-Down Double Ball Mount with Rectangle AMPS Plate
|Ball and socket size||
B Size 1" (Holds 2 lbs)
3-Hole 120 Degree (Small), AMPS 4-Hole
|Socket arm length||


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Friday, January 31, 2014
The Cycling Tools
Winter in Lausanne seems to be fast disappearing so it was time to review the mandatory cycling essentials that Marcus and Agata carry on every ride.
By every ride, I mean on every ride except a race. For a cycling race, example Triathlon we would endeavour to strap all essentials to our bicycles or ourselves.
Or course if there is no time pressure or if in the event of a breakdown you can call a Butler for rescue then disregard the following. Else read on:
For Marcus, the 1190 gram package includes the excellent OMM Ultra 15 Rucksack, reviewed here
As per review this is large enough to carry your cycling toolkit, plus your daily essentials on the way to work, say a Tablet, phone, and some lightweight clothes.
So what is inside?
Bottom left: Muji Wallet
In left mesh pocket: Felix Party Mix (emergency kitty food) and Zipvit ZV10 Energy Chews (emergency human food)
In the top pocket a Lowe Alpine wind and water resistant jacket with hood. Protection from the elements. Also about 100 GBP (150 CHF) of loose notes and a coin for emergencies.
On the right the trusty Apple iPod Nano gen7
In the Centre the Cycle Toolkit and the Lock
The Abus lock is strong and streamlined. It's old but I can't find a better one. I have tried!
The toolkit contains
The Carbon Fibre pump
Lezyne Carbon Fibre 5 Multi Tool
Cannondale Plastic Tyre Levers
Continental Supersonic Inner Tube
Cassette Lockring remover
Surgical glove and tissue
The most important toolkit check is testing! So the next time I do a routine pre-emptive tyre and tube change at home I'll use the toolkit to make sure it all works, from taking the tyre off with the levers to pumping up with the handpump.
So back to our cycling audience, what do you carry on your regular rides and did I miss anything?

domain: sports


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Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters today that his team is capable of winning 95 games and the World Series. "If we play up to our capabilities, I believe we're a very good team," Girardi said (via Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News on Twitter). Here are some more links from New York as the Yankees and Mets begin Spring Training…
- Girardi said one of his biggest Spring Training concerns is finding a right-handed designated hitter, Feinsand reports (on Twitter). Juan Rivera and Matt Diaz could provide offense from the right side to complement lefty bats such as Travis Hafner and Dan Johnson.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports expects Derek Jeter to be a valuable contributor for the Yankees in 2013, even if this is the year the Yankees falter as a team.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the Mets' interest in Michael Bourn "was essentially an empty pursuit" since the team wasn't about to sign Bourn without assurances that they'd keep their 11th overall draft pick. The Mets never made a firm bid for Bourn, and their suggestions did not include options for 2017. Sherman reported last night that the Mets made Bourn a four-year offer before he agreed to terms with the Indians.
- Johan Santana said he's not thinking about the trade deadline or free agency, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports (on Twitter). The left-hander will earn $25.5MM in 2013 and his contract includes a $25MM club option for 2014. Presumably the Mets will choose the $5.5MM buyout over the option.


On 4 Octobeг 2022, the Multinational Multi Role Tankeг Tгanspoгt Fleet (MMF) initiated the Saab Gгipen Aiг-to-Aiг Refuelling (AAR) test campaign to enable the fleet to fly futuгe AAR missions with the Gгipen fighteг.
The necessaгy gгound and in-flight tests to obtain the technical and opeгational AAR cleaгances aгe cuггently taking place oʋeг the Baltic Sea, using one MMF aiгcгaft and Swedish Gгipen fighteгs. The test campaign will conclude on 21 Octobeг afteг which the test гepoгts will be assessed by the Dutch Militaгy Aiгwoгthiness Authoгity. Final appгoʋal is expected eaгly 2023. Once the pгocess is completed, the Czechia (and otheг Gгipen useгs like Sweden) will be able to гefuel its fighteг fleet using the MRTT hose and dгogue system.
“So faг, the MMF could make use of alгeady existing documentation of cleaгances peгfoгmed by otheг MRTT useгs, mainly fгom Australia and the United Kingdom. Howeʋeг, no гeceiʋeг cleaгance against a MRTT exists foг the SAAB Gгipen yet. Since the Gгipen is opeгated by Czechia, one of ouг ʋalued MMF paгtneгs, we decided that the MMF would take the lead in the гeceiʋeг cleaгance pгocess.” Mг Jan Deг Kindeгen, NSPA MMF System Manageг said.
Aiгbus A330 MRTT duгing an aiг-to-aгe fligth test opeгation with Swedish Gгipen fighteгs. (Photo by Swedish Defence Mateгial Administration)
This will enable the fleet to peгfoгm longeг-гange missions without the need of inteгmittent landings foг гefueling. The MMF, in the lead foг the testing campaign, is woгking closely with the Swedish and Dutch Flight Test Oгganisations to peгfoгm the necessaгy flights and obtain the гequiгed cleaгance. Aiг-to-aiг гefueling is a cгitical capability foг NATO foгces in opeгations that гequiгe long-гange aiг missions. The MRTT’s 111 tons basic fuel capacity enables the aiгcгaft to excel in aiг-to-aiг гefueling missions, eliminating the гequiгement foг additional fuel tanks.
The Multinational MRTT Fleet, owned by NATO and managed by the NSPA, pгoʋides strategic transpoгt, aiг-to-aiг гefueling and medical eʋacuation capabilities to its six paгticipating nations (Belgium, Czechia, Geгmany, Luxembouгg, The Netheгlands and Noгway). The Multinational Multiгole Tankeг Tгanspoгt Unit, foгmed by militaгy peгsonnel fгom the six paгticipating nations, opeгates the fleet. All six Allies haʋe access to the MMF capabilities based on the numbeг of flying houгs contracted. To date, seʋen aiгcгaft haʋe been deliʋeгed to the Unit, with final deliʋeгies expected in 2024.
The Multinational MRTT Fleet (MMF) is leading the Saab Gгipen Aiг-to-Aiг Refuelling (AAR) test campaign to enable the fleet to fly futuгe AAR missions with the Gгipen fighteг. (Photo by Swedish Defence Mateгial Administration)


The U.S. amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard is seen at the Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong, south China, Sept. 18, 2013. (Xinhua/He Jingjia)
Eighteen sailors on board the USS Bonhomme Richard have been transferred to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
LOS ANGELES, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Eighteen sailors were injured Sunday morning in a fire on a U.S. Navy ship at Naval Base San Diego in California, authorities said.
Eighteen sailors on board the USS Bonhomme Richard have been transferred to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries, tweeted the Naval Surface Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet, adding that the entire crew is off the ship and all are accounted.
Around 160 sailors were aboard the ship when the fire was called away at approximately 8:30 a.m. local time, according to the tweets.
Officials said that local, base and shipboard firefighters are responding to the fire.
The ship is going through a maintenance availability and has a crew size of around 1,000, the U.S. Navy said. ■


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The Wet Storage Agent Market report points out national and global business prospects and competitive conditions for wet storage agent. Market size estimation and forecasts were given based on a detailed research methodology tailored to the conditions of the demand for wet storage agent. The wet storage agent market has been segmented by type (polyols, natural moisturizing factor, amino acids, polymer biochemistry), by application (child, adult female, adult male). Historical background for the demand of wet storage agent has been studied according to organic and inorganic innovations in order to provide accurate estimates of the market size. Primary factors influencing the growth of the demand wet storage agent have also been established with potential gravity. Major regions covered in the study include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and South America.
- Natural Moisturizing Factor
- Amino Acids
- Polymer Biochemistry
- Adult Female
- Adult Male
North America Wet Storage Agent Market
- North America, by Country
- North America, by Type
- North America, by Application
Europe Wet Storage Agent Market
- Europe, by Country
- The Netherlands
- Rest of Europe
- Europe, by Type
- Europe, by Application
Asia Pacific Wet Storage Agent Market
- Asia Pacific, by Country
- South Korea
- Rest of Asia Pacific
- Asia Pacific, by Type
- Asia Pacific, by Application
Middle East & Africa Wet Storage Agent Market
- Middle East & Africa, by Country
- Saudi Arabia
- South Africa
- Rest of Middle East & Africa
- Middle East & Africa, by Type
- Middle East & Africa, by Application
South America Wet Storage Agent Market
- South America, by Country
- Rest of South America
- South America, by Type
- South America, by Application
Major Companies: Aveeno, Avon, Chanel, Christian Dior, Clarins, Clean&Clear, Dove, Estee Lauder, Garnier, Head&Shoulder, Lancome, Loreal, Maybeline, Nature, Neutrogena, Nivea, Olay, Pantene, Schwarzkopf, Shiseido
Years Covered in the Study:
Historic Year: 2017-2018
Base Year: 2019
Estimated Year: 2020
Forecast Year: 2028
Objectives of this report:
- To estimate market size for wet storage agent market on regional and global basis.
- To identify major segments in wet storage agent market and evaluate their market shares and demand.
- To provide a competitive scenario for the wet storage agent market with major developments observed by key companies in the historic years.
- To evaluate key factors governing the dynamics of wet storage agent market with their potential gravity during the forecast period.
Reasons to Buy This Report:
- Provides niche insights for decision about every possible segment helping in strategic decision making process.
- Market size estimation of the wet storage agent market on a regional and global basis.
- A unique research design for market size estimation and forecast.
- Identification of major companies operating in the market with related developments
- Exhaustive scope to cover all the possible segments helping every stakeholder in the wet storage agent
This study is customized to meet your specific requirements:
- By Segment
- By Sub-segment
- By Region/Country
- Product Specific Competitive Analysis
For more information, contact: [email protected]


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Greening isn't easy on citrus greening
Published: Saturday, July 28, 2007 at 6:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, July 27, 2007 at 3:17 p.m.
As last year's citrus season drew to a close, I told my wife that we had better enjoy our dooryard citrus while it lasts.
With a small grove of a dozen trees of several varieties, we enjoy fresh citrus from mid-November through May. Over the past two years however, reports of citrus greening have reduced my optimism about the future of citrus. My concerns were further substantiated in early July when greening was identified on one of two trees at the Extension Office demonstration gardens.
Citrus greening (Huanglongbing) is a new citrus disease in the United States. Spread by a small insect, the Asiatic citrus psyllid, the disease causes a slow decline in citrus over several years and death for the tree. Like citrus canker, greening is a bacterial disease.
The Asiatic citrus psyllid is widely spread across southern Asia. It has been an important pest of citrus in several countries in many years, particularly India, where there has been a serious decline of citrus. The once flourishing citrus industry in India is slowly being wiped out by the dieback associated with the greening disease.
The Asiatic citrus psyllid was found inNorth America when it was detected in Palm Beach County in June 1998. By September 2000, it had spread to 31 counties in Florida.
The adult Asiatic citrus psyllid is 3 to 4 millimeters long and has a brown mottled body with a brown band extending around the periphery of the outer half of the wing. It is covered with a whitish, waxy secretion making it appear dusty. It prefers to feed on the new growth in citrus that occurs during regular seasonal growth flushes.
With a piercing, sucking mouthpart, the psyllid withdraws large quantities of sap. During its feeding, the bacteria which causes greening is transmitted into the psyllid's mouthparts and this is how the disease is spread.
The effects of greening are difficult to detect at first. The disease has elements of many of the other problems that plague citrus, and discovery of one element is not necessarily confirmation of the disease. The most characteristic foliage symptoms of citrus greening are the blotchy mottling of leaves and leaf yellowing that may appear on a single shoot or branch.
Over time, trees affected by greening show stunted growth, sparsely foliated branches, unseasonal bloom, leaf and fruit drop and twig dieback. Young leaves are chlorotic, with green banding along the major veins.
Mature leaves have yellowish-green patches between veins, and midribs are yellow. In severe cases, leaves become cholorotic and have scattered spots of green. Fruits on greened trees are small, generally lopsided - not the normal round shape, underdeveloped, unevenly colored, hard and poor in juice. Infected fruit has been described as tasting bitter, medicinal and sour. Once infected, trees will not recover.
Currently, removal of trees suspected of citrus greening is at the discretion of the owner. If you believe you have greening call the Department of Plant Industry helpline at (800) 282-5153 to schedule a DPI inspector to examine the tree.
If the inspector suspects greening, a sample will be sent to DPI's lab in Gainesville for confirmation. No citrus may leave Florida unless the USDA has issued the shipper a limited permit. No Florida grown citrus may enter any citrus producing states or territories.
Presently, biological control is the only method suggested for management of the psyllid in dooryard fruit. Predaceous insects such as ladybeetles consume many of the psyllids before they have a chance to mature to adulthood. A parasitic wasp, Tamarixia radiate, has been released in Florida and also contributes to some mortality. Chemical sprays are discouraged because they also damage natural control agents and may do more harm than good.
Citrus is economically important to Florida and scientists at the University of Florida, USDA and the Florida Department of Agriculture are searching for answers to greening, but solutions may be a long time in coming.
If I didn't have citrus already, I would think a long time before planting it. As someone who has it now, I plan to take the best care I can of my trees using good cultural practices and will enjoy the fruit they produce for as long as it lasts.
David Holmes is director of the Marion County Extension Service (University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences).
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.
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domain: agronomy


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Senior officials said the govt will first start an awareness drive so that citizens can check the polluting levels of their vehicles and take the necessary precautions.
KOLKATA: The National Green Tribunal (NGT), Eastern Zone Bench, on Thursday, indicated that it would direct pumps not to sell fuel to vehicles that don't possess 'Pollution Under Control' certifica
India's technology hub, that had become an international byword for outsourcing, is gasping for fresh air as high vehicular emissions, increasing industrial fumes and rising dust from construction
KOLKATA: The National Green Tribunal (Eastern Zone bench), on Wednesday, directed the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to demolish a four-storied building at Gadkhali in the
The government also proposed to increase registration tax for all categories of private vehicles — registered in the name of companies and partnership firms — by 25 per cent of the existing rate.
Central Crime Branch raids six testing centres, unearths racket
Diesel heavy vehicles plying in Delhi at night will have to pay for polluting the city's air.
NAGPUR: The World Health Assembly of World Health Organization that concluded a few days ago expressed concern about the increasing burden of diseases and deaths due to air pollution.
Pollution levels in Bengaluru have increased manifold, a recent analysis report by the
Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on Monday alleged that the Centre resorted to "selective use" of studies by IIT-Delhi to argue that vehicles were minor contributors to PM 2.5 (fine, respir
Forfeiting our commons
The Lancet’s Series on Maternal and Child Undernutrition
President Obama's grand climate plan does not add up
Climate change can no longer be ignored
NGO demands withdrawal of Niyamgiri gram sabha notificatio


Will Nvidia's (NVDA) Q4 2023 revenue exceed $20 billion?
Will Nvidia resume selling its top GPUs to China by April 1, 2027?
Will AMD have improved it's graphics card market share as measured by the Steam Hardware Survey at the end of the year?
Will NVIDIA's stock price rise in Q4 2023?
Will NVIDIA market share surpass Saudi Aramco?
Will NVIDIA announce laptop RTX 4070 Ti in 2023?
Will Nvidia's share price break $555 in 2023?
Will Nvidia CORP Stock hit CA$1,000? BY DECEMBER 31st!?
How many H100 will NVIDIA sell in 2023?
will the Inverse Cramer effect hit Nvidia by the end of the year?
Will AMD expand ROCm support to consumer RDNA2 GPUs in 2023?
Will Nvidia close over $400 at the end of 2025?
Will Jensen Huang cease to be CEO of Nvidia before 2030?
Will the stock price of NVIDIA trade below $250 for at least 1 full day before 2025?
Will Nvidia be in the top 10 companies in the world by market cap at the end of 2023?
Will an entity be confirmed to have purchased at least 100,000 H100 GPUs before January 1st, 2024?
Will an entity be confirmed to have purchased at least 300,000 H100 GPUs before January 1st, 2025?
Will financial institutions launch GPU debt funds to replace VC equity dollars for compute funding in next 12 months?
When will Nvidia's GH200 "Grace Hopper" superchip be released.
Will Nvidia lower the MSRP of any of the currently released RTX 4000 series GPUs before August 1st, 2024?


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By LARRY NEUMEISTER
NEW YORK (AP) — A judge has appointed a former federal judge to ensure no First Amendment protections are violated in the review of materials seized by authorities from individuals connected with the conservative group Project Veritas. U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres said she was appointing Barbara Jones to oversee the separation of privileged materials found during raids on current and former employees of the group. Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe said previously that agents had searched his home and the homes of others in connection with a probe into how the group received a diary purported to belong to President Joe Biden’s daughter. A lawyer for Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe declined comment.


text:
Guyton & hall textbook of medical physiology
How to Study Physiology in Medical School
Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology
The Eye: III. Textbook of Medical Physiology 8th ed! My problem with it is that of size and how it is really written. Sign in to Purchase Instantly.Electrocardiographic interpretation of cardicac muscle and coronary blood flow abnormalities: ventricle analysis;. The Nervous System: C. Heart valves and heart sounds; dynamics of valvular and congenital heart defects; It is very unlikely that a repairman ever crossed his doorstep, except perhaps for a social visit.
Perform rapid searches! The ones who got the fattest are the ones who had the most amazing willpower, to keep to the diet so long they lost massive amounts of weight-mostly muscle. The 12th edition of this book continues this bestselling title's long tradition as one of the world's favorite physiology textbooks. Would you also like to submit a review for this item.
See a Problem?
Physiology Book For MBBS Students- One Of The Best Book For MBBS Physiology
Insulin, and Diabetes Mellitus It will provide you with the best foundation you can obtain. The 13th edition is the most current version available. In my opinion it's not good Physiology textbook for today I merical mention some reason that I think it's not good 1- the text are very old with old description pattern 2- the pattern of book is very bad because at each chapter each paragraph learn something with very hard language and when you finished a chapter if you ask a question from yourself what you learn from this chapter find of answer of it I think is very hard 3- Question. Unit XV: Sports Physiology.
Guyton is well known for his Textbook of Medical Physiology , which quickly became the standard text on the subject in medical schools. The first edition was published in , the 10th edition in the last before Guyton's death , and the 12th edition in The 13th edition is the most current version available. It is the world's best-selling medical physiology textbook and has been translated into at least 15 languages. Textbook of Medical Physiology is the world's best-selling physiology text and has been translated into at least 13 languages the textbook memoriam states 13,  but the online memoriam states at least From the ninth edition onwards, John E. Hall co-authored the textbook.
Lipid metabolism; Protein Metabolism Pulmonary Ventilation Energetics and metabolic rate; .
USD Sep 24, Foxthyme rated it it was ok Shelves: physio. States of brain activity -- sleep, brain wav.Your body consumes Textbook of medical physiology, Arthur C. Philadelphia: W. About the Author Dr. Cardiac output, and their regulation.
The Special Senses. He had a special ability to inspire people through his indomitable spirit", and "his courage in the face of adversity humbled us. It will provide you with the best foundation you can obtain. Assessments: Multiple Choice Questions.

domain: library


LETCHER COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — It was a scary morning in Letcher County with two separate bus crashes within half an hour Wednesday.
Letcher County Schools Superintendent Tony Sergent told LEX 18 that he believes one was due to muddy, wet road conditions on a winding road.
The first incident happened at a busy intersection and is under investigation. It occurred around 7:15 a.m., when a bus and car collided near the intersection of Kentucky Highways 15 and 931.
“There were no students on the bus. There was a driver and a monitor and those folks went to the emergency room and were checked out and from what we know there were no serious injuries there," said Sergent.
The second accident happened half an hour later on Kingdom Come Road. Sergent said that bus slid on mud that was covering the roadway and tipped over into the creek.There were 11 kids on board.
“We have such a tough terrain here. There’s so many of these little small one lane roads it’s impossible in the best of situations so it makes it really tough to navigate those roads," he said.
No one was hurt in that accident.
Sergent says that safety is a priority for the 60 percent of students who bus to school and that is why they canceled for flooding Monday.
"Certain locations I’ve seen pictures on Facebook. Yeah, I was concerned about it. To me, they probably should’ve waited another day to let school back in," said parent Justin Caudill.
The superintendent says both bus drivers face investigation and drug testing.
Can't find something?


text:
We recently published Nora Nadjarian’s brilliant “The Kuleshov Effect.”
Here, we ask her two questions about her story:
1) I love the way you take this film technique and use it to such brilliant effect in prose! Where did you first hear of the Kuleshov effect?
I’ve always been interested in film as an art form, fascinated in particular by Hitchcock and the techniques he uses for visual storytelling. Hitchcock uses ‘montage’ or ‘editing’ to superb effect in order to give his films their meaning. This story was written one night when, while clearing out my desk, I came across some long-forgotten notes on film editing techniques. Reading through them, it seemed to me that the Kuleshov Effect could be a great way to explore the writing of a piece of prose. I thought “show, don’t tell’ had a lot in common with juxtaposing images in film without further explanation. I started writing a story with folk tale elements, chose a few human and a few animal characters, and experimented with the form to see how far I could go. I was both surprised and delighted with the result, as it is a story quite unlike anything I’ve written before.
2) At times, this feels like it could be a retelling of Red Riding Hood. Is that your intent or just a lovely coincidence?
You’re right, there is certainly a fairy-tale element to the story but the resemblance to Red Riding Hood was unintentional. Through episodes of this girl’s life I wanted to portray a landscape of potential violence, to hint at the disturbing truths of sexism, harassment, assault, abuse. I’ve deliberately left the last sentence open-ended, rather like ending a film on an image which is both a question and an answer.


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Brazilian supermodel, Gisele Bundchen, is the star of the Balenciaga spring/summer 2011 campaign.
BY Olivia Lidbury | 21 December 2010
Photo: STEVEN MEISEL/ BALENCIAGA
Her curvaceous frame of Amazonian proportions might have earned her the nickname: 'The Boobs from Brazil', but Gisele Bunchen's starring role in Balenciaga's spring/summer 2011 advertising campaign confirms her as the new face of androgyny.
Photographed by Steven Meisel, Bunchen, 30, is pictured wearing designs from the futuristic collection, which also drew inspiration from the punk music scene. In one of the campaign images, set in a woodland, she is accompanied by male model Yuri Pleskun, who, wearing little more than shoes and socks, a cloak and 'bruised' eyes, looks like he is keeping her captive. The campaign will feature in the February 2011 issues of fashion magazines.
At the spring/summer 2011 show, which featured Gisele in the catwalk line-up, Balenciaga's creative director Nicolas Ghesquière told The Telegraph : "It's going to be a boyish season, so I wanted a twist on a man's wardrobe; the masculine side of a woman is very intriguing."
Gisele Bunchen takes over from British model Stella Tennant, who stars in the current autumn/winter 2010 campaign.

domain: entertainment


Turning Beauty On Its Head with Salt Cathedral’s New Single28 April, 2020
If you are looking for a new addition to your ‘lockdown’ playlist, then I seriously recommend adding this breezy new track from Colombian electro duo Salt Cathedral.
This NYC-based pair, Nico and Juli are both originally from Bogotá, have a style that’s a mix of electro beats, Caribbean influences and vocals that will float through your earlobes as you press repeat to take another listen of their latest single, “How Beautiful (she is)”. There is something both hypnotic and kind of ethereal about Salt Cathedral, which keeps you coming back for more, its electro with a pop makeover. Not to mention, with Berklee Music College backgrounds, this duo have created their own flow that cuts through the Latin-electro market.
Inspired by “The Girl from Ipanema” this single turns everything that society drills into us about beauty on its head. Think attitude-laden lyrics, an insistent baile funk baseline and two unique guests: MC Bin Laden from São Paulo and local NY artist duendita from Queens, to back a truly global punch. You have to check out the video too, it’s a super cool mix of vibrant colours, serious shape throwing and infectious dancing – not to mention, it looks like Salt Cathedral had some fun filming a simple but impactful concept and that’s the hippest, shiniest mannequin that I have ever seen!
Fair to say I’m anxiously awaiting the release of their debut album Carisma on Ultra in May, to get a serious dose of spring-laden, infectious sounds.
“How Beautiful (she is)” is available from ffm.to/howbeautiful
Follow Sounds and Colours: Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Mixcloud / Soundcloud / Bandcamp
Subscribe to the Sounds and Colours Newsletter for regular updates, news and competitions bringing the best of Latin American culture direct to your Inbox.


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It’s extremely difficult to estimate the health impacts from many thousands of toxic sites contaminated with lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium and obsolete pesticides, Caravanos told IPS.
But the one-million death estimate is likely a gross underestimate since investigations into the scope of the problem have only just started. ‘We’ve recently found sites filled with obsolete pesticides in Eastern Europe that have some very toxic chemicals,’ he said.
These chemicals don’t stay put. Rain washes them into soils and waterways, and wind blows toxic particles long distances, sometimes coating crops and food, Caravanos said. A 2012 study by Blacksmith estimated that mining waste, lead smelters, industrial dumps and other toxic sites affect the health of 125 million people in 49 developing countries.’
We have identified over 200 places with contaminated air, soil or water that are putting at risk some six million people,’ said John Pwamang of the Ghana Environment Protection Agency.’
These include places with lead poisoning from recycling used lead-acid or car batteries, and e-waste dismantling areas, where cables are burnt in the open air and the toxic smoke poisons whole neighbourhoods,’ Pwamang said in a release.
A growing body of scientific evidence is revealing an astonishing array of illnesses, including cancers, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, ADHD, autism, Alzheimer’s and depression, with links to the ever-increasing amount of toxic chemicals in our bodies, said Julian Cribb, author of the new book Poisoned Planet: How Constant Exposure to Man-Made Chemicals Is Putting Your Life at Risk.’
There are at least 143,000 man-made chemicals plus an equally vast number of unintentional chemicals liberated by mining, burning fossil fuels, waste disposal,’ Cribb said in a release.’
Around 1,000 new industrial chemicals are released every year, which the United Nations says are largely untested for human and environment health and safety.’
via In developing world, pollution kills more than disease.

domain: chemistry


Digitisation and its Discontents: Why the Internet Eats Our Energy - and How to Stop It.
by Florence Hazrat on 1 November 2018
The Cloud. It sounds so beautiful, so clean, a fluffy white mirage, wafting in the ether, intangible, untouchable, dispersing itself into nothing upon the lightest breath. Just like that, like those wondrous white shapes in the sky, do we imagine the computing cloud to be: a something-nothing that holds our emails, pictures, videos, music - in short, who we are - in its soft electronic embrace. A cumulus floating out there, at our fingertips when we want to; and when we don′t, it's simply shut away in our eternally capacious devices. Not even that, not even in our things, but just away, because which of us really grasps the magical mechanics of zero and one that encode our innermost thoughts, the uniqueness of our loved one's eyes? And yet we have rapidly grown accustomed to the mind-boggling realities of infinitely small infinite storage capacity and light-speed retrieval. But how cloud-like pure is that age-old dream of ours, a memory that never forgets, a library (however truthful) a click away? It turns out, not pure at all. World-wide IT activity stinks of dirty coal-powered energy plants and human exploitation: we are ripping the bowels of the earth open for resources mined through child labour, and assembling devices in hyper-controlled Chinese factories whose working conditions would make any unionist turn in their grave. And all for putting that photo of our latest lunch on Facebook, and that buff gym selfie on Instagram. How did this addiction to electricity come about, and what can we do about it?
At first view, the electronification of everything, from communication, to media, contracts, and train tickets, seems like A Good Thing. It seems like IT saves trees. But not so. All the data that we use and produce needs to be stored somewhere, kept and cooled in giant energy-eating centres. Innumerable servers, holding that kitten YouTube video available for us and the millions of other users out there, need to be powered and cooled – with what? Wind energy? Solar? No. Coal, that Victorian relic, makes our twenty-first century machines run. A 2017 Greenpeace report reveals the shocking numbers of global IT-related energy consumption, adding up to 12% of world-wide electricity needs. That's 3,5% of CO2 emissions. By 2040, it will have risen to up to 14%, 2% more than current aviation-related pollution. Or, if one thought of these 12% as a country, our clicks would rank third among global nations′ energy needs. Third. Just behind China and the US, with an annual growth of at least 7%. What kind of pollution does this voraciousness for electricity create? That largely depends on the companies' choice.
The Greenpeace report scrutinizes leading IT companies including Amazon, Google, Twitter, and Apple in more detail, investigating their choice of energy, transparency, advocacy of the issue, and their commitments. Apple fares best, having made strong green energy commitments in 2012. Its use of renewable energy amounts to 83%, with a requirement of 100% renewable energy for any new data centre and supplier. Apple has also been instrumental in taking leadership and pushing fellow companies and suppliers to move towards sustainable energy (rather than simply energy efficiency). It also puts governments under pressure to invest in renewables by strategically placing its data centres and offices in states that encourage sustainable energy resources. Facebook and Google follow suit, having begun to construct their own solar plants in California and elsewhere.
However, all is not as it should be in the world of infinite possibility: plenty of companies, such as the East Asian retailer Ali Baba and Chinese search engine Baidu, are almost entirely powered by coal and gas, and represent vast opportunities for improvement in the Asian market. Pinterest, Twitter, and Dropbox behave not much better. While the former two respectively use a mere 17 and 10 per cent renewable energy for their services, all three suffer from a chronic lack of transparency that seriously hampers any push for sustainable energy, either by governments or consumers. Dropbox is a particularly nefarious hoarder of information, releasing no clue as to their energy or site choices. Any requests remain either ignored or avoided, stating the company itself does not have that kind of information available, let alone for public release. How credible is such flagrant mismanagement from a global data giant? Or does Dropbox simply not want to give out any information, because it would mean they would have to commit to improvement?
With a staggering 63% of global internet traffic in 2015 and an estimated increase up to 80% by 2020, video streaming seems to become the single most energy-intensive online activity. Among streaming services, Netflix accounts for one third of North American streaming traffic, and is rapidly advancing as global provider. This Amazon daughter buys barely 17% of renewable energies, greatly outstripped by 30% of coal 24% of gas and 26% of nuclear energy. This disappointing reliance on toxic coal and gas is set only to harden and increase, considering Amazon's rapid growth of data centres in the US-state of Virginia whose energy-supply is provided to 99% by traditional means. Considering also that Virginia is, incidentally, home to 70% of all global data centres, it remains to be seen how green the recent revegetation of web and cloud actually is.
Besides unimaginably significant tax cuts from governments, most, if not all, companies rely to vast degrees, sometimes exclusively, on old energy provision including coal, gas, biomass, and nuclear energy which cause harm to the environment, human health, and peace developments in conflict zones. They thus not only spurn the crucial role they could play as leaders into a pollution-free future, but actively destroy through their deliberate choice of dirty power to still their energy hunger. Our energy hunger.
So is the internet more bane than blessing? Not quite either. There are plenty of alternatives in the virtual world helping us to treat our real one better. Take Newmanity, for example, the free email-cum-cloud-server, drawing its energy from sustainable sources. Or Cleanfox, a service helping you free your inbox from unwanted and unnecessary subscription emails that not only clog our box but also devour energy to keep them clogging. Then there is Ecosia, the alternative search engine that devotes 80% of add-related income to planting trees in developing countries, and that, since its founding in 2009, has by now planted 40 million trees. Websites like Rank a Brand and Ethical Consumer help you in sorting out the good from the bad, when it comes to ethical shopping. With apps such as Buycott you can scan the barcode of products while browsing in the shop and find out if they belong to titans of rainforest destruction like Nestlé.
We customers are under-estimating the power and agency we have, because what keeps Amazon and Apple bulldozing habitats and exploiting workers is our use of them, our dependence. So rather than a new iphone, we have the choice to buy a Fairphone, for example, a smart phone whose material stems from non-conflict zone mines that do not employ children. It is assembled in factories in China under fair working conditions and fair wages, and its design is easily repairable. Why enslave ourselves to unethical polluting companies? We are free to place our consumer choice deliberately, to encourage accountability, responsible management, and fair conditions for the natural world and our fellow human beings. Digital discontent needs not remain so. Let the cloud rain to green the earth.
Readers may be interested further information, available on the website: ethicalconsumer.org
Florence is the editor of Environment and Postgraduate sections for the new Lucy Writers’ Platform, and co-editor of the Books section. If you are interested in writing for these sections or any other please contact her on: email@example.com. If you'd like to read more of Florence's work, you can visit her website here: florencehazrat.com
 All information taken from here: http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/global-warming/click-clean/#top. [accessed 16 October 2018].