text:
icon_corner icon_start_stop enlarge2 icon_start_stop icon_start_stop icon_post icon_miss icon_save icon_card_red enlarge2 icon_save icon_start_stop icon_card_yellow attack icon chevron-down icon chevron-left icon chevron-right icon chevron-up icon cross icon defence icon icon_disallowed_goal email icon facebook icon google icon instagram icon linkedin icon messenger icon pinterest icon play icon plus-thin icon plus icon search icon soundcloud icon sub-in icon sub-out icon icon_sub tweet icon twitter icon icon_user__out icon_user_out vimeo icon whatsapp icon icon_start_stop youtube icon
Home page [Access key '1']
Jump to main content [Access key '2']
Navigation [Access key '3']
Footer content [Access key '5']
High Contrast is on. Turn off You can turn high contrast on again via the link in the footer to our accessibilty page
Login / Register Open
Store Buy tickets Accessibility
NUFC TV
Store Buy tickets Accessibility Login / Register
Meet the Newcastle United supporters preparing to make history with England's Lionesses at Wembley on Saturday
Written by Dan King
It's 276 miles from Shield Row to Wembley, but for a 12-year-old Carly Telford it must have felt like a million miles away. Growing up in the former mining village in County Durham, just north of Stanley, opportunities were extremely few and far between for a young girl to play football, other than with the boys for her school team where "you'd pull up, get out of the car with your kit on, and the first thing you'd hear was parents going 'oh my god, it's a girl, is she allowed to play?"
Almost 20 years on, Telford can afford to laugh. "It sharp went away when I was throwing in tackles and scoring goals," she smiles. Back then, she played on the wing but she is now the England woman's team's most experienced goalkeeper and could line up for the Lionesses at the national stadium in front of what may be a new record crowd for a women's match in the UK when Phil Neville's side face Germany on Saturday. The game at the 90,000-capacity venue is a sell-out, meaning the attendance might well beat the previous record of 80,203 for the 2012 Olympic final between the United States and Japan.
When the Lionesses last played at Wembley - a 3-0 defeat to the Germans in November 2014 - the crowd of 45,619 was viewed as an impressive one but, thanks largely to the performance of the England team at last summer's World Cup, where they were narrowly beaten by eventual winners USA at the semi-final stage, interest in the women's game has skyrocketed.
Telford was born in Jesmond and attended Tanfield School and Gateshead College. She plays professionally for FA Women's Super League Chelsea but supports Newcastle United and is one of several North East-born players in the England squad. "In terms of football, the history that England and Germany have at Wembley, it's massive," she says. "It's a monumental fixture in footballing terms and we haven't played Germany in a long time, when we last played them at Wembley.
"It's going to be a fantastic spectacle and I think the job that the FA, and I guess we, have done over the last four or five years, has meant that the growth in our sport has been huge. It's a credit to everyone that we've managed to sell out - for the first time, it's not that we've sold 40,000 tickets and given away 50,000, it's officially sold out and it's hopefully going to be a night to remember for everyone."
Carly Telford's international career has spanned 12 years - and counting
Telford's dad, Colin, played cricket on a Saturday and football on a Sunday. If her mother, Yvonne, was working, she would be "dragged" along. To occupy themselves, the assorted children on the sideline would play small-sided games of their own. Telford's family had moved to London for work when she was young, but returned to the North East when she was seven. "I was a weird little kid," she grins. "I had a funny accent when I moved back, because I had a little cockney accent and nobody quite understood me, but I made friends with the boys very quickly once they realised I could play football."
In 2000, her dad took her to a coaching course at Chester le Street ran by Simon Smith, now Newcastle United's head of goalkeeping, then Sir Bobby Robson's 'goalkeeper lad'. "There was like 90 kids there, they were all lads and I was the only girl," says Telford. "Smithy took a real shine to me - he said 'you can't even tell that you're not one of the lads, you're throwing yourself around in the mud.' It was dismal day, soaking wet, and I was just in amongst it all."
She was offered, and accepted, a place on United's goalkeeping development programme, even though the Magpies had no affiliated women's team at the time. "I was there for about six months to a year until he had to let me go because I was a girl and there was no kind of pathway," Telford explains.
"But he looked after me and he actually gave me the foundation, I guess. It's funny because every goalkeeping coach I come across says 'I can see you worked with Simon Smith, you just look like a Simon Smith goalkeeper' in the way that I work, my hands, my feet, everything I was taught. He still keeps in touch now, which is brilliant."
Telford started playing for Chester le Street Ladies until, in 2002, she was faced with a dilemma. "When I got to 14 years old, the first club that came in for me was Sunderland," she says. "I had to sign on the dotted line for a semi-professional club, which was the enemy. I said to my dad 'can I not play for Newcastle?' but there was no woman's set up, or if there was it was so low down that it would never have put me on the pathway that I wanted to go on. But, as much as I didn't like Sunderland, I can't thank them enough for what they did and I just hope that Newcastle can figure out a way in which it works so that young girls who do grow up loving the club have an opportunity to play in the black and white."
Lucy Staniforth was at Wembley as a fan when England last played Germany five years ago but this weekend, the former Blyth Town Ladies player who idolises Alan Shearer will be part of the team. "The first time they did it was amazing to watch but for me, this is an absolute dream come true and I just hope that I can play some part in it and really enjoy the occasion, because these moments don't come around very often," she says.
Lucy Staniforth in action for England
"It's going to be pretty special, probably the most special game in my career to date I would say, given the fact that it's at Wembley and we're playing such a great rival in Germany. We've had difficult games against them in the past and I just think that there's no better place for that game to be held, so it'll be really exciting and a really momentous occasion for women's football. English football fans are, in my opinion, the best fans in the world so the opportunity to play in front of so many of them is going to be so cool."
Staniforth was born in York, and started playing at school alongside boys for Copmanthorpe Primary School, but moved to Northumberland when she was ten years old. Her dad, Gordon, played for Hull City, York City, Carlisle United and Plymouth Argyle, while her older brothers Tom and James were professional footballers too. "I think it was in the genes," she says. "I ended up playing at Blyth and I was really lucky that I actually lived round the corner from Lucy Bronze's mum, who was a huge advocate for women's football, and still is, so she helped massively with getting me into Blyth and then progressing from there.
"I just didn't really have a choice - my dad and brothers played and my stepdad's crazy about football as well so I think it was just inevitable."
Diane Bronze, whose daughter recently became the first English footballer to win the UEFA Women's Player of the Year Award, was so infuriated by a Football Association rule that girls could not play in mixed teams beyond the age of 12 in case they got hurt that she took her child to a camp in North Carolina before Blyth provided her, and Staniforth, with the opportunity to continue playing.
Staniforth, now 27, has overcome two cruciate ligament injuries to become one of Birmingham City Ladies' leading lights and, like Telford, was part of the pioneering World Cup squad which captured the imagination of the nation in June and July.
"It felt so special over the summer, what we were trying to achieve and all the support that we had," she reminisces. "It almost felt a bit similar to the men's World Cup in that everyone had got so behind us and were supporting us so much, even back home. One of my mates told me that on a roundabout in London they had a huge screen on showing it, so that was fantastic.
"It's a funny one, because we had such high expectations and we really wanted to go there and win it, there's almost a little bitter taste still left in my mouth from that. In terms of the whole experience it was mindblowing, incredible. It just would have been nice to come home with a medal at least."
In the thrilling semi-final against the USA, England saw a goal controversially ruled out for offside by VAR, then captain Steph Houghton saw an 83rd-minute penalty saved as the Lionesses lost 2-1. "We had chances didn't we?," Staniforth says, ruefully. "It was so hard to take but that was an incredible game. The highs and lows within it were just crazy, and I was just so lucky to have been a part of something like that."
Telford, who made her England debut in 2007 and had waited patiently for the opportunity to finally play in a World Cup, played three times at the tournament, including the semi-final. Her 12-year international career means she is better placed than most to comment on the growth of the woman's game over the last few years.
"The biggest change is that since the World Cup, for the first time ever, people just turned on the TV to watch England play," she explains. "They didn't turn on the TV to watch women's football, they didn't choose not to watch it because it's women's football. People rushed home, rushed to the pub, planned their weeks, their days and their nights around a football game, like they would have if it was a men's game, and I think that was what was really nice about this year.
Carly Telford celebrates a goal - which was subsequently controversially disallowed - in England's World Cup semi-final clash with USA
"People were just cheering for an England team. They kind of put gender to one side for the first time in a long time and just looked at it as a group, and maybe bought into us as individuals, kind of what happened with the men's team - we opened ourselves up to a lot of opportunities for people to know who we are, where we've come from. At the end of the day we all started the same path, which was kicking a ball around in a garden, or outside in the streets with your mates, and then you're on a platform on the word stage. If everyone can see where you started - as a little kid loving the game, to where we are now, just big kids loving the game, then I think they buy into it."
Telford had been given a West Ham shirt by a family friend when she lived in the capital but that was quickly forgotten about when she moved back up north. "After that, my first shirt was a black and white shirt, the grandad collar, Brown Ale," she remembers. "We never saw the West Ham shirt again and I never wanted to support anyone else once I knew that I was born and bred in the region.
"My first goalkeeper shirt was the blue star on the sunset, from when Shaka Hislop used to play in goal. He was an absolute cat and I remember standing in the garden thinking 'I'm going to be like him one day.' If I was playing outfield, I'd pretend to be David Ginola. It was such an exciting time, we scored so many goals, there were so many memorable moments, the games against Liverpool and Man United. That's what who we were fighting with back then. We were such an exciting team. It's hard sometimes because I know how much people love Newcastle up there and you just want them to be doing well, giving them something to hold onto; a good run in a cup, trips around Europe again.
A young Carly Telford wearing her first Newcastle kit in the mid-1990s
"I am a fan and I can't not speak about the club in the way I want them to get back to what we used to be doing, the Shearer, (Faustino) Asprilla days. That was why we loved going and watching Newcastle, but I think the local boys who are getting introduced now know the history of the club and are starting to get some of the lads who have been brought in from further afield to really appreciate what Newcastle is about.
"Hopefully with someone like Steve Bruce, who is a local lad, he can really instil that in the lads, keep us up this season and see where we go."
Staniforth's stepdad, Michael, grew up in Dudley, North Tyneside. "For him, Newcastle was part of his childhood all the way up to the present day, so it was hard not to love Newcastle," she says. "He was just a big influence on me and obviously had good taste in football team!
"We would sit in the Leazes End and I remember one game especially, when we played Arsenal; I think they had someone sent off and we ended up winning one or two-nil, and my stepdad actually strangled me through excitement. I think it was at that point that I knew there was no hiding from the love of Newcastle in our family! I was lucky to go to a lot of games when I was younger - my stepdad gave me a fantastic football education in that sense.
"Obviously when I was growing up, Shearer was the main one for most Newcastle fans. He was fantastic; what he embodied and how he loved the city was just so special. He connected with so many Newcastle fans in that way. But I used to love people like Joey Barton, I did enjoy his passion and commitment. I used to like Laurent Robert, a bit of flair. I suppose you sort of connect more with the ones that are the life and soul of the team. That's what I like to see anyway, just giving 100 per cent for Newcastle, and that's what Shearer did."
Earlier this year the FA came up with the idea of getting a host of celebrities, including David Beckham, Emma Watson and Prince William, to announce Neville's World Cup squad via social media, and it was Shearer who confirmed Staniforth's place on the plane.
"The way they announced the whole squad was so unique, and it was exciting," she recalls. "I was just waiting and waiting, and then it ended up being Shearer! To get the news that you're going to a World Cup given to you by an absolute legend in your eyes was just the icing on top of the cake. I couldn't really believe it."
Lucy Staniforth has supported Newcastle United from a young age
Manchester City's Georgia Stanway is another Newcastle fan in the England set-up - she was added to the squad on Friday after recovering from injury - and Staniforth says: "We do talk about (Newcastle) quite a lot - we love Newcastle and it's always good to chat to them because I don't get to talk about Newcastle too often, living in Birmingham now. It was a cool moment when Matty (Longstaff) scored - I enjoyed that one.
"We were in Portugal and we were having a recovery session. I was watching the game on my phone against Man United and I was just sat in the sauna by myself, and all of a sudden I just went (gasps) when Matty Longstaff scored and I sprinted out, 'Carly, you'll never guess what!.' We were both buzzing for him and the team."
Telford adds: "Sean (Longstaff) follows us on Twitter - Lucy actually spoke to him and said 'tell your brother well done', and he replied to say 'thanks and good luck when you're away,' which was really nice.
"You need people like that, people who understand the club. I think Sean will become like an Alan Shearer. He's only young but I think one day he could captain the club and hopefully lead them back to some sort of success."
UEFA Women's Euro 2021 will be held in England in 18 months' time, another signal of the increasing popularity of the sport in this country. Newcastle is not one of the eight host cities - in fact, there'll be no games played in the North East - but the Lionesses were supported by 29,238 fans when they took on Brazil in a friendly at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium in October and both Staniforth and Telford have long harboured the ambition of pulling on the Three Lions at St. James' Park one day.
"I think always playing in an international tournament will be one of the highest highlights, but that might overtake the World Cup," laughs Telford. "It would 100 per cent be up there - your home town, standing at the Gallowgate End, there are so many emotions you would feel that would be so different to anything you've ever done before, just because of how passionate and how proud you are of where you come from and knowing that there's 40 or 50,000 Geordies cheering you on."
Staniforth adds: "I've always dreamt about it - that's one on my bucket list of my career. No matter where we travel, and all the places that we get to go to, I can't imagine how special it would be to walk out at St. James' - especially if they played all the matchday music - Local Hero, Blaydon Races...
"I think my dream would be to retire at Newcastle, and enjoy wearing the black and white shirt, and kiss the badge when I score. I'd come home and play and captain and be player-manager - a fairytale ending!"
Both Staniforth and Telford are passionate in their belief that Newcastle needs a thriving women's football club. Newcastle United Women relaunched as part of Newcastle United Foundation two seasons ago, and recently-established links with Northumbria University - a designated FA Women's High Performance Centre - are helping to further boost women's football in the city.
Almost half of the England squad - including Bronze, skipper Houghton, midfielders Jill Scott, Demi Stokes and Beth Mead - hail from the North East, despite the dearth of top-level clubs becoming even more apparent following Sunderland's demotion from the Women's Super League last year, so what is the secret?
Lucy Staniforth says playing at St. James' Park one day is on her "bucket list"
"I actually couldn't really tell you, to be honest," says Staniforth. "I guess it's just something about people from the North East; they're talented and hard working, and I think in our particular age group, the competition between us served us well because even when we ended up all playing together in the same team, we were always pushing each other.
"I was lucky to live round the corner from Lucy (Bronze), so we'd always go round, kicking a football on the pitch for hours, and I think we all just brought the best out of each other in that sense. Steph and Carly and Jill, they were all really close in age too, so I think it was probably quite a similar situation for them."
Telford agrees: "I think we were lucky to come through in an era where we had some really good coaches, some really good people who were willing to push and knock down doors and barriers for us to be able to keep plying football. I'll always be grateful to the grassroots coaches who took the time on evenings, night times and weekends to make sure we could go and play football and do what we loved.
"I do think we're grafters, we don't like to give up, we're hardy. If someone says we can't do something, we usually spend a damn good part of our lives proving that we can."
Should Telford and Staniforth take to the pitch at Wembley on Saturday, in front of a record-breaking crowd, there's no doubt that they will have done exactly that.
Carly Telford
Lucy Staniforth
Newcastle United Women
Newcastle United Women 0 Barnsley Women 4
Matty Longstaff receives first England under-20s call-up
Barnsley Ladies 2 Newcastle United Women 0
St. James' Park
Strawberry Place
NE1 4ST
EMAIL: boxoffice@nufc.co.uk
Enable Recite


text:
Home Security 80-year-old, ward head and three others killed in bandits attack in Kaduna
80-year-old, ward head and three others killed in bandits attack in Kaduna
NewsWireNGR
An 80-year-old identified as Hauwwa Umaru, a Ward Head and three persons have been killed in an attack by suspected bandits after raids on two villages of Chikun and travellers in Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
This information was contained in a statement by the state Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan on Sunday.
The statement read, "Security agencies have reported the killing of an aged woman in Sharu village, Igabi local government area. According to the report, armed bandits invaded the village and raided several homes. As they shot sporadically, Hauwwa Umaru, 80, was hit by a bullet and died instantly.
"In another incident, unknown gunmen killed one Samaila Yohanna, the Ward Head of Konti, in Chikun local government area. Also in Chikun local government area, bandits killed two locals, Alhaji Sani and Malam Rabiu, at Dande.
"In Giwa local government area, armed bandits barricaded the road between Fatika and Kidandan and opened fire on commuters plying the road. One unidentified woman was killed, and three other persons were injured in the attack."
Aruwan added that the governor of the state, Nasir El-Rufai is saddened by the incident. The governor has called on security agencies to investigate the attack and put an end to banditry in the state.
Previous articleBandits kidnap 17 persons in three communities in Niger State
Next articleReconsidering Lagos State's approach to the COVID-19 second wave
We tell underreported stories and drive conversational Journalism for change

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
When water cascades over a fall, is difficult to predict where each drop will land. Some might evaporate into the air. Some might splash over to the shore. Some will fall in the river. Unpredictability is a feature of all natural cascades, including those that occur in biology.
Recognizing the Complexity of Biological Cascades
What do pollution, obesity, livestock production, and the COVID-19 pandemic have in common? According to the cornerstones model of healthy food systems, each of these factors plays into the security and sustainability of the food webs we rely on to maintain food security, health, and prosperity. Other factors are involved of course, but for simplicity in today's discussion, I will simply use these four factors and illustrate the potential for surprising ways that each factor may influence our food systems. The most unexpected outcomes often result from biological cascades.
Cascades are series of reactions that are triggered by a single effect. Cascades can affect natural systems in complex manners that can be nearly impossible to anticipate, regulate, or reverse.
Absurd children's song illustrates unpredictable outcomes of biological cascades
The ludicrous ways that biological systems can create cascades of interactions always reminds me of the once-popular (and undoubtedly silly) children's song about the old woman who swallowed a fly. In an attempt to rid herself of the fly, she swallows a spider to catch the fly. Because the spider was wiggling and jiggling inside her, she swallows a bird to catch the spider… The song continues, describing an increasingly nonsensical cascade of larger animals that the woman swallows to capture the first, finally ending when she swallows a horse. You see, she dies – of course. The absurdity of these lyrics appeals to the imaginative humor of preschool children. As preschoolers, we hear the song and giggle— a few of kids snicker, and one or two may mourn for the animals that got eaten. But regardless of the reaction, the song and its imagery stick with us long after we've outgrown children's songs.
This memorable albeit bizarre image of the old woman who swallowed the fly is useful for illustrating the unpredictable outcomes of biological cascades. Afterall, while I'm not fond of swallowing flys, and I hope to never swallow one, I would not expect swallowing a fly to kill me. In the past, I would not have expected to get fat because there are too many greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.
Biological cascades make many outcomes unpredictable
Because biological cascades result in many possible outcomes from a single event, cause-and-effect are difficult to forecast.
For example, we all know it's not healthy to carry excess weight. How many of you have been told at one time or another to just eat less to lose weight? It sounds simple enough, right? Consume fewer calories than you burn.
Yet according to the US Centers for Disease Control, 42.4% of adults in the US are obese [1]. This statistic alone indicates that for at least 42% of us, losing weight is harder than it looks!
The fact is, our health (which makes up one cornerstone of our food system) is influenced not only by direct factors like body weight, but also by indirect outcomes of biological cascades. For example when an obese person chooses to eat less, his/her body may respond by slowing down his/her metabolic rate. Hormone and neurotransmitter levels may change. In addition to hunger pangs, the person may experience mood swings and attention deficits that impact their performance. Cravings may occur, and the dieter's best effort to avoid food may trigger feelings of depression, fatigue, diminished energy, and more. Combine these feelings with the need to function effectively at home and on the job, and even the strongest resolve may falter.
Pollution creates complex biological cascades.
Air pollution ranks high among the most serious kinds of environmental destruction simply because air, for all practical purposes, is impossible to contain. Problems initiated in one country, or even in one factory quickly spread worldwide because air is everywhere, and air is constantly in motion. But can we connect air pollution to food webs, livestock production, the obesity crisis, and COVID-19?
CO2 as air pollution. Connections between highly toxic pollutants and our food quality are relatively obvious and direct, because just as all living things require food to make energy, they also require air and water. But what happens when excess quantities of very mildly toxic substances, like CO2, accumulate in the atmosphere?
CO2 comes from burning fossil fuels, but it also comes from living cells as they metabolize energy, and it is clearly not as toxic as, say, lead or arsenic. You release CO2 –a greenhouse gas-every time you exhale.
In fact, when I hear the argument that we should stop raising cattle because they emit greenhouse gasses, I worry that this line of reasoning is more toxic than the CO2 or methane it aims to reduce. Afterall, every living creature on the planet releases greenhouse gasses. Do we really believe that removing life from earth is the best way to fix the climate?
See, the real problem when we talk about CO2, or even methane, as greenhouse gas is not that they are present in the atmosphere. Rather, as with all toxins, they become a concern when they are present in excess.
At high concentrations, greenhouse gasses trap too much heat in the atmosphere. Excess trapped heat changes our precipitation patterns, alters the runoff patterns that we rely on for water, and even changes the dates at which our soils reach planting temperatures. Storms and droughts become more extreme. Damage from larger events becomes more difficult to repair.
Changing temperatures can also contribute to phenological mismatches between the maturity dates of pest species and the maturity dates of the insects like ladybugs that control pests. Losses in the natural synchrony between pests and predators can reduce crop yields by increasing pest damage. It can also lead farmers to apply more pesticides, leaving more traces of toxic residue on the fruits and vegetables you serve for dinner.
Now, most people won't attribute increased pesticide use to excess carbon emission and global warming. Since a multitude of other factors could also cause a farmer to use more pesticide, cause and effect just becomes too difficult to prove. However discussing the pathways by which air pollution could contribute to more pesticide use should help to illustrate just how interconnected these food webs really are, and why it is so important to think carefully about how much pollution we are really willing to tolerate.
CO2 as a plant growth stimulant. But if predicting the outcomes of excess greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere isn't complicated enough already, consider the fact that excess CO2 concentrations can also have beneficial effects on plant growth. Because plants use CO2 for photosynthesis, increased CO2 levels can increase the rates at which crops mature. As the plants grow, they consume atmospheric CO2 , creating what might seem like a win-win situation. More food, less pollution. On the surface, this sounds like a big plus. Why not plant some corn so we can stop global warming?
But like so many factors that interact with food webs, what happens on the ground is more complex, thanks to good old biological cascades that influence how plants grow. One of these is the cascade of reactions involved in photosynthesis itself. That's right, photosynthesis-that set of chemical reactions that helps plants grow and pulls CO2 out of the atmosphere.
See, there are different kinds of plants, and different kinds of photosynthesis. C3 plants like the noxious weed, Canadian thistle (Cirsium arvense) benefit more from excess CO2 than C4 plants like corn.
So while growing plants to sequester carbon is still a great idea, you need to remember that C3 weeds like Canadian thistle (Cirsium arvense), are going to wage a stronger war against your corn than the same weeds would have fought in a world with less CO2.
When there are more weeds, farmers may use more pesticides (herbicides in particular) to eliminate them. Did you know that one of the most widely used herbicide ingredients, atrazine, is classified as an obesogen? That's right, atrazine residues in your corn flakes can make you fat.
Livestock production in a changing climate
When we look at how higher temperatures caused by greenhouse gasses that pollute the atmosphere might influence livestock production the answers are again complex. For example, a livestock operation in Canada might see their cattle thrive with warmer winters and earlier springs. They might lose fewer calves. Of course, they might also see more variable weather with more violent storms [3].
Meanwhile, an operation in Mexico might see increases, not only in flies, ticks, mosquitos, and the diseases these vectors carry, but also an increase in droughts or hurricanes that impact their grazing lands [3]. To cope, ranchers may turn to – here we go again – pesticides, and these pesticides will leave more residues in our meat and dairy products.
The good news is that ranchers who understand how to use biological cascades to their benefit can exchange pesticide use for a suite of holistic practices that effectivly at reduce pests. Now I don't want to detour too much into the discussion of holistic management here, but two ideas that I already see livestock producers implementing include:
1-Integration of wildlife with grazing operations. Creating wildlife habitat attracts small animals like songbirds that eat flies and other pests. Habitat for wildlife can also include game habitat. Revenues generated by hunting permits can cover supplement ranch income, and diversified livestock and wildlife are less susceptible to pests and disease than, say, a monoculture of cattle [4].
2-Sale of "grass fed" stock raised with regenerative grazing practices. Rotational grazing is a regenerative practice. Properly implemented, it can build soil health while producing more nutritionally sound livestock that fetch a higher market price. Many consumers today prefer the nutrient density and omega fatty acid balance of grass-fed beef.
And while we are on the subject of consumer food preferences, let's move back to the subject of obesity.
Obesity as an environmental illness
Once considered a sign of insufficient will power, most health professionals today recognize obesity as a disease that results from toxic cascades. Often, this illness can be initiated by the use of pharmaceuticals like antibiotics that alter the human microbiome. It can also be triggered (or confounded) by exposure to agrochemicals and air pollution. Once obese, victims are prone to many other kinds of chronic disease.
Globally, obesity is now recognized as a disease. In the US, the Centers for Disease control classify obesity as an epidemic. It is also widely recognized as a risk factor for heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
In recent years, obesity has also been described as an environmental illness, and a symptom of socioeconomic disparity.
Scientists are also recognizing pollution in our environment and nutrient deficiencies in our food as drivers of the obesity epidemic. Modern studies are associating indoor air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide with obesity [5] [6]. Nitrogen dioxide is emitted by gas, wood, or fossil-fuel burning appliances and also by second-hand-smoke from cigarettes.
Scientists are also finding evidence that the pesticides associated with crop and livestock production leave residues in our food that contribute to obesity [7] [8]. Even pesticides that are no longer used in the US, like DDT, which was outlawed in the US in the 1970's, still permeate our food webs.
Numerous chemicals that pollute modern ecosystems are now described as obesogens [7] . Obesogens act by disrupting lipid metabolism within our cells.
Connections between food webs and COVID-19?
We've shown how pollution impacts agriculture, how agriculture impacts pollution, and how both factors can contribute to obesity or related health problems. But you may still be asking what does any of this have to do with the COVID-19 pandemic? To connect the dots for you let me present a biological cascade that begins with industrial growth.
Air pollution that includes greenhouse gasses not only influences our agricultural production through changing weather patterns, changing phenologies, and changing patterns of pests and disease, but they also lead to increased use of agrochemicals-including obesogens, carcinogens, teratogens (chemicals that cause birth defects), or other ecotoxins. These toxins don't just affect humans. They also lead to changes in the health and habitat of wildlife like bats. And as farms and natural wildlife habitats are compromised by climate change and the presence of ecotoxins, so is the nutrient cycling that contributes to the quality of our food. A carrot farmed from a polluted or otherwise disturbed environment simply will not contain the same level of nutrients as a carrot grown on healthy soil. This is true even if the two carrots look the same.
Reduced food quality contributes to human health problems by weakening our immune system. Since our food quality is diminished-not only by the agricultural factors discussed above-but also by the unwieldy processing and distribution systems that stand between the farm and the dinner table; people, livestock, and wildlife around the world have become vulnerable to disease. In the US, 6 in 10 adults are chronically ill [9]. This means that in the nation with the most expensive health care system, most adults are sick all the time.
An ecosystem dominated by ecotoxins, greenhouse gasses, and chronic disease is a system that is ripe for viral invasion. COVID-19 is simply one more link in the chain of events that are cascading through our damaged food webs. We may slow the progression of COVID-19 with better vaccines and medications, but until we restore the food webs that create an environment where pandemics can thrive, we will remain vulnerable.
This is why some of the most valuable insights we can bring to the table must include insights that help us look beyond the immediate prevention and treatment of COVID-19 and consider ways to prevent the decline of human and environmental health. Some of the fastest, easiest ways to accomplish this involve utilizing biological cascades in ways that promote multiple benefits to human, environmental, and even economic health.
The Good News: Biological cascades Can Drive Restoration
The good news in all this is that just as our destructive efforts like pollution and bad diets cascade through the ecosystem damaging unexpected targets, restorative efforts can effectively catalyze cascades of restoration. When you commit to restoring your health in an ecologically sound fashion or building healthy environments around you, you will feel better and you will grow better food. In addition, you will trigger cascades of benefits that may range from having more time with your loved ones, or more songbirds in your garden, to even having more money in your pocket. Afterall, it is much cheaper it is to eat whole foods grown without pesticides, exercise, reduce stress in your life, and replace your household chemicals with eco-friendly options than it is to pay for open-heart surgery, stroke rehab.
Essential oils offer powerful alternatives for household cleaners
One simple action that can drive a cascade of multiple benefits involves reducing your use of synthetic chemicals in your home. Let's face it, we all want a clean home. But standard household cleaners can have mildly toxic effects that irritate skin and breathing passages. When you replace conventional household cleaners with formulas that contain essential oils and other natural products, you can ignite a cascade of benefits that extend beyond cleaning.
You can replace household all-purpose cleaners with a spray bottle containing 50% white vinegar (the kind you might use for cooking) and 50% water. Adding 20 drops per liter of essential oils known for antibacterial properties like eucalyptus, orange, or lemon will give you a great blend for cleaning refrigerators and countertops (careful with granite-the vinegar may be too acidic). However, the oils you use for cleaning can also bring a suite of physiological and pest-fighting benefits.
Each of these oils contains hundreds of natural volatile compounds that serve multiple purposes. For example, lemon oil contains limonene and citral (in addition to many other compounds). A 2007 study in Stress and Health demonstrated that limonene and citral relieve both physical and psychological stress. These same compounds are also found in orange oil.
Batish et. al (2008) reported that eucalyptus oil fights bacteria, fungi, insects, and mites, while Katz et. al. reported in the Journal of American Dermatology that lemon eucalyptus oil is increasingly popular as an insect repellant due to its efficacy and low toxicity. In 2009, Bioresource Technology concluded that that eucalyptus oils and others have potential as insect repellents.
If mixing your own cleaners doesn't fit your schedule, you can look for products by Nature Direct or similar companies to provide effective cleaning naturally.
To receive a quarterly summary of our blog posts or special announcements, subscribe to our newsletter.
[1] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Prevalence of Obesity and Severe Obesity Among Adults: United States, 2017–2018-Data Briefs – Number 360 – February 2020," February 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db360.htm. [Accessed 25 May 2021].eat
[2] S. Ornes, "Core Concept: How does climate change influence extreme weather? Impact attribution research seeks answers," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, pp. 8232-8235, 2018.
[3] C. Godde, D. Mason-D'Croz, D. Mayberry, P. Thornton and M. Herrero, "Impacts of climate change on the livestock food supply chain; a review of the evidence," Global Food Security, p. 100488, 2021.
[4] A. Radke, "The beautiful relationship between cattle & wildlife," 31 May 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.beefmagazine.com/management/beautiful-relationship-between-cattle-wildlife.
[5] A. Ruopeng, J. Mengmeng, H. Yan and C. Guan, "Impact of ambient air pollution on obesity: a systematic review," Epidemiology and Population Health, p. 1112–1126 , 2018.
[6] C. L. Davis, M. Tingen, J. Jia, F. Shrman, C. Williams, K. Bhavsar, N. Wood, J. Kobleur and J. Waller, "Passive smoke exposure and its effects on cognition, sleep, and health outcomes in overweight and obese children.," Childhood Obesity, pp. 119-125, 2016.
[7] W. Holtcamp, "Obesogens: an environmental link to obesity," Environmental Health Perspectives, 2012.
[8] M. K. N. C. P. &. C. B. Merrill, "Association between maternal exposure to the pesticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and risk of obesity in middle age," International Journal of Obesity, vol. 44, pp. 1-10, 2020.
[9] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "CDC," [Online]. Available: https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/infographic/chronic-diseases.htm. [Accessed 18 5 2021].
[10] "Dust bowl," 5 8 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/dust-bowl. [Accessed 17 5 2021].
[11] "Controlling the global obesity epidemic," n.d.. [Online]. Available: https://www.who.int/activities/controlling-the-global-obesity-epidemic. [Accessed 5 17 2021].
biological cascades ecological cascades environment	2021-07-28
Previous: Food Webs and Healthy Microbiomes
Next: Herbicide Drift Ignites a Toxic Cascade


text:
Gov. Reynolds ends mask requirement, lifts restrictions on businesses
By Chris Turner Feb 5, 2021
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has issued a new proclamation that removes previous public health measures in Iowa.
Starting on Sunday, February 7, masks are no longer required, there's no limits on public gatherings, and restrictions on restaurant and bar capacity will be lifted.
The proclamation strongly encourages Iowans to take reasonable public health measures consistent with guidance from the Iowa Department of Public Health.
Full proclamation on the Governor's website.


When shopping for lighting options one will find many options in the lighting fixture department. Whether you go to a big box store, shop online, or go straight to a lighting specialty store you will need room dimensions. Take into consideration the room your chandelier is going to be hanging in. Will it be coming down from a vaulted ceiling or will it be in a room with a standard ceiling height? Is the room an open entertaining space or do you have a home that keeps the rooms divided? This is all important because you want to be sure to create an aesthetically pleasing symmetry to your room. A small room would look awkward with an oversized chandelier and a very large room with high ceilings would be underwhelming with a small chandelier. Be sure to bring your room dimensions as well as ceiling height along with you on your shopping trip. Talk to a seasoned professional. Specialists at lighting specialty stores will be able to quickly guide you to the size selection that will do best in your room. From that point you will simply have to decide the design feature and appearance of the chandelier. A general rule of thumb is a smaller room will want a size proportionate chandelier and the same holds true for a larger room. The only flexible sizing in this theory is vaulted ceilings. Depending upon the slope of the vault and the ceiling height, sometimes a larger chandelier will do well in a average sized space that has higher ceilings. If you find yourself needing to supply a lighting fixture to a room with vaulted ceilings it would be wise to take a picture of that space and bring it a long while you search. The visual image will help a lighting associate with determining the proper size for your space.
Previous articlePaint! You will save $000's!
Next articleBluetooth Home Speaks – They are perfect!


Vicki June Maestas is a licensed child care center in Thornton, CO. At Vicki June Maestas, we enroll children as young as 6 weeks through 13 years old. We are a small center open from 7:00am to 5:00pm. Contact us to schedule a tour and discover for yourself all Vicki June Maestas has to offer.


These filtration products are ideal for where floor space is at a premium, and where highly effective air filtration and airflow management is a necessity. The three different types of ceiling unit enables us to cater to a wide range of applications including restaurants, pubs, airports, hospitals, care homes etc.
The Tornex Tower creates a focal point for smokers. It has been designed specifically for use in smoking rooms and works in conjunction with existing extraction systems. It enables a flexible facility to be created for a small number of smokers.


Gait quantification in multiple sclerosis: A single-centre experience of systematic evaluation.
Gait disorders can be disabling in persons with multiple sclerosis (PMS). Different gait parameters have been used to evaluate gait disorders according to the International classification of functioning. Some authors have reported a direct relation between evaluations over short distances and long-term outcomes. This relationship is of interest for the purposes of clinical research, as it enables short-distance evaluations to be used as a primary endpoint for trials. However, these endpoints are not always particularly relevant for PMS, and furthermore, all evaluations do not present the same metrological characteristics, especially with regards to reproducibility. However, it is essential to have good reproducibility in order to be able to test the effect of a therapeutic strategy on walking parameters in PMS. Using a range of walk tests (timed 25-foot walk in different conditions, namely comfortable walking, fast walking and dual-task walking; the Timed Up and Go test; the 6minute walk test) associated with neuromotor analysis of the lower limbs, we describe the advantages and limitations of gait evaluation in MS. Based on clinical experience accumulated over 4 years, we propose a minimum set of measurements to be used in clinical practice and also for research purposes.
Decavel, P. and Sagawa, Y. Gait quantification in multiple sclerosis: A single-centre experience of systematic evaluation. 17322. 2019 Neurophysiol Clin.
Previous: Prolonging the integrated stress response could be beneficial in multiple sclerosis.
Next:Calcium Influx through Plasma-Membrane Nanoruptures Drives Axon Degeneration in a Model of Multiple Sclerosis.


text:
By Rohit Agarwal
rohiag87@gmail.com
India as a country is known to respect travellers and as the verse in the Sanskrit language says, Indians have planted the phrase "Athithi devo bhava" deep in their hearts. The tradition of helping travellers in the minutest way comes from the historic times since when India was known for its scenic beauty and its resource wealth.
The western state of Rajasthan in the Indian subcontinent is very well known for its sands that lead into the Thar Desert, the palaces aging over centuries and the forts that protected the kings and queens of the region from invasions across the border and from neighbouring rulers. But little is known about the temples buried deep in the interiors of the sandy region and we are going to enlighten you about some of the places known among pilgrims here.
Akshardam Temple, Jaipur
Photo by Pranavdadhich, CC BY-SA 3.0
Jaipur is known primarily for its numerous forts and the extravagant palaces which housed the kings and princesses of the region for centuries. Known as the pink city, it would be a disappointment if the structures built out of stone weren't paid a visit to, but what is missed is the pilgrimage center dedicated to Swaminarayan, the Akshardam temple. Renowned for its antique architecture, elegant idols and the carvings that span across the entirety of the temple and situated amidst the greenery of the gardens and the sounds of the fountains, the temple makes a very popular pilgrimage centre in Rajasthan.
Eklingji Temple, Udaipur
Photo by Dennis Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0
Located only 20 kilometres from the city of Udaipur, the Eklingji temple is dedicated to the Hindu god, Lord Shiva. The temple ages back to the 9th century and is said to be built by one of the dynasties in Mewar and Eklingji is believed to be the ruling deity of the Princely state. The specifics that the location is known for is that the entire premises contains 108 temples within its high walled circumference. The main temple is made of marble and stone, and structured pillars that house a four-faced idol of Lord Shiva making it a must see for faithful pilgrims.
Brahma Temple, Pushkar
Photo by K.Vishnupranay, CC BY-SA 4.0
Situated in close proximity to the Pushkar lake, the Hindu temple is dedicated to lord Jagatpita Brahma. Within 50 kilometres from Ajmer, this temple is dedicated to Lord Brahma and because of this it is one of the rarest temple in the whole world. The temple is believed to be over 2000 years old and built from marble and stone. There is also a Pushkarmela which is organised in the town of Pushkar which is an expansive exhibition of camels. Given a chance, do not miss visiting Pushkar for the mela!
Jain Temple, Ranakpur
Photo by BOMBMAN, CC BY 2.0
Situated in the Pali district of Rajasthan, and at a distance of 90 kilometres from Udaipur and 150 kilometres from Jodhpur, and in a valley on the Aravalli range standing tall and massive is the temple dedicated to TirthankaraAdinatha. Very accessible by road and rail, the temple is famous not only for its elegant architecture from the 15th century but also the numerous pillars on which the temple stands. The temple is a most visited place of pilgrimage in the region, but stay tuned for some monkey action while you're in the temple.
Shrinathji Temple, Nathdwara
Located 50 kilometres from Udaipur is the Hindu temple dedicated to Shrinathji and stands as an important center of pilgrimage for the Vaishnavs, one of the major traditions within Hinduism. The temple enshrines the idol of Lord Krishna but what is amazing is the story behind the temple. While moving the idol initially from Gowardhan to Nathdwara in Rajasthan, the wheels of the cart that held the idol sunk deep into the mud at this particular place and the priest then realized that it was God's chosen spot, thus building the temple where it stands today.
Pilgrimage is a form of tourism that is very popular in India and is believed to be rewarding to the soul and grants inner peace by relieving you of your sins. So the next time you plan to take a vacation, do check out the pilgrimage sites in Rajasthan.
About the Author: Rohit, an architect by profession, enjoys travelling across the country and sometimes to the temples as he admires the architecturethat dates back to the previous centuries. He writes to share about all his adventures and experiences for Trans India Travels.
pilgrimages in Rajasthan
pilgrimages in India
ELLORA CAVES HINDU No 29
Maharaja Ranjit Singh Panorama


PF Ankle Strap Sandal Featuring Neon Blacklight Reactive Multicolored Platform Bottom! These shoes glow under UV light.
The shoe colour graduates from yellow at the front of the shoe to pink at the heel.


text:
Alaska Republican Young votes against Trump impeachment
Jan. 13, 2021 at 3:25 pm Updated Jan. 13, 2021 at 4:07 pm
BECKY BOHRER
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska U.S. Rep. Don Young voted against impeaching President Donald Trump on a charge of "incitement of insurrection" Wednesday, one week after a deadly mob siege of the Capitol that Young called "an act of terror against American democracy, law enforcement and members of Congress."
Young, in a statement posted on social media, said a message must be sent "by bringing the perpetrators of violence to justice, and prosecuting them to the fullest extent of the law. Our nation must recover from the deep wounds of division that have driven us apart over the past few years, but I do not believe that impeaching a president in the last week of his term is the best way forward."
Young's vote was announced by another House member. His office did not immediately say why he didn't cast his vote personally.
The House vote to impeach was 232-197.
Young, the House's longest-serving Republican, voted against the first impeachment of Trump in 2019 over the president's dealings with Ukraine. Young called those proceedings a "political stunt." The Senate later voted to acquit, with Alaska Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan siding with the majority.
Murkowski told Alaska's News Source this is different from the first impeachment, which she also said was partisan. She did not say definitively whether she would vote to convict Trump after a Senate trial in the new case, saying she would need to listen to Trump's defense.
"But what I will tell you is that what I believe is that this president has committed an impeachable offense through his words on the sixth of January, and leading up to the sixth of January, when he was not honest" about the election and the election results, she told the outlet.
Murkowski also said barring Trump from holding office again "is one of the most consequential actions that we could take, and I think that would be appropriate. Given what we have seen from his actions and his failure to uphold the Constitution."
Her spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Sullivan in a statement said when a trial is conducted, he will examine the arguments and evidence.
"I will not rush to judgment or make rash statements until this constitutional process has run its course. I will uphold my duties to Alaskans, our fellow Americans, and to the Constitution," he said. "For now, I will continue to focus on helping to facilitate the orderly transition of power and a safe inauguration — our country needs both."


The weapons listed for our Christian armor are mostly defensive weapons. If these are defensive weapons what are we defending ourselves from? How hard can it be for us to go about this age if we are grounded in Christ? If we are already called a Christian then why such a struggle? So, why are we called Christians that is anointed by Christ if we are just walking through this world?


text:
What Kills The Hepatitis C Virus
What's The Worst Hepatitis
Does Hepatitis C Cause Liver Damage
Chronic Hepatitis C Without Hepatic Coma Hcc
Prognosis Of Persons Diagnosed With Hcc
Diagnosing HCC in Chronic Liver Disease
The overall prognosis for persons diagnosed with HCC in the United States has improved in the past 15 years, but it remains poor, with an overall 5-year survival of approximately 20%. In general, persons who have HCC detected after the onset of symptoms have an even worse prognosis, with an overall 5-year relative survival less than 10%. Symptoms associated with HCC may include abdominal pain, anorexia, early satiety, weight loss, obstructive jaundice, fever, watery diarrhea, and bone pain . In contrast, detection of very early-stage HCC can be cured with an excellent long-term prognosis. Unfortunately, the vast majority of individuals diagnosed with HCC have cancer that is advanced beyond the stage where surgical cure with surgical resection or locoregional ablative therapy is an option.
Stages Of Hepatitis C
The hepatitis C virus affects people in different ways and has several stages:
Incubation period. This is the time between first exposure to the start of the disease. It can last anywhere from 14 to 80 days, but the average is 45
Acute hepatitis C. This is a short-term illness that lasts for the first 6 months after the virus enters your body. After that, some people who have it will get rid of, or clear, the virus on their own.
Chronic hepatitis C. For most people who get hepatitis C — up to 85% — the illness moves into a long-lasting stage . This is called a chronic hepatitis C infection and can lead to serious health problems like liver cancer or cirrhosis.
Cirrhosis. This disease leads to inflammation that, over time, replaces your healthy liver cells with scar tissue. It usually takes about 20 to 30 years for this to happen, though it can be faster if you drink alcohol or have HIV.
Liver cancer. Cirrhosis makes liver cancer more likely. Your doctor will make sure you get regular tests because there are usually no symptoms in the early stages.
Learn more about the stages and progression of hepatitis C.
Evidence Supporting Hcc Screening In Chronic Hepatitis B
The most well-known clinical study to support HCC screening is a cluster-randomized, controlled trial conducted in China that assessed the impact of HCC screening on HCC-related mortality. This study enrolled 18,816 HBV individuals with chronic HBV aged 35 to 59 from 300 factories, businesses and schools in urban Shanghai. Half of these 300 units were randomized to screening using serum alfa-fetoprotein , with cutoff value 20 ng/mL, and ultrasound every 6 months the other arm underwent usual care without screening and were not actively followed. The screening group had only a 58% compliance with screening, but notably had HCC diagnosed at an earlier stage and this group had a lower HCC-related 5-year mortality rate compared with the control group . This study, however, had some methodologic limitations, conferring a high risk for bias. A number of observational cohort studies have since suggested a survival benefit with screening but the quality of this evidence is limited by selection, lead time and length-time biases. There are also several observational trials and reviews involving patients with cirrhosis that have shown surveillance for HCC was associated with earlier-stage tumor detection and improved survival. Despite the suboptimal quality of evidence supporting HCC screening, it is currently the standard of practice and it is unlikely that a rigorously conducted randomized study would take place given the widespread acceptance of screening at this time.
Recommended Reading: What Does Hepatitis C Mean
Do You Need Vaccinations Before Traveling Abroad
The CDC divides travel vaccinations into three categories: 1) routine, 2) recommended, and 3) required. The only vaccine classified as "required" by International Health Regulations is the yellow fever vaccination for travel to certain countries in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South America.
"Routine" vaccinations are those that are normally administered, usually during childhood, in the United States. These include immunizations against:
Viral Hepatitis Definition And Overview
Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. Many illnesses and conditions can cause inflammation of the liver, for example, drugs, alcohol, chemicals, and autoimmune diseases. Many viruses, for example, the virus causing mononucleosis and the cytomegalovirus, can inflame the liver. Most viruses, however, do not attack primarily the liver the liver is just one of several organs that the viruses affect. When most doctors speak of viral hepatitis, they are using the definition that means hepatitis caused by a few specific viruses that primarily attack the liver and are responsible for about half of all human hepatitis. There are several hepatitis viruses they have been named types A, B, C, D, E, F , and G. As our knowledge of hepatitis viruses grows, it is likely that this alphabetical list will become longer. The most common hepatitis viruses are types A, B, and C. Reference to the hepatitis viruses often occurs in an abbreviated form The focus of this article is on these viruses that cause the majority of human viral hepatitis.
Hepatitis viruses replicate primarily in the liver cells. This can cause the liver to be unable to perform its functions. The following is a list of major functions of the liver:
Also Check: Hepatitis B Surface Antibody Positive
Multivariable And Univariate Cox Regression Models Predicting Hcc Within The Two Years Follow
Table 2 presents an overview of the patients biochemical, clinical, and demographic features with and without HCC.
Table 2 Biochemical, demographic, and clinical characteristics of patients without and with HCC during the follow-up period.
There was no significant difference in total cholesterol, hemoglobin, sex, age, WBCs, serum triglyceride, GGT, INR, serum bilirubin, serum creatinine, CTP classification, MELD score, and eGFR between the two groups . Univariate Cox regression analysis showed that BMI, HOMA-IR, AFP, and AGEs levels are statistically significant between the two groups in Table 3.
Table 3 Cox regression analysis models to predict the development of HCC in the studied patients.
The multivariable Cox regression analysis model outcomes were reassessed after adjusting multiple confounders, applying the formerly described variables at baseline associated with the development of HCC during the two-year follow-up period. This test showed that the only parameters independently related to the development of HCC are AFP and AGEs .
Using the ROC curve, at a cutoff value of > 79.6 ng/ml, AGEs had 100% sensitivity, 96.4% specificity, 0.999 AUC, 100% negative predictive value, 72.2% positive predictive value, and P< 0.001 for prediction of HCC, as presented in Figure 4.
Figure 4 The receiver operating characteristic curve of AGEs in predicting HCC in patients with cirrhosis.
About Hepatitis C Online
Hepatitis C Online is a free educational website from the University of Washington National Hepatitis Training Center. This project is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
This site addresses the diagnosis, monitoring, and management of hepatitis C virus infection.
Free CME credit and CNE/CE contact hours are offered throughout this site. Pharmacology CE for advanced practice nurses is also available for many activities.
Read Also: How To Manage Hepatitis C
Monitoring Of Treatment Efficacy
HCV RNA level was assessed at baseline, at the end of therapy , and 12 weeks after finishing therapy using the Roche COBAS Taq Man HCV assay version 2.0 . Relapse is defined as detectable HCV RNA level during follow-up in a patient with a previously undetected level at the end of the therapy, and virological failure is referred to as nonresponse where HCV RNA levels are still detected at the end of the therapy. The primary virological response was the accomplishment of SVR12, described as the concentration in serum lower than 15 I.U./mL .
The levels of AGEs were measured at the starting point and 12 weeks after finishing therapy.
Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B: A Special Population
Hepatic Encephalopathy :(portal systemic encephalopathy) causes, classification, features,DX and rx
Patients with chronic hepatitis B are at risk of liver cancer even in the absence of cirrhosis
Ultrasound surveillance is advised every 6 months in the following populations :
Patients with cirrhosis
African decent over 20 years of age
ALL males over 40 years of age
Asian females over 50 years of age
In cases of family history of HCC in persons with chronic hepatitis B, surveillance should start 10 years before the age at which the first-degree relative developed HCC
Persons at a high risk for HCC who live in areas where ultrasound is not readily available, screen with AFP every 6 months
Recommended Reading: What Is Hepatitis C Screening Test
Implementation Of Hcc Screening
In the United States, several potential barriers exist for effective HCC screening in persons with chronic HCV infection have been identified, including unknown fibrosis stage of the individual, lack of clinician awareness of HCC screening guidelines, scheduling logistics, and cost of surveillance. Since current guidelines for persons with chronic HCV recommend HCC screening only for those with cirrhosis or advanced fibrosis, clinicians must first accurately identify which individuals meet these criteria. In one study of the implementation of HCC screening in the VA system that was conducted between 1998 and 2005, investigators identified 126,670 persons with HCV infection and 10.1% of these individuals had cirrhosis among those with cirrhosis , routine HCC surveillance occurred in 12.0%, inconsistent surveillance in 58.5%, and no surveillance in 29.5%. A contemporary assessment of HCC screening practice in the DAA era has not yet been done, but it would clearly need to account for the growing population of individuals who have cleared their HCV yet still have cirrhosis and who are aging with their liver disease.
Indications For Liver Resection
Indicators for liver resection were determined by assessing the liver functional reserve according to Clinical Practice Guidelines for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Japan . Briefly, liver resection was contraindicated in patients who had refractory ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, or both . Patients with up to three lesions were candidates for liver resection.
In order to assess the existence of esophageal varices, gastrointestinal endoscopy was performed preoperatively for all candidates considered eligible for liver resection. Patients with F3 varices or F2 varices or blue varices positive for red color signs were treated prophylactically using esophageal variceal ligation .
Read Also: How Do I Get Hepatitis
Limited Data For Hcc Surveillance With Hcv Infection
There has been significant controversy about whether the findings of the trial conducted in China can be extrapolated to individuals with chronic HCV infection and serve as the basis to recommend HCC screening in persons with HCV infection. To date, there have been no published randomized, controlled trials that have evaluated HCC screening specifically in persons with chronic HCV infection and cirrhosis. This is likely to remain the case given the established role of HCC surveillance in routine clinical care in persons with cirrhosis. There have been a number of small observational studies of varying quality done in mixed populations, but these studies did not separate persons with chronic HCV infection from those with chronic HBV infection.
Progression Of Liver Fibrosis
In the setting of persistent hepatitis C viremia, the rate of progression of liver fibrosis varies widely. There have been extensive studies focusing on the natural course of disease progression from chronic hepatitis C to cirrhosis, HCC, and death. The liver biopsy is the gold standard for the grading and staging of chronic hepatitis C. The activity of liver disease or grade, is gauged by the number of mononuclear inflammatory cells present in and around the portal areas, and by the number of dead or dying hepatocytes. The structural liver damage, also known as fibrosis or stage, is variable in chronic HCV infection. Fibrosis implies possible progression to cirrhosis. In mild cases, fibrosis is limited to the portal and periportal areas. More advanced changes are defined by fibrosis that extends from one portal area to another, also known as "bridging fibrosis.â
Coinfection with HIV or HBV
Comorbid disease
Read Also: Different Types Of Hepatitis C
Life Expectancy Among Patients With Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection And Cirrhosis
by The JAMA Network Journals
Patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection and advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis who attained sustained virological response had survival comparable with that of the general population, whereas patients who did not attain SVR had reduced survival, according to a study in the November 12 issue of JAMA.
Almost three million people in the United States are chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus . The life expectancy of patients with chronic HCV infection is reduced compared with the general population, largely attributable to the development of cirrhosis, liver failure and cancer. Studies have shown that the risk of all-cause death is lower among patients with chronic HCV infection and advanced hepatic fibrosis if sustained virological response is attained, but comparisons have been limited to those without SVR, according to background information in the article.
In total, 530 patients were followed for a median of 8.4 years follow-up was complete in 454 patients , 192 of whom attained SVR. Thirteen patients with SVR died, resulting in a cumulative 10-year overall survival of 91.1 percent, which did not differ significantly from the age- and sex-matched general population. In contrast, 100 patients without SVR died. The cumulative 10-year survival was 74.0 percent, which was significantly lower compared with the matched general population.
Treatment Of Chronic Hepatitis C Infection
For clinicians treating chronic hepatitis C infection. Material covered includes recommendations for treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced persons with chronic HCV infection genotypes 1-6, based on the Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and Infectious Diseases Society of America HCV Guidance.
Track your progress and receive CE credit
Read Also: How Do You Catch Hepatitis
Populations For Which There Is No Guidance
HCC is increasingly being reported in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis without cirrhosis the pathogenesis of HCC in this population may be different than in the population with viral hepatitis there are currently no recommendations for surveillance in this population
Several studies have reported that patients with cirrhosis who have achieved sustained viralogic response after direct-acting antiviral therapy for hepatitis C may experience decreased risk of HCC and/or regression of fibrosis the natural history of cancer risk and regression of fibrosis in this population is still being studied therefore, patients with stage 3 or 4 fibrosis at the time of initiation of DAA therapy should continue HCC surveillance until more data are available
Rationale For Hcc Screening
Novel treatments for HCC in the era of Hep C therapies
The rationale for HCC screening of asymptomatic patients is that this practice may detect tumors at an early stage when potentially curative treatment, either surgical or locoregional, can be offered. Early detection with HCC is particularly important, given the very poor prognosis associated with advanced or metastatic HCC.
Also Check: Hepatitis A Vs B Vs C
Can You Prevent Hepatitis C Infection
Thereâs no vaccine to prevent hepatitis C. To avoid getting the virus:
Use a latex condom every time you have sex.
Don't share personal items like razors.
Don't share needles, syringes, or other equipment when injecting drugs.
Be careful if you get a tattoo, body piercing, or manicure. The equipment may have someone else's blood on it.
Find out more on how to prevent hepatitis C.
Patients who underwent initial liver resection for HCC, but were positive for HBsAg were excluded from the study. Patients who were negative for HBsAg and HBcAb but positive for HBsAb, and those who were positive for HCV antibody but negative for HCV-RNA were also excluded. In addition, patients whose HBsAb or HBcAb status had not been determined were also excluded.
Recommended Reading: What Is A Hepatitis C Screening
Relationship Between Hcv Chronic Infection And Hcc
In 2015, the WHO estimated that viral hepatitis accounted for 1.34 million deaths. These deaths resulted from chronic liver disease and primary liver cancer . Each year, the number of deaths related to viral hepatitis has been growing and is represented by the increase in mortality related to viral hepatitis by 22% since 2000.
Around 75% of people exposed to HCV infection will not be able to eradicate the virus – 60%-70% of them will develop chronic liver diseases and of the remainder, 5%-20% will develop cirrhosis over a period of 20-30 years and 1%-5% will die from cirrhosis or HCC.
Globally, the estimated annual percentage change in liver cancer due to age-standardized HCV incidence rate has increased 0.57 between 1990 and 2016. This pattern is heterogeneous across regions and countries. This rate was also higher in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries.
In 2016, the percentage contribution of HCV to absolute liver cancer incidence in Tropical, Southern, Central and Andean Latin America were 37.4%, 47.9%, 34.2% and 13.6%, respectively. Deaths due to HCC related to HCV infection had the highest incidence in the Dominican Republic at 3.27 per 100, 000 people, followed by Chile with 3.22, Cuba with 2.96, Argentina with 2.84, and Mexico with 2.68 .
*2015 year-end estimate is a model output projection based on historic data. HCV: hepatitis C virus
Jaundice And Immune Response
The rate of chronic HCV infection is lower in patients who develop jaundice or symptoms during the acute onset of HCV infection as compared to those who are anicteric. In a prospective study of 142 HCV-infected subjects with a history of illicit drug use, subjects with viral clearance were more likely to have symptoms of jaundice . Furthermore, the long-term follow-up study of women infected with contaminated Rh immune globulin in Germany exhibited a rate of chronicity in 43% of those with history of jaundice, as compared to 60% among those who remained anicteric . Many have speculated that the jaundice may be associated with a more robust immune Th1 lymphocyte and cytokine response to the HCV. The competency of the immune response plays a significant role in the development of chronic hepatitis C, as well as the progression of liver fibrosis. The rates of chronic HCV infection developing in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection and CD4 < 200, have been higher than in patients without HIV infection.
Read Also: What Is The Best Medication For Hepatitis B
Peter R - July 11, 2022
Hepatitis C 0.1 S/co Ratio
How Many Types Of Hepatitis C Are There
Screening Test For Hepatitis B
Screening Test For Hepatitis C


a.m.: Flight to the city of Tarapoto, reception and transfer to the hotel.
Exquisite food from the jungle.
p.m.: Night tour of the city.
p.m.: Flight to the city of Iquitos, reception and transfer to the hotel.
p.m.: Ethno-botanic tour, to discover the properties of medicinal plants, Duch as the Uña de Gato (Cat´s Claw), Ayahuasca, etc., and visit to the local naturalist healer or shaman.
a.m.: Tour of the Quistococha National Tourist Park, visit to the beautiful lagoon, recreational activities, swimming, boat ride, sun bathing on the white sand beaches and visit of the zoo, to appreciate the Amazonian fauna (Otorongos (Jungle jaguars), tapirs, coypus, lizards, anacondas, tigrillos (Small jungle jaguars), a variety of monkeys and birds, as well as the Paiche; the world´s largest soft water fish).
p.m.: Transfer to the airport, for the flight back to the city of Lima. Reception and transfer to the hotel.
Upon appointed time, transfer to the international airport, for the flight home.


Cookies on the Bottom Shelf?
I heard about two student events this week, one organized by students, the other by staff. Which do you think generated the most energy — and will be remembered long afterwards?
— Come to a movie night at the church! Snacks provided!
— Join us for a 12-hour drive to Washington DC to spend 24 hours talking about Jesus with thousands of Muslims who just converged on the National Mall, followed by a 12-hour drive back home!
Never underestimate the strength of big vision.
Previous postWhy invest in the next generation?
Next postAre you qualified to work with students?


Durable and designed to last a lifetime, this state-themed, thermal tumbler will keep your drinks hot or cold. The design showcases the Massachusetts state symbols, the black-capped chickadee and mayflower. The tumbler features a navy, spill-proof lid and clear straw, making it perfect for use in the car, boat, patio or kitchen. Tumbler measures 6 1/2"h and holds 15 ounces. Dishwasher and microwave safe. Made in the USA.


Spectrum Services was born here in Iowa by my Grandfather, Sherman Van Baalen in 1955 in Norwoodville, IA. My father Nathan Van Baalen took over the family business in 1981 which he successfully ran in Iowa, Nebraska, and Colorado.
In 1999 our family namesake was passed down to myself the current Owner/General Manger and I have been successfully operation it since with the help of all of my faithful employees. So thanks to all of you and our loyal customers and suppliers, as we approach our 57th year of business!!!


Crown Point has hired two new police officers to bring its staffing to 48, increasing its high-water mark of 46 officers reached following a new officer hire in February.
Nathan Way, 22, and Yadira Castellanos, 23, were sworn in Wednesday by Mayor David Uran.
Way, a 2015 graduate of Crown Point High School, earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and criminal justice from Indiana University Northwest. In 2017 Way was hired into the Crown Point Police Department as a General Services Officer.


text:
From Gold Standard to becoming Asia's most infected country after the much more populous China and India
by Ghui
Minister of Manpower Josephine Teo
According to reports on Bloomberg, Singapore has now become Asia's most Corona virus infected nation after China and India despite having one of Asia's smallest populations. As of writing, Singapore has reported 931 new cases which brings the total number of COVID-19 infections to 13,000.
Coming from a country that barely a few months ago was lauded by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and international media outlets as having a gold standard in terms of containing the corona virus, the current state of play is gargantuan fall from grace.
Despite consistent reassurances by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) that these cases are confined within the migrant worker community and not within the wider population in Singapore, the numbers are black and white and speak for themselves.
There are a lot of cases no matter what caveats the MOM try to apply and these are the numbers that will be officially cited without regard as to which group of people were infected. The MOM's constant emphasis on the spread being confined to the migrant workers could arguably come across as needlessly defensive and grasping at straws.
Besides, the government is currently taking great pains to state that the migrant workers are a part of our community and that Singapore will take care of them as one of us.
With that in mind, why is the MOM still focusing on saying that the spread of COVID-19 is mostly within the ranks of the migrant workers?
If they are part of our community, then there is no need to differentiate. If we are one community, then their number of infections are our numbers of infections. To say that they are part of us but yet place emphasis on the virus spread being largely among our migrant workers is contradictory and confusing.
We all have access to the same sources and the Internet. It is not as if the government can reassure the migrant workers (and their respective governments) and Singaporeans at the same time but with a different message when we are all probably reading the same news sources and Facebook. It is as antithetical as it is pointless.
Worst still, it could come across as hypocritical and false to both voters and foreign governments alike which in turn does the Singapore government no favours.
At this point, we have extremely high cases for a small country. End of. We fell from gold standard to shit show in under two months and there has to be some accountability for that. While the corona virus is unpredictable and unprecedented, from the Singaporean context, there was ample warning that the cases within the dormitories would explode.
Yet, has there ever been an apology from the MOM for their earlier inaction? So far, its all been explanations and justifications when really, what is needed is a simple sorry.
Tags: COVID-19


Including, of course, trade support.
A veritable cornucopia stretching from wooden toys through Mecanno to fine scale plastic and miniature engineering. A true "wunderland" of models.
A great day out for all the family and one the children will love. If you are interested in modelling yourself or want to rekindle your childhood memories, you will find something amongst the many diverse types of modelling on display to admire.
Please note that this link will take you to our Club website.
We are an experienced model show organising team who are expanding our horizons to hold a top quality model show in Kent which will provide something for everyone.
We are predominantly showcasing models, model-making, miniature engineering etc. The people who do this give of their time to share their skills with everyone but not only do they obviously not pay for tables or space - we also have to pay for their travelling costs and in some cases even hotel costs. Consequently an admission charge has to be made if we are to cover the cost of venue hire, let alone have a surplus to benefit Demelza. But, by today's standards the charge is pretty low and you would be hard pressed to find better value for money - especially if you bring your children or grandchildren!


When liberals speak about how disturbing and dangerous the perpetual othering of Barack Obama is, they're told to calm down. The GOP continues to blow off these concerns and actively mocks Democrats. Then a story like this comes out. And let me be crystal clear: I'm not blaming the Republican party for this terrorist plot. But what I do blame them for creating an environment that breeds this sort of hatred. When you keep yelling how you want your country back and how the sitting President isn't really American—how he may not even have a legitimate claim to the office—can you be that suprirsed when extremist contort this into plans of madness? Ex-military personal groups—who just so happens to include a Birther—have created campaigns accusing the President of leaking sensitive materials for personal gain while putting soldiers lives at risk. This is the state of politics today.
As horrified as I am by this whole situation, surprised I am not.


I'm well and truly growing up and this morning I was thinking about things that I've learnt along the way and I thought – maybe some of these could be helpful to my younger comrades. So I wrote 'em down and now I'm making you read them. You are so welcome.
1/ Do really elaborate eye-liner while you can, because when your eyesight starts to get dodgy it's super hard to get a nice wing.
2/ If your periods start to get heavy or your uterus/ovaries/other womanly bits are not playing nice – do something about it. Talk to your doctor. And if they brush you off, try another doctor. Conditions like fibroids and endometriosis average something like 6 years of manifesting painful symptoms before they're diagnosed because women think pain and heavy periods are normal. Get help sooner and live a much more joyful and energetic life.
3/ The only thing about your body that remains constant is your ability to make friends with it. It's a blinking amazing arrangement of limbs and vessels and cells and organs and heart and emotions and it allows you to experience life and when you think of it, that might just be some kind of magic.
4/ While the media/world/universe wants you to feel like you're half of an unmatched pair, you are actually your very own full set. Romance and nurture yourself as a priority. You don't need anyone else to complete you.
5a/ There are lots of ways to have kids in your life. Having babies is awesome, but don't feel weird if you don't fancy doing it. Some people had enough of kids during their own childhood and if that is you, that is fine. You do you. If you have friends with kids they will be more than keen for you to borrow theirs.
5b/ If you do have a baby/s, do not feel guilty about how you did it. Birth and baby feeding expectations will tie you up in a knot of guilt, if you are the caring type. Please know that my three adult children show no signs of being birthed naturally/not naturally or breastfed/formula fed. They instead show excellent signs of being raised by a mum who loved the heck out of them and did what she could, when she could.
6/ Make sure you have a superannuation fund. If you don't, start today and add to it every time you get paid. Casual and contract jobs are meaning that many women don't have super, and if you couple that with the years many women spend out of the workforce raising the next generation it's not great. Think of it as an investment in your future happiness. It's as important as paying your rent, it's just that you might not know it yet.
7/ Start writing. I know, I know. I go on about this, but one of the best ways to process your feelings and circumstances is to write a little about where you are and how you feel on a regular basis. This is especially useful if you can't afford to spend a lot of money on a therapist. Note that you don't have to write neatly or even read your writing back. Just get your thoughts and feelings down.
8/ Pay attention to the fine line between protecting yourself from negative things in a smart way – and simply being closed-off and retreating. Only you know when you're pushing the world/people away for slightly wonky reasons, so be mindful of missing out due to anxiety or unfounded fear.
9/ Conversely, know that fame and visible success are not the only goal. Living a gentle, fun, compassionate life is an excellent goal too. Not everybody has to know your name. Sometimes it's better to just know yourself and have a few ace friends and family buddies and pets. Yep.
11/ Forgive yourself. For whatever it is you think you've buggered up. Forgive yourself. Every day, if need be and try to do a little better next time. Forgive. Your. Self.
I just came across this post and its really helpful – Thank you. I beat myself up a lot about stuff and its just not healthy, sometimes you just need to breathe and let things go. Thank you again!
Another good read, Pip, although this doesnt apply to me! Have you ever read Desiterata (not certain of the spelling?)? Reminds me of that.
Just. Yes! I passed this on to all the younger women in my life and took enormous liberty by adding my own for all the amazing women I work with.
You are more than good enough. Apply for the job even though you think you only have 60% of the skills required and you think you should work harder for another couple of years to get to 90% before applying.
Excellent list. All of these resonate with my 53-year-old self, especially No. 3 and 8. No. 3 is kind of a wake up call because we don't treat our body that well most of the time and when you really think about how everything works together it really is "some kind of magic". Thanks for this.
What a thoughtful list of advice Pip. I can relate to so much.
68 year old me agrees, particularly about what happens to your 'no longer wanting kids but body thinks it needs to be ready just in case' statement! I am evidence of doing something about it! Was necessary & glad to have hysterectomy at 38.
I feel like you wrote me a letter Pip! Thank you ? ??
Thank you pip, I think I'm about the same age as you but clearly nowhere near as wise.
If I had a tribe I'd want you in it for sure.
Yep to number 2, I never did anything about mine and now I'm almost at the end it seems pointless, but the amount of time I lost and things I missed out on because I was on the couch with a hottie bottle just makes me sad.
Number 8 is so true and the last one, forgive yourself is the most powerful thing any of us can do for ourselves and the greatest act of self love.
Yes to all of them, but number 2 especially – I spent years just suffering in silence, when I could have had simple fibroid surgery. In the end I had a hysterectomy and haven't regretted it – but I wish I'd done something less drastic much much earlier.


text:
Beyonce, Swifty lead 2010 Grammy Awards noms
This is one of the best years for both singers, Beyoncé Knowles and 19 year old Taylor Swift. Winning in most prestigious categories and taking home most prestigious awards like Artist Of The Year, Album Of The Year and Song Of The Year, these two ladies have reached the top of the music industry scoring the largest number of noms at next year's Grammy Awards that will be held on January 31, 2010.
The Grammy nominees were announced yesterday during The Grammy Nominations Concert Live! – Countdown to Music's Biggest Night. Beyonce has scored 10 nominations while Taylor has ended up with eight including Song of the Year and Record of the Year.
Congrats girls! [And though Beyonce is undoubtedly talented and fantastic in what she does, I keep my fingers crossed for Taylor Swift]
Music discovery 2009 Lady GaGa is nominated in five categories, Best New Artist is not on the list, alas.
Check out the complete list of nominees for 2010 Grammy Awards:
Beyonce, 'Halo'
The Black Eyed Peas, 'I Gotta Feeling'
Kings Of Leon, 'Use Somebody'
Lady Gaga, 'Poker Face'
Taylor Swift,'You Belong With Me'
Beyonce, I Am… Sasha Fierce
The Black Eyed Peas, The E.N.D.
Lady Gaga, The Fame
Dave Matthews Band, Big Whiskey And The Groogrux King
Taylor Swift, Fearless
'Poker Face' – Lady Gaga
'Pretty Wings' – Maxwell
'Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)' – Beyonce
'Use Somebody' – Kings of Leon
'You Belong With Me' – Taylor Swift
Adele, 'Hometown Glory'
Katy Perry, 'Hot N Cold'
P!nk, 'Sober'
Taylor Swift, 'You Belong With Me'
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
John Legend, 'This Time'
Maxwell, 'Love You'
Jason Mraz, 'Make It Mine'
Seal, 'If You Don't Know Me By Now'
Stevie Wonder, 'All About The Love Again'
Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
Bon Jovi, 'We Weren't Born to Follow'
The Fray, 'Never Say Never'
Daryl Hall and John Oates, 'Sara Smile'
MGMT, 'Kids'
Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
Rosanne Cash & Bruce Springsteen, 'Sea Of Heartbreak'
Ciara & Justin Timberlake, 'Love Sex Magic'
Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat, 'Lucky'
Willie Nelson & Norah Jones, 'Baby, It's Cold Outside'
Taylor Swift & Colbie Caillat, 'Breathe'
Best Pop Vocal Album
Colbie Caillat, Breakthrough
Kelly Clarkson, All I Ever Wanted
The Fray, The Fray
P!nk, Funhouse
Best Dance Recording
The Black Eyed Peas, 'Boom Boom Pow'
David Guetta & Kelly Rowland, 'When Love Takes Over'
Madonna, 'Celebration'
Britney Spears, 'Womanizer'
Best Electronic/Dance Album
The Crystal Method, Divided By Night
David Guetta, One Love
LMFAO, Party Rock
Pet Shop Boys, Yes
Best Rock Album
AC/DC, Black Ice
Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood, Live from Madison Square Garden
Green Day, 21st Century Breakdown
U2, No Line on the Horizon
Best Rap Solo Performance
Drake, 'Best I Ever Had'
Eminem, 'Beautiful'
Jay-Z, 'D.O.A (Death of Auto-Tune)'
Kid Cudi, 'Day 'N' Nite'
Mos Def, 'Casa Bey'
Country Duo or Group With Vocals
Brooks and Dunn, 'Cowgirls Don't Cry'
Zac Brown Band, 'Chicken Fried'
Lady Antebellum, 'I Run to You'
Rascal Flatts, 'Here Comes Goodbye'
Sugarland, 'It Happens'
Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood, 'Can't Find My Way Home'
Coldplay, 'Life In Technicolor II'
Green Day, '21 Guns'
U2, 'I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight'
Best Hard Rock Performance
AC/DC, 'War Machine'
Alice In Chains, 'Check My Brain'
Linkin Park, 'What I've Done'
Metallica, 'The Unforgiven III'
Nickelback, 'Burn It To The Ground'
Best Alternative Music Album
David Byrne & Brian Eno, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
Death Cab For Cutie, The Open Door
Depeche Mode, Sounds Of The Universe
Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, It's Blitz!
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
Beyonce, 'Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)'
Melanie Fiona, 'It Kills Me'
Lalah Hathaway, 'That Was Then'
Ledisi, 'Goin' Thru Changes'
Jazmine Sullivan, 'Lions, Tigers & Bears'
Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
Jamie Foxx & T-Pain, 'Blame It'
India.Arie & Musiq Soulchild, 'Chocolate High'
Musiq Soulchild & Mary J. Blige, 'Ifuleave'
Robert Randolph & The Clark Sisters, 'Higher Ground'
Calvin Richardson & Ann Nesby, 'Love Has Finally Come At Last'
Best R&B Song
Maxwell, 'Pretty Wings'
Pleasure P, 'Under'
Best Contemporary R&B Album
Jamie Foxx, Intuition
Pleasure P, The Introduction Of Marcus Cooper
Trey Songz, Ready
T-Pain, Thr33 Ringz
Best Rap Album
Common, Universal Mind Control
Eminem, Relapse
Flo Rida, R.O.O.T.S.
Mos Def, The Ecstatic
Q-Tip, The Renaissance
Best Female Country Vocal Performance
Miranda Lambert, 'Dead Flowers'
Martina McBride, 'I Just Call You Mine'
Taylor Swift, 'White Horse'
Carrie Underwood, 'Just A Dream'
Lee Ann Womack, 'Solitary Thinkin"
Trace Adkins, 'All I Ask For Anymore'
Jamey Johnson, 'High Cost Of Living'
Billy Currington, 'People Are Crazy'
Best Country Album
Zac Brown Band, The Foundation
George Strait, Twang
Keith Urban, Defying Gravity
Lee Ann Womack, Call Me Crazy
Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
Miley Cyrus, 'The Climb' (From Hannah Montana: The Movie) UPDATE
Paramore, 'Decode' (From Twilight)
A.R. Rahman, Sukhvinder Singh, Tanvi Shah, Mahalaxmi Iyer & Vijay Prakash, 'Jai Ho' (From Slumdog Millionaire)
Beyonce, 'Once In A Lifetime' (From Cadillac Records)
Bruce Springsteen, 'The Wrestler' (From The Wrestler)
SEE THE REST OF THE LIST HERE.
Madonna's Sticky & Sweet tour controversy
City of Lights welcomes Anna Faris
Has Lady GaGa gone too far with blood?
Category: Glam Events
Posted to: Adele, Beyoncé Knowles, Black Eyed Peas, Britney Spears, Ciara, Coldplay, David Guetta, Eminem, Flo Rida, Grammy, Grammy Awards, Jamie Foxx, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry, Keith Urban, Kelly Clarkson, Kelly Rowland, Keri Hilson, Kings of Leon, Lady GaGa, Linkin Park, Madonna, Metallica, Miley Cyrus, Nickelback, Norah Jones, P!nk, Paramore, Rascal Flatts, Seal, T-Pain, Taylor Swift, Ting Tings, U2
Lesbians on the board?
Gisele is sizzling hot in the new music video


The band was formed in 2002 by Sony award winning singer-songwriter David Bramwell, known for his lyrical mastery and "hauntingly beautiful English sound" (Sunday Times).
This accomplished seven piece combine cornet, flute, clarinet and indie guitar with electronica, garnering comparisons from Talk Talk, Elbow to Robert Wyatt.
The first single, 'Mir' is wonderfully atmospheric and radio friendly.
The album features collaborations with Steve Lewis (Fujiya & Miyagi), Andrew Philips (Grasscut) and is produced by Julian Tardo.
performing a live soundtrack to the Spanish Horror film, 'La Cabina'.


Slang develops for several reasons. It's a form of in-group signaling – a way for people who share a similar set of interests to communicate with one another. But it also allows people engaged in criminal activities to conceal their illegal pursuits.
Given marijuana's decadeslong status as an illegal drug – and its popularity relative to other drugs – it's no surprise that a rich lexicon has developed over time.
Some of marijuana slang is ephemeral, while others have endured for decades and tend to still be used in popular culture. They can be organized into six categories: Strains that reference geographical designations (Kona gold, Texas tea), names that reflect the strand's color (blue sage, green goddess), terms derived from the word "marijuana" (Juanita, Mary Jane), words that reference the effects of the strain (giggle weed, dry high), how the marijuana is packaged (bale, doobie) and deceptive code words (astro turf, broccoli).
But now that marijuana has become legalized, there's been a shift in the way the drug is marketed and sold. No longer is it peddled in parking lots and apartments. Instead, storefronts are cropping up on main streets in cities and towns across the country. And many of these dispensaries have vague, clinical-sounding names that are the exact opposite of weed's vibrant, slangy jargon.
A few years ago, linguist Will Styler wrote about a gift certificate he had received from a family member for a "Wellness Center" in Denver. He immediately thought it was a gift certificate to a marijuana dispensary, but it was actually for a therapeutic massage. He wondered why he had made the assumption. After looking up how often the word "wellness" was used by dispensaries, he found that 65 out of Colorado's 424 dispensaries (at the time) used the word.
His blog post inspired me to write an article that analyzed the names of Colorado's medical marijuana dispensaries.
I found that many have vague names that don't exactly alert the passersby to the product being sold. If you were to drive by "Advanced Medical Alternatives," "Alameda Wellness Center," "Kind Pain Management," "New Age Management" or "Colorado Care Facility," you might think you were passing a doctor's office, physical therapist or homeopathic treatment center.
Other dispensaries allude to the organic nature of marijuana – the fact that it's a plant cultivated just like tomatoes and corn that you purchase at the market: Emerald City Organics, Lucky Farms and LEAF Locals Emporium Farms.
Terms that make reference to the organic nature of marijuana might be signaling the fact that the marijuana is locally grown, which is good for the community and environment. Other dispensary names – those that include words like "wellness" and "care" – could be highlighting the product's medicinal value. Together, they signal that stores are serious, legitimate enterprises – which is a way to avoid antagonizing locals who might not be fully on board with legalization.
Nevertheless, there are still subtle nods to the drug's linguistic tradition of deception. For example, two dispensaries – Tender Healing Care and Total Health Concepts – have the initials "THC," an abbreviation for tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient in marijuana.
And because Colorado was at the forefront of the legalization movement – in 2012, it was the first state to authorize the legal sale of marijuana for recreational use – some of the state's dispensaries have quirkier names that could appeal to tourists: Happy Camper Cannabis Company, Smokey's 420 House and Bud Hut.
But since marijuana is an illegal drug at the federal level, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office doesn't grant requests from marijuana producers for trademarks.
Nevertheless, as a 2017 Forbes article points out, even though the trademarking of cannabis isn't legal, the issue of branding will need to be addressed at some point. Without rules in place, it will be too easy for competitors to deceive consumers and advertise knock-offs, especially as competition grows.