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These Easy Ground Chicken Sloppy Joes are going to become a favorite weeknight dinner! Healthy and super easy to make, this recipe requires no chopping and VERY little prep time! Making these delicious sloppy joes are almost as easy as opening up a can of Manwich… but MUCH more flavorful and fresh-tasting!
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If you need a classic, EASY weeknight meal, this is it! These healthy ground chicken sloppy joes are just a slight twist on an American classic!
Lean ground chicken is simmered in a flavorful tomato-based sauce with just the right amount of sweetness.
Pile this sloppy joe mix onto toasted buns or in lettuce wraps for a healthy option! Serve with french fries, a fresh veggie, or a simple salad. Need more ideas for sides?! Check out these 27 Sides for Sloppy Joes!
If you love these, you’ll also love my Sloppy Joes on Texas Toast, too! If you need another family-friendly weeknight dinner, try these Loaded Mashed Potato Bowls!
⭐ NEED HELP MEAL PLANNING?? ⭐
This simple and easy-to-use dinner planner will eliminate dinnertime stress so you’ll never have to wonder what to make for dinner again!
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WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
- Healthier version of a classic comfort food!
- Super easy recipe, perfect to whip up on busy weeknights.
- Uses simple ingredients that can be found at any grocery store…and probably a lot are already in your kitchen!
- This recipe freezes great--perfect to make ahead for easier dinners later.
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this delicious Ground Chicken Sloppy Joes Recipe:
HOW TO MAKE GROUND CHICKEN SLOPPY JOES: STEP BY STEP
Here are some quick visual instructions. Remember that full instructions with exact ingredients will be in the printable recipe card below!
Step 1: Brown up your ground chicken in a skillet. Drain any grease, if necessary.
Step 2: Add all remaining ingredients.
Step 3: Stir well and simmer for 6-7 minutes until flavors are married.
Step 4: Pile meat mixture onto hamburger buns and serve right away!
RECIPE TIPS & TRICKS
- Don’t forget to drain any grease from the pan before adding the remaining ingredients. If you use ground chicken BREAST or extra lean ground chicken, you most likely won’t have too much excess grease.
- A toasted bun brushed with a bit of butter is divine for serving your sloppy joes! Brioche buns (usually found in the bakery section of the grocery store or at Costco SOMETIMES) are our family’s fave!
- Whip up a double batch of these chicken sloppy joes and freeze half for an easy, future weeknight dinner!
⭐ CONFIDENCE TIP ⭐
While your sloppy joe mixture is simmering on the stove, use this time to whip up a simple side like a simple salad, a veggie, or even some french fries in the oven or air fryer!
STORAGE & REHEATING
- Storage: Store leftover sloppy joes in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. It’s best to store the meat-only, without the bun(s).
- Reheating: Reheat sloppy joe filling in a small saucepan over medium heat. You may need to add just a tiny splash of water or chicken broth to loosen up the mixture a bit.
- Freezing: These chicken sloppy joes freeze great! Cool the meat mixture completely. Then store in a freezer-safe bag, flat, in the freezer. You can also freeze it in a freezer-safe, airtight container like this.
ADDITIONS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
Meat: You can substitute any ground meat in this recipe–both ground beef and ground turkey are great.
Make it Healthier: Pile the meat mixture into lettuce wraps instead of buns for a yummy, low-carb option.
Spice it Up: Give your sloppy joes a nice little kick with a few dashes of hot sauce or a little chili powder.
Veggies: Feel free to add some veggies like green bell pepper, red bell pepper, or onions.
Cheese: Top your sloppy joes with some shredded cheddar cheese!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Yes! One entire chicken sloppy joe WITH a bun is only about 350 calories. Make it an even healthier meal and ditch the bun and pile the sloppy joe mixture into crisp lettuce wraps. You can also omit the salt for a lower-sodium version.
Of course–however, I will tell you, this homemade sloppy joe mix tastes a lot like the canned version, except more fresh and flavorful! Give it a try!
French fries, chips, a simple salad, or a fresh veggie, all go great with chicken sloppy joes! Need more ideas?! I got you covered: 27 Easy Sides for Sloppy Joes!
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TOOLS FOR THIS RECIPE
Check out all of my kitchen essentials in my Amazon store!
Large Skillet: My FAVORITE skillet!
Potato Masher: Gets your meat nice and finely “chopped!”
Wooden Spoon: To help break up the ground chicken.
Rate this recipe! I love your feedback!
TRY THESE NEXT…
Easy Ground Chicken Sloppy Joes
- 1 lb. lean ground chicken
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp white vinegar apple cider vinegar works too
- 4-6 hamburger buns
- Brown Meat: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add ground chicken. Cook chicken, breaking up the meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon as it cooks (about 2-3 minutes until no longer pink). Drain off any grease, if necessary. Pro Tip: Using a potato masher during the last minute of cooking gets the meat broken up nice and fine!
- Add & Simmer: Add all remaining ingredients (aside from the burger buns!), to the skillet. Stir well. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium low and simmer, covered for 6-7 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Serve: Spoon sloppy joe mixture onto hamburger buns and serve right away!
I love a healthy twist on a classic. These sloppy joes did not disappoint. They are delicious!
Dana Sandonato says
These are so saucy and delicious, and the ground chicken works perfectly. There’s no missing the beef in this recipe!
I’ve been looking for a healthier sloppy joe recipe. It’s one of my favorite things to eat, but I try to stay away from canned goods. So between the fresher ingredients and the ground chicken, this one is a hit!
I’ve always loved sloppy joes, but never thought about making them with ground chicken. What a genius idea! The meat is so much more tender. I really enjoyed them.
I love that you are using chicken instead of ground beef in this recipe! Nice to try something different and I can’t wait to make these sloppy joes!


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|The Associated Press reviewed TV advertising spending by the presidential campaigns in the Twin Cities since the beginning of 2008, using files that stations must maintain for public inspection. The review, examining ad purchases as of Thursday, found that the campaigns have exceeded $3 million on ads in the market combined. The review did not include ads being run on greater Minnesota stations, such as those in Duluth.|
|Spending since Jan. 1:|
|TIMESPAN MCCAIN OBAMA|
|Pre-9/1 $444,385 $400,130|
|9/1-9/28 $1,050,500 None|
|9/29-10/13 $860,015 $636,215|
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While classic features, such as stained glass, original art, curved bar tops remain throughout the several rooms in the space, updates have been given. Banquettes and marble accents, a window opening into the action in the kitchen and contemporary art are some of the spruce ups that have been given to the space.

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Phalaenopsis is one of the most remarkable commercial genera in Orchidaceae family. Using immature explants for tissue culture of orchid results in undesired characteristics such as genetic variation and long-lasting juvenility. In this study, we optimized a protocol for somatic embryogenesis of Phalaenopsis amabilis cv. Jinan, by using mature thin cell layer (TCL) explants to minimize immature explant limitations. We examined somatic embryogenesis from two types of mature explants, viz. leaf lTCL and flower stalk nodes tTCL at various concentrations of thidiazuron (TDZ) (0, 1, 2, and 3 mg L-1). The results demonstrated that lTCL explants cultured on medium supplemented with 3 mg L-1 TDZ produced the highest number of somatic embryos (SEs) (21.5 embryos per explant), the lowest yellowish SE (7%), the highest plantlet regeneration (20.5 plantlets per explant) and the highest survival rate (94%) in comparison with tTCL explants. This protocol can be used in commercial mass propagation of Phalaenopsis to overcome the limitations such as long-term juvenility and genetic variation of plantlets regenerated in vitro by using immature explants.
Acclimatization, mature explant, orchids, protocorm-like bodies (PLBs), thin cell layer (TCL), thidiazuron
GHAHREMANI, REZA; DAYLAMI, SHIRIN DIANATI; MIRMASOUMI, MASOUD; ASKARI, NASER; and VAHDATI, KOUROSH
"Refining a protocol for somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration of Phalaenopsis amabilis cv. Jinan from mature tissues,"
Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry: Vol. 45:
3, Article 11.
Available at: https://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/agriculture/vol45/iss3/11

domain: biology


text:
Not many of us relish the thought of ripping open our credit card statements the second they hit our doormats, whether through a suspicion that they might not contain the best of news, or even just a preference to be doing something (anything) more exciting. It’s not unusual for credit card statements to be basically ignored, filed away in the ‘to do’ pile permanently unopened.
There are several problems with this approach though, and here are just three:
Keeping On Top
Credit cards make it so easy to spend that there’s the constant danger of running up debts that are uncomfortably larger than we’d like. Regularly inspecting your statement, even if it doesn’t make for pleasant reading, helps to keep us grounded in reality and less likely to ‘splurge’ unnecessarily. Not opening the statement because you fear the bad news is only delaying the inevitable, and probably making the situation worse the longer it continues.
Rather than resulting in a dramatic emptying of your account, a large amount of credit card fraud is done more subtly. Fraudsters often try to evade automatic detection systems by only making small transactions, but repeating them regularly and across a large number of cards. By checking your statement and ensuring you’re happy with every transaction, you stand a much better chance of picking up on something dodgy before too much damage is done.
Changes to Terms and Conditions
You’re probably familiar with the ‘changes to terms and conditions’ letters you get every so often from your card company. Do you actually read them? Thought not. I certainly don’t. That is, I didn’t used to.
One of the credit cards I use brought the statement date forward a week, meaning that my standing order every month now resulted in a late payment.
While I’m sure that I was doubtless informed in a legalese letter that this was to happen, it was only when I saw the late payment fee on my statement that I noticed what was happening. Had I not checked my statement, that situation could have continued for months, costing me plenty in both cash and damage to my credit rating.
So there we have it. Checking your statement is never going to be fun, but setting aside just a few minutes a month to give it the once-over could stop you getting into trouble with your card, and even save you money

domain: finance


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From Our Editors
Pick up some new toys and treats for your pet at A Dog's Life Pet Services in Rosemount and get rewarded with those kisses you love so much.
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If you plan on driving to A Dog's Life Pet Services, ample parking is available in the area. So stop by A Dog's Life Pet Services in Rosemount with your furry friend and pick out some must-have necessities.

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A lot of people are misunderstand mental health and what affects it. Did you know that food can play a major role in how you feel through out the day? They have the ability to cause Chemical imbalances to the brain. Here are the types of foods that can harm your mental health.
What is Mental Health?
Mental health means the state of our mind and how we feel. Our mental health is influenced by our experiences, mindset and our diet. It is shown that people who have a good diet and a good mindset tend to have a healthy mind. There are a lot of people that believe that having mental issues such as depression or extreme anxiety cannot be fixed. I am here to tell you that there are ways to overcome these problems and the most important of steps to take is your diet.
Foods with high sugars
With the consumption of sugar, your body builds up a resistance to the hormone known as leptin. Leptin is a hormone that regulates your weight loss through controlling your hunger. Another weight control hormone affected by sugar is Insulin. The body also builds up a resistance to the insulin which can give rise to all types of metabolic diseases such as liver cirrhosis. This chemical imbalance can lead to depression and may even increase the long-term risk of developing a mental health disorder in some people. A lot of the foods on this list will have sugar in their ingredients.
Not to anyone’s surprise, processed foods is one of the leading problems to creating a poor mental health. Processed food are products created by a lot of food industry’s primarily made with salt, sugar and oil along with other substances. consuming these can lead to inflammation throughout the body and brain, which may contribute to mood disorders, including anxiety and depression. When we’re feeling stressed or depressed, it’s often processed foods we reach for in search of a quick pick-me-up.

domain: health


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GT011 Game of Thrones Lady Melisandre of Asshai cosplay.
In fact, I love so much that I’ve gone through a new trio of HBO videos to pick out the shots that reveal the Game of Thrones cast in their season 7 costumes, some of which are brand new and.
Daenerys Targaryen costumes have been one of our most popular choices and we carry various options to help you craft your perfect Khaleesi costume. We also have a selection of accessories that go perfectly with your Dany look, like wigs, dragon accessories, and even House Targaryen themed gear.
Michele Clapton in the costumes department. Clapton stated that including all members, from major designers, embroiderers, and hairstylists to cleaners, cloth-agers, sorters and fitters, etc., the costume department working on Game of Thrones includes about 100 people. She estimated that any one episode of the TV series needs around 700 individual costumes - particularly for large shots of.
Jun 6, 2020 - Game of Thrones Daenerys Targaryen Cosplay Wig Synthetic Hair Long Wavy Dragon of Mother Costume Wigs Product Details Material:Heat Resistance Fiber Color:Blonde Size:Fit Most of People Weight:420g Length:28inch.
Daenerys Targaryen is a fictional character in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series of novels, as well as the television adaptation, Game of Thrones, in which she is portrayed by English actress Emilia Clarke.In the novels, she is a prominent point of view character. She is one of the most popular characters in the series, and The New York Times cites her as one of the author's.
Thanks to Mashable, we’ve learned of this amazing lady who decided to dress up as Diana Rigg’s character Lady Olenna Tyrell of Highgarden, also known as the Queen of Thorns from Game of Thrones. This Lady Olenna cosplayer grabbed all the attention as she showed up at the Georgia convention in her wheelchair, which was turned into a replica Iron Throne.
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CHICAGO — It’s all hands on deck at the City of Chicago as forecasts call for blizzard conditions and dangerous cold in the next few days.
Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) held a press conference to brief residents on the Winter Storm Warning and severe cold expected to come with the weather system.
Joining the OEMC was:
- National Weather Service in Chicago
- Department of Streets and Sanitation
- Department of Family Support and Services
- Department of Buildings
- Chicago Department of Transportation
- Department of Water Management
- Chicago Fire Department
- Chicago Department of Aviation
- Chicago Public Schools
- Peoples Gas
- Chicago Transit Authority
- Chicago Park District
- Chicago Public Library
Rich Guidice, the executive director of OEMC, urged people to be patient and look out for each other.
Cole Stallard, commissioner of the Department of Streets and Sanitation, said the department is ready to hit the roads.
Stallard said the department has the ability to put 300 trucks on the streets and can call private vendors and other departments to bring the number up to 750 if needed.
Andrew Velasquez, the first deputy aviation commissioner, said they have more the 350 pieces of snow removal equipment, plenty of liquid de-icer and 500,000 tons of salt for airport runways.
The frigid temperatures mean those living on our streets will be at risk. Extra help is on hand.
“Over the next days and nights, outreach teams will be on the streets visiting encampments and encouraging resistents to take shelter and make sure they’re ok,” Commissioner of Family and Support Services Brandie Knazze said.
Additional ambulances are also being brought in to limit the winter wallop’s impact on response times.
“In heavy snow conditions, we can lose time locating fire hydrants,” Annette Nance-Holt, Chicago’s fire commissioner, said. “If you have one on your block or part of your residence, please clear it out for us.”
Officials also reminded people they can sign up for text alerts from OEMC.
WGN caught up with some visitors Wednesday evening as they try to enjoy the city before the storm approaches.
The warning will be in effect for Thursday at 9 a.m. through Saturday at 6 a.m. for McHenry, Boone, DeKalb, Kane and LaSalle counties.
Starting at noon Thursday, the warning goes into effect for Cook, Will and DuPage counties until 6 a.m. Saturday. It begins for Lake, Newton and Jasper counties in Northwest Indiana at 3 p.m. Thursday until 6 a.m. Saturday.
The National Weather Service is predicting two to five inches of snow. However, frigid temperatures are forecasted to last beyond those days.
You can view the entire press conference in the video above.


'Lunch At Walk' was created and is maintained by Christian Anthony.
"To walk is to lack a place. It is the indefinite process of being absent and in search of a proper. The moving about that the city mutliplies and concentrates makes the city itself an immense social experience of lacking a place -- an experience that is, to be sure, broken up into countless tiny deportations (displacements and walks), compensated for by the relationships and intersections of these exoduses that intertwine and create an urban fabric, and placed under the sign of what ought to be, ultimately, the place but is only a name, the City...a universe of rented spaces haunted by a nowhere or by dreamed-of places."
- Michel de Certeau, The Practice of Everyday Life
"My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She's ninety-seven now, and we don't know where the heck she is."
- Ellen DeGeneres


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The lowest-priced brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item in its original packaging (where packaging is applicable).Packaging should be the same as what is found in a retail store, unless the item is handmade or was packaged by the manufacturer in non-retail packaging, such as an unprinted box or plastic bag.See details for additional description.
The Islamic Republic of Iran's ongoing nuclear programme has provoked a major and menacing crisis in its relations with the US and other Western powers. Ali Ansari, a Briton of Iranian origin, argues that the crisis is a symptom of broader, long-term fissures in US-Iranian relations, and in Confronting Iran he seeks to disentangle the myths that are at the bottom of this gulf in understanding which is compounded by the nature of the two states, their foreign policy establishments and the fraught history of their relations since the 1979 revolution. Ansari reviews the historical antecedents of the crisis, in particular US-Iranian relations since 9/11 and attempts by the EU to broker a settlement acceptable to all parties. He argues that the European position has been dictated as much by its relations with the US in the wake of the invasion of Iraq as by domestic politics in Iran, and he concludes by assessing the election of Mahmud Ahmadinejad as President and its likely impact on the view from Tehran and Washington. This account of a potential flashpoint in relations between the Muslim world and the West could t be more timely.
Ali M. Ansari is Reader in Modern History with reference to the Middle East at the University of St Andrews, and Associate Fellow of the Middle East programme with reference to Iran at Chatham House, London. He is the author of The History of Modern Iran since 1921 (2003).

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Our Bamboo hoop earrings are intricately carved with a modern bamboo inspired motif. These extremely versatile and thin hoop earrings will make you never want to go back to a basic hoop again. Perfect for anyone who loves big earrings but has sensitive ears and needs a lightweight earring style.
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- Research article
- Open Access
FDG PET using SUVmax for preoperative T-staging of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma with and without neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy
BMC Medical Imaging volume 17, Article number: 1 (2017)
Accurate T-staging is pivotal for predicting prognosis and selecting appropriate therapies for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The diagnostic performance of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) for its T-staging is uncertain. We investigated use of FDG PET/CT for preoperative T-staging of patients with ESCC.
Patients with ESCC given preoperative FDG PET/CT scans, either with (CRT[+] group) or without (CRT[−] group) neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, were retrospectively reviewed. Maximal standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of the primary tumors on FDG PET/CT scans were measured, and histopathological results were used as the reference standard. The associations between pathological T-stage and potential factors of age, tumor location, tumor grade, tumor size, and tumor SUVmax were analyzed. The cut-off levels of SUVmax for predicting different T-stages and for residual viable tumors after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy were determined using receiver operating characteristic analyses.
We enrolled 103 patients (45 in the CRT[−] group; 58 in the CRT[+] group). SUVmax, an independent predictive factor, positively correlated with the pathological T-stage in both groups (CRT[−] group: ρ = 0.736, p < 0.001; and CRT[+] group: ρ = 0.792, p < 0.001). The overall accuracy of the PET/CT with thresholded SUVmax for predicting the pathological T-stage was 73.3% in the CRT[−] group (SUVmax of T0: 0–1.9, T1: 2.0–4.4, T2: 4.5–6.5, T3: 6.6–13.0, T4: >13.0) and 67.2% in the CRT[+] group (SUVmax of T0: 0–3.4, T1: 3.5–3.9, T2: 4.0–5.5, T3: 5.6–6.2, T4: > 6.2). For CRT[−] group, the accuracy using an SUVmax cut-off of 4.4 to differentiate early (T0-1) from locally advanced disease (T2-4) was 82.2% (95% CI, 71.1–93.4%). For CRT[+] group, the accuracy using an SUVmax cut-off of 3.4 to predict residual viable tumors (non-T0) after completion of chemoradiotherapy was 82.8% (95% CI, 73.0–92.5%).
The FDG avidity of a primary esophageal tumor significantly positively correlated with the pathological T-stage. PET/CT with thresholded SUVmax was useful for predicting T-stage and differentiating residual viable tumors.
Esophageal cancer, a poor prognostic disease with an estimated 5-year survival of 17–34%, occurs worldwide and is a leading cause of cancer mortality [1–3]. The two major histological types of esophageal cancer are squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma, which have different tumor biology and treatment outcomes . With more sensitive to chemoradiation, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) has a higher complete response rate after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) than adenocarcinoma . In patients with resectable locally advanced ESCC, recent phase III study and meta-analysis have shown that neoadjuvant CRT followed by surgery is superior to surgery alone [6, 7]. After definitive CRT, around 32–46% of patients were free of viable tumors on the final surgical pathology examination [8, 9]. If tumors are totally eradicated after CRT, salvage esophagectomy predisposing to additional postoperative mortality (rate up to 10%) and morbidity (rate up to 50%) [10–12] may be unnecessary. Otherwise, surgery is suggested to eliminate local residual disease. To determine the most suitable therapy and to avoid inappropriate attempts at curative surgery, accurate preoperative T-stage and assessment of a patient’s response to CRT are required.
Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is considered the most accurate procedure for preoperative local staging of ESCC, but it is unreliable for staging after CRT largely due to the therapeutic related inflammatory effect or fibrosis [13, 14]. Moreover, EUS is relatively invasive and operator-dependent and it has two other limitations: severe stenosis blocks the passage of the endoscope, and its finite depth of penetration may be insufficient for staging T4 tumors.
For the initial staging and for evaluating a patient after CRT, the fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is useful for detecting lymphatic and hematogenous metastasis before surgery [15, 16]. But because of the limited spatial resolution, its role in classifying the T-stage is uncertain. For ESCC, there have been no established findings about the diagnostic ability of FDG PET/CT to predict the pathological T-stage. FDG avidity, semiquantitatively measured using standardized uptake values (SUVs) that reflect the aggressiveness of the neoplasm, can predict the extent of esophageal cancer [17, 18]. Some studies [18–20] have found associations between FDG avidity and T-stage, but the results are inconsistent, especially after neoadjuvant CRT. The routine use of FDG PET/CT for ESCC continues to grow. Beyond its well-known value in determining N and M stages, it is worth exploring its diagnostic performance for the T-stage. We investigated the application of FDG PET/CT for the preoperative T-staging of ESCC with and without neoadjuvant CRT.
We retrospectively reviewed consecutive ESCC patients who had undergone preoperative FDG PET/CT scans before the resection of their esophageal tumors in Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, between 2007 and 2013. Eligible patients were categorized into the CRT[−] group, who did not undergo CRT for ESCC before resection, and the CRT[+] group, who did and had FDG PET/CT after CRT. The CRT consisted of two cycles of 5-fluorouracil/cisplatin-based chemotherapy and thoracic radiation (3600 ~ 5040 cGy). All patients who underwent surgery had a radical esophagectomy with a cervical esophagogastrostomy or an Ivor Lewis esophagectomy with intrathoracic anastomosis, a two-field lymphadenectomy, reconstruction of the digestive tract with a gastric tube and pylorus drainage procedures. We used histopathological results as the reference standard. The pathological T-stages (T1-T4) were classified according to the 7th American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system . For statistical analysis, high grade dysplasia (Tis) was classified as T0. The resected tissue was labeled by the surgeon and sent for pathological examination. The histopathological assessment was independently carried out by two pathologists, and a consensus was reached. For CRT[+] group, pathologically complete response of primary tumor (T0) was defined as the complete disappearance of viable cancer cells in the tumor surgical specimens. Tumor histological grade (Gr1-Gr3) and tumor size (greatest dimension in cm) of the specimen as well as the initial biopsy location as proven ESCC via endoscopy were also recorded. We measured the maximal standardized uptake values (SUVmax) of the primary esophageal tumors on FDG PET/CT scans. Multivariate analyses were used to evaluate the associations between pathological T-stage and the potential factors of age, tumor location, tumor grade, tumor size, and tumor SUVmax. The cut-off levels of SUVmax for predicting different T-stages and for residual viable tumors after neoadjuvant CRT were determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses. This retrospective study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital with a waiver of consent.
After the patients had fasted for at least 6 h, they were injected with 370–555 MBq of FDG. PET/CT scans were initiated 1 h later using a combined PET/CT scanner (Discovery ST; GE Healthcare, Waukesha, WI, USA). For attenuation correction and imaging fusion, nonenhanced CT scans were acquired first from the mid-thigh to the head using the following parameters: 140 kV, 170 mA (maximum), and 3.75-mm thick sections. PET scans were then taken over the same anatomical regions for 5 min per bed position. The transaxial PET images were reconstructed using an ordered subsets expectation maximization algorithm in a matrix of 128 × 128-pixel with a slice thickness of 3.27 mm. The reconstructed images displayed in coronal and sagittal planes as well as maximum intensity projection images were also available for interpretation. SUVs were calculated according to the formula: SUV = measured activity within the region of interest (MBq/mL)/[injected dose of FDG (MBq)/body weight (g)]. The PET/CT images were reviewed and analyzed by a nuclear medicine physician (YCH, 7 years of experience in PET/CT reporting). Discrepancies with the routine PET/CT reports were resolved by consensus reviewing with a second nuclear medicine physician (CCH, 8 years of experience in PET/CT reading).
Continuous variables were expressed as means with standard deviations (SD). Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistics were used to test the data sets for normal distribution. Student’s t-test was used in group comparisons of normally distributed data, and the Mann–Whitney U-test was used for data that were not normally distributed. Categorical variables were analyzed using the χ2 test. Potential factors associated with the pathological T-stage were identified separately in the CRT[−] and the CRT[+] group patients using ordinal logistic regression for multivariate analyses. The SUVmax of esophageal tumors in the 5 different pathological T-stages were compared using Kruskal-Wallis tests, and then analyzed using the Jonckheere-Terpstra test for ordered alternatives. The correlations between the SUVmax of esophageal tumors and pathological T-stages were analyzed using Spearman rank correlations. The cut-off levels of SUVmax for predicting different T-stages and for residual viable tumors in the CRT[+] group were investigated using ROC analyses. The agreements between threshold-SUVmax and pathological T-stage were assessed from 5 × 5 tables using κ statistics. The κ values were classified as follows: ≤ 0.2, poor agreement; 0.21–0.4, fair agreement; 0.41–0.60, moderate agreement; 0.61–0.8, good agreement; and 0.81–1, excellent agreement. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy were calculated using standard formulas. SPSS 17 for Windows (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) was used for all statistical analysis. Significance was set at p < 0.05.
Of the 839 patients with ESCC that we reviewed, 103 eligible patients (100 men, 3 women; mean age: 53.6 ± 8.2 years old) were included in the analysis. The study flow chart with inclusion and exclusion criteria summarizes how the eligible patients were collected (Fig. 1). Forty-five patients had not undergone neoadjuvant CRT (the CRT[−] group) and 58 patients had (the CRT[+] group). The demographic features of the patients are summarized in Table 1. All of them had completed the FDG PET/CT scan. Their fasting blood sugar at scans was 102.2 ± 19.5 mg/dl (range: 61–175 mg/dl, CRT[−] group: 96.6 ± 18.9 mg/dl; CRT[+] group: 106.5 ± 19.0 mg/dl). Time from FDG injection to PET/CT scans was 61.7 ± 8.5 min (CRT[−] group: 60.8 ± 7.6 min; CRT[+] group: 62.4 ± 9.1 min). The FDG PET/CT scans did not identify the primary lesion in 2 of 2 patients with Tis lesions and 3 of 26 patients with T1 lesions in the CRT[−] group or in the 1 patient with a Tis lesion and 2 of 4 patients with T1 lesions in the CRT[+] group; they did, however, detect all the other primary tumors.
The multivariate ordinal logistic regression analysis showed that both the SUVmax and tumor size were independent predictive factors of the pathological T-stage in the CRT[−] group, but that the SUVmax was the only independent predictive factor of the pathological T-stage in the CRT[+] group (Table 2).
The SUVmax between the five stages were significantly different between groups (Kruskal-Wallis Test; all p < 0.001), and a higher SUVmax was associated with a higher pathological T-stage (Jonckheere-Terpstra Trend Test across the 5 stages; all p < 0.001). There were positive correlations between the tumor SUVmax and the pathological T-stage (CRT[−] group: ρ = 0.736, p < 0.001; and CRT[+] group: ρ = 0.792, p < 0.001) (Fig. 2).
ROC curves for SUVmax were plotted to compare T0 vs. T1–4, T0–1 vs. T2–4, T0–2 vs. T3–4, and T0–3 vs. T4. According to the ROC curves, the ranges of SUVmax cut-offs selected were: for the CRT[−] group = T0: 0–1.9, T1: 2.0–4.4, T2: 4.5–6.5, T3: 6.6–13.0, T4: >13.0; and for the CRT[+] group = T0: 0–3.4, T1: 3.5–3.9, T2: 4.0–5.5, T3: 5.6–6.2, T4: > 6.2 (Table 3). For CRT[−] group, the accuracy of differentiating early (T0–1) from locally advanced disease (T2–4) was 82.2% (95% CI, 71.1–93.4%). Representative cases of the FDG uptake in pathological T1–T4 esophageal tumors are shown in Fig. 3. Using PET/CT with thresholded SUVmax, the T-stage was overstaged for 9 of the patients (20.0%) and understaged for 3 (6.7%) in the CRT[−] group; and it was overstaged for 8 of the patients (13.8%) and understaged for 11 (19.0%) in the CRT[+] group. The overall accuracy of the thresholded SUVmax for predicting pathological T-stage were 73.3% (κ = 0.628, good agreement) in the CRT[−] group and 67.2% (κ = 0.538, moderate agreement) in the CRT[+] group (Table 4).
To detect residual viable tumor (non-T0) after CRT, the optimal SUVmax cut-off was 3.4 with sensitivity of 81.3% (95% CI, 63.0–92.1%); specificity of 84.6% (95% CI, 64.3–95.0%); PPV of 86.7% (95% CI, 68.4-95.6%); NPV of 78.6% (95% CI, 58.5–90.1%); and accuracy of 82.8% (95% CI, 73.0–92.5%). The area under the ROC curve was 0.89 (95% CI, 0.77–0.95, p < 0.001). Setting the SUVmax cut-off value at 2.2 with a negative likelihood ratio of 0.07 reduced the false-negative rate to 3.1% (sensitivity: 96.9%, specificity: 46.2%). Setting it at 5.5 with a positive likelihood ratio of 13.00 reduced the false-positive rate to 3.9% (sensitivity: 50%, specificity: 96.1%).
Our study showed that SUVmax of the esophageal tumor was the most significant independent factor associated with the pathological T-stage. Furthermore, using ROC analysis to define SUVmax cut-offs, we found that FDG PET/CT was able to predict pathological T-stage with acceptable accuracy (CRT[−] group: 73.3%; CRT[+] group: 67.2%). Using an SUVmax cut-off of 4.4 to differentiate early (T0-1) from locally advanced disease (T2–4) for CRT[−] group and an SUVmax cut-off of 3.4 to predict residual viable tumors (non-T0) for CRT[+] group, yielded an optimal diagnostic accuracy of 82.2% and 82.8%, respectively. These results indicated FDG PET/CT may provide preoperative T-staging of ESCC.
The SUVmax is a widely accepted and feasible parameter of PET/CT image used for cancer diagnosis and disease evaluation [17, 20, 22–25] because it is less observer-dependent and more reproducible than SUVmean . There must be variation in SUVmax used among different institutions with different PET/CT equipment. Our data were derived from the same PET/CT scanner with standardized image acquisition and reconstruction protocol that minimized the variation of technological factors. The other biological factors including radiotracer distribution time and level of fasting blood glucose were within a limited range, which would reduce variability in our SUV data. Another parameter of FDG PET, the total lesion glycolysis (TLG), is defined as the product of SUVmean and metabolic tumor volume (MTV). The TLG values are believed to reflect both the biological aggressiveness and tumor burden. Although data are limited with respect to TLG and esophageal cancer, recent reports suggest that TLG may be a useful prognostic factor [27, 28]. However, the lesions are usually defined by using a threshold method and thus the setting of threshold will result in some degree of variations in SUVmean, MTV and TLG. Currently, no single optimal threshold can provide accurate tumor delineation. Further validation of different published methods for measuring the tumor volumes is still needed.
PET/CT is known to have a limited role in evaluating an early-stage cancer with small volume and its T descriptor because of its restrictive spatial resolution. Using CT anatomical information and knowledge of the distance from the incisors to the tumor being endoscopically viewed, we could identify the ESCC for 25 of 30 patients (83.3%) with T1 tumors on PET/CT scans, even though it could not identify Tis tumors. The detection rate was much higher than that obtained using a PET scanner alone, which ranged from 43 to 55% [29, 30], and slightly higher than the 71% for T1 tumors reported by Manabe et al. , who used a PET/CT scanner.
Sun et al.  reported that tumor length affects FDG uptake in esophageal cancer, and that the T-stage of the primary tumor is not significantly correlated with the SUVmax after controlling for length. However, instead of multiplying the number of slices by the slice thickness on PET scans for tumor length and using clinical T-stage for the reference standards as they did, we used the pathological tumor size and pathological T-stage of the specimens as reference standards to permit a more reliable evaluation.
In the CRT[−] group, the major mistake made by PET/CT with thresholded SUVmax was overstaging, which accounted for 75% (9/12) of the erroneously staged patients. Six of the nine overstaged patients had polypoid tumors. A polypoid tumor protruding into the esophageal lumen but not aggressively extended through the esophageal wall might show high FDG avidity without being at an advanced T-stage. A representative example is shown in the additional file (Additional file 1: Figure S1). Using thresholded SUVmax to predict pathological T-stage, we need to be aware of the pitfall that polypoid tumors might have high SUVmax and thus can be easily overstaged. PET/CT does not offer detail anatomic information on how deeply the tumor has grown into the esophageal wall or into nearby structures. Other alternatives such as PET/MR  or EUS if feasible may offer superior resolution to get more reliably T stage for esophageal cancer. In patients without luminal obstruction or patients had no prior CRT before surgery, the T stage should be determined according to the EUS for increased accuracy .
Several studies [25, 34–36] have documented the value of a PET scan for assessing the esophageal tumor response to neoadjuvant CRT and for helping to identify residual disease after CRT. The PET scan, which is characterized by measuring the FDG concentration in metabolically active tissue, is independent of morphology and size despite a persistent mass effect, and offers the advantage of allowing us to differentiate viable tumors from tissue with no residual cancer. Using the qualitative or quantitative imaging analysis of the PET scan, the accuracy of the predictive value compared with the final pathology examination finding was reported to range between 53 and 79% [25, 34–36]. In the meta-analysis of Kwee et al. , they recommended that FDG PET should not yet be used in routine clinical practice to guide neoadjuvant therapy decisions. This conclusion was made from twenty heterogeneous groups with heterogeneous analysis methods. Most of them were composed with both adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. The largest group with pure squamous cell carcinoma enrolled 32 patients with ESCC . In a subgroup composed of 20 patients, they found the metabolic response measured by SUVmax changes between pre-CCRT and post-CCRT FDG PET scans were related to pathologic response with an accuracy of 70% . Our current study provided a larger group of patients with ESCC adds to the numerous studies that have already been performed. In our ROC analysis, the optimal cut-off SUVmax of 3.4 for a residual viable tumor was acceptably accurate: 82.8%. Moreover, an extremely low false-negative rate of 3.1% would be reached by setting the SUVmax cut-off at 2.2, which is comparable to the expected mortality rate of an esophagectomy; and an extremely low false-positive rate of 3.9% would be reached by setting the SUVmax cut-off at 5.5. These data may help physicians to provide opinions for patients with different comorbidities or operative risks to consider suspending or undergoing an esophagectomy after neoadjuvant CRT.
This study has several limitations. It was retrospective and thus prone to a selection bias. There was an unequal number of patients among each stage. Because of T4 lesion was not suitable for surgery without preoperative CRT in previous clinical practice, there was only one patient with a T4 lesion in the CRT[−] group. Moreover, the variance in SUV values of different PET/CT equipment and the test-retest reproducibility were unavailable from our data. These results should be validated in a prospective trial of FDG PET/CT for esophageal cancer.
FDG avidity of a primary esophageal tumor significantly positively correlated with the pathological T-stage. Although inherently unable to provide sufficient data directly distinguish how deeply the tumor has grown into the esophageal wall, PET/CT with thresholded SUVmax is useful for predicting the T-stage and for differentiating residual viable tumors of ESCC, which has the potential helpfulness to select treatment strategies for patients with esophageal cancer.
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Metabolic tumor volume
Negative predictive value
Positron emission tomography/computed tomography
Positive predictive value
Receiver operating characteristic
- SUVmax :
Maximal standardized uptake value
Standardized uptake values
Total lesion glycolysis
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We would like to thank the whole esophageal cancer team at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, for data collection and continuous support.
This study was supported by research grant CMRPG-8C1321 from the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Kaohsiung.
Availability of data and materials
Due to statutory provisions regarding data- and privacy protection, any additional materials of the study are only available upon individual request directed to the corresponding author.
Study concept and design: YCH, SHL. Acquisition of data: YCH, HIL, SCH, CCH, YCC. Analysis and interpretation of data: YCH, HIL, SHL. Drafting of the manuscript: YCH, SHL. Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: NTC, YMW, SHL. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Consent for publication
Ethics approval and consent to participate
This retrospective study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (No. 102-4625B) with a waiver of consent.
One patient in the CRT[−] group with polypoid esophageal cancer and unexpectedly high fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) avidity. Post-surgical histopathology proved the tumor to be stage T1. Representative (a) coronal (b) sagittal, and (c) transaxial computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET), and PET/CT fusion images (from left to right) showed a focal area of intensely increased FDG uptake in the lower thoracic esophagus (maximal standardized uptake value = 9.6); (d) endoscopy showed a polypoid tumor at about the 35 cm level from central incisors; and (e) endoscopic ultrasound showed the focal mucosal polypoid tumor (14.9 mm × 13.5 mm) invading the muscularis propria. (PDF 666 kb)
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Cite this article
Huang, Y., Lu, H., Huang, S. et al. FDG PET using SUVmax for preoperative T-staging of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma with and without neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. BMC Med Imaging 17, 1 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12880-016-0171-7
- Esophageal cancer
- Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy
- Positron emission tomography

domain: medical


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BBC Radio 2 Breakfast host Zoe Ball, 48, lost her partner Billy Yates to suicide in 2017, following a battle with depression aged 40.
The presenter has since moved on with boyfriend construction boss Michael Reed, but told fans Billy was “always” in her heart in a gushing tribute on Instagram yesterday.
In view of her 387,000 followers, she shared a picture of him alongside the caption: “Beautiful full moon for your birthday eve Billface.
“Your star still shines the brightest up there. Fly forever free. Always in this old [heart emoji] of mine.”
Your star still shines the brightest up there.
Many of Zoe’s fans and fellow celebrities flocked to her page to share their support.
Kate Thornton wrote: “Sending all the [love] in the world Zo x.”
“Lost my bro the same way. Heartbreaking and life-changing. Sending love,” a fan added.
A third commented: “Sending lots of love to you, it’s one beautiful moon tonight.”
Shortly after Billy’s death, Zoe Ball said she didn’t know how to help Billy with his mental health.
In a candid chat with the Radio Times, she said: “At the time Billy came into my life, I didn’t know how to help.
“I knew he had lived with depression for a long time. But he was a big strong guy.”
She added: “To see a man like that crumble under the pressure was heart-breaking to watch.
“I knew how much pain he was in. He couldn’t make sense of what was happening to him.
“It was almost like a change of light, you could see the pain come into his eyes.
She added: “I could see there was some sadness. I tried my best to help. But I look back and think, ‘I’m not sure I did the right thing’.”
Zoe started dating Billy following the breakdown of her marriage from DJ and record producer Fatboy Slim, aka Norman Cook, 56.
The latter is the father to her two children; son Woody, 18, and nine-year-old daughter Nelly.
In December 2017, Zoe started dating construction boss Michael.
At the time a source told The Sun: “It is great to see Zoe with a spring in her step — smiling and enjoying life again.
“She has had a tough time of it this year so deserves some happiness.”
For support about any of the issues raised in this article please call the Samaritans in the UK on 116 123.
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Updated First Aid Guidelines
Synopsis: The American Red Cross and American Heart Association announced changes to guidelines for administering first aid.(1)
Author: American Red Cross Contact: www.redcross.org
Published: 2015-10-16 Updated: 2017-11-11
Among the most noteworthy revisions are new and updated recommendations for the treatment of bleeding; recognition of stroke; recovery position; anaphylaxis (severe allergic reaction) and treatment of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) in diabetics.
First aid is defined as the assistance given to any person suffering a sudden illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, and/or promote recovery. It includes initial intervention in a serious condition prior to professional medical help being available, such as performing CPR whilst awaiting an ambulance, as well as the complete treatment of minor conditions, such as applying a plaster to a cut.
Volunteer experts from 14 national and international organizations joined the Red Cross and the American Heart Association in reviewing 22 separate first aid questions. Experts analyzed the science behind each question and worked to reach consensus on related treatment recommendations with the goal of reducing morbidity and mortality due to emergency events. Last updated in 2010, these recommendations form the recognized scientific basis for most first aid training around the world.
"First aid can be initiated by anyone in any situation, and our responsibility as experts is to designate assessments and interventions that are medically sound and based on scientific evidence or expert consensus. Knowing the correct steps to take in those critical first moments of an emergency can mean the difference between life and death," said Eunice "Nici" Singletary, M.D., co-chair of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) First Aid Task Force and chair of the First Aid Guidelines writing group. Singletary also serves as chair of the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council's First Aid Subcouncil.
"The 2015 First Aid Guidelines reaffirm previous recommendations and highlight ways we can help save more lives from illness and injury," said Clifton Callaway, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the AHA's Emergency Cardiovascular Care committee and professor of emergency medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. "Anyone can provide first aid, and everyone should. The Guidelines integrate the latest science to create evidence-based recommendations for training and preparation. Everyone should learn how to initiate first aid and act quickly when it is needed."
The revised guidelines stress the importance of stopping severe bleeding as a critical first aid skill. Almost all bleeding can be controlled by steady, direct, manual pressure, with or without a gauze or cloth dressing over the wound. The guidelines recommend pressing hard and holding steady pressure for at least five minutes without lifting dressings to see if the bleeding has stopped. While direct pressure is still the first line of defense, the guidelines acknowledge the important role tourniquets and hemostatic agents play in stopping life-threatening bleeding when standard measures fail or are not possible. Tools now available and recommended to first aid providers include tourniquets for severe bleeding on a leg or arm. For open wounds not on an extremity, the guidelines suggest use of a hemostatic dressing, which is coated with a special agent to enhance clotting and help stop bleeding when correctly applied and combined with direct pressure. Hemostatic dressings are readily available online and at pharmacies.
Hypoglycemia in diabetics:
Early treatment of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) while the patient is still conscious and still able to follow instructions can prevent progression to more serious hypoglycemia that would require more advanced treatment. To avoid lay responders from giving too much or too little sugar, the new guidelines recommend use of glucose tablets purchased at a retail pharmacy. Glucose tablets have been shown to be more effective at resolving symptoms of hypoglycemia than dietary forms of sugar. If glucose tablets are not available, food sources such as sucrose candies, dried fruit, or orange juice can still be used.
If the person is unresponsive and breathing normally, without any suspected spine, hip or pelvis injury, turn the victim to a lateral side-lying position. Studies show some respiratory improvement in this position compared to a supine, or face-up, position. In addition to the change from the supine position, the modified HAINES position is no longer recommended due to lack of scientific evidence.
Under the revised guidelines for treating anaphylaxis (severe allergic reaction), if symptoms persist beyond the initial dose and arrival of advanced care will exceed 5-10 minutes, the first aid provider may give a second epinephrine injection from a prescribed auto-injector.
Recognition of stroke:
Approximately 800,000 Americans have a stroke each year, leaving them at risk for long-term disability. Early recognition of stroke through the use of a stroke assessment system decreases the interval between the time that the incident occurs and the time it takes for that person to arrive at a hospital and receive specific treatment. This faster time to treatment may reduce the damage and disability from a stroke. This is the first time that the guidelines have examined the science behind inclusion of a stroke identification system into all first aid courses.
Use of aspirin with heart attacks:
The updated guidelines clarify that aspirin should be used when helping someone suspected of having a heart attack, characterized by symptoms such as chest pain accompanied by nausea, sweating and pain in the arm and back. If the first aid provider is unclear on whether this is a heart attack or simply someone experiencing non-cardiac related chest pain or discomfort, then aspirin should not be given. Additionally, the updated guidelines emphasize that there is no need to distinguish between enteric versus non-enteric coated aspirin as long as the aspirin is chewed and swallowed.
- 1: Quake Kare's ER™ Blood Stopper Kit Stops Severe Bleeding from Penetrating Wounds : Lighthouse for the Blind-Saint Louis (2018/03/28)
- 2: Child Swallowed Button Battery? Honey May Reduce Injury : Wiley (2018/06/12)
- 3: Mental Health First Aid - Helping Others : Wendy Taormina-Weiss (2011/10/13)
- 4: Updated First Aid Guidelines : American Red Cross (2015/10/16)
- 5: A New Order for CPR, Spelled C-A-B : American Heart Association (2010/10/18)
- 6: CPR Successful on Man with No Pulse for 96 Minutes : Mayo Clinic (2011/05/02)
- 7: Wound Care Basics: Bandages and Skin Moisture : Thomas C. Weiss (2014/01/13)
• Disabled World is strictly a news and information website provided for general informational purpose only and does not constitute medical advice. Materials presented are in no way meant to be a substitute for professional medical care by a qualified practitioner, nor should they be construed as such. Any 3rd party offering or advertising on disabled-world.com does not constitute endorsement by Disabled World. Please report outdated or inaccurate information to us.


Find all our #MONDIAL2022 live broadcasts here
11:53am : @Kevin: The data published by Mediametrie speak of 5.13 million viewers yesterday afternoon, against 3.98 million in 2018 for the start of the World Cup in Russia. But beware of hasty conclusions, because the opening match played four years ago was played on a Thursday afternoon, and not on a Sunday.
11:53am : Hi, do you have any data on the audience for the opening match? Is there a boycott effect?
11:33 : Initially part of the “One Love” initiative, France had already announced, through the voice of their captain, that they would not wear this armband. “Before doing things you need the agreement of Fifa and the Federation”explained Hugo Lloris, last Monday.
11:30 : “We were prepared to pay the applicable penalties in case of non-compliance with the equipment rules (…). But we cannot put our players in a situation where they could be booked or even forced off the pitch.”
Players who allegedly wore this anti-discrimination armband exposed themselves to a potential yellow card, because the competition regulations require captains to wear “the bracelets supplied by Fifa”.
11:25 : Germany, England, Belgium, Denmark, Wales, Holland and Switzerland declare that they have renounced their captains to wear the “One Love” armband, while stating “frustrated” by the inflexibility of Fifa.
(Sebastian Gollnow / DPA / AFP)
11:20 : The seven European selections that planned to wear the inclusive “One Love” armband have announced that they will give it up in the face of the threat of “sporting sanctions”.
11:16 : @ciclo_ecolo: The air conditioning was turned on during the opening game yesterday, despite the wind in the evening, as reported by RMC. Hot (and cold) reaction from Ecuadorian supporter: “Our feet were frozen. We covered ourselves with our flag.”
11:15 : Good morning everyone. Do you know (…) if the air conditioning was turned on in the stadiums? A quick look at the weather forecast indicates temperatures of 22 to 28 degrees…
10:56 : When we tell you about Iran, you probably think more of the protest movement against the regime that has been going on since September and is undergoing a bloody repression than of their participation in the World Cup. This is also the case for some of the players who, through symbolic gestures or on social media, have made it clear that they are supporting the protesters. I’ll explain why they will therefore be scrutinized when they take the field against England (at 2 pm), in their country and in the rest of the world.
(JAKUB SUKUP / AFP)
10:24 : “We players, what we are asked to do is play on the pitch, respect our country and its federation as much as possible. There are several worthy causes that must be supported, but FIFA organizes the competition.”
10:24 : Hugo Lloris responds to controversy over his refusal to wear the ‘One Love’ armband, featuring LGBT colors and aimed at promoting inclusion. ‘Fifa organizes the competition, sets a framework’he just justified in the press conference.
08:57 : Good morning @Leprechaun. In fact, you can exclude messages about the World Cup in Qatar (or any other news) by clicking on the corresponding hashtag at the top of the live broadcast. You will then have to select “exclude”. However, several Android users reported a bug to us yesterday with this option on their application, we are working to fix this.
08:57 : Hi FI, maybe you could remind your readers how to turn off information about the world, in your life?
08:30 : Qatar has found the parade. Since the mainstream media didn’t seem to see her many strengths, she ended up outsourcing her World Cup after-sales service to influencers whom she nurtured, hosted and pampered. And it did not fail: several Frenchmen were approached. Our investigation with Pierre Godon.
(JEREMIE LUCIANI / FRANCEINFO)
07:27 : Many of you, in the comments of the live broadcast, question the treatment of franceinfo.fr during this World Cup in Qatar. The organization of this competition followed by hundreds of millions of people arouses lively controversy. We have chosen to cover the sporting aspect of the event but also to highlight the aberrations – ecological, economic, social and sporting – represented by this World Championship organized in the middle of the desert thanks, in particular, to the work of our journalists on site. Find all our topics on the subject by going to the page “Le Mondial des aberrations”.
07:21 : How is it that the World Cup is still on the front page of your site compared to other news…
07:21 : Hello, will we still be entitled to dozens of articles, notifications and live news about the World Cup? It is absurd that this information is processed by your services despite the many articles you have written about it! Where is your constancy?


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Last week Mary Cheney asked why blackface is bad but drag isn't. Here's what she wrote:
Why is it socially acceptable ... for men to put on dresses, make up and high heels and act out every offensive stereotype of women (bitchy, catty, dumb, slutty, etc.) -- but it is not socially acceptable ... for a white person to put on blackface and act out offensive stereotypes of African Americans?
Shouldn't both be ok or neither?
And can you believe that made people upset? Usually my videos are about what's happening with marriage equality over on my show Marriage News Watch, but I just have to weigh in here, because I love drag, I work with drag queens, and I've seen a lot of people who don't know how to answer her question. Even if we think it's a dumb question, we should have a smart, simple answer. So let's talk about it: Why is drag different from blackface?
On the surface, yeah, there are similarities between blackface and drag. They're both one group posing as another group. They both rely on exaggerated stereotypes of people who are disempowered. They're both over-the-top caricatures.
But blackface is inherently racist. You can't take the racism out of it. Drag, on the other hand, you can easily separate from misogyny. Most drag -- in fact, almost all drag -- is about strong, powerful, admirable female characters. With blackface black people are the butt of the joke. But with drag it's not women who are the butt of the joke but rules about gender roles. Nobody looks at a drag queens and thinks, "Oh, yeah, that's what women are really like" -- the way that a lot of Americans did with blackface and minstrel shows.
And there's something else going on with drag. Unlike stock minstrel characters, drag characters are a personal expression of the performer. Drag queens aren't just imitating female stereotypes; they're expressing how fluid their own gender can be. That's why a performer's drag name, and drag family, and drag costume are so important to them. Blackface performers, on the other hand, aren't expressing anything internal. They're not asserting their personal racial fluidity. All that blackface does is lie about what people of color are like.
Now there is, of course, bad drag. Bad drag is just a man wearing a dress, not making any effort to perform, or create a character, or express anything. With bad drag, the whole joke is that it's supposedly embarrassing for a man to be seen acting feminine. That's not real drag. That's just ridiculing women and queers, and if you want to be fancy about it, it's perpetuating the cycle of patriarchal hegemony. That's bad.
I'm saying that drag is not demeaning to women, but maybe you shouldn't completely take my word for it, because I'm not a woman. A lot of the people publicly weighing in right now are men. And that's great, but since we're talking about how drag affects women, it's important to, you know, actually listen to what women are saying about it.
And this gets to another difference between drag and blackface. Not only are women not usually offended by drag, but women actually perform drag themselves. Even little girls do drag when they dress up as princesses. Those are exaggerated feminine characters, an expression of an attraction to or curiosity about gender roles. Drag is how you explore who you are, or who you can become. As RuPaul says, we're born naked and the rest is drag. No one has ever said we're born naked and the rest is a minstrel show.
So let's sum it up. Next time someone asks why drag is OK and blackface isn't, you can tell them that drag is an expression of yourself, whereas blackface is an attack on someone else; blackface reinforces an imbalance of power, whereas drag disassembles an imbalance of power; blackface is a relic, whereas drag is what we all do, every day, every time we put on clothes.
So hopefully that clears things up, and the next time we're talking about Mary Cheney, we're talking instead about how she supports the disastrous Keystone pipeline. Or how she donated money to Republican candidates who opposed the freedom to marry, like Mitt Romney, and Kelly Ayotte, and Rob Portman (before he changed his mind), and Sam Brownback, for crying out loud. In 2012 Gov. Brownback recommended that Kansas keep a law that allows the police to arrest you just for being gay. Cheney apparently liked that so much that, two years later, her consulting firm spent over half a million dollars on Brownback's reelection campaign. She also supported the reelection of Florida Gov. Rick McCollum; he's the guy who hired "ex-gay" abuser George Rekers to testify against marriage equality. Rekers was later spotted returning from a European vacation with a rent boy, and we really haven't heard a lot from him since then.
So if Mary really wants to talk about LGBT issues, she could start by apologizing for any number of those mistakes. Or for completely misrepresenting what drag is when she wrote last week that performers "act out every offensive stereotype of women (bitchy, catty, dumb, slutty, etc)." In a million years, that is not even a fragment of what drag is. If she really misunderstands drag that deeply, maybe she should try spending a little less time with Sam Brownback and a little more time around other gay people.
Big thanks to all my friends who commented on Facebook about this issue and messaged me privately to share their thoughts. I couldn't have articulated any of this without your help, so please, keep talking, and let me know what you think. I'm @mattbaume on Twitter. And if you're in Seattle, let's go catch a drag show sometime.

domain: sociology


text:
My summer reading, that is.
Which is at least part of the reason this poor blog sits unwritten-in, lonely and neglected these days.
But I have been on a major reading tear over the last several weeks, staying up waaay too late and losing sleep to see how things end. I must confess that much of my reading is pure escapism, not really edifying or educational in any way, although some of the books have made me really think about different things. I finished Love, Greg and Lauren, and jumped into The Passion of Mary Margaret, which is a really good story that didn't go at all as I expected it to. It's the story of a religious sister who knows from a very early age what she wants to do with her life and sets out to do just that, only to find that Jesus has other plans for her. He literally sits down in her kitchen and tells her so. I thought all the way through that book, how great would that be, to have Jesus sit down at my table for a cup of coffee and say, "Good morning sweet pea. Here's what I have planned for you." I'd always know for sure what God intends for me, what His plans are for my day, my week, my life. I wouldn't spend time needlessly worrying about if I'm doing what God wants, or if I've convinced myself that what I want is what God wants, by the sheer force of my desire. In any case, it was a good book that I enjoyed reading, and there were some real surprises that I didn't see coming. I don't like to give away spoilers so I won't tell you what the surprises are, but suffice it to say that it wasn't plodding or predictable.
From there I jumped into Unbroken, for my book club, and I'm SO bummed out I had to miss the meeting where we discussed it. What a phenomenal story, and written so beautifully. It's the story of Louie Zamperini, written by Laura Hillenbrand. He was a troublemaker kid in Torrance, CA, in the 1930's, who fell in love with running and was training in hopes of running in the 1940 Olympics, and when they were canceled because of World War II, he went into the Army instead and became a bombardier on B-24s. He and his crew crashed one day and he, along with two other crewmembers survived the crash and drifted at sea. After an astounding 47 days drifting in a liferaft, with very little food or water, and nearly constantly hounded by hungry sharks, he and his pilot were rescued and ultimately taken prisoner by the Japanese. He endured nothing less than hell on earth and eventually made it back home to tell his story. He is still traveling today, speaking at churches and community centers. Hillenbrand is a fantastic writer; I felt like I knew him personally and there were several points in the book that were suspenseful enough to make me stay up reading into the wee hours just to know what happened. This was one of those books that really affected me. I'm a military person and a history nerd, but that's only part of it. Amazing story, amazing man, amazing book. Read it.
I also motored through Then Came You, Jennifer Weiner's new one. A story of three women who don't know each other, have very little in common, and yet their lives are permanently intertwined. I love Jennifer Weiner's books and this one was no exception. Her style is just so comfortable...easy to read, snarky and funny and clever, but also heartbreakingly real and vulnerable.
I found Emily Giffin this summer too...I'm usually late to the party, and it's not as if she is new to the world of books. I just hadn't read her before, and she is similar to Jennifer Weiner in that her books would be considered 'chick lit' but they're not fluffy. My husband would never read her books, but they're about far more than who's having an affair with whom, or rich trophy wives and their shoe collections. I've read Heart of the Matter (which I finished at 2:30 am the morning after I bought it....HAD to know where it was going) which addresses infidelity in a very thoughtful and thought-provoking way, and Love the One You're With, which is about a question most of us have asked ourselves at some point, if we're really honest with ourselves. It's about "the one who got away"....what if you got a chance to make that choice again? It's romance, yes, but much more at the same time.
I have started and set aside The Hunger Games a couple of times and I'm not sure why. I did it this week, in fact. I am reading Working It Out right now, by Abby Rike. If you're not a Biggest Loser fan, you probably don't know who Abby Rike is, but she was a contestant a couple of seasons ago. She had by far the saddest story of anyone there, at least to my mind. She lost her husband, her 5 1/2 year old daughter and her two week old son all at the same time, in a horrific car crash, and it just devastated her. As a mom, I can't even fathom what that would be like. She insulated herself with food and the weight gain that came with it, and ultimately became a contestant on The Biggest Loser. Her story is inspirational and the love story of her marriage is bittersweet.
Next up is Angry Housewives Eating Bonbons, for my book club. I've read it before and was the one who suggested it, but I am looking forward to reading it again. It's the story of housewives who live on the same block and become friends, bonding over books and weathering life's storms together. It's the story of the strength of friendships and how, sometimes, a girl just needs her girlfriends, even more than the other important people in her life. Good stuff.
I hope that I can find time to do all the reading I still want to do! I've read a lot in spite of lots of summertime running around, but there are still so many books, so little time. I hope that you're able to make a dent in your summer reading, and while you're at it, leave me some suggestions from your list!

domain: literature


text:
(Garage Tales By Scieszka, Jon)Garage Tales[Hardcover] On 14-Sep-2010
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (September 14, 2010)
Amazon Rank: 18661471
Format: PDF Text djvu ebook
The 25 engaging reading selections in Read and Understand with Leveled Texts, Grade 5 are leveled according to Lexile® criteria, so you can easily match texts to students abilities. It is written in such a way that the book can grow with him- he is two and a half at this point, and we can go through page by page and read the simple alphabet phrases such as "H is for hockey" and "I is for island"; Later on, we can read the descriptions on each page of why the included objects are important to the people of Prince Edward Island. Don't let the word "raw" put you off - it simply means natural food that doesn't need cooking to eat. I believe she did that to emphasize how much her life was like before the fascism and war that wrecked her country. ebook (Garage Tales By Scieszka, Jon)Garage Tales[Hardcover] On 14-Sep-2010 Pdf Epub. Remonter le fleuve, fouiller les terrains alluviaux du recit, etudier les differentes formes de copresence de deux ou de plusieurs textes dans le Manuscrit, tel etait l'objectif du Colloque International Jean Potocki qui s'est tenu a Louvain et a Anvers, du 30 mars au 1er avril 2000. He studied history at Oxford University. Magoo's Christmas Carol to life, the first (and one of the most beloved) of all animated television Christmas specials. Every so often, I'll read or experience something that I want to wrap up in velvet cloth and carry close to my heart like a treasure. Darkness represents the opposite, the absence of God and the lack of hope. Other poems were a quick read. Cuando necesites un estímulo espiritual, ¡vuélvete a De corazón a corazón: Un devocional diario, de Helen Steiner Rice. Barry weaves his own odyssey to “Beatle Island” into a tale of fame, freaks, bad liquor and bad weather, with Lennon—angry, brilliant, sarcastic, tender, on a doomed quest for artistic release and his Irish roots—at its centre. Great book, quick delivery. " - Helen Hegener, Publisher and Managing Editor, Home Education Magazine". Be confident in plotting, manipulating and interpreting data on a stereonet using our notebook for practice.
- pdf ebooks


text:
This is the story of Baxter Janus, a professional photographer, told from two viewpoints, in two voices; both of them are his. First, an imaginative, precocious, optimistic young boy growing into adulthood looks forward to an exciting life, telling of his dreams and ambitions. Then Baxter, nearing the end of his life, looks back at what went right…and what went wrong along the way. A startling revelation in his later years sends his quiet, albeit boring retirement into a tailspin.
Spanning nearly seventy years, from the end of World War II to present day, it chronicles his many adventures and misadventures, highs, lows, laughter and tears, as well as meeting several diverse, memorable and influential characters that help shape Baxter’s life, even when he least expects it.


text:
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare leaked
Kicking off the pre-E3 leaks this year is something out of left field. Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare, thought to be an upcoming installment of PopCap Games‘ well known series was outed in a picture by Gamekyo, showing off promotional posters and other material from the E3 conference halls.
If it wasn’t already obvious enough, typing in the URL pvzgardenwarfare.com redirects you to PopCap’s website. Rumors circulating the net’s gaming forums, including NeoGAF (where you can find even more pictures), have dubbed the game as running on EA’s Frostbite 3 Engine, as well as being a Team Fortress esque FPS.
Remember for everything E3, keep your eyes focused here at iGR!


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Raw dog food diets are controversial. But the popularity of the diet -- which emphasizes raw meat, bones, fruits, and vegetables -- is rising. What exactly is a “raw diet” and can your pet benefit from it? Let’s take a closer look at this controversial diet as well as its benefits and risks.
What is a raw food dog diet?
A raw food diet is just what it sounds like — you feed your dog only raw products like raw muscle meat, organ meat, whole or ground bones, dog-safe fruits, and vegetables. Raw eggs and dairy products like yogurt are sometimes added to the dog’s raw diet.
Australian veterinarian Ian Billinghurst was the first proponent of raw diets for domesticated dogs. Racing greyhounds and sled dogs have long eaten raw food diets before these feeding practices were extended to the family pet. Dr. Billinghurst suggested that adult dogs would thrive on an evolutionary diet based on what canines ate before they became domesticated: Raw, meaty bones and vegetable scraps. He called his feeding suggestions the BARF diet, an acronym that stands for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food.
Since Dr. Billinghurst’s suggestion in the 90s, raw food diets for pets have become increasingly popular. Today, commercially prepared raw dog diets are widely available at pet stores. These commercial preparations are frozen or freeze-dried and made with raw meat, bones, organ meats, and vegetables. Herbs, berries, seeds, and even vitamins may be added to further enhance the nutritional value of these commercial raw foods. Some raw feeders have voiced concern that commercial raw diets are not truly ‘natural’ and they do not closely mirror what dogs would eat in the wild. Commercial or homemade, many dog owners who switched their pups to raw food cite these benefits: healthier skin and coat, improved dental health, increased energy, and smaller stools.
Benefits of feeding raw
Many pet parents choose to feed a raw diet because it’s more natural and less processed than most commercial pet diets currently available. Others simply feed raw because their dogs love it. Regardless of the reason, almost all raw feeders will agree to one or more of these health benefits:
Improved skin and coat
Raw diets contain many ingredients that support skin and coat health, one of the most notable and researched being omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are heat sensitive. Research has shown that omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, will start to degrade at 50 °C. With a raw food diet, omega-3 fatty acids are undamaged by heat. Healthy omega fats play a large role in supporting healthy skin and coats in dogs. Foods high in omega-3 fatty acids that can be added to our pup’s homemade raw diet include salmon, sardines, and mackerel.
Improved dental health
In some instances, poor dental hygiene has been attributed to a poor diet, especially one that is heavily processed and high in carbohydrates. Raw, meaty bones are well-known as being nature’s dental chews for dogs. The mechanical action of chewing on a meaty bone helps to remove plaque, which then minimises the formation of tartar (calcified plaque). Do ensure that you give only raw bones to your pups and always supervise your dog while they’re chewing a bone. Raw meaty bones can be purchased from your local butcher. For easy feeding, you may want to consider getting frozen pre-portioned meaty bones like this Organic Paws Beef Bones Frozen Raw Dog Food from selected pet shops. Generally, feeding one to two bones a week is a good place to start.
Reduced stool volume and odour
An effect of having a diet made up of highly digestible ingredients for your pet is that more of what goes in is absorbed, and utilised so less comes out the other end. Low-quality dog food often contains a higher amount of carbohydrates and filler ingredients such as soy, potato, corn, and rice. These fillers can bulk out your pup’s stool, leading to a larger amount of stool volume with a heavy odour. As most raw diets contain no fillers, you’ll notice a significant reduction in the dog’s stool volume.
Homemade raw diet safety
If you want to homemade your raw dog food, make sure to consult a veterinary nutritionist to avoid nutrient deficiencies or access. Long-term nutrient imbalances can be detrimental to your pup’s health. Here are some safety guidelines recommended to help reduce the risk of cross-contamination.
- Avoid touching your face or mouth while handling raw pet food. Thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water after handling raw meat.
- Clean and disinfect all surfaces, utensils, and other objects that came into contact with the raw ingredients. Use soap and water for cleaning.
- Freeze raw meat until you're ready to use it. Thaw the raw meat in your refrigerator, not in the sink or on the countertop.
- Carefully handle raw meat or poultry to avoid spreading raw juices to other areas.
- If your pet doesn't finish his raw food, dispose of the leftovers. Do not leave your pet’s raw food in this bowl.
- Wash your hands with soap and water after handling your dog’s raw food. It's also a good idea to wear disposable gloves while handling your dog's food and to feed him on disposable plates. Using disposable plates can be helpful if you have young children or family members (including pets) who are immunocompromised and are susceptible to foodborne illnesses.
There are plenty of high-quality, commercial raw dog diets available, and here are some of our customers’ favourites.
The Grateful Pet Raw Dog Food. The Grateful Pet is the only pet superfood company in Asia Pacific. The company focuses on including only high quality, functional Asian and Western health ingredients with benefits backed by scientific research for pets such as New Zealand Green Lipped Mussels, Prebiotic Seaweed, Reishi Mushroom, Dandelion Root & Milk Thistle.
PetCubes Raw Dog Food. PetCubes is Singapore's first commercial manufacturer and distributor of fresh pet food. PetCubes produces Gently-cooked & raw dog food with a variety of proteins that encourage rotation feeding. The diet contains no salt, sugar, preservatives, fillers, additives, GMO ingredients, by-products, or grain.
Small Batch Freeze Dried Lamb Sliders Dog Food. If you’re looking to feed raw but with the convenience of the kibble - easy to feed, long shelf life and no need for refrigeration – try this Small Batch freeze-dried, raw dog food. Small Batch uses only fresh whole vegetables and herbs that are certified organic, non-GMO, and free of pesticides. All meats used are humanely raised, antibiotic and hormone-free.
Nandi Freeze-Dried Karoo Ostrich Entree Dog Food. If your pup is a picky eater and you’re searching for exotic, unique proteins, check out the Nandi Freeze-Dried Dog Food range. Nandi’s Dog Food are nutritionally complete and balance. All their proteins are sustainably and ethically sourced.
For parents with picky eaters, check out our Try & Buy section, and get a wallet-friendly trial pack before purchasing the full size products. We have a good variety of dog food including freeze-dried options across a range of proteins to tease your furkid's tastebud.
Adding raw to your dog’s kibble
Perhaps you are not ready to switch your pup’s diet from the conventional kibble to a 100% raw diet. But, with the growing interest and body of evidence supporting raw species-appropriate dog diets, you may be wondering how to safely add raw into your dog’s kibble. The simplest way to safely mix raw with kibble and boost the nutritional value of your pup’s kibble, is to use a freeze-dried, raw food topper like this OC Raw Dog Meaty Rox Beef Freeze Dried Dog Food Topper.
It is generally safe to mix raw and cooked food unless your dog has a sensitive digestive system or an increased stomach pH level (less acidic stomach). A dog’s stomach is highly acidic and it doesn’t just digest food. The acidic stomach also protects the dog from bacteria and other harmful organisms that might be eaten along with his food. A less acidic stomach would increase the risk of illness from salmonella, E.coli, and other harmful pathogens that may be present in poorly prepared raw food.
Feeding raw has both its benefits and risks. If you choose to feed raw, weigh the benefits and risks, and make an informed decision. Raw dog food can be homemade but look for recipes that are AAFCO-approved or work with a veterinary nutritionist for a well-balanced recipe. An unbalanced diet can lead to nutritional deficiencies or excesses, resulting in detrimental health consequences like obesity, poor skin health, dull coat, allergies, and behavioural issues. Alternatively, get high-quality commercially prepared raw dog food. Do be aware that dogs with certain diseased conditions like pancreatitis may do better on freshly, cooked food. If you are still unsure, please discuss with your veterinarian the best type of food to feed your dog.
Katherine is a Pet Nutrition Specialist and GDP’s Pet Wellness Advisor. She is committed to helping pet owners make informed dietary and lifestyle choices in nurturing healthy pets. Katherine is also a practicing Nutritional Therapist (human nutrition) and has been helping hundreds of clients to heal naturally with nutrients.