text:
Depression Among Medical Students of Karachi A Cross Sectional Study
Ujalla Kumari[1], Nakeeta Dawani[1], Joti Devnani[1], Muhammad Fazal Hussain Qureshi[1], Fahad Khalid Soleja[1], Danish Mohammad[1], Zain Jawed Abubaker[1], Ayesha Haroon[1], Sara Sadiq[2]
Institution: 1. Ziauddin University, 2. CMH Institute of Medical Sciences, Bahawalpur
Corresponding Author: Mr Muhammad Fazal Hussain Qureshi ([email protected])
Categories: Students/Trainees, Behavioural and Social Sciences, Undergraduate/Graduate
Introduction: Depression is a mood disorder characterized by loss of interest in daily activity, feeling of hopelessness and helplessness, decreased appetite, anger and irritability. The risk factors which leads to depression include academic demands, daily habits, sleeping hours, sedentary lifestyle, inability to cope, helplessness, increased psychological pressure, mental tension and increased work load etc. The objective of current study is to find out the prevalence of depression among students of different medical colleges of Karachi and its association with life style, habits and coping mechanisms.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 6 months i.e. April 2018 to September 2018, using a self-designed, self-explanatory questionnaire which also included Public Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) for identification of depression. The coefficient of reliability including Cronbach alpha was 0.839 for the questionnaire. The data was analyzed by using mean with standard deviation and frequency with percentages while association was calculated by using Chi-square test.
Results: The mean age of participants was 21.43 ±1.803. About 2/3 of the participants were female with marital status of 3/4th of participants being single. 92% of the medical students were found to be depressed while 26% of them have suicidal thoughts. Symptoms of depression were compared with depression score, which showed strong positive correlation. Depression scores were also compared with lifestyle habits of participants, including sleeping hours, exercise, recent trauma and multiple coping mechanisms, presented significant association with depression scores (p-value ≤ 0.01).
Conclusions: It is concluded that depression is highly prevalent amongst medical student populations while the lifestyle habits, sleeping hours, physical activities, recent trauma and coping mechanism showed significant positive association with depression.
Keywords: Depression; Depression score; Medical students; coping mechanism.
Depression is a mood disorder characterized by loss of interest in daily activity, feeling of hopelessness and helplessness, decreased appetite, anger and irritability (Marcus, 2012). Depressive symptoms are extremely prevalent in students nowadays which are typically characterized by sadness, loss of interest, hopelessness, nervousness or anxious feelings and even suicidal thoughts (Kessler et al., 2003). According to the results of different meta-analyses, the prevalence of depressive symptoms are higher among college students compared to the general population or non-college students (Mikolajczyk et al., 2008).
Depression is a major correspondent to the global burden of diseases and affects people all over the world with the global prevalence of 3.2% (Moussavi et al., 2007). The prevalence of depressive symptoms among college students were estimated to be 33% (Sarokhani et al., 2013) and 27-50% of medical students were found to be depressed (Sherina, Rampal and Kaneson, 2004; Koochaki et al., 2011; Rotenstein et al., 2016). Looking over Pakistan, prevalence of depression and anxiety is 34% (Mirza and Jenkins, 2004). A high prevalence of anxiety and depression 43.89% was found amongst medical students of Pakistan (Jadoon et al., 2010). The prevalence rate of depression across Karachi is 60-70% respectively (Inam, Saqib and Alam, 2003;Khan et al., 2006a). It was found that approximately 70% of the medical students suffered from anxiety and depression in Karachi (Khan et al., 2006b).
A number of studies have reported a high prevalence of depression and anxiety among medical students, both internationally and in Pakistan. And risk factors which lead to depression; such as academic demands, exams, inability to cope, helplessness, increased psychological pressure, mental tension and high work load etc. (Shaikh et al., 2004;Khan et al., 2006a). It is estimated that by the year 2020, anxiety and depression will be the second most common cause of disability worldwide (Lopez and Murray, 1998). Stress during education can lead to mental distress and have a negative impact on cognitive functioning and learning. Hence, there is a need to quantify the anxiety, depression and its associated factors among medical students for their counselling and rehabilitation (Khan et al., 2006a; Qureshi et al., 2019).
The objective of current study is to find out the prevalence of depression among students of different medical colleges of Karachi and its association with symptoms, life style habits and coping mechanisms.
A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-designed, self-explanatory questionnaire Public Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) of Pfizer (Zhang et al., 2013) for identification of depression. Questionnaire includes questions related to demographics i.e. age, gender, ethnicity, year of study, lifestyle, coping mechanisms for depression. The questionnaire was validated by pilot testing on a sample of 20 students. The coefficient of reliability including Cronbach alpha was 0.839 for the questionnaire. The questionnaire was disseminated personally; names of students were not recorded. Ethical approval certificate was obtained by Ziauddin University which was submitted and accepted by all the institutions participating in research. Sample Size was calculated using Openepi and was found to be 200.
Study was conducted in 6 months i.e. April 2018 to September 2018. Multistage sampling technique was done, in first stage three private medical colleges (Ziauddin University, Bahira University, Jinnah Medical and Dental College) and three government medical Colleges (DOW University, Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi Medical and Dental College) were selected, while in the second stage students from those universities/colleges were randomly selected for the study. Students from all years like first, second, third, fourth and fifth year of MBBS were included. Students of BDS, Pharmacy, and Physiotherapy etc. were excluded to avoid bias.
The data was analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS-22). The mean with standard deviation were calculated for quantitative variables while frequency and percentages for qualitative variables. The association of depression with appeared symptoms, life style habits and coping mechanisms were calculated by using Chi-square test.
About 230 questionnaires were distributed in different public and private sector medical universities of Karachi among MBBS students in different years of study, out of which 200 were fully filled. Data was collected from 3 government and 3 private sector universities of Karachi. Depression was identified using Public Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9). Majority of the participants were suffering from mild depression, 92% of the population was suffering from some degree. 41% of population was suffering from Mild depression, 27% from minimal depression, 14% from moderate depression, 7% from moderately severe depression and 3% from severe depression. 8% population was not suffering from depression at all. While 26% of them also had suicidal intentions. The mean age of participants was 21.43 with standard deviation of 1.803. About 2/3 participants were female with marital status of 3/4th of participants being single. Considering ethnicity majority of study participants were Panjabi speaking. Students from each year were equally included in the study. The basic demographic characteristics of participant are shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Characteristics of study Participants
Baloch
Urdu Speaking
Fifth Year
Symptoms of depression like hopelessness, helplessness, loss of interest in daily activities, appetite or weight changes, sleep changes, anger or irritability, loss of energy, self-loathing, reckless behaviour, concentration problems and unexplained aches and pains were compared with depression score, including minimal, mild, moderate, moderately severe and severe depression, which showed strong positive correlation as p-values were highly significant (p-value ≤ 0.01), mentioned in Table 2.
Table 2: Compression of Depression Scores with Depression Symptoms
Minimal Depression
Mild Depression
Moderately Severe Depression
Severe Depression
Appetite or weight changes
Sleep changes, Anger or irritability, Loss of energy, Self-loathing, Reckless behaviour, Concentration problems
Unexplained aches and pains
None of the Symptoms
Depression scores were compared with lifestyle habits of participants and some of the habits, including sleeping hours, exercise, and recent trauma showed significant relation with depression scores (p-value ≤ 0.01). Looking over the multiple coping mechanisms, significant association was noted in minimizing the symptoms as either talking to a friend or family member, sleeping or meditation. On the other hand, ignoring the issues or optimism didn't show any significant association as shown in Table 3.
Table 3: Compression of Depression Scores with Lifestyle
Sleeping Hours
>8 Hours
Alternative Days
With Friends and Family
Watching TV or Using computer
Talking to a friend or family
Recent Trauma
Death of a friend or pet
Social Embarrassment
Failure to solve problem
Depression is a significant problem in medical schools. The overall depression rate in medical students of Karachi is found to be 92%, whereas it was previously recorded at 70% in a study (Khan et al., 2006a). The result shows 41% of students are mildly depressed and 10 percent severely or close to severely depressed. Similarly, in a meta-analysis for depression, about 27% of medical students suffered from depression (Rotenstein et al., 2016). In addition, 11.1% of students suffered from suicidal ideation. This statistic is very close to the 10% of individuals in the data presented. A study on medical students in Egypt also pointed out that 65% of students were depressed (Fawzy and Hamed, 2017). This shows that there is a repeated trend of depression in many medical schools. An article from Cameroon shows that 30.6% of their medical students had major depressive disorder (Ngasa et al., 2017). This again shows a repeated trend of depression. An article by Lane et al.,2016 states that Pakistani American ethnicity has a non-significant trend in depression (Lane, Cheref and Miranda, 2016). However, the results stated earlier do not correlate with the population in Pakistan medical schools. Therefore, depression is an issue.
Our study suggests that certain lifestyle practices, coping mechanisms, and life events can have an effect on depression. Specifically, sleep is a highly significant factor towards depression. Likewise, in one study on undergraduates in Nepal, 35.4% of students were sleep deprived (Bhandari et al., 2017). Out of that percentage of students 21.2% of students were depressed. Sleep deprivation is a common correlate towards depression. Another study amongst adolescents stated that sleep deprivation increased the risks of depression between 25-38% (Roberts and Duong, 2014). Therefore, this minor finding may signify that students are depressed due to sleep deprivation.
Another finding statistically significant was spending time with friends and family. It seems that social isolation is a keen risk factor towards depression. However, our statics for being alone did not specify any significance. This may be because according to Matthews et al, socially isolated young adults are not necessarily lonely. It is the feeling of loneliness which is a risk factor for depression (Matthews et al., 2016). While coping with family and friends can reduce the risk of depression.
Another variable that has a great significance is, any recent trauma. Specifically, the study suggests harassment, social embarrassment, and failure to solve problems as the main links. It seems that in the case of harassment, workplace bullying and sexual harassment are further correlates of stress (Taniguchi et al., 2016) and the current study shows significant association with some of the factors of recent trauma.
Depression is highly prevalent amongst medical student populations. Therefore, actions must be taken to figure out the causes and solutions to these problems. If harassment is the cause of depression then in the future we must further investigate what kind of harassment is going on, and then the actions to prevent it. We cannot pinpoint what failures to problems causes' depression. One article suggests that board examination failure can play a role (Bhandari et al., 2017). Moreover Silva et al.,2017 state that higher academic correlate with improvement of depression (Silva et al., 2017). If that is the cause then certain programs need to come up with facilities to help students cope with these initial stressors as is mentioned by one of the study which highlighted the medical student syndrome (MSS) as one of the major stressor (Sadiq, Majeed and Khawar, 2018).
Current study specifically tried to take out the prevalence of depression amongst medical students. The study did its best to figure out daily symptoms and coping mechanisms, however, these specific coping mechanisms could not be further investigated. Future recommendation is to conduct a larger scale study across Pakistan to highlight the prevalence and cause of depression among medical students.
It is concluded that depression is highly prevalent amongst medical student populations while the lifestyle habits, total sleeping hours, physical activities, recent trauma and coping mechanism showed significant positive association with depression. As the medical students are highly vulnerable to depression, actions must be taken to figure out the causes and solutions to their problems.
It is concluded that depression is highly prevalent amongst medical student.
Lifestyle habits, total sleeping hours, physical activities, recent trauma and coping mechanism showed significant positive association with depression.
As the medical students are highly vulnerable to depression, actions must be taken to figure out the causes and solutions to their problems.
Miss Ujalla Kumari: Conceptualized and designed this study, both the intervention described and the rigorous measurement and analysis; spearheaded the acquisition of data and helped in the analysis and interpretation of the collected data; revised the drafted article critically for important intellectual content; provided final approval of the version to be published. She is currently a third year Medical Student doing MBBS from Ziauddin University.
Miss Nakeeta Dawani: Conceptualized and designed this study, both the intervention described and the rigorous measurement and analysis; spearheaded the acquisition of data and helped in the analysis and interpretation of the collected data; revised the drafted article critically for important intellectual content; provided final approval of the version to be published. She is currently a third year Medical Student doing MBBS from Ziauddin University.
Miss Joti Devnani: Conceptualized and designed this study, both the intervention described and the rigorous measurement and analysis; spearheaded the acquisition of data and helped in the analysis and interpretation of the collected data; revised the drafted article critically for important intellectual content; provided final approval of the version to be published. She is currently a third year Medical Student doing MBBS from Ziauddin University.
Mr Muhammad Fazal Hussain Qureshi: Conceptualized and designed this study, both the intervention described and the rigorous measurement and analysis; spearheaded the acquisition of data and helped in the analysis and interpretation of the collected data; revised the drafted article critically for important intellectual content; provided final approval of the version to be published. I am currently a third year Medical Student doing MBBS from Ziauddin University.
Mr Fahad Khalid Soleja: Conceptualized and designed this study, both the intervention described and the rigorous measurement and analysis; spearheaded the acquisition of data and helped in the analysis and interpretation of the collected data; revised the drafted article critically for important intellectual content; provided final approval of the version to be published. He is currently a third year Medical Student doing MBBS from Ziauddin University.
Mr Danish Mohammad: Conceptualized and designed this study, both the intervention described and the rigorous measurement and analysis; spearheaded the acquisition of data and helped in the analysis and interpretation of the collected data; revised the drafted article critically for important intellectual content; provided final approval of the version to be published. He is currently a third year Medical Student doing MBBS from Ziauddin University.
Mr Zain Jawed Abubaker: Conceptualized and designed this study, both the intervention described and the rigorous measurement and analysis; spearheaded the acquisition of data and helped in the analysis and interpretation of the collected data; revised the drafted article critically for important intellectual content; provided final approval of the version to be published. He is currently a third year Medical Student doing MBBS from Ziauddin University.
Miss Ayesha Haroon: Conceptualized and designed this study, both the intervention described and the rigorous measurement and analysis; spearheaded the acquisition of data and helped in the analysis and interpretation of the collected data; revised the drafted article critically for important intellectual content; provided final approval of the version to be published. She is currently a third year Medical Student doing MBBS from Ziauddin University.
Dr Sara Sadiq: Conceptualized and designed this study, both the intervention described and the rigorous measurement and analysis; spearheaded the acquisition of data and helped in the analysis and interpretation of the collected data; revised the drafted article critically for important intellectual content; provided final approval of the version to be published. She is Assistant Professor working in Department of Physiology.
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This project was submitted to the ethical review committee of Ziauddin University (Approval number: 0331529MFDS) and after its approval a certificate was issued, was presented to different universities mentioned in the study and accepted by them before collecting data from their respective institution.
Lubna Jahanzeb - (05/10/2019)
It is very overwhelming to see this student based research on such an important topic. Being a teacher in Pakistani educational setup for more than ten years help me understand this paper in detail. Introduction is very well written with adequate references to support study. Methodology is explained in a very simple yet interesting manner and can help other researcher's to replicate this study easily. The most interesting part of paper is results and discussion which make the argument more interesting and gives the reader perfect picture of the current scenario and reasons behind this issue.
I highly recommend this paper.
Stijntje Dijk - (04/10/2019)
The topic of this paper, mental wellbeing among medical students, is very relevant. The study seeks to identify the prevalence of depression among students in a local setting, which provides valuable information to a field in which cited prevalence vary strongly across literature, and could provide an incentive and starting point for interventions in Karachi. The fact that the paper is written mainly by medical students themselves is commendable.
We, however, do have several reservations regarding this paper that we would encourage the authors to consider if submitting a revised paper.
- Comparability: Seeing as the main focus of the paper is investigating and comparing the prevalence of depression, it is crucial that the cited literature in both the discussion and introduction is comparable. A number of prevalence papers are cited, however, without the context of which instruments and cutoff values were used, and who these groups were, the reader may be led to draw incorrect conclusions. For example, the authors compare the 92% prevalence of depression among medical students in Karachi to the previously recorded 70% in the study by Khan et al, however do not describe that Khan et al. used a different instrument (AKUADS) with a much higher cutoff value (19) compared to PHQ-9 with a cutoff value of 1, which states that students have a minimal depression even if they feel tired several days a week alone. One should also note the limitation that the PHQ-9 is a self-report tool that should be verified by a clinician prior to a definitive diagnosis being made. Several other citations on current prevalence rates are from 15 years ago, whereas we'd be curious to hear about more recent developments. The paper could benefit from providing more detailed information on the comparability across studies.
- Reproducibility of methods: The authors stated they used a self-designed, self-explanatory questionnaire that contains the PHQ-9, however, have not explained in what ways they have modified the existing and validated instrument. The authors used the tool Openepi to conduct statistical calculations however have not provided the reader with a level of detail that would allow us to replicate their results and calculations, which we encourage the authors to add in any revisions.
- Results: We found it difficult to interpret tables 2 and 3 and wondered whether there might be alternative formats that could demonstrate the point the authors wish to make. We additionally caution that the discussion then makes causal assumptions based on correlation, whereas for example, the correlation found between lack of sleep leading to depression may also have been depression leading to lack of sleep, as is also the case for the conclusions drawn on isolation and physical activity. The results on suicidal ideation are expressed differently in the abstract (26% of students with depression) and the conclusion (10% of all participants). We believe that the paper would benefit from aligning abstract and body, and should provide the reader with an explanation on what cutoff value is used for suicidal ideation.
We thank the authors for their valuable work and interesting paper and hope they would be able to address some of our reservations in any revised versions.
This review was co-authored by Esmee de Bloois, medical student at the Erasmus University Medical Center. We have no conflicts of interest to declare.
BALAJI ARUMUGAM - (27/09/2019)
This study is the need of the hour among medical students. As a medical teacher for the past 15 years, I have come across many students having suicidal tenancies and I have sent them for psychiatric counselling. And this year world mental health day them is on suicide prevention, to focus more on 40 seconds action. After completing a debate and a panel discussion in CME programme yesterday in our institution, reading this article and getting to know that the 26% had suicidal thoughts is really worrying and alarming. This descriptive study was conducted nicely and the results are projected clearly. Please kindly consider the depressed students to have some continuous counseling sessions and the treatment and follow up.
Rehana Faryal Mehdi - (26/09/2019)
Indeed a very insightful analysis of one of the major condition encountered by students, reading this paper gives me a complete picture of the situation and measures taken. It is interesting to see that this study was conducted and led by students.
I will recommend this study to every researcher working in this area.
Wellness and illness in medical students is a very important topic, which many medical schools, despite their best efforts, are not really coping with. This makes this paper an interesting one to read, covering such an important area. I was pleased to see that it was the students who had developed and written this paper.
I am not sure that many of the papers findings are new to the readers with interest in this area, but basing their research in Pakistan does give it a different perspective. The authors have researched their paper well as seen by the large number of relevant references, and I believe have taken a logical and appropriate approach to their research. I personally would have liked to see more description of activities than the papers concentration on statistics and I was left wanting in knowing more about the second half of the study looking at coping mechanisms, particularly given that most of the authors were students. With the results showing as they are, then clearly one must look at how we manage this problem, specifically as it seems that approximately a quarter of the students had suicidal ideas. I do not think that the authors need to make this a national study, I hope that they now have enough material to extend this study into the areas of prevention and management.
I would recommend this paper to those involved in student support and curriculum planning
Kumari U, Dawani N, Devnani J, Qureshi M, , et al. 2019, 'Depression Among Medical Students of Karachi A Cross Sectional Study', MedEdPublish, 8, [3], 32, https://doi.org/10.15694/mep.2019.000181.1
Version 1 (18 September 2019)


Ruby's first birthday, a photo by Southworth Sailor on Flickr.
The past weekend we took our chances in contracting the noro virus from the Lynden compound. The flu had run its course through the whole family by the time we got there, so we hoped we were safe. The occasion was the celebration of both Ruby and Bjorn's birthdays. Ruby turned one and Bjorn reached exactly half our age. The Whatcom Museum in Bellingham has a great children's section. Bjorn, Esther and I toured the rest of the museum while Jenny and the girls enjoyed the children's section. I 'helped' Bjorn put the finishing touches on the cool kitchen that he made for the girls. Bjorn has been enjoying his new Jambox (bluetooth portable speaker) that he got for his birthday.


There is nothing simple about this gorgeous Tacori necklace from the City Lights collection. A faceted black onyx is surrounded by lush sterling silver with milgrain details to form a stunning pendant, and it dangles elegantly from a 33" link chain. Pair it with other Tacori pieces from this collection to create a treasured look that will flatter any style.


Justin Bieber has issued a friendly ice hockey challenge to fellow singer Shawn Mendes after the There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back hitmaker was declared the "Prince of Pop".
Shawn graced the cover of Britain's The Observer Magazine over the weekend, when he was given the royal title, one which was previously used to describe Justin's stardom by editors at Vanity Fair.
He shared the image on Instagram on Sunday (07Apr19) and simply captioned it, "Thank you @obsmagazine x".
The post caught Justin's eye and he couldn't resist the urge to tease his fellow Canadian over the "Prince of Pop" headline.
"Hmm Gonna have to break a few more records to dethrone my title there bud," he commented under the photo. "but if you want we can play hockey for it..."
Justin's remarks led some followers to believe that he was trying to put Shawn's accomplishments down, while others thought the online jab was linked to the 20 year old's former close friendship with Bieber's now-wife, model Hailey Baldwin, who he was rumoured to have dated just months before she reconnected with the Baby singer.
"there is no competition and it was a playful joke people relax (sic)," he wrote. "there's no sides we're all just here to make dope music (sic). I'm just competitive as is he so it was just a little playful jargon".
And Shawn appeared to agree, as he took up Justin's offer to a friendly tussle so they could battle it out in person.
"LOL (laugh out loud) any time any day you just let me know (sic)!!!!!!" he responded.
Shawn was first rumoured to have struck up a romance with Hailey in October, 2017, before spending time together in his native Toronto, Canada that Christmas, and attending the Met Gala together in May, 2018, which many onlookers thought was official confirmation of their relationship.
However, both Hailey and Shawn repeatedly dismissed the claims, insisting they were just friends, and the beauty went on to become engaged to Bieber in July (18). They tied the knot in a New York City courthouse ceremony in September (18).


text:
Last week I signed up for Bookjourney's Read-a-Long for Daphne du Mauier's Rebecca and began reading it in ebook. And most evenings I was reading aloud to my Mom At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon. I ordered Mom the Mitford book in both large print and recording from the library there so she could continue with it after I left.
I arrived home yesterday and between the trip prep, the travel, the catching up with Ed and Merlin, the unpacking and the catching up on sleep, there hasn't been time to read since Friday but I hope to do some catching up on that this week.
Besides those two novels which I will continue to read over the next week or three I will also return to the several non-fiction books I've had going for some time:
Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Leher
But my main focus for the next few days is to finish reading and post a review for Joshua Henkin's The World Without You as this is the week it is scheduled to be released. I was really looking forward to this one as I loved his Matrimony. It has been meeting my expectations and was really hard to set aside for the trip prep etc.
It's July 4, 2005, and the Frankel family is descending upon their beloved summer home in the Berkshires. But this is no ordinary holiday. The family has gathered to memorialize Leo, the youngest of the four siblings, an intrepid journalist and adventurer who was killed on that day in 2004, while on assignment in Iraq.
The parents, Marilyn and David, are adrift in grief. Their forty-year marriage is falling apart. Clarissa, the eldest sibling and a former cello prodigy, has settled into an ambivalent domesticity and is struggling at age thirty-nine to become pregnant. Lily, a fiery-tempered lawyer and the family contrarian, is angry at everyone. And Noelle, whose teenage years were shadowed by promiscuity and school expulsions, has moved to Jerusalem and become a born-again Orthodox Jew. The last person to see Leo alive, Noelle has flown back for the memorial with her husband and four children, but she feels entirely out of place. And Thisbe —Leo's widow and mother of their three-year-old son—has come from California bearing her own secret.
Set against the backdrop of Independence Day and the Iraq War, The World Without You is a novel about sibling rivalries and marital feuds, about volatile women and silent men, and, ultimately, about the true meaning of family.
My giveaway for Ben Kane's Spartacus the Gladiator is still going for a couple more days.
My blog tour review for The Concubine Saga by Lloyd Lofthouse went up last Tuesday.
The June WriMos Wrap Up
Friday Forays in Fiction: ROW80 Round 3 Intent & G...
Web Wrangled and Browser Bullied
Nora Ephron 1941-2012 [Quotes]
Book Review: The End of Everything by Megan Abbott
Book Review: The World Without You by Joshua Henkin
Friday Forays in Fiction: Literary Giveaway Blog Hop
At a Loss
Dreaming of a Rainbow Whirlpool
Friday Forays in Fiction: Read-a-Long
The Concubine Saga by Lloyd Lofthouse: A Book Review
9th ROW80 Check-In
Friday's Forays in Fiction: Ray Bradbury on Story
Spartacus by Ben Kane: A Book Review
Ray Bradbury 1920-2012. May your soul reside in t...
It's Monday What Are You Reading?
Friday Forays in Fiction: Camp NaNoWriMo

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Today's Highlights on MCX Market by CapitalStars 15-May-2019
Daily Metal and Energy Outlook 15th May
BULLION – Bullion counter may trade on volatile path as gold steadied on Wednesday after retreating from a one-month peak in the previous session as Washington and Beijing decided to further their discussions on trade, soothing investor concerns around a full-blown trade war. U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday called the trade war with China a little squabble and insisted talks between the world two largest economies had not collapsed, as investors remained on guard for a further escalation of tit-for-tat tariffs. Meanwhile on Tuesday, the Chinese government also confirmed that the two countries have agreed to keep talking about their trade dispute. However, restraining further downside for gold, Asian shares still struggled near a 3-1/2-month low on Wednesday on lingering concerns over the economic impact of a U.S.-China trade war.
ENERGY- Crude oil may trade with sideways bias as oil eased on Wednesday after closely watched data showed a surprise rise in U.S. crude stockpiles, but prices were supported by mounting tensions in the Middle East. U.S. crude stockpiles unexpectedly rose last week, while gasoline and distillate inventories increased data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday. Oil prices have drawn support after Saudi Arabia on Tuesday said armed drones struck two of its oil pumping stations, two days after the sabotage of oil tankers near the United Arab Emirates, while the U.S. military said it was braced for possibly imminent threats to U.S. forces in Iraq from Iran-backed forces. Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Tuesday said that world demand for its oil would be higher than expected this year as supply growth from rivals including U.S. shale producers slows, pointing to a tighter market if the exporter group refrains from raising output.
BASE METAL – Base metals prices may witness some short covering at lower levels as copper and most other base metals rose on Wednesday, after U.S. President Donald Trump insisted that trade talks with China had not collapsed. Trump on Tuesday called the trade war with China a little squabble and softened his tone in a series of remarks expressing optimism about reaching a trade deal with Beijing, While a Beijing senior diplomat also confirmed that the two countries would pursue relevant discussions. Copper may test 430 while taking support near 420 in MCX. Barrick Gold Corp, the world second largest bullion miner, is preparing its Zambian copper mine Lumwana for sale in the second half of 2019, looking to target Chinese buyers, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. Global miner BHP will hold on to the Australian nickel operations it previously put up for sale, while Rio Tinto, is working on copper and lithium projects as the mining industry bets on demand for electric vehicle (EV) batteries.


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Fort Pelly #1 Provincial Historic Site
St. Philips RM 301, Saskatchewan, S0A, Canada
Archaeological Site EkMl-1
The Fort Pelly #1 Provincial Historic Site comprises 9.25 hectares of hay fields and wooded land near the Assiniboine River, approximately 13 kilometres southeast of the Town of Norquay. The property features the archaeological remains of a nineteenth-century Hudson's Bay Company trading post.
The heritage value of the Fort Pelly #1 Provincial Historic Site lies in its association with the Hudson's Bay Company in the period following its 1821 union with the North West Company, and in the information the site's archaeological remains reveal regarding life at the post.
Between 1791 and 1821, at least 16 posts belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company, the North West Company and various independent traders had operated on the upper Assiniboine River. In some seasons, as many as five competed simultaneously. Following the 1821 union, the Hudson's Bay Company began rationalizing its operations by closing posts and amalgamating administrative units. The two surviving posts on the upper Assiniboine were closed and the Swan River and Upper Red (Assiniboine) River Departments were combined. In 1824, Fort Pelly, named for Hudson's Bay Company Governor J. H. Pelly, was built at the "Elbow" of the Assiniboine as the principal post of the newly enlarged Swan River Department. Although returns from the fur-depleted region were less than satisfactory, Fort Pelly was maintained, even expanded over the years, to discourage First Nations trappers from trading with American, Métis and other competitors. Fort Pelly operated on this site until 1856, when it was relocated to avoid periodic flooding of the Assiniboine River.
Archaeological excavations in the early 1970s uncovered structural remains that showed how the post was built, expanded over time, and rebuilt after a fire in 1843. The structural remains and over 15,000 recovered artifacts reflect the personal and domestic lives of the post's inhabitants, the business of trading and transporting furs, and other important post industries and activities that included the manufacture and repair of trade goods, boat building, livestock raising, and gardening.
Province of Saskatchewan, Order in Council 870/86, August 21, 1986.
The heritage value of the Fort Pelly #1 Provincial Historic Site resides in the following character-defining elements:
-the site's location on the floodplain of the Assiniboine River near the river's "Elbow";
-those elements related to the 1824-1856 Hudson's Bay Company post, including artifacts, especially any material in its original location and context; and structural remains, such as cellars, foundations of buildings and palisades, fireplaces, forges, and a fur press.
Parks Act, s. 7
Developing Economies
Trade and Commerce
Commerce / Commercial Services
Heritage Conservation Branch, Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport, 3211 Albert Street, Regina, Saskatchewan S4S 5W6
GR 2251
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Ascension
St. Philips RM 301, Saskatchewan
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Ascension is a Municipal Heritage Property comprising a four…
Fort Livingstone National Historic Site of Canada
Highway 661, Pelly, Saskatchewan
Fort Livingstone National Historic Site of Canada is an archaeological site that once housed the…
Fort Pelly National Historic Site of Canada
Pelly, Saskatchewan
Fort Pelly National Historic Site of Canada is an archaeological site that contains remains of…


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Real Salt Lake @ FC Dallas - Match Preview
By denz Updated May 22, 2011, 1:57pm MDT
Share All sharing options for: Real Salt Lake @ FC Dallas - Match Preview
Well if ignore the Galaxy beating up on Sporting KC (almost everyone they have played has beat them up), then clearly the top two teams in the West and maybe in all of MLS are FC Dallas (5-3-2) and Real Salt Lake (5-1-1). They are the only teams that are 2-0-0 against the top 4 teams in MLS, FCD is 3-1-0 against the top 8 and RSL are 2-1-0, while LA is a mere 0-1-1 against the top 4 and 3-2-2 against the top 8 according to the Sagarin Rankings.
Yet if you talk to almost any of the RSL players or staff, they are disappointed, heck even some of the fans are scratching their heads, and I am confused by it. RSL is 5-1-1 with 16 points and points per match average that is tops in the league by more than half a point per match. Their defense is so tight that the next best team in MLS has allowed 3 times as many goals as they have. Yeah our offense has struggled a bit in the last few matches, but I have no doubts that they will work it out, heck as it is they are only .3 goals per match behind the best offense in MLS. Yet, I know as well as all the players, coaches, and other fans that this match is a huge one that will likely have implications when it comes to the playoffs and the Supporters' Shield and it is against the team that knocked us out of the playoffs last year. Yeah I expect our guys will have their game faces on come Sunday evening.
For FC Dallas you have to believe that they are on a mission this year, having come so close last year. They rebuilt a big part of their roster in the offseason, they got a bit younger, a lot faster and so far it has paid off as they have bounced back from 3 losses in their first 5 matches to go undefeated in their last 5 matches and now find themselves in second place in the Western Conference. Like RSL they have lost their number one offensive play maker as David Ferreira due to a sloppy tackle that had likely ended his season. Now they look to move on and prove that last year's playoff run and season were no fluke and that they belong among the elite teams of MLS.
the Key Match Ups, Wildcards, and my Prediction after the jump:
Match ups
Nick Rimando vs. Kevin Hartman
Over the last two years these two keeper have simply been the best in the league, last year they ended with a 0.62 GAA for Hartman and a 0.67 GAA for Rimando, I give Nick the edge on that one simply because he played in 7 more matches and had a league best 14 clean sheets (Kevin had 9). This year Hartman has a 1.00 GAA, while Nick has a 0.33 GAA, both have 4 clean sheets.
Kevin is a bit more of the typical keeper at 6'1" while we all know that Nick at 5'8" is considered small for that position, both of them excel at reading the match and knowing what is going on. Both are great vocal leaders of their defense. Both are known for their abilities to make the big saves and the fantastic saves in matches.
While I will stick with Rimando in net for RSL, you have to believe that most teams would love to have either one of these guys on their roster.
Brek Shea vs. Tony Beltran or Robbie Russell
RSL faces a bit of a dilemma when thinking how to cover Brek Shea, first is how? The kid is big, fairly fast and simply finds a way to be a menace to opponents. Then is the who? Do you go with Tony who I think would do better against him but may lack the size to deal with the 6'3" Shea, or the larger and more physical Robbie Russell? It will be interesting to see how a RSL team that likes to push forward with their outside backs will deal with the counter attacking speed that Dallas has in
Marvin Chavez and Shea?
Shea since moving to the midfield from the experiment of having him as a defender has allowed him to score 2 goals in the last 4 FC Dallas matches, both of them game winners for the team. Given the incredible start that the RSL defense has had this season, 4 clean sheets in 7 matches and a incredible 0.29 GAA so far this year, it will be huge if they can keep Brek from scoring or even taking many shots. He has taken just 12 shots but half of them end up on goal and 1/4 have ended up in the back of the net.
When FC Dallas got rid of
Atiba Harris and Jeff Cunningham, many people wondered where they would turn for scoring. The answer was at first Milton Rodriguez, but that didn't work out the way they expected and they had their eyes on someone who might be a bit more dynamic in how they can impact a match. In March as the team was already in their preseason they signed 18 year old Fabian Castillo and now he is a regular fixture up top for them and he has answered with 2 goals and 2 assists in the 9 matches he has played in.
"Fabian is a talented, young player who has shown considerable potential in his time with Deportivo Cali and the Colombian U-20 National Team," FC Dallas Head Coach Schellas Hyndman said. "He's very athletic, quick, explosive and capable of beating opponents with the ball, and we think he has a chance to be a key contributor for us in the future."
mlssoccer.com
Collen Warner
Last week saw Real Salt Lake try to fill the injured shoes of Javier Morales with 2nd year player Collen Warner and like almost any player thrown into those circumstances he had both some success and some disappointments, but he showed that he was going to keep himself in consideration to fill the position more in the future. I am not sure if that means this weekend that he will get the start, but I have to believe that he will either start or be an option off the bench. Collen has shown the potential to be an on field general and offensive leader as he was able to get assist on both goals, in fact Collen has 3 assist on the season and two of those have been game winning assists.
I actually think that Collen will be a huge impact player for RSL as the season progresses, RSL often doesn't like to rush their younger players and most often they wait until the 3rd year with the team before they place too much expectations on them. However this isn't going to be a normal season, the injury to Javi, the national team call ups for Gold Cup duty, and a busy year that has already seen RSL play 6 additional non-MLS matches this year, and I expect that Collen will be called on more and more as the year moves along, but I think he is more than up to the task. He isn't Javier Morales, but nobody else is, he is Collen Warner and you can bet he will make an impact when he is given the opportunity.
David Gantar
Well as usual I will again list the head official as a wildcard, and why not they have earned it with their performances so far this year. What is interesting with Gantar is that he has only been in charge of 4 matches, and in those he has called an average of 23.5 fouls, issued 3.5 yellow cards. Now there is a bit of an upside with him, he has never called a PK, and only once has he shown a red card. Hopefully he won't need to do either of those on Sunday.
Listen there is no easy way to put this, if history is any indication RSL is in real trouble this weekend, they have never gotten a result in Dallas, they are 0-8-0 with just 5 goals scored and 18 goals allowed. The good thing is that is history, and this team has already made a lot of history this year. For RSL to get a result they will need to figure out things on offense, a healthy Fabian Espindola could provide a real spark, and as Alvaro Saborio continues to play himself back to full fitness he becomes more and more dangerous each week. They will also need to play stellar defense as clearly FC Dallas have proven they are a solid team. I think RSL will play with a chip on their shoulder this weekend, and pull off a first for them by getting a 2-1 win in Dallas.
So after watching the matches Saturday night, and knowing what our boys are capable of, I am sticking with us getting a huge win on the road, and unlike some other teams making a real statement about who we are.
OFF MY SOAPBOX


Should've just used the old migraine excuse.
And not because "bacon tastes good hurr durr".
For all the on-the-go wankers out there.
Age is just a number according to this guy.
This man filmed his wife's insane mental breakdown in their car and stuck the footage up online.


See G. D. Burtchaell & J. M. Rigg (eds.), Historical Manuscripts Commission Report on Franciscan Mss. preserved at the Convent, Merchants' Quay, Dublin (Dublin, 1906), p. 2.
Copy of Napoleon I's decree in favour of the Irish missionaries in Paris, entitled : 'Copia del Decreto di S. M. Imperiale e Reale Napoleon I. In favore dei Missionarii Irlandesi in Parigi'.] is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.


Today also we pray for Imelda Micks, Ennis, sister of Teresa Custy, Toonagh, who died last week. May she rest in peace.
Cancer Man 2 Man: Men only meeting on Saturday, January 27th at 11am in Sláinte an Chláir, Kilnamona.
Guest speaker on the day Nutritionist/Dietician.
Parkinson's Support Group:The next meeting for people affected by Parkinson's takes place at Carrigoran Health & Wellness Centre, NewmarketonFergus at 10.00 am on Friday 26th January. It offers a forum for discussion, support and information and to raise awareness locally about Parkinson's and problems associated with the condition. These meetings include an activity that assists people living with Parkinson's such as Yoga, Dance, Physiotherapy or Tai Chi.
Toonagh Charity Walk A sincere thank you to everyone who came out and supported our recent walk for Seeking Vision Clare Sunset Foundation . We are still counting the final amount collected and we will confirm same in next weeks' newsletter.
Jackpot: €4,200 Numbers Drawn 05, 10, 15, 21.
€30 Winners: Michael Lynch, Kitty Crowe, Martha Casey, Patrick Crowe, Sean Ryan.
Next Weeks Lotto: €4,350 in Mortys'- Ted Wynn's Team.


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United States of America (Connecticut) : public and bank holidays, closure of banks, stock exchanges, school vacations
United States of America (Connecticut) : complete schedule of public and bank holidays, closure of banks and stock exchanges, school vacations, trade fairs, cultural and sporting events, festivals, carnivals, election during the next 3 months
Monday January 3, 2022 Christmas holiday (end) School holidays
Tuesday January 18, 2022 Snow storm Secular holiday
Friday February 11, 2022 Lincoln's Birthday Secular holiday
Monday February 21, 2022 President's Day Banks only
Saturday March 19, 2022 St Patrick's Day Parade Events, celebrations...
Thursday March 24, 2022 Hartford Jewish Film Festival Events, celebrations...
Thursday April 14, 2022 Spring holiday (beginning) School holidays
Monday April 25, 2022 Spring holiday (end) School holidays
Monday May 9, 2022 Summer holiday (beginning) School holidays
Christmas holiday (end)
School holidays : Www.sde.ct.gov
official calendar gazetted by the Connecticut Education Department
Applies to Hartford
number of instructional days and/or hours in the school year: 182 days - Half-day K ~ 450 hours/Full-day K ~ 900 hours/Grades 1-12 ~ 900 hours
Teaching languages: English
schools may open on Saturday
Yale University ranking: Times Higher Education #8/QS ranking #16/Shanghai #11
Dates confirmed till July 2022; Further dates are projected dates based on previous years
Make a Paypal donation of euros 10 to [email protected] to purchase the full calendar for Hardford Connecticut schools
Lincoln's Birthday
Secular holiday : In honor of Abraham Lincoln, who was the nation's 16th president and was known as the Great Emancipator.
Banks only : Commemorates the births of George Washington (22.2.1732) and Abraham Lincoln (12.2.1809). The memory of America's first president, George Washington, was once celebrated on his birthday, February 22nd. The date was changed to the third Monday in February to create a three-day weekend Banks, post office and governement close, but businesses, more and more, remain open, as well as universities. These banks remain open: Chase Bank, TD Bank, Wells Fargo
Culture : Www.saintpatricksdayparade.com/
Hartford Jewish Film Festival
Culture : Lasts 1 week - www.hjff.org 2022 edition confirmed
Thursday April 14, 2022
Monday April 25, 2022
Monday May 9, 2022
School holidays : Spread over a week according to the district spread over a week according to the district


This dashcam footage from Australia shows tempers flaring as the drivers of a Hyundai Tucson and Hyundai H-1 van (known Down Under as the iLoad) attempt to merge into the same section of road.
The video shows the two vehicles moving slowly alongside one another, with the gap between them becoming increasingly narrow.
Neither driver is prepared to give way and at one point the two vehicles appear to touch lightly.
After plenty of remonstrating, a passenger climbs out of the window of the Tucson and bizarrely straddles the two vehicles. As he clambers back into the SUV after having a closer word with the van driver, the latter pulls ahead.
Watch the footage above … and take it easy out there, folks.


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Gregg Popovich On Donald Trump: 'You Really Can't Believe Anything That Comes Out Of His Mouth'
San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is no fan of Donald Trump. On Saturday, Popovich spoke out about the newly inaugurated president, saying, "you really can't believe anything that comes out of his mouth."
It's not often that sports coaches get political, but Gregg Popovich is special and he's been sharing his opinions about Donald Trump ever since he learned that the celebrity businessman was elected to become the next president of the United States.
Just after the election, Popovich commented that the thought of having Donald Trump as our president makes him sick to his stomach. Since then, the Spurs coach has continued commenting on the approval rating and the trustworthiness of Trump.
"The march today was great," Popovich commented. "The message is important. It could have been a whole lot of groups marching. Somebody said on TV, 'What's the message?' The message is obvious. Our president comes in with the lowest rating of anybody whoever came into the office. There's a majority of people out there, since Hillary won the popular vote, that don't buy his act."
Gregg Popovich's comments came before a much-hyped Saturday game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Cleveland Cavaliers. According to My San Antonio, Popovich was asked about the Women's March being held around the country and the world on Saturday. His response was literally four minutes long.
"I just wish he was more … had the ability to be mature enough to do something that really is inclusive, rather than just talking and saying, 'I'm going to include everyone.'" Popovich continued. "He could talk to the groups that he disrespected and maligned during the primary and really make somebody believe it. But so far, you've gotten to the point where you really can't believe anything that comes out of his mouth. You really can't. All those thousands that were on the rooftops after 9/11? There were two. 'We went to Hawaii and checked his birth certificate and my investigators couldn't BELIEVE what they found.' There wasn't anything there. It's over and over again."
Popovich went on to talk about Donald Trump's speech on Friday and the new POTUS' concern about the size of the crowd that showed up at the inauguration, a crowd that was much smaller than that of Barack Obama by a landslide. The Spurs coach said that Trump's concern over ratings and crowds worries him because he doesn't think Trump is showing the emotional maturity that someone his age and in his position should possess.
"I hope he does a great job. But there's a difference between respecting the office of the president and the person who occupies it. That respect has to be earned. It's hard to be respectful of someone when we all have kids, and we're watching him be misogynistic and xenophobic and racist and make fun of handicapped people."
Gregg Popovich went on to call out some of the television personalities who have been defending Donald Trump — those who have been accused of trying to cover up and deny many of the offensive things that the president has said and done. He called out Kellyanne Conway, specifically, for recently denying that Donald Trump was making fun of a disabled reporter. He brought up how she argued that Trump wouldn't have done that and something about knowing what is in his heart, despite video footage actually showing Trump seemingly mocking the reporter.
As for the protests, though, even though the Women's March on Cleveland was going on all around them while his San Antonio Spurs warmed up for the game later in the day, Gregg Popovich said he was happy to see the huge turnout for the marches all over the United States.
"Although we all hope he does good things for our country, that we don't get embarrassed by him and roll back liberties that have been worked for for so long in so many different areas."
[Featured Image by Christian Peterson/Getty Images]


Lori joined the CHI St. Joseph Children's Health team with 15 years of experience designing programs that motivate and inspire community improvement. Lori is particularly fond of supporting families and children by offering educational opportunities that help them adopt healthy habits and become advocates for lasting change.
Since earning her Master of Social Service degree from the Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research at Bryn Mawr College, Lori has designed national science programs for The Franklin Institute Science Museum and large-scale signature program efforts, including Healthy Promise, for Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Religion from Muhlenberg College.
Lori is a Pennsylvania native and proud graduate of Reading High School. Weaving her experiences as a city kid, world traveler, and mom of three into her work, Lori is an engaging story-teller and effective educator. With an eye for innovation, a commitment to health, and a passion for reaching families and communities, Lori leads our children's health education efforts.


Branding design and development covers a lot of ground. It goes way beyond logo design. Our experience will help you see the Big Picture and potential of your brand communications. We design and develop all kinds of identity campaigns. Yes, start with logo design but let us show you how important it is to have good branding discipline work across all your marketing.
How does your brand portfolio look?
Consistent branding design is a must. Go have a look at how your business or promotional material stacks up. Do you have a style guide? Are you using colour and fonts properly? Let us do a free brand audit for you.
From advertising to annual reports, merchandise to event kiosks, we can design and produce well-branded material.
Whether you're starting from scratch for new logo design or want to refresh your corporate or business communications, let us help.
We'll make sure your branding is smart and strong for any purpose – including your website, social media, print, packaging, in-store, events, signage and all the touchpoints your customers see you.
Graphic design works best with well-integrated communications. We work on all types of briefs and can help you figure out just what you need.
Contact us for a free consultation on how we can help define or develop your graphic design needs, call us or drop us an email. Yes, we're happy to visit to talk about your project in person. In fact, if you're in one of the Western Sydney suburbs, chances are we can be there within the hour! That includes Homebush, Liverpool, Parramatta, Penrith, Blacktown, Bankstown and beyond.
Western Suburbs are the new home to Sydney industry and business and we're in the heart of it. For convenience and insight, your best option is to work with a local professional. Find out why and Contact us to give us a go!


The environment that surrounds us affects our productivity. The irony is that we often neglect it and let it be as it is. This is an attitude towards our workplace that we need to alter. Considerable time of our lives is spent in office so apart from affecting our productivity it also affects our overall personality and, physical and emotional well-being. It has been well documented that workplace environment affects our productivity so we need to take deliberate efforts to improve it.
Working in a cluttered environment affects our productivity. Cluttered environment puts a negative impact on your mind and thought process. It affects on your ability to concentrate and focus on work and process the information.
Even the neuroscientists from various universities have documented the benefits of having an uncluttered office desk. Similarly your desktop too needs to be uncluttered, this is when duplicate photo cleaner comes to best use to regularly filter and unclutter your desktop or laptop. It reduces your stress and improves your productivity.
Getting rid of the clutter is not easy as due to the uncertain factor of the things being useful and it also hurts to discards the stuff.
Architecture can have great impact on your work. Any large and refreshed space inspires you. The spaces that we are surrounded with inspire us tremendously. Natural light and fresh air has positive impact on our productivity and also well being. If you cannot choose the office space then choose the space that has window in front of it or take a small walk outside the office in open space.
Different locations affect us differently. Certain qualities are associated with different places and this factor can help us to get in better work flow. This fact is known as "task association" when you are in a certain place the brain gets the symbol that you intend to take certain action.
The point is if you can have multiple work spaces then the your brain can also get trained to work accordingly at the different space and thus the performance is improved.
If we are determined to do something our body pushes all the limits to achieve it. It is rightly said limits exists only in mind. Our brain is more inclined towards doing easier tasks.
If you can focus on making the things appear easier it assures you better productivity. If you can close all the tabs on your browser and just leave the one that you are working on. The next day as you get back to work it is easier to start with the tab that is open.
Beyond working with your mind and body there are other senses that you can work on to improve your productivity. Listening to good music, can have positive effect on your productivity.


BALTIC LAND works closely with Chinese partners and has a large flow of import cargoes from China and Southeast Asia.
BALTIC LAND offers cargo delivery by railway, truck, sea carriage and airfreight from Asian region with customs clearance on the territory of Russia.
How to choose a supplier and consignor in China?
How to calculate the customs value of goods from China and intransit leading time?
How to make a foreign trade contract and other documents for the customs?
How to follow and not to miss the local holidays in order not to increase the time of cargo delivery?
Do not hesitate to contact us any question.


Nearly 23% of adults suffer the pain, stiffness, and inflammation of arthritis, a condition that's the top cause of disability. Gerald Morris, MD, MPH, and Amanda Bacchus-Morris, MD, MPH, at AMG Medical encourage you to schedule an exam at the first sign of joint pain and stiffness. Early treatment can slow down the disease's progress and help keep you moving. To learn more about arthritis treatment, call the office in Tucson, Arizona, or book an appointment online today.
What are the most common types of arthritis?
Arthritis is an umbrella term that includes more than 100 different conditions. Each type of arthritis is unique, but they all share one common symptom: joint inflammation. You can get arthritis in any joint, but it most often affects the knees, wrists, hips, toes, and fingers.
Osteoarthritis, the most common type of arthritis, develops over years of wear-and-tear on your joints that gradually breaks down the cartilage on the ends of bones.
As cartilage wears away, the bones can't move smoothly. As a result, you develop pain, stiffness, and inflammation.
The irritated bones in your joint lead to bone spur formation, which causes additional inflammation and pain.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder that happens when your immune system attacks your joints, causing inflammation, swelling, and subsequent joint pain and stiffness.
As the disease progresses, ongoing inflammation erodes the bones, which ultimately causes bone deformities. Where osteoarthritis affects one side of your body, rheumatoid arthritis develops in the same joint on both sides of your body.
In about 40% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, the inflammation spreads beyond the joints. When this happens, you could develop problems in your eyes, skin, nerves, and organs.
It's estimated that 12% of all cases of osteoarthritis develop when a joint injury, rather than long-term wear-and-tear, causes cartilage degeneration.
Post-traumatic arthritis generally occurs in the months following the injury. However, you'll have a higher risk of developing osteoarthritis as you get older, even if you don't develop arthritis shortly after the injury.
Treatment for arthritis focuses on reducing inflammation, relieving pain, and preserving joint mobility, three goals that are accomplished with a consistent exercise regimen. It's important to stay active, but you also want to balance activity with rest to avoid excess stress.
Oral medications such as NSAIDs — aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, as well as a whole host of prescription painkillers — and topical treatments like capsaicin can help relieve your pain. Medications that are specially formulated for rheumatoid arthritis can slow down progressive joint damage.
If you're overweight, losing weight can significantly relieve arthritis symptoms. Your doctor at AMG Medical can help you with a weight-loss plan, dietary counseling, and tips for making lifestyle changes. You could also benefit from supplements such as glucosamine and/or omega-3 fatty acids.
You can overcome arthritis pain and inflammation with help from the team at AMG Medical. Call the office or book an appointment online today.
AMG Medical offers a wide variety of internal medicine and primary care services to help tend to the health of their patients. For any questions or concerns regarding the services and treatments offered, please feel free to contact our office.


option to generate output wrapped in an HTML table.
-w     Format the result as HTML table.
only with the -d or -x options.
-mNUM  Limit the column display width to NUM characters.
-q     Wrap the character fields in double quotes.
-3     Use the ODBC 3 calls.
-e     Use the SQLExecDirect instead of Prepare.
-v     Turn  on the verbose mode, where the errors are fully described.
ter field to NUM characters. Default is 300.
details about the license, see the COPYING file.


Having completed a very successful and enjoyable 2019 January tour, plans are already under way for January, 2020.
The dates for the Bully Wee Band Tour of January 2019 have been finalised and a full listing can be found on the News/Tour Dates Page.
Since the Bully Wee Band reformed in 2004 they have not surprisingly added to their extensive 45 year repertoire and this album is the result. It is the first time they have been in the studio as one unit in 35 years and the finished tracks demonstrate how they and their sound have matured over the years.
Bully Wee Band Shop Page.


Featuring plenty of videos unsuitable for under 18s, as well as its reputation for toxic comments, YouTube isn't the best place for young children, which is why Google introduced YouTube for Kids back in 2015. Now, it's getting revamped with new features tailored to users' ages, while making the overall experience more secure.
The update adds the ability for parents to create multiple profiles for their kids. These ask for a birthdate and can be customized with an avatar. It means each child will only see the content they are interested in. The accounts work across multiple devices and come with their own passcodes to keep siblings out, though parents will be able to override them if required.
The actual setup process, which is done using a Google account, gives parents more detailed information to help them make the right choices in regards to parental settings.
The app is now tailored based on a child's age—acknowledging the differences between pre-schoolers and school-age users. Younger kids will see less text, while older children get more content on the home screen.
YouTube notes that while it works hard to remove adult material from the app, the system isn't perfect—all the videos aren't manually reviewed—and some mature content may get through. If this happens, parents are advised to block and report anything that may be unsuitable for children.


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Ex-CISA Head Chris Krebs: 'Impeachment Is the Right Mechanism'
Facebook Can't Fix What It Won't Admit To
Toowoomba Tech News & Information
OS Update
August 21, 2020 4350admin1
Cybercriminals have adapted by exploiting improperly secured VPNs, cloud-based services, and business email, says Malwarebytes.
Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto
Triggered by the coronavirus lockdown, the abrupt transition to a work from home (WFH) venue forced organizations to scramble to support a larger remote workforce. Such a quick shift means that certain security measures and requirements inevitably fell by the wayside. At the same time, cybercriminals found a new opportunity for attack with remote workers and improperly secured connections and technologies. Together, these trends have created a more vulnerable environment affecting the cybersecurity defenses of many organizations.
SEE: Return to work: What the new normal will look like post-pandemic (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
Released on Thursday by security firm Malwarebytes, a new report entitled "Enduring from home: COVID-19's impact on business security" shines a light on how the transition has impacted security and how organizations can better handle the risks and vulnerabilities of working remotely.
The report itself combines telemetry from Malwarebytes with survey results from IT and cybersecurity decision makers in the US.
Due to the coronavirus lockdown, around one-third of the respondents had to shift anywhere from 81% to 100% of their employees to remote working. And more than two-thirds moved 61% or more of their workforce to a WFH mode. But most respondents felt their employer was prepared for the transition. Ranking preparedness on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the least prepared and 10 being the most, the average ranking was 7.23. Only 14% of those surveyed ranked their company with a 4 or less.
However, organizations failed to address certain areas that would've strengthened security amid the WFH shift. Among those surveyed, 44% said they didn't provide cybersecurity training focused on the potential threats of working from home, 45% didn't analyze the security or privacy features in the software tools considered necessary for remote working, and 68% did not deploy a new antivirus solution for work-issued devices.
IT leaders also acknowledged a host of challenges in the move to working from home. A full 55% cited the need to train employees on how to securely and compliantly work at home as the top challenge. Some 53% mentioned the challenge of setting up work or personal devices with new software for employees to do their jobs remotely. And 51% pointed to the need to shift to a new, remote model of communication and/or collaboration among employees.
Image: Malwarebytes
Along with the challenges have come concerns due to the WFH transition. Among the respondents, 45% said their biggest concern was that devices may be more exposed at home where employees feel safe, but those devices could be accessed by other people who could accidentally compromise them. Several other concerns were cited by those surveyed, including the following:
IT may not be as effective at supporting remote workers.
Cloud collaboration tools may not provide adequate cybersecurity (concerns of Zoom bombing, for example)
Employees may not have adequate cybersecurity protections for their personal networks and devices.
Employees may be using unauthorized and unmanaged "shadow IT" tools to share company and customer data.
Increased risk of ransomware attacks and malware attacks overall.
As a result of the shift to remote working, organizations have encountered a range of security issues. Among the respondents, 20% said they faced a security breach as a result of a remote worker. Some 24% had to spend money unexpectedly to resolve a security breach or malware attack following the WFH shift. Some 28% admitted that they're using personal devices for work more than their company devices, which could open the door for cyberattacks. And 18% acknowledged that cybersecurity was not a priority for employees.
"Many organizations failed to understand the gaps in their cybersecurity plans when transitioning to a remote workforce, experiencing a breach as a result," Malwarebytes CEO and co-founder Marcin Kleczynski said in a press release. "The use of more, often unauthorized, devices has exposed the critical need for not just a complete, layered security stack, but new policies to address work from home environments. Businesses have never been more at risk and hackers are taking notice."
What can and should organizations do to shore up their defenses while juggling the needs of a remote workforce? In its report, Malwarebytes offered a few suggestions based on the survey responses.
Develop stronger remote security policies. Cited by 55% of the respondents, stronger remote security policies are critical not just as a long-term strategy but as a way to unify cybersecurity defenses across the organization. The idea is to deploy remote work security guidance that views the organization from the standpoint of an attacker, which means being creative.
Install a permanent WFH model for employees who don't need to be in the office each day. Cited by 54% of those surveyed, this measure would help people who permanently work from home. But it would also benefit employees who need to access company resources when they're away on a trip.
Host more trainings for WFH. Cited by 49% of the respondents, training is important for employees working remotely. However, such training must be tailored to the needs and responsibilities of individuals, teams, and departments. Generic security training will only help so much. Workers also are likely to pay more attention if the security advice is specific and relevant.
Develop online privacy reviews for new software. Some 44% of those surveyed said they plan to take this step to make sure that the tools used by remote workers function properly but also keep communication and information secure.
Deploy antivirus solutions that can better handle a remote workforce. Cited by 44% of the respondents, this measure would help since many of this year's threats targeting remote workers are older, commercial ones that could be detected by the proper security products.
Malwarebytes' survey received responses from 200 managers, directors, and C-suite executives in IT and cybersecurity roles at US companies. The survey included companies of different sizes, with some respondents working at small- and midsize businesses and others at large enterprises.
Cybersecurity Insider Newsletter
Strengthen your organization's IT security defenses by keeping abreast of the latest cybersecurity news, solutions, and best practices.
Delivered Tuesdays and Thursdays
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Now that fall is in full swing and winter coming up quickly on its heels, Mount Rainier National Park is also preparing for the seasonal change.
The road to Sunrise is now closed at the White River Campground gate. The road between White River Campground and State Route 410 will be kept open through Oct. 30, weather permitting. Hikers and bicyclists still have access to the Sunrise Road.
All public facilities at Sunrise are closed as park maintenance personnel are conducting their annual job of shutting down water, electrical and heat systems; boarding up facilities to protect them from the winter snows; and placing snow poles to identify road alignments during next spring's road opening.
This same process will continue into the fall at White River and Ohanapecosh.
At Paradise, the Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center, Paradise Camp Deli and Gift Shop will go to a winter schedule being open on weekends and holidays only. Visitor Center hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The historic Paradise Inn is now closed for the season.
The National Park Inn and General Store and the Longmire Museum are open daily throughout the year, providing visitor information, overnight accommodations, dining, and gifts. To make reservations at the National Park Inn call 360-569-2275, or go online to Mount Rainier Guest Services website.
For online information on visitor services and accommodations in the gateway communities surrounding the park go to the following Visit Rainier website.
Park visitors are reminded that weather conditions can change rapidly in the mountains during this time of the year.
Be prepared for inclement weather and possible ice and snow on park roads.
For additional information, check the Mount Rainier National Park Service website or call 360-569-2211.


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Certain items may be worth multiple tabs.
Must be 21 years old or older with a valid government ID to receive a wristband for alcohol. Gluten-friendly alcohol beverages are available.
Wristbands can be pre-purchased, and are available for pickup at the Dining / ID Tent on Slope Day. There are no refunds for wristbands not picked up at the event.
Slopefest is a non-alcoholic carnival on Ho Plaza. Eat, play, and make memories on Slope Day!
All containers are either compostable or recyclable, and free water is available in bottles containing 50% less plastic than standard bottles.
Cornell Dining, Slope Day Programming Board, and the Student Assembly provides breakfast sandwiches and fresh fruit to Slope Day attendees in Collegetown and North Campus from 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM. Head to Collegetown (in front of Schwartz) or 626 Thurston Avenue to pick up some food!
Cornell Dining offers food for purchase on the Slope, including pulled pork, tacos, buffalo chicken, philly cheese steak, bavarian pretzels, and more. Check out the dining area below Willard Straight Hall on Slope Day to see all options. Food can be purchased using credit card or Big Red Bucks.
On Slope Day, approximately 600 volunteers help run the event on and off Libe Slope. Without this help, Slope Day simply would not be possible.
Slope Day is FREE for all full-time undergraduate students who pay the Student Activity Fee (this includes December 2018 grads), and faculty/staff. Graduate & Professional students and alums must purchase a guest ticket to enter (see 'GUEST TICKETS'), and may also purchase one (1) additional guest ticket.
All attendees must be 18 or over in age (and present government issued ID, if asked), and have a Slope Day wristband visible to enter the gate. Wristbands will be affixed by Slope Day staff at time of pickup, and must remain on your wrist for the duration of the event. Plan ahead and get your wristband early to avoid long lines.
You can pick up your wristband at convenient locations around campus in the days leading up to Slope Day. Wristbands are waterproof and hypoallergenic, as you cannot remove them until after Slope Day once you've had it put on.
Guest tickets are only available for purchase by past or present Cornell students. Current undergraduates may purchase two tickets for their guests. Current graduate/professional students and alumni may purchase one guest ticket in addition to their own ticket. Only a limited number of guest tickets are available. Guest tickets are available at www.CornellConcerts.com.


Anna Brewer ran well and finished second in her only event at the state meet in the 400-meter hurdles. After the meet, the twins spoke with Clemson about coming aboard after Anna's private hurdle coach reached out to the school.
"We decided to go to Clemson because of the better competition and they have a really good vet school for me and a really good computer science school for Jess," Anna said.
Both said they are ready for the challenge of competing in the ACC.
"I am confident that the competition at Clemson will make me a better pole vaulter, because it is a lot harder in the ACC and I am confident it will take me far," Jessica said.
The Brewers have to report to the school later this month to finish paperwork to enroll and will start taking classes later this summer. Both girls say they feel like the competition their freshman year will push them to a new level.
Anna Brewer said she would like to get her time under a minute for the 400-meter hurdles and Jessica, who has a PR of 12'3" said she would like to clear 12'6" and 13 feet her freshman year.


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Brewers Log
The Visitors Shop
Our Beer Range
Keg Beers
G-Free
St Peter's Hall & Restaurant
Life Account – 1946
St. Peter's World
Grapefruit Beer Wins Bronze Medal
St. Peter's Grapefruit Fruit Beer was awarded a bronze medal at the 30th Great British Beer Festival at Earls Court, London on Tuesday 7th August in the Speciality Beers category. Commenting on the success, St. Peter's MD, Colin Cordy, said "We are delighted to receive this prestigious award from CAMRA. Grapefruit Beer is fabulously refreshing and an ideal aperitif on a summer's evening." Grapefruit Beer is available from specialist retailers and our online shop.
St. Peter's Brewery is based at St. Peter South Elmham, near Bungay in Suffolk. The brewery itself was built in 1996 and is housed in an attractive range of traditional former agricultural buildings adjacent to St. Peter's Hall. Read More...
St. Peter's Brewery Co. Ltd., St. Peter's Hall,
St. Peter South Elmham, Bungay, Suffolk NR35 1NQ
beers@stpetersbrewery.co.uk
About Us | Contact Us | Links
All Content Copyright 2020 St. Peter's Brewery.


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Friday, Nov 29, 2019 06:03 AM
Labriola on Tommy Bell, '76 AFC Championship
• "To be quite honest with you, we're not a group that runs from these type of games. We're the type of group that runs to these type of games."
• When Coach Mike Tomlin made that point last Tuesday during his weekly news conference at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, he was referring to the present-day Steelers and he was talking about Sunday's rematch with the Cleveland Browns, to be played at 1 p.m. at Heinz Field.
• Steelers-Browns II will be staged 17 days after the first game of this annual home-and-home series ended with one of the most disgusting events in the 100 years of NFL history, that being Myles Garrett ripping off Mason Rudolph's helmet and assaulting him with it. In this age of absolutely everything being on videotape and available to view at any time on any device in super-slow-motion, no further explanation or description should be necessary.
• Tomlin wasn't threatening any retaliation, but it was more of a promise that the Steelers do not and would not shrink from these kinds of matchups. "We're excited about this game," continued Tomlin. "We love being in hot-button games."
• And the history of the franchise supports that contention, because 43 years ago, on the day after Christmas in 1976, the Steelers played in the hot-button game of that season, of that era in fact, and the guy who got the NFL through it to the other side unscathed was a man by the name of Tommy Bell. More on Bell later, but we begin with why Dec. 26, 1976 was such an important date in NFL history and why it should serve as a lesson for this Sunday at Heinz Field.
• When the 1976 season began, the Steelers were the NFL's two-time defending champions on a quest to make history as the first team to win three Super Bowls in a row. To get to those first two Super Bowls in order to have a chance to win them, the Steelers had to go through the Oakland Raiders, an established power from the old AFL, a team that had gone to Super Bowl II and lost to Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers, a team that cultivated and embraced its image as outlaws.
• The Steelers had gone through the Raiders in both of the previous conference championship games and to say that there was no love lost between the two franchises by the start of the 1976 NFL season would have been the understatement of the decade. Starting with the 1972 regular season and proceeding through the 1976 regular season, the Steelers and Raiders had played eight times, an ungodly high number for teams not in the same division. The Steelers were 5-3 in those eight games, and 3-1 in the four of those eight that were playoff games.
• Over the course of that phase of the series, the rancor had grown exponentially, and on Sept. 12, 1976 it exploded.
• In the 1975 AFC Championship Game, Jack Tatum had taken Lynn Swann out with a hit that resulted in a concussion, and one of the lasting images was of Joe Greene carrying the receiver off the field in his arms like a child. Then came the 1976 regular season opener, and as Franco Harris was running down the sideline on the other side of the field, George Atkinson had come up behind Swann over the middle and clubbed him in the back of the head with a forearm.
• Don Meredith was doing the color commentary for the NBC broadcast of that game, and he said on the air, "I'm telling you, they're picking on Lynn. I don't think you're supposed to do that. I think Atkinson did another no-no – gave him a karate chop across the back of the neck."
• On Monday back in Pittsburgh, Chuck Noll reacted during his weekly press conference, and the phrase "criminal element" was introduced to the football public. Atkinson responded by suing Noll for slander and libel. The NFL season continued, but the hatred between these teams continued to percolate, never too far below the surface.
• As the two teams continued on separate courses that would intersect in the AFC Championship Game, what had happened in the previous season's conference championship game and then was repeated in the 1976 opener kept coming up. In Pittsburgh, Joe Greene said, "I guarantee that if Atkinson starts pulling that stuff, I'll come off the bench to get him if I have to."
• The potential for a riot was taken seriously at the NFL offices in New York City, and so it was that Commissioner Pete Rozelle played his trump card. It was known in league circles that the game's absolute best referee – Tommy Bell – planned to retire at the conclusion of the 1976 season. In recognition of Bell's status and reputation, Rozelle offered him a choice: His career could end either with him working Super Bowl XI, or Steelers-Raiders in the AFC Championship Game.
• Bell didn't hesitate. For him, it would be Steelers-Raiders.
• The rest of the officiating crew for the game included: Al Conway as the umpire, Leo Miles as the head linesman, Bruce Alford as the line judge, Stan Javie as the back judge, and Jimmy Cole as the field judge. Including Bell, there were 81 years of NFL experience on that crew.
• The New York Times reported that Miles, Javie, and Cole would be assigned the primary responsibility of monitoring the Swann-Atkinson interactions, and then NFL Supervisor of Officials Art McNally told Dave Anderson of The Times, "We have rules, and we expect the rules to be followed."
• The crew of officials, headed by Bell, took control of the game from the start, and there were no shenanigans, nobody coming off the bench to enforce any frontier justice, no "karate chops across the back of the neck," none of the gratuitous violence that had come to be expected when these two teams lined up against each other.
• In fact, there were just 12 penalties assessed that day. Twelve. Combined. And all were of the 5-yard variety. And yet, it was a physical, hard-hitting game. Disappointing for the Steelers, who lost. Exhilarating for the Raiders and their fans. Beautifully boring for those who tuned in expecting a sideshow. A relief for Rozelle and his league.
• The referee for Sunday's game between the Steelers and the Browns will be Clay Martin.