text:
18th December 2020 – Editorials/Opinions Analyses
Home » 18th December 2020 – Editorials/Opinions Analyses
Newsticles December 2020
Shackles and ties
Converting waste to energy
Editorial: Shackles and ties
With the transition period of the U.K.'s exit from the EU (or Brexit) ending this month, the Boris Johnson government is beginning to firm up its partnerships outside its region, and British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab's Delhi visit came with a declaration of immediate and longer-term goals for the India-U.K. relationship.
GS Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional, Global groupings & Agreements (involving and/or affecting India)
Mains Questions
India and the U.K. must not allow concerns of the moment to dominate their relationship. Discuss. 15 Marks
A new chapter in their post-COVID-19, post-Brexit relationship would necessarily entail the U.K. to be more sensitive to India's concerns, and for India to be less sensitive when Britain expresses its concerns. Discuss. 15 Marks
Overview of India-UK Relationship
Issues between two Countries
UK-India relationship is rooted in India's colonial history with the British and the relationship shared by both countries even after India's independence. The bilateral relationship was upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2004. Key areas of relation between two are:
Trade and investments:
Trade between India and UK touched $15.5 billion with a $2 billion trade surplus in favour of India. UK is the 4th largest inward investor in India accounting for around 7% of all foreign direct investment into India. India is the second largest investor in the UK.
There are 842 Indian companies in the UK, employing more than 110,000 people.
This year, both sides agreed to establish 'Enhanced Trade Partnership', which is the first step towards a free trade agreement.
Defence Relations
Ajeya Warrior (army-to-army biennial exercise), the Konakan (joint navy-to-navy annual exercise) and the Indradhanush (joint air-to-air exercise) happens between India and UK.
A bilateral Defence Consultative Group (DCG) meeting has taken place annually between the top officials of the Defence Ministry since 1995.
Joint investment in UK-India research has grown from less than £1 million in 2008 to over £200 million.
By 2021, the UK-India Newton-Bhabha programme will provided with more than £400m on joint research and innovation.
Cultural and Diaspora Relations
The year 2017 was declared as UK India year of Culture. The 2011 census records approximately 1.5 million people of Indian origin in the UK equating to almost 1.8 percent of the population and contributing 6% of the country's GDP.
In 2017 almost one million Britons visited India. Also, there has been a gradual mainstreaming of Indian culture and absorption of Indian cuisine, cinema, languages, religion, philosophy, performing arts, etc. in UK.
Issues in India-UK relations
The UK does not have a government-to-government framework for arms sales to India, relying instead on commercial-led transactions.
UK is an active participant in Belt and Road Initiative of China for which India raised sovereignty issues.
Colonial hangover in public is affecting the policy makers of India to take decisions for close relations with UK.
Brexit raises major issues for Indian business: o Political uncertainty and oscillating business policy along with fluctuating market share and prospect. o Restructuring to set up EU subsidiaries of Indian companies.
Two sides should reinvigorate the crucial bilateral relationship, with Britain supporting India's greater international role, and its global aspirations for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council and membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
Britain looks at Commonwealth (group of 53 states, with majority part of the former British Empire) as a sort of post-Brexit lifeboat. Britain and India could work the Commonwealth in concert and to mutual benefit.
UK and India can engage with the Indian ambitions for urbanization, digitization and skill development. There is scope for collaboration in areas of education, science, and creative industries etc.
For India, post-Brexit cover a range of highly desirable scenarios such more employment opportunities in Britain for skilled Indian workers. Also, India can conclude an FTA directly with UK as India-EU FTA talks are stalled over the years.
Enhancing Cooperation: Strategic Partnership to a "Comprehensive" Strategic Partnership, which will envision closer military ties, cooperation in Indo-Pacific strategies, counter-terrorism and fighting climate change.
A new chapter in their post-COVID-19, post-Brexit relationship would necessarily entail the U.K. to be more sensitive to India's concerns, and for India to be less sensitive when Britain expresses its concerns.
Editorial: Converting waste to energy
On December 2, Karnataka Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for a 11.5 MW waste-to-energy plant near Bidadi. This plant is expected to process 600 tonnes per day of inorganic waste.
GS Paper 3: Environmental conservation; Environmental pollution and degradation; Environmental Impact Assessment.
Mains Questions:
What is waste to energy? How it will help to address waste pollution in cities and also provide renewable energy. 15 Marks
What is Waste to Energy?
Techniques related to Waste to Energy
Significance of Waste to Energy
Challenges related to Waste to Energy
Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energy-from-waste (EfW) is the process of generating energy in the form of electricity and/or heat from the primary treatment of waste, or the processing of waste into a fuel source. WtE is a form of energy recovery. Waste contains:
Biomass, or biogenic (plant or animal products), materials such as paper, cardboard, food waste, grass clippings, leaves, wood, and leather products
Non-biomass combustible materials such as plastics and other synthetic materials made from petroleum
Non-combustible materials such as glass and metals
Techniques related to Waste to Energy:
Incineration: It uses MSW as a fuel, burning it with high volumes of air to form carbon dioxide and heat. In a waste-to-energy plant that uses incineration, these hot gases are used to make steam, which is then used to generate electricity.
Gasification: It is a process that converts organic or fossil fuel based carbonaceous materials into carbon monoxide, hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
Pyrolysis It involves application of heat with no added oxygen in order to generate oils and/or syngas (as well as solid waste outputs) and requires more homogenous waste streams.
Bio methanation: It is a process by which organic material is microbiologically converted under anaerobic conditions to biogas. It involves fermenting bacteria, organic acid oxidizing bacteria, and methanogenic archaea.
Significance of Waste to Energy:
Waste Disposal: Waste-to-Energy (or energy-from-waste) facilities provide a safe, technologically advanced means of waste disposal that reduces greenhouse gases, generates clean energy and recycles metal.
Mitigate Climate Change: Waste-to-Energy (WTE) is widely recognized as a technology that can help mitigate climate change. This is because the waste combusted at a WTE facility doesn't generate methane, as it would at a landfill; the metals that would have been sent to the landfill are recovered for recycling instead of being thrown out; and the electricity generated offsets the greenhouse gases that would otherwise have been generated from coal and natural gas plants.
Net Greenhouse Gas Reducer: Methane is a greenhouse gas which is mostly emitted from decomposing waste in landfills. WtE facilities avoid the production of methane while producing almost ten times more electricity from each ton of waste compared to landfills.
Resource savings and recovery greatly expanded: Metals left in the municipal solid waste stream can be extracted from the ash resulting from incineration and the metals can be recycled.
24*7 Electricity: WTE facilities, unlike wind and solar, are capable of providing 24*7 renewable electrical power.
Landfill usage and expansion greatly reduced: Waste to energy facilities typically reduce waste volumes by 90%. Fewer and smaller landfills are needed to process.
Transportation of waste long distances can be greatly reduced with a waste to energy facility in a community, resulting in less air pollution.
Challenges related to Waste to Energy:
Low Calorific Waste: Municipal waste in India is often not segregated properly. It has a very high biodegradable (wet) waste content ranging anywhere between 60 and 70 per cent of the total, compared with 30 per cent in the West. This gives our waste a high moisture content and low calorific value. In Delhi, for example, only 12 per cent of the waste can be thermally treated through incineration technologies.
High Toxic Waste: Incinerators develop toxic ash or slag, containing heavy metals and gas pollutants which are toxic (corrosive impact) and pollute underground water. · Expensive power: Compared to Rs 3-4 per kWh from coal and solar plants, WTE plants sell electricity at about Rs 7/kWh.
Lack of Finance for Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) affects institutional capacity necessary for integrated management of municipal solid waste, which requires investments for WtE projects.
Other Challenges include irregular and inadequate quantity of supply; non-payment of agreed fee and non-marketability of waste processed projects, including power.
Improved MSW collection system: Separate collection and transportation of domestic waste (including trade & institutional waste), inert wastes such as street sweepings, silt from surface drains and Construction & Demolition wastes should be ensured by the municipal authorities.
Encourage Private Partnership in building WtE plants as recommended by Task force on WtE (2014) headed by K Kasturirangan.
Amendment to Electricity Act-2003 to include a provision for State Electricity Discoms to mandatorily purchase all power generated from municipal solid waste at a tariff decided through competitive bidding.
Strict enforcement to ensure the waste is not mixed at the source of generation and then that the handling of waste is in unmixed streams.
Alternative to WtE Plants: Since WtE technologies are being phased out in the West, they should not be allowed unless the waste offered meets the criterion specified by the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016. Other option could be explored like composting and bio-methanation.
Role of urban local bodies (ULBs): Standing Committee on Energy report on Power Generation from Municipal Solid Waste suggested for increased grants to states and ULBs to maximise waste collection efficiency and also recommended to integrate ragpickers and kabadiwalas within the formal system.
Setting up of Monitoring Committee, consisting of representatives from all the central ministries along with the representatives of the state governments and ULBs, to coordinate efforts at each level, and suggest methods and technologies to be adopted to make the waste-to-energy plants successful.
Participation of civil society: Municipal Authorities should make concerted efforts to involve civil society in managing their waste and motivate Resident Welfare Associations (RWA), Community-Based Organisations/ NGO's to take up work of community awareness and door to door collection to facilitate resource recovery and waste minimization by implementing the '5R' Concept: reduce, reuse, recover, recycle and remanufacture.


text:
Shelly Jensen
Like many registered nurses (RNs) who have been out of school and involved in the profession for years, Shelly Jensen wasn't always convinced that she needed to continue her education.
"I worked as an RN for many years in varied areas of nursing and never really felt that obtaining a BSN [Bachelor of Science in Nursing] was that important," she explains. "I never really felt that having those three letters behind my name would make me a better nurse; however, the longer I worked in nursing, the more I realized that I did need further education. I needed to expand my knowledge and skills … for myself and for my patients."
Jensen, a recent graduate from UI's College of Nursing, acknowledges the journey to obtaining her bachelor's degree was a long one. She graduated from the college's RN to BSN program in December 2014 but was admittedly hesitant initially about returning to school.
"I was extremely intimidated to be in classes with other students not much older than my oldest child. Many times I thought … I have been out of school for 20 years; what am I thinking? But my passion for learning and fulfilling the goal of earning a BSN soon made those thoughts fade away."
Jensen cited the college's outstanding reputation for challenging and preparing nurses to meet the increasing demands of the profession; the online availability of the RN-BSN program (enabling her to continue working full time while taking classes); and UI's acceptance and transference of her previous educational credits from local community colleges as key factors that finalized her decision to pursue a bachelor's degree.
"The educational experience at the UI definitely enhanced my expertise as a RN. The BSN program increased my clinical abilities, management skills, and cultural awareness. The program opened my eyes to the impact BSN-prepared nurses can make regarding advocacy and policymaking in the increasingly challenging and changing health care field.
"My education from the University of Iowa College of Nursing has allowed me to carry much of what I learned directly into the community I serve. I am better prepared to think critically about the needs of my community and advocate on behalf of the residents I serve."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: comparing modem.oqpsk probability error and ber hi currently i have the following code in my matlab
        values = [0;1;0;0;1;0;1;0];   % can contain only 0s and 1s
        h = modem.oqpskmod;
        y = modulate(h, values);
        g = modem.oqpskdemod(h);
        z = demodulate(g,y);
        BER = sum(logical(values(:)-z(:)))/numel(values);% thanks to gnovice!

now my question is how can i compare this BER to the Probability Error of the OQPSK?

A: After you've run a number of different sets of values through the modulation/demodulation process above, the resulting average BER measure is an estimate of the bit-wise probability for an error to occur.
Perhaps you are wanting to compare the above estimate to an actual derived formula for what the expected error rate is? This Wikipedia page says that the probability of bit-error for QPSK (and I assume also for OQPSK) is given by the formula:
Pb = Q(sqrt(2*Eb/N0));

where the function Q and the parameters Eb and N0 are described here.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: Syntax error for time travel of delta sql I ran the example in delta doc:
SELECT * FROM delta.`/delta/events` VERSION AS OF 1

But got the following error:
mismatched input 'AS' expecting {<EOF>, ';'}(line 3, pos 44)

Does anyone know what is the correct syntax ?
Spark version: 3.1.2
Delta version: 1.0.0
Configure spark as follows:
spark.sql.extensions io.delta.sql.DeltaSparkSessionExtension
spark.sql.catalog.spark_catalog org.apache.spark.sql.delta.catalog.DeltaCatalog

A: This syntax is not supported in the open source version right now as it requires changes in Spark to support that syntax (the required changes are committed already).  Specifically, this is a bug in the documentation that was copied from the Databricks Delta documentation. The issue with documentation will be fixed in the next major release - it was already reported.


text:
Redbeard's Blog
Metallica- The Unforgiven- San Francisco 2-6-16
Flashback to February 2016 and the fiftieth anniversary of that most American of worldwide exports, the Super Bowl, & the site was one of America's finest regions, the San Francisco Bay area. And so who did the the NFL secure to perform at halftime during this historic All-American sporting event, broadcast to over a billion viewers worldwide from a US city with a long rich heritage of musical contributions? Coldplay, the finest innocuous British band money can buy.
In the true spirit of rock marching to the beat of its own drummer (in this case the Olympian Lars Ulrich), San Francisco homies Metallica decided to play the night before the Super Bowl in AT & T Park for a crowd even larger than that for the football game, and they got to play for two hours in a thrash metal throwdown, neither of which would be possible in a Super Bowl halftime performance. Here is heavy rock absolution with "The Unforgiven".- Redbeard
https://www.inthestudio.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/metallica_plays_antarctica.jpg 333 500 Red Beard https://www.inthestudio.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/ITS-COLOR-white-studio.png Red Beard2016-08-02 13:05:022020-01-24 10:10:55Metallica- The Unforgiven- San Francisco 2-6-16
Eric Johnson-"SRV"- Stevie Ray Vaughan tribute
Joe Satriani- Surfing With the Alien 35th anniversary
Charlie Daniels Band- The Devil Went Down to Georgia 1-13-79
Matthew Sweet- Girlfriend- San Diego 2014
Grateful Dead- Blues for Allah 45th Anniversary- Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Phil Lesh
U2- Bad/40/Where the Streets Have No Name- Boston 6-6-01
Emerson, Lake, and Palmer- Anthology- Carl Palmer, the late Greg Lake &... Billy Joel-New York State of Mind-9/11 Tribute rehearsal


PreScreened Contractors.info provides local listings of Building Materials Services in Oceanside, NY. As we do not sell leads, you will have direct contact with each local Building Materials service provider in our local business listings for Building Materials Services in Oceanside.
Building Materials services in Oceanside, NY include Building Materials/Construction Materials supply for your project and other Building Materials services. Below are local business listings for Building Materials services in Oceanside, NY.
Many local Building Materials Companies in Oceanside provide Construction Materials supply services. Construction Materials services range greatly, but include local building materials, lumber, plumbing and electrical parts, and more.
Recycled Building Materials in Oceanside include recovered and recycled lumber, antique bricks, and other salvage bulding materials.
Local Building Materials/Lumber Supply in Oceanside include construction building materials and lumber. Most local building materials and lumber supply companies in Oceanside provide a full range of Building Materials and supplies including Construction Materials, lumber, plumbing and electrical parts, landscaping supplies, and more.
Do you need other services for Oceanside? As our site grows, we are continuing to add more services available for Oceanside.
Prescreened Contractors .info provides local Oceanside business listings to produce direct contact Building Materials leads for Oceanside. As these customer leads are direct contact, they are not sold to multiple Building Materials companies or recycled, and are contacting you in real time.


text:
John Forbes Kerry (Aurora, 11 de dezembro de 1943) é um político estadunidense que serviu como senador pelo Partido Democrata de Massachusetts (1985-2013) e também como Secretário de Estado dos Estados Unidos (2013-2017).

Candidato a Presidente da República nas eleições de 2004, Kerry foi derrotado por George W. Bush por uma diferença de 34 votos colegiados. Kerry é um veterano da Guerra do Vietnã e foi porta-voz da organizações sem fins lucrativos Vietnam Veterans Against the War () quando retornou do serviço militar. Antes de ser eleito para o Senado, foi Assistente do Promotor Distrital e Vice-Governador de Massachusetts no governo de Michael Dukakis, candidato democrata à presidência em 1988.

Pertence, desde 1966 a uma sociedade secreta chamada Skull and Bones. É casado com a portuguesa nascida em Moçambique Maria Teresa Simões Ferreira (mais conhecida como Teresa Heinz Kerry).

Kerry substituiu Hillary Clinton na secretaria de estado em fevereiro de 2013. Ele foi escolhido pelo presidente Barack Obama em dezembro de 2012. Neste cargo, mostra boa qualificação falando fluentemente o alemão e o francês.

Campanha presidencial de 2004
Nas primárias do Partido Democrata de 2004, John Kerry derrotou vários membros proeminentes do partido, entre os quais John Edwards, Howard Dean e Wesley Clark. Sua vitória na convenção em Iowa é tida como o fio condutor de sua campanha revigorada nos estados do Arizona, Carolina do Sul e Novo México. Kerry, então, venceu também em Nevada e Wisconsin. O Partido Democrata o nomeou candidato para a eleição presidencial de 2004 para concorrer contra a reeleição de George W. Bush. Em 6 de julho de 2004, Kerry anunciou John Edwards como seu companheiro de chapa. No entanto, segundo Bob Shrum, após as eleições de 2004 Kerry teria se arrependido de escolher Edwards como seu companheiro de chapa. Em participação no programa This Week, da ABC, Kerry recusou a responder as perguntas sobre os comentários de Shrum, referindo-se a elas como "ridícula perda de tempo".

Durante sua campanha de 2004, Kerry criticou severas vezes George W. Bush, o então Presidente e seu adversário, por conta da Guerra do Iraque. Apesar de ter votado a favor de resposta ofensiva contra Saddam Hussein, votou contra o investimento de 87 bilhões de dólares para financiar a guerra. Em discurso, Kerry afirmou erroneamente que "votou no financiamento de 87 bilhões para a guerra", sendo esta uma das declarações que contribuíram para sua desestabilização perante o candidato opositor.

Em 3 de novembro de 2004, Kerry reconheceu sua derrota por telefone. O candidato democrata recebeu 59,3 milhões de votos, o equivalente a 48,3% do voto popular. Bush, em contrapartida, recebeu 62 milhões de votos, o equivalente a 50,7% dos votos válidos. Kerry recebeu 252 votos eleitorais, contra 286 de Bush.

Secretário de Estado
Em 15 de dezembro de 2012, vários meios de informação publicaram que o Presidente Barack Obama iria nomear Kerry para suceder Hillary Clinton como Secretário de Estado, após Susan Rice ter solicitado a retirada de seu nome dentre as preferências do presidente. Em 21 de dezembro, Obama propôs a nomeação de Kerry, que foi recebida positivamente, e confirmado pelo Senado em 24 de janeiro de 2013. O Comitê de Relações Exteriores do Senado aprovou sua nomeação por 94 contra 3 votos. Em carta ao Governador de Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, Kerry anunciou seu afastamento do Senado para a assumir o cargo na Casa Branca.

Após seis meses de diplomacia rigorosa com o Oriente Médio, John Kerry pôde dar início às Conversações de Paz entre Israelenses e Palestinos em 2013. Oficiais seniors dos Estados Unidos afirmaram que ambos os lados estavam aptos a reunirem-se em 30 de julho de 2013 na sede do Departamento de Estado, sem a mediação de autoridades americanas.

Em 27 de setembro de 2013, Kerry reuniu-se com o Ministro do Exterior iraniano, Mohammad Javad Zarif, durante a cimeira P5+1. Outras conversações ocorrera posteriormente, sendo que este foi o mais alto contato diplomático entre os Estados Unidos e o Irã em seis anos. Por conta de sua iniciativa, Kerry tornou-se o primeiro Secretário de Estado norte-americano a reunir-se com um ministro iraniano desde a Revolução Iraniana.

No Departamento de Estado, Kerry ficou conhecido como "indiferente, introvertido e desinteressado em ler memorandos". Funcionários de carreira do Departamento, no entanto, o têm criticado por centralizar o poder na agência, tornando as operações mais lentas. Outros o descrevem como possuidor de "um tipo de transtorno de déficit de atenção diplomática", uma vez que não costuma concentrar-se em estratégias de longo prazo. Quando questionado se viajava muito ao exterior, Kerry respondeu prontamente que não. Apesar dos seus esforços e conquistas no Departamento de Estado, sua popularidade entre os funcionários é menor do que sua antecessora.

Síria
Após o Ataque químico de Ghouta ser atribuído ao governo sírio, Kerry passou a defender publicamente o uso de força militar contra o governo de Bashar Al-Assad, ao que ele se refere como "uso brutal e flagrante de armas químicas por um déspota".

Em setembro de 2013, ao ser questionado se a Síria poderia evitar a resposta militar norte-americana, Kerry respondeu que Bashar Al-Assad "poderia entregar cada uma de suas armas nucleares para a comunidade internacional em uma semana (...) mas que não iria fazê-lo e isto não seria possível". Esta observação espontânea, apesar de considerada uma gafe, influenciou o governo sírio a abandonar e destruir suas armas químicas. Em resposta, o  Ministro das Relações Exteriores da Rússia, Sergey Lavrov, afirmou que seu país trabalharia "imediatamente" para convencer a Síria a abandonar o uso de armas químicas.

O governo sírio aceitou formalmente a proposta e em 14 de setembro, as Nações Unidas aceitou o país na convenção de destruição de armas químicas. No entanto, o Conselho de Segurança ordenou a destruição das armas no país e entrou com uma resolução para condenar oficialmente os ataques de Ghouta.

América Latina
Em discurso perante a Organização dos Estados Americanos, em novembro de 2013, John Kerry ressaltou que o "erro da Doutrina Monroe" estava "superado" definitivamente.

Enviado Presidencial Especial para o Clima
A 23 de novembro de 2020, a equipe de transição do presidente eleito Joe Biden anunciou que Kerry assumiria um cargo de tempo integral na administração, servindo como enviado especial para o clima; nesta função, ele será diretor do Conselho de Segurança Nacional. Kerry assumiu o cargo a 20 de janeiro de 2021, após a posse de Joe Biden.

Norte-americanos de ascendência escocesa
Judeus dos Estados Unidos
Alunos da Universidade Yale
Advogados dos Estados Unidos
Pessoas da Guerra do Vietnã
Democratas de Massachusetts
Senadores dos Estados Unidos por Massachusetts
Presidentes do Comitê de Relações Exteriores do Senado dos Estados Unidos
Católicos dos Estados Unidos
Candidatos à Presidência dos Estados Unidos em 2004
Secretários de Estado dos Estados Unidos

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Raising A Child Without A Partner: Plight Of Single Parents
Picture this: A petite, trendy 24-year old standing in an elevator holding hands with a toddler, all smiles.
"How adorable! How old is she?"
"She's two."
"Terrible twos! Must be difficult. Is she closer to mommy or daddy?"
"Oh, I'm a single mom."
(Awkward silence) "Oh… I'm so sorry."
This conversation echoes one that Laura has had far too often in the last two years. This conversation, in essence, sums up the stigma of single parenthood in Singapore.
Despite the modernity of our society, single mothers are still stigmatized in our Asian cultures. People are still prejudiced and feel that divorced women, or women who have children out of wedlock deserve lesser empathy as wives whose husbands had died. It is not easy for single mothers to shy away from the prejudiced remarks.
Like Laura, when she found out that she was pregnant at the age of 22, she was also worried how people will look at her. When she finally plucked out her courage to share the news with her own mother, the first thing her mother advised was "get an abortion". "Having a child right now," her mother said firmly to Laura, "would do nothing but jeopardize your bright future".
Her father was disappointed and wouldn't speak to her. Laura's mind was clouded with pain, confusion, disbelief, and an entire conundrum of emotions that an abortion seemed like the most sensible thing to do. But she struggled – as the idea of putting her own child to death did not sit right in her heart. Thankfully, she did not.
⇒ Related Read: Touching Story From A Single Mum
Many people tend to judge single mothers based on their minimal knowledge of what has happened – such as assuming that the young woman must have been immature and playful to have gotten herself pregnant, or the divorced mother not trying hard enough to salvage the marriage.
Joanne, a 50-year-old single mom, wasn't sure if she could manage to raise her three children when her marriage fell apart 20 years ago. She did not have the luxury of having a supportive family and friends whom she can rely on during that challenging period of her life. She recalled the shame that she was put through by her own family, in-laws and friends.
"It was the most challenging time of my life. I could not afford to put my children into a childcare, let alone to employ a maid to help. I had to manage my children's emotions and let them know that 'your mom and dad are no longer together' all on my own. I had to find a job that would allow me to be home to earn the income I need to pay for their school fees, and to give them a normal happy childhood."
Besides the pressure from family and society stigma, single mothers may also face difficulties in the workforce. Being a single parent does not entitle them to the all the benefits compared to their married counterparts.
Laura also finds that single parent families do not have access to most government subsidies and financial incentives (such as the Baby Bonus, Working Mothers Tax Relief, Foreign Maid Levy Relief and Grandparent Caregiver Relief). As such she finds that more support can be given towards this growing group of families.
Single parents should be granted the same perks as their married counterparts; not from the angle of encouraging single parenthood, but from the angle of ensuring every Singaporean child is entitled to equal, adequate and necessary support.
A More Forgiving And Supporting Society
"Barring the question of whether a parent should even be penalized for not being married, should a child be punished for being borne to a single parent – something that was never by his/her choice? Because denying a single mother of perks and benefits inherently causes her child to suffer the loss as well," Laura added.
Are we therefore insinuating that a child from a single parent family less worthy than a child from a dual-parent household?
It is important for us to reflect if we have been secretly judging a parent when they have a child before they are married, or a child for being borne to a single parent family when it was never really their choice. As someone once told Laura said, "There is no such thing as accidental children; only accidental parents".
⇒ Related Read: Voice of A Single Father
By Yvonne Chee, edited by Michelle Ang.
Are you a single mother or father? Do you think there are enough support and resources to support single parents? Share your story with us.
Sharings Of A Single Father
Should Single Mothers Enjoy The Same Perks As Married Mothers?
Parenting Guide for Single Parents
Touching Story From A Single Mum
Raising A Child Without A Partner: How Can We Help Single Parent Families
Raising A Child Without A Partner: Support For Single Mothers
10 Tips To Raise A Polite Child
6 Ways To Keep Your Kids On Track in School
Are Our Kids Really Brave For Not Crying?
Can Sore Throat Be Treated With Traditional Home Remedies?
Developing Moral Values In Kids: Where Do We Even Begin?
How to Praise Children Effectively


Sentara Martha Jefferson Medical Group is hiring an Office Coordinator for their neuroscience practice. Previous clerical and healthcare experience preferred.
Successful completion of courses in Business Administration or Office procedures preferred. Knowledge of medical insurance, cash handling and medical terminology preferred.
Responsible for coordination and organization of clerical functions with the practice setting.


text:
Q: How does my Site look in other countries I just made some changes to my website, it will display different greeting text for different continents, I have used Google's API to get location of the user
region = google.loader.ClientLocation.address.region;
country = google.loader.ClientLocation.address.country;
countrycode = google.loader.ClientLocation.address.country_code;

But now i want to test this, so is there any way that i can access my site with the IP of another continent or country, or any other solution for this.

A: I've built a tool that you might find useful, called GeoPeeker. In my own testing I found proxies to be unreliable, so I designed GeoPeeker to use actual servers that render a site and provide DNS information from various remote locations. It's handy for troubleshooting CDN and DNS issues.
It's also free to use and there are no ads.

A: You could use an online proxy service, located in the country you want to test for. A list of free online proxies can be found at http://proxy.org/.


text:
The Politics of Bathrooms
Sheila Cavanagh, the author of "Queering Bathrooms," discusses why and how public restrooms have become a civil-rights flashpoint.
By Joshua Rothman
Transgender Rights and the End of the New South
The North Carolina governor's wrong-side-of-history position on H.B. 2 reveals a lot about the fractured and desperate state of the Republican Party.
By Jedediah Purdy
North Carolina and the Gay-Rights Backlash
The gay-rights movement may be unprepared for the wave of state-by-state battles over L.G.B.T. civil rights.
By Richard Socarides
The G.O.P. Opts Out of Equality
State laws letting public officials opt out of marrying gay couples is part of a more sweeping G.O.P. strategy.
Ayn Rand Comes to U.N.C.
For several years, there have been indications that the state's new leaders want to change the mission of public higher education in North Carolina.
State for Sale
A conservative multimillionaire has taken control in North Carolina, one of 2012's top battlegrounds.
By Jane Mayer


We are a young and energetic company excelling in various ophthalmic lenses. Our factory was set up in 1999. Our wide product range includes crown glass to high index 1.9 and from CR39 to high index 1.74. We provide quality products and services to our customers that have in turn allowed us to grow dynamically.
Goscom Intelligent Technology (HK) Co., Ltd.
China (HK) Hexing Electronic Ltd.
Dong Hua International Co., Ltd.
Uni-Power Electronics (Hongkong) Holdings Ltd.


text:
Another USF Bulls Football Player Arrested for Shooting
Published October 16, 2015 at 9:19 AM EDT
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
USF cornerback Lamar Robbins, 22, of Lutz, faces charges of discharging a weapon on school property and giving false information to a law enforcement officer
Another USF football player has been arrested in connection with the discharge of a handgun on campus early Sunday morning.
Lamar Robbins, 22, of Miami, has been taken into custody by university police. He was being held this morning at the Hillsborough County Jail with bail set at $8,000. Officials with the USF Bulls say Robbins has been suspended from all activities with the football team.
"USF Athletics is aware that law enforcement's investigation of an incident that occurred early Sunday morning has led to the arrest of student-athlete Lamar Robbins," the athletics department said in a prepared statement. "Robbins has been immediately suspended from all team activities, as was the student-athlete previously implicated in this incident. They will remain so as we continue to gather more information through the proper authorities. We cannot state strongly enough our commitment to the values of our institution and that any behavior inconsistent with those will not be tolerated."
University Police said witnesses say Robbins discharged a handgun in the presence of Benjamin Knox, the other Bulls player who was arrested.
University Police say Knox, 21, of DeLand, allegedly fired a number of gunshots that hit Holly D residence hall on the Tampa campus about 4 a.m. Sunday.
No one was injured in the shooting, and the dormitory sustained some damage.
Officers heard shots and responded to the area near the Crescent Hill parking garage, located next to the Marshall Student Center. A witness also reported hearing shots and the screeching of tires. Officers found a parked vehicle containing an open gun case as well as a box of .45-caliber ammunition. They also found a number of spent shell casings near the vehicle, according to the police statement.
Officers determined the vehicle belonged to Knox, a redshirt freshman offensive lineman who lives in the Holly D residence hall. After contacting Knox in his room, officers said they found a handgun believed to be used in the shooting.
Knox was arrested and charged with discharging a firearm on school property and shooting into a building.
Robbins has been charged with possessing or discharging a firearm on campus and providing false information to law enforcement officers during an investigation.
Courts / LawUSF AthleticsUSF FootballUniversity Beat
USF Football Player Arrested, Suspended for Campus Gunfire
Suspect Charged In USF Football Player's Death
Ex- USF Athlete's Death Prompts Talk Of Ybor City Ban


text:
Q: Is there an simple way or a function that can get the difference, product or quotient of all numbers in an array So I just want to know if there's a simpler way to get all the numbers in an array and subtract, add, multiply, and divide them better than what I have done here: (the code here is to subtract all the numbers in an array)
 double diff = numArray[0];
 for (int i=1; i!=numArray.length; i++) {
    diff -= numArray[i];
 }

or is there a function that can make my life easier, because I know there is a function to add all the numbers in an array but wasn't able to find anything else.

A: I do not think it's a good idea to put initial value to numArray[0], the code could be cleaner if it would be a separate variable.
Still, if you insist:
    @Test
    public void diffArray() {
        Integer [] numArray = {10,1,2,3};
        Vector<Integer> v = new Vector<>(Arrays.asList(numArray));
        Integer diff = v.stream().skip(1).reduce(numArray[0],(a,b)->a-b);
        org.hamcrest.MatcherAssert.assertThat("", diff == 4);
    }

A: Cleaner? Your code is pretty clean I think.
However, an alternative may be using streams:
double[] numArray = { 17.0, 13.0, 36.5, 7.5, 3.2 };
double result = DoubleStream.of(numArray)
    .skip(1)
    .reduce(numArray[0], (a, b) -> a - b);
System.out.println(result);

What happens here? We use the Stream specialization for primitive doubles, DoubleStream, in order to walk over the elements of the double array. We skip the first element, because all subsequent elements should be subtracted from the first element. Then we perform a reduction operation, with as initial value the first element of the array, and we subtract the subsequent element from the previous result.


text:
SSC-R Senior High School Holds 1st Odyssey of a Stag
March 15, 2017 was a memorable and festive day for the Senior High School Department as the students and faculty celebrated the 1st Odyssey of a Stag 2017. The event started with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist at 7:30AM at St. Ezekiel Moreno Chapel. It was followed with Cheerdance competition, Quiz Bee and Sports Tournaments in Basketball and Volleyball. Ms. Jaivie del Socorro served as the emcee of the opening program.
Students from different strands were randomly divided into four (4) teams and the senior high school faculty members were assigned to lead each group. The four (4) teams were named: Achievers headed by Mr. Jayson Caalim; Believers, headed by Ms. Ana Manabat, Changers, headed by Mr. Lord Allan Montaño and Defenders, headed by Fray Jorr Rabacal. The celebration commenced with the parade of four (4) teams followed by the opening program and cheerdance competition at the quadrangle. Ms. Marianne Nicole Bibal of ABM11 and Ms. Carmela Acosta led the prayer and Philippine National Anthem, respectively. A very inspiring opening remarks was given by the Basic Education Director, Rev. Fr. Rene Paglinawan, OAR. In his message, he emphasized the importance of the students' journey and the challenges that they met along the way. He likened the Sebastinians' journey to the journey of the Apostles with Jesus to Emmaus. Before the announcement of winners of the cheerdance competition, Ms. Angelica Jordan delighted the audience by coming up with her own rendition of Jessie J's Domino.
QUIZ BEE CHAMPION – TEAM BELIEVERS (L-R) Vhino Ramos, Armando Bambao, Gem Quintana, Kate Perez and Martha Nichole Bibal
Boodle Fight
The entire morning was filled with fun and excitement as each team competed for the cheerdance competition. Ms. Martha Nicole Bibal was tasked to present the mechanics of the competition while Dr. Michelle Punzalan, Ms. Cecilia Hernandez and Rev. Fr. Gideon Antolin Lagrimas, OAR were the judges. Dance choreography, formation and routines of the four (4) teams brought joy to the delighted audience. The Team Believers emerged as the champions followed by Team Achievers, Team Changers and Team Defenders as runners up. During the Quiz Bee competition held at the Bar Review Center, Team Believers emerged as the champions. Team Achievers were hailed the second placers while Team Changers and Team Defenders landed in the 3rd and 4th place, respectively. A simple yet sumptuous lunch through a boodle fight was served to the students at the Annex Building.
QUIZBEE PARTICIPANTS
The afternoon was spent in ball games competition. The four (4) teams competed in Basketball and Volleyball. Team Believers emerged as champions in Basketball and second in Volleyball. Team Changers finished second place in Basketball and emerged as the champion in Volleyball. Team Achievers finished third in Basketball and fourth place in volleyball, whereas, Team Defenders finished fourth place in basketball and third place in volleyball. The points acquired by each team were tallied. Team Believers was proclaimed as the Grand Champion with a total of 8 points; 1st Runner-up, Team Changers with a total of 9 points; 2nd Runner-up, Team Achievers with a score of 11 points and 3rd-runner up was Team Defenders scoring 12 points.
The 1st Odyssey of A Stag was initiated by Mr. Lord Allan C. Montaño, Ms. Aisa Arlos and Ms. Jaivie del Socorro and was carefully planned and organized by the Senior High School department under the leadership of the Senior High School coordinator, Ms. Aisa Arlos. The primary objective of this event is to strengthen the relationship and camaraderie among the Senior High School Department students and faculty. It was indeed a remarkable event for the Senior High School Department. Through this activity, the Department fortified the Sebastinian identity by opening the minds and forming the hearts of every member of the community. For God and for our country, Bravo Baste!
By: Lord Allan Montaño


text:
Behind the Scenes, Banner Health Hospitals Strive For the Ideal Picture of Health
Auto/Transportation
Publisher's Circle
Top 10 Líderes
Leading Latinas
Best of the Boardroom
Conversations at the Top
Publisher's Letters
A Day In The Life Photo Essay
NextGen Collective
Banner Health's labor and employment guru Cyrus Martinez on keeping the business of hospitals healthy
By Julie Edwards
Growing up in Mora, New Mexico, a small town with a graduating class of only 45 students, Cyrus Martinez could not envision working for a health system with thousands more employees than people living in his town. Now a leader of the legal department for Banner Health—the innovative nonprofit health system and second-largest employer in Arizona—Martinez cannot imagine being anywhere else.
After majoring in economics and religious studies at the University of New Mexico, Martinez got his law degree from Northwestern University. Although Chicago was an exciting change of pace and climate, he missed the Southwest and took a position at a law firm in Phoenix after graduation, where he learned the basics of labor and employment law. He found his niche in employment law working over a year at the largest labor and employment firm in the country, and then as in-house counsel in labor and employment for the Hershey Company in Pennsylvania.
But when a close family member was diagnosed with cancer, Martinez moved back to Phoenix yet again. "She was treated at the Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center and received great care," he recalls. So, when an opportunity to work as in-house counsel at Banner came up, Martinez pursued it immediately. "There was a halo effect that Banner Health had among my family that made me care about the organization," he says.
At Banner Health, Martinez's responsibilities are divided into two parts. One half involves serving as a generalist in support of Banner Medical Group, which employs physicians. In that capacity, his responsibilities include everything from day-to-day advice and counsel to physician employment agreements, third-party vendor contracts, and audit requests from the office of the inspector general.
The other half of his job, the labor and employment side, involves Banner's 40,000-plus employees and 29 hospitals in seven states. "Hospitals are like little cities," Martinez says. "They employ people from all walks of life—everyone from environmental services workers to surgeons. With so many employees, you have the whole universe of things that affect the human condition to deal with."
It's a fluid and dynamic line of work. "You're dealing with issues like what to do about an employee who fails a drug test—but has a medical marijuana card—or how to handle a situation where two employees were dating, then one gets a restraining order against the other—but they both still work at the same hospital."
The legal department at Banner Health consists of about a dozen attorneys, each with specific responsibilities and a specific client base within the organization; some focus on real estate, others on intellectual property, and others on licensing. Because Banner Health has facilities in seven states, the lawyers must stay on top of changing laws and regulations for both health care and employment in each state. "We have facility HR people at every hospital, with whom I work closely, to keep up with the changing laws," Martinez says.
"California recently enacted a new employee sick-leave policy that is different from that of other states," Martinez says, offering an example. "Because we have a facility in California, that meant we had to develop a California-specific policy in order to comply."
Martinez receives training and continuing legal education to keep up to date. In addition, as a member of the American Health Care Lawyers Association and the Association of Corporate Counsel, he can network with fellow attorneys who face similar issues. Both associations send daily updates on changing laws and regulations.
Banner also relies on outside counsel for information and training. "They have many clients facing the same issues and changing regulations as we are. So they can share with us how their other clients are dealing with those issues—which we can then tailor for Banner." An instance of that proving helpful was learning how other employers are adapting to the definition of full-time and part-time employees under the Affordable Care Act.
As a member of Banner's secondary professional activities committee—along with representatives from regulatory, compliance, HR, and physician compensation departments—Martinez deals with physicians who want to do work outside the scope of their employment with Banner.
"This might be a physician who wants to speak for a pharmaceutical company at a conference, or a surgeon who wants to consult with a company on the development of a prosthetic limb," he says. "They need to get permission from the committee first. It leads to a lot of really interesting conversations, such as who owns the intellectual property, and of course, we're always concerned with how the physician's activity will reflect on Banner."
To Philip Ramirez, the Best Way Is the Right Way
Martinez describes his work style as wholly collaborative. "At a law firm, everything is designed to make life easy for lawyers so they can do their job because they are the revenue generators. But working in-house at Banner, I'm in a support role. I build relationships. I don't want to be the faceless guy in the legal department."
"I like to get the stakeholders on board before making any changes to see how they will be impacted and what their needs are. I like to do training in person whenever possible so I can read body language and foster trust. Of course, with our facility in Alaska, for example, it's not always possible to be there in person."
Martinez especially relishes opportunities to come face-to-face with cutting-edge law. Recently, for instance, Banner Health needed to determine how to accommodate transgender members of the workforce. And when the National Labor Relations Board recently redefined joint-employer status, he had to help assess the impact that would have on the company, the largest private employer in the state of Arizona.
When Martinez speaks on the future of Banner Health, his outlook is positive across the board: "We will work to fully integrate our newest acquisitions, to enjoy economies of scale. We'll continue working to improve our visibility on the national health-care scene. And we'll adapt to the ever-changing health-care landscape and be an industry leader."
Although responding to the constant changes can be challenging, Martinez enjoys the benefit of never having to second-guess why he does what he does for Banner. "They save lives," he says. "And I'm a part of that."
Subscribe to our biweekly newsletter
Amplifying the voices of Latino leadership in America
Check to receive Hispanic Executive's biweekly newsletter
Cyndi Fecher December 10, 2015
Take it From a Journalist Turned Top Executive: Inquisitiveness is a Virtue
Next-Level HR
Pablo Hernandez Is Happy, Hungry, and Humble
Rafael Cartagena on the Cornerstone of Care
Josue Gonzalez Takes a Value-Added Approach
Oliver Perez Is Up for a Challenge
Ed Estrada Has an Eye for Integrity
Tad Gomez Took a Leap of Faith
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER AMPLIFYING THE VOICES OF LATINO LEADERSHIP IN AMERICA
© 2021 Guerrero LLC. All rights reserved. Hispanic Executive is a registered trademark of Guerrero LLC.
1500 W Carroll Suite 200
info@guerreromedia.com


The Law Office of Sarina Gianna, LLC is an experienced Ocean County law firm focused on representing clients with family law and divorce matters. Our office is located in Brick and provides effective legal services to clients across New Jersey. In many cases, the divorce itself is just the first of many legal issues that must be addressed.
We represent clients in all family law matters that can arise from divorce, including alimony, child custody and visitation, child support, complex property division, business valuation, and more. In addition, our law firm is significantly experienced in providing effective mediation services for those who wish to work out their differences and avoid litigation.
The Law Office of Sarina Gianna, LLC represents clients in all matters regarding divorce in New Jersey. Our firm is dedicated to the future of every client. Our services include but are not limited to guidance in divorce options and the divorce process. We have significant experience representing clients in matters related to alimony, marital property distribution, high net worth divorces, divorce when a business is involved, prenuptial agreements, modifications and enforcement of orders and more.
Family law issues can be some of the most emotionally trying legal issues a person can face. Our firm works closely with clients to protect their rights regardless of the matter at hand. We have significant experience handling child custody and visitation, child support, domestic violence, relocation, and modifications and enforcement of court orders. In addition, our firm has the honor of helping clients through all adoption matters, here and abroad. If you are involved in a family law issue, contact our firm to discuss your matter.
The Law Office of Sarina Gianna, LLC is honored to provide effective mediation services to couples who wish to resolve family matters outside of court. While most think of mediation as a way to divorce amicably and efficiently, mediation can be used for post-divorce legal issues as well. We have been called upon to help parties resolve a wide range of issues, including divorce, child custody, child support, relocation, alimony, and the division of marital assets. Working as a neutral third party, we can guide you towards a better resolution.
When facing a divorce or family law issue, many people have questions. The uncertainty of who to turn to can be stressful. The Law Office of Sarina Gianna, LLC works closely with every client. From the moment we begin working together, we are on your team. We consider it our responsibility to give you honest, dependable and compassionate advice. We will make sure you know your rights, your options and the status of your case, tailoring our services and strategy to meet your needs. We will always work to exceed your expectations.
Sarina Gianna is a knowledgeable and dynamic lawyer practicing in Ocean County, New Jersey. With more than 15 years of experience as an attorney, she knows how to aggressively pursue fair and reasonable outcomes that protect the best interests of her clients and their families. She represents people in a wide range of family law and divorce matters while providing highly personalized service and maintaining open, effective communication with every client.


text:
WWE Raw: Live Stream And TV Channel Info For Event At The Intrust Bank Arena
Mike Tyson And Stone Cold Steve Austin Came To Blows 22 Years Ago Today
Roy Keane Got Heated With Jamie Carragher When Discussing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
The XI Of Players Whose Contracts Finish At The End Of The Season
Ryan Sidle in Football
Last updated 10:19 PM, Tuesday October 08 2019 GMT+1
Everyone loves a bargain and there's certainly going to be some very good ones to be had at the end of the season with this out of contract XI showing who can be signed.
It might only be the beginning of October but some players are already playing as if they've moved elsewhere and come January this lot can start negotiating to move for free in the summer.
The Out of contract 20202 XI. Image: Buildlineup.com
In goal Gianluigi Buffon might have only just re-joined Juventus this season but if the Old Lady decide they don't want that deal to go over a year and he fancies another crack at Champions League glory then he could be a good signing.
Walter Benitez was statistically one of the best keepers in Europe and at just 26-year-old the Nice number one would be a great free signing.
There's plenty of options across the defence and Spurs centre back pairing of Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld stand out, even if their form for the Premier League side so far isn't great.
On the continent Thiago Silva might be slightly past the peak of his powers but his experience isn't something to turn your nose up, whilst Stefan Savic has become Atletico Madrid's go to centre back since Diego Godin left for Inter.
No one will be surprised to see Christian Eriksen in the team, everyone knows that the Spurs midfielder wanting to leave is the reason that the north London side aren't doing that well this season.
The Dane wanted to leave in the summer, with rumours of a move to Real Madrid, but he ended up staying with Mauricio Pochettino's side. It wouldn't be a shock if he left in January but he'll definitely be gone next summer.
Vertonghen and Eriksen plot their exists from Spurs. Image: PA Images
There's no shortage of creative players around Eriksen for anyone who needs a midfielder, with Luka Modric, Mario Gotze and David Silva all available too.
Ryan Fraser at Bournemouth could yet sign a new deal with the Premier League side but he's also been linked with a move to Arsenal, and elsewhere.
Up front Edinson Cavani might be the player who loses out of PSG's ridiculous amount of striker options but he won't be short of offers should he not get a new contract in Paris.
Topics: Spurs, Football News, Transfer stories, PSG, Transfer rumours, Transfer news, Edinson Cavani, Christian Eriksen, European Football
Ryan Sidle
Ryan is a writer for SPORTbible. He covers all sport from football, formula one, cricket, rugby, tennis, athletics, mma and wrestling. He obviously hates YOUR football team and has no interest in synchronised swimming.
Follow @Sidler28
Tottenham Fans Think Toby Alderweireld Mocked The Club With "Cheeky" Post On Twitter
Israel Adesanya Fires Back At Jon Jones, Says He's Going To "F*ck Him Up"
Max Holloway's Damning Response When Asked If He Wants To Rematch Conor McGregor
Mike Tyson Says Working With WWE Was 'Some Of The Best Times Of My Life'


text:
Blood pressure trend of lowlanders during first 6 days of acclimatisation to high altitude
Krishan Singh1, Atul Shekhar2, Santosh Kumar Singh3, Rakesh Kumar4, Arun Kumar Yadav5, P. Manimaran6, Niroj Kumar Sethy1
1Department of Physiology, Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences, New Delhi, India
2Department of Physiology, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, Maharashtra, India
3Department of Internal Medicine, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, Maharashtra, India
4Department of Internal Medicine, Armed Forces Clinic, New Delhi, India
5Department of Community Medicine, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, Maharashtra, India
6Department of Emergency Medicine, Military Hospital Leh, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, India
*Corresponding author: Dr. Krishan Singh, Department of Physiology, Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences, New Delhi, India. krishansingh14@gmail.com
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, transform, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.
How to cite this article: Singh K, Shekhar A, Singh SK, Kumar R, Yadav AK, Manimaran P, et al. Blood pressure trend of lowlanders during first 6 days of acclimatisation to high altitude. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 2022;66:126-30.
The present study was planned to delineate the blood pressure (BP) response of the lowlanders during initial 6 days of acclimatisation to high altitude.
398 normotensive sojourners at sea level ascended to HA (3,500 m). Blood pressure response of these subjects were analysed for 6 consecutive days at HA. Based on the BP response of these subjects on the 6th day at HA they were divided into two groups: HBP-high BP group and NBP- normal BP group.
It showed that on 6th day at HA, 51 out of 398 subjects presented with BP≥140/90 mmHg (HBP) while others remained normotensive (NBP). Comparative systolic BP of HBP and NBP groups during successive days at HA were as follows: HA day 1 (146.8 ± 13.7 mmHg vs 146.3 ± 8.8 mmHg, p>0.05), HA day 4 (144.5 ± 8.7 mmHg vs 135.0 ± 7.0 mmHg, p<0.05) and HA day 6 (148.1 ± 7.9 mmHg vs 131.7 ± 5.3 mmHg, p<0.05). Whereas, diastolic BP of HBP and NBP groups were: HA day 1 (94.0 ± 8.1 mmHg vs 93.2 ± 6.6 mmHg, p>0.05), HA day 4 (88.9 ± 6.0 mmHg vs 85.3 ± 5.1 mmHg, p<0.05) and HA day 6 (93.8 ± 6.3 mmHg vs 83.7 ± 3.8 mmHg, p<0.05).
It was found that NBP had initially raised BP which returned to normal levels after acclimatisation period of 6 days, but in HBP, it started rising after 4th day. It can be concluded that those individuals whose BP on 6th day at HA does not return to normal after acclimatisation period needs regular follow up as these individuals can have a delayed acclimatisation normalising BP later on or can become hypertensive subsequently.
High altitude systemic hypertension
Acclimatisation
Lowlanders
Low barometric pressure at high altitude (HA) lowers the alveolar oxygen in human sojourns in these areas. This hypobaric hypoxia stimulates oxygen sensitive chemoreceptors in the carotid body and the brainstem resulting in an increased efferent sympathetic outflow.[1,2] The sustained activation of sympathetic nervous system ensures oxygen supply to cells and tissues by increasing heart rate and cardiac output.[3] Subsequently, the acclimatisation process partially restores arterial oxygen content thereby reducing sympathoexcitatory chemoreceptor drive. Despite this normalisation, some healthy humans exhibit increased systemic arterial pressure irrespective of the hypoxia exposure duration.[4]
It is observed that the normotensive individuals at sea level frequently end up with hypertension when exposed to HA stress. This hypoxic stress aggravates the 24-h ambulatory systolic, diastolic, day time and night time blood pressure of individuals, in both normotensive as well as hypertensive.[5] This augmentation of BP in hypertensive individuals is more pronounced; hence, poorly controlled hypertensives are advised to refrain from travel to HA. Various investigations have demonstrated differing impacts of BP in response to HA in normotensive subjects. Studies in healthy individuals without hypertension have either shown increase, decrease, or no change in BP at HA.[5-7] It is important to note that effect of HA on BP is inadequately characterised. Some studies have associated modified sympathoadrenal activity for systemic hypertension at HA.[8,9]
One of the intriguing findings is that normotensives who develop hypertension at HA revert to normal values on returning to sea level. Such type of hypertension has been arbitrarily labelled as HA systemic hypertension. This is of significance in case of people who spend a longer tenure at HA like soldiers and mine workers. Hypertension in such individuals regularly faces the repercussion of increased BP and is frequently put on antihypertensive medication.
It has been seen that hypoxia of HA increases BP and also an appreciable number of lowlanders who stay at HA for longer time develop systemic hypertension. The present study was hence planned to delineate the BP response of the lowlanders during initial days of acclimatisation to HA.
An observational and cohort study was conducted at two transit camps located at sea level (altitude 321 m) and at an altitude of 3500 m, during December 2018–April 2019. A total of 500 Indian male soldiers initially became a part of the study but data collection could be completed for 398 subjects. Inclusion criteria were age more than 20 years and BP <140/90 mmHg at sea level. Exclusion criteria were: (1) Smoking (2) chronic diseases such as diabetes, chronic kidney or liver disease and (3) on any long-term medication. Sea level data served as baseline values of these subjects. The approval of study protocols was taken from the Institutional Ethics Committee and informed written consent was obtained from all the subjects.
BP measurements
BP measurements were made on the right-hand supine using calibrated mercury sphygmomanometers by trained nurses. Three readings were taken at an interval of 5 min after relaxing for 5 min and subject was lying quietly and arm at the heart level. Average of three readings was taken as the BP value. Every time, one dedicated nurse use to measure BP at sea level and HA. Systolic BP (SBP) was defined by the appearance of first Korotkoff sound whereas diastolic BP (DBP) by fifth Korotkoff sound (disappearance of sound). Mercury manometers were chosen as they are not influenced by altitude. Normal BP (NBP) was considered BP <140/90 mm Hg called NBP group and high BP (HBP) was > 140/90 mm Hg – HBP group.[10,11]
HA measurements
For HA, subjects were taken to Leh, Ladakh (3500 m), India by air induction and BP of these subjects was monitored for 6 consecutive days. All the subjects received same fixed diet and performed comparable exercise during the whole investigation time frame. The subjects were refrained from taking any medication of their own like acetazolamide or dexamethasone.
Continuous variable was presented as mean and standard deviation. Categorical was described as number and percentage. Repeated measure ANOVA was done for repeated SBP, DBP and mean BP (MBP) over a period of days. Repeated measures mixed model using REML was used to adjust for age and body mass index (BMI). StataCorp. 2019. Stata Statistical Software: Release 16. College Station, TX: StataCorp LLC. P < 0.05 was considered significant.
Data were collected from 398 participants out of 500 participants eligible during the study period. The physical characteristics of the participants are shown in [Table 1].
Table 1:: Physical characteristics of participants.
31.5±6.4 Yrs
Weight 68.8±8.4 Kg
Height 1.7±0.1 m
BMI 23.2±2.5 kg/m2
SBP at Sea Level 123.3±8.5
BP at Sea Level 79.2±5.8
Values are presented as Mean±SD
At HA out of 398 participants on 6th day, 51 (12.8% [95% CI: 9.6–16.5]) had BP more than 140/90 mmHg and 347 had BP <140/90 mmHg. The pattern of change of BP over time is shown in [Figure 1].
Figure 1:: Pattern of change in blood pressure at different days at high altitude.
On HA day 1, both the groups exhibited significantly increased BP from sea level (SL) and on HA day 4, HBP group showed significantly higher BP than NBP group SBP (144.5 ± 8.7 mmHg vs. 135.0 ± 7.0 mmHg, P < 0.05) and DBP (88.9 ± 6.0 mmHg vs. 85.3 ± 5.1 mmHg, P < 0.05). Similarly, on HA day 6, HBP group showed significantly higher BP than NBP group SBP (148.1 ± 7.9 mmHg vs. 131.7 ± 5.3 mmHg, P < 0.05) and DBP (93.8 ± 6.3 mmHg vs. 83.7 ± 3.8 mmHg, P < 0.05) [Table 2].
Table 2:: Change in BP over period of time at high altitude.
SBP1
NBP group (347) 146.3 (8.8) 141.5 (8.8) 137.4 (9.1) 135 (7) 132.8 (8.5) 131.7 (5.3) <0.001
HBP group (51) 146.8 (13.7) 144.2 (8.9) 142.9 (9.6) 144.5 (8.7) 146.6 (11) 148.1 (7.9)
DBP1 DBP2 DBP3 DBP4 DBP5 DBP6
NBP group (347) 93.2 (6.6) 89.2 (8) 87.4 (5.4) 85.3 (5.1) 84.9 (4.5) 83.7 (3.8) <0.001
HBP group (51) 94 (8) 91.3 (6.8) 90.3 (5.8) 88.9 (6) 90.9 (5.8) 93.8 (6.3)
MBP1 MBP2 MBP3 MBP4 MBP5 MBP6
NBP group (347) 109.8 (6) 105.6 (7) 103 (5.5) 100.8 (5) 99.8 (4.5) 98.7 (3.7) <0.001
HBP group (51) 110.5 (9.1) 107.8 (6.6) 106.8 (6) 106.4 (5.9) 108.4 (6.1) 110.8 (5.4)
Values are mean (SD), SBP1 to SBP6 - Systolic BP at day 1 to day 6 HA, DBP1 to DBP6 - Diastolic BP at day 1 to day 6 HA, MBP1 to MBP6 - Mean BP at day 1 to day 6 HA, HA: High altitude, BP: Blood pressure, SBP: Systolic blood pressure, NBP: Normal blood pressure, HBP: High blood pressure, DBP: Diastolic blood pressure
There was a significant difference in BP values through the extent of time as well as between HBP and NBP group for SBP, DBP and MBP (Repeated Measurement ANOVA: P < 0.001 for all three measurements). Repeated measurement model using restricted maximum likelihood method was done for adjustment of the age and BMI. However, the difference among and within group remains significant [Table 3] as regard to systematic BP, similar findings have been shown for diastolic and MBP (Not Shown). In the two groups, the difference in blood pressure became statistically significant from fourth day onwards [Table 3].
Table 3:: Repeated measure mixed model for systolic blood pressure.
Day 1 Reference
Day 2 −3.99 −4.77-(−3.22) <0.001
Day 3 −5.80 −6.5–(−5.03) <0.001
Day 6 −9.48 −10.25–(−8.7) <0.001
Day 2 1.27 −0.90– (3.43) 0.25
Day 3 2.12 −0.47–4.3 0.06
Day 4 2.84 0.68–5.01 0.01
Day 5 5.22 3.06–7.40 <0.001
Day 6 9.34 7.18–11.51 <0.001
Age 0.04 −0.018–0.09 0.19
BMI −0.067 −0.21–0.08 0.19
BMI: Body mass index
Mean MBP increased on 1st day of HA. The mean MBP decreased gradually for both HBP and NBP groups; however, for HBP, it started increasing on 4th day onwards at HA [Figure 2].
Figure 2:: Change in mean blood pressure on different days at high altitude.
The main finding of the present study is that the majority of the subjects had a continuous fall of BP during the days of acclimatisation making them normotensive whereas in others BP continuously increased 4th day onwards. The immediate effect of HA ascent is a decrease in BP by endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent systemic vasodilation[12] but curiously our subjects did not show such instantaneous hypotensive impact of HA. This physiological response is counteracted by sympathetic vasoconstriction essentially by arterial hypoxemia after few hours of stay at HA. Peripheral chemoreceptors located in the carotid bodies and cardiovascular control regions of the mid-brain mediate hypoxia-induced vasoconstriction resulting in critical and steady increase in arterial BP.[13] In our study, there was increased BP on the 1st day at HA and this change was sustained over the first 3 days after which NBP group starts to come back to normal as acclimatisation sets in. In the HBP group, the increase was sustained and there was further increase. This was distinctly different from a study by Roach et al.,[14] in which the MBP of 64 normotensive and 33 older hypertensives was higher at 2500 m than recorded home measurements, but gradually diminished, stabilising on day 3. The present study observed this pattern in both the groups initially for 3 days but the HBP participants, started having higher BP from the 4th day onwards at HA and in NBP subjects BP continues to decline. Hence, on the 6th day at HA, BP reverted to normal indices (i.e., ≤140/90 mmHg) in the NBP group but persisted above 140/90 mmHg in the HBP group. The underlying mechanisms through which BP returns to near-normal or even lower values have been generally thought to be a part of the acclimatisation process. Despite the extant of the literature with regard to BP and acclimatisation timing, the period when continually exposed lowlanders achieves that acclimatisation is not well established,[3] and there are no such epidemiological studies.
The sustained high DBP and borderline SBP values observed in many subjects of our study group for a protracted period of time requires further investigation. The phenomenon could be a steady portrayal of sympathetic stimulation, though it is not yet known when it ceases.[3] Another factor playing a role in the elevation of BP in chronic hypoxia could also be an overstated reaction to enhanced chemoreceptor reflex described for hypertension prone individuals.[15] An increased blood viscosity[16] and alteration of the endothelial function[17] have likewise been implicated. Hence, a single factor will be insufficient to explain the phenomenon.
The increase of sympathetic tone might be a characteristic reaction to balance the impacts of hypoxia in case of nonacclimatised subjects. Hypoxia directly causes vasodilation and if acting through peripheral chemoreceptors leads to vasoconstriction through sympathetic stimulation.[18,19] Interactions occur between the hypoxic vasodilatation of systemic arterioles and the chemoreceptor-mediated responses in the systemic circulation.[20-22] This, thus prompts baroreceptor-mediated sympathetic excitation. Other varied reasons could be alterations in baroreflex function, an increase in the 'set point' and possibly a decrease in gain. These autonomic adjustments may have a role in an escalation in BP during sustained hypoxia.[22,23] Moreover, few data exist regarding the relative importance of other neurohormones such as angiotensin, aldosterone or vasopressin, all of which may be involved in some degree with raising BP during sustained high-altitude exposure.
This study included only male subjects hence the data cannot be generalised to both the genders. Those subjects who had HBP on the 6th day could have been monitored for future development of hypertension.
There was a contrasting BP response of individuals during acclimatisation on continual recording. The majority of the subjects could revert the BP back to normal levels after the initial rise while in few, BP remained elevated throughout. Hence, it can be concluded that few percentage of lowlanders remain with high BP after acclimatisation to HA. Such individuals should be monitored regularly after acclimatisation as these individuals can have a delayed acclimatisation normalising BP later on or can become hypertensive subsequently.
The authors acknowledge the support of Indian Army soldiers for giving their supporting in conducting the study.
Hansen J, Sander M. Sympathetic neural overactivity in healthy humans after prolonged exposure to hypobaric hypoxia. J Physiol. 2003;546:921-9.
Scherrer U, Allemann Y, Rexhaj E, Rimoldi SF, Sartori C. Mechanisms and drug therapy of pulmonary hypertension at high altitude. High Alt Med Biol. 2013;14:126-33.
Calbet JA. Chronic hypoxia increases blood pressure and noradrenaline spillover in healthy humans. J Physiol. 2003;551:379-86.
Reeves JT, Mazzeo RS, Wolfel EE, Young AJ. Increased arterial pressure after acclimatization to 4300 m: Possible role of norepinephrine. Int J Sports Med. 1992;13:S18-21.
Parati G, Bilo G, Faini A, Bilo B, Revera M, Giuliano A, et al. Changes in 24 h ambulatory blood pressure and effects of angiotensin II receptor blockade during acute and prolonged high-altitude exposure: A randomized clinical trial. Eur Heart J. 2014;35:3113-22.
Luks AM. Should travelers with hypertension adjust their medications when traveling to high altitude? High Alt Med Biol. 2009;10:11-5.
Parati G, Revera M, Giuliano A, Faini A, Bilo G, Gregorini F, et al. Effects of acetazolamide on central blood pressure, peripheral blood pressure, and arterial distensibility at acute high altitude exposure. Eur Heart J. 2013;34:759-66.
Narvaez-Guerra O, Herrera-Enriquez K, Medina-Lezama J, Chirinos JA. Systemic hypertension at high altitude. Hypertension. 2018;72:567-78.
Wolfel EE, Selland MA, Mazzeo RS, Reeves JT. Systemic hypertension at 4,300 m is related to sympathoadrenal activity. J Appl Physiol (1985). 1994;76:1643-50.
Liu Y, Zhang JH, Gao XB, Wu XJ, Yu J, Chen JF, et al. Correlation between blood pressure changes and AMS, sleeping quality and exercise upon high-altitude exposure in young Chinese men. Mil Med Res. 2014;1:19.
Aryal N, Weatherall M, Bhatta YK, Mann S. Blood pressure and hypertension in people living at high altitude in Nepal. Hypertens Res. 2019;42:284-91.
Siqués P, Brito J, Banegas JR, León-Velarde F, de la Cruz-Troca JJ, López V, et al. Blood pressure responses in young adults first exposed to high altitude for 12 months at 3550 m. High Alt Med Biol. 2009;10:329-35.
Parati G, Agostoni P, Basnyat B, Bilo G, Brugger H, Coca A, et al. Clinical recommendations for high altitude exposure of individuals with pre-existing cardiovascular conditions: A joint statement by the European society of cardiology, the council on hypertension of the European society of cardiology, the European society of hypertension, the international society of mountain medicine, the Italian society of hypertension and the Italian society of mountain medicine. Eur Heart J. 2018;39:1546-54.
Messerli-Burgy N, Meyer K, Steptoe A, Laederach-Hofmann K. Autonomic and cardiovascular effects of acute high altitude exposure after myocardial infarction and in normal subjects. Circ J. 2009;73:1485-91.
Roach RC, Houston CS, Honigman B, Nicholas RA, Yaron M, Grissom CK, et al. How well do older persons tolerate moderate altitude? West J Med. 1995;162:32-6.
Somers VK, Mark AL, Abboud FM. Potentation of sympathetic nerve responses to hypoxia in borderline hypertensive subjects. Hypertension. 1988;11:608-12.
Monge C, Velarde FL. El Reto Fisiologico de Vivir en los Andes. Lima, Peru: Universidad Peruana; 2003.
Fletcher EC. Invited review: Physiological consequences of intermittent hypoxia: Systemic blood pressure. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2001;90:1600-5.
Bärtsch P, Gibbs JS. Effect of altitude on the heart and the lungs. Circulation. 2007;116:2191-202.
Heistad DD, Abboud FM, Dickinson W. Richards lecture: Circulatory adjustments to hypoxia. Circulation. 1980;61:463-70.
Marshall JM. Peripheral chemoreceptors and cardiovascular regulation. Physiol Rev. 1994;74:543-94.
Sizlan A, Ogur R, Ozer M, Irmak MK. Blood pressure changes in young male subjects exposed to a median altitude. Clin Auton Res. 2008;18:84-9.
Mazzeo RS, Wolfel EE, Butterfield GE, Reeves JT. Sympathetic response during 21 days at high altitude (4,300 m) as determined by urinary and arterial catecholamines. Metabolism. 1994;43:1226-32.
Recreational use of snake venom, an emerging trend in India… February 25, 2021


Xplore for Success – facilitating and coaching women to be more resilient in their careers.
The Paint Group – facilitating leadership programs that empower and inspire senior leaders, middle managers and new managers.
Bright Embers – a group of small business owners who were dramatically impacted by the 2009 Marysville bushfires.
AFL Jill Lindsay Scholarship – providing mentoring to scholarship recipients.
Grace Papers - delivers proven support strategies to empower women through pregnancy and to return to work confidently, flexibly and valued.
Life NRG provides outstanding leadership development programs. The feedback from the leaders within our business who have undertaken tailored programs is that they are both eye opening and transformational. They have learned so much about themselves, what they want out of their careers and the leaders they want to be and importantly they have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. As for Andi, she is an inspirational leader and one of the best facilitators I've worked with.


Men often live with mental health problems in silence, opting for the 'man up' approach. Photo/Getty Images.
The 2018 Movember campaign was years in the making - at least it was for one of the ad guys who worked helped develop the idea.
Ryan Jordan, the strategy director at ad agency Barnes, Catmur & Friends Dentsu, hasn't suffered from any of the physical illnesses most often associated with Movember but he has long struggled with his mental health, living for years with both depression and anxiety.
Like many Kiwi blokes, he wrapped himself in a cloak of machismo, taking the standard "man up" advice and keeping silent rather than talking to anyone about it.
"There's a deep-rooted stigma around mental health among Kiwi men," Jordan tells the Herald.
"When we're struggling with something, it's easier to keep quiet than to chat to a mate. A man stands on his own two feet, as the saying goes. 'She'll be right,' has become our mantra."
This, says Jordan, can have deadly consequences, with New Zealand having one of the highest rates of male suicide in the world.
Ryan Jordan recently decided to open up about his personal struggle. Photo/LinkedIn.
Several weeks ago, in the lead up to this year's Movember, Jordan took to that most public of platforms, Facebook, and decided to open up about the issue he had been hiding from all his friends for years.
"I shared this story [on Facebook]: about 3 years ago, one of my best mates asked me if I was okay. I said, 'Yeah?' He turned to me and said, 'No mate, are you really okay?' I think as a rule, asking a mate if he's okay is a relatively closed question. To really get something meaningful back, we have to push for more. After initially feeling taken aback, I opened up."
He says the conversation that followed changed his life in that he finally felt comfortable enough to talk about what he had been hiding for so long.
"It sounds so simple, and potentially a bit flippant to those who haven't experienced a mental illness," he says, almost apologetically.
"But I know first-hand how talking to my best mates has allowed me to move forward with getting the help I have needed to manage my mental health.
"Until recently, I've viewed my illness as a weakness. Ironically, I was blown away by the response I got from so many guys saying how brave I was, and how they were inspired to do something for themselves, or for a mate."
Jordan said this kind of feedback served as major inspiration for this year's hirsute tradition of growing moustaches to raise awareness of men's health.
This year, Movember has launched what has been dubbed The Mensus, an outlet where men will be asked several questions about their mental wellbeing and allowed to respond with no judgment.
"After speaking to a lot of guys, we realised Kiwi men claim they'd speak to a mate if they needed to, they just don't know where to begin," explains Jordan.
"Once men have completed the Mensus, it will give them a tailored message based on their answers, giving them a useful tool to send to a mate to start a conversation about their mental health."
Jordan says he hopes that this inspires more blokes to drop the "man up" attitude and start talking about what they're feeling.


text:
Home > Nation > Three soldiers killed in LoC attack, body of one mutilated, says Army
Three soldiers killed in LoC attack, body of one mutilated, says Army
The ambush on army patrol took place in Machhil sector of Kashmir, following which the Indian army vowed heavy "retribution".
"A counter-infiltration patrol party of Indian army was ambushed by terrorists ahead of the fencing along LoC in forest belt in Machhil sector in Kupwara district today," a senior Army officer said.
Three soldiers were killed in the attack, he said, adding the body of one of them was mutilated.
Earlier, Army's Northern Command spokesman tweeted, "3 soldiers killed in action on LC (Line of Control) in Machhal.
Body of one soldier mutilated." He said the "retribution will be heavy for this cowardly act."
A Defence spokesman said heavy cross-Line of Control shelling was going on at four places in Machhil sector from 3.30 pm.
"Around 1530 hour, heavy cross-LoC shelling has started from both sides at Dana Machhil, Ashni, Ringsar and Ringsar Payeen in Machhil sector of Kupwara district," he said.
He did not give any further details.
This is the second such incident of mutilation of the body of an Indian soldier in the same sector since October 28.
On that day, terrorists, aided by the cover fire by Pakistani Army, had crossed the Line of Control and killed an Indian army jawan and mutilated his body in the Macchil sector. One attacker was killed in that incident.
In June 2008, a soldier of the 2/8 Gorkha Rifles lost his way and was captured by a Pakistani Border Action Team (BAT) in Kel sector. His body was found beheaded after a few days.


text:
(-) Remove Advanced Grant (AdG) (2) filter Advanced Grant (AdG) (2)
Project acronym 4D-PET
Project Innovative PET scanner for dynamic imaging
Researcher (PI) José María BENLLOCH BAVIERA
Host Institution (HI) AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DEINVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS
Summary The main objective of 4D-PET is to develop an innovative whole-body PET scanner based in a new detector concept that stores 3D position and time of every single gamma interaction with unprecedented resolution. The combination of scanner geometrical design and high timing resolution will enable developing a full sequence of all gamma-ray interactions inside the scanner, including Compton interactions, like in a 3D movie. 4D-PET fully exploits Time Of Flight (TOF) information to obtain a better image quality and to increase scanner sensitivity, through the inclusion in the image formation of all Compton events occurring inside the detector, which are always rejected in state-of-the-art PET scanners. The new PET design will radically improve state-of-the-art PET performance features, overcoming limitations of current PET technology and opening up new diagnostic venues and very valuable physiological information
The main objective of 4D-PET is to develop an innovative whole-body PET scanner based in a new detector concept that stores 3D position and time of every single gamma interaction with unprecedented resolution. The combination of scanner geometrical design and high timing resolution will enable developing a full sequence of all gamma-ray interactions inside the scanner, including Compton interactions, like in a 3D movie. 4D-PET fully exploits Time Of Flight (TOF) information to obtain a better image quality and to increase scanner sensitivity, through the inclusion in the image formation of all Compton events occurring inside the detector, which are always rejected in state-of-the-art PET scanners. The new PET design will radically improve state-of-the-art PET performance features, overcoming limitations of current PET technology and opening up new diagnostic venues and very valuable physiological information
Project acronym THERACAN
Project Novel therapeutic strategies to treat pancreatic and lung cancer
Researcher (PI) Mariano BARBACID MONTALBAN
Host Institution (HI) FUNDACION CENTRO NACIONAL DE INVESTIGACIONES ONCOLOGICAS CARLOS III
Summary This proposal is aimed at identifying and functionally validating targets with potential therapeutic value to devise novel strategies to treat two human cancers with unacceptable low survival rates and unmet medical needs: pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and K-RAS mutant lung adenocarcinoma. Although these tumor types have distinct pathological and clinical manifestations, they are both driven by K-RAS mutations. Hence, we expect that the proposed studies will generate synergies to accelerate the outcome of the expected results. In the first part of the proposal, we will identify those genes activated in the cancer initiating cells responsible for the onset of pancreatic and lung tumors. We reasoned that genes implicated in the initial stages of tumor development will be maintained during tumor evolution and not be affected by the intra-tumoral heterogeneity generated during tumor progression. We also propose to identify and validate genes capable of reprogramming the desmoplasic stroma characteristic of pancreatic tumors to hamper its pro-tumoral effects. Likewise, we intend to define the molecular events that control senescence, a naturally occurring process that serves as a barrier to tumor development. In the second part of the project, we will interrogate the role of known targets with suspected therapeutic value in tumor progression using a new generation of GEM tumor models that allow the temporal separation of tumor development from target ablation or inactivation. These studies will make it possible to design combination therapies capable of effectively eradicate advanced tumors. The last section of this proposal focuses on the pharmacological validation of these combination therapies using best-in-class inhibitors in state-of-the-art preclinical trial platforms based on GEM and PDX tumor models. The results derived from these studies will guide the design of new clinical trials that should have a positive impact in the treatment of these deadly diseases.
This proposal is aimed at identifying and functionally validating targets with potential therapeutic value to devise novel strategies to treat two human cancers with unacceptable low survival rates and unmet medical needs: pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and K-RAS mutant lung adenocarcinoma. Although these tumor types have distinct pathological and clinical manifestations, they are both driven by K-RAS mutations. Hence, we expect that the proposed studies will generate synergies to accelerate the outcome of the expected results. In the first part of the proposal, we will identify those genes activated in the cancer initiating cells responsible for the onset of pancreatic and lung tumors. We reasoned that genes implicated in the initial stages of tumor development will be maintained during tumor evolution and not be affected by the intra-tumoral heterogeneity generated during tumor progression. We also propose to identify and validate genes capable of reprogramming the desmoplasic stroma characteristic of pancreatic tumors to hamper its pro-tumoral effects. Likewise, we intend to define the molecular events that control senescence, a naturally occurring process that serves as a barrier to tumor development. In the second part of the project, we will interrogate the role of known targets with suspected therapeutic value in tumor progression using a new generation of GEM tumor models that allow the temporal separation of tumor development from target ablation or inactivation. These studies will make it possible to design combination therapies capable of effectively eradicate advanced tumors. The last section of this proposal focuses on the pharmacological validation of these combination therapies using best-in-class inhibitors in state-of-the-art preclinical trial platforms based on GEM and PDX tumor models. The results derived from these studies will guide the design of new clinical trials that should have a positive impact in the treatment of these deadly diseases.


Don't lose your security deposit, call Ivete's Cleaning Service to clean your apartment before you move out.
Whether you are moving across town to another apartment or getting ready to move into your first home, the move-out process can be incredibly overwhelming and stressful. Moving out does not have to be the gigantic headache it seems to be! Here are some tips to ensure that you get your maximum security deposit back and enjoy the process along the way.
Most leases require that you give your landlord at least 30 days notice before moving out, but all leases are not the same. Depending on the area and what is common, 60 days notice may be needed before you move out. If you wait too long to read the fine print, your lease may automatically renew or you may owe an additional month of rent. Keep in mind that every speed bump along the way (like forgetting to notify your landlord and notifying them late) can cost you some of your deposit.
If your apartment complex does not handle your utilities for you, make sure that you schedule a shut-off date on your account. If you are moving to a new apartment or home that uses the same utility company, your account may be able to be transferred instead of terminated. Check your water, gas, and electric bills for more information on how to make sure you aren't paying for energy you won't be using after you move out.
Moving out frequently means one thing—scrubbing, on your hands and knees, all over your apartment. The stain you were too lazy to get out months ago, the baseboard you never bothered to dust, and the cobwebs in the corner of your loft ceilings will certainly all come back to haunt you (and your deposit). To get the deep clean you need without spending hours doing the work, consider hiring a professional residential cleaning service to get your apartment in beautiful shape.
The last step of moving out will be handing over your door, mail, and gate keys to the landlord or office staff and having a final walk through. You should schedule this after the majority of the moving out process is finished, as this is the final step. Your presence during the inspection will ensure that any problems are brought to your attention and everything is recorded accurately in the records. Following all of these steps will make sure that you get the maximum deposit with the minimum effort!
Ready for the Deep Clean Your Apartment Needs?
This entry was posted on Friday, August 5th, 2016 at 1:33 pm. Both comments and pings are currently closed.