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New Strategy for Schizophrenia
By Ingrid Wickelgren Aug. 27, 1998 , 7:00 PM
A new drug can block schizophrenia-like symptoms in rats, without apparent side effects. The work, described in tomorrow's Science, suggests a new approach to schizophrenia drugs that may someday lead to better therapies for the condition, which afflicts 1% of the population of the United States alone.
Such drugs are badly needed. Current schizophrenia medications, known as neuroleptics, aim to alleviate the symptoms of the disease by blocking the action of one of the brain's chemical signals, the neurotransmitter dopamine. But while patients who take them often see reductions in paranoia and hallucinations, the drugs offer little relief from other symptoms, such as poor attention spans, jumbled thoughts, and difficulty interacting with other people. What's more, the neuroleptics often cause troubling side effects, including uncontrollable tremors similar to those in Parkinson's patients.
The psychoactive drug phencyclidine, or PCP, offered tantalizing hints that a different approach might work: blocking the activity of another neurotransmitter called glutamate. PCP induces schizophrenia-like symptoms in healthy people. Following up on those observations, neuroscientists Bita Moghaddam and Barbara Adams of Yale University School of Medicine and Veterans Administration Medical Center in West Haven, Connecticut, administered PCP to rats, which develop symptoms such as frantic running and head-turning thought to parallel psychotic symptoms in humans, and examined what happens to brain glutamate levels in the animals. Although the earlier work suggested that they should go down in response to PCP, the Yale workers found instead that they surged. Moghaddam then speculated, she recalls, that "if we block glutamate activation, maybe we can block these behavioral effects."
To avoid side effects, Moghaddam and Adams wanted to block glutamate activity only in those parts of the brain where it might be elevated. So, they turned to a drug called LY354740 that is under development at Eli Lilly & Co. in Indianapolis for other psychiatric disorders such as anxiety. By binding to the so-called metabotropic glutamate receptor on glutamate-releasing nerve terminals, LY354740 dampens output of the neurotransmitter, but only when its levels get too high. When Moghaddam and Adams gave rats the Lilly drug before administering PCP, they found that glutamate levels no longer went up in the prefrontal cortex, one of the brain regions that goes haywire in schizophrenia. The six LY354740-treated rats also stayed calm and showed little head-shaking behavior, compared to controls who got only PCP.
Encouraging results in rats don't guarantee that the approach will work in humans. Still, says schizophrenia researcher Jon Horvitz of Columbia University in New York City, "it's impressive work. This is a promising avenue for a drug that attenuates schizophrenic symptoms."
Ingrid Wickelgren


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The GRE is a 3.5-hour exam, the results of which will impact your academic and professional futures for years to come. That alone is enough to throw any of us into an anxiety spiral while studying, not to mention during the official exam. Here are some tips for staying calm and level-headed.
There's the mediocre score that comes from not knowing certain material; and then there's the much worse score that comes from panicking when you realize you're not prepared at all. To do well on the GRE, you must give yourself time to learn the material as well as the exam's style. Space out your studying over at least a few weeks—we recommend a few months—while continuously building up the difficulty of the material you review (if you prepare with Economist GRE Tutor, the program will do this for you). There is no point in trying to learn everything the night (or even week) before; this will only worsen your stress on test day. Create a study schedule and stick to it.
Breaking a sweat will help you work out your stress and anxiety in a healthy manner. Thirty minutes of cardio (e.g., running, calisthenics, or kickboxing) can make a marked difference, not only for the typical immune system benefits but for mood elevation and mental clarity, as well. Anxiety is often connected to physiological causes as well as effects, the latter including a tendency for us to breathe shallowly and clench muscles. If cardio is too rigorous for you, thirty minutes of yoga can help gently stretch and move the body while helping with your focus and calmness.
Showing up for the GRE tired can kill your focus, so make sure you take it easy the night before – that means sleeping plenty as well as avoiding last-minute cramming. In the morning – don't drink too much caffeine, as that will only increase your jitters. Consider sticking to green tea, which has a moderate amount of caffeine but is high in antioxidants. Tea will also help keep your stomach settled, come test time. Lastly, while sleeping well the night before the exam is a given for many test takers, we encourage you to be mindful of how much sleep you get during your studies, as well. Lack of sleep makes it difficult to focus and retain information, so don't undo your studies by skimping on rest.
It may sound obvious, but every year we hear from students who are mad at themselves for putting in weeks of studies only to show up to the exam site unprepared, barely on time, and flustered. They almost always report being disappointed in their score. Don't be that person. Review the materials you'll need to bring with you on the ETS website and pack them the night before, take a look at ETS' "What to Expect on Test Day" page, arrive early to your exam site.
This may seem like an obvious suggestion, but it's easy for stress and fear to drive negative thoughts, which can have a notable impact on exam performance. Don't worry about your past performance. Don't worry about how fast other people finish their test. Don't get hung up when you run into a question or two that you suspect you're answering incorrectly. Just concentrate on moving forward. This is it; all you can do now is give it your best.
Lastly, an important note: Test-taking can raise just about anyone's stress levels, but if you feel your symptoms are severe and causing serious distress in your life, please consider seeking professional help from a doctor or counselor. Nothing is more important than your health.


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Pilgrim Flyers | 2016 Winner
Helping kids fall in love with mountain biking.
In the summer, young mountain bikers head to woodland around Plymouth to hone their skills in the great outdoors.
In winter, though, a multi-storey car park in the middle of the city provides a unique arena for sports-mad kids to perform in complete safety.
Using tape and cones to create a circuit for their members to race around, this night club with a difference has been a huge hit in the south west.
"We use a load of tape and cones to make a circuit, and we have the kids racing round. It's undercover, it's floodlit, there are toilets, it's all weather, the parents can park there and watch - it's unbelievable, really good," says coach Jay Norton.
The club has a national champion on its books and has also produced World Cup racers, but the main ambition of Jay, who runs the club with wife Maddie, is to provide an outlet for kids to continue to get on their bikes when the nights are long and the weather is cold. And it's working.
grassroots team of the year

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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CWRU falls in WSJ/THE rankings
Nathan Lesch, Director of Print
The 2019 Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education (WSJ/THE) College Rankings report saw Case Western Reserve University fall 13 places, from 39th to 52nd. It is alleged that changes in ranking metrics caused this drop. WSJ/THE began considering graduates' average debt instead of graduates' default rates. CWRU was not the only university to see a significant drop, as George Washington University, Tulane University and Northeastern University also saw their rankings decrease.
In the WSJ/THE rankings, CWRU's decline due to its higher average graduate debt was partially offset by increases in graduates' salaries, publications per faculty member and the variety of academic subject offerings.
In contrast, the 35th edition of the U.S. News Best Colleges rankings, which was also released recently on Sept. 9, saw CWRU move up two places into the 40th slot. CWRU's small climb in the U.S. News rankings occurred because of improvements in the academic qualifications of the new class, selectivity, graduation rate and faculty resources.
According to President Barbara Snyder, the Student Success Initiative is mainly responsible for enhancing the undergraduate experience and thus contributing to improvements in the U.S. News ranking. The Student Success Initiative includes the navigator advising system, and it came out of research done by the Office of the Provost.
"After extensive research regarding comparable efforts on other campuses, leaders within the Office of the Provost presented a proposal to President Snyder and the Board of Trustees," said Provost Ben Vinson III in an email. "The proposal was so compelling that President Snyder committed the entirety of a leadership award she had received be used to support the effort, and the board directed that all of that year's commitments to its strategic initiative fund also go to the initiative."
The Student Success Initiative was not created in response to rankings pressures, according to Vinson.
The WSJ/THE rankings highlight the growing problem of student debt. Since the changed methodology in the WSJ/THE rankings was applied to all colleges ranked, dropping 13 places means that CWRU is doing worse in terms of graduates' average debt than many of its peer institutions.
According to Vinson, however, CWRU's graduates' average debt is not drastically different from its peer universities, and instead, the ranking's drop is due to how little separates the nation's top universities.
"The change in methodology has such a significant effect because of how tightly bunched the nation's leading universities are in terms of their performance on a range of statistical measures," Vinson asserted.
Additionally, Vinson said that some of the universities CWRU considers its closest peers also dropped in the rankings due to the criteria change.
"The average debt of CWRU's graduates is higher than some peers, and lower than others," Vinson noted. "For example, Carnegie Mellon [University]'s average graduate debt is nearly $2,000 higher than ours."
Carnegie Mellon's ranking also dropped significantly in this year's ranking, from 16th to 25th.
In terms of addressing graduates' average debt, Vinson said CWRU has taken measurable efforts. Since 2016, CWRU has met full demonstrated need in admissions. Vinson believes this will reduce graduates' average debt when students admitted under this policy begin to graduate.
Undergraduate Student Government (USG) President Marin Exler recognizes that college graduates' debt is an important national issue, but cautions that ranking mechanisms are unable to provide a robust picture of a university.
"Transparency about the cost of college is essential, however, what the metrics fail to consider is the ratio between actual starting salaries and average graduation debt," said Exler, via email, in relation to the WSJ/THE rankings.
USG has consistently attempted to address student debt, most notably through a four-year tuition-lock program, according to Exler. However, even tuition-lock policies have flaws. Oftentimes, university tuition merely starts out higher to counteract the tuition-lock.
Ultimately, there are no easy solutions to rising student debt.
"We are still exploring different initiatives regarding the cost of college, and hope to work collaboratively with the administration to help alleviate student burden," Exler pledged.
Regarding the impact of the WSJ/THE ranking, Exler does not believe CWRU's drop will be particularly impactful.
"One college ranking does not showcase how our incoming students continue to be more and more academically accomplished and how excited they are to be a part of the CWRU community," she said.
According to Exler, a physical campus visit is still the best way for prospective students to understand the opportunities and experiences they can have at CWRU.
Nathan Lesch, Executive Editor
Nathan is a fourth-year majoring in economics, political science and environmental studies. He also has a couple minors. The Observer is his pride and...


Christina is a traveler and has worked and taught in various situations. Born in Boston, she has lived in New York and Chicago. She holds a 'BA in English and Philosophy' from the New York University and an 'MS in English Education' from Iona College.
She has worked as a career consultant, a commercial speed reading instructor, and as a senior technical writer. Christina has also worked for various adult literacy programs in Yokohama and St. Louis and has taught English at colleges and universities in three states.
Christina is an expert with numbers and is a passionate and highly successful stock investor herself. She started writing for financial publications quite late in her career, but caught up with her impressive ability to deconstruct and simplify financials and present them in a lucid style for her readers.


Import and export of items such as religious artifacts, antiques, plants or animal products, especially those of endangered species, ammunitions, explosives, other military equipment, and narcotics are strictly prohibited. Items of personal nature, one liter of alcohol, Photographic equipment, video cameras, electronic goods for personal use and Instruments, apparatus or appliances for professional use are allowed after declaring it with the revenue and customs department in the airport. It may also be noted that the airport does not have good restaurants offering good breakfast. Thus for early morning flight, it is recommended to have your breakfast prior or bring a takeaway. While the hassle is limited in the airport, VIP services can be organized by Trophel Tours and Treks. Inside picture of Airport below.


The advantages of using straw-bale for construction are increasingly well documented. Alongside the aesthetics and unique feel of a straw-bale home, two major benefits are:... David co-wrote The Straw Bale House (one of the first publications on the subject), and helped write the first load-bearing straw bale building code as well as working on the Strawbale Appendix for the 2015 International Building Code and the official Code Commentary for it.
One little piggy who built his house from straw didn't fare too well, but Gary Carpenter is not put off by fairytales. The Geraldine builder is building his dream home from wood framing, with the bf3 how to create soilder Learn The Simple Straw Bale Construction Method You Can Use To Build Your House In New Zealand. One of the major things to consider when designing a strawbale building is what type of straw bale construction style you'll use.
Because the walls are thick there is a tendency to build straw-bale homes in the country. This is because country home sites are larger than inner-city sites and can afford the larger size of the house resulting from the thick straw-bale walls. youtube how to build a teeter totter 14/06/2017 · If you're thinking of building a straw-bale home in New Zealand, you can either approach an external company or take on the project yourself.
New to Straw Bale? It's very easy to get started! We have all the resources you need to get familiar with straw bale building and can guide you every step of the way.
That's our goal really - To help get more Straw Bale Homes Designed and Built - and in so doing improve the comfort, quality and energy efficiency of homes built here in New Zealand. We really have had a great time building with bales since the early 1990's.


Pacific ponderosa pine is a lovely tree native west of the Cascades from about the Portland area (with some outliers farther north) south to Baja Norte, Mexico. Our form is from locally collected seed. Slow growing in youth this pine picks up speed in its teens and grows almost exponentially from there. Pacific ponderosa pine is known for it tall straight crowns of lush green needles in clumps of two. This tree is excellently adapted to our winter wet/summer dry climate and even small trees can endure the very longest, driest, hottest summers with no visible stress. Its adaptable to all types of soil – not fussy and is even found in the most well drained stranded flood cobbles of major rivers. To 125′ in time with ulitimate height of close to 200′ in great age – expect a 3′ tall tree to be about 15′ tall in 10 years. Full sun- not very shade tolerant and when planting with other trees anticipate at least a 25′ wide crown in the future. Needles can drop profusely in September which is a bit of a mess. Take note of this. Underplant with other drought adapted natives. Water to establish for the first summer then none in subsequent years. A regal pine that is among the tallest in the world. Oregon native plant.
Gray Pine or Foothill Pine native almost exclusively to the mountains of California- but there are several outlying native populations in Jackson, County Oregon so we can claim it as our own as well. Known as the tree that casts no shade, its almost completely true as the long gray needles allow almost all light through. Large pine tree with gray foliage- usually forks about 1/2 way up into two main trunks, these are buttressed to support the huge cones which can weigh 5lbs or more. Excellent performance in the Willamette Valley where many are seen around old farm houses and older neighborhoods. Perfectly hardy to cold in our climate and incredibly drought adapted. In fact it shuns all irrigation and is ideal for hot dry locations. Grows very fast in youth, settles down a little with age. Its ultimate height is around 35′-45′ in our climate. A smokey, silvery, shadeless skyline tree. Oregon native plant.


The argumentation in this paper is grounded in a critical and conceptual analysis of Ted Aoki's phenomenology, wherein curriculum is read as phenomenological text. The problem explored emerges from Aoki's critique of the Tyler rationale for curriculum design, implementation, and evaluation as it is conceived and practiced in contemporary standardized education, which is driven by the ideology of social efficiency. Aoki focuses on the way in which the scientific and technical modes of curriculum implementation preclude ontological modes of Being-in-the-world because curriculum implementation, as a technical and instrumental process, reduces both educators and students to epistemological subjects, and beyond, objects of knowledge. Through an analysis of Aoki's writings the main conclusion of the paper is that by focusing on curriculum implementation as a form of "Situational-Praxis" as opposed to "Instrumental-Action," it is possible to put educators and students in touch with the ontological aspects of their Being-in-the-world. Aoki's practice of phenomenology reveals an understanding of an attuned mode of human transcendence in learning, which opens the possibility for an authentic educational experience where educators and students dwell in the midst of the curriculum's unfolding as an ontological phenomenon.


Whether you need long term or short term storage Selma Self Storage located in Selma AL has all of your solutions. Our storage units come in a variety of sizes that accommodate any budget.
We are in a convenient location within close proximity to George Corley Wallace State Community College Selma and surrounding businesses. Stop by and meet our professional staff to find the perfect storage unit for you!
Selma Self Storage prides itself on serving the Selma AL community. Our neighborhood friends' board is designed to help local businesses build their clientele through cross promotion and referrals. Our neighborhood friends keep us updated on deals and special promotions they are offering to the community. Check back regularly to see which new businesses have become our friend!
Looking for self storage near Selma AL? Selma Self Storage offers convenient storage for businesses and homeowners in the Selma area. Storage in Selma AL is what you need when it comes time to move the house or business. Since we are located down the street from George Corley Wallace State Community, college storage is simple. Let us make your next storing experience in Selma AL a positive one.


There's no need to beware if you're a fan a good bluegrass music. Aside from the retrospective nature of this release, it is also the band's new album. Twelve of the 20 songs are newly recorded by the present band, while the other 8 take a look back at the band's career and past band member contributions.
Absent is the band's more recent history with the newest of the old dating to 1993. Today's band is perhaps the finest yet with founder Greg Cahill on banjo, Josh Williams on mandolin, Chris Walz on guitar, Tim Dishman on bass and guest Jeff Guernsey on fiddle. Earlier incarnations were good, but do not hold up well to the band's current world-class sound. Exceptions skirt the periphery of the traditional/contemporary bluegrass the band now plays. "Freight Train Boogie," from 1986 features a swing style and some nice fiddle, while "Stealin' Away" features a progressive sound similar to early New Grass Revival.
Highlights among the new tracks are "Cottonfields," "A Long Time Gone" and "Walk These Blues Off My Mind." If nothing else, this album is a great testament to how this band - a roster of 31 past members - has grown.


Distinct segregation patterns of yeast cell-peripheral proteins uncovered by a method for protein segregatome analysis.
TAR DNA-Binding Protein 43 and Disrupted in Schizophrenia 1 Coaggregation Disrupts Dendritic Local Translation and Mental Function in Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration.
Genome-wide Translation Profiling by Ribosome-Bound tRNA Capture.
Molecular basis for diversification of yeast prion strain conformation.


J' Compamy C . . . .
Height 5 feet 5 inches. Weight 9 stone 4 lbs (130 lbs). Chest measurement 30-33 inches. Complexion fair. Eyes brown. Hair brown. Sight and hearing both good. Colour vision normal. Limbs and chest well formed. Full movement of joints. Heart and lungs normal. Teeth good. Free from hernia, varicocele, varicose veins, haemorrhoids, inveterate or contagious skin disease. Good bodily and mental health. No slight defects.
Stanley ROBINSON was the son of George and Mary (nee COX) ROBINSON, of 12 Argyle Avenue, Miramar, Wellington. Stanley was one of the first to volunteer, enlisting in Timaru on 12 August 1914, disembarking at Alexandria on 15 October 1914 and commencing duty in Egypt on 4 December 1914. Just five months later he was killed in action at the Dardanelles. Perhaps the only diversion in between was 5 days Confined to Barracks for being absent from 11 a.m. parade without leave on 26 December 1914. At the time of enlistment, he was residing in Timaru, working as a salesman for Fullers Pictures, and he was a door attendant at the Theatre Royal, Timaru, for 2 years. He intended to return to Timaru on discharge, which sadly never happened. He had attended Sydenham School, Christchurch. His brother Arthur Gordon ROBINSON (26/207) also served in WWI and was killed in action in 1916 at the Somme. (Not the Arthur Gordon ROBINSON recorded in this database.) Just 13 days before being killed at the Dardanelles Stanley signed the briefest of wills - "In the event of my death I give all my belongings to next-of-kin." Did he have a foreboding? His mother applied for the War Service Gratuity. She was advised that, under the terms of Stanley's will, it would be paid to his father. His medals, plaque and scroll were all sent to his mother.


The U.S. Department of Transportation's (U.S. DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has announced a $7.8 million grant to implement a variety of ITS technologies to provide real-time information to travelers and reduce delay at the U.S./Canada border.
Multiple agencies have received the funding to implement a regional mobility management system in order to increase safety and to optimize regional transportation efficiency in western New York, particularly at the U.S./Canada border crossing. The agencies have received the grant under FHWA's Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMTD) program, which was established under the FAST Act, a long-term transportation infrastructure bill passed in December 2015 that addresses concerns outlined in U.S. DOT's Beyond Traffic report.
The new system will improve border crossing performance, reducing travel time for residents and visitors and enhancing the safety of commercial vehicle operations. It will link to NFTA systems to expand the existing smart mobility regional system.
The project will include coordination of real-time and forecasted multimodal, multi-agency transportation network information via 511NY and other applications; upgrading the regional advanced traffic management system (ATMS); integration of road weather information system (RWIS) units currently in place to provide information for motorists at the border; implementation of a robust in-vehicle weather forecast and alert system to warn truckers and motorists of inclement weather and delays; improvements to coordination among first-responders by integrating additional 911 computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems, and expanding the regional information exchange network.


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News » Verger Remembers Jim Williams
Verger Remembers Jim Williams
James T. "Jim" Williams, Verger Board of Managers member, passed away Monday in Greensboro, North Carolina. As part of a long tradition of service to Wake Forest University, Jim was instrumental in conceptualizing, and bringing to fruition, the creation of Verger Capital Management. A member of the Board since inception, he provided leadership and counsel to the firm's formation and growth, and exemplified our value of investing in the lives of others. "Jim was the proverbial 'steady hand' behind Verger's inception and creation, always guiding, encouraging, and providing his sage advice in the crucial period of formation and on-going governance of Verger," said David Dupree, Chair of the Board of Managers of Verger Capital. "I could always count on Jim's support, encouragement, and insight needed to simplify and frame the most delicate issues in terms that made the right decisions easy to come by. I will personally miss his guidance and his humor in providing it."
A native of North Carolina, Jim was a partner with Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, LLP, in Greensboro, where over the course of 52 years, he received recognition of his exceptional advocacy skills and earned the respect of judges, attorneys and clients alike. With integrity and passion that extended beyond his vocation, he leaves behind an adoring family which includes his wife, Barbara, two daughters, five grandchildren and other extended family. We at Verger remain grateful for the opportunity to have called Jim a partner, mentor and friend. Read the obituary.


GM Varuzhan Akobian of Glendale, California defeated Alex Stripunsky in round five of the World Open (June 28-July 4) to take the lead away from the Queens based GM. Leonid Yudasin and Hikaru Nakamura played in the three-day section along with GM Mark Paragua and IMs Jay Bonin and Emory Tate. Nakamura and Yudasin drew their individual game and defeated everyone else, to join "Var" at the top of the now merged crosstable with 4.5/5.


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Credit Cards, Featured, News
Updated – March 26, 2019
Credit card balances are at all-time highs. Rate increases by the Federal Reserve will mean consumers pay billions more in interest charges.
We've updated our statistics on credit card debt in America to illustrate how much consumers are now taking on.
Americans paid banks $113 billion in credit card interest in 2018, up 12% from the $101 billion in interest paid in 2017, and up 49% over the last five years, as Fed rate increases have been passed on to consumers. MagnifyMoney analyzed FDIC data through December 2018 for each bank whose deposits are insured by the FDIC.
The four Federal Reserve rate increases in 2018 meant most credit card Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) increased a full percentage point more last year. Even without any interest rate increases in 2019, we estimate the increase in interest paid in the coming will continue to grow, putting Americans on track to pay over $122 billion in interest in 2019, an additional $9 billion more than the $113 billion currently being paid annually. Our analysis of the impact of Fed rate hikes found credit card rates are the most sensitive to Fed rate hikes, rising more than twice as fast as mortgage rates.
Average APRs on credit card accounts assessed interest are now 16.86%, up nearly 4 percentage points in five years, according to the Federal Reserve.
Total revolving credit balances are $1.03 trillion as of January 2019. The figure, reported monthly by the Federal Reserve, is the total amount of revolving credit balances reported by financial institutions, the overwhelming majority of which are credit and retail card balances, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). As of March 2018, non-card-related revolving balances such as overdraft lines of credit were approximately $74 billion, according to our analysis of the FDIC data used by the Federal Reserve to calculate total revolving balances.
Americans carry $682 billion in credit card debt that is not paid in full each month. This estimate includes people paying interest, as well as those carrying a balance on a card with a 0% intro rate. We based the estimate on a CFPB study of credit card account data that found 29% of total credit card balances are paid off each month, implying 71% of credit card balances revolve each month. We applied the percentage to the Federal Reserve's revolving credit balance data less $74 billion in non-credit card revolving debt to reach $682 billion in credit card balances carried over month to month.
43.8% of credit card accounts aren't paid in full each month, according to the American Bankers Association. Those who don't pay in full tend to have higher balances, which is why the percentage of balances not paid in full (71%) is higher than the percentage of accounts not paid in full (43.8%).
The average credit card balance is $6,348 for individuals with a credit card, according to Experian. This excludes store credit cards, which have an average balance of $1,841. Both figures include the statement balances of individuals who pay their balance in full each month.
Credit card use
Number of Americans who actively use credit cards: 176 million as of 2018, according to Transunion.
Average number of credit cards per consumer: 3.1, according to Experian. That doesn't include an average of 2.5 retail credit cards.
Number of Americans who carry credit card debt month to month: 70 million.
We estimate 40% of active card users carry debt month to month, based on the Fed's Survey of Consumer Finances.
The following estimates only include the credit card balances of those who carry credit card debt from month to month — they exclude balances of those who pay in full each month.
Total credit card debt in the U.S. (not paid in full each month): $686 billion
Average APR: 16.86% (also excludes those with a 0% promotional rate for a balance transfer or purchases)
This estimate comes from the Federal Reserve's monthly reporting of APRs on accounts assessed interest by banks.
Credit card balances
The following figures include the credit card statement balances of all credit card users, including those who pay their bill in full each month.
Total credit card balances: $1.03 trillion as of January 2019, an increase of 3.2% from January 2018. This includes credit and retail cards, and a small amount of overdraft line of credit balances.
Average credit card balance: $6,358, according to Experian (excludes retail credit cards, which have lower balances. The average consumer has $1,841 in balances on retail cards and we estimate combining all consumers with retail or credit card debt the average is approximately $5,000 per individual). All averages include those who pay their bill in full each month.
Who pays off their credit card bills?
According to the American Bankers Association, in 2018, accounts that are paid in full versus carrying debt month to month comprise the following mix of open credit card accounts:
Revolvers (carry debt month to month): 43.8% of credit card accounts
Transactors (use card, but pay in full): 30.4% of credit card accounts
Dormant (have a card, but don't use it actively): 25.8% of credit card accounts
Credit card debt becomes delinquent when a bank reports a missed payment to the major credit reporting bureaus. Banks typically don't report a missed payment until a person is at least 30 days late in paying. When a consumer doesn't pay for at least 90 days, the credit card balance becomes seriously delinquent. Banks are very likely to take a total loss on seriously delinquent balances.
Delinquency rates peaked in 2009 at nearly 7%, but in 2018 they have remained below 2.5%.
Debt burden by income
Those with the highest credit card debts aren't necessarily the most financially insecure. According to the 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances, the top 10% of income earners who carried credit card debt had nearly twice as much debt as the average.
However, people with lower incomes have more burdensome credit card debt loads. Consumers in the lowest earning quintile had an average credit card debt of $2,100. However, their debt-to-income ratio was 13.9%. On the high end, earners in the top decile had an average of $12,500 in credit card debt. But debt-to-income ratio was just 4.8%.
Income Percentile
Average CC Debt
CC Debt: Income Ratio
0%-20%
90%-100%
Data from 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances.
Although high-income earners have more manageable credit card debt loads on average, they aren't taking steps to pay off the debt faster than lower income debt carriers. In fact, high-income earners are as likely to pay the minimum as those with below average incomes. If an economic recession leads to job losses at all wage levels, we could see high levels of credit card debt in default.
Generational differences in credit card use
In 2017, Generation X surpassed the baby boomer generation to have the highest credit card balances. Experian estimates that on average, Generation X has a balance of $7,750 per person, 21.94% more than the national average ($6,354). Boomers carry nearly as much as Generation X with an average balance of $7,550.
At the other end of the spectrum, millennials, who are often characterized as frivolous spenders and are too quick to take on debt, have nearly the lowest credit card balances. Their median balance clocks in at $4,315. The youngest generation, Gen Z, has the smallest average balance of $2,047 per person.
How does your state compare?
Using data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Consumer Credit Panel and Equifax, you can compare median credit card balances and credit card delinquency.
Credit Card Debt Per Debtor
Credit Card Debt Per House
Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Equifax Consumer Credit Panel and MagnifyMoney.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York/Equifax Consumer Credit Panel.
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Lauren Perez
Rent prices have increased by 2% to 4% nationwide each year since 2011, according to CoreLogic. While gains in federal and state minimum wage rules have somewhat mitigated the bite for lower-wage earners in certain areas, it's often not enough to compete with the rising cost of housing. Meanwhile, the population of renters has increased, forcing renters to compete for a finite supply of rental housing, which is already pricing out some people.
Using data from the Joint Center of Housing Studies and the Economic Policy Institute, MagnifyMoney identified 16 cities where the median rent claims all of a minimum wage worker's take-home pay, and then some. Let's take a look at big cities that are more affordable and ones where the rent is too darn high.
Austin, Texas, is the least affordable major U.S. city for minimum-wage workers. Austin's median rent is equal to 143% of take-home pay at the minimum wage.
The median rent in Austin is $1,220 per month, while the city's minimum wage stands at $7.25 an hour.
Austin workers making minimum wage would need to work about 200 hours a month to be able to afford the median rent of $1,220.
Chicago is the most affordable large city, with a minimum wage of $13 an hour. But even there, the median rent of $1,050 per month will claim 69% of a minimum-wage worker's take-home pay.
In Chicago, minimum wage workers would need to work just over 96 hours to make enough to pay the median rent of $1,050.
If you are able to save some of your paycheck after rent and expenses, an online savings account with a high APY and no minimum balance may be a good place to start.
A closer look at where minimum wage doesn't cover rent
The table below shows the median rent as a percentage of take-home pay for minimum-wage workers in 34 of the largest U.S. cities. In the top 16 cities listed, the median rent costs more than 100% of a minimum-wage worker's monthly take-home pay.
In 12 of the 16 cities where the minimum wage to median rent ratio is the highest, minimum wage is less than $10 per hour. Half of these 16 cities earn at the federal minimum wage of $7.25.
But a higher minimum wage doesn't necessarily translate to a lower percentage spent on rent. In San Francisco, for example, the high minimum wage of $15.59 is overwhelmed by the high median monthly rent of $1,860.
The following map offers a geographical visual of where you can expect to pay a larger (and smaller) percentage of your take-home pay on rent as a minimum-wage worker.
Of the cities we looked at, we found that median rent tends to eat up more of a minimum-wage worker's take-home pay in the South. The Midwest, on the other hand, may be more affordable for minimum-wage workers, at least when it comes to rent.
In December 2019, MagnifyMoney calculated the minimum wage of workers in 34 of the nation's largest cities — those with a population of 300,000 or more in 2018 — to determine the relative affordability of rental housing. Our findings are based on data from the Joint Center of Housing Studies for median rent and the Economic Policy Institute for minimum wages. To find estimated take-home pay after payroll tax, we assumed 16% withholding in Social Security, Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA), Medicare and federal income tax.
Lauren Perez |
Lauren Perez is a writer at MagnifyMoney. You can email Lauren here
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Sarah Berger
Working from home has never been easier. Thanks to advances in technology, many professionals can plow through their to-do lists from the comfort of their couch. However, some cities are better for remote work than others.
Cities that are more appealing to telecommuters have higher earning power for the remote workers who live there and more remote work opportunities. Additionally, cities with longer commute times also make it more appealing for residents to choose to work from home.
To determine the best cities for working from home, MagnifyMoney combed through the Census Bureau's 2018 1-Year American Community Survey. We examined the 100 largest U.S. cities by the number of workers, classifying them by metrics related to how many people work from home, their earning power and their cost of living.
In this guide, we'll cover:
Best cities for working from home
Worst cities for working from home
What happened to the "telecommuting revolution?"
Advantages and disadvantages for working from home
Gilbert, Ariz. is rated the best place to work from home, due to a sharp rise in the number of people working from home, which indicates more remote work opportunities, as well as the fact that remote workers there make $1.32 for every dollar earned by the average worker.
The second best place to work from home is Atlanta, thanks to factors like a rise in people working from home from 2017 to 2018 and good pay for remote workers. Additionally, local housing costs in Atlanta were equal to just 27% of earnings for the average person who works from home.
Aurora, Colo. comes in third, with residents who work remotely skipping out on the 30-minute average daily commute there.
The worst city to work from home was Toledo, Ohio, which had a low and stagnant number of people working from home, indicating few remote work opportunities. Those who do work from home in Toledo generally earned less in comparison to average earnings.
The second worst city to work from home was El Paso, Texas, followed by Greensboro, N.C.
On average, across the 100 cities analyzed, working from home tended to pay better than not working from home.
Overall, the number of people working from home is fairly flat, suggesting that the so-called "telecommuting revolution" has yet to come to fruition.
Long commutes did not necessarily translate to more people working from home. While New York and New Jersey had the longest average commutes, they did not see much of an increase in the number of people working from home.
Topping our study's ranking of the best cities to work from home is Gilbert, Ariz. Gilbert, a suburb located southeast of Phoenix, measures just over 72 square miles and has a population of more than 230,000.
Our study found that the average person working from home in Gilbert makes $1.32 for every dollar the average person makes, earning it a tie for the 20th spot regarding that metric. Gilbert also ranked high for two metrics measuring the city's overall work-from-home climate. It ranked fourth for its share of remote workers, with 4.90% of residents working from home, and sixth for the percent change in the number of people working from home from 2017 to 2018, a 1.20% year-over-year increase. Additionally, the average commute time of a typical worker in Gilbert is 28 minutes, earning Gilbert the 27th spot for that metric as telecommuters are saving nearly half an hour each way.
All of these metrics contributed to Gilbert's overall top ranking, making it a great option for telecommuters looking for a balanced lifestyle of good pay, a remote work-friendly culture and a decent chunk of time saved from commuting.
Atlanta snags the spot for the second best city to work from home, thanks to the high earning power of remote workers and a culture friendly to telecommuting. Atlanta has a high work-from-home rate, with 4.50% of people working from home, earning it a sixth-place ranking for that metric. Remote workers in Atlanta make $1.13 for every dollar the average worker pulls in, and housing costs accounted for just 27% of a remote worker's earnings, landing it the 22nd spot for that metric.
Rounding out the top three for our study on the best cities to work from home is Aurora, Colo. Aurora's rankings were boosted by the fact that remote workers in Aurora make $1.41 for every dollar that the average person makes — earning the city the 11th spot for that metric. The city also boasts 3.50% of people working from home, which landed it in 19th spot for that metric. Additionally, workers in Aurora had an average commute time of 30 minutes, which means, conversely, remote workers get to skip out on a half hour long-commute, earning the city the 18th spot for the commute time metric.
Overall, the best state to work remotely seems to be Arizona — three cities, all Phoenix suburbs, cracked our study's top 10 best cities to work from home ranking: Gilbert (first), Chandler (seventh) and Scottsdale (tenth). Another state with a strong presence in our study's top 10 best cities to work from home is Colorado, with Aurora ranking second and Denver ranking sixth.
The U.S. city falling to the bottom of our study's ranking — making it the worst city to work from home — is Toledo, Ohio. Located in the northwest region of Ohio, Toledo has a population of around 276,000.
Remote workers in Toledo pulled in far less than the average worker, earning just $0.58 for every $1 earned by an average worker and resulting in the city ranking 99th for that metric. Additionally, remote workers in Toledo spent an average of 51% of their earnings on housing, underscoring remote workers' overall low earning power. Toledo also had a staggeringly low percentage of residents working remotely — 0.90% — which indicates the poor overall culture of remote work and opportunity in the city.
The second worst city to work from home, according to our study, is El Paso, Texas. Remote workers in El Paso also had dismal earning power, with people who work from home making just $0.81 for every dollar earned by the average worker, and housing costs accounting for 45% of remote workers' earnings. Like Toledo, El Paso also had a relatively low percentage of remote workers overall, with 1.60% of people working from home, placing the city 87th for that metric.
Meanwhile, our study found that Greenboro, N.C., is the third worst city to work from home. Greensboro ranked last for the metric measuring the growth in the number of people working from home, with 1.90% fewer people working remotely in 2018 compared to 2017, indicating a possible decline in remote work opportunity there. Remote workers also weren't saving a particularly significant amount of time by telecommuting, with the average commute time for residents in Greensboro being just 21 minutes.
Overall, our study found that there are bad cities for working from home nationwide, from the Northeast all the way to the West Coast.
Roughly a decade ago, as technology became more advanced and workforces became increasingly mobile, there were predictions of a "telecommuting revolution" in which more and more employees would begin working remotely.
Indeed, a recent study from FlexJobs found that between 2005 and 2017, remote work has grown 159%. However, this massive explosion in growth in the last decade and a half slowed to just 7.9% between 2016 to 2017 — evidence that the movement is losing steam.
Our study also found a fairly stagnant remote workforce in the 100 most populated U.S. cities from 2017 to 2018. Even the city that ranked first for the metric measuring the growth of the number of people working from home from 2017 to 2018 — Irvine, California — had just a 2.40% increase in the number of telecommuters. Additionally, our study revealed a slew of cities in which there were a smaller share of remote workers in 2018 than there were in 2017, including Washington D.C., Orlando and St. Louis.
While the number of remote workers might not be completely stagnant, these are certainly signs that the telecommuting movement might be slowing down. So, what's to blame for the seemingly slowing growth of the "telecommuting revolution"? One explanation might be linked to perceived worker productivity. In 2013, for example, Yahoo yanked its employees' remote privileges and shortly after cited increased levels of productivity and employee engagement.
Additionally, a 2018 survey from Randstad USA found that employees might not be buying into the idea either. While 82% of workers said being able to work from home helps them maintain their work-life balance, 62% said they still prefer working in the office, a number that was even higher among younger generations.
Advantages and disadvantages of working from home
As is the case with clocking your 9-to-5 hours in a cubicle, there are both advantages and disadvantages to working from the comfort of your couch.
Advantages of working from home
Potentially higher pay: Our survey found that in many cities, remote workers raked in more money than non-remote workers. For example, in Norfolk, Va., the average remote worker made $1.68 for every dollar earned by the average worker. One reason for this could be that, according to the BLS, the more popular occupations for remote work include jobs in management, business and finance, all of which tend to be higher-paying.
Money saved on transportation: The cost of commuting is not something to overlook. Depending on the state in which you live, you could spend between $2,000 to $5,000 a year on commuting costs. Working from home enables you to save thousands of dollars a year.
Money saved on childcare: One of the biggest incentives for working from home is the flexibility it allows — especially for parents with kids to care for. For working parents, the cost of childcare can add up to hundreds of dollars a week. If a parent works from home, they might be able to avoid paying for a daycare service or nanny.
Learn how you can maximize your savings with the best online savings account offers.
Disadvantages of working from home
Strain on relationships with colleagues: Working from home could have a negative effect on your relationships with your colleagues. At least one study has found that remote workers were more likely to report that their co-workers treat them poorly and exclude them.
Lack of work-life balance: When your home doubles as your workspace, it can be difficult to unplug. Indeed, one survey from Remote.co found that unplugging after work hours is the biggest challenge among telecommuters. Achieving a healthy work-life balance when you work from home can certainly be a challenging obstacle to overcome.
For our study, we looked at data from the 2018 Census Bureau's 1-Year American Community Survey. Metrics analyzed included:
The percentage of people who work from home.
Earnings for people working from home relative to average earnings of local workers.
The percentage point change in the share of workers working from home from 2017 to 2018.
The percentage point change in earnings for people who work from home from 2017 to 2018.
Housing costs as a percentage of income for people working from home.
Average commute time.
To create the final rankings, we ranked each city in each metric. Using these rankings, we created a final index based on each city's average ranking. The city with the best average ranking received the highest score, while the city with the lowest average ranking received the lowest score. The cities were then indexed based on the best possible score.
Sarah Berger |
Sarah Berger is a writer at MagnifyMoney. You can email Sarah here
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text:
The potential role of serum angiotensin-converting enzyme in coronavirus disease 2019
Zhe Zhu1,2 na1,
Ting Cai2,3 na1,
Lingyan Fan2,4,
Kehong Lou2,5,
Xin Hua2,5,
Zuoan Huang2,6 &
Guosheng Gao2,5
To explore the clinical significance of serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
In this retrospective study, a total of 136 consecutive patients with confirmed COVID-19 were recruited. Demographic and clinical data were recorded. The serum ACE activity was measured at baseline and during the recovery phase, and its relationship with clinical condition was analyzed.
Of the 136 patients with confirmed COVID-19, the 16 severe patients were older and had a higher body mass index (BMI) and proportion of hypertension than the 120 nonsevere patients. In comparison to those of normal controls, the baseline serum ACE activities of subjects in the severe group and nonsevere group were decreased, with the lowest level in the severe group. However, the serum ACE activity increased in the recovery phase, and there were no significant differences among the severe group, nonsevere group and normal control group.
Serum ACE activity could be used as a marker to reflect the clinical condition of COVID-19 since low activity was associated with the severity of COVID-19 at baseline, and the activity increased with the remission of the disease.
The newly emerged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and associated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have produced a tremendous global health burden since December 2019. COVID-19 is characterized by fever, dyspnea, dry cough, headache and pneumonia, ranging from mild symptoms to respiratory failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), heart failure, sepsis, and septic shock [1]. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it is a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on January 30, 2020 (https://www.who.int/).
The renin–angiotensin system (RAS) is well known for its ability to maintain blood pressure and electrolyte balance. In addition, it has been implicated in the pathogenesis of ARDS [2]. RAS has two axes, classic RAS: the ACE/Angiotensin (Ang) II/Ang II type 1 (AT1) receptor axis; and nonclassic RAS: the ACE2/Ang 1–7/Mas receptor (MasR) axis. The former deteriorates the impaired respiratory conditions, while the latter plays a protective role in ARDS [2, 3]. Determining what role RAS plays in COVID-19 is helpful to manage and treat this disease. As the receptor of SARS-CoV-2, numerous reports have focused on ACE2 [4,5,6]. Recently, soluble human ACE2 has been proven in vitro to have a potential therapeutic role in treating patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 [4]. However, ACE, which counterbalances ACE2 in the RAS, is poorly understood in COVID-19.
ACE is localized on the luminal surface of the endothelium, with the highest activity in lung capillary endothelial cells, and is also present in the blood [7]. Beginning as early as the 1980s, serum ACE activity has been used as a biomarker to reflect the damage of endothelial cells and the severity of ARDS caused by other pathogens [7, 8]. Therefore, we performed a retrospective study to explore the clinical significance of serum ACE activity in COVID-19.
From January 23 to March 28, 2020, 136 patients with confirmed COVID-19 and 60 age- and sex-matched normal controls were included in this retrospective, single-center study. This study was approved by the institutional ethics committee (PJ-NBEY-KY-2020-061-01), and written informed consent was obtained from each patient. The demographic and clinical data were recorded from the electronic medical record (EMR).
Positive SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of throat swab, nasopharynx swab and sputum specimens was defined as a confirmed case. The severity of the disease was distinguished according to the Diagnosis and Treatment Guidance of Coronavirus Diseases 2019 (Tentative Sixth Edition), National Health Commission (NHC) of the People's Republic of China. Patients in the severe group met at least one of the following criteria: 1. respiration rate (RR) more than 30 times per minute; 2. resting oxygen saturation less than 93%; 3. ratio of partial pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO2) to fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) less than 300 mmHg; and 4. lesions rapidly progressing by more than 50% within 24–48 h on pulmonary imaging. Otherwise, they were classified into the nonsevere group.
The baseline stage refers to the period within 5 days of admission in this study, while the recovery phase was defined as the stage when the samples tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 and symptoms improved obviously.
Serum ACE activity determination
Serum ACE activity was determined according to the manufacturer's instructions (Quark Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Zhejiang, China) and analyzed on an ADVIA 2400 Chemistry System (Siemens, Germany). It was measured by a kinetic spectrophotometric assay that uses 3-(2-furylacryloyl)-L-phenylalanyl-glycyl-glycine (FAPGG) as the substrate. Briefly, ACE hydrolyzes FAPGG into furylacryloyl-L-phenylalanine (FAP) and glycyl-glycine (GG), with a decrease in absorbance at 340 nm, and the decreasing rate is directly proportional to the ACE activity [9].
Statistical analyses were performed with GraphPad PRISM 5.0 software (GraphPad Software, San Diego, CA, USA) and SPSS statistical 16.0 software (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA). Continuous data with a normal distribution were expressed as the mean ± standard deviation (SD), and statistical significance between two independent groups was determined by unpaired Student's t-test. The continuous variables with skewed distribution were expressed as medians and interquartile ranges (IQRs). Statistical significance among multiple groups was tested by the Kruskal-Wallis test, followed by post hoc comparisons with the Nemenyi test. The Mann-Whitney U test was performed for nonparametric independent two-group comparisons. Proportions for categorical variables were compared by the chi square or Fisher's exact test. A Spearman correlation analysis was used to calculate the correlation coefficients. The independent factors influencing serum ACE activity were determined by multiple linear regression. Finally, we performed a multivariate logistic analysis to identify independent risk factors for the severity of COVID-19.
Demographic and clinical features
There were 136 consecutive hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 enrolled in this study, of who 51 (37.50%) were male, and 85 (62.50%) were female. The mean age was 50.17 years (SD: 15.73). Eleven (8.09%) and 8 (5.88%) patients had a history of smoking and drinking, respectively. Hypertension (33 [24.26%]) was the most common coexisting disorder. Fever (86 [63.24%]), cough (62 [45.59%]), fatigue (27 [19.85%]) and expectoration (32 [23.53%]) were the most common initial symptoms. According to the severity of disease, these patients were divided into two groups: the severe group (n = 16) and the nonsevere group (n = 120). The severity of disease was related to older age (57.50 ± 11.70 years vs 49.19 ± 15.98 years, P = 0.047), higher body mass index (BMI) (26.04 ± 5.63 kg/m2 vs 23.60 ± 3.33 kg/m2, P = 0.018), and higher proportion of hypertension (8 [50%] vs 25 [20.83%], P = 0.011). Diastolic and systolic blood pressure showed no significant differences between the two groups at admission (Table 1).
Table 1 Demographic and clinical features of patients with confirmed COVID-19
Clinical laboratory data
The baseline laboratory data of the nonsevere group, severe group, and normal control group are shown in Table 2. Fibrinogen, neutrophil%, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), sialic acid (SA), and C-reactive protein (CRP) were gradually increased in the normal control, nonsevere and severe groups. The platelet count, lymphocyte%, lymphocyte count and serum ACE activity gradually decreased in the normal control, nonsevere and severe groups. White blood cell (WBC) count and neutrophil count showed no significant differences among the three groups. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate was not tested in normal controls, and no significant difference was found between the nonsevere group and severe group subjects.
Table 2 The baseline laboratory parameters in the nonsevere group and severe group of COVID-19 and normal controls
Correlations between serum ACE activity and other variables
The baseline serum ACE activity was negatively correlated with age (r = − 0.247, P = 0.0038), BMI (r = − 0.203, P = 0.0175), fibrinogen (r = − 0.207, P = 0.016), neutrophil% (r = − 0.276, P = 0.001), NLR (r = − 0.275, P = 0.001), SA (r = − 0.239, P = 0.005), CRP (r = − 0.228, P = 0.008), systolic blood pressure (r = − 0.189, P = 0.028) and diastolic blood pressure (r = − 0.189, P = 0.028) and positively correlated with lymphocyte% (r = 0.271, P = 0.001) and lymphocyte count (r = 0.264, P = 0.002), as revealed by Spearman correlation analysis (Fig. 1). Moreover, patients with hypertension had lower serum ACE activity than patients without hypertension. Serum ACE activity in the male and female patients was not significantly different. However, only neutrophil%, age and diastolic blood pressure had negative correlations with serum ACE activity, as revealed by multiple linear regression after adjusting for other confounders (Table 3).
The association between baseline serum ACE activity and other variables in patients with COVID-19. The activity of serum ACE in male and female patients (a); the activity of serum ACE in patients with and without hypertension (b); correlations between serum ACE activity and age (c), BMI (d), fibrinogen (e), platelet count (f), WBC count (g), neutrophil% (h), lymphocyte% (i), neutrophil count (j), lymphocyte count (k), NLR (l), sialic acid (m), C-reactive protein (n), ESR (o), systolic blood pressure (p) and diastolic blood pressure (q). ACE: angiotensin-converting enzyme; COVID-19: coronavirus disease 2019; BMI: body mass index; WBC: white blood cell; NLR: neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate
Table 3 Multiple linear regression between serum ACE activity and other variables in patients with COVID-19
Dynamic changes in serum ACE activity
The baseline serum ACE activity in patients with COVID-19 was significantly lower than that in normal controls, with the lowest level in the severe COVID-19 patients. Among all included patients, 97 nonsevere and 8 severe subjects were tested for serum ACE activity in the recovery phase. It was demonstrated that the serum ACE activity in patients with COVID-19 increased gradually after treatment, with a significant difference from the baseline level (P < 0.001). Moreover, the serum ACE activity in the recovery phase in the severe and nonsevere groups showed no significant differences when compared with that in normal control group (Fig. 2).
The comparisons of serum ACE activity among nonsevere group, severe group and normal controls at baseline (a) and recovery phase (b); the dynamic changes of serum ACE activity in patients with COVID-19 (c). Ninety-seven nonsevere cases and 8 severe cases tested serum ACE activity in the recovery phase
We performed a multivariate logistic analysis and found that BMI, hypertension and CRP were dependent risk factors for the severity of COVID-19, while serum ACE activity was not (Table 4).
Table 4 Logistic regression analysis of variables associated with the severity of COVID-19
In this retrospective study, we found that few patients (11.76%) with COVID-19 were severe. The severe patients were older, had a higher BMI and proportion of hypertension, and exhibited a tremendous change in peripheral immune-inflammatory parameters. It was demonstrated that fibrinogen, neutrophil%, NLR, SA, and CRP were increased and that platelet count, lymphocyte% and lymphocyte count were decreased in the severe cases when compared with those of the nonsevere cases and normal controls. This result was similar to our previous report [10], although we enlarged the sample size in this study. We also found that the baseline serum ACE activity in the severe group and nonsevere group were both decreased, with the lowest level in the severe group. Moreover, serum ACE activity at baseline was significantly correlated with most of the immune-inflammatory parameters, and it increased with the remission of the disease. Additionally, no significant difference was found among the severe group, nonsevere group and normal control group in the recovery phase. However, serum ACE activity could not serve as an independent risk factor for the severity of COVID-19.
Previous studies have revealed that serum ACE activity can be a marker to monitor the condition of ARDS. ARDS is the most severe form of acute lung injury (ALI) [11], which could be caused by various pathogenic conditions, such as influenza, SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 infections [1, 12, 13]. The pulmonary endothelium plays a key role in the pathogenesis of ARDS, which is manifested by pulmonary endothelial cell damage and increased capillary permeability. ACE is distributed mainly along the luminal pulmonary endothelial surface, and its activity is affected by the function of the pulmonary endothelium. Direct evidence has shown that decreased pulmonary capillary endothelium-bound (PCEB)-ACE activity is correlated with the severity of lung disease in ARDS patients [14]. On the other hand, serum ACE originates from the capillary endothelium; therefore, pulmonary endothelium dysfunction indirectly influences ACE activity in the serum. Previous findings indicated that decreased serum ACE activity was closely correlated with the severity of ARDS and increased in the recovery phase [7, 8]. In line with previous studies, we speculated that the decreased serum ACE activity in severe COVID-19 was attributed to the injured pulmonary endothelium. Moreover, circulating ACE inhibitors (ACEIs) and proteolytic enzymes generated in critical illness may also play a role [7, 15]. In the recovery phase, the pulmonary capillary endothelium status improved, and ACEIs levels declined, which was reflected in the increased activity of ACE.
The imbalance in the ACE/AII/AT1R axis and the ACE2/Ang1–7/MasR axis is known to be involved in the pathogenesis of ARDS [2, 3]. Moreover, Glowacka et al. [16] found that the recombinant SARS-CoV spike protein bound to ACE2, downregulated ACE2 expression and promoted lung injury. Similar to SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 utilizes ACE2 to enter human cells. It has also been reported that an increased level of plasma Ang II was strongly associated with lung injury severity in COVID-19 patients [17], which implied the activation of the ACE/AII/AT1R axis. Therefore, it is believed that ACE1/ACE2 imbalance occurs in COVID-19 [18, 19]. However, the ACE protein expression level in lung tissue is controversial. In a previous study published in Nature in 2005, Imai et al. [20] observed that ACE2 protein in the lung tissue of ARDS model mice was downregulated, while ACE levels remained constant. In another study, high ACE protein expression was found in the lung tissue of an ARDS animal model [21]. Although revealed by us and others [7, 8], serum ACE activity was decreased, it may not reflect ACE protein in the lung. Therefore, further studies are needed to explore the status of ACE protein in COVID-19, as well as its relationship with serum ACE activity.
The immune-inflammatory reaction plays a key role in the progression of COVID-19 [10, 22]. Therefore, we performed correlation analyses and found that serum ACE activity was significantly correlated with most of the immune-inflammatory parameters in this study. Additionally, we performed multiple linear regression to find that only neutrophil%, age and diastolic blood pressure had negative correlations with serum ACE activity after adjusting for other confounders. In agreement, severe patients were older and hypertensive, which further supports the role of serum ACE activity in the development of COVID-19.
Serum ACE activity is always increased in patients with hypertension, as revealed by previous studies [23, 24], which was different from our results. As far as we are concerned, hypertension resulted in worse deterioration of lung tissue, thus offsetting the originally increased serum ACE activity. On the other hand, ACEIs affect serum ACE activity. However, only one patient with hypertension was treated with an ACEI in our study, which would have little bearing on the overall result.
Serum ACE activity was detected by a kinetic spectrophotometric assay in this study. A kinetic spectrophotometric assay using FAPGG as a substrate was first introduced by Holmquist et al. in 1979 [25] and soon widely used on automated biochemical analyzers [26]. Similarly, we used the ADVIA 2400 Chemistry System, an advanced high-speed automated clinical chemistry analyzer, to test ACE activity.
Interestingly, some studies have reported that the ACE gene insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism of a fragment of 287 pairs of bases in intron 16 is associated with the incidence and consequence of ARDS in patients [27, 28], as well as related to the hypoxemia of SARS cases revealed by Itoyama et al. in Vietnamese individuals [29]. However, another study performed in Hong Kong did not discover a relationship between the ACE I/D polymorphism and the susceptibility to SARS-CoV infection or the outcome of SARS-CoV-infected patients [13]. A very recent report has indicated that the ACE I/D polymorphism may affect the spread and outcome of COVID-19 [30]. Additionally, an earlier study found that circulating ACE activity is influenced by the ACE I/D polymorphism [31]. Therefore, the relationship between the ACE I/D polymorphism, serum ACE activity and the outcome of patients with COVID-19 needs to be explored in the future.
To our own knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the role of serum ACE activity in the progression of COVID-19. However, this study has some limitations. First, ACE activity in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and ACE protein expression in lung tissue, along with ACE2, angiotensin II, etc. was not tested. To better understand the role of RAS in the pathogenesis of COVID-19, the above markers should be investigated. Second, serum ACE activity could not serve as an independent risk factor for the severity of COVID-19 in this study. Third, some patients did not have their serum ACE activity tested at the recovery phase. Fourth, this was a single-center retrospective study with a relatively small sample size. Fifth, the unequal sample size in the severe and nonsevere groups might lead to biased results. These limitations must be considered when using this marker, and a multicenter, prospective cohort study with a larger sample size is needed to validate the role of serum ACE activity in COVID-19.
Low activity of serum ACE at baseline was associated with the severity of COVID-19, and it increased with the remission of the disease. Therefore, serum ACE activity could be used as a marker to reflect the clinical condition of COVID-19. Using this marker may help us to manage the disease more efficiently.
ACE2:
Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2
ARDS:
Renin–angiotensin system
EMR:
Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction
Respiration rate
PaO2 :
Partial pressure of arterial oxygen
FiO2 :
Fraction of inspired oxygen
FAPGG:
3-(2-furylacryloyl)-L-phenylalanyl-glycyl-glycine
FAP:
Furylacryloyl-L-phenylalanine
GG:
Glycyl-glycine
NLR:
Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio
Sialic acid
Tu H, Tu S, Gao S, Shao A, Sheng J. Current epidemiological and clinical features of COVID-19; a global perspective from China. J Inf Secur. 2020; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2020.04.011.
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We thank all the medical staff of HwaMei Hospital, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences for their hard work and enormous contributions during the outbreak of COVID-19.
This study was supported by the COVID-19 Platform Program of Hwa Mei Hospital, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (2020HMZD18, 2020HMZD21, 2020HMZD27), Zhejiang Provincial Public Service and Application Research Foundation, China (Grant No. LGF21H010005).
Zhe Zhu and Ting Cai contributed equally to this work.
Department of Blood Transfusion, HwaMei Hospital, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, P.R. China
Zhe Zhu
Ningbo Institute of Life and Health Industry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, P.R. China
Zhe Zhu, Ting Cai, Lingyan Fan, Kehong Lou, Xin Hua, Zuoan Huang & Guosheng Gao
Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment of Digestive System Tumors of Zhejiang Province, Ningbo, P.R. China
Ting Cai
Department of Acute Infectious Diseases, HwaMei Hospital, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, P.R. China
Lingyan Fan
Department of Clinical Laboratory, HwaMei Hospital, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 41 Xibei street, Ningbo, P.R. China
Kehong Lou, Xin Hua & Guosheng Gao
Department of Experimental Medical Science, HwaMei Hospital, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, P.R. China
Zuoan Huang
Kehong Lou
Xin Hua
Guosheng Gao
ZZ and TC analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript. LYF collected clinical data and follow up. KHL collected the library data. XH and ZAH performed laboratory analysis. GSG designed the study and revised the manuscript. The author(s) read and approved the final manuscript.
Correspondence to Guosheng Gao.
This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Hwa Mei Hospital, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Certificate no. PJ-NBEY-KY-2020-061-01). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.
Zhu, Z., Cai, T., Fan, L. et al. The potential role of serum angiotensin-converting enzyme in coronavirus disease 2019. BMC Infect Dis 20, 883 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-020-05619-x
Serum ACE


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Your hands and wrists can be quite fragile therefore it's important to have a pair of boxing hand wraps that'll offer you enough support and protection. If you don't know how to wrap your hands, therefore are several ways to do this, we demonstrate our preferred method in our video tutorial.
Hand wraps tend to be cheap and affordable and should be compulsory whenever any type of boxing training is carried out. Hand wraps for combat sports such as boxing, Muay Thai, MMA etc tend to be the same, so even if you see a pair of hand wraps that says it's for Muay Thai you can still use it for boxing.
Boxing gloves are also designed to allow room inside the glove for hand wraps, so you'll also fit more comfortably into a pair of boxing gloves when you have your hands wrapped up. If you've chosen a good quality pair of hand wraps then now you'll need a good set of boxing gloves and if your female then check out our best women's boxing gloves, although women can use normal boxing gloves too.
Hand wraps do tend to last for at least 12 months but that'll really depend on how often you use them. If you're training 4 times a week a good pair of hand wraps can last you 12 months, so it's definitely worth the money but more importantly worth the support and protection.
After a workout do not leave your wraps inside your gloves or in your bag, you need to hang your wraps up on a door hook or something to ensure you air them out so they don't stink as bad and so they are not damp for when you next use them.
You will also need to wash your hand wraps after every few uses that way the wraps will last longer and it's also hygienic to clean them after every few uses. You can either hand wash them or put them in the washing machine.


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Q: Minimum Number of piles Suppose we have N stones. They have the same size and weight, but they might have different strength.The $i$-th stone can hold at most $x_i$ stones on its top (we'll call xi the strength of the stone).
Suppose all the stones have the same size, We cannot put more than one stone directly on the top of some stone.
For example, imagine $3$ stones: the first has strength $2$, the second has strength $1$ and the third has strength $1$. We cannot put the second and the third stone simultaneously directly on the top of the first one. But we can put the second stone directly on the top of the first one, and then the third stone directly on the top of the second one. We will call such a construction of stones a pile.
Now we want to construct piles from all the stones. Each pile will contain some stones from top to bottom, and there cannot be more than $x_i$ stones on the top of $i$-th stone. What is the minimal number of piles we need to construct?
EXAMPLE : Let we have $5$ stones with strength $(0,1,2,3,4)$ then we can do it in one pile only.
Let if $N=3$ and their strengths be $(0,0,10)$ then we need to construct 2 piles for it.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Home Science Reports Reports and News Earth Sciences
Research vessel METEOR is in the Baltic Sea
The 87th expedition of the METEOR, under scientific leadership of the IOW, is heading to one of the largest brackish water seas on Earth.
The two-month crossing of the Baltic Sea will include three calls at the Hanseatic city of Rostock. The study carried out by the IOW's scientists will focus on a summer bloom of blue-green algae and the effects of the thawing permafrost on microbial life in the Baltic Sea.
In its 26 years in the service of the Federal Republic of Germany, the METEOR has ferried its passengers across the Atlantic Ocean, from Cape Town to Tromsö, and over the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and the Indian Ocean. Now the 97.5-meter-long research vessel is returning to its home waters of the Baltic, where its career began a quarter century ago, with the launch in Travemünde.
When on 29 May the METEOR departs from the Norwegian town of Stavanger towards Skagerrak, two legs of its 87th voyage will have been completed: beginning with its departure in Lisbon to its first docking in the city of Reykjavik, and then on to Stavanger. In Norway, the METEOR will meet the IOW researchers who will take over the scientific helm, making full use of the 20 on-board labs for the next two months.
»AFIS »Baltic Sea »CTD »IOW »Meteor »Pacific Ocean »Relation »Stavanger »blue-green algae »green algae »microbial life »natural science »polar region »sea snails »social science »water column
Under the guidance of Dr. Matthias Labrenz, the ship will first sail almost the entire length of the Baltic Sea, from Skagerrak to the Gulf of Bothnia. "On this route, we want to document the shifts in bacterial communities along the rapidly decreasing salinity gradient," says Matthias Labrenz. In general, bacteria play a central role in the nutrient cycle of the Baltic Sea. Knowledge of their distribution and activity is therefore of fundamental importance in understanding the system as a whole.
During the excursion, the scientists will regularly collect water samples, analyzing them for microbial life. "Among the various tools, we will use our in-house developed pumping system, the AFIS," said Labrenz. Unlike a conventional CTD rosette, the AFIS automatically allows the water samples to be fixed inside the sample bottle already at the sampling depth. This preserves the sampled organisms' pattern of gene activity, preventing further alterations when they are hauled on board.
"As a result of global warming, thawing of the permafrost has increased in the polar regions and tundra," said Labrenz. "This, in turn, has caused the release of large amounts of largely non-biodegradable organic compounds, which, for example, are transported to the Baltic Sea from as far as the northern Swedish river Kalixälven." Bacterial activity then determines the fate of these compounds: If they are targets of bacterial degradation, their carbon ends up in the atmosphere and can thus influence the climate. If the compounds are ignored by the bacteria, they are either deposited in the sediments of the Baltic Sea or washed into the North Sea. To test how the bacteria handle the compounds, the IOW scientists will mix frozen, stored river water from northern Sweden with water from the Baltic Sea and then analyze the microbial response.
On 11 June, the METEOR will dock in Rostock, exchanging some of its crew before setting off on the next leg. Professor Dr. Klaus Jürgens will take over as the chief scientist, overseeing the journey into the Gotland Basin, in the central Baltic Sea. At greater depths, this inland sea is often deficient in oxygen. The result is the buildup of poisonous sulfide, which kills fish eggs, larvae, and other multicellular life. Only bacteria are able to survive under these toxic conditions and degrade the sulfide. In an interdisciplinary collaboration, physicists and microbiologists will investigate, for the first time, the extent to which microbially driven processes are stimulated in the water column by influxes and mixing. In addition to the free water column, surface sediments will be sampled using so-called multicorers and boxcorers in order to analyze their microbial communities.
The METEOR returns to Rostock on 26 June, in order to prepare for the final leg of the journey. Under scientific leadership of Professor Dr. Gregor Rehder, the ship will set off again to the central Baltic Sea, to investigate the course of a summer bloom of blue-green algae. The bloom significantly contributes to the oxygen deficiency in the central Baltic Sea, as the algae fall in large quantities to great depths, where they are degraded by oxygen-dependent microbial processes. In addition, dense carpets of blue-green algae are regularly driven to the coasts of Sweden, where, for example, they negatively impact regional tourism. Despite extensive research, the exact conditions that determine the start, end, and intensity of such blooms, the factors that limit their growth, and the change in the budgets of the involved nutrients remain unclear.
"The last part of this expedition will include a two-ship experiment," explains Gregor Rehder. "The IOW research vessel Elisabeth Mann Borgese will accompany the METEOR and in the same study area will examine the turbulent mixing processes that take place in the water." The IOW ship will circle the METEOR, casting out a sensor network, called a CTD chain, that provides a 3-dimensional picture of the flow structure within the water column. The focus is on the question whether nutrients in the surface vicinity eventually mix with the blue-green algae blooms and thus affect the growth of these unicellular organisms. On board the METEOR, at a fixed station, the nutrient concentrations at different water depths, the composition of the biological communities, and their carbon and nitrogen turnover will be determined. In addition, a previously released sediment trap will be retrieved for later analysis. "In the end, accurate records of the nutrient balance of the bloom will be obtained. What was the concentration of nutrients before the bloom? How are they transported through the system as part of the biomass? What percentage of these nutrients will, through degradation processes, be released back into the water?" asks Gregor Rehder. These data are extremely important for Baltic Sea ecosystem models, as they provide the only approach to reliably predict the future development of the Baltic Sea.
Finally, on 23 July, the METEOR will return to Rostock for the last time this year, thus ending its 87th expedition.
Barbara Hentzsch, 0381 / 5197 102, Public Relation, IOW
Nils Ehrenberg, 0381 / 5197 106, Public Relation, IOW
The IOW is a member of the Leibniz Association, which currently includes 87 research institutes and a scientific infrastructure for research. The Leibniz Institutes' fields range from the natural sciences, engineering and environmental sciences, business, social sciences and space sciences to the humanities. Federal and state governments together support the Institute. In total, the Leibniz Institute has 16 800 employees, of which approximately are 7,800 scientists, and of those 3300 young scientists. The total budget of the Institute is more than 1.4 billion Euros. Third-party funds amount to approximately € 330 million per year.
Dr. Barbara Hentzsch | idw
http://www.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de
Further reports about: > AFIS > Baltic Sea > CTD > IOW > Meteor > Pacific Ocean > Relation > Stavanger > blue-green algae > green algae > microbial life > natural science > polar region > sea snails > social science > water column
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CulturaTendencias
Rave Rebels Returns With a New Edition of
By adminven 10 marzo, 2020 112 views
The most immersive rave experience ever!
Those who witnessed the unforgettable first edition were only given a hint of what Rave Rebels stands for. On Saturday 11 April 2020, the newborn baby of Kompass Klub will return to Palais 12, which for the 14-hour extravaganza will come to you with an unparalleled level of production and a grade-a line up to boot.
With Rave Rebels, the term 'rave' takes on a new meaning: don't call it an illegal party in a remote setting under a bridge any longer, but think of a collective high-mass of electronic music, celebrated by an army of like-minded rebels to escape reality and embrace the night in all its glory.
For the next edition on Saturday 11 April, none other than Boris Brejcha, Filth On Acid inspirer Reinier Zonneveld and Sven Väth were already announced. But there's more: some of the most renowned names in the scene such as Enrico Sangiuliano, Afterlife head honcho's Tale Of Us, Kevin De Vries and Mathew Jonson will also make their way to Brussels in April. Of course, there is also room for homegrown talent: Maxim Lany and Nico Morano will play back 2 back for the first time ever and kick off this already very promising new edition of Rave Rebels.
In addition to an incredibly powerful line up, Rave Rebels also stands for a breathtaking sound, light and visual experience. The 14-hour spectacle will be embellished with an impressive production you have never ever witnessed before. The combination of the line up, the astonishing production ànd the energy of thousands of enthusiastic ravers all together, has proven that Rave Rebels is by far the most unique rave experience in Belgium to date.
More than 10.000 ravers from far and wide are heading over to the Belgian capital for the extended rave. In addition to the entire region of Europe, tickets have been sold in more than 25 countries such as Japan, Russia, The United States and even New Zealand. Safe to say that Rave Rebels is about uniting people from all over the world!
The celebrations will once again take place at Palais 12 in Brussels — the vibrant capital of Europe — which was an obvious choice for the organization: «We chose Brussels because it is a fruitful area for the development of new parties and concepts. The Brussels based ravers are very familiar with electronic music and keen on partying. The central location of the European capital also allows us to attract an international audience and made it possible for us to already host the second chapter of this monumental event in this beautiful city.»
To say that the performing artists are looking forward to their show in Belgium is an understatement. The tiny country with a glorious history of rave, holds a special place in Kevin De Vries' heart: «Playing in Belgium is always very special to me. Since my first shows a few years back, it felt already like if I had a special and mostly personal connection with the crowds. It's a different energy then elsewhere in the world and I made many Belgian friends over the years. Rave Rebels raised the bar high in any kind of way — it's truly mindblowing to see this huge venue combined with such a production. I am really excited to be part of this and can't wait to be back in Brussels!»
The Germany based Sven Väth is also eager to make his way back to Belgium: «It's been a while since my last gig in Brussels, but I am very much aware of the current strong "techno movement" in the country. Therefore I am really looking forward to play in Brussels again!»
Needless to say that Belgium is a universally well-liked playground for deejays all over the world, as stated by the Italian Enrico Sangiuliano: «I really like to play in Belgium. It always feels wonderful to be surrounded by people who have techno culture flowing their blood.
Date: Saturday 11 April 2020 // 20h00 – 10h00
Venue: Palais 12, Avenue de Miramar, 1020 Brussels
Info and tickets: www.raverebels.com
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"MEXICRÁNEOS, RENACE Y CAMBIA DE PIEL" EN PASEO DE LA REFORMA
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