text:
Zoroastrians Support Oocyte and Embryo Donation Program for Infertile Couples
Iman Halvaei
- Research and Clinical Center for Infertility, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
Mohammad Ali Khalili
Saeed Ghasemi-Esmailabad
Ali Nabi
Farimah Shamsi
- College of Health, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
Background: The main goal was to evaluate the attitudes and knowledge of Zoroastrians living in Iran towards oocyte donation (OD) and embryo donation (ED) program. Methods: This cross sectional study consisted of 318 Zoroastrians (n=175 for OD and n=143 for ED) of both sexes. The questionnaire form comprised two parts of general demographic characteristics of the participants and twenty multiple-choice questions about attitude and knowledge of participants towards OD and ED. For statistical analysis, the chi-square test was applied for comparison of data generated from ED and OD groups. Results: Majority of the participants supported OD (69.7%) and ED (71.3%) for infertile patients. In addition, 40% and 42% preferred donation program (OD and ED, respectively), compared to adoption. About 60% of the respondents believed that the donors have no right to find the child and claim it as their own. In addition, more than half of the respondents thought that the recipients of oocyte/embryo should never know the name and address of the donors. More than half of the participants did not know whether their religion accepts donation program or not. Approximately, 80% of respondents supported psychological counseling for both donors and recipients. Moreover, about 56% of the participants necessitated the advertisement on OD/ED program in the mass media. Conclusion: Our preliminary data showed that Zoroastrians supported both OD and ED program equally for infertile couples.
Keywords: Embryo donation, Iran, Oocyte donation, Zoroastrians
Halvaei I, Khalili MA, Ghasemi-Esmailabad S, Nabi A, Shamsi F. Zoroastrians Support Oocyte and Embryo Donation Program for Infertile Couples. J Reprod Infertil. 2014;15(4):222-228.
Oocyte donation (OD) and embryo donation (ED) program started few years after introduction of in vitro fertilization (IVF) (1, 2). Women with premature ovarian failure, low quality eggs/embryos, reduced ovarian reserve, advanced age, hypergonadotropic hypogonadism, multiple failed IVFs as well as carriers of genetic defects and cases in post-menopausal stage are the main candidates for OD (3, 4). The right candidates for ED are also women with no/or poor quality oocytes, premature ovarian failure, gonadal dysgenesis or ovarian failure due to chemo /radiotherapy, recurrent IVF failure, genetic diseases and women whose partners have severe male infertility (5).
From ethical perspective, OD is more acceptable because the ethical aspect is less arguable in comparison to ED (6). On the other hand, ED has had better outcome compared to OD from clinical viewpoint (5). Many factors may lead to postponement of childbearing (7). It is estimated that the demand for donation program would be increased in the future. As regards the case, cryopreservation of spare embryos has been routinely used in assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) and a large number of these embryos may never be used for infertile couples who have attained their desired children or who give up attempts in infertility treatment. These spare embryos are also potential sources for ED though the ethical problem of ED needs to be more elucidated (5). One of the most important issues on use of third party reproduction in ART would be attitudes and acceptance of both infertile couples and the society. Society's attitude could be important to modify the laws and each society may consist of different religions (8). Different religions may have different opinions regarding donation program (9), but the attitudes of general public in different societies and different religions towards this issue is still the matter of debate. There are several studies regarding the attitudes of Muslim people and Christians on the subject of OD and ED (10-12). But, some minorities may live in the society and the public should be respectful to their opinions and legislators should consider their points of view as well.
Zoroastrianism also called Mazdaism is the first monotheistic religion which was introduced more than 3,500 years ago by Prophet Zoroaster. Zoroastrianism is the oldest religion in ancient Persia (Iran) and was the main and official religion of Iranian people before Islam (13). Zoroastrians reside in parts of ancient Persia like Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Southern Russia. They also migrated to other parts of the world such as USA and UK. It is estimated that about 200,000 Zoroastrians are living in the world. Zoroastrians are mainly settled in central regions of Iran, like Yazd and Kerman cities, with estimated frequency of 20,000 (14). Zoroastrians do not accept inter-religious marriages, also children of mixed marriages. In other words, Zoroastrianism encourages its followers to marry person with similar faith, although it is not an obligation. Also, they do not tend to have large number of children and average Zoroastrian couples have only one child (14). Marriage is recommended and admired in Zoroastrianism, whereas being unmarried, divorced and polygamy are big faults. Persuasion of adult men and women in marriage has been a part of custom in Iranian culture, especially in Zoroastrianism. Review of ancient literature shows that Zoroastrianism is the first purely ethical religion in the world.
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report regarding Zoroastrians attitudes towards OD and ED program. This cross sectional questionnaire-based study was designed to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of Zoroastrians, the special ethnic group with long history, on different aspects of donation program in Iran.
This cross sectional questionnaire-based study was done in 2012 in cities of Yazd and Kerman which contained the most Zoroastrians in Iran. The study population consisted of 318 adults (n=175 for OD, n=143 for ED) of both sexes which were willing to participate in this survey. The questionnaire form comprised two parts. Part one was about general demographic characteristics of the participants. Part two contained twenty multiple-choice questions about attitudes of participants towards donation which were based on and adjusted to previous works (11, 15). The data were compiled by PhD student in Reproductive Biology who worked as IVF practitioner at the authors' center. The participants were completely informed about the questionnaire prior to answering. This study was approved by our institute review board (Ref. 151). For statistical analysis, the chi-square test was applied for comparison of data generated from ED and OD groups.
Demographic information: 57.1% (n=100) and 54.5% (n=78) of the participants were female in OD and ED groups, respectively. About 65% of the participants were married, and 42.3% and 49% had children in OD and ED groups, respectively. Regarding educational level, around 60% of the participants were at graduate level of education. Also, most of participants were young and in reproductive age (Table 1).
Knowledge and attitudes towards oocyte and embryo donation: Of all, 79.5% and 85.5% (in OD and ED groups, respectively) believed that infertility is not a woman's problem. About half of the subjects were aware of OD and ED programs and there was no significant difference for level of knowledge and awareness between OD and ED respondents (Table 2). Majority of the participants supported OD (69.7%) and ED (71.3%) for infertile patients. Only a limited numbers of subjects (22.2% and 15.4% in OD and ED, respectively) knew friends or relatives who participated in donation program. 40% and 42% preferred OD and ED, respectively, compared to adoption. There was insignificant difference in the response between the OD and ED groups regarding this question. Approximately, 45% of the respondents believed that remaining childless can affect their relationship with their spouses. Nearly, half of the respondents preferred to have children resembling themselves. 65.1% and 55.9% of participants (in OD and ED group, respectively) thought that environmental situation is more important than the genetic role in what an individual is. In addition, the vast majority of the respondents agreed that couples can love and care for an OD/ED child as much as a biological child. Lastly, almost 80% of participants believed that there were not any specific services for women who are seeking donation programs.
Religious issue on donation program: More than half of the participants did not know whether their religion accepts OD and ED program or not. Approximately, one-third thought that OD and ED are permissible by their religion.
Disclosure to the child: More than 80% of the subjects believed that information regarding infertility treatment with OD and ED should be kept between the couples and their doctors only. About 70% reported that the child born from OD/ED should not be informed.
Objections towards OD and ED: Most of the participants supported OD and ED (69.7% and 71.3%, respectively) as appropriate ways for infertility treatment. Also, about 40% of them thought that adoption is not superior to OD and ED.
Right of oocyte/embryo donor: About 60% of the respondents believed that the donors have no right to find the child and claim it as their own. In addition, more than half of the respondents thought that the recipients of oocyte/embryo should never know the name and address of the donors.
Knowledge and attitudes towards oocyte and embryo donation: Certainly, one of the important factors which determine social attitude and acceptance of OD/ED program among people is the religious perspective. Some issues have been remained controversial in donation practice including whether oocyte donors/embryo recipient should be known or anonymous, age limit for recipients and secrecy or disclosure towards the resulting child (11, 16). There are three published studies investigating attitudes of different religions towards OD and ED in Iran (11, 12). In this survey, about half of the respondents were familiar with OD. This finding was similar to previous studies on Christians (46%) and Muslims (48%) (11). However, Isikoglu et al. (2006) reported that <30 % of muslim population in turkey had some knowledge about od (10). certainly, the level of knowledge can be correlated with the level of education and about 60% of our respondents had graduate degrees. the data generated from this study showed that zoroastrians strongly supported od and ed as alternative methods for infertility treatment. our data showed that 69.7% of the respondents supported od. this proportion was in line with that of christians (74%) and muslims (59%) (11). moreover, it should be kept in mind that awareness of society is expected to have increased recently about the details of third party reproduction via mass media. as shown in previous works (10-12, 15), people who are living in family-based cultures, with different religious backgrounds, support donation program. in such countries, family preservation is the first priority of couples and infertility can impact spousal relationship or even may lead to divorce (17, 18). from zoroastrian view point, each zoroastrian who reached puberty should marry and make family with love, kindness and affection (19). majority of the participants believed that remaining childless can affect spousal relationship. so, 43.5% and 42.6% of them would enroll in od and ed programs, respectively, if they had to do so.
The people who are living in different countries with different legislations on donation program may have the same opinion regarding this issue. For example, third party reproduction has been prohibited in Turkey, also reproductive travel has been banned recently (20), while it is legal in Iran. It is stated that the government in ancient Persia financially supported the people who decided to marry and have children. With this background, it would be rational to expect that the rate of OD and ED acceptance by the Zoroastrians be high. Also, infertility in such groups may lead to sharper decrease in population. So, high level of acceptance of third party reproduction treatment would be acceptable in such minority groups.
Legislation and religious issue on donation program: Among Islamic countries, only Iran has legislation on ED since 2003 (21). The laws are approved according to Islam in Iran and the people with different religions can act based on their religions, if they are not against the laws (22). In general, legislation can be affected by culture and customs along with religious perspectives. In this study, an attempt was made to find the Zoroastrians attitude on ED, while they know that ED is not prohibited in Iran. The respondents had positive attitudes towards ED as well, which was in line with Ghasemi et al.'s data (12). ED, as an effective and cost-efficient infertility treatment, could be one option to resolve the problem (16, 23). Although there is no genetic link between the child and both parents in ED program, the recipient carries the embryo until delivery and she is considered as the biological mother. However, the positive attitude towards OD is more acceptable because of genetic contribution of her husband. Nevertheless, Iran, as a Muslim country, has no legislation on OD and ED for partners and homosexuals and the public from such countries support the OD and ED as alternative methods for married infertile couples only. There are no other reports regarding society attitudes towards donation program from other Islamic countries. It has been stated that religion can affect OD and ED in different societies (24). Religion is defined as beliefs and opinions which are originated from the history of society that also can be a heritage. Because of different cultural backgrounds, the perspectives from different religions would be different. In Jewish perspectives, OD would be allowed if the donor is not married. From Christian's point of view, OD and ED are not allowed by Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox or Protestant (24). There are some controversies regarding donation program in Islamic countries like Iran and Turkey. Donation is permissible in Shia branch of Islam in countries like Iran, and is prohibited in Sunni branch in countries like Turkey.
About half of the respondents did not know their religion perspectives regarding OD and ED. Regarding OD, the percentage is a little higher than Muslims and lower than Christians (11). Also Khalili et al. (2008) found that only less than 20% of IVF staff did not know their religion viewpoints on OD (15). The IVF staff are involved in donation program and it is expected to know the legislation and religious viewpoints, whereas the general public may feel that they do not need to know these perspectives. Usually people will find the religious guidelines when they face the problem. People who are seeking donation program try to find the permission of their religions in this issue. Ghasemi et al. (2007) reported over 39% of the infertile couples aged >30 years do not know whether their religion permit ED or not (12). These high proportions may be related to religious scholars who may not have enough information regarding third party reproduction. Also, this may indicate that public attitudes towards OD and ED are mainly based on culture and customs, not on the religious knowledge. People may have different religious backgrounds within a country, but they have the common opinions. Moreover, more than half of the respondents supported advertisement on OD/ED program in the mass media. Definitely, dialogue and advertisement on above issue in the mass media can improve knowledge of general public in different aspects of third party reproduction like OD and ED.
Disclosure to the child: One of the main concerns for the recipients in third party reproduction is that the donors may have emotional dependency to the donated oocyte or embryo. Our results showed that majority thought that the baby does not belong to the donor, and the donor has no right to claim the child which is in line with the findings of others (10-12, 15). Another important issue for legislator and society is the right of child born from OD and ED to know its origin. The majority believed that it should never be disclosed to the offspring that he/she is born as the result of OD or ED. Zoroastrians make decision based on wisdom. Indeed, they believe that individuals can consult experts or clergies and only each person can decide based on her/his wisdom. Attitudes towards disclosure have been the matter of debate worldwide. In countries like Argentina and Sweden, there are positive attitudes towards disclosure to the child (25, 26). Also in UK, the respondents supported further relationship between oocyte donor and the child's family (27). Most of our respondents thought that the recipients should not know the name and address of the donors, and they supported anonymous donation. As previous works showed, in countries like Iran and Turkey, the public opinion is in favor of non-disclosure (10-12, 15). Perhaps one of the most important concerns for infertile couples would be the fear of being rejected by the child, if he/she finds out the truth. In addition, the vast majority of respondents agreed that OD and ED should be kept as a secret between the couples and their doctors. Also, more than half of the participants believed that they should not tell their relatives if they had OD and ED, because another concern for infertile couples would be the acceptance of the child by friends and relatives. So, it seems they fear that if others know the truth, they may not accept the offspring born as the result of donation program as their own biological child.
Counseling for donors and recipients: Routinely, most ART clinics offer counseling for infertile couples. In some countries like UK, the clinics should offer additional counseling for those using donation programs (28). Psychological consultation is strongly recommended for oocyte/embryo donors and recipients before finding the donor motivation, likelihood of success rate, drawing any plan for further contacts, finding probability of disclosure and helping the patients to make better decision (4, 5). Most of our respondents supported psychological counseling for both donors and recipients. Since, counseling is unavailable as a routine practice in the community, it is encouraged to have counseling for donors and recipients.
Age limit for donation program: Age limit for oocyte and embryo recipients is another matter of debate. From clinical point of view, one concern may be obstetric complications which are related to advanced age of recipients. But, it seems this group of patients is more prone to be excluded because of ethical instead of medical reasons (29). Most of our respondents believed that there is no age limit for oocyte/embryo recipients, in contrast to previous works (11, 12). According to our data, it is not fair to prevent the woman from having children, only because of her age, although it should be kept in mind that this group should undergo a comprehensive medical and psychological evaluations (30).
One of the shortcomings of this study would be lack of data from all the Zoroastrians living around the world. They live in different countries that the OD or ED may be allowed or prohibited. It would be worthwhile to find whether their attitudes have changed according to environment and mass media or not. Also, it is necessary to design qualitative questionnaire studies in order to draw final conclusion regarding third party reproduction.
Zoroastrians living in Iran supported both OD and ED programs equally for infertile couples as the last treatment. However, moral and ethical issues regarding third party reproduction as well as acceptance of these options by both society and patients should be addressed fully. Probably dialogue on donation program in the mass media can improve knowledge of general public with different religious backgrounds on different aspects of third party reproduction.
We appreciate all of our respondents for kind participation in this study.
The authors report no conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.
Table 1. The demographic characteristics of Zoroasterian participants Values are shown as number (percentage)
Table 2. List of questions on participants background, knowledge and attitudes regarding oocyte and embryo donation Values are shown as percentage NS: not significant
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The United Socialist States of Die Erworbenen Namen is a gargantuan, cultured nation, ruled by Emperor Maximus with an iron fist, and renowned for its pith helmet sales, frequent executions, and smutty television. The compassionate, cynical population of 11.279 billion Namenians are proud of their wide-ranging civil freedoms, and those who aren't tend to be dragged off the streets by men in dark suits and hustled into cars with tinted windows.
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The opening image of Miguel Bonnefoy's Black Sugar — a pirate ship marooned in the canopy of a rainforest — invites the suspension of disbelief necessary to fully appreciating the rest of the book.
Black Sugar is best described as an exemplar of magical realism told so confidently that it could almost be true. With his second novel, Bonnefoy has mythologized the creation of Captain Morgan rum, spinning a tall tale that also encompasses three generations of a family's history, and the industrialization of Venezuela. While those are broad demands, Bonnefoy keeps the narrative tightly focused on his characters, and the novel neither rushes nor drags.
The first mate lit a candle, illuminating the captain's face with its French-style moustache, long hair caked with grease and hemp, and eyes bloodshot from forty years of piracy. The flame reddened his teeth and tinged his skin yellow. Mauve shadows gnawed away at his cheekbones.
Bonnefoy underscores his mythmaking by centering the narrative on two archetypal characters. Severo Bracamonte is a classic adventurer, driven by greed. He comes to Venezuela seeking the treasure that was aboard Henry Morgan's tree-bound pirate ship. Upon his arrival, he stays with the Otero family, including daughter Serena, a longing young woman looking for passion.
But Bonnefoy challenges the most obvious route for these characters. Severo is not successful in his endeavors, and Serena never morphs into a docile, young bride. Though they settle into what Bonnefoy calls a "state of surrender," Serena in particular retains a deep dissatisfaction with her life. She is bright, well-read and curious about the world — though her character development is hampered a bit by the tell-don't-show momentum of the book. Still, she is a confident and capable character who still retains a sense of traditional femininity. Her arc is both realistic and refreshing.
Severo and Serena are also used to represent industrialization and Venezuela, respectively. The former marches into the quiet village in the first portion of the book, bringing with him tools to tear up the countryside in search of treasure. He says, "People bury treasure in land that will never change." It's foreshadowing, for the fact of his presence is already evidence of change, and a catalyst for more.
She took a few steps forward to touch the bark before turning to stand between Severo and the trunk, as if protecting a child.
From the very beginning, the central concern of this novel is finding this lost treasure. The reveal of where it lies is too good to spoil, but it makes the reader flip back through the book to look for the clues Bonnefoy hides throughout. Greed begets greed, and the treasure is used as fuel for further industrialization and war profiteering, but is also poured into a rum-making business, resulting in the legend of the rum named for Captain Morgan.
Bonnefoy quickly and harshly punishes the avarice of his characters. First, Morgan dies a wretch among mutineers and a crumbling ship. Then Severo, Morgan's spiritual descendant, dies a similar extended death as the old pirate: their bodies corrupting in shades of blue and green as they obsess over treasure. Only Serena is really spared, as she is the character least interested in wealth.
By the age of seventeen, she had become what she would remain all her life: a woman whose existence would find meaning only in the pursuit of a pipe dream. […] The peace and quiet of the forest did little to calm her; on the contrary, it taught her that anything could be made to submit.
Perhaps part of the reason Bonnefoy grants Eva success where her parents stalled is that she is a true villager. Her parents, on the other hand, prefer colonial trappings: Severo erects a statue of Diana in front of the home, while Serena swoons over European authors. It's no small detail that Eva, the girl literally born of the soil, is the most able to bring wealth to the village.
But Eva, too, exceeds the limits of her allowed prosperity when she begins importing foreign goods to her estate to put on an ostentatious display of her power. The outcome completes the story's moral on the dangers of greed.
Eva and Serena provide a powerful endnote to the book. The moving scene between mother and daughter reaffirms all that is good — love, family, loyalty — and damns the treasure that started the novel once and for all.
Black Sugar comes out at a time when Venezuela is in the news for violence and turmoil. But Bonnefoy's prose bursts with pride for the region and its people, particularly the farms and farmers. At the same time, he acknowledges the colonizing forces that fomented unrest, whose influence is felt today as the country destabilizes. It's an important book to read right now, for even though it's fantastical fiction, it gives the reader context for the next headline.
Miguel Bonnefoy was born in France in 1986 to a Venezuelan mother and a Chilean father. In 2013, he was awarded the Prix du Jeune Ecrivain, which previously launched the careers of Marie Darrieussecq and others. Octavio's Journey is Bonnefoy's first novel, written in French. It has sold more than 25,000 copies in France and has been awarded the Prix Edmée de la Rochefoucauld (for debut novels – past winners include Goncourt winner Mathias Enard), the Prix Fénéon and the Prix de la Vocation, which rewards new talent (past winners include Amélie Nothomb and Joël Dicker). The book was also shortlisted for the Prix des Cinq Continents and the Goncourt First Novel Award.
Emily Boyce studied French and Italian at the University of Oxford with a year abroad teaching English in Turin. After graduating she worked on the BBC's food websites and translated French literature as a hobby. She was shortlisted for the French Book Office "New Talent in Translation Award" in 2008. In 2011she became in-house translator at Gallic Books. Her translations and co-translations from French include works by Pascal Garnier, Antoine Laurain, Hélène Gestern and Éric Faye.
Aleksandra Appleton is a journalist and writer based in California. Her work has appeared in Narratively and BuzzFeed, and can be found at aleksappleton.com.


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The lens weight is 1.18kg (2.6 lbs.) In this segment until now Nikon's 14-24mmm is the best quality lens you can have. The Nikon is fantastically sharp even wide open in the corners as well, this is a legendary lens. It is interesting if the new Canon can keep the pace with the Nikon.


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Q: Vector Property related problem If $\overrightarrow b$ & $\overrightarrow c $ are two non-collinear unit vector and $\overrightarrow a $ is any vector then $\left( {\overrightarrow a .\overrightarrow b } \right)\overrightarrow b  + \left( {\overrightarrow a .\overrightarrow c } \right)\overrightarrow c  + \left( {\frac{{\overrightarrow a .\left( {\overrightarrow b  \times \overrightarrow c } \right)}}{{\left| {\overrightarrow b  \times \overrightarrow c } \right|}}} \right)\left( {\overrightarrow b  \times \overrightarrow c } \right) = \_\_\_\_\_\_$
I am not able to approach this problem.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Jesteś tutaj: Strona główna » Business » Lithuania's investments within the framework of 'One Belt One Route'...
Następny artykuł CCCC investments in the Central Eastern Europe
Poprzedni artykuł Coordinating Secretariat for Maritime Issues "16 + 1" as the key to maritime economy development
Lithuania's investments within the framework of 'One Belt One Route' projects
The Port of Klaipeda work is underway on the optimal use of Lithuania's access to the sea for the country's economy. The operation of the port of Klaipeda brings 6% of GDP. The port of Klaipeda is a state-owned company. Four multimodal solutions, created as part of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative are being developed here. Thanks to its good location, the port can serve Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Great Britain, using the very dense network of container lines connections and the ro-ro initiative, which gives it a lot of throughput. This year, Klaipeda will serve 42 million tons of goods. This fact places it on the third place among the ports of this part of the Baltic Sea, behind the large Russian ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga. The average annual increase in port operation efficiency is 6.4%.
The Port of Klaipeda, which Lithuania inherited as a member of the former Soviet republic, required many investments. 27 km of waterfront were renovated, administrative procedures were strengthened, and electronic customs service was introduced, giving the possibility of automatic customs service within half an hour. Works related to the construction of infrastructure for LNG bunkering are in progress. Completion of the construction of the LNG bunker, planned for 2017, will give customers the opportunity to enter there not only by ships, but also wagons, which later will be used for land transport. The possibility of creating a transshipment center for railway transport in both directions for goods transported between China and Europe is also being considered, which will allow loading of goods directed to the Chinese market. Currently, only 50,000 containers are re-filled, which means less than 600 trains. Loading of these container trains would make it possible to use the existing terminals. This solution is an alternative to the traditional corridor leading through Minsk and Brest towards Poland and all of Europe, which is already very crowded. This solution harmonizes with the intermodality introduced as part of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative. Lithuanian and Russian governments are cooperating on the construction of an industrial park that will stretch over an area of over 11,000 hectares. Although the construction is still in progress, 19 companies have been already registered here.
Klaipeda has traditionally been the best port to operate the border trade with Belarus. 14 million tons of Belarusian goods arrive here. The extension of the port is connected with the implementation of the environmental impact assessment, which is now coming to an end and will be completed by 2021. Work is also underway on the main plan for the development of port infrastructure, including the recovery of the coast in the south and north, which would allow regaining 130 hectares of land. The plan has already been approved by the government, and construction works are to start in 2021. The implementation of this project will allow Chinese logistics and transport companies to sign a concession contract.
Mr. Arturas Drungilas, Marketing Director of the Port of Klaipeda said that despite his earlier skepticism, he is currently appreciating the value of building the DCT terminal in Gdańsk, which is just entering the final stage of implementation. He said that currently the port in Klaipeda is also building such a structure, and invites various companies from around the world to cooperate. The decision was based on the desire to use modern facilities that give access to the open sea, allowing the attraction of vessels from the Far East with a capacity of 20,000 TEU. Klaipeda is just starting cooperation under the initiative "One Belt, One Road". The contractor of the high quality terminals, which are currently being built, is a single company, namely Company Investment Limited. The speaker said that if we want to offer our full competitiveness, we must be fully competitive, not only at the operational level but also in terms of infrastructure. He expressed hope that in the future Klaipeda would be a competition for the Port of Gdansk.
Arturas Drungilas, Marketing Director of the Port of Klaipeda

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Beddomeia franklandensis é uma espécie de gastrópode  da família Hydrobiidae.

É endémica da Austrália.

Referências

Fauna da Austrália
franklandensis
Espécies descritas em 1993

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Namibian cyclists find going tough at Continental Championships
18 Feb 2018 17:30pm
WINDHOEK, 18 FEB (NAMPA) - The Namibian Cycling Federation (NCF)'s elite national male team found the going tough on Sunday in their last race at the African Continental Cycling Championships in Kigali, Rwanda.
The elite male team made up of Martin Freyer, Xavier Papo, Dan Craven, Lotto Petrus, Fifi Kashululu failed to finish the 156 kilometre (km) circuit.
Drikus Coetzee was the only Namibian who managed to finish the race out of the more than 100 riders who started on Sunday morning. Only 30 riders in total finished the 156km route.
Coetzee finished the race in 30th position.
The winner, Amanuel Gebreigzabhier of Eritrea, finished the race in three hours, 56 minutes and 29 seconds (3:56:29).
On Saturday in the elite Under-23 women's road race, 2016 African Women Time Trial and Road Race Champion, Vera Adrian finished in seventh place, 13 seconds behind the winner Bosrat Ghebremeskel of Eritrea.
Ghebremeskel completed the 84km route in a time of 2:46:31.
In the junior male road race event which also took place on Saturday, Alex Miller finished fifth, 3'49 seconds behind Biniam Hailu of Eritrea who won the 72km race in a time of 1:56:43.
With regards to the other junior riders, Schalk van der Merwe finished the race 14th and Charl du Plooy was 20th, while Dieter Koen finished the race in 25th position.
The African Continental Road Championships are a series of cycling races held annually since 2005, with the best riders on the continent selected for the competition.
This year's competition started on Tuesday and ended on Sunday.
Speaking to Nampa on Sunday, Craven said the circuit used for the road race was very hard and a lot of cyclists struggled to complete the race.
"I had a bad day and dropped out of the race. I'm not even sure how many people completed the race, but this was a good lesson and exposure for our riders as we prepare for future competitions," he said.
Team Namibia was represented by 11 athletes, with Adrian being the only female athlete in the squad.
HK/AS/HP
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