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dermal absorption in vitro / ex vivo
4 May 2005 to 28 July 2005
other: Studies were conducted according to generally valid and/or internationally accepted testing guidelines.
other: 40 CFR Parts 9 and 799; as published in the Federal Register/Vol. 69/No. 80/Monday, April 26, 2004/Rules and Regulations
Non-radiolabeled Tetrahydrofuran:- Name of test material: Tetrahydrofuran- Source: BASF Corporation, Mount Olive, NJ (USA)- Molecular formula: C4H8O- Molecular weight: 72.1066- Physical state: Colorless liquid with ether-like odor- Analytical purity: 99.99% (BASF, Certificate of Analysis)- Impurities: 80 ppm water; 0.5 ppm peroxide; 305 ppm BHT (as stabilizer)- Purity test date: 24 June 2004- Lot/batch No.: G41764BBA- Stability under test conditions: Stable- Date received: 14 February 2005- Storage condition of test material: In the dark and containers purged of air using nitrogen- Other: density: 0.886; boiling point, 66 deg CRadiolabeled 14C-Tetrahydrofuran:- Source: American Radiolabeled Chemicals, Inc., St. Louis, MO (USA)- Product designation: ARC 1819 Tetrahydrofuran [14C]- Lot No.: 050418- Radiochemical purity: 99%- Specific activity: 5 mCi/mmol- Locations of the label: uniformly on all carbon atoms- Storage conditions: recommended -20 deg C- Preparation: from [14C]-1,4-butanediol by dehydration and the product purified by distillation.
Radiolabelling:
other: not applicable
Human Cadaver Skin SamplesCryopreserved human cadaver trunk skin (New York Firefighter's Skin Bank, NY, NY) without obvious signs of skin disease, obtained within 24 hours of death, was used in this study.
Type of coverage:
other: For 60-minute and 14-hour, cells occluded with rubber stopper and wrapped with nitrile membrane
other: either water for 10 or 30% solutions or neat tetrahydrofuran
Duration of exposure:
10 minute, 60 minute or 14 hours
Doses:
10% and 30% in water and neat tetrahydrofurantarget dose of 800 μL using a calibrated positive displacement pipette
No. of animals per group:
All formulations were tested in triplicate on sections of skin from 3 donors.
Details on in vitro test system (if applicable):
Preparation of Skin Samples:Skin samples was collected by dermatome and were of approximately 0.25 - 0.90 mm thickness. These were processed for cryopreservation, sealed in a water-impermeable plastic bag, and stored at < -70 ºC until the day of each experiment. Prior to use, these skin samples were thawed by placing bags in ~37 ºC water, then rinsing in water to remove any adherent blood or other material from the surface. Skin thickness was determined using a micrometer and recorded.Diffusion Cell:Skin from each donor was cut into multiple smaller sections and fitted on 0.8 cm2 static Franz Diffusion Cells (Crown Glass Co., Somerville, NJ). The dermal chambers were filled to capacity with a receptor solution of phosphate-buffered isotonic saline (PBS), pH 7.4 ± 0.1 and the epidermal chamber was left open to ambient laboratory environment. The cells were then placed in a diffusion apparatus in which the dermal receptor solution was stirred magnetically at ~600 RPM and its temperature maintained to achieve a skin surface temperature of 32.0 ± 1.0 ºC.Initial Skin Integrity Determination:The permeability of skin samples to tritiated water was determined before application of the test products. Following a brief (0.5-1 hour) equilibrium period, 3H2O (PerkinElmer, Boston, MA, sp. Act. ~ 0.5 μCi/mL) was layered across the top of the skin so that the entire exposed surface was covered (approximately 100-150 μL). After 5 minutes the 3H2O aqueous layer was removed. At 30 minutes after dosing the receptor solution was collected and analyzed for radioactive content by liquid scintillation counting. Skin specimens in which absorption of 3H2O was less than 1.75 μL-equ. were considered acceptable. In addition, the same integrity test method was used for post-study assessment of the skin following exposure to the test articles.Test Article Administration:Following the initial integrity test, each Cell reservoir was replenished with fresh PBS. Subsequently, the test article was applied to triplicate sections of the same donor skin at a target dose of 800 μL using a calibrated positive displacement pipette. Following dose application (60 min, and 14 hr duration Cells only), the Cell chimney was occluded with a silicone stopper over-wrapped with a nitrile membrane held in placed with an O-ring to prevent THF evaporation from the surface of the skin.
Signs and symptoms of toxicity:
Dermal irritation:
Total recovery:
10-Minute dose duration study (mean ± SD):- Total recovery: 83.83 ± 1.66% (10% tetrahydrofuran); 88.55 ± 1.61% (30% tetrahydrofuran); 103.76 ± 2.11 (100% tetrahydrofuran)60-Minute dose duration study:- Total recovery: 75.73 ± 0.60% (10% tetrahydrofuran); 82.40 ± 0.53% (30% tetrahydrofuran); 104.31 ± 1.09 (100% tetrahydrofuran)14-Hour dose duration study (10% tetrahydrofuran only):- Total recovery: 58.47 ± 1.91%
Percutaneous absorptionopen allclose all
Percutaneous absorption 1
10% tetrahydrofuran
Absorption:
other: 10-Minute
0.07 +/- 0.02
100% tetrahydrofuran
other: 14-Hour
22.07 +/- 1.96
Changes in barrier function based on tritiated water integrity test:
Positive and significant changes in the percent of tritiated water permeation through skin samples between a first and second post-dose integrity test were only observed with 100% tetrahydrofuran solutions. In the case of 10-minute exposures to 100% tetrahydrofuran, 112.6±56.8% and 72.3±55.9% changes were reported in the first and second integrity tests, respectively. These were statistically significantly different from control skin sections (p < 0.05). In the case of 60-minute exposures to 100% tetrahydrofuran, 565.5±213.5% and 460.4±213.7% changes were reported in the first and second integrity tests, respectively. These were statistically significantly different from control skin sections (p < 0.05).
Mean flux values (absorption rates):
The mean (±SD) flux rate for tetrahydrofuran from the 14-hour studies was 1.360±0.237 mg/cm2/hr (based on steady-state measurements for hours 1 to 6. The mean (±SD) flux rate for tetrahydrofuran from the 14-hour studies was 1.006±0.143 mg/cm2/hr (based on steady-state measurements for hours 4 to 14.
Determination of Kpvalues
Dermal permeability (Kp) values were calculated by dividing the steady-state absorption rates by the concentration of tetrahydrofuran. The Kpvalue based on measurements during hours 1 to 6 of the 14-hour studies was 0.015±0.003 cm/hr. The Kpvalue based on measurements during hours 4 to 14 of the 14-hour studies was 0.011±0.002 cm/hr.
The data indicate that the 10%- and 30%-tetrahydrofuran in water solutions did not significantly alter the barrier function of the skin, as assessed by the percutaneous absorption of 3H20. However, neat (100%) tetrahydrofuran exposure to the skin did alter the skin's barrier function, suggesting damage did occur to the stratum corneum of the skin. Therefore, the results from the 10%- and 30%-tetrahydrofuran solutions may better represent human skin permeability to tetrahydrofuran in un-damaged skin from short term exposures. Two permeability coefficients (Kp) were calculated to be 0.015 ± 0.003 cm/hr, for the absorption period of t = 1-6 hrs, and 0.011 ± 0.002 cm/hr, for the absorption period of t = 4-14 hrs based on the mean rate of penetration derived from the time spans indicated as observed during the 14 hour dose duration study. The first of these may represent the upper limit of initial or early steady-state like penetration whereas the second may represent a more conservative representation of tetrahydrofuran absorption over longer periods of time.Based on the results obtained in these studies, tetrahydrofuran may be considered a substance representative of a very fast penetrant of human skin.
The current study was designed to characterize the percutaneous absorption of toxicokinetics of tetrahydrofuran and to determine its permeability constant (Kp), and to assess its short-term and infinite dose absorption rates through human cadaver skin using static diffusion cells (Franz type). The study was conducted in accordance with an Environmental Protection Agency's test rule (40 CFR Parts 9 and 799; as published in the Federal Register, Vol. 69, No. 80, Monday, April 26, 2004). Penetration of tetrahydrofuran, either neat or as an aqueous solution, through human skin was determined at 10- and 60-minute time points for 10, 30 or 100% tetrahydrofuran or at 14 hours for 10% tetrahydrofuran. The percentage absorption rates for tetrahydrofuran in the 10-minute studies were as follows: 0.05±0.02 (10% tetrahydrofuran), 0.81±0.23 (30% tetrahydrofuran) and 0.24±0.09 (100% tetrahydrofuran). The percentage absorption rates for tetrahydrofuran in the 60-minute studies were as follows: 1.42±0.36 (10% tetrahydrofuran), 16.03±2.78 (30% tetrahydrofuran) and 4.61±2.01 (100% tetrahydrofuran). The percentage absorption rate for 10% tetrahydrofuran in the 14-hour study was 15.64±1.39. From the 14-hour study, Kpvalues of 0.015±0.003 cm/hr (steady-state for hours 1 to 6) and 0.011±0.002 (steady-state for hours 4 to 14) were obtained. Tetrahydrofuran may be considered to be a very fast penetrant of human skin.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
A Quick Story About Vomit
July 15, 2014 Shari
Good Morning. Here's a quick story about vomit to start your day.
Captured in the photo is an image of your's truly puking his guts up on a shark boat. The year would have been 2005, or thereabouts, and the vomit in question was produced by a combination of warm gin, consumed the night before, and a skillet full of scrambled eggs and potatoes, eaten that very morning. Contributing factors included a meat grinder packed with mackerel, a following sea, and the rough business of making chum on a warm and humid morning just off the coast of Martha's Vineyard.
I've been thinking about this moment ever since I read Cathy Everette's story about the tomato juice and fruit cocktail inspired puke. (Scroll down. It's the top entry on the previous post. Funny stuff.) Even though my vomit contained none of the colors of the rainbow, it was notable. So much so, that the executive producer at Discovery demanded it be removed from the scene. I was appalled, and argued passionately that cutting it out made no artistic sense. The point of Dirty Jobs was to capture the reality of what it's like to be in a particular place on a particular day. Puking was not a deliberate or salacious act, it was just a very relatable part of the job. In fact, my vomit occurred in the middle of a standup, and I was personally proud to have completed my thoughts after upchucking into the Atlantic. And, truth be told, I was rather impressed with the vomit itself. It wasn't quite projectile – at least not in the Exorcist milieu – but it was both explosive and copious and more than sufficient to shock the unsuspecting Captain.
"God damn son, I thought I was gonna see the bottoms of your boots come up!"
Ultimately, the suits caved – sort of. It was determined, probably as the result of some soul-deadening focus group, that my vomit was in fact germane to the story, but simply too hideous to be viewed in it's unaltered form. Thus, the network arrived at the rather incredible decision to pixilate my puke.
Looking back, my feelings about this were mixed, both then and now. On the one hand, I'm proud that Dirty Jobs broke a lot of new ground. After that scene, puking became generally accepted in reality TV, and now, unpixilated vomit is de rigueur on most cable channels. But I guess I'm ambivalent about opening the flood gates. As my dad often says, you can't put the poop back in the goose.
Anyway, you're welcome.
Mike Rowe Facebook Page
Blog, Micro Musings
OFF THE WALL: Bucking the Odds
Old Dogs, New Tricks, or… What The Chuck?


text:
Public Safety Committee on May 31st, 2021
Evidence of meeting #31 for Public Safety and National Security in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was far-right.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremism
MPs speaking
Shannon Stubbs
Kamal Khera
Andréanne Larouche
Jack Harris
Damien Kurek
Pam Damoff
Tako Van Popta
Darren Fisher
Joël Lightbound
Emmanuella Lambropoulos
Also speaking
Christian Leuprecht Professor, As an Individual
Barbara Perry Professor, As an Individual
Phil Gurski Retired Canadian Intelligence Analyst, Terrorism Specialist, As an Individual
Martin Geoffroy Director, Research Professor, Centre d'expertise et de formation sur les intégrismes religieux, les idéologies politiques et la radicalisation
The Chair Liberal John McKay
I call this meeting to order. We have a quorum, and I'm sure Shannon will join us shortly.
This is the 31st meeting of the public safety committee, and we are studying ideologically motivated hate crime. We have two outstanding witnesses this afternoon: Dr. Christian Leuprecht, who is well known to this committee, and Dr. Barbara Perry.
Maybe I'll ask you for your seven-minute statements in the order in which you appear on the notice of meeting, and then we'll move to questions.
Dr. Leuprecht.
Dr. Christian Leuprecht Professor, As an Individual
Mr. Chair, vice-chairs and members of the committee, thank you for inviting me today to discuss this very important topic. I would be happy to answer your questions in either official language.
I've provided my text in English, so I will follow it.
Violent extremism in Canada is a marginal phenomenon, and situations arising out of ideologically motivated violent extremism garner a lot of public attention. That's followed by political commitments or opportunities, such as the hearings that we're having today, to move on certain policies.
Detecting domestic IMVE and disrupting it is costly, and costs are disproportionate to the benefit. There are many other threats, such as cyber-threats, foreign interference and foreign espionage, that are far more consequential for Canada's security, prosperity and democracy, but they're difficult to quantify publicly in the absence of human casualties. If done better and more systematically, rebalancing Canada's national security and policing posture, with a greater emphasis on cyber, organized crime, money laundering and protecting Canadians from foreign malign actors, would have a far greater benefit for public safety and for depriving IMVE of resources and enablers than the current approach, whose track record seems neither particularly efficient, nor particularly effective.
Who is likely to sympathize with, provide material support for or actually engage in violent extremism and why has become one of the more pressing security questions of our time. That question is made more difficult by the very small number of those in this category, on the one hand, and the vast majority of people in comparable circumstances who are very resilient to radicalization. I provide some numbers that I will skip over, but I'll simply point out that, as shown in testimony before this committee, terrorist attacks and incidents, although extremely tragic, are very rare compared with many other incidents of violence and violence related to ideology.
We need to distinguish between ideologically motivated violent extremism and ideologically motivated extremist violence. One concerns the narrative; the other concerns action. We can lay this out in two pyramids: the narrative pyramid and the action pyramid. These two pyramids are distinct from one another. In the action pyramid, we have terrorists at the apex, then radicals and, below them, activist sympathizers. You got a similar description from Tim Hahlweg of CSIS, with passive engagement, active engagement and mobilizing to violence.
The relationship between thought and action isn't clear. It's not a conveyor belt, and it's not causal. This raises a host of questions. How do individuals end up in one of those three radical action categories? Are there three different kinds of people who end up in these different categories? What are the drivers of the transition between these categories? What motivates an individual to cross boundaries, passing from non-radical to radical or from radical to terrorist? What are the barriers to these transitions? Why do so few people become radicalized, and is there anything special about these few? Do the categories of action and the transitions between different categories depend on the particular cause being espoused, or do all movements and issues exhibit commonalities in the structure of radicalization?
From the perspective of intelligence and law enforcement, we might also ask, is it possible to tell which category of action an individual will move toward by examining an individual's attitudes? More generally, can current attitudes predict the future political trajectory of a particular individual?
It turns out that the relationship between narrative and action is indeterminate. Few in the narrative pyramid ever move to action, and action is not necessarily motivated by belief in a narrative. I've sketched 12 mechanisms—at the micro, meso and macro levels—that we've identified. It turns out that ideology is one of those 12, and in quite a few cases ideology is not present at all. People engage in violence for a host of reasons that have nothing to do with ideology, so it's neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for violence.
When ideology is present, more often than not ideology becomes the justification and the rationale for the violence rather than the cause of the violence per se.
For policy purposes, we need to treat the problem of narrative and the problem of action as distinct problems. We see this as such in Canada, the problem of mass radicalization—that is to say, entire communities that are radicalized—is not really a problem. What we see is individuals who are radicalized. This is a question about those individuals who are sympathetic to violence.
I would say that in terms of those investigations—I explained this in my brief—we don't have a particularly great track record in terms of the RCMP and success of the RCMP.
Democracy is on a slippery slope when we merely hold political beliefs that, however objectionable they may be, end up being equated with criminal behaviour. With the exception of a few offences such as incitement and hate speech that cross into the criminal realm, the hallmark of democracy is to police criminal action, not opinions.
Generally speaking, radicalization per se—a shift in beliefs, feelings and actions towards increased support for one side or the other—is not a problem. The challenge and test for democracy always comes at the margins.
I would conclude by saying that overplaying and politicizing the threat of IMVE by going after a needle in a haystack.... A better approach would be for the government to improve how Canada is postured to detect, disrupt, contain and deter against the full spectrum of national security threats in the first place. To that effect, we can focus on federal police reform to make federal police more functional, with a foreign human intelligence service and a dedicated criminal intelligence service.
There are many far greater threat vectors to public safety that Canadian communities confront day in and day out. They are from non-conventional threats by state and non-state actors such as cyber, and conventional threats such as organized crime, money laundering and the like, on which a government concerned about national security could take concerted action that would have far more direct and immediate impacts on public safety than IMVE.
Thank you, Dr. Leuprecht.
Dr. Perry.
Dr. Barbara Perry Professor, As an Individual
Thank you very much for the invitation to appear. I very much look forward to sharing my thoughts and engaging in some conversation.
I did share with you two graphics to illustrate my comments today. The first is a sort of typology that we've been building around the diversity of the far-right movement. That's really my focus, looking at right-wing extremism specifically. I want to sketch out in a very short period of time some of the contours associated with the far right that we identified in the study that we published in 2015, which was funded by Public Safety, but also coming out of the current study that we're working on, also funded by Public Safety, which is an update of that first one.
The first graphic, the categories of the far right in Canada, is quite important in terms of reminding us of the diversity of the movement when we think about the far right. Even in 2015 when we were looking at the movement, the focus was really on those very traditional kinds of groups that you see at the top—skinheads, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and what have you. Since then there's been sort of a diffusion of the movement in different directions, not a splintering so much as a coalescing into much more discrete categories so that there are identifiable strands that are specifically anti-Muslim, specifically anti-immigrant or specifically misogynistic, for example.
In addition to that, we have the accelerationists. Each of these I can unpack a little bit for you in the Q and A if you like, but the intent of this graphic is just to highlight the diversity that we're seeing within the movement.
The second graphic that I shared with you is the distribution as we saw it in 2015. You see the concentrations there in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta in particular, and to some extent in B.C., for a total, as a conservative estimate, of just over a hundred active groups associated with some arm of far-right extremist ideologies.
In the current study, we've identified over the past four to five years an incredible growth in those numbers to at least 300 groups now, and again, that is across the country. We're seeing more activity down east for example, but other than that, the concentrations have stayed fairly similar, that is, with higher concentrations, again, in Ontario and Quebec and Alberta.
I'll just share with you a few of the other trends we're identifying in the current study. I referred to the growth in numbers that we're seeing, and I should say that's growth in numbers of groups and growth in numbers of individuals drawn to various elements of far-right extremist ideologies. Just as we're seeing a diffusion of the movement itself, in terms of the numbers of focal areas, we're also seeing a diffusion, or an atomization almost, with respect to the movement itself—that is, more individuals being drawn to small elements, sort of cherry-picking from the narratives of an array of different groups and ideologies to suit their own needs, whatever they may be.
We are seeing a lot more of those floaters, as we're starting to call them, but we are also seeing more groups, that is, new chapters of groups that were existing in 2014 and 2015, as well as new groups that have emerged on the scene, most notably the Proud Boys and Soldiers of Odin.
We're also seeing a shift in the demographics associated with the groups. Just as we tend to think of the far right as the skinheads and the neo-Nazis, I think we tend to think of it as a youth movement. That is certainly still the case. There are an awful lot of youth aged 16 or 17 to 24 or maybe early thirties involved in the movement, but we are seeing many more middle-aged and older folks coming to the movement as well.
Accompanying that is a shift in other kinds of demographics, in terms of education and income or profession in particular. There are more middle-income earners or above. We look at January 6 events in the U.S., for example, as sort of an inflated illustration of what we're seeing here. A fairly large proportion of those people were professionals—accountants and doctors and lawyers—and we're seeing some of that here as well, so it also applies then that many have a higher level of education, university degrees and advanced degrees in some cases.
I think that's especially the case within that element that refers to themselves as the alt-right. These were sort of the ideologues, if you will, of the movement as opposed to the shock troops, who are those more traditional Nazis or skinheads on the streets.
One of the other trends that we're seeing is increasing coalition building or alliances, and early on in this phase of the study, 2015-16, 2016-2017, even 2018, we were seeing much more coalition building across groups, strategizing across groups within the movement, planning and codeveloping protests, rallies, concerts and a whole array of other activities. We've seen a lot of that, but we're also now seeing, in the context of COVID, especially in terms of lockdown and anti-masks and anti-vaccination activities, efforts to leverage or exploit those very mainstream grievances and fold them into far-right narratives as a way of expanding their audience, grabbing people and sort of leading them down the garden path, if you will.
The last trend that I want to highlight is probably one of the most dangerous, and that is that we are seeing an increased fascination with gun rights and with being fully armed within the group. Even for the Proud Boys, one of their mantras is "we love our guns". We see that in a number of other groups. We see images of them online with stockpiles of weapons and engaging in paramilitary training. We have that, that they're heavily armed.
What we're also seeing—and this is another project we're on right now with DND—is looking at the contours of the far-right within the context of the CAF, because we've had a number of high-profile cases of late. Again, looking at the events of January 6 in the U.S., there is evidence of links between members of the CAF, current or former, and the far-right movement. We have the arms, we have the training and the third dangerous sort of potentially lethal element of that are the xenophobic ideologies that often inform these groups. I think that is one of the trends that we really need to keep our eyes on.
I will leave it at that and flesh out anything that is of interest as we move forward.
Thank you, Dr. Perry.
We'll turn to the first six-minute round with Mrs. Stubbs, Ms. Khera, Ms. Larouche and Mr. Harris.
Shannon Stubbs Conservative Lakeland, AB
Thanks, Chair.
Thank you to both of our witnesses for being here today, for offering your expertise and your time to us.
Dr. Leuprecht, you commented, I thought, quite compellingly about the difference between words and actions, and the different scales and kinds of people who might be identified when talking about these complex issues. I wonder if you might comment and expand on the differences between terrorists, radicals and activists.
Professor, As an Individual
Dr. Christian Leuprecht
It's a very good question in light of what my very talented colleague, Dr. Perry, just presented.
If we think of this as a pyramid, at the top we have people who are engaged in illegal action and violent action. Those are the people we commonly refer to as terrorists. Below that, we have people we refer to as radicals, who are engaged in possibly one or more forms of illegal actions, whether they are an illegal protest, perhaps firearms violations, or so forth, but they're not violent per se against third parties or the public. Below that, you have activists. Those are people who, for instance, might possibly sympathize with radicals or with terrorists, but they aren't engaging in forms of illegal action, illegal speech, incitement, hate and the like.
We often conflate these in public discourse, and I think it's important for intelligence, for enforcement purposes and for policy purposes to treat these as three distinct problems. One might be a problem of counter-radicalization, persuading people. One might be a problem of making sure we have the right incentives in place so that people who might be engaged in illegal action don't engage in violent action, and for those who are predisposed or engaging in violent action, make sure we have the criminal intelligence capabilities to detect and disrupt those before they can do harm.
Added to that, on your points about the predictors of people taking action, I think in your research you suggest that religion, political opinion and country of origin are all bad predictors, or not necessarily predictors that will result in action.
I wonder if you have any comments on what purpose CSIS's categories of motivation serve.
There is a temptation in the public discourse, I think, to reduce this to monocausal explanations, and clearly, religion can be one of them. There are so many people who are religious, and virtually none of them become violent. Many of the people who become violent, for instance, are not religious or don't adhere to, say, any ideology of any particular form. Understanding that the predictors are multi-faceted and combine in different ways in different cases is critically important.
I think this is where some of the structural work that Dr. Perry is doing can help us. It can help us to identify some people who may be at higher risk, but then ensuring, for instance, that when we're talking about youth—and as any of us who have children of our own or are familiar with youth know, youth do things that we would prefer them not to do—we get them the right intervention and the right help, rather than necessarily and immediately criminalizing viewpoints that in and of themselves we find objectionable but that aren't necessarily criminal.
To your point about protecting public safety through preventing and creating consequences for criminal activity, do you have any comments to expand on in terms of reforms or changes or concrete solutions for federal policing or other intelligence services?
You have a little more than a minute.
I would say that the much-vaunted risk reduction measures that CSIS was granted, commonly known as "disruption"—the ones that do not require warrants—have proven quite effective and successful at reducing risk.
I would also say that we have a federal police force that spends 85% of its time and resources doing provincial contract policing, which detracts from its federal mandate. I cite at least one case, the Victoria Parliament plot, which was extremely unsuccessful, given the resources that were invested into this case, where the RCMP was chastised by the judge for its entrapment practices.
I think we need to be better postured in terms of federal policing. We need to have a separate criminal intelligence service and likely move that out of the RCMP to make that a separate stand-alone entity. We need to have a better sense of the foreign influences here that may be illegal or criminal under Canadian law. To that effect, we need a foreign human intelligence service, because CSIS, for reasons that go beyond our time here, cannot currently engage in that mandate effectively.
We are beyond our time.
Thank you, Madam Stubbs.
Madam Khera, you have six minutes.
Kamal Khera Liberal Brampton West, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to both of our witnesses for being here, but more importantly, for all the work you do.
Dr. Perry, I want to start off with you, and I want to talk about online hate.
I know you've teamed up with Facebook Canada to address instances of online hate. It is a topic that we've certainly discussed in committee. You have declared that online platforms have been a gift to alt-right groups known for spreading conspiracy theories via video clips.
Could you maybe expand a little bit on your findings and efforts in this area? How do we address promoting hatred on mainstream channels, as well as on underground networks, such as Parler and Gab?
Dr. Barbara Perry
These are all very good questions. They're not easy questions by any stretch.
One of the most disturbing things we found in this round of work—the Institute for Strategic Dialogue is doing much of our online analysis—is that in two successive years, Canadian posters were among the most active within the far-right ecosystem, if you will.
Just quantitatively, that's problematic. We tend to think we are immune to those kinds of narratives, but there you are. In particular in the first round—that would have been the 2019 report that we did with ISD—we actually found that they were, in fact, second and third in two of the most extreme platforms, Fascist Forge and Iron March. These are the ones that are most likely to promote violence, and mass violence in particular.
Again, quantitatively, that is the problem, but it's also a problem qualitatively, given the breadth of the speech, the viciousness of the speech as it's directed towards particular individuals or particular communities, whether it's emails or posts directed towards an individual or it's those who vilify particular groups. It's rampant online, obviously.
I think we have to consider the impacts of this on a sense of community, a sense of belonging and a sense of security, as well. It is something that absolutely silences communities. It makes them less willing to engage online, which has become the way we communicate—especially now, with COVID.
How do we confront it and how do we regulate it? It's such a challenge. We've been exploring it globally over the last five or six years. We've been trying to constrain the most heinous sorts of speeches.
When I'm talking about hate speech here, I'm talking about dangerous speech, speech that promotes violence, that explicitly promotes vilification and that directs hatred towards particular groups. Warman v. Kouba identified these sorts of elements of speech as the hallmarks of hate.
I think we need to put much more pressure on social media giants to enforce their community standards. Most of them are at least as strong as our own federal definitions. We need to encourage the actual use of those. I hear so many...from the research but also from the people I work with. They are identifying speech that seems to cross those boundaries, which.... There's no response to the complaints, so I think we need to hold their feet to the fire.
In terms of the alternative platforms, that's where the real challenge lies because access to the darkest spaces is more difficult for researchers, for police, for journalists and for anyone who wants to know what's happening there. There are challenges there because they're specifically set up to avoid any sort of community standards. Most of us are at a loss as to how to respond to those. Again, perhaps we put pressure on the domains to not host them, as happened with Parler. I think it was after the January 6 events.
I think that is a new challenge presenting itself.
Thank you for that.
You also noted in your remarks that IMVE is usually directed at groups that are already stigmatized and marginalized. You said it is a mechanism of power.
Can you expand a little bit on which groups are targeted and how?
I should add—maybe that's another trend I should start talking about—that again, in response to the online piece, we're seeing a really dramatic upsurge in anti-statist narratives online, specifically anti-Trudeau narratives. It's not just those marginalized communities. In this case, perhaps it's the champions of those marginalized communities who also become targets.
We continue to see anti-immigrant sentiment leading the way, along with anti-Muslim sentiment. In some regions of the country, anti-indigenous narratives are particularly popular. We seem to be seeing a bit of a resurgence of anti-queer and anti-trans narratives among some of these groups as well. It's interesting because it will shift over time in terms of immigration patterns, perhaps, or in terms of the assertion of rights by particular communities, that sort of thing. These groups seem to be the key targets in recent days.
In the context of COVID, I think we also need to raise the issue of anti-Asian narratives and violence.
Finally, I should add that anti-Semitism is always there, barely below or barely above the surface. It's almost a foundation for so many other forms of hatred. Often those Jewish conspiracy theories are used to explain the evil ways of others, that it's Jews who are responsible for drugs in Black communities or—
Unfortunately, Ms. Khera's time is up.
We will have to leave it there, but thank you.
Ms. Larouche, welcome to the committee.
The floor is yours. You have six minutes.
Andréanne Larouche Bloc Shefford, QC
Thank you to both witnesses for being here today to speak to us on such an important topic.
Mr. Leuprecht and Ms. Perry, your opening statements were quite informative.
My first question is for Ms. Perry.
In your opening statement, you referred to the link between the far right and the anti-women movement, if I understood correctly. I'd like to hear more about that.
You also mentioned at the end of your remarks the radicalization of members of the Canadian Armed Forces, or CAF. I know that, in November 2020, the University of New Brunswick gave you and researcher David Hofmann a $750,000 grant to carry out a three-year study on hateful ideologies and extremism within the CAF. According to the announcement, you had ongoing conversations with General Jonathan Vance, the then chief of the defence staff, who had sought out your advice and expertise.
Can you tell us why the former chief of the defence staff reached out to you for your expertise?
I'm especially interested in the advice and recommendations you gave the former chief of the defence staff. As your research reveals, sexism and misogyny are common threads in right-wing extremist groups.
What advice did you give the former chief of the defence staff who wanted to address the problem in the CAF?
I would just point out that I doubt you received $750 million. I dare say that you received $750,000. If you could, if possible—
I did say $750,000, Mr. Chair.
I think it was the interpreter then.
Anyway, if you could bring it back to the actual study, that would be good.
I will just respond briefly to the first one. That was the question of misogyny in the movement. There's no doubt that misogyny from the get-go is embedded in the far-right movement. It is grounded in racism, yes, and anti-Semitism but also in patriarchy.
One of the mantras is the 14 words, which is well known, I think: We must ensure the existence of the white race and a future for our children. If we're going to ensure that, we have to control our women, and our women's sexuality in particular. That expands into other elements of the movement as well.
We do see that continuing within the movement, so there's some overlap. I should say that, in all of these areas, there's some overlap between what we think of as the incel movement and the far-right movement, but not all incel activists are necessarily far-right.
With respect to the CAF work, it's very early days for us. We're still waiting for our research ethics approval at the university level. We do have a post-doc working independently on a targeted engagement grant with the DND as well, looking specifically at policy interventions.
I will talk about areas rather than specifics, because we are seeing issues around people who are already in the movement and who enlist in the CAF, often in the reserves, to get the kinds of training that they think they need and can bring back to the movement. We're seeing problems already as people enlist. We're seeing problems with people being recruited while they are in service, and then we see problems with veterans, people who have left the military and are looking for a familiar place to belong. Very often, they are being lured into the movement.
We're looking at strategies in all three of those areas in terms of screening tools at the outset and ways to monitor and identify radicalization in service. Also, there's this gap between Veterans Affairs and the CAF once people have left in terms of the kinds of supports they get in this area specifically, so that's another area that we really need to build out, I think.
As you know, the DND and all branches have identified or created new orders around hateful conduct and engagement in identifiable groups—not "identified", but "identifiable" groups—with hateful conduct at their core, so part of our task will be helping to operationalize them or identify ways that those orders can be operationalized as well.
Thank you for those questions.


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Business Success: Virtual Location Matters
Dominic L 2 years ago
What to Expect When You Buy From Receptra Naturals
What Problems Come With A Car Accident?
Shae H 2 years ago
5 Undiscovered Beaches In Europe That Will Leave You Mesmerized
Amazon Training – An Example Of Micro Small Business Coaching
Why You Should Make the Switch to All-Natural Cleaning Products
Alternatives to Gasoline-powered Cars
Editor 3 years ago 99 Views
Some people think that because they have purchased Toyota Prius, they are saving those cute baby seals. However, we haven't been particularly successful in helpong the Mother Earth if we don't do things properly. We may wonder how a diesel, electric hybrid car can save the environment. People still prioritize on comfort and they won't buy even the greenest cars when they are not comfortable, especially during long-distance trips. Dr. Ferdinand Porsche came up with a concept of gasoline-powered hybrid electric engines. Instead of used on a car, it powered a horseless carriage. Due to its low power and limited range, Porsche's hybrid carriage was only considered as a toy. The basic principle of hybrid can be easily understood. The gasoline engine charges a bank of accummulators or batteries. When the gasoline engine is switched off, the batteries power electric motors to proper the wheels. At night, these batteries can be charged from the wall outlet overnight. There are different methods to save energy, such as using a regenerative barking system that recovers wasted energy from the braking action back to the batteries. However, on batteries alone, hybrid cars can only cover a short distance.
So we can say that hybrid cars are essentially normal gasoline-powered cars with an added electric motor. Often, our car stays idle, like in heavy traffic or at a stop light. When the car idles, the gasoline engine disengages automatically and batteries are used to power the car's features and accessories. It means that the stereo and air conditioner system will stay on. The gasoline engine will be restarted when the car speed exceeds 10 mph or depending on manufacturer's specifications. If the hybrid cars are charged overnight from non-polluting power generation facilities, such as hydroelectric plants or solar cells; the overall carbon footprint will be much lower. Hybrid cars use less fuel than normal cars. However, we should know that hybrids require a computer system and complicated software to work. Another alternative to gasoline-powered cars are diesel models. Unlike gasoline, diesel fuel is able to auto-ignite when subjected to an immense amount of pressure. With compression alone, it's possible for hybrid cars to move. Gasoline is lighter than diesel fuel, so it has lower energy content. It takes more gasoline to push the car to a desired speed and distance.
Fuel and air injection on diesel cars is powered by mechanical fuel pumps. For greater efficiency, we may choose computer-controlled diesel cars that determine the optimum condition for the engine. Smoke and obnoxious exhaust smell are significantly reduced in newer diesel cars. In these models, smoke that leaves the tail pipe is repeatedly filtered. Diesel cars may also use a type of chemical called Uria to reduce dangerous pollutants. Thanks to solid sound insulation and better engine design, modern diesel cars are also less noisy. In reality, latest diesel cars and hybrids can have similar mileage. Diesel is a mature technology and it has been frequently improved.
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Bryan L 2 years ago


Coupar Angus New Age Kurling are having a coffee morning and table sale on Sat. 10th Nov. in the Town Hall 10am to 1pm. Admission, Adults £2.00, primary children free. Anyone wanting a table cost is £5.00. Contact Ann 01828 627587.
We held one last year and it was a great success, hopefully it will be the same this year.


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Samaneh Meshkati (* 20. September 1997) ist eine iranische Grasskiläuferin. Sie nahm 2012 erstmals an Weltcuprennen teil.

Karriere
Meshkati nahm im August 2012 im Alter von 14 Jahren erstmals an Weltcuprennen teil. Sie startete in der Saison 2012 nur in den drei Weltcuprennen in Dizin in ihrem Heimatland und belegte in den beiden Super-G die Plätze fünf und neun, während sie im Riesenslalom disqualifiziert wurde. Im Gesamtweltcup kam sie damit auf Rang 19.

Erfolge

Weltcup
 2 Platzierungen unter den besten zehn

Weblinks

Grasskiläufer (Iran)
Iraner
Geboren 1997
Frau

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Q: Java Swing JEditorPane and Screen Readers I've been looking for the last few days and can't find an answer anywhere. I'm trying to make an accessible IDE in Java Swing. The only thing I'm having problems with, is emulating behavior that happens in other text text editors.
I want the screen reader (JAWS, in particular) to read whatever is in the selected line of the text area (not like highlighted, just wherever the cursor is - that whole line).
If I try this in Eclipse, or even notepad, whenever I use the arrow keys to move the text cursor, the screen reader immediately reads whatever is on that line. It does not do this in my program, which I've even tried to simplify down to a simple JFrame with a JEditorPane(tried a simple JTextArea as well).
Is there a particular listener, or something I have to implement accessibility-wise, or idk what else, in order to create this functionality? I apologize if my question is confusing. I'm still trying to learn how to actually make the accessibility stuff work.
If there's anything else I can clarify please let me know.

A: Have you looked into using the Java Access bridge (download and install it), as this is necessary for screen readers like JAWS to read java applications. Java access bridge info can be found here. http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/tech/index-jsp-136191.html

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Here's another warming recipe to help fight off the germs this winter.
I invented it this morning and can still feel the warmth and healing properties of the lemon and ginger inside me!
As ever, this one took five minutes to prepare. Samson helped me. If he hadn't, it would have taken three minutes as we got into a spot of bother with the peeler…but that's another story..
Peel the outer layer of the lemons (you don't want the rind). Pop everything into your vitamin or other blender. Add boiling water (half way). Blend on low and then increase to high until the blend resembles a smoothie.


Do You Still Have the Fever Phobic Mama Bug?
Yesterday, I ate slices of this rustic teff baguette after dinner, dipped in fresh basil and oregano infused olive oil. Today, I ate it for breakfast, some slices with butter and other slices with sunflower seed butter. This afternoon, I made baguette number two, which allowed me to enjoy a few more slices, plain and warm from the oven. Before dinner today, I ate more, for another round of dunk-a-roo in the previously mentioned herbal infused olive oil.
Can you tell how much I love this bread? I've been craving a good "dipper" bread, especially since my husband is addicted to dipping (non-gluten-free) bread in homemade basil pesto. I've wanted to dip, too! On my own plate of course, separate from gluten contamination. This bread definitely makes an excellent dipper bread, especially for flavor and texture. It's not made for a lot of man-handling, although it held up well with gripping toddler hands.
Speaking of toddlers…The size of the slices, since it is a baguette, makes it particularly appealing to the finger-food-fancying toddler crowd. If you're looking for a gluten-free, toddler friendly bread, this is it! My toddler happily joined me for the several courses of rustic teff baguette slices I consumed today. And she asked for more! This is the same toddler who normally isn't very interested in gluten-free bread.
Tastes best freshly baked, so make sure to eat it that way (I guess that's obvious). I ate morning after bread, which was still delicious and did not crumble into pieces of sand like many day old gluten-free breads do. I haven't kept it out much longer than that, but I would assume its durability decreases with each day it grows old. I put some slices from a freshly made baguette in the freezer today, so we'll see how they turn out. I've found that freezing homemade gluten-free bread the day I make it has preserved it better than any other method. That is, if there is some left over, and it hasn't been out for 24 hours.
This bread also contains no xanthan or guar gum. Instead, I used a decent amount of ground flax seed meal (it was no measly pinch) to bind it together, which yielded the rustic look and feel of the baguette.
Grease a 9 x 11 glass baking dish with extra virgin coconut oil.
Mix the brown teff flour, brown sweet rice flour, ground flax seeds, salt, and the active dry yeast together.
Add the whisked egg, olive oil, honey, and water. Thoroughly mix together using whatever method you like best (spatula, hands, mixer, etc.).
Shape into a long baguette that fits diagonally into a 9 x 11 glass baking dish. With a sharp knife, make one long shallow cut across the length or three shorter diagonal cuts across the width.
Let bread rise for one hour.
Let the bread sit in the baking dish for about 10 minutes prior to transferring it to a cooling rack. Transfer very carefully!
If you use your hands to mix the dough, slather them with coconut oil prior to mixing. The dough is very sticky.
If you are using a baguette mold or pan that is not made out of glass, baking time may need to be adjusted.
Wondering where I found my brown sweet rice flour? I ground it myself from brown sweet rice. Sweet rice has a higher starch content then regular brown rice.
Everyone in my house LOVED this bread. This tasty, hearty bread was the perfect accompaniment to soup on a cold night. Archer, any update on the result of freezing the leftovers?
Oh, Kate, you are so kind! Thank you for testing out another one of my recipes! I froze it a long time ago, and I can't remember the result with full clarity. I think it may have been fine but slightly more fragile.


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Q: Given 2 pixels, how can I compute the real distance with ARCore? Given an image (frame) I would like to have a function that takes 2 pixels as an argument and then returns the real world distance between those pixels. Is this possible with ARCore? Note that the image is just a random frame of a series of frames, so that initializing measurement should work.
What could I look into for this?


At village Padriciano is visitable the Centro Raccolata Profughi (CRP), the place village in Italy. This area was planned like a suburban place for the Anglo-American army station in Free Territory of Trieste. Afterwards became the area of recovery and assistance of Istrians refugees which trespassed on our territory in '50. The centre was closed definitively in the early '70, but it is basic halting place during the »Journey of Memory«.
»Kleine Berlin« is the most extended net of underground galleries which goes back to the Second World War in Trieste. After 8. September 1943 Germans had created the Litorale Adriatico. Like the nerve- centre of the organization was choosed the area in which inside is located the Kleine Berlin, it arose like an anti-aircraft recovery which reached Palazzo di Giustizia. The Kleine Berlin is made by two sectors: a part made by Italian and asecond part made by Germans. Inside are conserved finds going back to that period, photos which testify the bombardment of Trieste.


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Home » Dioxins » Level 3 » Question 1
Dioxins
Level 3 Questions
Level 1: Summary
Level 2: Details
Level 3: Source
1. What are dioxins?
1.1 What are dioxins chemically?
1.2 How are dioxins formed?
1.3 What happens to dioxins when they enter the environment?
The source document for this Digest states:
CDDs are a family of 75 different compounds commonly referred to as polychlorinated dioxins. These compounds have varying harmful effects. The CDD family is divided into eight groups of chemicals based on the number of chlorine atoms in the compound. The group with one chlorine atom is called the mono-chlorinated dioxin(s). The groups with two through eight chlorine atoms are called di-chlorinated dioxin (DCDD), tri-chlorinated dioxin (TrCDD), tetra-chlorinated dioxin (TCDD), penta-chlorinated dioxin (PeCDD), hexa-chlorinated dioxin (HxCDD), hepta-chlorinated dioxin (HpCDD), and octa-chlorinated dioxin (OCDD). The chlorine atoms can be attached to the dioxin molecule at any one of eight positions. The name of each CDD indicates both the number and the positions of the chlorine atoms. For example, the CDD with four chlorine atoms at positions 2, 3, 7, and 8 on the dioxin molecule is called 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin or 2,3,7,8-TCDD. 2,3,7,8-TCDD is one of the most toxic of the CDDs to mammals and has received the most attention. Thus, 2,3,7,8-TCDD serves as a prototype for the CDDs. CDDs with toxic properties similar to 2,3,7,8-TCDD are called "dioxin-like" compounds.
In the pure form, CDDs are colorless solids or crystals. CDDs enter the environment as mixtures containing a variety of individual components and impurities. In the environment they tend to be associated with ash, soil, or any surface with a high organic content, such as plant leaves. In air and water, a portion of the CDDs may be found in the vapor or dissolved state, depending on the amount of particulate matter, temperature, and other environmental factors. 2,3,7,8-TCDD is odorless. The odors of the other CDDs are not known.
Source & ©: ATSDR "Public Health Statement for Chlorinated Dibenzo-p-dioxins (CDDs) ", section 1.1
CDDs are known to occur naturally, and are also produced by human activities. They are naturally produced from the incomplete combustion of organic material by forest fires or volcanic activity. CDDs are not intentionally manufactured by industry, except in small amounts for research purposes. They are unintentionally produced by industrial, municipal, and domestic incineration and combustion processes. Currently, it is believed that CDD emissions associated with human incineration and combustion activities are the predominant environmental source.
CDDs (mainly 2,3,7,8-TCDD) may be formed during the chlorine bleaching process used by pulp and paper mills. CDDs occur as a contaminant in the manufacturing process of certain chlorinated organic chemicals, such as chlorinated phenols. 2,3,7,8-TCDD is a by-product formed during the manufacture of 2,4,5-trichlorophenol (2,4,5-TCP). 2,4,5-TCP was used to produce hexachlorophene (used to kill bacteria) and the herbicide, 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T). Various formulations of 2,4,5-T have been used extensively for weed control on crops and range lands, and along roadways throughout the world. 2,4,5-T was a component of Agent Orange, which was used extensively by the U.S. military in the Vietnam War. In most industrialized countries the use of products contaminated with CDDs has been greatly reduced. Use of hexachlorophene and the herbicide 2,4,5-T is currently restricted in the United States. Other chlorinated chemicals, like pentachlorophenol (PCP), used to preserve wood, do contain some of the more highly chlorinated CDDs (those with more chlorine atoms), but 2,3,7,8-TCDD is not usually found. The use of PCP has been restricted to certain manufacturing applications. Currently, CDDs are primarily released to the environment during combustion of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) and wood, and during incineration processes (municipal and medical solid waste and hazardous waste incineration). While incineration may be the primary current source of release of CDDs into the environment, the levels of CDDs produced by incineration are extremely low. CDDs are associated with ash generated in combustion and incineration processes. Emissions from incinerator sources vary greatly and depend on management practices and applied technologies. CDDs also have been detected at low concentrations in cigarette smoke, home-heating systems, and exhaust from cars running on leaded gasoline or unleaded gasoline, and diesel fuel. Burning of many materials that may contain chlorine, such as plastics, wood treated with pentachlorophenol (PCP), pesticide-treated wastes, other polychlorinated chemicals (polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs), and even bleached paper can produce CDDs.
Although this public health statement will focus on CDDs, it is important to note that CDDs are found in the environment together with other structurally related chlorinated chemicals, such as chlorinated dibenzofurans (CDFs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Therefore, people are generally exposed to mixtures of CDDs and other classes of toxicologically and structurally similar compounds. 2,3,7,8-TCDD is one of the most toxic and extensively studied of the CDDs and serves as a prototype for the toxicologically relevant or "dioxin-like" CDDs. Based on results from animal studies, scientists have learned that they can express the toxicity of dioxin-like CDDs as a fraction of the toxicity attributed to 2,3,7,8-TCDD. For example, the toxicity of dioxin-like CDDs can be half or one tenth or any fraction of that of 2,3,7,8-TCDD. Scientists call that fraction a Toxic Equivalent Factor (TEF).
CDDs are released into the air in emissions from municipal solid waste and industrial incinerators. Exhaust from vehicles powered with leaded and unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel also release CDDs to the air. Other sources of CDDs in air include: emissions from oil- or coal-fired power plants, burning of chlorinated compounds such as PCBs, and cigarette smoke. CDDs formed during combustion processes are associated with small particles in the air, such as ash. The larger particles will be deposited close to the emission source, while very small particles may be transported longer distances. Some of the lower chlorinated CDDs (DCDD, TrCDD, and some of the TCDDs) may vaporize from the particles (and soil or water surfaces) and be transported long distances in the atmosphere, even around the globe. It has been estimated that 20 to 60% of 2,3,7,8-TCDD in the air is in the vapor phase. Sunlight and atmospheric chemicals will break down a very small portion of the CDDs, but most CDDs will be deposited on land or water.
CDDs occur as a contaminant in the manufacture of various chlorinated pesticides and herbicides, and releases to the environment have occurred during the use of these chemicals. Because CDDs remain in the environment for a long time, contamination from past pesticide and herbicide use may still be of concern. In addition, improper storage or disposal of these pesticides and waste generated during their production can lead to CDD contamination of soil and water.
CDDs are released in waste waters from pulp and paper mills that use chlorine or chlorine-containing chemicals in the bleaching process. Some of the CDDs deposited on or near the water surface will be broken down by sunlight. A very small portion of the total CDDs in water will evaporate to air. Because CDDs do not dissolve easily in water, most of the CDDs in water will attach strongly to small particles of soil or organic matter and eventually settle to the bottom. CDDs may also attach to microscopic plants and animals (plankton) which are eaten by larger animals, that are in turn eaten by even larger animals. This is called a food chain. Concentrations of chemicals such as the most toxic, 2,3,7,8-chlorine substituted CDDs, which are difficult for the animals to break down, usually increase at each step in the food chain. This process, called biomagnification, is the reason why undetectable levels of CDDs in water can result in measurable concentrations in aquatic animals. The food chain is the main route by which CDD concentrations build up in larger fish, although some fish may accumulate CDDs by eating particles containing CDDs directly off the bottom.
CDDs deposited on land from combustion sources or from herbicide or pesticide applications bind strongly to the soil, and therefore are not likely to contaminate groundwater by moving deeper into the soil. However, the presence of other chemical pollutants in contaminated soils, such as those found at hazardous waste sites or associated with chemical spills (for example, oil spills), may dissolve CDDs, making it easier for CDDs to move through the soil. The movement of chemical waste containing CDDs through soil has resulted in contamination of groundwater. Soil erosion and surface runoff can also transport CDDs into surface waters. A very small amount of CDDs at the soil surface will evaporate into air. Certain types of soil bacteria and fungus can break CDDs down, but the process is very slow. In fact, CDDs can exist in soil for many years. Plants take up only very small amounts of CDDs by their roots. Most of the CDDs found on the parts of plants above the ground probably come from air and dust and/or previous use of CDD-containing pesticides or herbicides. Animals (such as cattle) feeding on the plants may accumulate CDDs in their body tissues (meat) and milk.
2. How are humans exposed to dioxins?
3. What are the effects of dioxins in laboratory animals?
4. What are the effects of dioxins on human health?
5. How can dioxin exposure be linked to health effects?
6. Evaluation and conclusions
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Buhari approves extra N4,500 for N-Power beneficiaries
March 14, 2017 | Azeez
Azeez
President Muhamamdu Buhari has approved an additional N4500/monthly to all the 200,000 N-Power beneficiaries to purchase a computer tablet or i-Pad which would be loaded with different applications that would further enhance their skills.
The payment for the device would be stretched for 20 months, with the subsidy by government covering the repayment in some months.
According the Mr. Laolu Akande, the SSA media in the Vice President's office, each N-Power graduate, after being verified would select his choice of device amongst nine different BOI pre-approved vendors.
Akande made known this new dimension of the N-Power programme while giving an update on Tuesday.
Repayment ranges between N3,000 to N6,700 monthly.
"Therefore in some cases the N4500 device grant would cover the full monthly deduction cost while in other cases the graduate authorises BOI to deduct the additional differential cost from their monthly stipends depending on the device chosen", said Akande..
The Vice President's spokesman also noted that 6 of the 9 BOI pre-approved vendors are indigenous local brands in pursuit of the Buhari administration's push for Local Content.
He said almost 100,000 graduate N-Power beneficiaries have completed their orders for the devices, adding that the Bank of Industry is in charge of effecting the orders made.
"The plan is to conduct the order of the devices in two batches of 100,000 each, one after the other", Akande added.
According to Akande, at the last count 149, 669 Nigerian graduates of the 200,000 engaged by the Federal Government under the N-Power Volunteer Corps are now collecting their monthly stipends of N30,000 monthly having been physically verified and deployed across the 36 states and FCT.
He said the beneficiaries on government pay roll have been physically verified and deployed, while their bank accounts have also been matched with the Bank Verification Number.
The SSA said that, in December, about 112,475 of the N-Power graduate beneficiaries received the N30,000 monthly stipends, and the number came close to 150,000, both in January and February meaning about that number are now receiving their up-to-date stipends from the N-Power Volunteer Corps.
Tags: approval, N-power beneficiaries, N4500, President Muhammadu Buhari
Golwa Nenmane Stephen
Doing that will bust the economic of the country.
March 15, 2017 - 5:01 am Reply


If you've read my review of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, you'll know I've identified the one major problem with the series as a whole: Bella Swan. It's not just that Kristen Stewart is a terrible actress, but that Bella is the dullest, dumbest, and least compelling character to lead her own franchise since Luke Skywalker, and even he had Han and Leia to balance things out. Putting Bella at the center of the Twilight series essentially dooms it, meaning that no matter how interesting things may get on the sidelines, we're still stuck with this silly girl and her romantic issues.
Well, I think we can fix that. After all, pop culture is filled with female heroines who have far more to offer, whether they're tough-as-nails warrior women with no patience for vampires and werewolves or equally shallow and obsessive girls who are at least willing to talk about their feelings rather than stare glumly into space. Below are ten of our suggestions of female characters who might make the Twilight movies-- and especially Eclipse and its battle scenes-- more interesting, and whether or not they'd be better off in these movies or their own. Check out our choices below, pick out your favorites, or feel free to suggest your own in the comments.
Pros: Wouldn't put up with Edward or Jacob telling her what to do; would be useful in any kind of fight; would probably know better than to get tangled in this nonsense to begin with.
Cons: Instead of learning about other cultures and respecting werewolf and vampire treaties, she'd taser everyone and bolt.
Final verdict: It'd be nice to get someone so logical involved with the Cullens and the Wolfpack, but Lisbeth is so logical and secretive she'd know to stay far away.
The Harry Potter series Pros: Would instantly become an expert on ancient vampire lore and know how to solve all dilemmas; even though she wasn't born a vampire or a werewolf, she'd be eager to adopt both cultures; knows from putting up with boys who just don't get it.
Cons: Rather than helping out in battle, she'd be in the library until the last minute looking up solutions; so far as we know, an O.W.L. in potions doesn't cover stopping red-eyed vampires.
Final verdict: Hermione has everything Bella Swan lacks, from a sense of herself to damn common sense. Leave Ron with the kids and come to Forks, please.
Pros: Knows how to rule even the most unwieldy and rebellious groups; is totally used to having more than one guy pining over her and couldn't care less; doesn't get the whole supernatural being thing, but thinks sparkly skin would be totally cool.
Cons: Wouldn't dare get her pink shirt dirty during a battle in case she couldn't wear it on Wednesday; worries that becoming a vampire would get in the way of losing 3 pounds before prom.
Final verdict: Her manipulation skills are unmatched, but even Bella has slightly more brawn to offer.
Pros: Wouldn't hesitate to cut down every single one of the newborn vampires; is so devoted to Big Daddy that neither Jacob or Edward could possibly catch her eye; could cut down a few inflated vampire egos with a well-deployed swear word.
Cons: She's a little too young to handle all the romance thrown her way; throwing stars and bullets are usually as effective against vampires as they are against New York City gangsters.
Final verdict: While she might be an inappropriate love interest for the male leads, that's probably a good thing; Hit Girl wouldn't just inspire Jacob and Edward to focus on the important threats to their lives, but would join in the good fight.
Pros: Is FBI trained to deal with sociopathic creeps, which makes her perfect to handle Jacob; she's cool and analytical like the vampires, which would solve that whole love triangle thing once and for all.
Cons: Don't you think she's just a little too smart for all this?
Final verdict: Her skills and common sense would definitely come in handy when debating with the Volturi, but I can't help but want something better for dear Clarice.
Pros: Recognizes the need to pick a man but isn't so desperate to choose one that she'll opt for the undead; has grown up with four sisters, so she'll totally understand the female-dominated Twilight fanbase; understands that in time of crisis, there are still rules that must be followed.
Cons: She's pretty bullheaded, just like the Bella we've already got; do we really want to ruin what she's worked so hard to create with Mr. Darcy?
Final verdict: Lizzie may be better off in her own world, but she could at least teach Bella a thing or two about how to deal with troublesome men.
Pros: She's a survivor, and can survive this too; her experience tells her to shoot foreign creatures first and ask questions later, which is definitely the right approach for those vicious newborns.
Cons: Neither Edward or Jacob could possibly be man enough for this warrior woman.
Final verdict: If she brings the Power Loader with her into the big battle at the end, it's worth her having to put up with the werewolf and the vampire.
Pros: Has a well-documented taste for younger men; has such a desire to live life to the fullest that she might actually be able to take advantage of the immortal life of a vampire.
Cons: Has no patience for young men moping, which counts out both Jacob and Edward; has seen so much of the world that a fight between supernatural creatures would seem pretty mundane.
Final verdict: If she can have the same effect on the two dopey romantic leads of Eclipse that she did on Harold, she'd be quite welcome here.
Pros: Has a perfect sense of fashion that Bella and her flannels could never match; totally understands what it is to be an outsider, and probably thinks she's supernatural anyway; as she says herself, "Blood does more than turn me on, Mr. Vader. It makes me come. And more than the sight of it, I love the taste of it. The taste of hot, freshly killed blood..." Sounds like a vampire to me!
Cons: Werewolves and vampires may think they're weird, but they're probably not that weird.
Final verdict: For those of us who think the Twilight series is too dull for its own good, Divine would be a much-needed shot in the arm, even if she wound up destroying the series entirely.
Pros: Would actually talk out her feelings for Jacob and Edward rather than staring glumly into space; experienced as a single girl, she'd understand that there might be other options other than becoming one of the undead for Edward's sake.
Cons: Might not be any less annoying than Bella; 4-inch heels aren't all that practical in the Pacific Northwest wilderness.
Final verdict: She may be no better a female icon than Bella, but when it comes down to it, Carrie is the lesser evil.


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Peter Munk leaving Barrick Gold
Under pressure from shareholders unhappy with sinking share price, Peter Munk signals he is severing ties with his beloved Barrick Gold Corp.
By Lisa WrightBusiness Reporter
Fri., Nov. 8, 2013timer3 min. read
Mining industry legend Peter Munk gave investors a memorable gift on his 86th birthday Friday — he is finally parting ways with Barrick Gold Corp., the gold-mining giant he founded 30 years ago.
Under mounting pressure from disgruntled shareholders, the troubled Toronto company said in a new corporate filing that succession plans are in the works for the iconic board chairman and several unnamed directors as early as next spring.
Board co-chairman John Thornton, a 58-year-old former president of Goldman Sachs who joined Barrick in 2012, is expected to succeed him, having spent the last year as Munk's sidekick and being groomed for the position in preparation for an eventual retirement.
Ironically it was Thornton's controversial $11.9 million signing bonus — part of a jaw dropping $17 million pay package — that caused the uproar last spring among institutional investors and prompted the shakeup observers say was long overdue.
"It's a nicely timed birthday for Peter," said longtime industry analyst Barry Allan of Mackie Research Capital in Toronto.
More business coverage on Thestar.com
Observers say it was no coincidence that Munk's birthday was on the same day his retirement was confirmed in a filing with U.S. securities regulators Friday as part of a $3-billion share offering to tackle the Toronto miner's debt woes.
"He's going out with a bang," said John Ing, president of Maison Placements in Toronto.
"Peter's got a legacy here. It's a special day — and it was very much planned," said Ing.
Barrick said last month it would strengthen its governance practices and add new independent directors to its board after coming under fire for large corporate pay packages and suggestions the board was too tightly controlled by its founder.
Munk had already indicated in the company's 2012 annual report that he was looking to retire at some point, but the report provided investors with confirmation and a timeline of the board's next annual meeting in 2014.
"The board is addressing the issues that have been raised with our directors, which include modification of the company's executive compensation arrangements, the rejuvenation of the board through a combination of departures from the board, the addition of independent directors and succession in the chairman role at the company, consistent with Mr. Munk's desire to retire as chairman of the board of directors, as previously indicated," Barrick said in the filing.
"The company's intention is to update the market before year-end on these initiatives, with governance changes expected to take effect in conjunction with Barrick's next annual meeting", which is usually held in April.
The company currently has seven independent directors on its 13-member board.
"At his age it's only logical that he would want to retire, but it's unfortunate it had to come to this noise level when it finally happened," Allan said.
The company Munk formed in 1983 that for many years was known as American Barrick Resources (it still trades under the ticker symbol ABX) has endured a lot of highs and lows in the cyclical world of bullion mining – unfortunately more lows lately as its share price tumbled 45 per cent in the last year amid a falling gold price.
The company mothballed its problem-plagued Pascua-Lama gold-silver project two weeks ago after costs ballooned to $8 billion on the development that had been mired in environmental and legal red tape for several years.
At the same time, chief executive Jamie Sokalsky also launched one of the Canada's largest share offerings to raise $3 billion U.S. that will be used to repay debt.
It's uncertain whether recent changes and Munk's impending departure will revive the share price of the world's largest gold miner, "but it can't hurt," noted Allan. Shares were relatively flat Friday.
"He built an iconic company. And Peter was adamant about keeping it in Toronto" despite massive industry consolidation that has seen Canadian companies gobbled up by international mining interests, said Ing.
Sokalsky declined comment Friday.


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Finish your cruise at the Huagang Park Wharf. Move on to Huagang Park ( Fish Viewing at the Flower Pond Park ). The Huagang Park was a private garden of an official in the Southern Song Dynasty about 800 years ago which is famous for red carp.
Then go for lunch ,you will have local food in a local restaurant called chugongfang ,located near the Imperial Street.
After dinner ,watch Impression West Lake Show .
Then go for lunch, you will have local dishes like the famous beggar's chicken—stuffed chicken wrapped in lotus leaves and cooked in clay (jiàohuà jī, 叫化鸡).
Longjing (Dragon Well) Tea as well drinking, picking, smelling or buying. Hangzhou is famous for its Longjing Tea, one of the best green teas in China.
Price :we charge it by Per group,Not per person.
· Entrance Fees: To scenic spots as listed in the itinerary.
The three most famous performances in Hangzhou are the Impression West Lake Show, The Romance of Song Dynasty and Night of West Lake. They respectively display the charming aspects of West Lake and Hangzhou.
Impression West Lake is one of China's top live-action performances strongly featuring the local culture and unique charm of Hangzhou's West Lake. It is famous nationwide for its dreamlike and fantastic elegance. Visitors in Hangzhou are unexceptionally eager to watch this life-sized performance, because it is a mingled and charming show of Hangzhou culture and history. Impression West Lake is one of the cultural representations created by Zhang Yimou who is China's most famous movie director and the general director of the opening ceremony of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Wang Chaoge and Fan Yue. Impression West Lake is the third performance in the series (the first and the second live-action performance made by them are Impression Liu Sanjie and Impression Lijiang River) and was shown initially in 2007.
In Hangzhou there are four must see destinations: West Lake, Tea Plantation, Temple Complex and Song Dynasty Town to see The Romance of the Song Dynasty. West Lake is a famous domestic tourist destination for its natural and historic heritage. The Tea Plantation is the best place in Hangzhou to enjoy the beauty of nature and leisure of idyllic life. The Temple Complex is a hot attraction for visitors to experience the culture of Buddhism as well as the tradition and history of Hangzhou. While The Romance of the Song Dynasty is an easy and convenient way for visitors to understand the all-encompassing charm of the tangible and intangible heritage comprised of legend, myth, love stories, tradition, history and classical lifestyles. The visitors who see this life-like performance are much impressed. To see The Romance of the Song Dynasty is an important part of a Hangzhou tour.
The Romance of the Song Dynasty boasts as being one of the three best shows around the world. The Romance of the Song Dynasty is an indoor, panorama style, large-scale performance. It is based on Hangzhou history and mythology and is intermixed with singing, dancing and acrobatics. The performance will give you a pleasant and impressive feeling and can be compared in beauty with the "Moulin Rouge" in Paris and "O Show"in Las Vegas. It is a must for tourists coming to Hangzhou.
Note: Usually there are at least 2 or 3 shows every day. Show time schedules are to be updated according to booking volume only three days before the show day. Please let us know your preferred show time from the frequent show time schedule when you book your ticket.
Note: Usually there are at least 2 or 3 shows every day. Show time schedule are to be updated according to booking volume only three days before show day. Please let us know your preferred show time chosen from the frequent show time schedule when you book the ticket.
Performance named Night of West Lake is another famous indoor night show in Hangzhou. It is as equally famous as Impression West Lake and The Romance of the Song Dynasty. The performance showcases the culture of the region and lasts around one hour. Songs, dances, opera, acrobatics and stunts are integrated in this performance to present the ancient civilization and customs of Hangzhou. There are five scenes as described below.
The first scene - Soldiers Training Performance by Wuyue Ruler. This scene is a recreation of solders training in the Wuyue State over one thousand years ago. The drum and horn are the two main instruments used in this scene. In ancient China the drum and horn were used in the army to call the solders to action, similar to the bugle used today. In this scene the soldiers rush to the stage and stand in line, then Qianwang, ruler of the Wuyue State, appears on stage and direct the training performance. Dating back a thousand years, this scene is deeply rooted in the Wuyue culture. Hangzhou came to prominence in the Wuyue State Period when it served as the capital of the kingdom. Since then the city has gradually become one of the nation's most important economic, cultural and political centers.
The second scene - The Prosperity of Southern Song Dynasty. Hangzhou reached its political and economic pinnacle in the Southern Song Dynasty. Marco Polo is believed to have visited China during this time. He was amazed to see cities with over a million people, bustling commerce, and busy river and canal traffic. This scene recreates Southern Song prosperity. There are bustling Song-style streets, filled with businessmen from around the country, shops, stores and restaurants. Southern Song songs and dances are also performed in this scene.
The third scene - The Romance of Liangzhu. This performance is based on the tragedy of Liangzhu, a well-known story in China. The performers tell the story using body language, dancing, and acrobatics. Combined with excellent singing they present the story quite effectively, bringing tears to many eyes. The legendary West Lake is where many romance stories and legends allegedly took place. The "Romance of Liangzhu", "Legend of the White Snake", "Love Story of Suxiaoxiao" and "Yuanyu" all have their backgrounds here.
The fifth scene - Get Together at the West Lake. This scene includes drumming, dances, modern shows and cartoon performances. Regardless of whom you are or where you are from, come to West Lake and enjoy its many breath-taking sceneries.
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